WGP.

This week I’ve been having some serious WGP aka white girl problems. I was so looking forward to a relaxing weekend alone in my apartment with a few fun fall activities sprinkled in so I didn’t end up feeling too depressed with a lack of human contact. All in all, it was perfect. I went to bed relatively early; I watched multiple Lifetime movies; I slept in; I barely thought about work at all. However, when my first WGP slipped under my door Saturday morning, I almost lost my tranquil weekend mood. It was the rental renewal notice informing me that my 2012 rent will be going up…wait for it…FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS.

Yes, friends, four c-notes. For those of you who haven’t seen my abode, it’s lovely, but it’s small. The building is in a fantastic location, but it certainly hasn’t transformed enough in the past 12 months to make my monthly experience here worth an additional $400. They’ve got to be kidding me.

I moaned about this to my girlfriends on our way to Mt. Vernon on Saturday. We all know that DC is expensive, but somehow one bedroom apartment rents have taken on a new level of ridiculousness. As the only “single-liver” in the group, I wasn’t getting much sympathy. Understandably so. All residents of our nations capital pay more than we would like to…usually on the brink of what our salaries will allow us to afford. I managed to forget about the living situation for the rest of the afternoon because we ended up having such a nice time, so I saved my wallowing for Sunday.

On Sunday, I had brunch with a girlfriend who helped me find some perspective. My main complaints about my rental predicament were as follows: a) I don’t feel like finding a new apartment, b) moving is a huge, huge hassle, c) I like where I live, why should I have to relocate, and d) just plain angry that the leasing company cares so little about the residents who live here. Girlfriend helped me find the light. I’m lucky to be able to afford to live in a city as fabulous as the District. I’m lucky to have a job that affords me some flexibility in choosing an apartment in a neighborhood that I want to live in. I’m lucky I can afford to live on my own, and I can avoid the whole Craigslist roommate situation. I’m lucky if the biggest difference between my current apartment and a potential new home is stainless steel and granite.

Moving might be a pain, but it’s one week of un-fun-ness in exchange for 52 weeks of increased savings. It’s about continuing to learn to live within my means and not overextend myself on something as silly as a balcony and an updated kitchen. It’s a lesson in life’s unfairness and accepting challenges as they come. I know it sounds cliché, but the load God asks us to bear is never more than we can carry. I should be proud to know that He has made me into a person who can handle life’s stresses calmly and (kind of) gracefully.

Then, at the end of the weekend, I learned that one of my very young co-workers had passed away on Saturday night in a horrific car accident. It instantly made my WGP go away. For good. I cannot imagine the grief and sorrow the parents of this beautiful 23 year old are experiencing right now. Even though I work for a very large company, somehow my coworkers have felt like a family to me over the past two years, and even though I didn’t know her well, I think we’re all deeply saddened to lose a member of the work family. My thoughts and prayers are with Lauryn and her family tonight and remembering to focus on what’s truly important.

To Lauryn,

Lia

Fall Foliage.

M and I had the most fantastic fall foliage weekend last weekend. I was so much looking forward to this weekend, and it was almost foiled by work taking over my life and a yucky cold. On normal occasion, these two things would totally ruin my weekend. I’m so bad at letting things go and looking at the brighter side, but I’m really proud of myself this weekend for letting myself enjoy our activities.

First of all, we had the most fantastic weather. On Saturday and Sunday, it was 70 degrees, brightly sunny and not a cloud in the sky. We could not have had more perfect weather for a fall weekend. Let me tell you a little about the agenda. On Friday, we got in late, checked into the hotel and went to Applebees for dinner. Honestly, Winchester is dead. Applebees was by far the most hopping late night activity we witnessed. I think I was embarrassing M by strapping a heading pad to the left side of my head to ease and earache, but believe me, not one of the locals batted an eye. Saturday morning we hit IHOP for a country breakfast before heading out. We drove down to Shenandoah National Park and drove Skyline Drive down the mountain crests. I had never been on this drive before, but it was absolutely beautiful. It was so cold and windy on the top of the mountains, but I wrapped up in extra blankets and we enjoyed the ride and stopped at a bunch of lookout points to take in the scenery and snap pictures. We ended our drive at the Luray Caverns, which were just amazing. I wasn’t expecting 65 acres of cave 16 stories underground, and every rock formation was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. We took a tour and saw so many awesome things. I’m so glad we did this, and I loved it so much more than I thought it would. We ended Saturday night with dinner at a lovely restaurant in historic Winchester and watched an episode of Puppies vs. Babies (a new show we discovered on Animal Planet this weekend). Perfect night. On Sunday we went to a great little restaurant in Purcellville, VA for lunch. I found it online, and I wasn’t sure how it would be, but it ended up being a fantastic place to grab pizza before our afternoon. We then ventured on to two local vineyards to taste some wines and relax. Our second stop ended up being so incredibly relaxing. We tasted many wines in the old wine barn, then we bought a couple glasses and a box of cheese and headed outside. The weather was perfect and we had the best time chatting outside, eating and drinking. I never wanted it to end.

