heath.
I'd say it's about time I jump on the heath ceramics bandwagon, right? My friends are always raving about their pieces and I love that they are locally made (Sausalito). During a recent dinner at Rich Table, we noticed that the food was served on heath. I mean, I could go on and on about the food alone at that restaurant, but I think the fact that it was served on beautiful ceramic plates just upped it's cool factor by 100%. Now I'm off to save up my pennies so I can add one of these beauties to our home.
{heath}
modern budget. one.
First off, I wanted to say a huge thanks for the comments, tweets, and emails regarding my Friday post. It truly means so very much to me and G to have support from all of you! Muah!
And now, I wanted to share a new little series of posts that I will be introducing to the blog, modern budget. All of my friends are pretty much in shock when I show up to a party and when asked what I'm wearing, a common answer is Forever 21 or H&M or a second hand store find. I am a bargain shopper at heart. I grew up thrift shopping with my mom and to this day, I always get a thrill when I find the perfect little dress or top buried amongst racks of clothing. So, follow me as I head into the dressing room of some of my favorite budget friendly stores, to find outfits that I love and are easy on the wallet. Here's my first post in this new series, at Forever 21. It's been chilly here in the city (shhhh, don't tell anyone but I don't really mind the cold). But for all of my friends who are looking forward to warmer days, I thought I'd try on a Spring look. A fun skirt ($22.80), delicate top ($27.80), and my fave booties ($29.99). Easy to throw on as you head out the door, and defintely won't break the bank.
opening up.
So I thought now might be as good a time as any to talk about this on my blog. I've written this post about a thousand times and I've deleted it about that many times too. I just wasn't sure if I was ready to share. I kept thinking, well soon I will have some good news to share and then I can talk about how all of this happened to me "way back when". Well, since that hasn't exactly been the way our story has unfolded, I decided to finally write a bit about a journey my husband and I have been on for the past few years. We have been struggling to have a baby. It's been a long road filled with many ups and downs. We tried for 2 years to get pregnant without it ever happening. The good news, we did FINALLY get pregnant via an IUI treatment, but I miscarried at 9 weeks. I keep trying to focus on the positive...I did get pregnant. In our journey of infertility, even getting preggo in the first place was a big huge gigantic hurdle we overcame, so in one sense we are so very lucky. Many couples go on for years of unsuccessful fertility treatments, never once getting to hear any good news. So we are hopeful, so very hopeful. And we've met some wonderful people along the way...some bloggers, some friends of friends, some complete strangers that I now call friends. You see the thing is, I didn't know anyone close to me that has struggled with this, so in the beginning I felt very alone, but now that I have been able to talk about what has happened I feel so much better. I no longer feel lonely. So, I guess my point in even writing this blog post is the hope that I can make even one person feel a little less alone. To let you know that my life is not all about sequins and parties and vacations. It is a REAL life with many many many wonderful moments, but some very difficult ones as well. G and I know that we will one day have our happy little family, whichever way the journey leads us.
{photo by me}
a sparkly nye.
While these photos were not taken on New Year's Eve, this is the fun dress that I wore for the occasion. I spotted this AllSaints dress many many many months ago and then proceeded to stalk it online until it went on sale. YES! Sometimes it pays off to wait a bit for something you covet. New Year's Eve was chilly here in the city, so I threw on a pair of tights and changed up the shoes to a closed toe pair. This little dress is definitely something that will be making many more appearances throughout this year. And huge thanks to sweet Caroline for the photos.
{photos by caroline}
delicate wrist.
When it comes to jewelry I tend to gravitate towards large statement pieces. I love big bold cocktail rings, huge necklaces and chunky bracelets. Lately though, I've been drawn to more subtle soft pieces. Right now I'm on the hunt for delicate gold bracelets. I mean, I'm not going to abandon my love of large jewelry pieces, but I'm ready for a bit of a change on my wrists.
casual dressing.
You know those days where you are running late and have no time to put together an outfit? You want to look pulled together and comfortable all at once? Well, on those days, this is just the outfit I would reach for. A comfy and stylish maxi dress topped with a faux leather jacket. Easy peasy when you are trying to fly out the door.
{dress}
home updates.
Our living room has been in need of a little update, and since purchasing this rug, we decided that a new coffee table was a must. I know I talked about using an ottoman as a coffee table, but after a tireless search we couldn't find anything that we completely loved. So G and I decided to look around a bit more this weekend and I could not be more thrilled with the coffee table we did find. We also picked up a little black & white stool that we both ran over to as soon as we spotted it. Eeeekkkk, the two pieces will be delivered later this week and I am not so patiently awaiting their arrival. YAY, can't wait til they are here and can share some pics on the blog. In the meantime, you must check out pics of this home. Those white frames and black & white stripes are seriously amazing.
more dinner parties.
On Christmas Day, G and I hosted his parents and my dad for dinner. It was so much fun and afterwards I thought, why don't we do this more often? Yes, we had to clear out half of our furniture and literally put it on top of our bed in our bedroom, but it was all worth it. I loved having a long table in the center of our living room to gather around and share a delicious meal. It's definitely something we will be doing more of this year!
a new year.
Happy 2013! Well it was nice to take a little break and soak in some family time during the holidays, but I am definitely ready to get back into the swing of things. Reflecting back on this year there have been a lot of pretty amazing moments and there have been some very sad moments too. I have to say that throughout all of it the one thing I keep thinking is I am so very thankful. Thankful for G, my family, my friendships, even for strangers that have somehow helped in this year of much transition. And as we begin this new year I decided to make a few resolutions. I'm not usually one for resolutions, but I think this year there are some important ones to recognize.
1. Be more present. This one is very difficult for me. I'm a planner at heart, always looking towards the future and goals which I want to accomplish. I of course don't need to abandon this way of thought, but I also feel like it's really important for me to focus on the here and now.
2. Be spontaneous. This goes back to number 1. Since I like to plan out pretty much every second of every day, doing something spur of the moment is a super big indulgence for me. So this year, I want to do just that...let go of the constant planning (I will still be making plans, but just not so many), and allow myself to be more open about doing things at the last minute. I want G and I to take more spur of the moment trips, to go on more adventures, to just let go and be more free.
3. Be sensitive to others. Ok, so this one is a little hard to put into words. I have always thought of myself as a sensitive person. A friend who can listen, who can drop everything at a moment's notice to be there for someone in need. But I think I can be even better at this. There have been a few very difficult moments that I have gone through this past year, and the fact that others have been so sensitive and caring towards me has been overwhelmingly amazing. And I want to be that way for other people.
Here's to a wonderful new year!
