Monday Blues

It's a cold, dreary day here in Chicago. Right now, I'm really missing the warmer California weather. I was so excited to live in a place that snowed again, but I'm so over it! I'm ready for spring; warmer weather, sundresses, sandals and sunglasses. 

The combination of the cold weather, the seemingly never ending job search, the major life changes and still getting used to living in a new city has been getting me down lately. I did have an interview last week and I have another interview this week that I'm really excited about, so hopefully I will get a job soon. Please keep your fingers crossed for me and send good vibes my way! 

I'm really trying to stay positive and upbeat, but sometimes it's really hard. Lately, I've been looking up a lot of inspirational quotes and thought I would share some things that cheer me up. 

Apparently Google Reader is going away, so if you want to continue following me please follow me on Bloglovin here.

And.... I figured it was time to make a new blog button, so if you had my button and would like to updated please grab the code from the right-hand side of my blog. Thanks!!!! 

Happy Monday!!! 

P.S. 10 days until my birthday!!! Woohoo!!!!

It's my birthday.... MONTH!!!

Does anyone else get super excited for their birthday month? My birthday isn't until the 28th, but March 1 comes along and WOOHOO, let's get the party started!!! I LOVE birthdays! I spent my 30th birthday in Vegas. I'm not sure how 31 can top that, but I have a feeling this is going to be one of the best birthdays ever! New year, new age, new, city, new beginnings! Bring it 31!

I sure have missed this little blog world and am promising myself that I'm going to start blogging more regularly again. It was about this time last year that I started blogging more and really started to find my place here. I've made some great friends over the past year and am looking forward to watching those friendships continue to grow and also to making new friends. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive during all these changes I'm going through. I love my blog sisters!

 I'm packing up to head to St. Louis to celebrate a friends birthday. I LOVE being back in the Midwest and being much closer to my family and friends!!!

Happy weekend!!!

A little bit of this and that...

October has been a pretty busy month, so my blog has been getting neglected. Poor little blog is starting to feel lonely! This week is a busy week getting ready for my friend Melissa's wedding, so this poor little blog will probably be on the back burner for one more week. 

A few things I've been up to over the last week... 

Filled out my ballot while having a glass of wine

 Went to Target to get Taylor Swift's new album, Red. It's been on repeat since Wednesday. Love it!!! Thanks Shanna for telling me to go buy it. :)

Before going to get my hair done. 

After getting my hair done. Long layers and bangs!!! 

Took a trip to the pumpkin patch. 

   Got a rare picture of this pretty kitty that usually lives under the bed. 

Also, went to lunch with my friend, Lacey, for her 30th birthday. Planned and successfully pulled off a surprise birthday dinner (more on that tomorrow). And went to the most fun 2 year olds birthday party. 

What have you all been up to?

Vegas Day 4

Saturday March 31 was our last full day in Vegas. We went to the Flamingo to enjoy our last buffet on the 24 hour buffet pass we had. The buffet had a whole room full of desserts, including cotton candy! I felt like I was 5 years old again, I was so excited for that cotton candy! After lunch, we walked around the Strip for awhile and then went back to our hotel to lounge at the pool. For dinner, we went to RA Sushi Bar and ate WAY too much sushi and had a couple of yummy fish bowl drinks. I was very proud of Jeremy, he actually tried seared tuna! He hates seafood, which really sucks for me since I could pretty much live on it! After dinner, we went back to our hotel and got ready to go to PURE nightclub at Casear's Palace. Dev was there promoting her new album and even put on a free concert. Christina and I had a blast seeing as we got free vodka drinks until midnight! The boys were a little tired and knew that we had to get up early and make the long drive home the next day, so they decided to go back to the hotel. Christina and I weren't ready for our fun time in Vegas to end, so we decided to walk around and see where the night took us. We ended up meeting a lot of really cool people and stopped at many different hotels for a drink. We were having so much fun, we didn't even realize it was almost 5 AM. The whole vacation was a blast, but I think Christina and I's adventurous late night trip is something I will never forget!

Mmmm.... Cotton Candy!!! 

 Love my Lil C!!! 

This drink was DELICIOUS!!! 

Yummy sushi! Sadly, this wasn't even half of our food

Waiting in line to get into PURE

  Random people we met on our little adventure

 

I think it's safe to say I had the best 30th birthday party ever!!! Whatever 30 has to bring, I am ready for it! 30 is the new 20 right?!? 

Vegas Day 3

After staying out dancing until 3 AM, I was surprised that all four of us were dressed and ready to go to lunch at 11:00 AM. Randy, Christina, Jeremy and I shared a room and four people trying to get ready in one small hotel room can be pretty time consuming. We decided to go to Paris and do the 24 hour buffet for $45. You can't beat your choice of 4 buffets for 24 hours for $45! While we were eating lunch, Jeremy got a text saying that Little Big Town (my favorite band) was signing autographs at Serendipity 3. So, we headed over there as soon as we got done eating. Unfortunately, we were too late for the signing. But... I did get a picture with Phillip and I got to talk to Kim. Luckily, I already have a ticket and a t-shirt with their signatures. I've seen them in concert 5 times, I think you could say I'm a little obsessed with them.

That afternoon, we put on our bathing suits, made some drinks and headed for the pool. Before we even walked in, the lifeguard told us we couldn't bring any outside food or drinks in. Since the pool was closing in an hour anyway, we just decided to go back to our hotel room and get ready to go out that evening. Christina and I weren't too happy with our outfits for the evening, so we decided to head to Miracle Mile and do a little shopping at H&M. We both found shirts we were happy with and changed into them while we were there. We hit up another buffet for dinner and then stopped for Irish Car Bombs on the way back to the hotel. We stayed in that night and just relaxed in our hotel room. All in all, it was a very good day!

