Let's Get Cracking

Hooray, Hooray, Hooray!! Today is a good day.

Why is today a good day you ask? Only because you are reading my blog of course :) AND today is a good day to be reading my blog because I have a wonderfully exciting topic for you. We are about to get cracking with Crackle Nail Polish.

This week I got to have a girl's day with my friends Hannah Thomas, Kelli Ferguson, and Maleah Cole. It was very much needed. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We went and ate lunch at San Felipe and then we headed to the mall so that they could get pedicures. I use the word 'they' since my lack of funds kept me from joining in on the fun. However, I did have just about the same amount of fun admiring all the different kinds of polishes as I would have participating in the pedicure party. After the pedicures, we wondered around the mall for a while and then decided it was time to head home. Hannah and I jumped into her Volkswagen Bug and headed out.

Hannah's car is white btw

On the way home, Hannah informed me that she had just purchased some Crackle nail polish from Sally's Beauty Supply and that she had it in her car. I was so excited and I immediately asked her if I could try it out. She said yes :) So, as soon as we got to my house, I jumped out of the car and went to work on the nails.

Hannah bought the pink China Glaze polish. She told me that she thought it would look best with a dark color or a really light color underneath. So, the first step was to paint my nails dark blue.

After my blue nails dried, Hannah painted on the Crackle nail polish for me. She had to leave after she was finished painting, so she told me that I just had to be patient and wait for the cracking to occur. So I waited.....Eventually, the nails dried and the waiting was worthwhile. I loved my nails. Check them out!

I was very impressed with how the blue and pink went together. Just looking at my nails made me happy.

Now, I would like to apologize that my pictures aren't that great, my camera would not focus and I couldn't get a good close up. However, you can like the Crackle Nailpolish page on facebook and see lots of different pictures with all kinds of colors. You can also upload your own pictures of your painted nails. Click here to check it out. You can also go online and find out what stores sell this product. Or, you could just do what I did and borrow from a friend ;)

Thank you Hannah for helping to make my nails look fabulous! I give Crackle nail polish a big thumbs up!

The Earth Was Quakin

Today, I had a first. Not a first kiss or a first date, but something way more exciting than that.

Today I felt my first EARTHQUAKE!

There I was, minding my own business and taking my finger nail polish off in the bathroom. Suddenly, the ground began to shake. My little brother Eric came running to me yelling that his room was moving. After a few seconds, the shaking stopped.

Naturally, since I am in North Carolina, the idea of an earthquake never crossed my mind. I quickly ran to the laundry room to see if our dryer was going crazy...(that happens sometimes). Realizing that the dryer was not on, I went to look in the basement to see if I could find anything that could have caused this shaking. I was unable to find anything wrong and since the shaking had stopped, I went back to removing my nail polish.

When my daddy and brother Andrew got home, I told them about the weird shaking. They looked at me like I was crazy. They had not felt anything. However, once daddy turned on the television and saw the news, all of our questions were answered. The shaking of the house was all thanks to an earthquake that occurred in Northern Virginia around 1:50pm. The earthquake had a magnitude of 5.8 and was felt all over the East Coast. Including our beautiful state of North Carolina!

Can you tell I am a Tarheel fan?

Anyway, I would like to apologize to all of you readers who were hoping to find a new girly post, but I just felt that this monumental moment in my life needed to be shared. Today, I was shaken by an actual earthquake! I am just glad that it didn't shake me all night long ;).

It's Hard to be a Girly Girl Around Here

As I have mentioned before, my family raises tobacco. Every summer we head out to the fields to set, top, and prime. Working in the field this summer has put a little kink into my attempt to become a girly girl. The combination of sweat, dirt, and bugs is enough to make any girl run away screaming. It is just not a good activity for most girly girls out there. However, the girls and women in my family work hard and do not mind getting a little down and dirty. We are used to the dirt stained hands and the blisters.

