Vanity

It just hit me that since I'm going to New York for my 30th birthday, I need to figure out what on earth I'm going to wear!
I always feel very intimidated when I pack for Europe because I don't want to look too much like a touristy American and I feel a similar sense of intimidation regarding NYC. I definitely don't want to look like a bumpkin!
We're going to be there for 2 nights/3 days in mid-August. What should I wear? I'm thinking casual-ish dresses with sandals would be comfortable during the day and not to hot and then maybe a couple of nicer dresses with heels for dinner...

Any advice?

Cordoba

Welcome to the first in a series of posts about my honeymoon (that I should have gotten around to writing like 2 months ago- whoops!). We spent 2.5 weeks traveling around Spain via train and bus and visted Cordoba, Sevilla, Granada, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, and Madrid.

We landed in Madrid on the first day of our honeymoon and spent the first day traveling to Cordoba and exploring the city. Cordoba is known for its Mezquita (a mosque that was later turned into a Catholic Cathedral) and La Juderia (a historic Jewish neighborhood full of winding cobblestone streets). Unfortunately due to Semana Santa (Holy Week) festivities we were unable to go inside the Mezquita. Instead we wandered around the city taking pictures, watched part of the Semana Santa procession in the courtyard of the Mezquita, and ate a delicious huntsman's paella which featured, as I recall, what was probably lamb or goat, asparagus, and white beans in saffron flavored rice.

Staying up for dinner, which is famously late (like 10 or 11) in Spain was a battle against jet lag, and after dinner we opted not to partake of the famed Spanish night life. The next morning we woke up early and caught a bus to Sevilla where we would experience Semana Santa in all it's glory.

Cordoba is famed for it's patio gardens that are tucked away inside La Juderia

It also has some lovely plazas- this one would have been more lively had it not just stopped raining

The famed cobblestone streets of La Juderia

A bridge leading across the river to the other side of town, I love how old the supports look. (P.S. get used to this rain jacket- I'm wearing it in 90% of my pictures.)

Looking across the river, the skyline looks positively medieval...except for the crane on the far right, that is.

Outside the Mezquita- one of the wider streets. Cars also would barrel down paths I would generously describe as a "narrow sidewalk."

Enjoy the contrast between Arabian design and Christian Iconography

¡Hola!

Hello everyone! I'm back! I've been back, in all honesty, for a couple of weeks- but, as usual, I have been swamped! Since I've been back I've spent the weekend at Jazzfest, watched Dr. Hubby graduate, entertained his parents during graduation weekend (entertaining his parents was awesome because they wanted to try all our favorite restaurants!), and thus far have worked 34.5 hours in the past 3 days. Oh and I have jury duty next week!
However, I promise I'll post several posts about my honeymoon in Spain because it was wonderful and I don't think that one post would do it justice. (Also, it would be book length.)
On top of all that, the move to Portland is rapidly approaching! Last week, Dr. Hubby flew up to Portland and found us the most amazing apartment! It's 2 blocks away from the Eastern Promenade (a big park) with a view of Casco Bay. The neighborhood is called Munjoy Hill and is full of coffee shops and good restaurants. Best of all, the apartment itself is beautiful! There is a built-in teak desk and a built-in leather couch in the living room, there are stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops in the kitchen, and a great sunroom that I am planning to turn into an office because, luckily for me, my company is going to let me work remotely! (Holy run-on sentence, Batman!) Our big move is scheduled for the second week in June!
So that's a very brief update on what's been going on with me these days! More to come, I promise!

