Monday, July 26

Take that Snooki

This blog post is dedicated to Snooki, Lady Gaga, Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, and the woman I just saw at the grocery store...

When did we become so lazy as a society? Don't even get me started on our diets, exercise or work ethics either because at that point I'd alienate so many people I'd be more hated than Osama Bin Laden and George W. Bush's love child. We all know I'm no stranger to strong fashion opinions...but let's try some more positivity this go-round shall we? Less "leggings suck therefore you suck" and more "loving suggestions and some passive aggressive nudging in the right direction"

Ladies, when did dresses become something reserved for special occasions only? Shoot, Lindsay and Gaga can barely put on pants, let alone an entire dress. WWJD? No No, not What Would Jesus Do? C'mon, even Jesus wore a dress (okay, techinically a robe but all blasphemy aside, even HE wouldn't be caught dead in sandals with socks) But its What Would Jackie Do? as in the head of the holy trinity of timeless style, Jacqueline Kennedy (seated accordingly with Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly of course). Those were the days of fashion. Cashmere cardigans, pearl earrings, belted floral print dresses. We argue about the oppression of women in those days and their philandering husbands and unfair roles but you have to give them credit. Women in those days not only ran a household and took care of their husband and children but did everything while looking fab to boot. No mom jeans for these gals.

Just pause for a minute and pay your respects:


Okay moving onward. I was motivated to write this post by the season 4 premiere of Mad Men. Specifically Betty Draper. Now that is a girl who knows how to dress. (Okay, so technically its the shows wardrobe stylist that knows how to dress, but where is the fun in that?!)






I specifically remember in this episode Betty was going to the bank. THE BANK! The lipstick, the pearls, the scarf. ughhhhhh I die. Last time I was at the bank in the middle of the day, the only accessories I noticed were crocs and hooded sweatshirts. *shudder*








Gosh, I could keep posting pictures of her clothes all. day. long. It's like my version of porn. love love love! Now I could digress into an intense discussion on gender roles, societal expectations, and the female stereotype but where is the fun in that? I simply believe that just because women are equal in the workplace and equal in the household doesn't mean they need to be equal in the closet. And Snooki- this goes for you....less isn't always more. Leave a little something to the imagination and you'll have all the guidos flocking...

Sunday, July 25

Laura's Wedding!

There is an old proverb (or a quote from Woody Allen? google says both) that says "If you want to see God laugh, make plans". Laura and John had planned the perfect outdoor summer ceremony in a garden. For the rehearsal, it was sunny, beautiful weather with the sun setting. For the actual wedding day? torrential downpours, as in leave the car at home and just swim to the reception. We started off the afternoon telling Laura, "it's just getting the rain out of its system before your ceremony" followed by "ohhh its just sprinkling, its barely raining" (when actually, I believe at one point I saw Noah pull up and start rebuilding the ark outside)...but by ceremony time it was clear it'd be happening inside.

and you know what, God? I heard you laughing and I thank you for it...because it turned out to be absolutely beautiful!!! I couldn't be happier for Laura and John!










Friday, July 23

Perpetually 18

I am perpetually 18 years old.

Even though I am actually 26. Even though staying out until 3 am no longer appeals to me and "those kids" play their music way too loudly. In my mind, I will always be a teenager. I mean, seriously, I still like watching Real World and consider french fries an adequate dinner.

My best friend in the entire world is getting married today. We were roommates in college and have been bffs ever since. As we've been preparing for the wedding, she made a comment that we seem too young to be getting married....and then we realized, sadly, ummm no we aren't. (We proceeded to drown our sorrows in ice cream) Likewise, planning my own wedding is such a surreal experience, I can't help but feel like a little girl playing dress up in my mother's closet.

This blog was started under the idea of "what happens in that weird space between college and adulthood" and today, more than ever, I am faced with that question. What defines us as adults?

I don't know if there is even an answer to that question. Does marriage make us adults? Is it when we buy our first house or create a new life? As my friends start getting married, buying houses, and having babies (Rachel wins the prize for being my first friend to have the "adult" trifecta- marriage, house, AND baby) I can't help but stop in my tracks, blink, and look around. I ask myself, "wait a second, wasn't I just in college last week? When did all this happen?". I start to panic. Have I done enough in my first quarter century? Where am I going next? What is going to happen?

But then, I look over and I see Sean. and I see Laura and John getting married today. and Rachel with her beautiful family. and my parents who have been together for 30 years and I feel myself begin to calm. This isn't so bad, being an adult... plus it means I get to drink margaritas whenever I want ;)


editor's note: CONGRATULATIONS TO LAURA AND JOHN TODAY! Laura, I hope you are blog stalking me as we speak and I just want you to know that I am SO happy and excited for you! You are going to make the most beautiful bride! And for all the other blog stalkers out there, stay tuned for amazing photos!

Tuesday, July 20

Running therapy

At the risk of sounding all Oprah-esque, I seemed to have lost myself and I'm in the process of finding "me" again.

Summer is supposed to be about pina coladas (and getting caught in the rain), but so far my summer has been a battle against stress. and stress is winning.

Actually, scratch that. Stress WAS winning. It's not anymore.

Since the school year let out, I've spent the past month in complete disarray. My workouts have fallen to the wayside while my eating habits have gone straight to my waistline (get it? wayside-waistline? heh. heh. I'm so clever). The original HBIC, Eleanor Roosevelt, once said "no one can make you feel inferior without your consent". How right you are, Eleanor, how right you are. I let outside factors affect the way I behave, essentially changing who I am and that's not okay. I may not be able to control the things that happen to me, but I can control the way I respond to them.

Any runner will agree, running is cathartic (and a heck of a lot cheaper than retail therapy). There is something so pure and simple about lacing up your shoes and hitting the road. and yet, I abandoned running this past month. However, as I was spinning in my ball of stress, I realized it was all a big cycle. I felt like crap, so I didn't go running. I didn't go running so I felt like crap. ohhhh the irony.

So Saturday night I decided to reclaim myself. Stress, you've met your match. It was sunset, and I found a new running path along the harbor. As the sun went down over the Boston skyline, I could literally feel the weight of my problems falling off my shoulders. At one point, I was actually smiling as I ran. Ummmm, smiling during a run? Who am I!?

Towards the end of my run, I even thought "yay!!! a new blog post!" I was inspired again. I didn't have my camera with me then but I wanted to capture some essence of the happiness I felt during my run, so I tried to recreate it yesterday, except this time I dragged Sean out with me.

We ran a bit earlier too but you still get the idea. (we had delicious homemade calzones and wine waiting at home for us- I mean, that's why people REALLY run isn't it? So you can eat and drink whatever you want without feeling guilty?)

Please excuse the appearance...after a month off of running, I'm definitely not in the shape I was before my half marathon. Sweaty Beast = me. but I'll get back to it, especially when I do these stairs multiple times:

I can just hear the Rocky theme song now. Well, I can hear the Rocky theme laced with expletives as I curse my way to the top, but hey, whatever gets you through right?

Wednesday, July 14

Dear blog,

Dear blog,

I know. I know. Before you even say anything, I already know. I've been neglectful. Your titles aren't working, I promised you a new layout that I haven't delivered, posting has been sporadic at best. I'm so sorry.

And no, there isn't another blog, so don't even put that thought into your head. You are the only blog I love. Please don't feel alone in this either. I heard that running and my social life have created a support group that meets on Monday nights after Real Housewives. Sometimes my sanity attends the meetings too. They all talk about how much they miss me. They hug, they cry, they emotionally eat giant bowls full of ice cream to mask the pain.

There have been lots of crazy, exciting, stressfully amazing things happening my life lately and I need to remember that YOU are the one I should be leaning on at this time. You always listen to me when I'm upset, you tell me whatever I want to hear and with the beauty of photoshop and editing, you always make me look good. I'm so silly to have abandoned you in such a reckless nature.

If the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and diamonds are a girl's best friend, what do I present to you to smooth things over?

How about this:

Just kidding. Are you crazy!? I am moving to London in 2 months to start grad school. I can barely afford ramen noodles right now, let alone a new pink macbook pro. But we can dream can't we?

Instead I hope you'll like these:


I love you. Please forgive me.

BFFs 4eva,
Marie

Thursday, July 8

I've discovered the worlds #1 diet secret AND fountain of youth. at the same time. I am going to bottle it and sell it and become a millionaire.

apparently all you have to do is pop out 8 babies, yell at your husband constantly (is that okay Sean?), and then get a horribly public divorce.

Because girlfriend went from this:


to this:

I guess if we are being fair I should probably put a warning on the label that reads:
Take 2 capsules, twice a day with plenty of water. Include a tummy tuck, spray tan, hair extensions, liposcution, personal nanny, and security guards to ensure guarantee. Repeat as necessary.

Wednesday, July 7

A bridezilla is born...

It was a warm, summer evening in Boston and people were happily going about their business when suddenly a loud, high pitched shriek could be heard ringing through the city streets....

Ladies and Gentlemen....this little lady just got ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!



Let us just take a minute to absolutely freak out, blog style, shall we?!

dafkjadslkfjlkwjre;oiwuerpoq2u3rp9uaesfjlakvnz.kdsjdfo328450p937q4riofajdfkvm!!!!!!!!!!!!

whew. okay. now that's taken care of time to get down to business.

I was absolutely, completely shocked by the engagement, which is a pretty amazing feat in itself. Considering what a nosy, control freak I am, I'm surprised I haven't proposed to myself already. Sean and I have talked about getting married and I had an inkling it was coming this summer, but I had no idea it would be this past weekend.



It all started a while ago. Sean has been scheming and planning for several months and picked out the stone and created the setting by himself. From there, he consulted with the two key governing bodies in my life: the father and the best friend. Once he got their official stamps of approval, the ball was officially set in motion. On Friday, I had the day off and Sean had to go into work early (so I thought). I later found out he went into the city to meet with the jeweler and pick up the ring. It wasn't ready yet, but they so kindly brought it over to Sean's work later in the afternoon. Meanwhile, I was out to see a movie (Twilight. so good. gah I'm still a 12 year old girl at heart. but that's another post.) and grabbed dinner/drinks with Kym.

Sean and I had planned earlier in the day to meet after the movie for a cocktail so I wasn't surprised when he met up with Kym and I. He was totally not himself. He kept looking around and couldn't hold a conversation with either one of us (he asked Kym the same question three times in a row god bless his heart- so how old IS Billy Joel? ). Afterwards, he asked if I wanted to go grab a drink over by the waterfront since it was so nice out, I said sure and away we went.

In the North End section of Boston, there is this little park that is bordered by the city skyline to the right and the Boston Harbor to your left and it has the most beautiful archway to walk through.


It has always been my favorite spot in Boston and Sean and I have had some very special moments there and Sean says he knew all along it'd be the perfect place to propose. As we were walking through, Sean stopped me and said "remember when we took those pictures our first night out here? We were right in this spot..." to which I replied "No we weren't. You're wrong, we were up there at the next part" (hahaha oh man. are you sure you want to marry me dear?) So we walked up a little ways and Sean started saying some incredibly romantic things and I was still completely oblivious. I thought he was just being extra sweet. It went a little something like this:

Sean gets down on one knee as he is speaking and pulls ring out of his pocket.
Me: OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! Hyperventilating, shaking, crying
Me again: YES! YES! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we hug. we kiss. I look down at the ring for the first time..

Me: OOOOOOH. MY. GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(please note- portions of tonight's presentation not affecting the outcome have been edited for both time and content- hey a girl's gotta keep somethings private, alright?)

After that, it was time to celebrate! Sean broke out the bubbly and we toasted to our new engagement right there in the park. It was absolutely amazing. Without getting too emotionally vomit inducing, it was exactly what I wanted and it was perfect for us. I could not have asked for a better proposal or a better man!


It was the best way to kick off our whirlwind 4th of July weekend. Saturday we had a cookout with Sean's family, followed by dinner and celebratory drinks with friends of mine from college, and then another cookout on the 4th with my family, followed by fireworks on the boat with Sean's best friend's family. Monday morning my parents came to town and we saw them followed by Sean and I slipping into an exhaustion based coma. But don't you worry, amidst all the craziness of the weekend, I DID manage to sneak out to a bookstore and grab some wedding magazines!


(On Friday, July 2nd a bridezilla was born...they'll look back on this day and say "but she was always such a sweet girl" I'm kidding. I'm kidding. maybe.)

You see, I am a traditional gal at heart. I may live in sin, swear like a trucker, and love swindling tequila but inside there is an Audrey Hepburn-esque 50's gal who is keen on her beau. I've always loved weddings but told myself I'd never look or buy any wedding stuff until I was engaged. I told Sean there are 2 things I couldn't wait for once we were getting married (besides the obvious I love you, going to spend the rest of my life with you, you're my soulmate stuff of course) and that would be buying wedding magazines and registering for a Kitchen Aid Mixer. WOOOO-HOOOOO.


Oh sweet sweet Kitchen Aid Mixer. I cannot wait to mix things in you. You and I are going to be best friends. I've already spoken with the Garmin and he's okay with this arrangement because he knows that the relationships are all intertwined. The more I hang out with you, mixing delicious goodness, the more I'll rely on him to whip my chocolate cheesecake ass into shape. I think you, me, Garmin, and Sean will all have a very happy life together.

Speaking of gifts, we got our first official gift as a newly engaged couple from Sean's best friend and his girlfriend:


they know us so well. I'm pretty sure I saw a tear of joy slowly make it way down Sean's cheek when he opened it.

and because once just isn't enough with a ring this stunning....

Sean took out an insurance policy on the ring in case something were to happen to it. He probably should go ahead and take out one on me as well. It is highly likely I am going to injure myself or someone else one of these days when I am out and about because I'll be too busy staring at my ring to notice what I'm doing. true story. kinda ashamed to admit it. but there it is.
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