Real Housewives of Connecticut

I am very lucky be very close in age to my dad's baby sister.  When my brother and I were growing up, it wasn't uncommon for us to spend months at a time with her over the summer.  She is my brother's God mother, and she and I were inseparable for most of my life (to the point where I cried every time she had to go home after visiting us!).  I didn't have a sister growing up, but she was the closest thing to it!

The spread for the bday girl!

So when she found out that she and my uncle would be out of town for my cousin's graduation from Notre Dame, there was NO question that I would gladly help them out by staying with their kids for the weekend.  I've never lived very close to them until we moved to New York, so a weekend with those three little muchkins was something I would never pass up.  I left the boys at home since Mike had been traveling, and I didn't want to have to worry about getting Winston to and from Connecticut on a crowded train during rush hour.


Between the three of them, there was 8 hours of dress rehearsal for a recital, a 3 hour dance recital, a 14th birthday, an 8th grade dance, and a baseball game, phew!  I was definitely up for the weekend with some of my favorite little coussies, but was a little nervous about being the sole care taker for three children!  I was nervous about someone getting hurt in my care.  I was nervous that I wouldn't be good at doing their "stage makeup" for the recital.  I was nervous that I would get lost somewhere driving between all their activities.  I was nervous that something would happen to the house while I was sleeping.  I was nervous that I would do something terrible like run over one of the kids bikes (oh wait...I've already done that).  I was nervous that the house would be ugly and not clean when my aunt/uncle came home and they would be cursing my name for having to return to a dirty house.  I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to make them all feel special about their birthdays/games/recitals.  And I think Susanne was a little nervous too, because she left me one billion notes all over the counter. 

Birthday dinner for Bella Boo!

But the weekend was a success!  The kids were great.  They killed it in their perspective activities!  Patrick hit a triple, the girls both won awards at their dance recital, and Juliette even came away with a little scholarship!  And I must say, they looked like the most beautiful little dancers in the entire world (might have had something to do with my new found skills in applying stage makeup, I think I missed my calling!).  I was such a proud cousin!  We had an awesome night celebrating Belle's big 14th birthday!!! With the exception of a few mishaps caused by the new family puppy, everything went off without a hitch.   


 As the weekend approached, people kept teasing or joking about how this would be a little test as to how ready I was for motherhood and whether or not I'm prepared for the suburban life as a Real Housewife of Connecticut, and I'm not sure those questions were answered.  The three of them are remarkable little people, and made my life REALLY easy for the 60 or so hours that they were in my care.  I think it was more of a testament  to how organized I could be and how well I could manage time in between all the activities. I don't know yet when Mike and I will decide to start a family, but when we do have little Weemobs babies, I hope they are just like these crazy kids!!!!

Go Big Red!

My husband is a very proud graduate from Lawrenceville boarding school in New Jersey.  Five years ago, him and all his friends (with whom he has still remained very close) reunited in Lawrenceville for their 10 year.  This was shortly before my time with Mike, but I've seen the pictures.  It was quite a turnout from their class, and it was a little bit of a wild ride.  But this year, was the big 15 year reunion. And this year, there are more wives and babies between all the members of the class of 1997. 

This is an actual shot from campus. Gorgeous

Mike and I took the train out to the campus for the reunion festivities.  We were joined by the Bucks and welcomed by the official class of '97 greeter, sweet Mr. Ashby McElveen and his beautiful wife.  This high school reunion wasn't like normal high school reunions.  It was more like a college alumni weekend, where people from every 5 years were reunited with their high school buddies.  There were reunions from 5 years all the way up to 50 (maybe even higher, but I didn't see any of those folks!).  And everyone was at the saaaame hotel.

The first night was a welcome dinner for Lawrencians of all ages.  Hundreds of alumni gathered for a night of delicious food and cocktails.  Some old, some young, some coaches, and some faculty.  The boys were so happy to be back on their old stomping grounds and they kicked off the weekend with a barrage of stories and memories.  Despite the fact that the Mobleys visit Princeton 4-5 times a year, I have yet to spend this much time at the boarding school of which my husband is a proud alumnus (yes, that's the proper term, I've specifically looked it up before this entry). Every time we're in Princeton, Mike tells me "I wish we had time to go see Lawrenceville".  Needless to say, he was thrilled to share the beautiful sights and chronicles of his high school career.

