Last month, I helped throw a bachelorette party for one of my best friends from high school. Being the only one living at the party destination, the dirty work fell on my shoulders, and I welcomed it with open arms. I have always loved putting parties together complete with hors d’oeuvres, drinks, pretty decor, swag bags – you name it. As this was my first bachelorette (besides my own,) I was a little overwhelmed at first. I needed a plan for 10 girls, 2 nights and 2 days so I grabbed a cute manila folder, sticky notepads, a pink Gelly Roll pen and I was ready to go.

I asked the bride-to-be who she wanted to attend, got everyone’s address and phone number and began the planning. One of my girlfriends started a super-secret Facebook event and invited all of the girls on the list. It took a while but after some fanangaling, we came to a decision on dates and travel arrangements. Once that was finished, I started contacting local spas, clubs and some snazzy restaurants for reservations so I could get an itinerary going.  I also made reservations at a hotel in the city with joining rooms for us to stay in which turned out to be the best thing ever.  I HIGHLY recommend joining rooms if you have to stay at a hotel!  Thankfully, I have a discount with the hotel brand which was helpful because I was trying to make this as low-cost as possible (which is hard in this city.)

As this party was taking place on Easter weekend, I thought it would be fun to make everyone a little Easter bag filled with some swag.  This is when things got totally nerdy.  I broke out my Cricut, hot glue gun and took a trip to the local crafts store.  I wanted to tie in the scandalousness of a bachelorette party with the not-so-scandalous Easter holiday.

Here is what I included in each swag-bag:

• Small bottle of Champagne – the cheap stuff
• Plastic Easter eggs filled with candy
• A purple feather boa
• A copy of the Bachelorette Scavenger Hunt
• A “hottie” whistle (just for the bride)
• A hand-painted glass (I’ll get into this in a minute)
• A hollow-chocolate Peter Cottontail bunny (it’s Easter after all)

Everyone loved these bags and I had as much fun making them as I did consuming what was inside!  I used my Cricut machine to cut out the design which is intended to be on the front of a greeting card.  I also used it to cut out everyone’s name so that the bags could be personalized and glued a photo of the bride when she was little to the front.  The bride has no connection to pink or green but I the colors stuck with me so I tied pink and green satin ribbon to each bag to add some flair.

As I mentioned before, I actually hand-painted a glass for everyone to take home as a small momento.  I painted flowers on them and wrote “Steph’s Weekend” and they came out really great.  I wrapped them in pink cellophane and put them in their swag-bags.  I realize that I could have gone a little over-board with those glasses but I had a blast painting them and I think it was well worth it I mean, when is the last time someone painted glasses for everyone at your party?

Hours before everyone was supposed to arrive, my girlfriend and I decorated the rooms with decorations from Party City and flowers from Trader Joe’s.  It was beautiful.  We splurged on a small helium tank and filled up balloons, put up streamers and placed small glasses of flowers all over the room.  We wanted it to be just perfect and I think it was!

I will admit, the hardest part of this entire planning process was finding fun and relatively clean (rated PG-13) things to do. The bride specifically requested no midget-strippers so that was out of the question. Here are some activities we did that won’t make you blush:

