That was me this time last year. The last birthday in my 20’s and let me say it was a good one. I was newly in love and feeling like a million bucks in that dress 🙂 This year has flown by within the blink of an eye and now here it is….an hour and a half before I turn the big 3-0. To be completely honest I thought I would be more upset or depressed about saying goodbye to the idea of being a twenty-something. I guess it feels like your allowed to make more mistakes when your young and the minute you drop that two from the front of your age its time to grow up and do everything right. But so much has changed for me in the past few years for the good, how could I not look to the future with excitement and hope. As I sit here and remember my early twenties I think of these two….
Good gawd I may not have made it to where I am if not for you two ladies. I can’t even begin to count the precious memories you have given me that no amount of time apart can take away.
Manda Manda, thank you for always being the strong one. Thank you for giving me the best of advice. You have always been the most beautiful person inside and out and if I never told you this before I admire your spirit…..always have. I think I have some wrinkles from the many times you have made me laugh 🙂 Kooossssiiiies!
Casey Weirdum, oh my wifey! Look how far we have come as friends. To think that at first glance you couldn’t stand me. LOL not that I blame you. Thank you for always telling me the truth even when I didn’t want to hear it. I have always said that you were the only person that could tell me to get my act together and have me not go “Hulk” style. You have never judged me for my mistakes and have ALWAYS been there for me! I cannot wait to see you as a mommy! There is a piece of my heart that has your name stitched on it.
Now my mind is drifting back to my baby days of radio. I never did say that high school was “The best Time of My Life” like everyone else did. My intern days at 933FLZ were the days that I consider to have shaped me into the woman I am today.
Haha! Thank gawd I haven’t changed too much since I was 23. That studo was such a special place to me! I learned my future love behind that board. RADIO! Papa Kane…you have NO IDEA what you gave me by being my mentor! This is also the place where I met another life long friend.
Chubbity, you have such a truly amazing heart! Its crazy to think how much you have accomplished since I met you! Your a hubby AND a Daddy now. All grown up! I have a little bit of catching up to do! Thank you for being there for me through a really tough time. I never thought I would see the light at the end of that tunnel. Miss you my fellow Rock!
When I look at this picture I was a so incredibly happy. I was in Michigan and experiencing freedom and responsibility for the first time. Scary thing for a little Florida girl to be in the snow and all alone.But I did it! WSNX was my first radio job and to say I was proud of myself would have been an understatement. I really can’t remember a time (until now) that I felt more free. That two years that I spent there will always be with me.
Leaving Florida for that job was no easy task because I had to leave my Mommy for the first time. I know I sound like a baby saying that but my mother is my heart! She has given me everything I have today! EVERYTHING!
Mommy….wow here come the tears. I hope you know that I NEVER forgot that hug on that snowy day in Michigan. I never forgot how much you pushed me throughout life to be the very best I could be. You have always been the perfect mix of mother and best friend. I miss you every hour of every day but when times get too hard without you I always remember…You are here in my heart every step of the way. Now one know me like you do and I know whenever there is something wrong…Mommy is there. Our bond is unbreakable! I am so incredibly blessed to have such a strong/beautiful/gracious/faithful/smart woman for my mother. God could not have put me in better hands. I was the one that was blessed at 10:30 am on September 7, 1981.
Ok I have to get it together! LOL I need tissues already! So I’ve so far only written about the old days but the days as of late have been so wonderful how could I leave them out. One of my newest friends has very quickly become destines to be one of my oldest.
Amanda, I think our meeting was one of the funniest I have ever had! Thank goodness your kids are such hams or we may have not had the friendship we have today. Well we probably would have but it just made it easier that they are so darn cute! You and Jorge have made me feel like I have a little family away from home. I sometimes don’t know how you juggle being a mom and friend and wife and not loose your mind. But you always do it with a smile. I love that about you. LOL someday when I have all of those titles I know I’ll be calling you for advice. You have helped me through some pretty rough times. You were right at my doorstep when you knew I needed a hug. Thank you! I’ll never forget it!
I of course can’t forget these two….. Ed and Stephanie!!
You guys freaking rock! You may be amongst some of my newest friends but I adore you two! As a couple and as individuals! I can’t think of too many people that have been more kind to me. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. LOL let’s just try and stay away from the lightning car rides though shall we?
Geez….I have been through so many changes in the last ten years. I think of some of the biggest moments and I get a little overwhelmed remembering my excitement. Like becoming an Aunt….
Man I miss these two. It’s crazy because the first time I found out that I was going to be an aunt I went numb. I realized that I wasn’t the baby of the family and it wasn’t all about me anymore. The first time I heard the word “Titi” still rings in my ears today. I love you Punkin’ Butt and Bud-Bud!
I also can’t forget that I got a puppy. This was good mother training if you ask me. Lots of poop cleanup came along with this little girl. But I wouldn’t take back one day of it.
