Vacation Re-Cap Part II

Saturday started innocently enough.  It took us a while to get up, get ready, pack up all our shit, and take a 10 minute cab ride to our new hotel.  I grabbed this room off Jetsetter and I was pretty in love with this venue. We stayed at The Hudson -- seriously right by Central Park.  You know how sometimes you worry that it won't really look like it does online when you actually see it in person? Well, this place looked just as amazing!  Just spend most of your time in the city or the lobby and bar areas -- because your room is tiny. 

Entrance @ The Hudson Hotel NYC

Lobby @ The Hudson Hotel NYC

Also -- while I was checking in I asked the guy at the front desk for a brunch recommendation.  He did not steer us wrong.  He sent us to the very trendy looking East Village area from what I can tell when I Google this place.  Peels  is apparently the place to be for Brunch.  It was so beautiful inside and so delicious.  They aren't playing around with those biscuits.  And that's saying a lot coming from this southern girl.  I want to go every weekend!  

source for pic here

Anyway, down to the nitty gritty of Saturday....because some people just can't handle Vegas New York. 

Blogger and practically part of my family Lindsey (read here) read about my dilemma of being stood up for the rest of my weekend.  Even Little A was going to come back into the city from Long Island to watch the game with me if she could.  Lindsey hooks me up with B {total stranger to me} as a good friend of hers that she hasn't seen in a while that just moved to NYC.  B seems nice.  So nice that he texted me and was willing to take out a complete stranger to watch hours of football.  

Long story short Little A and her husband didn't end up going to Long Island. So we went to brunch. And then they went along with me and B to watch the game. 

I truly don't know what I was thinking that day. Brunch before The Big Game is apparently the equivalent of a Roofie. I bet no one admits to inadvertently doing this to themselves.  Except for me.  It was just too much. Last full day of vacay, SEC championship, and the joy of Saturday Brunch.  Pounding 4 cocktails with champagne and vodka over the course of the meal and racing back to change for the big game where buckets of beer went round and many shots were taken and no dinner was ever eaten. {ewps}  

When one makes numerous rookie mistakes like this things are bound to happen that you didn't plan. Like blacking out at halftime. {That's right. The best and most exciting game UGA plays in years and I have no idea what happened. Seriously. Can't tell you a thing about it}.  So the short and legal version of that night was - B was super fun.  We all apparently went back to the hotel bar {The Lodge} and had even more fun later that night.   

I meant to be a great tourist and to conquer my fear of wandering around NYC alone.  I meant to look chic while cruising MOMA. Get fresh air in the park and hop around Columbus Circle.  Except Sunday morning found The Single Gal blocks from her hotel throwing up in B's bathroom.  And later begging Air Tran to let her stand by for an earlier flight. OK. Maybe it wasn't that dramatic. They listed me no probs, I finally managed to eat a $10 sandwich and I was able to leave early.   And while nothing feels better than coming home it really was a great trip.  It was expensive and accompanied by the worst hangover I have had in years but in the end, I wouldn't change a thing .


Love you. Mean it. 
~the single gal~

Where I Talk About Embracing Poverty and Adventure in NYC

So.....I leave tomorrow. Yay for getting up at 4 a.m. No seriously, I'm ok with that part.  

The part I am NOT ok with...TDH had the nerve to cancel on me {real talk}!  When someone says to me, "I'll make it happen. Buy the ticket" I take that to be pretty damn suggestive of a 100% commitment.  Even more of an insult? Waiting until less than 7 days before to actually cancel.  Are there any grownups left in this universe to date? Is it too much to get some general courtesy between two people?   As a result earlier this week I was stuck scrambling to find a hotel room and now I'm taking suggestions for my weekend time alone in NYC.  I was going to crash in Long Island with Little A's in-law familia but I felt like I was imposing.  And it was super last minute.  And y'all know it would kill me to feel like I was being rude or freeloading.  So, I just decided that I was going to get a hotel and spend some time {and an exorbitant amount of money} in the city alone.  

Am I terrified that I will get lost and die? Absolutely.  But my hotel is pretty close to Central Park and MOMA and surely I can find a coffee shop in between if I need to kill more time before checking in to my room for Saturday.  I refuse to let it ruin my last vacation of 2012.  Little A may come back into the city Saturday to stay with me and watch football but if not, someone at least find me a good Thai place where I can order  dinner to take back and eat in my bed. 

And if all that fails there's always vodka.  Lots of vodka. 

{More news -- I'm clearly in an emotional cul de sac. Discuss.} 

So off I go to embrace poverty, adventure in NYC, and ponder the emotional cul de sac. 

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~

Weekend Happenings and Birthday Prep

 I hope everyone had a wonderful long (or wonderfully long) weekend.  I had to work on Monday -- but I needed a comp day to attend Little A's wedding as I am still building up PTO (lame) and it was OK because my manager let us go at 2 (yay!).  I had a great weekend even though it was short. I have done all my "pre" Birthday shopping, the philosophy behind this being that I would like to have said items around to wear during Birthday Season (read: the entire month of June). 

