not so sparkly :(

So, obviously I haven't written in a while - this is due to having taken a month long business trip, during which C and I broke up. Imagine breaking up with someone literally thousands of miles away, knowing that they are alone, in the apartment you cosigned a lease on, with all of your stuff and your two kittens! It was traumatic, to say the least. Basically, it took a lot of good friends and a lot of free drinks to realize that I had been in an emotionally abusive relationship. I had alienated all of my friends (because if I hung out with them, C told me that I was clearly going out to meet different guys), I had become afraid to leave the apartment for more then an hour (because nothing took longer then an hour, and if it did then I was clearly lying about wherever I was, and since C didn't like to leave the apartment he had to depend on his male intuition to tell him this), and I had compromised a lot of my values and morals to please someone that wasn't anywhere near worth it (and obviously, someone who was worth it would never have asked me to do anything I didn't feel comfortable with).

Basically, C had Cole, the guy who had been staying on our couch the entire time we lived together, call one of the guys I work with, B, and tell B that C had committed suicide. This spread to my entire workplace (we had a conference hotel room that everyone met up in, and it's a fairly young crowd so we're all friends). I came back from tea (we were in Canada) to a room full of depressed looking guys, and was escorted into a room where I was put on B's phone with Cole. Cole proceeded to tell me that he had found C dead in our room, and I, obviously, started sobbing. Meanwhile, B, whose phone I was on and who had heard this whole story, proceeded to call the police in SD and report a suicide in our apartment, and as Cole and I continued talking, all of a sudden it turned to "C's going to the hospital" and then "C's in critical condition at the hospital" and then I was on the phone with C and he 'didn't know who I was'. It became obvious at this point that the whole scenario was made up, and I haven't spoken to him since. It was the most mortifying experience of my entire life, because it involved everyone I worked with, but more importantly, it took other people being involved for me to come to terms with the fact that this action was not abnormal for him.

Since then, my parents came out here and moved me to a new apartment in a totally different location, my girly from high school is moving out in December to be my roommate, and I have been trying to catch up on my lost year! It's been amazing because girls I thought I had drifted apart from have embraced me rejoining their circles, and because I completely forgot how fun it is to be single!! Unfortunately, I managed to wreck my car while reaching for Cheetos after the Marine Corps Ball last week, so I am now in the market for a car - suggestions?

And as a last sidenote, I was eating a little bag of oyster crackers last night, and they tasted funny, so I looked down in the bag and realized it was full of BUGS! YES! BUGS! and they were in my stomach because I had eaten them!!! So I promptly threw up and then yelled at our supply/food coordinator - I am so revolted :p




Better question - is this too formal for a company Christmas Party? The attire is cocktail/semi-formal. I work for a government organization, but the average age is 22. I am fairly/very high in the company (there are about 20 people above me and about 200 below) so I am trying to look fun and festive without being too revealing or too stuffy...everyone knows I am a sequins and sparkles girl, so I don't feel like this would be that big of a stretch, but I dunno...how do I go out afterward in this, you know! Carrie Underwood totally rocked it two years ago, though, and if her stylist thinks it's good enough for her, then it's probably good enough for little old me, right?

.labor day!.

So, I finished Brilliant, and the name is perfectly accurate - loved it! I loved every single bit of it and I am very happy having read it.
Unfortunately, I also finished Restless Virgins. I haven't been so bored by a book in a long time, but unlike most books, I couldn't find the heart to put it down. It tried so hard to be scintillating and gossipy, but instead it pretty much epitomized wordy and desperate. I definitely wouldn't recommend it.

Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, on the other hand, is back to great. Not surprising, given that Marian Keyes has a successful mountain of books, and besides - IT'S SET IN ENGLAND! It's a hefty 600 pages, and I'm only about 1/3 of the way through, and I just love it! Even though I've resisted picking up her other books (Sushi for Beginners has been all over the place recently), I'm really glad I saw this one at the library.