One day in the field, we were brainstorming about blog post ideas and we stumbled upon a great one. We decided that it would be entertaining to do a blog post on how to remain girly while working in a tobacco field. After thinking about it for a while, I compiled a list of items that are required to keep yourself as clean and pretty as possible while working. I don't know how much this will help any of you out there, but maybe you can just be entertained by our misery.

The first thing you should never leave the house and head to the field without, is water. You will be thirsty during the day because the sun is hot. Taking water breaks periodically is necessary to keep from becoming dehydrated and getting sick. Water is also a healthy subsitute for soft drinks or other sugar drinks. You need water while working in tobacco.

The next thing that you should never leave your home without is a hat. It can be any kind of hat that you want, as long as it covers and protects your face from the sun. The hat gives you shade and keeps those powerful rays away. No sun=no sunburn faces. The sun can be very cruel to faces. I mean, what girly girl wants to have wrinkles before her time?

I just thought that this was cute :)

Going right along with the hat, you should also apply sunscreen before you head out. It keeps you from those painful sunburns. Take it from me, you do not want to be working out in the field with sunburn. It is not fun. Plus, it also protects your skin from future wrinkles and keeps you from getting what we like to call a "farmer's tan." I don't think any girly girls want one of those.

Now, if you are like me, you don't do well in the sun. My eyes are very sensitive to light and can really start to hurt if they are exposed to it without protection. For this reason, I always wear sunglasses while I am working. They help me to see clearer and keep my eyes from hurting later in the day. Just make sure that your shades are really protecting you from the UV rays. I have some plastic ones that did not get the job done.

The last thing that I always make sure to take with me to the field are gloves. Wearing gloves while you work keeps you from having dirt stained hands. Believe me, those stains take forever to go away. The gloves also help to stop blisters and callouses from forming on your hands. I personally use rubber gloves. These really come in handy (haha get it?). Anyway, these really come in handy for a girly girl who doesn't want embarrassing, dirt stained hands all summer. The boys will not be attracted to that!

So there you have it. Everything that you need to stay as girly as you possibly can while working in a tobacco field. These items can also apply to all kinds of outdoor work, from gardening to working with straw. I hope all of you hard working girly girls gained something from this post. AND if you have never had to work in a field somewhere, then look down at this picture of my cousin Katelyn and I and count your blessings. But, no matter what kind of work you do...stay girly my friends :)

Rock Your World Quesadillas

Part of me growing up and becoming a girly girl is learning to cook and take care of myself. So watch out! I am back in cooking action!

I promised that I would be making some quesadillas soon, and they are finally here. However, these are not your average, everyday quesadillas. These are Rock Your World Quesadillas.

My friend Brandon Coble and I have a goal to visit as many Hard Rock Cafes as we can. It is almost like a challenge to see how many of the restaurants we can conquer. We have been to one in Florida (Destin), one in Spain (Madrid), and one in France (Paris).

I first encountered these Rock Your World Quesadillas at the Hard Rock Cafe in Madrid, Spain when I was studying Spanish abroad. I have always loved quesadillas, but I was usually just a chicken and cheese kind of girl. After Brandon introduced me to the barbecue quesadillas that he makes (which are super yummy), I began to be more open to other options.

As I was reading the menu, these babies caught my eye. They sounded scrumptious and featured ingredients that I would never have thought would be included in a quesadilla. Feeling experimental, I quickly ordered them and dug in. They were so good! I left the restuarant very happy that I had found something new that I enjoyed. My world was rocked....

As you know, this summer my Momma and I have been trying to think of new recipes to cook. I suggested that we try to find the recipe for the quesadillas. I described them to her and we enlisted the help of Google. We typed in "recipes for quesadillas at the Hard Rock" and guess what we found? That's right, those scrumptious quesadillas. We got to work immediately.

Ingredients:
flour tortillas
sprinkle cheese
grilled or boiled chicken breast
barbecue sauce
crushed pineapple
bacon bits

Step 1: Sprinkle the cheese over half of the tortilla. Then add chicken and pieces of pineapple. After this is done, it is time for the barbecue sauce and bacon bits. The amount of each ingredient is up to you. Go by your own taste preferences. 


Step 2: Spray the pan with cooking spray and place the quesadillas inside. Make as many quesadillas as you want.

Step 3: Stick them in the oven until they are golden brown.

When they are brown, get them out of the oven. Once they have cooled, get out your plate and get to eating. You can enjoy them alone, or add some extra sour cream or barbecue sauce for dipping. After the first bite, your world will start rocking. :)

Now, I have a question for all you readers and girly girls....Which Hard Rock Cafe do you think Brandon and I should conquer next?

Tax Free is The Life For Me

Notebooks, clothes, computers....the list of things that students need for the new school year goes on and on. The price can really rack up. Shopping for school supplies can put a hurting on your wallet.

Luckily, this weekend is tax free weekend in the state of North Carolina. If you are willing to brave the lines, the amount of money that you would usually spend on all the things your child needs for school will drop drastically.

 Here is a list of items that the tax free weekend applies to:
- school supplies, clothing, and footwear under $100
-computers under $3,500
-equipment for computers under $250
-sports and recreation equipment under $50

This weekend is the perfect time for those big purchases that you have been putting off, like the new laptop or furniture for your college student's apartment. My brother, Andrew Kidd, is going to have an apartment at Elon University this year. Yesterday he went out shopping for anything he thought he might need. He came back with all kinds of goodies, but his favorite purchase of the day was his Mario Kart comforter. This was our favorite video game when we were little.

The ladies are going to love this.

Tax free weekend can also benefit those of us that do not need to purchase school supplies. For girly girls and fashion divas, it is the perfect chance to go shopping for new outfits. It gives us an excuse to shop without feeling guilty about spending too much money. We can always just say "Well it is tax free weekend, so I'm not spending as much." So do not miss this opportunity to get your retail therapy on; you will be kicking yourself in the foot if you do. Get out there and get to some tax free shopping!

ps- If any of you with money would like to buy my broke self this beautiful dress from Dillards on this lovely tax free weekend, I would be a really happy camper :)

An Ode to Hairspray

What is an ode?

"An ode is typically a lyrical verse written in praise of, or dedicated to someone or something which captures the poet's interest or serves as an inspiration for the ode."-from the one and only Wikipedia

The ode that I am writing today will not be lyrical, however it will be full  praise for something that all girly girls use on a regular basis. My ode will be an ode to hairspray.

Hairspray is probably the hardest working beauty product in history. Hairspray is always putting in those extra hours at work. Hairspray never fails to hold your hair in place whether it be for prom, a beauty pageant, or just one of those days where you need a little curl in your life. Hairspray is always there in your hair's time of need. As my friend Emily Lewis says, "Hairspray is my hair's best friend."

I received my first bottle of hairspray as a gift this past Christmas. This was quite a relief for my friends because I had been constantly barging into their rooms and asking to borrow some. After that, I would just spray in a little bit, or a lot since my hair is so long, and happily go about my business for hours with my hairstyle intact. I did not have to worry about my curls falling out after only 20 minutes anymore. It was such a relief.

My first bottle of hairspray was from Suave.

You may be wondering what got me thinking about the outstanding skills of hairspray. Well, it is quite simple.

Tomorrow is August 4th. This is usually just another day of summer to be wasted away with sunbathing and relaxing. However, this August 4th is different. I have been looking forward to this day for a long time. On this day, we will get the chance to see hairspray at its best. Tomorrow is the premiere of the 4th season of Jersey Shore.

In this season you will get to see the cast find their way around Italy, beat each other up, AND use an extreme amount of hairspray. These people take pride in their hairstyles, and depend on the use of hairspray to keep it looking fantastic all night long. In the show, big hair and hairspray are a way of life.

Snooki showcasing her hairspray spraying talents.

The moral of the story is, hairspray is a product that you need in order to become a girly girl. If you want your hair to stay the way that you styled it, it is a need. I am a huge fan of hairspray and I will continue to sing its praises to girly girls everywhere. Plus, the Snooki poof that we all know and love would be nothing without it.