Its been such a long, tedious week for me--I am so happy that Friday has finally arrived! I've got no big plans this weekend. Hopefully just enjoying the nice weather and getting a few things done around the house. I laid out my new symmetrical frame wall yesterday, but was too chicken to make that many holes in my wall, so today I'm planning to try out some of the sticky command strips. Hopefully they work! I'll report back with my progress. I'm also heading to the library today to pick up my new book--very excited about that! I was going to start The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, but I heard it was depressing and I really want to read something light and happy right now. I'm hoping the Happiness Project will fit the bill.
I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy yourselves!
xoxo
Friday, January 27, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Feeling Inspired
I've been suffering through an abnormally long (seeming) workweek--its only Wednesday!--and I've been thinking more about something I can do to jazz up my house a little bit. After I moved in, I was really terrible about hanging pictures, but now I'm feeling inspired to create a small gallery wall in my bedroom. I have a bunch of 4x6 matching white Ikea frames, so I think I'm going to attempt something organized and symmetrical with them. We'll see what I come up with maybe Friday or sometime this weekend!
A few inspiring rooms:
Tonight I'm heading over to Sips n' Strokes with a few Wake Forest friends to do a pretty painting and have Mexican food for dinner! Sounds like a winning combo to me :) I'm having a hard time focusing at the office this afternoon, so I'm daydreaming about my painting and looking forward to having some social time with friends.
But seriously, is it the weekend yet? Does anyone else feel like this week will never end? I hope I'm not alone!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Updates
I can't believe we've almost made it through the end of January already! Atlanta has been really lucky so far, weather-wise. Only a few really cold days, but mostly in the 50s and 60s. I'll take that in January any time. Although we're almost a month into the new year, I'm still happy to report that I'm feeling really motivated to work on all of my 2012 goals. Lately I've:
-Lost a couple of pounds. Not much, but something.
-Joined a gym! I'm actually really excited about this.
-Have not shopped. At all. No clothes, home items, nothing. I am most proud of this one!
-Have been saving money other ways as well--less eating out!
-Reserved a copy of The Happiness Project at the library (saving money and reading more). Excited about this one too...picking up my copy tonight!
-Doing a painting party/girls' wine night tomorrow night. This counts as taking a class, right?
Lots of fun things happening over here. I had a bummer of a day yesterday, for various (mostly work related reasons), so I'm happy that today is a new, happy day, and that I can think about all the wonderful things I'm doing with my life in 2012. Its easy to get bogged down by the little things, but always important to remember all the good.
Now I want to focus on the Great Closet Cleanout and donate/consign some things that are not perfect for me. I need to get over my want for quantity in the closet, and shoot more for quality items that I love. Working on this next, and working more on shopping in my own closet!
How are your resolutions holding up? Any awesome stories or tips to share?
-Lost a couple of pounds. Not much, but something.
-Joined a gym! I'm actually really excited about this.
-Have not shopped. At all. No clothes, home items, nothing. I am most proud of this one!
-Have been saving money other ways as well--less eating out!
-Reserved a copy of The Happiness Project at the library (saving money and reading more). Excited about this one too...picking up my copy tonight!
-Doing a painting party/girls' wine night tomorrow night. This counts as taking a class, right?
Lots of fun things happening over here. I had a bummer of a day yesterday, for various (mostly work related reasons), so I'm happy that today is a new, happy day, and that I can think about all the wonderful things I'm doing with my life in 2012. Its easy to get bogged down by the little things, but always important to remember all the good.
Now I want to focus on the Great Closet Cleanout and donate/consign some things that are not perfect for me. I need to get over my want for quantity in the closet, and shoot more for quality items that I love. Working on this next, and working more on shopping in my own closet!
How are your resolutions holding up? Any awesome stories or tips to share?
Monday, January 23, 2012
Shower Success
The bridal shower I hosted for Julie on Saturday went really well! We ended up with a good size group of ladies, we ate lots of yummy food (that my mom helped me prepare) and we did plenty of socializing, and even played a game! I thought everything turned out really well. Here's how it went:
Greetings, mix & mingle.
Eat!
Open gifts.
How-well-do-you-know-the-bride game.
More eating & mingling.
Menu:
-Chocolate sour cream cupcakes with cream cheese icing (YUM)
-Fruit Salad
-Raw veggies with cucumber dill dip
-Pinapple pecan cheese ball
-Fillo cups with chicken salad
-Sausage balls
I would definitely recommend this menu, or a similar one, if you are hosting a shower for up to about 25 people. We had more food than we needed, but leftovers are always good :)
Pictures to come soon. The bride-to-be and I wore the same dress! I guess that's what happens when you've known each other for over 2o years.
Greetings, mix & mingle.
Eat!
Open gifts.
How-well-do-you-know-the-bride game.
More eating & mingling.
Menu:
-Chocolate sour cream cupcakes with cream cheese icing (YUM)
-Fruit Salad
-Raw veggies with cucumber dill dip
-Pinapple pecan cheese ball
-Fillo cups with chicken salad
-Sausage balls
I would definitely recommend this menu, or a similar one, if you are hosting a shower for up to about 25 people. We had more food than we needed, but leftovers are always good :)
Pictures to come soon. The bride-to-be and I wore the same dress! I guess that's what happens when you've known each other for over 2o years.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Weekend Trip
I'm excited to be headed home to NC tomorrow for a 3 day weekend visit (even though I was just there for the holidays). Its going to be a very special trip, because I'm hosting a bridal shower for my best friend from childhood, Julie, who is getting married in March, and so sweetly asked me to be her maid of honor. I am so excited for my shower, and for her to get hitched in just a couple of months! I have all the food planned, but I'm still lacking on games/other entertaining activities. Any thoughts or suggestions? I'll happily take anything you have to offer!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Louisiana
I'm in Southern Louisiana this week for work, and having a great time. Unfortunately for my diet, I've been eating everything in sight. Not quite in line with my 2012 goals, but I have been to the hotel gym for the past 2 days (which is 2 days more than I would normally go), so I am feeling a little more proud of myself. Last summer I was in this area--but a little further out into the Bayou, not near civilization, and I bought a local school fundraiser cookbook. I've been reinspired to start using it again. I have eaten some of the most delicious food this week so far (catfish, gumbo, po boys, stuffed crab...and let's not even discuss the bread pudding). Today at lunch I had rice dressing for the first time, and it was insanely good. I think I'm going to try a recipe for it soon once I get home--and maybe attempt to healthify it? We'll see. In the mean time, I'm looking forward to a dinner of fruit and yogurt tonight, and another gym trip :)
Monday, January 9, 2012
On Progress
I posted last week about my lengthy list of goals for 2012. The good news is, I am feeling just as motivated as I was on January 1, and I've actually begun to make some progress on a few things.
1. I've been attempting to watch what I eat (a little--but its really hard when I'm in such a delicious place like Southern Louisiana), but I have definitely been doing better with my exercising. I got 2 new Just Dance games for Wii for Christmas (JD3 and Summer Party), and I have been using those for at least 30 minutes about every other day. Also, John and I climbed Stone Mountain for the first time in 2012 on Saturday. I think I did it faster and with less stops than ever before! Now, I must decide whether or not to join a gym right around the corner from my house ($16/month, and that's including the "annual fee"...hard to say no, right?).
2. Got a new hair tool at Target and I think its going to be really great! Its one of those straighteners with the curved plates on the outside so that you can easily (very easily!) make curls and waves. I've only used it once to play around, but it made curls very easily and quickly, and it also gave my hair a good amount of volume with "waves", which I certainly do not have naturally! You can get one just like mine here. I hope my hair is looking more like my girl Kate's in no time.
3. Still just as motivated to save more/spend less. No shop January is going strong, and I've even decided to start tracking the money I can save when I travel for work (not using up my daily allowance of money for meals, etc.). In an extra effort to stop the shopping insanity that was 2011, I went back through my credit card statements for the whole year and added up all clothing, department store, home-good-item purchases (plus my iPad, bridesmaid dress, etc). This was not pretty, but I highly recommend doing this if you want to be more self-aware about your spending. It was eye-opening.
4. I haven't cooked much, but I have cooked some. I want to try new (and healthy recipes soon)!
5. There's a BYOB knitting class on living social for Atlanta today. I did say I wanted to take a class... :)
6. I think I'm making progress on being a better blogger. Still need to work on taking more photos, but I am so happy to be sharing my ideas and happenings of the new year with all of you!
Anyone else have any progress they'd like to report? I am so happy that I'm keeping up my motivation and energy to try and make 2012 great. I hope y'all are too!
1. I've been attempting to watch what I eat (a little--but its really hard when I'm in such a delicious place like Southern Louisiana), but I have definitely been doing better with my exercising. I got 2 new Just Dance games for Wii for Christmas (JD3 and Summer Party), and I have been using those for at least 30 minutes about every other day. Also, John and I climbed Stone Mountain for the first time in 2012 on Saturday. I think I did it faster and with less stops than ever before! Now, I must decide whether or not to join a gym right around the corner from my house ($16/month, and that's including the "annual fee"...hard to say no, right?).
2. Got a new hair tool at Target and I think its going to be really great! Its one of those straighteners with the curved plates on the outside so that you can easily (very easily!) make curls and waves. I've only used it once to play around, but it made curls very easily and quickly, and it also gave my hair a good amount of volume with "waves", which I certainly do not have naturally! You can get one just like mine here. I hope my hair is looking more like my girl Kate's in no time.
3. Still just as motivated to save more/spend less. No shop January is going strong, and I've even decided to start tracking the money I can save when I travel for work (not using up my daily allowance of money for meals, etc.). In an extra effort to stop the shopping insanity that was 2011, I went back through my credit card statements for the whole year and added up all clothing, department store, home-good-item purchases (plus my iPad, bridesmaid dress, etc). This was not pretty, but I highly recommend doing this if you want to be more self-aware about your spending. It was eye-opening.
4. I haven't cooked much, but I have cooked some. I want to try new (and healthy recipes soon)!
5. There's a BYOB knitting class on living social for Atlanta today. I did say I wanted to take a class... :)
6. I think I'm making progress on being a better blogger. Still need to work on taking more photos, but I am so happy to be sharing my ideas and happenings of the new year with all of you!