The Honeymooners

It's still a bit surreal to me that tomorrow I'm leaving for Spain! Although I've been to Switzerland a few times, that has always been with Dr. Hubby's family and we've basically stayed in one place. On this trip we'll be traveling around the country and it will be just the two of us- so I'm expecting (and looking forward to) a very different experience.
I just want to record a few loosely connected things so excuse me if this blog isn't entirely coherent.
This weekend has definitely felt like the start of our honeymoon, despite being fairly chore laden- mainly because Dr. Hubby has insisted on serving me coffee ice cream topped with pralines for breakfast.
Yesterday we picked up a bunch of used books to take on the honeymoon and leave when we finish them. I love that Dr. Hubby agrees with me that once needs at least 4 books for a 2.5 week vacation.
We decided at the last minute to go to Buffalo Exchange to get Dr. Hubby a new jacket today. He walked out with an navy Eli Tahari linen suit for $32. Some people have all the luck!
I think I've finally succeeded in packing light for a trip. Of course, the key is to plan to re-wear everything and to not travel in the winter. :) I also realized that if I ironed things like pajamas and underwear, they folded up much smaller than they otherwise would. I'm perhaps overly proud of this fact.
Overall I'm taking 2 pairs of jeans, 3 dresses, 1 skirt, and 9 shirts for 18 days. I also have a trench coat, a cardigan, a pair of leggings, 2 light scarves, a thin pullover sweater, a black tank top, 1 pair of PJ's, and a raincoat. My extravagance is that I'm taking 3 pairs of shoes- I'm bringing the Pumas and Birkenstocks I originally planned to bring, but wearing my Naturalizers on the plane. They're not very pretty shoes, but I think they'll come in handy, especially with the dresses when it's too cold for the Birkenstocks. (Temperatures range from a high of 80 in Andalusia to a low of 45 in Barcelona.) Dr. Hubby is bringing the suit, two pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shoes, a raincoat and 6 shirts. So once again, he's beating me in the packing light department. I still think i did pretty well this time, and my clothes fold up into smaller pieces than his do anyway. :) My color palette for the trip is mostly black and charcoal with accents of purple and green- so hopefully I'm successfully walking the line between completely drab and "look at the clownish American!" :)
I think we're just about ready to go- we still have to clean the house so we don't horrify our cat sitter with all of the post wedding clutter that is currently filling up every nook and cranny. (I'm procrastinating at the moment.) So I hope everyone has a lovely 2.5 weeks! I'm sure I'll have a ton to write about when I get back!

Things I'd like to have for my Honeymoon

Now that I've finally gotten a good bit of the planning done (I've only got one hotel left to book, but I still have to do bus/train/museum tickets), I'm starting to think *even* more about things I think I need for my honeymoon.
1) A backpack- I'm thinking that this will be more convenient than my giant wheeled suitcase.
2) Shoes- (I'm sure y'all saw this one coming.) I think that along with my naturalizer flats, I'd like a fashionable-ish dark colored sneaker like a puma or maybe a pair of Adidas. I need to replace my beat up pair of black Saucony Jazz's anyway- so this could ultimately double as a casual Friday shoe.
I'd also like a pair of sandals that are actually comfortable to walk in. I'm awfully partial to the Birkenstock Gizehs.
3) I'd also like a fairly secure bag that I can either wear cross body or just under my shoulder. I really think that Lesportsacs are adorable, but I'm also sort of looking at the Baggellini bags (I think I saw some of these the last time I went to TJ Maxx so I'll have to check them out the next time I go there). I've heard that map-case type bags are good, and I also like the Kavu Kicker Bag.

Of course, these are all the type of things that it's better to look for in person, so this online browsing is completely in vain. It's a nice way to get my thoughts in order at least.

What are your travel necessities?

