Dog Days Are Over…

Tags

Dog Days Are Over, drinking, eat pray love, Florence and the Machine, Home Depot, Music, refinish, renovation, sanding, stress

I’ve been obsessed with the song for a while now but more for the style than the lyrics.  This week however, it feels the lyrics are actually starting to ring true.  I don’t know for sure what Florence’s real meaning is but to me, I interpret the song as a girl that runs from happiness because she is safe with being content and instead stays in situations that remain that way rather than taking risks.  Well as you know if you’re a follower, this summer has been about breaking that habit personally.  I broke up with my long term boyfriend, who is a very good man for another lucky woman, because it was a relationship that was more convenient than happy for the both of us.  Last month it was easier because I was only dealing with loosing him, which we had pretty much led up to for months so it wasn’t the end of the world or anything.  This month however my anxiety’s been kicking in because I’ve been doing the self employed thing and supporting myself entirely.  Paying a large house payment today set that reality in and then to seal the deal I got news that my ex-husband is engaged.  I am actually really happy for him and his new fiance, they are both incredible people, it’s not that it made me sad but I guess set in the new single factor in my life which I guess had not thoroughly adjusted yet.  To make my life more of an upside down mess my brother and I got the great idea to renovate the house, starting Sunday with ripping out all the carpet.  Only, being the Pollocks (as in Polish, not artistic geniuses) that we are, rented the sander before doing any demo work and have since been on speed mode to finish everything before Home Depot requires it back at 7pm tonight.  My house is literally smushed all into one room, I can’t find anything at all to start my wholesale order that needs to go out next week and the dog is so stressed he’s dropping chunks of hair everywhere.  After seriously contemplating abandoning John to the sanding and making my way to the nearest Mexican patio, I sat down to blog instead.  And with all that going on I couldn’t think of anything to write about, so I put on my Itunes and started selfishly thinking about how it’s Cait’s birthday today and she should leave work early to day drink with me.  Luckily, my raging alcoholic tendencies were subdued when Florence serenaded me from my speakers with a little wake up call.  All of these things that I just spent the whole page bitching about are things that I have done to make myself happy, not miserable.  Perhaps, as the song says:

Happiness, hit her like a train on a track
Coming towards her, stuck still no turning back
She hid around corners and she hid under beds
She killed it with kisses and from it she fled
With every bubble she sank with a drink
And washed it away down the kitchen sink

So there you go, right?  Drinking, boyfriends/husbands that don’t make me happy, the clutter in my life, it’s all things I’ve used to move away from happiness and well, it’s time to face it, them dog days are over.  It’s time to make a conscious decision and use this opportunity of being able to do anything the f*** I want as exactly that.  Slowly but surely I’m getting it boys and girls, this may not be an early bird gets the worm life but soon it will be the life that I want because I have the ability to make it that.  So while I still may venture to a cantina for a little lovin’ from Mr. Cuervo tonight it will be to share a special day with my best friend, maybe flirt with a cute boy but not to try to make him a forever boy, drop off some stuff to goodwill because other people could actually use my hoards of things and to laugh, at myself and with others, a lot.  Life is about enjoying the little things but also about making well thought out decisions for the big things and giving them time to show you the way that’s right rather than rushing anything.  I will just have to repeat that mantra to myself as I wait two days for the polyurethane to dry before I can move all this crap back into it’s correct place in the house

Here’s the progression of the floors, thank God for John and his best friend Travis!

