The Good Girl Gone Blog: Love it or leave it

Photo Diary: Apple Picking!

Oct 14, 2011

Eric has been wanting to go apple picking ever since he first felt weather under 70 degrees. Seriously, I got a text from him a few weeks ago saying it was "crispy fall outside" and that he wanted to go apple picking. I took that as a sign that I needed to wear tights that day, but we didn't go apple picking until this past Monday. It's safe to say we found the BEST place to pick apples around Boston, Brooksby Farm!

I've never been much for climbing trees (that phobia probably started around when I developed the "fear gene" and no longer wanted to ski straight down black diamonds), but these ones were cute and little, so I climbed one. We then we realized that there were much smaller more apple filled trees that didn't need to be climbed, so my adventure streak ended.

It felt amazing to leave my phone in the car, not check email and truly enjoy the afternoon. While I usually develop a scratchy throat from eating raw apples (it's called oral allergy syndrome, I developed it after most of my "normal" food allergies went away), these didn't seem to bother me. I knew I shouldn't taste them, but the smell was too crisp and fresh to resist. And I think my mouth was actually watering.

Let me just tell you, raw apples taste even better than I remember.

We even made an apple pie, which was only just ok. I'm not too disappointed though, because I've been stealing bites of the apples Eric brings to work, all the while hoping that my good luck will hold and I won't get sick.

I haven't yet, so it either means New England pollen's got nothing on me or those particular apples are magical. I'm ok with either option :)

One

Aug 18, 2011

Apparently Facebook is worried I'm going to forget my one year anniversary- my 1st one year anniversary ever. I don't think I'm going to forget, but thanks for the constant reminders!

Here's to us, and especially to Eric.

***

Thank you for helping me move twice, for coaching me through various tough transitions, for making me laugh constantly, for making me take my vitamins every day, for teaching me I need to have my winter coat dry cleaned and pressed at the end of the season, for last minute ironing, for willingly playing the role of photographer, for trying to keeping a constant supply of juice/snacks in the apartment for me, for being the responsible adult with an actual checkbook (that's not in Baltimore), for telling me I'm cute when I smile, for promising that some day we'll adopt a puppy, for building my furniture and fixing my wifi, for playing scrabble/words with friends with me, for teaching me that everything tastes better with freshly ground pepper, for hugs and cuddles, for his seemingly endless patience that has only grown in the past year, for always making sure the restaurant has at least one chicken dish, for trying to throw as many Yiddish words into conversation as possible, for endless back rubs, for Office/How I met Your Mother/Arrested Development marathons, for coming home to Baltimore with me when I just need to be with my family, for too many inside jokes, for literally catching me when I fall (it's tough wearing heels in the city), for always pushing me to do what I want, for just being you...

Photo Diary: Happiness and Capturing Moments

Aug 14, 2011

I'm going to be straight with you- Eric and I are not the typical 20 something couple. Take last night for example. What did we do? Walked to the grocery store around 5:30, made homemade nachos with guacamole and black beans and watched a few episodes of the office. At around 8, we decided we wanted to go out dancing at Club Cafe, but realized it was way too early.

What did we do instead? Headed back to Eric's room (and the AC!) where Eric ironed clothes and I looked at a cookbook. And then I started taking pictures...of moments. I took close ups of Eric's hands as he cut his fingernails, attempted to capture his expressions and took a few snaps of myself in the mirror. I admired the light, the blue tinge to all of the photos I took, and searched for connection in my photographs.

We didn't end up going out dancing, but spent a good amount of time just taking photos and capturing emotions. Eric took about a million of me lounging on his rug making various faces. We captured silliness, exhaustion, love, contentment. I feel like I have so many "moments" when I'm with Eric, and I'm rarely able to capture them, but tonight was an exception.

Sometimes I feel bad about being such a home body, content to go out to dinner and then spend the night at home reading, watching tv or catching up on blogs. But last night, last night was fun. Oh, and Eric fell asleep at 10, while I stayed up 'til one...finishing a book, but still. I am the queen of excitement.

Triumphs and Struggles

Feb 22, 2011

Triumph: Coming up with some really awesome partnership campaigns for G3B.

Struggle: Getting a little too focused on losing a few lbs before Mexico.

Triumph: My 6 month anniversary with Eric is today- it's my longest and most "real" relationship yet.

Struggle: The bone chilling cold is back in Boston and it's brutal.

Triumph: Coming home to a Trader Joe's stocked fridge complete with blueberries, yogurt and tamales (c/o Eric).

Struggle: Feeling faint after not eating enough today- I need to eat more tomorrow!

Triumph: The bouquet of fresh flowers on my shelf - lilies, Gerbera daisies, etc (c/o Eric). I was hoping there'd be a surprise bouquet waiting for me when I got back to Boston, but I wasn't sure.

Struggle: I'm pretty sure the right click on my Mac is now broken. Add it to the list of ailments. Time to get a new one?

Triumph: It's supposed to be 80+ degrees in Mexico, which means swimming, sundresses and sandals!

Struggle: Feeling unmotivated to work out.

Triumph: Seeing videos of my Mom telling bedtime stories to my new nephew in Israel. I still haven't met him yet, so the videos were particularly meaningful to me.

Sigh. I'm off to relax and watch some TV. Oh, and treat myself with a cookie...or 2.

PS- how funny is that picture? Way to go, wind!

Photo Diary: I Love Love

Feb 14, 2011

This photo was created originally to send to Eric. I forgot about it for a while, but made sure to send it to him a few weeks ago when I discovered it.

I wanted to send a special I love you to my family, my best friend, Becca, my puppy, Zooey, and of course, my handsome, sweet and extremely creative boyfriend, Eric. You all complete me.

Since You've Been Asking...

Feb 4, 2011

A bunch of exciting things are happening in my life, and many of you have messaged me to spill the deets. I've finally gotten around to blogging about a few things I've already shared/hinted at on Facebook and Twitter.

First and foremost, my older sister just had her first baby, Moshe Aaron, making me a first time aunt. I am beyond excited! Though I've seen a bunch of pictures of the baby, I won't be able to see him in person for a while because he lives in Israel. He is seriously one of the cutest babies I've ever seen- he has a full head of hair and my mom and sister are convinced he looks just like I did as a baby.

Secondly, I have an exciting trip planned for early March with Eric- we're going to Mexico! After a few months of below freezing temperatures and way too much snow, we decided we needed a break that involved sunshine, sand, laziness and lots of tropical juices. We'll be gone from March 3-8, so if you'd like to guest blog, please let me know!

And finally, what you've all really been asking about- the new job. Yes, it happened very quickly, but I'm starting a new job this Monday at Likeable! I debated whether or not to talk about my new job on the blog, but I've accepted the kind of position where full disclosure is welcomed and encouraged.

I'm looking forward to working alongside some very talented people, learning a ton and doing what I love- helping brands succeed through creative social media marketing.

I apologize for the excess of !!s in this post, but you know, I'm sort of excited. Have a great weekend, everyone!

V-Day Gifts for the Stylish Boyfriend

Feb 3, 2011

I truly love Valentine's Day- my mom always sends me the cutest gifts (her favorite are of the singing animal variety), my dad sends flowers (although after the dead flowers incident, he's vowed never to send flowers again and says that responsibility belongs to my boyfriend), my stepmom sends conversation hearts and my best friend Becca usually sends a homemade card.

Of course, Valentine's Day is infinitely more fun when you have someone to share it with. I know it's just a regular day and we should celebrate love all the time, but it's still special.

Although I can think of tons of things I'd get for my girlfriend if I were a boy, I don't really know what I want to get Eric yet. He's sort of hard to shop for, being all cultured and fashionable and stuff. I'll probably just get him a hug and a steak.

Jokes aside, here are some things I think would make great gifts for any stylish boyfriend:

A piece of clothing with a cute hidden message- I once (poorly) embroidered the underside of a tie I bought Eric with "143". This is sort of the pre-made version, the I Frickin' Love You Pants from Bonobos.t
Warm gloves that I wouldn't mind stealing/hand holding- Ragg Wool and Leather Gloves from Hickoree's Hard Goods. I love that the palms are leather.
Dark, Sea Salted Chocolate- Sea Salt Soiree from Ghiradelli is almost perfect...but it has almonds in it. Perfect if you're not allergic to nuts and want your boyfriend to give you a thank you kiss, not perfect if you are.
A cute bow tie- some people's boyfriends refuse to wear bow ties, even though their girlfriends are positive they'd look adorable in them. This Grassfire Bow from Pierrepont Hicks is reversible!
Some fancy man face products- my boyfriend loves Jack Black products, and he's sort of converted me as well. (I've been known to use the Beard Lube to shave my legs and I love the Daily Facial Cleanser and Cool Moisture Body Lotion!) I think this Supreme Cream Triple Cushion Shave Lather sounds luxurious and would be especially useful for eliminating the always unfriendly facial stubble.

What are you getting your honey for V-day this year?

Photo Diary: Handsome

Jan 14, 2011

Eric securing my bed to its headboard. This picture makes me smile.

Beauty and the boy

Nov 2, 2010

I spent the past week and a half camping out at Eric's and my stuff slowly began to take over his room. In fact, though I'm currently in Baltimore for a bit, I left a few things behind for my next trip up.

I'll miss you, gorgeous leather Frye boots.

My clothing corner...

vs.

Eric's impeccably organized closet.

My condensed travel-friendly makeup collection

vs.

Eric's hair products

And finally, the perfect combination of masculine and feminine: Eric's vespa keys and my hot pink earrings.

I could get used to this

Oct 26, 2010

Yesterday, I spent a few hours gathering ingredients and making a nice batch of chicken soup while Eric was at work. When he arrived in the kitchen, he smiled and said that he loves coming home to me, and that he could really get used to it.

Well, here's what I came home to today:

Eric, post haircut, looking at Amazon's new shopping portal on his iPad, just like this. It was adorable.

I'm dating an amazing, stylish computer geek who likes making me dinner and helping me with computer stuff. He gets excited about going grocery shopping and putting new apps on my computer. He appreciates dark chocolate covered pretzels and a good episode of 30 Rock.

I could get used to this.