Day One: Close to Belonging

Candica, Heidi, Marti and I met very early this morning at the airport because our flight was at 7am. Boy was I tired and my eyelids were heavy but once the girls got there my spirit was lifted! The flights were both on time and super easy and by 12:30pm we were on the Island. And that is when our journey truly began...

We breezed through customs where we learned the term "belongers." It is an interesting way to describe a local. So our mission is to be the belongers this week! Another thing we learned was that here on the Island they drive on the opposite side of the road...AND they have traffic circles which made all four of our heads spin. I mean all instincts tell you to look left then right, it is hard to push reset on your brain! But that is the point of a vacation, right?

Once at the hotel, we changed into our suits and headed down the beach. This island is incredible, powder white sand, crystal turquoise water and sunsets that will change your life. We went to The Palms for lunch and had such a great time. It was refreshing to be with three strong women who are all so dynamic, but that have so much in common! We then jumped into the infinity pool and got our first taste of the water...stick to bottles. We decided to head back a few hours later and much to surprise we ran into a man cutting coconuts on the beach! They were filled (of course) with the most delicious and cold coconut water. Talk about fresh! The kicker was that our friendly "belonger" added a shot of vodka to sweeten the beverage. Whoa, was it good. He must have known these girls love to drink and drink we did! Another thing you should know about our group is that we love to make new friends on the beach, in the pool, at meals, etc. One we got back to the hotel, some of the other guests wanted to know where our giant coconuts came from and when we ran into one couple later that night at our inaugural dinner at Hemingways, they called us the coconut girls...a nickname was born!

We split up into teams to tackle the important stuff - Heidi and Marti took off to experience the local grocery situation and Candi and I hit the beach! Once they returned from the venture with all the spoils of the island, I made some delicious dark and stormy's and we toasted to a fabulous vacation. More to come!

Sun and sand, only a day away...

Turks and Caicos

I am taking my first vacation of the year! I know, its only January 6th but this vacation is well deserved. I have been running ragged since September and the holidays don't necessarily relieve a lot of personal stress for me, I am sure you can relate. So it was by chance I stumbled on the opportunity to go to the Islands...My friend Candice won this trip as a silent auction item and I was one of the lucky gals who got an invite!

We leave early tomorrow morning to head to Turks and Caicos. I have heard so many amazing things about it, especially from two of my very favorite people who got married there! The beautiful beaches, crystal clear water, beach chairs...I think that is pretty much all I need. We are staying at a place within walking distance of the Gansevoort Hotel (we have been told that is where the celebs stay!) I will not disclose the location for fear that my mother will be on the next plane down. Seriously, she would do that. I think we are also going to test our beach hiking skills and do some exploring under the sea! My passport is secured, my bag is almost packed and I am ready to kick up my feet in 80 degree weather!

I hope to post a few pics while I am gone, but I can't make any promises, I plan to be on Island time all week. 2012 is looking pretty sweet.

My dream becomes a reality...uh oh

Ah, Anthropologie. Your clothes, home goods and shoes enrich my life. The fact that you are always there when I am sad, excited or bored is so comforting to me. As I walked down the street in Old Town today, I saw that you have FINALLY put up your sign where the dilapidated Hallmark used to be, a happy reminder that you really are going to be just a half block away from where I work. I hear that you open on January 27th, how unfortunate since I will be away on work. I have no doubt you will welcome me with open arms the following week when I return. Please don't sell all the wonderful things you will have in store before I get there. I am a loyal customer and could suffer from a mental breakdown should that happen.

Yes everyone, I have an addiction. And this creates a problem considering I can literally trip into the new store opening on King Street while I go out for my morning coffee or lunch. This is a disaster, but maybe I will learn a little self control. I just have to share a few things that I am excited about that is in the new January catalog that I think the designers created just for me...no only if I looked like the model.

Cold Weather + Single Tracking = Sad City Girl

Today is the coldest day so far in DC for the winter season. I love cold weather, boots, scarves, bundling up and of course snuggling. But not today. I had to be at work early because everyone else had other engagements and so I woke to a icy floor beneath my feet and a slight sore throat. Perfect. So I drag myself to the bathroom to start getting ready and the hot water takes three times as long to show itself. Then I pick the most inappropriate cold weather outfit (cute skirt, tights, sweater, boots) because I know it will look good for my colleagues that I have a meeting with later today. They don't have to know I spent all morning hovered over a space heater practically scalding my hands as I prayed for more heat to come through the tiny holes.

So then it was off to the Metro. Yesterday I chose to bike into work as sort of a " hello 2012, I can handle you" stance, but my body is mad as a junkyard dog and refusing to do anything productive today. Guess I am not going to be using my new Stroga pass this week. Anyway, I got onto the Blue line train and everything was swell. Well, other than a little child singing at the top of her lungs, which had I made the coffee like the Squid asked me to it might not have been so annoying. As I transferred at L'Enfant Plaza to the Yellow line, everything stopped - literally. Trains in both directions were single tracking. What a nightmare. So me and about 300 other folks are standing there bitching about the Metro system. Did they not just have two weeks of down time to get the trains in order? I mean come on people. Finally after what felt like an hour, the Huntington Train was on the track. It looked like a sardine can. People spilling out from every crevice. Arms, legs, bags - it was so ridiculous. That is when the shoving started...I was literally carried onto the train by several large women hollering to "get on the train!" A young timid gentleman asked if I needed to use the pole to secure my footing and I just said, "no worries, I don't think I am going anywhere." It was true.

Needless to say, I made it to work in one piece and learned more about the six strangers surrounding me than I ever expected to, or wanted to for that matter. However, I was toasty warm, ah the silver lining!

Living in a big city is great when you are on your own time, you can explore and maneuver at your own pace. Today Washington DC owned me. I would like my dignity back please and thank you.

New year, new goals

Coming out of my New Years weekend haze - on Tuesday - I am faced with the yearly task of setting some goals for the New Year. They are typically always the same, to lose a unattainable number of pounds, to eat right and drink more water, save more money, volunteer more, etc. The list goes on and on. I have learned that those are things I should just do in general, these things should be a second nature to me. So instead of pledging my life away to things that I should already be doing, here is a list of new things I would like to accomplish for myself in 2012. 

• Learn to use my new sewing machine and create a piece that Anthropologie wishes they could sell in their store. 
• Have a better relationship with my dog. I know it sounds silly, but we could both use some quality time together. Over the holidays we both realized that we are stuck with one another. We have to get used to the harsh reality that he will never have thumbs so he can't help with dinner and I am never going to 
• Find a place to live that sticks and let it grow on me. I have this really bad habit of moving cities every two years and completely changing my life to feel normal. What a ridiculous idea. I would really like to see how "domestic" looks on me.
• Challenge myself as often as possible. Whether it be riding my bike to work in 30 degree weather with 33 mph winds (this morning, not kidding), or taking on big tasks to reap big rewards. I need to kick it up a notch.
• Spend more time with the Squid. Just because you live with someone doesn't mean you are spending quality time together. Austin and I have had a wonderful 2012 so far, spending as much QT as we can. Its not all about laundry and cooking folks, we have to keep the romance alive!!

I think this list will do for now - of course my favorite is "travel every month" but didn't feel like it deserved a spot on the new and improved list. 

2012, here I come!