Happy Thanksgiving!

First and foremost, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates. I hope you spend your day with friends and family, eating delicious food, and being grateful for everything you have in life. I know that's what I'll be doing! I feel so blessed to have such amazing people in my life who've supported me along the way to help me get to where I am today - working at an fabulous PR firm in one of my favorite cities. It's wonderful to finally be content with the path life is taking.

I'm thankful for...

1. After over year of searching for jobs, and countless times being told no or "we'd love to have you.. as an intern!" finally having a job, and loving what I'm doing, working with such intelligent, creative people at a place that really allows their employees to think outside the box and try new things. I am SO grateful to be there and count my blessings every day.
2. For my parents putting up with my low-paying internships and allowing me to take risks, helping me stay afloat when I first moved to DC. Without their help and support there would have been absolutely no way I'd be here right now.
3. New friends and old ones. Its tough being away from my friends from home/college, its exciting that I have friends all over the country to visit now. Without their support and listening to me when I first moved and was alone/knew no one, I wouldn't have survived!
4. Things that make me appreciate life, and laugh- this is an assortment of things; from being in awe that I live near all the monuments and can see them every day; being able to watch  my favorite TV shows or go to sporting events; traveling; exploring the city with my friends; going to fancy brunches; appreciating that I can call up my brother and have a conversation with him (never would have happened a few years ago). It's little things that add up in life. I need to step back and appreciate the little things in life.
5. finally accepting my life and being content with it. Aside from graduating college, 2009 wasn't very kind to me; 2010 has been about starting afresh, accepting who I am, and being more independent and confident with myself. I'm happy with the people in my life, and accepted the fact that some people once were a very important part of life are no longer in it- I've let go, and it feels wonderful. I've put the past in the past, and only look to the present!

So, as I sit at my parent's house, listening to Glee music, and my Dad downloading a crazy amount of YouTube videos on his iPad (which my Dad just "discovered" today after I showed him the bird dancing to "Whip my Hair."), about to get ready for my Aunt's house, I am happy. I wouldn't have my life any other way.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. 

Readings: The Girl Who Played With Fire

One thing I love about vacation time, is that I get time to finally read books again! I'm raiding my Mom's bookshelf and Kindle and it's fabulous. Between my plane ride home and some pre-dinner reading, I was able to finally finish the 2nd book to Steig Larson's series. I found the first one a bit hard to get through, but his second book left me pleasantly surprised.

What: The Girl Who Played With Fire
By: Steig Larson
My thoughts: I'm not normally one for mystery (or violent) books, but with everyone talking about this series, I've been giving it a try. The first book didnt live up to the hype; I read it months ago. With all the excitement over both the books and the upcoming movies (and the fact that I had already paid for the book!) I started The Girl Who Played With Fire last week. First thought: Wow. What an intense, violent, fast paced book.

There were so many twists and turns throughout the novel that left me second guessing what would happen next, trying to solve the murder mystery and figuring out all the characters connected to one another. The character Lisabeth Salander is so fascinating, Larson gave her so much depth and mysteriousness that you never quite have her figured out but you're invested in her character still. I loved that. The book ended at such a suspenseful moment that I immediately picked up my Mom's Kindle to start reading the third!

I will forewarn, the book is extremely violent; and at times graphic. I for one will NOT be seeing the movies, because I don't think I can handle that.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars. If you didnt like the first one, I'd give the 2nd a shot. I'm already eager to read what happens to Lisabeth and Blomkvist.
What's next: The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larson and Decision Points - George Bush (I love political books regardless of political parties involved).

What are you reading? Have you read the Stieg Larson books? Did they live up to your expectations?

Why I love Thanksgiving..

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays; I think it's pretty close to Christmas. Especially now that I have to fly home for it and don't see my family as often, it's more important to me. By the time this posts, I will have already left DC and arrived back home with my family and friends. Cannot wait!

I love...

