Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Rolo Roll-Ups: A Fall Treat

If you are looking for something to do with all those Rolo candies from Trick or Treating or parties, here is an easy recipe, but with an addicting taste!


Ingredients:
Rolos (or any chocolate/caramel candies)
Pillsbury Crescent Dough
Cinnamon & Sugar to sprinkle on top



Roll up the chocolate candies in the crescent dough.



Sprinkle each roll up with a bit of cinnamon and sugar.
Bake 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

Enjoy with friends and family!
This is the perfect treat to share with new neighbors!


Monday, October 28, 2013

Are You a Distracted Person?

Live Life with a Purpose: The Perfect Day!


“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” 


We all have busy lives that revolve around one or many different aspects of our life, whether it's family, friends, children, husbands or our careers, but oftentimes we forget to look at life on a broader scale. Oftentimes we miss saying hello to a neighbor because we are in a rush to leave the house and get the kids to school, or we spend an entire luncheon on our phones instead of having a constructive conversation with family, and even at work we get so caught up in our responsibilities and shut ourselves off from our co-workers by spending the entire day at our computers with headphones on and never say "Good Morning" or "Have a Nice Evening".





“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” 


These actions which may not begin as intentional will increase and multiply like a bad habit. They will become part of who we are and our daily routines, which is truly unfortunate, because we are meant to be social beings. We thrive on social contact and interaction. Yes, I know that not everyone is an extrovert (Sanguine or Choleric Temperaments), but even introverts (Melancholics or Phlegmatic Temperaments) need those moment of social stimulation, even if it's a smile and a quick "hello" or sending a card in the mail to a friend, or enjoying a cup of coffee with family while the kids are running around crazy. No matter the case, we all deserve to receive social etiquette from others, but we also must remember that it is absolutely necessary for us to initiate it as well!



So, it's time to get off of our phones, open our eyes to the desires of others and begin to live life with a purpose!

Friday, October 25, 2013

Our Week in Short: What are your Plans for the Weekend?

For Katrina and myself, this week has been a combination of planning, events, meetings and new beginnings. We may not be able to give all the details right now, but this week we have officially begun a new business venture: EXCITING! It's finally the merging a few beautifully creative worlds into a business plan.  This weekend may be busy with floral designs, Fall Festivals, family breakfasts and a charity dinner, but the most important thing is that we will both get to spend some quality time with friends and our families. Life is Good!  Enjoy your weekend.



Designing beautiful autumn flowers.


It's time for a girls breakfast at The Pancake House!



Enjoying a drink with friends, or two!



Wednesday, October 23, 2013

"She's a Brick House"




There's something about these nails that I love.


"She's a Brick House" - Marilyn Monroe


Subtle. Society 6



Ava Gardner



Perfect shade for autumn



Love the architecture of this brick house!



Truth be told.




Monday, October 21, 2013

Like No Other: Finding Gentlemen v. Finding Real Women

Every woman wants to be pursued, loved, admired and fought after, but for some reason it's hard to find men who will work for this fabulous reward...the reward of a woman's love! So who is to blame, the man or the woman for this lack of chivalry, valor and gentleman behaviors? You may be surprised to hear my answer, you may actually dislike my answer and completely disagree, but remember this is my opinion based on observations and experience. If you believe men are the source of all your problems and are the barriers in your life, then you might want to stop reading now.



You are wondering why chivalry is dead and why there are no gentleman to be found, or very few of them available? The answer is quite simple to hear, but not easy to absorb. The reason for the lack of real men is due to the lack of real women.


“When a man loves a woman, he has to become worthy of her. The higher her virtue, the more noble her character, the more devoted she is to truth, justice, goodness, the more a man has to aspire to be worthy of her. The history of civilization could actually be written in terms of the level of its women.” ~Fulton Sheen, Life is Worth Living


Many women have lowered themselves into a category unknown to past generations. There no longer involves any sort of femininity, morality, ethics, duty, manners or elegance. Instead of using our femininity to achieve our desires and successes, we assume this gift is unnecessary, out of style and old-fashioned. Many women believe that we need to be completely the same in all aspects as men, but no matter how we look at this comparison, it can never be true. Each gender has wonderful gifts, which we can use to our advantage or abuse them with the rest of society.

The Gifts of a Real Woman

  • Femininity: The ability to possess the attention of an entire room only through a smile and a well-fitted dress to show off all of the desired curves. Not assuming the role of a man, but the role of competing alongside men in a feminine way.
  • Elegance: The ability to grab a man's attention, keep him interested without showing too much skin but just enough of your womanly curves keep his attention. Oftentimes women don't realize how much of an impact a pencil skirt will make upon a man versus a pair of ill-fitted jeans with tears and holes.
  • Modesty: This word always has such a bad connotation, but in theory we are definitely not talking about women needing to wear long prairie dresses and turtle-necks, that is far from reality. Modesty is a form of elegance, leaving a bit of mystery for the beholder. Why should more be relieved than necessary? Shouldn't a man have to work for this? And no the second date does not mean he has earned this!
  • Beauty: The beauty of a real woman is not in how much and how quickly she gives away of herself, but it is in knowing who deserves her affection and if they have earned those desires and acts of love.
  • Etiquette: The ability to portray those common sense manners, yet still being current with society's expectations, but never lacking in sophistication. This includes having the common sense in all facets of life, business, family, relationships and personal dilemmas. You will get no where in life without common courtesy.
  • Morals: This point is completely lacking in today's culture and rarely discussed unless in morbid terms. We have become absorbed with ourselves and our selfish desires. It no longer is necessary to care about the spiritual health of ourselves or others, but ultimately to fulfill our own needs. In the end, this will make for an unhappy relationship and an unfulfilled life of dreariness, numbness with worthless desires.





