Legacy

I popped into the Coach store in Charlotte to pick up some fabric cleaner since my Carly bag has gotten a little dirty from everyday use. With my purchase, the saleswoman gave me a sample of the new Legacy perfume and I must say its a very pleasant smell--floral but not overly sweet.

I'm back!

I feel bad for neglecting my little blog for a whole week. After being gone for five days and then trying to catch up at work and home, I've been a tad bit busy...

My trip to Charlotte was great. I had a lot of fun just exploring the city with Hunter and driving through cool neighborhoods, sightseeing, and shopping. It was such a huge contrast from DC, where the streets are bustling with energy from pedestrians, noise, and traffic. Charlotte's downtown felt deserted compared to DC. Hardly any traffic and hardly any people! (granted, we explored downtown on Sunday, during the big Panthers game, which I think the whole city had gone to). Charlotte has lots of cool, unique restaurants and tons of cozy wine bars--and the shopping is fabulous as well. Just about every store you would ever want or need.


My drive down route 29 wasn't too bad either. The colorful fall foliage along the scenic country road made the 7 hour drive not only bearable, but enjoyable. My secret to getting through long road trips is to get a good book-on-tape. Sounds kinda nerdy, I know, but listening to a good story on CD makes the drive go by so much faster. Books-on-tape got me through the countless 12 hour drives home from Tech to St. Louis during college. I went to the library and picked up The Debutante Divorce by Plum Sykes on CD. I had already read her first book Bergdorf Blondes, and needed a lighthearted chick-lit that would make for easy listening. It fit the bill perfectly.

My first day back to work happened to be our agency outing, so I didn't really do any work since the whole office went downtown to the ESPN Zone and proceeded to eat, drink, and compete in countless arcade games as a means of "team-building." Mandatory fun that was actually really fun.

So it's already the end of the week and I've only really done one full day of work. Yesterday was super busy trying to catch up on all our jobs, but I'm finally caught up and back to the daily grind.

Today's Halloween. I don't have a costume planned and I don't have any candy to give to the trick-or-treaters tonight. I've never really been that into Halloween, so I don't put much effort into it. I didn't even carve a pumpkin this year (never got around to carving Michael Phelps). I like the idea of these glittered pumpkins from Martha Stewart instead.

Charlotte bound

I'm excited about my trip to Charlotte this weekend! I'm taking Friday, Monday and Tuesday off, giving myself a nice long weekend to visit Hunter. I've never been to Charlotte before, but I've heard tons of great things about it, so I'm looking forward to visiting and exploring the city with my love. I love traveling to new places!

Firefly

I recently discovered Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. It's reaaaalllly good.

Try it with Lemonade. Or just on the rocks. Or with cranberry juice. Or with lime and mint. Or maybe peach schnapps. Oh the possibilities!!

crush on cranberry

It's weird how as soon as fall hits and it starts to get colder, my affinity for certain things becomes much more pronounced. Case in point: cranberries. I can't get enough of their tart, juicy goodness during the fall and winter months. The taste, the scent, the color--I love 'em.

I bought some straight-up real organic cranberry juice from Wegmans (best grocery store ever) last night. I'm done with that sweetened fake cranberry juice cocktail. I've decided to cut back on my soda and Starbucks intake--I'm only allowing myself these pleasures in moderation on weekends--so I figured I'd indulge in some delicious Cranberry juice instead. High in antioxidants!

And this...


...is the best smelling stuff there is. Instead of candles, I have a home fragrance oil burner from The Body Shop that I love. And the only fragrance I use is their Cranberry scent, 'cause it smells so good.

And I already posted these, but these Pumpkin Cream Tarts with Candied Cranberries sound delish:


I really want to make them, even though the recipe seems a little complicated. It's going on my to-do list!

what if...

...I carved a pumpkin with the likeness of Michael Phelps?


Cuz if I really wanted to, I could use the stencil from here.

my daily j.crew fix

Can I just say that J.Crew's Tissue tees are the most comfortable shirts ever?!

They're basic and simple and overpriced, but perfect and comfy and I could wear them every day. So today I'm wearing this one that I scored on sale:

Tissue Turtleneck

I need to break my habit of daily checking the J.Crew site, so that I won't be tempted when I find fabulous new stuff that I *need* such as:

Classic Peacoat

Siena Metallic-Leather Driving Mocs

Gayle Patent-Leather Heels

I recently ordered this Matilda Dress from the big sale they just had, since it was already marked down about 65% plus an extra 20% off. It's supposed to be arriving today! Yay!


I am all about the deep purple/plum color lately. I love it. So perfect for autumn.

knitting

A special little project in the works:

thank goodness

With all the economic turmoil hovering around, it's reassuring to know I live and work in the safest city to live in during a recession! (at least according to this article) Whew!

baking with pumpkins

Thanks to {ritzy bee blog} for pointing out the scrumptious pumpkin recipes found on the Country Living website. These pumpkin treats make we want to bake like crazy! They all sound soooo good.

Pumpkin Spice Cake


Donuts with Cream Cheese Pumpkin Icing!


Spiced Pumpkin Waffles!!


Pumpkin Cream Tarts with Candied Cranberries!


Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Muffins!


Mini Pumpkin Cakes


And oh my gosh! Pumpkin BISCUITS!!!


I will definitely be trying some of these recipes!

a bowl from Vogue

Well the long holiday weekend was nice. I picked up some great fall pieces at the J.Crew outlet sale after work on Friday (score!), but its uncharacteristically warm today so I can't wear any of it until it cools off a bit. Saturday, my sister and I went to the local fall festival, browsed all the local craft vendors and enjoyed the music of the awesome 80's cover band The Legwarmers. Then that night we went out to see another awesome local cover band Mr. Greengenes. Lots of cover band fun!

I finally worked on some of the various little crafty projects I've had going on. I started this magazine bowl weeks ago, and its been sitting unfinished on our coffee table ever since, so I finally picked it up to finish it. It's a bowl made out of the pages of a magazine! I saw this on A Little Hut, the awesome creative blog by Patricia Zapata, and wanted to give it a try since I have tons of magazines lying around. It's such a cool idea and the bowl actually looks really cool in person. It was fun to make, just a little time consuming.


You basically just rip out pages of a magazine, fold them down horizontally, then hot glue them in a spiral and build up from there. I only used up probably half of a Vogue issue.

looking down into the finished bowl...so colorful!

I really like how it turned out and I'll probably end up making some smaller ones to match. Thanks to A Little Hut for such a cool idea for recycling those magazines and for providing directions on how to make it!

creeper

I have a stalker!!! No joke, a creepy guy keeps seeking me out on the Metro! It all started a couple months back, when he sat next to me one morning in a nearly empty car and kept acting real strange: I could feel him staring intently at me and inching closer. I had my ear phones in but that didn't stop him from annoyingly asking me questions and awkwardly snickering. At one point he reached over and touched my arm to get my attention!! I tried to ignore him, but as the train got more crowded, it was kind of hard to get away until I got off at my stop. When I got up to leave, he mumbled, "it was nice talking to you. Maybe I'll see you again sometime." It really creeped me out.

Then about a month ago, during my morning commute as the train was still in the station, I was looking down at my phone when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a guy walked past me and then stopped and came back to sit next to me. It was the same creepy guy! I already had my headphones in but I immediately opened my book to have two obvious signs of "don't bother me." Well that didn't stop creeper guy. He kept looking over at me, and I could tell he was trying to think of how he could get my attention. Then...get this...he awkwardly waves his hand right in front of me between my book and my face!! And when I exasperatedly look at him (trying to make a bigger deal of looking annoyed), he feebly mutters "can I talk to you? do you remember me? it's been a while" ........!!!!!!!!......I didn't even want to acknowledge him, so I gave him a weird look, ignored him, and then stuck my nose in my book for the remainder of the trip and didn't take my eyes of the pages until I got off at my stop. Thank goodness he didn't talk to me anymore.

