Weekend Recap

This weekend was delightful.

As quickly as the time went by, I was able to enjoy the weekend and slow down for change. After the last few weekends in April that included holidays, visitors, and a trip back to Indiana, it was nice to have {nothing} to do. No schedule. No obligations.

I wish I had more pictures to recap my nothingness this weekend, but I am a great slacker when it comes to taking photos. So stories will have to do. 

Saturday was a nice day for napping...and that is exactly what I did. The windows of our apartment were open and the sun was shining in just the right way to keep me warm but not blind my tired eyes. Cooper took advantage of this time and sprawled himself out on the floor near the window, basking in the afternoon rays. The boyfriend also took advantage of our lazy afternoon and choose to nap on the bed...telling me after he awoke how nice our bed was when just one person was in it. I responded with "maybe tonight you can see how nice the couch is." And we laughed. 

That night we put on some music and turned off the t.v. and made dinner together. A delicious homemade New England meal. Mussels, scallops, whole wheat and spinach pasta in a white wine sauce with scallions and sun dried tomatoes. If you're thinking to yourself, "yum" then you're correct. It was great. I mean....we probably could have charged for that meal.

Sunday, as you may have seen from my earlier post, was peaceful. A few nice walks with Cooper in the morning, and a couple nice shots of him near the blooming trees. And after a few cups of coffee and breakfast, I set out to the town park for a quick run. It reminded me of home when I arrived. People were taking the time to enjoy life and seemed to not be worried about the hustle and bustle that usually consumes our lives.

There were new parents pushing baby strollers and numerous games of soccer being played in the open fields....and there was a hockey rink...which did not at all remind me of home, but reminded me of the home I'm building here. A foreign sport to me until a couple of years ago when I made the move across the country to Massachusetts. 

While on my run I was able to snap an adorable couple with their babies...

kind of hard to see but there are 3 little ducklings

just a moment earlier they were all in a line on the banks of the pond

The rest of the afternoon was spent on my balcony finishing up a book that I had started a few weeks earlier and then in the hurry of life had neglected to continue reading. The book was called "The Art of Racing in the Rain." I had purchased the book a few years earlier and in true form, never read it. 

I will tell you this of the book.....if you have a dog, be prepared with a box of tissues. If you are an ugly crier, read this book in private. The looks I was getting from the boyfriend as I was sobbing hysterically on our couch were scary. 

I hope everyone else had a awesome weekend...stay tuned for more posts this week as the boyfriend is out of town and I will have entirely too much time to myself. 

Sunday Morning

ahhh.....Sunday morning....*sigh*

I woke up today, looked out my window to the sun shining, the birds chirping, and my dog at the side of my bed wiggling furiously...which could only mean one thing....he's gotta go. 

We walked outside to "take care of business" and I couldn't help notice how quiet and peaceful it was. Now, I live in an apartment complex, which means that when I take my dog out in the morning it is usually a battle of which dog can get to the fire hydrant the quickest and how long it will take for my dog to pull my arm off when he spots a leaf blowing in the breeze that he MUST chase. But today was different.

As Cooper was carefully sniffing around the grass trying to find the perfect spot to soil, I noticed there wasn't a single dog in sight...the breeze wasn't strong so I was able to keep both arms...and I thought to myself...I must seize this moment! 

So I snapped a few pictures as Cooper and I enjoyed our morning walk....alone....and peacefully. 

Wishing everyone a glorious Sunday. 

Love, 

M & Coop 

Blog-Browsers

Dear Blog-Browsers, 

I love that you stop by from time to time to view my precious, little sarcastic, and fashionable (at times) blog. 

It makes me happy to hear that you stopped in, read something...liked it, and then kept reading. This is always delightful news!

Do you know what would be even more delightful? If you clicked that little {follow} button over there to the right....I know you're looking at it....yep, that one right there. Go ahead...click it....I dare you

I would love to see my number of followers jump from 13....to say...25! Wouldn't that be fun! So if some of you might decide to {follow} instead of browse, I would be happy...and then, if you're feeling crazy, and you decide to tell your friends, and then they click {follow} I would be ecstatic! 

I am excited to see how many browsers are out there...and to see if you actually click follow. Don't be shy...stop in and say hi! HA! Rhyming, and I didn't even try! that's too much....just click follow. I'll be forever thankful. 

Sincerely, 

M

p.s. it might also say "join this site" instead of follow...which is also acceptable. 

Let's Talk F-A-S-H-I-O-N

Step outside. 

Take a deep breath. 

Spring is in the air....finally!

I always love the first warm days of Spring. The grass is greener, the sky is brighter, and even though the pollen count is staggering, this season's styles are nothing to sneeze at. 

Ladies, tuck away your UGGS. Fold your sweaters nicely in your cedar chest. This season is all about Pleasing Pastels, Ladies in Lace, and Bold Florals. 

Looking for inspiration? Check out the runway shows of some of my favorite designers. 

Pleasing Pastels

- 3.1 Phillip Lim: The collection is effortless. The blouses are free flowing. The pastels are muted, yet optimistic. The pants are structured and add the perfect amount of tailoring to this collection of deconstructed masterpieces. 

photos courtsey of www.style.com

Click HERE for the 3.1 Phillip Lim Spring Show

- Louis Vuitton: Now, I love Marc Jacobs for his own line, but Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton blows my mind. This collection is the epitome of feminine elegance. There are pastels and lace, color blocking, and feathers. In one word, stunning.

photos courtsey of www.style.com

Click HERE for the Louis Vuitton Spring RTW Show

Ladies in Lace

- Valentino: Lace was apparent in nearly every piece of this Valentino collection. But in true Valentino style, this collection mixes the hard and the soft. Black leather dresses with lace embossing, a nude leather dress with a modest hem line, lace details at the shoulders, and sheer sleeves (amazing). Every garment is expertly done with just the right embellishments. And pockets! Where were we before the introduction of pockets?! 

photos courtsey of www.style.com

Click HERE for Valentino Spring 2012

Bold Florals

- Diane von Furstenberg: DVF updates the wrap in her Spring 2012 RTW collection. Her collection has a little bit of everything. Light, airy blouses, sheer fabrics, and lace detailing. But what caught eye were her bold floral prints. She has created a beautiful display of florals throughout her collection, from her iconic wrap dresses, to printed trousers. However, the stand out pieces to me? The amazing floral jumpsuits! You've outdone yourself, Diane. And I thank you for that. 

photos courtsey of www.style.com

Click HERE to watch the DVF Spring Show

- Peter Som: The Peter Som collection SCREAMS bold florals. The flowers seem to explode off of the garments in a dramatic fashion. While the gentle touch of a cropped jacket pulls the look together. The use of mixing pattern and texture is done brilliantly in this collection. A. must. see.

photos courtsey of www.style.com

**sorry, no video for this show**

These are just a few of my favorite looks for Spring. And because, once again, I did not win the Mega Millions,  I will be working on ways to get these and other great looks for less. I will keep you all posted on my challenge and maybe even provide a few Polyvore looks for you, my loyal readers.

p.s......

don't even get me started on handbags!

Not-so-Choice Steak

Every Sunday we make a menu for the week. It makes grocery shopping so easy.

And most weeks we have basically the same meals (sometimes we could use some help in the food imagination area). It's a rotation of chicken breasts, something with ground turkey, something with pasta (usually with pesto), and perhaps a steak.

So last night we had steak. We prepared it as we usually do. We put it in Stubbs Beef Marinade the night before, seared it on both sides for 1 minute each, then put it in a 500 degree oven for 3 minutes on each side. The boyfriend prefers his steak to still be "moo'ing" while I prefer mine medium rare, so mine typically goes back in the oven for another minute or two.

But last night something was......funky. Something wasn't right about this steak. Now, we knew that we hadn't purchased the best cut as we had originally planned to make steak salad (a norm for us) and did not want to waste a great {savor the flavor} cut by covering it in salad dressing. So we weren't expecting much out of our choice in beef - or better yet our "not so choice" beef by USDA standards.

This was bad steak. Like "the grocery store never should have sold this" steak. The taste was not right. It tasted rancid. The boyfriend, of course being the meat eater that he is and having had a hard work out prior, did not notice this taste at first. I told him he was blinded by his need for protein. After a few more bites, he agreed. Something was definitely funky about this steak.

And wouldn't you know it....I woke up with terrible stomach cramps this morning. Like there were a thousand little gnomes punching me and squeezing my intestinal organs...too much? I'll stop there....you can imagine the rest...or don't....that's your choice.Let's just say, I've seen better a-morning.

Well tonight we are having venison. Yep....venison. From a deer that the boyfriends brother killed. I'm nervous....but I hope I like it because we have a WHOLE FREEZER FULL OF IT! Thanks for that Corey!{p.s. I know you're reading this}

So everyone, wish me luck with tonight's -out of the box- dinner. Venison Spaghetti.

 + 

And if anyone knows any good venison recipes, please send them my way! I have venison steaks, venison chops, venison sausage....the list goes on.

Update: I wrote this post a few days ago and forgot to post. {whoops} we still haven't had the Venison. The boyfriend ate dinner without me that night, and I chickened out on eating the venison...thus resulting in a 3 day Chinese food binge. Not my proudest of food choices this weekend.

"Well she grew up, in an Indiana town..."

Well....as you can imagine...I did not win the Mega Millions. 

So my lack of posting is not due to extravagant shopping trips, or luxury vacations that are now taking up all of my time as a new millionaire. No...my lack of posting is simply due to many uninteresting events that would do nothing but bore my readers. 

And because I did not win a massive amount of money which would have allowed me to quit my quiet little job at this software company, I continue to go to work each day trying to discover other jobs that may interest me more. Recent discoveries?! Negative. I have been feeling very uninspired lately. 

When times and feelings like this come around me, I know that what I really need is a trip back to my homeland of Indiana. A nice visit with family and friends, and a pace of life that is slow enough for me to sit down, take a breath, and reflect on all of the wonderful things that I have in my life....without letting all of those wonderful things get clouded by finances, and work, and responsibilities. 

So on that note...here are the things I am looking forward to for my trip home to Crawfordsville, IN....in no particular order...

Visiting with my beautiful niece, Marlee Kristine. Whenever I am having a bad day, I call my sister-in-law for a Skype date with this little munchkin and it seems that all that was bothering me disappears for a bit. We are besties.

  

Diva.

Spending time with friends and family. There is nothing like reuniting with your high school and college friends, and certainly nothing like spending time with family. I know that my niece falls into the "family" category, but did you look at her? She deserves a mention of her own. 

Eat at the following restaurants: (and these are in order)

1. Little Mexico
2. Dari-Licious
3. China Inn

And I am sure there will be countless other things that I will be looking forward to as the time approaches....

Hurry up, April 19th....hurry up!

I'm a young money millionaire

Mega Millions

$640 million dollar jackpot. 

Cash option of $462 million.

That would make someone disgustingly rich...like rolling in the mud, jump into a swamp, step in cow manure, filthy rich....And I think I've got a good chance at winning it....so strap on your hoses because this girl is gonna get filthy. 

Okay, really, I know I've got a 1 in a TRILLION (or more) chance of winning but a girl can dream right? I did however get this little gem in my fortune cookie today...

...and the right thing to me means buying a few lotto tickets.