Key Learnings, bloggy visit and getting back in the groove

After two blissful, busy and holiday-filled weeks, my vacation ends today. Of course, it went by too fast and it's bittersweet, but I'm looking forward to getting back in a routine and seeing the lovely ladies I work with :)

So before I begin laying out clothes for the week, let's enjoy some key learnings!

Key Learnings:

• Don't stick NYE party favors in your cleavage, because the color dye might run and turn your boobs colors, like...green

• A sweater vest should cover your stomach and touch the top of your pants. Anything smaller than that means it doesn't fit

• As you get older, the harder it is to bounce back from a night of heavy drinking

• A feather bed is like sleeping on a cloud, everyone should have one

• I hate cleaning my bathroom, especially the tub

• Michigan Avenue protests can really slow you down when rushing to a movie

• You can never have too many purses or shoes, especially when they are on sale, like another 40 percent off the latest markdown

• Paying $10 for a one-way cab ride to the cable company's service center to swap out a defective remote at 9 a.m. on a Saturday can start your day off wrong, especially when the transaction take only two seconds

• Indigo denim looks hot but leaves a blue ring on pink Uggs (shoot!)

• I suck at saying no to shopping peer pressure. Looking at you Jenn

• Getting back in the gym routine is not as much fun as getting out of it

Bloggy visit

To get my holiday-induced fat a** back in a routine, I tried twice to go to the gym and got a big FAIL on both attempts. But instead of working out and burning calories, I opted to spend Saturday with two lovely visiting bloggers, Jenn and Rebekah, for lunch and shopping on chilly Michigan Avenue. One three hour lunch and chilly shopping trip later, I'm pleased to say I learned three things:

1. Jenn loves to shop almost as much as me, and will peer pressure me into buying adorable shoe booties from White House/Black Market (see picture below)
2. When sick, Rebekah can rally and keep up with both of us
3. Conversation with bloggy visitors can cover any topic, from family to shopping to the benefits of self-hosting, which Rebekah is a master of knowledge

Rebekah has even gotten me thinking about self-hosting this little site. She can be quiet persuasive, so I think I'll be following up with her on it.

Back in the groove

Vacation has been great. I have enjoyed the fun of not showering every day, or wearing makeup all the time and, per usual, my body has adjusted to a new sleep schedule just in time to change it back!

So today I did the following to get ready for tomorrow: packed the gym bag and purse, cooked dinners for the week, got lunches organized and began digging for ideas of what to wear. 

But the one thing I like about vacation (and not on weekends) is the cool stuff you see on the street that you miss while working in an office. 

For example, check out the below picture of a plastic penguin, lounging in a local restaurant before it opens. It's quirky and kind of cute and it definitely caught my attention as I walked by. These are the kind of cute things I love and miss far too often.

I just hope he got some bread fast because penguins can be quite loud.

Is everyone else already been back at work since Christmas? I was shocked to find out people were in the office Friday, the day after New Year's Day.

(Not the best picture, but it was unusually sunny that day)