La Petite Chic

Fabulous Find Friday

Ladies and gents, I have found my match.  Internets, meet The Container Store.  Yes, I know it's not a new store, but I have only ever been in there once before and it was for some boring office supplies.  I had never taken the time to actually browse around because if all you do is look through the windows, all you see are neatly arranged stacking boxes and colorful hangers.  It seemed like an Office Depot for closets.  Oh, how mistaken I was!

This place is a mecca for Type A personalities, anal Annie's or really anyone who needs a little organization in their lives.  I qualify as all three!  I decided to stop in there last night because I was on a quest for a portable vegetable and dip tray.  I actually used to own one (brand new, I might add), but gave it away in a harried fit of spring cleaning.  I usually bring baked goods to parties so I never thought I would use it.  Isn't that always the way?  You never need something until you get rid of it.  Well, it turns out that I had the burning desire to bring a vegetable tray for our friend's birthday celebration this weekend.  It gave me a good excuse to go shopping last night, so I guess I can't complain!

I made trips to The Container Store, Crate and Barrel and Bed, Bath & Beyond and while I never did find a portable vegetable tray (I'm convinced I owned the only one in existence), I, of course, found several other things that I never knew I needed until I saw them.

Like this Cup-a-Cake portable cupcake holder:

I make cupcakes several times a month, but always manage to smoosh them when bringing one along to work.  I do own a cupcake carrier that carries all two dozen cupcakes, but this little single carrier is perfect to pack one as a snack.  And it's only $2.99!  I bought a pink one, of course.  Jon saw mine and now he wants one!

My next find actually ended up being what I was looking for...just on a much smaller scale. Say hello to the  Snack and Dip Carrier:

One of my favorite snacks to eat is carrots with ranch dressing, but I never had a good way to transport it to work.  I usually throw the carrots in a baggie and my dressing in a small Tupperware container, but think of all the baggies I've wasted!  I think I'll use it for chips and salsa too.  And at $3.99, you can't beat the price.  I got mine in lime and purple.

I'm sad to report that my next find was out of stock, both online and instore.  I actually scouted it out online while at work yesterday, but was informed by the salesperson that ever since it was featured on Oprah during the holidays, it has been flying out the doors ever since.  It's the Pet Travel Tainer:

We travel with Lola a lot and she is always panting by the end of our usual hour long drives.  Who knew that DC stop-and-go traffic worked dogs up too?!  Our normal solution is to give her drinks of water out of our water bottles.  Not only is this gross when you think about it, but it usually results in one of us having wet pants.  This container not only carries the pet food, but it also snaps apart leaving you with two separate bowls for food and water. How perfect!  I plan to get one of these for Lola as soon as they're back in stock because at only $14.99, it's an easy price to pay for dry pants!

I am THAT Co-Worker

I totally just stole a Tagalong (okay, maybe 2) out of the box from my co-worker's desk.  They've just been sitting there, taunting me, all day long, and I finally broke.  Let's hope she won't be able to smell the peanut butter on my breath by the time she gets back from her meeting!

P.S.  As a former Girl Scout, I should be ashamed of myself.  I blatantly defied The Girl Scout Law today.  Shame on me.

Photo Pie -- Week One

EmilyPie is hands-down one of my favorite bloggers.  However weird this may sound, I really think we would be great friends if we knew each other in real life.  I feel that she is a kindred spirit in so many ways.  I'm sure you all remember the drama I went through in getting my camera for Christmas.  After all of that, I haven't had much of a chance to even use it!  So I was so thrilled when Emily decided to start a weekly photo challenge for all of us budding photographers out here in the blogosphere. 

This week's challenge was to take a photo in our macro setting.  Thank god she mentioned the little clue about the flower icon because I most certainly would have had to pull my manual out to decipher exactly what that meant!  I took many shots tonight and now I present to you the one I like the best.  It's a wooden statue that my Dad got for us in Africa.  Obviously, I have a lonnnnng way to go, but I think it turned out pretty neat!  Thanks for putting this on, Emily...I can't wait to see next week's challenge!

Love and Avoidance

Things I Can't Get Enough Of

 

Stacy's Simply Naked Pita Chips

(Oh, yummy sea salt, come to me!)

Jon and Kate Plus 8

(Not only are they highly entertaining, they also happen to share our names!)

 

$2 Chuck from Trader Joes

(You can't beat this stuff)

Burt's Bees with Pomegranate

(So soothing on my winter chapped lips)

LOST

(This season has yet to disappoint me)

Domino Magazine

(I just subscribed and can't wait to get started on some more home renovations!)

Things I've Been Avoiding

The Gym

(Oh how I loathe thee)

Putting Together Our Wedding and Honeymoon Scrapbook

(Our 1½ year anniversary is on Saturday.  Yeah.)

 

Learning French and German before our trip in May

(I should probably get on that, yes?)

Looking Forward

I apologize if I've been neglecting your blogs, and my own, lately.  I never realized just how much blogging and blog reading I did at work until we got crazy-busy, leaving no time for idle blogging.  By the time I get home from work, the thought of looking at another computer screen for hours on end is enough to make me want to vomit.  And that's no fun. 

Actually, speaking of vomit, please tell me that I'm not the only girl who freaks the eff out when having a random bout of nausea in the morning.  Like this morning, I was in our closet, hanging an empty hanger back up and I suddenly had to puke.  As in rightthatmoment.  I ran to to the toilet and up came the daily pill I take when I wake up.  And the OJ I washed it down with.  Bleh.  Never mind that I'm on a very reliable form of birth control, the first thought that went through my head was, "Oh my god, what if I'm pregnant?!"  Followed shortly thereafter by, "Oh my god, where are we going to put the crib?!"  Followed by, "Oh my god, Jon will still be in grad school!"  Followed by, "Ooh, I hope it's a girl!"  Neurotic, much?

After several more non-vomit related trips to the bathroom, ahem, I'm convinced that either a) OJ is not the liquid of choice when taking a pill on an empty stomach or b) I had a run in (no pun intended) with a nasty little stomach bug this morning.  Or a combination thereof.  Take your pick.  I am most definitely suffering from a bout of baby fever though.  We met up with my friend and her husband for brunch on Saturday (the same friend who was with me when I met Jon) and she's currently in her second trimester.  She has the most adorable little stomach and looks completely and utterly beautiful.  Seeing her pregnant and thereby imagining myself in her shoes in a few years has made me a little giddy ever since. 

The funny thing is, up until I got married I wasn't sure I would ever want children.  Truth be told, I'm not very good with children.  I don't know how to play with them or how to talk to them and I'm sure I come off as very awkward.  Sure, I babysat in middle school, but I was really a kid myself then.  I even worked at a daycare one summer in college, but I was assigned to the infant section because I could manage to soothe a crying baby, but wasn't able to tame a group of five year olds.  Go figure. 

My thoughts started to change when I met Jon.  I already had Lola for a couple of years at that point and had realized that I made a very good dog mama.  Fiercely protective, nurturing, proud as a peacock....hmm...couldn't the same traits that made me a good dog mama translate into being a good people mama?  Then our nephew was born, and I saw how wonderful Jon is with children.  All those little things that I don't know how to do come naturally to him.  Just as all old ladies love Jon, all little children love him too.  He's such a big goofball and so patient and fun--everything little kids love.  Then we got engaged and I started to think, wow, imagine if we had a child.  Of course they would get the best of both of us, right?  His math/science smarts and my reading/history smarts and both of our athletic genes.  And Lord, please, my rhythm.  Let's stop the white man dancing at this generation, okay?

More than anything though, I can't wait to see Jon as a Dad.  I see the way he is with me, with Lola and with our nephew and can't help but think, my God, Jon is going to rock the socks off of fatherhood.  And hopefully I'll do the same for motherhood.  But for now, we play the sit and wait game.  The wait until Jon is done with school, the wait until we have more than 690 square feet to call our own and the wait until we are financially ready.  Then we can finally start trying.  And when I told Jon we would probably have to, umm, "do it" almost every day when we do start, he couldn't wait to get down to business either.  He's so predictable!

A Ray of Sunshine

I was awakened this morning by the sound of what I initially thought was a saw.  Scrape scrape scrape. Huh?  Scrape scrape scrape.  Hmph.  Maybe they're finally going to paint our balcony.  Scrape scrape scrape.  I climbed out of our cozy bed and groggily walked over to the window.  I peered through the blinds and saw a man scraping a layer of ice off his windshield.  Scrape scrape scrape.  And then I remembered: the snowstorm that has had everyone so freaked out on the East Coast this entire week finally hit overnight.  It must not have been cold enough for snow because it seems that all we got here is ice and freezing rain.  Just like last week.  Lovely. 