Today I'm trying to find a date to go see The House Bunny, that funny movie with Anna Faris and the sorority girls? But it's kind of difficult to find a person who isn't interested in getting drunk today! Including, but not limited to C and his friend who is staying with us (yes, the same friend who has been staying with us for months).

The question is, should I get drunk today? Now they're trying to convince me to go to the casino with them and nobody can go to the casino in the middle of the day sober!

.fraud! and reviews.

So, I did end up finishing Slummy Mummy, and as Erica (of Nautical Wedding and Nursing School) noted, it's not that good. This isn't to say that I didn't thoroughly enjoy it and bring it around with me, and I did absolutely adore the major plot twist at the end, but in all honesty I found the overall distracted and messy attitude of the main character to be a little bit disconcerting. Kind of like reading Curtis Sittenfield's Prep and feeling uncomfortable because of the painful self esteem issues the main character suffered with. All in all, I'd give it a 3.5/5, because while I certainly don't regret reading it and I had to finish it because I had a vested interest in the well being of the characters, I wouldn't read it again or give it as a gift. We watched 21 this morning - a bit much for a hangover morning, given that it's full of bright lights and glitzy Vegas stuff. This was probably a 3/5 star film for me - the main character was absolutely adorable and Kevin Spacey was as creepy as usual, but Kate Bosworth's "I am painfully beautiful and painfully bony" thing wore a little thin by the end of the film. The ending was also a bit cheezy and I enjoyed that the book had more details about the actual card tricks, while the movie skimmed over a lot of the finer points.
Finally, I am currently reading Brilliant, which I forgot to mention in my bevy of books. I wasn't expecting to like this book anywhere near as much as I do - the heroine is 40-something (she may be 50-something) but I absolutely canNOT put it down. I love a good book about jewelry, I love intelligent scandal - not just sex for the sake of attraction, but the manipulative, what have I done? kind, and for all of her years, the main character seems like the kind of lady who'd have you spilling your secrets on the metro ride home. I'm not done yet, but I'm pretty sure this is going to be a 5 out of 5 stars - did I mention it's set in England? And there aren't even any Mums, as the main character is an American!

It's actually so good that I am hesitating heading over to Tuesday Morning and TJ Maxx for a weekend dose of bargain hunting - I don't ever head to the clothing departments, but I love that you can find home furnishings for an absolute fraction of retail, not to mention SCRAPBOOK STUFF! I haven't mentioned my obssession with scrapbooking on here before, but it's my absolute favorite activity :)

Last but not least, I recently ordered a Juicy Couture sweatsuit on eBay (I finally gave in) and, lucky me, realized it was a fake before taking it out of the packaging (it had the wrong color size tag). I contacted eBay about it, but their response was very noncommital. Now what? Contact the seller and tell them the game is up? Or just give in and wear them, even though it's not going to be the quality that I paid for? I know that buying things on eBay means that you are accepting the risk of fraud, but at the same time I definitely feel gypped and don't want to pass the feeling along to someone else by just reselling them and forgetting about it. Help!

.the library.

I love a good book! I especially love books by British authors - when they call the Moms Mums instead, it always makes me so excited! Kind of like when the little kids in the "Charlie bit me" video say Charlie, it's infinitely cuter because it's in a British accent? Anyways, I walked over to the library two days ago, and here's what's in my current arsenal:

I'm actually in the middle of Slummy Mummy right now (after all the Yummy Mummys whose blogs through which I live vicariously) - very cute so far, very British, and it involves both Yummy Mummys and Alpha Mums! I'll make sure to post a review when I'm done-so far it's a good beach read, but I'm not sure I'll feel any more intelligent having read it.

On the homefront, it is LABOR DAY WEEKEND! And I haven't got work today, so its' started out very nicely - unfortunately, I took someone's work on Sunday (without realizing that it was Labor Day weekend when I agreed to it months ago - she is definitely getting stuck with it if I have to work over Thanksgiving). Kind of sucks because...

