glitter no more

My sparkly silver glitter french manicure chipped today. It was only a matter of time (3 days), I flew too close to the sun with fantasy nail ideas. This reminds me why I don't fuck around with crazy designs or colors on my fingernails. It is annoying as hell to remove and wearing the chipped nail color is out of the question - visual turn off to both myself as well as people around me. Who's got the time to do this? Back to my regular, classic sheer
And my all time stand-by for feeling playful is clambake by essie

watch that S car go!

A bachelorette party was thrown in my honor last night! It only happens once (if you're lucky) and it was a !
Tasted escargot for the first time --> like an earthy morsel surrounded by lotsa melted butter and garlic.
Additionally, we did manis & pedis, and since I found myself in a playful mood, I decided to finally try something I've seen in a magazine a long time ago - a milky nude nail with a silver glitter tip. It's not very me at all, but I thought it looked really cool. So, now was the time to go for it. Results:

W O W

**tattoo browsing**

Is it Wednesday yet?

Just kidding. 

Trying to stay in the now. Now.

I'm proud of myself and my eating habits. I can actually feel a difference in my mood. And because I feel so much better, I make healthier choices. I've never had a troubled relationship with food and I'm very grateful for it. It's about prevention and establishing healthy eating habits. This does not mean, by the way, that I don't indulge myself. I do. I recognize that almost painful longing for a large hot chocolate with extra whip or a greasy burger with fries. But that means that I'll take it easy on my body afterwards. Moderation is key. I actually feel really polluted and heavy and unmotivated if I eat processed food for too long. But by no means am I a health freak. I just think about feeding my body good, clean fuel. Otherwise I'll be running on empty and to an addict, H.A.L.T. (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired) is dangerous. 

F R E S H !

Instant ponytail upgrade (from Refinery29)

Use a wide-tooth comb to create a diagonal part from your right temple,
dragging it diagonally across the crown.

Set with hair spray

Smooth hair with a paddle brush, pushing locks behind the ears.
Top tip: Running the back of the brush across your hair will help remove static

Simply pull the hair into a ponytail.
Then, take a little piece of hair from underneath the ponytail
 and wrap it around the hair elastic, securing it with a hair grip.
The piece of hair should be just thick enough to completely cover the elastic.

And that's it! A sleek and gorgeous ponytail that's right on trend.

באַונדריז

Pig's bridal shower!

How blessed do I feel when my lovely sponsor (and so much more than just a sponsor)

throws me a bridal shower? EXTREMELY

And how grateful do I feel when I have good, supportive people in my life

that are gladly celebrating my happiness? EXCEEDINGLY

Can't help but see now how far I've come…

It's so nice to be developing healthy self esteem

and honest relationships.

Nowadays I'm glad to be alive and that's huge.

actual photos from the party - how cute is that???

Sit your booth down!

A lunch at our favorite diner inspired me to research stylish booth style seating.

And I made up my mind, I request a booth in our future family kitchen 

wouldn't mind having family dinners at this table

xoxo

***

fresh bagels &

saturday fables

in a dusty cafe

on a day like today,

seem fitting.

***

your bookish charm

can make no harm

for no shade of gray

you'll ever overplay

Mental Health Day

Stayed home today, need a day's worth of time out from work and everything else.

Put The Blue Planet - Seas of Life dvd on for a relaxing background, irish meadows scented candle flickering with its earthy scent, promoting constructive leisure..

I had great success making delicious sweet potatoes yesterday and I think I'm going to make some more today. Vegetables as a main course generally don't satisfy me much, I am usually left wanting something of more substance. Yet the sweet potato recipe I picked up really turned this vegetable into meat-like satisfaction for me! Golly Gee! I am completely shocked that

                                          1) I find sweet potatoes delicious

                                          2) I was able to make them delicious

If one wasn't aware, the operative word here is d e l i c i o u s

nom nom nom

Another recipe I wanna try is the roasted cauliflower with garlic and onions

Both can be eaten cold, they're equally tasty that way. Also to make in the near future - oven roasted asparagus. all 3 are D E L I C I O U S. And this is a meat-lover talking. Bon appétit!

~wedding stuff~

Pig in full wedding preparation mode…it's pretty surreal to think I'm going to be a married woman, but amazing..and I can't wait to take on Bear's last name!

Before I set on looking for anything for the wedding, I spent hours researching styles and comparing it to what I'm comfortable wearing and paying. I think that putting some information up might be useful for someone looking for an elegant, yet low-key, classic look. Below is my board of inspiration:

Finding the wedding dress wasn't hard at all, thanks to my maid of honor, we made it happen baby! I wasn't keen on a traditional white wedding gown, and we found an amazing Tadashi Shoji off-the-shoulder lace gown in antique beige. It has a beautiful neckline with scalloped trim, the color is so beautiful and I really like lace...

So this past week I found the shoes I wanted - Tahari Colette nude pumps. Beautiful. I've been secretly wanting nude pumps, and I know I'll be wearing those shoes a lot, not just for the wedding. DSW is the place. 

I got some ivory satin ribbon at the fabric store, $8, it'll serve me as a sash, with a bow right above my tush, because I find it so darn cute.

I work at a fine jewelry company and I chose a 3 strand pearl bracelet as well as pearl-and-diamond cluster earrings that I'm going to borrow for the occasion..score!

Last thing is hair and makeup - looking for a 60's inspired makeup, cat eye, big lashes, subtle lips. Hair - teased and tousled updo, not a stiff bridal look. I want to feel sexy and alluring, not virginal. To each their own ;-P

1st world problems

Having a little dinner with another couple for New Year's Eve... I'm not so keen on going out, let alone collecting evening clothes. Tomorrow I'm going with my maid of honor to shop for wedding dress accessories so I hope I'll be able to snatch a nice evening number as well..and check out a thrift store or two.

This is a perfect outfit for a nye dinner..very up my alley

teal-ted

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Regular Christmas colors have been accompanied by teal and purple in some instances, which, to me, is pretty convenient as teal is on my mind a lot recently. I've been getting more exposure to the range of teal (it is wide!). Im telling my bridesmaids to wear a teal-and-peach combo for the reception. I'm also trying to introduce more teal shades in our living room. So it's nice to get more familiar with the color.

orange, teal and grey with brown accents should work in the living room then

lavatory makeover?

I'm dreaming of charcoal walls in our bathroom

Like so:

Today I went to my first acupuncture appointment ever

in order to try an alternative treatment for my knee issue

(long story, I must've pulled my tendon).

In any case, it was a very pleasant experience. 

Reminded me that liver is one of the most important organs

and needs to have periods of rest every now and then.

By feeding my body nutrient rich food

I can feel more energized because my liver

isn't all worn out from working overtime

processing junk.

A pretty simple idea, no?

COMPARISON IS AN ACT OF VIOLENCE 

AGAINST THE SELF

christmas candle and lights

make for comfortable nights

for snuggling under a quilt

is a relationship built

found on a sober blog, found it very helpful

I still pray, though. I have a clear sense that there is more to us human beings than our physical bodies. I believe that, if God/Spirit is “out there,” it is also “in here.” Prayer and meditation, as regular practices, align my will and my consciousness with the great flows of life—time, gravity, healing, love, and others that I don’t even know about yet. And Spirit.

When the prayer says, “Let not my will but thy will be done,” I don’t imagine a person. I imagine time’s will, or love’s natural orientation, or the healing body’s natural courses. Usually I perceive Spirit’s will. (Or even gravity’s will: I have more and more wrinkles and sags today than I had last year, talk about humility.)

There are some simple prayers I’ve been encouraged to say in recovery:

• Let me be relieved of the bondage of self, so I can better serve Spirit’s will
• Let me be relieved of fear and my attention be directed toward what Spirit would allow me to be
• Let me give my strengths and weaknesses in the service of Spirit, and may those weaknesses be removed which no longer serve others
• Let Spirit (not money, not social insecurity, not fear, in other words not self-will) direct my thinking, separating my thinking from self-pity and deceit.
• My favorite: I ask for an “intuitive thought” when I’m confused. I love this. Because this is another of my higher powers—the Intuitive Thought. It’s beyond me, bigger than me, and very powerful.

Higher power for me is not about belief. It’s about exercise. It’s about waking up. The 12 steps keep me sober, and they also wake me up.