artsy fartsy.

I love shopping for artwork (or anything, really), so when the senator told me he wanted to add some decor to his office, I was super excited to take over help. It’s currently about as welcoming as a doctor’s office in there, so a little color will go a long way. I could spend hours, days even looking at www.art.com, so I focused on some cityscapes to start. We have been lucky enough to have traveled all over this amazing planet and reminiscing has been a great way to spend this snowy day in DC.

I started with Barcelona, one of my fav cities of all time (and were we got engaged in 2007). I love the vibrant color in the second one, it really captures the feel of modern Spain for me.

Window, Casa Batlo, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe Photographic Print by Martin Child

Casa Balli, Gaudi Architecture, and Street Signs, Barcelona, Spain Photographic Print by Gavin Hellier

Next I checked out Venice, our first stop on our fantastic honeymoon last October. There are hundreds of amazing pictures of Venice, but I thought these were unique.

Venice, Italy Photographic Print by Keith Levit

Gondola Reflections, Venice, Italy Photographic Print by Doug Pearson

Commuters Rushing across St. Mark's Square at Sunrise, Venice, Veneto, Italy Photographic Print by Lee Frost

The last city I checked out was Santorini, and being one of the most spectacular places on earth, it is hard to capture the feeling of being there.

A View From Oia Photographic Print by Constantinos Stathoulis

Moonrise on Santorini, Greece Photographic Print by Kevin Beebe

And of course, our beautiful home of DC is in the running, too. Here is Scott Circle, right in our ‘hood:

Scott Circle Seen from a Hotel Window, Washington, District of Columbia Photographic Print by Randy Olson

And this ariel view is phenomenal as well:

Aerial View of Washington Dc Wall Mural

Which ones are your favorites? Which ones will I the senator pick?

mother nature means business.

In case you were unimpressed with last week’s winter pic, there’s more, lots more.

Rhode Island Ave, 2/6

Dear winter:

If not for you,
Winter would have no spring,
Couldn’t hear the robin sing,
I just wouldn’t have a clue,
Anyway it wouldn’t ring true,
If not for you.

~Bob Dylan

happy birthday baby blog.

I’ve been away, I know. But I’ll catch you up in pics.

I declared myself a great Mister T success as I rung in the new year.

mister T and friends.

I wore one of my two identical Benneton dresses that I got buy-one-get-one-free for $40 bucks. They are great to wear out or can wear to work if I wear a long cardigan over (as it’s a bit clingy in the tush region). Here they are posing with fun eastern market necklaces:

Benneton Twins

I road a mechanical bull:

frightened.

I went to Miami and stayed at the absolutely incredible, and highly recommended Gansevoort South.

mmmmm...miami.

I caught Thievery Corporation again at the 9:30 club. LOVE.

A year ago (ish) I started this blog. A lot can certainly change in a year. Or a few weeks.

The first week of January I’d jotted down some notes in my iphone notebook about what I wanted for myself in 2010. They were:

*to be less lazy, less afraid to fail. (And to determine exactly what it is I’m “afraid” of)

*to pay off the remaining balance on my credit card. (Dad, if you are reading this please disregard. Revolving debt is bad.)

*to exercise more and eat better (duh). To add yoga and pilates to my workouts.

So yes, this is just another lame blog post about new year’s resolutions, one month late.

But then, a very good friend sent me the following email, and maybe it’s the yoga, but my NEW new years one-month-late resolution is to live like this:

Reflections on Your Greatness
by Michael Dalton Johnson

You are great. You are far greater than you imagine. You are a unique entity given the power to create your own life. When you look outside yourself for self-definition you are giving your power away. However, when you understand and accept that you alone possess the power to define yourself and your life, there are dramatic changes. You will find new clarity, focus and confidence. You’ll also find that using this incredible gift is both exhilarating and challenging.

You are in charge. Think of your life as a movie. You are the writer, director, producer and star. You choose your co-stars and extras. Whether the movie is a smash or a flop is in your hands.

Your thoughts determine your outcomes. This is one of the great mysteries. There are a lot of theories about this phenomenon but no one really knows how it works. However, it does work and reveals the astonishing power of your thoughts.  If you think you are average, you are. If you think you can’t win, you won’t. Conversely, if you see yourself succeeding, you will. If you expect great things to come to your life, they’re on their way.

You bring others with you. Your courage and confidence to examine your life and make changes will have a profound effect on those around you. When you lift yourself up, others are lifted up too.

Your life. Your responsibility. The first and most important rule is to take responsibility for everything that happens in your life. Following this rule puts you in command. Winston Churchill said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.”  While I’m certain he was talking about fighting wars and leading nations, his statement applies to your life as well.

Everyone loves a good before and after.

I got this Adrienne Vittadini dress at Filene’s basement a while ago. In retrospect, I will admit I was mesmerized by the kind of of slate grey, kind of lilac color and the $29.99 price tag. I didn’t really like the pilgram-esque collar but I overlooked it. But it proved to be troublesome, constantly flopping up and making it difficult to wear sweaters and necklaces. Once winter rolled and this great burden became too much to bear, I finally took it  to our tailor.

When she said it reminded her of something Condoleezza Rice would wear I knew I had done the right thing. (No offense Condi, but we’re just not going for the same look, you and I.)

I had the collar tacked in (and my hair chopped off) and here are the results:

And now I can accessorize in all my glory.

Although it kind of makes me feel like I’m one hundred years old to use the word “brooch,” I do have a couple of awesome ones and have been getting some wear out of them on my belts lately.  This would work for a fun feather hair clip – I enjoy this one at J Crew but couldn’t bring myself to shell out 22.50 for it.

you like, you want?

Me too.

Lucky for us there’s a give-a-way-palooza taking place over at The Big Piece of Cake and Wishing True. While I am not as generous and organized as Kate (she has a button, ok), I feel like I’m quasi-pulling my weight by reporting that among many other fantastic things, one of her give-a-ways is for the oh-so-fabulous Bee Gee Bags. Click the button for the full list or head straight to the Bee Gee Bag Promise-land here. (closes Sunday, December 6th)

pleasing.

While enjoying the spectacular weather this afternoon we walked past Anthropologie in Georgetown and their fluffy dandelion cloud-like window display really caught my eye. I snapped this pic and caught the reflection of the buildings on the opposite side of M Street too.

The result is….well, pleasing.

Best wishes for a pleasing week.  Stay tuned for my M Street finds later this week.

crown jewels: turkey day collection.

Thanksgiving is a good time to reflect on all the things we often take for granted.

Truly, I am one lucky bitch.

In between enjoying the fantastic company of my family and extended family and eating like I was preparing for the Burmese death march, I cleaned out my childhood bedroom and unearthed some awesome necklaces that used to belong to my grandmother.

the fab four.

The owl is my fave.

hoo hoo

But am also loving the  long gold chain:

mmmmmmm. antique clasp.

The gold ones are great for lathering and I’ve already been channeling Mr. T (Kate’s daughter Eleanor inspired me a while back). I’ve been doing some light layering for a while – two, three, maybe four necklaces at a time, but lately I’ve been experimenting with really piling it on. My husband says it looks like I’m wearing too many necklaces, but I prefer to think I look like these guys (image borrowed from Pssst).

I’m thinking New Year’s Eve is the perfect night to take things up a notch. Because I pity the fool who has never rocked statement jewelry.

I have an excuse this time.

And it’s not that the dog ate my homework. I have been busy enjoying everything that H1N1 has to offer. But fear not friends, I am recovered and will be soon be back to sometimes blogging and sometimes not blogging. Special thanks to GwenniePie for the sweet swiney artwork.

Who doesn’t love a bargain?

I can’t get my own parents to read this blog, so it was exciting to get an email from Rob over at What’s the Deal DC, who’s girlfriend turned him onto WSH – I just made that up on the fly, it stands for What She Has (this blog) for those that might be slow.

It’s not just the fashion steals that get me going- I love a good other stuff bargains too. Visit What’s the Deal DC for daily deals on restaurants, spas, theaters, sports, etc etc.

“I’ll sniff out a deal. I have a sixth sense.”

“Cheapness is not a sense.”

- George and Jerry, in “The Reverse Peephole”