Monday, November 18, 2013

This Week's 30 Days of Thanks

I should have probably seen this coming. I'm finding 30 Days of Thanks a little overwhelming in my super busy life. I find myself getting up in the morning, thinking about what to be thankful for, but never getting the time to sit down and write an amazing post....or even a sucky post. My goal is to condense them into a week. Yes, I realize this is not "Thankful Thursday", but it's better than nothing.

Here are the things I was/am Thankful for last Week!

1) Accountable Committee Members
Chairing a committee for a volunteer organization means you were one of few people that was actually accountable last year so you can handle doing all the work this year. We hold monthly meetings, delegate action items, close our eyes and pray they'll be done in time. So far this year my committee has been absolutely amazing. Only 1 ball has been dropped and it was promptly picked up by another committee member willingly! Knowing how intense this has turned out to be for me, even with delegating I am so so thankful I can trust them!

2) Michael's being SO CLOSE to my office
I've been working on gift bag design and Michaels has been an absolute savior. It's 2 blocks from my office so I've spent many a lunch roaming the aisles. It's also got me in full Christmas decoration mode (post to come soon on that), but sparkles and cinnamon and paper meche deer have got me ready to go!


3) The Ability to Give-Back 
One of my favorite quotes is "To whom much is given, much is expected" and volunteering has always been a passion of mine. It was easy in college, I felt like they had volunteer opportunities out like free pizza. When I moved to San Francisco it got HARD. I don't know if it's real life or being in a non-profit loving city, but it is impossible to find an organization with an opening. That lead me to Junior League, which not only has a huge monetary impact on the community but access to  grassroots, hands dirty volunteer experiences that make you feel great! Especially this time of year when people wear their gratefulness on their sleeve I'm so happy I'm able to be involved.

4) My Mom is Coming to Visit!
This might be a selfish reason, but my mom has always been willing to help where she can. There are certain areas of my life I'm been avoiding. Primarily room/home organization. As a young adult when your parents come to town, consciously or sub it starts an evaluation of the status of every aspect of your life. I realize that I've fully ignored any nesting instinct for at least a good year. My parents just moved, so I hope she's still excited about this stuff, but we're going scrub, hang, redesign, re-organize the shiz out of my apartment and I'm pumped!

5) Zipcar
I spent the first half of the week getting a bunch of Gift Bags put together for a meeting on Wednesday. I thought the Gift Bag assembly was going to be the hardest part, but boy was I wrong. To decorate the gift bag tables I needed a half dozen gold, metallic '8' shaped Balloons. Easy for any party store right? After arriving at work late due to a Doctor's Appointment and wrangling 8 members of my team together for a work lunch, I thought all I would have to do was make a phone call that afternoon and pick them up on the way to the venue. NO ONE had them! Well, one place did but it closed at 5pm and I wouldn't be able to get there until 6pm. Disappointed I switched my efforts to figuring out when to pick up the gift bags from headquarters.....when I found out that closed at 5pm. At this point I'd have to leave work immediately to get to either place in time. Zipcar saved the day, zipping me around town in an SUV full of gold tinsel and balloons. I really couldn't have gotten it all picked up and delivered without it.

6) Wine Club Memberships
I have a slight obsession with Francis Ford Coppola's Sophia Champs. So much so that when I stopped at the winery I decided to not only buy a case, but join the wine club. I've gotten 2 shipments already and my wine cabinet is filling up and staying full! With the insanity of last week, I had more then my fair share of glasses of wine. With the holiday season coming up as well, they'll be great hostess gifts!!


7) Laundromat Being Steps from My Front Door
No seriously it's 2 doors down, I don't even have to put a bra on if I don't want too. With my mom coming, I decided it was deep cleaning time. So EVERYTHING got washed.  Having it be right next door is almost as good as having one in house. If enough machines are open I can whip in and out of there in an hour with all 5 loads washed and dryed!


Saturday, November 16, 2013

Royal...er Baby Griki Watch 2013


                  


The Royal Baby (check)
Baby Kimye (check)
Baby Griki (?)

Due yesterday,  Kingsley and Grant (AND THE REST OF THE WORLD ) are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Little Miss. Phone on emergency vibrate at all times.

                    

                      

Friday, November 8, 2013

The Weekend ~ 30 Days of Thanks




After a crazy week of fast-paced work, learning new software to actually do work, picking up a project that got dropped by one of my fashion show committee members in addition to the non-stop e-mails that come with my own projects, moving offices and working out I could not be looking forward to the weekend. Slow down for a day. Get a blow out. Sleep. My own time and hopefully some actual beautiful fall weather!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Good Coffee -30 Days of Thanks

There is no denying that San Francisco is the land of the gourmet and the land of hipsters (do those things even go together?). Not only does that combination produce new, cutting edge meals but also really good, artisan coffee. I don't consider myself a coffee snob at all. I'll drink whatever, but the stronger the better.



My boyfriend on the other hand is a flat out, 100% coffee snob {he did get pretty excited about a 'peppermint mocha with extra sprinkles' when I told him the Starbucks red cups were coming out, but I didn't tell you that}. When we drives me to work in the morning we stop at a little place near my house that roasts their own beans, but his favorite by far is Ritual Coffee. Hitting up the good places several times a week, I have definitely noticed the difference in quality. There's a lovely 'roasted' taste to the small names like Blue Bottle and Ritual that you just don't find a Starbucks and I'm grateful to have these options right outside my door. On the flip side, these artisan coffee do come with a price. Yes, I appreciate the taste, but I'm also thankful because when I do go slumming it at Starbucks I feel like my $4.00 latte is a steal!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

My Smart Phone - 30 Days of Thanks



via weheartit

Like a lot of us, my smart phone is my life. I have the world at my finger tips; family, old friends, new friends, weather, bus schedule, google {the answer to any question you could ever have}, e-mail, blogger...literally everything. I've heard every arguement for and against the constant contact with the world it provides, but I relay on it primarily as my schedule maker, my list keeper and my life organizer. I've very much considered swapping in my phone for an old school nokia and just upgrading to an iPad mini...but it just won't fit in a clutch.  I really don't know how I would make it through my day or life without it.


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Days 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 - 30 Days of Thanks

As it's November 5th, I'm a little behind on my 30 Days of Thanks. I decided to kick it off with 5 things in my life I'm thankful for:

Clean Roommates
In addition to liking nice things, I'm also a little OCD about order and cleanliness especially in my living situation. There is nothing more satisfying that coming home to a room in perfect order, folding back the sheets and slipping into a formerly made bed. I have 3 roommates, all found via Craigslist and I cannot tell you how absolutely lucky I feel that everyone a) appreciates and the value of nice things AND b) appreciates the value in keeping those things and the house nice. Even the guests at our raging Halloween House Party refilled our ice trays and moved the fragile Glitter Pumpkin and fragile candle hurricanes to safe place on the bookshelf before starting a rousing came of kings cup on the coffee table! All of us were up bright and early the next day (in our various hungover states, of course) scrubbing, wiping and vaccuming. Especially with this time of year, filled with lots of tiny, delicate decor I trust them completely and am so thankful I can decorate and not worry!

A Home to Holiday in the Snow
The holiday's are truly my favorite time of the year. The weather cools, you get to bundle up in soft sweaters and snow makes venturing outside of your cozy house, for anything, an adventure. Living in California now makes almost all of those things impossible. Except for getting dark at 5pm, nothing is really 'cozy' about it. You have to bring the holiday's in with decorations and scented candles, but that's the only difference between December 5th and October 5th. The majority of my family lives in the midwest, where I'm from, and I'm able to travel back to the snow covered roads and rooftops for a week to really feel Christmas. The family, the food cooking, the coziness and closeness of Christmas all wrapped up in a variety of homes throughout the midwest. I don't know if I could get through the year without looking forward to that.



