La Petite Chic

When the Cat's Away

Jon was in Atlanta Monday through Friday of last week for a class and back there again this week so it's just been us girls around the house. Of course, Jon has had this class scheduled for months, but wouldn't you know that this was the week that Isla started at her new school?

The actual starting her at a new school wasn't too stressful for me, but the fact that she also happened to acquire a black eye and bruised cheek after a run in with a swing set at the playground that weekend kind of had me worried. What would her new teachers think?!

After a great first day on Monday, Isla was running around our kitchen like a crazy girl (as she tends to do while I'm cooking) and she fell face first on the ceramic tile floor and busted her lap pretty badly! There were tears and blood all over both of us and a nice, fat swollen lip to take to school the next day. Oy vey! It seems that teachers of toddlers must be pretty accustomed to bumps and bruises because no one has said anything to me. I still feel like a terrible parent sending my poor baby in with a face that looks like she's been in a brawl but I guess I better just get used to this phase!

About her new school though...we LOVE it! It's a brand new center that just opened up a half mile from our house. It's completely ideal. Great curriculum (even for the little ones), lovely teachers and beautiful, bright classrooms. Isla's other school was right across the street from my office which made it convenient to get to her during the day, and while we were quite happy there, this one just seems like a much better fit for our family. We're really excited for all that Isla will learn there.

She's starting to talk more and more and it's so neat to hear her communicate. She's up to a vocabulary of over 15 words now: ball, Dada, Mama, shoe, bye, hi, bottle, milk, more, juice, doggie, that, thank you, up, no and can tell you that a sheep says "baa" and a cow says "moo". It's amazing!

She just cut her eight tooth, but I didn't even realize she had cut it until I was brushing her teeth last night. I saw something white in the back and there was a little molar popping through! She has three teeth on the bottom, her first four up top and that first molar up top. The fourth one on the bottom is ready to break through very soon. We've been really lucky that teething hasn't seemed to cause her too much distress. It's really only the third and fourth ones on the top that made her fussy at night. Hopefully the rest will come in easily as well. We all quite enjoy our sleep in this house!

What an "Epic" Snowstorm Looks Like

The Neighborhood

Hungry Birds

Digging out the cars 

Downed trees in the backyard

 

Potted Plant on the Stoop

Thank god our cruise is just two weeks away because I don't think I can handle one more snowflake. This winter is making a move down South that much closer to reality!

Just in:

This is beyond a snowplow, apparently

They brought out the big guns!

P.S. One thing brightening my day? Jackie's fabulous Le Creuset giveaway, which just happens to be in my favorite color!

 

Highlights of 2009

To see the highlights from 2008, click here.

January: Jon and I rang in the New Year with our good friends, Allison and Ryan, at a schwanky hotel overlooking the Baltimore Inner Harbor. We explored the option of selling our condo and got the bad news that we were going to lose money, a lot of money. I also hoped right along with many other Americans for change and peace and love. 

February: February found us on our annual Caribbean cruise where we visited Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. John, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia and Barbados. We went to the Virginia Wine Showcase with a group of friends where I ran into my favorite wine pourer yet again! This was the month we put our condo on the market and I gave you all a virtual tour of our home. And finally, Jon caught me off guard with a difficult question that I think I came up with a pretty good answer for.

March: I wrote about my infertility struggles, a topic that I had been avoiding although it was heavy on my mind. Amazingly, we accepted an offer on our condo in March after being listed on the market for just 24 days! I experimented with a few fun recipes and finally shared our engagement story after promising to tell it for a very long time.

April: I fretted over a job interview for a position that I didn't ultimately get, but it sure did rise my blood pressure at the time. We packed up our home and moved everything to my parent's house, though we stayed in our condo to the bitter end to avoid the dreaded D.C. commute. I also paid homage to my beloved Holly, whose absence still stings.

May: I had interviews for two fantastic job opportunities in the Baltimore area and ultimately accepted an offer with a federal agency. We went "camping" with friends at Harpers Ferry where we made delicious magical omelettes and I came across my best yard sale find ever: a vintage pink beach cruiser for only $15!

June: Jon and I spent the weekend in Ocean City, Maryland while I recovered from oral surgery which involved a sinus augmention; a freaking sinus augmentation! I got to catch up with college friends and teammates at Sherry's bridal shower and got completely lost (and panicked!) on the Garden State Parkway. We finished June up at our first Jimmy Buffett concert of the summer in New Jersey where I made friends with parrots and pickles and pirates! Shortly thereafter, I found out I was pregnant!

