MY VERY FIRST ATTEMPT AT DRIVING TO WORK:

because the bus had been so challenging/confusing/cold/awful i was really looking forward to driving to work on saturday morning. i was excited to skip the whole “waiting for the bus in the snow” bit and listen to music i like instead of the sick guy next to me on the metro cough. i had a printed copy of mapquest directions, an atlas, a book of detailed maps of the district, and an accordion map of virginia/maryland/dc. i woke up promptly, packed a lunch and left an hour early to be safe. i was ready to take on the city.

well. it took all of ten minutes to get lost. i got off at the pentagon exit and was looking for the “N parking” but could only find the “S parking” exit. who knew there were separate exits? well, there are. and if you take the wrong one you will be caught circling the pentagon for 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get out of the parking lot. i decided to turn around and go back the direction i came in. and then as i passed a cop car, the same car i’d driven by half a dozen times, i realized i was going the wrong way – on a one-way street.

a little “blip-blip” and i stopped dead in my tracks as he pulled up next to me. luckily my driver’s seat was covered in maps and the officer could tell i was on the verge of tears. he asked me where i was trying to go. i explained i was trying to go north, i got off on the wrong exit blah blah blah. he gave me brief directions and noticed i was not understanging a word he was saying and told me to follow him. (is this story starting to sound familiar?) i followed him through a tunnel and under a bridge and he waved as he pointed to the freeway entrance.

ten minutes later? i’m lost again. but now i’m in the city. why they need round-abouts all over the place, and why mapquest thinks it’s unnecessary to indicate which turn to take is beyond me. at this point i’m crying and so far off track that i call my sister to mapquest the street i’m on so i can figure out where i am. and then? “BLIP-BLIP!” yes. another cop car wanting to speak to the blonde wreck driving the utah-plated car. i roll down my window, hang up my phone and look up at the officer.

“you were talking on your cell phone ma’am,” he announced. profound, no?

“yes, i’m sorry. i’m completely lost”

“you know that it’s against the law to talk on a cell phone while driving in the district.”

“i didn’t. i just moved here.” at this point i’m bawling. i have all three maps open and the mapquest directions in my lap. i set the rumpled pages on the passenger seat and grabbed the accordion map off my windshield, attempt to refold it and finally settle on stuffing it into my glove box, while i sobbed.

“do really think you can focus on driving while reading two maps and talking on your cell phone?”

“but i’m LOST.” i think i hiccuped here. i had mascara running down my face and under my chin. so very pathetic. and that was when the officer told me to have a nice day, to be safe, to look into purchasing a hands-free device for my cell phone, and that i certainly shouldn’t be driving around at night until i knew where i’m going.

this day is now known as the SECOND time i dodged two tickets in one day.

the next day i purchased a GPS system for my car and since then my happiness has improved exponentially.

this past week has been what i like to call a “getting my life back in order” week. i emptied my trunk, sorted piles of mail, cleared off my desk, shredded boxes of old papers/documents and did more laundry than i want to admit to.

i also got a letter from my papa who is in georgia. and with that wonderful letter was a picture. of course i wanted to add it to my bulletin board. so i pulled everything off, painted all my push-pins gold, hung up my new calendar and added my grandparents to the collection of photos, quotes and yoga gift certificates.

aren’t they cute?

***because of the hallway, i wasn’t able to get a straight shot of the board — be assured that this new photo isn’t really covered by the calendar, it’s just the angle. that’s all.

yesterday was my sweet little niece’s birthday. the worst part about living across the country from family is being unable to watch her open christmas/birthday presents. not unlike most little girls, my niece has fallen in love with the idea of the purse. madeline loves toting her purse around filled with special rocks, make-up (chapstick) and other little treasures. i’ve sewn many purses over the past year and so making one for my niece was a natural choice when her birthday approached. my goal was to make it as girly and princess-like as possible. i found a gorgeous jacquard for the outside, used my favorite pink dupioni silk on the inside and finished it off with a strand of jewels. sounds like the perfect purse for a three year old? yes, but i was surprised that it is also the perfect purse for a twenty three year old adult.

as much as i love my little munchkin, i had a hard time sending this bag off. i plan to make myself a bigger bag to match.

hope you had a wonderful birthday, madeline. i am sad i couldn’t be at the cabbage patch factory with you.

love, your aunti atole

my bathroom has been in need of a clock for a long time, but it has been a challenge to find one that matched. my bathroom is tiled in pink and white, with a pink tub and sage green paint. when i first moved in i decided that if i was going to have pink and white tile with green walls, i had to make the best of it and play up the shades i like. i bought a couple of modern two-toned sage rugs, a plain white shower curtain, bright pink towels, and a green flower pot filled with pink flowers. it worked out much better than i expected and i really like the overall look.

i wanted to stick with the theme and tried find a cute hot pink clock. have any of you actually looked for a pink wall clock? they are nearly impossible to find and the few i did were either in the shape of a flower or were covered with barbie insignias.

the only solution i could settle on was to create my own piece. i purchased a very inexpensive wall clock – and by inexpensive i mean $3.99 – and a couple sheets of patterned stationary paper. i removed the back of the clock, took off the arms, covered the face with the stationary and reassembled the masterpiece.

for under $5 i made a clock that incorporates all shades of green and pink in the room, and reminds me that i’m going to be late for work if i continue the contact lens battle. hurray!

take a moment to appreciate the curious stripes on the wall, a wonderful example of what happens when you paint over textured wallpaper.

life has been insanely busy but wednesday night i had a free evening, for what seems like the first time in months, and i went christmas crazy. yes, christmas crazy. during a morning office supply run for pens i bought this wreath:

you love it, right? because it’s pretty great. with this wreath began the holiday-decor madness.

last year my roommates and i decided to purchase a fresh tree. since i am the unofficial mother-of-the-house i was the one who strung the lights, carefully decorated and watered the tree. i left for italy december 26 for a couple of weeks and the agreement was that the decorations would be put away and the tree disposed of while i was away. when i stumbled into the house mid january with my many pieces of luggage, jet-lagged and smelling like airports, the first thing i saw was the tree- dead in the middle of my living room, still proudly hosting a star atop its branches with a pile of needles surrounding it. my roommates had not watered NOR thrown out the tree.

i had a complete meltdown small moment and i demanded reminded my roommates to either pack up the tree or their belongings- their choice. when i emerged from my room after sleeping off my travel exhaustion, the tree was gone, taken care of, done. and then one brisk march day while surveying the backyard in preparation for my garden project, i discovered the forlorn christmas tree in the middle of our lawn. dun dun dunnn.

without a truck and because in march there is a lack of christmas tree lots to ditch the tree remains, i did the only thing i could: i bought branch clippers, chopped it into a million pieces and shoved it into my garbage can.

don’t believe me? here it is:

it took me over an hour to chop this tree and make it fit into my garbage can. while sweating, clipping branches and cursing my roommates i made the final decision that the next year there would be no christmas in that house. no tree, no decorations, no muss no fuss.

when i told my mom last week that i was not planning on having a christmas tree, she was surprised. i insisted, “no christmas tree.”
i set up some pillar candles in reindeer taper holders and a display of brightly colored ornaments arranged in a glass hurricane, and called it good. three days later i visited a friend for the first time at her new house. she had a beautiful tree, perfectly coordinating decor and the war-fuzzies that, for me, accompany a nicely decorated room. i cracked. when i found that red glitter wreath i couldn’t hold back anymore; i needed christmas decorations.

on my lunch break i purchased ornaments, wrapping paper, the best tinsel garland i’ve ever seen, candles, fresh pine boughs and i, a self- proclaimed artificial tree hater, bought a fake tree. at 5:00 on the dot i rushed home to begin the christmas-ing project. i shuffled the furniture around, draped the fireplace with tinsel and pine, assembled the tree piece-by-piece, hung the ornaments and plugged my flame-retardant representation of a pine tree into the wall.

i can’t help but smile. i have a christmas tree, and this time i won’t be sweeping pine needles up off the floor in july.

my dad recently went to an Apple Computer Inc. meeting and, knowing that i am a fanatic, he bought me a baseball cap adorned with the lovely apple logo. here i am wearing the thoughtful gift while working on my laptop:

apple hat. apple computer.

