Thursday's Threads: Thanksgiving edition

Sorry I'm tardy with this post! But since today is Thanksgiving, family before blog. Sorry readers! But to make it up to you I'll give you a two for one today! Also, it's a photo-light edition as I forgot to take close ups, and I'm already in my jammies.
First up, my Turkey Trot outfit!

Every year for the past... I'm-not-sure-how-many years I've run the local 5 Mile Turkey Trot. Some years there is a big group of us, while other years there are less of us. But it's always fun to get a little silly and really enjoy the run! Last year Vanessa (pictured above on the left)  made these adorable turkey ear warmers for us. They are so perfect, because the last two years have been QUITE CHILLY! Yep, capital letters chilly. This year was warmer than last though thank goodness!
The tutus I made this year. I had stopped at the craft store just to get some stringing material for bracelets, and somehow I came home with tutu making supplies! I should have taken better photos, they came out really cute!
The socks are from Living Royal and are surprisingly nicer that I expected when I ordered them. Also, FYI, finding knee high turkey socks is not impossible, but it's SUPER CLOSE!
My leggings are from Under Armour and the amazing jacket is from Lululemon (a gift from my stepmom). My sneakers are Mizuno's. I am so in love with Mizunos. I wish I had tried them sooner.

Outfit #2, Thanksgiving dinner clothes!

Seriously my lack of closeups is really sad. This tan looking cable knit Ralph Lauren sweater actually has metallic gold thread throughout the whole sweater, but you can't tell from these pics. I thought that made it fancier. (We're a pretty casual family, so really more than adequate.) The jeans are from Seven, and have gold thread on the back pockets. The boots you've seen before. They are the amazing Tahari boots I got super duper on sale from DSW. But the best part of my outfit? I finally wore my ridiculously over priced belt!

Of course it was barely visible under my sweater, but I knew it was there. I'm so glad I splurged. This belt really makes me happy.

Thanksgiving dinner was such a nice time! There are a lot of us: My mom, my dad, my stepmom, my brothers, sister-in-law, niece, step-grandma, and my sister-in-law's family too! (Her mom, sisters and hubbies, and grandma.) We had a great dinner, and it was so nice to see everyone. I hope you all had a great dinner and time with family too!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Last Year's Turkey Trot (We're a bunch of Turkey's...)

Happy Thanksgiving Eve to all my readers! I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of YOU for stopping by to visit my little corner of the interwebs. I started this blog about a year and half ago, and never really thought anyone would actually read it. But you DO! So thank you readers for being awesome!

I also wanted to take a minute to share one of the things I'm most thankful for this year. Obviously, I'm most thankful for my family and friends. The amazing people around us is what makes life worth living after all! But there's one other thing I'm insanely thankful for this year: that Rio is still here with me.

These past seven months I've wondered pretty regularly how much more time we'll have together. And I'll keep wondering. But I can honestly say I've fully appreciated every second that he's here and feeling well. He's not the same Rio he was a year ago. But he's happy. And that's all I want for him. As soon as he loses his spark, I'll be able to let him go. But until then, I'll be spoiling him rotten with grooming and cookies and anything else his enormous heart desires.
Obviously I will leave you with lots of photos of Rio, both old and recent.

When we met in Holland!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Thank you for stopping by, and I would love to hear from you! Leave some love in the comments!

Truthful Tuesday

Ok... it's time I come clean with this. I have a total girl crush on Taylor Swift. I tried to not like her. But I just can't. I mean... have you heard Blank Space? Seriously. And music tastes aside, she portrays herself as a really decent human being. She gives back to her fans (over and over and over again). She's very approachable when out in the wild. And she has the same relationship troubles that every girl her age goes through. Magnified of course by her celebrity status. So there you have it. I <3 Taylor Swift.

How about you? Do you have any celebrity crushes of which you may or may not be mildly ashamed?

Thursday's Threads

Happy Thursday everyone! Sorry I'm so late getting this post up today. I was holiday shopping online really busy at work! So as you know from reading lately, it's miserably cold here. But hey, at least it's not snowing like in Buffalo! 6 FEET of snow up there?! That's insanity. I wouldn't even know what to do. Oh winter... I know you haven't started yet, but I can't wait till you end. In the meantime though, I do get to show you all my warm sweaters and amazing boots! So let's see which ones I chose today:

Yep, I went with my favorite go-to staples: dark jeans and a cable knit sweater. You can never go wrong there. NEVER!

Sweater: Tommy Hilfiger

I think I actually prefer the Tommy Hilfiger cotton sweaters to the Polo ones. They seem to hold up a lot better and not shrink quite as much in the dryer. That said, I do wish I had gotten this in a medium as it did shrink some. It fits, but I would like it a tad longer.

Jeans: Vigold

I'm pretty certain you have seen these before. If not them, then definitely their slightly lighter colored cousin that I have two pairs of. I love these jeans, they were super cheap and are SO COMFORTABLE! Also, they're a good length for me which is hard to find. I'm short, but not really short enough for "short sized" pants. These are just regular length and are perfect for me. Hence my owning three pairs of them.

Boots: Seychelles

I know I say this a lot about my shoes... But I LOVE THESE BOOTS! So. Much. I found them on Rue La La maybe two years ago. And I almost didn't get them because I was on a bit of a no-buy. But I eventually caved. They were marked down to something crazy like $45.00. And they are beautiful, butter-soft leather. They fit like they were made for me. (The custom riding boot company who can't seem to make boots do that for me should take notes.) So much boot love for these.

Belt: Clever With Leather via She Rides I Pay

For those of you who aren't horsey, the buckle on this belt is modeled after a figure-eight noseband that our horses sometimes wear. They look like this:

The rest of the belt is the softest leather imaginable. You can even pick the colors! I bought this one as my your-horse-was-bad-at-finals consolation prize. It made me feel better. A little.

Jewels!
Necklace: Fornash

Fornash had a 60% off sale and I may have bought myself a present... I love this necklace and have worn it several times since getting it last Friday.

Lefty:

Well yeah, so maybe I bought myself presentS.... Bracelet and ring also from Fornash. I mean, for 60% off it would be silly not to get the whole set. And it's costume jewelry not real gold, so it was barely even a splurge!

Righty:

This leather bit bracelet is also from Fornash, but it was already part of my collection. (Apparently I need to own ALL the bit jewelry.) The ring my mom got for me when I was in high school. It is real gold with little diamond chips in it. It's so pretty and delicate! (I'm not sure what is going on with the shadows in this photo... in real life, my hand is only one color...)

Bag: Gucci

Obviously since I'm wearing brown and all of the bit jewelry, it only makes sense to carry the brown, bit embossed Gucci bag. Duh. Also I pretty much use this every day unless i get unlazy and decide to switch over to something that actually matches my outfit. So really I just got lucky that it matches so well today. Details.

So that's it for today! What are you wearing? How's the weather where you are?

Stridebox!

It's been awhile since I've showed you all the wonderful goodies that come inside my Stridebox. I think this is probably my favorite sub box. The items are high quality and exactly what I would pick to try at the running store. It's like they know me! (Creepy?) So let's see what was inside this month's box!

Fuel:
Power Gel:

 Gel's are great, I love them when running long. Of course, I haven't run long in FOREVER so I haven't really been using them. But now that the tundra has frozen over, I'm riding less and should be running more soon. I'm not sure I'll like orange dream, I'm more of a mocha or chocolate kinda girl, but I'll give it a try!

Promax Protein bar:

 I'm always rushing from one place to the next, and often don't leave time to prepare meals. Protein bars are great for breakfast on the go, and I can't wait to try this one! They're also great for their intended use: Pre run fuel and post run recovery. But in my case this will likely be breakfast.

Gu Chomps:

I LOVE Gu Chomps! I was so excited to get the black cherry this time. I have yet to meet a Gu Chomp I didn't find delicious. But here's a confession: I don't actually like them for fuel during a run. They're a little too big for me to try and eat while running. But they make a fantastic snack. So tasty!

Hydration:
Sword Ginger Citrus mix

 I have't tried this yet, but it sounds interesting... I'm not a huge fan of sports drinks, but I'm always on the hunt for one that is delicious. Maybe this will be it!

Runa Guayusa Tea

I'm only an occasional tea drinker, but I'm excited to try these! They are caffeinated which I rely on more as the days get shorter (I'm solar powered. Cannot function without daylight!) plus it appears this company is doing quite a lot to preserve the people and forests of the Amazon. (The jungle, not the company.) I'm all for giving back!

Other Food type items:

Well this is a new item for me! Caffeinated gum! I'm not a fan of attempting to chew gum while being active (hello, choking hazzard!) but I think I might like it for an afternoon pick me up at work. I do have to watch my caffeine intake some as a I have a genetic irregular heart beat (thanks dad) that is heightened by too much caffeine. It's not dangerous, but it is uncomfortable so I try to keep it in check. I can't imagine there's THAT much caffeine in a piece of gum though. I'll have to research that. I bet this is great for driving too.

The Stuff:
Flashing armband

Ok, that "video" isn't working right I don't think, but I was trying to show you how fun and amazing this light up armband is. It's both lightweight and adjustable making it comfortable and VISIBLE while running at dawn, dusk, or dark. It has three settings: quick flashing, slow flashing, or just stead on. And it's neon and lights up, so obviously I think it's awesome. I wonder if I could start working all these flashing items into my normal wardrobe? Probably not. I might try though.

Sticker:

This obviously needs to be my motto. I'm such a lazy runner lately. I need to JUST GO!

So that's my November Stridebox. It's $15.00 a month, and in my opinion is always a great value. They do not have a referral program, so I do not benefit if you sign up. But I think you'll love it!

Truthful Tuesday

Ok, this one's a little icky... But I don't have much else to admit to this week. (Other than the usual slacking with running and hating the cold.) So here it is:
Last night while I was hanging with the Puggers:

I noticed P had a giant swollen tick on her head. Gross. But also kind of a relief as the big ones don't usually carry lyme disease like the little bitty ones. Anyway... I was all, ew that needs to come off right now. So I went to the bathroom to get some vaseline and tissues for the removal. I tried to get P to come with me in case that disgusting thing popped, but she was comfy in the living room. So I rejoined her there. I pull her into my lap and... I can't find the tick. I found where it had been. She must have rubbed it off while I was out of the room. But I CAN'T FIND THE TICK. It is nowhere! Do you think one of them ate it?? It's the only explanation right?
I cleaned the area, and I think it's dead as I found tick remains in there (don't worry, everything is removed) but I can't find that bloody little body. So disgusting. I hope I don't step on it somewhere.

Ok, sorry for being gross. But that's my confession for today. I LOST A TICK! In my house. Ew. So much EW.

Thursday's Threads

Whoa! It's cold out today! Which figures because today is the day I finally got up and ran before work. And I got to wear these:

Yay for French Fry Leggings! (Yes they deserve capital letters!) I ran slow, but with a friend and her dog. It felt great to get back out there! Everything is better with friends, especially running.

But that's not why you're here today... Sorry for rambling. Back to matters at hand. So it's cold out, which means I need some warm clothes! I may or may not have done some shopping this weekend at the Calvin Klein outfit. And I maybe found a STEAL! You'll see below... You know, if it happened. (Spoiler: Obviously that happened.)

So here's today's outfit:

I couldn't really get a great photo in the mirror today, sorry about that! I totally envy real fashion bloggers who have friends or relatives to take amazing photos for them. But hey, I get the job done at least. Sort of. So let's take a closer look at everything!

Top(s):
Vest: Calvin Klein
Shirt: Old Navy

While I admit this vest is maybe supposed to be outer wear... I'm wearing it inside. It's freezing in my office anyway. I love the bright blue. And I love even more that it was 60% off. Yep, $31.00 for this amazing bright blue vest! Plus, when I bought my brother's birthday gift at Tommy Hilfiger, they gave me 10% off to use at Calvin Klein. Total bargain right here!
The shirt which you can't really see in today's photos, is just a plain, black, long sleeved tee from Old Navy. I've had it awhile, and I imagine was somewhere around $10.00. I prefer to get my plain wear-under-stuff items from Old Navy. I don't see a need to spend a ton of money on something simple, when these hold up just fine, and if they don't, they were cheap anyway.

Pants: Almost Famous

I'm pretty certain you've seen these before. What's not to love? Black, skinny jeans... Gold zippers... They're definitely on the favorite list!

Shoes: Isaac Mizrahi

Yeah, I know. They're amazing. Metallic blue leather, suede, punched toe detail... COMFORTABLE! I'm almost jealous of myself for having them. I got them from Zulilly awhile ago. I broke my rule of never paying more than $40 for shoes on them too. But you now what? Totally worth it. TOTALLY!

Accessories:
Necklace:

I love this double strander! So much that I bought it in two colors. They were apart of the big Little Black Bag goes out of business sale.

Arm Parties:
Left:

I kept it equine related on this arm. The first is a bracelet very similar to the one from Fornash, but I got it from a discount site called Tack of the Day. They email me special horsey deals every day at noon. Of course I had to get the bracelet... in two colors. This one happens to match my trusty watch perfectly, doesn't it?! The middle one is from Zulilly and I have no idea what the brand is. But it reminds me of the Hermes bangles that are insanely expensive. (I'm talking over $500 for gold colored metal and enamel. No thanks.)

Right:

The first two here are from my own craft studio. (That's the fancy name I call my lap.) I love that I just happened to have made a bracelet that matched my necklace PERFECTLY! I think that's what drew me to the necklace in the first place, I already had a bracelet to go with it! The last one is also from Little Black Bag. I forget the brand, but I have it in green too. (Does anyone else sense a pattern here?) What I love about this is that it's actual heavy metal chain, not plastic. So it's sturdy and I'm not worried about breaking it.

Purse: Pour La Victoire

Apparently today is wear everything Little Black Bag day. (I so miss that shopping experience... SO MUCH!) I got this bag there, they were selling them for around $40.00. Not bad for genuine leather! I haven't seen them retail under $70 ever, and that's with being on sale. Did I buy it in two colors you ask? Umm... no? (Yeah I totally did. I have an amazing metallic green one. You can see it here. Maybe I have a problem... maybe.)

So that's it! Definitely black and blue kind of day, but in a good way! What are you wearing today?