Insert Clever Title

I'll be honest - it's the end of the week and I don't have much to say.  It's been a pretty good week.  I wrapped up my very first blog giveaway, had dinner with a friend, organized my shoe collection, watched season 1 of Downton Abbey on Netflix, and had a pretty decent week at work (if you don't count a somewhat stressful altercation with a cricket in my office yesterday afternoon).

Now I am ready for a fun-filled weekend!  I'm not exactly sure how I feel about Monday being October - how did that even happen?

Any exciting weekend plans?

Top and Skirt: Gap
Shoes: BCBGeneration

A Marketer's Dream

The giveaway is closed and the BIG WINNER is Conolley from Third Grade Rock Star.  This completely cracks me up, because I have known her in real life since for as long as I can remember.  I think we were probably friends as babies at our church.  What are the odds that she wins my first giveaway?  Congrats, Conolley!  Thanks to everyone else who entered and spread the word!

Do you all know about the Wrapp app?   My sister told me about it, and it's really quite nice.  You can give digital gift cards to your friends, via email.  There are quite a few free options, such as $5 to Gap that my sister and I have been giving to each other.  The problem is that I go into Gap with the idea that I don't need to spend much, just find something for close to $5 and basically get it for free.  Then I get into the store and end up in the dressing room with several items!  Then I decide that I should buy this fuchsia skirt, and end up spending more than $5.  I'm sure that is the whole plan for Gap to offer these $5 gift cards on Wrapp, and I fall for it every time!

Since my degree is in marketing, I usually don't fall for these tricks, but Gap is just trouble for me.  In my defense, isn't this skirt cute!?  I think I will wear it quite a bit year-round, so I think it's a decent investment.

Top: Old Navy
Skirt and Cardigan: Gap
Shoes: Target

On Broadway

There is still time to enter the giveaway! 

This t-shirt is very obviously a souvenir that I got a few  years ago when Wicked came to Omaha.  I had been wanting to see it for years, and it definitely lived up to my high expectations.  I would go see it again and again.  One thing I really love about living in Omaha is that we get decent Broadway Across America shows each year, but the prices aren't too high.  The last few years, I've gotten season tickets with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law and it's so much fun to have an excuse for a girls' night, plus we get to go to fun shows.  The 2012-2013 season starts in a few weeks and I am pumped!
I think I am most excited about seeing "The Lion King", because I have heard it is pretty amazing.

I'd highly recommend checking out the season ticket prices.  You get a discount, and get first dibs on the special performances each year.  Our discount has gotten bigger each year we renew, so that helps too.  Here's a little secret:  if you buy the cheapest tickets, but go on a weekday, the venue usually isn't full, and the ushers will let you move up right before the show starts.      

Do any of you go to your city's Broadway shows?  What have been your favorites?

Top: Wicked souvenir
Cardigan: Old Navy
Skirt: Express
Sandals: Carlos Santana

Paint it Blue

There's still time to enter the giveaway!  

We moved into our house in July of 2011.  One of my "top priorities" was to paint the front door.  It was a forest green color that I was just not excited about.  You can kind of see the original color in this post.  Well, approximately 14 months later, I finally painted the door.  I really love this bright blue color, and have been wearing it a lot lately.  I thought it would be a perfect color for the front door, too!

I also tried a new hairstyle.  I call this one "didn't have time to wash my hair and was bored of ponytails."  And then I wore pearls so I would feel fancy with my lazy up-do.

Top: Von Maur
Tank: Target
Cardigan: Loft
Skirt: Bass
Pearls: gift
Shoes: BCBGeneration

I'm linking up again today.  Go check out these fabulous blogs and the other ladies who link up!

A Case of the Mondays

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!  It's open for a few more days!

 These are from last Monday.  It was the type of Monday that gives Mondays a bad name.  First my alarm clock didn't go off, so I was running late from the start.  Then I realized it was raining and kind of cool outside, so my quick and easy summer outfits were not an option.  I decided I would wear the boots that my sister gave me this summer.  They were on super sale at Gap, and they are really cute.  So, I got all ready and put the boots on just before I was going to run out the door.  I quickly learned why the boots were so cheap:  they were super uncomfortable!  There was no way I could wear them all day.  Unfortunately, I didn't have any other shoes that would look good and be ok for the rainy day.  So, I started from scratch on my outfit.  I was actually kind of proud of myself for how quickly I got ready again.

Anyway, I was about to leave and I could NOT find my car keys.  My keys are always in my purse, but I couldn't find them anywhere.  So I searched the whole house and several minutes later, I found my keys on the kitchen counter, underneath a grocery bag.

By that time, I had 5 minutes before a client call, so I emailed them to see if we could move it back 15 minutes.  I got to work and was all ready for my call when my computer told me it was going to restart in 15 minutes, and it didn't give me the usual option to postpone the restart.  The client called, and I was just watching the clock count down to the restart.  I was hoping the call was short, and thank goodness, it was!

The rest of the day was pretty average, but the first hour was just ridiculous.  I was ready to give up and go back to bed.  Here's hoping this Monday is better! 

Dress: Old Navy
Coat: Gap
Belt: Limited
Necklace: Bass
Purse: Wilson Leather
Boots: Target

Give a Little Bit

Marisa Kristina Cardi, Old Navy top and skirt, Born shoes

At some point, I decided I would host my first giveaway whenever I got to 50 followers.  Well, on August 18th, this finally happened!  Then we went on vacation and life has just been crazy, but I am keeping my word, even if it is a month late!

I was shopping with a friend last week and we wandered into Charming Charlie (Have you been there?  It's fabulous!  Oh, and this is not a sponsored post at all, I'm just gushing on my own).  I picked up this necklace for myself, but then remembered I was supposed to do a giveaway.  I almost bought 2, but then I decided that was ridiculous and I would just buy one for the giveaway.

Thank you all for reading my silly little blog.  It has been almost a year and I still get so excited with every new follower and comment.  I mean, I started this blog as a creative outlet for myself, but the community of bloggers just makes it a lot more fun! 

I wish I could give you all a new necklace (or a new car), but I am not Oprah, so we have to settle for 1 winner this time.    Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below, and I will pick a winner next week.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The "Would Of" Epidemic

I have noticed a trend lately, but it's not a fashion trend.  It's an improper English trend.  People seem to think that saying "would of" is a legitimate word pairing.  I've seen it in Facebook statuses, blog posts, even in a book I was reading.  This is not a thing!  It's "would have" not "would of."

I also learned how to be popular with my Facebook friends: just make a status ranting about grammar!

Skirt & Cardigan: Old Navy
Top: I.N. Studio
Shoes: Target

Trifecta Tuesday - Navy Dress

Fall is making an appearance and I am pretty excited to layer again!  Just don't quote me on that in January when I am so tired of the cold weather.

I didn't intend to have my collar popped in these pictures.  It got warm enough in the afternoon that I didn't need the jacket anymore, but I threw it back on for pictures.  I guess I should look in the mirror before I pull out my camera.    

Here are 2 other ways I have worn this dress recently:

  

Dress: Gap
Scarf: Charming Charlie
Jacket: Izod
Belt: Francesca's
Shoes: BCBGeneration

Four-Wheeling

I was thinking you all might be tired of pictures of the mountains in Northern New Mexico, so to mix things up a bit...  

Here are some pictures of the mountains in Southern New Mexico!

I did a terrible job of taking pictures over the last half of our trip, but I did manage to snap a few shots of the day we went four-wheeling in the mountains.  (and John's aunt was kind enough to email me the picture she took of us).  It was a lot of fun, but it was very hot and very dusty that day.  I may have mentioned before that I'm not a particularly outdoorsy girl, so I was out of my element.  I really liked when we were driving fast  on the four-wheeler, but I was not a fan of the little bit where we got off the ATVs and hiked.  Luckily, this was a very short part of the day.

I think that wraps up my posts about New Mexico, so I will be back to outfit posts tomorrow.  Stay tuned later this week for my first giveaway!  I said I would do one when I hit 50 followers, and that happened right before we left for our trip, so I am staying true to my word!

The Overlook

I think these are the only legit outfit photos from our trip.  We got dressed a little bit nicer for dinner one night, and I figured I should pose with the Southwestern decor.  I didn't even notice the kachina behind me!

Earlier that day, we took a walk from the house and ended up here:

These were taken from Overlook Park, which is just right in their neighborhood.  It kind of blows my mind that John's grandparents live less than a mile away from such an amazing view.  I guess it's a pretty popular spot for tourists to stop and take pictures.  John's grandma told me that she ran into a tourist there recently who said "well, now I don't have to go to the Grand Canyon!"  She told him he might still want to give the Grand Canyon a shot.  I mean, the Overlook is beautiful, but it's not quite as epic as the Grand Canyon.

You can hike down to the Rio, which we did back in October 2006.  It was quite a bit cooler in the fall, so we skipped the hike this time, but I would recommend it if you ever go there.

Outfit details:
Cardigan and shirt: Gap
Scarf: H&M
Shorts: J.Crew
Sandals: Carlos Santana

At the Ranch

Are you ready for a bunch of pictures of nature?   These are all from the day we went up to the family ranch in Northern New Mexico.  I had never been out there, and it was really beautiful.  I'm not a particularly outdoorsy girl, but we had a great time walking around the property.

 

We played croquet on a kind of flat spot, but there was a hill right on the edge of our course.  It was possible to end up waaaaaaay down the hill. It was like extreme croquet - totally awesome!  

Rio Grande Gorge

One of our touristy stops in New Mexico was the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.  It was pretty amazing.  There isn't really anything around it, so we just parked on one side and walked across.  It is one of those places that is so magnificent to look at that you can just stand there staring for quite awhile.  You can also get pretty dizzy if you look down and realize how far away the ground is!

As we were leaving, I saw this Ice Cream Bus and got all excited, but then I realized it was totally abandoned and there was no ice cream at all.  So disappointing!