Confessions of a Shopoholic Housewife

Okay, so I know that this blog is supposed to be the "True Confessions of a Real Housewife," but before I was a housewife, I was a shopoholic. That's right; I'm a bit of a shopping junkie. I love everything about clothes and accessories and jewelry, and, well . . . stuff. That's just it; I don't discriminate. I just love stuff. But my real true love is definitely the wardrobe department. I shop when I'm happy, I shop when I'm sad, I shop when I'm stressed. Luckily, I'm pretty practical, and I've avoided shopping myself into irreversible debt (or any other kind of debt, for that matter). There are millions of luxurious, amazingly wonderful things that I would buy if I had no regard for the balance in my checking account . . . but because I'm responsible, I just covet them from afar.

. . . but every now and then, I come across something that is reasonably priced (in my humble opinion), and just too adorable to pass up, budget or not. I find that this happens the most either when I'm super duper stressed, or when I'm coming down off of an especially harrowing ride on the roller coaster of life. Shopping is like therapy -- it just makes you feel better. That said, it's not all that surprising that I've had a bit of the shopping bug lately. You'd think that buying all of these delightful goodies for our new house would be sufficient . . . but sadly, all I can think is that a new city deserves a new wardrobe. No? We may just have to disagree on this one.

So in the last couple of days, I've been browsing random website after random website to try to find the perfect deal so I can get my fix . . . and I finally ended up on the American Apparel website. I know what you're thinking. There's nothing exciting about online shopping in a new city; I can online shop from anywhere (even my phone, if I was so moved). But they had some adorable stuff that I just couldn't resist! But don't be alarmed; I did venture out of the house. I ended up at the Buckhead AA location over by Lenox mall.

I got some really cute stuff! A chic, yet comfy, strapless jumpsuit (in the tri-blend material, which I loooove), and a just-thin-enough-to-make-it-versatile striped sweater mini dress that I cannot wait to rock! See below for my fabulous finds. If you haven't already, you should check out the American Apparel website for the comfiest tees ever and some cool styles that you won't see on everybody else. Happy shopping!

Love the style and comfort factor
of this jumpsuit! Sooo pleased. 

Couldn't resist this sash for the times
I want to dress it up. I'll probably
wear it with a cognac belt and flats
of some sort to make it casual.

LOVE this. I'm addicted to stripes.
We have quite the love affair going on...
without the orange tights.

Lifestyles of the Young and Over-Committed

Amidst all of the hullaballoo with the move and the various tedious assignments that I had due all of last week, I also had a cousin who happened to be in town for a few days and wanted to get together.  I haven’t seen her in years, and I knew that if I didn’t take this opportunity, it would be another who knows how many months/years it would be before I got the chance to see her again.  Plus, she’d never met C.  We ended up making plans to have dinner on Saturday evening ... do you know how difficult it is to be the “host” in a new city (that you’ve lived in for less than five days)?  Right.  Because it’s always the host that has to pick the restaurant/lounge/wherever you end up going.  Cue frantic internet searching!

One thing you’ll learn about me is that I am possibly one of the most indecisive people, ever. No, really.  Especially when it comes to food.  I can tell you exactly what I don’t want to eat, but when it comes down to what I actually do want...?  Yeah, not so much.  So after much debate and going back and forth with my cousin, texting furiously about her likes and dislikes and meal preferences, we finally decided on a little tapas restaurant in Miami Circle called Eclipse di Luna.  The reviews looked good, and I’ve never really been disappointed with tapas, so we figured we’d give it a whirl.  What a find!  They had live music, and the food was great!  It was definitely a younger crowd, and the wait was about 45 minutes without a reservation. Silly me, I didn’t even think to make a reservation for dinner.  On a Saturday night.  No comment.  But in my defense, the wait wasn’t terrible – just enough time for us to have a cocktail ... and a photograph.  I ordered a mojito because apparently, that’s one of their specialties. It was pretty good!  (Okay, okay.  I’m a little spoiled by the amazing mojitos I had while in San Juan last fall, but I digress.)

In Eclipse di Luna's parking lot ... make reservations ...
so you don't have to take pics in the parking lot.

When we were seated, we were fairly close to the band, which would be good for a big group of people, butnot necessarily for a first date ... or a reunion between cousins who haven’t seen each other in years.  The majority of our conversation was spent shouting, but the food really did make it worthwhile.  The thing that I love about tapas is that you can order a bunch of yummy things and everyone gets a little taste of everything.  We ended up ordering the fried green beans (which were to die for with a light tempura crust), asparagus with almonds, fried calamari (served with fresh diced tomatoes instead of the traditional marinara sauce, which made it extra light and tasty), carne asada (holy deliciousness), this amazing seared tuna situation with a hearts of palm salad (I don’t know about you, but I LOVE hearts of palm), and the seafood paella. Everything was wonderful.  I practically ate myself out of my pants!  That’s always a good sign.  The best part of this place is the $15 all-you-can-eat special that they have on Mondays.  Definitely worth it, if the little plates that we ordered are any indication.  We will definitely be going back for more, and I absolutely recommend this as a fun place to go with a group of friends.  I wouldn’t say it’s the best spot if you’re trying to get all romantical ... unless your idea of romance is shouting at your date non-stop and repeating yourself constantly.  But if you haven’t already been, you should definitely check this place out.  I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed.

