the best saturday ever

Yesterday I finally showed you pictures of my snowy/muddy Saturday up north. I wasn't supposed to be able to go to Munds Park last weekend. I had a birthday dinner to attend on Friday, which there was no way I was missing (hello, this girl's 30th is kind of a big deal!). Plus, I didn't want to drive 2+ hours at night. Alone. Into the woods. But then two friends decided to come too, and voila! To Munds Park we went!

To say that we made a ton of memories and had a ridiculous amount of fun would be an understatement. Oh, and did I mention that this all occurred in essentially 24 hours? When we go, we go hard. SO HARD!

A made a video montage of all our craziness from that Saturday. It's kind of long, but well worth it.
There are even outtakes. You're welcome.

For those of you unable to watch now (I know you're reading this at work. It's cool, I'm writing it at work.), here's what you're missing:

• All of us singing I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing.
• Some of them dancing to Bye Bye Bye.
• All of us dancing the Cupid Shuffle in the middle of the road.
• The guys sledding down the side of a hill. Without sleds. Or shoes. 
• The girls dancing the Cotton Eye Joe in the middle of the road.
• Matt climbing a tree like a bear; me acting like a mom.
• Alex riding on wrong side of the truck. Yeah, the outside. 
• A little Slapsgiving* of our own.

I tell you all this so you come back and watch it when you're not at work. Or to persuade you to put headphones on and look like you're working at your desk but really watching this video. Do it. You won't regret it.

The slaps are pretty epic, not gonna lie.
Yes, I slapped a guy.
And it felt great. 

*If you don't know what Slapsgiving is:

  1) How are we friends? 

  2) Go read this, then this. 

  3) Go watch this, then this.  

  4) Go watch every episode of HIMYM on Netflix. Now. 

playing catch-up: a week in review {instagram'd} #3 + #4

This week I'm playing catch-up! That's right, it's a double duty post today folks. Two whole weeks of Instagram pictures. YIKES! I fell off the grid last week for some much needed R&R. You'll see why...

The week I missed:

{1} Took 4 trips to the chiropractor. My spine be all jacked up. Whoops! 

{2} Went all hippie this week and bought kale.

{3} And cooked it along with quinoa for the first time. Look at me branching out!

{4} Some Indian take-out with the BFF.

{5} Also made spaghetti sauce from scratch! I told you I've been cooking...

{6} Casual Friday outfit.

{7} All dressed up for a birthday celebration! Love the asymmetric hem line of this dress from Francesca's 

{8} Happy 30th to one of my besties at The Vig!

{9} New friends. Party pals!

{10} Weekend get away to a cabin in the woods!

{11} Not snowing, but there was snow!

{12} My Hunter's first snow!!!!!

{13} Courtney and I became snow buddies!

{14} 4-wheeling through the mud. For funsies. 

{15} Prepping for our rides. Yes, I still smiled in this picture even though my mouth was covered.

{16} My turn for a ride... No mud please.

{17} Courtney's turn.

{18} Cassie was more BA than us... so muddy!

{19} Hard core? False.

{20} Can I just point out how wonderfully unplanned but color coordinated our outfits are?

{21} The boys chopped down a tree and drug it home. Because they're boys.
{22} Man vs. Tree. Man one this time!
{23} Muddy Hunters! They are well loved.
{24} Road side shenanigans. Literally pulled off the highway and messed around for 2 hours.
{25} Three-way piggy back ride. My chiropractor loves me for this.

{26} Planking on an overpass. Because they could.
{27} Showing off.
{28} Copy cat.
{29} Boys climb things. Like signs.
{30} They pose inappropriately.
{31} They also climb trees.

{32} The girls. We bonded. SO HARD!

{33} Machete time! AHHHH! And #photobomb

{34} A little grocery shopping anyone? I think he's a little big...

{35} She fit in the car. So funny!

{36} Back home. We are so fancy because we wear dresses. #boylogic

{37} See? I told you. We can even do a little leg kick.

{38} Sexy time. I'm a little jealous no one held my leg. Not gonna lie.

Back on track: 

{1} Love my new-to-me sweater dress with bow collar. Scored for $5 on this trip to the thrift store. 

{2} Treated myself to a much needed pedicure on Friday afternoon. Love the lemons + rose petals.

