Can You Guess My Costume: The Reveal!

It is the Friday before Halloween and my costume is all ready to rock at my friend's Halloween party tomorrow night. I've seen a lot of funny guesses and a lot of correct ones as well... you guys are just too smart for me!

And now, without further ado... the remaining pieces of my costume and the reveal of what I am going to be for Halloween!

That's right everyone.... I am going to be Lady Gaga!

 

This photo has been my inspiration in designing this costume. I bejeweled the underwear myself and bought the wig, glasses, and fishnets. Everything else was something I already owned. I will definitely have pictures of my costume on Monday so stick around and thanks for guessing :)

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Halloween!

Christmas At Lush

I have become a huge Lush fan in the past year or so. Nothing is better than coming home from a long day and throwing a bath bomb or bubble bar in a bath and relaxing with a glass of wine and some spa music.

I don't remember much about the Christmas items at Lush last year but this year... they have piqued my interest!

I went to Lush last weekend to pick up a few things and ended up smelling every new item they had. I decided it was a little early to buy some sweet-smelling Christmas stuff but in a month.... I am so there!

Here are the things I will be jonesing for this Holiday season:

Satsumo Santa - Mandarin and Bergamot oil bath bomb

Bearded  Lady - Oat Milk and Banana bubble bar

Candy Cane - Mint and Vanilla bubble bar

Christmas Eve - Jasmine and ylang ylang bubble bar

Li'l Lush Pud - Aloe Vera and Clove bath bomb

Snow Globe - Lemon and Grapefruit soap

What are you putting in your bath this Christmas?

The World View Project

 My friend Poppy from Bears and Bunting (and one of my regular pen pals) started a great project called The World View Project. She decided that since she couldn't travel everywhere, she would send disposable cameras around the world and ask people to take pictures of where they lived. Once they were sent back, she would create a scrapbook of the photos and it would be her trip around the world in pictures. How neat is that??

A week ago, I received Gerty in the mail and was super excited to get snapping!

It even had a lovely note included from the previous participant, Ali, who sent it from Windsor, England.

Today, I snapped my 3 photos and sent Gerty on her way to the next lucky person. I made sure to also take the same photos with my digital camera in case they didn't turn out. Here are my 3 photos of Tampa.

The Florida Aquarium

Downtown Tampa

A great mural of Tampa

What photos would you take to capture your city?

Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

I am a bit of a realist when it comes to weddings. I love keeping the pictures and sentimental items but there are some things that are better off sold... like my wedding dress.

I've never been the one to want to preserve it or save it for a possible daughter to wear on her day, because who knows what she will want or if she could wear it. I definitely didn't want to trash my dress because it was so beautiful. So I did the best alternative and put it up for sale.

I have been trying to sell it for a year now and recently put it up on Ebay as a Buy It Now item. Well, today, someone actually bought it! I'm sad to see it go but I am practical in thinking that we need the money given Christmas coming up.

So I wanted to say goodbye to my beautiful, beaded, mermaid-style wedding dress as I watch it ship away to New Mexico and hope that her new owner loves it as much as I did.

What did you do with your wedding dress?

My Fall Weekend Outfit

The Florida fall is unlike most... warm in the daytime but cool in the evenings. Fall is the perfect time to break out some skinny jeans and boots for going out and this is a much more expensive version of what I like to wear out on a fall evening. 

Fall Outfit by Scientific Housewife 

M Missoni Double knitted tunic top, $965
Ksubi Raw low-rise skinny stretch jeans, $175
Wild Diva Women's Rayna-16 Boot, $49
MICHAEL Michael Kors Hamilton Extra Large N/S Tote, $348
Jessica Simpson - Glam Garden Flower Necklace (Gold) - Jewelry, $32
Gabbie Earrings in Rose Gold with Topaz, $3,130

Let The Christmas Shopping Begin!

I've been a little late on my Christmas shopping this year. Last year, I'm pretty sure I started in September, which made me feel good because all the purchases were spread out. This year, I have yet to start so I will be scrambling for the next 2 months to do so. I already know a few things I am getting for friends and the hubby but the hardest to shop for are the parents.

What do you get people who have everything? My in-laws are a little bit easier because they are about to retire so we can always get them something to occupy their time like a small trip or memberships to something. But my grandparents? They are impossible!

My grandparents are the type that buy what they want when they want it and have traveled and entertained so many times, they have everything they need! I usually fall back on gift cards and spa certificates for Grandma but I need some ideas.

Anyone have great ideas for Christmas gifts? I might have to get creative.

Candy!

