Prethanksgiving is coming...

birthday wish list

Two weeks away to the big day!  Here's what I'm coveting:

 (an Abacus calendar by Dana with three frames to hang for rotating seasons)

 (a new wallet; this metallic number by kate spade will do)

 (a new watch for everyday; something big, like this one my sister has from swiss army)

 (a pretty, everyday gold pendant necklace, like this paloma gold pendant from good ol' tiffany's)

 (this american eagle coat you might remember seeing...)

(pretty leather ballet flats; classic black tory burch ones would be nice, but I'm not picky)

 (gloves that still allow me to use my iphone, like these from dots gloves in clay)

(a classic wrap dress I can wear forever from Diane von Furstenberg)

(funds to visit my sister in Nicaragua - a must have for the season!)

It might sound corny, but I'm actually not much of a gift person - time with friends & family is perfection.  Or, you know, delicious dinners.

on the road: austin

This past weekend, my little brother and I had the chance to visit our cousin in Austin.  I really love it there and was happy to go back for a getaway and also so Brother could see if he might like to go to school there.  Right off the bat, my cousin took me to one of the city's famous food trucks.  I felt so Bourdain, enjoying my gourmet sandwich from a tin trailer.

Aside from playing with my cousin's super cute baby, Pilar...

 (Pili-Bean!)

And eating delicious Mexican food all weekend...

We toured the UT campus for Evan to check out.  It was quite nice and again, I thought about how great going to school there might be if someone where to offer me a free MBA.

 (future Horn fan?)

The big weekend adventure was tailgating at the Texas vs. OK State game.  My college football tailgating experience is the occasional Boston College game where there are limited spots on the field and you tailgate two hours before and two hours after.  This was that, only on steroids.  First of all, everyone sets up the night before.

Second of all, our group started at 11am - for a 7pm game.  There was a massive spread of food, a big tent for cover, tons of different kinds of drinks, a hooked up flat screen and enough burnt orange to burn your eyes.  

 (crazy fan bus!)

I couldn't but help get into the spirit to purchase my very own Texas shirt at the Co-Op.  We had a blast - thank you to my cousin Arch!

(Stuart Family love!)

boston spot: taza chocolate factory

I had no idea there was a chocolate factory in town until Yelp Boston put on an event with an exclusive tour.  Taza Chocolate is awesome.  It's made in a classic Mexican style, good for shaving off to make it into a drink or to just pop it in your mouth.  This isn't your classic milk chocolate (in fact, they don't make their's with milk).  This is chocolate in its purest form, along with some cool flavorings (I walked away with a spicy chocolate - yum!).  The tour was pretty cool, too.  It's only one of maybe four chocolate factories you can tour in the country and one of the founders himself led us through it all.  I even learned a thing or two about chocolate.  Take a tour and check out their super cute shop on your way out.

come home with me please?

(inspirational board by LG via One Kings Lane)

Thinking about more wish list items for a certain someone's upcoming birthday and Christmas, although I'm really just asking for money to visit my sister in Nicaragua!

work is not a job.

My brother sent me a new blog and I clicked through it for quite a while.  WorkIsNotAJob is right up my alley.  It's more than just inspirational quotes made into art.  It's my complete manifesto personified - stay in action and good things will happen.

Here's what they have to say:  

workisnotajob. hopes to inspire a creative lifestyle through our inspirational work. We follow one basic rule: work. If you are active, it will lead to something, something you can work with.  workisnotajob. is for movers & shakers, lovers & fighters, dreamers & doers, guys & dolls.

I love that and I love some of these...

cozy.

Don't you love the cozy feeling of winter?  And is it just me who's counting down the days until I can watch Love, Actually every weekend?  Get cozy in some of my favorite winter fashion picks for the season.

 (admiral peacoat with fur collar from American Eagle Outfitters)

 (easy henley sweater from Lands End Canvas)

 (J.Crew zip gloves)

(class bean boots, from LLBean, naturally)

(Madewell slouchy knit scarf)

(ok, I know it's not cozy, but I love holiday party dresses and I have my eye on this classic little black dress from Express)