but I don’t mind getting dirty

Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th!

Oh- in case you were wondering?  That’s a cupcake necklace up there, and I own it.   And love it.  And though I think the shoes are cute and all, I really just picked them because they’re red (if you know me you know how much I love a red shoe), and they’re flat.  No heels for me at any cookouts this weekend, thanks.  I wouldn’t pick these puppies out in real life I don’t think.  I little too… prissy?, in my opinion.

God.  I’m such a chick in this post.

Have a good one!

 

I left my voice in NH, and other points from my weekend getaway

• I’m back all in one piece, and I made the zip line my bitch on Friday. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a spec freaked out by the time we got to the top of the mountain (?) where we were setup to take our first zip down. The six of us girls clearly dominated the majority of the group, joined in by a good looking dad, his wife, and his daughter, and one other couple. After the first “zip” we were really into it, and the whole thing was a wicked blast. Our tour was led by a better looking version of Screech. He was hilarious and one of those people who you can tell just really digs their job. I like these types. Outdoorsy and good hair = plus two. Here’s the beast we took up the mountain: 

• Oh, the watermelon! That’s one worth mentioning, a- considering how much talk there was about the damn thing beforehand, and b- since it came out so damn good (after a lot of prep-work)! Now I’ll tell ya, this soaking-of-the-vodka process? It’s no quick thing. Don’t go expecting to prepare this concoction and enjoy it an hour later. I put the vodka into the watermelon on Saturday morning thinking we could bust into it maybe that night if we were lucky, otherwise go for it on Sunday. Well, it wasn’t absorbing anything too quickly, and RS wasn’t kidding when he emphasized rotating the thing. By Sunday afternoon, it still not soaking the vodka up, we decided to chop the thing up, put it in a bowl, and give that a go. Cha-ching! Finally- end result, wickedly delicious watermelon, 8 tipsy vacationers.   Here’s a picture of Watermelon Concoction 2008:



• Right, you may have noticed we some how picked up 2 more vacay-ers along the way? No, unfortunately none of the three single girls in our group struck gold with any fine looking neighbors. It goes back to something that would only happen to us while three and a half hours away on vacation: car trouble. Of course. Luckily we had split up and taken two cars up there, because car number two decided to crap out on us mid-trip, leaving us with 6 girls 1 car, a tow-truck situation on our hands and no way in hell to get us and all our gear back home.
  Fail.
  So Sunday night we added two males into the mix- the fiance of one, and his cousin who came up to join in on the action for a night and cart half of our group home the next day.
  Somewhere in the mix of that evening I seem to have lost my voice, and now sound like a cross between a 68 year old chain smoker and a 14 year old boy going through puberty. Hot. 

• SATC. There was lots of it. The pink velvety case was displayed on our coffee table for the duration of the trip, and yes, we did even throw an episode in for a second on Sunday night with the men there. Needing to find a certain scene with Big that kept coming up was of utmost importance. 
• We rocked out a good solid Power TWO Hour upon arriving at our place. One hour just didn’t seem like enough, so we kept at it (that’s what she said). We were playing with two sweet mixes- one was 80’s, the other some random compilation of music that made us want to bust a move. Which we did, outside on our sweet deck until the bugs got too much to take and it was time for more SATC. (A couple of you may or may not have been the recipient of a nice Tipsy Text from yours truly during this adventure) Lights out by 10:30 that night, needless to say. 

• Most all of our activities needed to be enjoyed indoors, since, definition of us and our vacays, it dumped rain pretty much the entire time. No biggie. We had enough food and alcohol to feed an army, games that made us laugh so hard that Little Miss Priss in the condo down below us had to bust the party because we were so loud, digital cameras, outlets 15 minutes down the road that were calling our name, and did I mention, SATC? 
• Oh, here’s a really really cute puppy we met one afternoon when we went to a random nail salon to get mani/pedis. His name is Lucky; tell me you don’t want to instantly hug him?

All in all, I’d give the trip a solid 8.5 (factoring in the rain and the car troubles we encountered). Pretty damn good!

I forgot, we saw a moose on the side of the road on our way to the zip line excursion. That was fun.

 

Petty, old friends, & style (or, I can’t think of a better title for this)

So hey.  I’m able to post right now because I’m not at bootcamp.  Our trainer had some other piece of business going on, so we added in an extra day last week and are busting out an 8am session this Saturday.  Just shoot me now.

I don’t have too much to write about but I do have to say that Tom Petty was fabo, as was the prime people watching that you get to do at this type of show.  Quite the eclectic mix, let me tell ya.  Oh and my Friday was quite a hit- with my best friend from high school in town, it was absolutely necessary to take sake shots go out on the town and show her a good time.  And it also just so happened that my new young non-speed- date friend from last Thursday called and ended up meeting up with us.  Nice guy, sweet, blue, kind eyes, and not a bad looker at all.  We’ll see.  It’s fun.

Anyway, one other thing is that I’m absolutely obsessed with whipping up new outfits thanks to this special lady who told me about the site (that I think I’m the last to hear about) that I’m now totally addicted to. 

Case in point, my roommate and I spent hours Saturday afternoon making outfits for various friends and making the other guessing who it was.  It’s the little things, for serious, that amuse us.

Here is an outfit that I could absolutely get down with wearing on an outdoor patio for an after work happy hour:

And here’s the definition of the kind of guy I wouldn’t mind doing this with:

(I know he seems to be dressed for a bit cooler weather than I am, right?  That layered look though, I just can’t not dig a guy who does The Layer.)

That’s all for now, I think.  I’m going to go watch Letterman’s response to Speidi on his show again for kicks before sitting down to read more of Eat, Pray, Love (and then I’ll probably watch this six more times for the hell of it because for me, that’s always a guaranteed mood lifter).

Monday be gone!

 

hey baby, there aint no easy way out

Oooooh boy.

Or, I guess I should really say, not so much on the boys.

I don’t post while I’m at work, and though I’m not silly enough to think that I got a whole lineup of readers eagerly awaiting my Speed Dating tales, I did want to bust out a quick update for the one or two that might swing by for the recap of the evening.  So here I am, 7am on a Friday morning with a towel on, drinking some OJ and ready to tell you about the night…

Which was basically a bust.

Not so much the evening itself.  Dinner was pretty good, flatbread pizza and Riesling is a weird combo but it works, it’s not easy walking crowded streets, many blocks in heels, EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil- did you know that?  Rachel Ray?) stains, and arriving fashionably late to an event like this is actually very okay. 

We arrived to the bar where we were welcomed by a slew of GREEN! CELTICS! SHIRTS! everywhere.  Lots of green, lots of dudes, Mardis Gras beads at the door?, big flat screen tv’s, a well made tanqueray & tonic, a nice atmosphere.  Truth be told, we were more content just staying put here, where all this was happening.  On the stairs, a little mini sign reads, “Speed Dating, downstairs, 8pm.”  Well by now it’s 8:45 and we’re not sure we really want to do this.

But, we paid our $22 dollars so we at least wanted to check it out.  We head to the dungeon downstairs, where there is absolutely no music, no game on, pretty dead silence, 4 guys sitting at the bar, about 7 girls sitting around, and one man who wants to check us in, with a whistle around his neck.

Yikes.

We scope the room, we look at each other, and we decide…. no.

We just couldn’t do it.  We did ask some questions, like “is this it?” and, “are you serious?” and questions about the guy to girl ratio (7 to 12- what?), and some questions about getting our loot back.  Which was a dead end; there is no getting money back within 24 hours so we chalked this one up to who knows what, and headed our bad selves back upstairs.

All in all the night was a good one.  Good game, good company, met a guy with a good head of hair who lives right next door to my favorite icecream place in town (sweet), and exchanged numbers (bonus).  Though I didn’t meet Mr. Wonderful, the night was still a good one, and now at least I know that I’m done my stint with the hyper relationing Speed Dating.

Happy Friday and happy weekend!

Oh, I’m going to see Tom Petty tomorrow and I’m damn excited. 

Ciao.

 

Big weekend gone by too fast

Today was one of those perfect New England days where it’s just the right mix of warm and breezy, hardly any humidity, with a few seemingly perfectly placed puffy clouds in the sky.

One best spent outdoors if at all possible. Time to bust out the sundresses and flip flops, time to stroll around the city and soak in the sun and the Sunday, time to forget all your worries.

I did all that today.

Went off with a girlfriend and stopped by a cafe for a yummy crepe to start things off. Walked around South Boston and stopped off at the Open Market, and enjoyed some quality people watching and a yummy Italian Ice. Discussed the pros and cons and whereabouts of the best locals for bikini vs. brazilian waxes, and what constitutes a Perfect Sangria recipe.

Got home to spend some quality time with my roommate, watched a go-to movie for a guaranteed laugh, and watched 15 minutes of a pretty lame Lifetime.

Why are there such things as Mondays? And if there was always a long weekend like the one before this, would people go around having a case of the Tuesdays?

I wonder about these things.

