Baby, it's cold outside

Last night it got down to 26 degrees. That's cold! Luckily, I was prepared with my snazzy, new jacket.

I've had my eye on it since we got it at my store, and it finally went on sale yesterday. Just in time too! I lost my sweater that day so I had to buy a new one to keep warm in the store and the jacket to keep warm outdoors. I justify it because they were such great deals.

Now the best part about yesterday was that it was my last day of work for the next three days!! Not only do I have three days off in a row, but it's during the weekend. I have already made plans to visit my pretty little sister in Waxahachie, Tx. (Stay tuned for some pretty photos and fun stories from that trip).

As is customary for me on a day off, I slept in. This was no regular sleeping in though. I fell asleep at 930 last night and woke up at 1 this afternoon. I don't know where I lost sleep, but it felt natural that I sleep that long. Today wasn't a wasted day though! I went to the gym for a short workout--I needed it after I downed half a pizza last night with my mr.

I thought I should do something awesome today so I bought an hour long massage from the spa at the gym. To-tal-ly worth it! Only down part was that I was super cold the whole time and couldn't fully relax. It was enjoyed none the less. I think the guy giving the massage was fairly new, but a massage is a massage.

For dinner the mr took me to one our favorite mexican restaurants where I enjoyed a very large margarita and he enjoyed two vodka drinks. It was a great way to end the work week. Conversation ranged from how life was better when we were in high school to how he's in his early twenties and I'm in my late twenties but I'm still younger than him in spirit.

He's off having drinks with his bff visiting from Mass. and I'm home listening to a little Bieber. A day very well spent--till tomorrow.

Love and Light. Adrienne

I'm such a girl

Yesterday I had the girliest day I've had in a long time. I spent hours online "window shopping" pretty dresses, shoes, purses and watches. I'm going to blame it on the fact that my birthday is 49 days away, and I'm making a bday list.

So here's what I found:

 

I need one the the two bags for my bday. They're from Abercrombie and Fitch and cost way more than I can justify spending on a bag. The dresses and shoes are all from Forever21.  A girl can never have enough dresses and shoes. I also have my eye on a shiny, new Fossil watch--it's big, white and pretty.

I'm in no way materialistic, but hopefully this birthday, as much as I'm dreading turning 27, will be happy and filled with pretty new things.

Love and Light. Adrienne

A little something for the lady

I tend to spend more time doing things for others. It's something I enjoy doing, but I spend little time focusing on me and my needs. I made sure to take time out today and yesterday to spoil myself a little.

I had the day off yesterday. First thing was first, I slept in. Let me clarify. My idea of "sleeping in" is 10am--not 1pm or 2pm like it was when I was in high school. Those two extra hours are more than enough for me to feel rested. 

This was followed shortly by a deep clean of the bathroom. I'm sure you're asking yourself why I consider this as me doing something for myself. I grew up in an insanely clean house, and I guess it brings back a feeling of comfort. Nonetheless, I felt very proud and pleased with the outcome of my rubbing alcohol and windex smelling water closet. After cleaning, I went to the gym to do an hour of cardio and an hour of yoga. It was everything I could hope for, but I sure was sore afterwards. 

The mr and I had planned a date night since we hadn't had one in ages. I was making a romantic dinner and he was getting the wine and movie. To get my ingredients, I went to Whole Foods. Just being in that store makes me feel healthier and happier. I bought a new pair of Toms, some bell peppers and onions and a bouquet of my favorite flowers, gerbera daisies. I couldn't remember the last time I got flowers, and I was really excited to use my new soup bottle as a vase. 

Dinner was delish, bell peppers and onions with sausage (faux sausage for me). It's Phil's favorite dish so of course it was a big hit. We shared a bottle of Kitchen Sink red table wine and watched Salt with Angelina Jolie--she's too pretty to be real. I passed out with Madison in my lap in a kinda sitting/kinda laying position shortly after the movie ended. It was a great way to end a day.

Today was even better. Work was awesome. My DM delivered my review today and had many positive things to say about my job performance these past few months. She was excited to see what the upcoming months were going to bring and how far I am going to go with the company. She also told me I was finally going to have a fully staffed team. As you may know, I've been without any assistant managers since mid December. The store should typically run with two assistants. I finally felt like the pay off for working so hard this past month had finally arrived. 

After work, my handsome friend, Sean, surprised me with a text saying he was in town. He's a flight attendant and every once in awhile he gets a layover in ATX. We realized we hadn't seen each other in six months and had much to catch up on. We decided that dinner would do the trick. I dolled myself up and even wore earrings (something very out of the ordinary for me to do). Dinner was at Trudy's which involved one crappy margarita and crappy service, but the conversation made up for it. Both of us were worn from such a long day of work, we had no energy to go out and play. We called it a night at 10pm and went on our own ways. 

I'm so grateful to have the people that I have in my life. Everyone plays their own part to making me the person I am. I'm also thankful that I'm able to appreciate the joy a flower can bring to my day. Oh, the joys of life.

I had a really good day!

It wasn't like I did anything crazy or exciting. I just did stuff out of the ordinary.

I woke up late and wasn't able to make coffee before work. It was a cold, wet, grey morning, and all day I felt like the dog on the right--when usually, I feel like the dog on the left. The idea of this comic made me smile all morning. That alone got me through the day til I got caffeine in my system.

For lunch I went to Starbucks. Nothing can kickstart a day like good ol' SB. My grande vanilla soy latte hit the spot and it was accompanied by a delicious egg salad sandwich. Again, I couldn't help but smile sitting on the comfy couch sipping my hot latte and reading my new book (People of Paper).