• the amazing food. This year my Mom's not cooking and I'm kind of sad because my parents are the most amazing cooks I've ever met (for real). But... it's nice because we are...
• spending time with family. My family is large and we see each other often; but Thanksgiving everyone does their own thing and Christmas is where we ALL (over 50 of us) come together (at my parents house). This year we are going to my Aunt's for Turkey Day; and spending it with my aunt/uncle and at least two of my cousins, and my grandma. I'm excited to spend time with a few of my cousins and my family. I appreciate my family so much more now that I'm not living at home.
• colder weather - It's pretty warm in the District- this past weekend it was in the 60s! At home, its in the 30s, and I'm looking to a few days of cold.

I'm pretty sure this is the most awesome picture - EVER

!

• the Michigan/Ohio State weekend! Yes, Michigan sucks and will probably lose, but this is the biggest game of the year, still, and I am SO excited to get to watch it with my Dad/maybe other family members! Miracles can happen, right? My Dad isn't too optimistic, but I still have hope!
• that Christmas is almost here! Thanksgiving marks the start of Christmas lights, my Mom putting up decorations, and Christmas music. It makes me excited.
• thinking about present shopping - my brother and I will HOPEFULLY get our shopping done for our parents this week, but knowing us, that's not a guarantee. I love present shopping for others, but Black Friday kind of intimidates me.
• Christmas/Holiday cards - My Mom always does our cards... do I send out my own now that I no longer live with them? It's not like I have a significant other or a pet to take a photo with.. and my favorite part about cards is the photo. Maybe I'll send out some personal/handwritten cards to just my family and a few close friends. I should get on that!
• new traditions. I'm hoping to meet one of my "little" (she's 16, I can't believe it!) cousins for coffee and breakfast, something we've been trying to do every time I come home now. I miss my sports buddy! (we go to a lot of games together.) I also want to see my god daughter and basically cram as much family time as I can into the 4.5 days I'm home!
  

Weekend Restaurant - French style

One of my favorite things to do is to try new restaurants; and I frequently go to places with my fellow (vegetarian) foodie friend. This weekend we tried a place new to both of us, Bistrot Du Coin, a quaint French bistro near DuPont Circle. She had read about it somewhere and was dying to try it, so she made us a reservation. Sidenote: DuPont has SO many amazing restaurants and fun bars, I recommend taking a stroll through that area!

I've never had much experience with French food, but I was excited. When I went to Paris, I unfortunately went with girls who would only eat McDonalds or Italian food (NO JOKE, I was so mad), so even in France I didn't get that experience, which clearly I am still bitter about 2 1/2 years later.


Okay, back to Bistrot Du Coin- the atmosphere in there reminded me of the cafeteria's in Spain. Old feeling, quaint, loud, music, but delicious food. And, our food was DELICIOUS. I want to go back and try more food. My friend and I split a warm goat cheese & walnut salad, which, while small was yummy. We both wished that it was a bigger portion- it would have been perfect for one person.

Not a photo by me, but you get my point!

We then had mussels, also tasty. The pot was large and filling, which led to us reminiscing about our trip together to Belgium, where we had HUGE pots of mussels that cost us only $10 in a small restaurant, sitting by a fireplace. The mussels came with some really yummy (but salty) french fries, too.


We finished off our dinner with a French cheese plate. I love cheese, but I wasn't so fond of the stronger ones. I tried a bit of each, but stuck with the amazingly yummy brie cheese, and my friend ate the rest.

We were stuffed to the brim by the time we were done; I wish we had gotten dessert. I will be back to Bistrot Du Coin; perhaps with my parents when they visit or with other friends. Highly recommend this restaurant!

And, now I'm wanting to go back to Paris and eat real French Food and not cheeseburgers and spaghetti.

Apartment organization

My new apartment already feels 10 times more like "home" than my last apartment did- I'm not sure if it's because I knew my last one was "temporary" and this one is a at least a year, or if it's because I now have a roommate. Either way, I'm loving this new apartment. Can I mention how jealous I am that one of Oprah's Favorite Things this year was $1000 custom made closet by the Container Store?? I almost fell off my couch when she said that!

Just wanted to share a few things we recently purchased for our apartment that we are eagerly awaiting- I think they'll make a huge difference in our kitchen and living room!

One thing we both do not enjoy about our apartment, is the fact that our kitchen is TINY. So, we purchased this to put our microwave/toaster oven on top of, and then it has the extra storage for additional pots and pans, silverware, etc. I will make our kitchen so.much.better. I cannot wait to be organized!

This is actually a storage Ottoman, which we will be using for extra seating and as table of sorts  as well. I'm really excited about it for some weird reason. I'm mad, because we bought this from Target.com, yesterday. TODAY, it went on sale, $20 off, which we don't get. Slightly disappointed!


What were your recent purchases for your homes?

Moving and the "Change Your Life Challenge"

What a crazy, busy week! For one, I've moved apartments, my Mom came and surprised me to help me move, and work is absolutely crazy with long days, moving offices, and computer problems. Add that to I'm heading home for Thanksgiving in a few days and it makes for a busy weekend coming up.


Moving takes a lot out of you; and I'm definitely exhausted after moving lots of boxes, multiple Target trips, and just figuring out where to fit everything; especially since I went from a one bedroom apartment to a 2 bedroom with a roommate who has stuff too. It's still not 100% done, but I'm getting there. I'm loving my bedroom and my huge bathroom. Not loving the small tiny kitchen - I have way too many gadgets and gizmos that just have no place to fit! I'm loving decorating, putting up pictures.

Once I'm fully unpacked and relaxed a real post awaits!

BUT I wanted to share a project I've become involved in, with  a group of fabulous girls, the Challenge Your Life Challenge. I encourage others to join; I'm pretty excited to try new things and learn more about myself along the way- I'm a little nervous to go vegetarian for a week but also excited! Looking forward to it! Thanks to some, awesome girls for fabulous idea and inspiration!

Every month we'll feature a new, week-long challenge. I'm inviting (and encouraging) you all to participate and take to your blogs to write about your experience! The good, the bad, and the ugly. Well, hopefully it's mostly good and less bad and/or ugly! It's my pleasure to reveal the first challenge:

Who: YOU (and anyone else you want to encourage to participate!)

What: Eat vegan or vegetarian (your choice), every meal for a full week (ahem...that's seven days, not five!)

When: November 29th, 2010 through December 6, 2010

Why: I understand that the holidays are coming up, which is why this challenge starts after Thanksgiving. The idea is not only to challenge yourself to eat differently for a week, but also to use this time as a mini-detox from the Thanksgiving festivities.

Where: Anywhere and everywhere you eat!

How: I will be posting ideas and recipes (feel free to comment with your own ideas, as well) and tips on how to make this as easy as possible. It's all about incorporating the changes into your life, instead of trying to change your life to suit these changes. Don't try to go too over-the-top. Make it feasible and, more importantly, make it enjoyable!

If you are ready to participate in this challenge, then comment on this entry with your email address OR send an email and expect a challenge email update soon. Emails will be sent out within 24 hours of you leaving your comment to give you details about the challenge, and you will have ample time to ask questions, share inspiration, anything and everything.


If you accept the challenge, post the challenge logo on your blog and encourage more people to scurry over here and sign up for the challenge, too!

Can't wait to see how this first challenge goes! Sign up and let's do this


Hope you'll all join!

The Container Store = Love.

As previously mentioned, I'm moving into a new apartment, very soon. In fact I probably should be packing rather than writing this! I already know I'll be losing quite a bit of storage/closet space; although my new bathroom is much bigger than mine now. I'll have to share my kitchen/living room space with my new roommate as well.  Therefore, creative storage options will be a must.

I've been spending the past hour scouring the Container Store Web site, and have decided that... well, I could easily spend oh, the next 4 pay checks there and still have things I'd want to buy. The Container Store is my new store to obsessive over. The thought of having a place to store literally every.possible.item.I.own is thrilling! I think the OCD side of me is coming out in full force tonight, particularly as I stare around my incredibly messy apartment with boxes and piles of things EVERYWHERE. I cannot wait to move and be organized again. Cant beat my new location or the price!


A few of my favorite things I'm seriously considering buying. Anyone shopped there before? What do you recommend? I'm super excited to go to the store this weekend!

November Inspirations

A few days into November and it's already shaping up to be a busy month that already is busy as a lead in to the holiday season. I'm moving to a new apartment and packing up my old one, and getting a roommate, work is picking up now that I've been there a month, Thanksgiving/heading home for the holiday, birthday parties for friends, college football heading into the final stretch, cold weather; its just a busy month. I can't even believe how fast October went by and this month seems like it will be just as busy!

