The balance between Summer and Fall

This weekend had me craving Fall just a little bit. Granted, I did spend some time laying out by the pool, keeping my tan up and eating frozen yogurt with my Mom, but thoughts of Fall are still in the back of my mind. I'm not sure if it's because I'm over the hot temps or if it's the afternoon mini monsoons we've been having, which make me crave tea and reading under blankets, but I think I've hit my Summer peak. I'm not ready for the days to get shorter, for the pool to close nor for my little patio garden to bite the dust, but I am more than ready for chilly, brisk mornings, pumpkin spice lattes and cardigans...you know, just a few of my favorite things. I'm also ready to rock the new skinny jeans I found for $9 (yes, you're reading that correctly) at the Ann Taylor Outlet this weekend. Perhaps that little deal is what's really putting me in this Fall mood...that and the pumpkin spice lattes, of course!

In the spirit of the coming Spring...

...I thought we could do a little wishful shopping for dresses at Anthropologie. These are by no means all of the dresses that I'm currently drooling over, just a smattering.

(kingston road)

(in an instant)

(annona)

(memory of feathers)

(sunny soiree)

(esmeralda)

New Boots

If any of you follow Viktoria with a K you'll be familiar with these boots already. She found them a few months ago and ever since she first posted about them I've been envious. I'm super picky about both my boots and about shades of brown. In fact, I've been on the hunt for a pair of brown boots that wouldn't break the bank since last Fall...as in, a year and a half ago, not 6 months ago. I never have any problems finding black boots each season that meet my criteria, but brown is tough for some reason.

Anyway, I was looking at Spring flats at Macy's with my Mom on Monday when I noticed a whole bunch of clearance boots. I immediately rushed over and started sorting through the Size 9-10 section, hoping to find a good deal. Not surprisingly, the majority of the the boots were black, but there were some brown pairs thrown in for good measure, including the above beauties by Steve Madden. These babies are an acceptable shade of brown, real leather, have a small, wedge-style heel and hit nearly knee-high; they're perfect! The minute I put them on I was sold! I was even more sold when I realized they were marked down to just under $30. Yea, I kind of wanted to squeal with delight in the store. My little frugal heart is so happy!

How to spend a Groupon: Erin-style

Sometimes I can't help but laugh at myself and the things that I get a little stressed about. Case in point: The $20 Barnes and Noble Groupon that had been burning a hole in my pocket for weeks. Yep, I was stressing over, what is essentially a gift card. Who does that?!

The thing about this is, I read A LOT, and I go through a lot of books in a fairly short amount of time; and when it comes to new books $20 doesn't really go that far, so my choices needed to be calculated. I didn't want to pick up any ol' paperback that looked interesting; no, I needed to get books that I truly wanted to read, that I wanted to keep on my bookshelf, and that I couldn't just pick up at the Library. With me, chances are good that if I can get the book at the Library, even if I have to hang out on the waiting list for a few weeks, I won't shell out cash for it. I'm poor, I have bills, I live on a tight budget and I would be broke in an instant if I bought all of the books that I read and/or check-out from the Library. I'm sure you all are smiling and shaking your heads at this a little right now, but I bet you also understand exactly what I'm saying.


So, after checking my "To-Read" list, comparing it against the Library, looking at the lists of upcoming new releases by my favorite authors and wandering around Barnes and Noble several times I finally made my decision, and I couldn't be happier! After much deliberation, I decided on A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and The Art of French Kissing by Kristin Harmel. I know, I know...all of that for just 2 books? But my reasoning makes sense. A Discovery of Witches is a new release that isn't available at the Library yet, and is one of those investment pieces. Meaning, I know I'm going to love it, will want to give it a permanent place on my bookshelf, and I bet I'm going to lend this one around a bit. Plus, as a B&N member, I got it for a steal! The Art of French Kissing is your basic, feel-good, smile-over-a-bit-of-romance chick lit book. It is by an author that I love who cannot be found at the Library (which truly baffles me), and it was in the bargain bin.

Success! I walked out of Barnes and Noble with a smile on my face, and 2 new books in hand.

I heart 3 day weekends

Weekends are splendid things. A lovely little reprieve from the chaos that seems to be everyone's lives during the week. But, a 3 day weekend? It doesn't get much better than that! Ok, so a full on vacation beats out a 3 day weekend, but let's not go there right now...

(I don't mind a break from this...and yes, that's my blog.)

Anyway, this weekend was the first one I've had in a while that wasn't chalk full of things I needed to do. I hadn't over-planned, hadn't put off a bunch of things throughout the week and my list of chores was miniscule. This meant 3 days of time that was all mine!

On Friday, I left work early enough to fit in a long walk before the sun went down, cooked up a little dinner, poured myself a glass of Zinfandel and settled in on the couch only to receive a text that said, "Trivia tonight?". I couldn't resist, so off I went to a local pub for trivia with the boys and the usual gang of people. It ended up being a bit of a shit-show kind of night (I was sober cab) for the boys, but there was a lot of laughter in the end (and a little kissing).

On Saturday, I didn't get home until noon and proceeded to lounge on the couch, drinking coffee and watching Beautiful People on Netflix. Does anyone else remember that show? Jamie and I discovered it during a Sunday homework marathon while we were still living in the dorms. I wish it hadn't been cancelled; I still want to know what happened to the characters! I didn't shower until almost 4, which was heavenly, ran a few errands, scarfed down a bowl of cereal and then met my friend Lisa for a couple of beers at my (our) favorite bar, Lucky Joe's. We enjoyed our drinks, ate a ton of peanuts, psychoanalyzed the current boys in our lives and had one hell of a time people-watching...typical girls at the bar, right? It was so much fun!

Sunday was another fairly unproductive day. I slept in, showered, and ran around town with my Mom. We did a little shopping, she generously bought me several things and Mom gets major points for putting up with my cranky mood. I am not built for 2 late nights in a row! Kind of lame, but true. I am so glad that I went out both nights, but I don't know that I would have done it if I hadn't had a 3 day weekend. I finished the day by going for a walk, cooking a nice dinner while watching The Golden Globes and enjoying a cup of tea before happily falling asleep on the couch.

Today started off with a full brekky, another long walk (notice a theme?) and a movie with my parents. We saw The Fighter and I was floored. The cast was amazing, and Christian Bale impressed me to no end, especially after seeing the footage of the real Dicky; he was dead-on! Christian Bale is sometimes criticized for taking his roles a little too far, but in my opinion he's incredibly talented. One look at him in The Fighter and you know you're looking at a has-been, crack-head who's lost in the world; it was the perfect transformation! He absolutely deserved his award last night. Watching Amy Adams in this movie made me want to watche Julie & Julia. Her two roles are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but she's wonderful in both. So, I rented a copy of Julie & Julia, did a load of laundry, ate some leftovers and baked a small batch of chocolate chip cookies. It was a low-key day, but a lovely one.

Now the real question is, will I finally clean my bathrooms or put it off one more day?

Ingredients for the perfect Erin Evening

~ 1 trip to Target, including both planned and spontaneous purchases
~ 1 non-fat, spiced brown sugar latte to keep me warm while shopping
~ 2 long-awaited for new books from the Library
~ 1 sweat sesh at the gym
~ A batch of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies
~ 2 little phone calls with my Mom
~ Dinner of homemade quiche and crisp green beans
~ 10 lit candles, spread throughout the apartment
~ 1 small glass of eggnog to start off the holiday season
~ Lots of singing along with tonight's Glee (loved Dog Days Are Over!)
~ Several new quotes jotted in my notebook
~ 1 cup of vanilla tea

A dose of happiness here and there is necessary to every person's life.

Fill in the Blank Friday: I'm not trying to cop out of posting!

Let's point out the obvious shall we? I haven't posted since last Friday when I played along with Lauren's weekly Fill in the Blank Friday...and let's all guess what I'm posting today. Haha... This past week has been fun, busy and full of work and family, which is why I've been absent. My Uncle flew in from Boston on Saturday and we've been on the go ever since. He heads back East tomorrow and I promise to catch you all up on some of the things we did. Until then, how about some shopping-related blanks?

1. Black Friday is terrifying. I have never been a Black Friday shopper, and even though my inner bargain hunter loves the idea of joining the chaotic masses, my sanity and logic win out. I think I'll stick with being a day-after-Christmas shopper who goes out late on Black Friday and is still able to snag a few good deals.

2. Christmas shopping this year will include picking up whatever I didn't get the day after Christmas last year and throughout the year...I'm a constant shopper.

3. Holiday shopping makes me a little tense. I get tired of the crowds and my patience completely disappears.

4. This year my Christmas list will include new razor blades (is it weird that I get those in my stocking?), maybe a Barnes & Noble giftcard and a new camera. I know my Mom has already picked up a lot of things, and at one point in time I knew what some of them were, but the beauty of being Erin is that I forget most gifts until I open them Christmas morning.

5. Bargain hunter, or full price shopper? Definitely a bargain hunter. It's rare for me to pay full price for just about anything.

6. The best and worst things about shopping are finding a smokin' deal and the crowds.

7. Online shopper or in-person shopper? In person if it's clothing because I always need to try on different sizes; online for books, DVDs, art and jewelry.

Belated weekend recap: gloomy days were here...

