Introducing....myself.

In an effort to stick with my "real blogs" talk last week, I've been on the hunt to find some new blogs and mix it up a little bit from my everyday reads.

In case anyone else has been doing that lately, I thought I would borrow Natahsa's (Hello Happiness) idea and do a refresh intro myself!

 

Name/Age/Stats/Location
Very AOL messenger of you Natasha! 
Tess - which is not short for anything, although I get that question a lot. I'm 26 and live in Los Angeles, California, although home is Chicago. My husband and I moved to LA 2.5 years ago for his job, and have made it our home ever since. We love LA, and all of the people we have met here, but it's very hard for me to be so away from family. Every fall, I get very homesick, and this year is no different - it's only started in August!

Work
I'm in educational sales. I've been in sales since I graduated college (although I graduated to be a teacher), and recently changed industries from media sales to educational sales. I'm really enjoying being back in schools, meeting teachers, and feeling passionate about what I'm selling. I'm able to work from home, when I'm not at meetings, which is great. A lot of the job is cold calling, which is not great....but overall it's the right fit for right now and I feel lucky to have it.

Family Info.
I got married last June to my now-Husband Joel. We got married in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin which was amazing. If you haven't seen it, you should watch our wedding video, it's own of my most favorite things in the world. It's only 4 minutes.

Tess + Joel // Trailer from Plan A on Vimeo.

Back in Chicago, my parents live in the suburbs and I have own sister living and working in the city, and my other sister is starting her freshman year at the University of Kentucky.



Hobbies
Blogging, for sure. It's actually one of my favorite hobbies. Wine drinking? Is that a hobby? I'm great at it if it is. I also workout a lot, and read equally as much. I like to shop at HomeGoods and Marshalls, and that feels like a hobby sometimes because you really have to know the tricks of the trade to be good at it ;)

Five Things I Can't Live Without
1/ Baths....I take a bath almost every single night. It relaxes me at the end of the day and I sleep so much better
2/ Girlfriend Time...I need to have sometime during the week to connect with my friends. It can be on the phone, at yoga, or over drinks, but I need the connection of girlfriends in my life
3/ Reality TV.....What would I talk about with said girlfriends?
4/ Gym shoes....I need to be able to get outside and walk or run or play tennis, or something. I need it for my mental sanity
5/ My milk frother....I just bought it to froth my milk for my coffee, and I literally don't think I can ever live without it.
Joel, Family, and Roscoe are obvious choices so I didn't put them - just my disclaimer in case they're reading!

Favorite Things to Do
In LA, my favorite things to do include hiking, concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, wine-ing and picnicking at Malibu Wines, outside happy hours...



Go-To Outfit. 
During the summer, I'm normally in graphic shorts and racerback tank-tops with a cardigan and sandals

Biggest Pet Peeves.
Texting and driving, especially if I am a passenger in your car! Also, I cannot handle when someone is using a fork and they sort of bite it....it actually kills me. I hate chipped nail polish, flip flops on men, and hoop earrings.

Typical Day.
Normally I'm up at 6:10am to get to a workout class at 7am. After my workout, I have coffee and yogurt, and then shower and get ready for the day. I'm normally in my "office" (2nd bedroom) between 9/9:30. I work until 12:00 and then try and have lunch outside with a book, or call my mom to chat.  At 12:30, I normally have a 2nd cup of coffee and try and stay in my office until 4/4:30, normally on conference calls or trying to make appointments. I start cooking dinner around 5:30, and Joel is normally home between 6:30 and 7. We have dinner at the table and then have wine, talk, sometimes put on the TV, or sometimes I will read and Joel will work. We're normally asleep by 10.

It's really exciting over here on a Tuesday!

 

Favorite Go-To Beauty Products
My everyday MUST is Fake Up by Benefit. Need to have it. The rest is a 5 minute job consisting of all Benefit products; Gimmie Brow, They're Real mascara, Lolli-Tint cheek stain, and some Covergirl eye-shadow.

Favorite Music/Bands/Singers
My favorite Pandora station is Jason Mraz, so I listen to a lot of Joshua Radin, John Mayer, Amos Lee.
My all time favorites are John Taylor, Van Morrison, The Counting Crows, Frank Sinatra, Zac Brown Band

My Top 10 Movies
10??
Father of the Bride 2, You've Got Mail, Elf, My Best Friends Wedding, The Proposal, Wedding Crashers, Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club, and....shoot, I don't know? French Kiss


Favorite Food to Make
Black Bean Enchiladas - this is from a purely selfish place, because these literally take 3 minutes to make which I love.

Top Reads (in no particular order)
I can't do it. I struggle telling you the top reads I've read in the last month. I'm currently reading The Divorce Party by Laura Dave which has been enjoyable....I really love most books I read and so I would have a list if you wanted it. I really loved Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews. Oh, and I just read All Falls Down by Jennifer Wiener which was really intriguing.

Other Q&A

What you wanted to be when you grew up: News Anchor
Beauty secret: Cetaphil face wash
Celebrity crush: Ryan Renolds
Secret talent: I have a party trick that I haven't brought out in years....basically I can scream and it sounds like a whisper...it's hard to describe but it sounds like I'm stuck in a suitcase and I can't get out.