Happy Thanksgiving!

I have been away all weekend traveling between New Hampshire, Connecticut and New York visiting all my close friends and family for Thanksgiving.  I have so much to be thankful for and I am extremely lucky to have so many wonderful people in my life.

Things I am thankful for:
My family and friends
My wonderful boyfriend
My job and ability to live a comfortable life

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Every year at Thanksgiving we take family photos.   Its is now an annual tradition that stemmed from taking one for my grandfather to have in his room at his nursing home.  My grandfather has since passed, but we take a family photo every year and its a lot of fun to see how we have all changed.  Here is the one my Dad took of BF and I  this year

Christmastime is my favorite time of year, and with Thanksgiving being over I think it is now okay to say……

Let the Holiday season begin!!!!

30 Before I’m 30

I’ve seen this on a few sites before, and since I have a couple of years before I turn 30, I thought it might be a good idea to put down in writing some things I would like to accomplish by then. I know that I am more likely to do something if its in writing. I cant quite think of 30 yet, but its a work in process.

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1 ) Become fluent in French.
2 ) Ride in a hot air balloon.
3 ) Get married.
4 ) Buy or build a house. The details I’d love to have in a house deserve their own list!
5 ) Learn how to drive a stick-shift. I’ve tried a few times but need some practice!
6 ) Find a career that really suits me and my life.
7 ) Cut down my wardrobe to only the pieces I really love and use.
8 ) Go back to Europe. I want to travel all over, including 1st time visits to France, Ireland, Austria and Greece and re-visits to Italy and Spain.
9 ) Stay on a ranch in Wyoming or Colorado and learn how to ride a horse.
10 ) Start taking Sign Language lessons again.
11 ) Get involved in my community.
12 ) Be able to cook chicken without being terrified its bad.
13 ) Take ski lessons.
14 ) Exercise for 30 minutes every day and enjoy it.

Kreativ Blogger and Best Blog Awards

I am sorry this is a bit delayed, but thank you to everyone who nominated me for these awards including EuroChic, Kristi and Lunasa!!

Here are a few things you may not know about me:

1) The farthest north I’ve been is Maine…. and that was in October of last year.
2) In college I was inducted into the National Modern Language Honors Society for French language.
3) I am a homebody at heart and can’t stand to be away from home for too long.
4) I terrified of wrinkles and use more anti-aging creams than my mother.

5) Although I am pretty scrawny, I broke a crib at an inn in Cape Cod when I was 1 year old. I hated being in cribs so much that I shook it until it broke. The owner politely asked my parents not to bring “superbaby” back to his inn and I had a twin bed before I was 2 years old.
6) I am a horrible cook, except when it comes to baking. I am great at baking cakes, cookies and breads.
7) I don’t like cheese except for mozzarella, fried panela and spicy monterey jack in very, very small quantities.

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In addition to the lovely ladies above who nominated me, I am nominating:
A Simple Life
http://celiajuno.blogspot.com/
The Daily Connoisseur
http://dailyconnoisseur.blogspot.com/
Catherine…
http://catherinestaat.wordpress.com/
French Essence
http://frenchessence.blogspot.com/

I am such a horrible blogger!

I feel really terrible.  I know there are a few of you out there who probably check my blog every so often and I have been so lazy with my blog!  Truthfully, I do have many other important things going on in my life (ie. Professional Exam!) but that is not excuse for not being better at organizing my time and fitting in all the things that I want and need to do.  I promise that I am going to try my hardest to be better and update this as often as possible.

Some updates in my life:
-Took another section of my professional exam and the results should be in next week… eek!!!!

-Going away to Cape Cod with BF this weekend as a late anniversary present to ourselves.  We didn’t do anything this special for our anniversary last year, so going on a trip is pretty big and exciting and I could not be more excited about it. I need a weekend away in my favorite place with my favorite person

-Have felt cute every day this week!

-Monday I wore a Tahari khaki skirt (consignment) with a BR white tailored shirt, a long black cardigan from J.Crew with black applique flowers on it and my (consignment) Jimmy Choo heels with bows!

-Tuesday I wore a BR v-neck pink sweater with Theory black pants (consignment) and Tahari black flats with bow details (consignment).

-Today I have on a BR black a-line skirt, BR beige lace tank, a Vince cropped black beaded sweater (consignment) and nude platform heels with black toe caps (consignment).

I think I’ve been doing better in the clothing department.  If there was only something I could do about my hair!!

I did not feel cute today….

Today I wore three of my favorite clothing items, yet I felt very frumpy! I feel like I am in a fashion rut.  I have tons, TONS, of clothes that I’ve collected through the years, yet I just feel like I am always searching for something to wear.  I am rarely happy with what I choose and it makes me feel awful the entire day!  How do I get out of my fashion rut?

This isn’t the exact outfit, but it was pretty similar.  Just substitute the short sleeved sweater for a 3/4 sleeve boatneck one in the same color.
Boatneck Creme BR sweater
Crew black ankle pants
Tory Burch Flats

Its a pretty low-key outfit, yet all day I felt very frumpy, as I mentioned earlier.  Any tips ladies?

Update

I am feeling much better after a quick trip to the doctor’s office on Friday.  I am sorry I have been so absent.  This weekend I attended my 3rd funeral of the year and now I am cramming for my next professional exam that I hope to take next week.  Hopefully I will be back posting soon!

Home remedies?

I am getting desperate!  I have an appointment with my allergy doctor on Friday, but in the meantime I am dying of a horrrible cold/allergies.  Does anyone have their own home remedies for a congested head and stuffy nose?   OTC medicine is just not working for me anymore and I have a few days until I can get anything from the doctor!

Letting my clothes wear me…

Let me first apologize for being so absent.  I have been sick, out of town, sick again and trying to study for an exam that I will hopefully take next week.

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I have been feeling quite down lately, mostly because I have been sick with either bad allergies or an awful cold.  Its hard to tell sometimes.  I also have been feeling down because of how I look–lately I have been letting my clothes and my hair “wear me” which I hate so much.  Every day I go to work with flat hair, rumpled clothes and a stuffy, red nose.   Although there is not much I can do about the stuffy nose, I could be taking better care of my appearance.

Lately I have been having a hard time waking up in the morning due to my allergies/cold and then rushing to get out of the house and at work on time.  Does anyone have good AM routine tips to help me get back on schedule?

Heres an interesting photo BF took a few weeks ago.   I like the sepia tone!

Fashion Monday-Wednesday

I have been so lazy about my posts!! Here is what I’ve worn so far this week….

Dark Teal BR Cardigan
White Button Down
Theory Pants
Mia Flats
Ceramic and Bead Necklace

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Red BR sweater
Black J.Crew pants
Coach flats (consignment)

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Black H&M Turtleneck
Grey Tweed Gap skirt
Crocodile Belt (consignment)
Black opaque tights (Target)
Black Flat boots (My Mom’s from the 80s!)

A few of my favorite things…

I know that one thing that interests other women is what beauty products they use. Everyone’s always looking for a trade secret because deep down we all want to look good, even if we claim we don’t care what others think. Here are some of my favorite products!

Shower
Shampoo: Suave Humectant and L’Occitaine Shea Butter shampoo (winter)
Conditioner: Suave Humectant and randoms I test out on my fine hair
Soap: Organic French soap from Whole Foods
Bodywash: Ivory (summer) and Olay (winter)
Facewash: Blum wipes (when I’m lazy), St. Ives scrub (when my face feels dirty), Vichy (when my face feels sensitive)

Makeup
Mascara: Anything on sale at CVS in “very black”
Eyeliner: Revlon (only for special occasions)
Foundation: TruBlend (mixed with moisturizer)
Blush: MAC
Bronzer: MAC
Lip Gloss: Benefit Benetint, Revlon Creme Gloss and Chapstick!
Blush/Bronzer Brushes: CVS brand (since they need to be tossed often)
Lip Brush: Sephora

Face/Body
Moisturizer: Neutorgena Healthy Skin (to help my complexion)
Lotion: Kiehls Creme de Corps (when its on sale!) or Vaseline brand
Perfume: Lavender splash cologne from a pharmacia in Mexico
Night Cream: Olay Night
Eye Cream: Clinique’s All About Eyes or Vichy Eye Stick (I’m terrified of wrinkles!)
Hand Cream: L’Occitane–Best hand cream EVER!
Other: Aquaphor- miracle for dry skin and chapped lips