Rehoboth Beach Getaway

Hi and happy Friday readers! This past weekend I took a girls trip out to Rehoboth, DE to go to the beach! I've been feeling pretty down lately and I think that I just needed a healthy dose of "vitamin sea". We packed up the car and headed about 3 hours East to get just that!

We arrived around 10:30AM and found the cutest coffee shop called Dreamer for a mid-morning snack. I got a cold-pressed juice and was basically transported to heaven! This had a tropical juice-stand feel with a feminine twist. I absolutely loved their coffee cups and couldn't leave without a photo!

 

This beach was absolutely packed! I am used to the SC/GA/FL coasts, and have never seen a beach so full of people. We lucked out and found the perfect spot, rented chairs and umbrellas, and got settled. I was very nervous about frying since I haven't spent a ton of time in the sun this summer and was careful to reapply my sunscreen frequently! Thankfully, I made it out with a light tan and no burns! Wahoo! We read, chatted, tanned, went swimming, took walks, and pulled out some rusty gymnastics skills in some clear spots far down the beach. It seriously was a blast!

For dinner, we ate at a cute little restaurant called Fins. We had delicious cocktails and even tried oyster shooters before dinner. Once we got to our table, we had a delicious feast of raw oysters and entrees. I had grilled fish tacos that were the Bomb.com! I have never enjoyed fish tacos that much in my whole life. If you ever head to Rehoboth, I recommend them!!!

Who can pass up a cute pineapple photo opp?! Not me!

For breakfast, we headed back to Dreamer for juices and bagels to eat on the beach. I listened to my church sermon from my iPhone (I love technology!!) and was totally at peace on the beach. I was completely overwhelmed with contentment and gratitude for everything that I do have in my life. It's amazing how good preaching can really change your outlook. I snapped the below photo in hopes of capturing my feelings and to serve as a reminder that I can find peace if I try.

I'm already dreaming of being back with my toes in the sand!

A little confession/peek into my life.. I absolutely love salt water taffy! I hadn't tried it before going to Savannah for the first time in middle school and I've been hooked ever since! It's almost a curse though, because nothing compares to fresh taffy! Whenever I go to the beach, I always try to find a candy shop that makes their own and stock up. I keep a little candy bowl on my coffee table and like to keep it stocked with these pretties.

 I couldn't leave without a bag of fresh sweets!

I'm so thankful that this trip was able to happen! I already can't wait for the next one, I hope it's soon!

Have you taken a girls trip? What is your favorite trip? Are you going to squeeze in one last trip before the end of summer?

Weekend Recap

Happy Tuesday, y'all! I hope it was a wonderful weekend wherever you spent it! Did anyone treat themselves to breakfast in bed this weekend? Send me your photos if you did! As I mentioned, I had some friends visiting for the weekend and we just had the best time. It's always so refreshing to see good friends that you haven't seen in a while. I had a great time showing them around DC!

On Friday, we had dinner at Flight- a wine bar downtown. We did a mix of small plates and flights of wine. I did the "Sailing on the Mediterranean" flight and absolutely loved it. I would absolutely get it again if I went back! The food was delicious and beautiful! After our dinner we headed over to U Street and popped around for the evening.

On Saturday, we had tickets to do a Cherry Blossom boat tour. That's actually been on my list since last year's festival, and I'm so glad my friends were here to share it with me! It was pretty windy out on the river- which made for a cold ride- but I was able to get some pretty shots. After the boat tour we headed over to the Mall to walk around the Tidal Basin and see the trees up close and personal. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day and I loved the whole experience. It was a long day with a ton of walking, but I am so glad we did everything that we did.

On Sunday, we went to Ambar for brunch. So far, that's got to be one of my favorite brunch spots in the city. The atmosphere is so fun and the food is incredible (the poached pear waffle is a must, see above). It's right over by the Eastern Market- so it's situated in the perfect spot for pre- or post-brunch shopping. We were able to do a little browsing before we ate and I got the prettiest little bracelet! The shop had jewelry created from vintage watch pieces and I fell in love with this bracelet as soon as I laid eyes on it. I've already worn it once and am sure it won't be the last time. After brunch, we made a pit stop at the White House and then headed to the airport to say our goodbyes. All-in-all it was a wonderful weekend.

I don't know about y'all, but I find hosting exhausting. Sunday night I cleaned up my place and practically fell into a coma as soon as I laid down on my bed. As tired as I was, it was a great weekend and I wouldn't trade my memories for any amount of sleep!

What did you do this weekend? Do you have any tricks to lower the pressure of hosting guests?

Weekend Recap

Happy Sunday! I have had a wonderful and relaxing weekend, I hope you have too! I feel as though I say this often but 2 days isn't long enough for the weekend! I wish they were at least 3. Think about how much happier everyone would be?! But obviously I don't control that and I need to work to support myself so 2 day weekends will have to continue.

Friday was a crazy work day for me- the roads were still iced over from Thursday's winter storm so I was a nervous wreck every time I was out on them. When I got home after work, I knew I was in for the night because I couldn't stomach anymore driving out there. I had a relaxed at-home movie night with my neighbor. We watched 'The Other Woman' while sipping on hot chocolate and enjoying some popcorn. We were both in our pjs and had the perfect girl's night in! I am a huge fan of those and plan on doing them more often.

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Saturday, I met one of my other girlfriends at Organic Nails and Spa in Vienna for a little pamper session. I typically paint my own nails and toes but I couldn't pass up the opportunity for some indulgence. It was my first time at the shop, and I immediately felt relaxed upon walking inside. They have a soothing atmosphere and kind staff who take care of everything you might need! I got a standard manicure and spa pedicure. I loved all of the products that they used, and especially loved how much time they spent massaging my muscles. That's usually my favorite part of getting pampered- I tend to keep my muscles tense so it's great to get them to relax through massage.

After getting our nails done we wandered over to Sushi Yoshi for a late lunch. This little spot is adorable and the sushi was great. I loved the little details- from the place mats to my tea cup!

We headed over to Pentagon City mall with full bellies to finish up our girly day with some shopping. I got the cutest pair of scalloped shorts and Jack Rogers booties. I consider it a great success!

Jack Rogers 'Marianne' Bootie

Today I got my taxes prepared {womp womp} and went grocery shopping. Nothing terribly eventful but completely necessary. I did nab a box of Girl Scout cookies outside of the grocery store. I was surprised that no one in my neighborhood came around selling this year, so I was thankful to find this stand! I can't make it through the year without at least one box of Samoas! I plan on spending the evening tidying up, relaxing, and preparing myself for the week ahead! I hope y'all had a great weekend too!

What did you do this weekend? What do you do during a girl's night in? Do you have a go-to treatment when you need a little extra pampering?

A little weekend recap + online shopping

Happy Sunday! I hope y'all have had a wonderful weekend. Staying in stride to last Sunday's lazy day post, I wanted to share some of my life happenings lately! This weekend was just what I needed- laying around and relaxing.

On Friday I caught up with a sweet friend from home, as well as had a much needed FaceTime date with my sister. Since moving 10 hours away, it has been increasingly difficult to keep up with my friends still back home. I don't think it's a result of drifting apart, more so that we all have separate lives going on in separate places now. We each have stressful work days, long to do lists, and attempt to keep up a social life with those still around us. Trying to mesh together 2 sets of those, with varying schedules and sometimes timezones, can get messy. With that being said, I absolutely cherish the times I do get with my friends because I realize how difficult it is to make it happen. My sister and I have the guilty pleasure of watching Hart of Dixie on the CW together. It's been a fun activity for us to do even though we aren't physically together when we watch. Having someone to discuss episodes and plot twists with is the BEST! I finally caught up to the live airings on TV, so we can now FaceTime during the show or afterwards to discuss. I'm sure she appreciates that we are now on the same episodes so she doesn't have to keep plot secrets from me anymore!

Saturday was awesome. I made myself breakfast and enjoyed it from my bed, as seen above {please pop over to my Instagram to follow along with me!}. My morning consisted of sipping coffee and discovering new blogs to read. I absolutely love reading other people's blogs- whether it be fashion, cooking, travel, or lifestyle/personal! I find all kinds of inspiration from others. After doing some blog hunting, I got sucked into a little online shopping! I didn't have plans until the evening, so it's not hard to distract me with some online shopping. I am currently trying to expand my accessories collections, and I've included some of my favorites I saw yesterday below!

Sunday consisted of the usual Sunday activities- church and grocery shopping. Unfortunately we are in the middle of another icy mix so the roads and sidewalks are pretty slick. It's enough to keep me stuck inside to be honest. I was able to get out- I met up with a girlfriend for lunch and we went to go see 'The Duff' for some silly laughs. It was definitely entertaining, but I think I am officially too old for teen movies! Me and my friend were the only people laughing at certain jokes, which upon later discussion were determined to be the jokes built in for parents. Wow. What a rude awakening! Are Urkel jokes really THAT outdated?! I didn't think so. Oh well. I surprisingly have made it this far into the weekend without starting House of Cards.. This snow/wintery mix must be messing with me. I'm sure I'll just be addicted once I start, so I'm putting it off to try to make it last as long as possible!

How do you keep up with long distance friendships? Have any blog suggestions for me to check out?

Weekend Recap

This weekend was a soggy one. We got a wintery mix on Friday that kept me inside. Although I had to cancel my plans, it ended up being a blessing because I was able to tidy up my apartment {which was much needed}. I don't know what's been my problem lately- I typically like to keep my place very clean- but I keep finding other things to do instead of pick up. It seems as though the mess hasn't been high on my priority list. I got a new assignment at work that is keeping me SUPER busy, so when I get home I am just exhausted. Hopefully now that it's clean I can get back into my usual habits and keep things nice!

On Saturday I did a little touristy day around the city with a new transplanted friend. She hasn't done much exploring since her arrival, and I thought it was about time! We went to a few Smithsonian museums, visited the White House, saw the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the WWII Memorial. We racked up over 20,000 steps on my beloved FitBit {read more about that here}! My favorite thing of the day was definitely the Degas exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. It was seriously exquisite! The "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen" original sculpture is up there. If you look closely, you can see the real human hair *ick* braided underneath the wax. His attention to detail is incredible, and I love all of his ballerina paintings. If you are up in the area, I highly suggest dropping in before it leaves us in February! Here are a few pics from the exhibit:

Today I had a lazy day of watching the Food Network, reading my favorite blogs, running a few errands, and ended with a girls evening. Isn't it just great to have the kind of friend you can eat takeout in your pjs with? I can't think of a better gal pal to have! We got some Wegman's sushi {um is anyone else out there ADDICTED to this too?!} and watched "A Walk Among the Tombstones." Totally dramatic and action packed, but still a good movie. I actually screamed into my blanket during a few of the scenes! The conversation that followed the movie definitely lightened the mood. One friend said she wanted to have Liam Neeson as her dad, while the other would rather date him. Honestly I'm not concerned with how I'd get him on my team, but he's the kinda guy you want to be with and not against. 

I hope your weekend was equally as rejuvenating and that y'all have a great week!! 

What did you do this weekend? Have you seen the traveling Degas exhibit? What did you think?

Weekend Recap

Happy Sunday!

This weekend has been the laziest of the lazy, and I'm perfectly fine with that. On Friday I got a migraine and went to bed early {by early I mean promptly at 7PM!}. Saturday, I took a mini-roadtrip down to the Virginia Bazaar flea market to look at the antiques. I've never been before, but I've seen it on my drive to and from Georgia. I think that it would be a totally different place in warmer weather- there is a large outdoor area that was empty due to the cold temps. I'm currently on the hunt for some navy and white decor for my living room. The stalls at the market weren't very full and I came away empty handed. Kinda sad after such a long drive south! The ride down was good though because I got to have great catch-up convos with my mom and sister. I normally like to talk with my family more, but these past few weeks have been so busy it's been difficult to make time to chat with everyone during the week. Do y'all ever have weeks like that? On my way back north, I stopped by historic Fredericksburg to pop into a few shops and walk around by the river. They have the most charming street of shops and I really enjoyed walking around. It was a little chilly, but I was bundled up in the coziest cable knit sweater!

necklace / sweater {old, similar} / jeans / boots {old, similar}

Today was a rainy and gloom-filled day. I met a friend for brunch and shopping at Eastern Market. I absolutely adore going down there and seeing the vendors. If you've never been- here's the rundown. Eastern Market is an indoor/outdoor market near Capitol Hill. They offer everything from fresh fruit to flowers to jewelry! The vendors do change, but you can generally find them in the same areas each time you come back. I love walking around and admiring all of the goodies!

My night ended with a yummy pasta dinner and about 10 episodes of Friends! I absolutely adore that they've added all of the seasons to Netflix. Goodbye productivity!

What did you do this weekend? What are you currently watching on Netflix?

Weekend Recap

Happy Sunday lovelies!

This weekend has been so relaxing. It is just what I needed after a crazy, crazy week. On Friday, I did a little sketching and watched the end of Breaking Bad on Netflix with a glass of prosecco. It was the definition of a perfect evening!

Saturday night, I met a few girlfriends over at Tyson's for some shopping, dinner, and a movie. We ate at La Sandia. I am not gonna lie, I wasn't impressed with my dinner. I got a mushroom flatbread and the bread seemed under-cooked. It may have been the intense hunger but I absolutely LOVED the chips and salsa! We saw 'Into the Woods' after dinner and it was so cute!

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I loved the cast and although I haven't seen the original musical, I think they picked out all of the great parts of the stories involved! I enjoyed most of the music, however the duet between the Princes didn't do it for me. Overall, it was really cute and if you haven't seen it yet- you definitely should!

Today was full of leisure and cleaning. My apartment has been a WRECK since I've come back into town, and I really wasn't doing a great job of keeping up with cleaning during the week as I usually do. It was a good day of catch-up as well as planning for the week. Work is getting crazy again and I will be back to working long hours. I am going to strive to keep up my resolve to keep work during the week and let myself enjoy my weekends.

I am not looking forward to the threat of a winter mix tomorrow! I would actually much prefer snow.. if anyone's listening. I hope you had a restful weekend and are ready to take on what lies ahead this week!

xox. T

Year End Festivities

Why hello there! I hope you had a relaxing and blessed holiday! My time went by so quickly, but I've truly enjoyed every second of it. I think the holidays have become so much more special since I've started working. Being able to spend an extended period of time at home with family is rare nowadays- and I love to soak it up. I wanted to fill y'all in on my year end festivities that I've been up to lately!

Over the past week, I was able to pop up to Chattanooga for a few days and enjoy some fresh mountain air. I stayed up in a cabin without cell service- which was actually glorious- and had a great time catching up with my boyfriend and his sweet family. I felt totally spoiled one last time with Christmas presents during our belated celebration, and I unfortunately was the recipient of ANOTHER prank gift this year. Here's the short background- my boyfriend's hilarious uncle enjoys giving prank gifts to family members and significant others. They're usually embarrassing or could just be a strange item. I totally appreciate the funny gag-gifts {last year I got inflatable bra inserts that had a gift tag to be from "grandma", another S.O. got a thick history book from "grandma" with a note to keep up with his education} but have a harder time identifying the sly pranks. This year, my guy's "grandma" gave me purse hooks that you take to a restaurant or bar to hang your purse. That could completely be a {albeit strange} grandma-given gift because it's so practical. Trying to muster up excitement for an unexpectedly unique gift is already difficult when the gift-giver is sitting right next to you. Particularly when the "gift-giver" has no idea that the gag gift is labeled from them. Or what it is. Or why you are asking questions/thanking them for it. Thankfully, my boyfriend's sister clued me in that it was a fake gift due to the funny uncle squirming and muffling a laugh from across the room. God bless her. The rest of my time at the family Christmas celebration was great and I hope to handle my joke gift just as gracefully in the future.

While I was up in TN, we went to see the Christmas lights at Rock City. I have never been before {with or without holiday lights} and was happy to share that experience with my guy's whole family. His younger cousins were all having a fun time exploring, and I had a great time walking around to see the displays. Happy to check that one off of the bucket list!

Fast forward a few days and it was New Year's Eve. I loved cheering on the Yellow Jacket victory and I got to ring in the New Year at a house party with a few friends and my sweet man! There really is something so refreshing about starting out a new year, and I have a feeling this year is going to be a good one. I can just feel in my bones that big things are coming and I am really trying to keep an optimistic and open attitude throughout the year. No resolutions have been set yet- other than sustaining my typical effort to love others as much as I can, see as many amazing places/things as I can, and to live with intention. I figure I have a few days if I want to commit to something specific and I will let y'all know if I settle on something! Thanks for starting out 2015 with me and cheers to the best year yet! xox

Did you have a nice holiday? Are you making any resolutions for 2015?

