Masquerade work party!

Yes! That! My work is having their 10th anniversary party, and this year's theme is a masquerade! I've never been to a fancy work party, or a masquerade. A work party at CD Warehouse was us all drinking beer at Chili's. Ha! So I am beyond excited about this event! Can you tell by all of the exclamation points? They are very abundant! Very!

In all of this excitement, I've been racking my brain to figure out some cute ideas for my outfit and mask, so thought I would share my plans to get some opinions and input from you helpful friendlies!

♥ The Mask:

I've been searching high and low for the perfect mask. I wanted something pink and black and girly. But everything I've found is either the wrong shade of pink, or it's a little too big and boisterous with lots of feathers, or it's a little too plain. Or it's really super expensive. I just haven't been able to find a mask that just stole my heart. So I decided to decorate my own! And I decided that I wanted to get extra cutesy with it, so I ordered a plain white mask in the shape of a cat face, with little puffy cheeks and all. If you can't find the perfect one, make your own, right? So here's the nekkid mask that's headed my way:



My plan is to paint it black and then add some white and light mauvey pink stuff to match my dress. I'm still working on the design, but I know I want to put pink roses and maybe a few feathers along the top or sides! I might even try to add some whiskers to those cute little cheeks, too. I plan on making a Hobby Lobby trip next weekend. I can't wait!

♥ The Outfit:

At first, I purchased a ballerina-style dress from Target. But once it arrived, I started thinking that it might be a little too poofy for my liking. It's pretty voluminous, which isn't necessarily bad at all! I love it, and I think it's super cute. But me plus beer plus my already ridiculous amount of clumsiness will not mix well with anything large and obtrusive. I can just see myself knocking things over and catching the fluffy tulle on anything and everything in my path. So in rethinking that dress, I thought about possible backups. I had my eye on one in particular on Modcloth, and since they only had 4 Mediums left in stock, I went ahead and got that one. I think it's going to be a much better choice! But I'm keeping the other for the time being just in case the second one doesn't fit when it gets here.

And in keeping with the me plus beer equals silliness, I knew tights were an absolute must. So I found some super cute polka dot tights that I think will help tie in the cutesy cat mask with the lacy girliness of the dress.

As for shoes, I cannot walk in heels. Just plain cannot do it. I always wear boots, but I knew I needed something a little dressier than that. So I figured I'd compromise and try a bootie!

I'm not 100% sure about accessories yet. I might just try to find a cute necklace and that be that. There's already going to be a lot going on with the mask! But here's the final outcome of the items headed my way for now. Fingers crossed everything fits! (I already own a black 3/4 sleeve sweater, so I just grabbed a similar one for the image.)



I sent this image to my mom, and she loved it. So I really hope everything works well together and fits nicely when it gets here! If not, I still have the ballerina dress, just in case. So I'll be okay either way. :)

Beep boop beep, cannot compute.

I swear, it's been such a busy week at work! I started tech training this week, so I'm currently learning all about display issues and drivers and diagnostic tools and other computery things. I'm definitely not a technically inclined person, so I've been super nervous about this training for a good month. Thankfully, we have some awesome resources and step-by-step charts for most issues. So hopefully I won't completely suck at this and won't bomb the test when that rolls around! Also, thankfully we don't do tech via the phones, so I will only be using it to start tickets for people with technical issues. PHEW. If I had to walk people through a technical issue on the phone, I'm sure I would be like "Uhhh, just turn it off and eat a sandwich." :|

Oh, and the second day of training (when I was super stressed out), my QA, Lauren, left me this amazing present on my desk! She ordered a cute messenger bag online, and this gigantic Hello Kitty one came with it. I thought it was sooo sweet! She had it hanging on the leaf that hangs above my desk, and it surprised me and just plain made my day! Oh, ps- the other side is My Little Pony!

Here's a picture I found online. Seriously, it's enormous!


And here's mine with toesies included for size. Enormous, I tell you!


I've also been trying to get back in the social swing of things! Going to Nashville wore me out big time, so I've been staying home a bunch and trying to focus on Spring cleaning and getting things back in order after being gone and then sick. But I'm over that now, I think! So I'm hoping to take part in the weekly game night at work on Tuesday. And I made a new friend at work, so we're trying to hang out now and then, too! And hopefully I can start going back to girls' night with Lauren, Katy, and Autumn, too! They introduced me to margaritas. Friends and drinks errrrwhere! I love it. ♥

Oh, and I finally sucked it up and made my first hair appointment in yeeeears! I've only had my hair professionally colored once, and that was back in like 2006 when I had the black stripped out, went back to my natural brown, and had blonde peekaboos put in. And I've been touching them up myself since! But my roots have gotten out of control and now that my hair's gotten so long, trying to touch them up myself is just crazy. (I also won't let anyone cut it, so that's going to be another venture when I need a trim.) So I'm going to the Ulta Salon on Wednesday, and I'm so excited to not have to bleach my stripey babies by myself.

I finally got some real monies after being back at work, so I went on a little spring shopping spree!

Things I've bought this weekend:

♥ 3 plaid shirts
♥ 7 new pairs of undies
♥ grey jeans (since I loved the pink ones so much!)
♥ shoes for summer that aren't flip flops!



Also, I gave Matt a super cute summer haircut, and he shaved his beard (both his idea). I told him he looks like a 12-year-old with a moustache. It's cute, I swear! I haven't had short hair in years, so I forgot how much fun I used to have cutting hair.

We tried so hard to get out and do some thrifting yesterday, but I was just not feeling it. I think the combination of being super busy all week, all the stress from tech training, really mean calls from customers (seriously, people were sooo angry this week), and then all the rain just put me in such a poopy mood. And neither of us found a thing! I think I really just needed to be at home and relax a bit. So I've just been eating cheese and crackers and soup and loving on Peaches all weekend. There's always next Saturday, though!

I havehavehave to get up off my butt and do more laundry! I've been watching Frozen Planet and playing Fairway Solitaire all stinkin' day. Pfft!

My very first Polyvore creation and my favorite trends!

I own super similar pieces to all of these, and this is my new favorite outfit for Spring! I just bought a pair of blush colored jeans, and I think they'll go perfectly with denim tops and cute boots. I got a pair of darker pink as well, and I'm super excited! I've always avoided the colored jeans trend since I have such a curvy bottom half. I've had big ol' hips since I can remember! Even when I lost weight a few years ago, some things got smaller, but my bottom and hips seemed to stay the same. HRMPH. But I've started wearing leggings as pants, and I mean, that's pretty unforgiving. And it's made me a little more comfy. So I'm like WELP might as well, because colored jeans are super cute! So I can't wait to get my 2 pairs soon! I hope they look as cute on as they do in this set. ♥

I seriously love the whole denim and chambray trend. I have a nice little collection going now!

My closet contains:
♥ a light denim button up shirt
♥ a darker denim button up shirt
♥ a lightweight dark chambray button up shirt
♥ a chambray tunic
♥ a chambray skirt (blogged two posts ago)
♥ a belted denim button up dress
♥ at least 3 denim jackets

And I'm currently waiting on two more denim tops as well. So in love! I normally don't jump on trends, but being from Nashville, I feel like I'm a little obligated to love denim and western inspired anything. I mean I've always had tons of plaid shirts, and I have 3 pairs of cowboy boots (plus my harness boots that I practically live in). So of course I'm loving all of the denim lately!

It's so funny because I remember my mom wearing the oversized denim tops back when I was young. I remember a few so vividly! One had a Hard Rock Cafe logo that she got from a trip to Chicago, and one had tan, suede-feeling collars and cuffs with tortoise shell buttons. It's so crazy that they're back in style! I love it.

What trends are y'all currently obsessed with? I'm curious!

My trip back home.

Well, I'm back from Nashville! My trip was so crazy busy, and it definitely didn't feel like I was there a whole week! I did so much running around and was going non-stop, that it's all just one big blur. Thank goodness I checked into places and took instagram pictures so I can remember what all I did!

