wants of the week

I'm turning it up in the blog department! As I work on relaunching this baby and revealing a new theme, I'm introducing a new weekly feature - "Wants of the Week!" I spend enough time browsing online stores and eyeing celebrity fashion, as well as randomly blogging about my shopping lusts to not make this kind of post a regular thing.

I am in no way claiming to be a fashion guru. I have miles to go before I could even be considered fashion-forward. I partially accredit that to my disciplined spending habits (ha...ha...ha...). But I like what I like...and I like to share. So enjoy! These wants could be fashion, accessories, a hair cut...whatever! Tell me if you agree, tell me if you don't. And feel free to send along some of YOUR wants!

1.  Lea Michele's gorgeous dress from the SAG awards (along with a reason to wear it...!)

Malandrino 

2. Floral Stretch Waistband Skirt from Express - it's fun, colorful and can be worn with layers in the early spring or with a cute tank as the temps (hopefully) rise.

3. Nine West Toreador Boots - I've been eyeing some brown leather boots most of the winter. They make more sense than suede in icky weather, and they are more versitile to wear with skirts as the seasons change.

4. Olivia Moon Pleated Tunic - I'm currently obsessed with the tunic and legging look and I'm really digging the pleats on this top. It's comfortable enough for daily wear with flats or boots and easily dolled up for a night out.

a walk down memory lane

As thankful as I am for where my life has taken me, every now and then something stimulates memories of where you came from and you get nostalgic. You have to know where you've been to know where you are, right? I noticed this morning that it's the last working day of January. February is right around the corner.

This year, February means another month to drive revenue at work, my husband, sister-in-law and niece's birthday...not to mention a few more on J's side of the family...a weekend home to see my family, and a weekend where friends are coming down to visit. And, hopefully, getting closer to consistently warmer weather.

Four short years ago, February meant something completely different.

It meant shorter practices and a looming conference meet. It meant adjusting to new classes and continuing to hate the frigid winters. It meant team bonding and no drinking...well, always the team bonding part. In college at JMU, February was the best month of the year that wasn't March, April and May. February meant spring was right around the corner. And spring was 100% synonymous with fun and freedom.

Springtime at JMU can't adequately be summed up in a blog post...or several blog posts. It meant a break from swimming, running outside, even shorter practices (if any...) and a lot of porch sits, quad lounging, shorter skirts and BBQs. It meant outdoor parties and more walking. It meant a lot more drinking. It led to tower visits, tubing trips and Frisbee games.


I specifically remember by the time I started my last semester in the Fall of '06 being ready to graduate and move on. Now, as I work an 8-5 (which I'm fortunate to really enjoy...), pay bills, clean my house regularly, and budget my money...I can't help but think back of the 'carefree-ness' that was college and smile. We were irresponsible, reckless, immature, and more fun than you can imagine. Now we have mortgages and responsibilities. Then we paid next-to-nothing rent and and ran up our credit card on bar tabs and going-out clothes. I wouldn't have traded a minute of it.

I don't often really, really miss college...but as February starts next week, I definitely miss the excitement and build-up that the month brought. As an athlete, the opportunity to perform to the best of my ability and beat the crap out the competition at conferences got me pumped. Knowing some time off was just a few short weeks away, along with warm weather and more time with friends...just added fuel to the fire. I wish I had appreciated the experience more when I was there. Fortunately, I have lots of great memories to reflect on (and photographic proof...!) to make me smile.

why i like my job

When I was at my last job in Richmond a chick got fired for blogging all about the free crap our company gave us. By "free crap" she was referring to office supplies, which apparently means she didn't get the memo that free pens and post-its and thumb nails are kinda standard. But she elaborated on how she spent her days decorating her cube and doing basically nothing. What an idiot. She obviously got fired.

My recent place of employment (where we also have access to pens and post-its), is a cesspool of talent and creativity. (Side note: I've never used 'cesspool' appropriately in a sentence before...but for whatever reason it makes me giggle...) My co-workers blog frequently about industry trends and best practices and cool concerts and are awesome people to work with. They don't blog about doing nothing because they are constantly busy improving online marketing programs for their clients. I obviously like my job because of the opportunity it has given me to work with insightful, intelligent people.

