Friday, November 30, 2012

BLOGSHOP

I am about to pack up at work to head to the airport for the fourth and final weekend in a row.  It has been a crazy November, and I am looking forward to being in Chicago this coming December (at least for a few weekends).  Today I am off to Miami by myself.  I have never taken a trip anywhere alone and this should be super interesting.

You may wonder why I am heading to Miami alone, let's just say it is a weekend of self-improvement.  JK, that may be true but really its a weekend of blog improvement.  I am heading down there to take a course from BlogShop.


I have tried to teach myself Photoshop, but when I came across this course designed for bloggers I really couldn't pass it up.  I was telling a friend this morning this is the first time I am personally paying for a class just because I want to learn, not because I need too.

So I am really looking forward to enhancing this blog for all of you, and giving myself some much needed down time.  I didn't even pack clothes to go out in even if I happen to make a few friends in the class.

(Don't worry I am staying at my parents condo in Miami where I have like 3 dresses and a pair of heels in case I change my mind, oh and I also threw in a clutch just in case)

But really, I plan to take the class and just sit on the balcony and relax.

I promise to not only bring back pictures, but if I really learn as much as they say I will, I plan to have a pimped out post for Monday (as well as too many selfies).

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Secret Santa

With the holidays around the corner, I am on the lookout for the perfect gift to get my secret Santa.  Last year all my high school friends got together and played a little secret Santa and it was so fun we decided to do it again.  I think my favorite part is that we get to use the website elfster.com.  It is such a cute website that allows you to select items you may want and it also randomly assigns who we have for us.

I have been thinking what to get my girl for a while and these are a few top runners.  The best part is all of these items come from some of my favorite brands and they are each under $100.

Diptyque / Laura Mercier / Kate Spade / House of Harlow / Asos / L'Occitane

P.S. if you are one of my friends in the Secret Santa group and you like any of these please comment below.

P. P. S. Happy birthday Kimberly xoxo!!

Thanks!!

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Powerball... What Would you Do?


All this buzz about the Powerball today really has me thinking... what would I really do if I won.  So here is my pledge to myself if I were to win tonight, or ever win the lottery.


  • Pay my parents back for EVERYTHING they have ever done for me with like 900% interest (I am assuming David would want to do the same)
  • Start a huge trust fund for my nephew Spencer
  • Take my Mom and sister on a shopping spree.. we are talking Bal Harbour Mom and Melissa 
  • Buy everyone of my bridesmaids the bag of their dreams.. Birkins are permitted.
  • Buy one of those mansions right on my street that is about the same size as my 20 floor apartment building
  • Purchase a Range Rover for David and a Bentley for me 
  • Donate to the Chicago French Bulldog Rescue 
  • Donate to the Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
  • INVEST
So there you have it that is what I SAY I would do if I won the jackpot.  I am sure I would want to do so much more, but all you ever hear is how fast everyone spends it.  I bet my blog would change a little, but I would hope my life and the people in it would stay the same.  

What would you do?  

How amazing would my post be tomorrow if I got to say okay, so I won!!

lol a girl could dream.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Lisa's Bachelorette Party

Okay, so I really can't believe it took me this long to post about one of the most incredible weekends I have ever had.  It was one of those bachelorette parties where everyone was just so genuinely happy for the bride and couldn't wait to celebrate her.

For those of you that don't know my friendship with Lisa let me explain.  She and I went to camp together for six years, but it wasn't until we were put in the same cabin as co-counselors that we really bonded.  We had the best summer ever and we promised we would stay close.  She was planning on going to Tulane and I was planning on going to Wisconsin, so we really didn't see a future as that good of friends.  Well, about three days before the college acceptance deadline I called Lisa to see if her sister had any recommendations on who I should live with at Texas, I explained I decided to switch.  Lisa just happened to be in Austin that weekend and decided she couldn't miss the opportunity to live their for four years and had changed her mind THAT day.  So with a little bit of fate and a whole lot of luck, Lisa and I began our college journey together as roommates and best friends.

The weekend was so special because almost all of her best friends and bridesmaids were able to attend.    There was a little bit of college reminiscing, but most importantly we kept the focus on our main goal, making sure Lisa had the best weekend ever.


Since Lisa has gone out in Austin hundreds of times her sister wanted to make sure we spiced this weekend up a little bit.  So we went line dancing!!  We dressed the part and prepared to get in on the action.  I have never been line dancing but when we got there all it was couples going around in circles.  Don't worry we just inserted ourselves in the middle and took care of business.




We knew we wanted to have a "planned" activity and we knew there were a bunch of places we wanted to visit while in Austin.  So we decided to rent a party bus and hit all our favorite spots.  The weather was beautiful so we made sure most of them were outside!!


















 After the party bus everyone went back to the hotel to rest up and get ready.  We got our hair done at Blo (my favorite blow dry bar ever!!) and then hurried back to decorate.  Rather than just getting the traditional decorations we decided to develop hundreds of pictures of us with Lisa through the years.  The next few pictures are her reaction, but honestly they only semi depict the moment.  It was pretty unreal.



We then showed a video Stacy made with Adam that just showed us once again how adorable the two of them are together.

Lisa gave us each a pair of Hanky Pankys with our initial on them.. how sweet is she?
Then the final surprise for this portion of the night arrived with some Champs courtesy of Adam:)

 It only seemed appropriate to have dinner at the restaurant we went to whenever we wanted to celebrate an occasion.  Thank you Siders for an unforgettable meal.


 I have mentioned before that seeing the Spazmatics perform at Cedar Street was a staple in our college lives.  The fact that they were playing and we got in not only for free, but VIP and they gave us free champagne, only made the night even more surreal.


 Our final destination was Pete's Piano Bar where we bribed the guy the big bucks ($10 in Austin is like a real lot of money to give to someone at a bar to make things happen) to get our girl on stage.




What better way to end the weekend with an obsessive amount of Queso?

At Trudy's - Home Sweet Home

 I apologize for such a long post, but honestly I didn't want to leave any details out.  I cannot wait to celebrate more with Lisa AND ADAM December 15th 2012!!

**********
Happy Thanksgiving everyone I will be back on Monday with a recap and hopefully a little richer (I am going to Vegas Friday!!)


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A Walk Down Wedding Lane: Becca and Matt's Wedding


I hope everyone enjoyed the pictures of the rehearsal dinner yesterday!  As promised I am back today with the wedding recap!!  It was such a beautifully executed wedding and seriously not a single detail was missed.  I think the room key with their picture on it may have been my favorite touch!!  Hope you enjoy the pictures and mazel tov again to Becca and Matt!!

How great is this room key.. I mean come on!

Go ahead and breath.. I know it is just so stunning

Game time!

Only 4 more weddings left as a fancy:)
Does Becca not look like a super model? SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

Gordon and Andy are my two best guy friends from UT, they happened to be from St. Louis and the reason I met David!  (note to self and 413: when playing Catchphrase and someone hints where Andy and Gordy are from the answer is "St. Louis" not "316L")
Still not over the dangling chandeliers, they are a whole other level of beautiful.






Hope everyone has a great day :) Congrats again Mr. and Mrs. Weiner!!