Get over it

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday :) I got a nice little visit from the stomach flu for a few days leading up to Christmas...it was delightful and just awesome timing. This caused me to unfortunately miss out on some holiday festivities...but I  was very grateful that I felt better for Christmas. Yesterday I woke up bright & early to head to sunny skies, warm weather, and the beautiful view of the ocean....and to see two of my most favorite people, my brother and sister-in law.  It wasn't one of my top travelling experiences..... Immediately upon arriving at the airport (an hour prior to my flight), I knew I was going to miss my flight. Never have I ever seen the airport filled with more people and chaos than this moment when I entered my check-in terminal. It was pure CRAZINESS.  It took me a solid five minutes to even find a line to join as the enormous mass of people made it nearly impossible to have defined lines. After a lot of confusion, I found out from an airport employee that the fire alarm had gone off and the entire terminal had to evacuate. And apparently, everyone had just re-entered the airport as soon as I decided to arrive for check-in....beautiful timing. I proceeded to wait in line for about 45 minutes....just to check my baggage in. I witnessed many disgruntled travelers, confrontations over "line-cutting," and  tapped out children in (or rather, trying to break free of) strollers. Well, I do think considering the situation I remained rather calm, however  I will admit I lost my patience a few times because as I soon found out, I had chosen the SLOWEST LINE IN THE WORLD. You know those people that just have to complain and prove their point to the check- in desk, or those who oops went over the 50 lb limit and now have to mathematically compute exactly what belongings to remove in order to drop the weight......yeah, they were ALL in my line. After what appeared to be a complete prank on me (I was looking around for that hidden camera), it was finally my turn. "I'm sorry, you have missed the half hour check-in time so we cannot accept your bag"......seriously?! They kindly directed me to the booking counter as I now needed to re-book my flight. As I am waiting in about the fourth line of the morning, I got in a quick interview on the news (of course I accepted their request to interview me, and let me just add I felt quite comfortable in front of the camera, just sayin) and also witnessed a golden retriever break through his travelling crate and proceed to do laps around the airport. This was actually quite amusing, as several airport employees chased after him and had several failed attempts at catching him. After luckily catching the next stand-by flight to Tampa, I am finally in the sunshine state. The events of this past week have truly revealed what it means to just GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON.  Things come up that can be quite annoying....but considering the big picture, the small stuff is truly not worth sweating over. I plan to really work on going with the F L O W as that can really make your life a lot easier. I am off to spend time with fam and can't wait to share picutres of all the beautifulness I take in here! xo

Impulsive

Chicago was a blast....loved every second I got to spend with my beautiful mom. We shopped...drank lots of delicious wine...and shopped some more. I realized this morning as I was getting my hair done for the second time in the past three days, that our trip was filled with impulsive decisions. The majority of these decisions were in relation to impulsive shopping (which can be a good or bad thing in my opinion). As I have mentioned before, I like to do my shopping online or at local stores/boutiques. And this shopping trip reaffirmed how much I really (shocking to my mom) don't care to go on huge shopping exursions, such as to the mall or down the "Magnificent (-ly chaotic) Mile."  I think my mom considered searching for a new daughter when I tried explaining this to her- she was truly appalled that I would not go down the entire stretch of Michigan Ave. with her. I must note that I do enjoy looking at all the beautiful & wonderful things at such stores as Nordstroms and Bloomingdales but only for a very short window of time....and I pretty much refuse to try anything on besides shoes. So...now that you know this about me, it makes sense why I just HAD to go the impulsive-shopping route this holdiay season. Even doing so, I still experienced about ten episodes of hot flashes.

     Along our shopping adventure on Tuesday we stopped for drinks and my mom decided it would be a spectacular idea to visit a salon in Chicago to get brand new hair styles (Grey Goose martini talking)....and I,  for some reason, agreed ( thanks to my generously-poured glass of wine). So, with great spontaneity, off we went! In this case, her impulsive decision truly worked out...mine, not so much. She ended up with an adorable new stylish bob, while I ended up with copper hair (picture a brand new penny). My lesson learned here was that when it comes to my hair (which I am already very particular about), impulsive is NOT the way to go. It only seems appropriate here to put in a plug for my AMAZING and ever-so patient hair stylist Sarah found at Soapbox....she rocks. 
     On our way out yesterday, we visited the showroom I used to work at and I was so happy to be able to catch up with two wonderful ladies I used to work with (one including a lovely friend I have known for quite some time now). Their showroom is filled with INCREDIBLE clothing lines such as Kersh, LA Made, and Miss Me. The spring collections look beautiful! Of course my mom and I left with bags of samples which we are both completely l o v i n g.  Being there made me miss that job oh SO much (it hurts....especially since I am currently unemployed, yippee).
    I am posting a few pics below of some beautiful sights I viewed during my trip!

           L O V E......

 

These are the most adorable Toms ever...and I had just the perfect lil gal to buy them for!

So indecisive......

Someone come tell me to S T O P! (pre-penny hair)

Pretty (and enormous tree @ the Peninsula)

New tan knee-high boots, happy Christmas to me

Love the vino (hate the gold nail polish choice)

 Happy Christmas shopping to you all (and goooood luck!)  xo



Joyfulness

I A D O R E my beautiful friends....and feel so grateful to have each of them in my life. Last night, we hosted an engagement party for two great friends at our oh- so- festively decorated condo. There is a lot of red and gold decor going on in here and I am kind of loving it (thanks to Adam's mom who is an incredible decorator...she also filled me in on one of her decorating secrets, which is to just add a beautiful bow to anything and everything- its magical!)  Six of us (bridesmaids) put the party together and it was a definite success... lots of wine, delicious food, and as always, LOTS of laughs. Here are some snapshots from the fun-filled night! (ps....how gorgeous and stylish are my rockin friends?!)

I am off to the lovely city of Chicago tomorrow to do some holiday shopping and mother-daughter bonding :)  Chicago posts & pics to come! Wishing everyone a wonderful start to the week! (Can't even believe next weekend is Christmas!) xo

Shop Local...OTR love

This weather is c r a z y..... I think I would actually rather it be snowing so that it felt a little bit more like Christmas....just sayin. So, today I decided to take advantage of this strange warm front that has whisked through our city and took a stroll through my neighborhood, Over the Rhine (which I might add I am madly in love with). Along my stroll, I decided to pop in to some of my favorite shops on Vine and snapped  pictures of some ah-mazing items that can be found in these ultra hip/eclectic/unique stores. So, grab your nearby drink of choice (mine will soon be a delightful glass of Malbec), sit back, relax and take in all the beautifulness that is about to be before you.......Oh, and then remember to come to OTR the first chance you get to buy Christmas gifts that will be ADORED by your love ones!

First stop..... Micah 12/v (so many INCREDIBLE gift items)

Next stop..... Little Mahatma (my go-to store for unique jewelry pieces)

Third stop .....Joseph Williams Home (we  purchased a new couch here today)

And last, but definitely not least...Sloane Boutique (in L O V E)

*** All stores are found in the heart of Over the Rhine on Vine street (near 12th & Vine). Please come experience the rise and growth of this amazing neighborhood..... along with the shops, there are a handful of crazy good restaurants....Senate, Abigail Street, Lavomatic, Taste of Belgium, and A Tavola. Have a wonderful weekend! xo