Days gone by & happy feet

Naturally, the past few days {or a week, give or take} since the last post have been a jumble, a blur, seemingly on fast-forward. Has it really been nearly 2 weeks since I returned from Ireland?? I guess working {seemingly} nonstop will do that to someone, delving right in after one hell of an adventure.

In between work and sleeping, I managed to have enough time off to be social and see friends! Hurrah! Still working on that work-life balance, I'm afraid, in between those 13-16hr work shifts >_<

In Netflix news, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is now available so I've been working my way through and have started back into yoga as a means of unwinding and attempting to get back in shape. And by started back, I mean I've done 1 session at home and am able to do another before work today...so at this rate, I'll be bikini ready by summer 2017!

In happy news....I was so happy to find this dinosaur dress on Amazon to help make the long work days a tad bit more exciting. When working with children, dress child-friendly... Okay, maybe I dress in fun designs just for me.

Revamped with curls, what can go wrong?

While I generally stick to messy bun, ballerina bun, or some sort of updo to keep the whispies out of my face at work, curls felt necessary for a special sort of day at work this week.

Happy tootsies make for happy steps, eh? With many miles put on each shift at work, some of my flats have seen better days... Luckily, I found these gems whilst out and about and decided to treat myself. Eeeek shoe love ^_^

Side note: I've noticed this whole silly notion with the phrase "on fleek" out on the interwebs. What is this nonsense? Why can't we simply use terms which already exist instead of creating new, stupid ones which do not make one seem "hip" or "cool," but rather idiotic?

Yet here I am having bought a selfie stick in the name of taking full outfit pictures for my blog.... Hence why I took the Mickey out of myself with my first dingus selfie-stick pic in my favorite flannel.

Irony, non?

I've often felt my whole life was a conglomerate of irony and unadulterated comedy bits, some raunchy and some romantic, without the cheesy happy ending, but full of laughter, tears, nachos, and good beer.

xxx

InstaFamous and Social Validation

Instagram and the ability to tap into its secrets of achieving high success in terms of Followers and Favorites is one of chance and fortune.... unless you have animals. Cute kittens and puppies are a darn-near guarantee of Awww's and hearts.

Imagine my surprise {said in a breezy French accent, no less} when my outfit achieved such high prestige amongst the Insta-world! And thank you to Shop Priceless for contributing to said popularity!

Favorite flannel aside from Lovely's shirts...
+ high-waisted jeans + new platforms

On that note....in reflecting on this generation and the ever-increasing usage of social media platforms, isn't it fascinating how much emphasis we place on the number of Likes, Favorites, Followers, Friends, etc. we have on these various virtual places in which to place our thoughts, images, likenesses, and a piece of our soul we would like the world to perceive as an extension of our persona?

This "social validation" has become more and more integrated into our systems... oh no, the boy I like didn't comment on my new profile pic | my best friend didn't like the link I posted on her wall 2 seconds after posted | no one thought my joke was clever...

An endless stream of thoughts regarding whether or not someone saw a particular post and also, how many. I admit, I'm guilty of checking to see if there was a lot of feedback. I'm making a point of sharing the happy moments but also to experience so many more, putting the camera down to witness the joyous unfolding of life.

For now, I will revel a bit in my so-called new-found 'popularity' on Instagram ;)

Second time I've been featured on a popular site...mind-boggling for a small town nerdy girl.

Sadness is worse when...

....you know the root of the cause.

....you're perfectly content with all but this one integral part of your life.

....you don't know how to rectify it.

....you're scared it will never be fixed.

But a nice new pair of shoes can fix this, mais non?

Thank you, Shop Priceless for the free gift with purchase!!

I've been looking for this style of shoes since i was in the beautiful and fashion-forward city of London! $35 is a LOT better than $150!

Monday blues are cast aside momentarily when there is much work to be done and a killer outfit in which to accomplish this.

Lingering fragments of the depression I've been dealing with for quite some time crop up from time to time when I have a chance to collect my thoughts and just think.

Being busy at work allows me to focus my energy in a positive way, leaving just enough free time to think happy thoughts and of the wonderful people, opportunities, and future events, and sparing the barest minimum to dwell on the self-doubt or other demons inside...

But then the flood gate is released, much like a kragen, to flood my mind with those self-depreciating thoughts which nit-pick at my shortcomings and fears.

Hurray for friends who keep me grounded and snuggles with Mr. Hippy and Harry the Cat.

Hurray for this owl!

Try to tickle me, though, and it will end with disappointment as I am not ticklish in the least.

But I will tickle back if someone attempts.

Mwahahahaha

Friiiiiday!

Today was another grand day....I seem to be on a roll. How can this be? Hmm...well my nails look atrocious [nail polish OCD kicking in about now] so that's a bust.

On the flip-side, V-Day was a very lovely day! The sun was shining, I did not wear pink, but sooo much love! Unfortunately, Lovely could not be here....but I guess I was a little spoiled already since he came up last weekend. It's really been a week!

Some favorites:

• This slum tank from Aerie and these jeans are super comfy!

Tank: Aerie; skinnies: Hot Topic

• New black flats!

Pointed black flats: MIA

• Nerdy roots

Lovely sent this to me today :)

• I have Bieber fever....at least until this temp tat wears off

• My sweet cousins

• Princess Magic Shalimar

Nana and I shared a wonderful evening together after I got off work. Great company, good food....an altogether very enjoyable evening :) I think this should be a recurring thing...

• I had a new Valentine: my friend Sara! We rocked our furs last night on our smoothie date!

 

GREAT news popped up in my newsfeed today! I love Joe Fresh!

 

Have a wonderful weekend! Tomorrow I'm off to see Rock of Ages at the Hershey Theatre, but for now...Der goldne Topf awaits....

First Friday Favorites

Happy New Year!!

"Lemme give you some trash talk."

Watching The Campaign with Lovely. Spending my last few days with him as much as possible...

• When it comes to working out...wear a cute sports bra or colorful pants, anything that will serve as an incentive to get your bum moving! I love black, but I have pink and teal as well.

• Tassled shoes! Grown-up and polished

Pink&Pepper brand

• Sleeping in flannels, whether it be flannel pj's or flannel sheets. Sooo cozy in the winter. Victoria's Secret flannels are the best.

• Finally found a peplum I liked that isn't made out of some terrible print or nasty material that itches out the wazoo. Cotton feels so lovely against the skin...

• "They're taking the Hobbits to Isengard!" Or rather, the Hobbits have infiltrated the kitchens of Denny's. Mmmm Hobbit-inspired menu at Denny's. My bestie, Heidi, and I each had the One Ring burger. So delicious. Worth checking out!

• Heidi and I: besties since sixth grade. Sums up our relationship:

• Date nights....Lovely and I got dolled up and went out to eat. Fried calimari is a new favorite.

 

• Another home favorite: Spaghetti-o's. Delicious and nutritious. They remind me of home...today I felt as though I was in childhood paradise: eating spaghetti-o's whilst I watched Tangled. Bliss.

 

• Relaxing on winter break and seeing friends and family. Ultimate favorite of the new year.

Enjoying The Campaign now....chilling in my favorite Gap jeggings and an Aerie comfy tank with a ballerina bun.

 

Black Friday Favorites

Oh, Black Friday shopping...how I do not miss you.

We haven't really gone [hardcore, anyways] since I was in middle school.  In high school, we always had to wait since I had wrestling practice early in the morning from 7 until about 10am so we'd have to wait til then.  Now we hear of stores opening at 8pm on Thanksgiving. Absolutely ridick.

Great Black Friday finds:

• Leopard print shoes to replace my poor dying Steve Madden flats...

Maddie Girl Hoppie Leopard

• Hot pink flats

Kirra Smoking Casual Flats

• The Princess Bride for....wait for it...$1.96! Boo ya!

• Found some things for my sissy...sshhh

• My favorite thing about Black Friday? Recovering from the Thanksgiving comotose and sleeping in, avoiding crazy shoppers.

 

Source: media-cache2.pinterest.com via Jillian on Pinterest

Source: someecards.com via Jillian on Pinterest

Some humor :) Enjoy the last four hours of the Black Friday deals!

I'm off to the movies in an hour to go see the final installment of Twilight...

Behave yourself ;) the weekend is almost here!
Here's to red hair and delicious sweet potato fries...yum.