I'll get off my soapbox in a mo'

Hey kittens -

I've been a verrra bad blogger lately. Happily, DH and I have been so busy with fun things that I haven't had time to post! Turns out people thought I was on the "cool kids" evite list when I wasn't. Now that it has been rectified, we're partying like we're college kids again. :)

Anywho...I need to be serious for a little post to get something off my chest. To begin, you have to know that I had a very long discussion today with a co-worker about the election.

From my previous posts you know I'm a recovering conservative. She, on the other hand, is as right-wing Republican as you come. I was, well...disappointed when she explained that one of the reasons she votes Republican is so that "My father, who has worked really really hard, doesn't have to pay for people who stay at home and watch Maury Povich."

And I totally agree with her on that point. If you can work, you should. HOWEVER, I also believe that it is our societal obligation to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. People aren't *worthless* just because they can't contribute much.

I get that people want to keep their money. They worked hard, they should keep it, right? Yes, that's a valid point. But if you follow any major religion (I'm Christian) then you should believe in helping the poor, the infirm, the old, and the sick.

Second part of the post (it'll loop back to the first part, stay with me). Tonight DH and I went out to celebrate a birthday at a piano bar with a bunch of friends. You should also know that we live in an "up and coming" downtown area. Read: it takes high six and seven figures to buy into our building but we also live across the street from an abandoned lot where a lot of homeless sleep.

Ok, so, anywho... DH and I were walking home and we saw a homeless dude sitting on a bucket, holding a sign saying "Hungry man needs help." Normally I walk by these guys without a second glance. A high percentage of the homeless in SD are schizophrenic and, to be frank, scare me. They cuss and hear things that aren't there. Some of them smell bad. I try not to make eye contact and walk by.

Tonight I was really struck by the guy with the sign. He wasn't bothering anyone. He looked tired. He was a little dirty but wasn't smelly. He didn't have a cup full of change in front of him. I had a pizza box from dinner tucked under my arm, filled with leftovers. I stopped and asked him if he wanted half a pizza. He said simply, "Yes. Thank you." As DH and I continued on, the man put down the sign and started to chow down.

I guess it really struck me tonight that I normally ignore people like this man. I don't know his story. I don't know if he's "gaming the system." I just know he was hungry and asked for help.

In the next couple days we have the ability to help a lot of people. I am extremely fortunate to have a good job, a home, and a family that loves and supports me. There are many people who don't. I believe that it is both my obligation and privilege to help those who cannot help themselves. Yes, I will pay higher taxes to support those who cannot work. Our fellow Americans aren't worthless. Ever.

Things that I'm digging right now:

Mad About You. Still my favorite sitcom - ever. I have the DVR set to record an episode on any channel, at any time. The Buchmans are a real couple. They bicker, they burn dinner, they have problems getting pregnant, they become redundant. And they deal with each situation with good humor and love.



Luigi's Italian Ice. 70 icy, fat-free calories that quench my ice cream cravings. Cherry's my favorite but lemon's a close second.


Crest Weekly Clean Intensive Cleaning paste. You know that awesome feeling you get after a dentist cleans your teeth? Yeah, this is pretty close. It's like exfoliation for your chompers.


Nicole by OPI nail slick pen. It's nail polish in a pen - awesome for the clumsy like me. I tried the Sally Hansen version of this product and it is clearly inferior to the OPI.


Glogg. Swedish mulled wine served with almonds, raisins, and gingerbread cookies. It goes down dangerously smooth.

Cookies make my crummy day better

Hee! My cookies from A Dozen Eggs' Halloween contest came today and they are beeeautiful! I can't wait to eat one after dinner with DH. Nom nom nom <-- sound of Elliott like the Cookie Monster

"...it's possible I'm a little too awesome."

My God, I love Obama.

I support breast cancer

October is very important for two reasons; it's Breast Cancer month and my birthday. As I love the color pink, I love cramming my birthday list full of Breast Cancer-related gift ideas. With no further ado, my birthday list 2008. (I am getting shockingly close to 30. Aiyee!)

Riedel Crystal Pink Crescendo Glass Set

Riedel Vinum Pink Rose Wine Glass Set

Coach Lexington Breast Cancer Awareness watch

Bop Basics Sophia Bush Breast Cancer shirt

Jo Malone Red Roses cologne

RL Mini Black Pink Pony handbag

On the non-preppy side, there is a group called Boarders for Breast Cancer (B4BC). As a snowboarder, I support these great companies for their commitment to Breast Cancer awareness.

Sessions B4BC Madonna jacket

Reef B4BC Stash
CCS B4BC Bra tree shirt

Jimeale B4BC SoHo collectionAnything else I've forgotten? I'd love the Cartier love bracelet but it's a wee bit outside of my budget. Who knows, maybe DH will surprise me. ;)

So my in-laws have taken off for Vegas until Friday. It has been awesome having them here but it's nice to have the house quiet again (for a few days)!

We walked over to Little Italy on Sunday and cruised through the Festa. In a word, it was awesome. An entire block was covered in chalk drawings similar to this one:

There were lots of stalls selling wares. I picked up a ridiculously beautiful bread board from A-Skewed Creations for a Christmas present. I was thoroughly heartened that for every McCain/Palin button I saw, there were 20 Obama/Biden buttons. Woo hoo!

We spent time at the beach in the afternoon but the extremely high winds made it a wee bit uncomfortable. Let's just say I'm still getting sand out of places where exfoliation isn't needed.

I was a very bad wifey and went shopping this afternoon. I popped into J.Crew and found the madras halter dress that I've wanted all summer long. I also picked up a royal blue silk blouse, a black pink-tucked turtleneck, a great western-y brown, distressed belt, a tortoiseshell hairtie, and a bunch of their incredible bangles. I've collected every size of the bangles in black, saffron, and the gold-plate. They look fantastic when I want to display my Vandy spirit.

SPEAKING OF - MY GOD, VANDY - WHY MUST YOU ***ALWAYS*** LET ME DOWN? ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I stocked up on bananas this weekend so I'm going to go throw together a loaf of banana-coconut bread before bed. Hope all is well with all you bloggy ladies!

Hey y'all,

Sorry for the lack of posts. My in-laws are in from England and we're going out most nights.

Word on my in-laws - they are total rock stars and I love them both. Warm, caring, really really lovely people. I totally lucked out when I married DH - his family and my family get along like gang-busters.

I'm going to go pack my lunch for tomorrow, featuring a HUGE portion of Branston pickle. The in-laws know I'm obsessed with BP and can eat a jar in a weekend. :) Yay for in-laws! Yay for pickle!

All the best,
E

I don't know what happened today. I went to Target and fell into a shopping fugue.

I picked up this sweatshirt for $20. It's ridiculously soft and a heck of a lot more flattering than in this picture:
It vaguely reminds me of the $60 J.Crew one (that I picked up at the outlet for $20 in red):

Being an insane fan of argyle, I couldn't pass these up. (Again, what is with these photos? Ick!)


This dress from the Go International designer line is thin-wale corduroy. It's such a fun print and I love the slight puff to the sleeve. I think it's perfect for the slightly chilly San Diego evenings.

I love skull & crossbones. I grabbed a ton of these for our parties. Nothing scares me more than people with glass on our balconies. New rule: if you go outside, you have to use plastic.
I picked up a couple cases of tangerine and blackberry Izzes. I just love that the fridge is now black and orange for the Halloween!

I honestly don't know what happened to me. I left with my bulging bags and couldn't remember any of it. At least it was all cute!

The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth

Actual chant used by Vandy fans against Auburn this weekend:

"Too bad you don't know LATIN!"

You Didn't Tell Me You Were Gonna Kill It!

I don't do many contests, but A Dozen Eggs is hosting a give-away with a Halloween quiz involved! As I 1) love Halloween and 2) love quizzes, it was super fun. :)

First prize is three tins of her amazing Halloween themed iced sugar cookies. So the real question if you win - do you keep them for yourself or send them on to a friend?!

PS - "It's a Great Pumpkin..." shout out to my college roommate, E. She hosted a viewing every Halloween and it's still one of my favorite memories of college. "I thought little girls were innocent and trusting." "Welcome to the Twentieth Century." LOL

Shout out to DH

I am copying this from Preppy in the City. My hubby is awesome and I love to brag on him. :)

He's sitting in front of the tv, what is on the screen? Mythbusters or a BBC show

You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Honey mustard

What is one food he doesn't like? Mushrooms. He'd take them out of the food chain if he could.

You go out to the bar. What does he order? Hefeweizen, a big Spanish red, or a gin & tonic

Where did he go to high school? Public school in Warrington, England. It's totally cute.

What size shoe does he wear? 11 or 13. I can't remember.

If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Climbing equipment. He loves a good carabiner.

What is his favorite type of sandwich? Meatball or something filled with lots o' meat.

What is his favorite cereal? N/A I don't think I've ever seen him eat cereal. He goes like Nature Valley cereal bars, though.

What would he never wear? Preppy. Le sigh. I took him into J.Crew and the rather flamboyant salesman called DH "Harry Potter." DH turned to me, said "No way," and walked out.

What is his favorite sports team? Liverpool FC

Who will he vote for? N/A - not a citizen

Who is his best friend? I'd like to say me. Then his childhood buddy and his college housemate.

What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? If I don't want to talk, I basically ignore him. Drives him crazy.

How many states has he lived in? 3 - MD, VA, and CA

What is his heritage? English (Funny story - on our first date, I asked him "what he was" because I am very proud of being Swedish. He looked at me with a funny look and said in a very dry voice, "I'm English." "I know that but what are you really? "I'm English." "No, no, what are your ancestors?" "We're English." "Oh, you're like English-English." "Yes."

You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? Black Forest

What could he spend hours doing? Coding. Totally a computer geek, that one. :)

Have a good weekend!

Who Ya With?

VU!!! VANDY, VANDY, OH HELL YEAH!!!

5-0 BABY!!

(Sorry Auburn. Good game.)

DH (said in a really crisp English accent): "You get very American when you watch football. You whoop. You yell. You do little dances. It's very American and, I feel, beneath me."

Elliott: "V-U! V-U! Whooooooo!" (with matching arm movements)

The aftermath

After my near death while hiking, I've decided I've really got to get back into running. So I've been dutifully hoping on a treadmill and working on my cardio. Luckily our condo's gym is better equipped than 97% of the professional gyms I've been in.

Anywho...so each of the treadmills has its own tv so I decided I could watch the debate while getting in my miles. Not so much.

I sorta, kinda, fell off the treadmill, I was screaming so much at a certain candidate.

So now my ankle's the size of a tomato and black and blue. I'm hoping it's just a sprain. PLEASE let it be a sprain. I've broken this ankle twice and had numerous stress fractures. (Let's just say a combination of being a clumsy kid along with dangerous sports activities necessitated a lot of emergency room trips. *shrug*)



So now I'm heading to work wearing the only shoes that fit on my foot - black chuck taylors from the back of the closet. Awesome.

I sincerely believe...

...that my snowboarding will greatly improve with the purchase of this jacket. I know snowboarding isn't very preppy but I don't do well when I have to control my feet independently of each other.

At REI: was $199, now $150 + an extra 20% off coupon = oh yeaah.

The debate

You probably wouldn't believe this if I told you but I used to be a hard-core Republican. College Republicans, fundraising, the whole enchilada. Then there was *the issue.* This is a very very very important issue to me:

Marriage is between two people who love each other.

For me, there is NO wiggle room on this. Anyone who wants to commit to another person legally, should be able to.

Sarah Palin says that we should have equal rights. Until all our citizens can legally marry the person they love, we do not have equal rights.

Aiyee!

Bulldog? Check.
Coach? Check.
Practical? Check.
Under $50? Check.
Cute as all get-out? CHECK!

Buh bye panda eyes...

I wear contacts and have hooded, oily eyelids. This means I always have smudged mascara by 10am. I've tried high end, low end, and everything in between. NOTHING WORKS. That is, until now.

Allure magazine sent me a sample of Exceptionnel de Chanel Intense Volume and Curl Mascara. Holy cow - it's my holy grail mascara! Let me 'splain. No, wait, there is too much. Let me sum up:

The formula leaves thick, long lashes that are so curled, I didn't even need a curler. AND the brush has six sides which prevents clumps. The black was wet and glossy but was thick enough for even application.

I RAN to the mall to pick up a full size tube today. So now the question remains: should I go back and get it in violet too??