Friday Fancies!

Happy Friday! 

I'm especially happy today because not only is it Friday, meaning I survived the work week and it's the official start to the weekend buttt it also means I'm only two days away from being in sunny Mexico! If I haven't already made it clear, I'm seriously so excited to just relax, tan, drink, enjoy my best friends company and just have some fun! 

{Well I'm definitely taking advantage of mine!}

Traveling this weekend means I am missing all of the St. Patrick's Day festivities which to be honest, I'm definitely bummed about! My friends are doing a bar crawl on Saturday and then the parade on Sunday! BUT there will be many, many more St. Patrick's Days and only so many vacations! 

But to get in the spirit I've put together two outfits for Friday Fancies! 

I love the "day" outfit and it was a bit warmer in Boston I would definitely wear something like that for St. Patrick's Day! And if I had a fancy place to go at night (I'm not sure if St. Patrick's day could be considered a "fancy" holiday) I would definitely wear this emerald dress! 

Can't wait to see everyone else's outfits! 

I'll be back in a week! TTYS! 

xoxo

Thursday Thoughts

Happy Thursday! 

I hope everyone is surviving this week! I know I personally have been struggling to stay motivated since all I can think about is laying on a beach and soaking up the sun in 3 short days! I'm almost all packed and just need to get organized and add a few additional things! Need to download a few more Kindle books and maybe a movie or two (any suggestions?!) otherwise I'm MORE than ready to go! 

I wanted to share with you a few articles, quotes, random things I've stumbled across online. I know I'm always looking for fun new things to read and see when I browse the web so maybe these will give you  fun lunchtime distraction! 

Check out this article titled "Is Being Stressed Out the New Status Symbol" from Levo League (one of my favorite sites - seriously subscribe to it if you have not done so already. At work I sometimes feel like if I'm not busy/stressed then I'm not being effective and not producing valuable but work. But that's ridiculous - why should I feel guilty for being productive! This article speaks to that! 

Have the travel bug? I definitely do - and these photos just make me want to get out of the states and travel the world! I've been fortunate enough to have traveled to Europe but there are so many places that I can't wait to explore and cities I can't wait to see again. Day dream while browsing through this New York Times article... it's hard not too. 

For a fun giggle - check out this What Should We Call Me - I often feel this way about too many coworkers... 

Have you seen J.Crew's must-haves! I WANT ALL OF THEM! Every color is perfect, every shirt/top/shorts/pants is perfect. And the jewelry? DONE. I even want the PJ's! 

And to end with a quote from Mrs. Roosevelt

Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

xoxo

Trader Joe's Favorites!

Happy Tuesday! 

It's a rainy day here in Boston and I had a weird half-sleep, half-dreaming thing going on from 6am-on so to say I'm already counting down the hours until 5pm is an understatement! 

So it's safe to say that I'm a big Trader Joe's fan...Boston doesn't have an overwhelming amount of supermarkets but they do have a Trader Joe's that accessible by T! Since living downtown I know have my grocery purchasing pretty much mapped out, veggies & fruits? From the Veggie Man. Meat? from the Italian butcher. Milk, eggs, cold-cuts? From the local market. Everything else? Trader Joe's! I figure I would share some of my favorites with you today! (It is a very random assortment FYI)

{I'm not the biggest hummus lover but I do love olives so the combination is perfect for me}

{23 "slims" for 110 calories? Yes please & pairs perfectly with the hummus}

{my other favorite kind-of pretzel! Not the healthiest, but oh so delicious}

{excuse the horrible photo-this is definitely the most random part of this list haha but seafood is the one thing I really have trouble buying since I don't know how to clean or cook it (I would love to learn though) so this is a great alternative to fresh seafood! Super quick to prepare and taste great thrown on a salad} 

{my FAVORITE trail mix! I love walnuts and raisins so this one really hits home with me hehe. Just be careful to only eat the correct serving size or next thing you know you've down 500 calories with just a few handful of nuts!}

{recently, I've been craving pancakes & waffles on the weekend. But going out for breakfast becomes $$ and way too many calories! This is a sort-of healthy alternative to satisfy my craving! And anyways I need to practice my pancake flipping!}

{I would say the most indulgent part of my list, but this dip is by far the best spinach & artichoke dip around. Better than any restaurant for sure! I could eat the whole thing to myself if I'm not careful!}

What are your favorite groceries from Trader Joes' (or anywhere) ?!

xoxo

Weekend Shenanigans!