Oh, I of course loved SATC. Being the humungo, obsessed fan that I am, how could I not? Truth be told though, the night for me was more about spending some quality Girl Time with my friends, going out for dinner and drinks beforehand,*

and remembering just how good I’ve got it. Between whacked out schedules, friends moving, graduating, planning weddings, etc., it can be tough to get our group of six together. Yet somehow, we always seem to buck up and get it done. I’m one lucky lady and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t feel grateful for that.

Sniff sniff.

*SPOILER ALERT*

I thought the movie was good. Wonderful of course to see the whole cast on the big screen after all the hype these past four years. I thought it was all pretty predictable, as much as I loved and embraced the whole thing. I have to say I found Carrie’s breakup scene to be quite emotional, because what woman cannot relate to that whole scene? The girls going in to check on Carrie in the room, Samantha feeding Carrie especially, really got to me.

*Spoilers done.*

Sniff sniff again. This post was so not meant to be a Debbie Downer.

Anyway. I liked the movie; I’ll probably see it again this week, because that’s how I roll. The weekend was good. The weather (other than the rain showers yesterday) was damn good.

Oh, I also met a woman last night at a restaurant who wants to set me up with her son who is a hot man in uniform cop, who “works out” (at the same gym I attempt to get my ass too), and is “just looking for a ‘nice’ girl.”

Hmm, we’ll see about that. I gave her my info. But really, what dude would be all over calling a chick that his mom met out one night that she thinks would be a “great fit!?” I’m thinking not many.

Aaaaand, that’s all she wrote.

*I guess I unanonymousized myself a spec x 2 in this post. If you look closely you can see my right arm/red sweater in martini picture, and of course, those are my gams in the top picture in the grass. Wicked sneaky, I know! Shh. Keep it on the DL. I don’t want people recognizing my arm and HOH! Speaking of, new one in the house. Old school Chris Noth- who cares if he’s being put back in the rotation again; the timing is appropriate.

I revived it! But I couldn’t revive the comments made on here already… sorry about that!

 

going to get Carried away…

Life doesn’t always turn out to be your fantasy.  That’s why you need friendships that are real to get you through it all.~~Carrie
Bradshaw

 

It’s finally here! 

I felt like it was The Right Thing to do to at least post today, of all days.

I’m off and running with five of ma’ ladies to see the premiere tonight.  To a theater that has a bar, no less! 

Cosmos, shoes!, Mr. Big and my best friends- what other way would I choose to spend this Friday night?!

 

damn you VS!

I never blog on a Friday night.

I don’t know why that is?  It’s like every night during the week lately I have had something going on, and when I finally do have a second of down time to just BREATHE finally, I end up catching up on missed episodes of LOST, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Office, (and the Celtics tonight!), having a cold brew(s) (or martini(s), or wine(s)) on my couch in my sweats, or shopping online.
 

I just went buck wild on Victoria Secret’s semi-annual sale.  I justified all of the purchases in my mind either as a Spring Treat, a belated birthday gift to myself, a gift from the IRS (whenever that $600 check shows it’s face?), or maybe even a gift for a friend’s upcoming birthday (knowing damn well I’d end up keeping it for myself).

I found heaps of special things for myself.  Flip flops, sunglasses, yoga pants, a bright blue wicked cute bikini (which I just tried getting on this blog but can’t get to work), and an all purpose little beach bag.

I clicked away, went through the whole stupid billing and shipping information process, got really pumped about some new stuff coming my way, and proceeded to checkout.

And then my shopping-spree-high was brought to a screeching halt.

The stuff?  Not going to be delivered here until freaking June 2!  What the hell is up with that?  What is it now, the second week of May?  Not that I’m going to be busting out the bikini for a little bit, but why does it make any sense that I have to wait WEEKS for all this loot?  I can’t be dealing with all that waiting.  I won’t have it. 

Those yoga pants!  I really wanted those!  What. The. Hell.

Way to ruin a girl’s retail therapy binge, VS.

And how about how this store randomly likes to sneak a sweatshirt in the catalog and online that should only be worn circa 1987?

Ugh.  VS is dead to me until I have another adult beverage right now.

DEAD TO MEEEE!

 

*I’m keeping Joel over there up for another week.  Just because.*

 

baaaack.

Well hello blogworld!  I’m back!  My time away in Cali seemed to just breeze by in a minute.  Some highlights from my trip include:

• Some good pool time, which gave me the opportunity to finally finish reading The Kite Runner (I know I’ve been talking about it for months), and to start reading this, which was a sweet gift from a co-worker before I left!
• Ooooh!!  Speaking of gifts!!!!  Remember this ring that I had on my birthday wish list last week?!!  Well guess what?  My good good bloggy-turned-real-life friend Miss Nilsa went ahead and ordered it up just for me, and it was waiting in a little envelope when I returned last night!  Thank you SO much lady!
• This:



• And this:



• A new Coach purse that I gifted myself from the outlet store that my mom and I spent several hours at one afternoon.
• Definitely lots of good, really quality time with my mom.
• This new little ditty, similar to the one I was eyeing last week:

(little bit sunburned?)

• HOLY HELL.  Meeting these guys:

(Yeah, I know.  The cuteness.  I’m tearing up again just posting these.  5 weeks!)

• Birthday martinis.  Blueberry Lemondrop.  To die for.
• Lots of plane time.  This wasn’t actually a “highlight” per se, but it did give me lots of thinking time.  I reflected on a conversation that Mr. Match and I had where he said he didn’t like that I used “woot.”  Red flag #36!  Though I do miss his big bear hugs and his HOH, I do not, my friends, miss that type of shit.  Oof.

There’s lots more to report from my Cali excursion, but for now I’m off with my roommate and some friends for a belated little birthday dinner and drinks!

Can someone please explain these new quilt-esque avatars that are going on lately?

 

birthday lists, or not?

That birthday list that I was thinking of busting out?  It’s not coming along too well.

The thing is, I’m just not good with stuff like that.  It’s like when you actually have money to spend, say, a gift card or something, and you can’t find a single thing you want.  When it seems like you were just at the same store shopping the previous week, and you saw a gazillion items screaming your name.

It’s like that, sort of.  My stepdad called me last week and told me to email him a few things I think I’d like.  He said he didn’t want to just send me a check, felt like that was too impersonal.  Well, I thought and thought.  Running shoes?  How could he pick them out?  Asking him to replenish my liquor cabinet?  Too much?  What about a Coach wristlet?  Then I’d feel impersonal/weird sending him a simple link.  I couldn’t come up with anything in particular.  He had suggested new bike tires or some triathlon gear, but the truth is, this year my heart just isn’t as into the triathlon thing.  Hopefully next season I’ll be more in check in regards to that, but this year, not so much.

Since I didn’t come up with Special Suggestions, he ended up going with the check after all.  He called me last night and told me it was coming.  Said how he felt bad for just sending a check, mentioned how he felt that wasn’t as thoughtful and personal as he’d like, and I could see his point.  He wanted to do something meaningful and special.  I just couldn’t come up with the suggestions for him.

And similarly, I am having a hell of a time coming up with any sort of birthday list to post here.  A couple other bloggers have said how exciting! they are, and while in theory, making a list of any and everything I’d want does sound like fun, I’m just having trouble whipping it all up.

I’m kind of more a… know it when I see it kind of girl.  Know what I’m saying?

Though, I wouldn’t mind gifting myself or getting gifted these earrings, this ring, this necklace (similar to an angel necklace I have, mine has gotten a little tarnished), a pair of Chuck Taylors that I design, oh and why not?- this necklace too, pretty much anything from the first bedroom here, … and well, maybe some bedroom time there (since we’re on the subject) with Papelbon and his good HOH, and a few brewskis with this guy.

Hmm, maybe it wasn’t as hard as I thought.

Oh, lastly, I’d like to have Lauren Conrad’s* hair stylist for a week- if I’m being choosy here, why not?

 

*Don’t tell me you haven’t thought of how to recreate this braid on yourself!  My roommate and I may or may not have spent an hour whilst watching last night’s episode playing hair stylist on each other trying to get this look down.  So not as easy as one might think.  Tia, your thoughts on this?

 

what’s your scent??

My standby, go-to perfume, my absolute favorite that I’ve been wearing since back in college is discontinued.  Done!  Gone.  And to get a bottle of it, one needs to search far and wide, and maybe you’ll be lucky to find it for $105 dollars on some random perfume website, that is sketchy at best.  This was my signature scent, one I’d wear day AND night.  I was known for this perfume.  I loved it because it was light and summery, not too overbearing, and it was totally random and no one else had it.  Now it’s gone, and I’m stuck for what to go for next.

So, I’m enlisting your help!  What is your favorite perfume?  What’s your go-to scent?  Do you have a perfume you wear for day, and one for night?  One that’s lighter, fruitier, funner, more playful?  And another that you spritz on for dates, to feel sexy, to seduce? 

Tell me what your favorite scent is, and what it’s like.  I prefer a lighter smell, something kind of fruity and airy and definitely not anything too heavy and overbearing.  If you leave the room and I can still smell your perfume?  Not my style.

Would you please help a girl out?!

And guys out there, what’s your favorite cologne?  Oh, I could do a whole post about what happens to me when I smell a guy wearing a sexy scent….