Quality vs. Quantity

In my days leading up to my quarter life crisis I have come to another 'Ah-Ha' moment that I will take into my new chapter of my life. I can remember in my middle school and high school days you weren't cool or 'popular' unless you had a ton of friends and people knew who you were and talked about you because it was better to be talked about than not. I have to admit I was one of those people who had a ton of friends but how many were good friends- friends that would be there for me on a bad day, or when we were off in college, when we graduated college, etc. honestly not many. As I've moved through life I have always had people around me and people I would call friends but when you really boiled down to it I still could count on one hand how many of those people were my true friends no matter what. I have learned that it isn't about how many people you can surround yourself with but rather who is going to build you up when you're down or laugh at you when you say something stupid and be that shoulder to cry on when you're heart is broken. 

  Over the last couple years I have shifted my desires of how I spend my free time, yes a few years ago I would fill my free time with drinking, friends, boys, and having a good time and I think everyone should have those moments in their lives but then with my age, maturity, and my passion for my career slowly my priorities changed and now I truly value a night in reading a good book or watching a movie or even talking to my best friend on the phone. It's those good friends that you can call after avoiding their phone calls and texts for days on end because you're so busy with work or just don't feel like talking to another person but they know that and don't hold it against you. 

  I have always prided myself in having people always know where they stand with me- I never beat around the bush and always say it like it is. For some my personality is to harsh for them but that is also why they probably aren't in my inner circle. So a good friend of mine had said to me that when you expect people to be as good as a friend to you as you are to them you set yourself up for disappointment and to not expect what others can't just seem to give. In that moment I realized once again how for a moment I regressed back into my early years of having 'friends' and holding them to the same standard I would as one of my best friends. That isn't fair. 

  I can honestly say that I have two best friends in the entire world and while one has been there through the awkward years of school and we've grown up together and the other who has entered my life as an adult I cannot be more happy to share my life with them and for them to share theirs with me. It is a honor to call them my best friends and I would rather have these two women in my life than dozens of friends because what they contribute to my life could never amount to what the dozens of friends could contribute. 

  I leave you with a quote that I find sums up friendship well. 

Wedding of the Year!

It's the BIG day for Ms. Kim Kardashian or I should say Mrs. Humphries now. The long awaited wedding which was dubbed our Prince & Kate Wedding has finally taken place today in a private estate in Montecito, CA. We all know my little obsession with Kim so I am all over this wedding naturally. The newest cover of Life & Style is all about Kim and the wedding. 

And please let's not forget the crazy engagement ring she got from Kris 

I'm dying to to see the newest People magazine which has the exclusive photos of the wedding and we have to wait long until October until her Wedding Special 2 part airs on E!

Kim has said herself she is a hopeless romantic so let's hope that the wedding & marriage is everything & more than she could have wanted.

Congrats Kim & Kris!

Fab Deal

Anyone who knows me....and knows me well knows that I am not one to go hunting for a deal and if I am presented with one I am not digging for it in a box or racks. Hence why I never shop Express's 'shop the box sale' or go into Forever 21. Now this doesn't mean I don't own Forever 21 pieces- there are certain stores that are very well kept and I can keep my sanity and shop.
  So the other night the hubs & I went to Von Maur (if you're not familiar with this store it's very simliar to a Nordstrom) to look for stuff for our upcoming vacation (Vegas Baby!!) and I wandered into the fitness section to just see what they had. Of course I found these amazing fitted capri's by Under Armor.

They weren't on sale but they looked so good on me and I have to admit they made my butt look A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! And my hubs loves my butt and I'm not going to lie they totally look like something Kim K would wear and we all know my secret obsession with her. So as I was still wandering in the fitness section I did wander to the sale rack and normally I don't find anything because usu sally what gets on sale is the XS or XXL and I'm not either of those sizes. But in between those sizes check out this steal I found ...

Did I need it? Nope not at all- I have so many zip ups but for $16 I couldn't pass it up. So I snatched it up faster than you can say Gotcha. Plus, I was able to justify this purchase because when I'm not in my oh so fashionable penguin work outfit I am in work out clothes because I'm always working out. My friends think I'm nuts because on a day off I have no problem doing a boot camp, 30 mile bike ride, and a Crossfit class. But with these new additions to my work out wardrobe I will be sweating in style!

