The Missing Photo!!!

I found this great program after Sharon made a mistake and clicked DELETE on her digital camera (followed by at least one "Are you sure you want to delete everything?") and wiped out the entire thing. The rules of recovery start with "do not take anymore photos" - which she did immediately after wiping the memory card clean.

So on a wing and a prayer, I told her to download a program from LifeHacker and see if it works. Amazingly, she managed to get over 500 of the photos back! (Yes, 500+ photos - dating back almost a full year). We were so excited and she sent an email to everyone telling them to hold on to that program just in case you ever hit DELETE - OK - YES and then scream the scream of death when you realize what you did to your photos from the family trip to Europe and your dear old cat who is no longer alive.

So in the midst of all of the recovery - we found the pic that I mentioned was missing in an earlier blog. This is the two of us having New Years Eve dinner at Brio Tuscan Grille. She wanted to make sure the food was photographed, I just wanted to see what my new blouse by Tahari looked like! :-)

Mentoring

Tomorrow is my first meeting with my new Society of Women Engineers mentee. I'm really excited and looking forward to meeting her, she is a student at the University of Minnesota who is interested in Construction Management. As an engineer, I steer clear of the project managers as much as possible, so I'm hoping that I can be of some sort of help to her in that area. But I guess her advantage in having me as a mentor will be the fact that my company is loaded with construction project managers that would be more than happy to fill in the blanks.... this makes me think of my mentor, Coy. I "found" him on www.mentornet.com when I was in grad school. He was a civil engineer about 30 years older than me (he has kids my age) and enjoyed listening to audiobooks in the car. I haven't talked with him in at least a year but suddenly I miss those conversations. He was much more than a professional supporter, he was spiritually uplifting and motivating. I will write him this week!!

Tuesday is school night for me. Except I'm done with all of the boring stuff classes. This is a personal and professional development move. This is Improv class. Yes, me - learning how to be even more sharp with my sarcasm. If you thought I had you in stitches before - wait until I graduate! I hear that is a good way to improve your public speaking ability and comfort levels. After doing some of the things we do in our class of 15 strangers, stumbling over a word or two in front of a crowd of coworkers is nothing at all. I thought it would be really corny, but I can truly say I enjoy that two hours a week. Everyone get ready - I'm coming to a city near you soon!

On the shopping tip, I'm not happy. I found the absolute cutest black Tahari pantsuit on clearance at Macy's (with and additional 30% + 15% off) - but they did not have the pants in my size. I went to two stores and had them check a few more. No luck. I settled on a gray Anne Klein pant suit that looks really nice and professional. I've been on this suit kick all week and unfortunately, the models online don't usually have the shape to make them look flattering so its hard to go off the photos. But I did find a few designer suits that could potentially turn a few heads on the way to the collection plate or even take my career to the next level... (that's a hint to those of you still trying to decide what to get me for my birthday on Thursday!!!)

 

Who cares about a stupid resolution????

Oh forget it. I really did TRY to stop shopping, but sticking with my extremely low, self-imposed shopping budget of $150/month is WAY easier than stopping. I've tried to not write about my purchases, as if that would make me look better in all of your eyes. But I haven't been on any fun trips this month, unless you count the 30 hours I spent in Dallas last week. (The pic below, of me, Sharifa and her fiance was taken at Rickey's Tuesday Night Karaoke Party at Maxwell's)

So I haven't had much else to do. I do have somewhat of a disclaimer for some of the new items I own... If it was a "gift" then it doesn't count!!!

Right?

Anyway... these are from Dallas, purchased on the day they got a LITTLE bit of ice and the whole city panicked. Hilarious! So Gary (from Gary's Tea) took me to the Galleria to do some damage. The first pair, from Via Spiga, Rickey picked out a couple of weeks ago and when I saw them I thought they were pretty cool and would be something different for the spring so we got them.

 

Then I passed the clearance rack and saw some cute shoes from BCBG that were an additional 50% off. I loved them right away and once I got back to Minneapolis I was so excited to take them out of the box and try them on... but they just didn't fell right. After examining the soles I realized one was a 9, the other a 9.5 (too big). That was the last pair (obviously the person who has the mates hasn't realized it yet) and there's no Saks here. So I'm pretty much messed up for the time being. Anyway, here's the shoe... the stitching on the back was what sold me!

 Yesterday Macy's had a huge sale (additional 30% sale/clearance prices and then an extra 15% off that if you use your Macy's card). So I had a little bit of fun. I got this Calvin Klein jogging suit for $22 total! (Regular price was $78 for each piece).

 

 

 

 

I also got a gray pencil skirt from Theory for $30 (Regular price was $178).

I got my cousin 5 tops/sweaters by Nine West, Tahari, Karen Kane and Michael Kors for a grand total of $77. My stepmom found out and asked to be added to my personal shopping list so I made a return trip during lunch today to get her a few accessories. I picked up 3 necklaces and a pair of earrings for $43 (she gave me a budget of $40 but I figured a few dollars wouldn't hurt!) Two of the items - a Monet necklace and a pair of KC earrings...

All in all, that was a wonderful sale and I can't wait to go back tomorrow! I still have a few more thing to pick up! Check back in a few weeks - I have a birthday coming up on Thursday (YEAH!) and a trip to Vegas planned for the following weekend! I'm going out West to follow my dreams (no dad, my dream is NOT to become a casino girl)! Depending on how lame it is this year - I may be able to post a few b-day pics. But as for the trip, I'll have to keep it general and use the Alibi builder kit for my blog story. Cause we all know...

 WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS STAYS IN VEGAS!!

I am caving in...

OK, so its barely 2 full weeks into the new year and I'm about to kill my half-hearted New Years resolution to curb myshopping habit. For good reason of course... I have been watching two pair of shoes for MONTHS. I posted the knee boot version back in late Summer but these pumps have been weighing heavily on my mind since I first saw them in the window of the Dallas Galleria Gucci store. Then Sharon and April call at 1 AM Monday morning and Sharon mentions that she is looking at "my shoes" online for under $200. I immediately jump out of bed and power up the laptop - for this is a serious emergency!!!

The first is the Gucci Jerry Pump - originally priced at $495 - Now on sale for $205. Just in case my dad is reading this - its called an INVESTMENT. You've been trying to give me away for years and honestly, a shoe like this may help your cause. Or it could at least make me feel better about my own father trying to get rid of me - and I do have a birthday coming up very soon!!

The second hottest pump is the Gucci Veruska, originally priced at $450 for patent, $425 for denim (which in my mind takes first place simply because I heard its the significantly more comfortable of the two styles).

I don't care much for the denim version, but I'd wear it if someone gave it to me! These are on sale for $180 and I have already called Saks to try and locate them since they aren't available online. Sadly enough, there are only two pair in my size, in black, on the East Coast. So now I'm feeling somewhat defeated...

In the spirit of Gucci, who I am desperately in love with this season, the item of the day is the Gucci by Gucci book by Sarah Mower. Yes, a Gucci book.

This is a Limited Edition. Only 4,000 copies produced (or so I've heard). Originally on back order at Neiman Marcus with a price tag of $350, the book is now on sale at Amazon for $99 and boast over 400 pages of amazing photos and full page spreads. So pick up a copy and be sure to order one for me too!

I'm a film star!

Ok, so its not a movie or a TV show - but it is very cool. Here is a video that was created by students in a film class at a local high school. The video was filmed on Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day at my company. I set up an event (with the assistance of a few coworkers) to bring in high school students from the High Tech Girl's Society and give them a day full of learning and fun as we exposed them to different areas of the Construction industry. We had such a good time we are going to do it again this year!

I can't top that with an outfit so i won't even try!!! No item of the day today!

Back to work!

Ugh, the worst part of being on vacation is the end of it - returning to work. So now that the fun has ended, I'm back on the grind. But oh, what fun it was!!!

I started the break in my hometown - Detroit. Saturday afternoon the girls and I met up for our annual trip to Mongolian Barbeque. We try to alternate between Dearborn and Royal Oak and ended up at the later this holiday. Here are some pics... you can tell we were having fun and eating well!

 

Chiquita and I topped it off with an Apple Pie a la Mode from Cold Stone then April and I went over to a cool corner boutique called Incognito, where I bought this cute Puma bowling bag in Navy and Cream. It looks really good with the Navy blazer I found at H&M in New York last month!

And April found this fabulous bag that people keep trying to snatch from her...

Sunday I tried to finish up my last minute shopping. The stores weren't nearly as bad as I expected and after a quick sprint into Pier 1 for wrapping paper (I love to wrap and I have to have a special theme each year) and a brief stint in line at Best Buy, I was on my way to my Mom's to hang out with her and brother for Christmas Eve.

Christmas Day was nice - always good to hang out with family and friends.

My brother decided to take a few pics of himself in the bathroom after Christmas dinner... gross...

I thought someone bought me this long mink for Christmas - turns out it was my Granny's coat... but my aunt actually did give me a gorgeous one for Christmas... I haven't taken a pic in it yet

 

I got the Bose iPod docking speaker system that I wanted a few days before and the Cole Haan lunch tote 2 months before (I couldn't wait for it!) so my major gifts were done and I thought that was it for me! But there were quite a few other things for me under the tree and a few people slipped some $ in my pocket!

Tuesday morning I was off to Birmingham to spend a few days with my "other family" :) It started with a Christmas trip to Saks Fifth Avenue! I will take a "no surprise/pick it yourself" gift over a horrible "can you please hand me the receipt gift" any day!!!! I got this pair of Cole Haan G-series boots and a very sexy pair of bronze Miu Miu jeweled sandals!

After a long lunch of filet and shrimp at Kobe Steaks, a trip to Best Buy to get a couple of iPod RoadTrips - a black one for Rickey and a white one for me -

we headed to the house watched some movies and hang out with the kids for the rest of the day. Most of my week was relaxing like that - lots of movies, some good food, a trip to Build a Bear - which was a really fun experience - and breakfast with an old college friend at Cracker Barrel. On my way back from Cracker Barrel I was distracted by the Adrienne Vittadini sign at The Summit shopping area... they were having a 40-70% off sale!!! I found some beautiful leather knee boots - but they were a little too big in the calf...

 

But I did buy some cute jewelry that was one clearance... this necklace and bracelet...

Then I get back to the house in Birmingham and Summer is sitting outside with Ty the Superdog in the car with her...

 

Since I had a few hours to kill before heading to the airport we hit up the Galleria Mall. I came up on two shirts at Forever 21, each under $15...

That afternoon I hopped on the plane back to Detroit for the rest of my holiday vacation and relaxed around my grandparents' house. No big plans for New Years, so Sharon and I went to Brio Tuscan Grille at Somerset in Troy for an early dinner that evening. The food was excellent!!! We started with the Lobster Bisque soup and ordered two very tasty dishes. You know we had to take pictures... (Sharon lost the only photo of us together so these were the 2 I took). I had the pan-seared halibut with lemon butter sauce and capers, sauteed spinach, tomatoes and artichokes...

She had the gorgonzola lamb chops (you can see one on my plate too) with lemon drizzle...

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!!!

Well, that's it for my vacation! I had a lot to say, but I was gone for a long time! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!! I'll give my resolutions in the next blog... but many of you can guess what they are since I have the same ones every year...

The item of the day is a David Yurman sterling silver and pave diamond disc necklace that I was shown at Saks as the sales lady insisted that it was "too die for". It looked really good on - with a low cut top and a blazer - very casual yet glamorous! I don't know if I would die for it, but trying it on was so worth it after seeing the look on Rickey's face as he glanced at the price tag before speed-walking out of the jewelry department!