#Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Today I will be spending time with A and his family, stuffing our faces on some delicious home cooking, and (of course) catching the Cowboys game. In the midst of all of that I will be doing my best to remember all the wonderful blessings I have in my life (things I should remember and be thankful for daily, really).

I am beyond thankful for:

My wonderful boyfriend who continues to love me through this crazy time in our lives. My supportive parents who may not understand all of the decisions I make but love me anyway. My crazy brother who could not be more different from me, but who I love all the same. The rest of my family who I can't wait to see at Christmas. My amazing friends in CA, OH, TX, and everywhere else they've  moved to. I was fortunate to celebrate of my friends marriages this past year, two more got engaged, more are in incredible relationships, and others are single and loving it- but regardless of any of these they are some of the most incredible individuals I have had the fortune of knowing. My job and all that I am learning there- even though it is very tough sometimes. This blog for being my creative outlet and at times the way I keep myself sane. And so so many other things.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all enjoy this holiday with your loved ones.

Intermediate Gratification

A and I were talking the other day- trying to figure out our visiting-each other-schedule for the next few months... and I said it is depressing to look at a calendar and see how little I am able to see him in a given year. His comment was, "well I am a big fan of delayed gratification." I immediately responded, "I like instant gratification."

His response... "I guess we will just have to find some intermediate gratification."

First of all, that's not a thing. But it definitely made me laugh. So I guess that has now become a thing- at least it will be for our current situation.

We are constantly having to find ways to balance his patience with my impatience, his desire to work with my desire to play. He pulls me back from making impulsive decisions and I push him to go with the flow a bit more.

Rather than creating tension, our differences in opinion allow us to both become more balanced individuals. Of course getting to that balancing point requires listening and respect, the ability to abandon judgement and embrace understanding, and a very healthy dose of open communication- all skills we continue to strengthen daily.

Through all that, somewhere in the middle we find the right decisions for both of us.

The intermediate gratification.

#FavoriteThings2014: Stocking Stuffers

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and most people are well in to the swing of the holiday season by now. Sitting at Starbucks writing this post I heard someone's phone ring and Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" came singing through the little speakers. I love it!

Today's #FavoriteThings2014 post is all about Stocking Stuffers. Since I don't have kids yet, to me this mean little treats that I might pick up for a friend. I have just a few little suggestions here for you guys. These are all things I know my friends would love.

1. Mason Jar Shot Glasses- The Mason Jar craze has swept through, and I'm still not over it. A friend got me a similar version of these little guys, and I love them. Although their opportunity for use has decreased significantly since graduation- I still think they are adorable and a great little present for anyone who loves teeny things.

2. Nail Polish- What girl doesn't want to add more great colors to her collection? These Charlie Brown/Peanut inspired colors are adorable. I would love to see something like this show up in my stocking.

3. Snarky Coffee Cups- Apparently I am all about things you can drink things out of in this post... But I have become a coffee addict these days. It is a rare day when my Keurig sits idle without making me at least one cup of coffee. I am all for either a good travel mug or a real coffee mug with some sort of message on it. I love this one here that says "Sorry for what I said before I had my coffee..." #mylife

4. Ear Warmer/Headbands- I remember I got one of these from a cousin a few years ago and I didn't know how to make it work at the time. Now that I have moved to a colder climate than CA I love them. Even in TX, these cute little headbands are useful. And you can find just about any kind you want on Etsy.

So that's all I've got for you today. Join the fun and link up with April, Elise, Katie, and Zelle for more holiday fun!

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Change Of Plans

Soooo.... remember on Friday when I said that I would be seeing my boyfriend on Wednesday... Welllllllllll I got a little impatient.

After looking at my work calendar and realizing I didn't have a lot going on (because many of my coworkers are out this week) I decided to buy myself a one way ticket to WV.

I also decided to scare some friends and family by telling them only this part of the story. ***cue evil laugh***

No... I haven't up and moved to West Virginia... yet... ;)

The new plan is to work from here (thank you flexible work environment!) until Wednesday when we will head back to Missouri for Thanksgiving with his fam; at that point we will be back on the original plan and I'll fly home to Dallas on Sunday.

Patience is not, and has never been, one of my strengths. I lost the battle this time....

And I couldn't be happier about it =)

Five On Friday Ramblings

Oh my goodness, are we all so glad that it is Friday?

Today I am linking up with the four lovely hosts of 5 On Friday to share a bit about what's been on my brain this week.

