January 24, 2009

What a week.

I finally put away our Christmas decorations last Sunday, so that certainly was a good way to start the week.

Then, I took Tuesday off so I could go here:


Dressed like this:


To see this:

Being a part of history, with my brother by my side: Priceless.


On Wednesday I met Jean from Renovation Therapy for lunch. I had won an auction on her blog that supported Katy Hughes and her mom in their quest to erase "homeless" from their bios. Not only was I happy to help out in some little way, I was even happier to receive a heartfelt thank you from Katy's mom that made me feel even better.
I had also bought a great vintage casserole dish from Jean's Etsy shop, so she schlepped that to lunch, too...packaged all pretty and stuff:


Just look at how she wrapped my coasters! Makes me want to run to
Michael's to buy fancy paper cutter thingies:


Here's the casserole...


It's in such great shape!


I can't wait to find something fun to bake in it for a bloggie show and tell!

There were also a couple of surprises...

A fab-u-lous vintage coat she scored in Florida that fits me like a glove (well, fits me like a coat, really):


And the book she just finished that I mentioned I wanted to read:


Bloggy buddies really are the best. ({{Sniff.}}

I've also been amazed by the nice things people have said about me lately (maybe there have been people who have said some not-so-nice things about me, too, but it's probably behind my back so I just don't know about it. ;-).

Sheila, The Quintessential Magpie also awarded me with the fabulous Proximidade Award earlier this month. Sheila cracks me up, and anyone who can put a genuine smile on my face is aces in my book. I've gotten emails from Sheila that have given me deep belly laughs. So to Sheila I pass the Lemonade Stand award that came to me from Blondie's Journal.


Blondie called me a, "real Jersey girl," which brought a smile to my face. As a transplanted New Yorker, I was slow to embrace moving "to other side" after college, but now I embrace all that is NJ -- from the Jersey Shore (home to the shore house, naturally), to Bruce and Sinatra, to gigantic slices of boardwalk pizza. Hooray NJ! And hooray, Blondie! She's relatively new to blogging, and has jumped in head first. She has posts that inspire, posts that are sentimental and posts that just make me smile -- like the one I read today where she talked about her spunky teenage daughter, who "has also, without any regard for her safety or good hygiene, rode the dolphins in a smelly pool while vacationing in Mexico." HA!
So to Blondie goes the You Are Truly Beautiful Award.

Maureen at Mom Times Two gave me a You Are Truly Beautiful Award. I had never heard of the award before, but love the sentiment. And I love Maureen's blog, and her wittiness (case in point: I still laugh at this photo caption of her infant daughter. Click over to see for yourself, and for a good chuckle) and kind heart. For Christmas, she gave the most thoughtful gift: She donated kids' PJs to The Pajama Program on behalf of her family members. Wow. I hadn't heard of this charity before, so was happy to see it's headquartered right by my office in NYC --and I am definitely going shopping to help them out.

Maureen's right: Who knew the Internet could connect complete strangers?

So to Maureen I award the aptly named Proximidade award above, originally from Sheila.

With that, my post has come full circle. :-)

34 comments:

Jean Martha said...

heeheehee did you see the sticker of my dolly in the corner of the coasters? LOL

I'm psyched that coat fits you. I thought it totally rocked!

Local Girl said...

Oh I'm so jealous you got to be there, I bet it was amazing! I was so proud watching on TV here. Thank you so much for sharing!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

I love this post, Laura, and I think you know you are one of my favorite bloggers. And how fun to get to the fesitivities in Washington and to get to have lunch with your blogging buddies! Neat stash of stuff you have there, too! I'm also proud of you for all of your awards... YOU, my friend, deserve all of them and then some! :-)

Thanks for the Lemonade Award! My grandmother's favorite expression was: "When life gives you lemons..." So I accept this happily and with a big ole Cheshire Cat grin on my mug thinking Granny would be proud. ;-) I love that it came from you and to you from Blondie because she's a riot! Do I still get to keep it if I'm unable to actually make lemonade in real life? You know my "skills" in the kitchen. ;-)

Love that shot of you and your brother. What cuties!

XO,

Sheila

Laura @ the shorehouse. said...

Jean -- I love it! We're going to the cleaners together now. I don't think it was ever worn! It's fab. THANK YOU!

Liz -- It was totally amazing (and FREEZING ;-) to be there in person. I've never had a feeling quite like it.

Sheila -- You always make me smile. We at the shore house amended that lemon saying to end, "....add vodka." ;-) (It really is delicious on a warm summer day!) An no; I promise you don't need to actually make the lemonade, LOL!

beachy in the burbs said...

Next time you make your way to DC, let's get together! We weren't here this time... while all the out-of-towners were making their way in for the inauguration, we couldn't wait to escape the cold, crowds, and traffic. Both of our office buildings were closed due to security and since we were given a paid day off, we escaped to Grand Cayman for the week.

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Hey, Laura, look at all the fun you've been having, lucky girl! I know that must have been quite the experience to be at the inauguration. Congrats on the awards & don't you just love that Sheila, she's great! I think I'm one of her favorite bloggers too, at least I hope I still am.

I just wish I could clone myself to be able to visit all the blogs I'd like to ALL the time.

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

What fun...and great friends! There is nothing better! Glad you were able to be a part of history!

Blondie's Journal said...

Laura...thank you for the award!! "I also want to thank The Academy..." I couldn't resist!! Thank you also for the sweet words. You were actually one of the very first people to come to my blog and I wanted to be as cool as you. LOL!!!

I can't believe that you were at the inauguration while we just had the TV. Abby will be so psyched to see your pics. Ar 17, she was more into it than anyone I know!

Thanks again!! :-)

xoxo
Jane

Leciawp said...

Laura! I didn't know you were going to DC - incredible!! If my little boys were a few years older, we would have made the trek. I love your photos.

Julie and Julia is one of my fave books - it inspired me to start blogging!!

tam said...

Hi Laurie! Congrats on the awards and for getting to go to D.C.! That coat is so pretty and loving the casserole dish too!~Smiles~Tam!

heidi said...

Awesome post, my friend! LOVE the DC pics. And that Coat? FABOO!!!!

Linda Lou said...

You are sooo lucky to have been to the inauguration, what a day, what an occasion to celebrate, it was so moving!! Looks like you scored some nice stuff while you were in D.C. Congrats on the awards.

The Cape House said...

I hope you had a great time on Tuesday! From the pictures, it looks like I was standing pretty close to you :)

Lorrie said...

Laura thanks so much for sharing your inauguration day pictures. I had a front-row seat in my living room, so I really enjoy the stories and pictures from people who could be there in person. It was an amazing day.

Enjoy all of your goodies too!

Where did you live in NY before you moved to NJ?

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Hi Laura!

How wonderful to be able to see the inauguration live with your brother! What a wonderful memory that will be for both of you! It was such a freezing day...have you thawed out yet?

Congrats on all the great awards and I know for sure your certainly do deserve them!
I hope you got my "thank you" e-mail for the incredibly kind thing you did for me and baby Leo! What a wonderful surprise! It's so adorable!

Hugs, Pat

Anonymous said...

Oh My Word, Laura, what a WEEK! Thanks so much for sharing! You know, there was a reporter at the inauguration (so I've heard) that was downright warm because she was wearing one of those snuggies. LOL. (I would secretly love one of them myself, although I'm afraid my husband would die from embarrassment if I wore one outside of the house)

please sir said...

Oh I love all your goodies - what a great wrapping job!

j.cro said...

I have that book on my TO READ list too!! And here's a recipe you can make in your casserole dish - I got it from latest Real Simple - I made it this weekend but I forgot the cauliflower. I added broccoli later on though and it was YUM!!!

Actually, I'll email you the recipe, I can't always remember how to make links.

j.cro said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

You know, I almost invited myself along to DC, but I figured it was too much of an effort to schlep down to NJ.

Sooo, you got a jacket AND a book? Hmm, I see. I only got one extra. I'm hurt.

j.cro said...

Here we go...



The recipe

Julia @ Hooked on Houses said...

You went to the inauguration?! Wow! I'm jealous. I would've loved to have been there.

You deserve all the nice things people are saying about you! :-)

Local Girl said...

Jinx! Here's an award from me too http://tinyurl.com/d5przw

Joyce said...

WOW- you found some great treasures! The coat is very neat.
Your week sounded busy and you accomplished so much!
I still feel like that little hamster in the cage. LOL...
Don't forget to share what you make in your new dish.
xoxo

Blondie's Journal said...

Laura,
Thanks for commenting on my last post, but please go back to the comments section-I left a note. Thanks

xoxo
Jane

Anonymous said...

lucky you!

and I love that coat, actually I love it all, what a great package to receive, amazing how the presentation makes it isn't it

Sarah

Sue said...

Hi Laura...your trip to Washington must have been amazing...But I heard there were 1 porta potty for every 6 thousand people...That wouldn't do for me...I love that dish you found, love those little red flowers...Hope your week is going well..Keep warm! Sue.

Jean Martha said...

RH/Phyliss - The coat (was in my Etsy shop) and book (I just finished reading it and she expressed an interest) were unrelated to the benefit auction...troublemaker!! LOL

Maureen said...

As Al Roker would say, "You were in my neck of the woods!" What an experience, huh? I loved reading that you did it with your brother. Those have always been my favorite road trips - my brother(s)/sister/me - any combination. I bet it was incredible.

Thanks for the nice comments and the award. So nice of you... your blog is a favorite.

Ms. Tee said...

That is so neat that you got to be in D.C. last week - wow! And you got all kinds of great goodies, too - I'd really like to have that vintage dish!

I love the photo of you & your brother - so cute. :) AND that's an awesome shot of the Washington monument at night~ Congratulations on the awards!!

black eyed susans kitchen said...

From one New Yorker who has become a Jersey Shore girl to another, I agree with all of those awards. Your blog is one of my favorites! You braved the cold in D.C. and will have memories about it for ever. It must have been a lifetime highlight for you.
♥, Susan

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

Wow, what fun you have had!!! :-)

pve design said...

Wow - what a week for you and well deserved for such a nice person. Great loot too. What fun!

My Days with Daisy said...

Hi I love your blog and am really jealous that you were in Washington.
Kim