A little bit of everything

I'm not even sure how to sum up my life lately. It's been busy, crazy, fun, all that stuff. It's been kind of an insane whirlwind that I can barely remember, but I feel like I've been enjoying it. Ha.
By the way, with all the Rachel Zoe marathons on TV lately, my fashion radar is that much more in effect, so it's been fun living this whirlwind, meeting my inner stylist somewhere in the middle, and seeing what comes out.

Here's my latest collection of evidence.

Studying my script for my latest film, "The Hit."

 A quick, healthy dinner mid-week: Open-faced egg salad sandwich. Hard boiled egg chopped up with a little mayo, topped with avocado slices, a slice of cheddar cheese, and turkey bacon on once slice of whole wheat bread. Cucumber "chips" and grape tomatoes on the side.

Heaven = almost burried under a pile of clothing to try on, in the dressing room of Buffalo Exchange.

A retro-inspired dress and modern smokey make-up to attend the premiere of my film, "Everything's Ok."

On the way to Dallas for some time with Steve's family.

This is where you can usually find me.

 Coffee and auditions and shoots, oh my!

Obsessed with this new vest from Buffalo Exchange, which I got for $15 and makes me feel like a fluffy little owl.

My sister moves to town this week, so things are probably about to get that much more cool around here. But this past weekend was one of the best I've had in a long time.

Rainy ready

It was a stormy night in Austin and the rain lingers on today. I actually love cloudy or rainy mornings, because they are so cozy. I brewed coffee and made a strawberry smoothie and peanut butter toast for breakfast, curled up on the couch, and watched the Rachel Zoe marathon that my DVR caught.  Can't get much better than that. However, now it's actually time to go out and get my errands done, rainy or not.

What do you guys wear on wet days, when you want to look presentable? I'm very curious, because it can be hard to manage sometimes, and I seem to always end up wearing the same thing.
My outfit will usually consist of my dark grey skinny jeans with knee high leather boots (with a short heel) to keep the water out, no matter how many parking lot puddles I might stomp through, and a top that goes-with. Probably high necked (water running down your chest isn't exactly ideal) and long or three-quarter sleeve just to stay as dry as possible, even if the weather is still somewhat warm. Hair goes completely up -  in a bun on top of my head - or else I just slip on a over-sized beanie cap and keep my hair in a low braid. I tell myself that I look like someone cool out of the Matrix and venture out. Sigh. ;)

Tell me your ideas for rain-proof fashion!

April to May

Updating the dry erase calendar is a fun little ritual I have each month. It's nice to look back over the highlights of the past few weeks before wiping the board clean (ah, bittersweet, sometimes), and writing in the new, upcoming events just adds to the anticipation! And anything that helps me feel a little more "together" and organized is a definite plus.

Can you believe it's May already?!

Saturday hello

Enjoying a rather luxurious breakfast this morning of strawberries, Greek yogurt, half an "everything" muffin that Steve brought me yesterday from the adorable cafe' in the lobby of his office building, and of course, a cup of coffee (with a splash of almond milk), before heading to a film audition.
Things have been quite busy around here lately, but good things seem to be happening. I have quite a few acting projects on the horizon and the auditions definitely seem to be picking up. There may even be some new music endeavors in the works soon, which is very exciting. It's been too long since I've been in any sort of band, and I miss it like crazy.

More updates soon, I hope. Have a great weekend! I'm off to finish breakfast and practice my monologue...

Hot drama

The change over to warm weather always means new perspectives. Of course, with me, this floods over into fashion in a big way. Here's some stuff I'm digging lately:

So sophisticated. Courtesy of Blushing and Sweet

Love the hair

 Off-the-shoulder Sexy

This might have to be my hair after my wedding in November.

* All photos found in random Yahoo.com images searches, unless otherwise noted.*

I'm sensing some real glamour in the mix this season. In fact, I was just watching Funny Girl and envying all of Barbara Streisand's dramatic 1920s attire. I would wear any of that stuff today, honestly. I'm having a little bit of a Lindsay Lohan fetish lately, too, and I have no idea why. Could be worse.

Glad I tried the gladiators.

 I'm not usually a fan of gladiator sandals, but at a recent trip to Burlington Coat Factory, Steve forced me to try these on. Once again he was right. They looked pretty awesome. And they were comfortable. And they looked more glam-edgy than straight-up gladiators. Ok, they'll do.

...Now I'm pretty much in love with them.

I love the easy little outfits that get thrown together when the weather first gets warm again.

I also love when accidentally blurry photos turn out looking like you were trying to be artistic. Ha. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking. :)

Texas toast

While catching up on FashionToast, I saw Rumi had posted some photos of a trip to Austin! Pretty sure this is her outside the Whole Foods about 3 minutes from my apartment. WHERE WAS I?!?!
*sad and starstruck all at the same time*

I'm guessing she was in town for SXSW, which I always seem to miss for some reason. Last year, I had just severely sprained my ankle and was pretty much bed-ridden that week. This year, I was out of town. Boo.

But I must say, after too many years in places like Little Rock, Arkansas, I do love living in a city that people actually want to come to. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello, luvvies! Happy Valentine's Day!
I apologize for my long M.I.A. status lately. I've either been sick or busy, and I'm not seeing an end in sight, really. However, I do have lots of ideas for posts lined up, so let's hope I can get those all ready for you soon!

How will you be spending Valentine's Day?
Steve and I made a deal to keep it low key this year, since we're saving for the wedding, etc. However, we did have a wonderful Saturday afternoon with two newly-married friends at a chocolate and beer tasting event at an adorable bar called The Ginger Man. Tonight, I'm planning a little night at home, complete with bubbly and a home cooked dinner. I'm enjoying the fact that this is my first Valentine's Day as a fiancee. And guess what? Steve and I picked out and ordered our wedding rings last night!

I think Valentine's Day can be fun even if you're not attached, however. I've never reeeeally been one of those bitter-about-Valentine's-Day people, even the years I was single. I always found it a fun excuse to plan a girl's night (sometimes they are better about wanting to do something lovey-dovey and cutesy-themed than the boys are!) or even have a night to yourself to enjoy some "me time"! Champagne and a bubble bath for one? Complete control of all the sappy or guilty pleasure movies I want to play all night? Yes, please!
My first year in Austin, me and my best girl friend here got together, made cupcakes, and sipped on champagne and grapefruit juice mimosas! I think you can also go "bitter" in a humorous way and do a little "anti-Valentine" themed night with horror films or really awful romantic films that you throw popcorn at.

So, are you single this V-day or attached? Either way, I want to hear about your plans and ideas! Hope you have a wonderful day! xx

Just ask

 Lindsay Lohan looking stylishly connected

Just went on a Formspring binge and answered questions from how I handle money to the best place to grab a burger! Go check it out!

Do you Formspring? Definite guilty pleasure. I would have loved this when I was a kid and used to pretend I was a famous actress or singer doing an interview. Haha.

Ask me anything. Add me and I'll add you. :)

Happy Anniversary, Deviants!

So, I realized that I just missed the year anniversary of me starting my blog! A year ago on January 18th, I posted my first entry.

 A toast to you!

Thanks to all of you who have been with me since the beginning, and those of you who have come along since, who have continued to be supportive and enjoy my crazy randomness that I write about. I hope you will continue to stick with me for years to come!

-Jennifer

xx

Lounging looks

Style-wise, I like those times where things just come together completely by accident and make you feel happy and glamorous all at once. I had one of those mornings. You know, where you're just convinced there should be a magazine photographer following you around? Haha. Ok, maybe not...regardless, here's the recipe:
- Men's dress shirt (honestly, even if you're a single gal right now, I wouldn't judge you for buying one for yourself as a sleep shirt. It's important to feel sexy even when no one else is around!)
- Messy-ass hair pile, on top of your head, secured with a clip
- Freshly brewed cup 'o joe

 Sorry for the rough, impromptu photos. And a rare glimpse of me without make up. 
See, this is why I need a personal magazine photographer.

(Can I be totally gag-worthy and say that my engagement ring shining-ly caught my eye today while I was holding my coffee mug and it also made me feel totally amazing?)

It's Friday, so you have time to incorporate this stuff into your weekend lounging look! Wishing you some effortless fabulous-ness! (Say that three times fast!)

xxx

Hat Hair

Baseball cap! Instant cure for a bad hair day that I too often forget about...
Ok, so I stole one of Steve's. :)

Everything else I tried was to no avail.
I want to keep my hair long (for now), but I'm so bored with it and it just looks awful lately. I need some new ideas.

