Things I look forward to

Do not be afraid, ye of faint heart!  For this post is not about to get deeper than deep- it seems to worry friends and family when I "go there."  Instead, this post in reality shall remain quite shallow. 

You see, lately I've been looking forward, instead of behind.  In doing so, I've come across several things I just can't seem to wait for.

But before I start my little ramblings, how bout a song that I pretty much love right now?

I KNOW if any of you listen to any commercial radio stations, you've most likely heard it. 

But I still can't stop humming it:

And now for the things I look forward to:

FALL

Don't hate me, but the first thing I'm dying to see is Fall...no let's call it Autumn (it's so much more romantic that way.)  Overall, I am not a fan of Summer.  I'm tired of the heat and the blazing sun....it's just so hot!! Instead, I look forward to Autumn and what it holds for me: Crisp mornings and warm afternoons; kids preparing to go back to school and all the amazing school supplies waiting to be picked up in the stores; layering on clothing, grabbing a camera and some hot cider and taking in the amazing sights while walking through the crunching leaves; coming home, bundling up and eating some pumpkin pie and watching the new Fall lineup on TV.  That is Fall in a nutshell.

Who could get tired of this? via Pinterest

GROWING THE OL' HAIRS OUT

Not that you can tell, but I've always been a bit obsessed with my hair.  My motto as far as hair goes is to grow it out just to cut it short.  I'd like to say I'm 100% a short hair or long hair person, but in reality, I'm both, with a little love for the medium length as well.  And now? I'm choosing to be short/medium.

I miss curling my hair and doing things with it.  It has been short for quite some time now!



via Pinterest



As of today, this is kinda what I'm going for-but that could change anytime soon.

It always does.

TAKING A MUCH NEEDED TRIP

We haven't been on much of a trip since the early part of 2011.  Don't get me wrong, we have taken a few weekend trips here or there but none of them have quenched my thirst for travel.  Aaron and I have been talking over where we would like to go next.  Should we stick close to home or leave the country, or both?!

That's what we (and our checking account) are trying to decide.  A few options:

Canada

Alaska

or maybe go on a cruise somewhere a little more tropical

Virgin Islands are always an option...

LOSING WEIGHT...again

It is crazy how doing nothing, eating an awful lot and drinking beer regularly packs on the pounds.  But I am here to tell you it does.  I miss the energy and confidence I had when I was trying so hard almost a couple years ago now.  So here's to another year fighting the fight.  In roughly 6 months I will have another year of age to claim and another anniversary to celebrate.  Why not start both of those by feeling and looking good (or at least better). My goal is to be both healthy and way smaller than I am today.  Also to fit into every single article of clothing I've saved for when that day comes.  Here goes! Yay.

via..what else...Pinterest :)

That's it for now! I'll let you know when one of these things greets me first!

Have a good one!

Friday Favorites

There are few things finer than an awesome and unexpected pick me up.

My pick me up came in the form of my dear friend Amy and a gift basket she made celebrating my favorite season: Fall.

(you may have heard already that I adore Fall)

Thank you so much Amy!  You made my night/day!



This basket contains a vast array of my favorites: pumpkin scented soap and hand sanitizers from Bath and body works,
yummy snacks and drinks, a new adorable scarf....too many things to mention!!



It also included these crazy-cute slippers! I'm in love!



 

Another new and unexpected favorite is a new recipe I stumbled upon via Pinterest (of course) and decided to give it a try this morning:  homemade coffee creamer

I decided to try the Cinnamon Strudel version and can not wait to try some other variations!

The thing I love about this creamer is that it is dairy free, has less sugar, and has a lot less chemicals floating around in my coffee!

If you have a few minutes and are feeling brave, give it a try!

And last but not least is my new dress I snagged while on our trip to Seattle.

This little dress was purchased at Banana Republic.

I initially found it hanging on the clearance rack, looking a little sad that it hadn't been adopted yet.

Lo and behold, I swept in and (after some sweet talking ) managed to purchase it for an additional 20% off with another $10 taken off for a final purchase of $23.00.

As you know, I love a good find....especially when I didn't pay full price for it.

World, meet my dress



I just love all of it's little details that can be dressed up....or down!



That's it for now! I hope you are finding some of your new favorites and enjoying them as much as I am as well!

School is now in session....

Can you feel the chill in the air when you wake up in the mornings?  I can.  In fact as soon as my bare feet hit the bare floors of our house it sends a small chill from the tip of my toes to the top of my head reminding me that Fall is just around the corner.  It should be here by now, but temperatures are still pretty high and keep pushing it away.  I'm not complaining, just letting the universe know I'm ready for it.

I've mentioned before how much I look forward to Fall for the things I enjoy about it now- as a pseudo-adult.  But as Fall rolls around, it also reminds me of the first days of school and how much I loved what the first day of school meant for me: shopping (are you surprised by this?!)
In fact, I think my love of shopping reared it's trendy little head at an early age because for me, I was more excited about shopping for school than actually going to school.  Go figure!

First of all, we would shop for the school supplies.  I usually got a new back pack, folders, binders, pens and pencils, etc. and I would put all of my newly acquired supplies in my back pack just to take them out to look at again.
  I couldn't wait to put them to use!
Then came the clothes. Oh sweet clothes!  My family would usually drive over the hill to shop all day (literally all day....I loved it!) and I would meticulously pick out my clothing for the school year. After getting home, I would lay all of my clothes out on my bed to survey my purchases and decide on the outfit for the first day of school.
It couldn't look like I tried too hard to put an outfit together, but I also couldn't wear just any old clothes.
They had to be just right and in my opinion, they usually were.

My school days are over, but my desire to go back-to-school shopping has not left me yet.  As I walk by the aisles in stores filled with school supplies I have to look away so that I'm not pulled in my the sirens of the school aisle, calling to me to pick up some new folders and pens while I'm at it.

The same goes for the clothing shopping.  Back to school Whitney always asks me: "Isn't this the time of year you need to pick up some new pants, shirts, shoes (fill in the blank with any article of clothing here......you get the point.)?"
But pseudo-adult Whitney has to remember that I don't need any of this.
I just really want it.

So in the spirit of back-to-school and to honor back-to-school Whitney, here is my list of pseudo-adult Whitney's fall wants:


Red pants

Brown boots to wear with my dresses or pants

A Turquoise necklace

Some crazy colored tights


Oh look...brown boots!

 Belts, belts and more belts

Red Scarf and





an Orange scarf



Oh! More brown boots!  I'm sensing a theme.

And that, in a nutshell, is my list of fall wants!

Who wants to go back-to-school shopping with me now?

( P.S. All photos are from pinterest and I already picked up a cheetah print belt to start me off...)

Someone like you...

August snuck up on me and then, just like that,  it left...thankfully.

You see, I'm not sure I want to repeat August and after an epic-crappy, last week that also happened to be in August I'm glad to see it go.

With that being said, I'm more than happy to welcome September and with that: Fall.

I look forward to my Pumpkin lattes from Starbucks

my jeans, sweatshirts and sweaters

movie nights cuddled up on the couch with a glass of wine (or spiced cider) with Aaron

crisp mornings and cool nights

reading a good book curled up in a fuzzy blanket

the smell of wood smoke

and

the turning of the leaves

However, with fall comes an annual melancholy.  I can't explain the strange phenomenon but I feel a little less excited about things and want to stay home, listen to some mellow music and just be.

With that being said, the above video is my current mood music or rather, my current "IT" song, songwriter and performer.

What the heck...I even like her style: the makeup, the big hair and nothing but black dresses.

Enjoy.