Take the Power

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Happy Friday yall!   Hope its a great one :)

Happy, Happy Me

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Hey lovelies!  Just wanted to say a huge thank you for all your encouragement with my first ever outfit of the day post on Tuesday.  Yall were totally awesome and supportive, and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it!  Thankfully, I didn’t get the, “what the shiz are you wearing and why do you think you’re cool enough to post an OOTD” comment.  Success in my book :)  But for realz, I really really really appreciate all your kind words and will keep the OOTD posts coming :)

Along the lines of OOTD…I sent an outfit over to Kim at Anthroholic (if you love Anthro, this blog is for you) for her weekly reader outfits, and she was kind enough to post my little get up.  I felt sooo cool in my Anthro get up on an Anthro blog.  But don’t worry, you folks got the VIP treatment and saw the outfit in my birthday recap post.  Yeah…nothing but straight up VIP for my smart and sassy followers.  Straight up VIP .  (And rewind, did I just say “folks” in the previous sentence?!  What am I, ninety?!)  Anyway, if you want to see my cameo, you can check it out here.  (I’m like the 13th picture or so down, not that I’m counting or anything.)  If you’ve hopped over from Kim’s blog…hey hello, I’m glad you’re here, feel free to sit and stay a while.

In other exciting news…Matt and I booked a trip to New York City for next month.  Woo hoo!  Remember in this post where I talked about voluntarily bailing from our overbooked Delta flight and getting mega dinero in return?  Remember how I thought for hours about all the fabulous places we could visit with that dinero?  (No idea why I’ve now said dinero twice.  Weird.)  Well, we’ve booked a flight to Phoenix in a few weeks to visit Matt’s parents and then we booked a trip to NYC for mid June with those lovely Delta dollars.  Score!  We’ll be going to NYC for a friend’s bad ass wedding.  More details to come, but let me just tell you it involves a private yacht, the harbor, black tie attire, and fabulous friends.  Can I get a helllll yeah?

To say its been a good week for me just doesn’t do it justice.  I survived my first ever OOTD post thanks for my fab fab readers, got a celebrity shout out (yes, Kim that’s you!), survived a presentation in my structural equation modeling class (a miracle in itself), and booked a trip to NYC (with the promise a fabulous new dress.)  I mean, its only Thursday, what else has the week got in store? :)

First Ever OOTD!

Hello and happy Tuesday!  Sorry I’ve been MIA the past two days, but I have been hard at work adding labels to allll of my blog posts.  (Yes, every.blog.post.from.the.day.I.started.this.blog.  Eeesh, it was a long process.)  Hopefully the labels will help my blog’s organization, both for my sake and yall’s sake.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to link to an older post and then had NO earthly idea where to actually find the post.  So hopefully this will help.

Anyway…after several suggestions and requests from readers, I am finally doing my first outfit of the day post.  WAIT!  Before you furiously scroll down to see if I have OOTD street cred, let me say that I am very hesitant about adding an OOTD feature on my little blog.  Something about doing OOTD posts, seems a little like I’m tooting my own horn.  Now, there is nothing wrong with tooting your own style horn, but part of me thinks I should leave that style horn tooting to lovelies like Amber, Anh, Amy, and Andi.  (Hmm, perhaps having a name that starts with an “A” gives one instant OOTD street cred.)  I love their posts because they are stylish and fab (I like to abbreviate fabulous, aka fab.  Must learn quickly to understand my speech.)  Not saying I’m not fab, but I don’t know how fab my style is, and I certainly don’t know how fab YOU all will think my style is.  But because several of you have asked, and because I’m feeling optimistic this Tuesday, I’m going to give it a try.  I’m giving myself a few OOTD posts, and if people tell me they could care less what I wear, I’ll end this little experiment.  My day to day wear is fairly flexible, sometimes I can do jeans, sometimes I have to be a pencil skirt.  It just depends on what I have going on that day with work, school, class, etc.  So, now that I’ve officially rambled (no surprise!) here is my FIRST EVER outfit of the day post!  Hope you like it :)

Sorry about the shadows (and the fact that my wedges are sinking into the grass.)  Beginner’s error :)

Sweater: the Gap {here}

Tank: J.Crew

Jeans: the Gap {here}

Shoes: Jessica Simpson {here}

Necklace: Anthropologie {see my post here}; Target

Bracelets: vintage {it was my great aunt Bunny’s}; Banana Republic

Earrings: Kohl’s

Bobby pins: Sprout Studio {here; see my post about Sprout studio here}

So there you have it…my first OOTD post!  Eeek, hope you liked it!

Weekend Delight

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Hey there…hope this finds you at the end of a delightful weekend!
Mine was certainly delightful…filled with extra Zs…lunch with my little brother…a mini shopping trip at the Gap (hello additional 40% off of sale items)…Saturday thrifting…a spritzy glass of sangria…a trip to the spa thanks to a thoughtful birthday gift from my parents…a dinner date with Matt…Hills marathon madness (Lauren Conrad, we NEED to be friends, I know you’d like me, I’m certain of it)…budget friendly furniture makeovers (pictures to come)…a yummy take on broccoli cheese soup meets chicken and rice…more planning for our upcoming move which involved the rental of a 26 foot truck (ohhh this could be interesting)…an afternoon walk…sunny weather…and Dairy Queen’s buy one get one for 25 cents Blizzard treat (hells yeah for the “Texas stop sign.”)
Tomorrow is Monday, boo.  So to avoid facing that truth, tell me about your weekend; I’d love to hear!

Every Little Thing…

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Thank you to all of the fabulously sweet peeps who sent prayers and positive thoughts my way for the interview today!  I think the interview went ok…not great, not awful…just ok.  But then again, I tend to be pretty hard on myself when it comes to stuff like this so who knows.  We’ll see.  If its meant to be, I’ll get it, and if not, it just means God has something else in store for me!  No matter what, I keep trying to remind myself that everything will work out; everything will be ok.  Because when I look back on other stressful times and transitions in my life, I remember all the stress and moments I wasted worrying about what would happen, how it would all work out, blah blah blah.  And you know what?  All of those things worked out ten times better than I ever could have imagined or planned myself.  So tonight, I’m taking a big deep breath, giving thanks, and letting go.  Because you know what?  Everything really will be alright :)

Happy (almost) Friday!

Birthday Week Recap

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So between work and interview preparations today, I managed to sneak in some time to do a little birthday week post.  Just wading through all the photos made me smile thinking of all the laughs and fun I had this weekend.  I seriously have the best friends and husband in the world.  Seriously.  I win the prize for the most rockin friends.  They’re the best of the best!

I will warn you now, this post is incredibly picture heavy.  But you know what?  It’s my blog, so I can do what I want.  If you don’t want to look at the 954 pictures we took this weekend, then you can scoot along and come back when I post something non birthday related :)  But until then…

My birthday morning started off perfectly with breakfast in bed thanks to my thoughtful husband.  (No this is not a picture from breakfast in bed lol.)  I taught Monday morning and got lots of sweet birthday wishes from my students.  The best birthday wish was from a student who said, “Happy 20th birthday!”  Hmm, I think that student deserves a little extra credit :)  I took the afternoon off for some birthday shopping, and then we met up with some friends for drinks at one of our favorite happy hour spots.  The picture I took of all of us didn’t turn out so this is the only picture I have from birthday drinks.

