never say never.

i'm going to see this. who's coming with me? i've already recruited renee. we have room for more!

veggies for life.

friday night's dinner. that i felt the need to capture with my iPhone and text to Rach since it's one of our favorite meals to devour together. LOVE grilled veggies of summer squash and cucs! yes, cucumbers. delish!

have i mentioned i hate winter?

seriously?!

dose of daily fashion

just a little dose of daily fashion from the closet of Adrienne Marie... featuring pink cotton A&F V-neck sweater and my favorite Lilly Pulitzer murfee scarf... thinking spring thoughts.

10 snow storms in 28 days.

this is what my morning looked like. made it to work by 10:30am. i'm awesome at shoveling...

more snow?

well, it's snowing out. blizzarding. and here i am at the office. left my house at 6am and it was already snowing. didn't think it was supposed to start till 9am-ish. oops! drove right through the storm the whole way here on the Northeast Extension of the turnpike. our lot was not plowed at the office so i got to drift around a bit in 3 inches of fresh powder!

BUT in happier, warmer news, alexandra and i booked our flights yesterday to sunny FLORIDA for end of March. so this is when i will now begin asking... is it March yet?!

current temperature = 1 degree

yep. that is correct! it is 1 degree outside right now. with a high of a balmy 19 today. i started my car at 6am and it read 5 degrees. must have been parked in a "warm spot" of the driveway, since once i started moving it then read 0. yes, that's correct. ZERO degrees. really made me excited to stop and pump my own gas a mile down the street. it's difficult to pump gas in leather driving gloves, but i didn't want any exposed skin that could be avoided. it's also difficult to get coffee in wawa and pay for it while wearing my gloves but i made the concerted effort this morning, as my hands were ice cubes.

i would absolutely not survive in a colder state. i'm having a hard enough time in PA. depression is bad this time of year and i'm just DYING to wear my new spring/summer clothes. i hate winter clothing. looking forward to my winter get-away in March with my cousins and girlfriend, Lex. HURRY UP March 24!!!!

the dentist

WHY do dentist offices specifically only have Newsweek, Parenting, or Highlights magazines in their waiting rooms for me to view during my 25 minute wait?!

WHY do i schedule an appointment for 12 noon if you're not going to take me back until 12:25?!

WHY do you have to poke my gums so hard they bleed and cause my eyes to tear up?!

... i loathe dentist appointments. ugh. at least i got a whole travel kit bonus this time complete with hot magenta pink toothbrush, floss, mouth wash, etc. neato!

Tampon Ear - Round II

well this incident does not involve an ear, but comes to us from my same friend. using tampons for unconventional uses... enjoy.

since my tampon ear incident, i am much more accepting of wasting tampons as tissues. take for instance this morning... i had a to-go cup of orange juice that i put a lid on but the lid was cracked so i trashed it before leaving the house. so i carried my uncovered OJ and put it in the cup holder of my car this morning with my 9 other bags that i need on a daily basis. as such, my OJ splashed and got on my shifter and silver plating of my car. etc. you can imagine where it went. all over. now normally when something like this happens i would freak and curse up a storm, but not today. instead i flew into McGyver mode. i whipped open my console, rummaged through for my remaining expensive tissue (aka a scented super sized tampon)...ripped the bad boy open and wiped up my spilled OJ. crisis averted.

i should really be some sort of poster child for the unconventional use of tampons. or maybe for Christmas, i need to ask for tissues.

Chocolate overload

i ate so much at Max Brenner last night, that i am still not hungry the next day. sad, but true. lovely outing with my work ladies in honor of Vicky being in town from Tampa. some of them with children don't get out much :) so they get really excited for dinner in the CITY with our awesome lady coworker friends. i'm blessed to work with such wonderful, amazing women who i can call friends in and out of work.

chocolate overload is serious. read the website and you'll understand. i don't think i need to eat for the rest of the week. oh but it was all worth it. for the LOVE OF CHOCOLATE!

snow day. but not really.

snow days don't exist for me. unless we get 2-3 feet of snow at one time. our firm had their first "snow day" EVER last year. we did not even have a snow policy until last winter in our employee manual. because we were just expected to be here. no matter what.

so there are days i wish i were a school teacher. when it snows. and when june rolls around... sigh.

so until then, i'll be happy to shovel off my car and get my snow boots on for driving adventures!

happy little thursday

most people credit Friday with being a favorite day. or even saturday maybe. but i'm just enjoying life, having a happy little thursday. my typical day in the life of adrienne marie went a little something like this...

alarm goes off at 545am and i jump to my feet already thinking about what outfit to plan out. what do i have going on today, what should i wear, what's the weather like. oh wait, i just wore that. can i wear this under a cardigan? is that cami tank top clean?

i'm out the door and on my trek to work beginning with my stint at Wawa filling my Lilly Pulitzer travel mug with their deliciousness of cappucino flavors. not just one, but i mix a few together causing a bit of a mess down the side of my travel mug. it's all worth it for that mixed up flavor!

i arrive at work after an hour on cruise control. literally. my day begins as a marketing professional for a leading engineering firm in the parking industry. yes, there is a parking industry and it's quite exciting! ever watch "parking wars"? mm hmm, yea. think about it. parking is your first and last impression of every single place you go. yep! so i sip my wawa capp while i dive into emails and get excited about my weekend ahead.

i am seriously so in love with my awesome friends and the thought of seeing 3 of them this weekend really excites me! i get butterflies while making plans with my girlfriends. is that normal? they are just so amazing to me. so i confirm a little trek to the city tomorrow night that's a bit of a surprise so i can't speak of it on a public blog for my thousands of readers to read!