[ONE]
I couldn't resist attempting to capture Thursday morning's sunrise. I wish I had grabbed my real camera rather than my phone... Oh well... Sometimes this Dallas place is kind of pretty ;)

[TWO]
Have y'all seen the deals happening on ModCloth all week long? They have tempted my wallet multiple times this week with some awesome deals. I did just pick up two dresses, one of which I plan to wear for a night out in Columbus on New Year's Eve with my man. More on those another day...

[THREE]
I get to see this guy on WEDNESDAY! I can't wait!

We take a lot of selfies...

[FOUR]
I have been all about the crock pot meals lately. This past weekend I made some delicious Sloppy Joe's with a recipe courtesy of Six Sisters'. No picture for you here because honestly Sloppy Joe's don't look all that appetizing, but take my word for it, these were tasty and they fed me all week long!

[FIVE]
I nearly forgot to write this post all together. I do a lot of my writing on the weekends, but last Saturday it felt disingenuous to write a five on friday post nearly a full week in advance... so here I am at 8pm on Thursday night, snuggled down in bed with my computer on my lap writing up tomorrow's post.

Blog post inception

Alright y'all, that's all I've got for today. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Come back and see me next week, k?

Influenster #ModaVoxBox

I might be brand new to the Influenster world, but this organization certainly isn't anything new. I've seen other friends post about products that they've received from Influenster, so I thought- why not join the fun?!

These products were free from Influenster and all opinions are mine.

Not too long ago, I received my first FREE box of products to test out. Included in this #ModaVoxBox was:

- Rimmel London Scandaleyes Rockin' Curves Mascara
- Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick
- Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lip Liner
- Puffs Softpack
- Hair Food Moisture Hair Mask
- Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa
- Jergens Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer
- Resource Spring Water

First up the Rimmel products:

The Scandaleyes Rockin' Curves Mascara is really interesting. The brush is large and curved. Personally, I can see how the design is supposed to allow the mascara to create an additional curve for your lashes, but for me it's just a little bit awkward. I found it great for lengthening but not as good as my other everyday mascaras for helping my lashes hold their curve. Overall I personally would not go purchase this mascara.

The Moisture Renew Lip Products are a different story. I loved the transparent lip liner- it creates a great moisture-filled base for any product. While I would not have selected this nude color for myself, it was certainly fun to try out. I used these products on a relatively calm Saturday when all I planned to do was catch up on blogs and run a few errands so I paired the nude lips with a relatively natural makeup look. Because WINTER decided to set in in Dallas this last week the moisturizing aspects of these lip products in awesome. My poor lips were in need of a product that would treat them well throughout the day- not dry them out and these Rimmel Moisture Renew products did just that. I would love to try out a more pigmented version of the lipstick to really see how the color last is throughout the day.

Overall, I was happy with the way these products fit in to my lazy day, Saturday, makeup routine.

Now for the other stuff:

My first impression of the Puffs Softpack was that is was a little strange- not something I would want to leave out on a table or anything. But then I realized this is PERFECT for the glove compartment in my car. Usually I just have random napkins in there for the times when I need a tissue in the car. Now I have this super convenient soft pack of tissues from Puffs!

The Hair Food Moisture Hair Mask is a brand new product from a brand new brand! I tested it out recently in place of my everyday conditioner. It has a nice thick formula to coat your strands and help lock in the moisture. I didn't love the smell- but it wasn't anything offensive so that won't stop me from using the product. I plan to work this hair mask in once a week to help my hair hold its hydration throughout these dry winter months.

Swiss Miss Simply Cocoa- haven't gotten to test this out yet. I don't make a habit of keeping milk in my house because it ALWAYS goes bad. I did think about adding this to my coffee... but I wasn't sure if that would work in the way I wanted it to.

I was very excited about the Jergens Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturizer. Again WINTER IS COMING so I am always in need of a great moisturizing lotion. I've been using this on one of my driest areas- my elbows and the back of my upper arms. I have no idea why but my skin in constantly dry in those spots. After only a few days of using the Jergens Ultra Healing I definitely noticed a difference in how my skin was looking and feeling.

The Resource Spring Water was an odd item to come in a free tester box- Honestly in my opinion water is water, most of the time. And this fell in to that category. It was nice, yummy, refreshing water. I also really enjoyed the packaging- not too flimsy like many water bottles that are using recycled plastic these days.

Whew! That was a lot to talk about... Hopefully you guys stuck with me through all that. If you did, let me know what products from the #ModaVoxBox look most interesting to you!

Shut Up and Dance With Me

Like many of you, I am a huge music fan. A song has the power to change my whole mood. Any time I need a little boost in the middle of my work day I will throw my head phones in, open up spotify, and crank up the tunes.

