Merry Tuesday! :)

I hope you had a great weekend with family, friends, and many blessings. :) I'm the idiot that has a week of vacation left, but decided to work on Tuesday to get some stuff done so this is pre-scheduled... Whether you're at home or at work, I hope you're still feeling the holiday spirit and enjoying the last few days of 2011! 

On Saturday, headed out to Eric's aunt's for some annual Christmas Eve festivities with the whole fam. :) It's my 3rd year to be able to spend Christmas Eve with his family and it's so fun to have a big family Christmas feel (20ish people)...and also to finally feel like I know everyone... haha.. ;) Stayed with my mom on Christmas Eve and spent much of Christmas there enjoying some time together. I'm so bummed b/c I didn't get a single photo of us! Usually, I'll use the self timer, but we spent the bulk of the day in our pjs and therefore I kept the camera in its case. Being able to do what we want, wear what we want, etc, is definitely an advantage of it being just the two of us. :) We also had a great Christmas lunch together. Sunday night, I headed out to dinner with Eric's family-fantastic homemade Mexican food! (We'd had Christmas dinner at his aunt's the night before). Sunday night, Eric and I had our Christmas together and stayed up til 3am watching Jericho. 

The weekend was pretty fantastic as far as Christmas weekends go! :) I received some extremely thoughtful gifts and had an outstanding weekend with the ones I love... So, now that I've rambled a little, I thought I'd share some pics from Christmas weekend!

Lunch at Stonehorse with Sara and Timbo on Friday! (No, we were not going back to work..hence the wine). 

At Eric's aunt's on Christmas Eve

From Christmas night- Eric's dad got an XBox Kinect for Christmas..
The dance game was a hilariously big hit! (and I totally kicked Eric's butt at it). 

Self timer, anyone?

Lauren's in town from Chicago! Had a great dinner with her on Monday night at the new Mi Cocina! :) 

ANNNNND Alove is in town from LA! (center)! Stopped by to say hi to her after dinner. :)

Gratuitous photo of Gracie dog and me from some Christmas celebrations with friends last week. This pup got bones, treats, toys, a new collar, and more. Santa kinda spoiled her. 

I am so blessed to have so many great people in my life and to be able to spend Christmas surrounded by so much love. Cheesy, but true.

I look forward to reading all your holiday recaps, friends!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Just wanted to take a moment and wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 

Have a fantastic holiday weekend, friends!

It's OK Thursday!

I've been a blog slacker this week.. mostly b/c I've come over here and been like "Hmm.. I don't know what to talk about today...." Maybe I'm holiday brain dead? Possibly. I'm also possibly on sugar overload...and totally okay with that. 
But, I'm SURE I've got some "It's OK's" I can talk about today, so let's see what kinds of things fall out of my sugar-high brain and onto the page, eh? :)
It's OK... 
To think you're done with Christmas shopping only to realize you forgot this or that or had a sudden burst of a GREAT idea for "that one thing" last minute.
To want to wear everything sparkly, shimmery, festive, etc. in your closet this week. 
To LOVE Christmas, but also sometimes entertain the daydream of spending the holidays (with family..duh) on a tropical island while sipping a cocktail. Palm trees can have Christmas ornaments on them, right? 
To be really bad at wrapping presents and attempt to dress them up with pretty bows, ornaments, etc, so no one notices the haphazard tape in awkward places. 
To NOT buy a dress for New Years Eve this year! I have dresses. Saving money = winning. :) 
To be overwhelmed by thoughtful friends and well-wishes around the holidays... from sweet cards to holiday treats to little thoughtful surprises... So blessed. Next year, I WILL send Christmas cards. Maybe. Hopefully. 
To get a little excited about all the "best images of 2011" and "most memorable moments of 2011" segments on tv. I dig that stuff! 
To have plans to take a half day off with two girl friends tomorrow and drink mimosas, eat, and be merry...all afternoon. 
To never get tired of "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey. Never. Ever. And possibly beat your steering wheel like a drum every.single.time. to the "buh-bum-bah-bum-bah-bum" that kicks off the "I don't want a lot for Christmas..." part. I'm such a good singer in my car. *sarcasm* 
Hope everyone is having a great pre-Christmas week! 

Merry Newsinator

I saw this on Katie's blog and thought it was too funny and fabulous! I had to do one... She also had to tell me how to save the darn thing so I could blog it, so yeah.. Katie, you rock all around. :) (even though I cut off the left edge. Oops. Oh well). :)

Wanna make one? Go to merry newsinator, plug in the info it asks for, and there you have it!

Hope everyone is having a great pre-Christmas work week!

Weekend Recap!

This weekend was fun-filled but unfortunately not photo-filled. (I know.. who am I to not force people into taking pictures like I usually do? *le sigh*) 

Thursday, Ashley, Sarah, Jenny, Brooke and I got together for some festive celebrations. :) We did a secret Santa exchange and lookie what Ashley got me! It's the Give Me Some Lip set from Sephora! Makeup makes me happy. On that note, I've officially decided to try to find a fun table I can re-do to make into a vanity for myself. TBD on this random project. 

Friday, I'd taken the day off to finish some shopping. The mall was ridiculous... even at noon on Friday. I guess I wasn't the only one with the bright idea to take the day off. Anyhoo, look at these I found at Dillards...  

 I didn't buy them but I miiiiiight have showed the Dillards worker a photo of Gracie, exclaiming "They really do look like her!" He was like "Uh huh.. sure do..." and likely thinking 'get this crazy dog lady away from me.'

Friday night, Eric and I had some Mexican food and margaritas and took it easy. :)

Saturday night, we headed to two Christmas parties- one for a local org he's in and another for some mutual friends. :) Good stuff, people. Good stuff. Alas, no photos b/c apparently I've started slacking off. Blerg.

It really was a great weekend, though! I think I've finished almost all my shopping. I need to get one more hostess gift and then dunzo! What about you guys?

You taking any time off this week? I'm thinking I'll probably take a half day Friday or something, but plan to take some time the week between Christmas and New Years. Have fun stuff Monday night, Tuesday night and Wednesday night night this week! Can't believe it's the week of Christmas already! Bananas!

Okay this post was kinda boring. Sorry about that. I blame sleepiness and lack of photos to go along with my ramblings. Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

Weekend Recap (better late than never!)

You ever have those weeks where you're kinda just not feeling social media? That's been my week. I think I've been focused on dedicating any personal online time to getting Christmas gifts here in time! Anyhoo, I had a great weekend so I thought I'd talk...er....blog about it. ;)

First, I got to go to my first Tulsa blog girls get-together on Friday night! This group of girls has gotten together before, but I've never been able to make it.. until now! I was able to stop by for a little bit, see some familiar friends, AND meet some of these fabulous ladies in person that I've never met before! Many thanks to Jane, our fabulous hostess, for the fun event! Sorry I was a slacker in posting the photo. 

Not bad for a self timed photo.. whatwhat! (yup, just said whatwhat). 

 (back row)-Katie, Lynn, Lindsey, Jessica, Chesley, (front row)-Ashley, Katie, Jane, me. 

Then, I headed to one of my best friend's birthday dinner at In the Raw. :)

One side of the table!

The other side of the table with the birthday girl, Timberly, (far right). 

Saturday was my mom's 60th birthday! She's been excited about it, but also kinda weird about it, so I wanted to try to give her a good bday. While she's happy and appreciative of so many blessings, I'm sure it's hard to not have my dad around (he passed away when I was younger) and to be getting older, etc. Anyhoo, we had a fun-filled day of lunch, shopping, movie (My Week With Marilyn), dinner, and Christmas light looking! We had SUCH a fun day together!

I just noticed all these photos have wine in them? Whatever. 

Then, Eric and I might have stayed up til 2am again watching Jericho. We're both hooked. It's kinda hilarious actually...especially because it got canceled before it probably revealed anything. Eh well.. whatever. I want to finish it out anyway b/c it's so good!

Sunday was errand running and cleaning the casa. Exciting, right? ;) I'm taking off this Friday to knock out Christmas shopping. My plan is to be completely done by Friday with absolutely everything. TBD...haha.... Are you done? If so, I'm so jealous!

Has anyone seen that Charlize Theron movie? Thoughts? I think it looks like it might be really dry comedy/funny and want to see it! I'm also wanting to see We Bought a Zoo, but I want to see anything with Matt Damon so there's that.. haha.. ;)

Operation WANA from MODG

Do you read MODG's blog? If not, you should for many reasons- she's witty, candid, honest, entertaining, intelligent and kinda kicks blog butt if you ask me. But, she's also doing something on her blog right now that's improving Christmas for lots of readers in need... just by connecting them to one another. I just went over there to read what it was all about and and am truly inspired by what's going on in her comment section right now. Brought tears to my eyes.

I'd explain it here, but she does a much better job than I could, so go check it out. Whether you're in need or can offer help to a fellow blogger who is, it's an excellent thing taking place in MODG's little corner of blog land.

Happy Friday, friends!

Holiday Blog Challenge: Wish List!

It's Day 8 of the Fabulous Holiday Blog Challenge.. and I'm pretty sure I haven't participated since day 2 or 3. Oops. *cringe* But, I'm having a chillax night so wanted to hop on the bloggidy and give it some love. :)

Today's topic: Christmas Wish List! 

I don't really neeeeed anything, but some things that I'd be okay with filling my stocking are...

** TOMS in Teal Pop! I also love the gilded herringbone ones. :)

** VS PJS! Or really any cute PJ set with long sleeves that's somewhat fitted, not baggy flannel. :) Last winter was COLD, people. And you should have seen some of the combos I lounged around in b/c I never buy coordinating pjs for some reason. 

via VS

** Preeeeettty much any jewelry from Banana Republic, especially these earrings I just found when looking for an example of banana republic jewelry for my blog... haha... ;) 

** Workout wear! I really want some more workout tanks (with built in bra...duh) and workout pants. :) I LOVE lulu lemon, but it's so pricey! yikes! I don't work out enough to get the value out of their stuff.. haha.. Just being honest... :) 

Who stands like this in workout wear? (Via VS)

**Slippers! I freaking LOVE these from Loft! Wood floors + drafty house = cold tootsies!

 ** MAC Snowglobe eyeshadows in warm. Or really any makeup. Or maybe just Sephora's whole store. Ya know...whatever. #guiltypleasure

** A long sleeve TU shirt in TU blue (of course) :) 

What about you? What are some things on your list this year?! :) 

Oh and Gracie would like to add the following to her list:

* rawhide bone

* new stuffed toy

* new harness

(I think Santa will be visiting Miss Gracie with these items, but shhhh, don't tell her). ;) 

Weekend Recap!

Yowza how is it SUNDAY already? Sheez! 

Desperate Housewives is officially paused, so let's dig right on in... (I love my dvr). 

Friday night, my friend, Beth, had her very first exhibit featuring her photography! It was at a local downtown spa. So proud of her! 

With the featured photographer extraordinaire and our friend, Beth (center)! :) 

Saturday, I had a hair appointment to have my roots dyed back to the color I'm pretty sure God intended me to be. ;) Then, I surprised Eric with making dinner! He just got a promotion of sorts (what-what!) and our normal celebratory thing is to go to dinner.. so I thought I'd switch it up a little and throw some personalized effort into the mix. :) I probably should have picked at least ONE thing I'd made before, buuuuut whatever. It all turned out edible so that's all that matters, right?

I made caesar salad, lasagna, and brownies for dessert. I turned on all the Christmas lights, lit some fabulous Bath n Body candles in my fav holiday scent (Winter) and played holiday tunes on the good old macbook. Er... well.. that's what I did while we ate. After we were done, we turned up the lights and hit the sofa to watch the bedlam game.

Gracie found her perfect football-watching spot and was so happy, she let me put the hat on her...haha..

Now that's doggie bliss... 

Sunday, I lost my sanity and decided to go to the mall for some Christmas shopping. In all my years of Christmas shopping, you'd think I'd learn to ONLY go to the mall at Christmas if I have a pretty good idea what I'm going for. But, no. I left empty-handed and came home to order some stuff online in the peace and quiet of my casa. 

Then, Eric and I headed to look at Christmas lights at Rhema Bible College. :) Every year, they have a FABULOUS display of lights that you can drive through or get out and walk around. Driving in a warm car is for slackers, so we always bundle up and walk around until we can't feel our face/fingers/etc. ;) 

 The lights are all timed to Christmas music... kiiiiinda cool. :)

The next couple weekends are Christmas party palooza for us both annnnnnd you never know what Oklahoma weather will do, so I'm glad we got to check out the lights! :)

All in all, a fabulous winter weekend. (I still can't believe it's WINTER)!

Oooh one thing. Okay, soooo the other night, Eric and I ordered Jericho on Netflix... ya know.. the show that aired back in like 2006 or something? Right. We randomly ordered the first ep and ended up watching like 3 more. Saturday night, we ended up watching FIVE more.. until 2:30 am. haha.. The crappy thing is that I think it was canceled before anything was REALLY revealed. I don't want to do too much digging and ruin it for me, but I have a suspicion. Did you ever watch it? My conversations with Eric now include things like "So, if there WAS a massive nuclear attack, where would we go?" And then we proceed to plot out a plan. Yes, this is our dinner conversation. (And now I'm kinda nervous that someone googling massive nuclear attack is going to find my blog. Super cool..haha... sheez).

Does Netflix suck you in like that, too? Sheez.

So yup! That was my weekend! How was yours, friends?

Being "too" nice?

I smile a lot.

I like to make others happy b/c it makes ME happy. 

I don't really enjoy confrontation unless it's really worth it. 

I genuinely have a positive outlook on most things. 

I feel pretty blessed 99% of the time. 

So, why have I been told that I'm "too nice" sometimes? 

There's a difference between being nice and being a pushover...and I am not the latter, so I think that's why I get frustrated if people assume I'm a pushover just b/c I'm nice. What's that famous quote... "Don't mistake my kindness for weakness..." Yup...that's a great saying and so accurate. 

Anyway, it can be frustrating to be told or treated as though I'm "too nice." I mean.. sure... I can probably come across as nicer than some people would be in a situation but maybe it's because I only get riled up at things that really get under my skin or things that I believe in. And I do often attempt to be a peacekeeper in stressful situations. And also.. I THRIVE in stress oftentimes, unlike some people. So I function pretty well in crazytown situations. I know it's not always meant to be an insult that I'm "nice" but it doesn't make it less frustrating sometimes. 

Honestly, I don't like the person I become when I let myself get really bitchy and I wouldn't like looking myself in the mirror if I was viewed as a bitch. I stand up for myself when merited, but it also takes me a lot longer to get to the point that I'm frustrated enough to vocalize it. And I know when I get there, I don't come down easily from it. Maybe that's it. *shrugs* 

I bet if you asked Eric if he thinks I'm "too nice" when I'm a crappy mood, he'd fall over laughing. So, I think it just comes from people that don't know me as well. 

I was telling my friend, Sara (a fellow attorney) about this random rant and she replied with the funniest thing ever: "Maybe just remind people more that you have an (expletive here) law degree. They don't give JDs to nice people." hahahaha... I love her... :)

End rant. Thanks for listening...er...reading. What about you? Have people commented that you're "too nice" or "too aggressive" or "too ____(fill in the blank)?" I'm curious. Personally, I just think we're all just "too fabulous." ;) Happy Friday, loves. 

Thanksgiving Weekend (Finally!)

This is me... finally getting around to doing a Thanksgiving weekend post a week late.. haha.. Sheez. 

Anyhoodle... 

Thanksgiving itself was great! I am so bummed that I didn't take a single photo, though. This was a big year b/c my mom and Eric's familia finally met! (I know I know...you're saying what all of our friends said to us face to face.."They haven't met yet and you've been dating HOW long?!" haha). Anyway, my mom and I went out to Eric's parent's house for some fabulous food and festivities. Although I probably took a year off my life worrying about how it was going to go, everything went totally fine. I'm such a worry wart about dumb things sometimes. I also had wine. That helps. I talk a lot about wine on here, don't I? haha... Whatever. Anyway, many blessings and things to be thankful for, especially the company. :)

Friday, TU had an early (11am) game, so we opted to have a breakfast tailgate. Eggs, sausage, pancakes, bacon, biscuits, gravy, you name it... Good stuff, people. :) It was a little windy and cold, but we had a good time nonetheless. :)

And Blaze was in town from Dallas! I miss this chick! :)

Maddox was very excited about his first TU game.. future alumni in the making. ;) 

Sadly, TU was not victorious. :(

Friday night, Lauren and I had a girls night of wine and sushi! She was in town from the Chi. :)

We didn't mean to color coordinate. 

Saturday night, Eric and I headed out to have dinner for our three year dating anniversary! :) It's actually kinda weird b/c we went on our first DATE on July 26. Soooo we've technically been dating 3.5 years. But, he was kinda loosely dating some other unimportant hussy girl and I went on a couple dates with someone else, so we called it "official" the weekend of Thanksgiving. Silly, right? We're both very stubborn people who were afraid to fall for each other...or at least admit we were falling...haha... I remember it being something like "I don't want you to date anyone else." And then "Well, I dont want YOU to date anyone else." And then "Okay, well... let's just agree that we're dating only each other.".... "Okay, I'm okay with that." haha...

Soooo, we had a good time at a new, local restaurant, Juniper, and then we talked about it and decided we kinda both want to celebrate our anniversary in July... haha. Yeah, I'm serious. So, we celebrated, had a great time, and then made an executive relationship decision to celebrate 4 years this July and officially make the switch over to Julyiversary. We're dumb. I know.

My roomie and I put our tree up on Monday! :) It's small (just about 6 feet) but it's the first time I've had a tree up in my OWN house that's bigger than just a little mini tree. :) The star has some issues staying upright. We just think it's quirky-cute and leave it. Our whole living room has gone festive-garland, candles, etc. I love it!

We may have listened to Ludachristmas while decorating. Yeah. We did.  I highly recommend if you're looking for hilarious randomness.

So, that was Thanksgiving plus some! :) Happy almost weekend, friends!

It's OK Thursday!

One of these days, I'll sit down and do a post about Thanksgiving weekend, but this week has been busy and I'm digging blogging about pre-assigned topics of sorts. So, with that said, It's OK Thursday, friends!
It's OK...
...to have still not filled in the "about me" section of my blog. I'll get to it and it will be fabulous! 
...to feel like it's mid-December, even though today's only the 1st. But then also be shocked that it's already the end of the year!
...to not want to get all dressed up for NYE this year, even though it's usually one of my FAVORITE things to do. (I'm craving something like a lodge/cabin with a fire and board games. And wine. Duh. Must have wine). 
...to be so busy with stuff that you become unmotivated to do any of it. (Does that ever happen to you?)
...to bake it...using the box/pre-mix. 
...to want to take a day off work just to watch Christmas movies all day in my pajamas...and possibly do it. 
...to eat while watching the VS Fashion Show.
...to mentally have an issue buying a fashion magazine when the person on the cover is still in her teens. 
...to really want an elf on a shelf even though you don't have kids. (C'mon.. It'd be really funny for my roomie and I to scare each other with the little elf man in strange places..haha).
...to get teared up at any of the cute, cheesy Hallmark or Folgers holiday commercials. (I mean.. her brother comes home from WAR in one of them... )