Did she just say spa-tastic?

Yesterday I met up with my friend Jessica for happy hour! After we wined and dined ;) we did a little shopping! No big purchases, but I did buy a candle on sale @ Banana Republic! Strange place to be buying candles, I know, but BR was (is?) having a sale with an extra 50% off all sale items!

The candle was not packaged as pretty as this as it was the last one in the store, but who really needs a fancy candle box anyway? Not when it's a gift from me, to me, that's for sure!

In case you find yourself at BR, the scent is Golden Orchard and it's divinely therapeutically spa-tastic! That's right. Spa-tastic!

Original price: $16.99

Sale price: $9.99

My price: $4.99 + tax!

Didja know Monday

This Monday I'm not feeling so inspired.. so I will share with you things I have learned today:

1) There is such a thing as breast milk donors. I heard this story on NPR on my way into work, and it kinda freaked me out. I guess there's that whole "do what you gotta do for your baby" thing which I can't relate to, being sans child... but I dunno, kinda gave me the creeps!

2) NPR also told me about this book called O: A Presidential Novel that is coming out soon. The author is anonymous - what a genius marketing move! I'm not a huge non-fiction reader, but it's tempting to check it out just because nobody knows who the author is- makes it exciting!

3) While driving home, I happened to notice that the car next to me had eye lashes! Not kidding. I guess their car felt naked after the hideous reindeer antlers got put away for the season.. This was not the car, but thanks to this site, I can show you what I'm talking about! Have you seen this yet??

4) Mom told me that Oprah recently found out she has a sister she didn't know about! Who know! NPR also talks about it here!

5) I'm getting ready for bed during Bachelor commercials and calling it an early night! I dragged my butt alllll day!

A Soldier's Wife

Shared with me by another army wife.

To those that understand, and those that are willing to understand - thank you. Your help and support means so much! 

Holiday Monday

Monday again! In case you've missed the last few Manic Mondays, every Monday (well, usually!) I pick 4-5 recent moods/ emotions and explain them!

1) Excited - The desk and matching side table/ file drawer looks great in the apartment! It feels so nice to have some of the papers moved off the kitchen table and more organized on the desk. I still have to make a trip to an office supply store, but we're making improvements here! Big thanks to pops for his patience with installation! Pictures to come soon!

2) Marvelous (I think I just picked this word because it starts with an 'M'.. and so does Monday!) - so nice to have a long weekend, especially this weekend so I can talk to my hubs as much as possible before he travels far, far, away! I will admit that I have not reflected on the reason for the holiday, nor posted my favorite MLK quote on facebook - which seems to be the current way of proving that you're respectful and appreciative of the holiday Monday... Maybe next year.

3) Cat-minded - I've been very productive with my Monday! Started off by taking Fiv to the vet. The vet recommended all sorts of things to try and buy, so I've been all over town checking those items off my list! Time to get this cat healthy!

4) Crafty - OK so I feel like I'm exaggerating by calling this project "crafty", but I guess it is! I created a flower arrangement for my new desk! I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up 3 stems of fake flowers (currently on sale for 50% off) for a grand total of $3.17. You see, I recently acquired a neat glass jar mom had that used to be her mom's and I just knew I had to turn it into a vase! After cutting down the long stems and arranging the extra leaves around the bottom of the vase, I'm the proud owner of a new desk accessory!

I'm especially loving the bright, happy yellow! It will be a fun project to update with the seasons as well!

5) Cable tv lover! Some of you know that I finally got cable! We're a couple weeks into it and it's such a nice distraction on what can be otherwise lonely nights! Some of my new favorite shows are Millionaire Matchmaker, Celebrity Rehab, Beyond Scared Straight, and of course my favorite Food Network shows!

Golden Globes

Did you miss the Golden Globes last night?

Pink was just one of the many trends on the red carpet last night!

Stop by Social Work Couture for a review of the best and the worst dressed!

