Lacing up my Running Shoes

Check me out because I signed up for......

The Color Run!!!

It's coming to Chicago on June 2nd and my little (read: larger than I'd like) behind can be found behind the starting line! It'll be my first 5K. Hell, it'll be my very first race, period!

My bestie Heather and I both signed up and since we got the group rates, it was a little cheaper. Score!  Is anyone else running the race in their city??


Oh and Happy Leap Day, Chicas!! :)

Pink Kisses & Wishes,
Mallory

Deep Breaths

In an effort to "keep it real" on le blog of mine, I'm going to fill you in on something I'm pretty excited about.

Last week I applied to a program called Teach for America.  Some of you may have heard of it, but if not, google it;)
I was debating back & forth about actually applying because I've heard that acceptance is a total crap shoot. They tell me that it's amazing the different caliber of people who get in over others.  I'm used to a level playing field and I'm usually one of the ones towards the top. SCARY.

I'm pretty used to getting/ achieving the things that I go after.  I've definitely been blessed in that aspect. 

• High School Cheerleading
• Varsity Captain
• Honors and Advanced Placement credits/classes
• Acceptance to Purdue & U of I

You get the picture. 

Now before you go thinking I'm just using this opportunity to brag, let me tell you about the time when it didn't all work out for me. Freshman year at Purdue, I went through rush and didn't end up with a bid at the end of the last weekend. All that work for nothing.  I was sad, but more in shock that something I wanted hadn't come easily to me. Shocker. But really, it was actually a good experience that impacted my life. 

Whew, this post is getting long but I think that my point after all of this, was that I had to do a little soul searching and see if I was willing to be disappointed as an expense for possibly getting something I reallyyyyy want. I decided to man up and submit my application.

I should hear next Thursday if I made it to the next round of interviews.  Wish me luck! ::Pretty please with a cherry on top!::


Until then, I'll be trying to keep myself busy so I don't get too nervous! :)


Pink Kisses & Wishes,
Mallory

Dayna's City

Happy Monday PinkKisses &
Wishes readers!!

The name is Dayna and I’m visiting
from Pearls, Curls
and All Things Southern, formally A Bama Belle and A Bucket List!
If my old blog title didn’t tell you already, I’m from the beautiful
state of Alabama. I’ve lived here going on 14
years now and it’s been an adventure to say the least.

 

Instead of rambling on about
myself, I’m just going to dive right on in and tell you some perks of
living in the heart of Alabama –
Birmingham.

DRINKS:

There’s several names I call the
city: B’ham, The Ham, B-hizzle...they all mean the same and everyone
always knows where you’re talking about. If you’re a martini drinker,
or not, there’s a fabulous little hole in the wall martini bar in the
Southside district of The Ham in a place called Five Points (Five
Points gets its name because it’s an intersection with 5 different
roads). This martini bar is called the Blue Monkey and the martinis
will literally make your tongue slap your brains out – I kid you not!
I’m a regular there, I socialize with the other regulars, the
bartenders give me high-fives and kiss my hand when I come in and I’ve
even been allowed to go behind the bar to make drinks on different
occasions:

This makes me sound like an alchy,
which I am not, I assure you, but these martinis will have you coming
back each time.

FOOD:

I can live off of sushi. I love it
all. In the Soho district in Bhizzle,
there is a restaurant called Sekisui (sek-eh-soo-e) that I just tried
this past weekend. It gave my favorite sushi restaurant a run for its
money. They had a sushi roll called The Bama Roll which I have now
adopted as my favorite sushi yet. It was perfection. If you’re into
this type of food, this is the place to come when visiting! You will
not be disappointed.

 ACTIVITIES:

The Birmingham Museum of Art is a
wonderful place to go to. It’s one of the finest regional museums in
the US. There is so many things
to see and experience there that you will leave with your knowledge a
little more wide spread. During the warmer months, they host this
event called Art on the Rocks where you get to doll yourself up, visit
the museum, drink and socialize. It’s a great way to meet people and
experience the upscale nightlife B’ham has to
offer!

