HAPPY National Margarita Day!

Let's start this out by saying I certainly don't need a day to drink margaritas, but I'm definitely using it as an excuse to talk about them today! I consider myself a bit of a connoisseur of margaritas, so I thought we'd talk about some of my favorite places to get a margarita. 

Obviously, my favorite place for margaritas is going to be my back porch. Maybe tied with poolside somewhere. Here's my go to margarita recipe. Simple, straightforward, nothing fancy. NOW let's talk fancy though. 

This. This margarita is from Chantico Burrito on the Marietta Square. This place is awesome. This was their summer margarita that hung over into fall a little bit. It was a peach puree and some spicy salt and oh my goodness was it delicious. They make all of their margarita stuff fresh, nothing leftover or mass produced. Even their house margaritas are all made fresh, no big batch sitting up on the back of the bar. 

Los Magueys is up in Paulding county by my dad's house. It's your typical little neighborhood Mexican restaurant, which is why it's delicious. They also have a pretty heavy pour when it comes to the tequila, which really is the way to my heart, if we're being honest. Plus. They have this dish called the Maguey Special which is rice drowning in cheese dip with shrimp and chicken or pork. YUM.

Last, but not least, we have El Taco in the Virginia Highlands. El Taco is a fun little place, they have a salsa bar, tasty food, and a fun little giveaway where everyone gets tokens and they spin a wheel at the top of the hour for prizes like free queso. They do make their house margaritas in a large batch, but the pitchers are super affordable and delicious. 

What are your favorite margaritas? Any favorites in the Atlanta area that I missed? Anyone craving a margarita at 8:30 am now? 

Surprise Birthday Fiesta Success

Now that we've [almost] dried out from Saturday and are starting to collect all of the beer -- I feel like I should recap our outstanding surprise party we put together for my dad. He had no idea -- so we definitely pulled it off! Obviously with his birthday being so close to Cinco de Mayo [his actual birthday is tomorrow -- but who wants to do stuff on a Tuesday?] we choose a fiesta theme! We also incorporated "schfifty five" like I mentioned in Saturday's playlist post.

One of my our party guests brought an adult piñata -- it was filled with airplane bottles, chocolates, and all sorts of other goodies. Somehow I was in a different part of the house when we decided to bust it open -- so I didn't manage to get pictures from that. We did enjoy the bounty..

The number one thing we did was to rent a frozen margarita machine. We have so much left over beer because the margaritas were such a hit. No ice required, just tequila, mix, + triple sec. It was the best because we had frozen margaritas all night + no need for a bartender. When I grow up -- I will have one of these machines in my house. 

The weather was superb, dad was completely surprised, and a good time was had by all. I do believe it will be my last surprise party for a while -- my stepmom + I both were having nightmares leading up to it. I kept thinking the margarita machine would get here early or that dad would find all of the stuff we had hidden around the house. 

Accidental Watermelon Margaritas!

So, remember last week I showed you about the watermelon shot glasses? Remember how the video made it look all easy peasy lemon squeezey? Welp.

My first clue should have been when I walked up to the giant bin of watermelons + thought "okay, so you *thump* it to see if it sounds "solid" to know if it's ripe" then I thought "wait. what the hell does a solid watermelon thump sound like?" that was a good start. Miracuoulsy, I picked a ripe one. Like. oh man, makes your mouth water to think about it ripe. Anyways. It started out great. I managed to cut only the watermelon, right down the middle! 

Simple enough, next step is to cut that half into a square! I can do that! I flipped it over, cut it into a nice square, then when I went to turn it back over to cut into the shot glasses, it fell apart. (remember what I said about how ripe it was? also, my pinterest projects have a habit of falling apart.....) Then I'm left with a bunch of oddly cut watermelon pieces + nothing to do with the tequila! ENTER A SOLUTION! 

Obviously margs are always my backup plan, since it was a zillion (err 85) degrees, I thought "hey, why not frozen ones?!" So I hunted down the blender, chopped up the watermelon, filled it up with ice, and you know, a hefty amount of tequila, and hit blend! 

Pour in a fancy glass until after your take the picture, add an umbrella, and enjoy!! 

You know what they say, when life gives you lemons, make margaritas! (wait, that's not right is it?) Well, there you have it! A pinterest fail turned tasty margarita for a nice sunday funday by the pool with an old book. What are you sippin' on? 

Humpday Confessions :: Four

Well, hello there Wednesday. You sure did get here fast.

I haven't put my contacts in since Monday and it has been gloooooorious. I've been told that when I wear my glasses I look like that Hipster Ariel meme but I could not possibly care less. My eyeballs are rejoicing in the whole "not leaving the office or interacting with other people" experience that's going on. Tomorrow it will end because there's a game + the sun is pretty brutal without prescription sunglasses. I should get prescription sunglasses.. [side note -- I can't spell prescription, spelling is hard. but when I right clicked to correct it I accidentally corrected it to "superscription" which is fun.]

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I have had the worst attention span this week. We're talking I have to do six things at once to get anything done. Coincidentally? I'm also needing more coffee to get moving in the morning. I'm sure the two of those are not coincidences. I always knew I had more in common with the Gilmore Girls than not.

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I cannot get enough of Pretty Little Liars. I know I'm 25 and I'm watching a show about high school drama, but I refer to it as "my stories" like your grandmother talks about her soap operas. I think that makes it okay. I'm thinking about coming up with a drinking game for the show... which is even more appropriate.

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I'm not going to hit my 150 by June 21st. I have 25 miles to go in the next four days. That's nearly 7 miles a day. I might get really close -- but I've decided I deserve a little bit of an extension for my reward [because I can always justify shopping] -- so if I hit my 150 by Wednesday of next week [that's still like 3.5 miles a day] I'm going to buy myself that workout tank top + maybe this one too. I did hit a PR in my 5k last Saturday -- so that has to count for something!

special thanks to Victoria using voodoo magic to make me look so good crossing the finish line...

I'm more concerned about the lemon, lime, and avacado shortage than I am the gas prices going up. I expect gas prices to always be unreasonable -- but I'm really concerned about the price of my margaritas + guacamole going up. That's stuff I really don't wanna cut out of my discretionary spending. I mean. I love margaritas. I also love fresh guacamole. 

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I think this is my longest humpday confessions blog post -- so I'm just gonna stop here. Head on over + see Kathy for more humpday confessions. BUT FIRST. Minions playing soccer:

My Top Five Most Ridiculous Google Searches

Guys. Sometimes I say, out loud, "what was the world like before Google?" EVEN THOUGH I remember plenty of life before google. I remember the AOL CD-ROMs, I REMEMBER A WORLD BEFORE INTERNET. I don't know why I'm shouting that. It makes me feel old. 

I digress. Today, as I was googling "what time is it in Arizona" for the fourth time of the day, I thought "I google the dumbest things. I bet people who read my blog would laugh at this. HEY NOW I HAVE SOMETHING TO BLOG ABOUT!" Since I've been pretty dry on the whole inspiration well because most things that happen to me lately aren't worth blogging about.  

Here are my top five [most recent] most ridiculous Google searches -- full disclosure: I also say okay google.. out loud before I type them in. #imsocool 

Okay google:

1. What time is it in Arizona? (I struggle pretty hard with the fat that they don't do daylight savings time. I also struggle with which time is daylight savings. is it when we spring forward until we fall back? or when we fall back until we spring forward? BEN FRANKLIN YOU'RE THE WORST.)
2. What comes after "Jamaica we have a bobsled team?" #sorrynotsorry that's stuck in your head now. I sing it about once a day. COOOOOOOL RUNNINGS
3. What wine goes with xyz -- I have no good reason for this because I'm going to buy red anyways. "okay google, what wine goes with papa johns pizza?"
4. Margaritas near me for obvious reasons. 
5. How do you spell restaruant? restaraunt?rest-au-ruant? seriously I will never learn. I swear. 

Seriously though. I google some dumb things. I'm pretty sure I'm getting less intelligent... What do you google? I mean, after what happened to kasey at the bat?

32 Things That Make Me Happy

I was having a serious case of writer's block -- so I'm beyond pumped that Sarah + Erin put this linkup together!

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1. Adventures.
2. Jams
3. SUMMER
4. Freddie Freeman Hugs



5. driving with the windows down, sunroof open, + radio turned all the way up
6. puppies [ I think it's safe to assume puppies are always included ]
7. thunderstorms
8. brunch. any excuse to drink champagne for breakfast really.

   

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9. baseball. any + all baseball.
10. the rest of the sports [ I feel like I'd be cheating if I listed all of them individually ]
11. MARGARITAS + chips + queso. 
12. cheesey dad jokes
13. arts + crafts
14. WINE

    

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15. beer tastings/breweries
16. hot, giant soft pretzels with nacho cheese
17. any large body of water
18. clean sheets + towels fresh from the dryer
19. anytime the Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, or Gators lose.
20. books [ added bonus :: a good book, margarita, next to a large body of water ]
21. my sweet sweet friends
22. sad Urban Meyer

    

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23. outdoor day drinking
24. cowboy boots
25. outrageous youtube videos


26. not acting my age
27. anything with an anchor on it
28. family fun times
29. fresh fruit of any kind
30. while we're on it -- fresh flowers. daisies especially. 
31. lightning bugs
32. Braves wins.

Happy Thirsty Thursday y'all -- the Braves are off today -- but I hope you're keepin' your Chop arm strong..

Summer Lovin'

I'm a lot cuter + happier with a good tan. Vitamin D y'all -- works wonders. I love to be outside -- my job is outside in the summer + so I end up with a super cute polo + khaki shorts tan line.

Sundresses on sundresses on sundresses. I own more sundresses than anything except maybe bikinis + they're a lot harder [read :: not impossible] to wear in the winter time. Plus no one looks cute in winter clothes + everyone looks cute in summer clothes!

Concerts concerts concerts. Last summer was the Summer of Concerts -- 2014 is Summer of Concerts II -- Dave Matthews, 420 Fest, Luke Bryan [for the millionth time..] + more. I cannot wait. 

SO many baseball games -- the ones I'll be working + the ones I'll be attending. Baseball is my favorite season + it's definitely a summertime pastime. 

Not pictured -- but also a reason I'm ready for summer :: bonfires, bikinis, pool parties, longer days, lightning bugs, beach trips, books to read by the pool, margaritas, floating coolers, lake times, tubing, thunderstorms, flowers, sleeping with the windows open, crickets, fishing, cheap sunglasses, flip flops, bare feet, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, day drinking, it's socially acceptable to wear swimsuits anywhere, I have a new waterproof speaker for pool times, my hair looks better in the summer, tank tops, zero need for sweaters, did I mention tans? I think they should be mentioned again... I am too excited. Tomorrow is the first day of spring + then it's so so so close to summer!!

Linking up with Helene + Taylor because summer -- obviously.

Margarita Monday!

I don't suppose I can call myself a margarita master without sharing my not even a little bit secret recipes. We'll start off what I'm assuming will be a long adventure in margaritas worth making with the basic + delicious margarita.

I never measure anything when it comes to my drinks. So if you're hoping for a one part tequila, two parts mix guide -- you came to the wrong place. Plus it's all in what you like. For me, I like the taste of tequila + hate paying for that margarita mix.

Here's what you'll need:
- tequila (I'm using Jose Cuervo Gold because that's what we have. Free is my favorite kind of drinks.)
- mix (again, using the free stuff I already have on hand -- when I'm buying I usually go for the cheapest version)
- orange liqueur (Grand Marnier is totally worth the money y'all. You only use a little so it goes a long way)
- fresh lime
- margarita salt
- two glasses (or I guess if you have one of those fancy shakers you only need one glass + said fancy shaker)

Okay! So first, fill the cup you're going to be drinking out of with ice (I also like to keep my tequila in the freezer because the colder the better).  Start with the tequila -- I like to have more than 1/3 tequila but less than 1/2 tequila. So math aside -- after the tequila fill the glass most of the way up with the mix leaving about a shot's worth of room in the glass.

Add a splash of your orange liqueur + using the other glass mix your margarita by pouring from one cup to the other. When you feel like the margarita is mixed -- leave it in the mixing cup + squeeze the lime wedge over your drink + run the lime wedge around the rim of your drinking glass to add salt. Pour your margarita into the cup, add an awesome straw, + enjoy!

Do you have a special type of margarita you love? I tried a pomegranate passion fruit something or other a couple weeks ago + I'm pretty sure it was so sweet it gave me a cavity...

Don't Let The Muggles Get You Down!

THIS WEEK'S WRITE OR DIE PROMPT HAD TO BE PICKED FOR ME. So, thanks in advance Shelly + Mia. (hey, ps. why aren't you participating in Write or Die? One, I'm obsessed, two, it's always a fun little challenge, three, there are so many incredible women participating that you're really missing out.) 

I have always been the biggest book worm. I used to be known in the library. I would power through those reading lists. I've always loved the smell of a new book. You know? When you first open it. I can't describe it. If it was a candle, I would definitely buy that. You hear me Yankee Candle? Anyways. 

I remember the first chapter of the first Harry Potter book. I remember the first time I was ever introduced to The Boy Who Lived like it was yesterday. Obviously, it wasn't. It was when I was in about the second grade. I've always been the same age as Harry, Ron, + Hermoine. I think that's why I love them so much. Like they're my friends. (hey Kasey, you sound a little like the kid who doesn't have any friends + just has imaginary ones.) 

