Kirsten

So for the second time in my life, I had the pleasure of running into Kirsten Dunst. She was at Jessie Baylin's Los Angeles show at the Troubadour, and she looked absolutely stunning. Seriously, she has the most beautiful skin I have ever seen. I wish I had told her how much I admire her work, but I always hate it when people go up to celebrities and do stuff like that. I felt so bad for her a few years ago when I saw her for the first time at a Rooney concert. All she wanted to do was stand in the back and dance, yet tons of girls kept going up to her until she eventually just gave up and went backstage.

Oh, the life of a Hollywood actress.

I'm re-decorating our office with a French theme on Spring Break, and I cannot wait to hang up my big Marie Antoinette poster. Kiki, I loves ya.

One Week In.

Over the weekend, I took the time to look over the new year's resolutions last I had made last year. I have to admit...I got a little depressed. I'm just really not good at trying to live up to a number of specific goals that I make. And when I know that I am slipping, it just makes me sad. So I give up.

This year my resolutions are much more general and simple. I'm hoping that this time next year I'll be able to look back with a sense of satisfaction. My three goals this year are:

1) Try to be more active
2) Remember to make time for myself
3) Live in the moment

Have you made any resolutions for the new year yet, or are you ahead of me and already accomplishing yours?

Who's That Girl??

Being sick in bed the past few days with an awful sinus infection has given me quite a bit of time to reflect on things so far in my life. As my twenties are drawing to a rapid close (I turn 30 on Thursday), I have mixed feelings. I actually feel relieved to be putting these years behind me. The girl you see below allowed herself to be treated pretty badly. It was somewhat numbing to stay in a relationship with a man who had cheated on me considering that I had been adamant about never allowing myself to be treated in such a way. And yet, I was so obsessed with my first love that I let myself be talked down to and taken advantage of. I was so into the music he created that I just couldn't imagine leaving him.

I can never thank that man enough for breaking up with me and moving rapidly onto the woman who is now actually his wife. While the two of them started their relationship with lies and cheating, I was set free. And thank goodness. It gave me the wake-up call I needed. It set me on a path towards the man who is truly my equal in every sense of the word.

My late twenties saw me falling in love with my match, getting married, and exploring the world. Though I no longer have songs written about me, I have someone who I know cares about me more than anything else in the world. And besides sharing that feeling with my mom, it's something I have never had before. My husband is the man I know I'm growing to grow old with, and he's opened me up to so much in the world. I will never be able to thank him enough for that.

As for me, I think I've grown a bit more patient and wise. I've learned to appreciate what really matters. So...







...goodbye twenties. Though we did have some good times in your later years, I am two-stepping my way into my thirties (after I'm over this cold).

A Beekman Obsession

So it's no secret that I am obsessed with the Beekman Boys. In fact, on our East Coast trip not only did I drive out to the Beekman 1802 store in Sharon Springs...







...but I also tracked Brent and Josh down at a local fair and had my picture taken with them.



So when I found out they were going to be doing a book tour for their new "Beekman 1802 Heirloom Recipie Cookbook," there was no doubt that I was going to show up. The husband was a trooper, and he accompanied me once again to meet them at the Williams and Sonoma shop in Beverly Hills.





And though the guys didn't recognize the opera shawl I had purchased at their store, I still love them to death. They are so incredibly nice and sweet whenever they meet their fans. And I cannot say enough about the cookbook. Please, do yourself a favor and go out and purchase one for your family. Not only is it the most exquisitely photographed cookbook I have ever seen (and the typography is to die for), but it is so personal. They've actually included cards that you can write your own family's recipes in the book. It is truly something I will be able to pass on to my children.

And the recipes are scrumptious...you couldn't expect anything else from them.

Let the Games Commence!

I hope you are having a lovely Halloween. My student government class actually made last Friday our Costume Day, so I kept with my tradition of literary figures and rocked my very own Katniss from "The Hunger Games" outfit.




It was so cute to hear students say, "Oh my gosh, you're Katniss!" On the other hand, I totally had a mean girls experience with some of my "friends" (who I now think of as just colleagues). Imagine my surprise to finally get into the dance after taking tickets at the front to see all of my friends, including three of our new teachers, dressed up in matching P.E. outfits. I swear, my jaw just about hit the floor. I literally felt like I was back in middle school when you think you're in with a certain group only to have them go do something that completely leaves you out.

Surprisingly, I rebounded pretty quick. I'd had my own suspicions about how genuine these people really are, and now I know. Funny enough, I'd rather spend time with my dogs.

Life lessons at a middle school dance. Live and learn

Tempting Thursdays

If money were no object, I'd be buying...



Cashmere cable sweaters from J Crew...



Le Creuset Signature Deep Sauté Pans in Ocean...



brown Intyce boots from Steve Madden to replace my worn down faux Target ones.

BTW, Justin Timerlake is finally in a movie that actually looks decent! Has anyone seen the trailer for "In Time"?

Mindful Mondays

Wow, September just shot by me. I find it sad that I had to get sick in order to find time to blog. I'm re-organizing how I post in hopes that it'll help motivate me to post...if that makes any sense at all.

Mondays are now "Mindful Mondays;" they're a chance for me to reflect on any ol' thing I want. And right now, I wish I was as happy and healthy as I was in the video I posted below. Instead, I'm fighting off a cold.

This video contains snippets of the vows the husband and I said to each other on our three year anniversary at Peacefield, John Adams' house. I have a sob story about how a friend of my husband's forgot to put in a new blank tape when he was recording our wedding, so the vows were never recorded.

Somehow, doing this three years later made it much more personal and intimate. It was just us, and we were at such a special place. It truly meant the world to me. I'm going to edit this together with the parts of our wedding that did get recorded, so we'll have a little something.