isn’t the week before a holiday week just the worst?? feels like this one has gone on forever! a work trip to New York sandwiched right in the middle of it at least mixed things up, but let’s be honest — 2 solid days in a conference room doing 2016 planning kinda sucked all the fun out of it. i pretty much officially checked out last night when Spy and i stayed up way too late drinking way too much wine and talking politics. i’ll have y’all know that i actually impressed my husband, who reads 2 newspapers cover to cover every day, with a comment and a perspective he had not heard or thought of on how President Obama is handling ISIS and the media. i was seriously so proud of myself! anyhoo . . . glad it is now officially the weekend! we have a ton of stuff to do to get ready for Thanksgiving guests arriving Tuesday. i am so excited i can’t stand it. here’s a quick look back at some of the awesomeness of the week. (i was terrible about taking photos of anything, so enjoy these much better ones!) hope y’all had a good one and have some big fun planned for the weekend ahead!
cauliflower rice
you guys. are you ready to be totally amazed? i’m doing a quick 10-day paleo thing so i don’t feel like an absolute cow on Thanksgiving . . . which rolls into holiday parties, my birthday, Christmas and basically a 6-week food and booze fest. it’s the least i can do, right? so i have wanted to try this cauliflower rice for a while, but did not have high hopes. it is the bomb. i used this recipe from The Kitchn (also photo source). it is so easy, makes a ton and was amazing first with salmon and then under fajita steak and chicken (for like 3 meals). you will never actually confuse it for rice, but when you are off carbs and need that texture, or a bed of something to put your stir fry or curry or whatever on, it is absolutely perfect. try it and let me know what you think!
a new dress
a NYC work trip definitely required a new outfit. duh. lucky for me i hit probably the last week of nice (aka not freezing) weather, so it didn’t have to be a pants situation. this Ann Taylor dress looks super prim here, but with the collar open to show this awesome Chloe & Isabel convertible necklace, sleeves rolled up and tall black boots, it was the perfect balance of feminine (did i mention i was in a room with 20 dudes and only 2 other women for those 2 days??) and buttoned up. and at 40% off when i picked it up last week, it was a total win. great staple piece.
at-home manicure
and a NYC work trip definitely required a manicure. i got cheap and lazy and decided to do an entire mani/pedi myself, which i haven’t done in quite a while. i always feel great after i’ve done it. and this time, i was especially psyched because i tried something i’d been wanting to do for a while. when i do take the time to do gels, i use the 3-step L’Oreal Extraordinaire Gel-Laque. it gives a really great gel look. i can’t say anything about how long it lasts because i’m ridiculously hard on any manicure. i’m sitting here typing with a few chips after 5 days on this one as an example. they have some really good colors, but i also have a drawer full of nail polish. i’d read you could sub in anything for step 2, so i tried my OPI Scores a Goal. it dried so gorgeous and smooth it honestly looked like i’d gotten it done by a professional. i loved looking at my nails so much all week that i might actually do it again this weekend!
family photos
finally got our images from the shoot we did back in October. these are just a couple of them. Sarah Esther Photography is seriously just absolutely the best! if you’re in Atlanta, i highly recommend her for family, engagement, wedding, baby photos or headshots or boudoir (hubba hubba!). now i get to work on the Christmas card this weekend!
Made in the A.M.
oh, you know you’ve been enjoying this all week, too!
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