Happy V-Day!

I know, I haven't blogged here in about a month now. Things have been rather chaotic, between starting school back up (I'm enrolled in a local community college towards a certificate in Web publishing), work and just life! But I'm coming back, I promise!


Since last I blogged, I did a MAJOR closet cleaning, including my insanely large jewelry collection. I've either donated or sold quite a bit, and I still have more to do. But I'm loving my newly-shrunken closet...it's so much easier to put outfits together in the morning! And the clean-out has also helped me realize what I'm missing in my wardrobe and I've been working on fixing that.

For now, I'm going to say Happy Valentine's Day! Check out the awesome dinner my hubby made me tonight. It was almost too cute to eat...almost. :)

Nice and Comfy

This past weekend I went out shopping with a mission -- to find a comfy long cardigan that looked flattering on, fit me well and was very comfy. Going through my wardrobe, I realized this was a piece was missing and I needed, based on my "quality versus quantity" promise this year.

I'm happy to report my shopping mission was extremely successful...I scored a fabulous long cardigan from Ann Taylor Loft that is very comfortable and fits me great. The waist tie is built-in and cinches the waist, which is a look I always go for. Plus it was on sale plus 40% off -- even better!

I had also scored these black pants on sale at New York & Company with an additional 30% off. Another item I needed...they fit me great and have a slight sheen to them, which I really like! It's very subtle and not over-the-top sparkly at all. 

I apologize for the crappy picture...my camera battery died right after I took this shot, so this is all I've got for today!

Cardigan: Ann Taylor Loft

Pants: New York & Company

Top: JC Penney

Boots: Payless

Bag: Isabella Fiore

Necklace & Earrings: Vintage

Watch: Anne Klein

Feelin' Sassy

This skirt always makes me feel sassy...it's a bit shorter than I normally wear my skirts and dresses. And it poofs out and just makes me feel...sassy. LOL

Skirt: Ann Taylor Loft

Sweater, Tights and Shoes: Target

Bag: Cole Haan

Necklace: Vintage

Watch: Anne Klein

New Year's Promises

New Year's Resolutions are a strange pasttime. I mean, have you ever kept one? Do you know anyone who's ever really kept one?

Because of the "no" that normally follows both those questions, I never do them. However, because of things I've learned and done in 2009, I've realized I don't necessarily want to make "resolutions," as they have an automatically "never gonna happen" vibe to them.

Rather I'm going to make "promises" to myself for 2010. These are personal promises that will help me stay on track, whether it be fitness, shopping, whatever. These are for me and I'm going to try my hardest to stick to them. And the best part is this blog will help me stick to them! :) 

So, my 2010 Promises to myself are:

• Continue to work hard and further commit myself to my fitness goals for ME
  

I started working with my personal trainer in October 2009 and I've done amazingly well since. I've come to love being in the gym and pushing my body farther than I ever thought was possible. Now I need to push myself further, especially when it comes to my diet. 

•  When it comes to shopping, go for quality and need over quantity.

I pride myself on my awesome shopping skills. However, I've got way more than I need to have and it honestly makes for a headache when it comes to putting outfits together. Over this year, I plan to streamline my wardrobe with great pieces that all go together and will make it easy for me to put together great outfits that fit my style. Oh, and this also goes for my make-up and jewelry collections as well!

• Get out there and meet new people.

I've got some great, great friends. But I don't have really any close friends that share a lot of my interests. So help with this I've been joining some groups on Meetup.com and I hope to meet some others with similar interests of mine, plus get my husband involved in some of the couples groups I've joined. We'll see what happens!

• Be all I can be.

No, I'm not joining the Army. :) This is in terms of my education. In 2009, I decided to go back to school at a local college to go for a Certificate in Web Publishing. At my current job, I oversee about seven Web sites. I had to self-teach myself HTML and other things to do so. And I love it! So hopefully through this process I'll learn what I need to know for not only this job, but eventually design my own Web sites. In addition, I've also been working to pursue my CAE (certified association executive) designation. In 2011 I'll be able to take the exam for the CAE, so in 2010 I plan to learn as much as I can and start preparing for the exam.

Later, 2009....Hello 2010!

Happy New Year!

I can't believe 2009 has come and gone already! But being in my line of work I'm always working ahead of myself, I've been writing 2010 since October, so I'm ready for it!

Being my hubby and I had off today, and it's quite yucky and rainy out, we decided to go to a casino about an hour away. Was a nice drive and I came home $120 richer! Not bad for a day's work! :)

Jacket: Ann Taylor Loft

Blouse: Target

Jeans: Old Navy

Sneakers: Payless

Bag: Elliott Lucca

Necklace: Vintage from eBay

Website Wednesday -- Etsy

If you've never heard of Etsy and you love unique items like I do, then you'll want to go. Now. Yes, this very minute. :) Etsy is one of the coolest sites I've ever found because I can satisfy my need for both unique and vintage items at the same time. It's just a plethora of fun stuff...you can find everything you possibly need for yourself or presents for others, from baked goods to body scrubs to vintage jewelry. I've made some great purchases over the year on Etsy and I plan to make many more in 2010!

Some of my favorite purchases on Etsy so far have been:

Ravine Repurposed Bag from Hoakon/Helga
Hoakonhelga is one of the coolest bag makers on Etsy. She takes vintage leather items and turns them into beautiful handbags. I love the fact that it's a unique bag no one else has that's reusing material that would normally just be wasted. (Photo of my bag here was borrowed from Hoakon/Helga's Etsy site.)

Tropical Love Necklace from Erinkeys
This necklace is so simple, but I get so many compliments on it! I purchased it for spring/summer last year and got a lot of wear out of it. Being much of my wardrobe tends to be neutral colors, this pop of color was just what I needed. I plan to wear it a lot this year as well! I'm also considering one of her pearl necklaces right now...they're classic, yet vintage and unique. (Photo borrowed from Erinkeys' Etsy site.)


Bath and Body Goodies from Mad City Sue
Unfortunately I haven't ordered from Mad City Sue in a while, but after reading her latest scent descriptions, I need to! MCS makes the most fabulous sugar scrub I've ever tried...it's scrubby, but so moisturizing! Her prices are great, her products are fantastic and she has amazing customer service. As for scents, my favorites are Et Une Rose type (very hard to find and her dupe is amazing!), Creme Vanille, and Pink Frosted Cupcakes.

New Etsy Purchases
I'm currently waiting on two recent Etsy purchases I'm really excited about:


Gunmetal Rose Earrings by Tianarutledge
It's not often you find someone that will make you clip earrings! These are so adorable...I can't wait to get them! (Photo borrowed from Tianarutledge's Etsy site)



Vintage Emmons Designer Earrings from Blisstiques
I saw these and just knew they had to be mine...they're so different and I love the mix of both gold and silver. They'll go with everything! (Photo borrowed from Blisstiques' Etsy site)

The After-Holiday Glow

I do love relaxing holidays and this was definitely one of those! Five days off of doing nothing but hanging out, watching movies, making cookies, and basking in holiday cheer...good times. :) I'm back to work today, but it's a short week...only 2.5 days! Nice!

This cardigan from The Limited is one of my favorite pieces right now. It's double-breasted, which I just think is cool! And I'm carrying my beloved Elliott Lucca bag...this was my first high-end bag and started the love. :)

I'm also wearing my fabulous new owl necklace...this was a vintage piece I had found on consignment at my favorite local jewelry store. I had it on lay-away until January, but my fantastic hubby surprised me on Christmas morning! I couldn't believe he paid for the rest of it...I'm still shocked and just touched at his thoughtfulness! Unfortunately the photos don't do it justice at all and my camera sucks, so I was unable to get a close-up. The necklace is a gold medallion with a raised gold owl in the center sitting on a branch with purple and orange jewels on each end of the branch.

Cardigan: The Limited

Tank & Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Payless

Bag: Elliott Lucca

Watch: Skagen

Necklace: Vintage consignment piece

Ring: Vintage from antique fair

Bracelet: Vintage from eBay

Close-up of the cardigan.

Close-up of my bracelet