Sideburns & Bangs

My little corner of the world

2012-02-02T18:08:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I stop and wonder what people think of when they see me. I'm 26, about to get married, have a house, a dog, done with school, have a boring but otherwise okay job, I take vitamins...It would almost look like I actually have my shit together right? So it's probably perfecting timing for a nervous breakdown. As someone with her BA in English, there are certain things that cause the red flag to go up. It usually goes something like this: Marriage + Babies = Death. About 2/3 of modern lit warns you about this. Do not fall into the trap of getting married, settling down, getting a 9to5. Those things won't make you happy! Why? Because once you hit 40 you will have a mid-life crisis and become pissed off at the world because you never backpacked across Europe, or visited any other country other than Canada. You will regret not "experiencing" more in your youth and suddenly realize that you only get to have sex with your partner for the rest of your life. You will realize that slaving away for the man is brutal hell and you should have joined the peace corps because you were not talented enough to be any sort of artist.

Sometimes, sometimes I fear that people see this when they look at me. A young female falling into the traps of a home-economics, accepting a shoddy paper-pusher job and buying a house where she grew up instead of going out and experiencing the world. Then I think, who cares? I do want to travel, I want to take a road trip across the US and I want to go to France and England! I also, eventually someday want a kid. The thing is, I chose to buy a house here because I love Michigan. I don't get tired of going up north or hanging out in Detroit. I am happy hanging out with friends and cooking and making things in general. I still want to learn how to play a musical instrument, and to just try new things. Other than my crappy job and being kinda broke, I'm happy. If anything, being stuck at work for 40 hours a week makes me appreciate everything else a little more. Most likely none is actually thinking that and I am just a freak of nature, getting all defensive over an accusation generated in my own brain, but it still feels good. I'm living it up in my small world for the moment and I can only dream bigger.

Details
Sweater & belt-Thrifted
Boots & dress-Modcloth
Earrings-F21

Song of the day "Sugar Kane" By Sonic Youth

Little Bits: Tail-end of January

2012-02-01T21:29:00.001-05:00

1) I made this soup I read about on HelloGiggles, it was my first soup and I made a lot of it. Imagine a giant roasting pan side-ways resting on two burners on the stove, filled to the brim. Yep, that happened. It does look like baby-food and it is spicy as all hell because I throw caution to the wind when it comes to red pepper flakes but by George, I made soup!

2) This is why people balk at me at work during feeding time, er, lunch. I ransack the fridge the night before and fill a giant bowl full of lettuce and whatever else is edible. Here we have a colorful assortment of peppers, tomatoes, walnuts and blueberries. I typically go for vinaigrette dressings or green goddess, both I am attempting to make from scratch soon.

3) Saturday the "Shakespeare kids" as I like to call them (kids from my Shakespeare class last semester), as well as my brother, and some friends, decided to force Kyle into watching Star Wars as he has never seen them all the way through. About 11 people were coming over so I decided to turn the living room into a "cuddle-zone" complete with every single blanket, pillow, couch cushion, and snuggie we own.We hunkered down and made it through both "A New Hope" & "The Empire Strikes Back", nerdy banter ensued.

4) Mariah, my brother's amazing girlfriend, bought us some cupcakes from The Cupcake Station and made them Star Wars themed! I seriously want to marry her, she is the greatest person ever.

Oh and check out B.A.I.T.-But Another Innocent Tale, my new sponsor! They have the cutest shoes just in time for Spring. I am drooling over the flats right now, so bright and pretty. Hey if there isn't going to be any snow this Winter, can Spring just come early, eh Eh? Bangs wants some new flats!

Song of the day "Yesterday, Once More" Video karaoke with Zooey Deschanel

The Grit Room

2012-01-31T22:28:00.000-05:00

As I type this, my feet are throbbing with blisters. Not from these amazing shoes, oh no. They are throbbing after working a ten hour day, then kid-napping Kyle's brother to workout at the YMCA (where I ran/jogged for 45 minutes, hells to the yeah!) and finished the night off with a 45 minute walk with Louie. Know what the best part is? I get to do it all over again tomorrow! I am exhausted, from all of this and from spending ten minutes looking for my lavender scented petroleum jelly. Seriously, it's God's gift to sore feet and I have no idea where it is. Louie probably ate it, he ate a can of alphabet soup once-can and all. He is part goat didn't you know? I guess I'll know for sure if he ate my jelly if his "presents" smell like lavender tomorrow on our walk...

Details
Dress-Thrifted
Belt-Forever 21
Tights-Target
Boots-Modcloth

Song of the day "Senses working overtime" by XTC

Inspiration: Beyonce's music

2012-01-30T18:28:00.000-05:00

You maybe a little taken aback by the content of this post as I am a person who despises most pop music, however, I have no right to refer to pop music as "bad" when a lot of people could call (and they have) the music I listen to "boring". I honestly could handle more top 40 songs if I didn't hear them a million times per day (Cough *Adele* Cough) but that is not the way radio stations work. Instead, either you succumb or you bolt out of the room or just listen to NPR all damn day like me.

Regardless, when I first started really exercising every day and trying to get my butt in gear, I found myself adding a little Beyonce to my workout play-list. Let me tell you, it worked! I would pop in a workout video and end up shaking my booty to her entire album "Bday" almost every time. Even Kyle couldn't resist! On his old mp3 player, he had two albums-one by the Offspring, and Beyonce. The best music to workout to is angry music, or music that makes you feel sexy, hands down.

Beyonce's music isn't just inspiring on it's own, the woman behind it gives it the extra little push. More times than I can count I would be just checking my email or paying a bill online and would find myself looking up one of her music videos. I know she is just a celebrity, but seeing this beautiful, strong, sexy woman smiling at you and dancing around, just made me want to get up and move around. I knew damn well that I would not look as awesome as her, but her music still made me feel like I could be sexy too. Rollerblading down the street while shaking my butt all over probably sent all kinds of wrong signals, but I felt sexy dammit.

It was impossible to narrow it down to just one song, and I didn't want to post ten videos on here that you guys would never watch, but I did pick one. I love this video, I think she looks awesome and of course anything slightly vintage, I am all-over. So say hello to the song of the day!

First Snowfall

2012-01-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

First off I wanna thank everyone for their kind comments on my last post. I love encouragement and advice, and I love sharing it. I wanna make this blog a scrapbook of things that I think are awesome, because blogging and reading blogs is something that I really enjoy doing. I am excited to do some inspirational posts to create more of a variety around here, although I am still working on taking my own outfit photos. Our tri-pod is too short so it makes the photos look distorted. I have found setting the camera on random things sometimes works, like the back of my car, however its raining out and as much as I would prefer outdoor photos, I don't want my camera to have water damage (I drop that sucker enough as it is!).

Well, as you can see, we had a little snow last weekend. I was soooo excited, I was dreaming big! I wanted to go sledding and build a snow-fort! My dreams were crushed Sunday afternoon when it all melted away. Now it's just cold out. I get it, most people hate snow and winter in general, but what is the point of it being cold without snow?!! There's no fun in a snow-less winter. I might have to just make myself feel better by going ice-skating soon.

Details
Scarf-Hand me down from Kyle's Grandma
Coat-Xmas gift last year
Hat-Target
Boots-Kmart
Plaid dress-Urban Outfitters
Reporter dress-Ruche
Sweater tights-Five below

Song of the day "Till the end of the time" By DeVotchKa

Motivation Station

2012-01-25T18:26:00.001-05:00

You wouldn't recognize the girl in the above photo right away, but yes, that is me. I am not sure exactly when this was taken, but I really want to say sometime around 2005. I was over-weight, (I weighed around 165) and extremely unhappy with almost every aspect of my life. I was working at Mc Donald's, a job I hated and would stress me out so much to the point where I would hide in the bathroom and cry. This photo was taken right after my Grandpa had passed away, and the last time I had seen my Grandpa was that Easter. My dad drove both him and my Grandma up to my work to say hi to me before they went home because I could not get the day off so I worked all day instead of visiting with my family, and it was the last time I saw him. I couldn't quit my job because the only thing I had going for myself was my own apartment with Kyle. No job=no rent money. I hid myself in baggy jeans, I never wore shorts or skirts, and I never, ever went to the beach. I wore black a lot, and since we were broke, I ate most of my meals at work. At home, we ate a lot of mac & cheese and take-out because I didn't know how to cook .

Things turned around a little in 2006-2007. I finally quit Mc Donald's and got a job as a cashier at Best Buy. I also got a YMCA membership with Kyle and managed to lose a little of the weight. I started wearing hoodies form Victoria's secret because they covered me up but still felt "nicer" than the plain black ones. After six months, I got my current job at Vesco Oil. I stayed at 155 or so for a few years, still hiding in my hoodies. In 2008, my work held a wellness program where each member would weigh-in weekly on a scale. Whoever lost the most weight, won money at the end of the program, which lasted about 12 weeks. I had a goal of ten pounds, but I managed to lose twenty, putting me at 135. In 2009 I signed up again and lost another ten pounds. When I graduated from OCC, I weighed 120 pounds, pretty much what I looked like in the pictures below:

How did I do this? I became obsessed. I walked everywhere, I cooked healthy dinners, when I ate alone, it was salads & subway. I would walk a five-mile route 3-4 times a week. I did workout videos when it was too cold or rainy and I would do them before Kyle got home because I hated working out in front of people (still do). I kept it off for awhile, Louie's arrival in our lives helped with that because living in the apartment, I walked him at least twice a day if not more.

So what is my issue now? I have a gym membership, I still have Louie, where is my motivation? I had only two classes back in 2009, I have no school now. Granted, I do have a big house that takes a lot of time to clean, and I do have a blog...my best friend was living out of state so I barely hung-out with anyone, but still.

I see friends almost every weekend, and it is healthy. However I realize that I need to get back in shape, and in order to do that, I need to get that same, self-driven attitude back. No more going out on Friday nights for awhile (I am super broke anyway), and I need to move every day again. Everything from going crazy cleaning, to walking Louie, to going to the gym. I have been really good at eating healthier-and I do feel a lot better. I did not have a blog to take up 1-2 hours of my night back in early 2009, but I did spend hours online. I looked up everything from healthy & fit celebs, new workout routines, healthy meals and even songs to add to my workout play-list.

I have even thought of quitting outfit photos until I lost the weight, but I don't want to do that. Taking away something that I enjoy feels like punishment, not encouragement. So, I have decided to add some motivation to this blog. I want to do a few posts on things that make me feel good, that push me and make me want to look my best. I am hoping this kicks my butt into gear, and will prevent me from posting nothing but food posts every single week ;)

Song of the day "Pocket Philosopher" By Mandy Moore

Mitten Eats: Avalon Bakery

2012-01-24T18:55:00.000-05:00

One of the reasons Kyle is not allowed to visit me often at work for lunch is because I always end up getting back to work late. Add my lunch tardiness to my average 20 minutes of being late every morning and you have got a fair chance of me not getting my full forty hours a week. Although, I somehow ended up with a half-hour overtime on my last paycheck, either I stayed after longer than I should have, or the time-clock gods had pity on me. Regardless, part of the reason of said tardiness is because half the time I beg Kyle to take me to Avalon Bakery in Detroit.

As you can see, Avalon is all about the environment and all containers, wrappers, etc can be recycled and they have places to recycle to them in the storefront. They are famous for fresh-baked breads, cookies, muffins, and cakes as well as sandwiches and wraps. Avalon serves both regular goodies and those of the vegan variety and being as though I have sampled both many-a-time, can safely say that both are amazing.

Kyle, Dan, and I stopped there after the DIA the other week for some coffee and some treats so there are no pics of sandwiches but that vegan carrot cake was so delicious that I wanted to make out with it. Kyle got a peanut-butter brownie and Dan, some cookies. We all gulped down the coffee, which is Michigan made. A few of their cookies are even sold at Whole Foods so I pick them up when I go. The granola cookie is super healthy and filling, so you are full after one and you don't feel so bad for eating a cookie. So you can see how this place is worth being a little late for on occasion, right?

Song of the day "Big Wheel" by Tori Amos

Eats: Homemade Pizza

2012-01-23T18:45:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I decided to make one of Kyle's favorite comfort foods: Pizza! This was a bigger challenge than I had originally thought, as I detest cooking meals that take longer than 30minutes to prep & cook. However, I really wanted to make the crust and sauce myself, because apparently I just want everything ;)

For the crust, I lucked out with Bob's red Mill Gluten-free pizza crust. The package makes one large (12") pizza or two smaller ones. I made half the bag on my initial try and made the rest a week later. The directions are really easy, but the only thing I would change is to wait a little bit to preheat your oven, because the dough has to sit for a bit before you can bake it.

I did make my own sauce with some variation on a few recipes that I looked up.

What you'll need:

-1 or 2 garlic cloves

-1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

-1 can of crushed up tomatoes

-1 can of tomato paste

-1 table spoon brown sugar

-1 teaspoon of dried basil

-1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (I didn't have this, I used paprika, cayenne pepper & garlic)

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

In a large saucepan, saute garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until sauce reaches desired thickness. This was enough sauce for both 6inch pizza's I had made, I used half on this night, and half a week later.

Bake the crust for about 10-15 minutes, then take it out and add the sauce and whatever toppings you would like. Put back in oven until the cheese is toasted nice and brown. I was a little paranoid about it being done all the way, so I left this sucker in there for about 25 minutes. You can always cut it up and throw it back in if you feel you need to. Hey, its your pizza!

I used a cookie sheet for this pizza and the crust was thin and crispy. The next week I used a regular pie pan and it came out a fluffy, like a regular pizza. Both were good, but the pie-pan was a little more filling. Just make sure whatever pan you use, you grease that sucker before putting the crust in or it will be a pain in the ass to get out of the pan...or so I've heard..

Autumnal Winter

2012-01-22T12:30:00.000-05:00

Up until Friday night, winter in the metro-Detroit area resembled what you see in these photos: No snow and highs in the 40's. It felt as if we were on the crust of November or welcoming the lamb of March. I typically don't dress in the expected color palates of the seasons, as I am one to just maximize my wardrobe despite which month it is. However these photos make me crave hot coffee and pumpkin pie. Which, in itself, could just mean that I am partial to my favorite season and as much as I love the snow (yes I am one of those freaks), I don't mind lingering in Autumn a little while longer.

