Closet wish list

This is a short week for me. I have tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday off from work for New Year's. And I plan to make the most of it. Tomorrow I plan to spend a good chunck of the day in my closet, playing dress up, trying stuff on, listening to good music, and purging. I used to be afraid to get rid of anything in my closet because I worried that the minute I would get rid of something would be the minute I desperately wanted to wear it. And so far, that has never happened. Besides, by getting rid of things, I am making room. And that means I get to go shopping. I'm on a mission to create a working closet -- one that is filled with fewer, quality, coordinating basics. And a few special surprises too. That way I can jump in there every morning and easily pick out an outfit without spending too much time or stressing out over it. The closet revamp begins now. And here are some things that I will be filling my closet with in the near future:

I have been wishing for these boots forever. But I can cross them off my list now because guess what is headed to my house this very afternoon? Happy Birthday to me.

I am having a moment with Piperlime. And partly because of this shirt. Would be so cute with a pair of cropped black pants or skinny jeans (both of which I already own) and booties.



Is there ever a time when I'm not thinking about J.Crew? It is my absolute fave and I want these wool minnie pants and grey matchstick cords from them so badly. And they're both on sale. Yes please.

I have been lusting over these cute heels from Urban Outfitters for a while now. I can't decide if I want them in the tomato red or the mustard yellow. I think yellow.

And finally, I am in desperate need of new black pumps (I still haven't replaced the ones I complained about in this post). And new booties. I need new lace up booties. I think these will do nicely.

My love letter to Thriftbooks

Spend Less, Read More.

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I've mentioned Thriftbooks.com many times (here, here, here and here) but I just can't say enough good things about them. Started in a storage unit in 2003, they buy used books and sell them online for amazingly low prices. They are the nation's largest online seller of used book. And they are starting to grow internationally. The headquarters in Washington carries five million used books in stock at any given time and processes an additional 100,000 books each day. And they've teamed up with smaller used book stores around the country to offer an even larger inventory. So not only can you find almost any book you're looking for at a ridiculously low price, but they also provide free shipping to anywhere in the U.S. They even sent me a discount coupon for my birthday. And as if that wasn't enough, they are doing great things to help save the planet. By selling used, they recycled 52 million books in 2010. That's 52 million books worth of paper saved from landfills.

I love Thriftbooks. I only buy used books now and almost exclusively from them (we have one local bookstore but it has nowhere near the inventory or prices). If you haven't checked them out yet, you definitely should.

Just call me Vincent

Kristin came over for some crafting and catching up this afternoon. We watched Love Actually, ate baked potatoes, and video chatted with Lauren & Han Joo. She made earrings and I painted Van Gogh's "Sunflowers". If you squint hard enough, it almost looks like the real thing.

And now I am spending the evening baking Christmas goodies and listening to the (500)Days of Summer soundtrack that I got at the Order's Christmas party last night.

Happy Day before the day before Christmas!


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Suite Francaise

Even though I'm still working this week (just for a few hours more!) I decided to go ahead and commence with the reading of the new books I got a few weeks ago. I thought I was saving them to read during my time off but I was wrong. I was saving them for right now.

I am currently reading a book called Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. So far, it's fantastic. I had started reading it once before, a few years ago, but since I had borrowed it from the library, I had to return it before I could finish. But now I own it and can read it as slowly as I'd like and no one can stop me from finishing.

From Amazon.com:

Beginning in Paris on the eve of the Nazi occupation in 1940, Suite Française tells the remarkable story of men and women thrown together in circumstances beyond their control. As Parisians flee the city, human folly surfaces in every imaginable way: a wealthy mother searches for sweets in a town without food; a couple is terrified at the thought of losing their jobs, even as their world begins to fall apart. Moving on to a provincial village now occupied by German soldiers, the locals must learn to coexist with the enemy—in their town, their homes, even in their hearts.

