Road Trip

On Thursday, the hubster and I will be driving for nine (9!) hours.  Yes, I tried to talk him into flying.  Yes, I lost.  So, I'm making the best of it.  And by making the best of it, I mean that I am organizing everything in hopes that we get off to a fabulous start.

1. I've arranged everything that we're taking with us in one area of the house to allow for easy loading of car. (I've even laid out my driving outfit.  This is nothing fancy, it's just the comfy yet cute attire I'll wear for a ridiculously long drive and yet is still appropriate for a family gathering.  AKA: sweater tunic and leggings with flats)
2. I fell asleep last night while mentally arranging where in the car everything will go.  MODG, think tablescaping.  (With an evening arrival at the family home, our bags of gifts will be strategically placed for fast and easy removal upon pulling into the driveway.)
3. My fabulous friend sent me some books on tape (well, books on cd actually, but books on tape sounds better) so we'll have some entertainment besides me singing along to holiday music. This is mostly for the sanity of my hubby.
4. I have set an alarm for 6am on Thursday morning, so I can get up, load car, and get pretty while hubster sleeps.
5. I'm going to drive for the first half of the trip, so that hubby may continue to sleep in passenger seat.
6. I've created a "House-Sitting at Casa de Hart" list for my lovely sister, who will be watching the fur babies while we're gone.  (It warns her about the doggies knocking over the Christmas tree and potentially chewing television remotes.  Isn't she lucky?)

xoxo

Merry, Merry

Darlings, I love the holidays.  LOVE THEM. A lot.

I watch cheesy Christmas movies - no matter if I've seen them a hundred times already. 
I make hot cocoa and add big puffy marshmallows.
I listen to Christmas music from pre-Thanksgiving until New Year's.
I wrap packages in matching paper and ribbon. With embellishments. While watching movies and drinking cocoa.
I am actually excited about our 9 hour road trip to SoCal to visit family.

Hooray - Merry Christmas to you all!

xoxo

Song of the Day: Silver Bells by Bing Crosby

I am sooooo stylish

I may or may not be wearing a maternity shirt today.  And by "may or may not be", I mean I am.  Now, you might all immediately get really excited and assume that because I'm wearing preggo-wear that I am actually preggo.  I'm not.  I just really liked this shirt.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Take Your Shirt Off by T Pain

Dirty

Saw this lovely establishment the other day:

I think this is where you take things with spooge on them.  Ew.

(really? who names these places?)

xoxo

Song of the Day: Dirty Diana by Michael Jackson

Nom Nom Nom

It's reallllly chilly today here in San Francisco.  As in, there was frost on our windshield this morning.  Yeah, yeah - I know you folks who live in cold places are like, "What are YOU complaining about? It snowed 8 inches... blah blah blah".

Guess what? I don't care about your 8 inches of snow or how badass you are for living somewhere subzero.  Why did we spend a sh*t ton of money to live in SF? For the temperate weather.  (And the awesomeness.)  It's not supposed to be 35* in San Francisco.  So, I'm allowed to bitch a bit about it when it is.

Anyway, that's totally not my point.

My point is this: when it's cold outside, I like to eat.  (Forget the fact that I pretty much just like to eat and just go with it, okay?)

Today for lunch, I dashed downstairs and grabbed a delish sourdough breadbowl filled with clam chowder.  YUM.  Now, I don't know if you're supposed to eat the breadbowl itself once you've finished the chowder... but I am.  And it's GOOD.

nom nom nom

xoxo

Song of the Day: Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen

Proactivity

Darlings, I am lucky enough to work at a fabulous firm with mostly fabulous people.

There is one glaring exception.  I'll call this person "Dumbo".
Dumbo is someone that drives me slightly insane with almost everything she does. 
Dumbo is muti-tasking challenged. 
Dumbo is common sense challenged.
Dumbo is, well, maybe just challenged.

Case in point: just now Dumbo decided to be proactive and clean the white board in her boss's office.  She spent seven minutes wiping and cleaning.  (Yes, seven. I timed it.) 

Ready for the best part?
Wait for it...

The white board was BLANK to begin with.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Let's Get Retarded by Black Eyed Peas

What Not To Wear

Lovelies, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend!  I tried to unplug as much as possible from my computer(s) and phone - and very much enjoyed stuffing my face, sitting on my tush, and snuggling with the hubster. 

I had been planning to be very productive on Saturday, but then proceeded to change my mind and lounge on the couch for most of the day.  During this lounge-fest, I watched a mini-marathon of TLC's "What Not To Wear" and loved every bit of it!  Sometimes it just takes a little kick in the tush to remind me that I should be including a "pop of color" in my outfits and that metallics are a neutral which can be included with almost anything. 

I had a quite a fab time getting dressed this morning.  Royal blue dress, black tights, fab shoes, a yellow belt - my color pop - and a black scarf.  Adorable!

Sadly, it's freezing in my office and I'm kind of wishing I was in fleece jammies. 

Song of the Day: Devil With the Blue Dress On by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels

May The Force Be With Me

I'm brining my 20 pound turkey tonight.  Never brined anything in my life.  Wish me luck!

Fa-La-La

Guess what I'm listening to?

Christmas music. (yay!)

Yes, I am fully aware that it's not yet Thanksgiving and that some of you may have a problem with me jumping right from Halloween to O Holy Night, and not giving Turkey Day it's due, but guess what? There's no turkey music that I know of.  So Christmas music it is. 

I figure we get basically 1.5 months (2 if we're lucky) of it being okay to listen to this stuff, and I'm going to take full advantage. 

Cannot wait to hear some of Mariah's holiday warbling... only the BEST Christmas album ever.  What are your fave Christmas albums?

xoxo

Song of the day: All I Want For Christmas by Mariah Carey (duh)

Golden Girls

Let me start by saying that I love love love love Golden Girls.  One of my all time favorite shows.  But, I'm not sure I love them this much:

xoxo

Song of the Day: Golden Girls TV Theme

Oh, Coco

Today is a Chanel No. 5 kind of day.

What the heck does that mean?!?, you may ask.  Well lovelies, allow me to explain. 

I woke up before the alarm went off.  No, I didn't actually get out of bed and get an early start to the day, but that's not really the point.  Yes, I still hit snooze for 63 minutes, but again, that's not really the point.  The point is that I was awake pre-NPR alarm... This is a win.

While laying in bed pre-alarm, I planned out my cute outfit for today.  Fall makes for fabulous fashion!  Today is a black silk top with a purple ruffly sweater, a black pencil skirt, black tights, and black high-heeled mary janes.  Best part of my ensemble? It makes me look little.  Win.

Because I felt so darn adorable, I decided to do my hair.  For those of you that don't know, I recently got bangs.  FULL ON bangs.  No side sweeping here - we're talking full fringe.  In the past three weeks, I've probably done my hair 10 times, so I'm batting under .500 when it comes to actually taking the time to make my new hair look cute (instead of looking like I have no idea what I'm doing I'm very preppy and have put my hair in a headband).  Today, may hair looks awesome.  Win.

All of this called for a fabulous fragrance.  Is there a more fabulous scent than Chanel No. 5? I think not. 

Now, I heart perfume.  Here are some of my faves (in addition to the obvious):
Chanel - No. 19
Chanel - Coco Mademoiselle
Elizabeth Arden - Mediterranean
Giorgio Armani - Emporio She
Giorgio Armani - Armani Code Pour Femme
Givenchy - Absolutely Irresistible Givenchy
Michael Kors - Island

What are your favorite scents?

xoxo
Song of the Day: That Smell by Lynyrd Skynyrd

Turkey Day

Guess what, darlings?  Thanksgiving is right around the corner... and I am one happy girl!  This year, I'm incorporating some of Williams Sonoma's delish recipes, in hopes of spicing up my regular menu and making this turkey day the best one yet!

