Earmuffs for lunch?-- Really, Dally???

Mr. MHH being out of town this week really threw me for a loop, as I suddenly found myself a single parent . . . of an animal who is bigger than me.  Said giant dog has recently developed a rambunctious streak- so she has been even more of a handful lately.  Any noisemaking toys have suddenly become the MOST exciting thing ever- at all hours of the day or night.  She is also waking me up at least once a night needing to go outside or just whining-- maybe being a dog owner really is prep for children.


Anyway, Dally and I got up early Thursday morning and primped for the day.

She got all dolled up in her pink bow (you can't tell, but the bow also has a rhinestone in the middle).  She was especially excited to wear her bow, since Mr. MHH was out of town-- he thinks it makes her look sissy.

I opted for a comfy-casual outfit and brought out a pair of my favorite boots for the first time this season!  My top is a woven tunic top from J-Crew, layered over a chocolate brown tank from Banana Republic.  On the bottom, I was sporting some great navy leggings - J-Crew Signature Leggings. (Sidenote- these tights are actually opaque!-- so many tights aren't and end up being see-through-- so I LOVE these!)  The boots are Report and I discovered them on Zappos last year.  They're grey suede and they fold over and have adorable brown leather straps down the back that fasten on the sides with buckles.  I wish they still made them! 

So, after a quick piece of toast with peanut butter Dally and I head out the door.  I was on my way to drop Dally off at doggy daycare, but decided to call them and make sure they had a place for her... ANDDDDDDD they didn't. Uh-oh.

SO, my outfit immediately changed from the leggings and oxford tunic to . . . BOOM- the Minnie Mouse pajamas I got for Christmas from my mom.  So much for the cute outfit.  (Which became Friday's attire)

Yeah, Minnie!

On the upside, my workspace was going to be my cube-- but once I was stuck at home my workspace got a lot cuter.  Also, the coffee is better at home!

MacBook + Anthropologie mug + Kate Spade planner = lovely day home!

Well, the workday Thursday was CRAZY busy- and because she wanted to participate in the circus that was my workday-- Dally decided to pull a few shenanigans.

1. At one point, I look out the back door to check on Dally in the yard.  She had about 5 or 6 toys out there-- but decided to chew on a board with nails in it instead.  Brilliant.
2. Made the decision to bring Dally inside. In retaliation, she decided to dump her whole bowl of water all over the kitchen floor and down the front stairs-- which I definitely slipped on.  Wonderful!
3.  To add insult to injury, she also chewed up my rabbit earmuffs rather than any of her toys which are always all over the house.

Thankfully, I was able to escape for the evening- as two co-workers invited me over for dinner--- they prepared a Cooking Light recipe for mushroom lasagna-- with homemade wheat noodles and exotic mushrooms.  Let me say- INCREDIBLE!  It is always so nice to have dinner with friends, especially when the Mr. is out of town--- cooking for one usually turns into "I'm eating cereal for dinner".

FACT: mushroom lasagna > cereal. Any day of the week!

So glad Mr. MHH was coming home Friday!  Home is much happier when he's around :)


Have a fabulous rest of your weekend!

xoxo,

Mrs. MHH

I lied because AllMyDaysRunTogether

Hello readers,

Isn't she pretty? (yes, those really are her feet)

Thanks to the fact that my dear friend (pictured with me at the Corner Office in my previous post and also pictured at right) has a brain-- I must admit that I have lied to you.

Contrary to what you may have read, that dear friend of mine and her man-friend did not join us for The Lion King in December . . . because Mr. MHH and I saw that show in November.  (Yes, in my mind I seem to have completely erased 3 weeks of my life)

Cher, I feel you on the "Clueless" thing!

Anyway, said friend was kind enough to text and notify me of my time lapse error- I must admit that when she text and said, "Cute blog pics! Although it says we went to the Lion King" i had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.  I very nearly text back, "Yes, it says that because we did go to Lion King"

Oh wait, no we didn't . . . RATHER, they joined us for a FABULOUS performance of West Side Story . . . .  So, oops!

I can only blame it on allmydaysrunningtogether annnnnnd maybe a bit of a blonde moment issue at times.

Am I the only person who seems to have time lapses?  I know some of you can blame "pregnancy brain" or "wedding planning stress" on forgetfulness . . . I don't even have an excuse!


Thankfully, even though I may not know what month it is, I had a pretty wonderful Wednesday!
For today's outfit, I wore my favorite J Crew Minnie stretch twill (most fabulous little pants ever and they are comfortable) with my J Crew tissue turtleneck tee, my Givenchy crystal necklace Mr. MHH gave me for Christmas, a necklace from my grandmother, my wedding gift necklace from the Mr.

aaaaaaand . . . . . 

