Creative Energy Candles.

While on the cruise, Cameron and I met a nice man named Todd at the craps table in the casino. The next day, we ran into him again while laying out by the fun slides. We got to talking and found out that he is the head diving coach for USC! He also mentioned that his wife started a company called Creative Energy Candles. I just remembered to Google the company the other day and was instantly intriqued by these candles!

Description from their Facebook page:

"The Creative Energy Candle is a 2-in-1 candle. When burned, it melts to create a beautiful scent, as well as a healthy body lotion that’s suitable for skin.

Our candles are 100% all-natural. Organic cotton wicks, soybean wax and certified organic extra virgin coconut oil are non-toxic, making this “green candle” safe for you and the environment.

Our soybean wax is dermatologist-tested, FDA-approved and Kosher-certified. A healthy combination of vitamins A, E and K provide minerals and antioxidant properties. This candle not only softens the skin, but promotes healing and gives skin a more youthful, healthy appearance.

Creative Energy Candles have a great hot and cold throw, and are hand-poured in this chic, 3” heavy base square glass - making pouring wax into the palm of your hand a cinch.

This square, heavy base glass holds nine ounces of wax and burns twice as long as regular candles, up to 55 hours.

With a marketing and advertising background, I have seen how much paper is wasted in package design. That’s why instead of traditional boxes, our packaging is made of 100% recyclable wrap sleeves, minimizing waste and providing a much greener alternative to packaging."

The candles currently come in six scents.

Garden of Eden

[The best seller. A romantic classic with a blend of light fruit, citrus and florals.]

Hannah Lily, Rose and Grapefruit

[A clean fragrance with touch of fresh lily, crisp white grapefruit and a touch of rose.]

Citrus Basil and Wild Mint

[An energizing scent with a contemporary blend of bright citrus and fresh herbs.]

Peppermint and Eucalyptus

[The oils in the peppermint and eucalyptus give the skin a cooling, tingling sensation.]

French Fig and Amber

[Blends of fresh figs with a hint of floral, and a touch of amber. ]

Mountain Grove

[Warm vanilla sandalwood and a hint of patchouli.]

At $20 a candle, these would be a perfect Christmas gift for someone who you have no idea what to get them! :) (Never too early to start thinking about Christmas gifts!)

[Realistic] Fall Want List.

Tan Wedge Boots

[My last pair of tan boots I purchased was 3 years ago and have worn them to death. It's time to move on. I love that the wedge gives them a little more dressy feel.]

Aldo Farmar Boots

Statement Necklaces

[To mix and match with plain shirts/dresses.]

Vestique Glorious Teal Bead Necklace

Vestique Beadacious Necklace in Blue

F21 Glamourous Necklace

Anthropologie Layers of the Sea Necklace (made possible thanks to a friend who works at Free People)

Tory Burch Revas

[But I can't decide which color. I just bought a new pair of black flats last Christmas. I'm leaning towards Royal Tan - if you have a pair of tan flats, do you wear them often??]

Tory Burch Revas in Royal Tan

Blouses to wear with skinny jeans

Gap Pintuck Cowl-Back Top

Victoria's Secret Peasant Blouse

Entire Essie 2011 Fall Line
[my boss will be happy about me wearing more neutral colors on my nails.]

And a few random picks

[just because.]

Old Navy Printed Roll Up Camp Shirt in Aqua Gingham

Gap 1969 Lightweight Corduroy Leggings

Kimchi Blue Paper Bag Skirt

Michael Kors Rose Gold + Navy Watch

It's That Time Again!

Ladies, it's that time again where I need your help. Cameron's brother is getting married next month and I need to decide what I'm going to wear to the wedding!

I was originally just going to find a dress to buy, but then I discovered that I have a $20 credit to Rent the Runway! Problem (almost) solved!

Here are the dresses that I've narrowed it down to.

Which one is your favorite??

#1 - Shoshanna Lace and Love Dress

#2 - alldressedup Coral Geometric Neck Dress

#3 - Tibi Sage Embroidered Keyhole Dress (love the back of the dress)

#4- Milly Midnight Tulip Bow Dress (It's actually a midnight blue color, not black)

#5 - Tibi Teal Applique Bloussant Dress

#6 - Milly Pretty Belted Ruffle Dress

I really appreciate your help! I am the worst decision maker!

Emily & Caroline - Find something fancy to do on Friday, October 7th or Sunday, October 9th so that yall can get in on this rental! :)

Tasty Tuesday - Roasted Crispy Chicken Thighs & Blue Cheese Coleslaw

I made this meal last Friday night, along with a some good ol' Bush's baked beans. This was my first time roasting chicken thighs and although they set off the fire alarm and Emily & David's house for abut 10 minutes, they were mighty tasty! 

