Thursday, January 26

eye candy

I heart Peeta....yum.


Have a great weekend!
Houston y'all!


Wednesday, January 25

cold | to | wedding

I have had the worst cold for the past week! It has totally put me behind on everything from working to blogging to exercising! Luckily I didn't have that big of an appetite but still! Grrrrr... But I guess it is kind of nice to hunker down on the couch for a week with some hot tea and watch lots of TV. I discovered Downton Abbey and The United States of Tara. Two very addicting new shows that I love, love, love!

Now I have to shop and pack like mad the next two days for my best friend's wedding this weekend! This happy couple is getting hitched on Saturday! Can't wait to see my wonderful friends on their happy day of love!

James + Mallory

I met Mallory my first day at the OU Theta house. I had just transferred and was so nervous about making new friends. I remember she had the coolest pixie haircut and pair of glasses. I thought, "this girl is totally going to be my friend." A year later we were neighbors and partied like rock stars together! Over the years she has become one of my closest friends, Mallory gives great advice and has the best sense of humor, and she is totally one of those girls that would do anything for her friends. She is the best and will be a beautiful bride on Saturday!

Mallory + me New Orleans!


Wednesday, January 18

destination houston

We are headed to Houston in two weeks for a wedding where I am a bridesmaid for my good friend Mallory. She tells me the weather is in the 60's so I'm coming prepared! I recently made some purchases from Old Navy this week, everything is 30% off! We are planning on visiting the Houston Zoo and if you can't tell, I'm really into animal prints right now....

Tuesday, January 17

golden globes 2012

Awards season has begun and that means red carpets, red carpets, red carpets! Every year I love to watch all the awards shows with my bff Erin. We text each other during the entire red carpet starting at 4 PM to the end of the awards show at 10 PM. Funny story about our ritual HERE...

I was very excited to see Laura Dern win for Enlightened, the best show ever. It's so uplifting, sweet and funny. I cheered when Octavia Davis won for The Help. I watched that movie twice this weekend! Loved it! "Eat my shit..." hahahaha. Those were really the only wins I was excited about, pretty disappointed in the rest of the winners. I was rooting for The Help, New Girl, Bridesmaids and Game of Thrones to win top honors. Oh well...but I did majorly cry when Michelle Williams accepted her award, she is so beautiful and gracious. I want to be her friend!

Now my fashion picks! I did not like a lot of the dress choices this year but there were a few that were edgy and stood out (FAVORITES), and a few that were just HOT dresses! Then you have those people where you wonder "Where are their stylists?" and "What is Kyle Richards doing at the Golden Globes??" See my style picks below and let me know what you think!








Friday, January 13

weight a go go

I've never been one to blame the holidays for "holiday weight" but this year I totally am. I definitely let myself go a little overboard with baking and drinking wine these past two months. Now it is time to get this shit under control! Thank goodness for the new gym that opened up in Lincoln Square. I just LOVE it! There are no excuses for me not to go after work because it is right off of the train.


I have been doing amazingly at the gym, going 4 to 5 times a week. My new hardcore workout routine consists of - 30 mins running, 15 mins doing arm weights and then an hour on the elliptical (watching an episode of Glee the first 45 mins and listening to my gym tunes the last 15 mins). I stretch, do 15 mins of abs and end by sitting in the sauna for about 10 mins. It has been really hard some days but I always feel amazing after.

The other tool that really helps me is my LoseIt! app on my iPhone. I would be lost without it because I think my main weakness (especially on weekends) is eating and drinking, so logging what I eat (and drink...yikes!) really shows me what bad habits I need to change.  Losing weight sucks the older we get, boys have it so easy! But I'm trying to stay positive!


*this post was inspired by my friend Erin, read her blog post here!

snow! finally...

The snow finally came to Chicago yesterday. It is so pretty! Here are a few pics from my venture home yesterday:

Church across the street from my work

Headed to the brown line

Walking home in our new hood

Home with the Cams looking at the falling snow

I love snow! Happy Friday!

Wednesday, January 11

brunch reception

To brunch or not to brunch....I have always wonder how a bride could pull off a brunch reception. I have never been to one myself so I just want to know what would her day be like? Would she wake up at 5:30am to start her wedding day? Everyone knows I am a morning person so that wouldn't bother me that much but what about the wedding party and guests? What time would you start the ceremony for it to be considered brunch - 10am, 11am, noon? I mean a mimosa fountain does sound kind of awesome and breakfast food is my fave...

My favorite place in Chicago for weddings is Salvage One and they have some pictures of a brunch reception on their website. The decor is so bright and fun, and the mini pancakes look so yummy! Oh, so many options for the big day!

Monday, January 9

civil wars + hunger games

How excited was I when I heard that The Civil Wars are on the Hunger Games soundtrack AND one of the first songs released? SUPER excited! Granted it is Joy Williams singing with Taylor Swift but the song is amazing and so pretty. If you read the book you know exactly what part they are singing about...sniff...sniff...tear.

The song, Safe and Sound, is so worth the $1.29 on iTunes and check out the gorgeous folksiness of The Civil Wars album Barton Hollow as well. Monday, Monday...





Friday, January 6

treasure in the laundry room

The week we moved into our new place we finally had a chance to look at our building's basement where the laundry and storage units are located. Sean spotted this chair tucked back in a corner covered with boards and cob webs. If it's orange Sean will find it. "Can we take this you think? Let's ask Andy!" he said. "You better clean it first and make sure there are no crazy big spiders living in it!" was my reply. Then one day I came home and it was in our living room!


Our landlord said it had been down there for years and that we could have it, so Sean cleaned her up and now she is ours. We are going to refinish the wood and I'm on the hunt for new buttons to replace the missing ones. I love having a piece of furniture with a pop of color.


Thursday, January 5

vanity redo

This week we (Sean) replaced our old, yucky, pedestal sink with a new one! The faucet even has those cute white handles with hot and cold on them. Pedestal sinks work in maybe a half bath but not in your one and only bathroom! I was desperately needing storage space in there and plus the sink was just naaaasty...I could never get that effer clean...


Gag me...


Look how pretty!


Next up is resurfacing the bathtub and fixtures, new shower curtain (I'm wanting this one) and new bath mats! This is how we re-doooo it....

Wednesday, January 4

sari napkins

I was reading on Once Wed where this bride made her napkins by buying sari fabric and cutting them out herself. I love bright and colorful table settings so I'm pretty sure I would do this for a reception or any party. I think it's a great (and cheap) idea for adding a pop of color. Here are some sari patterns I found on Etsy that I might just go ahead and buy...


Tuesday, January 3

movie night - back to the future

After contemplating throwing our HDTV digital box out the window due to some techy problems...Sean and I settled on watching a Back to the Future marathon on HBO last night. I use to have the BIGGEST crush on Michael J. Fox. I thought he was such a "dreeeeeam." Only being 2 years-old when the original came out and now 25+ years later (yes, we are that old) these movies are still fun to watch.


"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit." - Doc

Monday, January 2

creepy haircut

Does anyone remember that scary guy with the weird haircut from No Country for Old Men who killed people with that air gun thingy?



This guy sat in front of me the other morning and I couldn't help but wonder if this movie is where he got his haircut inspiration...

Creepy...