All I Want For Christmas is You....& You.....& You

Was checking out Svenskt Tenn's new collection and found this amicable piece of art. Since I think my love, rightfully, probably had something less extraordinary in mind and given that I can't really afford it myself I opted for these gorgeous brass candle stick holders instead.

Also on my fantasy Christmas list. Darling chairs in walnut, gold rimmed whiskey glasses, and a very stylish weekend bag like this one from Swaine Adeny Brigg.

What's on your list?

Meet me by [...] Safeway

For those of you who may not know, Safeway is a national wide American grocery store. This post is dedicated to the story behind this very grocery store became a point of reference in D.C.

Conversation with friend 

Friend: Meet at Safeway?

Me:  Soviet-Safeway?

Friend: Swedka-no-more-Safeway.

Me: Wait. Isn't Soviet-Safeway the same as Swedka-no-more-Safeway?

Friend: Is it?   

Me: Thinking about it. Secret-Safeway might be closer to where we are going. 

Friend; So is  UnSafeway, but you know we aint meeting there. 

In addition to UnSafeway, Swedka-no-more-Safeway (also known as No-wine-Safeway) & Soviet-Safeway (also known as Rationed-Safeway) there is a long list of [fill in blank] Safeway's including Sexy-Safeway, Spanish-Safeway & Social-Safeway. 

I feel obliged to add a note to the Sexy-Safeway's. Don't be deceived. Showing up wearing your finest Saturday Night Live outfit thinking that you will get lucky -- not likely going to happen. The Sexiness is a tribute to the exterior: a steel and glass modernist design that looks hot next to some of its blocky brick neighbors. 

Whoever you are that came up with first [fill in blank] Safeway. 

S(t)hank you!

I won't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day

My day...got off to a, well, rather rocky start.  


Early morning meeting. Rushing to work, slightly tired after a fabulous night celebrating B's bday.


It's raining. That's ok. I feel like million bucks in my new dress, turquise rainboots, and trenchcoat. 


Oh, good...Starbucks...I should have time to grab a coffee..Walk in, line to order is super long, which is to be expected at this time of the day. Half way through the line. Patience. I pray for patience. Wow. DCtonians drink specialty coffees. Soy, decaf, extra foam, dry, pumpkin lattes later the barista looks at me with big eyes & confusion when I order. No, no, you heard it right. Just regular coffee, please. [Ed.Note: Dear Starbucks, please consider express lines for regular coffee drinkers.] Reach for my purse, heart start racing. Where is my credit card? Did someone steal my credit card? I bet it was that Pumpkin soy latte guy in front of me...I bet it...Then it hits me. Oh no. Last night. My credit card must have been left behind last night. I hope it wasn't feeling cold and lonely by my betrayal. How could I forget my credit card. Was I not ready to face the bill after the 'Love, it's only your birthday once a year, we need to celebrate' and the 'Of course we need lots of champagna' or the 'Don't be silly darling, it's your bday you can't buy your own drinks'? This combined with my 'pay everything with a credit card don''t carry cash' mentality = no coffee. I need to start carry cash. 


10 min, plenty of rummaging around, and some bantering with the barista later. Victory! Coffee. Hurrah. All smiles, ahhh...the smell of accomplishment. This is how Steve Jobs must have felt when....No no no no noooooo. To late. Coffee spilled over my new dress. Sigh.


Get to the office. Find my emergency outfit stacked in a drawer. Shoes don't match but ok. I'll manage. [Note to self: update emergency outfits at work.]  


Meeting cancelled. 

Learn that Spotify is now blocked at work. Great. Can't remember my pandora password.

Oh well, hey at least it's humpday. TGIAF


Perhaps I should take a lesson from the "top 6": "I won't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day"


Will leave you with this cute little dress from Nina Ricci. Perfect for emergency's and days like these.  

Which Fall Comes First?

Why is it that I fall in love with fall before it's fall?

Could it be the color of the trees changing from green to red, to yellow, and bright orange; Pumpkin spiced latte; or the fall collection [guilty]? Well, perhaps all of the above?

It was so cold today. I was freezing walking my 35 min walk to work. With that said there was rather an exhilaration as I was able to wear my [new] coat. Yes. I am in love. Then again. Fall(ing) in love is lovely. Especially when it comes with these lovely things.

Purple Rain, Purple Fall

The weather is simply glorious today. I wish I had a laptop with a better screen so I could work outside in the sun sans glitches and glances from "writers" at Starbucks (sorry, updating your status on Facebook don't qualify as writing.) Speaking off Starbucks. I just learned that by downloading their app you get free refills of Regular or Ice Tea/-Coffee. Feels like I am saving money already. My coffee budget is going to be halved before I know it. And then, with all those savings I can buy these handsome trousers or this beautiful coat from Robert Rodriguez. Perhaps I should purchase them in advance?! With all the sale going on right now it would make more sense right?! I mean, I would actually be saving money by not waiting. Hmmmm....It's going to be a purple fall. I can feel it.

So You Think You Can Stance?

Friend: How is the party?

Me: Mmm..ok I guess. Lot's of people stancing.

Friend: ??

Me: You know. Dancing while standing.

Friend: ???

Me: Like this.

Me stancing followed by awkward pause.

Friend: You are not very good at stancing.

Just like that. Boom. I coined my first term & found out my limited potential as a stancer.

So I owe you all an update. It's been a while. I know. So I got a great job working full time with Social Media. I love it. My boss is great -- very supportive, & my one colleague is marvelous & hilarious. I get to develop skills within a niche field. How can you not love that.

I am back...

Back in action.

The last couple of months have been eventful. Landed my dream job, changed my career aspirations, and found the perfect dress. Ok...make that a couple of perfect dresses, shoes, bags, and ehm....accessories.

Will blog more about this soon. Just wanted to peak back in and say hi. Be on the look out for a new header and address.

Bisous

"A Night At the Office"

Bonsoir! Comment allez-vous ce soir? I should be home working from home right now thank's to remote access, eating icecream. That, unfortunatly, is not going to happen. Someone "broke" "something" and dear yours is in her cubicle working from work. Now, it could be worse. Got me some mean Lean Cuisine, Honest Ade Pomegranate Blue, and good tunes going. Lately I have found myself getting into french hiphop. Although, not completely sure what they are rapping about, I am picking up on some (assumed) gangster rap. I have a feeling it's not about love and peace. 

If I do real well I will be out of here in an hour or two and home just in time for a episode of Hawaii Five and some well deserved Rocky Road icecream.

I will leave you with this little blue lover. Inspired by true Hawaii mode and dreams of Waikiki.

Aloha!

Please Don't, ??, and Yes Please

[Ed note: This post was written last night as the result from a long day at work followed by a glorious evening outside...enjoy]

As the number of candles on my birthday cake (slowly) increases, so is my amazment with certain concepts, food, and styles. Listed below are some of my "Please Don't", "??", and "Yes Please".

Please Don't and ??

"Hipsters" (quotation marks as "hipster" has many confusing definitions)

Extract from conversations with "hipster" friends through out the years:

"...I am sorry, I don't have PBR at home. Wine ok?...No, it's not organic or locally produced. It's from Spain...Carbon footprints?...ehm not sure. It doesn't say on the bottle..."

"...ehm..well, lets see if I got this right...you are not a "hipster", but according the definition you are...but you do not consider yourself a textbook hipster...ehm..ok...then what excactly are you? Oh, so you are a "hipster"?! Wait. I am confused..."
"...You hung out with Michelle Williams at your favorit organic, local produced, vegan, cafe in Brooklyn? Cool. Wasn't she part of that pop culture TV show long time ago? Wait..no, she was married to that hunk Heath Ledger right..."

"...no, my high heels are very comfortable thank you very much...No need to borrow your ergonomically correct footwear..."

