Mad About You

Plaid is all the rage right now and I could not be happier. I have always loved plaid. This coat is one of the many plaid items I own. I bought it 7 years ago from Forever 21 and I paid $38.50 for it. I remember thinking that was a lot to pay for a coat. I wasn't as frugal then as I am now but I was pretty broke. I justified my purchase by telling myself I would wear this coat so many times that cost per wear would be so very low. I never could have known how right I was. 7 years later I still happily wear it every Autumn/Winter. 

New York State of Mind

I just got back from New York. It was a sort of last minute trip and I am so very happy it worked out. My friend Jonathan and I made our way to the Big Apple to see our friend Derek Klena on Broadway originating the role of Michael in Bridges of Madison County. It also worked out for us to see our dear friend Branch Woodman in Cinderella on Broadway. It was a fun filled 3 days packed with Broadway shows, pizza, walking, very cold weather, and lots and lots of laughter.

DAY ONE: We spent our day hanging out with an assortment of friends. I even made a few new friends which I always love doing. We explored the city a bit. Time square was preparing for Super Bowl weekend so there was so much going on everywhere. I picked up a new lipstick at Victoria Secret since I forgot mine and I had a gift card burning a whole in my wallet. It finally came time to see Bridges of Madison County. Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale are breathtaking. The music is beautiful and the story is so compelling. Derek of course was awesome. It was so inspiring to watch someone I had done theatre with growing up making a name for himself on The Great White Way.

DAY TWO: We woke up very early because we were absolutely determined to get Book Of Mormon tickets. Jonathan left me getting ready while he ran over to get in line for standing room only tickets. There was snow on the ground and it was pretty darn cold so he turned out to be the only person in line. A man came out to tell him to go get some coffee and warm up because he was definitely getting in. He waited 45 minutes with no sign of a single soul interested in getting in line. He called me to let me know he and his frozen feet were heading to the coffee shop next door. I made my way over and hung out for a bit but I got very nervous that there would be a rush of people so I headed back. I left Jonathan to finish his coffee while I took the second watch. I lined up all alone outside. A man walked up to me and asked if I was waiting for tickets. I said yes. He opened the door and allowed me to wait inside in the warmth saying I would enjoy the show a lot more if I was alive. Jonathan soon joined me and together we waited inside for another hour before anybody else showed up. There was no doubt about it. We were getting in. While waiting in line we also entered our names into the lottery for front row seats and we won. So for only $32 I got to sit in the very front row and see Ben Platt and Nic Rouleau star in The Book of Mormon on Broadway!! It was everything I could hope for and more. I laughed and I cried. I loved it. After the show we thought we would try our luck at the Newsies lottery. Once again due to freezing temperatures there weren't very many people there so we won. What a high energy musical spectacular. Those boys are dancing for their lives on that stage and I was living for every minute.

DAY THREE: We slept in! Then we roamed the city visiting Times Square, Magnolia Bakery, and NBC store. At night we headed back to Derek's apartment where he made us a beautiful dinner of chicken with pasta. Not only is he a great host, he is a great cook. After dinner we were off to see Cinderella. Branch was a brilliant Lord Pinkleton and that show is just happiness all around. We ended the night with Broadway Bowling.

It was a spectacular trip!! Check out more pictures here.

OUTFIT OF THE DEY:

Beanie: Forever 21

Sunglasses: Forever 21

Scarf: It was a birthday gift 3 years ago but you can find a similar one here

Jacket: Paris Blues at Ross

Sweater: Charlotte Russe

Pants: Levi's

Bag: Similar

Lipstick: Victoria's Secret

Sweet Dreams

Jim and I are in the market for a new mattress. Since all of our belongings were going to be in storage for a month before heading east we decided to sell our California King in San Diego. We ended up bringing my mattress from my parents house. It's a full sized mattress and working out nicely for me because I'm 5'2" and roll up into a ball quite comfortably. My poor husband on the other hand is a 6'2" broad shouldered hunk of man. I'm reminded of a recent Saturday Night Live sketch about "sleeping" in a twin bed and I find myself humming the silly song that goes to it. Watch it HERE if you have a moment.

It was a nice day out with a high of 41 degrees so we decided to run a few errands and test drive some mattresses. We found ourselves at a Mattress Firm. It must have been a slow day at the firm because the salesman, let's call him Larry, was very eager to see us walk in. He kindly said hello and asked, "havy'allevbintamattressfirmbfor?" We smiled at him nervously with wide eyes. He asked again, "Mattress Firm? Y'all ever been?" I didn't even know people said "y'all" here. I could tell we were in for a good time. When he found out we were new in town fresh from California he marched us straight to the Cadillac of mattresses. We weren't in any hurry so we decided to play along. The poor man didn't realize that we were the kind of people that go to Costco to eat samples for dinner so we definitely weren't about to drop $3000 on a mattress. He went on and on about the double coil blah blah blahs. It was a nice mattress but I wanted to see more. After every mattress we tried, Larry would give us all of the details that made it so special. We were like Goldilocks and the three bears. Since Jim is the blonde I guess that would make me... a brown little bear?! Scratch that. I was like Cinderita at the mattress ball. That has a better ring to it. Anyway we didn't get a mattress and Larry was sad to see us go. If you know Jim then you already guessed that he looked up mattresses on amazon.com as soon as we got home.

We headed to Chipotle for dinner because we had a gift card and it was right next door. I am now going to let you in on my secret Chipotle order. I ask for ONE chicken taco in a bowl with brown rice, black beans, grilled veggies, pico de gallo, that corn salsa that rocks my world, and lettuce. It's a mini salad bowl for like $2.45. I love their salad bowls but I really don't like paying for food I won't finish or overeating because I don't want to waste it. An observation I made while ordering at Chipotle, calories don't have to be posted here in Illinois. We're definitely not in California anymore.

Since it was a pretty clear day and there wasn't much snow on the ground, I was excited to wear something other than snow boots along with one of my new favorite shirts which actually used to belong to my older sister. Being the youngest of four children, I am no stranger to hand-me-downs. I love that the polka dots make it fun while the black and ivory color scheme keep it classy. I of course finished this look off with red lipstick because it was the right thing to do.

 

OUTFIT OF THE DEY

Beanie: Calvin Klein (similar)

Blouse: Papaya (similar)

Coat: Paper Doll at Ross (similar) 

Pants: Charlotte Russe

Boots: Paprika on Amazon

Earrings: Target

Lipstick: Rimmel London at Wal-Mart