What's a girl to do to keep herself happy and warm amidst all this wintry gloom and doom?  Well, for starters, you can buy yourself a new swimsuit.  Or rather, you can have your husband buy you a new swimsuit.  Like this one:

I was in love with it the moment I saw it on someone else's blog (speak up if it was you, because I can't remember whose blog it was!) and I knew I had to have it.  And yes, I did just buy a brown polka dot bikini for our cruise last month, but the two look completely different.  Completely.   Go to Victoria's Secret to find a snazzy, new suit of your own!

For another ray of sunshine on this gloomy day, check out this beautiful resort in the Riviera Maya.  It's called the Aventura Spa Palace and it just so happens to be where we're going for our 2nd anniversarymoon in September!  SQUEE!!!  Jonathan got us booked this week and I swear to you, the thought of sunbathing next to a lagoon with a margarita in hand has gotten me through this week.  For real.  It has just been that kind of a week.  But it gets even better.  Seeing as how we met them on our honeymoon, coincidentally went to the same resort for our 1 year anniversaries and subsequentally are now best of friends with them, Mr. and Mrs. Unnaturally Blonde are coming along too!!  Ohh, the excitement!!  September, hurry up and get here already, would ya?

Winter Woes

Winter zaps all motivation out of me.  All I want to do when I come home from work is put on my sweatpants, pour a glass of wine and zone out in front of the television.  I haven't stepped foot into the gym since the beginning of January, and frankly, I don't care.  I would much prefer to burrow on the couch with my dog, my blanket and a big glass of wine than go fight it out for the last elliptical machine amongst the New Year Resolutionists.  Notice I didn't mention snuggling with my husband in that last sentence.  Sure, I'd love for him to join my personal wine fest too, but he has been in an impressive workout kick ever since we came home from our cruise.

Jonathan going to the gym is usually enough to motivate my ass to get off the couch and join him (my lovely competitive side coming out by wanting to be the fitter half of this couple!) but in the winter it's a no go.  I blame the weather.  Once I'm in the house, I'm in for good, minus Lola's nightly walk and her short potty breaks.  We have started thinking about where we want to move in a year and a half and in this February freeze, the South is looking better and better to me.  We would really love to be close to our families, especially knowing that babies aren't too far off, but we don't want that to be the only reason why we would move to Maryland.  There's always that one generation that breaks the mold and ventures out on their own and maybe that will turn out to be us.

Jonathan and I really don't have any ties to Virgina, save for our condo, because we both moved here for work.  We've definitely decided that we won't move North of the Mason-Dixon Line, because it's just too cold, so we'll definitely be in Maryland or farther South.  We're really interested in Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA but I think any suburb in the Carolina's would do.  Being close to the beach is important to us, but we also want to live near a bigger city so that we'll have the benefit of good restaurants and an active nightlife.  I've been having a bout of baby fever recently though, so I keep going back to how wonderful it would be to have our parents close by, not really for the benefit of babysitting, but for the benefit of our children being close to their grandparents (not to mention us being so close to the parents we adore).  So needless to say, we're trying to convince both sets of parents to move South with us!

So what about you all?  Why do you live where you live?  Is it where your family is from or where you went to school or did you just decide to be adventurous and up and move there?

*EDITED TO ADD:  Cost of living is also a factor for us too.  You can get a lot more house for your money in the South.  But when all is said and done, I think our daydreaming ideas of Southern living will be just that: daydreams.  We will most likely end up in Maryland near my parents.  At least then we will live near one set of parents, and be much closer to another, and that is a very good thing. 

The Big Reveal!

Well everyone, it's all gone!  I was so nervous that the cut would go terribly wrong and that I would end up with less hair than is required for the campaign.  Before my stylist made the initial cut, I kept frantically asking, "Are you sure it's 9 inches, are you sure?!"  Poor lady probably wanted to smack me upside my head!  I also convinced the stylist next to us to take pictures.  Gotta have photographic evidence for the blog!

Here's a photo of the first cut.  If it were a video, you would hear me squeeling!

And here's the end result!  For some reason, whenever I upload my photos on Typepad they turn out much darker than the original.  But you get the drift.

Oooh, sassy!

I made Jon take this one as soon as he got home.  This is the photo I submitted to Pantene's website as they like to see your cut ponytail with the new hair-do. 

Tré chic!

I absolutely love it!  It was so weird washing my hair in the shower this morning because there was nothing to wring out.  My dry time was cut in half too--score!  Jon adores it...it's like he has a new, hotter wife!  I decided not to do any highlights this time, but I might go a little lighter in the summer.  For now, I'm completely thrilled with it as is!

How We Met

Like many other couples our age, Jonathan and I met at a bar.  My new co-worker kept mentioning this great guy that she knew from home who had just moved to the area.  I wasn't really looking for a boyfriend at that point in my life.  I had just moved out on my own and in fact, I was sort of hanging out and hooking up with a guy I went to college with.  It wasn't serious though so I agreed to meet my co-worker out at a happy hour where Jonathan and his roommates were going to be.  I convinced my roommate to tag along with me.

If this were Jon telling you the story, he would make it a point to mention the first time he laid eyes on me.  My roommate and I had just gotten off the Metro and were riding the escalator up and out of the station.  As fate would have it, Jon and his roommate had been on the same train and were riding up right behind us.  My roommate and I are like identical twins from behind.  She was my college teammate; we both have the tiny distance runner's build and we're the same height with the same color hair.  Jon and his roommate remarked to each other, "Wow, those girls are thin-you can actually see their shoulder blades!"  I think I'm the first girl in the history of the universe who can honestly say that their husband noticed their shoulder blades first.  It is kind of cute though.  They redeemed themselves by going on to comment on our "sweet asses" and by saying, "I hope those are the girls we're meeting!" 

It turns out that when we got to the bar, we were those girls they were meeting!  As you might have already guessed, Jonathan and I paired off from the start.  He bought me a beer (of which I still have the mug!) and the conversation flowed easily.  When he told me his last name, I distinctly remember thinking, "Wow, that's going to be a hard last name to take!"  And oh boy, was it.  But he is well worth all ten letters and three syllables and the mispronunciations and wrong spellings because I knew that night that I was going to marry him. 

I never before believed people when they made similar statements, but I'm telling you, it is possible.  I think the feeling I felt for Jon that night is probably akin to someone finding enlightenment in a deep yogic meditation.  Even now, it's hard to put into words, but I'll try.  When we met, something inside just clicked and suddenly everything made sense.  Every boy I ever kissed and every one who broke my heart, I now understood that they were all just practice, preparing me for the moment that I would meet Jon.  It was like my heart said, "So that's why I cried so much over those other guys-it's because they weren't him!"  I really couldn't believe my luck.  I was over the moon for him instantly. 

We were engaged a year and four months later, and married almost exactly two years later.  This will be our fourth Valentine's Day together.  On our first one, he bought me a sapphire promise ring, my birthstone.  I wore that on my left hand until he replaced it with my engagement ring.  I'll leave that story for another day because it's totally precious.  May all of you feel as loved as I do today.  XOXO.

P.S.  Are my shoulder blades really that noticeable?

The Time Has Come

It has been almost two months since I first announced my intention to cut off my hair and donate it to the Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths Campaign and wow--my hair has come a long way!  In fact, Bunny left a comment on Monday saying that she didn't realize my hair was as long as it is.  It's at the point now where it is honestly driving me bat shit crazy.  It seems to end up everywhere no matter how many times I sweep and vacuum. Ladies and gentlemen, it is definitely time for the haircut. 

I made my appointment for tomorrow evening at 7:00.  Yes, on Valentine's Day, because Jonathan has class so we're not doing anything special anyway.  I am so freaked out and worried that the hairstylist is going to cut under the rubberband of my ponytail and not over, thus rendering my hair null and void for a donation.  I'm almost tempted to cut my ponytail off myself to ensure a 'legal' cut, but I think I just need to take a deep breath and trust that they've done this before! 

Here are my before photos.  Notice that 9½ inches will put me right at my chin.  I'm going to ask them to cut at 9 inches, a whole inch more than the required 8!  Hopefully, that will give Pantene plenty of hair to work into a wig and leave me enough for a cute haircut.  Do you all have any last minute suggestions for my new hair-do?  I'm still leaning towards the Katie Holmes cut, but it will probably be a game time decision as things usually are with me.