Musings

Follow -

Beth Stern (@BethOStern)

Howard Stern's beautiful wife - Beth - has the cutest of the cutest of Instagrams. All of her pictures are of her animals and foster animals (mainly cats). I find myself binging her page and screen-shot-ing many a photo to The Mister. You see, I really would like a new little fur baby running around these parts..

 !!!!!!!!



Steph The Hammer (@StephTheHammer)

Steph was my #WCW today. She is the World's first Crossfit Level 2 trainer with Cerebral Palsy and she is a rockstar. A lot of where my motivation to work out comes from people dealt a harder hand in this life. Steph says it best with a quote under one of her Insta-vids - "The ability to pick yourself up independently is a gift many take for granted." I can scroll though my feed of hot girls with nice abs all day and not feel an ounce of motivation...then I watch one of Steph's vids and know that if I have a body that works, I better be moving it as much as I can.

Watch -

Thingamavlogs

Wayyy back when I was posting vlogs, I did a video called The Disney Tag. In said video, I mentioned Sarah Snitch and Leo Zombie...they are both Disney YouTubers (Yes, that's a thing). Sarah is a Disney connoisseur and Leo is a real life Disney Prince...Together with some of their other Disney-centric friends, they have created a YouTube Channel called Thingamavlogs.

Thingamavlogs is made up of 5 Youtubers -  Patrick, Leo, Sarah, Keith, and Tiffany. All of which have been in the online Disney community for quite some time. Monday - Friday they take turns feeding the Internet's hunger for Disney content. They are all living in the SoCal area at the moment and frequent Disneyland quite a bit! #jelly I highly recommend binging their channel and subscribing for more Disney fun! Their SnapChat is quite the hoot too!

Southern Charm

I was going over past blogs the other day and realized I have been yapping about this show for forever...it's really just THAT good of a show though. If you haven't started watching this show yet, you should...it's such a good show to binge! I am so sad their season finale is next week but I am excited for the reunion in which Andy and T.Rav will discuss T.Rav's allegations that Andy goaded him (On an episode of Watch What Happens Live, no less) into running for state senate....yeah, let that sink in.

Listen -

I found this Arctic Monkeys song from 2006 the other day....Future apologies to my Spinners....this will be 3 mins of straight speed. :)

Read -

ACE Group Fitness Manual & Ace's Essentials of Exercise Science for Fitness Professionals....Cause that's literally all I have been reading for the past 5 months....My test is this Friday....I am a nervous test taker and generally suffer from NCD (No Chill Disorder) so naturally I am freaking out. After this test is over I will return to my normal reading repertoire of Disney related books and celebrity biographies so stay tuned for THAT excitement.

Musings/Life Update

Hi everyone! You'll have to excuse the slight blogging hiatus. My birthday was Nov. 1 and my Spin instructor certification was the day after. Since then I have been regrouping/refocusing to ensure an amazing start to my new Spin venture. I have been writing playlists and practicing speaking in front of a room with everyone staring at you (a big fear of mine). I am looking forward to teaching my first class and hoping everyone will enjoy my take on Spin!

Tank can be found on Etsy and (in a size medium) on my Christmas list.

Now that I am back to blogging, I had to share some of the happenings around the C house these days...

Decorations go up....decorations come down... - 

The time after Halloween and before Thanksgiving has always been a weird time for me (decoratively speaking). I don't decorate for Thanksgiving as I include it within the Christmas season, but I also don't want to put out our Christmas decorations too early (a moment of clarity perhaps?) But that doesn't stop me from still buying a few things here and there to prepare for the season....

This cute sign is a #DollarStoreFind...I should be heading back to the dollar store this week to stock up early because all the good stuff goes quick!

My MIL got me a Disney gift card for my bday and that was put to good use getting some Disney holiday wares. These mini platters are going to look perfect wherever they end up living for the season!

The shoes that my menswear dreams are made of... - 

As I was scrolling through Instagram the other day I came across these amazing loafers that will hopefully make their way into my wardrobe before the end of the year...

Ugh, I love them so much and have already conjured up a million outfits to pair with them....I'm dreaming of a loafer filled Christmas....

Thank you! - 

I just want end this blog post with a big thank you to all of the Decidedly Delightful readers! As 2014 is coming to an end, I think I have reached my goal of blogging more and becoming more of a presence in the social media/blog-o-sphere world and I have all of YOU to thank for it. I am so appreciative to everyone that has come to me (in real life and on social media) to tell me how much they like this little blog of mine. I put a lot of work into it and I am so glad people are enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it. I love you all and I can't wait to finish out this year and see what 2015 holds!

Musings

My Best Friend's Wedding - 

Photocred goes to D's bestie R. This was my favorite "guest snap" of the day! #Glowing

This past weekend I had the distinct honor of witnessing one of my nearest and dearest friends get married. D (who was my MOH) and her new hubby G were simply glowing throughout the whole day and I couldn't be happier for them. Now they are off on an amazing honeymoon some of which will be spent at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival! Jealous!

Particular About Pumpkins -

I mentioned in my blog yesterday that I was planning on getting white pumpkins for my entertainment center. When that didn't work out, I found the cheapest (4 for $16!), biggest, orange pumpkins I could find and spray painted them white. They turned out great but I ended up using a half of can of white primer and a whole can and a half of white spray paint! The process is pretty self explanatory, but here's some reference pictures.

Before

After taping the stems

Final look!

Handstand Hottie - 

If you are friends with me on my personal FB page, you know that I have been obsessed with doing handstands while taking my picture with a self timer app (#NotVainAtAll). I am slowly but surely working on my regular handstand but in the meantime, I am working (twerking) on my balance and trying to look cool in Instagram pictures. Take a lookie, cookie!

One day I'll be able to do a regular handstand and Instagram will be the first to know! #SocialMediaDragQueen

Musings

eBay - 

I finally posted some more items in my eBay store! I am not sure how to include a direct link to my store but if you go to the search bar, and type in my user name - jlb1187 - you should be able to find what you are looking for. And keep checking back because I will be adding more and more items over the next few weeks!

$1 Finds -

If there is one thing I love, it's getting things for a dollar. If there is another thing I love it's getting holiday themed things for a dollar! So, you can imagine my excitement when in the last two weeks I had great dollar bin finds at Tarjay and A.C. Moore -

#Tarjay

#ACMoore

Stay Tuned - 

The Mister has a busy few weeks coming up at work. Once it for him slows down a bit, we have decided that every Sunday in October we will be devoting to cooking a meal from last year's Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Since we went in October last year, we found it fitting to reminisce a bit and take the opportunity to cook some good eats! So stay tuned for all the yummy food pictures and recipes. 

Greece! Grilled and marinated calamari, htipiti, eggplant dip, olives and pita bread and griddled Greek cheese with pistachios & honey. And to drink - Ouzo

Musings

eBay -

I made the announcement on my personal Facebook page yesterday that I am starting an eBay store. The clothes I am listing will be taken to Plato's Closet in a few weeks if they don't sell via eBay. After the initial listing of clothes, there will be a bunch of other things on there as well. I don't have emotional attachment to many things so I have always had this dream of selling everything in my house that wasn't bolted down and starting over. Here are some sneak peeks -

Spin - 

I have been obsessed with Spin for over a year now. There is really nothing like it as far as a cardio session goes. Last week, my gym was closed for vacation so I had the opportunity of taking cycling classes at a few different places and got to use different bikes than I am used to using. At The Edge, we are a Spinning certified gym and therefore use the Spin brand bikes. At LA Fitness (I used a free three day guest pass to take three cycling classes there) they use Kaiser bikes and I have to say I do not like them as much as the Spin brand bikes. This is going to sound totally foreign to anyone that doesn't spin but the Kaiser bikes don't "catch the gear" like other bikes do...when you turn up the resistance it just gets heavier. It's a little too smooth for my liking, I like to actually feel the "ground" below me. The other place I took a cycling class was in Portland at a place called Reve Cycling Studio and they use Schwinn bikes which are pretty similar to the Spin "brand" bikes. You could catch the gear and feel the ground below you. This is an awesome studio with infectious energy and I recommend anyone visiting/living in the Portland area to take a class there. 

Celebration, FL - 

For those of you that have hung out around this blog, you already know about my obsession with the formerly Disney owned town of Celebration, FL. I am currently reading a book written by a women (Barbara Nefer) who moved there on a whim with her husband. They were on a Disney Vacation and happened to go on some tours of some Celebration homes and decided to immediately pull the trigger and purchase one. She started a blog based on her adventures in Celebration and the book I am reading is a compilation of her blog posts. Everything that I have ever imagined about living in Celebration is true...the sense of community, the fact that you can walk everywhere and the best part, being able to head to Epcot for dinner on any day of the week. Le sigh...one of these days I will convince The Mister to move! The book is called Mickey Mouse is My Neighbor: Living Next Door to Disney World for anyone wondering what it's like to live a stones throw away from the Happiest Place on Earth.

Musings

Hello my lovelies! You will have to excuse the slight blogging hiatus. Things have been crazy around here!

Tori Spelling - 
                                   

I'm not sure if anyone is keeping up with the whole Tori Spelling/Dean McDermott saga..but if you aren't I will catch you up - These people are crazy! I have been a Tori Spelling fan for years, ever since her and Dean's first reality show, Tori and Dean: Inn Love which chronicled them opening up a bed and breakfast. They are a very likeable couple and I really enjoy and relate to her creativity. I also love all of her books. So, when I found out that they would be filming their life during the worse time of their realtionship, I was defintely interested. However, after watching a few of the episodes (True Tori on Lifetime) I realized that Tori wanted to film this simply to get back at Dean...it's pretty hard to watch and it's sad that their kids are involved in fliming too. I stopped watching after the first few episodes and then caught up with the "final sit down" and then stopped watching THAT after Dean showed off that he got a rib cage tattoo of their wedding vows. This whole show was clearly only filmed for Tori's gain and the whole thing feels kind of icky to me.  

UsWeekly

Drag Queen Jess vs. Mom Jess - 

The other day, one of my Facebook friends posted the popular article that has been floating around the Internets that shows the power of make up and contouring. After seeing the pictures I realized that I could have been on this list!! I do ugly so well (esp pre-braces) My during the week attire/gym wear/hair situation is so opposite from my going out/social media alter ego attire. I have always had this side to me. I've always saved getting dressed up and made up for special occasions...it's why I always refer to myself as a drag queen, I only get ready when I get paid to do so (aka drinks, dinner and maybe some dancing). Not to mention I have really sensitive skin and if I wear make up every day my face would be forever broken out. I will say this though...the difference in which you get treated when you are playing mom for the day vs. hot mom for the day are staggering. It opens your eyes to how vein the world really is. (Disclaimer, I do not think anyone in this world is "ugly" without make up, including myself...I just think the transformations that make up can make to your face is remarkable and should be celebrated.)

Still giving good brow. 

Musings

Lilly Ghalichi - 

Lilly is one of my favorite reality stars of all time. (Hear that Kim K? Cause I know you're reading this.) She was on the Shah's of Sunset on Bravo for seasons 2 and 3 (I don't think she is in the new season as she wasn't at the Bravo Upfronts.) Andy Cohen likes to call her the Persian Barbie because she is THAT perfect. She is glam, rich, AND has her law degree. She also has a swimwear line (as well as an eyelashes line and extension line) that is adorable (duh). Whoever is friends with me on my personal Facebook page has probably seen me "like" a million of her pictures. I also think she is fun to watch...the current cast of Shah's (specifically Reza as he is drawn to shiny things) really liked her the first season she was a cast member and then kind got off the Lilly train in the most recent season. IMO it's because MJ was super jealous of her and Reza (& subsequent cast members) regretted hopping on the Lilly train in the first place. Even though I wished she would have been back for this season, I had a feeling she wouldn't be. She needs her own show anyway, ensemble casts that were good friends before the show are not for skinny, pretty chicks. Bravo probably cast Lilly in the first place cause they knew a certain few (ahem, MJ) would be jealous of her.

#ICant

The Mister, The Farmer - 

For the past few years The Mister and I have purchased a plot at our local community garden. Now, I am not much for gardening. Although I love the food it produces, digging in the dirt in the hot sun is not my cup of tea. The Mister, however, is the master gardener of the C household (complete with Radio Flyer gardening wagon and all). He would spend hours at our plot if he could. You know, building trellises, watering...whatever gardeners, who also happen to be engineers, do. This year I was a little reluctant to do (have TM do) the garden as last year some of our crops were pilfered. Specifically a big pumpkin that we were waiting until we got back from Disney World to pick. But...look at this eagerness...how could I resist?

