Starbucks Gold Card

My mom knows in addition my J. Crew obsession, I have a Starbucks addiction.
So she purchased me the Starbucks Gold Card!




For an annual membership fee of $25:

10% off most purchases in participating U.S. Starbucks stores

A free drink when you purchase your membership in-store

Option to pay however you’d like (cash, credit card, etc.)

Then when you register, you'll unlock additional value:

A free beverage on your birthday

Exclusive offers and discounts throughout the year

Free Wi-Fi access for up to 2 hours each day in participating Starbucks stores


David & I have 4 Starbucks all less than 5 minutes away from our place, so yea we drink it often! I am excited!

J. Crew

I confess I have a big J. Crew obsession, in fact most of my gifts from Santa aside from cute BCBG boots previously blogged about here will be coming from J. Crew this year.

so I was more than thrilled to find this blog called J.Crew Aficionada. It is a whole blog dedicated to the Crew. The blog owner even owns stock. Love it!

Hope the holidays shopping is going well for everyone. I am enjoying my 4 day vacation from work. David is going to Dallas tonight to meet up with his friends, while I stay behind and catch up with tivo and finish decorating for Christmas. I would go with, but my cold is finally get better and I want to be a bum. So relaxing!

Thanksgiving

I will be spending Thanksgiving here in Austin with David's family! I am very much looking forward to all the food!!

Today on my lunch break I am getting my eyebrows waxed, I usually wax them here and there and pluck in between but I have been really lazy they have lost their shape and look scary.... time to do something about it.

Also going to my new salon here in Austin for the first time after work today to just a get a trim. I want to grow my hair back out again so probably will not cut much off the length.


ok so yes basically I have put all this stuff off so I am trying to look nice for Thanksgiving with the boyfriend's family.

Did I mention I have a cold. I know what the heck. I was just sick for Halloween and now again?? Pretty awful timing.

I also am very excited to start decorating for Christmas! David & I are going to accomplish holiday-ing the apt by the weekend.

I'll have more on my favorite christmas decor in later post.

We are stuck at work today I feel like our office is the only one that is open in our building, I got a nice parking spot in the front today. In the past our branch has been able to leave at noon on Thanksgiving Eve but since revenue is way down this year we are having to stay open until 5 p.m. today.

Even though its a day early I would like to say what I'm thankful for;

• clearly my cousin finding a donor for her heart transplant and it going succesfully tops the list this year.
  
• my family & all they do for me.
  
• my amazing boyfriend.
  
• my wonderful friends even though they now live 550 miles away.
  
• and even though my job is stressful, with all the layoffs to still have one is blessing.
  
• my dog Riley, if I ever have a bad day coming home to him make its all better, he never has bad moods
  
• Tivo, I don't know how I ever lived without it
  
• life in Austin
  

I know I have lots more to be thankful for but those are the top ones I can think of at the moment.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Heart Surgery & Wine Night

My little 13 year old cousin Aly was born with a hole in her heart, the surgery to repair damaged her heart to the point we always knew a transplant was needed.




The time finally happened. Today Aly had her heart transplant. They took her in around 11 a.m. the heart was brought to the hospital at 1, it was inserted she was left open for 2 hours to be sure the transplant took then was closed up. She is now doing well and breathing on her own! You can read her story and see a news video here . I urge you all if you do not already please have noted to donate your organs when you pass! If it would not be for someone out there my little cousin had 2 weeks left to live, it was to the point she could no longer even wait at home for a new heart she was admitted to the hospital last week basically to die there if she had not received a match soon.



On a lighter night David & I attended a wine tasting class tonight. We tasted Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec, Shiraz, and Tawny Port. I did not care for the Souvignon Blanc nor the Tawny Port. But I loved the Malbec which is a surprise considering I am not a red wine kind of girl! I love my Pinot Grigo.

Big Purse Stops Bullet

Elizabeth Pittenger a college student in TN was robbed she didn't give up her purse, the guy pulled a gun on her and fired but the bullet was stopped by the contents of her purse!

Austin Handmade

I found the website Austin Handmade Its like an Etsy just for Austin.

The selection is still small but it has potential especially the jewelry selection.

Here are my favorite items:



Lotus Bloom



Eiffel Tower


Its been a very busy week at work so far! Tomorrow and Thursday the regional director aka the big boss will be in our office, I am meeting him for the first time tomorrow so nervous!

Hippos

Aside from Giraffes, Hippos are my favorite animal

This is video is the cutest thing ever its a rare pygmy hippopotamus born in Australia recently



Probably also why this is my favorite pendant to wear all the time



Hope everyone has a great weekend! David & I were invited to go have dinner & drinks with my coworker, the non crazy one and the only other one close to my age, and her friends tonight, waiting on David to call me back to see if he wants to go. Other than that the only thing we really have planned this weekend is to take Riley to the groomers.

Also GOOD LUCK on the GRE Emily !!! My bff is taking the GRE today she is admitted to grad school for the fall now they are just waiting on her score to get accepted to her psych program!
This is the same bff who is coming to Austin for New Years Eve and I am beyond excited!! I have already started planning things for us to do!

Our new President

Considering I am very conservative in my political views as well as my moral....and also considering this is supposed to be the most liberal president we have ever had combined with his lack of experience...I am pretty skeptic.



But to be a fair person and support America I will not pass official judgement until his term is over.
All I can do is hope that Obama does what is best for America, which he may fully understand once he becomes president. But also considering he has already flip flopped on some issues ....in a conservative favor, actually maybe it won't be so bad for my party, only time will tell.



I am going to do even more research on the Democratic side as well as Obama's past voting records to try to better understand this new point of view. I think as an American it is important to better educate myself so I can speak more knowledgeable instead of just sounding bitter that my candidate didn't win.

Election Results

Watch the Live Results via this Widget

Don't Forget to Vote

We all know where this little Republican stands! So get out to the polls and VOTE!!

Holiday Celebrations

I just ordered this new top to go out in and I love it! I especially like how it buttons in the back and not ties.







so I am not going to wear until I go back to New Orleans for Christmas to visit David's family...no not wearing it to a family get together going to wear it out when I visit with all my old college friends!!!...I went to the University of New Orleans
and this top paired with jeans and black heels is the perfect Red Eye outfit....how I miss that place!!!

Dinoland

Sunday we took a trip to Austin's Zilker Park's Botanical Gardens where the exhibit Dinoland was going on. Dinoland is an exhibit that has traveled across the US. David loving dinosaurs when he was younger was thrilled to go. Here are a few pictures from our trip.


This dino's bones were found in Big Bend National park here in Texas



David posing with a dino




David & I taking a break on a bench in the historic garden park




Me in the Bamboo Garden

McCain QVC

I loved John McCain & Tina Fey's skit on SNL last night






Also reminds me read here