On day two, after we piled into a packed car to find booze for the day, we headed to campus to explore the grounds.  And I'm not exaggerating when I say, this place reminded me of Hogwarts.  They had dining halls, and dorms, and prefects....everything but the magic!  But the most important task of the day was to adorn ourselves in Lawrenceville red.  We visited "the Jigger" where all of us stocked up on the necessary Lawrenceville school apparel and trinkets.  Between the group, I think we left with more than enough t-shirts, cufflinks, scarves, ties, belts, dog collars, hats, sweatshirts, and just about anything else you can name (except the bathrobes...no one bought the aggressively fancy Lawrenceville bathrobes).

Shortly after that, we ventured through the football stadium, over the bubbling brook, in front of the ropes course (where Mike reminded me that he was head ropes course instructor), and past the field house to watch the varsity boys lacrosse team.  Mike and Chuck mingled with old coaches, and chatted animatedly about what "little contact" there was between the boys and how good the two of them were "in their prime".  They did indeed relive the glory days while watching the game.  Had the opportunity presented itself, I'm positive they would have put on gloves and masks and played right along with their successors.  Outside of the obligatory "let's go watch your boyfriend play his sport" situation in high school, I don't think I've sat through an entire lacrosse game, and it was REALLY fun.  I'm not sure I know all the rules, and there are 20 different colored circles/lines on the field, but I could really get into it!

The final night of the weekend was a more intimate night with just the class of '97 and their significant others.  Since the group was quite small, they had their class dinner inside the field house, one of Mike's favorite places on the whole campus.  He didn't waste any time before he gave me the tour and pointed his name out as lacrosse AND football captain (swoon!) among on the wall of other former team captains at Lawrenceville.  MM Mobley, as it was written on the wall,  is in the company of several years of athletic tradition, and being captain of both teams is probably one of his proudest accomplishments to date.  It meant a lot to him to be able to share that with me, and I was glad to get a glimpse into his high school life.

Alumni weekend went by way too fast, and before we knew it we were on board the train headed back to Penn Station.  In 2012, I think the Lawrenceville alumni weekend was more of a theme of "reminiscing" and "sharing".  I'm sure it was a much different experience for my husband for the 15 year, and being able to share his high school with me rather than partying with some of his boys that he's known now for over 16 years.  But we all had a great time, even though it was a bit different circumstances. I can't wait to go back to visit again, potentially for the big 2-0.  I must say that I'm proud to be married to such an athletic mastermind! Now, let's just hope that the kids take after YOU honey!!!!

Happy Birthday Mr. Handsome

I'm not sure what it is about boys, but for some reason they don't love their birthdays as much as girls do.  Guys don't celebrate for 2-4 weeks.  Guys don't buy needless presents for themselves because "it's their birthday".  Guys don't cheat on their diets and eat cupcakes and other sweets because "it's their birthday". And guys don't find it necessary to take a holiday from working on their birthday?  It's a phenomenon that will never make sense to me.


Regardless, I find it my personal duty to ensure that everyone feels special on their birthday.  But more importantly, I find it even more my duty to make my husband feel special on his birthday! And what better way to make someone feel special than by showering them with gifts!  Mike has been a little mad at me these past few weeks because every day that he comes home from work, there is some sort of package or box.  But this time, instead of having a daily delivery from GILT or Shopbop, they were all presents for my Beloved.  So I had a few things for him to open over the course of the day.  My favorite gift to him being a pair of hula girl cufflinks from the 1950s that I found at a vintage market around our neighborhood.  Mike has started quite a cufflink collection, and I could have gone nuts shopping for vintage cufflinks, but now I'll just have to take him back there and we can shop together!

Last year on Mike's birthday, we were still on our Honeymoon in Bora Bora, and we had a delicious meal at Jean Georges at the St. Regis.  So this year, we thought it would be a treat to have dinner at the Jean Georges restaurant in Manhattan!  Mike's mother was in town for the week as well, so she joined us for a feast of epic proportions (even though the actual portions were quite reasonable).  We had some of the most amazing combinations of fish, foie gras, Wagu beef, and an unbelievable assortment of dessert (my favorite).  And when you thought it was all over, they give you MORE dessert with the check!  It was one of the finest meals I've had in a while, but I'm sorry to say, that I think I liked the Bora Bora Jean Georges just a tiny bit better.  It could have had a lot to do with the atmosphere though!!!!

I think I did a pretty good job on the gifts that I bought my husband for his special day, but apparently he wanted to treat himself to a little present for his birthday. So after a few cocktails with on of our other favorite Mikes (who also celebrated a recent birthday...HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEOHANE!) over a Sunday Brunch (and a Sophia Vergara sighting), the Mikes headed to Guitar Center to spend some of the hard earned money on shiny new guitars!!!!  The two of them spent almost 2 hours in Guitar Center, where they both looked like little boys in a candy shop.  2 hours and what seemed like $10K later, they both walked out with their guitars and brand new cases.  A great self-purchased birthday gift indeed.

Normally, I'd make Mike feel bad about dropping that kind of dough for his 6th (yes 6th) guitar.  But it's his birthday, and he works his little hiney off, so it's very well deserved.  Plus...it's the most awesome looking guitar that I've ever seen, and it sounds like velvet when he starts playing that thing!  And the look of pure joy on the two of their faces when they left that store was really a sight to see.

I'd like to take the chance once more to say happy birthday to the sweetest, most thoughtful man I've ever known.  Mid-30s never looked so good!  I hope you had a great one and I love your face off!!!!   XOXOXO

Come Sail Away

I love being home in New York with my husband, but sometimes you just need a weekend away with your girls (or guys in his case!).  I'm not an expert on marriage after only a year, but I know that it's these weekends once or twice a year with our friends that keeps us sane and makes us anxious to come home to each other.  After graduation, my ladies and I started a yearly tradition of doing one trip together a year.  No matter where we were or what was going on, we all picked one weekend to make a point of seeing each other.  Those first few trips brought us to Vegas as early twenty-somethings where we were showered with champagne and free bottle service by men young and old in the City of Sin.  But in the past few years, our efforts have switched as these yearly girls weekends have evolved into bachelorette parties and wedding weekends as each of us has started to slowly tie the knot one by one.

This year, my dear friend Randi is getting married in New Orleans, which will be my first trip out to the Big Easy (blog to follow of course!).  So for Randi's bachelorette I hopped on the Amtrack to head down to a beautiful spring weekend in Saint Michaels, Maryland. For those of you who have no idea where that is (which is most of you), it's a quaint little nautical town on the Chesapeake Bay, just 1.5 hours outside of Baltimore.  I was in awe driving across the Bay Bridge as we made our way to the festive little town.  The Inn at Perry Cabin is where the 8 lovely ladies stayed for the weekend, and the hotel was magnificent.  Coincidentally, it's also the site where some of the beautiful wedding scenes were filmed on the movie Wedding Crashers.

No, we're NOT singing "Girls just want
to have fun".....this is Def Leppard people

St. Michaels was literally a nautical wonderland of festivity.  I've never been to the area, and everything was so cute. The sidewalks were peppered with crab themed paraphernalia, the restaurants served the freshest of Chesapeake's finest seafood, and every establishment had just the right touch of authentic flare.  I could have stayed there for weeks, and even better was that I was surrounded by 7 smokin' hot ladies and some of my best friends in the entire world.

It would be an understatement to say that our group of girls brought a lot of attention to the town for the weekend.  Maybe it's because we all wore stilettos in a town of sandals and flip flops.  Maybe it's because we wore some of our finest cocktail dresses to the only bar in town.  Perhaps it's because we monopolized the karaoke station and entertained bar patrons with the sweet lyrics from Def Leppard and Coolio.  OR, maybe it's because we walked through another couple's wedding ceremony and were banned from returning to the dock until after the services. But it also could have been the fact that each lady had impeccably styled hair and makeup, despite the questionable weather forecast.

I've been to a few bachelorette parties over the past 6 years since graduating from college.  And each that I've gone to has been a perfect reflection of who the bride is and what makes her a happy.  While I'd like to also respect the bride and not divulge too much information the details of her bachelorette party, I will say that it was the perfect weekend for my beautiful friend Randi.  Instead of strippers and clubbing, we had sailors and champange.

My own fresh oyster!

No raunchy phallic shaped straws for this classy bunch of broads.
We all had matching gold charm necklaces and nautical scarves instead.  And Randi didn't wear any obnoxious blinking bridal veils or gaudy fake rings out to the bars....she just wore a captains hat with some understated lace instead.  This group didn't wear any matching t-shirts, but rather we paraded around town dressed like we were all straight out of a Vineyard Vines or J Crew catalog with a barrage of navy and white stripes.  And instead of limo transportation, we sailed for hours across the Chesapeake Bay snacking on wine and cheese.  We enjoyed fresh oysters directly from the Bay instead of questionable shots from bartenders.  I've uploaded a video of our captain hauling oysters in direction from the bay.  Check it out here!

Zeta Love!

As always, when these weekends come to an end, I'm reminded of how much fun I have with my ladies and how much I miss them while I'm all the way out in New York.  I am so thankful that we've all stayed in touch and we still continue to take time every year to go away as a group, and twice a year isn't too shabby for how busy we all are in our lives. I can't wait to see everyone again in a few weeks when Randi and Pablo tie the knot in New Orleans.  And I hope I'm lucky enough to go back to Saint Michaels again, because it truly is one of our country's greatest gems.