Weekend Recap: My Spectacular Birthday!

Friday was my birthday so I celebrated all weekend. First, my work gave me the best gift off of all and gave me the whole weekend off of work! It felt amazing not to even have to worry about my email, let alone come into the office!

The day started off great with some surprise birthday flowers from the boyfriend at work as well as cake, cupcakes, and a mini party for me at work.

Friday night after I met up for dinner with my sister and my friend Honore which was fun. Honore came adorned with a birthday balloon for me so random strangers kept wishing me a happy birthday. Jesica met up with us there too and she filled us in on the exciting details of her new job (hooray) and we met up with my brother-in-law, the boyfriend, my cousin who was visiting from out of town, and other friends at a Holiday house party which was really fun.

Saturday the boyfriend and I played pick-up soccer which was fun, especially since I hadn't been in a few weeks because of work, and also because the weather was gorgeous/unseasonably warm. After soccer I received my birthday gifts from the boyfriend which were a Lululemon workout back and a clock/iPhone holder. After relaxing a bit we headed downtown to ice skate on the mall and then to a delicious dinner at Acadiana. It was basically the perfect day :)

Sunday I met up with my friend from college Michelle and we had lunch and saw some of the sites downtown. After that I ran some errands, attempted to tidy up my apartment, and watched some football. I wish every weekend was as much fun!

Nothing New

Since I last left you on Election Day not much is new except I have been working even more. Last weekend I worked late on Friday, worked from home all day Saturday, saw Skyfall with the boyfriend on Saturday night, went to the boyfriends soccer game Sunday morning, worked from hone during the day, and had my soccer game Sunday evening - it was the playoffs and despite a hard fight from my team, we didn't win. But that's ok, there's always next season. After the game it was back to work until bed.

Besides that my week has been getting up early, working all day, leaving work late at night, and getting a few hours of sleep. I'm not complaining though. I'm really enjoying the work. Needless to say though I am excited about Thanksgiving next week! I finally got the ok to take Friday off, so I will be going up to Cleveland to spend the holiday with my family. I am so excited!!!

In line to vote

I am currently standing in line to vote so I thought I would use this time to update. Besides exercising my civic duty, I've still just been working. This past weekend I worked 8 hrs on Saturday from home and 8 hrs in the office on Sun. It's only Tuesday but I'm already ready for the weekend.

Last Saturday and this past Friday night I went to Halloween parties. I wore my semi-homemade Raphael (from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) costumes to both.

Last weekend I met the newest addition to the family, my sister and her husbands new kitten Hunter. He was so tiny, so adorable, and vey rambunctious.

That's about all I have to report. Now lets hope this line moves fast since I desperately need to get back to work and I've already been gone 2 hours!

Weekend Update: Work and Working Out

My parents called last night to catch up and see what was new, I had nothing to say other than I've been working, working, and working. I've also tried to keep up a consistent workout schedule, which usually consists of the gym twice a week, pickup soccer on Saturdays, and my soccer league games on Sunday evening.

Between working out and working, I haven't been cooking as much as I would like. I'm hoping to change that this weekend by hopefully making something I can eat for the week.

Speaking of this weekend, I have a Halloween party to go to but no costume yet. I need to get on that!

I wish I had some excitement to blog about but nothing new to report, except the boyfriend and I will be going to Miami in Jan because he is running the Miami Marathon. I can't wait!

Weekend Update: Baseball and Apple Pie

After an extremely long and tiring week I was so excited when Friday finally got here. The boyfriend was pumped for game 5 of the playoffs with the Cardinals versus the Nationals. Despite taking an early lead of 6-0, the Nationals somehow managed to loose - which was bad for DC but extremely exciting for the boyfriend. I still think I was good luck since I fell asleep on the couch before the game started and woke up right before the Cardinals scored their first run.

Saturday the boyfriend and I spent most of the day organizing and cleaning. I took a bunch of stuff from his place back to mine, and even though we only live a mile apart we decided to use car2go instead if taking multiple trips. Car2go is a super cool rental car system, where all the cars are Smart cars. They are parked all over the city, and you pay for it by the minute. I have never driven a smart car before and the boyfriend and I were really surprised by home roomy it felt inside. It was also insanely easy to park which was awesome considering I suck at parallel parking. The best part is, unlike ZipCar, you don't have to return it to where you picked it up. Genius!

