Fly on the Wall

What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall for that conversation....

For those who don't know, that's Princess Kate Middleton and First Lady Michelle Obama. Did they talk fashion? Gossip? Royal/Presidential duties? What do you think...??

Toga! Toga!

Back in October on the way to Homecoming last year, Hannah, Brad, and I decided that we had a lack of Toga Parties in our history and that we needed to rectify this...STAT! Well, since it was October and it was starting to get colder, it wasn't going to happen this year! And since our friends are SO busy, we needed to plan far, far, FAR in advance to guarantee that as many of our friends as possible could attend. How was 7 months in advance? Yep, sounds about right to me!

So along came May and we had our toga party. Many thanks to Brad for lending us his home, planning the parties, and making sure everyone came in toga attire (some people slipped through the cracks apparently). I was surprised at the toga-showings and how creative some people got!

Lambda-HOTT

Colored solo cups representing the Olympic rings (in the exact order of the real ones) and medals to be given to the winners...WINNING!

Brad's super AWESOME flip cup table!


Serious heated shit talking (check out Jeff's awesome wolf-tastic toga)

All smiles though! It was definitely a Jamaica Wolfpack Reunion!

This duo is dangerous!

What's a Toga Greek Olympic party without events? First event was a basketball toss (from a sitting position).

Event 2 was dizzy bat (of course you had to down a solo cup of beer first and however long it took you to drink you had to spin that many times) In all of Taylor's normal glory, she fell down, scraped her elbow and knee and started bleeding. It seemed like EVERY frat party in college she was bleeding!

Josh after winning flip cup. In everyone else's defense, it started raining and most of us went inside so don't tell him but I think we just all forfeited.

And then the real party got started...Brad brought out his jorts....YES, JORTS.

Third event: Ice Cube Races

And the night ended with some good ole' fist pumping!

There was much more in between but I was way too concerned with drinking and eating to A). Pay attention and B). Partake in pictures.

Leggings CAN be pants!

(Click to enlarge)

The Washington Post had this hilarious article about pants. I love me some leggings and I know several people who wear them for pants (*cough*Hannah*cough*) and I've been known to rock them a few times...but Jesus people, if you can't pull them off, then DON'T!!! Please save my eyes....they're B-U-R-N-I-N-G. Cupcakes are cute to eat, they are NOT cute hanging over your leggings. There are some believers out there that Leggings are NOT pants, but they can be so cute!!!!

What do you all think? Can leggings be pants?

No More Waitie Katie!

If you thought that just because the Royal Wedding extravaganza was over that I'd stop posting about the new Royal Bride and Groom...then you'd be W-R-O-N-G! Please! Don't you know me better than that?!?! HA.

Any true Kate Middleton fan knows of this website. Hilarious!

Man, I wish I had her life. She goes from walking down an aisle that takes her 4 minutes to walk down to walking down the aisle of the grocery store! (Yes, apparently she does her own grocery shopping...along with 3 bodyguards.) She's just like me! Riiiiiiiiight. Just LOOK at that stunning ring. I often wear a 18 carat engagement ring to the grocery store. No? Hey, a girl can dream! She obviously did, and look where it got her!

Waitey Katie no more, more like running Katie!

LOOK at that ring!!

Movin on Up to the East Side...er...Metro Center

So I'm super happy to report that my project at work got relocated to Metro Center. Now this may be lost on all of you non-DC'ers but this means that I got out of the 'hood (Navy Yard) and went straight to the business center of DC (Metro Center). I love being in the heart of the city and working here really makes me get that big city feel. I actually feel like I live in DC now.

Another great thing about this area is the very random things that happen on the street, from protests, to events, to something I ran into the other day. I went out for lunch and had about a 3 block walk and came upon a mass load of police officers in all kinds of different uniforms, some on foot, some on horses. There were Scottish bagpipes playing (...weird) and there were 2 firetrucks hoising a VERY large American flag and it was waving in the wind. I wish I had time to stop and watch everything but I had somewhere to go.

I was very curious to find out what was going on so I did a bit of googling and found this:

St. Patrick Catholic Church
16th Annual Blue Mass

Held each year at the beginning of National Police Week, we pray for those in law enforcement and fire safety, remember those who have fallen, and support those who serve. Representatives of Federal and local law enforcement and public safety agencies from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area and around the country attend.

Before Mass, hundreds of law enforcement officers and public safety officials gather outside for the solemn processional into St. Patrick's. Units from federal, state, and local jurisidictions gather in formation to pass under a huge American flag proudly hung over the street by two fire ladder trucks. Also gathered outside are officers on horseback, as well as pipe and drum corps units.

Inside the church, the principal celebrant and homilist for the 2011 Mass will be the Reverend Monsignor Salvatore Criscuolo, Chaplain, D.C. First Responders. The Mass includes an honor guard, bagpipers, and the solemn playing of "Taps" in memory of those who gave their lives in the past year.

So...yeah! You'll have to excuse my finger in one of the pictures, I was trying to hurriedly walk to a lunch meeting so I was walking/shooting pictures.

Cinderella Story

Does life imitate art....

....or is it the other way around?

Cannon Balls?

So sometime last week I got woken up at 6:40 am (!) to a loud successive shooting noises. Its a good thing that I'm such an avid blog reader that I knew that it was probably the cannon balls being shot off aka "practiced" and to not freak out, roll over, and go back to sleep.

NBD, its just some cannons going off...where do I live?!?!?!?

Well, I fell back asleep then trolled the blog reels that I read and lo and behold, it was cannons:

This morning, DCist heard more complaints from District residents about yet another loud racket which woke them up a little earlier than they would have preferred. Fortunately, though, we didn't have to go on quite the same kind of wild goose chase to figure out what happened this time -- Arlington's alert system filled us in that, indeed, the booming noises were again blank cannon blasts, fired during a drill conducted by the Old Guard's Presidential Salute Battery.

The Presidential Salute Battery will be conducting firing drills (canon [sic] fire) in Arlington National Cemetery May 2 from 6:30 to 8:00 a.m. The training is being conducted before the cemetery opens to not interfere with ongoing memorial services.

If you'll recall, the Old Guard told DCist last month that they began aiming the World War II Anti-Tank Gun they use for training purposes over the Potomac River, after residents in North Arlington complained about the noise. Sounds like it might be time for those of you who live across the river from the Cemetery to sign up for the Arlington alert system.

The Car Free Diet

So, I've decided to go on a "car-free diet". No car for 2 months....EEEKKKKK what the hell am I thinking?!?!! I'll tell you what...I'm thinking ridic gas prices coupled with the $150 cost to park in the garage in my building (OUCH!!!) Before you think I'm totally nuts, I've thought about it. My new neighborhood is more walker/runner/metro friendly and I'm going to use the Mega Bus to get to/from NN so I can still see my bf and bffs down in the area. So, we shall see how this works out! Since I will be in NN quite often on the weekends, I will still have my car down there so that should be nice. And if I do decide to bring it up here I had a few friends that said I could park my car on their street (for free!) if I needed to so that's nice! So...stay tuned I'll let you know how its going...eeeekk.

I must admit that I rode the Megabus up from Hampton to DC on Sunday and while it did take F-O-R-E-V-E-R (stopped in Richmond for about 15 minutes then took me on North Capital St (HOOD) and then had to walk 10 minutes to the metro then I had to metro home) it wasn't T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. While I am reminded what kind of people ride those buses (ghetto fab), it was really nice to sit back and relax when I'm normally flying off the handle with road rage at some idiot who cut me off! So, while its not the best of situations, at least its got some perks. And if you buy it in advance far enough, it only costs A DOLLAR! A DOLLAR in this economy?!!?! No paying $4.15 a gallon for gas? Sign me up!

This Day in History v.20

View of the city from the top of the hill

On a very sunny and crisp day Hannah and I set out to explore Primrose Hill. If I remember correctly, Hannah and I stopped for some hot chocolate and sat enjoying the view a little bit until we headed inside because it was particularly very cold and windy that day.

Primrose Hill is a hill located on the north side of Regent's Park in London and also the name for the surrounding district. The hill has a clear view of central London to the south-east, as well as Belsize Park and Hampstead to the north.

Some notable residents:

Ewan McGregor

Gavin Rossdale and Gwen Steffani

Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton

Jude Law

Sienna Miller

Kate Moss

Two very precious dogs with coats

VERY expensive cars all over the neighborhood

A pink (!) outside of a super super cute boutique store

We found a cute local bookshop so we decided to browse

Wow, just LOOK at that view!

Weddings galore

In honor of the week after the royal wedding I'm going to follow up with a wedding themed blog post and then a London blog on Monday (I was too busy at work to get it all in 1 week). No biggie. So as my loyal followers know (yes, that's you! I know you're out there SOMEWHERE) I am forever reading really random blogs. I'm a wealth of random information and trivia. I particularly love photography blogs and wedding blogs too. Hey, a girl can dream, right? Well, the other day I came across this blog post and I absolutely absolutely absolutely absolutely fell in love with this bride's choice in dresses! Such a cute idea for an outdoor wedding. I'm not sure that I'd do it but I love it from the one shoulder frilly strap, to the birdcage veil, to her breathtaking jealousy-inducing sparkling Louboutin pumps! LOVE the whole look!

Photo by Sarah Culver

Photo by Sarah Culver


Photo by Sarah Culver

Another two blogs I really really love in case you also want to stalk right along with me are Katelyn James and Jessica Smith. Both of these girls apparently went to CNU too! Small world I tell you. They are amazing and photograph the most AMAZING pictures. I just want to BE them :) Ok, not really, but you know what I mean!

Finally: The Royal Wedding Recap

Royal portrait

EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK it was so so so beautiful!!! I'm sad I haven't been able to post sooner, but work has been hella busy and I feel like I can barely keep my head afloat. This aptly describes the day I've had ALL day long: I just finished my 4 mile run and when I reach down to take off my shoes, I realize I've got 2 different pairs of shoes on!!!!

So yeah, back to the ROYAL WEDDING!!!! Hannah, Bree, and I baked cupcakes fit for a King and a Queen. They were these Tiramisu cupcakes!!!! OMGeeeeee these were SO good!!!!


The sugar content goes straight to your head :) After baking and socializing, Bree had to go home and I think it was after midnight before Hannah and I went to bed...NOT a good idea to only have 4 hours of sleep. And from all of the sugar, coffee, and excitement I had a really hard time falling asleep. The alarm went off at 4:30 and we sluggishly made our way to the kitchen to start making our breakfast that consisted of over easy eggs, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms and toast. And of course we popped our bottle of bubbly as well (when in Rome!) PERFECT breakfast! We sat down on the couch to enjoy the wedding and I found it VERY hard to stay awake because of the 4 hours of sleep, but I suffered through for the pleasure of catching a once in a lifetime wedding!

Btw, in case you don't realize why its "Prince William and Catherine Middelton" and not Princess, well in this case the name "Princess" is only for the women who are born into the royal family, and the only way Kate can be called Princess Catherine" is if the Queen decrees that name upon her. So for now, they are the "His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge." Of course, William has several other monikers as well, such as "Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus".

Even though she's in line to be Queen one day, she still followed the old wedding adage of "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue:

Something Old

Middleton's wedding dress, designed by McQueen creative director Sarah Burton, featured a long-sleeved lace overlay that paid respect to the Arts and Craft custom. This tradition, characterized by the Carrickmacross lace-making technique used in the dress design, is a tribute to British craftsmanship.

Something New

As a wedding gift, Middleton's parents, Carole and Michael, gave the bride a pair of leaf-shaped diamond earrings, which were made by Robinson Pelham to match her tiara.

Something Borrowed

The Queen lent Middleton the glittering 1936 Cartier halo-style tiara that crowned her curls. The tiara has been in the Royal Family since it was purchased by King George VI for the Queen Mother.

Something Blue

Although Middleton appeared to be all dressed in white, a hint of blue ribbon was sewn into the gown.

Ok on to the pictures:

The Queen looking dapper, as always

Um, Princess Eugine and Princess Beatrice should have fired a stylist because they look like rubbish. Beatrice looks like an extra from a Lady Gaga music video! The coat and hat are atrocious!

Carole, mother of the bride, is looking absolutely stunning!

Chelsy Davy looked haggard and like she'd been out clubbing all night long. Really? You decide to wear that? Not a good vote for you to be a princess too.

Look at all that Royalty in one place!

FIRST LOOK!!!!!! The dress was an Alexander McQueen dress

Better view of the front of the dress.

Personally, I think Pippa stole the show...

ALL smiles! When Kate first got up to the alter, William leaned over and whispered something to her, and she lit up and smiled a beautiful smile. Wonder what he said? "Good thing you didn't trip?" "You look beautiful!" "The hardest part is over?" You decide!

As much as I love her, it bothers me they way she waves with her finger in the front like that

Not once, but twice a royal kiss!

A very, very unhappy bridesmaid. Guess that's what happens when you invite 3 year olds to be in your wedding.


And then on to the afterparty....

Personally, I love Kate's second dress better. I bet angora is back again this fall!

Pippa looking stunning again in her green gown.

Many of you are probably wondering "what's with those darned hats?" Well, they are not hats, they are "fascinators". A hat is a hat, but a fascinator is usually made up of feathers, flowers, or beads and they generally sit on the head attached by a clip, comb, or headband. Some do them well....and well, some just don't.

Take Kate for example, she knows how to do a fascinator right.

William's cousins in beautiful fascinators.

One thing that Camilla does really well is wear beautiful fascinators!

Just some of the fascinators at the RW