An Ode

...to St. Pattie's Days of yesteryear.

2009...Doin it right at Sine's. (That's pronounced Shin-Ays)

At the time, this made sense for the holiday. Fabulous day.

Seriously...the best weekend ever.

love. endurance. strength. Important St. Pattie's Day mottos. 

Oh and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my lovely parental units. You picked a fabulous day to tie the knot!

Another year, another decade.

This is officially the decade of marriage and babies. How crazy is that?! It actually sounds a lot crazier than it actually is. I am 25 at the moment. So, obviously, I will be 35 by the end of the decade. Wow. At the beginning of the last decade I was 15 and just learning to drive a car. Even bigger WOW.

In other news, we have been without heat for the past week. In even bigger news, the ancient system needs an absurd amount of work. Things installed in 1920 tend to start breaking 90 years later. We are opting to get the work done in an attempt to survive the rest of the winter. It is currently 49 degrees in our house and a brisk 29 outside. My little space heater is working overtime and GOD BLESS the heated kitchen floor. The heater dudes came last week but had to order some parts (I'm pretty sure they used their time machine to order everything from the '20s), so they aren't able to come back until tomorrow. Thankfully I work from home on Mondays so I will be around to hear all the bad heating news and write big checks. Uggg.

Oh and in the BEST NEWS of the day, I have nailed down my one big resolution for the year - to bake one new cupcake recipe a month (if not more). I got some silicone cupcake pans for Xmas and want to put them to good use. Also, I am going to make all the recipes from scratch. No boxed mix for this little lady. I am sort of really into cupcakery so this should be fun. It is also something that I can actually stick to since what could be more fun than baking and eating tasty treats?! Sure beats resolving to work out more.

Picture time!!!!!!! Enjoy...

Me want cupcakes.

Ringing in the decade.

Begging for treats. Sit, smack lips, lift paw. Never fails.

Happy Decade everyone!!

Party like it's 2009

With the year's biggest party night just around the corner, it is time to start thinking about the most important question of the evening...what to wear. New Year's Eve is an excuse to get super dressed up and drink annoying amounts of champagne with friends. What could be better right?!

So here are a few of my Polyvore attempts at a NYE ensemble. I am IN LOVE with the gold Arden B dress and I decided to go nuts with some accessory options. Obviously I won't actually be buying most of the things below (Check out the price of the red shoes) but I love the inspiration. Thoughts?!

First up: Girlie Gold - pretty and sweet.

NYE 2009 Girlie Gold by carrie_on featuring Arden B

Items in this set:
Bow Front Sequin Tube Dress - Women's Clothing and Apparel - Chic..., $88
Ivory 'Camilla' faux fur shrug, 56 GBP
Calton Heel - Nude, Badgley Mischka, $179.99 FREE 2nd Day Shipping!, $180
Nordstrom Satin Ruffle Clutch, $88
Park avenue pearls ring, $95

Next up: Hardcore Gold - A little edgy with a dose of funk.

NYE Hardcore Gold by carrie_on featuring Pretty Polly tights

Items in this set:
Bow Front Sequin Tube Dress - Women's Clothing and Apparel - Chic..., $88
Urban Studded Bootie, $27
Landver 18ct Gold Plated Onyx Stone 'Spike' Ring, $127
ABS Allen Schwartz - 80's Rock Studded Resin Wide Bangle (Black/Gold)..., $73
Breanna's 2 Inch Textured Multi Strand Gold Hoop Earrings, $39

Here we have: Total Bling - I heart glitter.

NYE 2009 Total Bling by carrie_on featuring J Crew bags

Items in this set:
Bow Front Sequin Tube Dress - Women's Clothing and Apparel - Chic..., $88
Oasis Crochet Sequin Jacket, Grey, XS, 70 GBP
TEEZE-10G Pleaser Bordello Gold Glitter Platform Shoes, $70
for her - $50 & under - Crushed glitter minaudière - J.Crew, $50
David Yurman Pave Quatrefoil Drop Earrings

And finally: Kiss Kiss - who ya smoochin at midnight?!?!

NYE 2009 Kiss Kiss by carrie_on featuring Arden B

Items in this set:
Bow Front Sequin Tube Dress - Women's Clothing and Apparel - Chic..., $88
Red Open Pleat Mac, 60 GBP
RED SWAROVSKI PEEP TOE PUMP, $1,995
HEART LOVERS NECKLACE, 266 GBP
Bijoux Heart Gold-tone pansy ring, $117

Fabulous Carrie

Just like any other "normal" 20-something, I love me some Sex and the City and I'm super excited for movie numero deux to come out in May. Please observe this promo poster that my bff Mandizzle brought to my attention (sidenote - she is the reason I blog...she is the ORIGINAL blogger. But, sadly for you, her thoughts are private. Talk about juicy, I'm lucky I get to tune in! I also love me some Mandy).

