i'm going house hunting!!

for those of you who don't know... i am going house hunting this weekend in chicago!! yay!! i couldn't be more excited. i am working with my friend's real estate agent, neringa northcutt (pictured below).

matt bought his townhouse from her not too long ago and he was really happy so he recommended her to me. she is going to show me about 30 properties this weekend! that's a lot to keep straight... but i'll be taking pictures and i promise i will update on the blog what i find this weekend. in the meantime, if you would like to see some of the ones i've been looking at online, go to:

http://mlsni.connectmls.com

Username: katherine.harper
Password: ingewholeake

and that will let you access all of the properties i've looked at online and the ones that i've marked 'maybe' or 'interested' to. it's all so very excited. i can't wait.

scripps reunited!

after courtney's shower, sarah mac, holly, devon, and i headed back to the st. regis where i was staying thanks to the capwest conference i was attending on gemini's behalf. i had arrived on wednesday nervous as could be b/c of scott being there and having no idea what to expect. well, we had a great time. and thurs and fri was pretty great too... until i decided we needed to talk. i knew i wanted more than he did and i needed to establish that we were just having fun. instead, i cried. i meant to take 2 minutes, but it turned into about 30 mins and that really sucked. it sucks to hear that he doesnt want to make the distance work. it really sucks to hear that he doesn't want a committed relationship right now either....or i guess if he does he doesn't want one with me. although i'm sad, i'm strangely ok with this right now. i know i deserve better... and i'm hoping there's some great guy just waiting for me in chicago... right?!!? anyways, back to the scripps girls.

sarah l drove down to meet us and once she arrived, we all went to the sweeping veranda off the main lobby and sat down for some cocktails. the girls all met scott briefly. it was probably a little awkward, but whatever. then i said goodbye to him and managed to keep the tears at bay til i got back to the girls. but, they were all so sweet and all flung over their engagement rings so i had one for almost all of my fingers on my left hand...that was so cute...at least i can live vicariously through them!

we had all kinds of concoctions and truffle oil french fries. it was all delicious and we sat there til the sun set. then it was time to get ready for the evening and we had a deliriously fun time getting ready all in one bathroom and taking pictures of ourselves in the mirror. luckily, the bathrooms in the st regis are generously sized!!

then we headed for our cab ride to sapphire where we had to wait awhile for our food, but oh man, it was so worth the wait!!!

the food was delicious!! i had some banana curry chicken and rice concoction as well as some mushroom soup and the appetizers. it was all so good and by the time we were done eating i was so full. we all decided we were tired (man, we just can't party like we used to) and so we decided to take a cab back to the hotel. little did we know what a helluva fun ride we were in for...

the cab ride back had karaoke and was so fun!! we started off with a strobe light and some blue lights on the ceiling and sang galileo by the indigo girls which was already on the cd player. even the cab driver joined in on the singing! and then africa by toto came on and we all enjoyed singing along to that. sarah l has some wonderful pictures on her camera... but imagine this: we rolled up in our cab, windows down, singing at the top of our lungs 'africa'. i'm pretty sure the valet parkers enjoyed that scene! how could they not?!

after that cab ride, how could anything top that?! we went in to the bar area and a band was playing. they were fun, but they soon took a break and we got bored and left. it was slumber party time. we all piled in to the beds and sarah l settled on the floor b/c they wouldnt give us a roll away bed. those bastards!!

but then sunday rolled around and it was time for devon and holly to do the race for the cure and then the sarahs had to leave and i was all alone... but not for long b/c i had to get to my plane and fly back home. it was such a fun weekend and couldn't have come at a more perfect time.

i love all of you girls and couldn't ask for better friends. thanks for always being there for me!!!

courtney's baby shower

c's baby shower was my second one ever and it was even more fun than the first albeit more sober. i could have imbibed on all the champagne, but the thought of alcohol made me slightly queasy as i'd had way to much wine to drink the previous night in trying to forget my feelings for scott who is now completely and totally out of the picture. anyways... i digress...

waking up on saturday morning, i was surprised to hear the sound of rain. rain?! in so cal?! i guess so... the morning started with a trip to paradise creations, a very closterphobic wedding shop, with devon and holly. devon tried on several gowns and looked gorgeous in all of them! i definitely got a crash course in wedding dress shopping: white vs. ivory, train vs. no train, alterations, sweetheart necklines and all kinds of other things. it was fun. i can't wait to see the dress devon finally chooses for her big day!

then, the three of us headed off to courtney's baby shower which was being held at a gorgeous house in san juan capistrano. on the way over there, i told devon she had to wait outside while we went in and got courtney. i really wanted devon to be a complete surprise. devon thought that was silly b/c c would probably just forget and think she was supposed to be there anyways. well, c saw us coming up the walk looking for a house number (we weren't sure we were in the right place!) and then saw all of us. it took her a minute to realize, but then she absolutely freaked out and was completely surprised to see devon. it was so fun to see her face!!!

it was so fun to have holly, devon, courtney, sarah mac, and me all together for c's big moment. i can't believe one of us is actually going to have a baby in a couple of short months! so crazy!!



we had a lovely brunch outdoors (it had stopped raining) and then c opened her presents inside. i was delighted to see the adorable sweet pea cake b/c part of what i gave her was a little blue hat with a sweet pea on it! i had no idea...apparently i would have known she liked sweet peas if i had bothered to look at her registry, but alas i have to be difficult! registries bore me.

it was such a fun afternoon. courtney looks amazing and i can't wait to meet her little man!!

another horoscope

ok, really and truly i don't know how much i buy in to these things, but lately my horoscopes have really hit home. or at least 2 of them.

the latest:

your tireless planning and executing of plans should be successful. your personal affairs are a little off; perhaps you have ignored them. some adjusting and readjusting to your circumstances annoys you and gets in the way of pushing ahead, but you better pay attention if you desire love and companionship.

best horoscope ever...

Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19) You don't learn every lesson from a book. Most of your best have come from experience. Pay attention, there's another one lurking in the shadows.

so, i just barely make the cut off for being a capricorn but i can't imagine a better horoscope for this time in my life. every morning i pick up a copy of am/ny which is a free daily paper and read it on my 15 minute subway ride. sometimes they have some good stuff in there and sometimes it's just full of fluff, but they always have horoscopes and i always take a peak at them for the fun of it. and then one day a week or two ago, i came across the horoscope above. and loved it. loved it so much i cut it out and stuck a push pin in it to put on my desk's bulletin board.

it couldn't be more apt for what i am doing right now with everything from the move, to buying my first place, to getting a new job. i have no idea what i am doing! but learning from experience versus reading it in a book has always been the best way for me to really learn something. i can't wait...

running...running... running...

i've decided i want to be a runner. yes, a runner. every year after the race for the cure i say the same thing and guess what... it all goes by the way side and i never do it. but, i want to be a runner and i want to run a marathon well ladies, this girl is nowhere close to completing a marathon. i was happy with my 3.1 miler on sunday. but this year, i really truly mean that i am going to do the running thing. i would have gone to the gym on monday, but my body was so sore from those 3 miles that i couldn't move. apparently the elliptical and spin class does not prepare the body for running. so last night i went and used my equinox membership and ran on the treadmill. ok, maybe not run exactly, but i did jog at a decent pace. and i plan on heading back tonight. i'm going to try and get to the gym at least 2x a week for running (i already try to do twice a week with my trainer so i should be able to do that) and then try and go for a run outside on the weekend weather permitting. we'll see how this goes...

race for the cure

as many of you already know, every year i participate in the race for the cure. this year was no exception and on sunday, meghan and i did the race along with about a trillion other new yorkers. there were so many people there! it was great to see such great participation.

the course took us from 77th st and central park west up to the 90s and then through the park and back over to our finish line at 72nd and fifth avenue. it was beautiful running through the park! i need to do that more often... i wish i was a good runner... i'd love to be a runner... that's my new goal along with everything else that i'm trying to do this fall!

in any case, meghan and i made decent time and afterwards we strolled along the park and the various booths set up for handing things out as well as selling stuff. and dang! i just realized the pin i bought... i accidentally threw it away!! dangit!!! that was so dumb of me!!! arghhh. i like to collect pins - they are small and easy to display on my bulletin board and they don't take up a lot of room. but dang, as i write this, i realize that i threw out the bag of free stuff i picked up and also the pin i spent 4 dollars on. man, i'm not going to lie... i am seriously bummed about this! oh well... anyways... moving on....

after we meandered thru the booths, we hopped on the 6th train at 68th and lex and then switched over to the L train to go to the bedford stop in order to have brunch with our very pregnant friend, jessica. she is 9 months pregnant with a due date in about 10 days i think! she is having a little boy and she looks so amazing. after that i headed home for a much needed shower and then it was the mundane things sundays are made for: laundry, pedicure, some waxing, and tv!

labor day in LA

ok ok ok, i changed my headline just for sarah....and now i have added some pictures!

ok, so i really just wanted to rhyme up there in my subject line... most of you know my disdain my LA and my love for orange county. however, i will say, that i actually really like brentwood. there. i said it! i like brentwood. so for my labor day weekend, i went to visit sarah and stay in the casita.

i flew in on saturday morning b/c i didn't think i could take anytime off work. turns out the boss was on vacation all week and i could have easily flown in on friday afternoon. however, by the time i figured this out, it would have cost 960 dollars to change the ticket on continental. um, yeah, i think i'll wait the 12 hours and not spend that kind of money. so on saturday, i flew in and sarah picked me up. we then went and got lunch at this very cute cafe which i cannot remember the name of but sarah sees celebrities there all the time. well, no celebs this time around, but we did see what we could only dubb as 'ass man'. holy lord ladies, i kid you not. this older man with graying hair had on a small medium shirt that only barely covered his stomach and then the lowest pair of jeans cinched with a belt. the belt caused the pants to fall about where a kid trying to look cool wearing his pants super low would wear them. however, the kid lets his boxers hang out and this old guy let us see his bare butt. i swear, i wish i had a picture, but i don't... his butt looked like boob cleavage. that's about the best way to describe it. the belt was so tight around his butt that it made it popped up and over the jeans and it was WAY more than plumbers crack. omg. it was awful. everyone at the tables was staring and trying not to laugh...

later that day after laying out at the pool in the myman's backyard, we went over to kurt's place to meet the new baby and his parents who were in town visiting. baby addison is so adorable. and tiny! oh my gosh! i held a little 6 week old baby. she cried. turns out she was hungry. kurt looks adorable as a daddy and he truly seems to be so happy just to hold her! nothing is cuter than a man with his baby girl...

then sarah and i got dressed and ready to go out. we went to katsuya and ended up eating at the bar instead of dining at a table. we had a very attentive bartender who fed us the best dishes and also many a cocktail. our bill was ridiculously low. he was being a total flirt and sarah and i thought this was immensely fun... until his girlfriend showed up! what?! um, ok... after that, we went to a club in santa monica (again, don't remember the name) and met up with some girls we became friends with over dinner. and then chad met us out. chad had on his scary boots and scary music, but was so so so great and took us to get tacos and then back to the casita where i proceeded to try on the said scary boot!!


sarah and me all dressed up!


bartender at katsuya

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scary boot!


on sunday, sarah and i went down to newport for a ride on the duffy boat with her brother johnny and his friends. we had so much fun just tooling around the bay and eating lunch at the cannery. it was so yummy!

not exactly on the duffy yet, but they were on there way to pick us up and some guy offered to take our picture

and then we headed back to santa monica where sarah mac and dave met us at the casita for some wine before heading out to lula's for some mexican food. we had a wonderful dinner and an even funnier drive home. i'll let one of the sarah's comment on this part of the story!


dinner with the sarahs! and dave who lovingly took the picture :)

on monday, sarah and i went to equinox for an afternoon at the spa. we both got massages and then spent time outside lounging til it got too hot for us. later on monday, i had to leave and drive down to newport and then laguna to have dinner with kelley. we ate at javier's (i def got my fill of mexican food this trip!) and then i had to continue my drive to san diego for my conference.

here is where i must insert: sorry courtney! i wish i could have seen you!! and holly too, but you were at the lake... courtney, i just didnt have time for everything and i know i'll see you in less than 2 weeks at your baby shower! so i can only do so much... and that's the best way i thought to handle everything...

back to the blog... so in san diego, i got to stay at the hotel del. i'd only ever been there for drinks once with courtney years ago. it was a fun and historic place to stay. nicole was there too for the conference so that was fun. basically i had conference from tues morn until thurs when i flew back to ny. it was a long week! and i was exhausted, but it was so much fun. i can't wait to come back to california in just about a week and a half! yay!!