So...Saturday I got up and had a coffee date with The Housewife since she can't run right now and then I relaxed and headed into the city for shop serious shopping.  They just opened the Lilly Pulitzer store in Phipps and I just had to run in a take a look! It was super cute but y'all, I really can't ignore all the Lilly stuff at Belk -- because Belk has great sales, and well, Lilly wasn't having any of that on Saturday (or probably ever for that matter).  Here are a few things I am prepping for Birthday Season: 

Lilly Pulitzer Alaya Dress

Lilly Pulitzer Mimosa Skirt in Seersucker

(already worn it. love it. want to wear it every single day this summer. if i had thought enough to write a Monday Obsessions post, this would have been the feature)

Jack Rogers Navajo in Platinum

(note, these are en route from Piperlime so if I hate them I may return them. verdict pending.)

I also got in some serious pool time with my fave friend STV (sweet tea vodka), had two  dinners in the city with 3 Putt (Lord help me) at the Brookhaven Noche and back to the lovely patio at Varasano's (since repeating history is apparently a new theme with me right now) where he so eloquently stated that we were "seeing each other". Um, news to me. I have an idea how the story ends, but c'est la vie.  I stayed up very late on Sunday and I paid for it at work on Monday. I also ate lots of Fro Yo (duh). 

This week and next week are all about gearing up for Little A's wedding.  You will all be happy to know that nothing has changed I am basically still completely and utterly undateable for any real event in my life as I am sitting pretty and alone for my entire trip to Savannah.  I was going to try to entertain you with a lovely post about how undateable I am but I am truly exhausted just thinking about it all. Not to worry, there is plenty of fun to be had. I have the luxury of staying with the sweet, lovely, and amazing bride on Friday night for our last slumber party as Single Gals.  Little A and I used to spend the night with each other in middle school and stay home on Friday nights playing Scrabble  (see, I was undateable then, too).  I am so lucky to have her as a friend and I cannot wait to see her walk down the aisle and glow all day about how gorgeous and perfect one of my very best friends is that day, and always.  My dress is at the cleaners, I will be working on her rehearsal bouquet of ribbons from her shower, and praying to Little Baby Jesus to seriously help my car pass emissions testing so I can legally drive it on my road trip. 

Also - my spell check doesn't like the word "undateable". Let's call Webster and get it in the dictionary.  Single Gals need more words.  Because we are special. And sometimes undateable. 

What did everyone else do for Memorial Day? I want to hear about all your fun!

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~

Catching Up

Hi, Everyone! Just wanted to drop some quick lines so we can all catch up since life has been so busy! 

The Housewife has been super MIA. I am sure you noticed. But, she does have a valid excuse.  She is mid-rennovation this week and has been staying with her wonderful In-Laws while all the dust settles on those gorgeous hardwoods.  They ended up starting two days later than planned when The Housewife noticed that the brought in the wrong size planks for her floors.  It's always something!

We are still in full-on Bridesmaid mode this week! Today we leave for a girls trip to Folly Beach/Charleston, South Carolina for Little A's Bachelorette Weekend.  This vacation couldn't come soon enough for me for a few reasons.  First, I have decided to take another job.  I had some interviews over the last few weeks and found a more stable company that is also closer to home.  It's been a rough week because it's hard to put in your notice at a place you loved and leave your work family.  I have so many co-workers there that I value and some incredibly close friends there as well.  More on this later! Secondly, I have had to cut some vacation time I already had planned out since I have to start my new job where I need to accrue my PTO {lame}.  So I am going to enjoy every second of my time off until I go back to work on Tuesday. 

In other random news, I was jokingly texting Little A about TDH and then I sent a second blip about wanting to beg him to be my wedding date in June. Except I sent that text to TDH. Yes -- you read that last sentence correctly.  It didn't really mention him by name, but I was mortified.  Actually, I am still mortified.  I said "beg" for goodness sake! Beg!  I was dying {why does this not look like a real word????}.  Seriously.  I am a moron. 

Thank God he is nice and understanding and wrote me back immediately that it was "no big deal".  It doesn't appear that I have sent him running back into New Jersey to disappear forever {not yet anyway}. 

Also, I hate my iPhone right now.  You know, since it's my phone's fault, not mine...

The Housewife and I wish you an early "Happy Weekend" since we are hitting the road this morning! 

Love you. Mean it. 

~the single gal~

The Bridal Shower Crisis

Last week The Housewife and I had to get into serious TCB {Taking Care of Business} mode to get everything together for the bridal shower we were putting together for Little A.  I know y'all are really wondering about my vague mention of what will forever be known as "The Bridal Shower Crisis".  And most people looked at me like I was totally cray when I told them I was having this crisis.  Except when I told them what happened, they were all like "Seriouslythat'snotgoodatall!!!". 

