#200

This post officially marks the 200th post on my blog.  200 posts in 8 months is pretty good for me.  I believe that surpasses any other amount I've ever had on any of my other blogs.  It means I'm consistently blogging... yeah me!

I'm celebrating by finally putting up an outfit post... since it's been a while.  It's still casual time here at my office, so jeans on a Wednesday! :)

*Jeans & shoes - GAP, shirt - Express, cardigan - Jcrew, earrings - gift from coworker

Goals Update: August

Seeing as how I missed the last Friday of the month to give my update, here it is.

1. SAVE MONEY, REDUCE DEBT: Step by step.  Continuing to make payments and not put money on my cards and still have automatic transfers each pay period into my bank account.  Also, September is one of those magical months where I get three paychecks (happens twice a year folks).  I am going to put that check into my savings account.  That will bring my savings account total to over $1,000... which, I cannot tell you the last time I had a savings account with that much money in it.  Now that's progress!

2. GET BACK IN SHAPE:  Sickness has gotten the best of me in this category.  I was still holding steady at 2-3 workouts a week.  Then I got sick.  I was going to try to get some running in this week, but I am doubtful seeing as how I am still not back to 100%.  My hope is that after another long weekend of rest, I will be back to working out again.  September is my month to get back on the bike (so to speak).  As many of you know, it's so easy to tell yourself why you don't have time, and so hard to get back to it when you've taken any sort of break.  I also plan to resume eating habits I had before the roommates (sorry, love you guys... eating, not so much).

3. STEP OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE:  This one has been rough.  I have done nothing.  I am not even sure where to go with this one right now.  I need help!

MIA

Sorry I've been MIA.  I was all excited to have two extra days to my weekend and what happened.  I got sick.  Sick sick.  Sicker than I have been in a while.

That resulted in me spending a lot of time away from my computer and more time sleeping in bed.

I actually took today off also because I still wasn't feeling 100%.  No point in chancing making it worse by going into work.

Hopefully I will feel back to normal tomorrow.

The quest for the right jeans

My office has been on a "casual attire" dress code this week and all of next week.  For me, this is more difficult than the regular dress code.  Why?  Well, most of my casual clothes are not appropriate for the office (re: SHORTS).  So, I've found myself dusting off my jeans collection for work attire, and trust me, it hasn't been pretty.  I haven't worn a pair of pants since March and I've become more critical of my overall look.

Today I made a decision.... I no longer like boot cut jeans.  They look terrible on me.  I think it's one of those epiphanies that takes place after you review some of those "what are your body type" quizzes.  Naturally, I have large thighs.  I always have.  So when I wear boot cut jeans, it emphasizes my thighs, makes my knees look really skinny, and then balloon out again at the ankle.  How is this attractive????

So this weekend I will be reviewing my jean collection and determining what will stay and what will go.  Then, I will begin my search for better jeans.  Right now, I'm thinking that I will be sticking to trouser cut (because they are so awesome) and straight leg/skinny jeans.

What style of jeans do you like best?

Jinx

So apparently some form of cold is making it's way around the house.

Kayla is congested.  Justin doesn't feel good.  I woke up this morning with a crazy dry throat and a running nose.  Guess I'm going to be buying more cold medicine tonight to try to combat it early.  I HATE having a cold in the summer.

Some of it also could be how tired I feel.  I fell asleep sometime before 9 last night, but it wasn't exactly restful sleep.  I just need to make it through tomorrow and then I can try to get some decent sleep.

In the meantime, posts will be pretty light here.  I'm uninspired right now.

#66 - Stay off Facebook for one week

I'm going to fully admit.

This was MUCH more difficult than I expected it to be.  I'm not sure what that says about my need to be socially connected.   Looking back, I'm glad I chose to tackle this one and get it completed now.

The week started off busy work-wise, so I figured that it would make it easier as the days went on.  Boy, was a wrong.  I seriously underestimated my "I need a break" routine and automatic move to check up on facebook.

It wasn't until Friday, when my crazy busy work weekend was starting that I was actually too busy to realize I wasn't on facebook.

Also, you don't realize how many blog posts, articles online, etc. send you to their facebook page.  It's everywhere when you are trying to avoid it!

I Won!

Over the weekend I got an email from the lovely lady that runs the WWEPW blog.  That's "What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear?" blog.  And who would Emma Pillsbury be?  Emma is the quirky guidance counselor on GLEE, played fabulously by Jayma Mays.

