Posts from — January 2012

I spent this past weekend in the one place on earth that makes me feel most at home, with people who make me feel truly alive. I spent time with friends, saw all of my family and skied with the boyf each day until the sunset.

I can’t possibly think of a better weekend.

Spending five full days with your college roommates, four years after graduation is bound to be unforgettable. But I’m betting my friends are more hilarious than yours, and our location was one you just can’t top.

I couldn’t have asked for better digs, just a stones throw from the ocean. The company was unbeatable, and the weather was on our side.

And we did something really cool for food – something I’d totally recommend if you’re ever traveling with a large group. In order to keep costs low, and quality time high, we took advantage of the grocery store across the street. Fortunately for us, it was a full supermarket, so there was no food allergy or dietary restriction we couldn’t work around. Just so you know what we were working with: one of my roommates is allergic to nuts, two are gluten free, one is allergic to dairy, one is on the Paleo diet, and I’m a vegetarian.

Anyways, we stocked up fresh fruits and eggs for breakfast, and then made grocery runs every afternoon for dinner. Now here’s the trick. Each roommate was assigned dinner for one night of the trip. That meant we each only had to deal with meal planning once, we only paid for dinner materials once, we only cooked once, we only cleaned once. It was genius, and fun. We looked forward to hearing what was on the menu each night, and it really was fun cooking for the whole group. Plus, we each took extra pride in our dinner night, so the choice of foods turned out to be unique and extraordinary each night.

We splurged one night, with a dinner out at the one and only Coco Bistro. The food was over the top good, the service just so sweet, and the setting was breathtaking. Apres dining surrounded by glowing palm trees, illuminated by spot lights, string lights, candles and tea lights.

Anyways, enough about food. Despite every bone in my body begging to never leave, our  tropical getaway is officially over. It was a week well spent. One that I’ll be eternally grateful for, and will never forget.

This photo gives the word “cat nap” a whole new meaning. See, here I am. Snoozing on a catamaran in the middle of the Caribbean ocean during my Turks and Caicos vacation. Get it? Cat nap.

Despite the appearance of it being dark, the day we took a sunset catamaran cruise was picture perfect. The day was warm, the water as blue as the sky and the sunset projected the most brilliant shades of gold across the horizon.

After island tours and snorkeling stops, we took turns jumping into the clear waters from the top deck of the boat. Careful to not slip on the roof top, and equally careful not to jump deep enough to touch the coral reef. As the cruise wrapped up, I sipped rum punch and listened to corny pop music with 6 of my best friends as we literally sailed into the sunset.

I don’t think life gets much better than this.

I’m on vacation in the Turks until Wednesday! I woke up this morning a few hours before the other girls and took a stroll on the beach. Snagged some pics that I can’t wait to share with you!

It’s so beautiful here. Reminds me a lot of our vacation in Mexico, but it’s just more peaceful here. Quiet. Not as crowded. Not as rowdy.

We have an amazing few days planned. Can’t wait to tell you all about it.

So this may or may not have accidentally happened. I swear, I didn’t intend to go shopping.

But the other day I was on my way to Newton to get a new dress altered. Well, while I was out in that direction I thought: What do you know? The Apple store is just a few minutes away, I could go check out those iPad cases I’ve been eying! So I bought an iPad cover from the Apple Store that just happens to be in a mall that just happens to have a BCBG store which just happened to be advertising a 60% off sale in the window.

I went in. Obviously.

And I need your help! I entered the boyfriend and myself in a Facebook contest to win a free ski vacation in Salt Lake City. Turns out there are less than 150 entries, so as far as online contests go, the chances of winning this one aren’t too shabby!

The prize package is the vacation of a lifetime. A ski vacation in Salt Lake City for myself and 3 friends. Accommodations in a slope side cabin. Dinner out on the town, a concert at night and … a new camera to capture the whole thing!

So here’s where you come in. The entry with the most “likes” wins. Will you “like” my entry?

1. Log into Facebook and go here: http://www.facebook.com/VisitSaltLake?sk=app_168069923289523&app_data=x1605438
2. If “Whitney’s Dream Vacation” pops up, click “like”. You’re done!
3. If my individual entry doesn’t pop up, keep reading.
4. Go to Page 6 of entries and find the 3rd row. Find the entry in the right hand column. It has over 60 votes.
5. Click that entry, click “like”. You’re done!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you times a million. As you know, the boyfriend and I are big skiiers, and he just went out west to ski. But I on the other hand, have never been beyond Vermont!

Please help me win the vacation of my dreams by clicking “like”!

Last week I shared with you my list of resolutions for the new year. Some items were lofty, hard to measure goals, like become more outgoing, and forgive. Others were easy, straight forward. Either I’ll do it or I won’t. Things like: run, read, and drink more water fall into this bucket. Just to recap what I originally wrote down as my goals for 2012, let’s take a look:

• Run, walk, whatever. Just start moving.
• Drink water. Everyday.
• Read more. One book a month.
• Spend less. Save more. Period.
• Travel to new places. Travel internationally twice.
• Create an online photography store. Sell at least one of my own photos.
• Cook more creatively, use new recipes. Bake at least one new treat a month.
• Volunteer more frequently. Once a quarter.
• Forgive. A lot of people. Including myself.
• Become more outgoing. Speak up for myself.
• Dress boldly, accessorize freely. Let people judge.

But since I shared that post a few days, new ideas have been popping into my head, so I thought I’d add them into the mix. I may even start a goals page to keep track of my progress (and to be able to add new ideas as they come up).

• Lotion, lotion, lotion. I have neglected my skin for far too many years. It’s a simple task. Get out of the shower, apply lotion. Done.
• Wash my face nightly. Who isn’t guilty of taking the lazy route and just hopping into bed?
• Send more snail mail. Letters, cards or postcards. Doesn’t matter. Send birthday cards to all of my friends, send thank you notes following visits. Send cheerful encouragement to friends that are having a hard time.
• Get a photograph with the boyfriend at all of the major events. Can you believe we don’t have a single couples photo from Christmas?
• See my girlfriends more. My absolute best friend in the entire world lives in South Boston. And I’ve been to her apartment once. Just once, since she moved here. How absurd is that? Get together, have more dinner dates.
• Back up my photos on my external hard drive. Then back up my external hard drive on CDs. Then print out some of my favorites to save.

So there you have my resolutions, revisited. I like that a lot of my goals for 2012 are doable, they are realistic and rather simple. Things I just need to be more conscious of like drinking water, and lotioning, and other things that I just need to do. Things like taking a photo with the boyfriend at major holidays and writing thank you cards after visits!

What’d y’all put down as your goals for 2012? Any good ones I should take on as my own?

I’ve had a personal to-do list the size of China (wait, that doesn’t make sense) ever since I returned to Boston after Christmas. I’ve had a dirty apartment staring me in the face every day, all day. Thank you cards needed writing, sheets needed cleaning, clothes needed dry cleaning, suitcases needed packing. You didn’t forget about my upcoming trips did you?

In 5 days I’m leaving the country to spend a week in the Caribbean with my closest college girlfriends. I’ll return to Boston only to hop on another plane the following day, to spend a long weekend in North Carolina with my best friends from Maine.

But until then, there were things to do. So I spent this past weekend catching up… on life. The boyfriend was skiing out west until late Saturday, so I used the day to clean, clean, clean the entire apartment. I also did two loads of laundry, cleaned all of the sheets from when we had visitors during New Year’s, dropped clothes at the dry cleaners, had a new dress altered and finally, yes finally wrote my thank you cards.

I always put them off, usually for a solid month, so I’m actually proud of myself for crossing these off as early as January 7th! In addition to holiday thank you notes, I also got around to writing congratulations cards for two of my best friends. One is having a baby, another recently got engaged. And call me an over-achiever. But I also scoped out birthday cards for my dad. His birthday is January 24. If that’s not planning ahead, than I don’t know what is.

Sunday came and went. The boyfriend was home. We had breakfast, got coffee. I ran errands, went shopping, got crafting (after a trip to Home Depot, Michael’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, HomeGoods and A.C. Moore). We cooked dinner, he made chili in the crock pot, we played Scrabble and watched TV.

Now it’s back to work, back to reality. And I must, I repeat, I must actually drop all of my cards in the mail. I have a bad habit of writing, addressing, sealing letters and then letting them sit in my purse for weeks.

Ever since I purchased these shoes by Nine West in caramel and black (pictured below), I’ve been slighly obsessed with the idea of two-toned, color blocked shoes. Nothing crazy. No cobalt blues or fuchsia with red. Come on, you know me and my neutrals. Despite my somewhat boring color palette, I’ve been finding more shoes that I love, love, love than my poor little wallet can afford.

Here are some of my favorites, including the Nine West pair that I own:

1. Nine West Stylin’ (no longer available)
2. L.A.M.B. Nomad Slingback Pump $179.95
3. Madden Girl Sybill Pump $39.95
4. BCBG Paris Iriniax Wedge Pump $79.95

What do you think? Would you rock a pair of color blocked shoes?