Tags

Business, Home and Garden, Tile, Upcycling

This week my trash man hated me.  We are remodeling the house, my brother and I, and mostly so far are making a very large mess.  Unfortunately my house began as such a mess there was nothing to upcycle so the trash man got a far exceeded weight limit herbie and I got my master bath down to bare studs and wires.  Now I get to do the fun part of picking out new things, it’d be more fun if it was bed spreads and furniture, but alas tiles and fixtures will do this week.  I was at the Home Depot looking through their selection and while I’ll probably get the run of the mill toilet everything else was just so boring and standard.  I came home and had a chat with my brother and we’ve decided to go all out and youtube ourselves through a complete DIY master makeover.  I am thinking of doing a concrete shower base with homemade tile surrond, my other brother, who is actually knowledgable about this stuff, has said it might be a little ambitious of us though.  I’ve also enlisted the help of my carpenter friend to custom build a vanity for me and will probably have him frame out my old mirror as it’s big and beautiful with just a little roughness around the edges.  Those are just the beggining as I don’t have an exact picture in my mind yet of how I want this done so I’ve been scouring the internet finding inspiration.  Here’s a little of what I’ve found.

Of course some of these are me dreaming, but I love the idea of a bright white room with some of the irridescent tiles.  I have a walk in closet that is actually two closets so I was thinking about really opening up the space by knocking one out.  Again, massive project.

On the work front things are really on a roll lately.  I’m starting to realize the true power of networking.  Yesterday I dropped off a lovely teapot to a local but big magazine Kentucky Bride which is run by a good friend of mine’s mother.  I am really excited about this because even though it’s a small feature it’s in one of my favorite magazines that is all about my favorite thing, weddings.  She does a great job of featuring local fare and emphasizes the use of your surroundings and roots in event planning.  Then last night I went out with a very old friend of mine whom I went to elementary school with.  We recently reconnected and it strikes me that I don’t know why I ever lost touch with her since she is just lovely.  Bonus points are that she works as a supplier for some of the major companies in the region and plays a big part in stocking their gift shops.  So I’m going to work with her and try to get some of my pieces in there which would be huge for my company!  Maybe now I’ll actually go to one of the young entrepreneurs events I get invited to as networking is showing its worth here lately.  Finally, as if these amazing opportunities weren’t enough, I sold my first wholesale order and in a few short weeks we will officially be in a brick and mortar shop!  It’s in St. Louis, which is exciting because I’ve never been there and may use it as an excuse to go up and catch a Cardinals game.  That would mean having a weekend free though and it appears that if things keep going the way they have lately Saturdays off may be a thing of the past.  I’m thankful for having such great people around me all of the time and can’t wait to see the finished products I’m thinking up, I’ll be sure to share as soon as they are done.

Since I have been on the receiving end of so much this week I wanted to pay it back a little and will be adding a lot of recipes to the tab at the top, so make sure and check it out to make your weekend as delicious as mine!

Top Twenty Wedding Ideas…for today

Tags

bride, Bridesmaid, ceremony, decor, diy, Event Planning, groom, ideas, invitations, reception, save the date, Wedding, Weddings

This week it seems, is all about weddings.  On Saturday I photographed a wedding that was AMAZING, it had to have cost oodles of dollars and would be close to exactly what I would want this season.  They had it at their family home with a tent, three times the size of my house, equipped with air conditioning and six huge crystal teardrop chandeliers.  There were peonies everywhere alongside full place settings of buttercream china and waterford crystal glasses, wine, and water AND champagne.  The best part about all of this formal, black tie wedding was that at the end they set up a faux diner and served burgers, fries and milkshakes they were hand making on the spot.  I was the help and I had a good time, can’t imagine what the guests were thinking.

Tomorrow I have my internship interview with a local wedding planning studio, fingers crossed on that one.  And of course I have multiple friends getting married this year who seek my advice on all wedding things and this week has been no exception.  If the FBI ever came for my hard drive let me say, they would probably think I was a wedding planner already being how much I search for that perfect decor.  So I was thinking that before I become partially officially one I should share some of my soon to be secrets and post a few of my favorite ideas.  Also, on my own advice, since I have already been a bride, and a bridesmaid oh so many times, it’s only fair that I don’t hoard ideas in the hopes to use them myself one day.  Enjoy!

