splendor & folly

In talks about our upcoming room re-do, Jake and I have discussed framing some black and white photographs that we have taken. I went back through some old photos and picked some I thought would work well. It was fun to take a look back and reflect on the good times, whether it was on a vacation or just right here at home! I feel so grateful as I look back and can’t wait for more fun times ahead.

August 2008 – Our one year anniversary trip

 

December 2008 – Visiting family in New York

July 2009 – A picnic at Forest Park

May 2009 – Grand Cayman for a wedding

Hi, I’m back. I’ve been preoccupied with preparing for Christmas, but of course I’ve managed to shop for myself as well :) For those lucky enough to have an H&M in their shopping radius, they are having a major sale! Tons of outerwear, dresses, blouses and more for CHEAP (especially considering their already reasonable prices)!

I picked up this little number which I expect to get TONS of use out of. How have I been living without a lightweight black jacket? And bonus - I can finally participate in the military-inspired trend!

Currently you can only shop H&M online if you live in Germany (and a few other countries). But the website is still fun to peruse as it looks like most of the merchandise carries over to the US stores. Also, you can learn German!

1. Jacken = Jacket
2. Blazer = Blazer (but I’m guessing they have a much cooler way of pronouncing it)
3. Westen = Vest

Hooray!

It’s funny how your mood can affect the way you dress and vice versa. Today I’m wearing all black and I love it! I feel sophisticated and pulled together (despite the fact that I rushed out of the house in 20 min). I normally feel the need to add a ‘pop of color’, but not today! Here are some black beauties all under $50:

Jake and I are giving each other a bedroom makeover for Christmas, we are thinking shades of gray and purple (and possibly wallpaper!). Here are some images I pulled for inspiration. I will post before and after photos once it is complete!

(via Brunch at Saks flickr)

(via Brunch at Saks flickr)

(via Design Ties)

The holiday season is the perfect time to indulge in sweet treats! But there is no need to spend hours baking, here are three easy recipes that even the most kitchen-challenged cooks can create:

1. Christmas Cake Mix Cookies:

(via Megan’s Munchies – click pictures for full recipes)

2. Easy Saltine Toffee Bars:

(via allrecipes.com)

3. Easy Preztel Turtles:

(via Our Best Bites)

Ok, so I know today is Holiday Handbook day and I’ll have that post coming up a little later. Just wanted to share with you some of my sweet photo-editing skills. I really don’t know how to use photoshop at all, but I DO love to use the FREE online photo editor picnik. They have been coming out with holiday themed effects that are so much fun! Here is the one I did for Halloween:

And the one for Christmas:

As you have probably noticed, my wonderful boyfriend Jake and our dog Raleigh are my favorite photo subjects. :) Upload your own photos and create something fun!

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(NOTE: I’m not endorsing any of these brands in particular, these are just the pictures I could find.)

Just combine baby spinach, mozz cheese, raisins and dried cranberries with ranch dressing. Shake it up and enjoy!

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For this salad, combine romaine lettuce, grated parmesean cheese, canned artichoke and red wine vinaigrette. Shake vigorously and voilá!

Instead of having one New Year’s resolution for 2009, I jotted down goals as I thought of them throughout the year. Here they are, listed by date I wrote them down

1.5.09:

• Stop waiting (for happiness)
• Stop participating in negativity
• Don’t assume (based off a lesson in this book)
• Be present in the moment

These were not so much accomplishable (is that a word?) goals as daily reminders.

1.06.09:

• Create a blog – I did it, it might have taken me the whole year, but I did it!

1.12.09:

• Pay off all remaining balance on my CC’s and stop using them! – I did this once, racked up a balance and recently paid them off again!

3.27.09:

• Wake up at 6:00am to have time to prepare a lunch for work - I’ve been pretty good about bringing my lunch, but I made this goal before we got Raleigh and now wake up early to walk him anyway!

4.8.09:

• Make X amount of $/per year by 4.8.12 - working on it!

 6.8.09:

• Travel for one year sometime during my life

10.12.09:

• Complete 3 5ks or other races within the next year

10.21.09:

• Paredown everything I own to only what I truly use and love - working on it, I feel like I am constantly giving things to goodwill, but still have too much (maybe because I keep buying things too? duh…)

• Organize sock and underwear drawer – check! Sometimes you just need a super attainable goal, haha

And in regards to goals, I really hate this quote: 

Because I’m pretty sure stars are waaaay further away than the moon, so you would probably just land back in earth’s atmosphere.

So, in order not to be a total downer, here is a better one:

(via quoteablecards.com)

In keeping with my online shopping problem, I came across this adorable wire mesh rose ring on Ruche:

 

I don’t have very many rings, so if were to build up my collection here are my picks! All the below are from Kohl’s. They seem to have a great selection of rings for C-H-E-A-P! (You can click all the photos for links)