Friday Round-Up

I am having one of those months where it feels like there are so many things to do, so many things required of me, that there is just not enough of me to go around.

Those are exhausting months, you know?

Needless to say, I haven't spent a ton of time on the Internet these last few weeks, so my list of links is going to be sorely lacking today.

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But when I was off lolly-gagging around, here are a few things that caught my eye...

I want to live in this neighborhood. And I think I could, too, if I could just find the time/energy to make more of an effort with my neighbors, already.

I have some mustard yellow or pink or purple shorts that I think would look fantastic with a black and white striped shirt. Now, if we could just get back to shorts weather around these parts, instead of the 40 degrees I kept waking up to last week, I could give it a shot!

By now, you should just know to follow the Style Lush blog because everything posted there is amazing. But if you don't, you should probably at least swing by to see these awesome DIY lined envelopes. And this DIY bookcase dollhouse. And these canvas prints from Instagram. Oh, and also, this iPhone lens wallet. Seriously...how cool is that?!?!

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Aaaand...I'm spent. I seriously hope things get back on track, soon, because I am one TIIIIIIRED individual these days. This just might end up being the weekend of the nap! Or, the weekend of no sleep, because I have a congested kid at home.

It will definitely be one of those two things, I think...

Happy Friday!

Bright Side

I am trying to cut down on my caffeine intake right now, and because I drink a lot of coffee (I mean, A LOT of coffee), I've had to find something to take its place. Because, I don't drink coffee just for the caffeine (although that is also a major perk of the stuff...). I drink it to keep warm in my frigid office, to keep myself from mindlessly snacking my way through the morning, and just as a general treat when my day seems like it will go on FOR.EV.ER.

So, tea. I've been drinking A LOT of tea these days.

Which brings me to my looking-on-the-bright-side list o'the week:

1) When you pour a cup of coffee, then get busy and forget to drink it, you might as well just pour the stuff straight down the drain, because there is very little chance of recovery for cold coffee. When you do the same thing with hot tea? It cools down, and you just pretend you're drinking iced tea. EVERYBODY WINS!

2) It's supposed to be warm again, this weekend, so I can put the nasty weather we've had the last few days out of my mind for awhile. Sunshine = HAPPY ME!

3) My soon-to-be sister-in-law (although, according to Steve and his internet research, she's not really going to be my sister-in-law, she's just going to be my brother-in-law's wife, but I don't care. She will be my SiL, and SHE WILL LIKE IT!!) asked me to be a bridesmaid, and we're going to look at dresses this weekend. I like pretty dresses...

4) Brigid hasn't figured out she can get out of her new big girl bed all by herself, yet. Let's all hope she keeps this up until she's about 18, or so...

5) Keebler makes this cookie, called the Coconut Dream...and it tastes JUST LIKE those coconut cookies the Girl Scouts sell. And those are, like, my favorite GS cookie, ever. Or, at least, they're currently in a three-way tie with Thin Mints and the peanut butter cookie as my favorite GS cookie, ever. Or, maybe that's a four-way tie? I mean, I do really, really love the lemon sandwich cookies, too.

Man...Girl Scout cookies are the best, you know?

Happy Wednesday!

The boots are back...

Winter was abnormally warm. We hit 80 degrees in February/March, and it was lovely. And I happily packed my boots away for the spring/summer, because it was just way too warm to wear them.

And then April hit.

And it has been cold, cold, cold. It's either 70 and rainy, with that damp chill that I so hate, or it's 60 degrees, and we have a wind advisory. It's nothing compared to those poor people getting hit with mountains and mountains of snow today, of course, but it doesn't make it any less necessary to pull the boots back out of their boxes.

One of these days...

Dress: BCBG Maz Azria (from Dillards)

Sweater: J Crew (outlet)

Boots: DSW

A break in the ban...

I have been ridiculously good in my self-imposed no shopping initiative this year, to the point that I can walk into Target, and I can walk out WITHOUT BUYING ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHAT I WENT IN FOR!!!

And that, my friends, is what we call a break through.
But, one of the reasons I started this ban, besides realizing that my closet was getting much more full than any one closet needed to be, was because I had thoughts about trying to work out a single income budget for my household, so that I could maybe start staying home with little Miss B full-time. And now that I'm in my first week of a recently accepted new job, that doesn't seem like it's something that's going to happen any time soon.

And I'm fine with that.

For now, anyway.

However, I think this also means that I'm going to relax my restrictions on myself, at least a bit. I've really been enjoying having extra money to set aside for future fun, and I am a budget nerd who gets an enormous kick out of seeing my savings balance rise each month, but I also like something new and shiny every so often. So, I'm not going to beat myself up when I do treat myself to that new and shiny something.

Or, new and shiny somethings, as it were...


Gorjana leather and chain wrap bracelets, purchased on Hautelook.com. I have a real obsession with wrap bracelets these days, because I love the way they multiply as you wear them. A double and triple wrap? It's like two or three bracelets in one!

See? It's like I'm SAVING money for myself...


And then I also picked up these token necklaces from Fab.com...where T stands for Tara and Trenton, NJ transportation. But, mostly, in my mind, Tara. And, obviously, I couldn't say no to the little Indianapolis Raceway token, because I will always be a Hoosier at heart, and I haven't really come across a lot of Indiana related jewelry in all of my shopping escapades.

So, necessary shopping...it makes sense to me!


(If you're interested in either HauteLook or Fab invites because you've not already sold your soul to every discount membership site on the Internet (like I have, sadly), let me know, and I'll flip an email your way...)

Bright Side

It's been rainy and dreary and generally icky today, which is never fun. But I'm in the mood to look at the bright side of things, which doesn't happen as often as it should because pessimism can be so much easier most of the time.

 

So...my bright side list:

1) We went out for pizza last night, because Steve's uncle and cousin were in town for the evening, on their way to Florida. And I have leftovers! Pizza TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW!!

 

(My bright side standards are, possibly, remarkably low...)

 

2) Because it is so rainy and dreary and generally icky today, my mother-in-law decided her and Brigid were staying in for the day. And since they were going to stay in anyway, my MiL decided today would be a good day to jump into the potty training process that Steve and I have started a couple of times now, but have always had to stop because the schedule has never worked the way we needed it to. And she's also decided she'll keep it going tomorrow, too. And then Steve and I can take over for the Friday-Monday weekend schedule we operate over here. And then (I hope with all of my hope) we will be potty trained. And then we can start saving the million dollars a month we shell out in diapers right now. And then, I will buy her a pony with the savings.

 

Because that's how much I want that kid out of diapers already...

 

3) I have no plans this weekend. No plans. Except for picking up a friend from the aiport on Saturday. Other than that...no plans. Which means Steve and I can finish getting Brigid's new room put together, and she can finally start sleeping in the big girl bed she's been so excited about.

 

I am conveniently ignoring the fact that said big girl bed is currently in a million and a half IKEA pieces, and that the putting together of all of these pieces is going to be a massive challenge for Steve and I, and you will, too, if you care about my well-being, at all.

 

4) Did I ever mention that I finally finished the Dragon Tattoo series? I have never been so happy to be done with a series, I think. Unless you count the Bourne Identity series, which was so, so, so terrible that I didn't even TRY to read anything other than the first book. And that NEVER happens to me. Ever.

 

So bad.

 

5) I splurged and hit the vending machine for peanut butter crackers today. I never do that. And I LOVE peanut butter crackers.

 

What about you? What's getting you through this lovely Wednesday?

Skirt: Kohls

Blouse: Banana Republic (outlet)

Sweater: Gap (outlet)

Shoes: Nine West

Friday Round-Up

I can't remember if I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was planning to interview for a promotion at work, or not, but I was. And I did. And I got the job!

I've known for awhile now that the job was mine, but my boss wanted to wait until after we closed out first quarter to make the announcement, so the email to the rest of the team didn't actually go out until yesterday. And since it went out, I've received a ton of positive feedback from both the team that I'm managing currently and the team that I will be managing in the future.

Positive feedback! Woo! Except...

Except that I haven't heard anything from the one person I thought might actually have a problem accepting me as the manager. Or the other team member who was up for this job, but didn't get it.

It might be nothing. They might be busy. And I'm not in the main office to see them face-to-face, so they may be waiting for that to happen on Tuesday before they say anything.

Or, they may both be really pissed about how things turned out.

Tuesday should be interesting, to say the least...

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And, now for a few of my favorite Internet type things this week...

From the return of Style Lush, I want to throw a party just so I can use this idea to make party favors. And I want to raid the paint chip aisle at Home Depot this weekend, because I think something like this in whatever color scheme I eventually decide on for Brigid's room would look awesome on the walls.

If, like me, you are obsessed with both Jimmy Fallon and Downton Abbey (varied tastes...I has 'em), then you absolutely, most definitely need to check out this video. Immediately. Go...

Any store that has gorgeous yellow sandals for less than $40 is a store that I should probably check out, no?

And...that's all I've got right now. I haven't spent much time on the Internet this week, outside of my Pinterest planning for Brigid's new room. I'm going to have to work on that, I think.

I hate when being a grown-up gets in the way of my fun time...

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Also, I have two weeks worth of Style Lush posts to mention here and here, if you're interested.

Have a great weekend!

I stress myself out BECAUSE I LOVE IT!

We've decided to redecorate Brigid's room to accomodate the new bed we're getting her, and I am ridiculously excited about it, because lately I've been thinking it would absolutely be worth the hassle of moving someplace new if I could just start from scratch on the household decorating front, again.

And that's just crazy talk, right there, because I decided after our last move that nothing is worth the hassle of moving into a new house. NOTHING. And I don't intend to forget that feeling any time soon.

Unless that move involved beachfront property, that is. Then I'd consider it...

