blerg is the word

I haven't posted in a week because I have felt kind of blerg lately.... Blerg? What is blerg you ask? Well, it's a word that my friend Amber and I seem to use a lot when we are telling each other about our day. The word comes from Liz Lemon on 30 Rock and is used when she is dealing with idiots or feels annoyed about a certain situation.

Urban dictionary defines blerg as: an expression of annoyance, anxiety and minor anger. Occasionally the second syllable is prolonged to demonstrate any emotion in an extreme fashion (this is very true).

"Blerg" is mostly used on Mondays because I am a typical hater of Mondays. No matter what, I am always cranky Caroline on Mondays. Don't mess with me, or I will blerg you to Amber.

I am blergging this week because there has been NO sunshine in Chicago for days! I mean don't get me wrong, I love the snow and all but please let some sunshine in! We had a broken dryer all week, I have work overload and I am literally working my butt off at the gym so I will look decent at my friend's wedding in a few weeks. I figure since I am as pale as a ghost I should tone it up a little, right? Well enough of my pity party...I have a fun weekend to look forward too!

So if you ever have a week like this one just say "Blerg!" really loud and you will feel much better.

holy ouch!

I started doing the Tracy Anderson Method mat workout DVD a few weeks ago and WOW am I sore every time I finish it! It really shows you what areas of your body you need to work on and mine is definitely my arms. If she doesn't sound familiar you might recognize the name from Oprah, and she is also Gwyneth Paltrow and Emily Blunt's trainer. She has also worked with Jennifer Aniston, who I love of course!

Gwyneth and Tracy

Tracy has you use your own body weight to tone up and shrink your muscles until you have a "teeny tiny dancer" body. You wouldn't think that holding up your arms and legs for 15 minutes straight would hurt so bad. My goal is to do it 5 times a week and once I start seeing results I'll let you know!  I dare any guy to do this workout and see if they can last the whole time! I am going to have Sean do it with me this weekend because I think he thinks I am being a little too dramatic about being so sore all of the time!

peek-a-boo mason!

I finally get to see my little nephew in a few weeks! We haven't seen him since June! I hear that he is talking up a storm and running around like a little tornado! Here is a pic of Mason playing peek-a-boo with me and my camera! He was hiding in his rad Thomas the Train tent. His laugh was so funny and he has the cutest smile! Nice shirt Mason!

long sleeves & pink a go go!

I have seen a ton of dresses with long sleeves making the rounds on the red carpet, magazines and my favorite stores like Zara and H&M. Of course my girl Leighton knows what is up and strutted this sheer Burberry long sleeved dress down the red carpet at the Golden Globes this year. Some may think it looks drab on her but paired with her fabulous hair and sparkling Jimmy Choo shoes Leighton could do no wrong. Plus she is going to the coolest after party - HBO.

My second favorite dress of the night was the beautiful bright pink Calvin Klein dress that Claire Danes wore. How could you not like the shape and color of this dress!? It is so flattering on her and this pink would look good on anyone. I have always loved Claire from watching My So-Called Life all of the time growing up. It was great to see her win for Temple Grandin, especially since the real Temple was there to see her win, it was so sweet to see how excited she was for Claire. Temple is in her 60s and is one of the most well-known adults with autism in the world. I kind of teared up during that moment! : )

{photos from InStyle.com)

suds-day treat!

For all of my country music lovers out there! I rediscovered this song by Sara Evans while cleaning out my closet. I was in the mood for some country music and started listening to some old stuff. It's so cute and fun! I use to listen to it all of the time when I made the big move to Norman. A little Sunday treat!

gg fashionistas

I recently finished watching season 3 of Gossip Girl (thank you Sean!) and I just can't get over how much I love the clothes that Blair and Serena wear on that show. They are both fashionistas on and off the set as well. There is always a pop of color to be had and a delicate or extreme accessory to be flashed.  Oh, and don't forget all of the amazing bags!

Here is Leighton/Blair wearing one of the coolest dresses I have seen in a long time, it's so "vogue". You think this dress would be better as a strapless but the straps add a 50s rock n' roll touch. It is way out of Blair's comfort zone but totally rockin' on Leighton. The red shoes are a perfect touch!

If I could have a dream closet it would be Blair's closet. I inspire to one day dress like she does everyday - high wasted dresses, tights, and heels - with the occasional flower/diamond broach or ribboned hair accessory. I prefer Blair's fashion choices over Serena's but sometimes Serena adds that bohemian flair that I love so much. Plus her hair always has that messy look that I accidentally seem to achieve everyday. : )

What I love about Blake/Serena's look off the set is that she tends to be more relaxed in what she wears but also risky. When I see her outfits I always think to myself, "That looks hot and comfy...I want to wear it!"

I can't wait to get season 4 of Gossip Girl! Are you a Blair or a Serena??

{photos from InStyle.com and Gossip Girl}

ahoy cardigans!

I really liked my sailor inspired outfit that I wore this week. I wore this stripped shirt and a blue cardigan with my brown corduroy pants from J.Crew and brown crocodile flats. I really love cardigans, I have about 10 in every color! They are always good to have around to wear over T-shirts, dresses, and of course sleeveless shirts! The best cardigans are ones you can find that have different designs on them, like these two from ModCloth. I am totally in love with the yellow flowers on the cream cardigan, it is a great choice if you like to wear a lot of layers. The shorter polka dot one would be perfect to wear over a short dress that has a high cinched waste.

take me to the west coast

I got to visit sunny San Diego this past week for work and going from snow to tons of sunshine really brightened my mood strings! My co-worker and I got to rent a car and drive along the coast to interview San Diego area libraries for our new technology study. Everyone in San Diego was so nice and welcoming. I stayed by the Gaslamp Quarter district in the downtown area where there were tons of bars, restaurants and shops! One place that stood out for me was this little French place called Chocolat Cremerie, it was soooo cute with tons of gelato (pic above!), crepes, and of course tons of gourmet chocolate! Yummy!

I couldn't help but think of the Coconut Records song "West Coast" the whole time I was there! I can really see Sean and I living in California or Washington one day, we just seem like West Coast people, but for now we are enjoying the Midwest life! I hope one day all of my friends and I can take a trip to San Diego together...destination wedding anyone? ; )

happy new yeasayer!

Sean and I got a chance to ring in the new year with one of our favorite bands, Yeasayer!!! They had a countdown and started playing right at midnight! Some of their best songs are Madder Red, Ambling Alp, 2080, O.N.E. and I Remember.

The whole concert was fun, happy, colorful, awesome, amazing, beautiful, crazy, and loud! Check out our pics and my navy sequins jacket I wore!

our christmas day

On Christmas morning Sean and I woke up to lots and lots of snow! We took Cami to the dog park by our house and she loved galloping in the deep snow.You can see us running in it together!

Cami also had a fun time opening up all of those presents under our tiny little tree in her Christmas PJs!

We missed our families this year but there is something about Chicago during the holidays that we just love. There are Christmas lights on everything - trees, street lamps, bars, apartment windows, cars and of course houses.

We have also started our own tradition of having Christmas morning mimosas together while we open presents, then we make a big breakfast of hash and eggs with cinnamon streusel coffee cake! It was all so yummy!

It was fun to go play in the snow and then cuddle up to watch season two of Parks and Recreation that Santa brought Sean and I. Santa also brought us two new board games to add to our collection - Life and Yahtzee!

fat, fun, + running

Looking back at old pictures of myself from college I realized something: Yes, I let myself get fat... but wow did I have fun getting there! My reasoning behind this revelation came from the many college pictures I was looking at - house parties, date parties, drinks from The Barn , late night snacking in the Theta house, 21st birthday parties with friends, going out every night with Sean when we first started dating, bachelorette parties, destination weddings, grad school, internships, jobs...

Wish me luck!

...add this up with no time for the gym or trying to eat normally and you get one chubby Caroline. My road to gaining over 30 pounds in college was from having a TON of fun and not really stressing about what I looked like! Now that I have dropped all of that weight from college I can take a look back now and not feel so down on myself like I use to. I was never really unhappy and I still have all of my best friends, and Sean met me when I was at my biggest and he still loved me at that size anyways! Lucky me, right!?

Now that I can fit into my skinny jeans from freshman year, my new goal for this year is to become a runner. I started this training program called Couch to 10k on my iPhone! I have so much more energy now and my best friend Amber (read her blog here, DayEndReview) has really motivated me to start running. She has ran a ton of 5ks all around Oklahoma and now she is signed up to run a half marathon!  Plus, Sean is an amazing runner and I want to keep up with him when we start to run Lake Michigan this summer!

the winter coat

I have been searching for a winter coat ever since we moved to Chicago. I never thought I would ever need to buy a super long winter coat that basically goes down to my ankles! But the temperatures in Chicago this winter are so cold and I mainly do my commuting outside. So I searched and I searched...I wanted something fun, flirty, and flattering! Not a big coat that makes me look like a bear. So I came across this one from a Victoria's Secret website and it was love at first sight!

It is like wearing a blanket and has all the necessary number of pockets for a girl on the go. The fur hood is perfect for covering my hair when the snow comes and the cinched belt adds a nice feminine touch. Here is me with Sean wearing it at the Lincoln Park Zoo Lights a few weeks ago!

lulu i love you

I am in LOVE with these two dresses from LuLu*s, a Website my friend Whitney told me about. Like ModCloth, LuLu*s has some really chic stuff at great prices. I am getting the blue dress to wear for Whitney's bachelorette party in January that I am hosting. I know I will be cold but at least I will look super cute!

The cream dress is so dreamy and I just love the accents of gold around the oval neckline. This dress is definitely on my wish list but not yet in my shopping cart.