Just Dance

I love dancing. Like really love dancing. I love to dance and I love to watch dance performances so it is no surprise that I love a good dance movie. I do mean love. The highlight of my December trip to NYC with Gregg was getting to visit Lincoln Center where none other than Center Stage was filmed. Sorry to be cheesy but it was seriously like a lifelong dream come true for me.

Standing on the infamous Plaza where Charlie and Jodie Sawyer share their ending kiss. 

Gregg in the entry floor where Maureen infamously quit the ballet to her mother. 

Overlooking the inside area. 

The stage where it all happened. 

Speechless. 

Time for the Nutcracker. Gregg's favorite event of the year....

Then I stumbled across this amazing article: The 30 Best Dance Movies of All Time and started flipping through. The best part is that not only are movies listed but they also show the trailers...watching some of these old favorites in their trailer form makes me want to curl up with a big blanket of nostalgia. It's also amazing to see older versions of movie trailers.

Have you ever seen the trailer for Dirty Dancing?

Sure I have seen Grease 1 million trillion times but I've never seen the trailer for it. So nostalgic.

Confession: I have never seen Saturday Night Fever even though I am obsessed with every single song in this trailer not to mention disco itself. I should probably force my husband to watch this with me ASAP.

I can't watch this trailer for A Chorus Line without thinking of Songfest in college. I am pretty sure Hayley will agree. Seen it- danced it- can't watch it anymore.

Can you believe this is Carrie Bradshaw the younger years in Girls Just Want to Have Fun. I think I've seen pieces of this one but probably need to add it to my list.

And then of course who can forget my all time favorite mentioned above. Makes me want to go watch the movie asap.

Do you have any favorites on the list? Have you ever seen Saturday Night Fever? What do you think of these old school trailers? 

It's Game Day- Get Your Monogram On!

I feel like I am late to the party on the monogram. I grew up having things like my dance bag, sweatshirts or bags monogrammed but then I just kind of stopped. I think it grew harder to find a place to do monograms and then at some point in college, I had in the back of my mind that I would eventually get married and my initials would change...so I just stopped.

Then I did get married and my initials changed and I went through some sort of identity crisis. It is really hard to change your name. It's really hard to all of a sudden not have the same last name as your family or your sister. Four years later I feel I am finally settled into being AGW.

A few weeks ago Kristina told me to enter a blog contest she saw where Marley Lilly was going to send a few bloggers an item to blog about...so I entered. They asked me to describe my blog and I was a bit stumped....so I said I write about my life sarcastically. This blog is basically an exercise in not taking myself too seriously.

May I also point out that it is really sweet how my sister is thinking of me as she trolls her instagram. 

So I entered. And guess what....last Saturday I had a notification that we had a package and Gregg arrived upstairs with a box that had this inside:

A creme colored scarf with my initials in a dark brown. AGW. That's me! 

Coincidentally I was also getting dressed/more like prepared to freeze at the Texas A&M game that evening before we drove to College Station that day. I thought hmm...this goes perfectly with my outfit, it is really cute, I think this will be the ultimate test of this scarf. It is SEC game worthy with its southern monogram style...but will it keep me warm....stay tuned for the verdict...

My new scarf packed in my bag to head to College Station with my A&M gloves courtesy of Forever 21. A neck scarf for my Grandpa. Beanie hats. You get the picture. It was basically like we were moving to College Station for the day and trying to stay warm.

Let me tell you what would have made for a cuter bag though:

Monogrammed Large Jute Bag 

It has a zipper, it is lined and in black it would work very well sitting in the stands. It is the perfect "throw around and throw everything in" bag. You know what I am talking about...everyone needs one and you really need one with a zipper. Instead I took a big purse that I shouldn't have taken and was not super durable in the elements and well...I think it is going to recover but the poor bag was never intended for such use.

Back to my story...finally made it to College Station. Gregg and I headed to see some friends briefly before Kristina arrived with Papa. They were driving up on the A&M bus from San Antonio.

Wearing my scarf. Staying warm. 

One final picture in front of what is the soon to no longer exist side of Kyle Field. Look how cute my AGW scarf looks.  I know they appreciate me renaming it my AGW scarf.

