"baby let's cruise...

...away from here."

i'm off on an alaskan cruise/adventure with the family until the 6th and i am so excited for some r&r, delicious food, and cooler temperatures.

see you soon!

image via fotolog

i need a valium

holy cow. could this week get any more stressful? i'm in can't-eat-can't-sleep-can't-form-full-sentences-constantly-a-little-shaky-with-heartburn mode at this point. in addition to a work week of 12 hour days and various damage control from saturday's squirrel incident, i've had a cell phone casualty (oh, and p.s. that insurance i thought i had? i don't.), a television casualty (it actually kind of started burning when i turned on the today show tuesday morning, no doubt another fried electronic from saturday's squirrel incident), a watch casualty, and a minor (but still very annoying) carbon monoxide detector scare. i'm on week two of half-marathon training, which means the only time left for running/lifting has been 6am. i'm leaving for vacation early saturday morning and it looks like a tornado has come through my house. i need some yoga, a couple of deep breaths, a margarita (or three), and a massage.
thank you jesus (and mom and dad) that vacation is coming in about 36 hours. hopefully i'll still be alive.

image via flickr

dreaming of paris

i'm sitting in a conference room right now next to I-85, lit by fluorescent lights, drinking a lukewarm soy latte and (sort of) working. if only...

...to be in love in paris...
                               ...engaged...
                               ...and getting married (with the most insanely gorgeous flowers ever)...

enjoy these delicious photos, taken by my friends stephen and cj. they are so perfectly french and i want to hang them in my house, even though i don't know these people.

bon mercredi! (or, happy wednesday!)

squirrely monday

if you haven't noticed, squirrels are really annoying. i won't say they're stupid - because i've seen a number of them outsmart my parents' squirrel-proof bird feeder by hanging upside down from its roof. that takes at least a little deductive reasoning.
but despite their perseverance, i've never really liked squirrels. i've always been an animal lover, but they are pesky and annoying and destructive. not only did they destroy my attempts to grow basil and cilantro this spring, but they broke my cute flowerpots in the process. and this weekend, the squirrels really secured their position on my list by trying to burn down my landlord's and my houses. when i got home on saturday afternoon, there was a fire truck parked in front of my house. after a minor panic attack, i noticed my home was still standing, but apparently a squirrel felt the need to chew a power line in front of the house, causing not only a fire on the actual power line, but sparks all the way down it as well. it created quite a surge, knocking out power (which is always fun when it's 95 outside) and, as i discovered a little later when power was restored, frying my dvd player, my ethernet box and wireless router, and (worst of all) my air conditioning. awesome. it's a little unnerving to know that such a small animal can inflict such damage. but it's also nice to know that the squirrel that chose to do this probably spent the last  few seconds of his life in a giant ball or flames.

happy weekend!

this week has been super-busy, but enjoyable, and i'm looking forward to almost a full work-free weekend. i haven't had one of those in a while, i'm afraid, and i'm ready to return to five instead of six day work weeks. tomorrow, i'm being fitted for my first-ever bridesmaid's dress! ordinarily, i would freak over dropping three-digits on a dress i'll only wear once, but in this case, i'm ecstatic! i'll be sure to have lots of photos and thoughts as we plan sarah's summer shower and wedding in october!

see you next week!

image via weheartit

sexy sale

although i really don't like this time of year thanks to the onset of (at least) three months of absolutely oppressive heat and humidity, i do love one thing about june: the victoria's secret and bath and body BIG semi-annual sale! i don't think that victoria's secret is really that much greater underwear than anywhere else (and, let's be honest, it's kind of overpriced), but how can you not love rummaging through big bins of pretty underthings and jammies in an entirely pink store that smells good? vs has fantastic marketing and therefore, despite the fact that many other underwear brands are just as great, i still want to shop there. i went to the mall the other day for some hand soap at bath and body and came out with multiple handsoaps, lotion, and three new bras. i will say i actually needed all of those things, and three new bras (all of which are awesome) for $60 is a bargain anywhere. i'm pretty psyched about them. what is it about new underwear and socks that is so exciting?

images: 1.fashionfame.com 2.comesaveme.tumblr.com 

oh, goody (part 2)

a few weeks ago, i had a killer day at the goodwill. in fact, i've had several killer days lately. my closet is bulging and i need to stop shopping. at least i'm paying practically pennies for all of this, i suppose.
i've always loved the goodwill in shelby and so whenever i'm in the area visiting blair or my alma mater, i stop in to browse the deals. all of the stuff you see below, i bought in one trip. it was exhilarating!

for starters, i got this fantastic book. i totally love the tour, and i'm really excited to read this. i'd never even heard of it before - so i was pretty psyched when i found it on the bookshelf. 

i'm completely obsessed with this skinny little gold leather belt from target (tags still attached). it's a little too big, but it looks super cool (and super jcrew) tied in a funky knot around my waist. 

i also found a giant box of the coolest cardstock cards. there are like forty of them, and while they are not crane or kate spade (my stationery of choice), they look like it, so i'm happy. these are just a sampling of the fifteen or so fun little pictures on the cards: a crown, an owl, a bike, and palm tree. maybe if you're really nice to me, i'll send you one with a note inside. 

i loved the owl card (pictured above) so much that i framed him in this fun gold frame (that i also bought for 0.99) and hung it on my cluster wall in my bedroom. 

i have long arms, so finding blazers that i love is often difficult. this particular day, i found three, all of which are fantastic. i can't wait until the weather cools down more and i can wear this one from forever 21. it's got a double-breasted front and pockets. 

this one i've already worn to the office - it's lightweight enough for summer, but still has some cool texture. thankfully, it will also work with some layers in the cooler months. 

and you better believe on the first cool day of fall, i'm wearing this baby with some skinnys and my favorite brown riding boots. october, get here faster. 

and finally, the jackpot find of the day...

...an authentic, never used (as far as i can tell) coach signature "c" print bag. it's a little mini one, but i'm 100% certain it's worth more than the $2.99 i paid for it. i'm pretty much in to big bags, so i passed this baby on to my mom (she loves me). 

a good day? i think so. again, goodwill, i love you. 

i hate summer.

oh my gosh. WHY is it so HOT outside? it's only june and i want to cry. thank goodness i'm headed to alaska in two weeks. i couldn't be happier about going somewhere cool for summer vacay. sorry for the blogging hiatus...i've been sweltering and feeling sorry for myself. my house is old and poorly insulated and my ac is crummy - it's approximately 80 degrees right now inside and it's 11:00pm. awesome. i'm so happy i get to enjoy three more months of this.

image by corinne day

oh, goody

i stopped over at the harrisburg goodwill this afternoon on my lunch hour since i was near there anyway for work. and can i just brag that i found this dress, hanging on a random rack, in my size, in this gorgeous color, with the tags still attached!? oh my gosh! i was pretty sure it was a current style and i was right - it's been so popular this season that the $98.00 dress is sold out on jcrew.com. i paid $4.99. (and it's machine washable. holler.) it's going to look amazing with the $3.49 brand new coral nine west pumps that i got also:

goodwill, i LOVE you.