La Petite Chic

San Francisco, here I come!

Ladies, it's official!!  I just registered for BlogHer '08 and I couldn't be more thrilled!! 

 

Besides my lovely roommates whom I already know are attending, who else can I look forward to having a cocktail with?   

A Cruise in Review through Self-Portraits

I know most of my readers are like me, in that it's not so much about where you're going, but what you're wearing!  Here's a compilation of the outfits I wore every night on the cruise (minus the first Saturday night as I was tired from travel and just wore jeans and a top).  Please forgive the wrinkles as you're not allowed irons in your staterooms.

Sunday Night (First Formal Night):  Remember that White House-Black Market dress that Jon bought me for Christmas?  This is it. 

Monday Night:  This is the Forever 21 dress that I mentioned a few weeks ago. The pockets were great!

Tuesday Night:  I got this dress on sale at Macy's for $10 last fall.  I promise it's much cuter in person!

Wednesday Night:  Just a regular ol' GAP tank that Jon bought me for $3 last year and a printed cotton skirt from Forever 21 that I got on sale for $10 a few years back.

Thursday Night:  A comfy grey kimono-type sweater that I got for $15 at an after-Christmas sale from New York & Company and a denim Banana Republic pencil skirt that I bought on Ebay for $10.

Friday Night (Second Formal Night):  A gorgeous silk Banana Republic halter dress that I got on sale in the fall for $30.

Saturday Night:  Another beautiful Banana Republic dress that I picked out as my Christmas gift from Jon's sister.  It was a steal at the outlet. 

      

Have you noticed a trend?  Not only do I adore dresses (you should see my closet), but I especially adore dresses on sale!  Well, anything on sale for that matter.  Thanks to my mom, I am a true bargain hunter and never pay full price for anything.  The more you save, the more you can buy!

More cruise pictures tomorrow...I promise they will include scenery this time!  Oh, and the first set of wedding photos that I mentioned in my last post are up on Flickr.  Go check them out :)

One more thing to cross off my list...

I woke up this morning feeling completely unrested.  I had one of those nights where I just couldn't stay asleep.  I had no trouble falling back asleep each time, but it was the actual staying asleep part that was my problem.  I distinctly remember looking at the clock at around 4:00 AM and thinking to myself, "I'm going to need a Red Bull in the morning."  I think my inability to stay asleep was partly due to me being pretty wired when I went to bed last night.  I went to bed an hour later than usual because I was busy scanning pictures onto my computer.  I think that extra hour caused me to get a "second wind" and so by the time I actually went to bed, my body was ready for a few more hours of staying awake. 

I did get a lot accomplished last night though.  Have I ever mentioned that all of our professional wedding pictures were photographed in real film and not digital?  Our wedding photographer is a co-worker of my mom's and while he takes beautiful pictures, he never made the transition to digital.  He gave us such an incredible deal on our photography and videography though, that we just couldn't pass it up.  I never thought it would bother me not to have digital pictures of our wedding, but I've become a lot more technical than I was a few years ago.  I've been meaning to scan in all of our wedding pictures, but it's obvious that I've been procrastinating as it's now a year and almost 5 months since our wedding day.  (Sniff, where does the time go?)

Last night, I suddenly decided that I wanted to scan in the first of two albums of photos.  The first album consists of 120 pictures and it took me about an hour and a half to scan in.  It was so easy that now I'm thinking about scanning in the second album tonight.  That one has about 160 pictures so it will probably take me at least two hours to complete.  I don't mind though, because I'm so thrilled to have my wedding photos digitized at last!  I can finally send out links to all of my family and friends to view our beautiful photos. 

And in case you're wondering, this has finally pushed me over the edge to buy a professional membership to Flickr.  That means all of my cruise pictures will be on there too!   Maybe all of this unexplained action will finally motivate me to put together that wedding scrapbook and vacation scrapbook that I always talk about.  We'll see.  Baby steps, people, baby steps.

