Happy Valentine's Day!

I know, as an old married lady I'm supposed to be cynical about Valentine's Day.  I am to a certain extent.  We don't do a big dinner out (we had Mexican at a place down the street on Saturday night to celebrate) and don't do major gifts.  I got Brett some nice skin care stuff, he got me the Lego garbage truck set (yes, we're children, and we're cool with it).  But no grand gestures needed on this day.

Still, it's a day to celebrate love, and I have plenty of reasons to smile today.  I have a wonderful, funny, devoted husband.  I have an incredible family.  My sweet little cousin is getting married on Friday and I can't wait to celebrate with her this weekend.  Another cousin is getting married in a month or so and we're excited to plan our trip to Austin, to toast a super fun couple (they biked from the top of Alaska to South America together before deciding to get married.  Super fun people!).

My life is full of love and I think it's a great day to stop and recognize that.  There are so many things to love in the world.  Even if the list seems a little ridiculous, here are some of the things I love today.

• my cats
• my clutch wallet
• J. Crew t-shirts
• my mom
• ballet flats
• Florence and the Machine
• Pinterest
• my happy pills
• afternoon naps
• tacos
• pretty lingerie
• piles of bracelets

Obviously in no particular order, and not exhaustive.

Someone pointed out that my outfit today is kind of festive.  I actually forgot it was V-day until my husband told me after I was already dressed.  So I guess this is my subconscious coming out.

Aww, you can see the huge ass pimple on my face.  How nice.  I'm approaching Kelly Kapowski territory here.  I should have painted my whole face red and pretended it was festive.

Don't worry I don't actually have jaundice!

I hope everyone is having a great V-day!  I'll leave you with this, the card I gave my hubs, who has been there for me every step of the way.  Even when it wasn't easy.

It will be framed above my desk pretty soon.  A good reminder of all the love I get to experience every day.

Oh Hi

Anybody else get wrapped up in the holidays and just (mostly) forget about the internet?  I have like 1000 posts to catch up on in Google Reader, and my Pinterest has a dangerous number of pins to catch up on.  But I'm back to work tomorrow, and easing my way back into reality today.

We've had a great time with our families this past week.  First we spent New Year's Eve at my brother's house.  They made a beautiful dinner of a prime rib roast (I don't love red meat but it was so delicious, he made au jus to go with it and it was just insane).  We also had mashed potatoes from scratch, stewed spinach, and chocolate mousse made from scratch by my SIL.  I really appreciated that they made the whole meal gluten free for me.  My SIL's mom even made a GF dip and brought rice crackers for me.  Plus it was just plain delicious.

That morning we had woken up and opened presents.  Of course, I knew what my H was getting, but it was still great to see him open his new safety razor, a shaving mug and some delicious lime soap, and his favorite cologne.  He also got all of the Lego Special Edition Minifigures he needed to complete hit collection up to Series 5.  It was hilarious because my parents wrapped each one separately (17 total).  So when we passed out gifts, he had WAY more than the rest of us.

I got great gifts too, and I think everyone really liked what we got them.  My mom got a sweater and necklace from Anthro, and a book that she already had (damn!).  I got my dad a couple of books and some great, thick socks from J. Crew.  My brother got an English wool blanket and a Christmas Story mug, and we got some nice hand cream and solid perfume for my SIL.

I'm sure I won't remember everything, but here are some highlights.

Gold skull Bhati Beads

I love the color of the silk wrap on these beads.  Michelle Obama wears the plain gold version (I guess the First Lady shouldn't be seen wearing skulls?), which is what turned me on to them.

This is golden quartz mounted in an old brass bullet casing.  It's on a longish brass chain and SO gorgeous.  This is probably my favorite gift.  I also got another brass necklace with a cluster of pendants, including an owl and a little clock.

This collage on a canvas is so beautiful in person.  I can't wait to hang it in our living room.

This sweatshirt is a really soft waffle texture, and the banded bottom gives it a really nice fit.

My brother got this watchband for me from Brooks Brothers.  It fits my J. Crew watch perfectly and I love how preppy it is.  He also got me a book of rejected New Yorker cartoons.  Since my husband likes to poke fun at how pretentious my brother and I are, it was just perfect.

I also got a $50 amazon gift card, and $200 cash between my in-laws and Brett's grandparents.

