the wish list rundown

A girl can dream ......

TOMS (size 8.5 hint...hint)

Longchomp Le Pliage Tote Bag (John: click, buy, ship, give. In that order.)

Ray Bans; Style: Brad (don't forget to include the croakies!)

Singer BASIC (not the very basic model) Sewing Machine 

(step 1 to opening my own boutique. It's gonna happen. Be ready.)

Nook Color 

(Mom, I'll make a deal with you ... you get me this and I'll give you back yours. Capiche?)

CASH. 

No wrapping paper needed. 

The one thing I left off was a cognac colored purse. 

However, I'm probably the pickiest bag-buyer ever! 

It has to be JUST right. I'll know when I see it. 

Well I think that about covers it.

Santa better win the lottery!

Sweatpants Thanksgiving.

Last week I spent my 4th Thanksgiving with John's family at their house in the back woods of Georgia. 

Which basically means:

• A full week of (all)day drinking.
• A full week of SWEATPANTS.
• Sleeping in.
• No work.
• Nightly bonfires. 

No complaints.

We started our trip in St. Augustine for a quick reminder that we are no longer 18 and no, we CAN'T drink all night long. But mainly because I had a bunch of doctors appointments that I needed to go to.

Night 1: Call it what you want: Urban Fire / Porch Life / Hood Rat. 

I call it love.

These gems are the hand-painted (regulation) corn hole boards Ellie made.

This also happens to be the game I was playing just prior to falling asleep in a lawn chair at 4am. 

Pre-gaming for bloody mary sunday (on Saturday night). Sunday self needs to remember to remind Saturday night self, that this was a TERRIBLE idea.

Celebrating Bloody Mary Sunday (on Sunday).

The view from the seat I spent my week in. 

A definite upgrade from my desk chair.

The Thanksgiving candle sticks :)

I don't think 6 pictures are necessary. Every night the fire looked like this. 

You get the general idea. 

I made TWO of these.

Also, have I mentioned that my boyfriend has turned into 
Grizzly Adams?

I hate that beard. 

It's a handmade kinda Christmas.

If you happen to be on my Christmas list please ignore this post (or humor me and act surprised) since there is a VERY good chance you will be receiving something along the lines of ....

recipe 

Bacon Salt! The PERFECT addition to my favorite cocktail (the Bloody Mary) 

.... and obviously if we are true BFFs your favorite cocktail as well :)

how to

Or this ... because we all know I love me some chalkboard paint!

make it

Or if I'm feeling super crafty maybe these little Anthro knock-offs...

details

Or maybe these .... depending on the difficulty level. 

I'm sure hoping these babies are easy to make because as much as I would love to give every person on my list the Godly gift of Bacon Salt, I don't think the vegetarians in my life will be thanking me. Or maybe they will?

make them

If all else fails, this is it. Actually, thats a lie. These are happening regardless. Everyone needs coasters for their bacon salted bloody mary glasses on Sundays. duh.

how to

Truth be told, I've tried to make a few different versions of these and without fail there are either too much or not enough ingredients .... and lets be honest, the thing looses all of its "easy" appeal if it's missing 1/4 tsp of salt and 1/2 cup of flour because it wouldn't fit in the jar! Another thing, where the heck do you get glass milk jugs?!

details

I'm still trying to figure out if I were given one of these if I would be impressed or weirded out....

Do people think I stink? Or that I'm lazy? Or did they really just want to show off their Pinterest follow-through skills? rub it in.

day 16

I am now going on day 16 without a phone charger. 

Due to pure laziness and a lack of funds to by anything with an "apple" on it, I will also be experiencing days 17 and 18 sans phone charger as well. 

Needless to say, the vessel in which my pictures made it to this little blog is missing - in turn leaving you fine people missing out on all my lifeless, worn a million times, boring, August outfits (it's for the better, I promise).

Anyway, this weekend was filled with lots (and lots) of birthday celebrating. Oh and some highlights and and haircut :) John, Remy and I loaded up the car on Saturday and headed home (St. Augustine) to meet his parents for birthday dinner (and obviously most importantly for my hair appt). After the hair was completed and the champagne was drank (thats right - I choose my hair salons based on what free alcohol they serve) Ellie and I made the critical decision to keep the party going while waiting for John and his parents to decide on a time and place to meet - and drink 2-4-1s at our favorite secret spot (shh.. it's chilis). Once we got our party on we met John and his mom and dad at The Beaches restaurant on Vilano beach to drink, drink, and eat a little. 9 hours and one ruined/wasted hair blow-out later (those with thick hair feel my pain),  John and I headed back to my moms to sleep a little before taking the little birthday boy back to Orlando to show up for work on Sunday morning.  

SOOO Sunday morning upon pulling in the driveway I walked right inside, pulled down the covers and slept for 3 hours. Then went to the country I call Ikea for a little tradeshow (work) shopping with Babs. To reward ourselves (mostly me for even being awake) we decided to cheers with the best bloody marys in town - thank you Dexters!

John and I ended the day in bed with Panera to-go, watching the MTV movie awards.

weekend success. 

So what do you do if you cant post pictures of yourself? 

Post pictures of all the fall TV shows that I cant wait to watch ... duh!!

Pan-am

The Playboy Club

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Kendra  (shocker!)

PS: Weight watchers is going well. I have not attended a meeting in a few weeks (due to work and meetings) but when I went home to my moms I "weighed in" ... 9 lbs down.

t-t-tuesday

Well hello everyone!
It's Tuesday which means:
1. It's been a week since I last blogged and the guilt of not explaining my every move to each of you has taken over.
2. Teen Mom is on (highlight)


Other than those 2 things I'm not quite sure what else a regular old Tuesday could remembered for ... UNLESS it's Tuesday, August 23rd, in which case you have A LOT to remember about this particular Tuesday:
1. *I had my first "surgery"
2. There was an earthquake(s?) on the east coast


*For the past 4-5 months I have been nauseous and throwing up in the mornings. After about 7 pregnancy tests, a terrified boyfriend, a million and a half webMD diagnosis, and later than normal arrival times to work (I bet you didn't think I could be ANY later now did you?) I had had enough. I needed to call in the professionals.


So last week I met with a GI doctor hoping he could cure me. no such luck.
Instead of handing me a prescription with a magical remedy - he handed me a form telling me I needed to schedule an endoscopy: Upper GI endoscopy is a procedure that uses a lighted, flexible endoscope to see inside the upper GI tract. The upper GI tract includes the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum—the first part of the small intestine.


Today was the day. Let me start off by saying that needles and I don't exactly have the best relationship. It's really unfortunate that they have to be the vessel between me and the drugs, because I'm pretty sure if I had my choice I would rather bite a bullet and do without the needle altogether. Apparently the bullet biting was not an option. 


Somewhere between the IV, the blacking out, the wet wash cloth, the anesthesia, and waking up telling the male nurse about how I have a friend that is "his type" that he should date - John came in, rescued me from humiliation - helped me put my clothes on and took me to get something to eat. 


On the bright side - if they cant figure out whats wrong with me - I may have scored Ellie a date!


Oh ya, and according to every status update on Facebook we had some earthquakes .... and a hurricane.

party central

Dress: Target

Shoes: Cole Haan

The dress that started it all - I wore this dress on my first post ever!

I suck. I know. Believe me, it's not that I don't WANT to blog .... I've just been SO busy!


Between planning a surprise 50th birthday party for my mom, going to Vegas for a work event, becoming an official freelance marketer, loosing the ONLY key to my car (100 miles away from home), AND John being out of town for a week - I've been just a little preoccupied :)

ANYWAY:

1. My mom's surprise party was GREAT! Even though I plan events for my job everyday, It was so much fun to actually plan something start to finish that were all my own ideas! And no, my mom wasn't surprised!


I themed the entire party using inspiration from my mom's favorite flowers: Daisies :)

Mason jars, un-popped popcorn, tea light candles and daisies!

Hanging baby food jars and handmade chalkboards 

Fresh lemons in my flower arrangements :)

The doorstep decor

I folded 50 paper cranes!

My faithful party slave! aka Ellie who helped me set up the party 

while my mom was "sleeping"

If anyone needs a party planned - I'm your girl!

2. This past weekend I went to Vegas to read The Help (best book ever!) ....and host a cocktail reception :) 

3. On Sunday I was offered my first official PAID freelance job! For what you may ask? To develop a marketing plan for a new food truck opening in New Orleans! SO EXCITED!


4. Yup, my sister lost (the ONLY) key to my car. In St. Augustine. A week ago. Needless to say my mom and I have been on the phone for days working with my insurance company, the Jeep dealership, a locksmith, and a tow truck company to try and get this problem resolved. And I am happy to report that as of 5:07pm today I have a new key to my car!


5. John joined his brother and extended family for a week long vacation in the Florida Keys to do some open season lobstering and fishing. 2 lobsters and 39 red snappers later - I STILL have yet to see any of that yumminess. WTF!


And there you have it. The official Maggie update :)

texas crap

Shirt: LOFT

Pants: Gap

Shoes: Target

Necklace: Banana Republic

Can someone please just answer one question for me? 
When the heck is Texas become worthy of 5 different reality TV shows?


I literally just turned on my TV to watch my normal crap TV line up: jersey crap, new york crap, swamp crap, pawn crap, storage crap .... but now I have to add TEXAS crap to the list. I REALLY DON'T need a TV show (or 5) to show me who is Dallas's most eligible, how Texas beauty queens prepare for a pageant (I lived with a Mississippi pageant queen all through college), or how mothers in the Lone Star state bribe their children with boob jobs to get good grades (my mom is from Texas - no boob job here - she must have been sick on the day they learned that in school) ..... But I'll watch it anyway. 


I'm nothing if not committed to my crap TV line up. Especially crap TV with state names.

boom boom room

Dress: LOFT

Sweater:Ann Taylor

Shoes: Cole Haan

Reason number 765 why I will be getting rid of my Jeep BEFORE the warranty expires:
I cannot (and will never) be able to afford to pay more than $99 dollars to fix my car at any given time.


The day that warranty ends (next August) is the day I hand over the keys. Obviously for another car with just as superior a warranty plan.


I took my beloved (cough, cough, piece of crap) Jeep to the repair place today (20 miles from my house = 45 mins / with NO AC!)  to get the AC repaired. After 2 hours in the waiting room, the old-man desk attendant took pity on me and asked one of his "drivers" to take me back to work. 


In my never ending car ride back to the office with the dealership "driver" J, I learned that not only was J a dealership driver, he is also (quite possibly) the worlds biggest pervert. In 45 minutes I found out that he has plans to open a "couples strip club" complete with boom-boom rooms and a dance floor. J also has plans to open up a nudist colony. yes, a nudist colony. According to J (aka the brains of the colony operation) The nudist colony will only have one rule: All the nudists in his colony have to sign a waiver that they don't have AIDS.  


J is a Driver with a Dream. And a healthy fear of AIDS.


"In the Words of John Lennon, you may be a dreamer but I am not." - Dinner for Schmucks.


PS: (WW update) 3 lbs down.

multiple choice

Dress: LOFT

Sweater: Jcrew

Belt: Target

Shoes: Cole Haan

Why haven't I blogged in a week?

A. It's hot

B. My AC is broken

C. I'm "kinda" in job limbo

D. It was my anniversary

E. I'm Lazy

F: ALL OF THE ABOVE

If you chose 'F'..... ding, ding, ding -  you are a winner!

In addition to all those excuses, I've also discovered the (hidden?) world of Etsy. ya, I'm obsessed.