I like my job because of the beautiful new office and the Park Lake Posse. I like it because they encourage us to read and tweet and blog and learn and grow in our positions and within the agency. I like it because beer drinking is not frowned upon and we get to pose with a giant arrow in our website pics. Our creative director collects Mr.Potato Heads and reviews frozen food. No lie.

But I digress on the point of this post. Today, the reason I most like my job can be summed up in one word:

SHOES. (yep, I bold for emphasis)

I like it because at my desk I can swing around in my chair and be faced with people who are as into cute shoes as I am. Monthly ShoeDazzle selections are a legitimate reason to gather around a computer monitor and ooohhh and ahhh and give thanks for every inch of Kim Kardashian and her shoe-lovin' ass.

Out of nowhere, I receive an IM that allowed me to feast my eyes on the likes of these adorable L.A.M.B strappy sandals:

I know, adorable, right?

So today I thank you, cute-shoe-wearin' co-workers of mine. You make it fun to come into work and check out those new green snakeskin pumps and ruffle-y booties and and share all sorts of shoe-goodness.

thank you notes

I realized tonight that I've written 2 thank you notes from the wedding. Jason and I split the list and his have been in the mail long enough for people to start receiving them.

I've written two.

I feel horrible and ungrateful. I want to scream from the tallest building in Raleigh how thankful I am of everything everybody did for our wedding and how spoiled rotten we were in the gift department. But the buildings aren't that big in Raleigh so that wouldn't get me far.

I'm telling myself it's because it's my last task and I'm not ready to let the wedding go. Buuuut we still have to make our parent albums, approve our own wedding album, pick pictures for frames in our house, scrapbook, blog recap...

I'm putting off thank you notes the way I put off folding clothes after they come out of the dryer (which I always do).

For what it's worth, it's not possible for me to put into words how thankful I am to have such amazing family and friends in my life. I didn't take our wedding to make me realize that, but the outpouring of love and support J and I received that weekend was so moving. I hope you laughed hard, smiled big and had an absolute blast. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

And I promise to send you a thank you note before Thanksgiving.

mile long lists

I realize I mentioned that I like to-do lists, but my list of things I want/need/must/can't live without doing is getting massively long. Check this:

1. Get my blog updated! I was in a kickoff several months ago and my old boss pulled up a hilarious site about weird animals (I know, sounds like a riot, right? It was though...I laughed so hard I cried). Point is, it had a generic blog template and there were jokes about it. I work for an interactive agency and not only is my blog design generic as hell, but I bold AND italicize for emphasis. Double fail. It's my personal blog, yes. But I know I'll never gain popularity (aka more followers) in the blogosphere with a boring, generic background. I've been brainstorming and changes are soon to come! I also need to post more frequently. And add more hours to the day.

2. Plan a trip to NYC to visit my college roommates. They dove all the way to VA in nasty weather for my wedding. It's time for me to hop my ass on a plane and let them show me around their new city. Street lights, big dreams all lookin' pretty!

3. Pick out wedding pics to frame, scrapbook, put in an album, print for family, etc. Stephanie Mosher took so many fabulous shots I don't even know where to begin. I'm also looking forward to recapping my wedding! I've got lots of fun stories and way more descriptions of that awesome weekend to share!

4. Get over the vampire obsession. My to-read list is a mile long, too, and yet I found that after I devoured the Sookie Stackhouse series that I immediately picked up the Twilight books to re-read. Not that Edward holds a candle to Eric, but maybe I'm just subconsciously craving easy, mindless fiction. Although I'm pretty sure that a girl can only take so much sappy teenage vampire love triangles before she starts to lose it a bit. Did I mention I have tix to see New Moon on Friday? I'm pretty pumped.

5. Clean my house. Top to bottom. Set up the guest room. Decorate. Catch up on laundry (haha, impossible...) This one is boring and impossible to accomplish because as soon as you clean you turn around things are messy again. I can see why people hire others to do this crap. No one mentions this when they tell you about all the benefits of growing up. Paying bills and working every day of your life isn't mentioned either.

6. Go shopping!! Buy this jacket. I love it. I've been craving a leather jacket since the temperature dropped. I want to buy more tights and leggings, a couple big warm sweaters, a dark purple coat and a new pair of skinny jeans. And then there's holiday shopping...

What kind of stuff do you have going on as the holidays approach? Any big plans? Or big thorns in your side?

pursuit of passion

I've been doing a lot of thinking, planning, dreaming. I've done some research and a whole lot of reading. I've organized, re-organized, cleaned and put away. I've picked out paint and cried over wedding pictures. Then the next day I cried over them again - and smiled, BIG. I've gotten behind on important things and caught up on unimportant things. But the unimportant things make me happy, so for this I'm not sorry. I've P90X'd and ate well and stared at my wedding ring when I should have been doing something more productive. I've made plans, changed my mind, and then made more plans. Then I changed my mind again. I've slept better than I have in months.

And I've dreamed. I've dreamed BIG.

I'm excited about what's to come.

Image from WeHeartIt

love always, all ways

I woke up at 7:24am to another dreary day. It was overcast and though it didn't seem possible considering it had rained for three days straight, the sky looked as if it could fall out at any minute. My throat was still scratchy and when I said good morning to my mom I sounded more like her son than her daughter.

But I had not a care in the world. On this day, this very day, I was going to walk down an aisle and stand next to the man that makes my whole world light up; the man who makes me smile bigger, and more often, than I ever have in my life. The man who makes me laugh out loud on a daily basis and who thinks I'm beautiful whether I'm dolled up or hungover. The man who loves me despite my moodiness, my insecurities and my imperfections. This man, this beautiful, funny, intelligent and genuine man, would soon become my husband.

And the floating began...

I floated through breakfast. My sister and I ran up to the ceremony site where my mom along with 2 of her closest friends and my aunt were already hard at work transforming an ordinary brick pavilion overlooking a golf course. It was freezing. The wind whipped through our hair and chilled my bare toes. It was then I decided the fireplace might be a nice touch after all.

I floated home. I visited with an old friend and realized I hadn't finished packing for the honeymoon. Oh well. I was marrying Jason today.

I floated off to the hair salon where I drank wine with my bridesmaids and my mom and had straight magic worked on my big curly 'fro. I think I ate some chicken nuggets. I danced around with my flower girls and made the decision to move our cocktail hour from the patio to the reception hall. Virginia apparently decided to skip fall and go straight to winter. Oh well. I was marrying Jason today.

I floated on to my mom's and threw stuff into my suitcase. Mere and I laughed while she sat on top of it and I struggled to zip it shut. I would later find out it weighed 74lbs and would cost an extra $100 to check at the airport. Did I mention I was marrying Jason today? I had not a care in the world.

I finally arrived at the country club to get ready. I snuck upstairs to see the cake and the tables all set up. The 2 walls that were all windows overlooked the golf course and I caught something out of the corner of my left eye - the guys had started taking pictures with Stephanie. I was mesmerized. My heart spilled over at the sight of him. I even think I giggled. Out loud.

The reception hall looked great, the cake was unbelievable, and the bouquets belonged in a magazine, but they all paled in comparison to how beautiful my mom's smile was the first time she saw me slip into my dress.

I still was floating...and from this point on the smile never left my face.

My knockout bridesmaids posed and smiled for pictures then made their way down the aisle. My brother took my arm and asked me if I was ready - it was the easiest question to answer since J asked me to marry him.

As I approached the end of the aisle I saw Jason, teary-eyed and looking oh so fine in that black suit and purple stripped tie. I had been nervous that I would spend my whole wedding ceremony in tears - instead, I spent it smiling. Not just any ol' smile...the biggest, cheese grin my poor cheeks have ever experienced.

I heard every word of our handcrafted ceremony that J and I put together ourselves, and despite having read them at least 387 times before, the words meant so much more on that day at that moment.

I looked around the pavilion and tried to take it all in, but nothing was as beautiful as the smile on Jason's face. I couldn't look away. I tried to put his ring on the wrong finger and we both laughed along with our guests. I so desperately wanted to kiss him right then.

I had imagined this moment for the last 11.5 months, and finally, I heard the words I knew I had been waiting for since I fell head over heels for him not 3 weeks after we met:

"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss your bride."

I'm still floating...and I hope my feet never hit the ground.

I look forward to sharing more pictures, stories, and details about the wedding in future posts!

The picture is courtesy of my kick-ass photographer, Stephanie Mosher.