choosing my galentine.

1.30.2014

Last weekend, I had the lovely pleasure of rubbing shoulders with the beautiful Brooke White--she was wearing this dress and I was gushing with envy, sure that it was a magical vintage 1970s thrift store score. She was pleased with my keenness toward 1970s duds, and called me her soul sister, but informed me that she had actually got it from Lulu*s! Within minutes, it was in my cart and a week later, on my back porch. It is heaven, and paired with these gorgeous Seychelles from my favorite gals at PB&J, I was feeling groovy, and just myself. I love how there are just some outfits that feel like you, this was one of those. 

So, what I'm saying is that I'm going to ask all the fine ladies mentioned above to be my Galentine this February, because they treat me so right, and I love them so!
Any Fun Valentine's Traditions You'd Care to Share?
<<what i wore>>
beach curl//tutorial here
earrings//frances 
dome hat//c.o. oasap (similar here)
sunnies//? (buy similar here)
tooled leather clutch//vintage (buy similar here)
turquoise tear drop necklace//c.o. powder & jade
sweet peonies maxi dress//lulu*s here (similar here, here, here, here, here, herehere, herehere)
bracelets//threads
rings//etsy
nail color//essie (here)
seychelles third degree heels//c.o. pb&j shop 

home again--it's where i belong.

1.25.2014

This week I went on a business trip to Utah--when in the world did I turn into a grown up, who goes on professional things like business trips? The idea of going on a business trip was pretty exciting until the day before I left, and I suddenly had no desire to go, because staying at home snuggling up with my pup and my hubs sounded just like heaven. It's weird how the little things, perhaps the mundane things, that we do over and over again, that in turn become our life, are the very things we miss when we know they will be gone. I am grateful that those simple things are still very much enjoyable to me.

The trip ended up being a lot of fun (and luckily it was really short). It was a conference that I had been helping to plan for months and it was such a good feeling to have it go off with such a bang. But at the end of the day, I was happy to leave all that excitement behind and get back home to my little family here in Arizona.

The trip was just what I needed, a refresher--I love my life, simple and beautiful.
<<what i wore>>
nude sunnies & peter pan collar blouse//c.o. oasap
lip color//sally's (buy here)
bullhead black skinnies//pacsun (buy here)
red peacoat and cobalt blue heels//c.o. persunmall
chevron knuckle rings//etsy
hair//tutorials here

the things i worry about on my drive to work...

1.15.2014

Yesterday, as I was driving to work, I was listening to KOOL 94.5--a favorite radio station of mine since I was a kid--it's slogan is "Good times, Great Oldies, Kool 94.5" so as you might have guessed, it plays 'Oldies' and because most people can find Oldies palatable, it is commonly played quietly at dentist and doctor's offices. 

Well, yesterday, on my way to work, a catchy little tune that I didn't recognize came on--as I continued to listen, my car dancing stopped and my face started turning red from embarrassment--I had heard jokes about this song in the past, but somehow had never actually heard it--"Afternoon Delight" was on my radio station--the same radio station that plays at my dentist office. I started sweating a little at the thought of sitting under that iridescent dental light with a spit sucker and several metal tools in my mouth, with my dentist overhead bobbing his head and mindlessly singing along to the radio. 

You guys, I would die. DIE! 

How did that song ever pass for radio approval back then!? It is full of such insane innuendoes that they might as well not be innuendoes at all! I don't know what I will do if my daymare ever comes to past--I've decided that I must call the radio station before all my dentist appointments and plead with them to take that off their playlist. I must take control of this situation. I must.
<<what i wore>>
wide brim hat//c.o. oasap
round sunnies//can't remember (buy similar here $29)
aloe pink lip color//amazon (buy here $9)
moon necklace//etsy 
twisted gold layering ring//c.o. dresslily (buy here $5)
circle necklace//emersonmade (buy similar here)
BDG scoopneck tee//urban outfitters (buy here $12)
geo sweater//c.o. persunmall (buy here $22)
high-rise skinnies//asos (buy here $50)
gold bracelets//c.o. pb&j boutique 
tabby boots//c.o. pb&j boutique (on sale $40)

New Year

1.13.2014

New Years is my favorite.

I love the idea of a fresh start, a time to contemplate and decide what's ready for improvement in one's life.
I've always been a goal oriented person--it was hard for me when I realized the man I fell in love with, was not someone highly motivated by goal setting, because part of what motivated me in my goal accomplishment was the idea that you're sort of proving someone wrong when you actually accomplish the thing you set out to do. Maybe that's not at all what goal setting is about, but it is, however, some of the satisfaction I personally got out of it. 

But as marriage is ever so often about, you must learn to adjust to each others quirks--I've learned that if I want to feel satisfied and fulfilled in my goal setting, I need to find the motivation within myself and compete against myself if I have to--to prove myself wrong, instead of looking to someone else for that.

This year I've made a rather simple list of various things in a few different categories I want to work on, that I may or may not share here on the blog, but the two physical one's I will share, are that I want to be able to do 100 pushups (so I do pushups about 5 times a week before I go to bed) and I want to go on a hike a week, so that I can get better at incline training and so that I can enjoy the beauties that Arizona has to offer. 
I've been doing really good so far...thirteen days in ;) and it feels amazing. I feel good about myself every time I take the time to do what I committed to myself to do. (And I've even noticed it's rubbing off a little onto that man I love...)

I'm excited for this year. I hope by the end of 2014, I find myself a better, stronger person, with more experience under my belt. That's what it's all about, right?

What do you have planned for yourself this year? 
What's going to be better in 2014?
What's motivating you to keep it up?
<<what i wore>>
drape blazer//c.o. persunmall (buy it here $44)
pocket tee//c.o. persunmall (buy it here $8)
giraffe necklace//j.crew (buy it here $12)
nerd glasses//forever21 (buy similar here $13)
high riser skinny skinny ankle jeans//madewell (buy here--favorite jeans, i wear them almost everyday) 
leather braided belt//thrifted (buy similar here $10)
fringe bag//stylelately (buy similar here $37)
wedged desert booties//old (buy similar here $89)
time sawyer//arvo (buy similar here DROOLING!)

Yuletide

1.10.2014

Christmas was beautiful this year--I was feeling like such a scrooge--I was super busy at work and had no desire to decorate or buy presents, but once we picked out our tiny tree from the Home Depot parking lot, something changed within me. I decided to bake 6 dozen of my favorite cookies to deliver to all our neighbors. People were so excited and one lonely lady invited us in and we spent a good hour chatting and letting our dogs play with each other. I'm always so afraid to bother people, but when I suck it up and put myself out there, it are those times that I have such great experiences. I just wish I could remember that more often!

Christmas morning at Andrew and Reachel's is alway a joy. They have such great taste, so it's always fun to see what they get, and being around kids always makes the morning so much more fun! Plus they always have a nice European breakfast spread or cheeses, bread and yogurt parfaits. It was sad to see the holidays go!

Did you have a good Christmas? Do tell!
© i believe in unicorns. Maira Gall.