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30 December 2009

Peace out 2009 and hello 2010

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: BlogHer, Chicago, Friends, Random, Wisconsin, celebrity, family, travel, work

So tomorrow is New Years Eve, which means I’m taking a look back at 2009 and looking ahead to 2010 by making a list of resolutions.

Or as I like to call them “things I try to achieve when I’m not lazy.”

But before I go out tomorrow night, drink loads of champagne, possibly force a guy to make out with me and spend the first day of 2010 hungover on my couch, I want to highlight a few 2009 highlights (in no particular order):

All in all, 2009 was a pretty good year, lots going on but a lot of positive things too. So as I continuously try to become a better person, let’s look at how I plan to do that starting Friday. Oh and this is separate from the yearly pledge to lose more weight.

2010 resolutions:

  • Sign up for dance classes (real ones at a real dance studio)
  • Run a 5k (and start the Couch to 5k program)
  • Be a better friend and daughter
  • Start a knitting project (other than a scarf) and FINISH it
  • Make one new recipe a month
  • Be more active in blogging communities in addition to my blog

Well that’s my 2009 wrap up and 2010 sneak peek for now. I hope 2010 will be as exciting and good to me as well as for all of you. I think 2010 could be the year of me!

I’ll be back this weekend with more but in the meantime, I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year! My New Years Day plans involve my couch, a pizza and lots of water and Naked Juice. Let’s party.

What was your 2009 highlight (blog or otherwise) or what’s your big 2010 resolution?

New movie review is up! You can read my full review of the musical Nine, get those jazz hands ready!

What I’m wearing: Sunday, I put up a picture of me wearing the below outfit over the holidays and then I didn’t share what stores I got everything from! I’m sorry! Details on my comfortable, “trendy” look are below.

Outfit breakout:

Shirt: Old Navy

Long vest: Banana Republic

Leggings: Hue, purchased at Nordstrom

Necklace: Banana Republic outlet

Boots: Banana Republic

Bracelets: Old Navy (black jet beaded ones) and David Yurman

As many of you know, I’m a huge Gap/Banana/Old Navy fan. Minus the Yurman bracelets, the most expensive item from this ensemble was the boots, which were $100 on super-end-of-season sale. Everything else individually was $40 or below.

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27 December 2009

Weekend recap: Holiday recap

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Fashion, Food, Movies, Wisconsin, family

Happy Sunday everyone!! I hope you all had a really great holiday and that Santa was extra good to each and every one of you. I had a nice few days off and am now slowly trying to remember what day it is.

Honestly, I had to write down that today is Sunday because I totally forgot. That’s what happens when you’re off for several days in a row.

Santa definitely visited my house this year and it was clear that dad told him I was a very good girl :) I’ve had some past issues of dad not following my Christmas list (which he always requests), but after a heart-to-heart about the difference between what I want/need and what he wants to give me, this year went much better.

Santa managed to fit in his sleigh for me several fun/practical things like a Wii, Wii Fit Plus, Huntress boots, yoga mat/bag, Glee seasons 1-2 CDs, JCrew/iTunes gift cards and a crock pot. Seriously, I was really excited about that crock pot. I cannot wait to bust that out!

And of course we had insane amounts of food in our house. I swear, any healthy food was replaced with M&Ms, fudge and cookies. My stepmom made a fruit salad and I devoured the entire thing because I FORGOT how good fruit tastes. Sad.

Festive ice cream cake, nummy

So all of this food meant I had to constantly wear comfortable clothing (to avoid another uncomfortable pants hissy fit) and I ended up wearing variations of this outfit anytime I went out in public. At least I was trendy.

A few other highlights of the last few days include: the first time having fondue with my work/WI buddy Lizz, seeing a few movies and not washing my hair for a few days. God, that was liberating.

Oh and I had to share a picture of my mom’s new ornament, can you guess the classic movie this appeared in? :)

How was everyone else’s holiday? What was your favorite present?

Review blog update: I’m staying strong on my no shopping pledge, but that means I’m behind in having things to review, so I’ve added movies! And my inaugural movie review is one of the best movies I’ve seen in recent memory (minus New Moon): The Young Victoria.

