iridescentindigo: September 2011

Friday, September 30, 2011

Frank Friday

Mornin, ya ol' broads!

Frankly, I'm feeling a bit uninspired this week. Maybe it's the fact that my body is at war with me, maybe it's the general gray wardrobe the sky has adopted this week, or maybe it's just one of those weeks. However! It is Friday and that means it is time to get excited about the weekend.

Things I'm looking forward to this weekend:

Dinner with a long lost gf tonight followed by a low key movie night :) Think I'll have any luck getting a guy to watch either of these?

Sailing tomorrow! My fingers are crossed for sunshiney weather and wind.

Cerro Grande - my most favorite Mexican restaurant ever. Their white dipping sauce...and margaritas!

The Green Door with Ryder DJ-ing.

A Sunday afternoon in Downtown Annapolis

Did I mention lots and lots of friend time? :)

It's going to be a good one. Hope you all have a fun one too!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Taking Advantage

I'm not normally one to discuss sports, but seriously, How Bout Dem O's! For those of you who missed it, the O's beat the Red Sox last night, destroying their playoff hopes. Love it!!!

Beyond the stadium events, Baltimore has such a wealth of entertainment options. I absolutely take them for granted. In the summer, the park by my house hosts outdoor movies every Thursday night. I was so determined to go this summer because I've missed it every other year. Unfortunately, the weather absolutely refused to cooperate the two times I tried. I'll have to try again next summer, but regardless, I need to take advantage!

Speaking of which, I just heard that the Lion King is coming to the Hippodrome!

Have you ever seen the Lion King? Everyone seems to come away with rave reviews.

If you could pick any show to see, what would it be? Shows are one of those things that I love, but rarely go to see. I think the last show I went to was 'Hair', while I was still in school. Such a great soundtrack!

What are your favorite things to do in the Baltimore/Annapolis/DC area?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Today I decided...

Today I decided....

I would like to become a talk show host like Elisabeth on The View when I grow up. (Any ideas on how to get there)?

Elisabeth Hasselbeck

2. Light weight sweaters are the best invention for early fall

Summerby Sweater - JCREW

3. My house is in need of a serious deep cleaning - when you can't find your kitten in your piles of laundry, it's time.

4. Sinks should always have that thingie that blocks the drain (I lost a dangly earring down the sink today...any ideas for fetching it?)

5. I would like to read the new book about Lincoln that Bill O'Reilly wrote. Everyone keeps talking about it and apparently, although very controversial it was really well written.

Killing Lincoln

What did you decide today?

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Holly turned to Paul and said, "Did I tell you how divinely and utterly happy I am?"

Okay, so this weekend actually had very little to do with Breakfast at Tiffany's. However, I did get to go into Tiffany's for the first time. Every girl has to go in at least once, right?

On the roof of the Metropolitan

Amidst the bustle of the city, on a perfect Saturday afternoon, we slipped into St. Patrick's cathedral. I wish I had taken pictures of it. Shockingly, the church was open to visitors despite the fact that there was a priest up front performing a marriage ceremony. Can you imagine getting married with tourists stopping by, talking loudly and snapping pictures?

We slipped into an empty pew and were able to watch a bit of it. The architecture is truly awe inspiring there. I was so grateful that we were lucky enough to enjoy it with the music from the mass in the background. Magnificent is the only word to truly do the stained glass justice. What a shame that the church in America no longer builds with the same emphasis on art, beauty and elegance as they once did.

The Freedom Tower

The 9/11 memorial just opened its doors to the public. The environment there really impressed me. Built in the shadow of the Freedom Tower, you feel a strong sense of the commitment to honoring the victims and their families. I was struck by the resilience it illustrated. Yes, the towers fell, but we've rebuilt. Yes, we lost many, but we will celebrate their life, mourn their death, and continue.

In front of the 9/11 Memorial

As I traced the names of victims on the stone, I realized that the noises of the city had faded away to a dull roar. The rushing water from the memorial itself drowns the city out, giving visitors time to really accept the enormity of the attacks and their devastating consequences.

Massive American Flag hanging from the Freedom Tower

A flower, really brought this to life for me.
These names belong to people who were loved.

I hope one day, they lessen the security here and make it a place where people can wander in and truly enjoy it.

On our exit, we encountered the Occupy Wall Street protest. Although I disagree with their premises, the protest made me want to re-involve myself with politics. I guess it's one of those bugs you get and never lose. These people definitely had a solid crowd assembled. They had set up inflatable mattresses and set up shop. On my taxi ride to the bus stop today, I saw on the news that things had escalated since yesterday and some people were arrested. If you had been around for the 60's, would you have taken to the streets in protest or avoided that scene? If we want change, why aren't we fighting harder for it?

All in all, it was a really lovely weekend. Despite forecasts of rain, and the bus debacle I encountered trying to get up to Manhattan, the skies stayed clear for my whole visit. I even got to see my cousin this afternoon before I left! Love those weekends where everything just falls into place easily. Now to get motivated to work on my homework...

Friday, September 23, 2011

Foggy Friday & Giveaway Link

How darling is this Vintage Apron? Connie from About Him & Her is offering it in a giveaway today!

Is anyone else as thrilled about this weekend as I am? What are your weekend plans? I'll be in Manhattan in less than 12 hours. Not that I'm counting or anything :) Do you prefer to stay home on the weekends, get chores done & snuggle up with a movie? Or are you more of a it's Friday, time to let your hair down and dance with the girls type? Whichever type you are, I hope your weekend is fabulous!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

You Are Who Your Friends Are, Or Are They Who You Are?

You are who your friends are.

Bad friends corrupt good morals.

Growing up, these are the mantras we were forced to repeat and abide by. We were encouraged to pick good friends and to stay away from bad apples. When you think about it though, if everyone says that to their kids, who is the bad kid? Which kid ruins the others? Where does the individual fit into this picture? Here is an interesting excerpt from an article on how people choose their friends:

"When you have opportunity to choose your friends, you will tend to choose people who are similar to you; there's a lot of evidence that we like similar others," says Chris Crandall, psychology professor at the University of Kansas.

However, we don't always have the option to find our perfect match. When they looked at people on large campuses, the friend groups tended to be more homogenous. On small campuses, where the options were not as plenty, groups tended to be more diverse.

"Two differences did stand out, though. On larger campuses, people tended to be friends with those who held many of the same beliefs; in other words, they BFF'd themselves. And on small campuses, people had more diverse friends but rated those friendships as closer."

Maybe the goal shouldn't be to avoid the "bad apples". Rather, we should select friends who can offer alternative perspectives and challenge our thought processes.

The best thing about my college experience was the people I met and the friends I made. We all came from different backgrounds and had different ideals and values, but we created a culture that enabled open dialogue and debate.

Some say that college is an artificial experience. Living with your peers with minimal accountability and responsibility isn't "real life." Although it may not have been "real life", we really lived. And, consequently, we entered real life with real friends.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

This summer, I was down at the Landing with this little cherub. She took off running towards the pool area and I told her she had to wait for a grown up before she could go in there. Lizzy turned to me with big eyes and asked "Are YOU a grown up?"

I'm pretty sure she had no idea how complicated that question was. I won't hold it against her :)

When do we acknowledge that we are adults? We're done with college, working full time or in grad school (or both) with people we consider to be adults. We pay our bills. We live on our own. So we're grown ups, right?

I went to pick up my student ID from UMD's College Park campus. It was so unnerving to realize that the freshmen looked like babies. I don't know about you, but I thought for sure I was an adult then. Will we look at our 20s, once we make it to our 30s, and say, 'Wow, we were babies' ? Will we ever get to a point where we feel our age?

I'm not sure if I'll figure that one out. For now, I'll just enjoy the freedom, poverty and fun that come with this time of life.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

10 Things About Life in a Relatively Big Family

Okay, so there are actually 11 things, but 10 sounded better.

I'm not one of 8 or 9 kids, but I am the oldest of 4. And I have a bajillion cousins. So I feel qualified to speak to the topic of growing up in a big family.

Colleen being silly

1) To this day I cannot eat slowly. If you didn't eat frantically or make some ridiculous modification (such as mustard and ketchup on your fries at once to deter any potential food snatchers), your siblings got more of the best food.

2) Germ-phobia is a luxury. Every drink, lip gloss, and yes, on awful occasions tooth brushes are likely to be shared at some point.

Colleen & Suzannie at the Landing

3) If you can make someone laugh you will escape all sorts of trouble. ~~Once~~ Okay, more than once, I tripped my sister and made her cry. This one time, I was desperate to make her laugh before my parents heard. I knew they were a bit cranky that day and I'd really be in for it. My solution was to make a complete spectacle of myself by singing the song from Titanic. So there I was in our basement, dancing on the cement floor in socks going, "Near, Farrrrrrrrrrrr" at the top of my lungs. To really spice it up, I decided to add a dramatic leap sideways. Unfortunately, being the picture of grace and elegance at all times, I landed on a doll house rocking chair and managed to break my arm and my foot. Moral of the story: even if she doesn't laugh, if you try hard enough, sometimes you still might not get in trouble.

4) There will likely always be dollhouses or some other small toys littered around your house. Even if you guys are grownups.

Suzannie in NYC

5) You don't own anything. Even the things you think you own, the things you bought with your money, are not yours. Nothing is sacred. It will be "borrowed". No matter what you do. Learn to share, quickly.

6) The only way to shut up a car of screaming children is to make them sing, loudly. You can make any song fun and lively, even John Denver songs.

Elisabeth & Dad

7) The waiting room is actually a very interesting spot for people watching.You will never go to the doctor or dentist unless there are appointments available for at least half of your siblings.

8) It is possible to hate someone with your whole being and then laugh so hard you cry with that same person in less than 5 minutes.

The 4 of us

9) Spending any extended amount of time alone will result in anxiety.

10) Years after you've moved out, you will find yourself hiding your favorite things for no apparent reason.

And finally, there will never be a family photo that pleases everyone.

Do you have any fun facts about life in a large family?

Monday, September 19, 2011

Keuka Girls' Weekend

This weekend was perfect. Kath and I made great time on our drive up to Keuka. I was so sleepy, but managed to get us up there in one piece. We listened to great music, caught up on life and started James Patterson's audiobook "Toys". Although Autumn had begun to tiptoe into Maryland last week, it had already swept through the Finger Lakes and set up shop. The nights were chilly and required blankets and layers. It was the perfect sleeping weather though - there is nothing better than piling on lots of blankets to sleep.

Kath and me at the first vineyard

Our first morning, we cooked a huge breakfast of eggs, sausages, and potatoes. Not to worry, we went on a long hike to work it all off!

The group at the second vineyard

The air was so crisp and clean. I have asthma and something about the air up there made it so much easier to fill my lungs. It wasn't so cold that our noses dripped, but it was just cool enough to keep us comfortable as we picked up our pace. I saw the most darling little chipmunk, but he scurried off before I could snag a picture.

Gorgeous Dahlia

Hills and hills of vineyards surround Keuka Lake. The local wineries offer a Fall Harvest Food and Wine Tour. We took our Golden Chariot (a Kia minivan) and spent the day sampling amazing foods and wines.

I love the richness of the color in this flower

Does anyone know what type of flower this is?

Keuka Lake

The ride between vineyards was full of dancing, singing and general silliness. We stopped at the grocery on the way home. A couple girls stayed in the car, a couple went in and a couple of us got out of the car to stretch our legs in the parking lot. A guy came up to Mary in the parking lot and asked her if we had all just gotten back from a wine tour. She asked why he would say that, and his response was priceless: "Well, those girls are hanging out in a minivan drinking wine."

Our Golden Chariot

I found the seed in the grape!

Perfectly ripened grape bunch

Fitting for a girls' weekend, but a very ugly shirt

The views were breathtaking

Fourth vineyard

Artichoke Dip from scratch

Sweet Home Alabama

Cannot wait to make a trip to the pumpkin patch for some Autumn decorations!

He was so peaceful

View on our hike

Sea Plane!

View from Esperanza Mansion

Driving home

Sunday, we went on our last hike of the weekend and stopped for a leisurely lunch on the patio at Esperanza Mansion. The way a weekend flies by never ceases to amaze me. I can't wait to go back next season! Once the crazy cold retreats, I'll head up there as quickly as possible.