A little (big) news...

That's right, ladies and gents- I have now joined the legions of celebrities that have been running out and getting themselves engaged!

Never thought I'd see the day, I tell ya. I know my friends from college and high school probably think the same thing. It's so strange to think of yourself as the same person (or kid) that once dated other pimple-faced kids and wore chucks unironically and ate ketchup packets without being dared. But that sun has (thankfully) set, and now a new dawn is upon us, friends. We are now adults; ready and able to make life-long decisions, like what toothpaste you actually like the best, what style of clothes look best on your body type, and with whom you will spend the REST of your LIFE.

Pretty heavy stuff, right?


Aaaaaaand....when you DO get engaged, look at all of the fun stuff that begins to take over your life fills your schedule!

 EXPOS

(Flowers from the Diamond Events booth.)


(Dandelion Patch- I believe. Truth is, a few of the stationers had a few of the same prints on display.)

VENUES

We were thinking we might go with a Southern Mansion sort of venue...  

 

 

(Morven Park- Leesburg, Virginia)

(Oatlands Plantation- Leesburg, Virginia)


(Raspberry Plain- Leesburg, Virginia)





Needless to say, my big Dream of Doing Nothing has had to set sail without me, as of recent. But.... with all the business, I've definitely been enjoying this:


(This must be new- at least around here! We'd never seen them before, but they look awesome, don't they? Very apropos.)

Darn You, Pinterest!

So, Pinterest is being a royal jerk and not letting me re-pin something because it has too many characters- despite the fact that the original pin I was trying to re-pin has the SAME amount of characters, and I didn't alter it in the least.

Also, when I tried to comply with their little mind games and cut it back to under 500 characters, it STILL said I had too many characters, when I know I didn't- according to Microsoft Word (and character) Count.

So, without further ado, the very thing I wanted to pin but couldn't, because it had too many characters that I didn't want to lose.

(As a brief preface, I am in the throes of full-blown Wedding Fever, as it is summer time and I am an unmarried woman in my mid-twenties with a serious boyfriend.)

Ahem. Here you go:

"This guy had the perfect vows...

'I will kill the spiders. I will share my fries with you when you’ve finished all yours and are still hungry. I won’t ever pop my collar. I will never be rude to your tummy- when I hear it growl and gurgle, I promise to bend down and reply respectfully. I will eat the mushrooms when we order the supreme pizza. I will kiss the papercuts. and the door-slammed finger. and the counter-bumped hip. I’ll try my hardest not to get annoyed when you whisper questions and comments during movies. I will be the big spoon. I will let you win at wrestling. sometimes. other times I will not. I will send you random txts and leave you silly gifts. not always. not on schedule. just whenever I want to. whenever I think you need one. or seven. I will check your tire pressure. and remind you to take your car in. I will hold your hand. I will love you. I will love you. I will love you.' "

For the rest of my obsession(s), please refer to my Pinterest boards.

 

I know, I know. It's been far too long- as always. If anyone has any idea how it is that you carve out time for a solid blog post every other day or a few times a week, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

I would LOVE to be able to share with everyone all of the things I've thought and judged with my friends as often as we do them- which, as you can guess, would be enough to keep even the MOST unfocused person occupied for quite some time.

 I believe it is incumbent upon me to start this (hopefully regular) flurry of postings with a solid one for which I cannot take full credit. My "dear" friend, Cindy, and I have slowly but surely combed our favorite magazines, blogs, and twitter feeds for our favorite 'love to hate them' phrases.

Ahem... they are.... as follows:  

Words and Phrases “Blogstresses” NEED to Stop Using in Order for Us to Take Them Seriously

1. “I die...”
2. “My dear friends” or “dear friend”, etc. 
3.  “adore”
4. “divine”
5. “simply divine"
6. “obsessed”
7. “juxtaposition”
8. "dine" or "dined"
9. "this piece", "that piece", "my favorite piece", etc.
10. "vintage _____"  

Eh? Eh? Are we right? Haha  Unfortunately, about halfway down this list, I started to realize that I was just making an entire list of things I don't like that Rachel Zoe says, so I just decided to cap it off at an even 10. I don't mean to be cruel, as I still am impressed with a lot of the work these people do, it's just... ugh. I guess I just feel like there's more than one way to skin a cat (so to speak), and dressing it up in pretty clothes first (metaphor for language, people) is probably not the route I'd go.

Thoughts? What are some of the phrases/words that make you cringe?

Hint (not that you NEED one for this!): ever notice how all editorial interviews with celebs pretty much start out the same way? "______ breezed into the  Chateau Marmontunnoticed, despite having just braved the paparazzi last night at the premiere for her latest film, __________. She fluttered across the room and tumbled into the booth, where she sighed a deep sigh. Of relief? Of utter exhaustion? As she ordered the mussel soup and pinto salad, I decided I was about to find out..."

Best. Video. Ever. - "Beauty and the Beat"

And now, for your viewing pleasure...

(You're welcome.)

Ever Wonder Where All the Awesome/Witty People Went?

Wow... I've really been feeling superior lately.  Heh heh heh.  Just kidding.  But seriously, does anyone else ever really wonder where all of the (other) non-idiotic people have run off to?  I keep having that unsettled feeling, like the last squirrel after all of the other woodland creatures feel the Apocalypse- tremor and stampede the heck outta dodge.

Mainly, it's things that make me give this face:      

Yeah... thank you, rage comics.  You've hit the nail on the good-ol'-fashioned astonishingly stupid head with that one.

So, if I can rustle up some classic examples of this, we'll be on our way...

Yes- "fail" to be sure

I'm REALLY hoping that he is just the victim of a cruel, cruel joke here. If not, come, on, bro. It's a lesson in proportions, if nothing else!

Caught this one in a magazine I was reading.  Again, what is wrong with people??

     

                                           

It's Been a While... I Know.

Hello all- if there is anyone out there after all!

I apologize for being so, so incredibly late on posting again.  I realize all too well that it's been just over TWO MONTHS since I last wrote, and now there's an utterly ridiculous amount of thoughts, events, iPhone pictures, and ohmigod-no-she-didn'ts to post about!  But should I just give up, knowing the sheer volume of it all?  Nay!

First, the end of my tenure at my last job.  It was a very nostalgic and sweet end, just like the beginning/end of The Notebook.  (If you haven't seen it, forget it.  You might as well just go take a short walk off a long pier/jump in a lake/enter-other-hackneyed-phrase-here.  It's too late for you.)

Once that was out of the way, I could get down to brass tacks.  Real business.  Vacation.  Ah.  What's that? What is a vacation, you say?  I know, my poor, fellow- clueless, corporate comrade.  I didn't know, either, until I began to pack my bags.  Once I "checked in" (via Facebook; is there any other way?) to the airport, it was the reality check I'd been waiting to cash for a LONG time.

Alex (boyfriend) and flew to Vegas fresh-faced and excited.  Once we flew back four days later......


okay, we were still fresh-faced, but a little less excited to come home to the prospect of work (at a new job, for me), crappy weather, and our true reality.

But if the only alternative to not being nostalgic over trips is to never go on them, then no thank you, sir!  I know I don't travel often by any stretch of the imagination, but I still need to be able to feel the freedom of a hotel room over 500 miles from my residence.  I need to experience the buffet without thinking about how it will affect the fit of my pants.  I need to reacquaint myself with the stomach-churning, stale atmosphere of an airplane cabin, as I cruise thousands of feet from land (safety) with hundreds of strangers and a chair that will....not.....get....comfortable.  Argh!  (I think for a time there, I slept with my legs folded up under me, and backwards.)

Without further ado, however- since I know how these things go- here come the photographic evidence of my trip, to prove I'm not an elaborate story-teller.

And, do you remember where we planned to go???

This... is the view from our room.  If you can read the sign on the bottom left, you'll see where we stayed!

There are so many fun things to do in Vegas.  Like go to terrible, "chintzy" gift shops!  "If it's in stock...we have it!" Um... yes, isn't that how retail works?

And here's what you can buy at these stores!  Lots and LOTS of crap!  It's Craptacular!!

You can drink at the mall!  I mean, you can drink EVERYWHERE!  Awesome!!

Cigars! You can smoke them anywhere! Anywhere? Anywhere!

Of course, the grandiose NY NY was probably Alex's favorite.  How can it not be? It's representative of his home state, and so COOL in design- inside and out!

The Encore.  On our way to the Stratosphere from the main part of the Strip- too good of a photo op to go to waste. 

View from the top of the Stratosphere.  Bungee jump from this height? NOPE.

The view back down the Strip from the Stratosphere.  If you squint, you can see Treasure Island- the little red one to the left of the gold Trump Tower. That mountain beyond is what we woke up to every morning.

NOPE.

Gratuitous alt rock band shot at the top of the Strat.

The night view from the room.  It's really very nice not facing the Strip.  You get to see a whole different facet of Las Vegas- the more natural side.

You think throwing a coin in will ensure our return?

Glamour's Got the New "It" Girl... and she's 21 year-old Jennifer Lawrence!

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

I don't say or do this often, but there's a new girl in town.  I haven't had a true, out-and-out, wish-she-were-my-little-sister  celebrity girl-crush in a long time, but I think I've found my first in a few years! (Sorry, Selena!)

It's Jennifer Lawrence of The Hunger Games fame! Though the movie's not out til this Friday, March 23rd, she's already begun to shoot to mega-stardom, making her prime candidate for cockiness and arrogance in abundance, right?  Thankfully, wrong!

Now, I don't know if it's just thanks to editorial commentary-whiz Willa Paskin, but it doesn't seem as if you could fake this particular brand of sincerity and cynicism without at least a bit of it falling flat.

Now, without further ado, here's your chance- that is, if you've been living under a rock and haven't read it already.

As Katniss in The Hunger Games...

 

A little Rosie Huntington-Whiteley-esque, huh?

Spring Has Sprung Early!

Although there a a few things in the works right now, the one that I can share is that I am going to be visiting that sweet oasis in the western deserts of the U.S. very, very shortly.  Las Vegas, here we come!

My boyfriend and I have (finally!) pulled the trigger on our trip plans, and we will be guests at the Treasure Island hotel and casino in just a couple of short weeks! 

Though I've been once before, I was sick for most of the trip.  I only went out one of the three nights I was there, while the others were spent laid out on the hotel bed watching reruns of The Cosby Show (the time difference is not kind in TV world) and tending to intermittent bloody noses and flu-like symptoms. 

.... I may need to bring my own humidifier!! 

Other than that, I can hardly contain my excitement.  It is not only the first trip for us, but one of my first big trips with a significant other.  He's pretty special, though, so I think it'll be memorable!


Now, the only issue will be... what to pack?!  We'll only be there for a handful of nights/days and I want to pack as lightly as possible, but I don't want to wish I had anything with me that I've left at home!!

Should I try to go all out- like this?

 

Heh heh... sorry, Rihanna.  

Other than that, there isn't a whole lot going on... just one more thing that is still a bit up in the air.  I predict it'll be out of the air and firmly on the ground shortly though!  

 

NYC- A Few Weeks Late...

Happy Friday, all!

I realized that I forgot to post my pictures from my whirlwind of a business trip a few weeks ago, so I thought it was only fair that I do so now!

On the train... hair up, making sure it dries without unsightly tangles!

First time in client's office!  Brain dump!!

The new World Trade Center towers! New Yorkers have become amazing efficient in and around the construction site... (as if they had a choice!)

The new WTC towers in all their glory! I'm lucky I got the perfect weather to take this the day I was there!

The view from my hotel! It's right by Battery Park and beside the WTC in the Financial District.

View to the side... and the Hudson. Ah, and beautiful downtown Jersey City.

Nice digs, especially since they put me on the 16th floor!  Holla! (And yes, I chose to rumple the bed BEFORE deciding I needed a shot of the room.) 

The washroom at a swanky, very old, downtown Club.  Following the taking of this photograph, I noted that there was a sign inside asking guests (members and their guests- such exclusivity!) are not permitted to take any pictures in the Club. Oops.

 

That's all for now.  Whew!  Working from home has been VERY productive- for my blog as well as my actual work!! Can't ask for much more than that, can ya?


To be continued...

Me... in a nutshell. (Or, in a stolen jpeg) ;-)

There it is, ladies and gentlemen.  This girl has everything I like, want, already have because I love(d) it, and want to be... well, with the exception of personality, only because I haven't actually met her.

1. The hair. I have been dying my hair- slowly but surely- over the last year to get it back to be lighter, and then toward being lighter than it ever was before.  This would be the perfect shade of blonde.  If you know me, you know I used to despise this type of thing.  But, if you know that, then you also used to know I used to hate the color pink and had a giant chip on my shoulder about being petite... along with everything else.

2. The infinity scarf.  I have been making plans to make one, as I think it's an ingenius idea.  I'm not one to begrugde trends, because I'm no hipster.  I think that if something becomes that popular, there's usually a reason.  I don't like Jersey Shore or tout Apple for making the best products on the market, so I'm not a complete slave to trends, but I will say this- I don't care if everyone's wearing something I like, too.  It just means they have good taste!

3.  The fairisle sweater.  I love that her sweater is navy blue- a color I was told when I started to go really blonde looked good with light blonde hair- and form-fitting.  I think that slouchy sweaters definitely have their place, but sometimes the perfect fit is just that- perfect.  You can just never go wrong with navy blue and white and something that fits you perfectly- no matter your size.

4. The leather strap tie belt.  I love that she did this, because this is absolutely something I would do, too.  It tightens without being an actual belt- devil things that I hate.

5. Jeans that fit.  See number 3.  You can't beat a good fit.  Not too tight or revealing, not so baggy that you can't see her shape.  Very nice.

6. The plaid wedge boots. Though not just like mine, seen here- these are adorable while conveying the same idea- casual, but attractive. These boots don't say you aren't trying, but they definitely aren't trying too hard.

7. The structured, carry-all bag.  This statement bag says it all.  I love that it is structured and classy enough for work, but she's taking it out for chores/errands, too.  It's perfect, and it goes so well with the rest of her ensemble. 

8. THE DOG.  Now, EVERYONE that knows me knows that I have been wanting a Bernese Moutain dog forrrr-eeeeeeevvvvv-eerrrrrrr.  This girl.... gah!  How does she know? How did she do it? How did my mom find this picture- and before me?!  So perfect.

My Lumps...My Lumps...My Dreaded Winter Lumps

Okay, okay... so this one may not be about doing nothing, per se... but it has nothing to do with motivation for work and everything to do with physical motivation. 

 

This needs to be me in the very near future.

"What's that, stomach?  You feel full of bread all the time? You're tired of eating the same old stuff and not being able to be flat? Yeah, I hear ya."

Honestly, though- when do people make the actual time to do this... without the extreme cost, stress (when to go, when to leave work/get to work, where to park, what machine to use, how long to use it and which ones to use subsequently, etc.), and wear on your time?

Every time I think about going to the gym, I think about what it's costing me (or will, after my LivingSocial month-long deal runs out)- the cost of parking, the drive there and back, and when to go so it will hopefully not be peak hours... I get tired.

I remember the days of Jillian...

This might be the best DVD ever.  While it doesn't have as much cardio as one might like, you can always get that at the gym, outside, or in your living room with a dance DVD or dance workout video on your cable provider's On Demand.

This DVD will kick your ass, guaranteed.  I know men who have sweat profusely (or were those tears?) during this video.  Mark my words, folks.

I think after this month, I may have my new (old) workout plan