welcome back, kotter!

Getting ready to leave St. Kitts after our honeymoon. Attractive, I know.

 Well hello there blogging world. It's been a long time, now, hasn't it? I apologize for my MIA-ness. These past couple of months have been ridiculously busy between weddings, work, and moving. The Husband and I finally moved out of the one bedroom apartment I'd been living in since I moved here for grad school 4 years ago. Once we got married in October and he moved in, things quickly became too cramped, and it was obvious to both of us that we'd have to move once my lease was up. So we upgraded to a lovely three bedroom apartment nestled on the backside of the hills where Jefferson built his beloved Monticello. While we can't see Monticello from our apartment, we can see the barn and gardens that were behind the house. According to the Husband, it seems like we're on vacation when we leave the apartment and just look outside at our view. We're quite lucky. Sadly, though, despite our upgrade to three whole bedrooms, we STILL don't have enough space for all of our stuff. I think this means that we need to clean out a lot of junk from our lives and get to donating stuff. And we haven't even brought my desk over from the old apartment yet, as it's currently stuck in a doorway since it's too big to be taken out of the room without dismantling either the desk or the door. I think we're voting for the desk, but apparently it was designed to be put together once, and only once. So we'll see how the rest of the moving/unpacking process goes over the next couple of weeks.

This has also been a sad couple of months, as a large chunk of our friends here packed up and moved to various places across the country, either for new jobs or to start their intern year. It's been quite lonely around here, and never more so than now, when the final Harry Potter movie is out and there was nobody to go with at midnight, like we always had in the past. Call me a nerd, but I love my Harry Potter midnight shows with friends who are just as crazy about HP as I am. While we're thrilled for our friends and so excited to see what they've been doing with their lives as they've gotten settled in their new places, it's still a bittersweet feeling. So with that I wish my friends all the best, and I'll leave you with a few photos from the past couple months. Here's to hoping it's not this long before the next post rolls around...

Beautiful friends that I sorely miss having around. It was always such a joy to see them when our schedules worked out.

Not posed at all...Our last card night with the Balsbaughs before their move to CO.

With a former college apartmentmate at another college friend's wedding in Richmond.

Our final Archs trip before Jeremy, Lauren, and Luna left for CO (right) and Patrick left for Australia (center). Miss you guys!

Black dress: White House Black Market; Cardigan: Gap

Tan dress: Anthropologie

Richmond wedding



Checking out pictures while waiting to be called by the photographer



This past weekend the Husband and I were in Richmond for a wedding between two of our close college friends. It was a lot of fun, and I'm so glad that we were able to participate and support the bride and groom, and the day turned out beautifully, despite several popup rain showers.

One of my favorite things about this wedding (besides seeing two people I love get married) was the chance it gave me to hang out with some of my favorite people. Weddings always seem to remind me of how much I actually miss college. Well, besides the work part. I miss the time I had to hang out with all my closest friends every day. And unfortunately, it doesn't look as though a time like that is going to come around again. But it is nice to have a "college" vacation every once in a while, where we can catch up with our friends while moving on with our lives. I consider myself extremely lucky that I've been blessed with such wonderful, smart, fun, talented, and gorgeous friends. And I can't wait for the next mini reunion we'll get to have.

Congrats to Tom and Steph!



Two of my beautiful college roommates



Go Spiders!

image from vuhoops.com

I'm sitting here watching the Richmond Spiders play Morehead St with the Husband, and I would really like the Spiders to win. Not just because I want to be a good alum, but since Louisville screwed up my bracket, my alma mater might as well go as far as possible to give me some modicum of happiness in the bleakness that is my bracket right now.  And while I have to admit to not really caring for basketball at all, I definitely am extremely competitive, so I want to do as well as possible despite my lack of college basketball knowledge.  As embarrassing as it is to confess to this, some of my picks were definitely made based upon team mascots, not upon playing ability.  So we shall see how this goes for me as the tournament progresses.  OSU, please don't let me down.  Go Spiders!

P.S. I think I need this fantastic headwear to show my support...WOW

photo from ballparks.com

Match Day

Happy belated St. Patrick's Day! Yesterday was also a special holiday in the medical education arena, also known as Match Day.  The vast majority of my friends are earning their MDs this year, and yesterday was the day when they found out where they will be spending their residencies.  I'm so happy and proud of all my friends, and what better way to celebrate than on St. Patrick's Day, with green beer and happiness all around.  It was a lot of fun seeing the joy on everyone's face, and though it's sad that my friends will be leaving come May, it's exciting knowing that they're all happy where they ended up.  And of course, it gives me plenty of excuses to visit parts of the country in which I haven't spent much time.  So all in all, it was a fantastic day, and the luck of the Irish was with all my friends.

a toast to the class, moments before they all opened their match day results

celebrating with hugs and champagne

updating her Facebook status after opening her Match results

thoughts

 

Big midwest sky. I know I'm home when I see this.


This transitional weather has made me wish that it was spring, as I'm tired of all this cold and rainy weather. I'm ready for sun and flowers and warmth. Hopefully Mother Nature will make up her mind soon. But until then, I'll content myself with photos that remind me of happy times so I can keep this weather dreariness from affecting my mood.



Table centerpiece at a friend's wedding in PA this winter.

 

Grand Canyon over Christmas 2010.



 

The Husband pondering the view.

 

My beautiful sister-in-law showing her something blue right before her wedding this past weekend.

 

Centerpieces at the wedding.



 

The Husband and me at the rehearsal dinner. We're bringing classiness back one bib at a time...



Gorgeous

via Nordstrom.com

How gorgeous are these Valentino peep toes?  I've been drooling over them for weeks but have yet to find enough money lying around to add them to my closet.  The color is so perfect and springy, and they'd be perfect with a flirty little white skirt and leather jacket to add a little edge.  Who knows, maybe part of my tax refund will have to be set aside...

boots

I know it's just about spring, which means the emergence of fantastic sandals and wedges as opposed to the boots that reigned all winter, but for some reason I'm still on the hunt for the perfect pair of heeled knee high boots.  You wouldn't think this would be difficult, but apparently I'm a picky customer to please, as I already have a pair of black boots with a stiletto heel, and I'm just not really that into them. So I was looking for a pair with a slightly thicker heel, and after lusting over Emily's Coach boots on her Cupcakes and Cashmere blog, I was obsessed with finding the perfect pair, despite the fact that boots are on their way out for the time being.  However, while those amazing Coach boots were no longer available, I was able to find this Steve Madden pair for $50. And with an extra 50% off coupon, the price was definitely right.  But that won't stop me from scouring the outlets this weekend trying to find another perfect pair of boots...or heels...or sandals...

laziness

I'd like to start posting outfit pictures at some point in the near future, but seeing as all I've been wearing lately are T shirts and jeans, those just aren't photograph-worthy.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm a clothes-horse.  I always have been and probably always will be.  Nobody in my family really knows where this came from, as everyone else could care less about clothes, but I'm apparently obsessed.  However, I suck at putting outfits together, and I'd like to try to change that.  After reading through blogs like style rookie, weardrobe, and in her stilettos I've been inspired to try to come up with more creative outfits.  Unfortunately, most of what I'd like to wear doesn't translate well to the lab environment; thus, no fun outfits yet.  That, and I'm lazy.  But I promise I'm going to try to be better!  Anyway, I'll have something fun up soon, as several things I just ordered have come in and might help in the outfit stagnation I've been experiencing.

Bulgari

I have to admit that I have a slight love affair with Bulgari.  I know I'm super behind the times, but I was flipping through the holiday gift guide on style.com and I came across this necklace.

style.com



Is this not the most amazing necklace ever? I'm totally in love with the emeralds, and let's be honest, the diamonds don't hurt either.  But the EMERALDS. They're so green and so completely gorgeous in their imperfection.  I love it.  Ah, if only I was the creator of Google or Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates but female.  Sadly, that is not the hand I've been dealt.  So I'm stuck drooling over its perfection while dreaming of the countless ways in which to wear this. Le sigh.

starting fresh

So I've decided that since I have several eccletic interests, I'd rather have either one confusing blog about everything, or a couple of blogs that are separated out by interests.  I'll keep my other blog, started earlier this week (bookworm in paradise), for only book reviews, while this blog will be more general.  There are so many disparate thoughts that pass through my head that I didn't think a blog about books would be able to encompass them all. So here we are, starting fresh over here.  I'll post my "real" first entry later today or this weekend, but since I'm still at work, I suppose I should actually get back to it.