gift season is approaching...

I received a special coupon

from the lovely Dogeared online shop

and it got me prowling on their site once again,

where I found a perfectly adorable gift

for my sister’s upcoming birthday;

something petite and sweet.

As I browsed the site,

I fell in love once again with practically all their jewelry

and variety of products

(their tote bags are practical AND pretty!).

they are sentimental & chic;

I want to own them all.

Friends & family…

your Christmas gifts will be easy as pie this year.

Girl crushing

Her style,

her movies,

her mission (green living, local produce, biking, traveling).

I adore Rachel McAdams

and am super excited to see her upcoming movie, Morning Glory.

During my CVS visit last night,

I picked up the latest InStyle

with Ms. McAdams gracing the cover,

along with several Odwalla drinks

(I’m attempting to fight off a cold

that decided to make a nasty appearance),

fake eyelashes and some hot pink lip gloss and nail polish

for the upcoming Halloween holiday weekend.

I was quite proud of my CVS purchases.

This weekend was successful…I slept.

After drinks & dancing Friday night with the boy,

we slept till noon.

After craving pumpkins and roasting the seeds,

episodes of ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’

and dart throwing lessons from the boy,

some cheap, delicious red wine,

I fell asleep on the couch last night

and woke after 10 am today.

In between lots of slumber,

I also ate way too many chips, carbs and cheese.

But I approach today, this new week,

with motivation to exercise

and eat well and stay sane.

Other essential mission:

complete my Halloween costume component collecting.

Must find sparkly top fast.

photo courtesy of we heart it

TGIF TGIF

Reasons that I am super glad it is Friday:

- I love the Fall season and this past week has had the most lovely foliage yet. I want to soak up more reds, yellow and orange leaves, maybe even jump in a pile

- work hasn’t been fabulous lately, so I continue to treasure my weekends

- this week as been somewhat manageable, so at least I leave the office with some sense of contentment

- Halloween prep continues; must find hot pink sequined top

- upcoming birthday activities to plan

- flights are booked to San Diego in 4 weeks with the boy…travel itinerary planning begin

- some delicious meals must be consumed this weekend

- I’m currently loving the book I’m reading, Last Night At Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger and I want to eat it up

- I’m tired and my bed has been fantastic, I need to spend some more quality time in it ASAP

Happy fall weekend; what are you must excited about??

Cookie creativity conformity

I enjoy baking.

I can create tasty treats from flour, sugar, eggs, and more,

completely box-free.

I have produced some not too shabby results.

But this past week, all I wanted

was Pillsbury’s cookies with the festive designs baked in.

I wanted some pumpkin designs, maybe a ghost.

Nothing particularly amazing, but cute and easy.

And so I ventured out to pick up a pack,

with plans to bake up a couple dozen

and hand out these adorable bites

to friends and co-workers.

Three stops later, at three different locations,

I was empty handed.

Does Boston not carry

these holiday infused break-apart cookies!?

But my easy to make cookie desire

hadn’t disappeared

even though Pillsbury had.

And so I conformed to this dilemma,

simple sugar cookie dough in hand,

Halloween colored sprinkles (yellow, orange, black)

awaiting me at home.

And so, my situation was solved.

Treats to travel to work with me tomorrow,

festive and fun.

And my apartment smells delicious.

If anyone knows where I can locate

Pillsbury’s holiday cookies,

please share.

Christmas will be arriving soon and

my snowflake and tree designed treats cravings will be too.

Design Ideas For Me

My (still fairly new) apartment has come a long way.

All that is left to do is to hang up some miscellaneous items,

like our magazine rack and our coat hook;

my roommate and I are awaiting the boy

to come over with all his manly tools.

I continue to fall more and more in love

with my new home everyday and

I continue to search and to find inspiration all around me,

encouraging and motivating me to create

more chic, stylish spaces.

Recently I’ve become quite excited

by some online magazines bursting with ideas

that are incredibly suited to my personal style

and make me eager to come home,

move furniture around,

play with set ups and of course,

hit up the shops.

Here are some of my favorite looks,

courtesy of Lonny magazine

(check out Rue as well-

I wasn’t able to copy & share their awesome images!):

to do list etiquette

Mondays and Tuesdays are for me,

for taking stock and reorganizing for the week.

I look forward to this time,

it helps make the back-to-the-work-week-droll

a tad bit more manageable.

I admit,

I even look forward to the organizational high

that I get as I neatly write

my to do list.

My to do lists are not simple;

they must record all that needs to be accomplished,

all that needs to be bought,

all that needs completion,

and it must be noted,

what is of high urgency,

what is off most importance,

and if time gets in the way,

what can be postponed

and rewritten on next week’s list.

Color coding may be for some

or listing keeping on your phone,

but I prefer the classic

pen and paper version with neatly organized rows,

and check off boxes,

separated into sections by topic

and time constraints.