Anyway, I blame Pinterest for this newfound love of interior design, because there are just so many amazing ideas out there that it's hard not to get caught up in wanting to DECORATE IT ALL, RIGHT NOW!! Seriously, I want to paint all of the furniture, hang all of the things, and buy all of the light fixtures.

But, instead, I will settle for this one tiny room redecoration. With no painting of the furniture, very little hanging of the things, and no buying any of the light fixtures.

(Well, maybe no buying any of the light fixtures. I am still not convinced I won't find the most adorable chandelier-type princess light that I will HAVE to buy and install in Brigid's room. I wouldn't put it past me, really...)

I have spent the last two days scouring the Pinterest boards for any and all decorating ideas, and I plan to do it all day tomorrow, too, because we've set Saturday as the day we're going out for paint samples and IKEA shopping.

(IKEA!! Yay!!)

But, beyond that...I'm a little lost. Who should I be following on Pinterest for their pretty pinning of room inspirations? Where else should I be looking for amazing decorating ideas? What awesome interior design sites am I missing out on by my limited knowledge of the Internet? Why am I getting myself all worked up (mostly in a good way...) over some vague idea of a room design that I may or may not have already settled on?

WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?!?!

GAHHHHH!

(Have I ever mentioned that I have no idea where my daughter gets her ability to over-react to any given situation at any given time? Really...NO IDEA.)

Scenes From a Bathroom

Hey! Look!

I STILL WEAR CLOTHES FROM TIME TO TIME!!!

Ok, you caught me: I still wear clothes all of the time. I'm just not nearly as creative with them as I used to be. No shopping and no daily outfit post will do that to you, I guess.

But, you know...I'm adding it to my list*. So I HAVE to be creative now.

Well, after today, anyway...

Sweater: Loft

Skirt: J Crew (outlet)

Boots: DSW

Bracelets: Mango Tree

Earrings: Kenneth Cole (Easter gift)

*(And by adding it to my list, I mean, I'm going to force myself think along the lines of Jess's own Project Wearyoshit, and rely less on pencil skirts in the black and gray varieties to get me through the day...)

(Wear. Yo. Shit. Get it? Ha! I am amused by the simplest things, I swear.)

Scenes From Augusta

The fun thing about attending a practice round before The Masters, as opposed to attending one of the actual tournament days, is that cameras are actually allowed on the course for practice.

You're still not allowed to take your phone with you, which is exceptionally annoying when you want to post something to Twitter regarding the sheer number of Masters moonpies you've eaten in one sitting, but that's neither here nor there...

The 16th hole, from behind the tee box.

 The 9th hole of the par 3 course.

Phil Mickelson

 Keegan Bradley, who I cheer for when Steve gets all up in arms about my preference for European golfers. Look at him! Don't you just want to pinch his cheeks and give him a big hug?

 Ian Poulter. Who I cheer for even when Steve is up in arms about my preference for European golfers. How can you NOT cheer for someone who matches his belt to his shoes to his hat to his sunglasses?

 The par 3 tournament is a fun little thing they do on the final day of practice, where all former winners, everybody in the current field, and several members of Augusta all come out to play on a little course adjacent to the main course. The players usually have friends or family caddying for them, and my favorite aspect of it is always seeing the little kids have their go at things...

 Bubba Watson, a Georgia Bulldog, and the 2012 Masters Champion.

 Seriously. How cute is that? I would pay big, big, big bucks if I could get my hands on a miniature caddy uniform for Brigid...

Tom Watson, helping his grandson line up a putt. I had to resist the urge to run up to him and beg him to be MY grandfather for a few days, because he just seems like the nicest guy, ever.

But I didn't.

I would like to be allowed back in next year, after all...

Happy Place

The two days that Brigid and I spent with my family in Florida were absolutely gorgeous. Sunny, mid-80s, slight breeze...it couldn't have been more perfect.

I spent the mornings on the beach with the kid, the afternoons reading on the porch and talking to my parents while Brigid napped, and the evenings eating.

(Ok, let's be honest...I was on vacation...I spent ALL DAY eating. But I managed to kick it up a notch in the evenings. My performance was impressive, to say the least.)

The beach...it's my happy place. I love the sand and the sun and the sounds of the ocean. I love the smell. I love the water. If I feel exceptionally stressed about anything, it's the one place I want to go to make my life sane again.

You will never, ever be able to convince me that I moved far enough south when I moved to Atlanta. If it had been 100% up to me, I would have kept going until I hit the water. And I still think I will, at some point, even if that point is in the very distant future.

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It started to rain in Panama City Beach as I left on Tuesday, and it's more or less rained every day since I've been gone.

Florida misses me, it seems.

The feeling is mutual...

Early Morning

On Monday, I was here:


Now?

Well, now I'm here:


(Here, of course, would be on the road to Augusta at 5 in the morning, to spend the day following my favorite golfers on their last day of practice before The Masters begins tomorrow.)

(I may be crazy.)

(Also, I may be the most ridiculously lucky gal, ever...)

Happy Wednesday, all!