Sweet Homecoming + Weekend Recap

Although I was just home for Thanksgiving, this trip home for Christmas couldn't have come fast enough! I decided to drive the trip home so I could have my car to run around and visit people while here. The drive is about 10 hours from NoVA to my parent's house in Georgia. To say it was long is an understatement! I look forward to doing road trips with passengers again after this experience. At the end of my drive, I was able to perk up from excitement when my car started picking up my favorite radio stations from home! Just fills me with nostalgia and happiness. I have truly enjoyed being home so far- not only is it warmer weather, but I have been able to spend precious and large amounts of time with my family and friends.

Atlanta has gotten a permanent Ferris wheel called the SkyView Atlanta since I've moved away and I have been itching to ride it. I had a lovely girls night with two of my best friends from college, and we took a gondola in the SkyView for a spin! I won't lie, I was really nervous the first time we went around and especially when we stopped. I am afraid of heights but wasn't really worried because I thought being inside the gondola "pod" I would be more comfortable. Thankfully, this was true after a little time had passed and I really enjoyed the ride! Atlanta is one of the prettiest cities I've been to and I'm totally in love with it. Unfortunately, my iPhone photos don't do it justice but here are a few photos from the ride!

I think it was festively lit for Christmas!

The famous "pencil building" as we all called it in college!

My boyfriend flew in Saturday morning and I helped him get a little more Christmas shopping done. Even though it was just 2 weeks since his DC visit, I was still so excited to see him! Before earlier this month, we had gone 6 months {!!!!} without seeing each other! That is way too long in my opinion. While we were out shopping, I found a GREAT deal on a beautiful new pair of Sam Edelman boots. They were on fabulous sale at Nordstrom and I have been looking for a new pair of black riding boots- it was destiny! My new boots are the 'Penny' style and can be seen on Nordstrom's website as well as my Instagram:

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They really are fantastic and I can't wait to wear them more!

On Sunday my guy's mom came down to pick him up {he is from Tennessee} so I will have to wait until this Saturday to see him when I go up to celebrate Christmas with his family! I haven't seen them since last Christmas so that will be really great for me. Christmas time is always hard because there are so many places to be in a short amount of time. My parents are divorced and re-paired so I have 2x the amount of people to visit with around the holidays. Yet another reason why having my car down here is helpful! The hustle and bustle of it all is always fun although there are a ton of moving parts. Thankfully my family is flexible and understanding so it makes things easier for me!

I am hoping to find time to get my gifts wrapped up later today or tomorrow- I got really cute patterned red wrapping paper and an assortment of ribbons to spice things up. I'll get some photos up here as soon as I get it all wrapped! I seriously just can't believe Christmas is THIS THURSDAY!

Are your holidays jam-packed? How do you juggle seeing all of your family? Have you put the finishing touches on your gifts yet? I hope you had a wonderful weekend and if you have any thoughts please share them in a comment below!

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday! {what an oxymoron, right?!}

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I hope you had the most relaxing and fulfilling Thanksgiving. I absolutely loved going home to be with family- and truly enjoyed my resolution to stay "unplugged" for the day! I really didn't realize how amazing that would be for me and I am definitely looking for other opportunities to have dedicated "unplugged" time moving forward. My sister hosted Thanksgiving for the first time at her new home, and I had a blast helping her prepare. We did as much as we could on Wednesday: set the table, folded the napkins, cleaned the floors, brined the turkey, put up decorations, peeled and cut potatoes, and created a cooking schedule so the dishes could be started at appropriate times. Although we ran into a few stressful points on Thursday, we had a mostly relaxing day and I look forward to incorporating that planning aspect into my future Thanksgiving. One of my favorite details of the day were the "I'm thankful for..." sheets my sister made for our table. We put one at each place setting, and had the guests fill them out as we reflected on our blessings over the past year. It's always a great reminder to step back and remember how blessed we are! Thankfully, my sis snapped a photo that I can steal to share with y'all! :)

At midnight on Thursday night/Friday morning, we set out to do a little Black Friday shopping. Let me just say this now- I think I am getting too old to battle the crowds. Especially since you can get all of the same deals online in your pjs at home! It has been a long standing tradition in my family to head out at midnight to shop until we drop and I will say that I enjoyed spending some sister time with my sissy.. but we were both tired around 2 and headed home to sip on some hot chocolate until we went to sleep! It was a great night. We did decide to wait until midnight to go out for our own form of a protest against shops opening on Thanksgiving day. I do not agree with plucking the employees out of their homes and away from their families to set up the store and work 12 hour shifts starting at 4 or 5 on Thursday. I have had to work on Black Friday in the past, and whether you are earning holiday pay or not you are almost always required to come in for a shift to keep your job. Thankfully, I got out of retail before Black Friday bled into Thursday but I still feel the pain for those who don't have any other choice. Thanks for helping us out with a smile on your face! I am happy to share that I did come away with some great deals for myself and some of my loved ones! {I am a huge fan of getting my Christmas shopping done early}

On Friday, I met up for brunch after a nap with my mom and sister to do a little more shopping at some of my favorite local shops. We found a few great deals, but it was so good to have one last day of girl time! Friday night I headed over to Athens with my dad and step-mom to get ready for our state rivalry game on Saturday. I am still in shock that GT won! It is always a fun game for me because my step-sister attended UGA and I attended GT, so we have a great house divided thing going on! Although we tried not to rub it in, it felt great to enjoy that win with my dad instead of unite in loss against the rest of the fam. This particular game kept me on my toes the whole time. Unfortunately I was only able to attend one game this season, and I unknowingly picked the best game of the season to be at!

What did you do this weekend? Did you host Thanksgiving this year? What did you do to relax during the holidays? Please share your thoughts in a comment below!

xoxo,

T

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday! This weekend was quite a whirlwind. I had an amazing surprise at the end of the week- my sister and brother-in-law planned a trip to come visit for the weekend!!! This was great news for me, as it had been since July since I had seen them. Far too long, in my opinion. They got up here late on Friday night- leaving me just enough time to pop up to Pentagon City mall to take advantage of The Body Shop's latest deal. They are currently offering buy 3, get 3 free! I just discovered this gem in June, and absolutely love their products. I use the seaweed skin care collection and think that is has done wonders with my combination skin! I am a huge fan of the fact that they offer natural products, do not animal test, and are very environmentally friendly. If you haven't checked out their stuff yet, I suggest you take a peek!

Saturday, we headed over to Annapolis to do a little shopping and attend the Georgia Southern/Navy football game! My sister and her hubby both attended GSU- so it was exciting to go cheer on the Eagles with them! It was an unfavorable outcome for our team but I think we all had a wonderful time. I know I did! Before the game, we wandered around the streets of Annapolis and enjoyed the view into the harbor. It was absolutely dreamy over there and I got some awesome photos to share with y'all. All of the boutiques along the streets were stocked with cute items, the food was great, and the atmosphere was just perfect. There were people stopped all around with easels set up to paint the scenery- I'm not exaggerating how picturesque it is! One of my favorite things we did was stop by a gourmet oil and vinegar taproom, Seasons. It was really neat to taste the different flavors and hear tips on how to cook with them. I ended up coming home with the Red Apple Balsamic Vinegar. I'm looking forward to using it with salads and maybe some marinades. Stay tuned for exactly how I will be using it! In addition to these great events, my alma mater beat Clemson! {I was that annoying fan who made the waiter change the tv to my team where we ate lunch!!}

Gorgeous view out onto the water!

Loved this hat! They were all over the stadium.

I couldn't pass up a good foliage photo.

On Sunday morning I dropped my beloved guests at the airport to send them back to Georgia. Time really does fly by when you're having fun! Thankfully, I will be getting to see them next week for Thanksgiving so it won't be a terribly long time in between visits! I had the best lazy Sunday after church and then went out for a send off party for a girlfriend who is moving. We went to True Food Kitchen in the Mosaic district in Fairfax. I had the most adorably named drink {which was also DELICIOUS} called "spontaneous happiness." I am trying to figure out how to make it at home, hopefully I will be able to recreate it! I also had spaghetti squash casserole for the first time and loved it! I am a huge pasta fan, and although it couldn't permanently replace my pasta, the spaghetti squash "noodles" were really yummy!

What did you do this weekend? Any exciting football scores with your teams? Have you tried any new restaurants lately?

Weekend Recap

Happy Sunday! This weekend was both relaxing yet action packed! I had a really rough day at work on Friday, so I treated myself and got a bottle of Prosecco to sip on in my pjs. I snuggled on my couch in front of my first fire of the winter to catch up on some Revenge. It was a perfect way to end the week! 

Pajamas {from Target- old, similar here}

Yesterday, I was able to sleep in and have a leisurely morning. I went to Ikea and bought a new nightstand set to put together for my bedroom. I don't know about y'all, but Ikea furniture can be so daunting to put together! The instructions are purely photos, and someone with limited assembly experience {aka me} may not know the difference between the pieces pictured. I actually got my desk from Ikea and put it together myself- which was a huge accomplishment over a several day period- and swore I would never make anything from there again. Unfortunately, I have been wanting to get nightstands and found ones that will work well {for a great price, no less!} with my current bedroom furniture. These will be a much smaller task, and I will be sure to put up a photo when they are complete! Be sure to check out my new instagram account for photos in between posts! I also found the perfect coffee table tray during a quick trip into Target. Stay tuned on future styling!

Tray

Saturday night, I went out with some girlfriends in Reston Town Center. We ate at a fantastic restaurant called PassionFish. They had wonderful cocktails and the food was so yummy! It's bad when you get the group of us together because we L-O-V-E to get dessert. I'm not usually one to splurge for dessert when I eat out, but if everyone else is doing it I can be easily swayed. I was so full afterwards, but I can't say that I regret it one bit!

Today, I had lunch and did a little exploring with a college friend who was in town for an interview. It was SO refreshing to see her, and we had a blast strolling around Georgetown. I took her to Luke's Lobster {my go-to tourist stop} for a lobster roll, we did a little shopping on M Street, then grabbed some coffee and macarons from Paul and sat by the river catching up until it was time for her flight. It was such a fun day with great company! 

What did you do this weekend? What's your favorite way to relax after a hard work week/day?

All Hallows Eve

Happy Sunday, my friends! 

This weekend was a blast. There is no other way to put it! For me, Halloween is a time to tap back into my inner sorority girl and put together a great costume. I prefer to make my costumes, and usually put a significant amount of time into planning and creating each one. Due to the craziness of the past few weeks, I wasn't able to put in ANY time to even think about what I wanted to do for a costume- so it came down to what I had stored away in my closet. Thankfully, I had a lovely flapper dress, feather headband, fishnet stockings, and some beaded necklaces to pull a costume together in a hurry! With a quick trip to CVS for the last minute essentials {black eyeliner, false eyelashes, and cranberry lipstick} I was good to go! 

On Friday, I went out with one of my girlfriends up in Clarendon. I hadn't experienced any nightlife there up to this point and really enjoyed myself. I will say that I was pretty surprised at how quiet the streets were for Halloween to fall on a Friday night! I'm not sure if the cold temperatures scared people away or if everyone was making the trip into Georgetown for the crazy experience that I've heard Halloween is out there. Regardless- we had a wonderful night of sweet cocktails, loud music, and funny conversations. That's an A+ night in my book! 

I have to admit that the flapper costume came together pretty well! The trickiest part for me was doing makeup. I have pretty fair skin and do not ever wear heavy eye make-up because it is overwhelming on my complexion in my opinion. However, every single photo I found on Google had dark eyeshadow and red lips so I knew I was going to just have to suck it up and do it! Although it was tricky, I found the simplest way to put it all together. I used my Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay {which is my go-to for nighttime looks} and went to town with a heavy hand. I used a black crayon liner to line my lids, smudging with the blackout shadow for a dramatic effect. Above that, I used the pistol shadow to fill in up to the crease and blended the liner edges with blackout again for continuity. For a little sparkle, I used the half baked shadow at/above my crease and highlighted my brow with foxy shadow. After making sure everything was blended and even, I applied the false lashes. I think it is best to do this last so you are able to get up close to your eyelid without the lashes in the way to apply shadow! Overall, it was simple and had just the right effect! For my lips, I used Maybelline's Color Sensational Creamy Matte lipstick in Divine Wine. It stayed put with minimal effort/touch-ups to look nice and didn't bleed around my lips. I highly recommend it!

Here is a glimpse of the costume:

What did you do for Halloween 2014? Any unique costumes? How do you deal with a last minute costume demand?

Thanks for reading!