Life Lately {vol. 42}

I love watching the sun rise after my morning workouts! :)

Leif gave me so much stink eye the other morning!

Lipstick makes me feel SO powerful!

J gave me this coffee mug for Christmas, and it's still my favorite in the whole world! :)

James, this doesn't even look comfortable!

Happy Easter! Christ is risen! :)

The Easter Bunny brought me socks for working out, which I was waaay too excited about, haha. 

My love Erica came over after I got back from church and we made fancy Easter eggs! :)

We tried (decently well?) at making deviled eggs!

I adore her! :)

Leif and I, working on our fitness!

I ordered 7 bags of Tapatio Doritos from Amazon and I regret NOTHING!

We are the bestest of friends!

I love my new Fabletics outfit! It's sooo comfy!

My sweet little boy. He loves sleeping on me, and I love it almost as much, haha.

I was feeling gross on Saturday, so I watched an episode of Iron Chef on the elliptical! The workout flew by and I got to watch my favorite show - it's a win-win!

I've been experimenting with cooking tilapia! My favorite recipe so far has been with a little coconut milk and Old Bay!

It was 70 degrees out the other day! It felt so good to open up all my windows! :D

I bought this little cilantro plant (in seed form) at Target, and it's actually growing! I have a renowned black thumb, so this is basically a miracle for me! 

I'm very emotional today - I realized when I walked outside that I looked like I did in London. My hair cut and color are the same, I'm wearing the same coat and scarf I wore 90% of the time there, and I'm wearing the boots I bought in Ireland. All on accident!

I've had a really good few weeks! Mostly I've just been waiting impatiently - waiting for my mom and grandma to visit TOMORROW, waiting for finals, waiting for flying out to see J, and waiting to help move him up! After months of regular law school, this next month is just full of things happening! 

Even though I'm so excited, I'm also struggling with how to get everything done I need to be prepared! When I have people come visit, I really try and get all my homework done around the time they're there so I can focus just on them and not worry so much about law school. I've mostly done it this week, but I still have a few things I need to get wrapped up first... Which means today's going to be busy, on top of my Trial Advocacy class tonight where I have to do a closing argument! It's gonna be a long day!

I can't say enough how excited I am to have my mom and grandma visit! They both have before, but never together. I'm just dying to see them! :)

Have a great week, friends!

8 Wedding Things I'm Loving

1) These floating carnation "streamers" // I'd love to have them in wine and silver blue, maybe for a photo booth backdrop? I want to include Pi Phi things in little ways in the wedding, because it's such a big part of who I am!

2) Simplicity, with holiday lights // I absolutely love greenery and lights. I think it looks so romantic and real, you know? No one's trying too hard - it's just simple and real and genuine and naturally beautiful!

3) This green and flowery backdrop // This could be a backdrop to a photo booth or what we get married in front of - I just love how simple and sweet it is! If I've learned anything from searching on Pinterest for inspiration, it's that I love greenery!

4) This style of dress (and a flower crown) // My body won't look like exactly that in a similar dress, but I'm hoping that style is flattering on me, because it's what I think I want! And I've wanted a flower crown since J and I got engaged, haha!

5) Unity wine // I get the whole unity candle thing, and I guess people are all about doing "unity sand" nowadays... but that's never appealed to me. Then when I found out on Pinterest that you could work with a winery to find two compatible wines to mix (not just going to store and picking a Merlot and pino grigio - yuck!), I knew that would work for us! J and I are big wine drinkers, but he only drinks red and I only drink white. This would totally work for us!

6) Old-fashioned veil // I used to think I would want a birdcage veil, but it's become so normal, and to be honest, the appeal has kind of vanished for me. While I can't see myself in a traditional veil (I'm not a traditional girl), I like the idea of a vintage-inspired veil - and maybe I could switch to a flower crown for the reception?

8) Succulents on the tables // My mom had the great idea to incorporate J's Arizona upbringing with some little succulents or cacti! I thought it was such a cute idea - I love finding decor that subtly incorporates J and I!

Review: Temptations Snacky Mouse

I received this adorable little mouse toy from TEMPTATIONS through the Influenster program, and I can't tell you how excited I was to get a cat-themed box in the mail! If there's anything I love getting free for my cats, it's toys - they need entertainment or they spent all night running around like maniacs. I was especially excited because these kind of interactive treat toys are exactly the things both my cats - but James especially - love to play with!

I don't need to tell you how cute this little mouse is - you can see it yourself! Plus, the package I got came with a box of TEMPTATIONS treats, which my cats were thrilled about. The little head twists off so you can drop the treats in, and you can move the "body" around so that the little posts block the treats from coming out as easily.

The only downside this toy had for me was that (and it's kind of a big one) the treats fell out so easily! James and Leif have another similar toy, but the holes are smaller so they have to really work to get the treats or food to fall out. It takes a lot of rolling around until one comes out, so it actually gives them a workout. The Snacky Mouse, while adorable, just takes a little tap on the side to get a treat to fall out when you fill it all the way up, no matter how I adjust the little posts.

See how easily James got two treats out of it?

The whole reason to have these toys (besides cuteness) is to give cats an interactive toy to intellectually stimulate them and maybe give them a workout in the process. Part of me wonders if having such a difficult version of the same toy made James particular good at using this, because Leif had a harder time getting treats out of the Snacky Mouse... but then again, I had to actively work to keep the treats in when I was holding it in those pictures above!

Although I don't like that James isn't getting any kind of workout playing with it, I can't deny that James LOVES the Snacky Mouse! And in the future, I may try putting only a few treats in there. From the other videos of cats playing with the Snacky Mouse, there are only one or two treats in there and it looked like the cats had a harder time getting the treats out. So maybe my big issue with this toy is actually user error!

All-in-all, I think the TEMPTATIONS Snacky Mouse is absolutely adorable, but maybe not worth the money if you have a cat that's used to these kind of games. I could really see this being a good "beginner" level toy for a cat who hasn't experienced interactive treat toys before. James is a pro, apparently, haha.

Do you have any intellectually or physically stimulating toys for your cats? What's worked for you? Have you ever tried the TEMPTATIONS Snacky Mouse? Would you?