The Holiday

It doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get,
or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay
you drink with your girlfriends... You still go
to bed every night going over every detail and wonder
what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood.
And how in the hell for that brief moment you could
think that you were that happy. And sometimes you
can even convince yourself that he'll see the light
and show up at your door. And after all that, however
long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new. and
you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again.
And little pieces of your soul will finally come back.
And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life
that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade.

-I love the movie "The Holiday", esp that quote from Iris/Kate Winslet

Rain Boot Thoughts

So I have been loving my J.Crew wellies which I got last year. Bright pink, with olive green laces and similar green soles, very cute, and not over-the-top. However, I need some diversity as sometimes it rains and rains for days and they can't be used all the time. Esp when winter comes and the salt on the roads and sidewalks at school will ruin it all...

So I've been shopping around for some new boots. Less than $100. I don't need Hunter Wellingtons if I am buying them myself!!


Here are the runners-up:

Sperry Plaid Pelican Boot in navy/forest for $68:


L.L. Bean Rubber Moc in tan/navy for $59:


Sperry Comorant Moc in navy for $80: (a little bit more fun decorated-wise)


Shearling-Lined L.L. Bean moc in chestnut/chocolate for $114:


Last, but not least:

Sperry Comorant Moc in yellow for $80:




I'd love all of y'alls thoughts!! XOXO

Dining Room project

Dining Room

The dining room color is Woodlawn Colonial Gray, another NOVA plantation (seen here behind the couch)!:

**Our dining room looked like this when we visited it - they "gave" us the "window treatments" AKA lengths of fabric stuck through plastic-finished hooks in (eww):



Our plan with the dining room is this:

Ethan Allen - Townhouse Rectangular Dining Table


It has drawers on either end to store serving pieces, etc, and can extend to being 120" long! The legs are fluted and just amazing!


For chairs, we are planning on going with a chippendale side chair of about 5 on either side, so 10 total, and then 2 host/arm chairs. We may over time add a few more to fill in the wall spaces left!


The bay window has a space which would be sweet to put a couch/loveseat in but there is no room. So, our best option is a storage console piece which we could move during the holidays to stick a tree in. This is the one we have been going with - it is from the same collection as the Ethan Allen Dining Room table:


My mother was incredibly kind and gave us her old display case from her first marriage. It was used for storage when I was growing up on our farm, in the barn, for I believe horse accessories/etc, and now has a neat shabby-chic wearing to it. The pecan has withstood time well (as good pecan should), and has an older grey-ish finish on it, which we look forward to sandpapering off a good bit, to really make it look even more antiqued. There are two lights which need to be replaced on the inside, and the shelves are made of glass. I am on the fence about this, but I am thinking maybe replacing the glass and their holders with a grey-covered velvet would make it better for fine display pieces - wedding china/silver, antiques from my family, collections of my grandmama, etc...

For looks, it is very similar to this china cabinet and display piece by Ethan Allen (Maison), except flat across the top - and the pecan is marbleized underneath the fading finish:



Lastly, we want a blue and gray oriental carpet with touches of ivory, rose, and champagne tones for the dining room.
So, here are some inspirations on those lines...


Or





What do you all think? Draperies are natch our last thought, as these pieces are much more significant in the order presented!

Living Room project

From: thetearoom.typepad.com, a more minimalist look. We want something dressier. Like the shelves though.


PBF and I will soon be doing major decorating for the house. Not just because it is the holidays, but because we will be starting on the major painting. Why are we doing it in the winter, you may ask. Well, because where we live in VA you can leave the house open all day long, and in the Summer that = HUMIDITY. Not good when spending a bunch of $$ on high-quality paint that could bubble, get dust on it, or just look bad. So, we have been waiting for this dry/low-humidity weather to kick in and it has in the past month. By the time my exams are over it will be perfect.

