Planning a Weekend Pamper Party

We plan parties for so many things and I'm all about it! I love to have an excuse to have friends over to chat, laugh, and spend quality time together. It's too cold outside and everyone is in need of girl time? Throw a hot chocolate party! Birthday coming up? Birthday brunch is in the works!

But what about relaxation?

I think it's time we start throwing Weekend Pamper Parties!

One of the things I loved the most about sleepovers in middle and high school was that it gave us girls a reason to do all the girly things we really loved with friends! Unfortunately, as we get older, those moments become a thing of the past. Why don't we get together, pamper ourselves, flip through those glossy magazines that have been piling up (because we're too busy to read them) and put on some great music or television?

Here's my recipe for a lovely Weekend Pamper Party:

1. Write out invitations. When is the last time you received an invitation in the mail to something you actually wanted to go to? Handwritten invitations are a rarity nowadays which makes them feel special. . .and in turn, makes the recipient feel special. Don't you want to provide that experience for your friends?
2. Consolidate your resources. If you love nail polish and three of your friends love nail polish, don't you think between the four of you that would result in a lot of nail polish? Variety is fun! This is when everyone gets to possibly try something new. Have each of your friends bring over their own "Pamper Essentials", whether it be face masks, nail polish, or magazines. Sharing is caring!
3. Prepare some snacks. Food really brings people together and sometimes the absence of food can leave people feeling awkward. To keep things easy, plan two beverages and one snack. I like water with lemon and iced tea for beverages in the Spring and some kind of finger food. French fries anyone???
4. Set the mood with music or TV. I have been LOVING the new show Younger on TVLand. I have been tweeting about it weekly. It's hysterical, fun, and only 30 minutes. It's a show that I watch and find myself wishing for my girlfriends to chat and laugh with. It won't take over the entire night's festivities and will be a welcome activity. I have also been jamming to Matt & Kim's new album New Glow. Words cannot express the crazy awesome dance party that ensues the moment I hear Hey Now! (What's funnier is that I just watched the video for the first time, and I dance just like Kim in the video when the song comes on!) Perfect fun music when hanging with your friends!
5. Live it up! Don't fuss over heavy cleaning or being the best hostess. Sit and really engage with your friends. You'll have the best memories and all continue laughing about the great time you had in the weeks that follow.

What do YOU do to pamper yourself? Tweet me @buzzwithkee or tag me in your Instagram pic @thebeautybuzzwithkee.

If you're one of my friends who live nearby, keep your eyes on those mailboxes. You never know when you'll receive an invite for a Weekend Pamper Party from me.  :)

Things I Love Lately

This winter has been brutal the last couple weeks!

Snow, cold, ice. I know they are all expectations of winter in the northeast, but that does not stop me from feeling the effects of a miserable indoor existence!

With that being said, there have been many things I am LOVING lately.
Blogging, making YouTube videos, TV watching, cooking yummy food, snuggling with the best blanket EVER that my momma made me, and lighting candles.

This post is a peek into the MANY things I love today and expect I will continue loving right into sunny Spring. Grab a cup of coffee because I have quite a bit to share. Are you ready?!

CANDLES

I love burning candles in the winter. They make your house smell amazing and offer a warm glow to a room. These two have been rocking my world lately! The Frosted Cranberry is from Bath & Body works and is a present from last Christmas. I just took it out a few weeks ago and quickly realized what I had been missing! It burns evenly the entire way, adding the perfect warm and slightly sweet fragrance to the air. The Succulent Garden candle was a find at Target. This little gem smells like Spring! It is the epitome of what you are hit with when you walk into the Philadelphia Flower Show. . .bright, fresh, beautiful flowers. It isn't overly floral. If anything, it smells like the best perfume. If I could bottle this and spritz it on my body daily, I would!

NAILS

I don't believe in waiting for Spring to wear "Spring colors" because I'm anti-trendy. Don't know what that is? Read here! One thing that always brightens up a dreary winter day is light, bright, colorful nail polish. Each of these colors just makes me feel like I deserve a large ice cold glass of homemade iced tea and a cozy seat on a balcony.

FOOD!

