Christmas TDF...

Every year, Banana Republic makes a Christmas Cocktail dress that falls in my TDF (to die for)file. And while I haven't even visited my old favorite store in quite some time, the tradition continues.

I don't even have an occasion to buy my annual TDF BP dress, but it doesn't hurt to look. So when I stopped by their site to peak at the new arrivals, I found myself looking for that occasion.
Hey, I'm single again, so that means there are LOTS of parties to attend, right?

Enjoy these little gems, and don't be surprised if you see me show up to Starbucks wearing one of these for lack of an appropriate event.
I love the textured tights look, but I'm still a classic girl when it comes to a cocktail dress. This one is just yelling for some fabulous jewelry and purple/magenta heels, if you ask me.

And before I even tell you how I envision wearing this little cutie, I just want to make a side comment about the one shoulder style. Any of you guys out there that suffered through my one shoulder dress obsession for a few years know that I've had my fair share of history with this style. I definitely went through a phase in high school when I wore a one shoulder dress to just about EVERY dance we had. And for anyone from Montgomery, you know that we had LOTS of dances each year. All that being said, I swore off to this style. I promised my closet and friends that I would NEVER purchase a dress missing fabric again. Well dear friends and overflowing closet, I just might have to break my promise for this number. I'm just saying.

When I worked at Behind the Glass in college, we had an annual Christmas Cocktail party were we got DECKED OUT and went somewhere super fancy for dinner. Then we'ld be silly and all go out afterwards in our fancy attire. One year, the cutest, tiniest, most precious little girl worked with us and she had the most incredible since of style. Every outfit she put together had that feel to it that you just stare in envy and think to yourself, "I would never have thought to put all that together and DANG it looks incredible." Anyway, Katelyn wore a tiny perfect little dress just like this. So when I came across this dress, I smiled and thought of her.

So why all the Christmas Cocktail talk? Probably because I am in PURE countdown mode to get in the holiday spirit. I'm really having to fight the urge to pull out the decorations. I've already decided that I'm probably not going to opt for a tree this year for several reasons, the biggest one being that I have a male puppy at home who thinks every tree he sees needs to be marked. So I've come up with quite the alternative that I will post on as soon as its finished. Lets just say my house will smell incredible when you walk through the door and I will not lose that southern christmas touch either.

"Its not all black and white"

I hear this phrase way too many times in my office...

"Its not all black and white."

And while I know the meaning behind that theory, I get SICK of hearing about it. I just want to say that somethings really ARE black and white!!

For starters, its no secret that this little lady is officially "with it" and has jumped on the facebook train...

Unfortunately, I'm not joking with this. One day last week, I left my blackberry at home in the morning. I came to get the lifeline over lunch and had a facebook request email waiting on me. Now, I could lie and say that I laughed but I honestly did not. There's just something REALLY strange about seeing your MOTHER on facebook. I've come to grips with it. I had to give her a tutorial over the weekend. I think she stays on there 24/7 now. We all did it when we joined. So, that being said...welcome to Facebook Carol.


Another thing you can't deny is that this year is almost over. Whenever you see these guys sitting on your kitchen counter...

You just realize that time is just FLYING. Thanksgiving?? Really?? What happened to July?? Thankfully for me, July-now have been a long yet super quick journey that I never anticipated. There is just no telling what the next few months hold.

And one more thing. I just realized what I NEED for Christmas. I need some new silverware. You guys, my "collection" is pathetic. I think it was a hand-me-down from the lakehouse before the major remodel. Unfortunately for me, I haven't had the luxury of registering yet, so I'm still stuck with college kitchen wares. I try to slowly update these things but personally, I'ld rather have a new outfit or two! So, SANTA, add this to my list please.

I spent a part of my day off doing some cleaning around the house. You know the kind that you always put off for when you have time. And that time almost never comes around. But fortunately for me and any guests who may stop by, I buckled down and put on the cute rubber gloves.

After that I found myself thinking that I would just LOVE to have a WHITE bathroom. I mean "walk in and feel like its spic and span" white. I went through my growing collection of pictures that I continue to save for the day that I start tackling the re-model work and found all of these. Unbeknownst to me, I've had this white bathroom obsession for quite some time, seeing that I found LOTS of pictures to choose from.

