Summer Lovin'

Summer is right around the corner… or that’s what I keep telling myself. The Midwest is having unusually warm weather for this time of year and by warm I mean warm, not to be confused with hot. I mean I am not complaining that it’s not 90 and humid. My skin however is in  panic mode. Dress season and no tan: Emergency Situation. I have become obsessed and I mean OBSESSED with Bath and Body spray tan. It’s easy to use and blends really well without looking super orange. It takes about 90 minutes to actually make you look tan so plan accordingly.  

Airbrush Spray Tan

I have been using it along with the self tanning lotion and the gradual tanner. I prefer the Self Tanner (and being very tan.) I may or may not have on in my car, my desk, my over-night bag, and my purse. You never know when you are going to need a fix. 

Bronzing Self-Tanning Lotion

Moisturizing Gradual Tanner

Hope you all had a Great Memorial Day weekend! 

Cheers! XOXO

Elle

#ThrowBackThursday

Throwback Thursdays... Let's Discuss. 

I have to admit this is somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine. Does anyone remember: HotorNot.com?

Once upon a time, long ago... when I was in middle school and the internet wasn't yet invented. Okay… I am being a teensy dramatic. I had the internet in middle school… dial up, AIM, and all the SWF13 chat rooms anyone could possibly want. You get the picture... 

Social media, in it's infancy,  had only one social media site giving high school middle school  teachers grief: HotorNot.com. This was an opportunity to upload hot pictures of yourself to have strangers give you a 1-10 hotness rating, or to upload the worst picture you could fine of your worst enemy peer.

Point being: Old Habits Die Hard. #ThrowbackThursday seems to be pretty reminiscent of a simpler time in social media... well almost.

The Hot.

Spring Break 2001: Look how tan I am! And that neon string bikini is finally back in style, so no one will know how old I am!

Circa 2010... same thing.

College Days: Look how fun and smart I am! And no one even remembers that I dropped that one class to go to that one party right after this was taken! (Kidding... well you would have to ask Staceylea I supose.)

Remember Calling Cards? #wtfislongdistance

 Wedding Pics: Look guys! I am STILL married! 

Sports Pics: Look how sporty I am! Ahhhh the glory days! 

The Not.

·         Perms: Please don’t make a comeback!

·         Mullets… enough said.

·         Glasses: Yessss those 80’s glasses were the best. Thank god I got contacts when I turned 11!

And finally the #ThrowbackThursdayTakenLastThursday

 Selfies: est. 2010… this is not a throwback. Don't even get me started on the duckface.

Are y'all guilty of these? Because my great friends whom I have stolen the below Instagram photos from certainly are... THANKS LOVES!!!!

XOXO, 

Elle

Best Dressed: Derby Edition

This post’s title is such a tease isn’t it? Hope y'all had an amazing and well-dressed Derby weekend. (Mine was A-MAZ-ING!) I started off the weekend in Kentucky with a Derby Party… Guess who won best dressed? Haha… no not me. ;) A friend won… I suspect it was the white shoes no socks combo… and the entourage of females.

My dress was from J Crew Factory online... these pictures do not do it justice. I’m pretty obsessed with all of their preppy dresses.  They have so many options perfect for summer Baby & Wedding Showers or a Derby Party…. Whichev.

363 Days till Derby 2014!!

XOXO, Elle

The Time I Ran in the Flying Piglet

Derby + Cinco de Mayo + Flying Pig Marathon =  ponytails and no noteworthy #OOTD the past 3 days. 

Wet hair... Don't Care. 

I am still recovering and it’s Tuesday! For those of you who don't know the Flying Pig Marathon is Cincinnati's Marathon that is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon. Okay so I must admit that I may have not ran IN the marathon… but I did run from my car to the finish swine (their words not mine) and then to the bar for Cinco de Mayo tacos and tequila. Let’s just call it the Flying Piglet. Four miles in the POURING rain deserves something right?  (It actually is a big deal for me after all my surgeries, but blah blah... they ran TWENTY SIX MILES.)

At the finish line I saw more than one Lululemon running skirt. I mean if you are going to run a marathon you might as well look cute in the finish line photos,  right? I am confident regardless of my attire I would NOT look a bit cute crawling over the line.  Honestly, I am usually not a huge fan of Lulu... yea it's cute, but it's so much cuter on Skinny Minnies... and then there is the sticker shock. Yes, I admit to paying $78 on a long sleeve teeshirt on an isolated occasion, but I try not to make a habit of it. If I run the Marathon next year I will however spend as much as I want on a cute little running #OOTD.  I have been window online shopping some options to check out. I feel like I would be more motivated to run in a cute skirt. Have any of y'all tried a running skirt? 

Lululemon $58

Via

Nike $50

Champion for Target $18

At the risk of making this post sound like a glorified Facebook status update I cannot resist sharing a couple of great photos I captured of my friends at the finish.  I was hoping to see a proposal but such luck. Maybe next year maybe I will need a better camera for the occasion...

... or maybe I will do the marathon… yea probably not.

Cheers! XOXO

Elle

Happy Oaks Day!

If you are living under a rock (or a state other than Kentucky or Ohio) you may not know what Happy Oaks  Day means. The Oaks is the Day before the Kentucky Derby. AKA the day when schools close in Kentucky to so everyone can drink Mint Juleps, wear big hats and gamble. (...Only in Kentucky.) Mint Juleps are the official drink of the Kentucky Derby... and every good Derby Party. I usually post my version of cocktail recipes but this time I am being official! Here ya go... Straight from the Kentucky Derby! 

Via

The Early Times Mint Julep Recipe

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• Sprigs of fresh mint
• Crushed ice
• Early Times Kentucky Whisky
• Silver Julep Cups

Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool and place in a covered container with six or eight sprigs of fresh mint, then refrigerate overnight. Make one julep at a time by filling a julep cup with crushed ice, adding one tablespoon mint syrup and two ounces of Early Times Kentucky Whisky. Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost the outside of the cup. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint.

Via

Recipe located: 

http://www.kentuckyderby.com/experience/traditions/mint-julep2

Have a Safe Derby Weekend Ladies!!! 
Cheers!

XOXO, Elle

why i Blog?

I started blogging last year while I was on a medical leave from work… as a time filler, as an outlet, as a form of relaxation, as a way of escaping the doctors and the IVs and the surgeries. I was told by pretty much every doctor I had (and there were A LOT) that I should become a motivational speaker. Originally my Blog was intended to be motivational… about my journey. Toast to Tomorrow was born to celebrate waking up this morning, and tomorrow morning, and everything in between. Maybe it could help someone going thru something similar. Maybe it could put life in perspective that someone (me) is happy in life with less than they have.

I gave myself 12 IVs a day... and that PIC Line means no showers ladies. 

After surgery #2.Look at those sexy compression socks! #bejealous #OOTD

Would you call that bruise Lavender? 

I have written hundreds of posts on this topic. I have publish almost none of them.

I am an extremely private person, so it seems unusual that I would chose to make some part if not all a very personal topic in my life out there for anyone to see, but…

Writing about positive thinking helped me think positive.

Insert Instagram. Game changer. After a couple months of writing I was introduced to Instagram. It’s funny how much a social media app effected my life. I have always enjoyed photography. I have always enjoyed fashion. On Instagram I wasn’t sick, I wasn’t in pain… I was just Lauren Nicole. I was just me again. My pictures were of normal things. I posted #OOTD every day. On Instagram that was normal. For me it was accountability. Even tho I felt like staying in PJs all day I held myself accountable to take my #OOTD. As the trend continued my writing followed suit. It turned into fun little tid bits of things I found fun, cute, comical, and amusing. It evolved into a lunch break from work (yes I am back to the 9-5) and a way to give myself a break from my busy life.

I am new at blogging and finding my way through it. (Suggestions are welcome.) I have not yet found constancy or exactly what   my goal here is, but I enjoy it… even if no one ever reads it. The fact that I have followers that actually read my ramblings is amazing… and I have to admit I never expect anyone too.

I hope you all enjoy… Cheers!

XOXO,

Elle 

Back and Better than Eva

Did ya’ll think is disappeared for good? Opsies! Well I’m back... at least for now! Blogging is more or less  a form of relaxation and the word "relaxation" reminds me of…

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

This is true. Corporate America has been calling the shots in my life lately… but it has all been worth it. I’m happy to tell ya’ll I got a promotion.  Thank god. My work life balance is beginning to feel... some what balanced. Do ya'll have this issue? I mean a girls gotta support her shopping habit somehow! 

In the spirit of my new job here are my Casual Friday Wear to Work obsessions of Winter Spring. (Yes, it's still below freezing in Cincinnati. So not okay Mother Nature, so not okay.)


 



Pink Blazer $37.99

 

 

Navy Gingham Button Down Via