Fresh Fuel

So, as if throwing myself into wedding planning wasn't enough to keep me busy lately, I also accepted a role in a play as part of a local festival. We've been rehearsing regularly over the last week and a half and we open on Tuesday night! It's one of the fastest rehearsal periods I've ever had, and I haven't done live theater in a long time, so it's quite exhilarating and a bit scary!

This week we've been rehearsing every single night, but thankfully, wedding planning has subsided a bit because we finally nailed down our venue and got our Save the Date notices out! This felt like such a big step and I'm so thrilled. More wedding specific details to come. :)

It's been important for me over the last week to eat healthy foods to keep my energy up. I must say, with all the stress and adrenaline that I've had going, this hasn't been too hard to do. I don't usually feel very hungry when I'm running around like crazy, so when I do eat, it's been easy for me to make pretty wise choices. So while wedding planning and starring in a play, I've also found that I've gotten into much better shape! That's a win, win, win, if you ask me.

I put together a nice lunch today while going over my lines and gearing up for tonight's dress rehearsal. I thought I'd share it with you.

Salmon Lunch:

 I love keeping individually wrapped, frozen Salmon fillets around. I used a little olive oil cooking spray and pan grilled the salmon until thoroughly cooked. I seasoned it with garlic salt, a little bit of chili powder, and black pepper.

Accessories! Dill pickle slices, spicy mustard, and Special K's multi-grain crackers (delicious and low calorie!)

I put it all on a plate so I could graze. I liked creating little hors d'oeuvres with a cracker, cut up pickle, and a piece of Salmon on top!

Yes, you knew it was coming: Pinterest

 I'm not sure what I'm turning into, but something takes over once you become engaged...

I have turned into quite the wedding planning monster. Actually, my brain is not even really here, it's off planning somewhere.

Real quick, I just thought I would share with you my wedding inspiration board (so far) at Pintrest! Click here
I am going to do my best to create a Colonial-influenced atmosphere on a very small budget!

Let me know what you think! If you could have any type of wedding, what would it be? Is there anything you've been dreaming about since you were little?

Bridal Fever

The newest accent on my bedroom wall.

I know I've been a very bad blogger lately. I've been knee-deep in doing research for wedding venues. It's amazing how quickly you get sucked into this world of overwhelmed-ness! It's fun and amazing, but it's quite an undertaking. Especially when you're on a budget! Oh how I long to be a celebrity right about now.

I'll try to share any "brilliant" budget-saving tips I come up with during the process (still waiting...) in case anyone else out there is in the midst of wedding planning! However, I swear I will try my best to not make this an obsessed and/or gag-worthy wedding blog.

I'll be back soon with some fashion ideas from stuff I wore over the holidays as well as some general Christmas nostalgia from my vacation. Hope you're having a great week!

Engaged!

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably already know, but for my exclusively blog-followers:
I'M ENGAGED!

Steve proposed Christmas Eve morning. We were waking up in bed and he pulled the ring out from under his pillow. Even though I sort of knew a proposal was coming, I thought it was probably going to happen Christmas morning if it was going to happen. Plus, there was a tiny wrapped present for me under the tree that looked like it might be a ring box. So it caught me pretty off guard to suddenly see the ring in front of me as I was opening my eyes on Christmas Eve! 

I can't believe I am about to have to start planning a wedding! The whole thing is still very surreal.

Happy 2012!

Holiday wishes

I hope you had a wonderful holiday!
My Christmas and my whole vacation has been absolutely amazing, with an unending streak of great family and friends. I am glad I didn't promise to write everyday while I was gone, because it's definitely been a whirlwind. There's so much to tell you that I will definitely need to get organized again once I'm back home and do a serious catching up entry! I also have some exciting news to share! But for now, I at least wanted to drop you a line and say hello.

Tell me about your holiday and your plans for New Years Eve! xx

Cozy nights + Christmas lights

How was your weekend?
Mine was quite nice. On Friday night, Steve and I had a couple close friends over for a little Christmas get-together/sleepover (not just for teenagers anymore, oh, no!). We made a pot roast dinner in the slow cooker, made some ready-to-bake chocolate chip cookies (just as delicious as the ones you have to mix up yourself, I say!) and experimented with some different cocktails, and  "Sassy Little Elf" martinis. I quite enjoyed playing bartender. I must say, this was a very easy way to throw a nice, cozy little soiree without spending a ton of money (even to feed everyone a hearty meal - crock pot meals are genius and so simple!) or putting in a ton of effort. Light some candles around the apartment and put on a pop Christmas pandora or iTunes station, and you're set! It was a fun night, which we ended by watching "Love Actually".

We stayed up until 5am, crazily enough! When we were all finally awake the next day, we cooked up a pancake breakfast. Always a good way to start a Saturday. The rest of the day was pretty chill. 

 "Sassy Little Elf":

2 oz. X-Rated Fusion Liquor

1 1/2 oz. vodka

1 1/2 oz. guava juice

1 oz. half and half

1/2 oz. lemon juice

Pour everything into a cocktail shaker (along with some ice cubes), shake, and strain (so no ice cubes go into the glass) into a martini glass. We garnished the drink with blueberry candy canes (you can hook them on the side, or put them in the bottom of the glass), which explains the blue specks in the photo above.

Major winged eyeliner.

I wore my new fur vest (I wanted it long and baggy, so I bought it in extra large) from Vera Wang's line for Khol's. The $69 item was on sale for $27! Score! Khol's is amazing. I don't know why I don't remember to go there more often.

On Sunday I had a nice walk/jog around the neighborhood, and I gotta say, I love finishing a work out and stopping by the mailbox to find two new magazines waiting for me. It's like a little reward.
Sunday evening, Steve and I ventured out to an annual Christmas light display at a park downtown and then over to a nearby mall that we don't get to very often. We browsed around and grabbed some food court Thai and Japanese food for dinner. Why is mall Asian food so delicious? It's a total guilty pleasure, which unfortunately should probably only be enjoyed on rare occasions.

 Steve and I under the large light-tree at Zilker Park.

Steve and I leave for Arkansas on Tuesday to spend Christmas and New Years Eve. I am super excited about going, even though we were just there for Thanksgiving. I know I'll be running around finishing up my shopping and doing a lot of visiting with family and friends, so I'll go ahead and say right now that I am just going to try to blog whenever I feel the urge and not necessarily stick to my usual schedule.

I hope you have an amazing Christmas, and I'd love to hear your holiday stories!
I'm off to start packing!

In the Navy

I've spent the day making my apartment extra cozy and festive for a little get-together I'm having tomorrow night. I thought it'd be nice to have just a couple close friends over before we all go our separate ways for the holidays.

I'm still deciding on the perfect outfit for tomorrow (something casual, and comfortable for hanging around the house, but also fun and festive!), but I have recently found the perfect manicure for the season. I'm bored of the regular old red or burgundy nails I normally do this time of year, and while I became a big fan of black around Halloween, I wanted something that really represented that Christmas-feeling. Lately, I had been settling on a creamy pale pink color with sparkles (see here), because at least it represented snow (or even champagne...oooh), but I had grown bored of that too. Don't get me wrong though, I WILL be saving that idea for New Years Eve!

The other day, the exact color I needed hit me - Navy! I ran to Target specifically to buy some, and just my luck, Revlon's "Midnight Affair" was on a half price clearance sale! I guess no one else was into that color, but to me, it was perfect! I've been wearing it for a couple weeks now, and loving it, but for the little party tomorrow, I decided to add my sparkles.

I used ICE brand "Spit Fire" for the sparkles. Use your own creativity for how you want to do them. I like to paint just the tips, with sort of a jagged shape at the top. If you like perfectly thin, straight tips, or the whole nail painted, go for it! A lot of times, I like to just add sparkles to one random nail on each hand.

What are some of your favorite holiday-style ideas?

Let's talk shop

 I was hoping to get most of my Christmas shopping done today, but the rainy weather is just making me want to avoid going out altogether. Hopefully I'll get myself up and running in a bit! Meanwhile, I'm taking care of some different tasks (including some online Christmas shopping) around the apartment - I can't believe we leave town early next week. Lots to do!
How is your Christmas shopping coming along?