12 Things To Do BEFORE Your Vacation

So I am no travel expert.

I would say if you had to rate my 'traveling skills' on the scales used to judge a ski slope, I'd be 'intermediate'.

I don't jet set all the time, although I would LOVE too.
 BUT I have been a few places, you may have read about some of my trips here, here, and here.

But I do leave for Brazil in twenty days, #butwhoiscounting
 

This picture is me on day 29 of 30, circa 2008. 
In Munich, hostel-less at 11:30pm.

That being said there are a few tips that I have for you; things that you should do BEFORE you TAKE OFF.  They are really in no particular order, although some might seem more important than others, to me they are ALL important, TRUST me.

1. Scan your ID and Passport and email it to yourself. Then put it in a folder so you always have it.  I named my folder 'do not loose'.  This way if for whatever reason you loose, misplace, or get your stuff stolen, you still have your numbers, expiration dates, etc.

2. Talk to your Doctor.  If you're traveling some place that you've never been, call your doctor and see if there are any additional vaccinations that you need.  Many of these have to be taken a week prior to your take off, so call sooner rather than later. I had to get typhloid for our trip to Brazil!!!

3. Pre-Order your monthly prescriptions. THIS IS A BIG ONE. Especially for us ladies on le pill.  If you will be gone when you would normally pick you your prescription, be sure you call to get a vacation over ride BEFORE you leave, so you'll have all the prescriptions you need before you go.

4. Call your phone provider and/or go into the store.  Often there are small little package you can add to your phone to make talking and texting more economical.  That being said I usually just put my phone on airplane mode, then turn on the wireless, and load up my skype account.  Then I can call people over the wireless for pennies of what you would pay through your plan.  You can also text through skype....yay!!!

5. Contact your bank.  Sometimes when you go over seas, and your bank does not know, they shut off your account when they see any large withdrawals and/or funny locations.  How terrible would it be if you were left moneyless in Europe, Thailand, or Mexico....yeah that would suck  be terrible (my Mom hates that word).

6. Pack a pair of fluffy socks!!! Ladies this one is mostly for you.  But if I'm not crazy, which sometimes I think I am, my feet get SOOOO cold on the airplane.  So after three or four trips of frozen tosies, I got smart.  I packed a pair of fluffy socks in my carry on to wear while in the air.  It's totally worth it!!! I actually found it made it easier for me to sleep on board!!!

7. Ladies - listen up, this one might save your life.  Wear a scarf when you travel.  Why you ask??? Because it's a blanket in disguise.  But seriously there is this staple 'travel' scarf I have it's huge, and expands to be the size of a small blanket.  If I am cold, I unwrap it and wear it over my shoulders, and viola, so warm. Smart, I know - this one makes me feel like a genius.

8. Pre- charge your E-reader. Don't be the dummy who shows up at the airport with a non-charged kindle. I mean they hold charge for SOOO long, for most average vacations you wouldn't even need a charger.  Also be sure that you have pre-downloaded all your books. One or two more than you think you'll need, because if your flight is cancelled, or delayed, you'll need something to  do...you can only people watch for so many hours...

9. For all your online shoppers, please please please don't make the rookie mistake.  Be sure you don't have any outstanding orders that will be arriving while you are gone.  If you do, I would contact the shipping company in advance and/or coordinate someone to get it on your behalf.  Sometimes you have to leave a written note with the person watching your house that says you give permission for them to sign on your behalf.  Some even require an ID.  Look into this!!!

10. This is a oldie, but a goodie.  Make a packing list, and like St. Nick, check it twice.

11. Get your hair did. Let's be honest, vacations are like having a photo shoot daily.  And these pictures will likely be sent to family and friends online, posted on facebook, or put up on your blog. You DON'T want to be the fool with terrible roots, or old color.  Freshen it up!!!

12. Pack extra undies.  Just when you think you have enough (read two pairs/day) pack four more.  There is NOTHING worse then not having a clean pair, nothing...

Think that's about it ladies.

Hope you all found this helpful!!!

WIW: I'm getting boring

So you remember these yellow pants???

Yeah, these red ones were bought at the same time (also an $8 Old Navy special), and I call them my ketchup and mustard finds.  Get it red and yellow..

So anyways this entire outfit was inspired by pinterest, see the look here.
(Sheaffer would be proud)

It amazing what one site/app can do to a girl  the blogging world.

Revolutionary I tell you.

And yup, those are leopard flats (one of my three pair).

Almost out of control, except when you say leopard, in which case three pair are hardly enough.

I found them at Francesca's Collections on sale for $16 bucks.

Pants//Old Navy-$8

Shirt//Banana Republic-$19

Flats//Francesca's Collections- $16

Also if you stalk me follow me, you are probably noticing that all I wear is colored skinny jeans, and a shirt, funny I just realized this too. I'll work on it for you!!!

I guess I've got to mix it up a bit.

I'll work on that, so you don't get too bored!

This it for today.

I've got places to go and people to see (read business meeting).

Love those...

 

Buy This Not That...I Shop Smart (sometimes)

So I spent some time at Target this weekend, as you may have read about here.

I left with a few goodies, but made it out for under $50 bucks.

 Who is the real winner here????

But that's not what this post is about, it's about a few things I discovered, that I thought I should share with you all.  Nothin' super crazy, so don't get too excited!

Now, as you may know I'm no fashion blogger, and I don't always find the best deals.

But I feel like I have some pretty solid advice.

So read up to save some green!!!

Now normally, Target has the best deals, as you'll see below, but in this case, F21 wins.

I have five zillion too many scarves,  as I am sure we all do we are bloggers after all, but they are just so easy to throw on.

I first spotted these sandals at Nordstrom a few weeks ago, and needed them, because much like everything in the spring section at stores, everything I have purchased recently is neon.

I also peed my pants with excitement when I saw Target had done me good with a knock off.

I have yet to see them in store, but they are available online. Don't worry, I ordered up!!!

Last, but not least, these shorts from Target are the long lost twin of the ones from Express.  You see they were separated at birth!!!  I tried both pairs on, and ended up with the ones from Target (I'm glad I held out, I was at Express first, and went to Target after to hit the Jack Pot!!!)

I hope this helped some of you save some money.

If not, at least you got to do some online window shopping!!!!

Anyone else have some good 'Buy This Not That' tips???

Please share with a comment!!!

Three Bs and a T

You know your weekend is goin' to be a good one when you enjoy two four glasses of wine on Friday and wake up to your favorite breakfast, in bed, the next morning.

Seriously best thing ever.

I even got hot chocolate to go with it.

#nottryingtobrag

This made my day.

It was so unexpected. I didn't even hear him in the kitchen cooking up a storm.

Gosh, I'm a lucky gal.

The three B's stand for

1. Breakfast in 2. Bed, 3. Bachelorette and the T is for 1. Target.

Really exciting I know, but I had to lure you in with my title name, so you'd read this.

On to Bachelorette, I finished the Bachelorette party invites.

I love they way they came out.

(I changed the brides name for her privacy)

I got some of the inspiration and design idea from etsy, and them I specialized the rest.

It was all done on pages (if you have a Mac and don't have pages, please stop reading and buy it now).  The other thing that was super helpful was dafont.

If you are not familiar with dafont.com, it's  a website with tons and tons and tons of fonts that are downloadable.  I have SOOOO many fonts in my font book thanks to this website it's amazing.

Like the font Chicago is written in with the city scape in the back ground.

I just saved myself $40 bucks.

I designed my own, printed at home, and glued on black.

 Sealed in a silver envelope (pack of 20 for $5.99 at Michaels),

and viola.

 And one last thing.

I went to Target this weekend, found more goodies there.

A pair shorts, some tupper wear, and deodorant.

They also come in really cute colors...mint anyone???
I have more to come on these shots later.

P.S. Here is my breakfast!!!


Happy weekend to you all!!!

I Confess: Target Withdrawls and a Missing Tan

Spending another Friday with A Blonde Ambition for some confessions!!!!

I confess...

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....the best part of Safe Haven was sitting in theatre watching Josh Duham's sexiness, knowing that he is passing his genes along.  Does Fergie (Fregilisious) know how lucky she is????

...Julianne Hough's body is amazing.  Is it weird that for about half three quarters of the movie I was drooling over her legs butt arms everything.  Congratulations Ryan Seacrest, she bangin'.

...I drink three standard size Nalgene bottles a day, and only was it once a week. Call me gross, and see what happens...Hey at least I am hydrated!

 

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...I ordered one of those stick on bras from Amazon, and it had a note from the seller, turn out he's a dude. It freaked me out a bit, but hey for $4.99 I'll take it Michael Zhang. (It's new folks, don't go thinkin' I bought a used one.) 

 

...I found pictures from this trip on my camera's memory card. It made me miss these girls, blonde hair, and my tan from Mexico.

...I didn't got to Target this weekend, and I haven't been all week.  This is longest I have been without stepping a foot in a Target in months or probably even years.  My bank account is thanking me, although I did see these, and might need to make a stop. If I buy them, they are for our trip.

...Chipped finger nail polish REALLY REALLY REALLY (that's the equivalent to a triple dog dare, FYI) bothers me.  I feel like it makes an outfit look less put together. Like you didn't put it effort.  That being said my thumb nail chipped, and it's a gel manicure, and I can't get if off.  It's driving me INSANE.

...I'm so glad it's Friday.

SPD: Burlap Wreath

I saw this wreath and NEEDED it.

How welcomed would you feel if that was hanging on someone's door?

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So, off to Michaels I went,

I case you haven't read this post, I've been there A LOT recently.

This wreath frame was $4.99

And this burlap was $5.99

Secure the burlap with crafting wire.

There was truly no specific technique I used, simply bunch, and secure.

(side note: there is more burlap in the pack than you think)

Once I was done bunching and securing, I looped all the excess around the entire wreath.

This was the final burlap wrapping product.

I bought these decorate balls on super sale way back when (here).
Similar balls available here.

I haven't used them for anything, and they came in handy for this project.

Secure balls on to wreath with SERIOUS amounts of hot glue.

Don't be shy ladies, you'd rather have the balls super secure, than falling off.

I'm a REALLY good photographer.

Can't you tell???

Now bow and arrange ribbon.

Secure with wire and hot glue (whichever works better for you).
and there you have it..

 Not quite as ornate, but a simple addition to warm up the front door.
And welcome all our guests.

Anyone else tried a burlap wreath?
Any tips?
I'd love to see what you have done.

WIW: I Broung the Sunshine

Oh, what's that you say?

You can't see me??? 

That's weird, pretty sure these pants would glow in the dark.

I am also sure it's not sure it's not spring yet, and I am dressed like it is.

And I don't even feel bad about it.

#idowhatiwant

I had to wear these pants, because I just got them at Old Navy for $8 dollars.

I am not even kidding, eight bucks for colored jeans, it should be illegal.

I didn't eve bother to try them on before I bought them. 

But they are a perfect fit, clearly we were meant to be together.

Pants//Old Navy $8 (similar bright color here)

Shirt//F21 $4

Chombary//Old Navy $15 (here)

Scarf//F21 $5

Shoes//Target $20 (similar style on sale here)

You know you're flashy when the first thing your co-worker says to you is, "WoW"

It made me smile.

I would like to think, I brought the sunshine to work that day.

P.S. This was a link up with Dairies of a Bargainista and Tucker Up

Peace, Love, and Rock and Roll

Peace

 Love

 and Rock and Roll

No, those are not the name of the three puppies, but how funny would that be? 
Back to my weekend post...Remember we were at the cabin??

Similar hoodie here.

This is what a very excited Dog Mom looks like fresh out of bed on a three day weekend.
Why am I excited you might ask...?
 
My baby Zoey girl had the WORST runs this weekend.They aren't joking when they say change dogs have weird stomachs.  
We forgot Zoey's food at home, and she ate the other puppies for the weekend, which DID NOT agree with her. Let's just say the smell of her kennel yesterday morning made my boyfriend puke, and the clean up process including power washing, squeegeeing, washing, and it was not a short one.

I'll leave it at that...Trust me, you do NOT want to know the details.

 This is how she recovered...all day yesterday.
Also

30 days 'til vacation!!!

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I mean doesn't this seem like I should be able to meet Jesus,
but I am thinking he's there waiting for me with open arms.

This also looks like fun, and very stressful...

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That's it.

Oh it's Tuesday...and I didn't even have to work yesterday.

Ah-maze-ingh.

Dumb with a Degree

Growing up a local gal, was quite easy.  Growing up in a upper middle class, well educated, University town, with one of the best public education systems in the State on the other hand was quite hard.

In High School I wasn't dumb, but if you remember this post, you remember that I always kept myself busy with sports, field hockey, work, and hanging out with friends, and I managed to graduate with a 3.89GPA.  If it hadn't been for darned pre-calc, I might have had a shot at that 4.0...darn you Mrs. Moldenhauer. 

But when you're best friend (seen above) has a cumulative 4.3GPA, your other best friend is going to college on a full ride, and your ex-boyfriend (if that's what one would even call him) was recruited to play soccer at Stanford, it's easy to feel as if you're not quite 'fitting in'.  

For my town 'fitting in' is rockin' High School out (my other best friend went on to go to Princeton), and following it up directly with the best four year college, ever.  I kid you not here are the list of the schools my close friends went to:

Stanford

Carleton

UCLA

Pinceton

Harvard

Cal

Brown

Georgetown

just to name a few...

And here I was going to an awesome school, in fact, my school is ranked nationally as one of the best public schools in the nation, but I was left feeling dumb below average.  Compared to my peers, it seemed like I hadn't quite made it, like I hadn't done the very bestest I could in High School.  It's hard to compete with a list like this, if you know what I mean.

