Fashion & Halloween...

Have you ever had that dream where you walk into a room full of people, let's call them "potential clients," and they are all dressed in their normal business apparel and you... not so much?!  It's one of those dreams where you either wake up in a cold sweat or simply wake up sobbing.  But either way, you are always thankful that you woke up, and that yes, you've pinched yourself and it definitely was a dream.

Today is Halloween, right?  Halloween means costumes, right?  Halloween party means you totally wear a costume, right?  An invitation that says "wearing costumes is encouraged" definitely means costumes will be worn, right?  Wrong.

For the past few years I have been invited to a work related Halloween Party luncheon, and every other year these folks would go all out!  Costumes galore!  And not just normal costumes but super creative costumes.  I could never compete so I just always did something simple.  Something where I could switch a few things around and be business-y in 32 seconds flat if need be.

Today, I did not.  Today I decided to pull out my go-to costume for occasions like this.  You know, occasions where costumes are totally legit:  Halloween, Themed Parties, Bachelorette Parties, Family reunions and birthdays... yeah, my family's not normal.  That being said, I was one of three (out of probably 50 people) wearing a costume today.  Slightly embarrassing.  Slightly too legit to quit.

That being said...  I have always, ALWAYS wanted to participate in a What I Wore Wednesday Link up here in the Blogosphere, yet I never have.  For many reasons.

1. It's rare for me to have someone who can snap a few pics of me
2. I don't consider myself all that fashionable.  I mean, I can rock a cute outfit or two, but fashion posts just have never been my thing.
3. Chloe would be jealous.  The dog lovesssss to dress up.

So here we have it!  Today's embarrassment, too much makeup, and teased hair brought me to this:  my first Fashion/ What I Wore Wednesday Post.  Hope you enjoy it!

I have had this outfit for a few years.  All of the pieces separately do not actually look that crazy,

believe it or not.  

As I was drafting this post up I realized that everything, other than the hair piece, is from Target. 

Crazy how styles come back around!  

So what do you think?  I guess this would be an 80s grunge look??  

These are super cute with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt... gonna have to wear them a couple more times before it gets too cold out!

Oh, and even Chloe got involved!  Nothing like recycling a costume right?!

Isn't she the cutest freakin 80's blond border collie you have ever seen in your whole entire life?  

You lookin' at me?!  

Yes Chloe.  We are.  

Happy Halloween Friends!  I hope you didn't find yourself in the midst of a business luncheon as the lone person wearing a costume today.  But if you did, you better believe they were all jealous of you and your awesomeness.  

Hurricane Day!

Forget snow days... hurricane days are much more Lame, with a capital L.  You totally can't go out and play on hurricane days.  Snow angels are out!  Rain angels are in! 

Ladies, gents, I have been locked in my house for three days listening to the wind and rain beat against the back of my townhouse.  Oh, and poor Chloe... her obsessive compulsive doggie disorder really kicks in during the rainy season.  You know your dog has issues when she doesn't like wet feet.  Apparently dry feet trumps not going to the bathroom for days.  This morning she finally decided it was mad-dash pop-a-squat no-guts-no-glory time.  Thank you Jesus.  I was beginning to worry!

Since I haven't really done anything super exciting these past few days, I decided I should make "Things To Do During a Hurricane" list for you readers up north that will be stuck at home for a few more days.  Ready?  Assuming you have electricity and internet... here we go... 

1.  Ration your rations.  Yes I stocked up on quality junk food.  Yes I went through 75% of it within 24 hours.  

2.  Drink.  Water.  Wine.  Cider.  Rum.  Whatever your drink of choice is.  Drink it.  Unless you don't have running water for the toilets.  If you are like Chloe and you can hold it for 48 hours, you've got nothing to worry about.  

3.  Do not fling and spill an entire mason jar of Dark Chocolate Almond Milk across your living room.  It is a sticky mess that your pets cannot help you clean up.  Although your boyfriend may believe one square of paper towel is enough to clean this disaster up, it is not.  One roll is more like it. 

4.  Keep your puppy dog's feet dry, at all times.  Otherwise she may freak out, and/or get your carpet all wet.  And, your boyfriend carrying your dog in a purple coat is just super adorable.  

5.  Wear sweat pants.  Not only to stay comfy and cozy, but after eating all that junk food, let's be real... elastic waist bands are FTW. 