Pancakes are becoming a snow day favorite. I tend to be a purist when it comes to pancakes. Hands down the best pancakes I have ever had and crave more than anything are from IHOP. There is a reason they are so popular! Whatever their recipe is. . .wow is all I can say. Love, love, love! These bad boys over here to the left are "homemade", out of the box, "just add water" pancakes with chocolate chips dotted beneath the surface. So delicious and yummy year round!

One of the things I have always struggled with is keeping a routine about what I eat. I get bored easily and need to change it up regularly. However, for at least two months I have had the same breakfast 5-6 times a week: Special K Red Berries with a sliced banana and Silk Soymilk. It is so good! The perfect meal after a workout. I crave a bowl of this good stuff all day. So far it hasn't gotten old at all. If anything, I have yet to be this successful meal planning.

Special K? Check!
Bananas? Check!
Soymilk? Check!
Breakfast for the week? Done!

Hot chocolate, coffee, and tea are all perfect mugs of happiness. It all depends on the mood. On the hot chocolate front, Nutella has been all I can think about. If you haven't tried Kandee Johnson's Nutella Hot Chocolate recipe. . . well, you're missing out. Don't wait. It is the most indulgent cup of creamy chocolate hazelnut goodness I have ever encountered. But I'm warning you it is addictive. I drank a huge mug three days in a row and then promptly went on a 12-step program. . .called me telling myself to "Get over it already!!!"

It's good to treat yourself to your own afternoon tea when the mood strikes.

Remind me to go back to HomeGoods and pick these up, please!

My Valentine's Day plans included a weekend of celebrations with my best friend. There was movie watching, cereal eating, makeup shopping, and of course a lovely romantic dinner.

SUSHI!!! Really. . . need I say more?

 MORNING WORKOUTS








Do you know about Blogilates? If you are looking for a new workout, check out Cassey Ho and her workouts here. They have been kicking my butt. It is amazing how such small movements can burn so intensely. She creates calendars you can follow with playlists for daily workouts and has a really great community of people working hard to change their bodies.

 I've fallen off the band wagon the last couple weeks and hopped back on today. Oh man. . . burns so good!

BLOGGING & YOUTUBING

I have had so much fun creating blog posts and YouTube videos. I love watching YouTube videos and reading blogs and if I'm not spending time with another human being, you can bet that I'm watching, writing, or filming. Joining Instagram and Twitter have also been a lot of fun. Many of the YouTubers I follow are from the UK so it's always fun to wake up and see what they have gotten up to for the day as I'm dragging my sleepy self out of bed. It's almost a peek into what my day could have in store, seeing as they are 5 hours ahead. A little inspiration in the morning never hurt anybody! 

Thanks for reading and hanging with me! Make sure you follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I'm also on Bloglovin!

12 Days of Buzzing Beauty Gifts! Day 1

I can't begin to tell you how much I love the energy at the stores during Christmas time. I don't mean the mean people who drive like maniacs in the parking lot, or the people who bump into you as you're walking from store to store.

I love the twinkling lights, the ringing of bells outside the entrances for Salvation Army donations, Santa everywhere. . . it's magical! Don't get me wrong, I understand the true meaning of Christmas, but I also thoroughly enjoy the commercial aspects of it.

In my family we hang stockings but we don't fill them. I think we did a few times growing up, but for the most part my grandfather handles the stocking stuffers for EVERYONE in our family. (I know, he's a rockstar. . . gotta love him!) They are extra-large gift bags filled with all kinds of necessities like flashlights, perfume, de-icer (for car windows in the winter), pocket size tissue packs and much more.

With that being said, I've never received the kind of beauty busting extravaganza stocking I've always secretly dreamed of. Over the next 12 days I will post a new idea for the perfect stocking stuffer or gift (your choice) for the beauty lover on your shopping list.

My nieces aren't old enough yet to receive such a gem, but if they were, this is what I would put inside.

"On the first day of shopping The Buzz gave to me. . ."

The OPI "stuff my stocking" nail polish set from ULTA!

This set provides three colors and a rapid dry top coat. It's a beautiful set, perfect for OPI nail polish lovers as well as those new to OPI.

I love OPI nail polish. They offer a wide range of gorgeous colors and the polish lasts.

That's The Buzz! Come back tomorrow for Day 2 of buzzing beauty gifts!