I love the way that a well written story can transport you into a whole new world. (I can show you the world, shining, shimmering, splendid) What's even more incredible to me, is that whole world came from someone's imagination. Do you remember when you were a kid? Playing outside for hours and hours with probably nothing but you, nature, and your imagination? (was that just me? or?) 

How fantastic is that? I am so impressed by people who can make a living off of their imagination. It's like they never hit that point where they had to stifle it to be a member of the work force. They found a way to take that creativity and share it with the world. I think it's an incredibly brave thing to do. Especially with how mean book critics can be. 

I love books more than just about anything I can come up with. I love the summer because it's so lovely outside and so acceptable to lay around in the sunshine drinking margaritas and tearing through books. Or a rainy snow day where you can sit in the bed + read an entire book in one sitting. How do you feel about books? Do you think I'm crazy for loving them so? Are you friends with Hermoine, Ron, and Harry? Are you linking up yet? Am I asking too many questions? 

Hashtag hashtag

This is the weirdest week ever. MAYBE because I was still at the beach on Monday. I'm not sure. Whatever it is, I am captain of the struggle bus. I actually think it's because I haven't worked out in AN ENTIRE WEEK. I mean I walked miles on the beach or whatever, but I haven't been to a barre class since LAST Wednesday. I won't get to one until FRIDAY either. What.

Last night, after staying up later than I meant to because I decided to wash my only set of sheets at 9:30 pm, I discovered Legally Blonde is on Netflix. I'm not sure if it's always been there or if I missed the memo, but obviously I had to watch that last night. I can sleep when I'm dead Netflix stops being a thing. Seriously though, how much of an inspiration is Elle Woods? Like. get it girlfriend. Even when people are super mean to her for no reason, she's a peach. #itspink #andscented

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Yesterday, I was at the tag office and the man behind me in line had his phone turned up so loud that you could probably hear it on the moon. I just kept laughing because he had three distinct ringtones, the normal iPhone default one, the ALARM sound, and the one that sounds like an actual telephone. When I finally turned around to see him, he said "you leave the office for five minutes!" no "oh I'll put it on silent so that it's not crazy loud here" I don't know when it happened, but for some reason cell phone alerts drive me bonkers. Mine is always on silent. Like, 100% of the time. #pleasemakeitstop

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We decided to celebrate cinco early yesterday + go for lunch rather than when all of the crazies show up. Apparently I'm an old lady. Anyways. APPARENTLY our favorite Mexican place has upgraded their cheese dip sizes, and a large is literally a soup bowl full of melty-cheesey-goodness. Also, we took an excuse to have a pitcher of margaritas at lunchtime. #margsfordays #imthewomantoblame

te: ( ) amo (✔️)quila

A photo posted by Kasey Decker (@kdsmoove) on May 5, 2015 at 11:07am PDT

OH so I'm going to be blogging all about my trip BUT I FEEL LIKE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU I almost got eaten by an alligator. We decided to go canoeing in the Everglades. You know, because YOLO. We were like SIX FEET AWAY from an alligator. THEN HE WENT UNDER WATER. AND WE DON'T KNOW WHERE HE WENT AFTER THAT. Guys. I'm semi-fearless, but I really thought that was gonna be it for me. #theendisnear  #wehadagoodrun

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That's about all I have for today! What's happening in your neck of the woods? HAVE you joined for #hashtaghumpday yet?! It's too fun y'all.

Heart of Darkness Margarita AND A Giveaway!

You know, I don't know why I thought I would be recovered enough from my vacation to handle a Tuesday. So while I'm nursing a sunburn + dealing with a book hangover (you know the feeling after you finish a good book? you're like bummed it's over + not ready to move on to a new one? that's me.) I'll be sharing that book this weeeeeek! Plus a zillion sunset pictures. Plus a lot of other fun things. but I COULDN'T miss Cinco, where else would you get a margarita recipe?! we're giving away these adorable Kate Spade desk accessories!

SO, when I stopped at TJ's for the wine for last week's sangria, I thought "oh, I can totally grab margarita mix here!" I was wrong. Then I saw that this mango passionfruit juice was called "heart of darkness" so I was pretty sold. Anyways, this is about as easy as my tequila sunrise. I have to be honest, I didn't think that this was going to be as delicious as it was so this is the only picture I took. Hashtag bad blogger. Anyways. It's easy! Fill your glass with ice, pour in your desired amount of tequila, fill the rest up with heart of darkness mango passionfruit juice (no sugar! real juice! it's good for you, duh!) mix it in one of your many stadium cups on hand, splash of grand marnier (let's be honest, I only have that at my bar because my dad needed room in his bar + had a full bottle. so any orange liqueur is perfect, I know you have it because you're making my regular margaritas.) Mix a little more + enjoy!

Okay, now that you're enjoying your tasty margarita, it's time to start entering to win these adorable accessories for your desk!

Your workspace should always inspire and these dreamy, rose gold supplies and notepad definitely do the trick. Enjoy the stapler and tape dispenser (with fun idioms) to dress up any desk place. And use your cute pad for any kind of note.These ladies joined me to giveaway these great Kate Spade items!Amanda | Suz | Liz | Brooke | Kerri Kristyn| Kasey | Daisy | Faith | Nina

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Weekly Wishes [lucky thirteen]

No, you've watched Hocus Pocus at least fifteen times already and it's not even Halloween yet... October is going pretty well, can we talk about the lucky dress being nine and zero. NINE wins + zero losses. Can we just? Let's talk last week's wishes + make some more!

last week's wishes ::

figure out Georgia/Florida // all but done! I just need to get my hands on a ticket + I'll be all set. World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail party, here I come! Anyone want to donate a ticket? I promise I'll wear the dress! 

corn. maze // son of a biscuit. we were planning on it but then didn't get our act together, maybe I'll roll this one over to this week..

ask someone to take my picture // hollaaa -- I've had a couple of people offer, because they're the bomb.com, including Jennifer @ Tin Can Cozy. Now I just need to get my act together enough to get my picture made! 

this week's wishes

finish my book for blogging for books // I mean, come on. It's been sitting on my dresser, I love to read, I'll just have to make an effort to finish it, write my review, and pick my next book!! 

write + schedule all of my "five things to know" posts // there are plenty of games left and helloooo easy day taken care of right there. Biggest ones being GAFL, Auburn, + Tech.

find a ticket for gafl // because duh. 

corn. maze. // see above.

Honorable mentions// clean up + out my closet [honestly, can't I pay someone to do this? I'm offering margaritas and sopapilla cheesecake, plus my eternal love if you do my laundry...], accomplish 10 miles towards "100 By Halloween" since I'm on track to hit 100, complete the perfect gameday playlist, and take more pictures with my fancy camera! 

Obviously, it's Weekly Wishes time, so I'm linking up! What shit are you gonna get done this week?

5 Reasons Jose Cuervo is the Perfect Valentine

HAPPY FRIDAY BEFORE VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYBODY! How appropriate is it that the day before is Friday the 13th? Now, after yesterday, if you expected my Valentine to be anyone other than my number one man Jose Cuervo, I think you need to revisit everything about me.

He's always there for you:: Jose has been there through breakups and mean girls and not getting the dream job. Never makes you think that you're anything but a pretty pretty princess who should TOTALLY dance on that table. Just do it. He's gonna be there cheering you on. 

dance dance dance

He ALWAYS thinks you should have more queso, or another slice of pizza. Just do you girlfriend:: You will never hear Jose say "oh, are you sure you want another slice of pizza?" nope. he's gonna help you call + order another one. He even knows that you secretly have that Visa card number memorized.

pizza is a theme. obviously

He never makes you play games:: "don't double text" "ladies don't text first" "if you ignore him he'll like you more" guys. that's exhausting. Jose is always there. Literally,  just hanging out on the bar cart (that I SWEAR I'm going to blog about. I promise.) waiting for you to need a margarita. You don't have to worry about whether or not he thinks you're being needy or clingy or whatever else you're supposed to be.

sorry emily post

ALLEGEDLY he's even super good for you:: I love it. Every time there's an article about the health benefits of tequila, it's shared with me. Then this happened. I'm a little sad that Elite Daily beat me to that one. Anyways, I bet Jose is the reason I'm skinny. Not the high metabolism or the fact that I think you should walk everywhere.  **side note. it seems every Elite Daily article is about tequila. Why haven't they hired me yet? I could write all the tequila articles. **

hot mess

The only thing better than one margarita is two margaritas:: Seriously. The more, the merrier. You don't have to get jealous over Jose hanging out with another girl because all girls who drink tequila are awesome. End of argument.

drink drank drunk

So, those are the five reasons Jose Cuervo is the best Valentine. Because I can buy myself flowers + chocolates + pizza. Jose + I will be hanging out this weekend, bring some orange juice + come hang out! What are you doing for the lovey dovey made up holiday?