saturday morning kicks off with a shopping date with my love, alexandra fanucci. (no i'm not a lesbian, but i'm truly in love with all my girlfriends because they rock. so they're all my loves.) we are meeting at the KOP mall at 10am for stores to open. why? because the sales are INSANE, especially in our favorite store Lilly Pulitzer. then we'll make a trek out to the outlets in Limerick for dirt cheap after Christmas prices on our favorite accesories and fashion!

saturday afternoon brings me to a basketball game at my good ol alma mater, Eastern University. Rachel and i MIGHT just be the biggest EU basketball fans the school has ever seen, but that's debatable. we will cheer on the Eastern Eagles before getting all fancied up for an evening of dinner and drinks on the mainline with our friend Tanya.

but FIRST tonight - it's off for a sushi date with my girlfriend Janine and her fabulous friends. can't wait for an evening of SUSHI and drinks with the ladies. perfect start to friday tomorrow. and a mini snow storm in the morning!

just another fabulous weekend in the life of adrienne marie. happy to be alive and loving life right now - and that's just a little piece of me! so much to live for.

i'm telling you, Bravo really needs to start filming the Real Housewives of the Mainline. and they need to begin with my circle of friends! although most of us aren't "housewives" per se, but young working professionals :)

2010 - My Year in Review

everyone else is doing it, so here it goes! 2010 brought some ups and downs for sure. powerful lessons learned. but ultimately coming out a better, stronger person on top! losing people in my life both literally and figuratively. but most of all, some of the most amazing memories with the most amazing people. i am blessed beyond my wildest dreams to have the friends and family that i do. cheers to a brand new 2011 of good times! good things comin'...

JANUARY

took a lil trip to AZ to visit some high school gals who i miss so dearly!

FEBRUARY - moved home to save for my own house! :) coming along. slowly but surely.

APRIL - 1st annual Cousins Connect, Florida Style at Aune Joanne's condo!

MAY - brought a visit to Baltimore to see my good friend Meghan :)

JUNE - began the SUMMER OF AVALON!!! best summer ever at the 'jersey shore' ...non-snookie style. until 2011, that is... when rach and i are IN on the shore house. can't wait.

JULY - wow, alot happened!

DMB Concert with a good ol friend!

a close friend gets married - Jon & Houn

a special friend from Alabama comes to visit for the first of THREE visits :) love you Tiffany! we miss you every day, andrea. rest in peace my love.

one of my favorite places on earth... our house at Lake Wallenpaupack

Trip 1 - with Lauren!

Trip 2 - with Rach!

Leah and Chris get married! my sister's sister in law ;) aka my brother in law's sister!

Visited Rach's home town of Baltimore, MD for a crab fest! ...and other shenanigans.

AUGUST

The Green Team came to visit!

SEPTEMBER

the annual Canfield Fair family reunion :) and Grandma's 80th birthday!

Atlantic City, NJ for Janine's 40th!!

OCTOBER

my birthday month! last year before i'm over the hill. i'm not concerned. spent the weekend with my sister and best friends!

NOVEMBER

the Union League of Philadelphia's Fall Ball - A Gala for All Seasons

DECEMBER

Utah visit to see my Streeter Family :) soooo much needed.

our Christmas present to Nanny & Grandad was to take them to NYC and see the Rockettes for the first time in over 30 years! they loved it. and so did we!

among the memories of laughter, there was also sadness as i endured losing both Janine's husband Bob Zinski in January, as well as a close friend from high school, Robbie Oberly, in August. Both of cancer. we miss you every day.

i would like to thank the following girlfriends who have made this spectacular year possible, and stood by my side when i needed them for laughter and loyal friendship! i love each of you so much.

dana lynne, allison, lauren, rach, andrea, alex, rebecca, danielle, janine, nina, jenn, tiffany, meghan, renee, tiff, stephanie - get ready for 2011. here we come!

oxox

The worst week to go to the gym

yep - that's right folks. this is the WORST week of the year to go to the gym. for the faithful gymmers, you know what i mean. God bless the hearts of those New Year's Resolutions that start this week, but we all know the reality that they begin with great intentions and crowd the gym in such a way that no one can MOVE. thankfully for my sake, most of these people don't stick with their good intentions and eventually stop coming to the gym during my time slot!

i panicked as i drove into the parking lot and saw people actually circling in their cars waiting for spots. i approached the exit debating if i should just leave and come back next week! if the parking lot was a gridlock, then surely there would not be a treadmill for me! but alas, i spot a fresh parking spot near the exit and speed over to it. phew! just in time.

sights seen while in the gym the first week of January:

- while entering the locker room i see a woman wearing a FUR COAT. yes, you read that correctly. a long huge fur coat. where do you plan on stashing that during your work out, ma'am?!

- i happily thankfully spy a treadmill open! i dash over to it as if someone had been saving me the last one. my luck is just too good. as i'm jogging along logging my miles, i take in the sights of the row of bikes in front of me. a 20 or 30's something man approaches a bike, gets on, and pedals approximately 20 rotations and then gets off and walks away. wow, quick work out dude! trouble deciding what you want to do and really committing to a machine?! those 20 rotations really helped your legs.

- next i see another young man walk in front of me wearing BOARD SHORTS. mm hmm, that is right. as in a bathing suit for men. WITH hawaiian flower print all over them.

as i conclude my work out, i begin to look forward to next week with a few less people attempting to work out in swim shorts and fur coats. and the week after that, even less people. until the gym finally returns to NORMAL :)