Birmingham Museum of
Art

 

Art on the
Rocks

So, key notes to remember if
you’re ever in the city: Grab a bite to eat at Sekisui, after
lunch/dinner head on over to The Blue Monkey to have a quick drink and
then zoom on to The Birmingham Museum of Art!

Hope you all have a fabulous day!
Make sure to stop by my blog and tell me some perks of the city you
live in!

 

Alana's Travels

Because Mallory is traveling (lucky duck), I'm here guest posting today!

When deciding what I wanted to talk to y'all about, I started thinking about the reason I'm guest posting--travel. So, today, I want to share with y'all some pictures from a few of my favorite trips!

1. Ocho Rios, Jamaica

2. Cozumel, Mexico

3. New York City

I love to travel and have a whole list of places I hope to see someday.

Hope you have a great trip, Mallory!

We'll miss you while you're gone!

Until next time,

The Intelligent Blonde

Giveaway Winner(S) & Outlet Mall Scores

Well today started off as a kind of crappy day, but eventually picked up.  The worst part was that my new shoes were making my tootsies h.u.r.t. Like big time. But they matched my outfit so well! Such is life.

This is a combo of things I got at the outlet mall:) But those Sperrys were killer!

 I know, such a tease that I'm not showing you everything I got on my shopping trip, but I promise it's a post worth waiting for:)



But let's just get to the good stuff, shall we?

The 3 winners of the Monogram Key Fobs are....................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................

• Katie from His Diamond and Mine

• Chelsea from As Chelsea Sees it

• Stormy from Life's a Dance You Learn As You Go

Congrats, girls!!!!

        -Email me at pinkkissesandwishes@gmail.com by Monday 2/27 to settle all the details or I will re-draw a new winner!

And the grand prize winner is..........

• Sarah from Simply Sarah!!

Woo! Email me by 2/27 to claim your prizes:)



Thank you so so so much to everybody who entered. You guys made my first giveaway a huge success! I'm so glad to be able to share the love with a few fellow bloggers:)

Happy Thursday (Read: Almost Friday) Y'all!

Pink Kisses & Wishes
Mallory

The final push

Last chance to enter the giveaway!! Make sure you check it out before it closes at NOON TODAY! 
 **And don't forget to leave a comment saying that you blogged about the giveaway with the link to your post if you want your extra 3 entries!  


In other news, it's been a crazy weekend/ week!

•  I've had my first guest post  over at Simply Sarah (Go show her some love!)

•  I went shopping at the Aurora Outlet mall and had fabulous luck finding adorable things! But that's a story for another day. They deserve a post all their own:)

I do love a good shopping trip with good friends:)

• I made adorable funfetti heart-shaped cookies with Matt while he was visiting.  I've never had funfetti as cookie dough but love it in cake form so we gave it a whirl. LOVE.

They're so delicious and I love them because Matt frosted 24 cookies with pink frosting with no complaints:)

• And! I got new tires on my car! Ha, not very exciting, but she was all cleaned and detailed...it looked like she was new again! 

 **Note: I did not get a picture before it snowed and ruined the shot:( ::insert sadface here::

I have a lot to catch you guys up on, but for now you'll have to be satisfied that:

Tomorrow I'll be announcing the winner(s!) of the giveaway! 

And Friday & Monday I have some fabulous guest bloggers lined up while I'm on a mini vacay!

Get ready for a great rest of your week:) 

Pink Kisses & Wishes,

Mallory

Bucket List? Check!

Hey hey Girlies!

Head on over to my first guest post over at Simply Sarah to see what I've checked off of my "College Bucket List".  You won't be disappointed :) 

(You get to see pictures of me participating in drunken debauchery and in a swimsuit!)  Score.

So get to it & show her some love!

&& don't forget to enter into my giveaway if you haven't already! 

Pink Kisses & Wishes,
Mallory

Prezzies & Inspiration Friday

Good Morning, Cupcakes!

