where the blogway meets the runway it's a small, small world

**enter here to win a $50 gift card from Tiny Prints!**

One fun fact about Washington is that you can bump into strangers on the street and hours later find yourself sharing secrets over dinner.  Now this doesn't happen every night, but in my years here it's happened a few times, and that's where today's story picks up.  Last night.

I was solo at Bloomingdales for a charity fashion show (which you can read more about over at Fedscoop!). Going to events alone makes me nervous and socially awkward so when through a cluster of geeks and glamazons I saw the familiar face of someone I "know" but have never met - MCW from Saving the Best for Last blog - I was thrilled!

When we locked eyes MCW rebuffed the gentleman vying for her attention by telling him she'd just seen an old friend. HAAA.

We've been reading each other's blogs for a while, even meaning to meet up for drinks. Life just kept getting the way. Until...life suddenly imitated Anna Wintour and landed us front and center beside the runway.  I call this The Devil Wears Forever 21......(cause that's where I bought my sunglasses). 

I mean, how often do you meet people who'll play Posh with you by pose-harding for sport? 

MCW was there with Landlocked Mermaid (center above; she blogs privately). Before we knew it the three of us were shopping for lip-gloss before gossiping over a late night dinner. I had SUCH a good time, and loved that a soiree I feared would leave me the wallflower instead made me a bonafide Disney princess.....

"The Disney Princesses" is what Mermaid's husband calls all the bloggers she knows and reads. Hysterical.  I'm so happy to be part of Mermaid and MCW's small blog world! 

pledging beta chi {charlotte bloggers}

Y'all know that my blog BFF is Dee from Dee's Adventures.   Last month I flew down to Charlotte to celebrate her as she awaits her first baby. I went to her baby shower (which had adorable, steal-worthy details - read about it here!) and got to meet some of her oldest friends - it was a great time!

I also got to meet a ton of  Dee's Charlotte blogger friends.

The Charlotte area seems to have a really great group of bloggers who meet up often and support each other  in the real world as well as the world wide web'ed one. I have joked in comments before that they should call them selves Beta Chi for Bloggers Charlotte. 

The Beta Chi blog class above features Classic Annie, Looks Like Lulu, Reporter Turned Mommy (like me, though, Kathleen is just a pledge - hee), Dee, A. Liz Adventures and Mr and Mrs. 

It was so fun to meet in person some of the bloggers I read often, and to meet new bloggers whom I've started following!

q+a with hilary phelps

Her brother, Michael, may have some gold medals under his belt Speedo, but can he whip up sweet potatoes and recommend the best moisturizer for the changing season?  Hilary Phelps can, and does...then blogs about it with a true Genuine Joy! I shared some Q+A with this D.C. Lifestyle blogger. Find out where Hilary would take the First Lady to dinner in today's Social Studies column over at FedScoop!

Shabby Apple Winner!

 How 'bout them apples......hee! 

The winner (chosen randomly - picture proof!) of the $50 Shabby Apple gift card is Katie from Team Skelley Blog.  Katie,  you'll be hearing directly from Shabby Apple soon!


Thanks to everyone who entered, and thanks to Shabby Apple! I loved hosting this giveaway because I think the clothes at Shabby Apple are SO cute - and when I see Shabby Apple give-aways around the blogland, I ALWAYS enter. Now if I could just win won myself....


 Also, don't forget, you can still get a 10-percent discount from Shabby Apple for the next month with the code: idodeclare10off

While The Year is Stll New...

Happy 2012 Friends, real and imaginary!! I've been a bit AWOL from the webs since Christmas, and when that happens to me, it's hard to get back in the groove. While the year is still new, I thought I'd capatlize on (the very few - tisk, tisk!) holiday photos I took.



It isn't just for blogging that I'm not back to normal, though. While typically January 1 for me brings all kinds of dramatic reflection and fresh start resoluting, this year, I haven't felt that one bit. I don't know why....

