Painting the town red: Part II

I'm about to seriously overwhelm you with photographs. My post yesterday would have been so much more fun if I could have included these then. Alas, I will count my blessings and be grateful I figured out how to post them at all. And so, to continue...

Our brief detour to WildWood, NJ for our boardwalk stroll...

Ah, nothing a nice cold one can't cure

 

Our B&B, featured above.

The lobby. Seriously, how cute?!

Our sitting room

Chandeliers everywhere!

Comfy cozy

Robes!

Hubs donning his new outfit

Excited for our romantic getway.. just a little :)

The first (& smallest) bottles of champagne

Starting the night off right

Moi.

Classing it up with our next bottle.

Love him.

My gorgeous jewels.

Perfect breakfast to end our perfectly delightful weekend

The best part about it all?! Another great (and long) weekend is upon us!

Painting the town red.

Image found HERE

My oh my. Where does one even begin? First and foremost, I will be honest and tell you that last weekend was not without flaws. Missteps were made. Some mine. Some others. I will not dwell on the fact, for instance, that in my flurry of packing, I somehow managed to forgot the top tier of our wedding cake. It just goes to show, it's truly a splendid weekend when even mistakes can't hamper the festivities. 

   It all kicked off, like most generally do, with Friday evening. Unfortunately enough, hubs and I were both feeling under the weather. A night in, enjoying pizza and a movie recommended by a co-worker, were just what the doctor ordered.  Even with all of the relaxation from the evening before, Saturday morning was still a push. The day still managed to start bright and early with breakfast in bed. Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise that both of us were low on energy reserves. All of the chores, spring cleaning and to-do lists were halted. Instead, we decided to take a spontaneous road trip and found ourselves checking out some of the surrounding suburbs which neither of us had previously ventured. It was so exciting to chat about the picture we see ourselves in a few years down the line. Next on the schedule? We (conveniently) found ourselves at the Outlets where I spoiled hubby rotten with whatever his little heart desired from J.Crew. For those of you who don't know, his birthday is the day after our anniversary so it was only fitting.  For his sake, I will not mention his age :)

    Sunday was the BIG day. Exactly one year from the date we married. It's amazing how it feels so long ago yet so near, all at the same time. To celebrate the special memory, we had planned a trip to Cape May, NJ to stay at our first B&B. On our way down, we decided to take a quick detour and visit the boardwalk of Wildwood. After our lovely stroll, we grabbed some grub at Tucker's and were on our way...

    It was love at first sight. Let me just tell you, Cape May is straight from the scenes of every romance novel, I swear to you. If you haven't yet had the pleasure of visiting this quaint little town, I highly recommend it. The streets are all lined with beautiful old Victorian style homes,  just moments away from the beach. We wined and dined at the Virginia Hotel, which is also where we had booked our stay. This B&B was so adorable that hubs practically had to force me to leave the next morning. We indulged in champagne, great conversation and a delicious dinner. I won't go into too much detail, because hey, some moments are left best between lovers, but suffice it to say that hubby and I will always reflect on this weekend with fond memories. It was absolutely perfect in all of the right places. I couldn't have asked for more.

Soo, I promise that I'm not intentionally cutting this post short but there appear to be some issues with blogger accepting my photographs... and they're the best part! As soon as I sort out how to fix this glitch, I'll post a photo story of our weekend. Pinky swear!

...

My sincerest apologies avid blog reader. I must leave you, yet another evening, in suspense. More coming soon.

Karma.

I had all but the best intentions to share my tale of anniversary #1, but sometimes there are moments in life that strike at the most unusual of times. And so I share instead this evening a story of perplexity. Tomorrow I promise a great many words of whimsical romance and love!


Tonight's tale:
    I'm not a very charitable person. This, my friends, is not an amiable trait. I wish it weren't so but, nevertheless, facts remain. With that being said, I did something quite out of the ordinary this afternoon. 
     I was shopping at the market, as my sister would say, when I found myself behind a gentleman experiencing very unpleasant credit card issues. To be more specific, his purchase was declined due to his card ringing up as fraudulent. Very unpleasant indeed! The employees hastily asked whether said customer had notified his credit card company that this particular card was lost or stolen. They then proceeded to ask whether he had an alternate form of payment. Note: Everyone within ear shot was now following this man's unfortunate affairs and trying to judge his reaction to such news. I can honestly tell you, as next customer in line, that he appeared more perplexed than anything. They then asked him to call his credit card company to inquire about the discrepancy. Just as he was mid-dial in compliance, their minds were changed and they requested instead that he step aside. The line had increased. The tension had risen. The frustration was mounting. The conversations that had ensued only lasted mere fractions of a minute but this.. THIS...was my shining moment. I, customer just yonder, stepped in from the sidelines and offered to pay for his goods! Alright, alright. I will not pretend that this was a great sacrafice. There were admittedly only 4 items. Still, this is very uncharacteristic of me. In case you're curious, after much reflection, I've come to the conclusion that my spontaneous moment of generosity struck me for perhaps the following reasons:


1) A splurge occurred recently on a new purse complete with magnetic close. This has succeeded in permanently de-magnetizing my debit card. Hit or miss, my card may or may not be declined on any given day. I felt this man's pain.
2) I was inpatient and knew if I ponied up I could probably exit the store more quickly. Selfish, but true.
3) Everywhere you turned, the grocery store boasted "WIC Approved" signs which perhaps, unconsciously, reminded me of how fortunate I am. 
4) The man seemed overall quite helpless. I felt embarrassed for him.
5) I checked the balance on a gift card I recently used and it was negative. I somehow managed to spend more than I had received. How lucky of me!


Regardless of the actual reason, I share this story not to limelight my charitable efforts (ok, maybe just a little) but to share instead the end result of my good-doing. Unfortunate credit card man turned to me, quite bewildered, with barely a thank you audible, while the cashier asked me questioningly whether I really wanted to pay for this man's groceries. Everyone was astonishingly confused at the mere mention of generosity. I paid. He left. The cashier proceeded to ring my groceries. Now this, I can say, I've never experienced before. I threw the entire cast and crew for a loop. Seriously. I actually managed to confuse my audience by providing such a random act of kindness. Is kindness so rare nowadays that it actually startles the witness?! How sad but true.


Maybe karma will catch up with me later...

A lesson in gender wars.

Why, I ask of you, is it that men and women possess such differing styles of handwriting? If you take a peek at history, it was men first who were blessed with penmanship, not women. And by blessed, I really mean that only men were allowed to read and write. 

So, fast forward a few centuries to today. Have you ever stopped, just for a moment, to ponder this great divide in genders? I bet that you can surmise, with almost perfect certainty, that sloppy, illegible and/or just plain, how shall I say it....ugly handwriting is no doubt the product of some MAN. Of course, us ladies, we possess only the most prettiest, curviest, and clearest of penmanship. But really, how strange?! And do we judge not the man who has pretty handwriting? Gasp! But of course not... right?

Are these distinct differences learned behaviors? Are elementary school teachers only focusing their attention on the cute little girls with ribbons in their hair when lessons of handwriting & cursive are being taught? What in the world created this divide???

A pocket full of pondering for you.

Happy Friday!

Goody bag.

Perfect timing. Just on the heels of my extremely dehydrating weekend, in comes a present from the post office... 

Last week, I decided to splurge on some sun protection. Yes, it is that time of year again. And so, I excitedly hit up the Clarins website to scour the virtual shelves, found here. I must have gotten a little greedy. Somehow, mysteriously, light-as-a-feather loose powder snuck into my cart. I tell you this tale because ALL of the products featured below were FREE. It was like I got to walk away from my shopping excursion with an extra goody bag. What a sample sale! Sometimes splurging is not so bad after all apparently :) With that being said, excuse me while I go spoil myself in a full body pampering frenzy. I highly recommend you do the same!

A walk down memory lane.

Blue shots. Pink shots. Miller Lite. Jager bombs. Apricot wheat beer in those "glass thingies"(aka jugs). You name it. We drank it. This weekend I had the lovely pleasure of taking a trip to my old stomping ground. It was a bumpy start to the ride, quite literally, but oh the memories. College. Unfortunately our pseudo bar crawl only consisted of two locations. Pickles got the best of us. Old man pickle was still hanging around, just in case you were wondering. I won't bore you with the inside jokes which became the theme of the weekend. Fetal matter anyone? Ok, sorry. I had to slip in just one. It was such a great time catching up with my ladies and remembering what it's like to have drinks sent to you from across the bar ;)

No really. I wasn't kidding about those pretty colored shots.

I have to say, although I love and appreciate my youthful time I spent in that magical town, it was the very first visit that I didn't yearn for a time machine. What a pleasant surprise. Could it be!? Could I actually be growing into this grown up lifestyle. Oh my. Whatever will become of me...


Ps. I do not look like Miranda. Please tell me I'm not Miranda. Ok, so maybe two inside jokes. I just had to throw in one last reference which only those keeping their bar stools warm nearby would appreciate. Please do forgive me!

Indulgence.

This week has been amazing. Amazingly productive, that is. Between jogs in the park, grocery shopping, gardening and cleaning... I really haven't stopped for a breather. Last night an old co-worker came over for some wine and chit chat and on tomorrow night's menu is a college throw-back night in State College, complete with two of my pretty ladies. Tonight? A little bit of indulgence. I was able to leave work at noon today and Hubby's celebrating, like only men can do, on a bachelor party. It's just me and my babies tonight.

The tiger who prowls my house.

My little snuggle bug.

What better indulgence than to cuddle up in bed and watch my all-time favorite classic? 

Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Hope you're enjoying your evening as well!

It's a walk in the park.

    I've been running. Ok really, who are we kidding. It's mostly been walking with some jogging thrown in for good measure. I happened to stumble upon this free gym near my office.  It's called a national park. Because here's the thing. I sit inside all.day.long. I don't even face a window. In past days/weeks/months, many times I came home and proceeded to sit some more on my couch. Inside. This, if you can't tell, is a whole lot of sitting. Inside. In fact, I've convinced myself that those seated habits have actually caused the slow process of pancaking my butt*.  So, I paid a little visit to the park recently. Waived hello, if you will. No obligations. No aspirations to run a marathon**.  No pushing myself to the limit. No forcing myself on days I really would rather be doing something else. None of that. The objective has simply been to enjoy strolling outside where I can soak up the nice weather. And I mean, hey, if I just so happen to tone up in the process, well, you won't find me complaining...

     And therein lies the problem friends. 

     I have a syndrome. I call it Planning Syndrome. Occasionally I derive more enjoyment out of the act of planning than the actual event itself. Does anyone else share in this conundrum? The thing with planning is this: It takes a lot of forecasting into the future, prepping and preparing. At the heart of it, there's a goal. Always a goal. There's lots of inspiration and motivation. All of this is well and good except that there's this very fine line between goals for the future and then not appreciating the present. So, back to my extremely enjoyable strolls through the park, free of distraction except for the strangers I pass and the thoughts in my head. They've been so enjoyable that I've found myself having to fight off the little voice in my head telling me to plan ahead. 

      Long ago, I was programmed to equate any form of exercise with losing weight. Ironically, I've never actually lost any weight from exercising. In high school, I religiously said hello to the gym. I was not thin in high school. 

     Sooo, I'm strolling (or jogging) along enjoying the weather and BAM. Where do my thoughts go? What month is it again?! Oh, that's right. It's the infamous Month of the Swimsuit. DUN DUN DUN. People all across the country are cursing their forgotten New Years Eve resolutions right about now. Hello May. The problem is that the second I start thinking about tomorrow's bathing suit, I instantly lose sight of the enjoyment in today. So, here's to putting off purchasing that itsy bitsy yellow polka dot bikini for another day. Hello TODAY.


 *Pancake butt - The act of flattening ones buttocks.
**Marathon runners - Please don't take offense that my non-athletic self does not one to join your club. You are in a league all your own. And you're crazy.

The soundtrack to my life.

Florence + the Machine = Current music to my ears

A little chaotic, a lot loud, and best of all, energizing. I can't get enough of this singer's eclectic sound. It makes absolutely no difference that I can't even tell what she's singing about. Perfect for any hot, sunny day. Windows down while driving, a must. Let summer begin!
(Image found here)

Googlephony.

It's amazing. Have you tried it yet? I couldn't find my cell (typical) and hubby hasn't arrived home yet. So, instead of scrambling to find someone on facebook or gchat & asking them to call my number, you know what I resorted to instead? I gave that little gmail phone symbol a whirl. You know, the one that's been staring at me for the past few months. I actually called myself from my computer. How amazing is that?! Well, I'll tell you. It's incredible. 

Prediction: Phone, camera, computer, tv - It'll all eventually just be one device. Now, confession. I stole this prediction from one of my college professors. We're on our way though aren't we?!

Success.

I’m tired.  I tell you this not as an excuse but as a precaution. Please don’t misterpret my blundt writing for lack of enthusiam. I am, afterall, exhausted and still writing about this weekend. It was just that good. 

May I proudly introduce...

The 1st Annual Family Flowering Day

Saturday was, as the weatherman so accurately agreed, a perfect 10. Our backyard rehab turned out beautifully. I honestly can’t tell you how incredibly grateful I am to the extra sets of hands who helped us renovate our little plot of sad, overgrown terraine into a backyard full of manicured and edged flower beds. Its so nice, in fact, that we inspired not one, but TWO, of our neighbors to show their own backyards a little lovin'.

The favors.

The refreshments.

The men {grunt}

All of my little worker bees.

 Please keep in mind that we live in a very urban area. Hubby and I joke that we're land barons with this little section of yard we call our own. So, I just HAVE to highlight some of my new favorite spots. But first, let me take you on a trip down memory lane to the time when we first purchased this home:

And NOW, may I introduce to you the new and improved backyard!

These photographs unfortunately don't even do it justice.

Burger anyone?

I absolutely HAD to have this hydrangea when I saw these gorgeous colors

Some of my favorite flowers, which didn't show up well in the above photographs.

Present from my mommy.

Hope you had a faboosh weekend as well!