Vodka and Soda

all things beauty

 

 

for the past two weeks, my nether regions were in DefCon 5 1:  i managed to get every awful ailment that could happen to one person all in one shot and situation got critical: 

• return of the godawful anus demons but it was a small attack.
• i got pink-eye.
• i broke out in nasty zits.
• i slept weird on my pillow which resulted in my earring being bent a strange way and then it got infected.
• i got my period - thankfully it lasted only 3 days
• ...but then as soon as my vagina stopped bleeding, i got a fucking yeast infection.
• i got strep throat
• ...which moved into my chest and then i developed a wicked cough and chest pains
• i burned my arm on the fucking oven.

tell me god, what did i do to wrong you?!

anyhow, i'm glad to say that eveything is back to normal....now onto the fun stuff. 

do any of you know what a sock bun is?  i didn't until saturday when bestie's wife melted my face by showing me how she uses a sock to put her hair up in a bun:

in the history of my unruly hair, i've never ever been successful in getting my hair to stay in a pretty bun.  my hair is way too long and so frigging heavy that just short of using rubber cement, nothing would hold my hair up without giving me a wicked headache...until the sock bun.  you don't need any pins either! 

as soon as i got home frome bestie's house, i ran upstairs and grabbed an old dress sock, cut off the toe part, rolled it into a disc (top two photos) and rolled my hair into it.  it took me a few tries and i'm still getting the hang of it but it totally works.  and the best part is that you don't even need to secure it to your head with pins - it just stays put! 

the beauty board weekend happened this weekend too!  getting better every year, my friend stephanie of blush pretty hosts this amazing event where local toronto vendors come and showcase their stuff.  it's an afternoon of mingling, trying on and shopping for products, eating and listening to amazing tunes and this year, a good friend was also showcasing her new store for the first time: Paper + Cloth.  washi tape, vintage fabrics, lace tape and all things crafty is what this online store will sell (June 1 launch).  more details to come!

 

 

 

more awesome vendors:

dot & lil:  specializing in delicious bath and body products.  my favorite is her satsuma body butter

 

 

my all-time favorite nail brand:  cheeky monkey.  bought "get wet" yesterday, wearing it today and loving it.

 

 

featherband: gorgeous handmade headbands and clips

ella: natural bath and body products.

sweet leaf bath:  newbies at the beauty board, they sell natural bath and body products.

paper + cloth: selling all things crafty.

pure + simple: only the best all-natural products ever made!

consonant body:  an up-and-coming company that only uses the healthiest products for your skin.

kaia naturals: only the best facial cleansing wipes you'll ever use!

 

what i bought:

kaia naturals bamboo facial cleansing wipes (individually wrapped wipes which are great for travel!)

paper + cloth washi tape.  seriously love these!

dot & lil satsuma body butter.  this product saved my hands; all winter i slathered this on and never got any hang nails.

cheeky monkey "get wet" nail color.

consonant body "the perfect sunscreen".  seriously, this IS the perfect sunscreen! i'm trying to get away from chemical sunscreens and this is a physical block that doesn't leave a white cast and it's not greasy.  a review to come shortly.

pure + simple travel skin care for senstive skin.

 

my new fav spring color.

 

  ....and what i made with my washi tape!

 

hope you all had a great weekend!

 

weekend recap: KOA Kamping, massive haul

 

dear readers, do you remember this sign in a previous post?  around the same time last year, i was at KOA in niagra cooking my ass off in their shitty non-air conditioned shit hole kabins.  seeing how it was the opposite of awesome last year,  you could imagine my chagrin when my family wanted to do it again. 

i just came back from another KOA campsite (thousand islands) however, this time i had rules since it was no longer my first rodeo.

i made sure we rented an air conditioned unit and a bonus -- we also had a bathroom with a shower in-room.  the washroom was a fucking hike and a half (three minutes) but that three minute walk in the dead of night is unacceptable.  besides, how could hubs walk me to the bathroom (to protect me from the campsite knife-wielding killer of course) and leave kayla in the room by herself?!   well played, kathy; well played *pats self on back*.

the weekend was awesome and fun.  the kids had a blast and on saturday night, more relatives drove down to join the party and what a party it was.  a huge dinner (i'm pretty sure it was a 12-course meal), lots of kids running around playing, fireworks, a campsite movie, a firefly show and kayla's bedtime was basically shot (11pm!!!)  but she had fun and that was the whole point.  

