we ordered a dining room table and chairs today. does this mean i'm an adult now? we're having easter at our house - i can't wait!

we introduced socrates to the dog park today. so far we know that it takes her some time to get warmed up to people - mostly men. we had no idea how she was with other dogs. wow - she loved it. she ran her little heart out. such a sweet dog.

sweet little love.

image

oh - how i long for spring. as soon as the snow melts i'm buying a big bunch of beautiful tulips. consta and i have cooked and ate for the last 3 days. with 30 inches of snow on the ground and another 10-20 coming today - we really have nothing else to do.

we walked to canton square last night and ate a Mama's on a Half Shell. Yum! We always order the calamari appetizer. it's hands down the best calamari we have ever eaten. Consta ordered the scallops and I got fish and chips. They brought me an entire beer battered cod! Holy smokes! It was great but way too much. We should have split. Lots of left overs though.

today i'm heading over to the library to pick up some work out dvd's (i'm dying here) and a yoga dvd. also, book club pick of the month this week is Girl with the Pearl Earring, hopefully they have that too. i also need to walk to the grocery store and pick up some milk. thank goodness for living in the city. not sure any place on the east coast is drivable.

the artwork we have in our office are two muted watercolors of koi fish. how fitting these would be.

i'd like to introduce Socrates, the newest edition to our family.

these are incredibly clever. check more of this designer's work out here.

oh the goodies i ended up with yesterday!

i needed a mental health day yesterday afternoon. i left work early and headed up to mcclean, virginia. they have a west elm at the tysons corner center and i've been eyeing up a storage bench.

i wanted to check it out in person first. i've been a little leery about ordering west elm furniture online. i've visited the store a few years ago and the wood appeared to be pretty cheap and the fabric and cushion material was flimsy. they were pricey too!

they've done a complete 180 and i'm blown away. everything in the store was gorgeous! the cushions were firm, they're using organic linen, velvet and silk. the wood was stunning. i feel like i can comfortably order online again.

ok - i'm posting again officially. hopefully i'll keep up with it a few times a week. it's a resolution after all. :)

last year was HUGE and now a small recap:

My Aunt passed away in a horrible car accident in February. It was a complete tragedy to my family. She is incredibly loved. The mentally handicap, I believe, can be a gift from God. I have never met a more innocent and sincere and happy person in my life. I love her deeply and am sad that Consta never had a chance to meet her.

My best friend married a wonderful, kind man in April.

Consta purposed to me a week later in a sculpture garden.

I graduated with my MA in May. Then - wedding planning began.

House shopping took over. After grueling it out for 2 months and seeing EVERY house in Baltimore we fell in love with a sweet little house in September. We walk away after we received the long list of repairs. Heartbroken we kept searching. We found an even better house in October and moved in at the beginning of November.

Our first project as new homeowners was to tear up carpet and lay hardwood floors on the second level. We tried, and realized that sometimes you just need help. Not everyone HAS to be incredibly handy. We hired someone.

Oh - and then there is the secret. I might tell you sometime. But the close of the year is something I will never forget.

It's crazy how beautiful and blessed a life can be, but it always seems to be balanced by something tragic. I get the need for balance. It's just a bummer though.

i do love dishtowels. a weird obsession i know.

it's been a very long time since i've post anything. no fear. i'm still here. i promise i'll get to it in a few weeks. for now though - flowers.

house shopping again :) too bad i can't find anything that looks like this in the US - it is called the Manhattan afterall. I can't imagine how much the shipping would cost.

i think this wallpaper from ballard designs is so pretty and subtle. it would add a ton of texture to an accent wall.

i'm in love with this tile from ann sacks.

i've started day dreaming about the furniture we'll buy for our future house. i want something cozy but still clean-looking. i've always favored blue but, for some reason lately i've really wanted yellow and clay colors. maybe it's influence from the wedding.

here are some of things i've been looking at:


pottery barn


crate and barrel

flickr

i miss my lovey.

flickr

i think that i eat pretty healthy. in fact, people at work say i'm "different" because i eat yogurt, fruit, lean meats and fiber crackers on a daily basis. the truth is i'm not a big green veggie fan. sure, give me sweet potatoes anytime (esp. loaded with marshmallows, haha) but greens, no thanks.

recently i've decided to go to a nutritionist. he suggested that i give "green smoothies" a try. it sounds gross but i broke down and had one. i'm so delighted that it turned out sooo good.

there are a ton of recipes online but i did this one:

2 cups of spinach
1 banana
1/2 cup of low fat vanilla yogurt
1 tsp flaxseed
dash of cinnamon
1 packet of truvia

you seriously can't taste the spinach. i think next time i'll try to include some ice so it's extra frothy. i'm not sure my blender can handle it though.

next on the list to make:
apple and cinnamon
mint and cocoa
pineapple and banana

wow. these bags from eclu are gorgeous. in fact, i hear them saying "birthday present" :)

on the agenda this month - designing and sending out save the dates. i made progress tonight and found stamps :)

i can't wait to make these grilled chicken and avocado napoleons. giada seriously made my mouth water and it seems simple enough to make.