Warning:

Do not mix five hours of Christmas shopping with 20 espresso shots.

That was NavyGuy's and my Saturday. We thought powering through and getting everything done as fast as possible would be the least painful means of completing our holiday gift shopping.

Wrong. Oh so very very wrong.

And everything still needs to be wrapped.

And shipped to Wisconsin.

Before Christmas.

In 10 days...

(Is 9:00am too early for a vodka cranberry juice? I'm leaning towards no. Plus I probably still need to hydrate after "EspressoGate 2009.")

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Black Friday

Have you ever worked retail on the day after Thanksgiving?

I would not recommend it.

People are crazy. Ca-raaaay-zeee.

Like these two, going to Target at 5am to buy dvds and three dollar toasters...



Teehee... I mean, what smart bargain shoppers! :) This is actually Sister and Brother-in-Law in line at MY STARBUCKS at 6:30am on Black Friday. Mom, Sis, and BIL hit the Target sales and then got in line for coffees just in time to be my customers. And, check out that awesome blackboard sign above Sister's head... uh huh... that's right - my most beautiful Starbucks sign ever.

And here I am in my green apron. Slinging syrups.



Such a proud moment.

Truthfully, the Starbucks portion of my day was kind of fun. I was working with three other great girls, and the guests were pleasant once they got to us. I mean, we were their source of food and caffeine! And we didn't have to tell them that we were out of 32 inch plasma screen televisions. So all of the customers were jolly and things went swimmingly.

Then, I had to work the sales floor. Blah. Boring. All I did was straighten shelves for three hours. Oh, and re-shelve dvds that people had intended to buy, changed their mind about, and then subtly left in the seasonal department behind a Christmas tree display. Plus I swear - every customer in the store who had an indecipherable accent decided to ask me... something... usually I couldn't figure out what they were requesting so I just said we were out of everything. Oops.

Anyway, I survived my first retail Black Friday, but let's pray to god that I'll be spending next Black Friday on the opposite side of the check-out counter :)

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If you can swing it...

...do your Thanksgiving grocery shopping at 9:30pm on a Thursday night. It was positively glorious. The Safeway was nearly empty. A few burly men stocking cranberry juice and malt-o-meal. Some twenty-three year olds buying ice cream and beer.

(Clearly not my actual cart... bananas, oranges, and no Oreos? Or Cheerios? Or anything ending in "o's"?... why bother going to the store!?!)

I didn't have to wait in line. I didn't have to battle anyone for the last can of Libby's pumpkin pie mix. I didn't have to stop myself from strangling the senior citizen who parked her cart in the middle of the aisle while she emptied her purse looking for some 10 cents off coupon (or a butterscotch candy). No screaming children, no loud cell-phone talkers, no congestion in the parking lot, no congestion around the sweet potato stand.

Downright blissful.

Now if only Target were open 24 hours and I could get all my Christmas shopping done this way, we'd be golden.

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Starbucks Holiday Launch

I'll spare you all the advertising schpeal... but I do have to show off some of the cool Starbucks holiday merchandise that I got to set up last night! Yes, as part of my final step in completing my Advanced Store Training, I needed to complete a "set." A set is when Starbucks starts new drinks, signs, merchandise, etc. The biggest one is their holiday one, which includes tons of signs, new pastries, all new cups and coffees, loads of decorations, and a zillion other things that you have to get set up and put out before the store opens the day of the launch.

Nicole, my boss, put me in charge of this launch, and it was a doozy. I spent 5 hours yesterday sorting through boxes of tumblers, coffee gift sets, and holiday bears. There were two chalkboard signs to re-do (which usually take me forever to design because of my perfectionist streak attention to detail), snowflake clings to hang, and holiday mugs, tumblers, gift cards, and coffee sets to display. Thankfully, Nicole helped a bit so we could get done on time. And I do have to say - whoa. The store looks freakin' awesome now. All festive and holiday-fied. Because of Starbucks' proprietary rules, I couldn't take any photos, so you'll all have to come visit me to see how beautiful it turned out!

In the meantime, here's a few of the new holiday items that caught my eye...The Tazo Tea sampler is a perfect example of where the packaging is really what sold me - the wooden bamboo box that holds a selection of teas would be awesome on your kitchen counter, or could even pull double duty as storage for office supplies or bathroom goodies.


Good luck actually finding one of these cold to-go cups in a store... we sold all 15 of ours before noon today... (hint: you can order them from Starbucks online, or if you get really desperate, they're bound to start showing up on Ebay pretty soon.)I love the red cup design this year - the ornaments, the two-tone pine tree branches, and the overall theme of "wishing" is just smile-inducing.

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No, I Didn't Get Stuck...