• Bachelorette Scavenger Hunt: Found these CHEAP at Michael’s Arts and Crafts – we ended up not really using them but you can get a whole pack for about $2.  It includes things like, propose to a random person, make a veil out of toilet paper… and so on.
• Rooftop Picnic: We made a pit-stop at our local Trader Joe’s and picked up some fizzy fruit soda, hummus, goat cheese, crackers and made a picnic on the top of our hotel’s patio – it was glorious and relaxing.  We even broke out the “bride-to-be” napkins.
• Pin the Kiss on the Stud: I found this clean version of pin the tail on the donkey at Party City.  Fun and a little cheesy – perfect for a Bachelorette!
• Chubby Bunny – Bachelorette Style: This one was my all-time favorite and made all of us laugh for hours but it takes some preparation.  I emailed the groom to be a few weeks before the party and asked him to answer a set of questions for me – here is the list:         1. What type of deodorant do you wear?
  2. What type of vegetable would you be?
  3. What is your favorite music group?
  4. What is your favorite color?
  5. What is your favorite meal that Steph has made?
  6. What was the worst meal?
  7. How many times do you fart a day?
  8. Do you plan to put the seat down when you live together?
  9. Will you take out the garbage?
  10. What is the wildest place you and Steph have ever made whoopie?
  11. How old is your oldest pair of underwear?
  12. How old were you when you had your first kiss, etc.
  13. What day is your dating anniversary?
  14. What exact words did you say when you asked her to marry you?
  15. What is your favorite football team?
  16. What is your favorite car?
  17. What brand of beer do you drink?
  18. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
  19. What is Stephanie’s best feature?
  20. What do you like on your pizza? —  so he answered these questions and we turned around and asked the bride to see how well she knew her groom.  It was HILARIOUS!  Chubby Bunny comes into play with a bag of marshmallows – for each question she answered wrong, she had to put a marshmallow in her mouth.  WORD OF CAUTION – be careful when you play this game as there is a choking hazard.  Our bride has a very active gag-reflex so we did not have to worry about her choking.  This was a ridiculous game and everyone loved it – including the bride and it was fun to get the groom involved!
• Mani’s and Pedi’s:  This one is a no-brainer especially when it comes to a bachelorette party.  I found a local spa that happens to be super trendy and we relaxed while Jon-Jon, Sue and Nina did our nails.  It was spectacular – even for those of us who bite our nails to the bone.

With all of this PG-13ness stated, we happen to have a friend whom we all refer to as Blanche.  If you aren’t familiar with Blanche from the Golden Girls, get off of this site and start familiarizing yourself with the Golden Girls…ASAP.   So our friend Blanche decided to bring the “man-hood” paraphernalia as I was secretly hoping she would because I didn’t want to buy any of it.  She brought drinking straws, a vulgar version of horseshoe and a phallic shot-glass necklace.

This weekend bash included a great deal of going out on the town.  We each had a purple boa that I found wholesale at this website that we wore to the clubs and it was fabulous.  Not all of us are the dancing/clubbing/partying types but everyone had a great time in one way or another and it was fun to celebrate our friend and her bachelorette-hood!

We finished the extravaganza with a Lifetime Movie (we love you Tori Spelling) and room service.  The perfect ending to a perfect bachelorette!

<3

Just recently I made an amazing discovery that I MUST share. It incorporates all things good: cheap, healthy, sweet and super cold. You guessed it – frozen grapes. Just wash in the sink, throw in a bowl and freeze! Ridiculously easy, insanely tasty and so good for you! No matter if they’re red, green, white … whatever type of grapes razz-your-berry just throw in the freezer for an hour or two and voila! You’ve got yourself a delectable treat.  I would advise not to keep frozen grapes over 3 days. .. they don’t have a long shelf life.

Here is the low-down on grapes:

• Grapes are composed of about 80% H2O so they are low-calorie and high water content is always a plus.
• Grapes = wine.  Also a plus.
• Grapes contain a lot of caffeic acid which fights cancer!
• There are about 72 million tons of grapes produced around the world each year (you won’t run out.)
• There are about 60 calories per cup of grapes frozen or not.
• Word to the wise, too many grapes can have a laxative effect so watch your portions!

Why I haven’t learned of freezing grapes until now, I will never know.  They make a great dessert or snack.  You can even throw a few in a martini or glass of champagne to add some color… the possibilities are endless!

enjoy!

<3

My husband and his buddies’ have a love affair with hot wings.  There was a great restaurant in our college town that wing night and that is where this tradition was born.  For about three years, every single Tuesday night, the boys would meet up and gorge themselves with hot wings and man-time.  It wasn’t until my now-husband and I were going “steady” that I was invited to join in the testosterone-driven chicken fiasco.

After college, everyone moved (to the same city, naturally) and after finding a roof to put over their heads and a job to support their lifestyles, the next priority was to find a new wing night destination.  It did not take long and before I knew it, wing night was every Thursday night and involved $.25 wings and a couple of Coors at a neighborhood bar.  Our waitress was, and still is, the best waitress in the area.  She saved tables for us, knew our names, orders and was just amazing.  Well, about three years passed and the recession trickled down to our wing night… $.25 wings went up to $7.00 per 10 wings.  Need less to say, the hunt for wing night was back.

It has been an interesting hunt for a new, cheap, wing night to say the least.  So, in an effort to save this tradition, I decided to make some wings myself and put them to the test.  Just so you know, this is a recipe for grilled hot wings – perfect for the warm weather!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1. Chicken Wings (a 4lb pack from the grocery store had roughly 16 wings) This recipe is for 50 wings.
2. Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (3 bottles) or one bargain bottle
   
3. Melted Butter (more for mild sauce, less for hot)

How-to:

1. Take each wing and if you want, slice it into halves.  This gives you more pieces but is a little bit of an adventure.  I cut about a quarter of these in to halves and I just couldn’t take the blood & guts so I left the rest whole.
2. Place the wings in a large bowl and toss them with 1 cup of Franks Red Hot Sauce.  Feel free to add more if the mood strikes.
   
3. Place in 1-gallon size storage bags and refrigerate for 4-6 hours… the longer they marinate, the more tasty.
4. Make a batch of sauce to dip the wings into once they have been cooked.  The Frank’s Red Hot Sauce recipe calls for 1/2 cup of hot sauce and 1/3 cup of melted butter.  That is a great mix unless you want actual hot wings (that recipe is pretty mild). I used almost 3 cups of Franks and 1/4 cup of melted butter. Just heat it up, mix it all together and then remove from heat until you are ready to use it on your cooked wings.
5. Fire up the grill! Heat to medium heat and throw the wings on the grill for about 10 minutes.
   
6. You can either dip the wings in the hot sauce and put them back on the grill for 10 minutes (do this rotation for about an hour)  OR you can cook the wings all the way through all at one time and pour or dip them in the hot sauce right before they are served.
7. ENJOY!

Our new wing night was a great success!  We might change the name to Grill Night but either way, the boys loved the wings and I enjoyed making them and taking photos.  Feel free to share any hot buffalo wing recipes or tips!

<3 Sam

As much as I try to be “green” I really need to try harder. I make a conscious effort to put paper-trash in the recycling bin in my office, I’m pretty conservative with water and we try to walk to places as much as possible instead of driving our premium-fuel-only-mobile. However, when it comes to recycling cans & bottles, turning lights off in vacant rooms, and even (as horrible as this is) forgetting the 15 reusable grocery bags at my house when I need them at the grocery store… I am the WORST. Please refrain from leaving hateful comments, I promise to work on all of these aspects of my green-awareness and carbon-footprint and overall impact on the global community.

I am a pro when it comes to the great outdoors and am a freak about leaving-no-trace and even leaving a negative trace on the trails and campsites. If only I could implement my wilderness leave-no-trace mentality into my city-mouse life… things would be much greener around here.

I have made a list (because I love lists) of things I can change in my everyday life to be a bit more conscious of the impact I have on our environment. The best part is, you can take part too!

Sam’s Green Initiatives:

• Utilize reusable grocery bags (you have a gazillion) remember to actually take them with you to the store!  At Trader Joe’s, when you use reusable grocery bags, you are entered into a monthly drawing for free groceries!
• Turn water off while you brush your teeth.  duh.
• Clip soda can rings before you throw them away.  You know the plastic holder thingy that holds together a 6 pack of soda cans?  Make sure you cut each ring apart so that they cannot get stuck in an animal’s beak or body part.  My Nan taught me that one.
• RECYCLE.  Even if it means making your own containers for plastic, cardboard and cans.  Just do it.
• Turn off lights in rooms that aren’t being used.  Your bathroom sink or bedroom pillows are not afraid of the dark.
• If you have the space and resources, COMPOST.  Compost makes excellent gardening fertilizer and is a great way to reduce, reuse, recycle.
• Do some research – look into your most commonly used household companies (Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, Proctor & Gamble) and see what they are doing to be more green.  If they aren’t doing enough (which is likely) look into smaller, more sustainable companies to buy things like cleaning supplies, paper towels, copy paper.
• Be more aware.  Being aware of how much you consume each day, whether that is energy, food, water or household products will enable you to have a better idea of what parts of your life need to be just a little more green!

Now that I have confessed all of my Earth day sins and have made a handy-dandy list to follow, you should get on-board too.  Make your own list of things that you can do in your everyday life to be more green!

Best of luck and Happy Earth Day!

<3 Sam

This month, I kept seeing students walking around our beautiful city and campus…barefoot. Yep.  No joke.  Barefoot.  Hoping that walking around sans shoes was not an emerging trend, I pulled one of my students aside and asked what the deal was with the naked feet epidemic before going into a 3 minute shpeal on the risks of ringworm and hepatitis. She looked at me like “you are soooo old and out of the loop” and told me about TOMS shoes and how students on our campus were going barefoot for a cause.  She called it the “One Day Without Shoes” campaign and I was so awe-struck (and thankful it was not a new fad) that I took the rest of the day to look into this TOMS phenomena.

I quickly learned that TOMS donates a pair of shoes to a child in need  for every pair of shoes that is purchased (awesome).  That was all I needed to know to invest in a pair of TOMS shoes for myself!  I jumped on the website and found the cutest pair of Red Canvas Classics. Before adding them to my cart, I clicked around some more and found that they have everything from patterned prints to glittery slides and best of all, you could wear them with anything!  Best of all, you can wear them with your wedding dress…yep, there is an entire category dedicated to wedding styles!  I was sold – the compassion and big heart of the company lured me in and I bought a pair of my own shiny TOMS shoes.

They came in a few days ago and I was so excited that I rushed home and took some photos of my new philanthropic footies. My shoes were not the only goodies in my recyclable shoe box.  My new TOMS were wrapped in a small canvas flag with the TOMS logo on it.  Also inside the box was a sticker and a small informational card regarding the “One for One” initiative… how great! I unwrapped my new kicks and was pleasantly surprised when I put them on my feet.  Not only do they fit perfectly, they are INSANELY comfortable. Caught in the middle of a house shoe and a sneaker, these TOMS shoes are my new favorites.  I don’t even have to wear socks, I can just slip them on and go.  I am really excited about showing my new red beauties off.  Don’t worry, I have already thanked my student who brought these shoes and this wonderful company into my life – and I will no longer berate any barefoot students during the “One Day without Shoes” campaign.

Buy them and give a pair to a child in need.


<3

I’ll be honest, saving money has never been one of my fortes.  To me, saving money means buying things on-sale or in bulk and to my husband, saving money means putting extra moolah away each month into a high-yield savings account.  Who is right?  Much to my dismay, I think he is probably right (boring).  Well, I am writing about this because we recently made a goal of saving a ton over the next 12 months in an effort to have a substantial down payment for a home.  In one year.  I am so excited about this I can’t hardly stand it.  I am a Nester.  I need to be able to make our home “ours” and when you live in an industrial strength residence hall apartment with windows that only open up 6″ and a 4×3 foot kitchen, it is hard to put my personal touch on things.  My kitchen has one drawer.  Yes.  One.  We have made due over the past two years and have made our little shoebox of an apartment into some-kind-of special but when I think about having our own place… I melt a little inside. So as you can imagine, putting a date on when we want to have a place and a goal for doing so is pretty darn exciting.

After we made up our minds and set a goal – I’m thinking May 1 of 2011, I started thinking of what I can cut out of my life to save some money.  When I started looking things over, I realized that I spend money on stupid, unnecessary things.  I got my nails done every other week.  EVERY OTHER WEEK.  That’s $25 / 2 weeks.  THAT’S $650 A YEAR. There are a million things like that… I spend beaucoup bucks on scrapbooking, card making and general craft supplies.  If I venture into Michael’s Arts and Crafts store, I come out with a ridiculous amount of stickers, glue, candles and cute paper.  The problem with this is that I already have stickers, glue and a butt load of cute paper.  I never think of what I already have before I purchase pretty, new things.  Well that has all changed.  I am no longer getting my nails done every two weeks – if we have an event to go to or something where I have to look nice, I will get my nails fixed up and that might only be 4 times a year.  Also, if I need something from Michael’s or any craft store, I’ll make a list (I love lists!) and I’ll stick to it.  Here are some tricks that have helped me save some extra bucks towards our deluxe-apartment in the sky (you have to sing that part).

