Life Lately

Happy Wednesday!  We are halfway through the week!  I'm going through Olympics withdrawal...how about you all?  Did the kiddos get off to school okay?  Registration for our Fall term ended Monday, so Tuesday was the day we dealt with all the panicked phone calls and tomorrow we are closed for Professional Development.

Needless to say, last week was crazy workwise, but here's a peek into what's been going on in our world.

These came in!  Our park passes for Disney.  We are 23 days away from our trip to Disney World.  I've already told my boss I am turning my email off on my phone while I'm gone.  We are so excited.  I'm love Disney, but I'm also excited to see it with my niece and experience all the fun and magic with her.

We've been watching a lot of this.  Once swimming finished, we turned our attention to track and field.  I am always amazed at the sportsmanship - like the American runner who tripped and fell with the New Zealand runner and despite a torn ACL (what!) she got up and told the other runner, "it's the Olympics, we have to finish" and finished the race with her.  It's moments like this that capture the true Olympic spirit.

I've already mentioned my obsession with barre classes in a previous post, it's become part of my weekly routine.  I'm trying to get to 3 or 4 classes a week #sweatingforthewedding #lifttoneburn #purebarrelascolinas

And then these came in!  Our luggage tags for the Disney Magical Express that will take us from the airport to the resort!  Last Sunday we had a facetime conference call with the rest of the family to plan the final details.  Have I mentioned it's 23 days away??? 

Spending the last two weeks on the couch watching the Olympics every night, Kate has spent several of them with us.  She curls up next to me and chills out.  #shesnotalapcat #neitherisjack #iwishoneofthemwere

Ummm, and then we watched more Olympics.  Are you sensing a theme here?  It's pretty much been all Olympics all the time around here when we're not working or trying to get ahead so we can relax when we're at Disney.  This was one of the volleyball medal matches.  We even watched the marathon on Sunday.  

I was trying to work on some things on Sunday and my other #notalapcat decided to join me.  He's been very sweet lately.  It comes and goes.  Some weeks he's super sweet and social and wants to love on you, and then some weeks you look at him and he skitters away.  

 

I take a 5:15am class two mornings a week.  These are led by the owner of the studio.  Her name is Niki and she rocks.  I love starting my day with one of her classes.

 top (similar) | jeans (similar) | shoes | watch | essential fringe necklace | alila earrings

 Saturday date night outfit for delicious Mexican food at Gloria's.

Deciding between the Brisket Tacos or the Tacos al Carbon.  I went with the Garlic Shrimp.  #sodelicious #getthechipsandsalsa

And then we wrapped up the week with more Olympics, including NBC's highlight reel and the closing ceremonies.  My favorite opening and closing of the last few Olympics has been Beijing.  Rio did an okay job, but China knocked it out of the park when they hosted.

What are we going to do now that the Olympics are over?  I'm going to finish a couple of books and I'm taking another Spanish class this semester.  And count down the days til Disney.  #23days

Enjoy the rest of your week!  See you back here Friday for Friday favorites.

xoxoxo

 

Friday Favorites

I don't know about you all, but I am ready for the weekend.  This was a really long week and at the moment my absolute favorite thing is my bed #truth #sotired #4weekstilvacation

 

One

 

 

I am addicted to barre class.  I love it.  I go to Pure Barre in Las Colinas and I love everything about it.  I love the workout I'm getting, I love the instructors, I love how I feel when I walk out after.  It is my favorite thing right now.

 

 

Two

 

These booties.  Now, I'm not usually a booties kind of girl.  I might make an exception for these.  The color is gorgeous and I am in love with the strap detail around the ankle.  How cute will these be this fall?

 

Three

I have been using Lancome skin products for ages.  This moisturizer has been my go-to for years.  It's not greasy or heavy and I don't feel like it's sitting on my skin.  

While almost all of my skincare is Lancome, I love this fresh black tea eye cream.  I have seen a noticeable difference with the fine lines around my eyes since I have been using this.

Four

These are, hands down, the world's most comfortable pajamas.  These PJ Salvage pajamas will make you want to stay in your pjs all day.  The jersey is super soft.  #trustme #socozy

 

 

Five

 

If you haven't bought a pair of kate spade glitter studs yet, you should.  They just add pop to any outfit - dresses for work, t-shirts and jeans, they work with everything.  I love them so much, I want to add these to my kate spade stud earring collection:

How gorgeous are these abalone stones?  So pretty - I could see wearing them with my plaid shirts, skinny jeans, and boots this fall. 

Six

 

 This is the last week of the Olympics #sniff.  We've watched every night, even the nights the Cowboys and Patriots have had pre-season football games.  Phillip and I love watching Olympics. I'll be sad when the games come to a close on Sunday.

 

 That's what I'm loving this week!  What are your recent favorites?  Comment below and have a great weekend y'all!

 

xoxoxo

 

 

Life Lately

This week has been kind of all over.  Crazy busy at work and trying to stay on top of everything.  It's just that time of year - back to school and working at a college that has open enrollment means this time of year is extra crazy.

I've been trying to stick to my workouts and I've added a new one to the rotation.  A Pure Barre opened near us in Las Colinas and they were offering free classes the first weekend they opened so I gave it a try.  I loved it.  It's my new favorite. I wish I could go every day.

Little Miss here is infatuated with Elena of Avalor, the new Disney Princess.  She's "fancy".  When I was visiting a couple weekends ago, I let her pick out an Elena Tshirt, and then she saw the jewelry.  Of course, Auntie Nichole said ok, we'll get the jewelry too, ha ha.

 

 

This handsome guy prepared dinner Sunday night.  Taco salad, it was delicious.  Please note that I just wanted to capture the moment.  We're actually pretty good at dividing up the cooking responsibilities.  I usually cook Sunday evening, but he had the inspiration for taco salad and wanted to do the cooking that night.  I wasn't going to argue :)

 

 

Contrary to popular belief, I was not close to running out of gas.  I still had 75 miles to go!  I refilled shortly after that.  I'm usually better at getting a refill before the light comes on, I promise #ohweusedtoletitgetsolowwhenwewereteenagers

 

 Saturday we went to see Suicide Squad.  It was not great.  I thought Margot Robbie and Will Smith did a great job, but they were saddled with a terrible script.  Our evening got considerably better when we went to dinner.  Souk, at Trinity Groves, was a new choice for us.  We've walked past it before, but we finally tried it Saturday night and holy cow it was the most delicious meal.  So flavorful.  Very Moroccan and the interior was cozy and interesting - something new to look at wherever you looked. And then we hit up Cake Bar before we left TG.  #sogood #gettheoldfashioned #trustme

 

 

After Cake Bar, we made our way home for Game Night.  It was a Yahtzee kind of night with the Olympics on in the background.  We each won a game, so we were still talking to each other afterwards #wearesocompetitive

 

 

And have I mentioned the Olympics???  Both Phillip and I LOVE the Olympics.  He kind of tunes out when I make him watch gymnastics, but otherwise we are into it. #teamUSA

 

Sunday I did a little planning and finished the Save the Dates

 

 

And then this happened.  Where am I?  Yeah, it was 77 degrees when I got home from work Monday night.  I opened the balcony door it was so nice.

 

 

So nice, that Jack and Kate immediately camped out on the balcony for the rest of the evening.  I had to physically go out there and get Jack when we were locking up for the night.

 

 

And then there was this.  Chow Mein.  Not just any Chow Mein, but Fall River style Chow Mein.  I was talking to my grandmother about it on the phone a couple of weeks ago and then when she did her grocery shopping while I was in RI a couple of weeks ago, she got me a couple of boxes.  I was in heaven. #nostalgia #grandmasfavorite #andyesimeanme

 

 That's a peek into life lately!  Come back Friday for Friday Favorites - see you then...

 

xoxoxo

 

 

Winter Olympics

You long time readers know that I love the Olympics. The spirit, the sportsmanship, the heart. I try to watch as much as my schedule allows, every time it rolls around - from opening ceremonies to the passing of the torch to the next host city. What make Vancouver special for me is that it actually a city that I have been to. It's always nice to have a frame of reference. And Vancouver is just the most gorgeous place - mountains and ocean and a great ambiance. I've only been once, but would love to go back again someday.

These games have been pretty amazing - at least for the Americans. I won't go into how much of a sore loser I think Yevgeny Plushenko is, but I am really proud of all of our American athletes. I will say that the moment that had me tearing up the most, was for a Canadian. A lovely skater, Joannie Rochette, unfortunately lost her mother to a heart attack two days before she was scheduled to compete. I cannot even imagine. I know how utterly devastated I would be to lose my mother unexpectedly like that. I don't know that I would have had the strength to go on like Joannie did. And she turned in the greatest skate of her life. I doubt there was a dry eye at the arena that night. I know her mother was looking down on her, giving her the strength to give it her all, to fulfill their dream. I can't post the actual video, but if you click on her name, you can tune in and watch an amazing performance.

Back to School

Ugh. That pretty much sums up today. I could go into detail about waitlists and queries and level loads, but I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Suffice it to say that I looked up at the clock at 2:50pm this afternoon and thought, "Oh. My. Gosh. Where has the day gone?" I very rarely get days like that anymore. I used to have them all the time when I worked in Student Affairs. Catastrophe upon catastrophe can do that to you. Since I've moved to registration however the catastrophes tend to be few and far between.

It was the first day of school and though there was no discernible difference on my 0.7 mile trek to work, it was clearly evident by the empty shelves and dearth of carriages at Target last night. First day of school for K-12 kids and first day of school for Duke. Fortunately the Olympics are over and I can resume my normal sleep habits (poor as they are).

My top five Olympic moments:
1. The 4x100 free relay when Jason Lezak chased down Alain Bernard to give the Americans the gold and to keep Michael Phelps' gold medal hopes alive.
2. Michael Phelps beating Milorad Cavic in the fly. By .01. One one-hundredth of a second! The look on his mom's face as she sunk to her seat in awe and shock had me tear up.
3. Shawn Johnson finally getting a gold for the balance beam. Yes, Nastia is good, but she comes across as cold and haughty. Shawn is just a ray sunshine and she was always positive.
4. Sanya Richards chasing down the Russian runner on the last leg of the women's 4x400 relay. It was just a great track moment.
5. Dara Torres at 41 winning a silver medal in the 50m freestyle. She missed out on gold by .01. Point oh-one. Did I mention she's 41?

Next up? Vancouver in 2010. In the meantime, next up for me? I need to hit the books. I am way behind in my GRE studying. The math is not going to come back to me by osmosis. I should have gone out on a second date with the math whiz. At least I would have had a tutor. Just kidding. Not about the math whiz part. He was a math whiz, and I usually go for the academic type, but he was a little older than the guys I usually date and when you have to worry about whether he's older than your mom, it gets a little weird (he wasn't older than my mom, but he was pretty close).

Thoughts on the Olympics? What were your favorite moments?

American Anthem

This relay is the reason I love the Olympics so much. I was on the edge of my seat. If you fell asleep, or flipped the channel, or just plain forgot it was on, you need to watch this. It is beyond amazing.

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/player.html?assetid=0811_hd_swb_hl_l0194&channelcode=sportsw

40 Days and 40 Nights

I love the Olympics. Summer or Winter, I love the games. The Summer Olympics are 40 days away. The eighth day in the eighth month in the eighth year, the games begin. The first games I remember sitting down and watching were the Winter Games in Calgary in 1988. I would curl up in my dad's recliner and watch the coverage. This was followed by summer games in Seoul. Why the Olympics? I like the pageantry of the opening ceremonies as well as the parade of nations. I like seeing the athletes with such pride for their country. Some people were concerned when they split the summer and winter games and had them alternate. I was thrilled. I only had to go every two years between games, rather than four.

I like the come from behind story; the human interest stories that come out during the games. I can still remember some of them - Rulan Gardener, the American Wrestler who beat the Russian. It wasn't supposed to happen that way. Letitia Hubert, a French figure skater who fell on every jump, but was thrilled to just be there and finish her routine. She fell so many times you could see the red marks on her legs from the ice. She got an ovation when she finished. I also like learning about where the games are being held. It's Beijing this summer and I am excited to see China, even if its only on tv.

I even love the music. Just hearing that fanfare makes me smile. But it's moments like these that bring tears to my eyes: