5 On Friday

Happy Friday, y'all!

I am soooooo glad it's Friday. I've had a Hellacious week in terms of work. It all started Friday when my office's internet just up and decided to stop working mid-afternoon. I had to go home and finish out my day {OK, didn't really mind that}. I then had to work from home on Monday until ATT called me to let me know they were headed to the office to check it out. When we got there around noon, we discovered it had started working again fine on it's own {which I had told them it probably would}. Then Monday night, as I'm hacking away at some work emails from home, my antivirus program on my work laptop starts it's scheduled scan. I shut down all of my open stuff and let it run. After it was over, my computer would not connect to the internet. It wouldn't pick up any wireless connections, and not even work when I hard-wired it. I tried everything I could {and I'm pretty computer savvy}. I ended up taking it to Staples and they found out my computer's drivers just vanished....so weird. They tried to reinstall those, but it wouldn't work, so they ended up having to reinstall Windows completely. I. lost. everything. Mind you, all of this fixin' took all of Tuesday and Wednesday, so I had to be at home for work both days feeling pretty useless without access to my company's files {they are in Dubai, I'm the only one here in Charleston}. Anywho - I'm just glad it's fixed now!

Well, if I haven't bored you enough yet, here's my 5 for Friday list:

1.  The paternal grandparents are taking the kiddos to stay at a beach house on Folly Beach this weekend. I love those rugrats, but Momma is glad to be getting a break!

Y'all see that craziness? Yeah, it's ALWAYS like that.

2. Thanks to #1, Hubby and I are getting a date night! We plan to go to a friends' pool party on the Isle of Palms tomorrow afternoon and then head to the Windjammer to see a Michael Jackson tribute band that is supposed to be pretty good. Thanks to our VIP status at the Jammer {due to Hubby's obsession with beach volleyball}, we got our names put on "the list" and will get in for free. That's how we roll, people. This is us at the OAR concert last week {another rare moment sans kids!}

3. I've quit my so-not-worth-it side gig as the opener at my gym. I've actually decided to start running my cleaning biz again on the side. Any of you in the Charleston area looking for housecleaning, or know someone who might be, please contact me. It's A Modern Cinderella - Licensed - Bonded - Insured. I've run it since 2009, but took a little hiatus earlier this year due to the gym job and my full-time job. I'm headed to NYC in December and I really need some extra spending money, so my plan is to put everything I make from cleanings into that pot.

A Modern Cinderella on Facebook

4. I think I'm slowly becoming obsessed with Tyler Hubbard of Florida-Georgia Line. It must be the songs? I think it's his voice...so country...so hot. {C'MON!!} I don't know. Right off the bat, he's not the type of guy I normally find attractive. But I LOVE their song "Cruise"...especially the Nelly version. So far, I like every song I've heard from them. Caught this video the other night...he is sexy. {Sorry, Hubby. But can he be one of my five freebies? You have to watch Friends to get that.}

5. Lastly, I'm setting a new goal for myself. I work out a lot, but I am not satisfied with where I'm at physically. {Damn you, wine.} I'm setting a goal for myself to lose at least 10 lbs by the time I go to New York in December with my mom. I'm going to do that by changing my eating and drinking habits {I work out a lot already, so I don't think that is where the main changes are needed.} I posted about my new favorite green smoothie on my blog, The Gym Bunny. These have been great and really do keep me full in the mornings. If you check out the blog, I hope you'll become a follower.

Have a great weekend, y'all!

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Wednesday Whimsy

Well, I'm a tad late on saying Happy Monday on the blog this week, but Hump Day is as good a day as any, right?

Sorry for the absence {did ya really even notice?}...it's like I feel as though I've been busy, yet I have no idea with what. So I can't even come here and rain down my list of excuses on you. I certainly have nothing to show for this sense of busy-ness I have.

Is my house clean? No. 
Car clean? No.
Am I richer? Definitely not.

I think I just took a mental break from blogging, albeit a short one. I do have some goings-on to share with y'all though...so let's just get right to it.