Silence.

Of course I would never dream of telling my "hipster" friends that I poke fun of them when I am all alone. Thankfully, my "hipster" friends no longer discuss my fashion sense (read: wearing leather. Gasp!) or eating habits. So truce currently subsides. However, if I receive one more email about a vegan bag/shoe/accessory sale, things might change. 

Ill-fitted suits. Disaster. If I had a penny for every time I shook my head passing men wearing ill-fitted suits (topped off with a festive tie) there would be enough pennies for the new nickname Penny. Now, you may think that I am refering to slightly older silver foxes. I am not. We are talking 20-30ish something gents. Where are their good clothing sense? And if that does not exists, where are their stylists?!

It appears to be that in this city, men are either a) considering M J Fox aka "Back to the Future guy" as a style icon, or, B) they are unaware of their size. To you men who belong to category A, there is very little I can do. For the B category, let me let you in on a little secret. We (ladies that you want to impress) can not see the label from the outside, and can therefore not know what size you wear. Worried about xray vision? Take your size "L" suit to a tailor or have the store change that "M" to "L". Sigh.

American gravy. It's pretty much seethrough. Cringe. No thank you, I rather have my meat dry. Unless I would be awarded with a trophy and a $50,000 check from the X-Factory I see no reason for pouring it over my food. While we are on the topic, add American coffee to the list. If I wanted to see bottom of my cup of joe I would have had water.

Yes Please!



Open toe sandals from DVF. No explanation needed (see insert and image from last post and you will know why).

Americas Birthday. First of all, no one can look bad wearing red, blue, and white at the same time. Can't say the same for the Dutch. Looking good in Orange?! Yeah, try pulling that off. I tried, and tried, and tried, for the World Cup Soccer finals. Nope...still no go. Back to America's Bday. Part from you being already tanned and looking fly in your red, blue, and white, add activities such as lounging by a pool, playing games, eating hot dogs and indulge in sing-a-long to American Pie. Add fireworks and you have yourself a tri-fecta. 

Cherry Blossoms in D.C. Cherry blossoms everywhere! On the trees, in the air, your hair, on the streets... How divine. Add warm spring evenings, spring fashion, and everyone being happy. How I adore thee cherry blossoms. You bring joy to Washington D.C.



Celebrating America's Bday the right way!









No this is not Brett Michaels w/out hairextensions...

Oh Summer, Where Art Thou?

Dear Mrs Sun and Mr. Glorious Warmth.

It seems like you are taking an awful long time to arrive in Washington D.C. this year. Last year it was steady 65 °F (18°C) by now.

Part from it once again being pleasant outside, I want it to be warm so I get a chance to wear the lovely flowy dresses purchased while visiting Frida in Chi-town. Mmm...lovely, flowy, printed dresses, matched perfectly with these sandals from DVF. Since I am having problems settling on one color, I am tempted to not only purchase them in pink, but also yellow, and turquoise. During work meetings, I think about how much fun this summer will be. Sunday funday by the pool, rooftop BBQ's, and late summer swims in KK's rooftop pool. All while wearing flowy dresses, cute cut-off jean shorts with a silk Cami's, either outfit paired perfectly with these DVF sandals. Each pair of sandals matching the current color schemes in my wardrobe.

Mrs Sun, I promise not to complain about standing in line for iced coffee in 90 °F. Mr Warmth, my promise to you is to not cursing your name when having to consume my Popsicle in lighting speed, causing a brain freeze, to prevent it from melting. Pinkie swear. I will be much better this year, I won't even say something or sigh when the first burn on my sensitive skin appears. Or when my A/C bill spikes.

 

Please hurry up so I may wear open toe sandals without freezing my pinkie toe off.

Yours truly,

Inter[mode]

Attention please. Over here, no, over here, no, over here...

It's 9.40 PM on a Tuesday night and I am working. Accomponied by a glass of Oyster Bay, blue cheese, and CNN. It sure could be worse.

What is happening in Japan is slightly unreal and hard for me to comprehend. I see the footage on TV and I want to but I can't relate. How could you? A couple of minutes, that is all it took and life as they knew it was gone. Their homes, their possessions, and in many cases, their family...After we, the audience, has shaken our heads, prayed for the victims, we go back to our reality. To work, dropping off our kids at day care, discussing the Bachelor by the water cooler. Oh my, I can not believe he picked Emily....

It scares me how quickly focus can change. Just a couple of days ago, all focus was on Libya. Before that, Egypt, and before that the financial economic crisis. All "disasters" requiring, hogging if you like, world aid, attention, and coverage. How much can you mind take in? How many causes can you care for and discuss?

Will this disaster be different or will Japan only receive full world attention and aid, till next disaster, perhaps tomorrow, occurs? And in mean time, what will happen to the people fighting for reform in Libya?

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is raising funds to help children in Japan impacted by the recent earthquake and tsunami.

You can help to. To donate visit their website by clicking here or visit (https://secure.unicefusa.org/site/Donation2?df_id=9640&9640.donation=form1)

Spring Is In The Air!




Spring is in the air mes cheres!

Walking home from work I saw buds on the trees. On another  note. Madly in love with these sunglasses (yes, with Mr X as well). Which one to pick. Gah!!! How can one concentrate when these beauties is only a few clicks away. Help me decide please.

Spring cleaning is a great way to purge yes?! Well, now there are additional benefits. Donate your "professional" attires that you no longer use to Dress for Success 

The weather outside is [fill in blank]

It's miserable outside. What is your weather like? Sitting on my couch wearing my most comfy grey boy shorts, tank top...also grey (laundry day) with my hair styled in true Sunday lioness style (another way of saying unbrushed, tangled, disheveled...take your pick)

I was hoping for a nice day out outside...perhaps a trip to Lou Lou's, Cafe au Lait with a croissant at Cafe La Bonne, checking out that new consignment shop on U street. Sigh. Instead I am going to watch Out of Africa and dream about one day owning my very own coffee plantation. Wearing this amazing outfit.

Now...where are those girlscout cookies?

Obsessions

This spring I am obsessing over a pair of R.M Williams boots. Unfortunately these goodies are not precisely within my budget. I have been pleading, and pleading, and pleading to Ms Money Penny, my sensible alter ego,  that these R.M. Williams boots are not, and therefore should not, be considered regular boots as much as a great investment. The same pleading helped secure a classic Burberry trench. As well as the beige Kors bag, which for the record, have saved me on many moody bag days.

To complete the look this spring I am yearning for this classic – the Barbour jacket. I can already feel the winds twirling my hair as I walk the country, complete with a Jack Russel…of course.

One dollar baby

How much do you love a cafe Latte?

Today I gave a homeless man a orange on my way to work. I am not going to lie. It felt good. I felt good. Three blocks down less so. Did you know that according to the World Bank rising food prices have pushed another 44 million people into extreme poverty in the last year? People are starving and there I am, an employee of the organization whose mission is to eliminate poverty, enjoying my 10 AM Latte.

What prevents you from donating to a cause? Is it...

...stakeholder issues? Wondering where your donations really end up

...lasziness. Was planning on. Forgot. Uhm.. had the intentions….the list is long, the excuses tiresome.

...starving children in your living room at dinner time. Being exposed to a large amount of donation campaigns. So feed up with starving people showing up in your living room.

It took an orange to realize how sad my excuses are.

Did you know that if you would spend US$5 instead of US$10/week on lunch you could literally save someone’s life? Yep. For US$28 you can help a child to food, water, and an education. Find out more here

Do something good today. Take the 4 question survey offered by the UN World Food Programme. In exchange they will donate a warm meal to a child in Haiti. For more information and to take the test visit http://gifts.wfp.org/quiz/haiti?lead_source=fbshare-wfp-haiti-quiz