Happy Weekend:

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Happy Weekend, everyone! What are you doing with your free time? My plan: sleeping. For some reason, this week I feel like I haven't been sleeping well. Not that I can't sleep, just that it isn't restful. And I've felt sort of off all week because of it. So this weekend, I spending a lot of time sleeping. That's it. Just existing in the blissful nothingness of sleep. Glorious.

Here are a few highlights from this week:

1. Running in the rain with friends
2. Eating cheese dip for dinner
3. Going to the first marathon training group meeting
4. Turning terribly sad moments into reaffirmations of love with family and friends
5. Scoring some cute new fall clothes on sale (!) and in small sizes (!!)

Have a good one! XO.

That kind of day:

You know those days where you need to look at something cute just to keep you going? Well, I have a feeling today is going to be one of those days for me. So, here's what I'm looking at:

If you're having one of those days, I hope this helps you too. I mean, just look at that puppy's face! It makes me smile every time.

New Reads:

It's no secret that I love Jane Austen. And from time to time, I like to revisit her work. To reemerge myself in the worlds that she creates. I love all her characters. I love Emma. I have always loved Emma. This affection isn't quite on the same level as say, Elizabeth Bennett or Jane Eyre, but we were instant friends when we met back in middle school. And for Christmas last year, I received a beautiful embroidered edition (thanks, S!) of  Emma which has been sitting in my reading queue for months. Last weekend, I took it down off the bookshelf and got to it. It's a great story. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. And for those of you that attempted it but could never quite get involved enough to actually see the story through to completion, I encourage you to give it another try. Emma is a delightful woman. And Mr. Knightley is super dreamy. You should spend some time getting to know them as I do.

For those of you wondering what it's about:

"Beautiful, clever, rich—and single—Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work."

And for inquiring minds, check on the  progress of this year's reading list after the jump.

I Love:

I love pretty clothes. I probably spend way too much time looking at them and thinking about them. But sometimes I have a hard time figuring out how to wear them. Or maybe just how to work them into my wardrobe.

That's why I love Refinery 29's series on how to mix different pieces. May it inspire you to change up your look a little this fall.

See more after the jump.

Ugh, Monday:

Mornings are hard for me. When those mornings fall on a Monday (which every week they do), it's especially hard. I'm not in a very good mood most mornings. So, to start things off as best I can, I usually need all the help I can get. That help sometimes comes in the form of a funny video. A little laughter when you don't really feel like laughing is sometimes the best thing for you. So, here is a pretty funny video to make you smile. Sometimes I'll just think about it and it makes me a little happier. On this Monday morning, I hope you can say the same.

Happy Weekend:

What are you up to this weekend? I am looking forward to sleeping in, catching up on some reading, and getting in a long run tomorrow morning. The weather should be really lovely.

Here are a few highlights from this week:

1. Reading Hunger Games aloud to Andrew on the way home from St. Louis really helped the miles fly by
2. Getting back to my running schedule with my friends
3. Having leftover cookies to snack on at night
4. Kicking Snake Hill's butt. Finally
5. Getting great movies in the mail and having the free time to snuggle down and watch them

Have a great weekend, everyone!

St. Louis:

We spent last weekend in St. Louis hanging with family, shopping, and eating ridiculously good food. We always have so much fun while up in St. Louis, our favorite city. I wish we never had to leave. I managed to snap a few pictures while hanging out in St. Charles on Sunday:

See more photos after the jump.

New Reads:

This week I'm reading Insurgent by Veronica Roth. It's the second installment in the Divergent series.

"One choice can transform you -- or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves -- and herself -- while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also haunted by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating  thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature."

Color Run:

This past weekend, we went up to St. Louis to run the Color Run with some family and friends. It was insane. But so much fun. We ran around downtown St. Louis with 15,000+ people and got super colorful. Like five little rainbows. It was messy and hot and a total blast. I can't wait to do it again next year!

Hello Monday:

I'm still gathering our photos from our weekend trip this morning, so in the meantime, please enjoy this really hilariously funny video A's sister showed us:

Happy Weekend:

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Happy Weekend everyone. What are your plans for your time off? Doing anything fun? We are headed to St. Louis for the weekend. We're running in the Color Run with one of A's sisters. And there will definitely be some LuLuLemon and California Pizza Kitchen in my immediate future. I'm excited to be in one of my favorite cities and to get to spend some time with family.

Hope your weekend is as fun as ours! XO.

Let's Shop:

Today, we're shopping Boden. Apparently, I seem to be having a moment with Fall tops. And Boden has a pretty nice selection. And that Breton striped shirt is currently 30% off. Yes, please.

New Reads:

This week I'm reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. It goes like this:

"In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue -- Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intellligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is -- she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are -- and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series -- dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance."

Amazon recommended it to me, probably because I read the Hunger Games books. And almost all of the reviews said that it was better than that story. I liked the Hunger Games books okay. So I figured I'd give it a shot.

As far as my reading goal this year, the progress looks like this:

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
2. Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned From Judy Blume
3. The Sweet Far Thing
4. Interview with a Vampire
5. The Tales of Beetle the Bard
6. Spud
7. The Secret History
8. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
9. A Discovery of Witches
10. Death Comes to Pemberley
11. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
12. A Week at the Beach
13. Little Bee
14. Anthropology of an American Girl
15. Naked
16. Just as Long as We're Together
17. Here's to You, Rachel Robinson
18. The Hunger Games
19. Catching Fire
20. Mockingjay
21. The Alchemist (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
22. All He Ever Wanted
23. Back When We Were Grownups
24. Moon Over Manifest
25. Shadow of Night

I made this:

It's done. My last t-shirt quilt. This one is of my college t-shirts. And it's massive. Apparently, I was more involved in extracurriculars than I thought. Anyway, I'm glad to be done. Now I can cuddle up and enjoy all my hard work. 

