A toast

Happy New Year!

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!

Champagne & shimmer

 A little New Years Eve inspiration:

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?

Shopping spirit

Yay, me. I got an appropriate amount of Christmas shopping done today. The weather has been super mild here this week, but unfortunately that has been accompanied with lots of rain. Between that and the usual crowds/traffic (is it just me, or does Christmas shopping suddenly mean it's totally ok for people to just walk into you and act like they don't even notice?), it was a little hectic. But it feels great to get a good chunk of it done, and I'm having so much fun picking out gifts for everyone! Besides the Christmas spirit, here are some "go-to's" that helped me on my shopping trip today:

Raindrops on my coffee!

Shopping fuel:
Starbucks grande soy latte + one Splenda pack

Shopping soundtrack: 
Noel Gallagher's, "High Flying Birds" album, which my brother gave me for my birthday last month. Check out the strings in track one. Beautiful.

Shopping style: 
My knee high boots. Stylish, rain proof, and only a small heel.

To be honest, I got these boots at Payless for $20 or so, about three years ago. They've held up great and I still LOVE them.

Wow, it is absolutely POURING down rain now. I got home just in time!

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?

The Christmas Effect

 For some reason, the holidays and retro-style just seem to go hand and hand. They're both nostalgic, I guess. 

I've been a little Bridget Bardot inspired lately.

The holiday season tends to be a busy time of year for all of us, as you can tell from my recent blog-post-slacking, but I kind of love the hustle and bustle. However, my schedule has felt completely out of wack lately, which is one reason I didn't post last Friday. Steve has had the last two Fridays off (it's nice when you have so much vacation time left at the end of the year, that your company is literally forcing you to take days off. Yay for three day weekends in December!). I kept thinking that Friday was Saturday, so I literally forgot to post!

But maybe it's a good thing for me to ease up on myself a bit. I've had a ton going on, and I never want blogging to get to a point where it feels forced or I don't enjoy it.

Remember to enjoy it...which might mean being a total dork. Like me.

During all the insanity lately, I've made an effort to try and maintain a lifestyle that will allow me to
a.) not look like a bloated pig over Christmas
b.) feel healthy
c.) stay energized

It's important to center yourself and have sort of a neutral place to come back to whenever you stray...and trust me, I DO stray. Between Christmas parties with junk food and cocktails, crazy schedules, shopping traffic, traveling, etc. etc. etc., it's almost impossible not to end up feeling like a big 'ol mess at some point, whether it's from stress or bad eating habits. Or both.

So here are some of my tips to counteract the "Christmas Effect", as I will call it.

1. Do some physical activity every day, for at least 15-20 minutes.
On good days I'll do 30-45 minutes. Usually it'll just be a power walk/run on the treadmill, and on really good days I'll do crunches, push ups, and lunges afterward. I've actually been trying to get in 50 crunches each morning before I do anything else. A great routine to get into! None of this has to take a lot of time, and I can't tell you how much better I feel on the days when I've worked out for even 15 minutes.
p.s. Shopping trips CAN count (as they say), but try to add it to your day as a bonus to your treadmill time. You'll feel even better and more accomplished.

 Rarin' to go...and feeling good afterwards.

2. Eat healthy when not around tempting situations.
I know there are going to be so many times this month where I will be surrounded by delicious foods, and I am just NOT going to be that girl who turns down a Christmas cookie (or 2, or 3...) or a cup of eggnog (with rum...) when it's offered to me. But I feel less guilty (and in the long run: less full, less bloated, and less lethargic!) about letting myself have those foods when I know I've been eating really well during the majority of the week.

My everyday "yes" foods:
- Blackberries (sometimes I'll sprinkle a little feta cheese on top)
- Grape tomatoes
- Baby carrots
- Hummus (Usually as dip for the baby carrots or grape tomatoes)
- Hot tea (with honey and a little vanilla soy milk)
- Coffee (usually with just a splash of soy milk. Coffee's great if you don't load it up with calories!)
- V8 juice
- Chicken breasts
- Eggs
- Canned tuna (in water)
- Whole wheat bread (in moderation)
- Water. Stay hydrated.

3. Winterize your beauty routine.
Take time to put on your favorite body lotion after a shower to protect against dry skin, try using a deep condition (my hair is SUPER dry, so this is a must for me), and/or invest in a teeth whitening treatment (no dentists - just strips or a good toothpaste). You'll feel great "maintaining" yourself a bit in the dead of winter. Maybe opt for a slight change to your hair. I just recently re-did my roots, and I'm considering cutting some bangs to spruce up my hair even more. Give yourself a home manicure/pedicure one night in front of the TV. Slather lots of lotion on those dry feet and put on your comfiest, fuzzy socks. I also highly suggest investing in some warm pajamas. Something comfortable, but a pair that still makes you feel cute.

My PJs of choice: Target, $20

 If you have any tips or feedback, please share!