Country roads, take me home

Today at 3:00pm, I am leaving Richtown and heading to White Sulphur Springs, WV....

Why you may ask?

We're heading to the Greenbrier Classic Golf Tournament!

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So excited to spend time with A, watch some of the world's best golfers, and go to lots of concerts. This year they brought in Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, the Black Eyed Peas, Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban!

My twin, Sally and her boyfriend, an old high school friend and my best friend from Charlottesville are also joining us at our house for all the fun!

{A and my family at the GB house last fall}

Soo ready for this long weekend!

What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive. 

-Arnold Palmer

Till next time-

M

Sucker

Am I the only one who is a total sucker for infomercials?

In the few moments I spent on the couch this weekend, I managed to see this:

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I. Must. Have. Eggies.

Anyone who is a part of my family knows how much the Wilson's love their hard-boiled eggs. Since I was little, I can remember the feeling of excitment when my Mom would have these ready for us in the morning (this also applies to chocolate chip pancakes) before we went to school.

When the Eggies commerical came on, A made a comment on when we get older - he said, not so subtly, he will have to hide the remote at night because he fears I'll be up ordering stuff at 3 a.m. I couldn't help but laugh...He does have a point - I am a complete sucker for these things.

Last year, while living in Roanoke - I wound up buying the "Wonder Hangers" because I was told they would "double the size of my closet":

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But, even though they did give me more space in the closet, I didn't much enjoy the sound of falling clothes in the middle of the night. I have to admit, they were probably not my best purchase to date...but hey, I'm a sucker.

A need not worry about my purchasing habits at 3a.m though....I can always just pop over to the nearest CVS to pick up all the Bump-its, Topsy-turvys, Water Globes and Bender Balls my heart desires.

Till next time-

M

Have I mentioned...

..that this past weekend, Amber (one of A's sisters) came into town, along with a few of our other friends, and we all went to Roseland Polo at King Family Vineyards?
It was probably one of the prettiest places I have ever been. If you are in the Crozet/Charlottesville area - definitely go!

Instagram group photo outside = not the best quality:

 Brother and sisters:

My "Pretty Woman" moment...awkwardly stomping the divots during half-time:

A.C. is SUCH a gentleman...

...that A and I smoked a pork butt for 6-7 hrs on Saturday and made an entire "Lexington-style" BBQ spread?

Before:

 During:

After:

...that it is entirely WAY TOO HOT here in Richmond? 101 degrees?? Glad I work inside...

Fri
Jul 22

10 am

89.0°

Precip:
10%

11 am

93.0°

Precip:
10%

12 pm

97.0°

Precip:
10%

1 pm

99.0°

Precip:
10%

2 pm

100.0°

Precip:
10%

3 pm

101.0°

Precip:
10%

4 pm

100.0°

Precip:
10%

5 pm

100.0°

Precip:
10%

..that my little sister Laura (who just got married) is coming into town this weekend?? Can't wait to see her!

Isle of Palm 2010 - Laura is in the black embroidered dress

Sister's at Laura's college graduation from Miami (of Ohio) University - she's the one on the far left:

Till next time-
M

Ah-ha!

A few weeks ago, I pinned this picture on Pintrest with the title "I. Need. This. Dress. And Dog."

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Good news! I've found the dress - its from Zara...and its on SALE for 39.99.

Bad news...The closest Zara store is in DC and they do not have an online shopping tool.

If only my sweet, kind, amazingly beautiful, and local to DC twin sister (PAY CLOSE ATTENTION, SALLY) would stop by and pick one up for me, I would kindly pay her back when I see her next weekend for the Greenbrier Classic.

Fingers crossed she pulls through...Pretty please, Sal-pal?????!!!

Now, how to talk A into getting me that dog...

Till next time-

M

Biking is for lovers

Ever since my bike was stolen while living in Roanoke, I've been itching to replace it.

Since I live in the Fan, a part of Richmond with lots of restaurants/bars/fun places to go, I think having a bike would be ideal. I mean...just look at all the benefits of having a bicycle....Legs of steel? Shapely booty? SOLD.

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With all the blog-stalking/googling I do, I'm finding that not only can you have a lot of fun on a bike, but you can also look pretty darn good while riding it. I guess knee pads and large helmets are a thing of the past:

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Leather Bicycle Wine Rack...Yes, please!

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Guess I'm now on the hunt for a new bike! Know of any good ones for sale? 

Happy Weekend!

Till next time-

M

I'm fair.

Yep, that's right...I'm a blonde haired, blue eyed girl who has FAIR skin.
I used to tan religiously in college to prevent that fact from becoming common knowledge, and then once I graduated, I started spray tanning for that very same reason.

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I never liked my fair skin and to be honest, I still don't...but I'm dealing with it.

Even though I know that I'm fair-skinned (and much to my chagrin, it has become common knowledge), it still is a strange thing to hear when other's point it out.

Case in point:
Yesterday, while I was at work - a co-worker (who, mind you - is not on my team and is not someone I know very well) walked over to me and gave me a tube of lipstick. Strange, no?
The reason why I was given this lipstick, she explained, was because I'm "so fair" and she just thought it would be a great color for me.
Ummmmmmmmmmm...............thanks?

She then proceeded to ask me to put it on. Right then.
Ummmmmmmmmmm...............No, thanks?

Oh, did I tell you the lipstick had been used?
Definitely, NO THANKS.

I politely told her thank you, cracked a joke because it was tres awkward, and then pretended to be very busy and go back to work.

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My life is nuts. Or maybe just some of my co-workers are?

Till next time-

M

Morning laughs

Every morning, while driving to work - I pass by a group of 2-5 guys running around downtown. And every morning I notice that they all look the same; super skinny, wearing short shorts and no shirt, sporting fro-like hair-dos and sweat bands. It makes me chuckle because I always think of the movie Juno:

but most importantly, this kid:

Paulie Bleeker!

I've never understood the idea of cross country...why would anyone want to run until it hurt or even got sick? Don't get me wrong though, I've been to my fair share of cross country meets - not only did my twin sister run while we were in high school, but my little brother has picked up the sport as well...he even has the same skinny body type and fro-like hair (there's your shout-out Charles!).

Urban dictionary explains cross country running as:

The most difficult sport. Cross country requires both skill and a work ethic. People who don't like cross country are just mad because they can't do it.

Oh..well....maybe they've got a point.

Till next time-

M

Fly by weekend

I must say, this weekend was quite fun...but it sure did fly by!
Like I mentioned before, on Friday night - A and I had a date night. We went for dinner and a movie at a place called, Cinebistro. I'd never been there before and found myself quite liking it. Everyone was really friendly, the food was pretty good, and the seats were very comfy. I would definitely go again and would most certainly recommend it to anyone considering going.

(via Richmond Dispatch)

It was the perfect night to be inside, as we basically had a monsoon of a storm hit right as we were walking into the theatre. Sitting in air conditioning with soaking wet clothes is not the most comfortable, but getting to snuggle up to A helped to take my mind off it (and the free refills on popcorn didn't hurt either).
We saw the movie, Bad Teacher. It was actually a lot funnier than I expected and you definitely get to see Justin Timberlake in a whole other light. He definitely sheds his very "vanilla" boy-band image in this film!

Saturday, A and I decided to do a little shopping - he wanted to find a small table to put in the kitchen. We have a lot of empty space in one area of our kitchen and we wanted to find something to hold a lot of the things that were out of place on our dining table. We eventually found and put together this pretty little thing:

We used to have a shelf on the wall that held all of our liquor bottles, but that came crashing down one night a few months ago (mind you - at 2am) so this handy beverage cart works quite well. Good find on A's part, wouldn't you say?

That night, our neighbors had us over for an amazing dinner of cold cucumber soup, prime rib and lots of wine (there also mighttt have been a few Red Stag shots involved too).

On Sunday, we got an awesome and unexpected call that two of our friends from DC were driving through Richmond. We invited them over for dinner and ended up with a pretty nice spread. Marinated grilled chicken and kielbasa, corn on the cob, grilled asparagus and squash, and sliced Hanover tomatoes. They were coming from a wedding in the Outer Banks and brought along a delicious peach pie for dessert. Can anyone say, food coma?

All in all - a pretty great weekend.

Tonight, a friend and I are heading to Mise En Place in Shockoe Bottom for a cooking class. 

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Back in March, we bought a LivingSocial deal together and got to pick the type of class we wanted to participate in.We ended up choosing "Essential Dishes for Entertaining ." The dishes we will be making tonight are: White Bean, Rosemary & Garlic Dip, Sweet Potato Hummus with Toasted Pita, Gorgonzola & Walnut Wrapped Grapes, Turkey & Provolone Sliders, Crab Salad in Radicchio Cups, Broiled Peaches filled with Ricotta and Honey, and Chocolate Truffles.

Looks like I'll be heading to the gym tomorrow after that kind of dinner!

Hope you all have a great Tuesday.

Till next time-

M

Obsessed.

(via Youtube)

Weekend round-up coming later.

Till next time-

M

Date night

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Date night? Dinner and movie? .... Yes, please!

Even though it was a shorter work-week, the 4 work days have left both A and myself exhausted!

Excited to spend QT with him.

Wishing you all a happy and relaxing weekend!

Till next time -

M

Style Icon

The Today Show has been a part of my daily life ever since I can remember.

All through middle school and high school, I can remember walking into the kitchen where my mom would be sitting, reading the newspaper, drinking her hot tea while watching/listening to the Today Show. 

While in college, I rarely watched it because I was either never up that early or if I was, I was rushing to class. But now that I have a full-time corporate job, The Today Show has become a part of my own daily routine.

As much as I loved Meredith Vieira, I was so pleased to finally hear that Ann Curry was going to fill her hosting position once she left the show. Even before her promotion, I'd always found myself admiring Ann's sense of style and would tune in just to see what she had on. In fact, on most days - she helps me pick out my own outfits.

"Oh, Ann's wearing a black turtleneck..It is pretty cold outside..I think I'll wear mine"

"Oh my gosh, I just love the stripes and bright sweater she's wearing...I think I can pull that look off"

"Orange and Teal!!..I'm totally wearing my blue cardigan"

Yesterday, I was loving Ann's black and white ensemble so much that it inspired me to put on a black and white dress that I've had in the closet for years. I wound up receiving numerous compliments at work (and even a few while in the grocery store).  

Suffice to say, Ann Curry - You're MY style Icon.

It might be strange that I find myself taking daily style cues from a woman in her 50's, but shes just so cute! Who wouldn't want to look/dress like her?

See for yourself:

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Till next time-

M

America!

Its crazy how fast the fun weekends go!

I had an amazing time in Wilmington - Many thanks to Amber for being such a gracious host!
We went to Wrightsville Beach Saturday afternoon and then downtown for dinner at Elijah's Restaurant.

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Not a bad view to eat dinner by, wouldn't you say?

On Sunday, we (along with about 30 more of Amber's friends) boarded up on a water taxi to spend the day at Masonboro beach. What an amazing day! It was absolutely beautiful, and I most definitely did not get any reading done!

We were sad to leave the beach, but now we're even more excited for Amber's trip to Richmond in a few weeks!

After a long 5-hr drive home, we promptly made a pit stop at Kroger for the essentials: hotdogs, Skyline chili, and Miller Lite. It wouldn't be the 4th of July without Skyline (my Ohio family knows this is a Holtzmuller tradition)!

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Thanks to the thunderstorms last night, there were no fireworks - hoping to see a few tonight!

Till next time-
M

Gone to Carolina

So ready to put my toes in the sand, read an entire book (I'm attempting for the 5th time to read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and enjoy fun times with great people!!

Time to get on the road...

 Hope you all have the most wonderful 4th of July!

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(All images via Pintrest)

Till next time -

M