Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

via

My Sweetie Comes Home Tomorrow!

Excited to pick up my better half from the airport tomorrow after a month apart!

Photographed by Jonas Peterson via Once Wed

Leopard Love

I am totally on the animal print bandwagon. I've been looking to add a little leopard to my life with a pair of ballet flats or heels when I saw these today.

If this were an SAT analogy quiz, it would be:
zipper : leopard ballet flat :: icing : cake


The only problem is, I have no idea where they are from. Do you know?


(Please don't tell me they're über expensive.)

Do You Really Want to Skirt Me

I can't help but giggle at the name of this skirt. Modcloth, I love you.

Now I have to re-watch this scene from the Wedding Singer:

Give me time...

Eat Your Vitamins!

These are like candy to me. 


I had some drugstore.com credits I needed to use, and I've been meaning to start taking vitamins, so I threw these in my virtual shopping cart to get to the total for free shipping.


They arrived Saturday and I think I've already had my dosage for the week. (Remind me to call my husband tonight to see what happens if I overdose on Vitamin D3. Wikipedia is scaring me with talk of Hypervitaminosis D, although I do appreciate that this is a medical term that means exactly what it sounds like.) 


I'm a total pill gummy popper now. I think this just means I need to buy all of the other vitamins available so I don't have to decrease my overall gummy consumption.


Because, you know, these are adult vitamins. Totally legit that I take their entire line for maximum health.


$6 is the cheapest I found this particular vitamin, which is what they're selling for at drugstore.com (and shop through Mr. Rebates for an additional 9% back).


What about you? Do you take serious adult vitamins too?

Gifted!

Tis the season to start thinking about gift giving, and there are lots of great gift ideas featured on Gifted Magazine. 

For the Cook

Kitchen Conversions poster ($30) from SweetFineDay's Etsy

For the Griller

Gourmet BBQ blends ($16) from Purpose Design's Etsy - you pick 8 of your favorite custom blends, so this seems like a really good deal considering I've seen canisters like these for $1.50-3 a piece.

For your Furry Friend

Personalized dog bowl ($24) from Sunshine Ceramic's Etsy

For the Little One

Dolls from Sophie and Lili ($15-38, extra for totally custom)

Choose from one of the existing dolls or choose the hair, skin color, and clothing for a totally custom doll

Personal pocket mirror ($9) from Olliegraphic

Some other cute  items I found perusing the Olliegraphic site:

Plate and bowl set ($42, $20-24 each separately)

Growth chart ($49) - a little pricey, but good inspiration for a DIY version

Language print ($30) - very fun...would be a cool series to have something like this for every trip a child goes on 

For your Fave Gal

Stacking Star Rings from Brilliance Found's Etsy

For the Writer

I know these are all over the blogosphere, but I adore these Archie Grand notebooks!
($10 on Amazon)


My picks
J writes me love letters in this:

I write J love letters in this:



J writes about cool attendings who compliment him on his SOAP notes in this (I spy a good graduation present!):

I like that the magazine suggests using Wishpot to organize your holiday gift list. I've used it off and on for things I come across and want to save - it's great because it will alert you if the price drops - but I should really start trying to use it for everything instead of a mix of Amazon wishlists, bookmarking, and emailing myself. (I read that you can import your Amazon wishlist into Wishpot but haven't figured that one out yet.) What kind of system do you use for things like that?

If you'd like, check out another post I did recently on free online magazines.

2 Different Halloweens

I thought I scheduled this for 11/1 but then just noticed I put in 11/11* - whoops! I watched a "Young and Abducted/Murdered" special on E! this morning (really morbid, huh?) so maybe I shouldn't be posting that my husband is out of town...but as you can see, I have quite the guard dog. Sorry that you're getting a Halloween post a week late!

* As an aside, my birthday is 1/11/11 this year...ohhh yeah! And anyone who has an 11/11/11 birthday is even cooler!

My Halloween:

J's Halloween:

A little different, huh? My guy just finished his first week of a month-long away rotation in OR.  I've never been and would love to visit him using the generous donation of a friend's standby passes. (We never booked a flight for me because a) we didn't know his schedule far enough in advance, and b) we're poor. Fourth year is muy caro, y'all!) 

Since a) I probably won't be able to work out working remotely with my job while I'm there and he's working (and I don't want to burn vacation at the moment because I may end up needing it), and b) if I did make it up there I don't know how the airport pickup/dropoff would work with his schedule, it looks like the visit's not happening. 

I'm bummed because a) it's hard not seeing your spouse for a month (although total control of the remote control is nice) and b) depending on if I could be there on the days he was interviewing at some other programs in the OR & WA areas, I'd get to check out three of the potential-cities-we-may-be-living-in-but-I've-never-been-to. I'd love to have the opportunity to actually visit said cities so I could give real input on his rank list. (Though clearly my influence may not matter since he's scouting out places to build his dream house!)

What did you do over the weekend? Anything fun? I'm hoping coworkers bring in lots of leftover candy since I didn't have any this weekend!

Happy Halloween Weekend!

Have a weekend full of tricks and treats, my lovelies!

Photo from Shannon Blue Photography

The Winner Is...

Thanks everyone so much for participating! Hopefully we can have more giveaway fun again soon.

Sorry for the delay in posting the winner...bathroom reno chaos + impending layoffs = craziness. Hopefully everything will be in order soon on both fronts.

Bon Weekend!

I'm very much looking forward to this weekend - we are experiencing absolutely perfect sunny and mid-80s weather here in Dallas. If only it were always like this!

On tap:
- Birthday party for my FIL
- Volunteering
- State Fair of Texas
- Picking up paint for our master bath (more soon on the reno that has 1.5 of our 2.5 bathrooms out of commission)
- Making this coat mine - When I saw it the other week, I knew I had to have it for my trip. I think I'll be getting it in black. While I have a perfectly good black peacoat, this one will cover my boo-tay (important when it's cold and windy), is belted (I love me anything belted, and none of my 3 coats are), and it has tiered "ruffles" (I think that's reason enough!) On sale (thanks for the price alert, Wishpot!) and stacked with an additional $30 off coupon, I think I'm going to go for it!

Or should I get camel? Or navy?

(The three coats I already have are black, winter white, and a dark green. I guess the black, camel, and navy could all be considered neutrals, but I know the black will go with everything. Lots of the reviews seem to really favor the navy, so we'll see! I'd love to hear your thoughts!)

Have a great weekend! I hope the weather's beautiful where you are.

Oh, and don't forget to enter my $45 CSN Giveaway...it ends on 10/10/10!

Mag Love

We've all been oohing and aahing over Lonny and Rue magazines lately, and with good reason in the absence of Domino and other favorites.  While I will always love sitting down with a good glossy, I am loving all of the (free!) online mags available right now.  Today I thought I'd share some of my favorite images from other online mags that aren't as getting as much blog love (yet).

  "Created for and by young Southerners, the magazine highlights the best of the Southern lifestyle, while providing readers with enjoyable content that helps improve and enrich their lives."

I like the mix of home decor, recipes, city guides, and "day in the life" coverage...all with a Southern focus! I'm looking forward to the next issue of Southern Flourish; I think it shows a lot of promise.

 I want this giant Connect Four game!

(Can you spot the typo in the green box? It's bothering me.)

 I'm liking the color palette of Beth Keim's Charlotte home

"We have all worked really hard to bring you a magazine that is filled with great ideas, tasty recipes and fun people."

I love Sweet Paul's tagline: chasing the sweet things in life. I think they are definitely on the right track.

 

This photography is delicious. Yum.

Is anyone else craving apple butter right now?

Just me? Okay, more for me then!

Goats! I looove goat cheese! (Oh, and I'm a Capricorn.)

Brought to us by our Canadian friends, Covet Garden is an interiors mag with a twist - they're not styled by decorators! Here's what they have to say about their magazine:

 "There are a lot of magazines and blogs that show cool interiors. But they always leave us feeling that we’re standing behind a rope, looking at the space like it’s a museum diorama. We started Covet Garden because we wanted to see a magazine that made us feel as though we were invited into someone’s home. And then, once they let us in, we started snooping around and got to know them a bit better."

Looks like each (short) issue is all about one home and the people who live in it.  I can't wait to see more!

 Dear Santa, I want a large framed print of a Penguin Books cover. I think I'm on your good list this year, so let's see what you can do.

xo, Laura

I know maps as decor is trendy, but if loving maps is wrong, I don't want to be right. (Especially if they're old school style.)

And now for the pièce de résistance from our friends Down Under, Adore Home! I'm liking that we're getting opposite seasons - since it takes me a long time to implement ideas, it gives me six months in advance!

 I adore everyhing about this office.

Good mix of sweet and chic.

This room of Summer Thornton has been in my favorites for a while, but I don't think I've seen the view of the rest of the room. 

How fun would it be to curl up in this window seat?

  

What are you reading these days?  Anything I should check out?

Girl Crush: Natalie Portman

I think Natalie Portman is so classically beautiful. In 1995 we had the same haircut and for a while I thought I might look like her.  Maybe I need to try that again in 2010, because Natalie is stunning in this photo.

Photo from Marie Claire, found via Pink Preppy Lilly Lover

Trick or Treat!

Maybe it's a little early to start thinking about Halloween, but I wanted to share some things I've come across recently...

These personalized trick or treat bags are only $10 over at Walmart, with $.97 shipping. (Each photo links directly to the product page.) These are my top three picks...I need to send this link over to the parents of the little ones in my life!

I ran into these Halloween piggy banks at Target. (By the way, did anyone see the cute patterned ones they had recently? I totally want one for a future baby (or okay, myself)...I would have already purchased one if I wasn't trying to stop being such a hoarder.)  You can currently see all of them here. I think the Superpig and the Skeleton are my favorites.

See the doctor one on the bottom? We should have bought this years (and years and years) ago to save for medical school!

Love this chalkboard one also - just write your savings goal on the side!

These next two items I found via Tatertots and Jello, a new-to-me treasure trove of awesome ideas.

I think this bottle display is such a great idea and could work for so many things: "baby" for a baby shower (and maybe ones with each guest's first initial for a favor?), "love" for Valentine's Day, etc. You could also always have the "candy" ones on hand and change out the colors based on the holiday.

Instructions found at Random Thoughts of a SUPERMOM!

These etched glass jars could be used for different occasions as well. Start saving your empties!

Instructions found at Let Birds Fly

I don't do any seasonal decorating other than at Christmas, but I like the idea of incorporating small, inexpsensive touches like these last two.  Do you do anything in your home for different seasons and holidays?