TGIF! i’m telling you, the first full work-week after a long weekend is rough, y’all. i feel like i’ve been counting down the minutes until friday since last sunday night! but with the weather gods forecasting a cooler weekend, and with a full list of “to do’s” to get S and i into the holiday spirit, it’s no surprise that these next few days will be met with added excitement. enjoy your first weekend of december! i hope it’s a good one.

one || crossing the threshold. full disclosure: S and i go to target at least once a week. sometimes for snacks, sometimes for toiletries, and most recently for christmas decor and housewares. while our  hunt for holiday home adornments proved fruitless (turns out my beloved ceramic deer head is sold out at most stores), we have been quite successful in locating some new items to spruce up our respective abodes -all goodies, i might add, compliments of target’s threshold collection. honestly, i would decorate my entire house with pieces from this collection. and after my two recent additions, i think i’m well on my way. my two latest obsessions are this new striped shower curtain for my downstairs bathroom:

 

 

and this adorable after-shower wrap that is the perfect modest length and has a pocket (black & white shown, i got the pink one):

 

 

you know you’re growing up when new bathroom accessories excite you. #adulthood

two || c is for cookie. as i mentioned earlier this week, S and i are planning the quintessential christmas-inspired weekend, complete with buying a charlie brown tree, braving the malls for gifts for our families, and most importantly, whipping up a batch of his grandmother’s famous lemon sugar cookies. little fun fact -S is quite the baker, complete with half of the baking section from sur la table. so we’ve decided that he’ll be in charge of mixing up the dough and i’ll follow up with the cookie cutting, icing, and decorating. we’ll both do the final part –the eating. photos to come!

 

 

three || perfect thyming. despite having a self-proclaimed “brown thumb” when it comes to all things botanical, i knew i couldn’t keep S’s handmade pallet planter empty forever. so two weekends ago, we ventured to home depot for a little plant purchasing. considering the fact that this time of year isn’t the most ideal for cultivating new crops, we stuck to heartier fare -succulents and herbs (we’ll tackle the flowers come springtime). i selected a variety of succulents -purely based on their aesthetic appearance (of course) and four herbs plants whose selection process was more based on practicality -which herbs would we realistically use in future kitchen endeavors? the answer? basil, thyme, cilantro and rosemary. i’m happy to report that as of today, all eight plants are still alive and well. additionally, the two plumeria plants S gifted me after he replanted his collection are also still boasting a healthy green complexion. and i’m loving the addition of greenery to the patio. i’m also loving having an excuse to use my adorable watering can.

 

 

four || clowning around. it’s amazing what your mom can find hiding in your childhood cedar chest! in honor of my half birthday yesterday, these photos landed in my inbox with the quip “they look pretty good for 29 years old!” hopefully, so do i.

 

 

five || lights, camera, daily outfit. somehow i never had to explain that whole “i take a daily selfie in the mirror and post it on instagram/my blog so my mom and grandma can see what i’m wearing to work” to S when we started dating. i think he just started reading my blog one day and just accepted it as a part of life. so as i try to move toward taking more professional-looking photos and less iphone shots in my full-length closet mirror, i’ve propositioned him to be the talents behind the camera. luckily he already owns a professional lens, so the real onus is on me to come up with some potential daily outfits we can shoot in advance. if i’m motivated enough to put on makeup this weekend, you might see a less selfie-looking photo over the course of next week (fingers crossed). i better start practicing my smizing now.

 

 

six || all aboard el tren de sabor (or “flavor train” for non-spanish speakers). after weeks of adhering to a slightly improvised BRAT diet, i finally jumped back on the flavor train this week when S and i met L and her fiance M for dinner at casa de bandini. oh mexican food, how i’ve missed thee. in an attempt to not immediately feel the effects of my exotic food indulgence,  i popped a zantac about 45 minutes prior to our meal. apparently #thisis29.5, having to take an antacid before a spicy meal to avoid heartburn. but if that’s all it takes in order for me to comfortably enjoy my beloved chicken and black bean tostada with a big side of guac, i’ll carry around tums in my purse like someone three times my age.  they’ll go perfectly with the stevia packets i already cart around for my iced coffees.

 

 

mad love and gingerbread, my loves. see you next week.

image via a beautiful mess

 

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