Sunday, October 25, 2009

Mea culpa

Ok, I would like to apologize for my prior hissy-fit. DH has talked me down from my fatalistic "Goodbye, forever, Cruel World" speech.

A perfect storm of bad days at the office and my XX birthday on the 26th left me, well, pretty damn despondent. I have heard from several of you (thanks for calling) and have decided to leave P,SU up.

I am, however, still taking a two week break from blogging, to reevaluate what I want to say to the world.

This week I had a moment where I felt guilty because I hadn't posted anything. And I thought to myself "I should do that - it would be fun for the blog."

For. the. Blog.

Not for me. Not for DH. For my online diary.

As much as I love you guys, that's pretty messed up.

My life is my life - not Elliott's. I like sharing parts of it but I don't share everything. When Elliott takes precedence over my IRL-life, I need a break.

So I will return in two weeks, another year older, hopefully a lot wiser. Thanks for still listening.

Elliott, out.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Monday, October 12, 2009

Giveaway winner

Drum roll, please....

The winner of my first giveaway is Prep in the Big Apple!

Thanks to all who entered - I'm really enjoying your blogs!

-Elliott

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum?

First up: You have until tomorrow night to enter my Cath Kidson giveaway right here.

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Second: I'm still having massive allergy issues and my throat is itchy and scratchy. I currently sound like a cross between a pirate and a sex phone operator.

"Arrrgh? Yeah be wantin' company tonight? Call me Kiki..."

*cough* ahem *cough*

To help with the dry cough I've been eating local honey. In addition to coating the throat so that I don't have to suck on nasty halls cough drops all day, the pollen in the honey is supposed to help with seasonal allergies. Sort of homeopathic immersion therapy.

All I know is that it's delicious.

So eat it a lot, straight off the spoon.

For my health.

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Third: A quick poll.

Which would you buy:


Anthropologie Wrapped-in-Ruffles Jacket


Or the JCrew Eden blazer

I know that one's technically a boiled wool sweater and the other a blazer, but I have sorted my closet and realized that I'm sorely missing a plum item in my fall wardrobe.

So if price and weather (i.e. neither of these actually have to keep me warm) weren't an issue, which one do you like?

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

My evening...

Will be lots of this:


+ 30Rock on DVD and surrounded by all my new friends:



(Don't worry, I'm not mixing meds. I'm treating myself with different formulations at the appropriate intervals)

Who knew San Diego allergies were this bad? Ugh, I feel like my face is being stomped on by a pack of elephants with PMS. (Can elephants get PMS? I feel that my face elephants are very angry, in any case.) On the advice of Nic, I'm actually tempted to buy a neti pot. Has anyone used one?

Monday, October 5, 2009

GIVEAWAY!

To celebrate my wonderful trip to the UK, I'm giving away a little care package of English treats including:

Yorkshire Tea, which in my humble opinion, is the tastiest of the English brews. DH also went to the University of York, so it's also a little shout out to his alma mater.

A set of four cheery red breakfast napkins from Cath Kidson.

A Cath Kidson oilcloth luggage tag. Because I'm always the person who loses their luggage. No really, I adore polka dots and think they should be used more often. Don't you agree?

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So here are the rules and fine print:

Leave me a comment with your favorite English person/place/thing for 1 entry.
Leave me a SECOND comment if you are a follower/become a follower for a 2nd entry.
Leave me a THIRD comment if you blog about this on your bloggie blog for a 3rd entry.

The contest will close at 10pm PST (my bedtime) on Sunday, October 11th.
A random number generator will select one winner from the numbered comments.

Pip pip, cheerio, good luck and good night!

Sunday, October 4, 2009


DC finally has its own poster from Ork!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Vaca 5

Day 15: Warrington/Manchester

So after Barcelona we had one day left in Warrington with DH's family. DH's dad volunteers regularly at the Quarry Bank Mill and Styal Estate in Cheshire.

