Thanksgiving Day 2009

I completely failed to take pictures of the food we cooked (like I meant to) but I'm not too sad about it (my mac n cheese recipe was a super fail). I did remember to get some pix of my little table setting.

 

We played 3 rounds of Trivial Pursuit and had a fabulous day. I hope everyone else had a great holiday too!

Haul - Clothes

With the gift cards I got for my birthday (back in October) I picked up a few items to update the wardrobe. Just a few things I've really been wanting for myself.

This is a pencil skirt from Forever 21 that has very feminine ruffles on the bottom, which I love. I haven't worn it yet, but I plan on it...eventually...

This is a navy cardigan from J Crew that I wear weekly. Probably a bit too much actually, but I just love it!!

I got this cute little tshirt dress from TJ Maxx when I went shopping with my friend Femme Flaca.  It was only my second time shopping in a store like this and boy have I been missing out!!! But I've already got plans to go back regularly.

I decided to wear to work the next day, so here's my outfit of the day...or 'OOTD' as the beauty bloggers call it, lol. Paired the dress with existing pieces I had - sweater from Abercrombie & Fitch; leggings from American Eagle; ballet flats from H&M in NYC; not sure where the pearls are from but probably F21.

Last but not least, a new pashmina. I've got 3 already and come to find out, a black one can come in handy. I borrowed my mother's while in Georgia and it helped to make my cocktail dress more modest while staying dressy, so I decided to get one for myself. This was also purchased at TJ Maxx.

Anyone else done some shopping lately? I mean for yourself, not Christmas. Actually, some Christmas shopping posts would be great too!

 

Thanksgiving Menu

Tomorrow my little family (me, boyfriend, brother) will be having lunch at our new condo to celebrate Thanksgiving. (My dad is at home in Sacramento & my mum is in Georgia taking care of my grandmother, but usually they come down to SD). Here's what we've planned for our menu:

• Rotisserie Chicken - Pre-made from the grocery story (We started this genius tradition last year)
• Mac n Cheese - Homemade in the SlowCooker (it's my first time, so if it turns out well I'll post the recipe)
• Corn on the Cob
• Mashed Potatoes & Gravy - From KFC. Oh yes, they're the best
• Pear & apple slices
  
• Stuffing - Just the easy peasy box kind
• Mimosas

My mouth is watering just thinking of the yumminess. And my favorite part is that I won't spend all day slaving in the kitchen, but spending it with my favorite boys.

Boyfriend for hire

First load of dishes in the new condo are washed and dried in the dishwasher just fine. Second load of dishes is a different story. About 10 minutes into it, I come into the kitchen only to realize there’s water everywhere – on the floor, on the counters, in the sink, dripping under the sink, and spewing straight out from the sink aerator. WHAT the?!?!



So I do some online research and chat a bit with my boss (who just finished remodeling her kitchen). She is convinced that it’s the aerator’s fault and that it either needs to be cleaned or replaced, simple and easy, at most $3. So I relay the message to boyfriend, who takes apart the aerator only to find that it’s just fine and in working order. Hmm…



Google this, Google that, mention to boyfriend that it could be the brand new disposal he just installed last week. Turns out that if you are connecting your disposal to a dishwasher there’s this little plug on the disposal that needs to be popped out before you install it, otherwise when you run the dishwasher, water will spew straight out from the sink aerator. Huh. Go figure. You would think the disposal directions would have mentioned that. No matter, we fix.



Boyfriend removes the disposal, pops out the plug, reinstalls the disposal, and reinstalls the sink aerator and all its parts. All in like an hour. So I check the dishwasher again, and what do you know, it works!!! And for zero dollars extra. Not a drop of water. Hurray for boyfriend!!

Sorry ladies, he’s all mine.

Haul - Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!

A few months ago I budgeted some money to update my shoe collection. I needed some shoes for weddings, casual comfy, and some new boots. To make it easy on myself I ordered online from DSW.com and hurray for me, I guessed the right sizes! All my shoes fit and I love them. I would definitely order online from them again...but not until next year :^)

These are some super cute ankle boots I bought for my skinny jeans, but my jeans dont tuck into them, so I either have to wear with a dress bare-legged or with tights.

These are black satin heels that I bought for the weddings, with a matching clutch. They worked out great and I got loads of compliments.

These are my comfy new ballet flats with a fall feel, I just love ballet flats!

And these are the boots that boyfriend picked out. Actually, these ones I ordered online from Victoria's Secret, not DSW.

 

Oh and then last week I was at Marshall's with my friend Karina, and I bought these cuties.

Has anyone else bought new shoes lately??

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Saw the movie in theaters last night with my brother and my friend Mallory. I just couldn't wait for it to come out on Netflix. Boy was it entertaining. I feel like a laughed the whole time, even though it wasn't meant to be a comedy, they had some really good lines. I will be watching it again, that's for sure, but I haven't decided if I'm going to buy it or just put it on my Netflix queue. But definitely a guilty-pleasure re-watch.

I LOVE TWILIGHT!!!!!!!

You have green grass

You know that saying 'the grass is always greener on the other side'? Well it bothers me. And I think mostly because its true. We're always striving for something better, which sometimes I think can be good, but some days I just want to appreciate what I have.

I've had a terrible morning - drama with work, broken things at home, one frustration after another - and the whole time I kept thinking "I just want to be happy today, please Kim make yourself happy". But amidst all the drama I hadn't quite made a game plan on how to do that. 

So as I'm catching up on my blog reading (I was 2 weeks behind, happily caught up now) I read one of Kandee's posts about this adorable wife/mother/amazing woman named Stephanie. So naturally I go to Stephanie's blog (http://nieniedialogues.com/) and start reading from the beginning post. She's been blogging for several years, so I skipped up to 2009 and started reading about her near fatal accident and the things she has suffered and the people that have taken care of her and her husband and children.

Her story touched my heart and I am just so proud of her for staying positive during everything she's gone through and is still going through. And in a little miracle, my heart was lifted and I realized something. Grass might be greener on another side, but my grass is still green. Sometimes you need the help of others to see the beauty and joy in your own life. Today Kandee and Stephanie helped me do that and I thank them immensely.

Halloween 2009

Yes, I'm a little behind on this post, but I talked so much about Halloween leading up to it, I feel a final post is in order. Our Swarm of Killer Bees costumes came out pretty well I think. We got loads of comments and smiles and high-fives and all that.

This is me, still in the get-ready process

Here I've got my full killer vampire makeup done, but we couldn't get the fangs to stay on our teeth, so I went without them. This is my friend Cara, such a cute little gypsy!

The Swarm. Or 4 out of 5 at least. Somehow I don't have any pix with our 5th bee in them, Maritza.

 

Playing with all the fake weapons. I love dress-up! I hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. Now time for Thanksgiving planning!!

Happy Birthday to ME

This year I wasn't able to celebrate my birthday (which is highly unlike me, usually I do a whole birthday month!), but my little brother still surprised me with these lovelies!!!!

I just love sunflowers and when I was younger my whole room was filled with any kind of sunflower decorations. Isn't he so thoughtful and aren't they just gorgeous?! I love thoughtful gifts and these made me smile so much.

Where have I been?!

It's been about a month since I've been on good ole blogger and boy do I miss it. I'm soooo behind on reading all my fav blogs and updating my own. Why, you ask? Well, as if life weren't stressful enough, I've had some pretty major things happen in the last month. In one month! Here's what I've been up to:

• Closed on our first home
• Moved out of old apt and into new condo
• Boyfriend and brother get flu at same time for about a week and a half
  
• Work in Oakland for 2 days
• My 28th Birthday - work in Oakland again all day
  
• Boyfriend gets promotion and moves buildings
• Halloween, 2 buddies in town, super fun
• Wedding in TN for 6 days
• Buy the wrong sized W/D and have to return it to Home Depot in my SUV
• Wedding in VA for 8 days
• Grandfather passes away in GA
• Dont catch my connecting flight home from VA to ATL to SD & instead rent a car in ATL to drive to Augusta to be with family for 4 days
  
• Grandfather's full military funeral and burial service
• Drive back to ATL, fly from ATL to SD on Saturday
  
• Buy & install new garbage disposal so that I can use kitchen sink on Sunday
  
• I get a new office closer to home & move myself in 1 day (Monday)

Umm yeah, I think that's about it...and this was literally in 30 days time. I'm amazed that I haven't pulled my hair out or gotten sick...yet :^) Looking forward to things calming back down and getting back to my blog, facebook, and twitter.