But...other than T Swift's new album- can we all please acknowledge how amazing Blank Space is?!- I have been in a tiny bit of a rut... listening to the same stuff over and over and over lately.

So last week I clicked on a random playlist on Spotify (Workday Pop) and let it go. A few songs in Walk The Moon's- Shut Up and Dance came on and before I realized it I was bobbing my head, tapping my foot, and having to legitimately stop myself from dancing in my chair (remember... I'm in my office at work).

This is just an all-around feel good song. I can't help but want to dance when I hear the beat. It reminds me a bit of the pop-punk scene I loved when I was a teenager. You know... All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Cute Is What We Aim For, The Maine... oh man #tbt. I haven't thought about some of those bands in FOREVER.

Link up with Helene for Song of the Week Wednesday and tell us...

What songs are making you (want to) dance in your office at work?

#FavoriteThings2014: My Christmas Wishlist

Today I am linking up with April, Elise, Katie, and Zelle for the first day of their These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things link up.

In no particular order, here are some of the things I am lusting after this year:

Wood USA Wall Map- World Market: I have wanted to buy this piece of wall decor for a very long time now, like probably months. I am not sure why I haven't just picked it up myself but since I haven't... here it is on my Christmas list.

Kindle Fire HDX- Amazon: That boyfriend of mine got himself one of these a few months back- he actually had it delivered to my place in Dallas because he was going to be here visiting me when it would be arriving- and ever since I've been in need of a tablet of my own. I love playing on this thing, its great for watching Netflix, catching up on blogs, reading Kindle eBooks, etc. It's also an extremely reasonable price in comparison to other tablets.

Steve Madden Kylee Over The Knee Boots- DSW: I have a boot obsession. This is definitely not news to anyone who knows me.... So of course, I need to add a new pair to my collection this Christmas. I know I am looking for black (my black go to pair are kind of falling apart); I know I am looking for over the knee; and I know I am looking for leather/faux leather. These Steve Madden pair look nice, but aren't necessarily the only pair that would meet what I am hoping to find this year.

Blouses & Cardigans- Basically all clothing stores: I am always in need of more blouses and cardigans. Pieces that can be worn both to work or with jeans on a casual day are what I enjoy most. I have had great luck shopping online with ModCloth so I pulled the two items pictured above from their website.

Urban Decay Full Frontal Lipstick Stash Set- Sephora: I am lacking solid lip products in my everyday make up routine so I thought a set like this would be an easy way to add some variety to my makeup collection. I am totally open to suggestions of lip products that are pigmented, long lasting, and not drying...!

Reclaimed Wood Headboard- Etsy: My bed is sad and still looks like it belongs to a college kid. It's a box spring and mattress on a metal frame... that's it. I've been dying to find myself a head board for quite some time now- but these things are not cheap, y'all! I found someone on Etsy (liked above) who does custom reclaimed wood headboards for what I consider to be a relatively reasonable price. Ordering something like this online without being able to see it first definitely scares me, but it is an option.

Amazon Fire TV- Amazon: When I moved to Dallas, I rewarded myself with a big ol' 55'' TV. And I love it. I would love it even more if I could watch Netflix (and more!) on it without having to connect my computer to it via HDMI cord.

So.. that's what I came up with for Christmas 2014! I know my mom and A read this, so hopefully this will be helpful to them (feel free to share with other family Mom!) and potentially to those of you who are still building your lists!

Join the link up fun for the next two weeks- see details by clicking on the image link below.

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What is topping of your list this year?

(Mid) November Goals

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I've deemed this month No-Spend November. I was very free with my spending throughout the months of September and October, so it is time for me to get back on track this month. Cutting my spending translates in to two specific goals:

• Bring my lunch to work 4 out of 5 weekdays.
• No furniture purchases for the month of November.

So far I am doing pretty good on both goals. 

During the first week of November I brought my lunch 3/4 days (I didn't work on Monday). Week 2 went the opposite of well...The plan is to regain control this week. 

Also, I have been continuously furnishing my apartment (a post for another day) since moving down here, this month the goal is to be content with what I've got. As a reward I've told myself I can pick one thing for next month IF I don't buy anything this month.

My last goal for the month of November is to go to spin twice per week. Already very behind on this one... so we will see if putting it in writing here will give me some motivation.

I recently heard about a new indoor cycling studio that is going to be opening up in Dallas soon. It is called Zyn22. The location at The Shops at Park Lane is pretty perfect for me considering I have to drive past them on my way too and from work. Although their website doesn't give too much info regarding what to expect out of their classes, I am looking forward to giving it a try when it does open.

My hope is that putting these goals down on (virtual) paper will help keep me accountable... 

What goals do you have this month?

Friday Letters

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I don't believe that Friday Letter's is actually still a thing... but I always liked doing it, so for my first Friday back I am sticking with this old favorite.

dear readers- thanks for stopping by this week. i've really enjoyed this first week of being a contributing member of the blog world again. i can't wait to discover more fantastic bloggers. i've missed this. dear A- i love and miss you. i know you don't get this blogging thing, but thank you encourage me to do it anyway. dear dallas- i kinda think i am beginning to feel settled in you. i wasn't sure i was going to like it here, but i just might be starting to enjoy it. dear work- oh my goodness you have been crazy lately... let's slow down a little, okay? dear world market/crate & barrel/west elm- if you have some awesome black friday sales you might make me fail at my november goals (more about those on Monday)... dear weekend- i am happy you're here but please go quickly. once you are done there is only one more of you between me and the next time i see that boy of mine.

Happy Friday y'all!

*Original Friday Letters idea belongs to Miss Ashley of The Sweet Season.

Cowboys Experience

Y'all, my guy is a massive Cowboys fan. Despite growing up in Missouri, he has always loved the Cowboys- which works out really well for me since I live in Dallas now. Just over a week ago, A came to Dallas and we attended our first Cowboys game in AT&T Stadium. Unfortunately, the Cowboys lost... but we had a fantastic Cowboys filled weekend.

On Saturday we made the drive out to Arlington to take a VIP Guided Tour of AT&T Stadium. I had actually done this once before so I knew that it is WELL-WORTH the $30 ticket for the VIP Guided Tour. The tour takes you all over AT&T stadium for an hour and a half, then finishes up on the field. You get to see things like Jerry Jones personal suite, the super fancy club level, both the cheerleader's and the team's locker rooms, and you get a ton of cool Cowboys history and stadium facts along the way. 

Whether you are a Cowboy's fan or not, this tour is absolutely worth the time and money. Because we went on a Saturday before a game day, it was "rally day" which meant there were a bunch of additional things happening at the stadium. There were former players signing autographs, cheerleaders taking pictures, and of course there were games for kids, It was a great experience, and I know it only increased A's idolization of Mr. Jerry Jones.

Sunday we were up early to make our way back to the stadium for the noon game against the Arizona Cardinals. We left early enough that we didn't have to battle much traffic and found parking near Ranger's stadium quite easily. We snapped a few pics on our way in and headed up to our seats just in time to catch all the pre-game excitement.

Romo was out with a back injury and the guys just couldn't get it together, so they did lose. But the experience of seeing at game at that stadium just can't be matched. We had a wonderful time and we can't wait to do it again!

I'm Back!

Hi Friends!

After a two-ish year hiatus, I've decided that I want to return to the blogging world. So... here I am! Where have I been for the last two years? Great question...

Well, when I last blogged here I had just moved from my hometown in California to Columbus, OH to begin graduate school. Since then, I've completed my Masters in Human Resource Management and moved once again. I am now living and working full time in Dallas, TX.

Check out that very excited woman who is accidentally photobombing our adorable picture...

I've also added a new very important person to my life in the last couple years. Unlike me, he is less comfortable with the whole online presence thing- so we will just call him A. A and I met in grad school, spent over a year dancing around each other, and finally took the plunge in to a full-on, for-real, relationship back in February. Unfortunately, we had both long-since accepted full time positions upon finishing our degrees. That meant we were jumping in to this relationship knowing that in June it would become long distance.

That fact aside we knew very early on that this is something special and we intend to make the distance (Texas to West Virginia, y'all) work for us. We have been doing just that for the past few months, and let me be the first to tell you long distance love is not easy. But it will not be this way forever which makes the struggles we go through now more than worth it.

In starting this blog back up I am hoping to fill the void that leaving school seems to have left in my life. I enjoy writing and sharing experiences with my friends and family- and since none of those people are here in Dallas with me (don't get me wrong, I have some AWESOME new friends here) I thought this would be a fun way to let them see what I'm up to here in Texas. Additionally, blogging is a great way of encouraging myself to get out and try new things- so I have exciting content to share with y'all! I'm not sure I'll start blogging every weekday like I used to- but I am very much looking forward to getting back in to this world.

So if you're a former reader and you're back, HI! If you're brand new, WELCOME I can't wait to meet you =)