Retail Therapy

Ever have one of those days when retail therapy seems to be just what the doctor ordered?  Saturday was one of those days! 

It started when I headed down to Fredericksburg for a hair appointment.  I met up with Sarah at the salon (we've been to the same stylist since college), and I left with new shampoo and conditioner:

Each bottle was 50% off and they last for months, so it's all good.  Purology products are great -- they use menthol which makes your scalp feel tingly.  And the company doesn't test on animals, hooray.

Afterward leaving the salon, we headed over to the new Village at Spotsylvania Towne Center to look for makeup for Sarah's upcoming nuptials.  We stopped at Sephora which is daaaangerous for me.  I did my best to be a good friend and focus on makeup for Sarah, but I couldn't help finding a few items I liked as well.  Thank goodness Sarah is understanding of my condition :)

I've always liked Stila's line of makeup, but never really tried any of their products because of the price tag.  Man, I've been missing out.  I splurged a bit...

Stila's Starlight Eye Shadow.  So pretty, and it definitely brightens my eyes and is still appropriate for work. 

Stila's Onyx Convertible Eye Color.  I really just bought this do-da for the eye pencil.  It's nice having the built in eye shadow but the pencil goes on really smoothly and is the easiest to use of any I've tried.  It's definitely a good starter eye pencil for newbies :)

Stila's Melon Mint Plumbing Lip Glaze.  Pretty!

And last but not least, Coconut Frosting bubble bath.  I love having a tub again...not sure how I went without one for the last year.  This stuff is great, if you like coconut.

I spent the rest of the day hangin' out with my main squeeze:

Cooper's been spending lots of time in his crate lately, so he was happy to get out and romp around. He is such a goofball.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

xoxo,
Olivia

Hello, August

Hi everyone!  It's been a while, hope you are well :)

So last week was little rough... for multiple reasons.  Needless to say, I was super happy when Friday finally rolled around.  Since my friend Ashley had an equally bad week, I invited her over for dinner on Friday and made The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parmigiana.  If you've ever tried anything PW, you know it was fabulous comfort food!

I changed the recipe a bit (blasphemous, I know) by using SmartBalance instead of butter, and only using around 20 oz. of crushed tomatoes and 8 oz. of diced tomatoes.  I also cut down to 1 teaspoon of sugar instead 2 tablespoons.  It still turned out great!

 (Source)

On Saturday, one of my besties was in town from Baltimore.  I had tickets for one of the semifinal matches of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, so after hanging out and catching up for a bit, we headed out.  The match was Marco Baghdatis v. Xavier Malisse.  I've never been to professional tennis match, and it was a blast!

We had great seats -- Baghdatis was right in front of us!

The pros serve at 120+ miles per hour.  Insane.

 And then a courtside switch.  Hello, Malisse.

It was a "cool" low-90s day in DC, but we baaaaked sitting out in the sun.  We whimped out and left after an hour, but it was fun watching while we lasted.  Baghdatis ended up winning the match, but unfortunately lost to David Nalbandian in the finals.

I spent most of Sunday playing catch up on work, and recovering from yesterday's brutal workout.  My usual trainer is on vacation, and the sub-trainer kicked my ass.  And I got my first intro to kettlebells.  I thought they were fun at the time, but man am I feeling it today.  Have you ever tried these? 

Brutal, which means they're doing their job!  I also finally joined a gym in DC, since I'm in the area for a least awhile.  I've taken both spinning and yoga at the gym before, and I'm excited to have regular gym access again. 

I'm off to watch the first NFL preseason game (even if it means watching the Cowboys).  Football season makes me incredibly happy :)  Let's go REDSKINS!!!

xoxo,
Olivia