Exposed!

As a follow up to my previous post, I thought I'd share a funny story from yesterday.

The hubby & were walking through Whole Foods last night, waiting for our yummy pizza to be created (highly recommend btw!), when he looked down at my new, fabulous boots that I may have managed to smuggle past him from the UPS guy. His eyes traveled from my boots up to my eyes, which deftly avoided contact with his. And the smirk started to spread across his face. I of course adeptly denied that these were not in fact, delivered in the rather large box I received from Martin & Osa last week.

Why must he be so perceptive?! I mean, I totally appreciate that he still pays attention to the detail, but man I cannot sneak anything past him.

And p.s. this is the second time I was found out. The other time was with my new cable-sweater Uggs...we were at Home Depot riding the escalator and I managed to take a broad stance, putting my cutely adorned foot in front of us. Exposed again!!

p.p.s. If one attempts to smuggle said boots by husband, be prepared to spend extra $$ at GameStop to appease him...

Made for walkin

Well, I think we've established by now that I have a bit of an obsession with anything clothing/fashion/shopping related...I've been able to restrain myself to a certain extent given impending large financial purchases (ahem, house). However there is one weakness I cannot seem to fight: BOOTS. It sounds silly, right? But you live in Chicago for a winter and you will understand this obsession. (Although I must confess only a few of my pairs actually protect against the weather.)

What started out as an innocent dabbling a few years ago has turned into a full blown need for boots of every occasion, weather, outfit, day...and the list goes on. I recently counted and I have grown my collection from the basic brown & black heeled boots plus a pair of warm winter Merrell boots to TWELVE pairs. Yikes! Not to mention I've had to stash said pairs of boots in all nooks & crannies within our tiny condo to avoid the discovery of said obsession by my husband (who may be reading this- honey I swear, they were all on sale!)

While the number seems absurd, I can't seem to part with any of the pairs and my quest still continues. I have boot envy; like the cute powder blue Hunter wellies I spotted on the bus last week, or the ugly but so warm & yummy tall Uggs everyone has been sporting...sigh. Sometimes I think my only self-restraint against seeking out more pairs is the knowledge that 1) I have no more room 2) complete and utter guilt and 3) husband will eventually have to move out to accommodate boot obsession (for both space & frustration reasons).

It all boils down to this: there is something comforting about wearing the perfect pair. Warm, comfortable, sassy, the perfect complement to any outfit, and ultimately protection for that gross winter slush/snow/ice. For now, I shall just have to "make due" with my limited collection.

Where the Heart Is

Over the holidays I was able to spend time with family, friends, loved ones...it was my first venture back to Michigan since wedding season and it's amazing how much has happened in just a few short months. Whenever I travel back "home", it seems that I get my bearings back. I know what I want, who I am, where I want to be...and then I travel back to Chicago and it seems my compass just spins round & round and never can find North.

There's something inexplicable about the love, joy and peace that I feel when we're home visiting, and it's not just during the holidays when those feelings are a'plenty. I was young and impatient when I fled that state seeking independence, only to find it was within me, and I ran away from those I loved. The cost of finding my independence was a price I still am paying for...sure I have cherished all of the people I've met, experiences I've had, and growth I've experienced in love and life. Maybe I wouldn't have grown had I stayed. However I can't help but wonder why my path just won't cross again with the place I love so much.

Regardless of where we are planting down roots, I still feel as though my spirit only truly returns when I venture back to my true home. Will that ever change?? I don't know...but the pangs of missing, all of it, still ache after a few weeks. For now, I will focus on building our home here and hope I find that feeling, even if it's only a small shadow of the Michigan love I have deep within...

Winter Haze

Perhaps it's all the baked goods, pumpkin gingerbread mega lattes, or the change of the seasons, but lately I just feel like I'm walking around in a fog! With the job switch, the busy holiday season and the mental overload of changes ahead (see previous blog posts for deets) I haven't had much time to step back and think clearly. Every morning it's like WAKE UP! And a few cups of coffee later I'm back to functioning. My beach vaca to Florida cannot come soon enough (although, perhaps I should've said no to those muffins & lattes given the impending bikini fiasco!)

Aside from the fog, I do love this time of year for the sense of family, togetherness, celebration and general "warmth" not from the outside but from loved ones. I wish all of you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and wonderful New Year!

Party Virgin

So, I wanted to post a follow-up on my previous post http://tinyurl.com/yj5uuzl and let you all know how the party truly went down…

In planning my big party full of yummy apps, I failed to realize that in fact my family may actually help rather than make it a more stressful event. I've thrown a few parties, but never for family, and never with this much food (except for one disastrous Thanksgiving with 8 girlfriends which involved an uncooked turkey & 8 bottles of wine). So needless to say I was a bit nervous of my talents pulling through.

The party was set to start at 6:30, but somehow my eager parents ended up at the door by 4pm. Makeup-free and in the middle of a mess, I wasn't sure how I would pull it off...until something magic happened- they both just started helping. I resisted at first, but the result was unexpected: not enough time to make the twice-baked potatoes? Problem solved, (thanks Papa Bear)- we'll make a quick dish of candied sweet potatoes instead! No matter what issue came up- and there were quite a few in those final hours- we tackled it, TOGETHER. I've never felt such warmth in my heart as when we were all in the kitchen together. Mom chopping veggies (which she NEVER does, I might add), PB monitoring the sophisticated oven schedule (cannot WAIT for my dual oven in the new house!), lil sis arranging platters & the hubby preparing the bar.

Most everyone arrived early, and all came bearing gifts...in the end everyone had a blast, were well fed, and most important I skipped my final appetizer in lieu of spending time with my family out of the kitchen. To make that call proved to me, I AM grown up...and who cares what they really think! They all put on a happy face & dug into the food.

Happy Thanksgiving. Today I am thankful I get to EAT & not cook :)

Just call me Martha

For some bizarre reason- that I will get to- I decided to host a pre-Thanksgiving cocktail party for my entire family. Granted this idea was birthed after many glasses of champagne (ahem witness profile picture for background)...it seemed brilliant at the time.

My family has this belief that I am about 15 years old, and I continually attempt to prove them wrong. "Look at me I can buy a house!" to which I hear "Well, are you sure you can afford it?" "You know, I have a realtor I can recommend" or my favorite "Don't expect to decorate everything all at once, I mean we've been in our house 10 years and are just finishing projects!" Would you like to submit a timeline for which I should adhere to? Or perhaps just hold my hand as we skip to the bank, the realtor, and the home development office? I know, I should be thankful that my family cares so much...

Which brings me back to THE party. I decided to not only host everyone, but to create all 10 appetizers FROM SCRATCH complete with innovative presentation, ex "Butternut Squash Soup Shots" (actually more delish than it may sound). Why you may ask? Well, perhaps if I can pull it off everyone will realize "wow she truly IS all grown up". I mean, I have my fancy, well-stocked China Cabinet- and what "15 year old" has a full set of china?! So the end result is potentially great, but the past few days I've been working myself into a frenzy over the recipes. What if I'm missing an ingredient? What if it looks yummier on the page than the actual turnout? Should I really make the pizza dough from scratch or just swing over to Whole Foods?

The bottom line: I should've known better. I never do anything half-ass, and when it comes to my family I'm DESPERATE for their stamp of approval. Let's hope they behave after all of the wine I feed them first!

First Day of School

Ah, so it's been awhile since my last post...on top of the house transition I decided to switch jobs too. Life just can never be too boring for me! Or status quo, I should say...

Starting a new job brings me back to those first few days of school, except it's like you also transferred school districts. The predictability element of who will be there is no longer present, yet the familiar questions still persist: What to wear? Do I bring a lunch? Will they like me? Who will I sit next to? All of these questions kept me up most of the night before my first day, my stomach in knots...and I felt like a teenager again, obsessing over "the perfect outfit" or "the perfect lunch". Verdict? I usually ended up hating whatever outfit I picked, and ran out of time to make my lunch. HA! I repeated this same sequence last week for my first day.

So far, I'm closing in on my second week and I still don't have a lunch buddy, am getting better at the office attire, and at least have had a few meaningful conversations with my co-workers. However, the "lunch pool" is pretty small (I'm one of 8, and the only girl!), so that part I guess will just take time. For now, Macy's Holiday displays during my lunchtime walks have been keeping my spirits bright....fah la la la!

(And no, I haven't bought anything- yet- thank you...)