Mandii's Muse

I celebrated my parent's anniversary this summer! Well, if you are reading this, my summer is officially over. Tomorrow is my first sub day, and there is no doubt 5:30 a.m. is going to come way early, and I will most likely be sacked out on the couch by 8:30 p.m. Today, I am linking up with Andrea to share with you some of my favorite Summer memories, and man there were a lot! I loved going to Indians games this summer. My first one went great, and it was so much fun! My second one didn't go quite as well. (We're still waiting on our redemption tickets!) Even though it was a disaster, I can honestly say that I didn't mind spending 6 hours in the car with my parents. It gave us a time to talk, laugh, and cry. (That was me, I totally cried.) I had a few chocolate milkshakes! Another special time that I'll remember was guinea pig night at my Bubba's house. I would make a main dish, and she would fill in with side dishes and dessert. It helped me hone ...

Well it is Friday. That's always a good thing! For me, I'm savoring this Friday because it is my last one of the Summer. I officially start subbing on Tuesday. Where did the Summer go?! I have a few fun things coming up in the coming weeks so I have those to look forward to. Here are a few of my favorite things for the week! McDonald's hamburgers are a favorite for this fella! He always gets one after his bath as a reward for being a good boy! I have been wearing my hair straight recently, and when it looks nice (like this picture) it is a favorite! This quiche is a favorite! I will post a recipe soon, but paired with shredded hashbrowns it becomes even more delicious! Those were just a few of my favorites! Savor those last remaining days of Summer! Thanks Andrea for hosting this link up!

Well, hey. It is time for another edition of "Owning It." You know, this is the post where I admit my level of crazy is way above average. Yours too? Okay, good. At least I'm not the only one. ;) We might as well get on with it. Here's my crazy. When I eat ravoli, I cut each one into four pieces. This is something I've always done. Maybe I'm afraid of choking?! I have no idea, but I don't see myself changing anytime soon. Every night after dinner I always eat the ice out of my glass. I have done this since I was was a little girl. There is usually no ice left in my glass to feed to the dog. (Sorry, buddy.) It doesn't even matter what the season is. I feel weird if I don't eat the ice. I once had a COMPLETE meltdown over Bon Jovi. I wish I could say I was joking. I went specifically to Giant Eagle to get tickets from Ticketmaster. (Why I just didn't use the computer I don't remember.) I wait in line, and they were pulling section D. ...

Monday nights this summer have been called "guinea pig" night at my Bubba's house. Basically, I make a new recipe and try it out on my family at her house. If it was a total bust there was always pizza, but, it has been a real success! I've found recipes that I can add to my collection, and continue to hone my cooking skills while I'm at it. This one was a winner! My Mom makes really, really great barbecue sauce. We really don't even buy it anymore. When I saw this recipe, it was different style of barbecue sauce, and I wanted to try my hand at making my ownI found this recipe on my BlogHer feed from  Quirks and Twists . I made a few changes based on the ingredients I couldn't find, and it still turned out wonderfully! Here is the recipe, and as usual, my thoughts are in italics . Honey Balsamic Chicken Sandwiches Ingredients: 1 pound chicken 1/2 C water 2 Tbsp garlic 1 bay leaf (I didn't use this) 1 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 C onion 1 C bals...

Who doesn't love getting mail? Who doesn't love getting beauty products for virtually nothing? I answered yes to both questions! It was time for me to cash my Birchbox points in for some goodies. Usually, I agonize over and over on what to get, but this year I was pretty quick in my decision making. Don't worry, I was surprised myself! My dilemma with Birchbox is this. I always love to get the most "bang for my buck" when I pick out items. I love a lot of products, but I don't want to use my points on a $34 bottle of hair oil if you know what I mean. I had 764 points, which means I had $70 worth of money to use! Two words. Yes. Please! So with this haul, I got a lot of products for my money, and I also got to try some new products too! Here is the haul! The first thing I decided to get was a leopard Baggu Duck bag. I loved my first polka dotted one so much that I decided to order a new one! Leopard is always in style, so that is why I chose that one! ...

