princess and the pea!

Is this, or is this not, the cutest thing you've ever seen?

It's a Princess and the Pea playset! I love and adore it! It came from dolittledesign's etsy shop and I just fell in love with it while looking for fabric!


See the tiny green pea? So precious!

One of my good friends from high school is expecting a baby girl in July, so I think I may need to get this for her! The Princess and the Pea is one of my favorite stories, so I think it would make such a lovely gift, along with a copy of the book!

So sweet. So, so sweet.

There are some really talented people out there in etsy land, and this is no exception!



PS. Look at Peter and Mrs. Rabbit! You may know that Peter Rabbit is my favorite story, and when I get a corgi, I want to call her Potter, after Beatrix Potter, of course!

dresses on the brain!

I swear, I'm not really a shopaholic, despite what you may think, based on recent posts about dresses :)

Last night, I decided to walk home (or most of the way anyway!), from my office in Foggy Bottom to Chinatown. It is a very pleasant walk; it takes me past DAR Constitution Hall and the Red Cross building, then by the White House (where I kindly snapped a picture of a tourist family- karma!) (also unlocked the historian badge on foursquare! obsessed with 4sq...). I walked through Metro Center and stopped at H&M and found this gem of a dress---




It was $35. What do you think?

It isn't as short as it may appear- it is just above the knees, but totally work appropriate. My mother asked me how short it was when I texted her the picture, haha.

Do we like the belt? Do I keep the silver buckle to the side? Or move it to the middle?

Not sure what shoes I will wear with it- likely red, and likely heels, but maybe flats. Unsure.

Keep or return?

another dress

I have a wedding coming up in a few weeks, so I am looking for a dress to wear. I feel like I have worn the same three dresses to every wedding I've ever attended (not true, since I wore a different bridesmaid dress four times!), but you know what I mean.

Everyone has been talking about the Liberty of London line for Target. I've seen some of it, and think it's cute, and then I saw this dress online---

Keep in mind that I am doing a reading during the ceremony, so I will be on the alter for approximately three minutes, so people will actually look at me at that point :)

The ceremony is at 2pm and the reception is later, I believe at 4 or 5pm...

What do you think? Is it too casual for a wedding?

sewing Saturday!

Today I am taking a quilting class at the Jinny Beyer Studio, out in Great Falls, VA, so last night I decided to do a little practice, and just made this small table topper-

It's cute, just about 12" x 8." It could be a little table topper, as I am calling it, or could certainly be a small doll quilt! I've made a few of a similar size, one very similar to this, and then a few other doll quilts (here and here).

I'm looking forward to class, because while I know how to do some things, I still need a lot of help with my binding (the binding is the colored fabric around the edge of the quilt, to hold it all together), because I can't do the corners well at all!

I'll report back about the class, and post pictures of my creation :)

How is your Saturday?

we all scream for ice cream

I was home in NH last weekend for Mother's Day and my father's birthday and found this in the freezer section.

Why can't they sell it in DC?!






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

what is your alias?

As I've mentioned before, I want to write a book, and it is a goal of mine to have one done in the next few years. While I certainly don't think that my life has been remarkable enough for a memoir at this point, I really want to write about my experiences in Poland. It was one of the most amazing times in my life and it should be shared. I love reading travel writing, but I find that most books are written about England, France, Italy, etc. I've never once seen a book written about Poland! So sad!



Also, while I was there, I sent home email updates every few weeks. Of course, some people got frequent emails, but not everyone. My father saved every single email I sent him, from the time I was in Luxembourg (Jan-May 2001) all the way through when I was in Poland (Aug 2002-Feb 2004)! He saved them all onto a disc for me, and I have that at home. Every so often, I read through them, and they are so hilarious. I had some really amazing adventures while I was there.


Amazing, and somewhat scandalous, in some instances! Some stories should not be read by certain eyes (ie. my mother, among others!). So I was thinking that I should choose a nom de plume, or a pen name, to use for my book. Of course, this makes me sad, since most people won't know it is my book (though those closest to me will clearly know!). I was also thinking; if I mention specific people, do I need their permission to use their name? I would not use last names, and I'd never say anything incriminating! Maybe I should just change their names...


What would your nom de plume be?

question du jour- wedding etiquette

Several weeks ago, I mentioned the weddings I have this year. Two have passed (and were lovely!) and more remain. The next is one week from today (!!!), and then July, August, October and November.

In August, I have a wedding in London, ON, which I also mentioned. As I said, Steve cannot go, as he's out of town. I really want to be there, as I'd feel horrible about missing this one, but then attending the second one in London, in November. I asked opinions, and you were about split- some thought I should go alone, some didn't.

Here's the thing. I know that I am invited with Steve. The save-the-date card was addressed to both of us, so I assume the wedding invitation will follow suit. Since I know that I am invited with a "plus one," would it be awful of me to talk to the bride and let her know that Steve can't come, but ask if I could bring a friend instead? Is that a rude thing to do? It's not as if I'd show up with someone if I wasn't invited with a guest, but since I will be, it isn't anyone extra and I don't know that it would really mess up things like seating charts and whatnot. Also, the bride and groom have not met Steve, if that makes a difference.

I'd just feel far more comfortable with someone there with me. I certainly don't mind going to events alone, I love spending time alone, but an overseas (sort of!) wedding by myself

just doesn't seem super fun. I'll know a few people at the wedding, mainly just the family, but of course, they will be busy, so I won't be spending much time with them,

which I understand, of course!

What do you think?

to China with love

I know that I haven't mentioned this yet, but I recently began sponsoring a little girl called Jenna! Look how precious she is---

Jenna lives at the New Day Foster Home in Beijing, China. Jenna was born on July 12, 2004 and that same day, she was abandoned in the yard of a local church. She has been at New Day for about a month now. When she first arrived there, she didn't speak. They didn't think that she couldn't speak, but just wasn't speaking, from living through the multiple transitions that have occured in her short life. Just yesterday morning though, I read on

New Day's blog that Jenna spoke!


She said the Chinese words for dirty, cat, want, and car, and she said Dad and no in English.


Nothing short of wonderful, I'd say.

I've learned of New Day through Jill's blog. Jill has volunteered at New Day, and also sponsors a little girl there. Volunteering there is something that I would really like to do in the future, more than once, I hope! Through Jill's blog, I've found many other bloggers who sponsor children at New Day, and some who have adopted from there also!


Of course, this sponsorship is a bit different from World Vision. My hopes and prayers are that Jenna will soon be adopted by a loving family, whereas Majlinda in Albania and Boikokobetso in South Africa are with their familes.

All three of them are constantly in my thoughts and prayers.


Do you have a child somewhere that you sponsor?

Wednesday afternoon

An iced vanilla coffee, a good book and a sun-soaked patio table.





Heavenly, this Wednesday.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

wishing for fluency

Once again, it is Wednesday and time to wish along with Kelsey over at Seattle Smiths!

'I wish' .... I was fluent in another language in addition to English,
and it would be....

You know, this is a really hard question for me! I love learning languages, and I think that it is so important to be able to speak other languages. I am not currently fluent in anything, but I have a good grasp of Polish and Spanish. I speak some basic French and German. Also, right now, I am taking an Albanian class, though the last class was last night (so sad!). I also taught myself some Norwegian when I cam home from Poland. I wrote my Master's thesis on Norway and Iceland, so it seemed logical to learn one of those languages :)

I truly wish that the U.S. was like Europe in the sense that they teach second (and third, and fourth!) languages in elementary school. If I am still living in DC when I have children, I plan to send my children to one of the international schools where they would have half of the day in English and half in another language of my choosing (most offer French, Spanish, Mandarin, German or Arabic). I really want bilingual children. When I was in Luxembourg and then Poland, I wanted to find a man to marry, so I'd have bilingual children and an EU passport. Clearly that didn't work out ;)

Story-
When I was in Luxembourg, I lived with a family. It was a mother and a daughter, Laura, who was five years old. She had a five year old vocabulary in French, German and Luxembourgish. One morning, I was in the kitchen preparing juice when I heard the two of them in the living room. They were having a conversation about school, and were speaking French. Then, mid-sentence, Laura paused for a few seconds, and suddenly switched to German, because she didn't know the French word. I remember being so amazed that she could just flip a switch in her brain and change languages, just like that. I wish I could do that...

I'd like to be fluent in French, because that is the second language of NATO and widely spoken around the world. Many jobs that I see request French fluency. Same goes for Spanish. My Spanish is better than my French, but I am still far from fluent. I'd also like my Polish to be better. Now that my Albanian class is over, I think I may try a new language. I'd love to learn Russian and Mandarin at the moment. I'm also considering Swedish and Portuguese!

Or, maybe I should take an upper level of French/Spanish/Polish, to get closer to fluency in one of them. What would you do? Take a new language, or improve what you know?

Are you fluent in another language? Which one? What languages have you learned and do you hope to learn more?

bake a cake, store some wine?

My apartment is so tiny, but it seems that I have no place to keep anything! I've been looking at tv stands because my tv is currently sitting on a small end table! I think I like the hutch-style the best!

Have you ever used Le Creuset cookware? They have such amazing products, I think, though I will admit, I've never owned any myself! This week, I baked several times for work, and realized that I am in need of new baking and cookware! Most of what I have is hand-me-downs, it seems. I suppose I can register for nice things if I ever get engaged, but that is another story ;)

I was contacted by CSN Stores with this promotional opportunity, which I am so excited about. They have more than 200 stores, did you know that? Need a new tv stand? How about something funky? Bar stools! I could disply my quilts on the blanket racks they have or show off my cookbooks and Polish pottery on a bakers rack.

If I can ever decide what I should get, I will be reviewing it, for your entertainment ;)