As promised, this will be my Christmas posting! I had a lovely Christmas with loved ones and received equally lovely gifts. Every year I make a list for my mom (even though she doesn't ask for one) and rarely do I actually receive anything from said list. This year was different! Here are three things that I received from my list:
Escada Rockin' Rio and Acqua di Gioia by Armani perfumes.
Gold chain bracelet from J. Crew to wear with my favorite accessory.
Going along with the jewelry theme, here are some other jewelry pieces I received from my mom and sister:
Four new pearls for my Add-A-Pearl necklace and two pairs of earrings from Francesca's.
My sister also knitted me a scarf. Green and gray infinity scarf with a cable:
 Not only did I receive fabulous gifts from my family, but from my boyfriend too. Here's a Fossil wallet to go with my purse and an iPhone case with a picture of us on it:
Lastly, here's my favorite (also from my boyfriend). A new claddagh ring to replace my old one:
It's so pretty! Like I said, it was a lovely Christmas and I am so incredibly blessed. I hope all of you had  equally wonderful holidays! xoxo

It's been four days since I last posted and I feel like so much has happened! Christmas came and went quickly in my opinion. I'm always a little sad when it's all over, but also a little relieved to get back to everyday life. Since I last posted I have done many Fun things!
For example, I saw Les Misérables yesterday with my mom and sister. I saw the musical last December and went into it not knowing that all of the dialogue was sung, like an opera. I was hoping that the movie-musical version wouldn't also be like an opera, but alas, all the dialogue was sung. Overall I enjoyed the movie, but the operatic element put a bit of a damper on it. I enjoyed Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Samantha Barks (Éponine) and Eddie Redmayne (Marius). Amanda Seyfried and Russel Crowe on the other hand - not so much. Another movie that I recently saw was Pitch Perfect. After hearing all of the quotes from my Friends I felt it was time to see it. It turned out to be pretty good, but didn't quite meet my expectations after hearing all of my Friends rave about it.
Another Fun event I attended since last posting was College Night at the Timberwolves game. This is the third year in a row that my boyFriend and I have gone to a game. Unfortunately the Wolves lost, but I had mini donuts, so not all was lost! Even though the Timberwolves are still in a bit of a rut it's a Fun tradition to go every year. Here's a picture from last night's game versus the Rockets:
It was  the third largest crowd in history at a regular season game!

Lot's more Friends, Fun, Fashion and Food to come over the next few weeks so be sure to come back! Tomorrow I'll be posting about some of the goodies I got for Christmas!

The year 2012 is coming to a close and it's time to rehash all the good and the bad that the year we struggled to pronounce brought with it. Remember, these are my personal opinions!

Best Restaurants I Tried (In no particular order):
1. Gardens of Salonica in Northeast Minneapolis. I have a new love for gyros and they were delish here!
2. Kafé 421 in Dinkytown. I didn't know beforehand that it was Mediterranean food, but again the gyros were yummy.
3. The Melting Pot in Minneapolis. Their chocolate fondue is worth the price!
4. Stella's Fish Café in Uptown. I'm not huge on seafood but the rooftop seating was so fun.
5. Burger Jones in Saint Louis Park. I've driven by this place for years on the way to Lake Harriet and we finally tried it last summer. The bacon cheeseburger was lovely.
6. The Dock Café in Stillwater. My family (my mom in particular) is all about being able to sit outside and eat by the water so this restaurant was perfect.
7. Fog Harbor Fish House in San Francisco. My boyfriend and I had a beautiful view while we dined here!

Finals are over (sigh), and winter break has half started! I had a lovely evening with my boyFriend at the Mall of America where we saw these enormous trees with pretty lights! We are all aware of my obsession with lights so I thought it necessary to take pictures.
We had delicious Food at Crave--Mark had a jumbalaya burger. I wasn't quite as adventurous, but...
...this was honestly one of the best margherita pizzas I've ever had (and the prettiest if you ask me). And another 'F' was involved tonight--Fashion! Here was my outfit for our night out:
I was really excited about this cozy sweater since I've only worn it twice. Might I add that I spent four hours at the Mall of America and didn't buy anything, yay for saving money!

Tis the season...
to wear Christmas pajamas and t-shirts, guilt free! Not to mention all of the sparkly red nail polishes and red lipsticks to explore. Only eight more days to don all of the ugly sweaters and Christmas accessories you own, don't waste them!

I just saw this awesome page that restores our faith in humanity. Check it out! I thought with it being the Christmas season and all it was appropriate to be inspired by people doing selfless things.

It has been a long week and it's about to get longer with finals starting in two days. I just needed to take a break from the monotony of my political science flashcards:
I'm trying, and struggling, to make studying fun. What I've tried so far: lighting candles and plugging in my mini Christmas tree:
It's not working very well, although I've been pretty good about focusing! I'm also listening to Kenny G holiday Pandora so that's kind of fun :) I just needed a quick break so I thought I'd post and keep you guys updated on my misery. The boredom is just making me all the more excited for all of the friends, fun, fashion and food that winter break will bring! Merry studying...

I had a fun weekend at home! I played in the snow with my dog, painted my nails and enjoyed some hot chocolate (with lots of marshmallows!) while writing a paper. Loving this winter wonderland <3

Last night was a night for three of my four "F's." I went ice skating in Rice Park in Saint Paul (Fun) with two of my wonderful roommates (Friends) and then went out for a fabulous meal at the Cheesecake Factory (Food)! It was a wonderful night out, probably the last one for a while with finals coming up. I've said it before, I love lights, they make everything pretty. My night was beautiful because of the snow (!!) and all the pretty lights. Here are some pictures:

These are some of the lights in Rice Park. Judging by the crowd that was there it's a great date location!

This is my aunt and uncle's house! They really go all out, their neighbors don't even try to compete.

I got some new items for my new internship! Here's my new tote:
Perfect for my laptop and pad-folio. It looks expensive, but it's from JCPenny's ;)
And here is a new work shirt:
I love the simplicity with a touch of sparkle from Ann Taylor.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is time for Catherine's list of faux pas. You should know I am very opinionated when it comes to fashion. My roommates helped me model some of the looks! We had a lot of fun thinking up ideas to add to the faux pas list. Let's get started!

1. Light wash jeans. We threw in acid washed and rips for good measure.
2. Bedazzled jeans à la Buckle

3. When a belt doesn't fit and comes up higher than pants.

4. Skinny jeans and tennis shoes.

5. Nice clothes and sloppy hair.

6. The belt bulge.

7. Boots and flared jeans.

8. Similar to boots and flared jeans: flared jeans tucked into boots.

9. Panty lines.

10. Dressing nice at sporting events.

11. Poorly rolled jeans.

12. Nice coats with sloppy clothes.

13. Riding boots with sweatshirts.

14. Pants under a dress. Apparently this is in style...I disagree.

15. Racer back tank tops with bra straps showing.

16. Sloppy buns.

17. Chipped nail polish.


18. Large fake diamonds.


Again, I am very particular. Hope you enjoyed!

We hosted our very first party last night! It was a Christmas party and I'd say a success. I have to say I enjoyed being a hostess. Here's my outfit:
The dress is from Forever21. I've had it for about two months now but had no reason to wear it, so I thought I'd break it out. The open back is so fun!

I had an interview today! Here's the outfit I wore. I decided to spice up a pretty drab outfit with a metallic belt, a statement watch and a patterned shoe. P.S. I got the internship :)

I don't blame you if, you...
...work out once and count it for the whole week.
...make left overs last for a week because you don't want to cook.
...watch reality TV on a regular basis.
...listened to Christmas music before Black Friday.
...have a crush on the president.
...watch The Daily Show and equate it with watching the news.
...come home from school and immediately put on your pajamas.

Today I was struggling to come up with ideas for blogging...everything sounded so blah. Then I started thinking that pretty much everything sounds blah to me right now. It's that time of year, the semester is coming to an end and to be honest: I'm bored. I feel like I do the same thing every day and I've only been back from Thanksgiving break for two days. The idea of having to get up today and go to class and then go to work, come home, write a paper and then get ready to do it all over again tomorrow is incredibly boring. Christmas break and spring semester are looking very attractive to this strung-out student right now. There is pretty much a constant knot between my shoulder blades that I'm sure will remain there while I push through the next three weeks.

So how do I fight this monotony you may ask? I've said it before, and I'll say it again: anticipate something. We've been trying to plan fun things to break up the dreariness that lies ahead for us. For example, this weekend we're going to the Gopher basketball game, supporting Emma at her Christmas choir concert and...hosting a Christmas party! Anticipation really does make the anxiety somewhat bearable, but now to get through the rest of the week...

Here in Bierman 215 we are ready for Christmas. Last night when we all got home from break we spent the whole night decorating to celebrate the official start of the Christmas season. I've said it before and I'll say it again, twinkle lights really do make things magical.
The apartment just feels special now!

Yesterday I went to Ulta in search of two new holiday nail polishes. Unfortunately, I was unable to find either of them but I did get a new red to replace my all time favorite A Oui Bit of Red by OPI. The new red is called Big Apple Red and is an OPI top 10 so I'm hoping it's as good as my old one! I am normally an OPI girl, but I bought my very first ever non-OPI nail polish. It's called Blaze by Zoya and I was pleased with it.
When I bought it I thought it was a magenta-y color but it turned out a darker red when I put two coats on, so I ended up liking it even better!

Well Black Friday came and went and I have seven new tops to show for it. We are by no means hard core about Black Friday shopping. We went at midnight just so we wouldn't have to wake up early, then again when we woke up to the stores that didn't open at midnight. I've found that clothing stores are not crazy busy like department stores, and that's all I shop for. So here are a few of my finds!
All three tops are from Gap. The red sweater is a cozy sweatshirt material for $26.97, the striped sweater is so comfortable and my favorite style: slouchy for $26.97! Finally the green henley is super comfortable and what my sister and I call a "normal person shirt" for $18.36.
These two tops are both from Banana Republic. The maroon cowl-neck, cable-knit has the potential to be my new favorite sweater. It was $53.70 and a dream come true since I'd been searching for a good cable-knit and it was just a bonus that it was a cowl neck! The righthand top is kind of hard to see since it's black but it's a lace shell and absolutely adorable for $41.70.
I was so excited when I found this lace peplum top at Loft for $34.75. I was searching for simple pullover sweaters because I have a massive amount of cardigans (27!!) that require a shirt such as this to wear underneath. Therefore I want more tops that are an outfit within themselves so I don't always have to worry about putting together an outfit. As you can see I partially succeeded in buying pullovers but slipped with the two shells :)

One other thing I noticed during Black Friday shopping was that ponchos are back in style...again I must ask, why?!

Today I got together with some friends from high school and saw the new Twilight movie...not sure I'd recommend it. It wasn't as awful as the first three, but definitely not worth the $10.50 I paid for it. It's always fun to see friends from high school though. I'm continually amazed at how easy it is to fall back into the way things used to be. In my opinion that's when someone is a true friend, when you can go months without seeing them, but when you're finally back together it's as if no time has passed. I've been fortunate enough to find a few of those people, and I plan to hold on to them.

I was just browsing Pinterest and I keep seeing these everywhere and all I want to say is: why? Why is this a thing?

Above Knuckle Rings

In my opinion, going home is one of the great joys in life. I know it's cliché and I know I live close to home but there really is no place like it. I can't have sleepovers with my adorable puppy at school:

Today my roommates and I went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to see the Chinese terracotta warriors; I'd highly recommend it! I learned that the first emperor of China was buried with an 8,000 piece, life-size terracotta army. In addition to the army he was buried with chariots, sacrificed concubines and horses and lots of pottery and gifts. Seeing this exhibit got me thinking about what I would like to buried with. At this point in my life I don't have very many material items that mean a whole lot to me. The things I immediately thought of were all jewelry pieces from my family.

The top picture is a monogrammed necklace my mom gave me for my birthday. The bottom lefthand picture is my add-a-pearl necklace. This necklace was from my grandma and it started out with one pearl. My mom has continued the tradition and every Christmas and birthday I get more pearls to add, now there's 42 pearls. Then the bottom right picture are my diamond earrings that I got from my mom as a graduation present. All of these pieces remind me of my family, who are extremely important to me. Lastly, I can't be directly buried with my family so I would also want to be buried with pictures of them.