Blair Style - Red Dress

Anyone who knows me knows that I love the show Gossip Girl. The show itself it's that great in terms of acting or storylines. But I love the character of Blair Waldorf. She's so delightfully bitchy. And she has the BEST clothes. For me, it's worth watching just to see what she will wear.

In last week's episode she wore the most awesome red ballgown. It's a dress that I will never have an occasion to ever wear (or anything even remotely like it). But it's awesome.

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

This past week, I read the book Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay. It was an impulse purchase. I saw it in the bookstore and was intrigued. Since I was on vacation early last week, I decided to treat myself. Usually, I do not like to like to purchase hardcover books by authors I do not know. It's just too expensive. But, I made an exception in this case.

And, I'm really glad I did.

It was an excellent book. It moved back and forth between present day Boston and post-WWII Moscow with ease. It also fluctuated between the point of view of a Russian ballerina (in her youth in Moscow and old age in Boston) and a Russian-born Boston professor in present day. The desire to learn the link between the two kept the story moving. I figured out part of it early on but there were a few twists that kept me guessing. I liked that because it kept the book moving.

It's been a long time since I've read a book that I did not want to put down. I was always frustrated to arrive at work because I wanted to keep reading on the metro!

I hope the next book I read is just as good. . .

Metro Song

GoRemy who created the Arlington Rap (which to this day remains my bad day pick-me-up video of choice) has done it again. He's captured the sentiment of true Washingtonians and our hatred and frustration of the metro. This video shows that he really gets it.

I hate the metro.

Let me say it again.

I hate the metro.

You may remember last year, that I wrote a little poem about the metro. This was during one of the many many days last summer where the delays on the red line were out of control. There were days where my usual half hour ride took a good hour and a half. Not fun. You know that there's a serious problem, when a non-poet by myself is driven to such extreme boredom while stuck on the train that she writes this:

Oh red line, how I loate thee

For you have stolen too much time frome me

Time spent standing with the human race

Crammed into such a tiny space

Hours upon hours of delay

With no cell service with which to relay

Scintillating tales heard while eavesdropping

Stories of marrige and break-ups and bar hopping

And no matter what the season

At each stop, trains stall for no reason

And me with nary a bottle of water to drink

For the cops will catch me and toss me in the clink

Precious time wasted in quite thought

Or people watching until caught

By a fanny-pack wearing tourist family

Mom, dad, two kids, and of course a crying baby

But now it's time to end my tale of sorrow

For I will be back at Shady Grove tomorrow

Anyway, enough about me. Check out Remy's video people and you'll see what I mean. It's genius!

Happy Birthday Fiance

Happy Birthday Mike!!!

Today was Mike's birthday. Sadly, we did not get to celebrate since he was away for the weekend. But that's ok. We'll have our own celebration on another day. In the end it'll be even better since we both got sick today anyway. I came down with a migraine and Mike got the stomach flu.

The stomach flu is NOT a good birthday present. In my opinion, healthier celebration is better than a timely celebration. :-)

On his next birthday, we'll be MARRIED!! Hard to believe it. But, I can't wait.

xoxo

Decisions Decisions - Bridal Jewelry

I never thought that trying to pick out jewelry to match my wedding dress would be more difficult than picking out the actual dress.

But it is.

I've gone back and forth between various ideas. I want something that will show up in pictures. I want something that's a little bigger - since I don't need a necklace with the dress, I can go for more than just a stud earring. And, I want something that I'll like enough to wear again.

Currently, I have two front runners. And, they could not be more different.

There are these from J. Crew. They seem very bridal to me but the gold gives them a little bit of punch. Plus, they are a classic style so I can definitely wear them again.


Then there are these by Alexis Bittar. I LOVE Alexi Bittar's jewelry. I have a few pairs of earrings and they are some of my favorites. His stuff is just so different and fun. These are cool because they'll sparkle a bit and definitely show up against my hair. The gold color will look nice with my ivory dress. But, I worry that they aren't "bridal" enough.

Good thing I have 8 months to decide. Or keep looking. . .

What's Awesome Now? This Clutch

I need another purse like I need a hole in the head.

But. . .I found this one online at Topshop and I think it's really cute. However, it's white so it doesn't really say "Fall" to me. However, that doesn't mean I could put it away until next Spring. . .