♥ SATURDAY:
I never went to bed to be completely sure I didn't oversleep and miss the flight, and Matt's new work buddy Charlie picked us up and had us at the airport around 6am. We flew all day, and I played games on the iPad the entire time. We made it to Nashville around 4pm, and my mom was so excited to see us! We took Matt to his house, and I got to hug his mom and sister. Then Mom and I went to the grocery to get food for the week. I know it's ridiculous, but I was sooo excited for Mom to take me to Wal-Mart. I haven't been to one since my last trip home, and we used to go together all the dang time. Don't judge me!

I felt like such a little kid, but I saw this Hello Kitty candy keychain in the check out line, and Mom saw me eyeing it. So she got it for me!





Then I got to go home and see my Cupcake! She's gotten so big, I almost didn't recognize her. After playing for awhile, I eventually passed out in Mom's recliner because I was so exhausted from the flight!

Here's my Cuppybutt being a big, wooly baby. I was so happy to see her.




♥ SUNDAY:
I spent the majority of the day hanging out with Mom, eating fruit roll-ups, and hugging Cupcake a bunch. We ran to Marshall's and Target, but we spent most of the day at the house talking about stuff. She's having a hard time deciding on which house to live in and which to sell. After the flood hit, we moved to Granny's and she had to rebuild everything at our house. So I helped her weigh the pros and cons of each house, and I think she's leaning toward going back to Granny's house. That was my vote, too, since it's higher up and away from water and in such a nice little community. (It's a stressful decision, because I know she loves how pretty she's made our home, but I just worry about her safety.)

Then I asked her take me to Matt's mom's so we could watch The Walking Dead with her, his sister, and his sister's best friend and boyfriend. (My mom was grossed out when I explained the show to her, so obviously she didn't stay. She had Army Wives to watch anyway!)

♥ MONDAY:
I spent the day with Matt and his mom and Nana. We all went thrifting together at a few different Goodwills and ate lunch at Baja Burrito. We had a lot of fun! I found a giant clothespin, and it immediately made me think of The Secret World of Arrietty!



Then we met up with Matt's dad and Nanny to celebrate his birthday at Uncle Bud's, and we had cake and ice cream back at his dad's house. Then we watched silly videos on youtube! Typical Dad stuff, you know. My Dad's the same way! I love it!

♥ TUESDAY:
Mom took me out to Murfreesboro to The Avenue to do a little bit of shopping. We ran into Ulta, and one of my managers from Old Navy, Tabby, had just started working there! I was so excited to see her! It was such a nice surprise.

I didn't want to go crazy in Ulta (but I very easily could have), so I just got my foundation powder, an eyebrow pencil, and a pink NYC eyeshadow. Then mom took me to a cute little store called Charming Charlie, and I loved their pink section so much!



Oh, and this was my date with mom day outfit. She isn't too crazy about tattoos, so thank goodness it was cool enough to cover up this trip! Last time, it was miserable!



My good friend, Ashlee, lives about 5 minutes from that area, so while Mom looked around another store, Ashlee swung by and picked me up to show me her apartment and get some yummy ice cream at Baskin Robbins! It was a super short visit, but she understood that I really wanted to spend time with my mom, which made me so happy. (I had a friend or two treat me really badly that I didn't have time or transportation to come to them, and it made me so sad.)


♥ WEDNESDAY:
I was supposed to see my Uncle Rick in the morning, but he wasn't feeling too well. He just started chemo, and he was having a rough day. So I ran a few errands with my mom instead, and then Dad came over and spent a few hours talking and hanging out with me and Mom. I was really happy that they got along so well, because that doesn't always work out, ifyaknowwhatimsayin. :| But no one died, and all was well!

Then my longest friend ever, Susan, (I've known her since I was 2 years old) came to pick me up to take me to McNamara's for a few beers. It was so much fun seeing her! We always have an awesome time together, so I was so excited to get to drink and be silly and just talk about girly things. Then she took me to see a few other ladies, Kira and Michelle and Sarah, and we had a super silly time just talking and catching up. It was nice to get a little bit of friendly hangout in there since I knew it was mainly going to be a family trip! And it was so sweet of them to all make time for me on my hectic schedule!

♥ THURSDAY:
I was so exhausted from staying up so late the night before, I just couldn't get going. (No it wasn't a hangover! :P I was just extra sleepy) Mom and I did some laundry and just kind of hung out and talked about house stuff and things that needed to be done. And Matt came over to take me out to eat since he and I actually had a few minutes to ourselves before I had to be at my tattoo appointment. So we had a nice little lunch date at Sakura, which was our favorite place to go before we moved.



Then Matt and his mom took me to get one of my tattoo outlines colored in. Then I passed right back out when we got home! I was so exhausted all day, so it was definitely my sleepy, lazy jet lag day since I didn't really have one when I first got to Nashville. I guess my poor body needed to catch up a bit!

♥ FRIDAY:
Dad and I went to see Grandmom for a bit, and then we headed over to Uncle Rick's since he was feeling more up to having company. My mom got this awesome machine that converts VHS tapes to DVDs. So I asked Matt to convert an old tape of me when I was a few months old because there was a lot of footage of Uncle Rick holding me as a teensy baby. I thought it might cheer him up a bit and make him feel a little better, and he really seemed to enjoy it. He's lost so much weight, but he seems to be doing okay. And the cancer has stopped growing, so that's wonderful. It was so nice to spend time with him since I haven't seen him in over a year.

After Dad dropped me off at home, Mom and I headed over to Granny's house so I could go through some of my stuff upstairs, and I realized how much there was to do there. I really wish I could've stayed to help her clean up that house and get it remodeled and nice if she does decide to live there. I kind of feel like I left her at such a crappy time, and I feel so bad that she has to do so much alone. I know she understands and that she's really great at handling things, but I still wish I were there for her.

Mom wanted to run to Rivergate to grab some food, so while we were out there, she ran me down to the two stores I worked at before I moved so I could see a few people really quick. I was only able to run in and spend like a minute or so in each, but I got to see one of my favorite managers, Tracie at Old Navy, and then John and Daniel at CD Warehouse. I gave them all hugs and ran out since I still had to pack!

I had a really good trip and got to spend lots of quality time with my mom. I just wish I could've seen more friends. A few people seemed really disappointed that I couldn't see them, and I felt so bad that I was always busy doing something. I tried my best to explain how much I had to do and how difficult it was for me to get around without having a car. I just couldn't ask my mom to drag me all over town. She took the entire week off to spend with me! Most people seemed to genuinely understand and were super sweet about my lack of time, like Ciara, Thomas, and Ariana, a few wonderful friends of mine! But I still got some pretty extreme guilt trips from a few others. :( Maybe next time I'll have more time to see everyone. But it really made me realize how hard it is to please everyone, and how it just won't work every time. I still feel bad, though, but that's just how I am. But the people that were super understanding made me feel much better and kept me from being too upset on the trip, and I love them for it!

♥ SATURDAY:
I woke up at 3am to make sure I was ready to go at 4:30. My mom cried a bunch, and I had to keep myself from doing the same. I already missed her before I walked into the airport. I got so used to seeing her every day, it just broke my heart to leave. :(

Matt and I got home around 12, and Peaches was so excited! While we were gone, she tore up a bunch of stuff, like one of my cloth boots (which I had to trash), my entire 100 count box of crayons, the back panel of Matt's GameCube, a bunny slipper, and a toy helicopter. I was upset, but so happy that that's all she did. Mom and I used to have a dog that would chew woodwork and rip up carpet! D: So I'm proud of how well she did while we were gone. And Justin, Matt's best friend that was taking care of her, didn't seem to have a problem with her at all! What a good pup.

♥ SUNDAY:
I started noticing some really sore areas on my leg Friday night, and they were looking kind of scary and making it almost unbearable to walk, so Matt took me to the E.R. to get everything checked out. I was terrified that I had a staph infection, but the doctor said it's contact dermatitis, so something that was against my skin just irritated it really badly. But it looks and feels rough!

I'll make this picture little and clickable for a large image just for those with sensitive tummies!



I was looking so forward to going back to work and seeing everyone, but the pain was just too much this morning, and anything up against my leg felt horrible. So since I kinda have to walk and wear pants to work, I ending up just having to stay home. I've had some horrible luck lately, I swear. I was so nervous about work being mad at me because I was sick that entire week, then I worked a week, then I went home for a week, and now this! It was all just one after another. Geez Louise.

But I'm happy to be back home, even though I miss everyone and everything in Nashville! Peaches has been following me around to every room. I guess she just wants to make sure that I don't disappear for a week again! Sorry for the extremely long post, but there was so much to catch up on!

Weekend(s) recap: pizza, ice cream, and more ice cream.

Holy moly, the past week has been full of all sorts of things. Mostly buying fun things for little monies and some very-bad-for-me-but-oh-so-delicious foods! And lots and lots of pictures.

Last weekend we headed out to Goodwill, and Matt found a keyboard and some records, and I found a stripey yellow and grey t-shirt and a button-up shirt that I plan on dying another color. (Hopefully I can do that without making a horrible disaster of the shirt and the surrounding area.) Then we had Olive Garden for lunch, which I hadn't had since last October, and it was just as delicious as I remembered. I had a never ending pasta bowl, which ended at one bowl because I already knew I needed the apple pie and ice cream as soon as I saw the picture on the table. I wanted to take a picture, but I wolfed it down so fast, I didn't have a chance.

So instead, here's a picture Matt took of itty bitty kitty jammin' on the new Goodwill keyboard.


And here's a Cinderella picture I colored while my tummy was way too full of noodles and apple pie.


On Sunday, we made our weekly Baskin Robbins trip, and I had even more ice cream. (Multiple ice cream weekends make me feel like it's a holiday.) They had a flavor that I hadn't tried yet, and it is definitely my new favorite! It's reduced fat lemon cream pie with no sugar added, and it was low-cal and soooo good!


Throughout the week, I found a few cute little things for decorating that I'm really excited about. I got this cute little plushy owl, a wooden acorn, two white leaf dishes, and two yummy smelling candles. And it was all about $30!


And my favorite purchase of all, I bought my very first crock pot, and it was on sale for $21! And it's full of Matt's favorite soup.


I also found two yellow planters, a hello kitty shirt, two tank tops, and a stripey sweatshirt. And I spent maybe $30 total on that stuff too. I was all over some awesome deals this week.


Then, we started off this weekend by having sweets for breakfast! Matt really wanted donuts, and the Baskin Robbins is conveniently attached to the donut place, sooo I had ice cream for breakfast! Being an adult means making grown-up decisions like this.

Sugar-free chocolate overload!


And Matt's donuts! He got chocolate iced, chocolate cake with chocolate icing, and strawberry iced. I tried a bite of the strawberry, and they were so stinkin' good.


And then, Matt decided that we needed a dining room table. Eating at the table is something we have never done together. We always ate sitting on his couch at his old house, and we've always had to eat sitting in the floor here. So we were both super excited to go pick one out. We made a trip to Ikea, and we got this cute birch table and four chairs!


On Sunday, we decided to stay home and get some house stuff done. Matt worked in the kitchen, while I did some unpacking and went through the boxes in the bedroom. I found lots more stuff to sell on eBay and listed some more things. We didn't want to leave to go anywhere for dinner and nothing we had really sounded all that great, so we ended up ordering pizza and wings. I rarely eat pizza, and I never eat hot wings, so it was definitely a treat. I ate waaay too much Hawaiian pizza and ended up rolling around in the floor feeling full and fat for the rest of the night. (Good thing I got a little stretch cord exercise thingy last week, because I will be using the heck out of it this week thanks to all that pizza!)

I went to go review the place on Yelp because it was so yummy and we had such good service, and there were only a few good ones. I was really surprised! Everyone was complaining about how it wasn't that great and being really, really picky and honestly kind of rude. I feel so bad for really awesome places that end up getting crappy reviews because they aren't a five star restaurant. It's delivery pizza, so the expectations shouldn't be so dang high, you know? It was above and beyond big name chains like Dominos or Pizza Hut, but they still had so many people saying "nothing special" and "forgettable". It made me so sad, so I left a really nice review and gave them 4 stars. The only way I would ever leave a place a bad review is if the employees treated me badly, to be honest. My granny always taught me to live by the good ol' polite rule of not saying anything at all if you don't have something nice to say. I feel like the reviews were just so unnecessary and rude. It was delivered really quickly, it was still super hot when we got it, it was a good price, and it was really yummy. Why wouldn't I recommend it? Some people are just big ol' jerks. Hrmph.

