true story

Remember this less than awesome confession from not too long ago?  Well wouldn't you know I found myself there again- not literally at Just Cupcakes, but is Skinny Dip really any better?

It's busy.busy.busy at work right now and unfortunately that leads to stress... which leads to the consumption of a lot of sweets as a coping mechanism.  Trust me, I wish this wasn't my response but I've always turned to sweets when sad/stressed and it's a habit I've found extremely difficult to break.

One day last week I went straight from work to Skinny Dip; sampled almost all of their flavors; chose Frosted Cupcake; covered it with cookie dough bites, Reese's cup pieces, whipped cream, and cherries; checked out and made my way back to the car.  Did I mention it was pouring rain?  Well, it was and that didn't deter my mission in the slightest.  Nope.  I proceeded straight back to my car, shoveled my fro yo down my throat, listened to the radio, and posted to my Facebook wall that it'd be easier to stop stress eating if I were never stressed.  Little did the people who 'Liked' my post know exactly what that meant.  My guess is no one was picturing me sitting in my parked corolla in the pouring rain breathing easier with each bite.

My Summer Wish List

As it warms up there are so many great things I want to see, do... and have!  Obviously I can't buy everything that I want but there is no harm in looking... and there is definitely no harm in sharing what some of those things are with you.

I've been expanding my wardrobe these days and have started to think more about accessories and shoes when doing so.  Below are some things that have caught my eye for summer.  Have you all branched out this season with anything new and different?

Carrie Bangles from Stella & Dot

Stella & Dot Vallen Pendant 

Crochet TOMS

The Webster at Target Jersey Dress

Rainbow Sandals in Sand

Tanky Tank

Obviously Tank can't talk, but his behavior last week spoke volumes to Jake and I about how he's been feeling.

In addition to Jake being non-weight bearing for 4-6 weeks I've been traveling a lot.  What does that have to do with anything?  Well, between the two of us Tank is typically exercised at least once a day.  Typically Jake runs him or I walk him and clearly neither Jake nor myself have been able to do either lately.  I guess Tank noticed.

At first his response was to act lethargic around the house, but I guess after 2 weeks he decided to take more drastic measures.  He started getting into and destroying anything and everything left out within his reach.  I've lost a pair of navy peep toe heels, a skinny belt (that I wore once and was left on the bed for less than 15 minutes!), a bottle of sunscreen, an eyeglass case (weird, I know) and who knows what else that I haven't found yet.

Frustrated, I vented to Jake and he mentioned that there were other strange things he'd been doing too that I didn't even know about.  Apparently he no longer wanted to play fetch and he pooped in the house a few times while I was away!

We eventually decided that it had to be Tank's way of lashing out from a lack of exercise nd agreed that I had to start walking him again regularly.  I did and things have gotten better.  

I still don't think I'll leave a pair of heels out any time soon, but I'm feeling like things in the house stand a better chance this week then they did last week.

The Windy City

Usually it takes me at least two weeks to unpack my suitcase from a trip, but recently I unpack it within a day or two... only to get it back down and packed a week later.  Ironic?  I think so.

Lately, it's been go, go, go in my world.  At times it's great and at other times I'm seriously tired.  Trust me, I'm not old, but I have noticed that I don't bounce back from trips the way I used to.  Perhaps it's because I'm traveling more, but perhaps not.  Regardless, it's starting to take it's toll.  Thank goodness after next week I have over a month before I see another plane.

However, the point of this post wasn't to complain but rather to share a recap from my most recent trip to Chicago.  I tried taking as many pictures as possible to document my time there, which was primarily spent in the hotel at the EVENT Marketing Summit.  I had an awesome time, despite not knowing a soul and hope to go back next year.

For those of you who don't know, I am a Marketing Manager and spend a lot of my time planning events (meetings and trade shows) for my company.  This conference inspired me to really think outside of the box with what I do and to challenge myself to take experiential marketing to the next level.  The insights shared from major brands touched on strategies beyond event marketing and it was completely inspiring.

See for yourself.

Tour Chicago by bike

The General Session

Quickmobile's booth- they make event apps

These pods are fully customizable and can be dropped off anywhere- The Body Shop chose NYC as it's test ground and did make overs right in the heart of the Big Apple

At the conference with my new, very short haircut