Product Review- Suave Dry Shampoo

Every once in awhile I oversleep or wake up and just don't feel like completely re-doing my hair for the day. I usually just throw it in a low pony tail on those days and it looks fine. Well, recently I started seeing this product on the shelves and even read a really good review on it so I decided to buy it and try it out.

Verdict- Not a fan.

I followed the directions...hold can 8-12 inches away from head and lightly spray, let sit for a few minutes then style as normal. I did exactly this. The first thing I noticed is it made my hair look gray. It kind of looked like I spray painted my hair. This freaked me out a little, considering I had to be at work in 20 minutes, so I immediately tried to use a towel and get it off my hair. That sort of worked, but not really. It is now 8 hours later and I still think my hair looks gray at the roots. Anyways- after that disaster I still thought I could just hold it a little farther away and just lightly spray all over instead of just around my part at the roots. I know you are probably thinking I sprayed too much...I swear I didn't. I just very lightly sprayed over my whole head then let it sit for 2-3 minutes. I went to give my hubby a hug bye and he nearly choked on the smell of the spray. He said it smelled like bad hairspray. Awesome. So, my hair is semi gray looking, kind of sticky and it smells funny today. Ugh....

Have any of you tried this product? What did you think?

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday, everyone! Hope yall had a great weekend! :)
Ours was spent once again in town and with no big plans...that would make 4 weekends in a row that we have been in town and not had much going on (that is probably a record for us).

Friday night we were craving Italian food and had a gift card to Carabba's so we had an early dinner there then went home to watch a movie. We had rented "Arthur" with Russell Brand...HILARIOUS!!! I used to despise him and I still do not really care for him too much in general but he is really funny in his movies. Saturday we had breakfast at Lola in the Heights then spent a few hours looking for a bike for me! I have been wanting one for awhile but just kept putting it off but we finally found one! It was pretty cheap and is just a very basic mountain bike but it is exactly what I wanted. My hubby has a bike and always wants to ride together so now we finally can :) We figure if I start riding a lot then we can go and get me a nicer one down the road. Anyways, Saturday night we went to a dinner party/couple's baby shower for one of my best friends & her husband. Their little girl, Ella Victoria, is due at the beginning of October. I am going to post pictures of that this week but our Internet was down yesterday so I did not get to upload them.
We spent Sunday running a few errands, taking a bike ride through Memorial Park, grilling hamburgers and we watched "Tron."

Let me just tell you...I AM SORE from that bike ride. My "sit bones" (that term was used a lot during my many years of dance and when I got my Pilates certification) hurt SO SO bad. Bike seats are NOT comfortable...even a custom one like I got. I have not been on a bike in probably 12-15 years and while actually riding a bike is easy, it is still painful! 1 mile into our ride I was already complaining about my thighs hurting and my wrists hurting! HA! It was really sad. I guess it is like any type of physical activity...if you take a super long break from it, it will be hard and painful the first few times back to it.

Also- If it seems like we have been watching A LOT of movies lately- we have. Our cable has been acting crazy the past 2 weeks and it is too frustrating watching normal shows so we have had to rent movies so we have something to watch until the Comcast people come fix the issue, which will be this week thank goodness.

This week is going to be crazy busy...between Chris & I, we have something going on every single night this week. I will barely see him until Saturday afternoon :(
And today is officially the start of football season, which means many weekends and nights spent at Reliant Stadium and Kyle Field. The first pre-season Texans game is tonight against the Jets. Whohooo- Go Texans!






Hope you all have a great Monday!!

Cake Decorating Class #2

Tuesday night was our 2nd class at Michael's. We had to bring an 8 inch cake, 2 batches of homemade icing and TONS of other random things we had to buy for the class. We got to ice our cake, add filling and do some basic decorating for the first time. In our kits we had to buy for the class there are basic tutorials and all the different decorating tips. For Tuesday's class we had to draw a cupcake on parchment paper, outline it with piping gel and transfer it to the top of the cake then fill with colored icing. Here is how my turned out-



Looks pretty simple but what you can't see in this picture is that I actually did not do that great of a job. HA! It is a little more tricky than it looks. So, I have some practicing to do before next Tuesday. The class is turning out to be so much fun though. I have already learned so much and can't wait for the next 2 classes.


Here is my friend Kim & I at the end of class with our decorated cakes :)

Pinterest Wednesdays!

Today I am linking up with The Vintage Apple for Pinteresting Wednesday! After seeing so many bloggers out there do this every Wednesday I had to join in the fun :) In case you don't know what Pinterest is...it is a site where you can "pin" your favorite recipes, projects, crafts, designs, styles and more on different boards. It is invite only so if you are not already a member, email me and I can send you an invite! Here are some of my favorite pins of the week....


LOVE THIS FOR THE FRONT DOOR


MAKES ME READY FOR COOLER WEATHER


PRETTY CENTERPIECES


BEAUTIFUL PICTURE


PRETTY OUTDOOR SPACE


MONOGRAM WREATH- FUN DIY PROJECT


I WANT THIS LAUNDRY ROOM


DIY PROJECT- MAPS OF WHERE YOU MET, MARRIED AND LIVE

Tasty Tuesday- Zucchini, Squash & Chicken Sausage Pasta

I came across this yummy recipe on a blog that I read and knew I had to make it ASAP. I was a little nervous about the chicken sausage... I have had it several times and a couple times it was really gross but other times I loved it. Well, I have to say- I LOVED it this time. Chris loved this recipe too and we have tons of leftovers.

Ingredients-
-Bow Tie Pasta- I used almost a full box b/c I wanted to have leftovers
-1 Zucchini, sliced
-1 Squash, sliced
-3-4 links cooked, sliced Chicken Sausage- I used one with Garlic & Cheese
-1 lemon
-Salt & Pepper
-Garlic Salt
-Zesty Italian Dressing
-Minced Garlic
-1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
-2 tbsp Parmesan Cheese
-2 tbsp Olive Oil

Directions-
Cook pasta in boiling water. Drain and keep warm.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add zucchini, squash and chicken sausage. Add the juice of one lemon, several splashes of Zesty Italian dressing, 2 small spoonfulls of minced garlic and red pepper flakes. Saute for approximately 5 minutes. Add a little garlic salt and the parmesan cheese. Add in the drained bowtie pasta and mix together.

Sounds easy & delicious, huh? It is!! Enjoy!

Half-Marathon Training Update & Weekend Recap

Training has gotten off to a bit of a rough start. My week day runs have been slacking (this is always my problem) and it is miserably hot so my runs on Saturday's have been really hard. With only 4 months until my race I have seriously got to step it up.

I love my new group I am running with on Saturday mornings...I have met some great ladies and have found a group that is right at my pace. We are only up to a little over 3 miles but every Saturday the mileage is getting higher. Tempo runs and hill training start this week. Those are on Tuesday & Thursday evenings. You would think that running around 6:30 PM would be better because the temperature would drop...but, nope, not here in Houston. It is still over 100 degrees at that time of the day...so, no matter what time of the day/night you run- IT IS HOT.

Last week I did do Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred EVERY DAY though =) Whohoo! I was sore all week but it felt great to stick with it. Besides running on Saturday, I did not work out at all over the weekend so I am back at it today.

This past weekend was one of the most uneventful weekends I have had in a really, really long time. And I absolutely LOVED it. We had all sorts of plans for Saturday but literally EVERYTHING fell thru. Friday night I cooked a new recipe I found, Zucchini, Squash & Chicken Sausage Pasta (It was delicious...I will probably post the recipe tomorrow) and we watched a movie. Saturday morning I woke up at 5:30 and ran 3 miles with Houston Fit, got a manicure & pedicure, baked a cake, piddled around the house then laid in bed and watched a movie and TV for hours. It was perfect. Sunday, we did more of the same...had breakfast at Hungry's, went to the grocery store then just hung out at home ALL day. Hubby got a deep fryer recently and he fried some catfish for us last night. It was delicious!

We managed to watch 4 movies this weekend! I don't think that has ever happened before. Here they are-

-Limitless- Stars Bradley Cooper...really good movie, definitely recommend it.
-Just Go With It- Stars Jennifer Anniston & Adam Sandler...your typical corny romantic comedy.
-Hall Pass- Stars Owen Wilson & Jason Sudeikis....HILARIOUS!
-Get Him to the Greek- Stars Jonah Hill & Russell Brand...very innapropriately funny.

Saturday night we had plans to go out to dinner at Benjy's then go to White Linen Night in the Heights with some friends. We were mainly going out to celebrate my best friend, Holly's, birthday but she ended up not being able to come so we just decided to stay home.

Hope you all had a fun & relaxing weekend, too! =)

Wilton Cake Decorating Class- Day 1

Last night was my first night of cake decorating class at Michael's! My friend, Kim, and I signed up a couple weeks ago...we have both always wanted to do take one of these classes so we thought it would be fun to do it together :) And it was!

The classes are Tuesday nights from 6-8 for the next 4 weeks. Our teacher's name is Lisbeth and we have a total of 6 people in the class. I did not really know what to expect and what the lay out of the class was until last night. Each week we will learn new decorating techniques and designs as well as the basics of baking & icing a cake.

Last night was our first class...we met the instructor, signed in, met the rest of the class and got started! We learned all about baking a great cake...how to prepare the pan, mix the batter, fill the pan, test the cake for doneness and remove the cake from the pan when finished. We have all baked cakes before but there are so many little tips and tricks she taught us that I had no idea about! Next, we learned all about icing...how to make it, what it is used for and all about the 3 kinds of consistency (I had no idea how important that part is!). We learned about decorating bags, decorating tips, couplers and how to fill the decorating bags with icing. Then we moved on to leveling a cake (dividing it into a top & bottom half) and adding fillings such as pudding, preserves or fruit to the middle. Finally, came icing the cake! There is a real technique to that. It is not as easy as it looks...you have to worry about it being even and you don't want any crumbs showing. We ended the class by getting to practice on our own. Whe we signed up for the class we had to buy this little kit. It includes all the basics we would need. So, we filled our decorating bags with icing, added a coupler & tip and started practicing making stars on paper. The instructor showed us a little about piping gel but we ran out of time and did not get into that much.
I seriously learned so much in that first class! When I usually bake a cake, I bake it out of box, in a glass baking dish and slab some icing on the top. Those days are gone. I can't wait to start trying new shapes and sizes, adding fillings and decorating the tops!

I feel kind of like I am in school again, except this is way more fun. We actually have homework...kinda. We have to buy a bunch of supplies that we will need for the rest of the class, make 2 batches of icing at home and make a cake and bring all of that to class next Tuesday. That night will be our first try at icing a cake and adding filling on our own and doing some very basic decorating. WHOHOO!!! Can not wait :) Kim and I actually bought almost everything we needed after the class was over. This is what I came home with....


Have any of you ever taken one of these classes? If you haven't, but you have considered it, you really should look into it! Just go in a local Michael's or Hobby Lobby for all the info. I will post a recap of day 2 next Wednesday!

Happy Baking! =)

What I'm Loving Wednesday- Aqua & Red Edition

I am loving these 2 colors together! Here are some favorite pictures I found on Pinterst this week.

Tasty Tuesday- Turkey Taco Soup

This is one of my favorite healthy recipes to make. I originally got the recipe from Hungry Girl but I have tweaked it some and we love it! It is so easy, cheap, fast and healthy and I always make a huge pot so we have leftovers to take for lunch during the week. Enjoy!

What you will need-
-2 cans of Progresso Light Southwestern Style Vegtable Soup
-1 Package ( not sure of the ounces ) of Jennie-O Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast
-1-2 tbsp's of Low Sodium Taco Seasoning (add more for extra spice)
-1 can of drained Black Beans
-Fat Free Sour Cream, Fat Free Shredded Cheese, chopped Scallions (all optional)

In a non-stick pan, crumble and brown the turkey meat until it is cooked through. In same pan (make sure it is deep) add the 2 cans of soup and can of drained black beans and stir. Next, add the taco seasoning. At this point everything is cooked and ready to be eaten but if I have time I try to let it simmer for 15-30 minutes.
Serve hot sides of sour cream, cheese and scallions!

This is a great low calorie, low carb and high protein meal! Hope you like it!

Birthday Weekend Recap!

Happy Monday & August 1st! Wow...where has this year gone?! I can not believe football season is here, the holidays are just around the corner, one of my best friends is very close to having her first baby, school starts and hopefully some cooler weather in the next couple of months (I live in Houston..wishful thinking)! This year has flown by.

Well, this weekend I turned 29. Whohoo! It was such a fun weekend! Friday night hubby and I went with his brother, Andrew and his GF, Hannah and my old roomies Hayden & Brendan to see Katy Perry in concert. SHE WAS AAAAAWESOME!!!!!! She changed costumes at least 10 times, has tons of dancers and acrobats and did some really cool "extras". Here are a few pictures. ( They are kinda grainy...something was up with my little point & shoot that night )






Saturday morning I skipped my run with my group (bad Leslie...I made it up on Sunday though! ) and Chris took me to my favorite brunch place in Houston- Backstreet Cafe. And he gave me my gift!! Ta-da....

It is a Nikkor 55-300 lens and I am OBSESSED with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It goes to my Nikon D60 I have. I have desperately wanted a new lens for awhile now so I am really excited about this! He definitely won "Husband of the Year" award for this one :)
Saturday night my parents came to our house and we went to dinner at Brenner's on the Bayou. Love this restaurant! It is right on the Bayou and so beautiful. You do not even feel like you are in Houston when you are here. It was such a fun day :)

Yesterday we went up to Lake Conroe and took the boat out for a few hours, just the 2of us, but it was SO hot we just could not stay out there very long. I got a really bad headache from the heat...it was miserable. And last night I ran 3 miserable miles and grilled shrimp for dinner.

It was a fun and relaxing weekend that went way too fast...
Hope you all had a great weekend!!