A. Shecky’s was fantastic! I snagged this unique and adorable ‘Arabella Kimono’ from liamolly for a great price:

They were sold out of the shoes I wanted (so sad) but the lady is going to send me pics of the same style in a different color so there may be hope yet.
Did I mention the ginormous goodie bag you get at the event?? Ginormous. Can’t wait to go again next year.

B. The garage and estate sales were a HUGE success! We bought way too many things but they were just too hard to pass up at the prices. We got some beautiful antique furniture we plan to fix up and I found vintage postcards and greeting cards as well as a couple of old school calligraphy books that I have some fun plans for. The best was probably the vintage Christian Dior dress I picked up for $3 bucks (!!!) and some brand new YSL pants for $50, along with some other great designer pieces (all the rest were $3 as well), from a lady who spent the last few years as a merchandiser. Pictures will be posted soon.

3. We did indeed learn how to tie a bow-tie and dress 007 up and he most certainly did not enjoy it. Evidence of disgruntlement:

IV. Bear took me out for an impromptu Saturday night date at Armando’s where the food was good and the people were really good-looking. Fun excuse to dress up.

E. My parents came in this morning and I got a huge birthday present early: a new DSLR camera , a Nikon D3000!! My parents, Bear and Momma and Papa Bear pitched in and I am SO ecstatic to learn how to use it and try it out. Yes, you heard correctly, I have no idea how to use it. But rest assured there will be ungodly amounts of pictures taken of the furbabies (thanks for the adorable term Kristin!) as well as pretty much everything else. It will be used nonstop during our next weekend’s birthday trip to the Texas Hill Country (a wine country second only to Napa in the U.S.). Yes I have a birthday MONTH, don’t hate. And I have the best family in the whole wide world. Be jealous.

Is it really Sunday night already? Boooooooo.

P.S. We got a bathroom scale and I found out I lost not only 3 inches, but also 5 pounds! Whoo!

Oh I mean Friday.
Plans for the liberating weekend ahead include:

Shecky’s Girl’s Night Out! Haven’t heard of it? Not surprised, I hadn’t either till last year. But check it out because they have the event all over the US. You get a goodie bag filled with fun things, get to shop (boutiques have booths with crazy discounts), drink and try new products all while hanging out with the ladies. Whoo! Super excited to check out the booth by shuaddikt and hopefully snag a pair of these:

Verrrrry early tomorrow morning, Bear and I are going garage sale hunting! SO excited. I used to go all the time as a kid with Daddy and we would bring home “junk” and get yelled at by Mommy. Good times. I still have a box of old National Geographic magazines dating back to the early 1900′s…although I wasn’t the smartest kid and cut some up for school projects. Idyut.

Then…I bought Bear a burnt orange bow tie as one of his Christmas presents and we are finally going to learn how to tie it. We will then proceed to dress up Bond (obvious choice as he is already wearing a tuxedo), like this:

Finally, Sunday my fabulous parents are coming into town for my annual temple/lunch outing for my upcoming birthday.

Is it 5 yet?

I believe this e-card from Bear says it all:

Bad Sandhya. Bad!

I’ve realized I’m tired of hearing how much people hate “Hallmark holidays” and how they are boycotting today. Of course it’s a made up holiday! Side note, I worked at Hallmark for a couple years…busiest day was Christmas Eve, not V-Day.

Anyone that knows me knows I love to celebrate anything and everything (including my kitties’ birthdays). So why not this? We have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day….how are they not the exact same thing? A made-up celebration to express extra love and respect and to honor a very special relationship in your life. It’s the exact same with V-Day except it’s with your significant other. And the same way that Mother’s Day can also honor your Grandmother or your friend’s mom that raised you…or even your father for playing that role, why can’t V-Day also be for those that are your significant other in non-traditional ways? Your best friend or your kid or even your pet?

If you’re a lucky Mom, Dad, Boyfriend, Fiance, Wife…you get treated special everyday (I know I do!) but why can’t today just be that day you get to make a big deal of it, throw it around publicly and be extra special?

Bear and I spent the weekend doing random, fun things – the Chocolate Festival at our local Central Market, watched ‘Valentine’s Day’ (SO cute by the way!) and he surprised me with a trip to the outlet mall. Today, we are running some typical Sunday errands and then I’m surprising him with….something! Since he’s the biggest fan of this blog, I will have to keep it a secret for now but I will post pictures soon!

Hope you have a day filled with love regardless of your plans.

P.S. This is what I think of first when I hear “V-Day”: http://www.vday.org/home. Love Eve Ensler and love the cause. Has been far too long since I saw the Vagina Monologues.

Sandhya

Although I haven’t updated much regarding my diet, I have been continuing. Tomorrow will end Week 3 and:
- I’ve lost about 2 inches
- I feel healthier….cleaner
- I have learned to love certain veggies (parsnips, anyone?) and to not mind others (bellpeppers)
- I have learned portion size, HOW to eat healthier and have started reaching for good things for snacks and off menus
- My skin has never looked better
- I’ve grown 3 inches taller (no, not really)
- Even though the kitties hate me right now and won’t let me sleep because they have been put on a diet (God forbid) and an eating schedule, I have more energy

Finally, the biggest thing of all: I have learned how to cook. Or at least how to follow recipes. And for a girl who wanted to use her dishwasher to hold extra shoes pre-boyfriend, I think this is quite a feat. The craziest thing about all of this is I have ENJOYED cooking. It’s unbelievable.

And never to be one under-accessorized, I have decided I need a cute apron to go with my newfound skills:

Sandhya

Bear and I both grew up loving the show Mad About You. We’ve started re-watching all the episodes and it’s unbelievable how much we relate to them.

We just saw the episode ‘Same Time, Next Week’ where Paul is filming a movie and only home on the weekends and it was identical to our life – from the idea of having to re-adjust to someone in the same bed to sleeping on the phone together when not in the same bed, and the small arguments that arise from having to communicate long distance.

It is just fabulous, adorable and witty and I’m glad we re-found it.

Jamie: “Do you know how long I waited for you? My mother used to say I was too picky, or afraid of commitment….But the truth is, I was just looking for you. Do you know how close I came to being a narrow, cold, mistrustful woman? But you have given me a life so big and full and good… and fun! I don’t even know what we do, really, besides clean up and complain and wish we were sleeping, but with you, somehow… fun.”

Sandhya