On Tonight's Menu...

Going out to a casual dinner tonight with bub (I call the bf bub or bubby a lot...don't really know why) and this is what I'm wearing. Can't wait for chips and salsa! Did I mention it's like 100 degrees outside? Yep. Shorts time.

Can you believe I got this shirt at Walmart?!!? 12 BUCKS! Super cute. Should have gone with a medium size so it was longer and more baggy but I like it a lot. Because it's shorter than I anticipated (I didn't even try it on at the store!) I'm wearing a black cami underneath. Lesson learned, go with the medium next time. Watch is Fossil. Shorts are AE. Belt is from Target.

Full length outfit. Def a casual dinner as you can seeeee. Shoes look like Steve Madden, but they are from Target. Love!

My long hair bugs me a lot. I'm always messing with it. Oy.

I don't know why I leaned to the left so much in these photos. I swear I don't have a crick in my neck or anything. IDK I'm a weirdo.

The print upclose + some of my hair...

Annnd my knotted belt.

xo!

Inspired By....

These looks....shopping spree anyone?

Favorite Part: The jacket

Favorite Part: The shoes

Favorite Part: The hair and cutouts

Favorite Part: Girly dress with rocker jacket and shoes

Favorite Part: Dress color, belted, and draped

Time to go shopping. xo

Images Via

What To Do In Dallas, Texas! Part Two: Where to Shop

The Dallas/Ft. Worth area has amazing shopping. There are so many one of a kind boutiques and name brand stores that line the streets, that it's hard for a girl to keep track of! Before I had this job (where I have to wear steel toed boots and old t-shirts and old jeans) I had a job where I could actually dress nice. So shopping was a weekly habit and I just know you're going to LOVE these places in Dallas. So if you're ever in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area these are the places you want to shop till you drop.

The Shops at Highland Village

Sounds fancy already right? Super cute village-type shopping where you can park and walk all over. It's an outdoor mall with anchor stores like Banana Republic and Barnes & Nobles, but also has totally awesome boutiques like Apricot Lane and Francesca's. Restaurants are strewn about the village and this is also where you can find Patrizio's, one of my fave restaurants I told you about here. There's also a beautiful movie theater and TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Ross, and Marshalls are all across the street too!

http://theshopsathighlandvillage.com/

Sam Moon

Ever heard of this one? It's Amaze-Balls. If you're looking for a new purse or accessory like bracelets, watches, or earrings this is the place to go. It's inexpensive and but totally fashion forward. The stores are huge too so if you have a man who doesn't like to shop, send him to go watch a baseball game at one of the nearby restaurants...you're gonna be in here a long time!

Sam Moon

City of Denton, TX Town Square & City of McKinney, TX Town Square

The picturesque town squares you see on postcards. With historic buildings, quaint antique shops, mom & pop restaurants, and fun boutiques, these two are definitely a good choice for lazy Saturday afternoons. Lots of really nice people, good food, and unique finds are what you'll encounter in these town squares. If  you're in the area, these are a must see!

McKinney, Denton

McKinney

Denton in the evening during the holidays

Southlake Town Square, Southlake, TX

For the ultimate in high end shopping you should head to Southlake. Their town square has it all. With shops like Anthropologie, Pottery Barn, and Impeccable Pig who wouldn't want to shop there? Impeccable Pig is one of my favorites! Boutiques, designer stores, mall regulars, nightlife bars and clubs, and fabulous dining. Definitely a fun place to take all your friends to!

Southlake Town Square

Shop here

There's SO many other places to shop in Dallas I'll have to do a Part II on Where to Shop! Hope you enjoyed and don't take my word for it...go find out for yourselves how awesome these places are!

xo

Easterrrrrr Weekend

Hello Hello!!

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend. Mine was only 2 days long but for some reason it felt like I had 4 days off. (which I'm not complaining about). My weekend was filled with an OTL Tournament, getting a little shoulder sunburn while watching said OTL Tournament, hitting up a baby shower (that I totally dominated during the games portion), going out for eats and drinks with old friends, and hanging out with family for a good ol' Easter dinner.

Busy weekend yet amazingly relaxing. Who knew you could have both? We didn't catch any new movies like we usually do and I REALLLY want to see Water For Elephants because I read the book and It's. A. Mazing. Read it if you haven't yet. You'll love it. It's written by a woman, but she writes from a man's perspective which she does unbelievably well.

Anyways, here are some tidbits from my weekend. Time to watch Bethenny Ever After! Hello DVR!

This game I totally dominated and WON! You had to guess how many pink butter mints were in this giant baby bottle. I randomly chose a number that sounded good, 760. At the end of the shower she announced how many were in there and guess what?! There were freaking 7-5-9!!! 759 and I guess 760. Can you believe it? I should have bought a lottery ticket that day. Damn.

Pretty presents for the mama-to-be

Amazing fruit topping for the dessert!

Straight outta a magazine! This was made by the mama-to-be. I have baking-envy.

It was a lemon pound cake. MMMMmmmm!

We returned home from the tournament and our neighbors tree had sprinkled these pretty yellow flowers all over our front yard. Totally a Kodak moment. My hair's long.

Our dyed front lawn

The flowers up close and the tree they came from. Purty.

Sorry for the amount of pictures. Too much?

Anyways, I hope your Monday went well! xo

Just Realizing

Totally unrelated picture but this is my favorite flower. Peonies. (I always get nervous to say that word though...like I gonna slip and say Pee-o-nis or Pee-on-this...uggghh anxiety!)

You know the songs you used to know every word to when you were little, but you never really understood what the heck it all meant? I have done that a lot. With a lot of songs. I would sing along with all kinds of music not really knowing what the heck they were talking about and then as an adult hear the song again and think "I can't believe my mom let me listen/sing really loud to this".

One in particular is Jimmy Eat Worlds' "Middle". I used to LOVE that song in like junior high or whenever it came out. I knew all the words but never thought twice about what I was actually saying. I think I remember thinking the song was about literally being in the middle of somewhere. Like the mall. Well thanks to the radio this morning I heard the song again for the first time in a long time and now realize what an awesome message it has in the lyrics.

It feels like they are singing to me in this song. For real. Like this is my anthem for this time in my life. "Middle" totally sums up my life right now. Too funny. Other songs that I now realize what the they were talking about include: Nellys' "Take a Ride With Me", that one song that goes "I wanna be a..balla...shot calla..20 inch blades...", Pour Some Sugar on Me, Spice Girls "If you wanna be my lovvva" and many maaany more.

Here's a portion of the lyrics to "Middle" before it starts repeating the same thing over and over...take a look and see if you connect to it as much as I do.

Hey, don't write yourself off yet
It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on.
Just try your best, try everything you can.And don't you worry what they tell themselves when you're away.
It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything will be just fine, everything will be alright

Hey, you know they're all the same.
You know you're doing better on your own, so don't buy in.Live right now.Yeah, just be yourself.
It doesn't matter if it's good enough for someone else.

It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything (everything) will be just fine, everything (everything) will be alright (alright).
It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything (everything) will be just fine, everything (everything) will be alright (alright).

Anyways just a little inspiration for your Wednesday. xo

Sooooo YAH

Don't let the smile fool you...(this was pre-phone call / gum noticing)  ::  T-Shirt- Hanes for Men, Leggings: Marshalls, Hair- Yesterdays' .... oh and I'm in my orange office! Looove it.

So I had an entire post ready for you guys about the ombre hair trend that was all in my mind ready to be unleashed on my little bloggy and then I talked to my mom. She's not coming to Easter. One of my all time favorite family holidays. And guess what? She's going to El Paso instead with her boyfriend. This marks the like 100th trip she's taken out of the state with him.

I lived in Dallas for 4 years and had to BEG her to come visit me once. ONE time people. And I had to BEEEEG her. Just makes me sad that's all. Plus I wish she was going to be around for Easter. This will be my first Easter back in my hometown since I left for college back in 2006. Sucks.

Also I when I got out of my car right now I notice this thin streaky line all the way down the length of my car. What could this be, I thought? Well it turns out someone had tossed their gum out the window and it decided to skip down the length of my car leaving lovely little skid marks the whole way down. There's also a big glob of it on my right front fender. Just so you know, when you toss your gum out  the window it doesn't just magically disappear. It could quite possibly end up all over the new car behind you.

Uggghhh not my afternoon today. Blah.

Awkward

First of all how freakin' awkward is it to open up one of those collapsible windshield visors in your car?! I bought one this weekend and after work today I'm trying to take the thing down from the windshield and fold it up and it looks like I'm having a fight with a large piece of silver fabric while seated in my car.

Then whenever you open it up to actually put in your window, it like bia-tch slaps you in the face. Like "I'm only guarding and protecting (Bachelorette quote..do you remember? ha) your car from the sun because you made me, but I am NOT happy about it."

Sheesh. Super excited to wrestle with it tomorrow. Annnnnyways here are some bits and pieces from my weekend home alone.

I spent the three days off this weekend doing massive amounts of laundry, re-doing the guest bathroom with my shower curtain mentioned here, baking cookies, eating yummy pesto four cheese ravioli, and having a glass of my favorite moscato.

These photos are of my Saturday evening. I'm such a boring 24 year old! Glass of wine, pasta, fresh baked cookies, and a Lifetime movie. Seriously. I watched a Lifetime movie called Amish Grace...seen it? Pretty ok. Oh! And I got a new wine bottle stopper! I couldn't resist the crown. Cute!

Here's to taking yourself on a date on Saturday nights! xo

The Biggest Loser Love

Do y'all watch The Biggest Loser? At our house it is a Tuesday night ritual that we never miss. Before this season the boyfriend had never watched the show, which I can't believe, but now he's totally hooked. It's so awesome to see these people go from unhealthy to fit.

Usually in reality shows they do the whole season on a condensed filming schedule. I think The Bachelor only films for like 4 weeks or 6 weeks or something. Not a lot of time to really get to know someone if you ask me. But the cool thing about The Biggest Loser is that they film for months! I think they're at 16 weeks right now, so about 4 months of being on The Ranch and working out. It must be tough for them not to be able to see their family and friends that long. Crazy.

This past Tuesday as we were watching it, there was a scene where the host of the show, Alison Sweeney was wearing this great pink embellished fedora hat. I couldn't stop looking at it! So now I want one. Dang TV shows. Always making me go shopping for things I didn't even know I needed!

So here's Alison Sweeney on Tuesday night. Isn't her fedora cute?!

The two on the manikin heads are from Zappos.com, the blue by Michael Stars and the straw by Juicy Couture. The other three fedoras can be found at Target!

And nothing is complete without a little celebrity style inspiration. Nicole, Rachel, and Ashley...take it away!

Via

Via

Via

Preparing for a weekend alone. The boyfriend is out of town :( Hope everyone has a good one! xo

What To Do In Dallas, Texas! Part One: Where to Eat

So as y'all know I was born in Dallas, left when I was 4, and then went back for college. Now that I'm back in the desert heat of Arizona, there are definitely some things I miss about the Big D. 

I miss the food. Don't get me wrong, AZ has some pretty bomb food too, but there are some restaurants in Dallas that I'm craving and can't wait to go back and eat at.

If you're ever in the area, here are the best places to get yo grub on!

1. Fuzzy's Taco Shop

Chicken Tacos= Amazing, Butt Burning Hot Sauce Salsa (always on the tables)= Amazing, Big Ol' Margarita= Aaaaamazing

Don't judge this book by its cover! The name is a little weird for sure, but their food, especially their chicken tacos, are the shiznit. Order the tacos with everything on it, don't skip out on their to die for condiments and toppings. The best tacos ever! Seriously. And you HAVE to add the salsa that's on the table to whatever you order. TRUST ME. It's heaven in your mouth!!

This restaurant is the ultimate chill place to eat. Flat screen TVs are abundant, huge chalices of margaritas and beer, and of course homemade tortilla chips served with warm salsa. Mmmmmm!

2. Fish City Grill

The Best EVER seafood restaurant. You can find them scattered all over the Dallas area, but I always went to the Flower Mound, Texas location. Freaking love love love their salmon dish and my fave lunch-time item was the Mediterranean Pasta, but I added Cajun chicken to it. The bomb. Either salmon or the pasta is what you MUST try here.

They also have a jalapeno soup that's very good and very popular. This place is a nice hang out restaurant where you  can come with a date or come with the fam. Beer and wine and hard liquor are all served up and there's usually a baseball game on the TV too. Amazing-ness. Eat there. You will love it.

3. Patrizio's Italian Restaurant

My all time favorite pasta resides at this place. This is a fancy restaurant that is very VERY well priced. You can sit inside their fancy dining room or sit out on the patio where there's a fireplace burning, twinkly lights strung above, and space heaters glowing during the winter time.

Order the Penne Caprese. You won't be disappointed. It's light and lemony and amazing. They have a fully stocked bar and white leather chairs at every table. Candlelight and soft music equal a great date restaurant.

Good eats. Go there!

Ohhhh how I miss good old Dallas. There's so many good restaurants but these are definitely my top three. Try them out if you're in the area and let me know what you think! xo

Fuzzy's, Fish City, Patrizios

I Mean.......Really? I Really Love That!

Another day of work done and done-zo. I literally counted down the minutes until the day ended. Boring. Did I ever tell you I have to wear steel toed boots to my job? Chyeah. But during my downtime today I was able to catch up on all my fave blogs though, so that was nice.

Sooooo I saw this shower curtain at Target forever ago and immediately sharp left turned into the aisle it was poking out of. The bright blue color and the tribal print won me over at first glance. But then I looked at the price tag and it was $14.99. At  the time, I had to choose between buying food or getting this shower curtain. Did I want to spend $14.99 on ONE shower curtain or use that $14.99 to get more food stuff?

I chose more food stuff.

So here I am on Saturday wondering the aisles for some new "anything" and I spot the shower curtain! From afar I could see a bright red sticker gleaming off the top of the packaging and knew it was meant to be. On sale for $10! The Target gods were screaming at my to buy THIS shower curtain. So I bought it.

Now it's time to decide how to re-decorate the bano to compliment my new lover of a shower curtain.

Now on to my new lil series: I mean....really? vs I really love that!

I Mean...Really?:

-Guy who cut my off while driving to the grocery store today. Blinkers were made for a reason!

-Also guy who was driving behind me on the way home (I get major road-frustration as you can see). We get it your windows are rolled down. Super cool. But is it really necessary to hang your arm way down the side of your door and use your whole forearm to tap to the beat of your music? From my rear-view mirror it looks like your Kia Soul has one arm. Oh, and quit tailgating me.

-Hello AAA, I'm looking for a hotel for Las Vegas next month and I click on the ad that says "Rates starting at $40!" When I get to the next page you tell me to "check availability" and then the rate goes up to $160. False advertise much?

I Really Love That!:

-It's almost Wednesday. I only have to work until Thursday. Yesssssss.

-I went back to using Bare Minerals and love it all over again.

-I also love that I finally realize that I hate liquid foundation and am finally released from guilting myself into spending money on them to "try it one more time".

- The Biggest Loser is on tonight!!

-The boyfriend is about to walk in the door a.n.y second now. And I bought a bottle of Moscato at the grocery store. And we're gonna share it.

xo Happy Tuesday!

Somewhere...Over The Weekend

This weekend was pretty uneventful. I ended up having to work on Friday and Saturday this weekend, which sucked, but I'm sure I'll be happy once the pay check comes around.

Shoes from TJ Maxx (not sure the brand sorry!), skinny jeans from Anchor Blue, Watch: Fossil, Tank Top: American Eagle, Blazer: Charlotte Russe, and Belt: Target. Those silver bracelets on my wrist I never take off. Like never. I sleep, shower, swim, everything with them on. I'm superstitious about them.

We went out to celebrate a friends birthday on Saturday night and this is what I wore out. We had a nice dinner and a lot of laughs which was much needed after a 20 hour overtime weekend for me.

Then on Sunday I slept in as much as I could (the two glasses of wine from the night before helped). We went to a softball tournament in the morning on Sunday just to hang out and then spent the rest of the day on the couch watching The Masters.

Much needed relaxing Sunday. I think I took like 3 naps that day. Awe-some. Sometimes if I sleep too much though I wake up feeling sick to my stomach. Annnd that's not so fun.

 Happy Monday!

Reverse : Esrever

Not too sure how or why it happened, but I have a weird obsession with taking words and thinking about, and sometime saying out loud, what these words would sound like if they were backwards. It's to the point where if I'm stopped at a red light and I see a sign that says "Chevron", for example, I automatically work it out in my head to be pronounced Norvehc (nor-veck).

I recently revealed this little habit to my co-workers, who thought it was hilarious, and started asking me things like "what's my name backwards?" or "what about the word Atlanta?". I have now successfully  turned each of my co-workers names into backwards-way-cooler-sounding names.

Example: Kyla is now Alyk (Alec....Baldwin...ha)

Nick is now Kcin (Ken)

Don't know what spawned this unwavering urge to change words into their backwards form, but it's a constant habit.

It's funny when I sit there, oblivious to those around me, and stare at a word (on say a bottle of Bath & Body Works lotion) that says "Carried". I'll work it out in my mind, flipping the letters around and then trying to pronunciate it in my head. Then, to the surprise of the other shoppers, do I shout out something like DEE-RACK! and embarrass myself. Now all the shoppers think I have Tourettes and also speak in a foreign language. Oh brain....you amuse me. Also, slightly annoying.

Happy Thursday. Yadsruht?

Oh My Goodness Gracious

After much googling of  "how to do                 on Blogger", I have finally...finally gotten my blog to a pretty place. I enjoy looking at it much more.

Before my blog looked like the walls of a hospital or doctors office. I LOVE gray but it didn't translate well to my blog. Nothing to catch the eye. I'm much happier with this little template and should be keeping it for awhile. Unnnlesssss I find something else that I love even more!

Makin' Some Changes.....Bear With Me

Re-do on the design of my blog. I feel like after having this for a little while that my font is hard to read and the blog itself is not visually exciting. It's just ugly. So here's to round one of the remodel. xo

5 Things About Me

I am running sooooo late today. Too many errands to do after work this afternoon and of course I don't write posts before hand and then "schedule" them to upload automatically, even though I'm sure it would save me a lot of time. My good friend is a blogger too, and she does this and swears by it. BUT although I see it is a huge convenience thing, I just feel like this is supposed to be my daily musings of what I like and what inspires me. Frankly I'm inspired every hour and every minute of the day. All day long I'm constantly saying "that could be a great blog post!" or "I need to write about that!"...so for the sake of my always running mind, I post every evening when I get home from work. Not the most time efficient way I guess but it works for me!

ANYWAYS!! Today I'm going to introduce myself a little more to you by telling you five things about myself. Whenever I see these on other peoples blogs I love reading them because it gives such a good glimpse into the life of that person. It's interesting to see what five things they choose to tell you about themselves. Some are more personal than others. We'll see how I do. xo

1. I could live off of bread and pasta. Seriously. I could go without meat and dairy and just live off of bread and various dipping sauce or any kind of pasta in a white wine lemon-y sauce with capers or something. Yum! Bread with oil & vinegar are my favorite. Hello Macaroni Grill and Johnny Carinos!!

2. I'll be 25 this year. 24 as of today, but turning the big 2.5. in a few months. Although I feel 25 I sure don't look it, which has its positives and its negatives. Sometimes people think I'm like 16.....which sucks. I mean really? Come on. It's also embarrassing when I get carded for the PG-13 or R movies. And I reaaaalllly hate the saying "You'll love it when you're older" because everyone has been telling me that since I was younger and now I'm older and I'm still not loving it. Ha. Baby face.

3. I've been divorced three times. Well not me personally, but my parents have. My mom and dad divorced when I was about 4, then my mom and step dad divorced when I was like 18, and then my dad and step mom divorced when I was about 22. Until I met my now boyfriend I wasn't too keen on the whole marriage thing or kids. I just have never grown up in a home where the marriage actually lasts/works. My bf has completely changed my outlook on that situation though :)

4. One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is when people don't use their blinkers. I hate it. Drives me nuts. It's like hello people, your car comes with one....use it. I guess I've been behind one too many drivers who all of a sudden stop like there's a baby in the road and turn into some place. I'm always saying "Ohhhhhhh you were turning there...thanks". Oy vey. Blinkers. Use them. Love them.

5. I didn't realize until my last semester in college what I should have gone to school for. I graduated with a bachelors in business and the last semester I realized I truly wanted to be in graphic design. I'm so into it and really want to go get another degree but the school I want to go to costs like $100,000 for a 4 year degree!! Too much moolah for me! I'm trying to decide if I have enough patience and will power to take an online degree course for graphic design. Anyone ever done that?

Via