Well...this morning, I'm sitting on a nearly empty train as it starts to fill up, and who sits down next to me but creepy stalker guy! And the minute I noticed that it was the same guy (because the minute he sat down I could sense him looking over at me) I gathered my things, got up, walked off the train, and walked all the way down to another car. I wasn't even going to give him the chance to talk to me. I was so freaked out, I was visibly shaking. I was nervous he would follow me, but thank goodness he didn't.

If he seeks me out again and tries to talk to me, I'm going to make a scene. I'm going to loudly tell him to leave me alone; that this would be the 4th time he's sought me out and bothered me and that I'm tired of it. I'm gonna go report him to the station manager. He is creepy, and I seriously think that something is mentally wrong with him, because he obviously doesn't get the hint. I need to go get some mase....or a restraining order.

random bits

* I haven't been feeling very inspired lately so my posting has sadly been light. I'm actually currently working on several little creative projects, but my camera is MIA at the moment so I can't take pictures to post about them.

* I've realized that I have a strange affinity to buying new yarn. Every fall, I break out my knitting needles and crochet hooks with the intention of making a bunch of new stuff. So I excitedly go to the craft store to pick out new yarns. But then half the time I never finish what I started, so I end up with basket fulls (literally) of unused yarn. But this year, I am surprisingly off to a good start. My current knitting project is a little set of baby booties and a baby hat (so cute!) for my cousin's upcoming baby shower!

* I've had a Skim Pumpkin Spice Latte (with whip!) from Starbucks every day this week and that is baaaaaaad.

* I've decided I want to design and print my own Christmas cards this year. Just another little creative project to put on my "want to do" list. Let's see if this will actually happen, as I sometimes tend to procrastinate.

* I'm really looking forward to a productive yet relaxing three day holiday weekend. And also to the fact that after this weekend, I won't be working a full week of work until late November!


image via here

oh the things I could make

I want a Gocco.

A wha??

A Gocco (pronounced go-co).

Its a table-top screen printer and basically the coolest little crafty gadget ever. And since I love all things paper and printing and creative, I've decided I need one of these so that I can design and print my own stuff.



They're manufactured in Japan and apparently production was stopped on them a while back, right as their popularity exploded here in the states. So they are somewhat elusive, but I'm determined to get my hands on one. There are some up for sale on ebay, etsy and some other art supplies sites.

I was researching online and found a good link that explains how it works here.

And etsy has a whole group called Loco for Gocco, with pics, trends, and tutorials.

I could put it on my Christmas list, but Christmas seems so far away!!

martha gave me nightmares

Last night I had a nightmare...a wedding nightmare. I dreamed I was getting married and everything that could possibly go wrong went wrong. In my dream, my wedding was totally NOT what I envision my actual real-life wedding to be.

The dress was wrong and my hair was bad; I only had 30 minutes to take pictures; I was at a beauty store buying cosmetics and chatting with the gay cashier (?!) instead of getting ready; my mom was off running errands with my two sisters; and right before I was to walk down the aisle, someone interrupted the ceremony and pushed my wedding out because another wedding had to take place in the same church, causing me to be overrun by a (literal) stampede of guests I didn't even know who trampled my dress and tore my veil....whew! It was horrible and I woke up all frantic and worried until I realized that it was just a dream. Thank goodness!

I'm not planning a wedding. I'm not even engaged, so why the heck did I have a "wedding nightmare." It really kinda weirded me out. I've heard that brides are prone to have these in the months leading up to their wedding. I guess the subconscious continues to replay all the stress and worry that comes with planning the "perfect" wedding while you sleep.

Well I'm not getting married just yet so I don't know what my subconscious was trippin' on, but I blame it on Martha Stewart... and I will never again read the latest issue of Martha Stewart Weddings right before I go to bed...because heaven knows I don't ever want to have another Martha-induced wedding nightmare again. Lesson learned.

celebrate!

Woot! I got a promotion at work! AND a nice raise!!

Time to celebrate!!