Yes, I love organizing

and to do lists make me happy : )

photo courtesy of we heart it

Breakfast after dusk

After my first bridal shower experience yesterday,

my roommate and I (over-)indulged in Chinese food last night.

It was delicious at the time (mmm crab ragoons and egg rolls)

but the punishment lasted until midday today.

I felt bloated and my stomach felt gross.

So it was an easy choice to pass up

on Chinese leftover for tonight’s dinner.

Instead, my roommate proposed breakfast for dinner

and I wholeheartedly embraced it!

We often had french toast, pancakes, or eggs for dinner

growing up and it’s always a nice change in flavors.

We cooked up some french toast

(with extra cinnamon and real vanilla in our egg mixture)

along with some turkey bacon and

the sweet salty scents surrounded our tiny kitchen.

We’ve done quiche.

We did french toast.

Next week: pancakes.

anthro therapy

After a stressful day at the office,

what’s the best place to go to forget your worries?

Anthropologie.

As I perused the relaxing store, I came upon more and more items

that would fill my dream home one day.

And then as I picked through the sale section,

I found goodies galore that are quickly filling up

my dream apartment now.

My favorite purchase last night;

these quirky plates with puppies of all types.

Perfect for a cute lunch date with the girls,

or a Friday night filled

with sweets and treats.

I also snatched up some of the most amazing sweatpants (50% off!)

that I have a feeling I will be living in this winter.

Thank you Anthro for giving me

some much needed retail therapy.

You did not disappoint.

manicures & lattes

Lately I’ve been over-indulging in some guilty pleasures.

I admit, I’ve been going a little overboard.

I used to be proud of my ability to give myself a near-perfect manicure.

I used to boost that I didn’t waste dollars on cafe bought coffee,

that I brewed my own and

carried it to work daily in a reusable mug.

But lately, I’ve failed.

I’ve splurged on manicures several times in the past couple months

and made a coffee shop stop

an average 3-day a week habit.

But then I remember,

it is the little things in life

that bring the biggest smiles to our faces.

And if a manicure

and a hot cinnamon dolce latte

make my Tuesday

that much more enjoyable and manageable,

well then,

bring it on.

photo courtesy of we heart it

mmm mmm quiche

For the third time in four weeks,

my roommate and I made quiche for dinner last night.

And for the third time, it was delicious.

We have experimented with ingredients, measurements and flavors,

and while all three have been quite tasty,

last evening’s asparagus, zucchini, and broccoli combo was delectable

(with layers of cheese of course).

The indulging of quiche has led me to brainstorming

other combinations and these suggestions courtesy of Martha

are tickling my taste buds:

- Herbed Quiche with Blue Cheese

- Aspargaus, Leek and Gruyere Quiche

- Spinach and Gruyere Quiche

And then I stumbled upon Mini Quiches;

how adorable and perfect for a brunch,

or wedding or baby shower!

essie & champagne

After a fabulous weekend in NYC, it’s back to the grindstone…

work, to-do lists, and stress.

Lots to do at the office and with holidays and celebrations approaching quickly,

lots of (fun!) stuff to do in my free time.

The weekend in NYC was worth it and exactly what I needed;

lots of laughter and some solid lounging time full of girl talk.

I was even able to meet up with my sister

for a fun dinner, after too long apart.

And I discovered my newfound love for champagne.

And my newfound love for essie nail polishes,

Saturday’s pick - Essie’s ‘Merino Cool.’

My mission this week: make it last.

photo courtesy of my other new love we heart it

Much needed escape

I’m off to NYC again this weekend,
to spend time with some of my favorite ladies,
doing what we do best;
manicures, eating, drinking, dancing, and laughing.
I can’t wait for the fun to begin : )

photo courtesy of we heart it

I wish I could wear these on an actual boat

Yesterday after work I decided it was finally time for some retail therapy, considering the stressful several weeks I’ve been experiencing. I had been contemplating some boat shoes for awhile now and with the arrival of chillier weather (and my distaste for wearing sneakers outside of the gym) I decided some comfortable, non-fancy-flats were necessary and acceptable.

I am quite happy with my purchase of these Sperry Top-Siders but have only one issue; the shoes need to be worn in and stretched out a bit and fast, since they are rubbing my heels and giving me some little blisters. Any advice!?

Recent Inspiration

Over the past few weeks, these little discoveries have been mini-doses of joy and inspiration:

the chic look of everyday-wear-sequins

(photo and inspiration courtesy of cupcakesandcashmere)

fall baking ideas at Williams-Sonoma

fabulous fall nail polish colors courtesy of essie

my daily little bits of fun and ideas thanks to Daily Candy

this amazing top;

my classic love for nautical style

sprinkled with this-season’s love, sequins

and after today, a day where I felt perpetually exhausted,

and empty and cold from the dreary rain outside,

all I wanted was a little treat.

