Home.

Roscoe wouldn't fit under the seat on the plane, so he sat on my lap for the entire 4 hour flight.

Thank god for on-board cocktails.

I don't care if that flight was 8 hours, because it took me to all of my best friends back in Chicago. We laughed over pizza and wine and it felt like I was finally home.

I took many more pictures last night on my real camera (gasp!), so I'll upload them when I'm back in California next week.

Until then , I'm going to savor every last ounce of Chicago and everyone in it.

Have a fantastic Thanksgiving.

How I Do Airports

My flight today leaves at 10:30 am so I figured I'd share my airport routine with you.

:::The Outfit:::

Excuse the craziness, I was packing

This is what I'm wearing today, with a quilted jacket, and a pashmina (see below). When I land in Chicago it will be 25 degrees, so I tried to dress as warm as possible with layers, because I hate being too hot or too cold on an airplane.

:::The Goods:::

My Neverfull bag, is truly never full, and since I read somewhere it can hold up to 200lbs without breaking, I dont worry too much about over packing.

1. I sleep with a mask every night, and I can't fall asleep anywhere without it. I'm sure I look like a dork with it on, but it makes a world of a difference (and I also pack ear plugs). 
2. Since all electronics have to be off during take off, I flip thru magazines to get me to cruising altitude. 
3. I always travel with a pashmina. It helps pull my outfit together and acts as a blanket or pillow whenever I need it. 
4. I get really anxious on planes, so this is necessary.  

5. These handy guys are my favorite in-flight snack because they're as filling as a meal if need be.

:::The Routine:::

This time, I'm flying with this little bugger, so my routine might be a little different.

Normally I try to get to the airport with only 30-45 minutes before my flight takes off. I typically grab a few magazines, my sabra snack, and a soy chai tea latte. 

Once we get up into the air, I order a mimosa and try and zonk out. I love flying Virgin America because each seat has a TV and they always have WiFi on board which makes the flight so much more enjoyable.

I always carry-on so that as soon as my flight lands, I can run off and be with my family as soon as possible.

And that's how I do a travel day! When we land, my mom is picking us up and we heading into the city to see my girlfriends and sister and order in some Chicago-style pizza (Finally!!). 

Friday 5

:::1:::

We finally got our picture back with Zac Brown Band after our concert extravaganza with them a few weeks back. I seriously wish I could relive that night like once a month.

:::2:::

I've sort of caught the running bug. It hits me every year, and right now, I've definitely got it hard. I think I've mentioned it before, but SoulCycle has made a huge difference for my running, both mentally and physically, and I think soon I'll be crushing 6 mile runs like it aint no thang.

:::3:::

Joel had to work on Wednesday night so we weren't able to get to the Hunger Games preview, but it worked out because I was able to meet up with some of my mom's friends who were in town. We had drinks at The Bazaar in the SLS Hotel, and what a cool spot it is. 

 

The drinks are really expensive, but you end up forgetting since it's such a cool experience. We made dinner reservations there for the week we come back from Chicago so we'll see how the dinner part stands up.

:::4:::

And, speaking of Chicago!! I leave on Monday!!! I packed on Wednesday because I just couldn't handle it anymore. It's going to be a packed week but I'm getting a chance to see almost all of my family and friends that are there so I couldn't be more excited. 

:::5:::

We are decorating our house tomorrow for Christmas. We decided to do it early so that when we come home from Thanksgiving, it's all set up for us to enjoy. Plus, any excuse to drink champagne during the day is fine by me. 

What Can You Do?

No, really.

What can you do?

What can you do over the next week to give back, to celebrate the season of Thanksgiving, and pay the rent we owe for living here on this precious planet?

Thanksgiving is just 9 days away and I'm challenging myself to be the most thankful and generous version of myself over the next 9 days.

I started brainstorming ideas of small ways I could give back, say thank you, and really focus on  others. 

I thought I'd share a few of my ideas to make someone else's day better - maybe they'll inspire you to do the same. 

::Buy the person behind me coffee:: 
::Call Kuka (my grandmother)::

 

::Send someone a true thank you note - not for anything tangible they've given you, but for everything else::

 

 

::Bring in treats to Joel's office::

::Compliment a stranger::

 

::Take a donation to Good Will::
 

::Contribute to a charity::
If you are looking for a great charity, the JEH Foundation is very near and dear to my heart. It's namesake is my Godmother's brother, and the foundation is set up to help families affected by pancreatic cancer afford high school and college tuition. Last year all of the proceeds were donated to a college fund for my cousins Riley and Gia who lost their mom, my Aunt Peggy to pancreatic cancer.

::Leave a note & some candy in my mailbox for our mailman to just simply say Thanks ::

I really do think little things like this can make a very big impact on someone's day and I'm challenging to accomplish every one of these items on my list before Thanksgiving.

xo

Weekend Recap

This weekend was a perfect fall weekend in California. Our temperatures are finally starting to cool down and I couldn’t be more excited to bust out some of my fall jackets and wear boots without sweating half to death.

 

On Friday night we made pizza, watched Friends With Benefits, and opened a nice bottle of wine. This has started to become our Friday night trend and I have to say I love it. Also – for the pizza we make, I buy Trader Joe's dough and it’s literally the best pizza dough I’ve ever had. 

 

Saturday morning I took another soul survivor class. I’ve never taken an exercise class like soul that I actually feel like I need to go to. It's like my dose of therapy for the week.

That night I went out with some girlfriends – a first actual night on the town for my friend Dawn who is a new mommy. Joel, her husband, and new baby Max stayed at home watching the games while we did a martini tour of Venice.

We always have to come visit about an hour before we are planning to leave so that I can ensure that I get as much baby time as possible. Their little guy Max is about the cutest thing in the world.

 

We had dinner at The Tasting Kitchen which is a beautiful restaurant, but the food was underwhelming. It didn’t really matter because we were there more for the drinks and company.

 

On Sunday Roscoe and I went on a little puppy date. We met up with our new friends Kyle and Crispin and then had breakfast in Brentwood.

 

After errands on Sunday, we laid low, drank a bunch of tea in bed, and all 3 of us passed out at 9 that night.

 

This should be a pretty good week. I’m planning on going to a private showing of The Hunger Games on Wednesday and can barley contain my excitement. Other than that, I’ll be planning Chicago outfits and trying to keep my diet clean before the first holiday of the season.

 

Friday 4....

:::1:::

Do you get a flu shot? I've had a few back in college when I was working in an infant nursery, but I've gone years without one since. My good friend is pregnant and asked me to go with her for moral support, and I figured I may as well get one while I was there too. We went last night, it's pretty painless, and I did some research and it seems we all should be getting them. Not even so much for ourselves, but for our neighbors, grandparents, and strangers around us that may not be able to handle it like we could. A sore arm for a day is a small price to pay.

:::2:::

We picked our Christmas card. Since I was 14 I've been thinking about the day that I send out my own families Christmas cards, so it was a big deal. I ended up using a picture of the wedding, and a very simple design, but I'm anxiously checking the mailbox everyday to see them in person. 

I didn't use any of these, but - how cute??

:::3:::

Speaking of Christmas cards, how do display yours? Last year I straight up taped them on the wall....but I'm wondering if there is a cuter way to do it...I'm kind of loving this look.

:::4:::

After work today I'm going to visit The Grove which is always decked out in the best Christmas decorations of anywhere in LA. Joel and I are going to make some pizza and hang at home. On Saturday, after a Soul Survivor class - some of my girlfriends and I are going to The Tasting Kitchen for a GNO in Venice. Should be a fun one! 

#OneDayHH

Did you see this hashtag all over Instagram last night? Laura at Hollywood Housewife started the trend, and at my last count there were almost 5,000 pictures posted in the thread.

The gist of the hashtag was to take pictures throughout your day that don't require posing, props, or anything outside of the ordinary. Instagram, for me at least, is the place where I post decently interesting things; the glass of champagne I'm drinking, a new restaurant I'm eating at, or a cute baby I'm holding. 

I don't post pictures of our condo's laundry room, the vitamins I take in the morning, or the dog toys scattered all over my house.

But, today, with the hashtag #onedayHH, women just shared the mundane - and did it all throughout the day. I managed to get a good amount of shots posted, and I figured I would share here too, because what it taught me was that even on the most boring of days there are blessings everywhere.

7:00am

My current breakfast routine: Irish oatmeal with a banana and a cup of coffee

 

8:18am

I took an amazing Soul Cycle class today at 8:30. Angela may be sliding in as my new teacher at the Brentwood location. Her words inspire me all week long.

 

11:10am

Over Thanksgiving is my only chance to give friends & family gifts in person, so I wrapped them up and shipped them out to Chicago. I'm hoping they make it there before I do.

 

 12:00pm

By 12 I was starving and needed to get as much protein in my body as I could. An English muffin with two eggs and a side of avocado kept me full most of the afternoon.

 

1:45pm

 I'm trying to break in these shoes, because while they sure do look cute, they're pretty uncomfortable....

 

4:01pm

I work from home and today I didn't have any outside meetings - which means I'm behind the computer most of the day. 4pm is the worst hour of the day for me because I'm just anxious to get done and be done for the night. 

 

4:40pm

 Hannah, my sister was randomly asked to model on the Steve Harvey show today. They needed a blonde model under 5'3, and she fits the bill coming in at a mean 5'1". How cute does she look? The segment was all about how to style winter jackets and should premiere in a week or two. I'll keep you posted!

7:15pm
We were supposed to play tennis but we weren't able to get a court, so we took a walk in our neighborhood to pick up California Chicken Cafe and some ice cream...
 

8:00pm
The ultimate oxymoron 
 

Weeknight Wines

 

From the push of Sunkissed and Southern, I've been taking pictures of my favorite weekday wines and saving them in an album on my phone for this blog post.

I figured that I would just be saving them on my phone for this post, but it's actually been super helpful to go though my album while I'm at the store to remember the wines I've liked in the weeks past.

During the week, I don't like to open super nice bottles. We only have a glass or two (sometimes three!) and so a lot of times the bottle ends up in the fridge for a few days. For that reason, I would never open a +$25 bottle and then stick it in fridge to ruin it!

 

But, at the same token - I'm pretty particular about my wine. Yellowtail, or pretty much any other wine that you can buy at CVS is not going to cut it for me. 

So, these have been my favorite under $20 bottles over the last few months. Most of them I picked up at Bristol Farms, and some came courtesy of our wine club at Corks'n'Crowns. 

Which, I'm not sure if you are in need of a wine club, but theirs is amazing. It's very affordable and you get 2 bottles of California wine a month, and every month they feature a different winery. 

Chateau Saint-Antoine - Bordeaux ($9.99)

I typically drink a very safe Cabernet sauviogn, but this is a stellar blend and tastes much more expenisive than it is.

 Valley of the Moon - Cabernet Sauvignon ($15.99)

 

Opolo Vineyards - Merlot ($22.00)

I typically hate merlot, and I was drop dead obsessed with this bottle. If you ever see it, stock up!

Josh - Cabernet Sauvignon ($10.99)

This is a really popular wine that you can find in most stores - highly recommend!

Ballentine Vineyards - Zindandel ($20.99)

Line 39 - Cabernet Sauvignon ($12.99)

What's your go-to weeknight wine?  What should I add to my list?