Roasted Crispy Chicken Thighs

Recipe adapted from here.

 Ingredients:

 Chicken thighs with skin on 

Salt, pepper and rosemary

OR what I used: Delallo Rosemary & Garlic dipping spice

Directions:

Trim any excess fat from your chicken thighs, rinse them under cold water and pat them dry with paper towels.

I don't have a roasting pan with a rack, so I just placed the thighs, skin side up, on my baking cooling rack and set it over a foil-lined sheet pan. 

Season the thighs liberally with kosher salt, freshly cracked pepper and coarsely chopped fresh rosemary, or the rosemary/garlic blend. 

Bake on the middle rack of a 425 degree oven for roughly 25-30 minutes, until the juices run clear and the flesh is no longer pink at the bone. You're looking for an internal temperature of 180.

Turn on the broiler for a minute or so, so that the skin gets extra crispy!

 ----------

(Supposedly) Fat Hen's Blue Cheese Coleslaw

Found here.

Ingredients

8 bacon slices, chopped (I cut this amount in half for mine)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
16 ounces purchased coleslaw mix
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I don't think I used this full amount either, seemed like a lot)

Directions:

 Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp.

Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels.

Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar and honey in large bowl.

Stir in coleslaw mix, blue cheese and bacon.  
Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.  
Cover and chill.

Can be made 2 hours ahead of time. 

Labor Day Weekend.

My Labor Day weekend was mostly filled with that - labor. Not necessarily hard labor, but it was labor. I had the joy of working Saturday and here I am today, at work. It's not very sunny today and I'm getting paid double, so that makes it slightly easier. :)

Saturday after I got off of work, I rushed home to change into more garnet & black, hurried Cameron out the door and we drove to Summerville to take part in my Uncle Jay & Aunt Cindy's first football game at their new house! If you watched the game, you'll understand why I say that the second half was much more rowdy than the first..

Cocky was waiting for us outside when we pulled up!

Everyone loungin' in their own chairs.

Mom and Cameron (notice how neutral he is) in front of the spread of food: Zaxby's mini sandwiches, sausage balls, buffalo chicken dip, fresh fruit, chips & salsa, lemon bars and oatmeal raisin cookies. I left miserably full.

Me and Pops.

   Sunday, my day off, of course turned out to be a nasty, rainy day. Go figure. Went out to Cameron's parents and just lounged around for a few hours. Later that night we went out to Folly Beach to see my Aunt Debbie & Uncle Jerry! They are my only relatives that don't live in Charleston. Instead, they live in Iowa! Haha. It was so good to see them because we only see them about once a year. I brought them some boiled peanuts I picked up on the way, because I KNOW they don't have those in Iowa! We celebrated both of their birthday's (Aunt Debbie's is today and Uncle Jerry's is later this month) with burgers, hot dogs, coleslaw, fruit salad, cake and ice cream! Again, I left miserably full.

Also, today is the anniversary of my Grandaddy Al going to Heaven. Can't believe it's been 15 years! I miss his jokes, love for chocolate and our sailboat rides!



Go Cocks!

Beat those Pirates!

I'm baaaaaaaack.

Did you miss me? :) I surely did not miss being at work!

If you didn't catch what Ashton mentioned in her guest post, we found out the morning that we left that we were no longer going to Bermuda thanks to Hurricane Irene, we were now headed to Cozumel, Mexico and Key West, Florida. Not gonna lie, I was pretty bummed at first but only because I had already been on a cruise to both of those places in college. But I got over it quickly and thought to myself hey, vacation is vacation!

Leaving Charleston, first drink in hand!

The "young" crew on the first night.

In the Cat's Lounge after dinner on the 2nd night.

It's CB!

After dinner, night 3.

The Three Amigos (me, Cameron's mom & Cameron) in Cozumel!

Getting ready to go snorkeling in Cozumel!

Entertainment on the catamaran..including the Mexican Brett Michaels!

Lemme ride that zonkey, zonkey!

Cameron's 88 year old grandfather dancing at dinner. :)

Cameron and I on the double slides.

With our awesome server, Phillipe, at dinner on the last night. I will never hear the word "sexy" again without thinking of him!

The crew, minus the Lewandowski's.

Sorry, no pics from Key West. It was spent shopping and bar hopping.

Thank you so much to my guest posters! I was so excited to come home and read your posts!

Oh yeah, and tomorrow is the season opener for the Gamecocks!! SO PUMPED!