 

 

July: I suffered from major writer's block this month as I wanted nothing more than to share the news of our pregnancy with you all, but I did manage to come up with a few unofficial rules of house hunting based on personal experience. Jon and I went to Honfest, one of my favorite Baltimore traditions, and then finally (FINALLY!), I shared the crazy story of how I got knocked up! Unfortunately, I also caught the swine flu this month and it was more devastating than anyone expected.

 

 

August: We attended Sherry and Matt's wedding in New Jersey...it was the first and last big event of my pregnancy. August was overwhelmingly shadowed by the news that I lost our sweet baby. Writing was therapeutic for me as I recovered from the D&C and the shock and pain of losing the pregnancy.

 

 

September: Jonathan and I celebrated our third (3rd!) wedding anniversary with a mini replica of our delicious wedding cake. I co-hosted a bridal shower for my fabulous now cousin-in-law, Amanda, and had fun with the beachy theme. We were given the green light to start trying to get pregnant again which we were both happy and fearful about. Jon and I officially started house hunting and managed to find our dream home on the very first day out. I also started my new job and celebrated my birthday, all on the same day!

 

 

October: I put my toes in the water of the proverbial infertility world by taking my first round of Provera and Clomid, all the while trying to keep from drowning in work and anniversary and birthday celebrations. My hair got chopped and we found out that another offer was accepted on our dream home. (Boo!) Jon and I celebrated our 3rd anniversarymoon in Key West where we managed to stumble into a nude bar by mistake! We continued our anniversarymoon in Orlando at the Epcot Food and Wine Festival and finished up our Florida roadtrip in Naples at my cousin's gorgeous wedding on the beach. October also marked one whole year of our journey to become parents.

 

November: Jon and I had a big decision to make between two homes in our desired neighborhood. After a nerve-wracking offer and counter offer battle, our offer on the house was finally accepted! My infertility journey continued after a failed first round of Clomid which earned me an increased dosage and a wish for a Christmas miracle.

 

 

 

December: I wrote about my Thanksgiving recipe experiments and got great news about our home's value. We got ready for Christmas and I shared my apprehension about this month's cycle of Clomid and when to share the news of a possible positive outcome. The biggest thing to happen to us this month? We became homeowners again!

 

 

Looking back on 2009, I'm amazed by all of the difficult times we went through yet we still managed to keep our humor, our optimism and most importantly, our love, alive. I just know that 2010 must have wonderful things in store for us. We'll make sure of it.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Have I mentioned that I stalk our house? I make sure that Jon and I drive by it at least once a week, usually twice, just to say hi and see what's new. I know, I'm completely crazy! Jon jokes that our neighbors will think I'm staking the neighborhood out to rob it, but I really don't care. It's fun to check in on it. We rode our bikes to it two weekends ago and actually met one of the trustee's of the house. She grew up in it and was able to tell us a lot about the neighborhood and the history of the house. It's so obvious that the house was well loved by their family and still is. She's been taking care of the yard the whole time it's been on the market! 

We drove by it again this weekend and noticed that someone hung a Christmas wreath on our door and put a big red bow on our lamppost. I squealed like a little girl on Christmas morning over that! I'm sure it was the same woman we met who put them up, but it really made Jon and I feel special and welcomed!

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I addressed and mailed all 71 of our Christmas cards this weekend. I was a little behind on sending them out this year because I couldn't decide on a photo to use and I was also waiting to design, order and receive our moving announcements to stuff along with them. There's no way I was going to send those out separately with the outrageous postal prices! I'm so happy with the way both our cards and our announcements turned out. Love Kodak Gallery!

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We made our first batch of Christmas cookies this weekend! I'm not much of a cookie person (I prefer cake or cupcakes), but Jon loooooves cookies so he's always on me to bake them. This first batch was chocolate chip, but he's also requested molasses and oatmeal raisin cookies so I guess I'll be making those before Christmas arrives. We also got our first batch of snow this weekend so it really felt like the holidays around here!

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Operation Bebe is in full effect. We're on cycle day 10 today and all of you Clomid ladies know how important that date is! (For those who are fortunate enough not to know, days 10-20 are the days you're supposed to ahem, "get it on".) Cross your fingers that I actually ovulate this time. As my doctor tells me, "If we can just get you to ovulate, I know you won't have a problem getting pregnant!" Let's hope she's right. One promising thing is that my cycle actually started spontaneously this time. I was just about to start my next round of Provera when it just showed up on it's own. Hooray for something working the way it's supposed to (though it was over 20 days late)! If we get pregnant this round, we could very well have an anniversary baby. And we thought that time of year was already crazy for us...our anniversary, baby's birthday?, my birthday and Jon's birthday all within 31 days of each other!

A Little Bit of This and That

Our life has been so, so hectic! We drove straight from work last Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with Jonathan's family in Pennsylvania. His parents always host their extended family so it was a busy day of catching up with aunts and uncles and cousins. I was sick with a cold so I didn't eat much, but hey, it was good for my waistline! I always like to bring a dish or two whether or not I'm hosting and this year I wanted to put a little Southern spin on things.

(As an aside, if you know a Marylander, ask them whether they live in a Southern state or a Northern state. Personally, I believe Maryland to be a Southern state based on the people and culture in the area where I grew up and live, but ask anyone north of Baltimore and they'll probably tell you it's a Northern state. It's always an interesting debate! Though we are south of the Mason-Dixon line so I think I win!)

Anyhow, I made a double batch of Paula Deen's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese and my goodness, was that a big hit! I substituted half of the cheddar cheese for Gruyere, one of my favorite "melty" cheeses, and it was absolutely divine. I also made Homemade Cranberry Sauce again this year and now I really don't think I can ever go back to canned. Don't get me wrong, the canned sauce tastes just fine, but the homemade sauce is just so pretty!

For an appetizer, I made Pumpkin Pie Dip, my go-to recipe for any occasion in the fall. It's always a crowd pleaser. I think I should just start carrying the recipe with me because someone always asks for it! And finally, Jonathan and I made a jumbo batch of Bourbon Slush. We brought it to Christmas last year and it was all gone by the time we got to dessert, so we knew we had to make it again. It is so delicious but you have to be careful because it goes down very easily!

I've already decided that I want to host Thanksgiving next year since we'll finally have enough room for both of our families to fit in our home at the same time. That never could have happened in our itty-bitty condo. Our new house has a formal dining room which I can't wait to break in. It wasn't a must-have on my house list, but it was definitely on my wish list. Now we just need some dining room furniture!

Speaking of the house, it was appraised on Saturday and we received some wonderful news: It appraised for $50,000 over what we paid for it, which means we have instant equity in the house! And that's before any of the renovations we have planned for it! This house is definitely all about location, location, location and it showed in the appraisal. That bit of good news helped to soften the blow of finding out that the first house we put in offer in on (the one we fell in love with on our very first day of house hunting) sold for just $3,000 over our offer. Three thousand paltry dollars! That is nothing in terms of affecting your monthly mortgage payment.

However, when we made that offer, Jon and I both promised that it was our bottom line and we couldn't have any regrets. That's easier said than done, but luckily we are just as in love (for completely different reasons!) with the house we're buying. We settle in just 28 days now and we've already come up with decorating plans. Since we are so close to the water, we want our home to be just like a casual and comfy beach house. We're planning on having a lot of grays and blues and greens and maybe some yellow here and there for pops of color. I can't wait to get started!

Already Missing the Sun

I'm back from sunny Florida with lots of photos and stories to share, but of course I haven't actually downloaded any pictures from the camera yet. Hopefully I'll get around to that tonight, but until then you can check out my latest post over at Style Lush on how to make your very own homemade chicken stock. This is the perfect time of year to do so, no? Mmmm, just think of all the delicious things you can make with it!

Also, I have a random question for you all.  Do I have any DC, Maryland and/or Northern Virginia readers?  If so, please be so kind as to leave me a comment or send me an e-mail to let me know that you're local (to me).  You don't have to tell me where exactly...I just have something up my sleeve. :)

A List (Because I'm Lazy)

1.  I received word on Friday that I passed my background investigation (which I started back in April, unbelievably) and was finally extended my official job offer.  I am beyond relieved, excited and READY to get started in my new position.  Coincidentally, my start date falls on my birthday.  I'm taking that as a very good sign. 

The only things left to stress out about are a) telling my current supervisor that I'm leaving (is it just me or is that conversation one of the most awkward known to man?) and b) telling my new supervisor that I got knocked up while waiting for my background clearance (probably the most awkward conversation known to man, err, woman).

2.  This might come as a shock to most of you, but I don't miss alcohol (yet).  I think a lot of that has to do with even poor, innocuous water having a taste the past months (dude, it did; ask any pregnant woman!), but so far not being able to drink has been met with a "Meh" attitude by me. 

Remind me I said this in about a month when all of the wine festivals are in town or in two months when we visit the original Margaritaville in Key West or during the holidays when my dad makes his famous glühwein.  I think having a precious baby in March will still be enough to make me say "Meh", though it may be a smidge less resounding.

3.  Public Service Announcement:  RSVP, RSVP, RSVP.  Why?  It's the polite thing to do and makes planning a party a whole lot easier.  And when the hostess contacts you to find out if you're a yes or no, for the love of God and Miss Manners, call or text her back.

For what it's worth, bridal shower invitees = good RSVPers.  Graduation party invitees = bad RSVPers.  Think it has anything to do with gender?

4.  I had the most disturbing dream last night and I'm blaming it on the Charles Manson special I watched on the History Channel yesterday after work.  Basically, I was being held by some woman whom I knew was going to kill me.  I showed her ultrasound photos of our baby in an effort to garner sympathy and mercy but it didn't work.  She had me face a wall so that she could shoot me from behind.  I waited and waited while she loaded her gun.  When she finally did shoot, I didn't really feel pain but more like I was drowning in my own blood.  I realized I was still alive, but could feel the life seeping out me.  Lola was suddenly there and I picked her up and held her to me.  I guess I must have died because then I woke up.  I've heard that you have some really messed up dreams when you're pregnant, but this one was just crazy.  

5.  Jon and I will celebrate our third wedding anniversary on September 1st.  Since we can't afford a Caribbean anniversarymoon this year, we're extending our trip to Florida for my cousin's wedding into an anniversarymoon.  Jon found us a great deal on flights many months ago and we're using our timeshare to do a few days in Key West and a few days in Orlando (yay, Epcot Food & Wine Festival!) before heading down to Naples for the wedding.  I am so excited!  I've always wanted to do a road trip with Jon and this will essentially be a road trip since we'll be driving between all of the destinations.  This will be our last trip before baby so it will be extra special.  Plus, it's kind of nice to be home for our actual anniversary because that allowed me to order a mini replica of our wedding cake to enjoy!  Mmmm...raspberry comfiture laced throughout amaretto cake with buttercream frosting, here I come!

Beach Reads

You know what happens when you keep putting off posting until you get all of the photos you have on you camera uploaded?  Well, you don't blog for a week because said photos are still on said camera.  Ugh, I suck.  We took a lot of fun and hilarious pictures at the Jimmy Buffett concert last weekend and I've been wanting to share them all with you, but every time I remember to upload them, I also remember that they're in Jon's school bag.  His school bag which is at school with him until he gets home at 11:00 PM, way past this old girl's bedtime. 

So!  I still don't have the photos.  I was actually going to share photos with Honfest (from 2 weeks ago) with you all instead last night, but then our network went down.  Seriously.  So I said, eff it and gleefully read my book instead because I really can't put it down anyway.

It seems I've been on a bit of a Henry VIII kick lately.  It all started with King's Fool by Margaret Campbell Barnes which was published way back in 1959.  It's a historical fiction novel based on the life of King Henry VIII's jester, Will Somers, who was in Henry's service through every single wife.  It was so intriguing and well written and I learned a lot of interesting facts about the life and wives of Henry VIII.  The novel left me wanting to devour more historical fiction, however, so when I saw a copy of The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory (author of The Other Boleyn Girl) for just $1 at a yard sale, I quickly snatched it up.

It has been such a good read thus far.  It chronicles the intercrossed paths of Anne of Cleves, Jane Boleyn (sister-in-law to Anne Boleyn) and Katherine Howard and their respective rise and falls and ohmygoodness, who knew history could be so soap opera-esque?  Well, actually, I did know that (the whole truth is stranger than fiction thing) and that's why I'm such a history nerd.  But seriously, if any of you are looking for some good beach reads this summer, I would highly recommend either one of those books. 

A year (and a day) ago, I shared the embarrasing evolution of my eyebrows.  I have no shame.

The Other Side

I survived!!  All without the second half of the sedative too, as advised by my dentist since the first dose made me so ill.  Relatively speaking, this step in the process was A LOT easier than the first several steps.  I don't have any swelling or bruising on my cheek and I awoke pain free this morning.  HOORAY!!  I still have ugly and irritating stitches to deal with, but hey, I'll take it. 

Jon and I drove down to Ocean City after my procedure yesterday afternoon, as my parents are down here all weekend with their local Ravens Roost (a sort of fan group for Baltimore Ravens fans).  I feel kind of guilty that I'm off of work even though I'm feeling fine, but my dentist told me that I probably wouldn't feel well enough to go in today.  Oh well!  My aunt and uncle are down here with their Roost chapter so it looks to be a fun weekend of hanging out with everyone.

We're heading off to breakfast because I need some food on my belly to take all of the ridiculous antibiotics and others meds that I've been prescribed.  I certainly don't want a repeat of yesterday morning's nausea episode!  Happy Friday to all! :)

A Little Bit of Life

Time sure does fly when you're having fun (or commuting) and honestly, living my life hasn't left much time for writing about my life.  Summer is normally a busy time of year for us, but last week was especially crazy with the holiday. 

It all started on Thursday when I finally got my summer highlights done.  It had been over a year since I last had my highlights done, so my poor hair was in dire need of a little bit of summer brightening, not to mention a trim.  To give you an idea of my day, it went something like this:

5:30 AM -- Rise and shine
6:15 AM -- Leave for work
7:45 AM -- Arrive at work
4:00 PM -- Head for home
6:30 PM -- Supposed to be starting my hair appointment, still in traffic
6:45 PM -- Finally arrive at my destination (the salon) 2¾ hours later
9:15 PM -- Leave hair salon
9:30 PM -- Arrive at home and wolf down some left-overs for dinner
10:00 PM -- SLEEP

To say that traffic was a bit of a nasty bitch last week would be an understatement.  Jonathan drove in with me one day and asked in incredulous horror, "Is it like this everyday?"  Well, not that bad, but yes, most evenings it takes me two hours to get home, make it three if it's Friday.  I can make it in to work in about 1½ hours, but it's been averaging about two hours lately.  I really hope that the Memorial Day holiday had something to do with it because I always thought that traffic lessened in the summer.  We shall see.  In any case, I hope to be done with commuting by the end of July.  My fingers are crossed very tightly that my clearance will come through quickly and easily.

On Friday, I had the wonderful opportunity through work to participate in a home build with Habitat for Humanity.  I spent most of my day hanging plywood on the side of a house while dangling off of four stories of scaffolding.  Not only was it a very rewarding experience, but I also had the chance to learn that I'm much better with heights than I give myself credit for.  In some areas of the house, the scaffolding didn't quite extend to the end of the wall, so I was literally hanging off the scaffolding, legs wrapped around the poles, while hammering nails and drilling screws into the plywood.  It was a lot of fun, but I have to admit I was relieved when it was time to go because it was hard work and it was terrifically hot that day, close to 90°.

I'm bringing sexy back...

The fun continued into Friday night when we met up with our good friends Allison and Ryan to see Kenny Chesney in concert.  I always kind of figured that the core of his fan base is teenage and twenty-something girls, but I was way off base...the cougars totally love him!  The weather was beautiful and Kenny put on a great show, strutting around and flexing his muscles.  It was actually pretty funny how often he flexed. 

We didn't slow down a bit on Saturday.  There were errands to run during the day and then we went to downtown Annapolis to meet up with my friend Steve, who is stationed in San Francisco with the Coast Guard.  We stayed out until 2:00 AM, longer than we've lasted in a long time!  When we finally woke up the next morning, Jon mumbled, "I'm too old for this."  Sadly, I would have to agree!

Sunday found us helping my parents with yard work, clearing out their backyard which is mostly wooded.  It was tough work, but at least I can say I came out of the weekend with a tan, albeit with a few bug bites and blisters as well.  And finally, on Monday we visited several new home communities to get an idea of what is out there.  If we want to build a new home, starting in the next month or so will put us in our time frame of moving out and actually buying in September.  Unfortunately, a community we fell in love with a few months ago just sold out of all their home sites so we'll need to find somewhere else that we love equally as much.  We found a gorgeous community just across the Bay Bridge that has views of the Chesapeake Bay, but we'll need to decide if we want to make that drive to work every day.  The actual mileage wouldn't be very far from my parents nor our new jobs, but traffic tends to be a bear in the summer due to people heading to the beach.  Still, it's on our list.

Phew!  That's what I was up to last weekend!  Taking a cue from one of my favorite food bloggers (actually, one of the first blogs I followed as well), I'm going to start looking back at where I was a year ago in my posts.  Kind of neat way to remember where I've been.

Last year, I returned to the country I called home for four years of my life.