Home Style: Then and Now

Can you ever be too old for a trip to IKEA? I think not. Husband and I finally started the process of purchasing bookshelves for our upstairs loft area which is currently known as ‘college zone’. the only truly unfinished feeling space of our home. College zone is all very collegy looking….

Movie poster? Check!

Mismatch shelves? Triple Check!

Random trinkets? Of course!

All this stuff doesn’t exactly look bad per say, it just needs to be better organized. Currently, all our stuff is all on separate shelves which in no way match. It’s time to combine! We also got another shelf unit for our living room to add to the growing collection of Blu Rays and video games. I’m pretty proud of how our home looks as I have been with all my living spaces, but it’s fun to look back on how my style has evolved.

THEN (my first studio apartment in Seattle) 2007:

Contents:

•  Sweet Toshiba TV/ DVD combo (it was seriously good)
• The Euro Futon, my couch and bed. Yes, I slept on this for 2 years.
• Saucer chair!
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s print
• Eifel tower pinboard
• 10 DVDs + every season of Sex in the City on DVD (I’m a gal in the city too!!)
• iPod dock + iPod mini (in blue)
• White tiger print blanket
• Desktop PC with wifi I’m borrowing from the neighbors

NOW (townhome outside the city) 2012:

Contents:

• Sony Bravia flatscreen!
• A lot of DVDs, maybe as many as a family video store.
• A real couch (Kasala), that can seat 4. Bonus: I have a real bed now too!!
• Gas fireplace (dream come true)
• Pretty faux orchid
• iPhone and iPad
• Crystal vases
• Multiple windows
• Husband + wedding photos 😀

Can’t wait to see what the place looks like in another 5 years!

Tory Burch Jelly Driver Flats

Ah, Tory Burch. It’s as if she can read my mind when it comes to shoes. I purchased these jelly flats somewhat on a whim while pursuing Nordstrom Rack. For close to half the price of the Reva flats and with an additional 40% off I couldn’t resist. Plus, Nordstrom Rack had only one pair which happened to be in my size….and I had a $50 Nordstrom gift card. The shoe stars aligned!

So far, these flats great! They don’t contain the scrunched back heel part so break in time is minimal. The jelly material is also really cool. It looks exactly like black patent leather, but way less high maintenance. You can clean these with a damp cloth (I’ve already tested this out). The logo is a little more subdued than some other Tory flats which is nice if you want something a little less flashy.

Black ballet flats, perfect for any season and goes with everything. I’m up to 3 pairs 🙂

Chinese New Year and the Bravern

The Year of the Dragon is upon us. Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Our local fancy shopping area, the Bravern, was handing out red envelopes with discounts to various stores and was having a lion dance, so of course we had to check it out! What was in our envelopes you ask??

My red envelope: $10 off any $20 purchase at Wild Ginger, yum! We lunched here and saw the lion dance up close which was so much fun.

Husbands’s red envelope: 20% off at David Lawrence, an amazing store that has D Squared, Herve Leger, Moschino, and more. Part of me wanted the only ‘affordable’ thing: a $45 Moschino Cheap & Chic clear bubble umbrella, but I refrained. Purchasing something for the mere reason of having a coupon is generally never a good choice.

Of course after all the festivities we had to check out the shopping. I was pleasantly surprised about some extreme sales happening as in extremely amazing! Neiman Marcus was having the ‘last call’ sale where a lot of nice items were 65%+ off. They had some nice bags left, but the clothing and shoes were really picked over. If you didn’t want size 11 sparkle Burberry Rainboots or size 5.5 Manolo Blahnik kitten heels… you were out of luck. Highly depressing for someone with size 7 feet because the prices were legitimately good. I did pick up a great book though, ‘True Prep’ for $8 (which is cheaper than Amazon). Neiman Marcus and books, who knew?!

I saved the best part of my post for last. I found a gorgeous Karen Millen dress that I can wear to weddings, special dinners, really anywhere 🙂 It was 70%+ off for the amazing deal of $84. You can barely get a dress from Banana Republic for that price these so I am quite excited. When I tried it on with some store provided stilettos for a moment I felt like I was at the Oscars, ah true dress ❤ I’ll post some pics of me in the dress once that special moment of taking it out on the town arrives, but for now:

PS: At Karen Millen the sales associates are called Stylists. Tre Chic!

Need New Things and A Possibly Ludicrous Goal

Although I am all about saving in 2012 I do need some new things, specifically wardrobe things. I desperately need a new pair of boots. My current pair is 4 years old and is starting to look worn, but not in a cutesy vintage way. The look is definitely more in the falling apart category. There’s a ton of cute boots out there, but I have one major complaint; the calf part is almost always too big (except for the priciest designer boots). My calves are smaller than average and most ‘fitted’ leather boots end up looking like rain boots. This is not the look I’m going for.

Anyways, the boot quest continues.

I also want to find some more cute silky type tops. I have a few from Banana Republic that I’m wearing all the time now. It’s such an easy way to dress up jeans and is just as comfy as a T-shirt.

Oh and other news? I signed up to do a weight loss thing at work (for prizes of course). I gained a few lbs over the holidays so it would be nice to have something tangible to work towards through exercise and eating right vs. my usual regiment of not working out then randomly losing weight during a stressful week. My end goal for April is a loss of 4 lbs. However, I’m starting to wonder, if I work out a ton will the muscle weight counter this out? Perhaps I’m aiming too high, but doing anything less felt kinda lame (that’s right folks my big goal is 1 lb!!! *eye rolls from all*). Anyone who meets their goal gets a pretty generously sized gift card and of course other freebies. First weigh in is tomorrow and I’m also doing a breakfast buffet, how convenient. Maybe I’ll wear some extra jewelry or wool clothing too 😉 Game on!

Happy New Year, it’s 2012!

Happy New Year’s everyone! Last year my husband and I did New Year’s big, staying at a luxury hotel downtown, eating sushi, watching fireworks, shopping, and consuming lots of champagne. This year we drank leftover port and enjoyed the fireworks from the couch 🙂 It was actually really nice having a low key New Year’s.

And of course I’ve already starting thinking of goals for 2012…

I want to be more organized and donate more items to charity. I’ve already fully redone my home office set up and parts of the kitchen. I’m feeling good on this goal so far.

Read more, learn more etc. etc. I read a lot during 2011 because I rediscovered this crazy thing called a library. The fact that I can get library books on my kindle also makes it easy to indulge in reading. As far as learning, R and SQL are at the top of my list. I have a good foundation of both, especially SQL, but want to take these skills to the next level.

Saving more money. Starbucks stock is up because of me, I just know it.

Lastly, and likely the most difficult is getting fitter! I don’t exercise much at all. Walking, that’s all I do. I’ve never had a problem maintaining my weight; however, I’ve gotten a lot softer since my high school/ college gym going glory days. I wants abs again.

For all of us that have goals, good luck in 2012!