rusty orange lace

How pretty is this lace dress?!

I love the blue and rusty orange together AND the fact that I only paid $8 for it.

 

I don't usually get very lucky while thrift shopping but when I get a chance to go with my mom I usually find at least one really great deal. I can take as much time as I want looking at everything and even trying stuff on. Unlike when I go with babe and he wants to leave after 5 minutes. On this trip I found a brand new Banana Republic blazer for $3!! ...and this dress, which you might notice is a tad big on me. But with my sewing skills lately, I think I can take it in a bit.... or not, if I get too lazy (it's not THAT big).

Any good thrift buys lately for anyone else?

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i ran a 10k...

...and it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. How the heck do people run marathon's?! It seems so impossible.
I had trained for about 8 weeks, never really running more than 2 or 3 miles, that might have been a mistake. Another mistake... running after NOT running at all for almost a week and a half because I was sick. And the 3rd mistake... running after not really getting over being sick.

My SIL drove me and my husband to a park over 6 miles away from our house. We stretched a little and then headed towards the sun setting (yeah, didn't do the sunrise run that I had planned). The first few miles seemed like a never ending path between the LA River and a Golf course. And once we made it to the streets, where street names were looking familiar, my husband pointed out that it would probably go a lot quicker. But then I "all of a sudden" kept getting this weird bubbly feeling in my throat, that felt kind of burning when it "popped" but not really popped... I can't explain it. But my husband knew what I was saying and he said "heartburn, silly". WTF, at of ALL the moments in my life to experience heartburn?! I seriously have never felt that before and it sucked.

Once we got close to mile 5 I was pretty sure I couldn't make it home. But my husband kept running and it was getting dark and I did NOT want to be so far behind him that someone would kidnap me... you never know. And 1 hour and 18 min after we started, we made it to our stopping point. When we got home I noticed a sign on the door that said Congratulations and I love? you! And when we opened the door to go inside my SIL and babe were standing and clapping. It was seriously the cutest, sweetest moment and so worth the 6.3 mile run. Of course the cause was also very worth the run as well. They must have known that I kept my commitment to run on/or before Oct. 27th and the next day they sent me my tote, with a few extra goodies.

I have to say that running is one of favorite exercises (which hasn't always been the case) but I will definitely be sticking to shorter distances in the future.

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me as a working mom - part 1

Is the grass greener on the other side?

For the past few days this "saying" has been #1 in my thoughts. It stems from the fact that I am a full time working mom, (have been since my son was born, besides the first 3 months) and last week (even though I was sick) I was basically a stay at home mom for 5 whole days.

Me as a working mom:

Growing up I couldn't wait to have kids. I always thought I would have kids at a fairly young age, but life doesn't happen the way you think it will... and instead my younger brother started having kids before me. Becoming an aunt was the best thing in the world, I loved those kids so much and spoiled them to death. But after a day or a weekend with them, I was happy to be alone and continue on with my week at work.

Work was priority to me compared to everything and at some point I just decided that kids would happen when the time was right, heck, I never even thought I would get married, so kids were far away in my mind. I eventually did get married in 2007 and in 2009 we had our babe. Work was still super important, so important that there was no doubt, ever, that I would continue as soon as my paid leave was up.  We were very lucky that my husband would be able to stay home to raise our son.

Over the past 13 years I have worked my butt off, at the same company, to get to where I am today. But the thing is, I'm not exactly where I want to be. I have had SO many ups and downs throughout the years that I'm amazed I'm even still there. There have literally been moments that I want to scream... no words at all... just a scream, or walk out the door and never look back, or cry. Of course crying is the less dramatic of the 3 and so I have shed many tears. Work has given me so much more stress than any job should give a person (in my personal opinion). And then there are other times when everyone is so appreciative, or there are new people for me to find and mentor, or new big, exciting projects to work on. Work constantly has me thinking about every second of every day... I hope I get up on time. how bad will traffic be. deadlines. meetings to set up. work to pass on. emails to address. stuff to print/pdf/send out. will I get home before dark? what will be for dinner? will I have time to exercise? play with babe? read babe a story? watch a show on my DVR? take a shower? (yes, I question that. the answer always ends up being yes though, duh!) relax? and then it starts all over again, exactly In that same order.

That is my life in a nutshell. Every day is the same. Every day I am away from home for almost 12 hours. Every day, every second, I am constantly over thinking every action.

In part 2 I will write about "Me as a stay at home mom", it was brief, but eye opening.