Do you see the tagline?!?!?!?! Not only do I have a "famous" name, but my BLOG TITLE is also featured. Raise the roof.

In other news, my Analytics is indicating some more exciting new blog searches. I completely realize that by blogging about these keywords, I am creating more of an opportunity for people to find the blog by those terms. But whatevs. They are funny.

"Granddad's Sweet Tea" has directed not one, not two, not three, but FOUR visits to this blog. Is this some sort of delicious recipe that I am missing out on?!

Thanks to my DIY C-section antics, blog discoveries have been made by people searching: "twilight teeth c section," "c section with vampire teeth", and simply "diy c section" (holla!!).

Most excitingly, my freakish fake baby post lured in searches from, "baby batman," "fake baby," and my personal favorite, "fake baby heads". Does this mean that someone was actually searching for fake baby heads?!?!? Let's hope we can just chalk it up to good ole fashioned curiosity.

p.s. You are going to be completely blown away by my awesome DIY tacky Christmas sweater. I'm attending a little shindig tomorrow and couldn't resist the opportunity to go nuts with a costume. Two of my gfs and I really out tacked ourselves this year.

Here is a random photo for your viewing pleasure. Why? Because I can . TGIF people!

Imma tree. Those are my presents. XXXmas Party 2K6.

Christmas means...

I should write a post about my hair. 

I'm getting a bit overwhelmed by the Christmas spirit and it is only December 7th (**disclaimer** this blog is not PC, hence the reason I am not using the terms "Holiday" or "Winter Solstice" or "Joyful Season" or whatever. For me, this is Christmas time. Feel free to celebrate whatever your little heart decides. Moving on...). It seems that everywhere I turn someone is talking about Christmas trees, ornaments, wreathes, red Starbucks cups, wooden shoes (Google it),Tiger Woo.. - oops wrong subject- shopping, snow, cookie swaps, eggnog, and a partridge in a pear tree. So, to keep things even, I am going to write a post about my hair. I don't think you can get any less Christmas-y than that. 

First of all, to answer your question of, WHY hair? I answer...because I need advice. I'm due for a haircut and I have been contemplating what exactly I should do with the mop. My hair is a unique beast and it can be difficult to make hair-cuttery decisions (especially since it costs big $$ to get it done right). Keeping it long can get annoying since it is so thin and curly. Keeping it short can get annoying because it looks weird curly and I can't pull it back. Also, I am in some serious need of product advice...what works for curls?! What works for body?! My God where is Tim Gunn when I need him?!?! What hair products do you live by?!

Here is a rundown of my hair in its natural state: brown, curly, and thin. TA-DA! Nothing special. And now for a closer examination...

I started out blonde-ish. Weird bangs, kinda straight. 

My head's natural habitat. 

I didn't realize I had curly hair until about the 10th grade. One day I decided to put the blowdryer down and just let 'er rip. This is what I got. 

Actually, this is probably the most natural state for my entire head - hair and facial expression included.

It is both a curse and a blessing to have curly hair. If there is even an once of humidity in the air, forget about it. I get instant frizz and any attempt at "doing" my hair goes completely out the window. However, getting ready in the morning is super simple - all I have to do is shower and scrunch. No drying necessary. 

On days with zero humidity, or if I'm feelin kinda frisky, I'll whip out the blowdryer and curlers. But overall, achieving these looks is far too time consuming on a day to day basis. 

Whoa-ly Moley my hair was long. Circa 2007?? I don't think I could recreate these looks even if I tried. Yet another downside to my hair...no two days are EVER the same.

Recently, I chopped off a lot of length. I'm not a fan of wearing it curly like this, but I also really dislike having to blowdry it every day. Seriously I feel like I'm stuck in pandora's box with this one... 

So, the bottom line is, to cut short or not to cut short? And either way, what the heck should I use to keep things looking good? 

And now, feel free to continue talking about Christmasness.

DIY - The Wreath Edition

While the DIY C-Section probably takes the cake in terms of creative (and completely horrifying) DIY ideas, I must share my fantastico-work-in-progress Christmas wreath. Since my house is ridiculously cold and I must walk around wearing a woolen hat, Uggs, and a ThermalCare pain relief heating wrap (it's like my own personal heater!!), it is most definitely NOT too early to start decorating for Christmas. 

Brian and I hit up HomeGoods on Sunday to parooze the holiday schwag. I really wanted to get a wreath, but for some reason spending $25-30 for plastic-y and somewhat dorky (fake plastic Christmas birds?!) decor was too much for me to handle. And sparkly holiday snow squirted all over that plastic dorkiness?? Hmmm not so much. 

We left HG empty handed in terms of a wreath, but we did manage to snatch up some other goodies (You'll have to wait for my obligatory X-mas decor post for more on that). We headed over to Target (love!) to pick up a few other things and to check out their wreath selection. More crap there. I usually love all things Target, but the wreath selection was definitely lacking. But THEN I had a complete lightbulb moment. I could just buy one of those crappy plastic-y wreaths and cover it with Christmas bulbs and other fun non-dorky plastic-y things!! So we snatched up a large $14 piece of plastic-y goodness and lots of cute little bulbs. The thing is already looking better than its cheap-o cousins. Observe:

It's still a little sparse, but definitely much better than something like this, in my opinion:

Christmas threw up on this poor little wreath

In other news, I have decided NOT to post about T-Giving. I am totally T-Giving-ed out. I read lots-o-blogs and I'm totally done reading about turkeys and pies and gourds and Black Friday. And besides, it is December now and the OCD in me can't possibly post a T-Giving post in December. Anyways, I had a FABULOUS time with the fam in OBX, but I just can't bring myself to look at another picture of T-Giving food. For the record, I planned the entire menu and basically served as kitchen dictator for the meal. My kitchen better watch out; I swear I'm turning into a cooking machine.

Extreme Makeover, Carrie On Edition

I know we all LOVE Google Reader (how else would I entertain myself while Brian watches ESPN?) but today is the day to LET GO and actually VISIT my blog. Why?!?! BECAUSE IT LOOKS PURDY NOW!!!!! 

Nothing fancy-schmancy, but a huge improvement over the pink pepto-bismol-throw-up-fest that existed mere moments ago. And a big MUCHOS GRACIAS to the little bro for his help in making this overhaul possible. Tristan made the header happen - he even had to FIGHT Blogger to get the stupid thing to work. Sidenote - is it just me, or isn't Google supposed to be God?! Well then WHY is Blogger so freaking hard to use?! Come on Google! You make my life easy in so many ways, so stop "Waving" and make Blogger better!! And we're back - It is a miracle that I managed to change my sidebar titles all by myself. Just in case you don't feel like leaving the comforts of your Reader (booo on you!) here is the new header (with a convenient link to the brand schpanking new place). 

GET IT!?!?!??!

In other news, I almost managed to ruin T-giving by allowing my AWESOME apple pie to overflow onto the bottom of the oven. Lots of smoke ensued and the fiasco set us back almost 2 hours. Oooops! Oh and in case you didn't catch that, I MADE A FREAKING PIE, amongst other things. Details to come...

The Real T-Giving?

We all love T-Giving. There is no doubt about that. But what are we REALLY celebrating?? Wednesday Addams has an interesting take. So. Go eat some yummy food, take some naps, listen to Al Roker's annoying commentary, and WATCH THIS VIDEO. It does not disappoint. 

I'm thankful for all of you, my lovely, amazing readers. 

New Years Eve

I know it is only mid-November, but I am starting to get stressed over what the heck to do with myself for NYE. The past two years Brian hosted a party at his apartment just off of Cary Street and we attended the Carytown NYE celebrations that were just out his back door. This year we obviously don't have that luxury and I'm not so sure about what to do. The fam is planning a trip to NYC for just after Christmas, but we don't plan on staying to ring in the new year there. I feel like the world is my oyster (ok well more like the East Coast...or a place within driving distance of VA) and that I should start planning something now. The last thing I want to do is sit in front of the TV and watch annoying media personalities talk about absolutely nothing. 

And now on to some resolutions. I know this is kinda jumping the gun, but I'm sure there will be an UNBELIEVABLE amount of resolution posts on blogs at the end of next month and I would like to get mine out of the way now. So here you go:

1. Run the Monument 10K in under 60 minutes. 

2. Paint away the rest of the annoying colors in the house.

3. Blog at least 3-4 times a week (sorry, no daily blogging for this little lady. I've got to leave something to your imagination right?!)

4. Learn to freaking cook finally. Baby steps on this one...maybe 1 new or interesting dish a week.

5. Reunite with my best friends.

6. Go to a Phillies game in another state (outside of PA).

7. Learn about good wine and start drinking more of it.

8. Purge and organize every room in the house.

That's it for now, but I'm sure there will be more to add to that list. I can do all that in a year right?! I would hope so. 

Now I leave you with pics from NYEs past, enjoy!

Hello 2008.

Fine in 2009.

Cheers to 2010 being as fabulous as 2009!!!