The Mill is a pretty harsh reminder of the Industrial Revolution but the estate is beautiful and has a Secret Garden-ish, well, garden. DH's dad has worked like crazy and he and the volunteers have cleared acres of overgrown garden. Highlights include a little statue of Pan and a tree with a large growth on it. If you squint your eyes it looks like winnie the pooh!

(Me and DH near the Mill, Pan, DH and his parents on the bridge crossing over the creek, and the winnie-the-pooh tree)
I really can't convey how absolutely beautiful our walk was through the garden. It was a little drizzly and all of the formal flower gardens just screamed "Hello! I'm English!" I kept thinking that it would have been an AMAZING place to run around in when you were a kid.
(hydrangeas, examples of the soil/rock erosion, the estate next to the Mill, me famiglia)
It was a wonderful day out and I'm so glad we got to see what B, DH's dad, loves so much.

Days 16-18: Washington, Stafford, and San Diego
The next day we flew from MAN to FRA to IAD in order to make E&C's rehearsal dinner at Chadwick's in Old Town. Unfortunately, due to four MASSIVE planes landing before us, our trip through baggage/customs/passport control took WAY longer than expected. DH and I had literally 15 minutes to shower/makeup/change and head out the door.

But I still took time for a couple of puppy-cam snaps:
General Westmoreland, my parents Westie, is my favorite ball of fluff. He's a cuddle monster and I call him my Wes-Wes. Since he's about 8000 years old, his eyesight is going rapidly but he still knows my scent.

After tons of yummy food at Chadwick's, DH and I crashed hard at home.

In fairness, we were five hours ahead on time zones.

The next day we headed to the wedding at Rock Hill
Plantation in Stafford, VA.

And yes, that is the exact pose I had with my date in 9th grade when we went to Homecoming. I love pics like that.

Also, my dress is not as flattering in photos as it is on. It is a little too big which I think it a problem.











Good friend L, offered us a ride with K&J. We headed down 95 extra early (to account for traffic) and had enough time to dive into Chili's for margaritas before the ceremony.

















Rock Hill is a beautiful house in the middle of the country in Virginia. The owner is a hilarious ex-Irish priest who performed the ceremony.

I met C while we were living in Ireland so the priest's accent brought it all home.

DH, J, K and L in the last row. Last row = 1st people to see the bride and groom down the aisle!



E&C making their way down the aisle. C was so beautiful, I had to ask DH for his secret supply of tissues. The dress was perfect and bustled beautifully!
After the ceremony we had a cocktail hour in the manor house. We had a few drinks and then decided we needed to head down from the house to the goat/miniature horse pen. Best quotation of the wedding goes to K: "This isn't the first wedding I've been to where there were goats."

HAHAHA!
I have to give E&C big thanks for not having table assignments. We had the best table. Friends from DC, friends from college, friends from med school.

It. Was. Awesome.

Most of us met at the bridal shower in Philadelphia so we were chatting away like old friends.

And I don't mean to brag but we definitely danced the night away.




DH and I after the fantastic buffet.
I could have gone back for seconds.

Oh wait.

I did.

Good thing that dress was a little too big.

The whole wedding was so much fun.





I believe this was during "Single Ladies" by Beyonce

(The bride and I were cuttin' a rug when we joined by some of the little guests.)

DC ladiesSo, I met the bride while she was on her Junior year abroad and I was in grad school in Ireland. I returned to DC and she headed back to San Diego where she was good friends with J. C moved to DC (yay!) to work at NIH and J followed soon thereafter to go to grad school. I introduced them to L, who I sort of knew in college but really got to know when she moved to DC after graduation.

Whew.

To finish up, this is my favorite photo of the bride EVER.

That is one happy lady with her marriage certificate.

Congratulations E and C. We wish you a long and happy marriage. Come visit!














The next day we hopped a flight home to San Diego and that was our crazy vacation!

Tomorrow I'll post about my English goodies I brought back for my first giveaway!!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

So my college buddy Chris has headed back to law school. The guy is brilliant but more importantly, he's hilarious. Each week he posts a 2-min video on youtube. I highly recommend. :)