After this selfie in a Lilly Pulitzer frock got a whole heck of a lot of attention (for me), my followers list almost doubled. I want to apologize in advance, because I’m not actually a Lilly blogger. I’m fairly new to the brand and definitely like to showcase what I have here and there… but otherwise, I think I may disappoint you 😦
That said, I am kind of obsessed with it these days, so maybe I’ll have more to share with you than I think!
What a fun weekend down in Surf City! I’m glad the week is over though. With family and friends in town since last Sunday, all while sick and working, I am beat! I woke up at 3:30 AM this morning to see off a friend catching an early morning flight, so I am chugging the coffee and pounding the vitamins to keep from relapsing…
On another note, this is my last full week at the Chamber. I am sad to leave, but more ready than ever at this point. The mental detachment phase is fairly complete, and I have “senioritis” like none other! I’ve transitioned all my work to my replacement by now, so I pretty much just putz around. I have a lot of meetings this week though, so it shouldn’t drag too much. Regardless – I’m excited for one more week’s pay, no matter how slow it is! 😉
I’ve come to the realization that the EuroTrip I’ve been planning is a bit ambitious, particularly in terms of finances. I just completed a very generic summation of what it would cost to carry out my wonderful itinerary, and it was over $8k. Granted, I overestimated everything just to be safe, but it pretty much only included flights, hotels, and a few of the bigger train rides. Throw in meals and museum passes and other miscellany, and we’re probably looking at around (or even over) 10 grand, if we’re not careful!
Unfortunately, we’re not quite in the position to go on a $10k vacation. …Yet 🙂
So now I have to decide where to cut. I could eliminate some portions of both France and Italy (but still get to see both countries), or just pick one country to see a little more thoroughly, and save the other for another time. I have anxiety that we won’t ever have such a great opportunity to fly over there again (until we’re old), but I need to stop being so paranoid about that.
Today I get a call from Chuck at work, and he’s telling me how Annie escaped outside and he’s been looking all over and he can’t find her anywhere. I tell him to try calling her name up and down the street and hopefully she will come, since she’s fairly responsive to that.
I get home all ready to go help him look for her, and Chuck is like, “I have no idea where she went. I checked the whole house and I walked around the neighborhood twice calling for her and she wouldn’t come.”
Who walks out of the bedroom at that very moment, but the Bean herself, looking at us both like we are the biggest fools. Chuck’s face was priceless – from adorably distraught, to adorably flabbergasted. Annie’s expression was purely haughty and freshly cat-napped.
Anyway, you’d probably have to be there… but it gave us a good laugh. 🙂
Last night was lovely. Chuck and I were due to meet my friend from DC later in the evening, so we turned the earlier part into date night. First I went to the Lilly store and he helped me pick out not one, but TWO dresses (so unnecessary, but they are cute and will get lots of wear!) and browsed Williams-Sonoma before sitting down to a nice dinner at Circa 1922 downtown – a favorite we hadn’t been to since we first moved here. It was delicious.
For dessert we hit up the famed Kilwins Chocolate and Ice Cream Shoppe, and leisurely shared a giant fudge brownie waffle cone while taking in the gorgeous view I captured above. The humidity killed my curls (back down to stick straight, I’m telling you) but it was just balmy enough as the sun went down to enjoy the Riverwalk through Downtown. Cape Fear sure is beautiful.
For those of you who were wondering, I got my speeding ticket reduced to 9mph over (about what it should have been in the first place), which means no points for me – even if I still had to pay. Seriously though, what a racket!
Anyway, the office closes at 12:30 today and I am ready for a fun weekend. Chuck’s family rented a beach house for the next week, so we will see them plus my friend Laura, who will be in town for the weekend visiting her mom. I think we’ll meet her and her fiance downtown for drinks Saturday night. I always love seeing Laura.
In other news, while hanging out at the courtroom all morning, I caught up on my Rick Steve’s Italy Guide and read all about Lake Como. Coincidentally, I also found a gorgeous photo of this scenic spot on Pinterest (which I promptly pinned to my Bucket List board, of course.) It is rather out of the way for my current itinerary, but now I want to find a way to work it in… it looks so amazing!
There are a few people in my life who view my relationship a certain way because they don’t understand military life. Specifically, they hint that Chuck’s service and deploying is an affront to me, like he doesn’t really care that much about my wants and needs, and doesn’t mind leaving me. In other words, if he “really loved me”, he wouldn’t put me through X, Y, and Z. As if I don’t have enough to over-think when it comes to military life and deployments already… oy vey.
It’s just one more example of an unintentionally non-supportive comment people make that I wanted to briefly vent about here. I know they are just watching out for me and my interests, which is so nice, but it’s not quite like that (I hope 🙂 )
On a lighter note, Chuck has officially been home for 1 week, and it’s been so much fun! I’m still getting used to coming home from work and he’s there, or waking up in the morning and he’s there. Not sick of each other yet 😉
I was headed to enjoy one of my last paychecks by splurging a bit over lunch… and got a speeding ticket instead. Of course, I promptly turned around and swallowed the tragic fact that my shopping budget for this month is no more. It’s my second speeding ticket (ever, but both in NC), so I feel like it will be pricey.
To make matters worse, my mandatory court date is scheduled for after my move to Georgia… so the County Clerk said something about showing up at 8 AM tomorrow. Maybe that means I can just pay it then and get it over with? I don’t even think I was going as fast as the cop said I was… or my odometer is about 7 mph off!
So depressed….
My actual list is HUGE, but here’s what I’m thinking for the realistic, foreseeable future:
For the slightly (ha!) more distant future… aka, “let’s see how Life goes…”
Throw in a few Caribbean islands for the “relaxing” sorts of vacations too – i.e., the Bahamas and Jamaica’s of the world – and I’ll be set 🙂
For goodness sake, could this day go ANY slower?! Hurry up, 5 PM…
Wildflowers & Whimsy 