I Am Blondie

Packing Up

2010-06-22T14:05:00.004-04:00

The time has finally come. Many of you have heard me say (over and over) "this is the year! I am moving to New York!" but now it really is the year. I can't believe after 4 short years, I am finally saying goodbye to my homeless neighbors and leaving behind the delicious pizza. It is surprisingly bittersweet as I now actually have a life in New Haven and have made some great friends.

Things I will miss most in random order:

Bar Pizza
Margot and Bird
Claire's Loaf & Lithuanian Coffee Cake
Evenings at 151 Cold Spring with P&G
Nica's Caprese Panini
Bag Lady who used to preach all night long below my window while I was trying to sleep.
East Rock runs
Seeing vomit outside my building every single weekend morning. (3 times this week alone actually)
Breathing Room Yoga
After Hours at 4b with microwave popcorn.
Kathy O'Shea
Having my car broken into
Walking through Yale
Stephanie after 3 redbull vodkas ("SHOTS!!")
My cozy apartment

I leave here on Saturday. Before then I am hitting all of my favorite lunch spots, having dinner with the New Haven crew, going to Breathing Room at least 3 more times, saying good bye to my Hospitality 3 family and packing, all before heading to Fairfield for the Half Marathon on Sunday. Gus is freaking out. He thinks I am leaving him behind so he takes every opportunity to hop into whichever box/bin is currently on the floor. It's particularly annoying when he chews through the box.

While I am sad to say goodbye, I have summer vaca on the Cape and moving to NYC with my beloved to look forward to! New Haven, I promise I will come back for a visit (mainly to stuff myself full of pizza) soon. xoxo

Running

2010-06-10T18:07:00.003-04:00

I need to vent. I am sick of running and never want to run another race ever again. F' you half marathon.

Ok thats all.

Bling and Tears

2010-06-01T10:46:00.003-04:00

bling:

tears:

Red and I went allll the way to New Jersey this weekend to celebrate the marriage of our friends Meghan and Dan. I must have cried 5 times throughout the ceremony. I mean, seriously? Am I going to be like this forever or is this just a 'i am crying because thats going to be me in a year?' sort of thing? All I know is that the tears kept coming and my make-up turned goth after about 5 minutes. Post tears, I danced my face off and had a great time at their wedding. Cheers to the new Mr. and Mrs!

News

2010-05-27T23:30:00.007-04:00

Ok so many of you have been giving me a hard time about my 5 month hiatus from the blogging world but every professional author goes through a bout of writer's block at some point, right?

The floodgates have opened. I now have 12 months to write and write and write and annoy the crap out of all of you. My blog will now feature useless wedding and other grown-up life stuff, for I am engaged!! Old news I know, but news none the less. Everyone loves news even if they are completely distant from it (such as yourself, stalking my blog) and I love it too.

Most of you know the story at this point but I will give you the quick and dirty. My dashing redhead finally took the plunge and got down on one knee on the Ponte San Angelo in Rome, the city where it all began 5 years back. He wore a button-down shirt and his 'nice shoes' (suede Chuck's), a fancy outfit for a special occasion! He's the best. The sun was setting and my fingers were sticky from a large cone of Old Bridge gelato. It was perfect. I gave him a big smooch and said yes, then didn't say a word for 10 minutes until he begged me to "SAY SOMETHING". That night we celebrated like it was 1999 with his entire family minus Kevy. It was one of those nights that we will talk about until the day we die. Hope you are ready to hear about it again!

It's late and Gus is begging me to stop writing with those big sad eyes. So I leave you with one

quick antidote about our news. In 4 short weeks it had apparently crossed town lines and had spread county wide. MNLJ and I were heading to an engagement party so I ran into the Pottery Barn in Westport to pick out a gift for our lovely friends. I asked the lady at the register to kindly wrap it and she blurts out "You are Holly! Didn't you just get engaged?" Umm....I am not gonna lie, part of me got excited and thought 'maybe I have that elusive glow and by way of ESP this lady knows my name and knows that I am freshly engaged and want to shout it to the heavens??' The other part of me was totally creeped out and had no idea who she was. After this quick ponder, the woman obviously told me the connection and sigh I wasn't glowing and she didn't have ESP, her son went to school with Danny (my fiance's former name). She had heard the news.

