USA! USA!

I'm a week behind, but I still wanted to put a few pics up from last weekend. Since James and I only had one day together last weekend before I had to leave again, we made the most of it by spending the afternoon in Manhattan Beach followed by the US vs. Chile soccer game in Carson. Neither of us had been to a professional soccer game, let alone watched the national team, so we were pretty excited. We were a little disappointed when we realized it wasn't the same national team that had played in the World Cup because those guys are all on professional teams all around the world at the moment, but we quickly got over it and enjoyed the game :)





The team warming up.



I was greatly amused by the refs warming up.





Go USA!! We were too into the game to remember to take a photo of the players actually playing...whoops. The game ended in a 1-1 tie but it was still exciting and a fun experience. I think checking out Galaxy is next on our list of sporting events to attend :)

The Romance is Dead

That's right, the romance is dead. But not out of my relationship with James. In fact, tomorrow night we have plans to cuddle up on the couch with Taco Bell and sparkling cider while watching Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. If that's not romance, I just don't know what is. (I'm being serious here, people...this is my ideal evening).

The romance that's dead however is that which I used to have with my job. I remember going to my interview 2 1/2 years ago and hearing my future boss say, "There is a lot of traveling involved in this job. Will that be a problem for you?" A problem? Are you kidding me? At the time, traveling for work sounded fun and exciting. I couldn't wait to hit the road with the audit team, which I did the second week of my employment there. It was exhilarating. We went to the exotic Reno, Nevada. Well, maybe not so exotic, but the fact that I got to sound smart and important by telling people that I was going on a business trip made up for it.

From then on the trips just kept coming and I kept loving it. I would always look forward to trips because 1) the work day goes by so much faster when you're somewhere other than your own office, and 2) the novelty of staying in a hotel room by myself was intoxicating. I loved it, and would dread being stuck in my boring old office in boring old Ventura.

But things have changed. My feelings about traveling for work are really quite the opposite now. It partly has to do with the awkward looks I get from pretty much everyone when my 65 year old midget boss and I walk around in public together. It also has to do with the aforementioned hatred of dressing professionally. It has a lot to do with getting my laptop out of my work bag when I'm going through airport security (I absolutely despise doing that for some reason). But more than anything I'd say it's just being away from home and not being able to spend time with James after our long work days. Now staying in a hotel room by myself isn't so much intoxicating as it is lonely and kind of scary (thanks, SVU). This week happened to not be so bad because James was away on a field exercise anyway, but I'm pretty sure after the next six weeks of straight traveling (I get to come home on the weekends at least) we'll both be pretty tired of the travel. Lucky for me its only for a few months out of the year. (And I get lots of overtime! Yessss)

So, needless to say, I'm pretty stoked to go home to my husband tomorrow night. We're going on a fun outing on Saturday and then I'm off to the airport before noon on Sunday for another trip. Here's hoping this tax/audit season goes by quickly!


(this is me being scared and lonely)

Reality

TV shows that have made me cry this week:

1. The Bachelor

2. Biggest Loser

3. American Idol

I have problems.

Fashionista Wannabe

As stated in a previous post, I have no style. I'm aware of it. What I didn't mention earlier was that it's not just in regards to interior design...it's also regarding my wardrobe. As hard as I try, and with as much as I enjoy shopping, I really have no clue what I'm doing each time I get dressed in the morning. Jeans and a plain shirt is my go to outfit...but accessorizing? Forget it. If I get a new pair of shoes that I love, I wear them with everything, regardless of whether or not they go with the rest of my get up. If I'm wearing a black outfit and all of my necessities are in my brown purse, I don't bother doing a purse switch...but I cringe knowing I must look a fool.

Casual wear is one thing, but work clothes are where I really hit a brick wall. For example, today I am wearing a dress. Sounds nice right? Well, it's actually a dress I bought for the honeymoon. Today I threw a cardigan over it and slipped into some flats and called it work appropriate. I'm not sure its long enough so I'm trying to stay seated with my legs under my desk as much as possible today.

My idea of looking professional is wearing a button up collared shirt and some close-toed shoes. I know there must be more to it, but I really just can't figure it out. To add to my stress, my boss allows us to wear jeans when we are staying in the office, yet he still expects us to look professional. Typically the top half of me looks professional in my button up collared shirt and I keep my skinny jean wearing legs and boot clad feet hidden under my desk. Hiding my inappropriate-for-work outfits under my desk is a common occurrence. Obviously.