• CLIP COUPONS.  Spend $1.50 on a Sunday paper and save $40 on groceries that week or month.  It’s easy peasy.
• PRINT COUPONS.  If you do some research, you can find some great coupons online or even set up accounts with companies that will EMAIL you coupons.  How convenient is that?!
• Before you go shopping, take INVENTORY of what you already have.  If you need brown sugar, make sure you don’t already have some hiding in your cabinet.
• MAKE A LIST of what you need to buy before you are get to the store and stick to it.  Don’t get wrapped up in the alluring ads and sparkle of the baking aisle at the grocery store.  Stay strong!
• Ask yourself if you NEED it or if you just WANT it.  This is a fun trick that I learned from my dear old dad.  He would always say, “do you need it or do you want it?”  I would be completely conflicted and would think to myself that I really NEEDED that Anthropologie shirt but that I wouldn’t die if I didn’t have it.  It is the same concept.  Can you live with out it is the question.
• Have a goal of how much you want to save each month.  Write down your monthly expenses (student loans, phone bills, mortgage) and then figure out how much you will have per month to save.
• ALWAYS set some money aside (not a ton) to do something fun and cheap each month so you don’t go crazy.  Go for a hike or picnic at the park with some PB & J’s.  Buy some nail polish and give yourself a pedicure instead of spending $30 for a stranger to rub your feet.

No matter what you are saving for, these tricks have helped me and will help you save.  Whether you want to pay off a credit card, save for a big trip or a fabulous pair of Manolo Blahniks – put your bargain girl hat on and start clipping those coupons.  I will let you know how  my saving efforts go as we get closer to closing on our home in 12 months!

Best of luck <3

Before you read any further, be advised – I am not a make-up guru.  I am actually not even very good at putting it on myself let alone giving others advice.  It is for this reason that I just had to write about this eyeliner that my diva 16 year old sister brought into my life.  Eyeliner was never a part of my morning try-and-make-myself-look-human routine, I was doing well to get some concealer under my eyes and a splash of blush on my cheeks before heading out the door.  On a recent trip home, my sister and I were getting all “done-up” for a nice dinner with the family and I noticed how amazingly perfect her eyeliner was.  I asked her if she could do mine without making me look like a stripper and when all was said and done, it looked fabulous.  I realized that this would be short lived because once I got back home, I would never be able to duplicate that look myself.  She must have seen the disappointment on my face and she started teaching me the tricks of the eyeliner trade.  This is when things got real.

My little sister broke out her Laura Mercier eyeliner compact in black ebony along with her Sephora angled liner brush and went to town.  Here are the simple steps and trust me… if I can do it,  you can too:

• Dip the angled eyeliner brush into clean water and work eyeliner into a thick paste – I usually try to get a couple drops of water off the brush to get things going.
• This takes a couple tries but place the angled brush right along your eyelashes and starting drawing your eyeliner right across your eyelid.
• The angled eyeliner brush was key for me and made it very easy to get a nice, thin line of color along my eyelashes.  It goes right on top of your eyeshadow and voila!  You are a smoky-eyed dream boat.

I have tried eyeliner pencils and even some crazy paint brush instruments but this is really the first thing that has ever worked and that I actually feel pretty good using.  The color is long lasting, it has a nice matte finish and I have no trouble taking it off at the end of the night.  Laura Mercier is a little pricey but you get what you pay for.  $22 for an eyeliner compact and the brush ranges depending on where you buy it from.  I purchased my eyeliner essentials from Sephora’s website and what makes things better is that if you purchase online, you get 3 free samples.  YES PLEASE!

Enjoy the eyeliner and please, take time to practice – it will only take you a couple swings before you are a pro but I don’t want any of you walking around looking like you have been punched in the eye.  You are too pretty to get punched.

Laura Mercier Face Care, 1.4g/0.05oz Eye Liner – Black Ebony for Women

Enjoy!

<3

I just have to share this amazing new money-saving website called “Groupon.”  A friend at work mentioned that she had just purchased a $10 Groupon worth $20 at a local restaurant and I immediately asked her to fill me in!  Since then, I have purchased 2 Groupons and am keeping my eyes out for new ones!  Here is the low-down:

• Groupon only exists in a number of cities across the country.  Click here to see if your city is included!
• Make an account on the Groupon website and each day, Groupon will send you an email featuring that day’s Groupon!
• A certain number of Groupons need to be sold in order for the deal to go through so make sure you spread the word!
• Once the goal number of Groupons has been met, your Groupon will be ready to either print or will show up on the Groupon Iphone App.
• Every Groupon is at least 50% off!!!

