Missing school...(never thought I'd say that)

This past weekend I got to go back to Chapel Hill for my younger sister's college graduation from the best university on the planet - UNC Chapel Hill! Not only did I get to see my whole family for the first time since Christmas, but I also got to meet up with friends and see campus for the first time in a year (my first visit back since I moved up here). Let's just say it was both fun/awesome and bittersweet...

Mmmmmm lunch for the week - ginger shrimp and green onions over Thai rice noodles

Surprisingly I made it through college without this addiction...funny how work did it to me.

Look what Adanna brought from her vacation in Turkey!

New fashion trend? Knee socks and loafers?

This is what happens in an office fridge. Ew.

Just a friendly game of Office Pen (Manny throws a pen up in the air and whoever it points to has to fill the candy jar....so fun)

Tommy made a new friend

My cute New England lane

Pretty wall mural

I'm HOME

Waiting for Madeline to pick me up with my trusty tote (all the way from Florence, Italy)

First stop - duh

Ready to graduate! (She let me do her hair and make up)

Siblings

There we goooooooo....walkin down the streeeeeeeeeet

Something tickled her :)

The ladies (minus Olivia)

Proud parents :)

And there it is ladies and gents - the moment we've all been waiting for for the past 17 years of education

Trying the Monkey's walk

Strike a pose

And jump for joy!!!!

I miss my Friday kvetching board...

Having a blasty blast in Mad's new car

Haha

???

He's growing teeth!

We had way too much fun with these jumpy pictures

Haha goober

Dinner at a Mexican restaurant (isn't he absolutely adorable???)

Weird photo angle - I don't look like myself (or my Dad...and everybody says I take after him)

Old haunts - Top-O!

I got to meet up with Murph...we started out at He's Not and ended up at Linda's so I could try their cheesy fries for the first time

Goofing around during the commencement ceremony

Gosh I miss campus

Here they come!

Whoa

Look at all that gorgeous Carolina Blue

I got to see Natalie!!!! She's home from her PhD program in Scotland

The graveyard in campus....

...looks like a peaceful resting place

Mother's Day Lunch :)

Went to Cup of Joe with Sam and Alex and saw these interesting art pieces

....and then we went to a FroYo place (can't get enough of it!)

If I could have it breakfast, lunch, and dinner I would

Me 'n' Sam

Flight home...I'm terrified of flying, but you can see some pretty awesome views

Bye bye family, friends, and UNC - until next time....

The Boyfriend and the Bathroom

Ok....so you all may have noticed, I don't really come on here and post a lot of dialogue or talk about anything negative or complain. Honestly I think it's kind of annoying when people use social media to complain about stuff or when they post a lot of negative material - those are things to share with close friends and family and not the entire Facebook/Twitter world (in my opinion). But today I reached a breaking point and I have to 'vent' about (and raise awareness of) this issue in a public capacity because it NEEDS to be addressed.

Guys (yes, I'm talking to you the male species) when you're at a girl's apartment, for the love of all that is polite and gentlemanly PUT THE TOILET SEAT DOWN. I don't care what you do in your own apartment - that's your space. I don't care what you do in public shared restrooms (although I would argue the nice thing to do would be to put it down). But when it comes to MY apartment - any girl's apartment - where I'M the one paying the rent, please use common courtesy and put the freakin lid down (I definitely don't need it left up).

This little tirade all started a few months ago when my roommate - I'll call her Luann - started dating this guy...let's call him Derrick. Luann and Derrick started dating back in October and after a couple months, Derrick was a regular visitor to our humble abode. I noticed that Derrick had the habit of leaving the toilet seat and lid up after using our facilities, but wanting to be 'nice' and 'accommodating' I didn't say anything. After several months of this, though, I'd had about enough, so I sent him this tame little note:

Shew! Slightly awkward to have to write that/send it, but at least I got my point across/wishes known. Problem solved, right? Wrong.

A few nights later I woke up at around 2 am to use the restroom, and in my sleepy stupor and in the dark, I failed to notice that the seat and lid were left up. I'll let my follow up note to Derrick taped to the bathroom mirror tell you what happened:

I even made sure to ask him - in person! - if he'd seen my note and he said 'yes, I'm sorry' and I thought to myself 'Shew! Glad that got taken care of.' Ooooooooooh but wait....

So I get home tonight after working late at the office and put away the dishes in the dishwasher, pack my lunch, and head to the bathroom to take my shower and get ready for bed...and lo and behold, wouldn't you know it the seat was up! So what do I do? I walk into the living room where Luann and Derrick were curled up on the couch watching HGTV and asked ever-so-sweetly 'hey Derrick - could you please come put the seat down so I can use my bathroom?' He gives me this look like I've got 4 eyes and no manners whatsoever - couldn't I see he's sitting on the couch? With Luann?? Watching HGTV??? What an inconvenience to walk all the way to the bathroom to put down the toilet seat for the crazy girl who actually lives in the apartment (he *actually* rolled his eyes at me - can you believe it?!)! Oh but Derrick...if you'd just taken the one second of your time to reverse the action you'd committed to get the toilet seat up after using our facilities in the first place, we wouldn't be here!

So now...here we are....late at night...with an overly-annoyed Emily doing something she vowed to herself she would never do - using her blog to complain.

But I'm not *just* complaining - I'm trying to raise awareness of a very important issue, one that extends beyond trying to teach guys to be respectful of others' places. No no, there is something even more grave that comes up from this faux pas. Do you, dear reader, have any idea how many germs are sent out when you flush your toilet without putting the lid down??? Let this short Youtube clip explain:

Still not convinced? Try reading these:

Article 1, Huffington Post (title too gross to include here)

Article 2, Mail Online (same as above)

So please, I implore you - put the toilet seat down. 

Monday Musings with Manny, Volume 4

(Manny had a rough day on Friday)

Aaaaaaaand straight from Manny's mouth:

Robyn: Manny you wanna come get coffee?

Manny: No I’ve had a good breakfast – I had sliced tomatoes and now I’m eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

Robyn: Manny, it’s 9 o’clock in the morning.

Robyn: It smells like a gym locker over here.

Emily: It’s because Cullen moved back over.

Manny: It’s kind of acidic-y.

Cullen: Manny, I think it’s just ‘acidic.’

Happy Monday from everyone riding this crazy train!

**Disclaimer: This is a personal blog. The opinions expressed here represent my own (or Manny's) and not those of my employer.**

A $500 dress...in high school?

This week I've been obsessed with this Nanette Lepore dress:

The dress of my dreams...

I first came upon it when flipping through an Oprah magazine and seeing it in a photo spread and absolutely falling in love with it. Then I was catching up on Glee this morning and guess what - Rachel Berry was wearing it! A high schooler! In a $500 dress! I typically don't get jealous of fictitious characters, but I couldn't help myself...I want it so badly! It's like one of my all-time favorite movies, Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris (you can enjoy it on Youtube here!)...only not quite. There's actually a Nanette Lepore boutique on Newbury Street, so I may have to go try it on...

At any rate, here are the pictures from this week's escapades:

New favorite product alert! When I was at Lauren's apartment for the Stella & Dot Trunk Show I washed my hands with this soap and couldn't get enough of the scent! Ran out and bought the soap first thing, now I have the cleaning spray, and after I use up my current laundry detergent, I'm buying this one. Go out and buy some NOW.

Re-discovered my love of cottage cheese. Extra tasty with trail mix and sliced strawberries on top.

Two weeks ago I bought an African Violet as my 'weekly flower' (and it's still going strong!)

Last weekend I met up with Hilary and Loren for some shopping at Quincy Market...of course that meant grabbing a lobster roll at Faneuil Hall first ;-)

I *love* shopping bags. They just make me feel extra special and like I'm treating myself when I have them (does that sound silly?)...I especially love the L'Attitude bag - great colors

My purchase - this cute clutch!

Wa-BAM - bet you didn't see that one coming! It also has a gold strap to become a small purse - a versatile going out accessory :)

This week's lunch - poblano chicken! Start by roasting the poblano peppers so it's easier to peel the outer skin off...

...then saute your chicken, add in Nestle Crema, season with salt/pepper/cayenne pepper..

...and dump in the sliced peppers et VOILA - tasty meal!

All set for the week - Spanish rice pilaf, the chicken, and black beans. SO. GOOD.

So I got the results from my gluten test back....and I'M FINE!!!!!!! Yippee!!!!! I celebrated with a large Oreo brownie :)

My beautiful walk to work....

I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT ESS-A-BAGEL. It was literally one of the highlights of my trip to NYC. GO THERE.

My coworker Erik is moving on to a different company so we went to Trade for farewell drinks. This was the bartender's set-up (I thought it looked cool/pretty)

I got the drink called "He Has No Name" (lol)

My favorite chair in the office....you can't get wireless here, so it's nearly impossible to do work, but it makes for a nice little reading nook on my lunch break.

Don't worry - I split it with Cullen! It's no Cookout, but it'll do...

Guess what came in the mail for me....

...my Pippa Necklace!!! You can go buy some awesome jewelry in the next 2 days using the link from the trunk show I hosted tonight by clicking here.

I went to South Station for lunch with Vanessa and we were treated to some live jazz music, which made my day

Cleaning my room in preparation for the potluck...I was inspired to use some of the postcards I've collected through my travels to decorate my vanity mirror - seeing them makes me happy :)

This week's flowers

I typically prefer red wines, but this white is just a little fruity and really tasty

Butter/sugar/lemon can only mean one thing...CREPE TIME!!!!!!!!!

Double time - left is my regular batter, right is dairy free (made with almond milk - quite tasty)

Tasty toppings

OMG YUM - sauteed mushrooms and spinach with caramelized onion and peppers with avocado topped with spices  = a flavor *explosion*

Oh hey girls! Some of the ladies enjoying the goodies

Lunchtime jazz

And there you have it! On a completely unrelated note, of friend of mine runs a website for parents looking to find out more information on sending their kids to college, so if you're in that boat, you can visit the website here. There's a TON of good information on there, so check it out!

Be sure to check back on Monday to see what came out of Manny's mouth this week...