My mind has been on candy all month long. I will be that person eating a piece for every piece I hand out on Halloween :)

What is your favorite Halloween candy?

I Joined A Book Club...

... and I am the youngest member by about 30 years :)

My local library started a book club yesterday and since it was my day off and I was already at the library to vote, I decided I might as well check it out.

First of all, I was surprised at the turnout. For a Wednesday afternoon book club meeting, there were 16 women, most of whom are retired. Second of all, these women were awesome! They like to read tons of interesting books and genres and are not the Danielle Steele/Jackie Collins type that I would have thought.

Our first book for next month is Olive Kitteridge, which is a group of short stories that are connected by a seventh-grade math teacher named Olive Kitteridge and it all takes place on a coastal community in Maine.

I've never heard of this book before but it's sounds intriguing and I will start on it as soon as I finish my current book.

Anyone else read this book before? What did you think?

Can You Guess My Costume: Part 5

So Halloween is just over a week away and I know I have been torturing you with these clues but some of you are very smart and also very funny (Krystal's flasher comment was priceless!). Since my clues next week will give the whole thing away, this is the last week to really put it all together and see what you can figure out.

Here are the clues so far:

This next clue is not a stock photo... I actually decorated these myself!

Do you know yet?? :)

The Tale of the Sore Muscles

 Have you noticed I don't mention fitness or exercise on my blog a lot? That's because I am bad and don't exercise at all. Sure, work in itself is exercise ( I probably walk 3 miles a day around the hospital), but I don't do much else in the way of my fitness.

To me, a gym membership would be a waste of money because I am horrible about starting things then stopping them after a week or two. So I try to find other ways to get active, like walking around my neighborhood.

This past weekend, I decided to utilize the Exercise-on-demand channel I have on my tv. It's actually pretty awesome; it has about 100 different workout videos ranging from 10 minutes to an hour and includes any kind of target area or type of fitness you could possibly want!

Well, Friday I did a Bollywood Burn dance video, which was a fun and energetic workout. Afterwards, I felt great! Saturday, not only did I decide to do a 10 minute ab routine, I figured I would work on my legs too, and did those for 15 minutes. Without stretching. Big mistake!

This has been my best friend for the past 2 days. I have been so sore, it's been hard to climb stairs (a necessity at work), sit, even walk sometimes. Today, I am feeling much better but I have learned my lesson... stretch before AND after a workout!

Feel free to laugh now :)

Announcing the Jean Straps Winner!

I want to thank everyone who entered the giveaway and especially thank the wonderful people at Jean Straps for sponsoring! Using random.org, the winner number is 4...

which means the lucky winner of a pair of Jean Straps is...

Carmen from Townhome Happy Hour!

Congrats Carmen! Please email your mailing address to butterflychk500@yahoo.com and we'll get your Jean Straps sent right to you! Thanks everyone!

Last Day to Enter Jean Strap Giveaway!

For those of you that have not entered, today is your last chance to enter to win a pair of Jean Straps. Head on over to the giveaway and I will announce the winner tomorrow. Good luck!

Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder

I know in some parts of the country, even Florida, it is starting to get a little cooler for fall. My favorite thing to do when it cools down is start making soups and this one was a hit with my in-laws last year. I tweaked the recipe a little bit but you can find the original recipe here.

Mexican Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 cups half-and-half cream
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 (14.75 ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
• 1 tomato, chopped
• fresh cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, brown chicken, onion, and garlic in butter until chicken is no longer pink.
2. Pour chicken broth into Dutch oven, and season with cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in cream, cheese, corn, and chilies. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cheese is melted. Stir in chopped tomato. Garnish with cilantro. 

 * Sorry, I should have mentioned that I personally use a large pot to make this in with a cover, a dutch oven isn't necessary.

When Free Lipsticks Don't Work Out

I am a huge Revlon lipstick fan... their formulas and color choices make my wallet oh-so happy! So when Revlon joined Twitter and said that the first 500 people to follow them would win a free lipstick, I was onboard!

Today, I received the lipstick and it was Super Lustruous Lipstick in Mink, which came out for AW10.

Unfortunately, this color is too brown for my NW15 skin. I've heard that this neutral brown is in this year but I will stick to what I am really hoping to rock, which is Plum and Wine shades.

I've received a free lipstick from Revlon before and it was a very dark, raspberry color that is too much when fully applied but can look nice as a stain or with light application. I don't know if Revlon usually sends harder to wear colors or if my pale complexion just makes me out to be the minority. Whatever it is, it's still always fun to get free things!

Any of you get free cosmetics from a brand recently?