Just Thinking

Just a few thoughts this morning:

I REALLY wish I was in London.  I am one of those crazy people who is obsessed with the Olympics and I cannot stop watching.  

I have become a victim to Winexiety, the anxiety that sets in the morning after drinking wine.  I have had friends that this has happened to but never me.  And giving up wine is not an option.  Getting older can suck sometimes.

August begins tomorrow.  That leaves 29 more days of summer before the kiddos go back to school.  I am still trying to figure out where July went.

I set a rule in the house that there is to be no video games or TV on in the house from 10am to 5pm.  Great rule but is now getting in the way of me catching a moment to get anything done.  I don't care what people say, television as a babysitter just so you can get the laundry put away is totally worth it.

Back to the Olympics, it is REALLY nice to see my sport get so much attention.  This house is filled watching, discussing and playing every sport my hubby has ever played.  For once, my children think swimming is cool.

My little brother has left for college and has only confirmed that one, I am older than I think I am and two, I am going to be a mess when my kids go off to college.

On the note of my age, I will be 34 in a little over a month.  Regardless of getting older, I LOVE my birthday and still get excited for it.

I really need to get out of bed but don't want to.

I have such a fun weekend coming up that I want it to start.  Is it Friday yet?

I am dying over these Jimmy Choo's.  Suede and sparkles are a fabulous combination.

 

   

No Name Candy

Is this recipe really called "No Name Candy"?  No.  However, I have no idea what it is called since I am not the one who found the recipe.  Therefore, until I figure out where this recipe came from,  I am going to simply keep it as is.  So, the candy has no name.  BUT, on the plus side, this is a recipe that your children can make!

I give full credit to my friend's daughter for introducing these delicious treats to me.  We were having a potluck after swim team and she had made these to share.  Not only was it a genius idea on the part of my friend to have her child make her contribution but they were a huge hit and everyone could not stop popping them into their mouth.  Her daughter was kind enough to quickly share the recipe and I immediately made my own this past weekend.  It is really just a few simple steps and a great way to get your children to participate in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 bag square waffle pretzels
1 bag Rolo candies
1 bag Hershey kisses
1 bag m&m's

Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. 
2. Lay the waffle pretzels out on a baking sheet.  Fit as many as you can.
3. Unwrap the Rolos and Kisses and place one piece of candy on each cracker. 
4. Place baking sheet in the oven for 5 minutes.
5. When removing from the oven, immediately place an m&m on top and push down so the candy begins to cover the pretzel.
6. Place baking sheet in the refrigerator for 5 minutes

Your Done!  It really is the perfect bite size dessert and balances the sweet and salty perfectly.  I preferred the Rolo-topped one but that is simply because everything is even better with caramel. 

HOME!

via

The hubby is flying home today!

Immediately following our return from Chicago last Monday, the hubby jetted off to Munich, which began his two week crazy Munich to Zurich to Los Angeles to Orange County to New York travel schedule.  Beyond the 48 hours he was home last weekend he has been gone and I am going to be honest....I am EXHAUSTED.  The first week was actually pretty easy but this week was the looooongest week I have had in a while.  I cannot tell you how happy I am that he gets home today.  I also plan falling into a deep sleeping coma to make up for all the nights of jumping awake at every little sound.

How did I keep myself busy while he was gone?  Well, beyond camps, swim team practice, visits to the pool, and visits to the park, I also...

Had our security system installed (first order of busy for anxiety lady here)


Ordered this dress from The Outnet*

Ordered these sandals from Gilt Groupe*

Ordered these shoes for the hubby*

Ordered these prints for the kitchen*

Booked a room at this boutique hotel for an upcoming night in Hollywood

Celebrated 40th birthdays here and here for two dear friends

Indulged in a good amount of wine with amazing girlfriends who made sure I was not sitting alone every night by myself.

*It is obvious that when the hubby is away online shopping can be very distracting.

In the end, it was a great two weeks with the children but I can assure you that I will be passing on cooking dinner and bath time tonight.  Take out, no bathes, early bedtimes and my exhausted self laying on the couch watching the Opening Ceremonies, perhaps with a LARGE glass of wine is in our future.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Wish List: Leather Pants

I REALLY REALLY REALLY want a pair of leather skinnies.  Am I the only one?

Vince Leather Motocross Skinny Pants

Gilt Baby and Kids - Being a Gilt-Y Mom



I am so excited to announce that I am a guest blogger today over at Gilt Baby and Kids!  I have been a long time fan of Gilt Groupe (just ask my bank account) and when they asked me to share my Gilt lessons on their blog, I was happy to participate!  Okay, happy is an understatement.  THRILLED is more like it!

You can check out the post here!

If you are still not a member of Gilt Groupe (shame on you), you can click here to sign up!

Behind

Thanks to a great project with Gilt Baby and Kids (more to come on that later!), I was asked to deliver a photo of me with ALL THREE kiddos.  After spending what felt like hours trying to find a great photo of the four of us, this is the ONLY photo I have from the last 7 months where everyone is smiling.

7 months and one photo.  Pathetic.

Do you ever find that you get lost BEHIND the camera and rarely actually show up in any of the photos?  I know I have mentioned this before but I think that I am so consumed with getting great shots of everyone else (there were a TON of the hubby with all three of them), I completely forget to hand the camera off to someone else so I can get in a few.

What is even more pathetic from this shot is that it is from my little sister's rehearsal and is the ONLY photo that I have of me with the kids from the entire wedding weekend.  Like I said.  PATHETIC.  

Yes, I want to have thousands of memories of my children, but I also want them to know that I was actually there.  I have got to get better at this.  Do you feel the same?

Worst part, Gilt needed a horizontal photo.  Believe me, I hate being the person that has to tell Gilt I cannot deliver.  Will anyone notice that Baby Girl looks about 12 months old in the photo I sent?  UGH.

On the plus side, this photo has motivated me to wear this exact outfit tonight to a 40th birthday dinner.  This proves that I wear something more than once, regardless of what my hubby says.

Mixer

As I continue to work on decorating our kitchen, the one thing that is missing is wall art.  I have gone back and forth on what I have wanted.  As previously stated, I have a VERY mixed up mind for decorating.  One day I am really traditional and then the next day I am 100% modern.  Apparently last Friday I was in a modern mood because I ordered this adorable Mixing Bowl print from Three Bees Design on Etsy.  

I customized it with red chevron stripes that should match the chevron stripes we painted in our glass cabinets.  They will be on opposite sides of the kitchen but I am really hoping the color comes out well.  Anyway, I should be receiving it shortly and cannot wait to see how it turns out.  Three Bees Design also has this really cute utensil one that I will definitely be ordering if I like how the mixing bowl turns out.

  I will definitely share a photo when they are up on the wall!

 Interested in seeing some other posts on decorating the kitchen?  Just click  here, here, here, and here!  

Anniversary Picks

Last Friday launched Nordstrom's Annual Anniversary Sale.  When I was a Manager in the Savvy department, this day used to bring on heart palpitations related to crazy women, long hours, messy dressing rooms and all that comes with a major sale.  Today, as a consumer, I have forgotten all the pain this day can cause for thousands of Nordstrom employees around the country and bask in the beauty of Fall coats, boots, accessories and more, at amazing sale prices.  I am now the crazy woman who pre-sales, picks out everything for the family and STILL comes back during the sale to see if there was anything I missed.  

Unfortunately, this year, with vacations, my husband traveling for work and all the crazy of summer, I was unable to take a sneak peak and STILL have not gone into one of the stores.  I think I am going to have to take care of this over-spending online but for now, here are some of my favorites from this year's sale.

MARC BY MARC JACOBS "Twinkle" Stripe Sweater
Oh hey cute sweater.

VINCE Color Blocked Blanket Sweater
Remember my post on this sweater last November?
It is as if Nordstrom knew just how bad I needed this.

Rag and Bone/JEAN Skinny Zip Detail Jean
Red skinnies all winter?  Why not?

Botkier "Valentina" Satchel

And for those other people in my house...

BOSS Pinstripe Suit
With a hubby that wears a suit every day, you cannot help but look at them.

Ted Baker London Jersey Jacket
For those casual dinners out.

Tucker + Tate "Christopher" Sweater
I think I just found what the boys are wearing for Thanksgiving....

Splendid "Brenton" Tunic and Leggings
Such a great casual outfit for Baby Girl

Have you been to the Anniversary Sale yet?  What did you pick up?

Impossible

This is it.  My last post on our trip to Chicago.  I have SO many photos left to go through from our visit to the Chicago Children's Museum at Navy Pier (a definite if you are in town!), Adult Night Out (Tavernita was delish, I loved the ambiance at The Drumbar, and you cannot argue with the view at the Terrace at Trump Chicago) and just spending time at our friend's home.  There are literally hundreds of photos and I do not want to filter through the rest right now.  You wouldn't want to either if you have been dealing with three children who are adjusting back to your time zone.  I am wiped out.

So, to cap off our amazing trip, I will share with you just how hard it is to get 2 adults and 3 children to take a great photo.

 Literally, impossible.

Thank you so much to C, J and B for the incredible trip and allowing us to invade your home!
It was so great to see you guys and I cannot wait until we get together again!
XO

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Wrigley

If there is one place you have to go while in Chicago, it is Wrigley Field and a Cubs game.  This was a MUST for the boys and we made sure we did it right.  Friday was spent touring the stadium.  Not only do you get to see things you would never see at a game but I love hearing old stories about the park and perhaps some inappropriate ones (I am not even going to tell you how the men go to the bathroom when working the manual scoreboard).  On Sunday, we watched the Cubs defeat the Diamondbacks, got to sing "Go Cubs Go", received a certificate for their first visit AND, the highlight of the day, the boys got to run the bases.  I am pretty sure the hubby and our friend C were jealous of this.  All in all, it was exactly how you would want to experience one of the oldest parks in the US.  Here are a few photos from the two days.

Just finished running the bases.  Oldest was extremely excited.  Middle Man wanted to get the hell out of there.  And the woman in the back wanted to say hello.

The Magnificent Mile

On our first full day in Chicago, our friends had to work so the hubby and I decided to show the kids The Magnificent Mile, one of my favorite spots in Chicago.  Not only do I love the pace and the shopping but I love that there are so many sights to see either on or just off of the street.  We took the Brown line to The Loop (their first time on a train!) and got off at  Millennium Park.  We were able to see the fountains and "The Bean", which the boys were fascinated with.  Following the park we headed to the river where we jumped on the The Chicago Architecture Foundation Boat Cruise (which is awesome but perhaps 20 minutes too long for little ones).  Our final destination was the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor of the Hancock building where we enjoyed some Sprite and cocktails while taking in the view.

And in perfect family vacation fashion, Middle Man hated being in the heat outside on the boat and threw a fit, Baby Girl was bribed with sweets all day long to avoid tantrums due to no nap, Oldest was the only one who would continue to take pictures with a smile and an entire beer was spilled on me and in my handbag (I am talking pool at the bottom of the bag and shorts that were so wet I was embarrassed to get up).  Oh yes!  And I almost forgot.  Oldest threw up that night due to dehydration.  Yep, crazy right?  But how boring would a family vacation be without some excitement?

Life As We Know It: Chicago Edition

Six days and five nights.  It is amazing what you can fit in during that time.  I really feel like we did EVERYTHING.  Thanks to my constant juggling between my iPhone, my large Canon camera and my small Canon camera, I have an abundance of photos to share.  Why have one when you can have three, right?  I will share all the details of our trip this week but let me start with a little of what Instagram captured.  Oh how I love this program and how much better it makes my photos look!  If you are not following me yet, find me at @jugglinginheels!