Currently

So many good things (and maybe 1 or 2 not so good things) happening lately. Thanksgiving was wonderful. It is always good to visit NC and see my friends and family. It seems like there is never enough time, and I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to, but alas. I'll be there next month for Christmas! I also finally got to meet SCD's fiance, which was great. I am so looking forward to the wedding next year!

Other good things include:
1. Shopping here and there, for myself and gifts for others. I love Christmas. I also love Black Friday (although I'm definitely not a 4am shopper).
2. Eating delicious, not good for me food. I baked a sweet potato pound cake for Thanksgiving which was a big hit, and tonight I plan on making my special peanut butter chocolate cups for everyone in the office. Recipe to follow!
3. Condo searching. Its a lot of fun, but sadly not over yet (see bad things below).
4. A little surprise cash flow came my way this week, and I have always been a firm believer that found money is meant to be spent on frivolous things! I have been craving a Burberry coat for a while now but have since concluded that's not a smart purchase at the moment. But I took it as a sign from the gods when the Tiffany & Co. catalog showed up in my mailbox yesterday. I think I will be making a special purchase for myself for Christmas, and still managing to save about 2/3 of my windfall!
5. Christmas, in general. My tree is up and I bought the cutest set of 12 Days of Christmas ornaments from Crate and Barrel last week. Love. Soon I will be baking up a storm and singing Christmas carols and sending out Christmas cards. My favorite time of the year :)

Bad things..or one bad thing in particular:
1. I am a Property Virgin (shout out to HGTV, my current addiction), and of course that makes me more emotionally attached to my upcoming condo purchase. In short, I found the perfect place. I adored the location, the size, the price. My parents and John saw it last weekend and of course liked the 2nd place I showed them more than my favorite (and it was supposed to be for comparison sake ONLY). So, it took me a few extra days to make an offer becuase I had to convince the haters that it was the right place. Last Tuesday rolls around when I am prepared to make an offer, and BOOM--realtor calls and says someone put a contract on it on Monday night. WTF? It had been on the market for a year.

I figure if its meant to be, it will be. I put in an offer in case the other contract goes bad, but otherwise I've moved on and managed to dig around for 5 new places I really like. I'm going to see them this week! Wish me luck for speedy find and that the right place will be mine!

As for life in general, I am currently loving:
1. Lists, obviously.
2. Peppermint everything. Today it was the peppermint chip milkshake from Chickfila.
3. Balsam woods candle from Bath & Body Works.
4. Groupon. I can't wait to use my $50 to Nordstrom Rack that only cost $25!
5. John, for being sweet and always picking me up from the airport so I don't have to ride Marta with the sketchsters.
6. Sugar free instant apple cider packets. Yum.
7. Party dresses. I'm searching for the perfect one for Lydia's wedding, and I think I may have found it at the Limited. Let's just hope the one I ordered online fits!
8. Weddings in general. I just found out yet another friend is engaged--yay!
9. Being home for 5 mintues...although the travel starts back up next week.
10. Uggs. They are the miracle of footwear.

Engagement! (Don't worry--not me!)

One of my nearest and dearest, the lovely Sara, is engaged! I got the call last night and am beyond excited. This is the first one of my closest friends to get engaged and get married. So crazy! Can't wait for the wedding and maybe a trip to Klienfelds :)

Enjoy a few blasts from the past of the bride-to-be!

Things to be excited about:

1. Going to a football game tomorrow! I'll be cheering for GA Tech (because let's face it, WF football sucks majorly this year).
2. Groupons. They are just wonderful.
3. I think I have found my dream condo! But, I also found another one I really, really like. Always good to have options and/or backup plans.
4. Thanksgiving in 6 days.
5. Black Friday in 7 (this counts as a holiday to me).
6. New black suede flats with a pretty ribbon from J. Crew. Original price $188, my price $40. I win!
7. Eating healthier--I feel so much better. It might be short lived though (see No. 4).
8. Hopefully seeing friends at home next week in NC.
9. Seeing parents this weekend in Atlanta.
10. New Kanye West album comes out next Tuesday. I can't wait.

Enjoy your weekend!

Teen Mom, etc.

Amber from Teen Mom will be arrested on felony charges according to CNN. So scary...but that show is still absolutely one of my guilty pleasures. Very, very embarassing, I know.

I've spent today working at home and enjoying spending some time at home on my couch. Sometimes it amazes me how much more productive I can be at home rather than in the office. Its great! Plus, I didn't have to dress up in office clothes today. Win.

I did see my last (hopefully) three condos at lunch today. And I actually loved 2 of them (same layout, same complex). I'mpretty excited about it, even though I have already had my heart set on a certain place for a while now. The parents are coming down this weekend, and I'm excited to have more than just one option to show them. Having something to compare to is very important. And I am getting really excited about the prospect of getting closer to actually buying a place. I'm a real grown up!

Prince William is engaged.

And I am in mourning.

photo from people.com

But I do promise to my friends to have a fabulous wedding viewing/mourning party whenever the big day comes! Get excited!

Update: She got Diana's engagement ring, too! I am green with envy.

Staycation

I had the most fabulous staycation this past weekend--and I didn't even have to take any days off work! I was lucky enough to have Veteran's Day off, and then Friday was my normal flex day. Four days off in a row was quite a treat!

Excellent things that happened this weekend:
-Saw Jenn for the first time since she moved back!
-Has a special surprise on Friday and saw Kate too!
-Ate delicious Mexican food
-Went to a great antique market
-Slept. A lot.
-Grocery shopped at Trader Joe's
-Spent lots of time with John
-Outlet shopped
-Had a cookies and cream milkshake at a 50s diner
-Watched lots of good/trashy tv
-Cleaned & did two loads of laundry
-Condo shopped--and I think I've found the ONE!

All in all, productive and awesome. I am really, really excited about the condo. I'm trying not to get too exctied because I haven't made an offer yet or anything official, but the parents are coming down this weekend to see it. Sounds so promising! I don't have any photos, but a small sneak peak: its 3 levels and 4 bedrooms. Yes, you read that right. Love!

I also went to Vegas last week for work and had a fabulous time. Everything was as beautiful as I remembered and this time I was old enough to gamble (and lose $25 on the slots)! I stayed at the Mandalay Bay and would highly recommend it. There was a tv in the bathroom...enough said. The food was great and I generally had an awesome time. I'll post a few pictures soon.

I hope all of you have been having a great November so far. Thanksgiving is in 10 days. Not sure how that happened, but I'm looking forward to a little time in NC. And I might start putting up my Christmas decorations tonight. Don't judge me!

xoxo

OMG!

I am so excited about this I can barely even stand it!

Election Day!

I hope everyone goes out and votes today! I'll be voting for the first time in Georgia. Still unsure who I'll be casting a ballot for in the governor's race. Neither candidate is particularly appealing. But remember, if you don't vote, you have no right to complain!

Election day summary.

Spent the weekend....

Doing as close to nothing as possible. Still not sure I recovered from my epic travel day on Thursday (included: paying $50 for an earlier flight that ended up being delayed 35 mintues later than the original flight...GRR & having my hair patted down in the security line at the airport. Not cool. I hate you, KC airport.)

I did nothing on Friday. Well, not nothing. I bought a cute new coat at Old Navy on sale for $40, and picked up a few things on sale at Banana Republic that were on sale with an extra 30% off. Then I did nothing for the rest of the day. Saturday, I finally got lots of errands done including mailing some birthday gifts to my dears and grocery shopping since I had no food in my house. I felt very accomplished! John and I grilled out one last time before it gets too cold. We made delicious turkey burgers with a little onion and jalepenos mixed in, and a little sausage added for flavor. These were amazing. And still very healthy compared with regular hamburger, but the small amount of sausage gave the burgers so much flavor. Highly recommended.

Sunday we walked around the historic Oakland Cemetary in downtown Atlanta to get in the Halloween spirit. I also baked a pumpkin pie and watched Hocus Pocus :) Very successful Halloween overall!