Unfortunately, the weekend came to an end, and we were back to work today. I had a majorly bad day, but I’m trying not to dwell on it. I’m still feeling under the weather, so outside of work, I’m mostly trying to concentrate on getting better and relaxing. I’m in for another fun fall weekend this weekend with some great girlfriends, so I need to get better!

More updates soon!

To loving Indian summer,

Lia

The Zoe Effect.

Rachel Zoe is not the kind of show I usually watch. I usually have a personal aversion to everything on E! or Bravo due to the fact that I somehow feel far less intelligent after watching these types of shows. (I don’t let myself get anywhere near Jersey Shore.) However, over the past few months, I’ve been letting myself indulge in the Kardashians, and it’s been a full-on slippery slope from there. I’m watching Real Housewives, Millionaire Matchmaker and most important, Rachel Zoe. I’m so embarrassed to be admitting this to all of you.

Anyway, I was up late last night watching my DVR-ed episode of Rachel, and I’m finding myself completely falling in love with her absolute ridiculousness. She’s literally nuts—all 9+ months preg and in six inch heels, skinny jeans and basically climbing up a tree for a photo shoot. She’s so incredibly driven and she puts her business before everything else. I think she’s resonating with me because I always feel guilty about putting work before everything else, but Rachel is just so blatantly proud of her accomplishments and she doesn’t feel guilty for a second about putting work first. Judge about her momma skills all you want—I love it about her.

Additionally, here is a list of other things I’m coveting about Ms. Zoe:

1. She ends work conference calls by yelling “Big Kiss” into the phone. I’d be fired or the bank would be sued for sexual harassment.
2. She looks amazing at all times. And she wears black. I’m contemplating only wearing black to work this fall. And animal print, of course.
3. Gay best friend/hairstylist/make-up artist. Need.
4. Her favorite color is white on white on white. Black, white and leopard are the only colors we need in this world.
5. She’s preg. Obvi I love.

On a complete other note, it’s absolutely pouring outside. I ran to CVS after work for some diet ginger ale (I’m feeling a little under the weather), and I was supposed to pick up a razor. I left mine in M’s shower last weekend. But, I forgot and now I don’t feel at all like going back out to get one. I might just be a hairy momma this weekend. Sorry M.

To the Zoe,

Lia

Fall.

I’ve been pretty bad about updating my blog recently. It’s like I woke up this week and suddenly it was autumn! I can’t believe we’re already halfway through October. Last week was a blur between early morning work meetings, recruiting in State College, working from Pittsburgh and about 12 hours in the car. (At least I had my audiobook.) To top it off, a million issues were going on at work, and I wasn’t at my “home base” to deal with them most efficiently.

Ok—done with the pity party.

On the bright side, M and I had a very relaxing weekend (almost too relaxing) with lots of naps, football and eating. I’m a little sorry to say that we really didn’t do much at all! Sometimes I feel like we need to pack our weekends together full of activities and adventures, but sometimes it’s nice to just relax and do nothing together too. I think the biggest part I miss about being in the same city as M is just doing nothing together: watching tv on the couch after work, cooking dinner, reading together, drinkings beers and chatting. Hopefully we’ll get through this time apart and is will make us appreciate those casual moments together even more in the future.

A few weekend highlights:

• Dinner with an old friend and her fantastic boyfriend. I haven’t had much time to spend with them over the past few years, but I’m so, so excited to reunite with them.
• Apple picking at a farm outside of Pittsburgh. I love couple dates, which is probably why I’m so excited about this weekend (more to come on that in a minute).
• Seeing so many old coworkers on Friday, especially one of my best work friends who I haven’t seen in TEN MONTHS. We had lunch together every day before I moved, and I can’t believe I made it this long without her. She had me absolutely cracking up all day. I even made her share a cube with me on Friday. J

Anyway, on to this weekend. I am so so so excited for a fall getaway with M. This Friday, we’re heading up to Winchester, VA to spend a quaint weekend in the historic small town. We have reservations at a tiny little restaurant; we’re driving down Skyline Drive to see the pretty leaves; we’re taking a tour of the Luray Caverns; and we’re touring a vineyard and trying yummy wines. Also, the weather is supposed to be perfect for fall—bright, sunny and 55 degrees. I can’t wait to put on cozy sweaters, big socks, tights and boots and enjoy this short fall season with M.

More updates soon! Maybe I’ll finally figure out how to post pictures of our our fall getaway!

To falling leaves and falling temperatures,

Lia