Organizational inspiration!

Y'all are probably learning that sometimes I need a little inspiration to get me going! Fortunately I've come across other bloggers that are getting organized as well, and that has given me some great ideas!

Amber, from Amber's Notebook clued me into this neat way of organizing earrings!

I've given this tip a try with the cute flower vase I picked up on my honeymoon!  

While I love making this item more functional, it doesn't really go with my bedroom decor - at all, and I wish it was more bowl-like so I could put post earrings in as well. For now, I'll leave it how I have it, but will likely switch to a clear bowl in the near future!

My second organizational inspiration came from these girls and their amazingly organized closets: Kendi & Jill (click their names to be real inspired)! 

In particular, I copied Jill's (from Good Life for Less) hanging bag idea:

 and used it to store my big/long sweaters and jeans:

Please notice the crazy cramped closet! Organization is key!

Way back when I had a cheap sweater hanging bag thingy, and the boards really bowed and it was just a mess!! I found this one at The Container Store and so far am amazed with how sturdy it is! I also love this new way to store jeans! I can be really lazy, and would fold my jeans - no problem, but hanging them always seemed to not happen and they'd end up neatly stacked and folded.. on the floor. Problem solved!

While I was at Container Store I picked up a set of 2 drawer dividers to separate and organize my unmentionables. Picture not included. :) The device is way cool though! No assembly required! It spring loads and easily fits into place!

Lastly, a little magazine help! Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere reminded me that magazines don't have to stack up and take over tables! Amazing! Here is her version:

I found this magazine storage thingy in the dollar section @ Target! Sweet!

In just a few hours, dad-to-the-rescue will be installing the new desk that I purchased yesterday (I'm serious about this organizing stuff people!) and I'll have a more appropriate place for my magazines (among other things that tend to clutter my kitchen table)!

That's it for now! 

Have you come across any organizational inspiration pictures lately? Share your tips in the comments!

Thankful

Y'all I have to say that I'm SO thankful that I've become friends with another Army wife in the unit that lives super close to me! For the most part we get together for sushi dates - it's always a week highlight!

I remember after one of our first get-togethers she suggested we grab sushi the following week, and I made some comment like "oh I don't know... I'd feel guilty going out to eat again" and she simply said, "we're Army wives! We deserve it!"

I tend to be cautious of the "I deserve it" line - although it certainly runs through my head rather frequently! It's amazing how uplifting it is to be with someone who legitimately "gets it". Being 2 hrs away from most of the unit and missing the Army wives dinners, it's really nice to have an Army wife friend so close by!

Tonight was another sushi date - our husbands joke about all the dates we've gone on! :) Thanks to my parents inviting me to invade time with their friends last week, I discovered that a local thai/asian place has super great happy hour and sushi deals on Wednesdays! Hard to pass up a $3 roll and $2.50 beer!

That's all. Just had to share. I'm thankful.

PF Chang's skillet meal - review

Y'all - this meal was delicious! I'm not even kidding! I hate that I always have the need to have at least one frozen skillet meal on hand at any time, but dang this one was really good! It's $9.99 @ my Kroger, which I would imagine is pretty close to the cost at the restaurant, if not more? Anyone know? Clearly I'll have to indulge myself and have a date for one -aka carryout sometime soon and investigate! All for the love of blogging accuracy ;)

I "made" the General Chang's Chicken last night as that is my favorite, but there are a variety of options. They say the bag is for 2 people, but let me tell you, this is one of those dangerous meals where you diligently only put half on your plate.. then you go back for "just a little more".. then you get out the tupperware box so you can have the rest for lunch the next day.. but find yourself eating directly from said tupperware. Anyone else hear me on this? It's baaad, but oh so good! 

I guess if I would have made rice (completely forgot that this would be appropriate, not being a rice lover!) it would have been more filling and I might have been able to control myself a little more. I did add some steamed corn (c/o Bird Eye frozen veggies) and that was tasty, but my to go box for lunch has now been changed to an after work snack. Oops! 

Bottom line: this dish is pricey, but worth it, if you can find a coupon!

Oh! I want to share a tip! I'm not the most health conscious person out there, but I'm well aware that typically these meals are just bad, bad, bad for you! My tip with any frozen skillet meal is to take out some of the frozen sauce pellet things! Usually you can pick out a handful and not even notice the difference! Give it a try!

Imagine the google image searching I had to do to find the only picture with sauce pellets! This is for some kind of frozen lasagna.. but it shows you what to look for! Got it? Good.

Let me count the ways..

Today. It snowed. A lot. When I woke up there was no snow to be seen, but I was wise and trusted dear weatherman and thought "I'm not going to risk ending up in a snow bank.. again."

So I stayed home.

I'm not completely neglectful. I came home yesterday prepared with my work laptop and gear so I could work from home. And that my friends, is what I did. You see, we have this weather policy that if you can't come in due to weather, we have to work at home. It really is a catch 22. Snow days officially don't count as a way to stay home and do nothing. Although I don't think they really having blogging in mind either..

Today - I'm rocking both laptops. And when my phone rings I quickly scamper over to work laptop and work. And the rest of the time when there is nothing else to do, well I'm thankful for being in the comfort of my own apartment.

Ok reasons why I'm glad I stayed home..

1) Check the snow.

Grass is gone!

2) Candles - I think our agency frowns upon open flames. Not this work from home agency! Ahh sweet, sweet candle.

3) I have a helper! She may be a pest, but she sure is darn cute!

4) Move aside fashionistas, I've got a new look for you! ;)

5) My very own coffee pot - less than 10 ft away from me!

6) My work laptop was up and running this morning at 7:15! It's amazing how early I can get to work when all I have to do is.. get out of bed and turn on the computer! :) Thanks to the mandated 7.5 hour work day, I'll be done @ 2:45 today! Then I can officially enjoy my snow day and do something dangerous - like watch a movie!

Yellow Monday

What in the world is "Yellow Monday" you ask? Take a look-see over at Social Work Couture for my first ever outfit of the day post! Then it will make sense. I promise it doesn't involve a yellow jump suit.

Alright moods here we go! You know the drill -

1) Organized - After the folks threatened to invade my Saturday morning with assistance (it came from a good place!), I kicked my butt into gear and tackled many projects this weekend that have needed... tackling! I also made a trip to The Container Store on Sunday and made 2 purchases to help organize my life!! It's a miracle that I only bought 2 things! That store has EVERYTHING! (How pretty is this file seen here @ Cupcakes and Cashmere)

2) Resolution-y - So this goes with #1, but I'm making it different. Deal! I had originally thought that I wouldn't make new year's resolutions this year, thinking that survival is a big enough goal... but I think I'm going to work on organizing my life as my resolution! I checked the rules, and it's not cheating to add a resolution a third of the way through January, trust me! So there you have it. Be prepared to hear about the ways I'm organizing my life!

3) Puzzled - I come home from work today and only 1 kitty cat greeted me! This isn't completely abnormal, so I went about my business, but then I got worried about old fivvy girl! I could not find her ANYWHERE! What the heck! I was seriously getting ready to call the front desk asking if some maintenance guy came in while I was gone (poor maintenance men.. always getting the blame) but then I had a genius idea and started the vacuum and before I knew it, I turned around and there she was - just looking at me like the crazy person I am! Not sure where she was hiding, but thankfully all is well again!

4) Intrigued - I had a coupon for a PF Chang's skillet meal that I'm going to make for dinner tonight! I'm hoping this sucker is good, because it's original price without the coupon is close to $10! Crazy! Whatever. Impulse buy, you win this time, but I'm on to you!

5) Exasperated - Last Friday was crazy town at work! 4realz. Maybe my clients knew that it was my magical four month anniversary (yay me!) with work and decided to be difficult, or something. I was so thankful to have the weekend to be introverted and recover! Oy vey!