Happy Monday!

And sooo we're back to another week! My sleep schedule was seriously off because of day light savings - darn pushing the clocks forward so I'm feeling a bit slower/off today (well at least more slower/off than I am other Mondays ha!). I had a very low-key relaxing but fun weekend! I am definitely counting down the days until I leave for my trip this weekend! Sunshine, sand, & bathing suits - PLEASE!

Anyway, time to link up with Sami for my weekend recap! Friday night I spent most of the night in with a girlfriend and a bottle of wine and yummy thin crust pizza (which makes the whole experience feel much more healthier) and some good television. Boston was hit with some strange version of a snow/rain/hailing storm all day on Friday so motivation to actually venture out on the town was....nonexistent.

Saturday, I slept in, cleaned up my apt, made this yummy smoothie (frozen berries, a few pieces of frozen banana, kale, skim milk, & protein powder) and headed to the gym + a few errands!

Saturday evening, two girlfriends came over and I made them skinny baked broccoli mac and cheese from skinnytaste.com. I have no pictures because it was honestly just not that good :( The recipe was fine but I had the wrong pasta (blame laziness) and the broccoli stayed in full pieces while in the recipe it looks like it was more broken up throughout the pasta. I mean it was definitely edible but I don't think I'll be rushing to try that recipe again :(

Then Saturday night I headed to Whiskey's, a bar in the Back Bay area, with some friends! Had a great time besides for 3 of the most obnoxious men who would not leave us alone until we had the manager & bouncers escort them out ;) I'm the wrong gal to mess with mister! 

Leaving the bar at 1:30am and getting home and it suddenly being like 2:45am was definitely...strange... 

Sunday morning after a considerable amount of water and aspirin (woops!) I headed to Newbury Street with a girlfriend for an afternoon of browsing, lunching, & picking up a few odds and ends! 

{who doesn't enjoy a little classical jazz in the sunshine on a sunday}

{OH happy cheat day to me! - "The Cape Codder"- turkey, bacon, chedder cheese & cranberry mayo on challah bread with sweet potato fries! please & thank you}

{Peanut Butter Fudge Cupcake from Georgetown cupcakes!}

{new super sale + coupon Kate Spade necklace, workout headband (essentially the only item I can afford from Lulu) & some cute new notebooks from Paper Source - how can I resist anything with macaroons?!}

{some vacation goodies from F21 - pool sandals, a bright headband for the beach, and colorful bangles that I won't care about if they get lost!}

Sunday night meant Once Upon A Time, Revenge, & Girls (True Life: I'm a TV Junkie), a load of laundry & some packing! 

How was your weekend?! 

xoxo

Friday Randoms!

Happy Friday! 

My apologies for not posting the last two days! Work has been super busy and then the crappy weather put my in a funky mood that the last thing I wanted to do at the end of the day was spend time on a computer! Does that happen to anyone else? 

Since I didn't have time to prepare a Friday Fancies post ... I figure this Friday will be a "Random Thoughts" post before the weekend! 

Well first off Boston has been hit with yet another snow storm. yay.....not. Don't get me wrong, I actually like the snow! I think it's pretty and gives me a good excuse to stay home and not venture out into the world. BUT after like 4 snow storms, I'm over it. The slush, the extra 15 minutes it takes me to get anywhere, stores closing, it just becomes an inconvenience more than anything now! To give you an idea, this is what my street looked like on the way to work this morning

BUT in 9 DAYS  I will be soaking up the sun in..... MEXICO! Cabo to be specific and I cannot wait! I'm going with a bunch of friends from school and I'm so excited. Adult spring break? Yes please. 

Yesterday when I hit my afternoon slump, I was absolutely craving an iced coffee. Which is weird since it was snowing/sleeting/raining/hailing and about 30 degrees out. BUT I ran over to Starbucks anyway and treated my self to a Iced Skinny Vanilla Latte #betchygirlproblems 

In the past few weeks since I've been on this "health" kick, I've been much better about making dinner for myself at home rather than buying something/heating something "not healthy" up in the microwave. This was my meal from the other night:

{Pork Chop w/ a balsamic vinaigrette and mustard glaze, brussel sprouts & brown rice}

*my brussel spouts were a little mushy and my rice was a bit undercooked but what can ya do? I tried!*

I have NO plans for this weekend (which I'm OK with) besides running some errands for my trip, laundry, and get a head start on packing! 