I also haven't blogged about a gift from my Secret Santa.  I love doing SS with a group of ladies from a message board I hang out on.  These were honestly some of the sweetest gifts I received.

I love this vintage magnifying glass necklace so much.  I'm already wearing it a few days a week.

And these measuring cups are cracking me up every time I go in the kitchen.

The best, though, was a huge handmade leather pouch with gold sequin lining.  I know she meant it as a joke to poke fun at my horrible taste in handbags.  But I've used it a couple of times while packing, so joke's on her.  It makes a great travel bag.

Now the holiday season continues with us deciding what to spend our cash on.  We each ended up with around $300, but we're going to save a chunk of it to spend on Brett's birthday gift next month.  We're getting him a new computer!  Long overdue.  Plus it means I get to have his old one for photos and stuff.  We're already mentally rearranging our office.

Anyway, Brett spent a little over $100 on a Keurig today.  He's really excited, and our friends who have them love them, so I'm happy he got one.  He never bothered to make coffee with our old machine (I don't drink it, so making a pot for just him seemed like a waste).  We also got some hot chocolate cups for me, which I'm psyched about.


For my part, I just ordered a new handbag.  I chose the yellow Cambridge Satchel, in the 13" size.  I also got my initials embossed on it.  I really can't wait to get it, although I know it will take a while.  I also bought some tees and a pair of skinny cords from J. Crew sale for super cheap.

The only other thing I think I'll be buying soon is some new towels.  We're getting one Turkish peshtemal to see if we like it.  Then we'll decide whether to stick with those or go with a regular style towel.  But we had a fantastic holiday break, and now it's time to get back to the grind.

Happy Holidays!

It's three days after Christmas, my champagne headache is finally gone, and I'm still psyched as hell over my gifts.  And we're not even done yet (we'll exchange with our parents and my brother and SIL next week)!

I took this week off - unfortunately not to do fun things like watch TV or go shopping.  I'm taking care of some stuff that desperately needed to be done.  Cleaning out my closet, cleaning the oven, and getting started on painting the trim in most of the house.  I'm about halfway done with our LR/DR after two days.  And I've still got the stairwell, upstairs hallway (6 DOORS in there), and two bedrooms upstairs to go.  Blargh.

But there's plenty to be happy about too.

Like presents!  My husband loved the gift card to The Art of Shaving, and I can't wait to see what he picked.  And he seems to like everything from his stocking, even if I have already stolen about half of his Fruit Stripe gum.  Yep, our Christmas Day involved temporary zebra tattoos.  Yours?

I got a really cute cobalt and black houndstooth sweater from my aunt, along with several pairs of really cute tights, and cash from my grandparents.  And all the gifts we picked out seemed to be a big hit, which is always a great feeling!

But Brett really outdid himself in picking my gifts.  I wasn't expecting much because I'm getting my tattoo soon.  But he got me Mindy Kaling's new book (which I finished in two days, so hilarious!), and a really adorable pin I've had my eye on.  It's kind of out there, but I absolutely love it.  It's from ban.do, and they're offering 30% off the whole site until Friday night with the code Heygirrrl!

But best of all, he got me a vintage molecule modeling set.  It's so gorgeous - I love the colors and the detail.  I came up with an arrangement I like and have it sitting on the mantel.  But when I figure out what the orange ones are supposed to be, I'm going to make sure it's an actual molecule.  Right now it's just a carbon chain.

I believe he got it on Etsy.  He's looking for a vintage periodic table to have framed to go with it, but he couldn't get it in time for Christmas.  I'm feeling spoiled rotten.

I haven't hit any after Christmas sales yet.  I cleaned out our closet last Thursday, and ended up taking 8 garbage bags (smallish ones though), a couple of boxes, and a huge shopping bag to Goodwill.  So I know I have plenty of great clothes that I kept, and I'm not really in need of anything.  The only thing that I'm thinking about is getting a new handbag with my Christmas cash.  I've been looking at Bluefly, ebay, and a couple of other places.  But if I take the plunge, I think I'm going with something from the Kate Spade sale section.  I may save my cash for Brett's birthday present.  But I do love some of these.

The Essex Scout

This first one is pretty small.  When I expressed my concern over that, my husband said "Not everyone needs to carry a suitcase everywhere they go."  Point taken.

