Dear Natalie Portman....

Dear Natalie Portman,

I'm pretty sure you want to be best friends with me. We have a lot in common... I didn't go to Harvard but I do like sarcasm, potty humor, and Obama. I also like vegetarians [I'm not one, but I like them - good for you!]. Another thing we have in common is I LOVE dogs too [if people wanted to interview me I would bring Oliver with me for sure]
See, don't we have a lot in common?
Don't you love me already?
I swear you will.

Love,

Annahita

Seriously. I love Natalie Portman. I feel like she's one of the many celebrities that I could definitely be friends with. [Amanda Bynes, Charles Barkley... don't be jealous your letters are coming soon!]

Natalie Portman's Funniest Moments on the Late Show with David Letterman

Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis: Natalie Portman

Inside the Actor's Studio: Natalie's Favorite Curseword:

This last one is my favorite Natalie Portman Video... seriously, I love that she can make fun or herself and put herself out there like this - it's one of the digital shorts from SNL but it is definitely the UNCENSORED version... **WARNING--it is pretty profane and by pretty, I mean REALLY... I like it but that doesn't mean you will... I like potty humor, if you don't... don't even click it.

How can you not love her?

new name?

what's in a name?

in a blog, a lot. clearly....

I'm contemplating a name change.

we'll say.

bare with me as I toy with it.... better now than later, right?

88 is a huge part of my life... my dad did Ham Radio for the majority of his life and 88 is the ham radio Q code for "hugs and kisses" or "love and kisses"

[here's a picture of us in "the shack" my dad's office with all his ham radio stuff]

so it's how my parents and I [especially my dad] said goodbye... 8 sideways also is the infinity symbol so it all comes together in this beautiful mess of why it's significant. love and kisses forever and ever... and ever...

hence forevereightyeight as the blogspot domain and now [for now] forever88 as the blog "name"

in other news like 10 40-50 year old women in my office are now having the conversation of whether or not they're "Team Edward" or "Team Jacob" [Is there even a question, Team Edward, DUH]

so....with that I'll leave you for now.

 88 lovies.

Black & White Wednesday [Yale University]

There's something special about the feel of a college campus... Yale is no exception...

Check out more of this weeks black and white photography at The Long Road to China...

nummy mummy toes.

I'm putting vanity aside and pretending that you won't notice how ugly my feet are or that my toenails need to be repainted [don't worry, already taken care of] and posting the next three pictures because they are just too hilairous not to share [and they definitely capture Oliver in his element].

the boy loves toes, what can I say....

bad bride...

I've been a bad, bad bride...[channeling Fiona Apple there].

No, seriously, I have fallen off the wedding planning wagon. No worries though, I'm getting back on NOW. The reality that our wedding is six months [185 days] away is a little terrifying considering we really haven't gotten too much done... but then the fact that we're already married and this is just a party for us to celebrate makes me chill out [maybe too much?].

So I'm setting some goals [publicly] to hold myself accountable... AND to be fair we have gotten a lot done especially this past week [DJ helped me get back on track].

We have:
-Save the Dates created and sent
-Secured the location [ceremony/reception same place]
-Secured a photographer
-All bridesmaids have bought dresses

-3 Bridesmaids have bought their shoes!

{Green Shoes via Zappos.com}

{Pink Shoes via Zappos.com}

{Yellow Shoes found at Nordstroms Rack!}

-We bought DJ's suit [one that he actually likes - a MAJOR feat! AND we bought it with a 25% off coupon, cha-ching, amazing] Pictured Below compliments of BananaRepublic.com

-Decided on groomsmen attire [2 button plain black suit and black converses]

-Had the first meeting with our caterer [DJ's uncle] who helped us TREMENDOUSLY with our timeline and thought process for the wedding...

We need to:

-Finalize Decor

-Buy vases/containers for centerpieces
-Book a florist for bouquets/boutonnieres
-Buy DECIDE ON and buy a wedding dress [Will do MUST do by July 31st]
-Finalize timeline
-Finalize menu
-Buy DECIDE ON and buy my shoes... I've found a lot of cute blue flats but hardly ANY in my big ole 9.5 shoe size... here are two that I'm kinda in between now...

{left pair via zappos.com}

 {right pair via 6pm.com}

-Decide on table linens
-Get an alcohol permit for the venue [August 31, 2010]
-Meet with our liquor distributor
-Book the band [we need a contract!.... Yes, DANNY I'm talking to you, I know you're reading this!!] [August 31, 2010]
-Meet with our photographer [August 31, 2010]
-Meet with the salon that is doing the hair/makeup for the day-of to schedule appointments [July 31 2010]
-Send email to friends/family reminding them to book flights/hotels early [July 31, 2010]
-Create and print invitations [Create by August 31, 2010]
-Mail invitations [TBD - sometime in the Fall]
-Book our room at the B&B [July 31, 2010]

Clearly the "we need to do" list is much longer than the "we have done" list... but that's okay... like I said, we're already married!

wow. I actually feel energized after writing all that and not exhausted.... and luckily I have the world's best husband who is extremely involved in the whole process [yes DJ I will try Duck Confit Pizza] and two best friends [and bridesmaids] who have gotten married in the last year who have been extremely generous [in a good AMAZING way] with advice! 

I'm excited we're not going overboard and we're taking care of a lot of the little details ourselves and we're really making the wedding reflect who we are as individuals and as a couple... I think it's going to turn out pretty darn amazing if I do say so myself.

Feel free to share any advice you have - my ears [and eyes] are wide open!

Simplicity Photo Challenge - "corners of my home"

see the rest of the entries here

Dear Make It or Break It... I love you.

I found a new TV show... that has ALL twenty episodes of the first season on hulu... and it's amazingly terrible -- or just amazing. Make It or Break It.  It's about four teen Olympic gymnastics hopefuls and their lives and journey to nationals [at least that's what I've picked up on so far]. This could be very bad for me... but then again, it gives me something to do when DJ is designing [even though I should be reading...]

Aren't they adorable?

Here's Lauren - we hate her. At least after watching two episodes we do.

BTW, we = me.

Yes, I speak the Queen's English now.

Lindi says you grow to love her... we'll see.

Check it out! You won't be sorry! [or you have better taste in TV than me and my friends and you'll laugh at me for being a tween. it's cool....] :)

Ollie Down Low - Photo Challenge

This weeks' photo challenge at You Capture was to "Get Down Low" so I got down real low [aka on the living room floor] and took some shots of Oliver... he is my favorite model afterall! :)

Hope you enjoy today's dose of Oliver cuteness.

He really is the such a sweet dog--which just makes him that much cuter in my mind!

my entry -- "tummy time"

and a few more just 'cause I know you love him... [and I do too]

happy friday!

Flashback Friday - "say hello to your friends..."

come on you know you all loved it as much as I did.

I really didn't play with toys... I was an only child so all I did was talk to myself [what? I'm entertaining]and read... and I LOVED The Babysitter's Club... we knew when every book came out and bought it that day. I owned... every single book [I think they're still in the garage in FL]

It was an expensive habit but I was lucky, one of the many things my parents were always great about was that they would buy me books to my hearts content...

I still get happy listening to the theme song. Don't you?

Bloggy Love

sweet Jess over at The Little Blonde Girl gave me some bloggy love -- here's how it works --

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.

2. Share seven things about yourself.

3. Pass this award along to five bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason!

4. Contact the bloggers you’ve picked and let them know about the award.

Thank you so much Jess! If you haven't checked out her blog "The Little Blonde Girl" yet go check it out it's really fun and interesting! And Jess also has an amazing tri-pawed dog! [we all know I love dogs]

 So here are my SEVEN things --

I am dyslexic - really bad with numbers, I have to triple check everything.

I have 5 scars on my face and over 10 on my legs [mostly knees]...I'm clutzy... clearly, REALLY clutzy

I have seen every episode of - Gilmore Girls, Friends, Sex and the City, Sportsnight, What I Like About You and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.... I love Rory Gilmore. We could be best friends, I know it.

I used to work in the higher education system and lived on college campuses for ten years [I've lived on five different college campuses]

I could eat sushi, pizza, and chocolate chip cookies everyday for every meal and NEVER get sick of it. Those are my three most favorite things!

My lucky [favorite] number is 14. DJ was born on 4/14 - I was born exactly 9 months later on 1/14 [I was made for him]. My best friend Lindi was also born on the 14th [of July] and DJ and were friends for 14 years before we got married... so many other "14" things in my life but those are the top ones that come to mind.

I already shared that DJ and I were friends for 14 years...what you might not know is that we only dated for one month before we got married... we "decided" on a Tuesday, he proposed on a Wednesday, we were married on a Friday... I flew out on a Saturday. We were apart for the first two weeks of our marriage... we both agree, those were up there among the worst two weeks EVER.

Those are some snippets about me! :) Hope you enjoyed -- here are some blogs I just started reading that I'm loving...