Can I also point out that it is really fun to wander around your old college campus drinking beer? Luckily the tailgate I went to was giving out some free koozies. But I think a fun stocking stuffer or addition to a gift for a friend who loves a tailgate would be a monogrammed koozie. It would also be the perfect gift if you had a friend who just got engaged or a friend who just had a baby...since everyone I know seems to fall into one of these groups recently, this seems appropriate. The newly engaged friend would appreciate seeing her new initials and the new mom would appreciate you thinking of her return to the land of beer and wine. She'd probably also appreciate a cute monogrammed onesie for the baby. Onesie inside of the koozie. Boom. Done. Someone is getting that soon.

You could do blue if your friend is a new boy mom, pink if they are a new girl mom. any color if they are a new fiancé. I could come up with tons of reasons to buy this koozie. 

It's also really cute that you could choose to put the monogram on the bottom instead. 

Post-beer....Kristina arrived with Papa.

These two. The hilarious duo. 

The second she got off the bus she was showing me the mini wine bottles she had stolen from Dad...she had one left. And you know what...she could've used a koozie too...granted she wasn't drinking a water bottle... but I think this size would've worked best

It is a water bottle "koolie" but considering the size of Kristina's mini wine bottle, I think this has multiple purposes. I also think I need one of these for summer. I may also be getting her one for her  upcoming summer honeymoon.

After wandering around and hitting up another tailgate with Papa we finally were ready to head into the game.

See those smiles? Approximately 5 minutes after this picture it started drizzling, then raining. Do these look like the faces of people prepared for freezing temps AND rain. 

We all could've used a rain jacket over the tons of layers of clothing we already had on...the irony is I was sitting there thinking I wish I had a rain jacket like I had when I was in college that said Pi Beta Phi and lo and behold this is the same thing but I could get it with my initials. Granted, I would love to still sport my sorority letters everywhere I go but I may need to update.  

Sigh. To be dry.

Don't be fooled by the smiles. We are FROZEN.

I tried getting the monogram portion of the scarf in a large amount of 'stand selfies' Kristina and I were taking because we were losing and frozen. It wasn't working out so well and this is the best one. But I was as warm as I could be given the elements. 

The verdict: This scarf did its job keeping me warm and looking as cute as possible given the weather. 

Let's be honest, we look pretty rough. We left at halftime and found warmer and drier temperatures across the street at the MSC where we finished watching the game. There's my AGW scarf. Still keeping me warm.

The only that would've been better is this sweatshirt....which I think I need for winter. It's cute enough that I can wear it indoors lounging or running errands and look like I got dressed even though I didn't. That is my favorite kind of weekend outfit, fyi.

It comes in a lot of colors but duh, I want it in purple. This neon is amazing though. It gives the  sweatshirt such pizzazz! 

There are approximately 5,000 other things I could've used to stay warm at the game. I was already wearing leggings, jeans, cowboy boots, wool socks, and two shirts and a jacket and a hat but clearly that wasn't enough for or any of us. 

Maybe a fleece vest would've made the difference...or a fleece...or who am I kidding we were never going to make it out of there warm or dry. The other people in the stands that dressed in full on hunting camo gear with wind jackets and pants though clearly came more prepared...similar to the guy next to us in the stands who brought a cardboard box to shield himself from the rain. We have so much to learn.

Crazy game days of being crammed into Aggie football games with these people- they are some of my most cherished memories. We won't have these exact season tickets or seats next year but it's been a fun ride full of wonderful memories with Papa, class of '47.

Hope you enjoyed my game day recap combined Marley Lilly post! 

Go get your monogram on! 

Things I Learned This Weekend

Disclaimer: I was supposed to post this last Monday 10/20. Just realized I did not. So here it is a week late and seems very appropriate since my weekend was anything but sitting around reading magazines:

What is your favorite way to relax? I used to think it was just laying around watching TV. It still sort of is...but I have a new favorite...I like to sit down with the stack of magazines that have been sitting on my kitchen table accumulating and do something crazy, read them!

I learned all sorts of things this weekend:

1. From Instyle, I learned that Meg Ryan was supposed to do the part of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman but filming for When Harry Met Sally ran over so she wasn't able to and they cast Julia Roberts instead. On the flip side, Julia Roberts was cast to do Sleepless in Seattle with Tom Hanks but she had a conflict and wasn't able to do that one. These are all movies I could never imagine without the person cast in them, whether it was Julia Roberts or Meg Ryan.

2. The Tiffany T. Awhile back I read that Tiffany's had made some new hires was going in a new direction with jewelry, focusing on the "T" symbol instead. I saw an ad and I have to say the jewelry is really pretty. Wishlist- check.

3. On a similar note, Gregg told me Cadillac is undergoing a new brand look too and you can tell in their commercials they are going after a younger audience. They even changed their logo.

4. They are selling these new pod things for your house so you don't have to take your clothes to the dry cleaners. These things look insane to me. Not something I have on my wishlist at all.

I wanted to do an even five but I forgot the 5th one. In the same way I forgot to post this last Monday. I am totally out to lunch right now! 

Who Would Star You in a Movie about You?

Kristina and I regularly take this one step further by imagining what would happen if our life was a musical…this usually happens when we are bored. For instance, we are standing in line (in real life) at a Jason's Deli and we decide to occupy the time by discussing what would happen if this moment instantly transformed into a musical...everyone jumps on their tables, the wait staff grabs their red trays to start dancing, people everywhere start singing about food and waiting in line…and life literally becomes a musical.

Since it's clearly not unusual for us to pretend life is some sort of movie, imagine my excitement when I discovered this quiz: 

What actress would play you in the movie version of your life?  

I got Tina Fey.

Description via Buzzfeed results: 
"Cue the laugh track, silly goose! Bright, bubbly, and with a sparkling personality, you don’t take anything in life seriously — least of all yourself — so you’re going to need a seriously funny chick to play you on the big screen. SNL veteran and the geek-chic fabulous Tina Fey should do the trick nicely." That's the best compliment I've gotten in awhile! High five for me!

This also means my Dad may disown me. He is still not over this:

Sorry Dad. I'll get you VIP seats at my movie premiere. 

In case Hollywood comes knocking, I am ready to go. Take the quiz. Tell me who you get! 

Why Sing When You Can Lip Sync?

I am not a singer. Never have been, never will be. But I do love to dance. And I do enjoy a good lip sync performance with Kristina in the living room or with the sole purpose of annoying my husband.

A few months ago though, Gregg discovered Jimmy Fallon's lip sync competitions. My life will never be the same. So take a minute, gather everyone you know around the computer and enjoy the amazingness of this:

Lip Sync Battle with Jimmy Fallon, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Stephen Merchant 

And then as if that is not amazing enough….last night he did it again with Paul Rudd or who you may know better as Bryan MacKenzie.

The first official "Tonight Show Lip Sync Battle" with Paul Rudd

It is equally as funny to watch the performances as it is to watch Jimmy Fallon dying laughing during them. If you are having a bad day, a rough week or maybe you are just bored and need a laugh, you just put one of these on and you will instantly feel better. They actually get funnier the more you watch them. I will not admit how many times I may or may not have seen these.

Consider yourself warned, family: 

I can't believe my family hadn't already thought of doing this before now. As official "Family Manager" I guarantee these are coming to a family holiday in my home very, very soon…Kristina are you ready? 

Consider yourself warned, friends:

I am also notifying everyone I know that someday I plan to host a Lip Sync party when I am no longer living in an apartment where you can't do full on performances with loud noise. Come one, come all, when that day arrives. 

Start planning your songs or start planning your excuses why you cannot attend. 

Home Happy Hours

About Me Disclaimer: I am horrible at being creative and will never provide you a good DIY project. My life doesn't look like a Pinterest board that I would advise anyone to replicate. I steal other people's fashion advice meaning I have none of my own to give out. But how to have happy hour at home? This is the kind of nonsense I promise you will always find here. 

Yes this photo was taken at Halloween time. No, unfortunately I am not stocked on candy corn year round. 

While Gregg was busy in his MBA program getting an MBA, I was busy befriending girls in his program who were not only getting an MBA too but also watching The Bachelor. One of the girls, S, moved to Houston as well for her job so I have gotten to keep up the tradition a smidge when she is in town and not traveling. Last night she came over because she hadn't watched The Bachelor and once I finished an after work interview taping, I had no plans...so duh I wasn't going to say no to REwatching The Bachelor with wine. Here's the thing, I will pretty much watch or rewatch anything reality TV related with anyone anytime if there is wine involved. 

It was a "late night" viewing beginning at 8:30. Just in time for a late night home happy hour….a kind of happy hour I have grown to love. Don't get me wrong, I still love going out for happy hours but home happy hours should not be overlooked.

Think about the effort it involves:

Get dressed up? No. You can change out of your work clothes and have on pajamas for all I care. At my home happy hours, the comfier the better. 

Clean the house? I prefer to say "clean" because let's just lay it out there, I don't have a maid and if we are good enough friends that we are doing a home happy hour then we are good enough friends that you are going to see what our apartment looks like on a Tuesday….meaning there is a 50/50 chance this place is a disaster. Gregg often works late and is literally like a brain dead tornado when he comes home. Sometimes I can manage the fall out from the tornado and sometimes I don't have time. Often in the afternoon when I am at work and we are planning a home happy hour, I don't even know what my house is going to look like until I arrive home. It's an adventure for all of us. 

Waste time trying to figure out a good happy hour location and/or deal? Not necessary. I provide wine, along with a couch and television full of mindless reality TV shows I am behind on to watch while we chat. 

No one gets off work in time for happy hour? No problem. Come whenever. Come looking however. Pick up food. Eat my food. I don't care. You never miss the deal at a home happy hour.

There you have it, go forth and host your own home happy hour. And the next time you may get off work after happy hour ends or feel lazy and don't want to get dressed up, consider yourself invited to a home happy hour with me.

My next dabble into the home happy hour is the long distance happy hour. I have so many friends who live all over that I think this could have real potential.  

 

Things You Should Know- But Do You Know?

I have been on a mission to try to focus more on the joy I feel from little, everyday things. It is kind of a process I will admit. It is also not something I am naturally good at- pausing for a moment and not rushing through to move on to the next thing. Allowing myself to feel that joy enough that it leaves a mark and makes me smile later on when I may need that smile. Almost like allowing myself to fuel up so when I am feeling depleted at another time, I can think back to the silly and it will allow me a brief reprieve once again.

Today when I spotted a video titled "How to eat a cupcake" in my email I nearly didn't pay much attention to it...but then I allowed myself to read the title of the email and really process it. "How to eat a cupcake?" It kind of made me laugh thinking that really none of us know how to eat a cupcake. I imagine we all get the cupcake and mindlessly try to figure out the easiest way to get it in our mouth without ending up with frosting all over our face. Yet that doesn't make anyone love them any less.

I was intrigued enough that I decided I had to watch to see if someone might have figured out a trick that I had not thought of over the past 29 years. So if you too are wondering if there is a secret way out there that you haven't thought of go ahead and watch. It's really quick but I guarantee it will make you feel silly and smile...and then probably crave a cupcake.

The right way to eat a cupcake video via PureWow 

Would you try it this way? Do you have any tricks and techniques for eating a cupcake? 

(Photo with do not miss cupcake spots in DFW via PureWow )

Making an Impact in Unexpected Places

Babysitting and being a nanny are interesting things. I have done both or have considered myself both at different times. For me personally it was a reflection of age that probably shifted the title. I think most of the time it is a reflection of the amount of care and time provided to a family. 

I came across this piece on Slate that really got me thinking this week about the role of a nanny in a child's life and the role I played in families I babysat for over the years. The author Jordan Teicher wrote about a series being done on NYC nannies and the relationships they have with the children and families in which they work. I found it fascinating for many reasons but the biggest one of all being there is a part of me that could relate so well to some of the comments the nannies made about their families. 

• Gemma said "she feels like part of the family but doesn’t want to because she knows she has to leave one day."
• Ernestine said: "she misses the children when she moves on."

As someone who considers babysitting her first career, I could relate so well to what these women were saying. I know we care for children for different reasons but the end result is the same. Even though you may not try, you become attached to a family and to the children. In many ways sometimes you become part of the family. But just as children grow and do not need a nanny anymore, in my case I also had to grow up myself, go to college and move away. I think so often about all the kids I have babysat over the years. Most of them were old enough to remember me or I still see them periodically. Thanks to technology I keep up with several of them through facebook or instagram.

There is still a difference though. 

In many ways it is the difference from once being involved in their lives in person on a daily basis to now watching as more of a spectator. In several cases the kids I babysat were so small they wouldn't remember me today but I still very much remember them. 

But then I let my mind wander a little more and think beyond to all the people a person encounters in their life. Some are there for a lifetime and some are there only briefly. But everyone plays a part in weaving the tapestry of your life. Gregg and I have had some "life has come full circle" moments lately and it has left me thinking a lot about it. Thinking about everyone from my past, relationships that have changed and people I have yet to meet who will play a huge role in my future. It is amazing how it all intertwines to position us exactly where we are supposed to be today. 

For the kids I babysat, I was a part of their story. No matter how brief or long it was, I was there. I can only hope that whether they remember me or not, I left a positive mark on them. It is one of the benefits of the job no one tells you about I guess. The impact you can make on someone and the impact they can make on you, even if it is only for a short while. But then maybe that is one of the benefits of our everyday life that people easily forget about- no matter how big or how small, everyday you make an impact on someone. 

Luncheon Anxiety Cures

Luncheon Anxiety: A made up term (by me) that describes fear of drinking a complete stranger's water at a luncheon. 

There is nothing that stresses me out more in the working world than being invited to a luncheon, sitting down and all of a sudden having my mind go blank trying to figure out which iced tea glass is mine, which bread plate is mine and which dessert is mine. I fill with fear trying to figure this out in my mind. FEAR.

I went to a luncheon yesterday and I went to another one today. Let me explain to you what happens at these events from my internal perspective...

Step 1: I am looking forward to going.

Step 2: I walk in and all is well. I am socializing. I am passing out business cards.

Step 3: We sit down to eat.

Step 4: Fear. FEAR.

Is this my iced tea and water on the left? Is that my bread plate? 

Oh wait is that my iced tea and water on the right? 

I realize most of the world probably attended an etiquette class at some time in their life and learned this. I actually think this is the reason Mom put Kristina and me in Cotillion year after year and we probably learned this at one time too. But clearly 20+ years later it didn't stick and I am confused and stressed out about it. I have failed my mom. I have failed Cotillion. I have failed as a 29 year old adult.

One time someone told me to make 

The letter "b" with your left hand and a "d" with your right hand"

It is supposed to stand for "bread" to your left and "drink" is to your right. Well on Tuesday that didn't work so well because for whatever reason I kept thinking "d" stood for dessert. So there I was getting more and more confused in my head while pretending I had my life together and carrying on a conversation. Yet deep down inside I was growing thirstier by the minute and couldn't figure out which glass was mine. Finally someone next to me put their bread down. Finally someone else took a sip of their water. Yes. We are in business. All is well.

Then the same thing happened all over again today.

But today while we were sitting down discussing how confusing it can be (I was laughing along but secretly thinking yes, this is serious stuff), someone said she thinks of the phrase "B-M-W" 

• Bread is to the upper left
• Meal is center
• Water is to the upper right 

Cue the lightbulb. Yes! Yes! This makes sense. This I can remember. 

So I felt I had to share my new tip with anyone who may have also been impacted by luncheon anxiety...or anyone who has zero luncheon anxiety and just wants to laugh at me. 

Either way...let's all B-M-W the next time we are in a stressful eating situation.

Cheers. 

Please comment if you have a better tip that I need to know about...clearly I am open to any and all suggestions. 

Mission 2014: Let's Be Mentally Strong

I read this article in Forbes this afternoon and it was one of those articles that had me nodding my head in agreement the entire time. 

It also had me taking notes on things I need to improve upon the entire time: 

• People pleaser? Check for yes. 
• Embrace change? Check for no. 
• Willing to fail? Check for no.
• Expend their mental energy wisely? Check for no.

There were several I am good at and as noted above there are several I could definitely improve upon. But I thought the article was fascinating. We always think about being physically strong but how much time do we spend trying to be mentally strong? I for one don't spend enough time and this is definitely something I need to work on because the mind is a powerful tool in good ways and bad.

I have thought about the article all day. I even mentioned some of the topics to Gregg tonight. Then this graphic appeared on my Pinterest feed and I figured it was a sign. I figured it meant the universe was trying to tell me it was time to not only read these tips but to apply the advice.  So here I am writing about it in an attempt to be accountable...if to no one else but myself.  

Print the article or these tips out. Put it in a place you see everyday. 

Mission 2014: Let's be mentally strong.