OOTD- Oldies But Goodies

I wore this outfit last week when I had to get ready in a hurry and had no idea what to wear. I've had this sweater from Old Navy for literally 5 or 6 years and this was the first time I wore it. It still had the tags attached. I'm a pretty good judge of character when it comes to clothing. I used to just hang on to everything no matter what but after a massive purge a few years back, I have become so much better at editing my wardrobe. Besides a few regrets, I seem to know if I'm going to wear something again or not. Once I move on, I moved on. But I kept this cute little sweater and it transitioned seamlessly from on-the-bench to star player. I've done this with shoes before too where they sit and wait patiently for their turn in the spotlight to come and then the perfect outfit falls into place and I know I have the perfect shoes to go with. I love it when that happens. The shoes in these pictures are Chinese Laundry from a while back as well. I was daring that day and wore TWO necklaces. I know, I'm such a rebel.


I was so excited to get a cute little package in the mail. I joined in on Chasing Davies' friendship bracelet swap. I got paired with Kristen of yourfaceislikethesunshine.blogspot.com.
Look what she whipped up for me. Isn't it cool? Thank you Kristen and Meggy for setting it up. I love it!


Now for Fill in the Blank Friday:

2. When it comes to working out I have been doing pretty good lately. I discovered that the only way I will stick to a workout routine is if I can watch TV while I do it. Add Hulu and the treadmill that was sitting in the garage became my new best friend. Problem solved!

3. A woman should always try be kind to others. That goes for men too.

4. I wish I could stop shopping and then I'd be rich .

5. A best friend is a person that is always there for you that you can 100% be yourself around.

6. I can't get enough of warm cozy socks and slippers. I pretty much won't see my toes again until mid June.

7. This weekend I am hopefully doing nothing! I would love to be a shut in for 48 hours. But, I may be working or going to a baby shower. We'll see.

Target and TV

(from people magazine)

So I stayed up WAY too late last night watching the second half of the Kim Kardashian Wedding Spectacular. I'm so sick of this family, but of course I'm gonna watch. I love a good televised celebrity wedding.

Thoughts:

~ For a four hour televised special, yes four hours!, Kim walked down the aisle with 10 minutes to spare. Ten minutes! They absolutely breezed through the actual wedding footage! It should have been two hours of build up and dress fittings, and two hours of just the big day. LAME!
~Kourtney tripped when she was walking down and almost dropped her baby. The audible gasp from the guests was so uncomfortable to watch. I bet she wishes they had edited that 30 seconds out.
~How long did Kim wear that second dress for? The editing made it look like it couldn't have been more than 10 minutes. I hope it was longer than that, if nothing more than for the sake of the Vera Wang workers who probably slaved over that train.
~Talking about her deceased father really got to me. I cried.
Whatever, I cry at anything these days.

Also, I would like to know why Parenthood isn't winning like every TV award possible.
I. Love. That. Show. It's so good. I originally watched it when Hulu had the entire first season available. I love any show that I can watch back to back episodes of, so I started watching online while on the treadmill. It took me a few episodes to really get into but now it's one of my favorite shows on TV. I tried describing it to my sister, but couldn't really do it justice. It's so heartfelt and touching. My eyes well up during pretty much each episode. Did I mention I'm kind of a crybaby?
Just watch it. You won't be sorry.

I also really like the new show REVENGE. You never know with these if they are going to be awful or interesting. Three episodes in, it's another one I look forward to watching. Definitely one of my favorites of the new fall lineup.


In fashion news:
I heard the exciting announcement a few days ago! The next designer collaboration to hit Target is going to be....drum roll please...Jason Wu! This is super super exciting to me. I first heard of him in 2006 when Eva Longoria wore a sweet white number to the emmys that year. Since then he has shot to super stardom and has dressed uber celebrities AND the First Lady. The teaser they released looks like it's gonna be a good one. The countdown to February 5th starts...NOW! If it's anything like the Missoni juggernaut this is gonna be a big deal. Since I'm about a million times more excited for this collection, I'm definitely going to be waiting in line for the store to open. Although, knowing me, I will probably be snowed in that day and won't be able to go.

Eva @ the Emmys:
Recent looks worn by Zoe and Jaimie:

My absolute favorite Wu dress from his showing during fashion week:


And of course, the dress that put him on the map:

On My Mind- Pumpkins & Crafting

In case you couldn't tell...I love pumpkins. The color, shape, flavor, everything.

They are so cute!

Pumpkin: bread, cake, cupcakes, muffins, soup, candy, cookies, pie, etc.

So why is it the Pumpkin Spice Latte that everyone covets is only 'meh' for me? I tried it for the first time a few years ago and thought it was disgusting. I think mine got made wrong.

I usually love all the seasonal drinks and I like to at least try each one that sounds good to me. Last winter I had the caramel brulee latte: meh. A few weeks ago I had the salted caramel mocha: meh. It was Ok, just didn't taste like a true salted caramel flavor. So today I decided to give the PSL another try. I asked for an extra pump of flavoring. This helped, but sadly, I am still not a fan. It was ok. I guess I enjoyed it. Would I order it again? No. I don't know what's wrong with me. The specialty flavors never pan out. They always look and sound better than I think they taste. In theory, I like everything about the PSL...but in reality it's just not for me. There, I said it. I feel so much better getting that off my chest. Please don't hate me, everyone!

Moving on ... These are the amazing pumpkin cupcakes that my sister-in-law made with the best cream cheese frosting EVER!! She has made this in cake form many times and I always request it. It's my fave. The cupcakes were so good! Even better the next day after they spent the night in the fridge and the frosting was cold and hardened and delicious! She puts pumpkin pie spice in the icing! I know, right? GENIOUS!


Aren't they pretty?
I bought her this cute, pink carrying case from Amazon for her and my bro's anniversary. I knew she would use it a lot and when we got together for a crafting night it made its maiden voyage to my mom's house.


We had so much food! I didn't get pictures of everything. We had lots of little snacky things, dips, etc. Don't these pasties look good? I love them. Every winter I stock up.
Crispy green beans! These were very good too.

We had the supplies to make cards, scrap booking stuff, stickers...so much stuff. The entire dining room table was covered in paper and glue sticks! I decided to stick to bookmarks that night because I: 1) love to read 2) found myself devoid of cute bookmarks 3) can't find the latest ones I bought on my last vacation and 4) got sick of using the free ones the library gives out.

For some reason I'm in the middle of about 100 books right now, so I needed a lot. I spent a few bucks on paper, my mom had the ribbon, and there are always stickers around. In one night, I made all of these. They are something pretty and fun that make me smile. I did lots of different versions. My sister-in-law also brought over her laminating machine! I have never know anyone to have their own portable laminator, but it was awesome! I only laminated a select few and the rest are just paper. Loving these! Something simple to brighten my day... it's the little things!
Side note: When I went to put the cute, new bookmarks into my various books, I realized I had been using a scrap of wrapping paper as a place holder in one, and a square of toilet paper in another! I guess these were more necessary than I thought!

Random Photos- Mostly Food

Hi Everyone! I hope all of you had a good week last week and weekend...mine was great!

I got a tad behind on blogging, but was able to get a lot of other stuff done.
Fun and productivity usually don't go hand in hand for me. It's mostly one or the other.

Thankfully, this weekend was the exception to that rule. Lots more pics of that coming up...but while I'm going through those, here's a collection of random pictures I hope will make you smile!

Homemade vanilla my mom made:
I love the cute little bottle. Vanilla beans from Whole Foods and either vodka or rum, I can't remember which one she used. It smells so good, I can't wait to try it out!

Made a visit to the craft store for some fall projects. This is the "before"...
"After" pics to come.

This is from a few weeks ago.
Chilling with my niece by the pool...it was pretty cold and windy out, but somehow kids are immune to that when they want to swim. We hit the hot tub too, of course.
I love marshmallows! LOVE! I'm pretty much obsessed. Here are some treats I did not even know existed, but I am now on the hunt to find...does anyone know where to get these?

Above: snowman vanilla and gingerbread marshmallows. Pumpkin cream cheese!
Below: Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows.

My sister bought me this shirt because she knows all about my dirty little peep fascination.
Now I say it loud and say it proud: I'm a freak for peeps!

My same niece in the pool photo above got an award at school for being kind, caring and respectful in the classroom.
This was the first ceremony of the year and my auntie heart swelled with pride.

More junk food I want to try:

Triple oreos! Double stuff is so last year. This one has FIVE layers.

Never seen these before, but they look pretty good.

Wish I had seen these in the spring. I love artificial color and flavoring. And, yellow is my favorite.
These look gross- anyone tried?

As you can see, in my quest for marshmallows I ended up on the oreo product page. It was like a whole new world was opened up to me!

I will be back tomorrow with more pics... Until then!

My Weekend- Bridge Phobia

I thought as people got older their thinking became more rational, reasonable and wise....Right? Then why are my fears and phobias getting increasingly worse as I age? When I was younger I loved airplanes and thought flying was SO fun. I never gave a second thought to taking the elevator, driving over a bridge or anything of that sort. Fast-forward a decade or so and BAM! my brain is like phobia central. Among the very long list are -you guessed it- flying, elevators, and bridges. I have cried on planes, cried going over bridges, and worked many a calf muscle hauling luggage up many a flight of stairs to avoid unsavory looking death trap elevators. I am a pretty big scardey cat when it comes to a lot of things.
It has been hard for me to reconcile my love of San Francisco with my completely ballistic fear of any high bridge over water. So why this weekend did I end up traveling over the Golden Gate 3 times and the Bay Bridge once? I guess I am a glutton for punishment.
It was worth it.

The beauty is not lost on me...
But that mile and a half feels like a million. Am I a total freak?
Chillin' in the Presidio
Yoda
Inside the Lucasfilm lobby
With my precious little niece

The Starbucks on site there has Star Wars themed items everywhere
In honor of Yoda: "Brew or Brew Not, There Is No Try"

Yes, I am a total nerd.
Star Wars geek and loving it!

Of course there was more fro yo. This time I tried cinnamon with graham crackers and PUMPKIN. I love the few months when pumpkin flavors are everywhere!
And these pics were snapped at a Celtic Festival I went to.
I wish I got more pics of all the costumes...it was men in skirts as far as the eye could see.
Tons of music, shopping and good food!


This band was from Scotland- shout out to my sissy!
And last but not least:
Found this in a booth selling all sorts of Tshirts
I could not pass this up!
Pagan is my maiden name. Before I became MR I was MP. I always pronounced it the regular way (Pay-g-In), but in Puerto Rico you say (Pa - gahn.)
That's right- islands of the barbarians- represent!