Tasted Like an Apple Pie

For tonight, am searching all over town to try to find apple pie moonshine; everywhere is out it seems like though! I won't really have time today, but here is the recipe I'll use when I do make it myself (with the Jake Owen song blaring on repeat). Definitely agree with less sugar like used here, too.

Update: went with Appleton's and spiced hot cider; NO ONE HAS APPLE PIE MOONSHINE IN ANNAPOLIS WHYYYYYYY

Vintage Inspiration

Just tonight, someone at happy hour said that I am classic beyond belief. I personally have spent my entire life trying to get away from being stereotyped quite so entirely, but apparently, they had a point. Love the mix of sporty and glamorous.

The Princess (Grace of course)

C.K. Bradley's mother in Gstaad

The other princess (from The Pink Panther)

 Last and for sure not least, absolutely cannot wait til 4am!! If it's another sleepless night, I'll definitely spend it trying to make a fire as best as I can by myself with my limited outdoor skills (for someone who lived outside for two weeks, how!) and gazing out the window.

G.I.

Went along to showings on Gibson Island today, and saw this incredibly nifty cottage. There was even a white picket fence, replete with gate. My kryptonite. It was so perfect; the white-painted floors totally made me want to try them sometime somewhere, but the only thing is that they're so simple that actually everything pops, whether you want it to or not. Clutter is not an option, so if you're feeling motivated to simplify, I would say try painting your floors white. I don't think many people would be able to live with the resulting chaos just from having a normal amount of things in a house. Either way, it was gorgeous and completely worked, and G.I. is such a wonderful, cookie-cutter resort island, its hard (at least for a die-hard Nancy Drew fan) not to love. As you drive around it, all the different areas feel like time capsules into different parts of suburban American history; from the thirties to the eighties. I can completely imagine Nancy frolicking at a social at the club with Bess and George, and maybe Ned Nickerson on a night off from mystery. As usual, please excuse the low-quality iPhone pics.

Requisite Adirondack chair lineup shot

Same room, sweet telescope

I'm pretty sure everyone here is in the same racquet 

Love the painted black steps with the white floors

Finally, Varas in action at Christmas

Poignant

                                        Amazing song

Boxing Day Shopping

After Christmas, it will definitely be months before I can have any fun at all with my wallet (and that's totally contingent on people moving in the new year too, so get on it people, pretty please!). However, if I could, the Reiss sale is epic right now.

Adi

Juana

Bridge

Etta

Also, today was the first real snow this year downtown!! I don't use exclamation points lightly, but that statement required two.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

White Christmas

I love the usual Christmas songs, and "White Christmas" is always beautiful, but these are a little more upbeat (mostly); anyway, my favorite of the more "recent" Christmas songs. Also, it is snowing to the north and to the south (Virginia?) but not here in Annapolis! It does make me a little sad

1. Wham - Last Christmas
2. Transiberian Orchestra - Christmas/Sarajevo
3. The Waitresses - Wrapping Paper
4. The Pretenders - 2000 Miles
5. Alvin and the Chipmunks - Christmas Song
6. *Nsync - Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays
7. Vince Guaraldi Trio - Linus and Lucy
8. The Raveonettes - The Christmas Song
9. Faith Hill - Where are you Christmas
10. Lyndsay Buckingham - Holiday Road (From National Lampoon!)

Quarter Life Crisis

Yesterday I picked up the weekly free itunes gift card from Starbucks, and this time it was a rental for the movie Happy. I wasn't expecting to watch it, but today as I nursed my hangover from last night's annual Eggnog at AYC, I decided to give it a try. One thing I can say with certainty is that these days, happy is not how I would always describe myself. For various reasons, I feel almost completely torn down and overwhelmed. It shows too. When I taught sailing a few years ago as a summer job, all the kids called me "Smiley." Cheesy, but apparently I was always smiling. Lately I don't feel quite as exuberant; circumstances are wearing on me, and I feel kindof frustrated with myself at most given times. One thing that I really picked up on from watching Happy is that people who change their routines often tend to be more cheerful. Also, we tend to have a certain state that we return to after either positive or negative changes, Our happiness resting point can vary from person to person. I would say that my happiness resting point has gone down lately, and I'm thinking I can chalk it up to a quarter life crisis. Things career-wise are a little out of my control, and family and friends are sometimes uncertain as well, just because of silly dramas. As of today, I'm currently on the lookout for all the little things that do make me very happy, even if only for a moment, so I can look on those things and make a positive change in my daily happiness resting point, so I can get this ridiculous mentality balanced, and not be such a worrier. Things currently making me very happy:
1. Today, for the first time since I got my real estate license in August, a friend/peer contacted me asking for help BUYING a house! Exciting!