Anyways, the WWEPW blog details all of her fashion on the show, which is awesome, because I love how they style her.  The week after my birthday, WWEPW ran a giveaway to win something from the Vintage Envy shop on Etsy.  All you had to do was comment on the post with what your favorite item from the shop was.  I said mine was the "trolley sweater clip" (not shown any longer).  I was so excited to see the email this weekend telling me that I won!

I find this pretty coincidental since just last week I had a conversation with my mom about how I desperately wanted/needed a sweater clip.  So what is a sweater clip you ask?  And why on earth would you want one?  Sweater clips were very popular in the 50s as a way to hold your sweater in place when worn loosely over your shoulders.  It was a great alternative to buttoning it closed.

Last week when talking to my mom, I wanted a sweater clip instead of buttoning because I had a ruffly top on under my cardigan and didn't want to lose all the details by closing the cardigan.

I'm so excited to get my sweater clip.... and I will definitely take a picture as soon as I get it!

Deferred

Who know WHERE you got your tattoo would make the difference between being able to donate blood and being deferred for a year.

Guess that's going to push back soon things on the 101 list.

Working Weekend

Today starts the longest 6 days of work (excluding conference time of course).  I have a long day ending with  dinner tonight, work all weekend and then three full days of work next week before my next day off.

Here's hoping I can make it.

Coincidentally, another company in our office building is having a blood drive today so I will be knocking TWO things off my 101 list this week.

I'm too tired for an entertaining post title

Seriously... coming up with the post titles is the hardest part!

This is my "I'm too tired to be inspired" outfit.  :)  Enjoy.

*cardigan - Nordstrom (last year's anniversary sale), shirt & belt - Jcrew, skirt - gift from Leslie, shoes - nine west.

On a side note, I love these shoes (have them in gold too) and they are super comfy.  Problem is, they got beat up really fast.  I'm thinking about trying one of those DIY glittering experiments as a last ditch effort.  If I do, I'll post about it for sure.

Golightly Creative

I've been thinking a lot about the little side business I've been trying to start.  It all started while I was helping/watching Melissa and Justin plan their wedding in 2009.  I helped them by making their invitations and it sort of ballooned from there.  I've done a few wedding invitations, mostly from recommendations from kind friends, and some family members.  I really enjoy doing it but am struggling with making it become more of a hobby.

For those of you that know, there are TONS of companies (big and small) that do invitation design.  They range from just the design portion to the actual printing and assembly.  There is an option for each budget and need.  So I'm struggling with how to stand out.

I have several items on my 101 things to do that involve Golightly.  I just need to do them.

My overall goal of the company was not just to do invitations or note cards.  It was to keep my options open in case one day in my far future, I wanted to start my own event planning company (which there are also TONS of... go figure).

Given everything else that I have going on in my life, it has taken a back burner (rightfully so).  But at some point I am going to need to some decisions about what to do.  And that's a little stressful.

facebook free

This week I am trying to reach another 101 item, staying off facebook for a week.

I knew it was going to be hard, but didn't realize how instinctual it is for me to regularly check it.  You know how everyone has their internet habits.   Maybe you get online, check your email, browse etsy, pin a few things and then read blogs.  Well, catching up on facebook was in my internet routine.

Thank God work is going to be busy this week to help me.  I just need to make it through Saturday. :)

The weekend recap

Still not feeling 100% and work is going to get really busy, so this will probably be a light posting week.

This past weekend was pretty rough for me emotionally.  I know I have mentioned this previously, but I've been having a rough month of August.  I have a lot of balls in the air (so to speak) and have been really stressing myself out.

I'm sure this is where the sickness is coming from.

Friday evening I had a productive conversation with my parents.  I say productive because while it was a really good conversation (and one that needed to be had), it was also a very emotional conversation.  In the end, I knew that I finally was going to have to do what I have been avoiding for the last seven months... contacting His parents.

This is not something I have wanted to do for a couple reasons.  Primarily, I wanted to keep the house issue between the two of us (he and I).  We are both adults and can deal with what we have set ourselves up for.  Also, I hadn't had any communication with his parents since the email they sent me the day he finally told them he ended it.  For as much as I loved him, I also loved his parents, and I couldn't bare the thought of having to face them.  Even if the breakup wasn't my decision.

So on Friday night I sat down and did the hardest thing.  I wrote them an email.  I explained the entire situation with the house as if they knew nothing (because I have no idea how much they do or don't know).  I explained to them my situation and my desire to make something happen with the house.  I also explained to them that timing wise, his unresponsiveness is actually becoming an issue.

