My annual letter to Colby

Dear Colby,

I want these for my birthday:

I'm size 37.  And the bonus part?  If you order them before next Tuesday, they're 50% off.  Also, I kind of want this too:

In green and definitely with the Boston Terrier design.

And while we're at it, I want this rug from Pottery Barn Kids for the nursery.

I mean, it's not even for ME and it's MY birthday.  I'm being completely selfless here, so you basically have to get this for me.

Love,

Julie

This is for Colby

My birthday is fast approaching and I'm just about through compiling my wishlist.  I have pretty much the easiest birthday to remember if you're a dude: Valentine's Day.  I can't tell if this is a blessing or a curse.  On one hand, there's only one day to not screw up.  On the other hand, there's no making up for a bad birthday with a good Valentine's Day.  I've decided to make it easy on Colby this year and post my birthday wishlist here.

Everyone needs a good pair of black shoes, right?  These Tsubo Acrea are super cute and totally work appropriate.  And by "work appropriate" I mean that they look like I can walk more than a block in them without wanting to fall over in pain.  Unlike these.

The Cooking Channel has to be my favorite channel on TV.  I've definitely become a Nigella fan and Nigella Express has become one of my favorite new (to me) shows second only to...

Bitchin Kitchen.  OMGWTFBBQ I love Nadia G.  Her show is awesome and the food looks even better.

Everyone also needs a good right hand ring.  Right?  Right?  And amethyst is my birthstone and Colby loves Costco... so I'm pretty sure that getting this would be a match made in heaven.  Yeah.

Additionally, everyone needs at least one good, sharp knife.  I actually prefer santoku style knives to traditional chef's knives because I'm a rebel like that.  But really, my hands are small, so I find chef's knives to be too unwieldy.  This Global knife is pretty awesome.

In keeping with the overall theme of this list, most of what's on here is an essential.  What's more essential than a classic strand of akoya pearls? 

And finally, I'd just really like to be able to sous vide cook at home.  I have a rice cooker and two slow cookers now and all I need is a PID controller.

Secondyeardefensitis

I've been working my butt off, trying to get stuff done so I don't get kicked out of grad school and it totally sucks. By the first week of March, I had lost ~17 lbs and it was great. I was looking forward to losing more weight just as quickly, but then there was this conference. Conferences are hell on diets, especially this one. It was ridiculously good and catered by Tejas Grill. Not only were there buffet lunches, but also a couple coffee breaks with pastries thrown in for good measure. I ended up gaining ~4 lbs back that week, I swear, but I tried my hardest and lost the weight again... until Easter came around and my friends came and I gained that ~4 lbs back.

I was just going to try to maintain my weight for the time being (until June 3rd) and hope for the best, but now I've decided that I shouldn't prioritize school over health. Also, my reward for passing the second year defense (if that is to happen) is a pair of these:



The heel is 5 1/4 inches and they look like they should be paired with something cute. My new motivation between now and my second year defense is to pass, lose weight, and get into these shoes to party it up (read: get so drunk that I don't recognize myself in the mirror) and RELAX.