The Recap

So, I'm back. I spent one full week and the city and loved every minute of it. I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria, which was bad ass. But I doubt I'll ever stay there again. Not because I didn't like it, but because I can only afford that place on the company dime.

Anyways, let's talk about food for a second. Because nothing makes me happier than discovering new places to eat. First, I discovered the best bagel place EVER on 51st and 3rd. Then, my dad and I went to Shun Lee Palace for some authentic Chinese food. And it was fantastic. Then, Monday night I met up with these fabulous ladies for pate, oysters, steak tartare at Pastis. And yes the food was amazing, but hanging with these girls (and yes Chloe Rose counts) made the experience 100x better.

Matt came up on Friday and we had lunch at Tao. I had the seabass and I ate the whole thing with chopsticks, which made my little asian proud. =)

I ate in Hoboken a few times with Matt and his brother. I highly recommend Robongi for some sushi and surf and turf terriaki. And Benny Tudino's for some breakfast pizza on Sunday mornings.

I found this place. Tiny place, but stamps everywhere. Loved it.


We also accidentally stumbled across Magnolia Bakery, but the line was so long that we decided not to wait. Now I'm totally regretting it. I also went to Purl and and almost bought out the entire store. I got so inspired that I have decided to start sewing again. Yep, you heard right. Not like I don't have enough hobbies already. I'm sure you can guess how Matt took the news. He wasn't very happy to hear that a sewing machine and tons of fabric will soon invade more of our tiny 690 sq ft apartment.

Anyways, that's it. Back to reality now. And back to work.

I was bad, in a good way.

I've always wanted aviator sunglasses. ALWAYS. But my face must be weird shaped because they NEVER look right on me. I've tried cheap ones, expensive ones, even kids sized ones. It never works out. But, last night I'm walking on Fifth (and this time with no mishaps), and I stumble (no pun) across Saks. And usually, I stay away from Saks. And Neimans. And Barneys. Not because I don't adore those stores. But bad things happen once I walk in. Like I get convinced that I can't live without an LV bag. Or Cole Haan shoes. Anyways, so of course the sunglasses section starts calling my name. And before I know it, I'm buying Chanel sunglasses and talking to the sales lady about Buenos Aires. What? How did that happen? But, even though I won't be able to eat for two months due to this purchase, I am stoked to have finally found a pair that I love. The ones pictured aren't actually the ones I bought. But a good visual image nonetheless.

I'm off to the enjoy the city for 2.5 more days. Hopefully my wallet won't take any more serious beatings. But you never know....

It is NYC after all.

I Fell on 5th Ave

Ok, so it wasn't actually 5th Ave. It was more like the corner of 16th and 5th. But saying 5th Ave makes the story so much cooler. Regardless, thank god I don't get embarrassed easily because this was quite the tumble. My expensive jeans got torn. My knee bled. And I almost landed in a gross puddle of straight up sewer water. Luckily, I was not alone. Because there is nothing worse than embarrassing yourself and having no one there to laugh with you.

I Am Here:

In NYC. And loving life. This city makes me feel alive. It inspires me. It leaves me in awe of its grandeur. And as much as I hate my job, these are the perks that I am so grateful for.

Yesterday I went to the MOMA for the very first time. And it was incredible. So much inspiration. So much creativity (of course). But the best part is standing in front of a work that you've admired for so many years, and finally seeing it in person. THAT is the best feeling ever.

Just Wonderful

Happy Birthday to my dear friend Vee!
I hope you're having the best day ever!
In honor of her birthday....some scrappy stuff:

So my boss just informed me that he is thinking about pulling up a report that shows him how much time we spend on the internet each day. Apparently, he hasn't caught me surfing the net enough times, because now he needs concrete evidence to make me feel like a slacker. Just wonderful. I can't wait to see what he has to say about my scrabooking/blog/flickr/gmail addiction. I'm so screwed. Is it bad that I'm blogging from work right now and we just had this conversation ten minutes ago?

The Best Date EVER

We had so much fun last night. We went to my friend Elizabeth's wedding. And all I have to say is, that she was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. Stunning doesn't even cut it. Matt was officially the best date EVER. I mean, you know your date is awesome when they make more new friends than you. He is such a social butterfly, which is exactly the kind of guy I need. I can't date boys that are quiet, or shy, or any of that. That shit bores me half to death. I need the loud crazy (yet tamed) party boy, and thank god I found that in matt. More wedding pictures to come....because I'm telling you, you don't want to miss them.

Ok, so I was tagged by Tina, my fabulous scrappy friend from Alaska. And the tag goes a little something like this:

4 Jobs I've Had:
1. Lifeguard
2. Hostess at P.F.Changs
3. Intern at Merrill Lynch
4. (Currently) Financial Analyst at FINRA

4 Movies I Could Watch Over & Over:
1. Billy Madison
2. Devil Wears Prada
3. Clueless
4. The Family Stone

TV Shows I Watch:
1. America's Next Top Model
2. Grey's Anatomy (although refer to previous post)
3. Gossip Girl
4. Law & Order:SVU

Places I've Lived:
1. Burke, VA
2. Fairfax Station, VA
3. Sevilla, Spain
4. Gaithersburg, MD

Favorite Foods:
1. Homemade Taco Salad
2. Pizza (evidence found on thighs)
3. Thai noodles
4. Pique Macho(it's Bolivian, highly recommended)

Places I'd Love to be Now:
1. Exploring Istanbul, Turkey
2. On the beaches of Croatia
3. Visiting family in Bolivia
4. Back in Moscow, Russia

Names I Like, But Would Not Use for My Children:
1. Brooklyn
2. Aiden
3. Gweneth
4. Giovanni

That was fun! If you're read this...I TAG YOU!