And these pretzel M&Ms were great.

Another wonderful reminder for when things get crappy.

Thank you Olivia for describing my September so well and

assuring me that it is OK to believe in the power

of a good coffee and tasty treats.

*homemade apple cookies from freshly picked apples

Watch out Miranda Priestlys!

Hear ye, hear ye! Save the assistants! Save me!

I heard about this book a little while back

but as I was catching up with my blog reading the other evening,

Jordan at Ramshackle Glam reminded me about this fabulous find!

I plan on picking up this lifesaver ASAP and digesting it 100%.

One of my favorite sections of Jordan’s interview with the author:

“I started Save the Assistants because I realized

it was possible to have an entry-level job and

pay your dues in a given industry

without being unhappy or being treated like dirt.”

-Lilit Marcus

This is so simple and honest

and yet it was a lightbulb moment;

I can grow and learn and start at the bottom,

and still love my work

and enjoy every day

and be treated with utmost respect.

And then her other great piece of wisdom:

“The best advice I can give anyone, no matter what job they have, is to always remember who you are outside of the office. I’m lucky now because I have a job that I really love, but it’s still important to make time for other things I care about, like my friends, my family, my non-work writing projects, and causes I care about. When I first moved to New York, I couldn’t get a writing job to save my life. So while I worked crappy admin jobs that had nothing to do with my real interests, I wrote as much as I could in my spare time – that often meant writing for free, or getting bylines on websites no one had heard of. But it didn’t matter. If you really love something, you’ll keep doing it, even if no one pays you or you have to schedule it in at weird times. It was my outside-of-work writing, including Save the Assistants, that eventually helped me get the job I have now. Not only will pursuing your interests outside of work help you get experience doing what you really want to do, it’ll also make you feel good about yourself and relieve some of that stress you accumulate between 9 and 5.”

And that is why I write and read and surround myself

with things that make me happy.

Sometimes I just need

a little reminder.

And I'm back.

I expected a brief hiatus during my chaotic moving experience.

I did not however expect this hiatus to last over a month.

My apologies. One stressful issue led to another and something had to give.

Instead of recapping in depth all that has happened over the past 30+ days,

let’s resort to a brief bulleted list:

• I have relocated to the North End of Boston. The move was stressful but I am finally at home and thoroughly loving my new apartment. Things are falling into place and I love the cobblestone streets, smells of garlic and pastries that lingers at all hours and the convenience of being downtown.
• A day after the move (that was conducted in 98 degree weather), my parents visited and I don’t remember the last time I was so thankful for their support. My Dad hooked up all my appliances and got everything working, as my Mom folded and helped me organize all my stuff. I couldn’t have done such an amazing wardrobe detox without her. Their visit was bittersweet per usual but as we ventured up to Maine and enjoyed lighthouses, taffy and lobster rolls, I ate up all the pure happiness of their visit.
• I’ve heard it been said that you can’t have it all at once. So while my living situation was thriving and the boy and I were enjoying each other, work became difficult. Every day was a challenge, a struggle to stay above ground, and intensely stressful. Nothing was going right and everything was becoming painful. For several weeks work took over my life and drained everything else from me. This past week I felt some relief and control over my situation; I’ve learned I must take care of myself and that it isn’t worth the amount of pain and stress I was suffering from. I don’t wish to go into details but things are better currently and I hope the rough patch at the office has passed.

With my work situation consuming my life,

my sleep, appetite and energy disappeared (as did my time to write, read, relax).

But I did mention to sneak in some fun in September;

I went apple picking with the boy and

baked delicious apple cookies and apple bread and

received numerous compliments and recipe requests.

I road tripped to NYC to spend a much needed weekend with my girlfriends

where we danced the night away and laughed til our sides hurt.

I gobbled up lemon ricotta pancakes at Sarabeth’s in NYC

and have been talking about them to this day;

they were THAT good.

The boy and I were away from each other

for a couple weekends in a row due to our mutual crazy lives

but took advantage of the time together with late nights, tv and

my new favorite dish: pumpkin raviolis.

And I’ve continued to primp and prep my new place,

cooking dinner (or grabbing eggplant & ricotta pizza slices) with my roommate

and indulging in the return of our TV shows.

And so today, going forward,

I plan to leave the hiatus behind, and

welcome myself back to writing and doing all the littler things

that I love that I’ve missed lately.

I will be returning to the gym and passing on those frequent pizza slices.

I will be reading and relaxing in front of the tv

before crawling into my comfy bed for some solid sleep more often.

I’ve greatly missed all the blogs that I enjoy reading

and am excited and anxious to dive in and

soak up all that I’ve missed out on this past month.

It’s good to be back.