Men's Hanukkah Gift List

So these are some things I would buy D, if we exchanged gifts.  Last year we decided to stop exchanging gifts because it seemed silly.  Technically we were both paying half for our own gifts.  Plus, we would either have to go shopping with the other or point them to exactly what we wanted so we decided instead to both go in on a big gift for both of us.  Mainly, we give each a trip somewhere.  For my 30th, we went to Jamaica, for D's 30th we went to San Francisco and Napa Valley, for our 2nd anniversary we went to Europe, and for our third we went back to Jamaica.  This works well for us, but if we did exchange gifts, below are what I would get D. 

My Men's Hanukkah Gift List by weekendwishlist featuring a comic book

Vintage t shirt / Ravi Ratan comic book / J.Crew Slim brushed twill shirt in heathered plaid / Hester St. Trading Co. Bicycle Bi-Fold Wallet / Sperry Top-Sider Authentic Original Color Pop Gore Boat Shoe / Men's Casio G-Shock Shock Resistant Gray And Blue Ani-Digi Resin Watch / hook + ALBERT Argyle Socks

Subscription Box

So it's that time of the month again - my November Birchbox was delivered! 

 So the theme for the month is More Good, which is basically described as more of everything good.  So let's get on with the good!

The first product in the box is this Bare Love Beauty body lotion.  The description says that it hydrates and improves your skin's vitality.  Sounds pretty interesting - an ultra hydrating lotion. 

There is also this Dr. Jart+ Beauty Balm.  I'm really into these BB creams.  I love how they even out your skin tone, are pretty light, and moisturize all at the same time.  This one is no different, it's very smooth, leaves your skin looking glowing and all the same tone and includes sun screen - which is a must for me.  This is definitely a keeper.  

This product is interesting and somewhat scares me.  It is a Chella Highlighter Pencil.  I've never used a highlighter in a pencil form so I'm kind of nervous on how to use it.  I'm going to try it out this week and see if I can figure it out.  There is a tutorial in the Birchbox online magazine so I may need to go check it out.  If I can figure it out I will let everyone see how it looks & works.  

There was a Elite Therapeutics shampoo & conditioner sample also included.  I'm going to tell you that I won't be able to give a review on this for a little while because I'm going to save to these to bring with me on a trip I'm going on soon for a quick weekend.  I will say the one thing I like just from reading the descriptions is that these are both sulfate free, which my hair stylist tells me is much better for my hair.  

The last item in the box was kind of a let down - and I ate it immediately because it sounded so good!  It was a little pretzel covered in chocolate with coconut dusted on it.  Maybe one of the other flavors would have been better, but I just was not a fan of the taste.  The chocolate was a little bitter which I think is what ruined it for me.  I think it needed a sweeter, milk chocolate flavor to go well with the salty pretzel and coconut.



So all in all, this month's box was pretty good.  Definitely getting some better products these days!  I think this would be such a great gift to get someone also! You can buy a month or 2 or 3 for someone as a gift, which I would definitely love to receive. 

Weekend in Review

So last week was a crazy week at work, super crazy with getting ready for the end of the year!  Which lead up to an amazing weekend!  D and I went with a few friends and their spouses back to Tallahassee for homecoming.  It was a great time!  It's so fun to be able to go back to your old college with friends and reminisce about the good old days.  Even though Tallahassee has changed a lot, it is still a fun town!  D did not go to FSU for undergrad but he's a great sport and as long as we're not playing his team he'll throw on a FSU shirt and wear it while cheering the Seminoles on.  He was an extremely good sport this past trip since I dragged him back to my old sorority house so that I could go on a tour of all of the renovations.  We had fun going to our old favorite restaurants, bars and just hanging out in the places we missed.  Here are some pictures from the past weekend.

Front of the School

We have seen this tailgate setup for the past 2 years and finally went up to tell them how awesome it was - super nice people too

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Shopping

So currently, I decided to put myself on a spending freeze until my annual Black Friday Shopping Spree.  But, of course it is that time of year again when the women's department at Nordstrom goes on sale during the Anniversary Sale.  So I have put together some of my favorites and things I would be buying, if I were not on a self-imposed shopping spree currently.

My Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Faves 1 by weekendwishlist featuring a low dress

My Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Faves 2 by weekendwishlist featuring black shoulder bags

Weekend Celebrations

Happy Monday all!  Hopefully you had an enjoyable weekend.  I had a very nice weekend.  Friday night I had a friend staying over, so D and I wanted to show her a good time.  We started off with dinner at one of my favorite places, Seven Lamps.  This is a newer restaurant that is located over in the Shops Around Lenox.  It's really better when it's warmer outside because they have a nice area to sit outside, but unfortunately Friday night was really cold!  We had a reservation and were seated right away.  Of course we began by ordering a drink - this place has the most creative and delicious cocktails.  They even have alcoholic slushies!  We looked over the menu and picked a few small plates to share and a plate of cheeses.  Usually the food comes out pretty well spaced here and in the past I've only been given one or two dishes at a time, but for some reason on Friday all of food came out at the same time, so we ended up having a really quick dinner.  Everything was delicious as always, I just wish it wouldn't have been a 40 minute dinner.  So we decided to move onto a different location to grab a couple of drinks and talk.  Now, I don't go out to the bars very often these days, so I pulled up my helpful Yelp app to search for a cocktail lounge nearby.  We ended up heading over to a place called Aspen Bartini.

Aspen Bartini is a cute little martini bar that is decorated like a trendy ski lodge.  They have a long list of drinks you can choose from, or you can do what my friend did and she just described the flavors she was looking for and the bartender whipped her up a drink to match.  She loved it.  I got a drink with blackberry, soda and Crown Royal.  D got a drink that tasted like Maker's Mark, lemon and chili peppers.  And my friend asked for a drink that tasted like citrus, elderflower and used Gin.  Everyone's drinks were delicious and the place was quiet enough that we could talk but there was also music playing.  This is definitely a place you may want to check out for some after work drinks or after dinner drinks.  It was a nice environment and the staff there was ready to please.  They also have a food menu and there were a few people eating when we arrived.

Saturday I had the bridal shower for my good friend getting married in April.  Everything came out great and it seemed as though everyone had a great time. Rather than getting her gifts off of her registry, the invitations asked us to purchase her gifts to use on her honeymoon.  I went in on a gift with a few friends so we could get her a larger gift.  She hasn't decided where she is going on her honeymoon yet so we got her a luggage tag that said "Just Married" and a gift card to a store at the mall she could go to load up on everything she needs.

Saturday night D went out with his boys and I had a chill night at home.  I ordered some Chinese food from my favorite local place, Fortune Cookie and rented a movie.  Afterwards, I gave myself some spa treatments using some Bliss products I had previously purchased. 

Sunday was a day of errands and football.  Doesn't the weekend just fly by so quickly?

Wide Open Road

Have a great weekend - the road is wide open to what you can do this weekend!

Business Casual

My office is pretty casual, but it is still business casual.  Business casual can sometimes be tough since you don't want to wear a full suit but you don't want to be too casual.  This outfit seems to be a perfect fit for the business casual since it is both conservative but still you can express some personality. 

The tuxedo style blazer is from Piperlime from awhile ago.  In the past, I've only worn this blazer on the weekends because it is hard to match to black pants, but I finally decided to wear it with my Express colored skinnies.  Also, I wanted to show a closeup of the lining of the blazer because I love how it is completely unexpected, but when you roll the sleeves you can see the lining print which is a repeating pattern of a cat on a ball.  I don't see either the skinnies or the blazer on the websites, but I feel like they always have colored skinny pants at Express in the back with the more casual clothing.  The blazer may just be too old to find on the Piperlime site now.  The striped shirt is just a black and white striped shirt from Gap.  They have a ton of options and I love them because they wash well.  My shoes are Franco Sarto from DSW and are just so comfortable since they are a wedge.  My necklace is an old one, and I'm not sure I remember where it is from now.  My watch is a Michael Kors gold and silver tone.