1st Rue La La purchase...plus more

After belonging for over a year.....and lusting over a number of items....I finally jumped at this:
It's a little plain, but it's classic, it's timeless, and it'll be a really nice, durable, quality product (Cole Haan).....and it will be a great replacement for my fave purse, which was a casualty during the wedding week.

The week leading up to the wedding was wonderful in so many ways, but pretty stressful too. Among the many things that happened (my phone broke....our "dream" condo was suddenly no longer available after booking it a year prior.....a groomsman couldn't make the trip because his mom was quite sick....etc.), my fave purse was kind of ruined (yes, totally minor in the grand scheme of things....but it felt like just one more thing after a week of crazy troubleshooting). It was a beautiful Kate Spade bag that I just loved. I bought it last summer.....it was the tan canvas with the KS pattern all over.....and it had a bright pink and red stripe of fabric down the middle.....but it was a casualty at the nail salon. One of my precious bridesmaids accidentally dropped a bottle of nail polish, and it splashed all over the bag. Cleaners said it couldn't be saved. Sooooo I've been looking for a good bag since then, and I think this will fit the bill!

More to come!! It's been hectic. My parents are coming in to town this weekend. I just signed up to attend a Junior League info session. I have been so worried about how and where to find friends, and getting involved in the community....and my sister was like - "Emily! That is what JL is all about." Soooo we shall see!!

Tonight will be the first time that my parents see our new house. We'll eat dinner here tonight...bbq chicken, roasted potatoes, a yummy salad, and peach crisp. It's going to be blazing hot ....high of 98 tomorrow - so we'll see how long we last doing the typical touristy stuff outside. I think that a visit to the famous Ted Drewe's frozen custard stand is definitely in order.

Enjoy your weekend!!!!

Heavy News Day

During the week, my favorite thing to do after getting ready for the day, before settling in to work is to watch some of the Today Show. I love being aware of what's going on in the world news-wise, and I think Matt, Meredith, Ann, Al and crew are so entertaining. So I'm not usually a big crier (I didn't cry at my own wedding....didn't cry at my sister or brother's weddings....you get the drift), but there are those certain things that always trigger tears (the Extreme Home Makeover show being one!)

So this morning the first story was about the tragic shooting in Pittsburgh at an LA Fitness. I just can't imagine how frightened everyone in the club must have been. It's just a place where you usually let your guard down, and don't pay much attention to the other people there....and you usually don't have your phone/keys/ $$ with you mid-workout. Tears.....streaming tears....just listening to the ladies recreate the whole scene, and how terrified they felt.

The second story was about the rescue mission to release the two American journalists from North Korea (Laura Ling and Euna Lee). When they exited the plane -- the second they saw their families they just collapsed into tears (and so did I....from my living room couch). I can't really imagine just what it would be like to be held captive in a foreign country.....but the sheer emotion they displayed was pretty remarkable. Gosh, just to see Euna reunited with her little daughter was enough....but all the family members, the husbands - I just can't imagine that whole scenario. Thank goodness they are back on American soil.

Sweet Dreams .... for Daisy

New space in the new house means a new bed for Daisy! After plenty of searching (LL Bean, Orvis, PetSmart, etc.), I found a cool new site for pets: Harry Barker. They have awesome organic stuff, and some great sales going on right now. The first one pictured is the one I settled on for Daisy (in light blue), but there are a bunch of cute options:

Football on the Brain

Today marks the start of NFL training camps around the country. SB is with the team, overseeing their head shots, etc. for the game production. He flew in an awesome photographer from LA (and a friend since the Atlanta days)....and I joined the two of them for a fun dinner last night. Since I no longer work in the sports industry, I just have to live vicariously through SB's cool experiences. I hope that he still finds the fun in days like this.....since 99% of the population would not even call that work.

Yesterday Brett Favre announced that he's definitely retiring. Or at least retiring until a team comes calling, and only then if they're a contender...and only "maybe" even in that situation. After everything that went down between the Packers and him last summer....and despite the fact that I used to just LOVE him....I'm ready for him to retire. I get a huge kick out of this t-shirt:

On another note, I read an article today on CNN's homepage featuring a Boston College football player who's battling cancer right now. It sounds like Mark Herzlich is a really outstanding player and person overall, and it's really impressive to read about how so many people are reaching out to him to show some support. From opponents on the field (ie: Notre Dame's coach, Clemson's whole team) to nuns and little kids -- he has a really strong network of support to help him beat this. Read the article.....but keep a few tissues handy!

Operation Enduring Friendships

(St. Louis edition...seems a little bit like a deja vu)

So this is new city # 2 since late 2007. For any of you who have moved to a new city where you don't know anyone......you probably understand that it can be tricky to meet and make new friends. Now that we've settled into our new house, I'm eager to find some activities, etc. to meet people!!

Last night one of our neighbors hosted a Pampered Chef dinner party and invited me! Of course with my new goal of meeting new friends, I rsvp'd YES immediately. It was great! Our neighbor is really nice, and she invited a bunch of ladies from their church -- which just so happens to be the denomination I've always attended - so SB and I will be going to check it out this Sunday! And, it being a Pampered Chef party - I also had to buy a little goody. It was hard to choose, but I ended up buying this puppy......the lady from P.C. said that she uses it herself 70% of the time in her own kitchen. Plus she said she'd send great recipes for it.....and we didn't have one like this in our registry....so here it is:
So all in all it was a great night. I'm still hoping to find a tennis team (USTA or some other league), I'd love to find girls to run with, and maybe I'll find some sort of volunteering outlet to try to make friends!! If you have any recommendations on other things to do to meet people, I'm all ears :) (especially since I can be on the shy side when I meet new people....so I need all the help I can get!)

Joys of home ownership

I am now the proud owner of this fine piece of machinery:
We've been VERY domestic this weekend.....mowing the yard, watering, weeding....making a million trips to Home Depot, Lowe's, Macy's, Costco, etc. It's crazy how much $$$ it takes to turn a house into a working home. The yard looks nice now though - I imagine the neighbors were breathing a collective sigh of relief this morning that we finally tended to the lawn. Not that it looked bad....but their lawns are like immaculate. We have a lot to keep up with here :) I'm looking forward to the day when we can start saving again....right now the $$$ is just flowing out and out and out.

Doggy Boarding

One of the tough parts about moving to a new city is that you don't automatically have that great friend who will watch your dog while you're out of town. We actually never found that type of friend in DC (which resulted in some awful boarding experiences....detailed earlier)....and with only a few weeks under our belts in STL, we don't yet have that here either. However, I HIGHLY recommend "Happy Tails" to anyone who lives in the St. Louis area. Daisy was well cared for, their prices are really good, and it's cageless - which totally eliminates the guilt factor for me. It was somewhat of a relief that we moved, and that we found this place...because that heavenly farm that I found outside of DC never called or emailed me back.....and of course I was calling them daily at one point when I really wanted to secure a spot for Daisy. Maybe I was blacklisted as the crazy lady who was stalking them (?), or maybe they're out of business (I think I prefer that option!).
2 weeks was a LONG time to be away from Daisy....but we're back to being a happy family of 3 now...and she's absolutely loving her new backyard, and having me around all the time now that I'm working from home. Life is good for her :)

I'm back!

And we're married!!!!!!!!!

The past two weeks were absolutely wonderful, totally unforgettable, and went by in what feels like a flash. I have the best husband in the world, and we spent one week surrounded by all of our amazing friends and family members, and then one week as the only two people in the world. It was heavenly.

I don't have time to write much now.....but here are a few pics from our friends. MANY more to come :)

Happy 4th of July!!!

God Bless America!

To me, this holiday is all about celebrating our country's freedom with family and friends. I grew up in a neighborhood that had the best little parade -- kids decorated bikes, parents walked and pushed strollers, and an old fire engine led the way with neighborhood kids playing patriotic songs on the back. It ended in a culdesac with a delightful (and delicious!) potluck brunch. Alas, there was no such thing in our new neighborhood this morning, but it was also raining cats and dogs.

SB and I continue to unpack the house and pack for the wedding. We head out tomorrow....so I will likely not be on here till late July when we return from the honeymoon!

Have a very safe and fun 4th!!

Oh what a week!

SB and I arrived in St. Louis 18 days ago. As of today we have:

• Closed on our new house!!!!
• Spent the first night in our new house (with just the duffel bags that fit in our cars, an air mattress, and little Daisy! Needless to say, we were really ready to say "adios" to our extra cozy hotel room. Living/working/sleeping all in one room was about to drive me crazy!)
  
• Fully moved into our new house!!!! The movers arrived early this morning.....which makes this new place feel more and more like "home." We are unpacking as quickly as possible...but it will take some time to find the perfect place for every little thing.
  
• Met our neighbors on one side.....they are suuuuper nice, plus they have a golden retriever! (clearly that gives them bonus points right off the bat). Daisy is LOVING her new back yard. It's awesome to be able to let her run around back there.
• Spent the first full day in the house.....with plenty of visits from our movers, the Sears delivery people with our new fridge & washer/dryer, the delivery people with our new King-sized Heavenly bed mattresses, and the guy who hooked up our phone/internet/cable.

We're heading south for the wedding in just 4 days! In 10 days we'll be MARRIED! Yes, it's a crazy time - but it's also an awesome adventure, and it proves that anything's possible with the right teammate. I feel sure that SB and I can make it through anything (although knock on wood that we don't have to test that resolve very often!) The only things between us and the start of the wedding festivities are: one day of work, one day of packing/errands, and the 4th of July!

Here are a few pics of the wedding location .... this is what I'll be dreaming of tonight: