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

Guilty Pleasures

I have a secret, rather guilty, pleasure. Passing time I like to guess..ehm...make up my fellow commuters life. It can be the older married looking man on the metro gazing at the younger woman sitting across the aisle, the well dressed man in the Starbucks line obsessively typing on his blackberry, or the imagined chemistry between two people in the elevator. Some may be inspired by muy dramatico Spanish soap opera, but you may pin it on any drama series you like. This "secret pleasure" of mine stems from when my sister and I used to make up stories about people in restaurants and bars. What did they do for living? First date? Second date? Affair? [gasp] We never, out of shame, asked our "objects" for the truth.

My point? Who needs a kindle when you have passion-live-to entertain you. For a [short] period of time, this made me consider a career within writing. Many are my muses and many more are the dramas surrounding them. But, to be honest, I don't think I could work for spare change. It's the thought of having to choose between shoes and food. How would one choose?

Life in D.C. is ever as exciting. Work is interesting, friends are entertaining. Last Sunday I casually ventured out for a run outside. Glorious weather, good times! To bad my mother’s voice kept appearing. "...dress warmer. You are going to catch a cold..." Great! My mother now lives in my head. As it turned out she was right. I now am pandering around with what easily could be mistaken for an oversized orange in my throat. If only she could foresee trends as well. That way I wouldn't be stuck with an oversized cardigan, in the wrong color that I JUST had to have. Stay warm!