We'll see how the rest of the month goes. I may need a retail therapy pick-me-up.

Bridesmaid's Dress - check

So this past weekend was a good one. I found a dress for my bridesmaids! Yay.

However, it was not without drama. First we went to the Macy's Bridal Salon and had a horrible experience. The saleswoman was just not helpful. It made me really stressed out. I won't lie - I had a bit of a breakdown. There were tears. However, I pulled it together after a little bit. My friend Steff found another shop to go to and April called to see if we could get an appointment. Thank God for my friends because I was so overwhelmed I could no longer think. They took charge and got us back on track.

And, we found a great dress that everyone seemed to like and it was in a color that I liked. It was a win-win. Plus, they all got a 20% discount for ordering together which made me feel better. The dress was more than I wanted them to spend so with the discount, it got it in a better price range for my comfort.

Summer Where Did You Go?

It's been forever since I last posted. I have no idea where the summer went. I cannot believe that today is the last day of August!! That's just nutty.

A lot has happened this summer that I cannot wait to blog about.

• I went to Scotland and Norway with my family. The trip was AMAZING and deserves many of its own blog posts. I'll be sure to post some pictures soon. Above is a photo from Scotland.


• I got to go back to London for the first time since I studied there. It was awesome to relive some of those memories.


• I made some wedding progress!! Mike and I know have a cake, flowers, a DJ, and a registry. I must say that registering was A BLAST. We went to Macys and Williams Sonoma (though the Macys one is the main one). Mike was sweet and let me pick out whatever china and crystal I wanted as long as he got to register for his beer glasses and knives (priorities).


• I found my wedding dress.
  
• I went to several concerts.

But the summer isn't over yet. Soon, I got on my second vacation - a mini one this time - to Canada. It'll be a blast because it's my first real vacation with Mike. We've done weekends away but that's not quite the same. Plus, I'm excited to show him PEI - one of my favorite places on Earth!

Here's to one last awesome summer weekend!!

Making Progress

It's been awhile since I've posted but it's been crazy busy.

We've actually made some progress with our wedding planning!! Whoo hooo. We now have an officiant. I affectionately call him rent-a-priest. He's a little on the shady side of the Church which works to our advantage since he'll marry us outside and make it kosher with the Catholic Church. That makes us happy and Mike's parents happy. It's all good.

We have a photographer. I'm really excited about her too. I hate having my picture taken and she has a much more casual, fluid approach. She wants to photograph everything and just blend into the background. There's less of an emphasis on formal pictures which makes me ridiculously happy.

I've also been hard at work on our wedding website. Originally, I wasn't sure I wanted to make one but I definitely think it has merit. We have a lot of people who will be coming from out of town so it's good to have location information easily accessible. Plus, it was kind of fun to do. . .

But, the most important part is that we have our bridal party. YAY. I am super excited that my sister and friends will be my bridesmaids. To make the event a little special, I had personalized cookies made for each of them. They are from this delicious place in Bethesda called Bundles of Cookies. They have the cutest designs and everything can be customized.

I had a cookies made for each of the bridesmaids and the flower girl. The dresses do not really reflect what the bridesmaids' dresses will actually look like. But, they do represent our wedding colors - dark pink and yellow. It was just a little something but I thought it was nice - and tasty.

Mike has also put together his groomsman. And, he has 5 of them so now we are all symmetrical - contrary to popular belief this really was his concern not mine.

So now we need a DJ. We need to pick menus. We need flowers. We need decorations. And I need a dress. Yikes! So much to do.

But we've made progress so I'll just focus on that for awhile.

Trying Some New Recipes

Since I've recently become engaged, I've been happily buying many many bridal magazines. There's actually a new bridal magazine out on the market. It's Shape Brides (a special quarterly issue of Shape magazine). The magazine is basically Shape with bridal advertisements. There are also some slim down quickly types targeted specially for brides as well as "bridal advice" columns.

In the latest issue, it had some tips to cut calories so that you could slim down before the big day. I have no expectations that I will miraculously become a size 2 before my wedding day. I'm pretty sure my skeleton would not even be a size 2 - I'm just not built that way. But, that doesn't mean that I cannot try something new. Plus, I've been really stressed out so that leads me to wanting to eat a diet of pure M&Ms - not so healthy.

In the last couple of weeks, I've tried a few of the recipes from Shape Brides. The article's concept is to always eat protein, fiber, fat, and carbs in combination. You should never have one without the other three. This makes sense to me and it's advice I've read in other places. However, usually that advice is not accompanied by easy recipes of things I'd actually want to eat. Luckily, the recipes I've found so far are really good. I've listed a few of them below in case you are in the mood to try them. I did make some minor adjustments based on my personal tastes, but I kept the concept and calorie amount the same.


Yogurt Parfait

- 3/4 c plain Greek fat free yogurt
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp nuts (I used sliced almonds)
- 1/2 c Kashi Go Lean Crunch
- 3/4 c blueberries

Mix together yogurt, honey, and cinnamon. Top with nuts, kashi, and blueberries.

Chicken Salad (you can also use tuna in this recipe but it will probably make 2-3 sandwiches instead of 3-4)

- 1 can chicken breast packed in water
- 2 tbsp light mayo
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (or more to taste)
- 1 cup shredded carrots (you can add more to increase bulk and stretch the recipe further)
- 1/4 c. chopped celery
- 2 Tbsp sliced almonds
- 2 Tbsp raisins

Mix all ingredients together. Makes 3-4 sandwiches worth of filling. Serve in a medium whole wheat pita or a whole wheat sandwich thin (the more fiber the better)

Snack Mix (under 200 calories)

- 4 cups 94% fat free popcorn
- 2 tbsp peanuts
- 1 tbsp chocolate chips

Yum.

Anyway, it's been good to mix up my breakfast and lunch options. I've been getting bored lately so it's nice to have something new and healthy to try.

There are many more recipes to try. I'll post the ones here that I think are worthwhile.

Whataya What from Me

I should preface this post by saying that I have not watched American Idol in 5+ years. Also, I am not a huge fan of Adam Lambert.

But I cannot get his song OUT OF MY HEAD. I have been singing Whataya What from Me ALL WEEKEND. I swear it drove Mike crazy yesterday. Mainly because I really only know the refrain so that's what I just kept singing over and over again. I started to annoy myself. . .

Anyway, I posted the video below. Now you can get it stuck in your head too. Enjoy. :)

The Countdown Begins

The countdown begins!

In exactly one year it will be my wedding day. This is both equal parts exhilarating and terrifying. The exhilarating part is that I'll be married and then Mike and I will finally be living together. The terrifying part is the amount that needs to happen in the next year - planning a wedding, working out the logistics of living together, etc. It'll be fine I know, but there's a lot that's going to happen in the next year. It will fly by!

365 days to go!

Retail Therapy

This week has been a little nutty - work, personal, etc. It's all a little bit crazy. As a result, I feel like I'm in a bit of a funk. And how do I usually break myself out of a funk?

I shop.

But, I'm trying not to shop as much. Not for a noble reason like I should be saving money to buy wedding stuff. But for a more practical reason which is that if Mike and I are going to be moving into my condo, I have to get rid of stuff not buy more stuff. Yes, we'll put some stuff in storage, but I really should try and cut back on buying more stuff as much as I can.

Normally, when I'm in a funk I usually buy myself one of three things - a book, a piece of clothing, or a handbag. (yes I get that there's a huge price difference in this mix). And, what you may ask currently accounts for about 90% of my possessions and thus the bulk of what I have to get rid of?

You guessed it - books, clothes, and handbags.

And what do I want to buy myself to get out of my funk?

right again - a handbag.

This one to be precise.


It's from Anthropology. I haven't bought it yet, but it's tempting me. It would be so cute for the summer! Bright and happy. With lots of space.

We'll see how much I can resist. I mean would it really take up that much room?

Sculpture Project Opening

For the last year, I have been helping the National Museum of Women in the Arts fundraise for their New York Avenue Sculpture Project.


It's a really cool public art project in DC. Four statues were placed on the median of New York Avenue in front of the Museum. The goal is to extend the project for 4 blocks until it reaches the Convention Center. Every year or two, the statues will be changed for new statues by a women artist.

The inaugural statues are by Niki de Saint Phalle. They are colorful and cheerful statues. They are definitely not to everyone's taste. But, they are a vibrant start to the project.