When we are working out of the office, which is extremely common between the months of January and April, we can't wear jeans and must look professional from head to toe. Usually I just replace my jeans with a pair of black slacks and call it a day, but typically I end up looking frumpy and like a wannabe professional chick. At some of the more corporate offices we go to, the women wear tight pencil skirts with tucked in ruffly shirts and high heels and they look faaaabulous. I know I could never pull that off though. Not only do I hate wearing heels for long periods of time, but my boss is already about a head shorter than I am when I'm wearing flats. Awkward. So the heels are out which seem to make any outfit instantly hotter. Bummer.

At some other offices we work at the women wear Juicy Couture sweat suits and bring their dogs in to keep them company. Now THAT is a look I could pull off. I know Mayo is dying to see my office too. But alas, sweats are not in our dress code. I also doubt that rats are permitted.

This weekend I'm going work clothes shopping with my ma. Can anyone give me some ideas before I head out to the crazy and confusing world that is the Vintage Faire Mall? I'm tired of being the frumpy wannabe professional but still trying to look young and cool girl. I need tips people. Like, specific advice. As in, send me links to specific things that I should purchase this weekend along with the appropriate shoes and accessories to pull it all together. Please?

Island Time

So my excuse for being extremely late on posting pictures from Christmas is that I'm still on island time...but I'm finally doing it now.

When we returned from our honeymoon we did a suitcase switch at our car and quickly hopped onto our flight to Virginia to spend the holidays with James' family. The whole gang was there: Mama Smith, Papa Smith, Chris, Joe and Katie and their three kids, Aine, Asa, and Milla, Grandma Smith, cousin Brittney, and the most beloved member of the family, Champ the yellow lab. Our week there was spent sleeping in, playing Wii, Cranium, Rummy, and Apples to Apples, watching movies, drinking Arbor Mist, and eating delicious homemade food. It was awesome.

On Christmas morning James and I woke up and looked out the window to see that it was snowing. It was gorgeous. I was so excited because I've never had a white Christmas! It didn't stick that day, but it was still cold and there was lots cuddling in blankets and drinking coffee to keep us all warm. It was a very cozy week, filled with lots of laughing and love. The Smith's are a family who truly cares about one another, it's obvious. I felt lucky to get to experience the holiday with them. Although that's not to say I didn't miss my own family incredibly!

Here are a few pics.







Um....can you say amazing uncle??? I think this is a good sign for when we pop out a few of our own kids :)

The Smith's have a tradition of making a gingerbread house on Christmas Eve. I've never made one so it was a fun new thing for me to try...although I think it was supposed to be mostly for the kids...









Obviously the bathing suit clad gingerbread couple was mine...I wasn't ready to let go of Bora Bora quite yet.

This is the only photo we got together while we were there:



Merry Christmas everyone!!

Dorm Room Syndrome

I remember once when I was younger, maybe in high school, going shopping with my mom and sister at a home decor store. I was soooo not into it. I was probably whining about when we would get to leave and go check out the GAP. I remember one of them, I can't remember who it was but my guess is that it was my wise mother, said, "One day you'll get your own place and you'll understand why we like shopping at these stores." At the time I didn't believe her. At all. I was sure that there was no way in the world I would eeeeeever care even a little bit about decorating. That's old, boring people stuff!! So Mom, Joni, this post is dedicated to you because, now, I understand (and I no longer think you are old and/or boring).

I'm not saying that I just now caught the decorating bug. It's been lingering for a while, trying to mature. Junior year of college my best friend got a hand me down couch from her grandmother and we made it stylish by getting a couch cover. Oh yeah, that's style. We also spruced up our room by lining the walls with pictures of shirtless cowboys from an old calendar.

Senior year my best friends and I rented a killer house and I attempted to decorate my room by putting sticky tack onto the back of a bunch of photos of me and my friends and putting them all over my room. Unfortunately due to moisture in the air, the edges of all the photos curled and most of the pictures eventually ended up on the floor. We also proudly mounted marshmallow guns on the wall above the couch in the living room so as to make sure any guests knew not to mess with us. The couch and fabulous couch cover came along as well.

Next me, my friend, and her man moved into a two bedroom apartment together. The couch came along for this ride as well, but we had no where to put it so it became a clothes holder for me in my bedroom. We also got my parents' hand me down sectional which is older than I am, but the most comfy piece of furniture you'll ever find, partly due to the fact that it is humongous so you can stretch all the way out. At this place the roomies took our decorating skills to a new level. They painted. Yup, that's right. One wall in our lovely apartment was teal green for about two months before we all moved out. But we all loved it for those two months. They also mounted some candle holders on the wall which made the place feel pretty homey. So here we had a little bit of dorm room, but it was definitely a step towards grown up style. Sadly, none of the style upgrade was thanks to me.

Next, I moved out on my own to the one bedroom where I currently live. It was at this time that I discovered the wonders of Cost Plus: World Market. I fell in love. And I went crazy buying new furniture, decorations, dishes and anything else I could find in there to make my apartment "my own." The huge couch came with me but I had to part ways with the little grandma couch and couch cover :( To accompany the couch I bought a coffee table, a kitchen table and chairs, a TV stand, a TV, a bookshelf, and two large pictures to hang up on my walls (TV and TV stand were from Target). James and I even painted my kitchen and James put lots of pictures of my family and friends all over my living room. And wah-lah, my apartment was a home. However, my couch still gives the whole apartment that dormy feel and I want to get new frames for my pictures. This whole adult apartment decorating situation is obviously a process for me.

Two days ago James and I signed a lease on a new two bedroom apartment, woohoo!! We are super excited about moving in at the beginning of February. It's going to be an interesting transition because we will be getting all of James' furniture out of storage and combining it with what I already have. We will definitely be selling a few items including the amazing, huge couch. I've already started mourning it and make a point to snuggle with it each evening so it knows that it's loved. Lucky for me though, James has some adult furniture already so we have a good foundation for making our newest apartment look like adults live there. And I want it to look like we're adults with style. My only problem is that I have no style. I'm trying people, I really am.

I saw this picture yesterday:



And it made me want to make some new additions to our new apartment. Sure, we have plenty of furniture, but I feel like there are some things we can do to make it cuter, homier, and hopefully more adult.

I never in my life thought I would be dreaming of headboards. But I am. Right now our bed is just a mattress and box springs on a metal frame. It is certainly functional, but not exactly attractive. I think a headboard could really make the bedroom more cozy. I like this one:



What do you think?

During my online search for other apartment items I stumbled upon this beauty:



Do I need this chair? No. Is it adorable? Yes. I'm not sure how it would go with all the furniture we already have, but clearly I need it anyway.

I also found this:



It's not necessarily my favorite rug, but the basic idea is that I really really want a cute rug for our living room. I don't know what's happened to me, but I could seriously look at rugs for hours.

And this is just something that I saw and liked:




Pillows can do a lot for a couch I think, and there are a lot of cute ones out there! This is just one of many that I liked.


Also on my list of things to get:

A huge, decorative mirror
More frames for the walls and possibly some professional photographs of the area
A couch for the guest room
A desk- I'm so tired of using my laptop on my lap
Candles- not just decorative though- In the last year or so I've become obsessed with smelly candles- I absolutely love walking into a house or apartment that smells good

What do you think people? Do I have the potential to make our new apartment cute and adulty? I'm not sure I have it in me. Maybe I should start subscribing to some home decor magazines. Hmmmmm.

(headboard from Ethan Allen; chair and pillow from Pier 1 Imports; rug from World Market)

Not Surprisingly, Unprofound

Over the last six days I have been reading lots of blogs and facebook statuses (obviously I'm back at work) expressing both extreme distaste for 2010 and profound optimism for the year to come. The new year seems to inspire people to reassess where they are going in life and to make changes that don't seem possible at any other time of the year. I guess I just kind of wanted to jump on the New Year's spirit bandwagon even though it's my personal belief that you don't have to wait for a new year to make changes in your life. For example, I plan to wait out the new year's resolution crowd at the gyms and start working out again in March...possibly April. We'll see ;)

Someone's facebook status the other day was something along the lines of: Good riddance 2010! It made me want to shout from the rooftops in agreement. Let's be honest here. 2010 sucked big time. Well, part of it at least.

However, at the same time, some of the best days, moments, memories of my life happened in 2010...so it's hard to hate the whole year. I'll just say that the beginning and end of the year were amazing and the whole middle part basically sucked balls.

So what's in store for 2011??? I have absolutely no idea, and that's what makes me excited. I'm feeling pretty content in my life...and although I'm dreading all the upcoming traveling for work, at least I know I have a husband to come home to on the weekends...and even though James might deploy again, at least it will only be for about two months this time...and even though I don't have a wedding to plan or a honeymoon to look forward to, I will shortly get to meet my two newest nieces. My guess is that 2011 will be like any other year: full of good stuff and bad stuff and it's up to each one of us to make the most of it.

Here's a picture of my favorite 2010 moment. It also happens to be my favorite life moment :)



Runner up: