Seriously Want to Go Shopping

Things I need to buy: a new camera. Still. I think I want this one, but I kind of hate gadget shopping. I'm such a bad engineer.
What I want are clothes, shoes, and bags. Disclaimer- I totally bought a pair of neon pink shorts and a pair of cobalt blue pants from Jcrew last week. They are fabulous. Especially the neon shorts.
However, this has only whetted my appetite.
Things I want- dark wash sexy bootcut jeans from the Gap, a pair of Toms (b/c now that they've been around for years, I can finally embrace the trend), a maxi dress, and  a couple of slouchy bags- I want a grey one to replace the one I bought last year and have completely destroyed with overuse, and a buff colored one for the summer b/c I think it would play nicely against my awesome neon pink shorts. :)

What do you plan to wear this summer?

Edited to add that I bought the camera and the dress online, and after some soul searching I've decided that I just don't need the Toms- I have a lot of cute flats already, so there's not a Toms shaped void in my life, or my closet. After some closet searching I realized that I have a tan hobo bag that I can totally use this summer- I just forgot it was back there! As for the jeans and the grey bag- the jury is still out. I really love my current grey bag and might see if I can get a tailor to fix it. And I think I should try the jeans on again before I decide to buy them, but I HATE going to the mall so I may just never bother. :) 

It's a Tough Life

I've been really pleased with how much travelling I've managed to accomplish in the past year. Places I've been: New Orleans, Mississippi, Houston, Spain, Virginia, several places in Maine (I won't count the stops on the move up to Maine!), Ohio, Colorado, Arizona, San Francisco and Napa, Boston, D.C., and NYC. Do I qualify for road warrior status yet? :)  The picture to the left is from my recent trip to San Francisco. My Kristi, Lauri, and I are completely blocking a view of the Golden Gate Bridge. :)
I'm incredibly grateful that I've been able to travel so much this year. I'm further grateful that I actually love to travel- it's something that came to me late in life. I used to be terrified of flying and pretty unadventurous in general. One thing I appreciate about growing older is that I've become so much more open to new experiences. Some of that is due to an increase in confidence, and some of that is due to a better ability to separate needless fears from legitimate concerns. But so much of the credit for my evolution into a travel loving person is due to Benjy. I was always the type of person to sit around and think "It would be fun to go to XYZ..." but would never go without someone to give me a push in that direction. Benjy loves to travel and was just the person I needed to give me that push. He's also incredibly fun to travel with- his companionship makes the trips we go on together a joy and has helped me establish enough positive connotations to combat any fear I have of traveling alone.
Just one of the many reasons I am so supremely lucky. :)

The picture of us below was taken in Arizona at Christmas. Most of our recent pictures together were taken at arm's length- I thought this one was a bit nicer. :) 

In other news, after 4 or 5 long years, my trusty point and shoot Cannon has bitten the dust. Can anyone recommend a nice compact camera? 

What a Year!

So it's two days late, but I'd be remiss if I didn't blog about my first anniversary! Actually, I'm kind of remiss anyway b/c I was out of town for Benjy's birthday (for work) and our anniversary (I was on a girl's trip in San Francisco and there were no affordable flights that got me home by Monday). Whoops.
Nonetheless, I'm very excited to have been married for a full year and I'm looking forward to spending Sat. with my husband in a lovely bed and breakfast in Camden, Maine. We're also going to eat at Conte 1894. I'm very excited about that as well.
This has definitely been an exciting and challenging year for us. We honeymooned in Spain, moved 1600 miles away from our home in New Orleans, climbed a mountain together, skied down several mountains together, weathered our first New England winter, celebrated my birthday in NYC and his birthday in an Irish Bar at 8am on St. Patrick's Day, visited Acadia National Park, met friends in Boston, celebrated Christmas in Arizona, skied in Colorado, and returned briefly to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. It's been a big, busy, fun  year and there's no one I'd rather have spent it with!
Adjusting to the big move and to the Benjy's tough work schedule was the biggest challenge of the year. I have to give him so much credit for being willing to spend his spare time with me- traveling and exploring- instead of resting on the couch, which is probably what I would do if I were in his shoes. Despite all the challenges of his work, he's been, as always, a wonderful companion in this adventure. I'm so happy to have been married to the love of my life for a full year and can't wait to celebrate with him for many years to come!