RIP Kidd Kraddick

Hello All,

Today is a sad day in Dallas, Texas where beloved KISS FM radio personality Kidd Kraddick is mourned throughout the city.

He delighted us with his morning show about the entertainment industry, and was a talent like no other. But most importantly, he gave much of his time and efforts to raising money for KISS Kid's.  He was a great spirit in our community and he will be missed.

Rest In Peace, Kidd.

~Mrs. S

VPC Event

Hello Everyone!

The Vivaldi Patron Circle Wine Tasting has come and gone, and it was a total success.

Amy and I had such a good time organizing and hosting the event, we were so glad to see everyone who came to support the VPC. 

Here are a few snaps!

Amy and I

Mayra, and a few of my sister's coworkers

My sis Veronica and I

Ashley, Michael, Amy, and Ryan

New friends

After, Amy and I met up with Meredith at Gloria's, such a fun time!

Overall, a great night. 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Mrs. S

Vivaldi Patron Circle Wine Tasting

Hello All!

I am so excited to invite all my Dallas readers to the 

Vivaldi Patron Circle Wine Tasting 

at Vertias Wine Bar on Henderson.

Thursday, July 25th

6:00-8:00pm

Hope to see you all there!

Mrs. S

Tulsa Time

Hello Everyone!

It's been a while, buuuuttttt.....

I am so excited to tell you all that I have been going to the gym and trying to shed some pounds. 

I decided I was getting a little lazy in the fitness department so I am determined to get back to at least around my wedding weight and maybe less!

In the meantime, the Mr. and I decided to take one of our last trips to Tulsa before the football season takes off and it was great fun.

Paisley decided to be hilarious on the trip there, this was one of her sleeping stances... 

In an effort to stay on my fitness routine, I went on a run around the neighborhood.

South Tulsa has the most beautiful hills with creeks running through them,

this one was on the way up the hill.

This home with 2 waterfalls and a super cool lion on one of them was too cool to not take a pic

My in-laws have an English Bulldog (Wilson) and a Golden Retriever (Finley) and they were all anxiously awaiting for a treat, somehow Paisley did not get the memo...

Friday, we surprised Nan by stopping by and visiting for a few hours. She as so happy to see the Mr. and we could tell it made her day.

Tulsa is trying to get more people into the downtown area and in order to do so, the city decided to put on a big festival with live music. Since it was FREE, we decided to make the trek up north and got to see One Republic!

This was the Mr. and I in front of downtown Tulsa. Unfortunately, I didn't have the proper attire for a concert and I ended up wearing my running shoes with this seer sucker skirt and top! I felt silly, but still had a great time.

I was pleasantly surprised at how great One Republic was live, and I didn't realize how many great songs they have that are actually on the radio!

We came back from Tulsa today and we are taking it easy the next few days.

I have another Vivaldi event coming up Thursday, so I'm pretty excited!

Hope y'all are having a great weekend.

~Mrs. S

The Fear or Sharing your Opinion

Hello All, 

I usually don't write about this kind of stuff because I am afraid.

Afraid of the people who read this and judge me for my opinions. 

Afraid of loosing my readers because they disagree with my opinions, 

and lastly, 

afraid of sounding like I don't know what I'm talking about.

I am a proud Christian, 

I truly believe in my heart that Jesus Christ died for me to be saved.

I know this because I feel His grace in my heart always, and because I once was a lost soul and when I was found, my life changed.

Good things started happening, and I don't mean things like I won a million dollars, or I landed my dream job, but more like I started to feel and think certain things as I learned more about the Bible and started going to church.

Growing up, my family did not attend mass (my parents were raised Catholic) unless we were going to a wedding or a quinceanera, and we certainly never read the Bible.

Like all rebellious teenagers and people of the like, I too dabbled in sneaking out and hanging out with the wrong crowd. I lived in a hispanic neighborhood where the girl next door to me and the one across the street got pregnant at 15, and the local gangs would declare their territory all over houses on my block. But most importantly, I went to a very liberal high school for performing arts where EVERYONE was trying to be unique and different. I knew atheist artists, lesbian and gay actors in the theater department, and there were definitely pothead musicians in the award winning jazz band all of whom were brilliant artists and ended up having successful careers in the arts as I have learned through social media. When I finally went to TCU, I met active Christians who professed their religious beliefs, basically for the first time in my life. 

I believe that your relationship with the Lord determines what you think about social matters such as racism, abortion laws, gun control, and politics in general. I was lost on how I felt about those matters in the past, but now I am more sure than ever of what I believe.

You can be an angry person and voice your anger about situations on Facebook or in the media. I have decided to not be one of those people, because I am scared. Even though I feel very strongly about those matters and believe that I am Biblically correct on my opinions.

I am scared that one day, God might surprise me and place me in a situation like the ones I have opined about and my convictions will be tested.

People are very quick to say their peace, when they have no peace in their heart.

If they did, they would not feel the need to create more wrong out of something that cannot be made right. 

That is all.  

~Mrs. S

Days in Photos

Hello Everyone, 

I wanted to share what's been going on in the Simmonds house the past few days, but in photos!

These were the fireworks at Craig Ranch on the 4th, we just had to walk 2 blocks and we could see them! 

Friday, I helped my friend Lisa shop for her upcoming cruise, I loved being her personal shopper!

Saturday, we found our friend Zak in this weeks issue of US Magazine, again!

Saturday night, I headed to Dallas for a girls night at Lee Harveys to listen to a "The Cure" cover band, they were called "LeCure" haha.

Michelle and I

Sunday, we HAD to work on our tans, well maybe not HAD to, but it was good to get some sun.

Michelle...

I tried on her RayBans, loved them and thinking about getting me a pair!

Sunday night, I had my sis Nancy over and my nephew Sebastian and the Mr. played video games for a while, Wrigley just watched.

Monday, we had to take Paisley to the vet for a swollen gland on her jaw and she was petrified of the doctor! Last summer she had to have surgery for a bump on her arm and she totally remembered this was the place where it happened!

I am such a memory-saver personality and love to cherish my memories by taking pictures of things.

However, I do feel some are worth sharing and some are worth keeping between you and loved ones.

Sometimes, I get annoyed at how open people are with their lives and are so willing to share too much.

Thank goodness I have a husband who prefers that I am filtered on social media, 

I will never be one of those people that takes selfies or is constantly asking for attention, so not me!

I will try to share more of my life/memories from my every day life with you all, but the best way is to follow me on Instagram, 

@catsimmonds

I will always follow back!

Are you obsessed with taking pictures?!

Do you get annoyed at some peoples TMI or selfies?!

Love to hear from you :)

~Mrs. S

Hard Night Good Morning Product Review

Hello All!

I love to try new beauty products. Whether it's a new mascara or a new moisturizer, I like to see what new products are making headlines in the beauty world and try them for myself. 

When I was approached by the wonderful people at Hard Night Good Morning skincare to try out two of their products, I was beyond excited!

Their easy to navigate website immediately drew me to each of the products and it was really hard to choose just 2. I am a practical girl, and I really wanted to select something that I knew I would use.

For years, I have been self conscious about the dark circles around my eyes so naturally I went with the Eye Cream. This summer has been busy with events and hanging out with friends where I have to glam myself up, so I decided to choose the PM Oil Cleanser/Makeup Remover as my second product, again being practical.

The first product I tried was the Eye Cream. I wanted to try it for a few days before I gave a full review, so here is a picture of my before... You can see the darkness around my eyes.

I loved the thickness of the cream, it made it dry much faster than other creams I have used in the past. I also really liked the container it came in, very sleek and classy. 

My favorite part was the effect it had on the upper area of eyes. The discoloration went away after a few days, and I noticed fewer wrinkles at the ends of my eyes. I am a teacher so the stress of work is usually visible in my eyes, and this cream helps erase some of that stress on my face! Here is my after...

As you can tell, the color of the area around my eyes is evened out with the rest of my face as opposed to before where is was definitely darker around my eyes. I used the cream in the morning, and at night, and didn't need to use much (just a small dot at my fingertips) which means this jar will last me at least a few months. 

For the PM oil Cleanser/Makeup Remover, here is my before...

And here is my after. 

The product removed the makeup, but I was most blown away by how refreshed my eyes felt after I used it. The cleanser wasn't oily like my previous makeup removers, and it also dried very quickly. You can also use the PM Oil Cleanser/Makeup Remover on dry patches of skin and around the fine lines of the mouth to soften for a different result! 

I would highly recommend these products to everyone, whatever type of skin you have. I wish I could try the whole skincare line! 

This line of products was introduced 5 years ago by local Dallasite D'Andra Simmons and has been featured in Natural Health Magazine, Examiner.com, Boomerbuzz Magazine, and Refinery29. 

Thank you to Hard Night Good Morning for allowing me  to review these products.

Also, hurry up and order your Eye Cream now, the website is offering %15 off!

~Mrs. S

3 Year Anniversary

Hello all!

Last Wednesday June 26th, the Mr. and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary!

We left for vacation on the 27th, so we decided to have a nice dinner at one of Dallas' newest and best seafood restaurant Spoon in Preston Center. This restaurant is run by John Tesar of all the Top Chef shows! We could actually watch him cooking from our table.

The table lamp was so cute, I had to get a picture.

We had a couple of samples brought to our table, this was a tuna tar tar app

I wore a fabulous dress from the new J Lo collection at Kohls, it was perfect for my body shape...

Annnnnnnnddddddd, the newest addition to my CL collection, these beautiful babies!

On your third year anniversary you are supposed to give a leather gift, so the Mr. got me these!!

I am so happy with them, they are perfect!

Happy Anniversary to my perfect husband!

~Mrs. S

Mexican Vacation

Hello all! 

Hopefully I didn't miss much last weekend because I was enjoying myself on the Riviera Maya!

It was a great vacay with beaches, family, and great food...

Here's a little picture recap of our trip

Perfect Beach

Beautiful Hotel Lobby

Made a few friends

We had to be driven around in golf carts

Football time on the beach

Hamburgesa on the beach

Shopping at Playa del Carmen

More friends

Cool entertainment on the resort

Palapa central

Fun times at the beach

Such a great time!

Thanks for sharing my vacation with me!

~Mrs. S