One Wasabi Mommy

Cream and Cotton

Selfishly Happy

Oh, My Darling

The Crimson Owl

NeverShoutNever - Trouble

I have recently fallen in love with this song [thank you pandora]

Maybe if I was 12 I'd think this kid was adorable and love him...

but I'm 27 and all I can think is "he needs a haircut"

...haircut or not, this song makes me smile.

holy new guilty pleasure batman--you're cut off!

I will be the first to admit I have AMAZING [ok terrible] taste in TV... the trashier the reality TV show, the more likely that I'll want to watch it [Tila Tequila, Rock of Love, Daisy of Love, Tool Academy... just plain terribly amazing].

So, we don't have cable [I hate you DJ] and honestly I hardly ever notice it [other than when reading my friends facebook statuses] and we have our TV hooked up to DJ's old Dell so we can watch hulu on it but all we really watch is Modern Family [aka BEST show EVER]...go watch it NOW if you dont already!

{image courtesy of disneydreaming.com}

well... now my world has just been turned upside down - and I must admit... I miss TV now...

[just a little]

and lets be honest we WILL have cable when college football season rolls around [I wonder if we can get the SEC channel in MA?]

BTW ONLY 71 days til kickoff in William's Brice.... aaah I can just hear 2001 playing right now...

{photo courtesty of secsportsfan.com}

whoops, sorry got distracted there...

back to the real reason for this post... You're Cut Off 

I came across this lovely gem of a TV show while running at the gym yesterday [I know you're proud, I'm proud of myself too]

VH1 has outdone themselves.... "being rich rehab" for nine spoiled princesses... they have been CUT-OFF and now have to suffer through reality TV hell. It's freaking classic. I love it.

I knew when I saw the bleached blonde big boobed Erica sitting on the floor in her "JAP and Proud" hot pink tank top talking about the difference between "old money and new money" we had a winner.... yes. I'm hooked. They only have one episode online right now [?!] so I'll have to figure out a way to time my runs around when it's playing... yes I'm that pathetic. Also, I think Jacqueline is going to win it all - she's sweet under that rich bitch spoiled exterior. We could be friends.... but only if she lends me her Chanel bag [she got her first one at age 5.... MOM?! wtf where is my Chanel bag?!]

You can watch episode two here.... which is exactly what I did at work today [thank God for dual monitors]!

Come on, I can picture it now, laying on the couch in PJs, Sunday afternoon hangover... what would be better than a You're Cut Off Marathon.... aaahh I can taste it now.

There's my I miss trashy-TV rant... go on judge me, it's okay, I judge myself.

goal of a lunch break.

DJ was in the town over from where I work today so I took my lunch break early [and extended it a bit] and met him at the local movie theater where they were playing the world cup USA vs Algeria game... holy amazingness. DJ is a pretty big soccer fan so he was all nerves [so cute] and I've gotten pretty into this world cup because of him - we went and saw the US team play in CT in their kick-off series the week before they flew to South Africa... pretty amazing.

It was so cool to watch in a movie theater full of people too on the big screen -- so much excitement and positive energy when they scored that goal... I almost cried, really. I know I'm a big baby... they were all just so happy!

That goal was unreal, I was about to be so heartbroken for the US if they were out of the cup without losing a game... so here are some of our family soccer pics :)

Ollie might be English but he still roots for the good ole USA [we imagine he has an english accent]

and some WAY overdue pics of the US vs Czech game in Hartford, CT....

Can't wait to watch the next USA game!

Crossing my fingers that it's during a weekend so I can enjoy it with DJ [and adult beverages]!

Black & White Wednesday [savannah in black+white]

a

I'm a sucker for Savannah... and Riverboats.

Check out more black and white photography at The Long Road to China...

oink oink

our lovely friends jeff & janis threw us a pig roast this weekend as a belated celebration of our marriage... it was really, really sweet with amaaaazing food. including this 83 pound pig... my apologies vegetarian friends but it was so GOOD.

 

one of the tents before the rest of the food was brought out - isn't it so nice? they are too sweet...  I wish I would have taken more pictures... but the wine was also good and I got a little distracted...

Their backyard... isn't their property beautiful?!

 and of course Oliver was the star of the show in his lei necklace...

our sweet boy was exhausted when we got him home...

so I went to take his lei off him and put him to bed when this happened...

he did NOT like this... but I had to snap a few pics before DJ saved Ollie's day....

our big boy is FIVE months today.... time flies!