VICTORY!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Belle on Heels (I'll tell you what for in a minute)!

Did you know that she was vacationing in Rhode Island the same time I was? We were both busy doing our own thing, but she gave me some great tips for what to do while in Boston (recap and pictures coming soon!). So anyway, I'm scrolling through my Google Reader (which has over 800 unread items - yikes!) and I see that she has posted about her vacation. Of course I wanted to read it right away!

I couldn't believe it when I saw that she had found a place that still had the TOMS gold glitter shoes in stock! You may remember that I've tried unsuccessfully to find these shoes for the last 3 months. She found them at Island Pursuit on Thames St in Newport. I had driven right by that store, seen the TOMS sign in the window, and even said to C that we should go in and see if they had the glitter pair I wanted. But for some reason, we ended up not stopping.

I called the store immediately and asked if they had the shoes in my size (which they did!) and if they shipped (which they do!) and in a matter of minutes, my dream of owning the gold glitter shoes had come true! Also, I should add that C bought me the shoes because he knew how badly I have wanted them! Thank you babe!

I owe it all to Belle on Heels! (And C for paying of course!!!)

PS - If you've been looking for these shoes, give Island Pursuit a call (Newport location # 401-851-8901). I paid $65 for the shoes & shipping.

PS 2 - Recaps of my vacation coming next week! Until then, I hope you all have a fabulous weekend :)

Will You Accept this Rose? Vol 3

We're halfway there! Ashley has whittled the potential suitors down to 6, and in less than a month we will know the identity of the final man standing (season finale airs on August 1)!

This season has had its ups & downs for me. Sometimes Ashley's complaining and self-sabotage is too much to handle on a Monday night. But like most of America, I keep watching. This week's episode was no different. We all knew the drama that was about to unfold because ABC sucked us in 2 weeks ago, only to let us down by making us wait another week for the dreaded return of Bentley.

Was it worth it? Not in my opinion. Here are the fatal flaws I saw in the Bentley/Ashley reunion:

1. Ashley's immediate desire to wrap her arms around Bentley and forcing that kiss. I bet she feels stupid now.
2. Both Ashley and Bentley's ability to say a lot of words without really saying anything at all.
3. The fact that Ashley actually thought Bentley returned because of her and not because the producers begged him to come back. I'm no genius, but I'm thinking he wanted a free vacation?!
4. Her after the meeting interview...there is no way that she went from still wanting to be with Bentley to seeing him to absolutely hating his guts and dropping the F-bomb 20 times. That was obviously filmed after the fact, and I'm thinking the producers realized how much America can't stand Ashley and they wanted to try to redeem her likability to the audience.

Thoughts on the return of Bentley?

I will say that I'm happy that the gloomy fog the show has been under since Bentley's departure has finally been lifted. Ashley does seem much happier and it appears that she is willing to give the guys a chance now. Unfortunately for Ashley, she still spent the majority of the episode talking about the "Bentley situation" so it still seemed like she wasn't really over it.

This post is long enough already so I'm not going to recap the show, but I will tell you my ranking of the guys after this week's episode.

#6 - Ryan P.

I really can't stand this guy! I hope that he does not become the next Bachelor.

#5 - Lucas

Bottom line is that he and Ashley have nothing in common. He seems nice enough, but he really lost his temper after hearing Ashley's confession at the cocktail party. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something off about him.

#4 - Constantine

I think it's pretty clear that he's unsure of how he feels for Ashley (which is completely normal considering he's known the girl for like 10 days). I appreciate the fact that he isn't trying to make something of nothing or leading her on in any way.

#3 - Ames

I really do like this guy. He is pretty tall, huh? It doesn't seem like he would be. I still don't think he and Ashley are a perfect match, but overall he's interesting, funny, and sincere.

#2 - Ben

I can't tell Ben & Constantine apart. Wasn't it funny when they were on the dragon boat team together? I think they've got a little bromance going on :) But anyway, he's cute and I think most people hate his style, but I kinda like it. As for Ashley, if anyone were to beat J.P., I'd give it to Ben.

#1 - J.P.

I would bet my bellbottoms that J.P. is the final man standing. There are some things you just can't edit, and one of those would be the very real connection he has with Ashley. In my opinion, he is light years ahead of the other contenders. Any time she talks about J.P., it's like how a normal person would talk about their significant other...like he hung the moon. And they are so much more affectionate than she is with anyone else. Like they can't keep their hands off each other!

Hello, handsome!

YUMMY!

(J.P. in NY on June 25)

Next week is a rerun, but on July 11 we'll be treated to an exclusive interview with Emily Maynard. She and Brad finally confirmed that they have broken up. Duh.

Now, let me know your thoughts! (Laur - I'm talking to you!)

Randoms & DIY Goodie Bags

We are leaving tonight on the red-eye to Boston! We are flying JetBlue for the first time, and I hope that we have a pleasant experience. The last time I was on a red-eye all I wanted to do was sleep (DUH!), but the person across the aisle kept their reading light on the entire time. She even fell asleep at one point so the flight attendant came by and turned it off, but 30 seconds later she woke up and turned it back on again!

So anyway, hopefully we have a good flight and I'm taking my eye mask just in case!

Thank you for all of the suggestions for where to eat and what to do while in Boston. I am very much looking forward to Finale for my boston cream pie and Sweet for my cupcake fix (2 commenters recommended this so it must be good!). A special thank you to Black Labs & Lilly for her detailed comment. I know it took a lot of time to write, and I'm grateful for all of her advice!

On to the DIY Goodie Bags...

I decided a couple of weeks ago that I would make goodie bags for everyone that would be at C's parent's house this weekend. There will be about 16 people so I knew that buying a lot of multiple items was out of the question. But I also didn't want the bags to be cheesy or filled with cheap crap.

I found my inspiration from Glory over at Glorious Treats. She recently made a watermelon shaped sugar cookie that I thought would be perfect for this summer get together. (Please visit the link because Glory's cookies turned out so beautifully and the same can't really be said for mine.) I say inspiration because I didn't really follow her tutorial or recipes. The actual cookie recipe and the royal icing recipe are from my favorite blog cookie expert, Pink Martini & Pearls.

And just a warning: if you don't make decorated sugar cookies very often (like me!) then these will be kind of difficult to do. And very time consuming, but I think that's the case with any decorated cookie.

watermelon slice with a bite taken out!

You can clearly see that the "seeds" are not consistent! I think they look terrible, but C made me include them anyway. Next time, I would definitely use chocolate covered sunflower seeds for the actual seeds instead of black icing gel. The gel never dried completely, was hard to apply evenly and was a sticky mess. Also, just to note, I used a beer bottle cap to create the "bite" in some of the cookies. Piping royal icing is so hard. In order to cover up all of my mistakes, I used green sprinkles on the rind portion. It definitely helped a lot.

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For the adults, I also included a mini bottle of liquor and some Godiva chocolates.

And for the under 21 crowd (all girls), I found watermelon shaped journals (in the $1 bin @ Target), flower shaped emery boards and summer rubber stamps (both from Michael's), and erasers shaped like ice cream cones (also from Target).

The gift tags are a free gift tag printable from the website eat drink chic by amy moss. The designs and wording worked perfectly with my theme! I think they're my favorite part!

these are for the under 21 crowd

I just wanted to create a fun, summery theme so hopefully everyone will enjoy their goodie bags!

Upcoming Trip

As I said yesterday, C & I are taking a vacation over the 4th of July weekend to visit C's parents and family. They usually get together during the summer, and we missed out last year because of our big trip to Hawaii with my family. C is excited for me to see where he grew up and hopefully we will be able to fit in a day trip to Boston. I've always wanted to go there! It's actually a very short vacation, but I know it will be fun to get away from LA and work for a few days. Since I've already met the family there isn't any pressure and I know I'll just be able to relax and have a good time!

Other things I want to do:

• eat a real lobster roll (considering I've never really had lobster, eating anything with lobster will probably count),
• try clam chowder (again, never had this),
• and eat Boston cream pie in Boston (is Bread & Chocolate any good?)!

Is it sad that my list revolves around food? If you really know me, then this is nothing new...

It's been many years since C was in Boston for college so things have certainly changed. I'd love to hear any recommendations of what you think I should include on my "Must Do (and Eat) while in Boston" list!

4th of July Ideas

Hi all! I'm very excited for the Fourth of July holiday this year because C & I will be traveling to Rhode Island to spend the long weekend with C's family! Since I'm kind of known as the "baker" of the group, I wanted to have a list of ideas for the kitchen. C's younger cousins are really into baking so I thought many of these would make for fun activities.

Thanks to pinterest, the ideas are endless! Here are a few of my favorites, and hopefully you will be able to draw some inspiration for your own July 4th get together!

These are so fun! I have yet to meet a person

who doesn't love Rice Krispie treats!

Source: july.tipjunkie.com via Angela on Pinterest

I am determined to make this amazing cake.

I have even done a DIY mini cake-bunting banner

using these free printables to put on top!

Source: glorioustreats.blogspot.com via Angela on Pinterest

These dipped marshmallows couldn't be easier to make!

Plus I'm thinking with kiddos, these will be quick

enough to keep their attention until they're done.

Source: melaniescrafts.blogspot.com via Angela on Pinterest

Everyone loves decorated sugar cookies! These are a little

ambitious, but there are some fun "Fireworks cookies"

in the July Martha Stewart Living magazine

that seem much easier to decorate!

Source: flickr.com via Angela on Pinterest

I also love to add decorations and there are so many free printables that creative ladies have been kind enough to share with us! I know I could never create any of those things so I'm grateful for the people that can!

Use these to put on top of your cupcakes!

Source: thelongthread.com via Angela on Pinterest

Make a banner, invites, water bottle stickers

and more from this printables set!

Source: july.tipjunkie.com via Tracey on Pinterest

Use these free printables from TomKat Studio

to create a topper and wrapper for your cupcakes!

Source: thetomkatstudio.com via Angela on Pinterest

As you can see, there is a ton of inspiration out there! Thank goodness for Pinterest. I hope to be making a few of these treats over the weekend, and I'll be sure to take pictures!