I think it's no secret that I love books about Europe during WWII. And I think it is so incredibly interesting when books that have been undiscovered are suddenly found years later and published after the author has died. So it's only natural that I would love this book. The author, Irene Nemirovsky, was a Russian Jew living in France in the 1940s. She was captured and taken to Auschwitz where she died in 1942. But her children escaped with her manuscripts and kept them hidden until they were finally published in 2004. That's sixty two years, people. And that is amazing.

Almost Christmas

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The office is dead. No one is here. There's nothing to do. And time is passing so slowly. I've never been more ready to go home.

I've been trying to convince Andrew to let me open my Christmas presents early. Every day I come home and there's more. And they are huge. We're talking too big to fit under our tree huge. And I can't even remember what I asked for that could possibly be that big. And that's got me excited because presents that I didn't think to ask for are usually my fave.

I'm thinking I may have a half day tomorrow. Or maybe not go in at all. Still debating. I've still got cookies to bake. And blankets to snuggle up in.

Today is my dad's birthday! Happy Birthday Diddy! Before I head home for his bash, check out my favorite names of towns in Arkansas (found during during work this morning):

1. Bald Knob
2. Blue Ball
3. Delight
4. Friendship
5. Jerusalem
6. Locust Bayou
7. Macedonia
8. Pencil Sims Bluff
9. Smackover
10. Stamps
11. Sweet Home
12. Swan Lake

P.S. Kristin is back! 3/4 Order Christmas party tomorrow night!

More Elle Fanning

As mentioned in this post, we are big fans of Elle Fanning. And while eagerly awaiting Somewhere to appear at our local theater, I stumbled upon this interview with her in Interview Magazine. Not only is she insanely gorgeous, but she is incredibly cool. And she's only 12. I can guarantee that I was nowhere near her level when I was 12.

Here it is

As promised, pictures of the hair:

Big hair news

I am now a redhead. Went to Kat's salon after work yesterday and she transformed me into the redheaded beauty I am today. No picture yet. My iPhone's camera does not have the capability to capture the radiance of it. But there will be pictures soon so look for them.

Also, someone at work sent this video to me in an email. It's cute. And I like to imagine that this is what Tillie would be like on Christmas if she had her own Snoopy style doghouse outside.

I love Zac Posen. I do. His clothes are beautiful. And I really love his Z Spoke Fall 2010 collection. It's at a slightly lower price point so normal people can actually afford it. It's still slightly out of my reach since I don't exactly have an extra $500 laying around to spend on a jacket, but I can dream. And drool.

Shoes!

I wore my black pumps to work yesterday. Mistake. I came home and shook them off my feet and across the room, swearing to never subject myself to them again. They are awful. Uncomfortable. A disaster. I have tried everything to make them bareable but it's no use. So I'm ridding myself of them.

The good news is that since I no longer have a pair of basic black pumps, I get to go shopping for new ones. I spent some time looking around online (thank you shopstyle) and what I came up with is interesting. Yes, there is a pair of black heels (with insanely cute soles) but more importantly there are two beautiful pairs -- one deep turquoise, one dark plum. Not black, I know, but so pretty and comfortable looking.

Meteor showers & more

Tonight is the Geminids Meteor shower. The big show is supposed to kick off around midnight so grab your blankets and mugs of hot chocolate and go watch it. Or stay inside and watch the live streaming video on the NASA site.

Andrew has his last final tomorrow and then the Christmas partying can begin. For him anyway. I've got another week and a half before my celebrating can commence.

Also, how cute is this outfit from J.Crew:

Other things:
our laptop battery died.
the great Christmas cookie bakeoff of 2010 has officially begun.
David Sedaris has me laughing out loud with "When You Are Engulfed in Flames"
Thriftbooks brought me many great books today and that means a wonderful impending Christmas break

And here we go

Things have been a little nuts lately. We've been dealing with busy work days, studying for finals, sickness, and Christmas shopping and decorating. But we're back and we're ready to party. Here are a few of the things that you missed:

We have a new Christmas jam, "Electronic Santa" by Blazer Force. When Andrew listened to it, he said "I have never heard a song about Santa that made me want to dance before". And trust me, this song will make you want to dance. So don't listen to it in a public place unless you're meaning to show off your mad skills.



This commercial had us laughing last night. I haven't seen Andrew laugh that hard at anything on TV in a while.



This past weekend, we set up our tree. The candy garland is from when I was a kid. It used to hang on the trees of my childhood and I would try to taste it. So if you look closely, you can see where some of the candies have been unwrapped and there tiny teeth marks in the styrofoam underneath. And the little red shoe ornament is one of my favorites. Tyler gave it to me a few years ago and it says "all I want for Christmas is peace on earth and really cute shoes".

A few nights ago, Andrew and I finally perfected avocado sushi at home:

And finally, here are a few more of our lego creations:





Here are some things I can tell you about.

Not a lot has been happening lately in our world. At least not much to talk about.

Andrew and I got sick over our Thanksgiving break. I ate nothing but a plate of broccoli. Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday because I hate eating. Or at least "typical" holiday food.
I was finally feeling better by the beginning of this week.
But this morning Andrew woke up feeling awful. I think he has the flu.
And I got to hang out with one half of the dynamic Walker duo. Three weeks and counting until I get to see her again.
I have eaten Chick-fil-a fries for at least 4 meals over the past week. And it has been amazing.
I'm still addicted to Amazon.com cyber week.
And we made our own avocado sushi for dinner last night. Delicious.

I have some pretty cool things to share with you. Maybe I will do that at work tomorrow. So check back here soon.
But that's it for now. Sorry, I will work on being more interesting.

Black Friday is the worst day. ever.

I am not one for Black Friday shopping. In fact, I avoid it at all costs. I refuse to leave the house. Getting up at 3 am to brave huge crowds to score some awesome deal just isn't worth it for me. I would much rather spend the day cuddle up in front of a movie, snacking on Thanksgiving leftovers and putting up the Christmas tree. But I have to admit, I am sort of loving Amazon.com's whole Black Friday thing. It's going on all week and I kind of can't stop watching the countdown to the unveiling of the newest deal. It has all the suspense of Ebay without all the competition. And it allows me to shop while doing my two favorite things: 1. avoiding crowds of the most annoying people on the planet and 2. being a hermit. What's not to love about it?

Check it out at Amazon.com. Just don't snag the last copy of whatever I've got my eye on.

P.S. One half of the dymanic Walker duo will be making an appearance all the way from Delaware today!

Creationary!

This weekend, we got this new game called Creationary.

Its like Pictionary, but instead of drawing something and trying to get everyone to guess what it is, you build it with Legos. Its fun. Here are a few of the creations we have made so far:

P.S. We saw the new Harry Potter movie Saturday afternoon. It was amazing. A roller coaster of emotion. And beautiful. I can't wait for the second half in July. If you haven't seen it yet, GO! If you're a Harry Potter fan, you will not be disappointed.

My West Memphis Adventure

So, I'm here in West Memphis, staying overnight by myself in a hotel because we have a conference bright and early tomorrow morning. And at first, I was worried I would be lonely or not know what to do by myself, but its turning out to be pretty awesome.

I ordered pizza and french fries from room service and am sitting in bed eating and watching Mean Girls on TV. And here is what I've got lined up for the rest of my evening:

A new episode of 30 Rock
Video chatting with Andrew and Tillie
Eating golden Oreos in bed
A sleeping pill and bedtime and at alarmingly early hour

Not bad for a Thursday night, huh?

Love on a Wednesday

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This week I'm loving:

1. chai tea (as always)
2. leopard print flats
3. a new journal filled with random thoughts
4. warm coats on chilly mornings
5. having a big girl job again
6. surprise chats with best friends
7. free cupcakes
8. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
9. getting a head start on Christmas
10. a warm puppy in my bed

Get this and drink it

We are loving this new vanilla chai tea from Bolthouse Farms. It's delicious, dairy free, gluten free, contains 18 amino acids, and 19 grams of protein per bottle. For someone who lives sans meat, it's a great way to sneak in extra protein and 200% vitamin B6 and 150% vitamin C.

I'm thinking about replacing my daily lunchtime Coke Zero with one of these bad boys.


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R.I.P. 30 for 30

Ok, so the whole 30 for 30 thing hasn't really been working out for me. I did good for a few days but then today I had the day off from work -- Happy Veteran's Day, btw (thank you government employment) -- so I went to exchange a sweater that I bought last week (I figured it didn't count because I was just getting a smaller size). And then stupid me decided it wouldn't hurt to take a look around. And what did I find? A leather jacket on sale for $30. So I bought it. Only an idiot would pass that up. And because I had already failed, I bought a red flannel shirt to go with it. And I look good.

So in celebration of the end of my short lived (not even a week) 30 for 30 participation, here are my favorite picks from J.Crew. I love love love that store. I would marry it if I could.

End of Daylight Savings Time = extra hour of sleep

I apologize for being M.I.A. (not the band) for the past few days. I've been busy adjusting to the new job and catching up on my missed sleep.

My friend Kat over at Love is in the Hair tagged me on her blog to answer a few questions so here you go:
1. What book/books are you reading now?

I am attempting to read Anna Karenina for the third time. It's not that it's a boring book -- it really isn't -- its just so long.

2. If you could go anywhere in the world you haven't been, where would you go?

Right now I'm really feeling Amsterdam.

3. What is one goal you have set out to accomplish in the next 5 years?

Get a house -- it's definitely happening in 2011
4. What's your favorite Christmas tradition?

Christmas Eve living room picnic dinner in pjs. Or making cookies with my nephew.

5. What is your most prized possession?

Pictures from my childhood

6. Who is someone you aspire to be like?

Tina Fey and Winston Churchill

7. What cheers you up when you've had a hard day?

Tillie's face in the window and that tail wagging like mad

8. What is the best concert you have ever attended?

Jack's Mannequin with Laura in Tulsa, OK 2006

30 for 30!

Starting tomorrow, I'm participating in 30 for 30 on Kendi Everyday. Here's how it works:

1. Pick out 30 items from your closet. Shoes are included in the count, coats and accessories (i.e. tights, jewelry, hats, gloves, and so on are not.) I won't use a coat yet here in Texas, but you might in say Chicago so I don't want to penalize you for Mother Nature's wily ways.


2. Remix the 30 items into 30 or more outfits.

And that's it! Ok -- not totally.

3. No (clothes) shopping for 30 days.

Originally shoes counted in the 30 for 30, but I'm not including them in my count. That way I can have more clothes and change my shoe options whenever I want. Plus I'm still in the market for new work shoes. And it can't wait 30 days.

So click here to check out my 30 for 30 clothing picks.

FYI

This morning I woke Andrew up to ask if he set his alarm and he responded "just a few pieces of okra."


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Happy Halloween!



Happy Friday!

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We are celebrating tonight and all weekend long, not just because it's Halloween, but because...

I GOT A JOB!

So go out and do something fun to celebrate with us! And wish me luck. I start on Monday.


P.S. Old Navy has their peacoats on sale right now. This peacoat is only $29. Perhaps I will get it for myself as a "congratulations on the job" present.

Monday night dinner

Halloween themed Tomato soup and grilled cheese




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Hello again

Been away for a while. Here is what we've been up to:

Pomegranates are in season! We've been eating them all over the place. Last night we topped vanilla ice cream with a few seeds and it was heaven.

We are headed to Sikeston for the weekend and, of course, I've been planning my packing list for the past week. Here is what I have so far:

We went up to Kat's salon today and got our hair done. Andrew got a haircut. I got some red in my hair. Its fun.

A few months ago, I did a puzzle that was incredibly hard. But it was missing a piece. And then a few days ago, I found the missing piece in a box. And now I have to work that puzzle all over again. My OCD will not let me let it go. I have to see it complete.