Are you for real?

Hey! I want to spend Thanksgiving with THIS guy!!! hahahaha

More Christmas stuff

Ordered some more little presents from Calista Cove during my lunch...

Everyday, Jennifer and the ladies at Calista Cove have a Daily Deal. The Daily Deal is often something that people would LOVE to have. I have gotten multiple items from this thing!

Todays Daily Deal is the Jennifer Grove Luxe Soy Candle...



5 scents available and they are all lovely. I chose the Fresh White Floral Bouquet and the Lush Hyacinth Bouquet for my purchase.

So excited to sniff them both when they come in!

For Katie

To mock my coworker who just told us that she is pregnant, I have this funny/embarassing clip for her:




Her youngest daughter, Chloe, just turned 2, and she found out recently about how she is going to have a little brother or sister. When Katie told her, "There is a baby growing inside my belly"... Chloe decided to pull up Katie's shirt, and try to "open up" her belly through her belly button! HA! I love kids, they crack me up. Natch, I thought of this clip from Knocked Up.

Ornaments & a Story

So, Michael and I are spending our first Christmas together. It was around this time last year that I first REALLY noticed him in the office building, while he had been looking at me for a good while... ha.

But seriously, I fell for him looks-wise (as we don't really WORK together) at around this time of year. I cannot believe he has been a part of my life for this long already - it has gone by so fast.

We are having so much fun picking things out together - Christmas presents, etc. We both love Christmas. And I think I have found an adorable Christmas Ornament (of which WE have none of yet...):

The Ornament Girl has ADORABLE ornaments, handmade!

This is one of hers, it is one of my favorites:
Lilly Pulitzer, in the Pineapple Passion fabric



How could you not LOVE an ornament like that?! Perfection!!

Gah!!

It is supposed to flurry to around an inch of snow tonight! So excited!! : )
I will have my fingers crossed!
I mean, yes, I am a Southerner, but getting snow is so romantic...

Oh yay!

My Christmas present for one of my bffs came in the mail today! So glad I didn't accidentally blog about it! Woot!

Weekend Plans...

On Sunday Dad/our Realtor and Mike and I are going to look at the house. It will be the first time Dad has been to the house. Very big deal and exciting.

Tomorrow Mike will be training so I will likely be sleeping like I am supposed to be doing more of - and maybe some studying for Biology as well.

Tonight, hopefully just cuddling with Mike and eating a yummy dinner and maybe just vegging out. We are doing our best to hold out on starting to watch holiday movies. It has been unseasonably cooler lately - highs of 45 all week with lows in the 20s! Brrr! So maybe we will watch some more of Band of Brothers instead - which I always find very moving and makes me more appreciative of the grandfathers in this world!!

If I take any pics this weekend I will be sure to share them!

xoxo
Worthy

Very Sad

It makes me very sad to know that other nations do not respect our position in the world anymore. We used to be a popular, well-liked country, and then something like this happens and our elected President (who is leaving in a month so why can't the haters just let it go?) has no respect whatsoever:



I just find that messed up. Regardless of political beliefs, this man is still the President of the United States, and to just be like that is not the nicest thing to do. What happened to etiquette and social graces?

My Cleaning Method

I worked at Nordstrom for a couple of years in Lingerie, probably one of the most lovely jobs I have ever had - and I learned so much while I was there. One of the things I learned was how to really LOVE your expensive "little things". Little things = lingerie, cashmere garments, and silk accessories and pieces. I used to just handwash my lingerie with soap and then drape it over my shower-curtain Carrie Bradshaw style. Cashmere and silk I would just take to the Dry-Cleaners. Have you ever had a BAD dry-cleaning incident though? Where you take your favorite sweater in and then before you know it, it was too roughly handled and it was permanently ruined? These are the risks you get for taking your clothes to someone else! So, at Nordstrom I learned about a beautiful thing. It is called Nordstrom Lingerie Wash. And I love it. It is $16 for 32 ounces. HOWEVER, it is biodegradable, phosphate-free, and hypoallergenic! The bottle size, color, and scent changes almost every year, but if I go to Nordies and they have the lavendar-scented version in stock I get like 3 bottles. It is fantastic. If you have a new-style steam washer or the new front-loading kind, then you can put them in there - not even a lot as it is ultra-concentrated... but I like to just wash my things by hand. This is what the bottle looks like:



