keep your socks up.

Gotta have these...

SWANclothing thigh-high garters

SWANclothing sock garters

Yes please.

vacation salvation.

I need a vacation.

New York was a fun weekend, but it was no vacation. If anything, I needed a vacation even more after coming home. I don't remember the last time I shut down a bar at 4:30am. Especially in Brooklyn.

Chalk it up to the February Blues I guess, but Chicago winters are taxing on the spirit. Just when you think "It's almost March; spring is just around the corner!" you get hit with more snow that will inevitably last through April. I don't know how it's possible that I grew up in the Mid-West. I swear if I go more than 4 months without feeling some serious heat on my skin I start to have a mini-meltdown. My brain needs extended exposure to UV rays in order to function properly and maintain my naturally sunny disposition.

I need to get away. And this is what I will bring:

weekend getaway by staceyerin

Can I help it if the only thing that gets me through the winter is thinking about/drooling over/impulsively buying all of the cute things I will wear when the temperature rises above 50?

day shopper.

I love shopping during my lunch break. There a couple key places nearby that I can get to in my allotted break time.
American Apparel
Nine West
Crate and Barrel Outlet
Ann Taylor Loft
The Gap

Plus these, but they're a few blocks too far for my usual 30-45 minutes.
J Crew - Oh yes.
American Eagle
Crate and Barrel
Banana Republic
West Elm
The Container Store
CB2

I'm telling you, this location is trouble for my bank account. Just look at these beauties I got today:
They were so lovely I wore them out of the store, and I've had a bounce in my step ever since. Not to mention they were on excellent sale. I love affordable shoes.

travel spontaneously.

I was talking to my dad the other night and he used this quote...

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

These are words I take to heart. What I want most, at any given moment, at every opportunity, is to travel. When I have a little padding in my bank account, I wonder where I could go and who would go with me, or who I could visit. One of the great luxuries of college was that I never had classes on Fridays - infinite three day weekends. I was on the go - home, New York, wherever I could get to. And summer vacations with Dad and Stef. Spring Breaks with Justin.

Traveling gets harder as you begin climbing your career ladder. You have more obligations and less padding in that bank account. But it is so important to keep traveling high on your list of priorities. I know I do. Jump at the chance for a weekend away - even if it's to the casinos in Indiana with your girlfriends or to Milwaukee to visit your boyfriend's parents.

This Friday I'm hopping a flight to NYC to celebrate Kristen's 24th birthday! It was a relatively spur of the moment decision [a couple weeks ago], and I'm pretty sure she would have gone even if no one could join her. But it turned out to be fate, because Erica and I were both able to go along. And Leanne will be anxiously awaiting our arrival. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a day of work for things that are much more important. I couldn't be more excited for a cliché girls weekend in the city. Not to mention that once again I will get to see my fave gal pal Shay! Love her to pieces.

A preview of what's to come.
That's the birthday girl on the right, looking mischievous, with two of her accomplices.

call it what you will.

I've realized that to the average blogger, my blog title may sound like a contrived pairing of words that could be found using one of those "What's Your Emo Band Name?" generators online. I hate to disappoint, but it is much simpler - and way dorkier - than that.

In 1968, NBC aired a television special titled simply and appropriately Elvis. The program was put together to bring Elvis back into the spotlight as a musician, after years of Hollywood formula movies and soundtracks.

"Only thing worse than watching a bad movie is being in one."
Elvis Presley
(Don't worry Elvis, I still own - and watch - all of your movies.
Including Harum Scarum.)

After the success of the TV production and the rejuvenating boost it provided to Elvis and his career, it became commonly and lovingly referred to as the '68 Comeback Special.

Work hard for the money.

young and healthy.

"I'm young and healthy,
And so are you...
When the moon is in the sky
Tell me what am I
To do?"

Let me just say that I have an irrational fear of gyms. The people that go to gyms freak me out. Trainers give me the creeps. It makes me panicky to see 40 people running side-by-side on machines with light up screens that flash at you if you don't know the right combination of buttons to push. What happened to just pressing "Start" or "On"??

That being said. I have done the unthinkable. And it was a battle. What do I dislike more: douche bag trainers with bad hair or my waning metabolism? What makes me more uncomfortable: overly toned women with bad fake tans or my pants? What should I really be concentrating on: this irrational fear or getting myself to be more active? It's really not about any sort of weight gain - it's about being softer in areas where I used to not be soft. And things that jiggle when I walk down stairs that are supposed to be stationery.

So I did it. I... joined a gym. There is an Xsport Fitness that I pass everyday on my way to work, and again on my way home. It has a pool, and a hot tub, and a rock climbing wall, and a spa... and weights and stuff too of course. If it wasn't on my daily route, I was sure that I would never be able to convince myself to go, so this had to be the one. Todd and I joined on Monday and worked out together that evening for 2 hours. It was not as scary as I expected. (That's a lie, I was still really anxious the whole time.) But we explored most everything that I would use, and I even felt comfortable enough to go back on Tuesday all by myself. I've been swimming, running, stretching and using the weight machines.

This is a pretty giant step for me. I don't ever see myself being hugely health-crazed or anything, but this is a good start down the road to equalizing what I'm putting into my body and what I am working off. As long as I can burn the total calories found in 2 cans of coke, a Chipotle burrito, and a 3 piece Chicken Select meal with buffalo sauce from McDonalds, I'll be happy.

Muscle Beach, 1950s

2010: the year of the wedding

Not mine of course. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

My beary vest friend, Ms. Katherine Coe Stopa, is engaged to be married! It will be a Christmas wedding on December 18, 2010. I'm so excited - finally an excuse for all those hours I spend watching "Say Yes to the Dress" and "Who's Wedding is it Anyway?", and perusing theknot.com!

So much love going around. Who will be next??

furry christmas.

It took me awhile to find my holiday mojo this year. Usually I AM Christmas, but this year I have been so busy/preoccupied that it seemed to sneak up on me. But after a successful first venture into Christmas baking, putting up my tree, and a couple days/nights of marathon Christmas shopping... I'M BACK!

I would really like to post about the excellent presents I am giving to my loved ones this year, but I will refrain since some of them read this blog. Instead, I will share the de-lovely gift I purchased for myself for being such a shining example of Christmas joy.


How cute is this???
Answer: SO cute! He looks like a fancy little hedgehog.
(Please refrain from sharing any anti-fur comments you may have. This little guy has been a pin for a very long time. And you'd be preaching to the wrong choir anyway... I eat my steak medium-rare.)

Merry Christmas to me!

iron maiden.

This is my best friend Justin. Here we are at the adorable age of seventeen:
Likes: theater, wendy's, iron-ons
Dislikes: sports, running

And here we are at age 20:
Likes: shopping, boys
Dislikes: sports, running

And here we are at the ripe old age of 26:
Likes: sports, running, and 140.6 mile triathalons... apparently.
I did not get that memo.

Jussie completed the Ironman in Tempe, AZ on November 22nd 2009 in 13 hours and 28 minutes. He swam 2.4 miles, biked 112 miles and ran a full 26.2 mile marathon.
What an idiot... (I'm so proud.)

Look at this skinny bitch:

have a catch.

I never understood that phrase. I don't believe you can have a catch. You can either catch something or you can't. Or you can be a catch. Or you could play catch; it is a game to see if you can or cannot catch. You can have a race, but you cannot have a catch. End of story.

Another phrase commonly misused: "all of a sudden". It is NOT "all of THE sudden", nor is it "ALL THE sudden". Look it up.