Jeremy and Me with Phillip from LBT

 Getting ready to head to the pool

We're sexy and we know it! Lol! 

Too much fun? Never! 

Brotherly love

The outfits we weren't too happy with

Relaxing in the hotel

You don't know this dance move? The drunk dying bug will be all the rage before you know it! 

Is it obvious that Christina and I like to take pictures? As I said in the last post Vegas Day 2,  best sister-in-law in the world!!!

Vegas Day 2

We got up pretty early and went for breakfast at Harrah's buffet with Brandy & Heath. After breakfast, we walked around the Venetian and Fashion Show mall. We decided to stop for an afternoon drink (ok, it was really only noon, but it's vacation right?!?) at StripBurger. Then we met up with Jorge, Lacey and Eric to do a little more walking around. Around 3:30 PM, Randy & Christina (brother-in-law and sister-in-law) text us to let us know they were almost there, so Jeremy and I headed back to our hotel to meet them. While we were waiting, we decided to play a little blackjack (the only gambling we did) and I won $15! You would've thought I won $1,000. I was so excited! Randy and Christina got there and then the party really started! The four of us have so much fun together! Jeremy and Randy are brothers and best friends. And I just have to say, I have the best sister-in-law in the world! We had Chipotle for dinner and then went to Rockhouse where ladies drink free until 12:00 AM on Thursdays! After Rockhouse, we went to Carnaval court and danced the night away!!! BEST BIRTHDAY PARTY EVER!!!

Jeremy and me on the way to breakfast

 Afternoon drink

 Lacey and me walking the strip

Best sister-in-law EVER!

Yes, we rocked matching side ponytails

Brandy, Christina and Me

 

We survived day 2 of Vegas! And the adventure continued...

  

Vegas Day 1

Last Wednesday... March 28th... My 30th birthday!!! We packed up the car and headed to Las Vegas. We met our friends Jorge, Lacey and Eric at a gas station at 5:30 AM and started the 9 hour drive. The drive was pretty long and uneventful, but so worth it once we got there. After getting to our hotel and checking in, our friends Brandy & Heath, who flew in from Georgia, came to our hotel to get the party started. Heath is a big beer freak, so we decided to go to Sin City Brewery at the Flamingo. Jorge, Lacey and Eric met us there and we split a couple pitchers. As we were sitting there drinking, a couple girls came up and invited us to a Jim Beam party at the pool outside with free drinks and appetizers. It was a BLAST!!! One of the best parts of the whole trip. After that, we still hadn't had dinner, so we decided to go to Margaritaville. Brandy and I split the lobster and crab mac & cheese. It was oh-so delicious! Since our brother-in-law and sister-in-law were coming in the next day, we decided to head to bed at a decent time to rest up for the real party on Thursday. Day 1 of Vegas was definitely a success! Stay tuned for days 2, 3 and 4!!!

5:30 AM at the gas station

Starting the trip off right with a yummy Fat Tuesday drink

 Brandy & Me all dressed up and ready to go

Having fun at the Flamingo

Dirty 30 balloon hat! Yes, I'd had a few adult beverages at this point. 

Goodbye 20's, Hello 30... and VEGAS!!!

I have no idea what happened to the context of this post! I guess that's what I get for trying to blog while riding in the car. Anyway... I will be posting pictures from our Vegas trip sometime this week.

Sneak Peek!!!

Last weekend, I had a photo shoot with my friend, Katrina. She is working on building her photography business and I wanted a unique present for Jeremy's 35th birthday, so I decided to do a little boudoir photo shoot. She has sent me about 20 (out of 350) pictures, and I am so happy with how they turned out. I thought I would share one of my favorites so far.

Weekend

I wish I could say I had a super exciting weekend, but this weekend was just not one of those weekends. I must say, it is nice to have a relaxing weekend sometimes. I work from home, so usually by the time the weekend comes around I am ready to get out of the house!

 Friday night, Jeremy and I went to Applebee's for happy hour and then went to see the movie Silent House. It was TERRIBLE! It wasn't scary at all and I had it figured out in the first 15 minutes. I did enjoy seeing what the Olsen twins would look like if they didn't weigh 90 pounds.

Saturday, Jeremy worked on his truck and I read the second book of The Hunger Games trilogy. I am in LOVE with this trilogy. I've had the first two books downloaded on my Ipad since November, but didn't start them until last Wednesday. I wasn't sure if they would be the type of books that I like, but I am hooked! Saturday night, we went to dinner at a new restaurant in town with Jeremy's dad. It was a nice, relaxing Saturday.

Sunday, I had a super secret (from Jeremy) photo shoot with my friend Katrina. She is working on building her photography business and I wanted to do something fun for Jeremy's 35th birthday, so we did a boudoir photo shoot. I was so nervous at first, but after a few pictures, outfit changes and of course a few glasses of wine, I was having a great time! I am so excited to see all of the pictures. I may share some later and ask which ones y'all like best for the book I am going to make Jeremy.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

30th Birthday Outfit

My 30th birthday is 6 weeks from yesterday! Yikes! I am both scared and excited for 30! I sometimes don't feel like I have achieved everything I should have by the age of 30, but then also feel like I've achieved WAY more than I ever thought I would. I have a great husband, a comfortable home, great family & friends, four adorable fur babies, etc. Isn't that all that matters? Anyway, we are going to Vegas for my 30th birthday and the husbands 35th birthday. Yay!!!

So.... I think I need an outfit similar to this