Matt and I had planned to head out to dinner just the two of us after, but for some weird reason, neither one of us was very hungry.  So we headed to one of my favorite spots in town for my most favorite dessert EVER.  For realz.  I heart this chocolate strawberry tart at a level that is likely unhealthy :)  Matt and I headed back home and enjoyed a quiet night just the two of us.  Since I had my big birthday celebration on Saturday, it was nice to just spend the night with my man :)

My birthday week continued the next day when I met my mom for lunch at a precious little garden store/nursery/tea room that is about 45 minutes outside of Houston.  Neither one of us know a dang thing about gardening; we were there for the shopping and lunching :)

These little tea cups had both of us swooning.  I LOVED the little winged handles.   It was like a little butterfly just landed on our teacups.  So precious.

Wednesday night I met two of my favorite people for dinner on the patio.  Clare and Amanda are in the same Ph.D program as me, and their sarcasm and sense of humor have kept me laughing through all of the craziness that comes with getting this dang degree.  They are out of this world hilarious!

Friday after work and long week for a lot of us, a small group of my friends headed to our favorite patio in town for happy hour and what my friends called “Birthday Kickoff #2.”  We frequent this spot way too often :)  Natalia was going to be out of town the next day for my birthday celebration, so I was happy she could join us for a little pre-celebration.  I don’t know if its the angle or the colors of this picture, but I think its so fun!

Saturday was the big birthday celebration, and I had friends come in from Dallas and Austin to join us to for the celebration.  (Like I said, I win for having the best friends ever.)  That evening we headed to a local winery for a private vineyard tour and wine tasting, and it was so much more fun than any of us expected!  The guide had no idea what she was in for, bless her heart.  Our group can get a little crazy :)

Please excuse the awkward solo pic lol, but I wanted you all to be able to see the dress I talked about a couple of weeks ago.  I hadn’t planned to add a belt to it, but I think it added a nice layer to the dress.  PS: someone asked me a month or two ago about doing some outfit of the day posts, and I’ve kinda been on the fence about it.  Do people really care what I’m wearing?  I feel like I should leave that to the fashion professionals.  If so though, let me know, and I’ll see what I can do.

Me and two of my favorite girlies!  My best friend Jordan (on the left) drove down from Dallas with her fiancé for the occasion.  Like I said, I have great friends :)

  Matt and I towards the beginning of the tour.  I am so so so blessed to be spending my life with such an incredible guy, who also happens to plan a great birthday celebration :)

  Here’s the whole group out in the middle of the vineyard.  This picture is probably my favorite from my entire birthday week and will have a prominent place in our Chicago apartment as soon as we move!

  We learned a TON about wine throughout the tour (though I guess that was the point lol).  The whole growing, picking, smashing process is quite fascinating.  Those teeny little bunches on the vine are the early early grape babies that will soon make port wine.

  We were all curious what those tiny little grape babies would taste like.  And thankfully, the ever adventurous Ricky was on hand to test them out.  He reported back, “Tastes like grass.”  He them sampled another one.  Only Ricky… :)

  Here Jordan and I are are in one of the fermenting rooms (I think that’s what it was called) where the wine behind us is aging.  We’ve been best friends for over 12 years, so I’d say wine isn’t the only thing that gets better with age!

  On the tour, Ricky was selected for a “special task,” and I immediately pouted that as the birthday girl, I wasn’t chosen.  (I can be a little annoying about birthday privileges.)  Little did I know the special task would be drinking straight from the fermenting tank!  That would not have gone over well with my new birthday dress :)  Luckily, Ricky was on hand to take care of the “special task.”  We tasted this same wine from the bottle later in the tour.

  After the tour, we headed into the tasting room for a lesson in wine tasting .  Matt and I (and creeper Steven) pause between wine/cheese pairings for a photo.  Who knew so much went into drinking?  Our friends realized we’d been drinking our wine allll wrong ;)

  A blurry group shot (probably fitting considering the several glasses we’d each had) with our guide Lauren.  Though we were a little crazy, she told us we were her second favorite tour of all time.  Second only to a group of red hat ladies, which I for one, don’t mind being second to :)  The group’s favorite discovery of the day was port cheese.  Omg.have.you.ever.had.that.stuff?  It was so deliciously yummy….and pink!  Anything pink is great in my book.

  On the tour, our guide talked about this rare red wine the winery produced in 1998.  So rare, there were only 12 bottles left in the world.  And yes, I said “were” because my crazy friends decided to purchase one of those 12 bottles to celebrate my birthday.  Here I am with the grape version of the golden ticket.

  Matt dishing out the fancy pants rare wine.  It was pretty tasty, but looking back we all decided we probably should have tried it at the start of the evening ;)

  Cheers to fabulous friends and another year of incredible blessings!

  What kind of friend stands beside you as a bridesman in you wedding and drives in from Austin to celebrate your birthday with you?  The best kind :)

  We probably have 3,000 self portrait shots like this over the past twelve years.  They’re still the best kind.

After a few hours at the winery we headed to one of my favorite spots for dinner.  (Don’t worry, we had a DD.)  Edgar was able to join us for dinner, and he brought a bad ass Dora the Explorer balloon with him that I wouldn’t let out of my sight all night.  Seriously.  I loved it and am now enjoying it perched in a vase in our dining room!

Me and the fabulous party planner.  Love him :)

No birthday celebration is complete without a cake, and this one was both beautiful and yummy.  I have a thing for birthday candles, so I was over the moon at this point!  I can’t tell you what I wished for (because then it wouldn’t come true), but I have a feeling no matter what happens, this next year is going to be filled with lots of excitement and love.

From Monday to Sunday, the week was truly incredible and one I’ll never forget.  A huge thanks for all of my incredible friends, family, and readers for making my 26th birthday SO special.  I am so so blessed and am continually thankful for all of the incredible blessings in my life!  Here’s to year 26!

Monday Check In

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Hey sweet friends!  Just getting back to blogland after an INCREDIBLE birthday celebration weekend, and all I can say is wow, who knew the weekend would be so stinking fabulous?!  My husband and friends are beyond thoughtful and did so much to make my 26th birthday one to remember!  I’d hoped to post a full recap tonight, but that’s going to be a no-go.

Because…in the midst of my birthday excitement last week, I forgot to mention that I got a job interview in Chicago!  A woo hoo!  (If you’re new to the blog you can read about our upcoming move to Chicago here and here.)  I’m beyond excited, but also slightly overwhelmed with all I need to do to prepare.  I’m a bit of a neurotic over-preparer when it comes to interviews, so I’m trying to get as ready as possible before I fly out on Wednesday morning.  In my book, “ready” equals fully prepared for any question they throw my way, fresh highlights, a new suit, neatly manicured nails, organized print outs of my travel plans, an insanely pared down cosmetic case, reviewing my application 40 times, and some creative packing to manage just a carry on.  Eeek, a lot to do before Wednesday morning!

So hopefully a full birthday recap will be up soon.  Nothing like blogging at the airport to take away some interview anxiety :)

Until then, much love and happy Monday (almost Tuesday!)

Happy Friday and a Guest Post…(go check me out!)

Hey friends, happy Friday!  I am so thrilled it is finally the weekend (my birthday celebration weekend, no less), and I am even more thrilled that today, I am guest posting at The Decorista’s Secrets of Domestic Bliss.  Ashlina contacted me a while back about doing a guest post in her Six to Bliss series, and I was beyond thrilled!  She has been a faithful and encouraging reader since the early days of my blog, and she has a rocking blog herself.  For realz.  So head on over there to check out my celebrity self guest post and swoon over her fabulous blog.

 

I am going to be MIA most of the weekend, enjoying some delightful birthday love involving fabulous friends, vineyards, wine tasting, one of my favorite restaurants, of course, lots and lots of pictures :)  Happy weekend to you all!

Those of you visiting from Ashlina’s blog, I’m so happy you hopped over!  Feel free to stay awhile and check out how delightful life is with sprinkles!