MY CURRENT SHOE OBSESSION. 

Seriously, people-- These. Are. Amazing. 

Heaven bless the person at Cole Haan who decided to put Nike Air technology in their shoes, because these babies are ridiculously comfortable--- I wish I had bought them in all 3 colors when I found them on SALE in Dallas. 

I think it came together well, eh?

I felt a little Audrey Hepburn in the monochromatic outfit with the ankle-strap heels.  The Holly Golightly sleep mask I wear to bed these days might contribute to that feeling--- either way, I was quite pleased with the result-- and the fact that I didn't have to do any color coordinating this morning!

Holly's sleep mask . . .

My sleep mask . . . I only wish my real lashes were this thick!

One thing is for sure-- Holly's days were much more carefree than mine.  I certainly don't remember the part of Breakfast at Tiffany's where she spends her days in meetings, being punished by a trainer at the gym, doing laundry and studying. 

Alright, time to get a little sleep-- Holly Golightly sleep mask, here I come!

xoxo,

Mrs. MHH

p.s. Sorry for lying to you before . . . . please continue policing my content to make sure it doesn't happen again ;)

Christmas Road Trips With 9 College Boys and Dally VonDroolio

I can't believe I am actually in my own home enjoying a cup of coffee with absolutely zero commitments on the calendar for today.

This. Is. Bliss.

I should also take the time to make an announcement, Mr. and Mrs. MHH officially survived the holiday season!

I was lucky enough to kick off Christmastime with a night at the theatre with Mr. MHH-- we had tickets to see The Lion King.  As we had some friends who couldn't attend, we could gift them to two other friends, and we met them ahead of time for apps and cocktails at one of my favorite spots- The Corner Office.  They have the most creative cocktails (one comes with a stick of rock candy in it!) and the food is so delicious!

The Ladies

The Gentlemen

 Needless to say, regardless of how fabulous the pre-show fun was-- the show was even more amazing.  Mr. MHH and I have been really fortunate to get great seats whenever we go to a show at The Denver Center for Performing Arts.  Everything about The Lion King was amazing- the performers, the sets, and most of all-- the costumes-- just INCREDIBLE! 

The following day after work, I flew to Kansas for a long weekend home with my family.  Mr. MHH was headed to Chicago, so I was flying solo.

• Night one, Mother MHH and I stayed up until two in the morning- chatting and catching up.  
• Night two, my college age brother (who I sometimes think I share a brain with) stayed up with me chatting until three in the morning talking and hanging out.  The late night marathon chats with my family are one of my favorite parts about being home.  
• Night three, my parents had their annual Christmas party- where I got to spend time with other siblings and lots of old friends and family

The party is one of my favorite events of the year-- and not just because my mother lets me raid her fantabulous shoe collection.  (Her shoes are a Mrs. MHH DREAM COME TRUE-- and I love finding myself SO thankful for our identical shoe sizes!)  I also have to mention that I get to raid the rest of her closet sometimes too--- gotta love being the same size!  
 
Being home for my family's Christmas party was a wonderful time and I would have loved to stay in Kansas for weeks-- but since I don't get a month off for the holidays like my college-student brother . . . had to stay up super late packing to head back to Denver the next day for a few more days of work.

Luckily, the aforementioned brother was headed to Breckenridge with 8 friends and agreed to give me a ride back.

Wait, did I say "luckily"? About getting up at 5am for a road trip with 9 college boys?

Just a few of my travel companions . . .

Yes, I did.  

It was a surprisingly pleasant trip- I slept most of the way, had a couple interesting stops in a couple interesting Kansas towns . . . and none of the boys were even that smelly!

So, I was back to Denver for a few days of work, last minute present shopping, and a book club Christmas party until the day we were supposed to leave.  And then, as if it were a Christmas travel miracle . . . drumroll please . . . SNOWSTORM!!

That is our mailbox in a snowdrift.

So, Mr. MHH, the 23yr old bro, the 120pound Dally-dog, and I loaded into Mr. MHH's truck and headed for Kansas in a snowstorm-- let's just say that truck wasn't made for 3 adults and a dog the size of a gorilla to drive 9 hours.  

We would have probably been better off in a sleigh, but it was a few days early for Santa.   

Dally and the bro got up close and personal (she has a thing about drooling on people and sitting practically on their laps while in the car), we made a magical stop at the Oasis on the Prairie (since when does an oasis have snow??), and I got a lot of reading done-- until I relieved the bro of backseat duty.  At that point, the only thing I got was a leg covered in drool.  

