Life Lately thru my iPhone

I love my some tequila, but it's pricey and goes fast - so I've been trying to find a good bottle for less than my favorite $35 bottle of Casadores. I'm actually happy with this $17/bottle from TJ's. It's perfect for taco night!

 While I was in Chicago, Joel decided to take Roscoe out in the mornings on some long trail runs to wear him out during the day while he was at work. I about died when I saw this picture!

 

And while the two of them were exercising in the great outdoors, I was getting all chummy with my favorite Country Club peeps bartender at home. 

 Speaking of home, I'm so obsessed with the rawhide that my parents added to our den. It feels to rustic to add one to my house here in L.A. but someday, I will be stealing that beauty.

While my mom and I were out shopping for wedding shoes (I found some!!!) and mother of the bride dresses, I also had a little luck in the non-wedding department.


Ivanka Trump kitten heels

*I will be very excited to start shopping for normal things once the wedding is over! 

I had so much fun getting ready for my shower on Saturday. Beyond the pink rose, I loved getting ready with my cousin Gia and my bridesmaids. It felt like the 8th grade dance.


And we snuck in some time to skype with my sister Hannah who is living & working and Mexico and couldn't make it home for the shower.

And lastly, my newest and most favorite shower gift came from my sisters. They added that silver and gold bangle to my wrist.

I was beyond shocked by it - because, I was clearly not expecting that navy blue Yurman box - but 
I seriously love it. I've been wearing a lot of gold jewelry lately and this piece let's me get away with mixing silver and gold.

Wedding Wednesday

My hosts put together a great shower for me last weekend, but it was their special touch that was my favorite. With the invitation they sent out a recipe for each guest to fill out and bring to me on the day of the shower.

I had six hosts, four of them aunts, and I wanted to give them all a very special thank you gift. My mom's family has had hard year, and with the passing of my very Italian Grandfather, who loved to cook, I was so excited when I got a great tip on a thank you gift.

Christin had been tweeting about a gift she gave her shower host's and I knew I had to do the same.

There are vendors on Etsy who will take a handwritten recipe and melt it into a dishwasher safe dish of your choice.

We chose a very simple, but all time favorite recipe of my Papa's and had six decorative plates made.

I worked with Beth Martin at Etsy to create these dishes and she was brilliant to work with. The plates were affordable and special, and even made a few of my hostesses cry - a gift giving WIN in my book!

 

I was honestly more excited about giving these gifts than receiving any of the items off my registry. I love that these plates will be a reminder of my grandfather and that he gets to be included in my wedding in this special way. 

My 1st Wedding Shower

I went home this weekend to Chicago to celebrate my first wedding shower and I just couldn't wait until "Wedding Wednesday" to share all the pictures.

Saturday morning, all of my bridesmaids - except for my sister Hannah who is living and working in Mexico right now - came over to my house for a glass of champagne before the shower.
 

 

 

I'll be honest, it was very surreal to be the bride at the shower - on the drive over I started to get really nervous, not sure what I was supposed to do, etc... but it all came together without a hitch.

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The shower was hosted at a Country Club near my house in Chicago. I had actually looked at it as a possible venue for my actual wedding day, so it was nice to be able to incorporate the venue for the shower. The snow, fireplaces, and cozy interior made it the perfect location.

 

 

 The room that we had our lunch in was beautiful with passed appetizers, a bloody Mary bar, and lots of red and white wine to take away all of my nerves.



 

 The tables were decorated with DIY vases plastered with pictures of Joel and I throughout the years and the cutest jars filled with custom M&Ms.

 

 

 Lunch was served promptly at 12:30 - we had a salad course and an "Oscar Chicken" entree with a yummy sorbet dessert which was light, and girly, and I was thankful for the lack of cake temptation!

 

 After lunch, my bridesmaids and I sat in front of the room to open all of the generous gifts that my guests brought for Joel and I. Since we requested that most gifts be shipped directly to California, I was able to get the gift opening done in only half an hour.



  I felt spoiled by everyone's love, generosity, and attention, and had a seriously spectacular shower.

champagne dreams

This week, to be honest, the last thing I can get myself to do is sit down and blog. I'm just too excited! Not Jessie Spano excited, but actually excited!

I'm heading home to Chicago and on Saturday I have my first wedding shower! 

It's been months since I've been home (August), months since I've seen my family, and months since I've seen my friends. Add that to the excitement of a wedding shower and I'm pretty much a bundle of crazy, anxious, excited energy.

I'll be back next week with a FULL report of all the goodies this week is sure to offer.

Until then!

It's True!

 

I like Valentine's Day. It's another reminder, albeit forced, to look around at all the people you love and love you back. Aint nothin' wrong with that in my book.

I particularly love my fiance because he is thoughtful and kind, helpful and romantic, and an all around really good catch. He even wore a little pink today! I genuinely feel lucky that I get to keep him forever.

We started our morning with little presents to each other (a bag of goodies for him and a SoulCycle gift card for me) and we will continue the celebrations tonight with drinks at the Shore Hotel and dinner at Blue Plate Taco.

A pretty special Thursday day in my books. 

Wedding Wednesday

 

So, then, what are the right shoes for the big day?

 I'm kind of a weakling when it comes to high heels - and Joel is only four inches taller than me, so I'm not looking for stiletto pumps or anything of the likes. I want to "sort of" splurge on the shoes, so I would like to find a pair that I can easily wear again, after the wedding.

Taking all of that into account, here are my top contenders (so far):

 

1. kate spade 2. jimmy choo 3. ivanka trump (my mom's suggestion, not my favorite) 4. kate spade 5.manolo blahnik

I have the Kate Spade slingbacks (#4) sitting in my cart at Bloomingdales....should I pull the trigger and just try them?

Did you stay with a nude color? Open toe? Gimmie the goods!

Healthy Living

Shout out to Christina for this fun survey!

1. What did you eat for breakfast? I had a spoonful of organic peanut butter (which I do everyday) and a Greek yogurt with pecans.

2. How much water do you drink a day? I am pretty good about drinking water. On a normal day I will have 6-8 cups.

3. What is your current favorite workout? For sure, SoulCycle. It's been fun to mix in a different type of cardio workout into my weekly runs. I also feel like SoulCycle TORCHES calories off my body. I sweat in that 45 minute class like nobody's business!

4. How many calories do you eat daily? A typical day tends to be 1800-2000, although, a "skinny" day is 1400.

5. Favorite healthy snacks: Carrots with Jalapeno and Cilantro hummus or if I need a sweet treat, apples with peanut butter or cinnamon do the trick. Unhealthy snack? Cheese and meat.

6. What do you usually eat for lunch? Since givng up carbs, lunch is the hardest meal for me. If I don't have leftovers, I normally make a smorgasbord of goodies. My favorite is carrots, hummus, 2 pieces of Swiss cheese with avocado inside (like a roll up), and some pistachios. 

7. What is your favorite body part to strength train? The only part of my body that I am actively strength training is my arms. I have 6lb free weights and I do a 20 minutes routine 4x/week. 

8. What is your least favorite body part to strength train? Probably abs, which is why I do not do them.

9. What are your ‘bad’ food cravings? Right now, I crave greasy carbs. French fries, a  cheeseburger, bagels and cream cheese, and chips & guac.

10. Do you take vitamins or supplements? ...I don't. I should. I don't.

11. How often do you eat out? I try not to for breakfast or lunch (unless I have a work thing.) I much prefer happy hour with girlfriends or a dinner out with Joel. Joel and I eat out about once a week and I try to meet my girls once a week too. 

12. Do you eat fast food? No - at least not your typical "fast food" joints. We are picky about our restaurants, but my favorite faster food is The Reel Inn in Malibu.

13. Who is your biggest supporter? For health, Joel. He is, and always has been, very healthy and athletic. Playing tennis in college, and currently training for a 50k -32 miles- in the mountains, exercise and smart nutrition has always been easy for him.  Plus, he loves the healthy dinners I make and really encourages me to find good recipes for us to try. 

14. Do you have a gym membership? Nope. I run outside and my office has a gym that I try to get to every week as well. Plus, I'm going to try and do SoulCycle weekly.

15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? I am a sleeper. I go to sleep before 10pm every weeknight and sleep in until 7:15.

16. Do you have a ‘cheat’ day? No, I really don't do cheat days - a full day of indulgence forces me to be super strict for 3 following days. I cheated for a week in Mexico and it totally undid a month's worth of work. I do cheat during my day, a few things here and there, but one day of going crazy is killer.

17. Do you drink alcohol? I do, and it's my biggest vice. Pretty sure if I could eliminated it from my diet, I would lose 10lbs, but it's the one thing that I really, really don't want to let go of. I would rather run 2 extra miles a day - and be a happy, person who enjoys my life....so the wine (and tequila) is staying.

18. Do you have a workout buddy? Shelby is a great runner and is totally up for trail runs and hikes on the weekends, which helps get me out of bed. And, Laura is a great SoulCycle riding buddy too!

19. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a Healthy Lifestyle? Since giving up carbs I have WAY less stomach aches. And, I did buy a pair of jeans one size smaller than normal. And, I am about nine pounds down from where I was on Thanksgiving. I'd like to be down about 16(!!) more before I walk down the aisle, but I'm focusing on small goals to try and not freak myself out.

20. What is the last healthy thing you did? I ran a 10k on Saturday to help find a cure for pancreatic cancer.