Friday Favorites

So, I skipped this last week since we were traveling for the holidays, but I'm back this week with a few things that are striking my fancy this week.

Psych

IMDB

I know I talk about tv shows a lot on this blog, but it is for a good reason.  I watch a lot of tv.  I love it.  Anyway, Pysch is one of those shows that I heard about but never watched until I saw it pop up on our Netflix about ten times and then I watched all five seasons in about three days.  Last week, Brian got an email that the sixth season of Psych was available on Netflix and I spent my week sick on the couch catching up on what I had missed.  It ended on such a cliffhanger, I just couldn't believe it!  I can't wait to see what happens next.

Bee Ring

Anthropologie-$100

Oh, Anthropologie, you and your whimsical designs suck me in every time.  Isn't this bee ring just perfection?!  Ok, I'm probably biased, but I still think it would be amazing to sport some bee love on my finger everyday (yes, I'd probably wear it everyday).  Now if only it weren't $100 . . .

Holiday Sock Season

Via-these aren't mine, but they may as well be

The day after Thanksgiving officially started holiday sock season for me (and hopefully you too, holiday socks are the best).  I have an entire collection of holiday socks that I try wear only between Thanksgiving and New Years.  I'm pretty sure I actually have more socks than there are days in the holiday season, so I get to wear a different pair everyday.  It's an extra dose of happy when I get ready for the day.

What are you loving this week?  Who else loves fun holiday socks?

An American Downton Abbey?

If you ever click through and see the header on my blog, you know that I love Downton Abbey.  I'm pretty sure Mary Crawley and I could be bff in real life.  You know, if she were real.  We would spend our days planning her wedding to Matthew, plotting against Edith, and learning how to be a badass lady from granny.

Via 

If this were a real book, I would totally buy it.  And then proudly display it in my office for all to see.

Anyway, as I was watching the Today show this morning, they mentioned that NBC is working on an American version of Downton Abbey, which will be called "The Gilded Age".  NBC is working with Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes to create this period drama set to take place in New York (you can read more about it here).

I'm not sure how I feel about this quite yet.  On the one hand, I love Downton Abbey.  On the other hand, major networks tend to take ideas from successful shows, try to make them fresh with a new storyline, and often fail to do them justice.  Although I have yet to watch it, I have heard that CBS's "Elementary", which took on BBC's {amazing} "Sherlock" is a prime example of this.

Even with my reservations, I can't help imagining what the show will be like and who will play the main characters.  I'm imagining it to be like Gossip Girl, but with classier dialogue and clothes.

What do you think of an American Downton Abbey?  Who would play the Americanized Dowager Countess of Grantham (aka Maggie Smith) if it were up to you?

Holiday Styling

We got back from Thanksgiving travel and I promptly got sick.  I have thus spent a lot of time resting on the couch while pursuing things I can't afford on the internet.  

With my husband's company holiday party coming up in a few short weeks, I've turned my attention to something new and pretty to wear for the occasion.  These are my favorite finds so far.

Anthropologie-$198

I actually tried on this dress at an Anthropologie a couple weeks back, and I was just disappointed.  The top fit weird and the ruffles did not look nearly as expensive as they should given the price tag.

Asos-$79.16

I've never ordered from this company, which always worries me that the sizing or fabric will be completely off, but I love the lace and shape of this dress.

Shabby Apple-$110

The reviews of this dress say the waist is baggy and unflattering, otherwise I may have already purchased this dress by now.  The green is fantastic and I just love the little sleeves.

Shabby Apple-$88

I love the delicate scallops on this dress, although the reviews say it is not lace as it looks.  I also think the top seems ill fitting on the model, so I worry what it would look like with a chest.

JCrew-$158

I seriously love JCrew and it is always the first place I go when looking for new clothing.  I love the color, but the seam in the middle of the chest just looks off to me.  Maybe you can't tell in person, but it would keep me from ordering it without seeing it first.

JCrew-$198

If you can't tell, I have a slight obsession with green.  The drapes on this dress are lovely and I think would be totally flattering.  An added bonus, this dress could definitely be worn at work (when I get my dream job in the near future).

Lulus-$46

Yes, it's green.  I have a problem.  But isn't the color just gorgeous?  Again, I've never ordered from this company, so I have no idea about the sizing and quality.  The sole review on this dress says the fabric is cheap, which is probably to be expected for the price, but I don't want to look cheap, so this is probably out.

The Limited-$108

I've been a fan of The Limited for a long time, I usually find their quality to be great for the price.  The red lace and this dress actually looks very similar to a top I bought  and love from here a while back.  I only worry that the way the lace cuts off at the bottom may make the dress look like it is too short.

Do you buy something new for holiday parties?  Which one is your favorite out of my options?

So Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving all!  I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday with family and friends!

It seems as if everyone I know has been participating in 30 days of thanks.  While this is a great way for people to think about all the things they are thankful for for an entire month rather than just the one nationally accepted holiday, I've chosen to keep my list short and sweet.

