MIA, Restaurant Week and TnT!

Sorry I have been MIA the last few days. A busy busy week. Work of course and then it was restaurant week in Madison. Meaning I HAD to go out for dinner at least 2 nights. Tuesday night was Kickshaw which was pretty yummy and a nice warm atmosphere. The company was great also :) but the winner was Wednesday night at Fresco. First of all the restaurant is on the roof top of The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. Its a small restaurant basically made of glass so you can see out to all the surrounding buildings. In the summer it is amazing because they have a roof top sculpture garden and you can sit out there and enjoy the night. This past summer my sister got married in this garden so I really like this place. In January its a little to chilly to be outside but still a great view. Everything about this place feels romantic.

Anyways Jeremy and I had a date night and went here for dinner. We both got Scallops as an appetizer. I was going to try the butternut squash bisque but when Jeremy implied that he wasn't going to give me a bit of his scallop I figured I better get my own. Main course RICOTTA CHEESE GNOCCHI. Yum Yum Yum! Then Dessert Cinnamon Creme Brulee. My favorite is that little crunchy part on the top. A very enjoyable night.

Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the food. I think Jeremy finds it a little strange when I take pictures of food. You'd think he'd be use to the strange things I do by now. So no pictures of the food. but I will leave you with a few pics of this wonderful building which I am sure I will have to mention again in other posts. It has so many beautiful things about it I am sure I won't be able to mention it just once.




Did I say leave you? I forgot something important I wanted to mention the other event that kept me busy this week. Last night was the Kick Off party for Team in Training. That's right I am training to run my first half marathon. Yes me! Have I ever done this before? No! Am I a little terrified? YES! but along with training to run a marathon I am going to be raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. That is the part that really has me going. I will be training to help people who are much more terrified then me trying to run a few miles. They are terrified for their lives. So in the next few months along with decorating and design I am sure you will be hearing lots about my sore legs and how beautiful my feet are looking. Plus Hopefully lots about all the money I am raising for this cause. Make sure to check back and see how my training and Fundraising are going.

If you would like to make a donation and help me with this cause please click on the TnT button on the right side of my blog and stop by my fundraising page. Every dollar WILL help.

29 things before I turn 30!

So, as I was perusing through some blogs this morning I was inspired by this and decided I wanted to make a list for myself. 29 things before I turn 30! I ONLY have 4 months to do this So I will keep my list a little easy but just wait. 30 for 31! I will have a whole year for that one.

So Datadada.... Here's my list.

So many dresses....

Over the weekend I met up with my good friend Hannah and some of her friends. We were off for a morning of bridesmaid dress shopping. Hannah made what I think is a great decision. She picked the designer and the color she wanted then said try them on and pick whichever you like the best. All of the dresses were lovely and to be honest they seemed to look good on everyone. So now time to make a decision. Here are a few that we were looking at.







Which ones your favorite? I think I like 1 and 5 but... they are all so pretty :) and 3 wasn't there to try on but I like that one too. Oh the decisions. Maybe she shouldn't have given me an option;)

Simply White

I always talk about how I can't wait to move out of my apartment and into a house so I can paint my walls. My boyfriend always jokes "no I like the white walls, it looks so clean and modern". Like he knows what he's talking about. Then as I am looking for inspiration what do I keep coming across.... these lovely WHITE rooms.







There is something clean and elegant about these rooms. I think it is the different textures and shades of white that really make the rooms work.

I also love these rooms that are basically white and then get you with a pop of color. Really makes you smile:)






So maybe he's right a white room can work. Now watch me try and pull this one off and he'll want some color:)

No more white walls

Did you ever live in an apartment building where they wouldn't let you paint the walls? Did you feel trapped in boring Vanilla while wanting some rocky road. I felt that way until I discovered Uppercase Living and HAD to become a dealer. Click here to check out my site and then if you fall in love with something you can contact me to place an order.






Uppercase Living sells vinyl expressions that you can use just about anywhere. From walls to window to mirrors the options are endless.


These fun embellishments are great to liven up any boring apartment or add a little touch to a room. I think they are so much fun. I could probably put these up in every room. Good thing I have my boyfriend to stop me:) I have so many ideas for these. I am sure I will share later in one of my DIY projects.

Ogling some LuLuLemon

So in the past few weeks that I have fallen into the blogging world I have also stumbled across something else. On many blogs I keep hearing other bloggers mention LuLuLemon. Some of you might be thinking "Duh, Anessa where have you been?" Well luckily no where close to this store. If you are sheltered like me. Click here and check it out for yourself. If not then you know what I am talking about. Something about this store is me drawn in. Couldn't really tell you what it is. The comfy Yoga and running gear they sell. The name, but whatever it is they are doing something right. I keep coming back to that sight and just ogling the beautiful items. A little pricier then my budget is allowing right now but a girl can look right? Plus there is always birthdays:) So here is my wish list.





The last ones a running skirt. I heart it:)

Make a statement!

So for months now I have owned these lovely bags, one in blue tie dye, polka dots and flowers. A very cute accessory to carry my groceries in. The only problem is I never remember to bring them to the store. Anyone else have that problem? Well I am putting them in the car tonight so hopefully I will start remembering to bring them.

Reusable grocery bags are popping up everywhere and in every way. Mine were made by a former coworker. She makes hers from fabric, sometimes using old sheets, or shirts. I have seen others made from repurposed rice bags, canvas, and check out this one made of old plastic grocery bags.



Well I plan to make a huge effort in using mine I hope you do the same. Make a statement, lets go Green! Remember every little bit helps.

What small step are you doing to help our planet?

A Little Bit Country

At a family Christmas party a few weeks ago I received these bowls. My family does one of those exchanges where you pick a gift and then are able to steal gifts from another family member. This is a fun game but on occasion you end up with gifts you don't really care for. Other times you get great gifts, like the picnic bag I had my boyfriend steal:) Yes, there is a lot of game play when there is a gift you really want. Not that these bowls were a bad gift, they are actually very nice big bowls. Perfect for a party. The only thing is they are a little bit country and well....If you know me I am definitely not.

I could regift or even better I thought why not repaint. So I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up a variety of paints.



I came home started my project and FAIL!!!!! The small tubes of paint coated to thin. The little containers with multiple colors seemed to thick. The pens worked the best but would start painting and then stop working. Leaving the paint to not go on smoothly. :( Any suggestions, Ideas for my poor bowls? I may attempt again with the pens. So hopefully I will be able to show you my lovely bowls in a future post.

Purple Haze

So I am at that age when many of my friends are getting married. I might possibly be the next girl for 27 Dresses:) Anyways within a month 2 of my good friends are having weddings in which I get to be a bridesmaid. They have both picked purple for there color. At first I thought oh no both purple. Then I was browsing the many on line inspiration boards and was amazed how different each board looked. Check out a few I came across.








My friend Hannah had mentioned purple and red. All I could think was Red Hat ladies until I saw this last image. Isn't it lovely? I was eating my words. Sorry Hannah!

Anyways I was amazed at how so many people took the color purple and made it work for spring and then again using darker shades for fall. It will be fun to see how different my 2 friends weddings are. Now hopefully for my sake they pick the same dress so I only have to buy one:) but that wouldn't be much fun would it? So stay tuned for dresses, invites and favors. Cause I am sure I will be helping with lots of these things coming up.

A sea of black.....

So I walk into my office this morning and my cubemate is wearing black pants and a gray sweater, I go to talk to another co-worker and what is she wearing? Black & Gray. I look down and what am I wearing? gray pants, black shirt and gray cropped jacket. Is it the cold winter blahs that are getting to all of us? So I have decided no more black for this girls winter. Time for a little color. I started with painting my nails a lovely shade of Frosted Ice Calypso.



Who needs black when we can have BLUE. So for the rest of January I plan to wear as much color as possible. If I wear black pants they must be paired with a colorful top. If I wear a black top I must wear colorful accessories. Let's see how I do. I think I wear more black then I realized.

To the new year...

Hello 2010

With the new year upon us it is time for the good ole resolutions. I alway say eat healthier, exercise more, save money. Not that I don't want to do these things but I have decided rather then say the usual I would like to make a list of things I would like to accomplish. So here goes...

1. Start a blog
2. Create more of my own artwork
3. Start selling illustrations on Istock
4. Create an etsy store and sell my art
4. Run a half marathon
5. Take a class on web design
6. Create my own on line portfolio
7. Read more
8. Refresh my wardrobe
9. Take more photos (I got a new camera today :)
10. Cook dinner twice a week (frozen pizza doesn't count)

Just to name a few! So read on and maybe you will notice me accomplishing some of these.