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23 December 2009

Overdoing the holiday decor

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Random, Wisconsin

I saw this in my neighborhood today and I had to take a photo. This house always overdecorates for the holidays. Doesn’t matter if it’s Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, 4th of July or Easter.

As you can see, this year is no exception :)

Well my lovely readers, it’s time for me to wish you all a very happy holidays and sign off for now. That’s right, I’m taking a few days off to eat, drink (a lot) and be merry with family and friends in town.

I hope everyone has a safe, happy and joyous holiday and that Santa brings you everything on your wish list.

Oh and I’m thinking of adding some movie reviews to my review blog (due to the cutbacks in shopping). So hopefully that will help me keep that updated more frequently!

Have you seen decor like this around your house? It’s so…eye catching :)

JB out.

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21 December 2009

The preference between hot and cold

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Fashion, Wisconsin, apartment, family

I’m very fussy when it comes to household temperatures. Why? Because right now, I’m in a constant state of being cold in my parents house. They leave the “heat” on at 60 degrees during the day and 55 degrees at night.

It feels like Antarctica all the time.

I’m constantly cold with teeth chattering and trying to stay warm while wrapped in my big fuzzy robe and slippers. I don’t want to TMI on here, but having your nips constantly at full mast is super irritating. Those things could cut glass.

Basically, I hate being cold.

My Chicago apartment, where I don’t pay for heat, is a balmy, heavenly 75 degrees in the winter. I love it, especially when I come home to a warm apartment when it’s cold outside. I’m sure when the free heat days are over, I’ll be a 60-degree girl too but for now, welcome to tropical paradise!

Dad and I constantly argue about the thermostat temp. He tells me to put on (another) sweater or just dress warmer but once I get cold, I cannot warm up. Thank goodness for my heated mattress pad. I cannot live without it in winter and I never want to leave my nice warm bed.

So this time when I came home, I decided to plan ahead and bring cute, coordinated pj pants from Gap and Old Navy. If I’m going to struggle to stay warm, why not try to look cute doing it?

Yeah, it still doesn’t work and I’m still wrapped in the fetal position in my bathrobe trying to stay warm. Classy.

What about you? Do you prefer to be warm or cool in your home/apartment or when you sleep?

Bloggy birthday: Thank you everyone for the kind blog birthday wishes. My blog and I appreciate them :) I also owe a big thank you to Teena in Toronto for reminding me about the big day!

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01 December 2009

Parallel parking performance anxiety

By: Jessica B.
Tagged: Friends, Wisconsin

Sometimes we all get performance anxiety in key situations. In the bedroom, during sports or for me, when I park the car.

I used to be a master parallel parker. When I lived in Minnesota, I would park on the street (summer and winter) and I always parallel parked my car. I could get into any spot I knew would fit my adorable Honda Civic and I wore that pride like a badge of honor.

Fast forward to living in Chicago where I don’t have a car or drive regularly. I used to always think I would forget how to drive but fortunately that’s not the case. Unfortunately, I do forget how to parallel park.

It’s so sad to watch me do it too, fumbling around, getting frustrated and making squeaking/grunting noises when I don’t turn the wheel soon enough. Embarrassing.

Now when I park and people are in the car with me. I immediately turn and apologize to them because they’re about to witness something awful. I usually try to park it in 1-2 tries and then give up. I’ll even park further away from my location just so I can angle or straight park. Sad.

I bring this up because last weekend my co-worker/buddy Lizz and I went out for drinks and I drove. And had to park. And I was so nervous because it was the first time we’ve hung out together outside of work and she would have to witness my private shame. I didn’t think my wit and charm would save me on that one.

And the second time a parking situation came  up, I apologized again and began to try and park. FAIL. But rather than get embarrassed, she talked me through it and amazingly I got that car in perfectly. I was shocked. And then I made her hug it out.

It was beautiful.

I may never be able to do that again, but damn I did a good job (with great help).

So what part of driving do you always have trouble with? Parking? Y-turns? Or if you live in a big city do you find that you are more or less aggressive than when you drove regularly?

Cake love: Thanks everyone for the tip on getting the cake recipe! I will be calling and emailing them today to see if they will share it with me. And if so, I think there’s a cake post in my future!

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