Friday Favorites

What a week... I am still recovering from the epic party, more on that later. But for now I have a few current favorite things to share with you mostly from my last completely frivolous spending spree. 

DAGNE DOVER TOTE

I finally bit the bullet and got myself the work tote that I was coveting. They had a spring clearance sale so I got a steal of a deal on the Legend Tote in Bleecker Blush  and I loooove it. Not only is the color absolutely gorgeous and completely neutral everything is perfectly organized and stowed neatly in it's place. I love that it has a neoprene sleeve cup holder inside, one less thing to carry in my hands.  I also picked up a large Elle Clutch because I often prefer not to carry a purse in addition to my tote. This keeps my phone and i.d., lipstick, cards.... whatever, separate from my work stuff and tucks right inside. I love this piece too. Check it out here  and click here to get 10% off your first order. 

DRY SHAMPOO

I am always trying to use less heat on my hair to keep it healthier and make my color last longer so I have gotten pretty good about going longer and longer between washes. This could not be possible without some good dry shampoo. Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Tapioca Dry Shampoo is my current favorite. It smells good enough to eat!! Throw it in your Amazon shopping cart now, you will not be disappointed.

LINEN SHIFT DRESS

I bought this Linen Shift Dress for my daughter's graduation and it is so cute and summery. It actually stays off your shoulders pretty well. It is a little on the short side (not as much on me as this model) but I actually wore it as a tunic with white skinny jeans and it was super cute. Classic, simple elegant. And cheap.

DECOR

If you are like me you like to add a little something here or there in your home that is seasonal. A pop of color in the summer or something a little beachy maybe? Check out the Coastal Prep collection at Michael's. It feels like a little it of Hamptons chic for a fraction of the cost. You can buy some of it online but I recommend headibng to the store with your app and 40% off coupons! How pretty is this?

FESTIVAL

Music Midtown announced their 2017 lineup this week and although I was hoping for U2 I'll settle for Bruno, Mumford, Future and Blink. I get the pre-sale special duh because I buy so many concert tickets so I'll be there. Bringing a trash bag to wear this year. Can. Not. Wait.

SHOES

Ya'll know I have an Adidas obsession. That includes Stan Smith's in multiple colors and styles. Ummm... can we not even talk about how freaking cute these are in... wait for it.... PALM PRINT. Could you die??? I could only find them in men's but luckily they come in some really small men's sizes like 8 that actually fit my size 10 womens foot. How do you like me know Pharrell Williams?

MAKE UP

Last but not least the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 Palette. I love these colors. Since I had my eyebrows done and I have been getting lash extensions I feel like I don't need any heavy color on my eyes, I can easily get away with a more natural look. Bye bye heavy smokey eye at least for summer! Hello subtle earthy nudes, this is perfect!

FUNNY STUFF

The internet has been pretty damn funny lately...

Saving this one for one of my DM's...

I mean, just stop vegans. We like cow ok???

Exactly... how I felt when I put the last dish on the table at the graduation party last weekend after cooking for days...

Also how I felt when the last party guest left 4 hours after the invitation said the party was over and I was not hammered...

How ready I am for summer...

Also mentally getting prepared for not being able to fix my A/C until I finish paying college tuition...

Basically heading into summer like...

Linking up with Amanda for the first time in for-ev-er!!!

Friday Favorites

Friday Favorites

Friday, June 23, 2017

What a week... I am still recovering from the epic party, more on that later. But for now I have a few current favorite things to share with you mostly from my last completely frivolous spending spree. 

DAGNE DOVER TOTE

I finally bit the bullet and got myself the work tote that I was coveting. They had a spring clearance sale so I got a steal of a deal on the Legend Tote in Bleecker Blush  and I loooove it. Not only is the color absolutely gorgeous and completely neutral everything is perfectly organized and stowed neatly in it's place. I love that it has a neoprene sleeve cup holder inside, one less thing to carry in my hands.  I also picked up a large Elle Clutch because I often prefer not to carry a purse in addition to my tote. This keeps my phone and i.d., lipstick, cards.... whatever, separate from my work stuff and tucks right inside. I love this piece too. Check it out here  and click here to get 10% off your first order. 

