Looking Back on 2010.

Stole this list from Teddi @ Jewish Girl in Wasp's Clothing. I thought her list was pretty all encompassing so here goes...

Accomplishments: graduating from college and moving out on my own.

 {my favorite picture from graduation that my sister snapped of me!}

Decisions: opening up and showing my face on this here blog, closing some doors for good, realizing that my choices are MINE and that they might not please everyone.

Moments: sobbing watching the firework display from the academic quad in College Town, PA but knowing that I had the best four years anyone could ask for, turning the keys to finally open my very own apartment. 

Movies: The King's Speech, hands down the best movie I have seen in a long while {highly recommend it still!}.

Presents: A quilt made of all my college and sorority t-shirts, tickets to the Nutcracker, I wasn't expecting either one and I am NEVER surprised.

Songs: Everything by William Fitzsimmons, the entire Battle Studies CD by John Mayer, Dirty Talk by Wynter Gordon

Travels: a quick 24 hours in Nashville for a job interview, I wouldn't count it as travels but I definitely want to go back now, a wonderful week in Hilton Head, SC with my favorites in between finals and graduation, Boston to visit my good friend R.

TV Shows: Glee, Mad Men, Modern Family, good TV is finally making a comeback!

Words to Live By: "Happiness doesn't result from what we get, but from what we give." 

Here's to a great new year! See you all in 2011!

traveling tunes.

Now that my iTunes is in working order... I have created a pretty ass kickin' playlist for my flight tonight. Below is a little snapshot of my musical companion. I have my car picking me up probably way too early, but I am flying out of an airport I have never been to and it is the holidays and maybe if I'm lucky I will get some TSA groping action?! {I kid...}

+ The entire Forrest Gump Soundtrack 
{arguably the best movie soundtrack ever made}

+ Grenade - Bruno*Mars

+ Whats Wrong With Them - Lil*Wayne ft. Nicki*Minaj

+ Whip My Hair - Willow*Smith {coolest 9 year old on the playground}

+ Hey Soul Sister - Glee cast version

+ Very Merry Christmas - Dave*Barnes {amazing voice}

+ Southern Girl - Amos*Lee

+ Don't You Wanna Stay - Jason*Aldean ft. Kelly*Clarkson

+ What If - Jason*DeRulo

+ Hang With Me (Acoustic version) - Rob*yn 
{because who didn't love her back in 1998?!}

+ Lights - Ellie*Goulding {another great voice, very original}

+ Where is The Love? - Black*Eyed*Peas & Justin*Timberlake 
{because it was only 69 cents on iTunes and its so good!}

+ Been There Before - Hanson {i still love them, i am not ashamed} 

You might be able to see now why more than one friend has told me before that I have the worst taste in music, but hey... I like what I like, which is clearly everything from oldies to country to rap and back again. The only music I don't listen to is heavy metal because lets face it... that's just noise.

Also bringing this along... 

I had been meaning to read this book for a while and now with the movie coming out I finally purchased it a few weeks ago. Looking forward to starting it!

Kudos to me on my travel outfit today. I am comfortable, yet presentable looking, without appearing as though I tried really hard to get dressed for this airplane. There is a chance I could meet Prince Charming in the airport terminal, so I certainly can't show up in my pajamas.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve to you all! Safe travels wherever you are headed, near or far!   

oh, happy day!!

I was all prepared to write a post last night entitled "Blogging From My Couch As Opposed to My Office Because I Finally Got A New Laptop After The 2 Months Of Headache I Had To Endure" but alas I spent my evening organizing my iTunes. I am the least organized/OCD person on the planet except for when it comes to my music. When I used to burn CDs way back when before the iPod I would organize my CD case and then keep a running list of each song on each CD. So last night IMMEDIATELY upon taking my pretty new Macbook out of the box had to take all my music off of my external hard drive, delete the duplicates, and figure out which 40 songs that were on my iPod were not on my computer. All is complete now... but could I sound any crazier?! {I am also weird about the volume level on TVs and such. The volume must land on a level ending in an even number or a 5.} I am loving my Mac so far! It isn't anywhere near as scary a transition/not really scary at all as I was making it seem and since I don't have projects to do anymore in my post-undergrad life, this is purely a leisure machine. Welcome back to the world, MLD!
 

I NOW HAVE 75 FOLLOWERS!!! Once I return from my crazy holiday travels, I will be hosting my first ever giveaway! I can't even believe that I have one reader, much less 75 so this is going to be good. Thanks to Jill for being follower #75!

tis the season!