Because of the weather, my store was super slow. It was bad for business, but nice for a Monday. I still had to do the daily grind though. There were a couple of conference calls I had to jump on. The first one was with all the other stores in the country. It lasted way too long, but much to everyone's surprise, it was announced that we were all getting a "holiday" bonus! Very awesome news. The second call was with my district and much to my surprise, my store did really well within the district last week. Can't complain about that.

After work I got to do my favorite adult chore: grocery shopping! I don't know why I love it so much, but it's so very relaxing and exciting all at the same time. Possibly because I never got to choose the kind of cereal we got as a child. Tonight, I loaded my cart with veggies, juices, mac n cheese, and soups. I spoil myself.

There were football finals or something going on tonight, so my mr went with his buddies to watch the games. This left me and the ladies to a solo night in.

We had a lovely dinner together. The cats had a can of wet food. I made fresh guac for an appetizer with a glass of red wine. For my main coarse I had a big bowl of carrot soup. I love carrot soup and the one I got came in a really pretty bottle.

My day was so lovely. I started with a no coffee morning, but ended with money in the bank and a full belly and fridge, all while relaxing.

Love and light.
Adrienne

Here's to 2011

So, here we are. Seven days into the new year, and I'm just now writing about my resolutions and celebration.

I rang in the year very peacefully. I spent the eve cleaning out my apartment. It took the whole day, but I loaded nine trash bags and a tv into my car and, with a huge smile on my face, took them all to Goodwill. The guys helping me unload my car were excited and I think impressed that I had so much to get rid of. It was cleansing to clean out my closets of old clothes and unneeded stuff.

For an evening celebration, the mr and I had a lovely italian dinner and came home to watch netflix movies. He had a small case of death so we decided against going crazy downtown. We paused our film five minutes til and celebrated with half a glass of classy Andre champagne. We fell asleep shortly after. I hope our lack of luster isn't a reflexion of how the year will turn out.

I've finally decided on some resolutions too.
1. I'm determined to pay off my car by September. That means it only took three and a half years to do so.
2. Going to yoga classes at least twice a week. Not only does it make me feel good all over, it also relieves a crazy amount of stress.
3. I also want to seek out greater opportunities in life--whatever and whichever company they may lead me to.
4. I'd like to go on a mission trip this year. Egypt was my last mission and that was two years ago. I want let God lead me anywhere he wants me to be.
5. Read more books! I already finished one this year and have five more in mind to read.

That'll do it.
Nothing too difficult to complete. It'll take care of my mind, body and soul--and finances. But I hope that I'm not the only one able to complete my resolutions this year. I wish you all luck out there, and love and light in your lives.

Holiday Season Craze

It's unfortunate that as I've gotten older, the glitz and glam that is known as "the holidays," is no longer as pretty and shiny to me. A friend of mine told be she watched a little kid go crazy over seeing santa clause and the mall. I miss the days of innocence and truth as far as the imagination would take you.

With that said, this holiday season has been a roller coaster of emotions. I had my two assistant managers quit, my regional manager blamed me and called my store a "toilet bowl for managers. You get one and flush them right down the drain" (though it was NOT my fault, might I add), I worked nine days straight with christmas as my one day off and am right back in the grind of work for a seven day stretch.

Aside from all the ugliness that December has brought about, I've had a lot of golden nuggets of happiness from it too. My sister got the change to spend a week with me in Austin. It was great having her around. We had a lovely photo shoot session, did some baking, shopped for gifts, and lounged around whenever possible.

I also had a really lovely christmas! My mr's parents were amazing enough to buy me a ticket to Dallas so I could spend christmas with my bf and his family. It was a great blessing. I flew out of Austin after work on the 24th. After they all picked me up from the airport, we all filled our bellies with dinner at Papaduex, then went to Deerfield to look at the christmas lights in the neighborhood. We listened to the Glee christmas soundtrack on the drive back to Sulphur Springs, TX (where the mr's from). It was so much fun!

Christmas day was relaxing. I got to sleep in! We had waffles for breakfast and opened presents. I truly wasn't expecting much because I didn't ask for anything, but I got the most fitting surprise gift: a Kindle! Originally, I was against the idea of an electronic device replacing the wonderful feel and smell of a book, but it's just so pretty I can't help but love it! I got a gift card to Amazon too, so I get to download all the books I want. The only problem was, I couldn't think of many. I got a couple of Kurt Vonnegut book (he's my new found author love), and a few classics including Alice in Wonderland, Aesop's Fables and Dante's Inferno. If anyone has any suggestion, please send them my way.

Phil got a Kinect from his parents. The family spent the whole evening jumping, jabbing and crouching to skiing, boxing and football games. I'm pretty sure everyone ended the day sore and realizing how out of shape they were--except for myself, of course :). The day ended early for me and my mr. I had to be at work the next day at 10am. I went to bed at 9pm so we could hit the road by 4am to make it back to Austin in time. Fortunately, I slept most of the way and got home in time for a 30 minute nap. That day was the longest day ever! I worked a 10 hour shift with no break or another manager to help. Pretty tiresome, but I survived.

I'm very much looking forward to the new year. I'm excited to see what amazing things 2011 will bring. I'm hoping for new friendships, lessons learned, memories to photograph and write about and many smiles and laughs. Cheers!

Football season sucks

Just a thought for today. I dislike football and the fact that every year it becomes number one priority to my bf--and I'm sure most other men. It wouldn't be so bad if it just happened every Sunday, but it's slowly infesting it's way into every day of the week. It's not just the game watching anymore, either. Fantasy football has become rampant too, so now guys are watching games they normally wouldn't watch because they have one of their players playing that game.
The only brightside to this situation is that 1. I get more alone time and 2. My own veggie pizza every night "the boys" come over.
Quit making me the third wheel in my relationship NFL!