La Petite Chic

Not As Cold

I was kind of blown away by 2 comments I received yesterday that were mean-spirited and completely missed my point.  As I stated in my post, we realize how lucky we are in life and how fortunate we are to even be able to make the kind of decision we are making, but we find ourselves in an unfortunate market that we have no control over.  We work very hard for what we have and have our reasons for making the decision we are making.  While some might not agree with it, it is our decision and ours alone to make.  I have no problem when people disagree with my opinion, respectfully, but when the comments turn personal and nasty, they get deleted.  I have no room for hate in my life nor on my blog.  End of story.  I do so appreciate the supportive comments I received and feel better knowing that some of you have been there or are there now and have gotten through it.  Many thanks to you all.

Moving on, I had to laugh at the forecast for this weekend from Accuweather:

 

Friday...Mostly sunny and very cold

Saturday...Not as cold

Seriously?  Not as cold?  Is that the best forecast they could come up with?!  Too funny!  I'm just glad it doesn't say colder!

The 30 Day Shred couldn't have come at a better time because I just can't bring myself to go running outside in this bitter cold.  I've done three days of it and I have to honestly say that I think it's working!  My abs already seem more toned as do my arms.  Jon has been joining me in the workouts and it's so much fun (and easier!) to do them together.  We're still doing Workout One and that's plenty for me for now as those push-ups in the first circuit are still seriously kicking my butt.  If you haven't tried it yet and are looking for a good workout, I would highly recommend it.  Plus, as Jon and I keep marveling over, you're stretched, worked out and done with the whole thing in under 30 minutes!  We can definitely make time for this every day and Jon will still be able to manage it when his weeknight classes start back up.

Speaking of class, Jon will be at school all day tomorrow and Sunday which leaves me and Lola to entertain ourselves.  I think I'll use that time to touch up all the trim in our place and do some more decluttering.  Not exactly what I would call fun, but it needs to be done nonetheless.  What about you all?  Anything exciting on your weekend agenda or will you just be trying to stay warm like me?

P.S.  Don't forget to enter my Superbowl Party giveaway if you haven't already done so...I would love for you to win!  And I'm enjoying the recipes! 

Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are!

I ADORE our realtor.  We walked through our condo with him yesterday morning and then chatted for a few minutes so that we could discuss our expectations of him and the sale of our home and make sure that we're all on the same page.  He left us with a big packet of information to review on his sales record on other one bed/one bath condos in our neighborhood and leafing through it left me with a much better feeling in my stomach than I had a few days ago.  

In the past year, the majority of the condos he has sold have only been on the market for a month.  A MONTH.  That is remarkable not only in good times, but especially in the housing market we find ourselves in now.  The one exception to that was a condo that took four months to sell.  Even that is reasonable to me!  The sales prices are a bit (okay, a lot) lower than what we expect to get for our place, but since we have some time to play with, I have no qualms with listing it for what we want to receive. 

He advised us not to replace the carpet in our bedroom since it's still in decent shape and we've already put so much money into our place, but he did recommend replacing our bedroom ceiling fan, which, it turns out, was a bit over-sized for our room.  A quick trip to Home Depot yesterday and a short hour of my hot, handyman husband installing a new, smaller one and it was done.  Now we just need to put a back-splash in the kitchen and we will be all set.  We sit down with him again on Wednesday to discuss all things financial and his recommendations for listing and staging (which his agency does for us!) and what-not, but oh, I'm just feeling so much better about it all!  And guys, he has a blog!  True, it's a real estate focused blog, but still...our realtor is a blogger!

Oh, and thanks to a reminder e-mail from the awesome Chris, it turns out that today is Delurking Day!  I love comments just as much as the next blogger, so please, take this opportunity to expose yourself (hee hee) and say hello.  Don't be shy!  And for fun (since I'm daydreaming about summer on this crisp January day), tell me what your favorite summertime activity is.  Mine is going to the beach.  And cook-outs!  Ooh, and outdoor concerts!!  Go ahead, what's yours?

Secret Ornament Swap

I ADORE snail mail.  I send plenty of it myself, but of course I love receiving it even more so!  That's part of the reason why I signed up to participate in Julie's Secret Ornament Swap again this year.  Not only do you get to pick out and send a fun ornament to a blogger that you most likely don't already know, but you also get one in return!  It's a great way to find some new blogs to read and add a special ornament to your tree.

I received my secret ornament in the mail this week and I would have blogged about it sooner, but as you might have noticed, I've been quite absent in the blogging world lately.  While I usually read and comment on blogs at work for a quick break, it's been so busy that I'm even finding it hard to take a bathroom break, let alone a blog break!  I promise to catch up on Google Reader soon, but I apologize in advance if I missed any of your big news. 

My secret ornament swapper completely spoiled me!  Not only did she send me the cutest little snowman ornament, but she also included some fun stuff for the kitchen because as she said, "The kitchen needs ornaments too!"  ElleBee, I couldn't agree more!  Thank you so much for my wonderful Christmas package.  Since there's not much I love in life more than entertaining, I was thrilled with all of my surprises!  And to Julie, thank you so much for organizing the swap...I can't even imagine how much work it is to put this on but I hope you know how much we all appreciate it!

My adorable snowman ornament (notice the teeny potted spruce tree!):

 

and my perfectly matching kitchen goodies!

 

Look how cute they were bundled up before I tore into them :)

Partying Like Wii Fit Stars!

Last night's Wii Fit party was a smashing success!  The Nintendo girls were fabulously fun and at one point had us doing three way hula hoop competitions!  I, sadly, did not win but holy crap, did I get a great ab workout out of that!  We enjoyed yummy smoothies, to-die-for sangria and a delicious spread of good for you food like hummus, tabouleh, chicken satay and fresh fruit.  Best of all, my guests each walked away with their very own Wii Fit, Wii yoga mat, tote bag and adorable Wii track suit.  Thanks for everything, Nintendo and Brand About Town!  If you haven't already done so, don't forget to enter my giveaway for your very own Wii and Wii Fit! 

As promised, here are some pictures:

My mom was fantastic at hula hooping!

Delectable array of smoothies...

Fellow DC area bloggers Laurie

and Jackie

Lisa and Taylor taking a break between games

You can check out the rest of my photos on Flickr!

Keep These in Your Back Pocket

Stolen from Jennie...

Things You Should Know About Me When We Meet at BlogHer:

1.  I'm quite petite (duh!) but usually counteract this by wearing at least 3 inch heels.  Please, none of the "Ohh, you're so cute!" that all us tiny girls get, thereby driving us crazy! 

2.  I curse like a sailor and was once told by a guy friend that he usually hates when girls swear, but he liked when I did because it actually sounded quite natural coming out of my mouth.  Whatever that's supposed to mean!  (In all reality, I usually reserve my bad words for when I'm around people I know really well, so unless I have a lot of cocktails, this probably won't come out).

3.  I bite my bottom lip when I'm nervous.  So yeah, I'll probably be biting my lip all weekend.

4.  I slipped down a flight of wet, wooden stairs two weekends ago, landed right on my bum, and I still can't sit right.  So if you see me slowly easing into a chair, don't fret, I don't have hemorrhoids, just a bruised bum.

5.  I tend to babble about really ridiculous things when first meeting a person, so don't mind me if I tell you about how heartbreaking it was when Goody stopped making rubberbands with the metal or that one time that I got in a fight with a girl at Universal Studios because she cut in line. 

6.  Err, yeah...about that.  Most people call me feisty.  I prefer passionate.  I try to keep it in check, but it's not always easy.  Napoleon Complex, what?

7.  Don't get me wrong though.  I tend to make friends with everyone, even if it's just for a few minutes in line at McDonald's or while sitting next to you at a concert.  I am totally my mother's daughter in that regard.

8.  I'm terrible with hair and mine usually ends up in a ponytail at the end of the day.  Even more so now that it's in that in-between/growing out stage.  I'm open to any and all pointers!

9.  I LOVE to dance. Please join me on the dance floor.  (Will there be a dance floor?)

10.  I'm always hungry.  I'll be the girl toting around the bag full of snacks.

I can't believe that at this time next week, I'll be meeting so many fabulous women at BlogHer!  I feel so unprepared--I haven't even started planning outfits!  And in case I haven't mentioned it already, I'm rooming with three wonderful women that I am so excited to meet: Jennie, Kristie and Raven.  Ahh, the excitement is building!

Technical Stuff

As you all are aware, I recently bought my own URL and changed the name of this blog to La Petite Chic, not only to make it grammatically correct in French, of which I don't speak a lick, but also so that I could have a real .com and not have a .net or .org like I would have had to deal with if I stayed with Le Petit Chic.  On Tuesday, I finally designed a new banner to reflect my updated name (not bad for a girl without PhotoShop--hint-hint, Jon!).  I'm about to make the final plunge and change the folder name that is linked to my blog as well, as it is currently still referred to as /le_petit_chic.  Anal as I am, this really bothers me and so I feel the need to change it to /la_petite_chic.  This will affect my blog in two ways.

The first is kind of annoying but not really a big deal breaker for me.  Any images that I have uploaded will be lost, as the image path will be broken and unable to display.  Yeah, that really does suck, but I can always go back in and replace the photos if I feel the need.

The second is where you all come in.  For all of you lovely readers and bloggers who have been so kind to list me in your blogroll, follow me on a Reader or otherwise link to me, that link will become obsolete unless you have my new URL.  It kills me that I might lose some of you!  So now, I beg and plead of you to pretty, pretty please update your links with my new URL (www.lapetitechic.com) and name La Petite Chic if you should feel so inclined to keep reading me and linking to me.  I really do appreciate it more than you know.

As a technical moron, I'm really crossing my fingers that nothing else will be affected but I guess I'll have to wait and see.  I plan to make the change on Sunday night so hopefully that will give you all enough time to adjust your links.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

P.S.  I was thrilled yesterday to learn that Delightfully Sassy nominated me for a Blogger's Choice Award in the category of Best Blog About Stuff!  What a sweetheart!  It makes me so happy to know that others enjoy what I write, so thank you very much!  The voting button is over there on the left if you would like to vote, not necessarily for me, but for anyone you think deserves a vote.  You can nominate other blogs as well :)

One More Before I Go

My BlogHer roomie, Jennie, tagged me for a meme last week and before I forget to play (which usually happens), here are six completely random things that you always (never) wanted to know about me.  Just think, if there was a Le Petit Chic category on Jeopardy, you could totally sweep it!

1. I have a total of seven piercings on my body, three of which I still actively utilize.  Feel free to guess where they all are!
2. I have the weird habit of pinching the sides of my fingers (near the nails) when I'm nervous.  I'll have to take a picture of it sometime because it's so hard to explain.  I often use Jon's fingers to satisfy the urge too.  Being the good hubby that he is, he usually obliges me because he knows it calms me down.  God, I'm weird!
3. I can't stand the taste of milk.  I won't even use it in my cereal.  I used to be able to stomach chocolate milk, but now I can't even drink that.  I also don't like most Alfredo sauces because they taste too milky.  Oddly enough, I do eat ice cream and yogurt and cheese.  And Yoo-Hoos!  Proof that they're nothing but sugar :)
4. As bad as it might sound, I have more compassion for animals than people.  With the exception of children, I feel that they're more helpless and unable to ask for help.
5. Even after four years of college, I still can't take a decent shot.  I usually have to take two goes at it, which renders the whole purpose of taking a shot useless.  That's okay, I really don't like shots anyway!
6. I've changed my engagement ring twice.  The original ring was a beautiful princess cut with 2 smaller princess cut stones and 2 baguettes on either side.  That was hard to match a wedding band to, so I replaced the baguettes with more princess cut stones.  After the wedding, I realized that I preferred round brilliants to princess cuts because although I love the square shape of the princess, it doesn't have the sparkle of a round.  So now I have a beautiful ideal cut diamond set on a band of round pavé diamonds.  And our jeweler upgraded me to platinum since we gave him so much business!  And in case you're wondering, Jon did not care in the least bit since it was me who told him I wanted a princess in the first place.  He's the best :)

I'm not going to tag anyone, but feel free to play if you want!

P.S.  For all of you Typepad users out there, am I the only one who hates the new "Compose" page?  That's why my post from last night looks like crap.  The coding is really screwed up when you post pictures and I wasn't able to fix it.  F%@*&# Typepad!!

How I Met My Honey Blog Carnival

The lovely Rebecca over at Ramblings By Reba is hosting a Blog Carnival today on the topic of  "How I Met My Honey."  If you all remember, I wrote our "How We Met" story back on Valentine's Day, but here's a link back to that post if you missed it then.  Feel free to join in the fun, whether you've already told your story or if you need an idea for what to write about today!

One Year

A few weeks ago, I was explaining to a friend how I, in July, would be boarding an airplane to San Francisco to attend a blogging conference.  "Who are you going to stay with?", he asked. "Friends" I replied.  "You mean friends you met through blogging?"  "Yes, friends I met through blogging. I've never met them in person, but we've exchanged e-mails, mutually commented on each other's blogs, even mailed each other bottles of wine.  Friends."

It's been one year now since I started this blog, naively thinking that it would just be an outlet for me to get out all the thoughts and feelings that otherwise would have stayed inside.  True, it has been that, but it's also been so much more.  Through this very public and personal outlet, I have made so many wonderful friendships with kind, funny and incredibly intelligent women all over America.   

I come to this blog for advice, for camaraderie, for laughs, to brag about my hubby and though I hate to admit it, for approval.  I come here to talk about things that probably make my parents ashamed of me (my dad stopped reading after this post), but also things that make them proud of me.  And while this blog has been the start of many friendships, it's also been the catalyst for the end of others. 

When I first started out, Jonathan and a few other family members were my only commenters and I had maybe 20 hits a day.  Now, I actually have people who aren't related or married to me who comment on my blog and my average hit per day is around 200.  I think it's safe to say that this little blog has come a long way!  I intend to keep blogging as long as it's still enjoyable for me, which will hopefully span into the years when I get pregnant because I can't wait to post belly shots every week. 

So on this, my one year blogoversary, thank you to everyone who has visited, everyone who has commented and to everyone who has lurked (please, won't you say hi?) in the past year.  It means the world to me that you all care enough to stop by here and listen to what I have to say, even through my dry spells (especially of late!).  I can't wait to meet some of you at BlogHer in July, because yes, you are my friends and I can't wait to finally say hello in person.   

Mid-Week Tidbits

• Winner, winner, chicken dinner!  Well, not quite a winner, but my bracket won second place (out of 74!) in the league I was in for the NCAA Tourney (go, Kansas, go!)!!  My payout is over $230!!  Not bad for a $10 buy in.  Rather than buying a new handbag or new spring clothing, I'm actually saving it for our European adventure next month.  How utterly responsible, no?

• Our iron died last night.  Seeing as how I've had it since my freshman year of college, it was about time for a new one anyway.  I ran right out to Bed, Bath and Beyond to purchase a replacement and settled on this one after a recommendation from a salesman.  I had my handy-dandy 20% coupon so I got $10 off, but I couldn't believe my luck when the cashier told me that this model was eligible for a $15 rebate (in the form of a BBB gift card).  Score!

• On my way to checkout, I passed by this darling doormat and figured since I was saving $10 on the iron with the coupon, it was a totally justifiable purchase.  Plus, it matches my new wreath.  And we needed a spring/summer doormat.  (I have a different doormat for every season!) 

• My 5 year college reunion is this weekend.  Holy shit!  5 whole years since I graduated college.  That's longer than I was actually in college!  I decided to just go down for the day on Saturday since not too many of my girlfriends are going back due to commitments like medical residency, Iraq deployment and coaching track meets.  Plus, Richmond's campus is at it's most beautiful in the spring and I've really wanted to take Jon to see all of the tulips in bloom.  Speaking of Jon, who else out there has a significant other who didn't go to the same college as you?  I don't know if it's just our competitive natures, but we have been known to get into debates about whose school is better.  Thank god we're not in the same athletic conference or we'd really be in trouble!  Although the secret weapon that I pull out during these arguments debates is reminding Jon how I beat all the Penn State girls in a race up at their campus.  HA!  Hi Jon, lovvvvve youuuu!

• Laurie over at Newly-Wedded Wife awarded me with the E for Excellent award!  Thanks, Laurie!  As she pointed out, we have a lot of things in common, including the meager square footages of our homes and getting married in September!  She and her husband were married a year and one week after Jon and I and they live in the DC area too!  I'm thinking a meet-up should be arranged soon!

• Rachel at Are You Willing to Change? tagged me for a fun meme. Here are the official rules:
  1) Write your own six word memoir;
  2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like;
  3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere;
  4) Tag at least five more blogs with links; and
  5) Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

I've never seen this one before!  How fun!  Here's mine: A happy, lucky girl loving life.  Rather than tagging anyone, leave me your six word memoir in the comments!  Can't wait to see what you all come up with!