Shopping at Nordstroms

I won a $50 gift card to Nordstroms at last year's office Christmas party and it's been sitting in my wallet unused ever since. I can't decide what I want to spend it on...but I'm thinking it's about time it gets puts towards something.

I've been wanting a good pair of flat leather boots for the past couple of years... These could work:

Franco Sarto "Corral" Boots

The classic UGG boots--I think they are such a fad, but I kinda sorta want some for myself. They look comfy.

UGG Australia Classic Tall Boots

I could finally get the jacket I've been meaning to get for the past four years:

North Face Denali Jacket

I already have enough Coach, so I don't need this, but I think it's cute and I'm digging the new modern "C" pattern:

Coach Op Art Large Sabrina

And I really like the colors on this one too:

Coach Amanda Graphic Op Art Foldover Flap

Or I could get a new Lodis Credit Card Case that I love so much:

I just can't decide. It's probably going to go towards boots, a cute coat, or a stylish dress to wear to my dad's upcoming retirement ceremony. Either way, it will get put to good use! Hooray for winning office holiday party raffles!

A Fine Frenzy

One of the things I love about listening to Pandora is that you hear new music by up-and-coming artists. That's how I found out about A Fine Frenzy. After hearing a few of her songs on Pandora, I sampled the whole album on iTunes, was liking what I was hearing, and bought it. I'm glad I did. I've been happily listening to the sweeping melodies and her airy, serene voice all week.


A Fine Frenzy

don't be a candidiot

Two political posts in one day!? Gasp! Never would I have imagined me talking politics on my blog so much. "Change" is coming indeed!

In light of all the political talk, I felt like posting this bit of "political vocabulary" by way of a recent Daily Candy newsletter. If only all political talk were this lighthearted...

candidiot
n. one who does not read up on candidates before voting.

chadder
n. Election Day murmurs about exit polls, weather conditions, and trends.

debaiter
n. the friend or relative who makes sweeping statements about your candidate to rile you.

pollitician
n. citizen who volunteers to work polling places on Election Day.

snogural
n. amorous feelings induced by too much bubbly at festivities to welcome the new administration.

social security
n. network of political supporters on Facebook.

statusfaction
n. the happy feeling one gets after registering to vote. (Knowing he would sport an “I Voted” sticker this November gave Joe great statusfaction.)

image and excerpts from Daily Candy D.C.

politics overload

Living around DC, I am surrounded by politics--which I find ironic because I'm not the biggest fan of politics and yet I feel like I'm constantly surrounded by non-stop political talk here. Now that the election is getting closer, and the massive economic issue is front-and-center, it's like the political fury has kicked into overdrive around here.

Its unusual nowadays if on my daily metro commute, I'm not approached by a button-wearing, clipboard yielding Obama supporter asking me if I'm registered to vote. I am already registered to vote, so while I appreciate their zeal for civic duty, it gets really old having someone step in front of me and ask me this multiple times a day.

At my metro station, there is a political activist table set up outside of the exit tunnel, so that you end up walking right past it to leave. I swear every day they get closer and closer to the actual exit, so that you basically have no room to walk out without crashing into the table! And now there are multiple tables, Obama tables, McCain tables, economic tables, high-school fundraiser tables... And as soon as a wave of commuters starts to exit, there is a barrage of activist yelling, "Register to vote! Vote for Obama! The Economy is in trouble! Go Green! The end is near!!"

Can I not just walk to and from work in peace? Without having some flyer flashed in my face, possibly resulting in paper cuts on my cheeks??

I know this is a crucial election. I know that everyone should do their civic duty and vote. I know that change is coming. The way things are going, change in the U.S. in inevitable, no matter who wins the election.

I'm going to vote. And I'm going to vote based on whose platform I agree more with; on the values and proposals and stances that are most in line with what I believe is right. I'm not going to vote based on the hastily prepared flyer that is shoved at me on my way home.

Frankly, I'm just ready for this whole election to be over and done with. Then I can get to work without being harassed by pesky activists and persistent Obama supporters. Which makes me wonder, why are there no McCain activists roaming the streets with clipboards?