so dorky, i know. but i can’t help it; it’s in my bloodline.

this is my dad, working on two macs while talking on his PDA. life is good as a geek.

i’m in charge of an event for work and have been hammering out the final details this week. today the event-coordinator had some last-minute concerns about fitting all of the tables in the banquet room. i told him it should work; i sketched out the room and the tables seemed to fit just fine.

i faxed him this:

attn: event-coordinator (who now, undoubtedly, thinks i’m insane)
subject: reception layout (my obsessive-compulsive disorder)

this is just an idea.

i’m not as concerned about the buffet and cocktail tables as i am the others.
this is all to scale and i have placed the six-foot tables three feet apart and three feet from the wall.

let me know what you think.


thanks, nicole

i knew this was maybe a little intense, but didn’t realize how weird it was until after i faxed it. i showed my friend/co-worker the layout to get her opinion and she couldn’t help but laugh when she read the description. i can’t help it if i like things color-coded and precise, but it’s probably for the best that faxes are black and white.

want to talk about my bridesmaid shoes? want to see them? great, here they are:

i have a very special place in my heart for shoes. my family still laughs about my return from italy this winter. i didn’t manage to get my luggage on the flight home, but don’t you worry – my seven pair of italian shoes were carried with me on the plane to ensure a safe arrival. i love shoes. love love love.

back to the golden beauties above. before you think i’m completely crazy, please know that these shoes look much different in person, and even more different on. they are dainty and feminine, and surprisingly, less flashy. the heel seems more subdued and the jewels fade into the lace. think – a little less “viva las vegas” a little more “bingo night in palm springs.”

if any person could appreciate these shoes, it is my great-grandmother. the same woman who genetically passed on an innate love for sparkly jewelry, beautiful handbags and anything in pink. i remember examining one of her coin purses when i was very young. it was made from a mesh of golden dots and was the most glorious thing i had ever seen. when i saw this same mesh on the heels of these shoes, i knew had to have them.

lucky for me, cat is the best bride ever. the bridesmaid dresses are all hot pink, but different cuts. cat wanted everyone in a different dress and told us to choose unique, funky shoes that matched our style.

i believe i have risen above and beyond the task of finding “unique” shoes.

i bought a hand-held dustbuster last week because i’ve decided that if i vacuum every inch and corner of my house, spiders will give up and spin their webs elsewhere. sophie laughs at me and insists i’m neurotic, but believing this makes me feel better so i am going to ignore her. (PTHhhhhhhhhh)

my house has hardwood floors and is living proof that people in the 60’s had different ideals concerning rocks and home decor; so naturally, dust is a constant battle. i moved my bed into the center of my room to ensure that all dust bunnies and potential spiders were eliminated. this proved to be a more ambitious task than i had anticipated. cat will wholeheartedly concur – the space under my bed is equivalent to the bermuda triangle. it’s where all the lost items of the world end up; socks, phone chargers, laptop cases, single shoes, remote controls, more bobby pins and hair elastics than i could count, and enough change to make any little kid’s eyes sparkle. while searching under the bed for these missing objects, they are unseen- invisible even. until one day you actually move the bed and realize THAT’S where the car manual went.

i continued throughout the main floor of my house; cleaning, moving furniture and tearing through cobwebs. this process guided me to the realization that it was obviously time to refinish the living room furniture. i tucked away the dustbuster and drove to the store in search of sandpaper and paint. and by paint i mean spray paint – fourteen cans of spray paint, to be specific. i spray painted so long, i have a blister on the index finger of my right hand. yes, that is correct. i got a blister. a blister from pushing a button for a prolonged period of time. i now also have heat rash, either that or a reaction to all the paint particles/fumes. due to these complications, my next painting project will be performed with a paint brush, between the hours of 5pm and 9pm, while i wear a space suit to protect my body from the hazardous elements.

it’s finally up! yes, i admit that i struggle when it comes to HTML coding and all that, but i got the site up. (hearty applause, humble bow)

changes will be coming soon. i’m still working on finding a good publishing program that will help me format the archiving and allows for comments. if you have any advice i would love to hear from you.

may the blogging begin!