today...

we are happy.
to be together for the weekend, to be cuddling on the couch, watching march madness & keeping warm by the fire.

we are totally in the "wedding mood."
we went to our good friend jenny's party to celebrate her recent engagement to her man glen. AND, i have been chatting away with one of my best friends nichole all day on her upcoming december wedding in MEXICO!! can we say vacation?!!

today...

is a Wes Anderson movie day.
the Royal Tenenbaums is up there on my all time favorite movies list & we are switching between Rushmore & basketball.

i made cookie dough.
because i make cookie dough every. single. day.

i am updating my Tumblr page here.
because adding more pretty pictures to it is one of my favorite things to do.

& today...

pete played some golf.
eh not really, he just threw golf balls out the window at this stray grey cat who keeps terrorizing our kittens on a daily basis & bit our cat Tiger on the leg.

i broke in my new boots i scored on sale two days ago.
you can purchase them here, but at the actual store, they are only $19.99! (i got the "stone" color & love them!)

& we are thrilled at the first signs of spring!
the buds are trying their hardest, the birds are chirping, & today was the first day it wasn't bitter cold. we walked around the yard in the sunshine & enjoyed the breeze. hopefully tomorrow will be just as beautiful!

outfit of the day

TIGHTS: Anthropologie here

BOOTS: Kohls similar here

SWEATER DRESS: Gap Outlet 

husband was on duty all week & just got home last night so we went out today for bagels & coffee, ran errands, & enjoyed each other's company after a week spent apart. i am all for outfits that are comfy & this sweater dress is just that. i picked it up at the Clinton outlets last week on sale & absolutely love it. it is so cozy & cute with its little pockets & metal buttons. and since there is still snow on the ground, i slid my way into my favorite ninja turtle green tights from Anthropologie & my worn in buckle boots. happy friday & cheers to a great weekend! we are lounging by the fire about to watch Zero Dark Thirty. sooo excited to see it!! 

*p.s. my hair is done with a 1 1/4inch curling iron. tutorial coming soon :)

shirts for a cause:

sevenly.org (one week. one cause.)

today's post is about a website i found on Pinterest (of course!) last night that raises awareness for charities. every week they showcase new amazing shirts and a percentage of those shirts goes to the charity of the week. this week, if you purchase just one shirt, it feeds a starving child in Haiti with nutritious meals for a month. that is enough to make me feel good inside for 30 days :) & the shirts are like, too cool. below are the ones i just purchased. one for me, & one for pete. i love the loose styles & the graphics! but make sure to check out the website here because there are many more styles & designs, and more importantly, children who need your help.

a detox!

i have never detoxed in my life. but i stumbled across Dr. Oz's 3 day detox on Pinterest and figured i would give it a try!

to print out your own sheet click here

i basically was a peanut growing up. i was the shortest in my class throughout grade school and never worried about my weight. everyday after school i had four hour gymnastics practices that burned off anything and everything i could possibly eat in a day. and so i graduated & i went off to college & was forced to end my gymnastics career as a sophomore when i broke my heel in half. i then, all of a sudden, had so much free time! i partied more, ate more, and quickly decided to study abroad in Australia the following year... that combination, along with the fact that i had never even entered a "regular" gym in my life, was a recipe for a 20lb weight gain that lasted until the end of my senior year. if someone had just said "this is called a treadmill & this is an elliptical... they make you sweat" i probably could have held off some of the weight gain. but when you are a gymnast your whole life, running in one place is brutal & sooo so so incredibly boring.

fast forward to the end of college... i graduated and immediately entered my first job in NYC interning for Elite Model Management. as an intern i loved the agency, but after two weeks i was hired and quickly discovered the world of modeling & what was worse to me, some of the bookers that came along with it. i realized this cut throat business was not the place for me, plus i was trying to get out of an extremely dysfunctional relationship at the time. one that severely affected my self esteem & sent my emotions on a never ending roller coaster. when i found myself crying one day on the bathroom floor, spooning peanut butter & jelly out of their jars, i called my mom & told her i was coming home. i quit my job, got out of that relationship, & went through a little self discovery phase...

and enter: pete. the most amazing man in my life. he literally picked me up, dusted me off, put me on my feet & showed me the lighter side of things. we moved in together & within six months we were engaged & planning a wedding. those first two years, before our marriage, i lost 20lbs without even trying. a true testament to the powers of happiness. i felt comfortable in my own skin again & stopped dreading any season other than winter (where i could cover up). and then i lost another 5lbs due to the craziness & stress of planning a wedding & the fun work outs i did with another coach i was working with in jersey. life was good.

and then shit totally hit the fan about 7 months ago. most of you, who have been following along with the blog, know that i had my tailbone removed last summer... a surgery that resulted in a major spinal infection & a very, very serious amount of blood loss. after blood transfusions & two weeks in the hospital, i went home with an IV inside my upper arm to my heart & a hole the size of a grapefruit in my pelvis. i lost a lot of weight in the hospital, but after 8 weeks of the strongest antibiotic you can take, i developed "C.diff"... a horrible condition where your body kills the good bacteria along with the bad bacteria. it was horrifically miserable, and resulted in an additional 10lb weight loss that was, in a weird way, nice to have all of your clothes fit and look great... but i was very, very sick and it really showed in my face. and so over the past couple of months i have gained back those 10lbs that i lost. which really is fine because i needed to give my body the necessary nutrients to heal, along with a lot of rest, & some well deserved desserts! but as of the past week, my wound has finally closed up and i am trying to get back to being a healthy, fit individual.

and so, i am embarking on this detox for the next week (i'm going to do more than 3 days)... however, i am def going to make some changes to different things. because let's face it, strawberries instead of spinach sounds much more appetizing! i am hoping this will be a sort of kick start & just the motivation i need to a healthier diet. i have so much to look forward to: in the months to come & also in the future with my husband. and more importantly, i am hoping to move forward and put the past 7 months behind me :)

let me know if you are going to try the cleanse with me! i'd love to hear how it works for you, if you lose any weight, if you feel any better, etc... and as i've said before, if you are suffering from tailbone pain please message me if you have any questions. i have been through everything you could possibly go through with it & would love to answer any and all questions. 

xo

over the past week...

kairos caught his first vole so we rewarded him by keeping our shopping bags on the bed,

they are his favorite. his own little crinkly sounding forts!

my Stella & Dot pretties came! & in the cutest packaging i might add!

we ate donuts all weekend. & that one with the green frosting spilling out... 

ya, that's the manager's special. it will give you a stomach ache.

my favorite magazines came for the month of April!

& i made cinnamon cream cheese crumble cake (recipe here!)

& we did a little shopping for California:

husband bought these two toned Penguin boots from Saks on sale 

& is thinking about going back to get the darker colored ones!

& i scored this amazing fitting striped dress from the Gap!

hope you all had a great week & weekend. thank you so much for all the kind words i received from the video tutorial!! the response was overwhelming, i am so happy you all enjoyed it & i am getting ready to do another one very soon! Happy St. Patricks day! (we are getting ready to feast on some cabbage & corn beef ) & see you tomorrow!