Here's my planned menu:

Cider-Brined Turkey
Butternut Squash or Pumpkin Soup

Mashed Potatoes with Bacon and Chives
Au Gratin Potatoes
Sausage Corn Bread Stuffing
Snap Beans with Caramelized Shallots and Roasted Mushrooms
Carrots Glazed with Mustard and Brown Sugar
Corn and Red Bell Pepper Medley
Cranberry Sauce
Turkey Gravy
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Berry/Cherry Pie

Are your tummies growling yet?

Cuteness Level: Out of Control

This pup makes me HAPPY.  Giggle out loud while at work happy. 

Pamper Me Pretty

Guess what I just found in a file folder on my desk? A gift certificate to my favorite spa that I had *completely* forgotten about. Massage table, you'll be seeing me soon.

This special occasion requires a second song of the day: Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood on Welcome to the Pleasuredome

Fall Fashion

I love autumn for a bunch of different reasons - the weather, the holidays, the coziness... the fashion. I feel like fall is THE most stylish time of year - I can layer; I can experiment; it's not too hot or too cold...

In the spirit of fall fashion, here's my adorable outfit today:
Cardigan coat that I'm wearing as a dress, leggings, boots - fab!

Yowza!

I've got cramps. BAD ones. (I'd say "sorry" to my male readers, but at this point I hurt too badly to really care if someone can't handle the fact that women have these monthly issues.)

Heating pad is on, advil has been taken, and tea is being sipped. Relief!

Song of the Day: Everybody Hurts by R.E.M. on Automatic for the People

And here they are!

I kind of feel like I'm 8 years old, but I love them.

Song of the day: If She Knew What She Wanted by The Bangles

Bangs

I'm getting them. A week from today. Terrified. (also excited.)

xoxo

Song of the Day: She Bangs by Ricky Martin on Sound Loaded

Creepy von Perverstein

Background: These pictures were taken this morning at work by a coworker. John is the nice guy at the computer; the creepy one is a coworker that is constantly invading personal space and generally being weird/creepy/inappropriate/awkward. Case in point, he once came up and boyfriend hugged me from side/behind and smooched the top of my head. At work. While I was on the phone and unable to say anything like "Get the eff away from me, pervert!" I stopped talking to him after that. His nickname then became Creepy von Pervertstein. (a.k.a. Pervy von Creepster) Yes, I coined them.



Is... this too close to John's space bubble?

Ya think?











How 'bout this...










xoxo

Song of the Day: Creep by TLC on CrazySexyCool

Blushing

Do y'all ever have those embarassing moments where you realize that you've said something out loud that you didn't mean for someone else to hear? Well, lemme me tellllll you - that happens to me ALL THE TIME.

Perfect example:

Just called down to my little salon to make an appointment for some ladyscaping. (The guy who sits across from me has been traveling for the last two months and hasn't been in the office, so I can make these kind of calls and not worry about him knowing about the maintenance schedule for my girly bits.)

Guess who's not traveling anymore is was sitting in his office WITH THE DOOR OPEN while I made my rip 'em & stick 'em appointment? Awesome.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Let's Get Ripped by The Life of Riley

These Boots Are Made For Walking

Darlings, I bought a pair of shoes on Friday. Not just any shoes, mind you. These shoes are possibly the sexiest pair of shoes on the planet. They're like sex for my feet.

And I ROCK them.

I'm wearing them right now, with a cute black pencil skirt and a button down blouse (have to tone down the sexiness at work, of course).

At lunch today, I walked over to Safeway for my weekly shopping trip to stock up on healthy food for the week.

(sidenote #1: this is to ensure that I don't snack on all the delish treats at work and stay on track with Skinnyfest 2009)

(sidenote #2: not only are my shoes HAWT, they're actually comfy enough to walk around downtown without praying for a pair of flats within the first 10 steps)

As I'm getting to the store, an elderly woman (probably 70-80) was coming out. She sees my shoes and says, "Oh my goodness."

