Also, for those of you that just feel the need to walk through the stores and feel and touch everything.  Get over it.

We’re in the GREAT RECESSION and time is money.  On-line shopping is the best invention since sliced bread, people!

Here are some of my fave sites for gifts:

Amazon.com — there is hardly anything you couldn’t find on this site!

Overstock.com – where they have amazing prices and I just got this amazing Hobo bag for a deal!  (Sorry little sis, was going to gift this to you for the holidays, but decided it looks too cute on me to part with!)

Red Envelope.com has really great finds — especially in the personalization department.

Others that I love:  Uncommon Goods and Sundance.

Of course, I love a good sale at Anthropologie!  (where I got the gift that I will be giving to my sister).

For the novice Ipad user, like myself, I would suggest getting an ITunes gift card so that they can buy all kinds of music and apps to their hearts content.  That would be pretty amazing, now that I think of it!

And if you have something in mind, a google search is just a click away!

And, as if you really even need a reason to go the easy route and do your holiday shopping on-line — it’s cold out there Baby! Why not spare yourself from getting cold and just click and buy!

Happy Shopping for the Holidays Everyone!

As a former fundraiser, I know all about the end-of-the-year scramble for money.  Additionally, with it being the holidays, everyone and their brother is asking for some of your hard earned cash.

Trust me, if I could give to everyone, I would.  It is hard to say no sometimes, but this one was too close to heart.

Many of you may know that in 2005, a friend and I had the opportunity to volunteer with the Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, which then flooded New Orleans.  It was the worst natural disaster we remember experiencing in our generation.  The footage of that day still hits hard whenever it comes on television.

Maybe it hits me harder because I was there.  I saw it with my own two eyes — and I didn’t even get assigned to New Orleans.  In fact, we barely got to go do the work we wanted because the Red Cross dispatch center was such a disaster itself.  My friend and I had to “work the system” to get assigned and only then could we actually get down to really helping with work.

When we finally made it to Columbia, MS we distributed meals to people as well as fresh water and ice.  Families had gone weeks without electricity and it was a scorching summer.  The heat was oppressive, to say the least.   We also worked with the National Guard and FEMA to keep the crowds organized and supplied with bottled water as they waited in long lines (at least a mile long).  It was hard work, and people were not happy.  Assistance was slow and folks were really in need.  We worked our asses off to help people for almost two weeks.  When it was time to go, I wanted to stay longer, but I had the job that pays me to go back to, so I had to say goodbye and get back to the comfortable, non-disaster affected city I lived in.

The memory of that experience lasts to me til this day, and I know it will forever.

Back to the cause I couldn’t say NO to.  The Disaster Accountability Project, started by Ben Smilowitz, whom we met on the way down to AL.  Ben started this organization after also witnessing the disaster of the disaster relief organizations.  It’s a great organization that does amazing work.  They monitor organizations to make sure they are accountable with the money they receive and are actually HELPING those in need.

If you have a spare $10, please consider giving to this worthy cause.

16 more days til Christmas!!!

See… she’s just like one of us.  I mean, who wants to let their hair down in front of the Queen and Barack Obama, right?

Check this out!

And, of course, we’re wondering what Kate will wear.  Who will she be wearing?

This morning, as I was driving next to the Capitol grounds on my way home from the gym, a red fox crossed the street in front of me.  Random!

Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera — but wish I could have taken a picture!

It was beautiful, and I’ve been obsessed all day with how I could see it again.  What is it doing on Capitol Hill?

Good question.

Apparently, it’s been on the loose since the beginning of the month.

You can see that HERE.

Wish me luck in spotting it again!

A lot’s been going on.  The economy crashed in the U.S. and all over the world, major disasters occur with such normalness these days, that it’s kind of scary.  Cholera is back with a vengeance in Haiti.  Michael Jackson is dead.  Barack Obama’s approval has dropped.  Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s DC rally topped both Glenn Beck’s and the NAACP’s in attendance.  Oprah is finishing up her show.  A real live tornado hit ground in Baltimore.

And my favorite story of the moment:  Prince William is officially engaged to Kate Middleton.

All my life, and I’m pretty sure I get this from my mom, I’ve been slightly obsessed with the royals.  My favorite book growing up was “The Little Princess”.  I remember being consumed with Princess Diana and her every move.  I remember the feeling of doom I had when John Kennedy Jr.’s plane went down and we lost him and Carolyn Bessett – the couple that came closest to U.S. Royalty for our generation.

But now it’s changing.  Prince William is getting married!

Don’t get me wrong, the economy still sucks.  Barack Obama’s presidency is till in troubled waters and the upcoming nuptials of two people I am pretty sure I will NEVER meet don’t make all that go away.  But a girl can dream, right? And that is what it’s all about, especially for us on this side of the Pond.

One word.  Escapism.

So, let’s start the wedding planning, everybody.

Rumor has it that our girl Kate has been venue shopping.

Kate after advancing Westminster Abbey

Will she pick Westminster Abbey?  Will she wear white?

So much to do!

I leave you with this, from my fave childhood book (which I’m pretty sure I read about 8 times):

“I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags, even if they aren’t pretty, or smart, or young. They’re still princesses. All of us.” – Frances Hodgson Burnett

Stay tuned until then…

You can check out a bunch of the marshmallow dioramas here at WaPo:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/04/10/GA2009041001969.html

And apparently, if you can’t get enough of them, they will now be selling them ALL YEAR ROUND at the National Harbor (where I have yet to go):

http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/top_shelf/2009/07/peeps_co_to_open_first_retail_space_at_national_harbor.html

As someone who is not so crazy about eating Peeps, I have become pretty obsessed with the art of Peeps.

So much to see that it is almost impossible to see everything in one visit.  I had the opportunity to go this weekend and it was a wonderful and different way to spend a Saturday night.  Walking around a huge building filled with art with a nice glass (er.. plastic)  of wine in your hand while you take it all is a nice change.  And, it’s open until 1AM, so you never feel rushed to get in and out of there.

Here are some of my notable favorites:

A coffin made of hand guns. Makes you think!

Like a life-size someecard.

Is there a message here?

And my favorite part of Artomatic.  PEEP-O-MATIC!

Look familiar? Flashback to Inauguration in Peep-size!

Keep (Peep) to the Right!!! Apparently even Peeps get annoyed by DC tourists!

Captain Sully Peep-o-fied!

Peep Jen(n)s!

Artomatic goes on until JULY 5th, so don’t miss it!  Did I mention it is TOTALLY FREE?

Check it out:  http://www.artomatic.org/

So, after an hour car ride to get to the airport, 2 plane trips totaling 10 1/2 hours of flying to get back to the States and a little over 3 hours on Amtrak, I finally made it back home to DC one day later.

Ready to get back to the grind tomorrow.  Sort of…

Here are some pics of my trip

Start at Taylor Gourmet

All I have to say is Chestnut Street hoagie and risotto balls.  OMG!

www.taylorgourmet.com

Then venture up the street to The Argonaut:

http://argonaut.typepad.com/

Margaritas on the outside patio…need I say more?

Ready for a round of mini golf and some amazing tex mex?  Check out the new H Street Country Club.

Hardest hole on the course!

Gettin' frisky with the Meter guy!

The H Street Country Club was awesome. And check out their menu (the food was delicious!):

http://www.hstreetcountryclub.com/eats

Finally, we ended up at The Pug.

All I have to say is how can you NOT love a place that serves you cheese balls as a snack to go with your drink?

There’s no actual website (since in my book a myspace page doesn’t count) so I can offer you this:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/bars-clubs/the-pug,1135440.html

Another new discovery this weekend:

EATONVILLE Restaurant

From the owner of Busboys & Poets – we have a new Southern comfort food restaurant in town.

www.eatonvillerestaurant.com

I ate dinner there with two Native South Carolinians who highly approved. And I quote: “These collard greens are done right!”. Need I say more? Check it out for yourselves…