The best thing about using Groupon is that you not only save beaucoup bucks, you also get to do things you wouldn’t regularly do in your area.  For example, I recently purchased designer cupcakes for a party I was throwing using a Groupon.  I purchased $45 worth of designer cupcakes (which were to-die-for) for only $20 and that included delivery!   Groupon features everything from restaurants and spas to museum memberships and movie tickets.  There is really NO reason why you shouldn’t sign up, it’s easy and you save a ton of moolah.  Here is a link to sign-up and be sure to share all the goodies you save on!

<3 Sam

Thanks to my husband, I have become an allergy expert over the years and this is one of the worst allergy seasons I have been through in a while.  I count my lucky stars every night that I, myself, do not deal with any allergies but I do deal with his.  Everything from earth-rattling sneezes to wheezy asthma and runny noses.  I’ve become the queen of changing our air filters, vacuum filters, washing linens all-the-time and all things in between.

Now that spring is in full swing, most folks are waging war with nature and more specifically, pollen.  Sure the budding tree blossoms are nice and the flowers are nice and all but my car, usually dark blue, currently has a layer of yellow and green pollen covering it from hood to trunk.  Everyone around me is sneezing and sniffing and they all have chronic watery eyes.  It’s horrible!  My advice for all of you allergy sufferers is not to wait for a good rainfall to wash away this pollen in the air.  Take matters into your own hands:

1. In your home, air purifiers are a great way to clean out the pollen and other allergy-related surprises in the air.  Make sure you keep your windows closed as much as possible as well.
2. This may seem like common sense but try to stay inside as often as possible especially when there are high pollen levels in your area.  Generally your local news or weather will report this every morning.
3. If you are fighting allergies I really pray you aren’t taking part in gardening or mowing the lawn.  If you are… stop and go inside.

Most folks tend to head to the doctor or pharmacy to find some type of medicine to help with their allergies.  Everyone reacts to medications differently however, I thought I would share which ones have been the most successful for those in my life:

1. Nasonex works miracles.  Big time.  Believe the honey bee commercials – it doesn’t try out the nostrils and it really works.
2. Flovent (inhaler) and Proventil (inhaler) both work great for those that deal with the “wheezes” and have a tough time breathing in the spring.
3. For the over-the-counter types, Claritin was a huge let down in my family as was Zyrtec.  Call me old school but Benadryl is still the best thing for allergies.  Non-drowsy or drowsy, it works.

As with any ailment, drink a ton of fluids and stay clean.  Pesky pollen can get on your clothes, in your hair and eventually all over your home.  Take my advice and be proactive.  Keep tissues close, and vicks vapor rub closer.  Lastly, you might not want to live or visit the following places during allergy season – these are the top five worst cities for allergies:

1. Louisville, Kentucky
2. Knoxville, Tennessee
3. Charlotte, North Carolina
4. Madison, Wisconsin
5. Wichita, Kansas

<3

This Christmas, we finally caught up with the rest of the world and got a Wii.   Naturally, I went out and purchased the Wii Fit Plus, plugged it in and started playing!  First impression: awesome.  Here is how it works:

• Input your information and have your BMI calculated to find out where you stand on the healthy – obese scale as well as your “Wii Fit Age.”  Unfortunately, it will use your BMI to change your Mii avatar and either add a little pudge or keep it looking the same depending on how in-shape you are.
• Pick your Wii trainer - either a woman or man (I chose the woman)
• Using the “Wii Fit Routine” option (only on the Wii Fit Plus) build a routine using the Yoga or Strength Training exercises (mine is about 45 minutes long and burns about 175 calories).
• Play the aerobics games and Wii Fit Plus Training programs until your heart is content!

There are a couple features that make this game great for home fitness and family fun.

• The program keeps track of your BMI and weight each day that you play and keeps you aware of your body’s fluctuation in weight.
• With the “fit activity points” option, you can input any exercise that you complete outside of the game like a 30 minute run.
• The aerobics and training plus programs are engaging, fun and you really break a sweat!

I would recommend this program to anyone who is tired of their “Firm” tapes and Billy Bootcamp DVDs.  The Wii Fit Plus is a blast and after a month, I am still a faithful user.

PS – the obstacle course game is SO MUCH FUN!