Anyone else love a good holiday sale? This girl definitely does and I took advantage of the one Old Navy recently had over Presidents Day Weekend. It’s so hard, for me, to not get that new pair of jeans when it’s only $20 and truth be told, I’d do that with any brand if you have that great of a sale because I really do like them all …Old Navy, Target, Madewell, Abercrombie & Fitch, Loft, Von Maur, Express, the list goes on… I’m even warming up to Amazon fashion!

I can always find an excuse to either replace something that’s on its last leg like a nice white tee or upgrade a current staple I have like a jean jacket that might have fun detail to it or a different wash (like these black leggings pictured, I liked the distressing so will most likely donate my current black leggings because the less options I have when it comes to picking an outfit the more likely I will be to wear it) or just a new pair of shoes because they’re, well, shoes and who doesn’t always love a new pair of shoes. 🙂

These are a few fun finds from the Old Navy sale that I can either dress up or down with a sneaker or pointy flat. They can also begin to transition my wardrobe to what I hope will be Spring very soon.

If I could pick my ideal vacation spot, it would be somewhere I could relax half the time, i.e., sunbathe by the pool or at the beach, and be active half the time by doing things I wouldn’t normally do at home like mountain bike, jet ski or paddle board. This place definitely checked all those boxes but was even more of a bonus because I was there to watch my best friend get married. The same one who was standing up with me at the altar at my wedding 10 years ago. So it felt like a highschool reunion/anniversary trip/witnessing one of the best days of a couples married life so you can imagine, being in what felt like Gods country, it was almost euphoric. I am always so grateful each and every time I get to witness something as majestic as Lake Tahoe. I imagine I’d have the same reaction going to Africa on a safari or Bali or Bhutan, for example, just breathtaking. You better believe that the planner in me would like to make it a whole family reunion one day and guessing they won’t need much convincing after having seen all my pictures.

We stayed at a place called Brockway Springs and while the interior of our rental condo wasn’t very up to date, it made sense because we were basically only there to shower and sleep since it was so beautiful outside. That lakefront view though.

My official travel review of Lake Tahoe would have to be a hybrid of the Swiss Alps or Lake Como, the Caribbean with its clear, blue waters, and then just picture infinite rows of beautiful, tall, luscious evergreen trees. Add to your bucket list if it isn’t already on there.

We really are so fortunate to be in love and in my case, loved by someone I can honestly say I want to grow old with and experience all life has to offer, the good the bad and the ugly. I do apologize for the mushy side there but couldn’t resist when we were just in Chicago celebrating my sister at her bridal shower and bachelorette party. Lucky in love happened to be the theme for the beautiful shower my aunt and cousins threw for her on St. Patrick’s Day so couldn’t have been a more perfect day in a city that literally feels like it bleeds green on this special, Irish holiday. One we particularly hold true in our family as well.

My ongoing fashion and just overall style motto is classic, classic and more classic pieces. There’s a reason why when I look at Jennifer Aniston in Rumor Has It, for example, that she looks like she’s 25 in one scene…it’s because she’s wearing a classic white tee, distressed jeans and I believe chuck Taylor’s. Want to guess how old she really was when shooting that movie? She was 36. She also wears a classic black dress in that movie that I fell in love with. Classic lines, classic color and classic silhouette. So needless to say, there was only one dress I had in mind for the bachelorette party and paired with a blush colored blazer that just happens to be one of my sisters wedding day colors, felt like I was staying tried and true to my motto that night. I, of course, paired it with some green dangly earrings to show my St. Pattys Day respect. 🙂

Photo credit (and the sweet shamrock headband) goes to my super cool cousin, Kenzie. Love you lady!

So there were two things that made me feel the slightest bit glamorous this past week and one was this Parisian style font ottoman and the other was this pair of d’orsay flats. My mom had the ottomans at her house that she found on amazon and loved them because they store things on the inside and I’m always looking for dual purpose furniture that makes me feel semi-grown up but that also hides toys, for example, that are constantly out with a 2 and 4 year old. Plus, there’s something so romantic about French script that brings me back to my study abroad days and that whimsical feeling.

So there’s really nothing like a brain infection to brush up on some old habits. Considering I was a clean and healthy person is a little frustrating it happened to begin with but I’m going to do what I can to make me feel in control of my life again. Since my doctors seemed to have narrowed the problem down to my mouth, I’ve made sure toothbrushes get a good weekly dishwasher cleaning and I’ve definitely upped my flossing and mouth washing. However, I didn’t have cavities or anything to begin with so trying not to let it get the best of me. Then I thought, what else do I use on my face daily that could use an upgrade and that was makeup brushes so got new ones of those and putting them in these cute organizers I found at Target didn’t hurt either. The other thing I use on my face daily is a towel to wash my face so those now get a weekly or bi-weekly cleaning. Last but definitely not least, I’ve become religious about taking my multi vitamin every morning and probiotic every night.

Not sure if any of this helps but praying it has to help keep my insides and outsides strong if I ever have to recover from something like brain surgery again. Again, trying to let go and let God as much as possible.

The title of this particular blog post has definitely become the theme of the summer. My sister had gotten it for me as a housewarming gift but instead of bringing it to me at my house, she brought it to me at the hospital. On Thursday, June 1, I was tired and complaining of a migraine. On Friday, June 2, I’m being checked into the ER and a doctor came in and told me they had located a mass on my brain. So for about the next couple days, we weren’t sure if it was a brain tumor or even cancer. Then fast forward 10 days later, I had been diagnosed with a brain infection, had the abscess removed and was discharged to re-enter the real world. And did I mention the day after I went to the ER, my husband had to move us into our new home? Some days it feels like it was a nightmare and never happened but given that it did, I couldn’t be more thankful to my entire family, friends and to all those unbelievable doctors and nurses at John’s Hopkins who helped get me back home to my amazing girls and super star husband. I’m eternally grateful.

In a weird way, it felt like this summer was my George Bailey moment from Its a Wonderful Life. He had his sights set on where he wanted to go and things he wanted to do but then got a big reality check about how wonderful life really is right at home.

I know it’s going to take me a while to sort through all that has happened and why God had me go through such a random traumatic experience but for now, I’m on the road to a healthy recovery, taking it one day at a time and enjoying being in our new home with my sweet little family.