So after a long summer, we all went off to College to have the best four years of our lives (which I must say I did, remember this post)... and it was not until after college graduation that it hit me.

College isn't about the college you go to, it's about what you make of it (and no I don't mean how many parties you went to, or how many tests you aced, etc.).  It's about making connections, with people, with co-workers, with classmates to build the skill sets you'll utlizie the rest of your life, wherever you are going after college (traveling, work force, grad school, med school, etc.)

I will say, even after coming to this realization, I was proud of myself for graduating, and landing a job that I enjoy.  Not everyone from that list of Colleges I mentioned above was quite so lucky.

So yeah, I might not be the smartest, at times I still think about my best friends (now in Vet School, Med School, and a PhD program), and feel a tad, 'dumb'. 

 But I did do something pretty darn awesome. 

Confessional Friday

I am linking up with A Blonde Ambition for some confessions!!!!

...I totally let Zoey take a nap like this.  She's not really allowed on the bed, but if shes laying on me, it's okay right???....

...Zoey got a manicure this week, and I accidentally chomped one too short.  It started bleeding, and it was all it took for me not to cry. I felt like I had hurt my little baby girl. She's totally fine- and I was totally irrational, but it was sooo much blood for such a tiny paw.

...I've been using this self tanner, and I think it's working. But going from ghostly white to white really isn't all that much progress.

...The bag of chocolate chips in my freezer is getting progressively less full, as the weeks go by.  I may be a guilty of eating a handful almost every time I am in the kitchen.

...Scrolling through my phone, and finding this, made me miss Nadine so much it hurt. I just want to give her a hug in real life. It's hard to be besties on opposite coasts.  We need to plan a trip!!!

...Watching the Bachelor this week made me laugh, even though I am obsessed with it.  Just to be even more ridiculous, I paused it, and ran into our bedroom to tell my boyfriend he's my prince charming, simply everything I could ask for in a guy. All my dreams had come true.  Yeah, that happened.

...I just hooked up my cars blue tooth, even though I have had my car for about a year. Why did I not do this sooner? I feel sooooo much safer. 

...I just bought these. Half because I needed new running shoes, and half because they are so darned cute!!!

 

via

...I had my first guest post, over here, last week. And it was thrilling. Weird how something so small, could be sooo exciting to me. If you want to read it, read here.

...We (boyfriend, Zoey girl, some family, and I) are heading up the cabin this weekend. I can't wait.

You Will Forever by my Always

When I saw this on pinterest, I immediatley loved what it was saying.

I'm totally a sucker for those tacky quotes, lovey dovey things, and 'live, laugh, love' sayings.

Luckily I have more tact than to have those hung up all over the house (which is more than I could say when I was in college, searching for love).

These words however, just called to me, when I saw them.

They were different.

When I find myself telling my boyfriend I love him, just to hear him say it back.

(Yes, I am guilty of this...as most girls are...)

I realize this is one of the many things I hear when he says, "I love you."

Because this is one of the meanings, "I love you" has to me.

There are about a million other things that those three words convey when I hear them,
and a million more things those words mean to me when I say the, but 
these were just the ones I wanted to share with you today.

Happy Valentines Day!

P.S. I love you babe.

WIW: In Need of More Blonde

I saw this, and thought,

Yup, I've got those ingredients...

via 

And by ingredients I mean pieces in my wardrobe, but they are basically the same thing. 

Ingredients, wardrobe pieces are totally synonymous, right???

On a completely separate note, I need my hair to be blonder.

But I don't want to have to do it twice before vacation, so I'll be waiting another month.

Sigh, don't you hate having such serious problems???

 It's not that I am not Blonde, hello read the title of my blog, it's just I stopped highlighting in November, just to see what would happen.

Surprise, my hair doesn't grow out of my head as blonde as I need it too, 

and it looks like dirty dishwater color that is pretty much as dull as it can get.

Okay so back to my pinterest inspired outfit.

I always love an excuse to wear the Maxi.

Maxi must be named because it comfortable to the max.

And don't be fooled, there are totally spandex under here to add an extra layer of warmth.

Also, can we talk about this jean jacket, I've had it since eight grade.

Is it considered vintage yet??

Or is it embarrassing to keep clothes that long??

I don't really care either way, because I still think it's cute.

Gap did me good for $20 bucks, way back in 2002.

I wish I could dig up a picture of me wearing it back then...if I find one, I'll let you know know.

Anyways, I guess this means dishwater hair for another month or so.

Then I'll be the blonde on vacation.

Man, I'm getting excited. It's been a while since I've taken a week + off.
36 more days, but who's counting...