Could it rain more here, please?

So I can justify these babies?

http://www.katespade.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3496695&cp=2632454.3124611

Some inexpensive yet chic gift ideas for. . .

Your sister/sister-in-law/friend:

1.) Kate Spade 2010 Spiral Desktop Calendar, $20
http://www.katespade.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3777727&cp=1981009.1855190.1866720

2.) J.Crew Always Cardigan, $30

http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Browse/WomenBrowse/Women_Shop_By_Category/weekendlounge/topsandhoodies/PRDOVR~21423/21423.jsp

3.) Tory Burch Flip Flop, $45

http://www.toryburch.com/toryburch/browse/productDetail.jsp?icProduct=32098639&icSort=&icCategory=cat160010

4.) Trina Turk for Clinique make-up set, $25 (spend $25 on Clinique make-up at Nordstrom and receive the free gift!)

http://shop.nordstrom.com/C/6023592/0~2376780~6009391~6015950~6023592?origin=leftnav

Sucker for Christmas music

I LOVE Christmas music. Absolutely love it. Then combine it with country music, and you have perfection in my mind. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw this last night at Kohl's:


It was only $5, and it's for charity, so what more do you need! I've been listening to it nonstop already. I highly recommend it!

My girl crush

I am not going to lie. . . Carrie Underwood is my girl crush. I think she is adorable and always looks great. And I would love to have her hair! She hosted the CMAs last night with Brad Paisley. I believe she wore 10 different dresses. Here are some of them:



Which do you like? I think I like #2 and 5!

Neiman's 40% off sale

Did you check out Neiman Marcus's 40% off sale today? Well I did :)
I picked up the Tory Burch Simone cardigan in black. I am already planning outfits with it! I can't wait for it to arrive. I am really loving all the sales going on (even if my wallet isn't).
Friday we are going out to dinner for my hubby's b-day - so I will be asking for your help with my outfit!

Items in this set:
Tory Burch top, $225
J Crew jeans, $125
J Crew top, $88
Tory Burch flats, $235
Louis Vuitton Neverfull GM in...

The hubby's birthday

So next weekend is my hubby's birthday. He is very difficult to shop for because he never gives me any ideas. He says he doesn't want anything. I always have to pick my brain to come up with gift ideas. And it doesn't help that Christmas is only about a month after his b-day.

Well, after much brainstorming, here is what I decided on for his b-day:

1.) Burberry tie

2.) Season 1 of The Office

I guess I will find out in a week what he thinks of my gift :)

I think I have an addiction

If shopping were my job, I would be oh so great at it! :)

1.) J.Crew blushed tweed pencil skirt

2.) Banana Republic Helena Peep-toe Wedge in Mahogany

3.) Tory Burch Julianne Peep-toe Wedge

4.) Old Navy Jacket

5.) Tory Burch Simone cardigan

Over The Top!

The wonderful Kathy and Seashell at Two Hands Full of Daisies gave me the Over the Top award today! Thanks so much, you two are great blog friends!

1. Where is your cell phone: Now it is in my purse. It's usually in my purse or next to me.

2. Your hair:Is a mix of curly and wavy. If I do nothing to it, it does not look good. I have to either straighten or scrunch it with gel.

3. Your mother: the best!

4. Your father: quiet. . . but still the best!

5. Your favorite food:I love everything. . but Mexican is my fav!

6. Your dream from last night: Don't remember it at all

7. Your favorite drink:I drink water, unsweetened iced tea, coffee and wine. . that's about it normally :)

8. Your dream/goal: to find that sought after balance between family and work.

9. What room are you in: the living room

10. What is your fear: losing someone close to me

11. Where do you want to be in 6 years: settled down where we want to live permanently, enjoying life with my family

12. Where were you last night: getting my hair cut

13. Something you are not: Clean, organized (at least at home. at work I somehow hide these traits)

14. Muffins:a big waste of calories

15. Wish list items: ha there is a very long list. . . . a Chanel bag, every Tory Burch shoe ever made, many J.Crew pieces, a Marc Jacobs bag, Burberry trench coat, etc. etc. etc.

16. Where did you grow up: Portland, OR

17. Last thing you did: ate a Snickers, played with the doggie

18. What are you wearing: Hubby's t-shirt and sweat pants

20. Your pets: a 12 week old chocolate lab puppy named Winston. When I was young I had a cat named Tiger

21. Your friends: love them! I do wish I saw them more

22. Your life: perfect for me right now :)

23. Your mood: Good mood, but a little tired from a crazy work week so far

24. Missing someone:No one at the moment

25. Vehicle: Nissan Altima

26. Something you’re not wearing: socks and shoes

27. Your favorite store: J.Crew, Banana Republic, Nordstrom, Diane von Furstenberg, BCBG, Nine West, Tory Burch

28. Your favorite color: Blue and pink

29. When’s the last time you laughed: now - I am watching Big Bang Theory

30. When’s the last time you cried: hmm I can't recall but I'm sure it was pretty recently

31. Your best friend: my hubby of course

32. One place you go over and over:Vegas, Palm Springs, Portland

34. Favorite place to eat: Chevy's, The Ivy, Koi. . . . I love trying new places!

I nominate all of my friends who haven't received the award yet!

Happy Weekend

Happy Weekend everyone! Not only is it the weekend, it's also Halloween AND Daylight's Saving! You know what that means. . . . an extra hour of sleep! I'm sure we can all use that. Winston also wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween!


Any fun plans? Winston, the hubby and I are going to watch scary movies and hand out candy.

Thank God for raw hide bones

So we gave Winston his very first rawhide bone, and it's probably the best thing we have ever done! DOn't get me wrong, I love my puppy. But he is a handfull!! We have to constantly monitor him and watch our feet so he doesn't bite us. It's like having a baby! Once we gave him a bone, it kept him busy for hours! It gave mommy and daddy a break! So while puppy was occupied, I was able to snap some picture of some new outfits:

I got this top at the Ann Taylor outlet. It was on sale for buy one top, get one half off. I got another basic black turtleneck. I am wearing a Gap black cardigan over it.

This is the Tory Burch dress I got. This could be my Easter dress, who knows :)

Ann Taylor Loft Sweater dress in grey. Love this. Please get cold so I can bust it out.

Ann Taylor Loft ruffle top (got this a month or so ago) and Trina Turk skirt.

Black Gap cardigan, J.Crew frances top and Banana Republic high waisted pinstrip pencil skirt.

My Weekend: Outlet shopping, puppies & baking

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I spent Saturday doing some outlet shopping. My biggest score of the day was this Tory Burch dress:

It was originally $295, and I got it for $70!! It is very flattering on, and it will definitely be worn come spring/summer.











I spent the rest of the weekend playing with Winston and baking (see post below).
I can't believe how fast my puppy is growing! He is heavier everytime I pick him up! Here is a current picture:





I hope you have a great weekend!

Pumpkin Baking Spree

So in honor of fall and Halloween coming up, I decided to go on a little bit of a pumpkin baking spree. I LOVE pumpkin. Like seriously love everything that is made with pumpkin. So I researched some recipes and gave them a shot this weekend. Here are my top two:

1.) Pumpkin Cheesecake:

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar

Filling:
3- 8oz.pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
Whipped Cream

Mix crust ingredients together, just till coated and crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 2/3 up the sides of an 8" springform pan. Bake for 5 min. at 350. Set aside.
Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl, mix until smooth with an electric mixer. add pumpkin eggs, and spices, beat till smooth and creamy. Pour into the crust. Bake for 60-70 min. or till the top turns a bit darker. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate. After it has thoroughly chilled, remove the pan sides and cut. Serve with whipped cream.

This is yummy! I have to admit, I cheated a little and bought a crust instead of making this one. But it's delicious. The cheesecake doesn't really look pretty, but it tastes delicious! This one won't last long in my house!

2.) Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup pumpkin

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp clove

Mix flour, salt, sugar and baking soda together in one bowl. Mix pumpkin, oil, eggs, water and spices together in another bowl. Once completely blended, add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Mix all together and then pour into a well-greased bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minuts.

I also highly recommend this recipe. YUM!

Enjoy!

I <3 sweater dresses

I picked up this sweater dress on Sunday, and I am really loving it!! I got it at Ann Taylor Loft:

It doesn't come with the undershirt - just a short-sleeved sweater dress. It comes in grey and black I believe. I will definitely be sporting this soon, with my new tall black Uggs! This is one of the reasons I love fall!

My current J.Crew wish list

Since I've been so busy with the new pup, I haven't been doing a lot of shopping lately (which, of course, is good for the wallet). Today, however, Winston has been pretty mellow, so I took this opportunity to browse around online (while he naps in my lap :)). Here are some of things of my wish list now:





J.Crew Dapple Dot Cardigan. I haven't seen it IRL yet, but it looks super cute online. Anyone tried it on?

J.Crew Minnie Pants. I tried these on and love them. I'm waiting for them to come down a little. . . or for a discount code.

I have also decided to invest in another pair of Uggs. I have the short ones in the chestnut color, and I am thinking of getting a pair of the tall Uggs, in either black or chocolate. Any suggestions? I am leaning toward black, only because I can wear them with black leggings this fall.

Weekend with the Parents

So my parents are in town this weekend to visit "the grandpuppy" (well, they say they came to visit me, but I know better), and my mom and I decided lunch at The Ivy was a must. So today we headed over to Robertson for a nice lunch at The Ivy. I think The Ivy is a fun place to go every now and then. Many people think it's overrated, but if you go there knowing it's a touristy place, it's not bad. It has been hot here (like 80-90), so here is what I wore:

It's a casual restaurant, so I was dressed appropriately for sure. We had a great time, even though there were no celebrity sightings. Tomorrow I think it's time for some football and maybe some shopping!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!