Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine.

Two weeks ago, I was able to stop in Lansing to shop at one of my favorite grocery stores, Horrocks Farm Market.  It has every type of vegetable, fruit, cheese, and meat you can ever imagine while also offering fun/different/exotic goods as well. I can't help but automatically be happy when I walk through the warehouse because I get a flood of childhood memories from when we lived nearby. The most vivid memory I have is the store's self-playing piano in the middle of the produce playing songs while my sister and I would walk back and forth through the plastic lined doors of their freezer section. Its little things like that which brings me happiness. So when my sister took potatoes and put them through her fingers and yelled "I have mutant hands," I realized we still haven't grown up at all!

Another moment of happiness occurred when I went around a corner and all of a sudden I was in heaven. I had found the wine section! Almost immediately I started walking down the aisles slowly trying to find a bottle that I haven’t tried but has a fun pretty label. 

This is the bottle I finally decided on… its a South Eastern Australian Moscato called Lotto. The label grabbed my attention but it was the description that totally sold me. On the back label is written "Every bottle is a winner." So adorable. It also states they wanted to make a wine that "was full of energy that you are able to enjoy at a summer barbeque with friends or simply turning a Tuesday night into something more special." Which sounds absolutely perfect and caused me to say outloud {alone} "How fun is that?!"

Along with the bottle of wine, I also purchased a few different varieties of cheeses. My idea is to host a little outdoor wine tasting party this week with my close girlfriends. It is the perfect way to get us together and catch up on each other’s lives lately. Hopefully the wine tastes as good as it looks!! {Expect more wine posts in the future. I love exploring different bottles and brands.}

Say I'm A Bird.

Well I finally got my feather highlights from Talulu Salon and I am in love. I ended up getting one black/white striped and the other is a teal feather. The two colors end up standing out but doesn't look too overwhelming. The process took less than a minute to attach to my hair, but it was the decision of what color/types to get that overwhelmed me. Katlyn had ordered pink, teal, black and white, purple, purple striped, white, cream, and yellow extensions. I may have become addicted and want more, however, for now this is just about right.

I highly recommend getting a few of these babies...feathers... in your hair. Perfect for summer, ladies!

If The Shoe Fits...

...Buy it!
It is safe to say, I live in a pair of wedges. I could totally live in heels if my job and lifestyle would permit it, but honestly wedges are my godsend. I am 5’5” so I love the extra height, full support, and of course the sass it can add to any outfit.  So lately I have been scrolling through pages of shoes online, looking for my new pair of summer wedges. The only limitation for work is the shoe needs to cover my toes, due to the heavy machinery I am around all day. *I should wear steel-toe boots… But I can’t fully commit to it because I am not able to pull it off. {Haha, now I am picturing myself in a skirt with workboots…sexy. Quite the visual.} But now for attractive visuals, a.k.a the wedges that I am torn about purchasing:

Steve Madden

Micheal Kors

Tory Burch

Coach
{Yes it has a peeptoe,
but maybe no one will notice}

Some of these wedges are "wishful thinking" items but... my first payday is this Friday. I hate to say it, but its not looking good for my banking account! I am trying to justify it by remembering that I have been a poor college student for the past few months and been counting down the days until I had extra money. So here's my logic. I am going to allow myself to spend half of my paycheck and save the rest. I promised myself I would be really good with money this summer, but I am seriously drooling over these shoes. Plus, I bet at least one of these pairs would brighten any 10 hour work day. I am going to reward myself! Now I have to choose...

Beauty Salon Talk Over Coffee.

I was downtown yesterday grabbing a drink at my favorite coffee shop, Roast & Toast, when I ran into Megan who was one of my friends from high school. {Side note: this java joint has become a staple of our town and a total tourist-stop in the summer, so I am getting in as many visits as possible before "they" get here. The first picture is an exterior shot of the front of the shop. Those are broken coffee cups and saucers around the entrance... So cool and clever!}

So we decided to sit down to catch up for a few minutes while enjoy the first few sips of our hot Roast & Toast Blend coffees. Megan had just come from her sister's new salon after getting her make-up done because Katlyn had a few open appointments that morning. While sitting in the chair, Katlyn told her about the new shipment of feather extensions that just arrived and how Megan should definitely get some. Which is true because they'd look outstanding in Megan's red hair. A half an hour later, she decided to do it and now has a whole new look... I was kind of jealous! Haha. Over the past few months, I have been looking into this "trend" but it was the first time I had seen it in person. I feel in love!

Here's where this story is going... Well after saying goodbye to Megan, a few minutes later I got a Facebook alert. It was her sister, Katlyn, sent me a message saying she'd love to do my feather extensions if I am ever interested. I couldn't help but feel like it was fate. I was meant to have feathers in my hair :) {A little extreme, I know. But I need more excuses to do this!} So I replied saying anytime this week after I get out of work at 4:30 pm would work great. So now I'm waiting to hear what day works best with her schedule. Also, I told her to choose which color would look best in my hair because since she has known me forever, she knows what will fit my personality as well as my style. Win-win! So I started scrolling pictures online trying to find a happy medium between not too extreme because I have full-time job, but enough color to make it pop. I love this idea:

I mentioned the idea to some of my co-workers {which are all male} and now they think I am insane, which makes me want to do it even more... Yeah, I am one of those people. So add "spite" to the pros list. Haha, but honestly I am so excited to get it done! I will post pictures once they are in...

Update: Okay its official... well as official as a hair appointment can be... Tomorrow at 5 p.m. I am scheduled to get my new feathers. I cannot wait to recite "Say I am a bird..." {yeah, thats a Notebook reference} over and over again to everyone I know. So be prepared!

Good Morning.

This was the view as I walked to my car at 5:30 this morning to head to work. Talk about starting the day off perfectly! It is too beautiful to not share... so enjoy!

A Girl's Workspace in a Greasy Man's World.

I am currently working for an aerospace engineering firm as the only woman engineer on staff, so I thought I'd show how I am able to bring some girlie-ness into a man-dominated field. Since I wear earplugs and safety glasses most of the day, I find it extremely important that my outfit/makeup are at least fashionable to try to even out the dorky gear. As for my desk, you can totally tell it belongs to a girl who loves the color pink and lots of busy prints. Whether it’s the things on my desk or the bright & bold computer background, it totally stands out amongst the other desks covered in fixture prints and manila folders. I can’t help that I am firm believer that colors change your attitude and lookout, so at least my desk makes me happy even though working at 6 am doesn’t.

But don’t get me wrong… I can definitely hang with the boys.  For example, my co-workers laugh at how I can be dressed up and put together then be able to roll my sleeves up and get my hands arms covered in grease. I’m caught in between two worlds... which definitely makes it fun. So here's a look at my desk and the items that are ALWAYS present:

On Tuesday, I was given that pile of work and told "well that should keep you busy these summer months." Yeah, he wasn't lying. I haven't made much of a dent yet. But hopefully I will be able to finish all those projects by August in order to surprise them with my efficiency. Let's hope so!

One of my favorite things and would be totally lost without is my Blue Jacket’s calendar… Yes, I am a diehard Red Wings fan, but this little gem holds my hectic life together. My best friend Emily received two of these calendars at a Columbus game awhile back and was nice enough to share. Thank goodness for that because now every month I get to see a new professional hockey player’s action shot. Of course I made it color-coded, so at a quick glance I am able to decipher my little brother’s baseball games vs. my summer plans. What is sad is I rely on this calendar more than the planner in my bag or the app on my phone… it was the first thing I put up in my office space. It’s the only form of artwork I have at work… for now.

Don't you love the silver smiley face at the top of my calendar? My coworker Jordan drew a face on the cupcake foil wrapper as a thank you/compliment of my Red Wings cupcakes earlier this week. I had to keep it because its stinkin' adorable. I am sure my desk will reflect more about me throughout the summer... so I will post if there is any new changes. Its definitely a work in progress!

Intense and Dark Finds.

So in-between my brother's high school baseball games today I stopped in a used bookstore to get warm. I was pleasantly surprised that within a few minutes I already had a couple of books and a movie in my arms. Heaven forbid, I walk into a store WITHOUT buying anything... but the prices were too good to pass up. It's a cold and rainy day in Michigan, so its perfect weather to finally crack open one of my "new" books and relax with a movie later.

I was the most excited to find another Palahnuik novel to put in my Chuck collection. He's my absolute favorite author and even though I read the book years ago, I had to own a hardcopy for that future bookshelf I've been blogging about.

I am hoping to put a list together of other books I am hoping to read by the end of summer and go back to this used bookstore to see if they have them. If anyone has any books they've been in love obsessed with, let me know.