Living Room

We plan on painting the living room a deep dark forest green. Maybe a dark polo green is a better way to put it, as forest green has more brown in it. This isn't that kind of color. We will be purchasing the paint for Lowe's and we/I will be doing it ourselves. I have seen jobs at friend's houses that professionals did and they completely destroyed the crown molding. To be honest, this painting job feels like something I should do as I am worried they may "screw it up"... so I would rather screw it up myself than have to be concerned with someone else.

The living room color is Montpelier Palmetto Green, named for Montpelier in VA:


A lot of people - parent included - have questioned this choice, but the room is the length of the house, has a TON of crown molding, plantation blinds in white, and gets a TON of natural light, so the light won't be sucked out in a bad way.

This is what the living room looked like when we visited it the first time:


You can see that they had professional window valences made, but they did not really "work" with the rest of the Living Room. It was a mish-mash of things, understandable as they were recently married AND the husband was relocated out of state during the time the house was on the market - but not in our taste design-wise at all.


A more formal version of French Country.
From: FineLiving.com

Our plan with the living room is to be minimalist (as in few things that are key pieces, not as in a Modern look). We hope to keep the look of French Country consistent in the house so we are going for classic, home-y, and traditional, without being stuffy. Our house is a colonial so layout-wise it is perfect. This is also so when I inherit items they can be placed throughout the house without looking out of place (my parents and grandparents have dozens of antique furniture pieces and collected pieces of artwork and figures from Europe). For example, my great-grandmother had a gorgeous Gold oval mirror which my parents currently have in their living room and I would love to have it for over the fireplace when it is my turn. It would be perfect there.

We were given as a housewarming gift from my Grandmother and Grandfather a beautiful sofa table:

It is from Ethan Allen, the Maison collection (perfect name!), and is in the finish Rustique.

We plan on recovering the couch and sofa my parents had in the farmhouse I grew up in this fabric pattern - yellow background with red and green diamonds within it:

This fabric is from Ethan Allen.

With a few throw pillows done in this pattern, which I love as it picks up the colors from the sofa and is a bit whimsical and 19th century at the same time:

This fabric is from Ethan Allen as well.


I cannot wait to take all of the silver/brushed nickel fixtures including the living room ceiling fan and replace them with brass ones - such as the one below:
This is a Hunter Bayport 42-inch four-blade ceiling fan with antique brass fixtures:

This photo was taken from Amazon.com.

We are debating closing up the open "TV shelf" space above the gas fireplace and turn it instead into a real fireplace mantle with a family painting above it (not a portrait, a piece of artwork from my family, obviously). We'd get a media center to house our entertainment center, etc.

We have already ordered a large bookshelf from Ethan Allen to be delivered next month so the room becomes more library-style as we hope it will be used as such. It is large but we want it to look classic and still be functional (we have a TON of books between us). The shelf will go between the windows facing the front porch. Again, less floor space taken up because this shelf is TALL:


The collection is called Tango at Ethan Allen. (This bookshelf is actually 3 shelves, so use perspective in that regard).


Here is another photo of the living room (Thanks, Blackberry Tour!), including our goofy Halloween decorations! haha:




All Historic paint colors are shown here: http://www.valsparatlowes.com/explore-colors/historic-colors/paint-colors.html.

You may find that choosing Lowes for paint is a poor choice, or, at the very least - random. Well, originally, I was going to get the paint there because of my father's discount but now that doesn't apply (this Fall he went back to being an Executive Sales Manager at Pitney Bowes). However, they carry Valspar which is incredibly high in quality, and they have a relationship with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which is an organization I have a great deal of passion for - as they have assisted with many projects near and dear to me. Currently, a major project of theirs is the Miami Marine Stadium, a unique structure to say the least:



Check out the NTHP at: http://www.preservationnation.org/.

Do you know a male primadonna?

This is hysterical. Property of NBC and GE Universal.

Christmas List

Hey all,

working on my Christmas List.



Does anyone have any input??



XOXO
-Worthy

Seriously.

Seriously.

Monday

April 26
&
May 3

2004


Changed my entire life.


