Oops!

Today, I accidentally bought 40 stamps. Yes, 40 CHRISTMAS stamps that aren't just "holiday" in theme but specifically say Christmas on them. I guess I should have asked the man how many came on a sheet, but I saw 12, did not realize there was a back, and bought two of them. I was wondering why they were so expensive, but it all made sense when I realized how many of them I had.

On the bright side, I finally got my stocking swap package sent out (Although I'm not sure if we were supposed to include an ACTUAL stocking with the goodies? If so I kind of messed that one up...) and am just waiting on the Christmas Cards to come in so we can send those out. I'm so excited that we finally got around to doing them this year!!!

So, if you live in Bloomington, IN and need to buy some stamps, I'm your girl. Otherwise, I'm going to be mailing bills and other holiday cards with Christmas stamps for MONTHS. Anyone else pulling some holiday oopsies this week?

Crafting post up sometime tomorrow, I hope!

Guess Who Put on Real Clothes!?

It's really about time I put some effort, if even a little bit, into what I was wearing. I guess I have worn actual clothes a couple of times in the last week but with this whole sick thing having run its course (for the most part) I feel like all I have worn in weeks is sweat pants or my work clothes (All black and an apron, not that I'm complaining in the least bit).

I actually only wore this for a couple of hours. I had a meeting tonight and then dinner with some friends for a fundraiser, but I still wanted to wear "real" clothes. I'm REALLY becoming obsessed with these boots, particularly now that they're relaxing a bit and much easier to get on. They're so comfortable to wear around, which is saying something for heeled shoes.

Threw on the scarf last minute since it was something like a whopping 12 degrees outside today.

Detailing of the dress hem: I ordered this dress for REALLY cheap and no shipping, and it was definitely too long. I messed the hem up a little bit, and the fabric was too heavy causing it to kind of flip out at the bottom. It sort of turned into a happy accident when I noticed that and just hemmed it up to make sort of a ruffle along the bottom.

Outfit
Dress, Leggings: Old Navy (hemmed)
Bracelets, Boots: Charlotte Russe
Scarf: H&M
Necklace: Forever 21

I'm trying to include some new household scenery in pictures, which might be easier if I ever got around to taking pictures in the light of day. The light in our apartment is awesome when it's reflected off all the snow we currently have, so maybe tomorrow I'll try to get my act together and take advantage of that.

Perfect December Weather

This weekend largely consisted of being sick, recovering, working, decorating, and volunteering. Ok, and I'll admit... maybe a little shopping. It started snowing last night around 11pm and kept going through most of today, and Bloomington is a Wintery Wonderland! If it's going to be cold, I LOVE snow. Here are a few pictures to hopefully keep you interested while I piece myself back together from this cold and get something more exciting going on in my life to talk about.

Amazing homemade Chicken Noodle Soup from my darling Lauryn :-)

Thanksgiving Picture Post

As can be expected every year perfectly in time for the end of the semester and finals, I have picked up some dreadful little sickness. I'm assuming it's just some awful head cold, because that's what it usually is, and I've been keeping myself in a steady daze of a variety of cold medicines, allergy medicines, and advil. Basically I'm telling you this because it explains why this blog has been so boring lately... no good outfits or cooking going on in this neck of the woods!

We did have our first snow the other day, and I woke up to maybe a half inch on the ground. It's always that much better when you're not expecting it! Tonight/tomorrow we're supposed to get up to "2 to 4" inches of accumulation (Those meteorologists, always right on the dot!) and I hope it hits four! I LOVE SNOW!

We've been finishing off our Christmas decorations today, and it occurred to me I never shared pictures from Thanksgiving. Only food, of course. I basically wore pajamas the whole day and didn't put on a dash of make up since we didn't go anywhere. But the food is definitely worth posting about, my dad is an AMAZING chef, and my mom and I aren't half bad either!

My wake up call at 10am Thanksgiving morning. Thanks, dad!

"The Best Turkey Yet", as we all decided.

Seriously the most amazing stuffing I've ever had... Herbed french bread, Italian Sausage, Chives, etc etc, SO GOOD!

Miss Penske is never far when meat is involved.

Sweet Potato Casserole. Trying to get this recipe up in the near future. Also looking forward to making it into a more "pie like" version over break.

I hope no one else has caught this wave of sickness that seems to be going around, but if you have, I'll hope for a swift recovery for all of us! Enjoy any holiday decorating going on in your neck of the woods!

Baby Shower Brainstorming

I've been to a few baby showers, including one that I planned, but I'm doing another one in January for a cousin of mine. They don't want to find out the sex of the baby (much to my dismay, of course, makes planning way more fun!) so I'm going with a gender neutral theme.

