Weekend To Do List

Happy Sunday Funday, kids! Did you spend your entire weekend eating delicious foods? I did! I have a birthday coming up, which for me is an excuse to just stuff my face. 

1. I was up bright and early on Friday morning (seriously -- alarm went off at 3:30) to fly to New York for a long weekend. I was home by 10am and set up a makeshift office in my childhood bedroom for a full day of work. It was a loooonnggg day, but I made it through and headed out for Birthday Dinner #1, a cozy little dinner with my family. We went to Toast, a great little restaurant near my parents' house. It's everyone's favorite breakfast spot by day and perfect spot for drinks and dessert by night. Their dinner menu includes entrees, tapas-style sharing dishes, and cheese plates -- we ordered a bunch of things and shared some tasty bites. The food was great, but I wanted to save plenty of room for dessert: chocolate fondue. We ordered the milk chocolate fondue, which came with an enormous platter of fruit, cookies, marshmallows, rice krispy treats, and an entire funnel cake. Perfection.

2. I spent Saturday in the city, soaking up the gorgeous fall weather and catching up with friends. It is weird to feel a little bit like a tourist in a city that has been home to me for most of my adult life, but it's been more than 2 years since I was a resident and New York is a city that changes every single day. Being in NYC means being surrounded by the familiar (never get tired of walking through Bryant Park on a sunny Saturday) and the unfamilar (there's a third H&M on 34th Street now?!?). Happily, my subway game is still strong -- got a seat on each ride, and knew which car would be closest to the exit at my destination station.

High on my to-do list was the John Singer Sargent exhibit at The Met. My undergrad and graduate degrees are in art history and my master's thesis was on Sargent portraits, so this was a treat. I met my best friend Sara on the museum steps on a perfect fall afternoon for some serious art-ing. It was a gorgeous show, and then we did a lap of some of our favorite permanent galleries -- photography! Egyptian carvings! Impressionists! It was like speed dating for fine art. I wish we'd had more time, but stop number two was equally important: lunch. Last year we discovered the best Cobb salads in New York City hiding in fun, low-key little Mexican restaurant and it's our favorite lunch spot whenever we get together. The key is that they are SO generous with the good stuff: chicken, bacon, avocado. Yum.

3. If you're a regular reader, you've probably figured out I'm not the kind of girl who can live on salad alone (even if had about half an avocado on it -- seriously, SO generous). I am proud to say I completed the NYC street food hat trick while running around all day: a hot dog (procured from a cart in front of The Met, because we needed a little sustenance before art-ing), a giant pretzel (scarfed down after elbowing a ton of tourists in H&M). and a Mr. Softee cone (as a reward for a great day). Those are the street foods I am always craving, so why not knock them out in one day? I didn't wear my Fitbit, but I'm pretty sure I walked at least a million steps over the course of the day and easily burned it all off.

4. After lunch, Sara and I did a little power shopping. We hit some of our favorite spots, and even though I might have said something to the effect of "I'm just going to browse...", I left with a few gems. My favorite is this gorgeous little top from H&M. It a really rich, sophisticated shade of green with delicate detailing at the neck and sweet little gossamer ruffles at the sleeves. Perfect on its own, great under a blazer. You'll see the rest of my purchases in Monday's September budget roundup.

5. And today, more eating, more celebrating. I started with brunch with extended family at one of our favorite spots that offers an enormous buffet of Mediterranean dishes and classic breakfast foods. The mimosas are a great touch and always lead to some silly conversations. Everyone leaves with big smiles and full bellies. 

After a nice nap, I was ready for Birthday Dinner #2 with one of my oldest friends and her five (yes, 5?) kids. Christy and I have been friends since 5th grade and I love catching up with her when I'm home. We took a picnic dinner to a local playground (and enjoyed a little adult conversation while the little ones climbed, swung, and slid) and then headed to a carnival. I kind of love carnival games, and I had a blast watching the kids ride all of the stomach churning rides they could handle. Ah, to be young and stupid and willing and able to be spun around like a top over and over again.

Going to bed with a happy heart and happy belly -- it's so nice to be home and be with some of my favorite people on earth. I have a few more days in New York, including a few more birthday dinners (and CAKE!!!!). This week I'll begin a brand new year on this earth, and I'm sure it is going to be a great one.

Weekend To Do List

This post is coming to you from 30,000 feet over the Gulf of Mexico (love JetBlue, love FlyFi!). I'm no longer California dreaming -- vacation is finally here! I have a few posts scheduled for the week, and hopefully I'll have some trip photos and stories to share next week. Here's what my pre-vacation weekend looked like:

1. Cobb Me

I started my vacation a little early by taking Friday off. It's hard to leave for a week, and I thought it would be nice to have a "day off" before leaving town so I'd be around to check email and answer last minute questions. I also made plans with my friend Jen for a few hours of Friyay fun and headed over to Hollywood Studios for lunch. It was hot as balls and we didn't have much of an agenda other than stuffing our faces, but we did a little shopping, a little people watching, a little dancing with Olaf, and a few rides. The main attraction, however, was lunch at The Hollywood Brown Derby. If you are planning a trip to WDW, try to get a reservation at the Brown Derby. It is one of my favorite Disney restaurants and it serves my absolute favorite Disney meal, the classic Cobb salad (the original Brown Derby is where this bowl of heaven was conceived). Honestly, I come here at least once a month and always order the same thing. In addition to the salad, you get a basket of the best warm, crusty rolls and sweet butter topped with sea salt -- perfection. Jen ordered another basket of rolls the moment the first one arrived. And this is why we are friends.

2. Getting Pretty

I spend Saturday afternoon taking care of some getting pretty errands -- hair cut and color, trip to Sephora to pick up a few items (I love their On the Go section), and a DYI mani/pedi. I'm really overdue for a good salon pedicure (runners do not have cute feet), but when I looked at my trip budget and realized boarding my dog was going to cost $500+, I decided i needed to cut a few corners. 

3. Just a Little Shopping

This is an expensive month (in addition to my trip, I need to order a new pair of glasses, I am desperate for a new battery for my MacBook, and I need a new pair of running shoes - why can't those things just be free?), and I really haven't had much time to shop. But I did place a small J. Crew Factory order to take advantage of some great end of summer prices. I snagged this fabulous linen blazer (a wishlist item!) for less than $50 - hope it is as great in person as it is in my head.

4. (Almost) Out of Office

Even with my semi-vacation day, I still had some work to take care of before putting up that out of office message. I had a very exciting Saturday night that involved laundry and spreadsheets. Glamorous, I know.

5. Sunday Funday

The Parent Trap was my FAVORITE movie when I was a kid. I'm talking the original Haley Mills version, not the inferior (and at this point, depressing) 90's-era remake. I've seen it a million times but never on the big screen, so I was thrilled to see the local art house theater had a Sunday matinee. I convinced my man friend to accompany me, promising him a delicious brunch as a reward. It was fantastic -- there's just something about sitting in that dark theater and immersing yourself in a little piece of your childhood. We stopped at a local favorite, Se7en Bites, for a decadent brunch. Two words: S'mores Waffle. Hell, yes.

Weekend To Do List

This weekend, I ate food and wore shoes. Good times.

I've come to a bit of a realization: I kind of suck at weekends. Here it is, the end of the weekend, and I'm feeling a bit frazzled. I just spent the past 2 days just go, go, going and I'm both tired and frustrated that I didn't quite get everything done. New goal for September is better weekend management. That said, here's how I (badly) spent the past 48 hours:

1. Sweating

I've been a bit frustrated with my fitness situation of late. After a winter and spring that saw me missing too many workouts while suddenly remembering how delicious Oreos are, I've been trying to get back on track and drop about 15lbs of extra cushion. Lately I've been pushing myself with some intense workouts (lots of cardio, body weight exercises, and Shaun T kicking my ass in 25 minute clips). I started out my Saturday off with a long interval run and hit the gym again this morning. I feel sore, but somehow still don't feel like I'm making the progress I want. I'll be glad to start half marathon training this fall, somehow it just seems to fall into place when I have a goal and a good training schedule to rely on.

