Throwing Hatchets: A New Pastime

In an effort to prepare for the impending Zombie Apocalypse a group of friends and I all went hatchet throwing. Just kidding. We weren't preparing for an apocalypse but we were having a nice night out and trying something new that ended up being a ton of fun. It all started with my buddies coming over for a raclette feast and to see our new house (which they liked a lot!) and then we moved on to hatchet throwing.

Nail Haul: OPI + Orly Breathable

It's been such a long time since I posted a proper haul post on here but while everyone is going crazy about the Nordstrom Anniversary sale I have been going on a serious nail polish binge on Amazon and Ulta. Say hello to these 15 new nail polishes that just joined my collection:

Food + Fitness

Things are looking a little different around here, right? How do you like the makeover? For my first post under the new theme let's have a recap of last week.

I was really excited about Monday's run. Last week I broke my 10 minute pace and I was thrilled to keep it up on the 2 mile run on Monday. I also completed a 15 minute Tone It Up yoga routine to try to stretch out my leg. I noticed my right calf was a tad painful and I didn't want it to get worse.

Nails of the Day: Taylor Swift Reputation edition

One last post about Taylor Swift and then I promise I will stop. Yesterday I recapped the fun my siblings and I had when we attended TS’s Reputation Stadium Tour over the weekend. Today’s post is nails of the day inspired by nothing other than Taylor Swift’s Reputation album:

Taylor Swift Reputation Stadium Tour

My sister and I saw Lady Gaga in 2010 and we both thought she put on a fantastic show. But Taylor Swift? I don’t even know where to begin this post. It was an absolute spectacle, featuring a mash up of songs, banter, fireworks, lights, props, amazing costumes, etc. From the moment the lights went off and Joan Jett's Bad Reputation started to the time she...ahhh I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the beginning.

This Past Weekend: Taylor Swift + Bowling + Mom's Birthday

This past weekend went by wayyy too fast and I wish I could go back and do it again! On saturday my sister, brother, and I went to the Taylor Swift concert and I was completely blown away by the show. Seriously, I contemplated buying tickets for her concert this coming Saturday just show I can see it again it was that good. But I'll do a whole post about the concert show I won't bore you with it here.
Unfortunately, my selfie game was not very strong in this photo. The three of us are fine and at least I got the "Taylor Swift" and "Stadium Tour" on the sign. But lol at "utation" since I cut off the word reputation.

After that we celebrated my mom's birthday with some bowling and of course cake! My group consisted of my siblings and my husband and we all broke 100 in one of the games. I love bowling but I don't do it very often. It's a lot of fun and I like to see if I can break 130. Luckily, in all but one game I did!
Then it was back to work for the week. I can't wait to post about the Taylor Swift concert. I'm so excited!

Did you do anything special this weekend? 




This Past Weekend: Birthday Celebration, Dim Sum, Ice Cream + Chinese Lanterns

This past weekend was spent celebrating my neice's 4th birthday, swinging by Chinatown in Philadelphia for the Chinese Lantern Festival, and enjoying some ice cream in Old City. But first, here's a photo of our Fourth of July flag set up. No one in my neighborhood really decorated and I don't have a clue what I'm doing on the decorating front yet (we just moved into this house in the spring) so I kept it super simple: American flags. We hung a house flag on our house pole (I don't have any other flags right now) and then lined our landscaped beds with mini flags. 
Ignore the garden house. I'm struggling with my black thumb on those two potted plants on the stoop. It's killing me that I can't keep ANY plants alive. Literally none.

Saturday morning started with a quick one mile run around the neighborhood. I was faster than my usual 14 minutes (wahoo!) but it is still a lot slower than I had hoped for. I seem to remember running a 10 minute mile without a problem so I'd like to get back to that place again. I'm working on it. 
I also completed the Tone It Up workout of the day. I just got their app and I'm low key obsessed with it. They make it fun even when I'm just bopping around in my family room by myself. Plus that final congratulations screen makes me feel very accomplished. #ididit!

After that I showered and get ready to head to my niece's birthday party. They don't live nearby and it's rare we see them so we try not to miss her birthday every year. She turned four this year and we were told she is super into games right now. We decided to get her a few board games from our childhood favorites. Yes, Candyland had to be included but we also got Let's Go Fishing and Don't Break the Ice. Do you remember those games? It was a walk down memory lane as we choose and I never realized how many games are out there. I saw a few adult games I want to play. My sister-in-law also had another daughter in April who we had not yet met so we also brought a little gift for the baby. You can't go wrong with a "little sister" onesie and a gift card, am I right? Unfortunately I don't have an "after" photo of the presents where they're all pretty and wrapped...weird.

After the birthday party we headed straight into the city for an early dim sum dinner, dessert, and a night of Chinese lanterns. We went to Dim Sum Garden in Chinatown which has the most delicious and apparently most authentic Shanghai style dim sum around. I don't know how authentic it is but it sure is tasty! I love dim sum for the same reason I love tapas--you can eat a lot of little things and stop when you're full. We order a lot and split it. Last year my brother was with us and we ordered wayy too much. I'd like to think we cut back a little this year.
We ordered the pork soup dumplings (amazing!), chicken on a stick (soooo delectable), and pan-friend beef potato cakes. Husband also got fresh pork moon cakes. This is legitimately one of my favorite meals. It's that good. Plus I don't have it very often since I'm not in Philadelphia very often. 

After dinner we headed to another place I don't get to very often: The Franklin Fountain. It's an old-timey dessert shop in Old City (the historic area) that serves up some of the finest desserts around. Despite being full of yummy dim sum I still ordered the classic Hot Fudge Sundae. I don't know what it is about their hot fudge that makes it so delicious but I just couldn't help myself. And they serve it in the cutest little to-go boxes ever. Don't let this photo fool you the portion was extremely oversized and I didn't finish it all. Of course I ate all the fudge, whipped cream, and cherry though!
After dessert we walked to the Chinese Lantern Festival. The festival comes to the city every year and this is the second year we decided to go. It has a mix of lanterns, vendors, and performers. This year they had plate spinning, table juggling, and Chinese mark changing (google it--it's crazy!). The festival is pretty in the daylight but really comes to life once it gets dark.
And these are a few of my favorites from this year:
They're just so vivid and pretty! I really like when we head into the city for a date night. We don't do it too often but it's always fun when we do! Have you ever been to a Chinese Lantern Festival? Do you do little outings like this?

Fourth of July NOTD + Moving a Piano?

I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July this past Wednesday. Mine was...eventful.Let me tell you why. The plan was the usual: drive to my parents' house, walk to the town's parade (meeting my sister and brother-in-law along the way), have snacks and such at the parade, then return to parents' house to go shopping for barbecue, then BBQ it up, then walk to the fireworks, and then go home.

I like the Fourth of July. It's not my favorite holiday but anything that gives me an excuse to play my Fourth of July playlist and dress in super festive red, white and blue is okay with me. Plus, you get to set fire to things on the Fourth of July (sparklers, roman candles, fireworks, etc) so it's all good. Here are my festive Fourth of July nails:
And a hint of my festive accessories for the day. 
Not pictured: red shorts, flag shirt, and flag dangly earrings. Lol. My favorite part of the outfit had to be those sneakers though. I bought them randomly at Old Navy a few months ago for only $8! Can you say steal?? I love Old Navy.

So what was the eventful part you ask? Well, somewhere between the parade route and returning to my parents' house (1.5 miles by the way), my mom found an estate sale. (1) They were selling a player piano. (2) My mom had to have it. So...enter my dad and his trusty companion, his truck. 
Yep, onward and upward it went (not without a few choice words from all involved) and then down it came (not with the same grace it had when it was being loaded). We finally got it into the house and it is now a proud new resident of my mom's dining room. It won't stay there but they have to figure out what they are going to do with the upright piano that is currently already in the living room. It's kind of cool this piano...it plays by itself!

After the piano workout (pushing a 600 pound beast is not an easy feat, even with two strong men--I'll let you determine if I'm counting my dad, my younger brother, or my husband as the strong men, lol) we went to the store and started the barbecue. Mmmmm, hotdogs, hamburgers, ribs, potato salad, pasta salad. You can't beat it!

Then we walked to fireworks (that same 1.5 mile walk as before) and I got my yearly snow cone. 
This year I went with watermelon because I was sharing with my husband and he's not a fan of grape or lime.

Well, that's about it. I might be a bit sore from the piano moving but my belly was full of delicious eats so I count the day as a success! Hope you all had a fantastic Fourth of July! What are your top three favorite things about the Fourth of July? 



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