More cruise pictures coming later today...

If you like piña coladas...

Finally, as I promised you all last week, here are some pictures of our cruise!  The photos below were taken at our first port of call (hence the lack of a tan), San Juan, Puerto Rico.  As you know, I am still a photography novice and this vacation was actually the first time I ever used my camera, so these were all taken on the automatic setting of my Canon Rebel XTi.  The photos aren't as clear when I upload them here, so I'll let you know when I have them up on Flickr.  Hopefully the quality will be a little better there. 

My mom and I decided to split up from the boys to do some exploring and shopping on our own.  We were delighted to stumble upon this little gem hidden amongst colorful homes on a small cobblestone street.

I frequently mention how I'm not a rum drinker, but if it comes to me in the form of a piña colada, I'll happily drink it. 

I have to say, it was probably the best piña colada I've ever tasted.  It wasn't too sweet as most tropical drinks tend to be, and likewise, the alcohol wasn't too overt, which I feared it would be after seeing how much rum he poured in each glass. 

One of my favorite things about San Juan was the houses.  I fell in love with the vibrant colors and intricate balconies found on almost every home. 

Wouldn't you just love to sit on one of these balconies in the morning with a cup of tea or coffee?

The streets were still decorated with lights and garland from Christmas.  I can only imagine how pretty these streets must have looked at night with the lights turned on. 

 

Every person we came across was so friendly.  I tried to practice my Spanish but everyone kept responding to me in English so I eventually gave up. 

When photographing this gargantuan and knotted tree*, I was suddenly startled to see that I was being watched.  I do believe that this black cat had the best napping spot on the whole street.

San Jan is known for it's numerous forts; it seemed that there was one on the end of every street overlooking the sea.  Here's a shot of our ship taken from one of those forts far above the dock.

 

I actually took more pictures of San Juan than any other of the ports we stopped at only because I knew we wouldn't be going to the beach there.  I was too afraid to take my camera out at most of our other stops for fear of sand and water damaging my camera.  I do have some other great pictures to share though so stay tuned for more throughout the week!

*A banyan tree!  Thanks, Anne :)

A Sense of Normalcy

Things are finally starting to settle down around here and get back to a relative state of normal (read: we are just as busy as we usually are, but now it's back to 'normal' busy).  The viewing and funeral both went very well and as is usually the case, I got to catch up with a lot of relatives that I haven't seen since our wedding.  I still don't know half of their names, but then again, neither does my dad!  My main concern through all of this has been how he is coping and I think after the initial shock wore off, my dad seems to be handling things okay and getting through it all.  So that's the last I'm going to say about that.  Going through difficult times like this reminds you that life, does indeed, go on, and so must I.

As I mentioned earlier, our busy life is back in full swing and we wouldn't want it any other way.  Mr. and Mrs. Unnaturally Blonde are coming over tonight for a fun-filled night of pizza, movies, drinking and board games, not necessarily in that order.  As is usually goes, drinking is the constant with a mix of the other three sprinkled in for good measure.  Jon bought a bottle of Fire-in-De-Hole Erotic Rum* while we were in the Bahamas that he is chomping at the bit to sample so I'm sure there will be some variety of rum drink consumed tonight.  I, on the other hand, try to avoid any rum concoction like the plague, after an embarrassing night at a fraternity social as a freshman.  I haven't touched a rum and coke since and considering that happened about eight years ago, that should be an indication of how deep the trauma was (and how well acquainted I became with the toilet!).

On Saturday morning, Jonathan and I are driving up to Pennsylvania to celebrate my sister-in-law and nephew's birthdays (the little one will be three in February!) and then we'll be right back on the road Sunday morning headed to Baltimore to see this show with my parents.  I have been very resistant to see a Cirque du Soleil show because well, they involve clowns, and non-traditional clowns at that!  See, I don't mind the typical big, red nose, white face and enormous feet clowns.  Those don't bother me in the slightest.  It's the creepy, slinky, emotive clowns that tend to freak me out.  I blame it all on a run in with a Tin Man-esque clown at the circus years and years ago which scared the beejesus out of me.  But anyway, Jon has seen several of their shows and has convinced me that it's more acrobatic and enchanting than frightening so I have agreed to go.  Here's hoping that he proves me wrong.  Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

*I can't wait to see the Google hits I get from that one!

More than words...

I truly appreciate each and every one of your comments and thank all of you for your heartfelt warm wishes and thoughts.  It really means a lot to me and I hope you all know just how uplifting they were.  I apologize for my lack of posting, but I've been extremely busy with catching up with work and household chores among everything else that has been going on.  The first week back after a vacation is never easy and makes you constantly feel like you're running around like a mad woman, scrambling for your bearings.

I promise I will write up that vacation recap just as soon as I can and hopefully get my pictures up on Flickr.  In fact, I have all of the photos downloaded already and was just about to upload them to Flickr this morning when I realized that they will be way over my monthly limit of 100 MB.  So now I'm considering an upgrade to a Pro account, but that of course means I have to pay for it.  I think that will have to wait for another month when we're not so vacation poor, but for now I'll choose my favorites to upload and add the rest later.  So stay tuned!

And also, I'm still trying to get through my daunting Google Reader, so I'm really sorry if you haven't seen me around your blogs lately.  I'm doing my best to catch up with all of you just as quickly as I can...or before I pass out on the couch every night! :)

Loss

I know I promised you all photos today, but I received a terribly sad phone call from my mom early this afternoon telling me that my paternal grandmother had just passed away.  Due to dementia and failing health, she has been living in a nursing home for the last several years but she was doing okay when we left for the cruise.  My parents arrived home yesterday to an urgent message from my aunt telling them to call as soon as possible.  My grandma apparently fell ill with pneumonia last week and has been on life support ever since.  Thankfully, my dad was able to get to the hospital in time to see her and say his goodbyes before she passed away.

I am very lucky that I got to know and have my grandma as long as I did and I will always carry fond memories of her with me.  She cooked the most delicious Spanish chicken and rice I've ever tasted and made the yummiest and fluffiest ambrosia for all of the holidays.  She was a very talented crocheter and seamstress and I still have many beautiful blankets and stuffed animals that she made for me as a child.  I like to think that I inherited my gift of a steady stitch from her.  My grandma also happened to be a twin and it has always been the long-running family joke that one of us grandkids will inherit that gene and have twins of their own.  Seeing as how I'm the littlest of my cousins, you can bet it will probably be me.

As with any person who has suffered a long and drawn out illness, their death brings mixed emotions.  There is the obvious grief that comes with the passing of any loved one, but there is also relief that they won't be suffering any longer.  There's also the sudden realization of your own parent's mortality.  You're a witness to the grief of a child, your parent, losing their parent, your grandparent.  You can't help but think that that will be you going through that unimaginable loss some day.  And that thought?  Is very frightening. 

That is why I'm choosing simply to focus on the happy memories I have of my grandma and the consoling comfort that she is not in pain any more.  My grandma lived a long life, married a good man and had four beautiful children.  It is my hope that she has already been reunited with my grandpa and my aunt (who died as a child) in Heaven and that she is at peace. 

Idle Time in the Airport...

Hellooooo, everyone!!  I'm currently sitting in the Ft. Lauderdale airport, defending our precious seats (which are conveniently located next to the only outlet in the entire terminal), while Jon is drinking beer and watching football at the bar.  What else is new?  I actually sent him a text message an hour ago pleading "Come back soon...am beating people off with sticks for our seats" but have yet to receive a reply.  He's lucky I don't have to pee. 

