What/When

Stealing another post idea from The Other Juliette. Because I have nothing exciting in my life to blog about.

Ready, go!

What/When was the last...

...recipe you made?  Bahn mis a couple days ago and I've been eating the leftovers ever since. Oh man, I love bahn mis. We use this recipe, but substitute ground turkey for ground pork. This time, for leftovers, I've been making bahn mi bowls, throwing some brown rice in a bowl, cutting up the meat balls and throwing everything else on top with some feta and cucumbers. So good.

...good decision you made?  Actually getting off my ass and doing cardio on Tuesday was a pretty good decision (and a rare one lately cough cough) and taking the assloads of time to look up reviews on every single apartment on our apartment hunting list turned out to be a good decision since we were able to veto a few.

...cool place you went?  I really had to think about this one. I think it's a tie with that random round building in between the Smithsonian Castle and the Freer Gallery that looks super tiny, but when you go in and go down like four flights of stairs you realize it's this giant building filled with classrooms and conference rooms and you get lost and find yourself in a really great African art gallery. That was pretty cool. It's a tie between that Wit & Wisdom in Baltimore. You know how sometimes you go into a restaurant and just feel like it's cool? Like whoa, I am not cool enough to eat in here? This place was like that, but the staff was so friendly that you didn't care that you weren't cool enough and the food was AMAZING and the rich people next to us were being complete turds to the waitress so I felt better for being poor and nice.

...show you watched?  Mike and I are finally catching up on Parks and Rec since we were about two seasons behind and we just started Copper which I'm not 100% sure about yet.

...awesome thing that happened?  I guess getting one new interview and two second interviews this week? That's pretty awesome and awful all at once. Statistically I HAVE to get one of these right?!!

...thing you bought for yourself?  Two cute tops on super clearance at Target about two weeks ago. That's actually a pretty long time for me to not buy something! I even had a cart full of stuff from the online Forever21 sale and I didn't ever pull the trigger. Hashtag poor and unemployed.

...good photo of you?  I actually think I look pretty good in this instagram from a couple days ago. Although, Tuffy looks better (obviously).

...bad decision you made?  Not keeping up with my diet and exercise. Fat asssssss.

...time you were really excited?  I'm pretty excited right now for our day trip to apartment hunt and eat at a new to us tapas place tomorrow.

...time you had a free weekend?  I'm unemployed, every day is a "free weekend" for me which is both awesome and awful. But, to be fair, last weekend was the last "free weekend" for both Mike and I since we had nothing planned and could just hang out at home and run errands.

Life Lately in Photos

Annnd here are some boring photos!

I text Mike random photos like this of the dogs while he's at work. Doesn't that hurt your neck, Gizmo?

Seen at the Freer Gallery.

I think the dogs miss Mike a little.

I visited the Freer Gallery for the first time and it was so quiet and peaceful and calm in there, I could have laid down on one of the benches and had a lovely nap.

I love the Unspirational instagram account. This is one of my fave posts. (No burn meant towards people who are ACTUALLY allergic to gluten, but most of you are not and you're just obnoxious.)

The face Tuffy gives me when I kiss him while he's asleep. 

I actually did cardio today. The world might end.

Life Lately

Life the last two weeks has been really just trying to get used to our new lives. Mike and I only really see each other for about an hour and a half every day. Which is pretty weird. We're used to doing everything together - grocery shopping, working out, watching tv, cooking, his soccer games, and yeah we hang out too much, but we don't know very many people here and also we hate most people...

Mike also had a pretty solid routine before he got this new job. And he did pretty much everything in our house. He did all the cleaning, most of the cooking, the laundry, the ironing, cleaning the car, bathing and grooming the dogs. And yes, I'm worthless, but pretty.

Now that he's gone from 6:00a.m. to almost 8:00p.m. every night, he can't do most of those things anymore or his weekends would just be one errand after another. So I actually get/have to do things now. Which is actually kind of awesome. I do the laundry (except his delicates, I'm not allowed) (delicates means fancy clothes, not silk underpants btw), I make dinner and have it waiting when he gets home (I've only cooked one thing he hated and yet ate the entire thing anyways, that guy), I make his lunch for the next day, I feed the dogs and take them for their long morning and night time walks alone which is really boring because I'm used to talking to Mike the whole time on the night time walk, I work out alone (okay, I don't allllways work out, I've been very lazy lately), on days I get up early and take Mike to his bus stop, I take the car and do the grocery shopping alone, I straighten up the house, I clean the kitchen, and I even brushed the dogs' teeth and that was no easy feat. (THAT WAS THE WORLD'S LONGEST RUN ON SENTENCE, I'M SORRY, BUT I'M NOT SORRY)

And I actually kind of loving having to do all that stuff. I feel so much more useful! Also, since I'm currently unemployed and home alone alll day, it makes my day go so much more quickly having so much to do.

Side note:  I would have done all these things prior to Mike's schedule, but Mike is an OCD control freak and I'm just a control freak so I lost. Also, you get pretty damn used to living with someone who doesn't mind and is amazing at everything, so yeah, I'm kind of lazy.

This blog post is making me sound horrible.

Anyways, life lately is me, home with the pups, doing chores, applying for jobs, styling for clients, getting really sleepy from being on the computer, binge watching Orange is the New Black, not dieting enough, not working out enough, making crazy long and detailed apartment lists for our upcoming apartment hunt, and watching old Bachelorette episodes on YouTube (will I ever get sick of Jillian's season? No I will not.)

I got to go into the city with Mike last week for an interview and it was pretty great getting to see his daily commute. The commuter bus is actually really nice and quiet and clean and you can't really complain about a commute if you're not doing any of the driving and just nap and read the whole time. I walked all over, got myself some Starbucks, read on the mall and watched the hot Marine runners (sorry not sorry), and then met Mike for lunch at the farmer's market that his work puts on every Friday. We bought some delicious pizzas and sat under a tree in his work's garden. It was pretty dang nice, I'll tell ya'. I'm so glad Mike has that little garden to escape to if he's having a stressful day and needs to get away from his desk.

After lunch, I walked the couple of miles to the location of my interview and waited around in an air conditioned starbucks. My interview went well (who really knows with these things??) and then I walked back to meet Mike at his bus stop so we could commute home. All in all, I walked about 6 miles in my cute little flats so my feet were killing me, but I felt less guilty about skipping cardio the day before and it was a fun little day!

Next up, we're going to go apartment searching and enjoy restaurant week and I have two phone interviews this week so hopefully good things will be coming soon?

This is a long, rambly blog post. I'm sorry.

The end.

This Sunday Currently

Currently I am...

Reading: The 4th HP book, got through a lot of it during my 13 hour DC day on Friday.

Writing: This blog post and that's it. Not much to write these days other than blog posts and I'm okay with that!

Listening: Mike watching soccer in the other room while the dogs nap.

Eating:  Mike just made single serving coffee cake in a mug for each of us and it was amazingly delicious.

Wishing/Hoping:  For one of the 8 trillion jobs I'm in contention for to work out. Please? And for the whole "moving into a new apartment, moving out of this apartment, people visiting" first 2 weeks of October to go smoothly.

Wearing: A white tank top and white Pink VS pajama bottoms. I have had these bottoms since Jersey I realized. That was an expensive purchase back then!

Loving: That we have gotten to be so lazy this weekend, we are dead tired! I'm also still loving how happy Mike is at his new job. It's so nice to see him come home from work tired, but happy.

Wanting:  The usual - a job and some security/clarity and for my anxiety to lessen. Also, this workout dvd to get my FAT ASS back in shape (good for apartment living, no jumping around), this adorable phone case, this amazing dress from Loft (you had me at faux leather details), this horn necklace, and this haircut.

