I Heart Dresses!

Now is the time of year when I always get the itch to buy dresses upon dresses in preparation for the nice weather. Over the past couple weeks, I've scratched that itch by purchasing multiple dresses (mostly from Forever 21, one from Anthropologie, and one from Victoria's Secret). Rest assured, I don't normally stand around and take countless pictures of myself, but I thought I would share these dresses with you to see what you think. In particular, the second group of dresses include some "potentials" for the future sis's bachelorette party this summer (the color scheme involves various shades of pinks and reds), so your input is always welcomed. You can click on the pictures to make them bigger. Sorry the quality isn't awesome, I took them on my phone. And don't be afraid to say you don't like any of them. I won't cry. ;) Enjoy!

Random dresses that I thought were cute!

Potential bachelorette party dresses!

Mmm, Payday.

So, this is somewhat random and irrelevant to anyone but me, but I just need to express my overwhelming happiness about the fact that at least right now, I no longer have to count down the days and hours and minutes until my next paycheck arrives. In fact, I just remembered today that I got paid yesterday. Since I've started this job, nothing has made me happier than the 15th and 28th of each month - my 2 paydays. Before I got my tax refund back, I was seriously scraping by SO bad and was forced to think of creative ways to live on virtually no money. Not fun. For a variety of reasons, my tax refund was quite high compared to normal, and obviously you will hear no complaining on my end. The only downfall lies in the fact that it was a bit of a fluke and I will probably never receive that big of a return again, at least not in the near future. Oh well. For right now, I'm just trying to enjoy the sense of freedom I have from the grip my finances have had on me. Now I just need to be smart with it. That's a whole different issue though. ;)

HBD, Casey Mae! :)

Today marks the birthday of my wonderful future sister-in-law, and since I can't be there in person, I thought I would celebrate with her in spirit by making a post dedicated to her! :) I have added a collection of photos of me and Casey over the past few years for your viewing pleasure (oldest photos first). Some are nice, some are crazy. Very representative of our sisterly relationship! ;) So glad to have you in my life, Casey! Happy, happy birthday!!

Out for Megan's b-day (holy old picture!)

Our attempt at a "jump" shot in Central Park. Clearly it worked. ;) P.S. My hair rocks!

Celebrating Smith. Bros. 25th anniversary at Royal Tokyo!

Thanksgiving 2009!

Ha ha ha! Out and about in La Crosse. Casey was really happy. ;)

Celebrating my 25th birthday at Royal Tokyo!

Lovely pic of us at Charlie's in Milwaukee!

I ended with a nice one of us at Las Palmas in Milwaukee! :)

Long Lost Loves.

This weekend took me on a sweet trip down memory lane. During my time in college, I managed to meet some of the most amazing people I've ever known, and I consider myself extremely blessed to have them in my life. I'll admit, I'm not the best when it comes to keeping in touch. I have good intentions, but life happens, and I don't get to catch up with people nearly as often as I'd like. That's why when I found out that not one, but TWO, of my favorite friends from college were going to be in Milwaukee this weekend, I was thrilled!!

My friend Lauren has been a part of my life since I first moved to La Crosse. We lived in the same dorm our freshman year, and then we were roommates during our sophomore and junior years. This girl can seriously bring a smile to my face faster than anyone I know. She's hilarious, but also incredibly sweet. While we were reminiscing at lunch yesterday, we realized that it's been about a year and 1/2 since we last saw each other. Very disheartening! Fortunately, she's in town all week, so I think I get to sneak in at least one more visit with her before she heads back to Minnesota. Can't wait!

Me and Lauren at Mo's Irish Pub for lunch!

My friend Jen is someone I was fortunate enough to meet on my study abroad trip to England in the summer of 2007. (Time out, I can't believe it's been almost 4 years since that trip!) At the time, I'd never been overseas, and I didn't know a single soul going on the trip with me, so to say I was nervous is a bit of an understatement. Fortunately, Jen and I became really close during our time there, and the rest is history. We're so much alike that it's scary. Gotta say, I can't even imagine my life without her! The pictures below serve as a "naughty" and "nice" display of sorts. When she and I get together, things usually get a little crazy before the night's over. ;)

Me and Jen before going out on the town in Milwaukee!
After far too many shots (noticed I spilled on myself). Quite representative of us.

Happy 4 Months!

Today's been a good day! Not only did I get to go out and celebrate one of my favorite days of the year last night (St. Patty's Day), but today marks the day that I've been in my job for exactly 4 months. FOUR months! I seriously cannot believe I've been here for a third of a year already! There have naturally been some difficult days, but when I reflect on the time I've been here so far, I honestly cannot even express how much I enjoy my job and being in this city. I still learn so much on a daily basis, both about the work I do and about Milwaukee in general, so I feel like I'm growing a lot as a person. Gotta say, I'm kind of proud of myself! :) I've already done a lot more than I ever thought I could. And with it being such a busy time in our office right now, I feel like the school year will be over before I know it. Crazy how time flies these days! Anyway, this is a short entry in comparison to some of my recent ones, but I just wanted to take a quick minute to talk about my 4-month anniversary with my job! Wish us luck on many more happy months together! :) (Oh, and just for fun, I've included a few photos regarding St. Patty's Day!)

