Dear Coworkers...

Dear Co-workers,

I wasn't planning on giving individual gifts since we are supposedly doing a secret Santa exchange. That really hasn't taken off so much and today I found an idea in The Food Network Magazine that just sparked my giving spirit. I'll be honest, it really wasn't an issue of me feeling generous, but more an issue of me feeling "crafty."

And hey, you deserve something sweet for putting up with me 40+ hours a week {more for you Crystal's.}. I can be obnoxious, I'll admit it. My competitiveness with other offices {especially JAX B} is downright annoying and over the top. And my stupid questions are never ending. And my comments after calls are just uncalled for. And my 2 month wet hair phase. And my unprofessionalism a majority of the time. And my contributions to conversations that are about Ryan {I get it, we're ALL over him}. And my obnoxiously cheesy emails and over-use of smiley faces and LETS GO FIGHTERS at the end of ever email I send out. And my OCD nature with reports. And demanding WAY more information to compile WAY too many reports that are not always needed.

So for all these things, I now realize that I owe you WAY MORE!! This will have to do though. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannaka {is that how you spell it...Hines???}, Happy Kwanza and Happy every other holiday under the sun, to you and yours!!

Hope they taste as delish as they look!!

Love,

Rachel

******

So, here's what I've made for the coworkers. I take no credit for these. I got it STRAIGHT from a magazine!!





****PS this will hopefully be the last time I post low quality pictures from the Old point and shoot. Tomorrow, I get my baby {aka my grown up camera}!!!

They Deserve an Introduction...

I have no clue how many of you guys pay attention to the links on the left hand side of my blog that are linked to my favorite blogs. But, I know for me personally, I LOVE clicking on other people's to see what intrigues them.

Recently, I've come across several goldmines and have added them to my list. I know at some point I'm going to have to get in there and actually organize them based off the subject matter. I'm instantly drawn to 3 kinds of blogs: photography, decorating and fashion.

Today, I wanted to highlight some of the new fashion blogs that I've fallen head over heels for. There are certainly LOTS and LOTS more out there, but these are a few that really caught my eye. The thing that I love the most about these blogs is how these girls take pictures of the outfits they put together. Its not just pictures copied and pasted from different online stores. Since I'm a photography junkie, I especially love when the pictures are creative. My love affair with these kinds of blogs started with Cupcakes and Cashmere {which I mention fairly frequently and have TONS of her pictures saved}. I'm venturing out and hope you enjoy these as well!!

True North Style

Its pretty obvious what I love about her site. She has quite the insider scoop on the most fabulous city in the US!!

Swank Heights
She has to be the most gorgeous Asian girl ever!! And her style is adorable too!!

So. Chic
This is normally an events planning blog, but every now and then, she sneaks in a fashion post that features items like the ones above

Where Did U Get That

Much like my ultimate favorite, Cupcakes and Cashmere, she always gets it right!

This Chicks Got Style
The cutest girl living in Amsterdam, I'm sure!!

And A Few More...

I spent the afternoon working in the most terrible place in the world {aka Panama City...gross, definitely not by choice} and when I got home, I went straight to the www to find some more pretty things. All these are ridiculously out of my price range. The majority are from Shopbop or Nordstrom. **Sidenote: I'm trying to get better about labeling my pictures with sources, names, prices, etc. Sorry, from now on, I should be able to point you in the direction if something catches your eye.

These pictures snapped me out of my panama city coma. I think I was spent when I drove by La Vela...

The List Goes On...

In the spirit of Christmas, I thought I'ld post a few pretty gift items that are sure to make most any girl smile.

I snuck this one in here simply because I like the picture. This really makes me miss all my friends back home for some reason. Down here in swamp land, there aren't too many opportunities to completely let loose with clothes. The looks I get for wearing anything out of the ordinary simply make it not worth it. I miss being back home where creativity is valued. And of course I miss all my girlfriends who encourage it!!

No Koal for this kid..

Is it strange that I got a little too excited when I jumped on E! Online and found out that Kourtney Kardashian is now a mom?? I don't know about you, but I'm a HUGE fan of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. LOVE them!! They're the craziest family ever and there is NEVER an episode that I'm not in tears from laughing so hard. You may be shocked, but it was actually semi-difficult to find a pre-pregnancy picture of KK that wasn't a little shall we say, "R rated." I'll give it to her though...she's absolutely adorable. The fiestiest little one of them all!!

Check out the proud parents...

Anyone else think Scott is scary?? I think he looks dead here! And whoever gave that sweet little pink sweater better have saved their receipt because I don't think that Mason Dash Disick will be a fan of it!! I'm not gonna lie, I like the name. I had anticipated something seriously strange like Koal or Harlem. You know the celebrities have to compete with who can come up with the most far-fetched name! Want more on the story, hop on over to my FAVORITE website ever E!Online or read here.

I bit the bullet last night at Target and upgraded to this...
I'm sure it doesn't seem like that big of deal. It really isn't unless you've been used to drinking this...

And now I know why people are coffee snobs. I've prided myself on not being picky about my coffee. But since it is a VERY important part of every day for me now, I figure its best to only start with high quality. I haven't decided if its better than Starbucks, but I'll be honest with you...its pretty stinkin good. And at Target it was only $6. Top that Starbucks.

This weekend, I did a whole bunch of this...

So I'm really in desperate need of that extra jolt this morning.

Santa's Workin Overtime This Year!!

It's pretty obvious that I'm beyond obsessed with pictures. I'm hopelessly addicted to blogs that share all these incredible pictures. For a few years, I've wanted a really nice camera. I later discovered that my dad has the EXACT one I want with several lenses. All these are burried deep in his closet to be used almost never. How terrible, I thought. So I tried to con him into giving it to me. Fail. In fact, he won't even let me use it with his supervision. So back to the drawing board.

Since I don't have several hundred dollars just laying around waiting to be used, I've just continued to be jealous of everyone else who had taken the plunge and bought the investment. I pretty much thought it hopeless until a few weeks ago when my co-worker was complaining about how annoying she thinks it is to lug around a big camera. Of course my ears perked up and I asked her what kind she has.
Excuse me Hines, but I'll be more than happy to take her off your hands. And I'm getting her for quite a steal. Last night my dad said to go ahead and tell Hines that he'll buy her camera for me. Now, what he doesn't realize is that he also revealed my other Christmas gift I asked for (and hope to receive). I asked for Photoshop for Christmas. Yeh, you read right. No clothes this year. I want a camera and computer software. Is that a sign that I've officially gotten old??

Anyway, I hope I haven't jinxed it because I learned my lesson many many years ago about snooping through Christmas gifts. Its a funny story actually. We had a babysitter when I was probably 6 who was the coolest cheerleader ever. I thought she hung the moon basically. One day my parents went somewhere and Suzanne came to stay with us. We all knew where mom stashed the Christmas gifts (in her closet and also in the utility room), so we decided it was a perfect idea to snoop.

I was beyond ecstatic when I found the Hello Kitty pencil box with all the different compartments. You all know what I'm talking about. It had buttons you would push and out would pop a pencil sharpener or eraser or whatever. Mom had always told me no when I asked for one in the store. And now looking back I realize how incredibly overpriced this was to give to a kid who lost or destroyed everything in her path. All my friends had one and I was pretty much the class loser for not having one. So when I saw my Spottie Dottie pencil box, I was overjoyed.

For weeks, I imagined how cool I finally would be when I brought mine to school. And when we ran downstairs Christmas morning that was the FIRST thing I looked for. I kept looking. And then I got really nervous and let it slip, "Where's my Spottie Dottie pencil box?!?!?" I probably was almost in tears. And it was at that point that my face turned ghost white and I realized I told on myself.

Mom later pulled me aside and gave me the lecture of a lifetime about being sneaky. Every year since then, my brother would open gifts and then re-wrap them, but I never did. I was terrified of losing gifts!!

All this to say, I really hope being a good girl and obeying the rules will pay off.