DRY SHAMPOO

I am always trying to use less heat on my hair to keep it healthier and make my color last longer so I have gotten pretty good about going longer and longer between washes. This could not be possible without some good dry shampoo. Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Tapioca Dry Shampoo is my current favorite. It smells good enough to eat!! Throw it in your Amazon shopping cart now, you will not be disappointed.

LINEN SHIFT DRESS

I bought this Linen Shift Dress for my daughter's graduation and it is so cute and summery. It actually stays off your shoulders pretty well. It is a little on the short side (not as much on me as this model) but I actually wore it as a tunic with white skinny jeans and it was super cute. Classic, simple elegant. And cheap.

DECOR

If you are like me you like to add a little something here or there in your home that is seasonal. A pop of color in the summer or something a little beachy maybe? Check out the Coastal Prep collection at Michael's. It feels like a little it of Hamptons chic for a fraction of the cost. You can buy some of it online but I recommend headibng to the store with your app and 40% off coupons! How pretty is this?

FESTIVAL

Music Midtown announced their 2017 lineup this week and although I was hoping for U2 I'll settle for Bruno, Mumford, Future and Blink. I get the pre-sale special duh because I buy so many concert tickets so I'll be there. Bringing a trash bag to wear this year. Can. Not. Wait.

SHOES

Ya'll know I have an Adidas obsession. That includes Stan Smith's in multiple colors and styles. Ummm... can we not even talk about how freaking cute these are in... wait for it.... PALM PRINT. Could you die??? I could only find them in men's but luckily they come in some really small men's sizes like 8 that actually fit my size 10 womens foot. How do you like me know Pharrell Williams?

MAKE UP

Last but not least the Urban Decay Naked Basics 2 Palette. I love these colors. Since I had my eyebrows done and I have been getting lash extensions I feel like I don't need any heavy color on my eyes, I can easily get away with a more natural look. Bye bye heavy smokey eye at least for summer! Hello subtle earthy nudes, this is perfect!

FUNNY STUFF

The internet has been pretty damn funny lately...

Saving this one for one of my DM's...

I mean, just stop vegans. We like cow ok???

Exactly... how I felt when I put the last dish on the table at the graduation party last weekend after cooking for days...

Also how I felt when the last party guest left 4 hours after the invitation said the party was over and I was not hammered...

How ready I am for summer...

Also mentally getting prepared for not being able to fix my A/C until I finish paying college tuition...

Basically heading into summer like...

Linking up with Amanda for the first time in for-ev-er!!!

Read More

Thursday Confessional

So....I got hit on by an old dude at Dunkin Donuts this week, like grandpa retirement age old. I stopped to pick up 2 boxes of coffee and a couple dozen donuts for an early meeting Tuesday without preordering and had to wait for them to brew fresh coffee ... my mistake. You know how you can feel someone staring at the back of you just instinctively? Yeah, as I was waiting for my order I could feel that, and then Gramps spoke. Best line ever... "where's the party". I about died laughing thinking dude, my kinda party does not consist of  shitty donuts and 2 boxes of Joe. But nice try. We chatted for a few minutes while I waited and I think I made his day. Pretty sure I saw him doing a little happy dance when I was driving away. I love old people.

My upstairs A/C has officially broken. My repair guy told me last summer that adding Freon was just a temporary fix and now the worst has come to pass. Faaaaaack... the part is $1085 plus the cost of refrigerant. College tuition is due Aug. 14th also so guess who is going to be having a long hot summer?

Since I can no longer afford to go out, except for work purposes, it sure as shit is convenient that I am currently living in crappy t-shirts and Old Navy boxer short PJ's. I feel slightly loser-ish when I come home from work and just put pajamas on but all I am going to do is maybe make/order dinner, work some more, clean/purge another area of my home, possibly blog or do social media things or watch Netflix. None of which require real pants so.... These are my current faves because I am mad about the big leaf print currently happening everywhere.

I have been so unmotivated to go out lately, which is not like me at all. I am in full on hibernation mode in an attempt to save some money. It's kind of depressing on the one hand but on the other hand it's so much less effort and going to bed at 9 is kind of awesome. But...If I start drinking cardbordeaux by the end of the summer somebody come get me out.

The Purge continues... I gave away a couple of big toy/kid items on my neighborhood Facebook site this weekend. I listed the pics and within 30 minutes a neighbor came to my house and took them off my hands. It was glorious! I also took car load number 8 to Goodwill on Monday. I am so proud of myself. The little old man who works there has this distinct "oh not you again" look when I walk in all chirpy with my crap but secretly I think he's happy to see me.

This weekend is my daughter's party and my fam is coming from Michigan to help us celebrate. I should be cleaning something right now but meh... it will all get done. I had originally planned  a menu, cake and all of that myself. After some thought I decided to just let her kind of decide everything, pick her favorite things that I make... whether it "goes together" or not. So we shall see what we end up with, I am sure it will all be amazing! I am most excited about the cake she chose. Could you die?

I can't wait. 

Confessions

Thursday Confessional

Thursday, June 15, 2017

So....I got hit on by an old dude at Dunkin Donuts this week, like grandpa retirement age old. I stopped to pick up 2 boxes of coffee and a couple dozen donuts for an early meeting Tuesday without preordering and had to wait for them to brew fresh coffee ... my mistake. You know how you can feel someone staring at the back of you just instinctively? Yeah, as I was waiting for my order I could feel that, and then Gramps spoke. Best line ever... "where's the party". I about died laughing thinking dude, my kinda party does not consist of  shitty donuts and 2 boxes of Joe. But nice try. We chatted for a few minutes while I waited and I think I made his day. Pretty sure I saw him doing a little happy dance when I was driving away. I love old people.

My upstairs A/C has officially broken. My repair guy told me last summer that adding Freon was just a temporary fix and now the worst has come to pass. Faaaaaack... the part is $1085 plus the cost of refrigerant. College tuition is due Aug. 14th also so guess who is going to be having a long hot summer?

Since I can no longer afford to go out, except for work purposes, it sure as shit is convenient that I am currently living in crappy t-shirts and Old Navy boxer short PJ's. I feel slightly loser-ish when I come home from work and just put pajamas on but all I am going to do is maybe make/order dinner, work some more, clean/purge another area of my home, possibly blog or do social media things or watch Netflix. None of which require real pants so.... These are my current faves because I am mad about the big leaf print currently happening everywhere.

I have been so unmotivated to go out lately, which is not like me at all. I am in full on hibernation mode in an attempt to save some money. It's kind of depressing on the one hand but on the other hand it's so much less effort and going to bed at 9 is kind of awesome. But...If I start drinking cardbordeaux by the end of the summer somebody come get me out.

The Purge continues... I gave away a couple of big toy/kid items on my neighborhood Facebook site this weekend. I listed the pics and within 30 minutes a neighbor came to my house and took them off my hands. It was glorious! I also took car load number 8 to Goodwill on Monday. I am so proud of myself. The little old man who works there has this distinct "oh not you again" look when I walk in all chirpy with my crap but secretly I think he's happy to see me.

This weekend is my daughter's party and my fam is coming from Michigan to help us celebrate. I should be cleaning something right now but meh... it will all get done. I had originally planned  a menu, cake and all of that myself. After some thought I decided to just let her kind of decide everything, pick her favorite things that I make... whether it "goes together" or not. So we shall see what we end up with, I am sure it will all be amazing! I am most excited about the cake she chose. Could you die?

I can't wait. 

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Currently: Hello June

So I am technically a day late for this link up but you know, I was busy hanging out in Statesboro, GA with all the cool college kids at GA Southern University. I mean they were there and I was there but technically honestly we were not hanging out like at all. I probably had more meaningful contact with the ginormous cockroach in the bathroom of my lovely room at the Comfort Inn don't stay there than I had with any of the cool kids. I pretty much killed it... the cockroach I mean. Seriously, I need to hone my small town hotel picking skills ya'll. It looked decent in the Hotels.com pics. Anyway, more on that later but for now a quickie link up with Anne In Residence and Erin for the monthly Currently roundup.

PLANNING

Oh where do I even start with this one. After the sobering experience of taking my daughter to college freshman orientation last weekend I guess I am planning life as a parent of a child who is away at college. Looking ahead at my calendar to things like "move in day" and "parents weekend" has got me scratching my head wondering how in fact I got here. I swear 5 minutes ago she was sitting in her little rocking chair watching Toy Story 2 and crying because Jessie's owner didn't want her anymore. I never believed my Mom when she told me how fast it would go.

WISHING

I could buy tickets to all of the concerts I want to go to this summer. I have become live music obsessed and I also wish I could meet someone who was as passionate about it as I am so I could have a concert pal. Current obsession... Gary Clark Jr.... more blues rock.

LEARNING

That it's a lot easier to let go of stuff lately than I thought it would be. I have been donating lots and lots of "stuff and things" that I used to think I wanted to keep forever. Letting go of things recently has made me really think about of how little value they are to me. Less actual stuff in my world is actually making me so much happier and calmer on the inside. Who knew decluttering your physical space could also declutter your soul a lil bit.



BROWSING

Kendra Scott... not gonna lie. Spending freeze has got me like... oooooh earrings, necklaces, rings oh my. These might be my birthday gift to me. I am hoping they will just magically show up here one day though honestly.

GOING

To be pulling my hair out in just a few short days as  family descends and the graduation party actually happens in just a little more than a week. My house is not ready, I have so much cooking to do and still a ton to plan. I am flying by the seat of my pants like never before. This could be the worst party ever or maybe the very best, I'm not stressing over it. Whatever will be will be will be and the most important thing is being together and celebrating life. Somebody remind me of that in about 5 days please! I am going to Costco on Friday and I plan to buy a lot of bacon, wine, cheese, chips, salsa, beer and chocolate. It's gonna be epic.

That's currently what's up.

Currently • Currently Link Up • June

Currently: Hello June

Wednesday, June 7, 2017

So I am technically a day late for this link up but you know, I was busy hanging out in Statesboro, GA with all the cool college kids at GA Southern University. I mean they were there and I was there but technically honestly we were not hanging out like at all. I probably had more meaningful contact with the ginormous cockroach in the bathroom of my lovely room at the Comfort Inn don't stay there than I had with any of the cool kids. I pretty much killed it... the cockroach I mean. Seriously, I need to hone my small town hotel picking skills ya'll. It looked decent in the Hotels.com pics. Anyway, more on that later but for now a quickie link up with Anne In Residence and Erin for the monthly Currently roundup.

PLANNING

Oh where do I even start with this one. After the sobering experience of taking my daughter to college freshman orientation last weekend I guess I am planning life as a parent of a child who is away at college. Looking ahead at my calendar to things like "move in day" and "parents weekend" has got me scratching my head wondering how in fact I got here. I swear 5 minutes ago she was sitting in her little rocking chair watching Toy Story 2 and crying because Jessie's owner didn't want her anymore. I never believed my Mom when she told me how fast it would go.

WISHING

I could buy tickets to all of the concerts I want to go to this summer. I have become live music obsessed and I also wish I could meet someone who was as passionate about it as I am so I could have a concert pal. Current obsession... Gary Clark Jr.... more blues rock.

LEARNING

That it's a lot easier to let go of stuff lately than I thought it would be. I have been donating lots and lots of "stuff and things" that I used to think I wanted to keep forever. Letting go of things recently has made me really think about of how little value they are to me. Less actual stuff in my world is actually making me so much happier and calmer on the inside. Who knew decluttering your physical space could also declutter your soul a lil bit.



BROWSING

Kendra Scott... not gonna lie. Spending freeze has got me like... oooooh earrings, necklaces, rings oh my. These might be my birthday gift to me. I am hoping they will just magically show up here one day though honestly.

GOING

To be pulling my hair out in just a few short days as  family descends and the graduation party actually happens in just a little more than a week. My house is not ready, I have so much cooking to do and still a ton to plan. I am flying by the seat of my pants like never before. This could be the worst party ever or maybe the very best, I'm not stressing over it. Whatever will be will be will be and the most important thing is being together and celebrating life. Somebody remind me of that in about 5 days please! I am going to Costco on Friday and I plan to buy a lot of bacon, wine, cheese, chips, salsa, beer and chocolate. It's gonna be epic.

That's currently what's up.

Read More

Mid Year Reset Time

Half of this year is about to be over. O-V-E-R... let that sink in. I figured now was as good a time as any to check in on some goals and take stock of where I am versus where I want to be. Welp, I am not going to bore you with the specifics of the situation but it's not good. Not good at all my friends. So that means it's time to reset on this first day of June. Here is what that looks like for me:

FOOD

SPENDING

DRINKING

SLEEP

I love starting something new on the first of the month. I was initially thinking a Whole30 would be the obvious choice from a food reset standpoint but I have my daughter's graduation party on the 17th and family in town from Michigan. It's really not an event I want to plan around a Whole30. I mean, there will be cake there so it's a no. I am thinking a 15 day mini reset or Whole15 if you will. That get's me right to the days before and hopefully thru that weekend without going completely off the rails. In reality we all know when you are hosting a party you rarely have time to really eat or drink too much anyway.  And just so we are clear I am currently about 50% off the rails or as of yesterday anyway. I have stopped making choices and fallen back into the habit of eating mindlessly rather than mindfully which for me is very dangerous. I  have to plan ahead or I fail, it's really that simple. For me that means meal prepping and planning every week without exception. It means reading menus and knowing exactly what I'm going to order before I get to where I am going, no veering off course. We went out to dinner last night after graduation and I didn't plan it. Instead I was so distracted by the 10 conversations going on when the waitress came that I just picked something random and it sucked. I got home and all I could think was why in the hell did I order that? Right now I would be ok with not seeing pounds drop or sizes go down. I am not ok with things going in the opposite direction. I think I really need this 15 day reset, I have a little damage to undo.

I have been buying shit like crazy lately. Not big ticket items but a myriad of small things that could have just as easily been a new couch or maybe some flooring for my office. Ugh. The wallet is closed for business during the month of June. 100% spending freeze starts today. Exceptions to that rule will be graduation party supplies and related expenditures and 2 standing beauty appointments because gray hair is NOT an option. This works well with part one because spending freezes and eating out for fun do not go together. Denied.

That brings me to part 3, dranks. It's summer y'all!!! That means frosé and rooftop margaritas right? Wrong. It means I want to cry when my alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. & I crave nachos and donuts the next day all the live long day. Drinking any alcohol whatsoever has a disproportionately negative effect on food decisions. Why is that? One glass of wine does not equal just one serving of something less than healthy. It generally means when the waitress asks do you want the cup or bowl of cheese dip I say "Yes" and so it goes. This is a hard one because as you know I like to go out and I have this whole rooftop summer thing happening and summer tennis starts this weekend, blah, blah, whatever. I will say this, for the next 15 days I can pretty much almost guarantee that I will not be drinking... heavily.

And last but not least I need more sleep. The beauty of all of the things I just mentioned is that if I do them I will just automatically get more and better sleep. If I'm eating right I sleep better. If I am not going out I go to bed earlier. If I am not drinking I definitely get much better quality sleep. If I am not spending money I stress less and sleep like a baby. Five-ish hours is not good enough. I must say at least once a day that I need more hours in the day. I do. I can't seem to get all of my shit done but the reality is it's never done and staying up half the night only to be a hot mess and 50% as productive the next day due to lack of sleep is not a solution. Planning is the key here too. Making lists, setting small realistic goals for tasks to be accomplished daily and weekly and scheduling sleep time just like any other goal has proven to be pretty effective for me. Back to basics on this one.

One of my bigger picture goals for the year is actually going pretty well. That is the dreaded home purge. At some point I want to move from my current home to a smaller one and when I do I want the moving/packing process to be a breeze because let's face it, that part of moving sucks donkey balls. I want to literally be able to pack the things I use and the things I love and that's it. I think the best way to make that happen is to only own the things I use and the things I love. So that's what I have been doing, getting rid of everything else which is painful for me because I am a saver. It's also a little hard because I am getting rid of stuff from when my kids were small, from when I was married, from a place and time in my life that looks a whole lot different than where I am now. It's bittersweet for sure but it actually feels a bit liberating. So I counted and I have 7 receipts from Goodwill so far this year. That means I loaded up my car 7 times and hauled off shit to donate. That is a really big deal. The bad news is I feel like I have not even made a dent but I have lived here for 16 years so there's been some accumulation. But on that goal I am making serious headway so YAY!!!!!

How is it that almost half of 2017 is almost gone?

Goals • Reset • Whole15

Mid Year Reset Time

Thursday, June 1, 2017

Half of this year is about to be over. O-V-E-R... let that sink in. I figured now was as good a time as any to check in on some goals and take stock of where I am versus where I want to be. Welp, I am not going to bore you with the specifics of the situation but it's not good. Not good at all my friends. So that means it's time to reset on this first day of June. Here is what that looks like for me:

FOOD

SPENDING

DRINKING

SLEEP

I love starting something new on the first of the month. I was initially thinking a Whole30 would be the obvious choice from a food reset standpoint but I have my daughter's graduation party on the 17th and family in town from Michigan. It's really not an event I want to plan around a Whole30. I mean, there will be cake there so it's a no. I am thinking a 15 day mini reset or Whole15 if you will. That get's me right to the days before and hopefully thru that weekend without going completely off the rails. In reality we all know when you are hosting a party you rarely have time to really eat or drink too much anyway.  And just so we are clear I am currently about 50% off the rails or as of yesterday anyway. I have stopped making choices and fallen back into the habit of eating mindlessly rather than mindfully which for me is very dangerous. I  have to plan ahead or I fail, it's really that simple. For me that means meal prepping and planning every week without exception. It means reading menus and knowing exactly what I'm going to order before I get to where I am going, no veering off course. We went out to dinner last night after graduation and I didn't plan it. Instead I was so distracted by the 10 conversations going on when the waitress came that I just picked something random and it sucked. I got home and all I could think was why in the hell did I order that? Right now I would be ok with not seeing pounds drop or sizes go down. I am not ok with things going in the opposite direction. I think I really need this 15 day reset, I have a little damage to undo.

I have been buying shit like crazy lately. Not big ticket items but a myriad of small things that could have just as easily been a new couch or maybe some flooring for my office. Ugh. The wallet is closed for business during the month of June. 100% spending freeze starts today. Exceptions to that rule will be graduation party supplies and related expenditures and 2 standing beauty appointments because gray hair is NOT an option. This works well with part one because spending freezes and eating out for fun do not go together. Denied.

That brings me to part 3, dranks. It's summer y'all!!! That means frosé and rooftop margaritas right? Wrong. It means I want to cry when my alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. & I crave nachos and donuts the next day all the live long day. Drinking any alcohol whatsoever has a disproportionately negative effect on food decisions. Why is that? One glass of wine does not equal just one serving of something less than healthy. It generally means when the waitress asks do you want the cup or bowl of cheese dip I say "Yes" and so it goes. This is a hard one because as you know I like to go out and I have this whole rooftop summer thing happening and summer tennis starts this weekend, blah, blah, whatever. I will say this, for the next 15 days I can pretty much almost guarantee that I will not be drinking... heavily.

And last but not least I need more sleep. The beauty of all of the things I just mentioned is that if I do them I will just automatically get more and better sleep. If I'm eating right I sleep better. If I am not going out I go to bed earlier. If I am not drinking I definitely get much better quality sleep. If I am not spending money I stress less and sleep like a baby. Five-ish hours is not good enough. I must say at least once a day that I need more hours in the day. I do. I can't seem to get all of my shit done but the reality is it's never done and staying up half the night only to be a hot mess and 50% as productive the next day due to lack of sleep is not a solution. Planning is the key here too. Making lists, setting small realistic goals for tasks to be accomplished daily and weekly and scheduling sleep time just like any other goal has proven to be pretty effective for me. Back to basics on this one.

One of my bigger picture goals for the year is actually going pretty well. That is the dreaded home purge. At some point I want to move from my current home to a smaller one and when I do I want the moving/packing process to be a breeze because let's face it, that part of moving sucks donkey balls. I want to literally be able to pack the things I use and the things I love and that's it. I think the best way to make that happen is to only own the things I use and the things I love. So that's what I have been doing, getting rid of everything else which is painful for me because I am a saver. It's also a little hard because I am getting rid of stuff from when my kids were small, from when I was married, from a place and time in my life that looks a whole lot different than where I am now. It's bittersweet for sure but it actually feels a bit liberating. So I counted and I have 7 receipts from Goodwill so far this year. That means I loaded up my car 7 times and hauled off shit to donate. That is a really big deal. The bad news is I feel like I have not even made a dent but I have lived here for 16 years so there's been some accumulation. But on that goal I am making serious headway so YAY!!!!!

How is it that almost half of 2017 is almost gone?

Read More