Maybe it's the lazy, but very relaxing way in which I welcomed in this new year with just a little flannel and fondue at home. And...a boot-legged copy, fresh from the streets of Manhattan, of New Year's Eve, the movie. (It is not an Oscar contender, but it was kind of perfect to watch on 12.31!)

When the clock struck 12, I had Chloe on my lap and Dan by my side. It was very sweet, but hardly the swining celebrations of yesteryears. During the day on New Year's Eve, though, we did meet up with my blog bestie, Dee, for an early (and very fun!) dinner in Baltimore and the intruduction of the Hokie husbands. Still, we were home by 7, and asleep by 12:30.  Hold your confetti...


That slow, easy tone is trickling through January's first week for me, and that's ok. December was wild and busy and fun!

We spent a week in TN with {all} my parents and I also got to see my high school friends for our annual holiday hang.

We had big plans for a night on the town, but it poured rain, so we defaulted to take-out and couch gossiping instead - pretty much like when we were in high school, only with wine instead of wine coolers.

But now, as January's cold blows in Merry Merry has been replaced, welcomed even,  with the minutia. And I'm taking the start of the new year at a turtle's pace, if I'm being honest. I'm ready to hibernate a little, and I'm ready for a big snow. 

What are you ready for in 2012?

Freezing A Month's Worth of Meals

As promised, my friend Kathleen is dropping in to give her expertise on being a meal planning master! Now...as you take her sound advice, and envision her with a tight bun all married to her spreadsheet, let me give you the visual of how I REALLY know her.

So see - you + I can do this, too!

Take it over, Kathleen -

Before reading this guest post, let me first preface by giving a bit of background, so you don’t think I am a crazy, obsessive compulsive type with way too much time on her hands. Because I know if I were reading this, I would be thinking to myself, great, some random lady is going to get all preachy about her meal planning abilities, while I can barely manage to get dinner on the table a few times a week. Feel better about yourself. I am definitely not super woman, but I think that if you can follow some sort of a plan you are way ahead of the game. So, let’s get some details out of the way:



1) I am a teacher, but my school is over an hour’s drive from my home EACH way. I don’t tell you this to make you feel sorry for me but just to give you an idea of why meals must be quick.


2) I have two small children, ages 3 and 4 months. Two days a week my two children are at two different places for day care, which means two drop-offs in the morning and two pick-ups in the evening. That’s too much to remember (ha- lots of the word to/two/too in that one).


3) I don’t like to eat steak, ham or pork in any way, shape or form so you will not find any meals with said ingredients.


So that being said, let’s dig in (ha- good eating pun). I got really tired of sitting down every weekend and poring over cookbooks, internet searches, and the like in search of meals that would be quick to cook and/or edible, two items high on my priority list when cooking. So I decided I would make a monthly meal matrix, consisting of meals that are quick to get to the table three nights a week, made in the crock pot two nights a week (on my double drop-off days) and a bit more time-consuming meals on the weekend (still not taking hours though by any means). I started by just making a 7x5 square grid on paper, and filling in meals as I went, trying to mix up cuisines and main dishes as best I could so in any given week I was not eating all chicken or all Italian style. My matrix looks like this:

Every Wednesday and Friday meal is a crock pot meal. Saturday and Sundays are meals that require a bit more time to cook.


Most Monday, Tuesday and Thursday meals can be made in 30 minutes or less!


Then the big cooking event took place. I gathered all my ingredients to make as many meals ahead of time as I could. That took a while, but it was well worth it. I cooked and cooked and cooked for a whole weekend. I bagged, froze and labeled. I also pre-organized crock pot meals into freezer bags so they are all ready to go when needed- all I need to do is pop it in the crock and let it cook away! I ended up with nearly thirty nights’ worth of meals.

The other great thing about this is that on any given crock pot night, I end up with two or three meals when all is said and done.

I make the recipes as instructed, which serves more than my husband and I will eat even at our most hungry selves, then I bag and freeze the leftovers to have another night. Dinner- voila!

I have been using these premade meals and monthly menu matrix for the entire month of September and so far, so AWESOME. Meal planning is no longer stressful to me, and I come home many nights to dinner already cooked. It makes my time at home so much more pleasant and I am not rushing around like a crazy trying to get dinner out.

So if you are thinking of trying something like this, I say GO FOR IT. It has definitely been a life saver to me! I hope this helps and encourages you to figure out a system that works best for you and your family-- Good luck and happy planning!

Q+A with Kathleen:

What do you use for freezing?

Regular old Ziploc bags or Rubbermaid type storage containers (not necessarily those brands- just whatever I have)


How long do you allow for thawing?


Depends how on top of things I am… I will sometimes take things out on Sunday night and leave in fridge for the week until I need it. Otherwise, I find to thaw in the microwave works just as well.


What dish is the best once reheated?


Anything without rice. I find that rice gets stiff.


How many freezers are in your house?
One and a half. I have an extra fridge/freezer in the garage, but it only works for about half the year because it stops working when the weather/temp in the garage gets too cold. Otherwise, I just have my main fridge/freezer in the kitchen that I use.

Thanks for having me as a guest blogger. I do declare it has been fun!

No Kidneys Were Harmed in the Making of This Blogger Meet-Up

This weekend, I marched back in time to Colonial Williamsburg....

opting for some days of old with my new friend, Dee.

In the vines at the Williamsburg Winery

Dee and I met through blogging. Comments turned to emails and emails turned to phone calls. One lunch date later and we're on the BFF fast track. Since Dee was headed my way, we met up for a girls' weekend.  As far as girls' trips go, Williamsburg is a not a traditional destination, but then again, meeting friends over the internet isn't exactly how the Girls Scouts would have you play it either, true?

Though our lodging was a bit nicer than this, there aren't posh boutique hotels in Williamsburg....

And the shopping? It's a tad, well, last season....

Where the town lacks in glamour, howevs, it compensates in grapes...

So, over sips of wine......

and nibbles of cheese....

we discussed in deep, among a thousand other topics, the dynamic of how bloggers become besties.

I admitted that my mom found it both odd and risky that I was shacking up in a hotel with someone I'd met only once over lunch. Dee then confessed that her husband warned her I might stick her in a bathtub full of ice and steal her kidney, which was hysterical because my friend Jenni's dad had hinted at the same fate for me. Luckily, the only thing I ripped off from Dee was a pony-tail holder....hee!

Rolling through this town that is frozen in time....

it is easy to appreciate the practical way people onced lived. Doing so, though, alongside a pal I would have never known without the spoils of modern technology is proof that not everything, including how we make new friends, is better the old-fashioned way.

Yummy Crock Pot Chicken Recipe

Recently I discovered the food website SkinnyTaste. I have been admiring SkinnyTaste recipes for a while, because most are all pretty natural  (no fat free faux food substitutes) and come with Weight Watchers points values.

In the spirit of Fall and those clever Crock Pot ladies on Facebook, everyone has been quick to pull out their slow cookers these days. Count me among them when I found this Santa Fe Chicken recipe on SkinnyTaste.

It stewed in my Crock Pot all day yesterday, and within thirty minutes of my arriving home last night, Dan and I were   at the table on the couch enjoying dinner.

If you're looking for a great weeknight meal that is the pefect mix of light but still comfort food, try this! Happy Slow Cooking!

(note: For two people, I used three small chicken breasst, and there was plenty, plus left-overs for today's lunch!)

If You Don't Have Something Nice to Blog...

This post could also be titled I Overthink Things, but humor me....

In Spain, luggage lost, with just the belonings we'd stashed in Dan's shorts

There's a reason we as humans can't read each other's minds. If we did, we'd offend, by default, every other person in our path. Because, thanks to the likes of blogs, Facebook and Twitter, there are people who do post EVERY thought that pops into their heads all day, everyday.....eventually someone's going to be offended.


I find myself thinking negatively about people all the time just by a few lines of something they spout, and while it's clearly unfair to judge by fleeting thoughts alone, when people share their opinions with such casualness, with such authority on practically everything, it's only natural for people to think ugly things about them when the thoughts they share aren't exactly Golden Rule.


I mean, honestly - can you get through your Twitter or Facebook feed on a daily basis without at least an eye-roll? I can't. That's not to say that I assume everything I post is so convicted or clever that eyes haven't spun out of sockets on occassion.... 


Recently I blogged (again) about how I'm not a fan of the cargo shorts. I hadn't planned to continue some big campaign against the cargo, but I did happen upon a funny article and without even thinking twice, I posted it. After I did it, I carried this weird sense of guilt...and it'd flare every time I'd see someone I know wearing cargo shorts. Despite my opinion on them, cargo shorts are pretty popular, so this happened, like...daily.


Though I'll talk celebrity red carpet fashion with my friends pretty ruthlessly, in general, I don't get off on mocking people or making other people feel bad about their choices...especially in casual sportswear!

Sure, it's funny between Dan and me when I joke him about his cargo shorts. He'll remind me how those glorious pockets have held my passport when otherwise, if left in my control, it would have been lost, or he'll point out how nicely things like phones, cameras and lipstick fit in the countless pouches when I opt to not carry a purse sometimes.

I find myself disliking (especially if I don't know someone in real life) Tweeters and bloggers who are constantly mocking things - people, fashion, music, celebrities, lifestyle choices. I realize, with my simple slant on a pair of shorts, that I kind of became one of them.

Every man in my family wears cargo shorts, which save for Dan, I'd never even noticed before I went blog bitchy on the matter. I'm sure there are readers of this blog who wear them, who buy them for their husbands and children, and who thought, rightly so, that I was just a little too big for my {non-cargo'ed} britches when I went all Anna Wintour about it. For that, I really am sorry.

In short (cargo, or otherwise - hee), if we don't have something nice to blog...we probably shouldn't blog at all!

In Pounds, Not in Days

As I've mentioned, I'm dieting {once again!} these days. I've lost nearly 20 pounds.  I'm about to top any amount of weight I've ever lost during one diet. Still, I have more weight to lose than ever before, so there's a long way to go before meeting my goal...but that's another story for another blog (one you'll likely only hear if I'm actually successful...).

When you are successfully shedding pounds, it becomes such a focus in your phsyce that it's all one thinks about. It's pretty much all I think about lately. In fact, when on vacation with my family, Dan pulled me aside and said, I think you talk about your diet too much. At one point, my mom said to me, after I was weighing food options for the day, Why don't you go call that girl? That girl being the simply fabulous Kris of Simply Flabuloss, who has been my diet buddy and calorie confidant.

Kris posted not long ago about how now that she is slimming down, she's more into jewelry + accessories. I feel the same way lately about clothes.

In general {and likely by a fat default} I don't get too into fashion. I like pretty clothes as much as the next girl, but labels and brands don't really matter to me.  Since I've spent the bulk of my adult life losing and gaining and losing and gaining weight, I've never invested too much in my closet. During the times of gaining I've especially shied away from shopping for anything but....black. I do, however, own 12 sets of dishes. Hmm....and I wonder why I struggle with the scale???

I was talking to a friend about a necklace I bought this weekend*, and the outfit I would pair it with for a party out on the water. She asked when the party will be, and I told her the date, followed by...or in 7-10 pounds.I have a lot of fun events on my calendar this summer, and already I am mentally playing paperdolls with how I want to look at weddings, lunches with old friends, sailing trips on the Chesapeake, seeing Dolly at Wolf Trap.  As I look at the calendar, counting down to all my fun engagements, I think not in days...but in pounds. Specifically, pounds lost.



I don't know how healthy that is. It's obsessive, indeed. But...it can't be as bad as thinking in terms of food** which, let's be honest, I've also used as my countdown!

*It's on sale for $19 at Target,  people - do NOT pay ebay prices!
**Homemade Ice Cream recipe coming up this week for 4th of July - you'll love it!

My Adventures with Dee!

Last week I got to meet Dee, from Dee's Adventures. She was in town for a wedding, and popped over to Capitol Hill where we strolled around the Congress a bit before lunch outside at Bullfeathers.

I should probably offer this disclaimer before telling you how much fun I had: When bloggers talk about how they have met some of their "BEST FRIENDS" from blogging, I give it a big eye-roll.

That's wrong and judgemental of me (especially since I met my husband on match.com), but in real life, I am lucky to have a huge group of friends. Though it's proved a real perk, making new friends was not the reason I started blogging. 

When I read about bloggers doing trips with other bloggers I think that sounds fun and all, but I barely have the time to do girls trips with friends I've know for ages. How - and moreso why- I wondered, do these girls give priority to people they met on the internet? (Again - match.com - but still..I judge...just being honest here.)

Dee + I have "known" each other for a while through our blogs. Blog commenting quickly turned to emailing and emailing quickly turned to Facebook and phone texts. Then, we met in person and in the course of our two hours together, Dee and I talked and gossiped about things like we'd know each other for a lifetime.

We're at the exact same place life: 30-something newlyweds without children entertaining parenthood.  That alone gives us a lot of common ground, but toss in things like both of us are former newsies, SEC grads married to Hokie husbands and...the list goes on and on......

Not to go all Single White Blogger on you, but...I may have just met one of a my best friends through blogging. We might even meet up for a trip.

And I take back all most of my eye-rolls.

Novel Release Party

Inside I think every blogger has those Julie + Julia, Pioneer Woman dreams...that one day they really will be recognized as a real writer....with a book deal!!!!

Today marks a dream come true for one of my blog buddies, Kori from Blonde Episodes.  Her book, Murder on the Boulevard, is available for purchase today on Amazon. I haven't completed my full reading list for this summer, but I know this book will be on it! You can buy it here!

Southern Bloggers

Just yesterday my friend Mary emailed me. A google search of Taste of the South had landed her on the  The DC Ladies blog.


"Who runs DC Ladies," she asked. "I was googling TOTS and an article from there came up featuring a picture of you and Dan and Shannon and Seb in red dresses. Writing was vivid enough to have been plagiarized from you. Just curious."


I nearly fell out of my chair laughing, seeing as how I did write the article. I love that my friend can so clearly recognize my "voice"  (though she's obviously not a regular read of this blog or she'd know that I moonlight over at the DC Ladies - tisk, tisk).


Funny, isn't it, how the blog world makes it such a small world?? This is especially true for us Southern Bloggers, and that's what I'm writing about today over at DC Ladies.....

Southern in the City and The D.C. Ladies

A recent column in The Washington Post questioned whether or not D.C. is losing its "Southerness".  The beauty of this Capitol City is that it isn't just Southern. Because so few of us are actually from the District, because people come and go here as quickly as a political scandal, there is always a melting pot of cultures.

D.C. will always be an international city. D.C., desipte its East Coast placing, will always hint at the ways of the West. And, like those of us who move from Dixie to the District, D.C. will always be Southern.

I moved to Washington from Tennessee, and it didn't take me long to hear the secret langage - twang - that we Southerners can pick up like a dog to a whistle when we're transplanted from our native land, even in voices that have long since lost an accent. Like many people who live inside the District, I flew my state flag at my Capitol Hill home because I'm obnoxious proud like that. 

Nearly all the new friends I made were Southern. Nearly all the social events I attened had some Southern flair.  Though quickly I came to love the urban ways of living here that are so very different from the life I knew in Knoxville, ten years (and one move north to the Maryland 'burbs) later,  I still reconnect pretty regulary with my roots. And I still think DC holds plenty of Southern charm.

I'm excited to share that I've become a guest blogger for The D.C. Ladies. My first post about my favorite Southern town up this way is featured today, and you can read it here.


Whistlin' Dixie for the DC Ladies, I will be writing about "all things South'un."  I look forward to sharing with readers how even in the world's most powerful city one can quickly trade monuments for mountains, foie gras for grits, and Diplomats for down home Southerners.

The Pickle Present and Propsal

Today over at The Webbisodes the ever-festive queen of all elf bloggers, Shannon, is hosting a little tree trimming party. You'll find it not at all shocking that I couldn't get my act together to take appropriate photos of my trimmed tree to share the way all the other bloggers are, but I'm particpating, still, by showcasing not all of my favorite ornaments, but the most favorite and most significant one that hangs on my tree. 

The pickle...

Before meeting Mr. W  I never knew the story of the Christmas Pickle - how German families would give a special gift to the child who found the pickle hidden in the Christmas tree. On the first Christmas we celebrated together when we were dating, I'd hidden the pickle ornament and left a gift for Mr. W to open on Christmas morning while I was away in Tennessee. The next year, it was his turn to hide the ornmanet for me to find.  One night, two years ago, while watching It's A Wonderful Life, Mr. W paused the movie and told me if I could find the pickle in the tree, I could get an early gift. When I finally found the pickle, a diamond ring was hanging on it!

This Christmas, the pickle has yet to be hidden - it's Mr. W's turn again - but it's hanging by this year's new addition to our tree - our monogram (I picked those up at Hobby Lobby while shopping with the fabulous Whitney and Sarah Beth). 

What is the favorite thing hanging on your tree? 

A Year in the Life

One year ago {on Monday - breaking news like a new blog designer and discounts on jewelry took presendence} this post made me a blogger....or moreso, a consistent one.

I had dabbled with blogging before, but for an entire year, I've been babbling about anything and everything, all while stalking  keeping tabs on other, far more  fun + clever writers who also like to show + tell. 

Though sometimes I think, Did I really just share that? or, Will anyone even care? I've had a lot of fun capturing snippets of my world. I love it when people chime in with comments, and I've loved "meeting" other women who are at the same stage in life as I am.

So, if you follow this blog, or have ever left a sweet comment, or you just lurk from time to time because you think Chloe is the cutest dog you've ever seen...I declare my thanks today!

photo credit: whopsiedaiziecards

Persnickety Pages!

Today is big deal. Momentous, really, as far as the blog world goes - and not because it's my one year blogging birthday (more on that later this week!).

Today is special because I've known a little secret for a long, long time, and today the embargo is lifted on the news.  The old reporter in me still loves breaking a story and this story is big...

Persnickity Pages & More - a new, super-cute, super-creative, super-custom blog design site is being launched today!

If you wonder why I'm so excited, it's because my blog - this new look you've been seeing for a while - is one of PP's first works. Lucky me!

I got in on the action before business started to boom for my blog buddy Shannon...

If a Vol Fan endorses a Gator Fan, you know it's legit

who you likely know from The Webbisodes.

Typing and inserting pictures is about the extent of my savy when it comes to blogging so I needed professional help! Shannon was very gracious to give it. I love the fancy title font she gave me and how she fancied up my header, but most of all I love how much larger my pictures now appear, and how much wider she made my text box from the Blogger standard.

Shannon is SO easy to work with, and so quick to change any edit I have. Besides...with a daughter as cute and well-dressed as this...

how could you not trust her style?

BUT WAIT - there is MORE! You'll also find custom stationery design, and other pretty papers on her new site, too! {It's time to start thinking about Christmas presents...and I think stationery makes a great gift!}

Shannon is a former teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom, but a quick peak at her blog reveals she still has plenty of creativity and energy to give, and I know she'll be successfully channeling all her genious into adding some whimsy to the world. I love supporting women who give the energy and have the nerve to start a business, so I hope you will pop on over to Persnickity Pages right now and give Shannon your support!