Had To Have It: Beauty Edition

It's been a while since I've done a "Had To Have It", hasn't it? Probably because of that whole NO SHOPPING MAY nonsense. Glad that's in the past :)

To make up for it, today's Had To Have It features TWO items! I can hear you cheering from here.

See that pretty pink polish above? It's from Essie's latest line and I'm OBSESSED with it. It's called - get this - Boom Boom Room. That means that 237 times a week, I have to say the words "Boom Boom Room" to every single person who comes up to me to ask what color I'm wearing. SO EMBARRASSING.

The polish is the perfect light yet bright pink. I always prefer Essie polish over any other brand, because I love the smooth finish and how I never need to use more than two coats for full coverage, and this color is the color I've been wanting for ages. Three out of the last four times I went in for a manicure, this is the color I've chosen. That NEVER happens.... but it's just right. Perfect for summer. The color makes my hands look so tan!

One caveat - I wouldn't swear to it, but I think after laying out in the sun while wearing Boom Boom Room on my fingernails, the shade actually lightened a bit. I personally don't mind - the color looks equally pretty a tiny bit lighter than it originally goes on - but I just thought I'd share! :)

The next item I Had To Have? Moroccan Oil Curl Defining Cream.

I can honestly say I have NEVER smelled anything as delicious as Moroccan Oil products. I am obsessed with the smell - I would wear it as perfume if I could. I own the shampoo and conditioner (I only use it on fancy occasions cuz it's expensive) and the hairspray, which I use a few times a week on my flyaways - I spray it on my fingers and

Anyway - the other day I had dinner with my friend Rachel and could not get over how good she smelled. I was sniffing her like a creeper for half the meal before she finally told me to cut it out and told me the source of her delicious-smelling curls: this cream! I went home and bought it off Amazon immediately.

I use it the same way I use my other styling cream when I want to wear my hair curly - after shampooing and conditioning in the shower and combing my hair out while soaking wet, I towel dry it, spray some detangling spray in, and finally flip my head over and scrunch it in sections with about a quarter-sized dollop of the Moroccan Oil cream on my palms. The rest of the day is spent with me sniffing my own head like a weirdo - at least I'm a happy weirdo :)

So that's what I've Had To Have recently! What about you? 

A San Fran Bachelorette

Hey friends! I am ridiculously excited because tomorrow morning, I am heading south to Houston for the weekend for a little reunion with my best pals. Cannot wait!

However, before I go on the NEXT trip, I realized I never blogged about the LAST trip. Oops. I spent last weekend in San Francisco celebrating my dear friend Ashley’s impending nuptials at her bachelorette extravaganza!

With the beautiful bride-to-be! I am obsessed with this picture!

Ashley’s maid-of-honor planned an awesome weekend – no detail was left undone. I arrived early early early Saturday morning to join the group (most people had arrived the night before) and immediately hopped on the party bus we had rented to take us wine tasting. Awesome.

We visited three wineries throughout the day and they were freaking adorable. I realized I have never actually gone wine tasting properly, like at an actual vineyard! And yes, I still technically haven’t, because I don’t drink… but it was still super fun. How gorgeous is this first one we visited – Paradise Winery? I am obsessed with the huge LOVE sculpture on their property.

And a cute little group shot outside the first one:

Between the first and the second wineries, we traveled through the FREAKING ADORABLE town of Sonoma and I fell in love. Ashley’s MOH had arranged for us all to have little picnic boxes ready from a bakery, and we took them to a little park and ate on the floor, sitting crosslegged, summer camp style. Loved it.

Here’s our table from the second winery, Gloria Ferrer Winery:

Our last winery also offered olive oil tastings! Don’t worry, I was able to partake in that :)

After returning from our day of wine tasting and resting for a bit, we headed out for dinner at Out The Doors in the city. It was INSANE. Delicious, modern, upscale Vietnamese food… what could be better? We sat at a long table and shared everything. Here’s our side of the table – so fun!

The rest of the evening was spent inside the hotel, where we all packed into the suite in our pajamas to play bridal games and surprise Ashley with some fun honeymoon-related gifts! I can’t remember the last time I laughed that hard. We also may have enjoyed some of these delicious mini cupcakes…. #yum

Before I left on Sunday afternoon, I did have time to squeeze in one meal with my beloved Floff! She and her boyfriend Scotty took me to a delicious brunch and a spin around a little Farmer’s Market before taking me to the airport. I couldn’t help but drool over the tomatoes – I do love me a farmer’s market…

And I do love me some Floff :)

It was a whirlwind trip – I was barely there for 36 hours – but we packed a ton of fun into the weekend. I was so happy to be able to celebrate Ashley – fun fact: she and I met on our 2010 Birthright trip…. Which is ALSO where she met her fiancée Stevie! Thank god we all got selected for the same trip together… otherwise she would never have met her fiancée, and I never would have made a new friend for life :)

The wedding is Labor Day weekend… I cannot wait!!!

The New NEW Job

So once again I find myself apologizing for the radio silence last week – but this time I have a really good excuse!

Most of you will remember when just a couple months ago, I got laid off and lost my job. And if you do, chances are good you’ll also remember when I posted about the new job and how excited I was. I believe my exact words were that I have “a special feeling this is the right place for me” and that “the job itself sounds pretty cool.”

Well… what the hell do I know? Spoiler alert: nothing.

That job, I’m sad to say, turned out to be a bust. I wish them well, but that was definitely NOT the right place for me. Within a few weeks I knew I needed to find something else and had already started searching for something new… and lo and behold, something found me.

I say something found me because it really did – this new job came to me! A friend of mine who I have known for years was leaving her marketing job at a well-known Jewish nonprofit after more than a decade, and was searching for just the right person to fill her spot. She said she wanted someone “smart and tough” and after hearing that, how could I possibly have turned her down?!

So…I have now been at my new NEW job for over a month, and I’m happy to say it’s going very well so far! I have a beautiful office, new friendly colleagues, great schedule (seriously… you don’t want to know how good my new schedule is #you’llbejealous), and lots of friends in the building who I can see for lunch. Fingers crossed it continues to be this good and I can have a long and happy career here :)

And finally, the reason I was so MIA last week… every year this organization holds a big fancy gala dinner at a hotel in Beverly Hills, and now one of my responsibilities is planning it! Yup, I hit the ground running, as my new CEO would say, and took over handling all the details for this big gala, which was held exactly one month and four days after I started. To say that I didn’t sleep for the last month would not be an understatement. I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when it was over and went well. Haha!

So that’s your latest update into my employment saga. It took a while to get here, but that’s part of growing up, isn’t it? I felt bad about not updating everyone on what was happening especially after I started the new job but after what happened last time, I wasn't in a rush to announce something publicly and then have it change so suddenly. So I waited... and I feel a lot better about it. I’m a lot happier now so maybe this is where I was supposed to be all along. Isn’t it funny how things happen?

A Wedding Registry Question

I have a question for all of you and I would honestly love your opinions. I posted this on Facebook yesterday and within 20 minutes I had a spirited debate raging on my wall. 

Is it a bad idea to give a bride & groom a gift for their wedding or shower that they did NOT register for?

The reason I ask is because I've come across something that I think would make a really lovely and unique gift, but it's not the type of thing you can register for. It's personal, personalized (meaning monogrammed!), and different - I don't know of many people who own one but it's the type of thing I personally would love to receive as a gift, even if I didn't know I even wanted one!

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I don't want to say what the item in question is, because I know for a fact a lot of my friends whose upcoming weddings and showers I'm attending read this blog, and I don't want to ruin the surprise... 

When I first posed the question on Facebook, the general consensus was that it's okay to buy something not on a registry, as long as there is a gift receipt included so the couple can return it, or to just stick to the registry. But once I explained that the item in question was monogrammed, the tides seemed to turn, and many friends wrote in favor of surprising the couple with something personal and personalized, which is kind of what I thought all along, so I think I'm going to go with my gut and do it!

Many of you who read this blog are either engaged or married so I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject! Thanks in advance!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, You're Only A Day Away

"Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow, you're only a day away!"

Yes I'm singing that Annie song at the top of my lungs because HALLELUJAH ya'll, NO SHOPPING MAY is finally over tomorrow!

Let me just say here for the record... this is my last NO SHOPPING MAY. I'm not saying I won't ever do another monthly shopping ban, but it seems more likely that I'll choose a different month - NO SHOPPING JUNE, anyone?

The reason for the swap? Don't laugh - but I honestly feel like my wallet was HARMED this year by me not shopping. Let me explain: the month of May is seriously filled with some amazing sales. Things I've been wanting or needing or keeping an eye on have finally gone on sale, and I've had to totally miss the boat on snapping them up at a crazy low price - this has happened SEVERAL times this month! The worst part is that many of these items are things that I'm going to be buying eventually, so it's basically like I looked a gift horse in the mouth by not taking advantage of these great sales while I could :(

Oh well. You live and you learn. I made it the whole month, for the third year in a row, and only broke it once... so I'm proud of myself!

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By the way... you can take a look at my "Wanty McWanterson" board on Pinterest to see the MANY items I've been pinning/bookmarking over the past month... you know at least some of those are coming home with me tomorrow!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. You know where I'll be.... in the mall! 

Amazing Arizona

Hello friends! Hope you are all having a lovely week!

Let me tell you - it was quite hard to go back to a normal week of work after having that luxurious long weekend off. Especially since we spent four straight days basically doing nothing but laying by the pool and lounging around the hotel in Arizona. #takemebackrightnow #iwanttobeonperpetualvacation

I am seriously already dreaming of the next time we can go back. The Four Seasons in Scottsdale is absolutely breathtakingly GORGEOUS and the staff is so, so nice. Here are some fun pictures from our little getaway!

I took this photo the very first day. Looking at it is making me VERY jealous that my mom is still there enjoying this beautiful view!

Quick snap before heading out to the pool, day 1:

Quick snap before heading out to the pool, day 2. This is the first time I'm actually wearing that ensemble as it's intended... as a cover up! Usually I wear it out at night with a slip underneath :) Haha.

Every day for lunch we ate at the little restaurant by the pool - you know, so we didn't have to take our bathing suits off even for a second! I had the fish tacos every day and they were delish. 

My friend Rachel was in town at the same time as we were... she came up to the hotel one afternoon to swim and lay out and it was lovely to see her :)

We indulged in fancy shmancy drinks while laying on our chaises.... everybody got margaritas and pina coladas but since I don't drink, I got an Oreo smoothie. It was perfection!

We ate at some great restaurants for dinner while we were there - my beloved North, Tavolata in the Four Seasons, and the delicious Cowboy Ciao. At CC we got pork belly and homemade waffles - UNREAL! 

Me and my cute boy at dinner one night:

Before heading to the airport we realized we hadn't taken a single group photo the whole weekend. Behold, the only one we managed to squeeze in... it's actually pretty cute!

Who wants to drop everything and go back to Scottsdale with me?! I know Ram and my sister are totally down. Can't wait for our next trip out there!

Back To The Desert We Go!

Well here's something fun. Today we are heading to Arizona for a family reunion in the desert!

Last year, my beautiful mama took me, Ram, Bay and her boyfriend to Las Vegas for the First Annual Memorial Day Weekend Family Vacation and we all had a great time... so we're doing it again! Can't wait to see my sister - we've been looking forward to this weekend for months.

If you need me this weekend, I'll be here soaking up the sun, swimming in the pool, eating delicious chips & guac, and hopefully getting a sick tan to kick this summer off right! 

Hope you all have a fabulous Memorial Day Weekend!

NO SHOPPING MAY: Preventing Me From Buying Pretty Things Since 2011

Raise your hand if you didn't see this post coming. If all you longtime readers aren't raising your hands I am quite frankly shocked. You're telling me you DIDN'T think I would do at least one post during NO SHOPPING MAY about the items I am currently DYING TO BUY?!

Psh. Of course there would be a post like that. And here it is. I've been bookmarking and pinning and drooling over these items for 23 days now and you better believe I'll be buying some of them next weekend! 

So, without further ado:

ONE: So simple and yet so chic! These Kenneth Jay Lane earrings would seriously go with anything.

TWO: Isn't this necklace gorgeous? I love the contrast between the tortoiseshell and the sparkly pendant. 

THREE: I currently have this brand new Essie color on my nails and I AM OBSESSED. It's called Boom Boom Room, it's a light bright hot pink (basically my favorite color), and I'm ordering it on June 1st I love it so much!

FOUR: Obsessed with these sandals. So sparkly and under $100? NEED.

FIVE: I'm in the  market for a new bathing suit... the combination of J.Crew + pink + stripes is calling my name.

SIX: I have been eyeing these Kate Spade wedges for a looong time and now they're on sale! How could I not?!

SEVEN: Such a beautiful dress. I love the way DKNY fits me and this dress would be perfect for work or play!

EIGHT: My beloved Elizabeth & James sunglasses which I wear every single day are now available in PINK! 

NINE: Sheer, polka dotted, black and white, peplum-ish... Yes, also coming home to live with me. #whydoIevenbotherwithashoppingban 

Looking at this list I can tell you exactly what I'm wanting more of this summer... black & white, sparkly anything, and lots of pink. So basically nothing's new.

I DO have a confession that I cannot keep from everyone - I broke NO SHOPPING MAY for a hot sec while in Santa Barbara! While waiting for R to finish the ceremony rehearsal I had to kill an hour by myself... and lo and behold the only place I could find was an Old Navy. I bought a pair of work pants and a denim shirtdress that I am literally wearing as I type this. I felt guilty the entire time so I had to confess. Hope yall can forgive me - I'm back on the wagon, like it or not!!!

Summer Wedding Season Has Begun!

Summer wedding season has officially begun! This past weekend, we headed up to Santa Barbara to celebrate Rami’s best friend Frank’s marriage to Rachel and a grand old time was had by all :)

We arrived in SB on Friday afternoon, checked into our hotel, and reunited with all of Ram’s friends from Columbia who had traveled in for the wedding. That night we headed out to their wedding mass – Rachel wore an AMAZING feather in her hair and that marked the first time of many times that weekend I cried.

After the ceremony, which was awesome AND only my second time in a church (I was full of questions about the wafer and the sacrament and the Virgin Mary), Frank’s parents hosted a cocktail hour on the roof of an absolutely gorgeous hotel. I made Ram pose for a pic and it ended up being fabulous – total framer!!!

Ram and his bestie, the groom!

On Saturday I was on my own for a bit as Ram had groomsmanlike duties to attend to (including figuring out how to tie his bowtie, a process that I believe took upwards of two hours), so I lounged in the sun, ate some tacos with pals, and got my hair blown out before the big night. Then it was time to head over to the Santa Barbara Courthouse, where the wedding was held on the steps. It was an absolutely gorgeous venue and the ceremony was even more beautiful, especially with their personal vows! I cried through the whole thing... AGAIN.

The beautiful beaming bride coming down the aisle!

After the ceremony ended with some of R’s best gal pals:

My cute groomsman – more framers! #greatweekendforcouplesphotos

Then it was time to head on down the street so the party could get started! The reception was held in a dance hall where the venue is FAMOUS for having the bounciest dance floor in the country. I am not exaggerating when I say when everyone was dancing, I was flying up two feet in the air. It was crazy and awesome!

Also crazy and awesome? The fact that Ram was the MC for the wedding and HE KILLED IT. Couldn’t have been prouder. Everyone loved his jokes and comments and introductions, but nothing beat his own toast… after he spoke, HE PERFORMED A SONG IN SPANISH. A LANGUAGE HE DOES NOT SPEAK. HE LEARNED A SONG IN SPANISH FOR HIS FRIENDS.

Is he cute or what?! I love that man.

The bride loves this picture – the new husband and wife DJ team during the party!

But the fun wasn’t over yet! Sunday morning we woke up and before we headed home, I convinced Ram to bribe the bike shop lady to let us go on a spin around the block on a good ol’ fashioned Santa Barbara SURREY!

It was so fun. I demanded a photoshoot before I would get off the bike. I used to ride these all the time when I was little with the whole fam packed onto one surrey. Memories!

It was a beautiful weekend that I’ll never forget…. I can honestly say that Frank and Rachel are soulmates. I don’t know many people who have that kind of connection with their partner… but they are absolutely amazing together and I have no doubt in my mind they will be together forever. It’s kind of amazing to see. Mazel Tov you guys! So glad we got to celebrate with you!

Some May Shenanigans

Wow. WOW. I honestly did not mean to take a week's hiatus but life got in the way - in the best possible way!

First, so many people asked me how my reunion was. I really did not know what to expect but it was soooo fun! Everyone looked the exact same - with a little less hair on their heads and a little more hair on their faces :) To be perfectly honest, we had planned on "making an appearance" and staying for an hour or so, but we ended up having such a great time that we stayed the entire time!

A group of us met up at my friend Allison's apartment before the reunion for some wine and cheese - she lives literally a block away from the bar where it was being held so that was very convenient! Of course we had to take a little pic before we went - a good thing since it was a billion degrees outside and this was basically the best I looked all night. Ha!

This is the only other picture I took - I was so busy chatting with different folks that I forgot to take any pictures! I also was too busy to eat anything, which is highly unusual :) But after standing for more than a hour near the bar talking and laughing with everyone I needed to sit... luckily a whole table of my girlfriends was right across the way. It was so nice seeing the ones who were in from out of town, and catching up with the ones who I see often/live right around the corner! 

So that was last weekend. And the fun continued a few days later.... Last week there were two Jewish holidays in the middle of the week so my mama and I decided to hop on over to our favorite city for a little Vegas action!

We arrived late Tuesday night. We were staying at Aria so we decided just to eat dinner there rather than running all over the strip, so we went to Julian Serrano for some tapas. It was very good! If you go I recommend the patatas bravas and the goat cheese stuffed dates for sure.

We spent most of Wednesday laying by the pool - it was GORGEOUS, not too hot with a nice breeze. Isn't the Aria pool pretty? We got two chaise lounges right by the water fountains. I couldn't get over what a difference it was being there in the middle of the week, since usually we go for the weekend - so much less crowded! It was so nice!

Pretty mama before dinner at Cut! We decided to change it up a bit and went to Wolfgang Puck's steakhouse Cut in the Palazzo rather than our favorite go-to, Craftsteak. I can write more on this if anyone is interested but it was delicious - probably one of the best steaks I've ever had. I'm happy we finally tried it!

Beautiful butterflies on the ceiling in Aria:

We spent Thursday in the mall - I tried to remain strong during NO SHOPPING MAY and thankfully my wonderfully supportive mother bought me an adorable leopard skirt that I would have been terribly sad to leave behind :)

We got home from Vegas on Thursday night - just in time for me to unpack my bag and REPACK it... because the next morning R and I headed up to Santa Barbara for his best friend's wedding! #somanytrips #ilovetraveling #readytojustlayonthecouch

I'll be back tomorrow with a FULL recap on that, cuz it was awesome. In the meantime I'll just mention that Ram was the MC for the wedding and PERFORMED A SONG IN SPANISH TO THE DELIGHT OF EVERYONE GATHERED. Get excited for all the details tomorrow :)