Rocksbox Rocks My Socks

hehehehe. I'm sure that line has been used soooo many times, but I don't care.

In case you don't know what Rocksbox is, it's a jewelry subscription box. It's $19 a month. You create a wishlist and your designer sends you pretty jewelry pieces to borrow and/or buy. If you hate everything in your box, you can send it right back and get another one sent out once they receive the original! If you want to keep a piece or two or three, you simply pay online and keep the pieces you wish. Also! Every month you get $10 of Shine Spend that can be used toward your jewelry purchase. How cool is that?

Rocksbox is my new favorite thing. Straight up. I took the style quiz and added a bunch of stuff to my wishlist and a few days later, my first box arrived!

The one thing they sent me that was on my wishlist : these Kendra Scott earrings. HELLO, BEAUTIFUL. $52.00

Second, was this gem-tastic statement necklace. I have a similar necklace, so I won't be purchasing this one, but I received so many compliments. $44.00

Third, was this edgy, fun statement necklace. I liked this necklace, but wearing it drove me nuts. The little shapes kept flipping up and it just wasn't that comfortable. I was aware of it all day long. I won't be purchasing this one. $60.00

The jewels I received are a little pricey, but it's so fun to borrow them and style outfits in new ways. I got multiple compliments on every piece! I can't wait to see what's in my next box!

For your first month free, use code meranneduh1xoxo at checkout and then let me know what you get! 

Avoiding Awkward with U by Kotex

I can happily say that I can count my embarrassing stories on one hand. The stories I do have, aren't even thaaaat embarrassing and they were all many years ago, so who cares! That's what I tell myself any way.

Update: (That was the preface of this post that I typed up yesterday...before I got home...and added another embarrassing story to my count.)  This one might take the cake.

So, let me tell you a little story. It was a fine Thursday evening when I arrived home. Jarad had gone to get pizza and I was all by myself. Obviously, the first thing I did was take off my pants. I hate pants. I went to the bathroom (door closed). When I opened the door, I was pantsless and saw a group of TEN firemen standing outside of our sliding glass door. (Our main living room wall is all windows and 2 sliding glass doors and our blinds were open.) Uhhhhh ohhhhhhh. I hurried back into the bathroom and came up with a game plan. "Okay, you can do this. They won't see you. Just open the door and duck into your room. You got this." (Mind you, I always keep my lounge clothes in the bathroom and that morning I was responsible and put them where they belong.) I opened the door, started to walk out of the bathroom and right as I turned to enter our room, one of the firefighters turned around. And stared at me. In my cute pink thong. He nodded politely as I stood there mortified. I ducked into our room, put on shorts and tried to act as natural as possible, as I waltzed back into the living room. (I couldn't hide forever. They were there for hours.)

When I was telling this story to my mom, she said "At least you were wearing cute undies." I responded with, "You're right! They could've been my period undies."

And that got me thinking. We shouldn't have to worry about ruining our undies and dubbing them "period undies". We should be able to live comfortably and confidently!

I recently picked up U by Kotex Lightday Liners and they are perf. The packaging is fun and compact. The liners are comfortable and allow me to sit back and relax without worrying about ruining another pair of cute undies! I love not being aware of "them". I've always been a liner lover and I'm even more of a fan now!

COUPON TIME! Click here and get a $1 off coupon for U by Kotex liners!

You can also enter the #BringBackComfy Contest at www.bringcomfyback.com and submit your LOL worthy uncomfortable face. Each month a winner will be chosen to receive a $200 Urban Outfitters gift card, a Go Pro Hero 3 white camera, a $100 Sephora gift card AND U by Kotex products.

Whaddya say? You wouldn't want to get caught in your period undies, now would you?

August Goals

Hi, July. Bye, July. So much for those goals!

I'M SERIOUS THIS TIME, YOU GUYS. This will be my month!

Quick life update: we are all moved into our new apartment. We killed our move on Friday thanks to our bffs, Beth and Evan. They were such a huge help and the move was flawless...well except for when our dresser fell over in the trailer. It's only a little unstable now :)

I'm ready to complete some goals! Something about a new month and a new apartment has me feeling all kinds of motivated.

• go to the gym! we have one in our complex now!
• meal prep lunches
• celebrate my step dad's birthday
• celebrate my dad's birthday
• host a housewarming party
• find cute, inexpensive ways to decorate our new place
• start planning my niece's first birthday
• start planning my sister's sweet sixteen!
• plan our HallowDisney trip. eeeeeeek!

This month actually sounds like a lot of fun! We have a lot of family stuff coming up, which I always love. We want to start eating healthier/at home as much as possible. I also plan to use the gym at our complex. My three biggest excuses for not going to the gym are : 1) I don't want to drive 2) I don't want to pay the extra money 3) I don't have time. Well, I can't say any of those anymore, unfortunately. Maybe this will actually be the month that I stick to my plans!

What are some of you goals for August? I would love to encourage you! 

Sakroots for Life

Let me tell you a secret not so secret. I am all over the place. All. The. Time. I'm hardly ever home. I commute to work. I'm out and about on weekends. At any given time, I am probably carrying a planner or a notebook, my purse, a water bottle and a coffee. My hands are quite full. Literally.

If you're like me and feel the need to be prepared for everything at all times, I have a solution!

 

The Sakroots Flap Backpack. This backpack is amazing. It has a flap top, a cinch, tons of pockets, and even a pocket on the back for easy access to all your important stuff! It also comes with a pencil pouch. (I may or may not have a pen problem.)

I can use this bag to hold all the things. I can use it for work, for day trips, as an overnight bag, or for work trainings and classes. Perfection.

Remember that pen problem I briefly mentioned? Add a planner problem on top of that. I love planners, but I'm soooo picky. I want the right size planner, with lines to write on, with the right amount of room for each day, and a color scheme I won't get sick of. (Insert other ridiculous requirements here.)

Surprise...there's a Sakroots Agenda! And I love it. It's perfect. It has a hard cover with a strap. All my random lists won't fall out when I stuff them in my planner! The colors and prints are adorable. The writing space is just the right size and there's lines. Eeeeek. There is also stickers inside! A sheet of fun ones and event type ones.

But wait, there's more. Sakroots Artist Circle and their #chooseyourkarma campaigns work together to do big things. The adorable print of my bag (True Love) actually represents a charity! The sweet (and scary) honey bee. Each print represents a different charity close to the artist's heart.

shout out to my model bff, Beth!

With my backpack and planner, I am unstoppable. You can be too! Sign up for Sakroots emails and get 15% off your first purchase! If you're a college student, you can sign up to be a Sakroots ambassador too!

Which print would you choose?

Crema // Pacific Grove, CA

Well, hello there!

If you're hungry, leave now. This post is about to get real delish, real quick.

This past weekend, J and I went with our roommates to Crema in Pacific Grove (PG). I actually worked across from this adorable restaurant for MONTHS when we first moved to Monterey and since they were technically competition, I never ate there. I have one word for you. Regret. Holy crap, this place is good.

Crema is a cafe/restaurant/coffee shop/catering company. They have it all. It's set up in an old house and feels really homey. Not cluttery or anything - simple and comfortable.

We went for brunch on a Saturday. There was no wait. The staff was friendly. I had to decide between 5 things on the menu. That never happens to me. We all got something different and we were all very pleased.

I had the Good Morning Sunshine Breakfast Sammy. It was grilled texas toast with fried eggs, cheese, bacon, and hash browns! My dream. The bacon was thick and delicious. The hash browns were perfectly cooked. The toast was golden brown. The cheese was cheesy and delicious of course.

Jarad had the Chicken and Waffles with Spicy Sausage Gravy. I had a bite and it was great!!! I was worried about the meal being soggy, but it wasn't at all! The chicken was boneless, which I love. The gravy was perfectly spiced without being burn your mouth off hot.

Evan had the classic quiche Lorraine (spinach, mushrooms, ham and swiss) with a strawberry spinach salad. He described the dish as "pleasant" to eat. The quiche came with a side of homemade salsa. Yummmm.

Beth had the Cheddar and Bacon Biscuits and Gravy. Those biscuits looked SO GOOD. You could see the chunks of real bacon! I'm talking dime sized pieces of bacon. The gravy was the same as Jarad's and delicious. She had potatoes with hers and they were yum! They were perfectly cooked. I can appreciate that.

We were all really impressed with our meals. Our total before the tip was $65. Four meals, two medium lattes, a cup of coffee, and a pot of tea! I think that's an awesome price.

Plus, we spotted this deer family on our way in. It doesn't get much better than that.

Guacamole with Strawberries and Mango!

I have a confession. I am not guacamole obsessed. I do not pay the extra $1.75 at Chipotle. Or anywhere else for that matter. I ask restaurants to leave it off the dish if it comes with it. You get the idea.

I have another confession. I've been wrong for 23 years. I'm the type of person that likes to make up my mind by myself on my own time. No amount of convincing can actually convince me.

My best friend has tried for YEARS to show me the light and FINALLY, I've opened my eyes. She would make guac for taco night or when we were eating chips and dip. I slowly would dip my chip in the bowl - the tiniest amount of guac on my chip. Not anymore! I've officially dove in head first!

My mom and I came up with this super delish guac that I have to share. We added strawberries, mango, and chopped jalapenos. GAME OVER.

This is the perfect summertime side dish. It would be amazing on fish tacos!

There really isn't a recipe for this either. (surprise) If you couldn't tell, my family doesn't really do recipes. We just experiment and stop when we're satisfied with the taste.

We used:

• 2 avocados
• one slice of mango 
• a fresh jalapeno (chopped) 
• a little bit of purple onion 
• a few strawberries  
• salt and pepper

Next time, I plan on adding another jalapeno, because I love spicy!

What's your go to guac recipe? I would love to know! Who knows, maybe I'll love it!

Delicious White Wine Sangria

My lips taste like thissuperdelicious sannngrriiiiiaaaaa!

This past weekend, I decided to try my hand at sangria making. Let me tell you, it's fun stuff! We looked up some recipes online and decided to make our own. This is what we came up with.

Originally we started with only one bottle of wine, so that's how I'll share the recipe. We ended up tripling the alcohol though :)

FYI: the definition of glug is when you pour a liquid and it makes the glug glug glug sound

Here's what you need:

1 bottle of Chardonnay
3 ounces of Brandy (or 3 glugs)
2 ounces of Triple Sec (or 2 glugs)
4ish glugs of club soda (Sprite can be used in place of this)
1 nectarine
A bunch of strawberries
A bunch of green grapes (halved)
2 kiwis

I cut up all the fruit into slices. I halved the grapes. I put everything into a pitcher and stirred. We threw in a couple ice cubes for funsies. I was real technical. You can use whatever fruit you want and however much you want! It does not need to be super specific at all. This is just what we had on hand. It ended up tasting great and I looooved the fruit combo we chose. I want to add some pineapple in there next time!

two glasses in...hahaha.

What's your favorite sangria combo?

the boys loved it!