Getting To Know You

If, after reading the title of this blog post, you now have a song from The King and I stuck in your head, we should be friends.

Right now, I'm home unemployed and sick with a cold (thanks for that by the way Mike) and I'm sleepy and haven't showered yet and basically I'm the worst.

Therefore, nothing to blog about.

So I'm going to respond to Amanda's questions she put out there for all us blogging weirdos to get to know each other better because we feel like we know each other, but we actually don't.

Which is so true. I'm constantly telling my husband stories about bloggers I read and I never know how to preface it. My friend, this blogger I read, you know that chick I mention all the time? It's weird.

So here are the questions and have a lovely day, I will shower eventually I promise.

1)  Are you right or left handed?  I'm right handed. My husband and mother are both left handed and super smug about it. Lefties...pshaw.

2)  How tall are you?  I'm 5'2 which I think is average height, but I guess it's actually pretty short. I can never reach things and it's inconvenient. And my friend O always calls me midge instead of my name. But it is nice to feel small a lot just because I'm shorter than people.

3)  How do you feel about hugs?  I LOVE HUGS. I'm such a hugging whore. Oh man. If we meet for the first time, I will hug you. I hate fake, tense hugs. I want to get IN THERE. Oh man oh man, you do not understand how much I love hugging.  And my husband? He HATES them. Whenever I hug him, he calls it "latching on" and he tenses up and then a couple seconds later, awkwardly pats me on the back and backs away. It's the worst.

The End.

Because every blog post needs a photo.

This Sunday Currently

Currently I am...

Reading: I've moved on to the 5th Outlander book because I crushed the 4th one on our recent trip.

Writing: This blog post of course and some e-mails.

Listening: To Mike watching soccer in the other room. Thankfully, the effing birds who kept repeating the same 3 notes for about half an hour this morning are done. I could have killed those little buggers.

Thinking: That I'm really sad I got Mike's cold. Bad timing, cold!

Smelling:  The coffee I'm drinking.

Wishing:  To feel better soon.

Hoping: That Friday goes well.

Wearing: Giant brown VS pajama pants, a white tank top, and a leopard print cardigan. It's a mess.

Loving: That we have nothing to do today and that I got to sleep in until 9:30 this morning.

Wanting:  To know the future.

Needing: To take a shower and go drink some water or tea for this cold.

Feeling: Coughy, sleepy, and nervous.

Clicking:  MD Unemployment to file my weekly webcert, Shutterfly to claim my free address labels (I get so many free labels from that joint, I'm addicted), the archives of What Would A Nerd Wear, and ASOS' big sale.  

A couple other things...

We did the Taste of Solomons yesterday which was fun, but a little bit of a bust so we ditched it and hunkered down at Lotus Kitchen with some key lime pie and prosecco cocktails.

If Gizmo wants to be played with or wants his dinner, he sits and stares at Mike like this panting and looking basically hysterical until Mike can't take it anymore. My favorite part of this picture is Mike trying desperately to play it cool and ignore Gizmo as long as he can.

The ABCs of Spring

I stole the idea of this blog post 100% from Rhyme and Ribbons post found here. I'm a thief. You know this about me.

I cannot wait for Spring. I know every single person on Twitter and especially every blogger has been saying this for weeks, but I cannot help being one of them. This is only our second Winter on the East Coast and it's been a BITCH. It's March 29th as I type this and still cold as all hell. I logged into Twitter this morning to find the local base announcing the postponement of a race due to weather. This is happening every damn weekend. Stupidwinterweathergoddammit.

I am so ready to ditch that puffer coat and boots and be comfortable in my springy dresses, open toed shoes, and walking around in the sun with my boys.

Come on Spring, get your shit together!!

ABCs of Spring Wish List

Annapolis:  We only live about 1.5 hours from Annapolis and we don't get out there nearly enough. It's funny when people who are from this area talk about how far away things like Annapolis are, but to Mike and I, having a city like that only 1.5 hours away is a dream. It was 1.5 hours to the nearest mall, Target, chain restaurant, etc. where we moved here from. To be able to drive 1.5 hours on an easy freeway and end up on the water, eating great food, sipping on cocktails, and walking through some amazing shops is one of our favorite things about this area. So this Spring, we need to make a lot more trips there and start bringing the pups.

Brewery:  I recently found out that a town near us, Prince Frederick, has a local brewery that you can tour and taste their beers called Mully's Brewery. It's definitely on our Spring (or Summer or Winter or Fall or whatever) wish list to visit.

Celtic Festival:  I've been powering through the Outlander series so when I saw the Celtic Festival and Highland Gathering pop up on the April tourism calendar for my area I did a little happy dance. It might be a tough sell for my husband, but I'm hoping the promise of whiskey and/or beer will get him there. (DO YOU THINK JAMIE WILL BE THERE??) (Only Outlander readers will get that, but also that's insanely embarrassing, did I really say that?!)

Dogs:  The poor dogs have been cooped up this whole long winter, getting walks only when they need to go to the bathroom. This Spring, we definitely need to take them out more and let them experience new things like day trips to surrounding towns (even though Gizmo barfs on pretty much every car ride).

Eat better:  Obviously we love food...and cocktails...and fattening food...and Winter became one giant stretch of comfort food and weight gain. This Spring I HOPE to combat that a little with more water, less fat, and (I guess) less cocktails (during the week).

Family:  We live about 1.5 hours from my dad and step-mom so we have no excuse for seeing them as little as we do. Hopefully the better weather will bring more trips and more golf outings for my dad and Mike.

Get out more:  I don't generally enjoy hanging out in the sun. I pull the blinds closed when I'm at home, I just don't like sunlight (hence why I'm so pale). But since this Winter has been so long and rough, the second we have a nice sunny day, I want to be out in it. So this Spring, I want to spend more time outside, away from the tv and computer and just enjoying the sun and fresh air.

Harbor:  We visited National Harbor for the first time recently and cannot wait to go back when the weather is nicer. Shops, outlets, restaurants, and water? We're in!

Internet Less:  I am on the internet way too much. I'm sitting in front of the computer right now instead of reading a book, working out, playing with the dogs, etc. This Spring, I need to spend less time on the dang internet.

Jeans:  Can I get through the whole Spring without wearing jeans once? I'll damnwell try! (I really hate wearing pants)

Keep it local:  We completely missed the boat on buying from our local farmer's markets last year because we kept grocery shopping during the week and by Saturday, we didn't need anything. This Spring, we really need to plan better because there are so many great farmers right at our fingertips here.

Laura & Brian:  Definitely hoping my sister and her boyfriend come to visit. I think shooting for Spring is a pipe dream, but hey...a girl can dream!!

Mt. Vernon:  We haven't been to Mt. Vernon since we moved here and it's' a quick drive from where we live. Mt. Vernon is one of my favorite tourist spots and I love that you can bring your dogs and just hang out on the grass enjoying the views and history. Must do this Spring.

Nationals:  We lived here over a year and still haven't been out to a Nationals game. Baseball isn't entirely my thing, but I've heard they have a Shake Shack on site so...(I just realized I have no idea when baseball season is. Is it during the Spring? I'm a genius)

Outdoors:  Okay, I've said we need to get outside this Spring about a million times on here, but we really need to go for more hikes. I'm a little freaked out about the giant snake we saw last time, but maybe that was an anomaly? Hopefully?

Passport DC:  This might be a terribly touristy thing to do, but in May, you can do this Passport DC event where you get to tour the embassies and I'm really intrigued. I love walking down embassy row and am really curious to see inside those bad boys.

Quit being so lazy:  That's pretty self explanatory. (And also what the eff else word is going to be for the letter q??)

Running:  We've used the awful weather as an excuse to pretty much completely give up running. And I have paid dearly for it with the fact that none of my pants fit any longer. So this Spring, we have to pick that back up just so that I can actually wear pants next winter and not just leggings.

Spend more time focusing on positive things:  Cheesy one, but true.

Travel:  Duh, most of the entries on here have to do with traveling...

Unemployed no more:  This is the same as what I used for the letter w, but seriously, seriously, seriously, please let me get a good job by Spring!

Virginia Wine:  We have only visited one winery in Virginia so far and it was pretty dern amazing. I would love to do a proper tour of Virginia wine country...especially on a nice, beautiful, sunny day.

Work:  To have a job by then. That is all.

X:  Seriously? What the hell do I use for this letter? To not have to get x-rays? X-tend the good weather?

Yoga:  I really want to start doing yoga. At least before bed to help relax my mind. But I'm too lazy to put the yoga dvd in the dvd player and do it, so...

Zoo:  We love the National Zoo and hello, it's free and double hello, baby pandas! We keep talking about going back and I think this Spring is the perfect time to do it.

Style Files - A Dress for a Busy Mom at a Wedding

Remember when I wrote about how much I love doing styling service for people here? I've been helping people out online as much as I can. No seriously, I stalk my friends on Pinterest and find pieces they pin so they can buy them without them asking me to. I'm creepy. Hashtag unemployed.

So I figured I'd post some of the requests and finds I've done for people as a weekly, monthly, who knows how often Style Files post.  Here's my first one!

_________________________________________________________________________________

Client D asked me to find her a dress to wear to a friend's wedding later this year in northern California. She isn't in the wedding, but her young son is. She'll need to be able to move around, bend down, basically wrangle her son the whole day so it couldn't be too short or tight. Her budget was $125.  Here are some of my favorite finds for D's request.

(1)  (2)  (3)  (4)  (5)  (6)  (7)  (8)  (9)  (10)  (11)  (12)  (13)

When it came to shoes, D is already pretty dang tall and she didn't want to tower over everyone in addition to the fact that she'll probably be chasing her little one around all day, so low heels were a must. This was actually harder than I thought! Here are some of my favorite finds for her shoes:

(1)  (2)  (3)  (4)  (5)  (6)  (7)  (8)

She ended up going with dress #2 in navy and is still working on the shoes. Here is how I would style her for the wedding:

Dress:  ASOS

Shoes:  Lulu's

Belt:  Banana Republic

Necklace:  OASAP

New Orleans!

I'm back!

The last couple of days, my husband and I have been in New Orleans with two of our best friends eating, drinking, walking, and talking our faces off. It was really fun, fattening, tiring, and just all around great.

I'm so glad we went and especially that we went with people who have the same travel priorities as us (food and drink, duh). New Orleans is a place that I now understand why people say you should go at least once. It's very unique and historic and at times really beautiful. I can't imagine myself going back though to be honest. I think I'm just too old and fussy to put up with the trash everywhere, the stink that clings to the streets, the club music pounding from the bars at 10:00 o'clock in the morning, or the mentally ill vagrants screaming about stabbing bitches while you're walking to dinner. BUT I did have an amazing time and made some great memories.

We stayed at this amazing Airbnb and we're so glad we did. Hotels can be crazy expensive there so it's nice that there are a ton of really quality Airbnb rentals available. This one was in a great location, it was the perfect size for two couples, and it was super cute to boot.

(I stole this photo from Airbnb btw)

The first morning, we were lucky to get reservations for jazz brunch at the Commander's Palace. If you watch any cooking or travel show that visit New Orleans, they always make a stop at Commander's Palace. Which could either mean that it's a cheesy tourist trap or it's amazing. Thank goodness it was the latter. The service was so friendly and quick and perfect and our food was delicious. I mean, my entree had duck fat hollandaise on it for chrissakes!!

We spent most of that day and the others walking our asses off all over that city, stopping for drinks along the way. We went to the WWII museum which was great, but a little overpriced and packed, Mike and I stopped at the Audubon Aquarium where I may or may not have fallen in love with a penguin, we toured a cemetery, had some really delicious meals including our last dinner at John Besh's Restaurant August which was...I mean...just so damn good.

We didn't take nearly enough pictures because we were too busy stuffing our faces with beignets and cocktails and catching up with old friends. Here are some that we did take in between bites and laughs.

(And then we came home to freezing cold wind. Dammit, Southern Maryland!)

I did not look like this much ass the whole trip...I swear.

I am obsessed with these beautiful trees.

The street music was really impressive. This group was the perfect blend of talent and hipsterness. Dreads is so serious man, I just want to hug him and then have him sing to me some more.

Annnnd some crappy cell phones pictures because it is me, after all.

Crawfish are creepy. Fact.

Purple house across the street, you are pretty darn cute.

It was cool to go into the oldest bar in the US until they started playing 90's R&B jams really loudly...

This penguin!! So serious, he was.

And a giant catfish to take us out...

Today

You know how sometimes I'm super whiny and hate life and ohhh man how much I suck blah blah blah?

Well not today motha's!

Today and yesterday have been good days. Job-wise, futer-wise, even getting my fat ass back out for runs-wise.

AND

I leave for New Orleans tomorrow!

So I'll be MIA on this blog until next week (no one cares) while I celebrate the hell out of my last couple of days in New Orleans with some great friends.

Okay, this is a pointless and vague blog post, but I figured I'd inject some happy into this space (for once)!

Until next time, this is me:

{via}

Life Lately via iPhone

Yep, it's an iPhone dump....not gonna lie.

Here goes!

packing for our trip on Saturday, I've been a MESS about it

we made our first trip to National Harbor, here is our view from lunch

Sunday Night Dinner prep - Ad Hoc at Home's red wine braised short ribs

Mike packing includes all the patterns and orange and lavender pants

Mike at lunch at National Harbor...he was so so excited about that guac

silly boys

snow pugs!

Mike's shirts to pack, at least I won't lose him in a crowd

Oh good, more snow :(