Cannot believe that Christmas is this weekend. Hooray for a short work week! I am flying to upstate NY Thursday night after work to meet up with the rest of my family and then going to my grandfather's, then to my aunt's, then to New Jersey for a family friend's holiday party, and finally home on Sunday. It is going to be quite the cross New York state trek, but its worth it to see family. I just booked my car service to the airport {which was almost as much as my flight itself, ugh holiday travel is a definite way to drain the bank account}. It is sort of a bummer that my brother and sister are home from college and that I don't have a month off like they do.

I had a great weekend in the city with C. We stayed in Times Square, walked down to Rockefeller Center, had some good food, met up with some friends of mine from college, saw West Side Story, and went to Madame Tussauds. 

Us in Times Square! 

With the tree in Rockefeller Center!

I recently heard on the news that there were people dressed in different character outfits walking around the city offering to take pictures with tourists and they were EVERYWHERE! I was getting kind of nervous because you really never know who is under those masks. All in all, a very successful weekend. The weather cooperated and I feel like we did a lot on a short period of time. You can never tackle all of NYC in one trip, but I think we gave it our best shot! How did you all spend your last weekend before the holidays??

ONE MORE FOLLOWER AND THEN IT IS GIVEAWAY TIME! It will be a good one, promise! ;)

workin for the weekend.

Happiest Friday everyone! My oh my did this week take a long time to end! The Nutcracker was wonderful. We had great seats, but it must be me. No matter the venue or the show I am at, I am always seated near the most obnoxious people. This little girl kept asking her mother a thousand questions and the mother would respond, but not in a whisper. So frustrating. If she is not old enough to understand, maybe wait a few years before you bring her, but that's just my opinion. 

 The stage!
 

This was the scene out my apartment window the other night when we got our first actual snowfall. It was only about an inch, maybe two and NO ONE was freaking out. There was still bread and milk on the shelves at the grocery store and people weren't ripping their hair out like the world was coming to an end. Oh right, that's because people in New York know how to deal with snow unlike those Virginians {who I still love}.

 

C is en route to NYC as we speak. I am really excited for her visit. Hopefully the weather cooperates, but I am armed with gloves, scarves, and my camera! FINALLY! I went so long with keeping it in my purse and never using it, and now that I am wanting to snap some photos, I have been forgetting it at home. 

Hope you all have wonderful, warm weekends! Cannot believe that this is the last weekend before Christmas!

do the humpty hump.

Happy Wednesday friends! Half way to the weekend! This will be short and sweet because I am beyond swamped today, and probably for the rest of the week.

*Nutcracker tonight with my friend E! Going to a nice dinner before and I am sure the show will be fantastic! Thanks for the tickets madre, you are the bestest. :)


*I somehow made it through college thinking I hated the elliptical? Mind you the gym on my campus was always swarming with girls decked out in sorority letter tees, iPod buds securely in their ears, pony tails flapping to the elliptical beat. I don't know why I thought the treadmill was a better option but I have definitely seen the light. 

*It is absolutely freezing out. I am never content with the seasons.. in the summer I crave fall clothes and in the winter I crave shorts and tank tops. But this being my first New York winter and the fact that I have never ever lived this far north, I may not make it.

*I think that hand washing dishes is absolute torture. I realize that sounds pretty ridiculous but I have never been without a dishwasher and it has been a serious adjustment. I think I would rather clean the toilets than do the dishes.

*Went to the Apple store last night and I am pretty much sold. Once I get that check from Horrendous PC Company in my hot little hand I am marching right over to purchase a new MacBook. Woohoo!

*Seriously regretting not purchasing an adorable mustard yellow sequined tank from JCrew this weekend. I can't help but imagine all the cute outfits I could have put together with it and I cannot seem to find it online.. boo.

*The fact that there was a song in 1990 called the Humpty Dance is only slightly outrageous. I miss the 90s!

The Great Debate

Happy Monday friends! Can you believe that there are only 12 days until Christmas?! December is flying by right before our eyes. How was everyone's weekend? Mine was lovely {of course I forgot my camera, so I am waiting for friends to post pictures of the ugly sweater-ness that was Friday night}. I had a really awesome New York City weekend. Friday night I left work, was able to squeeze in a quick manicure before heading into the city and came outside to be greeted by snowfall! It didn't last long and didn't stick either. I feel like we are just being taunted at this point and that the snow is going to hit soon with a serious vengeance. I feel less than prepared.

The party was lots of fun. C is a great hostess and her apartment is gorgeous. The hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps and cider with rum were huge hits. There were a lot of people I knew from school there but also some new faces so that was enjoyable. It would be more fun if I had pictures to share but soon I promise! I stayed over at C's and after helping her clean up and ordering some late night food we finally went to sleep around 5.. oops!

The next morning we decided to go out and do some shopping. Saks was absolutely gorgeous, it was like a winter wonderland. The crowds of tourists on 5th Avenue were absolutely crazy. The streets were swarming and there were police officers wrangling the masses. I picked up a few gifts for friends and family at the village of shops in Columbus Circle, we walked down to Lincoln Center {where I will be heading on Wednesday to see the Nutcracker!!} and the weather was absolutely perfect. As I said to a friend via text message, "Home will always be home, but right now New York is a better fit for me."

And onto the debate as mentioned in the title of this post... PC or Mac?? My laptop woes have continued. As the part to fix my screen is on eternal back order {don't even get me started on this, I cannot even begin to understand how there is NO estimated arrival time} my hard drive has been shipped back to the store so that my information isn't just floating around in oblivion and I will be reimbursed for the price of my laptop. I am tempted after this headache to just get a Mac. My brother has one and loves it and he and my sister both have iPhones. The customer service I received from Unnamed PC Company has been horrendous. I realize that I am the one that stepped on the computer but the fact that I have had to call and call and call and continue to get the run around from the local store as well as the headquarters... no thank you.

So I ask you, lovely readers, how many of you have made the switch from PC to Mac? Do you regret it? Do you love it? Please share!!

nowhere to be...

*First things first, the new Rascal Flatts CD is soooo wonderful! It is definitely their best in the past few years. I have listened to it on repeat since I got it and it is definitely a CD that you can listen to all the songs without skipping any, which is something I love. Pick it up for yourself, or for someone else this holiday season, or both!

This week has been moving at a glacial speed. I have had so much to do and yet the days are just dragging on. I am looking forward to this weekend for sure. I need to do some serious cleaning and get my apartment in order but first tomorrow night will be tons of fun as I will be attending an Ugly Christmas Sweater party hosted by one of my sorority sisters. My sweater is  pretty ugly, but I think I could have done better. Hopefully I will snap some fun pictures to share on Monday.

High school friend C will be coming up next Friday and I am looking forward to showing her around the city. She wants to do all the typical NYC at Christmas time things but I hope to squeeze in a few non-touristy things as well. 

Wishing you all enjoyable and warm weekends! It is getting cold out there, and I am not at all ready for the snow to start falling.

ETA - Only 5 followers away from hosting my first giveaway! :-D

i'd take the rain.

I love this song... actually I love all songs by Eli Young Band. Music to the ears for sure. But finally, we have a day without rain and its a nice change. I am certainly a person whose mood is affected by the weather so when it is gray out like it has been the past couple days, I am not a happy camper.

Moving right along... I ended up ordering the French Hen cards from a couple posts ago. They are too cute and I cannot wait to send them out. My dad {although I hope he was kidding} said that I shouldn't be on the family holiday card this year since I no longer live at home. Too bad so sad Daddy-o since I am the one who designed them after all! I will be placing the order for those this weekend.

I am generally not one of those people who likes to cause a huge stink over things. But lately, I have found myself on hold with customer service quite often. 

Exhibit A: My laptop. I STILL HAVE NOT GOTTEN IT BACK! As of yesterday it has been sent out for 5 weeks. The part is back ordered, the system is down, excuse excuse excuse. The tech guy keeps saying he will call, and he doesn't. I almost wish I didn't have the extended warranty so I could demand to get this service done for free. So frustrating. At this point I was told that since we have crossed the 30 day mark I can either get a new computer or they will refund me for the laptop. Excuse me? What happens to all of my music, pictures, documents? I will be calling the company directly tonight, no more dealing with the store.

Exhibit B: JCrew. You know I have a serious love affair with you but under no circumstances should a shirt that I have worn and washed TWICE have two holes in it. But thank you to your customer service team for sending me a new one, refunding the difference since the shirt is now on sale, and not charging me shipping. Way to get things done.
 
Thursday, yay! Almost Friday. Heading back down to The Old Dominion this weekend. College friend/sorority sister/roommate J and I will be going to the National Harbor for the ICE exhibit and a nice dinner. I wanted to go to this last year, but missed it so I am glad to be able to do it this year. I really love the Harbor. If you are in the DC/MD/VA area and have not been, this would be a great time of year to go. 

*I feel like I haven't had too much to say lately... sort of a bore to myself. And if I am boring myself I can only imagine how you all must feel... In search of some inspiration, let you know when I find it! ;)