S’mores Bar

Polaroid Guest Book

Thumbprint Guestbook

Table Decor

Mini Pies

Lantern Blessing

First Look

Rice Krispie Treat Cake

Secret Color

Dessert Food Truck

Coozie Favors

Tequila Toasts

Tattoo Favors

Kissing Family

Seal love letters for your anniversary.

Save the Date Magnet

Thank You Notes

Milk and Cookie Shots

Something Blue

For more ideas follow my board Events and Weddings on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/kate_lossen/events-and-weddings/

Jerry Maguire is my Hero….

Tags

Art, britney spears, Career, Concert, Etsy, Jerry Maguire, Movies, nashville, Nicki Minaj, Tom Cruise

***Disclaimer** Tom Cruise however, is still a douche.

“Our little company had a really big day today.”  Ok, so I’m paraphrasing but it’s true.  Maybe that’s not where I should start though.  This week has been a crazy one, starting last Saturday I feel like I haven’t sat down once.  I, with John (My bro), his best friend and my best friend, who happen to be engaged to each other, and some other great pals went to our local Summerfest.  Whomever, I now have to write a strong worded letter to, that decides what plays to put on chose way, way, way wrong last week.  It was Frankenstein, I believe literally word for word in 19th century dialogue from the book…on a 90 degree night where alcohol is being served…in the dark…on a blanket…get my drift?  It was so incredibly boring, well acted, but boring that I’m not even going to see Rocky Horror tonight and I’ve been waiting for that for over two months.  I can’t take the chance of a repeat, it’s too monstrous a thought.

However, after doing gardening and harvesting some gianormous cucumbers on Sunday, Cait and I trekked to Nashville for Ms. Britney Spears, Monday night.  We started on the strip at Whiskey Bent Saloon, where seriously one of the best singers (Taria), and very entertaining on the side, was letting Caitlin and I treat her like a jukebox and even played Coal Miner’s Daughter.  Bless her heart she didn’t know the words, but Nashville is so darn friendly the bartender came up on stage and sang her through it, and man could she belt it too.  Don’t you just love going somewhere and feeling awed?  That never happens to me, I mean it, the Vatican was even a bore to me and I’m an art lover.  But these little ladies just blew me away, I did not want to leave, even for Britney.  So if you go to Nashville, go on a Monday and see Taria and her band, and then go ask Marie the bartender to give you a few notes too.

And then there was Britney.  Well first there was some catastrophe named Nicki Minaj, but then there was Britney.  I must say I was so impressed, I am not a die hard fan, the last song of hers I knew all the words to I was in middle school.  But she sang, for real, and she danced like a maniac and thank God her body looked just like mine or any of my friends.  Ok, she had extensions, but other than that, she had a little cellulite, a bit of extra this or that here and there, and boy was she gorgeous.  I sure wish you didn’t have to see her in person, and pretty close up, to realize she’s just a regular gal like the rest of us.  On the outside at least, inside no one is regular and that’s all I’ll say out of my new found Britney respect. Unfortunately I don’t have anything exciting like smuggled tigers or great twin mexican dancers this trip, maybe it means we are finally growing up.

And that brings me to my opener of Mr. Maguire.  I left my full time job of three and half years in May to take over my art full time.  I had a boyfriend who was helping support me and was making enough on my own through Etsy to pay the bills.  When I left said job I totally Jerry Maguire memo’d Corporate in my exit letter, and although there was no Bob Sugar showdown, my exit was dramatic enough not to return.  It gives you a sense of make it or break it in a new found way and so I’ve spent the summer working, hard.  Last week I had my Avery moment though when my boyfriend and I broke up, there was no physical punch in the face in my version but definetly a wake up call that it was time to pick up the pace, or go back to the corporate grind.  And “today our small company had a really big day”, hopefully a start to my road to Martha-dom.  We are going to be featured (fingers crossed) in a fantastic magazine this fall, and on top of that I have an interview for an internship at a major Event Planning company that could lead to a career in creativity and still time for my art.  So many people share this dream with me to do something they love, and I don’t want to be one that goes through life just hoping.  I know I have to work hard for it and today was very rewarding in making my goals a reality, one that could be a huge platform for success.  But no, I’m not going to quote Rod Tidwell, if I wanted someone to show me the money I would stay in the cubicle, instead I will leave you with Jerry’s mentor Dicky Fox, and try very hard to remember his words, “I love the mornings! I clap my hands every morning and say, ‘This is gonna be a great day!’.  I said it this morning and I hope to say it everyone after, it may not come easy but I am grabbing the goldfish and saying “Who is coming with me?”.

