Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Found this pin in Boston & couldn't resist. I'm a European mutt of sorts (German, English, French, Irish & Scottish or GEFIS?), but I'll cling to the small portion of Irish blood running through my veins today. Gártha!

Soon! Soon!

I'm putting together a fun collage of my favorite Spring fashion items. Great ideas, so little time. It's coming soon! In the meantime, please enjoy this melancholic distraction ;)

(Photo by Amanda, Seattle's Greenlake 200?)

My unexpected week of fashion

Monday: Watched Project Runway, Season 6 (disc 1). I wish I was advanced enough in my sewing to design clothing. Someday!
Tuesday: Watched Avatar in 3D at the IMAX, second viewing. For some reason I'm feeling blue this spring ;)
Wednesday: Off grocery shopping... a girl has to eat!
Thursday: 9:30am fashion show at corporate get-together. Evening, watched The September Issue. While the early morning show was RTW, it was fun to watch! Anna Wintour sure knows what she wants, so does the inspirational Grace Coddington.
Friday: Watched Valentino: The Last Emperor. There are dresses you'd sell a kidney for....I have two of those right? ;)

Dinner makes me happy!

Yummy Santa Fe Chicken Chili!! Thank you Gluten Free Goddess ;)

ps. hate it when I can't flip my iPhone pics in blogger...please tilt your monitor 90 degrees to the left for proper viewing. *grin*

How can you avoid over-consuming?

Find the perfect question.  Oui! The perfect question.  Looking towards my September move and the reduction of my life to a couple of suitcases the following comes to mind:

• I hate moving.  Carefully packing & hauling around heavy boxes.  Ick!
• I need to save money for the move.
• I have too much stuff.  What to do with it all?
• I'm only taking two suitcases to Paris. 

So what is a girl to do?  After a few closet purges & trips to Goodwill, I discovered my all important question: "Would I take this to Paris?"  (OR, if all my stuff is packed into two suitcases would this make the cut?).  Every time I go shopping or clean out my closet I ask myself that question.  You wouldn't believe the money I've saved & junk I've gotten rid of.

So what's your question?  

Parlez vous francais?

I don't, but I'm learning :) A friend gave me the Rosetta Stone French Level 1 program for Christmas. What a perfect gift! I'm a beginner, but find the Rosetta Stone program uses a variety of learning techniques that are registering with my brain. Hopefully it sticks! My goal is to practice 1 hour a day (on weekdays) and find a few native French speakers who are gracious enough to hear me butcher their language.

Au revoir!

Outfit: Rockstar :)

Outfit: Wet & Dry

Pardon the messy background. I've started taking pictures of outfits that I like. As someone who walks to work, I have to be prepared for rain or shine (yes, that does mean I bring shoes to the office sometimes). Here's the wet & dry version of my outfit.

hairdeco

I found this $3 treasure at Anthropologie the other day. Out of sheer laziness, I tend to avoid "hair things" (or hairdeco), but I'm making an exception :)

Then & Now: The Passport

Thank God it's time for a new passport!

 

2000 vs. 2010

Bonjour Paris!

I visited Paris for the first time when I was 17 years old. It was love at first sight. I decided then and there that I wanted to live in Paris for at least a year....at some point in my life. Two more visits (age 19 & 23) and I was utterly convinced; Paris is the place for me!

11 years later and I'm looking forward to seeing this dream come true. I plan on moving to Paris this Fall (yes, 2010) with a couple of friends and staying for a year.

So much to do, so little time! Job, visa, housing--not to mention, learning French :) I'll keep you posted on my progress. Here's to the beginning of a grand adventure!

Au revoir!
Amietta
(my French name, given to me by a barista in Paris who didn't understand "Amanda")

My Take: 50's Proper

I'd love to live at Anthropologie. Each morning I could wake up and find the perfect outfit. Until the day I'm given that opportunity, I'm going to borrow a few ideas.

Anthropologie's "Quiet Hours" outfit, 50's Proper Style

(apologize for the crummy photo)

My Take

Metro Moments: The #43

There's nothing quite like the #43 from Capitol Hill at 10:45 on a Monday evening.

Enter, two drunken friends. To ensure I'm not getting too lonely with my book & "bite me" attitude, these gentlemen divide & conquer. One sits behind me, screaming about how great President Obama is (he was just informed that the tax payers foot $8 out of the $10 it cost/per fare). The other sits right in front of me...just inches away, despite the empty seats behind me.

"Can I tell you something", he slurs. I barely look up from my reading to offer a polite grimace.
"Don't tell my old woman, swear on a stack of Bibles". This is always the beginning of a good metro conversation.
"You're very pretty". To which I respond through barred teeth "thank you?".

The conversation continues in a cyclical pattern for a few moments until the gentleman sitting in front of me says, "do you always wear black? You should wear some colors that pop". To which I begrudgingly admit that I do when I'm in the mood.

(How ironic that my colors this evening are grey, black & grey.....still he persists).

"Would you like?" He hold out a can of beer he's just pulled from his right pocket. I grimace again and say "no thanks". He reaches around into his inside jacket pocket and pulls out a different beer, holds it out to me. I communicate the universal head gesture for "no".

"You're weird", he says, "but that's okay".
"To each his own", I offer up as my last words (I hope).

"Don't tell my old woman, swear on a stack of Bibles", he says "you're look good".

*ding* Thank God it's my stop, any more compliments and I'm sure to be visiting a therapist to discuss my ego issues.

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This Metro Moment brought to you by:
Amanda, an Amused Adventurer

PS. I do intend on getting back into blogging this year. I couldn't resist sharing this moment. Back soon!

Christmastime is here

Which means I've been a little busier then usual (is that possible?). Within the past month I spent a week in Boston and a weekend in NYC. Both trips were fabulous! Now it's time to cram for Christmas gift making. That's right...back in September I thought it would be darling if I made most of my Christmas gifts. *panic setting in* As part of my gift giving, I'll likely be making sets of stationary/cards using my photographs. Usually I don't touch up or mess with my photos--what you see is what you get. This year I decided to have a little fun ;)

Creative Announcements

Friends asked me to take pictures for their "we're-expecting" announcement - really fun! Avid cyclist, I love how they incorporated their passion in this card: