Failed: road trip

The planned road trip to Charlotte N.C. did not happen as intended.

Da boy and I woke up at 4 a.m. so that we can be on the road by 6. That we accomplished.

We ran into freezing rain 5 mins into our drive, it came *splat splat splat* down the windshield, but we continue to crawl on doing only 45mph on I44 heading to I64.

Right past Scott AFB it got worst. We saw cars after cars flipped or spun off on the side of the interstate. At one point, there was even a pickup truck that was at a complete standstill in the middle of I64, the traffic had to swerve to avoid hitting it.

Da boy drove even slower.

Finally we exited at Lake Carlyle and pulled up at a McD to rest our nerves and to wait things out. Applying brakes was futile, I can just hear the ABS forcing the wheel to go *thunk thunk thunk*. And the McD parking lot was a sheer sheet of ice.

After a hearty but unhealthy breakfast and almost 1 hour later, we got back on I64. We both made a joint decision to abandon this road trip - the radar shows all PINK (ice/sleet) from IL to IN to KY, which are in our driving paths.

At around 10 a.m. we pulled into our garage, safe and sound. Tired. Back to square one.

Shortly after that, we saw on the news that I64 was closed at Rt 158 due to accidents. Thank god we left when we did. It would not be fun to be caught stuck in the middle of no where in IL.

On a happier note, the last minute plane tickets are real cheap now for some reason.

Hunter Aubergine

Finally bit the bullet and got the Hunter Original Wellies in Aubergine. This was after months and months of lemming.

I was going to get the Navy color at first, but BFF talked me into Aubergine. It is more unique after all. She has the original Hunter green version and it is very original and very cute on her.


Pardon the tag that is still hanging off the side of the boots, I was very excited and wanted to try these on ASAP. My knees look exceptionally chubby. That's okay. The smell of the new rubber boots is making me high. Hah.

See you soon St. Louis

Received this email early a.m.

This will not be good for my wallet.

About to leave when my fav song came on.

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Eye candy found at visitor parking lot.

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Fun but surefooted

Check out my tweet and greet over here.

new toy

This post deserves some more explanation.

I flew up to Chicago one beautiful Tuesday morning. Took a cab to Westmont to check out the car that I saw on Autotrader. I liked what I saw, so I signed the papers.

Before making the 4-hour drive back to St. Louis, my salesperson and I taped up the front end with painters tape to prevent rock chips. Yep, painters tape from Target. The tape comes off clean, and I did a quick detailer spray wax over the taped portion.

On a side note Westmont IL must be where the monies are. On my way to the dealership, I saw the following dealerships: Ferrari, Maserati, Land Rover, Lexus, Toyota, BMW, Audi (where I was), Mercedes, Lamborghini, Porsche. I thought I died and gone to heaven. Haha.

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New break pads on. Next...

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Lazy sunday morning. Breakfast and mags.

Home alone this morning, having 2 cups of coffee along with a bowl of cereal.

Going thru my fashion magazines from the past 6 months, tearing out pages that I want to keep, and filing them away for my own DIY "look book".

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C25K

Two weeks ago, I decided to make a change to my workout routine.

I was taking the Y-lift classes at my local Y. I enjoyed the class, but find that it is too short (40 mins) and with the start time of 6pm, it's definitely hard for me to make it when I have a busy day at work.

I have always wanted to run. My dad was a huge runner before his knees gave out. I have been running on and off for many years, but have never built up the stamina to run more than 3k or so.

A girl friend recommended I try C25k, and I have never heard of the program until now. I found two C25K podcasts that play the genre of music I like:
1. Robert Ullrey's C25K podcast
2. Podrunner Intervals: First Day to 5K

I listened to both podcasts briefly at work and picked Podrunner Intervals to run with. Did I mention that both podcasts are free? :)

The C25k program is 9 weeks long with 3 runs per week and a resting day (or two) in between.

First week:

• The very first run I did a combo of speedwalking and jogging with the intervals.
• The 2nd and 3rd run got progressively easier. Instead of walking, I am now able to jog and run.

Second week:

• The first day of the second week was quite brutal. I really had to exert myself to finish the run. I did 2 miles in 30 minutes.
• With the 2nd and 3rd run I saw some improvement. I am now able to run 2 miles in 27 minutes. 3 minutes is a huge difference in my book. I had to haul ass, but it was totally manageable.
  
• The 2nd week's podcast opens with Peter Presta - Rock the Funky Beats, which is my favorite song so far. It really gets me going. I'll probably end up buying this track.
  

I am looking forward to week three, which I planned on running Monday, Wednesday and Saturday of next week. I seriously hope I have the willpower to finish up all 9 weeks or however long it takes.

brooch

I love how Old Navy styled the cardigan here - leaving it unbutton, and crossover it with a decorative brooch (Click to see slightly bigger pic).



Cardigans are always in for fall, but does this also means that brooch is back too? I still have plenty "leftover" from 3-4 years ago. Sounds like they are ready to make a re-appearance.

grey and purple

I love the color grey. Purple, only on occasion. But I can't help but add this Banana Republic dress to my wishlist. It looks gorgeous and I can even pair it with a long sleeve shirt for winter.



Just a week ago Franki over at Life in a venti cup blogged about BR30 collection, and she is high fashion gal. So needless to say I was amazed (at both her and BR's fall collection).

I remember couple years back when BR and GAP had an identity crisis, BR's design was so casual, safari, and GAP-like that I promptly switched over to Jcrew's work wear. But BR has always fit me better, with their wide petite selection. I'm glad they are back. Time to start saving for fall.

sorry!

an email from a fellow project-from-hell team member:

Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.

We apologize for any inconvenience.

holy wedges

Is it wrong that I love these?




Guess who made them?

Then, click here and here to find out.

Freakin awesome plate

Taken from The German Car Blog:

Audi RS4: Numberplate of the year

I love the Imola Yellow RS4, but love the license plate even more! This cracks me up.

Buh bye *Five*bucks

Here is a list of all the Starbucks closing in Missouri:

Store#	Store Name	Address	City	State
2523	CLAYTON AND BAXTER	14815 CLAYTON RD	CHESTERFIELD	MO
13348	SR N & I64	7827 HWY N	DARDENNE PRAIRIE	MO
13511	GRAHAM & I 270	1261 GRAHAM RD	FLORISSANT	MO
9957	HOWDERSHELL & DUNN	6045 HOWDERSHELL RD	HAZELWOOD	MO
10834	W FLORISSANT @ LUCAS & HUNT	8031 W. FLORISSANT AVE	JENNINGS	MO
11853	13TH & MAIN	1 E H&R BLOCK WAY	KANSAS CITY	MO
13653	HWY 150 & HWY 291	3701 SW HOLLYWOOD DR	LEES SUMMIT	MO
9990	SR K & WELDON SPRING	4581 HWY K	O'FALLON	MO
10912	ELM & SH-370	3788 ELM ST	ST. CHARLES	MO
2422	UNION STATION	1820 MARKET ST	ST. LOUIS	MO
11360	MANCHESTER & SAPPINGTON	10025 MANCHESTER RD	ST. LOUIS	MO
11523	TELEGRAPH & ERB	6070 H TELEGRAPH RD	ST. LOUIS	MO
13764	EUCLID & LACLEDE	9 N EUCLID AVE	ST. LOUIS	MO
13765	7TH & RUSSELL	2000 S 7TH ST	ST. LOUIS	MO
14364	HWY 100 & S POINTE	3081 PHOENIX CENTER DR	WASHINGTON	MO
11920	LOCKWOOD & ROCK HILL	234 W LOCKWOOD	WEBSTER GROVE	MO
13323	HWY 94 & OFALLON	5851 WWOOD DR	WELDON SPRINGS	MO

See the Full list here.

So does this impact you getting your daily drink?
Or you have made the switch to local coffee house(s)?
Or you brew coffee at home?
Or you don't drink coffe so who cares anyways?

This C.O Bigelow hand lotion is awesome.

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Team bowling event, with bottomless beer

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Caffeine and sugar, i'm set for monday.

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target notebook

Just this past Sunday I bought a notebook from Target. It's from the greenroom eco line, printed with soy-based ink on recycled paper. What drew me to it was the cover, love the pattern!

And while starring at the notebook cover, it re-ignited my lemming for the Orla Kiely multi-stem bag. Of course, as usual, I'm too cheapskate to pay upwards of $100 for cloth/canvas bags.

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Banana, strawberry, cherries, ice. Yum!

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Look what's waiting for me on my desk.

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Perfect breakfast drink

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funny

I was chilling at my desk, eating Hardee's cheeseburger for lunch, and reading In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Audi R8.

I chuckled and about choked myself as I read thru the first 4 comments:

bad luck

Last night as I ran into the room with my laundry basket, I hit the mirror that was leaning against the wall. Time was in slow-motion for about 2 seconds... the mirror leaned slightly forward, and then fell full gravity speed, hitting the floor and shattered into pieces.

For a brief 5 sec, I wonder if I will be struck by 7 years of bad luck.

And it is all coming true like a nightmare.

This morning, I volunteered to make dinner for tonight, as the boy is on 12-hour duty at the base. So I was checking to see what kind of pasta we have in the pantry. As I reached up to grab the pasta, the flap of one of the boxes flipped open and the spaghetti flew out and landed all over the counter and the floor. Sigh.

So I cleaned up, crossing my fingers that this is the only "accident" of the day.

Fast forward 1 hour later, sitting at my desk at work, I reached out to grab my ipod. I guess the headphones were stuck under a heavy object, because as they came flying at me as it got unstuck, and hit my right eye.

*blink right eye, blink left eye*

*one eye blur, one eye clear*

Crap where is my contact lens? I shut my cube door and hovered my face on the ground, squinting with my one good eye, trying to catch a glimpse of the tiny piece of glass on the floor, while trying not to move in case I step on it. I finally enlist the help of my co-worker, and luckily he found the contact lens, laying on the ground in a place that I wouldn't have look.

I really hope the string of unlucky events has NOTHING to do with the broken mirror yesterday. 7 years is a loooong time to be unlucky.

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quote of the week

Rahul Sood is quoted on the strategy of the HP and VoodooPC acquisition saying

Voodoo inside HP is very much akin to the acquisition of Lamborghini into Audi. In the new Lamborghinis the quality is 100 times better, and in Audis, the styling has gotten more aggressive – it’s a win-win situation for both companies.

Whether I agree or not with the statement is a different story. The analogy, however, is something I can relate to.

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I fold

As I was browsing on Coach's website for my scarf post below, I came across this purse:
Coach Ergo Leather Convertible Tote

Which reminds me of this F+C tote that has been pretty popular in the past two years or so:
Foley + Corinna Mid City Tote

I hope the "fold" style stays "in" for a bit more - I definitely love the practicality of the design.

Playtime with your scarf

Let's talk about scarves, one of the more underrated and neglected fashion accessory. A well placed scarf can liven up a simple outfit. Target has tons of cute scarves and so does H&M, and with those prices they won't break your bank.

I really got into scarves a few years back when I stumbled across the "Playtime with your scarf" PDFs from Hermes.com. The digital booklet shows many many ways a scarf can be worn, and those are accompanied with illustrated steps. Here are screen grabs of the pdf thumbnails, with the pdf you can easily enlarge the pages and see the details... e.g. the knots.

Download Playtime with your scarf




Try tying one around the neck with a solid color short sleeve crew neck T for the summer.

Here is an even easier way to get started, do as my BFF does here with her green/grey purse, or like the Coach Madeline as seen on Coach's website.

Breakfast at Bob Evans.

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