Birthday Goodness!

My birthday was February 1st and we have been celebrating ever since! It just always happens that way :) My roomie and I went to IHOP as soon as the clock stroke 12AM to celebrate. It was so yummy, such a great idea..I love blueberry pancakes! My family and sweet boyfriend drove to Oxford to spend the weekend with me! I love them all so much. We ate dinner at Old Taylor's Grocery in Taylor, Mississippi (the best ever!). Taylor's was originally a Grocery Store and remains to look the same exact way as it did way back when! Great food, great atmosphere accompanied with a house band, and great service, and there motto "EAT or we both starve!" is true to its word! I enjoyed my fried shrimp, friend okra, hushpuppies, and baked potatoe.... cleaned the plate. I also had a awesome cake made by my Aunt D'ann!! I am so blessed and had a great 22nd birthday!! Here are a few pics! Enjoy :)

Picture source, here.

My man, Me, and My daddy. How cute is my cake?!!

It was zebra on the inside!!! I loved it!!

Newest Clothing item :)

I bought this GORGEOUS lace dress the other day from Francesca's!! Can't not wait to get it in {possibly my outfit for my birthday night out next week...we will see}

A lace dress is always classy, but there are ways to make it casual/classy. For instance, I will probable wear boots with it (if going out) and a cute blazer. Another option would be to wear a pop of color with a cardigan and maybe a pair of cute flats or sandal!

What do y'all think? How would you wear it?

MIA

Sorry y'all I have been MIA for the past week, but life has been hectic -- school starting back, last minute changes to my schedule, and making difficult decisions. Its all good though, I "think" I'm doing what I'm suppose to be doing?? ...:::: hi, i'm karon a non-decision making, loving, optimistic, dreaming, college student studying {i have no idea what I want to do with my life} ::::... Anyways, I will be back to blogging so stick around for some cool upcoming posts! Until then, I need to leave the library and head to my next class...okkk, with a pitstop at starbucks on the way! :)

"Faith is taking the first step, even when you don't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Valentines Day Decor

Some people decorate for Valentines Day and some don't. Me personally, I have a few things that I will set out or put out a picture/frame that showcases some extra love. I found these printables from [[ lovely little snippets blog]] and they are super cute and totally FREE! Find some old frames and give them a new coat of paint or head to Hobby Lobby or Michaels (always having sales) and buy some new frames. Print the printables and place in your new frames. TA DA! Valentines Day Decor!!

You can find the Download, HERE , at Lovely Little Snippets Blog.

Applebee's Copycat Spinach Dip

Until I reached age 21, I was not fond of eating anything green. Then I slowly started to add a little green into my meals. For instance, I like the salad at Olive Garden and I have formed a love for Spinach. Out of all things green..i like spinach. I don't understand, but..its green and it counts!

I love Applebee's Spinach and Artichoke Dip {actually I don't eat the artichokes..cody does that, but I like everything else}. We have to order this dip when we eat at Applebee's, sometimes I just order Curb Side Pickup and grab some to take home after a long day! ....:::: its an addiction ::::....

So, I found a copycat version of the Applebee's recipe. It doesn't taste exact, but its pretty darn close!

What you need..

1(10 oz.) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 (14 oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped {i completely left this out..yuck}

1 cup shredded parmesan-romano cheese mix

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

10 oz prepared alfredo sauce

1 teaspoon minced garlic

4 oz softened cream cheese

pepper (totally optionally)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Combine ingredients throughly in a bowl and spread mixture into a small baking dish. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and melted. Serve with chips or bread.

Recipe and Photo originally found, here.

Enjoy!

High FIVE for FRIDAY

This week has been slow and relaxed, but very enjoyful! So here it goes... My top 5 highlights for the week!

1. Me being a diehard fan and a full-time student at The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). I was born and raised to have a strong hatred towards that school in Louisiana (LSwho). The name is so rotten I can't even type the proper name..so just go with it.

ANYWAYS....Alabama and LSwho played for the College Football Championship Monday and of course I was STOKED to see Alabama come away with the win. Now, my boyfriend Cody was not so excited. I have learned to forgive to him for being a lswho fan.

Can you imagine what game day is like between lswho and Ole Miss?

...:::: Tension ::::...

me and my younger cousin, Kyle, Tailgating in The Grove @ Ole Miss

2. If you remember the post about my New Years Resolution [check it out, here] I am happy to say that I accomplished my goal, just not like I had planned! See, I woke up one morning last week in a cleaning mood and decided to just get rid of half of my wardrobe...and so...I DID!

My new resolution is to paint my fingernails without picking the polish off

....:::: bad habit::::...

So far I have been successful, all because of this lovely fingernail polish color!

This is from Wal-Mart, 4 bucks! Pure Ice - Grey

(excuse the picture quality -- taken from my iPhone)

3. Being able to experience my best friend (we met in K4 y'all..sisters for life!) try on and buy her wedding dress is something that I will never forget! No picture for security purposes....aka, her fiancé!

4. Being able to see my boyfriend during the week :)) Long distant relationships are hard and school breaks are always awesome because of the little time me and cody get to spend with each other during the week.

me and my man

5. The temperature finally dropped enough to use the fireplace! We took full advantage of it because by Monday the temperature will be back to 72F. Lovely Mississippi weather for ya!

iPhone picture quality. forgive me.

See that tiny heart below the clock? That is my mother's Valentines decor.

I will have a Valentines Decor post {with free printables} sometimes next week, so be watching out for it!

Aquage Uplifting Foam

Here lately my main beauty focus has been placed on my hair. Why? I have let my hair grow out. My hairstyle usually falls just below my shoulders with long layers and tapered bangs. Now, I have hair that reaches to my mid back, no layers, and bangs that shape around my face. It is change that I have had to learn how to style because it takes longer and a little extra care. (well, thats my opinion). So, here is a product that I have been successful with...

This bottle of Aquage Uplifting Foam is AMAZING....que hallelujah chorus here...no really, if you have fine/thin hair this may be a product worth trying out! After I towel dry my hair I spray this foam at my roots and then simply rub the product in. Then, I blow dry my hair upside down. This product creates a texture that is easy to style with (tease) for extra lift that last all day long! No more nappy stuck my head hair! I bought Aquage off of amazon for 15 dollars, after shipping I paid just over 20.00. Well worth this price if you ask me!

*In no way am I an endorser for Aquage Uplifting Foam..just a girl who found a great hair product that loves sharing secrets!