Seriously?

Yes, folks...it's snowing on March 25th in good 'ol Northern Virginia.  I'm losing my sense of humor, at this point.

Hope you are enjoying warmth and sun in your part of the world!

shoe's cup and cork

I'm not entirely sure how long it will last but today was an incredibly beautiful spring day in Northern Virginia.  My husband and I both had different appointments earlier in the day but this afternoon, we decided to get outside and make the most of this glorious day.

We decided to take sweet Daisy with us and walk around downtown Leesburg.  I'm so glad we did!  We walked all around the historic district while Daisy panted and gave me dirty looks.  To say that she's not quite used to exercise is probably the under-statement of the century.  I think she was wondering why I neglected to bring her pink stroller on our adventure.

Since we were limited on dog-friendly places to eat at, we decided to have a casual dinner outside in the Secret Garden at Shoe's Cup and Cork.  They were completely welcoming and went out of their way to make Daisy (and us) at home.  In fact, they didn't have an apple to sell us (one of Daisy's favorite treats), so one of the waitresses offered to let Daisy have her apple that she didn't eat at lunch!  She is now Daisy's friend-for-life!

Year's ago, Shoe's belonged to an actual cobbler.  There was no food to be eaten but it was the place to go if you needed your shoe's repaired.  Several years ago, Shoe's was opened as a cute coffee shop/cafe but closed last year.  We were so happy when new owners "re-soled" it and brought it back to life.  In my opinion, Shoe's Cup & Cork is better than ever.

I should have gotten pics of the charming Secret Garden but it was tough to get past this adorable face!

Apples and water were all it took to put a smile on her face

If you are in Northern Virginia or the D.C. area, you should give Shoe's a try!

Happy Spring!!!

Signs of Spring!

Good riddance to the Winter '13

Hello Spring 2014!!!

I'm really trying to be optimistic here!  I've never looked forward to spring as much as this year.  I feel like everyone in Northern Virginia & up the east coast, deserve a medal for surviving this winter that just didn't end.

Unfortunately, our forecast for next week calls for more of the white stuff.  You've GOT to be kidding me!!!  (my first thought, when I heard the forecast)  For today, I'm going to focus on the fact that the sun is shining and it's close to 60 degrees.

We're getting there, spring, we are getting there!

It's been a few weeks...

Having both of my kids on two different Spring Break schedules was a little frustrating since we never had a moment as a family, when we were all together.  That said, my son and I went down to visit my daughter in SC while he was on his break, so I did have a few days with both kids.  I don't know how much of a break it actually was for my son.  My daughter went to school in January without her car, so it seemed we were busy driving her places from the time we arrived - until the time we left.  We did enjoy a few relaxing dinners while we were there.  Columbia, SC has some great restaurants.  This trip, our favorites were Pearl's Oyster Bar and California Dreaming.  Pearl's has really great oysters on the half shell and pretty fabulous lobster rolls.  (I'm a tough critic when it comes to lobster rolls since I was born in Massachusetts, so you can trust me on this.)  California Dreaming's house salad is amazing...though I could have probably done myself a few favors by saying "no" to the honey croissants that accompany each salad.  The fact that we began our meal with an appetizer of croissants was probably not the best decision but they tasted incredible.

The ballerina's spring break was cut short from the beginning as she had a performance at the Columbia Museum of Art on the first Saturday of her break.  My son and I were able to attend the dress rehearsal the day before.  It was so great to see her dancing again.  It wasn't a ballet piece - it was a "swing piece" to complement the theme "From Geisha's to Gatsby".  The choreography was fast and fun.  They performed 3 times during the Gala and she said all three performances went really well with great energy from the dancer's as well as the crowd.

The dancer's all donned black bob wigs - I barely recognized her!

I think she misses the dogs when she is at school..more than anything.

Headed back to school in her new car ~ Happy Girl! 

We headed back to Virginia on Sunday - wishing we had brought the SC weather with us.  I think my daughter felt she got "the short end of the stick"...coming home to the freezing cold on "spring break" but she was so happy to spend a few days at home with her pets before having to go back to school.

I wish I had  gotten some pics of my son over the break.  He arrived home with a bad cold, so we spent the first half of his break, nursing him back to health before we headed south and we were so busy while we were in SC, I didn't think about it.  Thankfully, they'll both be back for a few weeks in May, before their busy summers begin.

How were your spring break's with your kids?  Busy (like ours) or relaxing...like most people we know?

I need a moment....

While I should be blogging about the Oscars (which have been amazing, in my opinion), I hope you will understand if I need a moment, because....

