Happy Labor Day weekend

Go out and buy something nice.



Sweater: Target - Tank: JCew - Jeans: Old Navy - Sandals: Lorenzo Chelini



The countdown

In two and a half weeks, I'll be starting my new job. This new job being one that I will have to dress up a LOT more than I'm used to. Pencil skirts, blazers and high heels will be staples in my outfit instead of t-shirts and sneakers.  SO I'm taking full advantage of the fact that I don't have to dress up for another 2.5 weeks. I'll be wearing a lot of this lately.



Hat: Husbands - Tank & Vest: Old Navy - Jeans: Target - Shoes: Chucks



I have some big news

If you follow my blog at all, you know that I've been having a difficult time with my current work situation. I've bitched and moaned about it here and here. Oh and here too.

It's sad because Hubby and I tried really, really hard to like it here. We faked it. We put ourselves out there trying to do new things and make new friends. But nothing changed. Richmond just isn't the right fit for us. And my job just isn't the right fit for me.

SO back in this post, I let you know that I was officially starting to search to move back home to Minnesota.  Which would be amazing and exciting and wonderful. I didn't expect anything to happen quickly.

But people...

It's happening.

I got a job.  And it quite literally is my dream job. It's the job that I've been preparing for since I graduated from college.

Yay me! 

It's at....

wait for it...

Target, on their corporate marketing team.  I still get to be in the advertising and marketing world. I still get to be part of really stellar, smart and fun work. But I don't have to deal with the stresses of agency life or the bullshit of my current job. I can't even tell you how happy I am.

To be honest, I've always known that Target was my end game. This is where I wanted to end up. Wanting to work at Target is actually the ENTIRE reason I accepted the job that I'm at right now. I've been very strategic about it and am stoked that it's actually happening.

I didn't really think that I'd be working at Target until after we started a family and I needed a more realistic work schedule, so I'm getting there a little sooner than I thought I would. But I'm excited about it and I can't wait to start.

And today, I put in my notice with my current job. It's official. I'm done. I may have already checked out too, even if I still have another two weeks until my last day. Ahhh FREEDOM!

Now, I need to hold tight for the next two weeks and not go crazy. I will likely be thinking like this every day. But I'll be trying to keep a motivated, positive face on. With a smile of course.

But yay me! I can't wait to move home close to friends and family. I can't wait to move back into our house (that we've been renting for three years). And I can't wait to change my profession (just a little) and start the new chapter of my career.

I like turtles

In honor of my hubby's 30th birthday today (Happy birthday babe!), I decided to dedicate this post 100% to turtles.

No, he doesn't have some strange obsession with turtles. BUT he does have a strange obsession with this:

This interesting little guy became pretty famous as the "I like turtles kid" at least four or five years ago and hubby has had this as his 'ring tone' the entire time.

To continue the turtle trend, this is my most favorite of all the graffiti art in Richmond.

So of course I decide to take my outfit pictures in front of it.



Shirt: Target - Belt: F21 - Skirt: GAP - Sandals: Steve Madden



The best rated dress, ever

And who rated this dress the 'best ever' do you ask? Well... me!

This dress is by far the coolest dress I own. And probably the sexiest. And definitely the trendiest. And I feel pretty damn good wearing it.

Dress: c/o sway chic - Jacket: Gap - Heels: Madden - Sunnies: Dollhouse

  


This dress is courtesy of swaychic.com which is a clothing fashion store based out of Cali. They offer trendy, fashionable clothes at a really affordable price - which is right down my alley. Think of it as a combination of Free People and Forever 21.

I might just order one of everything.

But, I automatically gravitated to this dress and knew I had to have it. It's sweet and stylish, yet has a bit of an edge. Exactly my style. I covered it up with a jacket for work, but am pretty excited to wear this out on the town - maybe even to Vegas in the near future for a little someone's bachelorette party.

So I love it. What do you think? Is this dress Vegas material?

And be sure to check out the site and tell me all the things that you love!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood



Top: Marshalls - Belt & Bracelet: Target - Jeans: Old Navy - Sandals: Lorenzo Chellini



After a not so good, weird, very bad day yesterday, today has been refreshingly wonderful. Want to know why?

I had a wonderful run this morning, probably because it's (finally) less than 90 degrees for once.

I got my replacement iPhone in the mail. Yes! I honestly don't know what to do without my phone, even if it only was 48 hours.

Two wonderful blogger friends nominated me for a blogger award!

Messy Jess C and Rebekah from From the Mixed Up Files both nominated me for the Leibster award, an award given by bloggers to other bloggers who have less than 200 followers. So let' me fulfill my part of the bargain.

Here are the rules:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves
2. Each person must answer the questions the tagger has set for you and also create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!

Here are 11 things about me:

1. I don't own a vehicle. 
2. I've been married to my husband for over 6 years. And have two adorable dogs. 
3. We live in Richmond, VA (and hate it) and are hoping to make the move back home to Minnesota soon! 
4. I have lived in three states; Minnesota, Colorado and Virginia. 
5. I'm trying to break my sugar addiction and have been having dreams about cupcakes and donuts. 
6. I am the anti-1950's wife. I do not cook. I only do my own laundry. I suck at cleaning. and I will NOT be the stay-at-home parent when that time comes. Instead, I pay the bills and am the breadwinner. 
7. I eat like a 10-year-old. My diet consists of pizza, mac & cheese, corn dogs, pancakes and sugar. 
8. I'm obsessed with making lists. I have lists ranging from the books I want to read (there are about 100 of them), vacation spots the husband and I want to visit (categorized and prioritized) to an ongoing list of names to consider for future children. 
9. My dad had a shotgun sitting next to the front door when my first date came and picked me up. 
10. I'm an adrenaline junkie. I'm a snowboarder and marathon runner. I've skydived, scuba dived, sailed, white water rafted, rappelled down a mountain and into a cave, zip lined, hiked up a mountain and went parasailing. 
11. I could eat pancakes or french toast every day for the rest of my life. 

Jess and Rebekah's questions for me:

1. I believe you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes they wear. If you were a shoe, what kind would you be and why? A pair of Chucks, because they're awesome. 
2. If you had to pick one food to eat for every meal, every day for the rest of your life, what would it be? PANCAKES! 
3. What did you think you would be when you grew up and is that what you are? When I was young, I wanted to be a fire fighter. Instead I make television commercials and websites. 
4. Look to your left, what do you see? My replacement iPhone box! 
5. If you were to be locked in a room with someone for 24 hours, who would it be? My best friend. We haven't lived in the same state for 3 years, and we'd have a TON to talk about. 
6. If you were a super hero, what super powers would you have? Crazy, fast speed. 
7. What is your favorite currently running TV show? Dexter, by far. I'm obsessed with that show. 
8. Do your friends and family know about your blog? Why or why not? My close friends and family know, yes. I started the blog after moving to Colorado so it was a great way for friends and family to keep up to speed on what I was doing (and wearing!) 
9. If you could be on any reality TV show, which one would it be? The Amazing Race. I love to travel the world and feel like I'm a pretty smart girl and could kick some ass. 
10. What was your first job? I worked as a cashier at Target, which I really enjoyed. Too bad most of my paycheck went straight to clothes, movies and CD's (yup, I'm from the CD era) 
11. In one or two words, how would you describe your style? Confused. And Edgy. 

And last but not least, here are 11 questions for these wonderful 11 blogger ladies: 14 Shades of Grey, Simply Stylish Mom, Jersey Blogess, The Fashionista Vet, Pikes Place, Literature and Lace, Lace, etc, Inspired by Images, bitty and bunny, Just another Smith, shop freak        

What's your favorite color?  

What's your favorite dessert?  

If you had an unlimited budget, where would you go on vacation?

What was the last book you read?

If you could only shop for clothes at one store for the next year, what store would you pick?

What's your favorite app for your smart phone or tablet?

If you could have dinner with a famous person (living or dead), who would you choose and why?

If you could give one piece of advice to yourself 10 years ago, what would you have said?

What's the best present you have ever received?

What's your biggest pet peeve?

What was the last concert you went to?

A not good, very weird, kind of bad day

Yo -

Today has been a weird day for me for a couple of reasons. I woke up, got dressed up all pretty ready to take on the day. See:



Vest: Old Navy - Dress: F21 - Sandals: Lorenzo Chellini



But, alas, today is lay-off day at the office. The agency I'm working at isn't doing that well and have lost quite a bit of revenue (and clients) in the last 6 months and today was the long-dreaded lay-off day.

In advertising, this is a very common thing. It's happened multiple times at every single job I've worked at. And I've actually been laid of myself. But I absolutely hate lay-off days for multiple reasons. You can almost tell that it's going to be "the day" before it happens. The big-wigs start acting funny and no one will look at each other in the halls. Whispers come from all corners and everyone in the whole damn agency is anxious and acting a little crazy.

But by far the worst part is when it happens to your friends (or yourself). Today, two people that I consider friends (one being a really great friend) got laid off. And it sucks. It's awful. And it's weird not having them here anymore.

And what makes it worse is that I don't have a cell phone to call or text them and tell them how sorry I am!

Yesterday hubby and I went tubing down the James River, which was an absolute disaster. We went with a company who was supposed to "show us the easiest way down the river." But my god were they bad.

Half-way through the trip someone's tube popped from a sharp rock, the old people all fell out of their tubes and were flailing all over the place. Some guy lost his wedding ring. Another guy lost his Oakley's. And I lost my cell phone. Yup. My cell phone is at the bottom of the James River. And I'm burnt to a crisp. It's discussing. And all I want to do is take my bra off.

Mix and Match

Hope y'all had a great weekend. Hubby and I spent some time in Virginia Beach.

For today's outfit, I decided to mix up a few different patterns. I think it worked. Do you agree?



Tank: Old Navy - Belt: Target - Skirt & Blazer: F21 - Sandals: Lorenzo Chellini



Sunday Storytime: The Happiness Project

This is one of my favorite books I've read in awhile, so I'm excited to write a quick review on it.

My mom is a big fan of self-help books and has recommended the only two books I've ever read in this genre; The Total Money Makeover and The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Both of which I'm a big fan of and would recommend to anyone and everyone.


One day, while riding a bus to work Gretchen, the author of The Happiness Project, was thinking about life. About how she doesn't want to waste life not taking full advantage of what she has or can do, or without truly being happy. But how do you define happiness? How do you know if you're truly happy? Or if you could be happier? Gretchen knew that she had everything that she could ever want at that moment - yet was failing to appreciate it. She wanted to stop taking days for granted so she doesn't come to the end of her life and wish she'd appreciated it more in the moment.

From here, Gretchen decided to dedicate a year to becoming happier. Gretchen being the researcher that she is, researched thousands of books, speeches and real-life examples of happiness, as well as worked through the best way to set up her experiment. In twelve months, she was going to be happier.

The Happiness Project takes you step-by-step through her year of dedicated to happiness. She mapped it out, she tracked it and kept a chart, journaling her way through the year so she can see how she grew. Each month of her year-long experiment was dedicated to different aspects of happiness and becoming a more self aware person.

Her twelve months broke out to the following; Vitality/Energy, Marriage, Work, Parenthood, Leisure, Friendship, Money, Eternity, Books, Mindfulness, Attitude and Happiness.

This is a girl after my own heart. She loves to read and make lists. She's a pessimist who wants to be an optimist. She's a perfectionist. She's basically me, just living in NYC with a family... There were more times I could count where I felt like she was describing myself in detail, instead of recounting her past month during the project.

And her results? It worked! At the end of the book, Gretchen does believe she's happier and feels that the people closest to her are actually happier as well.  Now, there's obviously no scientific way to prove that she's actually happier as a result of this year experiment, but if she thinks she's happier and feels happier because of it? That sounds like it worked to me.

I give this book a full five stars. My plan is to read this book again, and take ample notes, make my own lists and give it a shot myself. And I'm pretty excited about it.

All the pretty things

A few months ago, Richmond had an "event" in which local artists went around and painted murals on empty building walls around the city. I walk past this wall twice every day, but just recently realized that I should really take a picture in front of it. And I'm glad I did!! They look so cool!



Shirt: Target (gift from friend) - Jeans: Old Navy - Sandals: Lorenzo Chelini



Down by the river

Went on a walk with the hubster the other day and made him take pictures of me. It's been awhile since I've had a photographer.



Top + Hat: F21 - Shorts: H&M - Purse: Target - Sandals: Rainbow