Um, hello cold weather.

So I was visiting Fullerton since I had a long weekend, and it was FREEZING today!  Not a ray of sunshine hit my face until 4 pm, and I wanted to bundle up in a sweater, jeans, boots, and a scarf for the first time in months.  I'd guess that it was 65 degrees for half of the day (Californians would agree that that is cold, hehe).

I complain about the heat, but when it's gone, boy do I miss it!

This outfit would have been perfect for today:

This woman can do no wrong in my eyes.  She makes the simplest outfits look glam, and most of her expensive pieces have cheap counterparts that look just as good.  Where can you NOT find a black scarf, leggings/skinny jeans, or a gray sweater for cheap?  Those boots may be hard to find... but any rugged pair would do.

Awesome 4th of July!

As usual, my house was jam packed with relatives and friends as we celebrated the 4th of July with tons of delicious food and illegal fireworks.  We're slowly getting toddlers into the mix after a little more than a decade of only teens and adults.  It was a 4th of July to remember for my brother's friend's adorable son!

The little guy :)

The other block's illegals.  Not a great picture; fireworks are hard to capture!

I have no pictures of our illegal fireworks (just our legal ones), but I took a video of our neighboring block's illegals.  Gorgeous, but, not as good as ours!  :)

Love is in the air!

Wow, so within the past couple months, 4 couples in which I know one or both people in the couple (all my age) got engaged!  Congratulations to all of them.

It seems like 2 years after undergraduate graduation is a popular time to propose?  One of my girlfriends from the Masters program had a similar experience with her friends last year (and she's a year older than I am.)

I was bored so I was looking at some ridiculously expensive wedding dresses.  Surprisingly, I really only liked one of the dresses by Monique Lhuillier!  That's good for my future wedding budget :)  Apparently I don't enjoy ornate gowns with long trains, who knew.

It's a little too lingerie-inspired for me (lace is def. Monique's thing), but I LOVE the overall silhouette of the dress.  Strapless sweetheart neckline, cinched waist, A-line skirt.  Yummy.

Madewell love.

 L: Madewell "Floaty Floral" dress, $158.   R: Madewell jumper - SOLD OUT online, obvs.

So many celebrities are wearing Madewell these days!  Jessica Alba has been my favorite so far.  She keeps everything so simple yet looks so chic.  I think it helps that she's also super gorgeous...!  Can I please look like that after having a baby?

My favorite is definitely the jumper.  I saw it at the Glendale store, if anyone wants to spend lots of money on a jumper!  I'll stick with my Target jumpers :)

Old wish list I found...

Funnily enough, I've completed quite a few of these items!!  Additions in blue.

December, 2008:

	1. A meal at Craft in LA.  I love Top Chef, I love Tom Colicchio, and I love food... so why wouldn't I love Craft?  Maybe the price would cause me to not love it.... but this meal would be a gift of course : )  Nope, besides, I hear it's overrated. 2. A 7 1/4 Qt. Round Dutch Oven from Le Creuset (in white, lime, or blue since RED is a dreadful color that will never be allowed in my future home.)  Or any kind of stoneware from them.  I now have around 3 Le Creuset items which I LOVE!  One in blue, one in white, and one in lime :) 3. A short weekend trip to wine country (including a free meal at The French Laundry!)  (I would also wish for higher alcohol tolerance!)  Woot.  I'm going to wine country this September with one of my favorite grad school buddies.  Ad Hoc is our restaurant of choice, though :) 4. A double-stacked oven so I can make like 6 dozen cookies all at once.  Plus, my brother gave me my Christmas present early -- a KitchenAid Professional 600 Stand Mixer!!  He's so ridiculous, but a double stack would be perfect to go along with the mixer.  Nope. 5. A 16GB iPod Touch.  I don't really need one since I love my Nano, but it would be so fun to play with!  I guess an iPhone would make more sense then...... : )  Yup, 32GB iPod Touch, biatch. 6. A PS3.  AND GOD OF WAR 3!!!!!  I love that series... but they are taking way too long to come out with the 3rd installment.  God of War 3 was SUCH a disappointment, but check and check. 7. Mario Kart for Wii.  Yup, with steering wheel controllers! 8. A gorgeous wallet that can hold all of my cards, money, gift cards, and random junk.  I've been searching for the perfect wallet but I can't find it (or it's way too expensive.)  I got the perfect budget friendly wallet from Anthropologie.  LOVE it! 9. A good pair of 3" black pumps that do not make my feet hurt!  I have yet to find any like that... Found a great 4" platform pump from Cole Haan.  Have yet to wear them, though... 10. A 4 bed/4 bath house, and a Cavalier King Charles (or Welsh Corgi) puppy : ) Um, this will not happen for at LEAST 10 years.		"