My Grandma
I'm a fairly independent person in that I don't really talk to my family all that much. Not that I have a horrible family, but I've never really connected with any of them on a really personal level. I never felt that community, that 'team'. I've felt support to blossom and grow into the person I wanted to be, but there was never a 'we'. It was Mom, Dad, Brother and Me. 4 individuals. In my adult life I've seen how growing up like that has affected my life and relationships in both positive and negative ways. Even though I'm content with my independence I think everyone can agree that there is something amazing about someone you can really connect with. My Grandma has been the closest thing I've had to that. Sure, she's a little stuck in her ways like any older person is, but she's always there to listen and offer her 2 cents on her almost 80 years of experience. I talked to her for 2 hours yesterday about various things in my life and got caught up on the rest of the family (or at least the parts they felt they could share with Grandma). After I got off the phone I realized I don't really have another person in my life I can relate to like that and the fact that she's part of my family makes it so much better. 

Google Drive
Life, applying for jobs and co-chairing a committee this year has made my life pretty hectic. I'm constantly writing lists, documents, notes etc. I need to be able to access them anywhere! When someone calls, when someone e-mails, when I have an idea or need to reference something... Google drive has, amazingly, allowed me to do that and keep myself sane. 

Scented Candles
I love candles. I love how they set the mood with lighting and scent, they can be relaxing and uplifting at the same time. Like I said re: snow above, its hard to get the Holiday feeling I'm used to out here in California. I've recently indulged in a little more candle shopping than usual and I'm excited to get them 'fired' up for the holiday season.


Monday, November 4, 2013

30 Days of Thanks!



If you've followed me the last few months  year you know that I've been trying to refocus my life/mind on positive things. I gave Thankful Thursday's a go and my monthly goals have tried to push Thankfulness and positivity in my life. Ryann, who blogs on Unspeakable Joy is doing "30 Days of Thanks" for the month of November. With a goal of blogging daily about things in your life you are grateful for to bring more attention to them in your life.
I was trying to think of the words to describe why I've been trying to focus on appreciating the things I do have and bringing light to the positive, but Ryann's post I think put's it perfectly.
"These days I have been so selfish and continually looking towards the "next big thing" without truly living in the present and rejoicing in each day. I'm going to be honest, until these past few months, I really had it easy. Everything was so comfortable surrounded by my friends while I was in college, close to home, sure of the most immediate next steps... graduation, marriage, the move, and my first "big girl job". It was all so exciting! But even then, I was still living for the next thing.....
.....But some days I am really lonely. Some days I wonder if I'll ever move on from here to start a career I love. If I'll find friends here. Some days I just question God. "Why Raleigh?" "Why Martha?" "Why this rejection?" Not good, my friends. This month, I want to embrace the many blessings the Lord has given me. God hasn't guaranteed everything is going to be easy, and it is this hardship and struggle and hurt that draw us closer towards him. For that I am SO thankful. Which is why I am moved to share with you each day of the month of one thing I am thankful for. "





Sunday, November 3, 2013

Shoes , Shoes, Shoes!

Ugh! I've had complete shoe envy lately! Perfectly timed with my mother's visit in a few weeks, I want to re-do my entire collection!

Here's what I've been lusting after!


     
Classic White Jack Purcell's
Kate Spade Tock Flat

      
                      LK Bennett Shilo Pump

LK Bennett Sledge Pump


Nine West Mela Wedge

Leopard Smoking Loafers

Friday, November 1, 2013

Fancy Halloween: Daisy Buchanan

Hope everyone had an amazing Halloween. Although I didn't party it up last night, the roommates and I decided to throw a party last weekend for the annual event. Quite honestly, it's probably one of my least favorite holiday's, but the day after marks the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year!

I've been lusting after a tulle skirt for a while, so with the intention of incorporating some sort of sparkley witch hat I thought I had my costume figured out. The skirt came and the zipper was broken so with 2 days to go before the party I needed something new! Lucky for me, net-a-porter popped up with this Oscar number on my Facebook ads. I knew instantly I had to be Daisy Buchanan. Add this stunning headband and faux fur scarf and it would be absolutely perfect! 







However stunning that version of the costume would have been, the price tag is a little much for a house party. Where do you go to find cheap, yet semi-chic costume supplies? Forever 21. I originally ventured in looking for a tulle skirt, but ended up finding the perfect Daisy alternative: