...just to add...

not only did I save $450 bucks,

they are taking $100 off my next stay through Expedia for the "inconvenience"




lady on the phone: "Thank you so much for calling.. If you need anything else just call. I hope you have a fun time and a nice stay!"

me: "You too. Thank you so much."

what a pleasant surprise!

got home at around 1am.

decided I wasn't quite sleepy yet.

so naturally I decided to check my email!


I recently booked a hotel for 2 nights through Expedia for a bunch of my gal friends and I and I had an email from the hotel saying they overbooked and that I needed to call this phone number immediately so they could find me other arrangements.

I've now been on hold (yes, I'm still on hold...I have my phone on speaker phone while I type) for 23 minutes.


It's great, really.



Elevator music for about 45 seconds and then the operater lady says one of six things:
(I only caught blips of the last two before the nice lady finally helped me again)

"We're glad you called! Please remain on the line so we can give you our complete attention! We'll be with you as soon as possible!"

"Thank you for holding while we assist other callers! Please be assured we'll be back on the line in just a few moments so we can answer all your questions!!"

"Your call is very important to us, and we appreciate the opportunity to be of assistance! Please continue to hold. We'll be right with you!"

"Thank you for making time to call us... ..and for staying on the line! We look forward to speaking with you in just a moment!"

"Because of the personal attention we give to all of our customers, occasionally you may have a delay!"

"Thank you for calling. We know your time is valuable"



BUT all the holding payed off! Turns out the relocation cost is not my problem and Expedia gets to pay the extra... and it just so happens the only hotel available is really nice! Score!


I love getting my money's worth! It's the bargain shopper in me!

I just have to tell you... The price difference in the two hotels is $450. I am so happy right now!! Expedia's the bomb dot com.

ouch.

last night we played some jumprope.

double-dutch to be exact.

for two hours.

it was so much fun.

i loved every minute of it.

then this morning i woke up

and was sore in places i didn't know were used for jumproping.

maybe i should jump rope more often?

Someday

someday when I'm rich and can spend money frivolously,

I will shop at stores like these:

and not just the sale rack at these places.

spring 2010 trends and how to deal.

Tie-Dye Prints

Keep tie dye to a minimum. If you're going to wear a dress like this, pair it with a denim jacket or cardigan to tone down the busy print.

Multi-Strap Dress This is kind of a strange trend. A multi strap blouse or dress would be darling paired with a military inspired jacket.


The Feathered Skirt

Personally, I don't think this trend should be followed at all. If you feel a burning desire to try it out, try something more toned down. Maybe try fabric layers rather than..feathers. Interesting...

Fold-Down Neckline

I love this neckline. I've wanted to get a sweater with this neckline for awhile but haven't found it anywhere, so I'm glad this trend is in. How cute would this look (as a shirt, not a dress) with a button-up collared shirt underneath and skinny jeans. Adorable. Love it.


Tweed Suit

I love this. Very vintage. If you get a tweed suit, mix it up. Wear the jacket with tailored dress pants, or wear the tweed pants with a blouse and pastel cardigan.



Drapey Mini Dress

I can't decide if I love this look yet or not. I think I would be more convince if the dress was belted and worn with skinny jeans or leggings. It's just too short for my liking, but paired with some bold accessories and something to cover my legs I think it would be very flattering and fashion forward!



The Color Yellow.

Love. Is all I have to say. Wear it as your shoe color, accessories, bag, ...just not all at once please.



Multi-Print Dress

Another trend to use sparingly. In a shirt or cardigan, maybe not as an entire dress unless it was more toned down. Maybe shorter or not as bold of a print? It's a fun idea.

Military Inspired Jacket

I love this look. It's an updated blazer. You could wear this jacket with just about anything. It's something you could dress up or dress down and it's cute no matter what.


Polka Dots.I love me some bold polka dots, especially shown on this navy skirt. Adorable.

Have a Trendy Spring!

Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee

I've rediscovered how much I love Sandra Dee movies.

That Funny Feeling

and

Gidget

are probably in my top 2

If you've never heard of them you are missin' out! If you've heard of them but have never seen them run to the nearest video rental store and check them out. They are perfect for girls nights. I'm telling you!

What are they about, you ask?

That Funny Feeling

Sandra Dee is a maid. She's cleaning this house for a week while the owner (a rich man) is out of town. Well, on his way out of town he ends up not going and they run into each other. He offers to walk her home. She's embarrassed about her own home so she walks him to the house she's cleaning... which happens to be his house. It's great fun. I won't give anything else away. And Bobby Darin is dreamy.

Gidget

This young lady named Francie and her friends decide to go "man hunting" (you know it's a good chick flick when they go on a man hunt.....) at the beach. Francie would rather learn to surf than try to attract gross men. Moondoggie (a nickname of this very attractive boy) and Francie meet, he and the surfer boys give her the nickname Gidget ...because she's a midget and a girl (she's not really a midget... just young and short). It's very darling and Moondoggie and Gidget are beautiful.

Other Sandra Dee movies worth seeing:

Come September

If a Man Answers

Take Her, She's Mine

here's what I've been up to...

I've been going to brother's tennis games, dressing up like a princess, hanging out with a giant*, making t-shirts, and taking not so attractive pictures, apparently...

Snow White's Scary Adventures

okay. so these adventures aren't scary at all.. I'm just a Disneyland nut and that's the name of her ride..

Our neighbor's daughter turned 2 a month ago and her cute mom asked sister and I to be Belle and Snow White at the princess party. It was a beautiful day. Those little girls were CONVINCED we were the real deal. It made my heart melt.

hm.

I can't believe I'm doing this..

This is the year of breaking Erin out of her shell it seems.

I started taking voice lessons

And that got me thinking.. and now I'm going to audition for a musical next week.

I went to a basketball game

and at halftime there were ballroom dancers

which got me thinking again..

So I called up my old ballroom dancing friend.. and now we're going to start practicing to compete!


What on earth!?

It's going to be fun. I'm really excited. Wish me luck.

confession

With all the listening to On The Wings Of Love I've actually become attatched to that song..

Cheesey, Yes.

Catchy? Yes.

I've found myself singing that song a lot. It's been stuck in my head since I made my last post about it.

Sad but true.

I secretly love it.

education and such

This last week I've been thinking a lot.

What do I want to be when I grow up?

Which degrees will get me to where I need to/want to go?

Why an education?

Anyway, with all that thinking came research.

I looked up how many semesters/credits I have left until I am done done.

I have

drumroll






6 years left.

6 YEARS, people.

But. By the time I'm done I'll have 3 degrees and a teaching certificate so that will be awesome.

I just can't help thinking about how lucky/blessed we are to live in a place where we get to choose whatever we want to be when we grow up. We can do something we love and make money doing it? Living the dream is what I say. Seriously. When you get an education it opens a whole world of doors and career opportunities.

Mom was telling me about this guy who decided not to go get a college education and he had an awesome job and was supporting his family just fine with the job he had-- then he got in an accident at work that left him not being able to work at that place anymore and now he's starting at square one and is having a really hard time because he can't support his family with the odd jobs he's picking up right now--especially in this economy as it is.


I need to remember how lucky I am and that education is really a privilege more often when I'm working on endless projects and breaking my back leaning down over my sewing machine. I may hate it today and this semester but down the road it's going to be awesome! I can't wait.

Just have to remember to take it one day at a time. 6 years is way too overwhelming to think about!

Sorry. Rambling happens when I've been thinking about something for awhile then it all just appears as word vomit on the blog.

The Wings Of Love

Dear The Bachelor Producers,

Just because Jake Pavelka is a pilot does not mean you should play On the Wings of Love every romantic moment chance you get. That song is horribly cheesey. Especially for The Bach.

Love Erin.

PS. Bringing Jeffrey Osbourne to the After the Final Rose episode?

Way to take it one step further.

if you haven't got a chance to experience that song

click HERE

NYC pics

getting ready for In The Heights

Manhattan Temple on 66th

Times Square.




Our Box Seat View :)

Stage from our seats :before: *this is zoomed in

FAO Schwartz

freezing+pouring rain+walking from 5th avenue back to our hotel= this unhappy face

Central Park. Thankful for my scarf-turned-hood

Shake Shack.

Heaven.