I have also come to a few realizations this month, I tend to favor a certain shape in my garments. A full skirt and a fitted top is the most flattering to my pear shape. I still mostly feel like a mix of the sixties and the nineties for the most part, and I have come to really like the combination of vintage-prep and grunge in my closet. Although now that the snow is piled up outside, you will probably only see boots on my feet until Spring officially hits.

Details
Sweater & skirt-Thrifted
Shirt-F21
Necklace-Etsy
Shoes-Alloy
Tights-Target

Song of the day "O Valencia!" By the Decemberists

We Didn't Start The Fire

2012-01-20T19:46:00.000-05:00

The most adorable thing that has ever been mailed to me in my entire life, came this Christmas with a personalized Christmas card from my friend Stevie. As you can see from the picture above, she is as talented as she as awesome. Please check-out her facebook page to see more of her amazing artwork & become a fan :)

Song of the day "We didn't start the fire" Billy Joel

Little bits: DIA

2012-01-19T20:30:00.000-05:00

I already did a post back in September on the DIA, but Kyle had taken a few really cool pictures on Saturday and I thought I would share them. I would be willing to bet that you guys will see some more posts like this in the future, as we have a membership that is good for four people and we have a few friends who want to go and we never get tired of going...especially if there is a trip to Avalon bakery after.

The Woodward Avenue Entrance

2012-01-18T19:52:00.000-05:00

This my friends, is exactly happens when you get dressed very quickly, very early in the morning, after a night of drinking with friends. Instinctively, you reach for your comfiest sweater, layering it over your favorite thirfted dress, convincing yourself in those wee hours in the morning that they are not frumpy when paired together by adding a belt. Forgetting that the length of said dress only works with your body-shape when worn with heels, and in your need for comfortable garments, you grab your boots. You figure since your hair is "ombre", it makes it trendy by itself so you forgo curling it or putting it up or even looking for a hat, which would have been brilliant if you had saw one on the way out the door.

The result? You show up to the DIA looking like this. Luckily everyone is preoccupied with the art so they don't notice your frump-wear. I really do love this dress, however, I think it could use a little hemming-at least to the knee-cap. Oh and that is not dandruff in my hair, we actually had some snow here on Saturday!...It's gone now.

Details
Dress-Thrifted
Boots-Payless
Belt, tights & cardi-Target
Earrings-F21
Necklace-Grandmother's

Song of the day "Love Today" By Mika

Eats: PB & Apple English Muffins

2012-01-17T18:11:00.000-05:00

I love breakfast foods. I would love scrambled eggs & veggies every single morning if I had the time (which seeing how I am no less than 20 minutes late for work every morning, I don't). Instead, some days I opt for mixing cereals and a side of toast, or something delicious on an English muffin. Here we have some peanut butter, agave or honey, cinnamon & apple slices on a toasted muffin, mmmm!! This is probably the simplest breakfast I ever make, and also Kyle's favorite (go figure). I even managed to find some gluten-free, whole-grain muffins at Whole Foods (aka yuppie central) that we have yet to try.

In other news, you can now follow Sideburns & Bangs via Google+ by the new fan-page! Yes, I am all over this internet thing, popping up with random videos, quotes & pics of the day and posting blog posts all up in your face!..if you so choose.

I'm also on Facebook & Twitter if you want even more of me in your life. I talk about food often. Ahem.

Song of the day "Little Bit of Red" By Serena Ryder (I'm pretty sure that I picked this one recently, but it's cute).

Never met a cardigan I didn't like

2012-01-16T20:54:00.000-05:00

Without actually getting up and tearing though the closet and the laundry, I can count at least 25 cardigans that I own. I can also think of at least five that I haven't worn on this blog yet. Questions? Concerns? I didn't think so. Cardigans have replaced the hoodies of my youth with good reason; they are completely versatile. I can wear a cute cropped one with a shorter dress to make it appear as a good length for the workplace, I can wear a big-baggy Grandpa-style one over my sweats and camp-out in front of the TV on a Saturday morning. I can even wear an embellished one with jeans and a t-shirt to make it kind-of seem like I care what I look like when I go to the bar/a restaurant/the movies. Oh yes, cardigans can save the world!...er, something.

This evening Kyle and I, along with my brothers David & Mark, and also Mariah, took Liam to the WAB for half-off food night. He scarfed down his grilled cheese and root-beer and demanded to play pool. It was completely adorable. Aside from people assuming he was my child, which tends to happen when you are eighteen years older than your youngest brother. Which is also why I could careless about people staring me down for having an 8 year old in the bar part of the restaurant. Actually, only one or two people gave me the evil eye, but there were some parents there who could have used a dose of parenting skills. Seriously, this five year old was getting it non-stop from her mother. Poor kid.

We also took some awesome photos in the photo booth but I had to give them to Liam to take home, he was too excited to let me scan them or even take a pic of them with my camera, I will try to get more next time :)

Details
Top & Skirt-Thrifted
Cardigan & Tights-Target
Shoes-Alloy
Belt-F21
Headband-CVS

Song of the day "The bends" by Radiohead

The churchyard

2012-01-15T13:02:00.000-05:00

There are always things I need more of in my life; time with friends, time alone, coffee, tea, delicious food, sleep, books such as this one, taking outfit photos in Detroit...

There are so many interesting places near my work where I could take creative and amazing photos. There are at least three large churches (like this one) in walking distance, railroad tracks, a brick-paved road, as well as a few delicately decorated abandoned houses. TONS of interesting things to be captured by my lens and shared with the world via this blog and what do I do on my lunch-break instead of exploring with said camera in tow? I read.

I also think I need more heels in my life. I have come to really appreciate how fast I can stomp through the hallways and the warehouse in them the past week. I love the terrified looks everyone gets because they think someone really important is coming and then they see it's just me, muwhahaha. It's the little things in life that keep your day interesting, no? There is always the occasional rubber-band fight when all else fails. Being a grown-up doesn't always have to be as boring as it seems. I should also refrain from referring to myself as a "grown-up"...

Details
Dress-Yard sale
Cardi, belt, purse & scarf-Thrifted
Shoes-Payless
Tights-Target

Song of the day "Holdin' on" By Rooney

Eats: Spicy spiral noodles

2012-01-14T18:59:00.000-05:00

This lovely dish was created by yours truly on accident, and by accident I mean I tried to follow a recipe and did not have the main ingredient. Why? Because I didn't decide to make this until after I started cooking the noodles and saw said recipe on the back. It had called for pumpkin seeds, I had walnuts. A little extra omega 3 never hurt anyone, am I right? Sure.

What you'll need:

-1/2 box spiral noodles (mine were flax-seed)
-2 or 3 Roma tomatoes sliced & chopped
-1 can of black beans
-Small onion, chopped
-2 garlic cloves, diced
-Salt
-Red pepper flakes
-olive oil
-black pepper
-1/2 up walnuts

On a baking sheet, mix the beans, onions, garlic and tomatoes together. Add seasonings to taste and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake at 425 for about 30 minutes, stirring mix occasionally. While it is baking, cook the spiral noodles. Mix together when done and add the walnuts ( I screwed up and added them before, which was okay, but not the way it was supposed to be done). Or, if you want to try the actual recipe that was on the box, use pumpkin seeds.

Between the beans and the noodles, this dish was really filling, and tasty!

Song of the day "Uprising" By Muse

Like a boss.

2012-01-13T17:34:00.000-05:00

This slice of awesomeness is brought to you by H.D. Harris. Check out his Facebook page for more art & any inquiries.

Song of the day: "White Winter Hymnal" By the Fleetfoxes

Mitten Eats: Milano Bakery Cafe

2012-01-12T17:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning was a rotten one to say the least. After pumping myself up the previous night for an early-morning trip to the gym, I managed not only to sleep through the alarm, but awake at the time I am supposed to be leaving for work. After rushing around with a self-induced panic attack (the words "how am I ever going to find a better job if I'm always late for this one?! Where are my shoes?!! Did I pee yet??!!" rushing though my mind), I also succeeded in brewing an entire pot of coffee, and taking none of it with me.

I realized this on the entrance ramp to the freeway, where I could not get off at any exit to replace my non-existent coffee because it would appear that everyone in the Metro-Detroit area was on that very same entrance ramp as I. I'll bet that ramp could have won a popularity contest, the other entrance ramps must have been insanely jealous. In my frenzy, I called Kyle to let him know that REM had been right all these years, and it was the end of the world as we know it. He reminded me that there was in fact caffeinated sludge at work, and that I would get there when I did and I should calm down because if I remebered correctly, he was taking me to lunch at Milano's Bakery, and he would even bring me my forgotten coffee. What a guy!

As you can see, Milano's Bakery is in fact heaven, or at least a close second. This place has been a favorite of ours before I even started my current job, located just down the street. Milano's makes all of their baked goods on-site, and they have a menu choc-full of delicious sandwiches, soups & salads with cute names like "The Mack" and "The Piggly-Wiggly".

My favorite item on the menu is the white chicken chili, It has lots of kick to it and is quite filling. I even managed to get a few of the warehouse guys at my work hooked on it and there are times (really cold days) where I make a quick run and basically clear Milano's out. Other favorites of mine are the Greek salad, and the "Twiggy", a veggie sandwich. Kyle and I decided to be adventurous yesterday and get the special which was a cheddar-jack roast beef sandwich, which did not entirely fall under my new healthy eating plan but was delicious either way. Needless to say, I have had my fill of "junk" for awhile, but this was so worth it, especially after that delightful morning.

My favorite part of Milano's is the location. Not only are they located very close to my work, but they are also right on the outskirts of Eastern Market. So you can hit up the marketplace and then grab a yummy lunch or snag some treats to take home or even some fresh bread. I even convinced my dad to try this place a few weeks ago, and let's just say he is now a fan of the "Piggly Wiggly".

Song of the day "Get me away from here I'm dying" By Belle & Sebastian.

Eats: French Toast

2012-01-11T19:35:00.000-05:00

For Christmas, Kyle wanted me to make him French toast. He bought a special bread that I think was cinnamon raisin, and I made French toast for the very first time. I served it up with some yummy turkey bacon, and it was a delicious morning feast.

What you'll need:

-4 eggs

-1 teaspoon sugar, optional

-Dash salt

-Dash of cinnamon

-1 cup milk (I used Silk Vanilla)

-10 to 12 slices bread

-Butter for the pan

Mix eggs, milk & salt together in a bowl and add some cinnamon if you like it. When it's even, carefully dip the bread in the mixture, making sure to get both sides. Make sure you don't completely soak it or it will be soggy. Cook until both sides are slightly brown & serve with syrup!

I seriously didn't know how easy it was to make French toast. However, it's probably a good thing that I didn't make it until now because it is so delicious! Kyle and I have switched to a healthier diet now that the new year has started. We are cutting back on meats, as Kyle eats a lot of that at work, and I have never really been that big of a fan of it to begin with. My Dad would put ham in our mac & cheese because he had to have meat in every meal. That, plus five years at McDonald's has killed my taste for most meats, although I'll still eat it a few times a week. I have tried in the past to give up dairy, and I succeeded in switching to soy or almond milk, but nothing else. So far, vegan butter tastes the same, I don't mind soy yogurt, and I am testing out cheeses. I can't seem to give up eggs, so you'll see them on this blog. Lastly, we are trying gluten-free products. Since I have hypoglycemia, GF is good for a person like me. It is also supposed to help with digestive issues so we are trying it out. I am not one to waste, so I am using up the products I already have before trying new foods. You will see a lot of experimentation on this blog as far as food goes in the upcoming months, but I am sure to post recipes that can be easily substituted to use several different products.

Here's to a new year of healthy eating :)

Slagathor

2012-01-10T19:51:00.001-05:00

I have been the one and only Sara Lynn Astley for the 26+ years I have been on this earth. Of course over the years I have also been known by certain nicknames time and again, but I have always been known those around me as an Astley. The Astley's have their antics, everything from a short fuse, the automatic urge to swat someone for so much as looking at one of our loved ones cross-eyed, for always speaking from the diaphragm and of course, for making any meal into a sandwich.

My Mother speaks in such tones only dogs can hear her, my brothers bellow upon their entrance to every room, and my Father has a strange fascination with twisted roosters. How then, am I supposed to give up my very name that I was born with? That I have always been known by! If I take on Kyle's last name in September, I can no longer chalk up my strange behavior in public to simply "being an Astley".

Not that there is anything wrong with Kyle's last name, Gerard is just as good as name as any. It can even be pronounced all French-like and fancy. Taking on Kyle's name would give me permission to act out in such ways that only those specific Gerards are known for, like getting food in my hair when I eat or being ungodly late for everything (although I am already getting pretty good at that).

However, I also question why I should be restricted to staying an Astley or becoming a Gerard. Why not combine the forces and take on the Astley-Gerard combination, making myself the hybrid monstrosity of both families? I could then be really late for stuff while eating a spaghetti-sandwich, and then yell really loud about it being in my hair when I finally get to my destination! It's brilliant I tell you! Although, I would have to face reality and accept that my initials would then become SLAG. Le sigh.

Details
Dress-Modcloth
Sweater & Purse-Thrifted
Jacket-OU
Tights-Five below
Boots-Kmart
Scarf-Incognito
Earrings-c/o Anjolee

Song of the day "When will you die?" by They Might Be Giants

Victorian Lit

2012-01-09T20:12:00.000-05:00

This would mark the third time I have worn this dress on the blog, however, it has always been layered so I have not been able to show it off properly. This dress was a graduation present to myself, it is called "The Victorian Lit dress", and it's from Modcloth. As an English major, I had too. I am pretty much on a shopping ban for awhile, at least until I hit some of my goals and I can buy more clothes as a reward system. I have sooo many projects that I want to just get into and I have been on a cooking spree. The house is becoming more and more organized as the days go by, and I finally came up with a good training plan for that 10k I want to run in June. I even have a friend who is happy to run with me (although I am still trying to sucker Kyle into it). I am hoping to start training tomorrow as I have not been to the gym yet this year, I just need to be motivated after work. Although, with the weather we've been having I could probably just run outside and be fine. My goal is to do well in the 10k in June so that I can also run the Turkey Trot next Thanksgiving before the parade in Detroit. I get to run down Woodward, dressed like a turkey, every girl's dream!

Sorry about the disheveled hair and wrinkled dress. I am pretty sure these were taken after a night of drinking a few weekends ago. I had forgotten about these photos as I had uploaded photos of french toast with them, and it was delicious french toast so you can see how these would get lost in the shuffle ;)

Details
Jacket-UO
Hat-Ferndale craft fair
Scarf-Thrifted
Tights-Target
Boots & Dress-Modcloth
Necklace-Great Grandmother's

Song of the day "Oh my sweet Carolina" By Ryan Adams

Eats: Oatmeal Butterscotch cookies

2012-01-08T18:09:00.000-05:00

With all of this health food I have been enjoying lately, I have forgotten about two posts I had stored up from over the holidays. Kyle and I made some cookies for friends as part of their gifts, and oatmeal butterscotch cookies are a favorite in my family and Kyle is a huge fan too.

What you'll need:

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 bag of butterscotch chips

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

We ended up making two batches of these and two batches of the peanut butter chocolate chip ones I always make. Kyle is a little mad at me because we only ate the broken cookie bits and gave all of the ones we made away to everyone. I am on a mission to find a healthier substitute for us, I just bought some healthier flour so that is a start.

As you can see, I am a fan of making the cookie dough into little balls, and Kyle is a fan of flattening the cookies out. However, when my dad makes them, as he famously does, he makes them like mini pancakes. Of he could spread the dough across the pan and make one giant one, he would.

Only a daughter would love

2012-01-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

This is an outfit my Mother would despise. Not only am I sporting the very bag that caused my Mother to remind me that white was banned after labor day, and it is January, but I am also wearing both black and brown accessories. The horror! However, this was an outfit thrown together out of much confusion. I wanted to be cozy so I put on my favorite sweatshirt, scarf and jeans, but I felt too frumpy. Then I added the boots and coat and felt way too trendy. What is a girl to do? Wear a monster hat, duh.

Today has been one of the most relaxing and productive days in a long time. I got up early to make muffins, (which came out horrible-but I will try again soon!) and Kyle and I took Louie for a walk around Oak Park since it was so nice out. We washed up and headed out to Ferndale to check out pinwheel bakery, where I got a delicious cup of coffee and a vegan molasses cookie that was incredible. We were supposed to help our friend Dan move some things to his new apartment, but he met us at the Rustbelt instead and we checked out some cool artsy stuff. The Rustbelt is basically like an open market for local artists to sell their merchandise. I seriously wanted so many things, cool photos of Detroit, vintage dresses...cat pillows. We then headed to The Emory and I had a veggie sandwich and soup and it was delicious! I have gone in there for a drink once or twice but had never eaten there. We then decided to go thrifting and Kyle finally bought some new (to him) nice clothes and I bought some fabric, which I hope to use this month. We came home, I gave Kyle a haircut and we cooked a veggie pasta for dinner.

Now we are all cozy, watching the Lions game with Louie. Kyle is sipping a beer and I am in love with this honey-cherry mead I bought from Western Market in Ferndale today. Seriously, they have a wine expert on staff who always guides me to the weird things to try because he knows I know nothing about wine. It is made in Michigan, with ingredients from Michigan, and it is really good. I am not a wine person at all, and I am in love with it. It's called "Psenkova Cherry Mead", and I want to marry it.

Details
Coat & jeans-F21
Hanes sweatshirt-Kmart
Boots-Payless
Bag-Amazon
Scarf-Thrifted
Hat-Royal Oak garage sale

Song of the day "Gavin's song" By Marc Broussard

Cheap thrills

2012-01-06T21:34:00.001-05:00

So I had a few requests on how to have a good time with friends on a small budget, and I thought I would do a quick little post on the subject. Here are a few ideas that I have come up with that I know I love to do, and hopefully some of you will too.

1) Eat at home, before you go out. Most Saturday's for Kyle and I start early with grabbing a bite to eat with friends at a restaurant before hitting a movie, or hitting up a 24 diner/drive-thru after a night out at the bar. A lot of money can be saved by eating at home before heading out, plus whatever you have at home will probably be healthier.

2) While on the movie topic, try going during the weekdays/nights as they are typically cheaper. Also ask for any frequent member cards or discounts while you are there, another way to save money.

3) Check out local music. Concerts are a lot of fun, but can get pricey. Most local bands, or even cover bands charge a small fee at the door, or if at fair it's usually free. Check your local paper or online and scout out their sound on their website. Or you can even break down and agree to go see your classmate/co-worker's friend's band that they have been telling you about, it could be fun!

4) Speaking of fairs, next time you see a banner post card in your local coffee shop for an upcoming crafts fair, check it out! Most art is expensive, but it is nice to take a stroll with a friend and window-shop. Plus, you never know when you will find something. Kyle and I bought some cute coasters for really cheap at a ceramic fair a few years ago and they are handmade and really cute, I think we paid about $4 for them.

5) Hobbies. Do you have a common interest with a friend? Photography, or maybe playing a musical instrument? Practice with a friend! Have a jam session, go paint in the park, or walk around your neighborhood and take some creative photos. I

6) Sports! Get a group together, take over a schoolyard and play kickball, soccer, basketball, whatever you fancy.

7) Run errands. Walk your dog with a friend, grab a coffee and go grocery shopping together. Paw through magazines at the convince store together or head over to the laundry mat. Chores are less boring when you have someone to keep you company.

8) Friends with kids. I don't have a kid, but I have a brother who is 18 years younger than me. When I lived at home with my parents, my friend Jamie and I would occasionally kidnap him and take him to the park. It's fun to run around and act like a kid, what better excuse than to have a kid with you.

9) Go thrifting. Seriously, it's the cheapest form of shopping and if you check your local thirft store, there is usually a special going on, every day of the week. Also, check online for coupons and make sure to hand them over before the cashier starts to ring you up.

10) Have a favorite night spot or restaurant? See when their specials are. Your favorite burger joint might have a half-off night during the week, or a happy-hour. Grab your friends and get some grub on the cheap. Don't forget karaoke, it's usually free :)

11) Have a house-party! This could be costly, but as long as you tell everyone to BYOB and provide a few bags of chips, it's a cheap way to see everyone.

12) You could always play it a little low-key and just have a movie night or play some apples-to-apples. Hit up the grocery store for snacks instead of expensive take-out or have a pot-luck type deal and have everyone bring something.

13) Have a swap meet, tell all of your friends to bring any unwanted clothes, movies, accessories, etc. Put on some music or head to a park. Just donate whatever is left over to charity.

I am sure to have more posts up throughout the year as my friends and I come up with crazy ideas, but it easy to have a good time with friends without going broke.

*The winner of the $100 Shopbop giveaway winner is...Calli! Thanks to everyone who entered!

All children, except one, grow up.

2012-01-05T17:37:00.000-05:00

"Making the most out of my day" has been my mantra this week. I am kicking ass at work, my boss was off on his honeymoon since last week and I basically took over! Okay, so it was a slow week last week, but everyone was scrambling around trying to catch up this week and I think that I handled things pretty well. Granted there is nobody around to give me any credit but myself, but that is okay. I am just satisfied that I am able to handle my job and then some when push comes to shove and I know that one day I will no longer work for a corporation and instead I will be working at a University or writing stories, or both. I also attacked the house last night and managed to clean almost the whole thing. It is so nice to be able to grab a coat out of the closet without being attacked by it's contents. Go me.

Okay, enough patting myself on the back. Onto stranger things, like the lack of snow! I had plans folks, plans for the greatest snow-fort imaginable. I have my OWN backyard this year, I have younger brother's whom I can sucker into anything with food bribery, and I have no classes or homework to prevent these events from happening. This has to be the most mildest winter ever, and everyone here who is jumping for joy is going to be majorly pissed when we get snow in May. It's going to happen, Michigan is evil like that sometimes.

I won't let the lack of snow foul my mood though, nope! I made an amazing spicy-vegan dish last night and I am still drooling over it. I am not going to convert over though, I love eggs too much. I am also reading Peter Pan, which if you haven't read it yet, I highly suggest you do as it is a very quick read and very entertaining.

Details
Dress & shirt-F21
Boots-Payless
Sweater tights-Five Below
Scarf-Thrifted

Song of the day "You're so square, but I don't care" By Buddy Holly

Getting Started

2012-01-03T18:19:00.001-05:00

Three days into the new year and I am happy to report that I am sticking to my goals..yay! Monday, Kyle and I had planned a date to go to the DIA and use our membership only to find out that it was closed, boo! Instead, we decided to hit up two Salvation Army stores to try to get some items for the wedding. I had forgotten about the big 50% off clothing sale they have the first of every year (since it was technically the second) and I bought a bunch of sweaters! I managed to get a lot of wedding items too at the second store. Poor Kyle barely found anything for himself so we'll have to go thrifting again soon.

We also went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie with my brother David. I was a little skeptical because I had not seen the first one, but it was actually really good! I am trying to keep a list of all of the movies and books I am going through this year so I can look back on how I did. I suspect I will do well in these winter months since it is finally getting cold here in the Mitten, there is even talk of snow tomorrow. I just spent a whole bunch of money at the grocery store, stocking up on healthy foods, and I can't wait to start cooking my favorite dishes with healthy alternatives. I bugged one of my girlfriends from school to help me and so far she has been awesome. I am still plotting cheaper activities with friends, and I think Kyle and I will start eating at home to save money, and then just see a movie or get drinks with friends. We always end up eating out on the weekends, and we have to try to keep that to a minimum now that I have health insurance to pay for and student loans to pay off. Blah, grown-up.

Details
Top & boots-F21
Belt & tights-Target
Skirt & sweater-Thrifted
Necklace-Gift

Song of the day "The Whole of the Moon" By Waterboys

Eats: Pesto Pizza

2012-01-02T10:45:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I attempted to make a healthier pizza for Kyle and I and ended up making two really good individual pizzas. I have not mastered making pizza crust yet, but I found this really delicious looking pack of wheat flat-bread and I thought that I'd give it a whirl. I also dug out the last of the pesto from the freezer from this summer and I think there was a little too much oil in that batch because the crust burnt a little around the edges, but it tasted like pesto pizza heaven.

Here is what you'll need:
-Flat bread
-Tomato
-Artichokes
-Green pepper
-Onion
-Pesto (about 1/2 cup)
-Shredded cheese (I used mozzarella)
-Red pepper flakes
-Cookie sheet

Chop all of the veggies and place in a bowl. Add as much pesto as you would like, a little goes a long way. Next, top with veggies and sprinkle a little bit of cheese. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

I could have easily just shared one of these with Kyle, and I think I ended up only eating half of it. Kyle really liked this and I am kinda bummed my stash of pesto is gone, I might have to hit up a farmers market or something and track down some cheap pesto because it tastes so good when you make it at home.

You could try any kind of veggies also, obviously. Like I said, the edges came out a little burnt, but the pizza was great. I am on mission to learn how to make pizza crust this year, so I expect there to be another pizza post coming soon.

**Don't forget to enter the $100 gift-card Shopbop giveaway!

Listing 1,2,3

2012-01-01T11:59:00.000-05:00

It's the time of year where I get list crazy. Everyone is making resolutions and goals for the new year and I admit that I go ahead and jump on the bandwagon too. I am excited because although I have a lot on my plate for 2012, I don't have school blocking up large amounts of time in my schedule, so I am able to get everything done.

Here is my list for 2012:

1) Plan our wedding.
2) Complete the 10k Oak Apple Run.
3) Plan cheaper outings with friends.
4) Read more books.
5) Watch more films/movies.
6) Create a routine for blogging, exercise & house-cleaning.
7) Cook something new at lest once per week.
8) Take Louie to the metro parks & hike.
10) Go kayaking with Kyle at least once.
11) Finish all the rooms on the first floor.
12) Learn how to mend clothing.
13) Crochet something.
14) Learn how to reupholster.
15) Finish all the dressers in the house.
16) Reach my goal weight.
17) Find healthier alternatives to junk food.
18) Dance more.
19) Ride my bike more.
20) Learn how to take better pictures/learn more about my camera.
21) Get more sleep/drink more water/take better care of myself.
22) Go on more dates/outings with Kyle.
23) Fix up the yard.
24) See more local bands.
25) Write more.
26) Be punctual.

26 goals, one for each year of my life. Some of these are going to be easier than others, I am a person who is always late for everything. The key is to become more organized, which I usually have no trouble with as long as I plan things out a little better.

I spent the last of 2011 with friends and family as you can see here. A bunch of us went out on Friday to Orchid again and I have to tell you, I really love dancing. I don't do it well at all, but it is a lot of fun to just move around like crazy. On NYE my brothers and a few friends ended up just hanging out at the house, watching the ball drop. A perfect ending and I am ready for a new beginning.

Details
Dress, headband & Belt-F21
Shrug-From Becky
Tights-Target
Boots-Payless

Song of the day "Rise up with fists" By Jenny Lewis & the Watson twins.

Hello High School

2011-12-30T16:42:00.000-05:00

The years 1999-2003 were years of goofing off with friends, sweating it out on the track or on the soccer field, biting my nails through drivers ed, faking my way through French, drooling over my math teacher, being awkward around boys, food fights, being made fun of for anything I am doing/wearing/talking about at any moment, and learning some valuable live lessons. I would not have made it through high school without my best friend Jamie, who had somehow found a way to end up in almost every single one of my classes each year. Or without Kyle, who showed me that there was a light at the end of the tunnel and that there was life after high school.

As you can tell, I was anything but a fashion guru in high school. I lived in hoodies, jeans, and I wore a head scarf almost every day, and got yelled at for wearing it every day. I rocked every hair color imaginable and I even sported ombre locks in my senior pics! See, I was just before my time.

