daily randoms.

1. Saw Wilco last night, and oh. my. god. SUCH a good show. Jeff Tweedy was actually smiling, laughing, and talking to the crowd! Last time I saw them (Summer '07 at Merriweather) I don't think he said one word to the audience. It may have been the more intimate setting of the 9:30 Club that allowed for the interaction, but I absolutely loved it. He's much funnier than I expected and spent a lot of time making fun of some morons in the front who were obviously talking during the show. The set list was fantastic, as they looked over prior set lists from DC shows and played stuff that they normally don't play. Faaaabulous. The only song I didn't hear that I was waiting for was "Heavy Metal Drummer," but I heard that at Merriweather so I'll let it slide.

In fact, if you're a Wilco fan, you can listen to the whole show (trust me, it's good) here.

2. I just made an absolutely ridiculous impulse purchase. Damn you, woot.com! I'm pretty excited about my new gadget though..... a roooooooooooooomba! My first robot. Awwwww. I can't wait to set it in the morning and come home to a dustbunny free house. I think I'm going to just walk around saying "roomba" all day. Roooomba. Roooooooooooomba. Such a fun word!

3. I leave for Florida TOMORROW. Good lord I cannot wait. It's looking like mid-70's all weekend and I better come back with a sunburn. I'm in desperate need of a vacay and this fantastic bachelorette party/girls weekend will be perfecto.

I hope you all have fantastic weekend plans ahead!

this is the best they've got?

After the loss of the Golden Globes this year I was traumatized, but I assumed that the stars and all of the other powers at be would really pull it out for the Oscars. Alas, I was obviously let down by last night's performance.

Before we get to the fashion (or lack thereof) I just want to say how incredibly freaking happy I am that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova won. I am so so so obsessed with Once, as I am with the Frames, and this was (in my opinion) the only truly original song up for the award. I had it on repeat for about 2 weeks straight after seeing the movie and never got sick of it. After crying along to their performance, I could hardly stay in my seat when they won. Their acceptance speeches (thanks to Mr. Stewart for letting Marketa say her piece) were genuine and heartfelt. Congrats congrats!

Ok, now to the dresses. I was, in a word, underwhelemed. Apparently the only color choices this year were black, red, and metallics. What, is there a shortage of dyes at the moment? No one could muster a springtime palette, maybe even just a jewel tone? Is it really that hard to step a wee bit out of the box?

Here are my top picks from the evening:

Marion Cotillard in Jean Paul Gaultier.
Although I wasn't wowed by this dress on the red carpet, I thought it was much more stunning when she got on stage with all of the lights on her. It was one of the few truly special dresses I saw all night.

Jennifer Garner in Oscar de la Renta.
The dress didn't do much for me: just a pretty simple black strapless gown. Plus Jen loses major points from me for gushing about Rachel Zoe and her skills as a stylist. Ugh. On the plus side, Jen's hair and makeup is perfection and I am obsessed with the vintage necklace she's wearing.

Nicole Kidman.
Again the dress was nothing special... I even thought it was a good inch too short. Still, this necklace is faaaaantastic and worthy of a mention.

Eva Herzigova at the Elton John afterparty.
I just loved the soft yellow color and the ruffle along the side. Very architectural yet still soft. I'm not a big fan of her hair and makeup, but the dress more than makes up for it.

And now for the worst:

George Clooney and Sarah Larson.
Yes, of course George looks dreamy as always in his classic tux. But that arm candy is just nasty. I'm not sure what she was thinking when she picked out this pastel disaster that smacks of early-80's bedroom drapery, but if she's going to be on his arm, she really needs to step it up.

Cameron Diaz.
You would think that with all of the people that are involved with getting the ladies ready for this night, someone would have thought to press the dress before Cameron hit the red carpet. The wrinkles are just awful and the dress just isn't good enough to be fabulous despite them.

Petra Nemcova at Elton John's afterparty.
Eeeeeeeeeeeeek. Why is she so blonde? And so fake tanned? And so... yellow and shiny. This is all so very very wrong. The dress is gross, the red lips are awful on her, and there's just nothing worse than the slicked back dirty looking hair. Oh Petra, this is wrong. So very very wrong.

Lindsay Lohan and Sharon Stone.
I just don't think anything else needs to be said here, do you?

handbag orgasm.

Okay, so after constructing the last post and finding the insanely beautiful Valentino bag, I looked over his entire collection and.... oh. my. god.

I've never viewed myself as a huge handbag person. Sure, I like them, but I've never felt the need for the uber expensive ones. I'm picky as far as size and shape and I really really hate logos. Despise them, in fact. Ugh. But that's about all I cared about. Until I saw these.

But if anyone would like to purchase a piece of this collection for me, or even just to let me touch/drool over/be in complete awe of occasionally, I'd love you forever.

And now, for your viewing pleasure:

Python Bow Clutch: $1,295.00

Patent Leather Histoire: $1,795.00

Patent Side Bow Tote: $1,795.00

Straw and Patent Histoire Bag: $1,795.00

Nuage Bow Bag: $1,895.00

And just in case you didn't get enough Valentino:

Bow Peep-Toe Pump: $695.00

Gathered One-Shoulder Dress: $4,780.00 (the definition of a fabulous 80's comeback)

wishlist.

Just because this time next week I will be out of this gross ice and on my way to Palm Beach! Finally!

Madison Marcus Funnel Neck Sleeveless Blouse. $195 at shopbop.com

Kenneth Jay Lane Cabochon Earrings. $66 at shopbop.com

Piazza Sempione Organza Honeycomb Skirt. $895 at saks.com

Valentino Zebra Histoire. $2,495 at bergdorfgoodman.com
Via Spiga Monica Perforated Flat. $175 at bloomingdales.com

Two Tone Dress. $292 at builtbywendy.com

Abaeta Rita Two Tone Strapless Dress. $485 at bloomingdales.com
(hat tip to Beth and Jenna for finding this beauty!)

Hale Bob Tie Neck Top. $158 at nordstrom.com

holiday! celebrate!

This post is long overdue, as the holiday weekend is several days past, but I'm not feeling creative and you people keep demanding posts from me. What am I? Your writing slave? Here to keep you mildly entertained? Distract you for 5 minutes from the mind-numbing work you have to do? That's it? That's exactly it, isn't it? Well, I'm glad we're on the same page.

I'll just make this an incredibly long, somewhat boring, rambling post that you'll get sick of 1/3 of the way through. That way you can revisit it, maybe.

I, like most of my DC brethren, had Monday off, so we could all celebrate our 43 42 fabulous presidents. This isn't a popular holiday, one mainly celebrated in DC as it's a federal holiday. Hooray for the lazy government!

The gloriousness of a 3 day weekend really can't be put in to words. Sundays are usually ruined by thoughts of Monday hanging over your head and the killer hangover from Saturday night. But no, my friends, on a 3 day weekend, Monday is there just waiting for you to fill it with fun. Sadly for me I never have full weekends due to the 2nd job, so to have 2 FULL days off was a real treat. And man oh man, I took advantage.

A play-by-play (because you all care about my life so deeply):

Friday:
3:30 PM: Head down to campus for ridiculous meeting.
4:12 PM: Fall asleep in said meeting.
4:35 PM: Leave meeting, go straight to brand new cupcake shop.
5:00 PM: Leave cupcake shop with 3 little bits of goodness in tow.
5:05 PM: Arrive at the boutique, catch up with the fabulous Jayne, and eat said cupcakes.
6:25 PM: Sell $1500 worth of clothes to really cute lady. Thanks, really cute lady!
7:05 PM: Leave boutique, hitch a ride home with Jayne.
7:15 PM: Change in to sweatpants, watch way too many episodes of What Not to Wear, enjoy utter fabulousness of a good night in with Bex.
10:30 PM: Get snuggly in bed, finish reading The Other Boleyn Girl (Elizabethan England smut that I would highly recommend) and fall asleep early!

Saturday:
8:00 AM: Wake up, think about going for a run, hit the snooze button.
9:30 AM: Wake up, for real this time.... eh, hit snooze button.
10:00 AM: Wake up, get in shower, realize I am very very late to work.
11:00 AM: Arrive at the boutique, thanks to Bex's carpooling skillz. Hang out at the boutique, catch up on girl talk, sell nothing.
4:30 PM: Head to H&M in hopes of finding hot outfit, leave utterly dissapointed.
5:30 PM: Take powernap in preparation of shenanigans.
7:00 PM: Apply eyeliner.
7:08 PM: Still applying eyeliner. When in doubt, more never hurts.
8:00 PM: Leave house to hit up open bar happy hour. Take the bus with Bex. Yeah, we're that classy.
8:15 PM: Arrive at open bar. Order gin and tonic.
8:25 PM: Scream over really bad DJ. Order gin and tonic.
8:40 PM: Make fun of the girl at the bar in pearls and a sweater set. Order gin and tonic.
9:12 PM: Wait in ridiculous line for bathroom. Meet absolutely new BFF, Bettina. Talk about how stupid boys are except for their ability to go to the bathroom a lot quicker than us.
9:47 PM: Order gin and tonic.
10:05 PM: Don't even need to order, bartender just hands me a gin and tonic.
10:18 PM: Back in the bathroom line, make new BFFs that say things like "Ohhh, what school do you go to?" Make awkward conversation about how old I am. Vow to never come to this bar again.
10:34 PM: Open bar is almost over! Order gin and tonic.
10:47 PM: Hmm... no, I'd rather not make out with you in front of all of my friends, thank you. Not right now.
10:55 PM: Must. get. one. more. drink.
11:05 PM: On to another bar!!
11:12 PM: Arrive at Mr. Smith's. Guys get meaty and start yelling. Narrowly avoid huge brawl with giant men.
11:16 PM: Arrive at Old Glory. Ohhh, Old Glory. So many... umm.. memories.
11:43 PM: Oh, you're recently divorced? No big deal. Really, not at all.
12:48 AM: Need food. Need food. Need food. JOHNNY ROCKET'S!
1:57 AM: We're home! How did that happen? I love you, Bex. No, really. I LOOOOVE you.

Sunday:
7:07 AM: Must. Get. Water.
9:24 AM: Yep, going to stay in bed a bit longer.
11:17 AM: Not getting out yet.
11:34 AM: Use 273 cotton swabs in an attempt to get eye makeup off. Concede defeat.
11:47 AM: Bex, you want brunch? Thank GOD.
12:13 PM: Arrive at brunch spot, hydrate at local convenience store while we wait.
12:48 PM: CHICKEN AND WAFFLES, CHICKEN AND WAFFLES.
1:54 PM: Oh my god. Never eating again. So full. Let's drive to Rockville.
2:15 PM: Mani/pedi woman I LOVE you!
4:17 PM: This is the biggest, craziest, most suburban Target I've ever seen. Rockville is a weird weird place.
5:35 PM: Oooh, salad I love you. I've never wanted vegetables so badly.
6:15 PM: Whoever made it possible for me to get beer and Swedish Fish at the movie theater, I love you.

Monday:
10:07 AM: Bed just a wee bit longer.
10:51 AM: Whoa, the sun is out! Oh my god, so much fried chicken. Must go running.
11:12 AM: Whoa! It's 75 degrees outside, I think I'll run to the zoo.
11:32 AM: So. out. of. shape. Zoo. is. far.
12:38 PM: So fresh and so clean, clean. So excited to be wearing spring clothes! Open toed shoes, shirt dress.... I love it! Off to meet the boy in AMo!
1:12 PM: Hmm, it's getting a little chilly. I see a raincloud. Ok, we'll walk to Columbia Heights.
1:33 PM: TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR!
1:48 PM: Let's get on the metro and just go somewhere. I'm cold and wet and not so happy with myself.
2:31 PM: Freaking metro delays. Ugh. At least we're out of the rain.
2:43 PM: Let's check out Colbert at the Portrait Gallery!3:48 PM: Oh my god, it's freeezing. Back to the apartment.
4:36 PM: You really want to leave? I know it's sunny again, but COLD. Wearing SANDALS.
5:12 PM: I heart dollar racks of CDs. I totally needed these old school jams again.
6:32 PM: Oh The Diner, how I love your grilled cheese sandwiches.
7:28 PM: Back to the apartment. Warmth. Why is your On-Demand so much better than ours? Yes, let's watch hours of some new fangled Showtime shows and play addictive computer games, cause we're big nerds like that.
11:35 PM: Ahhh... back home. Perfect, perfect weekend. Le sigh.

i'm irish catholic, heavy on the irish.

So today is Ash Wednesday. The beginning of Lent. Time to make some sacrifices.

In the past I've attempted to give up chocolate, caffeine, french fries, alcohol (haha), buying clothes (haha again) and a whole host of other can't-live-withouts. I understand that it's supposed to be a sacrifice, but it's always been a problem because my Mom's bday, my brother's bday, spring break, and ST. PATRICK'S DAY all fall within Lent. I'm no saint. I'm Irish. St. Patrick's Day is a day without rules except one: you must be drunk off your ass. Duh.

I thought long and hard about what I would give up this Lent. Eating lunch out? No, I need the fresh air, and walking places is "exercise." I thought about doing something a bit more sensitive, like vowing to stop criticizing myself and others. I did the math and realized I'll be PMSing twice during Lent, so that's definitely a no-go. I thought and thought about what I really needed/wanted, what would de-stress my life yet it still under my control.

Well kids, that's money. I want it, don't have it, spend too much of it. I started out with the vague idea of cutting out "frivolous" spending. We all know how quickly that would be broken. I need defined rules, numbers, deadlines. So, here it is, written down for all to see:

By Easter, I will:

1. Have enough money saved to buy a laptop, or will have already bought it.

2. Have paid my credit card down by $500.

3. Track my spending/saving on http://www.mint.com/ (one of my new favorite websites).

Look at me, being responsible!

Oh, and if you thought this post was kind of twilight zone-y/not Kiki.... I'll leave you with this:

And if you don't think this goes along with my whole "savings" plan.... I'll just inform you that KING KONG beers (they're about the size of your head) are a mere $2.75. Think about the savings!! You better be there!!

ps: thanks so much to Deutlich and Heidi for putting this together. It's gonna be off the chain!

hello!

I did not fall in a hole.
I did not leave the country with no return ticket.
I did not get a sex change operation.
I did not go to Vegas and elope with a random stranger.
I was not abducted by extra-terrestrials.
I did not join the Peace Corps to "fight the good fight."
I did not have all of my fingers amputated.
I did not get a puppy (boo!).
I was not deported to Uzbekistan.
I did not get a boob job.
I did not wear the black Reeboks and drink the Kool-Aid.

Just wanted to clear that up, because I know that's what y'all were thinking.

Instead:
I started a new job.
I re-started an old job (eek!).
I went on adventures.
I said goodbye to Nanny.
I bought records... actual vinyl records.
I had my first experience with flight cancellations (grrrr...).
I became fully obsessed with Buck Hunter, even though I'm awful at it.
I lost 6 lbs.
I owned Marc Jacobs pumps. For a fleeting 2 weeks (they're being returned tonight- boo).
I finished Felicity, Sophomore Season.
I went into a Target and didn't buy ANYTHING.
I took a prairie fire shot and amazingly didn't vomit.

Mostly good things.

In short, I'm back.

Hi.