Goals Update: July

7 months of this year have passed and it has been an extremely productive 7 months.  So let's just get to the recap of the month.

1. WORK ON MY 101 IN 1,001 LIST - I think Brooke and Amanda successfully accomplished this for the month.  There was A LOT of 101 things going on this month!!!  This one, this one, this one, and this one.

2. SAY "YES" MORE OFTEN - This month, saying YES has stretched my time pretty thin.  I don't think I have a weekend with a free day until August 18th or maybe August 25th.  It's nice to be busy, but I also enjoy my time to decompress and sleep.  Now that I live in the city, I anticipate I will be doing more on weeknights - which is not a bad thing.  I just want to make sure that I am not just leaving Samson home alone all the time.  Fall is my busy time for work, so I will be traveling pretty often.

3. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE - HA.  I laugh at this one for the month.  I did not save anything this month.  Every free penny I had went to the move or to my birthday.  I needed it.  I still have a little chunk in my savings and other than forking over the August rent and security deposit from there (which I anticipated), I haven't had to use any of that money yet.  I'm going to have to try to plan out when to make my purchases of other things for the house so that I can still try to save a bit.

Weekend Recap

I am apologizing to those of you that actually don't mind the gratuitous pictures of me for the outfit posts.  I haven't done them lately because really, I've been so tired and haven't even bothered to make myself look nice for work since I moved.  Hopefully soon.

Anyways, on to the weekend  recap!

On Friday, I left work to head home, pick up Samson and get up to my parents place.  When I got home, the maintenance guy was there working on replacing the light fixture in the kitchen.  I was back in my room changing out of my work clothes, when I heard him shout.  I went running out and he was cursing up a storm and the entire place was starting to reek of gas.  Turns out, the gas hookup to where that light fixture was (common in my building because it is so old) was never turned off.  When he opened the cap to check it, he said he could feel gas pouring out of it.  He shut up back up and said that he was calling the owners to have them come take care of this and he was use the light fixture in my bedroom.  After that excitement, Samson and I were out the door to head up to Evanston.

I had a few last minute things to work on for Lauren's baby shower on Sunday, including sewing some baby onsies.  As I was grabbing the sewing machine out of the closet, a 5lb hand weight fell off the shelf and hit me square on the middle toe of my left foot.  It hurt SO bad!  And started to bruise instantly.   The jury is still out on if it could be broken, but there's not much you can do for a broken toe.

Here is a picture of the toe from this morning - 3 days later.  Please excuse the gross nails and disregard the bruise on the big toe - that is unrelated :)

On Saturday, I had to get up really early and head out to NIU to play in a grass tournament that was a fundraiser for the team.  I was worried about how it was going to go when my toe was painful when walking.  By this time, it was mostly purply-black and was harder to bend because of the swelling.  The weather was beautiful on Saturday so it turned out to be a great day to play.  My team had a good time.  We even made it out of our pool to the gold playoffs bracket.  Of course, a few injuries (my toe and a recent shoulder surgery for one of my teammates) combined with a long wait after our last match in pool play, resulting in a slow and uninterested playoff team.  :)  We lost in the first round and I decided to head back to Evanston to help get things done for the shower instead of sitting around watching the rest of the tournament.  I had a really nice time and it was great to visit with some old people I knew.  It was sort of surreal to be back playing at NIU - even if it was grass.

When I made it back, I did a little bit of prepping for the shower in the morning and watched the Olympics with my parents.

Sunday was Lauren's baby shower day.  I'm sorry I don't have any pictures (I am not usually the photographer at these things).  The party went really well.  There were about 20 people there and it was my family's first time to meet Kevin's relatives.  I think everyone had a good time and Lauren and Kevin received a lot of things they will need!  By the time everyone left and it was just my immediate family, it was 4pm and I think we were all exhausted.  Samson and I got home by 6pm (luckily finding a parking spot) and relaxed watching TV until bed.  Around 7, the maintenance guy stopped by to let me know that an electrician was coming to take care of the light in my kitchen and that he would be back to finish replacing the things that needed to get done.

Now, if I can just work on that storage area this week, that would really help.  I have a low-key week at work and then next weekend, my mom and I are heading up to WI to go to the state fair!

New Owners

Yesterday when I arrived home, there was a notice on my front door informing me that my building was now under new ownership.