Does anyone have any really cute ideas for games or anything? My guess is that there will be somewhere between 30-40 people at the shower, so I'm particularly looking for any games that are more suitable for a bigger crowd! If you have any fun ideas, I'd love to hear them!

I also just put a new recipe up for Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars on Wonderland Kitchen! I got the idea from Red Vines for Breakfast (One of my favorite blogs, especially when recipes are involved!) and I have already made it twice in a week and a half. SO GOOD.

I Saw Her Standing There

This title is in dedication to the many CHRISTMAS songs they play at work that have various Beatles songs as background music. I get so excited every time they come on and then realize that instead of I Saw Her Standing There or Got to Get You Into My Life it's Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer or Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Mind you, these are not awful songs, they just aren't the Beatles.

To be completely honest, I don't think I've worn a "real outfit" in days now. My wardrobe has mostly consisted of yoga pants, t-shirts, and work clothes. They didn't end up needing me for my call in today so I think I'll probably just continue the trend and stay in bed in pajamas and watch movies all day, maybe move to the couch, and maybe try to get some of my online class done. Free days at their finest.

I did finally get my hair trimmed and layered up a little more, and FINALLY got something done about the color. The roots were getting atrocious but I couldn't decide whether I wanted to go darker or keep it the reddish color. What came out of it was "Raspberry Truffle," which is kind of dark but has a reddish hue in the light. I think it worked out ok.

Hope everyone else is having a good, productive, or relaxing weekend of some sort or another!

BLACK FRIDAY

Look familiar? Well, maybe not to you, but this is what my day revolved around. I was scheduled for a noon to 5pm shift and ended up staying another two hours, and let me tell you, I LOVED IT. Time always goes by SO much faster when you are busy, and I really just love interacting with people and talking to different people and co-workers all day.

Of course I didn't manage to get myself out of the store without spending some money, but I picked up a couple of things to give away as prizes at my cousin's baby shower as well as a Christmas present and yet another candle for myself. The candles were on sale again 2 for $20, which is way too good of a deal to pass up. If any of the deals above look enticing to any of you needing to do Christmas shopping, your guess is as good as mine as to whether or not Bath & Body will still have these sales going tomorrow, but I'm guessing they will! The VIP bags sold out today at our store, but they may still be available online/at other stores.

What did those of you in the U.S. do today? Shop? Work? Hang out at home doing your best to avoid all the crazy traffic and crowds? I've done a little bit of it all!

Friends' Thanksgiving

I have so much I would like to post, but I keep forgetting about posts I intended to do or getting to things too late, and I ended up getting a TON of call in hours this weekend in addition to another shift tomorrow so I have been kind of all over the place as far as getting things up goes.

Every year we do a "Friends' Thanksgiving" before we go home for break, and it is usually just an awesome excuse to make delicious food and drink a couple bottles of wine. Here are a few pictures from this year's dinner.

Lauryn: "I LOVE THE SIZE OF YOUR WINE GLASSES!"

(Lauryn's Pumpkin Roll)

I will have a recipe up for the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip bars soon (Another awesome one from Red Vines for Breakfast) but right now you can find the Bourbon Fried Apples recipe over at Wonderland Kitchen.

Take Me Out!

(Franz Ferdinand making its way through my head) This weekend I went out with some friends to Nick's and The Upstairs Pub for the first time in weeks. I went out with the intention to not get too crazy, but we still had a ton of fun. I took a couple of better outfit pictures, but the lighting was kind of weird and they didn't turn out so well, but hopefully you get the point. I am in love with these Charlotte Russe boots!!!

(I swear I'm not on drugs! My eyes are so red thanks to being in a rush putting on mascara and in turn stabbing myself in the eye. It's beyond me why I haven't realized that "rushing" is never a time saver in the end when it comes to mascara application.)

Outfit
Dress, Side bag: Target
Necklace, Belt: Forever 21
Boots: Charlotte Russe
Leggings, Sweater: Old Navy

Now I just can't wait for my roommate Kelly to be 21 so she can go out with us too! Only 4 more months and life will be complete!

My Camera's Gone Crazy

I have NO idea what exactly was going on with my camera the day of these pictures. I thought I would try to get some outside outfit shots in between classes and that the natural light would make them turn out really well, but instead what I got was my camera having some kind of psychotic blurry/overexposed episode. I think it is definitely going to be time to upgrade soon, though I am trying to hold out until my birthday in April.

Outfit
Leggings, Dress, Belt: Old Navy
Boots: Charlotte Russe
Necklace: Forever 21
Sweater: American Eagle

My really awkward poses are attributed to the FREEZING COLD WIND and my previously mentioned inability to dress weather appropriately. More proof that it is also time for this girl to break out the gloves and coats!