Friday's Fancies- Color Crush!

Happy Friday, loves!!

My weekend went by far too quickly...

Although... I did get some shopping in. SQUEE! Mainly things I needed- make-up for work, some new running shoes** (they are so kick booty!! I'll talk about them in an upcoming post about my training for the princess half), the blender for my soon to be regular morning smoothies, and some fabric for some projects I have planned. 

This "weekend" also marked a big event in the life of Bentley bones. In the words of my person and I-

Shim got spootered!!!

Thats right... baby boy got snip snipped. 

He's doing very well though and only seemed to be in a little pain on Day 2. Other than that, he's eating and drinking normally and it is a challenge and a half to keep his activity to a minimum.

Now, since it is Friday, and I somehow managed to get my act together- I'm linking up to {av} over at {long distance loving} for another Friday's Fancies!!

This week's fun is themed "Color Crush!"

...I think I went a little over board.

For one thing, I couldn't pick just one color.

So I did a little coral and a little green.

It's like a melon!

Friday's Fancies Color Crush by kryssialma featuring leather handbags

Someday- hopefully sooner than later, my closet will actually reflect the sort of things I post in these Friday's Fancies boards...

Every time I put together these boards, I get so sad I can't wake up the next morning and find these things in my closet... Life should seriously work that way. 

"If you blog it, it will come."

...

No?

Ok then!

I hope everyone is looking forward to their weekend and has plans to relax and enjoy it with the ones you love! I'll be back at work- making sure everyone else's r and r time is filled with magic!

Till next time, loves!

Friday's Fancies- Fashionably Inspi(Red)

Happy your Friday/ my Monday everyone!!

Ah! The lovely feeling of everyone else starting their weekends as I head back to work...

Like I've said before, if my job wasn't so rockstar, I might be upset right now. Seeing as Mickey-loving 3 yr olds are (for the most part) super awesome, work is never too bad!

Since it is in fact Friday again, I get to link up to one of my favorite link-ups again! Any weekly occurrence that forces me to spend a little time ogling on polyvore or pinterest, sign me up! And so, I'm back with {av} from {long distance loving} for this week's Friday's Fancies.

This week- the theme was Fashionably Inspi(Red) in honor of it being World AIDS Day yesterday. I hope this doesn't sound terrible, but I am a sucker for a good cause ESPECIALLY this time of year. If I shop somewhere that includes one of those "Would you like to donate $1?" prompts- You can be sure whatever charity it may be will have my dollar. I don't have much but I'm blessed to have more than what I need so that's the least I can do. I did a post a while back about gifts that give back, so if you're still hunting for gifts why not choose something that will help someone else? 

For this week's outfit, I pretended I'm some fancy pants person that may be invited to an event that benefits the cause. Not super formal, just a cocktail party. 

I wouldn't normally wear quite so much of one color in an outfit... but I'm doing it for the cause... and I really love these pieces!! Mickey Mouse doesn't let me wear fancy sparkly nail polish and seeing this makes me really sad about that. And if Santa is reading my blog- No doubt you've noticed how good I've been this year. I'm a size 6.5 and those shoes would look phenomenal under my Christmas tree! :) Thanks.

Are you linking up this week? I'm loving how inspired I get surfing around, looking at all the outfits that get posted. I really think it's helping me make it a point to put effort into what I look like on a daily basis. 

That being said, I will never be "put together girl at the grocery store." Ever. But I'm ok with that.

There's a time and a place for everything. Grocery store happens to be the time and place for my ever fashionable grunge look. 

Here's to sweat pant wearers everywhere!!

Happy Friday, you guys! Enjoy the sweat pants... 

My very first Friday's Fancies!

Hello Gorgeous!

...what's the plural form of gorgeous? Gorgeouses... Gorgi...

No idea.

Happy Friday to all! And of course, happy Monday to me! Off to make the little ones happy at one of the happiest places on earth...

But first- a while back, I got a sweet comment on my blog that led me to a new follower's blog. Little did I know, this new follower had a kick booty blog with some seriously phenomenal posts and an awesome following. I saw that she had a weekly link up called Friday's Fancies and really wanted to play along... I am a giant slacker and it's taken me FOREVER to actually join in! But this week, I'm in! {av} from {long distance loving} prompts her readers with a theme for the weeks link up and then always has a drool worthy outfit to kick it off. Fingers crossed, my addition to this weeks link up fits in with the cool kids!

This week is the 50th Friday's Fancies post with a gold theme. I have to admit, I've always HATED gold. And then I went shopping yesterday and I found myself picking up gold things over and over again... I can't explain it but I'll keep you informed as this situation develops! Point is- I had a blast putting this outfit together. This is also my first time playing around on Polyvore (Thanks to Sarah over at First Comes Love- you're so right! This is ridiculously addictive!) so I'm not exactly sure how it all works! I normally use Photoshop for this sort of thing but I loved snooping around all the goodness on Polyvore and it's fun to use new sites like this one. I highly recommend you check it out.

So without further ado, here's my first ever Friday's Fancies...

So, how did I do on my first one? The longer I look at it, the more I wish I had a bottomless bank account to actually make that happen. Le sigh! Some day...

Well, what are you waiting for? Go link up too!

*Oooo- did you see the teaser in yesterday's post? Make sure you follow here and on twitter so you don't miss out when that fun gets started!*

Till next time...

Window Shopping Spree- "Extreme Craft Room/Blog HQ Makeover" Edition!

Thursday! :) Mmmmm... It's silly how much I love looking forward to the "sunday" of my weekend. You'd think, it means I have to go back to work tomorrow, why would I like it so much? I don't know how it works for all of you- but "sunday" is the most relaxing day of the week! It's almost always the stay in your pj's all day kind of day. Today in particular, I am going in to work at the '30s style dinner theatre I perform at. But until then- you couldn't pry these pj's off me if you paid me! Plus- a certain someone made French toast this morning... :) I am a lucky, lucky lady.

As if that weren't exciting enough- it's Window Shopping Spree Thursday!! When I went to start perusing the internet for this post, I felt a little stuck. I have so many great ideas for post Halloween shopping sprees that I cannot wait to get to!!! Sadly... we are still in October... 

That's a little unfair of me to say to October- 

October, you're a lovely month! I thoroughly enjoy celebrating you in all your spookiness. Please understand, I'm just a little anxious to get to my favorite time of year. Nothing personal!

Then- inspiration struck! October is a very topsy turvy month around here. Things get insane and well, a mess. It was probably about the end of September that I realized I would have to dedicate a weekend to a cleaning frenzy. Once the person's event was over, spend some serious time deep cleaning and organizing. So thats what this past "weekend" was for. Everything turned out great!! Everything except his "man cave" and my "craft room." Those rooms still need some serious work... 

I haven't been able to work on any craft projects in a while because I find it hard to be inspired in an unorganized space. Said craft room has yet to be fully set up... So "Cup 'a Hot Chocolate Headquarters" has been the couch... **wahh wahh** (Which is actually the Debbie Downer sound, not a cry... I wish there was a better way to explain that...)

So this weeks shopping spree- A Craft Room/ Blog HQ makeover!!! UGhhhh if only!!! Even when everything in there finds it's home, the room will not look anything like this... A girl can dream though, right? Oh- and this makeover is brought to you almost entirely by the Pottery Barn website... What can I say, I'm a sucker for pretty and slightly over priced home decor. 

1. Drool worthy craft room furniture- Little odds and ends with a bunch of random drawers and shelves? Yes please! If you go to the page of that collection- just scroll down and include EVERYTHING on the page. And my room's furniture is complete! Seriously though- how perfect is that set for a craft room?

2. Wheeley "Craft in progress" chair- I find that as much as I always want to have a big comfy chair in there, I constantly have to roll around to grab random thingss while I try to finish a project! So a matching chair with wheels is a must have.

3. Blogging/"visitor in my hq" chair- But I obviously need a big comfy accent chair too! Sometimes people stop by while I'm crafting. And, I do all my best blog writing from a comfortable position. 

