it is still a beautiful world.

The Desiderata is one of my all-time favorite poems. 

The very end is my favorite- 

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Etsy has so many lovely pieces, including this print of the Desiderata. I have a postcard of the last few lines on my desk, but I think I need a poster sized copy of the print. In the challenging world that we live in, I think that it is a lovely reminder of how we should try to live our lives each and every day. 

cookie swap 2011!

Last Sunday I hosted my third annual holiday cookie swap! It was started a few years ago by my dear friend Christine and I. It was held for two years, and then last year, it was skipped for a variety of reasons, but I brought it back this year, and hope it will continue for many years to come! When I was a little girl, my mother always went to cookie swaps- she'd bake many dozen cookies, and then come home with the same amount in a variety of cookies, though I didn't think that any of us needed many dozen....so, just a few were swapped, and that was fine!

Before the party though, Steve and I had to get our tree up!

Our naked tree here, though now it is decorated! Note the lovely Scarlet Threads tree skirt, called the Noelle! Now out of stock, though there are a few Genevieve's left!

Steve sets up the water bowl for the tree....

See this little bear? She was given to me by my first grade teacher, Mrs. Sirna, many years ago, and she is hung on my tree each year still!

(I'll have to do another post later, about favorite ornaments!)

Now, it is nearly cookie time! I made a white chocolate cherry chip cookie...I saw the recipe on pinterest, and they were SO good! I am actually making them again tomorrow for a bake-off at work! Yikes, the competition will be fierce!

Here is the batter!

Here are the cookies, ready to be swapped!

Let the swapping begin!

Heidi has a plateful of deliciousness (and blogged about it last week!)

My finished cookies!

Steve and I. He wasn't really a guest, but since he lives here too, I suppose it was okay that he came downstairs for a snack ;)

Thanks to the ladies who were able to come, it was so much fun!

Do you have any holiday party traditions that you take part in?

knitting!

I learned to knit over the weekend, thanks to Jennifer! We began the afternoon with brunch at Kramerbooks Afterwords Cafe, then wandered through the Dupont Farmers Market, then went to Looped Yarn Works, where I purchased needles and two things of yarn. Then we went to Hello Cupcake and she gave me a lesson! I have a few more rows than this right now, but it's a start!

Do you knit? Any advice for me??

poll of the day

Oh hey! I have a blog! It seems it has been a bit forgotten as of late. No good reason why. Sometimes this happens, eh? Summertime and the living is easy? Something like that?

So, today's poll- when going on a long(ish) trip, when do you begin packing and are you terribly organized about it? Do you plan outfits in advance and pack accordingly? Or do you just toss a variety of things into your suitcase and wing it?

source

I'm not the most organized of packers. I don't really plan outfits in advance, with a few exceptions, so I just pack what I think I'll want to wear. Of course, I never wear everything that I pack! I was home in NH for the 4th of July weekend, so 2.5 days and had about eight outfit combinations and 12 pairs of undies. Seriously :) Maybe I need a method to my madness?

Friday night, Steve and I are leaving for the UK for the week! We fly out of BWI that night, have a stopover in London and then land in Glasgow on Saturday around 2pm local time. We'll be there one night, staying with friends, and then are driving down into England to stay with friends there for two nights before heading back into Scotland to the Highlands! Eventually, ie Thursday, we'll be back in Glasgow for a friend's wedding to end the week.

I'm so excited! It's been a while since I've had a good, real vacation like this and I really need it!

Are you going anywhere fun this summer?

tasty tuesday and other fun stuff

Happy Tuesday!

I've been featured today on Scarlet Threads blog with my chicken pot pie recipe! I've posted it here already, but go have a look, in case you missed it the first time around.

Speaking of Scarlet Threads, I have some exciting news regarding them, but I will save that for another post. Oooh, the suspense! It involves me, them, and a giveaway! So, stay tuned!

Also! I will be hosting an online stationary party next week! I've had a giveaway with them before, but Chloe of English Tea Paperie does really marvelous work. I just love her. She's so sweet and easy to work with, and amazingly talented! Monograms galore! So, stay tuned for that announcement as well, next week!

Also- DC girls- anyone interested in joining my book club? Two of my best girls, Heidi and Liz, and I have had an on and off again bookclub for the past few years and are getting it started again next month. If you are interested in joining us, please let me know! Must love good books, good conversation and good wine :)

How's your Tuesday looking?

on bridesmaids

This is a post that I wrote in September, but for some reason, it didn't get published. I just noticed it, and thought I'd post it now.

Over the weekend, I had three of my favorite girls in town for a visit. It was wonderful, in many, many ways. We studied together in Krakow, Poland and shared some really amazing experiences. One of the girls is in Boston, one in Philly and the third recently married a Scottish guy, had a baby and is living in Glasgow! Our lives are very different from the simple carefree days we shared, but we are forever linked by our memories of that incredible time.

We spent the weekend laughing and eating, for the most part. We had plans to visit some VA wineries, but ended up just hanging around the city and it was perfect. We talked about everything under the sun, looking at photos of Krakow and just laughed laughed laughed.

One of the girls told us about a wedding she attended in San Diego recently, for a college friend of hers. The friend is our age (30-31) and had seven bridesmaids. My friend seemed to think that this was a bit much. She said something like "now that we are in our thirties, it just seems silly to have that many bridesmaids."

Do you think this is true? If you are married, how many bridesmaids did you have? If you aren't yet married, how many do you think you might have? How many bridesmaids is too many, and does your age make a difference?

on bridesmaids

This is a post that I wrote in September, but for some reason, it didn't get published. I just noticed it, and thought I'd post it now.

Over the weekend, I had three of my favorite girls in town for a visit. It was wonderful, in many, many ways. We studied together in Krakow, Poland and shared some really amazing experiences. One of the girls is in Boston, one in Philly and the third recently married a Scottish guy, had a baby and is living in Glasgow! Our lives are very different from the simple carefree days we shared, but we are forever linked by our memories of that incredible time.

We spent the weekend laughing and eating, for the most part. We had plans to visit some VA wineries, but ended up just hanging around the city and it was perfect. We talked about everything under the sun, looking at photos of Krakow and just laughed laughed laughed.

One of the girls told us about a wedding she attended in San Diego recently, for a college friend of hers. The friend is our age (30-31) and had seven bridesmaids. My friend seemed to think that this was a bit much. She said something like "now that we are in our thirties, it just seems silly to have that many bridesmaids."

Do you think this is true? If you are married, how many bridesmaids did you have? If you aren't yet married, how many do you think you might have? How many bridesmaids is too many, and does your age make a difference?

birthday spending

Steve's birthday is coming up in a few weeks and he's going to be 35! Eeeek! I've been thinking of ideas for festivities, and I want to do something fun, of course. I have one idea that I am doing, though I won't write it here now, just in case he reads this (he does very occasionally!), but it is super great and I know he'll love it.

His birthday is the 13th of September, a Monday this year. I was thinking of having people over Sunday and making a cake/cupcakes, and maybe going to a pub for a while, but I feel like we always do that and that gets old, like him! ;)

Nearby here, there is a ropes course that sounds really fun. Has anyone ever done something like this? It has ziplines, a ropes course and all sorts of obstacles. When you go, you have a 30 minute training session and then two to three hours of fun on the course. It is $55 a person and that includes the rental for equipment and such.

Do you think this is too much to ask people to spend? It isn't as though I'd invite a huge random group of people, it would all be close friends. Would you be annoyed if someone asked you to spend this much for someone elses birthday?

Thoughts? Ideas?

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?

run for your life!

Steve ran a 5K this weekend! It was for work, as there was a team of people who trekked to Columbia, MD at 7:30am. Yes, I went too. What a good, supportive girlfriend I am, eh? :)

Here's Steve, before-



Here's Steve, after-




He finished in about 35 minutes, which for his first ever 5K, wasn't bad! He came in well before many other runners, and met his goal of not being the last from his team to finish :)

I was so proud!

It was kind of cool being there, surrounded by all these runners. It was so early, but they had so much energy. Runners give off a cool vibe, and now I kind of want to be a runner too! It was rather inspiring, I thought.

My main reason for not running is my bad knee. I played field hockey in high school, and that did some damage to it, but it would be so good for me to run. Maybe I should get a good brace and take a jog around the park.

This may sound stupid, but I've never bought a pair of sneakers! Of course, I've always had them, but my aunt used to work for Nike, so she'd get them for us for free. It was great- we'd get cleats and sneakers, and shorts and tshirts, and whatever else we needed. Maybe I should have been sportier?! The sneakers I have now are way old, so old that I am embarrassed to say how long I've had them, so I think it is time to find a new pair!

Any suggestions for a new pair of sneaks?

to dress or not to dress?

Last week, I had a sushi and movie date in Georgetown after work with one of my favorite girls. My office isn't too far from there, so I knew I had some time to run into Anthropologie first. I also had birthday money that I hadn't spent yet.

By the way, I want to live in the anthro store. It just smells so darn good in there.

I found some goodies, which I will post about later, but I also found this dress---


It's black velvet, and the back is just like the front, with the scoop neck. The sash is almost a lime green with white polka dots. It was in the clearance corner for $39.99, which if you shop at anthro, you know is a steal. It was my size, so I grabbed it without trying it on, since there wasn't time. I tried it on, and it fits, but I can't decide if I like it. I'm not sure if the black velvet is too much. On its own, I feel like it would be fine, but maybe the sash throws everything off?

What do you think? Keep? Return?

thirty-somethings, all at once

The Chinese say that this is the year of the tiger, but for me, it is the year of the 30-something, as a good number of my friends are turning 30. I still have no idea how this is happening! I feel no older than 24! I miss 24- it was such a good year!

I'm kicking off my 30's on Sunday (oy vey!). A friend's husband is 30 a few days later. A good college friend is 30 the beginning of February. And so on, and so on, and so on. I won't take you through my next twelve months of birthdays, but rest assured, they are all written in my calendar in pink pen!

The end of February I have two 30th birthdays; one the 22nd and one the 26th. The 22nd is for my oldest friend in the world, H. She was born almost one month after me (I'm the 24th, she's the 22nd) and our parents lived across the street from each other when we were born and so obviously we were friends. The birthday on the 26th is for one of my best friends from high school, D. H lives in my hometown and is having festivities on the 27th of February, a Saturday. D lives in NYC and I got an email from his girlfriend this morning indicating birthday festivities on the 26th, the Friday, his actual birthday.

I was thinking of going home for H's birthday, as my parents will be at her party, along with other family friends. Of course I want to go to D's as well! NYC isn't too far from DC, and NH isn't too far from NYC, right?

Would I be crazy to try both? Take the Chinatown bus to NYC Friday afternoon, then a bus (or maybe fly?) to NH from NYC Saturday morning and then fly back to DC Sunday? Maybe I should take the Friday or the Monday off?

I mean, I did two weddings in one weekend in two different states...two 30th's should be a piece of cake (pun intended!), right?

goodbye June, where did you go?

It's July? Really? How did that happen? Wasn't it just the middle of April? Alas, July is here, what more can I say?


This past weekend was really, really lovely. I was home in NH, just for Saturday to Monday. Of course, trips home are never long enough, but that is what makes them so very special, because I appreciate them that much more, I think. One of my very oldest and dearest friends turned 30 last weekend and her husband organized a big fiesta for her. She is a French teacher at the local high school and one of my favorite Francophiles, but hey, even they need a margarita once in a while ;) It was so, so nice to see her though. She has two babies, a four year old and an almost two year old and I can't get over how much they look like her! Some other old friends were there, including one who had a baby in February, so I got to hold and play with the cutest, chubbiest baby you've ever seen! Laughing and sharing old stories, being surrounded by old friends, it was just what I needed. There is something so special about old friends; the ones who have known you the longest, long before you were who you are today. They are the ones who have helped you get there, and I am so glad to have these people in my life.


Of course, I saw my grandmother too, who is doing so incredibly after her surgery last February. She's amazing, she really is. I went to my best friend's house and had breakfast with her and her husband, and little boy, my godson, who will be two this weekend (4th of July baby!). Since I am brilliant, I left his birthday presents here in DC, so I'll need to mail them and they'll be late. Well, one of the gifts is a savings bond, so that will take some time anyway. Once he is old enough to understand what those are, he will probably hate me for sending such boring gifts!


My mother also brought out her old sewing machine and I made a few more potholders. I'll post pictures later. My cousin is flying home tomorrow and will drive back with the machine next week, as he's bringing back some furniture too, and a few other things. I acquired a good bit of kitchen items too (long story), including a cast iron meat grinder! I have no idea what I will ever use that for, but it amused me too much to leave behind! Now I just need a bigger kitchen....


In other news, I decided at the last minute to take two classes during the second summer session. They begin next week, so from 7/6-8/14, I will have classes Monday-Thursday, 6-9:30pm. Awesome. At least that will complete my requirements for the degree....


How was your weekend?


PS. I think my blog might need a makeover. What do you think?

my purse strings are empty

When did life become so expensive? By that, I don't even mean the "normal" things, like rent, utilities, groceries, etc (though grocery shopping has become a bit ridiculous lately, would you agree?). I am speaking of the extracurricular activities that life has to offer. It looks like this summer won't come cheap.