Night!

a painful month

2010-01-22T16:28:00.007-05:00

I would like to take a moment and to celebrate the forthcoming end of January for a few reasons.

I will have had Gus for 2 months at this point and his frequent urge to relieve himself on my floor is decreasing at an exponential rate.
I am going on vacation with my family where the sun will be shining and I will not be shivering.
And finally, THE BIGGEST ONE. I end my month long journey of discovering a healthier, fitter, SOBER me. The MNLJ implemented this 'I will not drink in January decree" last year and let me tell you, I forgot over the past 365 days how miserable it really is. Sundays though Thursdays are a piece of cake. I wake up feeling energized and hit the gym hard in the evenings leaving me with a great sense of accomplishment on Friday mornings. But then it hits you, there is not one thing to look forward to in the impending weekend. They are straight misery with the exception of the 5-minute morning bliss when you wake up and think "wow i am not hungover. this is great!". But then you realize that there is no reason to be rested since you wont be galavanting around your favorite bars that evening. Misery strikes again and you would normally roll over to go back to bed, but your small pug is wiggling his tail and making a noise that kinda resembles a bark so alas, you get out of bed and begin your hungover-free day.

Just to give you taste of a sober weekend, here is what the MNLJ and I have in store:

Friday Night: Dinner with the Fabbri's at the famous Pepe's Pizza, where we will have to wait in line, minus the calming beer in hand. Following dinner, we will most likely flip through the shitty, free on-demand movies and argue about what to watch.
Saturday Night: Our favorite married couple is having a blow-out party in New Haven. If you are attending, I will see you by the food. If not, please imagine me standing by the food....yelling at Gus to stop chewing on electrical cords.

So now that I have officially depressed you, you understand what it is like to be a fun-loving, arms-in-the-air, woo-girl, stuck in the shoes of a fun-hating miserable biatch.

At least one of us is still enjoying a drink! TTYL when blondie returns with martini in hand.

**Disclaimer: Dramatization was used when writing this blog post.

Blondie secretly loves the perks of being sober and can now hold yoga poses like a champ.

Smoked Turkey

2009-12-02T15:57:00.007-05:00

My loving sister pointed out that I forgot a Turkey posting. Below are a set of pictures which paint a very nice picture of her Martha Stewart-inspired spread. She even made the little turkey place cards that were edible! I am trying to convince sis to open a bake shop and send me lots of treats as I am very good at taste-testing. Oh and my bro-in-law smoked a turkey on the Big Green Egg (this is a very awesome grill according to lots of men). It was arguably the best Thanksgiving Turkey I have ever sunk my teeth into! Overall we had a fantastic long weekend, cooking shopping, and basking in the 70 degree Atlanta weather.

There was only one disaster...crab dip made with rancid crab.

Okay done blowing up my blog for now. I plan to be dormant over the next few days, showing Gus the lay of the land. Wish me luck!

Christmas Tree Scent

2009-12-02T14:07:00.004-05:00

I don't know about you guys, but I LOVE the smell of Christmas so much so that I have 3 frasier fir scented candles. They smell remarkably like the real thing but I typically don't need to light them in December because my tree's natural aroma fills my oversized 500 SF apartment quite well. However this year it's a different story. My beautiful Charlie Brown tree, displayed in the picture below, smells like absolute shit! WTF?? Every time I walk through my front door I am violated by this weird, sour tree smell - I can't even describe it because I am at a loss for words about the whole situation. I am doubly pissed because the manly lady at Home Depot who sold me this stinky thing assured me it would smell like a regular pine. She was wrong and now I keep all 3 of my delightful fraiser fir candles burning around the clock. Home Depot is getting cole in their stocking if I have anything to do with it.

Love,

Smelly Tree Lady

its the most...

