Goals Update: May

Today is the last day of May.  That means that I have been back in Chicago for three months.  So far, my time back has affirmed that this was the best decision for me - and my mental health!  I miss some people back in DC dearly, but getting some closure on my past relationship and getting out of that house was the right thing to do.


Hopefully I can get rid of the house and be done with that for good soon!


As for the goals...


1. WORK ON MY 101 IN 1,001 LIST - I did a few of them.  Now looking at the list, I can see there are a few that I would like to tick off during the summer.  I may need to enlist a few friends to help with them, but it should be fun.  I need to make these a priority.

2. SAY "YES" MORE OFTEN - Brooke loves to remind me that I still regularly say 'no' to her... but I am trying.  Last week I went out to Dekalb on a Thursday.  That is progress people!!!  Little by little... I need to keep reminding myself that I should take a chance and try it.

3. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE - So far, so good.  Considering this is the first month that all the money that I would've paid to my mortgage went into savings, I'm feeling good.  Ideally, it would be nice to find an apartment that didn't require me to pay 2 months down (because that would essentially wipe most of my savings).  Having all this next month to chunk away big portions of my paycheck will be nice also.  It's been especially helpful that I've been making more than the minimum payments on my credit cards.

For the popcorn lovers...

You know I love pinterest.  LOVE it.

So the other day I saw this pin about making easy microwave popcorn in a paper bag.

Then, last week I saw on Natasha's blog that she "pin-busted" this pin.  Pin-busting is the new "it" thing apparently.  There are full blogs set up to demystifying all these tips and tricks shown on pinterest.

Anyways, given her endorsement, I thought I would give it a try.

And I have to say, as an air popped fan, this is amazing.  It pops quickly like microwave popcorn but tastes like air popped.  I put it in the bag dry, then once it's done popping, I drizzle with olive oil, salt and a bit of parmesan cheese.  DELICIOUS!  It's super easy for those times when you just want a small serving (or don't want to wait long enough for the air popper to work).

Melissa, I expect you to be trying this soon. :)

Memorial Weekend

I honestly don't know how most of last week went by without me posting anything.  Truth be told, I didn't have much to say.  Work was C-R-A-Z-Y last week so I was counting down the days until the long weekend.

Last week I spent a lot of time looking at apartments.  Two days in a row, my mom and I went out right after work and didn't get home until close to 8.  I actually found one that I liked and could have taken it.  Ultimately, I was too wishy-washy on it, so decided to let it pass.

Here I thought apartment hunting would be fun (sort of like house hunting).  Boy was I wrong!  I would love someone else to do it for me.  This weekend I have an appointment with a apartment searching company that I've heard really good things about.  Hopefully that will help.

This past weekend I did a whole lot of nothing.  Everyone was pretty much gone, so Samson and I spent a lot of time relaxing.  We took walks.  We took naps.  I grilled.  Truth be told, it went by way too fast.

I'm so thankful it's already Tuesday because I was fearing the residual backlash from last week at work. Hopefully I am wrong.

Inspired by Pinterest

This weeks nails are fairly simple. They will last until Friday and then I will have time to do something fun.

Inspired by this pin.  If I had neon yellow, I would've used it.

The weekends go by way too quickly.

Honestly... weekends fly by way too fast!

On Friday, after a crazy day at work, my mom and I went to see another apartment.  This one was definitely the best yet as far as the space and flexibility with Samson.  I didn't commit to it because I'm worried I may have a little buyers remorse.  It's a bit further west than I wanted to do, but we'll see.  The owner seems like she hasn't had a ton of offers, so I may be able to wait it out a week or so to look at some other things.

On Saturday, I spent the afternoon just baking and relaxing around the house.  It was just Samson and I home and I forgot how much I enjoyed that quiet time.  It reaffirms that even though living with Brooke would fun, I really just need my own space right now.

On Saturday night, I drove out to Oswego to have a sleepover with my girlfriends from grade school.  We had an absolute blast and I was exhausted most of Sunday.  I can't wait until our next get together.

Sunday, I headed home, showered and them mom and I met the Hales at the mall.  We had lunch and Kayla proceeded to dip her grilled cheese in ketchup.  She's just like her dad with the ketchup!  I managed to catch this video.  She jut loves ketchup.

I cannot believe that there is really only two weeks of May left.  I'm looking forward to having a long weekend.

We started summer hours at my office so now I'm getting up around the same time I used to get up while I was in MD.  Only good side is that I am getting home MUCH earlier.  Also, getting up earlier is totally worth it to be able to leave at 1:30 on Fridays.

The weather was GORGEOUS over the weekend (almost too hot on Sunday) and told is overcast and 60s.  This flip-flopping weather is so hard to dress for.  Thank God for my colored pants which keep me warm and still look very spring-like!

*sweater - JCrew, pants - Gap, shoes - Payless

Peach

I love these pants.  So cute and comfy!

