Retail Therapy you can feel good about.

Alright, so my last post made it obvious I'm a little stressed at the moment. I'm getting ahead of myself and worrying about what may or may not happen and I totally need to stop that!

Anyway, I decided to do a little retail therapy. Not only do I need the "therapy" part, but I'm also celebrating a small victory. I got back on track with weight watchers and have lost 5 lbs this month! (it wasn't a resolution, just coincidence I started on January first... I'm just a dork like that). I'm not ready to buy clothes yet because I'm right on the edge of dropping down a size, so I bought shoes instead. In the process of buying these shoes, I gave two children in underprivileged areas what could be their first pairs of shoes. Yes, I'm talking about TOMS, and if you haven't heard about them, go here now. It's alright.. I'll wait :)

I have two pairs already. My first pair looks identical to these except these are navy and mine are black. I don't think they make the black ones anymore, or at least not that I can find. The writing on them says "love is the new black."

I also have a super comfy pair of wedges. Yes, I said comfy and wedges in the same sentence. squee! Again, identical to these but they stopped making the color. Mine are actually a pomegranate color.

 

My two new pairs are below and I am so excited to get them! I absolutely love these shoes and I can't wait until it stops snowing so I can wear them :)

Seriously, these shoes go with everything and are uber comfy... to the point where I don't even take them off when I get home! The fact that my purchase means a donation to another is just icing on the cake. These shoes are so worth the money and wait to have them shipped. LOVE!

*I'm not getting paid to write about these shoes, I just love them that much! all pics from TOMS website*

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Inspired.

I have found myself lately with my nose stuck to the computer screen drooling over design blogs. You see, Matthew and I are renting our apartment, so I never thought it could be "pretty" since we do not have too much say in the structure. These design blogs have shown me just how wrong I was.  I have decided that if I'm going to have to live in this apartment for at least another year, I want it to be something I can be proud of.  We have called our landlord to get permission to paint, but until then I  have a few other ideas. I plan on posting pics of my progress.  Keep in mind it will be a very long process, so if you don't see something for a while, that just means I had to put it on the back burner while school or something of that sort becomes a priority.

Anywho, we went to Big Lots today (LOVE it) to scout out some goodies. Oh boy did I find something cool! Part of the remodeling process is redoing my bedroom. The. entire. thing. (I did that just for you Raji!! hahaha). I plan on painting my furniture black, and hopefully painting the walls a pretty lavender color. We will see how that goes.  Anyway, back on track, my computer desk is a disaster. I just don't have a lot of desk space since my computer desk is a corner unit. I had my pens and such in cups sitting next to my computer tower, but my new discovery solves that problem. Check these out :)

Aren't these adorable?!?  I LOVE them :) (BTW, yeah, I know they are a little crooked. Gives them character. And I'm just too lazy to try to fix it...)

So now I have everything I need close to me without taking up valuable desk space! 

I'm going to add a special link list to the side for the design blogs I read, just in case you want in. The Nester is having a lot of really cool giveaways right now, so go check it out!

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Long Morning

This has got to be one of the longest mornings I have had in a long time. Let me tell you about my "little adventure" this morning...

I guess I should backtrack a little first. Yesterday Matthew and I bought a Wii. I am totally excited about it because they are a lot of fun. With the Wii, though, I want the WiiFit because that sucker kicks my butt and I love every minute of it.

Well, apparently everyone is out buying the WiiFit (and extra controllers while I'm at it) and I can't find it anywhere. Matthew and I got a couple of gift cards to Wally World for Christmas, so using those gift cards together would take the price of the WiiFit down by $50 (pretty cool huh?), so Wally World is the must-use location to purchase said WiiFit.

I have been obsessively checking the website to see when it would be in stock at any wal-mart within a 30 mile radius (yeah, go ahead and laugh) and even contemplated ordering it online.

This morning, the website said the one in Frankfort had them in stock! Yay for me!

I got myself together, and drove to Frankfort (in the snow, mind you) to buy this stupid board. I get there, my heart racing with excitement and my head spinning with trying to decided which game I would play first. I practically ran (or slid is more like it from the snow on my shoes) to the electronics section. And guess what.......

yep.

Sold Out.

You have got to be kidding me.

The guy tells me next time to call because the ".com isn't reliable"

Seriously?

What is the point of having a website to tell customers availability if it "isn't reliable?" When I finally made it home, I checked it again, and it still says that store has them in stock. I'm not a verry happy camper right now. I drove 30 minutes in the cold and snow to spend money on this thing that no one seems to have available!!! Madness I tell you!!

So the snow is coming down harder, but I'm inside and warm again. I have a lot of chores to do today since classes start next week.

