Bonjour, Robin!

Robin had an 18hr lay-over here upon returning from visiting Hernando in Columbia. He rearranged all the luggage he had stored at our house, we made many, many plans for Paris over lunch, and then with his certificate in hand, we said goodbye at Dulles today. He said he had the best semester of his life here! We are going to miss you very much, dear friend!

This movie wrecked me.

Just saw it this evening. It was beautiful, funny, kinda crazy and very touching.

Fiona Hewitt

I can't think of a better way to begin showcasing my favorite artwork than by sharing my LOVE for Fiona Hewitt's work. You may have seen her stuff on Blue Q skin care products such as the popular Miso Pretty collection often seen at Borders books. I discovered these gorgeous paintings in a stationary set I purchased at Chronicle Books. (Fyi: It's still available even now, 2 yrs later!) I am in obsessive love with these pieces! So precious and endearing!

Camping Weekend

On Saturday, Bryan and I met up with our American Legion Riders motorcycle group for an evening of camping out, Virginia style. Our friends do not mess around when they get together, I am telling you. They are so well organized that everything always runs so smoothly and it just allows for a great time had by all! The campgrounds they chose had incredibly adorable renovated train caboose cars for rent. Awesome! Showers and kitchens and ac units, oh my! We had a blast and my only complaint is that we didn't stay a few more days.

As I was taking these pics, I was fantasizing that Bryan was busy unloading all our provisions and that our imaginary kids were bouncing around, excitedly picking which loft bed they would like to sleep in, all the while Birdie is watching them with her tail whipping like crazy and that I was fussing over the contents of the kitchen. It paints a pretty picture doesn't it?


How freakin' adorable is this?!

Surprisingly spacious inside due to length of car.

Kitchenette with table for four and wood-burning stove.

Beyond the two loft beds is a full bathroom and a door that opens into a bedroom with:
THE BED FROM HELL!

Seriously, we did not get ANY sleep that night! We tossed and turned so much that when we finally got up all we could really do was laugh about it. All of Bryan's shifting kept pulling the blanket under him and all night I was tugging and nudging him until finally at dawn he stood up, bunched up the blanket and tossed it on me while shouting, "I'm not even using it!!!"
THEN, when I got up a couple hours later, guess who's covered up to his chin with the warm cozy blanket?!

Tales from the Road #2

If you find yourself stuck in traffic for more than 3hrs and your car starts to overheat JUST as you are going over the 14th St. bridge into DC, you can turn your heater on full blast and that will cool off your engine AND save your ass. I shit you not!

Jetsetting throwback!

I am here today to proclaim my open endorsement for Virgin America. Let it be known to all that I think they are totally RAD! My qualifications for this compelling recommendation are as follows: I have been their passenger on 10 cross-country flights in the last 8 months. Nuff said!

There is nothing remarkable about check-in or boarding at the airport. The difference begins the moment you are on board. The plane is lit with beautiful purple/pink mood lighting. Once seated you notice your own TV. What? It's an interactive touch screen! Coolio! From this revolutionary device you can choose:

EAT: Order drinks, cocktails, food and snacks from your seat. FYI: The new Le Tourment Vert Absinthe cocktail tasted like straight medicine, yo! ICK

WATCH: Video on demand! Many, many movies, some prime time shows and even stand up comedy. Or you can just watch live TV. In one flight alone I watched the new Bride Wars movie, 2 Flight of the Conchords episodes and listen to a Mozart violin concerto.

TALK: You can join the in-flight chat room or text message fellow passengers! Bryan and I used it for a while before the flight attendant caught us and shamed us into just looking at each other and speaking! But when you've got your headphones on and your watching something, it's easier to text what you want to say!

PLAY: Video games! Seriously, that's freakin' awesome.

SHOP: This is where I was the most impressed. You can offset your carbon footprint for that flight for only 10 dollars. What an awesome idea! Many people don't know about purchasing credits to lower their environmental impact and this is an excellent way to introduce such an option.

Also, there is a remote control! It pops out of your seat arm rest and has a retractable cord attached. On one side of the remote there is a full qwerty keyboard for typing and the other side is for channel surfing. There is also an outlet for plugging in devices. As one pilot said before take-off once, "There is no reason for you to land with a dead cell phone ever again!"

Exhibit A- Model poses in seat with mood lighting in background.

Exhibit B- Model tests remote control.

Exhibit C- Model's passive aggressive tendencies surface after I make him take one too many pics.



In conclusion, I urge you to click on the link below and experience some of the magic instantly from your very own seat. Check out the mood lighting. It's fun. (I could work for these people!)

http://vadifference.virginamerica.com/vadiff/index.html