End of an Era

Tags

britney spears, dementors, eyes wide shut, harry potter, HarryPotter, hermione, hogwarts, JK Rowling, nashville, reba, rocky horror, ron, sorceror, summerfest, wizard

Friday will mark the end of an era for me along with millions of other people.  I suppose with the last installment of Harry Potter coming out I should also finally accept that my invitation to Hogwarts isn’t coming this summer just as it hasn’t for the past twelve summers I’ve waited for it.  I first read The Sorcerer’s Stone my freshman year in highschool and then concurrent titles starting on the day of their release.  I have waited in lines, dressed up in striped scarves and snacked on Bertie’s Beans even when I was far too old to be participating and got more than a few dirty looks from parents.  I’ve waited outside theaters in below freezing weather perfectly willing to take out the toddler in wire frame glasses if it comes down to a ticket in my hand or his.  Of course like everyone else we’ve watched the actors grow up, waited with anxiety that only a cruciatus curse could have equaled to find out who J.K. was going to kill and have savored every moment since last year when He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named signaled the end was coming with the elder wand.

I share this obsession with my best friend Caitlin, who although is in the midst of major wedding planning is dropping everything to prepare with me for Friday.  We have decided to make a week of it and have planned events for after the end in order to keep our spirits high and avoid suicidal thoughts in a world without new Harry.  Monday we are traveling to Nashville to see the one and only Britney, which in itself may be a decent cure if only Cait and I weren’t prone to Hangover type trips.

Last September when we went to Nashville for Reba we got a little too tipsy and wandered into what we thought was a malt shop to use the restroom. Turns out, and this should be a country song title, it ain’t your normal malt shop.  After realizing it was in fact a bar, we stupidly asked why we were the only patrons and why they didn’t advertise.  The owner, named Dom, said the real bar was on the roof, so ignoring all after school specials we had ever seen we decided to go up with him.  On the third floor we stopped to pet his illegal Malaysian snow leopard named Baby (I say this so casually because for some reason Cait and I did not find this unusual until the next day.  I know.) and then once on the roof came to the quick revelation the reason they didn’t advertise was because the bar was a scene from Eyes Wide Shut with people doing things that movie would consider indecent.  Of course we were out of there like snow on a beach but I must say that is probably one of the more normal things that has happened to her and I while out of town together, or even in town if I’m honest.  Either way I am fully hoping for an adventure during and after Britney and promise this year to fully document any smuggled animals* or underground on-goings we happen to find.  On Thursday we are going to Rocky Horror live in our local Summerfest which should be just as entertaining and rather underground itself.

Next weekend, once all the festivities have finished I am sure to go into a deep and dark depression, I will eat lots of chocolate and justify it with dementors only to sink deeper knowing there are no more to come.  Alas I trek on towards Friday in which I will feel very young again and sentimental and also very old at having spent twelve, TWELVE, years of my life worshiping a fantastical world that while may never be real to most will always be part of what made up a huge chunk of my reality.

*I will call the ASPCA this time too!  I can’t believe I didn’t even ask how he got it declawed or what it ate, do you think it eats goats like in Jurassic Park?  I do.

Better Late Than Never….