So, here's to lots of clorox!!

On my day off...

FINALLY, I have a day off to just do whatever I want. Unfortunately the pupsters did NOT get the memo that we could sleep late and neither did my 2 alarm clocks. So up we were at 6:45. Thats just how it goes.

Despite the lack of extra sleep, I decided to start the day off with a little luxury. So I put on this sweet little thing...

And made these guys...
Cranberry Orange Muffins

Yeh right, I did NOT get all Martha and start from scratch. In fact, these delicious treats came from a BOX. All I had to do was add water. Now THAT is luxury!!

After that great start to this breezy/dreary day, I plopped down on the couch in my comfy PJ's and just hit the blog world HARD! Stumbled across several blogs that I instantly fell in love with. Look over to the right and you'll probably notice a few newbies. I'll post soon on these new finds. (**I'm ALWAYS on the lookout for blogs to follow, so if you have any suggestions...throw them my way!)

Its only 11 am and I've accomplished quite a bit. Not quite as productive as I usually am, but I can say this...its been A LOT less stressful than my usual Wednesday.

HAPPY DAY OFF!!

What Faith Can Do

Its very easy to just blog about fun stuff. But the reality of life is that its not always just pretty things. So, its my goal to insert a post like this one every now and then just to snap back into reality.

The past 4 months have been a challenge for me, for lack of a better word. I've been taking life one day at a time trying to re-aquaint myself with ME. I've had to slowly pick up the pieces and make a new life for myself. I don't want to re-live the story, but for you newbies, I'm referring to my past relationship. Now I live in a town that I know VERY few people and I've found myself working WAY too much. For a while there, I forgot how to even have fun. Its almost as though I would punish myself if I did.

Thankfully, I'm moving on and figuring out things. A lot of this is thanks to the radio. Yeh, I said it. Hold tight because I can explain.

There is an INCREDIBLE contemporary christian station here in Tallahassee. Its actually broadcast nationwide from somewhere else. Every morning I listen to this station as I get ready, and I must admit, it is the PERFECT start to any day. K-Love 's motto is Positive & Encouraging...and they stick to that playing the most incredible music ever.

The other day as I was getting ready, I heard this song. I've heard it several times before, but for some reason, this time it just really hit me. I've always listened to music for the lyrics and this song just got me.

Kutless - What Faith Can Do

"Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it’s more than you can take
But you are stronger, stronger than you know
Don’t you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn’t ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I’ve seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That’s what faith can do
It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard
Impossible is not a word
It’s just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody’s scared to death
When they decide to take that step out on the water
It’ll be alright
Life is so much more than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing
When the world says you can’t
It’ll tell you that you can!
Even if you fall sometimes
You will have the strength to rise."

Life's not always perfect. We live in a terrible world where children go missing, people are killed, people are selfish and so many more horrible things happen every second. Its so very easy to think that you're the only one facing a hard time. I know I've been guilty of this. I follow all these blogs with picture perfect families, picture perfect relationships, picture perfect homes, picture perfect EVERYTHING. And then I look at my relationships and my life and think, "what am I doing wrong??" The truth is, we're all doing something wrong...because we all make mistakes daily. But my circumstances aren't a punishment. They are simply circumstances. And this goes for everyone.

You can't grow without having growing pains and you can't grow as a person without life's ups and downs. We all have ups and downs. It may seem like some are usually in the ups, but the truth is, they are just better at disguising their heartaches.

I know this to be true because if this song is in the top 10, theres a reason for it. The reason is because it applies to EACH of us.

I just happen to be at the down point moving towards the up.

Today, my mom and I were on the way to visit a Church and she said to me, "Rachel, you never know what's waiting around the corner." This was in her usual random style, but it is completely true. If you had told me this time last year that I would have followed a boy and moved to a place where I know barely anyone and would no longer be with him and starting over...I would have laughed and said, "you're crazy."

But isn't this true for all of us. I told my mom, "I know, its like that every year." Think about it, this time last year, did you anticipate your life to be the way it is now? Probably not. The reason for this is that we have plans for ourselves that are always flawed. Fortunately for us, we are made by the most incredible Creator who knows the best for us. He plans out the perfect plan for us and eventually we realize that His way is far better than our own.

This is where faith comes in. Pure, raw, non-logical, blind faith. When you have to say, I don't understand why things are like this, but I trust they are for a perfect reason.

So that's what I'm doing...walking blindly. Not questioning. Going along for the ride. Continuing the journey, knowing that something IS around the corner waiting on me.

Real Life Monday...

There's a hurricane a brewing a few miles down the coast and it looks like its already hit 2305 Killearn Center Blvd.

No, its not Ida...

Its the post Gramamma visit storm that has hit full force. Its going to take a disaster relief team to clean up the aftermath.

I've been playing cleanup for 24 hours now and just can't seem to find a way to get it all done. I continue to find little surprises hiding everwhere. Toys stashed in my shoes in the closet (thank you little man), LOADS of linens still in the wash, trash that needs to be taken out (but will continue to sit outside the front door due to the monsoon outside), dishes that have yet to be put up and SOOO much more that needs to be done.

But these can all wait, because its Monday night, which means one thing to me...GOSSIP GIRL!!

Yeh, go ahead, judge me. I couldn't care less because I love that show. LOVE IT!

HAPPY MONDAY!!

********

on a sidenote...for all your blogging experts out there:
Does anyone know how to change the fonts on this thing. Blogger doesn't give too many options and I'm becoming quite tired of the simple arial. I'm always looking for change, so if you have any suggestions, throw them my way!

Meet Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere. No, I don't know her. Its just thanks to the beauty of the blog world that I've fallen in love with her INCREDIBLE style. I've mentioned her before and if she were to come across this, she'ld probably be really freaked out, but I don't care. BECAUSE she is just the cutest thing ever.

Not only does she have the freshest take on style, she has a knack for mixing the really expensive with the really cheap. Its not uncommon for her to pair designer with Forever 21. Just goes to show you that it isn't always about the labels. I'm not going to continue talking about my girl crush (seriously, don't interpret that any other way besides the fact that I wish I were her at times), but I am going to tell you how she "inspired" me.

Forewarning you, I'm a single (sometimes bored/lonely) girl, so the little things can excite me at times.

I've been growing out my hair for a while now and its reached the point where I can FINALLY do the beach waves look. Naturally, my hair is curly/wavy and I rely on that fabulous Frederick Fekkai Beach Hair spray to tame it if I just don't have enough time to battle with it in the morning. I went through a 3 month phase that I didn't battle with it at all and I literally came to work with wet hair every day. (**Sidenote: For Christmas, my office is putting a little spin on Secret Santa this year. We're drawing names and not only do we bring a gift for that person, we also will come to work dressed up like her. You guys think this is lame, but I'm actually quite excited about it. Anyway, when we decided to do this, my coworker said, "well if I draw Rachel, I'm gonna have to figure out a way to keep my hair wet all day. I guess I can keep a mister bottle with me all day. It was at this point that I realized that 3 month phase is OVER).

So, I hopped over to Sally Beauty Supply (we've all been there, don't be afraid to admit it.) and took the plunge and bought a curling iron. I know I know...curling iron...isn't that like a 7th grade mishap?? For me, I will forever think of curling irons as my first flatiron (yes I used that before college to straighten my hair).

I've been jealous of the celebs who sport the wavy look, but haven't ever been able to pull it off. Partly because I've had the short do and partly because I'm just a moron and never could figure out HOW to do this.

**This lame story is ending soon I promise!!

And thanks to Emily's HOW TO , I finally got it. Several burnt fingertips later, I've figured out how to make my wavy hair look perfectly wavy without the frizz.

MOVING ON...

I was in Target the other day and found a headband similar to Emily's here...

What are your thoughts on these? Am I too old for this? Am I not stylish enough to even try it? Be brutally honest...I can take it.

I can't remember which blog I found this on, but I'm really salivating over the YSL bag. Yeh, salivating I will continue...YSL and MDA aren't a fabulous economic match.

And then I thought that I would just throw this wild card in here for fun measure.

One more pretty little thing to share...

These guys are so simple yet so perfect. They remind me of my Behind the Glass days in college. I wore jewelry like this back then and thankfully held on to ALL of my fabulous purchases. I racked up working in that boutique for 3.5 years and have the closet/jewelry collection to remember those fun years.