Yes, this is the face of someone who would drool on you

Christmas shenanigans to be continued . . . . . 

Dear Snow, I have some gripes.

We get it- the calendar says, "December."

It has officially been snowing since Thursday, and while the sparkly white blanket all over everything is quite pretty- I'm filing complaints, so read this carefully!

Totally functional . . . yes?

•  I don't happen to own any crampons.  Even though I found some "girly" pink ones . . . I'm not so sure they'd work well with my usual heels.  I couldn't even make it up the driveway in my snow boots today!  (Someone once said something to me about function over fashion, but fur lined boots are functional-- yes?? ) Also, even if I could make it up the driveway/across the street to the watch party/ out on the back deck without wiping out-- how many days in a row can a girl live in snow boots before her outfit just becomes redundant and more snow boots must then be purchased? I'll be honest, 4 days is about my limit and I'm eying the Sorel Joan of Arctic boots.       

Dally loves snow, LOVES snow.  If she is outside, it is impossible to get her back in-- and when she is inside, she is begging to get back out!  She chases the snow, wrestles with it, eats it, chases it, lays in it . . . . and she only begs to get back inside the house when she is covered in it-  Completely soaking wet with actual snow balls matted into her fur.  110 pounds of soaking wet dog is so AWESOME!- especially when all that snow melts off her in the kitchen, creating huge puddles for yours truly to slip on.

• Dally loves snow, at 4am.  4am Friday morning, Dally wanted to go outside.  Since Mr. MHH and I have been trying very hard to get her housebroken, any time she asks to be let out-- we immediately jump up and let her out.  Unfortunately, it didn't go that way Friday morning-- it went more like this:



Yum! This stuff is great!

• Dally woke up Mr. and Mrs. MHH, Mrs. MHH agrees to go let her out.
• Mrs. MHH gets out of bed, leaving the lights off so Mr. MHH can sleep a little longer
• Mrs. MHH reaches for glasses, knocking them to the floor.
• Mrs. MHH bends down quickly to grab glasses from floor and BAM- smashes nose/forehead on corner of wooden night table.
• Mrs. MHH cries out in pain, waking Mr. MHH. 
• Mr. MHH takes Dally out, Mrs. MHH spends rest of night with bag of ice on face. - FAIL

• Friends don't travel well in snow.  Once we became Mr. and Mrs., I moved to the house in the 'burbs.  I normally don't mind the commute, but the snow makes it MUCH more difficult for friends living in the urban jungle to venture out.  Yes, snow- you are ruining my social life!

• Mrs. MHH doesn't travel well in snow, either.   I decided Friday evening that if I had to tolerate the weather, I may as well embrace it-- and plans were made to head up i70 for some mountain time on Saturday.  However, because the SNOW didn't stay up in the mountains where it belongs-- the roads were too bad to even drive up! So, I got to spend Saturday morning cleaning house! 

Denver averages 300 days of sunshine a year- So, I feel like it's about time for the snow to bid us all, adios.  At least go away long enough to melt the ice boulders so I can get out the driveway without tearing out the bottom of my car, eh?  Maybe even long enough for me to get some Christmas decorations up outside?

I know what some of you are probably thinking- "Why is this lady living in Denver if she doesn't like snow?!"  Let me clarify my gripes and let you all know that I do LOVE the snow . . . sometimes . . . not for 4 days in a row.  I love snow on Christmas, on the ski slopes, on days when I am not trying to go anywhere or do anything and can just relax with a good book while the it falls outside.  

So . . . 

Dear Snow,

Please go away. 

That, or do my Christmas decorating and shopping.

xoxo, 

Mrs. MHH

so, I can't blame 2 months of silence on a running injury . . .

No . . . I didn't die

The race did not in fact kill me . . .

AND

I ran the entire thing (as in absolutely zero walking) I'm not pretending like I set any records, but I did finish.

I know, I know, it was only a half marathon and not a full.  

However, given that less than two weeks before the race I thought I may have some rare jungle virus AND given that four days before the race a physical therapist told me that the ridiculous pain I was experiencing was actually me tearing my IT band with each step I took . . . and could not do any high impact workouts/run for 6 weeks if I did the race----

I'd say finishing without walking pretty much equals GOLD MEDAL!  (I was going to say, "Winning!"-- but Charlie Sheen is so February 2011).  

Smiling (kind of) across the finish line!

