Holland Tulips

I'm loving these aerial views of the tulip fields in Holland. Tulips make me so happy because they signify that summer is near!

Little Gold Statutes...

In honor of Oscars week, I compiled my most unforgettable Oscars looks of all time (my all time, not the award show's all time).

My favorite 2011 look: Mila Kunis in Elie Saab



The Best of the Best:


Rachel McAdams in Elie Saab, 2009


Michelle Williams in Vera Wang, 2006


Hilary Swank in Guy Laroche, 2005


Zoe Saldana in Givenchy, 2010


Jennifer Lopez in Marchesa, 2003 (remember her fox fur eyelashes too?)


Marion Cotillard in Jean Paul Gaultier, 2008


Amy Adams in Proenza Schouler, 2008 (way to rock the red hair)


Kate Hudson in Versace, 2004


Julia Roberts in Valentino, 2001


Gwenyth Paltrow in Calvin Klein, 1996 (plus that date!)


Penelope Cruz in Versace, 2007


Diane Lane in Oscar de la Renta, 2003


Nicole Kidman in Dior, 1997

Anne Hathaway in Armani Prive, 2010

Kitten Plow

I'm beginning to think that the snow will never stop. After last week's blizzard (20+ inches and the 3rd worst blizzard EVER in Chicago) and a little more snow every day, I can hardly stand it. I can stand this snowy picture though. Love.

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Some things I know are true

I stumbled across this somewhere in the blog world and think it's perfect.

Truths for Mature Humans

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection . . . again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exist out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this - ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? **** it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What did you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not see anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

17. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

19. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

20. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

21. Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

22. I would rather try to carry 10 overloaded plastic bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

23. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

24. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

25. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

26. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

27. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

28. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber and dumber every year?

29. There's no worse feeling than the millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

30. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate bicyclists.

31. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

32. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble located their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet anything that everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

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Makes me smile

What is the one small thing that always makes you happy?

Curling up in super soft, super unsexy sweats

When there is a train pulling up right as I walk up to the station

A single glass of red wine

A cat curled up on my lap

Clean sheets

New socks

A clean room with a lit candle

When the pizza/thai delivery man rings the buzzer

A new, good iPod playlist

The moment a tough workout is over

Girls nights in

Being the first person in the office in the morning

Lunch out with co-workers

Falling asleep on the couch while the boyfriend watches TV or plays video games

Random text messages from friends

Dropping lots of new bags on the floor after a successful shopping trip

An afternoon cup of rice green tea

A stack of stapled papers

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Pick up a book!

I am the queen of collecting unfinished books. Not simply unread, but started, put down, then never picked up again. I'm embarrassed to admit my current count right now, but I am at 10 unfinished books on my bookshelves. I spent a really enjoyable part of my afternoon today laying on my love seat next to the window, letting the sun stream in on me while I read The Girl Who Played With Fire. In truth, I really just needed to get out of the now permanent winter groove on my couch, but I think I might have to make this a habit.

I went through the unfinished books currently waiting for me and I'm trying to organize them into a queue.

The Lacuna

Eclipse

The Magician's Assistant

The Gargoyle

Monster of Florence

Vanished Smile

A Wedding in September

The Lace Reader

When the Emperor Was Divine

The Alchemist

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Books I actually haven't started but need to:

Ines of My Soul

Paula

Travel Writing

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Books in the mail:

The Omnivore's Dilemma

In Defense of Food

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And don't even get me started on my magazine stack...

Happy 2011!

I love the new year and the fresh start it brings, but I also love reflecting back. I tend to think back on my year and accomplishments more on my birthday, so because this is the end of a decade (um, weren't we just worrying about Y2K like last year?) I have been thinking more about that. This past decade has been all about learning to drive, figuring out boys, figuring out myself, earning degrees, traveling, fun times, eye-opening experiences, new jobs, many new homes, lots of friends, and so much love. I can only imagine that the next decade will bring much of the same, but I'm at the point in my life where my friends and I are turning a corner, and I have a feeling that this next decade will bring more weddings, mortgages, less new jobs, and babies.

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Last year I said that I don't like resolutions and prefer to be in a constant state of improving myself (sounds a bit elitist now ha). This year I actually have resolutions, but I'm trying to make them narrow enough so that I can feel some sense of accomplishment with each.

Resolutions for 2011:

1. Eat less white sugar. I'm a total sugar baby, but I'm going to make a conscious effort to say no more.

2. Take more photographs. I got an awesome camera for Christmas last year and I want to take advantage of its features more. Sometimes I get so busy living life that I forget I might want to relive it at some point.

3. Get into good music again. I ran with a fairly artistic crowd in college and would always have new good music passed on to me. Since then I have become such a Top 40 girl.

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4. Use the subject line of emails. Simple.

5. Train for something. Anything. Since racing nearly every weekend in high school and college, I have literally run 3 races (one of which was the Chicago Marathon, which hardly counts as a "race."). Although I still run many times a week, I have lost the competitive drive and would like to get that back.

6. Keep my apartment clean on a daily basis. Every weekend it seems as if I'm spending several hours cleaning (including today; I'm starting my new year spic and span) and it would be nice to do just a bit each night.

7. Procrastinate less. Today.

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Judging by my celebration last night to ring in 2011 (I am sore head to toe from the amount of dancing that took place), it should be a good one.

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Christmas Tradition

As I've gotten older I've realized how much I really appreciate and love my family's Christmas traditions. I think as a child you assume that everyone celebrates Christmas in the same way that you do, with Santa taking center stage of course. Perhaps as we get older and meet more people we learn about others' traditions, and, as wonderful as their holidays sound, we love ours even more. Some of my family Christmas traditions include...

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Twink, the elf. Every night in December I would tuck Twink, a small elf doll with a bell for a body, into bed beside mine and during the night he would bring me small gifts to find in the morning.

Lunch under the tree at the Walnut Room. My parents and I would go into the city every year before Christmas and wait in line for hours to eat lunch under the Christmas tree at (then) Marshall Fields. We'd then take a walk around the store outside and view the decorated windows.

Last minute shopping. My Dad and I would always race to make it to the store before it closed on Christmas Eve.

Fish on Christmas Eve. My great-grandparents always followed the Catholic tradition of not eating meat on Christmas Eve, so my family has always had fresh fish for dinner that evening. Fish and pierogi, yummm.

Wrapping last minute presents. I would always wait until Christmas Eve to wrap my gifts while watching A Christmas Story. I wish this was for sentimental reasons but it's mostly because I'm a procrastinator.

Biscuits and gravy on Christmas morning. I love that my dad's mom is southern because it makes for a delicious and fun Christmas breakfast!

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It's been a while (again)

I started my blog for me. Its objective was to serve as a journal to me, something I could look back at and relive parts of my life. Lately, as evidenced from my lack of posts, I have been enjoying living my life rather than reflecting on it. But whenever I see simple fill-in-the-blanks on other blogs I feel compelled to post them as a quick and dirty snapshot of my mind at the moment. So, the game of fours...

Four TV shows that I watch:

The Good Wife

Modern Family

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Grey's Anatomy

Four things that I'm passionate about:

Maintaining a lot of strong relationships

Equality under the law and justice system

Animal rights

Healthy living

Four words/phrases I use a lot:

"Hi love"

Awesome

"So good" (when referring to anything I eat)

Snugglebug/snuggleface/snugglemonster/snuggle[fill in the blank]

Four things I've learned from the past:

Don't regret anything

Don't take any moment for granted

Don't wish time away

If you want it bad enough, you can make it happen

Four places I would like to go (that I haven't been):

Thailand

Argentina wine country

Norway/Sweden/Finland/Russia

Mexico

Four things I did yesterday:

Got my hair cut in an attempt to fix last July's disaster

Went Christmas shopping

Talked to three of my favorite people on the phone

Made up my own workout and rocked it

Four things I am looking forward to:

Christmas (obvi)

Going back to work (turns out I get bored easily)

Warm weather!

Summer of weddings, part 2

Four things I love about winter:

Winter clothes/boots/accessories (so much better than summer clothes to me)

Watching it snow when I don't have to go outside

Having the heat on instead of the AC

The way it makes me appreciate summer

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Four things I love about this photo:

The hot guy

Dragging home a Christmas tree

With a (large) Tiffany bag

And how I can imagine he's coming to meet me ; )

Happy little weekend

1. The first thing I do in the morning to start my day is... jump out of bed and head to the gym before I have time to change my mind.

2. Today I wish I was... exactly where I am- in my new apartment after getting back from a great weekend in the suburbs with my boyfriend, being lazy with my new sweet foster cat.

3. If I had an extra $100 in my bank account today I'd... probably buy another pair of Tory Burch flats. Or Hunter rainboots.

4. Tomorrow is... Monday. That's pretty much it.

5. Two things that don't go together are... Myself and anything related to finances. But I'm working on it.

6. Something I can never pass up at the grocery store is... trail mix, cereal, ice cream.

7. The last time I tried something new was... an AWESOME Martha Stewart recipe for healthy mac and cheese. Supposedly it only has 200 calories per serving, but I don't believe it.

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