I have been wide awake for over an hour now with no signs of sleep in the near future. And the worst part? I have that stupid Justin Beiber song stuck in my head.

…I just want somebody to loooo-oo-ove….

I didn’t even know that I knew the words until they started rolling around in my head at 2:30 this morning. But i guess I don’t know the whole song, so it’s just the chorus and that one verse where Usher jumps in.

So that – over and over and over again.

Total nightmare. Only worse because a nightmare would mean I was actually asleep. Boo

Bring on the redbull tomorrow!

- your insomniac friend, Nicole

A rumor has been circulating that Gap has some great jeans right now. Skinny jeans. And you know I love myself a skinny jean. My friend, Emily, bought a pair when we were at The Gateway last week, and they were adorable.

I’ve been needing some new black pants as mine seem to have disappeared somewhere in the last two moves, so I decided to pay my old friend, Gap, a visit. These pants are the perfect marriage of professionalism and style – especially when paired with a great heel, and one of those spiffy J.Crew silk tops I told you about earlier.

They aren’t nearly as tight as the picture shows, or maybe they just look deceivingly tight because the model’s legs are the size of the straw in my Diet Sunkist can.

I wore them yesterday and my love grew as the day went on. A sign of a truly great pant, indeed.

This prompted me to look into the denim options in their Always Skinny line – and $25 later, these lovelies belonged to me. I love deals; especially when it means $25 for jeans. CUTE JEANS.

A big round of applause for Gap’s newly-revived denim line. Woohoo!

A few weeks ago my niece Madeline had a sleepover at my house. We watched movies, painted our nails, had popcorn – an overall good time. One of the highlights was when I let her choose a movie from my collection and she came back with Elf. In July. We are obviously related.

In the morning, while we got ready to meet her mom and brothers for brunch, she looked at me and said we shouldn’t go to breakfast. She wanted to just stay at home with me and hang out, insisting that we don’t get enough time together. She told me, “I like to be at your house because I love you, and your house is very beautiful. And actually, I also really love your cat.”

I told her that we had to go, but she would be so happy because they have the BEST pancakes. Her response, “Well… we could still go to that restaurant, but we could sit at a different table than my mom.” Six going on fourteen? Yes.

The compromise was that we would go to brunch, she would then spend the day with her mom and brothers while I ran some errands, and then I would pick her up that night and we could have another sleepover.

Having been shamed the previous day by having “no fun kid food,” only oatmeal, protein shakes, spinach and eggs in my fridge, I had stocked up at the grocery store with juices, fruit snacks, strawberries, cookie dough and bread. Unfortunately I forgot about the cookies until the next morning when Madeline asked if we could have a tea party.

Cookies for breakfast? Absolutely. I drew the line at her version of tea, i.e. sugar water.

Sorry Michelle. Yes, I fed your child a combination of scrambled eggs, strawberries, orange juice, and freshly baked cookies for breakfast. It was delicious.

After breakfast I decided it would be fun to do a brief interview, because she says the most hysterical things. Here it is:

Auntie Nicole: How old are you?

Madeline: 6 1/2

AN: Where do you live?

M: Beaverton. In Oregon

AN: What do you like about living in Oregon?

M: It’s nice. (thinks)…. Well, it’s fresh and clean. And there’s a nice breeze.

AN: Anything you don’t like about Oregon? (obvious answer: My Auntie Nicole doesn’t live there. She may not have said it but it was definitely implied in her answer below.)

M: It rains a lot. I still like the rain, but not every day.

AN: What is your favorite color?

M: The rainbow.

AN: All of it?

M: Mmmmhmmm.

AN: Tell me about your little brothers.

M: Luke is turning four and is going to start preschool in two days and one week. Noah is one. He’s afraid of dogs when they stare at him. (hahahahaha!)

AN: Where did you stay when you were in Utah?

M: Granny and Pappy’s house.

AN: What did you do there?

M: Swim, play and watch movies. I was in charge of checking the chickens, to see if there were eggs.

AN: How many eggs did you find?

M: Seven. One day there were two. I found the first egg. that’s why I got the job.

AN: Did you have fun at our sleepover?

M: Yes.

AN: What was your favorite part?

M: Umm.. watching movies and petting Chloe.

