My Plant Is Flourishing

My plant is growing like crazy. For a loooong time it didn't do much of anything. After taking this picture I glued/taped some take-out chopsticks together so I could string the poor thing up! It's about a foot tall, and I can't believe it. Seriously, I bought this sweet little pot (Home Depot) in the fall and planted the seed immediately. This sudden growth spurt has only been happening for the last few weeks, and I haven't been doing anything special. Now that it's tied to a stake it looks even happier (my photos were lousy). 

Maybe my plant is just looking forward to sping like everybody else. It's just around the corner you know. 

New Layout

Hey Everybody, 

Perhaps you've noticed that something looks different. This morning we switched over to a 3 column layout and updated the header. Hope you enjoy the new look!

Sincerely,

The Management

A Little Bird Without A Name

I love, love, love this little bird! My dad found it (marked down to $2!) in a bin in the Old Navy fitting rooms. While we were waiting for my sister to try on some clothes, I took a picture of it sitting on a pile of soccer balls. And then I got in trouble. Ooops. The fitting room attendant told me that customers are not allowed to take pictures inside the store and that if his boss saw me she'd yell at me and make me erase the photos. How would I ever know that? As far as I could tell there wasn't anything posted about the "no photos" rule! Even so, I turned bright red and felt really guilty.

My dad ended up buying the little bird for me (and a really cute tote). It always looks like it's waving at me! Any suggestions for names? 

Will + Emma

The Schwarz and I went to Amherst on Saturday, to visit his youngest brother (Will) and my sister (Emma). They're both students at our alma mater, UMass.    

It was a deliciously warm day for early March, and when we arrived around noon Will was dressed for summer. The boys and I went into town to grab sandwhiches at The Black Sheep. YUM. One of my favorite things about going back to visit is eating. We met up with my sister at her apartment around 2:45, when she was finished with dance practice. My parents and brother showed up about 30 minutes later and the Mays and Schwarzes split up for the afternoon.  

Eric and Will went on an errand or two, hung out in the dorm, and ordered wings (yuck) before going to the hockey game (UMass won). 

My family went to Panera to get some snacks before an afternoon of shopping. Not my favorite thing, but it was fun for us to be together. My sister's going to Vegas in 4 days, and she needs clothes and shoes, so we helped her get everything she needed. We ended the day with a great meal at Amherst Brewing Company. Oh. My. God. The sweet potato fries are so delicious. Afterwards we walked (Max and I skipped) back to my sister's apartment and then said good-bye. I got to spend a little more time with Emma before Eric picked me up and we headed to his parent's house for the night. 

We spent yesterday with Eric's mom & dad (and I ate waaaay too many cookies). We went for a long walk with his mom and I sat with him and his dad while the smoked disgusting cigars. 

Today I'm exhausted. I hope this post isn't too long or confusing! 

Card Games

Last night I played solitaire. With real cards. It was so much more fun than the computer version. I won my very first game and it was so ridiculously satisfying! Of course I kept playing and lost the next billion games, but that's why it's fun, isn't it?

The other night The Schwarz and I played war. We played with wild twos (if you have a 2 you can either declare war or win the hand), because that's the way my cousin used to play and it's more fun. I started out strong, but The Schwarz won in the end. 

My favorite game is rummy, but we haven't played that in a really long time. Maybe this weekend!

I like the red cards better (big surprise), but I don't really have a preference when it comes to hearts or diamonds.  Do you have a color or suit preference? Tell me about it in the comments!

Ruffle Heels

I got these shoes for the wedding we went to in January. Believe it or not, I wore them the entire night! They're way more comfortable than I anticipated. I'm not sure if it's because the heel is relatively low or if it's the fit of the shoe, but they're great (typing that made me think of Tony the Tiger). 

I had the opportunity to wear these shoes again this week for a job interview (just found out they promoted from within; I'm not disappointed). I felt so smart in my cute little outfit and adorable shoes. Now that I work from home, I never leave! It felt nice to get dressed up.

The shoes are madden girl, and I got them on sale at TJ Maxx.

An Old Letter From My Sister

My sister wrote me this letter in February 2007, when I'd only been living in Boston for a little over a month. She told me all about her new class schedule and her weird roommate situation. But best of all, she included little drawings. She's always doodling, and sometimes she creates amazingly complex designs. She can also sing and dance! I don't think she knows how jealous I am. Jealous in a good, proud way. 

She has her own photo blog, and sometimes she includes photos of her doodles. It's also filled with the adorable misspellings I mentioned yesterday. 

Look What I Found!

My brother wrote this paper just over 3 years ago now, when he was in 6th grade. I rediscovered it today when I was looking through an old folder. It's probably the greatest thing ever written. Below you can find the full text (including mistakes, which the teacher made no effort to correct - what the heck?). 

The worlds best Person (besides me) 

February 6, 2006

The worlds most important person to me is beleave is or not my sister.

Her name is April May. I can smell April evan if it is January. She smells like freshness and joy (wich is spring). Like every one she can have bad days, but ushually She is as nice and kind as can be. She helps wit home work (she is really good at that espesicaly because she gruated college), she helps clean, and she evan plays games with me. April helps some kids that goe to Sullivan School that have a hard time speaking english, so as you can see she is a big help. April and I do almost everything together all of the time.

I love April. 

Isn't he great? Really, he's wonderful. For those of you who don't know, we're like twins born 11 years apart. And it's true, we do a lot together. Not as much now that I don't live at home, but we have a blast when we do see each other. 

Next time I'll write about how amazing my sister is. She's different than the two of us in many ways, but we also all have an awful lot in common (she makes similarly endearing spelling mistakes)! 

In Case You Didn't Know

This sign is from the subway system, or Tube, in London.  I assume the purpose is to allow people a chance to think twice before attempting to walk up the stairs.  We don't actually remember who took this photo, but I'm taking credit via this post.  I think it'd be nice if everything was labeled in this manner.

Loving Spring 2009 Colors

Can I just tell you that I walked into the Gap today and almost started drooling because the spring colors are so rockin'? If you know me, you know I love oranges and pinks and reds. Looks like I'll be able to stock up on many more candy-colored pieces in the coming months. I didn't buy anything today, but I wanted to (no money, no need - you pick).