My Husband

This is pretty self explanatory.  He's my rock, my support, and my favorite person in the world.  I'm very lucky to have him in my life and I am grateful everyday to call him my husband.

My education

I wish I could say that I am thankful for having a job, but I can't . . . yet.  But, I'm thankful that I have an education, which will lead to opportunities I would not otherwise have in the future.  For the record, I am not thankful for student loan payments (I am thankful for the student loans themselves, just not all the payments).

Spending the holidays with family

Typical day at the FIL's

The fact that we live far from our families and our families live far from each other makes our visits less frequent than I would like, but I am so grateful to be spending quality time with each of our families this year.

My friends

Bee buddies in June

Whether I've known them for years or we've only met online, I'm grateful to have people in my life that get me and are a constant place of support and love.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Greece: Kamares Bonus Day

I should admit something about this trip.  We only made very loose plans for our visit.  And by 'very loose' I mean we only booked our flights and our first hotel in Santorini.  We researched hotels and ferries before the trip, but we waited to book anything else until we were actually on the islands.  Part of this was because the online ferry schedules were a pain and the other part was because we wanted to be flexible with our plans.

We originally planned to go to the island of Mykonos for a couple of days before getting back to Athens for our flight.  Island exploring and hopping ended up being more exhausting than we anticipated, so we cut Mykonos out of the itinerary once we were on Sifnos and planned to head straight to Athens.  We didn't realize, however, that the ferry to Athens was at 9.30 at night.  We had a whole day on Sifnos and no plans.

Not knowing what else to do, we decided to venture into unchartered territory, the top of the island.  The French couple staying at our hotel told us they spent sunset at Agia Simeon, which was beautiful.  Figuring we had the whole day, we decided to make Agia Simeon our destination.

Agia Simeon, way up on the mountain

The French couple said they took a car to the top, so, of course, we thought we could just walk the eight kilometers.  We had walked so much this trip, what was another five miles, right? Wrong.  So very, very wrong.

Proof Agia Simeon was 8 km

Road Trip Thanksgiving

Brian and I were total slackers in researching and booking flights for Thanksgiving, so by the time we actually got our shit together, tickets were astronomical.  Not going wasn't an option for us, since Brian's family is having a huge family reunion and we rarely have the chance to see so many family members at one time.  So, long story short, we are road tripping our way to Tennessee in just a couple of days.

Our route, from google maps

Come Wednesday, we will be spending roughly thirteen hours in the car on our way to Tennessee.  That's a lot of time in the car.  I usually read on long trips, but it makes me feel guilty to ignore my husband while he drives.  Plus, I will probably do some of the driving since this is such a long trip.

So, this is where I need your help.  What do you do during long car rides?  Do you have any recommendations for road trip tunes?  For the record, I already have Mumford and Sons cued up and ready, since Brian needs to know their music when we go see them in February.

Anyone else being crazy and driving far distances for the holidays this year?

Friday Favorites

Where did this week go?!  I feel like it's gone by entirely too fast.  Not so fast that there aren't new things I've been loving this week though.

Breaking Dawn, Part 2

Omg, how hilarious is this photo? Intense fake running ftw.

Via

Yes, I love me some Twilight.  My friends and I like to say that the series is awesomely bad, and this movie was no different.  Yes, I've already seen the movie.  Like all the other movies in the Twilight Saga (ugh, I hate that term), I saw this one at midnight.  Except, this show started at 10 pm, not midnight.  I still don't understand why, but my old crotchety self loved that I got to get to bed earlier.

Stickers

Via

I was at a craft store this week to pick up supplies for a secret santa ornament exchange and I came across the cutest Christmas stickers.  I just couldn't stop myself from buying them.  So I bought the stickers.  Eight hundred of them.  I don't have the faintest idea how I am going to use all of these stickers, but I can't help myself when I see cute ones (and what stickers aren't cute?!).  My friends and family better like them, because I'm going to plaster them on all of our holiday cards.

Lincoln

Imdb

I'm not sure whether we will be seeing this sure-to-be-amazing movie in the theater this weekend or not, but I am so excited for it and the media coverage surrounding it's release.  Lincoln is definitely my favorite president, not only because he did amazing things that forever changed our country, but because he is my homeboy.  I'm from central Illinois, the quite literally the land of Lincoln.  Abe spent a great deal of time in central Illinois as a politician and trying cases, so I have grown up admiring our nation's 16th president (I went to law school because of him).  I can't wait to see Daniel Day Lewis portrayal of the final four months of Lincoln's life.

Apparently, I'm really into movies this week.  Anyone else going to the theater this weekend?  What are you seeing?

Greece: Cheronisos

For our last day on Sifnos, we decided to explore the only part of the island we had not yet experienced, the northern village of Cheronisos.  The town is separated from the rest of the island by a very large mountain, making it difficult to access.  The bus only runs to Cheronisos a few times a day, and we missed the first one, so we were stuck in Kamares for a while.

