The Queen of Queens

Before I begin, I should make it known that my amazing Grandma passed away on Saturday. After making it home despite a canceled flight, it was good to be with my family during the difficult time. My Grandma was an awesome lady, but I know that where she is now is a much better place than where she was for a long time. I've got a new angel up in heaven and 21 years of laughs, advice, and memories to cherish.

After the services this morning, I received a call from a 212 area code while at the funeral luncheon. While I know it was a little rude to cut out from the meal, I was expecting an important call, and due to a predictive gut feeling of who might be on the line, figured Grandma would have wanted me to take the call. (She always loved my work stories!) I felt like it was Grandma sending me one last gift: I scored a FABULOUS summer internship doing travel PR for a company that resides just blocks from my old intern stomping ground! I was utterly thrilled, not only for the position, but for the fact that it helped add a pleasant distraction to the difficult day. I'll have to wear black and white on my first day there. After all, Grandma's most famous advice was to never underestimate the power of black and white!

Now for the even more exciting news! Grandma lived in a beautiful brick house in Queens, and my mom suggested that I live THERE for the summer. It's all still kind of up in the air, but an exciting option that has me stoked for this summer's potential. As much as I love Long Island, the convenience of Queens leaves me with a summer of truly endless posabilities. I'm in the process of compiling a list of NYC To-Do's and To-Visit's... and I just might cross all of them off this summer!

It was a rough couple of days, but I like to stay positive. =)

the whole shebang

Aside from my neverending love affair with the Legally Blonde of both screen and stage, I have recently been having a pretty intense attraction to the bangs of the bombshell who made Elle Woods more than just my personal icon of all things pink and polished. Reese Witherspoon's bangs are just to die for and I am contemplating adding a little shebang (ha.) to my summer 'do. I did some long bangs while in Europe, and think I might be ready for some shorter strands come May. I say that like it's a milestone move...

PRO: They could be fun and stylish. CON: They will be annoying and limp when it's humid.
PRO: Bobby pins. Nuff said. CON: There are no cons about bobby pins.
PRO: They will look fabulous when I leave the salon. CON: I don't have a personal hair stylist a la Reese.
PRO: Hair always grows. CON: That takes time, and I've been enjoying having bangs that sit behind my ears...

Any thoughts? This right here is the look that I'm (hopefully) going for.

to splurge or not to splurge

I am so tempted...

just take off the heels, honey

A few weeks ago, I dedicated pretty much an entire post to my recent obsession with a certain pair of tres fabulous pumps. However, as much as I love their perfectly platformed patent leather, you'll never see me strolling Stonehill in them before 10 PM on a Friday hits. (If I'm feeling ambitious, that is. I'm still strengthening those calf muscles and remain a slave to my go-to weekend flats.) Anyhow, recently I've spied a couple of characters wandering the grounds of our fair campus dressed in shoes completely inappropriate for afternoon attire. Now, I am not advocating "dressing down" to the point of perpetual sweat pants. In fact, I'm highly against that and applaud the fact that Stonehill is made of a pretty -- and pretty put together, for that matter -- bunch of prepsters. I'm just saying that when you strut into the cafeteria at 1 PM to wait on the panini line for some afternoon sustenance, leave the pumps, the booties, and the sling backs behind. You look ridiculous and should probably take note of the countless people who make fun of your strained sauntering.

That's my afternoon rant -- and for the record, I find heels to be fabulous and wish I knew how to walk in them. But honestly... we go to Stonehill! Bid them buh-bye until the weekend rolls around.

xo.

thanks, mta.

Once upon a time, I will admit that I had a complete love affair with the underground form of public transportation in NYC. I went as far as writing my college essay on how afternoons of mindless people watching on the subway shaped me into a girl ready to take on college; I purchased a coffee table book that highlights hysterical images of subway insanity; I hung a map in my freshman dorm room.

You might ask why I find New York's subterranean labyrinth of grime, crime, vice and mice to be so fascinating. Well, my reason is pretty simple: on the subway, you see things unlike anything else in the world. On the street, you are likely to hear people exclaim complaints about rushed mornings. The subway, however, is where you hear the aftermath. While commuting back to Penn Station from my lowly internship at a Brooklyn-based advertising agency a few summers ago, I sat next to a woman who said her rushed afternoon disallowed her from warming up for her gospel choir audition that evening. "I hope you don't mind if I practice next to you," she said, just seconds before pulling an Aretha and filling the journey from DUMBO to Penn with sung acclamations and comments about "Praising the Lord!"

Yup, that actually happened, but if you're a savvy spender and smartly sail by subway, you know that commutes like that are simply the norm. However, due to the MTA's $.50 fare raise (effective May 31...just in time for my re-entry to the five boroughs!), I just don't see as many leisurely subway rides in the stars for me this summer. Humph.

half marathon!?

Granted, the copious papers and exams of the past three weeks prevented the growing fitness junkie in me from participating in what was a nice and steady rhythm of treadmill dates, spinning sessions, kickboxing classes, yoga evenings, and [sometimes!] healthy dining experiences. However, I am armed with a new mission -- an item for the "bucket list," if you will. If only for the new and cute running clothes I will indulge in (!), I hope and plan to run in the New York Road Runners Brooklyn Half Marathon. The course winds through "Historic Brooklyn," starting at Coney Island, and ending in Prospect Park. As a wannabe Brooklynite, I am going to seriously push myself. Running the Queens race in early August makes so much more sense, but -- come on now! -- Brooklyn's the better borough!

There's a good chance that I'll finish last (assuming I finish at all), but it's all about the experience, right? Time to read The Little Engine that Could...

EDIT: Maybe this one's a little more realistic... A summer Sunday morning 10K through Central Park? No complaints there!

it's a miracle i made it

Let me just paint you all a little picture. Just six hours ago, two Long Island ladies -- one disguised in red Raybans and the other shamelessly clad in skinny jeans worn over shamrock pajama shorts (I'm telling you, it was a SHOW!) -- sprinted out of South Bend with unzipped suitcases bound for Boston by way of Chicago. Oversleeping after a night filled with as many Long Island Iced Tea pitchers as epic tales of dance floor insanity, the twosome gunned down Route 80 Volvo-style and somehow made it to O'Hare International in just over an hour and a half. Note that the normal time to reach O'Hare is a healthy two hours -- and that involves some slight speeding. At points, I thought the station wagon would start soaring as we tipped the speedometer to extremely illegal levels. Alas, the aforementioned gal in the shamrock boxers busted through airport crowds, and in what seemed like no time, saluted the captain in the cockpit just as the plane cabin door closed behind her.

Clearly, this girl is me, and clearly, this would happen to me. It makes for a fabulous story though, don't you think?

My South Bend weekend was absolutely incredible. Beyond the famous sites of the campus that was once Brady Quinn's (swoon...!) kingdom, I was turned on to a few new things to make my list of favorites:

1. Firefly Vodka. It's only made in the South, and according to Meg's Georgia Peach friend, it's a real miracle that it made it to the Indiana town that would be nothing but strip malls if not for the University and football. This sweet tea-flavored bottle of heaven better find a home on some liquor store shelves in Massachusetts, and subsequently, in my fridge. I highly recommend it.

2. "Untouched" by The Veronicas. It's the peppiest song to primp to and the most recent addition to my iTunes library.

3. South Bend locals. Just kidding! They are all kinds of fabulous, though! =)

Aside from these three favorites, I saw the famous "Touchdown Jesus," the Golden Dome, the Basilica, and beyond. The campus is stunning and it was an absolutely fabulous weekend get-away. =)

O

The status in South Bend is one fans of President O should be seriously psyched about: on May 17th, 2009, Obama himself will address the University of Notre Dame's Class of 2009 at their commencement ceremony. Everyone's favorite and famed politician will also receive an honorary degree from what I now consider to be the most beautiful campus I have ever seen.

And let's be honest.  By beautiful, I clearly mean the student body.  Hello, husbands...

plane etiquette

Hello from O'Hare! My South Bend weekend is in full swing, despite the fact that I had a lot less fun on the flight than the frisky twosome next to me.

Just take that for what it's worth...

ROCK THE VOTE... again.

First and foremost, HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY! I send you all a big ol' cheers from a Stonehill that's already several hours into celebration, complete with a parade of bagpipes and Bailey's. ;-)

Anyhow, as my earliest blog posts prove, my camera and I led an existence that was pretty much one in the same while I traveled abroad. While I've never been one with a particularly aesthetic eye, I must admit that while wandering Whistable, a coastal fishing community in Southern England, my latent artistic expertise came out and helped me capture this photograph. It's currently one of 23 photos in a "Local Color" photography competition, and I highly suggest you click and vote for #17 so I can score some sweet loot.

Thanks! =)

impatient

These are going to be the longest five hours of my life BY FAR.

Lines written a few milimeters from exhaustion

...but that's not stopping me. I've got 10 hours to go until I can make a clean exit from the world of falsified identification, and thereby intend to ring my 21st birthday in with a proverbial bang, despite the cloud of sleep deprivation that's hanging over my head. After a week of "Career Exploration" that took me from the top of the NY Times Building to the basement of a group home for disabled adults (you guess which one I liked more...HA!), it's definitely time to change out of the suits and into some PINK. A rosy cocktail to match my attire wouldn't hurt either. A birthday tomorrow? Now that's convenience!

The visits this week were great and almost as divine as my spankin' new, fabulously fancy footwear. Pulling a quasi-Carrie Bradshaw, I splurged on Cole Haan's famed pumps -- a set of black patent leather ladies that were almost too cute to remove on the commute. Almost. By day three, my handy J.Crew flats made a very necessary appearance while I trekked from gorgeous Greenwich to mahhhhhhvelous Manhattan. (I was with Bostonians. Go figure.) I recommend them highly, as they're well worth the bazillion campus tours I gave to "afford" them.

Since it's been a few months, here are some of the CRUCIAL things you missed:

1. I WON A STONEHILL ELECTION. Go me! As of April 15th, I will be the Executive Secretary of Stonehill's Student Government Association. It's a position in which the perks come hand-in-hand with welcome responsibilities. Naturally, I plastered my pink posters all over campus (with the help of an amazing campaign team) and subsequently celebrated with (you guessed it) some pink champagne. The aforementioned shoes made an appearance on speech night. Maybe they're lucky.

2. I had an internship interview at a pretty high end designer's office. Cole came as well. We've become inseparable. Keep your fingers crossed. Updates will follow as long as the news is good... ;-)

3. I became addicted to hot power yoga. Follow Nike's orders and JUST DO IT.

Time to turn 21. Assuming I make it out alive, I'll be back soon with stories to spill -- and drinks to not!