sidenote: engagement tales, happy trails, garbage pails

• The biggest congrats ever to Brian and Alisa who got engaged on Friday night!!  This was 7 years in the making ... and a wedding that people have been waiting for since graduation.  Bri pulled off an incredible surprise  - not to mention an insanely gorgeous sparkler.  Though it will no doubt be an elegant and beautiful event (the bride has incredible taste), the guest list will mirror (and most likely behave like) a PSU sorority/fraternity formal.
• Hiked the Beacon trails on Saturday.  Felt really great to leave the city and get some fresh air in my lungs.  Would really like to attempt it not hungover some time.
• Had a total New York moment.  Forced myself out to go for a jog along the Hudson and continued to run until the Statue of Liberty was in plain sight.  Realized not everyone you can say they ran to Lady Liberty and back.
• Had a total moron moment.  Bumped into my friendly (very friendly) neighbor, Lawrence on my way out to run a few errands and while catching up with Missy on the phone. Learned there was a garbage chute in my stairway, saving me the awkward stares (totally understand now) from others in the elevator as I walked it down to our basement. Was completely distracted when he offered to take my garbage bag off my hands and dump it down the trash compactor. Told Lawrence he just made my day.  Realized as I stepped out into the lobby that I had passed Larry boy the $100 navy moleskin moccasins I planned to return to Zara.  Grabbed doorman to walk down to the basement with me and fish them out.  Tag still on, suspicious slime inside - let's hope Zara doesn't ask any questions ...

Not a Sunday passes when I don't ask myself where the weekend went.  So it's back to the grind ... gotta support my bridesmaid habit, my shopping habit and my 'throwing belongings accidentally in the garbage' habit.


Happy Monday folks.
-HMOH 

SIDENOTE: stay classy

WHY TODAY'S A GREAT DAY:

• Broke out my new mini cupcake trays and neon food coloring.  Brought extras (with cream cheese frosting) into the office and placed a sign that said, "Please eat these so I don't :)" 
• I'm finally allowed to announce that I've been asked to be a bridesmaid in Danielle and Jason's wedding next summer.  Bride's as much of an organization freak as I am - so this is a match maid (it's cheesy, deal with it) in heaven.
• May or may not have woken up to a text message that included  "How long is classy to wait these days?
• Crafted an excellent salad ... and stayed under $10.
• Bumped into an old friend in line to get salad.  Made plans to have his people call my people.
• Got a Lotus notes calendar invite for a "DELETE HIM FROM MY LIFE PARTY" next Tuesday at 10:00am.  Graciously accepted.
• Still laughing at the following email (sender will remain anonymous and ridiculous): Yo! Did I send you any obnoxious texts on Saturday?  If so, I apologize.  I broke my phone that night so I haven’t been able to see what I sent or what anyone sent back.  I’m really worried about this. I was OUT of my mind on Saturday-  I entered a break dancing contest. I won a break dancing contest.  I poured a bucket of ice on myself at the bar.  I poured a bucket of ice on a stranger at the bar.  I threw up in a cup.  I got kicked out of the bar for throwing up in a cup.  I snuck back in to the bar. I got kicked out again.  I snuck back in again.  I got kicked out again and got the cops called on me.  I ran back to the hotel. With my shirt off.  I still hurt. How was your weekend?
• Turkey Tacos Tonight!  Slaved over four lbs of turkey meat last night all in preparation for another "we should probably act like classy adults and have grown-up dinners" party. Response to my email calling for dinner at 8 p.m. included "I want you inside me."

And let's not forget that it's Wednesday already!


Stay classy,
HMOH

SIDENOTE: rebounding from the weekend

Seriously. Why do you get texts and calls on Sunday asking how your weekend was? It's 1 p.m. on Sunday - I'm pretty sure I still have a couple of hours left.  But then you respond with a "it was good" and you've called it quits by mid-day. So here we are at Monday with the full week ahead ... 

• Last week my college roommate came over to the place to drink wine, eat sushi and catch up.  It resulted in us sitting down on the floor and going through my yearly semester scrapbooks and reliving the glory days.  The glory days of double chins, late night pizza binges caught on camera (with printed film!) and poor choices in clothing, hair and "other".  I had to swear on my life not to tell her fiancé certain stories and thankfully, the wine made the obvious increase in pounds funnier with each passing page.
• And in trying to relive glory days, I spent Saturday night with college turned "real-life" friends at their apartment.  My BFFAEAE Jill and I found ourselves the token oldest girls in the room by far.  So the guys would walk over and talk to us about life and wanting to settle down (and other things that can not be discussed here), and then creep back over to the 23-year-olds to you know, settle down with them.
• Checked out an "urban rebounding" gym class, 1) because urban rebounding just makes you sound cool and 2) because I was informed it was a great workout.  Imagine step class on a trampoline. So I realized when I woke up half paralyzed yesterday that 'urban' is the cool part and 'rebounding' is how many days it takes for you to walk again.
• I stepped out to run an errand today and passed the staple charity worker with a cut open jug of Poland Spring collecting money for the homeless.  I'm still not sure if this is legit or a really smart bum (NYC - you know what I'm talking about, weigh in here).  As always, I felt a sense of guilt and dumped my change into his bin.  I have probably donated hundreds to this Poland Spring set up, but when I went to purchase what I had run out to get - I owed 8 cents in change. I now have $.92 cents and an extra 5 lbs in my wallet, all for being charitable.
• I spent the day home with my mom yesterday shopping and getting my Halloween costume together. I also got fed a homecooked Italian meal. If you know my mom, you know what I'm talking about.  Hell, if you know Vinny's mom on Jersey Shore, you know what I'm talking about.  Well, this morning I popped onto the subway and got a huge whiff of mothballs.  There was no one over 75 to blame it on, so I chalked it up to people breaking out the old winter jackets and stinking the place up.  Then I realized I was in no position to judge since the leather jacket I was wearing smelled liked meatballs ...

Don't worry - it was just the 2 of us.

• Just as much as I love meatballs, I love being famous.  Check out Kelsey + Will's wedding on their awesome photographer's blog.  More importantly, stop looking at the happy couple and check out the HMOH's handmaid (see what I did there?) drink sign. 

Here's to a good week.
-HMOH

SIDENOTE: no sh*t sherlock

Hmmm, Tuesday. The weekend flew by and then yesterday's holiday that's not really a holiday because you still have to work came and went.  I have a stain on my new shirt on account of my second cup of mid-day coffee ... and in the past couple of days I've found myself (on multiple occasions) pausing mid-convo with friends to talk about the fact that we're talking about the fact that we're funny and pretty and awesome. 


Here's what else:

• The Nittany Lions are even worse than my college days - you know when we boo'ed our own QB off the field.  I decided it's nice to have a losing football season for a while.  Gives you your Saturday back to get things done, like you know ...  have a wine picnic in Central Park.
• Two great dining experiences this past weekend. Must try dbgb. After pretending we were waitstaff, we intimidated a couple into leaving so we could grab their table. Try the bangers and weiners section and try not to laugh after a couple glasses of wine.  Check out Good because the name says it all and because it's rather challenging to come up with a different adjective when you're asked how your food is.  
• I came into work yesterday morning to the following email subject line that made my day: "booo Monday and I'm not pretty (because I didn't shower)"
• The marketplace across from my apartment has the most overwhelming refrigerated dip aisle you could possibly imagine. Don't worry. You don't have to imagine. This picture gives you enough anxiety.

• I'm pretty sure the thunderstorms in NYC last night were an indication that the world is ending. It was the first time I was nervous to live alone ... the only thing that got me through it was the fact that I'd finally get to wear out my new, awesome rain boots. Imagine my disappointment when I woke up to sunny skies.
• Do not. And I mean DO NOT EVER underestimate the stalking capabilities of girls in PR. The unbound skills to locate someone through search terms deep within Google pages and a friend of a friend of a friend on Facebook is just astounding (and plain criminal). 
• Kudos, JCrew.  Your design team has its shit together.  I stopped in there and tried on a pair of "Minnie" pants - liked the fit, stuck to my size, etc. I asked the saleswoman if they stretched and her response was "Oh, absolutely.  You MUST get the size down." Andddd clearly I picked up the same pair in two more colors.

-HMOH

HMOH real-life awkward wedding photo #1008

In my earlier call for awkward wedding photos, I received the following "delicate" picture taken by a professional - read: professional - photographer.  Some old, something new, something borrowed, something less than attractive?  The bride is going to go ahead and order an 8x12 of this baby for the coffee table album.  

This is real life people (it's from a friend's wedding), so please continue to send awkward Big Day photos ... and I'll share them here.  

andddd ... it's Friday

-HMOH

SIDENOTE: like riding a bike

After yesterday's post I received various instant messages and emails from friends telling me they cried at the vintage Well Spun video and loved the information (good!).  I was also informed it was "dumb for guys" and I should put a disclaimer warning prior to "girls only" posts that instructed men there was no need to read any further. Duly noted.  

For those concerned with time management - no worries, this post can be enjoyed by all ...

• You know how there are certain things that when you haven't done them for a while people say, "Don't worry! It's like riding a bike." Well last night I took a spin class and when you haven't done it in a while ... 'like riding a bike' hurts!
• Biggest Loser Club is off to a competitive start and the stars are amounting. And when I admitted to a few competitors that I now judge people for eating food off the back table, they laughed and said they'd been mentally noting offenders all afternoon. 
• I worked a late day at the office and the last thing I wanted to do was head to the gym. However, I'm a competitive person.  So I found myself watching the 400 lbs contestant on The Biggest Loser sweat it out (and almost die) ... from the Arc Trainer where I was faking shin splints. 
• How come Columbus Day isn't a mandatory vacation day? I'd like to celebrate this country being accidentally bumped into and renamed. I mean there are clothing sales and Sleepy's mattress sales - clearly I can't adequately appreciate all Columbus did for me from my office.
• I'm also really bummed because my friend (not my conscience) told me I'm not allowed to post my sincere congratulations to someone for his upcoming trip to the alter with the girl he cheated on me with. I compromised by agreeing not to mention she has sideburns.
• An actually sincere congrats and tons of love to Ashley and Doug on last weekend's engagement!! After meeting on a trip to Isreal, the two are headed for a forever together. Read their romantic story here.

TGIalmostF, boys

-HMOH

HMOH tip #1006: super 8 the wedding date

My cousin is a talented artist, producer and videographer.  As a student at NYU, he moved into my grandparents old Brooklyn apartment and transformed it into a hipster paradise (yuppie :P).  He also found some incredible old photos of our family - from my grandparents' courtship, to my dad's childhood in Tunisia,  and then Brooklyn dinner parties with the whole gang.  Moments only the likes of Scorcese (and my Nonna) could capture.  Pictures that we're nostalgic for and also those we'd love to recreate.  

Now let's take romanticized, old-school photos to the wedding scene.  Check out Well Spun Wedding Videos,a boutique-style video company that can help you transform your wedding film into a vintage wonder.  I'm stuck on their videos!! And what's better - if you're not planning your own wedding, they also allow you to create an incredibly unique (and hipster) gift for the couple.

16mm in the Orchard from Well Spun Wedding Films on Vimeo.

If you want to transform your friend's wedding into one of these great pieces, chances are your parents or grandparents have a Super 8 camera stowed away somewhere - and it's likely yours for the taking. If no one in your family is cool enough to have a Super 8 lying around, you can always snag one on eBay for about $60.  Once you've attended and captured the wedding, send Well Spun the film and they will take care of developing and work with you to edit it into a little film with music. They can make a version for online viewing (e.g., Facebook), as well as put it on DVDs. This gift requires some attic cleaning or garage sale hopping - but it's something you definitely won't be able to find on the registry.  

Why do it beside the fact that it's cool?  Vintage is all the rage - check the brides who are wearing netted hairpieces to replace the traditional veil.  There are behind-the-scene moments that deserve a soundtrack. Why not share these scenes in an old-fashioned way? Scenes your grandparents starred in many years ago, your parents did a remake some decades later, and you have the chance to star in now.  

-HMOH