The Longest Week Ever

Last week felt longer than the entire month of January for me. So while I'm absolutely shocked that February starts tomorrow, I'm looking back on things that happened last weekend and genuinely feeling like they were 3 or 4 weeks ago. Does anyone else ever feel like that?
Last weekend was actually fairly lousy. I ran 20 miles last Saturday (the longest run in my marathon training plan) but hurt my foot in the process. That Sunday, I somehow lost the sapphire necklace that my darling fiance gave me for our anniversary this year. At the beginning of the week, I found out about a bunch of significant changes that are taking place at my work as well. Without getting into a ton of detail- these changes are likely good ones, but it's going to be an adjustment. (And we all know how I feel about change in general! It keeps me up at night, to say the least.) The rest of the week was better, but I had to fly to Houston for work, which is always pretty tiring, and I spent the week feeling really frustrated by my foot, which definitely didn't love all the walking through airports I did!
I thought that the foot situation was looking up and I ran 9 miles yesterday without too much pain and I felt pretty positive that I'll be able to do 26 miles by Feb. 13. Then, of course, my house attacked me. Somehow in the process of me closing the door to my porch, the big glass doorknob fell off the door and landed right on the joint of my big toe. I've got a lovely bruise and my foot hurts quite a bit when I walk on it too much (3 cheers for my desk job!)- I'm guessing the run and the doorknob are equal partners in that pain. I'm curious to see how painful it will be tomorrow.
For the record, I still think that I'll be able to run the marathon, but I'm also thinking that my foot isn't going to feel very good afterward.
Of course, there's been plenty of things to enjoy about the past week or so as well. I've had a lot of fun with my friends, my darling fiance is finally done traveling for med school, and we've gotten a ton of work done on the honeymoon planning front. I only have 2 hotels left to book! (I still have to figure out bus tickets and decide about things to see and places to eat, but I feel better having an itinerary and places to stay lined up!) We're also close to finalizing our wedding food, and have selected the attire for the groomsmen and our wedding rings!
I've also started brushing up on my Spanish using the Rosetta Stone. I did the first lesson of level 1 last night and while it's a little easy for me, I think it's a good idea to start from the beginning. I'll try to do a review of the program after I've worked my way through it. My thoughts for now are that it's pretty engaging and very visual (I matched individual words and phrases that were printed on the screen and read aloud to pictures), but I'm confused about why the Rosetta Stone thinks that I need to learn the work for "elephant." (It's elefante.)

How was your weekend?

Flight Safety

Is it just me, or is this Delta Flight Safety Video oddly dystopian?



It just seems like she moonlights as a lottery announcer on The Island or something....

Honeymoon

New plan! Instead of going to Portugal for our honeymoon, we are now going to Spain!
To make a long story short, I won 2 free tickets to Europe at a conference last year and we couldn't use them to go to Portugal in April (due to the Spring being a popular travel time and there not being many flights to Lisbon) so after spending a LOT of time with customer service, we managed to make a trip to Spain work out!
Not that I'm complaining because a free trip is a free trip, and I think that Spain is going to be awesome! So it's time to brush up on my Spanish! Anyone have a Rosetta Stone they want to lend me? :)

Has anyone ever been to Spain? Where should I go? What should I see?

Anniversary Weekend

This past weekend, my darling fiance and I celebrated our anniversary. It's a little early b/c our first day was actually right before Halloween, and we got engaged on Oct. 16, but this weekend worked out to be the best time for us to get away together. This is also technically our last anniversary in October, and we won't have another anniversary until April 9, 2012! (I did promise that I would make a cake next October anyway.)
On Saturday, we drove up River Road to Napoleonville, La and stayed at the Madewood Plantation. It was gorgeous! Having been a tour guide in an Antebellum home in Natchez (Rosalie), I've always wondered what it would be like to actually live in one and this was a little taste of that.
Our stay included a candlelight dinner with the other guests (as well as breakfast in the morning) so we knew that we would have to dress up for that. My darling fiance decided that he wanted to dress up all weekend, and so I followed suit. I must say, it made for some really fun pictures.
On the way home we drove down River Road on the other side of the river, so we saw lots of refineries, small towns, old cemetaries, and historic plantation houses (a strange combination, I know) on both legs of the trip.
After we got home on Sunday we decided to grill out. I bought Buffalo steaks out of curiosity and they were really tasty. We ended the night drinking Sazeracs because I bought my darling fiance the ingredients as part of his anniversary present (we celebrated our engagement last year in the Sazerac Bar, after all). The other part was the orange tie he's sporting in some of the pictures below- it's from Southern Proper and has shotguns on it. So of course he wanted to wear it immediately (hence our dressing up all weekend.)

Our Room- The Master Bedroom

Relaxing after our Car Ride

Our room led out to the veranda
My handsome fiance

Prior to Dinner we had wine and cheese and chance to explore the house- this was the ballroomAfter dinner there was coffee, brandy, and a slightly creepy portrait in the parlor

Exploring the grounds on Sunday
There were lots of other buildings on the property. Some were rather grand (like a riverboat captain's house that is being restored) and some were modest creole cottages like this one.
The separate kitchen was open for us to explore- I thought that this old stove was very picturesque.
Replicating Senior Pictures on the porch- haha!This is supposed to be my Southern Bell look- I think I just look skeptical. But you can see the pretty sapphire necklace my darling fiance gave me for our anniversary in this shot! :)

Seasons

I love how we're sitting on the edge between seasons this week. This past weekend I was basking in the sun on the beach in Ft. Walton, Fl (thanks to my friend Steph's lovely parents who let us use their condo!) and this weekend the plan is to go to my friend Jon's family farm and have a bonfire and make s'mores. Love it!
I'm also enjoying welcoming fall food back into my house. Currently there is an acorn squash and a bunch of fresh brussels sprouts sitting in my fridge, waiting to be devoured. Yum!
I found myself sending my mom a bunch of meatless dinner ideas today and thought I'd share the list here because it is a good one. (And in true flexitarian style (p.s. I actually hate the word flexitarian), I am also planning a post on roast chicken- just as soon as I roast one during daylight hours so I can take decent pictures of the process.)
But anyway, if anyone is looking for a little meatless inspiration, I hope my list will be helpful. Note: This list is, for the most part, decidedly non-vegan (I love me some eggs and cheese).

Lentils and brown rice:
Cook dried lentils according to package directions. I like to season them with garlic, onion, chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. I serve them alongside stewed okra and tomatoes (basically, you cook frozen okra with a can of stewed tomatoes) and cornbread.

Tex-mex rice bowls:
Black beans and brown rice topped with any of the following: cilantro, lime juice, salsa, chopped tomato, sauteed onions and garlic, mushrooms (sauteed or fresh), chopped green onions, avocado, cheese, or sour cream.

Black beans and saffron rice:
Saffron rice comes in packages at the grocery store, and is bright yellow and darn tasty. Top this combination with black olives, green onions, and chopped tomatoes or salsa.

BBQ bean bowls:
Black (or red) beans and brown rice topped with BBQ sauce, green onions, and mushrooms.

White beans and Kale:
This is my favorite winter meal. White beans sauteed with hot sauce, lemon juice, onion, garlic, Kale and topped with lemon zest, and Parmesan; served atop brown rice.

Roasted tomatoes, onions and white beans:
Toss a pack or two of cherry tomatoes (or any other small tomato or halved roma tomatoes) and some roughly chopped onion with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400 for 30 minutes. Pour tomatoes and all their juices over a bowl full of warmed white beans. Add some basil (fresh is best but I also like to get the squeeze bottle of chopped basil at the grocery instead of having to use dried basil) and mix everything up. Serve this over toast- it's beans a la king!
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Other quick bean ideas:
Garbanzo beans stir fried with Kale, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Baked beans on top of a microwaved or roasted sweet potato.
Baked beans on cheese toast (preferably whole wheat) with chopped tomatoes.
White beans mixed with diced green chilies, cayenne, and cumin make white chili. Top with cheese.
Black beans, salsa, and cheese in a whole wheat or blue corn tortilla.

Veggie Enchiladas:
Roast some chopped squash, mushrooms, and zucchini (and really whatever veggies you like- experiment!) at 400 for 30 minutes. Place cooked veggies inside whole wheat tortillas, along with some shredded cheese, and plain yogurt (or sour cream) mixed with salsa- be careful not to overfill! Roll the tortillas up (I find that 4 tortillas worth is plenty for 2 people), and top with enchilada sauce (you can get this in a can at the grocery store on the mexican food isle) and more shredded cheese. bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Kale, Eggs, and Potatoes:
I chop up red potatoes and toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme- them roast them for 30-45 minutes at 400. While that's going on, I simmer Kale in about a cup of water with garlic and onion, lemon juice, a little hot sauce, and lots of black pepper (this takes 15-30 minutes, just check occasionally to make sure the kale is done). I serve the Kale with a fried egg on top and the potatoes with ketchup mixed with hot sauce for dipping.

Kale Spaghetti:
Cook the Kale like you do above, then toss it with some cooked spaghetti and Parmesan or goat cheese. You can top this with a poached egg too. Poaching eggs is really easy. You add a splash or two of vinegar (you won't taste it, I promise) and a little salt to a small pot of water and bring it just to a boil, meanwhile, crack an egg into a small bowl (this is really important. You can't just crack the egg into the water or it will break). When the water is just boiling, turn down the heat, gently slide the egg into the water, then cook for 3 and a half minutes. Remove it with a slotted spoon to let the water drain off before you put it on your food.

Baked Eggs in tomatoes:
Hollow out a couple of tomatoes and throw away the tops. season inside the tomatoes with salt and pepper, then sprinkle in a little cheese (goat cheese is awesome here- but you can use any cheese or any sort of spices you like really, just don't add too much b/c you want room for an egg inside the tomato). Crack and egg on top, being careful not to spill it. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until the egg has set. Serve with toast or a side salad.

Scrambled egg tacos:
Fill either whole wheat or blue corn tortillas with scrambled eggs, salsa, and shredded cheese. Devour. :)

Scrambled eggs and portobello mushrooms:
Brush portobello mushroom caps (2 or 3 per person) with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and broil for 10 minutes, turning them over after 5 minutes. In the meantime, scramble 2 eggs per person. Put eggs on top of the mushrooms. You can add toppings like goat cheese or veggies to this too, but it's surprisingly good plain.

Veggie omelets:
My favorite omelet in the world contains, fresh spinach, fresh chopped tomatoes, and feta cheese. So fresh and delicious.

Tomato soup and grilled cheese. It doesn't get any easier.

Birthday Recap Part III: Portland

Thank you, dear readers, for hanging in there while I took my sweet time writing up this recap. I've spent the weekend prepping the house for my darling fiance's return (because of course, I didn't get around to any of the cleaning I'd planned to do while he was gone. I seem to have spent all my extra time watching episodes of Community on Hulu. Oops!)
Anyway, he's back now (so happy!) and has reminded me that I need to finish my recap, so here it is!
On Tuesday, my darling fiance had to work during the morning, so I woke up early and walked from his dorm in the West End of Portland down to the Old Port District and enjoyed a chocolate croissant and a cafe au lait in a little coffee shop called Morning in Paris. Once the shops in Old Port opened up, I did a little shopping and enjoyed a green veggie juice from the California Juice Bar. (It really hit the spot after the previous night's bacon fries!) I quickly discovered that Portland has a Lululemon!!! I'm so jealous since we don't have one in New Orleans! I have a few pairs of pants and a top from Lululemon that my darling fiance has given me, but I've actually never been to one myself. I immediately hit the sales rack and picked up an adorable running skirt. It looks a lot like the one I linked, but is a lighter shade of blue and has grey trim on the back. It's really cute and I've worn it comfortably on two long runs. I love it! I also picked up a purple headband. Happy Birthday to me!

My darling fiance got done with his work obligations and met me for lunch. We went to J's Oyster house and split a seafood plate (it had two raw oysters and two huge raw scallops, along with some crab meat, steamed shrimp, and steamed lobster claws) and a bucket of steamed clams. It was delicious.

Scallops are yummy!

Afterward, we walked around for a while and he bought me a birthday present- a Butter by Nadia dress. It's an infinity style dress which means that it has long bands on the top that can be wrapped a ton of different ways. Mine is dark purple, incredibly flattering, and wonderfully comfortable. I love it! After that, we walked back to the dorms so that I could take a nap. Once I was rested, we walked all the way to the other side of Portland to see the East End, Munjoy Hill, and the Portland Observatory.

Wearing my dress and enjoying the sunset at the East End

The View from East End
Portland Observatory

We ended our night with panini's and more french fries at Duckfat. I've eaten at Duckfat both times I've visted Portland and it is one of my favorite places. This time, I got the special panini with roast pork, sauerkraut, spicy mustard and cheese- along with duckfat fries with garlic aoli for dipping. So good!

A "Yaycation" indeed!

Finally, we walked back home and enjoyed some wine we'd picked up at the Cellardoor winery on Sunday. I also figured out that I'd walked a total of 9 miles that day!

I had an amazing birthday trip and I'm really glad I got a chance to visit Maine again. It's definitely one of my favorite places to vacation! Of course, I'd love to go back because there is still so much I haven't done!

What's your ideal birthday? Where do you like to spend your vacations?

Birthday Recap Part II: Camden

Sorry for the long delay! Work has been insane this week! I've basically been wrapped up in a 3 day meeting and I'm pretty wiped out.
However, I don't want to wait too long before writing about my birthday trip.
On Saturday (Aug. 14), I flew to Portland, Me to see my darling fiance (who has been doing an away rotation up there) and to celebrate my birthday by enjoying temperatures under 90 degrees! I got in at 10:30 pm, but wasn't too tired to stop by a really nice pub called Novare Res. The next morning, we had amazing toast for breakfast at a coffee house called Arabica, then picked up lobster rolls to go from the Portland Lobster Company.

This toast was amazing

We ate them on the way to Camden, where we stayed at the Hartstone Inn.

Our room at the Harstone

Prior to arriving at the Inn, we stopped at the Cellardoor Winery to enjoy a food and wine pairing. We really enjoyed the wine and were excited to try BBQ bear (!!) prepared by a local cookbook author (I feel bad but I can't remember her name). I was surprised to find that bear tasted like a cross between venison and lamb and was much lighter than I thought it would be.

Enjoying the view outside the winery

Of course, I saved room for dinner, and happily, we were able to eat at Hartsone after all! (We had been on the waiting list.) We had lobster tortellini, salad with peaches and a peach/orange dressing, blueberry sorbet, lamb medallions with asparagus and an artichoke, feta, and pine nut tart, and a mudslide souffle with Bailey's Irish Cream Sauce. YUM!!

29 never tasted so good!

The next day was rainy and a little chilly, so we couldn't go on a schooner tour like we'd planned. However, we had a really nice time walking around Camden, Rockport, and Rockland, just sightseeing and enjoying the ports.

Beautiful Camden Harbor

We saw the famous Galloway Cows in Camden and visited the Puffin Museum in Rockland.

Look! Cows!After that we drove back to Portland and went to Nosh for dinner, where we thoroughly enjoyed eating bacon crusted french fries dipped in chipotle mayonnaise.

Pretending that salads totally make up for bacon-fries

We ended the night with wine and chocolate cake with salted caramel icing at The Bar of Chocolate. It was wonderful!

So stay tuned for the exciting conclusion to my birthday recap, in which I spend the day shopping in Portland and eat lots and lots of food. :)

Foodie-ness

Just an quick update since I have reservations for my dinners on Sun. and Mon. night- Paolina's Way is an all organic pizza place with it's own farm (!!!) in Camden and Five Fifty-Five in Portland is supposed to be excellent. I'm also hoping to check out the Cellar Door Winery in Camden. Of course, researching all these places made me so hungry I had to eat lunch early! Drool!!

Birthday Week

This is my last week as a 28 year old woman. I'll miss 28 for a lot of reasons. 28 was a good age for me- I got engaged (which was definitely the highlight), I drove around in the first car I've ever purchased, I ran my first half marathon, I adopted a new cat, I kept the job I love, I traveled to new places, I maintained my healthy habits, and I spent lots of time with my wonderful family and friends.
Of course, I have a lot to look forward to! A coworker of mine who happens to share my birthday likes to celebrate her entire birthday week rather than just the day. In all honesty, thus far I've been celebrating my week by working on a giant spreadsheet at work and exercising after work, but there are good times coming soon! On Friday, I will be having an early birthday get together with all of my girlfriends and plan to celebrate with as much grace and dignity as one possibly can while singing Karaoke in a Japanese restaurant (i.e. not much). Then on Saturday I am flying to Maine!!!
I really really love Maine and am thrilled to spend some time in Portland and Camden. I'm really looking forward to a stay at the Hartstone Inn (which is supposed to be foodie paradise), to sailing on a schooner (weather permitting), and to just wandering around Camden and Portland. I can't wait to relax and get away from the hot weather down here for at least a little while.

Swamp Monster

My trip to the Atchafalaya Basin this weekend was wonderful! The swamp is incredibly scenic and peaceful, and it was so nice to get away. Our houseboat was really charming and we all spent most of our time on the porch, enjoying the unexpectedly wonderful weather. The weather channel predicted a weekend full of rain but it was perfectly sunny the entire time we were on the water, and it was much cooler on the water than on land. The highlight of the trip for me was our "pet" alligator, Gucci, who ate anything we threw at him, including the corks off our fishing lines. I also really enjoyed the hammock that my darling fiance brought and hung across the porch. The only complaint I have about our trip is that I think I fed every mosquito west of the Mississippi, despite wearing lots of bug spray! Mainly, I think I will let our pictures from the trip speak for themselves. I hope y'all like them!

Houseboat

This weekend, along with my darling fiance and four of or good friends, I will be spending two nights on a houseboat in the Atchafalaya Basin Swamp. I am looking forward to reading, relaxing, and hopefully catching some fish!
As for reading, I just finished A Reliable Wife (for bookclub) and am in the middle of the Elegance of the Hedgehog. Up next is Orphan's Tale- In the Night Garden. Other recent reads have been Skinny Legs and All, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight. Last month's bookclub book was also terrific- In Other Rooms Other Wonders. I also traded in a bunch of my old book at a used bookstore this weekend, and have a ridiculous amount of store credit now, so I'm sure I'll be picking up some more books soon.
Any personal favorites y'all think I should keep an eye out for?

Packing for a Work Trip

When I travel for work, it's usually with my boss- who hates to waste time waiting for checked luggage to come off the plane. For that reason, I've become adept at fitting my laptop, flat iron, clothes, and toiletries into only a large purse and a small carry on. I've managed to fit outfits for two days, plus workout clothes and shoes into the bags shown here when necessary, but my most recent trip was less complicated. I needed a set of work clothes, plus clothes to go out to dinner in Houston at a local restaurant called Cyclone Anaya's (which was really good) with my boss, our colleague, and his wife.
I though it would be fun to document what I wore, because this is pretty typical for a work trip. In the summer in Houston, I have to consider two factors- that I will be miserably hot the second I set foot outside, and that I will be freezing indoors. So the business clothes I wore on the plane and to work on day one were charcoal dress pants, black flats, a black tank top and a pull over light weight sweater. (Excuse my death glare, I tend to look fairly evil when I'm not smiling- really I'm just concentrating. Also, my hair is usually a lot nicer, but I have to get up really early during my work trips so I wash my hair the night before and just haphazardly flat iron it while chugging coffee the next morning.) For dinner that evening, I kept the tank top and topped it with a knit dress. I wore black flip flops (had the restaurant been dressier, I would have worn the flats instead and maybe packed a dressier dress), and brought along a khaki jacket. (Does the jacket look familiar :), Amanda?)
Finally, for work the next day, I wore the same charcoal pants and black flats, topped with a short sleeved sweater. I also wore the khaki jacket most of the day because it was cold inside the office.
As for where I put everything- my laptop, flat iron, clothes (which I rolled), and flip flops fit easily into my carry on. My wallet, toiletries, a notepad, and a book fit into my red purse. However, on trips when I bring workout clothes, I usually keep my laptop in my purse to make room for my running shoes.
These outfits actually represent pretty typical work clothes for me. I tend to live in black, charcoal, and brown dress pants, topped with dressy sweater or knit shirts (button downs don't fit me very well.) I tend to wear small pieces of jewelry as well because I think big bright accessories overwhelm me. And I almost always wear flats, even though I sit at a desk most of the day and could probably wear heels pretty comfortably.
What are you work staples? How do you pack for a trip?