P!nk Presley Couture. You licked the tears away from my face when I thought I was all alone in the world. For a long time it was just me and you puppy. I love you baby puppy girl.
I just looked at the clock a realized that I only have 35 minutes until midnight. But there is no way I could end this blog without mentioning the prince that gave me this beauty.
Baby….when I think of you my heart swells with love. The kind of love that I never imagined I could feel let alone keep forever. To me love has always been the most important thing because without love what’s the point? I know God placed you in my path at the perfect time because he knew I was giving up on my dream of happily ever after. Then five days later those three little words came out of your mouth and you had my heart for always. We certainly have had our bumps but none of that matters now because we have our future to look forward to. The day you asked me to marry you has been the most important of my life. Well, that is until November 10, 2012. I cannot wait to be your wife! Your my sunshine in the morning when I don’t want to get up. Your my best friend and my partner. You are MY EVERYTHING. I love you!
Fifteen more minutes until 30! I am so blessed and happy to have my life. I have learned that not everyday is all rainbows and roses but through every rainstorm there are always blue clouds! Haha as long as it doesn’t include too many wrinkles I can’t wait to see what the next ten years has in store!
This has been my snacking obsession lately. I really try to always find yummy healthy things to munch on throughout the day. I cheat just like everyone else but when I’m trying to be good I still want to enjoy what I’m putting into my mouth. One of my normal go-to snacks is those pineapple and cottage cheese thingies you find in the yogurt section but when looking for them the other day I found this. I saw that stupid John Stamos greek yogurt commercial the other day and it annoyed me to no end! Since then I’ve been avoiding the greek yogurt because every time I would see some his cheesy smile would pop into my head. Silly I know but the minute I tried it I was hooked!
The yogurt is a little on the tangy side so it goes really nicely with the strawberry. I love the blueberry flavor too! But what I love most about it the calorie count! Only 100 per serving!
When I first introduced my fiance to my cheap ways he was appalled! My apologies for the Cheap Diva humor :). I’m a bit of a nerd from time to time. But seriously though, the first time I took him to one of my favorite discount stores he turned his nose up immediately and said that it looked like a garage sale. Low and behold a year and a half later….I’ve turned him into a Cheap Divo! I was so proud when he went shopping for a new pair of jeans and brought these Rock Revivals home!
He usually wears MEK so I was surprised when he jumped ship. I was even more surprised when I saw the receipt. He only paid $59.99 for them! The tag says they retail at $120 but they are actually more like $160. I have a few pairs in my closet that I payed full price for. Can u smell the envy? There are few things that I am willing to spend a lot of money on but I LOVE the way Rock Revival’s fit. Plus they keep their integrity after a few million washes. Needless to say my honey did well with this find! I Love my man and his newly found frugal ways 🙂 ( Just kidding babe )
Bwahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaa!! OK I know that’s a little crass but come on! I did a little LOL when I saw it! I found that on Pinterest. A few people have mentioned it lately and it sounded cool so I figured I’d give it a shot. If you haven’t heard of it its basically a virtual pinboard. You upload pictures of things you love and want to remember. With all of this wedding stuff going on I thought it would come in handy. But when I tried to sign up I ran into a speed bump on the way to my pinboard. Apparently you can’t just sign up like Facebook or Twitter. They have to send you an invite! So I asked for an invite and I get an email saying that I was on a waiting list to join???
Hi!
Thanks for joining the Pinterest waiting list. We’ll be sure to send you an invite soon.
In the meantime, you can follow us on Twitter for Pinterest news and updates. You can also explore a few pinboards.
We’re excited to get you pinning soon!
– Ben and the Pinterest Team
Um? An invite to social networking? BLAH! What are we back in high school? None the less I am still interested in this site so I guess I’ll just wait for them to choose me like dodge ball. 🙂 But in the meantime can you do a me a favor? If you already have Pinerest let me know how you like it!
I have been quite the busy bride-to-be lately! Geez it’s true what they say about wedding planning turning your hair grey. I actually found one the other day! Waaaaaahaaaaa! Anywhoo…… I’ll stop whining. So I was reading through TheKnot.com’s message boards the other day and I noticed that one bride posted a question asking where she could find a cheap pair of Tiffany Blue heels for her wedding. Being the shoe gal that I am I was immediately intrigued. However there weren’t a whole lot of responses which suprised me being TheKnot is after all the biggest wedding resource site. Also, a lot of brides (including me) want to use their shoes as their “Something Blue” so it seemed a same to pass up such a challenge. The only problem with the blue wedding shoe search is that it only seemed to turn up ones that were mega expensive or ugly versions of the Carrie Bradshaw shoe. But low and behold I finally found these pretty ladies! They are RSVP Roma’s and are on sale for a measly $20.52! The market sales price on these guys is $89.00!!Not too shabby! As a girl with my own wedding in the works I know what a sweet feeling it is not putting a huge dent in your bridal budget!
~ Hugs and Smiles ~ R!LEY COUTURE
P.S. These aren’t the shoes I’m wearing for my wedding. I must confess I already have them but I’ll save that post for later!
I bet you just did a doubled take. YES, that’s my half used bottle of face wash and YES it’s Chanel! I’m sure your wondering why the self professed Cheap Diva would be showing you a used bottle Precision Chanel Mousse Exfoliante. Especially because it is way more pricey than my usual finds. Well for one, this is by far the best face wash I have ever used! It’s a creamy exfoliate that makes my skin feel like butt-ah! Plus it’s really concentrated so you really only need a pea size amount of it to wash your face. I got that bottle almost a year ago and I still have about a quarter of it left. Which brings me to my next point about why it’s so worth it to spend the money for this stuff. It’s $45.oo and I have tried to find a Cheap Diva counterpart to this product and I just haven’t found it. And think about it…if you spend $10 bucks an a cheaper wash that you have to replace every 2 months because the quality is crappy then your spending more money anyway. If you want to grab a bottle then go see my girl Nichole at the Chanel counter in Dillards (Wolfchase Galleria). While your at it have her give you a facial and do your makeup. I took my mom there when she was in town and Nichole treated my mom like a queen and made her look so pretty!
The weather has finally decided to stop being that of Lucifer so I have a sudden urge for fall fashion. But i’ts not fall just yet so I figured I would fake it a little. We have a new weekly appearance at the local race track called Southland Park that I wanted to get something cute but not too dressy for so I went on the hunt today. I found this adorable little shrug at Rue 21 for $6.0o! It was originally $16.99 and then marked down to $12.99. But I found it on the $7.00 clearance rack. Not sure why it rang up a dollar cheaper but I wasn’t going to complain.
I also found this cute little racerback tee on the $5.oo rack marked down from $10.99. Love me some animal prints!!
$12.02 isn’t to shabby of a tab for my fall-ish finds. Later that day I had to go to Target for some groceries and whenever I go in there I always take a gander at the clearance rack. Just as a side note, I have come to realize lately that I have two addictions….Shoes and Wifebeater Tees. So naturally I grab one whenever I find one that has a good fit. You will have to excuse the term but that’s what we called them back home 🙂
I got this really soft one for $4.50 marked down from $9.00.
Its pretty green will mix well into the fall months’ fashions. And it looks cute with the shrug I got too!
So what if it’s not technically fall weather yet. I can pretend! Happy Shopping!
The other day I was daydreaming about when the fiance and I purchase our first home and what fun it will be to have a housewarming party! I started thinking about the type of party I would want and came to the conclusion that without a doubt it would have to include some sort of wine food pairing. You see the fiance and I love sharing a glass of vino and cheese is my all time favorite food. However a good block of cheese can get quite pricey!! So after doing a little web surfing (do people still say that?) I found this awesome article! Some connoisseurs’ website paired really good wines with fast food! Brilliant! How funny (and cheap) would that be to have some yummy wine with a bucket of KFC or a BiG Mac!! Haha, the seafood lovers can have a filet-o-fish! I bet none of the dudes coming to the party would complain 🙂 Now I know that the wine get get a little expensive too but there are plenty of delicious wines available for under $15.00. Dog House and Little Black Dress both have really good red and white selections. Plus the names are adorable! If you have one of these funky pairing parties let me know how it goes!
I fell in love with these Steve Madden T-Strap sandals the other day but I really have bought a lot of beige shoes this summer. So I though if I can find them cheaper than the normal $69.95 then I would treat myself. The Steve Madden site had them on sale for $27.00 but with shipping I was like meh! Seeing as how I really don’t NEED another pair of beige shoes maybe I can do a little better. And look what I found….
They are Paprika brand that look identical at a much cheaper $15.99!
SCORE! Yay! Cheap Diva happy mediums make me happy!
How adorable is this little halter corset number! Normally I don’t go for this style shirt because they never seem to fit me they way I want them to. But this was on the clearance rack so I thought it was worth a shot to try it on. Much to my surprise it fit great! Then I noticed this…..
The fabric at the bottom of the zipper was a little torn. I was a little bummed until I remembered that most of the time if the item is damaged the store will give you an extra percentage off even if it’s already on clearance. Sure enough they took off an extra 10%. With it being tax free weekend I got this baby for and even $9.00. It was originally $24.99.
So now your thinking what about the rip? This is where my trusty fabric glue comes in.
One little swipe of the glue on the zipper and 30 seconds later….
Ta-da! Good as new! I can’t wait to wear this to the Peabody this week!
That was me this time last year. The last birthday in my 20’s and let me say it was a good one. I was newly in love and feeling like a million bucks in that dress 🙂 This year has flown by within the blink of an eye and now here it is….an hour and a half before I turn the big 3-0. To be completely honest I thought I would be more upset or depressed about saying goodbye to the idea of being a twenty-something. I guess it feels like your allowed to make more mistakes when your young and the minute you drop that two from the front of your age its time to grow up and do everything right. But so much has changed for me in the past few years for the good, how could I not look to the future with excitement and hope. As I sit here and remember my early twenties I think of these two….
Good gawd I may not have made it to where I am if not for you two ladies. I can’t even begin to count the precious memories you have given me that no amount of time apart can take away.
Manda Manda, thank you for always being the strong one. Thank you for giving me the best of advice. You have always been the most beautiful person inside and out and if I never told you this before I admire your spirit…..always have. I think I have some wrinkles from the many times you have made me laugh 🙂 Kooossssiiiies!
Now my mind is drifting back to my baby days of radio. I never did say that high school was “The best Time of My Life” like everyone else did. My intern days at 933FLZ were the days that I consider to have shaped me into the woman I am today.
Haha! Thank gawd I haven’t changed too much since I was 23. That studo was such a special place to me! I learned my future love behind that board. RADIO! Papa Kane…you have NO IDEA what you gave me by being my mentor! This is also the place where I met another life long friend.
Chubbity, you have such a truly amazing heart! Its crazy to think how much you have accomplished since I met you! Your a hubby AND a Daddy now. All grown up! I have a little bit of catching up to do! Thank you for being there for me through a really tough time. I never thought I would see the light at the end of that tunnel. Miss you my fellow Rock!
When I look at this picture I was a so incredibly happy. I was in Michigan and experiencing freedom and responsibility for the first time. Scary thing for a little Florida girl to be in the snow and all alone.But I did it! WSNX was my first radio job and to say I was proud of myself would have been an understatement. I really can’t remember a time (until now) that I felt more free. That two years that I spent there will always be with me.
Leaving Florida for that job was no easy task because I had to leave my Mommy for the first time. I know I sound like a baby saying that but my mother is my heart! She has given me everything I have today! EVERYTHING!
Mommy….wow here come the tears. I hope you know that I NEVER forgot that hug on that snowy day in Michigan. I never forgot how much you pushed me throughout life to be the very best I could be. You have always been the perfect mix of mother and best friend. I miss you every hour of every day but when times get too hard without you I always remember…You are here in my heart every step of the way. Now one know me like you do and I know whenever there is something wrong…Mommy is there. Our bond is unbreakable! I am so incredibly blessed to have such a strong/beautiful/gracious/faithful/smart woman for my mother. God could not have put me in better hands. I was the one that was blessed at 10:30 am on September 7, 1981.
Amanda, I think our meeting was one of the funniest I have ever had! Thank goodness your kids are such hams or we may have not had the friendship we have today. Well we probably would have but it just made it easier that they are so darn cute! You and Jorge have made me feel like I have a little family away from home. I sometimes don’t know how you juggle being a mom and friend and wife and not loose your mind. But you always do it with a smile. I love that about you. LOL someday when I have all of those titles I know I’ll be calling you for advice. You have helped me through some pretty rough times. You were right at my doorstep when you knew I needed a hug. Thank you! I’ll never forget it!
You guys freaking rock! You may be amongst some of my newest friends but I adore you two! As a couple and as individuals! I can’t think of too many people that have been more kind to me. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. LOL let’s just try and stay away from the lightning car rides though shall we?
Man I miss these two. It’s crazy because the first time I found out that I was going to be an aunt I went numb. I realized that I wasn’t the baby of the family and it wasn’t all about me anymore. The first time I heard the word “Titi” still rings in my ears today. I love you Punkin’ Butt and Bud-Bud!
P!nk Presley Couture. You licked the tears away from my face when I thought I was all alone in the world. For a long time it was just me and you puppy. I love you baby puppy girl.
Baby….when I think of you my heart swells with love. The kind of love that I never imagined I could feel let alone keep forever. To me love has always been the most important thing because without love what’s the point? I know God placed you in my path at the perfect time because he knew I was giving up on my dream of happily ever after. Then five days later those three little words came out of your mouth and you had my heart for always. We certainly have had our bumps but none of that matters now because we have our future to look forward to. The day you asked me to marry you has been the most important of my life. Well, that is until November 10, 2012. I cannot wait to be your wife! Your my sunshine in the morning when I don’t want to get up. Your my best friend and my partner. You are MY EVERYTHING. I love you!
Fifteen more minutes until 30! I am so blessed and happy to have my life. I have learned that not everyday is all rainbows and roses but through every rainstorm there are always blue clouds! Haha as long as it doesn’t include too many wrinkles I can’t wait to see what the next ten years has in store!