Here are few things that are inspiring me this November.

Music: Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" and Darius Rucker's "

I'm constantly listening to both these albums on my iPod at work. Love them both, even if Taylor's bitterness at such  a young age is slightly disturbing. Its funny to listen to the songs and try to figure out which "boyfriend" she's talking about.

Fashion: Warm, cute pea coats.

I recently purchase an amazing Calvin Klein pea coat from Lord & Taylor (the best store for coats, in my opinion). I'm not 100% sure if this is my coat, because mine looks lighter/longer in person, but I LOVE MY PEA COAT. It has pleats in it, which I think is adorable. I took inspiration from watching endless reruns of How I Met Your Mother, where Cobie Smulders wears an amazing trench coat (I just googled it, it was Burberry). I only wish I could have found a coat like this, but my Calvin Klein one suits me very well and I love it. Nothing better than bundling up on a cold morning and walking to the metro to head into the city for work.

The most beautiful coat

Food: Making my own Chili 

So far, I've tried one recipe that my Mom sent me via BBM. And WOW Chili is SO easy to make, and you can make lots of it at once. Its warm, delicious, filling, freezes well, relatively healthy. What more could you want in a meal? I'll be continuing to experiment and try new recipes throughout fall/winter.

Drink: Anything warm and pumpkin flavored.

 

I've NEVER liked pumpkin anything until this year. Now I brew Pumpkin Spice Dunkin Donuts every morning, and am making pumpkin spice muffins. So delicious and comforting with the cooler weather.


These are just a few things "inspiring" me this month! What are some of your inspirations?

I love my... boots!

So, I saw this idea for a blog post recently on A Diary of a Lovely (a wonderful blog to check out!) where she posted pictures of all of her boots, and have decided to use it for inspiration for my own blog post. I think this may become a semi regular post in my blog, an "I love my..." edition!

I love boots; I would wear them year round if I could. I love all different sizes and colors and am always drooling over amazing ones that I find on Piperlime or DSW... usually ones I can't afford (unfortunately). Here are the boots I do have.

So, even in a one bedroom apartment for just me, I somehow lack floor space to store all of my boots. Therefore, I sadly cram them all into this Rubbermaid container stored in my closet. At least I have them all easily available in one space? Yeah, its a little pathetic my storage choice :) Want to see what's shoved in there? Continue on!

First up, a pair of black booties that are old/I've never worn. My Mom gave them to me from her closet, and I never know what to wear them with! The middle pair of my only pair that have a more "cowboy" feel to them; I wear them a lot. They have a nice heel and are cute, and I like wearing them with jeans. The final ones, are my gray suede booties that I LOVE. They are so incredibly comfortable, I got them from Nordstrom last year and get great use out of them.

Next up are my taller boots. Please ignore the fact that they are so dang floppy that I could not get them to stand up straight. The ones on the left are my tallest pair, and super casual black boot that my Mom found for me at Nordstrom Rack, super cheap. They tie in the back and are very comfortable; I wear them a lot on weekends. The middle, are my Hunter rain boots (in black) I got as a Christmas present last year, but the size was wrong and they were SO back-ordered that it took until March before I finally got them! Best pair of rain boots I've had; they're durable, functional and comfortable. The final pair are my Steve Maddens I purchased just a few weeks ago. I know everyone has them, but there's a reason- they look good with dresses, skirts, jeans.. just about anything. And, comfortable!

Just another photo to show they're not the same pair of boots and I'm not a weirdo who purchases boots that are exactly the same! (Steve Maddens on left)

Whats a boot post without my Uggs? I have more pairs back at my parent's home, but these are my classic short brown ones beat up from my college days (but have lasted FOREVER with their reinforced toe) and my gray cardy uggs. I have a pink and black pair at home as well.

Another photo of my beloved Hunter boots for good measure :)

That was surprisingly fun to go through and photograph my boots, and then write about them. What would you like to see next in my "I love my.." edition? What are your favorite pair of boots/shoes? I love seeing what other people wear!