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a few favorites

This week hasn't been the best because I "all of sudden" came down with cold on Tuesday night. I stayed home from work the rest of the week and so you can imagine there's not much that happened during my week to be favorite "noteworthy".... oh except for the fact that, even though I had a cold, I was able to pick up babe from pre-k all week. It's SO fun getting to see him right after class because he voluntarily points out his project's and tells me what he did for the past 2.5 hours..

- in case you missed it... I did make this super awesome skirt, which I can't wait to wear in public, not just my backyard.

- also, my favorite food is French Fries...

can you guess how excited I was to find this jumbo eye pencil called "French Fries", SO excited. Not only is the name perfect but it's the perfect color that I have been searching for, a bronze brown (which was why I had even picked it up to begin with).

What is your favorite thing this week?

 

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navajo. aztec. tribal. skirt

So, can someone please tell me... are Navajo, Aztec and Tribal prints all the same or similar? Or is there a difference? I just don't know. But I love the prints I picked up this past weekend and couldn't wait to sew something up. Unfortunately I thought I would have to wait until the weekend BUT then "unfortunately" I got sick and stayed home for the past 2 days. I spent most of yesterday with a ginormous headache and trying to rest as much as possible. And even though I was still sick today, I didn't have a headache and so I busted out the sewing machine and whipped up a skirt.

If you already own a similar skirt and want another one, this post is for you... because that's exactly what I did.

Supplies:
lightweight knit fabric // 3/4" elastic // sewing machine // scissors // and hopefully an existing skirt as a template.

- fold fabric over and place existing skirt on top. you will notice my existing skirt tappers in at the top (waist), but I decided to cut an exact rectangle.

- add an extra 2.5 inches (for top and bottom) to allow 1 inch fold for the waist and a 1.5 inch hem. and about a 1/4" vertically to sew the skirt closed. 

- sew up the side.

- fold over the waist 1", BUT do not close it completely.

- measure your waist exactly and subtract about a 1/4" (depending on how tight or loose you would like the elastic to be on your waist)

- feed the elastic through the opening you left. you can do a quick hand stitch to close or use the sewing machine.

- fold over and sew your 1.5 inch hem

I'm really loving my sewing machine right now.

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a family weekend

a baby, pretty fabric and babe's happiness!

How cute is my new nephew... he is so tiny, so cute and I could just hold him forever.

I had the BEST time at JoAnns this past weekend, I could literally be in there for hours... and walk out with 2 items. I have a growing list of sewing items that will one day fill my imaginary sewing room.

Babe had the best weekend with his grandpa and cousins. My FIL came to see the new baby and so our house was filled with some of babe's favorite people. I love to see that smile on his face.

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i hate change

For the past few months our office has been waiting for our current lease to expire and ultimately decide if we would renew our lease or move to a completely different office building. We were finally informed that we would be staying in our current location but downsizing our space. With the downsize, it was decided that a huge chunk of the employees would be moving seats. Moving seats is always a big deal because the way we choose is by seniority, so the longer you have been there, the better the seat you will get... and everybody wants the best seat... by a window.

I am 2nd in line within our group (and in the top 10 within the office) and have been having a really hard time deciding where I want to sit. It seems so silly and so ridiculous but I have been coming up with excuses for all the options I have available to me. And THEN I realized, it isn't the actual seat itself at all... it's the fact that I have been sitting in the same spot for almost 7 years and I like my current spot and I don't want to move to the other side of the office. (Yeah, I just stomped my foot a little, like a 5 year old).

I hate change. Even when it's good change. It will take me forever to get use to the idea. I don't know why but I like consistency... familiarity. You would think I was 80 years old or something. I don't know why it took me all week to realize it was the change that was affecting my decision but now that I have realized it, I'm ready to just pick a seat using Eeny, meeny, miny, moe... because in comparison to the seat I have now, all the other seats in the office suck. Also, people are starting to give me dirty looks.... adults can be crazy!

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purple monster

Growing up I hated the color pink. I hated the little pink dresses, pink bows, pink ribbons, pink lace... I hated pink. So If I was ever given an option between pink and purple, I always picked purple. I wouldn't go as far as saying it was my favorite color but anything was better than pink, and my birthstone is an amethyst.
A few years ago for a wedding I had bought a purple dress. When I told my cousin what color I bought, she said "so your going to be a purple monster?!" and laughed. I gave her a funny look and asked what she meant by it and she said "oh, it's just what I think of when people wear purple". So every time I wear purple, I think of that comment and second guess the color.

 

However, I realize that I have worn purple quite a bit in the past few weeks and have decided the color is gorgeous and definitely doesn't make me look like a monster. What is the most random comment someone has made to you?

p.s. I have long gotten over my pink phobia.

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a peaceful moment & simplicity

I had a whole post written about my weekend but then realized that I really only wanted to share my absolute favorite moment. It was late afternoon on Sunday. Babe was outside playing in the dirt (literally, drawing roads in the dirt with his finger!) My husband and I were on the couch (him on his Ipad, me laying down), with the doors open. The sun was shining through with just the perfect amount of light, the air flowing through the living room was so relaxing, the neighborhood was SO quiet... no birds, no barking, not even babe running around screaming. It was surreal and peaceful, and for just a few minutes I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I DON"T sleep during the day, ever... (ok, maybe once a year) and only during moments like this one. When the world is so silent and I have absolutely nothing on my list that has to be done at that very moment. I wish all weekend's had at least one moment like this. Quiet, Peaceful... Simple.

I'm not superstitious but I think this fortune is trying to tell me something. It's definitely a reminder that there is less than 3 months in the year and one of my new year resolutions was to live a more simple life. As hard as I have tried, I just don't feel like I have come even close to being satisfied with this goal. The good things is I still have some time. So I plan on making a list of the things I really want to simplify and hopefully cross a few off before 2014.

Any suggestions/advice?

 

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a few favorites

Can you believe it has been almost a month since I wrote a favorites post?! It seems impossible to me since I really enjoy jotting things down during the week to share with you all on Saturday, but somehow every Saturday just seems to pass me by.

Babe had picture day on Thursday. I can't wait to see his VERY 1st official school picture. I might cry.

Lately I have been listening to A LOT of Britney. In case you missed it: I'm going to see her in Vegas and I couldn't be more excited. Countdown - 4 months 7 days!

 

I came across this blog a few weeks ago called "Surviving and Thriving in the first year of my Divorce". On one hand, a divorce is tough for anyone. On the other hand, this girl's story is so interesting to read through, she can seriously write a book.

 

Merrick shared this pinterest board that her SIL came across and I can not stop laughing at the commentary. I haven't had a chance to look at this lady's blog but I'm so curious to know if there is some random story behind the board when she created it or what?! I mean she has a book coming out. I don't even know if this stuff is meant to be funny (obviously it is), it definitely makes me laugh. Seriously, you should spend your morning reading through it.

 

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Pumpkin Spice Coffee & Strawberry Dessert

As much as I love starbucks pumpkin spice lattes, sometimes they are just too much... too much pumpkin and too much money. I mean $4 for a tall?! I have seen a few recipe's for pumpkin spice syrups/creamers/coffee and they all seem a little too complicated for me. So today I wanted to share a super simple toned down pumpkin spice coffee ... and a dessert to go along with it, because what's coffee without a dessert.  

pumpkin spice coffee, you will need:
a nutty coffee (I love almond) // pumpkin spice // whipped cream

For 1 big cup (2 small cups in my coffee machine), add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice to the coffee grounds before brewing (a nice little trick I learned from Kristin). Fix your cup of coffee as you normally would (I like a teaspoon of raw sugar and sweet cream coffee creamer) and top with whipped cream.

strawberry dessert, you will need:
a handful of strawberries (about 7), Sliced // 1 full graham cracker. crushed  // whipped cream

In a small cup or bowl layer all ingredients twice. Strawberries, cracker's, whipped cream.  

 

Enjoy!

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i heart scarves

I have a slight obsession with the pretty pieces of fabric that keep my neck warm and cozy during the colder temp's. Between buying them myself, receiving them as gifts or having my mom make them for me... I have well over 30 scarves! (and that's after getting rid of some when we moved). I have one of those really cute scarf hangers but it only holds 15! I think I might have to do another purge so that they are not just piled up in a basket in the corner of my room.

 scarf: swap gift from Amy // top: Q // jeans: h&m // boots: ross

 (btw, I hate that it's getting dark earlier. I had to use a flash for my picture's *sad face*.
my husband thinks it's so weird that I hate the flash on a camera)

The best thing about scarves is that it makes a pretty boring outfit seem a little more put together, or is it just me thinking this outfit doesn't look as boring with a scarf around my neck?

a quick scarf tip...

 

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