When you wish upon a star, anything your heart desires will come to you

Today is my favorite day of the entire year. We've all heard it when the clock strikes 11:11 - "kiss the clock and make wish!" But, today is 11/11 -a day where you have free reign to make wishes ALL day long. I've developed a serious liking to this day - in fact most would probably consider it weird. But, I embrace weird so that's fine.

It all started when I was 17 - I happened to see "Serendipity" that November 11th. If you haven't seen Serendipity, I'd probably recommend you keep it that way. But the point is, the movie is all about fate and destiny. The idea that there's a plan ahead. Seemed to be a nice fit for the day. After the movie, I walked on over to the neighborhood Chili's to enjoy some chicken crispers. And the rest is history.

To me, a wish is hope. 11/11 is a day to remind yourself of all the dreams, goals, and for lack of a better word, wishes, you have for yourself and those most important to you. So for the past eight years on November 11th, I've dined at Chili's with my closest friends. Kind of odd, but it's like my own personal celebration of hope for what's to come. So, make a wish, and make another, because you have all day today. The optimist in me says they'll all come true :)

Can't a girl dream?

I was recently online shopping for a dress to wear to a December wedding in Nebraska (it's hard to find a dress that will look good with UGG boots and a Parka), and I found THE perfect dress. The kind of dress that makes you quite certain it was designed solely for you. The kind of dress that is just he right mix of elegance and whimsy on a winter night. The kind of dress that is so expensive but so wonderful that it makes you literally contemplate all of the ways you could possibly afford it - stop eating for three months? Sell my cat? My soul?

Don't worry, I stepped back into reality and back into my closet of perfectly acceptable items. But this dress will forever live on in my dreams...

November

November. My favorite month. It is a home to so many things that bring me joy - Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday), all things pumpkin flavored, my favorite day of the year when all wishes come true (11/11), and last but certainly not least - no shave November, a tradition that fully embraces my love for men with beards.

Aside from all of these things though - November is National Blog Posting Month. So, I am making a solid effort to post every day of the month - I can't promise each post will be a literary work of art, but I'll try my best. So, Happy November - here's to pumpkin spice lattes, making wishes, and facial hair for a good cause.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

No fear my coveted eight followers, I'm back. It took an email reminder from three of my best friends who were traveling together this weekend letting me know that one of their conversation topics was my piss poor attempt at a blog. My apologies, and I promise to pull it together.

However, even though I hate excuses I have one. I've spent the last five to six weeks in a traveling, entertaining, eating, drinking, socializing, working late, not sleeping, cat purchasing, overall exhausting but awesome tornado. Some highlights include a trip to Chicago to visit friends and family, Austin for some live music, a visit to Dallas from my best friend from high school, and recently the wedding of two dear friends.

Now that the dust has settled, I finally had a chance to make it to church yesterday. The sermon was entitled "Actions Speak Louder Than Words." You hear this phrase all the time, your grandmother or perhaps first grade teacher said it to you. But it got me thinking - this should be on a post-it on my mirror as an overall life reminder. Don't just talk, DO.

For the last six weeks I've talked a lot - "As soon as all this traveling is done, I'm going to yoga every day at 5:30 AM." "I'm going to stop eating Taco Bell after 2 AM - or ever for that matter." "I'm going to get back in touch with so and so...just like old times. Next week." Granted these are small in the scheme of things, but you have to start somewhere I guess. It's easy to get lost in the hype and become complacent in what we're used to. Because frankly what's comfortable certainly isn't bad. But, think of all the excitement that could come from the new. New friends, new hobbies, new experiences....or perhaps even the riddance of bad habits (cough cough Taco Bell) - all seem like good things to me. So, I now leave you with wise words from my boss - "Go and do."

P.S. - Next time you see me I'll probably be super cut from all that yoga.

From Sin City to Motor City

Being young and relatively poor, most of my travels usually put me in places like Lincoln, NE, Austin, Chicago, Kansas City...visiting friends and family where I have a couch to sleep on or a mom and dad so excited to have kids in their house once again that they'll contribute to my flight home.
But within a recent ten day time span I visited two places that were a nice change to my normal travel schedule....and couldn't have been more opposite.

First, to Las Vegas where anything goes(well, just about anything...sitting in the VIP area when you're not invited is not allowed). It truly is a world of glitz and glam where you can be anything but yourself. I made myself leave the cardigans and pearls at home for the weekend and boarded the plane with a bag full of sequins, enormous costume jewelry, and believe it or not - a romper. And from there on out, I embraced the cheese. Graphic tees, dresses that could be considered shirts, and "ooonce oonce" music unite in this city. Normally I would be in a club called "Jet" 3 minutes before swiftly exiting, but I jumped onto the fog filled dance floor and fist pumped with the rest of the gang - and actually quite enjoyed myself. Will I go back to Vegas in the near future? Absolutely not. But, was it fun to get away from reality for a weekend at Camp Vegas? Absolutely.

Four days later I hopped on another flight to the lovely city of Detroit. Granted, I was going for a commercial shoot which is always fun no matter where

you are, but needless to say I was a bit worried about what was coming my way. My suitcase

contents differed this weekend - old jeans, boots, and sweat shirts. Our shoot locations

included a construction site, a cattle farm, and an abandoned warehouse in downtown

Detroit with a plethora of stolen cars. While these locations may sound a bit daunting, my stay in Rochester, MI, a suburb of Detroit was actually quite nice. Because we were shooting during the night, I got a chance to stroll the downtown area which was quite charming with lots of shops and old time diners. Would I visit Detroit again for pleasure? Probably not. But, it certainly isn't as bad as your imagination might lead you to believe.

Learning along the way, getting sassier by the minute.

When I was little my mother would often reprimand me - “Don’t sass me.” For so long I thought being sassy was a bad thing. But, oh contraire, in the last three years or so I’ve realized the value of it. It comes in all forms – in a personality, in a joke, an outfit, email, color, question, or simply a great pair of shoes. Granted, to keep its charm it should only come in small doses; dashes if you will. So, that’s why I’ve created this blog. To share the dashes of sass - fashion, décor, culinary goodness, nerdy advertising insights, etc. - that are so often sprinkled into my twenty something adventure of a life. Enjoy.