Royal Wedding!

If you've followed my blog for any amount of time, you know I love a good royal wedding!  Having been an admirer of Princess Diana when I was a little girl (waking up before dawn to watch her wedding), I've continued to love Princes William and Harry and watch their lives unfold.  So you can only imagine how happy I was to see Harry happily married on Saturday morning.  I think Meghan Markle is fabulous and that they're a perfect match, so clearly in love.

Here are a few pictures I took of the family after the ceremony (I'm so grateful they asked me to be a part of their special day in this way)...If only. :)



I love the little kids cheesing it up in this pic!


I simply cannot with these two.  They're crazy gorgeous and I love everything about them.  I LOVED her dress and hair and veil and flowers and...(you get it).  Harry looked incredible.  I loved the ceremony, the gosple choir, the guest minister.  I love how it was held at Windsor, not in London (if you've never been, Windsor is this quaint village with an ancient castle outside of London and it is the most charming place ever).  It was just perfect.

And don't get me started on the reception dress...

Here's to happily ever after! :)

I'm a nerd.

I purchased a bag I didn't need so I could get this little pouch that came with it.  Why?  I didn't need the tote it was attached to,  I have a very nice tote I use most days.  I didn't need the poutch either.  It was because of the handwriting on the pouch.  I am a total handwriting nerd.

My friend received a wedding invitation that was beautiful.  Deep colors, hand calligraphy (but not traditional calligraphy, more modern and edgy), witty and clever.  And the envelope?  Forget it.  Antique stamps that matched the color scheme of the invitations.  I kept it.  It wasn't even a wedding I was invited to.  I am a total paper product nerd.

Net net, I'm a nerd.  I love paper and office supplies and pretty handwriting and stamps and scrapbook supplies and planners.  I subscribe to 900 magazines and I'm forever ripping out pictures that inspire me and I save them in little bins.

I'm obsessed with beautiful bedding and have more bedsheets and comforters than any one human should ever own in a lifetime.  I totally geek out over my bed when I change my sheets each week.

But I don't care.  I love it.  I love it all.

What makes you nerd out?  I'd love to hear!

Sunday, Sunday...

This was a good weekend.  Busy, sunny, warm (finally) and spent with friends.  

But Sundays...Sundays always ruin the weekend for me.  I have specific things I do on Sundays.  I change my sheets, dust and vacuum, start my laundry for the week.  I actually enjoy doing those things.  Knowing I'll be starting my week with clean sheets and a tidy house makes me happy.

And then I have reports I have to write that are due on Monday.  I could write them Monday morning before my 1pm meeting when I present the reports, but that just makes me dread Monday morning.  So I usually write them Sunday night while in bed.

But THAT makes me dread going to bed Sunday night.  It actually makes me feel tired when I wake up thinking about these reports.  No bueno.

So today, after I attended a party, ran a few errands and had a beer on the porch of a good friend, I went home.  It was about 4pm.  I wrote the report.  And I. Felt. So. Good.  So good that I started cleaning and taking care of things around the house.  I didn't feel that dreaded Sunday night feeling I feel every Sunday.

So lesson learned.  Just do it.  Get it done and move on and enjoy your life.  Stop giving the things you don't want to do power (I'm looking at you 'cleaning the attic').  Just do it and get on with it.  I'm so glad I did!

P.S.  These aren't difficult or particularly time consuming reports.  It's just the act of having to do them that makes me anxious.  Go figure.

Need a Good Read?

I am a bookworm.  I tear through books and devour them like cake.  I decided that I wanted to keep track of what I was reading this year, so I've been making a list of everything I read.  I just started my 17th book of the year, and I thought I'd share what I've like, and what has been just meh.

I'm a lover of historical fiction and mystery/thriller/twisty-turny books, so my list certainly reflects that.  I also joined Book of the Month Club last year, and I love it in that I get books when they're first released for WAY less than I'd pay (even with a Barnes & Noble Membership), and I get to chose books that I maybe wouldn't have chosen because I wasn't exposed to them.

So here's the list...

Fear Nothing (Lisa Gardner) - Typical grisly murder mystery.  Too long, could have been much shorter, but not bad.

A Conspiracy in Belgravia (Sherry Thomas)- Sherlock Holmes, but with his sister Charlotte being the real Holmes.  I loved this book for the mystery and different take on a classic).

The English Wife (Lauren Willig) - A twisty book set in the last 19th century NY and London.

As Bright As Heaven (Susan Meissner)- Loved this one.  Spanish Fever in Philadelphia and how it impacted families of all classes.  Full of imagery, really good.