Run Forest Run!

I mentioned in my previous post that I had some extra bonus money and I didn't know what I wanted to exactly spend it on even though I had some ideas. One of those ideas was new running shoes because the ones I got in January are already shot. So I headed off to my favorite shoe store called fleet feet - they are incredibly knowledgeable and very engaging with you while you're in the store. My first thought when I went in there was 'oh man I'm probably going to spend a fortune on shoes from here' but to my amazement I actually spent less yes I said less than I did at Foot Locker. From that moment on Fleet Feet became my go to store for gym shoes. So as I ventured in there today after my crazy hard Crossfit class I was excited to try some new kicks. Now I am the type of person that the first thing I look at is the colors that are offered and designers- yes superficial I know I know. They even have a sign in the store that states: Pick your shoe on feel not color. Hmm... they must have read my mind. So after I told the sales man what I was looking for her brought me out three choices and after trying them all on and doing a test run with each pair I finally decided on these....

Now these aren't your typical Adidas- they are extra comfort and perfect for running and doing lots of cross training which I am doing right now. I wore them for the first time at my first work out and they were heaven!! Plus the inserts that I bougt provide my already flat feet with additional support. So here is to some amazing run times and great cross training!

Money Talks

Who doesn't love a bonus? The company I work I am lucky enough to be given the opportunity to bonus every month pending on sales and then at the end of the fiscal year I get a year-end bonus compiled of the company's performance and my personal performance. Well in the past it's always been really straight forward on the payout amount because it was either one of two percent's. This year however they changed the whole program but to our advantage so that we could bonus a significant amount more. Well the new formula which they tried explaining via a powerpoint presentation was even more confusing than when they first told us about the changes. So I figured I'm not going to sit here and try and cram numbers into a formula to guess what my payout would be I would just be patient and wait until the payout date to see how much money got deposited. Well at my year-end review (which I was freaking about because I'm one of those people) which went very well, I was given the amount that I would be receiving. Now I know I just said I was planning on being patient and waiting to see how much got deposited into my account but in all reality I was punching numbers faster than you could say Starbucks to try and figure out my year end bonus. I had come up with a number that I felt was logical and I was happy with that number. Well my comp sheet got handed to me at the end of my review and I about fell over- I under estimated my bonus by not a few hundred dollars but a few thousand dollars! Woo Hoo!!!! So now the task became what am I going to do with all this extra money??? First off, the first chunk of money I am using to pay off my one credit card. Yes I know very responsible of me. Now the remaining money could go towards my other credit card but that wouldn't be any fun. And with the economy in the tubes lately I should probably save it. But I am going to Vegas in a week and I could use it as even more spending money but we already have a good chunk saved for spending money. So what to do what to do?!?!
  Then I thought why don't I treat myself to a little something and my hubby to a little something and save the rest. It's a compromise.

So here are my thoughts on what I want...

I would love a new handbag but I'm just not loving any crossbody bags that my favorite designer has out at the moment. Although this is a contender...

Then there is running shoes- I got my last pair in January and they are already shot. So I am thinking of these new ones.

Then there is my latest obsession with Etsy and I found some cute pieces on there. Check out what I've been eying.

                

There are just so many things that are calling my name. Any suggestions on what I should splurge on or what you like out of my list so far??

Every girl remembers the first piece of Tiffany jewelry they received and who it was from. Mine for example was when I turned 16 and I got it from my mother because a brand new car wasn't enough she also threw in the bracelet. Which in hindsight I think she regrets because I think the Tiffany investment over the years has almost cost as much as my new car she bought me (it wasn't a cheap car either). My first piece from Tiffany's was the heat bracelet (original I know).

Then I continued my quest on Tiffany's and added many pieces to my collection. Some from family, ex boyfriends, friends, co-workers, etc. The jewelry marked events in my life- moments that needed celebration. Each piece has a story. Well as I have grown up and matured in the young woman I currently am I feel as though Tiffany's just lagging behind in the creativity department. Lets just be honest people I mean we can only have so many pieces that say, "If Found Please Return to Tiffany & Co." I'm just saying. Plus when it would come to certain events -- my birthday, anniversary, holidays, etc. I would struggle to find something that caught my eye and I would almost have to talk myself into something from there. I believe you should never have to talk yourself into any piece of jewelry. Although the hubby for a fabulous wedding present got me this necklace to mark our two lives joining together.