T-minus 17 days until puppy arrives! We are now the proud owners of the "Midwest Select Triple Door Dog Crate - 1300 Series." It cost more than rent for my first apartment, but damnit if our puppy isn't going to be comfy.
And if you don't think I climbed inside to check out the situation...

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Home Sweet Home: Pretty Storage

Mom and I made our biggest find at IKEA within twelve seconds of entering the building:Mom and I basically lost our shiznit when we saw it. I know - you're thinking, huh, yeah, so it's a cube thing. What's the big deal? The big deal, is that when you lay it on its long side and dress it up a bit, it's freakin' awesome. Just trust me people, would I ever lead you astray? No.

So, it's the Expedit Bookcase (otherwise known as, my current favorite item in the house). The one catch was that I didn't want to store tons of stuff on the shelves out in the open, because it would inevitably look messy.

There are baskets that you can purchase separately, but they were about $15 each! Oh no no no. I think not... there must be an alternative solution... hmmm...


Brilliance! What else could we do with the 40 or so odd bankers boxes we had used for moving that were still camping out in every room of the house!?!?!? Oh blessed boxes, would you fit in the cubes? NavyGuy doubted me, but he was foolish and has since learned never to question my design ideas... the boxes fit perfectly.

We dressed the plain boxes up with contact paper (sticky paper) from Wal-Mart. They have tons of neutral patterns and you can find the contact paper in the kitchen storage / housewares type section. We covered a bunch of boxes, some for the bookcase that would go in the family room (and some for the other bookcase that I'll show off when I take pictures of the craft zone!).


Mom was in charge of this project. Essentially, she cut a piece of contact paper, with at least a 1 inch border, for each side of the box (excluding the bottom).



The contact paper peels off revealing the sticky side, which you simply stick to the box. Lay it on carefully, using your hand to smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles in the paper. Eventually it will stick firmly, but you can reposition it as you're working with it.

Then you're going to cut the contact paper at the corners, so you can fold it over the sides of the box and create clean edges.

If you pick a pattern with stripes (and you're ANAL with capital letters), carefully match up those stripes! We chose this pattern for the mix of basic colors, including a blue that matches the new family room curtains.

I'm in love.

No, wait. Now, I'm in love.

No, we did not measure the inset space between the fireplace and the wall; we are just that lucky good, and the shelf totally fit there. Several more covered boxes, a few open shelves with pretty books and knickknacks, and what? What's that? What is that round white ball in one of the cubes, you ask? Well friends, you're going to have to wait and see...

Are you in love yet?

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House Shopping List

As we're starting to make headway on the chaos, a list is forming. A list of things we want need for the house...

- flat screen television for the livingroom

- coffee table for the family room

- desk chair for my desk (which yes, Keby, came from Target - but of course!)

- bookcases for the library nook

- curtains for the bedroom

- blinds for the family room and guest room

- craft table / storage

- medicine cabinet for bathroom

- storage shelving for garage

We're obviously not purchasing all of these items in the next two weeks... however, Mom is coming on Friday and we're crashing IKEA hardcore. So, if one had to prioritize that list, what would you buy first? What item is crucial that we get ASAP?

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I {heart} Target

So, we just paid for a really big party for all of our friends and family, and we're hoping to purchase our first home in the next couple months, but...

That doesn't mean I can't "window" shop!

Here's what I'd buy at Target this week...

A cute accent chair for our future livingroom

Any of these oh-so-trendy gladiator sandals...Regina Spektor's new album...

and dryer sheets. Cuz, well, we're almost out.

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I {heart} Target

A couple Target items to highlight this week:

Scotch Brite Stainless Steel Cleaner

We're blessed and cursed to have stainless steel appliances in our kitchen, and for months they've gone uncleaned because we were terrified to use any cleaning products on them for fear of staining or other disaster. But this weekend, the fingerprints and schmears reached a point of no return, so NavyGuy and I scoured (yep - pun totally intended), the Target aisles to find a suitable cleaning solution. Lo and behold, right near the bins of sponges - stainless steel cleaner! There's a plastic thingy you hold and disposable cleaning pads you attach (similar to the swiffer series). I can't vouch for it's ease of use as NavyGuy is the resident kitchen cleaner, but I can vouch for the how shiny and clean the appliances look after the fact! (The starter kit cost about $6.99 and comes with six cleaning pads; refill packs cost about $3.99.)

Debbie Meyer Green Bags

Now our weekly sale item - Green Bags! My mom gets all the credit for these little wonders. When she visited at Thanksgiving, she brought a few to share, and I've been using them to store our veggies ever since. I have no clue what the secret is or how they work, I just know that they do. Target has them on sale this week, $9.99 for a box of 20 bags. You can probably find them on an end cap somewhere in housewares - they're a "as seen on TV" product, so you might need to hunt around a bit, but they're totally worth it.

I promise that I'll find some less boring Target items next week!

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Portland "Mini-Cation" Recap

Now that I've gotten a few more things crossed off the wedding list, I can go back and show you the fun we had this weekend in Portland! NavyGuy and I crashed with my college roomie Miss A and her husband (BeerMan), and they did a great job of showing off their favorite city :)

Friday night was pretty casual - I slept in the car on the ride down and NavyGuy shouted at other drivers who were not performing up to his exacting driving standards. We met up at the brewery where BeerMan is the head brewer; pizza, organic beer, and reminiscing made the night fly by. Miss A, NavyGuy, and I headed back to their apartment where we were joyfully greated by their two kittens. (I'm saving the stories of those two cuties until after I get the photos from Miss A.)

Saturday was our big Portland day. Miss A and I left NavyGuy and BeerMan to occupy themselves (lord, what were we thinking), while we headed to a cool shopping district. First up though - provisions!Our breakfast was a ham, thyme, and gruyerre croissant and coffee/hot cocoa at Ken's Artisan Bakery - oh so buttery and delicious. A fabulous way to start our expedition...

Let the shopping begin! We strolled 23rd Ave (Nob Hill District) and peeked into many cute shops; lots of handmade jewelry, bags, shoes, bohemian clothes, and gifts. A surprise Paper Source store caused a bit of a riot on my part, and Miss A indulged my crafty side for a while.
My favorite purchase was at the store pictured above - beautiful sandals with a metallic flower (now it just needs to warm up enough so I can wear them!)
Before meeting up with the men, we poked in a heavenly little chocolate shop: Moonstruck Chocolatier. The chocolate-y aroma flew into my nose and I was helpless to resist. Miss A and I left with the above box of goodies - my favorites were the little lady bugs!

Stay tuned! Next up we meet the boys and do monumental damage at Powell's Books...

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I {heart} Target

I'm posting this a wee bit earlier than usual, because a) I'm way behind on posting since I was having a mini-vacation this week in Portland, b) the Target sale item of the week is likely time-sensitive, since they usually don't stock tons of these, and c) well, cuz I wanted to!
Hooray for fire!!! (Tee hee hee.) So, my cousin Yo-Yo gets all the credit for alerting me to the wonderfulness of this item. I have to admit that I may have teased her mercilessly been skeptical about the usefulness of an outdoor fire bowl. Yo-Yo got a similar one years ago and it wasn't until NavyGuy and I were registering for our wedding that we thought, hmmm... maybe Yo-Yo's on to something.

I mean, who doesn't want to be able to sit around a nice fire in their backyard on a cool summer evening? And don't even get me started on how you can make s'mores without having to sleep on the ground in a wet tent somewhere! So, mi madre got us the above fire bowl as a bridal shower gift, and now with the summer outdoors season swiftly approaching, the Target gods have decided that you all need even more incentive to have your own! The fire pit/bowl is on sale this week for $59.99!!! That's $20 off. (Which in my world means you can spend those $20 on s'mores supplies...)

Also - don't forget to hit up the Easter aisles at Target tomorrow - everything will be on major clearance and it's your last chance to stock up on Cadbury Eggs and Peeps until next year!

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I {heart} Target

It's the getting to be the time of year for parties - wedding showers, baby showers, graduation parties, and summer picnics galore. Hooray!

6 ft Folding Banquet Table

This fancier card table would be great as a buffet table to hold a spread of brats and taco dip, or as extra seating for a crowd. I could see myself turning it into a fabulous work table in a future craft room. It's six feet long, and folds in half for easy travel - on sale this week at Mecca Target for $39.99 :)

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I Knew I Could Count on Ya'll

Here's a big thank you for your help in narrowing down my clutch choices! (I always suspected my readers had strong opinions on accessories, but the purse post confirms it.)
I'm still deciding between #2, 3, and 6, but am aiming to order one this weekend. This is your last chance to plead the case of one of these fab purses :)

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Wedding Day Clutch

Time to vote for a purse for the big day! I know that it's highly unlikely that I'll be carrying it around myself that day - that's what I have gullible friends personal attendants for. However, I would like to have a very clearly identifiable clutch for a few VIP items... my chapstick/lipstick for the day, cell phone, vows, etc, so that there is no confusion and lost item drama.

I also however, would like something from the day that I can use again. Except for the times I plan to throw on my veil while vacuuming, most of my wedding day attire isn't really suitable for everyday life (though, how cool would it be to find an occasion when you could wear the dress again!?! If Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe could do it, why not the rest of us?). A clutch that doesn't scream bride could legitimately pop up again for other special events, making it a more justifiably purchase. Hence, I've picked out some pretty and colorful options from Etsy - the handmade mecca.

Please leave your vote in the comments!

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

Option 5

Option 6

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I {heart} Target

'tis the season...

Women's Flat Sandals - Sale $9.99

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Flower Girl Fashion Show

While I may not be at all ready for the big nuptials, the littlest member of our wedding party has her house in order. And by house, I mean her wardrobe for the weekend of festivities.

First, a bit of background. Flowergirl (FG) is the daughter of one of my oldest friends, TWP. TWP and I have known each other since fourth grade. We used to have sleepovers, play an ancient board game called Miss Popularity, and draw layouts for the malls we were going to build. There was also the time we attempted to start an environmental club for younger kids, and perhaps an incident when we visited her mom's school and put a salad, meant for the refridgerator, in the freezer. Needless to say, we go way back. The fact that she's now married and has a baby still throws me for a loop.

The fact that she entrusted her first born's spiritual life in my questionable hands as godmother also throws me for a loop. It was a given then that Miss Goddaughter would have to serve as Miss Flowergirl for the wedding. FG will be about 18 months old by the wedding, and will likely steal the show that day, (which I've completely come to terms with and am actually looking forward to). Since bestowing this title, FG's mom has gone into uber-planning mode, attempting to prep FG for this prestigious role. TWP has admitted to all of the following:

- forcing FG to practice walking around the livingroom holding a small basket of fake flowers
- contemplating perming FG's (wispy baby thin) hair
- searching online for the best possible flowergirl dress
- rubbing her daughter's head with a special cream to entice hair growth

I suspect there are other things she's not admitting to (makeup trials, dance lessons, lip waxing, who knows). Regardless, TWP and I have been putting together FG's wardrobe for the wedding weekend. Knowing she's a crazy eighteen month old, we can't expect she's going to last in the pristine white flowergirl dress more than like six minutes or so. So, I hereby present, the costumes Miss FG will be sporting throughout the wedding weekend:

Lunch with the Ladies

FG's version is actually dark blue and will be complimented by pink leggings, but it was a Gap Outlet steal, so no exact photo is available online. Very appropriate for a casual lunch.

Rehearsal Dinner Cuteness

Brown and pink dress from Kohls, which conveniently matches the color scheme for the wedding (TWP is nothing if not concerned with details). This little number was chosen to win over the ring bearers.

Wedding After-Party FrockAgain, sticking with the pink theme, this dress will be perfect for dancing the night away. To accompany, this trendy pink cardigan located by my mom at Target.Gift Opening BrunchLove that FG will stick be rocking the brown and pink combo (again, Target find by Mom... so hot it's now sold out!). This should fit very nicely with the relaxed "day-after" vibe of the gift opening at NavyGuy's parents' house.

I'm saving her actual flowergirl dress and the shoes/accessories for a bit later. But what do we think? Is she completely going to upstage me the entire weekend? Does she have more wardrobe changes than an Oscar host? Is she destined to break the hearts of the ring bearers?

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Bling and Flash

Today's wedding project was supposed to be finding linens, and/or obtaining photographs for the newspaper announcements. After a morning of unreturned phone calls and little progess on those fronts - I've decided to move onto something I know I can accomplish... shopping!

Specifically, shopping for my wedding day jewelry. I already have a hair jewel (similar to this) which will go in the back of my hair. I need a little bling and flash in the front though. I'm thinking earrings and maybe a bracelet, but not the triple threat of earrings, bracelet, and necklace. Here's what I've found so far in terms of earrings...Dolce CZ - AnnaBellagio.com - $32Tatiana CZ - AnnaBellagio.com - $78

Annapolis CZ circular - The White Aisle - $29.99

Gretta Rhinestone - The White Aisle - $9.99

Sterling Silver Round Cut Champagne - Target - $89.99

I think I have one pair I'm leaning towards, but I need more input. My indecisive streak is rearing it's ugly head! For the love of all things sparkly, help! Which should I get? Did I miss something on my online search of bridal jewelry?

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I {heart} Target

So... yeah... I'm gonna need some help choosing between these new spring dresses...

Juniors Mossimo Supply Co. Surplus Dress w/Tie Black $19.99

Juniors Xhilaration Floral Maxi Dress Turquoise Floral Print $24.99

Juniors Xhilaration Flutter Sleeve Dress Yellow Floral Print $19.99

Juniors Xhilaration Floral Tiered Dress $19.99

Oooo, Target. Sometimes you are downright evil with your weekly sales ad. Really? Did you have to put all of these on the front of your weekly ad? Really!?!?

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