2. A big bowl of happiness

I've developed a bit of a Chipotle habit on the weekend...sometimes it is really the little things that make you happy. I don't go crazy - brown rice, veggies, chicken, lettuce, and guac is enough of a reward after a hard workout without totally undoing the calorie burn. My lunch was the perfect thing to fuel me for tackling my to-do list, including a few errands, house cleaning, laundry, and the like. So glamorous.

3. Rain for days

The weather this weekend was a total downer. Scary, house-shaking thunderstorms each day with buckets of rain falling at the worst times. I got talked into picking up an extra shift at Give Kids The World and spent Saturday evening driving around the Village in a very soggy golf cart. The kids make it all worthwhile, though, and good rain boots make splashing in the puddles almost fun.

4. Fall fashion scouting

Hey look, more shoes! Sunday morning involved a quick trip to the mall -- I had a few things to return and I took advantage of relatively empty stores to do a little scouting. It's always fun to see fresh looks hit the stores, even if plaid flannel shirts don't seem particularly inviting right now. I checked out a few things that I'd been eyeing online, and I discovered a few new potential must-haves. 

My favorite are these simple, sexy heels. The come in black, bright pink, and (my favorite) a pretty light beige color. I'll confess that I am not the biggest fan of Forever 21 shoes -- they are of dubious quality and comfort, and I am trying to limit my consumption of fast fashion. But I am definitely considering these. They seem fairly sturdy, and while likely not super comfy, they're not shoes I would plan to do a ton of walking in. I think they'd look great with a pair of long and lean flared jeans, a relaxed button down shirt, and a cool necklace.

5. Easy Sunday dinner

Rain, rain, rain. The weather continued to suck into Sunday afternoon and I was feeling a little bummed about not making a lot of time in the weekend for fun. After another shift at GKTW, I headed to one of my favorite neighborhoods in Orlando for a satisfying dinner -- Mamak serves Asian street food in a cool, trendy space. It was really perfect -- the food is delicious and the vibe is fun but relaxed. Just buzzy enough to feel like I was "out" without worrying that I'd be judged for my comfy jeans and rain-frizzed hair. Tacos, spring rolls, and a few bites of roti canai (amazing fried bread) were a nice way to finish the weekend.

Does anyone else struggle with finding balance on the weekends, or is it just me?

Weekend To Do List:

Happy Sunday, kids! Not going to lie, I kind of wish I could have another few days off. This week was a bit of a killer, including a business trip on Thursday that I was dreading. You know what's not fun? Getting up at before dawn to leave for your 7am flight and realizing at 4:45 that you can't find your car key. Whoops.

Anyway, here's how my weekend played out:

1. My endless Thursday trip seemed all the more painful because all I really wanted to do was be home watching The Daily Show marathon leading up to Jon Stewart's final episode. Mother Nature, air traffic control, or other annoying forces conspired against me and I didn't walk through the door until 11:30, but through the magic of DVR I was able to get caught up. It was a beautiful episode, though more than a bit heartbreaking. 

Maybe one day I'll write more, but you would be hard-pressed to find a bigger fan of the show than me. I've been watching since episode one and while I quickly grew tired of Craig Kilborn (turns out the asshole character wasn't really a character), I was so excited to see Jon take over and I watched as he turned the show into one of the most important forces of news and social commentary in the world. Save for one power outage and a couple of DVR mishaps I've never missed an episode, and for a long time, I never shut up about what a brilliant show it was (by the mid 2000's everyone else seemed to figure it out). I've been to TDS tapings, and I took an Amtrak train down to DC for the Rally to Restore Sanity because Jon asked me to. I've never really been an adult without Jon Stewart helping me make sense of the world, and I am incredibly sad that I will not have that 11pm therapy session to look forward to anymore. 

2. So, about that lost key. After about 30 minutes of panicked searching, I got the sense that my keys were truly not in my house. I needed to get to the airport, so I dug up my spare house key and called a cab (oy, my bank account was not happy about that). When I got home on Thursday night I resumed the search, hoping that I'd just overlooked them in my bleary early morning condition, but no luck. By Friday morning I realized they weren't coming back, so I called a locksmith to come out and make a new key for me (sadly, this is not the first time I've had to do that...). I'm lucky that my key doesn't have a fancy security chip and is (relatively) inexpensive to copy. Still, between the cab rides and the pop-a-lock service, this little mishap cost me about $350. 

And where did my keys end up, you may be asking? My best guess is that I accidentally threw them out with the trash the previous night (because they were definitely in my house on Thursday night, and I didn't go anywhere). That probably sounds ridiculous, but as someone who has thrown her cell phone down the trash chute and lost an ATM card by throwing it in the garbage at the mall, that is actually the most logical explanation. I am now the owner of lots of sets of extra keys.

3. I was feeling super lazy on Saturday so I slept in and then ran a few easy errands. One was a Target run, which was surprisingly dangerous thanks to the hoards of back-to-school shoppers. I did have fun browsing and picking up some fun new supplies for myself (who doesn't love highlighters and cute notebooks?). I can remember spending hours searching the stores for just the right supplies as a child because all of the options were so ugly and plain. Target has aisles and aisles of the cutest, most glittery school supplies you've ever seen. Super jealy.

4. Saturday night I rallied and made myself look relatively cute for a fun birthday dinner. The food was great, but the cake did not have nearly enough sprinkles on it/in it.

5. Finally, a fun bit of news -- I am a member of Yelp Elite for 2015! (If you aren't familiar, the Elite Squad is a kind of fun perk for active Yelp members -- they plan all kinds of fun events at great restaurants and hot spots around town). I have lots of friends who are Elite and they have a blast -- Orlando is a huge town, so I love getting to explore and play. If you're not a Yelper, you might want to consider it -- Yelp can be an incredibly helpful resource and also a great little community!

I'm finishing off the evening with a little quality time with my couch, my DVR, and my furry friend -- see you on the other side!

Weekend To-Do List

We finally got the rainy weekend that was threatened last week. It put a wrench in some of my plans and my hair generally looked terrible, but I made the best of it.

First, some time at Give Kids The World -- have I mentioned how wonderful it is? You should check out this video to learn a little more and maybe even participate in the #GKTWChallenge -- it involves ice cream and Kevin Bacon, so it is obviously awesome.

Next up, some of the usual Saturday routine: gym, errands, lunch date at Chipotle. I am a total sucker for a good burrito bowl and waited in an insanely long line to get one.

But really, the bulk of my weekend was spent KonMari-ing the hell out of my apartment. So many trash bags, so much joy sparking. I've filled about 5 big trash bags so far and I have plenty more to do. It seems strange to say, but I do feel a bit a change in the apartment. It feels lighter, happier, and there a noticeable shift in energy flow.

You've probably heard some things about Marie Kondo's book (The Life Changing Magic of Tidying), but if you haven't actually read it, I'd recommend giving it a peruse. It is a very concise little book, and the way she explains her process really made me think about things quite differently. A few quick takeaways...

I hold onto things out of guilt -- the KonMarie method was kind of refreshing in the way it gives your permission to get rid of things that you just don't want or need. I think a lot of us have a block when it comes to getting rid of things that are useful or functional, even if we don't like or want them. It seems wasteful, but it's best to just let those things find their new home (off to a new owner, to a donation pile, or to the trash).

I overbuy certain things and I need to stop -- one of Marie's rules when tackling a particular category is to gather all of those items together, pull them out, hold them, and make decisions. Doing this opened my eyes to the fact that I have unknowingly become a "collector" of the weirdest shit:

*birthday cards (I'm a sucker for the pretty ones they sell at HomeGoods for just $1)
*ultra-girly notebooks and notepads (HomeGoods again...guess I need to stop going there)
*pretty pouches (I love these for makeup, travel, etc.), and strangely enough,
*packages of moist wipes (you know those ones you use on your face and hands)

These are all things that I use very often, and so I guess that's why when I see any of them I immediately think, "oh, I should grab one/some, I don't want to run out". But it turns out I don't use them nearly as fast as I restock them, so I need to lay off. Or find like 50 new best friends to send birthday cards to.

I have a paper problem -- one of my chronic problems is paper management. For years I have always had stacks of paper, bills, magazines, etc. stashed all over the place. I know I need to shred/file/recycle and just get too lazy, so I stuff everything in bag and hide it in the closet. Marie says that paper has to go, so I bought a shredder, I packed up a bag of newspapers (ok, 3 bags) to bring to the local animal shelter for the crates, and I'm going to make sure I go paperless with every bill, statement, and newsletter possible.

If it isn't working, change it -- I don't really know why, but as I was reading the book I had a realization that some areas of my apartment are just not working. I need to get rid of a few pieces of furniture that just aren't useful for me and find a few new things. When you can't make it work, make it better.

I just need to throw shit out -- Are Marie Kondo and Elsa the same person? Possibly. The KonMari method can be summed up as such: LET. IT. GO. It doesn't mean not holding on to some things that have sentimental value or are don't get used every day, but it does mean letting go of some of the excuses you have for keeping things that you just don't need. Bye, Felicia!

Treating myself to an episode of Mad Men and then heading to bed -- here's to a great week ahead!

Weekend To Do

All week long, the weather forecast for this weekend was very clear: rain. Rain, rain, rain. All day, all night. More rain than you've ever seen in your life. Build an ark and gather the animals. It seemed like the perfect weekend to catch up on my to-do list around the house, cuddle on the couch with Netflix and my pup, read blogs, and act generally slug-like without feeling too guilty about it.

Weathermen: you sit on a throne of lies!

This weekend ended up being just about as sunny and hot as any other. It's always sunny in Orlando, apparently. And I have a really hard time hanging around the house when it is so damn nice out, so not much couch time for me. Here's how I spent my days:

1. The rain was supposed to start rolling in on Friday afternoon, but the skies just refused to open up. I thought I'd take advantage of a few final rain-free hours by heading over to EPCOT for the evening. I met a friend for a quick drink and bite to eat, and I was able to do a fun errand: picking up treats for a little friend. I'm "Aunt Alison" to a handful of cute kids, and one of my honorary nephews took a bad fall and broke his leg this week. His summer is kind of a bust, so I thought I'd surprise him with a package. I picked up all kinds of fun and silly things -- a mini piñata, an Olaf rice crispy treat, some Beaver Butt soap, and all of the yummy looking candy I could find in the Japanese pavilion. Somehow I accidentally bought too much Pocky. I wonder what I should do with it...?

2. I woke up to sunny skies on Saturday, so I decided to hit the gym and get out and run some errands "before the rain got too bad". You're sensing a theme here, right? One of my stops was Barnes and Noble where I spent some time skimming The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, the blockbuster home organization bible by Marie Kondo.

I knew the basics but there's a lot more to the system than the oft-repeated "does it spark joy?" test. I am forever feeling frustrated at how quickly things in Casa Peacoat can go from neat to disaster. After learning about KonMari, I think I know why: I have too much shit.  I wanted to dive right in and start purging things immediately, but I think I'll save it for next weekend. I look forward to thanking a lot of inanimate objects for their service and sending them on their way.

3. With no rain in sight on Saturday night, I headed out for some adult fun in the Happiest Place on Earth. Dinner, fireworks, people watching, and best of all, some silly drinks. This Blue Daydream was sweet and frothy and went down way too easily. The Let It Glow was pretty adorable, too (but sadly, nonalcoholic).

4. This morning I was happy to snap up a perfect little striped tee at a local consignment shop (sold a few things so I thought it would be OK to treat myself). Marie Kondo would probably say I did not need this but for me, a good striped shirt is pure joy.

5. Finishing out my Sunday Funday with dinner and a one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Tons of laughs, a bit of heart, and some of the most outrageous dialogue ever.

Weekend To Do List

New look for my regular Sunday post -- still playing around with it, but I think it is a bit of an improvement, yes?

This weekend was a bit of a blur -- I spent most of it recovering from my business trip, which was kind of fun but also kind of miserable. My flight home was cancelled because of weather, so I had to scramble to get a hotel for the night, make sure my dog was taken care of, and get myself on a new flight. Unfortunately for me, the new flight left at 6am and the airport shuttle insisted on picking me up at 3:05am to get me there. I think I crawled into bed around midnight on Thursday, so that was great planning on my part.

That glamorous business travel life, for sure.

Anyway, here's how the last few days played out:

1. Exhibitioning

On my last day in NYC I got to check out The Hunger Games: The Exhibition, a very cool exhibit showcasing costumes and sets from The Hunger Games films. I like to stay a bit anonymous so I won't say too much, but my company had a big role in one of the most fun aspects of this exhibit, so it was fun to get to see it all in person.

The costumes were really stunning. Probably not at all fun to wear, but that's why Jennifer Lawrence and company get paid so well.

2. Eating my feelings

Friday was a long, rough day. It started with a 2:30am wakeup call, a long visit in JFK's chaotic T5 terminal (the line for security was 45 minutes long and it wasn't even 5am), and the WORST seat on the plane -- by the time I collected Audrey and was headed home, I felt like I'd been through an entire day...but it was still just 9:00am and I had a full 8 hour work day ahead of me. I decided I needed a little treat and zipped through the drive-thru for a Chick-fil-A chicken biscuit, one of the finest delicacies on this earth. I could eat 6 of these, but I limited myself to just one and enjoyed every morsel.

3. Window shopping

After placing a hefty Zara order earlier this month, I've been trying to reign in my spending. It doesn't help that Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale is around the corner and everyone and their mother is talking about it. I'll do a bigger post when the sale goes live to the public (because card members with early access are snapping up some of the good stuff, unfortunately!), but it has been fun to browse.

I am absolutely drooling over this gorgeous Chloe satchel, which seems to be sold out already. This Marc Jacobs hobo is similar to one that's been on my wishlist forever -- black is classic, but the bright tangelo color is fabulous. I love these studded pumps, though I don't need them at all. And this Kate Spade shirt dress is kind of sassy and fun (it has pockets!).

4. Getting the kinks out

As luck would have it, I had signed up for a Sunday morning Yin Yoga workshop focused on stretching hips and hamstrings -- as a runner these are always problem areas but after a few days of endless work meetings and cramped coach travel, all of my muscles felt tense and tied up. This 2 hour(!) class focused on holding poses for a 5-10 minutes each to reaaaaalllly loosen things up. I felt great afterwards, though the 2 hours seemed to pass a bit slowly. I guess time doesn't fly when you are gently torturing yourself.

5. Bingeing

I knew this weekend would end up being pretty chill (which you probably gathered when you saw that eating a fast food breakfast was a notable enough event to make my list...), so I was glad to have many episodes of Mad Men to entertain me. Oh, I do love this show.

I love whipping through the episodes, swallowing them in great big gulps, but there are moments that I wish I had watched in real time. Oh, the lawn mower episode! So horrific, so wonderful. And Joan is back -- I love her more with each season. And Pete Campbell is the worst! I want to talk to others about how weasel-y he is, but everyone else has moved on. Anyway, if you haven't watched it yet you should -- such a perfect summer series, I will certainly remember 2015 as the summer of Mad Men.

I might need to print out these paper dolls so I can try to infuse a bit of Joan, Betty, and Peggy into my wardrobe:

Hope your weekend was as fun and fabulous or as low-key and chill as you wanted it to be -- here's to a great week!

Weekend To-Do List

It was a good weekend around these parts, hope for you as well! Here's how it went down..

1. There are two words that bring a bit of joy to the hearts of NYC's grumpiest office drones: Summer Fridays. My office observes this happy little tradition, and for us it means that as long as your work is done, you can end your workday at 3pm on Fridays. Nice, right?

I used the time to take care of a few personal items (booked some appointments, gave myself a fresh pedicure) and just let myself ease into the weekend. Soon enough it was ready to get freshened up to meet a friend for a perfect Friday girls' night: dinner and a movie. We saw Pitch Perfect 2 (yes, this was my second time) -- I actually liked it a bit better on second viewing, and we had fun singing along to some of the better musical numbers. Dinner was at Sweet Tomatoes, one of my favorite quick and healthy spots in town. It's basically a giant soup and salad buffet, and it is awesome. We both had to be up early the next morning, so we kept it low-key but had plenty of silly laughs.

2. Saturday morning I was on the road by 7am heading to my favorite place -- I had a shift serving breakfast at Give Kids The World. I got to help fill the tummies of some seriously cute kids and their families -- I love any shift that has a lot of interaction with families and this is a great one. I spent the rest of the day running errands and then finished out an unusually mild evening with drinks and dinner outside. Unbelievably it is still very spring-like here in Orlando. Summer, be kind to us.

3. Not that we're hurting for entertainment, but just a few weeks ago we welcomed the arrival of the Orlando Eye, one of those enormous ferris wheel that gives you spectacular city views. It was fascinating watching it being built, and while it is a bit of an eyesore (just like in any other city), it's not going anywhere soon so we're just going to have to learn to love it. Sunday was a such a pretty day, so I grabbed a few adventurous friends to check it out. It was fun! And terrifying!

4. The rest of the day was just a bit of this and that. I took care of a few chores, went to the gym, made a Target run (bought nothing - scandalous!), spent some quality time with the cutest dog in the world (the tiny dachshund above, who looks damn good in a sweater), got sucked into a Jurassic Park marathon, and did some cooking. I had gotten out of the habit of doing food prep for the coming week, but it is SUCH a big help and an important way to stay on track with good eating habits. I made a big salad, steamed a bag of broccoli, and cut up some veggies so I'll have some easy ways to get green stuff on my plate. I also roasted a pan of garlic chicken legs that are great as a snack right out of the fridge or easily heated up for a quick dinner.

I have just enough time for an episode or two of Mad Men (making my way quickly through season one) and then time for bed. I managed to log more than 17,000 steps on the FitBit today and I am feeling it.

Hope your weekend was everything you wanted it to be -- time to get our Monday game faces on!

Weekend To-Do List

1. I saw Cinderella and liked it a lot more than I expected! I really just went to see Cate Blanchett be her magnificent self (and her costumes -- amazing), but I thought the whole movie was pretty charming (Ever After is still my favorite take on this story -- if you haven't seen it, fix that ASAP). I also loved Frozen Fever and immediately got this song stuck in my head (already on my iPod -- I think it will be fun to run to tomorrow morning). Speaking of Cinderella, I just stumbled across this lipstick from MAC's movie tie-in collection -- so pretty! Sold out online, but maybe there is a tube or two in stores?

2. I took a stroll through Forever 21 -- I didn't buy anything, but a few things caught my eye: love these comfy slides for days at the pool, this hobo meets my criteria for a perfect bag, and these sparkly hair ties might make my messy bun look just a little more polished.

3. I volunteer at the best organization in the world and I got to spend a few hours doing my favorite thing -- serving ice cream for breakfast! Give Kids The World has an ice cream parlor that opens at 7:30 in the morning and hands out all of the ice cream that kids and their families can eat.

4. I'm starting to think about summer vacation plans (SoCal dreaming -- LA, San Diego, and a few days at Disneyland!). I love this sweet and airy dress -- perfect for site-seeing during the day and maybe a little dancing at night.

5. I had one six of these yesterday. Easter candy is the best. Why does everything taste better in egg form? (Don't even get me started on the Snickers ones).