Christmas Post Partum

The day after Christmas has arrived. Most of us are still in food comas from yesterday and doing some Christmas cleanup because the sugar plums were too busy dancing yesterday. I am definitely ready for a long winters nap after the past couple of days.

Christmas festivities recap:

Christmas Eve we went over to my grandparents for an hors d'ouerves party. It was nice to see some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins I haven't seen in awhile. Tons, TONS, of food. Cucumber sandwiches, ham salad sandwiches, little rye breads, egg rolls, cocktail weenies, pigs in a blanket, pepper jelly and crackers, and the list goes on!
Gathering around my grandparents living room, listening to Christmas music, catching up with family... A great Christmas Eve.
My sister and I had to finish up our elf work Monday night. Finishing wrapping presents, making Christmas morning breakfast ahead of time, setting the table.

Santa (yes, I still get Santa presents at 23) was very good to me! You know you're getting becoming a grown when you get a new wireless router (super fancy one) and are excited about it.

My aunt, uncle, cousin, and grandparents came over for Christmas dinner. Beef tenderloin, bernaise sauce, asparagus, salad, twice baked potatoes. It was a feast! My belly is still hurting. Not to mention the egg nog Creme brûlée my mom made... Soooo good!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Here are a few pictures my dad took:

Spritz

I was invited to my General Manager/Vice President's cookie exchange tomorrow evening. Of course, I had to make my mom's world famous spritz cookies!

I forgot to take pictures while making them. It is best to use a cookie press. I got an electric Cuisinart one at JC Penney for $20. They are the best things in the world. They come with a whole bunch of little shapes you can use. I used little flower ones that look like poinsettias.
Target has some manual ones. Macy's does also.

Here is the recipe:

6 ounces of SOFT cream cheese (use Kraft Philly) 

1 lb of Land of Lakes margarine SOFT

2 cups of sugar

2 egg yolks

2 teas vanilla

5 cups flour 

2 teas salt

Cream the margarine and cream cheese, add sugar and mix well til fluffy, add egg yolks and vanilla, mix well, add salt to flour and mix into the cream cheese mixture.

Fill the cookie gun and GO!

Bake at 375 for approx 10 min. 

Don't forget the colored sugar sprinkles, Red and green

This recipe makes about 14 dozen cookies... a little more.

You MUST use Philadelphia cream cheese and Land of Lakes margarine. Otherwise, these cookies will not turn out. No skimping allowed!!!

Enjoy!!!

gif(t)s

I have a secret obsession with gifs. I have a whole bunch of them saved on my phone to use when emojis just can't deliver. They're the gif(t)s that just keep giving

Here are some of my faves:

say whaaaa?

just be quiet

I wish I could have this one animated above my desk everyday

lemme alone

srsly?

Don't mess with NeNe

hollaaaaaa

I think this is my fav of all time

Gifs are the perfect addition to any text message, blog post, or email. Don't be surprised if I start sending them to you on the reg.

Christmas Time

I have been totally MIA lately.
Work has been busy... it seems like I have late meetings almost every night lately. 

I've decided to get a head start on my New Year's resolutions. Blogging happens to be on that list! A little closer to 2013 I'm going to devote a post just to my resolutions.


I did decorate my apartment for Christmas the week after Thanksgiving and plan to leave it up until the last of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Here are some of my instagrams:

I did an ornament exchange with a group of my friends. We did it secret santa style and it turned out to be so much fun! Here is the ornament I got from my friend Amanda.

Until next time...

Rock the Vote

Sorority recruitment taught me to avoid five things in conversation... boys, booze, bucks, bible, and Bush/Barack. These 5 B's, as we called them, can definitely carry into professional and everyday life.

I don't really like to talk about politics. I tend to keep to myself on these kinds of topics. But I think it is important to remind everyone to VOTE!!

Picture thanks to the lovely Maryland Pink and Green!
Check out her blog and facebook page :)

A guy at work was telling me last week that whoever his wife votes for he chooses the opposite so they can sit at home and watch tv (non-election related) instead. His theory is that his vote for the opposite candidate would cancel out his wife's vote. I asked what happened if he agreed with his wife and wanted to vote for the same person... he said it would never happen because he doesn't want to go to the polls.

This angered me a little.

Why would you not exercise your right to vote?! People of our past fought for all Americans to be able to make that choice. Men, women, property owners, non-property owners, any race, anyone over the age of 18, any religion. Throughout the United States' history, people fought for what they believed in and helped us all be able to choose what we want. That is the beauty of our country.

We need to be informed on the issues going on in our states. Who is running for local representation, congress, which proposals are being voted on... it all matters. Not just the presidential ballot is important... it all comes down to the bigger picture.

There is a great website that can help get you information on all the things that will need to be voted on in your district. If you type in your zip code on Project Vote Smart, you can see all the details on upcoming elections in your area. This website isn't just for general elections, but also primaries. You can look at all the candidates running, what is on specific ballots -- all valuable information to help get your informed about the election. 

Everyone should go check it out before tomorrow's big election!

No matter who you vote for, make sure you vote! Remember, your vote counts!

Vote!

This&That

What I'm loving...

Vitamin Water Zero- especially the blood orange-mixed berry caffienated kind (and the description on the bottle)

Essie's gold flakey nail polish "As Gold As it Gets"

Apple cinnamon candles

"Groupon says..." - I could read these for hours

Duck Dynasty marathons... and this obscene Willie Chia pet LOL

These hair ties:

need more elastic from Sunshine Shoppe STAT

What I'm not loving...

Doing 7 loads of laundry - I've been putting it off too long

The fact it is Sunday night already

No greek froyo in my freezer

My chipped nail polish

My currently empty wine glass... which I am getting up to fix right now!

Purdue Football (sorry boilermakers)

xoxo [cWr]

Match Made in Heaven

Target + Neiman Marcus

It definitely a match made in heaven!!!

Target and Neiman Marcus are teaming up with some well-known designers to bring a fun gift collection to Target and Neiman stores. 

Target released the official lookbook for this awesome collaboration due to hit stores December 1st.

I will be camping out at my local target to snag a few of these items

Here are some of the things that are on my wishlist:

DVF Jewelry Box - $49.99

How cute is this jewelry box? It would be perfect to keep all my bangles in!

Marc Jacobs Pouches - $69.99

Perfect for a Holiday splash of metallic for a carry-all in your purse

Oscar de la Renta Leash and Collar - $39.99

I need to get a puppy just so I can get this!

Tory Burch Lunch Box -$19.99

Can't go wrong with going to lunch with Tory.

What items will you be waiting to snag up? Will you camp out? I know I will be!

Skillet Lasagna Recipe

My meal plan for this week had lasagna roll-ups for today. I decided I didn't want to wait for them to bake in the oven. I found this recipe on pinterest for a skillet lasagna. I didn't half of the ingredients so I improvised.

I am not a professional chef and not sure how much of each ingredient I used. When I cook I go with whatever tastes good. So taste often while cooking!

Here's my interpretation:

Half a box of lasagna noodles, broken into thirds
1/2 pound of ground beef
1/2 cup Chopped Onion
Can of tomato sauce
Oregano
Basil
Garlic Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
About 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
Handfull of Italian mix cheese

I cooked my lasagna noodles and set them aside. Next, brown ground beef in a skillet. After the beef is browned, put some chopped onions, garlic salt, and pepper and let it cook a little longer. Add the tomato sauce, oregano, and basil. Let it cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Throw in your noodles and some more sauce. Stir. Add ricotta cheese and Italian cheese mix. Cook for about another 2 minutes until the cheese is melted and mixed around in the sauce. Serve and enjoy!!

I was checking out my new VV catalog while cooking :)

Super easy and delicious! Great recipe for a busy person!

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

October Goals

OMGeeeee it's October already?!? This was plastered all over twitter yesterday. Thanks everyone for reminding me it is October!

But really, how is it October already? This year is flying by so fast!

A little reflection on September:
Joined Junior League and cannot be more excited to start something new!! All the women I have met so far are awesome and I can't wait to get to know them all better and help the community while doing it. I can't wait to see what is in store for the rest of my Junior League years.
Work was really stressful. I am glad September is over! Late meetings several times a week, big decisions to be made, people upset with those said decisions. Even though most of the stress is over, the remnants are going to carry through until the end of the year :/ Thank god for wine!


I've decided to set myself monthly goals. If I publish it then I'll be forced to do them, right?! Gives me a little more incentive.

Blog

I want to keep up with my blog. Write about new things I try, things I'm obsessing over, what's going on in my life. I want to write at least three times a week.

Gym

I need to get in better shape. Not walking all over campus every day is really killing me. (I considered that my exercise in college ha!) 

Birthday Card + Address List

I want to get in the habit of sending birthday cards to all of my friends. Long story short, my 23rd birthday sucked and someone sent me a card via snail mail. It brightened my day instantly. I want everyone to feel special on their birthdays! (PS- friends, email me your addresses!)

This list will also be used for Christmas cards!

Christmas Shopping List

Never too early to start christmas shopping!

Read 1 book

I used to read all of the time. I want to get back in the habit... slowly.

Any suggestions of what I should start with?

What are your October goals?

What's In Your Bag?

The past couple days, a few bloggers I follow have posted what's in their bags.

I decided go with the trend and show you what's currently in my bag!

Here's my bag:

I am currently carrying this awesome Kate Spade bag (Cobble Hill Kori)

Wallet: Kate Spade Cobble Hill Lacey

Sunglasses: Lilly Pulitzer Aviators

Croakies: Lilly and Vineyard Vines (why I have two pairs in my purse, beyond me!)

Purell

Travel size deodorant

Car, Apartment keys adorned with Vera Bradley, Coach, and Lilly keychains... and of couse have to rep my Alma Mater (Boiler Up!)

Agenda from Target

Southern Tide Koozie

Glasses case

Lilly Pulitzer makeup bag

Pencil Case full of Sharpie pens (obsessed)

And a look into my makeup bag...

What do you carry around with you on a daily basis?

FOOD!

I have recently been on a cooking kick and trying to cook almost everyday. So far, so good!
I have started making a weekly meal plan on Sundays and then grocery shopping for the entire week. This has been working out wonderfully since I have been working late most days.

So far this week I have made:

Basil Parm Tomato Soup

This was so good! I made so much I have been able to have it for lunch everyday this week.

Only thing I did different was use my immersion blender to break up the tomato chunks.

Pasta with Gorgonzola Sauce 

The sauce with the cream and gorgonzola was a little runny, so I added some four to thicken it up. It probably could have used some butter also to balance the strong taste of the cheese but overall it was really good!

BBQ & Monterrey Jack Burgers

These are the BEST homemade burgers I have ever made!! The cheese, BBQ sauce... mmmmmmmm!!!! I did use garlic salt instead of season salt since I didn't have any and they still turned out ahhhh-mazing!

For the rest of the week I have planned: chicken parmesan, chili, and leftovers. (Nothing too fancy)

What I have found really useful for my meal planning is using different printables to organize my meals and grocery lists.

One of my dearest friends, Sara, over at Secrets Of A Sunny Life, created her own printable! It has the grocery list organized by kind and makes shopping a breeze. Check it out here. So colorful and fun too!

Here are a few more that I have found easy to use:
Delish-Blog
The Project Girl
Sweet Bella Roos

Do you have a way to plan your weekly meals and grocery shopping?

Any good recipes that I could try out??



PS-Sorry for my lack of pictures... I'll make sure to take some from now on!

Friday's Five

1. Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin Ale

On my DIY Lilly coasters of course!!

I was in a fall mood last night and picked up Sam Adams' Harvest Collection variety case.
The Harvest Pumpkin Ale is soooo good! I have always been a fan of Oktoberfest, so I decided to try the other seasonal flavors out. I highly recommend the pumpkin ale.



2. BBQ Chicken Pizzas

Before

I made these awesome BBQ chicken pizzas the other night. I could eat these everyday!
They were so easy to make. I used whole wheat tortillas and put a little olive oil on them. I then sprinkled some mozzarella cheese and chicken tossed in some BBQ sause. Then I chopped up some red onion and put those on. Last, I squirted a little more BBQ sauce. Baked at 300 for 15-20 minutes and they were perfect!

After... nom!!



3. Clinique Bonus Time

I stopped in Von Maur after work to get some moisturizer at the Clinique counter and it was bonus time! I was able to score a new chubby stick and some tinted moisturizer.

Image from VonMaur.com

Super cute new makeup bag too!



4. A night in to relax.

I have been working so much recently. It is nice just to be at home and be able to relax!!
Since I have started my job in January, I have not had crazy weeks like this. Working for a Japanese company there are many late night and early morning meetings with Japan. It also seems like everything always seems to happen between 3-5pm. So much for an eight and skate kind of day!


5. iOS6

iOS6 has finally arrived! I think my favorite part is all the new emojis! I'm a little partial to the crescent moons.

Here are just some of my faves!

Another cool feature is the Do Not Disturb. It's nice not having to turn my phone on vibrate and be able to mute all the notifications and random phone calls while I'm sleepy. It will definitely come in handy!


What are your favorite things today?

Fall Colors

I have been dreaming of fall since that very odd week in March when it was 90 degrees here in Michigan. I live for fall. School is starting back up, the leaves change colors, football season starts. All the good stuff happens in the fall!

The best part is being able to wear long sleeves and sweaters. My friends will tell you I am slightly obsessed with cardigans. How many is too many? I have 20 in my closet right now and that is not even all of them. In my opinion, you need to have one in every color!

Anyway, one of my other favorite parts about fall is the dark colors. "Oxblood" or burgandy is so in this fall season! I just had to add it to my wardrobe. Last weekend I got a pair of pants from LandsEnd in the perfect shade. And even better.... the perfect LENGTH!!! 

Check them out here

They are little more purpley in person. The shade is perfect to wear all through out fall. Landsend really hits the spot with their petite clothing too. Being only 5 feet tall, it is always really hard to find the right length pants, skirts, or dresses. These pants in petites are exactly the right length. I couldn't ask for anything better!

I also love to wear seasonal colors in my nail polish. Besides my cardigan obsession, I have a serious obsession with nail polish. I have probably over 100 different bottles, all different colors and brands. But my fall and winter go-to has always been OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark. When I took it out of my jar this week to use it, I was really sad to find out that it had become chunky. My next alternative is OPI's Black Cherry Chutney. It is a very similar shade but has some gold tones in it. Perfect for Fall!

OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark

InStyle's Review

OPI's Black Cherry Chutney

**Please excuse my nasty cuticles and polish job

Do you have a favorite way to wear your go-to fall colors??

Welcome!

I have recently decided to start a blog of my own. After reading many blogs over the past couple years, I have finally gotten inspiration.

First, let me tell you about myself! I graduated from college in December and moved to Ann Arbor in January for a job. I am an electrical engineer for an automotive company in Metro Detroit.

Yes, being an electrical engineer means barely any females. A little too much testosterone in my life right now. But don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my job!

You will now be able to follow my journey of being a recent post grad living in the real world. I hope to share what’s going on in my life, new recipes and crafts, daily inspirations and rants, and the list could go on!

I am excited to start this project and hopefully keep it going for a long time to come.