I'm not really sure what's going on with me, but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to my blogging. I constantly have thoughts running through my head, and think, "I need to blog about that!" multiple times each day, but then I get lazy and never put pen to paper (so to speak). So, here we are on a Wednesday and I'm finally sitting down to blog about my weekend...pathetic. Oh well. And to all of you who have stuck with me: Thank you!

This weekend wasn't all that exciting; in fact, I was in a fairly crappy mood for the majority of it. I was wallowing in myself a tad, which is never pretty. I was hormonal (a terrifying thing with a Gemini personality), missing my bestie and questioning what the f*ck is going on with the guy I'm dating (or should it be "dating"...too many questions at the moment). All of these things seem to be perfectly normal occurances in a girl's life, but combined together plus my lack of sleep made for an Eeyore-like Erin. I was snappy, prone to tears and not really up for social mingling. It was a little scary. haha...

Anyway, things are better now and there were some definite highlights to my grey-clouds-hanging-over-my-head weekend:

- Mom and I indulged in pedicures on Saturday! I enjoyed a cup of tea and we flipped through the latest Vogue while our toes were made pretty with deep, Fall hues.

- We wandered into my favorite store in Old Town and I got a little giddy thanks to the Christmas decorations.

- I made glass snowflake ornaments with my mom at the glass studio. This was the first time in a few years that I actually worked with the glass myself, and it felt good!

(the "before" picture...can't wait to see them fired!)

- I got my meningococcal vaccine thanks to my employer's free clinic. Even though a shot isn't very exciting (and has left me with quite the bruise), it did make my parents happy to know that my vaccination is up to date.

- Some very cool bottle decals finally made their way onto my kitchen walls. They've been stashed behind a piece of furniture in my dining room for entirely too long.

- Mom and I found the most perfect lamp at Pier 1...on sale!

- I found out I'm paired up with the lovely Micaela for her ornament swap! I cannot wait to find the perfect ornament for her, and to see what she sends me.

(Mostly) disorganized thoughts on my weekend...

I had such great intentions to be productive this past weekend, but in the end, I accomplished next to nothing. Surprisingly, that was/is just fine with me. We all need lazy weekends, right?

Friday

Work sped by, which is unusual for a Friday.
We have a new student hourly, whom I adore, and chatting with her while I worked made the afternoon fly by. I love when that happens!
After work I ran some errands, took an Economics quiz and made pizza for dinner.
Then I went out on a date (not my first with him).
I've become oddly (for me) wiggy about labeling things lately.

I know I haven't really mentioned much about my forays into the dating world here, but, yes, I went on a date.
We played trivia and drank beer.
I apparently do not store very many random bits of knowledge in my brain, at least not sports related ones.
But, I still had a great time.
There was cuddle action.

Saturday

Morning came entirely too quickly.
I spent the majority of the day drinking coffee in an attempt to trick myself into thinking I was well-rested.
I nearly hit a buck that decided to run into the road on the way to my parents' house.
I kid you not, it practically plotted leaping towards my car.
I went for a long walk in the Colorado Fall sunshine, and sweet-talked my friend Chelsae into wandering around downtown for a bit.
I'm pretty sure I spent more time in my sweats than I did in real clothes, which is always one of my favorite things.

Sunday

I woke up to the sound of rain, and immediately opened all of my windows to let the fresh air in.
The weather was perfect for indulging in too much coffee (notice a pattern?) and watching trashy BBC drama.
Has anyone ever seen BBC's Footballers' Wives? I love it!
I have this thing for British television, and have always loved this show.

I finally added the seasons to my Netflix so I could start from the beginning.
I worked out and attempted to start on some homework, but failed miserably.
Mom and I had a coffee date and then wandered around Target.

She talked me into spending entirely too much money, but I love my purchases...there just might be a new polka dot cardi in my closet.
The day concluded with Skyping Jamie and cooking a giant pot of soup.

I'm paying the price now for not getting my homework done, but hey, c'est la vie! I had a lovely, lazy weekend and am willing to kick myself a bit for my lack of productivity. Some weekends just aren't meant for checking items off of my to-do list.

If I had endless amounts of money, I would live in Cherry Creek and lose myself in Anthropologie

When I need a quick break from staring at numbers and printing off calculation tapes (boy, does my life sound dull or what...and yet, I'm actually a sucker for it), I tend to find myself typing http://www.anthropologie.com/. I love the style of Anthropologie, the colors and the general design of their website, but I'm rather frugal and Anthro prices are rather the opposite, so I lust after pieces far more often than I purchase. In fact, this summer is the first time that I've actually bought anything from Anthropologie. I'm happy to say that I'm the proud owner of 2 shirts purchased on sale, the most amazing crab mug and a gorgeous candlestick holder (thanks, Mom!).