St. Patty's Day flowers from my boss! (He knows how much I love this day!)

A pitcher of green beer for me and my coworker, Kari!

A pint of beer and "The Monster" (both mine). The name of it says it all.

Retail Therapy:)

Since I moved to MKE, I've had very few opportunities to really spend money on myself. Yes, I've gone out for dinner. Yes, I go get drinks once in awhile. Yes, I've bought an occasional item of clothing here and there. But none of that has occurred without making me feel a huge amount of anxiety about whether or not those expenditures would cause me to eat crumbs off my kitchen floor until my next paycheck arrived. So, needless to say, receiving my WI tax refund last week made me feel extremely happy! Don't worry, I won't blow it all away, but I feel like I've earned the opportunity to purchase a few things for myself. Not that you're particularly interested in seeing what I've "wasted" my money on, but I thought I'd share some of the purchases that have brightened my mood these days!!

First of all, my dear future sister-in-law has been busy planning her bachelorette party, and she's decided on a color-themed party. The color scheme is pink/hot pink/red/rose/light pink, which fortunately leaves a lot of options! Last week, I ordered 2 potential BParty dresses from Forever21. The first dress is interestingly not one that I'd picture myself liking, both in color and in style. However, I saw it and instantly had that moment of, "Shit, this dress is going to haunt my dreams until I purchase it." Surprisingly, when I sent the future sis a long list of dress links to sort through, she picked that dress as her favorite too, even without me saying anything. That MUST be a good sign, right?! The second dress is just simple and girly. When you click the link, remember that I obviously got the red one. I just received the dresses today and am pretty excited about both of them. When I go back home next weekend, you best believe I will be seeking the opinion of any and all people who are willing to watch me prance around in dresses all day long. :)

OTHER PURCHASES:
1. ALDO shoes. This purchase was also inspired by my future sis (I'm sensing a pattern here). Which color, are you wondering? Both. Yeah, that's right. LOVE them!

2. Brewers t-shirt. I'm very happy about this shirt, and it makes me really excited to go to my first EVER Brewers game this season! I don't have tickets or anything yet, but I figure since I live in Milwaukee now, there's no way I can't go to a game this year.

3. Here are two recent purchases from the store Anthropologie. I try to avoid that store like the plague because it's amazing, but amazingly expensive. A few weeks ago, I bought this dress. Feeling guilty, I went to return it today. I was then informed that the dress was on sale for half the price, so of course, I had to keep it. (Shoot, sometimes this link works and sometimes it doesn't, sorry!) The other item I got while there today was this shirt. In case you were worried, I will have you know that both of these items are WAY cuter in person. Just wait until you get to see me in them!

Now, go buy something for yourself. It'll make you happy. :)

Sex and the City

As usual, today is reserved for nothing but pure laziness. I can't even explain how much I love Sundays (minus the fact that it means Monday is that much closer). Anyway, I just turned on my TV and flipped to an episode of Sex and the City. I own all the seasons, and I've watched them from start to finish multiple times. However, I still get just as excited when it's on TV! And to make today even better, I just so happened to turn it on at the exact point when Carrie was saying one of my all-time favorite lines from the show. Here's a little context. In this episode, Carrie's boyfriend breaks up with her by writing it on a Post-It. Later that night, she's out with the girls and sees a bunch of her infamous ex's friends. She walks over and talks to them, and in the process tells them about the break-up. The guy's friends defend his actions by saying that maybe he broke up with her that way since girls can be scary when you try to break up with them. He also boiled it down to the fact that he doesn't believe there's any "good" way to break up with someone. Carrie's awesome response?

"It's funny you should mention that, because actually, there is. You can have the guts and the courtesy to tell a woman, to her face, that you no longer want to see her. Call me crazy but, I think that you can make a point of ending your relationship in a manner that does not include an e-mail, a doorman, or a missing persons report. I think you could all get over your fear of looking like the bad guy and actually have the uncomfortable break-up conversation because, here's what, avoiding that is what makes you the bad guy. And just so you know, most women aren't angry, irrational psychos. We just want an ending to a relationship that is thoughtful and decent and honors what we had together. So my point is this, there IS a good way to break-up with someone, and it doesn’t involve a Post-It!"

I don't know why I love that part so much, but I think she's got some pretty good points. No one likes to have "the" talk when it comes to breaking up, but there are definitely better ways to approach it than others. Anyway, I know this is a totally random entry, but I just thought it was a crazy coincidence that I turned on the TV at the exact moment she was saying one of my favorite lines. Oh, I tell ya. Gotta love SATC! :)