I’m not done Christmas shopping.

I am almost done, but not quite. Tomorrow, I will finish my Christmas shopping tomorrow. And I will try not to buy (too much) for myself.

I feel like I have been unusually busy lately. There just seems to be a lot going on with work, with family, with friends and with social engagements. I am still feeling pretty happy though, so no complaints at all.

So what’s been keeping me busy?

• I thought the holidays would mean that things at work and with clients would slow down, but boy, was I wrong. Work is busier then ever…and I am excited to be filling in on a fun account while a co-worker goes out on maternity leave. I;m also getting ready for CES…again.
• I’ve been trying lots of new restaurants with my friend Jess. We’re determined to try all the taco joints in town (so far, Velvet Taco, which sounds a little naughty, is the best) and hit up some of D Magazine’s best restaurants of 2011.
• Holiday parties and gatherings are aplenty right now. Lunches, happy hours, dessert exchanges, Secret Santa exchanges and wrapping gifts for the homeless (for my friend Jana’s birthday…isn’t she the best?!) and my work holiday party coming up this week.
• I’ve made a dent in my Christmas shopping list, but I still have more to buy. My parents are so hard to shop for and I never know what to get them. My friends are getting some homemade goodies.
• Family drama…it never ends. I don’t want to go into it, but it can get exhausting.

More to come as the holidays quickly approach.

A day off.

I have the day off from work tomorrow. My first real day off, meaning not Memorial Day or 4th of July, in three months. I’m looking forward to sleeping in, hitting up the new H&M at the mall, going to the gym and maybe getting a pedicure. And tomorrow night, I have restaurant week reservations at Stephan Pyles.

This is shaping up to be a nice start to the weekend.

Relaxing, movie-filled weekend.

I have three months of free premium movies channels right now and this seemed like the perfect weekend to take advantage of them. So far I have watched:

• - Leap Year
• - The Runaways
• - 500 Days of Summer (which I have seen, but love, so had to watch again)
• - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (saw this too, but can’t get enough Shia and now I am even more excited for the Transformers: Dark of the Moon to come out)
• - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
• - Valentine’s Day
• - The Time Traveler’s Wife (the second half)

I spent Friday night on my couch and part of today parked here too, but I did leave to do some grocery shopping at Sprout’s Farmer’s Market and bought a new Rangers tank top at Academy Sports & Outdoors and did a couple loads of laundry. Tomorrow, I plan to pull up a lounge chair at the pool, read a book and soak up some sun and maybe do a little cleaning around the house. Next week is a shaping up to be pretty busy - lots of work-related meetings and projects, dinner/drinks with my friend Kim, Rangers game…so I am taking full advantage of relaxing this weekend.

Saturday trip to the parents house.

All of my friends seem to be away or busy this weekend, so I made a trip to visit my parents, who I haven’t seen in a few weeks. It was a beautiful day and we sat outside on their deck, ate lunch and talked for a long time. I did a little shopping with my mom and got a new pair of shoes (I had a coupon for DSW!) and a couple of cilantro plants from the garden store. My dad made me a necklace holder, which is basically a wood frame with some tiny hooks on it, and I plan to decorate it up a little this weekend. We walked down the street to an estate sale one of their neighbors was having…I didn’t buy anything. My mom gave me a couple of bottles of wine from their wine rack (score!). I came home with a full belly from the fajitas and sangria my mom made for dinner.

It was a really great day. Sometimes I forget that it can be so enjoyable to spend the day with my parents.

Thanks to a Foursquare tip, I just learned that you can logon to Kroger.com with your rewards card and download coupons directly to your card. Ya’ll know I love my coupons, so this is just icing on the cake.

I’m in need of a shoe overhaul.

Earlier this week, I took out my favorite Nine West wedges, that I have had for a few years now and have only worn once this year when it first started warming up, and the right shoe was destroyed. Basically falling apart. I don’t know how I didn’t break my neck (or face) when I wore them a few weeks ago.

I have lots of cute flats, but I have no spring/summer shoes. I know I am trying to save money, but I see shoes in my near future.

Bags, bags, bags.

I am in desperate need of three new bags right now.

- A laptop bag, but more like a gigantic purse

- A purse, one big enough to carry all my every day crap

- A small, over the shoulder purse, for going out so I don’t have to hold a clutch and so I don’t forget a small bag somewhere (and for Las Vegas next week so I can carry things like phones and business cards and granola bars)

My home renovations have slowly but surely been coming along. My next big projects are my bathrooms. Not complete renovations, although that would be nice, but changing out the pedestal sinks and maybe a new tub for the master bathroom.

I bought this vanity/sink for my guest bathroom today. I saw it a few weeks ago and thought it was nice, but when I walked into the store today with my dad and saw that it was on clearance, I had to buy it. I love good a clearance item!

PS - That rug you see to the right of the vanity is from when I was a baby. It is a picture of three men in the tub, from the rub-a-dub-dub nursery rhyme. My mom kept it all these years and gave it back to me when I bought my own house. Now, it resides in my guest bathroom.

To Groupon or Not to Groupon?

I bought my first Groupon today. I have been tempted quite a few times to buy random things like massages, haircuts and food, but never felt tempted enough to spend the money.

However, I can never pass up a discount on clothes. I hate spending full price for clothes and shoes, so when I saw the $25 for $50 worth of clothes, including sale items, from Gap, I couldn’t pass it up.

I am pretty intrigued by their new line of black pants, which apparently don’t wrinkle or attract lint. With all of my travel, those could come in handy. I could also use some new jeans. Maybe a new white button down, because white button downs always end up looking dingy. And their blazers are pretty cute.

Well, that $25 (and more!) was spent before I even got the Groupon!