Oo

Found the cutest Etsy shop - Charlie and Sarah. Preppy and English in the same shop - perfection!

Pink and green wellies?

Or green and navy whale?

A lovely day for a stroll

DH and I walked over to Little Italy this afternoon for the San Diego Art Walk. We really enjoyed the Bethesda Art Walk so it looked to be a delightful afternoon. Dude, the SDAW was HUGE. I mean, HUUUUGE. I was suitable overwhelmed. Streets and streets of artists, bands, tamales carts, and people people people everywhere!

Luckily we made our way down to the very end of a side street and found a fabulous former graphic artist turned oil painter. DH was wonderful and bought me a small oil for our bedroom:

We shall call him "Winston."

It's hard to tell but the frame is flush with the front of the painting, giving it a shadow box feel. Really lovely presentation by the artist and it made me want it all the more.

We also met an adorable Frenchie named Wallace. Now DH and I are reconsidering whether we want an English bulldog, a Frenchie, or a pug. I think DH wants a pug because of Jonathan Ross' pug, Mr. Pickles.

Finally

This morning I decided to tackle on of those jobs that you put off for, oh say, MONTHS because you just don't want to do it. I desperately needed to tame my makeup bag:
I don't know if you can tell how big is that momma. It's about the size of a kid's backpack and filled to the bring with god knows how old eye shadows and weird colored lip glosses.

After consulting an issue of Glamour, I immediately tossed those that were too old to keep. This still left my entire sink covered in "good" makeup. I sat myself down on the edge of the tub and had a heart to heart with myself.

"Elliott, do you really need purple glitter eyeshadow?"
"I could use it wet as an eyeliner!"
"Really? Reeeally?"
"Ok, ok. You win."
"Thank you. Let's me sensible and keep things that are pretty and make us look fabulous and professional."
"I should keep the four MAC black kohl eyeliners, though, right? I mean, you never know when you might need..."
"Elliott! THROW IT AWAY! STOP HOARDING! THEY'RE GOING TO FIND YOUR DECAYING BODY NEXT TO DECADES OLD NEWSPAPERS AND CAT FOOD!"

And voila, this is what I'm left with (not including brushes or the lip glosses and balms I keep in my handbag):

• L'Oreal Bare Naturale Mineral foundation and concealer. Just as good as Bare Escentuals and half the price. The built in brushes, however, blow so I use my MAC brushes. Bonus: built in SPF 19 (but really, you should be applying a separate SPF).
  
• Benefit Dandelion and (tiny) Benetint. Love, love, love Benefit products. However, I've kept a Benetint for years which is totally EW-worthy. I've stopped buying it and instead get it as a sample when I buy my Dandelion and lip glosses online. The little sample tube lasts a month or two and then you can chuck it without worries.
  
• Paula Dorf eyebrow powder. It has two shades in the pot and the lighter one is a perfect match. I only break this out when I need to feel reeally polished.
• Nars Orgasm blush and Kilimanjaro eyeshadow duo. Nars products have the best pigment. I hardly ever buy them (why, I don't know) but I'm always extremely pleased with their quality. And who wouldn't want a blush called Orgasm?
  
• MAC concealer, blush, and quad of eyeshadows. For years, all I wore was MAC. The concealer is the best on the market, hands down. I finally found a couple colors in MAC that make me look pretty but not made up. Sold.
• Lorac Croc palette with four eyeshadows and a blush. This is my holy grail product. All of the colors look amazing, they blend incredibly well. I can do totally natural with a little shimmer or big and dramatic by utilizing the smokey chocolate brown shadow. The blush is a pretty neutral that does an amazing job contouring my (non-existent) cheekbones.
  
• L'Oreal Voluminous mascara. I buy a new one every month and haven't found my holy grail. Honestly, it makes much more of a difference if you properly curl your eyelashes than all the muckity-muck that they put into the 8000 mascaras in the market.
• Sally Hansen buff block and nail strengthener. I like a weekly manicure but if I don't, I use these two to fake it.
  
