Hi friends!

Here is a thing that I could say is my new favorite thing, but I’ve loved at least half of it since forever, so I’ll just say: here is something nice. Weekend brunch with friends is pretty much my all-time favorite luxury.

Sunday five of my favorite people and I went to brunch at Brave Horse, where all of our breakfasty things were really effing delicious, and I had a bloody mary that was the size of the Pacific Ocean. It doesn’t look that big in the photo, but trust me – I couldn’t even finish it.

After brunch, we saw Arthur Christmas (IN 3D!!!),

…and SPOILER ALERT…

which was kind of cute until I started overthinking it and got all mad about how GrandSanta is hella crotchety for all the wrong reasons, Current Santa is a bumbling fool (even though GrandSanta is 136 and still is sharp as a tack), and Santa-Elect is an anal-retentive beefcake who just doesn’t have the HEART. Of course the dork in the hand knit Christmas sweater wins in the end, because that is what Christmas is all about – the CARING. I was just annoyed at how much they had to highlight how much everyone else sucks – except Mrs. Claus, who is a silent rockstar, and not much attention is paid to her by the men at all. HRMPH. ANyway, if you can take it at face value it’s a cute movie, and was fun in 3d, though I’d probably have been just as happy watching it in 2d.

That being said, I have the CUTEST LITTLE CHRISTMAS TREE EVER and a BRAND SPANKING NEW JOB so I’m pretty damned happy right now. I was on my feet all day though (and got up super super super early for me) so as of 830 I’m yawn city. Here’s to tomorrow!

xo

at

It’s December, and we all know what that means! I was looking for books for my fam today at Peter Miller and this little Kaweco Sport fountain pen caught my eye. It writes more smoothly than my beloved Lamy Safaris and is nice and compact – just the right size to slip into my evening bag, ’cause you know I’m hecka classy like that. I opted for the black and gold because I’m just too cheap to get the $52 black and aluminum – maybe next time. At $24 it is slightly cheaper than the Lamys and an affordable little somethin’ somethin’ for me.

Also, while checking for pics of this little pen I stumbled across this set of photos on flickr – I love it.

Happy Monday!

xoxo

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ladies and germs.

so sorry for not blogging in forever, but I started a new job and it’s CUH-RAZY busy, in a good way. I’m still alive, still making cakes, still coveting shoes, and gearing up for wedding season. life is very, very good.

I’ll get at you soon, hopefully

xo

at

Hey guys!

So I’ve been RUTHLESS about my budget in the last few months (more on that later) and I’m looking forward to the day in the very near future when I can finally plan my very own tropical vacation (srsly guys, I haven’t been to hawaii since 2006. dang).

Also, my friend Kori has been making us all granola for gifts recently – I got a huge jar for my birthday and another at Christmas, and IT IS LIKE CRACK I am telling you. I made a few batches myself, and Monica has taken this theme to the next level, going crazy with the flavors and inspiring the rest of us to step it up.

Monica posted about her tropical version of the granola (see, it all comes full circle) so I’m going to share it with you today, because my brain has been spending a lot of time recently on both granola and thinking about sunny vacations.

xoxo

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hey guys!

Just a quickie today, and it’s another wine. Another WHITE wine. I had this at a tasting with the BFF (+BFF’s parents +fiance + fiance’s parents, it was quite a fun crowd!) for rehearsal dinner food and we kept coming back to this one. It’s fresh and light and grapefruity and not too sweet and, I think, absolutely perfect. Go get you some.

xoxo,

at

SHOES!! FINALLY!!!

Yep, I did it. I broke down. I got my tax refund, I had a 25% off coupon, and 100% of my black pumps had broken. It was time. I bought these babies:



They were perfect right out of the box, comfortable with or without socks. I wore them Saturday night with jeans, walking around Capitol Hill and I’m wearing them with tights and a skirt today. I’ve had so many subpar shoes in my lifetime and it really is something that’s worth investing in! Few things ruin your mood so fast as uncomfortable shoes.

At $145 these aren’t exactly inexpensive, but on the grand scheme of things it’s a relatively affordable luxury.

xo!

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Hi guys! I was just about to write GOOD MORNING! to you all but realized it’s 2 pm. Time flies… sometimes.

ANYWHO.

Today’s luxury: fine stationery. I’ve always loved stationery despite the fact that I’m pretty much the worst letter writer ever. I used to do it a lot more but now I’m such a thankless jerk I hardly even write thank you notes. Sorry friendsies. I love you.

My personal fave is G. Lalo Verge de France. It’s got a nice laid finish and has a really nice weight and takes fountain pen ink really well. It comes in a bunch of nice colors with coordinating envelopes and feels more luxurious than, say, Crane’s or something. I love the size of the smaller sheets (6×8″ish, it’s in crazy centimeters), and the envelopes are self sealing and lined. Fancy! They’re pretty affordable too, the 50 sheet tablets are in the $12-14 range, and packs of 20 envelopes are a couple of bucks more. I had a rubber stamp made with my name and address so I can pretend I have custom printed ’house’ stationery for a fraction of the price. 

Go write somebody a letter.

xo!

at

Happy Monday guys!

I am kind of realizing that I picked the absolute worst possible year to focus my blog posts on material things. I’m more broke this year than the first year I bought my condo (six years ago for the record, and I was making 35% less that year than I am now, but my parents were chipping in a hefty chunk of change, and I have stopped asking them for money in all but the most dire circumstances – and all my expenses seem to have gone WAY up), and I’m still catching up on the last two years of the economy screwing me over and all that ($5k in credit card debt I’m trying to pay down), AND all my friends are getting married and there are a fair amount of expenses that go along with weddings. Money has always stressed me out and I’ve always been very sensitive about my financial position in comparison to my peers. I feel like I don’t get to go on as many trips, go out to nice restaurants, have nice clothes like everyone else does.

BUT!!

I am really just a big whiny crying baby because the reality is: I do go on trips. I do go to nice restaurants. I do have nice clothes. Not as many or as often as I might like to, but more than a lot of people. And most of all, I have a roof over my head and food in my belly and places to go and ways to get there and friends to see and people I love who love me back. And this last thing is the most important to me. I’ve been saying it a lot recently, and may sound like a broken record, but I don’t care. I am happier now than I ever remember being, despite frustrations and setbacks and daily annoyances. I appreciate everything and everyone I have and when I get grumpy or frustrated I try to remember to actively enjoy the good stuff. I feel like culturally (or maybe it’s a human problem across the board) we are geared towards discounting happy feelings that last too long – like it’s something that is temporary rather than a way of life. I’m trying to shake the feeling that I should steel myself for the imminent depression, because that’s not how it should be. Maybe I’ll be this happy – or happier – for the rest of my life! I hope so, anyway.

Here are a tiny fraction of the good folks who have been there with me through thick and thin, and this is my opposite-of-materialistic monday luxury: friends.

Xes and Os,

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