What has happened to Grey's?

People. What is happening to Grey's Anatomy? It is what I like to call "no bueno" this time around. First it was Izzy and the damn deer...um, wtf? Then last night it was the old intern dude. He just needs to go. Lame. And I really don't like the idea of Izzy and George being together....really irks me for some reason. And did you see previews for next week? Um, a fist fight between Izzy and Callie? Looks stupid beyond words. I mean, there were times where I almost lost faith in LOST and I'm happy I didn't. But so far I'm so disappointed with Grey's that I just want to give up. I think Gossip Girl will take its place. Word.

Blogland. I need your help. I am desperate need of a haircut. But I can't decide what to do!!!!!

Grow it out long again? Or keep it short?

Matt wants me to grow it out. But who care what he thinks, right? It's my damn head. But I'm so indecisive. What do you think? Opinions are greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Lastly, a page I made last night. About my daily gmail addiction with Vee. Yes, I know. I've used this paper before. And I have a mad addiction to the teel hambly circles and PS scallops. And it looks freakishly similar to my last page. But, that was a total accident. Plus, I'm allowed to scrapjack myself, right? Happy Friday people.

The Summer of 1996

The summer before my freshman year of higschool, I decided to try out for drill team. But I was a little shy back then (yeah I know, hard to believe right?) so I asked my very best friend Molly (with absolutely no dancing experience) to try out with me. To this day, I still can't believe she did it with me. And because she was there I didn't take it too seriously. During the tryouts not only did we forget the dance moves, but we would just stop and laugh every few seconds (which totally pissed off the girls who were so dead serious about the whole thing). So needless to say, we didn't make drill team. These pictures are from a sleepover two years ago and now that I stumbled across them I feel the need to scrap them immediately. Because this story makes me LOL every single time. Molly, if you're reading this...you are the absolute best for doing that with me eleven years ago. Thanks for always holding my hand when we were kids. Love you.

Ten Eight oh Seven

I hardly ever get to see this girl. She works a million hours a week and goes to school full time. So, when I get to see her I feel so incredibly blessed. Because no one gets me like she does. And just being with her, especially at her parent's house, always brings back so many good memories. It reminds me of all those early mornings I picked her up in highschool. And we'd blast some old school rap while doing our makeup in the car. And how we loved to skip first period to go visit the llama farm in Oakton. Or how I made her join dive-team with me just because I wanted someone to laugh with me when I belly-flopped. Ahhhh, good times people. Good times!

And while I'm getting all sappy about old friends....Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest girls I know. Happy 27th Meggers. Love you so much!

Last, a current favorite of mine. And with some more typewriter love. How is it even possible that I have gone so many years without a typewriter? Luckily, Matt's parents are letting me borrow theirs until my dad digs out our old school one from the attic. Total sweetness!

The Ninja Strikes Again

So, last night I was acting all ninja like and busted out 3 layouts. And because I am way lazy and never have enough time, I am only sharing one. A crazy one. And inside joke one. And one that I absolutely love. Not for the design. Or the pretty papers used. But because I swear anytime I make a page about Erika, I find myself smiling the whole time. I just love getting our funny stories down on paper so that our kids can laugh at us one day. So Erika, this is for you my love. Miss you.


And is anyone else addicted to America's Next Top Model? I have no clue why I keep coming back to this show season after season. It's such a guilty pleasure. And now, on top of that, Vee & K were talking about Gossip Girl so much that I decided to check it out. Damn them because now I have another tv show addiction. haha. Why can't someone get me obsessed with working out? Or eating veggies with every meal? The only way I justify watching all those shows is my DVR. Thanks to DVR, I save time on commercials and it makes me feel better about all the time spent on my couch. So, here's to DVRs worldwide. May they continue to encourage more relaxing tv time.

Happy One Year Anniversary...

To my little blog-a-roo. I can't believe I've had this baby for a year now. I really thought I'd be one of those people who would be all excited to have a blog and then forget about it two months later. Kinda like when you got a new Nintendo game as a kid and then got over it 2 months later when a better version came out. But luckily this blog has been so much more than a blog to me. And I am thankful that I started it. Thank you to all my readers who have been with me since the beginning. I know that most of you don't comment...but that's ok, because just knowing you are out there makes me feel happy. =)

I leave you with some recent scrappies! All with tyepwriter love.

The Update

It went down a little something like this:

Vee and I drove to Quakertown, PA to meet some scrappy girls.
I met Katie and her fabulous typewriter. This girl is the sweetest.
I scrapped 4 layouts in 7.5 hours. Not bad for a slow scrapper.
Every layout I made had some new Hambly on it. LOVE that.
I met Nicole, who is the hottest mamma on the block. She rocks.
Ate McDonalds for the first time in YEARS.
Drank beer from a Heineken mini keg. Who ever thought of mini-kegs is a genius.
Saw Kristi's new Balenciaga in person. Words can't describe how insanely fabulous this bag is.
Got called the best nickname ever by Morgan.
And just had a killer good time with some super talented & fun girls.

oK, so tell me how its even possible that it's October? I mean, I am happy it's getting colder and what not. And that I'm finally rocking the Free People puffy blue vest. But, seriously, it's like I woke up hungover on new years like yesterday and now I'm about to re-live that all over again in 3 months. WTF. At least I have accomplished a lot this year. Umm, NOT AT ALL.

But now, I must return to the regularly scheduled program of crunching numbers and analyzing spreadsheets....