So then I went on a reviewing spree and ended up writing one for the post office nearby and the Baskin Robbins that I go to every weekend! I love giving out kind words to places that get overlooked or that other people are too hoity-toity to appreciate. And it makes me feel good to think that someone might look up a place they weren't too sure about going, and they'll see my review about how sweet the employees were among a sea of "ehhh, not impressed" reviews, and they might try it out and love it as much as I do! :)

Cleanin' out the closet clutter.

I've been an eBayin' monster he past few weeks! I've sold so much stuff lately, and I'm so proud of myself for sticking with it. Of course, I haven't made a big ol' chunk of money or anything since eBay is all about finding good deals. But I've made enough to have my own little stash of spending money. I'm used to making my own money and working decently hard for it, standing up for hours and dealing with some crazy customers, so it's really hard for me to spend Matt's money on anything other than groceries or things of that sort. So it's been nice being able to have my own little fund so I don't have to dip into bill or rent money if there's something I just absolutely have to have.

I've acquired so much stuff over the past year or so, especially from trying to restock after the flood. And I ended up buying lots of things I didn't really need, but sure as heck thought I did at the time. I am the worst at buying things that I never end up using or wearing. (I blame a lot of that on working in a clothing store for so long and constantly being stared down by cutely dressed mannequins. My check almost always went right back to the store!) So now I'm getting out of that habit and am doing a serious deep closet cleanin'!

I made up a few rules to help me stop holding onto things that I don't need and to keep me from adding to the craziness with more stuff.

Getting rid of things:
1. Be realistic. If I didn't wear it last year, I probably won't wear it this year.
2. Just because it looks cute on the hanger doesn't always mean it looks cute on me. Try on everything before putting it back in the closet.
3. Quality over quantity! One awesome piece I'll wear all the time is way better than a few ehh pieces that I'll wear occasionally.
4. Think of the outcome. If I sell an item that I'm not too crazy about, that's at least a little bit of money toward something that I really want. And someone else might get tons of use out of it!

Buying new things:
1. Don't buy on impulse. (I am awful about this.) Go do the rest of the shopping and come back to it. Really think it through.
2. Consider its versatility. I should be able to build at least 5 outfits in my mind using the piece with things that I already own.
3. Is it the same as one I already have? If it's just like one I have at home, then I don't need another one!
4. How bad do I want it? If I think I'll regret not getting it, or if I've been looking for something for awhile, it might be worth it. But if I just saw it and decided I wanted it then, or if I could really go either way, I probably don't need it.

So I made sure to stick to these rules and have sold lots of things so far; hoodies, leather jackets, military jackets, scarves, purses, and belts. And I made about $200 from everything that I sold! Of course, I paid way more for all of it when I bought each thing, but I can't expect to get full price for things on eBay, you know? It's like I'm paying a 'you were dumb for buying this stuff when you didn't need it' tax. So it serves me right! And it makes me more aware of the consequence of buying things I don't need.

With the money I've made from eBayin', I made sure to stick to my buying rules! I've only bought things that are basic and super versatile so I can get lots of use out of them.
• 3 basic, solid colored cotton t-shirt dresses
• 4 wrap scarves with big, pretty roses
• 3 basic sweatshirts
• 2 cardigans
• 2 plaid button up tops
• a pair of black flats

And then today I found this super cute emeraldy/dark tealish colored lighter cotton H&M peacoat at Goodwill for $10!


And here's one of the cotton dresses and one of the rose scarves! This was my weekend date outfit last Saturday when Matt and I went out for Indian.


I can't wait to go on more Goodwill adventures. Finding that coat made me really optimistic. Maybe I can actually find some cute stuff for the house instead of buying more clothes. Pfffft.