2. My sexy lace Victoria's Secret dress that I wore last night! Definitely the only one of it's kind there, and I loved every minute of wearing it
3. Christmas shopping for James; it's true that it really is better to give than receive, and I keep coming up with more things that I think he'd love and his big wooden cigar box (my gift wrapping of choice for him) of presents is getting full already in spite of my best efforts to not go overboard this year
4. Going to see family in Montclair this weekend for the Christmas party
5. Thinking about the future, and what I'm really really  hoping it holds for me if I can make it happen!

Team Serena

Gossip Girl last night: best part was without a doubt Blair's wedding dress. I've always been a huge GG fan really only because Serena is my idol, but have never been the type to religiously tune in every Monday night. I mostly save up old episodes, and watch them all in one big dose. It's better that way I think. The glitz is always better in large quantities, that way there's less disappointment after it's over in 3 hours, and not just 40 minutes. However, what I'll miss most of all about this often plotless series will be Serena's style. I always get inspiration after watching my favorite TV blonde, and that will be hard to replace. That said, Dan is Gossip Girl!

Parade of Lights

Last week was the Parade of Lights, but I didn't take any pictures. Here are some courtesy of AYC. My favorite (besides the martini) was the Polar Express tug boat, which was kindof hilarious; the many santas on board wanted to be on the side facing the shore so they could wave, and that train was definitely listing it's way towards capsizing, which you can see a little bit here. The second to last pic here was also a hoot; I'm pretty sure the guys on board made their way over from Davis' to the boat just in time to find out they were somehow in a parade. They looked a little confused as to how they ended up in front of thousands of people, but they went with it clearly!

Santas Ain't Light

Didn't get to see all them together when this happened, but love it in retrospect

Uhhh parade?

Priorities

On another note, I've had this from Korres forever, but have been farrr too lazy to do a mask lately. I'm using it right now, and I've forgotten how good it smells. Definitely going back into rotation; way too effective to keep in the medicine cabinet. I love how my skin looks when I finally do take the time to use it, and rosewater as a toner after is perfect.

TGIF

                            Here's to the freakin' weekend!

Vintage Bean

Wrapping Paper

Extremely jealous of Emily Schuman's gift wrapping closet! Oh, and yes that is a Waitresses song reference in the post title! Click here for the full article at Cupcakes and Cashmere.

Wisdom

"What is it you really want then?" "Real estate."

Apres Red Ants

Rad

Cannot get over how cool this pattern from Neve Designs is. There is also an awesome duffel that almost matches, and the Chamonix pullover is sweet too. The one time I've ever been to the Swiss Alps, I had just been bitten by red ants (which I'm allergic to!) and my foot was completely swollen for at least a month so I couldn't ski even once. This image I'm sure represents very accurately what I missed out on, but the girl would have blonde hair of course. On another note, "Johnny and Mary" by Robert Palmer is stuck in my head. Does this mean something? I googled the lyrics just in case.

Windows

"Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world."
                                                           -George Bernard Shaw

3pm

Belstaff

Epic

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Rue lala

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Ideeli

Gilt (if you join here you get $25 credits immediately!)

Five Mile (for the outdoorsy types)

Newport

One of Many Trees at Viking

Finally home. Newport was beautiful, but it was too short and another week would have been so nice. I'm such a nomad, staying in one place for even a few months gets old so it's always nice to get away from home. And Annapolis is so beautiful at Christmas, but for some reason the Garden Club hasn't done the usual full-scale decorating downtown yet, so comparatively Newport was a wonderland. There was a long North Sails talk on the Volvo to sit through (which was awesome, but I was rightttt under the AC and I felt like I could relate to how cold it can get out there completely) a dinner party after, and we went to Bristol to visit IYRS which was really interesting. Laforge went all out with lights, and sitting there for dinner the first night felt like being under a tree (for some reason my favorite spot ever since I was little) and I would easily camp out there a la Night at the Museum if I could.
This morning we drove out along Ocean Drive, and it is so different from here. We have water, but you never see quite such a large expanse of it as you do off the cliff, and it feels so much wilder there than here. Even with the mansions, cliff walk feels completely untamed if you look out from town and down at the breakers.

Laforge

Newport Update

Just managed to lock myself out of my room at the Viking and James is gone now what a good morning... also last night saw a girl in the exact CK Bradley Hot Dog Jacket I wrote about wanting last week. I got a little jealous.

Leaving Town

Newport til Wednesday!

Sunnybank

Just got home to and yelled for Sunny. There was only a faint bark in reply. I went outside  to find this little monster had snuck outside and was roaming around the neighborhood, having a grand old time sitting on front porches and barking at doors until people answered, while her family was away. Now the dirty look from the neighbors makes sense.

Drunk As a Duck

I've always had a thing for ducks, and this combo of bar acoutrements is getting my feathers all kinds of ruffled. All from Tucknernuck.

They also have ships, which would usually be my obvious choice, but I think I want these  instead. We always had  old duck glasses in the pantry at my grandmother's for drinks when I was little, all lined up under the Boehm ducks and an oriole, just to keep the theme alive.

Perfect

Crabs have always been my Smathers pattern, but this just fits my mood right now.

Buried Under

I don't watch many shows, but currently am hooked on Nashville, and this song in particular

Fitting In

Young Urban Professional vs. Ideal Business Card Picture

Oh boy. Sometimes being a realtor feels like you have to totally stifle all innate personal style in order to succeed. Here in DTA at least, it's edgy when I wear my Ferragamo Varas with J Crew Toothpicks. Frankly, it's kindof scandalous sometimes compared to the circa '83 pantsuits that are somehow still bopping their way around from showing to showing. I love my picture and it definitely looks like me, but it is also intended to help me sell houses. Apparently my whole face looks a little stiff and contrived, and the smile a little forced compared to how I usually am. Also, my grandmothers necklace only comes out on very special occasions. Here is a girl in Chicago who is somehow bridging the gap between personal style and maintaining a professional front, and making it work. She takes it way farther than I would (white Doc Martens... no), but she gives me a little hope that one day I may be able to toss the dress slacks in favor of something a little more flavorful. I'm not exactly a liberal dresser, but should a maroon lip totally kill the deal?

Scandal - But I love it

Creek Life

Sunrise at the end of Southgate 

Life of Pi

Anyone who hasn't seen Life of Pi really should. I was never into Avatar and couldn't even make it halfway through without falling asleep, and apparently this is similar, but this was so good sometimes it was eerie. It was a little like stepping into a futuristic and ersatz photo-realist painting of some kind of crazy trip. I lived for every scene where it would just show the boat in the vast expanse of water, whether it was from under or over or far off on the horizon and you couldn't even tell it was water it was floating in;  they did such a good job with the graphics it was the perfect mix of a weird dreamlike magic and a creepy feeling of loneliness. It made me want to be lost at sea at night, just to experience that otherworldly emptiness that you're in the middle of but not involved in at all.

Some Realtors

Some Realtors

Steve Martin providing the daily lol

Well I Never

Tulane Trending on Twitter Today!

Too Short

Lily For Mazie

Today I just found out that the girl who had the dorm across the hall from me in high school died of Leukemia. We were never close in particular, but the whole school was so small that we all knew everything about each other. Favorite color, every hookup past and present, and whether we were fans of toast before dorm meeting or not. We all had quirks, and we all fit together in our weird ways. You could just never say that you didn't really know someone, because we all had a relationship together, even if it wasn't in the obvious ways. We just had to do so much together in such close quarters that not knowing each other wasn't an option at all. I've lost family before, and friends too, but it's so strange to think that someone who you were in such a close proximity with for such a long time is suddenly just not there anymore.

Wishing and Hoping It All Turns Out

Writing long letters trying to explain how you feel has to be the most exhausting feeling. There is so much to get out, and so much going back and rewriting to make sure such an important thing is right, and says everything you want it to. Just praying I did manage to get everything out, and that it is well received.

Frostbiting!

My Foul Weather Gear Is a Little Fuzzy

Sunday woot woot

Vagueness

A major issue for me lately has been where to compromise, and where to stand my ground. I'm trying to plan my future, or at least make sure that I'm on the "right" path, but at what point does it become a bad idea to just let all your ideals and wishes fall by the wayside just to keep everyone involved happy? Should I be more lax to be happy in the short term, or should I fight for something that I think will be an issue in the future, and not settle for it now, even if it would mean keeping the peace present tense? It needs some kind of decision though, this is making me miserable.

Apres Ski

I just discovered another reason to go West this winter. I've wanted something like these since boarding school, when after school skiing was mandatory, and for me at least the brighter and glitterier (sp??) and more like something that could be construed as one piece the better. With a matching Hot Dog Jacket in parsley... oh my gosh. These will be mine! Too cool, and thank god you can still find C.K. Bradley somewhere, everything from middle and high school is getting a little too loved.

Giving Thanks

St. Anne's

Today, I am thankful for my little nuclear family of my mom, my brother (who is literally the best brother anyone could have) and our ridiculous pomeranian Sunnybank. I'm not always religious, but my family has been going here for holidays and some random Sundays for 50 some years and it's gotten to be a  little bit of a habit. The best part about today: the songs.