Raw Silk Road

Top: American Eagle; Skirt, belt: H&M; Shoes: JC Penney; Necklace: Hillcrest Aids Centre in Durban, South Africa; Bracelet: Tiffany & Co.

This week has been full of hard work and full of sacrifice (I'm thinking of my budget and diet here). But it's Friday, meaning the end to this stressful week, a great break from work and obligation, and hopefully a time to lay low and reconnect with... well, the TV.

Last night, like every other Thursday night, I went to my happy hour date with my best friends at a local bar and "speakeasy" called Maxwell's down the street. We usually get a bottle of their happy hour half priced bottles of wine (a Napa Cab this time around) and all order the same meal: BLT sliders with fries or coleslaw. It's a perfect time to touch base about the work week, commiserate, and chat. After a week of eating veggies and avoiding carbs, it's my chance to have two big slices of bacon, four skinny pieces of toasted baguette, a heaping pile of aioli, and some arugula and tomato to top it off. It feels good to be full of some grease and red meat, a definite pay off to a good week of dieting.

I think it's always important to remember to have fun, in the middle of whatever projects, personal goals, or improvements you're dedicated to. It's important to have a BLT in the middle of a diet, to have a night of drinking out with friends in the middle of a budget, to have a break to watch a favorite movie in the middle of a big household project - we can't survive otherwise. So I hope you all splurge this weekend on something fun, like a big meal out or a pretty new sweater for fall. I know I'll be splurging by sleeping in and not thinking about anything important for at least 24 hours.

(As for the outfit - check out my top! It's raw silk that I originally got a American Eagle, of all places, and it was only $9 at the time!)