We had to be off the cruise ship by 11:00 AM this morning and we've been hanging out at the airport ever since.  Our super cheap $79 flight back to DC doesn't take off for another two hours so I think I'll use the rest of the time until take-off to catch up on all of your lovely blogs.  I just wanted to pop in to say "Hey!" though and to let you all know that I'm back and had a wonderful time!  I'll hopefully get some pictures up on here and Flickr tomorrow.

And most importantly, I want to thank my wonderful guest bloggers Jennie, Kristin, Emily, Unnaturally Blonde and Sarah who filled in for me last week.  I just finished reading through all of their guest posts and spent equal time laughing and awwing and snorting through their stories.  I hope you all enjoyed reading them as much as I did and maybe picked up a new blog to add to your Google Reader. 

Honestly though, I really couldn't have asked for better guest bloggers.  Their posts combined read like a typical Hollywood script: Life (such a sweet, sweet baby!), Death (a mongoose?!?!  a real, live mongoose?!?!), Rebellion (she has bigger balls than I can ever hope to possess), Love (we heart our honeymoon friends) and Marriage (now I can say I know a real live wedding crasher!).  Thanks again, ladies!!  I hope to return the favor if you are ever in need of a guest blogger! 

Mace On A Plane

So to conclude this wonderful week of guest blogging (really ladies you have done a great job!) I will be telling you a little tale about my trip to Mexico this past August. (Just so you know, it took me 30 minutes to write that-nerves much?)

I'll be honest with ya, I never really wanted to go to Mexico. Mexico was never a "must see" on my travel list. Mexico seemed like a place that college kids went to get some legal drinking done while under the age of 21. Oh and for goodness sakes I could not stand the way the girls on Laguna Beach kept saying how they were going to "Cabo".-Pretentiousness aside, I just never found Mexico alluring. But then a little bird told me about all inclusive resorts. I did some  research on these alleged "all inclusive resorts". I actually asked the guy on Expedia if all inclusive really meant free food and alcohol or if it was code for un-limited bread and lemonade-he assured me that it was not code-and I am sure put me on some list for weirdest questions asked. With much planning, I booked a trip to Los Cabos for myself, my boyfriend and 6 of my wonderful friends.

I wish I could say that planning the trip was the extent of my duress in route to Mexico, but alas, it was not. As I walked through security to board the plane I was asked to step aside. This is typical for me, I am a dark skinned Italian that looks a little too ethnic for security.So I obliged, and they began searching my purse and in a moment of horror, they pull out the pepper spray I carry in my purse! I cannot write down here the plethora of expletives that went through my head, but needless to say, I was mentally beating myself up for forgetting to take it out before boarding a freakin' plane!!!!!! Security is so tight you can't even bring on a bottle of water and here I was bringing on PEPPER SPRAY! They put my name on some list, took down my shoe size, counted my fillings and dilated my pupils and then allowed me to get on the plane.

I was frazzled from my little tango with the law en route to Los Cabos but as soon as we reached the resort my worries diminished for the two following reasons:

First of all this was the strip of beach in front of our hotel:

And second (and most importantly), there were FREE alcohol dispensers IN OUR ROOM!

Alcohol and sun went hand in hand for the seven days we were there.  You know the drill, fancy drink, soak in pool, sunbathe-repeat. The evenings got a little crazier and often consisted of hanging out in the makeshift dance club at the hotel. One night in particular we went to a Japanese restaurant (which ironically enough,  was the best restaurant at the Mexican hotel) and we got a little carried away with the Sake bombs. After sake-ing till we couldn't sake anymore, the group took it poolside to play some poker. My friend Serina and I were not excited by the prospect of card games so we wandered away from the group to make some fun of our own and explore the swim up bar-after hours. What's the harm, the alcohol was free anyway?

That's Serina playing bartender and myself as the loyal patron. After doing our best imitation of law breakers we went to the bathroom to remove our soaked undies and noticed a bride going to the bathroom with the door open while her bridesmaid held up her dress. Even though she was in the process of going to the bathroom, Serina and I made friendly conversation with the blushing bride. As she stood up she said, "Hey, want to come to my wedding?" Serina and I took one look at each other and said "YES!" And just like that, soaking underwear in hand, we went to the reception for a couple we didn't know.