Cute, no?!? He however quickly learned that Tiffany was the route to go. I will share a little story of our first Christmas as a couple and by couple I mean boyfriend/girlfriend. So I was so excited to to have my first holiday with him and our anniversary was on Dec. 17th so I thought I'd go big and I did. I got him not only a XBOX 360 but also a Playstation 3 with games, and clothes, and some other stuff. I couldn't be more excited to give these to him. Now at the time money was tight for him and he has a son so clearly his son is going to take priority over me and I get it. So he presented me with this small box so I knew it would be jewelry and I was excited because hello it isn't that hard to see what I like..duh Tiffany's. I mean at any given moment I was wearing at least 4 pieces of Tiffany's jewelry. So as I opened up the small box my anticipation and excitement quickly turned into disappoint and horror. What was in that little box you ask? Well let me tell you it was a Swarovski crystal snake necklace.

I'm really not sure what about me says I love snakes and this necklace just has my name written all over it. I couldn't even hide my horror of this what he called piece of jewelry I just immediately assured he still had the receipt because it was going back to the store ASAP. At that moment he put up the white flag and from that point on boycotted trying to pick out any gift for me. Plus with me working in a mall it doesn't help my case because he says it's just so much easier for me to pick out the item and save time. Ugh. 

Lately though I feel as though Tiffany's has been slacking and really they are just tweaking their same old stuff but increasing the price by leaps & bounds. Then my fabulous friend Chris turned me on to Etsy. LOVE LOVE LOVE! The first thing that I fell in love with was the sideway cross necklace. Since I received it I have been on the Etsy website checking out what I can buy next. So I think I have come to a revelation -- yes hunny you may need to read this twice-- I think I am going to boycott Tiffany's and jump on the Etsy bandwagon and not only will I get unique pieces but save a bunch of money! So stay tuned to see whtat I buy next. 

                      

Tragedy Strikes Houswives

We all know I am a reality show addict and I am sad to report today that the Real Housewives have endured their first true tragedy. TMZ first broke the story that Russell Armstrong committed suicide on Monday evening by hanging himself in a house he was staying at with a friend on Mullhond Drive. Which Mullhond Dr already has a bad rap and now this just adds to it. According TMZ Bravo is still shooting the season that premiers on Sept. 5th and Bravo has cancelled shooting for Wednesday and is holding a meeting on the situation. When my BFF Chris broke the news to me at work about this BREAKING news I got to thinking, 'Gosh did the fame of the show and spotlight to much for him and was the breaking point? Not to mention a failing marriage, mounting legal trouble and money problems?' It's sad really. Then my mind jumped to Taylor and thought gosh she was a walking stick here I really hope she doesn't wither away to nothing with all this stress and emotion. My heart goes out to her and her daughter Kennedy.

RIP Russell Armstrong- Thank you for letting us in your lives for at least one season and you didn't have to end your life this way.

I'm not dead I promise

Hello my fellow followers & bloggers, I just want to put a disclaimer out there that I am not dead or hurt -- thank you for your concern I just had a 8 day stretch at work and between working & working out I have not had anytime to blog. I know the shame. But no worries I have lots to blog about- so get ready! Thank you for your patience.

From Across the Pond

I know it has been a couple of days since I posted and in all reality I was just struggling on what to blog about. When I was making some minor enhancements to my blog I poked over to my stats page and saw that I have two blog views from the UK. Then I got to thinking could this be...no it couldn't be.... maybe it was Duchess Kate?! I know it's a long shot but you never know. I mean she did move from Wales to now Kensington Palace and I mean what else would she be doing with all her free time? 

  Okay so maybe she was just at the wedding for the Prince of Monaco 

  Then she was just grocery shopping .... 

Okay so maybe her social calendar is a little bit more booked than I thought. But none the less thank you to peeps reading my blog from the UK! Mind the Gap.