C'EST LA VIE...


Sweater: Forever 21
Top: Jcrew (on sale)
Pants: JCrew (on sale)
Boots: Forever 21
Lipstick: Kat Von D - Painted Love Stiletto


The sun is starting to peek out around here in Utah. Yesterday my little sister and I walked around the park by my apartment and it was beautiful! I love that she lives close so that we can do things together, however, we should probably hang out a lot more then we do ;)
 
I wish the weather in Utah was a little more predictable. In the Spring here you can wake up and it is cold and by the end of the day your needing to take your sweater off. I like to say that Utah is Bi-Polar. Back when I was going to the U (University of Utah) I woke up and it was beautiful so I wore a skirt and sandals and walked to class. Imagine my surprise by the time I had to walk back home it was snowing!! Such is life ;) Oh Utah... please keep the sunshine around for awhile.
 
Hope you all have a great Easter weekend with friends and family!
 
 
Some of my favorite online stores.
You can check out my specific "picks" from these sites on my Pinterest.
 
 
Get yours together for the link up this Wednesday!
 
 

MEET&GREET - Audrey! GIVEAWAY!

Today I have the pelasure of introducing your to Audrey from Putting Me Together! If you guys like a good fashion blogger, she is your go to! Want proof? Check out her 5 Ways to Style a Dress, or How to Style a Basic White Tee! I think she always looks gret and so put together :)
 
 
 
 
 
Today Audrey is offering Two Months worth of Small AD space from her blog ($50.00 value)! She has over 3,000 followers and are you ready 720,000+ monthly pageviews, so um, yeah... GET ON THAT!
 

hello fab - free infinity scarf!



Do you guys remember this adorable infinity scarf I got from Hello Fab? Well they are doing a promotion right now that I thought you guys would like to know about - Receive a FREE infinity scarf with your purchase of only $10 or more. (Must put color choice of scarf in the note section at checkout.)

So basically, for only $10.00 you can get an item, and a free scarf?! Talk about a deal. I really do wear this scarf all the time, it is super comfy and great quality! So if I were you I would hurry while supplies last! Happy almost Friday :)

tid + bits of life via instaLOVE♥



Yes, this happened. I ran out of gas on the freeway. This has NEVER happened before! Thankfully Trevor came to save me, and didn't give me too hard of a time about it. Trevor and I love creating new dishes in the kitchen together. I love that I am married to someone who loves to cook! This was the start of something pretty great. Think, peppers, bacon, shrimp, lemon butter ;) For Trevor's birthday we stopped by the good ol' Nordstrom Rack and he picked out a few things he wanted. You guys, Trevor picked out this PINK polka dot tie, all on his own! He said he wished they had, had a different color, but he liked the polka dots. Either way, I am so proud of him :) Trevor calls these my "leprechaun" shoes, so I figured they were an appropriate pick for St. Patty's Day! ♥ Why did it snow over the weekend?! &Why is it cold even when the sun is out?! These San Diego sisters can't handle it. Fun surprise visit from Courtney and my adorable niece Mia. So of course we made a thing of it and got waffles. You guys, I fall in love more and more everyday with my job. My favorite part is working with the students (hence why I went to school to be a teacher) these girls are so much fun and SO talented. This was a shoot they did the hair and make up for last week! My sweet baby nephew Cameron had open heart surgery yesterday afternoon. The surgery went well, but he had complications throughout the night. It seems like everything is finally stabilized. Please keep this sweet little boy in your thoughts & prayers. In just a short time he has already brought so much happiness to our family 

♥ ♥ ♥

variety...



I have been really working hard on making this my routine! :) I think I am just now starting to really develop everything into a habit!

So basically Jillian Michaels kicked my trash. Remember how I was trying to complete the 30 Day Shred Challenge? Well, I will just be point blank honest. I did really good, really good until about half way through. Doing the same thing every day is just not my thing! I need variety! Granted her workouts do have three different levels, but I just didn't feel it was different enough, or "fun" enough to keep my attention. 

Don't get me wrong, I think her workout DVDS are the bomb - they give you a great workout and they do produce results! However, I was bored out of my mind and found myself saying things like "Ugh, I just wish I could go to the gym today and run instead of doing Jillian!" Okay people, if you at any point want to work out and something else is motivating you, DO IT. As long as you are getting in that burn, who cares how you are doing it, right?

So in conclusion, I saw a huge difference in my strength. I am pathetic at push ups, and just after week one I could actually keep up in doing them, it felt great to notice that difference in your own body. I was like "TREVOR, I am doing more then two push ups in a row!!!" I was pretty dang proud of myself for that one.

My biggest problem area has always been my butt and thighs. As a doctor once told me, "You have birthing hips!" Um, yeah, thanks dude. Thanks. So my newest interest (I move on fast, like I said, variety people) is the Brazilian Butt Lift Work Out DVDS. What I love about them is you can pick work outs and tailor them to your specific body type. Pear shapes raise your hands up high!!! 

So far I have been LOVING the Brazilian Butt Lift DVD's. They are so much fun and I have already seen some great results from it (five pound loss!). I will definitely be doing an update on that soon!

If you guys are more curious about specific results from the 30 Day Shred, I had a wonderful instagram follower who was WAY more dedicated and motivated then me, and I am pretty sure she kept track of everything from her weight and  measurements - something I took note of and did before I started the Brazilian Butt Lift work out - feel free to ask her about her experience :) She rocks!

currently...


Sweater: Forever 21 (similar)
Jeans: Forever 21
Purse: Forever 21
Boots: Hunter (Can't find this color anymore, love the Coral and Light Grey ones! or these Orange ones!)
 
 
CURRENTLY...
 
Wondering: Why the heck it is snowing here in Utah when it is almost April?! The sun peeked out and gave us a glimpse of hope, and then gave us a chilly, snowy, rainy, crappy weekend of weather. Even when the sun is out it is freezing! Boo Utah, Boo. Take me back to San Diego now please!

Loving: Getting to know Trevor's group of friends wives better. We have decided to start doing monthly girl nights, and last weekend was so much fun. Mac N' Cheese, cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate, Zac Efron... yeah, it was a great night. Didn't last nearly as long as it should have though :)

Watching: Revenge, anyone else watch this show?! LOVE IT. Trevor thinks it is basically a glorified soap opera, but I think they border that line very well. Plus the acting is WAYYYY better then a soap opera, lets be real. Every episode leaves me dyyyying.


Thinking about: Summer! As we get closer all I can think about is all the fun stuff I have planned :)

Wondering: How women with children "do it all." I swear our dishes pile up and our apartment becomes a mess so fast and there is just two of us?! With work, and trying to keep to a work out regime, church callings, time with friends, etc. I give all you mothers mad props. How my mom did as much as she did with six kids is beyond me!

Excited about: Getting back to blogging! The transition from my old jobs to a new job and the new schedule etc. threw me for a loop when it came to my routine. Excited to be back at it, and on track again! :) 

Making me happy: Finally feeling like I am getting the "hang" of a balanced healthy lifestyle.
 
Embarrassed about: the lesson Trevor and I had to teach last Sunday at Church, lets just say it was about marriage and part of the topic that was supposed to be covered was "intimacy" among many other awkward yet important things...um yeah... que blushing now!


Want to link up your own personal style or "currently posts"?! Get them together, because I will be starting a link up next Wednesday! :)


The $1,000 giveaway has now been thrown wide open to readers, giving you all direct access to all entry options and therefore more chances to win!!  Go get it :)
 

 

twenty eight...


My husband is twenty eight years old! What?! When did that happen? I mean, I met him when he was twenty three, and now he is twenty eight, time flies folks, it flies! Trevor's birthday was on March 16th, but seeing that we already had plans to blow up a fridge on that day (yes, I will write a blog post about it) we went out to dinner the Friday night before.

Trevor and I both love Brazilian Steak houses and had been to every one there is in Utah except for the new Texas De Brazil that had opened up at City Creek Mall in Salt Lake City. Trevor had been talking about going since he heard about it, so it seemed like the perfect place to go for his birthday dinner. 

First off, the resturant is beautiful. Just beautiful. Gorgeous interiors, and the mood that is set is super romantic. Whenever you can make a place where people are just stuffing themselves with tons of meat "romantic" you are pretty dang good. The service was quick. Almost too quick if that is even possible, they just kept coming and coming and coming, more meat, more meat, more meat. I could not keep up! I just had this giant heaping plate of meat! I had been eating really healthy the whole week so I was worried I would get full a lot faster then usual because my stomach is not used to those portions, and I think within the first ten minutes I looked to Trevor and uttered, "I think I'm done." 

But somewhere, somehow, I found some more room for my favorite Pão de Queijo, God's gift to mankind, and the best bacon filet mignon I have ever had. Oh and another favorite of mine sugar coated fried bananas! It was all just perfect. The meat was the best, the service, the venue a 10/10. We left very happy and full. 
 
Trevor has a favorite oreo ice cream cake that is more like pie, and I wanted to have it Friday night after dinner, but there was just no way that was happening with our full bellies. And since we had plans I knew would take us all night on his birthday, I surprised him later that week with his cake :) I love extending birthdays for days! &I don't care who you are, everyone deserves a cake with candles on their birthday :)
 
 
Trevor doesn't like to make a big fuss. He doesn't think birthday's are "a big deal" and he prefers smaller gatherings to a big crowd of people. And well that couldn't be more opposite than me, that is exactly why I love him :)
 
Hope you had a Happy Birthday Trevor, and I can't wait to spend many, many more with you!
 

personal style...