Also, I don't know what's going on with the lighting in these pictures.  I'll have to work on that.

*pants - Gap, shirt - Nordstrom, shoes - Nordstrom BP

Apartment Hunting

This week, my mom and I went to look at an apartment* in Chicago.  It was the start of what I foresee being an endless cycle of apartment visits.

I forgot how much I hate apartment hunting.  It's painful with a large dog.

It's a delicate balance between what I want and what is going to be a good fit for me and Samson.

It also hasn't helped that coming from owning a 4 bedroom house, I have accumulated stuff... lots of stuff!  BIG stuff.

I'm praying that I will be able to find something that will fit what I need to have (and get rid of the rest) and a place that Samson will also be comfortable in.  Clearly, the two of us cannot live in a 500 sf studio.  That's just not realistic.

I'm thankful that my salary allows me to expand my options, but I do want to be conscious of my spending so I can continue to save money.

This is going to get interesting.


*The apartment was nice...  Fairly large but had NO closet space.  Also, it was a 5th floor walk-up.  Probably not the easiest for Samson and I.  

Resale

A few weeks ago when Amanda was in town, we took a walk past the Crossroads resale shop.  It's a pretty popular resale shop (they have them in quite a few places).  I'd wanted to go in but always had Samson with me.  So we went it.

I managed to snag this great shirt dress from Brooks Brothers... for $17!  It's a size big, but I think the wide belt helps pinch it in until I can take it to a tailor.  It's linen and lined and in great condition (even though it smelled terribly of mothballs)!

*shirtdress - Crossroads, belt - Target, shoes - Nine West

House Update #...I have no idea

Even though I'm deathly afraid I'm going to jinx it, I do have a house update.

Last week, there was a flurry of activity between my ex, my realtor, and my attorney.  Basically, I had been pushing to stop making mortgage payments as a way to tell the bank that we have officially moved on.  To force them to make some sort of decision.  This was early in the week.

By Thursday, I received an email from my realtor telling me that we had to sign another contract.  Apparently, he worked a little magic and showed to house again to some new people.  This resulted in a few offers for the full price that the bank wanted - all in cash and with no contingencies.  My realtor went back to the original buyer and told them to give us their best offer or we would move with the better offer.

On Friday, my attorney reached out to the bank to tell them that we now have an offer for the exact amount they wanted.

Of course, I immediately began searching for apartments to get a feel with what is out there.  I found a pretty nice one that I am actually going to look at tonight.  I really can't move until July - to ensure everything closes with the house - but it will still be nice to see what's out there and get a better feel for the neighborhoods.

I emailed the group this morning to find out if there was an update.  Hopefully, I will finally have some good news soon and this door will be closed.

Monday...

Why are the weekends never long enough?

I had a great time this past weekend.  On Saturday, we headed out to my grandparents so I could put some of their stuff on craigslist.  My aunt and uncle were also there.  It was awesome watching them and my mom crying laughing about some of the things they found in the attic: artwork and schoolwork from when they were young.

Sunday we just hung out and went to brunch as I mentioned yesterday.  It was a nice, relaxing weekend.

Today starts another week.  The last week I work 8-4:30.  Starting next Monday I'm on a 7:30-4:30 schedule Monday-Thursday and 7:30-1:30 on Fridays.  It's going to be great.

The weather is also supposed to be wonderful this week.  I can't wait.

*Shirt - JCrew, Tank - Express, Skirt - Limited, Shoes - Payless

Also, I painted my nails a more "girly" color to go with my outfit on Sunday.  I'm loving the 4th nail a different color... I haven't really done that before.

*Pink color is "Italian Love Story" - OPI, silver glitter is ULTA brand.

Mother's Day

This mother's day we had two mom's to celebrate and another mom-to-be.

My dad set us up to all go to brunch at their country club.  That meant dressing up.  And if you know me, you know that I love a reason to get dressed up.  It doesn't happen very often.

Here's the only picture I managed to grab.  Unfortunately, Brendan wasn't able to join us and we didn't get a group shot.

  *sweater - Express (old- actually a sweater dress), skirt - Ouma, shoes - Shoemint

Juicier...

Yesterday I received a chat message from Sara telling me to "please talk about juicier things on my blog..." (I'm paraphrasing, but I know she used juicier.)

My reply was simple... there really isn't anything juicy going on right now.

There were some things that progressed with the house situation yesterday, but I'm not ready to talk about it for fear that I may jinx it.

I'm not dating - have I not made that clear enough yet? :)  Hopefully soon, but not right now.  At least I haven't met anyone I'm interested in dating.

My Sunday night volleyball league is TERRIBLE.  TERR-IBLE.  Those of you who are my friends on facebook saw my status update where my teammate asked me if I knew what a 5-1 was.  Volleyball players will know.  Non-volleyball players, it's a type of offense that you learn in grade school.  It was insulting.

Thankfully, the season is almost over.  They asked if I could play in the summer but had to politely decline.  They plan to move back to their regular Monday nights for the summer and I have already committed to playing in a doubles beach league on Mondays.  (Darn!)

I've taken the last few weekends easy after Brooke's birthday extravaganza.  I think we all needed it.  Last week, I went to my first Cubs' game in ages.  I went with Brooke and Ravi - though to be honest, we didn't see most of the game.  Still fun!

This weekend is going to be dedicated to family.  My grandparents have sold their house in Glen Ellyn (tear) so my mom and I are heading out there tomorrow.  My nanny asked me to help her sell some things on Craigslist.  Sunday is Mother's day, so we will all be hanging out on Sunday.

And no post should be complete without a photo... so here you go!

*Brooke, Ravi and I after the Cubs game.  This was the 20th attempt, btw.  Also, why is the front camera for the iphone so fuzzy?!

Birchbox

Several months ago I was browsing though all my beauty and fashion blogs.  I stumbled upon a blog that was talking about Birchbox.

What is this Birchbox thing, I wondered.  Well, birchbox is essentially a subscription beauty service.  You can pay $10 a month to get a box of 5-7 small trial size goodies.  Each box has a variety of things; creams, lotions, polishes...  anything.

*This is my May "Gossip Girls" inspired box.

The bright teal nail polish I was wearing for a while came from my first box.  So far, in the few months I've received boxes, I have found a few great products.

The nice thing is that if you find something that you like, you can buy the full size product on their site with a discount.

Busy week

Sometimes work gets the best of me.  Especially right now.

Days seems to be flying by and I can't see to get myself organized.  I HATE (seriously hate) feeling like I don't have control of the situation.

Today I have to head downtown this afternoon to attend my third board meeting since I started my new job.  Hopefully this one goes as well as the last two.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend.

#13 - Develop a skincare routine

*Disclaimer - This post is in no way a paid endorsements.  Products mentioned here are items I purchased myself and genuinely use daily.  


It feels good to tackle some things from my 101 list.

I have a feeling that my skincare routine will never really be complete, but I realized that for the last year or so, it's been pretty consistent.  Thus - a skincare routine is born.

Truthfully, my skincare routine is pretty simple.  I wash my face every morning and almost every night.  The only time I don't wash it at night is if I didn't do anything or wear any makeup that day.  I put lotion on every time I wash it and sometimes in between.  I use the Bioderma to take off my eye makeup and lipstick (recommended by Lisa Eldridge because it is not oily).

I should use the night firming cream more often, but I'm lazy and I forget easily.  I know as I'm rapidly nearing 30 I should be better at it.  It's good preventative application.

The Benefits eye cream says that it reduces dark circles and puffiness.  I'm not sure if that's really true, but I'm still using it...every damn day.

The newest item is that trial sized bottle of Clinique Moisture Surge.  My mom gave it to me from her gift bag from a recent purchase.  I LOVE it.  I actually enjoy putting it on at night after I wash my face.  I imagine this would be a wonderful lotion in the summertime when your face is tired from being out in the sun all day.  I plan to purchase a regular size of it soon.

*From left to right: Bioderma makeup remover, Olay Total Effects face wash, Olay Night Firming Cream, Clinique Moisture surge lotion, Olay Complete face lotion, Benefits It's Potent eye cream

#12 - Find my makeup must haves

*Disclaimer - This post is in no way a paid endorsements.  Products mentioned here are items I purchased myself and genuinely use daily.  

I know this has taken me forever.  But as I've mentioned before, most of the delay was because I couldn't be bothered to take photos.

In high school and through most of college, I was not particularly interested in makeup.  For as long as I can remember, my mom never used very much (and she didn't need to).  She taught me to use liquid eyeliner when I was in 8th grade and that was really the extent of makeup beyond concealer and mascara.

It really wasn't until the last year that I grew more interested in it.  I enjoy playing with different things (as you may be able to tell by my new lipstick interest).  So over the last year and a half, I have transitioned my makeup away from all drug store purchases I use on a whim and then never again.  I found a love for Benefits Cosmetics (as you will be able to see).  The below summary are the products I use the most regularly.  There are some eye shadows and other liners that I occasionally throw in for fun, but these are my tried and trues that I use most often.

*The pictures are thanks to Instagram.

THE FACE:

*From left to right: Maybelline Mineral Powder, Smashbox Photofinish Primer, Benefits Benetint, Benefits Stay Don't Stray, Smashbox BB Cream, Benefits Watts up! highlighter, ELF Blush, Benefits Coralista Blush, Benefits High beam highlighter

Probably my favorite purchase to date... Smashbox BB cream.  I have under eye circles.  Finding the right concealer that does a good job has been challenging and I have never been one to do foundation.  Until I tried this.  After hearing about it from my favorite makeup artist online, I dragged my mom to Sephora with me so I could buy it.  The woman working there let me try it first with a take-home sample.  I LOVED IT.  It stays and does a great job of evening out my skin tone.  I pretty much only use it under my eyes - and blended down my cheeks - and then around my T-zone.  Covered by a mineral powder it is a light and all day coverage.  SOLD.

My second favorite purchase is the Benefits products - all of them!  The benetint is the post natural "flush" look you can get.  Watt's up is a great highlight that you can use by itself (which I did anytime we went out in Hawaii) and the high beam is so shimmery.  It's perfect in the evening.

THE EYES:

*From left to right: Benefits Cream Shadow RSVP, Clinique Lash Power Mascara, MAC Blacktrack liner, Benefits They're Real mascara, Sephora Eye crayon (similar), Benefits Magic Ink liquid liner, Benefits Cream Shadow STRUT

Eye makeup is something I am familiar with.  I'm still learning about eye shadows, but give me an eye pencil, liquid liner or anything in between and I can get it done.  If someone were to ask me what my "signature" look was, I would tell them it's very simple - black eyeliner and some blush.  The Magic ink by Benefits is the best liquid liner I've found in a while.  MAC Blacktrack is a pretty good cream liner.  I'm still trying to find a good mascara, but Benefit's They're Real is pretty good so far.

THE LIPS:

*From left to right: MAC Ruby Woo, MAC lip pencil REDD, Sephora Royal Wedding, MAC Viva Glam NIKKI, Revlon Nude lipstick, ELF Runway Pink

This is more lipsticks than I have ever owned in my entire life combined until now.  Ruby Woo is a great matte lipstick.  The MAC Viva Glam is that bright pink shade.  Honestly, looking at this pictures, I need to start wearing lipstick again.  The only thing missing is my MAC Lip Primer - because for some reason, I cannot seem to find it.  Looks like I'm going to have to repurchase it.  It's been gone since I moved from MD.

So there it is....  my make up must haves.  

Full house

You know what was fun?  Being woken up at 3am when Brendan and his friends came stumbling home from whatever bar he took them out to.  THEN, I was "entertained" while trying to eat breakfast before I had to head to work.

It's a miracle I was in a good mood this morning.

Not sure how I'm feeling about this outfit, but considering it's ridiculously humid at 6am, I'm going with it.

*shirt - some boutique in San Diego, skirt - JCrew, shoes - Nine West

Also, last night while I was watching TV in the living, I saw Samson wander aimlessly into my parent's bedroom.  Almost an hour later, I was looking for him so I could take him outside and this is where I found him...

He was sleeping in the dark in my parent's closet.... in the way back of the closet.

My mom is sure it's because he misses her.  :)  I have a sneaking suspicion that this area was the coolest place in the house yesterday.

Lose It

I've posted before about my desire to lose weight again.

I did so well last year.  Remember this post from back in June 2011?  When I had lost 20 pounds?

Yeah.... well, let's just say that I've practically gained all of that back.  Right now I would say I'm somewhere closer to the June 2010 picture than the June 2011.  But I'm going to change that.

I'm going to give myself a workout plan, and STICK TO IT.

I'm also going to start monitoring what I'm eating.  Last time when I was losing weight and getting into shape, my dad texted me about this app called, LoseIt.

I downloaded it but never used it.

This time, I am using it.  It's only been this week, but it really does hold you more accountable about what you eat, when you see the little warning thing telling you that you are reaching the calorie limit for the day.

With the goal I set for myself, and the determination I have, I could be back to my playing weight (in college) by the time my birthday rolls around.

If that isn't motivation, I don't know what is!

I've noticed a few things that will help me this time around.

First, I tend to eat when I'm bored.  Solution - Don't get bored! :)  Ha, much easier said than done right?  Honestly though, I'm going to push myself to find something else to do every time I get that "maybe I should eat something" feeling.

Second, I will find any excuse in the book to not work out/run.  No more.  I will take Samson with me if I have to.  And I will see if someone can walk him one or two days a week for me, so that I can get a longer run in.  Also, I will look at a gym or other activity that is going to hold me accountable to actually do it.  This summer (starting in June), I will be playing in a 2's beach volleyball league.  This will help.

So it's progress.  I'll keep you updated as I go and if any of you join LoseIt and want to be friends, let me know!

A few of my favorite things

Favorite City...

Favorite springtime smell...

Favorite skirt...

*sweater - JCrew, skirt - Anne Cramer, shoes - Payless, belt, Target

May Day

Cannot believe it is May already!

It's supposed to be in the high 60s today.  April was a terrible weather month in Chicago.  I hope this dreary, gloomy weather is the last of it.

*sweater - Express (old), skirt - Jcrew, shoes - BCBG (old)