2 steps forward and 15 steps back.

For Izzy, today

Ode to the Nice Girls
This is my tribute to the nice girls. To the nice girls who are overlooked, who become friends and nothing more, who spend hours fixating upon their looks and their personalities and their actions because it must be they that are doing something wrong. This is for the girls who don't give it up on the first date, who don't want to play mind games, who provide a comforting hug and a supportive audience for a story they've heard a thousand times. This is an homage to the girls who laugh loud and often, who are comfortable in skirts and sweats and combat boots, who care more than they should for guys who don't deserve their attention. This is for those girls who have been in the trenches, who have watched other girls time and time again fake up and make up and fuck up the guys in their lives without saying a word. This is for the girls who have been there from the beginning and have heard the trite words of advice, from "there are plenty of fish in the sea," to "time heals all wounds."

This is for the girls who have spent their weekends sitting on the sidelines of a beer pong tournament or a case race, or playing Florence Nightingale for a vomiting guy friend or a comatose crush, who have received a drunk phone call just before dawn from someone who doesn't care enough to invite them over but is still willing to pass out in their bed. This is for the girls who have left sad song lyrics in their away messages, who have time and time again dropped their male friend hint after hint after hint. This is for the girls who have been told that they're too good or too smart or too pretty, who have been given compliments as a way of breaking off a relationship.

This one's for the girls who you can take home to mom, but won't because it's easier to sleep with a whore than foster a relationship; this is for the girls who have been led on by words and kisses and touches, all of which were either only true for the moment, or never real to begin with. This is for the girls who have had their hearts broken and their hopes dashed by someone too cavalier to have cared in the first place; this is for the nights spent dissecting every word and syllable and inflection in his speech, for the nights when you've returned home alone.

This is for the hugs you've received from your female friends, for the nights they've reassured you that you are beautiful and intelligent and amazing and loyal and truly worthy of a great guy. This is for the girls who have been used and abused, who have endured what he was giving because at least he was giving something; this is for the stupidity of the nights we've believed that something was better than nothing, though his something was nothing we'd have ever wanted. This is for the girls who have been satisfied with too little and who have learned never to expect anything more: for the girls who don't think that they deserve more, because they've been conditioned for so long to accept the scraps thrown to them by guys.

Men complain that they never meet nice girls, girls who are genuinely interested and compelling, who are intelligent and sweet and smart and beautiful; men despair that no good women want to share in their lives, that girls play mind games, that girls love to keep them hanging. We nice girls are everywhere. But you're not looking for a nice girl. You're not looking for someone genuinely interested in your intramural basketball game, or your anatomy midterm grade, or that argument you keep having with your father; you're looking for a quick fix.

So don't say you're on the lookout for nice girls, guys, when you pass us up on every step you take. You don't want the nice girls, so don't say you're looking for a relationship: relationships take time and energy and intent, three things we're willing to extend - - but in return, we're looking for compassion and loyalty and trust, three things you never seem willing to express.

shattered

"Sitting With The Shattered Soul"

So how do you sit with a shattered soul?
Gently, with gracious and deep respect.
Patiently, for time stands still for the shattered, and
the momentum of healing will be slow at first.

With the tender strength that comes from an openness

To your own deepest wounding,
and to your own deepest healing.

Firmly, never wavering in the utmost conviction that
evil is powerful, but there is a good
that is more powerful still.

Stay connected to that goodness with all your being,
however it manifests itself to you.

Give freely. Take in abundantly.

Find your safety, your refuge, and go there as you need.

Words won't always come;
sometime there are no words
in the face of such tragic evil.

But in your own willingness to be with them,
they will hear you;
from soul to soul
they will hear that for which there are no words.

When you can, in your own time,
turn and face that deep chasm within.

Let go. Grieve, rage, shed.

-Steele, K. (1987).

Sitting with the shattered soul. Pilgrimage: Journal of personal exploration and psychotherapy, 15, 6, 19-25.

For support, talk to your partner, family, friends, an advocate at a sexual assault crisis center, or call the Virginia Family Violence & Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-838-8238(v/tty).


**FYI, this has nothing to do with PBF. This came WAY before PBF.

Partners

My favorite story people - Mojito Maven posted about them yesterday, I have loved their prints for years. In Lexington, they sell them at Hamilton Robbins, a very VERY fine home furnishings boutique.

This is my favorite one, property of Story People creator Brian Andreas, is called Partners:



The text is: Tied together by stuff too difficult to explain to someone new.

I am sure several of my readers understand why I like this print so much. It is definitely too personal to comment about specifically on here.

Thank you Mojito Maven for reminding me of this childhood favorite artist! As an adult now, I feel like I can relate to them more, where as a child I liked them for being colorful and textured, though 2D in design!

Check out Mojito Maven's entry on Story People, here: http://makemineamojito.com/2009/10/26/story-people/

Halloween Costumes

Well, I have decided my Halloween Costume... well, the theme at least!

My school is having a Monster Bash Halloween party with a big-time DJ named DJ Duane (done Fancy Dress at W&L, no less) and so I am helping to host the event with my Campus Events Committee so I need a good costume.

What am I going as?

Betty Draper.

Why? Because my arm candy, I mean, PBF, Mike, will need something doable. So I wanted something he looks GOOD in, and he looks super hot in a suit, so he will play my Don Draper for the evening.

Yay!

Outfit ideas - I need input, people!!

Daytime Betty:



Horseback Riding Betty:
View 1:

View 2:


Country Club Betty:


Sexy Italy/Rome Betty:
1.

2.

Glamorous night on the town Betty:


Any of the collage Bettys:

Help Find Morgan

Copy and paste the
following code
into your
blog or website,
to spread information

and help in finding Morgan.
<a href="http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php?relyear=2009&itemno=806" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="Morgan Badge" src="http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp224/liamsma/morgan-badge.png"></a>

HELP FIND MORGAN

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Police are searching for a Virginia Tech student who hasn't been seen since she was separated from her friends at a Metallica concert Saturday.

Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, was last seen near the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.

Her parents said they talk to her every day and her disappearance is very out of character.

"Morgan is a pretty transparent kid, who's had a really close relationship with us," her father, Dan Harrington, said in a phone interview Tuesday with the Associated Press. "I don't think there are lots of secrets, so this kind of behavior of (her) missing is not something I think we would expect."

Amy Melvin, her roommate in Blacksburg, Va. told The Roanoke Times Harrington went outside the stadium before Metallica went on stage, but she wasn't sure why.

"Everyone assumed she'd be coming back, " Amanda Melvin, Amy Melvin's older sister told the newspaper. "Sitting here while Morgan is out there missing isn't a very good feeling,"

Harrington drove to the concert and her car was still in parking lot after, the newspaper reported.

Her cell phone and purse were found outside the arena.

Harrington's father, who lives in Roanoke, said his daughter had asked him to help her study for a math test and go through the class schedule for next semester on Sunday. He called her friends around 12:30 p.m. when he realized he had not heard from her.

Dan Harrington told Fox News this not typical behavior for his daughter.

"Morgan is pretty close to us as a family," he said, adidng his daughter didn't have a boyfriend and didn't know if anyone who would want to hurt her. "We don't think she is out there with someone she choose to be with."

Police said Morgan Harrington, a junior majoring in education, was wearing a black T-shirt with "Pantera" across the front in tan letters, a black mini skirt, black tights and black knee-high boots.

She has long blonde hair and blue eyes, is 5-foot-6 and weighs about 120 pounds. She was not carrying an identification card or cell phone.

Investigators are treating the disappearance as a missing person case, said Virginia State Police Lt. Joe Rader.

"We have no evidence that a crime has been committed," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Text taken from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,568644,00.html





Police continued to seek help Monday in finding a Virginia Tech student from Roanoke County who went missing during a Metallica concert in Charlottesville on Saturday night.

