what the weekend brought.

I love weekends like this one. A lazy Friday, followed by an insanely crazy Saturday day and evening, topped off with another beautifully lazy day on Sunday. Movie night with the manfriend on Friday, nine hour workday on Saturday plus a best friend's bachelorette party Saturday night, and then brunch with the parents and a house all to myself today (minus my baby pugs, of course). And to top it off, in true St. Louis fashion it was in the 50s yesterday and snowing non-stop today. Most people are cursing the weather but I myself will never get sick of the snow and the beautiful blanket of white it leaves on the grass in my backyard. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are enjoying it in whatever way you enjoy most :)

me and the bachelorette!!

 

chick-flick, mags, fire, pugs.

 

snowy backyard.

 

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march.

Yesterday was the first day of March, and that excites me because there are so many wonderful and fun things happening this month (and next which is now just one month away!!). This month I turn 27.5 years old (creepin' up there...), St. Paddy's day falls on a Sunday so myself, Tony, and all of my friends who have had to miss it in the past can actually go to the parade and celebrate, and I get to celebrate one of my very best friends' birthday and bachelorette party all in the same weekend! Tony and I may also be getting out of this still snowy St. Louis for a weekend in Memphis, but that is still yet to be decided. So as you can see, very busy/fun and exciting month ahead!! But since none of this has happened yet, I'll just show you some pictures of my snowy lunch date with the man yesterday :)

don't you hide from me...

old-fashion sodies are the best.

tilapia-avocado dog. #lent

if only.....

 

Happy Saturday!!

 

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a parade.

A few Sundays ago The Hill had its annual Columbus Day Parade where several local business ride around in trucks, floats and old, classic cars throwing out candy and cheering in honor of Christopher Columbus. The kids collected candy and ran around with friends until we met my family at the park where the parade ended - let the eating of delicious food and live music commence! Despite some gale force winds and a short downpour we had an amazing day of family fun, as we do every year :)

What about you, been to any good parades lately??

 

 

 

 

 

 

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high five for friday!

Wooohooo, the weekend is heeeeere!  Today I'm linking up with Lauren at "From My Grey Desk" to talk about my top five favorite things from this past week:

1.)  As I stated yesterday, here, Tony and I celebrated our one-year anniversary - complete with an in-person flower delivery at work. best year of my life  : )

          

2.)  My St. Louis Cardinals clinched and are going to Atlanta today to play in the Wildcard game against the Braves.  GO BIRDS!!  **12 in '12**

3.)  My St. Louis RAMS beat the undefeated Arizona Cardinals last night 17-3!!  They're above .500 for the first time since 2006!  Plus, last night's game was in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month - pink uniform accents for the players and everyone else!  GO RAMS!!

4.)  It's starting to really look like this around these parts (although it's dark and rainy and COLD today):

                                                                                                                                                             

5.)  That being said....just invested in the Fall 2012 line of Essie nail polish - woohoo!  Can't wait to try the  "greige" color, as they call it (grey/beige) perfectly entitled "Miss Fancy Pants"

friday, sweet friday!

Happy sweet, sweet Friday, kitty-cats!  Today I am linking up with Lauren at From My Grey Desk for "High Five for Friday!".  I have been following Lauren's blog for a few months now and she has been more than an inspiration for all things fashion and DIY (not to mention she is hilarious!).  I finally decided to jump on her Friday bandwagon and share my top 5 favorite things from this week:

one.

As luck would have it I was finally not the ONLY one in the house craving something sweet late-night....so last night the roomies and I decided to order cookies from a little gem called Dough-to-Door.  It is EXACTLY how it sounds.  You call and place your order and within about 30 - 60 minutes you have a dozen freshly-baked cookies (any variety of your choosing) and two bottles of milk knockin' on your door.  I'm sure you're thinking "60 minutes?!", but it's just because they don't bake them until you order.  If you're in the St. Louis/University City area I demand you try them, you won't be disappointed  : )

roomies and hound awaiting the sweet treats (yes, that is in fact an all plaid outfit on Teresa over there....)

two.

Tomorrow St. Louis will actually go back down to double-digit temperatures for the first time in about 27 (or so the news says) days.  Who knew I'd ever be so thankful for a 95 degree day??  I'm trying not to look at/think about the middle of next week, just going to bask in the glory of this "break from the heat" we will be getting tomorrow and Sunday.  Okay, that was way sarcastic and these posts are about positive things to actually be thankful for!  So I will end it by saying it looks though that much-needed rain will be in our future as well.  HOLLA for t-storms and temps in the 80's!



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three.

I did some MUCH needed cleaning, laundry-doing, organizing at my apartment this week.  I have had these things (especially the organizing) on my to-do list for weeks but just have not been able to find the time; this may be the busiest summer for me to date.  But finally this week I was able to arrange and organize this little make-up/lotion bottles/"anything else I can fit" organizer that I bought at Target about a hundred years ago.  It really is the little things in life  : )

*picture of make-up/dresser organization to come soon...i was just so overjoyed that i finally did it i forgot to snap a shot : )

four.

THE ANNUAL HALF-OFF LITERS SALE AT BEAUTY BRANDS.  'nuff said.  My favorite, go-to products are from the Matrix line:  Biolage, Amplify, and Sleek.  Woop woop!

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five.

Last but not least, the most favorite part of my week was that I started working for that hunky boyfriend of mine at his grocery store, which I introduced you all to in a post here.  I decided to go from full-time down to part-time at my "9 to 5-er" and start working alongside Tony Monday - Thursday for a few hours at the end of the day.  I love absolutely everything about this store and could not be happier to get to be a part of it, now, four days a week.  The customers are so friendly and you can tell that when they come into Viviano's, they know they are going to find exactly what they need at the best price and quality, as well as pick up some new treasures on the way  : )  My first week has been so great and I cannot wait for what is in store for the future.  Plus, who wouldn't love seeing this adorable face with its Joe Manganiello-esque lip curl everyday??  (you're welcome, dear.)

picture from our night at The Carlyle in NYC seeing Woody Allen perform the jazz trumpet

Happy Friday, people!  Feel free to share what you're thankful for this past week.  Enjoy your weekends  : )

Engagement AND baby!

Bet I freaked you out with that title, huh?  (snicker, snicker)  But no, my friends, we are not engaged nor am I with child.  This is in reference to one of my very best friends, Kristin, coming in town with her brand new baby and newly diamond-clad left ring finger!  Kristin (who you'll hear me refer to as "Kissy", old nickname from FOREVER ago) and her fiance Matt brought their new baby boy, Ryder, home to St. Louis to visit!  They currently reside in Toronto, as Matt plays for the Toronto Marlies, the minor league team of the Toronto Maple Leafs (that's hockey, for anyone who doesn't know - although I'm sure you do.  And YES Dad, I know there are no touchdowns in hockey.  You make ONE mistake a hundred years ago and you can't ever live it down....) but Kissy is from St. Louis so they've brought baby Ryder home for all of us to meet for the first time!  I cannot wait to meet my little nephew, he's already stolen my heart  : )  The grown-ups (weird) are having dinner tonight and then we're all getting together for a little party tomorrow afternoon.  I'll be taking plenty of pictures then but for now, here are some faces to put with the names:

Matt and Kissy (they're really ugly....)

Matt, Kissy, BABY!

Baby Boy!!  Ryder Matthew  : )

Kissy and I (VERY pre-baby)

Kissy and I with two of our other besties, Neely and Syd (long before Matt could save her from our corruption...)

More pics of this sweet, little family to come!  Hope you all have an amazing weekend  : )

HOLLA FOR FRIDAY!!

tgif!!

HOLLA for Friday, people!!  The end of the work week is finally here.  Even better than that - Tones and I will be in this place at this time tomorrow:

Yep, sunny San Fran!  Then off to Napa and Sonoma to do a whole lotta this:

Hopefully we (by "we" I mean "me") won't look like this at the end of the weekend:

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After that we're off to explore the rest of the beautiful state of California so if we're m.i.a. for a bit that is why.  And don't worry we'll be taking a boatload of pictures which we'll be eager to post as soon as we get home  : )

Hope you all have great weekends, as well!  Get out in the sun, enjoy an adult beverage or two, hang with your family and friends, and MOST importantly - don't forget to watch/DVR The Tony Awards on Sunday night, June 10th at 8/7 CST!!!!  Come oooooon, Laura Osnes for "Bonnie and Clyde:  The Musical"!!

Catch ya later, taters!

the store.

I thought I would give you all a little more info on my hunky, man-snack of a boyfriend (you're welcome, dear) since he has been a bit of a ghost on the blog, lately.  Reason, of course, being that he is a very successful business owner here in St. Louis and, unlike me, does not have oodles of time on his hands!  But, he does love the blog as much as I do and can't wait until he gets some free time to post some thoughts and ideas of his own  : )  Anyway, back to the man.  Tony is a third generation co-owner of J. Viviano & Sons, Inc., a specialty grocer specializing in fine, Italian goods (holla if you love wine!), located in the Italian heart of St. Louis, otherwise known as The Hill.  This neighborhood is where Tony's family, as well as my father and his family, grew up, and also the place where Tony and I met and fell in love (on church grounds, by the way).  But that's a story for another day  : )  This past Sunday Tony and his brother, Johnny, put on a wine dinner (Tony's also a certified sommelier) at their store for about 10 people affiliated with Saint Louis University who had won the dinner at an auction.  This night can be summed up in a few words:  vino, cheeses, the smell of garlic, rat pack radio, ravioli and laughter.  But since I am a firm believer that a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought I'd share some of my favorites from the evening.

Johnny V. - the chef for the evening.

Tony V. - the resident sommelier.

Marco - the wine rep for the dinner.

fyi - that fruit marinated in amaretto overnight....oh yes.

The Brothers Viviano.