Holiday Wear

It's no surprise that I'm excited for Thanksgiving, but the one thing standing in my way is the task of what to wear. We have a bunch of family parties throughout the week and I feel like I'm at a loss for Holiday wear.

I need to stock on some winter wear before I leave for the Midwest since it's still 80 freaking degrees here in SoCal.

My favorite looks are classic, layered and comfortable so I hope I can channel these goodies on my next mall trip this week.

I also have been majorly crushing on bows. Is it too waspy to work in a bow here and there?

 

I guess at the end of the day, as long as the champs keeps flowing all will be well.

Weekend Recap

Dang, what a difference a week makes! I'm happy to report that I'm back to feeling 100% and I'm so thankful that I do. After spending 5 days in nothing but sweats it felt miraculous to put on jeans and boots, and head into the office.

After work on Friday I made the fatal mistake to shop the pre-friends and family sale at Bloomingdales. I honestly couldn't say no to 40% off of these bad boys.

 I picked up steaks and salad on my way home and we watched The Internship that night. I hadn't heard much about that movie but I loved it.  It was quick-witted, smart, and cute - without being raunchy. It's the perfect date night pick.

And I treated myself to wine and ice cream since I had been without the entire week before.

On Saturday - I took Soul Survivor in the morning which is my newest obsession. A standard Soul Cycle class is 45 minutes, but on the weekend they hold a 60 minute class to really kick your ass. I burn like 800 calories and I'm sore for 3 days afterward. The extra 15 minutes makes all the difference. And at $30 bucks a pop for a class, I feel much better about spending that kind of money for a longer and even more intense class.

 Saturday night we went to a new restaurant called The Hart and The Hunter. It's in West Hollywood, and little hipster-y, but it's Southern Comfort food at it's finest so we were in Heaven.

 They don't accept reservations so we had a few glasses of champagne in a separate room before we went crazy on biscuits, friend green tomatoes and pecan pie.

We hiked on Sunday, ran some errands, watched football, napped, and made chili. It's back to the grind today, but I'm totally okay with that because it means were a few days closer to heading home for Thanksgiving!

Few things check me back to reality like getting sick. 

Being sick, really sucks - and being sick scares me. I've seen people get really sick, and never get better, and it's an anxiety of mine that haunts my deepest core.

One way I cope with anxiety, is I focus on the positive - and by focusing on the positive, I believe you get more of the good stuff, so, it's a habit I try and practice as often as I can.

Today, I'm thankful for:

• My Health -  Ohhh, I am so thankful for my good health. And I'm thankful that my body got sick and then was able to heal itself without the use of medicine or doctors.  

• My husband, family, and friends (and their good health too!) - I got sick at a party on Saturday and before I could mutter the full sentence that I didn't feel good I had friends rubbing my back, grabbing me a cold towel, holding my hair back and driving me home. 

• Gatorade - Dang, I had two blue Gatorade's on Monday and it was like a miracle in a body. I never believed in the power of Gatorade, but holy hell it made me feel good instantly!  

• Lifetime network - They really killed it this week with movies. Morning Glory, The Ugly Truth, and The Switch back to back.  

• Roscoe - He couldn't be happier to snuggle right on top of me of the entire day. His snoring and cute little face had me distracted for at least 2 blissful hours 

• Work - I am so thankful that my job allows me to work from home. In fact, I'm definitely a lot less sick now that I don't commute with hundreds of other sick people or be stuck in a office with germs being spread around constantly, and I really don't miss it!  

• Christmas music - It's a little early, but since it's still 80 degrees here I'll take anything I can to get me into the Holiday spirit! 

• Carbs - I normally despise them, but they've been the only thing that I could stomach for the past four days and I gave in to them and appreciated them for being so kind to my stomach.

• The Time Change - GASP! - but I actually don't mind hibernating during the winter. I like that I can light candles a little earlier, start dinner a little earlier, and get out of my jeans a little earlier.  Plus, it gets me more into the holiday mind set, and like I said, I'll take anything I can get!

What are you thankful for this morning?

Need a Laugh?

I've been sick since Saturday, and today I finally woke up feeling back to normal. Maybe laughter really is the best medicine....