Being an adult is hard at times and I miss those track meets, soccer games, skipping school to go to Belle Isle in Detroit, skipping school to go to Tiger's games. Skipping school to go to Taco Bell...I wasn't a good student at all in those days, I think I graduated with a 2.9. To be honest, I never cared about my grades until my last year at OCC.

Prom I kinda miss, but I still get almost as excited when I get dressed up to go out with friends. I sometimes miss having my own room to hang up pictures of hot guys, and blasting my angry-chick music. I miss seeing my friends every single day, and cramming into my tiny car just to drive around town. However, I don't miss getting yelled at for clothes, or for trying to find something decent to eat in the cafeteria. I now can google as many attractive celebs as I want and I blast my music in my car, and at home, mostly when Kyle isn't around but when he is, I have giant pink headphones.

For now I am bringing in the New Year a day early with the lovely lady pictured with me above and some of my other great friends. Something I have gained over the years, better friends, and better relationships with my friends. Something, save for Jamie and Kyle, I never had back in the glory days.

A Christmas Sweater

2011-12-28T19:52:00.000-05:00

Even though it was a green Christmas, this year's was still a great one. Kyle and I spent a little time with both of our families-so convenient that they live down the street from each-other, and we ate way too much food. I am afraid to even look at the scale! My parents bought us clothes, cooking supplies, pajamas and a really tacky wall ornament that I love. We also got a gift card to the grocery store from Kyle's mom, as well as Tigers hats and some cardigans. I posted on facebook awhile back that I never met a cardigan that I didn't like, so Kyle's mom took it as a challenge to find me some ugly cardigans at the salvation army, the funny thing is, I actually really like all of the ones she got me, haha. I am sure that you will see them styled up on this blog eventually, in the meantime, here is my awesome Christmas sweater again. I couldn't help it, with no snow, I had to wear something more Christmasy.

This week has been super productive and fun already. Last night, Kyle and I went to Target to buy a new TV, and Kyle somehow convinced me to get a huge one. It's not really that big, but to me it is, I feel like I am in a movie theater. I am bummed because I worked my butt off all day at work, then rushed to the Secretary of State to get my tabs-they were never mailed to my house, so I have been driving on expired tabs since October, whoops. Then cleaned out my car, ran inside to make dinner and I was all set to watch a movie while I blogged and I have no idea how to program the remote. I spent ten minutes playing around with it before I gave up. I still have laundry to do and some cleaning so I guess it was for the best anyway, but still.

Right now I am really motivated to start my resolutions for 2012. I have been organizing, and brain-storming all day and I am ready to end this year with friends and family, and to start the new year fresh.

Details
Dress-Modcloth
Sweater-Thrifted
Tights & Earrings-Target
Boots-Payless

Song of the day "Mouthwash" By Kate Nash

*Don't forget to enter the Shopbop giveaway!

Love Rachel Zoe Jackets? Enter the Shopbop Giveaway!-Closed

2011-12-26T09:59:00.001-05:00

Hey lovelies, do you love Rachel Zoe Jackets? Or Maybe you would like to Add Down to your winter wardrobe this season, or maybe just some chic and sleek Women Gloves are on your list for these next few cold months. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it is nice to spend a little time on yourself. Lucky for you awesome readers, Shopbop is offering a $100 giveaway to one of you lovelies so you can get your shopping on.

All you have to do enter is be a follower of this blog and leave a comment below! For an extra entry, follow Shopbop on twitter!

Giveaway ends on 1/6/2012, so enter now :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays!

Frankenmuth

2011-12-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

Last week whilst on vacation, Kyle and I actually took a day off from painting the kitchen and hanging out with friends to take a little day trip to Frankenmuth Michigan! Frankenmuth is a little tourist town that is pretty much insane at Christmas time. There is a gigantic Christmas store called "Bronners" that is jammed with tons and tons of decorations and at night they have a giant holiday lights display.

Kyle and I had a lot of fun browsing the shops and stocking up on cheeses, summer sausage and random Michigan paraphernalia. The only bummer of the trip was it rained all day. No snow to be seen anywhere, there is still no snow outside right now. I guess we will be having a green Christmas this year (sad face).

I can't believe it is already Christmas eve! Last night was my work's "unofficial work party", we kinda just meet up at a bar every year for drinks before the holidays, and we have lots to do today. I have tons of cookies to bake and presents to wrap, and we are going over to Kyle's sisters house for a little bit tonight and to both of our parents houses tomorrow. Lots of running around! I still have presents to mail out because I never made it to the post office in time, I know, slacker but it has been such a crazy month. I really just want to do everything better next year when I don't have the excuse of school anymore.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Holiday!

Details
Sweater & scarf-thrifted
Skirt-F21
Coat-UO
Shoes-Converse
Hat-Gift
Tights-Five below

Song of the day "Linus and Lucy" A Charlie Brown Christmas

My Furry Friend & Me

2011-12-21T18:12:00.000-05:00

I've said it once and I'll say it again, I hate corporate wear, ugh! Give me a flowy dress and some cozy knits to wrap up in and I will be happy. The boots and purse make this kinda office-ish right? My current job pretty much lets me get away with wearing anything but now that I have finished school I would like to start looking for jobs that pertain to my degree. That means I might have to dress more for an office environment, and as long as this is appropriate, I am okay with that!

I apologize for the washed-out photos, but at least you guys get a little glimpse of the blue kitchen! I still have a lot of touching up to do and we are working on putting in trim around the ceiling. The kitchen is almost completely done, all we really need is a better trash can, and a better table set-which we are thinking about building ourselves! With the help of my Dad of course. I am telling you guys, just wait until after Christmas, things are going to be getting pretty crafty on this little blog.

Now I am off to see a Christmas show with my parents and little brother Liam, so excited!

Details
Dress-Modcloth
Belt & Cardi-Thrifted
Tights-Target
Purse & Scarf-Handmedowns
Boots-Sears
Earrings-F21

Song of the day "You're Sixteen" By Ringo Starr

The Graduate

2011-12-20T18:22:00.000-05:00

I apologize for my absence from the blogging world this past week, but I was busy doing this:

I still cannot believe that I am done. Done! I am going to miss this place like crazy next fall but in the meantime I still plan on hanging out on campus once in awhile with Kyle as he does homework and to chat up some friends. This place holds some of the most stressful and most wonderful memories in my life and I would never change a thing. I am so happy to be an Oakland University Griz for life :)

Meet the Parents

2011-12-13T17:22:00.000-05:00

I mentioned that I had a few special posts up my sleeve for this blog after finals and here is one of them! I have here a few photos of my parents Craig & Judi, on their wedding day. Say it with me: "Holy Eighties!" yep, but my parents look super cute and happy all spiffed up for their big day. I really like this pic of my Mom because the length of her dress is about the same as mine, and mine has sleeves too. This dress was used to the max too because my Mom hemmed it for me to dress as an angel in a Christmas pageant and my Dad added giant wings to it.

See that bouquet of flowers below? My Dad was really sweet and tried to press them in the wedding album. I say tried because they look like a big pile of brownish blob now, but the effort still counts right?

My parents had a simple wedding as you can see here. I wanted mine to be simple too, but I also want to include everyone. A lot of weddings these days are super huge, partially because of huge families and lots of friends as in our case. I really want kids to be there, I love all of my little cousins and I remember really liking weddings when I was a kid. I am hoping to keep the simplicity of my parents wedding, with the inclusion of all the people I want to invite, the impossible, I know, but hey I like challenge.

And to think that these two would produce four offspring that would later refer to them as "Sasquatch" & "Swamp-woman".

Song of the day "Clementine" By The Decemberists

Eighties-Fifties Girl

2011-12-13T00:26:00.000-05:00

So far, this stay-cation has been full of sleeping in, watching movies and sipping delicious beer. Currently, Kyle and I are having a viewing of "Love Actually" and enjoying some Raspberry Blonde ale from the Woodward Avenue Brewery in Ferndale via the growler we had filled. I am excited, it is nice to just relax and chill out at home without having anything crazy to do. We actually went to the YMCA together for the first time since summer and cooked up a pretty great brunch after. Tomorrow, we are going to paint the kitchen and I am so excited because we have seriously had the paint stashed in the basement since around April. I was a little nervous about painting, but I got the blessing of approval from Jamie and Kyle really digs the color, so I think it's finally time.

Typically if I ever wear vintage, it is of the nineties or the sixties variety. Here I have somehow landed in a mix of the fifties and the eighties with these saddle shoes and skinny jeans (that are a bit tight right now!). I have been wearing a variation of this outfit lately and I really like it. I guess I shall have to not limit myself to those two decades from now on, because these are some of my favorite items.

Oh and here is a pic of Kyle looking very awesome in his vacation duds. He has to wear a uniform for work so he loves any chance to wear his regular clothes and feel comfortable all day. One of the things I actually do love about my job, I can wear my own clothes and not a uniform. Although, Kyle does look rather handsome in his work clothes, but he looks so happy in this pic.

Details
Sweater & Shirt-Thrifted
Jeans-UO
Socks-Target
Shoes-Payless
Necklace-Etsy Truche

Song of the day "Baby, it's cold outside" By She&Him

Eats: Turkey Chili

2011-12-11T22:17:00.000-05:00

Finally, we are at the last of the turkey left-overs. I did make this a few weeks ago, and I am already missing it, I loved this recipe so much! I stole it from Mel, a variation on her vegan chili.

What you'll need:
-Can of red beans
-Can of black beans
-Garlic
-Olive oil
-2 sticks of celerly
-One carrot
-Tomato
-Can of chopped tomato
-Onion
-Left-over turkey
-Paprika
-Salt & Pepper
-Red pepper flakes

Chop up the turkey and veggies and add the cans of beans and tomatoes to bowl. Mix together and add the oil and the seasonings in. I ended up throwing it all in the crock-pot for four hours on high and then we snacked on it all week.

I made some corn muffins with some Jiffy mix and we even added some shredded cheese and it was great! I love comfort foods like this and I love crock-pots! Seriously, I bought this one from the Salvation Army last year for really cheap and it is the greatest thing ever. You just throw a bunch of food in it in the morning and by the time you get home from work, it's like someone was home cooking a meal for you. I know, cheesy but hey you can't beat that! I like to cook, but not if it takes more than a half-hour and meals like this are so great for this time of year. Don't forget to check out Mel's post for the vegan version.

Not Alone

2011-12-11T01:20:00.000-05:00

Now that school is over and I am awaiting my final grades, I have begun to look at my long list of things I want to tackle in the near future. Everything from house projects to cooking, repairing clothing, and of course working on wedding plans. First and foremost however, I am in need of spending lots of time with friends to make up for all of the times I have spent in a classroom or sitting indoors on beautiful days doing homework and studying for exams. Friday night, Jamie and I decided to get all dolled up and head out with the gang to a new place that opened up in Ferndale called Orchid. We ended up dancing like crazy and having a great time, and the next day Kyle and I ended up heading down town Detroit to Grand Trunk with Mark and Mariah. It was great seeing people out on Campus Martius ice-skating, I can't wait to go this year!

I am still majorly stressed about my final grades because my capstone term paper was a demanding one, but I am also completely exhausted. I am not sure if I will find a job I want with my degree, I am going to have a lot more bills to pay with all those student loans I have to repay and I know I will miss buying new pens and notebooks each fall. One thing is for certain: I don't regret it. It was really hard working full time and making the drive out to the school at night, and often on weekends to work on papers and projects. I hated the stress of making sure I had the correct classes, and that I was registered on time and filing for student loans was hell. There has not been one night this week where I haven't had a melt-down of sorts and cried over it all. I am exhausted, I am tired of people asking me what I am going to do with my life and I just want to rest and not worry about any of it for awhile. I know that I brought this upon myself, I knew that it would be hard and it was my decision. But I would never change any of it, not even if end up where I am at forever because as hard as it was, there is too much good that outweighs the bad. Yes, I may have bawled my eyes out all week due to stress, but through school I have made some great friends, and some amazing memories. This last semester alone has great short-story potential whenever I feel the motivation hit to write it out. I am excited for the next chapter, with the help of a good week's rest and some friend-therapy. Because all the hard things in life make those moments even more amazing and make me really appreciate them to the fullest extent.

Details-Outfit #1
Dress-Modcloth
Belt & necklace-Thrifted
Boots-Payless
Socks-Target
Tights-CVS

Details-Outfit #2
Dress-F21
Coat-UO
Tights-CVS
Boots-Payless
Scarf & purse-Thrifted
Socks-Target

Song of the day "She don't use jelly" by The Flaming Lips

Blue Sparkles

2011-12-06T18:18:00.000-05:00

One thing I hope to achieve now that I am in the home-stretch of my final semester, is to take more outdoor photos, or at least photos inside while I still have natural lighting and not the giant blinding flash. These photos were taken very late last Thursday, after work, class, and a little over an hour of BSing with friends in the library. So, I welcome Louie in these pics, because he is just so cute and awesome and he was able to make me smile still after such a long day.

I am also happy to share these awesome earrings with you guys that the lovely people at Anjolee sent over. They offer beautiful diamond stud earrings that can be custom-made to order! As you can see, I picked a classic pair of four-prong blue diamond stud earrings. Typically I don't wear a ton of earrings, because I wear my hair down a lot but I am a fan of simple earrings like these. Diamond studs are a great way to add a little sparkle to any outfit, a little subtle shine to complement a statement necklace like the one I am wearing. Don't get me wrong, I love my hoops and feather earrings, but I felt classic-cool with a swanky pair of simple stud earrings. If you are a fan of this style of earrings, I would recommend checking Anjolee out, mine are sturdy and yet they don't make my ears sore at all. I know this, because I fell asleep with them in and there they were in the morning, still intact and my lobes didn't notice a thing.