Anyone else have any progress they'd like to report? I am so happy that I'm keeping up my motivation and energy to try and make 2012 great. I hope y'all are too!
Happy Birthday Kate!
Kate Middleton turns 30 today! I bet she has a pretty fabulous first-palace-birthday planned, too. Here she is looking as gorgeous as ever at last night's War Horse premiere in London:
Photo from usmagazine.com
Photo from usmagazine.com
I love this full lace dress on her. Simple, but classic and stunning. And notice the hair? I'm working on mine :)
Thursday, January 5, 2012
2011 recap (a little late)
Before we get too far into 2012, I wanted to take a little time to remember 2011. After a few reflections, I realized that 2011 was really one of the best years of my life to date--certainly my best post-college year yet. Why? Well first off, nothing really bad happened to me. I know that's a bad way to start the list, but its true. 2009 I had an apartment break-in and a very hard time adjusting to Atlanta. In 2010 my car was stolen (thanks again Atlanta) and I began a pretty serious hatred of my apartment--for obvious reasons. But 2012 was different! I look back, and nothing negative pops into my mind. I love that.
As for the other good stuff, there's a laundry list:
-I passed my important work exam, and got promoted.
-I went on tons of great trips (beaches, London, PA, Homecoming).
-John and I hit the 2 year mark!
-I bought a house all by myself.
-I ended 2011 lighter than I started.
-I saw 2 of my great friends get married (and was a bridesmaid for the first time).
All such good things! Do y'all have any highlights from 2011 you want to share? Anything you are particularly looking forward to in 2012? I'm excited about hopefully taking some more fun trips,
being a maid of honor in Julie's wedding, and generally embrace being a mid-twenty-something grown up.
As for the other good stuff, there's a laundry list:
-I passed my important work exam, and got promoted.
-I went on tons of great trips (beaches, London, PA, Homecoming).
-John and I hit the 2 year mark!
-I bought a house all by myself.
-I ended 2011 lighter than I started.
-I saw 2 of my great friends get married (and was a bridesmaid for the first time).
All such good things! Do y'all have any highlights from 2011 you want to share? Anything you are particularly looking forward to in 2012? I'm excited about hopefully taking some more fun trips,
being a maid of honor in Julie's wedding, and generally embrace being a mid-twenty-something grown up.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Good Advice!
Love this from Chic Geek. I'm starting my consume less/buy fewer clothes/buy quality resolution by giving the closet a really good cleanout. The one its been needing for literally years. I'm also thinking of going back to my credit card statements for all of 2011 and counting up the money i've spent on clothes. It's probably going to be gross, but needs to be done!
2012
Happy New Year friends! So sorry for the hiatus, but I've been enjoying some lazy time (thankfully) away from my computer for the last few weeks. It makes for a slacker blogger, but a happy girl! I had been feeling pretty burnt out at the end of the year, but I must say the vacation was exactly what I needed. I enjoyed my time in NC catching up with friends and all my family, and I've enjoyed a few days back in Atlanta with a whole bunch of nothing on my agenda. It's been wonderful! I hope you all feel as rested and rejuventated as I do, and so ready to start fresh in a new year!
I'm generally not one for making a bunch of resolutions, but this year I feel particularly compelled to. And I actually feel like I can make good on my promises to myself! Its all about starting off on the right foot. So, here's my list of "resolutions" according to the iPad note that I'm keeping as a running talley as I think of things:
Lose 10 pounds to reach goal weight.
Exercise more often. Mix it up to keep it from getting boring.
Work on doing hair more often before work (use Kate Middleton as inspiration).
Save more money each month.
Read more, at least 1 or 2 books per month. Use library more.
Buy fewer clothes. Only buy things that I love and are unlike things I already have.
Buy quality.
Take a class.
Cook more. Meal plan.
Take more photos.
Be a better blogger!
Pay off (or down) car loan.
Be less of a consumer.
That's the list! Thoughts, suggestions, additions? I'm pretty excited about all these things, and I have more to say on a few of those topics, but i'll save that for another day. What are your resolutions for the year? Do you make any?
I'm generally not one for making a bunch of resolutions, but this year I feel particularly compelled to. And I actually feel like I can make good on my promises to myself! Its all about starting off on the right foot. So, here's my list of "resolutions" according to the iPad note that I'm keeping as a running talley as I think of things:
Lose 10 pounds to reach goal weight.
Exercise more often. Mix it up to keep it from getting boring.
Work on doing hair more often before work (use Kate Middleton as inspiration).
Save more money each month.
Read more, at least 1 or 2 books per month. Use library more.
Buy fewer clothes. Only buy things that I love and are unlike things I already have.
Buy quality.
Take a class.
Cook more. Meal plan.
Take more photos.
Be a better blogger!
Pay off (or down) car loan.
Be less of a consumer.
That's the list! Thoughts, suggestions, additions? I'm pretty excited about all these things, and I have more to say on a few of those topics, but i'll save that for another day. What are your resolutions for the year? Do you make any?
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