Yes, he built those trellises himself, #duh. 

Musings

Painted By An Elephant - 

For the past two years, The Mister and I have attended a bowling event, put on by our local zoo, that supports rhino conservation. At said event there is a silent auction, and at said auction there are paintings done by various zoo animals, among other things. Last year we bid on and won a painting painted by an elephant. -

This was painted by an elephant named Kate. This year, there was only one elephant painting..I saw it on the table and knew I needed it immediately. I am such a sucker for black with a pop o' color!

This one was painted by an elephant named Alice. We have the first painting living above our bar. I am not sure where this one is going to go yet, but since my house lacks any type of color (besides Cy's toys) I am sure where ever it goes, it will look amazing!

H&M - 

I got a $50 (printed and lined) blazer yesterday for $20!!!!!! I heart H&M and that is all. #OOTD coming soon.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's nap time and there is a #tbt Jersey Shore marathon that needs watching!

Musings

Kourtney Kardashian's Kat -

Kourt and LD (Lord Disick for those that do not Keep Up w/ the K's) have an adorable Bengal cat named Charli. She is the most regal animal I have ever seen and she makes me (& The Mister) want a Bengal in the future. I mean..just look at this precious little bundle of fur. -

#Swoon

Bows and Tulle - 

The other day I got to shop for a present in the h&m girls department. It was glorious to be surrounded by pink and polka dots for once. #ThatIsAll

Rough and Tumble -  

Cy got his first real injury yesterday. :( He was jumping in his crib and flew out. He landed square on his face which resulted in an egg on his head, a bloody nose, two fat lips, rug burn AND two stitches on his inner, lower lip. Poor guy. He is such a trooper. I had to leave the room while he was getting stitched up..The Mister was there and I had already had enough trauma in my day so I couldn't bear to watch it. Well, after Cy was done I walked back in to a calm baby and The Mister with an ice pack on his head! Apparently all the color drained from his face and the nurses suggested he sit down and "regroup." Kind of reminds me of the day Cy was born via emergency C section....as I was being wheeled in, with 102 fever, I had to ask TM if HE was okay because he was as white as a ghost! Never a dull moment being a mom of a rough and tumble little boy!

Etsy.com

Musings

First, I want to give a quick shout out to our friends, L & D. L is having their second son today and we are over the moon to meet the newest member of our growing football team! xoxoxo! #RHOWPI

Mayhem - 

Mayhem is a tiny fashionista whom, with the help of her mama, creates gorgeous, wearable paper dresses. They have even done replicas of award show dresses! She then poses in them, ever so chic-ly for the photographer (mama), for her Instagram and blog posts. M is what I picture my future daughter to be like. Here are some of her creations...

Elle.com

Elle.com

Eyebrows - (I got mine done yesterday so they are fresh on my mind)

I am a big believer in eyebrow threading. I have been getting mine threaded for the past 10ish years and would never, in a million years, go back to waxing. IMO if you are doing any sort of hair removal on your face, you should never use wax.  In the past ten years I have only ever gone to one place to get them done. I mean, don't get me wrong...I have been to other places..but I walked out with even worse eyebrows than I walked in with. That's the key to great eyebrows...a great threader. My eyebrows are definitely on the thinner side which I know isn't really the "trend" right now, but I don't have a strong enough jaw line to support a super thick brow. That being said, you should always go with what works for you...sometimes a good eye brow involves some filling in and the proper color to give good arch. A good eyebrow arch will give you an instant face lift and brighten up your eyes. And don't even get me started on how important good eyebrows are for good selfies/pictures in general...I could literally talk for hours about this topic.. ::gets off eyebrow soapbox::

Best Friends -

One of my very best friends is coming in for a visit this weekend. I am so very excited to see her, spend time with her and day drink with her. Oh, and watch Mean Girls, of course! I would also like to apologize in advance to all of my friends on my various social media accounts for the influx of selfies and "best friends" pics that are coming your way this weekend.