C's friend from back in his military days is having a bachelor party in Mexico this weekend, and while C has decided not to go (with no pressure from me, swear - no seriously, I swear), the soon-to-be-groom will be stopping by our apartment on Sunday night on his way back into America. This means that I will not be here on Sunday night, and the potential for an end-of-bachelor-party-weekend fiasco is relatively high. Not sure how much I like this idea. Besides that, a ton of C's friends are having keggers on Sunday, and while I don't really care whether he goes to parties or not without me, I do worry because I like to be there to supervise when he drinks-he has a tendency to let his mouth run, and his friends encourage it when I'm not there. Then again, I'm usually the reason he's pissed at some guy, so maybe my absence would be a good thing?

I'll make sure to be back with book reviews! Have an amazing Labor Day weekend!

.simple pleasures.

easily the most enjoyable of which is finding unshelled pistachios in a bag of pistachios. the ease! the simplicity! the salt-n-peppery glory of those solitary green gems!

or the discovery of the only coasters that won't stick to your glass because of the condensation and then drop heart-stoppingly loud onto your glass coffee table (on sale. beachy. khaki. even. more. awesome.)

...but I have to admit, the simplest of pleasures is definitely walking into an apartment that you love to see. If you venture to the clearance section of the home center in Kohl's, you'll find some awesome stuff from the Seaside (or shore, or line or whatever location they used to make it sound inviting) Collection marked anywhere from 65-80% off!

Check out the sailboat, lighthouse, sand dollars and assorted candles:
A little close-up to show you how versatile those sand dollars are. After I photographed the mantlescape for you, I realized that they would be much more appealing in a trio. I stole the candle from my pineapple lantern to round it out, and I like the look much better - you can see difference in the unlit candle picture vs. the lit candle picture. Check out the cute seashell candle-rest, too!
I also scored some awesome pillows - the two on the left are from the Vera Wang collection - I believe the center one is meant for the bedroom, but it's sooo pretty and such an unassuming shade of dark champagne.
These aren't new, but I wanted to give credit where credit is due...the original inspiration for my pillow obssession was definitely these down-filled beauties from Michelle Obama's favorite big-box store, Target:
Of course, I can't forget my two lovely pineapple finds - first a lantern, and then another candle-holder. I always thought C was a little on the gay side for his love of candles, but if companies make this many different ways to display candles, he can't be the only one that's obssessed with him, can he? can he?Photographed on my leg for posterity...or because the glare off the glass coffee table was obnoxious. Don't you love the Lilly I'm wearing today, too? OBSSESSED with this pattern - love it when she adds reds and blues to the everyday pink and green uniform!Today was C's second day of school. Once again, he missed his first class. While I'm not looking forward to the idea of my 27 year old boyfriend attending classes with 19 year old girls (although I did just turn 22 myself), I am still very proud of him for going back to school!

Last but not least, I 'd like to give a littel shoutout to seaside designs. How beyond adorable is this desktop calendar? I just had to order it to go with our new beachy apartment:
Hmm...I just smelled smoke. Maybe I shouldn't have lit EVERY SINGLE CANDLE I BOUGHT. so pretty, though!

summer lovin'!

so exciting to be 22! c and i had such a bomb time...first, my birthday present (a week early) - close your eyes, preppy readers...a pink heart tattoo! I'll make sure to get a picture up soon, but it's just an outline, and it's smaller then my fingernail. Teeny, as tattoos go! My parents were sweet enough to treat me to a piano keyboard! I've been lusting after one ever since my little sister got one as a Christmas gift a couple years ago. they also sent me the most exciting gift ever - EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS! enough said, right? We proceeded to Peohe's in Coronado for dinner...so delicious, and check out the view!

evidently, i have another gift waiting at our old apartment, too. how sweet of the new resident - she facebook'ed me to let me know that we had mail waiting there :)

big money!

It's time to start thinking about investing, I've decided. I have my first salaried job, and given that my expenses are not much more then they were in college, I should feasibly have quite a bit of money to play with, right? Wrong.