 

our kabin | kayla looking around.  we had a bunk bed with a double to kayla's left.  washroom was in front of the bunk beds | kayla chilling out with her cousin and grandpa | family dinner

 

we drove up on friday and left on sunday and i'm proud to say that throughout the entire trip, i ate healthy and clean 100%.  no smores, no junk food, no nothing.  the only thing that a damper on the weekend was that i fucking left my burberry sunglasses at the campsite!!!   imagine my horror as i'm sitting in the car - 30 minutes after we drove away - realizing my sunglasses were missing.  my beautiful, expensive, make-me-look-glamorous-even-if-i-looked-like-shit sunglasses were gone.  and i saw them in my mind - in the campsite washroom, sitting all alone on the toilet paper dispenser wondering where i am.  oh, how my heart weeps.   

whenever something shitty like this happens, i always think: why karma? WHY?!?  what did i do to deserve this?  i'm a good person.  i don't steal.  i help people all the time.  why do you do me like this?!  and it was then that i realized the burberry sunglass gods were angry at me for lusting after some rayban aviators the other week after i promised i would never look at another pair of sunglasses when i shelled out a fuckload of money for my burberrys. i guess they certainly gave me the finger.

 so today, i was on a mission to find another pair.

 

 

sunglass hut was having a  special - buy one get the other half price - so i hauled these two amazing aviators.  i normally don't suit aviator styles but these are the exception.  i'm still trying to decide if i need or want both of them but i might end up returning the raybans and keeping the maui jims.  the unusal thing is that i normally never even look at gold-rimmed sunglasses however, the maui jims actually look really nice.  

on my way back to the car, i felt something yanking my geek boner and when i went to investigate, i somehow found myself  in front of the HTC One X phone.   it's obvious what happened so i won't go into details.  i seriously love this phone so much i want to have sex with it.

 

how was your weekend?

weekend recap: long weekend, the monkey turned 4, mama is tiyad!

 

this weekend was so  busy - long weekend and it was kayla's 4th birthday party.  her actual birthday was june 25 but we saved her big party until this past weekend.  now mama is tired and my plan for today was to do nothing.  for the most part, that was accomplished but i felt guilty so i also worked out - twice - and went grocery shopping.  then i started to clean but  remembered my do-nothing plan and immediately dropped everything.

now onto the fun part.  look how my monkey has grown in the past 4 years:  

yesterday i was watching her play and while i was looking at her face, it hit me that she doesn't have any more baby-like features... she's a little girl who is growing way too fast for my liking. i wanted to cry! WAH!

but enough about this mama who is just being a big ol' pussy about life.  

i spent last week prepping for the party and what a party it was - awesome and creative lootbags, a huge bouncy castle, a balloon artist and sleeping beauty all graced our house.  it was bloody hot outside so we moved the party from the sauna that was our backyard into the house.  children hopped up on sugar, drenched and sweaty from losing their shizz in the bouncy castle and going crazy over sleeping beauty all made for a fantastic party.  needless to say, my house was a fucking zoo on saturday.

 

 

on sunday we went to the (actual) zoo.  i'm not a fan of going outdoors during a heat wave but kayla wanted to go and since she run dis house, we went.  the zoo was pretty good - there was lots of shade and a nice breeze to cool everyone off.  i meant to take more pictures but it was hot and  i was too lazy so this is the only image i took.  note the caption.  i should've taken more pictures when we were at the zoo water park but again, the heat.  i'm one of those people who petrifies in extreme weather and doesn't want to move.

 

the good thing is that when i woke up this morning, i didn't have to deal with that shitty feeling everyone gets which is the 'dreaded return-to-work-after-a-brilliant-long-weekend' because it's a long weekend for me everyday, bishes!  w00t!  i know you hate me. 

weekend recap, sunday rituals

 

 

 

yesterday was a wonderful day in toronto and we spent it at canada's wonderland which is only the most fucking awesome place ever.  just ask kayla - she always loses her shizz when we tell her we're going to go.  beautiful spring weather - a lovely 19 degrees with plenty of sunshine and a gentle breeze - complimented a most awesome opening day at wonderland.  armed with our season's passes, we zipped passed the massive line-ups of people waiting to pick up their passes (tsk, tsk!  those peeps should have planned ahead and had them mailed to them) and got into the park 30mins earlier.  

there was a new dinosaur adventure/exhibit that kayla was excited about.  basically, they built all of these robotic, huge, life-size dinosaurs that move, roar and and look pretty fucking scary that i was convinced it would give kayla nightmares.  on top of the extra $5 per person admission, we paid an extra $1 to see a 3D movie about dinosaurs (which she loved).  this girl has got some serious balls of steel -- most kids in the theater were already screaming and freaking out when the lights dimmed but all you could hear from kayla was "WHERE ARE THE DINOSAURS? I CAN'T SEE THEM!" 

 

the dino exhibit had a little "archaeological site" where kiddies can "dig" for dinosaur bones.    kayla loved it... but she was more into throwing the sand around than pretending she was digging for bones: "mommy, these things are in the way!" 

 

then we stopped off for icecream (not funnel cake booo!) and kayla eagerly lapped it up while mommy and daddy sat by drooling and staring.

  clearly, she's not pleased with having to pause from eating her icecream to pose for this picture. 

 

**************

 

mama needs to get her grays gone.  i'm using garnier nutrisse mousse hair color in soft black.

every sunday, i have a week-ending ritual and it's all about me.  i take sunday evening to pamper myself while hubs is putting kayla to bed because i need to get ready for the shitty week at work so i do whatever i can to relax and primp.  

this pampering can be anything from coloring my hair to hide those grays (fuck you, grays!) to curling my hair if i feel like having wavy hair or doing my nails but i always - always - prep my skin.  after a long week of work bullshit and sweating like a mofo during my workouts, i slather luxurious products onto my skin and let the spa-like scents take me away.  

 

gentle walnut exfoliating scrub by ole henriksen.  gets your skin baby-butt smooth.

 

two face masks are at work here:  skin hydrating mask (underneath) + intenstive moisture mask - gives me that beautiful "casper the friendly" ghost look.  both by dermalogica.  both totally awesome.

 

this nail color never fails to make me feel and look badass.  it even has an awesome name: u never go back.  heh.

 

  even my tootsies got a make-over.  color:  pour me one.  i had to blur out most of my feet to spare your eyes from the hideousness of them.

 

what do you do to prepare for the upcoming week?

 

weekend recap: beauty board, family time

 

i had a fabulous weekend.  weather-wise, it was decent but had a blast with family, friends and discovered a great new sushi restaurant, thanks to a friend's reco.   

 

cuddles with her new (lootbag) toy | cuddles with daddy |  kayla enjoying the new sushi restaurant.  i'm so glad that my kid is adventurous with foods.  what toddler loves fish eggs,  miso soup and sushi?

 

on sunday, the long-awaited beauty board finally arrived.  twice a year, i'm stoked to attend this event put on by stephanie daga of blushpretty.  it's a fun-filled afternoon of mingling, networking, meeting great vendors, trying on makeup, great eats, great music and best of all (or worst of all?) - shopping.   oh, the shopping.    this year new vendors participated:  pure + simple, splat! hair color, eco tools, flirt lashes, apotheKerri cosmetics, a paper story, batiste dry shampoo, ella botanicals, silpada jewelry, kaia naturals.  

 

some of my favorite brands at the beauty board:  

pure + simple |  cheeky monkey | kaia naturals |  consonant body

 

the swag never disappoints!

not only is this one of the most awesome events i attend on the regular, but the swag is the best.  we're talking about full size products, not those bullshit department store samples which gives you nothing.  

do you see that kabuki brush peeking out from behind the pantene shampoo?  i've been searching for that brush for months and when the lady from ecotools showed me what she put in each swag bag, we both squealed in delight.  

 pure + simple also gave a "summer prep" kit which i'm dying to rip into.  i haven't looked inside yet but their stuff is great.

 

the reasons why my wallet is sobbing and bleeding:

cheeky monkey nail colors:  "social climber", "BFF" and "i like it on top" top coat.  for the events, there was a buy 2, get 1 free promo....  how could i resist?

consonant body:  antioxidant serum because mother nature, i'm adding things to my arsenal and will continue to fight you all the way.

pure + simple:  all natural sunblock, SPF 30.   i love that it contains natural ingredients, is sheer and doesn't leave a white cast or make you look like an oil slick.

stella and dot has some competition with silpada jewelry.  while i was >thisclose< to buying a bracelet from S&D, i didn't because it was a different sales rep and that would be like cheating on my regular rep.  instead, i ended up getting these two necklaces from silpada.  i was just going to buy the one on the right but i loved them both so why the heck not?!  i've been busting my ass at work, working out like a mofo, denying myself the pleasures of desserts and other yummy foods  so mama needs a treat for herself, goddammit!

kaia naturals:  bamboo, all natural face wipes.  soaked in yummy vitamins, these wipes (in convenient, individually wrapped travel packs) makes taking your makeup off easy-peasy.  when i tested the product, not only is it super soft but it smells divine and great for sensitive skin.

and now, another ass work week begins but at least i have goodies at home waiting for me and my necklaces are on the way.  in addition,  i've been wanting to host mini-giveaways for the month of april for all of you awesome readers as a way to 1)  say thanks for following me and keeping up with my random drivel and 2) to celebrate my 2 year blogaversary.   stay tuned; i'll be posting the first yummy giveaway this week!

 

 hope you all had a great weekend!

weekend recap: horseshoes up our ass, face-stuffing, great pressies

 

i had an awesome weekend. 

my office held their annual holiday potluck on friday and this year had an even better turnout.  instead of being lazy and buying something,  i made my favorite chocolate cupcakes but this time i wanted them to be all kinds of fancy so i decided to add some flair to the frosting and make little christmas trees.  unfortunately i'm not very good with piping, i added too much green food coloring so it sort of looked like dressed-up bird poopy.   however near the end, i got better at the piping and my trees actually looked like trees instead of blobs of bird crap.

 

armed with a fistful of raffle tickets, hubs was ready to take on the prizes.    little did i know that he was hiding horsehoes up his ass.

to be honest, i really didn't think we'd win anything however, during the first few draws they  kept pulling his numbers.  our goodies:

• 30 day free trial to Extreme Fitness for 2 (we won this twice but gave one back)
• XM Radio + 1 month free subscription
• gift certificate for brunch for 2 at The Buttery restaurant
• Motorola  JBL bluetooth sound system

if we won the 42" LCD flat screen tv, we probably would've gotten lynched and at one point, everyone started booing whenever hubs said "oh, that's me".  i guess it didn't help that i was hi-fiving him and shouting "woohoo!". 

 *****

a few years back, the december-born ladies within my group decided to hold an annual december girls' birthday dinner to celebrate our time of aging gracefully.  this year it was held at the newly-opened biermarkt which is a popular place for their large selection of beer and by that i mean  if you're a serious beer connoisseur, this place is your wet dream.  what surprised me the most was the food; i've been to the biermarkt before but i don't remember the food being this tastey (ignore the different picture  exposures; i was playing with a new camera app on my phone).