2009-12-01T11:02:00.006-05:00

Its officially the most wonderful time of the year. 1st) because it is Christmas and last night I spent 2 hours trimming my Charlie-Brown-style, 3-foot tree and 2nd) because I am going to be MASTER (not Mommy for all of you dog coo'ers) to a very small, wrinkly, blonde pug. While I do not like referring to myself as Mommy, I'm not gonna lie these past few months have felt like a pregnancy term. I read puppy reference books before bed, DVR'd the Dog Whisperer, moved furniture around (actually just the decorative 'branch shrubs' that the MNLJ informed me are ugly and should be discarded), and have purchased $300 worth of equipment/pee-pee pads/toys/treats. It is funny because I am stuck in the mentality that after Thursday there will be no time to do anything so I have been viciously cleaning and last night bought enough food to last me through Spring. I am having a Holly's last night of freedom get-together tomorrow night with my New Haven crowd

where we will drink copious amounts of wine and talk about dogs. Awesome, I know. Oh and probably watch Love Actually.

This weekend is going to be glorious. I pick up the little man on Thursday after work and spend all day Friday showing him around the hood. Friday evening my Cornell besties, Jenna and Kim, are training out to the Haven for a visit and Saturday the MNLJ shows up. Please prepare yourself for pug pictures and videos in 2 short days.

Pugs and Kisses (JK!!),
Blondie

TWO SIX

2009-11-17T11:04:00.000-05:00

26 today. woof.

Gus Selection

2009-11-16T22:41:00.002-05:00

Its been a longg time. I'm sorry for not sharing stories from Notre Dame, or Costa Rica but did you really care? Probably not. To sum up both, they were delightful (except for the part involving airplanes and Red...not delightful) and filled with friendship and rainbows.

It is final. Gus is now officially Gus and this is him:

Dog Day

2009-10-19T10:10:00.003-04:00

Saturday was a day full of dog. My friend Margot asked me to dog-sit her tea cup Maltisse, Lady Bird and around 2, Bird, Murph (a very under-the-weather-Murph) and I took a trip to the breeder to meet Gus.
I woke up at 8 AM after a raucous night in New Haven (hence Murph's sickly state). Reality hit. Staying up til 3:00 AM while consuming large amounts of sangria is not conducive to happily walking your dog 5 hours later...not to mention the joy of picking up dog shit with your hand in a plastic bag while wrestling an unsettled stomach. Sweet. I also realized that I know nothing about small dog etiquette. Growing up with a big dog was easy. The dog stayed home when you went out and wasn't allowed on the couch or bed. Wanting to be a good dog-sitter, I felt the need to take Bird everywhere I went. Was Bird allowed in my favorite corner bake shop? Could Bird walk through the lobby of the Study to get to my car? Was Bird going to pee on my passenger seat? All questions I didn't know the answer to. Oh well, everything was fabulous and Bird was a gem.

Bird the Co-Pilot

We arrived at the breeder's McMansion to the sound of 15 barking pugs, all very excited to have visitors. The rest is much better described through the following pictures. Words are not necessary.

this guy was my fave.

Only 46 more days....

TGIF

2009-10-16T13:42:00.001-04:00

Hi Friends.
It is Friday and for the first time in weeks, I do not have a bag packed, waiting to take off for another couple's retreat. Why is it that when you hit your mid-twenties every weekend is planned and typically single-sex oriented or couple-y? What happened to enjoying the same smelly bar 3 nights in a row and never getting sick of it? Oh right, I did get sick of it and wanted to kill all bars in Ithaca by the time graduation rolled around. So I just want a happy medium, a sprinkling of planned weekends with the majority spent at home. Hopefully when I arrive to the big apple (YES it will happen someday), I will stay put but knowing me, its doubtful.

Anyhoo, I would like to brief you on my latest and greatest couple's retreat (plus 2 glorious ladies) to the Poconos. It was gorgeous. The foliage, the macintosh apples, the Natty Light, and the brisk Pennsylvanian weather all made up for a pretty spectacular celebration of the Eye-tals and of CC's not-quite-25th birthday. I just wish that the house could have been a little bigger...(that was an inside joke, sorry). My new friend Molly made up a pretty spectacular Survivor drinking game that involved 10+ rounds of ridiculous, draw-a-mustache-on-your-self games/activities. Some rounds such as chug-a-beer-the-fastest, earned you immunity while others like Tumbling Tower (cheap generic version of Jenga), you played for your life. I made it all the way to the 5th round and lost during a vicious scavenger hunt. It isn't easy finding little green army figurines in a kitchen full of roosters!