We walked down by the port, but not before I stopped to take a picture of this beautiful succulent plant at our hotel.  I really love succulents, so I was in love with this plant.

Luckily, we caught the next bus to Cheronisos.  Just off the bus stop we found a path leading down toward the ocean, so we started on it.  Once it ended, we took the uneven rocks down to the ocean.  We spent some time relaxing and enjoying the water and rock formations around us.

Greece: Faros, Chrisopiggi, Platy Yialos

We headed to the south side of Sifnos island on our next day.  We started out in the tiny village of Faros, which is a small fishing village.

Unfortunately, there was not a lot to see in Faros, so we didn't stay there very long.  I managed to take a  few pictures around the town before we headed out to find more exciting landscapes.

Friday Favorites

I skipped posting on my favorites last Friday in lieu of sharing my recent haircut, but I'm back this week to share a few things I've been loving.

Green Skinnies

Via

If you're on Pinterest, you've probably already seen this picture.  I swear it's been pinned by seventy five percent of the people I follow, but for a good reason.  I mean, how cute is this look?  So perfect for fall and winter.  The problem?  I can't pull off skinny jeans.  I have hips.  And thighs.  I have yet to find a pair of skinnies that actually flatter my figure, most just make me look ten pounds heavier.  So, unless someone has a favorite brand that flatters those of us with curves, these will remain something I just ogle online.

DC Roundhouse

DC Roundhouse

Brian sent me the link to this house earlier, and I am in love (click the link if you want to see more).  The round shape is so unique and fun, and while the outside is quite traditional, the finishes are sleek and modern.  While we aren't making an offer on this (or any) home any time soon, it's fun to see what is out there and dream how we would make it ours.

Mean Girls quotes on pencils

Etsy seller

There are few things I love more than Mean Girls.  I probably quote the movie at least once a day, and these pencils showcase some of the best lines from the movie.  I could probably come up with twenty more quotes for these pencils, not that I would actually use them if I bought them anyway because I wouldn't want to ruin them.

What are you loving this week?  Who wants to come watch Mean Girls with me?

Greece: Apollonia, Kastro, Artemonas

On our second day on Sifnos, we decided to explore the west side of the island, the capital, Apollonia, the ancient town of Kastro, and the historic town of Artemonas.

Via Greeka 

Greece: Sifnos Island

Before we took off to our final island destination, we spent a couple of hours enjoying our resort in Folegandros.  As I mentioned before, the night we stayed was the last day the resort was open for the season and we were the only people staying that night.

Brian matches the flowers in front of our room :)

Our room rate included breakfast, which is normally a buffet.  Since we were the only people at the resort, the staff said they would be preparing us a special breakfast.

Happy Voting!

As I hope everyone already knows, election day is finally here!  The day has finally come for our citizens to cast their votes for our next president and I could not be more excited.  Not only will the political ads finally cease, but I love fulfilling my civic duty.

I miss the basic I voted sticker, mine is lame.

I won't get into my own personal political views here, since I'm sure you:

1) don't care, and 

2) are tired of hearing about others' views (I know I am!)

This year, for the first time in my life, I live in a swing state.  While the excessive television ads are beyond annoying, it is really exciting to think that my vote may actually matter in this election.  This thought alone made the very cold three hour wait at our polling place bearable.

The line at our polling place this morning, aka ridiculous. 

I encourage everyone to take the time to go out and exercise their right to vote today.  Others have fought and died for our right to do so in this country, and in other parts of the world people are still fighting for this right.  Plus, you'll get a sticker.

Anyone else encounter huge lines for voting?

A Long Overdue Post Wedding Chop

Yes, you read that right.  I finally cut my hair.  It only took thirteen months of marriage and my husband badgering me on a daily basis for the last month when I was getting my hair cut, but it is now done.

Let's take a look at the before, shall we?

My ridiculously long hair.  Also, self portraits are weird, hence why I'm not looking at the camera.

Obviously, my hair was not in great shape.  After almost two and a half years of growing without a trim, the ends were just plain gross.  I tried to cut off split ends when I saw them, but what my hair really needed was a cut.  And a cut it got.  

This is what almost two feet of hair looks like after it is chopped off and put on a coffee table.

And, this is what my hair looks like now, with about twenty two inches removed.

Greece: Folegandros

We woke up bright and early so that we could catch the ferry to our second island destination:  Folegandros.  The ferries are known for following 'Greek time', which may or may not be the time printed on your ticket.  Not wanting to miss the ferry, we ordered a cab early in the morning to get to the port way ahead of time.

Since we flew into Santorini, we had not been down to the port yet, and the cab ride there made me never want to do so again.  Santorini drivers are known for taking the steep, winding roads at high speeds, but I seriously thought this guy trying to kill us.  We spent most of the time barreling down 20% inclines on the wrong side of the road.  I was so traumatized I failed to take a single picture until we safely made it to Folegandros.

Safe at sea

September is the low season on the islands, so we ended up getting a great deal at a resort just outside Folegandros' capital city of Hora.  This place was a-mazing, check it out.