• Neutrogena Lip Nutrition Honey Rescue Balm. No matter how chapped my lips get snowboarding, this fixes it overnight. And it tastes delish so yay. :)
  

SB Sale!

Yeeeessss!!!

Bonannos are $20 off next week.

Now do I want:

or these:

That is the question.

Tragedy averted

DH has been going to work in a suit for years and years. He doesn't know the words "business casual." Well, his new office is more relaxed and he had to buy separates this weekend. We hit Banana because I have the Luxe card so he could get free hemming on the pants.

Since they were running a fantastic deal (spend $200, get $50 off), I picked up a few things for moi:

Really cute tank tops that are fantastic under sweaters

Premium denim, contour dark boot cut jeans that make my booty look good. (Since I found a hole in my favorite pair, I've been on the lookout for a new pair of casual wash jeans.)

Work pants that needed to be taken up a little. Seriously Banana, what's up with the ridiculously long inseams? See - even the 6 foot model's pants are too long!

I also picked up a really breezy blue print skirt with pockets. To quote DH: "I can picture you on the boardwalk in PB. It's a cute skirt." DH never has an opinion on girly clothing so you know I flung that skirt down on the check out counter before he could take another breath. :)

*Clap* *Clap*

J.Crew Perfection:

Oh the trim!

Utterly beautiful

I am aghast at how much I love this pink polka dot number.

If someone has an extra $1200, I would be your bff 4ever if you bought me the above carry-on.

Drool.

Mmm...

Last night I made A Hungry Bear's chocolate kahlua cheesecake. OMG is that mother good.

This picture does NOT do it justice.

DH proclaimed it "the best homemade dessert I've ever had. If I ordered that in a restaurant, I would be very happy."

That my friends, is high praise indeed. DH is honest. Brutally honest. If he says it's the best he's had, then that's the God's honest truth. And I feel super snazzy and domestic. So thank you A Hungry Bear - your recipe and step by step photos rock!

Happy Earth Day!

I've only recently become more environmentally aware - I think moving to California makes you want to recycle. In honor of Earth Day, I thought I'd share the things I use on a daily basis to make the world a little cleaner and a little nicer.

1) Nalgene!
I have one at home and one at the office. Not only does it drastically cut down on the amount of plastic I consume (naughty bottled Fiji water!) but I've found I consume a LOT more water this way. I used to get through four small bottles of Fiji water a day. Now I regularly do five or six 32oz refills of my Nalgene. And let me tell you - my skin has never looked better.

2) Reusable coffee mug and thermos from Fido and Bongo Java in Nashville, TN. Hands down, the greatest coffee shop in the world. I practically lived there, Friends style, during college. Not only do my mug and thermos remind me of all the happy memories, I don't use cardboard cups and sleeves from a global leader in burnt coffee. Oh, my bad, "dark roast."

3) Envirosax. I am making it my mission to get a set for every single one of my friends and family members. (My peeps - if you haven't received it yet for your birthday or Christmas, sorry for ruining your pressie in advance!) Envirosax rock my face off. They're stylish, light, extremely compact, clean up easily, and can easily handle 2 gallons of milk in one bag. I own the Monochromatic five-pouch set which look like these:





I just found out that they've put out a selection of Kids bag that are slightly smaller and feature ADORABLE illustrations. I might have to pick up a set for myself. I mean, I'm helping the Earth, right? :)

Grrr...

One of the great perks of my job is that they let me have flex time. I work an extra hour a day and then get every other Monday off. Yes, I love it so.

It's also my busiest day of the two week pay period.

I'm not exaggerating when I say I do EVERYTHING on my day off - trips to Costco, Trader Joe's, the grocery, the dry cleaner, Target, Lowes, etc... Not to mention that any and all appointments (dentist, doctors of various body parts, hair, nails, waxing, facials) are also scheduled for this day.

I like my day off; it makes me feel productive.

So please pardon me while I go absolutely Ape-SH!T with boredom and inactivity since I have been stuck in the condo since 8am with workmen going in and out.