It provided instructions for where/how to send if your rent payments and also how to contact them for questions or maintenance issues.

Right away, I emailed them to ask them if the maintenance stuff that I was currently working with the maintenance guy on was still going to be done (replacing light fixtures, the faucet and the second lock on the front door).  Right away the new manager emailed me back and said they would come today to finish it.

I took the opportunity to also tell them about the light in the pantry that doesn't work and a handful of windows that are completely stuck (either open or closed).

Hopefully I don't come across as a needy tenant, but it would be nice to get these things done.  Then I can leave them be for a while.

Hopefully this new ownership is for the better and thank GOD I got my lease done before this happened.

A little more settled

Yesterday I had to take the day off work to be home for some appointments.  It ended up being a really productive day.

Samson and I finally got a decent night of sleep (mostly because the temperature outside was much cooler, so it was tolerable in my place) and we got up at 6:30 to take our morning walk before my "scheduled appointment time".

I spent the next 4-5 hours trying to organize and unpack some more things.  I was able to find homes for more things in my bedroom, so now there is much less sitting around on the floor.  Getting my dresser from my aunt's house will help.  I also organized some things in my living room and in the sun room.

By the time the Comcast guy showed up, I have lined up all the stuff that I needed to store against the wall in the dining room.  Comcast took a while because he had to wire the apartment for cable, but by the time he left (around 1pm), I had working cable and Internet!

While the Comcast guy was working, the gas guy arrived to check my connection for my stove, and the Home Depot guys delivered my new window AC unit.

Once the Comcast guy left, I set about it hooking up the new AC unit.  Man, the sweet relief of AC in my bedroom was AMAZING!!

Then around 4, the maintenance guy showed up and put in a new lock on my front door, so now I can use the front AND the back doors! Yeah.  (It's the little things here).

So, it was a really productive day.  Hopefully soon I can get access to a storage area and that will clean up more of my place.

I also still have a laundry list of things to buy for the place - storage help - and then some accessories to make the place nicer (hello curtains!).

I may have this place shaped up by Christmas! (I'm only half-joking.)

Getting a feel for the neighborhood

Yesterday when I got home, I tried my best to get myself out of the funk I was in yesterday.  It was HOT HOT HOT in my apartment yesterday, so Samson and I took a long walk down to the lake and up to the little dog beach that is near by.

I think it was a little too hot for him.  He sniffed around, checked out the other husky that was there and then was ready to go.  I don't think he's stopped panting since I brought him there on Sunday.  Hopefully, the window unit that is coming tomorrow will help.

Post- Move

I'm not going to lie... this move was not as exciting and happy as I wanted it to be (or maybe expected it to be).

Saturday was a full day of moving and cleaning.  My mom and I got up and headed down to the apartment by 7:15am.  Right away we started to tackle cleaning.  I should say that really my mom did 80% of the cleaning.

The movers arrived with my things promptly at 8am and were gone by 9:15.  Honestly, if anyone needs a mover recommendation in the city, I would highly recommend EMS Movers.  They were great (and pretty cheap) and they helped me with the POD move.

Brendan and Corey and Lauren and Kevin all stopped down.  Kevin and Lauren helped me get rid of two extra beds and brought a bunch of things back up to Melissa and Justin that I had been storing.  They also helped my mom and I put together the bedroom furniture I had picked up at IKEA.

My mom and I were still busy working at 4 when the Comcast guy finally arrived.  We found out that my apartment wasn't wired for cable so they have to come back on Wednesday to do it.  By the time he left at 5:15, my mom and I decided we had had enough for the day.  We headed back up to Evanston to eat (for the first time that day) and take showers.

On Sunday, I packed my car with the last few things I had at my parents house and brought them down to the apartment.  I went to Target to get some extra supplies and some groceries and then did my best to unpack my clothes and a lot of the kitchen stuff.

Unpacking is going to be a slow work in progress.  I'm still trying to figure out where to put everything.

The good news is that yesterday I made friends with the maintenance guy and he is coming back on Wednesday to get me new front door locks, a new faucet in the kitchen and two new light fixtures.

The bad news - I'm exhausted.

I finally brought Samson back down after dinner with my parents.  It is hot and sticky in my apartment and Samson struggled to get settled. It was a LONG night.  Neither of us slept really well.

Here's some photos I took of the move-in progress.  Sorry the lighting is kind of dark.

 the pantry in the kitchen (thank God for this space)

 view from the hallway into the living area

the living room (and a little Brian Regan)

the dining room (from the sun room)

the dining room (blurry from the kitchen)

the sun room... I still have to figure this space out

 new bed and nightstand from IKEA

I have to be honest.  This move was difficult.  I don't know if it was lack of sleep and stress, but I did not enjoy it.  It was difficult for me to leave my parents place.  I know that for everyone's sake, me moving was something that had to be done.  I know I've lived alone before.  I guess some part of me feels panicky that moving means going back to life of solitude that I was living in MD.  I know it's unrealistic.  My place is right in the middle of everything and I have several friends that live close by... within blocks even.

I think (and least I'm hoping) that it's just an adjustment period and that this sense of remorse that I made a mistake is just because it is something new.

Sherbet

Today I feel like sherbet.  Lots of pastel colors.  Happy Friday before my moving day, everyone!

*pants - Gap, tank & sweater - JCrew Outlet, Shoes - VS

Deep Thoughts...From Hallmark

One of the cards I received on my birthday has some good thoughts I wanted to share.  I particularly enjoyed the one that said you can have that ice cream! :)


Live Deep - Never stop learning, playing or finding wonder in the world around you.  Live the length of your life, but live the depth of it as well.


Travel Light - There is no use in carrying around worry and regret.  They only weigh you down.  Always keep yourself open to hope and to love.  They give us wings.


Forgive Imperfections - in yourself and others.  Imperfections keep things interesting.  They're the cracks where the light shines through.


Own Beautiful Things - And not just to keep in the drawer, tucked away for a perfect day.  Surround yourself with things that make you happy, that remind you of the beauty all around us if we only keep our eyes open to it.


Make Mistakes - Follow detours.  Sometimes it take an unexpected turn to help us find the life that is waiting for us around the bend.  Trust yourself and the path that is meant for you.


Take Care of Yourself - And sometimes that means you need the ice cream.  Be good to your body, but also to your mind and spirit.  You're the only one who can.

Post Birthday Lethargy

I'm tired.

The combination of birthday celebrating and moving preparations has made my days very busy.  And I'm just tired.

It's been productive though and tomorrow, my mom and I are taking a trip out to Ikea to see if I can pick up a few pieces of furniture to finish the apartment - like a new bed!

It's going to take some time to get the whole place settled, but I'm really looking forward to it.  I was finally able to show my mom the place yesterday when we stopped down there to drop a few things off.

I'm sorry the posting has been light since Monday.  I will do my best to update with some photos tomorrow after our trip to Ikea and hopefully the moving.

Birthday Outfit

A birthday outfit... 

*skirt & shirt - JCrew Outlet, Belt, target, necklace - Etsy, shoes - Payless

and a bit of office decorating...

And of course, my mom still sent me a text at 6:30am.

On Turning 30...

**This post was written in advance so I could take the day off (officially) from blogging.

A few weeks ago, Lauren was talking to me about this list she saw in a recent copy of Glamour about the "30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She's 30".  She sent me the online version, and I figured since today I turn 30, it's relevant.

Here is what they list:

By 30, you should have:

1. One old boyfriend you can imagine going back to and one who reminds you of how far you’ve come. HALF DONE.  I'm not sure I believe the whole "boyfriend you can imagine going back to".  If they are a PAST boyfriend, aren't they that way for a reason??  So I have 1/2 of this.
2. A decent piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in your family. DONE.  My dining room table was my first major purchase (from Crate & Barrel) and I love it!
3. Something perfect to wear if the employer or man of your dreams wants to see you in an hour. HALF DONE.  The work appropriate attire, done.  Easy.  The man of my dreams wants to see me in an hour??  Right now, I would struggle with that one.  I could pull something together, but I don't know if I would consider it perfect.
4. A purse, a suitcase, and an umbrella you’re not ashamed to be seen carrying. DONE.  Really?  This is important?  An umbrella???
5. A youth you’re content to move beyond. DONE, DONE, DONE.  See ya later 20s.  You sucked.
6. A past juicy enough that you’re looking forward to retelling it in your old age. Um... sort of?  I have plenty of stories to tell when I am older (much older) - but juicy?  That's subjective.
7. The realization that you are actually going to have an old age—and some money set aside to help fund it. DONE.  Trying to get better at the funding it part.
8. An email address, a voice mailbox, and a bank account—all of which nobody has access to but you. Ha, DONE.  It's things like this that makes me think Glamour is stretching it for this article.
9. A résumé that is not even the slightest bit padded. DONE
10. One friend who always makes you laugh and one who lets you cry. DONE.  I have amazing friends.
11. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra. DONE, well, almost.  The drill is on my list for the new place - Not sure how the bra related to the others, but whatever.
12. Something ridiculously expensive that you bought for yourself, just because you deserve it. What defines "ridiculously expensive"?  I'm going to say no to this one.  I have not bought anything really expensive for myself just because.
13. The belief that you deserve it. MOSTLY DONE.  Yeah.... mostly.  Getting better.
14. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine, and a plan for dealing with those few facets of life that don’t get better after 30. MOSTLY DONE.  Let's just say... the exercise routine is on the "need to do asap" list.
15. A solid start on a satisfying career, a satisfying relationship, and all those other facets of life that do get better. HALF DONE.  So far, I'm pretty proud of what I am accomplishing with my career.  Obviously the relationship part needs work... but it will come at it's own time.

By 30, you should know:

1. How to fall in love without losing yourself. DONE
2. How you feel about having kids. DONE
3. How to quit a job, break up with a man, and confront a friend with-out ruining the friendship. DONE. The last one is probably the hardest.
4. When to try harder and when to walk away. Getting there.  Knowing when to walk away is easier said than done - for everyone.
5. How to kiss in a way that communicates perfectly what you would and wouldn’t like to happen next. What?  I'm not even sure I know how to define this one.
6. The names of the secretary of state, your great-grandmothers, and the best tailor in town. MOSTLY DONE.  I need a tailor.
7. How to live alone, even if you don’t like to. DONE.  (And I do like to.)
8. Where to go—be it your best friend’s kitchen table or a yoga mat—when your soul needs soothing. DONE
9. That you can’t change the length of your legs, the width of your hips, or the nature of your parents. Ugh.... I'm getting there.  That exercise routine will help that realization.
10. That your childhood may not have been perfect, but it’s over. DONE.
11. What you would and wouldn’t do for money or love. DONE. Sort of.  I don't think there is really ever a point where this is done and decided... you should always be learning, right?
12. That nobody gets away with smoking, drinking, doing drugs, or not flossing for very long. DONE.
13. Who you can trust, who you can’t, and why you shouldn’t take it personally. DONE - and getting better at it.
14. Not to apologize for something that isn’t your fault. Eh, this is a hard one.  Can I take a pass?
15. Why they say life begins at 30! DONE!

These quizzes/lists are mostly stupid, but there are a few good points mixed in there.

I'm excited to be 30 and start a new chapter.

#7 - Find myself the perfect "Home"

As I may have posted here quite a few times, I finally found an apartment I liked in the City.

On Sunday, I stopped by to pick up my keys and show the place to Amanda.  While I was there, I managed to grab some photos of the place completely empty.  I figured that's the best starting point to showcase the transition of decorating and moving in.

I am considering this a 101 goal completed because I truly believe I will live here for a while.  I love the location, it's right in the middle of everything, and it is a great space that is dog friendly.  It helps that Brooke lives less than a mile away.  I see plenty of activities in my future...

Anyways, on to the (empty) house tour!

The view from the front door.  

It's hard to see the amazing light fixture in the hallway.  There is the bathroom directly to the right of me and that first door is the bedroom.  I love that the hall closet has a full length mirror set into it.

The bathroom - don't you love the blue tub and toilet?

 View of the bedroom from the door.

 View of the bedroom from the far corner.

The living room (shot from the dining room) 

The living room (another angle)

The sun room (shot from the living room)

 The dining room (shot from the kitchen)

 The dining room (another angle)

  

 the kitchen

 the kitchen (the other side) 

 The pantry (totally makes up for the lack of counter space)

As you can see, there are a lot of really great features and some little "issues".  Lack of counter space and old sinks/bathroom is one.  But, for an old building, it's got really great details.

It will be interesting to figure out how to layout all of my things and there are some definite purchases (an island/cart for the kitchen), but I'm really excited about it.

I'm going to do my best to track my decorating process here.

#17 - Go skydiving

There is so much to say about skydiving, but I will mostly let the pictures speak for themselves.

