Did some shopping recently...

Well, it's been quite some time since updating this blog, so I figured I should. And what better way than to show all the shopping I've done lately.

I've been traveling more for work lately, and since I typically wear jeans to work, I needed some "fancier' clothes for work meetings. Plus I needed some summer stuff and other random items, of course!

And, just to be clear, this wasn't all in one shopping trip lol.

First, this awesome dress I found on clearance at Target. It had two different clearance prices on it; one was $30 and one was $20. I decided to ask the people at the fitting rooms to scan it to find out how much it actually was. $10! Um, yes please! It was a little big, but I had my mom take in a few areas and now it fits like a glove. I bought a fun little skinny belt to go with it and I love the pockets!

I found this skirt on clearance at Ann Taylor Loft. It also has fun pockets. It's sort of a shimmery linen.

Nine West Zuki

Banana Republic - Sloan Fit Crop in Natural Khaki

Banana Republic - Elephant Print Timeless Tank

Banana Republic - Sloan Fit Striped Flare

Banana Republic - Boyfriend Utility Chino

Banana Republic - Lace Trim Kimono Vee

in this color, soft grey

Seychelles Purr in Vachetta

Ann Taylor Loft Jungle Flowers Top

Old Navy - Cuffed Perfect 3" Khaki Short in Couscous

I picked up this little marc ecko clutch at TJMaxx, but in a butter yellow color

Gap - Flutter Sleeve Crewneck T

This top from JCP

Express - Ruffled Sleeve Top

Kohl's - Elle Floral Chiffon Top

Gap - Clearance top

Forever 21 tank

Target sandals

Forever 21 tunic

Old Navy leopard print cardigan

Old Navy clearance sleeveless sweater

And then I decided that it's been a few years since I bought a new bikini so I bought one from Victoria's Secret.

I got this pattern with this top...

and same zebra pattern, but this type of bottom...

Oh, and this purse...

I also picked up some fun necklaces at Forever 21 and Francesca's Collections.

And I think that's about it...for now :o)

Unexpected Shopping Trip

So today I met up with my friend Brittani. We had lunch at Bar Louie and then decided to peruse some of the stores at the outdoor mall. I figured we'd do a little walking around, but I really wasn't planning on buying anything. Pshhh, yeah right. Surprisingly, there weren't too many people out and about so it was nice to shop without massive crowds. She mentioned wanting to stop by Forever 21 and that made me so happy since sometimes when I'm with other people, a stop at Forever 21 is torture for them. So I'm happy to say that I was finally able to walk through the store without feeling rushed and actually bought a few things.

This sequin tank

This shirt, which I actually saw in Nuestra Vida Dulce's blog. I thought it was super cute, never intended on buying it (since I never go to Forever 21), and came across the only one on the rack at the store. Sold!

I couldn't find this next shirt on the website, but it's cute with leggings or skinny jeans.

I also got this little cardigan

Next up were accessories.

I found this headband

And this one

And I couldn't pass up this adorable owl necklace

I did pick up a short-sleeve purple sweater and necklace at Love Culture (a store I've never been in but is very similar to Forever 21), but I couldn't find either of those items on their website.

So all in all, it was a pretty successful, unexpected shopping trip.

New boots!

So, for my birthday back in June, I received some gift cards to DSW. I decided not to spend them and save them for some boots this fall.

Last year I bought the Steve Madden Cybul boots in brown,

So this year I decided to get some black boots. I got the Zigi Soho Mixer boots in black.

I bought me some new Gap skinny jeans and the boots look awesome with them. Bring on fall! I'm ready!

Bags, bags and bags

So remember when I said I went to a Gigi Hill bag party and bought some stuff? Well here it is.

The first bag I got was actually a special offer. I could get it at a discounted rate if my total order was over a certain dollar amount. So with a combination of my order, my mom's order and a friend of mine's order who couldn't make it to the party, it put me over that mark. And of course I couldn't pass up a deal like that!

This is the Sophia with the English Chocolate fabric choice

18"L x 6"W x 12-3/4"H

Strap drop: 10"

The interior fabric is called Dynasty Celery and I love it! I think it's so fun! There's plenty of interior pockets to keep everything nice and organized too. I'm thinking this bag will come in quite handy for when I start school up again.

The next thing I got was the Lana business card holder.

4"L x 1/2"W x 3"H

I chose the Dove fabric for this one

It's pretty cool how the cards sort of lift up on a metal plate type thing when you open the holder.

I also got the Small Scarlet for little items.

8-1/2"L x 5-1/4"H

I chose the Pink Pearls fabric option for this one.

So that covers the Gigi Hill items. Onto a few more little bags.

A friend of mine used to sell Bag Daddy but it has since gone out of business. Of course right when I was planning on having a party so I could get a few items. Well she had these little bags that I always loved so I was bummed I couldn't get them anymore. Of course I started checking eBay because I figured everyone would probably be trying to sell their stuff off. Well I finally found them and was pretty happy about that.

The larger one is is 6-3/4" x 8-3/4" and the smaller one is 6-1/2" x 7-1/2".

