Friday Favorites No. 12

It feels like forever since I've done a Friday Favorites. I have a back log of things tagged and earmarked for Friday Favorites, so forgive me if this post gets a little long-winded.

FAVORITE OUTFIT
I just received these same shorts in from Asos yesterday and still trying to decide whether or not to keep them. Kim from Penny Pincher Fashion looks great in them, and I may have to steal her styling tips.

Maybe I just have a thing for black and white stripes because my other favorite outfit this week (originally posted last week) is Wendy's tulle skirt and striped sequin top. I don't think I could ever pull this off, but I love it, regardless.

FAVORITE TWEETS

my house is currently an Ellie Goulding dance party. Party of 1.
— Nicole (@TreasureTromp) July 10, 2013

I wish I could text my dog during the day to see what he's up to!
— JennaDK (@JennaDK) July 11, 2013

FAVORITE RECIPES
This strawberry and cream slab pie recipe reminds me of a giant pop tart, which means it must be awesome!

I also don't think it's any secret that I like cake and ice cream, so Funfetti Ice Cream Sundae cupcakes sound like something I would be totally on board with.

FAVORITE BLOG POST
Thanks to Whitney and her tweet, I finally got a better understanding about what Robin Thicke might mean when he asks "what rhymes with hug me" in 'Blurred Lines'.

FAVORITE FIND
I don't know how much of a find this is, but I discovered the show Freaks and Geeks on Netflix and I am hooked. I had heard a lot of good things about it, but I never actually watched it.

FAVORITE PINS

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What were some of your favorite things from the week? Link up, below! All I ask is that you follow my little blog on some platform (GFC, Bloglovin, Twitter, etc.) and that you link back and share the link-up with your readers!

Things That Make Me Laugh

Sometimes, you just need a good laugh. Yesterday was a long day. I mean, I really can't complain. I am alive. The people I love are alive and well. Some other people aren't as lucky. It was just exhausting, you know how those days are. So today I will be sharing with you some things that make me laugh. You will notice that I have a very complex sense of humor. It could be likened to that of a prepubescent boy. Cats doing weird things, penis jokes, people acting like d-bags, cute animal memes. You know, complex stuff.

Without further ado...

   

 

 

Love and Stuff

Hey all, it's B here.  Lindsey had too much work to do and couldn't write a post so I thought I could fill in for her.  Lindsey always talks about having a "theme" for a post so mine is "that's nice sweetie", which is the number one response I get when ever I propose a wedding idea. As such, the list below are the awesome, nay, epic wedding ideas I've proposed that will never come to fruition.

1. Groomsmen's Attire

I am 6'6 and pretty skinny, so I thought it'd be awesome to show off the guns.  And not even for me, my groomsmen would be rocking this look pretty hard, too.  Note, the jeans and boots. Totally tacky and not as formal as I'd like.  My guys would have actual slacks, because we're classy like that.  But Lindsey's response to the cut off jackets was "That's nice sweetie. But no.".

2. The "wedding kiss"

I've been to a good deal of weddings, and the first kiss is always so awkward for me, like the video above. This first kiss seems so unnatural and forced. I've yet to see the perfect 'first kiss'. To avoid the awkwardness, I proposed that we just high five when the pastor says "you may now kiss the bride" and then skip down the aisle.  This idea was not accepted, responded to, nor was it even acknowledged. 

3. The Band

I wanted a live band. We have a DJ. Shocking. It only bothers me because there will not be an opportunity at our wedding for such an incredible photo.  But it's ok, because the DJ was cost effective and he can play my favorite jam over and over again. You guessed it. No Diggity by Blackstreet.

4. Dancing

I, like most men, express my emotions through the art of dance. However, I have been advised to be on my best behavior during our first dance, and any other dance maneuvers there on after.  I am writing this down because I will not abide by this rule and it is my goal to get a photo like this at the end of our wedding night. 

Other Things that Lindsey Does Not Want at the Wedding:

I have been advised that iPads cannot capture the beauty of our wedding.  You need at least 14.2 megapixels to captures my brides beauty.

No adorable cats photo-bombing our pictures, Lindsey will only accept cute puppies.

Just like cats, Lindsey will not also permit dinosaurs at the wedding.  I think it has to do with her fear of Jurassic Park and her unexpected distaste for the "Land Before Time".


Well, that's all I wanted to share at this time as I now must go clean the dishes since Lindsey made dinner tonight.  To be fair, Lindsey did allow some of my ideas into the wedding. For instance, she let me select the beer and she informed me that I do get to actually BE in the wedding, which I'm pretty excited about.

I wish all the best to all those young couples who are in the throws of planning their wedding.  I know it can be stressful, overwhelming and down right expensive, but do remember, after everything has been paid for and the guests have all gone home, you get to go on a honeymoon with your non-platonic best friend.  Which is arguably the best part, and then the lifetime of love and stuff.

Linking up with Wedding Wednesday, Random Wednesday, Wildcard Wednesday

Cake Batter Frozen Greek Yogurt

I have a thing for cake batter. It may be one of my favorite things on this earth. I will risk the threat of salmonella to lick a bowl clean. It would be totally worth it. If I see anything that is flavored like cake batter, I will probably eat it. Oreos? Yep. Rice Krispie Treats? Yep. Ice Cream? Definitely.

So when I had a box of Funfetti cake mix that went unused after the 4th, I decided to experiment making my own cake batter frozen yogurt, not once but twice. 

