"Snowed In"

Ok, so I'm probably not REALLY snowed in. But my car IS buried in what I imagine is somewhere around 6" of snow, and as I said before, even if I manage to dig it out, the chances of it getting out of the parking lot are slim. Plus, I guess I don't really have anywhere to go anyways, besides perhaps a quick trip to Wal-Mart to get some frames (Lady Gaga in Elle, with some really cool pictures I want to put in cheap frames for my room), and that's on the complete other side of town so I just don't really see it happening.

It is STILL snowing, pretty much continuously for going on 36 hours or so now. Last night the snow looked like glitter sprinkling down from the sky and was just gorgeous, and it's a shame I didn't have my real camera to get a picture of it. That in and of itself is another story, as it is FINALLY back to Best Buy from getting fixed, but I of course am not in town to get it, so I guess I'll have that back next weekend when I return for Lily's first birthday party.


Today has consisted of watching way too much TV (Though our HBO channels have some really good movies on that I've got set to DVR!), giving myself a manicure and pedicure, and working on my little brother's Senior Memory Scrapbook. He's only a Junior, so he's got over a year until it's due, but if his is anything like mine (and it's looking like it will be), it's better to start early! I ended up with two HUGE scrapbooks, and I think his will probably be one huge book or two smaller books. Thanks to the hectic schedule of last semester, it's been a while since I've done much scrap booking, and it's been a bit difficult to get myself back into the swing of things. I got a few pages done but mostly just spent a while looking at all the pictures I have together for it. Dane, my brother, was seriously the cutest little kid ever!!!


I think I'm getting ready to pop open a bottle of The Little Penguin Pinot and order a pizza or something unhealthy like that, because I certainly cannot start this year's diet without one last go at one of Bloomington's fine pizza establishments. That being said, I'm SO ready for Kelly to get back so we can get in the habit of regularly going to the gym!!!! And just so she'll be back, because I've missed her so very much and haven't REALLY seen her (Aka as much as two people living together should) in almost two months now! Nothing about that is ok.

Finally Finally the Christmas Picture Post.

I know it's a bit late but I'm finally getting around to sharing some of the goodies I got this year. It's occurring to me that I have several posts I meant to do somewhere along the lines of break and just never got around to, so maybe the next few snowy days will help me get around to it.

The MUCH ANTICIPATED Steve Madden Merriees. They fit like a GLOVE and I am absolutely in love with them. And especially in love with the fact that I managed to find them for a great sale price (for my mom- I guess I basically did my own Christmas shopping this year).

Steve Madden Fiesstaas. Also long awaited. These are going to take a bit getting used to because they're a little higher than my usual heels, but I absolutely love them as well.

Vera Bradley Weekender!!! I had originally wanted the small duffel, but they were sold out in the pattern I liked, so I ended up with this instead- and I think I love it ten times more! More pockets/zipper compartments, and it will be the perfect airplane carry on!

Lolita Lolita Lolitas! I think I've mentioned these before (Martini ornament from the Christmas Decor post), but they are truly my favorites! My aunt got me the "Five O'clock Somewhere" wine glass and my Dad got me the "Zebra" martini (We got him the Indy and Chicago martini glasses). Excited to add them to my collection!
They've got all sorts of great things that make perfect presents- check them out here. You can usually find a lot of their stuff at Hallmark's as well.

Of course I don't go any holiday without adding to the DVD collection. This year, The Hangover, Public Enemies, and Inglourious Basterds. All WONDERFUL movies. I also picked up Wedding Crashers, Red Dragon, The Prestige, and The Exorcism of Emily Rose (brand new for the used price, and buy three get one free!) with a gift card from Coconuts in Evansville, IN, where they sell used movies, guarunteed of course.

The domestic side of me was also fulfilled with an 8" Chef's Knife (ONE OF MY FAVORITES!), wine glasses, an apple corer, and Torani Caramel Syrup and a Paring knife from a gift card I won at Evansville's Kitchen Affairs.

This is a series recommended by my mom's hairstylist Mindy, and I thought it was pretty decent. It's essentially about a "Vampyre Finishing School", but also kind of portrays Vampires to be magical in a sense. It really just seemed like what would happen if Twilight and Harry Potter produced an offspring. They seem to be written towards a younger audience, but they were fun to read, and only too about a day each. There are also two more in the series I have yet to pick up.

I really liked/needed all of my presents this year, so I'd say it was a very very good Christmas! (Yes, even the Chiefs shot glass and bottle opener that my dad and brother used in an attempt to make me a Chiefs fan). What was YOUR favorite present this year?!

BACK TO BLOOMINGTON!!!

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that mess above is what I drug in out of my car upon arriving back in Bloomington yesterday afternoon. Do I pack too heavily? Most definitely. Especially upon considering that I didn't use half the stuff/clothes I brought home. But you know what? I was gone for a month, and it's better safe than sorry when it comes to having the proper attire! I even managed to make myself unpack EVERYTHING last night, which normally doesn't happen for a few days.

At first I was questioning my early return back, because I found out we were FINALLY supposed to get close to 3 inches of snow at home, but much to my delight the forecast here was 4 to 6 inches. I think at this point in time we've got around 3, and it's still coming!!! I know this isn't a lot for those of you in most wintery places, but I LOVE snow and it's the first big one of the year, so I'm very excited about it! I went to the grocery when I got home yesterday to make sure I was ready for a few relaxing days in. I think I'll start working on some more of my brother's Senior Memory Scrapbook here in a bit. Right now I can't even keep myself from looking out the window every five minutes.

Luckily I'm like a five year old on Christmas morning, and I couldn't keep myself asleep for long this morning, because they started bright and early shoveling the sidewalks and plowing the parking lot. Honestly, I don't think it would have normally woken me up anyways, and it's so nice to live in a complex where they do that and do it WELL! Last year they mostly just succeeded in making the parking lot and sidewalks one big ice skating rink, and I could hardly get my poor little Mustang (NO traction on any snow or ice of any sort, hell, even rain) out of the parking lot most wintry days.

I'm also enjoying the colder apartment, because my family's house gets a bit warm. With no overhead fan, or fan of any sort, to move the air around it can get a bit stuffy and difficult to sleep. I'd much rather it be cold and pile myself under layers and layers of blankets, which is exactly what I did last night! Now I believe I'm off to bed with my coffee to watch some movies and stare out the window, because upon my last inspection I discovered the snow is coming down EVEN HEAVIER now! Hooray!!!! I think I definitely need to live somewhere with more frequent snowfalls when I get out into the real world :-).

Going a bit political.

So is anyone else aware that the father of the man responsible for the attempted terrorist attack came forward with concerns about his son prior to the incident, and that other red flags were present?!

Obama himself says: "This was not a failure to collect intelligence, it was a failue to integrate and understand the intelligence we already had." Seriously? The mans father comes to us, we know from other sources the guy is working with this group who we know plans to attack, and we still can't do anything about it?

I'm just really baffled. It seems as though every time something like this happens there was prior knowledge of some sort of threat. It really makes you wonder what kind of idiots (Democrat AND Republican) are running this country (Not the president, but rather others).

Either way, what a relief that I can't bring a 3.5oz bottle of perfume on a plane but it's perfectly ok to sneak large amounts of explosives on in your underwear.

NYE Outfit post.

There really aren't many details from New Years Eve to go into, certainly not any I WANT to go into. Small gathering at my house turned into a LARGE amount of drama. Thank goodness if it was going to happen it happened at the turn of the year, an optimal time to leave the past in the past. I couldn't resist, however, posting outfit pictures!

Sequin Bow Headband: Target
Dress: Forever 21
Heels: Steve Madden, of course!!!

Christmas summary post coming soon!!! Of course I'll be shamelessly throwing out there a few more pictures of my new Steve Maddens which I'm sadly obsessed with, along with a few other domestic goodies I got. And Happy New Year to everyone!

New Years Resolutions.

Yes, I know these are infamous for not being followed through with. Yes, every year I say "Oh no I think I can really do it!" and forget them within a month. But I wanted to get this down, in writing, in hopes that maybe they'll work out at least a little! I'm not aiming for achieving goals, but really just kind of redirecting my life in a new direction.

1) CUT DOWN ON THE DRINKING! I honestly just don't even enjoy being ridiculously drunk anymore. And I definitely do not enjoy the hangovers that have become commonplace with every night out. So aside from wine, and casual cocktails, I want to cut back on this, at least until my birthday on April 14th.

2) BECOME HEALTHIER! I want to join the Y and start going with Kelly/Lauryn to do the elliptical. I know for a fact that if I can just get myself on a regular track of going, then it will be easy for me to stay motivated and lose weight quickly and just feel better overall.

3) GET A JOB! Lord knows I've been trying this one for the last year, and hours and hours of job applications have turned up nothing. However, with the fact that I only have classes two days a week this semester, along with me likely being in Bloomington this summer, you would think my availability would be too good to pass up. I'm dying for some financial independence!

4) GET THE GRAD SCHOOL THING FIGURED OUT! I'm almost pretty sure I want to go directly into grad school once I graduate, and this year I need to really focus on looking at schools, applying, taking the GMAT, and getting all my other ducks in a row for this to work out.

I've also got a few others that are a BIT more personal that I'll just keep to myself, but I think these four are more likely to happen with a hard copy reminder for some motivation. Does anyone else have anything big they're aiming for this year?

2nd Annual Bros and Ho Ho Hoes Outing

I am not sure why this event even originated, but I think it was some ploy of our guy best friends to get us to go to a strip club. Now, as trashy as this may sound as it is, make that an 18+ strip club in Evansville, IN and you can only imagine how the trashy factor multiplies exponentially. Regardless, it's always been a hilarious event and provides the opportunity to dress and do our makeup HOWEVER we want because regardless of what we're wearing, we're bound to be classier than someone, and I actually really liked the outfit I ended up wearing. We ended up getting around 20 friends together, guys AND girls, and it was a total blast. In this town sometimes it's nice to just get out and do SOMETHING, as unfortunate as it is that a strip club is one of the only options when half of us are still waiting on our 21st birthdays! (Picture above is my best friend Steven and Me)

It had been FOREVER since I wore my Steve Madden boots, and they went perfectly with my lacy leggings from Target, so I brought those out of the closet (Or more accurately, the trunk of my car, which has long since served as an extension of my shoe collection). I paired it with the Black/Pink Target dress (Above) which I unfortunately couldn't get a great picture of without a real camera, but I think that's been in at least a few other posts so you get the general idea. I think it's kind of just become my go to dress when I'm not sure what else I want to wear with leggings.

I got a little wild with the eyeshadow and used a new turquoise Color Girl pressed powder shadow on most of the lid, with thick black liner, black shadow on the crease, and blended white along the top. For eyelashes I believe I started with Rimmel London Lash Flirt (love IT! Perfect for long but not too thick lashes) and then added my Lash Blast on top of it for a little extra volume. Pardon the horribly dark eyebrows in the next picture, it occurred to me I took the picture before I powdered down the filler color!! I really liked the overall effect of the shadow once it wore in a little bit because it made my eyes look so blue, which is nice when they're usually busy trying to decide whether they're grey, green, blue, or hazel!

I was even more pleased with how my hair turned out- which brings me to another tip I've been dying to share and just haven't gotten around to it. I actually read it in People magazine from one of the hairstylists (I think) for the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. To get the look they use for hair, they recommend using a curling iron and curling each section of hair the opposite direction as the section before it to prevent it from all going together. Once it's all curled, just brush it out/run your fingers through it a few times, and you get the relaxed curly look! I also put a little shine serum on it after I've brushed it out a little to reduce any frizz.

This tip was a lifesaver for me because my hair has always tiptoed the line between wavy and curly, so it's nice to have something to do with it that isn't too hard but makes it look ok. I've also found that the longer you've gone since curling it, the better it looks! (Opposed to curling your hair and it going flat/coming together and looking awful, which tends to be the case with mine) I'm sure this tip would work even better if you've got longer hair. I've been trying so hard to grow mine out for so long, and I'm pretty happy with the length it's at right now. The headband it's thrown back in above just kind of helps tame it when I get sick of it being in my face, a problem I have sometimes when my bangs are at the length they are now.

I'd love to know if any of you with shorter hair try this and if it works out! I think it could create the super cute 20's looking hairstyle of a loosely curled bob, so I'd love to see the results.

Hopefully I'll be getting a Christmas post up within the next few days- it was a very good mellow Christmas here at the Hoover house! I'll also have one with lots of pictures from a little "Reindeer Game" get together a few friends and I had last night- complete with gingerbread houses, reindeer costumes, and more! I also hope Santa brought those of you who celebrate Christmas everything you wanted this year ;-)

Holiday Picture Post

I just got home yesterday from visiting family in Wabash, IN (not the most fun place on earth, but my mom's whole family lives there so we try to get up sometime around Christmas to visit) and wanted to share a few pictures taken lately! All camera phone quality, but hopefully my camera will be back and fixed from the Best Buy Geek Squad in less than a week! Gotta love warranties with accidental coverage!

Cuddling with my not-so-little lap dog, Penske.

Time for Christmas baking! (Recipes found over at Wonderland Kitchen)

Penske and my cousin's dog, Georgie, meet again for the first time since Georgie was a puppy. Penske wasn't so much a fan of Georgie's excessive amounts of energy and was glad when she got home and had the house to herself again.

The queen, passed out in my bed one morning.

SNOW IN WABASH! A little jealous of their White Christmas (they got a few more inches after this was taken). Definitely no where close to what friends on the east coast got, but I'll take what I can get! I LOVE snow!

Little Princess Georgie cuddling up on her mommy's lap, wearing her "Christmas Necklace," as my cousin puts it. Someone is spoiled!! She is really one of the most cuddly dogs I've ever met in my life.

The "under-the-tree" view at the Hoover house, so far. I smell a couple of pairs of Steve Maddens but beyond that, who knows! I've been a good girl and haven't done any peeking just yet. ;-)

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season!!!

Run for your life if you can, little girl.

Maybe running away is not only the easy option but also the most adventurous. After all, I know better than anyone when I'm ready to just move on from something, right? I know that's no solution to big problems in most cases, but I don't really have any of those. Just minor annoyances, boredoms, and separations from old friends. I've spent the last year and a half internally battling the maintenance of how things were vs. letting go and creating what will be. And laying it out like that, I think the choice has become quite clear.

The Rolling Stones said it best with Ruby Tuesday: "Yesterday don't matter, if it's gone." I know who my real friends are, and that mostly comes down to the ones who have stuck with me even when we're not able to be completely in each others lives. The ones who have also changed, but in the ways that matter remain the same.

Now can't we all just stop trying to revive the dead and move on with the living?

Lily and her Kitty Hat

The only thing better than shopping for ME is shopping for babies. I swear they make the CUTEST things... and Babies R Us was having a sale on all their winter clothing/accessories, so of course my mom and I couldn't make it out of there the other day without buying SOMETHING for my friend Emily's 11 month old baby Lily. We stopped in to see if they had any baby cowgirl boots, and ended up getting this adorable jacket and hat/mitten set. They were both SO soft and so cheap! All outerwear is 50% off right now (This jacket was only ten dollars) so for anyone reading this with kids- get in and check it out.

I'm including close ups so you can see just how soft they even look!

I went over to visit Em, Ryan, and Lily last night, and we let Lily unwrap her present. It took her a little bit of help to focus... she kept opting to play with the toys nearby or go racing off down the hallway instead. I think once she realized paper was involved she was all for it (She loves everything to do with paper, especially eating it, or trying anyways). Once she got the box open the hanger the jacket came on was really her favorite part.

We obviously had to put the hat/mittens on her for pictures. She wasn't a fan of the mittens- and once we got one on she'd have it off before we managed to get the other one on, so that took a bit of a group effort. She was pretty accepting of the hat though! Once they were all on and she didn't really have the ability to take the mittens off, she kept waving her arms in the air trying to shake them off (Hence the fact that her arms are blurry in half of the pictures), but we managed to get a few pictures in before she did so.

This last picture is when she's getting ready for bed- but I just had to include it because it really shows off her mo-hawk. Her hair so far has only grown on the back of her head and the tuft on top generally sticks straight up making her look like she's got a little mo-hawk all the time. In this picture she had dumped out a container full of jingle bells and had them all piled in between her legs and kept jingling them around to make noise. When we'd try to take them away from her and put them back in the container she would slam her hand down into it to pop them all up like a bunch of popcorn kernels, smiling with the pleasure of her trouble causing. It's so fun watching her grow up and getting all the 'aunt-like' perks!!!