Poo-Pourri & Awe-summm-ness!

Oohhh my, this makes me laugh! Last weekend I was at the NYC Stationery and Gifts show. There was one booth in particular that caught my eye. The whole booth was set up with a fabulous, vintage style. I soon realized that the booth was also set up for only ONE product. I read the name and thought it sounded so odd, almost like it had to be a mistake. May I introduce to you: Poo-Pourri. Maybe you've heard of it! Apparently it's creating quite a buzz and has been featured in several magazines. The woman at the booth gave me a sample and went on to say, "Spritz the bowl before you go and no one else will ever know!" I then read this catchy little poem written on the sample:

There once was a young lad from Rhone

whose odor he'd rather disown

now he's taming his poo

by annointing the loo

and now happily sits on his throne!

I was beside myself with laughter and curiosity! It was claiming to be an actual elliminator of all unpleasant odor rooting from unpleasant bathroom experiences, and here's the thing, it's not a spray to be used AFTER, in an attempt to cover up bad odor, but to be used BEFORE your bathroom "adventure".

The Poo-Pourri official website goes on to say that "when you spray Poo-Pourri in the toilet bowl, our proprietary formula creates a film on the surface of toilet water. The film adheres to solid matter as it enters the water, effectively trapping the offending particles inside. Flushing releases additional formula to help neutralize odor the air. Poo-pourri does not have the medicine or bathroom cleanser smell that similar bathroom odor control devices leave behind. Instead, your bathroom is left with the smell of citrus and a hint of your favorite essential oils."

I must say, I have not actually tried my sample! But I am still quite tempted to order a bottle for the bathroom. They are pretty convincing! Have you ever heard of this stuff? If so, does it work?! An inquiring mind wants to know! Too funny.

Now, on to something exciting. I want to say a HUGE thank you to Ms. Quite Contrary and Ms. Heather for giving me this AWE-SUMMM award! I think YOU ladies are awe-summm! So fun, I am loving this. My queenly duties are to list 7 things that make me awe-summm and then nominate 7 other ladies/blogs that are awe-summm. I know I know, but I can't do it. Seriously, only tag 7? Each and every one of you are an encouragement to me, and I find your blogs AWE-SUMMM. Nope, can't tag 7, I tag all of you, because without you, my blog would NOT be awe-summm by any means. I'm allowed to bend the rules a bit, because, well, it does say Queen of ALLLLL things. :o)

SO, without further ado...

1. I've been skydiving THREE times. Pretty much, the most awe-summm thing ever.

2. My husband is awe-summm, which means I'm automatically awe-summm, associated through marriage.

3. I love to eat and I love to cook. I can't say I'm any good at the cooking part (I KNOW I'm good at the eating part), but I love to try.

4. I've mentioned it before on here and I'm mentioning it again: I went to clown school. I think that puts me in the top 5th percentile of awe-summm-ness.

5. I'm the daughter of a King.

6. I went to Penn State, the most awe-summm school in the universe. :o)

7. I am BLESSED beyond belief. And that, is AWE-SUMMMMMM.

I hope everyone had an AMAZING Memorial Weekend! Happy Tuesday!! YAYYY for a short week!

XOXO,

Little Bee

After Thought! - I mentioned below that I will post on Monday, but I completely forgot that it is Memorial Day and I won't even be here!! I have to change it to Tuesday, and still promise I will follow through! :o)

Hello, my name is Anna. Do you remember me? I used to make an appearance on here on a semi-regular basis. Ahh, what a terrible blogger I have been! My apologies! To say my schedule has been quite insane would be an understatement. I feel as though I have barely had time to breathe lately! I have been a busy little bee. How are things with all of YOU? Trust me, I have been reading your blogs!! Even if I haven't been able to comment, I have been doing quick reads at every opportunity I get. The comments will start pouring over to you from me soon, I promise. NYC was great! Super busy, but super great. I came home on Monday and we immediately had guests come into town, which was so much fun, but another little thing keeping my time occupied from the blogging world. I have used this image before, but I really have been like a chicken running around with my head cut off. I know it's a lame excuse, but it truly has just been so hard to find time to sit at my computer and post. Next weekend we'll be out of town again and well, this weekend, tons of stuff going on! I am very grateful for the busy-ness in our lives. While it may be overwhelming at times, it is a blessing to have a full schedule. I wouldn't want to be sitting around doing nothing! I keep reminding myself of this. A busy schedule is a blessing. Soo, all of this rambling to say that I sincerely hope you will stick around, regardless of my lack of writing. You are my friends and I thoroughly enjoy keeping up with you in the blogosphere. I know there has to be an end in site to the madness. The posts will start flowing again regularly, I am sure of it. Please stick around!

That has been on my heart. Glad to get it out. NOW, on to fun stuff. I have some more pictures below from Italy! Nine days of pure bliss. It almost feels now like it was ages ago. It was definitely a well needed vacation; I hope every single one of you gets to have a vacation SOON!! Hopefully even this weekend for some of you. It was so rejuvenating. I hope you enjoy the pics!

On Tuesday, (yes on Tuesday, I promise! No excuses.) I am excited to write you a post about something I saw at the conference I worked at over the weekend. I was at the Nationel Stationery and Gifts show in NYC and kept walking by this one booth. I finally stopped and asked the woman what the heck it was they were selling. It is hysterical!! I can't wait to tell you about it. Monday, Monday. Also, and this is IMPORTANT, some of you have been so amazing to have left me awards and tags on your blogs. I am SO thankful and apologize that I have not addressed them yet on here. I am excited to post about it and can not tell you enough how appreciative and thankful I am!

Happy Wedenesday! HAVE AN AMAZING, LONGGG WEEKEND!!!! Have so much fun and please, please, please be safe!! Blessings to all of you, my sweet blogging buddies!

The yellow, Tory Burch jelly ballet slippers worked out GREAT!

Mmmmm, gelato.

My sexy husband.

I wanted to run up and squeeze him!

Here are some of my attempted "artsy" pictures. I really wanted to capture the amazing colors!

XOXO,

BAAAAAAACK!

WOW. To say that was one of the most amazing, phenomenal trips of my life would be an understatement. I am still in awe. We had the most magnificent time seeing so many amazing places that kept us constantly in awe of God's goodness and BEAUTY here on earth. It was also an amazing week spending quality time with my husband's two brothers and his parents, and honestly, I left more in love with my husband than when we got there - if that is EVEN possible. It was so romantic, so amazing and SO PERFECT!! I have a bazillion pictures, but here are a few! We visited so many places! Cinque Terre, Florence, Pisa, Recco, Lucca, Portovenere, Porto Vallarta, Santa Margherita, and the list still goes on - we packed a lot in! I hope you enjoy these pictures, I can't wait to share more. I hope everyone has had an AMAZING past two weeks. I can't wait to start getting caught up on everyone's blogs! I'm actually off tonight for my parent's house and then NYC for four days, PHEW, and will be back on Tuesday for more pictures and stories! I missed ya'll!! :o)

Cinque Terre!!! I dreamt of this moment for FIVE YEARS, being able to share it with my husband. It was PERFECT!

The view from our balcony! Our Villa was amazing!!
Bike riding in Lucca!

Another view from our balcony. Isn't it breathtaking?! We were so blessed.

On the Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence! Ponte Vecchio Bridge in the background.

Pisa! Look at how beautiful the sky was!! And the model is quite beautiful too. :o)

Town of Recco

Town of Portovenere

Blessings!

Arrivederci!

Hello, friends! I hope everyone had an amazing weekend and a great start to your week. Things sure have been BUSY! Except for a little lingering cough, I am all better, HEALTHY and ready for Europe! I think it was your kind words of encouragement that made me all better in time. I can't believe we are leaving the day after tomorrow!! I am so giddy. I am also running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get everything ready. Toronto was a blast! I only have a few business pictures that I took, so I won't bore you with them. But before I left we had a fun Friday and Saturday night. Friday we went to our new AAA baseball field to watch the Iron Pigs play. The stadium is beautiful! Here's a picture of my handsome hubby standing by our table; I'm pretty sure we had the best spot in the whole ballpark. We will definitely be going to a ton of games this summer. I can't wait!


On Saturday we bought a new grill! We have been cooking out every night so far and it has been AMAZING! It's so much fun coming home from work on a beautiful day, knowing that we can sit outside, relax, talk about our days and grill some yummy food. My hubsy is quite the grill master and has been so happy with his new toy.

Well, I will be on a blogging hiatus starting now, through next week. Italy, here we come!! I am beyond excited and so thrilled to spend nine days in Italia with my husband and his family. We're leaving tomorrow night for his parent's house and Friday morning, we're off! The day after tomorrow! I can't believe how fast it came. We are staying in a villa outside of Cinque Terre (here's yet another picture of Cinque - I can't get enough)! We have so many amazing places to visit that I can't wait to be back at. I was in Italy for a summer in college, studying abroad, and have been dyeing to share my experiences with my hubsy. It's finally time!

Can't wait for him to see Tuscany!

Florence
Pisa
Milan! I lived in Milan while I was studying, so it seems almost too good to be true that I can show him where I lived, and the beautiful Duomo!

I am thrilled to post all about our trip when we get back and hopefully show you some breathtaking pictures! Please have an amazing and safe time this weekend, next week and next weekend. Boy, I feel like we'll be gone a while. I'll be back on here as soon as I get back! Arrivederci means "farewell" in Italian. So, Arrivederci and God Bless!

XOXO,

Cinque Terre

Happy Thursday! I wrote on Monday how I have been under the weather, and man this thing is really kicking my butt! I am trying so hard to get this flu kicked so I can be 100% healthy and ready for our trip; I'm almost there! I'm actually leaving on Sunday for a business trip to Toronto too, so I have been doing a lot of resting and throwing back liquids. Thank you for your sweet words and well wishes to get better, I really appreciate it!! I wanted to jump on here and write a quick post, and I knew Cinque Terre would be the perfect topic. I feel incredibly blessed that I had the opportunity to spend a summer abroad in Italy during college. I developed friendships and memories to last a lifetime. My favorite spot in Italy was Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera. If you've been there, I bet it's your favorite spot too. Cinque Terre literally means five lands/villages; five fishing villages that are connected with trails. The villages are known for their fresh seafood and homemade pesto. I remember sitting on a bench overlooking the ocean and being completely in awe of what I was seeing and experiencing. I told myself that some day, I would be back here with my husband. I had absolutely no idea who that person was or what he looked like, but I knew I would be back there with him. That's where we're going! It is so crazy to think that God knew exactly who I would be back there with, my studly husband. The coolest part about this whole trip coming up is that it is a gift from my in-laws. What an amazing gift! My husband's parents surprised us and bought a trip for us, his two brothers and themselves. We leave a week from tomorrow and will be gone for ten days. It is like a dream come true. I'm posting a few pictures below. I know there has to be SOME photoshop techniques done to the images, but honestly, the colors when you are seeing it in person are just as vibrant. Isn't it beautiful? If you make it to Italy, will you please go there? I promise you that you will LOVE it. Heck, come with us! :o)

I hope you have an amazing weekend!! These next few weeks will be a bit scattered for me on the blog scene. I will be on here as much as I can to keep up with your wonderful blogs, please know the comments will be coming on full force when I get back! I will definitely be here next week to post before we leave, but it will probably be a short one. Business trip to Toronto, packing and getting ready for Italy, and trying to get ALL better before we leave is starting to sound like an exhausting few days ahead! But well worth it. :o) Happy Thursday and God Bless!

New Shoes To Beat The Blues

Happy Monday! Man, I don't know what it is, but my body is fighting something fierce! I've had a terrible cough, high fever, and severe body aches all over - I am definitely fighting some sickly blues. This post is going to be short, but I wanted to show you my newest shoe purchases! I really don't spend my money on a ton of things, except shoes. I have had a romance with shoes that started when I was a little girl. I collect shoes themselves and shoes in other various forms: shoe cheese spreaders, shoe coffee table books, shoe charm bracelets, shoe candles...the list goes on. Shoes are a hobby of mine. That being said, I have been SO good lately about not buying any new shoes. There are other things we need to be spending our money on right now, so I have been diligently avoiding the shoe section of every department store. Well, over the weekend I was reacquainted with my loves. I am in need of a new pair of COMFORTABLE flats for our trip to Italy coming up (we leave a week from Friday! AH, so exciting!). I was on the lookout for a pair of yellow flats because I have been planning what I will be packing and yellow will be a perfect match for almost every outfit. I even have a black maxi dress I'm taking and how cute will it be to throw in a pair of yellow flats and a yellow bracelet or necklace? Well, I found the perfect pair! And they are like jellies, which are perfect for rainy weather! They honestly feel like they were made for my feet; they are ridiculously comfortable. I am so excited about them! I also bought a pair of MK flip flops that are jelly material and have them pictured below as well. I am so excited about my shoe purchases. I may be under the weather buy my spirits are high - amazing travels coming up and some super cute shoes to take me along the way. :o)

What do you think?

I hope you have a wonderful start to your week!

XOXO,

ynkrxte2d8

Amazingly Easy, Amazingly Delish - Choc Cake!

Hi, friends! I know, this is a lot of recipe posts in a row, but we've had the opportunity to have some awesome friends over lately and with good company coming over comes trying to make good food! Are you familiar with Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade series? I feel like if she hadn't thought of the whole "semi-homemade" idea first, then I probably would have! It's genius. I found a recipe online (allrecipes) for a chocolate cake that I thought would be fun to try and everyone loved it! It was the easiest thing to make (uses a cake mix for the base) and really was SO rich and moist and even has tiny chocolate chips melted throughout - the perfect cake for a chocolate lover. I actually don't even like chocolate cake (i'm definitely a vanilla girl, ie. funfetti cake), but I know a lot of people LOVE chocolate cake, and I also had the smart plan to make something that if we had a lot of leftovers then it wouldn't be so tempting to eat them. My husband is already devouring the rest! The recipe is below; I decided to make it into two cakes and added the fresh strawberries and used a buttercream frosting that I bought from the store. I made this late Tuesday night, so I didn't have the energy to make something completely from scratch, hence why it is so easy! I hope you can make it! The compliments I got from it made me feel like a little Martha Stewart! I kept saying, "No really, it only looks semi-impressive, it's SO easy to make!"

Lots'O'Chocolate Cake

1 (18.25 oz) package devil's food cake mix

1 (5.9 oz) package instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased bundt pan (or two 8" cake pans).

3. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cook cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before transferring to a plate and icing. I used buttercream frosting (really, ANY frosting would be good) and cut up fresh strawberries to put between the layers and on top. Another recommendation is to dust the cake with powdered sugar and drizzle some chocolate syrup on top. YUM-O!

That's it! Oh, and I didn't have nearly as much trouble icing this cake as I did the carrot cake. Praise the Lord! So, it is Thursday! Hallelujah! Since I have off on Fridays, it is always SO nice when Thursdays roll around. I know my blogging has been down to about two posts/week, but it really is just so chaotic around here. My days at work have been filled to the brim with projects of my own plus projects that I'm helping others with. We just launched a new Spring line at work and we are SO busy getting it out the door. By the way, I'm in Marketing! Have I ever mentioned that? I loveee Marketing. Creativity is something I thrive off of and it is such a blessing to do it in my line of work. Do you enjoy your job? I wish everyone could enjoy what they do. I love this but I am also really looking forward to being a stay-at-home mom some day. I think that will be the most rewarding job yet. Hard, but rewarding. Alright, better get back to work. Please enjoy your day and have an amazing weekend!

Blessings,