A day in the condo sounds fun, right? Maybe catch up on some laundry or whip up some banana nut muffins? Not today, lady! Everything is covered in tarps while they patch and paint the ceiling where they rewired the computer and cable thingies.

I haven't had breakfast or lunch (the kitchen is the main area of patching and painting) and I AM GROUCHY! GRRR!

Now why do I have to be here? When they came in the last time to cut through the ceiling and pull through the new wiring, they didn't lock the door. Let me repeat that: they worked in my condo and then left the front door open. ARGH. I thought DH's head would explode. So now we (read: DH) has a standing order that we (read: me) must be at home when workmen come in, barring some catastrophic emergency.

I get it that someone needs to be home with the workmen but I'm just grouchy and irritated that it's me. I know, I know, it's impractical for DH to do it and no, I don't want the workmen to work in our place and leave the door open and all our stuff get stolen. I'm just bored senseless (I found the end of the internet, if you're interested), and I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE ANYMORE - AIYEE!

Holy moly...preppy shopping

Mum and I *tore up* the shopping this week. She basically needed a new wardrobe and I was along for the ride. Ralph, the Crew, Ann, and BB were raided like we were on Supermarket Sweep. (Shut up, I love that game.)

We also picked up a couple of things for me.
JCrew: Navy polo with green turtles, Navy round neck cardigan, Pink polo with navy anchors, black ballet neck shirt, three pairs of argyle socks (love!), blue and navy argyle sweater, and a navy and kelly green argyle sweater. Oh yeah.

I hit the mother-load of VV at this really really good TJ Maxx. (Word to those in the DC area: the Tysons Corner TJ on Route 7 is the best I've ever seen. Tons of Lilly and VV and they have an entire area of high end designers like Marc, Gucci, Missoni, and D&G.) I grabbed two VV polos; navy and parrot green, an awesome coral pink board skirt for the beach, and a strapless VV white seersucker dress. I love the dress and wish I had it last year for my rehearsal dinner!

And of course, I hit up Target. I love the Target. Very cute pink and green rose print Isaac wrap dress, a blue and pink argyle sweater, and a pair of rose-gold leather peep-toed flats.

Do I need to mention that I'm going shopping this afternoon with DH? Sweet lord, don't let me get near Banana!

Ahh...

...safely home. Three days in DC plus two for traveling is just enough to really energize a gal.

I must give a big shout out to my new favourite domestic carrier - Virgin America. Wow oh wow did I have a good time.

First, the customer service (what is that you say?) is top notch. I had some ticketing issues and I called their help number. Not only did I reach an actual person (shocking, I know), the dude stayed on the line with me for over an hour. I wasn't put on hold at all!

Second, the planes are brand new and wow, did they actually put some thought into their design. I rode in the back of the plane which is normally miserable. VA made the seats just a couple inches wider than United and added more leg room. In coach! I know, crazy.

Something that I thought was exceptionally clever was the inclusion of a drink holder on the outside of the tray table. So not only do you not have to put down the tray, it actually does a great job during a bumpy ride. See below:

Smart, no?

The entertainment system, Red, was sweeet. They play Direct TV for free, movies are available for $5-$7, a bunch of fun games (Hello Anagrama!), and a knock-off Ipod-ish system where you can make your own playlists from their hundreds of (surprisingly) decent selections of songs.

Ok, so I'm bored about talking about a plane. Let's talk about the wicked funny movie I bought on the plane for the low low low price of $7 - Juno! I know, I know, I'm like the last person to see it. How hi-lar-ious is Ellen Page? She knocked Cody Diablo's wicked script out of the park. Unfortunately, the greatest line in the whole thing was spoken by Rainn Wilson (Dwight!):

"That ain't no etch-a-sketch. This is one doodle that can't be un-did, homeskillet."

Why can't real people speak that way? Honestly? Juno would be the cool weird girl that I would make fun of but secretly want her to be my best friend. If you say differently, you're a big liar liar. Admit it, she is *screamingly* weird, but totally down to earth and has excellent taste in music. Moldy Peaches anyone?

I shall leave you with one other gem:

"I never realize how much I like being home unless I've been somewhere really different for a while."

Moi?

Hey hey, I've been tagged by Miss Preppy in Pink. (Thanks!)

RULES
1) you link back to the person who tagged you.
2) post these rules on your blog.
3) share six unimportant things about yourself.
4) tag six random people at the end of your entry.
5) let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs

Six unimportant things about myself:

1. My left earlobe is noticably lower than the right. It makes long earrings look ridiculous.
2. I went to summer camp every year growing up, starting at age five. At age nine I would go for the entire 8 weeks.
3. I have an irrational hatred of Jessica Simpson. I mean, I really cannot stand her. Vapid bimbo.
4. I don't care for potatoes. I'll eat them but they don't really do it for me. Mashed, fries, baked, it's just not for me.
5. My bed is done European style in that I don't use top sheets. I have several cotton duvets that I wash weekly like sheets. I just don't like getting wrapped up in a top sheet and then a comforter on top.
6. I can't back my car in a straight line. It's a spatial awareness thing - I just can't do it.

I tag all of the wonderful people who are reading this and want something fun to do!

How to really crush a girl

Racks upon racks upon racks of Lilly at my local TJ Maxx. And all of it XS or size 0 or 2. Oh Lilly.

Photo by spectreman

Quick post to say that today was practically magical. Washingtonians appreciate Spring and Fall because we gets months of horrible, damp and snowy weather in the Winter and months of suffocatingly hot humidity in the Summer. It's horrible, trust me.

After lunch with my wonderful friends D and G, I decided to do my favorite good weather activity - people watching. I sat at the Navy Memorial for hours, watching girls in cute dresses gossiping with their work buddies, old fuddy duddy lawyers shedding their jackets and rolling up their sleeves, and of course, the tourist children running around the giant map of the world, identifying continents near and far.

That my friends, is how to enjoy Spring.

I'm leaving on a jet plane

Off to DC for a couple of days. More about the cherry blossoms later!

Happy Birthday, Daddy

Happy birthday, my wonderful father.

Thank you loving and teaching me. Especially when I didn't deserve it by testing your patience to its very limits.

I never thought I'd find a man as smart, funny, kind, and caring as you. I was lucky I did.

And even more lucky that you didn't shoot him at the door step.

Here's to many more, Dahdoo. Cheers!

This one goes out to the one I love...

...this one goes out to the one I've left behind. (I hate when DH and I have to travel seperately.)

I've thought long and hard about whether or not I wanted to put up personal pictures of myself and DH. On one hand, I am incredibly paranoid and worry about creepy people in every situation I place myself in. On the other hand, the blogs I most enjoy reading really delve into the author's personal life.

So here's a picture of us in Maryland taken one year ago today. And let me tell you - it was FREEZING cold and super windy. Quite the contrast from DC's beautiful weather today, let me tell ya!
Ah how young we were. And I needed some lip gloss.

Record high

...of 95 today. No humidity, thank God. DH and I took our scary white, East Coast bodies to Coronado's beach yesterday and I must say, it was BEAUTIFUL. I fph California! I am also so "fair" that I reflected more sun than the sand. Time for the self-tanner Elliott, tsk tsk!

I also finally broke out my favorite "trainers" as DH calls them. Here's the thing - I NEVER wear sneakers except to the gym so you know I have to fall hard for a pair to grace my feet. Without further ado (and pardon my scary whiteness), my Nanette Lepore for Keds woven raffia skimmers:

Yes, that is leopard print. I LOVE animal prints.

Aaaah - scary feet! I'm sorry to subject you to my two cleavage.

If you have a chance, check out the "new" Keds line. Very fun prints, super comfortable, and I think the most expensive is, like, $75. Cute!

I stole this from I'm Just Beachy

1. Go to Photobucket (don't sign in)
2. Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box
3. Use only the first page
4. Copy the html and paste for the answer.

Your first Name

Favorite color

Celeb crush - *grrrowl*

What I'm listening to

Favorite movie

Favorite adult beverage

Dream Vacation

Favorite dessert

What I wanted to do when I grew up