Today in the mail, I received an invitation to a good friend from college's baby shower. She and her husband are expecting their first baby in September (a boy!) and I am so, so happy for them. They are college sweethearts and couldn't be more in love. She and I studied abroad together and had some really great adventures (remind me to tell the story about how we walked to Germany one day). The shower is next month, in CT. Tonight I received an email about further confirmation for a bachelorette party for the friend who I am a bridesmaid for. The wedding is in October, the bachelorette is the same weekend as the shower, in August, in MA. Two weeks later, Labor Day weekend, I have a wedding in upstate NY for another college friend.

These are just a few of the events I have in the next few months!

I'm really looking forward to these events, but I guess I better start making more potholders and selling them in my etsy shop, in order to fund these activities!

Like they say, I should have been born rich instead of beautiful ;)

welcome to blogland, friends

I had an email this morning from my best friend. It seems she's started a blog. Several friends have blogs, this isn't a brand-new thing, though most of them don't know about my blog. I am not exactly anonymous, as I do post pictures from time to time, though I don't think I post too many details that I shouldn't be. Another friend from home has a blog, and whenever I comment on hers, I log out of blogger and comment as anonymous, though I write "love, Lexi," so that she knows that it is me. I've been toying with the idea of telling her of my blog, but asking her not to list me on her blog list, as my mother reads her blog, along with her mother, who is a close friend of my own mother, as our family's have been friends for most of my life. Now that same debate extends to my best friend. Do I tell her about my blog?

It's not as though I write anything bad here, and frankly, most of what I write, they know about anyway, so it is hardly a big secret. Still though, I like the idea of having some sense of privacy. Steve knows about my blog, though he doesn't read it. He's seen it, and has read a few entries here and there, but for the most part, he doesn't read it (which is probably a good thing, hehe!).

Does your family/close friends know of your blog? Why or why not?

how to mend a broken friendship

CNN posted an article today about the breakup of a friendship, which came just as one of mine seems to have ended. While this friend wasn't my best friend, that didn't make it hurt it any less. I met her a few years ago, as she was dating a friend of Steve's. They'd had a rocky relationship over the course of the last few years and it ended finally in January. Insert- when I say finally, in this instance, I don't mean that to say it finally happened...I mean that they had broken up a few times and gotten back together, but this time, I'm pretty sure it is final. When it happened, she called, upset and crying, of course. I did my best to be supportive and in the aftermath, I sent emails and such, to see how she was and if she wanted to get together. She rarely replied. A few weeks ago, I was removed as a facebook friend. I sent her a message via fb and also an email, asking if I did something to upset her and never heard a word back. I thought about sending a card or something, or a longer email, but I don't know that I will. I'm sure she won't reply, which will just upset me all over again.

It makes me sad when these things happen, especially with no wrong-doing by anyone. I tried to be a good friend, and I thought I was, but as I've learned in life, you can't force a friendship. Have you read the poem, reason, season and lifetime friends? Here it is---


Reason, Season, or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty; to provide you with guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
— Unknown

I suppose all I can do is be thankful for the friendship we shared and be grateful for the season that she was a part of my life.

baby time!

I found out a few weeks ago that a close college friend and her husband are expecting a baby in September! They live in CT, so I haven't seen them in ages, which makes me sad, but I couldn't be more excited for them. They've been married almost five years now and are college sweethearts. Sadly, I couldn't go to their wedding, as it was the day before the election when I was in Canada. She and I studied in Luxembourg together and had many adventures there, including walking to both Germany and France (remind me to tell that story sometime!).

She emailed me this morning to say that they found out that it will be a BOY!

So, I need to start practicing making potholders now, so that I can make her a baby quilt in August!

When you have babies, do you want to find out if it's a boy or girl beforehand? Or do you want it to be a surprise? I want to be surprised and I already have decided that my nursery will be decorated with Peter Rabbit, since he's my favorite!

good day sunshine

I woke up this morning and it was hot. Hot. Really hot. It was 90* all weekend! Yes, it is a nice break from the cold, but I'm not sure if I am ready for this heat just yet! I am so much more a cold weather girl. What about you? Do you prefer heat or cold?

Big news! Friday night, I had a sushi date with Magda and I tried TWO new sushi rolls! We went to Mate in Georgetown and I decided to try a volcano roll on my own. Then M coerced me into trying a spicy tuna roll as well. Seriously, that girl is manipulative ;) I'm a bit of a baby when it comes to sushi. I like the veggie rolls; ie, avocado, asparagus, cucumber, etc. I will also eat ones with crab and sometimes salmon, but not always. I once got something with smoked salmon in it, and disliked it so much that I used my chopstick to poke out the salmon and just ate the cream cheese and avocado! I refuse to eat eel and it is unlikely that I'll eat much raw stuff in the near future. Sashimi? Highly unlikely ever! However, I did try the spicy tuna, and I liked it! Magda was so proud of me that she wasn't upset when I didn't like the hot sake we ordered :)

I'm way behind with my correspondence. My best friend's wedding anniversary was yesterday and my aunt's birthday is today. Both cards will be dropped in the mailbox today. I have several other cards to buy and send. Majlinda, one of my Albanian girls, has a birthday at the end of May, so I need to get her present in the mail. I found the most adorable doll on etsy. I bought two of them, one for each girl, for their birthdays. Obviously it will take a few weeks to get to Albania, so I need to mail it this week!

Speaking of Albania, it seems they are making a formal application to join the European Union tomorrow. This is following the news that Iceland is apparently closer to joining as well. Sigh. When I was in Poland, my Master's thesis was written on Norway and Iceland and their reasons for remaining outside of the EU, and the implications of eastern enlargement of the EU to them (this was written in 2003, before the big ten enlargement of Poland and the others). My first Master's is in European Studies, and I spent my time in Krakow studying the EU and enlargement of the EU. Despite that, I'm a bit of a Euro-skeptic. Iceland, yes, they are having a few issues, but they'll be fine!

Dear Norway,

Please don't ever join the EU. Don't let them suck you in, you know you are better off without them.

Love, Lexilooo

xoxo

Oh yes, and on Saturday we went to the book sale at the Arlington library that I mentioned on Friday! I spent about $35 and came home with 20 books, including a few quilting books with patterns of things I can eventually make. I found a gorgeous book called "Coastal New England" that is all photographs. I also found a few childrens books (I collect them) that looked great, including a gorgeous hardcover copy of Eleanor, by Barbara Cooney. Do you know her work? She's an amazing artist- she did Miss Rumphius, which is one of my all-time favorites.

We went to WARL (Washington Animal Rescue League) yesterday where I fell in love with a beagle called Oscar. He's adorable. I need him.

The Red Sox swept the Yankees this weekend! This included a steal of home by Jacoby Ellsbury!

I took the link to my blog off of my twitter profile. More of my "real life" friends are joining twitter, including a co-worker and right now, I'd prefer to keep the blog low profile. Some people know about it, which is fine, but I'd rather be the one to tell them, then them finding it on their own.

I was so sad to hear that Bea Arthur has passed away. Thank you for being a friend...

Oh and huge congrats to Katelin, who got engaged over the weekend, on her birthday! Happy birthday and congratulations to you and Matt!

I'm pretty sure this is field hockey weather

This weekend reminded me of why I like fall so much. Cool, crisp and perfect, aside from the partial rain on Saturday. Depsite the forecast, Steve and I were out and about on Saturday with a few things in mind. First we stopped at the Arlington Library for their semi-annual used book sale. They do it in the fall and spring and I mark the day on my calendar because I love it so much. The books are mostly used, though I've scored new books before, including this weekend, finding a new hardcover of Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me for $4. Awesome. I spent $24 this weekend and came back with 14 books, four of those being brand-new coloring books marked .50 each to send to my Albanian babes.

Then we left and went out to Cox Farm for pumpkins. Unfortunately, it was pouring then, so we quickly got pumpkins and left. We went last year too, and went on a hay ride and played with baby goats.

On Sunday, Magda and I went to two wineries where we tasted several lovely blends. It was simply gorgeous- really, the weather couldn't have been better and the company was grand! At the first place, we bought a bottle and sat outside with it and enjoyed the sun, music and conversation. The second was decorated a bit for Halloween with spooky goblets on their mantle. I bought two bottles at each, I believe M bought one or two as well.

Today I began the new job, finally! I was off all last week, waiting on paperwork and whatnot, and it was all ready today. It went well, I think I'll be happy there. Unfortunately, I found out that my office is in fact open the day after Thanksgiving. Booooo. My boss did say that if I had plans to go home, it was okay, but honestly, I hadn't made any plans yet, because I thought I'd better wait. It was a good thing I did, because Dec 1-2, the Monday and Tuesday after the holiday, we have a big board meeting. She said I can take off an extended break at Christmas though, so I guess it makes up for it. Still, I'm disappointed, but I guess there isn't much I can do about it.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend---

This was a real pumpkin, made to look like a cheeseburger! So cool.

The wine, so delish.

Enjoying my wine, and some spinach artichoke dip!

He sang. He was good.

I think I want a winery of my own.

Still enjoying, maybe a bit too much by this point!

Inside La Grange

Halloween!

How was your weekend?