A Study in Scarlet Women (Sherry Thomas) - Another Charlotte Holmes book.

The Perfect Nanny (Leila Slimani) - Good by creepy. The opening line is "The baby is dead."  Yeah.

Behind Her Eyes (Sarah Pinborough)- This one was ok, not great.  It took too long to get to the crux of the story and by that point I was sort of bored.

Stolen Beauty (Laurie Lico Albanese)- This was a great historical piece, set in the time of Gustav Klimt, focusing on one of his muses.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Good book, short chapters with several characters.

The Break Down (B.A. Paris)- This is another book by the author of Behind Closed Doors (which I loved).  This one was good, but not as good.  The main character sort of annoyed me, which made it hard for me to care.

The People We Hate at the Wedding (Grant Ginder) - Good, light read.  I liked some of the characters, others I didn't.  But overall, good.

Other People's Houses (Abbi Waxman) - Meh.  Too many characters, too thinly drawn.  Wouldn't recommend.

Marie Antoinette (Antonia Fraser) - Rich, comprehensive, non-fiction read about the life of Marie Antoinette.  This is the second time I've read this book twice and despite it's over 500 pages of text, I know I'll read it again.  It's just that good.

Madame de Pompadour (Christine Pevitt Algrant) - Nowhere NEAR as detailed or nuanced as Antonia Fraser's book (above).  Took me awhile to get through.

Secrets She Kept (Cathy Gohlke) - Well written WWII fiction.  Flash backs and great characters.  Loved it.

Then She Was Gone (Lisa Jewell) - I tore through this book in less than a day.  I think I had it figured out pretty quickly, but it was still very good and I wasn't 100% right (but verrrry close!)

The Perfect Mother (Aimee Molly)- So far, so good.

So tell me (if you got through all of that!!!), what are you reading?

20 Questions

What’s your Favorite Book? 

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Do you have any nicknames? 

My nieces and nephew and favorite littles call me 'Nenna' (created when Jack was teeny and couldn't say 'Jenny').  My friend Jill calls me 'J' (I call her 'J' as well).

What’s your most embarrassing childhood memory? 

My friend brought a pair of my tiny undies into school in 3rd grade that I left there after a sleepover because she was upset I brought in a Barbie she left at my house.  I didn't think anything of it because we were Barbie fanatics, but it embarrassed her and she retaliated.  

What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever been? 

This is difficult as I've been lucky enough to travel the world and I've seen so many beautiful places.  But I'd have to say, based on beauty and charm, Strasbourg, France.

Are you named after anyone? 

My great-grandmother, Jeanette Olive.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My tendency to overthink things and worry.  So unproductive.

If you could ask your pet 3 questions, what would they be?

Why do you bark so much?  Which of us is your favorite (even though I know it's me)?  Why can you not master the 'drop it' command?  We cannot play catch if you don't drop it. 

When you’re having a bad day, what do you do to make yourself feel better? 

Spend time with friends and wine.

Coffee or tea? 

Coffee.  Iced.

Who is the kindest person you know? 

There are two.  Chris and Dave.  And they are the best.

Favorite meal?

Bella Napoli Ham Sub with mayo and oil, chips and a Pepsi.

What's the biggest item on your to do list right now? 

I'm calling this a singular item, because in my head it is.  Cleaning and organizing the attic and laundry room (even though they're two completely separate rooms).

How many countries have you visited? 

Not at many as I'd like, but a lot.  Let's see...France, UK, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, India, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Bahamas, Switzerland, Austria, Canada, UAE, 

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? 

My next stop is Budapest, so let's say that!

If you could shop for free at one store, which would you choose?

Gah!  I want to say Anthropologie because I love it so, but I think I have to say Target.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I had no idea and still kind of don't. 

What’s your favourite day of the week? 

Friday.

Are you usually early or late? 

Early.

What’s the one food you could never bring yourself to eat? 

Octopus. For me it's a texture thing.

What’s your pet peeve? 

Clutter.

So it's decided...

I'm going to blog again.  I just realized how much I love writing, and I'm just not a paper journal kind of girl anymore.  Writing makes my hand tired.  #kidding #totallynotkidding

So check back this week for a post where I answer 20 questions...about myself! :)

And because a post is not a post without a picture...

Me, back in the day...

I think I’m coming back...

I miss writing. And I miss sharing the ridiculous and insignificant pieces of my life. So watch this space, and don’t call it a come back. :-)