I'm so glad that Amanda and Brooke picked to do this because it was incredible.  And just as exciting as I expected it to be.

We went to Chicagoland Skydiving Center in Rochelle.  The people there were awesome.  Our tandem jumpers were a lot of fun - the perfect people for us since we were goofing around and everything.

We arrived just around 10-10:30am.  We signed in, signed our waivers and watched the required safety video.  After that, we killed time until we were ready to harness up and go.

We each had videographers who took photos and video of our jump.  I wish I could post the video on here. My tandem jumper was Greg - and he was awesome.  He was funny and really loved giving all of us a hard time.  He said the only thing he needed from me was the "pull the ripcord so we don't die".  All of the guys enjoyed joking around.  I never once felt worried about my safety or that I was unprepared.  Greg said he had been a certified diver since '96 and does 12-16 jumps a day so I was in good hands.  In fact, I couldn't get on the plane fast enough.

There is way too much to say on here, so I'm just going to let the photos speak for themselves when I can.

Here are Greg and I getting ready to board the plane.  Right before while we were waiting to board, he asked which one of us wanted to jump first - and I immediately said I would!  Amanda had already boarded the plane, but you can see Brooke just behind me.

Here we all are on the plane, getting ready  to go.  In order from left to right - Brooke, Brooke's tandem Tom, Amanda's videographer Wes, Amanda, Amanda's tandem Monkey, my tandem Greg and me.  Missing from the photo are Brooke's videographer, Daniel, and my videographer, Carmen.  She's the only female videographer they have and she was a little spark plug.

Here Greg and I are on the ride up.  You can see how goofy these guys get - crossing his fingers that I remember to pull the cord at the right time.  The thing on my hand is the altitude meter so I could see where we were (I barely looked at this since I was looking at everything else).

That is my SUPER CHEESY - I'M SO FREAKING EXCITED smile.  I couldn't stop grinning for hours afterwards.

As soon as we hit our jumping altitude (14,000 feet), they opened the door and all the solo jumpers were out before I could blink.  Then Greg and I started scooting our way towards the door.  We stood up, Carmen positioned herself hanging outside the plane, Greg told me to put my toes over the edge, smile at Carmen and we were out!

Falling at 125 miles per hour is not the most attractive for photos - so please keep that in mind.  Here are a bunch that Carmen grabbed of my jump.

I may have this one above enlarged and frame it on a wall.

Cheeks flapping!

Here are photos of me trying to blow a kiss while traveling 125 miles per hour.  No small feat!

And goofing off!

Once we hit 6,000 feet, I got the tap to pull the ripcord and away Carmen went.

The rest of the drop down was very similar to parasailing.  It's so quiet, Greg and I were just chatting about all the cool things about skydiving.  He let me steer, so we did lots of spirals and zig zags and then we messed with "zero gravity" - yanking the parachute so hard that your body floats mid air for a second or two.  It was SO cool.

The landing was definitely not graceful.  Carmen snagged this photo once we landed.

After a group hug (or two or three), Greg and the other tandem jumpers led us over to one of the extra planes so we could snap a few photos.

It was seriously awesome.  Awesome, awesome, awesome.

#43 - Try a New Food

While having dinner on Friday at Arami, I managed to try a new food - Sea Urchin.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to grab a photo of the Sea Urchin shooters (complete with homemade soy sauce), but they were so delicious.

Instead, I managed to grab some photos of Ryan enjoying some of the oysters and a photo of drunk Brooke spying on some other patrons.

mmmm... oysters!

#98 - Have my makeup done professionally

I've had my makeup done before, but it is always nice when someone else will do it for you.  It also forces you to do something you may not have done yourself.

That's exactly what happened this weekend.  On Friday, after the architecture boat tour, we stopped at Nordstrom for our makeup.  I chose Bobbi Brown since that is a company I know is amazing, but haven't really tried many of their products.

My make up artist was Michaline (I totally recommend) and she was great.  She asked me what we were doing for the night and what I might wear and then said, "Great.  I have the best idea to play up your eyes with a nude lip" and promptly got to work.

Michaline was so funny and I think she had a great time "playing" with my makeup.  She went with a bold purple eye shadow with a winged eyeliner.

I actually liked it more than I thought I would and bought the purple and pink shadows she used as well as the nude gloss.

Here's the finished product.  Sorry for the weird looking photo, but it's hard to showcase eye shadow without looking ridiculous.

I highly recommend Bobbi Brown and Michaline at the Nordstrom on Grand.

Birthday Celebration Weekend

I have SO much to talk about this weekend, and it's going to come in multiple posts so bear with me.

Amanda and Brooke themed the weekend on ticking off things from my 101 list.  I'm going to break out the major events into a few different posts but it was awesome!

Brooke and Amanda picked me up at the house late Thursday night and we headed down to a hotel in River North where we would be staying for the weekend.  We didn't make it to the hotel until around 2am, so we went to bed pretty much immediately.

On Friday, we rolled out of bed and got ready pretty late.  We had lunch at Hub 51 and they told me that we were going to check some things off my list - take an architecture boat tour (not something on my list, but something I've been trying to do) and go to the Aquarium (something on my list).

We made it to the boat for the 2pm trip and lasted 10 minutes once we left the dock before it started to pour.

Boat tour - before the storm

We made the best of the trip even though it was raining.  By the time we got back to shore it was already 4pm and the aquarium was closing in an hour, so we nixed that plan and decided to get our makeup done at Nordstrom instead (something else on the list we were supposed to do on Saturday).

Friday night outfit (more on the makeup on a separate post)

Then, we went back to the hotel to finish getting ready (a much easier process when your makeup is already done) and headed off to dinner at Arami.  Our friend, Ryan, is an investor at the restaurant, and we had an awesome time.  The food was incredible and we really enjoyed just sitting there drinking and eating whatever they brought to the table.  It was a long dinner (about 4 hours), but we had a great time.

at dinner (me, Amanda, Brooke and Ryan)

We called it an early night because we had to be up early on Saturday.  Brooke actually turned down "one last drink".  It was the first time ever and Amanda and I were in shock.

Saturday morning, we got up, grabbed breakfast at Einsteins and then headed out west.  Once we hit Aurora, they blindfolded me and I spent the rest of the drive looking like a terrorist hostage in the backseat.  Finally, we got out of the car, they snapped a picture of me blindfolded and told me we were going skydiving!!

The skydiving deserves its own separate post, but it was AMAZING!  I'm still jazzed up about it two days later.  I can totally see this becoming an addictive hobby for me.

After we were done skydiving, we stopped in Dekalb to have lunch with our old coach, Ray.  It was great to catch up and we ended up leaving Dekalb much later than expected.  We got back downtown around 6 and had to rush to get ready and get out to dinner.

Saturday night outfit

Melissa, Justin and Brendan met us out for dinner at Uncle Julio's (music plays on the site FYI).  Dinner was okay.  Service was SUPER slow and we were pretty tired.  After dinner, we said good night to Melissa and Justin and went out to find some excitement.  We had a few bumps in the road, but finally found a dive bar near our hotel that we had  a great time at (and a few shots).  Eventually, we made it back to the hotel room at 4:30ish am and crashed.

Sunday morning, we got up (I woke them up pretty early).  I picked up my apartment keys and showed Amanda my new place (full post with photos to follow).  Then, we spent the afternoon up in Evanston showing my parents the skydiving videos and having an early dinner.

I'm so tired today, but it was so totally worth it.  Thanks Amanda and Brooke for the amazing weekend.  I don't think I could ever top this birthday.

A little girly

Last night when I was trying to decide what colors to paint my nails, I opted for a little girly.

* light pink - OPI - Italian Love Affair, pink glitter - Wet & Wild - Pink Sparkle

That same feeling must've translated into my outfit today.  I bought this shirt off JCrew's website when I had a $50 gift card.  I'm glad I know my sizes well enough with them to be able to buy things online with pretty good accuracy.

*Shirt - JCrew, skirt - JCrew Outlet, belt - Target, shoes - Payless (Steve Madden)

I have a half day committee meeting in the office today and then I'm going to be looking forward to counting down the minutes until I get to go home.

I have lots to do before Amanda arrives tonight.  Let the birthday celebrating begin!

Pants in July

I can't tell you the last time I wore pants in the middle of July...  I usually never wear pants between May - September if I can help it.  While I was in DC, it was usually April - October.

Although, I didn't have colored pants I wanted to wear, so maybe that is the difference.

*pants - Gap, shirt - JCrew, shoes - KEDS, necklace - Very Jane (there are some on sale today!)