M: Can we watch cartoons now? This is getting boring.

M: Please?

AN: Yes. But, only if it’s Wonder Pets. (I love Wonder Pets)

I’ve been needing some new work clothes and every once in a while, a magical thing happens. It’s called the J.Crew Final sale. A sale where you take an additional 30% off the lowest-marked price on an item. I just received my box and i was not disappointed.

Where else can you get two good quality cardigans, two silk blouses, and two silk camisoles for $150, including shipping?!

Cardigan #1 is adorable with Camisole #1.

Cardigan #2 is also good with Cami #1, as well as many other shirts in my wardrobe.

I’m wearing Cami #2 right now with a white cardigan, but will spare you the traditional web-cam photo. I’m not feeling particularly photogenic today. (You’re welcome, world.)

Also? It will be great with Cardigan #2 if I’m feein’ a monochromatic scheme.

Silk blouse #1 is very chic, and was a steal at $20.

Silk blouse #2 is my very favorite. I wore it to a big meeting last week with my navy pinstripe skirt and felt very business-like. The high collar is great under jackets (or cardigans of course).

So a big thank you to J.Crew, and also to my internet friends for indulging me by reading about my recent retail victories.

I have never been one to name inanimate objects, if I were you would be named Betty, but since I’m not you’ve always been called The Mini.

Last week we crossed over the 50,000 mark together on our way to Yellowstone. It’s been a great ride together. The week they unloaded you from the boat and sent you to me was one of the most giddy weeks of my life.

There was that one time when we snuck out of a parking garage in downtown DC because they had closed and you fit under the arm. And then I felt guilty the next day and called to confess before they found me and took me off to jail.

We got stuck on an ice patch for two hours while pulling out of the driveway.

We hid behind an insanely large pile of leaves.

For a while there we had to cut back on our long parkway drives with the windows down, the music blaring, and the sunroof open, because gas climbed up to over $5.00 back east.

Remember that one time I tried to fit my bike in the back? People are still making fun of me for that.

But there were definitely times when your petite frame came in handy.  One night in DC we were late for the theater and we snagged an amazing spot out front – half of a metered parking spot behind a stretch limo.

We’ve also shared a single meter spot with a SmartCar.

And one time we even parked on a sidewalk at the gym because all the spots were gone. Miraculously, no parking tickets were incurred.

And then there was that time we drove across the country. Remember that? I got food poisoning, we were forced to reroute halfway through the trip because of deathly snow storms, and we were almost murdered by Anton Chigurh one night while sleeping in the world’s creepiest motel in New Mexico.

We’ve been a lot of places together. Here’s a list of the states we’ve hit in our 3-year relationship (give or take a month):

1. District of Columbia
2. Virginia
3. New York
4. Maryland
5. Delaware
6. Pennsylvania
7. CANADA! (not a state, but it deserves a spot on the list.)
8. Tennessee
9. North Carolina
10. South Carolina
11. Mississippi
12. Arkansas
13. Oklahoma
14. Texas
15. New Mexico
16. Arizona
17. Nevada
18. Utah
19. Wyoming
20. Idaho
21. Montana

That’s kind of a long list for your relatively short life. I’ve really done my best to show you the world and help you appreciate the beautiful places back east, and then share my utter hatred for all of New Mexico. I think I succeeded in both.

Thanks for being such a reliable and lovely car. And also for your wonderful heated seats – it’s the sole reason I survived this past Utah winter.

xoxo, beep beep!

Nicole

Thanks for the pricing, Nicole.

Are there any other mechanisms for discounts?  (cash payment, pleasant smile)

Totally cracked me up. I give him an A for effort.

Picture text received 9:27 AM.

Message: I hate the dentist.

I love Cafe Rio. Who doesn’t? What I don’t like are the hefty calories and the post-meal coma that often accompanies it. So I make a few adjustments. It’s what some of my friends have dubbed, “Nicole’s Anorexic Salad.” Obviously I do not have an eating disorder, not even close. They just think they’re funny. And they kind of are.

Basically it’s a stripped-down version of their tostada – which is a smaller portion of their regular salad, with a small corn tortilla instead of the delicious flour tortilla.

I feel like Sally ordering from the cafe in When Harry Met Sally. If you aren’t familiar, let me refresh you:

Sally: I’d like a slice of your apple pie with ice cream.  I’d like the pie heated and I don’t want the ice cream on top, I want it on the side, and I’d like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it, if not then no ice cream just whipped cream but only if it’s real; if it’s out of the can then nothing.

Waitress: Not even the pie?

Sally: No, I want the pie, but then not heated.

I hate being a high maintenance orderer (I think I just made up a word?). But in this case, I just have to be. In an equally embarrassing confession, I typically start off my order with, “Sorry, I have allergies so this is a littler weird, but I want… blah blah blah,” which is a total lie. I don’t have serious food allergies, but it makes me feel a little better about being so picky. And I hope that it prevents some vexation on their end.

So how does my order compare to Sally’s? Here it is:

Nicole: Hi, I’d like a grilled steak tostada. No rice, no beans, no cheese. Nope, not even on the top. Lots and lots of pico please. No crispy strips or sour cream. Yes on the cilantro, and can I add a scoop of guac?

Cafe Rio: blink, blink, blink…

Thoughts?

It is kind of ridiculous, isn’t it? Sigh..

I feel like the last three months have been consumed by one project after another. Moving, painting, furniture hunting… it never seems to end. And I kind of love it.

Here are two of my favorite recent projects:

Magnetic chalkboard for my kitchen

I found this frame on sale at a local art supply store and decided I wanted to frame a chalkboard in my kitchen. Originally, I was looking for a cool carved frame that I could lacquer in a bright color, but I liked the gold against my teal wall.

So I measured the frame opening, went to Home Depot and had a sheet of plywood cut to the dimensions.

Then I used this magnetic primer,

and finished it off with this chalkboard spray paint.

And now I have the perfect spot for invitations, takeout menus, and grocery lists!

Project #2: Bedroom Pillow.

I saw a great square union jack pillow on a design website and was dying to get one in my house. I found some beautiful wool felt in colors that tied in my purple velvet headboard and limey green curtains, adjusted the pattern to the size I wanted, and went for it.

I didn’t take pictures during the process, unfortunately, but think it turned out great!

Next project: Find my real camera so I can stop posting camera-phone shots!

Two summers ago I went to an outdoor Radiohead concert with my friend Nate out in Maryland somewhere. It was the perfect summer activity. Except it was pouring rain. If I had been a better blogger back while I was in DC this would have been an excellent story back then. Lucky for you, it’s still a pretty great story.

We put on our rain gear, fought the traffic in the monsoon-like weather, and braved the storm. After all, this is Radiohead we’re talking about. I remember wearing two pairs of socks, my rain boots, a few undershirts, a sweatshirt and a coat. And pants! I don’t want to omit that and leave you wondering.

When we got to the venue I was impressed by the crowd that showed up despite the horrible weather. Because this wasn’t regular rain, this was stand-outside-for-one-minute-and-you’re-soaked to the bone rain. People were wearing everything from serious rain gear (imagine the crew from The Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel), to garbage bags, and even those who decided to throw in the towel and just ran around in nothing but soggy t-shirts that stuck to their bodies. Poor Nate tried his best to keep us dry – holding an umbrella over us for three hours straight, and moving me from side-to-side so he could switch arms.

Aside from all of the mud, water and craziness it was a great concert. We got in the car and I realized I was missing my glasses. I don’t usually choose glasses over my contacts but for some reason I did that day. Bad choice. With all of the rain, they were getting spotted and foggy so I just threw them in my pocket. It’s not like anyone could see the band through the solid sheets of rain anyway. In the mess of rain, mud, umbrellas, and running to the car with our feet squishing in our shoes, they fell out of my coat pocket.

My favorite pair of glasses were gone. Although the concert was worth getting pruney feet despite wearing boots (not kidding) and getting soaked through all of my many layers down to my bra, I was pretty sad about losing those adorable glasses. And so I haven’t replaced them. I have worn contacts nonstop since that tragic day.

Until now.

I found these beauties at Costco last week, after a week of debilitating allergies forced me to bite the bullet and start shopping for a new pair. I like them even better than the beloved pair that fell victim to the Radiohead concert.

They’re a little bit nerdy, which I kind of love.  I promise to leave them home when I venture out during severe weather or bumpin’ concerts.