Morgan Dana Harrington, 20, was last seen near John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, according to University of Virginia police.

She had gone to the concert with Amy Melvin, her roommate in Blacksburg, and another friend from James Madison University. Harrington drove.

Melvin said Harrington went outside before Metallica took the stage. She said she wasn't sure why.

"Everyone assumed she'd be coming back," said Amanda Melvin, Amy Melvin's older sister and a friend of Harrington's. Friends and family still haven't heard from Harrington, she said.

Amanda Melvin said Harrington's purse and cellphone were found outside the stadium and her car was still in the parking lot. She said Harrington wouldn't abandon her friends there.

Amy Melvin said she and Harrington have been friends since they were in sixth grade at Northside Middle School.

Harrington is a junior education student at Tech. She's a 2007 graduate of Lord Botetourt High School, according to the school's yearbook. She transferred from Northside High School after the academic year ending 2006, said Chuck Lionberger, spokesman for Roanoke County Public Schools.

She and Melvin, who attends New River Community College, live off campus.

The Rev. Diane Scribner Clevenger, pastor to Harrington's parents, Dan and Gil Harrington, spoke for the family Monday.

"Morgan stays in contact with Dan and Gil every day," she said. She said it was unlike Harrington not to be in touch with her parents.

Clevenger said Harrington's parents are in shock. She said they left early Monday morning for Charlottesville.

Dr. Dan Harrington is the associate dean for clinic and regional integration at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, scheduled to open next fall. He has been with Carilion Clinic since 1990.

Friends created a Facebook group -- called "Help find Morgan Dana Harrington" -- to help spread the word that Harrington was missing.

Amanda Melvin said friends want to help in the search but aren't sure what to do. She said she thought about forming a search group to help look for her. For now, they are forwarding her information and photo to everyone they can.

"Sitting here while Morgan is out there missing isn't a very good feeling," she said.

Harrington was last seen wearing a black T-shirt with "Pantera" across the front in tan letters, a black miniskirt, black tights and black knee-high boots, police said. She has long blond hair and blue eyes, is 5 feet 6 inches and weighs about 120 pounds.

Virginia Tech police have been contacted by UVa police and are assisting with the investigation into Harrington's disappearance, Tech police Chief Wendell Flinchum said.

Anyone who has seen Harrington or has knowledge about her whereabouts is asked to call UVa police at (434) 924-7166.

Roanoke Times coverage: http://roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/223121
CNN coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/21/virginia.missing.student/
CBS Early Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J58dZwGrcL0
ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/US/virginia-tech-student-morgan-dana-harrington-disappears-concert/story?id=8872201
Metallica coverage: http://www.metallica.com/index.asp?item=602638


Police urge anyone with information to contact the Virginia State Police at (434) 352-3435 or by e-mail at bci-appomattox@vsp.virginia.gov. The number for UVA police is (434) 924-7166.

Jason Mraz love

Who else loves Jason Mraz? I have been listening to him for close to 10 years now, as I listened to him at random coffeehouses in Richmond when I was still in high school before he got really big. He is from Mechanicsville which is about 15 minutes from my college and I often wish we could bring him in for a concert but I seriously doubt that could ever happen... sigh. But I LOVE his songs. He has great lyrics. And he is hilarious and awesome live.

This song is fitting today. I have had to resign from a cause I have been working at pretty one-sided-wise for a good 5-6 years. Trying to be friends with people who do the bare minimum to compensate has gotten incredibly tiring and hurtful and yesterday it hit me at how much time I have wasted with these people. Saddening. Various reasons, it has been an intense, busy, and interesting week so I will let you guys know how I am doing when I get a chance... hopefully tonight.





You've got the best of both worlds
You're the kind of girl who can take down a man,
And lift him back up again
You are strong but you're needy,
Humble but you're greedy
And based on your body language,
And shotty cursive I've been reading
Your style is quite selective,
Though your mind is rather reckless
Well I guess it just suggests
That this is just what happiness is

And what a beautiful mess this is
It's like we're picking up trash in dresses

Well it kind of hurts when the kind of words you write
Kind of turn themselves into knives
And don't mind my nerve you could call it fiction
But I like being submerged in your contradictions dear
'Cause here we are, here we are

Although you were biased I love your advice
Your comebacks they're quick
And probably have to do with your insecurities
There's no shame in being crazy
Depending on how you take these
Words I'm paraphrasing this relationship we're staging

And what a beautiful mess this is
It's like picking up trash in dresses

Well it kind of hurts when the kind of words you say
Kind of turn themselves into blades
And kind and courteous is a life I've heard
But it's nice to say that we played in the dirt oh dear
Cause here we are, Here we are
Here we are
We're still here
What a beautiful mess this is
It's like taking a guess when the only answer is yes

And through timeless words, and priceless pictures
We'll fly like birds not of this earth
And tides they turn, and hearts disfigure
But that's no concern when we're wounded together
And we tore our dresses, and stained our shirts
But it's nice today, oh the wait was so worth it.
-Jason Mraz, "A Beautiful Mess"

Forever?

Okay, I promise I will do a "real" entry soon - school is just busy as anything and Homecoming is this weekend and I have serious things to do before all of this happens...

However, a time out for one of my favorite moments in TV ever...

More GLEE love

No air....

The Wedding in Niagara

Who else is excited!??!?!

Babies

Photo by Tiffany & Co.


A very close couple of PBF's and mine had a baby around 2 weeks ago. His name is Kyan. He is adorable. He has lots of features from his Mom's side of the family. Dad is doting on him as much as Mom. And neither of them looked completely exhausted. Plus, Kyan does not look like an alien. He was quite literally the first kid I had held in about 10 years. I am on the end of the mid-20s where its right before everyone you know has kids. PBF is on the tail end of that now being 34. But I am quite rusty. I almost had a panic attack when I jostled Kyan a bit when I tried to burp him. Must not be a good burper on me. I did have enough in me, he clearly passed several times while I held him. PBF laughed his butt off because I brought out this kid's gaseous side and PBF is a 5-year-old when it comes to man's digestive process. Oh well.


Photo by Anne Geddes.


I tried to find a good example on Google but it didn't happen for me. But babies can look completely terrifying sometimes when born. Pointed head. Whacky ears. HUGE eyes. Anyway, I was a gorgeous baby. No, I don't have an online example, but lets go with the idea that I looked similar to this:



From: http://alistbaby.net/ [but likely originally from Vanity Fair, and Annie Liebowitz]

Yes, that is Suri Cruise. But same thing. Lots of black hair at birth. Long fingers. Cute face. Not an alien. I also had long long eyelashes and eyebrows. I will try to upload it tonight with my scanner. I was cute though!!

But alien babies crack me up.

Anyway, PBF and I have been trying to fix things. We had a hiccup a few weeks back and have been trying to recover. Visiting with our friends and their newborn definitely gave me some reassuring perspective. He is not the "average guy" who is "pretty sure" he is going to have kids at "some point". He also is not the overly wanting kids guy who puts pressure on you and then you end up missing out on life because you had kids too fast. He is completely, 100% respectful of what my personal goals are. Which is extremely rewarding, to be perfectly honest. And seeing him hold a baby made a big difference, too. And I cannot wait to dress up our daughter(s) in Lilly Pulitzer. And the sons in Lacoste? Ralph Lauren? Etc.

Boys:


Photo: Ralph Lauren.com


Girls:

Photo: Lilly Pulitzer.com

Amazing.

In case no one saw this during Fashion Week - thank you Women's Wear Daily (WWD):



Photo taken by: Giovanni Giannoni


From the Nina Ricci Ready-to-Wear Spring 2010 collection.



I love this. Too bad I don't attend galas or Victorian funerals. : ) Anyone want to help me join the Richmond Junior League??? I am an active in the DAR and the UDC, however.

What a Betty!!!