My Winter Wishlist

So my last couple of posts have been just quick, little all text guys because I had some thoughts rolling around or I needed to update you on the awesome opportunities I've been afforded lately. Now, I thought that I would put together my Winter Wishlist post to follow up my Fall Wishlist that I did a month or two ago.

Now that it's finally cooling down here (I mean really, 90 degrees into the middle of October?!), I've started shopping for more wintery clothing since once it does cool down here, it cools down. Here are a few of the things that I've pinned for my winter wants. Most of these I've actually purchased already because I just couldn't wait. Don't be alarmed that they're mostly from The Gap. I just spend a crap ton of time at Gap and see things I want to buy while I'm at work. No big deal.

Barbara Quilted Rain Boots, Target $39.99

Where I live, we don't get snow at all. But we do get torrential rain, which means that rain boots are a definite necessity. I have a pair of bean boots already but those aren't exactly the most universal of shoes for cold weather so I picked these up at Target. They're super nice looking with the matte texture of the boots and the quilting gives it an extra touch. The only thing to keep in mind is that the sizing is ridiculous. I wear a size 9 normally and I bought these in a 7. No idea how that's a thing. But make sure you size down if you decide to pick them up. 

Black Leather Slip On Sneakers, Gap $49.95

I got these for myself since my trusty Vans have started to fall apart. They won't be the best choice in the rain, but if the drought conditions continue, I don't suppose I'll have to worry about that. They're very comfortable and fit true to size although they only come in whole sizes, so keep that in mind when you're picking them out.

Super Skinny Khakis, Gap $59.95

We got these in at work last week and I am absolutely obsessed with them. They are so soft and comfortable and the fit makes your butt look amazing. I am so excited to get them! They'll go with so many things, and especially for the holiday season, they're going to be perfect. 

Always Skinny Distressed Skimmer Jeans, Gap $69.95

Lately, I've realized that my jeans are either really old, don't fit or, with the last couple of pairs I've bought, are odd colors. I just want a pair of throw on blue jeans that I can wear all the time and I think that's what these are going to be. The fit is really nice (Always Skinny is my favorite cut of our jeans) and I really like the distressing being not at the knees because I always end up ripping huge holes in the knees of my jeans when they're already distressed there.

Marled Raglan Sweater, Gap $44.95

I bought a sweater from work that is literally identical to this as far as the fabric is concerned, but has no pockets. Not gonna lie, I'm a little pissed mine doesn't have pockets on it, but I'll live. I love the navy/white marled look of the sweater. I don't have anything like it in my wardrobe. 

PrimaLoft Luxe Floral Puffer Vest, Gap $52.99

This guy is actually marked down online but not in stores which I find very annoying. But I'm in love with the print on this thing. It doesn't look at all like a traditional puffer vest to me so I feel like I need it in my life. 

And there you have all of the things that I want for the winter time here. Stay tuned for a couple more Fall posts this week and check out my first official food post over here on Eat. Drink. Adventure. 

A New Venture

A few posts back I was talking about my favorite bloggers, one of whom is a good friend of mine, Jullie Anne. She had a food blog called Mangoes and Palm Trees. Over the summer, she had a lot of other things going on and so got a bit sidetracked from food blogging. Late in September, she was talking about relaunching the blog with a few changes and asked me to co-blog with her. Clearly, I jumped at the chance! Her blog was always one of my favorites to read, and I'm always down to spend time in the kitchen. My introductory post went up this morning and I thought I would share it with you guys over here. We should start with actual food posts pretty soon, so keep a look out :)

Sometimes You Have to be a Little Selfish

I've talked about the importance of girlfriends before on this blog, but over the last few weeks, I've definitely found that it doesn't have to be good girlfriends so much as good people that you surround yourself with that make all the difference in your quality of life. You know, the kinds of people who text you good luck on the day of your interview and then text you later on to see how it went. The friends who randomly call to take you out for dinner and drinks when they know you're having a rough week. The people who challenge you to better yourself and become the best possible you there is. Those are the kind of people that you need in your life.

I've said it before and I will say it again. I will always go for quality over quantity where friends are concerned. I'm long past the days where I feel like I need to have a ton of friends in order to feel like I'm popular or have accomplished something. I am fully aware that I have many accomplishments to be proud of and people in my life to be thankful for. I don't need a million Instagram or Twitter followers to feel important. For a long time, I did feel like I needed those things; I needed to be well liked in order to succeed. I felt like if I didn't have a lot of people around then it meant that I wasn't cool enough or funny enough or smart enough. I allowed a lot of people into my life who brought a whole lot of negativity and bullish*t with them and it was a huge mistake. I think that being an adult is coming to grips with that and dealing with it and now I am perfectly content with the amazing group I've surrounded myself with.

I went out for drinks with a friend last week and he commented that since he'd seen me last, I had done a complete 180 in my attitude. I started to say it was because I'm not at a job I hate anymore and I'm taking time for myself to do things that make me happy, like getting a pedicure but then I actually stopped to think about it. I genuinely believe that is because over the last few months, I've slowly but surely weeded out the people in my life who were bringing drama and not making me happy. I graduated from high school an entire year early because I was so tired of the drama that manifests itself around teenagers, no way I was going to continue to let that rule my 22 year old life. I had to make some major changes and kicking those people out of my life was a great first step.

At first I felt like that sounded terrible, but it's your responsibility to make your life what you want, not anyone else's. In that same vein, if you allow other people to track their drama and negativity through your life, you are just as at fault as they are. I had to learn that the hard way.Luckily for me, the very last one made their exit this week when she asked me to step down as a bridesmaid. The amount of drama that surrounded that wedding was ridiculous and I was thrilled to be rid of it. Now I can enjoy myself this weekend rather than spending it with people I can't stand and dealing with drama that I shouldn't have to. And you shouldn't either.

Can We Talk about Once Upon a Time for a Second?

As much as I love Frozen, I'm not going to lie, after last season's Wicked Witch detour, I was not excited in the least to see what Once Upon a Time was going to do to the storyline. Don't get me wrong, I started out as a huge fan of the show when it premiered. From the fashion to the story lines, I was obsessed. Then the second season happened and things started to slide downhill, real fast.  I was completely underwhelmed by the follow up story and I felt like they hired a whole new set of writers who had never even seen the first season. The acting was terrible, the plot was swiss cheese most of the time. Much like the characters left in Storybrooke after the curse was lifted, the show was struggling with what to do after the central conflict was suddenly lifted away. After Neverland and a trip to Oz last season, I was pretty much done watching, convinced that there was no way to turn it around.

However, when I found out that Scott Michael Foster, who played Cappie on ABC Family's Greek (OBSESSED with that show) years ago was going to be playing Christoph, I figured I'd give it a go and I have to say, thus far, I'm pretty impressed with the turn around. I think that the addition of Anna to past storylines and bringing Elsa to Storybrooke may be just what the show needs to get its shit together and head back into the direction of where it started.

Don't get me wrong, we're only in the second episode here, and it could easily snowball (hehe) into a heaping mess of badly tangled plot lines. After all, Rapunzel was not the blonde-to-brunette Mandy Moore type we all fell for in Tangled when she made her appearance on the show. I could be speaking too soon, but I really hope I'm not. I watched the first season on Netflix a few weeks ago when I was feeling nostalgic and was struck again by the great thing the writers had going when the show initially launched.

The only thing that irks me is Elsa. I don't want to spoil the show for anyone out there who hasn't watched or caught up, but to speak in general terms, her apparent lack of control on the show completely contradicts the ending of the movie. At the end of the film, Elsa seems more assured and confident in her powers, as well as her role as queen. She creates an entire ice rink in the courtyard of the palace, for crying out loud! The Elsa on the show seems completely off kilter and not at all able to deal with her gifts which doesn't seem right to me.

Anyone out there have any thoughts?