Cocktail Meets Chalkboard

Those of you who have been reading for a while (or see me on a daily basis) know that I love love LOVE cocktail rings.  I also adore accessories with whimsy and imagination.  So this ring on Etsy is the perfect blend of my two loves!

  {via Evrydiki’s Etsy shop}

I think it would be a fun conversation piece and a great way to inject some fun personality into any outfit.  If you can think it and write it, why not wear it?  Think of all the possibilities!  This little gem is going to need to meet me in Chicago :) 

What would you write and wear?

Birthday Thanks and a Great Birthday Find

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I want to send a giant THANK YOU to all of my dear friends, family, and followers for the sweet birthday messages yesterday!  My birthday was delightful, and I can already tell that 26 is going to be a very blessed year.  I was going to post a few birthday pictures from yesterday, but since I am a firm believer in celebrating one’s birthday week, I figured I’d wait until Sunday to post all of my birthday goodness.  No need for a full week of self absorbed posts (not that a full week of self absorbed celebrating is that different lol) but nonetheless…I’ll do a full recap on Sunday :)

However…there is one part of my birthday that I simply can’t wait until Sunday to blog about because it is so so so so so awesome that I just HAVE to share.  Be prepared that this news might cause many of you to instantly jump in your car and fly to the closest mall.  For realz, it’s that big.

I have discovered the best find at Forever 21.  And I mean, THE.BEST.  I will pause here for a moment to say that I have a weird relationship with Forever 21, and by weird, I mean, “I usually can’t stand it or find anything there, though every other cute blogger I know always finds good things there which makes me feel like a loser, but I continue to try and why can’t their sizing be more normal” kind of weird.  Anyone feel me on this?  However, I saw a really cute top on a blogger that I was determined to find.  So I treated myself to a mid afternoon birthday shopping trip, and given that our mall has um, like, 2 decent stores, I ventured to see my “weird” pal, Forever 21.  However, once I walked in, I forgot about the top I went for as I saw rack after rack of maxi dresses.  Now, another pause is needed to tell you how much I love maxi dresses.  They’re great for summer, easy to throw on, travel friendly, and second day leg shave friendly.  (Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.  I know you know what I mean.)  Anywoo…my maxi dress obsession has a major glitch.  I am 5'10" minus a smidge, and well, maxi dresses made to fit 5'10" minus a smidge girls don’t really exist.  Ok, they exist, but very rarely.  So imagine my shock and awe when I tried on one of the seventeen maxi dresses and…omg, no way, really, it can’t be?  It fits!  It’s LONG ENOUGH.

Upon this discovery, I quickly ran through the store shouting “they’re long enough, they’re long enough,” grabbing every maxi dress they had in my size.  Literally.  Every.maxi.dress.in.my.size.  (Five in total.)  It’s not every day a tall girl can find a maxi dress that hangs below her knees, much less one skims the ground.  Hellls yeah.  Happy birthday to me :)

When I got home, still in shock over my discovery, I laid out my new lovelies to make sure I hadn’t dreamed of my marvelously long maxi dresses.  And because I know you all want to marvel as well…

Aren’t they beautiful?!  And their true beauty isn’t even on full display here because their true beauty is the fact that they’re long enough.  Long enough.  Sigh…I can’t say it enough, (long enough.)  Hahahha, sorry, I couldn’t help myself.  And by the way, do not make the same mistake as my husband.  I did not buy two identical dresses.  The patterned dresses?  One’s brown, one’s black.  The black dresses?  One has straps, one doesn’t.  Totally different, silly husband.

So, if you are a tall gal like me, run, not walk, to the closest Forever 21 to claim your newest summer BFF (or five.)  And just consider the tip an early birthday gift from me to you.  Because, it was definitely a sweet birthday gift to me!

Happy 26th! (and a Year in Review)

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Today I am so blessed to be celebrating my 26th birthday!  I am so incredibly blessed, and I am so thankful for all the incredible people who make my life so sweet.  The years seem to be flying by faster and faster, and I can’t believe 25 has come and gone already.  And because I’m a firm believer in reflection and revisiting where I’ve been…I took some time to think about all of the great things I’ve experienced being 25!

I rang in my 25th birthday celebrating with friends in the Texas Hill Country.  We had planned to float the river, but in a freak Texas weather incident, the temps dropped below 60, and we’re entirely too wimpy to float in cold water.  So we enjoyed the wilderness a little more “my style,” in a three bedroom cabin with a gorgeous deck, grill, flat screen tv, firepit, and beautiful views.  It was a great start to what would be a fabulous year for me!

After being engaged for almost a year, Matt and I’s wedding events went into full force this past spring.  My bridesmaids and bridesmen (yes, I had guys in my bridal party) threw me a fabulous bridal shower and my sweet mom flew in all the way from London to be there for it.

We celebrated Matt’s 26th birthday with a little surprise party.  (Surprise for him, sneaky planning for me!)

In May, my bridesmaids and friends headed to Dallas for an insanely fun bachelorette party weekend.  I was pretty firm about not wanting the typical bachelorette party, and my friends were fabulous in giving me exactly what I’d envisioned and more.  I wish I could have that same weekend once a month!

After two years of living in London, my family finally moved back to the States in June, and though I know they were sad to leave their life there, I was SO glad to have them back in Houston and much much closer to me!

The highlight of my 25th year was without a doubt, Matt and I getting married.  My life has changed so much since meeting Matt, and I was so thrilled to become husband and wife on June 26th, 2009.  Here we are on June 25th, at our rehearsal with our dear family friend and pastor (who flew all the way from England to marry us!)

June 26th was magical…

…and I am so very blessed.

The best vacation of my 25th year was definitely our honeymoon.  A few days after the wedding (we lingered in Dallas a few days so we could spend more time with family and rest up a little bit before our trip), we headed to Playa Mujeres, Mexico for a dream vacation.  I can’t even tell you how many times a week I dream to be back at this place (with our friend, Pineapple Man, and the yummy drink he contained.)

In August, we headed to Toronto for a conference.  We were able to venture out from the nerdfest quite a bit and really enjoyed the city, especially the Art Gallery of Ontario (shown above.)

The fall of my 25th year was not the best for me.  I had lots of drama and stress surrounding my degree, and for a moment, my confidence and belief that I could get this dang Ph.D was really shaken.  But with the help of my incredible family and friends, I got through it, learned a ton, and came out a much stronger person.  It was after this, that I started this little blog, I guess as a way to get back in touch with myself.  I got a much needed break from all the stress when my little bro decided he was serious about becoming a Sooner.  We took an official college visit and got the OU VIP treatment.  Boomer!

We spent Thanksgiving in Arizona with Matt’s family and continued the tradition of the early morning Turkey Trot.  (Umm, please notice Matt’s face; he’s on the left.  Hahahha, that is one intense looking trot!)  I adore Matt’s family and could not imagine a more welcoming group of people.  I heart them.

In December, we spent our first Christmas together as married people, and I was giddy over getting (say that five times fast, “giddy over getting”) a Christmas card that started with “To my wife…”  Eeek!

I rang in new years as a 25 year old with my best friend and my boy (and some other people of course.)  Another highlight of my year, my best friend Jordan got engaged.  Hooray!

After traveling all over the freaking country for Matt’s interviews, we fell in love with Chicago and crossed our fingers we’d end up there!  Luckily (and with lots of prayers from lots of people) we found out the Windy City will be our home next year!  We’ve went back to visit a second time and found a precious little home to live in!

I’ve been so blessed this year am continually grateful for the people in my life who make life so meaningful.  I’m also so grateful to this little blog, the joy it has given me, and the wonderful, wonderful people I’ve been able to meet through it.  25 has been absolutely fantastic and I have a feeling 26 is going to be filled with lots of fantastic stuff, and as always, a few surprises!