Cobble Hill Penny

Cobble Hill Leslie

Grove Court Blaine

Flicker Melinda

All of these are on sale for roughly $200-250.  I'm looking for a bag in a fun color, and probably smaller than what I'm used to carrying.  If I can't fill it up with things that weigh thirty pounds, that's a bonus.

I hope you guys are getting some great after Christmas sale action!  I would love to grab some shoes, but I was kind of chastened when I pulled all my shoes (minus boots) out of the closet while I was clearing it out, and they pretty much covered our entire bed.

I got rid of like 13 pairs I swear

Yes that's 5 rows of shoes.  Almost 50 pair.  I think this means the J. Crew shoe of the month club is out of the question, even if the price tag wasn't too steep ($1800.  Which I guess is a good value but come on).

We don't have big NYE plans, just to hang out at my brother's house.  But I might wear sequins or glitter anyway.  2011 was an amazing year for us and I think 2012 is going to be even better.

I'll leave you with this, my OOTD.  I guess I threw away my winter painting clothes, so I grabbed an old hoodie and some leggings that are too see through for public consumption.  And promptly got paint all over myself.

Hot.

That's not an actual tattoo on my foot.  I drew it in Sharpie to get used to it and MAKE SURE I want one there

Hoodie - Old Navy men's (I think), leggings - Gap, flip flops, Old Navy.  At least I didn't get enamel paint in my hair, which is a great success.

Happy New Year everybody!

Happy Thanksgiving! OOTD

I had a great looooong weekend with my family, stuffing my face.  And now I'm back home with my husband, stuffing my face.  This week will be a whirlwind of cleaning and trying to eat everything in our refrigerator while we get ready for our trip.  We're leaving FRIDAY and I am so freaking excited.

So here's my OOTD for Thursday.  This was a day of cooking, eating, board games, taking a walk, and hanging out with people I don't get to see nearly enough.

Taken in my 13 year old cousin's very pink room

Tunic - Levi's, Tights - Missoni for Target, Boots - Frye, watch, shell pink bangle - J. Crew, thin gold bangle - failjewelry, necklace - freshy fig, ring - Stone & Honey, beaded bracelet - The Venerable Bead

I love the way this tunic is cut on the side, and it's super comfortable.  Plus, something with a forgiving waistband is a must on Thanksgiving.

I'm really happy about the way my Fryes are breaking in.  They were almost impossible to get on and off at first, even after I had them stretched.  But they get more comfortable each time I wear them, and getting them on and off isn't so much of a chore.

Of course, we all know there's one more holiday that was celebrated last week - Black Friday.  My sister in law asked me if shopping was a hobby or something because I seemed to do it so much.  Oops.

Anyway, I really wasn't into a lot of the deals I saw being advertised.  There's not too much in the town I spend Thanksgiving in, so I have to decide whether the sales are worth driving a little over an hour for.  And since I just don't need anything right now and I'm saving up Christmas shopping for our trip, I decided not to go.

But I did shop online in the afternoon, from the comfort of my grandmother's desk.  I didn't get a ton (again, the deals didn't seem that great.  Lego was BOGO 50% off at TRU - that deal comes along about once every couple of months so it's not worth going in the middle of the night!), but I did pick up a few things.

Fab.com is having a long weekend event, starting on Black Friday and continuing through Cyber Monday.  Just logging in gets you a $10 credit, and then you get an additional $10 for every $100 you spend.  I logged in to get my $10, and I really loved the Creative Growth art, but the stuff I was interested in was already sold out.  I also loved seeing Cats in Clothes by Heather Mattoon, because Brett and I had just been looking at those a couple of days earlier.

In the end, I bought a small print and some fancy chocolate from fab.com.

Black flowers print from Brainstorm

Also, Wuslu is celebrating their second anniversary by offering mystery boxes for $19.50.  I got two, and I'm hoping for something more like distressed wire baskets and less like an Always Kiss Me Goodnight pillow.  I can always regift if I hate it!

And lastly, I got sucked in by Anthro's additional 25% off sale.  I was happy to see a couple of things that I almost bought last week just went on sale, and I got them for a big discount.

I bought this pajama set, which I saw in store and is super soft and comfy.  The original price for the set would have been $116, and I paid less than $60.

Chaparral Pajamas

I also got this shirt in gray for about a third of the original price.

Paddington Pullover

And I got this sweater for my mom for just $45, down from $100.  It's not really my style, but it's totally her.  It will look great and be really comfy.

Chain Channel Stitch Pullover

I also got a white blouse and some socks for myself.  The blouse is backordered but I really hope they can fulfill it!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and found some awesome deals on Friday!  I'm trying to do zero shopping tomorrow for cyber Monday.  Any other holdouts?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Thanksgiving is just a week away, I've ordered a fried turkey to take on the trek to my grandma's, and I'm sitting here full of delicious treats from my office work potluck.  Sure, it means it's time to gather with my family and spend time cooking, laughing, eating, playing games, taking walks in the woods and riding wagons down hills.  But it also means that in one week and one day, it's officially Christmas season!

Now, normally we put up our tree and decorations as soon as we get home from Thanksgiving, on that Sunday.  so we have almost a month to enjoy it all (they have to come down before the New Year OR ELSE).  But this year, I'm coming home on a Sunday and leaving again on Friday for over a week.  I seriously doubt I'll have time to put any decorations up in that short time - other than the jingle bell wreath on my office door.

So we'll play it by ear.  Depending on how tired I am, we'll either put them up right when we get home or sometime that week.  And it may be a condensed version this year, partly because of timing and partly because we're not hosting.  But I definitely want to have something.

So, our standard decorations are a tall, skinny tree with white lights and a silver star on top.  We have balls in shades of red and brass tones, that match the red and brass accents in our living room.  But other than that, our tree doesn't have a theme.  I'll probably use an Ikea sheepskin as a skirt, or a plain red felt one I made a couple of years ago.  We just buy ornaments that we love, a few each year.  A lot of them are animals, just because we love animals so much, but that's not as much a tree theme as an entire house theme.

So far this year, I've picked up this little guy, a fair trade llama.

I bought him at Whole Foods.  He's not a food.

And then yesterday I stopped by Anthropologie since I was in the area and found these guys.

It's a narwhal!  I love his waterspout the most, it's glittery

A raccoon made of newspaper by Haitian artisans.  He's pretty adorable

Some of my other favorites are my paper mache dinosaurs, a bottle brush owl, and some felted wool creatures.  I love getting them out each year.

I'd also really love some garland on the tree.  I love the red felt ball garland at West Elm for $14 a string.  I just wish I knew how long it was because the dimensions on the site (8.5" long) can't possibly be right.  Maybe they mean 85"?  I could also make a felt or tissue paper garland myself, but I feel like I should plan to NOT do any DIY projects for the holidays with my schedule.

As for other decor, we've got glitter trees, dotted felt stockings I made a few years ago (I'll have to turn the one with a W into an M this year which will be rough on us I'm sure, but we're happy to celebrate Moe's first Christmas.  Yes, my cats have stockings.  Yes, I fill them.), glitter candlesticks to replace the gray ones we have out.  Just simple things.

I do want to go all out on our Christmas table though.  Now, I know I said we weren't hosting this year, and we're not.  My brother and sister in law are hosting and I can't wait to go up and visit them.  But Brett and I always spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day alone together, at home, anyway.  We celebrate with our families on another weekend and make those days about us.  It helps that Brett usually has to work up until that last minute and then sometimes the next day (and sometimes ON Christmas).  But it's a favorite tradition of ours anyway.

When we get up we'll open gifts, then go to the Waffle House for breakfast, another tradition.  We'll be too full and happy for lunch, but we'll cook a nice dinner together and I want the table to look festive.  Last year, I went fun and fancy with our china, vintage brass, and black, white, and red linens.

This year, with just the two of us, I think I might stick with Fiestaware in red, shamrock, and lemongrass.  Add in white linens, brass candlesticks, and green and white hydrangea and tulips in our vintage glassware, and I think it will look lovely.  The best part is that all I have to buy is the flowers.  And the food of course.  Everything else, I have!


This quick mood board kind of illustrates what I'm going for.  I love the colors, and I think I'll want to use a lot of white.  And those giraffes are just too cute to leave on the mantel all the time.

 

Anybody have big plans for their Christmas tables (or Thanksgiving!  Or Hannukah?)?  I love these kinds of things, but maybe it's just me.