Mission ACCOMPLISHED.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Sex On Fire by the Kings of Leon

Bargaining

Casa de Hart has been getting a bit of a facelift over the past month.

Well, maybe not a full-on facelift... more like botox. (You know, little touches that make a big difference)

One of these little touches was the building of a fence around our side yard and connecting it to our back yard. The fabulous hubster and I had discussed hiring a fence guy. Imagine my surprise when I returned from a girl's weekend to find the hubster working on a new fence - no fence guy in sight. He then explained that we could "do this ourselves". Hmmm.

Ourselves. Not himself.

As some of you may know, I have been lusting after a certain rug for the past year or so. LUSTING. As in, this rug makes my heart beat faster.

I struck a deal with the hubster: I would help with the fence if I could have my rug.

Guess who just ordered her rug yesterday?

xoxo

Song of the day: What A Girl Wants by Christina Aguilera

Temptation

Last night was my JLSF small group meeting... which involved tasting recipes for the cookbook we're putting out next fall to celebrate our 100th anniversary! Needless to say, the delish treats we made and shared were NOT a part of my daily calorie allotment (skinnyfest 2009, remember?)... Hmmmm.

Guess who was a very good girl and had very small nibbles and not even one full glass of wine? Amazing.

Tonight, I'm working out with the fabulous Katie Mac who has promised to kick my ass with some lunges midway through our run. Yesssssss - bring it!

I have a date with my scale tomorrow morning.

Soul Train

One of the joys of city living is public transportation... Good for the planet, great for interacting with the mass, awesome for blog fodder. Here are a few of my experiences from yesterday evening (and yes, this was all in ONE leg of the commute):

A man roughly bumping into me to get on the bus ONE person earlier.

A person whose gender was unidentifiable... And not in the trannylicious way - in the unfortunate way.

A girl smacking her gum so loud I thought she was possibly having some sort of breathing issue.

Countless crimes of fashion. (sadly, none caught on camera)

xoxo

Song of the day: Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy) by Big & Rich

Curly Sue

Curly hair is cute. Burning your neck while curling your hair is not cute.

Squat it Out

So I'm on a quest to get skinny/skinnier... Let's call it SkinnyFest 2009, shall we?

I'm meticulously counting calories, and have stepped up my workouts (stepped up = actually started working out again).

I lost 3 pounds last week (a PMS week, to boot!) and am hoping for at least 2 this week. I cheated like crazy over the weekend... Um, 3 hamburgers in 2 days = delish / terrible for SkinnyFest 2009. We'll see what I'm actually able to accomplish post-burger(s).

A girlfriend of mine, who also happens to be a fab running buddy, gave me some tips-n-tricks for firming up my rumpapotamus. (Now, I don't have the most defined tush in the world... my college roomies lovingly referred to me as Flat Ass. You see the need for firming/defining) Her advice? While watching tv, get up and do squats at every commercial break. Not full on scary squats, but the pulsing ones - in sets of 30. Allrighty, bring it on.

My first squat session was last night. During a 3 hour movie. With commercial breaks every 15 minutes. Whoah. My butt is gonna be awesome.

xoxo

Song of the day: Rump Shaker by Wreckx-N-Effect

Kicks

I'm wearing fantastic shoes today.

xoxo

I Feel Goooood

You know the kind of morning where you wake up feeling (semi) refreshed, take a long shower, realize that your hair looks great and doesn't need any retouching, put on a cute outfit, get smiled at twice on your walk to the office, and get to work to find an elevator waiting for you?

That's my day today. I'm golden.

xoxo

Song of the day: One Sweet World by The Dave Matthews Band on Remember Two Things

A Little Love for a Good Cause

BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls) is an organization close to my heart. Dog rescue, care, fostering, rehabilitation, training, adoption, certification... you name it, they do it. All in the name of a fabulous, often misunderstood and mistreated breed.

Check out their fundraiser info below. If you're able to help out, please do. (And, if you've got an employer that matches charitable donations, every extra little bit helps.)

http://www.badrap.org/rescue/barnraising.cfm


xoxo

Oh, Happy Day

You know what makes a Tuesday morning awesome? Starbucks offering a free pastry with your coffee purchase.

Grande Decaf Skinny Caramel Latte, I love you.
Croissant, I love you.

(I'm not thinking about how ironic it is that I order a "skinny" drink and then pair it with a full fat pastry.)

xoxo

Song of the Day: Ruby Tuesday by The Rolling Stones

Flaky

On a recent trip to beautiful Orange County/Los Angeles, I managed to sunburn my scalp where my hair was parted... Now it's peeling. Gross.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Flake by Jack Johnson on Brushfire Fairytales

Fresh Meat

With the new digs, I also have a new commute... about the same amount of time, but instead of just taking MUNI, I now also ride BART.

Darlings, do you know what this means?

A whole new world of the fashion-challenged. Time to brush up on the stealth photography.

xoxo

And, we're in

We moved into our new house yesterday!

Well, *I* moved into our new house yesterday. My fabulous husband is smack in the middle of a hellish week at work and couldn't take any time off - poor guy. So, I was SuperWoman and handled the movers, the appliance delivery guys, the cable guy, and the locksmith! By the time he got home from work, all furniture had been arranged and boxes organized by room.

He says it's the best move he's ever done. I rolled my eyes and smooched him.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Super Girl by Gin Blossoms

Yard

What is hubser most excited about doing once we get our keys tonight?

Letting the dogs pee in their new backyard.

I think it must be a guy thing.

xoxo

Home Sweet Home

BIG NEWS: we get the keys to our new house today!










Needless to say, I'm really excited! We'll move some smaller items ourselves tonight and tomorrow after work, but the big move happens Wednesday, when our movers are coming. Can I just tell you how THRILLED I am to have movers?
a) I feel like a grown up
b) I don't have to carry heavy stuff and get all stinky
c) I won't get hurt, as anyone who knows me can attest that this is a very real possibility

Awesome all the way around.

I'm sure that many of my future posts will be house-related, so consider this fair warning.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Home by Marc Broussard on Carencro

Birthday fun!

Tomorrow is my birthday - yaaaaaaaaaaaaay! If you know me in real life, then you know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE birthdays (especially mine).

In honor of my special day, I'm taking tomorrow off from work and have fabulous plans:
sleep in
go for a leisurely run with Apollo
take fat dog Flash to the dog park
get a mani/pedi
scrap

PERFECT.

Since I'm out tomorrow, the girls at work took me to lunch today - yum yum yum! Peach margaritas and fried ice cream. That's what I ate. DELISH. I am the happiest woman in the world right now.

To top it all off, I have dinner with the hubster tonight at a place I've been wanting to try for at least 2 years. The happiness continues!

xoxo

Song of the day: Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett

Anxiety much?

So, remember a while back when I mentioned that there was something stressing me out that I may or may not blog about? Guess what? I'm blogging about it.

The hubster and I are buying a house! It's adorable; I love it; I can't wait to move in! (We close next Wednesday - my birthday. I think it goes without saying that I'm getting the best birthday present EVER.)

All the excitement aside, I hate moving.

Moving in general, causes stress. Moving into a house as a first time homebuyer causes even more stress. Just ask my doctor. Why? Because she's the one I went to see yesterday with chest pain/tightness that I've had for the last few weeks... Is it cardiac? Nope. Is it respiratory? Nope. Is it anxiety? Yup.

I'm trying to do dorky office/desk yoga to release stress throughout the day. I've cut out caffeine (almost). I'm working on breathing deeply and calmly. For those of you that know me in real life, I THRIVE on coffee, fast talking (which means fast breathing), and dashing around like crazy.