1. Tanner is signed up for fall baseball with the recreation dept. {I also even have all of his uniforms and supplies ready to go for school - way early! Good Mommy Points for me!} Can't believe my firstborn is going into 2nd grade...does it ever get easier????

{Tanner on his first day of Kindergarten with his teacher, Ms. Powell}

2. Today was my last day at my gym job. I had been working there on M, W and F's from 4am to 8am. Then heading to my full-time job after that. I put in about 6 months, but around 2 weeks ago, I just realized how utterly exhausted I'd become and that it just wasn't worth it. The pay was shitty and I was tired of donating what is my main window of opportunity to get my workouts done for the day. So I put in my two weeks. Not looking back. I start my morning 5:30am workouts tomorrow {until school starts, then I get to do 7:30am after dropping off the kiddos}.

3. I'm working on Breckin's 3rd birthday party. We are going with a construction/tool theme. I've been getting the decor and supplies together...the party is on August 3rd at our pool {thank God for the free venue, hate having to rush and stress to clean my house for birthday parties!} I'm happy to say I've pretty much gotten everything I need!

4. We're considering putting our house up for sale and finally moving back closer to civilization. We like where we are except that it's a trek to the grocery store and we really want to get back into the town we hang out most in and run all our errands in. We have a realtor coming to evaluate our home next weekend. Wish us luck with this process and for the best outcome possible!

Sorry, that's really all I've got for you on this lovely Wednesday - have a great rest of the week!

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Friday Five

 
It's FRIDAAAYYYY!





Anyone have big plans for the weekend? We're staying pretty low key. We actually went to an OAR concert on Wednesday night.{I know, who the heck has a concert in the middle of the week? I actually bought the tix months ago because we always go to OAR when they come to town and I didn't even check the date because it's always been on a weekend until this year. Not sure what happened there.}

Pretty much our plans are to BBQ with the neighbors on Saturday...and I'm sure we'll head to the beach or pool at some point this weekend. Maybe more than once.

Anyway, I've got five things to share this Friday...

1. This hair oil is awesome. I believe it retails for $21.95, but I caught it on a sale for $10.00 at my salon. It's not too heavy and hasn't yet caused any back and shoulder breakouts like some Moroccan/Argan oils have done to me in the past. Great way to stave off split ends and grow longer, healthier hair.

{source}

2. I just discovered this lip exfoliator by e.l.f. It's at Target for only $3.00! I get chapped lips easily, especially in the summer months if I don't keep the SPF on them. This helps slough off the dead skin and renew them, making them feel soft and full. I don't want to over-exfoliate them, so I use it about every other day.

{source}

3. This dress. Does it not look so comfortable? I love Target's clothing selection these days...summer is best because they seem to load up on cute maxi's. Aside from being way affordable, they have a great selection of prints and patterns. I'm also a fan of the high-low trend on the dresses and skirts. I tend to like the front of my legs more than the back - tee hee. Whoever invented this trend, must have had that in mind. I think this one is -click- headed straight to the shopping cart.

{source}

4. Just bought tix yesterday to go to one of the Under The Sun Tour concerts next month, featuring Smash Mouth, Sugar Ray, Gin Blossoms, Vertical Horizon and Fastball...I am so glad that Jake and I go to a lot of concerts now. I'm even more glad that we have good seats and I will be within FEET of this beautiful man that used to be hung all over my college dorm walls {sorry, Hubby}:

Oh so delicious. Yum.

AHEM - anyway....

5. And lastly, I scored this IKEA shoe cabinet off of a Mommy Exchange group on Facebook. I am so stoked. It's the one that the famous Jen  of iHeart Organizing uses in her entryway. I've been dying to find a way to conceal our overflowing collection of shoes (mostly the boys, which get strewn about the house daily}. I'm picking it up today, new in box, and cheaper than at the store!

{source}

Will show you how I style it soon! 

Have a great weekend! xoxo

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Things You May Not Know...