First on my to-do list.... ordering a stupid WiiFit off wal-mart.com. Oh the irony...

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Right around the corner

Can you believe Thanksgiving is this Thursday?!?

Where did the year go? I've been working on Christmas shopping (yeah, I know, hiss hiss growl) but still have a LONG way to go. I guess that is what happens when you have one sister, four step-sisters, and three-stepbrothers.

I took mom to see New Moon again last night. Our showing was at 10:55, and we got to the theater around 8:30. At least we were first in line! She really liked it, and I'm pretty sure it just gets better and better :) Unfortunately, I can't afford to see it more than once or twice a week lol

So now that it has been out a couple of days, have you seen it? If so, what did you think?

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Not Again!!!

OK, I didn't post yesterday.

In my defense, I was in Indiana all day yesterday, and never once got on a computer. Matthew and I came home last night, but I was exhausted so I went straight to bed. So to make up for it, you get two posts today. Lucky you! hahaha

For today's first post, I would like to share a weigh-loss milestone. I hit the 20lb mark a few weeks ago. It felt amazing to reach that mark, but also a little scary that I had all of that to lose (and then some!). I'm almost halfway to my big goal, so I still have a little while to go. Although ecstatic to have lost 20lbs, I could not really tell until yesterday. (of course my clothes were looser, and I noticed a few changes, but I guess I didn't realize just how much of difference 20lbs made).

Nola and I went shopping while my dad and Matthew went to Best Buy. Basically, I just stood in the dressing room and she threw clothes to me. It was loads of fun! I knew that pants-wise, I can fit in a 10 which is a loose fit, but the 8 is too tight. I tried on a ton of pants of different sizes, and I could actually button the 8s! I didn't buy any of them because they were still a little snug, so i ended up with a pair of jeans and two pairs of dress trousers in size 10p. They are the perfect length for me (which is really hard to find) and I think they look great, and will look even better as I lose more weight.

The highlight for my day, though, was trying on tops. I found this one adorable top, so I grabbed it in a medium. When I put it on, it was a little too big. Nola found it in a small, and it fits perfectly!!! The last time I wore a "small" top was in high school! It is an amazing feeling to be wearing smaller clothes, especially sizes I have not been in since high school/early college. I can't wait to see where I will be at this time next year :)

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Shopping

Shopping yesterday was fun. I have always dreamed of the day I would get engaged, and while I am still waiting for that day is was a lot of fun trying on rings knowing that day is near. We tried three stores in the mall, and out of the three only two had rings that really interested me. However, there was one in particular I fell in love with.
I thought I wanted a three-stone ring with a princess cut, so I tried a few on. I liked them, but my fingers are so small (size 4.5!) that the rings looked bulky. I noticed this ring, and asked to try it on out of curiosity. I loved it. It is not as big as Matthew would have thought I would like (it is 1/2ctw) but it has a low profile (cause I'm clumsy and hit stuff all the time) and it looks good on small fingers. What I especially love is when you turn it to the side:I love that the diamond kind of "floats" in the setting. I think it is absolutely beautiful, and totally different from any other engagement ring I have seen. We even found a band that looks good with it! I'm really hoping Matthew goes with this one, although I will be thrilled with whatever he picks out. I have told him before that I don't care if he gives me a cracker-jack ring as long as it comes from him! I guess I'm just really excited that this is happening!

I'm really glad I have you guys! I can't talk to anyone about this right now in person because I want to surprise my family and I don't want to get everyone excited if for some reason it can't happen right now. No one I know reads this, so I trust you can keep the secret :)

*PS. This pics came from this site right here

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Things I find awesome

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Writer's block is to blame.

(or would you call it Blogger's block??? hmmm....)

Anywho, there are a couple of things I have heard about recently that I think are totally awesome and deserve being shared (cause everyone likes hearing about awesome things right?)

So here we go :)

• Polarity on Etsy: I heard about this Etsy shop from another blog. I thought the idea of recycling old car parts into crafty and cool lockets was rather neat, but I never got around to actually buying one... until two weeks ago. I ordered a bracelet and a customizable locket. For the locket, I emailed her a picture of George, and she made it a cover! Everything is magnetic, so I can interchange the locket lids with the bracelet lids no problem. Check out the website here, and look how cute they are! The chain of the bracelet is made of keyrings and washers. Adorable! FYI, I am so doing my Christmas shopping on there!
• Hungrygirl.com: Love, love, love this site. Well, not so much the site, but the daily emails. I heard about it at my weight watchers meeting, and she is actually endorsed by ww. During the week I wake up to find wonderful little newsletters in my inbox full of wonderful finds and delicious looking recipes. Even if you are not on ww, I think you could benefit from it. The ideas are amazing, and honestly, who can't afford to shed off some calories from meals, snacks, and desserts? I have a whole list of recipes to try including apple slaw, bloomin onions, and chocolate lave cake :)
• This last one isn't really an awesome find, just an awesome event. I finally got a new phone! I have had my Motorola razr for 3 1/2 years so I figured it was about time for an upgrade. I'm also excited because I broke off of my dad's plan and started my own. (I realize the excitement might not make sense, but I'm trying to slowly pay for my own bills. Aha- now it makes sense!). I decided to get the new MyTouch 3G and I love it so far. It is a smart phone, comparable to the iPhone. After using the razr for so long, I'm getting use to the touch screen and all that jazz and telling everyone my new number is kind of a pain, but overall I am happy with my decision :)

So that is it for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the long holiday weekend!

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New Kicks

Today was the $1 flip flop sale at Old Navy. All the cool colorful flip flops that are usually 2 for $5 were only $1 a pair! So of course the bestie and I were crazy enough to try to get some :)

There was a limit of five pairs per person, so we brought along her aunt just in case we needed more than five (which we did haha). We were there for an hour and a half. We grabbed what we could (black and silver colors) then got in line to check out while her aunt hunted down the more colorful pairs. I ended up with six pairs to go with the five or so I already have in my closet! I just love flip flops, and it was definitely warm enough for them!

While waiting in line and fighting with the woman who tried to cut in front of us, I realized that I had not written my book review yet... so here it is!

Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

I discovered this book in the clearance section of my local bookstore (and by local I mean big chain-store that I'm too lazy to google and link to). I read the back and thought it would be interesting (this is how I usually pick out my books). It was a relatively easy read with a predictable story.

Bette Robinson is a Manhattan girl working a monotonous job at a bank that she really doesn't like. One day she decides she has had enough and quits. Months later she finds herself in a brand new job for a PR firm. Soon, her public and private life balance dangerously on a very thin line, with her job pulling it one way and her heart pulling it another.

I won't give away any more info so as not to spoil it for anyone. There are a lot of characters, which can at times be difficult to keep up with. Some times I laughed out loud with Matthew looking at me like I had finally lost it. Other times I was just ready for the chapter to end. If you liked the Devil Wears Prada, you will probably like this book as it follows the same kind of plot since they are by the same author.

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As Seen on TV

I am very disappointed with a recent purchase, and I wanted to warn everyone in case you want to make the same mistake I did.

I have a problem with straps... and by straps I mean bra straps of course. No matter how tight I make them, they always end up around my elbows within five minutes! It is so frustrating to constantly have to tug on them. So that is why I decided to get that strap perfect thing on TV. When I see something cool on TV, I usually wait around and see how long it lasts. If it's still being advertised after a couple of months, then maybe it's worth trying. I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond and made my purchase yesterday, anxious to try them out.


(I had attempted to make my own version with paper clip and some tape. It worked, but it held the straps too far up my back and hurt my neck...)

I grabbed one this morning, and struggled a little bit but got it on, and continued with my day. It wasn't until this afternoon that I really regretted my purchase. When I took it off, it broke! And not just a little crack. No. It broke in half! What a rip-off. So now you have been warned. Maybe I should keep experimenting with the paper clip. At least it stayed in one piece!

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Shopaholic

*My first post of this didn't come out right (It cut off my last couple of sentences) Sorry! I think I fixed it though*

Ok, so I'm not really a shopaholic in that I do not constantly make purchases of things that I do not need racking up mounds and mounds of debt at the same time. However, I do like to shop when I have the money to do so. I just so happened to have a little extra cash, and a dire need for shoes (what can I say? Shoes are the best things to shop for because they ALWAYS fit). Matthew and I headed out to the mall this morning, and I found some glorious treasures :)

The shoes are super cute, and are acutally comfortable. I really needed a pair of black heels. They look fabulous on as well... so good in fact, that I got them in brown too! I don't shop very often, so I feel it's ok haha

The book is quite interesting. I've just read the first chapter, but it is very well written. I'll write a review once I finish it (that shouldn't take long). The biggest discovery today, though, was the Sweethearts "Forbidden Fruits" candy. It is Twilight themed :) There are three different boxes. I got the first one with the entire cast. One has Edward on it and the other Bella. Some of the pieces even glitter! They say things like "Dazzle" and "I heart EC" and "Bite Me." The flavors are listed as "Orange Obsession" "Tempting Apple" "Passion Fruit" and "Secret Strawberry." I will let you know how they taste once I'm brave enough to open them :)

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