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.