Design Star - Hotlanta Edition

Let me say – I love Atlanta. Always have. The people are so nice, and it’s such a pretty city and it seems like there’s always something to do . . . not to mention how progressive it is, and the fact that it’s so much closer to my home state of Florida. Now I’m just happy to be here. The move had its hiccups, but we seem to be settling in just fine now. We both kind of hit the ground running with the move-in and went full steam ahead ... but I know I definitely have lost a bit of steam. Interestingly, as aesthetically oriented as I am, I have never been an overly enthusiastic interior decorator. I have all of these amazing, creative ideas ... and then I go warp speed into sensory overload and everything burns out rather quickly. My problem is just that I like too much stuff! I can always think of a way that something could be used ... it’s the execution that I have difficulty with. That said, I think both the hubs and I (let me stop being so formal; his name is C) ... ahem, C and I deserve some kudos for all of the progress we’ve made so far.

Don't tell him, but I’m super impressed with all of the über manly stuff that C has been doing around the house. He’s been putting together all kinds of complicated things, and I’m amazed by his patience. I’m no dummy, I imagine that I could put anything together with a good set of instructions; but it would very likely take me forever. If I even make it through, that is. Knowing me, I would get so exasperated about halfway through that I would throw my hands up and quit, and whatever project would likely lay exactly where I chose to leave it in my fit of frustration, silently mocking me with its sad, unfinished frame until I finally got sick of looking at it and sat down and finished it. But anyway, I digress. The point is, between hanging the flat screen and putting together our pimped out new grill, he’s really taking his husbandly duties seriously. I sure am glad I got him that drill set for Christmas.

Anyhoo, here’s the rundown of what we’ve done so far.  Don’t worry, it’s in pictures. Even I’m tired of typing now. 

Our adorable house!

New living room furniture 

Art niche in the hallway

Fireplace (obviously) with the television that my
manly hubs hung

Beginnings of my picture/mirror wall...and a creepy kitty
on the television

View from our back deck

Our Wisteria Lane-esque neighborhood. Pretty sure
I'll be playing Bunko soon enough.

...so there you have it, folks. That's our new humble abode so far. It's coming right along! I'll post more pics as we add more stuff. I've already had a blast refinishing a bunch of our old knickknacks to update and coordinate them with our new decor. One fun tip for refinishing is don't forget about spray paint! It's a quick and easy way to give something a new look and they come in tons of fun colors and textures these days. My favorite is the one that makes things look like they're made of stone. Check 'em out, sometime!

Moving Stinks!

I’ll begin with a bit of the backstory (and I’ll try to keep it relatively brief) ... this whole moving thing kind of happened rather quickly. Like ... crossing the street, minding your business and a huge garbage truck comes barreling around the corner and slams into you before you have a chance to react ... quickly. To be fair, the hubs’ job hunt has been going on for a while, but in his business, you’re really at the mercy of timing. It’s all in what positions happen to be available at the time you happen to be out of contract. Not to mention, the whole decision-making/hiring process can be somewhat timely. So when all was said and done and the ink on his new contract was drying, we had less than a month to take care of all of the arrangements necessary in a move across several states.

Needless to say, we had to move very quickly. The hubs’ new company graciously sponsored a HOU à ATL trip for us to go house hunting and get a bit of a feel for the city. What’s crazy is that right around the time the interview process started, I happened upon a Facebook status update that a good friend of mine that I’ve known since middle school posted about his rental home becoming available in the early summer. I wrote to him explaining the situation, and we corresponded a bit about the details of the house. The hubs and I loved the look of the house from the pics that my buddy sent me, and the location was a perfect five miles from the hubs’ new gig, so it was the definite frontrunner on the list. Well, when we got to ATL, we checked the house out for ourselves and we absolutely loved it. It’s the perfect little rental house for a young couple that’s new to the city and wants to explore all of the options before buying a home locally (especially a young couple that has already owned and sold one house, and still owns a condo (aka Money Pit) in Florida)! It’s in an adorable new neighborhood in NW Midtown, and it was exactly what we were looking for. Done! Cross that off the to-do list.

Once we got back to Houston, the last half of July came and went in a whirlwind of “lasts”-- my last couple weeks at a job that I loved, the last time we could ever eat a cheese and basil pizza from Collina’s Pizza, or get real Mexican food from Lupe Tortilla; the last time I would go to happy hour with the girls from work; the last time I could have a secret sushi date with my wonderful little clique of friends ... unfortunately, I got so caught up in all of my lasts, I didn’t leave myself very much time to pack.

Did I mention that I’m in school?

Yeah ... apparently, my teachers didn’t feel the need to leave me time to pack, either. I know what you’re thinking. How rude, right?! That’s what I said. We’re working through it. Anyway, in typical B form, I waited until the very last week/day/moment to do what seemed like everything. Well, not everything. I packed the bathroom up with at least two weeks to spare. Whatever. Don’t judge.

...but miraculously, we got it all done. After a long, miserable, never-ending night of haphazardly shoving last-minute objects of randomosity (I’m secretly convinced that my husband and I are low-key hoarders. I think the fact that nobody has caught onto it yet just means that we’re really, really, really good at it.) into carelessly stuffed boxes, we taped up the last box ... and that, as they say, was that.

Adios, Houston. You’ll be missed. I know we were just getting to know each other and that we’d only just gotten over that awkward “getting to know you” stage and were really starting to enjoy each other’s company, but c’est la vie. It’s not you; it’s me. This is just something I have to do, you know? There will be other girls. I can’t promise there will be another me, but you’ll survive. I’m on to bigger and [hopefully] better things now...