Baby Blues

Hello!  It's been quite awhile.  The busy recruiting season at work is upon us.  Bye bye free time...

I did take a break from all the craziness last weekend and headed to North Carolina to visit Jill and her family, including my goddaughter Emma.  She's 7 months old now -- time flies!  I've missed them a ton and had such a good time.

We did a mini-photo shoot on Sunday.  Somebody loves the camera!

Isn't this the cutest little Ralph Lauren dress?!

 Hooray for watermelon season!

Classic!  Cooper loves kids.

Southerners call these "ham hocks." Haha.

Look at those baby blues. One last outfit change...

It was really hard returning from NC and diving right back into work, but I know it will be September before I know it and time for a much need vacation!  Can't wait.

In other news, I think my IT band issue is pretty much cleared up (I ran 2 miles last week without too much pain), so I have to get back into a running routine.  I did not do a race in May, but I have a 5k and a 10k scheduled for June, so I'm OK with that.  Now just have to get motivation back on my side.  All in good time. 

I hope to be back to regularly blogging soon, too.  It's almost 1:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and this is literally the first time I've had a free couple of hours to blog in weeks, so be patient with me.  :o)

Philly Bound

In a few hours, I'm hitting the road and heading to the Philadelphia area to spend the weekend with my friend Elena.  I'm oh.so.excited!  

The rental car doesn't have a navigation system, so I'm depending on my sidekick to step in as Magellan.  But not to worry, he's polishing up those map reading skills this morning!

Have a great weekend :)

Holy Burrito

I couldn't leave California without one awesomely-authentic Mexican meal, so this morning, after another long walk down on the beach, I headed to Lily's Cafe.

This place is amazing. It's a little hole in the wall, but cheap and so satisfying.  It's frequented by locals and somewhat of a hidden gem.  I had the breakfast burrito.  O.m.g.

Featuring: a fresh tortilla, scrambled eggs, cheese, refried beans and bacon.  And I also added some hot sauce and salsa to spice things up.  Two million calories later, I'm in a total food coma. But it was worth it!

It's just about time for me to shower and start packing (boo).  We are having dinner with one of my mom's friends, then I'm off to LAX to catch the red-eye back to DC tonight.   While the East Coast will always be my home, spending time in California reminds me not to take life (or myself) too seriously, and to just stop and enjoy the scenery once and awhile.

And what awesome scenery it is.

See you on the flip!

California Dreamin'

Hello from California!

After a busy couple days of traveling and meetings, I'm finally spending some quality time with my mom.  Remember how I said the weather was going to be gross?  I lied.  Or really, the weather forecast lied.  It's beautiful and sunny today, and I feel energized and can't wait for some warmer temps in DC.

We took advantage of the nice weather and walked along the beach for three hours this morning.  It was great workout, and we even stopped along the way to watch a local surfing competition.  If I come back in another life, I want to be a surfer.  It looks hard but so fun!

This afternoon we had lunch at the Country Mart and then headed to check out the newly renovated Malibu Lumber Yard.   It used to be an actual lumber yard and hardware store, and now it's a posh shopping area with restaurants and a great outdoor area with ping-pong tables, lounge chairs and even 12-foot tall fish tanks.  It's very California, but I enjoyed it.

Pretty, huh?  Before we left, I of course had to stop at Crumbs and get a treat for later! :-)

I hope everyone is having a great weekend, and good luck to my friends running the GW Parkway Classic tomorrow morning!  You'll do great!

P.S. Krista has a Larabar giveaway on her blog.  Check it out!

Converted

I know this makes me a bit of an odd ball, but I'm usually not a huge fan of yogurt.  Something about the consistency and the live cultures creeps me out.  But I'm happy to say that Greek yogurt has changed that.  In my best Paula Deen voice, "I'm converted ya'll!" 

I mostly stick to the Fage brand.  It's so good, but around $2 a yogurt.  As my Dad would say, "champagne taste, beer budget."  Well last week I hit up Harris Teeter, and saw there was a 4 for $5 special on Yoplait Greek yogurt.  I gave it a shot, and I'm so glad I did.

I've tried both the strawberry and blueberry flavors so far.  Both are great, and the nutrition stats are pretty good considering the fruit addition.

I think I'll still stick to Fage for cooking, but the Yoplait alternative is certainly cheaper for daily use.  Speaking of cooking with yogurt, I'm trying out this chicken slouvaki recipe next week.  It looks simple to make and delicious.

In other news... I'm heading to California tomorrow.  I'll be in business meetings on Thursday and Friday, and then spending Saturday and Sunday with my mom.  I'm so excited to see her, and to relax for a couple days to relax before flying back to DC.

Just to nip any of your weather-related jealousy in the bud:



Rain, rain go away...

If you have any favorite yogurt brands, flavors, recipes, etc. please let me know!  I definitely want to start using it more as a healthy substitute for some of the not so healthy things I love (sour cream, I'm looking at you).

Life's a Beach

I'm back -- bright eyed and bushy tailed!  Vacation was wonderful.  It was a very low-key week, which was relaxing and just what I needed.  We stayed at a resort on the far end of Grand Cayman, and while the weather wasn't perfect, we did get a few sunny days and I managed to get a little bit of a tan.  Hooray!   Here are a few pictures from the trip.

The view from our porch.  Life is good!

Sunrise on the beach.  So peaceful.

Baby palm. Adorable!

View down the beach, to the resort next door.

And our place, Grand Morritt's.

Best seat in the house!  This is my desktop wallpaper right now.  A welcome break from reality :)

Food all day, indeed.  I ate and ate.  

The parental unit, humoring while I make them do posed shots....

I was kicking myself for not bringing a zoom lens (I was using a 50mm 1.8) -- these wind surfers were  awesome and could 20 ft. jumps.  Impressive!

Mid-week, we ventured into Georgetown for some shopping.  The mother and I both scored sweet deals on watches.  I opted for a classic stainless steel (with some bling, of course):

  Michele Deco 16

Merry Christmas to me!  

Speaking of Christmas, I hope everyone had a great holiday!  After mass on Christmas Eve, we woke up for a big breakfast and opened up our gifts in front of our make shift tree (a plant with one string of lights.  I wish I were joking!).  Next year we'll be more festive, I promise :-)

Beach Reads

I'm off to Grand Cayman tomorrow, and can barely focus on anything today because I'm SO EXCITED!  Since I anticipate lots of down time over the next week (I'm definitely in need of some R&R), I've loaded up the Kindle with what are I hope are some good beach reads:

Definitely a mixed bag, but that's how I roll.  I'll take lots of pictures while away, and do my best to bring back some sunshine and warmth.  See you on the flip side!

Baby Steps

Something very important happened this weekend.  I fell in love.  With this angel:

As I mentioned last week, I spent the weekend in North Carolina visiting Jill and her family, including their newest addition, baby Emma.  Even though she's only six weeks old, this little bundle of joy captured my heart.  I'm one proud Godmother :-)

Emma just recently started smiling, and she makes the cutest faces:

Sleepy Emma (and Jill).  Yaaawn!

Love this one!  Adorable.

Sweet, sweet, sweet....



All smiles!

Can't wait to watch her grow.  So much love!

I Wanna Be A Billionaire!

My parent's pretty much stopped the traditional Christmas gift routine when my brother and I were in college.  Don't get me wrong, we always get something fun, but it's usually in the form of being invited on a trip, etc.  And we still get some stocking stuffers too, so we're not total scrooges.  It's also in part because we I usually buy whatever my heart desires. 

Lately I've worked on taming that habit, so while I still buy myself the less expensive stuff, I haven't made any larger purchases.  But I still think about them!  I should spend money for a living.... because I'm so damn good at it.  If I were a billionaire (or I'd settle for millionaire), here's what my Christmas list would look like:

A MacBook Pro

I love the MacBook Pro (I've actually never used a Mac, but I think I'll love it).  Since my current laptop is 4+ years old and on its last leg, I'll probably have to bite the bullet and make this purchase sometime in 2011.  I just wish it could be sooner and not deplete my bank account!  This is where being a billionaire (or dating one?) would come in handy.

A Canon 5D Mark II

I already bought a Canon T1i earlier this year, but I'm itching for something bigger and better already.  What can I say... champagne taste, beer budget.  Not that I don't love my current camera, but I know I'll being ready for an upgrade over the next couple of years, and the 5DMII would rock my world.  She's a beauty!  Maybe in 2012.  Or whenever I win the lottery. 

A Prime Lens (or Two)

Prime lenses have taken the place of designer shoes in my heart (well, maybe they just share the spot).  I'm all about the 50mm line right now.  I have the 50mm 1.8 and thinking practically, I have my eye on the 50mm 1.4 next.  I'd love to make the jump and get the 50mm 1.2 eventually. 

I always pick the most expensive hobbies.  I wish I liked to knit! :)

A Pair of Designer Boots

I lied about not lusting after designer shoes anymore.  I really heart these Simple Botta Tall Boots by Louboutin.  This would be a tricky purchase though, since I'd also need calf-reduction surgery to wear these bad boys.  Minor detail.  But In my dreams, I rock these boots on the regular.  Oui!

Yay, this is a fun game!  I could go on, but those are the few items I'd really want if the sky were the limit.  Not that I'm complaining about this year's gift, and my view for a week:

I'm leaving in 10 days... so excited!  Speaking of leaving, I'm off to North Carolina for the weekend to visit the Bartelt's, and their newest addition to the family, 6 week old Emma!  GAH - can't wait!