Christmas at Longwood

Hoooray! It's officially holiday season! I know this time of year can be challenging for people but for me I really enjoy the whole ramp up to New Year's Eve. I enjoy the shopping, the cookies, the good food and good times, and last but not least, the decorations! Christmas trees, ornaments, lights, oh my! We put up our Christmas tree on Friday (another post about that later!) and yesterday we visited Longwood Gardens for their Christmas Lights display. This is the second time Andrew and I have gone to the Christmas Lights and, if you remember back to April here on the blog, this is the first time we've returned since he proposed to me there!! Here are some of the photos we took while walking around:

And the stunningly gorgeous trees:

They have more than just lights though. There also had a short show featuring an organ player. Have you ever seen an organ? It's sort of intense and I have no clue how one plays it. I did learn that organists (is that the word?) wear special heeled shoes so they can play the organ comfortably. Who knew?

They also had a huge train set up with a couple different train lines running. One was Thomas the Train, lol.

There was also a few fire pits which was a good spot to rest and warm up our hands since it was a tad chilly!

And of course, there's the flowers that Longwood Gardens is known for...including these roses!

Yikes this is a photo-heavy post!! No wonder it took so long to type out! Are there any Christmas traditions you do?

To My American Visitors:

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all spend this day with cherished family and/or friends. As for me, I am going to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade (as is tradition) and then go to my fiance's nana's house for some delicious Thanksgiving dinner. From there we'll head over to my parents' house for some dessert. What are you thankful for?? I saw this photo online and it's pretty spot on if you think about it. 

Most of all, I am indescribably grateful and appreciative that I have a loving, patient, thoughtful, and gentle fiance who this time next year I will be lucky enough to call my husband! I'm also thankful for my supporting family, for having an opportunity to practice in a field I went to school 7 years for (even though my job can be time-consuming and challenging), for the warm apartment I come home to each night, and for my crew of crazy but wonderful friends who squeeze me into their busy lives. Lastly, I'm thankful for the small luxuries of having free time to pursue my creative interests, whether it's here on the blog sharing my nail photos and/or life updates with all of you, or privately cross-stitching on my couch. I hope to never take anything for granted, as I know everything we get in life is a gift. What are you thankful for this year?

Random Fall Outfit of the Day

Fall is easily my most favorite time of the year. The weather in the Northeast becomes more comfortable after a usually steamy summer, I can unearth my boots and scarves from the depths of my closet, the changing leaves are spectacularly colorful and beautiful to look at, and it's only a matter of weeks before we launch head first into the holiday season! Which, if you ask me, really is the happiest time of the year. For today, I have a short and sweet post that features....one of my favorite fall outfits.

Apologies for the bathroom-mirror-head-cut-off-selfie. I need more practice with taking photos of things other than my nails... Anyway, I love this outfit and it's one of my "go to" fall outfits for a comfy day shopping, a dinner out, or that oh-so-loved casual Friday at work. The outfit can't get any easier than throwing on any black pants, off-white long sleeve tee, leopard print infinity scarf, and cognac boots. Voila, an outfit that took literally five seconds to throw together but looks like you may have put more time into it. I throw my hair in a bun, slap on my watch, and out the door I go. Which is what I have to do now! I'm taking today off to hang out with my handsome fiance before Thanksgiving!

Traveling Woes

I travel a lot for work. And I don't mean I travel to any cool places like Europe or Asia. Instead I'm schlepping to and from courthouses all throughout the state, trying not to drop files, juggle an umbrella so I (and my file--most importantly my file) won't get drenched, and every now and then getting lost...in the courthouse, in the parking garage before I get to the courthouse, and/or in teh town before I get to the parking garage. I've become accustomed to not really knowing where I am or how to get home. And I don't even mind logging almost 4500 miles on my car in a matter of 2-3 months. However, this week was by far the worst since I started, as I was driving no less than one hour away for every single thing. It's a good thing I really enjoy driving...because I sure do a lot of it:

I also do a fair amount of eating in my car while on the go. Not always fun. And typically very messy.

I believe the noshing session photographed above cost me my black and white striped shirt. I'm a messy eater...

And this sucked too. It poured on the way home from a court appearance. I took about 2.5 when it should have taken about an hour and twenty minutes. Ugh!!

Simply Shopping

Every year right around this time of the year I go through a bit of shopping madness. Can you blame me? Between holiday sales, end of the year sales, black Friday sales, there are so many great sales and shopping to be had! So what is on my shopping list this year? Well, the usual. Jackets, coats, blazers, and shoes!

1. London Fog Faux-Fur-Trim Hooded Puffer Coat

2. Kenzie Notched-collar One Button Blazer

3. The North Face Resolve Waterproof Jacket

4. The North Face Fave LFC Full Zip Hoodie

5. Burberry Kencott Quilted Jacket

6. Bernardo Zip Front Leather Biker Jacket

And of course we can't go into winter in the northeast without the perfect pair of winter boots, right? All throughout college and law school I just used my $20 TJ Maxx rain boots as my winter boots but now I feel like it's time to invest in a legitimate pair of winter boots. Plus, I just bought my Hunter boots and I'm going to save those for just the rain! Here are the contenders for now:

7. Sorel Joan of Arctic Moonstone Boot

8. Sorel Joan of Arctic Boot

Ahhh, I really can't decide which one. I love the periwinkle laces but I can't decide if I would like the tan or the gray more! I know what you're thinking...why not just buy both?...and I hear you but having never had true winter boots I can't justify two at once. Maybe one this year and one next year? I don't know, do you really need TWO sets of winter boots? I don't live in Alaska! Pennsylvania/New Jersey gets snow and the last few year boy has it gotten snow but usually it's just two or three big storms and we're done. Ah! Which should I choose?! Cast your vote in the comments!

Enough about winter boots, here are other shoes I'm drooling over:

1. Lucky Brand Archh Flats

2. Vince Camuto Caprice Pump

3. Coach Oswald Round-Toe Ballet Flats

4. Tommy Hilfiger Pearla2 Ballet Flats

Lastly, I need a small black crossbody bag. I'm thinking these are good options:

1. Kate Spade New York Cedar Street Cami Crossbody 

2. Kate Spade New York Cobble Hill Lelie Crossbody

3. MICHAEL Michael Kors Fulton Small Crossbody