C-O-A-T!

Happy Hump Day everyone!  (Oh boy, this week just passed me by...I totally didn't realize I typed in happy hump day...I meant Happy Thursday!!)  It's a gorgeous fall day today...with highs of 74!!!! 

I was preusing the Anthro site this morning and since nothing in clothes attracted me, I went into their home section and found these:

I'm a huge fan of classily monogrammed items and these little hooks are so cute.  We have a wall near our entrance of our front door that's just bare right now...so I thought what better way to use that wall for some coat hooks.  We can also use these hooks for car keys as well.  I bought 4 of these...spelling out COAT.  I can't wait!

In with the coat theme, if you've been reading and following, you know that I purchased the Clinton Trench in neutral earlier this summer.  I then went and got the Idra Cream Confection Coat and was going to return the trench since both are similar color and had ruffled styling.  But recently, I noticed they came out with a new Clinton Trench in the navy colorway.  Well...I have always wanted to look for a good navy coat, and this is just the right one.  I've decided to return the neutral and get the navy.  YAY!

Also, thanks to everyone that commented on my entry yesterday about iPhone apps.  All last night I was downloading apps...including Open Table, Shazam, Camera Bag, TiltShiftGen, Gorilla Cam, Lose It, My24, Balance...to name a few.  I played around with the Camera Bag app after taking my OOTD today and this is what I ended up with.

Please excuse my puffy face...I believe I have a cold sore (I know...TMI???) and my thyroid or salivary glands were affected by it...so my face was more poofy than normal for the last couple of days.  Yuck!!!  It's starting to get better now though.

And I leave you with my kitty!

We went to Petsmart the other day and got him a new tag and collar.  His old one was so frayed and I swear, he he must have worn that last collar for 10 years.  His new collar is so adorable...it's blue (to match his soft paws) with an argyle pattern.  And to go with the preppy theme, the font we got on his tag was a collegiate font and on it below our address, we put "Can I haz some friezzz" in case he gets lost and the people nice enough to take him in knows he LOVES fries and gives him some.  :) 

Have a great day everyone!

I've been iPhoned!

Hello all!  As some of you know, my birthday was this month and as a bday present, my husband bought me a new iPhone 4!  I've never owned an iPhone before because I was waiting for the right version to come out.  And when I saw that this one had the world's clearest screen and you can talk on the phone using Face Time, I was sold! 

Of course I love the apps on the iPhone.  The one I'm obsessed with right now is called Angry Birds.  Basically there are these birds which you place in a slingshot and shoot at these pigs in these wooden and ice boxes.  It's so frustrating I tell you!  I'm stuck on level 4 and can't get past it.  The pigs taunt me because they smile slyly at you if you don't shoot them down right before the level ends.  Arghghgh! 

Another app I can't live without is eBuddy.  I'm unable to sign into any chat program at work, so to keep me sane, I keep in touch with my husband and friends through eBuddy.  I was afraid to get the iPhone because of the touch screen keyboard but the 4G phone's keyboard is amazing.  It's been really easy to use so far.

Of course I have to put some smart apps in there to fool myself into thinking I'm truly cultured and educated.  The Wallstreet Journal and the New York Times is also on the phone...but I hardly use those.  :)

For those readers that have an iPhone, what are some of your favorite apps???

And I leave you with my dessert from last night.  Does anyone eat greek yogurt?  I love it and think it's way better than normal yogurt, but it does have a higher fat content so I try to limit my intake on it.  The hubby made me a greek yogurt parfait with granola, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, and pears!  It was yummo!

Back From Camping...

I know I've been MIA for a bit and I was able to go into Anthro last week to try some stuff on.  But I wasn't wow'ed at any of the items so I'll save those for a later date.  I am excited to show you all some pictures of our first and ever camping trip with friends. 

Most of my friends and I have known one another since high school and throughout the years we've remained the same but at the same time, have all grown so much.  We're all either already married or is getting married...so these little trips together when we're all without kids are very special to us.  We know as soon as one of us start having kids, the others will follow and our lives will be changed (for the better of course) from then on.  But for now, we enjoy our times together as couples.

Chris trying to be "cool" on our hike.

