Christmas and Birthday Wish List!

Linking up with A Liz Adventures for these are a few of my favorite things!

My Wish List:

This year as I was thinking about my wish list I realized that most everything I want is pretty practical!  I've also got my birthday to think of (on the 12th).  Mostly I've just told my family I'm a big fan of lululemon for work... pretty easy!

1.) The adorable Fluffy Vest from lululemon would be great for chilly morning walks layered over a longsleeve shirt or top.  I've always wanted a puffy vest but with a short torso I haven't found one that didn't look silly on me.  Perhaps this one will be better?
2.)  Think Fast Pullover I think this looks adorable in both pink and gray and would be a great light weight layer!  

3.) Radiance Top I think the radiance top is super cute and unique and a great layering piece.  It would even look good with jeans!!

4.) Stacey Wallet I've had this wallet (in gold) for over two years and it has seen better days!  I love the style though!  I'm thinking a fun bold color would be great!

5.) Vinyasa Scarf I LOVE this and recently picked it up for a friend.  You can style it 10 different ways!  Santa,  can I have one too?!

6.) iPhone Case Since getting my latest iphone I have had such a boring case (just what they had at the time).  I miss having a cute kate spade case!!

What's on your list?

Five on Friday: Daily Essentials Edition!

Goodness gracious this week has absolutely flown by.  I have no idea where the day goes lately!  It must be the days getting dark so early... I cannot believe it's friday already!  Luckily, this week I have been feel MUCH better than I have been lately.  I honestly think it's due to the fish oil and vitamin C I've begun to take in addition to my multivitamin.  I know it's such a pain to remember to take yet another thing but I'm seriously noticing a major difference in how I feel!  Anywho, I thought I'd share some of my favorite every day essentials this week!

{ONE} Lululemon Forme Jacket

So first off, I love me some lulu.  I am obsessed with their leggings and wear them most of the time... either to work, around the house, or to work out.  They are perfect for both yoga as well as amazing to run in.  You don't even feel them!!  All I've gotten from lulu previously has been a few pairs of the wunder under leggings but decided due to cold temps this week I would look into other items.  I grabbed this jacket and haven't wanted to take it off.  The snug fit keeps me warm and cozy and it easily layers underneath a puffy vest.  Seriously perfect!  Yesterday I ran in it and was super pleased with how comfortable I felt.

{TWO} Run With Me Gloves

Another awesome lulu find were these perfect gloves.  My hands are always cold, however, all I own are ski gloves which are bulky and not practical for the every day.  I wanted a pair of gloves to keep me warm when I'm driving to work, walking, running, or just outside!  These babies fit the bill, plus they snap together (awesome) and take up hardly any room in my purse.  Perfection!!

{THREE} New Earrings!!

I was a bit sad to see that a cute local jewelry store was having a going out of business sale until I saw that these solid 14k gold earrings were a measly 25 bucks!  What?!  I quickly snatched them up as I've wanted some for ages but gold is not cheap!  I can't even wear sterling silver earrings anymore (most sensitive ears in the world) and am so happy to have an alternative to my pearls or diamond studs.  Sometimes you just want a different look and I miss being able to switch out my earrings more!  If you're local definitely stop by Karat Patch on providence road.  They've got all their jewelry marked down 50% or more, you could get some major bargains on diamonds and gemstones!

{FOUR} Life Factory Water Bottle

Lately I am all about drinking as much water as I can, but prefer it out of a water bottle.  Recently I've read that it's great to avoid constantly drinking out of plastic water bottles so I splurged and got this guy at earthfare.  I was a little worried about the glass, but so far so good!  I swear water tastes better out of it and I find myself drinking way more water because of that.  Win win?

{FIVE} New Mirror!

While not an essential (although I could argue that) I'm obsessing over this gorgeous mirror that a friend generously gave us.  Michael and I have never had a nice full length mirror and we are really appreciating it (and wondering how we dressed without one).  I think it will look especially amazing in our room once our remodeling projects are completed.

Any daily essentials that you just cannot live without?  Let me know!  I love hearing about new things I should try out!  Otherwise, have a fabulous weekend.  The hubs and I are headed to the mountains...the high is apparently only a measly 40 degrees...hey there winter!

A Relaxing Weekend

This weekend was low key and simple--just what I needed!  Last week I felt so completely beyond exhausted every single day and lived off toast and la croix--ugh!  So I just wanted to take it easy and that's just what we did!

Delaney celebrated her first Halloween!  She was DANICA PATRICK!  How stinking cute was that? It's possible to be pretty darn original with Halloween costumes even in this age of Annas and Elsas!

(I whipped up my favorite Halloween treat--mummy dogs!!)

(We also all clearly need Halloween themed puppy chow!)

My saturday morning consisted of lots of furry snuggles!

Then we popped over to Terrace Cafe in southpark for their delicious red velvet waffle!  I was so thrilled I could eat a normal meal and this waffle is seriously the BOMB.  Man, I could eat one every day!

Sunday I had enough energy to walk around the mall for a bit and grabbed two new seasonal candles at Bath and Body Works.  This year I'm feeling seriously excited about the holiday festivities!  I don't know what it is!!   Anyone else already in the mood for Christmas?!

Friday Five & Happy Halloween!

Halloween on a Friday?  Does it get any better?  Halloween has always been a holiday I've loved.  I have such fond childhood memories of halloween, of my dad dressing up as dracula, of hay rides, of fun neighborhood parties.  I just love it and it makes it feel like fall is seriously here!  

{ONE} Date Night at: Treehouse Whiskey and Fork

One thing Michael and I are all about is our date nights!  We figure that eventually these times together won't be anywhere near as easy to make happen, so we are taking full advantage of our free evenings while we have them (before we start adding to our clan).  How cool is this interior?  It felt so neat with the twinkle lights and all the wood elements!!  The food was really yummy and it was a great spot to watch the first half of last nights Panthers game.  Too bad the game didn't have a better ending.  But that first Hornets game sure was spectacular!  Anybody a fan?  We are pretty obsessed!

(so blurry due to the dim lighting)

(they do a lot of whiskey and bourbon cocktails, the hubs was so pleased that I actually liked mine since he is so into bourbon!)

{TWO} This Guy Right Here.

Man, this dude I'm married to is awesome.  He is seriously the best husband and friend a girl could ask for.  I'm constantly amazed by his thoughtfulness and patience with me.  He brought the munchkin I look after a hugo stuffed animal yesterday, holey moley it was the sweetest!  Just love him!

{THREE} Hand knitted headband!

My sweet and talented friend knitted me this headband!  How cool is that?  It's super warm and cozy!

{FOUR} Camille Wineglass from Crate & Barrel

This past weekend after arriving in the mountains Michael asked me if I wanted a glass of wine.  He then came out with the wine in these wineglasses featured on scandal that I've mentioned loving!  I was so surprised that he did that!  He is seriously the sweetest thing...

{FIVE} HALLOWEEN!

I just realized that this is Michael and I's SEVENTH Halloween together.  My goodness the time sure does fly.  I found a few oldschool college halloween shots that made me feel nostalgic!  I think tonights Halloween will be low key, with good wine and a movie.  Fine by me!

Five on Friday! Happy Edition

Happy Friday folks!  I apologize for the lack of posting, lately I've not been in the best spot physically and a bit mentally as well.  Does that ever happen to you?  I've been in a bit of a funk, it's allergy season and I think I've been lacking patience in life.  However, today I feel so much better!  I wanted to focus on some of the happy things from my past week since today I'm feeling especially appreciative of them.

{ONE} Good Food On Montford

This past week my boss (and dear friend) insisted on Michael and I trying this local restaurant and we were beyond impressed.  Good Food is another restaurant from Bruce Moffet (we also love Barringtons, and Stagioni also by him).  The mussels and pom frites were AMAZING, omg the sauce was the most delicious thing we've ever tasted... The pork carnitas, the steamed bun, the korean BBQ...holy moley!  Did I mention it's tapas style?  Also the brownie and PB&J bread pudding were off the chain.  If you haven't been there, seriously go.  Be warned, on a monday night we had to wait 40 minutes and they don't take reservations, seriously worth it though.

{TWO} Nightly tea time

The hubs and I love to go to sleep unwinding with a nice cup of chamomile tea.  I love the chats we have during this time, such a sweet calming ritual.

{THREE} Da Munch!

Oh my goodness, this girl's fall fashion choices are off the chain!  The sweater shawl is from osh kosh! I wish they made one big enough for me!  

{FOUR} Girls night!

Hannah invited me to a play with her last night in uptown charlotte and we had a great time!  It was so fun to do something unexpected, and just us girls.  

{FIVE} The mountains this weekend!

I'm excited to head up to the mountains with Michael and Piper to celebrate my mom's birthday and to just unwind.  I'm ready to sit outside, open up a good bottle of Pinot and just relax!  There's something so comforting about getting away from our very URBAN lifestyle and I just love it.  Plus, it's the perfect weather to sip on some apple cider and go hiking!

Have an awesome weekend peeps!

Minimalist Monday

Lately, there has been something pulling me towards the concept of minimalism.  Photos like this one above inspire me to think of how I can pare things down in my life.  I consider myself relatively good at  not holding on to things for too long, but I've known for a while that there are ways I could improve upon this.  I purge my closet/house generally at least once every 6 months, normally when I do this I come up with maybe two trash bags full of items to donate.  This time, I filled our entire jeep!

Honestly, it feels amazing and I'm pretty inspired now!  Last week I read a number of blogs on minimalism which helped me understand that the lifestyle is not only about getting rid of un-needed items, but also about minimalizing commitments, technology, and in general avoiding over doing things.  The idea is to live simply and I love this.  The general idea I have come to understand is that in life we tend to make things harder than they really need to be.  We over think and over do it all.  We live in a society that tells us that we must have a perfectly decorated home, we must plan a fancy meal each night, we must have all the new clothes, etc etc.  Minimalism is about saying no to all of that.

So, with this in mind, I clean my house with the intention to make space.  While no closet or cabinet is empty, they are also less full, and far less cluttered.  What's more is that I'm excited to go in for a second round, since I felt so good dropping off that big load I think other things may be easier to part with now!  Michael and I felt extremely inspired with our clutter free home, it made us realize that our house has a lot of untapped potential, and a lot of space saving solutions that we could create.  I had imagined that our two bedroom home would be far too small for a baby, however, I am really rethinking that.  That may be the most exciting result of this great purge.  Realizing that we could totally have space for a baby where we are now makes the whole process a heck of a lot less stressful!

I'm excited to continue on this path, and plan to take it slowly.  I don't forsee myself ever being a girl with 10 shirts and 5 items of jewelry, I do admire that.  I want to channel this concept into every area of my life.

Anyone decided to become more minimalist?  Any advice to a newbie like me? 

Five on Friday!

I'm pumped that this link up is back!  I always love this one, it's so fun to see what everyone is loving lately!  For me it's mostly fun new fall items!  I just love how you get to enjoy new things each season.

First up is red wine.  In the summer I switch to chardonnay and beer, even though red wine has my heart.  I just prefer it once the air begins to cool off.  Pinot Noir especially is my latest obsession.  This particular Pinot, from Hob Nob is so delicious and a great price at 11.99 for an every day drinker!  I can't get enough.

A lot of pumpkin happens around our house during the fall.  I counted 8 different pumpkin flavored items from my last trader joes trip!  The hubs and I have been loving these tasty bagels.

This week we had a truly noteworthy meal at Ilios Noche to celebrate my mother in laws birthday.  The salmon and great white beans were amazingly delicious--I've been day dreaming about it all week!

I know I mentioned my bridesmaid gift from Hannah already, however I have been LOVING it all week!  It looks great with jeans and a t-shirt as well as with a dress!  I know I'll be enjoying this for years to come!

I wasn't kidding about the pumpkin.  This stuff is the bomb.com.  So delicious, and has been a great substitute for the chai lattes I love to get from starbucks!

Hannah's Wedding!

Remember that wedding I keep mentioning?  Well, this weekend it finally arrived!  The hubby and I headed to the north carolina mountains, to a small town called cashiers where Hannah and found the most gorgeous wedding venue.  A tree farm turned wedding locale on the off season.  Sawyer Family Farmstead certainly did not disappoint.

{I was in awe of the jaw dropping view}

{Michael and Piper bonded while we all rehearsed.  Piper even ran around for a while with the farms mascot, an adorable scottish terrier--Piper may need one of her own!}

{Rehearsal Dinner at the High Hampton Inn}

{Hannah truly spoiled her bridesmaids!  Holy COW what nice gifts}

{I may never take this off}

{About to walk down the aisle!}

{Stunning table decor}

{relaxing sunday morning at our cabin, it was so gorgeous there, we all loved it!}

All in all it was a lovely weekend.  Hannah put so much thought into every single detail.  I've honestly never seen anyone execute a specific wedding vision this well!  I can't wait to see her wedding photos and will definitely have to share some of those here.  She did a wonderful job and I wish them the absolute best in their marriage!

Oh and before I go, I'll share a quick exert from the toast I gave them that served as a great reminder for me as well:

Hannah and Jesse, don’t go to bed angry.  Life is way too short, stay up, fight it out, kiss and make up.  Waking up the next day refreshed, barely remembering why you fought is far better.

Jesse, make sure you tell Hannah how beautiful and loved she is each and every day, she will never get tired of hearing it.  Cherish her, and make her feel taken care of.

Hannah, be sure to always tell Jesse that you believe in him, that you are proud of him, and that he can do anything he sets his mind to.  You cannot tell him that enough!

Now, everyone if you would be so kind as to raise your glass with me—

Hannah and Jesse—I want to end with a quote from one of my all time favorite authors C.S. Lewis:

“Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the great story no one on earth has ever read.  Which goes forever: in which every chapter is better than before.” 

Nothing better than a wedding weekend!