Take it Personal.

It’s no secret that I love a good monogram. At this point, I have collected 2 monogrammed iPhone cases, a monogrammed ring (that I wear daily), but I have been trying to curb my purchases to just non-permanent, inexpensive items. There’s no sense in monogramming everything I own with initials that may no longer be my initials in a relatively short period of time…

Yes, I am counting my chickens before they hatch – or my fingers before they have a ring? Regardless, moving in with the boy solidifies this future change, no matter when it might come, so investing in a new glass cutting board and a welcome mat with my initials doesn’t exactly make sense.

Speaking of moving in – you know what’s not permanent? Apartment rentals. Therefore, completely fair game for monogrammary (coined it!). When I moved into my old place (my first apartment!) I had a custom return address stamp made, and I absolutely loved it.

It made me want to send snail mail – ALL the time – and it definitely was a huge motivation to not be lazy about sending handwritten thank you notes. The only sad thing about moving is that I can’t use this cute little bugger anymore!

Being the crazy person I am, I have been hunting around for a new design to use with my new address. I’ve found plenty that I’ve liked, of course, but the $50-ish pricetag was a bit much to stomach after a recent move (hello, insane moving company fees).

Enter One Kings Lane to save the day (again) with a Three Designing Women sale today. I got a certificate for a custom stamp of my choosing for $26.95 – including shipping! Now all I have to do is actually make a final decision on a design – which is proving to be rather difficult with the amount of lovely choices they have!  My top picks at the moment are:

More on the Move

While the move was an insanely busy, hectic, anxiety-filled and SWEATY day, we wanted to document as much of it as possible. Neither of us has ever lived with a significant other, and as far as we're concerned, this is a one-shot deal and a pretty big milestone in our relationship and  both of our lives.

Unfortunately, moving is not even remotely conducive to picture taking, but before I share some of our progress in putting the place together, how about a peek at the hot mess where it all began?

First trip up into the new place with my stuff, circa 10:30 AM. Little do I know what I have in store for me once the movers actually show up...as evidenced by my happy face.

Flash forward to 5 AM, finally done with the movers, some unpacking, and got the kitchen table out of the living room. Clearly a call for celebration. 

So much love for my new 50mm lens. 

 

 Being goobers with self timer.

 

He was probably saying something obnoxious about me using this for the blog - or I was laughing at his horrendous hat hair. You decide.

On a much more somber note...

Rise From the Dead

I'm alive and back on the interweb!

Between the move, work, family parties, and all of the subsequent fallout from the aforementioned, I have been a terrible blogger. In my defense, I did not have internet in my apartment for an entire SIX DAYS (travesty, I know) and with the short week following the Monday holiday, blogging at work was out of the question.

Here's what my last week has looked like, in a few, totally hot mess photos:

All three of these are full of shoes. Not okay - until you see my now totally organized closet situation!

One of my biggest fears (OCD moments) of moving was things breaking; I drove over 3 carfulls of items I was convinced would break if I packed them for the movers. Clearly my new gold-rimmed champagne flutes from the SoWa market were at the top of the list and therefore were packed delicately in my Serena & Lily duvet. They made it!

This was our first, sad-looking dinner in our new place at approximately 1 AM, complete with delivery and the table in the middle of the living room. On the bright side, I found out the sushi place in Southie is actually pretty good - AND delivers late night.

Then, circa 5 AM, we FINALLY called it quits on unpacking and organizing (and were not even close to finished) to take a much-needed pre-bedtime bubbly break (obviously with aforementioned champagne flutes). Veuve never felt so good.

Flash forward just one week, and I come home yesterday to find THIS situation in our living room ("I rearranged the furniture while you were at the gym!"), plus our first visitor in honor of the start to the NFL season.

Despite my high anxiety around the place not being totally perfected and organized yet, I wanted to break in the kitchen with some football Sunday treats for the boys (pepperoni bread and buff wings above) - which then somehow warped into me cooking dinner (buffalo turkey burgers, raw veggies and freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies) for my parents later last night. I'm crazy, I know.

Now that my spending  freeze is over (and mostly to try to calm my anxiety), I have started in on a little shopping for fall basics. While I am often one for a great accessory or a really unique or loud print, there's nothing better than finding the perfect basic to fill a hole in your wardrobe - and it's even better when you get a good deal!

The LBD

This ponte knit a-line dress is made of the same material as my beloved Pixie pants (I have them in 3 colors) so I couldn't wait to try this on. When it sold out online I almost shed a tear, but was fortunate enough to stumble on one in-store in my size - at which point it became clear why this stunner sold out so quickly. I legitimately said WHA-BAM out loud (okay, in a whisper) to myself in the dressing room mirror when I got it on; it is outrageously comfortable and incredibly flattering (despite being a stretch knit, which is usually much too clingly for my not-so-toned tummy). I also got to exercise my "student" discount on the in-store purchase - and I know it will be worth every penny when I'm throwing this on once a week with ballets or tights & boots for work.

The Boyfriend Jean

I have been on the search for the perfect pair of boyfriend jeans for months now after seeing countless gorgeous and effortlessly styled outfits by the likes of Blair, Kendi and Jules. I finally met my match with the Gap Sexy Boyfriend Jean; they're much more reasonably-priced than the ever-popular Current Elliott pair (though now that I have officially fallen in love with the cut I may invest down the road), but I also scored at 30% off during their sale last week). I wore them on Friday and did not put anything else on my body (aside from PJs) until this morning. They are out-of-this-world comfortable but don't make you look like you're just wearing 2-sizes-too-big jeans. And I wasn't even wearing heels.

What are you top picks for fall so far?