Well, I did it again. I went to another LuLaRoe (LLR) party, and bought more fabulous pieces. Don't know what the fuss about LLR is? Check out my first party experience here ! Another one of my Mom's friends was having a pop up shop at her home. Just like before there were rack and bins of maxis, skirts, t-shirts, leggings, and dresses. One of the great parts about LLR is they only make 1000 of each print. Because nothing screams awkward than going to a party and seeing someone in a carbon copy of your outfit! Do people these days even know what carbon paper is?!  They also don't have a catalog. If you like something...snag it ASAP because it won't be here for long! Anyway, let me introduce you to the pieces I purchased: the Randy, the Julia, and the leggings. If you were to look at my closet you will notice these colors: pink, black, royal blue, and grey. So it came to no surprise that I purchased pieces that had those colors in them. First up, the Randy tee. I c...

Thanks Andrea for the link up!  Oh high school. Those awkward years from 7-12 grade. I mean my high school years were okay. I had some fun moments, some sad moments, and some interesting moments. To put things into perspective, I went to high school from 2000-2006. It absolutely stuns me that next year will be 10 years since I've graduated. TEN YEARS! How is that even possible?! I went to a rural high school, there were probably 700 students from grades 7-12 total. We were the "country" school in our district. Does your high school let you drive your tractors to school the day before Prom? Mine does! (I wish I had pictures!) 6th grade graduation picture...getting ready for high school! Homecoming dance...can we talk about my makeup?! To describe me in high school would be this. I was a shy, rule follower. I was not an avid participator. I was in Marching, Jazz, Concert, and Pep band from 7-10 grade. Yeah, I don't miss those hot, sticky band camp days. I...

First of all, sorry for the lack of photos. I cannot get the pictures from my phone, to my computer to put them on this blog. I had that problem before, and fixed it, but I wanted to get this blog up anyway. I'll update the post when I get photos!  I feel like it has been ages since I have done a makeup mail call! I have still been getting my subscription service boxes, but I guess the "glory" has worn off on sharing them. Well, not today! I am going to show you what was in my July Birchbox! I chose to get the box that was curated by Nicole Richie. I was not disappointed at all! There was a great mix of products, and some things that will get me ready for the last days of Summer and transition into Fall. Which is odd because we are experiencing a heat wave of sorts here in Pennsylvania. Here are the goods! Dr. Brandt| Microdermabrasion Skin Exfoliant: I have heard of this product, and never tried it. It has been a long while since I had a facial, and I love how m...

Well it is Friday yet again! Where does the time go? I want to tell August to take a chill pill if you get my drift. I'm linking up with Andrea to share some of my favorites with you! Seeing baby bunnies are a favorite! These cuties have been living in our garden. There are 4, and they are just so stinkin' cute! Gerbera Daisies and Sunflowers are my favorite flowers. They just make me happy when I see them. Gerbera's are just so colorful. Love! Fresh vegetables from the garden are a favorite! This was only a small haul, there's still a lot to pick! Muddy Buddies are another favorite. So delicious, bad for the waistline. I could eat myself sick with those little suckers. What are some of your favorites? Leave me a comment and let me know! Have a great weekend!

Ladies, I wish I could say I was all prepared for a What I Wore post this week. I just can't remember to take photos. I need to get better at that. So, I am going to rely on good ol' Pinterest for today's post. I am starting to think of some Fall clothing, I have a few items in my online shopping carts. I continue to question why I am thinking about Fall right now. This is what I am loving at the moment. Workout Wear: It is widely known that I love the color pink. This workout gear would be absolutely perfect for me! That hoodie is so stinking cute! Work Appropriate Style:  This outfit is great because it shows off Pantone's color of the year, Marsala! Those shoes are cute, and I feel like I might be able to wear those!  Casual Weekend Style:  This outfit screams casual weekend to me! I love the dark denim, the chambray shirt underneath the gray adds just a little pop! The statement necklace adds a touch of femininity. I feel like I could go app...

Perhaps you weekend was crazy like mine, or maybe it was more relaxed and low key. Either way, I'm thankful for weekends. Let's start at Friday shall we? Friday my dog Cashew was supposed to get a bath. Right as my mom and I were getting ready to leave, my dad walks in with paper towels wrapped around his finger. He was trimming bushes and sliced his finger with the trimmer. Thankfully, it is just a really bad gash that probably should have had a stitch, but is healing slowly. So I bandage him up, and we are running late to the groomers. I called and told them that we were on the way, and find out that they couldn't take us. So we rescheduled. That should have been an indication of the weekend ahead. This was prior to the madness! Saturday I had bought tickets to go to the Cleveland Indians game. My parents always do nice things for me, so I wanted to repay them a little bit. The day was gorgeous! It was sunny, a nice breeze, and we hit absolutely no traffic until...

Image As fun as last week's post was, I felt the need to share my heart with you today. Last week, Satan was hounding me pretty badly. He was hounding me about life, love, and my blessings. He reminded me when I logged on Facebook and saw the weddings, babies, houses, and jobs people had. All I heard in my head was Satan telling me, "you're not pretty enough, smart enough, rich enough. You'll never have what they have. You're not enough." I felt awful, my mood was awful, and I knew that I needed to seek guidance from God. I listened to this message from Joel Osteen, and had a breakthrough moment. (It is Message #660 if you can't find it!) I cried through the first 20 minutes of the sermon. (I rarely cry, so this was a big deal.) It was as if this message was meant for me, and me only to hear. Just because other people have received their blessings, doesn't mean He has given up on mine. The problem with me, is me. My blessings are my own, and if...

It is Friday again! Whoo! I am pretty pumped because I am going to an Indians game tomorrow!!! So.Freaking.Excited!!! I love the "boys of summer!" Here is what some of my favorites have been! 1. When your food reads your mind is a favorite! Yes, I do love pizza. 2. Coffee dates with my Mom are a favorite! She loves the creme brulee from Sheetz, and I prefer the Dunkin Donuts iced coffee. 3. Bird watching is another favorite. This little fella decided to make a pit stop on top of our air conditioning. 4. Gerbera Daisies are my FAVORITE flower! This color is gorgeous! What are some of your favorites! Leave me a comment and let me know! Thanks Andrea for the link up!

Nine years ago, I was a shy 18 year old heading off to college. I had never lived with another person I didn't know before. I had never shared a communal bathroom before. I was not the type of child who went to sleepovers when I was little. I was, (and still am) a homebody. My parent's had tried to get me to stay home to save money, but I was adamant that I wanted to experience this "college life" and that meant staying on campus. (Luckily, home was about 15 minutes away!) The first few weeks were really tough. My roommate and I got along great, in fact, I wouldn't let her leave my side. I'm being 100% serious! We went pretty much everywhere together when we didn't have class. We went to the dining hall, bookstore, movie nights in the auditorium. When she went, I went. We were cramped in our tiny dorm room so learning to live with another person was a big adjustment. There were several times where I said "Mandii, what exactly did you get yourself in...

I'm sure you have heard of the Sports Illustrated Jinx. Legend has it, that if you are on the cover of Sports Illustrated, you will have significant bad luck. Well, I'm no best selling sports magazine, but I have my own jinx: "The Mandii Buys Your Jersey Curse." Don't believe me? Let me convince you. It all started with Brian Giles. He was a major player on the Indians 1997 team, and by far my favorite player. So how does a supportive fan show her love for her favorite player? You buy a jersey! Shortly after buying his jersey, he gets traded to the Pirates. I waited it out for a good while to see if he would get traded again. When he didn't, I bought his jersey, this time for the Pirates. Oh, and he got traded to the Padres shortly after that jersey was purchased. Jinx! Einar Diaz (1999 was a bad hair year for me.) I can honestly say that this next baseball player was one of my absolute favorites. Einar Diaz was a backup catcher to Sandy Alomar. His je...

On July 25 I participated in a Christmas in July themed 5k! Who doesn't love Christmas? I thought that this was such a creative idea for a 5k. The pamphlet said to dress up, so that is exactly what my mom and I did! I was Rudolph, and she was a Christmas tree. She came in second place in the contest!! A Christmas tree and Rudolph! During the beginning, they played Christmas music to get us in the spirit, even though it was 90 degrees outside. The race started, and I had a great pace. Mind you, I walked. Even if I could run, I was not running in the 90 degree heat. The course was a mix of hills, and cross country trails. I finished about 5 minutes ahead of my mom. After the race they had breakfast for us. They had a local eatery prepare breakfast sandwiches, and had lots of fruit. They also had cookies, and blueberry bread. Luckily, they had lots of water and juices for us to re hydrate with! After the race, so my makeup was a little smudged.  I think that this race wa...