{3} Learned how to cut a pineapple. Ate the whole thing.

{4} Attempted an up-do with my bob. Loved the look with my ombre scarf from Target. 

{5} Casual Saturday outfit. Plaid top from same thrift trip above for only $4!

{6} Sunday there was this game on TV that I guess was kind of a big deal. I didn't watch any of it. But I did make these for the party!

{7} Strawberry chocolate footballs! 

{8} Just because I rarely look decent in candid shots. Proof I'm not totally funky. 

Dear blog: Please forgive me for abandoning you last week. I'll be better. Love, Amanda.

friday's fancies #20 - blog swap

If you've been linking up with {av} over at {long distance loving} on Fridays like I have, you know that today is Blog Swap Friday! What a great idea {av} came up with, I just had to get in the action.

I was paired up with the lovely Ashley of The Sweet Life. So she's taking over my blog today, and I'm over there at hers!

**********************

Hi Pretty Little Things readers! I hope this Fancy Friday is going well for you! 

I’m Ashley from The Sweet Life!

I’m here today because Amanda and I have teamed up for a little blog swap for this week’s Friday’s Fancies post. {AV} helped to coordinate us with each other, and we took a little time to get to know each other and to read each other’s blogs. It didn’t take me long to realized that we’re both fans of thrift store trips, instagram, and wine! 

I knew I would have a blast picking out an outfit for Ms. Amanda!

Miss Selfridge sleeved dress, $550

McQ by Alexander McQueen tweed blazer, $505


Rascal black boots, $57


Esprit multicolor necklace, $50


Majorica pearl earrings, $65


Tasha hair accessory, $28

I decided that in order to match Amanda’s cute bob, fun personality and awesome sense of humor, I would need to create an outfit that she could wear that would let her personality shine through! I picked a sweet dress so that I could pair it with a pair of sassy boots that have some punch. Next I matched a sweet bauble and pair of studs to the dress and a simple headband to tie in the black in the jacket and boots. What do you think Pretty Little Things readers; don’t you think Amanda would rock this look? I hope you love it Amanda! I really enjoyed getting to know a little about you and stepping into your blog world for a bit.

Happy Friday lovelies!

**********************

Does she have my number, or what?! 

My email back to Miss Ash, and I quote:  

Proof right there. I love it. Everything about it! Especially the necklace and the blazer. I swoon... But am I the only one who was SHOCKED that Esprit is still around?! I used to have tons of Esprit stuff in middle school. Dang...

Thanks so much Ashley! 

Go visit her blog NOW!!!

Don't forget, I'm posting the outfit I made for her there today :-) 

what to wear: snow day

No, not today. There's a high of 75-degrees today. But tomorrow night? I'm off to Flagstaff, AZ! Technically we are staying in a cabin in Munds Park, but it's basically the same. And this is what my weekend forecast looks like:

I'm thrilled to say the least! Some of my friends are up at the cabin already and they tell me there's snow everywhere! Such music to my ears! Perfect excuse to plan a snow day outfit.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

Being up in the snow will give my first opportunity to wear my black Hunter wellies I scored at Last Chance for $30! I would pair them with some bright skinnies (to add a pop of color in the snow) and a cozy sweater. Although I could never afford this winter coat, I'm obsessed with it. I love the color, the fur collar, everything. Pair this look with a cute beanie, some cold weather gloves, warm scarf, and specially made cable knit wellie sock. You'll be warm and stylish for a snow day!

See you all tomorrow for the Friday's Fancies blog swap. So excited!

sh*t fashion girls say

I think it's easy to say that most lifestyle bloggers like me love fashion. We may not know all the proper jargon (but we try!), and we may not be able to afford Louboutin's or DVF products, but we are still in the "know" to some extent. At least that's how I feel. If you read enough blogs, you start to pick up on the trends and develop a knack for this kind of stuff.

I've been linking up with {long distance loving} for months every Friday for her Friday's Fancies posts. Here are all my past looks.

I guess I'd say I'm an amateur fashionista, sure. So when I saw this video, I died:

So good right?!

{Favorite parts}

"It looked like Forever 21 vomited all over her."
"Oh my god, shoes."*
"Hashtag totes amaze!"
"I think I'm gonna get bangs... oh my god, I hate my bangs."

* If you don't get this reference, go watch this. Now.