As you can see, this is how most of my nights end. Me trying to get Louie to snuggle with me and instead he just goes crazy. I can't complain though, he is such a little sweetheart and I can't ever stay mad at this face. He seriously knows how to work the puppy eyes on me. This is the face that is going to make me bundle up and brace the wind and snow to take him for a walk. It may be cold, but Louie is happy and I get some exercise so it's win/win in the end :)

Details
Dress-Modcloth
Cardi-Thrifted
Necklace & Belt-Target
Tights-CVS
Boots-Payless
Earrings-c/o Anjolee

Song of the day "The Good Life" By Weezer

Eats: Creamy Turkey Casserole

2011-12-05T19:40:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, something extraordinary happened, Kyle cooked something. In the 10+ years we have been together, Kyle has cooked breakfast once, and I think heated up some soup for me when I was sick and that is about it. I fully understand as he is around food all day long at work and I can easily see not wanting to be bothered with it once home. It's fine with me for the most part, I like to cook. But then Kyle is subjected to everything spicy and strange that I decide to make. That being said, Kyle already knew that I had plans to make chili with some of the left-over turkey so he had to make a move before I saturated the rest of it in some sort of peppery concoction. His solution: Creamy turkey casserole!

There were a lot of different receipies out there for this dish, but we ended up creating one meant for thanksgiving left-overs.

What you'll need:

-Stuffing
-Mashed potatoes
-Turkey
-Mayo or Miracle Whip
-Cranberry Sauce
-Shreaded Mozzerella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 and spray an 8in casserole dish/baking dish lightly. Combine about 4 cups of stuffing & chopped turkey, 2 cups mashed potatoes, 1/4 cranberry sauce, 3/4 Miracle whip and a bout a cup of cheese in the pan. You can either mix everything or layer it. Kyle left some mashed potatoes and stuffing to layer ontop and mixed everything else together. Bake for 40 minutes and let stand for ten before eating.

We also did not have any stuffing, mashed potatoes or cranberry sauce left-over. So Kyle just whipped up some stuffing and mashed potatoes from the box and bought some cranberry sauce from the deli. Ours turned out really good, but I am sure with homeade left-overs it would have been just as amazing if not better.

As you can see, it turned out beautifully. We were a little apprehensive of the cranberry sauce and the miracle whip, fearing it would make the dish too sweet. It was completely perfect, I even brought some to work with me the next day and had people drooling over it.

Candy Cane Farms

2011-12-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Kyle and I headed out to Candy Cane tree farms to get our first real Christmas tree. The place is really cool, they tag all the trees that are big enough to be cut down, and they also sell potted baby trees for people to buy and take home, which I think I might want to do sometime. I am all for planting more trees around the yard, especially ones that remind me of up north. They also had llamas and a little shop with wreaths and garlands, cookies and hot coco and sat right near a pretty lake.

Kyle and I are going to decorate the tree tonight after he gets home from work and after I finish cleaning and my paper. I really am almost done, it just needs some finishing touches really. I spent most of Friday night in the library, and a good part of Saturday there again after we brought our tree home. I have officially spent more time in that library in the past month than I have in my entire career at Oakland. It makes a person slap-happy I tell you! I am bummed that I never got around to taking photos of the campus this fall, I really wanted to. But that just gives me the excuse to do so next fall while Kyle is on campus.

I am really excited about the rest of this month though, lots of visiting with friends, sending out cards and shopping! Kyle and I are trying our best to buy local and try to make gifts this year. I want to get things for people that they will really like and also use. Plus most of us are short on money, so I am trying to figure out something fun to do with friends, like a group outing or something where we can all get together and just enjoy each others company and not have to worry about presents, and just have fun.

Details
Coat, Scarf & Purse-Thrifted
Jeans-UO
Boots-Payless
Gloves-Meijer

Song of the day "Poor Jackie" By Man Man

Why do we idolize?

2011-12-02T20:09:00.000-05:00

1) Mandy Moore 2) Zooey Deschanel 3)Alexis Bledel/Rory Gilmore 4) Alyson Hannigan/Willow Rosenberg

Whenever prompted with the question "Who do you consider a role-model?" most females would quickly name one of their parents, a sister or a brother, even a grandparent or perhaps an inspiring teacher or friend. There is no doubt that the real heroes in our lives are the ones who play a significant role in helping us shape as human beings as we learn and grow each day. However, there is no denying the feelings we get when we see our favorite actress or singer waltz across our television screens and desktop monitors every now and again. They are unrealistic, living in another world from us and we are told not to compare ourselves with those in that world because of the re-precautions they cause. I for one can barely contain my excitement to see one of my girl-crushes making their little mark in the world because I have the understanding that although their world is separate from mine, I know that if they can make their goals and dreams happen, that it is possible for me as well.

I cannot speak for every female in this post, I can't explain why one girl would choose Lady Gaga and another would choose Tori Amos, but we are all as vastly different as the two icons I just named. I cannot even verify if each and every female feels this way, idolizing someone famous and looking up to them for inspiration, guidance or even motivation. I can however, explain my own. For me, it was always a sliver of self-recognition in these women above, in themselves or the characters they played. I felt a sort of recognition in their actions, personalities or character traits and found myself infatuated.

I have and will always be a fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer with it's off-beat characters, sci-fish theme and endless depository of strong female characters. I loved that Buffy was this petite little woman who had the super-strength of Superman and could whoop some serious vampire ass. However glorious as she was, and proud I was to see a successful female super-woman on TV every week, I could not relate to her whatsoever. I was not a tiny blonde clad in a bad-ass leather jacket. I did not have a dark and mysterious boyfriend with a giant forehead or even a lovable nerdy guy friend to pant at my side. I was the girl wearing my mom's vintage clothes to school, getting mocked for my sock-dress and obsession with the Beatles. When Willow Rosenberg officially became part of the "Scooby-gang" with her amazing research skills and shy nature, I knew who I identified with. Willow may have been timid, but outside of my own group of friends, I was too. Willow made me realize that the side-kick girls could me just as awesome in their own little quirky ways and I fully embraced it. I may have never aspired to become a Wiccan lesbian, even though I have thought life might be easier that way, haha, but I did aspire to use my own natural strengths to be helpful to my own circle of friends. Still to this day, I have Willow Rosenberg to thank for that.

Zooey Deschanel has been on everyone's radar as of late with her successful show "The New Girl" and adorable partnership with M. Ward in her band She&Him, and kick-ass partnership in her female website HelloGiggles, making herself known as the "adorkable" icon that she is. My first encounter with her was in the film "The Good Girl" with Jennifer Aniston. Getting though that movie was like pulling teeth for me, but Zooey's character, with her blunt remarks and dead-pan voice had me at "F*ck you very much, have a nice day!". I soon discovered her in other films, and although she was type-casted as that 'quirky, off-beat" smart alack in most of her roles, I loved her. Zooey was a young woman who had the ability to fill those roles perfectly, and the more I read up about her, the more I discovered she was much like myself. She liked The Raspberries? I loved the Raspberries! She donned vintage outfits and made them look cool. She gave me the inspiration to embrace thift stores and old clothes again, after I was teased in my middle school years. Her music is simple and melodic, something I appreciate, and even her spastic character Jess mirrors my own hyperactive tendencies at times. I can't help but think that it as awesome for her to have a successful career, playing the characters she does, and getting such great feedback for it. Pretty girls don't have wear tight clothes and be sexual always on TV and in movies, they can be giant dorks too! Her recent fame makes me feel like one of those music snobs, that complain when their favorite indie-label band finally makes it big, but because I like her so much, I can get over that.

Mandy Moore has always been one of my idols, if only because she was the ideal beautiful girl, but with her own conservative slant. Mandy has the long pretty locks, a great body, a beautiful face, an amazing voice and her acting isn't half-bad either. What made Mandy stand apart from her bleach-blonde cohorts in the late 90's/early 2000's for me was her ability to uphold the same status as them, but without the trashy publicity. Mandy would gladly pose on the cover of Woman's Health in a bikini and talk about her passion for piliates and hikes, but refused to be on the cover of Maxim in only her skivvies. Mandy left her major music label once she grew out of her 'bubble-gum pop' teenager days and started making her own music on an independent label, showing her ability to follow her passions. Granted it is easier to do that when you are already famous, but I applaud her either way. She refused to lose weight for movie roles, insisting that young girls already have enough body issues to face on their own. Mandy's ability to be a great singer and actress combined, much like Zooey, made me really appreciate my own desire to fulfill the several occupations that I am passionate about. If Zooey and Mandy can juggle concert tours, several movies a year, guest spots on TV shows and dealing with awards ceremonies and the media, then I can totally be a writer/personal blogger/bass guitar player in my own cover band! She also made it possible for me to appreciate that I can still look nice and feel sexy in my own casual and slightly conservative way.

Lastly, we have Rory Gilmore. I never fully appreciated Rory's character on Gilmore Girls until well after I become a college student. Rory is what pushed me to become a little more serious in my life, without losing my dorky nature. She made being super studious motivating, massive amounts of coffee intake acceptable, and all the pleasure of hibernating in my room reading book after book seem almost normal. Rory may have been a Plain-Jane of a dresser, but she had a certain natural beauty that made me fully appreciate my own tendency to forgo makeup. Boys liked her because she was smart, her wit was sexy! Although my own quick-wit is limited to "That's what she said" jokes and Star Wars references, I felt the connection. I didn't feel like a freak for making lists for everything, and I didn't feel useless as just another English major. Even though my own brash bluntness and spazzy nature would reflect Rory's mother Lorelei in most instances, Rory made me have faith in myself that I am indeed a smart girl. Maybe I can't argue thematic characteristic of modern lit with my professors, but I can name them. Maybe I can't define why Edgar transitioned from a gentleman to Poor Tom the beggar, but I can comprehend that Elizabethans had a small obsession with madness. I may only be witty on accident, but I'll be dammed if I cannot talk gender roles & King Lear to death in my term paper.

So what does this all mean in the end? That I could not accept myself/embrace my qualities and personal traits as a human being without the aide of some beautiful starlets and fictional characters? No. But I grew up in a world where I was teased, and made fun of for the weird things that are a part of me. The juxtaposition between my reality and the fictional lives of these girls on TV was clearly apparent to me, I knew this. However, their fictional lives, and their famous attributes were out there for everyone to see, much like my own. They gave me that final excuse to say "The hell with it!" and gave me that last nudge to dye my hair purple, to wear my Mom's bell-bottoms, to not cake my face in makeup, to avoid sleep to read "Hearts in Atlantis" in one night, and most importantly to accept that I do not have to please everyone. That it is okay to act/dress/talk/be the way you are, which is everything that I embrace in myself as the woman I am today.

Eats: Turkey Scramble

2011-11-30T17:41:00.000-05:00

Every year my place of employment gives out a turkey to each of their employees, and my family always ends up with two because I work with my dad. I had fully planned on cooking my own turkey this year only to realize that I do not own a roasting pan. So I just did what I do every year, give it to my mom to cook for me. In the end, Kyle and I get an entire turkey to ourselves. There are only so many turkey sandwiches a person can eat before they get tres boring, so we try to be innovative with our leftovers.

Saturday morning, we both awoke with a great idea: Turkey + Eggs. I normally try not to eat too many eggs because they upset my stomach but I could not resist the temptation.

What you'll need:

-Cooked Turkey

-5-6 eegs

-1/2 small onion

-1 Green pepper

-Black pepper

-Cayenne pepper

-Pepper Jack Cheese

Chop the onion, turkey and pepper and heat in a skillet. Scramble the eggs with some milk and add to a separate pan. When eggs are finished, add the turkey, onion and peppers. Season to taste.

I sprinkled a little cheese on-top and Kyle toasted up some rye bread with coconut butter and it was delicious.

Oh and hot sauce. Seriously, I think almost everything I post on here is spicy! I hope to have a few more Turkey left-over posts coming up so stay tuned.

Louie: "Can I has some turkey?"

Shepherd Park

2011-11-28T18:58:00.000-05:00

I have mentioned before that Oak Park has a lot of little parks in it and a few Saturday's ago, Kyle and I stopped at our favorite one in our new city: Shepherd Park. Oak Park is right on the border of Ferndale where we both grew up, so it's no surprise that we both have been to this park a million times. Kyle always called it "Oak Park Park" and I always called it "The train park", on account of the giant trains and trucks that are available for kids to climb all over. Or for the local fashion blogger to stage a mini excursion with her significant other, in our case.

As you all can tell by the photos, the park has not changed much, or at all since we were kids. The same giant tires are there, just with a fresh coat of bright paint every few years. There is also a giant hill in the park where we both went as kids to go sledding in the winter and I cannot wait to take my little brother Liam this year. I even have sleds stashed at my parents house from a few years ago because I could not fit them anywhere in our old apartment. The park also holds two baseball fields, a tennis court and a nature walk, which will be great for more walks & photos come winter and spring.

I know you are all probably so sick of hearing about school, but I am reading "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" and it is amazing. I am about half-way through and I am excited to rent the movie while on break. My paper on the other hand, well, it has become the bane of my existence, but I will prevail.

In the meantime, Kyle and I have been cooking up all of the left-over turkey and putting up Christmas decorations! We are getting a real tree this year, and I am kind of freaked out about it. I did promise Kyle that we could get a real tree once we got a house so I have to live up to my word. I am making him keep our old one though for the basement, that thing is older than me! My parents had it back in the day when we lived in a trailer park, many moons ago. Well, here's to new and old traditions this year!

Details:
Top-F21
Jacket, scarf, & skirt-Thrifted
Tights-CVS

Shoes-Alloy.com

Song of the day "Bliss" by Muse

Eats: Pumpkin Pie

2011-11-27T19:42:00.000-05:00

Remember in my last post when I mentioned that I had a paper that I was supposed to be working on? That paper is worth 90% of my final grade in my Shakespeare Seminar course. Did I work on my annotated biography all weekend like I had planned? Nope. Come Sunday, I was getting so frustrated with it, that I decided to clean the entire house and make a pie. The house still smells lemon-fresh, and the pie came out okay for my first attempt. However, my domesticity quota has been filled for the month and this paper must be written. In the meantime, pumpkin pie!

What you'll need:

-Pie pumpkin (2 cups)
-Pie crust (unless you want to just make one)
-2 eggs
-3 or 4 cups brown sugar
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. all spice
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-1/4 tsp. cloves
-1-1/2 cups milk

* I used Silk Vanilla and flax seed in mine.

First you will need to cut up the pumpkin, scoop out the guts and bake it at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. Poke it with a fork to test how soft it is. After it cools off, pull off the outside skin and chop the pumpkin into smaller bits. I then put the pumpkin in the blender with the Silk until it was all liquefied. Next put everything in a bowl and beat the eggs until everything is nice and smooth. Place pie crust on a pie pan, pour in mix and bake at 425 for ten minutes, then lower to 350 and cook until finished. You can poke with a fork and if it comes out clean, then it is finished.

As you can see, I did not use a pie pan because I do not own one. I used cake pans, and they are not the same by any means. My pie also came out pretty dark, I think I am going to use less brown sugar next time. Kyle bought cinnamon flavored whip cream at the store to go with it and it was really good.

90's Party!

2011-11-27T12:38:00.000-05:00

I am in no way a party-planner, but this one worked out great for once! Saturday night, we went back to a time when Green Day was still good, when flannel went with every outfit, Gushers were considered a fruit, Doc Martins ruled the world, everyone was pissed when Mufasa died, Boy bands never played any instruments, Daria and Clarissa were every girl's best friend, guys wanted to be Beavis and Butthead, Pinkerton was misunderstood, everyone liked to jump around, Doritoes were limited to Cooler Ranch and Nacho Cheesier, and teal was all the rage.

Everyone dressed 90's and my friend Chris made a playlist of over 7 hours of 90's jams. I bought all kinds of snacks from that decade, including capri suns. I tried to take outfit pics of everyone, but ended up setting my camera down and forgetting about it. I stole some pics from my new friend Char who got some great ones :)

As you can see, some of my friends came in character! You get a gold star if you can figure out who they are supposed to be! Most people ended up in flannel or a T-shirt from that decade. Jamie ended up hemming a dress that I thrifted over the summer that was really 90's and I just threw on my Doc's and was good to go!

We danced, played beer-pong, jammed out to Backstreet boys, performed the Circle of Life. You know, normal 90's stuff.

The irony in the above photo? Alf ate cats! I ended up crashing around 4:30am with Louie (who photo-bombed quite a few pics if you look close enough), while some people stayed up until 8am. I tried to make vodka gummi bears but I didn't prep them in time, and people just ate them anyway.

As you can see, we had a blast! I keep laughing at all the pictures and the things people kept saying. I might actually have everyone over again for an Ugly Sweater Party next month, but not such a huge party. I can say for sure that this was a much needed break and it was awesome to have new friends meet some old friends. Themed parties are awesome.

Turkey Dogs

2011-11-25T17:15:00.000-05:00

Wow you can really tell how tired I am in these photos, but it has been a whirl-wind the past two weeks or so. I am sitting here with Louie, thinking of all of the things that I need to get done, term paper, house cleaning, put up Christmas decorations, figure out why the cable isn't working but the internet is...and instead I am blogging. I am so far behind on this blog it is crazy. I have so many half-started posts that I have no idea what I had planned next so I thought I would just work my way backwards, starting with my Turkey Day recap!

My brother David is on leave from the Marines, but he did not make it in until midnight Wednesday night. My dad picked him up and dropped him off at our place around 1am and the guys, Mariah and Mark were all over drinking beer and BSing all night. We ended up watching Star Wars and not getting to bed until 4:30am. Needless to say, we missed the parade. I was quite bummed, so was Kyle but we made up for it by getting bagels and camping out on the couch watching "Grumpy Old Men" because we couldn't find our copy of "Pieces of April" (a great Thanksgiving Day movie). We finally got out of the house to eat dinner and visit with family before heading out to see the Muppets movie (which was awesome!!). It was a pleasantly exhausting holiday this year, which is perfect.

Oh and this happened:

Louie thinking he is a lap-dog and sitting on me on the ride over to my parents house. The bottom two are pics of Pepper, my Mom and Dad's dog. They are soooo cute!

I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day! I know I am thankful for so much in my life, Kyle, my friends, Louie & the kitties, my crazy family, the fact that my mom makes the best holiday meals, and all of the amazing and great times over the past few weeks. Oh, and pie.

Details
Coat & scarf-Thrifted
Skirt, belt & top-F21
Boots-Payless
Leggings-Target

Song of the day "Cars and Guitars" By Tori Amos

November Nights

2011-11-23T19:10:00.000-05:00

Phew! The weeks are just flying by right now! Thanks to daylight savings, it is so dark so early too. I am so far behind on this blog that I have no idea where to begin. Besides being buried from a term paper, I have had a project, an exam and of course, tons of reading. Work, well, is work and I also decided to throw a 90's themed party last weekend, that went over pretty well actually. I don't have too many pics from the even, but I will do a post on it because it ended up being a lot of fun.

I am not a huge fan of these pics but I did love the outfit and I think I need to accept that they can't all be winners. Matter of fact, this is what I typically look like after a long day of work and busting my butt at the gym, only to come home to cleaning and homework. Now you can see why a party was necessary, eh? I have however, come up with some really cool ideas for a proper layout for this blog and I am hoping to get to that soon as well. Oh, life, you really are crazy.

Greetings from planet Louie!

Details

Fields of Wheat dress-Modcloth

Necklace & Cardi-F21

Shoes-Alloy.com

Tights-CVS

Song of the day "Louie" By Ida Marie

Cold, Cold Pink

2011-11-14T20:24:00.000-05:00

It looks like the crazy schedule and the unpredictable weather is finally getting to me, I have some sort of cold. It has been such an amazing November so far, weather-wise, mid 60's and sunny. Then my body decides to fail me and get sick, ugh. So please forgive my puffy face and nose, at least it wasn't running in these pics, that would be classy.

The only plus side to being sick in the fall? Lots of soup. I am looking forward to learning how to make my own soup after school is over, canned soup can contain so much sodium. My list of things I want to do after graduation has expanded to great lengths over the past few weeks. I am dead-set on painting some of the rooms in the house, as well as working on projects for the wedding. I keep telling myself not to think about wedding stuff until after I graduate, but it is so hard when I keep finding great inspiration everywhere. Kyle and I are making a lot of the decorations ourselves, it is going to be crazy and fun. I think it is so awesome that Kyle has an interest in wedding details, and also decorating the house. Stereotypes, don't fall for them.

Kyle and I are planning our stay-cation next month, can't wait for that! So far, we want to paint the kitchen, have a movie night, have a night out with friends, go back to the DIA, go to Ann-Arbor, and to Frankenmuth. Oh yeah, and sleep & snuggle with Louie. Yep, sounds perfect.

Details
Dress-Modcloth
Cardigan & Shoes-F21
Necklace-Etsy
Headband-AE
Tights-CVS

Song of the day "In the cold, cold night" By The White Stripes

**The winner of the giveaway is UPrinting.com Becky! Congrats! Thanks to everyone who entered**

Waste my days

2011-11-13T18:45:00.000-05:00

Another attempt at taking my own photos, I think they are slowly improving. I have been trying to teach myself how to take better pics using the tri-pod and the self-timer, I have come to the realization that I really need a bigger tri-pod. I have also come to the realization that I have a tendency to focus on something completely random like outfit photos, instead of focusing on important things like the giant term paper that I have to write by the end of this month. We are supposed to be doing research on our arguments and creating our annotated bibliographies this week but I am having a hard time narrowing down my topic. So, I think it is safe to say that I am back to that 'I just want this semester to be over so I can graduate' mentality.

Saturday, Kyle and I had a slow, fun day of thirfting. I got a few items for the wedding (woot!) and a great dress for the 90's themed party that Kyle and I are throwing next weekend, I am so excited! My friend Chris is making up some CD's with all kinds of 90's music and everyone is dressing in clothing from said decade. I am going to bust out the Jenga, and see if I can find Twister. It is going to be so much fun to see all my friends because I have not seen them much this semester, and it is so awesome when everyone gets together.

Details
Dress- C/O Eshakti
Scarf-Lauren
Tights-CVS
Boots-Payless
Jacket-Kmart

Song of the day "Keep Fishin'" By Weezer

Turkey Time

2011-11-09T19:10:00.000-05:00

It is no secret that I love holidays, I honestly love being festive in general. Everything from decorations to dressing up for costume parties, I am there! For holidays like Halloween and Christmas I go all out, but for the smaller holidays, I try to be a little subtle while still being festive. Since Thanksgiving pretty much marks the end of my favorite season, I have to pay some homage to it. I love seeing all of the little Thanksgiving decor around the house, and it is nice to change up the place every now and then.

This year we are planning on heading downtown to Detroit to see the parade and I am super excited because my brother David will be on leave from the Marines by then! We will probably "watch football" aka, watch Christmas movies and eat dinner with the Fam. Hopefully we will also make it out to see a movie with Kyle's family too, since we typically do and there are soooo many movies coming out. I am not going to lie, I am pretty pumped up about the new Muppets movie.

What are your Thanksgiving plans?

Sideburns & Bangs

2011-11-08T20:25:00.000-05:00

Well if you haven't guessed already, I have decided to take the plunge and rename the old blog. I had picked "She is Sara" kind of out of the blue when I first started this blog over two years ago. I have thought about changing the name for awhile now, but I could not really think of anything. Then, a few months ago when Kyle and I started planning our wedding I created a private blog for wedding ideas and I named it "Sideburns & Bangs". Well, Kyle really liked the name because those are our most recognizable features. Then I started to really like the name, and since I have been phasing from one chapter of my life to the next, I figured it was time.

It may seem odd to just change the name of a blog and not start a new one, but this little blog could not be what it is without the help of Kyle. Everything from the outfit photos he takes, to the thrifting trips, teaching me how to use the camera, eating all of the strange food I make and post upon here, and of course the little random trips we take.

So, please change my name on any blog links out there (which reminds me, I need to update my blog roll!) and spread the word. I had to create a whole new facebook page, if you would like to become a fan, please do so. I am working on a new header, something that matches a little better, so please bear with me.

Now I am off to wash up and go to bed because I skipped class due to my massive exhaustion. I hope you are all having a great week so far :)

Details
Turtle neck sweater & chucks-Gift
Scarf-Thrifted
Bag-Sears
Jeans-AE

Song of the day "You probably get that a lot" By TMBG

*Don't forget to enter the UPrinting.com Giveaway!!*

UPrinting.com giveaway!-Closed 11/14/2011

2011-11-07T19:54:00.001-05:00

Today's giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting.com, a unique and versatile company who offer business cards online. They offer affordable and quality business cards, and they have a lot to offer with the option of custom business cards.

One lucky reader will get a 250 piece Die Cut Business Card Printing with the following options:

2 x 3.5" Rounded Corners, 2x2" Rounded Corners, 1.75x3.5" Rounded Corners, 2x3.5" Leaf, 2x3.5 Rounded one corner, 2x3.5" Half Circle Side, 2x3.5" Oval, 2.5" Circle. 14pt Cardstock Gloss / Matte / High Gloss (UV), or 13pt Cardstock Uncoated.

**Giveaway is limited to US residents, 18+ only**.

To enter this giveaway:

Follow this blog via google friend connect or bloglovin' & leave a comment.

For additional entries:

"Like" UPrinting.com on facebook & leave a comment.

Good-luck everyone! I will post the winner on 11/14/2011, so stay tuned!

*This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting, no monetary compensation was given and I will receive business cards for hosting.

Jackson Park

2011-11-06T12:07:00.000-05:00

I am so thankful that Kyle and I managed to find a house across the street from a park again. It may not be as cute as the one that was by our old apartment, but it is really nice to look out the window and see all of the beautiful trees this time of year.

This week and weekend has been so busy and productive, it has been wonderful. I have been sticking to my early morning workouts and I have been making my days packed with productivity. It is kind of awesome getting as much as possible done each day, I managed to have my Friday night freed up and hung out with the guys for a bit. Saturday, Kyle and I cleaned the house and managed to sort through most of the wood from the tree that was cut down earlier this year. We stacked pallets up on cinder blocks and stacked all the wood on the pallets. Then we set up this giant bin that Brian got from work and put all the smaller pieces in it. All that is left are the rotted-out pieces that need to be chopped up and burned. Which is awesome because I love having little fires in our backyard fire-pit.

So these are my new converse Kyle bought for me for my birthday, I love them so much! They are so comfortable, and it is nice to have a pair that are not falling apart on the inside, like my old ones. I also bought new jeans from American Eagle Outfitters with a coupon I had from my birthday. I love thrift stores so much, but jeans are hard to come across. They shrink in the wash, and get worn out quickly. That and I am not a fan of jeans that have sparkles on the butt pockets or any of that jazz.

Now I am off to finish some homework, do laundry and go to the grocery store. Lots on the agenda today, and it is beautiful outside so I want to take Louie out as well.

Details
Tunic,shoes & scarf-Gift
Jeans-AE
Jacket-OU
Bag-Amazon

Song of the day "Poison and Wine" By The civil Wars

Cat, Nerd & New Orleans Girl

2011-11-02T18:27:00.000-04:00

My third and final Halloween costume of 2011, a cat! Kyle borrowed my glasses and suspenders and went as a nerd, and Jamie went as a New Orleans girl. Saturday we headed out to Luna in Royal Oak for the Halloween bash and it was soooo much fun! We sipped cheapo drinks & danced, but the best part was the people-watching. There were so many awesome costumes, a group went as the game Monopoly, there was Rafiki from the Lion King, but the best was Rufio from the movie Hook. My friend Ricky from work showed up with his lady-friend but the line was huge so we left and headed to Ye Olde Saloon, where we ran into Jay and Silent Bob. I literally had soooo much fun this Halloween season, I love October!

For the actual day of Halloween, Kyle had classes all day and I worked, but then we came home and got all dolled up to pass out candy! Okay, I might have gone to work in the cat ears, tail & makeup, hehe. We watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and half of Coraline and munched on candy and sipped cider. The neighbors hooked up a sound-system and made it so animal noises were coming from the bushes, it was really funny watching Louie go crazy. Two of my brothers came by to say hi and steal candy, and the neighbors chatted us up for a bit. Kyle roasted pumpkin seeds too, some sweet ones with Cinnamon and some salty ones, mmm! It was the perfect first Halloween at our new home and I loved every minute.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T17:21:00.000-04:00

Guest Post: Midwest Mayhem

2011-10-30T15:24:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! I am guest-posting over at Cat's blog Midwest Mayhem today while she is making the move to California. Please check-out my post and her blog!

Starting from here

2011-10-28T18:23:00.000-04:00

Thank you so much on all of your wonderful comments on my last post. It is good to know that I am not the only one out there who worries about these things. I am in the process of making some alterations in my life to make things a little better for me. For a few weeks there I would have a few hours a day where I would just feel so down and depressed. I would start off okay in the morning and by the time I got to work, I was just down. Then, I would get home and do a blog post and feel really motivated and then feel really down again after.

So what did I do? I went to the store and bought tons of healthy food, and some vitamins. I now take Omega3 with Vitamin D3 every morning with a glass of orange juice. There is a lot of back-and-fourth on vitamin supplements lately, but for the past two weeks it has seemed to really help me out. Also, thanks to a little push from Mel and Lauren, I have decided to actually use my YMCA membership, and workout before work every morning. I am literally going from 5 am to almost 10pm every night now. It is crazy and insane but I am going to stick with it until I reach my goal weight, which I hope to do in 11 weeks, and then I will just go 3 times a week or so to stay healthy.

I have also decided on a very slow closet purge. I own way too many skirts and dresses that are too short for work or simply cannot be worn without tights. I am saving some of my favorites for concerts and nights out with friends but certain numbers like the skirt above? It's time to go. I am planning on finding new homes for each item as well. I just got a new dress and I am planning on giving one of my old ones away to a friend because I do not need to hoard things I do not need and if it makes someone else happy, even better!

I have begun a very Gilmore Girl's pro-con list for my job, and I have also taken notes on writing ideas. I think I am pretty much done with movie and book reviews for awhile because they seem like more work than fun. I will do an occasional one if I come across something really striking of course. I have lots of cool ideas brewing for the blog, and I think I will stick with the food posts, mostly because I love taking pictures of food, hehe.

Why am I doing all of this now you may ask? Because the holidays are coming up and I want to enjoy my turkey and pie without crying over the calories later. Because I am in a transition and I need to make it both inward and outward. And finally because when I was little, I was told that I could be anything that I wanted to be. I was not told how hard it would be to become whatever it was that I wanted and now, I finally have an inkling of an idea and I worked really, really hard for it.

Details
Sweater, flats & scarf-Thrifted
Belt & Tights-Target
Skirt-Alloy
Purse-Gift

Song of the day "Don't stop me now" by Queen

Blue October

2011-10-27T19:03:00.000-04:00

Today was such a little roller coaster of thoughts and emotions, nothing too out of the ordinary though. I have been feeling frustrated with my self image the past few days and I finally figured out what it is that is bothering me. I am composed of many identities that I have grown to acknowledge over the years and to become attached to. For instance, I am a Zooey Deschanel wanna-be in a vintage dress, I am lazy college student who lives in slippers and OU T-shirts after work, I am a housewife who cooks bizarre meals for her furry family, I am a coffee enthusiast, I am the girl with the giant headphones on the treadmill, I am a bookworm, I am a smart-ass office assistant, I am a blogger, a Weezer fan, a (bad) writer, an occasional party-planner, a best friend, a fiance, a sister and a daughter.

One of these identities will soon be at an end, I will no longer be a college student as of December 17th, 2011. I graduated high school in 2003, and spent many years going back and forth trying to figure out what to do with my life. I finally became sick of the Community College I had been stuck in for years and decided to become an English major at Oakland University. It has been tough trying to keep up with the other students in these classes, little witty whipper-snappers, especially after working 8 1/2 hours, but still fun in a way.

Completely ignoring the fact that I just turned 26 this month, or that I own a house and am about to get married next year, I am starting to feel like an adult. It is terrifying. I know some changes in my life have to be made, but I am going to miss being a Griz. I will no longer be just the office assistant, buying her time until school is over, I will have to make a move at some point. Do I stay with my current job? Do I dare look for another in this economy? Is there even another one out there? Maybe I should write. I am going to start with the small adjustments and work my way from there, which I will share on this blog along the way. I feel that a closet purge, a haircut, some cooking, journaling, and some retail therapy is in order. And lots of coffee.

Details
Dress & belt -Value World
Tights-Target
Shoes & Necklace-F21
Purse-Ally

Song of the day "The Con" By Tegan and Sara

Eats: Spicy Tuna Salad Sandwich

2011-10-26T18:45:00.000-04:00

Dinner for one. I love cooking meals for Kyle and myself when we are both home and have time to enjoy it. That has not happened in a few weeks due to the intense work/school load, so we have been living off of soup and sandwiches. When Kyle is at work and I get to make something for myself, it's usually pretty weird. I have been known to eat condiments, make sandwiches out of spaghetti, you name it! Tonight I was craving a tuna salad sandwich, with all of the crazy fixin's I love.

What you'll need:
-1 can of tuna
-Mayo
-Mustard
-Celery
-Black Pepper
-Cayenne Pepper
-Cheese (I used veggie cheese)
-Bread

Chop celery into tiny pieces, and mix it with everything else in a bowl. I tend to not add that much mayo, but I go a little crazy with the mustard. Normally I would have added onions too, but we apparently are all out. I prefer to toast my bread as you can see here.

Paint Creek Trail

2011-10-24T17:40:00.000-04:00

Saturday afternoon Kyle, Louie and I headed out to Northern Oakland County to check out the Paint Creek Trail. It was the first rail-trail in Michigan and is the right-of-way of the the former Michigan Central Railroad and Penn Central railroad lines. The trail is 8.9 miles long, but Kyle and I only managed about three because the Cider mill was close by and was closing at 5pm, derailed by cider and doughnuts! No cars are allowed on the trail, and there were runners, joggers and bikers galore! Kyle and I felt so out of shape just strolling along with our overgrown puppy. However it was really pretty, and you can bet we will be back again.

This outfit is composed of some old favorites, and was a good idea in theory, not so much in action. I wanted to wear a cropped sweater with this dress and I did not have one so I folded this one under and secured it with a belt. However, the extra folds in addition to the ruffles on the top of the dress made me appear so poofy. Oh well, I still liked the colors and this sweater does not get enough love on the blog, although I wear it often enough at home.

There is still a ton of schoolwork on my plate this week but I am so looking forward to the weekend already! A movie, and spending time with friends, squeee! The plan is to go to one of our favorite places Luna, but somehow word got out that it was the least pretentious bar in Royal Oak and now there is always a line. The owners just opened another one up in Ferndale so we might check that one out or there is always karaoke. Hurry up weekend and get here already!

Details
Striped Sweater-Old Navy
Ruffled Dress-F21
Belt-Thrifted
Tights-CVS
Boots-Kmart

Song of the day "Hey" Pixies

Witchy Woman & Smarty-Pants

2011-10-23T20:54:00.000-04:00

Last night Kyle and I participated in more Halloween festivities at another Halloween party, and we had a lot of fun! Kyle decided to go as a "Smarty-Pants" and I went as a Witch. We hit up CVS for some cheap accessories and there you go, two cheapo costumes. The party was pretty fun, especially for us not knowing anyone there. Aaron greeted us and then I quickly found the only other person I knew from my class, Jason. Kyle seemed to hit it off with some of their friends, and like always, I seem to have a radar to find the other Sara(h)'s in the room, hehe.

Now I have to get this house in order, one day I will manage to keep it clean longer than a week. I have lots of homework on the agenda so I am not sure how well posting is going to be this week, but I am hoping to get a food post up soon. That way I can manage to cook something and prevent Kyle from ordering another pizza, ugh!

Song of the day "All my friends are insects" By Weezer

Pink Haze

2011-10-21T21:18:00.000-04:00

Oh hey there fancy-pants. I wish I could dress like this everyday! Really, nothing says that I can't, as I sit here in my "Mr.Rogers" cardigan as it has been nick-named, not by me, but by Becky. I actually wore this to my cousins wedding last week and it is one of my favorite dresses now. Partially because I really like it, and partially because Kyle bought it for me as part of my birthday present. A pink dress and blue Converse, who knew? I thought nothing could top the Hamburger phone he bought me for our 10 year anniversary, but new Converse are pretty close.

I actually got a lot grief from people at work for wearing a pink dress! Seriously, why do I even bother discussing my fashion choices with these people. I am constantly defending my black belt and brown shoes, my pattern-mixing and my multi-colored hair, gr! Seriously, I don't do that to them, even though I really want to. There is a guy that wears a fuchsia head scarf and really short cut-offs in the summer and I could say that he looks like one of the Village People, but I don't.

Anywho, the wedding was really nice, and the food was great! My Grandma was pretty bummed about the music though, no Rick Astley, which, hello! Half the people in attendance have the last name Astley!! And the DJ had mostly new music, like Lady Gaga. So, I made note to include some oldies but goodies for my Grandma to jam out to at our wedding next year, she really does like to dance! I mean, Buddy Holly was already a given, but now I am going to include some Nina Simone and the like for her.

Currently I am at Caribou Coffee with Becky, what can I say? Creature of habit. I behaved myself and did some homework, and now we are on a mission for beer!

Details
Coat-Christmas gift
Com-pleat attention dress-Modcloth
Tights-CVS
Steve Madden pumps-Amazon
Necklace-Target
Earrings-F21

Song of the day "How soon is now?" By The Smiths

He took the Narnia exit

2011-10-20T21:03:00.000-04:00

So, I am sitting at Caribou Coffee in Royal Oak and there are two big burly guys behind me talking about 80's music and one of them just admitted that his favorite movie is "Pretty in Pink". I think that has to be the cherry on top of a very easy-going, and wonderful birthday. Yep, today is my birthday, and I am the rip-old age of 26. I am getting old! I did however receive an invitation to a college Halloween party this weekend, that I may or may not attend so I guess I am only as old as I feel. Or something.

I am actually really excited about this party because the guys in my Shakespeare seminar are throwing it and other "kids" from our class are going to be there. I love this class so much, I know I talk about it a lot but it is the first class where the majority of the people in the class are my age, as well as being complete dorks like me! We spend at least ten minutes before class and after the break discussing things like Buffy, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars. I know right?! There are only about 12 of us in the class, and we created "Shakespeare Cafe" last week when one student brought in coffee and brewed it for us, and our professor brought is scones. We are even taking a group trip to see Anonymous next Friday. You know you are in a room full of English majors when you ask where someone went, and their reply is "He took the Narnia exit". OU, why are you making it so hard to leave in December?

So for my birthday, I went to work (boo!) and then I came home and Kyle brought me flowers and bought me some new Converse, they are beautiful! Then we went to Mongolian BBQ in Royal Oak to stuff ourselves with stir-fry and now we are at Caribou, Kyle is studying and I am blogging, and eavesdropping. It has been the most amazing day, I love it!

These pictures are from Monday, I attempted to dress all spiffy and professional for work with this awesome skirt my bestie got me awhile back. Kyle said that I looked like Diane Keaton and I was so happy, I love that woman. Seriously, Annie Hall is one of my favorite movies. I could totally do office clothes if they were always like this, colorful and cozy, not the cold black pants and skirts that are draped all over the racks at the mall, yuck. Although, I could go for some black skinnies, Audrey Hepburn style, just need to lose a few more pounds. Not like that is going to happen this week, my mom is making me pot roast with potatoes and carrots and a confetti cake for my birthday on Sunday! I always pick a different cake every year, I don't know if I have a favorite, probably cheesecake.

As well as the party and the birthday festivities this weekend, I have a TON of homework to do. In my Modern Lit class, we are reading "Death of a Salesman", and I just read it last semester with the same professor. So, like the dork I am I asked what I should do and now I am re-reading it, as well as reading "The Metamorphosis". Most kids would take the play they already read but me? No, I am going to re-read it, as well as another book and do a group project with my Shakespeare group as well as prep for a midterm. Go me.

Details
Turtle neck & earrings -F21
Vintage Skirt-Gift from Jamie
Belt-Target
Wedges-Alloy
Belt-Target

Song of the day "I will follow you into the dark " by Death Cab for Cutie

Halloween Antics

2011-10-19T18:35:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday we went to a Halloween party! Kyle went as a crazy old man and I went as Kurt Cobain after reading a blog post from HelloGiggles. I stole one of Kyle's big cozy sweaters, donned my old converse and even added olive oil to my hair to make myself look more greasy and grungy. We ended up in the garage playing beer-pong, me watching, the guys playing, and hanging out with my friends Sara and Anne so I was nice and warm. I really had fun seeing friends that I haven't seen in awhile and meeting new ones.

I can't believe how fast October is flying by, there is still so much to do! Picking pumpkins, watching cheesy Halloween movies, dressing up with friends and going out, and passing out candy! Kyle and I are so excited to pass out candy this year because we never got to at the apartment and we live on a corner that has heavy foot-traffic. We are also planning on heading out with friends next weekend, and we are going to dress up and it's going to be a blast! Eeep, can't wait!

Sponsor Spotlight: Oak Press

2011-10-17T22:03:00.002-04:00

Custom pet portraits in the house! I would like to introduce Lauren's new and improved Etsy shop, Oak Press! She is featuring custom pet portraits, like the one above. The customer simply emails a photo of their pet & an image of their plant of choice. Each bust is $50+ shipping, or you can choose to have two busts on one sheet for $65. There is also a special offer if you would like a second portrait for %40 off and Lauren will have it out to you in about a week!

Below are a few examples of the cute furry creations she has come up with so far:

And as a bonus, She is Sara readers get an extra %15 percent off with the code LOUIELOVES15!

Email Lauren at : Lauren@Laurenmoyer.com for the portrait and any additional info.

Autumn Calling

2011-10-16T14:25:00.000-04:00

This is probably the last time you guys will see my bare legs for awhile! It went from the mid-seventies earlier in the week, to low sixties & high-winds. I can't complain though, I live for the cooler weather. As it is I am currently wrapped up in my snuggie, sipping hot coffee with all of the curtains open and enjoying the sunshine. I spent a good chunk of the day yesterday cleaning the house and I finally made it to the grocery store. I feel so much better when things like that are taken care of. Now I can just focus on my homework and work for the next few days. As well as all the soup I am going to consume because this weather is perfect for soup! I love autumn so much.

This is the new place for me to take indoor photos when the weather is bad., our guest room! I actually took these ones myself, and I like them a lot for once. I think I might try venturing around outdoors a little with the tri-pod for outfit photos in the upcoming weeks, I am just really partial to Kyle taking them, hehe. Everyone is exploring burnt oranges, mustards, and rusty browns for fall in their wardrobes and I am drooling with envy! I did get a new dress for a wedding I attended, which will be posted soon, but for now I am loving browns and blues for fall. This outfit is one of my new faves, I just loved how cozy it was! I think I will be living in girly skirts, light sweaters and scarves for awhile.

Details
Sweater-American Eagle
Scarf, belt & Skirt-Thrifted
Loafers-Alloy
Owl tote-Gift from Mariah

Song of the day "Gone Daddy Gone" By the Violent Femmes

A wall in Ferndale

2011-10-15T08:51:00.000-04:00

I look like such a chubbylumpkin in these pictures, this yellow sweater is never flattering. No matter how I wear it but I still love it and I wanted light layers and autumn colors and that is what you see here. Ignore the flat bangs, tired & squinty eyes and wrinkled skirt while you are at it. These are post-work/pre-afternoon coffee pics, I guess they can't all be winners!

These photos were taken in my hometown of Ferndale. When Kyle and I first moved to Oak Park in February, we liked that we lived just far enough from downtown Ferndale for it to be a nice long walk. Then our schedules went insane and we rarely have time to visit this small but awesome downtown. After work one day this past week, I insisted on getting us some coffee from Java Hutt in Ferndale (or Java the Hutt as we called it in our youth), and Kyle took my photos next to this giant mural. It is a portrait of a bustling and diverse downtown, which is what Ferndale is shaping up to be.

Now I have quite the day ahead of me, house to clean, laundry to do, homework, groceries, costume supplies, a football party to stop by at, and a Halloween party. Whew, time to get going!

Details
Shirt, purse, Skirt & belt-Thrifted
Vintage sweater-Lost & Found Vintage
Wedges-Alloy
Necklace-F21

Song of the day "Can't get enough" By Rooney

Kyle's 29th Birthday

2011-10-13T19:56:00.000-04:00

I know that I am way late with this post, but happy birthday to the most amazing person in the entire world, Kyle.

We bicker and have struggles like anyone. I set myself up for goals that are extremely high, and get frustrated over and over again and Kyle always helps me though. Because of our insane and often opposite schedule, we hardly see each other. This puts pressure on trying to maintain that balance of spending time with others and spending time alone. We may get cranky and snap at each other but it is forgotten minutes later. Kyle is the one sole person who understands my entire being.

I am no expert on relationships, but Kyle and I have somehow survived ten crazy years together through some hard and some wonderful times. The biggest lesson we have learned is to compromise. There is just no "My way or the highway" in a relationship, it doesn't work. It is one thing to have personal goals, but another to try to control everything. I learn this again and again and the most recent was the purchase of this amazing house. I had my heart set on moving back to Ferndale, I wanted to move back to our hometown, to the ever changing little city that it is. I didn't even want to look at the houses in Oak Park because they were expensive, and not in Ferndale. Then we saw this house and I fell in love with it. Now I am down the street from one of my best friends, I have awesome neighbors that mow my lawn when I am not home, I live on a bustling corner where everyone walks their dogs and in walking distance from everything I loved in my youth. I could not be happier.

Kyle has helped me reach all of the goals that I have reached and the ones that I am currently working on. I am in the home stretch of school and I could not have done it without Kyle. We have skipped hanging out with friends for homework, he has driven all the way to Detroit numerous amounts of times to drop off my textbooks at my work that I have left behind at home and need for class that night. He has given up pizza for Subway numerous amounts of times, has given up watching TV to just take long walks with Louie for me, he brings me coffee almost every evening. He is my support system.

We find common ground. Kyle might not be into all of the crazy things I am into like all of the odd bands that I like and I may not love sports but we make it work. He will go with me time and again to see TMBG and I will park my butt on a bar stool and watch a football game, even if I have no clue what is going on. But Kyle likes Weezer, and I like the Tigers. We are both obsessed with thrift stores and garage sales, Ikea and renting a ton of movies, and of course, Michigan's UP.

I am obsessed with this guy, ever since I saw him pull up in his little Dodge Omni, wearing his leather jacket, hair shaggy and blasting Metallica. He had the appearance of the dorkiest bad-guy, but he is honestly the sweetest and funniest person I know. I still can't believe that we have been together for ten years and that next September we will be married, I love him so much!

I love you Kyle,

Love, me.

Song of the day "Bottom of the Barrel" by Amos Lee

Speedy Girl in Michigan!

2011-10-12T18:26:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone the awesome people over at Speedy Girl have posted an interview with me on their blog for the Speedy Girl in Michigan blogger contest! Speedy Girl's website is all about selling cute clothes at cheap prices, but you only have 24 hours to shop. I am actually having a lot of fun with this contest, everyone looks so cute!

You can vote for me on the Speedy Girl Facebook page every day until October 19th!

Cider Mill Hopping

2011-10-10T18:44:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, the guys and I started a tradition of Cider Mill hopping around all of the cider mills and pumpkin patches in the Romeo & Rochester area. It is kind of insane, we typically try a little cider and doughnuts from each place and load up on cider and sweets to take home. This year, Becky and her friend Charlyne came with us, it was a blast! We were going to pick apples today but they closed at five so we didn't get a chance. Miller's Big Red has to be my favorite in the area, they had bunnies and Llamas, hayrides, pumpkins, sweets, a little market and tons of food. They also have a really cool haunted hayride at night that we have gone to before and it is really cool. Since we didn't get to go on a hayride today, we will have to make another trip, can't complain about that ;)

The weather today was amazing, high seventies in October? Heck yes! I went pretty casual today, I threw on one of my favorite thrifted tops & my thin cardi and was good to go. Every time were are in a picturesque area like this, I always wish that I had worn something more feminine, but there is no way I can climb on hay bales in a dress without flashing people. Plus, I think jeans deserve a little more love on this blog.

This weekend just ended and I am already super pumped for the upcoming weekend. Friday is my cousin Jimmy's wedding, and Saturday is the Michigan-Michigan State game, a huge college football game in my state. Saturday night we are going to a Halloween party and I am really exited! We are all supposed to dress up in costumes and I think I am just going to dig though my clothes and try to come up with something so I can save money. Now I just need to manage to get though the work week and the ton of school work I have piled up, wish me luck!

Details
Floral button-up-Thrifted
Black Cardigan-Target
Skinny jeans & belt-Forever 21
Mocs-Minnetonka

Song of the day "The Con" By Tegan and Sara

** Please vote for my look in the Speedy Girl contest on Facebook**

eShaki Discount Code!

2011-10-09T17:33:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, just a little quickie-post to let you in on a really cool offer from eShaki! I reviewed one of their dresses on an earlier post, but you can also check out their shop that is choc-full of cute clothing!

Right now She is Sara readers can get $20 off of their purchase at eShaki when you enter the code CHUBBYLUMPKIN0811. This offer is good until October 31st!

~Sara

Rain, Wind & Sun

2011-10-08T20:26:00.000-04:00

As you can see here, we have had some rain this month. These pics are from over a week ago but I am just now getting them posted because I am slow. I received this dress at the Ann Arbor blogger meet-up that was hosted by Suze, a few weeks back. The lovelies from Speedy Girl hooked us all up with an item of clothing to style up for a contest they are hosting and Suze actually picked out this adorable dress for me! I had honestly wanted to style it up a little fancier at first, but the rain just would not quit! Then, on this brisk Saturday morning I decided to risk photos, with the appropriate boots & umbrella in tow in case of sprinkles and it didn't rain! It was just extremely windy.

I have been in such a girly mood lately, I think it is all of the fall fashion! I want to go shopping but I am super broke. I have two Groupons that I can use up still, and I have some items that are waiting to be styled. I have somehow accumulated more and more classic-girly-preppy items for work and I am having fun pairing them up with my casual items on the weekends. I have also lost a few pounds from my vacation weight, so that is motivating me to dress a little nicer. I have come to the conclusion that this extra weight I have slowly put on, came from different occasions in the past few years. When I graduated from OCC, I was pretty small and healthy. Then I put on a few at OU, so there is the OU weight. It wasn't very much and I did not think much of it. Then came the house, I have put on over five pounds since moving in the house. I blame living in walking distance from three pizza places. Then there was the vacation weight, a few more that I put on over the summer, and all of it adds up. I am slowly losing it though, one pound at a time. I do need to splurge on some workout gear though, you can only wear your leggings so many times the the YMCA before they are just converted into gym clothes.

Is everyone else ready for Halloween? I am pumped! I love autumn holidays, they are my favorite! Our house is decked out with orange lights and pumpkins, some hand-me-down decorations from Kyle's Mom and they look so cool. So far there is only one other house with decorations up on our street but there are a ton on Oak Park Blvd so I might have to take Louie for a walk down that way!

For now, we are settled in the house watching the game, Go Tigers!

Details

Dress-c/o Speedy Girl

Wellies-Target

Duck belt-Thrifted

Umbrella-Ikea

Song of the day "I believe in a thing called love" The Darkness

Autumn Picnic

2011-10-07T21:32:00.000-04:00

Hello there unexpected week off from the blogging world! I have seriously been hit with everything this past week, school, home, it's insane! I have been completely exhausted on top of everything, and last night, I had a meltdown. Yep, way to stay on top of everything Sara. Even though I feel a little mopey still, I am feeling better. I came home to a clean kitchen, which is amazing. I can't focus when the house is a mess, it is too distracting, and Kyle has been a sweetheart and managed to clean it up for me, and go to the grocery store this week. He is just as a busy as I am with work and school, and I am so happy that he took the time to help.

I honestly really wanted to wear this outfit for a picnic, isn't it just begging to be worn in a park, with some cider and pb&j? I adore this dress sent over from eShaki ! It is the perfect length and it is a wrap-style which is so flattering to "pears" like me. I honestly had a hard time picking out a product to review from their site because everything is so cute! All of their items come in sizes 0-26W and they can customize your item to your shape and style! Cute clothes that are guaranteed to fit? Can't beat that. I finally settled on this number because of the red-orange color that is perfect for fall. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this baby had pockets! Score! Too bad I only went to work in this dress and not to an actual picnic. I had to layer a cardi over it because it is chilly in our office and the longer length of the cardi looked frumpy, so I just tied it up and viola! I think it helped show off the pretty color of the dress too.

Right now I am loving this weather, and I am kicking myself for not getting any cute outfits in this week! It has been in the 70s all week and it has been amazing. That is what happens though when your week is choc-full of work, tests and birthdays. I did get to have the ultimate collage experience on Tuesday in my Shakespeare seminar though, I love that class! We were discussing the beautiful weather and the professor suggested we take the class outside for the evening, and we did! All 12 of us parked our butts right next to the pond, lovingly called "beer lake", and discussed Macbeth. I could have died, I love my school so much and I am going to miss it like crazy, but it is time to go, only two more months left.

Now I am off to finish cleaning the house, it's not too bad, and to finish laundry. I have a huge pile of it that needs to be organized, folded, hung and probably ironed. Joy. I think this calls for some diet pepsi and Gilmore Girls to make the chore a little easier, no? ;)

Details
Wrap Dress- c/o eShaki
Clog platforms-Forever 21
Tights-CVS
Necklace-Gift
Black Cardigan & Bacon & eggs tote -Target

Hip Hip

2011-09-30T17:00:00.001-04:00

When you’re on a holiday
You can’t find the words to say
All the things that come to you
And I wanna feel it too

On an island in the sun
We’ll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can’t control my brain

When you’re on a golden sea
You don’t need no memory
Just a place to call your own
As we drift into the zone

On an island in the sun
We’ll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can’t control my brain

We’ll run away together
We’ll spend some time forever
We’ll never feel bad anymore

On an island in the sun
We’ll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine
I can’t control my brain

We’ll run away together
We’ll spend some time forever
We’ll never feel bad anymore

Here is to another decade of doing everything backwards, and always being late. Because if it wasn't, then it wouldn't be our way. Which is, in our own little world, perfection.

I love you Kyle-face,

Love, me.

Details (Sara)
Dress-Lost & Found Vintage
Shoes-Alloy
Necklace-Frankenmuth street vendor

Details (Kyle)
Shirt & Jeans-Thrifted
Shoes-Kohls
Shades-Dollar Tree
Belt-Kohls)?)

Song of the day "Island in the Sun" By Weezer

Reads: Farenheight 451

2011-09-29T17:00:00.001-04:00

Futuristic America, where firemen no longer put out fires and where people no longer talk to each other. They instead talk to televised walls, to strangers who smile at them, and are referred to as ‘family’. Firemen set books aflame, along with the reader’s possessions and home.

Books contain history, whether or not it’s fiction or non-fiction, the bible or Shakespeare. With history comes pain, joy, suffering, and mistakes. When people read, they face reality, which makes them question and ponder and can sometimes lead to sadness. Why not just live in a world where everything is secure and perfect? There maybe a war going on, but sung and secure in your house with walls that portray the ‘ideal’ life, you will not know.

Author Ray Bradbury

For Guy Montage, he was just a fireman with a slight curiosity. One that he ignored until he met Clarisse, a teenager with a wondrous mind, who loves expressing her random thoughts verbally. Montage begins to question his thoughts as well, why does he have to burn books? Did firemen used to actually put out fires? Did people actually walk around outside and have real conversation, like he and Clarisse do each night?

Before he can fully comprehend what is happening, Clarisse disappears and he is left alone with his questions. With the help of an old friend, Faber, he decides to take on a mission to uncover the reason behind the mass censorship that has blanketed the United States. Which begins with reading a book, and leads to re-creating the world.