Social Work Couture

Remember when I said something neat was in the works? Well, it is more officially in the works!

Drum roll please.....

Say hello to Social Work Couture! 

I'm very excited about this group effort project- and very excited that I have photoshop now (even though I don't really have a clue how to use it!) and can have somewhat schnazy posts!! Yay.

Likely you'll see less fashion stuff on Almost Daily Ramblings as those thoughts will be redirected to the new blog! So either rejoice that you don't have to read about it anymore (yes I'm talking to you, Dad), or get excited and become a follower of Social Work Couture!

Monday, not forgotten!

I missed my Manic Monday post last week - my apologies! I almost forgot about it today because my schedule is all off and with having today off from work (the price for working Friday - which I'd gladly do over again!) but no fear! Here we are! Just 4 today though!

1) Huh? (pretend it's an emotion!) I just learned that tonight is the premier of The Bachelor! I was so excited and quickly googled who the heck this years bachelor is and was somewhat disappointed to find that it's some bachelor dude that was the bachelor in 2007 and is back for more! Really? His name is Brad Womack and apparently he didn't pick either of the last 2 girls in 2007 and yadda yadda, disappointment, mistakes, wants more. Not promising I'll watch it - or that I won't! ;) I'm a sucker for this trash.

2) Goal-oriented. I have a huge to do list and feel like I'll make a dent in it today (that is if I ever get off the computer!). I've already knocked off two items and as long as I turn in my rent check and start undecorating the Christmas tree, I'll feel like I've accomplished something!

3) Unpredictable. The other day at work, I might have had a few tears run out of my eye balls when a co-worker asked me what was wrong. And at church yesterday during the prayers of the people, the prayers for military personnel totally got me. Sneaky emotions! I much prefer to ignore you and go on with my day! You do not want it this way.

4) Amused. I recently watched Despicable Me and it was so cute!!! It definitely makes the list of animated movie greats!

Crafty Christmas Gift

 Dad came to my rescue this Christmas and made me a beautiful necklace rack based on the ideas from this post!

Mom and I saw the knobs* at Anthropologie one day, and I was so impressed! I'm sure you could probably find similar drawer pulls / knobs for less elsewhere, but the selection is great, and it makes it easy if you don't want to trek all over! I love that they picked pulls that are different, but coordinate! Nice work parents! I love it!

Here is another option I put together! I think the flower pulls are playful and fun with a slightly vintage feel! 

And I love the bright colors on these!

*I'm not loving the word knobs... how awkward.

Canvas Winter Sale

On my lunch break the other day I stopped by Sears and had my first real experience with the Lands' End Canvas line! I tried on a bunch of things, but only purchased a few items from their sale. Admittedly, I was distracted, and it was really warm in there so I didn't have as much energy to go all out - probably a good thing!

I got two crewneck tops (in brown and navy) and a a navy turtleneck. Both fabrics are pretty thin, but great for layering!

I also purchased these grey gloves! I've been wanting a long pair of gloves that are convertible - these aren't the real fun kind that have a mitten topper but I think it's going to work perfectly for my purposes! I think the button is cute too. :)

Sadly the white sweater that I love so much was not there! Overall, I'm glad I got to actually try some items on, and was impressed by the selection the store had! The sale helped too!

Have you scored any new items from after Christmas sales?

My Private Jet + Sequins

Santa found OPI's My Private Jet and put it in my stocking!! Santa is so hip ;)

I LOVE this nail polish!! I remember reading somewhere that it's a more sparkly version of You Don't Know Jacques and I would have to agree - although just a bit darker!

For New Year's I added new Ulta's silver sparkly "sequins" nail polish on top! I love the look! So festive!

P.S. Taking pictures of your finger nail polish is awkward and tricky! Sorry. I'll work on it!

Wishing you a..

Happy New Year!