i've been listening to this song for months.

and still not tired of it at ALL.

and mark says "oh, i didn't know jefferson airplane started recording again" and starts doing the doo wop dance. hahahaha. i love him.

i am not a wimp.

just trust me. i thought i was, but after today i think i am learning to be more brave.

hooray!

(image from we heart it)

moving on.

let's share some good news.

1. i bought rain boots last night! for 4 years, i've been wanting green hunter boots, and now that everyone has them i have finally hopped on the trend. i don't even care that everyone else has them because they have been in my heart for 4 years. so.

2. we changed our sheets from stripes to white and now all of our bedding whites/cremes. it is such a calming place to sleep - i just love it.

3. i have really great visiting teachers who made me feel like a million bucks last night. they came at just the right time when i was feeling so down and out about work and turned my day around. hooray.

4. i have fun things planned for every night this week. a couple of dinners, a cocktail party, a girls night, and a movie date with TH. that helps to distract from the stressful days, but of course i know i have to deal with the days in the office.

5. i want to own my job. i want to be good at what i do. and if that means taking on a project that i don't love, i will do it and i will try to do my best at it. so i'm accepting this until something else comes up (but i don't think i'm going anywhere for next summer. if i can hang on for that long!).

these are all good things that have improved my life since yesterdays bomb shell. i can do this. with a lot of prayer and family/friends consulting, i know i can do this.

i'm a sad robot.

work was already killing me and then my boss dropped the news on me this morning that i have to take on another project. i want to cry, i have no idea how i'm going to manage this project on top of everything else i already have!! any suggestions?

golly day.

guess who is home for the next ten days?? this girl. glad to spend some quality time at home, enjoying the crisp fall weather and my funny TH man. I just love him.

new mexico was a treat as usual. i spent my evenings with TH's brother and wife. i love them. they are so great and as always showed me the best parts of albuquerque! we went to vietnamese and i had the best spring rolls of my life at que hong. and also an amazing banh mi. have you tried the banh mi? it's truly life changing. after dinner we went to ecco gelato. it was marisa and jeff's first time eating gelato and they lurved it, obvs. cinnamon flavor and choc hazelnut and pistachio. you tell me what's not to love.

marisa also made us dinner(the BEST pasta e fagioli) the night before and we watched season premieres of the office and outsourced. i'm so glad i married into a family that also makes these things a priority in life. it was nice to kick back with the family after long conference days. they kind of kept me sane through the week.

came home and spent the rest of the weekend lazing around the house and hanging out with friends. saw wall street 2 (liked), watched SNL (liked), ate dinner with friends (loved), and started talking about doing a28-day cleanse. mm hmm. i'll keep you posted on this, but rumor is we're going to start on october 17. no meat, no dairy, no bread, and no sugar for 28 days.

happy monday! hope you're enjoying this weather as much as i am! nothing like a cool, rainy morning.

on being loco.

i swear i didn't use to be this crazy. i think work is pushing out all my good brains and filling it with "ok, have to find a speaker for this program" or "shoot, did i remember to send the contract to so-and-so?" or "did i make travel arrangements for my trip?".

i'm going out of my mind. how do you manage the work-life balance? i think i do okay most of the time, but recently it's been epic fail. maybe i need an assistant? anyone looking to work for a crazy person (don't most of us already do that anyway)?

oh, you know what would be a blast? tell me some good story about a crazy boss you've had. i have some doozies myself that i'll share next week.

today: new mexico.

off to lovely, dreamy, beautiful new mexico. i have mentioned before how much i love this State, and i am so happy i am getting paid to fly here!

time to eat green chile, spicy chocolate, and sopapillas. and hit up the university for some surprisingly great vintage shopping (where i found my gucci sandals for $40 - originally sold for $400).

xoxo

los angeles.

i just found out i get to go to los angeles next month. i've never been! so tell me - what are the must-see's? i will be staying at a hotel downtown since my conference is at the la expo center. i hear downtown is kinda grimy and financial district-y. but i will have some time to escape at nights.

where should i go? what should i eat? is it really difficult to get from downtown to santa monica (i.e. should i stay in santa monica and subway to la?)

lay it on me! (all i know about LA I learned from watching 500 days of summer. oh swoon.)

los angeles.

i just found out i get to go to los angeles next month. i've never been! so tell me - what are the must-see's? i will be staying at a hotel downtown since my conference is at the la expo center. i hear downtown is kinda grimy and financial district-y. but i will have some time to escape at nights.

where should i go? what should i eat? is it really difficult to get from downtown to santa monica (i.e. should i stay in santa monica and subway to la?)

lay it on me!

weekend review.

date at old siam. fresh rolls and green curry.

furniture shopping - some success! picked up some tables at miss pixies and a rug and pictures at the african store in adams morgan.

picked up my new glasses at burton optical in georgetown.

play with niece lizzie and family in manassas. hit up some antique shops (never try this again with a 3 year old! i developed about 5 ulcers just trying to make sure she didn't touch ANYthing).

date at BGR, the burger joint (LOVE their veggie burger).

church.

dinner with new friends.

episodes of covert affairs on hulu (heath, this is the new alias and i am HOOKED. except no vaughn. sad.).

and that's a wrap.

as the guy in the elevator said to me this morning: it's monday! isn't it just glorious?!?

weekend.

ladies and gents, this weekend will be a grrrreat one.

tonight is dinner and catching up with my love (welcome home from london, TH!), and tomorrow we are helping a friend with his short film indie romantic comedy. the script is so cute, and i hope i can share it with you guys in a few weeks!

i'm going to try and get out to a few furniture stores to find a chaise lounge and curtains for the living room. the process continues.

i also really, really want to see The Town and am going to try to convince my violence-hating husband that we should see it. wish me luck.

mainly this weekend is just going to be great because my husband is home again. golly, this time spent apart is getting ridiculous.

what are you all doing this weekend? do you know of any good furniture stores in the DC area that sells antiques/modern furniture? i'm skipping down to goodwood, hunted house, and miss pixies, my hot spots.

one time i had a bridal shower.

i don't think i ever posted about it, and i just re-discovered these pictures from lizzy q! ok, most of these pictures are just me in a pink dress with a girl i like, but let me assure you that there was tea, beautiful teacups and depression era glass plates (swooooon), and the most delicious food you've ever eaten. thanks to annie, cristy, and sierra for throwing me an unforgettable girly bridal shower!

i think my most favorite part was when cristy revealed an interview that she had done with TH, asking him all the typical questions - how did you guys meet...when did you know she was the one...etc. cristy produces a show on public radio, so she used her tools to splice and add music, and it is one of my most treasured possessions. i listen to it mostly when i'm traveling or when TH is out of town (like tonight).

ahem. onto the pictures. pink dress.

fin.

things to do and things not to do when home alone.

i have made some poor, poor choices this week with TH gone. i've also made a few good ones. let's review, shall we?

things to do when TH is out of town:
1. watch hulu and netflix really late in bed.
2. eat cookies in bed.
3. go to dinner with adorable people.
4. ride bike to work (yes, i could do this with TH home, but i think it was important for me to do alone the first time. i feel more confident in my abilities to ride the streets of DC on a bike!)
5. invite friends over to investigate mouse situation.

things NOT to do when TH is out of town:
1. no scary/suspense movies. last night i watched the pelican brief on netflix. i didn't realize how suspenseful this 1994 drama was, but after about an hour, i started fast forwarding through the scary parts and growing suspicious of sounds outside my house.
2. eat cookies in bed when there is a mouse running around the house. dumb.
3. lock myself in my room because a) there are probably mice having a party in my kitchen and i don't want to interrupt, and b) i live right by the capitol and supreme court so if someone is after somebody who wrote the pelican brief, they will be looking my neighborhood, obvs.

that sums up my last couple of days. what do you do when you're home alone? are you as skittish as me? i hate being scared.

gus gus.

last saturday i saw a mouse in our kitchen. i just happened to glance over and see a little furry thing dart under the oven. after screaming like a little girl, i ran to my computer and emailed the landlord. "send someone right away to remedy the issue", i wrote, sounding so mature about the whole situation.
last night i came home to an empty house (TH is still in London), and a note on the door, something to the effect of "pest control wuz here", and i ran upstairs and straight to my room. i didn't want to see the traps set out or any dead mice laying on the floor.
so i'm laying on my bed, minding my own biz, when i hear "SNAP". a mouse trap. a sickening mouse trap. oh the horror! a mouse, dead in my very own kitchen!! after working up the courage to walk into the kitchen and look with my hands over my eyes for the mouse...i didn't find anything! so now i think that the traps may have been set under the oven, and if you think i'm fishing around under the oven for a dead mouse, you have never met me before.

so. now i have possibly a dead mouse that will rot in my kitchen until TH gets home later this week. unless i can convince a kind and brave soul to come over and help me investigate! i have a pair of boots, a whiffle bat, a snow hat and gloves that will protect you. at least, that's what i wore last night when i tried to find the little (dead) guy.

montreal: notre-dame cathedral

did you know that montreal has some of the most magnificent cathedrals outside of rome and paris? me neither, but wow - they really do. the notre dame cathedral was especially grand and beautiful. we listened to a neighborhood shaking organ concert that may have been my favorite part of the entire weekend.

montreal: bagels, old montreal, and mcgill university

we used the montreal metro to get around. i love trying out the different transportation systems in cities, especially when they speak french and you're like, ohhhh it's pronounced "san denee", not saint denis (st. denis blvd).

we had a great time checking out the neighborhoods, eating bagels (our favorite were st. viatur bagels), and walking around the curved cobblestoned streets of old town. oh, and of course the ivy covered old buildings on mcgill's campus. really stunning.

TH in the city.

i always have issues finding things that TH would like. he's a tough one to buy for. but here are a few things that i think he would really enjoy. where do you go to buy things for the men in your life?

from top left, clockwise. 1. pierrpont hicks reversible bowtie $62. 2. adirondack chair $110. 3. PF Flyers $90. 4. vintage aviator goggles for auction. 5. clint eastwood spaghetti western dvd box set $23.

have a great weekend! lots in store for this beautiful weather weekend, and then i'm off to maine monday and tuesday! i've wanted to go to maine since i was 15 and mylissa wood told me all about her summers up there. dreams really do come true.

montreal: the village and old montreal

we started off the first full day with a walk to The Village. aka dupont circle for montreal. we didn't realize it until we saw that it was bondage week in montreal, so we saw a lot of people in leather and chains. sadly, i didn't get any pictures of that. but i did get pictures of the beautiful parks and streets. see?

the old port of montreal (i think)

i loved this restaurant so much and begged TH to eat there, until the menu revealed overpriced hot dogs and hamburgers. not my cup of tea.

michelle williams is so beautiful.

she was the inspiration for my current 'do. and this dress she has on is simply stunning. i want it! and i'm really excited for her new movie coming out this fall. with ryan gosling. hatcha.

ponyo.

I watched Ponyo last night. It's streaming on netflix right now. You guys. I cried, I laughed, I squealed with delight. It is the best movie I've seen in a long time. Ponyo is so adorable and Soskuke is so cute. I think it restored my faith in movies (I lost it after a summer of disappointing movies. Anyone else? Serious dearth of good movies this year). Oh plus, at the end of the movie they play the coolest end song ever, complete with a rap.

Has anyone else seen it?

on our way. driving to montreal.

we left DC at 6:30am. about 6 hours into the drive, once we passed albany, the drive became much more bearable. and everything turned green and beautiful.

we passed the time with lots of new music, podcasts, and books on tape. and triscuit guillotines. yum.

about 5 miles from the canadian border, there is a bridge to vermont. since neither of us have been to vermont, we drove over the bridge and voila! vermont.

oh yes. red barns and maple syrup signs everywhere. i'm not joking. all my dreams of vermont came true that day.

then...back to canada. we crossed the border without much fanfare. quick checks of the passports and NOBODY at the border. (different story coming back to the States).

our first view of Montreal, driving into the city over the St. Lawrence River.

our hotel was by the place de artes (I'm going to butcher every post where i try to speak quebecois). that weekend was the world film festival and we sat outside on the plaza with everyone and watched some weird american mystery from the 70's.

and that was Thursday.

a long day of driving - about 10 hours including the time we spent eating lunch in Albany and stopping in Vermont for State bragging rights. I instantly loved all the French speakers and their intense love of sitting in cafes, outdoors, in parks, etc. I could never really understand anything that was going on. Montrealers seem to have a different code than us DC'ers, and with the language barrier things seemed so foreign! A very different city with a distinctly European feel. Yet...not.

This is what 30 years old looks like.

And this is what it looks like to eat at the best brunch place ever, The Sparrow in the Mile End neighborhood of Montreal on St. Laurent.
Could you just die over the geese wallpaper? Drool.

And if you could have only seen my face when I saw crumpets on the menu. Oh I don't know if I love anything more than crumpets on the menu.

And that was just 2 hours of the greatest day of our lives. More to come on Montreal! We had a fabulous time, minus the flat tire we got on the way home and forced us to drive 250 miles on a spare tire. Talk about frazzled nerves - we have never been so glad to see our street and pull in safely to a parking spot!!

summer be gone.

i know some people love summer. i have kind of embraced summer this year, but i'm still crazy excited for Fall to be here. i'll give you three guesses why.

ok i'll tell you.

1. boots.

2. sweaters.

3. cuddles.

that's pretty much it.

so, why is it still 95 degrees outside?! oh, yes, because the season is kindly waiting for me to go buy the perfect boots. my favorite boots were purchased in 2002 in Logan, UT at a jcrew sample sale. i bought perfectly brand knee leather boots for $25!! so I guess in all fairness, it's time to shell out a little money for some new ones.

A couple i've had my eye on: