Hello, September!

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010
Daily Grind, Family & Friends, Keith, Photos
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I honestly cannot believe it’s September already. It certainly doesn’t feel like it as temperatures hit almost in the 100s today on the East Coast. Hurricane Earl is coming to visit us tomorrow, and I have to wake up at 4am to go into work at 5am for my opening shift. At least I get out before noon, right? In a way I’m kind of hoping for a good storm to clear out the hot, humid weather we’ve been experiencing. I love laying out in the pool, and will be sad to see the cover on it next weekend, but part of me is also ready for fall. I want to wear my fall scarves and my cardigans!

September is actually a month of celebrations. My Dad’s birthday is on the 4th, and my parents celebrate their 30th anniversary on the 13th. Then later in the month I’m going to Tucker Max’s book signing in NYC with Keith and Kelly. I’m so excited to meet him and take a photo with him. If you haven’t yet read “I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell” you should stop reading, drive to your bookstore or library, and get it NOW!

With the fall weather on the way (hopefully soon!), I’m starting to think about all of the fun fall activities that I want to do. I’ve made a short list and hope to add more to it at some point. Last Fall Keith was out of work, and I wasn’t working many hours so we had to cut out some of our usual fun activities that we do together. But, now that I’m working more and he’s working fulltime, we’ll be able to do some more this season (if we don’t fall asleep first, haha!) While working a lot has been making me want to do nothing but sleep, and sometimes gets me a little sad (I really want to be teaching!), thinking about all of the fun things I’ll be doing make me happy and lift my spirits.

The Fall Fun List
Apple picking
Making my awesome apple pie
Haunted hayride
Haunted houses/graveyards at Lake Compounce
Drinking cider
Picking out a pumpkin with my Dad
Dressing up for Halloween
Fun sized Junior Mints (yay for trick or treaters)
The smell of leaves and fireplaces
How the moon looks in the fall

These are just a few of the reasons why Fall is one of my favorite seasons. This year I also want to try to go to some of the local fairs and get some yummy fair food. Funnel cake anyone?

Things I Love

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010
Beauty & Fashion, The Media
15 Comments

I haven’t done a “Things I Love” post since February. Can you believe that? Have I not found anything to love in almost 7 months? Not acceptable. It’s time to bring back the love, even though most of my time has been eaten away by Panera Bread. Working 5 days a week is not something that I LOVE, but I am grateful! On with the lovefest, shall we?

By now, I’m sure you know that Philosophy is one of my favorite cosmetic brands. I am in love with many of their super rich body washes and lotions. I treated myself to a new body wash a week ago: Rainbow Sherbet! It smells just like the fun summer flavors of raspberry, orange, lemon, and lime. Every shower feels like I’m bathing in a bowl of fancy punch. My skin is also loving the emollients. All of their body washes make me feel silky and smooth, so I’m loving the fact that this smells good enough to eat and still keeps me sexy and clean. I wish the scent lasted a little longer, but I still love it! They also make a body lotion and lip shine. Delish!

Even though I don’t have a teaching job (yet!!), I’m working on building my professional wardrobe. It’s a lot of fun, but much harder than you’d think. For me, I like to find classic pieces that can be worn with more than one outfit. I also like pieces that can be changed from day to night easily. I purchased this vest (but in black pinstripe instead) from Gap, and already road tested it for a night out. I rocked it at the Counting Crows concert with a pair of dark skinnies and a white tee underneath. I absolutely love how ot made the outfit look a bit rocker, but tailored. I never thought vests could come back (I rocked a few back in 5th grade), but am happy that they have, although now they are much more simple and sleek.

Gap gets two loveplugs this time! While looking for a new pair of flats while shopping with my Momma, she stumbled upon a wall filled with cute little foldable flats. They even come with a cute matching bag to store them in. Gap City Flats are super comfortable, so comfortable that I picked up two pairs (black and grey — big surprise!) so I could wear them as often as possible. I love how they hug my foot, and I also love the soft texture they have. I wore my black flats to the concert as well and with all of the running (we were a but late), and walking around the casino, my feet did not hurt once. I look forward to wearing these when I go out, or when I’m working. They are very versatile, and can go with a cute dress or a nice pair of jeans.

Last, but not least, Augusten Burroughs is an author that my friend Kelly got me into earlier in the summer. His true stories, hilarious tone, and attention to detail in his stories make me want to follow him around to see what a day in his life is like. He lives one state over, so that wouldn’t be too hard, would it? I started off with his memoir “Dry” and am currently reading “Possible Side Effects.” I am now tempted to go out and buy all of his other books, and an English bulldog (read and you’ll know). His writing is real, and I absolutely love it.

So, now that you know what I’ve been diggin’ since February, what’s been making you happy and love filled?

My Gluttonous Book Collection

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010
Photos
17 Comments

By now, you all know that I love to read. I have a very diverse group of books sitting in my three (yes, three!) overflowing bookcases. I have five books coming to me in the mail as well. So, add five to what you’re about to see. How many of these books do you own? How many of them have you read? Do I have a seriously book buying problem?

When Keith and I move in together I want him to build me a library in our house or a book staircase like the one from Brandi’s blog. Screw the Kindle, I kick it old school.

Sonnet Saturday #3

Saturday, August 7th, 2010
Photos, Sonnet Saturday
9 Comments

With the help of all of you, Sonnet Saturday will now be every other Saturday to leave more room for other bloggy goodness. Since leaving the beautiful and cool weather of San Francisco, it took me a while to get used to the heat and humidity of the East Coast. Between the time change and the weather all of us were feeling quite “blah” for the past week. Yesterday morning was actually cool and I took a short walk outside with my Mom to survey the garden. I ended up taking the following photos of a beautiful butterfly, and thought that this sonnet with its beautiful nature imagery would make a nice combination.

Sonnet #2
When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty’s field,
Thy youth’s proud livery, so gazed on now,
Will be a tatter’d weed, of small worth held:
Then being ask’d where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,
To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserved thy beauty’s use,
If thou couldst answer ‘This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count and make my old excuse,’
Proving his beauty by succession thine!
This were to be new made when thou art old,
And see thy blood warm when thou feel’st it cold.

I’ve always enjoyed when a writer compares aging to the seasons and the journey of life as a journey through nature. In this sonnet, we have the speaker discussing how “forty winters shall besiege thy brow” beauty begins to fade as the young man grows older. He becomes a tattered weed and his friend must be prepared for the fact that as he grows older he will be less handsome. The only way for him to prove that he was once beautiful and handsome is to have a child so that he may “prove his beauty by succession thine!” To see new fresh blood (that being a child), when you feel old was a way for the speaker and his friend to be able to preserve what the physical beauty they have now even though it’s superficial. Has anyone else noticed that the speaker has been completely OBSESSED with physical beauty?

I was so surprised that I was able to get this close to the butterfly without her (yes, she is a she!) flying away. I was also amazed by how big she was. Even though it’s August, this is one of the first butterfly’s I’ve seen with such nice colors. I usually see the small white ones fluttering around the garden. This one seems to love the morning glories and the small pink flowers in the garden. I’ll have to keep an eye out for some more.

San Francisco: a visual experience

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
Family & Friends, Keith, Photos
9 Comments

First of all, thank you for all of the feedback you guys left for me to come back to. I’m definitely taking everything that has been said into consideration. Since many of you lovely people have been following my blog for some time, I truly value your opinions. With all of that being said, I’m sure that for the past week there was a void in your lives with me being in California. (Why do I hear crickets?) I snapped 177 photos all of which can be found on my flickr page, but since you asked for it (and because I talk too much, haha), here are some of my favorite photos. Enjoy the visuals, kids!

For a short summary of what we did (because otherwise this blog would be miles long), we went to Pier 39 and the wharf, Muir Woods and Sausalito, a sick wax museum, In ‘n’ Out Burger, Cesar’s & Capurro’s Italian restaurants, the Spinaker restaurant, a San Francisco Giants baseball game (AWESOME!!!), Ghirardelli Square, Union Square, and Chinatown.

Overall, it was a wonderful time with my parents and Keith. We had scrumptious eats, did some serious shopping, and saw some amazing sights. It was my 4th time visiting the city, and Keith’s first, but every time I go I always find something new to see.

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