a lil music, a lil vino

mondays (and tuesdays) have never been my favorite, but in an attempt to start my day off on a happy note, i'll recap a few things that went on this weekend. and i must say, it was a pretty darn good weekend. i am still diligently trying not to allow myself to get sucked into that downward-spiraling hole of poopy thoughts and feels. so anyways!

last thursday night i went to the first concert i've been to in years! rocked out to the Naked and Famous with my bestie. i dont' know if it's just been so long since my last concert, or if i've just never paid attention before, but i couldn't help but do a little "people watching." and i felt old!!!! lol 99.1234235345% of the crowd was between the ages of 14 and 17!! here i am, my tiny but 28 year old self, surrounded by a sea of babies!! it was pretty funny, awkward, whatever haha. there was a moment where i felt like a mom though. this group of three inebriated teenage girls shoved their way through about half way into the set. my sassy self made it known that their pushy, drunken selves weren't welcome to stand directly in front of me. one girl had the nerve to wrap her arms around me and attempt to drunkenly try to rationalize their rudeness by being all "peace and love girlfriend." i gave her a verbal finger wag for underage drinking, took her beer away and sent the three of them on their way. i die thinking of how matronly this sounds!!! lol now, i won't dare say i was an angle as a teen, but i was certainly more on the slower-to-experiment, maybe-even-socially-naive spectrum. seeing kids drinking at an age when i was 126% enveloped in school, friends, music, pep rallies, etc... really does a number on me... but i digress. it was a great night. :)

me n the bestie :)

saturday evening brought a bit more of an age appropriate event. i attended my first wine walk! the night was absolutely lovely. perfectly crisp, but not too chilly, fall weather. the guy and i met up with a coworker of mine and her boyfriend. we chatted and meandered from station to station sipping and sharing our not-so-wine-snobby thoughts with each pour. the event offered 20 different wines, but this lightweight group sampled about half before we all agreed food was in order. the event was held at my favorite outdoor mall in town, where one of my favorite restaurants/sports grills happens to call home. lucky for me, my three companions like Yard House as well. whether it be the wine, the company, or the beautiful night, we chatted the evening away.

we even got to keep our wine glasses

afterwards, the dude and i stopped by a friends house for a bit. side note: we were invited to two halloween parties, both of which were at the same exact time as the wine walk. one was a costume party, which we just knew we'd never be able to make, since we'd either have to go back home (clear across town) to change after the walk, or bring our costumes and makeup with us and attempt to change in the car. neither option sounded at all appealing. the second party was more of a casual fall get together, and sounded much more up our alley. so that's how that decision was made...

yup, so those are my happy thoughts from the weekend. :)

halloween is in two days!! are you excited?

dat funk

i've been in a funk lately. you know those days when you just don't feel like yourself? admittedly, i've been having one of those months. don't get me wrong, i've had plenty of fun, and have actually had a pretty busy "social calendar." who am i? thing is, when i'm engaged and doing something i feel fine. normal me. no cloudy thoughts to weigh me down. it's when i have downtime that i've just felt blah. my mind goes blank, and i feel like a zombie. i don't want to talk to anyone. do anything. go anywhere. get dressed. or out of bed. it's just not me... truth be told, this funk is nothing new. i was just hoping i wouldn't have to go through it again. i'll leave it at that. just wanted to address my M.I.A. self. i can't promise things will change overnight (because realistically it's a little more than just a frame of mind), but i am making an effort to be more myself. be present. less funky...

okay, so that issue addressed and aside, i feel like i have a lot to catch up on.

last post i mentioned having made a turkey chili dish. well, after a lot of dawdling on my part, here it is. i used this recipe. i'll admit, i left out a whole ingredient (the tomato soup) on accident. surprisingly though, i didn't miss it. it went completely unnoticed until i found the darn can of soup sitting out on the counter, right next to the range. don't know how i missed it, since it was sitting right next to the other canned goods that went into the pot. anyways, i still thoroughly enjoyed it, as did my roommate. so that says something, right?

why isn't my chili red? hmmmm.... i wonder why.

remember that crafting itch i had a few weeks back? well, this darlings in the result. i'm quite pleased with it! it's my first attempt at wreath making, and i think it looks rather cute! i can't wait to make one for christmas. :)

one of my happiest days so far this month was last friday when i picked up my wedding dress. now, i haven't even begun the alterations process (we're 8 months out, so it's still a little soon), but seeing it in person, and holding what is the dress i'll walk down the isle in, made it 167.42% more real. i was thrilled and speechless all at once. i've checked the closet in the guest bedroom a couple of times just to be sure that it really is hanging up in there, and that i'm not just imagining it.

my bestie/roommate came with me to pick it up and we made it a girl's day. funny thing is we haven't really had a chance to hang out, just the two of us, even though we live together now. so really, we were due for a girl date. we chatted, walked about, and did a little shopping at our favorite outdoor mall. it's funny how shopping always makes me hungry. maybe it's the walking from store to store, or maybe it's just more of a habit. anyways, our stomaches lead us to sushi. and later on, to ice cream.

vegan cookies and cream!

here's a dish my roommate made last week. turkey meatballs in marinara sauce, over brown rice spaghetti.

we realized that we share a lot of the same tastes in food, so came up with the ingenious idea to alternate the task of cooking each week. it keeps things fun and fresh, since we have different recipes and cooking styles. not to mention, it will help reduce food waste and allows us to split the cost, saving us both money. my dude will likely continue cooking separately, since he's a little more of a meat and potato guy.

not really news of any sort, but i discovered this gem at work. i'm obsessed with tea, but rarely stray from my green, black, or chai favorites. i was so intrigued by the combination of chocolate and strawberry in a tea that i just had to do a taste test. and i wasn't disappointed. i was worried it would be cloyingly sweet, but the flavors are light, delicate, and deliciously well balanced.

i did have a little heart-stopping excitement this week, when i almost won a car. long story short, the C.E.O. of my company decided to raffle off his car. he's a know for being a little eccentric, so honestly, no one at work batted an eye when he first made the announcement. and the reasoning behind it is solid. he's traveling 99.23938734% of the time, and utilizes a driver and plane more often than not. in all reality, he rarely gets any use out his car. anyways, company events over the past year or so were assigned a point value, so each time an employee attended an event, he or she was awarded a certain number of points that in turn represented the same number in raffle tickets. wednesday they drew three names, and mine was one of the three!! the three of us went head to head in a little friendly competition. we were asked a trivia question, and the one to answer it correctly and completely won. it was essentially a six-part question, and i answered 5/6 of it before i choked. so, no new car for me. i did win an iPod touch though.

say cheeeeeeesssee!!!

and so, i leave you with this silly picture. i don't really understand it, but we always end up with animals at our company celebrations. anyways, i was able to capture this cute and funny shot the other day. it made me laugh. something everyone should enjoy doing more often. :)

whirlwinds & pumpkins

this weekend was such a whirlwind! . . . well, more like a cyclone actually.

let's see . . . i woke up in a cleaning frenzy on friday. from the moment i was out of bed it was sweep this, straighten that, dust this, reorganize that. the results were quite rewarding! i also made sure my finances were in order. fact: i still "balance" my checkbook! i did finally go digital with it earlier this year. for the longest time i was still using those checkbook balancing books that my bank gives out hahaha!. but yes, i am a numbers geek in so many ways. hmmm, what else? . . . i took care of bills and list making. fact: i cannot shop without a list. i get super overwhelmed and forget why i am even at the store. oh! and i carved out 45 minutes for a dynamic, all-over muscle warming (and sculpting) vinyasa flow. it's been about three weeks since i've laid it all out on my yoga mat, and boy did it feel amazing!

the baby boo and i chillaxin on the couch after a rigorous yoga sesh

the dude and i spent the night with friends. one of our "couples" friends absolutely loves to entertain, and threw her 2nd annual Octoberfest party. i sampled a couple of delicious craft beers, but stuck to my pic of the evening, a Rogue Pumpkin Patch Ale. it is seriously like drinking in the flavors of fall! spicy and with such rich notes of pumpkin. i will be picking up another bottle before it's gone for the season. i also indulged in many a scrumptious snack that night. among my favorites was this pumpkin cookie. i am truly, absolutely, positively obsessed with pumpkin everything. i feel like a lot of girls say this, but i am serious as a heart attack. 

no fall celebration is complete without a backyard bonfire :)

just a few of the brews at the shindig. no, i didn't drink all of these lol

pumpkin crack. no really...

pumpkins as table decorations. uhm... yes!

saturday and sunday were deep, deep, super deep cleaning days spent at the apartment. yesterday we finally go to turn in our keys! yippee hooray for sure!! we've had a whole plethora of issues with maintenance and management since moving in three years ago, so while i would normally have been a little sad to turn in my keys and put a close to another chapter, i was ecstatic. it was more like goodbye and good riddance!

hmmm . . . other highlights include a 4.5 hour salon visit where my hair stylist beautified my coif. i had an idea of what i wanted it to look like, but he surpassed my expectations like always. :)

from dark brown to red brown in under 5 hours ;)

other than that, i did a lot of shopping yesterday. target. where i found a hat and broom for my homemade witch costume. really, it consists of this flowy, black dress and uber cute heels i bought at Urban Outfitters for a roaring 20s party last year. home depot. michael's. i have this crafting itch and bought a ton of stuff to make a fall wreath. pictures will definitely be up soon! trader joe's. and vons. phhewww!! so much done in really not that much time at all.

i finally relaxed over cooking dinner (i truly find cooking to be one of the most relaxing activities) and a glass of wine. i never did snap a pic, but the pumpkin turkey chili (i told you i am obsessed with pumpkin) i made is on tonight's menu. i will not disappoint this time!

well, i hope everyone has a great week!

what are your holloween plans? are you going to dress up?

is there anything seasonal that you are obsessed with?

boxes on boxes on boxes... & thai food

boxes on boxes on boxes!!

they say that a picture is worth 1,000 words. if that's the case, then this picture says it all! no, but seriously, this pretty much sums up my friday through sunday.

the move started out friday night with my fish tank. my 30gal, although in the perfect place for optimal living room flow, was also in optimal being-in-the-way position for the move. so, it just had to be the very first thing to go over to the new house. let me tell you, moving any fish tank larger than 10 gallons is no fun. the good news, there were no casualties.

and as if there weren't enough boxes cluttering up the apartment, i caught a lil shopping bug... :D

we needed more boxes for packing, right? ;)

after a long day of moving on saturday, we relaxed and chit chatted over thai food and a glass of wine. funny story about this wine, my friend/new roomie and i were in the mood to try something new. we usually opt for a cab when we buy wine together, but were feeling a tad adventurous. neither of us knows a lick about wine though, so we had to recruit the help of Total Wine's specialist. i feel bad for him lol. imagine two girls asking for a wine rec, but all you had to go off is, "we're looking for a white wine that isn't too sweet." yikes! but he was a doll, and picked out the perfect bottle for the night.

the spicy notes paired perfectly with our spicy thai dinner!

sunday was extra busy this week, since we had to stock our new fridge with healthy goodies. TJ's and Whole Foods were both incredibly busy, but we still managed to make it in and out of both stores in record time! we also made stops at Home Goods (for a few, well... home goods haha), Bath & Body (where we binge shopped for room scents... our house smells delicious now ;) ), Michael's (i was on a mission to find a wreath, but no luck yet), and Home Depot (for an outdoor trash can and cleaning supplies). the rest of the day was spent unpacking and finding a place for everything. i have to say, we made amazing progress for just having a day to settle in.

i'm no fan of monday's, but i'm hoping it treats me, and you, well. :)

it's a wrap

oh hi! okay, so i'm going to attempt to recap the last couple of weeks. aaaaaand here i go!!

let's see... first is the move to the new office. well, new campus really because it's so much more than just a building. the company is working towards gold LEED certification, so there's a ton of eco-friendly and green initiatives involved with the whole building, construction, and campus design aspect. it's pretty awesome. :)

:) here's my new desk! it's not really curved,
my panoramic function just makes it look like it is. 

enjoying a little iced tea & sun out on the deck of our on-site cafe

when you've never had an actual commute to work, boy does it shake things up when life does a 180° flip. i'm pretty much an early bird to begin with, so getting up early is nothing new to me. it's the actual drive and dealing with traffic that i have a hard time with. traffic and being in a car in general have always caused really bad anxiety for me. if i could, i'd live in a commuter-friendly town and walk everywhere... but, i digress. must live in the now... funny thing is, now that i'm beginning to adjust, i'll have to learn a whole new routine since our new place is on the complete opposite side of town, 25 miles away from our current apartment.

on top of trying to get in sync with the new work campus and routine, work itself has really begun to pick up. caution: the busy season is finally arriving! when things get hectic, it's time to pop on my urbanears and type the day away until my fingers are achy and my eyes glossed over with that staring-at-the-computer-screen-for-too-long look. hot tea (i've been absolutely obsessed with The Republic of Tea's Honey Ginseng Green Tea lately) and coffee have been lifesavers recently!

oh! i can't believe i forgot about the other exciting news! geeze, so much excitement lately. we found the wedding coordinator (and design) team of our dreams!! seriously, if you have never heard of (haha i say that as though everyone should) Scheme Events... boy are you missing out. for realsies though. this group of ladies has coordinated some truly, truly gorgeous weddings, and i am oh, so excited (and truth be told honored) for them to design our big, big, biggest of days!!!

and while i'm on the topic of weddings... my dress (THE dress) ships from wherever it was made (not a clue from where) and will arrive in store at the end of the month!! eeeeeeeeeeekkkkk!!! i have major, major, serious butterflies when i think of it! le sigh...

now, i realize i didn't put up a "what's on the menu" post for this week. firstly, again, it's been nuts. nutso. crazy. busy. hectic... secondly, all my pots, pans, dishes, cookware... you get the point, etc... are neatly packed away, so cooking isn't an option. i bought a week's worth of pre-made meals from Fresh N Easy. they have this new (well, new to me because i haven't shopped there in ages. i have no clue if they are new) line of EatWell grab-n-go meals. not what i'd eat ideally, but sometimes you just have to tweak your routine and go with the flow.

i also haven't put up a workout post in a while. my workouts have been so inconsistent and broken up. it's was really tough not to beat myself up over being out of routine. there's been several mental boxing matches going on inside this little brain of mine... until i finally decided to stop focusing on the negative (the fact my workouts have been sporadic) and realize that sometimes things need to fall apart a little in order to make room for imminent change. and that is ok. instead of posting and bringing focus (in my mind) to fewer workouts, i've decided not to post my workouts until i am in a more regular rhythm that i'm comfortable with.

hmmm... i want to say that just about wraps up my life for the past two weeks or so.

whose got some exciting news to share? :)

let's get our move on!

so it's for realsies! we did our walk through, paid our deposits + first month's rent, and got the keys!! move-in day is officially 3 days away!! eeeeeekkkk!!! i know we started talking business a few weeks ago, but it never really felt real until i was holding the key. :)

my new house keys :)

i took so many pictures during our walk through, i'm pretty sure the property manager thought i was nuts haha. when it comes to renting though, it's better to be safe and take pictures of every little detail that pops out at you, than to not and get charged for things that were there when you first moved in. that's just my experience though. property management companies out here are rough!! is it like that anywhere else?

well, again, this is a shortie. i'm working late tonight and tomorrow to make up for leaving early to do the walk through yesterday. tomorrow is my last work day of the week, so i'm hoping to be able to sit down and type up a real blog in the next few days.

i hope everyone is having a good week so far :)