Needing: To get up, take a shower, and I don't know, do something? I have nothing to do today...

Feeling: Tired and anxious...the usual. Maybe one day I won't type that on here? Hopefully?

Clicking:  The archives of a blog I want to discover from the beginning, Forever21 to put items from their super sale into my cart and then not buy them because, unemployment, and Google Images to lust over haircuts I can't pull off.

A couple other things...

I can't help taking pictures whenever I go into the city. It's just so dang pretty there.

We ended up getting on an early bus home and while waiting at the bus stop, we saw a man set up outside the metro selling roses for only $3.00. Mike walked over and got me some and I love that he picked the prettiest pink ones out of the color options. I carried these pretties home, wrapped in newspaper, for the whole 2 hour bus ride and I've been moving them from room to room with me ever since.

A Rant on Interviews aka The Ramblings of a Stress Case

Job interviews are stressful regardless.

I mean, right? Once I get in the room and make eye contact with people, I'm pretty good, but the lead up to a job interview is super stressful.

What are they going to ask? What should I wear? Will they be nice or stern? Have they already chosen someone internal and this is just for show? What if I get lost and am late? What if I totally choke?

Those are normal stresses albeit ones I blow gigantically out of proportion because I am a card carrying over-worrier.

But when you're living in Southern Maryland and applying for jobs in DC, there are a nice, big crapload of extra stresses that come with job interviews.

How am I going to get there? What are we going to do with the dogs? How much is it going to cost me to get there, eat, kennel the dogs, etc.?

And on and on.

So, I'm just going to bitch about my day tomorrow real quick here to exercise my stress demons. Ready?

Tomorrow, I'm going to commute into the city with Mike for my interview. I have to be ready, looking interview good and leave the house by 6:10a.m. at the latest. That's early. Balls. We'll get there about 8:00a.m. My interview is at 2:00p.m. Double balls. It's DC so I can entertain myself easily, but that's a long time to sit around/walk around/entertain myself wearing my cute interview dress. It's only a 2.1 mile walk from Mike's work to my interview location so that will be a good way to kill about an hour, but of course that means bringing an extra pair of shoes in my purse because I'm not doing that in heels. I'm going to need to find a bathroom to freshen up at some point because after two hours on a bus and four hours walking around DC, I'm not going to look great, I'm sure. After my interview, I'll walk back to Mike's work and wait for him so we can take the bus for two hours back home. Our dogs can't be alone that long and our kennel was full and my dad was busy so one of Mike's friends from soccer is going to check on them and walk them at lunch. He's never met them before and I'm terrified they are going to run away or something because, well, I'm a paranoid over-worrier. It's going to be a long ass day. And interviews are stressful anyways. Getting up at 5:00a.m. is my nightmare.

And then if I do get the job, our lease isn't up until October 13th so we'll both have to commute and hire a dog walker and when are we going to do laundry and cook dinner and work out and then we have to move holy shit this is all so stressful.

Okay, I'm done.

Style Files - Stylish at a Work Conference

Today's style files is one of my favorite recent clients, Erin. Erin needed looks for an upcoming work conference. For her though, I couldn't just do some boring, classic work wear because Erin is awesome and loves to take chances with her style.

I tried to make her outfit planning as easy as possible by basing every look on either the perfect pair of black slacks or the perfect black pencil skirt. Once we had our bases down, we could spend our time creatively pairing tops and accessories for multiple cute and still work appropriate looks.

Here is what we came up with!

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Necklace:  Adia Kibur, $80.00  *  Sweater (also available in red):  Trouve, $78.00  *  Pants:  Anne Klein, $64.00  *  Heels:  Vince Camuto, $88.95

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Blazer:  ASOS, $87.06  *  Peplum Top:  ASOS, $18.38 (on sale!)  *  Pants:  Anne Klein, $64.00  *  Heels:  ASOS, $77.39

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Additional options for peplum tops to go with this look.

Top 1:  ASOS, $61.91  *  Top 2:  ASOS, $30.96 (on sale!)  *  Top 3:  City Chic, $58.00

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Earrings:  Kate Spade, $38.00  *  Top:  ASOS, $23.11 (on super sale!)  *  Skirt:  Tildon, $44.00  *  Heels:  Sole Society, $69.95

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Addition top option for this look that I found last minute and couldn't help but include.

Top:  ASOS, $96.74

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Erin wanted to be able to dress down her work looks to wear out at night after the conference was over. I gave her a couple options for jeans and boots, depending on her preference.

Earrings:  Kate Spade, $38.00  *  Top:  ASOS, $23.11  *  Jeans 1:  NYDJ, $110.00  *  Jeans 2:  ASOS, $34.82 (on sale!)  *  Boots:  Steve Madden, $133.90  *  Booties:  Dolce Vita, $99.90

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I also thought the top would be cute with black jeans, so I gave her that option too.

Earrings:  Kate Spade, $38.00  *  Top:  ASOS, $23.11  *  Pants:  ASOS, $58.04  *  Boots:  Sam Edelman, $189.95  *  Booties:  French Connection, $169.95

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This was our favorite look!

Earrings:  Juliet & Company, $21.00  *  Top:  Topshop, $72.00  *  Skirt:  Tildon, $44.00  *  Wedges:  Louise et Cie, $128.94

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Erin had a similar grey skirt that she wanted ideas for wearing to the conference.

Top 1:  ASOS, $38.69  *  Top 2:  ASOS, $48.37  *  Skirt:  Jones New York, $69.00  *  Heels:  Halogen, $99.95

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Erin previously bought these pants from me and she wanted a way to dress them up for work.

Blazer:  ASOS, $67.70  *  Top:  ASOS, $48.37  *  Pants:  Bobeau, $28.80 (on sale!)  *  Necklace:  Adia Kibur, $95.00  *  Heels:  Vince Camuto, $88.95

This Sunday Currently

Currently I am...

Reading: The 4th HP book and just rented The Last Six Million Seconds by John Burdett so I need to read that before it expires.

Writing: This blog post and that's it. Maybe I'll actually step away from the damn computer today after this.

Listening: To old Project Runway episodes on Hulu (when I'm sitting at the computer, I always have something playing in the background), and Mike watching soccer in the other room while the dogs sleep.

Eating:  Coffee and delicious zucchini bread that Mike bought at the farmer's market that takes place every week on the grounds of his new office. How cute is it that there is an on-site farmer's market??

Wishing/Hoping:  For things to fall into place. I need to find a job, figure out where we're going to live, get a new place, and leave this place, all without inconveniencing anyone too much. Pipe dream?

Wearing: Black leggings and a blue racer back tank.

Loving: That Mike's first week at his new job went so well and that I'm finally able to help out a lot in our house now that Mike is busy (being the wife of someone with OCD can make you feel reallllly useless sometimes).

Wanting:  The usual - a job and some security/clarity and for my anxiety to lessen. Also, this super cute cell phone case, this unique white midi skirt, my hair to look like this every day (not gonna happen), and a place to wear this amazing jumpsuit.

Needing: To get up, go to the gym, make Mike scones for breakfast next week, and then take some time to read my book.

Feeling: Tired and anxious...the usual. Maybe one day I won't type that on here? Hopefully?

Clicking:  Filing my webcert for unemployment, Pinterest for new ab moves at the gym today, Hulu for noise in the background, and clicking on the 800 job announcement emails I get every day.

A couple other things...

The worst thing about Mike's new super long schedule is having to work out alone. I've never been good at working out, so going with Mike was a lot of motivation. It is nice that I can go during the day and have the apartment gym to myself though.

When having dinner waiting for my husband, you also need to do up a dessert plate. He's on a s'more kick lately after we went "camping" so this is what he had waiting for him Thursday night.