How do you coffee?

 I'm pretty sure our Keurig has finally bit the dust. We've had the bad boy for four years, and in the last few months it's been brewing really, really weak cups of coffee.

 

Ironically in the last few months I've been getting into Latte's.

So, now that my coffee machine is just about dead, I'm sort of thinking about investing in the Nespresso. Do you have it? Is it worth the $400 dollars? And all those damn espresso pods? And do you think the appeal of it dies down after a while?

  

Or do I buy another Keruig ($120), and just splurge on latte's (+$$$)  when I'm out and about. Keep them as a treat?

I only have a 1 cup of coffee/latte a day and Joel doesn't drink any, so I'm not sure a Nespresso would be worth it. Would I still want my non-fat latte from Starbucks too? 

I'll tell you, I'm leaning towards swapping out the broken Keurig with a new one and buying lattes as treats during the week......

What do you think? 

Work Wear

 Work It Girl

    

Last week was probably our last week of cool weather, and this Tuesday's high is 97 degrees, which....ew.

Monday

 

J.crew Jacket, Old Navy dress, Tom's shoes, and Francesca necklace

 Tuesday

 

Purple Haze.

J.crew button down, Ann Taylor sweater, Target pants, TB wedges 

Wednesday

 

 J.crew turtleneck, Halogen skirt, Franco Sarto hells

Thursday 

  

H&M Blazer, BCBG dress, TB wedges

Friday

J.crew top, Target cardigan, J.Brand jeans, TB flats

Friday Five ::: Paris Fashion

Four weeks from yesterday, Joel and I will be boarding a plane to go explore France.

This is our first "trip" together.

You know, we've vacationed a lot. But we've never faced a true trip just the two of us.

I am so over the moon excited, that I started trying on outfits for the trip yesterday.

And then I got un-excited.

Because, boo, I have no idea what to wear or bring in my carry on for 10 days in Paris. 

I decided to pack a little differently for this trip, and break everything into categories. I've got a few shopping trips planned so let me know if I'm missing things.

::: Pants :::

 

• 1 graphic pant
• 1 black thick legging pant
• 1 black jeans
• 1 cargo pant (if I find them)

I don't like to wear shorts while traveling, so the majority of my "day" clothes will be pants. I'll wear the leggings on the flight and when we take the rail to and from Bordeaux, and the other pants should get plenty of wear as well.

::: Tops :::

 

• Basics
• Stripes
• Flattering and comfortable
• Button downs & denim shirt
• Cardigans

I want to keep it really simple. Since the weather can be really unpredictable in May, I want to be layered everyday.

::: Dresses :::

• 3 cotton day dresses
• 1 maxi dress

While we are in Bordeaux, we will be wine tasting at vineyards, so I think I'll wear dresses during those few days. Most of the dresses will be reserved for dinners or champagne at the Eiffel Tower.

::: Shoes :::

• White converse
• Sturdy sandals (need to buy) 
• Black walking flats (I don't want to bring my great Tory Burch walking flats, but I may end up having too. I'm worried about ruining them so I may try and find a cheaper version)
• Black Toms Wedges

::: Add-On's:::

• Jean Jacket
• LV Neverfull & black cross body
• Straw Fedora
• 2-3 scarves
• Statement necklaces
• White blazer

What do you think I'm missing??

Whiney Confessions. I want Winey.

Yo. Vent Session. Prepare Yoself.

• I hate how the scale can make or break your day.

• Pregnancy is in the air over here. My entire life is pregnant it seems. I now understand what baby fever is. It is not our time right now (or for a long while), but I do get pangs of insane jealousy.

• Roscoe has a torn ACL and it's been so sad it have him sedated throughout the day

• I hate online shopping

• Marriage can be really hard. Joel and I have been together for 7 years, and our first year of marriage has been the most trying of us as a couple. 

• I can't sleep in anymore. Whyyyyyyyyy

•  I cannot sprint. Joel and I have been taking a bootcamp class, and I've discovered that I cannot sprint. Everyone in the class is SO much better than me, and I can maybe get my treadmill up to 7.5mph for a minute and I still want to throw up. Grandpa's are beating me.

• I want to move in with the Chrisley's

• Speaking of reality TV, Kristin from RHONY and Cameron from Southern Charm are so unfairly beautiful I can't even stand it. 

• I don't like Facebook anymore.

Work Wear

 Work It Girl

Well, if there is anything I'm noticing from taking these daily pictures is that I own A LOT of black and white. And - when I look back at all of my posts, I think there is room for some accessories. Scarves, necklaces, bracelets - but I do need to mix it up to add some pizzaz.

 Monday

 

Target Top & Pants, TB wedges.  

Tuesday

Before an eye doc appointment

 

J.Crew dress & Cardigan, Michael Kors sandals

Wednesday

Veronica M. Tunic, J.crew leggings, Toms wedges

Thursday

 

J.crew sweater, Gap pants, TB wedges

Friday

 

Gap top, H&M Blazer, J.crew Minnies & wedges

Weekend Recap

 

Why do weekends slip away so fast? This weekend was glorious, and busy, and I could use just one day to chill. I wish I had more pictures to show for all the fun we had, but the only good one I snapped on my phone was the goody above. I think I have a few more on my nice camera, but I'll have to check that later.

Friday Joel and I met up with my cousin and her boyfriend at Gjelina in Venice. The wine was so good, and our food was pretty awesome too, but I just love the vibe of Gjelina. It's a must-see if you are ever visiting. Plus, we got the good news that I have another cousin moving out to LA!

Saturday we prepped for Easter and had our friend Matt stay the night with us. We walked into Westwood Village for Mexican and after a few margs, Matt whipped out the Tinder app and showed us what that goodness is all about.

Sunday we had eight people over for brunch and just ate and drank and caught up with our friends. It was a great Easter, and I still can't get over that we just celebrated EASTER. Wasn't it just Christmas?

Friday Five ::: Easter Edition

::: 1 :::

 

For me Easter is the first day of the year where it's acceptable to bring out the white pants and pastel colors. I love seeing everyone's Easter best. I'm thinking about wearing my new black and white graphic pants but I haven't nailed down a top yet. 

::: 2 :::

 

This year we are having a group friends over for Easter brunch. It will be very casual and I'm basically recreating my menu from last year; Egg and Sausage casseroles, bagels and lox, deviled eggs, banana bread and blueberry lemon bread, and a fruit salad. And lots of flowing mimosa's.

 Now that we have a bigger dining room table, I'm hoping I can make it look a little cuter.

 And lots of flowing mimosa's.

::: 3 :::

 

I didn't decorate for Easter at all this year, and I don't feel like spending a ton of money this year either. I'm going to stop at Target for a few fun items and maybe a table runner, and besides some fresh flower from Trader Joe's we are keeping it simple and easy.

::: 4 :::

 

I'm pretty sure the only Easter basket I'm getting was already sent by my mom last week, but I may treat myself to a few Easter goodies if I get some time this weekend to sneak away to do a little shopping. I really want to get some fun crystal necklaces to jazz up my work clothes during the week.

::: 5 ::: 

 

Easter is a really special day for us because it was the day we got Roscoe. Well, we got him the day before, but Easter was our first full day with him. It was such a scary day with a new puppy at home, and just like that - two years have gone by.

 ---

Have a great weekend and fantastic Easter! 

Must Have's

::: Hair Nets :::

Yet another reason to start stealing from hotels.

::: Summer Shoes :::

I'm not really a shoe person, but here comes a #2 shoe must have.

I wear the same shoes all the time, and I wear them to death. Most of my shoes have been in my closet for at least 5 years. With Europe coming up, I knew I needed sturdy shoes that I didn't mind walking around in all day/ruining

I bought both and I am OBSESSED. Both are really comfortable, cute, and go with 99% of my wardrobe. The Toms wedges are incredibly comfortable and absolutely adorable with both dresses and pants. I was really surprised by how much I liked them. The converse (Fancy Ox version) should be the ideal walking shoe, I just need to break them in a bit 

 :::Bagels, Bagels, and more Bagels:::

I can't keep bagels in my house because I would eat them for every meal, but since I'm hosting Easter brunch, you better believe I'll be indulging these bad boys. My all time favorite breakfast = bagel, lox and a large mimosa.

 

::: The Perfect Chair :::

This entire picture just takes me to my happy place.

::: Meditation by Oprah and Deepak :::

  This is a 21 day, free mediation challenge. Every day, you get an email with a 20 minute recording/pod cast of Deepak leading you  through mediation/quiet time. There are so many benefits to just twenty minutes of centering your head and thoughts, and this is one of the best led meditations I've ever listened to. Yesterday was my first day, but I really recommend signing up if you are looking for a way to relax and center.

::: Red Stamp App:::

Thanks to my girl, April, all of my Easter Brunch guests received their texted invitations in style.

The app is free and lets you customize invitations and then it saves them in your photo roll to send out to your friends. Another seriously smart invention that I wish I would have thought of first!

My (current) Favorite Salad

I went to my girlfriend Laura's house last week to "Paris Plan". Laura is a Paris expert and I wanted to run through our schedule with her so she could recommend fantastic restaurants and walk me through transportation and logistics of traveling in France.

After some wine and cheese, Laura whipped up this salad and it blew my friggen socks off. I've literally made it 3 times since last Thursday, and decided last night that I just had to share this goodness with all of you.

The Goods:

Prepped butternut squash - This is from Trader Joes. Keep your life simple

Arugula 

Candied walnuts

Blue Cheese

Dressing:

3 parts balsamic vinegar

2 parts olive oil

1 part honey 

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 475. In a dish, toss squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. 

 

2. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. I like the squash blackened, so cook to your liking. 

 3. Whisk dressing

4. Combine arugula, walnuts, cheese, and slightly* cooled squash, toss with dressing

Easy as that.  

 

 It's a really easy salad and even Joel approved of just having this salad as our entree entree for dinner. I think the warm squash really helps beef up the dinner. You will love this. Enjoy!

Work Wear

Work It Girl

 

Monday

 jcrew black shirt, max studios pants, bandolino shoes

 

Tuesday

Totally forgot to take a picture!

 

Wednesday

Jcrew sweater, Loft skirt, Ivanka Trump heels

 

Thursday

top from local boutique, jcrew minnies, jcrew shoes

 

Friday

 

Gap top, old navy sweater, AG jeans, Tory Burch flats

Weekend Recap

Weekends have an entirely new meaning to me now that I'm in an office all week long. It's literally like 60 precious hours that cannot be wasted.

Friday after work I made a trip to Target to pick up a few things we "needed" and I of course got side tracked by these cute ankle pants. The quality feels better than what you would think, and I think I'll be able to wear these bad boys all summer long. For $25 bucks, I'm going to make them work.

We had friends get engaged on Friday, so we met them for celebratory drinks at Coast in Santa Monica before we came home and made pizzas for dinner.

Saturday I hit the pavement for the first time in probably 3 weeks. It's a lot easier for me to wake up and go to a workout class than it is to go outside in my neighborhood and run. I did a little over 5 miles, and it was hard, but felt so, so good.

 

There really isn't a better workout than a long, hard run. I'm even tossing around ideas of a half, but I'm just so scared that I'll give up before crossing the finish line. Only after 5 miles, my legs were zonked and I snuck in a needed, hour long nap.

 

Saturday night we decided last minute to join some friends for the Angels game. Is there anything better than beer and baseball at sunset on a Saturday night?

 

It was the first baseball game I've been to since moving to California and I forgot how much I love them.  

I didn't love eating all the shit we did, but I'm trying to push that out of my mind. On Sunday, we hiked, ran errands, cleaned, did laundry, and cooked an amazing dinner. We were both pretty exhausted through it all, but it feels so good to have it all done.

This is a short week for us since we have Good Friday off work, so until then, we're keeping ourselves busy with workouts and clean eating before another weekend filled with friends, good food, and Easter brunch!