tgif

top: lillians, necklace: h & m, pants: banana republic (old)

tgif. man, this week has been a crazy busy week. and the state at which my house is in definitely reflects this. i wish i could just twitch my nose or blink my eyes and my whole house would be clean. but no, you have to do the work. and it has to be extra nice, because we have some visitors coming to visit saturday night. then not only do you have to pick up, you need to clean and do laundry!

also, tomorrow the hubs and i are headed to get a christmas tree and decorate the house in christmas decorations! i am a firm believer in zero christmas music, decorations, food, anything of the christmas sort until post thanksgiving. you can't celebrate one holiday before you celebrate another, am i right or am i right?

Thanksgiving

top: the loft, jeans: heartbreaker, necklace: target, boots: famous footwear

i am thankful for so many things in my wonderful life. if i named them all on here i would be rambling on for days. so lets just talk about my amazing family that i am thankful for. i have been blessed by such a close knit family, my mother and father, beautiful niece, sister and brother-in-law are all so amazing, loving and supportive and more than a girl could ask for (not to mention my in-laws are the bomb, i lucked out in that department). the hubs and i were able to travel to my parents house for thanksgiving, which was nice because we both had black friday off, so we were able to make a long weekend out of it. i treasure those times with my family as i don't get to see them as often as i use to. they are so great, and i do miss my fathers concern for me being cold if i don't have socks on in the house, and my mother waking me up for the day, and my sister and i bantering back and forth making each other laugh. you can never get enough of that, right?

here's to thanksgiving, and stay tuned for a black friday post. man did i take advantage of that holiday! black friday is a holiday, right?

girls weekend

Kate, Kristen, Krista

Myself, Sara, and Jess

Jessica's impression of a horse

this past weekend was so lovely. my college roommates came up north to have an amazing girls weekend. i kicked BPL out of the house, and the ladies invaded our home with doublestuffed oreos covered in peanut butter, swedish fish, puppy chow, and of course wine. i have known these girls for 8 years and counting, and it was such a nice weekend we had together, reminiscing, catching up on our new favorite show, nashville, and of course shopping.

i love them all so dearly and am so blessed to have them in my life. they are all such inspirations to me as they are all such strong women of faith, and i love them so much for that.

chartreuse

top: the loft, necklace: target, skirt: daisy fuentes, tights: target, oxford shoes: b.o.c.

alright, so these pictures make my shirt look yellow, but i swear it is chartreuse? i was told by my boss today that i look like a vikings cheerleader. not sure if that was somehow a compliment or a slam because i have purple and a yellow color on. ugh oh well. if it is yellow, i guess skol vikes?

oh and can i please say how excited i am to travel home next week for thanksgiving? i can not wait to see family and my cute little adorable niece jovianna. can't wait to squeeze her cheeks!

cold

top: gap two years ago, necklace: gifted, skirt: jennifer lopez, boots: target last year

it is the cold season. i take that back, not cold season, but bitter cold season. it has snowed up here for the last couple of days, and i have had my space heater on at work consistently. thank goodness i do not have to pay for that electric bill. when is it too soon to wear snow boots with sweatpants to work? i would of course change when i arrive. i thank my lucky stars everyday that my car has an automatic start. actually, not my lucky starts, my amazing parents for that awesome christmas present last year. remind again why i moved two hours further north? oh yeah, because i love my husband and he's the best.

ace in the city

boots: gifted, jeans: h & m, plaid shirt: gap two years ago, necklace: target, watch: target

this past weekend, the hubs and i ventured down to the twin cities for ace in the city benefit dinner. ace in the city is a non profit organization that one of brett's good friends started. brett and i volunteered for them when we lived in the twin cities, and also ventured to juarez, mexico a couple summers ago to help put on a sports camp in an orphanage there. we wish we could help out more, and hope to eventually be able to do so, but until then, please let me share with you who they are and their mission:

who they are:

Hope is contagious. You just have to be willing to share it! Ace in the City is passionate in our pursuit to bring God's message of reconciliation to the city, to restore communities and transform lives. But this begins with relationships. Founded in 2008 as a basketball mentorship organization, Ace in the City has now emerged as a Christian community development organization. We are a faith-based 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization with a vision to see the city renewed and reclaimed for Christ.

how they help:

It's the sad reality of too many youth we work with at Ace in the City: the realities of fatherlessness and abandonment, poverty and brokenness.  It's going to take more than a one-and-done model, with the assumption that a mere one week at camp or week in Mexico, is going to create impact and change. Impact and change first requires consistency. It necessitates a listening ear, of walking with youth and in communities through the good times and bad, where your issue is my issue (which means it's OUR ISSUE), and your hope is my hope (which means it's OUR HOPE). It's the authenticity and consistency of our relationships that makes the difference.

the benefit dinner and silent auction was their first annual, and what an amazing turnout it was! so many organizations donated items to the silent auction, and so many people attended to show their love and support for this amazing organization. please visit their website here, and see how you can help.

fuchsia

top: lauren conrad, pants: the loft, belt: target, shoes: bcbg last season

fuchsia. bright pink. whatever you wanna call them. but yes, my pants are bright. and i love it. these fuchsia pants are in the same section as my bright yellow pants in my closet. the bright pants section. and they are the only two pants in the bright pants section. every girl needs some bright pants, right? although i have never been a "pink" kinda girl, i had to have these. i love them.

ok that is all, i am done blabbering on about bright pants. tomorrow it's friday and that means weekend. i am pumped.

gothic

sweater: gap last season, skirt: francesca's last season, boots: target last season

black hair. my hair is black. i have white as snow skin, and ruby red lips. might i say if i exchanged this rad lipstick with some black i would look a hair gothic? oh well. i love my new hair color, and it is not as dark as it looks in these pictures. but it is dark. no more ombre hair for this girl.

and who said you can't wear clothes from last season? my whole wardrobe/outfit is last season. there is nothing wrong with that! i have some things in my closet that are three seasons old. there is definitely nothing wrong with that...

daylight savings

lace top: h & m, necklace: etsy, jeans: anthropologie last season, watch: target

sunday morning i was so happy about daylight savings time. i mean, who doesn't love getting an extra hour of sleep? then today rolled around, i looked outside with the thought that i had worked an extra hour or two due to the eminent darkness outside, when it hit me. daylight savings time. hence the indoor photos tonight. complete darkness by 5:30pm is upon us. why does it come as a surprise to me each year?

this is the outfit i wore to the concert  on friday. thanks to my girls who purchased my lace crop top while they were out and about shopping before the concert.


and here is my hubby. he got a big smackeroo as a thanks for being such a great husband and taking my pictures.

AND GO VOTE TOMORROW!!!!

allen stone

this past weekend i had the amazing opportunity to hang out with some close friends of mine from high school. we have been best friends since freshman year of high school and its that type of a relationship where if we haven't seen or talked to each other in a few months, we just pick up right where we left off. i love them to death.

we attended the allen stone concert at the fine line music cafe, downtown minneapolis. although it took a while for allen stone to get on stage (two opening acts = 2.5 hours before he started), he sounded better live than he does on his cd. i apologize for the lack of photos from the weekend, as my large canon did not fit in my clutch, so iPhone pics are going to have to suffice. enjoy!

Mr. Allen Stone ladies and gents

christina, megan, and i

megan has an amazing blog, check her out here!

all hallow's eve

the lovely halloween event. on halloween, brett and i headed to our friend's gretchen and steve's house to chill out. well, there wasn't much chillin out for me. brett laid in this recliner right here, and i handed out candy while gretchen went trick or treating with the kiddos. i handed out treats to close to 350 children dressed as transformers, princesses, and legos. yes being a lego was a very popular costume this year. what mainly concerns me are the kids dressed up with fake blood and guts. like really?? out of all the costumes you choose blood and guts??

Oh, and check out gretchen's website here. she is an amazing photographer!

family

sunday i was the stand-in photographer for the laugen family photos. this is a very rare event that the whole family is together for a meal, so we thought we would take advantage of that and take some pics, so enjoy!

sarah, baby makayla, & cory

brett's sisters and niece: nikki, jalyn and shari

the hubs and i, isn't he cute?

our two nieces: makayla & jalyn