#Fetch

Musings {Reality TV Edition}

Real Housewives of Atlanta - For those of you that watch the Atlanta Housewives, you all know that the second episode of the reunion (there are three) just aired last night. It was a doozy. Just like the whole season has been. As far as the whole Kenya and Porsha situation goes..I have to say that I am on Porsha's "side." While I DO NOT condone any sort of violence, I do think P was provoked and that Andy should have taken Kenya's props away. He mentioned the fact that he should have taken the props away on WWHL last night and I couldn't agree more. I think the whole situation could have been avoided had Kenya NOT put the scepter in Porsha's face...it was definitely hard to watch. As far as the whole Kandi/Mama Joyce situation goes...I am obviously on Kandi's side. Mama Joyce is cringe worthy at times and seems like she could use some "time off." Mama can't seem to keep her story straight and I feel so bad for Kandi and Todd..Luckily their wedding already happened (two weeks after the reunion was filmed) and hopefully they can live happily ever after without Mama Joyce in their ears. I am interested to watch next weeks third and final Atlanta reunion installment as this is the episode where Apollo talks about the charges against him. I am very curious to see what he says! And to keep things simple in the Nene/Cynthia debate...I am on Cynthia's side..I do love me some Lennethia Leaks...but, I just think Nene needs to take a step back and take some responsibility for her actions.

Funny or Die's - Billy on the Street (technically a game show, not a reality show) - I am obsessed with this show. I first heard of Billy Eichner when he was a guest on WWHL. He is hysterical and shocking and the perfect person to run around and scream in unsuspecting (and jaded) New Yorkers faces. Amy Poehler was on the last episode. During the episode, Billy and Amy played my new favorite game...It's not Pitbull..it's Amy Poehler! You can watch here.

The Real Housewives of Orange County - The OG's of the Housewife franchise started their new season recently and I can already tell it's going to be a good one! I am really happy that Gretchen and Alexis are not on the cast anymore..I liked G at first but lost interest when she made her last ditch attempt for a story line (aka proposing to Slade and not inviting the other ladies to come to the party). Although Tamera and Vicki are giving Heather a hard time, I do not think she is THAT condescending. I've just always thought Heather WAS better than everyone on the show..so the fact that she sometimes talks down to Tamera and Vicki doesn't really bother me. I mean...could you imagine spending that much time with them? I would talk down to them too. Don't get me wrong..I love me some Tamera..just in small doses...speaking of T...tell me you all remember the time that Tamera and Andy made out (in front of Eddy) on the WWHL New Years special?! Fun Fact - WWHL has never had another New Years Eve show after that lip lock!

Musings

Since I ran my first timed 5K I have been dealing with an injury. Achilles Tendinitis to be exact. I didn't get it diagnosed right away as with any pain I have, I just figure it will go away. It didn't and now I am stuck on a limited work out schedule and on a daily stretching routine. I have never been injured before. Pretty much because I have never been as active as I have been in the past year(ish) so it's really frustrating. Especially because summer is on it's way and all I want to do is run and spin and jump. I am very impatient so I am hoping for a speedy recovery so I can get back to my 6 hours a week of workouts. UGH!

The Southern Charm season finale was the other night and it was obviously the greatest thing I have ever seen. I can not believe that T.Rav and Kathryn had a baby! Andy Cohen said the other day that they are doing a reunion show so that usually means there will be a second season! Yay for that! After watching the whole season I am pretty convinced I want to live in Charleston, SC. As a trust fund kid, obv.

I have been participating in an April photo contest on Instagram for a local salon/boutique Luniac Glamour. It has been so much fun thinking of different pictures to post every day. Here are some highlights -

Day 4 - A word that best describes you -

Day 8 - Man Crush - 

#MyMan

Day 14 - Something someone made for you -

All of the bouquets and boutineers for our wedding were handmade out of feathers (Etsy). AND I had the Minnie Mouse bouquet charm handmade as well (Etsy). It gave the perfect little touch because our fur baby couldn't be with us on the actual wedding day. 

To end this musings post...I found this on Instagram the other day and literally laughed for 5 mins straight...it's the little things..

#CarryOn