4. Color pop organizational boxes- I dont know what it is about greens, gray blues, and yellows that I love so much right now. Still, seeing these all nestled into the cubby holes with all my random crap neatly organized in them- be still me heart! Such a sucker for neatly organized stuff.

5. 13" MacBook Pro- A new MacBook? How the hell did that get on there... I mean if it's there I shouldn't delete it... And I mean, the computer is getting a little slow. I can't very well blog in a new hq with a laptop I can't depend on! :) That's a reasonable excuse, right? 

6. Multipiece wall organizer- I LOVE these things!!! A way to set out and organize all my thoughts and plans right up on the wall in front of me. I pin this sort of stuff every time I come across them. I'm sure If I worked at it, I could piece something like this together slowly but surely thanks to HomeGoods. But that's the logical and sensible, cost efficient way to do it. Thursdays are not about that!

Le sigh! My dream room... Do you all dream of having a perfect room like this too? What are your must-haves when you sit back and imagine that perfect room to inspire you? And where do you guys normally find those pieces that fit perfect in those rooms? 

Excuse me while I continue to imagine I'm writing this from that room I just made in my mind... :)

Lots of love and energy to all you lovelies!

"If I was a rich girl" Window Shopping Spree...

Thursday!!! Hurray for another window shopping spree...

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned quite a few times that my wardrobe of choice, probably 90% of the time, is the jeans and a tshirt look. This is how I live the majority of my life! Considering I mainly just have to get from point a to point b in order to change into a costume, it's the most convenient! And if it's a day with no costumes involved, it's nice to not have to fuss.

But let's be honest- what girl doesn't like all the fuss of getting really dressed up for a special occasion? I thought, since my 1 year anniversary with the person is coming up I would do a window shopping spree of my ideal outfit for an evening out on such a day. Most of the time I feature things that, budgeted right and with the right amount of ramen noodles, totally doable purchases! 

Today that is not the case!

I have gone all out to put together this outfit. Chock full of designer crap and ringing in at a nauseating $16,749. WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY?! $16,749. 

I think I just peed myself a little- that's the down payment on a house!

Thank goodness it's thursday and on "Window Shopping Spree Thursdays"- real money means nothing! So here it is, the current outfit of my dreams-

1. Oscar de la Renta dress- a whopping $4,990... thank goodness it's not $5,000 because that would've been ridiculous! It's the high class cousin of the dress I featured last week!

2. White gold aquamarine earrings- The most reasonably priced item today at $599. I can't tell you how long I've been drooling over these...

3 & 4. Mikimoto pearl bracelet and necklace- Yes I already have a set but clearly not Mikimoto. Coming in at $1,170 and $3,300- I'd say it would take me a little while before I could splurge on these staples.

5. Christian Louboutin shoes- These need no introduction. If I could only have 1 of these things, hands down I'd go with the shoes. Too bad they're $3,995

6. Louboutin evening bag- This sparkly handbag is $2,695. I'm in love.    

Now, it's a good thing I posted this all now because you all have plenty of time between now and February to save up for my birthday! I'm so thoughtful that way. And I crack myself up.

But seriously- How can anyone justify throwing down that kind of money at one time? If you can, more power to you and I absolutely hate you am ever so slightly jealous of your life. Now that you've seen my picks, if money were no factor, what designer staple would you splurge on?

Till next time...

A Florida Fall Window Shopping Spree...

I say it every week, but I love when Thursdays roll around! 

There are few things quite as lovely as pretending to spend my money all willy nilly like... Except maybe actually having the money to spend frivolously... A girl can dream!

This week, I focused on things I'd want to be wearing in these next couple of months. I cannot reiterate enough- Florida fall is not like fall on the rest of the planet! We don't get the joys of color changing leaves and to be completely honest, you can probably go right on wearing your shorts (as long as they're khaki, trendy, or fabulous!) So my autumn inspired fashions may not SCREAM this time of year to some of you. For me, these are exactly the things I could rock whilst sipping on my pumpkin spice latte...

1. Pretty Fall colored dress- Courtesy of Modcloth...Why yes, I do have dresses much like this in different colors... I don't see why that matters...

2. Business-y looking fun skirt- Anthropologie rocks my socks! I like that fall means I can wear semi serious looking clothing for no apparent reason.

3. Delicious looking hoodie- J. Crew has this amazing knack for making wonderfully cozy looking casual wear that I'd never guess costs as much as it does. But who thinks about price in a nap worthy hoodie?

4. "Florida Autumns aren't cold" top- Also from Anthropologie. 2 good reasons on this one- it's adorable and because I can!   

5. Blowfish ankle "kick some booty" boots- I love all Blowfish shoes. You can go look them up, say to yourself "Surely, she doesn't mean these!" But I can assure you- yes, even those!

6. Skinny, Casual, I'm so cool Fossil watch- Because I'm casual and so cool... and because I can't possibly do a window shopping spree and not include Fossil.

There it is peeps! This weeks shtuff I wish would magically appear at my place! :) Hope you enjoyed it! 

What do you consider your "staple Autumn items"? And what the hell is the difference, if any, between Fall and Autumn? 

till next time...

A Pet-centric Window Shopping Spree...

If anyone is surprised this weeks window shopping is solely focused on pet goodness, you clearly haven't been by recently...

Day 3 of Bentley being home and so far so good! I was so worried about crate training and house breaking but *knock on wood* we lucked out and got ourselves a pretty kick ass pup!

He took to his crate IMMEDIATELY if not sooner. Why wouldn't he, though? It's the home of his comfy bed, best toys, and where he gets treats and food! I was surprised that he loved his bed too. I feel like pet beds are often for the owners benefit. We buy them thinking- "This is adorable and I'm being so thoughtful investing in a comfy spot for my furry friend," but the pet will inevitably take to a random spot on the tile before going anywhere near said bed. Not the case with Bentley bug. even when he falls asleep off the bed it's only a matter of time before he rearranges himself further back. His crate is SO much his little place, that when we're playing with him, once he's had enough he just walks into the room and straight into his crate. It's perfect!

House breaking has been a breeze so far. I have no doubt I've just officially jinxed myself... I mean, the little guy is 8 weeks old! He's bound to have accidents at some point. Sure have had to take him out at 6 am! But it's easy to tell that he's whining because he has to go potty when he DOES NOT whine otherwise. (Except a couple whimpers when he's having crazy eyes-half-open dreams). I was so concerned about waking neighbors because puppies apparently whine all night when they first come home. Bentley sleeps. Unless he has to go potty, or he's eating, or wants to play. And when I haven't woken up in time, he goes potty on his puppy pads. Thank all that is good for this little blessing in the process. Still working on getting up and down the stairs to go potty though. And burying his face in this grass. Worms are not puppy food!

As for the puppies and cats, I'm proud to say there's been NO hostile behavior or body language. The cats are just really curious but not quite prepared to play with him. There's been no barking or hissing and no negative posturing on either end! I'm really looking forward to the cats not being (for lack of a better word) scaredy cats and actually enjoying their new playmate. I'm sure it's only a matter of time...

And without further ado- My pet-centric window shopping spree...

1. Headless Horseman Halloween Costume- the person gave me the green light for pet halloween costumes and I could not be more sad that this doesn't come in a smaller size!! Target has ADORABLE pet costumes. Quite frankly, Target has everything. I'm on the lookout though!

2. Kitty Cat Pirate Hat- Arrrrrrrrrrgh! Cats do not do as well with costumes but holy goodness, if I wouldn't love to see Rusty in this hat... I'm starting to sound like a crazy lady...

3. Martha Stewart Puppy Harness- I am beyond obsessed with her line at PetSmart. It doesn't help that the puppy model is a Boston...

4. Martha's Puppy Robe- I am very aware this is completely unnecessary. If I only "bought" necessary things during my window shopping sprees, these posts would cease to exist!

