Cyber Monday

If I have a moment of weakness today, here is what I will be indulging in:

Tory Burch Reva's in tan

Jcrew's sequin skirt (which is currently sold out)

Gap's cashmere cardigan

...the only item that I actually feel like I "need" are the TB reva's. I have one pair, the black/gold, and I wear them almost everyday. I hate wearing heels to work and they are a great substitution. I bought mine in September but since I commute to work in them they are getting really worn down. I hope to get a full years worth but if I don't get new Reva's today (which, I really, really shouldn't), they will be a 2011 purchase for sure.


and here were some of my favorite outfits last week

Hope your Monday back to work flies by!


and also....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!

we love you so much.

Turkey Break

It's 9:30pm right now on Saturday night and I'm laying on the couch, catching up on my dvr shows, having some thai food, and relaxing from my whirlwind weekend - but what a good weekend it was!


On Thanksgiving morning Joel and I woke up and headed out for our 8k Turkey Trot

This was my 5th annual Turkey Trot and was the warmest race day in the last 5 years. When I say warmest, by the way, I mean 35 degrees.

Both of us had pretty good runs - Joel finished in 32 minutes, and I finished in 55 . I paced just over 11 minute miles but the track was covered in puddles and so I spent a lot of time dodging them. Plus, with 7,000 participants there were a lot of times where the crowd got clogged up and slowed my pace down. To be honest, I don't really care...I never stopped and that was my goal!

After we finished we hurried home to head to get ready for our Thanksgiving dinner hosted at my cousin Nick's house here in the city. I volunteered to bring desserts (which is no small feat, since we had dinner for 35) so I brought 3 dozen of my pumpkin cupcakes and made a chocolate trifle. The trifle was a huge hit and can actually be modified for a pretty low-cal dessert option. The layers are [homemade] chocolate sheet cake, chocolate pudding, strawberries, and cool whip.

After our wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, I went back home with my parents to spend some time with the family. It was great to relax, hang out at home, and see Haley.

We took a nice walk and we were both pretty wiped out afterward.




Saturday my mom took us girls to The Lion King to celebrate her birthday. I normally get quite bored and anxious at Broadway plays but this show kept my attention 95% of the time. The animals and set are crazy cool....I would really recommend catching this play if you get a chance.
It was a great weekend but I'm thrilled it be at my own house taking a slow night.

Tomorrow, Joel and I are decking out the apartment for Christmas and shopping for Carrie, the little girl we adopted for the Holidays.

It's felt like a nice, long break from work and I am very thankful for that.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope on this Thanksgiving morning you have a few minutes to reflect on all of the blessings you have in your life.

To really sit down and take count of all my blessings would take an eternity. I don't know what I did in my past lives to be so lucky this time around but I am thankful for every bit of it.

1. Joel
In Joel I have a boyfriend, a roommate, a rock, and a best friend. What more could I ask for?

2. My parents
I lucked out here - which is funny, because had you asked me if I had "lucked out" when I was 17, I'm sure I would have answered with a dramatic eye roll. I am so proud to have these 2 people as my parents. They are crazy and fun, and have been such a great example of how to work hard for a well lived life and how to live that life well.


3. My sisters
We couldn't be 3 more different girls; we drive each other crazy, make each other cry, and laugh, and bleed, but at the end of the day, it's pretty fricken cool to know that I have 2 girls for the rest of my life who know the in's and out's of everything that make's me, me and still love me for it.

4. My friends
I have a great circle of friends and I am so lucky for them. It's funny to think that the same group of girls from my Freshman year of college have stayed my best friends. I miss them and love them so much.
And my best friend Claire, all the way in Italy. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think about her, and miss her terribly.

Freshman year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

NOW!


Cbear

5. My cousins
I have an insane number of cousins, and from some stroke of luck, we all get along like the best group of hand picked friends. How did I get so lucky to have this many amazing cousins? I mean, really - that can't happen all the time, right? These people, my family, are my best friends. I can call any one of them at anytime and know they will be by my side no matter what it is I need. We have a great time whenever were together and I am thankful that my grandparents have instilled such a strong family ethic and I know we will always be a tight knit group. I am so blessed for in this area that it honestly blows my mind.

[that's us...twenty years ago]

6. Jobs
Joel and I each are working and have jobs that are going to lead us to even bigger roads of success. How lucky.

7. Wine and Dine
I am so thankful that I get to enjoy good wine and good food whenever my heart desires. I have the pick of the litter when it comes to restaurants in Chicago and it's awesome! I am thankful that Joel enjoys going out to dinner and that we can afford to do so.

I love enjoying red wine. It relaxes me and gives me a sense of comfort.
I am loving learning about different kinds of wines and what goes into the process of making wine. Joel and I joined a local wine club and get to meet winemakers from all over the world and its been really fun learning how to taste and smell wine.

8. Running
Ew. I can't believe that I am saying this but tomorrow morning I am running an 8k Turkey Trot, and I am thankful that I can do that. I have a love-hate relationship with running but at the end of the day I need it in my life. It keeps me sane and I am lucky that I am able lace up my shoes and go outside and just run.

Running is a rewarding aspect in my life and allows me to set goals and eventually reach them. Even though more times than not I say a lot of choice words before dragging myself out to run, and I love the feeling of accomplishment and knowing that I am keeping myself healthy.

9. Luke Shields
Joel welcomed his first nephew this year and we are so thankful for him and his health. I am so excited that I get to share in this little pumpkin's life. He is such a good baby and has provided so much joy for Joel's family. I can't wait to watch Lukey grow up into another handsome, kind, smart, good-hearted Shields.

10. Haley's Comet
This year my family lost our dog Comet. We grieved him for a few months and after a while felt like we could bring another puppy home. We decided to name our new dog Haley (get it?) and she made our house feel normal again. She is a crazed beast but I am so thankful that we have her at our house. Dogs have a unique way of turning a house into a home and she makes everybody feel loved each time they walk into the door.




There are so many more things that I am thankful for but I'm going to leave it at a nice, clean number 10 and go get ready for the Joshua Radin concert.

I sincerely hope that you have a family filled, happy holiday!

Ick Monday

It is the week of Thanksgiving and I wanted to spend this week blogging about that; create lists of whom and what I am thankful to have in my life and reflect on all of the blessings I have been given, but today sucked the big one and I am in no mood to positively reflect and would much rather vent and dump on to you all of the grossness that was my day.

Let's go chronologically shall we?

• 6:00am: Step on the scale. OUCH. This weekend did nothing for my figure.

• 8:00am: Work. Sucked. Today. Beyond. Measure.

• 12:00pm: Nordstroms = I'm supposed to be on a shopping freeze and I'm about $350 into that freeze. Whoops.

• 3:00pm: Boss not happy with me.

• 4:00pm: Goddamn monsoon and I am wearing my favorite Tory Burch Reva's

• 5:00pm: Get home and my feet are dyed black because of my sopping wet shoes
  

• 6:00pm: Planned on having yummy pizza for dinner but due to the scale grossness this a.m. I have to have a salad.
  

• 7:00pm: I was also supposed to run 4 miles before my big race this Thursday and well....it's monsooning out...and I'm not going out there to run. Fail.

Ick. Ick. Ick.

Tomorrow is another day and I will be making it a better day...but today blew the big one.

Happy, Happy Sunday!

Christmas came a little early this afternoon...

I'm in love.

Royal Runway

Prince William has his head on straight and I give him an A+ for his pick on Queen-to-be.

Kate Middleton is a classic beauty with a natural, pretty style.

Her look is very close to my ideal wardrobe. She has well tailored pieces and looks pulled together and crisp in each outfit.

Love it all!

---

Not much going on here this weekend. University of Illinois and Northwestern University are playing each other and Wrigley Field which will be interesting even though I'm not a fan of either team, but it will be fun to meet up with some friends and get into the spirit. Other than that I have a lot cleaning to do and I want to catch up with some friends and get ready for the Holidays.

Have a wonderful and warm weekend.

Craft-tastic

I've had a craving to craft for a while, and I finally stumbled upon something that I, a true craft beginner, could tackle.

This was my inspiration:

I thought the saying was too cute, and as wine lovers, thought it would fit nicely in our house.

I found this sign at Marshall's for 3 bucks and figured for that small investment, the craft would be worth it. Plus, if it was a big screw up, I would have only lost a few dollars in the process.


The process to change up this sign was really easy. It took two coats of Gray acryllic paint to get the color I wanted.

first coat:

second coat:

For the words, I took a ruler in order to draw a straight line and then with a pencil wrote out the saying. I took the finest paintbrush I had and did my best to paint over the pencil


My plan is to put 3 square frames under the sign and take my own black and white pictures of wine and corks to create a bit of a theme. Overall I'm pretty happy with the way it looks and think with the addition of some frames the space over the sink will be all jazzed up.