I must give credit where credit is deserved. The following poster was created by the MNLJ prior to the getaway. Sadly it is missing the other 4 fabulous members of our group. I guess he just needed to show a little BC man-love. Please note how well the MNLJ's head fits on Vince Vaughn's body.

Much love and Happy Friday.

I am so back

2009-10-07T11:12:00.003-04:00

Hello, Hi, Hiya, Howdy! Thank God I don't have to say Aloha anymore, it was starting to really annoy me, not to mention all of you.

Well I finally made it home after a painless 24-hour trip. I slept both 5 hour legs so it really was kinda painless. My cabbie almost killed us a few times leaving the airport but I got to MNLJ’s in one piece. After sitting in his apartment for no more than 20 minutes, I said ‘F you jetlag’ and ran (seriously, I ran) to the retail Mecca of Soho. I didn't realize the serious case of withdrawal I had until stepping into the newly renovated, women only, JCrew store on Prince Street, chalk full of gray, brown, and navy. I knew right then that I was thrilled to be home, done with bright colored things, excited for the brisk weather, and ready to party.

Party I did. Upon completing the 3^rd leg of my trip back to New Haven (after a beautiful 13-hour night sleep) I picked up the phone and called my favorite newly weds. I requested their company for a ‘low-key’ dinner at a mediocre local joint and they agreed that it was would be fun to catch up over a ‘low-key’ dinner. Two glasses of Malbec later, we decided to meet up with a few other friends around the corner. 2 MORE glasses of Malbec later, we decided to hit the corner beer bar that has over 100 brews to choose from. This is when things got hazy…all I know is that we had $60 worth of libations (thanks to online banking), and at some point we crashed a group of old people’s photo shoot outside my building. Needless to say, I was late to work my first day back. How I missed this magical city.

Homeward Bound

2009-09-29T14:16:00.000-04:00

It is my last day on Kauai and I have mixed feelings. Last night I walked home from work to find this sky at the foot of my lanai and thought to myself, why the *&JK# am I going back to New Haven?? Then I thought about Gus, did a leg pump and made dinner.

During dinner, I reflected a little about my time here. A short list:

1. I have not worn pants (that sounds perverse...I wear shorts) since I flew out here in the beginning of August.

2. I never think about the weather. MNLJ and I are going to Boston this weekend for BC/Florida State game and I asked about the weather. He got quite and mumbled 'rainy' under his breath. Ughhh. Rain and cold, a combination I am not looking forward to.

3. I kind of want a pet rooster now.

4. I eat around 2500 calories of honey roasted macadamia nuts per week. Yikes.

5. I get tipsy off of one glass of wine.

6. I haven't watched the Food Network in 2 months because my cable sucks. I only get FitTV with its pornographic yoga shows and the Travel Channel with Man vs. Food and No Reservations. Neither of these tickle my fancy.

7. I enjoy going for walks, just for fun, just because. Usually I am not into this, probably because New Haven offers vistas of homeless people and car robbings instead of hot pink sunsets and rainbows.

8. I have never been so excited to come home to my bed. My bed here is seriously the most horrid thing I have ever experienced. Period.

9. I have not been out for breakfast once. Weird.

10. Last but not least, I am in a perpetual jolly mood here. I think I have forgotten how to bitch and moan but I am sure it's like riding a bike.

I am coming home! Aloha nui loa!

Nui Night

2009-09-27T15:36:00.001-04:00

Last night I went out to Tahiti Nui, locally referred to as "The Nui". The Nui is the only bar in a 20 mile radius open past 9:00. It is a 500 SF wooden box with a small stage and a sticky bar. Live music is a nightly staple and we had the pleasure of experiencing Willy Judah and The Burning Bush Reggae Band. There is nothing like a good reggae band. It hits you deep in the soul and brings out dance moves you never knew you had. I especially like the swirly snake arm movement that starts low and slowly works its way up until both your arms are in the air and somehow your hips get involved and then your head starts feeling it too and suddenly you are a big swirly dancing snake. It is magical. **Please note that I am describing others here, not myself - I hold true to my single arm fist pump no matter what the genre.

I went with the furniture installers to celebrate the end of the job. It was great to kick back on a social level and laugh a little instead of butting heads about scratched desk chairs. I'm not gonna lie, I had sweaty palms about staying up 'til 9 to leave for the bar...not to mention staying up past 9! I am typically tooth-brushed and tucked-in by 8:30ish in anticipation of Jordan and Angela's forbidden make-out session in the next episode of My So Called Life (sadly I finished the the show's first and only season two nights ago. Truly a phenomenal show). I pulled out all the stops though and stayed at the bar until 12:00. 12:00 AM! Can you believe it?? I even slept in until 7:30 this morning. It was a modern day Hawaiian miracle.

The best part about the night was the band's lead singer, Judah. I would like to reference one of my guest posts on the MNLJ. If you scroll down to the last picture, read the caption about meeting a man named Judah. I found out last night that Judah stars in his own reggae band.

The lesson here: The world is small but Kauai is even smaller. And yes Judah, I guess I will see you around.

Spent

2009-09-26T00:36:00.001-04:00

Just got home after 12 hours of moving furniture around and I am beat yo! (that one's for you Jack Fabbri). Tomorrow marks my 3rd hotel opening in 12 months....not bad for a 3 year veteran of the industry. Sadly, it will probably be another 3 years before I see another one. I am going out to celebrate lucky #3 with many a beer.

Labor Pains

2009-09-24T13:19:00.000-04:00

I am currently suffering severe labor pains for the birth of Saint Regis; due on Saturday, September 26th. I woke up to him kicking this morning at about 2:00 am. I was tossing and turning in my bed (better described as a hard, jagged rock) fretting about throw pillow quantities and broken lamps. Only 2 more days of insanity and then I am b-lining it straight to the beach where I will stay all day Saturday and Sunday. Thank the Sweet Lord.

Blackberry Photo of the Pool Set Up:

A good thing that did happen yesterday during my 14 hour work day was partaking in a 'live sim' at one of the restaurants. A few days before opening, upscale hotels will practice a variety of services on employees, friends and family. I ate a delicious 3 course dinner that included: a seared scallop app, coconut curry poached Onagu (yummy fish), and the best frickin' dessert I have had since I arrived on Kauai. It was like a gourmet Mounds candy bar served on a piece of dark chocolate a-la-mode with a scoop of hand-spun macnut icecream...oh and a macaroon too. Needless to say, I rolled myself out of there around 9 and was happy to be walking home. The spa manager is promising me a live sim before I leave. I told her I needed a 60 minute swedish massage. Stay tuned.

Countdown til' I am back in the New Haven Groove: 5 days

I am signing off with this adorable munchkin (MNLJ pretends he doesn't want me to get a pug but sends me these pics pretty frequently). Getting more and more excited every day for little Gus Gus.

maholo!

Daily Shower

2009-09-21T03:38:00.003-04:00

It rains really hard here. I usually forget that and leave things outside.

Trapped in Paradise

2009-09-20T16:38:00.003-04:00

Alohaaa and welcome to I am Blondie's debut posting.

I am officially unpacking my bags! I found out yesterday that I will not be leaving this magical island just yet. Am I ever coming back you ask? The answer to that question will not be known until I am physically sitting on the plane at 30,000 ft. You would think after 7 weeks of being here without family, friends, or a 6’5” redhead that I would be homesick and yearning to leave. The truth is, this place is intoxicating. I leap out of bed every morning excited for the day...It is kind of sick. I now understand why everyone around here is always smiling (75% of them are probably stoned but whatever, you get the point). So I will be returning to the mainland with an extended summer chalk full of experience and a tan to boot.

Spectacles like this make me never want to leave:

View from my Lanai at 6:15 AM

Speaking of new experiences, here are a few pics of the St. Regis I will be giving birth to next Saturday.

Front of Hotel

Entry to Lobby

Lobby 'Pico' (belly button in Hawaiian)

Lobby Lounge

Lounge Terrace

Restaurant Terrace

King Room

Seating Area

VIP Spa Treatment Room