For the next 45 minutes, Serina and I were official wedding crashers. We taught the guests dance moves such as "The Sprinkler", "The Shopping Cart" and "The Fish". As we snapped pictures with the guests and the happy couple we heard whispers of "who are they?" and "Are we related to them?" Serina and I decided to leave them wanting more, so as they served the cake we said our goodbye's and congratulations and returned to our friends with quite a story to tell. Unfortunately I don't have pictures from the wedding, but I am considering doing it again and taking pictures then.

So that is my contribution while our Katie is away-hope you enjoyed! And just remember, there is more where that came from here! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

P.S. Just for laughs, here is a picture of me getting clobbered by a pathetically small wave and my boyfriend saving my life:

Once Upon A Time In St. Lucia

This week has been a great one for Le Petit Chic.  Katie handpicked some great ladies to fill in for her while she is away and I’m just hoping that I can keep things going and maybe pick up some wonderful new readers in the process (I heart comments).  You can always find me hiding out over here.

I initially planned to jot down lots of ideas of what I wanted to post about, write some drafts and be completely ready by the time Thursday morning rolled around.  It didn’t happen quite as seamlessly as I had hoped but here I am, and here we go.  Anyone who has been reading Katie’s blog for any length of time probably knows that we are friends outside of the blogosphere.  I know my husband would agree that making friends becomes harder when you are married and I feel very lucky to have met both Katie and Jon, so I thought that I would reveal the real story of how we all met. 

(In true Sophia Petrillo style) 

Picture it.  St. Lucia.  2006. 

Couples could be found finishing breakfast, floating in the pool with umbrella drinks in hand, and relaxing under the cover of the Pavilion while warm air circulates during a light rain.  My husband and I had arrived the day before and were excited for our first full day on the island.  While we were sitting there, the bar opened, and we got a couple beers even though it was barely 10:00am (one of the many perks at an all-inclusive resort).  Two guys in bright yellow and blue sandals staff shirts with the words “Entertainment Staff” on the back approached us and the rest of the guests shouting about a ring toss game that was going to start in just a few minutes.  The social butterfly husband of mine immediately signed us up.  When the game started we played against three other couples, coming in first or second I think.  It’s hard to believe with my competitive nature that I can’t remember what place we got. 

So now we were in our element…drinks and games not to mention the fact that we are in paradise.  The next game Hubs signed up for was the banana-eating contest.  There were about 5 people in the first round and the two fastest eaters would compete again for first place.  Mike was pumped and ready to go and when that whistle blew he was filling his face with banana.  I don't know how she did it, maybe I missed the magic portion of the show, but she kept up with him.  So the two of them were given a few minutes to recover from banana overload and then they were going head to head for first place.  But there was a twist for the final round.  They were both going to be blindfolded. 

The staff member came over to Hubs and tied his blindfold on first and handed him a banana.  When he got to Katie he put his fingers up to his mouth and didn’t tie the blindfold on her.  Everyone watching quietly laughed, as she wasn’t given a banana either.  This was going to be hilarious, my poor husband shoving a banana in his face unaware that he was racing against himself.  When the whistle blew he held nothing back, he wasn’t going to be beaten by a girl.  Everyone cheered him on like it was the freaking Daytona 500 of banana racing.  When he hit halfway he slowed down and by the roaring laughter of what was happening I stopped him before he forced himself into a choking situation.  He pulled off the blindfold to see that he was the only one playing this game.  He couldn’t hold back his laughter either.  Katie came over and patted him on the back and everyone continued to laugh while he cleaned himself up a bit. 

We all walked over to get some drinks and Katie’s husband commented on Hubs Penn State t-shirt.  He too was a PSU alum and avid football fan, so with that we found some chairs and started to chat about where we were from and what we do.

And the rest of history.