The Housewife, myself, and our friend Mackie thought we were total badasses and reserved Mittie's Tea Room in cute little Old Town Roswell for the shower weeks ago.  This place has been there forever.  Then we had our perfect invites printed and mailed with all the deets.  Soooo perfect.  The Housewife sends off our $125 deposit to secure our date.  

Fast forward to last Saturday when I am harassing The Housewife to send the owner of Mittie's our final number.   She hadn't asked, but we are super anal planners so we are on top of that for her.  Except we never hear from her. We call Mittie's probably a million times. Except the phone line is disconnected.  At this point we are starting to wonder a bit and on Monday night I tell The Housewife to straight up send her a nasty gram to write us back.  Nothing.  The Housewife went so far as to drive out the to speak to someone in person...except no one was there. And no cars were in the parking lot.  

This is where we start to hyperventilate; a) because she already cashed our damn check and b) because we are scared we will show up with a total of 14 people and the doors will be locked and we won't have anything to eat or anywhere to have this shower.  The Housewife and I are straight freaking out.  So much so that we haven't even told Mackie anything about the situation (she lives in NYC so there wasn't much she could do at the time anyway). 

We basically had to make the decision to try to find another place to have this shower at the last minute.  The Housewife and I were in full agreement that the shame of having to call everyone and change the location was not as bad as the shame of showing up to some place that seemed closed for business.  In our frantic attempts to call the owner of Mittie's in Roswell we called the one in Alpharetta. They are the same except they are not affiliated with each other at all.  BUT...Cindy had one of her private rooms free.  She let us reserve this with no deposit and even gave The Housewife some food samples as if we were a hard sell. 

I did have to call my dear friend and tell her of the debacle for her shower and change the location, however; but everyone made it to the place and the actual shower went really well! We are currently working to get our deposit back from the crazy lady at the other tea room. 

Here are some of the pics!

The Housewife and Mackie are super crafty.  They made a towel cake and some really lovely tissue paper flowers.  My amazing supervisor at work baked our beautiful (and seriously delicious) lemon and vanilla cupcakes.

In the name of Pinterest I slit a wine cork and stuffed our invite in there to display it.  Yeah, the one with the wrong address for our shower.

Big thanks to sweet Carlonia for our cupcake tower!

Yarn wreath!

For party favors we sent the guests away with cookies! We used this amazing Etsy shop and got umbrellas and monogramed cookies in Little A's coral wedding color.  Not only were the cookies beautiful, but they were also delicious!


And now that we have braved the bridal shower we are moving on to the Bachelorette Party! Off to Charleston in less than two weeks!!!!!

Love you. Mean it.
~the single gal~

My Big Fat Single Gal Weekend

Some good visuals on what my “Single Gal Weekend Fun” pretty much consisted of....

I probably left the house twice. The first time for an 8 mile run with The Housewife in some rain coupled with what I would call I medical emergency (seriously, don’t ask -- I  might have had a mild case of food poisoning or something) and a crazy lady tracking us down to tell us she almost ran over us (totally would have been her fault so I am not sure why that happened). The important thing--we finished and I kept going!  The other good thing about all of our training so far is that I feel good and I think I am getting stronger and maybe a little faster (sigh of relief).  I just might be a real bad ass by the time December rolls around.

Even though I may have spent the weekend completely holed up and alone at my house it was actually nice after being out of town last weekend.  

Awesome things about staying home this weekend:

1. Spending my entire weekend with this guy, even though he doesn’t help with the house cleaning.

2. My vision plan changed at work which meant I got to return to my favorite eye doctor in the world. And he always tells me I have beautiful eyes which is super nice, even though I am sure he tells that to all the ladies.  

3.  I started a new book! And its YA lit so I should be finished by tonight.

4. Took some time for some personal, financial organization and am working really hard on getting back on a budget (Read: I have to stop buying what I want, when I want. I have a fur child to take care of now. I am seriously in denial as I just placed an order on jcrew.com).  Now if I could just get my software to work with my online banking transactions...

(Big thanks to Little A for sending me a gift card for Mvelopes! Seriously worth visiting this site. Trust.)

5. House is SUPER sparkly and clean which means I can relax my OCD tendencies a bit. Ignore the fact that I still have no curtains in the kitchen area. I mean, its only been 2 years since I moved in. Give a girl some time.

6. I tagged Bubba Watson in a tweet yesterday and he tweeted me back. TWICE! I feel like we are friends now.  Hoping he does well in The Open next week! Go Bubba! Go Dawgs!

Hope y'all had lovely, wonderful weekends!

~the single gal~

It's Almost Here...

The Royal Wedding! We are excited!

The Housewife is prepping and we will be eating a lovely breakfast at her place.

Also, Little A is in town for her sister's wedding and made a surprise last minute decision to come up a night early.  She is staying with me and we are up supes early to head over to the Housewife's place.  The champagne has been purchased and in the morning we will look just like this (admittedly, we will also look like this on Sunday while we brunch):




(photo courtesy of stinkylomax via tumblr)




Love you.  Mean it.