Cardigan: Forever 21
Top: Forever 21 (similar)
Vintage Fur Shoulder Wrap
Pants: JCrew (you NEED these pants in your life)
Boots: Madden Girl (New Version Available)
Lipstick: Kat Von D - Painted Love Stiletto

 
Back in September I wrote a whole blog post about how I needed balance on this blog. I felt like my interests had taken over the main purpose of this blog, so I decided to cut back on some things. Since then I have felt I have more of a balance and want to start incorporating some of the things I love again on the blog, like exploring my personal style!
I won't lie, I am a tad hesitant to bring this back. Last year I received criticism on the wonderful site Get Off My Internets, have you heard of them? Um. Yeah. Anyways... someone basically thought "How dare she do fashion posts on her blog when all she wears is stuff from Target, and Forever 21."
Well, let me just start off  by saying, yes, I do wear A TON of Forever 21, I am pretty much a walking advertisement for them! I am not ashamed! (Hey Forever 21, if you ever need me - I am your poster child!) At the end of the day I like anything that looks good. I don't care if it doesn't cost a lot of money (heck I prefer it when it doesn't!) or where it comes from - if it is cute and looks good on me, I am wearing it!
I like expensive brand names all the way down to a great Walmart find. But if I can find something that looks almost exactly the same as something expensive, but for cheaper, I call that being SMART. That just leaves me more money to travel with :) Wearing something that happens to be inexpensive does not mean you don't have "style."

STYLE IS NOT A NAME BRAND! Did I make myself clear? Style is not a "name brand." You can't just buy a bunch of name brand stuff and consider yourself done. It is more about having fun with what you are wearing and creating something that fits "you" specifically. Something that shows your personality.
I like to do personal style fashion posts because I love clothes and playing around with my own personal style, and sharing that with others who are interested in the same thing is a lot of fun. But don't expect to see a ton of name brands over here, this girl has student loans to pay off and a husband in Law School - and I don't think that means I can't still have fun with clothes, and it certainly doesn't exclude someone from having "style." Everyone has a style! Girl's should never stop playing dress up in my opinion :)
Some of my favorite online stores.
You can check out my specific "picks" from these sites on my Pinterest.

meet & greet - kym :)

Today I am so excited to introduce you to Kym from Travel-Babbles :) I love reading her blog, mainly because I am in love with her bull dog! You should definetly check her out and get to know her better, because she is actually pretty hilarious.
 



 

GLAMGRAND!


I've collaborated with a group of fabulous bloggers to bring you something special today. One very lucky reader will have the chance to live glam with a grand - you'll win a $1,000 Visa Gift Card! 

I know you have seen these going around lately, but they are so great because 1. Who doesn't want to win $1,000.00 dollars?! and 2. It is a great way for us to all be introduced to some new blogs. I was excited to be invited into this one because of all the fashion bloggers! I am going to start doing more fashion posts again - yay! So thought this would be a great way to get the hype all started again! Stay tuned ;)

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below. Points will be earned for each item completed - the more you do, the closer you'll be to winning this amazing prize! The $1,000 Glam Grand Giveaway will run until midnight Friday 29th March 2013 and is open to participants worldwide. After this, the winner will be announced and contacted via email. 

So, now all you have to do is enter, go meet these other fantastic bloggers and start thinking about how you'd spend a grand. I'd love to know your ideas, share them in the comments and let's start dreaming of how to live glam!









a Rafflecopter giveaway


Terms Conditions:
The Glam Grand Giveaway is for one USD $1,000 Visa Gift Card. This giveaway is open worldwide to people aged 18 years and over. It will run from Friday 22nd March 2013 to Friday 29th March 2013. Entries will be verified, so please be honest in completing items. Once the giveaway closes, the winner will be announced on this Rafflecopter and also contacted via email. To claim your prize, please respond to the email within 72 hours, failure to do so will result in a re-draw. Once the winner has been selected, this decision is final and no further correspondence will be entered into regarding this matter. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with Visa or any other social media platform. Good luck!

selena gomez waves :)

I get a lot a questions about how I curl my hair. I have shared a tutorial in the past about how I do it! This morning BlogHer was featuring some Selena Gomez inspired curls that I thought I would pass along to those who were interested!!! :) It is a great tutorial!

pursuit of pink & a necklace giveaway! :)

Sorry for not being very consistent on my blog this past week! The transition and figuring out my new schedule with my new job has been an adjustment! I have some fun things planned for the end of the week, and you can expect me to be back at blogging in full force next week :) Stay tuned for excitment.

While I am away I am excited to introduce you to Lindsay! She blogs over at the Pursuit of Pink :) Her outlook on live is contagious and I love the story behind her blog. She does great posts about fashion, as well as make up tutorials :) She is always being a sweetheart today and giving away a White Mini-Bubble Necklace from Caroline G!

 


White Mini-Bubble Necklace from Caroline G!

Leave a separate comment for EACH entry! :)

Be a follower of Crowley Party via GFC
Follow Pursuit of Pink via GFC
"Like" Pursuit of Pink of Facebook
"Like" Crowley Party on Facebook

Giveaway ends March 28th at midnight :)
 
 
Did you win the $50.00 MADWELL Gift Card! Check out if you did!!
 
 
 


meet & greet - jess frost!

Jess blogs over at a heart full of frost, and I have actually known her through blog land for years :) She is super honest on her blog, and is a great read. I was excited to read her answers to my questions, and I think you guys will really enjoy getting to know her better!! Make sure to check her out!










tid + bits of life via instaLOVE♥


spring colored nails to encourage the sun to keep coming out :) fun night at my brother's house, pretending to be a "russian socialite"! bacon. chicken. waffle. best thing ever. inventing recipes in the kitchen with trevor :) sometimes, all you need is a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar baby blessing for my adorable niece mia!   trying to decide if black frames are too much on my white skin, I think I will stick with my tortoise pair !)decorating cupcakes at work (strawberry lemonade, mmmhmm), thanks for all the materials jessica!


♥ ♥ ♥

just be you...


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Sometimes you can get swept away in this beautiful world of technology! You don't even have to blog to be affected by it all. If you use any form of social media you know you have found yourself comparing and feeling like you are coming up short. This isn't the first time you have heard about "that side" of blogging. The side that makes you feel inadequate.

A very smart woman once said that "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent," and I truly believe that. The thing is, 99.9% of the time I am encouraged, entertained, and inspired by this wonderful world online, however it is human nature to compare, to judge, and the internet creates vastly more opportunities to do that than we would normally have in our everyday lives. It can become a black hole if we let it.

But is comparing and judging all bad? No, it is there for a reason! There is something totally okay about looking up to someone and realizing you lack in certain areas and deciding to work on those qualities in yourself. But there is a fine line, a balance, you can't let the thoughts take over your life, or make you unhappy.

There have been moments where I found myself "lost." I would see something I loved and started to wonder why I didn't "do that" or "have that" and I realized I was focusing too much on what I loved about everyone else's talents, style, lives and not focusing enough on my own! Before I knew it I was asking my once very confident self, "Who are YOU?"

In high school I had killer confidence, and I let my unique personality shine! I would like to think I haven't totally lost that, however more than ever before I have found myself questioning and trying to figure out who I am, instead of letting it just happen. Just being me.

Maybe I am making no sense at all, but I think this happens a lot with bloggers or people who spend a significant amount of time online. I want to stop caring so much what others will think and stop being so "intentional" about everything. I just want to be myself and have that free-flow confidence I used to have. I want to not care so much if it "fits" into the current popular mold or "esthetic" of the main stream. I am honestly embarrassed that I ever got out of touch of that, but I am happy to say I am realizing it and am going to start implementing changes now.

Who is with me? 

Since I have been dealing with this, I was so excited to team up with my friends at BlogHer and be introduced to the new Cigna GO YOU Facestrument Facebook game. With the use of a webcam you can turn your face into a musical instrument and wink, blink, nod, and smile to the beat of your favorite song. At the end, the user gets a score that reflects how accurately they performed, as well as a video of themselves jamming out to share with friends.

What better way to let loose and be yourself?

Visit the Cigna GO YOU Facestrument Brand Page on BlogHer.com to find more bloggers playing Facestrument!


tiffany&co - olive leaf...


Last week I had the opportunity to attend a special preview of a new Spring collection at Tiffany's! I am a huge fan of Tiffany & Co, I mean who isn't, and I love seeing some blogger friends, so it was a great morning!

This collection was design by Paloma Picasso , as in Pablo Picasso's daughter! I was so excited when I heard that. Her collection is called Olive Leaf and it was inspired by where she lives. I thought it was such a unique collection and something that hasn't really been seen at Tiffany's. I love the colors she used and the delicate natural feel of the jewelry.

The gold and citrine stones were just beautiful together! Loved all the "olive leaf" inspiration details.



Love those gold statement earrings!
 

This cuff was absoulty beautiful! I loved it!
I always love seeing Cara, wish we lived closer! :)
The Tiffany Box Petit Fours were the cherry on top of such a fun morning! I have always wanted to try these :) They lived up to their reputation!

Thanks Tiffany's for having me!