Kate Middleton, my BFF FTW

If you have spent any time at all around me in the last few months, you may have heard that I have a new partner in crime - and her name is Kate Middleton. I think she's classy, charming and the perfect person to include in my group of nearest and dearest. Luckily, those in my posse agree - Kate is more than welcome to join us on our adventures. We have started with "William & Kate: The Movie" and believe that we will be spending the holidays and watching the ball drop with royalty by December.

One of my favorite Kate Middleton sites is the tumblr "Kate Middleton For the Win". It seems to have ended since the royal nuptials, but the 2.5 months worth of archives are well worth the look. Let me know what you think!

I'll be sure to send a postcard from Balmoral. xoxo

what 2 years of marriage looks like.

Wake up to a big white dog licking your face. Hit the snooze button twice, push his shoulder, beg for him to walk the dogs "just this once" - like he does every morning. Fall into the shower, blow dry your hair to the smell of his freshly made coffee. Do your makeup at the vanity. Get a cup of coffee delivered with a kiss and a shriek of "Please don't spill it on me!" as a response. Feel bad about yelling - even on accident. Hug him from behind until he knows you didn't mean it. Let him start your car and help you collect your wallet, keys, running shoes. Wave goodbye and honk and blow hundreds of kisses.

Notice when he texts you. Notice when he doesn't have the time. Call him just to say "I think a bird flew into my window and it made me sad". Call him to say nothing at all, just to hear about his day. Call him to cry because a student got denied from the university and it broke your heart a little. Call him to tell him you're on your way home from work FIN-A-LLY. Call him to tell him you bought him green tea at the grocery store. Call him to tell him your best friend is pregnant and your family needs prayer and you need to drop off the dry cleaning, please and thank you.

Scream with joy when he walks in the door. Fight the dogs for the chance to kiss him first. Ask him to help you make the most of your burned dinner. Let him fix it because he's a much better cook than you are and you've known that since your fourth date when you offered to cook him dinner and it was McDonald's.

Don't stop being yourself. Sing that song that's been stuck in your head all day. Wear your new favorite heels with your pajama shorts. Hang upside down off of the bed when you're catching up on life. Use pink highlighter all over the budget. Don't get too mad when he uses your bath towel to mop up the kitchen floor.

Pick movies that he will L-U-V on Netflix. Don't make him watch Law & Order every single time (Law & Order:SVU is the same thing to him even though it's obviously not). Be proud of every single one of his accomplishments. Bring him a drink when he's had a bad day. Believe he can do anything and tell him that. Remember that you would love him forever just exactly the way he is and nothing he can do will change that. And then tell him that, too.

Find a good group of friends. Hold onto them tight. Let them become your best friends and his best friends, too. Love their children fiercely and let him love them, too.

Wear his shirts to bonfires because they are easier to wash. At the end of the day, when tomorrow is coming too quickly, put your hands inside the sleeves. Look across the flames at him and meet his eyes. Raise your glass - or your s'more - to him because this is what two years of marriage looks like. And it could not be better.

high expectations.

I have high expecations for a lot of things, including myself. My attitude with my husband should be stellar. My friendships. My job performance. My 2010 Altima. My nail polish shouldn't chip after two days, I should be able to get my license the day that I go, and a medium-well burger shouldn't have any red left in it.

[Sidenote: This is a good burger from EO's, my fave local burger joint. It's no Cookout, but it works.]

I feel this way about the places that I shop, too. I try to buy a lot of our produce at the farmer's market, loved finding things in Etsy for my wedding and Christmas presents and few things make me happier than a good hunt at the thrift store. Quirky things make me happy. The more unique, the better.

Which is why I like Anthropologie and I love Urban Outfitters. They grace my walls and I can be seen sportin' my favorite Anthro sunnies on the daily. But when stores that claim to offer unique goods are found to be ripping off ideas of local artists - not just once, but multiple times- it disappoints me. It was like when I found out Neutrogena tests on animals. I just got disappointed and knew I would have to think three times as long before I purchased one of the products.

It's just a good reminder to continue to look into what I purchase and where it originates. During the short time that I have been given on earth, I want to make sure that I am contributing to the right things - and the right people. I want to buy things that I am proud of, not just because of what they look like, but because it's good ethically.

This post has me a little bummed. Time to go finish up the last of my Easter candy!

Being brave. And being a Buckeye.

Well, folks. The time is upon us.

For years, I have put off admitting the fact that I live in Ohio. No longer can I maintain that I am from New England, "halfway between New York and Boston". I now live "outside Dayton". (How? I'm still not 100% sure.)

Big changes in my life - ones that I feel have to do with my identity - take me forever to adapt to. This is one of the ways that I know BA is perf for me. He lets me do everything in my own time, knowing that I will get around to it when I am emotionally ready. And he doesn't laugh at me when I cry over changing my plates from Connecticut blue to the Buckeye State's "Beautiful Ohio" plates (which, seriously? Beautiful Ohio? Gag me). In fact, he gets me vanity plates just to make the transition easier.

So the plates are changed. The registration on the car has been updated. I've almost gotten everything switched over from my school address to my home address. One of the final pieces - the Ohio license - comes today.

It's been quite an ordeal getting here. I had to order a certified driving record from my home state (which CT made super easy). I had to find a day that I could get off of work when BA was available as well. Because you'd better believe, I still need someone there to hold my hand. And I've been studying like mad and taking practice tests online for the written portion, because if I fail this test and have to go through this again.. I'm not sure what will happen.

I have a date with Kel at one of my favorite local restaurants. They serve amazing organic food and I haven't been there in months. I just have to keep my eyes on the goal: chicken nachos.

But just to be clear? I might live in Ohio, but I'm FROM Connecticut, suckas.

*Note: Images from Toothpaste for Dinner, one of my fave sites since 2003. Always good for a laugh. And they generally feel the same way about Ohio that I do. BONUS.

Everything has a season

One of my absolute favorite things is the changing of the seasons. Of course, fall-to-winter is my least liked transition. (NO MORE FREEZING RAIN.) But there's something so exciting about things being made new. I am a little OCD about season transitions (my poor man), and since the spring-to-summer transition is upon us, I will share those idiosyncracsies.. now.

*Side note: This reminds me of this song from '99. I will dispense this wisdom.. now. Everyone's free to wear sunscreen.*

• It is important that your nails match the season. This means that I will be putting away the majority of my nudes and pastels that I've been rocking since March and changing them out for BRIGHTS. Hold on, yellow. I'm coming for you.
• Clothes from the season before that did not get worn because they look like they came from a streetwalker in Miami (that's how tight they are), are stained beyond repair or you just will never wear again - get rid of them.
• Switch the leftover clothes out for summer clothes that have been sitting in storage. Everyone get ready. Those Hollister shorts Rae picked out for me will be out in full force this weekend.
  
• Perfume gets changed. No more B&BW citrus. Marc Jacobs Daisy will be in the air.
• Speaking of in the air - the workout routine changes. Instead of a quick shower, it's pool time, baybee.
  
• The next drink at Starbucks is on its way. In the summer, only iced coffee with milk and vanilla OR an iced skinny caramel macchiato will do.
• The Beach Boys CD is out and ready for jamming. Also Britney. Also Fleet Foxes. Also Dashboard. See you in the fall, Adele.

On that note, I'm ready to head out into the spring-almost-summer weather for a long walk with my dogs. And tonight, I'll paint my nails. But not brights. I have to save those for June 1, duhtown.