I've also been a point counting, Remy walking (so I can drink more), food weighing fool with this new weight watchers "program" .... so far so good, 4 lbs last week - and tomorrow is my second "weigh in". All I know is I better have lost more this week, seeing as now I sweat anytime I'm outside as well as anytime i'm IN my car (due to a broken AC), double the sweat means double the weight loss - right?

 

I'll be sure to keep you posted :)

the new normal

Dress / Shoes: Target

(the strap broke off the back, so I cut them both off to make flip flops)

It's your lucky day! 

I'm back (in this unexciting, boring, black dress)!

I'm sorry for not posting an "extended absence" and also for not for warning all you faithful "Hookers" that I would would be breaking from the inter-web for such a long time. Truthfully, I didn't know I would be gone this long!

Tomorrow marks my one week anniversary of joining Weight Watchers (standing ovation) - I've known for months that I wanted to start getting my weight under control, it's just taken me forever to finally come to the realization that I lack motivation and that an actual diet with weigh-ins / meeting / guidelines / point values /restrictions was needed for me to take it seriously. I'm sure none of you really care if I'm on WW or drugs, but I feel in a way that by me telling you, it will keep me accountable and make me follow through with my commitment to weight loss / healthy life. 

I have chosen to NOT use the scale in my house (in fact, I have asked John to hide it) so that I don't become obsessive or discouraged. Almost 2 years ago was diagnosed ADHD and prescribed medicine helping me to focus, it was around the same time that I made the drastic decision to eat a gluten free diet (for no specific reason, except that I had read somewhere that people who ate gluten had more migraine headaches), this was also the same time I discovered Ashtanga yoga  .... all this while being a stressed out college student! Needless to say all these things were a match made in weight loss heaven. In a little less than 6 months I was 54 lbs lighter, a straight 'A' student, a 'yogi' interested in learning how to teach, with no more migraine headaches. I was on top of the world.

And then I joined the (dun, dun, dun) REAL WORLD. I no longer had the ability to plan my life around my yoga schedule and no more restaurant cash to buy all my favorite organic / gluten free groceries. In the midst of moving away from home for the first time, struggling to make friends, living with John, and learning a new job, my Dad decided he wanted to leave my mom. All of these things were a recipe for a weight gain disaster! If there was a trophy for depressed eating, I would have it. I was unhappy to say the least.

It's taken time for my sisters and my mom and I to get used to our new "normal" - and for me to settle into my new life away from home, friends and routine ... but joining WW was the first step for me. I have not fully committed myself to stay on their "diet" since I have proven to myself in the past that I do KNOW HOW to loose weight and loose it in a healthy way - I'm planning to use WW as my "starting point."

I am happy to report that over the course of first week on WW I have faithfully followed and stayed within my daily point allotment. I am still able to drink (I know you all were worried) - I quickly figured out that the more exercise I get, the more I can drink. All I can say is that Remy is REAPING the benefits of this new "exercise to drink more" plan! Tomorrow is my first official weigh-in while on the "diet"- and on the bright side, if I haven't lost any weight, I've become a boss at addition and subtraction!

*If anyone knows any AWESOME WW foods, tips, tricks, etc.... hook it up! 

im blue

Dress: LOFT

Sweater: Gap

Purse: Kate Spade

Shoes: Target

Sunglasses: Ray Ban 

I'm BLUE ba da ba be da ba da!


I have managed to wear a BLUE dress EVERY single day this week! how's that for impressive? Just to switch things up - I added my pink sweater in an attempt to "brighten things up."


*Still no peanut gallery comments, but like i said it usually takes 3 times and this is only time number 2. I'll give it another wear before I start swearing off cheesy animal prints altogether. 


I have to say that if every week began on a Wednesday, ended on a Friday, and only consisted of 3 working days .. I may actually be able to handle this whole "work" thing. 3 days is just perfect, not too much that you get overwhelmed and tired, and not too little that you don't feel as if you didn't accomplish anything. 


Needless to say, my 3 day work week still required a happy hour (or 2).

cheers!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIE BANANIEE!

I've waited 21 years for this day....

Drink up little sister!

Love you

CHEERS!