Saturday night we were too tired to go out, so we decided to go see the movie Argo. In case you haven't heard of it, it's based on the true story of The Iranian Hostage Crisis in which the US embassy in Iran was taken over and the workers were held hostage. 6 employees managed to escape and sought refuge in the Canadian ambassadors house. The CIA hatched a plan to make a fake movie named Argo which would be the cover story for for sneaking those 6 employees out. The movie was very well done and extremely suspenseful. I highly recommend!

Sunday I spent most of the afternoon baking. The boyfriend's mom sent him apples that she had picked so we decided to make a pie with the apples. I had never made a pie by myself before and it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It turned out delicious and I have to say I impressed myself. I used Martha Stewarts recipe for Old Fashioned Apple pie and she definitely knows what she's doing.

Sunday evening I got to babysit for a teeny tiny baby during the boyfriend's soccer game (the babies parents both play on the boyfriend's team). I had so much fun with the baby, but I was reminded of how tiring babies were! After babysitting then I headed off to my soccer game which we won!

I love coming home to a clean apartment that is well organized with a fully stocked fridge - doesn't get much better than that!

Girls Night: Craft Project

Friday night my friend Jesica had a few girls over for craft night. She had the idea to make coasters. She found a post on Apartment Therapy (an awesome site by the way) which led her to the how-to site here:
http://www.darkroomanddearly.com/2012/04/diy-homemade-polaroid-coasters.html?m=1

Jesica did all the prep work - she bought white tiles, Mod Podge, the brushes, the acrylic spray, and the felt circles. All we had to do was show up and bring photos!

We had so much fun looking at all the photos everyone brought and,of course, girl talk.

The whole process was pretty easy. First we cut the photos down to size. Then we applied some Mod Podge to the back to glue the photo down onto the tile. Once the photo was set and not sliding around, we applied a layer of Mod Podge over the entire coaster top and let dry. Repeat the last step about 3 times. Then wait 24 hours.

Jesica had to do the rest of the steps herself for all our coasters (thanks Jes!) but the next step is to spray the acrylic spray over top. This helps make it waterproof. Lastly, you apply the felt circles to the bottom of the tiles so they can glide smoothly. And viola awesome handmade coasters!

Girls craft night was such a hit we decided to do it monthly. Now I have to start brainstorming some craft ideas for when it's my turn.

Weekend Recap: Fall Has Arrived

This weekend started off with temps in the 80s and ended in the 40s. Although I am kinda excited for sweaters and boots, I could have done with a smoother transition.

Friday night started off with a girls night craft project where we made coasters (more to come on this in another post) which was a blast!

Saturday the boyfriend and I watched the Arsenal game with our new friend Jeet. Then we did a bit of shopping and a quick change of clothes and headed to H st to celebrate the boyfriend's friends birthday. It was a great night to sit outside, drink some Oktoberfest beer and eat some delicious German food.

Sunday my sister came to my neighborhood and we went to brunch which was fun. Then she came over to see my newest addition to the apartment - a new TV stand! The rest of the day was spent chilling at home and some much needed relaxation. The weekend concluded with an evening soccer game which we won.

Before the game, as I was changing my shoes from tennis shoes to cleats, my tennis shoes were wet from the wet grass so I had the "brilliant" idea to tie them to the outside of my bag, so nothing inside got wet (I had my laptop and some work stuff inside the bag). After the game I didn't change back into my cleats because a teammate was kind enough to give the boyfriend and I a ride home. Once we arrived home I realized my shoes were no longer tied to my bag. Sadly they haven't been seen since. RIP pink Pumas, you were good to me and you will be missed (and replaced) :(

The photo isn't showing the exact ones I lost, they were the closest I could find.

My Sister's Wedding

The big day finally arrived - this weekend was my sister's wedding! She looked absolutely gorgeous, the wedding was so much fun, the weather was perfect, and there wasn't even the smallest hitch. It was so nice to see friends, family and loved ones all together, especially ones we hadn't seen in a long time.

The weekend started off with the rehearsal on Friday evening in the rain, followed by the rehearsal dinner in Old Town. During the dinner, we surprised my sister with a slide show of photos of her and her fiancée from babies through their engagement, which everyone loved!

Saturday morning the bridesmaids all got their hair done at the salon, then went to the bridal suite to do make-up and get changed into our dresses. Then we all piled into the limo to head to the wedding. The wedding was held overlooking the Potomac River and could not have been a prettier setting.

After the wedding, the guests headed over to cocktail hour while the bridal party took photos, which didn't take very long at all. Then we all headed to the end of cocktail hour, and then to the ballroom for our introductions. After that, it was speech time. My dad gave a very nice introduction, and then I was up. My maid of honor speech went well and I made my 3 sisters cry so I consider it a success. Then it was the Best Man's speech and the dinner.

The food was delicious! Dinner consisted of Lobster Ravioli followed by Caprese salad, and the entree was filet mignon, green beans, and roasted potatoes. Yum! The desserts were cake, cannolis, mini tarts, and 5 different kinds of pies!

The rest of the night was lots of dancing, chatting, and drinking, followed by more drinking and talking at the after-party bar.

The festivities concluded on Sunday with brunch. It was sad saying bye to everyone but it was such an amazingly fun weekend!!!

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was pretty lame, but fun. Friday night (after what felt like a very long week but was only 4 days long) the boyfriend and I stayed in and watched a movie.

Saturday morning we got up early to go play pick-up soccer. There was major track work on the metro though so it needed up taking us an hour and a half to get there, which sucked. After soccer, half the day was already gone, and my sinuses were in major pain so I decided to be super productive and take a nice long nap. I awoke just in time to get ready for dinner with my sister. We had fun celebrating her starting her new job as a lawyer!

Sunday was my soccer team's playoff game. We were in 4th place and had to play the 1st place team. We ended up loosing 3-2 by giving up a last minute goal, but we played great and it was a super fun game. After the game there was mostly just eating, football, and napping until our evening league's season opener game. Although we won 4-0 our earlier game sucked most of the energy out of the team - we were pretty lackluster.

Overall it was not a very productive weekend but it was fun and relaxing. This upcoming weekend I will be much more productive and social, if only it would get here already.

Life Without Cable

After moving from the house with cheap rent and 3 others to split the bills with into a more expensive apartment by myself, I thought an easy way to save some money would be to ditch the cable, DVR, and movie channels. I opted for just regular basic cable and streaming Netflix through my Wii.

So far it hasn't been bad at all. When I get home from work there's always at least something decent on - if not a new show, then a rerun of some show I never used to watch.

One show that I've discovered and really enjoy is America's Got Talent. It's the same basic premise as American Idol and all the others where each act performs on Tuesday night and then America votes for their favorite. The results are revealed a different night (no need to watch that, it's just a recap that's over dramatized) and whoever got the most votes remains.

Last night they had my favorite act on, The Olate Dogs, which is father-son duo who rescue dogs, train them, and perform them. The video clip shows the 2nd half of their act (I couldn't find the whole thing) from the Semifinals, which was incredible. How can you not smile watching this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlfCvyhTG2E&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Hope you enjoyed and if you find yourself free on Tuesday evening, tune in - and vote for your favorite!

My Triumphant Return

After taking the summer off, I have finally returned! I have so much to fill you in on:

I moved!!!! After over 3 years in Arlington, I packed up and moved into DC into my very own apartment. Although I miss the roommates and our house, I don't miss our sucky landlord, and not having my own space.

Let's see what else you missed. There was my sisters Bachelorette weekend in Chicago, her graduation from law school, moving to a new location in the office (goodbye office, hello cubicle) my personal trainer at the gym that's whipping my butt into shape, lots of soccer, and a trip to St. Louis to surprise the boyfriend's Mom. All in all it was a great summer and I'm sad it's over.

Also check one of my former roomies blog that she does with her new roomie:
http://thecinchshoppers.blogspot.com/

That's all for now, but more to come!

Challenge Accepted

Last night, while I was making the boyfriend pancakes for dinner, I opened the fridge to discover that I had an unopened carton of milk that expired that day. Not wanting to waste the whole carton, the boyfriend and I set out to finish the carton. I used 3/4 of a cup for the pancakes, I made a glass of chocolate milk for myself and a roommate, and the boyfriend had 2 glasses to top it off. The challenge wasn't as hard as I thought, but challenge completed. Then we watched Sweet Genius on Food Network. Just another exciting night in the life of meeshell.

Catching Up

It's been awhile since I last posted - things have just gotten so busy. I kinda miss the days when I had a lot more free time, but things are still going well. Last weekend was the Cherry Blossom Soccer tournament which I volunteered and the boyfriend played him. It was a 2 day tournament and you had to win the 1st day to come back the 2nd day, which the boyfriend's team did. They made it pretty far but not all the way. They did loose to the would-be champs though. The boyfriend and I also hit up the kite festival, which was such a good time. We got to fly the Red Baron kite I got him for his birthday, and it was (I think) the first time I'd ever flown a kite! My little sister and her boyfriend were also in town for a wedding so I got to hang out with them which was nice. I took them on a tour of the mall and we saw the new MLK memorial there.

A few weekends before that, my Mom was in town to run the National Half Marathon (which the boyfriend and a roommate ran as well). My sister, her fiancee and I spectated and I took a lot of pictures (coming soon). Since my Mom was in town, my sister and I, and her soon-to-be Mother in Law all went wedding dress shopping which was so much fun! My sister looked good in every single dress she put on, which made it hard because even if you didn't like the dress, she still looked good. She decided on one which is very elegant and romantic looking and I'm so excited!

Besides that, I've been keeping busy with soccer, which is now also on the weekdays since it is getting dark later, work, and going to the gym. I have used 3 of my free personal training sessions and I have 1 more left (a comped one for some scheduling issues with my trainer (long story)). I like the training sessions a lot, I'm always way more sore afterwards than when I go by myself, and I always learn some new workout which keeps things fun.

The boyfriend and I have also been experimenting with making pizzas from the Boboli thin crusts. So far our favorite is pepperoni, red and green peppers, and basil. The secret is to use more than just one kind of cheese - like mozzarella, Parmesan, and a little bit of the 4 cheese Mexican blend. Yum! Healthy and delicious.

My New Obsession

In honor of today being Pi Day, I have to tell you about my new obession, Lärabars. They are bars that contain only a few ingredients made from fruit, nuts, and spices, and best of all they are totally delicious and nutritious. My favorites are the dessert flavors: Cherry Pie, Apple Pie, Tropical Fruit tart, and Carrot Cake. The Cherry Pie bar for example only contains unsweetened cherries, almonds and dates - that's it, for real. Only 3 ingredients and it's only 200 calories. Plus it really does taste like you're eating a piece of cherry pie. Happy Pi Day everyone!

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was fun but went by way too quickly. Friday night (after getting off work early which was GLORIOUS) I just chilled at home. It was very relaxing and just what I needed. Saturday morning the boyfriend and I went to pick up which was a good time. There was some debate as to whether or not the grass field would be playable since it stormed over night, but we were luckily still able to play. After soccer I did mass loads of laundry and then the boyfriend and I headed over to our friend Jules' place for her birthday celebration. We chilled at Jules' for a bit, had some wine and cheese, and then headed out to her favorite local Italian joint. The birthday festivities carried on after dinner, but I was too tired to partake.

Sunday morning I ran some errands and purchased a few new finds for work at the thrift store up the street. I thought I would have the rest of the afternoon free until my soccer game at 6pm. My co-ed outdoor winter soccer league's Championship playoffs were scheduled for Sunday evening - at least that is what the league told us. I checked my email at about 2:45 only to see that there was some miscommunication and the game was actually scheduled for 3pm. I quickly threw on my soccer gear, ran out the door, hailed the 1st cab I could find, and arrived at the field around 3:10. When I arrived I saw 3 of my teammates there, along with every member of our opponent's team. Because we didn't have enough people to play, we had to forfeit the game. Needless to say we were all pissed since the league had confirmed to us that the game was at 3 and changed it at the last minute. Our team captain emailed the league and there is talk that the Championship might be replayed this coming weekend, but we haven't officially heard yet. We scrimmaged for about 30 minutes with the other team, which was fun, but not the same as a real game. Let's hope the league let's us replay!

More Photos

In case you didn't get enough before, here are more photos from NY (the boyfriend took these):

Weekend Getaway: NYC

This weekend was so much fun! We left Saturday morning and hopped on the bus to New York City. We made great time and arrived at noon near Penn Station. We walked to our hotel in Hell's Kitchen, Ink48, and they let us check in early which was great. We dropped our stuff off and relaxed in the room for a bit. The hotel was ultra modern and very cool. Then we headed out to explore the city and do some shopping. We hit up places the boyfriend wanted to go to (the Nike Store, the NBA Store, the Adidas store) and places I wanted to go to (Banana Republic, Esprit, etc). For dinner we grabbed pizza at this tiny whole in the wall place that had delicious pizza but not much space for enjoying it. Then we wandered around and got dessert to-go at this French bakery on 9th Ave and ate them in the room while watching the Slam Dunk contest.

Sunday morning we woke up early because we had to get our stuff together for check out as well get down to the Financial District to see the 9/11 Memorial. After what seemed like 12 different checks of our tickets and going through metal detectors, we finally made it inside. The memorial itself was very nice, very calming and somber. I thought it was a very well done and a great way to pay tribute to those who had perished. I also had no idea the story behind the "Survivor Tree" until I asked one of the very helpful guides what it was. She informed me that it was found in the ground but very badly burned. It was taken to a sanctuary for treatment and all of the old and burnt branches were cut off. It was re-planted (in a different location) in the memorial on the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. It is very cool how you can see the old bark and new re-grown bark. It was quite inspiring.

After the Memorial we grabbed some brunch at the Westway Diner which was a neat, fast-paced diner with delicious food. Then we headed to High Line Park which is an elevated park made from where the elevated train tracks used to be. It was very pretty and nature-filled, and gave you a different perspective of the city. It was quite peaceful up there, but I can imagine it gets very crowded during the summertime. After the park we just wandered around the city some more and then had to head to the bus stop to get back. All in all it was fun and I'm glad I was able to surprise the boyfriend with a nice get away.

Also, I spotted 3 different people in NY wearing the boyfriends' new headphones. Get them while they're hot: http://www.urbanears.com/headphones/plattan

Recap

I promised more posts but I have been so busy it's hard to find time to write any of them. The boyfriend and I did not get to properly celebrate Valentine's Day since the boyfriend had an Architecture exam to take the week of Valentine's Day, and then left the day after the exam to go home to celebrate his dad's birthday. So I have planned some Valentine's Day surprises for the boyfriend this week, that he will hopefully enjoy. I am super excited to write about them, but I don't want to ruin the surprise.

On Valentine's Day I went to Pret a Manger for lunch and they gave me a free Love bar with my order. It was so amazingly delicious and I just hope they didn't make them special just for Valentine's Day because they are so good.

My friend Jesica and I also made some chocolate covered strawberries for one of many girls nights that we have been having on Friday nights. She has a chocolate fonude fountain so that made dipping them super easy to do.

In some other random and not very exciting news, I bought myself a blender! It's a Ninja and it blends, chops, and crushes, so it's basically like a food processor and blender all in one.

I also bought the boyfriend new headphones because the headphones he was using while studying had binder clips holding them together - it was quite pathetic. They are called Urbanears and are super hipster, but make a great gift if you are looking for something for a boyfriend / dad / brother that likes music. They fold up, which is ultra convenient and you can plug another set of headphones into them so 2 people can listen at once. They come in a million colors too which is pretty cool. I'm also pretty sure they were using them on the show Whitney, so that should be enough of a sell right there.

That's all for now. Stay tuned!

My Return!

Well, it's official. After a 2 month hiatus ...I'M BACK!

I have so much to catch up on! After I came back from Thanksgiving Break, I found out that my company had been acquired and I was being laid off, along with my department, and most of the other departments as well. Needless to say I was in shock and devastated and sad, not only because this meant I wouldn't have a job, but also because I really liked my job, the people I worked with, and being able to walk to work. The next day happened to be my birthday so the timing couldn't have been worse.

Speaking of my birthday, the boyfriend got me the coolest and most creative birthday present. He got me a 1 hour flight lesson! More to come on that.

I also received from great presents from my friends and family as well, including a cute purse, cookbooks, earrings, and a chocolate fondue kit (see below).

For the month of December I basically just job searched, went on interviews, hung out around the house, watched TV, and hung out with my old co-workers. Looking back it flew by, but during life of unemployment time goes by soooo sloooow. Each day drags on and on. I also am a planner by nature, and with your entire future up in the air, it made it impossible to plan anything at all, which I did not like. Also, all those times you sit at work wishing you were home, don't. Being stuck at home sucks! There's no one to talk to, nothing to do, and going anywhere meant spending money.

After a month and a week of looking, I found a job! I started a month ago and am loving it so far. At first I was happy just to have any job, but now I am happy and grateful for the job that I did find. I like the people, the location (right in the heart of downtown), my role, and the company. My new job requires me to dress ultra fancy, which is a big change from the wear whatever you wanted attire at my old office. Although I do miss walking to work and not having to deal with the metro, I do like being downtown again. My commute now is only 30 minutes door to door, which is not bad at all. I am also going to try riding my bike into work. I got my bike all tricked out with a rack so I can put my saddle bag on the rack, which will hold my laptop and things I need for work, which I am super excited about.

I think that's all for now, and I will be updating again soon!