A $1,200 Accident

Several weeks ago, Amalia emailed to say that she'd be coming to Washington from July 23-29 and "could we hit the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale?" I'm not sure what excited me more - spending a weekend with Ama or getting lost with her inside Nordys!

Suffice to say, we met on Friday afternoon at the Nordstrom at Tysons Corner and four hours and four bags later we left....having never even looked at the clothing section! As we were paying for some purchases in the lingerie section, I turned to her and said, "You know we have to come back tomorrow to finish?" And, so we did.

Another 3 hours on Saturday and we both walked out with another 2-3 bags. I may not have "needed" everything, but somehow I walked out the door with nearly $1,200 of "must-have" staples. Yikes! It's a good thing the Anniversary Sale is only once a year!

Bon Anniversaire Trish!

My lovely friend Trish celebrated her 50th birthday today with a French market-themed soiree at my place. Amber and I co-hosted a sit-down dinner for 10 of Trish’s friends and we had the best time! We decorated my home with twinkle lights, photos of Parisian life, a cute “Bon Anniversaire” banner, Eiffel Tower models, French paintings and lots of yummy French food. I made a dinner of chicken with goat cheese and basil, and truffle butter pasta and Amber made an awesome crepe cake. We had such a fun time celebrating an incredible friend, who is loved by many! Bon Anniversaire Trish!

Trying to Get Bendy Flexy

Whoever said yoga is relaxing, calming, enjoyable, mind-clearing, meditative....has never done yoga!

All things holy....a marathon is easier than yoga!

Last week, I implored Susan to go with me to my first ever yoga class and it may have been my last. She took me to her favorite studio in Georgetown and I immediately knew I was in trouble when the studio was baking at 94 degrees....with only 7 people in the room. We found our places - back row in the corner! - and waited 25 minutes for the class to begin. Five minutes after the class opened, I knew I was in trouble.

I was dripping sweat from places I didn't even know sweated...such as my elbows. Not in the inside of my elbows, but my elbows! Dripping sweat from my elbows! And how about sweating from the ankles? I didn't know that was possible either, but at one point I looked down and saw sweat coming through the pores of my ankles!

I have never - never - been as saturated after exercising as I was in yoga. I kept having to sit on my mat while the rest of the 69 people got into ridiculous contortions. At one point Susan looked over at me and just started giggling. I must have looked shell-shocked.

Susan told me afterward that the real low point for her was when she looked over and saw that I was sitting cross-legged on my yoga mat while the rest of the class was in warrior pose and I was attempting to do warrior pose....with just my arms.

Bloody hell....I couldn't do anything else! I'm not sure I'm brave enough to ever try yoga again. Bring on the elliptical machine!

Kristin Hits 40

It’s hard to wrap my head around this, but many of my friends are turning 40. First Juju and then Amber and now the cascade is beginning. Oy vey.This weekend, we celebrated one of my favorite people – Kristin Coleman, who hit the big 4-0. Jill hosted an awesome pool party for Kristin and her family and it was so much fun! She picked Kristin’s favorite colors, cooked up a storm, decorated the room with all sorts of fun banners, lanterns and mobiles, and created a fun afternoon for dozens of Kristin’s friends. She’s one of the best people around and it was a wonderful treat to be able to celebrate her birthday.

Happy Birthday Kristin!

Happy July 4th!

For my first July 4th celebration since moving back to Washington, I couldn't have asked for a better view! Trish Kent invited me to join her family, along with Kristen Glenn, Alicia Poulton and two other friends, for a quintessential Washington, D.C. July 4th celebration: 90 degrees, humidity, Capitol steps seats, the National Symphony Orchestra and 20 minutes of spectacular fireworks.The entertainment included M.C. Jimmy Smits and singers David Archuleta, John Schneider, Gladys Knight and Reba McIntire. As alwasy, the very best part of the celebration was the symphony performing the 1812 Overture during the fireworks - what could be better?No other city does fireworks quite like D.C.

Happy Independence Day!