Storage and Sports

When my parents visited over Valentine's Day weekend they brought us our golf clubs.

When Alson's parents visited last weekend they brought his hockey bag, stick, and caddy.

Needless to say, our apartment is overflowing with sports equipment. Our golf clubs are framing our center window in our dining nook, the hockey caddy is in the middle of our clubs, and his hockey bag and sticks (we already had one here) are in the middle of our living room floor.

When we first moved here we kept our golf clubs in my trunk and then dropped them off at my parents house when we were up for Thanksgiving. Now that I am pretty much a testing machine (so many kids are referred for special education this time of year), I have 5 IQ test kits in my trunk and there really is no room for our clubs in there. Since the weather will soon be improving, we are hoping to hit up the driving range and play a few rounds in the coming months, thus the need for our clubs. As for the hockey equipment, we originally elected to not keep any of it in DC because he wasn't planning to play hockey this year. That all changed when a law school friend asked him to join an adult league.

I'm not sure where we will ultimately store all this stuff, but I know it's not going to be in plain sight! Despite the storage problem, I am excited to get swinging and know Alson is too. Here we are golfing on our honeymoon:

We weren't planning to play (I didn't even bring a polo shirt!), but couldn't pass up the course once we got there. Luckily there wasn't a strict dress code.

Any other golfers in the area?

Delivery!

My vineyard vines package just arrived! Alson surprised me with the cutest outfit:


Now I really can't wait for the weather to warm up!

Week Run Down

And another week has flown by...due partially to the birthdays, but also to a new mattress, mock trial, a visit from Alson's parents, puppy sickness, and Restaurant Week here in DC.

On Thursday afternoon our new mattress was delivered! We ordered a generic tempurpedic from Overstock.com after one to many sleepless nights on our old innerspring mattress. Haha, I sound like an infomercial. These kinds of mattresses don't need a box spring, but they require a platform style bed, so we headed out to our local hardware store for some 2 x 4's. After screwing 9 of them into our current bed frame we were ready for our first night of deep sleep. Over the past few nights I have gotten used to not sleeping in a "divot, or gully, or crater" (Alson's terms) and it is glorious. Definitely worth the money!

Taken before we nailed down the 2 x 4's...hence the box spring underneath.

On Saturday Alson participated in his law school's mock trial competition at the DC Courthouse. I was an expert witness for the prosecution, which required a lot of preparation on my part. On Wednesday night we had a scrimmage against another team and on Friday night we spent three hours going over the questions he was going to ask me and the answers I was supposed to give. I loved waking up at 7, sweating on the witness stand during cross examination, and being nervous for Alson in general. Okay, I may have minded a little, but the clothes he ordered from Vineyard Vines as "compensation" (I didn't ask for anything, he surprised me!) made it totally worth it. Plus, Alson looked pretty sexy all cleaned up in a suit!

Alson's parents came into town on Saturday afternoon (about an hour after we got back from mock trial and lunch with the defense) so the day just flew by. We spent the late afternoon hanging out and talking with his parents, then cleaned up and headed to Cafe Atlantico for an early birthday dinner. The food and service was amazing! I felt like I was on Top Chef.

We had brunch on Sunday at a restaurant around the corner and then Alson's parents treated us to some homemade pasta and pesto at the farmer's market. I will definitely be making some Italian this week! Alson also bought me some beautiful tulips from our favorite flower vendor. They are just starting to bloom and are giving me hope that spring is around the corner! His parents then headed to a museum, so we went home, built a fire and took a breather for a couple hours. Before they headed back to NY they stopped by one last time to drop off Alson's hockey bag (more about this in another post) and left us with some NY apples, wine, and healthy snacks. Yum!


We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging on the couch watching the Capitals and some golf (birthday boy got to control the remote). About a half an hour before we were about to get ready for dinner, Kona got sick for the third time this weekend. We finally took to Google and found out that she was just hungry! She pretty much hasn't eaten since my parents left last weekend. Maybe because she was swiping Norman's food and now doesn't like her own? Anyway, Alson ran to the store while I simultaneously boiled water and got ready. Alson returned with some chicken, which I quickly boiled and fed to Kona. She gobbled it up in seconds! Such a spoiled puppy. Hopefully that filled her up and she will return to her normal eating habits shortly. Luckily we made it to Ruth's Chris on time and were able to enjoy a romantic birthday dinner together. The food was very good, but so rich. I can definitely only eat there once in a blue moon. I will, however, be dreaming of their mashed potatoes in the meantime!

And that is the run down of my week. This one shouldn't be quite as busy so I will try to write some posts with more substance!

Quarter Century

Today is Alson's 25th birthday!

Although I've been giving him birthday gifts all month, today I will be sure to spoil him rotten. I am so lucky to have such a loving and caring husband. Happy birthday...I love you!

Dance!

I wish something like this happened on a random day when I was headed to work....





I miss choreographed dancing SOOOO much!

Happy Birthday!

Kona is 3 today!

Happy birthday to the best dog in the world! I foresee lots of belly rubs and treats in her future :)

Sweet Sign

Although I'll always be a northerner, there is a part of me that looooves pink and green.

Head on over to My Flip Flopz to enter a giveaway to win a painted sign like the one above! If you win you get to pick the phrase and colors. Sweet!

Weekend Recap

Since we knew my parents would be here for Valentine's Day, Alson and I exchanged gifts earlier this week. He surprised me with a dozen red roses on Thursday and I gave him Yours & Mine (it was on super sale at CVS a few weeks ago) last weekend. I also got breakfast in bed everyday last week! Nothing fancy, just my favorites (cereal, English muffin with PB, Eggo's), which made it extra special. I am definitely not a morning person so this really helped to start my day.

Why is it that long weekends fly by faster than normal weekends? My parents and their new doggy arrived around 6:30 on Friday night. Isn't Norman so sweet looking?


He has the cutest under bite! He is so good with pictures and does not need to be tricked into looking at the camera. Quite different than taking pictures of Kona!

After meeting Norman and getting settled we headed out for a bite to eat. We didn't have reservations because we weren't sure when my parents would arrive, so we walked around the area to find a place that wasn't packed. We ended up at a little pub on Connecticut; it was really yummy and laid back. Alson claimed the fish and chips rivaled ones he had in Dublin. I think that means we will be heading back there for more fish and chips.

On Saturday we spent the day at the dog park, Whole Foods, and just hanging out in our apartment. After some shopping, Wii, naps, and reading we got ready and headed to Clyde's at Gallery Place for dinner. It was okay, nothing to rave about, but since we had to get last minute reservations (my parents didn't decide they were visiting until last week) we didn't have many restaurants to choose from. Here are Alson and I before dinner. We need some sun (or bronzer)!


Yesterday we ate breakfast at a restaurant around the corner and hit up the farmer's market before my parents headed back to NY. After that Alson and I lounged around and enjoyed some quality time with Kona. I think she was jealous of all the attention Norman was getting!

Today Alson and I thought it would be fun to rearrange our bedroom because we are getting a new mattress this week. We moved ALL of our stuff, including the furniture, into our living room and then vaccumed and dusted the nooks and crannies we don't get to on a weekly (monthly?) basis. After attempting to rearrange we determined it wasn't possible to set up our bedroom any other way and accepted defeat by putting everything back where it was initially positioned. Ugh. At least we cleaned? This really made us realize we DO NOT have enough space and definitely would like to move into a bigger apartment. We of course have to wait and see where/if I get a job, but hopefully we can move out to the Alexandria area. I am looking forward to closet space and dog friendly establishments! Let's hope the stimulus plan creates more jobs in the public schools!

It was so nice to have today off and hopefully this week will fly by as well. I have a sneaking suspicion that it will....we have two birthdays to celebrate and mock trial to prepare for in our house. Busy busy!

Hope you all had a fun and exciting weekend as well!

Family Vist Part 1

My parents are coming to visit this weekend! I can't wait, it should be a lot of fun. Not only are they coming, but they are bringing their new dog, Norman!