Tags

beach, craft, diy, food, how to, jersey bracelet, jewelry, Lexington, lossen, Paisley Hill, recipe, salad, summer, tshirt bracelet bracelet

So I took a year off of my very short blogging life.  This time I am committed and ready for the action, you could put a ring on it I’m that dedicated.  Ok well maybe diamonds would be a little more of a deal sealer than knowing that my Mom and a few friends may be the only people to ever read this but alas I will go further anyways.  Easily enough, we’ll get back into the swing of it like riding a bike or knitting after a long hot needle-less summer (yea, right.), and today I think I’ll start off with a how to.  It’s pouring down rain AGAIN, which is strange for Lexington in July but keeping things as green as spring and allowing lots of indoor crafting time for me!  Today I am going to be making jersey bracelets for my Etsy shop, no they aren’t leopard and Snooki probably doesn’t have any, they’re the other jersey as in t-shirts.  Most blogs that demonstrate this addicting craft boast that it’s a way to recycle your old shirts and clean out your closet a bit but I think they’re crazy and know that my t-shirts take up a way too large a portion of my wardrobe storage for a reason, I cherish them.  So instead a quick trip to the fabric store (with a huge July 4th fabric discount thank you) and voila a few yards of any color I want of soft jersey that has nice straight lines to cut from.  And here’s how it goes from there:

Cut strips of the jersey lengthwise making them as long as the fabric, most jersey is 45″ or 60″.  I got a 1/2 yard of each of  the colors I wanted and that makes on average about 10-15 bracelets.  I cut each strip around 1″-1 1/2″ wide, you’ll figure out the width that you prefer a few bracelets into the project.  I like them thick but not too thick and that measurement works perfect for me but to make them smaller you can cut thinner strips, just be careful because jersey shreds at the edges and cut too thin you’ll have nothing but a mess.  Now follow the pictures:

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Hold the ‘tail’ in between your thumb and index finger.  Wrap the strip behind your ring finger, in front of your pinky and back around behind your pinky, then in front of your ring finger and back around both ring and pinky to hold it in the palm of your hand with your thumb.  Confused yet?  It’s easier than you think but I’m going to over document it anyways.

Now take the bottom loop on your ring finger and bring it over the top loop and off your finger, leaving the bottom loop on your finger.  Repeat with pinky finger loops.  Wrap the strip back around your fingers to bring it back to the front of your palm and repeat the loop action.  After the second run pull the tail from your thumb through your pinky and ring finger to come out the back as you work.  Repeat hooking the loops until your bracelet is to the desired length, just remember the jersey stretches so you want to make it slightly smaller than your wrist size.

Once you get it to the length you want, take the rest of the strip and thread it to the two loops that are on your fingers and pull tight.  Now tie the tail end of the bracelet (beginning) to the end in three or four knots until it feels secure.  Finished!  If You are anything like me, make 600 more and enjoy!

Of course I offer these bracelets in my shop and you can purchase them in an array of colors for all you non-crafters or those who just don’t have endless rainy days in a row!  Now to bring some summer into my life I’m going to make a July kind of lunch.  A delicious salad that’s easy and fresh and takes advantage of the gazillion strawberries that came out of my garden.  All it is is spring mix lettuce, sliced strawberries, feta crumbles, walnut pieces and a fruit vinaigrette, I like fat-free Cranberry from Maple Grove Farms that I found at Kroger.  Stir it all together and be ready to indulge, and yes I know it’s a salad and I am a picky eater so when I use the term indulge you know it’s tasty.

Spotlight: Lexington, Kentucky (and the best things close to it)

Tags

Alltech Games, Bourbon, Bourbon Trail, Central Kentucky, Cheapside, Dudley's, equestrian, Equine, FEI Games, horse, Horse Racing, Irish Pub, Joe Bologna's, Keeneland, kentucky, Lexington, Racing, Red River Gorge, Rupp Arena, Thoroughbred, UK Basketball, World Equestrian Games

Next month Lexington, Kentucky, my hometown and current locale, is hosting a huge worldwide event, the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.  It is sort of the Olympics of the Equine world where about 60 countries participate in a variety of events.  Lexington is expecting around 400,000 people to come for the 16-day show, and about 500 million television viewers watching our little town.  To give you an idea our entire normal population is about 296,545 so we’re almost doubling in size with mostly foreigners in September.  If this little blog doesn’t inspire you to come for the games you can see them on NBC or the games website and I’m sure the scenery of The Horse Capital of the World that is Lexington will entice you in a heartbeat and most of these tips will without the games in town as well.

A little history on Lexington.  The town was originally founded in Virginia until 17 years later it became part of the state of Kentucky.  Being founded in 1775 the townspeople proudly named the town after the hard won Battle of Lexington, Massachussetts.  The town has always been upper crust, boasting early on large plantations and prestigous univerities.  Later becoming known for it’s Thoroughbred Farms, racing tradition and now a rock in the fledgling economy supported by it’s diverse job market.  For being somewhat of a small town, if not by population definetly by degrees of seperation, Lexington is a cultural center on it’s own.  It has bragging rights on famous musicians such as The Judds and Vince Gill, actors such as George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Ashley Judd, politicians such as Henry Clay, Jefferson Davis and great hemp activist Gatewood Galbraith, sportsman including Adolph Rupp, Rick Pitino, and David Akers, horses such as Secretariat, Cigar and Smarty Jones, and others like Mary Todd Lincoln, J. Peterman and Henry Earl.  So as you can see there is more than meets the eye to our neck of the woods and a great reason to read on and explore.

I’ll start with places to stay.  Of course we have you’re stationary Marriott, Hyatt, Holiday Inn, etc. but if you’re gonna come down here there are a lot neater spots to hit the hay.  Gratz Park Inn downtown is located on a historic park and has a great restaraunt Jonathan’s attached who even homemakes the ice cream.  The quaint Rose Hill Inn in Versailles (about 10-15 min by car to downtown) that has the feeling of staying in a perfectly decorated dollhouse and also has a restaraunt.  And while the B & B’s are fun if you are coming for the games and can still get a room at them good luck, otherwise try the Hilton Lexington Green, it overlooks a pond and a great seafood restaurant with a patio and cold drinks.  Of course if you are the Queen of England than you would be staying at your own designated room at Lane’s End Farm but if you’re not then feel like her by getting a room at Castle Post.

A Fading Star Leaves A Bright Memory

Tags

Death, Dying, Family, Grandchildren, Grandmother, Grandparents, Heirlooms, Inspiration, Life, Life Cycle, Life Lessons, Martha Stewart

My Grandmother is dying right now, she’s not reproducing blood cells that are vital to life and therefore her body is letting go.  It’s strange because although I have had all three other Grandparents go already this is the first one that is observable really.  My first Grandfather died from a stroke, my second from Alzheimer’s, which was observable but different since his mind left us before he did and my first Grandmother who died of  missing her late husband while sleeping.  This time my Grandmother is alert for the most part, she is also in the lightest of spirits and is being the bravest I’ve ever seen her, or anyone for that matter.  I freak out about dying on an hourly basis, my doctor is on speed dial and I am on a Christmas gifting basis with her and my Nurse I go there so much.   Yet here is a woman who at the end of the journey is calm, collective and damn happy, eating ice cream and sharing memories with her loved ones.  I am very blessed that this is also the woman who has taught me just about everything in my life that I love and in this final lesson gives the greatest of all.  To be afraid of death, or really anything for that matter isn’t what it’s about, it’s having an un-lived life that’s scary.  I have always been grounded so the lesson here for me isn’t about being materialistic or vain it’s about letting go of the should and could and embracing the unknown.  I think the moral here is best said by John Lennon (most things are) that “life is what happens to you while you’re busy living it”.    Watching someone you love die is very strange because you feel bad for yourself losing that person but also for the person because it’s the end of the line.  But if they’ve lived a good life and a loved life it seems to make it somewhat easier on both parties to let go, it’s why when older people die they always say ‘well she lived a good, long life’.  That isn’t actually consoling unless it’s true, and in my grandmother’s case it is, she is leaving a legacy strongly instilled in her children and grandchildren.  She has taught me things that I will pass on to my own and them to theirs, so truly she doesn’t leave us ever and that is the best thought anyone could have about a loved one at any stage of their life.  

Christmas in July

Tags

bag, chair, Christmas, Christmas in July, Christmas movies, christmas music, coffee cups, decorating, Etsy, fox, holiday, Home Alone, Kate Lossen, Movies, Music, ourse, painting, Paisley Hill, picture frame, ring, saratoga, Shopping, toaster, wallpaper

I have a certifiable obsession with Christmas.  I watch Christmas movies year round, for example I am on my third dvd copy of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation from watching it so much.  I got HBO three days ago and have since watched Home Alone every time they’ve showed it.  It’s not just movies that are centered on Christmas, sometimes I will watch a movie because it has a tiny blip of holiday cheer in it for example I love Little Women and consider it a Christmas movie while most would definetly not.  Harry Potter is another one and it’s only because it comes out on Thanksgiving usually and kicks off the Holidays, plus it’s always a good go to for holiday break marathons.  I couldn’t ever name a top Christmas movie but there are definite front runners, all the forementioned of course, plus The Grinch (cartoon not awful Jim Carey version), The Family Man, A Christmas Story, The Santa Clause (1), Elf, Love Actually, Scroodged, Miracle on 34th Street and of course It’s a Wonderful Life.I got proposed to while It’s a Wonderful Life was on, it was the most romantic thing ever, the tree all lit up, stockings hung, fire crackling, I’ve got to give it to the ex-husband on that one, well done.  I think my life would be complete if I could live in the house from Home Alone, although the one from Father of the Bride would do just fine too.  After watching the movie so many times this week I am going to google and youtube rampantly until I know how to reproduce the wallpaper from the hallway in the Mcallister’s house and put it in my own hallway.  I think the wallpaper part should be relatively easy just stamping or screen printing, it’s the glue part that might get tricky, I’ll keep you posted.  Now Christmas music is easier to identify a top 5 or so list, we have two channels that from Thanksgiving on play nothing but holiday music.  Much to the chagrin of the Boyfriend I rock it out and get very depressed when it goes back to 90′s soft rock on the 26th.  

Spotlight: Washington D.C.

This week has been fantastically busy with work.  I am not complaining by any means I love every minute of it but it has gotten me thinking about vacation.  One of my favorite places to head off to is Washington, D.C.  It is not only our nation’s capitol but also where many of our greatest treasures lie.  D.C. is a great place to go on a whim or lower budget because besides the hotel, food and maybe a couple metro tickets practically everything else is free!  So since I cannot go right now I am going to take you through all the great things in our white city and fantasize I am there, even if only for a minute.  There are some really fantastic hotels to stay in downtown that range in price from around $100-way too much a night.  You can also stay outside of the city in places like Silver Springs, MD for a lot cheaper but you will have to either drive (not recommended) or take the metro in and out everyday.  I love the Westin in Downtown, it’s got a pretty good price and the nicest rooms, plus it’s only two blocks from the metro and not that far if you hoof it the whole way to the mall.  Now if you’re going with spending money in mind the Hay Adams is the dream spot to stay, your room comes with a view of the front of the White House, as you can guess it also costs the big bucks and can be hard to book.  I recommend going on the weekends, everyone who works in the city goes home (out of town) so it is quieter and easier to navigate, especially if you are driving.  Their high season is of course the summer and the museum lines can be unbelievable and filled with screaming kids and tired parents.