 

i can't remember the name of this beer but it was amaging and came highly recommended by the waitress.

it's our birthday and we'll eat oysters if we want to.  actually, i'm not a fan of oysters but these were very good. 

 

boston scallops and king prawns served on a carmelized bed of risotto.  my mouth had an orgasm.

 

me and fellow december birthday gal pal, ro.  

 
every year, i'm surprised by presents because the goal of this dinner isn't to get goodies but to spend time with dear friends during this crazy season.  i love my girls - they're all so very thoughtful and totally raided my kk list so to my dear kk if you're reading this... i'm sorry and will try to update the list with things that haven't been pillaged!

hope you all had a great weekend!

 

weekend recap: let the festivities begin!

 

we're in christmas prep-mode.  i'll let the pictures speak for themselves (picture heavy).

  

horsing around with her cousins.  these guys are too hilarious when they get together.  they also destroy grandpa and grandma's house.

weekend recap: high tea, christmas preparation, secret marine weirdness

 

yesterday the gals and i got all fancy and went to the king edward hotel in down town toronto for high tea.  this place is gorgeous.

 

{via}

it was a friend's birthday and we chatted/got all caught up with each other's lives as we nibbled on crumpets, snacked on scones while drinking perfumed tea in fancy tea cups with our pinky fingers in the air.  i'm actually not sure about the crumpets part but i assume that's what one is supposed to eat during high tea time.  and the pinky finger thing is a must.  i felt like british royalty.

 

the food, while a bit on the pricy side, was actually quite delish; it's too bad that me and pam were too full to actually eat any of this.    note to self:  don't eat lunch 1hr before high tea. 

*****

 

 

we're all so busy these days that we've already strated planning our annual kris kringle event.  a tradition that started back in 2007, it's a time for all the girls to get together to celebrate the holidays and exhange gifts while nibbling on scrumptious food.   food and wine are a big part of this event because we all love to stuff our faces with delish food and tastey, buzz-worthy alcohol.

 

   www.alliwantforchristmas.com

 

since we started our kris kringle tradition, we've been using this amazing website to provide our "wishlists" to our kris kringle.  to the makers of alliwantforchristmas.com, you're welcome for this plug.  but check it out; it's a great way to drop major hints to your friends and family and avoid getting useless crap.

*****

 

you know you're getting old when you start thinking of ways to improve your life health-wise, even if that means eating all kinds of strange stuff.   when i was in my teens and 20s, eating weird marine shit only came to mind when i accidentially swallowed mouthfuls of ocean water on vacation.   now at the ripe age of 35, i'm actually going to eat this voluntarily:

 

chlorella.  the key to a healthier you... if you don't mind eating algae.

 

that's right folks, i'm going to eat this green stuff.  after a friend raved about the great benefits of eating sea algae and other marine foodstuffs, i'm going to give it a try.   luckily, the peeps who work with this jazz has the sense to put it in a tablet form which is supposed to taste pretty good.   so what is chlorella?  according to what i've read on the internet:

• it helps detoxify your body and improve your digestive system which probably means you'll take good dumps which is a must for everyone's well-being.  personally, i feel so gross if my #2 isn't satisfying.
• it's supposed to help fight cancer by boosting your immune system
• it helps maintain a balance pH level in your body which is crucial to preventing heart attacks and also helps reduce blood pressure
• it improves brain function which i totally need because i can get pretty spacey.

in addition to eating algae, i'm also going to be stuffing this down my throat:

marine phytoplankton!

