happy halloween + thanksgiving prep

{yes, i realize this is a day early, but i try not to post on weekends. so deal with it.}

thank you for all your sweet wishes for my recharge weekend! i'm still not back to 100%, but a weekend at home with my family was just what i needed.

i am so excited for this weekend! one of my besties is hosting a big halloween bash. it should be rather interesting, because her house is across from a park and in a neighborhood with a lot of young families. i can't wait to see what happens when kids ring the doorbell and find a bunch of tipsy people trying to relive their college glory days. hilarity will ensue.

i'm going as a ballerina. pink tights, pink tutu, pink leotard, pink ballet slippers, and pink ribbon in the hair. come on....didn't we ALL want to be ballerinas at some point? it's going to be a blast to wear a tutu with no judgement. and i am making these as my byob contribution. i thought this was just the cutest idea. although i've never actually had to chew a jell-o shot, i think after a couple of them it won't really matter.

the other reason i'm excited for this weeked is it signals the beginning of my FAVORITE time of year. the stretch between halloween and christmas is friggin awesome. i LOVE it!! i'm stealing a page from one of my favorite bloggers {and interior design obsessions} and have decided that for the month of november, i will post something every day that i am thankful for. play along! this should be fun...

recharge

hi lovelies! i'm back from a quick trip to atlanta {and an AMAZING dinner at the blue ridge grill...not sure how i've never been there before, but if you're in the area, GO!}. i know this is the umpteenth time that i have flaked out on y'all in the past two months, but i'm going to be flittering away from my blog for just a bit. it's confession-time:

i have not been taking care of myself AT ALL the past two months. i can't tell you the last time i consistently prepared anything remotely resembling a healthy meal for myself. i've been living on lean cuisines, canned soup, and fast food and i am feeling the effects. what few times i've been able to go out and have fun with my friends, i have had WAY too much to drink and stupidly indulged in a few {or more} cigarettes {a very nasty habit leftover from my college bar years}. i haven't been exercising or taking the puppy boy for his walks. my skin looks terrible, my hair is fried. i am stressed all the time. my sleep pattern is a joke. i have nightmares, i'm not sleeping through the night, i have trouble falling asleep and even more trouble waking up.

all in all, i am a mess.

i am cancelling all of my obligations this weekend and going home. i'm going to catch up on laundry and dvr and reading. i'm going to run everyday. i'm going to eat my mom's homemade veggie soup and sundry other healthy, homecooked offerings. i am not going to have ANY vino. and i'm not taking my blackberry. because i need to be nice to me and be really selfish for a little while.

i'll still be posting, just not as frequently for the next little bit. no worries. the stretch from halloween to christmas is my most favoritest time of the year, so i'll be back. and i will miss y'all terribly. stay warm, chickadees!

blog love!

it's that time again!

i've been very lucky that my follower numbers have taken a major jump in the past few weeks. i've been so busy that i really haven't had the time to check out your lovely blogs and add you to my blog roll.

so let's make this easy on me, shall we? if you would like to be added to my blog roll, please just leave a comment on this post. i look forward to popping over and seeing what you're up to soon!

happy hump day!

what's cooking wednesdays...a little early

nom nom

i ended up making these gorgonzola truffles from the 2008 southern living cookbook for our junior league social tonight. i doubled recipe as it doesn't make very many. these are INSANELY delicious. bacon + blue cheese....i mean, how could they not be?!

i'm off to atlanta for work until thursday. have a great week, lovelies!

Yield
Makes 6 appetizer servings
Ingredients
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (4-oz.) container crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup cooked and crumbled bacon
Apple and pear slices
Grapes
Preparation
1. Beat first 5 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until well combined. Cover tightly, and chill at least 1 hour or until firm (can chill up to 3 days).
2. Roll cheese mixture into 3/4-inch-round balls. Roll each ball in bacon. Serve immediately, or cover and chill until ready to serve. If chilled, let stand 30 minutes before serving. Serve with apple and pear slices and grapes.

bahahahaha

i needed a little heart hug today and thought y'all could use one too.

Fall Wants-Its: The Not Anytime Soon Edition

i think most of these are pretty self-explanatory.

prince harry. total fox.





despite lauren conrad's best efforts, i think this is still the pinnacle of chic style and elegance.

i adore an asscher cut diamond. i would adore it more on my finger. from a certain male in nyc. teehee. although i would be perfectly happy just to know when i'm going to see him again.

i can't look at these without squealing. they're like barbie dress-up shoes for grown-ups.

i hope y'all have enjoyed playing along with me and my greed this week. have a wonderful weekend!

Fall Wants-Its: The Food Edition

something about fall just makes me want to get in the kitchen and cook! i think it's because my townhouse isn't air-conditioned so i pretty much don't turn the oven on during the summer months for fear of sweating myself out of the kitchen. as soon as the air turns cold {more like FREEZING...low of 42 degrees this week!}, i'm ready for the warmth of the oven. here are a few recipes i am just dying to make, some new, some tried-and-true favorites, and some purchased:

mmmm...this cheesy goodness is one of my all-time favorites!! it tastes so rich, but is actually very light. another cooking light homerun!

kag {if you don't follow her, you really should!} posted this cupcake recipe yesterday morning and i will definitely be making these over the weekend. what's not to love?

this is at the top of my must-try list. kappa prep posted this recipe a few weeks back, and i'm just now finding the time to make these. dinner party, anyone?

i know it's practically blasphemous in our little blogworld to not love the pumpkin spice latte, but it's just not my thing. too sweet for my taste. but oh my goodness, if i don't ADORE a tall non-fat sugar-free cinnamon dolce latte this time of year?! it's only 90 calories without the whipped cream, so no guilt either!

and last, but DEFINITELY not least, the deliciousness that is the krispy kreme pumpkin spice cake donut. i am normally a doughnut snob, and i firmly believe that if one wants plain glazed doughnuts, one goes to krispy kreme and if one wants flavored doughnuts, one goes to dunkin donuts. but as katherine hepburn said, if you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. i am happy to break my golden rule this time of year.

what do you crave each fall to warm you inside out?

Fall Wants-Its: The Frugalista Edition

so i could make about 2,000 posts of my current clothing wants, but in the interest of space and time, i limited myself on this one to my best fall budget finds. below are items that i WILL have in my closet by the end of november {one of them has already weaseled its way in}. enjoy!

how is this gorgeous coat only $99.50?! i am seriously addicted to coats. this will def be added to my collection.

ok, so land's end is NOT the first place i think of for chic. but this wrap sweater is adorable and only $44.99. i want the grey, which is sold out online, but i will be checking sears.

i just bought this skirt on sale for $39.99 at ann taylor LOFT and i love it. it's a fall editors fave {featured in instyle, real simple, and people stylewatch} and so flattering.

eeeeh these are so cheap and chic, i cannot even stand it!!

this gorgeous piece by boden is now sold out in my size. time for an ebay hunt! the look of chanel for a fraction of the price.

what about y'all? any fall bargains i missed?

Fall Wants-Its: The Exercise Edition

let's continue along our fall must-haves path, shall we? i am the exhausted proud mommy of an almost-2 years old redbone coonhound rescue dog. he is a shedding, slobbering, hyperenergetic mess of an animal and i couldn't love him anymore. one of the best {and unforeseen} benefits of getting him was the drastic increase in my exercise requirements. he was bred to run and run and run. i live in a tiny apartment with no fenced-in yard on the busiest street in town, so he doesn't get any a lot of running opportunities during the day.

i never understood the allure of running {or really, any form of exercise} before the puppy boy came into my life. now not only is it necessary to keep him from LITERALLY bouncing off the walls of my apartment when i come home from work, but it's become necessary for my own personal sanity. i get super antsy if i go too long without a run. such a wonderful way to clear your mind and rock out to some awesomely bad tunes with no judgement. {the running mix on my ipod is seriously made up of only britney, lady gaga, and whatever other terrible teeny-bopper songs are topping the charts.}

alas, we are fast approaching the time of year where i really need something warmer to run in that shorts and a sports bra. i just bought new nike running shoes that i love, but here are the things currently on my running wish list:

it used to be i couldn't imagine spending sixty bucks on something i'm just going to sweat in. but these are amazing. i need to get another pair or two so i don't have to do laundry as much.

super cute. super inexpensive. super functional. AND it matches my running shoes!

the puppy boy has short hair, so he needs to stay warm too! love this eco-friendly, breathable, AND reflective jacket for him.

and for those days {i know they will be plentiful} when it is just too damn cold to go outside, i think it's about time i jump on this train and let tranny-voice jillian whip my tush into shape in the privacy of my own home.

i know many of your are outdoor running fanatics as well {mrs. newlywed and prep school 101, i am looking at you!}. any suggestions on things you can't live without for cold-weather workouts?

Fall Wants-Its: The Home Edition

all this week, i'm going to post about the items topping my wish lists right now. because we all know i'm a bit of an interior design FREAK, we're going to kick things off this crisp monday morning with my {imaginary} hearth and {rented town}home wish list:

inspired by my home design guru, erin gates, this budget-friendly zebra area rug for my living room. this will look DIVINE under my new red-lacquer chinoiserie-chic coffee table.

le sigh. le creuset. i always thought that once i was on my own with a job and a paycheck, i could afford a kitchen full of beautiful cookware. i left out the part of the equation where i had enough space in said kitchen for said cookware. but with the chill in the air, i NEED a dutch oven to make delicious braises and stews.

yes, i am still lusting after this. i am struggling to justify an almost $600 vacuum. but i've used one of these suckers before, and they are worth it. and it's pretty! ahem, christmas is just around the corner...

this is the color scheme of my bedroom. i am lusting after this gorgeous quadrille brown + hot pink toile fabric for some custom euro shams and to recover my little reading chair. it would be the coup de grace for my almost-finished bedroom.

what are you currently craving to feather your nests?

i'm alive!!

ladies, we are in the home stretch. this is the last week of TOTAL insanity for awhile. the next two or three weeks are still going to be crazy, but not anything like what the past month has thrown at me. i have soooo much to catch y'all up on and i have lots of y'all's posts to keep me busy reading for a while.

but first, i am going to rely on your genius again. our jl provisional class is hosting a clothing swap later this month. everyone in my group has to bring a "light food item" for noshing. i have some recipes that would work, but i'd love to try something new. also, this needs to be portable. i live about an hour and a half from the hostess's home, so it needs to travel well.

so this is where your domestic goddessness comes in: please post in the comments or e-mail me {scg2b at virginia dot edu} with the PERFECT light and portable nom nom for this event.

thanks in advance! y'all are dolls and can't wait to catch up on life!