I think some wine and a bubble bath tonight may help. After I pack up the kitchen pans, of course.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Moving on Up by M People

Ghetto non-fabulous

Have y'all noticed the new(ish) gangsta trend of keeping the stickers or price tag on an item of clothing that has already been purchased? I'm not sure, but I'm guessing this has something to do with one of the following:
a) making it known that you happen to own an article of clothing/accessory
b) showing off just how brand spanking new this said article of clothing/accessory is
c) being proud of how much you paid for said article of clothing/accessory and wanting other people to recognize how much of a baller you are

Just the other day, I got on the metro and there was a young gangsta, snuggling up with his lady, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. He had the stickers still on his hat. And the price tag on his jeans.

Hmmm...

I'm sure you are very proud of your brand new articles of clothing/accessories and want the world to know how much you paid for them and what a baller you are.

I think you look like an idiot.

xoxo

Song of the Day: I Wish by Skee-Lo on I Wish

Snacking

New rule: I am only allowed to snack on fruit.
No, peanut M&Ms do not count as fruit.

xoxo

Fat Girl Foot

A couple of months ago, while training for a marathon, I was having some issues with my left foot. It would swell up, get really puffy, and then stay that way. (ew) I couldn't wear most of my adorable shoes and when I could squeeze my foot into a pair, it would kind of puff up out of the shoe. (double ew) I dubbed it my "fat girl foot" and had it checked out by my regular doc and a foot specialist. Turned out that there were some vascular issues, and that my poor little foot wasn't pumping blood and other fluid-y stuff properly, so all that was just kinda chilling in there. To put this in perspective, when my foot specialist saw my fat girl foot for the first time, her response was (and I quote): "WHOAH! That's BIG!" (embarassing)

Happily, my fat girl foot is no more, thanks to the compression sleeve (AKA: old lady sock) that I had to wear all day every except when sleeping. I now only have to wear it when I run and doc says I can start trying to run without it in about a month. Okay, so that's that.

Last week on the metro, I saw a lady with fat girl feet. Big ones. In strappy shoes. (click on the pictures for detail)













Really, lady?!? Ew.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Walking in Your Footsteps by the Police on Synchronicity

Boozalicious

Happy Hour with the USF girls tonight. Love it!

Cookies and Coffee

Darlings, it's been a while. I KNOW. Apologies - it's been hectic.

However, I am lucky enough to have amazing friends to help me through hectic times. Take my friend Zoe, for example. Girlfriend knows I've been stressed so she sends me a Cookie Gram (basically a voucher that I can take to the yummiest cookie place in the world - Specialty's - to redeem for a cookie of my choosing), then sets up a cookie date for us. She actually sent me a meeting request for 3:00pm today: "Sweet Hot Cookies go to specialty's for a cookie.... just so we are clear, we are the sweet hot cookies :)" You bet your tush I accepted that meeting.

3:00pm rolls around and I have this headache forming behind my left eye that is making my eyeball feel like it's pulsating. I powered through it as Zoe and I left the office and traipsed over to get our cookies. I also made a pitstop of Starbucks and picked up a skinny caramel latte (because what goes better with a peanut butter chocolate chunk cookie than a delish latte?). I'm happy to report that as of about 3:45pm, my headache was gone.

Cookies and coffee to the rescue.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Too Much by Dave Matthews Band on Crash

Mac & Cheese

I'm just going to come right out and admit it: I LOVE MACARONI & CHEESE.

Love it. As in, it's one of my all-time favorite foods. Especially when mixed with cut up hot dogs. (side note: hot dogs are also one of my all-time favorite foods, so the two of these together is kinda what I imagine heaven will be like... all I can eat mac & cheese and endless hot dogs)

It's been a bit of an emotionally intense/draining couple of weeks (for reasons that I may or may not blog about - I haven't decided) and if you know me well, then you know that I really like to stress-eat. I also really like to boredom-eat. I pretty much just like to eat.

Anyway, the hubster and I decided that we needed a mellow Wednesday night at home... We'd stay in, cook, have a glass of wine, watch a movie... FABULOUS.

Around 11:30am yesterday, I decided that "cooking" meant mac & cheese. I promptly IMed the hubster, informed some of my coworkers, and of course my fab friend T about my delicious plans. So exciting! (yes, I just used the word "exciting" to describe a quiet night with mac & cheese. whatever.)

We got home last night and I immediately changed into jammies. Well, dance pants, a sweatshirt and uggs, but basically jammies. We walked the dogs and then came back home to begin the relaxation. Cracked open a bottle of wine, started the water boiling... and 15 minutes later I was on the couch with a huge bowl of yumminess and full glass of wine, vegging out.

IT WAS AMAZING.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Fat Bottomed Girls by Queen

A Case of the Mondays. On Wednesday.

Holy cow - can it be Friday already? I am pooped.

Thank goodness for my office's "Privacy Room" - I just took a little mini nap over my lunch break. Am now eating lunch at my desk and managed to spill soup down the front of my silk top. Awesome. I need this week to be over so I can sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

xoxo

Song of the Day: Sleep Through the Static by Jack Johnson

Sparkle

My fab friend T and I have a saying: "Sparkle is my favorite color!" Adorable, right?

Not for this guy:













Whoah. That's a LOT of bling for a dude.
PS: how good am I getting at my stealth photography?

xoxo

Song of the day: Ghetto Supastar by Pras on Ghetto Supastar

Baggage

I understand that chicks carry a lot of stuff... This is especially true for us City girls - since a lot of us take public transportation so don't have cars/trunks to keep all of our girl goodies in.
We're on our way to work - wearing flats because we have about a mile to walk to/from the bus/metro stop - fabulous (but uncomfortable) heels are in the purse and we'll put those on later.

Also, the weather here is a bit unpredictable - have to carry a pashmina in case it gets too chilly and you need to bundle up over your jacket OR in case it gets a bit warmer and your jacket is now too heavy and all you need is a little wrap.

Remember, SF is a health-conscious city and so a lot of us bring our lunches and snacks to work - definitely healthier (and easier in the pocketbook) than always eating out and noshing on the not-so-healthy office snacks.

In addition to eating right, us City girls work out! That means gym clothes, running shoes, and maybe even some toiletries if you don't have a locker at the gym or if you're heading out post-workout. We're busy girls on the go!

Also, we work hard for the money! Laptop, blackberry/iPhone, maybe some important files - these are along for the ride as well.

Of course, there's also a bit of makeup stashed away - a quick touch up is necessary after a long day of work, before heading out to meet up with girlfriends/boyfriends/husbands/partners/whoever... A little lipstick, a bit of eye shadow, a dash of powder and we're looking gorgeous, right ladies?

Okay, so obviously we've got a lot of "baggage"...

Here's my thing: lugging three different bags around with you is not city chic - it's not cute, not stylish, not sexy. In fact, it's frumpy. And, those bags are totally detracting from our hard work. We're eating right and working out so can rock our cute outfits and fabulous shoes - why ruin the look with a mismatched collection of ugly bags? (See below for fugly examples)

Now, I'm not the type of person to raise an issue without also suggesting a solution, so...

Ladies, GET ONE PURSE BIG ENOUGH TO HOLD EVERYTHING. (See below for a fantastic example)

xoxo

Song of the Day: Glamorous by Fergie on The Dutchess

A Mentor? Moi?!?

Was just asked by my boss to be a mentor for a new addition to our office. Awesome! An excuse for coffee runs and new lunch buddy?!? LOVE IT. Probably shouldn't tell her about my blog, though... Not exactly what the boss had in mind when thinking of me as a good role model. :)

xoxo

Song of the Day: Doo Wop (That Thing) by Lauryn Hill on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

Pudge

I'm trying to improve my skills as a stealthy picture taker so I can share more amazing pictures with you all. (see below for documentation of my utter lack of ability in the secret stalker realm)

Last night, the hubster and I went out for post-game drinks. (side note: not a good idea; see below for documentation of today's hang over - ugh) While enjoying my unnecessary beers, I noticed a girl/woman/lady at the bar with a lot of lumps. Bra strap/back fat lumps, muffin top lumps, etc. I walked right up and took a picture. Twice. Not stealthy.

xoxo

Honorary Song of the Day (since my head hurts too much for a real one): My Humps by Black Eyed Peas on Monkey Business

Blehhhhh

I am hung over.

Great Giants game last night = terrible next day. Thank God for greasy breakfast sammies. And ginger ale. And advil.

xoxo

Song of the Day: none. my head hurts too much

Live Long and Prosper

Let me start off by saying that I love and adore my husband. He is fabulous. However, he's making me go see the new Star Trek movie. On opening weekend. In IMAX.

I think I should get a costume.











xoxo

Song of the Day: I've Got a Woman by Ray Charles on Pure Genius: The Complete Atlantic Recordings

The Neverending Cold

My fabulous husband is, well, fabulous for a lot of reasons...

One of these reasons is his giving/sharing nature. Wasn't it sweet of him to share his terrible, neverending, disgusting cold with me? I'm going on 1.5 weeks of coughing, sneezing, dripping...

I feel like crap. Thanks, honey!















xoxo

Song of the day: Badfish by Jack Johnson on Look At All the Love We Found - A Tribute to Sublime

My Worst Nightmare

Um, so I have a problem. I have red hair (hence the "redhead jen")... I think redheaded girls are adorable. I dislike redheaded boys/men. A LOT.** I am terrified that my future sons will have red hair. My fingers are crossed that my fabulous brown-haired husband will overpower my genes and donate his hair color to our sons.

Anyway, my fab friend T (who is much nicer than me) is always attempting to point out the (nonexistent) positive side of red-haired boys. I, in turn, am always trying to explain that there is no positive side. (side note: in my imaginery universe, The Little Wife lives right next door to me and we can discuss all of these things at length while standing in our front yards.)

Yesterday, on my way from the office to the subway, I saw the perfect example of my worst nightmare - a redheaded man... a pudgy, out-of-shape, not masculine one - wearing a shirt that is too tight. Ew ew ew. I, of course, sped up and attempted to get close enough to take a picture to send to my fab friend T as evidence for my case. (Yes, I sort of stalked this man for two blocks and then followed him on the platform while trying to take pictures with my phone. I also then stood behind him and tried to nonchalantly take a close up of his man muffin top. I was not nonchalant. At all. I'm pretty sure there were at least three people who caught me and then looked at me like I was nuts. Whatever.)

Here are the pictures:















**note, I understand that this is a complete double standard and is unfair. Oh well.

UPDATE 4/23:
Sorry, I got so excited that I forgot to finish the story...

Upon seeing these pictures, fab friend T told me that "the muffin top isn't that bad" and that "maybe he just needs a nice wife to help pick out better fitting shirts". (Like I said, she's nicer than me.) Okay, men aren't supposed to have muffin tops. We're the soft ones that are allowed a little extra tummy love. Not them. Also, the whole reason this man doesn't have a nice wife to help pick out better fitting shirts is BECAUSE HE'S A REDHEADED MAN. And his shirts don't fit well. And he has a muffin top. Gawd, I hope I don't have redheaded sons.
*****

xoxo

Burritos

UPDATE 4/22/09:
I had another burrito on Monday night. Just for the record, that's two burritos in 4 days. BUT, i made progress - huge progress: I ordered a "baby" burrito - meaning it was way smaller than the normal size AND i went without sour cream/guacamole AND I ONLY ATE HALF. Hooray me!
*****











First: Burritos are delish.

Second: I have a really bad habit of eating WAY too much burrito. Seriously, I could probably get three meals out of the generic "super burrito" and yet, somehow, I manage to make it one. Gross.

Third: My tummy hurts.

Note to self (and to you, dear reader): Next time, cut burrito in half and do one of the following - stash half for later, give half to some skinny b*tch who needs a few more calories, give half to a homeless person... Basically, just never, ever eat the whole thing all by myself.

xoxo