horsing around

The equestrian look has been going around for quite some time now and I am just now getting into it a bit. It's funny to me, because I rode for years. I began riding when I was nine and rode and competed all through high school and college. With the exception of one lesson last summer, with my mother, who now rides, I haven't been on a horse in at least six years. It's sad to me, because it was such a big part of my life and I loved it. I'd love to ride again, but stables in DC are expensive and harder to get to, since I don't have a car and it is unlikely that the metro runs out to wherever they are! Maybe I should look into it though....

Over the weekend, we stayed at a lovely B&B called Merritt Hill Manor in Penn Yan, NY. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend it. It was gorgeous. I didn't take any photos of the inside, but several from outside (and the view!) that I will post later. We stayed in room 3, the Matthew Joseph room. It's hard to tell from this photo, but the room (and the bathroom!) had the equestrian look going on, and I loved it.


You can't see from the photo, but to the right of that chair in the corner are two windows facing east where we saw the most amazing sunrise. The photo also doesn't allow you to see the details, but this room reminded me of my love for all things equestrian.

Then I found this blog post that detailed a lot of looks that I like (like the leather trunks!). It is so classic and pulled-together looking. Right now, my tiny apartment doesn't allow for much of it, but maybe someday? Also, look at these cute pieces. I should check out some antique shops...I'm sure I could find something similar!

Since I rode for so long, I already have most of the clothing, though I admit, I wouldn't wear much of it outside the barn :) I do have the tall leather boots though. Maybe I should have them cleaned and polished and could wear them with a pair of skinny jeans? Would that be too much?

What about you? What do you think of the equestrian look? Is it something you'd try?

Soxyyyyyyyyy!

Just got tickets for the Red Sox/Nationals game here in DC for next Thursday night!

Wahoooo!

You can find me sporting a Varitek shirt :)

Boston, you know we love you madly

So as you may (or may not) know, I am a Red Sox fan. As you may also know, if you are a fan, the Sox will be in DC in June for a three game series against the Nats. This is exciting, since it's inter-league play. Plus, the Red Sox are awesome :)

So anyway, about a month or so ago, I was reading about how to get tickets for this series. In order to do so, you had to put your name into a raffle. Rather then just buying tickets from the site as you would for any other game, you had to enter your email and then you'd get an email a few weeks later letting you know if you were or were not selected to buy tickets, should you wish to. Of course, I entered my email. I also asked Steve, my parents, my sister and a few friends to do the same thing.

Last night, I got an email saying I wasn't selected to purchase tickets. I was sad, but got over it quickly, because the Nats are offering another sort of package where you can buy tickets for nine games and the Sox were in one of those packages. However, my sister called me last night to tell me that she got an email saying that she was selected to buy tickets! Steve also got that email! So, boyfriend and sister can buy for tickets for each of the three games. That would be 24 tickets. This morning, I got to work and had an email from my father and one of my best friends saying that they were also selected to purchase tickets! So me, the one who really wants the tickets, wasn't selected, but four others that didn't care as much could! Granted, my sister, father and Heather are all big fans, but my parents are in NH, my sister is in Boston and Heather is in CT and these are mid week games (Tuesday-Thursday), so unfortunately, it is unlikely that they can come down.

All in all, I have the opportunity for 48 tickets for the Red Sox in June! I am really hoping that my boyfriend Joshie Beckett is pitching!

Any Sox fans out there?

it's only Tuesday?

I just made a cup of tea, vanilla, if you were wondering, but it's awful. Boooo.

How was your weekend? Okay? Fun? Relaxing? Mine was...in a word, busy! Saturday we had to go to Steve's company picnic, which was up in Columbia, MD. They had pina colada slushies, which was clearly the thing that made the drive worth it. They were labeled "adults only," so there must have had a little somethin' somethin' in there. Afterwards, we drove down to Crystal City to watch the Iowa-Iowa State football game. I could care less about football of any kind, but Steve and his friends were there to support their alma matter (did I spell that right?), who lost. Oh well.

Then we had this weird wedding thing. I'll explain. Some acquaintences of ours were married in July in Turkey (they are both Turkish), so they had a "reception" here. It was at the clubhouse of the condo association they live in. We had very little details of the event, especially the attire. Since we'd been picnicing and gaming, I was in capris and a shirt...clearly not wedding-wear. They were having it out in McLean and we didn't want to go back to DC, so we stopped at Pentagon City...an obvious solution. I bought this dress at the Gap, but wore it like in the second picture, because I looked like an idiot when I belted it. Steve bought a pair of dark jeans and a button down shirt. Jeans you say? For a wedding? Yes, jeans. This is because when the bride was asked what the attire was, she said to wear what you wear when you go clubbing. Which I don't. So, needless to say, I had no idea what to wear. Luckily, the dress was on sale for a whopping $23.99, which I thought was fine for a weird wedding reception for a couple I barely know. I was surprised I was invited, to be honest. I've met her a few times, she's very nice, but I haven't seen her in at least a year and a half, and frankly, if I saw her on the street, I wouldn't recognize her.

At least the cake was good.

happy trails to you

Many people run, yes? Yes. Me? No. I don't run. Ever. I am not a runner. At all. No. Not me.

In high school, I played field hockey. Yes, this required running. However, because I had a big stick in my hands and was chasing a small ball around a large field in a short plaid skirt, I didn't think about the running. I thought about getting the ball past the big bad goalie.

Throughout the four years of high school field hockey, I wore a brace on my knee, because of knee pain when running. This was/is not uncommon. I even saw a doctor who told me that surgery was really my best option. I declined this option, realizing that I wasn't going to be making a career of field hockey or be recruited to play field hockey for a D-1 school. I stuck to wearing the brace and taking a lot of advil before practices and games.

Now, several years after high school has ended, so has my field hockey "career" and I use the term career very loosely there. Since then, I don't think I've run. Seriously. I don't run. I always blamed it on my knees, more specifically my right knee.

This weekend, I had lunch with a few lady friends and the conversation turned to new sneakers and running. One mentioned that when picking out her new sneakers recently, the sales guy asked her to run around the store. I asked why, and she said that by doing that, he could tell what sort of runner she was and what sneakers would be best for her.

Maybe my problem all these years were bad sneakers! Maybe it's not my knee(s) after all, and I was just wearing poor footwear. Ironically, my aunt used to work for Nike, so I got free Nikes for years, but she worked in the office, having nothing to do with the actual sneakers.

Maybe I should go and find this place and do a run around, and have the sales guy tell me which sneaks might be best for me. Then I could buy some cute running shorts. Then maybe you'd want to go for a run with me.