We came upon a side of Lake Easton and it was just beautiful.  It was quite dangerous though because behind us was a huge straight fall into the rocky lake.

Ahh...serene and beautiful!

It's places like this that make me appreciate Seattle.  Just 10 minutes from this lake is a ski lodge.  So imagine in the winter time, you're able to ski in the morning and then come down to the lake to canoe and hike.  Where else can you ski and canoe in the same day?  Also, it's only an hour drive from Seattle.

Have anyone played "Spoons"?  It's a great card game where you pass the cards around the group really fast and you try to get four of a kind.  As soon as someone gets it, they grab a spoon in the center...then everyone else will have to grab a spoon as well as fast as they can.  There's always one less spoon than the number of people playing, so one person will always lose.  It was so much fun!

We ventured to the other side of the lake where there was a beach area.  The weather held out...it was 75!

My friend Jean posing Anthro-like for the camera! :)  She's a hottie!

Here we're cooking breakfast and boiling water for our coffee.  We're all coffee crazy people here...since Seattle's our home.

I have no idea what my hubby was doing here!

A fun shot on the lake.  :)

It was definitely a fun trip but I was glad it was over.  It's not fun to be without a real bathroom and shower for two days.  I have to admit that camping isn't for me.  I know there are people that just love it, but it can't appeal to everyone, or else it'd be really expensive!  I loved connecting with the nature and my friends, but we can do that in a cabin right? :)  Sleeping in a tent was a fun experience though...although it was so cold that first night.  I wanna say it was in the 40's that night and we were covered in three layers of blankets. 

Our friends and I were discussing a final trip together before we all settle down.  Maybe to Hawaii? :)  Who knows!  Can't wait! 

So Tuckered!

I am extremely sore today!!!!  I'm whining but I have to, girls.  So please excuse me.  The power sculpt really did it to me but you know how it is, the soreness sucks...however at the same time, it feels so good.  I guess it literally "hurts so good".  I probably did some 80 pushups and hundres of dumb bell curls so my arms and chest area is killing me.  OK...I will stop now.

A white Target bag awaited for me yesterday after returning from work.  It was my Tucker for Target pieces that I purchased.  FINALLY!  I just couldn't wait so I wore the dress today.  I thought it went great with how I was feeling...all tuckered out!  I really can't say enough about how comfortable this dress is for me.  Remember how I blogged about having fat days?  This will sure help add to that section of my closet.  It's so flowy and roomy...and I can eat anything in this. 

I love these tights.  They add a great texture feel to any outfit.  I have the same one in a plum color too.  Great sale purchases at Anthro.  :)

CAMPING!!!
This weekend my friends and I planned to head over to Lake Easton (about an hour and a half away) for camping.  OK, don't judge me but I've never been camping before in my adult life.  The only time I went was with my parents (and my cat...yes I brought my cat along) in Yellowstone Park.  I remembered it to be fun...but I want to experience it again before this camping season ends.  The weather's not good here though.  It's said to be in the high 60's this weekend with some chances of showers and at night...it'll probably be in the 40's.  We are prepared though...we have lots of blankets and sleeping bags, a tent, an air mattress and lots and lots of Northface jackets and fleeces.  I can't wait to just relax a bit in the wilderness. 

P.S.
My Anticipation Heels finally arrived and guess what?  They're perfect!!!  I will have to debut it properly after all the fuss I went through to get it. 

P.P.S.
Sorry everyone...it was garbage day in our neighborhood so please excuse the cans in my pics.  Is it only in WA or does garbage days happen on Thursdays across the country? :)  It was Thursdays in LA too.  And I swear...sometimes I feel I live in the same neighborhood they have on the Truman Show.  Hehehehe.
Tootles!

Lets get steppin'!

Those of you that follow this little blog know that I'm a huge turbo kick boxing fan.  I try to go twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays and my body literally aches if I don't go for a longer length of time.  I'm a firm believer of switching up your work out routines for muscle confusion and to avoid pure workout boredom.  So today I decided to take my first stepping class.  I call it stepping, but 24 Hour Fitness calls it "Power Sculpt".  It's cardio and strength training combined into one class.  The first half is more cardio focused...with stepping moves and stretching in between sets.  The second half is muscle training focused...push-ups, weights, and other weight strenghtening moves are used.  Let me tell ya, I thought I was in good shape but by the end of the WARM UP...I was already sweating like a pig.  The instructor called me out though and said I was following along and was pretty impressed was me (she knew I was new to the class).  I'll definitely be going again and making it a once a week thing.  I'm already feeling the pain and soreness from it...so it must be working right?  Tomorrow is TKB again and next Monday I'm going to try the Zumba class.  What is Zumba?  I have no idea!  But I'll find out!

My outfit today was totally inspired (meaning copied) by Rosa of Love at First Shop.  She paired an olive colored J.Crew cardigan with the Anthro Boutonniere Dress and brown boots.  I thought the look was so cute so I decided to re-create it.  Here's my version:

Cardigan - Nordstroms Halogen
Dress - Anthropologie Camilla Dress
Boots - Aerosoles from DSW

I tried different ways of posing today and wanted to test out the lovely "look at shoes naturally" pose that I see so many bloggers flawlessly do.  Somehow that didn't really work for me.  I just look like I lost something!  Anyway, thanks, Rosa for the inspiration!

Giovanni's Shrimp Recreation...

One of the yummiest things I ate in Hawaii was the famous Giovanni's shrimp scampi off of a truck!  I figured a shrimp dish drenched in butter can't be hard to recreate right?  So I tried last night!

First, here's the original version:

The recipe I followed, you can get here.

I went to the store that night and bought two pounds of the 24-36 count raw white shrimp.  I ended up buying too much and saved half of it in the fridge.

This is where I strayed away from the instructions of the recipe and combined all the ingredients: butter, garlic, lemon juice, and Hawaiian sea salt into the pot and cooked on medium until the garlic started to caramalize.  This took about 5-8 minutes.  After that, I poured the white wine (a Chardonnay) in.

Then in goes the shrimp.  I made sure to not over cook the shrimp and only left these in there for around 3-4 minutes.

Voila!!!  The end product.  It was extremely good but I could not make my sauce into the pasty texture like how Giovanni's makes it.  Mine was kind of saucey...but still good.  Whenever I cook in butter, I always taste the butter...and I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's the brand I use all the time (Tillamook).  But I know when I eat at restaurants and their dishes are drenched in butter, it just tastes yummy...not buttery.  What am I doing wrong?

Anyhoo...so what does a girl wear the next day after buttery shrimp and rice?  Elastic waist skirt of course.

Cardigan - Nordstrom Halogen
Skirt - Target
Boots - Zappos.com

Oh yeah...do you see the van parked outside of the house behind us?  They're our neighbors who own a neighborhood Thai restaurant in our area and after seeing my dad in and out of our place building our deck and fence, he's hired my dad to do some exterior work for him.  My dad already built a whole gazebo for him already and now is working on a patio area they want enclosed with a fireplace!  I'll be sure to post up pics when it's near completion.  Also, our neighbor to the left of us also want my dad to build them a deck, storage shack and fire pit!  He's getting a lot of business apparently.  :) 

Wedding Photo Sneakpeak!

Our wedding photographer tagged us on Facebook with a photo sneakpeak.  He just love to tease us.  :)  This was taken outside of the venue a little ways from the parking lot during cocktail hour.  We were able to find a wall of graffiti!!  Perfect for what we were going for.  This is just one of many more to come but I had to post it here to show everyone.  

P.S. John and Jean were the best man and the matron of honor.  The Just Married signs were made by Chris.  On the flip side of these signs says "Thank You" which we also used and took pictures of us holding.  The point was to use those pics as Thank You cards.  More to come so stay tuned!!!

Fat Pants!

Happy Monday morning, everyone!  I'm feeling a little bloated today...probably due to the lasagna I made and ate this weekend.  On my fat days, I have a habit of wearing things too big for me.  Today's fat pants is a pair of Banana Republic slacks I bought when I switched jobs in 2005.  So...these pants are almost 6 years old!  They are extremely cute and classic, so they never went out of style.  I actually bought these pants as part of a suit because the new company was a business formal environment.  Can you still believe there are companies out there that require business formal everyday?  Let alone in the Pacific Northwest?  Needless to say, I left this job within 2 months!  I have no idea where the top of this suit went, but these pants I've worn over and over again on my "fat" days. 

So...what are some of your fat day outfits?  Are they pants?  Dresses?  Skirts??  Do you feel cute in them?  Cause I sure don't feel cute today!

I'm debuting the Majorie Heels today!  This is my first time wearing these and I just love them.  They're so comfortable!  I feel like I can walk in these forever!  And they create the perfect height as well. 

Speaking of shoes, I have an Anticipation Heels update.  This past Saturday I made it to the Anthro store to see if I can return the wrong shoes.  I was told by the SA that because they are the wrong shoes in the box, I can't just return them to the store.  I'd have to send them back!  I was peeved about this of course but decided to call CS to order the heels again and ask for free expedited shipping.  CS was nice enough to do that for me, and as of this morning, the new shoes shipped out.  Lets just hope tomorrow when I get them, that it's the right shoe in the box.  I will be returning the original ones this week as well.  Thanks everyone for sharing your frustrating shipping stories.  This has never really happened to me at any retailer while shopping online...but it was fairly a painless experience.  The only disappointment was that I couldn't return my shoes at the store...which was very weird to me. 

Anticipated a disappointment!!!

Good evening everyone!  I just had to come online for a quick post.  I was so looking forward to the Anticipation Heels arriving today and you can just imagine my excitement when I saw the UPS box at my doorstep.  Usually the first thing I do when I get home is change out of my work clothes, but I didn't even do that.  I went straight into the kitchen to get the scissors so I can open up the box.  Boy...was I disappointed!  Anthro sent me the WRONG shoe!  They sent me the Renssaelar T-Straps which are still cute, but in a size 8 which I can not wear!  In addition, I looked at the shipping slip that came with the shoes and it said "Leather bow drape heel, grey".  Obviously the leather bow drape heel is neither the brown renssaelar t-straps or the anticipation heels.  So, I'm confused!  Something is totally screwed up at Anthro's fulfillment department.  I looked at the original order confirmation I had and I wasn't crazy.  I did order the Anticipation Heel!  Ugh...now it's just a hassle to go to the store, return these t-straps and re-order the ones I originally wanted!  I'm going to ask for free overnight or 2 day shipping because this is ridiculous!  Thank goodness it's Friday and I've had a couple of drinks so I'm in a pretty good mood.  Hehee...sorry girls.  Just had to vent.  Have a wonderful night!

Friday Preview!

It's finally Friday...and I'm back on track with my Friday Previews.  I made it to my local Anthro store this week to try some pretties on.  I didn't have a chance to make it to the U-village store though, so please excuse the dark lighting of the Bravern store.  I tried to make it work with the mirror lights and I think this was the best I can get it.  So...here goes:

Refined Cord Shirtdress - $128

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this shirtdress because, well, it's a shirt dress!  And I love them.  I am really liking the heavy, substantial fabric of this dress, which is a perfect texture for fall.  Pair this with some tights, boots and a nice trench...throw on a hat with a cute umbrella in rainy Seattle and you've got an outfit ready for a photoshoot.  Although I love this dress, I'm on the fence about buying it just because I already have the Beda, the Two-wheeler, and the Secret Treasure shirtdresses.  I envision this little number flying off the shelves quickly though because it's just a nice, simple, key fall piece. 

Southward Stop Shirtdress - $128

Ok...so this is another reason why I couldn't get the Refined Cord Shirtdress...because I took this one home with me!  This dress has been reviewed all over our bloggy world, so I have little to add as to why I love it.  I just do!  My friend Jean will be laughing and making fun of me I'm sure.  Because believe it or not, I once was not an Anthro fan.  The reason I gave her for not being an Anthro fan was, "I just can't imagine myself wearing something with birds on it!!"  OOOH boy...I will kick myself in the arse for her!  I love the birds and the deers on this dress.  I love the feel of it and I'm "anticipating" to wear it with the Anticipation heels (it's waiting for me on my front doorstep as I type this!).  Fit wise, I felt this dress flattered me more than the refined cord shirtdress, so this was the keeper!

Cold Snap Jacket - $348

I love it when I see a catalog shot of a model wearing a nice fall coat unbuttoned, with a nice thin sweater, scarft, wool skirt, and boots.  I am not a huge fan of double breasted coats because I like the option of keeping my coats unbuttoned, but I decided to try this one since I did like the color (which didn't come off well in these pictures).  When I got this on, I was underwhelmed.  First it was the smell...it's geniune leather, so it's bound to smell a little.  Second, the pockets on the side are useless basically.  They already poof out and you can't just slip your hands right in since there's a button enclosure.  Third...the price.  $348...ouch!  For that price, I'd have to truly love something to bite the bullet.  Finally, the jacket made me feel square-ish.  It wasn't structured enough to define my figure...so a no for me.  I can see this on other girls and it'll look fantastic!  For me, it was a pass.

Alice in Autumn Sweatercoat - $168

Some of you know my conflict between the Alice vs. the Clinton a while back here.  When I tried the original Alice in the cream and purple, I really liked it.  Although this little number didn't receive the best reviews online, it still has a piece of my heart.  I've been meaning to try the mustard version for awhile and I must
say, I like it better than the puple.  It's the perfect fall pullover for Seattle during our "colder" months but I'm still not sold yet.  At full price, it's just not on my priority list to get.

I leave you with good news!  Remember my rant about my engagement ring here?  Well, today we went to Neiman Marcus and spoke to the original salesperson that sold Chris the ring.  She was so nice and we sent
the ring for repair...without any cost!  I'm glad that the crack will finally be filled in...but now I feel a little separation anxiety.  Hehe..my finger feels naked with only my wedding band...which is a pretty...but a dainty little thing.  :)  YAY!!!  Have a great weekend, everyone! 

Famous Primanti Brothers and Famous Cindi?

Hello all!!!  It's a lovely partly cloudy day here in Seattle, so what's a girl to do during her lunch hour?  Try to stay indoors...but at an Anthro store.  I decided to stop by to try on some new fall stuff for my Friday Preview.  As I was standing in line to pay for my purchase (item to be revealed Friday), someone behind me asked me if I was Cindi.  I said yes, and thought in my head that this person did not look familiar to me at all.  Then she introduced herself as LC from Bella Seattle!!!  We work only a couple of blocks from one another and I know there's been times where we barely missed one another.  I'm so glad she introduced herself to me since I'll never be able to recognize her!  As I drove back to work, I thought, "This must be how famous people feel!" and I kinda like it.  This is the first time a reader's recognized me...little ole me!  It was a fun experience.  LC...if you ever wanna go shopping during lunch or actually eat lunch...let me know! :)

For those of you that live in or near Pittsburgh, you must know the Primanti Bros. Restaurant.  They are most famous for their sandwich stacked high with coppacola ham, fried egg, slaw, provoline, tomato, and fries.  Obviously, we don't live anywhere near Pittsburgh, so we decided to recreate this sandwich!

Here's the sandwich from Primanti's:

Chris first fried the egg to perfection while I cut the tomato and fresh french baked bread:

Then we put the coppacola ham in a pan and fried it by itself.  The recipe calls for butter...but we decided to stay a little "healthier".  After the ham browned a little, we laid the cheese on top:

*Note: We bought the best Provolone we can find in the store.  We went to a local market that's like a Whole Foods and asked the deli to slice up their 8 year aged provolone.  The flavor is so intense! 

Next came the layering...bread, tomatoes, slaw (purchased already made at the market), egg, meat, cheese,...and here's our compiled sammie:

We decided to skip the fries since the sandwich was getting extra thick.  And boy...the first bite into it was a piece of heaven.  A success!  I can just imagine how the real sandwich would taste, but until I go to Pittsburgh and taste it for myself, right now our own version will do.  And it's good enough for me!

So what am I wearing after last night's gigantic meal?  My vagabond dress of course!  LC actually said if it wasn't for this dress, which she remembered my blog entry about it, she would have been scared to introduce herself to me. 

These are the Stuart Weiszman's I wore under my dress on my wedding day.  I'm so glad they work for everyday life as well. 

Thanks for stopping by, everyone!