Last Thursday, Mike and I were invited to attend the opening party for the Project. It was a really fun event at the Museum. It was a pretty fancy event but not stuffy. Everyone was all dressed up, but the atmosphere was very low key.


There was a jazz band performing in the Museum lobby. There were fun colored rum drinks chosen to match the colors of the statues. There were carnival entertainers who created origami type things for people. You could tell this man anything that you wanted and he would create it out of a paper plate. Seriously, it was crazy.


There was a man juggling a plate on the end of a stick. Mike got to try that and it was a blast to watch. And, there were performancee artists dressed like the statues.

We had a really great time.

One decision down. . .

I have a wedding date. On May 14, 2011, I will be married!!!! Whooo hooooo.

I am really excited about this date. It's what I had in the back of my head all along. I tried not to wish for it too much so that i would not be disappointed if it did not work out. But, it did! In fact, it was the only date in May that our venue still had open. It was fate!

I think it's the perfect date. It's far enough away from my birthday so that I can have two celebrations. It's early enough in May that it should not be too hot. And if it is warm, the evenings should still cool off.

Plus, Mike and I first met on June 14 so the 14th is a special day for us. We'll be married 23 months to the day we met! That's pretty cool.

We picked the Links at Gettysburg for our wedding site. We are going to do the reception and ceremony all here. That will keep it easy. Plus, the setting is really pretty so we'll have lots of nice pictures and it should be a lovely atmosphere for the guests.

The ceremony - weather permitting - will take place on this pretty little patio.
But, if it rains, the wedding will still be pretty. The ceremony will be by this quaint little fireplace.




Then, we'll get to take cool wedding pictures outside. Like, on this pretty little bridge.



or by this cool waterfall.

And then it will be time to party! The reception - in the room below - should look really pretty. Colors and flowers TBD.



Hopefully it will be amazing. But even if everything goes crazy, I'll still be MARRIED to Mike at the end of the day. And that's all that matters. :)

Where to get married?

Finding a place to get married sounds way more fun than it actually is. I am feeling really stressed out about it.

There's just so much that goes into this decision. We need to find a place that is affordable, in a good location, and is elegant. I do not want an overly fancy wedding but I would like one that is classy and memorable.

It's also hard because to keep it affordable we are going to be married in the Hagerstown/southern PA area. So, we can only look at places on the weekends. The last couple of weekends have been full of wedding location scouting. We've nixed a couple of places and are down to three. I hope that no other places cross our paths because I like being down to the final choices. I'm hoping to have a decision by the first weekend in May.

This weekend we are checking out the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, WV. I used to go here all the time for special dinner (i.e. graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, etc). It's also the place where Mike first met my parents - we met there for brunch. It's a picturesque Inn just over the Maryland border in West Virginia. It would be a fun place to have a wedding because people could easily stay at the Inn or in a nearby bed and breakfast or hotel. Plus, Shepherdstown is a quaint little town that would be fun for people coming from out of town.

One place that we've already checked out that is still on our list is the Waynesboro Country Club. This is right in my parents' town. It's a very pretty location and it gives us the most flexibility in terms of decorations, size, etc. It's also the least expensive. But, it has a few drawbacks - namely that it's in Waynesboro. Everyone would have to stay in either Hagerstown or Chambersburg and that would mean a lot of driving for people who are not familiar with the area. I'd provide directions of course but it's still a bit problematic.

A new venue that was just referred to us is the Links at Gettysburg. This is a golf course in Gettysburg, PA. It would be kind of cool to be married in Gettysburg because it is one of my favorite towns. The pictures are also really pretty. A big plus for this place is that a lot of things - including the cake - are included in the package price. Plus there are a ton of packages and all can be customized. That appeals to me. Another plus is that the ceremony could be outside and it's a very picturesque place. But, the downside to that is if it rains, we are screwed. Sure, it could be moved inside but it would not be as nice. However, we could decide to have the ceremony in a church and just have the reception here. There's a lot up in the air. We are going to visit this location soon. It's the last on our list and then it's decision time!

I cannot wait for this decision to be made. It's the one that has me stressed out the most because it will determine our date. I really want to have a date nailed down. Then, we can take our time with some of the other details and I can work out a schedule (I am a production person after all). But, until we have the date and the location we cannot do much else!

Wish me luck.

Happy Birthday to Me

It's my birthday today. Happy Birthday to me!

My 28th birthday is far different from my 27th birthday.

For example this time last year, I had accepted my dad's dare to try online dating. Today, I'm engaged and planning a wedding. And last year, I was watching some dumb movie about the apocalypse starring Nicholas Cage. This year, I'm LA bound. Weird.

All in all it's been a great year. And, I've received some kick ass birthday gifts.

Like these from my fianceAnd this from my parents.
And something from my sister to put it all it.
So now I'm off to celebrate. Hopefully a fun dinner in LA will be in my future.

Liberty of London

I am obsessed with Target's new Liberty of London collection. It's awesome because I cannot afford anything at the actual Liberty of London store so the Target version is perfect!

Unfortunately most of the collection is already sold out. Almost everything is sold out online. I was however able to find a few things in the store.

I bought this really cool picture frame which I am saving for when I have a picture of Mike and I. I guess this means that I actually have to take a picture. I hate having my picture taken so this is rough. I swear I'll be the only bride who wants to not have a wedding photographer. . .

Anyway, I also bought a really cool sun hat to bring on vacation.





And then I decided that since I now have a wedding plan to organize, I am going to be organized in style! I bought file folders and a box to keep everything in.


Might as well take advantage of necessity! :)

I'm Engaged!

As I write this post, I still have to pinch myself that this weekend actually occurred. It doesn't seem possible that I am actually engaged!


On Sunday, Mike and I had brunch reservations at the Kennedy Center. I won't lie. I thought that something was up and I was pretty sure that it was the day he would propose. But, I did not let that on to him because I didn't want him to feel pressured to change his plans. Being proposed to at the KC is like the perfect thing for me. I LOVE the Kennedy Center. Seriously, if I could have a relationship with a building - that would be it.

He was pretty nervous all morning which is kind of cute in retrospect. He had told me earlier in the week that he was going to give me my birthday present early because he wanted to do it over brunch. I thought this was weird but just went with it. It did throw me a little because I knew the ring was not my present so I thought maybe my suspicions about the proposal were wrong.

After we were seated, he gave me my present. It's a beautiful pair of small diamond stud earrings. I've always wanted a pair like this. Small enough to be casual to wear with jeans and such. I was thrilled. Then he gave me this card that was just adorable and talked about how glad he was that we were together. Then he said that since I already had the earrings, I might want something to match them. He pulled out the ring and proposed. It was very special.

I have no memory of eating at the brunch. I was in a state of shock - staring at my hand and alternating between thinking "did this really just happen?" and "holy crap I'm engaged!"

After brunch, we wandered outside for a bit and then drove down to Woodbridge to visit Mike's parents. His mom is having surgery so we wanted her to see the ring before she went into the hospital.

His parents were really happy and so was his brother. His brother was giving him crap about not getting down on one knee. I was totally ok with the no one knee thing because if he had done that in the middle of the restaurant, I would have died. I'm not big on public displays.

But it was adorable because when we got back to my apartment, Mike took off the ring, got down on one knee, and proposed again. It was so sweet and special.

So I got to say yes twice.

And now I'm engaged. CRAZY. The questions are all staring so eventually we'll have to start thinking about the when, where, what, etc. But for now, I'm just going to enjoy being engaged.

The Big Meeting

Yes, yes, I know. I've been slacking off with the blog! Here's what's been going on.

Two weekends ago, Mike's parents and my parents met for the first time. I will go on record as saying that I was kind of against this meeting. I thought it would be weird from them to meet while we were "just" dating. It seemed odd. But, Mike REALLY wanted it to happen so I gave in.

We each drove our parents to Maggianos. It's one of the few places where my dad will eat without complaining. We proceeded to order way too much food. I swear that we had enough for 3 meals. Needless to say, there were many doggie bags to go home.

Dinner went really well. My mom and Mike's dad kept the conversation flowing. There were no awkward silences. I think that I was the most quiet which is not typical. I'd been stressed earlier in the day by my parents asking me a million and one questions about where my future was heading. That's enough to stress anyone out!

So the first meeting is over. Now on to more. . .