Post Friday Post

Sorry bloggers for my lack of postage this week! Many changes on this side of the computer screen. All good ones though! :) To be short and sweet, I love my life, I am in love with a gorgeous and talented man who sings and dancing with me (hehe) and I am always in awe of the beauty surrounding me! Nature and food and fashion and design. Here's to seeing the holidays just around the corner and enjoying all that life has to offer! :)

Thanks to Cup of Jo for providing me with some serious eye candy of Gene Kelly. I love him.
I want to be here with my husband

How Jessica (that's me) Got Her Groove Back!

My heart beats, again. 

I wake up with excitement, again.

The journey is feeling better, again.

My destination is not the focus, again.

I've gotten my groove thang back, again!

Yippee!

Job changes, as monumental or as small as they can be, make it or break it-in my world! I went from a "looks good on paper, semi-stable, respectable, variably rewarding" job, to something that some might see as an "in-between" job. The difference for me is- the first job mentioned made me depressed, less focused on the present and worried too much about the future. My current job makes me excited to do my hair and makeup in the morning, clean our apartment, and be lovey to my husband! Which sounds better to you?

I have heard many a story about how this 'triple doctorate professor from blah-de-blah ivy league school quite her job to be a barista because it made her happier', even with such a drastic pay cut. These stories sounded corrupt to me! How on earth, can someone making hundreds of thousands of dollars not be as happy or feel as complete as someone who makes barista wages? They could probably just pay someone to make them happy, right?  ...I get it now. Though, I've never made hundreds of thousands of dollars (sounds pretty cool, still) I do know happy from unhappy. I've been *unhappy long enough in my short 24 years of life, to know that I should change things so that I can be happy again.

NOT WORTH IT! It's not worth living from day to day, stressing, begging, and being unhappy. It's not for me! Not now, at least. Right now, I'm just a few years recovered from my eating disorder, a few years married to my Prince Charming, and a few years happy. I can't quit happy yet. Not now! Actually, not ever! Dollar signs and resume references aren't my goal, because they can't be in order for me to be happy! I enjoy doing the simple things in life.

The simple things in life create the most joy for me! Though a self proclaimed feminist, I derive a serious amount of pleasure from cooking, cleaning, decorating, the idea of having babies with the love of my life, and fashion! :) Without being able to do those things, I loose my sense of self. I loose what most matters to me. Those things make me.

I'm sure I can't be the only one who has made sacrifices either for or against a job in relation to happiness! What's your story? I'd love to feature someone's story and maybe collaborate! Tell me, have you lost your grove? Did you get it back? What did you do?


*Please note, dear family and friends, my childhood was filled with magical, loving, and wonderful times that I hold very near and dear to my heart. I had a joyful childhood. It's just those gosh darned hormone raging teenage years combined with my semi-neuroticness and self inflicted perfectionism that caused (my dear horrified parents to spend thousands of dollars on) therapy sessions. :) All is well in my world now! :)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

I certainly enjoy all holidays, especially when they involve twinkle lights and food! Can I get an amen? So, in honor of all that is delicious and sparkly I will devote the rest of the week to decorating and primping for the upcoming holiday! :) What are you doing to get ready for Thanksgiving? What are you doing that day? 

P.S. I love the New York Christmas Tree Lighting every year and the Victoria Secret Fashion Show- they both remind me of the holidays! hehe!

Relax

Relax and enjoy this picture. Happy Monday!

Weekend Exploring

How could you have a bad day in this room? 

Imagine the possibilities of all the dinners? Ah! The mind boggles! 

Stenciled and painted concrete floors-hello, brilliant!

Her philosophy, 'one part clouds, two parts sunshine', carries through from home decor to fashion and makeup! Her stuff is bey-ond!

Don't forget to vote -Nov. 8th, 2011- absentee votes still count!

Pretty sure these would keep my feet warm and dry during the cold upcoming winter months (do your feet always get cold too?)

Oh Yeah! ...I'm leaving for Florida in two days for my Best Friend's Wedding at DISNEY WORLD!  (We will be traveling with Kurt's mom and dad down to Florida and I will be blogging all about it in days to come, including the event planning process and MOH {'matron' of honor} duties- don't you worry!)

Have a fabulous, glamorous, color-filled, explorative weekend! :)

(Images via Bleue Piece)

TUBS

Hot, bubbly, soothing baths-is there anything better? Whether it's a bathroom with lots of light and bright colors or one what is filled with wood panels and warm, cozy colors, you can't beat a bathroom with a clawfoot tub! 

This site : happyness = clawfoot tubs

This site: clawfoot of another color

What bath tubs do you like most? What colors most inspire relaxation for you?

I Stand Corrected/ There Were Here!-

Hello, bloggers- I have a correction to make that I find a little devastating: THE CIVIL WARS (fantabulous music makers) ARE NOT A COUPLE! ugh! I really wish they were because, when my husband and I sing along with listen to them, I always felt like it is that much more romantic that they too are a couple singing together-NOT SO!

I found this travesty out yesterday while listening to the radio (for 2 hours, waiting for a job interview, because I got there waaayy tooooo early and had nothing else to do, whoa! I digress). The local Ann Arbor radio station had them in their studio to perform because last night, they did a show at the Michigan Theatre! Which, of course, we did not go to! :(  sad day  However, we were able to visit our home away from home, go-to, eat too much, Mexican restaurant where we proceeded to scarf down plates of rice, re-fried beans, enchiladas, tacos, and steak fajitas. Needless to say, we let our carnivorous selves indulge! YES!

Though, the Civil Wars are not a couple their story is still hauntingly romantic in a sense. I do still love them and will continue to obsess over their music!

Seeds-

Kurt's Recipe for Acorn Squash Seeds:

1 Acorn Squash

Garlic Powder

Salt

Black Pepper

Sort out seeds from innards of squash

dry them

sprinkle with salt liberally 

then add pepper to taste-we like them a little peppery

sprinkle about a half teaspoon of garlic powder on seeds

mix together

sprinkle about another half teaspoon of salt 

spread out on baking sheet

bake at about 350-375 degrees until seeds start to 'pop'

 Enjoy!

I think I ate them all by myself in ten minutes! shhhh! :) Thanks hubby!

This is to make up for my lack of Meatless Monday post... oops!

Tuesday's Tips: First Tip EVER!

Loving those bright poppies and tiny mini horse!

So I just had a brilliant idea of having a Tuesday's Tips series on my blog! Each week (obviously on Tuesday) I will post a tip. They will range from decorating tips to event planning/executing tips to how to fold a fitted sheet-you know, you all want to know! :) Sound good? Do you have any things that you would like me to cover in the Tuesday's Tips series? I'm excited!

For a little preview though, here is a mini tip, First Ever in the series:

(mini) Tip #1: Strategically place scented dryer sheets throughout drawers and closets in your home. I have a gillion in our linen closet and the table that sits next to our couch that is currently the home of all our blankets for the winter months! The idea is to not use sachets because they are an additional scent that may clash with the dryer sheets that you are already using. Plus, dryer sheets are much more pocketbook friendly than sachets and you can feel less guilty when throwing away a dryer sheet that has lost it's scent vs. throwing away an expensive, frilly, sachet that no longer has a scent. Sounds like a cent vs. scent,  win-win to me!

You Are My Sunshine~

Wowwy Kazowy! The past couple weeks have been full of ups and downs and clouds and sunshine (I'm not really talking about the weather here people)! Today is a very sunshiny day! I'm seeing and feeling things differently today. I feel freer today! I am so grateful for the blessings that I have in my life! Plus, I'm gearing up for my Best Friend's Wedding next week!!! In Disney World!!! :) Speaking of which, I have never seen the movie My Best Friend's Wedding-so I will have to watch that this weekend before we leave! 

See the sunshine today- metaphorically speaking! Feel it, breath it in. Love with all you have, learn, grow, explore! I will be less vague about the downs and clouds of life in another post, but for now, it's all rainbows and sunshine and puppies! Is it a cloudy day or sunshiny day for you? I hope the latter! :)