Friday 5

:::1::: 

 

Thank God Halloween is over - that bag of candy was the death of me this week! Even though the candy is out of our house, we have a Halloween party this weekend that is all about the food and drinks. Bikini season is officially over....right?

:::2:::

Joel and I had did have a lot of fun decorating some Halloween treats for his office on Halloween Eve. Of course, no Pintrest activity goes without a few problems....I microwaved the white chocolate just 15 seconds too long and it all crumbled up. It wasn't "dippable" for our ghosts, but after a short tantrum, Joel ran to the store and got a fresh new bag so that the party wouldn't be ruined. He's a good one. 

:::3:::

With the new dining room table and rug it seem as thought I've got a bit of a decorating bug - much to Joel's dismay of course. Luckily, I'm a pretty savvy shopper but I'm now on the hunt for some new couch pillows. My pillows are 3 years old and are starting to show their wear. Here are my favorite Pintrest arrangements:

I really like the mix of colors and patterns - but all in the same scheme.

:::3:::

Who else is BEYOND ready for RHOBH? Some fresh flesh is just what this season needed.

 

:::5:::

It's November 1st which means that I in 25 days, Roscoe and I (Joel in 27) will be back in CHICAGO! The countdown begins now!!

Updated Dining Room, i.e. No patience

 Last night Joel and his buddy brought our new table in and took the old table out. 

The new table was even more gorgeous in person than I remembered but as I suspected, it desperately needed a rug underneath,

 I can't handle un-done projects so as soon as I woke up yesterday I hit the streets in search for the perfect rug. I left Homegoods and World Market empty handed, but Target turned out to have the perfect piece.

I went with this 7x10 size and while it may be just a wee-bit too big for the room, it's in perfect proportion to the table and should carry well into future houses. 

I'm pretty smitten with the whole look.

And....

Happy Halloween!!

Our work in progress dining room...

Our dining room has seen quite a bit of progression over the last year. 

We started with this:

 

I found a much needed wall hanging which helped warm up the space

And then, we added two accent chairs to the mix

 

And now, we need to start all over again.

Yesterday we scooped up this table set.

 

It's not the most ideal set for our space, but we got it from a friend and it's in near-perfect condition so I'm going to make it work. 

I'm keeping our accent chairs, but I need a new rug and a way to make this long rectangular table work in our long rectangular room.

I'd love a navy blue and white graphic one, but I don't want it to fight with our chairs.

 

Here are some inspiration images I'm trying to use

 

I'm hoping to find something before the weekend so let me know if you have had any luck recently in a local store.

Best Weekend Recap, ever.

 So, Saturday was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had.

Friday night we found out that Joel's company had a few extra tickets to attend their VIP Zac Brown Band event.

We arrived to the Hollywood Bowl at 4pm and were escorted to a pre-sound check happy hour. We had a beer and then 50 of us sat front row at the Bowl and watched Zac Brown prep for the concert. 

They didn't allow pictures, but it almost doesn't matter because it's something that I'll never forget. It was a very intimate experience and after they ran through a few songs, all of us - including the band - went back up to the cocktail reception.

Zac and the band went around and introduced themselves to every single person in the room. A young girl asked Zac how he learned to do something on the guitar and 2 minutes later, Zac grabbed his guitar and started to teach her. 

We took pictures with the band - ours didn't turn out, but apparently a professional one was taken and is being sent to us. 

After the meet and greet we joined about 100 other people and sat down at their famous "Eat and Greet"

 

Zac Brown is a chef, and owns a restaurant in Atlanta. They travel with a kitchen and chef and host a private dinner before every one of their shows.

As if that wasn't enough, they served it to us too. 

 

The food was mind blowing. Southern comfort food at its finest. Every bite was spot on - and the dessert, a peanut butter bread pudding was easily one of the best desserts I've ever tasted. 

 

I will say too, Zac Brown and his entire band are some of the kindest people I've ever met. They were so appreciative, sincere and grateful - to US! They truly are stand up men and I am an even bigger fan after seeing firsthand how truly good they are.

After dinner, we had a box decked out with cheese, wine, crackers and chocolate. I mean....I was in full blown heaven.

 

The concert itself was BEYOND. They played every one of their most popular songs and kept the crowd on their feet for the entire 2 hours.

 

Words honestly do not do the night justice and I'm still pinching myself that I was able to attend.