I follow the same format - almost completely as The Laundress girls, so I am just going to copy-paste how they suggest to wash these things with my own commentary:
So I normally grab a glass of wine or club soda with lime and a magazine if I am going to be doing multiple loads just so I can be entertained...
-Pour room temperature water in a basin. I use just a freshly-cleaned bathtub as most of my clothes tend to be dry-clean only and I can get a large amount done in one afternoon.
-Add a few squirts of the Laundress Wool
and Cashmere Shampoo. I do a capful of the Nordstrom Lingerie Wash - regardless of whether it is sweaters, bras, hose, or delicate undergarments.
-Agitate the water and detergent by hand to mix. Normally for me this is just running the soap around and I can really check to make sure the water is the right temperature.
-Add sweater to water basin. Or whatever it is that you are washing. I normally sort the garments like normal washing loads, pastels, darks, mediums, whites, and hook the bra together so it keeps it shape, I normally do the hose and silks together separate from the sweaters - even if they are the same material - just to avoid fuzzies and the sort.
-Move the sweater in the water for a minute by hand. This is kind-of like your very own agitator, being your arm!
-Let it soak for at least a half hour. If I haven't washed this stuff in a while I normally let it soak for a good while - esp. brand new sweaters, to get rid of excess colors, etc. I normally do like 30 minutes for hose/thigh highs and silk tops/shells, 40 minutes for my lacy bras and lacy panties/boy shorts/thongs/tangas/etc (I did work in lingerie so I have a great number of these babies!!), an hour for my more regularly-worn bras (Le Mysteres, Chantelle, Calvin Klein, DKNY basics), and then 1+ for the other heavier-knit/gauge fabrics.
- Run room temperature water into basin to rinse out soapy water, run water until soapy water is gone. This is really important because you don't want your clothes to be half-soapy. This does get tough with the bigger pieces.
- Take soaking wet sweater out of the basin. DO NOT WRING THE SWEATER. Seriously, DO NOT WRING THE SWEATER!
- Lay towel over flat surface and place sweater completely flat on the towel. I use the most well-worn towels we have so I don't have to worry about fuzzies and colors leaching into fabrics. I also tend to just lightly shake off/drip the hose and bras/lingerie since they dry faster and you don't have to worry about shape/etc.
- Roll the sweater up in towel (like a rolling pin) to remove the water. I do this and then I immediately move it to a drying rack.



I hope you all liked hearing this input. Let me know if you think of other entries that you would like for me to write!

xo
Worthy

**This entry was inspired by this entry from the Life in the Cove blog entry, Prepdom 101: Caring for Cashmere.**

Private Blog

Oooooh ladies, Muffy and Hopsy... I would loooove an invite to read this blog, as it totally fits into my tastes!! Please fulfill my dreams and wishes. : )

xo
Worthy

House, School, Health, and Fashion

First thing is first, FASHION! I love these shoes from Nine West. They are called the Ginga from their Boutique 9 line. Actually, I think they were shown on Gossip Girl this week, too! (Worn with Serenas completely slu$%^y Thanksgiving outfit. I was shocked. Fishnets with a SHORT skirt like that? I really thought her buttcheek was showing. Jeez... Anyway, here are the adorable shoes! Suede! Jewel-tone color!:



I ordered about 2 weeks ago an adorable pink and green belt from Calista Cove - and it ended up being on sale - this after I had said I was in love with it in my entry from September 30! So here is the adorable belt I ordered:

Now, if I can ever have a life with my health then I can wear these babies out! Sheesh!


My fellow G.R.I.T.S. girl sent me some loverly VV belts that she let me buy from her for a STEAL!

I love belts. I just feel like they dress up an outfit!!


Okay, so on to more serious things. So I got diagnosed a couple of weeks ago with Costochondritis. It is basically like when you get the symptoms of a heart attack (chest pain, tingly in random limbs, numbness in random limbs, whacked-out heart rate, difficulty breathing, etc) and you can go into cardiac arrest if it isn't taken care of. SCARY. So, Michael being Mr. Wonderful Attentive BF took my pulse, thought it was high but that we would monitor it. Well, 5:00 rolls around and my pulse is even faster! So, he takes me to the hospital, they take me away. He is stuck hanging out in the waiting room while they do an IV, chest XRay, pull like 6 tubes full of blood for some damn tests, EKG, and put me on all these monitors. Then they let him in. When my RESTING heart rate goes up to 110 they get a bit nervous so they finally decided to inject some seriously strong crazy narcotic into my bloodstream and then I get discharged after they monitor me for a good 30 more minutes. Michael, as I was drugged up and wasn't going anywhere anyway, helped me get my prescriptions filled (those poor people at Rite Aid probably though I was on crack) and then he got us some food for dinner at Giant and since the prescription STILL wasn't ready, he took me to a salon across the street and got them to shampoo, condition-treat, cut, and style my hair! Is he the BEST or what?

So I have been kind-of in recovery since then and it's been a whopper. I can't run or do kettlebell training. Only walking, swimming, and yoga. Boo. I hope that by the end of the holiday season I can get back to my old self... as I am athletic and I am losing weight each week (which normally would be fab but I know it is muscle so it is a big bummer). And the doctor said I cannot push myself so hard and I have to sleep more. Jeez. Does he know what I do every week? Come on!! But, in all seriousness, Michael has been really good at helping me make sure I sleep well and maintain this healthy lifestyle.


So, no idea about school finishing. I have this fantastic job and I registered for some classes. I think I may wait on Macon to see where I am at the end of this semester, GPA-wise. Plus, we will be moving *fingers crossed* on our house!

THE HOUSE!

4Bedrooms, 3 full baths. 3000 square feet. 700 sqft unfinished. Screened porch/deck. Shed with workspace and room to hang 2 canoes. Play/Swing-set for children. 6 fireplaces with mantles. Slate roof. Slate floor on 1st level. 7-8' ceilings on 1st level. 10-15' ceilings on 2nd level. 7' ceilings on 3rd level. Views of the James River. 1.43 acres. Perfection - esp after some renovations/upgrades. Comes with all appliances!

Front of house facing south:


Side of house facing west(one of 3 chimneys):


Backyard facing north (with swingset!):



Backyard facing south showing how many additions have been put on the house over the years 1794, 1801, 1820s, 1940s, 1990s (we are hoping to help make things look a bit more fluid over time):


Dining Room facing east. There is another room almost exactly like this one on the west side of the house (like most houses from that era):


The amazing old-school kitchen. I have Martha Stewart and Southern Living dreams about this section!!:

Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) by Beyonce

Official Sony BMG Records Property & Release:




SNL Parody:

Justin Timberlake & Beyonce - Parodie "Single Ladies" SNL
Uploaded by Rock_You_Justin

teehee

A Southern Home for my Southern Life!

So excited. Mike and I are going to see a house tomorrow. I really think this is the house. The one that I can renovate and make into my home. The one that we can start a married life together in. The one we can raise children in. It is perfect. I hope Mike likes it as much as I do!!

Exterior, front door: faces South with views of the James River:



Northern-facing back yard with fully-screened in porch:



Backyard - house comes with Swing Set!!:



Perfection, right?

Christmas Humor

: )

Catch up

I need to do a big catch-up post soon.

I ordered an adorable belt from Calista Cove last week and I need to post a picture and review of it!

I got two belts from Puttin on the G.R.I.T.S that I bought from here - so cute!

Went to the hospital. Got diagnosed. Now the fun part begins.

Cooked Mike Chili-Mac Stoup by Rachel Ray and a classic Gourmet recipe of Beef Stroganoff that I need to post!

My current school situation - Macon or JSR for another semester and THEN Macon?

Work.

Hysterically Weird

Silverware

Okay, so I was thinking about Silverware patterns today... not sure why, just was:

For everyday, I am having a hard time deciding on my everyday pattern.... honestly, there are too many classic Old Southern G.R.I.T.S.-style patterns out there!

I have already chosen my China and my Tiffany special silverware, but now it's the everyday I am mulling over...

1. Grande Baroque, by Wallace (now owned by Pfaltzgraff):
Designed in 1941. William S. Warren, the designer said: "To reflect the very essence of merriment and adventure, of artistic progress". Renaissance-era inspired.



2. Francis I, by Reed & Barton;
Historically-speaking - It was designed by Ernest Meyer, a French silversmith. His goal was to create a pattern that eclipsed the splendid Renaissance-Baroque metalwork of Benvenuto Cellini, court artist and sculptor in the court of King Francis I who ascended the French throne in 1515. It took him three years to design.
The pattern is unique, given that - unlike other flatware patterns - it has fifteen different fruit-and-flower clusters. Each handle bears one of these detailed designs. Introduced in the U.S. in 1906.



