Awkward and Awesome

Maxi Dress made into maxi skrit: CC California; Tank top: BCBG; Jean Jacket: C&V Jeans; Clutch: Tommy Bahamas

Awkward:

-Trying on clothes in a woman's dressing room and hearing a males voice in the room next to me holler at the sales clerk, "Does this floral dress come in any other sizes?  It just doesn't fit me."

-Standing behind a man at the Post Office who was sporting a serious spray tan, a neon yellow crop top, fanny pack, glasses with a mirror projecting off of the side of his frame, and shorts that showed waaaay more than anyone was asking for, if you know what I mean.  Let's keep it in the pants sir.  Seriously, I missed the boat on snapping a camera pic of this to evidence just how ridic this was.

-Saying hello to someone at the gym and then immediately walking into a glass wall.  That'll make an impression.  Seriously though, what is the point of a glass wall?  Are they there just to make girls like me look entirely clumsy?

Awesome:

-Our new house.

-Our new king sized bed, king sized pillow, and stone blue Egyptian cotton sheets with 500 thread count we received yesterday.  Call me Kate Middleton because sleeping has never felt like such royalty.

-Doggy doors.  Now I just need to figure out how to get our little booger to use it.

-French fries.  I don't care how bad you are for me.  I will eat you all day long.

-Memorial Day weekend.  Hence, three day weekend.  Hence, it is now officially fashionably acceptably OK to wear white pants.

-My UrbanMinx Juicy Couture giveaway.  Don't forget to enter!      

Shop Your Closet

Vest: FreePeople; Shirt and Necklace: Thrifted from Lollypop Vintage; Shorts, Belt and Shoes: UO; Bag: c/o Frock Candy

I'm really trying to shop my closet rather than shop the mall. It's much easier on my check book. If I do shop the mall, I want to stick to accessories such as shoes, fun bags, jewelry, belts and key pieces to add depth and to build around the basics of my weardrobe. Moving helped me come to this realization because I was able to reassess what I had. I ended up giving a few bags of clothes away. (Don't worry Kari, I saved the best for you.) But I realize that if I haven't worn something in over a year, chances are, I probably won't wear it this year. It is best to have items in your closet that you like to look at and that you like to wear. Otherwise, when you wake up in the morning, open your closet, and see clothes collecting dust because you never wear them, then that dreaded though will enter your mind and you will think, "I have nothing to wear!" So clean out those closets ladies, give away some clothes to friends or to those less fortunate, or even try to sell them so you can go out and buy something shiny and new to sit in your closet. Deciding what to wear should be easy.

The Bloggerhood of the Traveling Tote

Blazer: H&M; Romper: BCBGeneration; Heels and bracelets: UO; Bag: c/o Frock Candy; Earrings and Necklace: Francesca's Collections

So this bag has been on quite the little adventure.  If only it could talk.  You may have seen this three rosette tote going around to other bloggers, such as Teika from Selective Potential, Sydney from The Daybook, Lauren, from Busy Bee Lauren, Moi, and then I will send it to the new bride Maura, at M Loves M.  The rocking online clothing boutique Frock Candy proposed a challenge to see who could style it the best.  You guys vote and the winner gets to keep it and style it to their little hearts desire. The tote and I have already bid our adieus. And yes, I pretty much had a nerding out moment when I received the bag in the mail because I have girl crushes on every single one of these bloggers!  To think I get to hold the same bag as all them!  I swoon!!   

Moved Out and Moving On

Image via Simply Hue

I didn't believe Husband when he said, "Katie, moving is one of the number one stresses a person can go through in life, look it up on the internet."  My reaction to this was, "Pshh...yeah right!  Moving is awesome fun because we get to go to a new place!  I guess I'm just a stress-free person."  La, la, la, I'm perfect.  Not.  Insert foot in mouth, and make sure it's a yucky one.
Fast forward to Friday night and the emotional meltdown I unloaded on Husband.  Hey, it happens, right?  I felt like a balloon that eventually was going to fly away, wither, or pop.  I happened to chose the latter.  
Sometimes when life is moving all around you, you fail to realize what is actually going on, or what exactly it is you are experiencing.  Emotions, thoughts and actions jumble together and cloud that brain and heart of yours to the point where you forget, to just breathe.  Breathe.  Go ahead, do it.  Feel it.  Be thankful for it.  It's kind of amazing, right?  A passive action so essential to life and health.  I didn't realize the actual impact moving was having on me.  However, after an extremely long week/weekend of putting things into place, feeling emotional after saying goodbye to the condo where I started a life of my own, then started a life with my Husband, I finally feel a sense of happiness.  Happiness to begin a new chapter, to not look back, to quickly glance forward but not linger there too long, then settle to live fully in the present.  And hopefully remember to breathe along the way.

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P.S.~Sorry for the lack of outfit posts.  Today I am covered in paint.  But go see my interview on the fabulous blog Dream Book Design!  Adrianne and her hubby are AMAZING when it comes to home renos and decorating on all on a budget.  Swing on over there for some serious design inspiration!  And don't forget to enter my Juicy Couture giveaway!

Juicy Couture Giveaway!!!

UrbanMinx.com, is a a fabulous online clothing boutique that offers high-quality designer clothing at contemporary prices (which is code for discount).  Now, who doesn't love a discount.  Lucky for you, Urban Minx is offering you the chance to win these lovely Juicy Couture ankle jeans, that carry a retail value of $128!  Ummm, yes please!  Aren't they perfect for spring and summer?  I want to pair them with this or this.

To enter a chance to win these Juicy Couture jeans:

1. Like UrbanMinx.com on Facebook and leave a comment that Katie sent ya'.
2. Follow @UrbanMinx on Twitter
3. Follow UrbanMinx.blogspot.com
4. Do an Irish Jig.

Your chance to win these ends on May 31st.  Leave a comment below telling me what you did.  Separate entry for each!

And before you go, I have one more treat:

Take advantage of the 15% off coupon code UrbanMinx is offering!  Just enter RUNNINGON at checkout!  

Oh and one last thing, I'm also guesting on Work Your Closet today!  Go chex it out after you've entered the giveaway!  Happy Friday!

Accessor-Me

Shirt: Splendid; Jeans: JBrand; Clutch: Aldo; Bracelets: Aldo, Francesca's Collections; Earrings and Necklace: Francesca's Collections; Hat: Sundrop's; Glasses: Kiosk at Mall

When it comes to accessories, I usually think less is more.  I have these silly little rules, like if I wear a long pair of earrings, I forgo wearing a necklace.  I don't know what happened, but something in me went into overdrive and I packed them on as if they were going out of style.  I'm talking hat, fake eye glasses, long dangly earrings, chunky necklace, chunky bracelets, and a clutch.  The one accessory I am missing is my Hubby.  He makes me look best of all.  But I'll see him later.  We are doing the final moving push tonight and hopefully, we will be sleeping in our new home tomorrow!  BBQ at our place!  Hotdogs only.  And I'm not talking about the food.

A Case of the Mondays

Dress: VeronicaM c/o Muse Apparel; Shoes: Stuart Weitzman; Necklace and Bangle: Francesca's Collections

Well, it's safe to say that I woke up today not ready for the week.  I literally laid in bed and had to give myself a pep talk.  Husband and I are in between moving from a tiny condo into a three bedroom house.  (You can't see it, but I'm doing the happy dance.)  Needless to say, my wardrobe and my life are packed up in boxes garbage bags and it has become difficult to find where I even put my underwear.  Don't worry, I found it.  And to top it all off, I slept walked the corner of my eye into the edge of an open cabinet last night, cried like a little girl (which I'm really embarrassed about), and then fell asleep with a bag of frozen corn on my face.  Somehow I am managing to get through this day.  I hope your week is off to a better start than mine!  But if not, vent here!  Ready, go.

Trend to Try: Ombre Nails

I've been thinking about ombre nails for a while but have yet to try until I saw Lauren Conrad rocking them from a red to pink gradation of color.  I thought her manicure looked so cute, especially paired with her floral frock, so I attempted to try out this new nail trend myself!

I decided to go with a purple to lilac gradation of color since I already had a few colors stashed in my nail polish collection that I had yet to try.  Here are the colors I chose (from left to right:  2 Ulta3 Colors; OPI "Do You Lilac Me"; Essie "Lilacism"; and Essie "Main Squeeze").

And this is the result I achieved.  The hardest part is finding the best colors that will give a soft gradation on the color wheel rather than one that is harsh or jumpy.  Nail polishes also have a tendency to look different in the bottle than they do on your nails, so you may want to test them before buying/painting.  Bottom line, ombre nails are a fun trend to try, and look especially cute when paired with a a coordinating outfit, such as Lauren Conrad did.  What are your thoughts on the ombre nail trend?  Is this something you would want to try?

Story Time

Jenni of Story of My Life

Hey y'all!  Just practicing my Texas drawl while I fill in for the Austin, Texas beauty turned temporary South American vacationer, Jenni, at her lovely blog, Story of My Life.  While she's off jett-setting, you can find me here, talking about life, and, chilling, and relaxing...you know? Chillaxing.  Anyways, whether or not you read a story of my life, do check out Jenni's blog!  It's a must!  Her knack for writing, beauty and sense of humor will pull you in!  And I'm not going to lie, I secretly wish I could be best friends with her.  Oops.  Secrets out.  Ok bye.  

A Few Pics From the Weekend

Hubby and I double dated with my parents over Mother's Day weekend and took a road trip to Flagstaff, which is located in nothern Arizona.  We stayed at a cabin in the middle of what felt like nowhere and completely unplugged.  You could hear the wind talk through the tall pines and the air smelled fresh and pristine.  We lazily napped on a hammock, grilled ginormous steaks, stayed warm by a bon fire, perfected the s'more, gazed at millions of stars, talked about life, visited one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Grand Canyon, and celebrated Mother's Day at the El Tovar, which is an inn/restaurant that is 106 years old.  It was the perfect weekend.  I hope you all had a perfect weekend/Mother's Day too!     

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The winner of the $25 Apothica gift card is.....

Lulu!!!  Lulu said:

Red Meets Blue

Shirt:F21; Jeans: FreePeople; Boots: Steve Madden; Purse: ShopMamie; Necktie; Vintage; Bracelets:Collected; Sunglasses: Tory Burch

One of my favorite song lyrics EVER.  I have a tendency to rewind that part of the song over and over and over again just to hear him saunterly sing those words.  I have being doing that for years because those words have, and always will, mean something to me.  "Red Meets Blue" is a love song, but to me, those few words speak more about the romance and beauty of life, following your heart, and chasing your dreams. 

Click the video below to hear the song by Matt Wertz.

I Need Your Participation

Dress:  Minkpink from Macys; Shoes: Antonio Melani; Bracelets: UO and H&M; Earrings: Francesca's Collections

Well, skiddly-doo.  This is my "I don't feel like picking out an outfit so I will throw on a cute dress" look.  Easiest go to outfit around town.  OK, so I want to throw something out there, and I'm not exactly sure how it will be received.  But I want to put together a little tribute to all of you - a video - that will air on my blog and will include any willing to participate.  All you have to do is send me a picture of the happiest moment of your life!  It could be a monumental moment, a small moment, a quiet moment, or an all out crazy fun moment.  Whatever it may be doesn't matter; what matters is the way you felt!  Of course, this can't happen without your participation.  So, pretty pretty please, with sugar on top, email me your picture at runningonhappiness@gmail.com.  I can't WAIT to see what your happiest day was.  You have until Sunday!  xoxo  

P.S. Don't forget to enter my Apothica give-away!  Few have entered so the odds of winning are greater.  The winner will be announced this Friday.  I just received the Bobbi Brown products I ordered from Apothica today!  They are so snazzy.  I'm obsessed with the pink cream lip color I got.  It's so perfect for spring and summer.

Shine Service Project

With the radiant Ashley from The Shine Project

Anne and I organizing at the donation center.

The other amazing ladies who helped out!

There are a million different things in the world that can create happiness for an individual.  One of the greatest ways of all is through serving others.  We have a tendency to spend day to day wrapped up in our own lives, focusing on our own problems, no matter the measure.  Every once in a while, like my Hubby always says, "change the channel".  Focusing on others helps us gain a fresh perspective on life, so that when we change the channel back to ourselves, we feel happier.  Happier because we were able to help in some way.  Happier because we put a smile on someone who maybe hasn't smiled in a while.  Happier for the kindness we gave and the kindness we received.  And in all those moments, we suddenly feel grateful beyond measure for all the blessings we are given. 

I felt just that this Saturday when I met up with Ashley from The Shine Project and other amazing ladies to help out at a local domestic violence shelter.  I really believe in Ashley's cause that inspires each and every single one of us to shine.  So, go ahead, shine, and be a light unto others.  I know it's in you!