And then I went to bed.  Or tried to.  I didn't really sleep that night.  I was all wound up, unsure of how they would respond and also a bit anxious as to His response if he found out I contacted them.  It's only a matter of time really.

I shouldn't have been surprised, but his mom responded to me at some point Saturday morning.  Her email was very thoughtful,  that they think about my often and just want to help get this sorted out.  Of course, in the meantime, he emailed me as well asking me to pull together some more information for him.

I spent the rest of Saturday in a lack-of-sleep haze, helping my mom fancify her blog (yes that's a word) and making some changes to mine.  Saturday night I got a bit more sleep than before.

I don't really remember what happened Sunday, which means it was probably nothing.  The weather was very off and on the entire weekend.  Sunday night we had terrible thunder and lightening.  You can guess how my night went.  Samson threw up twice and neither of us got any sleep.

Yesterday I spent majority of the day in bed with some occasional play time with Kayla and Melissa.  I cooked dinner for the bday boy (it was Justin's birthday yesterday) and watched Bachelor Pad with Melissa.

Today I am going to struggle at work...  who am I kidding, the last several weeks have been a struggle.

If I can just power through until next Wednesday, I have Thursday and Friday off to look forward to.  Woo hoo to the long weekend.

sick

I couldn't shake that "I just don't feel right" feeling all last week and this weekend.  I felt lethargic and just off.  On Thursday I developed a nagging behind-the-eyeball headache that just wouldn't go away.  It kept all weekend.  I lost my appetite (no food sounded good) and I just feel crappy.

It didn't help that last night it stormed, a lot.  Samson was bonkers all night.  He threw up in my room twice.  So I didn't get much sleep.  When my alarm went off at 5am this morning, I wanted to die.

Needless to say, I'm at home.  I've been sleeping most of the morning and I plan to go back to bed soon.

Hopefully, I'll be back to better shape tomorrow.

*P.s.  Did you see the updates I made to the blog?  I spent most of Saturday playing around with some of the blog features.

Friday

I love Fridays.  Especially Fridays from 4-9pm.  In fact, I wish that time was longer.  Long like the week feels.

The weeks always feel way too long and the weekends WAY TOO SHORT.

I have no major plans this weekend.  Lots of sleeping, hopefully the pool if the weather holds up, and mass.

I have work next weekend, so I'm going to try to store up sleep.

new hairdo

The last time my hair was as long as it was now was when I first moved out to DC, almost six years ago.  I'm challenging myself to come up with more creative hair styles because it becomes extremely monotonous to just wear it pin straight, in a low ponytail or in a high ponytail.

Earlier this week, I found this post through the The Beauty Department blog I read.  It was for a style called "the fun bun".  Sounds cute right?  Well, I have fine hair that doesn't hold curl well and is thin.  Very thin.  So I always look at these things skeptically because they never look that way when I attempt them with my hair.

This morning I thought I would give it a try.  Granted, it definitely doesn't look exactly like the photos (expected), but I was pretty pleased with it.  It will take me some time getting used to wearing my hair that high on my head though.  Sorry the photos this morning do not do it justice (in my opinion).

 *skirt & belt- jcrew, sweater & shirt - Express, shoes - Nine West

Happy Thursday!

*I just realized this hairdo would be PERFECT for my Holly Golightly costume... whenever that may happen.

A day late...

On Tuesday, I took a photo of my outfit.  I didn't post it then because I didn't want to detract any attention from my mom's birthday post.

I bought that tunic after seeing this outfit post on Love Maegan.  This was still during a time when I was delusional as to how long my torso really is.  Looks cute on her right?  And it was pretty cheap, so I snatched it up.

When it arrived, I couldn't wait to try it on.  Only there were two issues.  First, I couldn't actually put it on because the arm holes were so tight I couldn't get it up past my elbows.  Honestly, I know I have bigger arms because I have muscles, but seriously... not past the elbows.  Talk about frustrating.  Not wanting to give up, I cut the seams under the arms and sewed them back.  It's not the best solution, but it worked.

Then, once I was able to actually put the tunic on, it was no where near the a tunic length.  It was a long shirt. So now I only wear it as a shirt.  It's worked out pretty well for the handful of times I've worn it.

Lesson learned for online shopping (or really any kind of shopping): Know your body type!  While a dress/shirt/skirt/coat/etc might look amazing on the model, that doesn't mean it's going to look that way on you.  And it's okay!!!

Today I am wearing this outfit with a skinnier belt and my coral peep toe pumps.  I was supposed to have lunch with a CVB (convention & visitors bureau) but had to cancel because of too much work.

Random

Today is a skinny day....

I love skinny days! :)

That is all.  Happy Wednesday.

A note on fashion & blogs

I love fashion.  Everybody does right? Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many fashion magazines, fashion related TV shows, and of course, fashion blogs.

I love fashion blogs. Love, love, love them.

I could spend hours a day looking through fashion blogs, examining everything about their photos. The pose, the clothes, the shoes! It seriously is becoming an obsession.

That being said, they are also incredibly intimidating. Sometimes so much so that I question why I ever post photos of my outfits at all.

Aside from the overall better photo quality (honestly, iPhone photos versus professional cameras do not compare), these bloggers seem to have endless closets and loads of money. Seriously.  I look through these blogs and hardly ever see pieces of clothing repeated very often, if ever.

It's hard sometimes to keep things in perspective, isn't it?

Mom

Moms are awesome, aren't they?

I feel so lucky that I have the kind of relationship with my mom that I do.  I can talk to her about anything and I love spending time with her.  Even if it's just lounging around at home or messing around on the computer.  She's not just my mom, but also a friend.

Every day I am thankful to have my mom.  She gives me something to live up to and I know that I will do my best to learn from her when I reach the point in my life where I become a mom.

I love you so much mom.  Happy birthday!

This is one of my favorite pictures (taken at Melissa and Justin's wedding).  It perfectly highlights how much fun my family has together.  I can't wait for our vacation in October.

A rejuvinating weekend

I don't know noticed, but last week was rough for me.  I was anxious for the weekend more than any other week.  I also had the house to my self since the Hales clan was heading up to PA on Friday to see some of Justin's family.

I had a good chat on Friday on the way home with MEM.  It was good to talk to someone and get some honest feedback.  She suggested I go to church to seek some guidance.  Now, I don't typically talk about religion, especially on a blog, because it can be a very touchy subject.... like politics.  But as this is my personal blog, with my personal opinions, I'm making an exception.

Anyways, Friday night was pretty uneventful.  I watched some regular TV and headed up to bed early because I was so tired.  Saturday morning, Samson and I went on our regular walk and then I did some cleaning before we had to head down to VA to see the vet.  It was Samson's regular check up time.  We even planned to stop at his old favorite dog park while we were down there.  Last summer I went to a vet closer to my house, but I wasn't really happy with all the stuff they pushed on me, so we headed back to the place that was most comfortable.  Everyone was so happy to see Samson and he was well behaved while he got his blood drawn and his couple of vaccine shots.   He (and I) were both ready to go home at that point.  We made it back by 1:30 and both of us were pretty useless after that.

I decided instead of dealing with walking Samson and going to church in the morning that I would try the Saturday afternoon mass.  I had researched this church previously while we were looking at the marriage prep courses, so I was pretty familiar with where it was and everything.  I headed up after walking Samson and made it on time.  The church was very nice.  Smaller, but pretty.  I made it early enough to have some quiet time before the mass began.  They are a traditional church, which was sort of refreshing since I prefer the more traditional aspects of mass.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sit there for a bit after mass because they had a funeral mass immediately following.

I can't tell you the last time I went to church on a random weekend.  To be honest, I'm really glad I did it and wish I hadn't made so many excuses for why I couldn't do it earlier.  I plan to continue going.

On my way home from church, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up some things since the fridge was pretty bare.  I was back in time to watch a movie and eat dinner before heading to bed.

Sunday was a day of doing nothing... absolutely nothing.  I walked Samson and watched movies all morning.  My roommates were back shortly after lunch so there was more activity in the afternoon.  I babysat Kayla for a bit so Melissa and Justin could run a few errands.  They were back in time for dinner and had brought a surprise.

I may make her wear that around like a regular outfit. :)

Sorry for the not so great photo... she was flapping her arms and yelling at me.

My protector

My guard dog....

Doesn't he look terrifying??

Samson has developed a reputation (unknown to him) of being an extremely intimidating dog.  So much so that almost everyone we encounter in my community runs away from/steps back onto their porch/crosses the street when we are out walking.  Kids are their terrified of him, or yell from the sidewalk, "can you make Samson speak?"

Adults are even worse.  There are so adults that will wait at their front door until we pass before they come out to their cars.  In fact, I can count 3 people in the community as a whole who have actually interacted with Samson and know what a big baby he is.

