Shabby Apple Giveaway - Francine Skirt - CLOSED

Tis the season to give, and what better way to give than with a Shabby Apple Giveaway! I've had my eye on any skirt with a bow, so I'm going to give one of you the chance to have this adorable pencil skirt, the Francine. For those of you unfamiliar with Shabby Apple, it's an online boutique of sweet and flirty women's dresses. As readers familiar with this blog know, I'm a sucker for dresses!

 [The Francine Skirt from Shabby Apple]

To enter, you must:

Like the Shabby Apple Facebook page, then leave a comment below telling me you did. That might be a pretty boring comment, so to make things interesting for me and you, let us all know what your plans are for this holiday season while you're at it. 

For an additional entry, you may also: 

Tweet, Facebook, or blog about this giveaway and leave a comment here with the link.

This giveaway will close one week from now on December 8th at 11:59 PM. A winner will be chosen at random from the comments.  

Don't forget--include your email address so I know how to contact the winner! 

 Good Luck!

20% Off Sarah Perlis + Eternity Ring Love

I never got a wedding band (we opted to use the money to get the boy the gold wedding band of his choice) so whenever I see that Sarah (who made my engagement/wedding ring!) having a sale my heart skips a beat. Isn't this one just lovely?

[Yellow gold bezel eternity band]

Sigh...maybe one day??

Go visit Sarah's website here for more beautiful jewelry.

Giving Thanks

That turkey above was really, really good. The gravy that you see directly behind it, even better! Some of the best turkey I have had. For the first time, the boy and I spent Thanksgiving at my godmother's who whipped up a fabulous feast. It was delicious.

My godmother and I share an affinity for sparkly pretty things. Here you can see the pretty tablecloth she set out, and the pink glass peaking in the corner. 

 Yams are underneath this cloud of toasted marshmallows. Mmmmmmm...

Even though I had a horrible paper to write (ugggghhhh) the boy and I managed to have fun with his time off from lab. It was really nice. We spent the day at the zoo, which I always love. I've been to the zoo several times, and each time the hippo, Otis, is smushed up against the glass and looking positively lazy. This time he was actually posing on this rock, so I took the opportunity to get a photo with him. Hi Otis! [These lucky folks got Otis to smile.]

After the zoo, we had dinner at one of our favorite spots in La Jolla, PrepKitchen. 

[Photo from PrepKitchen]

That dinner was amazing. The boy's dish was particularly good--a turkey leg with polenta. This was fall off the bone good.

 

To top it off, we shared a pumpkin bread pudding. We were full of food and happiness. 

Annnnnnnnd if that wasn't enough, we also saw The Muppets, which was SO GOOD. It totally made me smile all the way home and had me in love with Amy Adams (and her wardrobe!) again.

[Just hanging out with my Muppet buddies]

On a more serious note...

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all of the experiences I have had in my life thus far. I am thankful for the love I have received, the places I have been, the knowledge I have the accrued, and the possibilities that my life has to offer. The fact that I got to eat a delicious Thanksgiving meal, visit the zoo and see so many animals from around the world, have a romantic dinner by the ocean, and see The Muppets, all with my best friend and love, is quite a weekend. I'm quite grateful that this is my life.

I am thankful that my friends and family have their health and are fed well and live in warm homes. And although my Dad isn't doing so well (he's back in the hospital and I hope he is out by the time I go back home,) I am thankful for the education and experience of the doctors and medical staff who are helping treat him and make him better so he can go home and be with us.

I am thankful that I have this public vehicle to share my life with you, and I am thankful that you share your life with me so I can read about the love that other people share around the world.

Hope everyone had a wonderful, delicious Thanksgiving.

Let the holidays--whatever you may celebrate--begin!

A Birthday + San Diego Beer Week

[The boy and I at the Beer Garden event at the Lodge at Torrey Pines]

Things are getting better. Have I mentioned how great the boy is? I love him. He's been so patient and supportive. Big emphasis on the word "patient", because I know a gigantic portion of the population wouldn't be able to handle weepy Mo rambling on about life, death, the past, and making weird pop culture references while doing so. Yeah. From talking to me for hours when he has other work to do, to going on midnight runs to McDonald's for my friend and enemy the McFlurry, to doing more chores to help out, he's really stepped it up. On another sunny note, my Dad is recovering at home (he was in the hospital last month) and slowly eating more and regaining strength. I have high hopes for December and 2012.

This week we celebrated his birthday by going to Beer Garden at the Lodge at Torrey Pines, which was sorely needed! Sun, good food, pretty place, alcohol, plus the love of my life? Yes please.

There were ten stations with food from local restaurants and brewers, and it was all. you. can. eat. And the food was incredible! I'm not a beer drinker (shhhh! don't tell the other people that went!) but the boy loves it and is getting into craft beers. He's already planning for next year.

 

[The event took place on the patio at The Lodge at Torrey Pines.]

[There was live music while we got tipsy and ate lobster.]

 

[Each attendee got a baby glass to try all the beers.]

 [One of my favorites: Boursin Cheese Ravioli, Parmesan Cream, Rock Shrimp, Asparagus and Baby Tomatoes from Pamplemousse Grill]

[Another favorite: Main Lobster “Salchicha”, Piri Piri salsa, Cilantro pistou from Karl Strauss]

 [The boy's favorite: Lightly Smoke Trout, Crushed Potato-Fennel, Green Apple Salad, Pommery Mustard from The Shores]

 [Fresh bread from Sadie Rose Baking Company]

Hooray for a successful birthday for the boy! Three cheers for being a wonderful husband and life partner. :)

A Blooming Halloween

Thank you to everyone for your support on my last post. After writing it, I felt better. You're a great audience, thank you. 

I'm doing a bit better but still not completely present. I've also been struggling with some family health issues, and our family cat of 17 years died two weeks ago, so basically October 2011 is in the running for worst month in my life. 

For some therapy, I decided to make my Halloween costume using this Martha Stewart idea. There's nothing like a trip to Michael's and Paper Source to make me feel better momentarily. That, and adorable trick or treaters coming to my door and getting excited over my pink Pocky and Hello Kitty candies. Those kids were too adorable. (Tick tock, Mo.) 

Here's how the costume came out: 

[My Halloween costume, based on this Martha Stewart tutorial]

[The whole ensemble--I'm holding an arrow because I was part of a food chain. My fellow editors were a bunny and a wolf. :) ]

I used: 

+1 plastic headband

+PVA (I think double-sided tape works well too)

+floral tape (regular tape is helpful when attaching the tissue paper)

+floral wire (I glued this to the green paper to make the leaves bendable)

+pink tissue paper

+green paper with fibers

+bees from Michael's (I found them in the floral department)

I'm happy with how it came out and love how colorful it looked!

How was your Halloween? Did you dress up?