he's baaaaaaack!

As 94% of the world now knows, Rob's home! And better yet, we have nothing to do this weekend. Nuh-theeeeng. Nada. Zip. Zero. We're pilfering internet at the library right now, and its likely that a nap is in our future. And then probably some beer drinking. And/or movie watching. It'll be a rough day.

Rob got fair warning before he got home that I'd probably follow him around relentlessly. Like stand-outside-the-bathroom-until-he-comes-out relentless. I kid. Sorta.

Apparently I've missed him a little bit...

the season of giving...

...to MYSELF:



I simply could not (and would not) resist this teeny tiny impulse buy. Its a little 4"x4" print that I found on Etsy by a radtastic artist in New Zealand.

Dear Internet, thanks for making it easy and fun to find awesomeness from all over the world. Kbai.

If you know me at all, you're not surprised by this purchase. My yet-to-be-named-but-you-know-he-will-be little ninja will be living with us soon - woot!


(ps: since 96.4% of my Christmas shopping is done and I'm under budget, I call an "a-okay" on my little 'shopping transgression'...now you know that.)

Tuesday Shoes-day

In honor of Black Friday and the fact that I'll be sleeping, working out and relaxing while millions of crazies roam the stores and the streets, I'd like to offer a little mathematical equation dated 11.24.09:

Summer + Fargo + Nicole + sushi at Yokohama - the presence of any alcohol + joyriding in the sick new Haines-mobile + a get-boots-for-Sum-mission at DSW + a jaunt to Valley Fair mall = 8 pairs of shoes purchased in 2 hours.

That's right, EIGHT. By three people. That's 2.66 pairs per person, or 1.33 pairs per person per hour...yikes. We basically each bought 2% of a shoe every minute for a solid 120 minutes...wow.

Oops. I'll have you know that:
A: most pairs were on riiiiiiidiculous sale
B: I bought the fewest of the bunch (small victories!)
C: I'm completely aware that my insane recent shopping spree won't fill the void left because Rob is temporarily away (for just 21 more days folks - woot!)
D: I'm going cold turkey, starting NOW. Seriously. I have to...

Yeah...I may add pics at some point, but YOU try wrangling up pics of 16 shoes between three girls. It's no easy "feet" (hah! Lame...but I had to).

gobble gobble

Happy turkey day!

I couldn't decide. That, and I reallllllly want you to have a happy Thanksgiving!

my love can be bought...

...but it doesn't need to be! In a longish chain of events, I stumbled upon a new addiction: Ruche. Lately, I've been trying to step up my game in the wardrobe department (the cooler weather this season definitely helps that...years of living in NorCal and SD don't equal a lot of clothing for chilly temps), and Ruche has been a key player.

I found the online boutique through the fantastic Stephanie Williams, Elissa and Lee's engagement/wedding photographer. She shot the Ruche lookbook this year, and inadvertently sent me into a shopping tailspin. Ooopies. The prices are suuuuuuper reasonable, the staff is fabulous, and the clothes...oh, the clothes. So delicious. *sigh*

So when I saw a post on the Ruche blog announcing a MASSIVE Black Friday sale and a $100 giveaway, I responded with, "Oh, you'd like me to jump, would you? How high?!" Here's the hard work I'd have to do for it:

Go there. Buy pretty things. Be happy. Everyone will win.

A little free advertising for them could mean a little spending money for me. Fingers (and toes) crossed!

Danger with a capital 'D'

There's a brand spankin' new Target approximately two minutes from my house. And it's a Super Target or whatever, so it has fresh produce and waaaaaaay more groceries than I've ever fathomed a Target could hold.

I may or may not have visited the world's best Target three times this week. I could walk there if I wanted. And I will. The only oddity we've seen with shiny new Target is that every single employee may be under 21. No joke. And it doesn't yet have any clearance sections because all of the stock is new/current products. If only the Target Lady worked there, I swear I'd snag a stash of blankets and make myself a fort right there in the store.

Pumpkin yogurt and mini Haagen-dazs? Yes, please.
Bananas and salad mixes? Sure, I'll take some of those.
Frosty beers? Uh-huh.
Random kitchen staples? Toss a few in my cart!
Spinach Artichoke dip and fresh French bread? Now we're gettin' craaaaazy.

Dear glorious new Target, Given your intense supply of cold beer, random snack foods and legit groceries, I think we're gonna be goooooooooood friends. Please don't bankrupt me. Kthanxbai. Love, Nicole

I hope the Terrrrgit lady is right and Heaven does have a Terrrrgit

y-o-g-a

Yoga is one of those things that I ADORE...when I'm there. Getting to a class, however, takes an act of God most days. Things tend to get in the way: Target, happy hour, my general laziness. After the shenanigans of this weekend, I neeeeeeeeded yoga in my life. So I went. For the second consecutive Monday. That's big progress for me. And as usual, I loved it. The end. *sigh*