Still working on my knitted one though...

Olympic Recap:

The Olympics are over. I'm not going to lie, I'm both a little depressed and a little happy to see them over and done with. On the one hand, I live for the Olympics and having to wait until 2016 to see them again severely bums me out. But on the other, I have been so sleep deprived for the last two weeks, staying up way past my bedtime and getting up so early for morning runs before work, the end of the Olympics means that I am happy to be able to catch up on my sleep and get back into my normal routine. And because I've been parking myself in front of the television every night for 17 days means that I haven't had time to do much else. I've fallen behind on pretty much everything: running, reading, finishing craft projects, laundry, and not eating junk food. It's embarrassing, really. And so while I'm sad to see the Olympics go, for my (and Andrew's) well-being, it's probably a good thing.

To celebrate these amazing games, here are my favorite highlights:

Happy Weekend:

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Happy Weekend, everyone! What are you doing with your precious two days of freedom? I just got a book shipment this week so I plan on curling up and getting some serious reading done. We've also registered for the Little Rock Half-Marathon in March so I'm working on a little pre-training before the official training begins in October. I'm planning on spending some more time outside this weekend since it's been cooler lately (it's been under 100 degrees this week!) It's funny to talk about 90 degree weather as cool. We've just acclimated so quickly to this heat and it really has been so stinking hot. I'm glad for the cooler temperatures and plan to make the most of them. Here's hoping it cools down even further!

This week's highlights:

1. Michael Tinsley, from Little Rock, got the silver medal in the men's 400 meter hurdles!
2. Aly Raisman getting the gold on floor and the bronze on beam. In one night!
3. Misty May and Kerry Walsh getting gold (3-peat) in an All-American gold metal match!
4. Allyson Felix finally got the gold in the 200m!
5. Sanya Richards-Ross took home the gold in the 400m!

Looks I Love:

J.Crew is out with their Pre-Fall 2012 lookbook and, as predicted, I'm pretty much obsessed. Here are my faves:

Look at this:

Isn't it pretty? Andrew got me this emerald ring for Christmas but it was too big and being my lazy self, I didn't get it sized down until July. I got it back right after we got back from the beach and I've pretty much been wearing it ever since. 

He got me a sweet little necklace about a year ago but I broke the chain and of course, I have yet to replace it. Maybe that will be my next move.

I Love:

Just got the Jewelmint Casablanca necklace. I've been hunting it since I first saw Elizabeth Olsen wearing it at  the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards Filmmaker's Brunch. 

It's been sold out for what feels like forever but I finally snagged it! And I had a credit so it was (sorta) free! Until it arrives, let's drool a little over how fantastically Kate Bosworth wears it:

I want to go to there:

On this Monday morning, I'm dreaming of being at the Olympic Village in London.

Happy Weekend:

Happy Weekend everyone! How was your week? Have you been following all of the Olympic drama? Here's a pretty interesting article about what goes on in the Olympic Village. 

And this week's highlights:

1. The USA Women's gymnastics team won the team gold!
2. McKayla Maroney's perfect vault!
3. Gabby Douglas won the all-around gold!
4. The phenom Missy Franklin is having an incredible Olympic debut. It's been a joy to watch her swim.
5. Watching Michael Phelps make history with 20 Olympic medals.

Curious that they're all centered around the Olympics, huh? Actually, it's not curious at all. That is some good competition. And it makes for some great television.

Are you doing anything exciting this weekend? I am really looking forward to just being at home with nothing to do. I'll probably do some sleeping in, a little early morning running, and a massive amount of Olympics watching. I'm glad things have finally slowed down a little and I plan on enjoying every minute of the next two days.

Have a good one. XO. 

Happy Birthday:

Happy Birthday to my favorite twins on the planet, the dream team, K & L!

New Reads:

I've been reading the second book in the All Souls Trilogy, Shadow of Night, by Deborah Harkness. I read the first novel, Discovery of Witches, back in February and really liked it. And here is what the second is like:

"A Discovery of Witches introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford's scholar and reluctant witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, two otherworldly  beings who found themselves at the center of a battle over a lost, enchanted manuscript known as Ashmole 782. Drawn to each other despite long-standing taboos, and in pursuit of Diana's spellbound powers, the two now embark upon a timewalking journey.

Book two of the All Souls trilogy plunges Diana and Matthew into Elizabethan London, a world of spies and subterfuge, and a conterie of Matthew's old friends, the mysterious School of Night. The mission is to locate a witch to tutor Diana and to find traces of Ashmole 782, but as the net of Matthew's past tightens around them they embark on a very different journey, one that takes them into the heart of the fifteen-hundred-year-old vampire's shadowed history and secrets. For Matthew Clairmont, time travel is no simple matter; nor is Diana's search for the key to understanding her legacy. 

In Shadow of Night, Harkness again weaves a rich and splendid tapestry of alchemy, magic, and history. The love story deepens as she takes us through the loop of time in a tale of blood, passion, and the knotted strands of the past to deliver one of the most hotly anticipated novels of the year."

It's good -- I really like it. But I really liked the first one. I really like this story. History + fantasy = a good time.