Somehow, the money has just disappeared. First, it was buying new things for C & I's apartment. Shelving units for my scrapbook stuff (love the Target stackable units, btw), frames to fill up the walls, pillows to add some color to the room, and lots of lovely kitchen gear. Soon, the apartment stopped looking so barren, and C's constant desire for a bicycle resulted in ~$400 of bicycle gear (yes, darling, I am very happy that we got bicycles and I love you to pieces and obviously I love my bicycle). Unfortunately, this paycheck has disappeared similarly (in that I don't know where it went). What's a girl to do?

Obviously, the only solution has been to divert some of my money before it appears in my bank account. I already have a set amount going into a longterm savings account run by my employer. I do know that I need to set up short term savings, both for emergencies and to begin saving for something a little more important then a new Lilly shift (speaking of which, this new fall line is not my favorite).

Here's a list of the things that are prodding me into financial freedom:
- My parents. With no credit card debt and all of our homes paid off, they are the primary reason I know the value of investing early.
- My co-worker, Katie. Passionate about her Charles Schwab account and well versed in the art of saving money, Katie constantly encourages a third co-worker and myself to invest our money, instead of letting it sit in itty-bitty interest earning savings accounts, letting the big-money banks rape and pillage what could have been our retirement savings. She is the one who introduced me to the following:
- Smart Women Finish Rich by David Bach. Easy to read and fast paced, Bach's book is filled with inspiring 'true-life' (allegedly) success stories of women who invested early (or early enough) and turned their financial lives around. It is full of tips and really encouraging. I literally put it down in order to do something it has advised me to do, like print out my bank account statements and realize how many $3 sodas and $4 ATM fees I accrue per month.
- mint.com . Free, fast and easy, mint.com is an amazing resource for the average young investor. You provide your bank account information (scary, yes, but I checked out their credentials beforehand and they are supposedly quite safe), they provide pie charts of where exactly you spend your money, helping you by providing savings accounts with higher interest rates, credit cards with lower interest rates, and a medley of other money saving options. I haven't been a member long enough to accumulate these cash-saving deals, but I'm still pretty psyched because I love a good pie chart almost as much as I love free services.
- Research. The more research I do, the more excited I get. Companies are all vying for your money, and they have all kinds of ways for you to invest. www.bankrate.com actually shows you the interest rates offered by banks in your area - I was about to buy a CD with a 2.6% rate of return, and after using bankrate.com, am going to save up $500 more in order to buy a CD with a 5% interest rate!

What do you do to save your money? Have you started saving yet? Do you have any suggestions on where to cut costs? I've started bringing Lean Cuisines for lunch (when you get them for $2/ea., it's a STEAL!) but I think the real reason I spend money is food (even more so then bars)...all of those grocery trips really do add up! I can't wait until I see the first interest payment in my first money market account :)

I feel pretty boring! I haven't had any funny stories, so I've stayed away from posting and stuck to reading. I figure I'd better post so my blog doesn't go out of service!



I am actually going to a shooting range tomorrow to be trained as a sharpshooter, which will be interesting, and (hopefully) successful. We had a dry fire today, so I am now capable of shooting an empty gun very quickly, unloading and loading empty magazines, and pulling a useless safety. Tomorrow will be the true test of my skills, as all of the rounds will be LIVE!



On that note, I've decided to start working out again and become a modified vegan. I've been a vegetarian for a while now, but every once in a while I'll go on a vegan kick. The worst thing about being a vegan is everyone and their mother asking you why you are a vegan, and then STARING at your plate! So a modified vegan I feel is not as obvious...I really try to avoid dairy products, but I definitely don't beat myself up if there is some cheese or eggs mixed into my meals.



C and I are realizing that it is pretty difficult to spend time together. What with the cornucopia of guests we've been entertaining since moving into the new apartment, we're going to have to start planning dates in order to get us out of the apartment and away, together. So far, I've been thinking about cooking classes at Great News Cooking School - how good does this one sound? Margaritaville: Recipes: Frozen Mango Margaritas; Blended Margarita with Homemade Sweet-Sour Mix; Hand-Shaken Citrus Gold Margarita; Smoky Black Bean Dip with Bacon; Shrimp Soft Tacos with Chipotle-Cilantro Crema; Rio Grand Grilled Chicken Breasts Topped with Creamy Rajas (Chili Strips); Southwestern Spiced Rice with Black Beans and Corn; Mexican Chocolate Torte with Brown Sugar Glaze and Cinnamon Ice Cream.



yummm

my couch was my ex-girlfriend

c had a journal entry due in his communications class. there were twenty-eight 'feeling' words, and you had to use them creatively, or something...so, we took a few creative liberties:

"While this is an extensive list of emotions, I have, at one point in time, felt this way while within my own apartment. You see, prior to my girlfriend becoming my girlfriend, my couch was my girlfriend. Now, sometimes, when we have company over, I feel a range of emotions, beginning at annoyed but quickly escalating to agitated. It doesn’t take long until I am actually exasperated, and that quickly rises to feeling furious, until I am finally enraged. You see, having other people enjoy the pillowy soft sweetness that is my slipcover enrobed couch makes me feel nothing but betrayed.

My couch was once an adoring haven, enveloping me in its heavenly cushions and stain resistant fabric. The compassionate way it affectionately absorbed my tears (and other bodily fluids) was surpassed only by its caring and gentle attention to my amorous advances. Our collegial attitude took a disturbing turn with the introduction of my girlfriend. It seemed like the couch felt almost hostile toward me – powerless to compete with the passionate advances of my sex fiend of a girlfriend. The couch was clearly confused, its tender, cotton-filled core astounded by the speed at which its usefulness had been negated. I, personally, was baffled by her advances, and while I felt amiable toward this addition to my previously lonely sexual practices, I realized that I was not being sensitive to the needs of my former lover.

When I explained the situation to my girlfriend, she was surprisingly quite agreeable. We decided to move our activities out of the bedroom and into the living room, where we were both astonished at how beneficial the introduction of this uniquely shaped piece of furniture could be. Once I had them both in the same room, it was easy to nurture both of their love buttons without being distracted by the needs of the other.

Instead of writing a message about each specific emotion, I decided to read this confession aloud to my two lovers, and unfortunately, due to their reaction, I will be walking very tenderly for the rest of the week."

I think there's an A for effort in his future.

baby cat, wall-E and grandma E

A few steals I recently picked up:
Florida Shift, $99
Larssen Dress $29!
Prussia Skort, $59

Charlie Short (in Seersucker Green, Yummy Yummy Embroidery, and Havana Good Time, the same pattern as the first dress) $59 ea.

Calliope Tunic, $49
Now that that's over with...

I would just like to begin this post by asking for everyone's prayers for my grandmother - she will not be with us much longer, and I know that her husband (my grandfather) will be waiting for her in heaven.

On a lighter note,

Wall-E! I loved it and would totally recommend it. I saw it on my very punk-ish, rebellious (but not too bad-ass) little sister's recommendation. The sweet 16 coming of age has seen some interesting dye jobs with this one, but she is such a sweetheart underneath that I knew I had to see it. When a couple girls from work invited me to see it this evening, I couldn't resist! I cried twice, but I'm kind of a sap when it comes to animated characters.

So, I got the best gift ever this Saturday...Baby Cat! I came home, and C said he hoped I didn't mind if we got another kitten :)

He is only four weeks old, and he was a starving stray kitten that a friend of a friend found, took to the vet and got cleaned up, and then looked for a home for. It's a little bit difficult because he is so young and was not hand-raised: we don't want to smother him, but we don't want him to grow up afraid of humans. Fortunately, our almost one year old kitten, Mojito, has taken quite a liking to our new baby, and the two are already sleeping next to each other!

And, in order to even further exemplify why we are a great couple, I just had to get up and run into the kitchen in order to save poor C...he pulled a Costco sized jar of jalepeno slices out of the refrigerator, but he hadn't tightened the lid last time, so the jar hit the deck, exploded, and rained a bloody hail of jalepeno juice into his eyes and hair. I spent the next 15 minutes mopping up jalepeno juice, listening to him moan (evidently it's worse then pepper spray, but I'm not willing to find out), and yelling at him to stay off the carpet. What a life :)

another sale?!