It has come in handy in my neighborhood, especially when I have been living alone, that he is so scary.  It's usually dark out in the mornings when I walk him, so it's nice to have the reassurance.  Even though I know he is a big furry baby.... doesn't mean everyone else does.  In fact, there have been people (men mostly) that have made comments to me in passing about "having protection" or "not having to worry about anyone bugging me with him around".  It does make me feel safer.

But it still is hard to imagine.  I know a lot of people compare huskies to wolves, but honestly....  does he look intimidating?

All I see is a big squishy dog who likes his belly scratched and is tickled when you touch his paws.

I write this post now because this morning on our walk, Samson did what he does best.... acted scary.

We were walking our typical routine and there was a guy walking to his car in his workout gear.  We said good morning to each other, but Samson was a high alert.  He stopped in the grass to watch him approach us and then got his best bark on.  I couldn't help but laugh because really... how do you take a dog seriously that does the pounce-bark and tries to be scary. 

Thankfully, the guy just smiled at me and said "guess he's doing his job, huh?"

Man, I love that dog.

The need to write

Yesterday evening I had that urge to write.  It doesn't happen very often, but it hit last night.  So in lieu of the old school journal, I opened blogger and a new post page.  And just sat there.... staring at the blank screen.  Sure I wanted to write, but I had NO idea what I wanted to say.  So I closed the page and figured something would come to me.

Then I went to bed early, well, attempted to at least.  Instead, I laid in bed just staring at the ceiling.  Eventually I was mentally composing a blog so I pulled out my phone and open the notes app (this would be the time I wish I had an ipad).  I started typing, about nothing... and in the end I just deleted it.  That was the second night in a week that I composed part of a blog post in the notes app (the other one is coming later.... I didn't delete that one).

I guess I just feel frustrated with life right now.  I'm angry about the house situation (yeah, don't think I don't notice how infrequently I am able to update the blog about it)... In fact, I started a blog post titled "house update" two weeks ago and haven't had anything worth putting in it.  The last time I updated.... MAY.  Seriously.

There are some other things that are going on right now that I can't really blog about.. yet.  I will, don't worry, but it's not yet.  And these things are adding to my general life frustration.  I'm doing my best to keep perspective, but as you know, sometimes that can be difficult.  Because sometimes all you want to do is feel sorry for yourself for a little bit....

Mid week slump

I'm tired today, so a simple outfit post is all I can muster.   Hopefully tomorrow.

*sweater & tank - Jcrew, skirt - gift from Leslie, shoes - Target

Feeling Patriotic

I can't help but feel like I should've worn this outfit to a 4th of July party.  I guess that's what happens when I am motivated to get dressed shoes first.

Please let me I'm not the only one that does that.

*dress - Anne Klein, shoes - Jessica Simpson

My version of the Pinterest Challenge

So completely unplanned, I did my own version of the pinterest challenge.  While I was browsing pinterest on Sunday morning,  I couldn't stop staring at this chocolate peanut butter torte.  Seriously, doesn't it look delicious?

I don't know if it was my multiple out loud comments about the dessert or the fact that Justin wanted some too, but he offered to go pick up the remaining ingredients we needed.  An hour or so later, I was cooking away.

Honestly, it had been a while since I have done any baking.  Not since Valentine's day when my homemade oreos won the cooking contest at my office.  :)  And I missed it.  It was really nice to bake again, even though this was a low key dessert.

I asked Melissa to take some good photos of the results because I think it was pretty close to the original recipe.

What do you think?

I was the only one that had any on Sunday night and it was good (though not completely set up) and then Melissa, Justin and I had some last night while watching the finale of The Bachelorette.

So I guess it was a bit of a pinterest challenge (minus the "make it your own" bit).  It totally counts.

*Thanks Melissa for the food photos. :)

Monday-ness

Is that a word?  I think it should be.

This morning was rough for me.  For some reason I was just plain struggling.  I couldn't seem to get my outfit together for some reason.  I tried on 3 different things, three different ways and it still didn't work out.  Finally, I just gave up because I was starting to run late.  Do you know how irritating that is?  I hate not feeling good about what I'm wearing.

In addition to the outfit snafu, I also struggled with my make up.  Lesson learned, don't try "something new" when you are already running late to work.  Just don't do it.  Keep it simple.

I'm hoping that the rough morning will improve significantly as the day goes on.  And, well, really as the week goes on.