I saw this great list of questions on Mimi+Meg and thought it would be fun to answer them for myself. Who knows, I may ask a few other bloggers to stop by and answer them as well!

The Wonder That Is Social Media

What's pretty cool about social media sometimes is that it can seemingly link you closer to celebrities you love. {Hopefully not in a stalker-status sort of way.}

I was just perusing through my notifications on Instagram this morning when I noticed this:

See that little arrow I made? It's pointing out the fact that Todd Leduc (@toddleduc) liked my photo on Instagram that mentioned him.

Here's a closeup of the description I had posted with the photo:

He simply must have run a search on anything with the hashtag #toddleduc, but STILL! Kinda cool. And notice, his sponsor is Rockstar. He was meant to discover me eventually.

This isn't the first time this has happened. When I raved about my Minnetonka Moccasins, it wasn't long before the company followed me on Twitter and re-tweeted me. Remember these tweets I mentioned in the past?

Anyway, I just thought I would share. What are the coolest interactions you've had on social media?

Oh, FYI, you may not have known this, but I LOOOOOOOOOVE monster trucks and offroad racing. And now my little guy does too. ♥

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A Place to Sit & Relax {Front Porch Redo}

OK, so I'm FINALLY posting this!

I will start off by saying that it's not completely finished, but all of the very crucial elements are in place and other little things will be added here and there as accumulated.

I didn't get a "before" picture unfortunately, but if you can gather by the size of the space in the pics and imagine one wicker loveseat, coffee table and wicker chair all cohabitating here, you can probably guess how crowded it was. The furniture was way too bulky. As a result, it was left unused and un-enjoyed. I also even had my beach cruiser chained to the railing for a while, and often strollers were stored there when I was too lazy to put them back in the garage. So you get it - messy, bulky and unwelcoming. Not the first thing you want people to see when they come to your door!

First, I will show you my inspiration for the space - of course, one of the always organized and super-cute spaces of Jen's:

I started off by going on the hunt for a cute little bistro table. I was of course open to something that needed a little TLC, as I knew I had planned on painting one anyway {highly unlikely I'd find one in the color I wanted}. If y'all remember, this table was $10 and you can see how I upcycled it here.

I then needed a couple of chairs. My goal was something laid back, but not bulky. Something along the lines of wooden rockers, but maybe not quite as large, or didn't necessarily need the arm rests. When I found these two chairs on Craigslist, I knew they were exactly what I was looking for. I haven't painted them, but might someday decide to.

After those main pieces were found, it was accessorize, accessorize, ACCESSORIZE! I knew I wanted to use a lot of pops of color - making it a bright and cheery space.

You might remember me posting this pic of the front door area the other day:

And now without further adieu, here is the rest of the space!

I also wanted some type of storage bin to keep outdoor toys for the front yard, i.e. sidewalk chalk, bubbles, sprinkler, baseballs, etc. This basket on rollers was perfect. It easily rolls out when the boys want to play and back out of the way when they're done.

Unfortunately, as you can see, the humidity got to it quickly and added some black moldy spots. I have since taken it in, scrubbed it clean with a hand brush and I am going to spray it with a protective coat to prevent it doing that again. Live and learn.

As far as things I still want to add to the space - I would like more containers for plants. And also looking for the perfect piece of decor to hang on that empty space on the brick between the door and the window.

Here is a tally of what I've spent so far:

Bistro Table: $10 {Facebook group of Moms that sell used items}

Chairs: $40 {Craigslist}

Door Mat: $12.99 {Target}

Yellow Pot $16.99 {TJ Maxx}

Hibiscus Plant: $24.95 {Abide-A-While Nursery}

Teal Citronella Candle Pails: $5.99/ea {Kmart}

White Plant Stand: $5.00 {Goodwill - last year}

Basket on Casters: $29.99 {Marshalls}

"S" on Door: $6.99 {TJ Maxx} 

Small Runner: $12.97 {Walmart}

So there you have it, my friends! My new favorite place to enjoy a glass of vino and wind down after a long day. 

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Laguna Beach Alums & Their Blogs

 

So, I was pretty much obsessed with MTV's Laguna Beach back in the day. It didn't help that I lived within a stone's throw away from it - Huntington Beach.

Well, being a blogger, every now and then I happen upon a famous person's blog and start following. Of course, we all know Lauren Conrad. She has her Lauren Conrad blog and also owns The Beauty Department blog. But what about the rest of the cast? Where are they {blogging} now?

I actually happened upon a cute fitness blog called Beach Babe Fitness not too long ago, written by this pretty gal:

I thought to myself, "Hmmmm....she looks familiar...", and sure enough, after a little digging on her site, I realized she was Christina from MTV's Laguna Beach. {Looks awesome these days, right?} She's a barre instructor at Equinox gym in LA. {I love barre...love.}

After discovering her blog, I started thinking back to the show and remembering that she and Morgan on the show were BFFs back in the day, so I started Googling to find out what ever happened to Miss Morgan. Turns out she has a blog too. Oh, and she's married now. But wait, it gets better.

She married a Smith. She is now Morgan Smith. And her blog is called, Smith, Here! 

Yep, another Morgan Smith running around Blog Land. Her hubby's name starts with a "J" too. If it was Jake, I'd think that was too crazy...but no worries, it's Joel. I actually wrote her and we are now Facebook friends. Our relationship is official now. LOL.

Oh, want to hear another bit of craziness in all this? In college, she had a roommate named Caitlin. Caitlin writes a blog too. You might know of it.

 

Here's a pic of Caitlin at Morgan's wedding in Orange County:

{source}

Not only is Blog Land small, but so is this world we live in. Go check out all of these blogs, you won't be disappointed.

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Online Ordering & Oopsies

Ever since I saw this purse on Caitlin's blog, I was like, obsessed. I had to have it.

 

She didn't put the purse name in the post, so I just started with keywords such as Kate Spade, pink, straw, natural, purse, etc...and it never came up exactly what I wanted.

Long story short, a month or so went by and I was playing around on eBay and I saw this:

 

Yeah, look closely...NOT the same purse!!! I didn't even truly realize it until I opened the box yesterday. I mean, I do love this little tote, but it's more beach/book bag like and not really a purse, per se...so there went $109.00.

I went on an eBay hunt again last night as my last hope and lookie what I found:

Yep, that's the right one. It's $209.99. {Reeeally wishing I still had that $109.00 right about now.} Oh yeah, and it's from the same seller as the other one. Doh! Well, so I'm buying it. Just over $300 later, I will have this dream purse, and a cute little tote to boot.

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iHeart Faces Photo Challenge

I've started following a great photography website called iHeart Faces. Today, I am joining in on their Summer Fun Photo Challenge.

Here is my entry photo:

These boys are definitely having some summer fun!

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Link Love

It's been a while since I threw any Link Love out there...it's time to show some love.

1. Even though I graced the fine age of 30 almost 3 months ago, this list of 30 Signs You're Almost 30 just about made my Pepto Bismol come out my nose. {You 30-somethings can relate to that - especially once you read #15...} The following ones especially hit a chord with me:

2. Instead of drunken party photos, your Facebook friends are all about the baby pics.

Source: facebook.com

3. …and marathon times.

Source: running.about.com

2. Curious when other women think it's time for you to stop wearing that "young girl" fashion item? Check out this survey to find out if it's time to throw some things out. {I think if it still looks good, WEAR IT!}

3. A little Fresh Prince of Bel Air nostalgia...remember "The Carlton"?

4. Not sure which shade of coral/blue/yellow/metallic/etc. nail polish is right for your skin tone? Check out this article and have your problem solved!

5. Aaaaaand...I'm going to throw this one in there. Who has a Fitness pin board on Pinterest? How many of those workout pins have you actually attempted? Take on my challenge now at The Gym Bunny. You won't be sorry!

 

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