Depending on how familiar you are with the lovely customer service available at Lilly Pulitzer, you might be aware that we do send sales, which basically mean that we will locate whatever you are looking for in a different size at a different store. So when I refer to clothing as "hopefully" in my closet or "en route", it's because I sent out a request to all of our sister stores looking for the clothes in my closet, and either no one's responded or their shipping those babies right to my home...or apartment, as it may be. Hopefully will be very cute with my new white beach weight chino's from J. Crew or these white jeans I got at Ann Taylor Loft (who knew?) ... PB Tunic, I have no idea how much I paid (what is wrong with me?!) being shipped :)

Dougherty Shirt, but not in this pattern. In my beloved White on the Prowl, pink and green leopard print tacky can we go to Vegas so I can wear this please pattern. I am psyched ($19 of FUN in my closet...or the bag, proooobably the bag).

Keally Top Clip Dot...hopefully this will be en route, come tomorrow ($59).

Betsey Dress Printed - if it still exists in the system, it'll be mine come tomorrow :) ($49!)

Prussia Skort Patch ($49? $59?) If it still exists in the system, it will be mine come tomorrow :)

Prussia Skort Printed ($49, I think ... maybe $59?) Anyways, hanging in my closet successfully. Ok, that's a lie, it is still in the bag sitting outside of my closet. CLOSE!

Flora Simple Cardigan (so that's just the cardigan, not the top underneath, which isn't really my style) successfully obtained in Palm Green, Delta Blue. ...and hopefully Pink and White if my call for sweaters is successful :) - I think it was $49 :)

There is a hunt going out for this one, because it's marked down ridiculously low - it's like $39 or something crazy like that! Larsson Dress Silver Jacquard (price = unknown, but ridiculously cheap). We'll find out tomorrow if it shall be mine.

Dasha Silk Dress for $149! Hanging successfully in my closet. Seriously this time. Ok, that's a lie too, it's in my dry cleaning basket. (More importantly, it's $99 now darnit!)

Jacqueline Dress Silk Oxford for $89...heh, heh, I stole this right out of the box from my coworker! She's the cutest Lilly Lover and it was pretty funny when she saw it and realized I already had it on hold...victory! Also successfully in closet! (More importantly, it's $49 now darnit!)

Meridian Top in Pink and in Blue ($49 each!). Successfully in bags sitting outside of my closet!

Betsey Dress in Via Blue (that's the turquoise-y blue, not the navy) for $99! Successfully ordered and shipped - at this price, I wasn't about to wait for people to respond to the email - I was calling stores like crazy!


Unfortunately, I can't find a picture of the white Jacqueline with Silver Loop detailing that I scored for $99, but it is verrry pretty :)

If you like any of this, I listed the prices that are marked currently on the tags, so feel free to call Lilly Pulitzer at Fashion Valley mall and we can do some looking for you :) I wonder if I'm allowed to say that!!?

.vineyard vines.

I didn't believe everyone's blogs when they told me that they had founds Vineyard Vines at TJ Maxx, but I figured that I would try - totally worth it!


Now I'm putting these suckers on eBay - hopefully will get something near the $62 retail price! If you're looking, here's my listing: eBay!

So0o0o, there's this super dramatic girl that's staying at C's apartment right now with her boyfriend (C's childhood friend), the same one that I mentioned with the Facebook friending/unfriending. Yesterday, we were sitting at a bar at the beach, so hopefully this was due to a couple drinks, but get this...

They start discussing C's past, and V, the girl, asks about some girl that she met with him at a baseball game. C laughs, and V looks at me and goes, "She was really pretty. Like, you're pretty, but she was really pretty. I think she was prettier then you. Yea, she was, but she was really dumb, don't worry." I was like W. T. F. Fortunately, later last night she said something to piss C off, so now she is kicked out of the apartment and they're staying at a hotel :)

Prepping for graduation - intense! Today was my last final ever, and I am PSYCHED!

