Inauguration Day

Whether you are watching every minute of the inauguration coverage with bated breath or simply recording it on your DVR while you take a break to watch the Real Housewives of the O.C. (like I am), we are witnessing something great today.

No matter if you are red or if you are blue, today is a great day in American history...a day to set the bitterness & pride aside and simply hope that tomorrow will be a better day than today.

Maybe I am an idealist, but a little hope never hurt anybody, and at this stage in the game it can't possibly hurt the economy or the war on terror. So here's hoping for a brighter future. Here's to our new President, Barack Obama.

Winter Finds (Plus, the Real vs Fake Debate)

In honor of the newly fallen snow on the ground, I thought I'd highlight some my favorite winter finds over the last week or so.

First of all, I did go on a hunt for felt Christmas decor at my parents house, as previously discussed, but I didn't come back with much. However, when I returned I did order an amazing needle felted ornament online to perfectly commemorate 2008! It's from Etsy seller feltcafe:

I'm in love and cannot wait to receive it... GObama!

Next I splurged on some duds to keep me warm in the windy city.  The first one being The North Face Metropolis Jacket I bought in brownie. A serious splurge, but I found a great 20% off coupon code and bought it off Moosejaw. I figure with a 4 block walk from the loft to the train and another 4 blocks from the train to work each morning & night, I think I deserve it! Today was my 2nd day wearing it to work and in my mind it already paid for itself as I battled the wintry mix this morning.

I love it because it's long enough to cover my legs and with boots will protect most of my pants from the black sludgy aftermath of the snow storm. Speaking of boots, I also purchase these The North Face Boots and am eagerly awaiting their arrival:

You know, it's funny the things you get excited about when you commute by public transit as opposed to via a heated car :-)

I also grabbed a couple cute sweaters to wear to work from Anthropologie and this is my fave, the Pick-And-Choose Cardigan in grey! (sorry I can't grab the image for the post!)

So, now I feel really selfish about all the things I purchased FOR ME when this is the season of giving. So I'll move to something a little more green... both responsibly and literally! 

I have been going back and forth in my head, and out loud with my new husband, about getting a Real Tree versus a Fake Tree this Christmas. And just as I was debating the look, the cost and the carbon footprint that both would leave, a great blog i follow posted this today. So decision is final, it's going to be real this year! Now I'm trying to convince Dave to drive out to a tree farm to cut down our own (I really, really want to do this!) or to just go pick one up at a tree lot.  To me, that loses a little of it's luster, but I'm not sure i'll win this battle considering all of the driving back and forth to STL that we have been doing lately, and will be doing thru December.

Oh well, Tree Lot or Tree Farm, I can't wait to wear my new outerwear & sweater out to grab a wonderful Christmas tree and to be able to decorate it with my awesome new ornament!

My Word Vomit and Run-in with Biden

Ok, so I work in a building downtown that is the HQ of the Obama/Biden campaign. I have been excited about prospect of bumping into Obama for a while now and imagined myself reaching out to shake is hand or starting up some intelligent political conversation as we wait for the elevator. (i know, i know this will never happen, but can't a girl dream?).

Sure, we have seen his motorcade outside the lobby as we go down in the afternoons for lunch, but I have never had a sighting yet as I'm sure they are very stealth during this high-traffic time in our building.

But tonight came as a surprise. My 2 coworkers/coworker-outers and I were on our way downstairs returning from our Bridal Bootcamp class after work around 7:15 and suddenly we see the big parade of black SUV's pull up outside the lobby. Suddenly Senator Joe Biden steps out of the car. We try to casually hangout, but since we were the only ones there building security told us to keep walking. Well, on our way out the side door, in walks Biden! Well first secret service guys that told us to stand back and then Joe Biden and then more secret service guys.

We literally almost bumped into him, so instead of saying something intelligent, I say (reminder: I am sweaty in my workout gear at the point), "Hi, Joe!"... Yep. Not "Hello Senator Biden" or "Nice to meet you Mr. Biden, sir." But, "Hi Joe!" Like a 16 year-old girl who just ran into the Jonas Brothers! I'm a dork.

FLASHBACK:
This reminds me of the time when I saw former Project Runway star, Mykael Knight...

...getting out of a cab in Chicago and I scream, "Hi, Mykael!"... like he knew who I was or something. He shyly looked at me and gave a slight wave, but you could tell he was totally caught off gaurd that ANYONE even recognized him. Worse though in that situation, is the fact that no one else probably knew who he was and totally thought I was getting blown off by some random guy.

But I digress...let's get back to Biden.

To make matters worse, Joe Biden is actually a very attractive and statuesque man up close. Then after my word vomit, he looks right at me and my two friends and says, "Hello, ladies." SWOON!

ok so maybe he doesn't think I'm an idiot just because I did not address him properly, hey he's a man that looks out for the everyday people, right?

At this point I should either shake his hand or shut up. Well I did neither and instead blurted out, "I'm voting for you!". OMG. Now I really sound like a 16 year-old school girl, well actually more like an 18 year-old school girl, because otherwise I wouldn't even be able to vote. He smiled and continued on.

All in all it was an eventful evening as I left work. My legs were shaking for the next ten minutes as I walked to the train to go home. It think it was partially the squats from bootcamp, and partially me being politically star struck.

But what can we learn from this situation? Well probably nothing. I'd like to think of this as my dress rehersal, or dry run if you will, for when I finally "bump" into Obama. But odds are, if that ever does happen, I'm like to blurt out, "Hi Barack!" like we are lifelong friends. Who knows, maybe he'll appreciate that though :-)

Paris Hilton Ad in Response to McCain

This was just too funny NOT to post:

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die