Look familiar? Yes, my parents got a dog that looks very similar to Kona. They are too funny. Norman is a maltese, so he is smaller than Kona, but other than that they could be siblings! I can't wait to meet the little rascal, apparently he is a handful. Should be interesting having two dogs in our apartment!

And yes, the title of the post is Family Visit Part 1. That is because Alson's parents are coming to visit next weekend, so we will be entertaining again!

Perfect Day

Today is one of those perfect days. Here is what has happened so far...

My wonderful husband woke me up with breakfast in bed for no reason at all.

We had lunch on the patio of a restaurant around the corner.

We took Kona to the dog park.

Alson got offered a summer position! It's not paid, but hopefully he can get some credit from his law school.

Our neighbors delivered a mileage check that accidentally got placed in their mailbox. $116 dollars! Have I ever mentioned that 116 is my lucky number?

I hope everyone else is enjoying the last of the weekend as much as we are!

Girl's Night

Greetings from North Carolina!

Why is that I couldn't wait to move away from here and now when I visit I want to move back? Granted, I don't want to live in the same town, or part of the state for that matter, but something about being out of the hustle and bustle of the city speaks to me. I am convinced I am one of those "grass is always greener" people when it comes to living situations. Perhaps that is why I have lived in 12497 places. I really hate the process of moving, but I get bored with apartments, cities, states, etc. pretty easily. I would have no problem picking up and moving as long as I have an awesome new apartment/house to live in (and of course a job with my husband and puppy tagging along too). Maybe after law school....

When I come down for my internship meeting I always stay with one of my good friends from grad school. She took an internship in the district where our university is, so it makes my trips a lot cheaper. Usually we go out to a restaurant, share some appetizers, and have a glass of wine the night before our meeting, but when I called her yesterday to let her know I was close, she told me that she and her roommate were hosting a "girl's night" at their apartment. Hmm...I was a little skeptical. I didn't know anyone and would be an outsider!

It ended up being a really nice night. My friend made a chicken casserole dish, one person brought rice, another brought salad, one brought brownies, and the rest of the girls brought wine. We spent most of the night talking about mindless stuff, which was perfect after a long day. They have been doing this for almost two months and rotate to a new person's house every week. Although once a week seems a little much in my busy life, I was thinking of starting something like this.

Who's in?

Journal For Your Honey

With Valentine's Day fast approaching I wanted to let everyone know that Winston is giving away a Between Me and You Honey Journal on his blog!

I bought two of the Honey journals almost a year ago and highly recommend them! Alson and I filled them out in the months before our wedding and then we exchanged journals on our wedding night. It was a wonderful experience and we both cherish everything that is written in the journals.

You have until Sunday, February 8th at 2pm to enter this giveaway. There are lots of ways to get extra entries too! All you have to do is head over to the Sand Dune Publishing web site and take a look around. Then leave a comment on Winston's blog. Be sure to leave your email address so that he can contact you!

De-Stress Me

I have the craziest week ahead so my posting may be few and far between. Or I may post a bunch as a way of procrastinating.

Either way, my stress levels are likely to be through the roof by the end of the week because I have tons and tons of stuff on my to do list. For starters, I have to go to North Carolina on Thursday for an internship meeting, so that is always stressful just because of the 5 hour drive there and back in a 24 hour period. It doesn't help that I have to have the ultimate final draft of my thesis ready by Thursday either. And my portfolio, so I can graduate. Plus all the reports I need to write this week. Okay, enough complaining.

After this week I am hoping to de-stress by doing something relaxing and/or good for my mental health. In my past (pre-internship/law school/bread winner) life I would have splurged for a massage or even a mani-pedi, but since we are on a tight budget and my mom isn't here to go with me (ahem...indulge her only daughter), I need some low cost ideas.

What do you do when you are stressed and need to unravel? Or do any DC gals know of some low cost places I may be able to hit up?

Excuse the Mess!

I am fooling with my HTML this morning. Hopefully I will have a pretty, new layout shortly. Until then, please excuse the mess!