Friday Favorites – Bachelor Recap Edition

It’s Friday, so y’all know what that means!  It’s time to link up with Erika, Andrea, and Narci to let everybody know what some of my favorite things are right now!

I promised y’all some Bachelor thoughts since I didn’t have a recap for you on Wednesday…so here you go:

Before we got to meet the ladies on Monday night, we took a walk down memory lane.  We were treated to a montage of Arie kissing Emily all over the globe, and I wasn’t mad about it.  We were also reminded how the girl hardcore broke his heart, that he flew to Charlotte and left his journal on her front step so she could read about his love (and hopefully change her mind), and how she never even opened it.  OMG.  Y’all.  It was brutal.

Then Sean and Catherine visited Arie to give some advice, and I’m here to tell you, Samuel was adorable with his paci in his overalls.  Their little family is precious.

Okay, LET’S MEET THE LADIES!  Remember, this is a much abbreviated recap, so I’m only going to talk about a handful of the girls. And I remain convinced that all of the extensive background checks performed by ABC are not to weed out the crazy, but to in fact identify the crazy and give them airfare to the bachelor mansion and airtime in front of America.  I wonder who is going to fill the roles of Olivia, Ashley I, and Tierra from previous seasons?!?

Caroline from Florida was the first one out of the limo.  She’s a real estate agent too (just like Arie), and she made a cute little joke about them being realtors, and if they did their jobs right, they would both be “off the market”.  I thought it was cute.  During her 1:1 time with him during the cocktail party, she brought a pizza for them to share.  I thought she was cute and wonderfully normal.  I liked her.

Tia from Weiner, Arkansas was super cute and is friends with Raven (you know, the girl that surely got staph when she made out with Nick Vial in the Arkansas swamp).  BUT Y’ALL.  She gave him a tiny little toy wiener and said “please tell me you don’t already have one of those”.  I COULDN’T EVEN.  I mean, her poor father.  Arie seemed to not even really get the joke, which to be honest, endeared him to me even more.

Sidenote:  I feel it necessary to tell you that I had to google the spelling for wiener.  When I spelled it weiner, it was identified by spell check as a misspelled word.  When I googled it, it seems that both the “ei” spelling and the “ie” spelling are both acceptable.  I ended up employing the “i before e, but not after c” rule  in order for it not to be flagged by spell check.

I feel as if I’ve reached a new low.

Krystal from California is a fitness coach and popped out of the limo looking statuesque in a gorgeous red dress.  The girl has some guns, and at first meeting, she appeared to be a bit cheesy, and maybe too nice?  Later in the night she had a serious case of baby voice, which drove me bonkers.

Bekah with the pixie cut is a nanny from California that drove up in a cherry red vintage Mustang and stated that “although she’s young, she can appreciate the classics.”  EXACTLY HOW OLD ARE YOU, BEKAH? Her age wasn’t next to her name and occupation, so I’m thinking the girl is barely legal.

Please know that we shall henceforth refer to Bekah as Tinkerbell because 1:  her hair, and 2. her dress.

Now, if her hometown montage is any indication, Tinkerbell believes that bras are optional.  Even when performing nanny duties.  As a mom, my number 1 requirement for a nanny in my home would be that she WEAR A BRA.  Like the job description would read :   MUST be good at wearing a bra.  Experience with children preferred.

#somebodygetmeabirthcertificate

Lauren from Dallas was precious.  I liked her, and I think Arie did too.  There ended up being 4 Laurens before the night was over, but this one was my favorite of all the Laurens.  This girl was darling.

Ali from Oklahoma asked him to “smell her pits”, and then made a joke about it being the “best pit stop of his life“.  The anxiety of knowing somebody was going to smell my pits would have definitely made me sweat my hiney off, and made said pits smell terrible.  So I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to know about this girl’s antiperspirant.  Because I do.

Amber was a delightful shade of light orange, and she told him that she owned a spray tan company (you don’t say) and has seen a lot of Ds in her life.  Her words, not mine.  OH NO SHE DIDN’T.  Except she very much did.

Chelsea (whom we met in the hometown packages) is a single mom.  She was presenting herself as “mysterious” and “coy” at the mansion, and Arie was intrigued…but all she was doing was not telling him she has a kid, which I don’t understand.  In the hometown package she also described being a single mom as a “love/hate relationship”.  I’m pretty sure what she meant to say is that being a single mom is really hard.  THAT I could get on board with.

I’m going to call it right now, I think this Chelsea girls is going to be this year’s Olivia. #comeatmebro #olivia2.0

I mean, they even kinda look alike. Yes?

He met lots of other girls…there were lots of corny race car puns….tons of girls talking about other girls…and lots of girls hoping to steal a kiss from the bachelor.  Same old, same old.

During the cocktail party, #comeatmebro was the first to steal Arie away.  Then somebody stole him away from her…and then she stole them back again later in the night.  And then…wait for it…she stuck her tongue down his throat.  #comeatmebro doesn’t mess around and was able to snag the first real kiss of the night.

More shenanigans from more girls throughout the night.

And then it was time for the rose ceremony:  A lot of girls got roses. Some of them didn’t.  I promise I’ll be more specific next week.  😉

So, here’s the deal.  So far, I reallllllllllllllly like Arie.  He seems genuinely nice and I love that we are seeing a guy with a bit of maturity.  The salt and pepper hair doesn’t hurt his case either.  At this point in the season, I’m hopeful the guy might actually find love.  😉

Next week, I’ll have a more comprehensive recap, so be sure you come back on Wednesday for that!  Also, make sure you tell all your Bachelor loving friends!

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You know I can never have a Friday Favorites post without a picture of the pups.  Here they are at their first real trip to the ranch last weekend.  They ran, found sticks, tried to steal the sticks from each other, chewed on sticks, and then repeated the process over and over again all weekend.  They loved it, and we loved watching them.

This picture makes me laugh because it looks like they are posing cheek to cheek, Olan Mills style.  What you don’t see, is that they are “sharing” a stick.  🙂

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With the code 15OFFSALE, you can get an additional 15% OFF Kendra Scott items that are already on sale! Lots of old classics like the Rayne necklace,cuff bracelets, and Dani earrings are available… but also plenty of the new stuff too!

Free Shipping and Returns as well!

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If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I’m nuts over the Lou and Grey SignatureSoft hoodies.  I have three that I’ve collected over the last several years (black, blush pink, and pale heathered blue)…..and this year they have them in olive and grey.  They are not long enough to wear with leggings for me (I’m almost 5’4″), but they sure do look great with jeans!  If you are petite, you might be able to pull them off with leggings, especially if you order a size up.

Incredibly soft, very comfy, and super cute!  Click HERE!

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So, I thought it would be fun to peel back the curtain a bit today to prove to y’all that I’m not always dressed to impress.  My friends and neighbors will tell you that FO SHO, and here’s some proof in pictures…

Being comfy around the house is my favorite, and I can’t even describe how comfy I was on this particular day.  Yep, that’s me rocking pajama pants, my favorite Uggs, a high pony with my bangs pinned back with a bobby pin, and a men’s sweatshirt from Target.  (Full disclosure, I bought the sweatshirt for my dad for part of his Christmas present…and it was too big for him…but when he gave it back to me to take back for him, I just kept it.  And I kinda feel like a genius because of it.  I think it was like $12.99). #comfygenius

Earlier this week we had to leave the house when it was fuh-reezing to take Carter to his Orthopedist appointment.  I’d been wearing this all day at home, and I just couldn’t bare the thought of changing out of it.  I’d actually bought the pullover to wear to the ranch this past weekend (from the men’s section at Target too!).  I bought it because when I showed Chris the cute buffalo plaid Northface pullover (better stocked HERE) I had planned on taking to the ranch, he looked at me like I was crazy and told me not to take something that nice because it would just end up smelling like a campfire.  My man is so smart.  😉

So, because the week before I had started rocking my dad’s sweatshirt at home, I had the idea to go to the men’s department at Target again to grab a pullover specifically for the ranch that could be worn with leggings.  I walked out with this baby.  I couldn’t find it online, but maybe you could still find it at your local Target.  You know, if you are in need of a big pullover to be worn by a campfire.  😉

I am wearing my $19 BP striped tee under it.  And I’ve been wearing it as a layering piece so much, that I went ahead and also ordered it in solid black and solid grey earlier this week.  It washes perfectly and is just all around great.  I love the length and that it’s not fitted, but it’s not at all baggy either.  My lattice cardy UGGs are sold out, but the regular cardy UGGs are fully stocked (and I like those better anyway)!  Remember to order at least 1 size down in the leggings. I’m wearing a small petite, but I wish I had the xs petite.

pullover at local Target (brand is Goodfellow)/ striped tee / the leggings/ plus size leggings / cardy UGGs/  axis tote care of Barrington

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Several times a year, the liter sizes of my favorite shampoo and conditioner go on SUPER SALE (like 40-50% OFF), and now is the time!

I started using these products about 8 years ago, and I don’t think I will ever look for anything different.  I started using it because my hair changed after having Carter, and it wasn’t as silky and shiny as it had been in the past.  My mom’s hairdresser at the time recommended that I try the All Soft line from Redken.  It was expensive, but I went for it.  Within about a week, my hair texture changed back to looking healthier and shinier (and being more manageable), and I’ve never looked back.

I get sooooooooooo many e-mails from readers saying that they now feel the same way.  #TEAMALLSOFT

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This monogrammed pullover is $30 off right now!  I put it up on facebook this week asking if anybody had any experience with the brand, and the response was overwhelmingly great!

