Birthday Week

We are now into the countdown of my actual birthday week. Idontwannatalkaboutit.

These final days of the even numbered year for me are bitter sweet. I wish I'd done things differently. Made bolder moves. Bigger, better decisions. Taken more risks. But couldawouldashulda right? Better to just focus on my annual birthday wish list. We left off with number 7 from the initial installment.

8) Toms Wedges

The linen Tom's wedge is the perfect wedge for summer. How much more versatile can you get!?!

9) Real Simple Magazine Subscription

I lucked out with some extra airline miles that got turned into a plethora of magazines. Real Simple is always one of my favorites and I miss getting this in my mailbox each month. I am also not opposed to Martha Stewart Living if anyone is feeling generous.

10) SHRM Membership

After getting my certification last year, I am now having to focus on re-certifying and maintaining my PHR credentials. This requires a lot of continuing education, and much of this is offered through SHRM. Having my membership fee covered would be amazing!  

11) Apple Wireless Keyboard

My ipad is so amazing. I love that thing. It is light, compact, and just plain cool. While I do blog on it, I certainly can type a lot faster on normal keyboard. The wireless keyboard would solve that problem (and with an ailing computer on my hands) would make my ipad just that more functional.  

12) An External Hard Drive

I am wracking up a lot of photos between the big girl camera and the iphone(s), and ipads in my life. Considering I still haven't been able to rescue the photos from my last old computer, and with my current one on the fritz, I would prefer to get all my "valuables" stored so I'll have them going forward.

13) Kate Spade Twirl or SJP's Lovely or Just A Signature Scent

 

I feel like it is an adult thing to have a signature scent. Nothing crazy, just a light everyday scent that is pleasant, adult and feminine.

 

14) Idaho Necklace from Alter Designs

I ordered a necklace for the BF's cousins graduation from medical school and I loved it. They are teeny tiny, which I love. With this, I could always keep Idaho close to my heart.

15) A Silhouehette Die- Cutting Machine

A crafters dream. A DREAM! Granted I don't have a tone of time to craft these days but I would consider this an investment in my crafting career. Lust. It is the Kitchen-Aid Mixers of crafting supplies.

Theodore

I wrote this in the morning this past Wednesday. An overwhelming sense to remember this and to write this happened, and for a reason I will never know.
 
Later on this same Wednesday, my parents called to tell me that Theo had to be put down due to a tumor that had ruptured. Maybe I knew. Call it instinct, or what you will. But I know deep down I was unknowingly given time to write my goodbye in a way to my dog.
 
_________________________________________________________________________
 
 
This is the story of how I found my poodle.

Theodore Rossignol. Theo. Boo-Bear. Theo Bear. Moop. Best Dog. The Poodle.

I am sure some of you have caught on to my rather unhealthy love of poodles. I have always grown up with a dog around. Starting with my parents old English Sheepdog, Mandie. Beau was our first poodle. A black standard that was a renegade and defiant guy. Beau's passing was really hard, and I pushed pretty hard to get another poodle.

I don't know how it all came to be. I believe my mom was just keeping her eyes out for poodles in the paper, but soon enough we had scheduled to have a breeder come over with two of her remaining puppies in the most recent litter from her mom-poodle, Aurora. I remember being super excited to meet the little guys, but my mom reminded me that it wasn't for sure we would buy one, or that we would even like one of the two. (yea...right.)

It was an afternoon, the door bell rang, and in bounded a furtacular poofy white poodle. In tow were two teeny tiny little poodles. In turn we were introduced to "Meanabugger" & "White-y". We sat on the hardwood floor in our kitchen, trying to pet each one as they scampered about exploring and sliding all over the hardwood floor. Aurora just kind of sat and watched, posing like the regal dog that she was.

Meanabugger was apparently the trouble maker, the one who picked on the other puppies and kind of threw his (metaphorical & physical) weight around. White-y was rambunctious. He sniffed my hand tentatively, and then gave it a tiny little poodle lick. Watching him as he trucked off into our "green room" (It had teal carpet and teal couches, so it really was the green room) to try to pee on our carpet, I knew it was love, and I knew he was mine.

Again, my memory on the logistics is fuzzy, but the poodles got packed up to leave, we said we would call the breeder later and then we watched the walk out the their car. Deep down, I was already scared I would never see White-y again. I don't remember if my dad had come home and met the poodles, or if we told him about them later. Regardless, I remember we talked about it that night, and the next I knew. We had bought White-y had to wait a few weeks before he could be hand delivered to the house.

When he showed up, he was as cute as I had remembered. All white, with little patches of cream behind his ears and a slightly darker cream stripe starting to show down his back. He had the blackest little nose, and dark dark chocolate brown eyes. He was tiny. He could rest on my arm and not span from my hand to my elbow. He would sleep curled up in your arms, and he loved to be flipped on his back in your lap to get his tummy rubbed (later to be coined "floppy dog").

Theo is the best. A lover of pancakes. His ability to stealth attack food in the kitchen by retracting his toenails. Needing to be pet just about every waking moment of his day. His lazy saunter to go outside. His baths with dad. His morning routine with mom. The plethora of biscuits we give him. His love of the squirrel treats I bring from DC. His glee for opening his Christmas stocking. His desire to protect "the ranch" from every deer, squirrel, fox and quail that roams our yard. His impassioned quest to kill the garbage and fedex truck. His long legged graceful takeover of the chairs and couches. His regal personality, and celebrity like status at the dog wash. His funny sleep positions. His lazy ways of resting his head on the bottoms of chairs or tables. His perfect "sit" posture. And the million other Theo-things that make him the best dog.

He was so little. Now he is so big. He has been a constant source of love and an addition to our family that is irreplaceable.

I love you Theo!

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It's been a hard few days. I've lost pets before. Dogs, numerous fish, and it is always hard to find yourself with them at the end of the day. Dogs are so dependent on you, and the bonds of unspoken love weave their way through your heart. My heart broke learning that I would never see my Theodore again. I am heartsick and sad and a million other emotions that I know will fade with time.
I know I will never forget what a special dog Theo was, and how much I truly loved him.
 
Luckily, after a childhood full of watching "All Dogs go to Heaven", I am fully convinced that my "best dog" is eating pancakes galore in pup heaven.
 
Theo, your humans will always miss you and will always love you. Thank you for your unconditional love and plethora of memories. We love you Theo dog!
 

One of his first baths. He always sat so goofy when I would hold him. He also had the longest legs that you could see even when he was a tiny puppy!

 

He ran with gusto. I am pretty sure this was when we were cutting a Christmas Tree in Sun Valley. Someone had clearly told him they had a treat for him.

 

Sometimes we let his hair grow out a bit....

 

The pinkest little ears. Fuzzy fur. Soft as could be. With the cutest little black nose.

 

So little he could almost crawl inside his food bowl.

 

Wind whipping through his fur as he rode in the front of the boat in CDA, back in summers past.

 

(apologies for the photos of photos and bad quality!)

Vegas Bound

In a little more than 2 weeks I will be Vegas bound to celebrate the future nuptials of one my dear sorority sisters and college friend. A whole group of us are spending two days in the sun, sitting pool side, drinking cocktails, putting on some glitter and doing up Vegas right. We are still putting the final touches on the planning and implementation, but I think we are close to getting the trip ironed out and ready to go! 

I can't wait to see some of my closets friends all in the same place at the same time! Throw in the fact that one of us is GETTING MARRIED! and I couldn't be much happier for all of us to get together! 

Now the hardest thing I am struggling with....the going out dress. I ordered two from asos, and sadly the weight watchers hasn't paid off enough for me to feel comfortable in either one of them. So I am at a loss. I want sequins. Maybe one shoulder. I don't want to look 12 (since my long hair is really making that problem worse than it normally is). I want to feel confident and also not worrying about any wardrobe malfunctions, because let's be real, I'll want to be completely focused on making sure the bride is having the time-of-her-life!

It looks like I am going to have to brave H&M and Forever 21 sometime this weekend, but does anyone else have any great suggestions on where I can find a 1) sparkly 2) Vegas-y 3) cheap dress to dance the night away in? 

Any tips for planning a bachelorette party? This is my first time being on the party planning committee and I want to make sure we do it up right!

If I Had It My Way...

- I would wake up tomorrow and breath in fresh mountain air and find myself in Idaho.

- Coffee would be served in excess and free of charge at my office.

- It would be 9:30am and I would have no where to be, nothing to do, and no one to see.

- There would be a plate of the cheesy eggs we got to each every morning in Whistler when we went on our final ski vacation for the year.

- Poodles would be as plentiful as rats in DC. Running the streets and for the taking if you chose to take one (or twenty) home with you.

- Hogwarts really did exist and I was working on my enrollment paperwork.

- My wedding planning-paper store-dance studio would be open and I would be living the best day of my life every single day.

- I could recreate the infamous Kate Spade wall in my new apartment.

- Summer in DC would just not happen and I would have to think about how miserable the next 4 months are here.

- I would have a trip planned to Italy to drink wine, eat cheese, and enjoy the beautiful life.

- I would know what I am supposed to do, where I am supposed to be, and what the meaning of happiness is.

Birthday Month

I don't really want to talk about how old I am getting. Trust me...I am already having a minor crisis over it. But! If you can't beat 'em. Join 'em! And I am going to do my "joining" by online shopping. Revealing....my birthday month birthday wish list.

1) Up first....

The Oral B Pulsonic electric toothbrush. How adult of me...I know.

After that dentist appointment that practically made me bird poop in the examination chair, I am ready to finally get one of these. However, I want the most compact, smallest, lightweight version I can find and this Oral B one seems to fit the bill! Of course I have done my reading, and there is some debate on the different versions of electric toothbrushes, and while this one is compact, it doesn't seem to have as much movement in the bristles as some, but uses more of the pulsing to clean teeth. (Feeling informed? You should)

2) Plane Tickets

One in particular to go home (one way would be just fine with me :)) and see my family. I am getting to that stage of missing them, that I get choked up just thinking about how much I miss them. I would also take one to Seattle, Chicago, or Italy right about right. Basically anything to make me feel like a Dorothy who is clicking her rub red heels together and getting the heck out of dodge. 

3) A nice Curling Iron

In the DC humidity (so basically 2/3 of the year) my hair hardly holds a curl, but I am interested in knowing if a really good curling iron would make a difference!

The Hot Tools brand seems to get rave reviews, with a lot of people talking about their ultra fine and ultra limp hair (ummm can we say ME!). 

4) Big Girl Make-up and Brushes

Oddly as a get older, the cheaper my make-up gets. Pretty sure this should be the other way around, but I have slowly slid into a routine of finding the cheapest make-up that matches my skin tone and rocking it. Luckily the E.L.F. brand from Target is actually pretty amazing for being cheap, but I would love a full make-up re-do with some big girl products.

5) The Amanda Knox Book

I have followed the trial from pretty much the day Amanda was arrested to the final acquittal. I can't wait to get my hands on this book!

6) Some ADPi swag.

While I may be far along into my "Pi" years, I still have a deep love for all things ADPi. I adore the adult spin that the Lilly Pulitzer products put on wearing your letters and would love murfette scarf.

I have also always had a tingle of desire to own a President's ring, since that was pretty iconic back in the day if you were president of your chapter. I would love to finally get one so I can hopefully pass it down to my daughter (when she is an ADPi president too!).

7) The Jawbone UP

Track my sleeping patterns? 24/7 activity tracking? Plugs directly into my iPhone? Yes, Please! Such a cool concept, that I am sure would cause me to think twice about my living, eating, and sleeping habits!

End. The First Installment. Now time for my to go cry in my tea thinking about how I only have 10 9 days left as a 26 year old. wwwahhhhhhhh!!!!

Paying for My Dentist's New Car

I can't tell if I find this representative of the jerk dentist or my mouth

Remember last November when I waltzed out of the dentist office with a clean bill of health after avoiding the dreaded dentist for a few years too long? Yup, that trip. Well.

All good things must come to an end.

My six month check-up started out bad (because when is the dentist good?) and it quickly slipped to bad, very bad, and then to getmethehellouttahere. The peppy hygienist talked to me like I knew who the 900 million people in her life where, meanwhile forgetting to clean my top teeth, telling me they looked fine, and then five minutes later scaring the shit out of me to tell me that my gums were about two minutes away from withering up and falling out of my mouth. Yes. It was that good of an appointment. Only to get better.

The dentist I saw last time...no longer. No courtesy to tell me he was no longer with their clinic and they had to "rummage" up someone while I was sitting there. "Lucky for me" I got to see the owner of the clinic. He was rude, condescending and let me know that the dentist he clearly had fired, had sent me home with a mouth that was falling apart.

About $1,800 detailed out later...I walked out not sure if I was being scammed, or if I should eat one last steak before I undoubtedly lost all my teeth and started going by the name "gummy".

A few days later. With advice of my future dentist. A plethora of insight from some REALLY negative yelp reviews on this guy. I've decided I need a second opinion. While something could be wrong. I am very skeptical that this polo-playing, yacht-owning, golfing baboon is right about half my mouth rotting out before my eyes!

I just don't buy it. Sure. One issue. Two? Ok. But this is me. Never a cavity, a religious brusher, with zero sensitivity and pain.

Also, did I mention Yelp is riddled with reviews of people who went to him and he told them they were about to die from losing all their teeth, only for them to go somewhere else and be told everything was just fine?

We will see when I finally get a second opinion, but let's hope this guy just wanted to see if I would fund his newest car!

Founder's Day

As cliche as I am sure it sounds, my decision to join a sorority was not based solely on the benefits it had during my college years. A long history of Greek letters run in my family, and while the family heritage aspect has always called to me, the examples all of my family has set in regards to the lifelong commitment and benefits Greek life brings.

Perhaps this year the timing of Founder's Day was just spot on, or the longer I am out of school, the more I realize how blessed I am for the experience I had. Whatever the reason, I felt such an immense sense of pride today.

While I could go on about the FIRST. The FINEST. And the FOREVER. of my sisterhood, what really stood out to me today was how proud I am of the friendships and relationships I built through my sorority, and how they undoubtedly made me the person I am today.

In browsing some online forums today about ADPi life, someone wrote about the offense statement that people say on occasion to Greeks, which is "All a house is...is the requirement to pay for your friends". There was spot on response that one individual used in response to these statements. "Well if I did pay for my friends, I certainly didn't pay enough". Amen.

My sisters have been the cornerstone of my life. I am lucky. I am blessed. I am so fortunate to have been given the opportunity to become their sister and today is just a reminder of what I am so very lucky to have in my life.

 

Happy Founder's Day Sisters! We Live for Each Other!

 

 

These Are Some of My Favorite Things

We all know that I loooovvvve me a good wedding, but Barbie and Ken's wedding album captured probably one of the best weddings evah!

I made gluten free cookies from a recipe a friend passed along (1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg, some chocolate chips. Mix. Bake. Done). I found a similar recipe from Emeril and I have to say....we eat these like they are never going to be any more!

I have clearly been late to finding out about Kate Spade Saturday, but I want one of these bags!

While I haven't been an avid reader of A Beautiful Mess, I am excited to try out their new app.

I'm still on my reading kick, and I am craving the chance to get my hands on this book about the girl I followed for so long.

Oh, It is just you Monday.

Sigh.

Monday morning was rough. If it hadn't been for the new dress I was saving to wear for one of "those" days, I might have stayed slid down to the floor and laid like a starfish sprawled out, hoping the day wouldn't start. Luckily, I had picked this up after work one day when I was engaging in some retail therapy with Ashley.

 

 

I still need to get a belt for it, but I love it. It is no fuss, light weight and grown up all at the same time.

 

Regardless of the dress, which kept the gloom at bay. This is what really kept me going on Monday:

 

Source unknown- sent to me by a co-worker

 

Ok. Sorry SORRY for all those sensitive eyes out there. Perhaps a little inappropriate, but it has been a doozy of a few weeks at work and I am really in need of a one way plane ticket, a poodle, bottle of wine, and tropical island where no one speaks English.

 

Alas, I highly doubt anyone is showing up with a giant check and whisking me away.

 

Now on to more fun, less, boo-hoo updates.

 

I made my first Hazel & Olive purchase tonight. Molly has really sold this as an awesome store, and I have been eying this dress and finally just couldn't tear my eyes away. (Molly also has her own adorable store, Molly Suzanne that you should check out). 

 

 

via

 

I guess we can say Happy early Birthday to me? Yes, it is true. Birthday month is upon me. Eeek. I can't even think about it yet. I'm getting old people! OLD! I also just dropped my first 10 pounds on Weight Watchers. As I am sure some of you remember, I started WW last year in January and it was kind of a flop. I lost a little over five pounds, and then I just dropped off the wagon. I do have to say...you have to want it, and be ready to make changes. I think the last time I did it, I wasn't ready or prepared to plan, improvise, and invest the time and money health eating can require. So far I feel a lot more motivated this time around. I try my best to keep fruits and veggies stocked and front and center as part of my eating plan. Portion control has been huge, and I know I am slowly making steady changes that seem to be sticking.

 

So while work is wearing me down. Hopefully I will be wearing some pretty cute dresses these next few weeks.

 

 

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms, grandmas, and soon to be moms! I wasn't lucky enough to spend the day with two of the best moms that I know- my own mother and my sister, but I am so fortunate to have such wonderful examples of strong, compassionate, and loving moms in my life.

Like Grandma- Like Granddaughter with the fuzzy hats!

Happy Mother's Day to the best Mom and Sister! I love you both so so very much!

Creamy Avocado Whole Wheat Pasta with Shrimp

How will I tie a cooking adventure to Jenni's day three prompt? Well....something that makes me uncomfortable is cooking seafood. Shrimp, clams, some fish, crab, etc.. One, it is expensive (usually). Two, I don't really know what I am doing. Steak, chicken, pork---cook till done. Fish. Seafood. Who the heck knows! Three, it can make your apartment smell.

Not being exactly the best cook in the world. I survive, but am certainly not the person you want in your kitchen cooking dinner. Baking you cupcakes, absolutely. Cooking shrimp. Nope, wrong girl.

Well yesterday I saw a post over at Kevin and Amanda for a pasta dish that used avocado as the sauce. It reminded me that I had bookmarked a similar recipe MONTHS ago, and had yet to try it. With a free evening last night, I decided to give Amanda's recipe a try.  

Amazingly, it was a HUGE success. It was delish! I am so proud of my cooking skills! The shrimp were....dare I say it?....good. REALLY good.

 

Now I know this isn't the normal response to something that makes one uncomfortable, but it was a good link between my dinner adventure and my blog every day challenge! I say it is a win!

Don't Believe Everything You Hear

Being told you are bad at something. Doubting yourself. Believing them, despite knowing that their intentions had nothing to do with making you better, but rather tearing you down.

Then you hear that you aren't bad at that thing. You actually are pretty good.

The it dawns on you. That person, the person who said you weren't really good at something, was really just jealous of everything you had going for you.

Too bad I let it get to me, and had a chip in my ego for a few years over something that was false. Moving on.

___________________________________________________

I wrote that above awhile ago now. The realization that no matter what, there are just going to be people that aren't there to build you up. Maybe it is jealousy, maybe it is malicious, maybe it is their own securities, but whatever it is, their words can dig deep. I had some thoughts so deeply ingrained in my head, that it never even occurred to me to get a second opinion.

Someone told me that I was bad at writing. While I will be the first to admit that I could be better....much much better, that comment made me lose so much confidence in my ability to do ANY writing. I started shying away from writing here, writing emails at work, keeping a journal, doing anything where I felt someone could point out the fact that I was stupid and was a bad writer. Just like anyone else, I have a lot of room for improvement. On this blog, I could stand to edit, revise and re-read before I publish. However, I never started this to be an amazing writer. I started this to track my own life (and to say "Hi Mom, Hi Dad! I promise I am eating more than cereal for dinner!") and to do it because I enjoy it. It is sad I let someone take that away from me.

At work, I can always use a second set of eyes, but the comment dug so deep...I forgot that needing improvement was a far cry from being "bad".

One day fairly recently, someone told me that something I had written was good. Then it was followed up with another written item that got me some pretty important conversations.

The moment after someone told me that I really wasn't a failure at writing, I almost started crying. It was a mix of relief and sadness.

So while I know that I am not a world class writer, and there is a hell of a lot of room for improvement, I also write this knowing that I am bigger than what that person said to me in attempt to make me feel bad about myself.

For day two of the blog everyday this month, I couldn't easily write about something I was good at, or knew a lot about. Instead, this came to mind and seemed fitting for the subject.

Blog Every...Errr Almost Every Day Challenge

It seems to be a trend that people are trying this whole "blog every day for a month" deal. Or going the complete other direction and doing a whole month without the connections via blogging, facebook, instagram, etc.. Jenni over at Story of My Life is doing a month long challenge to blog every. single. day. this. month. Yikes! The only thing that made me possibly thing I could also follow her lead? She provided prompts. So possibly I can stick to it if I don't have to think of a topic for everyday (because let's be real...that is so  much pressure!). So here we go May. A month of blogging. Can I do it?

Jenni's first challenge. Your life story in 250 words or less. This is normally something I would agonize over! Notice how I have never created an "about me" section on the blog? Partially it is because I am so paralyzed by the idea of trying to sum myself up! So big deep breaths...here we go.

I am a West Coast Gal who has landed in an accidental DC life. A lover of poodles, baking, stripes, creative outlets, royal family news, and skiing. I frequently feel out of place and am constantly contemplating if life is supposed to "be like this". (Which I have slowly started to answer with: "Who the heck knows").

Having grown up in the remote state of Idaho (ok not that remote!) I have a deep appreciation for skiing, nature in my backyard, and the luxury of a nice slow pace of life. I have a wonderful family and love being a daughter, sister and aunt.

I spent my college years in Seattle, making friends that I will carry with me my whole life (oh...and picking up my degree). After school I followed a guy to DC, where we both grew up, defined ourselves, and found that we were not exactly meant to spend the rest of our lives together. Having life take a twist I didn't expect, I stayed in DC. Have attempted to carve out a life for myself here and have ultimately found love, bigkid life, and a whole lot of stories to tell. Deep down I know my heart is always going to be on the West Coast and hope that the next chapters of my life happen to take place on the right side of the country.