Happy New Year!

I'm ringing in the New Year down under in Sydney this year with three of my best friends! It's going to be one of those "once in a lifetime" moments. I hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve with all the people you love!

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Beautiful

I saw this a while back on A Cup of Jo and couldn't forget it. I'm not really a tattoo person, but there is something about this image that is stunning. It reminds me how much strength we have. Even if we haven't fully realized it yet.

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Leaving on a jet plane

I'm on my flight headed to LA and then Sydney!! I might be a little slow on the posts the next few weeks, but I promise to post lots of pictures when I get back!

Happy Holidays!

I hope you are all having a happy holiday with your family! I'm back on Delaware with family and friends for our annual Christmas Eve gathering.

I'm drinking wine, sitting by the fireplace and thankful for the fact that I am finally wearing heels again! A new little Christmas gift to myself :)

Glossy 'Do

I sometimes wish I had a bit more ambition with my hair. I want to try some more fun things in 2012. Here's what I'm liking.

A beautiful front braid.

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Ombre wavy hair.

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A chic pony.

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A pretty little twist.

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Perfect beach waves.

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And a top bun.

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Cheese, Please

As usual, the week before Christmas is a hectic one! I'm trying to savor all the holiday moments before we are into the new year.

One great part of the week was this lovely gift from my boss. I'd been wanted a slate cheeseboard that you can write on with chalk. I'm so excited I finally have my own. Can't wait to use it. Thanks Allison!

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Aftermath

My going away happy hour! I'm leaving my real estate post soon. Leave it to my team to make sure I go out with a bang!

Here we are at Mie n Yu.

Bubble Bash

It was an amazing weekend here in DC! My lovely friends surprised me by taking me to a Bubble Bash champagne tasting at one of my favorite wine bars, Screwtop.

There were 5 tables of different champagne vendors to taste from, appetizers to die for, and as always the cutest ambience. I wish I had taken more pictures! A few more are (hopefully) on the way. I especially loved the little Santa hat wine decorations below.

 

As I mentioned the food was unforgettable. Seriously, we couldn't get enough. Luckily Screwtop posted all their recipes online (score!). Check them out. Every single item was worth the calories :)

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Band Aid Babe

I spotted these fashionable Band Aid's by Cynthia Rowley and fell in love. I am secretly hoping they are in my stocking this year. If not, I might just order them and wear them for the fun of it. Only $5.00 for 20, I say that's a deal for Cynthia. You can buy them here.

That's a Wrap

I know you're all wrapping gifts up to get under the tree. Or if you're like me will SOON get to buying those gifts and then start your wrapping.

When deciding on the paper, how cool is this hamburger wrapping paper? It's makes looking at gifts under the tree even more fun.

image and paper from here

Shop Like it's your Birthday

Wow, I can't believe it's Wednesday night already! These last few days have flown by as the rest of December has. I really don't want to miss out on the holiday season this year, so I better jump on the eggnog drinking/Mariah Carey singing/ Christmas gift buying, real quick.

I wanted to update you on some fun birthday presents I gave myself this 25th birthday :)


Up first is this white and black slim cut blazer with slight shoulder pads. It's no secret in my office that I'm a big fan of the blazer. And I've been on the hunt for a white blazer, FOR EVER. Last Friday was my lucky day. While the Zara picture looks just so-so, this baby fits like a glove from the softball team I never played on.

The next two purchases seem to already be sold out and off the Zara website. Thank you birthday gods, that although you sent me to jury duty on my birthday, you forgivingly cut me slack and didn't have the these sought after items sell out of stock before I could scoop them up. First is this gorgeous glitter pouch. I actually purchased a black/silver one for myself, but you get the picture.

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Finally, I got this awesome crocheted top in black. It really rocks, and I'm so upset I can't find a good picture to show you. I'm going to have to start taking some of my own. This one, also from Zara, is kinda close. Obviously, I rock a tank under see through clothes.

Gift Guide

I know I told you all around Thanksgiving I'd put a little Holiday Gift Guide together. So here it is! A mix of gifts for all the people in your life.


First up, the gift for the brother who needs nothing. These  etip gloves make sure he stays warm and still use that iPhone.

For your mom, aunt, close family friend, you get the gist. These candles are a bit on the pricey side, but smell incredible! A beautiful gift that keeps giving.

For your foodie friend, these little ice cream sandwiches from Jeni's Splendid ice cream can be shipped all over the country (unless you are lucky enough to live in Ohio and can pick them up fresh!).

For those classic Dads, this J Crew v neck is perfect. Cotton-Cashmere and only $60!

For those cute little cousins and kiddies on your list, I saw this snowball over on A Cup of Jo the other day and thought it sounded so cool. It's suppose to feel just like a packed snowball, but one you can have year round.

For your best friend, giir these picture perfect nail polish sets from Butter. Their polish goes on, well, like butter. And the colors are the best.

For the perpetual party thrower, I love this birch bark bucket. Fill it with ice and turn it into a festive ice bucket for drink making for your next party.

 

For the driven young person in your life, this book from Katie Couric is great. It's a collection of words of wisdom from everyone from Larry David to Barbara Walters. It's a good read.

Pizza pizza

I received some disappointing news for the big 2-5 this Monday (yup, I'm turning 25). I have been summoned to jury duty! That's right, I have to head over to the courthouse, pay for parking, give up my cell phone for the day, and do what ever it is us law abiding citizen's do.I suppose this means I'm a grown up now.

I have a lovely weekend planned in NYC that is going to have to be altered a bit, but I'm not going to let this ruin my fun!

First thing on the docket for my birthday weekend; pizza making with my little brother back in DE! We rolled out the dough and everything. I know, so fancy.

 

Look at the master at work.

 

Apparently I'm going for a Native American/Pocahontas kinda look.

 

 I also did some birthday shopping at Zara today. I'll have to show you my purchases soon. They're fun!

Illustrator

I realized I never showed you my last project from my graphic design class. We had to pick a shoe (umm, just one?!) and then trace it in Illustrator to create a basic illustration of the shoe. Designer's use this program to create logos and other fun designs.

I started of with this cute peep toe pump from Zara.

This is the illustration I created. Pretty cool right? I loved this project.

Patch 'er Up

I'm kinda digging the preppy, slightly professor-ish elbow patch sweaters that are turning up everywhere. When I saw Joanna put some cute ones up on her blog, I couldn't stop thinking about them. What do you think? Could you pull them off?

 
Love this one from Asos.com .

Mad Mad World

Here's a fun fact about me, I love Alice in Wonderland. The book, the movies, the costumes, everything. When I was in Berlin (my favorite city in the world), I realized that I kinda felt like Alice the entire time I was there. I felt like anything could happen It was a great feeling. I guess that's why I loved Berlin so much.

The best quotes can be found in the book as well.

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Dinner party

Success! My little dinner party turned out to be delicious. Here are some pictures of what was served.


I started off with beef brisket from Trader Joe's and a sauce from Whole Foods.

 Did some slicing and dicing for my brussel sprouts (which I forgot to take pictures of).

But you can see them below, Dijon braised brussel sprouts = Amazing.

 

I think I'm most proud of dessert. I started out with oranges and sorbet (lemon and mango).

 

Next, I scooped out the fruit and filled the orange rinds with sorbet. Popped them back in the fridge for an hour and voila! A light and refreshing dessert.

Here's JV, Ava, and I chatting the night away. Thanks for coming over girls, it was so much fun!

I had so much fun cooking everything It's also nice (and cheaper!) to have a Trader Joe's close by to go grocery shopping. I'm going o have to try this a little more often.

Go Time

I'm making dinner tonight for a few friends. I can't wait to see them!

When I got up today and started thinking about what to make, I was shocked at how tough it was to narrow down my options.  I wanted to make everything. In the end though, I bought brisket at Trader Joe's. The directions say 3-5 hours. Wish me luck, friends.


In other news, I saw this cute little cake topper the other day and fell completely in love with it. Thought you might too.

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Ooo, Burn

I stumbled across this blog about a month back. Someone out there is impersonating Suri Cruise and writing colored commenatry of her feelings on celebrities, their celebrity children and, of course, her famous parents. Some may find it unkind, others offensive, as for me, I think I laughed for about 8 minutes straight. Girlfriend is funny. Enjoy!

Suri's Burn Book

 

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Done and Done

It took days and days, but I've finally got my domestic flights for my Australia trip booked! Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, here we come!

Oh, and to make booking this even more fun, Metro decided to break down tonight and make me walk home 40 minutes after class to get to my computer.

I think I deserve a nice pink lemonade Margarita sometime soon to celebrate. Recipe and image from here, but I would swap out grapefruit for pink lemonade.

Meant to Be

On a regular basis I fall head over heels for some item I see someone wearing on the streets of DC (or  in truth, anywhere). I imagine this is what love at first sight must feel like. I can't take my eyes off of them. I mentally run through every scenario of how I could possibly ask where they got that object of my desire (and wonder if it's too weird to ask). Then I go online and stalk for said item with the zest one might have of finding the facebook profile of an ex high school boyfriend (not saying I do that, but you get the point).

Anyway, a few weeks ago I spotted someone on the metro with GORGEOUS two tone flat leather riding boots. I've been searching for a pair of those boots for quite sometime but knew in that moment my search was over. Off I went to scour the internet, but to no avail. They were no where to be found.

Fast forward to this past weekend when I walk into a DSW back home, and BAM. Front row, calling my name are the EXACT boots my little heart had sought out. They only had one size left. You guessed it, just my size. Clearly it was meant to be. Don't you just love when that happens?

These pictures don't do them justice. I need better lighting.

I tried to find a link to them on the web for you all, but it's if this boots are part of the witness protection program. Nada.The closest I could find where these, but they don't have the two tone that really makes the shoe.

Good luck finding your winter boot staple!

Have a Ball

I have absolutely nowhere to wear a ball gown, or any type of gown for that matter, but lately I've been obsessed with them. They are all so beautiful and dreamy. Do you remember that scene from Sex and the City where Carrie falls asleep in her glorious gown while waiting for the Russian in Paris? I want to do that.
I think it must be all those Disney princesses I watched when I was little. Damn you, Belle.


First up, a little black swan-esque. Makes me want to reach out and touch those feathers.

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Miss Leighton looking stunning.

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I love every single thing about this dress. I would cover my body in sparkles if it was socially acceptable.

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Mr. de la Renta sure knows how to turn heads.

 

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And of course, this gem from McQueen. It was in an editorial (Vogue, InStyle? can't remember) a few years back, but has been permanently burned into my retinas.

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