It's Friday, Love

{ Sparkling Rose on a patio makes everything better }

Happy Friday everyone! This is my last post of the summer, as the the blog will be quiet next week while I'm on my annual Pre-Labor Day Staycation. I'm really excited to have the time to regroup, relax and get organized before fall gets here, but I'm also sad to say goodbye to summer. 

If I'm being honest though, this one wasn't the best. Vacations weren't as relaxing as I wanted them to be and more travel than normal has been hard on me. The long bike rides of last summer turned into shorter rides to at least get some sunshine and exercise in. I miss the feeling of accomplishment I used to get from those longer rides. Happy memories of summers past crept in as well and made me sad because I don't know when, or if, anything like them will come around again. Yea, we'll file this one away as "could have been better".

On the bright side, life does what it always does and offers us new beginnings. No matter how old I get, the first day of school always feels like the beginning of a new year. A chance to start over. A chance to incorporate what you've learned. A chance to do a little better. A chance to make some new amazing memories. 

See ya in September!

{ I don't even care if it cleans my hair, this stuff smells freakin amazing }

{ Flowers in the kitchen mean I was home most of the week }

{ A sad fact of getting older is that I literally can't go outside without sunglasses anymore }

{ Bubble Gum at Bombshell Salon }

Bean Town

Here's a couple quick pics from yesterday's lightning round trip to Boston and back. Not the smartest idea we've ever had, but definitely the most time effective. My organization holds a gala every year and this time Boston is our city of choice. This trip was a final walk through and tasting as well as last minute vendor meetings. There are so many details to hammer out and I'm always in awe of how event planners do it and stay sane (thanks Jenn!). I got a few minutes to play tourist and walk across the Harvard Campus. Unbeknownst to me it was Freshman Move-In Day. I felt old and intellectually inadequate to say the least. I don't remember being that young. Anyhoo, can't wait till October when all of our hard work pays off and we get to enjoy a fabulous evening in Boston and raise a lot of money. Hope you enjoy!

Don't Hit the Button

So here's the deal....

I wasn't feeling too hot towards the end of last week. I'd come off almost four weeks of extensive work travel, late nights, early flights, interacting with people 24 hours a day for days on end, etc. which takes a toll on me. I was worn out, finding it hard to muster the mental capacity to get anything done, and feeling sad about some things. Yuck!

Keep in mind I knew this was coming. It always does when you have the type of schedule I do and a particularly crazy period rears its ugly head. I plan, I tell myself it's going to happen, I even alert the people around me, but nothing really make you feel better when it all does go to hell in a hand-basket except sleep and time.

In my moody stupor I wrote a post last week that was intended to be published today. Thank God I've learned over the years to not hit "publish" until I at least let myself sleep on it for a night. It wasn't all bad, here's a particularly funny part if I do say so myself.

If you find yourself at Chez Fitzgerald there will be other outward signs of my need for a reset button as well. 

Exhibit 1: There will be a full load of dishes in the dishwasher, soap in the thingy that holds the soap but I will have forgotten to turn it on. 

Exhibit 2: My still-unpacked suitcase from last week’s trip will be lying in a heap in the corner of my bedroom. 

Exhibit 3: The entire contents of my bathroom cabinet are on the sink, not in the cabinet, whose sole purpose in life is to hold all of the things that you would normally leave strewn about on the sink so you don’t have to leave them strewn about on the sink! 

But the rest, not so much. Did writing it help me feel better? Absolutely. But should I publish it for the world to see? No.

I did have a very nice weekend and got some good sleep and sunshine so I'm feeling all recovered. Did I mention I have a 6:30am flight to Boston tomorrow?! Just up and back for the day so I'll manage. 

I will leave you with the actual ending of that post I wrote last week. I think it's a fitting end to today's as well. Another one of the salvageable sections. As I'm sure you can extrapolate, you were in for volumes of soul-searching. Better left between me and The Ferryman. He'll let me know how much I owe when I see him. 

I will next see you, my readers, Wednesday with some fun pics from Boston...

just listen….

There’s a little voice inside….

Today she is scattered. Her thoughts are jumbled, her prose without direction (thanks for hangin in)….

Today she is still a little worn out and maybe needs a good cry (God, I love a good cry)….

Today she’s mad because her photos seem stale and lifeless, carbon copies of better ones she’s taken….

Today she feels like crap because she ate a non-disclosed amount of boneless chicken wings and potato wedges from Buffalo Wild Wings last night (I think maybe 20% of what I ate was actual food the rest was chemicals and processed junk and maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I swear to God I can feel how bad my body feels today because of it. It tasted sooooo goooood though! NO, STOP IT!).

Today she needs some hot tea and a cuddle with Miss Austen…

Tomorrow she will feel better…..

It's Friday, Love

{ I've worn each of these hats this week, proof I am becoming my mother }

There's a lot that I'd like to write about how I'm feeling this week but I can't. So I'll just leave you with a few photographs. See ya Monday...

{ Found a great juice bar on Main St. near VCU }

{ Feeling very self sufficient I changed my own track lighting }

{ Been running a lot lately so I needed some new kicks }

{ Thanks for the new recycle bins City of Richmond }

Gloria

I don't have a large family, on either side, and we're also spread out around the country. It will come as no surprise then, that the highlight of my trip to Dallas last week was getting to see my aunt and uncle and cousin Amy and her family. We had a great time catching up. I hadn't actually seen them in six years since my grandmother's funeral. Being around people who knew someone you lost always makes it feel like that person is in the room again, sitting in the corner smiling and listening intently. Oddly enough that's generally what my grandmother did anyway. She was quiet, great with children and loved any and all sports. I miss her long fingernails that tickled my face as a child and her hats. I miss seeing her walking places (she never learned how to drive) and the way she signed her cards (xoxo). Yea, I miss her a whole heck of a lot so here's a couple of my favorite pics of her just because.

xoxo Kelly

Texas

Spent a few days in Texas last week for work, but honestly I didn't take as many pics as I'd hoped to. Part of it was that I was at a hotel that basically doubles as a cruise ship and I realized one afternoon I hadn't been outside in over 24 hours. Then I started going stir crazy and screamed get me out of here! I did get to play tourist and visit Dealy Plaza where JFK was shot (way more emotional than I thought it would be) and spend a day with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins who live there. So here's a couple pics hope you enjoy!

It's Friday, Love

{ My current best friend }

It has been what I'll call "a week". Seattle jet lag was not pleasant and then I turned right around and flew to Dallas for work. Three time zones in two weeks = I'm a little worn out. I also didn't get Wednesday's post up because I had a slight emergency at my house Tuesday night and I've been running ever since. I would like a reset button, a nap and a massage, please.

{ Oh look, another airport }

{ Maple Bacon Donuts from Lucy's }

{ I am now obsessed with finding wallpaper in this pattern }

{ How I would love to follow it }