 

plankton? whale food?  yes!   blue whales (and other marine creatures) eat this shizz and they've been around the earth for millions of years.   how do their species live so long, swimming in oceans with growing pollution?  shouldn't cancer be running rampant in their species given all the shit humans dump into the oceans?   have you ever heard of a whale dying of cancer?  i haven't.  and i suspect they don't get cancer because they eat phytoplankton and krill (which feed on phytoplankton) by the gallon.   they  may be onto something here, my friends.

so what are marine phytoplankton?  why, it's these lovelies right here:

 

a little gross?  maybe, but i'll be happily introducing these into my body and they can swim around my belly and turn me into a super human.    here are some benefits of phytoplankton:

• General Nutrition- Contains ultra-potent lipids to enhance brain function
• Cardiovascular Health - Supports a healthy heart
• Cholesterol - Clinically tested to reduce cholesterol
• Blood Sugars - Stabilizes blood sugar levels
• Neurological Support - Mental alertness, ADHD, Parkinson's, and general dementia
• Joint Health - Relieves pain and inflammation
• Skin Care - Psoriasis & Dermatitis
• Vision - More effective than Lutein
• Liver Health - Supports a healthy liver
• Sleep - Supports good sleeping habits
• Energy - Increases energy & vitality

goddamn this shit is expensive but i guess if you want to live a healthy life, you gotta pay the price.

 *****

the family and i went out for some korean bbq tonight. 

i was so excited to eat this that i got halfway through the dishes before remembering to take pictures.  YUM.  my mouth still waters when looking at that kalbi.    for those of you who have never heard of kalbi - it's bbq short ribs in a sweet, wonderful marinate.  please stop depriving yourself of this meaty goodness and head over to your local korean restaurant now.  your mouth will have an orgasm and thank you.

weekend update: retail therapy, sick monkey and new product love

 

i'm a little sad about not signing up to be a stylist for stella and dot but i know it was the right decision because i spent all weekend contemplating it when normally, i would just go ahead and do it if i really wanted something.  although the perks are amazing and i could get some really nice pieces out of this, i just don't think i would put much as much effort as i should into building a client base.  what i would really be doing is using the stylist role as an excuse to buy more "inventory" when that really means "more stuff for kathy to play with".  sigh.

so i saved $200 (the start up cost) and instead, got these beauts to make me feel better:

 

nars lip gloss in oasis

like i need more lip gloss but this is such a pretty and natural color i had to have it.  it's rare that i find a color that brings out the natural color of my lips and it was a limited edition so i had to buy it. 

 

josie maran organic argan oil

my friend, steph, has been raving about this product so i decided to give it a try.  it was an impulse buy really, because it was in one of those bins by the cash register (i hate those things).  it was $18 and i haven't been happy with my current serum so i thought what the hell.   you basically massage a few drops into your skin and wait for your skin to transform to the suppleness of a baby's ass. 

i did a little research on this and discovered that it's a naturally dervived oil from the argan tree which is native to morocco.  these trees have been around since the tertiary period and due to the small amount that is naturally produced and in very specific areas of the world, it's considered a rare oil.  by the way, the tertiary period is when dinos walked around; yeah, those trees are that old.    argan oil is reputed to have anti-aging qualities, high in fatty acids and loaded with anti-oxidents so $18 for a historic, rare oil that promises youth seems like a steal to me.  you can basically use this anywhere:  your hair (for split ends), nails and cuticles to give it a boost of moisture.  i slathered this on my face and concentrated on problem areas.  so far, me likey; some of my dry patches are even gone. 

 

stila smudge pot in black

i have an old smudge pot that has lasted a long time without smelling weird but i had to ditch it the other day because it's starting to dry out which is indicative of it finally expiring.  instead of going with a pretty blue cobalt which i figured wouldn't be appropriate for work, i went low key and stuck with black.  stila smudgepots are awesome - once dry, it refuses to budge.  best.

 

then i had to browse my new favorite store, locale, and this is what i found.  dammit.

WANT!  cognac wedge ankle boot $150

i will not buy this boot because i already have 2 pairs but these are so pretty and great for fall :(

 

i've been addicted to this stupid game:

Carnival of Horrors

talk about video game throw backs.  the goal is to plant telsa coils, bombs or use the green glue to trap and/or zap the ghosts and prevent them from crossing the screen.  you can even get all ghostbusty and capture the ghosts in a chamber.   i discovered this while reading some of my tech feeds and this was listed as a top 10 game for android but i don't think my phone is 100% supported since the fucking thing keeps freezing at the most inopportune time.  but, i've read that it works well on other android phones and it's free for a limited time (because of halloween).  it's lots of fun, highly addictive and if it didn't freeze on me so damn much, i'd be playing it right now.

 

kayla has been fighting a cold all weekend which sucks because it's halloween and i'm hoping that she'll be ok for trick or treating tonight.  she had to miss school today which is a shame because the kids are all dressing up but i'd rather make sure that she's not getting bronchitis so we're going to the doctor's this afternoon.  at least she'll be getting the TLC treatment for colds:  snuggling while watching her favorite movies.

weekend recap: happy thanksgiving!

 

 

it was thanksgiving holiday weekend for us canadians and not only did we have 4 fabulous days off, but the weather was gorgeous; like summer-kinda-weather gorgeous.  however, i was unable to go outside and enjoy the sun because my monkey was sick for most of it.  that's ok; we snuggled a lot and after 3 years, i finally let her watch some disney movies.  in a span of 3 days, she watched tangled, cinderella and the little mermaid with some thomas the train in between.  she's much better; although we missed a good friend's wedding, we were the first in line at the clinic to get her diagnosed and her prescription filled.  she was feverish for most the weekend, crabby for part of the weekend and missed her daddy all weekend.   talk about daddy's girl and me being chopped liver. 

by the time sunday rolled around, she was feeling much better and her fever was gone so we decided to take it easy and visited a local farm and pick up some pies.   i love visiting local farms; they have the best homemade desserts and groceries.  i spent the entire time looking at the homemade jams, bottles of pure canadian maple syrup and contemplated buying a few jars of apple butter (yum!). 

 

kayla wanted to wear her fairy princess outfit to the farm; she felt the place needed a bit of sprucing up.

 

hubs and i went on our usual sunday afternoon date after we dropped kayla off at his parents and walked around the mall for a bit.  i didn't let him in on my secret but i was on the hunt and determined to buy a pair of boots from Locale.  did you know that this store used to be Feet First?  yes, the old lady shoe store.  people used to make fun of me all the time for shopping at Feet First but not only did they rebrand themselves, they also grew their overseas manufactures and improved their designs and styles which equals more selection at a lower price point.  suck on that.

i had been stalking their site for a while and went there to try and perhaps buy this boot:

but i wasn't too crazy about the buckle at the bottom of the boot.  i love the color but that strap wasn't sitting too well with me; the last thing i wanted to look like was a misplaced asian cowgirl.  if there even is such a thing.  and i also discovered that cognac doesn't suit me!  so after a bit of humming and hawing and maybe some sadness that i was going to walk out of there empty-handed, i looked up, the clouds parted, the sun shone and the fashion gods presented me with this:

 

i love this color.  i didn't want the typical chocolate brown (which is a beautiful color in and of itself) but this brown is a great shade because it makes the leather look worn in AND they fit over my giant hotom calves which is a bonus.  now, if the weather could be a little cooler, i could bust these out badboys.  you have no idea how excited i am to wear them; i've been breaking them since sunday.

 

i took it easy this thanksgiving and decided against gluttonious gorging.  instead, i paced myself and am bringing half of the pumpkin pie to work so it doesn't sit in my fridge taunting me. 

we didn't have anything fancy; just steak, sweet garlic and honey sausage, baked parmesan butternut squash, baked potatoes and sweet corn.  light yet filling.  YUM.

i didn't realize that it's columbus day in the US so here's a little something for all of my american readers (i mean no offense; i just thought this was freaking hilarious!):

 

hope you all had a great weekend!