.money wasn't made to be saved, was it?.

I've definitely been in a shopping mood recently - I think it's because I've been cleaning out my closet on eBay...ready, set, go!

Green Lola Side-Tie Top from Lilly Pulitzer - Marked down to $39! I could only find a picture of the navy, but the more I look at it, the more I like it! Speaking of which, what is the deal with LP only putting up an image of the apparel in one pattern or color? The renditions of the patterns they put online are hideous and not at all like what they look like in person, so I don't see the point in not just having multiple photographs...doesn't seem difficult, does it?

Yellow Striped Nancy Sweater from Lilly - marked down to $39! There's only a picture of the green one, and I am not on a green binge, don't worry. I do think the pink is just so darn cute, so I might have to order it -

Williams Sonoma Pink and Green Toile Pot Holders (could only find a picture of the napkins, but the pink and green is so cute when it's not as intense - besides, I burned myself on cheesecake brownies two nights ago)

So adorable! Kohl's Outdoor Mosaic Table! With supercute palm trees :) It was marked down from $39.99 to only $17.99! Our new apartment has a very roomy patio, so I think I might actually venture out there and not just leave it as C's smoking area - maybe even get a grill?

Last but not least, we have absolutely no serving dishes! I was so excited to see this adorable fish shaped chip and dip server at Kohl's, especially in time for C's friends to come visit :)

Heh, heh...speaking of C's friends, we might have stumbled upon the reason why we need all of these cute things...

C's friend R has been dating V for quite a while now. Evidently, V is a little bit of the controlling type, so when R friended me on Facebook (to find out who his childhood friend, C, was dating), she went onto his Facebook and unfriended me! I'm really wondering how this little lady is in real life...seems like there might be a cattier couple than C and I in the apartment this week!

P. FREAKING. S.! I just got my Brad Paisley tickets in the mail! I didn't realize his special guest was Jewel! SO excited!

.were you just listening for me to pull up?.

So, C lives in an apartment building in, shall we say, not the nicest part of town. There is a police station around the corner, a Wal-Mart down the street, and I am pretty positive 6 people live in the 1-bedroom across the hall. Just across the parking lot, though, on the lower right hand side, lives a family that consists of at least a mother, a father, and a horny 12 year old boy. While it's nice to be hit on by a boy that probably wouldn't have talked to me when I was 12, I hadn't paid this family much mind until yesterday.

There happens to be a loading zone very near to their apartment door. It is, in fact, right next to their parking spot. On many occasions, I have parked there. It's a loading zone, after all, and I'm unloading myself and will, within the next few hours, or the next morning, be loading myself right back up. Recently, the apartment manager came to C's door and told him that I needed to move my car. I obliged, but I didn't hesitate to park there again...after all, it's a freaking loading zone, right?

Come yesterday, I'm returning from Happy Hour (and a very Happy hour it was, might I add) to pick C up to go see Baby Mama (loved it, probably would have peed myself laughing had it not been a public arena). I pull into the loading zone and lo-and-behold, Ms. "I live in a budget housing development with my blue collar husband and i'm bitter and angry at anyone who might possibly have the potential to move away from this spider filled dump" sticks her head out and says, "You can't park there," bold as can be. Immediately, I am struck. This is a loading zone. She doesn't own it. It doesn't have her apartment number (or anyone's apartment number, for that matter) painted on the curb. I respond, "I'll be in and out in a minute." She counters, "It's hard for me to get into my car when you're parked there." I give in with an , "Okay, sorry," get into my car, back up and then sit there in the middle of the parking lot, waiting for C to come out. Meanwhile, I'm fuming, because I'm thinking:

"HERE'S THE THING, SISTER.

I am not even going to touch on the fact that IF perhaps you WEREN'T MORBIDLY OBESE you would fit into the GENEROUS space left between your car and mine. I am not going to mention the fact that NO one, and I mean NO one parks in that loading zone besides me. I know, I monitored it for WEEKS before I decided to start parking there on occasion. What I cannot resist mentioning, though, is that if you deemed it necessary to PARK WITHIN THE LIMITS OF YOUR OWN GOD DAMN PARKING SPOT you would have more then the legal amount of room to fit your GARGANTUAN derrière into your flipping car! MOREOVER, HOW IS IT DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO GET INTO THE DRIVER'S SIDE WHEN MY CAR IS PARKED NEXT TO YOUR CAR'S PASSENGER SIDE?"

Needless to say, we are moving out in the end of June.

.spaghetti doesn't go there.

So, we wake up yesterday morning, and I tell C I'm going to make us some eggs for breakfast. This, in itself, should have been an omen for disaster, given that in our entire dating career, I have made eggs that he enjoyed once. Yes, literally, once. This, from a girl who eats eggs at least once a week, and more often twice or three times. I get out the eggs, but the kitchen is so full of dirty dishes (he has a very small dishwasher, and no sense of consolidating dishes while cooking - I guess I should be happy that he cooks at all, right?) that I can't find anywhere to put the egg carton down. I unload the dishwasher, load the dishwasher (C plays Call of Duty) and call him over to clean out the strainer, which after a few reminders, he gets up to do.

I'm cooking away the eggs, minding my own business, when I hear a very loud swear word behind me. I turn around to see C clutching his hand, screaming, "I'M NEVER CLEANING THE PASTA STRAINER AGAIN! NEVER! WHY DID YOU WANT ME TO DO IT SO BAD?! (he certainly wasn't an English major) I HATE THE PASTA STRAINER!"

First, I clarify, "You are definitely going to clean the pasta strainer again," and then I look at his hand. C has somehow managed to get an actual shard of angel hair pasta stabbed up underneath his fingernail, cruel and unusual punishment, bamboo shoots style.

It's today, and his finger still has this weird hole in it (we think we got all the pasta out) but I think the more important question still stands: does he have a legitimate claim to never cleaning the pasta strainer again?

"It wasn't me"

I've been contemplating making a blog forever, but it wasn't until I started obsessively compiling other people's blogs that I realized I needed one, if only to have a way to organize all of my links to other people's blogs. I also really, really like stationery, monograms, Lilly Pulitzer, sparkles, baking, and vacations.

The basics:
I'm 21.
I have a boyfriend, C, who I've been dating for almost 7 months, who is 27. Our personalities are completely opposite, and about 90% of the time, it works pretty darn okay.
I work at Lilly Pulitzer, but I haven't always been a Lilly Lover - I hadn't been able to afford it until very late in high school and now in college, so I'm kind of like one of those people who moves to a new city and then becomes a little too obsessed with the local sports teams, buys all of the jerseys, and decorates their house in memorabilia.
C & I are moving in together in July, in a 'luxury apartment complex' about 5 minutes away from where his apartment is now. This means I've spent money on Lilly placemats, Lilly pillows, and Lilly towels. His current decorating scheme is black, dark blue, and more black, so since I'm not going for the whole 80's neon + black color scheme, we're going to have a few upcoming "discussions" about what stays and what goes.

Now, the point of this entry:
Last night, C was snoring up a storm. Like the kind where it's this inhaling sniffle that kind of bothers you in the back of your mind, but you try and match your breathing to it so maybe it will become soothing, and then the exhale comes and it's SO LOUD YOU FEEL LIKE THERE IS A PIG ROOTING FOR TRUFFLES NEXT TO YOU IN THE BED!

Normally, I reach over and hold his nose, so his mouth will eventually pop open and he'll roll himself over to avoid my torture. Last night, unfortunately, little C had decided to snore with his mouth open, so holding his nose while I forced his mouth shut was my only option. Somehow, he still managed to snore (and breathe, which now that I think about it, must have been difficult), so I finally gave in, shook him, and said "Babe, stop snoring". Well, being C, he comes back at me with this lovely: "It wasn't me."

IT WASN'T ME?

Please tell me, C, who else was in our bed last night, because I would really like to know.