Lisa Birnbach just favorited two of my tweets!

Ahhh!  Her Preppiness Herself!

For those of you who were not "of age" (or born) in the 80's, you might not understand what this means to me.  The Preppy Handbook was my "bible" in High School.  I still have the book to this day.  When Lisa wrote her newer version in 2010, I bought a copy for myself - and my daughter.  She had quite a profound influence on me and my style of dress - way of life.

My copies

Thank you, Lisa Birnbach for making my night!

south carolina dreaming

Having an empty nest (sigh), my husband and I are looking at our future and making plans for pre and post retirement.   It has not been a secret amongst my family and friends that I'm anxious to move south.  I'm a Massachusett's girl at heart but I'm looking for the warmth and hospitality of the south.  Since my daughter moved to South Carolina for school, I have fallen in love with the state even more.

Can't imagine why, since we woke up to this today (and yesterday, and...well....)

Poor Daisy - trying her best to hide from the snow!

We've decided to look for a home that we can rent out in the summer and use for vacations & weekend getaways for our family the rest of the year.  Although I desperately want to have a home in Charleston (for obvious reasons), we are starting to think that short-term, it would probably be best to get a beach house if we will be renting out in the summers.  I've begun the search online...so many areas near Charleston...Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, Seabrook, Sullivan's, Kiawah.  Although, this will likely not be our forever home (hello...Charleston!?), I do want to be in an area that we enjoy and hopefully not too "tourist-y".

Any southern bloggers that can offer advice or suggestions?  Have you vacationed down south?  Help this Washington, DC girl find some warmth in SC!

the extra mile

Do you ever want to give a suggestion to a store owner/manager but then decide not to - because a) you guess they probably just don't care and b) you are just so frustrated with the lack of customer service that exists today?

I'm in that situation frequently.  Maybe it's due to the fact that I had a small store and truly valued business that came my way.  Customer service was the extremely important to me.  I realized that people could purchase their Lilly online and I wanted to give them a reason to come into my shop and buy it from me.  Our business was built on relationships - many that I still hold dear to this day.

As I mentioned in my previous post, "the daughter - aka the ballerina" transferred to her school in S.C. in January.  She is on a large campus and we were told she would not need a car.  Big Mistake.  We should have been told "she will not need a car UNLESS she is a dance major".  In addition to trips to Whole Foods, she's had many occasions where she'll need something last minute that she could not have anticipated.  As a result, I have become very good friends with our UPS store.  Yesterday, however even UPS couldn't help me.  She needed some shoes for today and it was going to cost me $80 to ship them.  I just couldn't make myself do it.  

There HAD to be another option.

Since she couldn't find a ride to the local ballet store.  I called them to see if they had the shoes (they did) and if I could pay them to get them to her (they were 10-15 min away).  They said it would be $30 to ship overnight.  I agreed to do that but had also asked if anyone who worked there would be near the campus?  (hint: can you go a little out of your way?!)  I would have been happy to pay that money for someone to drive them to her dorm.  No dice.  She will now get to walk 15 min to the mailroom - each way, between class and rehearsal to pick up the package.  It's not a huge problem but it just amazes me that I couldn't even pay someone to go the extra mile (okay 5 miles).  I realize I was asking them to go out of their way, but it is interesting to me that there were at least 2 people in the shop and neither thought, "Hey, I can drive over after work...not a problem".  

Something similar happened to me a few months ago.  I needed to send another something to daughter and I was sick that day and really didn't want to brave the weather, etc.  I thought I'd call a store in our historic area to give them some business.  I began the conversation by asking if they could mail overnight - I needed her to have the item the next day.  I was speaking with the owner of the store (who I knew) who said, yes - she would get it there over night.  I paid her and before we hung up made sure she was going to have it there the following day.  She then said that she actually wouldn't be sending it until the next day because she was the only person in the store and open til 5pm.  I told her that the UPS store (which she would drive past to get home) was open until 7pm but she refused to stop.  She told me that I could pick it up from her store - which frankly, is not convenient for me.  I told her to cancel the transaction.  If I was going to have to go out and mail the item myself, I was going to go to another store with a better location.  Which I did.  I haven't been back to that store since.

I guess these situations bother me because I hear people complaining about lack of jobs and small businesses that can't afford to stay open and I think to myself, 

"maybe if they went the extra mile"

"maybe if employees paid attention to customers more than their cell phones" ...

maybe...

the ballerina will be returning to campus after spring break, with her car.  

make that, definitely.