5. Martha Pet Food Scoopers- All things Martha Stewart Pets. In my house. Now.

6. Awesome Cat Tower- Overpriced? Yes! Would this stop the cats from sleeping on top of the fridge and kitchen counters? Hell no!

Ahh pointless pet products! How I love you all! I do spoil the zoo we've got but I'm not remotely this crazy. Besides- I've learned quickly that if puppies have a whole lot of toys they are less likely to disturb your stuff. Like the Dog Whisperer taught me- just redirect the behavior! It absolutely works.

Do you all have any pointless goodies for your pets? Please share so I don't feel as bad :)

Until next time...

Window shopping spree- A Smorgasboard!

Another Thursday... Hooray!

Before I get to the good stuff (who doesn't love a free for all window shopping spree?!) I just want to touch on a little something.

This morning I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Bleh! I don't like when people say this and put negative energy out there! This happens from time to time though, and I think it's almost necessary so we're forced to sort of take a minute to press our reset button. We often get so caught up in thinking or obsessing over the most random, minuscule  things, we lose sight of the amazing things happening in our present day to day life. I've been counting down to vacation, looking forward to bringing home Bentley, just constantly thinking about what's next, that I wasn't appreciating right now. So I took a deep breath this morning and reminded myself. I'm so blessed to have the life I have and the people in it that I do. I never mean to take it for granted but we all do sometimes. There's no way to be perfect in this and I'm not going to pretend I won't probably get back caught up in the dumb stuff in an hour. But right now, in this moment, I'm grateful for what I've got- and life couldn't be better. :)

Now that the gush is out of the way-

Window Shopping Spree time!!

I'm not gonna lie, I sat down at my computer today and had NO CLUE what I'd want this week. So I just started randomly searching things. I think that's apparent in the random arrangement of this weeks shtuff!

1. A Boatload of awesome quilting fabric- I am OBSESSED with the Fat Quarter Shop and I almost always find exactly what I'm looking for when I stop by their site. Even if I have no clue that I'm looking for it! Right now, I really want to get cracking on a Halloween quilt and some cozy quilts for our furry children!

2. Another Fossil bag?!- Is it that apparent that I love Fossil bags? I was in the store the other day and had to seriously restrain myself while the person bought a watch. This is the Weekender... Yes, I would love to galavant on weekend trips with that on my arm!

3. Cute peeler set- My sole purpose for wanting this set is to make zucchini "pasta"... I think that's reason enough! Italian food with limited carbs? Not an issue when it includes one of my favorite veggies! Bring it on!

4. Bow tie dog collar- EEEEeeeek, Squeeee and all sorts of other "How flipping adorable is that" sounds. Too bad this was vetoed about as soon as the page loaded... P.S. You're no fun anymore! Bentley would ROCK a bow tie. And I wouldn't make him wear it all the time! Only when he needs to be fancy. Duh! At least I'm not trying to put sweaters or bling on him!! (No offense meant to those of you that may regularly dress your pets... whoops...)

5. Ball Mason Jars- Random, you say? Have you been on pinterest lately?!? There's probably a zillion different projects begging to be made that call for mason jars. I have none, therefore buying some would only be logical!

6. Martha Stewart Craft Hutch- I LOVE craft storage. Stick Martha Stewart's name on it and I love it even more! Put a chalkboard on the door- my goodness, could it get any better?!? Amazing!

There you have it my lovelies! This weeks ever so random objects of my affection. Any of them strike your fancy?

You should know, I did do a fair amount of actual shopping this week- solely vacation based! I'm saving it all for the trip but next week there may be a special Window Shopping Spree- vacation edition in preparation to gear up!

Until next time!

A little indulgence...

So... I want to start this by saying I am really awful at spending money.

Anyone close to me can tell you- it takes an act of God to make me actually make it from the aisles of the store to the check out counter to actually make a purchase. If it's necessary things- groceries and the like, I'm all about it!! Things like random shopping, I cannot do it! That being said... Thursday's adventure was very out of character for me.

Back in April I posted about a particular camera that makes my mouth water. I've been saving for this camera since March. I just always find something else that the saved money is better suited for! I've paid off credit cards, afforded apartment deposits, paid my taxes- all on separate times I reached the saving goal to actually go get said camera. I was relaxing at home on thursday, blogging about window shopping and very successfully NOT spending my hard earned money. As I normally do on my days off, I started to peruse all of my favorite blogs, commenting and drooling as I went. I am not blind to the fact that my iPhone photos, while phenomenal in the realm of cellular photography, look seriously lame-o tucked into my blog. Enough is enough people! Time for a big change around here...

I was trying so hard to assert myself. Just get off the couch, get in your car, and go get it! I had priced the camera everywhere, even considered going through ebay, and as much as it pained me, the cheapest place to buy was *dun dun dun* Walmart. This place is a great money saving grocery store/shopping extravaganza alternative but to be frank this place scares the crap out of me, I avoid that place like the plague... I just prefer Target. Honestly, I in no way judge other people who shop there (unless you've ended up on peopleofwalmart.com, in which case I judge, laugh, and forward to everyone I know!).

**Ok, I have to admit, I just took a break because I got stuck looking at those pictures... hilarious! They get me everytime!**

The point is- I wouldn't hate my life so intensely every time I have to venture to Walmart if my encounters were a little less like the adventure I'm about to unfurl. 

When I finally got up the nerve and arrived at the Walmart that had the camera in stock, I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely mart of walls employee. I waited in the photo section for a solid 15 minutes while she helped other customers and possibly because I'm so pint sized, she failed to notice me and walked away when she was done with them... But I'm sure people stand in front of the locked camera case for 15+ minutes all the time without actually needing assistance. Totally not her fault... (Is the sarcasm oozing yet?) I called her back over and I politely asked her why the listed price was so much higher than the online price. I mean, we're talking an extra $60! I always try to be really sweet to employees because I assume it'll make them more inclined to want to help me. Nay in this case. She just said- "Yup! That's how it is. Like, a convenience fee or something," and she proceeded to walk away again. What the?! 

Luckily, a coworker of hers was in ear shot and he came right over and let me know that their website allows you to do same day pick up and that way I'd be able to get the camera at the online price. SCORE! I popped a squat in the photo section, pulled out my handy dandy iPhone, and went to the Walmart website. Maybe another 10 minutes later, my camera was paid for via the internet and I had a confirmation email. I went to look for the friendly employee again and he came back over to help me "complete my transaction." So- this is a new service for the store. So new that none of them knew how it worked. He tried calling the managers over to assist and for whatever reason they weren't responding to the pages. After waiting a while he decided it would probably be best to go get the manager... I was left to hold down the fort when a line of disgruntled customers formed... Not fun! When he finally returned, he informed me that unfortunately, the 2 systems are not in sync and I wouldn't be able to take the camera until the store got the notification of the order...which could take up to 4 hours... and it was 8...

Long story short...errr... not as long as it could be? I treated myself to dinner at Crispers (delicious steak and blue flatbread!! Yum!) and returned after killing time talking to my best friend... The nice employee had gone home and the original girl was back manning the section. Oh goodness, cross my fingers and wish for luck. She was very quick to say I'd have to come back tomorrow and then bing! "Oh there it is. Here you go." I left Walmart at about 9:40 pm, new fancy camera in tow.

BAM!!! My new baby- the Nikon D3100

I didn't get to play with it the first night but I definitely roamed around the apartment the next day just messing with it. In true "me" fashion, I read all the instructions before I'd let myself play with my new toy. Not that reading it made me any more prepared to take on a little hobby I know nothing about...

It was still a whole lot of fun though.

He loved playing model for the afternoon... I sure am one of those people that takes pictures of their pets...

Much, much more to come. I haven't been able to take pictures in the real world because I don't have a case yet. *Wah wah* Maybe next payday! I still can't believe I actually bought it... Is it still considered an impulse buy if you've been saving for it for 5 months?

Till next time...