Yes, I made two different recipes of cake batter frozen yogurt. The first one, well, I'm not going to lie to you,  it is literally frozen cake batter. Not that there is anything wrong with that. The second is frozen yogurt flavored like cake batter. And is probably a crap ton healthier because it's not actually cake batter.

For my first recipe, I just mixed some milk, vanilla extract, and sugar in a sauce pan over the stove until the sugar dissoved. Then poured that into my Greek yogurt, and then whisked in the cake mix. At this point, I am pretty certain you could throw it in the oven and it would turn into something like a cake. But I stuck it in the fridge to cool.

For my second recipe, I used different flavorings to try to achieve the cake batter flavor. In a sauce pan, I mixed milk, sugar, vanilla extract, pistachio extract (can be subbed for almond extract), and butter (can be subbed for butter extract) over medium heat until the sugar dissolved. Then I mixed into the Greek yogurt and put it in the fridge to cool.

At this point, both recipes undergo the same process.

Once the mixture was nice and cool, I poured it into my ice cream maker and let it churn for about 20 minutes. I let it harden in the freezer for a couple hours before serving, but that step isn't entirely necessary if you want dig in right away.

Now, I probably would have never of bought us an ice cream maker. The only reason we have one is because B's parents gifted it to us for Christmas. At first I thought it was really cool, but didn't really know when I get to use it. But now that I have made a few successful batches of ice cream, I am hooked. I love knowing exactly what is going into the ice cream and using lower fat products like Greek yogurt. And it is really easy! It does require some forethought because you will probably need to let things chill, but other than that, it doesn't take that much time. I highly recommend adding this machine to your kitchen if you are an ice cream lover like me. You will get so much use out of it!

Linking up for Taste of Tuesday, Google Friend Conect, Bloglovin Linkup, The Pin It Party, Pinterest Power Party

E. Leigh's $150 Giveaway!

In honor of Jaime's new job and because her new employer is AWESOME, they have offered one lucky reader a $150 gift card to their store, E.Leigh's! This gift card will be good for any online purchases or purchases on their Facebook page.-->their website is being updated, but will hopefully be back up and running soon.

Check out their page as well as some other amazing bloggers!

1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*winner will be verified

Stripes Rain Fireworks

Even though it wasn't, it sure felt like a 4 day weekend for me. I could use a few more 4 days weekends.

1. B and I both worked from home on Friday, although one of us (me) did a bit more working than the other (him). We did keep up our patriotic outfits, though.
2. I tried out a couple recipes for cake batter Greek frozen yogurt that I will be sharing later this week.
3 & 4. Saturday, we headed down to Lake Murray with some friends where we got soak up a little sun and relax. That is, until a thunderstorm rolled in. We had to race back to the dock through pounding rain to avoid the lightening.....
5. ....which is why I needed a big ol' margarita once we got on dry land.
6. We finally caught a firework show, 2 days late.
7. Sunday, we headed back to Charlotte to meet some friends for lunch. Even though we slept in until 10am, I needed a little pick me up for the drive back.
8. I continuted my stripe themed wardrobe (I wore a striped bathing suit on Saturday) through the weekend.
9. For like the 100th day in a row, we got rain. I don't know which is worse, 60+ continuous days of 100 degree weather like we got in Dallas, or what seems like 60+ days of rain. Either way, it's hard to plan anything outside.

What fun things were you up to this weekend?

Linking up with Weekend Shenanigans, This Weekend I, The GFC Collective, Mingle Monday

 

Weekend Blog Block Party #9

Welcome to the NINTH Weekend Blog Block Party! 

GIVEAWAY TIME: We would like to welcome our honorary co-host, Caroline from Love, Caroline Blog! She linked up last week and was randomly selected to co-host with us. We will pick another honorary co-host for next week. Each link you add to the party equals one entry! If 100+ bloggers link up this week, we will choose THREE co-hosts for next week so spread the word!

DID YOU KNOW? The SIX of us have created a collaborative Pinterest board where we will be pinning our blog crushes each week. We will be choosing from the Bloglovin' list so make sure you are listed there so we can crush on YOU! XO

Once again, I am THRILLED to be hosting with five amazing bloggers: 

Ellie from Creative Geekery

Kristin from One Organic Mama

Rachel from Can't Google Everything

Mary Catherine from Fun-A-Day

Krystal from Krystal's Kitsch AND Sunny Soirees

and co-hosting with Caroline from Love, Caroline Blog!

ONE

Please "LIKE" the Weekend Blog Block Party on Facebook! You can do it right here:

TWO

Please follow the HOSTS on any list that you choose to add your link to! For example, if you want to add your Instagram link, please make sure you follow all of the hosts linked up at the beginning of the list. Don't worry, we are fun to follow and chances are we will follow you back! 

THREE

Please grab the party button and slap it on your bloggity blog somewhere. Sidebar? Link up page? Up to you!

Here is the code!

<div class="Creative Geekery Button" style="width: 150px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://creativegeekery.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a618/CreativeGeekery/blockparty-blue_zps5786f3bd.jpg" width="150" height="150" /> </a> </div>

FOUR

Mingle. It's so fun to make new blogging buddies. Find a few new folks to follow. It's fun and good blogging karma.

FIVE

Share the love! Spread the word via Twitter, Facebook, your blog, smoke signal or carrier pigeon. More potential followers and blog friends for you! To make it REALLY easy for you, just click this button to send out a tweet now: Tweet