New Year's Eve Attire

New Year's Eve, what a wonderful time of year. Whether your out with friends in the city lights dancing and drinking the night away, or at home with your loved one's cosing it up by a fire and watching the ball drop on TV, it's a magical time of year. The time for new beginnings, new promises to yourself, and a chance to start fresh. I love the New Year's Eve parties my hubby and I normally attend but this year we will be ordering out good take out, if there is such a thing, and laying around in our pj's in our new house. My friends back in Japan I'm sure will be on a party bus headed to Tokyo so drink one, or a dozen, for me girls :)

Though my dancing shoes will be put to rest this year, I couldn't let this outfit I would have worn go to waste, so my dear friend Sarah, an amazing photographer, made it happen for our last photo shoot together in Japan.

Something about black sequin really makes my heart skip a beat. I'm a stay-at-home Mom and so any opportunity I get to dress up and not live in jeans or sweat pants you can pretty much guess I will be there.

During this shoot I was having a mad obsession with my lipstick. It's by Elizabeth Arden called Wine Cream and it's perfect for the New Year! Not red and not cranberry, more of mix between two.

Shoes: Jessica Simpson

Dress: Forever 21

Sunglasses: Kate Spade

Necklace: J.Crew

Earrings: J.Crew

Bracelet: Stella and Dot

Ring: Stella and Dot

Have a happy New Year's Y'all! And please stay safe! :)

My Life Lately

This holiday season instead of making merry and stringing up lights, I'm signing leases and contracts left and right because we have moved back to "Mercia" and to be more specific....Ohio. Never did I ever imagine living in Ohio but like anywhere else the military takes me, I'm grateful for the experience and the opportunity to live in a new place.

Traveling here from Japan was a shit show to say the least. Between my hubby constantly forgetting important paperwork everywhere we went, which sent me back to our hotel room multiple times, to small random panic attacks about whether or not our dogs made it on to our million flights....oh, and a toddler to entertain for long periods of time, like 8 to 9 hour flights on a regular. Dear Lawrd!!!! Mama needed an adult beverage every thirty minutes to get  through that mess. But when all was said and done we made it safely, all of us, to Atlanta where my parents were there to greet us and help us with our luggage and over sized, considered cargo, dog kennels.

By the way, when did everything become so expensive in the states? I swear we dropped more money  just moving back than we ever have....ever!! We have even been to Singapore, Vietnam, and Cambodia all on one vacation and never spent that much money on the whole vacation, which was all 5 star.

We finally moved into our house and I can say without a doubt that I'm super grateful for this big beautiful DETACHED house the Air Force provided us with.

Isn't it gorgeous?! This is way better than I ever dreamed, especially for the Air Force. We thought long and hard about buying a house to it came down to the fact that we don't want to permanently own a home in Ohio and we have a lot of friends that have a hard time renting out their homes, so we will wait for when the time is right and probably when we were closer to retirement status...years from now. 

To say Chrispy is settling in nicely is and understatement! He found his perfect hiding place too, which means I need to use all the other cabinets in order to keep this one open for him :)

I have plans already brewing in my mind about how I'm going to decorate this house. This time though, I'm only going to paint one room of the house since I don't think we will be here longer than three years. I'm thinking gray stripes down a rather long hallway ;) It should be great.

Chrispy loves walking in and out of all the rooms we have....he is constantly on the move. I couldn't be happier for this little guy to actually get lost in a house! Did I mention I love that this place is BIG?!!! :)
With nothing but time on my hands until our furniture arrives, guessing around March, I have a blank canvas to work with and get set up and prepped.

More updates to come....hard to keep up with a blog when doing it on your IPad since the movers took your love, your baby, your Mac desktop :(

Happy Holidays Y'all!

Family Holiday Photos

My house is literally a circus right now as we are about to cross the big blue ocean back to "Merica"! and we couldn't be happier about the move, but moving from one country to another is some kind of crazy that no would ever volunteer for. With a toddler, two dogs, and a hubby, my days are filled with trying to pack a house, feed the family, and sell off two cars, and have everything ready to go in the states for a smooth welcome. I'm so tired already and I haven't even gotten on the plane yet!

To be fair, my hubby is a great help and even taking every opportunity to grab Chrispy so I can do some fun stuff with my girlfriends before we have to part, for now ;) The great part about living at Yokota Air Base is the friendships I have made, and they will last me a lifetime. Can't wait to reconnect with all of them when we are in the states.

Today was bittersweet as a good friend of mine took my last photos that I will post probably when I'm in the states. She is an amazing photographer and we couldn't have been more blessed to have her take our family holiday pictures. Normally we send out a cute card every year but this year a Facebook picture will just have to do, since we will be moving in the middle of Christmas. No Christmas decor in my house this year :( Makes me so sad because that is my holiday y'all!

Just a little cheer for y'all that are dear!!! Love it!! Chrispy was such a Grinch this day but we managed to get through it. Funny story, this is my friend Deborah's shirt from H&M because my jean shirt was dirty, go figure, so I borrowed it that morning, she loved the way it looked on me so much she told me to keep it!!! Major score!! And I'm completely obsessed with my J.Crew necklace. I bought this beauty off of Ebay.com for $29!!! Ebay.com is my hidden gem, and even though you might have to scroll through a lot of stuff, there are always great payoffs!

I hope everyone's holiday season will be merry and bright. Mine will be a little less tradition since I will be probably celebrating in an empty house with Chinese dinner, but no big deal, I'm grateful for what I'm given, a healthy family, money to buy food, and the love of my friends and family that are giving us so much help during this transition for us!

Happy Thursday Y'all!

Just Another Random Weekend

So this is just another random weekend here at the Marquez establishment. We did a lot of napping, eating, more napping, and some finishing of projects, since my days of crafting here in Japan are over.

Case in point, I got the most adorable cow print for Chrispy's room. I wanted to do a gray chalk paint on this frame forever and when this print came in, it was time. Only took 30 minutes total to paint it. Hung it the next day, even though we are leaving, I just wanted to see it up so bad. I'm kinda obsessed with cow prints lately…don't know why. I'm a very random person.

I also managed to finally find a really cute rug I love from Japan. For now its in Chrispy's room, but I see this guy in a kitchen or entry way. I snagged this baby for only $60. I paired it with a Ikea Ludde sheepskin and love them together.

Hubby and I actually managed to get out on a date night!!! Thank God!!! We don't ever go out since little man and it will soon be less simply because we are moving to a new place and it will take me awhile to find a person to watch my must prized peace of art, Mr. Chrispy. Yep, one of those Mom's for sure.

So we headed down to this great Indian restaurant here in Japan, and they were everything and more. India decor here cracks me up, such a weird place for Indian.

Me, really trying to give a cute and sexy look…it failed horribly.

And me trying to get the camera back,…this is a pretty normal pose in pictures for me.

 Oh, and I love this shirt! It's from their new winter line at H&M.

This is the naan and butter chicken and it did not fail in the taste department. OMG!!! It really didn't last very long. I normally don't eat like this, but when in Rome, or should I say, when your leaving a country for a long time, eat it!!!

We decided to go see the movie Thor: The Dark World, and it was amazing!!! My hubby and I are big Marvel fans and the movies really do not disappoint. On the way home I totally remembered that I was wearing my new earrings from J.Crew and had to show how fabulous they are. They made me feel like a million bucks!

We made it home around 11:30 and could passed out immediately after releasing the babysitter. Yep, we are old folks now with a baby, bed time is normally 10 these days, and when hubby isn't home, 9!

Saturday was spent peeling and cleaning potatoes and making chicken broth for all the yummy soups I'm making this week. During Thanksgiving week we tend to eat a little lighter and soup is always on the menu, just so we can fill up on yummy turkey and stuffing on Turkey day.

The potatoes in Japan are the dirtiest I've ever seen, I literally have to scrub these guys so hard that my hand hurts by the end of it. Why is this?

I hope everyone else is having a more eventful weekend. We are trying to lay low and get things squared away before we leave Japan. Easier said than done….just the idea of traveling with a toddler, two large huskies, and a husband has already got me thinking this is going to be crazy. Any tips on traveling with a toddler? Last time he flow, he was only 2 months and didn't know what was going on so this will be way different!

Happy Weekend Y'all!

Happy Place

These past few days I've had so much trouble reaching a happy place in my life. My family and I just got word that we are moving to Ohio to continue on in our Air Force career. I'm so happy for the hubby because it's a great job and in a great place. We have arranged to visit my family before we arrive in Ohio so we can do some "down time" and let my parents spoil their little grandchild, whom they haven't seen since he was 2 months. My hubby even surprised me and bought me a brand new Jeep that will be delivered to my parents house for Christmas. Our house has even been arranged and we can move in the day we arrive in Ohio…I should be so happy right now, right?

I am having so much trouble being excited, I'm more nervous. I love my little life here in Japan, it's where my family has become a family of 3, where we learned to be a real married couple, where I made so many life long friends that the idea of not seeing them is killing me. I have had to say goodbye to so many people in my life before, so what makes this so different? Maybe because I just got more attached than I thought I would, or the people, or just the security of this great country. I can't put my finger on it but when I said goodbye to yet another dear friend last night I couldn't hold it in anymore, all the stress with a move and new location came over me and I lost my marbles….crying like a little girl. I hope that as we get closer to leaving I will feel better about leaving…I mean, it's not my first time.

At least I know I leave this place with my family, my fur babies, so many memories, and of course, tons of friends all over the world to go and visit…because my Yokota friends are more than just friends, they are family.

Now that I got all that off my chest, the family and I went to a Fall Festival recently on the base and it was so much fun…for little man. There were crazy Japanese acts to entertain, crazy good food, face painting, photo setups, bouncy castles, and crazy good food (did I mention that already? ;) Christian just looked so big to me that day, just standing with daddy, holding his hand and walking around.

 Love them!!!

 Mr. Handsome!!!

 Chrispy sat so patiently while getting his face painted…and than he got tired :(

Seriously, they are best pals. I couldn't have asked for a better husband for my son. My hubby may show him how to throw a ball and be a man, but Mommy will teach him how to love and be the better man ;)

Now into a look at what I've been doing in my sad and lonely sorting and packing days that come with a move….me, doing nothing…again :( And I still manage to workout at night…so Mommy really needs a day off at a spa!

And since I'm a little sad these days, a whole lot of this is being used!!! Yeah, I know, get it together Jillian!!!

Hope everyone is having a better day than me :) Happy Day!!!

Just Another Wednesday

Just another Wednesday, hanging out with the babe, cooking, cleaning, and recently me, panicking….because I'm moving to Ohio in less than a month. We were given news by the Air Force that we will be packing out and moving back to the good ole US of A!!! I'm super happy but to say my family is happy would probably be the understatement of the year. With such a short move, the hubby and I are now in packing up mood and trying to sell everything we don't need or use and to also purchase everything we love and hold dear in the this beautiful country of Japan that we were so fortunate to live in. One day, I will be back, but for now, I'm happy to be going home to visit with family and start a new….again. One of the many jobs of a military spouse, to be the rock during a PCS…to go with it and remember you can't control everything…so have a glass of wine, and relax :)

So, with my house in a mess, baby running around like a little mad man, and the hubby busy taking care of all the loose ends, I needed a stress free whatever day. So, who do I call, my good friend Deborah to come and rescue me…or to escape to her house :) We ended up spending the day with kiddos, walking to check our mail, grab some yummy (super bad) Taco Bell, and look at nail polishes…yep, we're really exciting.

After an afternoon break so Mr. Chrispy could nap, we decided to walk back to check our mail one more time and to pick up Deborah's car from a Japanese car inspection that costs hundreds of dollars but you have to do it here….because nothing ain't cheap in Japan! I decided that instead of putting Chrispy in a stroller to put him in my Ergo. Now, I haven't put him in the Ergo since he was a real little guy, like under a year little guy, so I thought he might have out grown this whole laying up againt Mommy thing. Nope!

He let me carry him in this thing forever. All tucked away next to Mommy, warm and comfy….half way there, he even fell asleep. I was in heaven!!! Made me so happy that he wasn't too big for this because this is how we are going to be traveling from Japan to the US.

The night ended up with a trip to our local thrift store (our favorite thing to do besides going to Ikea),  reheating some homemade clam chowder, and roasting marshmallows on the stove.

Yep, all the wile Deborah started making up her own version of Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Stove…when you live where you don't have a fireplace and bonfires are not as common as they are in the southern states…you become creative :)

And multi-tasking as she was roasting while tending to her little new babe Asher….PRECIOUS!!! P.S. Please excuse my dirty and unorganized kitchen…I'm moving!

How was your Wednesday? Pretty great after a long weekend. 

Have a Happy Day Y'all!

Fall

Fall is finally here in Japan…took long enough, and the leaves are saying goodbye to the trees and retiring for the winter. One of my favorite times of the year, the changing from Fall to Winter. It is just such a beautiful time when the leaves change to colors of red, orange, and golden yellow.

Chrispy had woken up early from a nap this week and I couldn't just keep him inside anymore. It was too beautiful outside and there were some leaves that were ripe for the picking, or walking on, as Chrispy likes to do.

Stomp stomp stomp…..

This is the farthest I've ever let him get away from me outside….need to relax!

Waving to a neighbor :)

We stayed outside for a short time because enough though the weather was great and the leaves were a plenty, the sun goes to sleep way too soon during these months.

Happy Fall Y'all!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TITUS!!!

My sweet little boy turned 4 today, not Chrispy, my Titus :) He was my first baby, the first real decision my hubby and I made together as a married couple, and my best friend for a long time while my hubs worked and traveled. So, in honor of my first baby, I had to make a dog friendly peanut butter and bacon cake.

He couldn't take his eyes off of the cake, as if he knew it was for him.

This is Titus's "Blue Steel" pose, he has perfected it over the years.

Now, he wouldn't be a good big brother if he didn't share with his little brother, Apollo. Watch how they coordinate their licks, Apollo in the picture…

 Now Titus licks and Apollo stares.

 Giving Daddy the "eyes"

I love Titus's look in this picture, he is doing like a side and eyes up pose….too cute.

Taking turns having to give their paws before they can eat.

They finally can have birthday cake. I seriously love these boys. I would give them anything to make their lives better. Though having pets is a big responsibility, it pays in unlimited amounts of love…and it has made me a better person.

How much do you love your pets? Happy Birthday to my sweet baby Titus. You have always been my pillow when my head can't handle anymore :)

P.S. This cake was completely dog friendly and made with peanut butter, honey, coconut oil, flour, eggs, baking soda, and turkey bacon ;)