Quick recap of the weekend- and a pass/fail rating

10/7

•  fly to Wichita- get picked up at the airport by my sweet sister- PASS
• got to hang with the 'rents and have a glass of wine- PASS
•  good night sleep in humid air that doesn't leave me with a sore throat- PASS  

 10/8

• got up early to go pick up race packets- moderate FAIL (because of the getting up early)
• headed to Manhattan, to watch the Wildcats send Missouri out of the Big 12 with one last butt kicking- EPIC PASS (absolutely amazing!!)



sister, Mr. MHH, Mrs. MHH
soaked from rain, but finished!

•  bland pasta dinner, no wine, bed early - FAIL (because one of the best things about being home is the late night chats with my parents)

10/9

•  got up ridiculously early- FAIL
•  peanut butter toast breakfast- PASS (because who doesn't love peanut butter?!)
• race begins, 500 people sprint by me, Mr. MHH and my sis- minor FAIL
• Mom runs out on the course at mile 1.5 to give me water and a handful of pain reliever- PASS (and adorable)
• a light, warm rain starts- PASS
• rain gets in iPod, iPod starts skipping, expensive Beats headphones quit . . . so I have no beats- FAIL FAIL FAIL (thanks a lot, rain)
•  see the parents several times throughout the race- they were trying to see us a lot, and a friend from high school, and our dear friend Mary- PASS!
• FINISHED! - PASS
• Freddy's for lunch and then a home cooked family dinner- PASS

There you have it, the play-by-play-- yours truly finished a half marathon, did not die, kind of enjoyed it, and may do another!

Until then, back in stilettos where I belong!

xoxo,

Mrs. MHH

Running like a Mack Truck

Two posts in one week?  Something must be wrong . . . 

Well it is.  

Mr. MHH, my sweet sister and I have completely lost our minds and have decided to run a half marathon.  

Let me begin by letting the world know the following: 

I AM NOT A RUNNER

I am not swift like a gazelle with those long lean gorgeous yoga-esque muscles.  When I run my legs put on muscle--- rhino muscle-- not gazelle.  I do not glide across the running path... I more barrel down the street like a Mack Truck.

I'm not kidding-- my quads are like weapons--- great for a linebacker... not so great for a woman. 

Good news is that the hubbs thinks I look better than ever-- he hasn't noticed that we could now share pants. (Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit)

Did I mention said half marathon is less than two weeks away?

Oh yes, and I'm sick-- day 6 and it's bad. Loss of voice, coughing, runny nose, achy all over... my co-workers are calling me "Patient Zero."  Yes, it's pretty nasty. 

Needless to say, this has put a serious cramp in my training.  I rested Saturday and Sunday hoping that I would be raring to go yesterday for a 12 miler.  

Not.

So.

Fast.

About 3 miles in I had to stop-- the intense stabbing pain in my throat every time I took a breath was just a bit much.  So, back to the pavement this evening--- Mr. MHH has a guys' night, so I won't have to keep up with his pace and can just truck through it on my own.  We'll be keeping the fingers seriously crossed-- and the legs so they look slimmer.

xoxo,

Mrs. Mack Truck

Catching up on birthdays . . . .

So the last time I updated you all, it was a month late on my birthday celebration... so now we'll catch up on Mr. MHH's and what we've been doing lately.

For Mr. MHH's 29th birthday, I thought it'd be really really fun to throw him a surprise party.  I wanted to have it at our home and do all the cooking and baking and decorating myself.  After some thought/ reality check/ recovery from temporary insanity, I realized that the amount of work I was about to undertake was NOT going to be something I could keep a secret-- not with the bash I had planned!  So, I ruined my own surprise . . . that's just how I roll.

Regardless of the lack of surprise, it was a smashing success! More than 25 of our friends came and I had prepared a feast to celebrate the birthday of the love of my life!  We had sangria and other adult begs, shrimp chipotle wonton cups. black bean cilantro cakes, veggies with homemade hummus, mustard-rubbed pork tenderloin, and a 3 layer coconut-walnut-cream cheese cake.  (Take THAT Martha Stewart!!)

Thank goodness for friends who arrived early to help me finish everything off!  And it was DELICIOUS-- my first party at our new home and Mr. MHH was really thrilled.

It was a really great turn out, especially for a Wednesday night, and almost every morsel of food was gone by the end.  I think maybe we had 2 wonton cups, 1 black bean cake, and a glass of sangria left.  Success!

Mr. MHH's friends did point out that now that I set the bar so high, I'm going to have a hard time planning his 30th- so I've decided the big bash is going to be hot dogs and bowling next year.  After all, can't get too predictable.