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.
 
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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!!!!