$5 Real Simple

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Little Letters

Dear Omar, I made it to Tuesday!  Here in a few short hours I will be boarding a plane to meet up with you and your family.  I.Cannot.Wait. 

Dear Gypsy, I miss you, and I hated leaving you on Sunday.  Have fun with the Lightning’s and don't eat too much turkey!

Dear Lightning's,  Thank you for taking care of Gypsy while we are gone.  B, have a wonderful birthday!  I will miss our annual Turkey Day and birthday tradition with you and Rat.

Dear Family,  Happy Turkey Day!  I will see you in a New York minute!
 

Dear Queso, We shall meet in the very near future!  I plan on working out every day in Austin just so hopefully I can counteract a little of the damage I plan to do in Texas!

Dear Aggies, Beat the hell out of UT!

Dear 2009 Christmas tree, I have moved furniture around in preparation of your arrival this Sunday.  You will be our 3rd tree to have and decorate in San Francisco.  I can't wait to meet you!

New Shoes

As mentioned before, I'm in desperate need of a new pair of gold flats.  Have my prayers been answered?

I might hold off - I'm not a big internet shopper.  I like to try things on first.  But, these are really cute!

Sewing

I really wish I knew how to sew.  There are so many cute simple things out there that I have to buy, just because I can't use a sewing machine.  For example, check out this cute onesie ($15) and dish towels ($10).  I really don't know much about sewing, but I'm pretty sure these aren't too difficult  to make. 

Or, if I knew how to sew then I could open up my own Etsy shop!

Blueprint Bliss

I guess it's never too late to learn...

25 day of Christmas

I just read Oh Happy Day and I'm total adopting their family Christmas tradition!  Basically it will be mine and Omar's advent calendar and everyday starting December 1st we try to do an activity to get us excited for Christmas!  Here is her list with some modifications for us!  We typically do all these things, but I love the idea of having a list!  Omar is going to love hate this! 

1.  Go ice skating (we are planning on doing this in NY Christmas day @ Rockefeller Center)

2.  Watch It's a Wonderful Life and make spiced cider

3.  Sit at the window seat of the Wine Star and enjoy wine while watching Christmas shoppers

4.  Make Christmas cookies for friends

5.  Hang mistletoe and kiss under it
6.  Address and mail Christmas cards
7.  Download a new Christmas CD for our party

8.  Memorize the 12 Days of Christmas lyrics

9.  Put up a wreath

10.  Put up a ribbon sash for Christmas cards

11.  Donate canned goods

12.  Host a Christmas party (December 12th, be there!)

13.  Give neighbors a present

14. Make hot toddies or eggnog and watch Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation
15.  Attend Christmas Eve mass

16.  Make a popcorn garland

17.  Listen to my favorite Christmas songs

18.  Drive around to see neighborhood lights

19.  Go out and see public light display

20.  Open a gift (new stocking or pajamas)

21.  Eat out at the Cheesecake Factory and enjoy the view of the Union Square Christmas tree

22.  Rent Four Christmases (and look for us as extras)

23.  Attend the Union Street Christmas festival and parade

24.  Make decorative sugar cookies

25.  Sign up to purchase gifts for a needy child

Sleep vs. Glee

I was so tired last night that I missed Glee.  Yes, that means I went to bed before 9 pm.  Hey, if you are tired enough to fall asleep at 8 p.m., your body is telling you something.  I needed it.  Don't judge - I have Glee on DVR.  Will watch tonight (if I can stay awake after boot camp)!

Christmas inspiration

Wow!  I'm getting nothing.  I've been researching some inspiration for Christmas decorating and I'm not coming up with much!  I need some fresh new ideas since I'm throwing a Christmas party (and it will be my 1st party in our new apartment)!  I do have two pictues, though.

I love this wreath.  I found it in the J.Crew catalog from last year.  Anyone know where I can get one?

Omar and I don't have Christmas stockings.  (oh the shame!)  I've been looking for a pair for 2 years!  I really like the long wool kind from the above picture.  Wouldn't another fun idea be wool mittens instead of stockings....hmmmm.....

Red Lipstick

I forgot to mention, I bought some red Chanel lipstick this weekend...I wish I had a picture!  LOVE!  I can't wait to wear it again. 

I know it seems odd that I'm sporting the red lipstick since I rarely wear lipstick at all, but this is super fun!

Holy Water

For wedding gifts Omar and I got several decanters and pitchers, so my new favorite thing is to always have water sitting out ready to be had!  When visitors come over I try to spruce it up a bit by adding lemons, limes, or cucumbers.  What I haven't tried is mint!  This might be the perfect ingredient for the holiday season.

Happy Hump Day!

It's official - we are halfway through the work week!

CELEBRATE!
(too bad I don't have a little bottle of champagne to go with my lunch!)

New Moon!!!

Don't forget - Twilight's New Moon is out in theaters this Friday!  Dang, Omar is leaving for Austin on Friday....I might have to wait to see it over the Thanksgiving holiday!  Are you planning on seeing it?  How could you miss an opportunity to watch Rob Pattinson (who was in Vanity Fair's December 2009 issue)?

31 Great Gifts Under $31

Here's a great article from Real Simple, especially if you need a fun hostess gift or you are on a budget this year (like me)!  31 Great Gifts Under $31.

Click on the calendar and each day a new gift will pop up. This awesome poster is from November 2nd, and I'm thinking it would make an excellent gift for my work gift exchange.

Santa's blog

I really do believe in Santa Claus.  Here's further proof that he exists - his blog!  Yep, love it!  Click here to follow Santa during this holiday season!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Can you feel the Christmas spirit?  I definitely am now that I'm not so busy at work.

One thing that I really need to get to work on is Christmas cards!  What am I going to do this year?  I feel a little weird doing photo cards this year since I sent out wedding announcements 5 months earlier with our picture, and I believe M + D are sending out cards with our family picture from the wedding.  I really don't want to bombard people with pictures of us!  The last two years I've done San Francisco Christmas cards.  Will a 3rd year in a row be overkill?  I did find these at Tiny Prints that I think are pretty cute.  But do you know how hard it is to find San Francisco themed cards?  It's hard!

I also would like to do a vintage theme - kind of like the first picture I posted and these vintage glittered postcards from the Paper Source. What do you think?

Weekends go by too fast!

I could wait for the weekend to be here, and now it's gone.  Here's to another week.  Let's home it's a good one. 

So what did I do this weekend -  Brooke and Paige came to visit me in San Francisco on Saturday.  We got makeovers at Chanel, had lunch at Cheesecake Factory, did some shopping (they both got Tory Burch shoes, but I didn't), and drank too much.  Sunday I had to do a little recooperating, and instead of Tory Burch shoes I got some new Brooks running shoes.  I also found out this weekend that my friend Robyn has been admitted into the hospital.  She is 30 weeks into her pregnancy and her little one, Morgan, is trying to make an early appearance.  Robyn & Morgan have been in our thoughts and prayers all weekend (and Don, too!). 

Happy birthday to Omar's parents.  They share a birthday of November 15th!  We can't wait to be down in Austin to help celebrate birthdays and Thanksgiving with them.  Omar leaves on Friday and I will follow next Tuesday!

I heart ban.do

ban.do just came out with their new heart by ban.do line (these hair accessories are all under $50)!  Too cute!

k - $35

q - $35

s - $35

now this one is not part of their cheaper line, but it's awesome and wanted to share!

no. 57 - $95

Happy Monday

how was everyone's weekend?  omar and I had a great one!

here's a little recap: 

omar didn't have to work / we both got our hair cut / I did two, one-hour long runs / apartment is clean / omar watched football / wine & pizza / i had an allergice reaction to plums / we explored burlingame and checked out r&d's new place / where did the weekend go

Anthropologie

Have you had a chance to watch Keith Johnson, Anthropologie's top buyer, on Man Shops Globe?  You should check it out.  Sundance Channel.  It was interesting this weekend to watch him shop flea markets in India, and uncover some awesome treasures!  Very inspiring!

Also, Anthropologie just launched a new website called The Anthropologist.  The website is a new "online space for inspiring works and inspiring invidiuals."  Very cool!

S'mores Kits

Cute idea for party favors!!

Twig & Thistle

The two bottom boxes are 3" x 3" x 2" and the top one is 2" square.

Isn't this fun little kit awesome!

Ruche

I read online that the store Ruche is like Anthropologie but for a fraction of the price.  So I went to check it out, because hey who wouldn't love Anthro clothes for cheaper.  Here's what I found:

amelie ivory roses striped dress $36.99

bluebell double breasted coat - $59.99

modern victorian sweater dress - $54.99

Pink Studio Valonia t-strap shoes in Light Green - $56.99

Verdict:  I think they have some cute stuff and their prices are lower than Anthro.  I wish I could try them on before ordering them.  However, Anthro has a lot more to choose from.  Check out Ruche and let me know what you think!

Photo Shoot - Central Park

How awesome is this family portrait? I love it all the different colors. Too cute!

Check out more of these awesome pictures here.

I wish Omar and I would have worn something other than white and denim for our engagement pictures....don't get me started on our outfits - it was a rough few days leading up to the pictures.  Oh well - next photo session I will be ready.

hey Jude

While Omar was working this weekend I caught Across the Universe on tv.  Love that movie and love this flowchart!

I think I'm going to listen and sign along with hey Jude right now!

spotted here

Blogging

Although it may appear that blogging is my day job, it's not!  I just do this during my "breaks".  Anyone know how I can make this my day job, though?

Mirrored Backsplash

How awesome is this kitchen?  Although the mirrored backsplash is pretty sweet, I think I like the turquoise ceiling the most!

Picture from a Great Full Day

It's interesting that a lot of my blogs lately have been home inspiration pictures....Maybe it's time to move!  And maybe I should coordinate my blogs based on the room type....

I heart Etsy

Fun finds on Etsy

Cake Mail by Tang Baby

Farty Lights by dippylulu