I have come to observe too many women and men who are in unhappy, whinny, dependent relationships, where each person lacks the level of self-confidence and self-control to make the relationship meaningful and eternal. What is the root cause of these battered relationships? Well, it stems from the woman not acting like a real woman and not having specific expectations. This lack of expectations may be a result of no family formation while growing up, or a drop of self-knowledge through a rebellious stage in college, but whatever the case, each woman deserves to have such standards. This doesn't mean she is high-maintenance or demanding, but that she has priorities in life along with morals in which she will not give away for a "fly by night" man. Women, you will be surprised that if you take control of the relationship, by becoming a real woman.  If your man truly desires you, for all the right reasons, will also change his behaviors, morals and attitude. I am not saying it is time to change men, but I am saying it is time to change ourselves to make men become real men (to stop degrading them and lowering their self-image) as they desire to be.  Let's stop dragging each other through the dirt by competing to be what we are not! It is time embrace the gifts and talents we were each given in order to live full and abundant lives of charity and love. Let's be real women!



Monday, October 14, 2013

Spirited and Vivacious Women

A vivacious woman oozes with high-spirited energy, she is outgoing and lively, but never obnoxious. She takes her life to the next level, but always with a fabulous level of confidence and sophistication. There is nothing trashy or conceited about a vivacious woman! Are you a vivacious woman? Do you focus on making each day joyful and full of life? Are you playful, pizzazzy and ready to take on the world with true enthusiasm? Make your life the type of life others desire to follow and emulate!








Which Vivacious Woman can you relate to?

Vivian Leigh




Jane Russell


Ceclia Ahern



Kay Starr



Hilary Swank



Coco Chanel



Audrey Hepburn


Saturday, October 12, 2013

Final Day for Voting! Help Us Advance to the Top 20!

Today is the LAST day for voting to help us win the Super Bowl Commercial for Provocative Manners! Please vote and share with all your friends. We will be downloading our 90 second video about the business today! #provocativemanners #vote #intuit







https://www.smallbusinessbiggame.com/WI/Provocative-Manners-LLC/384685

Thank you ALL for your support! The response has been tremendous.

There are thousands of entries so every vote counts. Please share our link with your friends and help us get one step closer.





Friday, October 11, 2013

The Effects of Karma




As the saying goes, "common sense is not so common". We now live in a society where people do what they want without thoughts for others, they focus only on their goals, dream and desires but fail to think how these will impact family, friends and society as a whole. We are referring to the smallest things from not holding a door for the woman pushing a stroller, using foul language to get your point across (this is never needed) or even bigger things such as taking your spouse for advantage, not being around for your children when they need you most and even climbing the ladder of career success without thinking about the ethics or morals involved.




Actions that remain self-centered are considered by many people as part of what makes society strong, but they are incredibly wrong. The reason that communities of people have survived through dire circumstances in history was through their work and dedication to each other, not solely focusing on their own self-worth. Now don't get us wrong, it is incredibly important to have personal goals and dreams which we should work towards each day of our lives, but these ambitions should never over-step, step-on or take advantage of another person. If everything is done with love and joy, summed up through charity, we will grow closer to our dreams, increase friendships and family ties and in the end, we won't have to wait for KARMA to bite us!





Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Until Then...A Rebel Romance

Show someone you care!

Send Flowers
Write a Love Note or Poem
Mail a Hand-written Card
Order their favorite Cup of Coffee
Prepare a home-made dinner with dessert and wine for your favorite couple friends
Make the effort to call a friend, sometimes texting is not always the best
Remember to think more about the needs of other rather than your own



A Rebel Romance



Blumarine dress
thecorner.com


Christian Louboutin red stiletto
bergdorfgoodman.com


Witchery flat
$125 - witchery.com.au


KOTUR frame clutch
boutique1.com


Logo jewelry
vintagefive.com


Vera Wang fragrance
couture.zappos.com


Monday, October 7, 2013

Going With the Flow

This past weekend a few of my friends and I took our children for a weekend getaway while our husbands had their annual golf trip. Typically, I spend the weekend with my parents and oftentimes get pretty booked with business meetings and social commitments, but this time we thought it would be fun to spend the weekend away at a water park. Now, the only problem is that our children are still quite small where they need a lot of attention and overall they need to be busy ALL THE TIME.

Overall, the weekend was fun and I got to spend some quality time with good friends (after the kiddos were sleeping) talking and catching up, but I definitely learn a lesson that I'm pretty sure I have been taught over and over again in my life so far.  That lesson is... Go With The Flow. After being in the same Condo with the kids for a few days I think the kiddos and ourselves were beginning to go a bit nutty, but unfortunately I wasn't as laid back as I should have been, especially since it was vacation, right?



Now that I re-learned this valuable lesson, I am hoping in the future that I can recount this quality and wonderful time spent with friends and all those kids, but while also remembering that life is hard enough. We deal with stresses, drama and unwelcoming issues all the time and sometimes it's best to let loose and laugh at the ridiculousness of the situations. By the end of the weekend, the tantrums, fighting and lack of real sleep became more of a joke for us ladies, rather than a stress. It was the only way for us to deal with it all.

What's the moral of the story? Laugh at yourself, laugh at the situations you don't have control of, take a moment to stop and smell and flowers and learn to Go With the Flow, because life is too darn short!


Thursday, October 3, 2013

Proper Plaids for Fall