Here are just a couple of the comments:

I have this pull over and it is really nice quality. Super soft on the inside and I would say it runs true to size. I have this in a small and most of my tops are small. – Eileen

This is a fantastic company!!! I’ve been ordering from them for years! Last year a necklace I ordered from them ended up getting a bubble in it next to my engraved initials. Long story short I took a picture of the Item and they sent me a brand new necklace a few days later-and this was after I had worn the necklace for months! I will be a customer for life! – Amber

pullover / similar $12 necklace (that I own and love!)

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And after reading all of the comments after I originally posted about Groupdealz and Jane, I’ve found myself hopping on these sites every several days to see what they’ve got going on.

How cute are these leather bracelets!?!  How in the world are they genuine leather and ONLY $6.99?  Shipping information for these bracelets:  $2.99 for the first item and $0.99 for each additional item. US only. Seller usually ships within 5 business days. Ships no later than Sat, Jan 13.

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BACK IN STOCK AND STILL ON SALE ALERTS……

This sweater tunic is back in stock…

The stripe version in this sweater tunic sold out last month, but it’s been restocked in all sizes, and it’s still on sale!  And the sweet little necklace is ONLY $12.  I showed y’all this sweater with leggings last month(these are the awesome leggings on sale – make sure you size down), but I wanted to show you how great it looks with jeans as well. For size reference, I’m wearing a regular small.

And I feel it necessary to STRONGLY URGE YOU once again TO GET THE BOOTS. True to size and incredibly comfy. I promise you can wear them all day.

high low tunic sweater ON SALE/ earrings / $12 necklace / jeans / must have boots $20 OFF

This tunic and this clutch are also back in stock…..

The MUST HAVE tunic that I’ve had for 3 years and still absolutely swear by is now back (although it’s on backorder).  It’s a great deal at the regular price of $42…it’s a freaking steal at $27.90.  It is still available in black, a deep blue, an ivory, and a light greyish lavendar.  For size reference, I’m wearing a small and doing a 1/2 tuck here.  And for those of you wondering, it is long enough for leggings on my 5’4″ frame.

The clutch is back too!

MUST HAVE tunic ON SALE / clutch ON SALE/   earrings ON SALE/ necklace / jeans / black over the knee boots care of Vince Camuto

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As part of my Ambassadorship with Sole Society, each month I will be highlighting items from their new lines!  Last month I fell in love with these mules (the least mule-ish mules I’ve ever seen!), and I’m sooooo excited about today’s new items!  This month I chose these booties and this small cross body bag.  I’m going to be styling them in some upcoming posts, but I wanted to go ahead and show them to y’all today!

twist front fleece top / $18 earrings / necklace / jeans / leopard belt / booties care of Sole Society / bag care of Sole Society

Thank you to Sole Society for sponsoring this portion of the post.

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If you were MIA on New Year’s Day (no judgement) :), you need to go check out my post to see my sassy outfit and my new studded cross body bag!

And if you didn’t happen to see Conner’s WORK WEAR post on Wednesday, hop over to see it now! Almost everything she featured is ON SALE and then AN ADDITIONAL 60% OFF! Awesome work wear basics!

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I’m adding this section as an update because while hopping around online, I found some sale items y’all need to know about!

I feel the need to let y’all know every single time Hunter boots go on sale.  And right now they are 30% OFF!

I’ve been eyeing this camo hoodie, but didn’t want to pay full price. It’s still expensive, but it is $20 off.  And I think I’m in love.

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Being able to use the blog to help and support friends is my favorite part about this space.

See the sweet mama in this picture?  That’s my friend Julie.  Her son is on Carter’s baseball team, so we’ve spent many a night together on bleachers cheering on our boys.

Right after Thanksgiving, Julie was diagnosed with Luekemia.  She spent several weeks in the hospital right after the diagnosis, and although she’s at home now, she is now in the fight of her life.  We know she’s got fight in her, and we are strong believers in the power of prayer, so please join me in praying for Julie.

Another friend of Julie’s started a t-shirt fundraiser, and I would love it if you could help support her family this way.  The shirts come in both adult and kid sizes and will serve as a great reminder to continually pray for my sweet friend.  It’s hard to see in the pic, but under “pray” it says #prayforjulie’sjourney.

There’s not a website set up, but all of the information you need can be found on Sherrie’s facebook post.  She gives you several options for paying, and after you pay, you comment on the facebook page stating how many shirts, what sizes you need, and the shipping address.

To be clear, McKinney pick up is an option, but only to those who are personal friends of Julie.  If you live in McKinney, but don’t know Julie personally, I think it would be best to go ahead and pay for shipping.  Personally, I’m going to pay for shipping for our shirts, just because I don’t want to have to burden somebody with getting mine delivered to me.

Click HERE to order!

 

If you order a shirt, would you please leave a comment on the bottom of this post too?  I would like to be able to personally thank you for supporting my friend.

Thanks, everybody!  Hope you all have wonderful weekends with family and friends!

Filed Under: Fashion, The Bachelor 31 Comments