New Year Resolution Updates and July Thursday Thankfulness

I saw these cool flowers on a walk.

So these were my new years resolutions and I'll let you know how I think I'm doing:

Exercise Four Times a Week and Stamp Every Day on My WiiFitU Calendar

Um. I stopped playing WiiFit because our neighbor went crazy on Hubs and said we were too noisy. My knee started hurting so I stopped running. I did discover that I had four paid for classes to use up at a local Yoga studio so I've been doing Yoga once a week. But, the only class that works with my work schedule is the gentle one, last week we didn't even stand up. I've started going on walks during my lunch at work in an effort to get up to 10,000 steps a day. I've also been using ClearSky's Pushup, Situp, and Squat apps. I will start doing more exercise after we move. I was so excited to read Ashliegh's post on the Darling Daily about Reflexion Yoga. I don't know if there's a Yoga studio in our new town so I'll sample their at home classes. 

Eat Less Sugar

Um. OMG so much stress eating and that's mostly sugar.

They do taste just like the girl scout cookies.
I did eat the whole box in one afternoon.
It was a rough day.

Use My Clarisonic Five Times a Week

I've been using it everyday I wear make up. So at least once a week.

I couldn't decide what dress to wear, so I wore them all.
#lillypulitzer

Floss 80% of the Time

Oh. I am so off track in this department. Like, I don't even know what floss is anymore.

My 4th of July OOTD
The fireworks were postponed 'til Labor Day Weekend.
The filter I used made it look sunny.

Drink 8 Cups of Water a Day

I think I am meeting this goal during the week thanks to my trusty camel bak. I've stopped tracking how much water I drink. I guess I need to get one of these fancy cups so that I don't have to self report.

I wanted this so bad and I found it on eBay!

Practice Gratitude and Minimize Envy

Um. I've been so bad with my good things journal as you can see below. I do think that I am slowly coming to terms with that fact that I am poorer money wise than I expected to be by this point in my life. Although I've been having mini freak outs since my cousin-in-law told us she was expecting. I am now officially too old to have the four kids I wanted spaced two years apart.

I love this blouse. It is machine washable silk.

SAVE $ FOR A HOUSE

Moving is expensive and we are moving to a new more expensive house. Hopefully the fact that our commutes will be shorter will help. I will recalibrate our budget once we move in and figure out how much the utilities there will cost. The house is being switched from oil heat to gas so we have no idea how much our heat will cost this winter.

Try to Spend Less on Beauty Products

I've tried out Boots Expert Sensitive Hydrating Eye Cream, Maybelline® Instant Age Rewind® Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer in Honey, and e.l.f Mineral Face Primer. None of them irritate my skin. The e.l.f. primer is great for $6 and I will probably keep using it until after we've saved up for a house. I still prefer my tarte primer because it is more mattifying and it's made without "yucky" chemicals. When it comes to eyes I only care about what happens to my dark circles. Neither the eye cream nor the concealer seem to make my dark circles less noticeable over the long run, about a week. So I will probably test out a different eye cream after I use this tube up.

I'm also bummed because I've heard wonderful reviews of the Age Rewind Concealer and I'm not sure it will work for me. I actually like the applicator for the Age Rewind concealer, it seemed weird at first, but the color seems to be a bit too light for me and I am pretty sure I bought it in the darkest color offered. (And, I thought I was so pasty.) I can't try out a darker color and see if it works better. I think this might be perfect for me in February so I will hold on to it. What do you guys think?

My no makeup face!

Just the concealer in the same lighting.

My made up face in natural morning sunlight
and the morning fluorescent light of my office.

Is the concealer too light or is it just almost to light? I think it looks okay in natural light but hideous in office light. I've also tried layering my tinted moisturizer over it to tone it down a bit and that seems to work well but I had been applying concealer second to last so I have to rethink my beauty routine.

EDIT I've taken a picture comparing my old concealer, Lancôme Maquicomplet Complete Coverage Concealer in Caramel (right), to the new stuff (left).

Be Nicer to Mr. H.

I've been stressed out and mean lately. I really need to figure out how not to worry about the upcoming move and my parents.

This is a midday top underneath one of my favorite shifts.
I've had the top for years and haven't quite figured out
how to style it. I like it because it's like a sailor dress.

Don't Stop Myself Because of Fear

I have no clue. Hubs and I went to a presentation to learn about how to fill out the form to become foster parents.

I got this tweed jacket from the Talbots' Red Hanger Sale
(It's still happening and I think sale is 50% off!)

The Good Things I Managed to Capture in the Notes on my Phone this Month
June 27 - Quiet party in our apartment with friends.
June 28 - Maybe TMI! My period was unexpectedly heavy last night and I stained my new Lilly Pulitzer Lobstah Roll shorts. An overnight soak in oxy clean has them as good as new. I am so happy.
June 29 - I spent the day with Hubs and it was so nice. We saw X Men: Days of Future Past and I made muffins.
July 1- Hubs had dinner ready when I got home
July 2 - I had a fun day at work because everyone was in an incredibly sociable mood.

I loved the jacket so much I wore it two days in a row.
I work at a remote location with different people one
day a week so only the internet and I know I repeated it.

July 5 - There was a man withal parrot on his shoulder at the farmers' market.
July 6 - Hubs and I played Mario Kart together.
July 7 - I figured out what was going on with the templates on my work computer. I used terminal to I unhide all the folders and I found them and then I just changed that folder to be not hidden. So I can delete the templates that I make and do not like now.
July 29 - I found my pedometer in the couch. I thought I lost it at the beach.

My view right now. We start moving in to our new place tomorrow!

tabbar tabbar!

February Thankful Thursday and Best of Instagram

Blood Donation OOTD
Ugg boots are the best at keeping my freezing feet warm.
Wearing short sleeves so the nurses can get at my veins.

1/30 I found a job listing I was excited about and I applied for it.
1/31 I donated blood. I was able to find a great use for the kitchen style crushed tomatoes I bought by accident.
2/1 Hubs and I watched a movie together. Our friends came over and we went to Tim Horton's.
2/2 We Skyped with our college friends while watching the Super Bowl.
2/3 I went to a job fair and wrote a cover letter for a real lawyer job!

Our Backyard on One of the Snow Days

2/4 I called my old nanny for her birthday. I got a call back from one of the recruiters at the job fair. It's not a lawyer job but it is a job.
2/5 Snow day! Hubs stayed home.
2/6 I have an interview with a firm! I got more contract work. I did five loads of laundry.

Bundling Up! Dressing in the Winter is a Multi Step Process
Wool Socks, Long Under Wear, Regular Clothes,
Warm Sweaters, and Arctic Rated Outwear Wear

2/7 I had my last shot before I move on to matinence allergy shots! I had a nice chat with the director of career servicces at the law school and got more books about hanging out my own shingle.
2/8 We went to Five Guys and OrangeLeaf (froyo) with Hubs' collegues.
2/9 I sold two things on eBay! Yeah for money!
2/10 I had my second shift as a volunteer tax preparer. Hubs and I had some good quality time together.

My Interview OOTD & Rocking my New Hair Cut

2/11 Got a great hair cut! I am so happy to have a stylist I trust.
2/12 I had two job interviews and I heard that another application would be passed on to the hiring manager. I took charge at the the Junior League New Member Meeting and rallied my subcommittee.
2/13 Snowday! Hubs came with me to the allergist so I got to sit with him while they waited to see if I had a systematic reaction. I am starting on the most concentrated vial of immunotherapy and soon I won't need shots every week.

2/14 Snowday! Ben bought me doughnuts and Dunkin gave us a carnation. (The carnation ended up lasting over a week and a half!)
2/15
2/16 We watched Minority Report together. It was a good interesting movie.
2/17 I watched Despicable Me 2 while donating blood. So funny!
2/19 We went to the theater and watched the Lego Movie. It was great! We got fresh snow. I just love fresh snow.
2/20 I got a free slushie at the gas station.

Random OOTD #lillypulitzer #jcrew #tiffanys

2/21 Looked at office space and started trying to get a quote for malpractice insurance.
2/22 It was warm (45) and we went for a walk. It was nice.
2/23 We went sledding.

An Abandoned Factory.

2/24 I was so productive yesterday. I got a lot off of my to do list and I fixed my broken Bose headphones.
2/25 So excited for Taco Tuesday on Wednesday. (See above where we saw the Lego Movie.)
2/26 I was so anxious about Junior League neighborhood meeting. It was at a member's home and I didn't know that member and I wasn't sure who else was in my neighborhood. But it was great!

LL Bean Signature Dress + Ugg Boots =
Little House on the Prairie Look

New Year's Resolution Updates
I did not exercise at all except for going for a walk and going sledding. I also didn't use myfitnesspal to track my food intake until this week. But hopefully I can keep up with tracking. I stopped drinking enough water using my water bottle really helps so I have to fill it up even when I'm at home. I'm flossing and using my Clarisonic pretty regularly. I am still so full of envy but I am working on finding the joy in my own life as you can see from my Thankfuls above. I am working on saving money. We averaged $36 a week on groceries (food items only) this month according to Mint! We did stockpile non-food grocery items (vitamins, paper towels, toilet paper). Over all in terms of saving it looks like our net income for February was positive so that puts us a little closer to owning a home!

How was your month? How are you doing with your new year's resolutions (if you had any that is)? What do you think of all my crazy facial expressions in my OOTDs?

Holiday Outfits

It's the holiday season! Hanukkah and Thanksgiving are next week!

Mr. H and I alternate holidays with our respective families so one year it's TGive with my family and Christmas with his and the next year it's this other way around. Our families are so different!

Holidays with my family mean time with my mom's whole family and it's kind of dressy. When we were little our parents would put us in nice clothes but, now that my cousins are all old enough to dress themselves, it runs the gamut from jeans to nice slacks and nice shirts or sweaters. I usually dress nicely and make my poor husband dress nicely too. My in-laws just do holidays with their nuclear family + me and they are so casual. They don't dress up at all so I wear jeans to fit in.

I like dressing up and I like being festive thought I don't like it when others over do it (they've been playing Christmas music at the mall since November 1st, that's too soon). For holidays, though I want to look nice, I also want to wear something that will let me eat as much as possible in comfort. I love my Lilly Pulitzer Biaocchi pants for this purpose. They are super comfortable, dressy leggings so they are prefect for eating as much corn pudding, dressing, pie, and apple crisp as is possible. (Note: the biaocchi pants are now called the Travel Pant and are available here or if you're on a budget or need tall or petite sizes give these Old Navy Ponte Leggings a try.) I also recommend a flowy top as a fitted one will show just how much stuffing you've had.

Below are my dressy and casual outfit suggestions for the Holidays. I've also got a board on Pinterest where I've been pinning ideas for holiday outfits.

Thanksgiving Outfits

Shell: Talbots, Similar Here
Cardigan: Tory Burch Simone Cardigan
Pants: Lilly Pulitzer Biaocchi/Travel

Top: Talbots
Pants:Lilly Pulitzer Biaocchi/Travel

I may have to repeat this OOTD for TGive.

Blouse: Elizabeth McKay, similar here

I love my Elizabeth McKay Blouses.
The ruffle makes them just a little extra special.
If you can stand cashmere next to your skin then you
might want to try the Cashmere version.

Christmas Outfits

Dress; Talbots (last year)

I love this dress from Talbots. The plaid is so festive. I also love that I got it on
sale. It is a size too big but that is perfect for days when you want to
see how much corn pudding, stuffing, and apple crisp you can eat in one go.

Shirt: L.L. Bean, they no longer have the Princess Mary Tartan
Jeans: Joes' Jeans Cigarette Cut

Shell: Talbots
Cardigan: Tory Burch Simone Cardigan
Pants: Lilly Pulitzer Biaocchi/Travel

I'll likely need the cardigan since it will be
freezing in both Maine and Chicago.

Shell: Talbots
Pants: Lilly Pulitzer Biaocchi/Travel

But! This top is so cute on its own!

Shirt: Lilly Pulitzer
Sweater: J.Crew, old
Jeans: Joe's Jeans Cigarette Cut

You can't go wrong with Pink and Green
for Christmas (or any time).

What do you do for the holidays? Do you have Friendsgiving? Do you get together with your extended family or is it just your nuclear family? Do you dress up? Do you eat a lot?

October OOTDs and Fun Photos from Instagram

I love this dress and these shoes from Talbots.

I love my green suit from Talbots.

Elizabeth McKay Blouse at Work

Elizabeth McKay Blouse for Dinner and Gelato with Friends

A Pink Flower

Maine in the Fall
(View from the Doughnut Farm)

The First Time I Wore my Alma Mater's Bicentennial Scarf

I Liked this Combo

Wearing the Scarf my Co-Workers Gave Me for my Birthday

My First Halloween Costume
Sen. Moseley-Braun (D-IL)

My Husband Pretending to be a Zombie
to Scare Trick or Treaters

My Evening Halloween Costume

Post Work Outfit Change

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

I Cleaned my Bean Boots for Winter

One of My Favorite Outfits
An Elizabeth McKay Lindsay Dress
Lilly Pulitzer Travel Pants
Jack Rogers Flats

I Love Twin Sets!