3. Strasbourg, by Gorham
Just a really simple, but still elegant silver pattern. Not as dressy, but that is what the Tiffany set is for. But would still be nice for dressing up a table...



What do you guys have? And what do you all think of my options? Do you have a favorite?

Hospital

Oh jeez. Sorry for my absence.


Costochondritis is an inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone (sternum). It causes sharp pain in the costosternal joint — where your ribs and breastbone are joined by rubbery cartilage. Pain caused by costochondritis may mimic that of a heart attack or other less serious heart conditions. Most cases of costochondritis have no apparent cause. In these cases, treatment focuses on easing your pain while you wait for costochondritis to resolve on its own. They say it can happen from an injury, fibromyalgia or a virus. There can be an overlap similar to Tietze Syndrome.


Yuck. I hate not being 100%!!!

I will hopefully make a faboo post soon and I need to send my Summer at Tiffany book to Jennifer!

Keeps Getting Better.

Everyone who likes that music that makes you think of a quiet cafe on a Sunday, or a foggy morning in the mountains, or a mellow/sad Christmas, or a rainy winter afternoon... simply must download or purchase this song -

"Another Door Closes" by Jont.

Amazing.

=========================================

In other news, I cannot believe how this season of GREEK ended up. WTF is up with Becks considering leaving the house? And you know Max is not going to Cal-Tech, he is totally not b/c he is so obsessed in love with Casey and the fact that his last GF died will likely push him to put his education after Casey. And I really hope Cappie doesn't ruin this situation for Casey again.

=========================================

My job leaves me sad. I am going to leave that topic at that for right now. Yesterday was a very disappointing day for me in regards to how I am genuinely viewed in the office. That being sad, I enjoy what I do.

=========================================

Michael continues to impress me.

We went to a wedding in SC this past weekend - 5 day long weekend - woot - and it was a lovely wedding. I love going back down to the Deep South because my accent comes out and that is always entertaining. Plus, Michael had never heard it so it tickled him to pieces. AND I took him to Sticky Fingers - A-MAZ-ING! Very fun to share some of my traditions with him!

Here is us post-wedding. It is always funny when the BF is a groomsman and you are at a wedding with people you don't even know! Well, I knew Ginny and Jeremy but that was it!



While at Sticky Fingers for some drinks we had a heart-to-heart. He basically laid it out for me. It went something like this,
Mike: "Whit, what are you doing?"
Me: "Having a really good margarita"
Mike: "No, I mean academically. You are SMART. You are well-read. Your speaking skills are incredible. You are in an Associate's program. You are floating."
Me: "....yes...."
Mike: "But you come home aggravated, you go to class aggravated, you seem generally aggravated and you hate getting up in the morning"
Me: "But I enjoy the WORK I do"
Mike: "What else about it do you enjoy?"
Me: "...."
Mike: "I love you, I am here to support you, I am not trying to tell you to do anything. I am just saying, where you might not feel supported by some people to do what you want, I can and I will support you. And when I say support I mean the full spectrum."
Me: ...tearing up. "This is why I love you. You're right."
Mike: "What happened to the Russian Studies Masters degree? Didn't you want to write or become a lawyer or even teach? The dual-major in Poli Sci and Environmental Studies? With the double-minor in French and History? You have a collection of over 30 Russian History books just sitting on a shelf at your parent's home. What do you want to do?"
Me: "I want to finish what I started."


So... I have been home for less than a week and this is what I have discovered.
Randolph-Macon College:
Majors in Environmental Studies, History.
Minors in Political Science, French and International Studies.

University of Richmond:
Majors in Paralegal Studies, History, Environmental Studies, Political Science, Russian Studies.
Minors in Law and Public Policy Studies, French, Law and Liberal Arts.

These are my options. We are not going to be moving any closer to Richmond than we live now. All I need is a job to cover gas and paying off my previous student loans and my ever-reducing CC debt from when I took a year off. My job currently does that. I will always feel tied to R-MC. But WTF have I been doing the last semester getting my Paralegal Associates? Do I really want to quit something I have started? So many questions right now.

Michael is such a good man. Honestly. It is something I "remember" (i.e. don't ever forget but always comes to the front of me) everyday.