I'm baaack!

Alot of things have been taking up my free time lately.

Number one, I'm enrolling in nursing school. I was going to be an accountant, but I've always wanted to be a nurse. You only live once right? The medical field has always interested me. I take a placement exam Thursday to see if I can skip a few biology classes- PLEASE pray for me!!


Number two, my boyfriend, Josh, is getting a house. It's a beautiful home in a really great neighborhood. It needs a lot of TLC, paint, and other decorative touches... but we are looking forward to making the house what WE want it to be. I was thinking about posting pictures of some of the rooms and getting input from you girls about what to do! I'd love to hear what you guys think!

I'm so sorry I've been MIA lately, but I PROMISE to be a more dedicated blogger. ;)

Breast Month of the Year!

Haha, great title right? I'm sure all of you ladies are aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The one month out of the year that everything turns "pink"... literally! All of the stores carry products that are pink, and the proceeds usually go to breast cancer research. NFL players are sporting their pink gloves and shoes. And of course, many breast cancer survivors are wearing their pink ribbons as well. I just so happened to make some funfetti sugar cookies and put pink sprinkles on them! Okay, okay... I wasn't "theming" my cookies to breast cancer awareness month, but no one has to know that. ;)

Sorry for the poor quality, at least you know I actually took the picture and didn't just google an image. ;)

Today at work I had the opportunity to do a woman's makeup who had breast cancer. She was to be attending her son's wedding. Bless her heart, she barely had any hair, no eye brows, and no eye lashes. She was skinny, but overall in good spirits. When I asked her how she wanted to look for the wedding she replied, "healthy." I did her makeup and she loved it! I was glad she let me be a part of making her feel beautiful on the day of her son's wedding. Sometimes I think we all lose sight of what's really important in life. So many people "need this" or "want that", but to someone who has cancer, they just want to be healthy. I believe we all know someone who has been affected by cancer, especially breast cancer. I personally lost someone to cancer. I know what chemo can do to a person, I know what the painful shots can do, and I know that many want to give up but they keep fighting. So, yall be sure to buy anything and everything PINK this month and support these organizations that are trying to cure breast cancer!

On a happier note, one thing I love about this month is Ulta's Bed Head products! Yall know the salon brands are pretty expensive. A bottle of Bed Head hairspray can easily be around $15, but this month they are only $7.99! They also have dry shampoos and volumizing sprays. I shopped during October last year and got two cans of hair spray and they lasted me through this summer! The "Hard Head" spray is the best in my opinion, whereas the "Masterpiece" is more of a sheer spray and doesn't have much hold to it. So yall will have to check that out.

I will be trying to document my life in pictures a little more often. I just got a new phone and it has a wonderful camera on it, so yall watch out. :)

Where do you like to shop for your pink products?

I'm Pinteresed.

You know what, I need to start coming up with ideas for websites. That way I could become a millionaire by the time I'm 22. Why am I saying all this? Well, I've become quite fond of another random website called Pinterest. It's basically an online catalog of things people love. And when you make an account you can "pin" things you like and keep it for future reference. Why can I not come up with these random websites??!! Pinterest has adorable ideas for weddings, creative cookies/cupcakes, and one of a kind DIY projects! My username is Ericakate if yall wanna add me! Or would the correct term be "follow"? Hmm, I haven't quite figured out the lingo.

 Here's some adorable things yall just have to see:

 The first is an adorable DIY Christmas wreath. Looks so easy to make!

 Don't ask me why I like the picture below. I just acorn shaped bird feeders was the cutest idea!!

An indoor built-in dog kennel... yes please.

What an adorable idea for wedding cookies! These would make good guest favors!

Cupcakes that look like cheeseburgers. So creative. 

If your boyfriend goes to the strip club:

I have not updated my blog in what seems like forever. Life has been pretty busy lately. First of all, let me get a little personal. I DO NOT LIKE BACHELOR PARTIES! Not that I've been to one, but my boyfriend surely experienced his first and last bachelor party. The typical "guy stuff" happened, and I was not happy at all! They of course went to strip clubs/bikini bars. I don't know about you girls, but I have a problem with that. I don't want nasty strippers dancing ON or AROUND my boyfriend wearing almost nothing, and quite honestly I don't want him lookin' at them! If you wanna be with me, you shouldn't be wanting to look at another woman, let alone go to a place like a strip club. I've come up with the perfect disciplinary actions if your boyfriend ever does something like this.

#1. Call your mom, grandma, and anyone else you can think of and say, "You would NEVER guess what (insert name here) did!" And tell them all the details. 

#2. Two days later, invite him to your grandmother's house for lunch. :) 


#3. Post on his Facebook wall... Tell him how much you love him even though he decided to spend time with women who make a living showing their cellulite and boobies.


#4. Anytime you can throw in the words, "boob" "stripper" or "dollar bills"... Do so!


#5. When you two love birds are watching TV together and a Victoria's Secret commercial comes on, COVER HIS EYES in a panic! And tell him he saw plenty of that last weekend.


#6. If you happen to drive by a strip club or a bikini bar BURST INTO TEARS! Have a complete PMS, "oh my gosh i am so fat", youwenttoastripclub fit! :) This will become annoying and he will probably try not to even drive by these places again.


#7. You want a puppy. You want one now. Tell him you want a puppy because a puppy doesn't lie and doesn't do shady things.


#8. You deserve foot massages. Plenty of them. Make sure you walk outside in the dirt a little bit before you put your foot in his lap for your much deserved message.

#9. In the middle of all of this cut off all communication with him. Go out with your girls and don't call or text him. He has no idea where you are. Let his mind wonder what you're up to. When you finally talked to him... you weren't doing anything. "You tried calling me 34 times? You texted me all day long?? Hmm. must be something wrong with my phone. Or perhaps the music was too loud where I was." He will then ask where you were, suspiciously say "nowhere." Karmaaaa.

At this point, if he really loves you, he will realize he hurt you. He will realize what happens when he does something stupid. And chances are he will NEVER do anything like that again. :) The random crying outbursts will really get to him. It was a one-time thing for him to go to a strip club. I know it wasn't like him, it was just for a bachelor party... but girls, it is a no-no to ignore my calls, and then lie to me about where he's been. Punishment is deserved.

;) let me know if any of you try these out. they have a pretty good success rate.

I'm sew impressed!

So Monday I got a little bored and decided to sew something on my fancy-dancy sewing machine I got for Christmas. Let me just say, I HATE patterns... so pretty much everything I sew is my own creation. I decided to make a "Pillowcase Dress", these pillowcase dresses have been quite popular for young girls/toddlers here in the South. :) Keep in mind this was my very first attempt at making a pillowcase dress...

Do you love it? I was "sew" impressed with myself. haha And there's a Fall Festival coming up soon and I decided I'm going to make some more and sell them at the festival (better known as the Claybank Jamboree). I'm going to go to Hobby Lobby tomorrow to get some more cute fabric and ribbon. :) I decided I was going to sell these dresses for $20-30 a piece, depending on the size/extra details. I'll have to let yall know how the other dresses turn out!

Have a great night!

<3 Erica

Weekend Recap!

This past weekend was a lot of fun! I got to spend time with my family, shop, and eat some awesome food!

If yall ever go to Birmingham, go to Lotus Boutique! It is a super cute boutique located in the Galleria, and also at the Summit shopping center. I snagged an adorable sheer button-up blouse with 3/4 sleeve. I failed to take a picture of it because I wore it the night I bought it. It should be very cute this fall with some skinny jeans and my fall boots!

I also went to Forever 21 and got a "fur" vest and two necklaces. The fur vest below is quite hideous on the model. I really don't know whose idea it was to pair that gorgeous vest with the grandma sweater. Trust me, it's cuter in person! When I wear it, I will take a picture and show yall!

I kinda fell in love with this necklace! I love the gold diamond feather with the beautiful blue turqoise accent. It is STUNNING!

I've been wanting a cross necklace for a while, like a blingy one. And I found it! For $4.80 I could not beat it! Most cross necklaces I have seen seem to be "too much", but this one is perfect! It is long-chained too, so it's perfect with long drapey tops.

We ate at my FAVVVV restaurant- Pita Stop! It is located in downtown Birmingham in the UAB area. It is Mediterranean food, and it is GREAT! I really suggest this restaurant if you're ever in the area. I normally get the seafood kabob, but Josh always gets the Filet... look how delish!

And then Josh and I drove home in a tropical storm. IT. WAS. HORRIBLE. That's all I'm gonna say. I normally don't self-medicate, but I had to to be able to endure the trip. (Josh Drove)

Hope yall had a great weekend!
Goodbye summer, Hello Fall! <3

Excited, Excited, Excited!!

Here's a few things I'm excited about this week.

1. At midnight tonight Vera Bradley is going to start selling "Stadium Blankets", and I'm gonna stay up until 12 just to buy one! :) I have tons of Vera Bradley and I kind of got tired of it there for a while, but I just fell in love with the idea of a VB Blanket!! It's so cute and it will be supercute for my Thanksgiving vacay . :)

2. Tomorrow night I get to see Ronnie beat the mess out of "The Situation" and I'm looking forward to it! The Situation is a pig and a trouble-maker. It's about time he gets what he deserves for all the trouble he's made.

3. Friday! The beginning of my 3 1/2 day weekend. Josh and I are taking a little road trip to Birmingham to spend time with some family. :) I plan on shopping, eating at "Pita Stop" which is a fabulous Indian restaurant, and more shopping. I will try to remember* to take pictures of my B-ham adventures. :) Here's a picture of the cutest puppy everrr that I get to see this weekend:

4. ALABAMA FOOTBALL! Labor Day Weekend kicks off Alabama Football. It's kind of bittersweet for me, I was planning on attending UA this Fall- although I was accepted and had my heart set on it, God had different plans for me. So, needless to say I'm sad I'm not going to be in Tuscaloosa, but Alabama football will always have a special place in my heart. :) Have yall seen the new Alabama Old Navy commercial??

2011 VMA's!

I watched quite a bit of the VMA's last night and I was not, I repeat, was not impressed! You cannot really enjoy the VMA's when every other word is bleeped out because the award winners cannot express their excitement in a civil way. I understand people think Lil' Wayne is the best rapper alive, but he should pull his pants up. I cannot stand seeing people "sagging." It's unsanitary. And I'm sure everytime a big-named rapper/celebrity busts a sag or raps about killin' folks they are influencing alot of kids to do the same thing.

Justin Bieber looked like he was 12 last night. Selena Gomez looked more like his babysitter than his date. haha, just saying.

And everytime I see Kanye West I think of this:

My favorite jaw-dropping moment was when Beyonce showed off her baby bump!! I absolutely love Beyonce and I'm so excited she's pregnant! I know it's gonna be one cute baby and it's definitely going to inherit singing skills! I mean, look at how happy she looks! loveeeee herrrr. <3

What was your favorite and least-favorite moments from the 2011 VMA's?

The American "Royal Wedding"

Kim Kardashian is now a married woman. I must say I don't really take her seriously. I love Keeping Up With The Kardashians on E!, but I think 90% of what she does is for publicity. I mean Khloe married Lamar Odom after knowing him for like a week. Kim dated Reggie, some other pro-athlete, and supposedly her body guard as well... and now she decides to settle down. 

Another thing, Eonline has some video of her wedding and it looked fabulous! I still haven't seen a good picture of her dress. I do not like that thing around her head. Honestly, it looks like she tried to put on a necklace too small and just gave up and left it there. Not my fav.

Another unique thing about her wedding, her mom and sisters wore all white. I thought that was a no-no when it came to weddings, but apparently since Pippa Middleton wore white to her sister's wedding it's like a new "thing".

What do yall think about Kim getting married? Do you think it will last?

<3 Erica

And on the seventh day...

Today was a great day! I woke up around 8:30 which is quite early for me. I actually took the time to blowdry my hair using my Kenra Mousse (it's amazing) and my hair actually looked cute!! I put on my "Sunday Best" and went to church to hear our new pastor preach! I enjoyed hearing the sermon and he made learning about Jesus exciting! Honestly, most preachers bore me... but today my attention span lasted alot longer than normal. Here's a few pictures to hold yall over until the next post!

^ SouthernCinderella & I. ^

 ^ Josh & I. ^

Quick Confession: I was going through some of my old CD's/DVD's the other day and stumbled upon my Season 2 & 3 DVD's of "Newlyweds". I'm sure some of yall remember the reality show "Newlyweds" with Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey that aired on MTV in like 2004 ish? haha Well, anywho I've been watching the DVD's on my laptop while putting my makeup/doing my hair, and I forgot how much I loved that show. They were the cutest couple and then they got a divorce and are now about to remarry to different people! I'm still only on disc #2 and have like 2 more to go. Does anyone else remember this?

The end is near: Summer & Desperate Housewives.

Fall is near!! School started back today here in Alabama for all of the little K-12 students. Fortunately, I don't start my Fall semester in college until next week. I really miss being a little kid though. After a long, hot summer of swimming and being a couch potato, I was always excited to start school back. Every year I would be so excited to go to "Open House" to meet my teachers and find out who was in my classes. I also loved going to buy my new binders, backpacks, and school clothes! Being in college really makes me miss those elementary days. In college you pick your professors and make your own schedule, and chances are you wont know half of the people in your classes. On top of that I have to buy all of my school supplies, along with spending hundreds of dollars on books!

Yall, Oh my goodness. Desperate Housewives will be cancelled after this upcoming season! I cried a little when I heard the news. It has to be the best drama on television, besides Pretty Little Liars of course. I've seen every episode, and I'm so sad the TV show is coming to an end.

Are there any other Desperate Housewives fans out there?

Things that are bothering me:

Number one: It was thundering and lightening today and did not even rain one drop! It's like a bajillion degrees outside, the rain would have cooled things down.

Number two: I went to Subway yesterday and they always overlap my cheese. You know what I'm talking about... the little cheese triangles could fit perfectly on the sandwhich if placed correctly, but NO they always overlap the cheese.

Number three: My cell phone contract is going to be up soon, and I can no longer have an Unlimited Data Plan. WHY WHY WHY?! Why should I pay $30 a month for only 2 GB's of data when I was paying $30 for unlimited? Cell phone companies are greedy.

Number four: There is a difference between the usage of "your" and "you're". Please learn the difference if you are unaware.

Number five: I wear "daily" contacts. I told my eye doctor to order my contacts last Wednesday and they said they should be in the next day. Thursday: "Our Fedex truck hasn't come yet. What is your phone number and I will call you when they arrive." Friday: "No ma'am, your contacts didn't come in today. They should be in Monday. Oh, it looks like I don't have your number. What's your phone number and I can call you when they come in." Today: "Nope, sorry. They should be in tomorrow. What's your telephone number?" OH MY GOODNESS. Now I have one pair of contacts left. Guess I will be reusing my contacts for another month before they come in. %@#*)($*(&%@$!!


Now! I'm glad I've gotten all of those things off of my chest. Blogging is a real stress reliever. ;)

What are some things that have been bothering you today?

<3 Erica

Fall Wish List:

Every season I have a wishlist... a list full of must-have clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories. Fall is my favorite season, because there's always so much to do and the weather is almost always perfect.

#1: Red Blazer. (I'm not a big fan of this red blazer with that dress pictured.) I absolutely love red blazers and I've been looking for one forever! I've only seen one so far and that's from Charlotte Russe for $39. It'll make for a cute jacket on a cool Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday. :) If yall happen to see any other red blazers, please let me know.

#2: New "Miss Me" Jeans. I love Miss Me's! They are good quality jeans. I have a very "blingy" pair and my only complaint is that they snag everything I sit on. So, this time around I'm gonna get a pair that isn't so blingy. :)

#3: Cowgirl Boots. :) This has become a popular little accessory in the South. People wear them in the summer with cute dresses, kind of like a Taylor Swift-ish look. And I'm sure they will be popular this Fall before everyone breaks out their cold weather Uggs & Emu boots. Does anyone know where I can find a cute/high quality pair that isn't $300? haha

#4: A new purse! I've been using Vera Bradley purses for the past few years, but they get dirty so easily. I'm ready to get a new leather bag for Fall. :) I'm kind of in love with this Brahmin bag!

#5: Over-the-knee boots! I haven't seen many online, but I did find these at alloy.com.

 

By the way, there is a new obsession in hair accessories- feathers! And I just so happened to get a cute little feather in my hair. I absolutely love my feather! They come in all colors, but I wanted something that wasn't extremely obvious. I wash it, curl it, straighten it, and even blow dry it! It has stayed in my hair over a week. :)

What are some of your Fall 2011 must-haves?

<3 Erica

My first baseball game.

Josh's parents got us some tickets to the Montgomery Biscuits game. I really did not wanna go, why would I want to go to a "biscuits" game? haha. But I went and LOVED it!! We were front row right behind the catcher person, I don't know all of the technical names. However, I was on the lookout for foul balls at all times.

Yall, I was like seriously having a good hair day. But then it rained and my hair got flat, frizzy, and wavy. Back on subject: Foul balls. I began to tell Josh that the baseball players were supposedly so talented and that's why they signed with the "biscuits" yet they couldn't stop hitting balls backward over the fence. I swear I almost got hit in the face like 4 times. And then I watched a girl get hit in the shoulder with the ball- but if she would have been smart and been on patrol like i was... rather than texting she would not have been hit. 

The picture above was taken with my camera... my camera takes such colorful pictures compared to Josh's camera (He took the first picture of me, above). And of course I had to take a panorama shot of the field.

Overall we had a great time, and we even stayed for the fireworks show!

<3 your newest baseball fan,

Erica

Knee Deep in The Water Somewhere. :)

This past weekend we spent a relaxing few days at the beach. I feel like I gained 10 lbs because of all the fabulous places we ate! Here's a few pictures to document our wonderful weekend. :)

And let me share a HILARIOUS little story. :) So I decided I wasn't going to wear sunscreen, I'm just seriously fed up with being pale. And so Josh was like, "Will you put some sunscreen on me?" and I was like sure, why not. I reached in my beach bag and pulled out my brand new sunscreen SPRAY. And then I sprayed it all over him... little did I know I had to rub it in:

 Now my poor wittle boyfwend has some serious tan lines! hahahaha I couldn't control my laughter when he was like, "Hey genius, look at my back!" All we could do was laugh because he knew I didn't mean to make him look like that! His chest is even worse! haha

Oh, and thank you to the people who suggested persuasive speech topics to me!! I thought about it alot and settled on "Adopting Animals".

Have a great Wednesday!!

<3 Erica

Less than 24 hours...

and I will be at the BEACH!! :) I'm not as excited as I thought I would be, I guess because going to Panama City Beach is the same each and every time we go. However, I'm excited to get away from work and school for a few days!

I need your help: What is a good "persuasive" speech topic? I have a speech next Wednesday and cannot think of a unique/interesting topic.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

<3 Erica

Catching Up!

I think last week was one of the busiest weeks ever for me! Between school all day on Monday and Wednesday, and work all day Tuesday and Thursday, AND VBS everyday at 6.... I was pretty exhausted at the end of the day! Helping with VBS was so much fun, and all of the children were SO cute!! Here's a few pictures from VBS last week:

Those are just a few of the MANY pictures that were taken over the past week! I feel so blessed to have been able to work with those sweet children all week. It was tiring, but oh so fun. :)
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This July 4th weekend was full of fun!  I went and bought a small "point & shoot" camera Saturday morning for the big events ahead. Although I have a big fancy digital SLR camera, I wanted a small camera I could just put in my purse and have with me at all times- you never know what you might see!! Saturday evening was our "Freedom Fest"- it's a festival with food and other vendors as well as live bands followed by a firework display at 9. Josh and I have gone every year together since we started dating. However, this year it was a little more exciting... I'm sure you all have seen this movie:

And if you have seen this infamous movie, you will know who Lieutenant Dan is (He is also in CSI: NY as Detective Mac Taylor). Lieutenant Dan AKA Gary Sinise started a band called the "Lt. Dan Band" and he travels all over the world to play for the troops. Well, this year's Freedom Fest's special event was the Lt. Dan Band!! Our whole town was excited to have Gary Sinise come all the way to Southeast Alabama to play for our local Army base. Our local bakery that Josh's parents own had the privilege of making a box full of goodies to give to Gary & his band after they flew into our local airport. Josh and I were able to see the private jet they flew in on... it was so nice! Here's a few pictures of the Lt. Dan Band concert... and I'm sure you will recognize "Lt. Dan"!

We were extremely close to the stage, and at one point I was front row. But then of course some crazy old women had to be in front so they could confess their love to Gary Sinise. I was so excited about seeing him because Forrest Gump is one of my ALL TIME favorite movies! Josh and I went to the back of the stage after the concert was over to watch the fireworks and next thing I know I look over and see Gary Sinise right next to me. I got to say hey to him and another band member, they were all so nice and down to earth! I had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. I hope everyone had an awesome weekend!

How did you celebrate Independence Day?

<3 Erica