What do you all have planned for the weekend?

xoxo

Spring Wish List!

Happy Tuesday! 

I must say Tuesday mornings are always significantly better than Monday mornings - can anyone agree? Especially when I start off my morning with Barre Burn (the best!) and Pret for breakfast. 

So since I've given up shopping for lent, I've obviously been lusting over a few things recently that I can't get my hands on until after Easter (or maybe ever ha since they're all $$!). 

Here is a few of my "wish list" items! 

This beauty from J. Crew Factory! I love shiny things in the spring and this necklace would add a nice sparkle to a bright blouse! 

The cold weather and boots are making my feet so eager to wear pretty flats! While I love fun colorful flats, a great basic tan flat is necessary for the spring and what's better than our girl Tory!

Oh hello pretty & playful shorts, I would like to find you in my closet tomorrow! (J.Crew does it again).

While I am craving spring, I'm alsooo lusting for the beach and sand and the pool and water, etc etc etc. This bikini is super cute and I guess I wouldn't mind her flat tummy either...womp womp. 

And of course a fun, bright purse is necessary for spring and I would very much LOVE this beauty from J.Crew (duh). 

Le sigh...hopefully once Lent is over one of these pretties will be mine! 

And to end and hopefully give you a giggle - watch this video! 

xoxo

Weekend Shenanigans!

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I definitely did - and I'm linking up with Sami to tell ya'll about it!

Let's start off with Thursday when my momma arrived! First stop was Neptune's for a quick dinner. Neptune's is famous in Boston for their fish menu and there is usually an hour + wait to be seated (luckily we went right after work so we were seated immediately). We treated ourselves to yummy lobstahh (w/Boston accent...) rolls. Usually lobster rolls are made with mayo but we had ours with melted butter. UM.....my mouth is watering as I type this. We substituted the fries with a side salad (lame I know but after all the butter we just consumed we didn't think fries would be necessary). 

Then I settled my mom in at home (sad I had to leave her) and ran off to my company's fundraising event for the MS Climb at Ned Devine's Irish Pub. The event was semi-successful! I definitely had a lot of fun hanging with coworkers but I definitely think there could have been more people there. All in all we raised around $1,000 towards our goal of $4,000. 

*I personally rasied $300+ wahoo!*

{coworkers & sweet friends}

I spent Friday afternoon & evening with my mom! We went to a wine tasting at a local liquor store and then to a yummy dinner at Ricardo's. Followed by some tasty gelato - it was all in all a great evening (and I may have passed out by 9pm - woops sorry mom!). 

{lamb chops & mushroom risotto NOM}

Saturday morning came along and I was up at the crack of dawn to participate in the Climb for MS at the John Hancock building. About 15 people from my office participated and though climbing 61 flights of stairs was exhausting (and my back is paying for it today) I'm very glad I did it! 61 flights in 17 minutes - wahoo! 

{getting ready to start!}

{made it to the top}

I spent the rest of Saturday running errands with my mom and picking up a few odds and ends like these pretty tulips:

And then I had a delicious home-cooked meal courtesy of momma...

After dinner I met my sorority phamily for a drink to welcome in the newest members of the princess phamily! I cannot believe I am 4 year older than my great-great-grandlittle. Cue minor heart attack.... But the newest princess is wonderful and I love her already!

Sunday, I said goodbye to mom (see you in 2 weeks!) and spent the rest of the day catching up on TV shows and just relaxing! Sunday night looked a lot like...

{Chinese takeout & the season finale of Downton Abbey..cue the TEARS}

How was your weekend?! Can't wait to read about it! 

xoxo

Friday Fancies!

HAPPY FRIDAY! 

(can you tell I'm excited that it's Friday...because I definitely am!) I'm linking up with Long Distance Loving for Friday Fancies! I love putting outfits together but I especially love some fun jewels! 

I decided to keep it simple with pretty gold accessories! Often I'm so tired in the morning by the time I get to the decision process for jewelry, it's just whatever is easiest. I love simple, clean gold accessories. They classy and elegant and don't overwhelm your outfit. And you can always pair them with bolder accessories! 

Did anyone get the "Frost Yourself" reference to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days?! I hope so...

xoxo