Why I love this week

* It's holiday season!! Can't get any better than that!

*Thank you cards and holiday cards DONE!! Addressed...stamped...written...done!!

*Tomorrow is December. This month we have my birthday, Christmas, our niece is due, and some fun parties planned!!!

*I just received my statement that my credit cards are almost 100% paid off. So glad! I may have learned the hard way after college...oops!!

*My (tiny) Christmas tree still makes me smile when I walk by it each night when it's all lit up.

*My b-day dinner (1 of 2) is this weekend at my favorite restaurant Claim Jumpers. Mmmm Mud Pie!

*Sunday we are going to a special invite at Bed Bath & Beyond to get 25% off of our entire purchase to get the remainder of our registry items. We have lots of BB&B gift cards and I am so excited to get our pots and pans!!!

Have a great week!!

Dear Santa

I love this time of year. My birthday (9th) and Christmas are both in December so double the fun and celebration. Last year I got the best gift, a ring from D to marry him. This year we got an amazing wedding and reception paid for by our family which counts for x-mas and b-day for like 10 years but I can still drool over some new fun stuff. Hint hint!!

Here is my wish list....

North Face Atlantic Jacket for the COLD Chicago winters. (Black/M)

Anthropologie sweater wrap in Navy or Red. (M)

Nordstrom tissue weight cashmere scarf/ wrap in Black. I have this in red and purple and LOVE them.

A Nordy gift card. My FAV store!! Can't ever go wrong there.

Ugg Dakota slippers. These are just so comfy and warm looking. I love them in their wine (maroon) color. Size 8.

Massage! Planning 2 weddings and working full time all year=stressful.

So Santa...make it happen!!

Oh Christmas Tree

It may not be much but our little 3' Christmas tree on special at Target ($20) made my day!! It came pre-strung with lights and we got some small red bulbs. Perfect for our city condo.

Last year we decided not to get a tree because our cat can not have any flowers/plants near him or he will eat and destroy them. I can't even have flowers because if he is left unattended with them, they will be all over the house. This year we decided to take the risk with the fake tree and see how Marley does.

We have a spray bottle that we use on him when he does something 'bad' and after about 3 hours of eating the tree and getting sprayed he finally got the idea I think...LOL. Now he is just plotting his next move.

It is all totally worth it though for our special (little) tree!!

One year ago...

One year ago I went to Thailand for 2 weeks with 2 of my girlfriends. It was a random trip that came together 4 months before we left and it is something I will always remember.

We left the day before Thanksgiving and had a 14 hour flight to Seoul Korea, a 12 hour layover in Seoul, and then a 7 hour flight to Phuket. LONG day of travel but then we arrived in Paradise!!

We stayed on the island of Phuket in Patong Beach most of the trip.

Our group: Kristen, Katie, and myself

Elephant ride in Phuket

Beautiful Buddhist temples everywhere

Patong Beach

Our hotel in Phuket

Goofing around at the hotel pool

Patong Beach

We took a 2 hour boat ride to Ko Phi Phi Don island for a few days. A small island with no cars, you must walk everywhere. It was the most beautiful place I have ever been too. This place was my favorite of the trip.

Monkey Beach on Ko Phi Phi Don

Gorgeous water!

Fruit Markets

We took a boat tour of Ko Phi Phi Leh. An uninhabited island with a famous landmark and awesome snorkeling.

Maya Bay where the movie 'The Beach' was filmed. Absolutely gorgeous!

Sunset heading back on the boat tour!

Thailand was such a great trip. I hope to go back soon and show D how beautiful the land and the culture is.

Squash Soup Recipe

A few years ago my mom stumbled across this squash soup recipe and ever since it has been a Fall MUST in our family. I never liked squash until I tried this soup and now I'm hooked.

I decided to let the secret out and share the recipe!! Best of all...only 53 calories per bowl. Yes that's not a typo...it's SUPER healthy.
________________________________
Curried Squash Soup
3 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
1-1/4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp sea salt
4 tsp snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
light dairy sour cream
fresh thyme sprigs

In large saucepan combine squash, chicken broth, onion, water, curry powder, ginger, salt and dried thyme (if using). Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered about 10 minutes or until squash is tender. Mash squash or (I use a hand blender). Stir in the snipped fresh thyme (if using). If desired, garnish with sour cream and fresh sprigs.
Makes 4 servings.

53 calories
1 gram fat
0 saturated fat
0 cholesterol
338 mg sodium
12 g carbs
2 g fiber
2 g protein

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today we are headed to my MIL house for a large Thanksgiving dinner!! We have about 16 people coming over, including my parents and grandma. I always had small T-day dinners growing up because I have such a small family and no siblings. This will be a fun new adventure for me. Bella will also come along too of course!

I am so thankful for everything this year has brought. Health, family, a beautiful wedding and reception, steady job, our new fur baby Bella, and friends. We are truly lucky!!

Have a great Thanksgiving Day!!

And remember...everyone gets a diet FREE PASS today!!

Hair and makeup pampering

Three days before the reception when I was getting a color touch up my hair guy, John, he showed me this picture of Heidi Klum (whom I love) and we decided that it was perfect for the event. So thank you Mrs. Seal for my hair inspiration and thank you John, best hair guy ever!!

I used one of my flowers that I had in my hair in Hawaii.

For the makeup I hired a lady who worked at MAC to come and make our faces look beautiful. My favorite part was the fake lashes...they are so fun!! I think the whole look turned out great!! I really wish I could wear my hair like this everyday!

D looks so good in his tux!!

Volunteering

Yesterday my whole office volunteered at Open Arms to hand out Thanksgiving meals to family's in need (not everyone pictured). This is the first time I have ever volunteered at the holidays and it was a great experience.

It made me realize how truly blessed I am to have all that I have. And blessed that I was able to give 2 hours of my time to help others have an abundant Thanksgiving.

I must say though the late November Chicago weather decided to arrive yesterday with the cold rainy day we had!! Took me a few hours to fully warm up again.

Hope you get the chance to give a little back this year...

Happy (early) Turkey Day!!

RECEPTION CELEBRATION: Random pics from facebook

Well, I can officially say ALL the wedding stuff is done!! The Reception last Saturday was a blast!!

We didn't end up taking a camera with us so I borrowed pictures from my lovely friends on Facebook to post. Our professional pics will be in soon. Our photographer was awesome, I can't wait to see them and share them too.

The night was awesome: great IL November weather, loved my hair, venue looked amazing, everyone said they had a blast!! Couldn't ask for much more.

My girls Lauren and Liz

Groomsman Adam and I

Place card table with awesome flowers!!

All our tables

Huge cake!! Loved it!!

My mom and I
(perfect short dress for wedding #2)

Derek with my friend Lauren

My high school girls. Lauren, Brenda, me, Kelly (plus baby in the belly, due end of Jan and you can barley tell...lucky!!)

More pics and stories to come soon...

HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY WINNER

And the holiday giveaway winner is...

Mrs. Bear at Think Happy Thoughts

You have won the snowman girl ornament/ gift tag. You can have it in pink or blue and can add any names/ dates you want. Please contact me with your shipping info and personalization/ color choices.


Congrats!!

livelovelaughblog@yahoo.com

Wedding Weekend #2

I am off work today doing last minute reception stuff. So excited or tomorrow!!

Here is my fun weekend/ week....

Today
Off work (yay). Open house BBQ at my parents tonight for all the friends and family in town. It's our non-version of a rehearsal dinner if you will.

Saturday
Reception Celebration!!!

Sunday
Brunch at my P's with friends and family....and lots of mimosa's!!

Monday
Off work again...double yay. D's good friend flew in from Cyprus for the reception and is staying with us. We took the day off to shop downtown Chicago. Love me some Michigan Ave shopping!

Rest of the week
Only work Tues and half day Wed then Turkey, family, New Moon, and relaxing!!!

Have a great weekend ladies!!!

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Today is the last day to enter my Holiday Giveaway!! Winner announced Monday!

My life in tattoos

After I did my honeymoon post about D and I's tattoos we got while in Hawaii, I got a lot of emails about my other 6 tattoos. I decided to put a post together about all 7 of mine. A life in review tattoo style. It was actually fun for me to reminisce about each one and tell their story.

As I was writing this post I realized just how vulnerable this is to share and post all my body parts but I started this blog with the intention of being honest and sharing my true self, my tattoos are very much a part of me and I think they are beautiful so I'm happy to share :-)

Here are all my tattoos and the story behind them. Thank you to D for being my photographer :-)

Tattoo #1
Left shoulder blade

Age: 15
I had wanted a tattoo so bad and waiting till I was 18 was killing me. My aunt was in town and convinced my mom to get a tattoo with her and I some how convinced my mom to co-sign for me and I got one too. 15 is young for a tattoo but I loved it!! It was cool to get it with my mom. This one started the ink obsession!

Tattoo #2
Lower back
Age: 18
For my 18th birthday I went with friends to get another tattoo. The trend at the time was the lower back (tramp stamp LOL). I have American Indian in me so I wanted some tribal to represent that. I got another butterfly because I love them. This one took 3 hours, it hurt!!

Tattoo #3
Right foot

Age: 19
My first summer back after starting college, 4 of my high school friends and I went to California and stayed with my dad for a week. We all decided to get matching tattoos, a Chinese symbol meaning 'friend'. We all got them in different spots. 4 of us 5 are still good friends to this day.

Tattoo #4
Left inner ankle
Age: 20
My friend (one of the girls from above) wanted to go get another tattoo and I went with her. Well, after watching her get one I decided on a whim to get one too. LOL, truly obsessed I guess!

Tattoo #5
Right hip bone
Age: 22
My sorority sister and I went to Vegas in college and decided to get tattoos before we left. I knew I wanted to get my astrological sign, I very much believe in all that hoopla about your birth sign. Mine is Sagittarius, the archer. She got her zodiac on her lower back.

Tattoo #6
Left wrist
Age: 25 (1 week before I turned 26)
Last November I went to Thailand for 2 weeks and before I went I knew I wanted to get a tattoo there. I picked my tattoo I wanted and brought a picture with me and I got a tetanus shot before I left (just in case). This tattoo was done with traditional Thai bamboo sticks. It hurt but I love that it was done with bamboo. It's an 'Om' symbol.

(this is picture of me getting the tattoo in Thailand with the bamboo)

Tattoo #7
Right outer wrist
Age: 26
My most recent I got in Kauai on my honeymoon. It says 'Live.Love.Laugh.' I wanted one on my wrist but was really nervous because most of my tattoos are easily hidden and this one is more out there. I love it and am so glad I got it here. Original post about it here.

***
Will I get more??
Yes! After I have kids I would like to get their hand print or their name. Maybe on my left side up by my ribs (close to my heart essentially). Then I'm done!

Wishful Wednesday: movie genre

'I wish' .... my life was a movie, and I would want it to be ______ genre!

Romantic Comedy

These movies always make me feel so light and happy after watching them. Don't get me wrong I have tons of love and comedy in my life but sometimes the daily grind makes me feel tired and weighed down. If I were in a movie I could always be the happy bubbly leading lady that gets the handsome man (which I already have....and he's funny). But throw in the movie glamor and perfect hair and makeup and I'm set!