....and football

Happy November! I can't believe Thanksgiving is three weeks away. I am very busy for the next couple weeks as Roan teams up with the International Hospital for Children every year for a fashion show and auction. We usually raise around $500,000. It's a wonderful event and I'm very excited because we have a new space for the event this year. It's going to be amazing. I chose all the models for the runway show this week and I will fit them next week. Designers are sending in samples for us to use in the show. It's always stressful but it's for a great cause!
For more information on the International Hospital for Children, please visit www.healachild.org/.

You might have noticed that I changed by blog description to "a little blog about life, love, fashion....and football." I felt the need to add football because my life seems to revolve around love, fashion and football. Now I am no expert on football (although I do sometimes surprise myself). I recently read this article about a VA Tech football player and wanted to share it. At first, it really grossed me out. But now I have nothing but respect for this player...which says a lot considering how much I am trained to hate VA Tech.

Even the loss of a pinkie won't keep him from playing!

You may have also noted that I added a picture to the title of my blog. This is a picture of Jeter swimming in the lake at my mom's house. Every so often I take Jeter out to my mom's (who lives in the country)to go on a nice run. He also gets to take a dip in the lake (which he loves). I took this picture with my cell phone on one of the first cool days of fall. It was so peaceful.

Bin Shopping

Preface:

Twice a year, Victoria's Secret has their "Semi-Annual Sale." This is when I choose to steer clear of any and all Victoria's Secret stores. Why? Because of one thing...the bins. For those of you (men) who have never had to endure one of these sales, you have no idea what I am talking about. You see, all of the sale undergarments are placed in bins by size. The customer must rummage through these bins in an effort to find something appealing in the right shape, size and color. I HATE these bins. There is something about pawing my way through panties and bras that I find very unappealing. I think it's gross.

J.Crew Warehouse Sale:

Today at work, one of my co-workers told me about a *J.Crew Warehouse Sale on West Broad Street. She told me that all merchandise would be 80-90% off. I don't typically shop at J.Crew but at those prices I thought it might be worthwhile. I looked it up on the Richmond Bargains website (if you go to the website you can print off an additional 30% off coupon). As I read about the sale, I became intrigued. Until I saw, "Be prepared to rummage! The inventory is all in boxes on tables and on the floor. It is roughly divided into women’s, men’s, children’s, shoes, and accessories; but gets jumbled up." I shivered. Nonetheless, I called my sister and asked if she would join me on my adventure. So we went...

As I walked into the make-shift store, I saw dozens of women (and some men), long tables, and hundreds of boxes. There was zero organization. In a typical bin, you would find mismatched boots, dozens of pants, a shirt, an ugly skirt, a damaged sweater, and a bathing suit large enough to fit an elephant. Bonnie looked at me with a discerning eye. We armed ourselves with the supplied empty garbage bag and dug in. It was my worst nightmare. After 5 minutes, we almost gave up. But then, a navy dress caught my eye.

In the end, I purchased two J.Crew dresses. The original cost of each dress: $188. The sale cost: $15 (with my coupon). I spent less than $40 on two dresses! You can't even do that at Target!

Was it worth it? Yes. Will I do it again? NO. I love a good sale. But I have to draw the line somewhere. And I guess that line ends with bins.

*If you are interested in this sale, it ends Sunday

Ready for Fall!

Wow...it's been a wonderful summer. I can't believe September is almost over! We've been so busy that it's been difficult to find time to just relax. So I am going to try to get back into my blogging. I really enjoy it and it's fun to reflect back on past posts (not that I've done that lately either).

So here's what I'm looking forward to this Fall:

1. UVA Football Games (especially the tailgates). We have 7 season tickets/parking space so I really have no choice but to LOVE football :)

2. Speaking of football - I now love the NY Jets because their head coach is hilarious and their QB is super cute (not as cute as Noah, duh). Fell in love with them watching Hard Knocks on HBO (Cowboys are still my number one team)

3. Book/Wine Club: 12 of my friends started a book/wine club. One month we read a book and the next month we drink wine (well we drink wine at every meeting but you get the picture). We had our first official "book" meeting at my house last week. We read Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert. I could go on a serious rant about this book but I will refrain. I disagreed with most of what Gilbert said. October is "wine" month but instead of wine we are doing beer in honor of Oktober Fest. Our significant others join us on the "wine" months so I'm sure they will like this meeting :)

4. Whiffle Ball: We just joined a whiffle ball team for the next six weeks. Should be interesting...

5. All the weddings, oyster roasts, engagement parties, wine tastings, and other fun events in the upcoming months!

6. CAPTIVA!!! Our family goes to Captiva, Florida every year for Thanksgiving! I can't wait for a week of fun in the sun with the fam :)

7. Blogging...our at least attempting to get back into it! There are so many things I wish I had written posts about this summer!

Is anyone else bored? Maybe my next post will be a little less dull...

8. I ALMOST FORGOT...GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I'm such a Gleek! Can't wait for this week's episode!

I scream, You scream, We all scream for ICE CREAM!!!!

I KNOW I KNOW! I haven't blogged since March! But this Gbaum has been super busy!! What a wonderful spring/summer full of fun parties/vacations/work/friends/wedding/engagements/etc. It's hard to find the time to sit and reflect on life....

Now that I have 5 minutes to look back on the past few months (at 12:14 AM - I should be in bed since I have to WORK tomorrow)....

one of the BEST wedding presents we received was a ice cream maker...YUM!

Once you put the ingredients in the machine, you have to wait 20-25 minutes for the machine to churn it into WONDERFUL ice cream. And since we just got home for softball, I decided to make ice cream for our family dinner tomorrow night. All you need is the Williams & Sinoma ice cream kit (chocolate of course), half & half, and whipping cream!

BON APPETIT!!!!

Quarter Life Crisis

Before I begin, I want to say that this is a whiny post. I realize there are others in this world much much worse off than me.

My best friend is coming into town next week on her birthday. It's her 25th birthday and I want to do something special. As I thought about, I realized that Noah will be 26 ...and then I realized that I will be 25 (oh the horror). Everyone older than you says, "oh you're so young!" But you don't feel that young anymore. When it rains, my hip hurts from an old dance injury.THAT NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE! My metabolism has slowed WAY down. And before you could blame things on being a teenager or a college student. You could say things like, "It's ok I don't have a plan because I just graduated from college." College is becoming a distant memory and I fear I won't remember at all one day...

Typical college day:

Wake up (late) to watch Regis & Kelly

Go to class in a t-shirt, yoga pants, and a sweatshirt

Exercise

Take a dance class

Eat

Go to another class

Take a nap/watch Oprah or Friends on DVD

Study

Eat

Party

REPEAT

Oh the life...

The only thing I had to worry about was me. Now, I'm lucky if anything is about me. From work, Noah, Jeter, laundry, mortgage, dishes, bills, cooking, cleaning, Junior League, etc., I'm on the bottom of the priority list. Don't get me wrong because I love my life. However, it's hard to transition from little to no responsibilities to a million responsibilities.

LIFE.

That's what life is all about. And even though I find more meaning and joy in my life than I did when I was younger, I can feel my youth slipping away (ok that's being dramatic). I guess I'm just realizing that I need to really think about my future. Everything has been mapped out for me until now. Now it's up to Noah and me to plan for our future. Sounds simple in theory but I have absolutely no idea which path to take. I really don't. It's frustrating and confusing. Should I go back to school? What should I go back to school for? When does Noah want to go back to school? When should we try to have kids? When should we get another dog? (most important question in my mind right now haha) You want to do something meaningful with your life.

At the end of the day, I need to remind myself that Noah, Jeter and I are healthy and happy and we have wonderful (and supportive) parents.

And if that doesn't make me feel better, I will count down the days until our next vacation...

Football and Chocolate

Tomorrow is February 1st. For the women, that means Valentine's day is right around the corner. And for the men, the Super Bowl is so close they can taste it (6 days, 21 hours, 59 minutes, and 36 seconds). February combines Noah's favorite thing (football) and my favorite thing (chocolate). It's a good month for the Greenbaums. I have to admit, I'm excited for Valentine's day and the Super Bowl. I haven't decided which team I want to win. I love the Manning brothers (those Oreo commercials crack me up) but New Orleans deserves a win!

Once again, I can't believe how quickly time flies. Where did January go???

Ten random things from January 2010:

1. I love snow (but only for 24 hours- then I'm over it)

2. I've decided that one day I want to live where it never gets below 70 degrees

3. I love the color we painted our living room!

4. Don't attempt to paint your living room whilst hungover

4a. I will no longer be drinking martinis

5. There are some really good, new restaurants in Richmond - Ballicaux (get the salmon) and The Republic (get the macaroni appetizer)

6. My best friend, Sally, introduced me to Three Dogs Bakery (in Stony Point Fashion Park) and bought Jeter a doggy cookie (which he thoroughly enjoyed)

7. Noah and I have become obsessed with the Tudors and 30 Rock (Literally OBSESSED) I tell everyone I know that they have to watch the Tudors. Only one problem...Since it is historically based, you know what's going to happen. But when Anne Boleyn is beheaded, you can't help but cry your eyes out.

8. I've started making smoothies and find myself addicted to them (So easy- 1/2cup of ice, 1 Yoplait low fat Strawberry yogurt, and a banana or 1/2cup ice, 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup milk, a banana, and 1 T. honey)

9. I suck at dodgeball

10. I haven't stuck to ANY of my "New Year's Resolutions" and, to be honest, can't even remember what most of them were...

Pay it Forward...

I honestly don't know what has gotten into me. I've always been a hopeless romantic but lately I've become even more sappy and sentimental. So here is another one of my touchy feely posts...

My friend got married last week and I am so excited for her! I wrote her a little congratulatory message and she replied, "It's honestly been so busy! We haven't had a second besides the honeymoon to feel like we're married!"

This statement could not be more true. Before you get married you devote every waking moment to planning and preparing for the wedding. You keep thinking, "what am I going to do with all my time after this wedding?" And then...BAM! You're married and you are somehow MORE busy than you were before. You barely have a moment to catch your breath.

So here we are 8 months into marriage and I think, "where did all that time go?"
(warning...SAPPY MOMENTS AHEAD) That is why you have to appreciate everyday.

I have a story to tell you. It makes me take a step back and think about the things that are truly important...

My sister went to the University of Alabama. One weekend she decided to drive to Atlanta to see some friends at UGA. Knowing my mom wouldn't want her driving alone at night, Bonnie promised her she would leave Saturday morning. Not Bonnie...she decided to embark on her little journey on Friday night. Half way through her drive, she stops for gas only to realize her entire purse was back at school. So there she was in the middle of nowheresville, alone, and with no money. There wasn't much she could do even though her friends offered to come pick her up. Feeling lost and helpless, she gets into her car and starts to cry.

Just as she is about to give up, a man knocks on her car window (at this point I would be totally freaked out and ready to call 911). Not Bonnie...she rolls down her window. The man says, "My family and I can see that you are in trouble."Bonnie starts to cry hysterically and tells the man her entire dilemma. Not only does the man fill up her gas tank AND give her $100 in cash, he won't give Bonnie any information. Bonnie begs him until he gives her a business card. He says, "I don't want any money. I just want you to pay it forward."

Bonnie wrote him a thank you note and included a check to reimburse the man. He never cashed the check...

Bonnie had her chance to "pay it forward" over Christmas break. A man from out of town was parked outside Bonnie's place of work. On her lunch break, she saw that the man was clearly distressed. He had locked his keys in his car and couldn't afford to call a lock smith. Not from Richmond, he didn't have anyone to call for help. After lunch, the man was still trying to get into his car. Bonnie knew she had to help him. She called and paid a lock smith to open his car. The man said to Bonnie, "you have no idea what you have done for me."

Bonnie replied, "Oh yes I do...just remember to pay it forward."

There were plenty of people who saw this man in trouble but only Bonnie felt the need to help. She probably wouln't have if it weren't for the man who helped her. We are all busy but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take the time to help others in need.

That is so hot right now...

My first fashion post of the decade!

There are 2 things that are "so hot right now".....Purple and Ombre. For those of you who don't know what ombre is:

Ombre: n. a French term meaning "shaded." Usually a multicolored stripe that fades from light to dark. (fabsugar.com)

Ombre hit the runways in spring of 2009 and has been "so in" ever since! From Lela Rose to Oscar de la Renta, these designers can't get enough OMBRE!

You know what else is so chic this season??? The color PURPLE! Look at this cute Tibi resort 2010 dress:

But which designer combined these trends into one amazing look? Duh, Nike! Look at this uniform:

I mean those ombre pants paired with the purple jersey. TCU, you are one fashionable team!!!

There is one other piece that is essential to everyone's wardrobe right now. My mother got one for Christmas and I am sooo jelous! I want a pink one!

But please, don't take take this trend too far:

I mean that's just wrong...