Aren't they fun?

Someone (::ahem, Jill::) convinced me to have my own Gigi Hill party so I'll be doing that in October. I'm hoping that maybe some new items and new fabrics will have come out by then. For now though, I should probably steer clear of buying anymore bags.

Back to reality

So Jim and I took our week vacation a little earlier this year due to some concert conflicts. Ridiculous right? I know, but we love our concerts. Anywho, we went to our family cottage from 10-18 July and it was a nice relaxing week. We took a few day trips here and there but really just kind of hung out. I'll be adding some pics to my photo blog of things from the week.

I took the 19th off of work to sort of get back into the swing of things and do laundry and whatnot. I usually take the Monday off after I get back. Don't want to go jumping back into work too fast now lol.

Monday night was a photo shoot though. Now, I don't do portrait photography. I'm not really a people person and I prefer macro photography and landscapes. But, my friend Rachel asked me and my other friend Rachel to do some maternity pictures for her so I thought it would be fun to try something different. And guess what...it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be lol. I think its more the editing of portrait photographs that I don't like. Getting the skin tones right and making sure the white balance is good...ugh. I did edit one picture though...



...and I'm pretty proud of how it turned out.

So anyway, back to work...it was good actually. We had a new piece of equipment being added to the lab and after traveling to Ottawa back in March for the training, I was excited to get it up and running.

I bought a new purse too. I bought it before we went on vacation and it was waiting for me when I got back. I bought the Steve Madden BPatchh purse in lilac.



It was originally $98 and then it went "on sale" for like $89. Then the very next day it was on sale for $39.99...yes please! I love it! It's not leather, but it's super soft and can hold a ton of stuff.

Then, this past Thursday I went to a Gigi Hill handbags party. Of course I bought a few things. I'll post the actual pics of the items when I get them in. I must say that their business card holder is sweet!

And that's about it for now. Jim and I know we need to get back into home renovations so we're trying to decide what project to tackle next. We shall see...

Best Birthday Day Ever!

So yesterday we celebrated my birthday. (It's not actually until the 30th. I'll be 30 on the 30th - my golden year). It ended up being a surprise party and I was totally shocked! I knew Jill had a day planned for us and then I thought we were just going out to dinner with a bunch of friends...because that's what the email said that she sent out to everyone. Apparently this planning started back in April. Everyone had me totally fooled!

So our day started out with a lovely brunch at The Pantry. I love this place! Normally I would go with the omelette (because they are baked and delicious and fluffy and cheesy), but I decided on the cherry cheesecake crepes. So good!

Then it was off to get my haircut. Apparently Jill had planned for us to get a mani/pedi, but in passing conversation I mentioned that I'm not all about the "spa" type events. So I sort of put a damper on those plans, but I did get a nice trim on the hair and bangs. She got the pedi.

After that we stopped by Sonic to pick up a delicious cherry limeade and then it was off to Catching Fireflies. Cutest shop ever! I ended up getting a headband to wear at dinner (which I obviously totally didn't end up needing)...

and a cute little crystal to hang in my window...

On the way to our next stop, I received this gift...

It's a garden stone so I need to find the perfect place for it. Every time I look at it I'll remember my awesome birthday day!

Next stop was the International Gem and Jewelry show. (Oh, and by the way, with each planned stop, Jill had a little note card that I opened that sort of had a clue in it. Best idea ever! Those little note cards made me all excited and Jill thought that was hilarious).

So we stopped by the show and I picked up 6 more glass rings...

And apparently at this point, we hadn't quite used up enough time to let everyone prepare for the surprise back at her house so she was trying to keep us at the show longer. By this point I was pretty beat and just wanted to get back to her house to chill for a few, change and go out to dinner. Little did I know she was stalling.

After the jewelry show we stopped by Caribou Coffee for a little caffeine burst and Jill needed to "just sit and relax for a few". Oh, you mean stall?! LOL

So we finally start heading back to her house and I decide to text Jim and ask him what he's up to. He was heading over to Jill's, along with some of my other friends, to have a few drinks before we went out to dinner...or so I thought. So Jim tells me he had just left at it was like 6:45. I know in the fake email that Jill sent that everyone was supposed to meet at her house at 7:00 so I was kind of like, geez, way to leave so late.

So we get to Jill's house and there's a few cars in the driveway (including Jim's, hmmmmmmmmm), but nothing out of the ordinary since I knew people would be there already. But then Jill tells me I have to go around back first because those few people might want to say hi to me before I dart off and change. So I walk around back and I'm greeted with about 30 people all yelling surprise! My parents were there (which I TOTALLY did not expect), friends from work, everyone! It was so awesome! And I did get a little choked up (which is why I didn't take off my sunglasses Rachel, lol).

So yeah, they pulled of a surprise party and it was so much fun!

They even rented one of those bouncy/boxing ring things...

And then of course there was the delicious cake...along side my custom koozie which reads "it took me 30 years to look this good" lol.

Everyone put a lot of work into this and I'll never forget it. Thanks everyone for a very memorable birthday!