North Carolina Wedding Weekend

On Friday morning, J and I packed our bags and sleepily made our way down to the airport for a wedding weekend in North Carolina! Though we didn't get to sleep in, we did (or I guess, *I* did) pick up a salted caramel latte (which comes in 2nd place to the reigning favorite, Pumpkin Spice) and entertained ourselves with giant checkers, until I realized I was going to lose and waved the white flag.

We had a quick layover in Charlotte before bumping over to Raleigh. When we landed, the first thing I noticed were how tall the trees were. I know that sounds a little ridiculous but Texas is all about those big, open spaces. I'd almost forgotten that trees could grow so tall and that they could be colored yellow, orange and red. In Texas, trees are either green and blooming or dead. There really is no in between.

His aunt's house (where we were staying), is this gorgeous wooden house with rustic details hiding around every corner. Since we landed kind of late, we only had time to eat dinner and then curl up with wine and fleece blankets on the living room sofas before his cousin put on American Horror Story: Hotel. (I'd never seen any AHS before so I didn't really know what to expect. Even then, I was floored by some scenes. Like. What.)

The next morning, I had these grand plans of taking pictures of the trees for you guys but it ended up raining all day long. The sky was a gray overcast and the rain hitting the roof was enough to about lull me back to sleep. So it was back to the sofas and the fleece blanks for Saturday morning football until it was time to get ready.


























The wedding was about an hour's drive away on an island in the middle of a lake. By the time we arrived, the temperature had been steadily dropping all day but there was a break in the rain. I was able to snap some photos of the tiny details before the ceremony began.

When you need a ferry to get to your ceremony, you know you've made it

It was a beautiful wedding but the wind coming off the lake kept reminding me of the fact that I was absolutely freezing. J lent me his suit jacket but even then, I swear all of the tiny little hairs on my legs were standing straight up.

They had an open bar (blessedly) and with the insider knowledge that wine can make a person feel warmer (though not actually be warmer), I grabbed a glass and made my way to the reception (not blessedly, still outside).

Cutest table marker in the history of weddings

We ate, drank and eventually, danced the night away. There was a fire pit a little ways away that J and I roasted marshmallows over and warmed ourselves by before hitting up the dance floor again. (Disclaimer: we are both awful dancers). Then Sunday morning, it was another early flight followed by a long day of travel before I got back to Austin.

All in all, this weekend was a blast and I'm so glad I got to spend some time with J's family. I'd forgotten how tiring traveling can be, though, so tonight, you'll find me tucked into bed at an early hour.

I hope you all had a great weekend, too!

Fan of Fridays Vol. 2

Happy Friday! This week went by fast but I won't lie, I'm glad it's over. Each day was jam-packed and I'm looking forward to a (slightly) slower paced weekend. This week, I've been a fan of:

1. The Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffin candle from Target. They have a small size for $5 and a bigger size for $10 and when I first bought it, I got the smaller size because I tend to have candle ADD. But this candle smells amazing. I burned through the first one and ran back to Target for the bigger size! They smell so so good and are reasonably priced for a candle. If you're heading to Target, you should add it to your cart!

2. Travel days! J and I are leaving this morning to North Carolina! It's his cousin's wedding and his dad invited us to go up. I haven't been to North Carolina in a long time but from what I remember, it's beautiful. Plus, they're having cooler weather than we are, so I'm looking forward to this tiny taste of fall!

3. The new Sherlock trailer! It's no secret that I love TV, yet another reason why fall is one of my favorite seasons. But there's always a handful of shows that come out in January, including the new season of Sherlock! It's been so long since I finished the last season, I'm going to have to do some re-watching to be ready for the premiere. Any other BBC fans out there?

4. This possum cuddling a toy kangaroo! I'm a sucker for all things animal related so naturally, this melted my heart. No lie, when I first adopted Keller, I had hoped he'd be the kind of Chi who cuddled with tiny stuffed animals and who carried them around the house. Because I had these aspirations for him, no surprise, he has less than 0 interest in anything fluffy (besides blankets). Go figure. In the mean time, I'll keep looking at pictures of this possum.

5. The fall fashion all over the place. You guys know how I feel about fall and it does my soul good to know I'm not the only one obsessed with the upcoming sweater weather! Laura, Jen, Lauren, and Caroline are some of the ladies I've seen around the blogosphere killing it! Seriously, if you're posting about peacoats and ankle boots, holler at your girl. I'd love to read it!

What are you loving these days? Hopefully a fantastic weekend is one of those things! Happy Friday :)

The Weekly Happy Hour: Italic

This week found us all a collectively cranky, tired mess. You guys already know how I feel about Wednesdays in general but today was especially bad. After a 3 1/2 hearing that got out late, a terrible headache and backache, and the knowledge that I have a ton of packing to do tonight, I was worn down. Weirdly enough, Nat, Karls, and Ferj all felt the same way. So "Happy Hour" became the Complaining Hour and you know what? It was just what the doctor ordered.

This week, we went to a relatively new haunt called Italic. Due to said tiredness, I didn't get too many good pictures but they had a giant, suspended glass case of wine so that was pretty cool.

They had $4 glasses of wine and happy hour cocktails (I got the wine if you couldn't tell) as well as a few starters including a giant ball of cheese for $8. Yes please!

They also give some free sandwiches with the purchase of a drink so that's definitely a selling point! Overall, it was a decent happy hour. I particularly loved the part about the wine and cheese. Like most places downtown though, parking was terrible. Foodwise, they had some olives and prosciutto (pictured above), for $8ish and $10 respectively. Besides that, they had some $17 pizza which is just a little bit more than I was prepared to pay for pizza so I filled up on bread.

If you're really into Italian food or you're looking for a glass of cheap wine, I'd suggest it! Otherwise, you might want to have a quick peek at the surrounding blocks that are filled to the brim with restaurants.

Overall rating: 3/5

Fall Favorites

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 
5 / 6 / 7 / 8 

Part of what makes fall my favorite season (besides the holidays, the weather, the pumpkin spice, the salted caramel, and football) are the clothes. Don't get me wrong, I love a sundress as much as the next girl, but there's something about boots and scarves and sweaters that make me go all heart-eyed.

Since the weather is just now approaching 'cool' in Texas, I'm only now pulling my fall wardrobe out of its boxes and starting to scope out the stores for new additions. This year, I'm digging:

• The bucket bag trend
• Mixed metals
• Leather details
• Stacked heels 
• Riding boots (my forever love)
• And chunky, funkily patterned outerwear 

I've already managed to add some good things to my watch list. I like to find good pieces and then watch their prices for a few weeks/months because usually, they'll get discounted 5-50% at some point over that time period. Then I'm ready to snatch them up!

What are some of your favorite fall trends?

How To Increase Your Morning Productivity

Mornings, especially Monday mornings, can be rough. It can be hard shaking off the tiredness and remembering where you left off the day before. Because I don't like spending too many hours spacing out, I've been trying to find ways to be more productive in the morning. Here are some things I've found that work for me.

1. Make a list before you leave work or go to bed of the things you want to accomplish the next morning. This will give you a type of roadmap to utilize before the coffee's kicked in!

2. Start drinking your caffeinated beverage of choice (if applicable) about 30 minutes before you actually need to be productive

3. Wake up at least an hour before you need to leave for work. Everyone's groggy and kind of disoriented in the morning. It's best to leave that for stumbling around your apartment, so you're bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when you get to the office or school.

4. Ease your way into the day. Break up a big problem into tiny, manageable chunks and start knocking them off your to do list. Otherwise, the big problem will start to seem overwhelming and may discourage you from starting!

5. On that note, sometimes it can help to make a rough schedule for your day. While this may not work for everyone, I find it best if I outline my day at the beginning, using my list from the night before as a starting off point. This way, I'm motivated by my self-imposed deadlines and I keep moving instead of getting bogged down in a single project all day. My list looks something like:

• 9 - 11 am: Research
• 11 am - 12 pm: Draft memo 
• 12 pm - 1 pm: Lunch/Errands
• 1 - 1:30 pm: Administrative things/meeting with attorneys
• 1:30 - 3:30 pm: More research (sometimes continued from this morning
• 3:30 - 5 pm: Outline task list for new projects.  

6. Take breaks. Studies have shown that workers are most productive when they work for 52 minutes then take a break for 17. Breaks are great for letting your brain sit on the idea for a while and who knows, you might have a stroke of brilliance when you come back!

I hope everyone has a decent Monday!

Fan of Fridays

It's Friday! We've conquered another week! Work wise, it was a pretty steady week with my hours filled from the moment I walked in to when I left in the evenings. Socially, it was kind of hectic, but in a good way- full of friends, delicious food, and tiny but tasty drinks. We are one month out from the bar results and I think we're all growing cognizant of that fact. I had my first freak out yesterday which does not bode well for the rest of the month!

But overall, October is hands down my favorite month. It's the first month it starts feeling fall-ish in Texas. There's football, pumpkin spice, and riding boots all over the place and it's my birthday month!

Here are some things I'm a fan of this Friday:

1. They found water on Mars! It's crazy to think about how long we've been exploring the planet (comparatively) and we're just now noticing this. Makes me wonder what else might be hiding up there....

2. This month, Sephora has an Origin sample box as their 500-point gift and included was the Checks and Balances face wash. HOLY COW YOU GUYS, I highly recommend hustling on over to Sephora and getting your hands on this. It smells like a peppermint and feels like silk. Not to mention, my face has felt so smooth and clean since I've started using it.

3.  The weather is finally starting to cool down in Texas which means boots are back in my life! I'll be doing a post about my favorites soon, but just having them sitting in the closet instead of packed away brightens my day!

4. The HONY series on Syrian refugees. For those of us not directly impacted by what's happening abroad, it's hard to fathom what these people are going through and exactly what is happening overseas. Brandon from HONY is interviewing refugees as they arrive in Greece as well as Grecians who are offering their help. The result is the most emotional, powerful series I've seen on HONY. Definitely worth a look if you haven't seen it yet.

Hoping everyone has a great weekend!

The Weekly Happy Hour: Peche

For happy hour this week, we continued making our way down that 'Best Austin Happy Hour' list and ended up at Peche! It's such a weirdly shaped place (long and narrow), that it's super easy to just walk right past. The trick is to look for the giant sign shaped like a wine bottle (these people clearly speak my language).

The restaurant is decorated like the set of a fancy version of Series of Unfortunate Events, with antique pieces punctuated by the occasional, extremely strange artwork. 

Their happy hour consists of $5 cocktails (eligible ones have astericks next to them) and half priced appetizers (also marked with astericks) and everything is i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e. Karls and Nat got the Royal Bee's Knees which is gin, honey, and lemon and oh my goodness, it tastes like honey-sweetened lemonade and packs the punch of straight gin. Not ordering that drink has become one of my life's regrets (though the French75 was pretty killer, too). 

The appetizers are huge and perfect for sharing! The size of the fry boat itself is overwhelming (in a good way). 

All in all, it was the perfect place coming off of a less-than-perfect week. Stressful weekends, never ending doc review, and the looming rainclouds that are the pending bar results were weighing heavily on my mind and it was nice to be able to vent about it. Plus, since we've all started working, it's been hard finding times that our schedules align. All of this work-life balance people talk about is no joke.

What are some ways that you all keep in touch with friends during the week? I'm excited to hear how other people handle the mid-week slump!

Overall rating: 4.5/5