Heading Out...

Heading out to Tanzania bright (or dark) and early tomorrow morning!

When I have internet access, I am going to try to blog about our travels over here.

Follow it up!

Kwaherini! 

Guilt-free Friday!

Bwana Asifiwe it's Friday! Spending my last weekend in the states with my family... looking forward to a fireside dinner on the back porch, carving a great, big pumpkin, and drinking some mulled apple wine. Oh, and of course packing and brushing up on my Swahili! Ahhh! Here's some guilt-free fun on this beautiful fall weekend...


Hey it's ok...


If Pinot Noir accounts for 98% of your weekly fruit intake.

If you felt like you lost a friend when this past season of The Rachel Zoe Project ended.

To turn to baking when life gets crazy (a la Izzie Stevens)

Clothes-minded.

Ok, so call this a diva moment, but when I realized I would be spending 30 hours traveling next week (and 30 hours coming back two weeks later, mind you) I had a little bit of a panic. Ok, I know this is moderately trivial, but you have to understand my dilemma. I am old-fashioned in that I believe in dressing up to fly. I mean you won't find me wearing a pencil skirt and stilettos, but the thought of wearing a Juicy Couture sweatsuit or Victoria's Secret sweatpants in public makes me nauseous. Literally.

Ok, so I don't necessarily dress up to fly, but jeans are typically mandatory. So then I thought... "What would it be like to wear jeans for thirty hours straight?" (Ugh and not to mention a bra...) The horror. So this is my solution.

In-flight Fashion by soliloquygirl featuring aviator shades

Slouchy Shawl Cardigan, $79
VPL Second Skin sheer cotton tank, $130
Women's Aerie Yoga Pants (True Black), $30
Cashmere knæ strømpe, 588 DKK
Jimmy Choo Witty leopard-print suede flats, $365
Fall Market Scarf in Cranberry, $38
RAY BAN RB3025 (AVIATOR) GOLD METAL W3234, 142 GBP

Yoga pants seem like an obvious choice since they are so comfy and from far away they kind of look like real pants. The aviators will be perfect for hiding tired, jet-lagged eyes and the black cashmere socks are essential for keeping my toes nice and toasty. I always wear flats when I fly, it makes going through security that much faster. I think this is the middle ground between just-rolled-out-of-bed and ready for the runway. (Ha... runway! I didn't even plan that one!)

Happy Birthday...

to the absolute best dad in the world...

You are the only person I know who can cook an entire meal on the grill (and make it taste absolutely heavenly), who tucked me in every single night (tight enough so I couldn't escape) and would lay with me until I fell asleep (and 95% of the time he fell asleep too... sorry mom) when I was too scared to be by myself. Thank you for setting the bar so high and for showing me what it means to be a man of God. I love you so much.

new tunes

Ok, if you never believe anything I tell you after this, that's fine but you seriously should consider adding a new station to your Pandora. 


Ready for it? 


"Quelqu'un m'a dit" by Carla Bruni. 


Here's a little preview...

This station is soooo good. Seriously. I was getting a little burnt out with my usual James Morrison, Gavin DeGraw, John Mayer music and all of my stations started sounding the same. But then I saw this video on a random blog that I don't even remember (I know, fail) but I adore it. It is just so folky and relaxed and I don't know the words to all the songs so it doesn't distract me when I am studying/reading/writing. 


The only problem is that I find myself feverishly scribbling down names of new artists that I want to download (i.e. every person a the station). And I'll probably go broke trying to buy all this new music. 


P.S. They play songs in English too, don't worry. :)

It was like... Magic.

Have you ever seen Sleepless in Seattle? Gosh, absolute cinematic perfection. I woke up this morning thinking about my favorite scene, and it only seems right to share. Pardon the poor quality and sketchy subtitles. Gotta love YouTube and good, old globalization. 

(In case you were distracted by the Shiite style subtitles, here is the transcript.)

Dr Marcia: Sam, do you think there is someone out there you could you love as much as you loved your wife?

Sam: Well, Dr. Marcia Fieldstone, that's hard to imagine.

Dr. Marcia: What are you going to do?

Sam: Well, I’m going to get out of bed every morning. And breathe in and out all day long. And after a while I won't have to remind myself to get out of bed every morning and breathe in and out. And then after a while I won't have to think about how I had it great and perfect for a while.

Dr. Marcia: Sam, tell me what was so special about your wife?

Sam: Well, how long is your program?

It was a million tiny, little things.When you added them up, it just meant that we were supposed to be together. And I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home, only to no home I'd ever known. I was just taking her hand, to help her out of a car. And I knew it.

It was like… Magic.

Shameless Saturday

So, I missed Guilt-free Friday yesterday... whoops! I have just been so busy finalizing some last minute details before I leave for Tanzania in... 9 DAYS. Gosh, it hasn't really hit me yet. Probably because I am so unprepared. So, in addition to soccer-momming it up, I have been scrambling to finish some course work, get a prescription filled for malaria prevention meds (that I have to start taking in 2 days... eek) and checking the mail compulsively in hopes that my visa arrives. Stat. 


Anyways, in the spirit if Guilt-free Friday, let's have a Shameless Saturday (i.e. things I probably should be feeling guilty about, but I'm not.)


... I'm on latte number three. It isn't even 10:30am yet. BUT, at least there's no Baileys in it, right?

... I'm listening to Christmas music. BUT, I'm going to be gone November 1-14, which means I'll be missing out on two solid weeks of Christmas music. So sing on, Glenn Miller, sing on.

... I've spent more time planning what to wear on the 30 hour flight than I have spent preparing for my two tests this week. (Not to mention the 3 papers and professional portfolio I need to complete before my departure)

... Instead of studying yesterday I got a manicure. And a pedicure. All while reading InStyle Magazine. 

(not my feet)

... I know more about my new camera than I know about types of insurance and deductibles (i.e. what my finance test will be covering) Did I mention I don't know how to turn on my camera yet?

Also, I stole all of these pictures. I mainly found them on Google Images, which kind of makes it not like stealing. Except that it is. But I mean hey, what do you expect from someone who doesn't know how to turn on her camera?