Shindig.

Last night was the first night we had a party at our "Penthouse"! I had to work at 5:30, but thankfully I got off at 8:30 and was able to rush home and get ready. In record time, I might add. I'm pretty sure it took me all of 35-40 minutes. And I had to wash my hair, dry it, flat-iron it, get dressed, put on makeup, etc. I'm impressed with myself.

Dress: The Limited/ Tights: Walmart (don't judge, they were $3)/ Booties: DV by Dolce Vita (you can't tell in this pic, but the wedge part is all sparkles)/ Lips: e.l.f. "Red Carpet" lip stain

All in all, it was a great, and much needed, night. The plus side of still living in the same town as where I went to school is that I still get to be surrounded by all of my friends and sisters. But, since I don't have class and thus haven't really been on campus at all, I haven't seen some people in awhile. Last night was a great way to catch up.

Here are some photos from the night:

My side of the Mafia Fam. Me, my Little, Lauren, and G-baby Lilly.

Lauren and I keepin' it classy.

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My Pearl sis, Sidney.

The WHOLE Mafia Family. From L to R: Lilly, Lauren, me, Danica, Kendall, Claire. Love them so much!

You're supposed to wear red at the stoplight party if you're taken. I don't own anything red, so I wore red lips... Lauren had red on, but I think our engagement rings speak for themselves ;)

SAE girlfriends (and fiancée!) doing a roaring lion picture (The lion is SAE's animal)

Housemate and one of my bridesmaids, Michelle.

Darian, my bus buddy on choir tour. And my love.

Alison, Tim, Me.

Myself with another choir love, Sarah.

Cameron, designated Tour Dad on choir tour (I was Tour Mom)

Another choir love, Alayna. God I miss seeing these people everyday!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Five Things.

Jason Wu for Target debuted on Sunday!

All in all, I think this was a good week. I got more hours at the restaurant, I had time for some baking, AND remember that job interview I had last week and was waiting to hear back from? I found out this week that I am officially hired! Starting in a couple of weeks, I will be working at (drumroll please)..... THE LIMITED! I'm so excited! It will only be a couple shifts a week in the morning (they needed more openers from 9=2), but it will be a great way to pick up more hours and it's one of my favorite stores to shop at for cute, classy clothing and accessories. Someone is also apparently leaving in April, so I have the potential to get more hours! What girl wouldn't love a job where she got to play with clothes? My orientation is next Friday night, and I can't wait to be apart of the team! All of the girls that work there are super sweet and friendly, and I know it's going to be a great place to work.

New job!

$3 wine I enjoyed with dinner this week. And it was actually good!

Starbucks "Love" cups :)

ALL the special Spring fashion issues are on newsstands! I had to resist from buying all of these!! So excited to get a couple once I get paid.

Things I hate while at the gym.

1. The "New Year's Resolution" people. You're crowding the gym!

2. Now that most people have failed their resolutions for the New Year, the gym is now crowded with the Spring Break workout crew. Note to both groups... maybe if you worked out year-round, you wouldn't have the problem of needing to make the resolutions in the first place. Just a thought.

3. The girl who comes and gets on the machine right next to me and starts pedaling her heart out at lightning speed at a resistance of 1 while I'm sweating my butt off, pedaling at a slow and steady pace at a resistance of 10. Yeah, I know she thinks she's winning... news flash, hon, your workout is not doing anything for you!

4. Almost dying of a heart attack every time a tool of a guy decides to drop his oh-so huge weights on the ground.

5. Tools grunting while lifting said oh-so huge weights.

6. Said tool-y guys staring at me while I'm trying to do my reps and making sure I see how much weight they are lifting. Sorry, I'm not attacted to veins popping out of your neck.

7. The girls who do 10 minutes of cardio and some sit-ups and leave.

8. Girls who work out with their hair down. What is that?

9. People who work out in jeans. Really? REALLY?

10. People that just don't know how to work out correctly.

That is all.

Gotta love my Target.

So, I don't know what it is, but I love Target.

I think a lot of people (mostly women) would agree with me. There is something about Target that just brings joy to my heart. Maybe it's because Target is one of the few good places to shop in Decatur. Or maybe it's because they have cute clothes, accessories, great home stuff, food, makeup, and anything else you could want or need (or at least, you convince yourself you need it. I apparently need something every time I go).

But anyway, I worked a busy busy 3 hour lunch shift til 2 and didn't have anything til church rehearsal at 7 (and let's face it, I needed to give myself time to warm up to the idea of going to the gym), so I thought I'd take a little trip out to Tar-jay. Also, I found out yesterday that Starbucks came out with Valentine's Day heart cups (I know, why didn't I know this sooner??), and the Starbucks is right by the Target, so, it made sense (Nevermind the fact that I would make a trip out to Starbucks just so I could get the cup).

The other reason I wanted to go to Target was also another reason why I love Target: the designer for less collections that come out. This time around, Jason Wu created a lovely collection for Target, and it's pretty much all under $70. It's full of classic pieces, including tie-neck cardigans, flirty knee-length dresses, trench coats, and skirts, including a pleated knee-length black skirt. Here are my favorite pieces:

Jason Wu for Target by hgies89 featuring blouses

Blouse, $35
Sweater, $50
Coat, $50
clothing, Jason Wu for Target, brand shop : Target, $50
Jason Wu for Target® Blouse with Tie in Blush Dots : Target, $35
Jason Wu for Target® Short-Sleeve Printed Cycle ... : Target, $50

Ugh. Love. The black, gray, and blush pink really suits me, too. There are pieces with blue and yellow as well but these speak to me the most, especially since they have the lace detailing. I gotta have my lace!

The collection debuted February 5th, so unfortunately, my store was completely picked over already. That adorable light pink and polka-dot tie-neck blouse was still there, and I really wish I could have bought it. That black lace clutch also gave me a hard time. I'm super bummed I don't get paid until next week. Then again, it's probably a good thing, because I would have bought every piece I loved.

 I also would have bought these leopard pumps I've been eying for weeks now! I have been on the lookout for some leopard pumps, and these are perfect!

I did check out the sizes, and they still have them in an 8 1/2! Hopefully they will still be there when I get paid next week :) But I should really just be good and save my money.... but I need to celebrate getting my first paycheck from my new job, right??? Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.

V-Day Cupcakes.

Remember when I said I was going to try some new Valentine's Day treat recipes in this post? Well, since I had a day off yesterday, I decided to make one of those. I ended up making the cupcakes that are half strawberry cake and half brownie. YUM.

These were mine! The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:

• 1 (19.5 oz) package brownie mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 (18.25 oz) package strawberry cake mix
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 3 egg whites

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In one bowl, combine the brownie mix, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup canola oil, and 1/4 cup water. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine the strawberry cake mix, the 2 tablespoons canola oil, 1 1/3 cups water, and 3 egg whites.

Line cupcake pans with cupcake papers or spray with cooking spray. First spoon the brownie batter in so the cup is about 1/3 full (I didn't judge the amounts so well on the first batch so the chocolate taste covered up the taste of the strawberry cake a bit. I fixed it on my second batch).

Then, layer the strawberry batter on top so the cup will be about 2/3 full.

Bake approximately 20-25 minutes. Times may vary depending on your oven, so just keep an eye on them because the brownie mix seemed like it needed a little more time. If you stick a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean, then they've been cooked enough!

 Let them cool and then frost with whatever frosting you like! I used cream cheese frosting.

Options:

I had some extra white chocolate chips left over from another recipe I made a couple weeks ago so I decided to throw them into the strawberry cake batter. I highly recommend it!

Also, I used store bought cream cheese frosting because I was lazy (and Walmart was out of the cream cheese I wanted. Seriously, Walmart?), but you could use regular vanilla or even chocolate would be good. If I make them again, and let's face it, I probably will because they are delicious and Valentine's Day hasn't come yet :), I would definitely make homemade frosting because it's super easy and it tastes sooo much better than store-bought. Here's the recipe for that!

Cream cheese icing:

Combine 1 (8 oz) block of softened cream cheese with 1 stick of softened butter, 3-4 cups of powdered sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, and as much half-and-half or milk as needed for the desired consistency. For regular buttercream icing, just don't put the cream cheese in!

Happy Baking!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

So I signed up on Blog Lovin' so I can keep up with blogs I like, but you can also keep up with mine on there, too! I'm still trying to figure it out but I'm getting the hang of everything. Go forth and read!

Red lips & adorable puppies.

Cardigan: B.P. Nordstrom/Shirt: Gap/Necklace: Gift (Murano glass from Italy)/Glasses: Kate Spade/Lip color: E.L.F. lip stain in Red Carpet

I love love LOVE this E.L.F. lip stain I got from Target last week. First of all, let me say how happy I am that Target has a section of E.L.P. makeup in general. The stuff is so so cheap and works really well! I've bought eyeshadows, liner, mascara, blush, and brushes and nothing is over $5 (unless it's a larger gift set for maybe $10 or $15). 

I first bought this lip stain in "Birthday Suit", which is a really pretty, bubblegum pink. I loved that it as only $3, because sometimes you spend more on a lip color or other makeup product and it doesn't end up working as promised. BUT, these lip stains definitely work. I snatched this red one up last week because I had never seen it before and it was the perfect red and, may I remind you, a steal. I wore this stain the entire next day when I was out running errands and applying for jobs, and I never had to reapply once. I also wore it to work Friday night for 5 hours and it looked just as bright when I left as it did when I applied it! You can wear it matte, like I did, or layer the gloss that's on the other end of the wand on top for a nice, shiny finish. Unfortunately the red color is out of stock online, but scour your local Target and they may have one hiding! Or choose from the 7 other gorgeous shades they offer.

"Birthday Suit"

Dontcha just love a good beauty product? I sure do. Y'know what else I love? That for people who don't really watch the NFL and thus don't really care much about the actual Super Bowl, like me, there is a wonderful thing on Animal Planet called the Puppy Bowl. Yup, that's right, a bunch of puppies running around "playing football". So mostly just running around being cute and wrestling with each other. And they are all up for adoption. I'm having trouble stopping myself from adopting this little guy:

His name is Aberdeen and he's a 10-week old Australian Shepherd mix. He has no tail and is so fluffy! WANT. Except I have no time for a puppy right now. Must. Resist..... :(

I hope you have a great Super Bowl Sunday!