6.  Don't do your hair.  Mother nature is going to throw your locks for a loop.  Don't brush it.  It will just get worse.  Roll with it, and try to appreciate your Hurricane Hair.  

7.  There is a loop hole with Number Four.  If you go outside you must, I repeat, you must wear your galoshes, ski coat, and still prepare to get soaked.  

8.  Check in on your friends and family.  It's a good deed.  And it may lead to some fun.  I highly recommend using as many emoticons as possible.  When else in your life will you have enough time to converse with pictures? 

9.  Don't believe everything you see on Facebook.  The picture above is NOT the McDonalds on Shore Drive in Va Beach.  Google it before you share it 13k times.  Here's what I found.  

10.  Craft!  You have nothing better to do!  Actually, ya do.  Craft with a purpose!  I made up 100 happy little Halloween S'mores as Realtor gifts!  These will be distributed Tuesday and Wednesday because "I would love S'more of your business!"  Cute right?!

Well, that's it for me today.  I never actually got out of my jammies so getting ready for bed tonight will be a piece of cake.  I hope you are all safe and sound.  My thoughts and prayers are with all of you. The news coverage of NY and NJ look crazy...  Check in below and let me know what the status is for your home town, even if Sandy isn't visiting! :) 

Guten Abend Meine Freunden

It's Friday night.  

My boyfriend is off buying yet another man-toy for his garage that looks something like this... 

{source}

... and not this...

{source}

My roommate just headed out for the weekend and the house is all mine, which means I am blasting this recently downloaded itunes purchase... 

Anyone else a t-swift fan?  Have you listened to this yet?  I've only made it to song two thus far... so far so good, but I'm hoping she stays true to her country roots.  In my personal opinion, she doesn't need get too poppy and beiber-ish.  But she's gotta pay the bills, and I get that.   

Anywho!  I'm sure you must be wondering why this post title is in German.  {After 4 years of German in high school, I was pretty impressed I remembered A. How to say "good evening my friends" and B.  How to spell it correctly!  

Sehr gute Susan!  Du bist eine Rockstar!  

The title is auf deutsch for two simple foreign country-ish reasons.

1.  I'm heading to the land of Heidi, Fondu, and Yodeling {Switzerland} in 37 days!  Woot Woo!  I mean yodel-ay-ee-oooooooo 

and 

2.  Because today I ate at the most delicious German restaurant Hampton Roads has to offer, The German Pantry.  (If you are local, it's a tiny hole in the wall kinda place right off Military Highway by the ORF airport... check it out!)

It was so legit that I happily ate a bratwurst, pretzel roll, warm potato salad, and spaetzle for lunch.  

So ! Much ! Food !  

German beer would have been consumed had it not been 1:30p in the midst of a work day!  

I was so excited to eat real German food I forgot to take a photo prior to inhaling half my meal! 

With all that being said, it's 7:45p and I am still completely full from lunch still.  I must be stuck in the German version of a Thanksgiving food coma.  If only I had some German Chocolate Cake right now.  Sigh.

I think it's time to go bust out my rain boots and start preparing for Hurricane Sandy.  I have purchased the essentials (wine, water, dark chocolate and peanut butter) to get me through the storm.  Keep the East Coast and our battened hatches in your thoughts this weekend... 

  

#Survivor, Rudy, and my Video Buff.

Ever notice how life can totally seem like the hyped up, "realty" some folks call a game show, known as Survivor.  Let's hashtag that for you hipsters.  #Survivor.  

More recently in my life, it seems that Corporate America has been doing it's finest to groom me into an island ready, Jeff Probst fearing, don't-spoil-the-rice kinda girl.  In the past 6 months I have learned a solid alliance is hard to find.  Trust is easily ruined like a shelter made of palm leaves with no tarp.  Obstacles exist, and they don't often have an immunity reward.  Boston Rob and Russell Hantz lurk around every corner.  When your fire goes out, it takes a village to built it back.  And when your tribe has spoken, oh man, it has spoken.  

That being said and negativity aside, you could not believe my amazement yesterday when I was setting up my sponsor booth at a "Survive and Thrive" Realtor trade show event.  Sweet idea in a rough economy.  Very encouraging.  Very fun.    

I was glancing around the room to see where my competitors were going to be standing when I noticed an empty table, a black sharpie, and a sign that said "Rudy the Survivor."  Could this be legit?!  Did they really spring to bring THE Rudy to this function?  There's no way... or is there?

  

Yes sir, they did!  That is me, and one of the original Survivor cast members - Rudy!  He is still old, still speaks his mind, and has had a photo shoot in Michael Bolton's back yard.  True fact. 

Of course I had to get in line for a signed photo to put on my fridge, because what kind of cheesy, yet totally awesome, reality show fan would I be if I didn't?!  We briefly chatted about how to spell my roommate's name for her autographed photo.  "Caitlin.  C-A-I-T-L-I-N.  Yes, I said C.  No, not a K.  She spells it with a C.  Yes, a C.  Thanks."  Then, instead of chatting about his time on the island with Richard, Wigglesworth (the only reason I remember her is because her last name is freakin' amazing) and the rest of those crazy tv folks, we talked about Michael Bolton and his backyard.  Because what else would we discuss?!  I can't even begin to make this nonsense up.  

So tonight, when I got home and presented my roommate with the holy grail of old man reality show autographs, and settled in on my pink couch with a glass of wine to watch the latest season of Survivor: Philippines, of course I had to run up to my room and recover my college nerd gear: my blue Survivor Buff.  

Yes, I have a Survivor Buff.  No, I don't wear it every day.  Just every other.  Just kidding.  Maybe.

And then I decided I absolutely, positively MUST show you the best ways to rock a Survivor Buff while NOT on an island.   

Fun fact.  After typing up the entire post I just had to ask Siri if I was spelling Reality Show or Realty Show.  Proudest-Moment-Ever.

*No border collies were lied to, No vacuuming was actually done, Clothes were worn while in the shower and No cars were stolen in the making of this blog post.  However, wine was consumed.*  

Bummed Out Fur Babies

I'm home from work again this Monday.  The Fur Babies look THRILLED about it don't they?  Pretty sure they had a crazy party planned for while I was out... Sorry guys!  :)

Happy Monday y'all!

Best Sick Day Ever.

Last night I had to go to dinner with my old boss and my mom. My mom was acting as my co-worker until half way through dinner I made her do the world-famous-do-you-have-a-fever-?-mom-test.  You know, back of hand to the forehead thing.

Lo and behold, I was burning up.  By the time I got home my temperature was up to 100 degrees.  Gross.  

I went to bed, hoping I was just allergic to business dinners.  Then I woke up this morning with the flu.  Lame.

I spent the day in and out of napping with a 101 degree fever.  While awake, let me tell you, this was the most exciting day of my life.  Not. 

I started the morning out by drinking a glass of orange juice in bed while watching a few hours of Boy Meets World.  Were you aware that ABC Family has like 15 hours of Boy Meets World on in the morning?!  I must remember this tomorrow!

Then I played around on instagram.  (@2catsandchloe)  I learned that I am not the only poor soul who is home sick with the flu today.

I cuddled with Rockie.  And tried to eat some dark chocolates.  Then had to separate the cats because they were fighting to lay next to me.  True loves. 

My mom brought me an "orange" care package!  I'm pretty sure she purchased everything orange that she could get her hands on.  Orange Sherbet, Orange Cream Bars, Orange Juices of sorts, Mandarin Oranges!  Not to mention the go-to sick foods... ginger ale, noodles, saltines...  None of which is paleo, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

I proceeded to eat a sleeve and a half of saltines.  Not my proudest moment.  At all.

TLC and Say Yes to the Dress lead me to Pinterest for a few.  But I was so sick, I wasn't even really feeling proud of my pins.  Please disregard any pins from today, except for that stunning wedding dress I accidentally pinned twice.  My pins were totally under the influence.  101 degrees of influence.

I branched away from the tv and headed to YouTube.  Where I watched funny animal videos such as this... And now I want lambs.  "Two Lambs and Chloe" - has a good ring, don't ya think?

Buttered Egg Noodles for dinner!  Best.Sick.Meal.Ever. 

Then I needed a little fun in my life so I decided ginger ale in a mason jar with a crazy straw would be just enough fun to close out the most exciting sick day of my life.

Stay tuned, my fever hasn't broken yet so I'd put money down that tomorrow's gonna get cray cray! 

I'm not here today...

You know how you have always wished you could be in two places at once?  Today I am!  Please head over to visit my dearest blog friend Lesley!  I took over her blog, The Dream Tree, while she is dreaming and relaxing, and hopefully lying on the beach in sunny Florida!

I will be back though later this week to catch you up on how much of a baller I was for about 3 weeks... Only rockstars own as many cars as I owned last month!  Oh!  And if you are new here, visiting from Lesley's blog - Thank you for stopping by!  Please drop me a line below and introduce yourself!  Can't wait to meet you! :) 

All I Want To Do...

I have so many things to get done but all I want to do is blog.  I guess 3 months off will creep up on you when you have a pile of chores that desperately need to be conquered.  Is it just me or does this happen to everyone?  I have a list of to-do items, and I have a list of to-do-but-i-don't-wanna-do items.  Even if the latter are the most important, the normal to-do always trump them.

For example, I have loads and loads of laundry to get caught up on.  Yes, certain articles of clothing have been worn more than they should.  Jeans can be worn what, like a million times before you have to wash them?!  Yes, certain piles of clothes have sat on my bedroom floor for, well, let's just say it's been a week... wink wink.  I desperately do not want to clean my room, give the dog a bath, or do my work related reports.  So what was the first thing I finally did this morning?  Yep, laundry.

Despite the fact that she looks like a dead fish, Spitty is just sleeping!

With all of that being said, I just got very distracted, skimmed around a few other good blog reads and realized yet another hour has past.  

Ladies, Gent (that is, if my father came back as a reader after my hiatus...) it's time I make a to-do list.

* C-Lo needs a bath... She has a cloud of stink that follows her everywhere

{source}

* Find an hour to do some business planning... sales, weddings, marketing

* Clean my room... because I can only avoid spending time in my bedroom for but so long!

* Clean my house... or my roommate will give up on me and leave

* Figure out when/if I will put my house up for sale... because I have a feeling 2013 will bring change to my life

* Complete work expense reports... for crying out loud, they are a pain in the rear but it's my money... not sure why I don't want that reimbursement check!

* Move the laundry for the washer to the dryer... because mildew isn't a great accessory

* Redesign this blog... because I'm BACK!

* Change the batteries in my keyboard... you know it's gonna die right in the midst of an epic facebook post!

* Treat myself to a mani & pedi... next weekend's my 2 year anniversary.  I should try to look pretty so he will want to keep me around a bit longer!

* Figure out a meal plan that will keep me Paleo... because as much as I loved the chocolate chip pancakes with my family this morning, I feel like C-R-A-P. 

* Pumpkin Pickin'... tis the season right? 

There are a million other things I could have on there, like finish reading 50 Shades or start a British-American Wedding Pin Board on Pinterest, but I guess I should start somewhere!  

Until next time... I wish you all a lovely, productive, and relaxing Sunday!

When Walks Attack

Let me start by saying that it was a long, long day.

I work as a sales representative for a home warranty company... It's not glamorous.  And I don't get to wear a cool headset like my roommate.  Basically I work out of my car or my house, alone, day in and day out.  Chatting with Realtors here and there.  Today (and tomorrow) my new Boss Lady is in town.  Which means, I am not jamming out to my normal tunes "The Muppets Soundtrack" or "Call Me Maybe" in between office visits.  (Although... Note to Self - "Call Me Maybe" could be a spectacular sales video for me... more to come on that another day!)  

I also have a border collie.  You know, half of this blog title.  Chloe is a whopping 40-ish pounds give or take how much swimming and cat herding she has been doing.  I love her, so don't get me wrong when I say this, but when I get home from work the last thing I want in my face is an energetic border who requires a walk and some good tennis ball throwin'.

Today we took our normal mile loop walk.  As we were rounding the last turn one large (70ish pound) dog came chasing after us.  My Alpha Dog immediately tried to tell him she was boss.  Until his other two brothers rounded the corner and started circling us like sharks.  I was proud that Chloe immediately aborted her "fight" mentality and quickly sought her "flight" out of there!  Unfortunately, as they were circling us and nipping at her heels, flight meant "climb up on top of your mom, she will protect you."

These dogs had jumped their fence.  I was yelling for help in the middle of the street when finally their owner came out to be of very little assistance.  I stood there yelling, kicking, and then eventually crying.  My dad always told me to never get in the middle of a dog brawl.  But what was I to do?  I was already in the middle of it.  Do I continue to act as Momma Bear, hugging my pitiful mutt or save myself and get the heck out of the circle?  I continued to kick.  And cry.  Until it was all over.

The neighbor lady finally rounded up the last of her k-9s and quickly slammed the door as I was yelling "Are they all put away?"  I saw her festive fall wreath bounce against the closed door and never got a response or a quick "Hey are you alright? I'm so sorry!" Really lady?!  Really?  Doesn't common courtesy tell you to at least check on the sobbing blond and the tail-tucked border to make sure your dogs didn't bite them?  Nope.  Apparently not.

I am telling you this story to vent a little.  It was a pretty traumatic experience.  But I am also telling you this because it caused quite the discussion on my personal facebook page.  "Call the Cops!" was the first reaction of most.  "Call animal control and the media" was the second.   Both are very natural and understandable reactions but I did not call either.  

Dogs jump fences and people are jerks, it's life.  Trust me, I would love to call her out on her actions - and I just might do that tomorrow when I walk past her house again, packing some pepper spray in my pocket.  But I would hate to think that her animals might be taken away by the city because they jumped the fence and caused a 4-dog-scuffle.  I've walked that loop a million times, and this was the first time anything has ever happened.  Let's just hope it doesn't happen again.

Moral of the story - My pets are more than my blog title.  They are my family.  Thankfully I was much more upset after today's run-in than Chloe.  I am thankful for her and her cuteness.  Even when she smells like butt.  However, I am curious what YOU would do if you were in this situation.  I know almost all of you are pet owners and lovers... how would you have reacted?

Well HELLO Friends!

Ohhhh emmmm geeeee it's been a while.  You know that feeling when you haven't seen a friend in what feels like just a millenium?  That's how I feel about all of you!  And it's totally not your fault... it's mine.  I will confess, things have just been craaaaazy lately.  Life has been flipped upside down, side to side and just about everywhere in between.  So crazy that my hair is turning curly.  No, that's not a joke.

So it looks straight there, but it's totally curly in the back.
I promise. 

In my journey to get my feet back on the ground, regain my happiness, confidence, and overall sarcastic sense of humor, I have decided that blogging needs to must return to my life.  But I'm going to have to ease into it.  You know, just like the gym.  It's tough to go cold turkey sometimes!

So let's pretend that we just ran into each other somewhere in the center of town (in this scenario we just happen to be in a small town in Europe... let's be more specific and say Switzerland).  Are you free for a cup of tea?  I hear Starbucks has their Pumpkin Spice Latte out now! (Assuming that this small European town has a Starbucks, or just a really quaint coffee shop that celebrates things American's love like Fall and Pumpkins in their coffee...)

This was actually a decaf chia latte from this morning,
but it'll work for the photo op!

Dear friend!  (yes, apparently now I talk like I belong in an old english play)  How in the world have you been?!  I apologize that I have been so out of the loop for the past few months.  Summer has just completely FLOWN by.  So much so that a couple days ago my mom sat me down to tell me she has never seen me so pale at this point in a year.  (Low blow Mother.  Low blow.)

I have been working my not-so-little butt off this summer with my warranty sales job and pondering what to do with my own wedding planning company 29:11 Celebrations.  I would love to have more than "just a few weddings" in 2013.  ...Maybe I need to start planning for that now!  Let's move on from the work discussion though...

Vacations you ask?  Me?!  Of course!  I was lucky enough to do a little bit of traveling this summer.  In June Michael and I went on a road trip to Maine and New Hampshire, with a quick pit stop in NYC to see the Mets play.  Cross that one off the bucket list!  I will have to show you some pictures from that adventure later.  I also had the opportunity to go to Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia for an extended weekend in August to visit my b.f.f. from high school, her husband, and Michael while he was working there.  Yes, I did eat some pralines.  Yes, we did go to Tybee Island.  No, I did not run into any of the Real Housewives.

Road tripping to Bar Harbor, Maine.

I love old southern trees :)  This was in Savannah.

Anything else?  Nothing really off the top of my head.  How about you?  I did see your name pop up on facebook and instagram a couple times in the past month.  Oh, you didn't realize I was creepy stalking you?  It's only fair for you to follow me back...  On instagram I am @2catsandchloe, on Pinterest I am @susanbenji  and on facebook you should look for "2 cats and chloe"  :)

I look forward to seeing you again real soon!  I can't wait to hear more about your summer, projects, life, travels, and everything else I have been missing out on!  Please do share your favorite part of the summer with me {below in the comment section - of course I wouldn't be verbalizing this as we sip latte's in europe together}.

It was so great catching up with you.  You always know how to make me feel loved.  Let's do this again real soon.  You pick the location and let me know the time!  Sounds great!  Have a more than awesome day!  Byeeeee!