This past weekend my Mom and I decided to take advantage of having 3 days off and went to Denver for a little shopping followed by an afternoon at the Denver Zoo. I don't have any of the Zoo pics uploaded quite yet, so that will have to wait for a post of its own, but I can assure you that it was a fabulous, albeit hot, time!

Cherry Creek Mall has long been one of my favorites in Denver. As I've blogged about before, I love the Cherry Creek neighborhood of Denver, and would kill to live there...but, that would take a heck of a lot more money than I will probably ever make. Oh well, that's what dreams are for. Anyway, shopping at Cherry Creek is always a fun time, and this past weekend didn't disappoint. A couple of shirts were purchased, some jewelry, shorts for Mom and 2 new items from Anthropologie. Now, normally when we're down at Cherry Creek my Dad is with us (we're big on family outings) and he can get whiney when Mom and I are shopping, so I usually just run in and out of Anthro. Not this time. This time Mom got to experience the wonder that is Anthropologie and I think she finally understands my lusting. We browsed the sale racks (remember, I'm frugal), made our selections and headed to the fitting rooms. Of course, just about everything was cute, but the first top I tried on was The One. It's beautiful with a ruffle detail around the neckline, fits my bust well and isn't too short; plus, I can wear it under a cardigan, making it perfect for Fall. I had to have it! It was more than I would normally spend on a top, but when it's right, it's right...that, and I knew I would regret not owning this lovely top.

(the white top with black detail in front is the one I bought)

Along with the top, I found a sweet, vintage-looking candlestick holder and countless other things that I wanted but didn't purchase. Just being in that store makes my heart smile.

Another Fall Fashion Find

(source)

This is the best picture I can find of my latest Fall purchase. As I'm sure everyone has figured out by now, I'm a bit of a cardi junkie, so the fact that this is the first cardigan that I've bought so far is pretty impressive. I picked up this little beauty in black and cannot wait to wear it! I love the ruffle detail, that it has a zipper rather than buttons and the fact that it looks good open as well as zipped. I'm sure I will be getting a lot of use out of this cardi!

Today's Top 10

1. Perfectly fried catfish
2. Shoe sales
3. Fresh hydrangea blooms in a Fat Tire bottle
4. Giant bowls of ice cream
5. Periwinkle blue skies
6. Evening walks
7. Sarah Bareilles' King of Anything
8. Flashy necklaces
9. Checking off places I've visited from 1,000 Places To See Before You Die
10. Yellow sandals

Cherry Creek Arts Festival

Every year I look forward to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival. It's always bloody hot, always crowded and always a good time. For those of you who don't know, Cherry Creek is an affluent neighborhood in Denver, and one of my favorite areas. The houses are older and gorgeous and I dream of getting to tour one or two of them someday in my lifetime. I always try to sweet talk my dad into driving up and down the streets so I can gaze at the houses, but he rarely gives into me...but, that's ok.

Anyway, going to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival has been a family tradition for years. We enjoy lunch together, stroll up and down each street checking out the vendors and we end the day by getting snappy with each other because the heat has finally to gotten to all three of us. It's grand!

This year was no different than any other. We got down to Cherry Creek early, did an initial stroll down a couple of streets and then ate before the crowds arrived at The Cherry Cricket. The Cherry Cricket is a bit of a dive bar and grill that serves up incredible hamburgers! My best friend Jamie and I love this place, Iowa Girl Eats and her husband have raved about it and it was recently featured in Denver's 5280 magazine. I highly recommend chowing down here if you're ever in Denver.

(horrible, horrible picture of me)

So, we wandered up and down each street, checking out the vendors that caught our eye. Mom and I are always drawn to the jewelry, and both of my parents love fused and blown glass. We saw gorgeous oils on canvas, unique sculptural pieces and beautiful photographs. I bought one abstract of the Denver city skyline that has taken up residence at work and really brightens up my office, and I bought a hand painted photograph that I've been coveting for 2 years now. I love photography (probably because I really don't have much skill myself) and I have a thing for European city scenes. This photograph caught my eye at a previous years' Cherry Creek Arts Festival and I have literally been thinking about it ever since. It's of a man walking next to the grafiti strewn Berlin Wall in 1989. It's stark, war-torn, poor, realistic and extremely powerful. I just had to have it this year, and I cannot wait to get it framed and hung up!

After a few hours, all three of us had hit our limit of sweating and moving through the crowds, so we headed into the Cherry Creek Mall to cool down and do a little more shopping. I happily got lost in Anthropologie (and bought the cutest mug and ruffled top) for a bit and Mom and Dad browsed through kitchen accessories. We were all happy, no longer sweaty and ready to call it a day. Cherry Creek Arts Festival 2010 was a success!

And, on the way out of town, I snapped a quick pic of one of my favorite sculptures: