How to Have the Best Lip Sync Battle Party

A few Friday nights ago was my lip sync battle themed 30th birthday party. To say it was fun would be an understatement. Of course in all the excitement I didn't take the time to take proper pictures of the set up (just me and my friends rocking it out), but I still wanted to share with you what I did to pull off this fun party. 

First things first, most importantly you need music! What I did was have as many friends as possible give me the songs they planned to sing at the party and created a YouTube playlist but I also left it open for friends to sign up for songs the night of since many of them saw how much fun it was and wanted to participate. 
I was lucky enough that I had a friend who was a DJ and I borrowed her equipment for the party BUT there are so many other options if you don't have DJ equipment or want to spend the money on a DJ. For example, speakers like this one project amazing sound as well and can be set up for Bluetooth so you can just use your phone!

The next important item on your list is props. You can't have a lip sync battle without microphones (I purchased a pack of toy ones off of amazon)  but you also need fun props for your lip-syncers and the crowd to have too. I went to the dollar store and just walked around and grabbed random items like bead necklaces, glow stick bracelets, glow stick clappers, noisemakers, crowns , feather boas and so much more. I also purchased a 12 pack of sunglasses for everyone to grab while performing or taking pictures. 

The biggest hits of the night were definitely the glow stick hand clappers I bought from the dollar store. If you can't find them, these would work out good too, since my friends just seem to like to make noise. I encouraged everyone to grab some kind of noisemaker at the start of the evening and made sure to make noise after each lip-syncer went so that everyone encouraged everyone else on. 

Lastly, what's a party without party favors? Everyone got one of these  party favors, because everyone participated, those who chose not to lip sync got to be the judges to determine who won the award that I bought for the winner, which wasn't the greatest of awards but it was still pretty fantastic. 

Throw in some good food and drinks, fun friends, and good music and I promise you will have the best lip sync party ever! 

End of the Week Roundup

Another weekend is upon us! Tonight is my lip sync battle birthday party, to say that I am excited would not even cover it. One more week until my birthday! 
But enough about what's coming up, here's the recap to this week:
1. Friday I had lunch with my mom and she surprised me by not only bringing my dad along for the lunch but also her best friend who brought kayaks! We didn't get to kayak while on my lunch break but we did have one of the most enjoyable lunches by the lake, then after work we all came back and kayaked for a little while. 

2. Saturday night Dave and I had dinner with his brother Eric and his girlfriend Ashlie. It was an enjoyable evening and Ashlie introduced me to Rent the Runway, which I now makes me want to go to ALL the fancy places and rent outfits for them. I rented a birthday outfit for my dinner in the city next week so we shall see how it turns out. I promise you this: you will hear all about it :) 

3. Sunday was a lazy day. Dave was helping his brother finish off his shed so I stayed home by myself and binge watched Ally McBeal. I remember loving that show when I was in high school and I'm happy to say that I still enjoy it. I was obsessed with Robert Downey Jr then and I'm not going to lie, I can't wait to watch him in the show that made me that way all over again. 

4. Sunday night was also the night that Ashley updated my blog layout. What do you think of it? She just had her daughter, Grace,  Tuesday and I'm so happy for her!  5. Wednesday was the first day back to school for me and it was also the day I got a mole removed from my leg. Me and needles don't mesh well and I've never had stitches before so it was a mentally exhaustive day. 

6. Thursday my momma and I met up for lunch again and she brought beautiful roses for me! 

And something new I thought I'd try...here are some links to some interesting tidbits I came across this week: Certain articles of clothing like underwear I always make sure to wash before I wear it the first time, but most things I don't. How important is it exactly to wash clothes before you wear them? 
Do you ever wonder what would be in the suitcase of a mental patient at an insane asylum? Wonder no more....
I'm slightly obsessed with Cracked and their articles. This one about insane "As Seen on TV" products was an interesting read. 
How did your week go? Any interesting articles/links to share?

Helpful Info

I posted this originally two years ago when I first started blogging. It's still good info to have handy, so I thought I would repost! By the way, the way this is written it sounds like a sponsored post. I promise it's not. It's really just me trying to share the wealth of knowledge.

Did you know you can pull your credit report for free once a year? Well, if you didn't you do now.

Source

Annual Credit Report is a website that allows you to pull your credit for free once a year. You won't be able to get your credit score for free, that you'll have to pay for; however you can run a full report from each of the credit reporting agencies free of charge. 

So why is this important? Well, your credit is what determines your interest rates on loans, whether or not a financial institution will lend you money or how much they'll lend you, whether you can get a car or a house and whether or not you can get those things at decent interest rates. Plus, some jobs require good credit in order for you to be considered for a position. Your credit is so important for your day to day life, it's important to make sure that it is accurate. 

The nice thing is the website is fairly easy to use and if you do find some discrepancies on your reports, they (the three credit reporting agencies--Transunion, Experian, and Equifax) all have instructions on what you can do to fix it. There is no reason why you shouldn't take a few minutes out of your day to make sure your report is accurate, it's too important not to. Plus, like I said, it's free with no gimmicks (unlike those ones who claim to be free but make you sign up for 30 days with a credit card) or hidden agendas.

Hopefully this was informative, make sure you pass this link along to family and friends so they can check out their own credit reports! 

Coveting

I was thinking about doing a currently post that you see every once in a while but then I figured I'd do a "coveting" post instead. I'll probably do the currently post next week, if you're disappointed, haha. These are all items I really want but for one reason or another I haven't had a chance to get it. 

1. Tarte Poppy Picnic Limited Edition Palette 

I love it when Tarte comes out with new palettes, in fact they have another brand new one out right now that I want to but it's exactly like the Rainforest After Dark palette that I already have so I'll "settle" for this one. I love the subtle eye colors and Tarte's blush is my absolute favorite. 

2. Accuquilt Go! Baby Fabric Cutter

I have been lusting after this cutter for months. I made the mistake of not buying it when it was on sale for $89.00. I just assumed it would go back on sale easily. A few months later, it's still sitting at the $129.99 price. I have a great quilt idea that I want to make using the circle pattern from this set and my fingers are itching to buy this and make it. 

3. Maskcara Custom Palette

I would love to buy this but I can't justify the $42 price tag for two reasons: 1. I'm an amateur at highlighting and contouring and I have tons of bronzer and highlighter products already and 2. I'm not a fan of cream products at all. I'd have to really get better at HAC and get more acclimated to cream products before I splurged on this. 

4. The perfect purse. 

There's no link or picture to this yet because I haven't found it. I can't explain what I'm looking for. I need a cute purse that is big enough to hold all my junk but not big enough that I can shove 3 books in it (my back can't take much more!). Right now I'm using a Michael Kors purse I borrowed from my mom and it's a very nice purse but it's not me. If you have any suggestions for good, inexpensive purses let me know, I'm on the lookout for "the one". 

Have you been coveting anything lately?

Little Friday Link Up

Holy Schnikes! My first link up hosting gig ever! Link up your best post from the week, I would love to read it!

Ash (Follow Here!) // Ashley (Follow Here!) //  Nicole (Follow Here) // Style & Savings (Follow Here)

Rules are there are no rules! 

Please link-up to whatever you like! 

All that we ask is, if you wish, please follow us via the links above and that you link back to this blog - so that other's can join in and mingle! 

Happy Little Friday Everyone!

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Why is it Called Bathing Suit if You Don't Bathe in it?

In June, my sister is getting married in Jamaica. I'm really excited for the event and the trip itself, of course. Aside from my bridesmaid dress all I really need to pack is a bathing suit and a toothbrush, right? 

I've started the search for the perfect bathing suit and here's what I've narrowed down so far. Fair warning, there are more J.Crew suits on here than others...I spent hours searching sites, and J.Crew just appeals to me more than what I found on other sites. 

Gold Trim Tank via J.Crew

Tulle Swim Set via J.Crew

Anne Cole Tankini Set via Macys

Bleu Rod Beattie via Zappos

Halter Wrap Tank via J.Crew

Michael Kors Tankini Set via Macys

Cutout Tank via J.Crew

Twist Front Bandeau and High Waist Brief  via J.Crew

What suit do you prefer? Do you have any suggestions?

Never Know when You'll Need it...

Fair warning, this post is super long, I'm sorry in advance for it, but I felt the story that goes with it is so important that it had to be, so I'm sharing this extremely valuable link today in the hopes that it will help you as much as it did me. I'm also going to include it at the top of my blog for easy access. 

The SPCA offers a very helpful website for pet owners to go to and find out what plants are toxic for their pets. Please, if you have pets, keep it handy. This site saved Nibbler's life last summer, and it makes me shudder to think what could have happened if I wasn't aware of it.

One of my facebook friends posted the link on her wall a few months prior to me needing it, and I remember saving it as a just in case. I noticed one of the toxic plants for cats was lilies, which I had in my front garden. I never thought much about it because Nibs and Squish don't go outside unsupervised so I figured having it in my garden wasn't a big deal.

Last July I brought Nibbler outside with me, he loves being out in the sun and normally just follows me around chewing on the grass as we walk around. I decided to pluck the pollen off my Stargazer Lillies in my garden because I heard doing that would make them last longer. As usual, Nibbler was next to me just chilling in the garden, helpfully eating the grass I needed to weed out. I turned away for a moment and when I looked down Nibbler had taken a bite out of one of the lily leaves. I scooped him up right away and tried to take the leaf out of his mouth but he had swallowed it. I took him back inside and vaguely remembered seeing lilies on the website so I pulled it up again and saw it on there. I called the poison hot line that the SPCA has set up for situations like this and was told to get him to the hospital, NOW.

I took him to the local emergency vet and they took him back right away and I sat in the waiting room with Dave fearing the worst. If you aren't already aware of my insane love for my cats, Nibbler is my heart and soul. He is the first thing I see in the morning, the first one to greet me with his soft purr and cuddles, my day doesn't start without him. We fall asleep curled up into each other, my day doesn't end without him. And in between? We are inseparable, if I'm home and he isn't dozing on Dave's lap, he's with me, following me around. What if I just lost one of the few things in this world that I have a connection to? Terrible thoughts kept racing through my head: this was all my fault; if I had been paying attention...; if only I had made him get out of the garden; what am I going to tell Squishee if we lose Nibbler?

About an hour later the vet came out and told us that they gave Nibbler some charcoal and made him throw up the leaf but that we weren't out of the woods yet because the toxin from the lily plant could already be coursing through his body and shutting down his liver. She told us they had  to keep him for three days and take daily blood tests. She said we had a 50/50 shot of Nibbler being ok but that if he wasn't we would have to decide between getting him very expensive dialysis, which only has a 50% shot of working or putting him down. It was one of the absolute worst moments of my life. I would lose everything, my house, my car, my job, EVERYTHING, to save Nibbler if I had to.

We had to go home without our Nibsy and there was a hole in my heart. I felt so empty and lifeless. I cried everyday, all day. When I was home Squish could tell something was up, he wouldn't leave my side. Dave and I went to the vet everyday and sat with Nibbler in one of the rooms for a few hours. Nibbler would just lay there sleeping on my lap or cuddling with Dave. You could tell he wanted to go home but he was being strong for us, he was so calm when he was there. He wasn't jumpy or jittery, like he normally is, he would just lay there and melt himself into our arms while we were there.

On the third day they gave us the good news, Nibs would be ok, all his tests came back good and we could take him home. First thing we did when we brought him home was give him a bath to get all the charcoal off of him (thank God he doesn't mind water). He wasn't happy but was super quiet the whole time. About an hour after we had him out of the bath he walked up to Dave and I and just dropped on his side (he does that as a greeting, it's kinda like the fainting goats), rolled on his back and purred. It was the best sound I ever heard in my life. I will never forget that moment or the sweet melody of his purr. It filled the emptiness in my soul that was caused by this whole mess and made me feel like everything was really going to be ok.

The vet told us that it was the quickness of getting Nibbler to the hospital that saved him. She said if we had waited any longer than an hour or two we probably would have lost him.

Timing is everything.

I hope you'll never need to use the link, but keep it handy for just in case.

He is my North, my South, my East, my West; my working week, my Sunday rest

Helpful Link

Did you know you can pull your credit report for free once a year? Well, if you didn't you do now.

Source

Annual Credit Report is a website that allows you to pull your credit for free once a year. You won't be able to get your credit score for free, that you'll have to pay for; however you can run a full report from each of the credit reporting agencies free of charge. 

So why is this important? Well, your credit is what determines your interest rates on loans, whether or not a financial institution will lend you money or how much they'll lend you, whether you can get a car or a house and whether or not you can get those things at decent interest rates. Plus, some jobs require good credit in order for you to be considered for a position. Your credit is so important for your day to day life, it's important to make sure that it is accurate. 

The nice thing is the website is fairly easy to use and if you do find some discrepancies on your reports, they (the three credit reporting agencies--Transunion, Experian, and Equifax) all have instructions on what you can do to fix it. There is no reason why you shouldn't take a few minutes out of your day to make sure your report is accurate, it's too important not to. Plus, like I said, it's free with no gimmicks (unlike those ones who claim to be free but make you sign up for 30 days with a credit card) or hidden agendas.

Hopefully this was informative, make sure you pass this link along to family and friends so they can check out their own credit reports!