sweet sweet valentine

image via studiodiy

we tend to keep our valentine's day celebrations to a minimal. while i thoroughly enjoy this holiday, between my birthday, christmas, and our anniversary, joe and i are fully wined and dined out. so for the last four years, we spend the night together and cook for each other. no reservations, no jewels, no fancy dresses.  just us, hanging with the wiz, exchanging cards and some chocolate fondue. and likely a walking dead marathon this year. 
seriously, we are hooked. 

happy valentine's day!
xoxo

Treats for any Valentine

Boxes of chocolates have never been my thing. We got two boxes from the holidays over a month ago and still have not finished either. But baking Valentine's Day treats... now that is definitely my thing! And throw in chocolate, fudge, strawberries, etc... now that is definitely everybody's thing! I've rounded up a few Valentine treats that are perfect for celebrating this holiday:

Colorblocked Valentine Brownies from The Proper Pinwheel

Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cake from Cook Republic

and a few more here: 

Heart-Shaped Chocolate Sandwich Cookies from Table for Two

Chocolate Heart Cupcakes from Whipped

Red Velvet Cheesecake-Stuffed Cake Balls by Willow Bird Baking 

be mine

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite days.  Maybe it is the hopeless romantic in me, but there is nothing wrong with celebrating love, whether you are single or attached. Boyfriend and I usually celebrate Valentine's Day in with a date night in, drinking wine and cooking up something special (think: fancy seafood & thick steaks). But no matter how you celebrate, here are some of my valentine's day favorites! Now pop some champagne and smell the roses! 

Heart Cookie Cutter Set / Girl Boxers / Heart Earrings / Pink Bra  / Guy Boxers 

Bath Salts / Lipstick  / Love Poems Book / Rose Candle /  Robe 

a (little late) list

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I'm a little late in welcoming 2013 but hope you were able to ring in it with great friends, some bubbly and party hats! 2012 was a bit of a tough cookie and I'm looking forward to starting a new planner, new goals and a new year! 

Resolutions 2013

Save: 12 weeks of no shopping for clothing, accessories and shoes.

Move: work out 3-5 times a week & run 2 races this year. 

Cook: limit fast food (which is easy now since the food poisoning) & make meals at home 3 evenings a week

Date: date more regularly - try a new restaurant with Joe each month.

Drink: 72 oz of water daily & limit alcoholic beverages to only one night a week.

Travel: visit three places this year for fun, not for work or weddings. LA and NYC are two on the list. 

Decorate: make lots of trips to West Elm and Home Depot and get our home painted & decorated. Goal date: June 1st. 

au revoir, 2012

image via weheartit

2012 will always be a year of silver linings in my book. We rang in 2012 in Des Moines, with sparkles and party hats. Winter months came and went, and I did alot of growing up and learning. I spent alot of time working and enjoying moments with the boyfriend, friends and family. Spring into Summer gave us time to make some big decisions, celebrate with many dear friends and in the Fall, we bought a house together. And as we move back into the Winter season, I do feel older. I feel stronger and wiser and ready to start a new year.

Saturday night, Boyfriend and I got struck with a bout of food poisoning. We spent our Sunday curled up on separate couches, covered in blankets and trying to hold down liquids and crackers. We watched football, slowly ate applesauce and tried to enjoy the sick day together. This morning, we both woke up feeling a lot better. Maybe not 100% but ready to give solid foods a try and get out of the house. We might not ring in 2013 in style, sparkles and loud music, but we'll still ring it in with good friends, a champagne toast and together. Together is key. 

Cheers to being stronger, healthier, more organized and even more curious. I resolve to travel more, date Joe regularly, train harder and more often, continue this process of being a homeowner and make smart choices, personally and professionally. So here's to 2013 and whatever you may bring! 

all that glitters

New Year's Eve plans have yet to be solidified but the hunt for the perfect sparkly dress is on! 

Top Row: 1 2 3
Bottom Row:  1 2 3 4

oh hello

I've been a bit MIA as a of late. Birthdays and holidays seem to slip by way to quickly and I cannot believe it's almost 2013! We've been celebrating and brunching and celebrating some more! We threw a party for my birthday, dined at Saffron in Minneapolis, ate lots of cake, saw a movie for Christmas, spent time with friends and family, enjoyed some much needed time off and it was all fabulous. Hope your holidays were just as wonderful! 

gift guide :: your super smart sister who is returning home from her first semester at law school

My younger sister is returning from her first semester of UCLA law this week and our whole family is beyond excited! I think for my parents, 5 months is far too long to go without seeing her (even though she did go abroad to London for a semester).

When I asked about her gift list she said she needed to think about it some. But in the midst of Contracts finals and 8-hour take homes, I found a few items that I think she'll love and use during her next semester.

1 /  Michael Kors watch: perfect "watch out world" watch

2 / Kate Spade laptop bag: going to the library and back in style

3 / Coffee/Tea french press: coffee seems like a necessity in law school

4/ UCLA sweatpants: for those late night study sessions

5 / Ticket stub binder: she's a big movie and theater lover

6 / Bicycle glasses: fun glassware for her apartment

7 / Make your own sushi kit: for her to show off her sushi skills

it's that time of year!

Holiday parties are in full swing! Whether you're attending a cookie swap, bad santa or ugly sweater party, you'll want to arrived decked out in holiday spirit. Here are two outfits that I've been considering for my own holiday parties coming up.

Look 1:  Sweater / Leggings / Flats 
Look 2: Dress / Vest / Booties 

our first date of christmas!

was a surf and turf date night in.

we cooked, we laughed and we ate. 

and it was delicious.

cheers to our 12 upcoming dates of Christmas.

thanks for an awesome first date! 

good eats: our thanksgiving meal

thought i'd share what was at our table on Thanksgiving. 

thankful

Just wanted to pop in for a quick hello. Did you have a good Thanksgiving? Ours was wonderful. I spent most of the day cooking and preparing to showcase my skills to my parents and was really excited when my mom said my turkey was better than hers! We sat around our dining table, watching the football game, looking at black Friday ads and drinking wine. My dad even did the dishes for me (I told him a million times he didn't have to but he insisted).
I have so much to be thankful for this year. An amazing family. My brilliant little sister (miss you!). A wonderful boyfriend. Our mischievous cat. Our little home. Good friends. Having work + good health. Silver linings. and everything in between. It warmed up this week but now it's cooling down and there was even a little snowfall. So thankful for snow (and scarves and mittens and boots!)

Time to turn on the Christmas music, string up those icicle lights + let the holiday season begin!

thanksgiving options

Why does Thanksgiving turkey need to be so complicated? There are so many options (too many options!). I have lists upon lists of things I need to do... or could do! Do I need to brine the turkey or not? Cook the stuffing inside the bird? Beforehand? Can I do it the day before? Need to tie the turkey? First timer? do this... no, do that! Good thing I'm planning plenty of side dishes in case my turkey does not pan out.

but hey, at least there will be wine!

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!

Snapshots

that's what's been going on lately.

I'm taking a big step this year and cooking my family Thanksgiving dinner. It's just the four of us (sister is stuck in LA) so hopefully it'll be easy. Or as easy as the Thanksgiving meal can really be. But I have the day off tomorrow + the plan is to start prepwork, get Christmas lights up and hopefully gather with some friends who have been out of town. and maybe freak out a little.

happy halloween

carved myself this awesome pumpkin last night. 

super pumped about it. 

if the squirrels eat this one while i'm away at work, i think i may cry. 

Happy Halloween!

over the weekend: halloween edition

i think this halloween weekend might actually take the cake. not only did we get to celebrate halloween but also two birthdays! even last night, we realized that all weekend long we stayed pretty busy and we got so many things done. and had so much fun doing them. it was glorious. 

i also learned that mustaches are very hard to manage. serious props to any man participating in movember.

enjoying a cool walk to work \\ celebrating this lady's birthday!

more birthday celebrations \\ dressing up as hipster disney princesses 

casual saturday breakfast at home \\ taking care of our backyard 

 

ghost cookies! \\ gearing up to save princess peach

mario + luigi! 

we topped off the weekend with some good ol' fashioned pumpkin carving and some sunday evening drinks with friends. 

how was your halloween weekend? 

happy halloween weekend!

photo via cupcakes take the cake 

it's by far one of my favorite weekends of the year! so thankful that the weekend is (almost) here! boyfriend and I are dressing up as the fantastic duo Mario and Luigi. 

Cheers + Happy Halloween! 

happy valentine's day!

enjoy this day of love! i hope it's full of hugs, kisses and sweet sweet joy

image via

welcome welcome 2012

we rang in 2012 down in Des Moines, IA with endless drinks, noisemakers & plenty of shenanigans!

Soooo... i'm less of a resolutions type of girl and more of a hopes/plans/wishes kinda girl. so here's my hopes/plans/wishes for twenty twelve:

• be more ambitious. focus on studying with the goal in mind: grad school
• drink more water
• explore more. whether it be through travel or just time outdoors
• start yoga
• run more, run often
• keep my car clean (inside and out)
• more and more lovely dates with J. keep them regular.
• organize my work computer desktop/files
• take more photos + update the blog more
• start living within my means
• be a more thoughtful friend, sister and daughter.
• plenty of love, smiles, laughter and silliness.

cheers!!

oh 2011, it was a good run

hey 2011. this year was a whirlwind. we had some beautiful + wonderful ups and some things i will never forget. personally, i think 2012 will be much better but that's just me. i've already got some great plans in store and cannot wait!

In 2011, I...

• got a fulltime job (!!!!)
• ran my first 5k
• moved to a new apartment with joe
• many visits to catch up with college friends, whether it was in mpls, des moines or chicago we always know how to get a little crazy
• spent more time with my family that i ever had in the last five years
• said goodbye to my Target discount. you are missed
• party rocked and shuffled through October
• became a better sports fan
• got lazy and grew my hair out soley so i could have my mulan bun back. and then i cut it again
• cooked more. baked more. crafted more.
• got a wonderful gift from my parents including a new computer + camera (and a food processor from J)
• celebrated my sister's achievements of getting into law school. and am plenty excited for her upcoming graduation and send off!
• enjoyed sweet dates with J. we had many and we have many more ahead!
• spent lots of time with our sweet sweet kitten
• developed more. personally and professionally. but i can already tell i have much more to grow!

alright 2012, im ready!  let us celebrate the end of 2011 & the beginning of a wonderful 2012 with a sparkly dress, champagne & good company!

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