The Light in the [Daylight Savings] Darkness

New job. Two schools*. Relationship. No Time.

Mukarram knew I was really struggling with the onslaught of school work (finals0, work-work (no boss) and trying to balance being a sane person that eats properly and gets spends time being human. One night when we were doing one of our weekly/biweekly dinner and grocery run's to Whole Foods he said, "pick some flowers" and to  my absolute excitement they had peonies.

I went home and immediately put them in a jar and carried them up to my room. They were beautiful! They lasted for nearly three weeks and as each bud faded, instead of leaves falling off the stem, the color simply faded from a bright fuchsia to a pale pink. They were just he bright spot I needed to wake-up to each morning!

*did I mention i'm taking a class at GW on Media and Foreign Policy) and another class in GMU's School of Conflict and Resolution.

Deck the Halls with Designers

I thought this card was appropriate considering I work for the American Society of Interior Designers. Happy holidays, all. I hope it is one filled with many wonderful memories, surrounded by loved ones and full of great treats that won't make you regret eating them too much!

Give Thanks You're Not in Hunger [Games]

This Thanksgiving was more mellow than I've experienced in recent years, mostly because I wasn't traveling anywhere and sadly no one was traveling to me. However that did not mean that Shannon and I would not celebrate in style. We made the most of our apartment space and, again with the help of M's car, we borrowed two tables from the chapel and created a large banquet table for our group of 12.

It's always exciting to prep and decorate so we were both up quite late rearranging the furniture, cleaning and planning. We (Shannon) pressed the linens, we set the table and made and I made the pies so they wouldn't take up the oven space on game-day. The next morning we woke-up and out of necessity walked to Harris Teeter for a few last-minute grocery items and a rolling-pin (rolls!) It was a beautiful, crisp autumn day to be out and about. Around 2pm everyone began trickling with their goods and the feast began! We played games, chatted, took photos (of course) and were enjoying the laziness of the day until we realized it was time for The Hunger Games! We piled in our cars and rushed to the Courthouse Theater where we'd purchased our fancy, advanced tickets and chosen the perfect recliner seats to enjoy the film. We took up an entire row and were even joined by Sara and Fred Michael G'Nuessen, then afterward everyone came back for pie.

As the evening trickled on people left to digest all their food and Shannon, M and I enjoyed the calm as the holiday season descended upon us. At midnight M left since he had to work the next day and even though Shannon did as well, we went to Target anyway! We were a bit disappointed in the findings but managed to get some new PJs, a few movies and some random things you have to get when they're at Black Friday prices!  I slept in and waited until M got off of work at 1pm ... so that we could play!

Here comes the holidays. <3

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Fauxchitecture at its Finest

I have a strong affinity to fireplaces. I remember having stacks of wood delivered to our house in Utah that would become warm fires throughout winter. We'd gather around and read the Sunday comics, watch a movie or, in my case, stare blindly at the growing flames. I even went so far as to create a paper fireplace in one apartment on my mission so that we could hang our stockings from its mantel. Then came the many wonderful fires at Mt. Ida where we'd roast marshmallows, read books and eat soup, chat until the wee hours or stay warm when all heat sources were cut off during a harsh snow storm. Thus, when I moved into The [other] Hamptons I was sold partially on the fireplace.

Howevever, there was one small detail. It was this little random box in the wall with absolutely no character and I knew that had to change. Thus, as fall began to turn into winter Shannon and I finally completed our DIY fireplace project that had been sitting around since July. We took a small bucket of paint and created a faux finish then drilled a plank board (cut to specs) to the top to make it seem like a nice, open, inviting fireplace! I know, we're geniuses. And now you may all feel free to come join us in roasting marshmallows, reading books and generally lazing by the fire.

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Love Notes

I love being an auntie. I especially love being one to adorable, kind-hearted kiddos that write me notes and draw me photos. Case in point: I went down to Charlotte, N.C. to be with my brother and his family for my nephew Clancey's baptism.

At the baptism Beckham spoke (and mentioned the talk I gave at his, woot woot!), my mom spoke and his other gama Price spoke before a musical number was given. Afterward there was a BBQ at Derek and Kristie's house where burgers on Kristie Kreme donuts were served, chips, corn on the cob, watermelon and all kinds of summer goodies ... because it's still warm in the south!

It was hard to only have a quick weekend at home but thanks to flex Friday's I at least had a three day weekend! Before I left the kiddos came to say goodbye and Clancey gave me a note that I couldn't read before I got on the plane. Of course I cheated (a bit!) and read it when I was waiting for my plane! Love him!

High Point vs. High Tea

  A lucky few of us were assigned to go to High Point Market for the fall. A lucky two of us were assigned to go down for the entire time, beginning Friday evening. Those lucky two happened to be Lorina and myself. We made a pact that if we had to go down then we were going to make the most of it. This included trying new restaurants, maybe finding a cool thing to buy and doing high tea at our hotel, the O'Henry. The first bad news came that it was hard to get a taxi anywhere and it cost a lot more than an arm and a leg. When we arrived Friday evening we hired one to take us to a restaurant Lorina had found only to find out it was already closed for the night! We went back and ate at the hotel restaurant {sigh}. The next night we wanted to try another place but it was over booked and since it was late ... we ate at the hotel restaurant. On our lucky third night the CEO had made dinner reservations for everyone at, you guessed it, our hotel restaurant (even though he was staying at a different hotel. WTF.) To say the least Lorina and I were spent on the hotel menu. Not that it wasn't amazing and that we didn't try a bunch of random stuff just because we knew it would all come out to less than anyone else was spending! But beyond our usual we had two highlight dining experiences. The first was a 50 dollar cab ride to a hole in the wall Mexican joint. It was amazing, our cab ride was more than double our meal, ha! The second was on my bucket list: high tea! We made reservations for a 3:30 tea time so we could make sure to get all the things done at the Market that we needed to. We raced back just in time to lounge while sipping our tea like dignified Washingtonians (and of course that included people watching commentary.) Pinky's up!

When Birds of a Feather...

 

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... can't flock together, you buy two that can. After going to NYC all weekend for work I had earned a comp day, which I used on Tuesday so I could spend the day with Mukarram before he left for Hajj. I think it is the closest I will (hopefully at this stage in my life!!) come to sending off a missionary. Monday evening we went to Dungarats (where we had our first date) for dinner and spent the evening relaxing before we had to call it a night. As soon as I woke-up Tuesday morning I went over, we had breakfast together, I helped him pack, we ran errands (including shots!) and had a nice lunch before he had to fully get ready i.e. spiritual mind frame/time for girlfriend to leave.

I knew it was only three weeks, but knowing we had a lot to figure out while he was gone ... it was really hard for me. I went home aaaaand I'm not really sure what I did after that! However, as soon as Shannon came home  we went to Petsmart and I bought two birds. That's right, meet, Chancho (named after Nacho Libre since he looks like he's wearing a Mexican wrestling mask) and Ferdinand (he seemed more exploratory and gutsy when I first got him. Now, however, he is the shy guy.) There you have it, M hasn't even been gone 12 hours and I binge buy two budgies.

*It seemed slightly poetic I got the same meal at the same place I had on our first date. Did I mention we were sat at the same table as well? Love him.

Red Bull Doesn't Always Give Wings

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Before Mukarram left for Hajj we purchased tickets to go see Red Bull's Flugtag at the National Harbor. We took the metro to the bus terminal near the Hoffman theater and were bused across the bridge to the event. We eventually found a spot toward the back where we could see what was happening with a relatively perfect view. After about 30 minutes some people on the grass left so I quickly maneuvered my way down and we now had a perfect vantage point.

We saw work groups flop into the water, friends cascade off the platform and others just nosedive into the abyss. The most memorable (in a sad way) was a group of college engineering students that were using it as their final project. The emcee was talking all kinds of hype about how amazing it was going to be because, hello, they went to school for this. Sadly, THEY DIDN'T EVEN  MAKE IT OF THE PLATFORM BEFORE IT FELL APART! It was so sad to watch!

Overall it was a hilarious, fun and relaxing way to spend a Saturday, that is until it started pouring rain. When it did more than sprinkle we bolted for the bus, where we had to wait in line getting wetter by the second. By the time we got back to Pentagon City we were pretty wet, but it's okay, we had fun! We stopped in at CPK to dry off and eat a late lunch, where I also got this amazing photo of his post-downpour curly hair. Love it!