I wanted to give you guys the lowdown of my Valentine's Day!

It started with a trip to the post office on my way to my internship so I could pick up the package that my grandma sent me.  Inside, I found a sweet card aaaaaand this:

She picked it out all by herself:) 

I wore it on Wednesday when I had to give my 2nd speech (more on that next week! Read: You get an awesome recipe that you're going to love/hate me for;)  )

I added a belt, but otherwise this outfit is all her!

But back to Tuesday, I got a little  surprise from Matt....

Flowers!!

He remembered me saying that my favorite flowers were lilies so he sent me some for V-Day :) It was too funny though, he's a terrible secret keeper and I had a feeling he was sending me flowers. I definitely played dumb though when he asked me;)

And a small prezzie from one of the ladies I work with:

It says: Girls sometimes wear Pink; Boys sometimes wear blue;Parent Wonders is so lucky to have YOU!

 So sweet:) There were some Lindor chocolates inside. ::yummmm:: (Don't mind my messy desk!)

And finally, when I got home, my roomie Alyssa had gotten me a small present:

 We love to bake around here and have never had the Funfetti cookies so we're really excited to try them this weekend:) And Matt's coming down so he can eat most of them so we don't ruin our Spring Break diets;)

Now on to Inspiration Friday with the lovely Sarah from Simply Sarah !

This week I've been really inspired to not spend unnecessary money. Yikes.

I'll be real with you, it's been hard. really hard. I am the shopping QUEEN and can always be found with the "need" to buy something. Well earlier this week I looked at my bank statement and had a "YIKES WHAT AM I DOING?!?" moment. I've put the Kabosh (what, I can't be the only person to still use this word!) on all extra spending. I figure that with what I save, I can do something big of my birthday in August. 

Let's hope I make it!

Now go head over and link up for yourself! :)

Pink Kisses & Wishes,
Mallory

In-n-Out

Just a quick post today because I have to be at my internship 9am-9pm. Yikes, right?!

I wanted to say hello to my new followers and thank everyone for participating in my giveaway! I'm really excited about it:)  Don't forget to enter if you haven't already!


And I'm in need of a little help.

I need a Guest Blogger  for Monday Feb 27th.  It's a little short notice, but it would reallllyyyy help me out! I'll be chillin' my butt up in the Wisconsin Dells riding waterslides and sitting in hot tubs. It's gonna be a terrible weekend;)

Email me at Pinkkissesandwishes@gmail.com if you're interested!

Pink Kisses & Wishes,
Mallory

**%#$GIVEAWAY!#@$**

Top of the morning, girls:)

I'm in a very good mood this morning because I'm so excited to tell you what I have for you guys today!!

Ready?
...................................................
...................................................
...................................................
...................................................

It's giveaway day!! I really wanted to do something nice for my readers because I can not tell you how happy you guys make me! Comments, blog posts, and emails. I love it all:) So my appreciation for you led me to this:


3 Lucky Readers will get:

A monogram key fob in the color/fabric of their choice! 

-Two very sweet ladies from Georgia make and sell these little beauties on their Etsy site and have agreed to be featured in my giveaway!

But that's not all!!

1 Lucky Reader will get:

• A monogram key fob in their color/fabric choice (above)
• A 1 year subscription to Cosmopolitan -OR- Galmour (Winner's choice) 

AND

• A monogram birthstone bracelet

Here's a picture of what it looks like:

Isn't it darling?!

So now that you know about the giveaway, here's how you enter:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Be a follower of Pink Kisses & Wishes (obvi!) and leave a comment saying you follow     -1 entry

2. Leave a separate comment with what fabric choice, initial (up to 3), thread choice, and font choice you would pick for the monogram  key fob (options below)   -1 entry

3.Leave a separate comment with what initial (only 1) and birthstone you would pick for the monogram birthstone bracelet (options below)   -1 entry

4.Blog about this giveaway and mention PK&W   -3 entries
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's six ways to enter! Get to it ladies:) 


Options for monogram key fob:

 

  


 

Options for monogram birthstone bracelet:

1. January - Garnet 2. February - Amethyst 3. March - Aquamarine 4. April - Crystal Quartz 5. May - Emerald 6. June - Pearl 7. July - Ruby 8. August - Peridot 9. September - Sapphire 10. October - Pink Peruvian Opal 11. November - Citrine 12. December - Turquoise
The giveaway starts immediately and ends on 2/22 at noon! I'll announce the winner on Thursday 2/23. Good Luck! :)

Pink Kisses & Wishes,

Mallory

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day, Lovebugs!

I'm so excited it's Valentine's Day! You all know it's one of my favorite holidays and this year is no different.  Yesterday I posted about my Swap haul.  But it couldn't compare to mine and Matt's Valentine's celebration....

This weekend I went home because Matt had a "surprise" date planned out. I say "surprise" because he may or may not be the worst secret keeper I've ever met! Ha, it was too cute though. He was just so excited he couldn't help giving me clues:)


Friday night he took me to P.F. Changs (My fave!) and we had a delicious dinner and dessert:) It mayyy be one of the best dates I've been on. Not to get all mushy, but it was nice because we were comfortable with each other and had a ton to talk about. This date got an A+ in my book.

Lettuce Wrap Appetizer. SO GOOD.

Sunday before I went back to school, he took me to see The Vow. ::swoon:: He remembered hearing me say that I wanted to see it so he bought tickets for us to see it together. I knew there was a reason I liked him;)

Channing Tatum is hot.

And my present? He got me a gift card to Pink/Victoria Secret. Ha, I swear it's because he knows I live in their yoga pants and zip hoodies on the weekends:)  And usually I don't love gift cards as presents (giving or receiving) but this time it worked out because it was our first time buying actual gifts for each other:)

Cute little box. I made 40754 of these when I worked at V.S! 

Pretty Gift Card that was inside the box :)

It was a really great weekend and it totally makes up for not being able to see each other today. And I have to pick up a Valentine's care package from my grandma on my lunch break. I can't wait to see what she sent me:)


I hope you all are having the best V-day! Love you guys!

Oh! And that surprise I hinted at yesterday? Yepp. My giveaway begins tomorrow!! 9 AM sharp so be there or be square;)  I can't wait for you guys to see what I have for you!


Pink Kisses & Wishes,
Mallory

Valentine's Day Swap!!

Hey! Check out what the lovely Kimberly over at Lush Lounge sent me for our Valentine's swap!

I came home last week to find this at my door:

So exciting!! 

 

 

\

 

 and when I opened it up I saw this:

 

 

You know I love animal prints!!

And underneath that I saw:

Such a sweet card with a very nice note on the inside:)

Aaaaaaand of of this fabulousness:

Check out all these awesome finds!

I'd have to say that my very favorite thing is the Strawberry Champagne lotion. It smells so yummy!

I'm so glad I participated in this swap. It was my first one and I can't wait to find another one soon:)


Happy Monday Y'all! And happy Valentine's Day Eve! I wish I could send you all valentines, but if you come back tomorrow & Wednesday, I might have something that's a little better;)  ::hint hint::





Pink Kisses & Wishes,
Mallory

Eff. Marry. Kill. Take 4

It's that time again Ladies, Eff. Marry. Kill. is back in action!

 

 

 

In honor of my bedtime dvd choices this week, I'm going with a Sex & the City theme! Are you ready??

I would......

Eff- Aiden

Marry- Smith

&Kill- Big

Aiden is just so adorable (especially the 2nd time around!) but he's a little too "outdoorsy" for me and just doesn't seem like the best fit for me.
 

Smith is extra hot and stood by his girl when Sam had cancer. ::swoon:: 

And, I'd have to kill Big. I mean, he cheated on 2 wives out of 3. Those are not good odds! 

What would you ladies do? Head on over to The Vintage Apple and Blonde Undercover Blonde to make one of your own!:)

Pink Kisses & Wishes,

Mallory