Rollin' on a River

For those that have been wondering.... Yes, I am still on dry land. In the past several days, Rhode Island has been experiencing the most devastating flood in over 100 years. I didn't realize it was that bad until 1. my boss couldn't even get out of her driveway because her street was flooded so badly 2. my parents said that flooding in Cranston (where I work in a pharmacy one day per week) was on the national news 3. I received a notice on my door from my apartment complex about being prepared for a flood and 4. I went down to Cranston today and found out that at least 2 of our stores are literally underwater (the water is all the way up to the drive-through window!!!).

Because I live in a historic former mill, my apartment is also on the water. There is a dam across the street, and then the river flows past our management office and one of the apartment buildings (not mine). Yesterday we were sent home early from work to allow people to reach their homes before roads were shut down. When I got back to my apartment complex, people were stopping at the apartment complex to take pictures of the flooding river... I thought I'd join them.

Here are some pictures I took yesterday outside my complex. It may be hard to really judge how high the water is, but trust me, it's getting up there....

What class of rapids would this be?

I don't know how high it is, but the water is at least halfway up the trees.

On apartment's management office sits right on the water

It's going to take a lot to flood this bridge... keeping my fingers crossed

This is the "little stream" that passes through the middle of my apartment complex

You can read about the storm from the Weather Channel here. Below are some of the pictures that have been submitted by residents from areas that are flooding.

Exeter, RI

East Greenwich, RI

Warwick, RI... this is just south of Cranston AND where the airport is located.... I hope they get things opened up before my Mom comes on Friday!

Keep you posted if anything happens. Until then, keep the families that have been evacuated or lost their homes in your thoughts and prayers.

We Survived the M.B.T.A.: a Weekend with My Mom

I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post! Last week I was busy with what I call "maintaining the facade." My mom was on her way to visit for the weekend, so I was "staging my apartment" and making it as clean as possible!

My mom flew into Providence on Thursday afternoon. We went back to my apartment to relax for a bit, and then went to North Providence for dinner. For my birthday, Lisa gave me gift certificates to restaurants in Providence and Boston (a fabulous gift, by the way!). We used one of the gift certificates at an Italian restaurant, Pizzico. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, and the food was delicious. I had barbecue chicken pizza, and my mom had risotto with mushrooms.

I took a vacation day on Friday, but we did go into work so that Mom could meet the people I spend the most time with at work. She got to meet Deb, Troy, Mike, and Alma; I also showed her a few of the things I've been working on, including my research project and some clinical reviews for our merchandising team.

After our tour, we headed down to Newport. The drive from my house to the southern part of Rhode Island was gorgeous. All of the trees are at their peak for changing colors... every shade of yellow, orange, red, and purple you can imagine. (Too hard to take a picture while you're in the car, though. It doesn't quite have the same effect.) It was a little on the cool side when we got there, but we are more of a cold weather family, so my mom and I didn't mind wearing a sweater (much better than being hot and sweaty!). We ate lunch at the Clam Jumper and walked around downtown Newport. My mom got me the cutest pair of cat eye sunglasses! (See below) I think I am going to wear them with a black dress to work on Friday in celebration of Halloween.

Aren't these adorable?

Cute idea: the Clam Jumper had Christmas lights in traps used to catch seafood

We also visited Aardvark Antiques, a unique salvage shop at the bottom of the ramp that you take to get to downtown Newport. I've always wanted to visit but never actually stopped. It is similar to White River Salvage in Indy, but they have a much larger selection of outdoor ornaments. They had every kind of statue you could imagine... animals (dolphins, bears, an alligator, birds to name a few), people (small children playing, jockeys, Roman goddesses), and ornament urns, columns, and vases.

They have all shapes and sizes of metal gates- I would love to use these in my house (well, I don't have a house yet, but when I do)

If I could have chosen one thing, this fountain would have definitely been it- I'm obsessed with lions

Here's Mom standing by a horse statue- it was beautiful and larger than life (literally)

There was a family of elephants (Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and baby bears)- I'm standing next to the Mama elephant

In the late afternoon, we went to tour the Breakers, one of the mansions on Newport. The Breakers was owned by the Vanderbilt family and used as a summer home up until the 1970's; it was sold to the Historical Preservation Society. The house is 138,000 square feet, has 70 rooms and 20 bathrooms, and the most beautiful sculptures, chandeliers, and marble tiling I have ever seen. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the house, but again, I'm not sure my photography would do it justice. A couple of my favorite parts of the house included the monogrammed navy and gold china, the marble walls in the game room, and the giant staircase. My mom liked Mrs. Vanderbilt's room and the chandeliers in the dining room. Another very unique feature was the open air living room on the second floor that overlooks the ocean- it was used for entertaining.

A light post outside the Breakers

A view of the back of the mansion

This is the view from the mansion looking out to the sea

Friday night we rented the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Neither of us had been able to watch it when it first came out, and I am so glad that we picked that movie. The story was amazing- really makes you realize how lucky you are. If you haven't seen it yet, watch it tonight! I'm also thinking about getting the soundtrack, but I'll listen to song clips on iTunes before I buy it.

On Saturday we drove to Boston to shop at our one of our favorite stores- Paper Source! I had written down some addresses and information on which subway lines to take. However, I didn't write down directions on how exactly to get to our number one destination. I was planning on using my phone to get last minute directions but that is a little hard if you leave your phone at home! I was happily surprised when we made it with little trouble. (Don't be fooled, though- I did get us turned around more than once when we were walking around the city- oops! Sorry Mom!)

Even though we had never been an actual store, we have been shopping online at Paper Source's website for more than a year. They have absolutely adorable gifts, craft kits, and the one of the best selections in color and size of paper for making your own invitations. (Right now my mom is making invitations for Tammy's son's wedding, which will be next August. My mom is so creative and talented! I think she should start her own business, but we can save that for another post.) We had so much fun looking at everything in the store- we spent almost 2 hours there! I got a couple sets of cards and invitations to personalize, along with these "expression notes" I've been eyeing for some time now.

After lunch we went to another stationary store in Boston, Rugg Road, and looked at their speciality papers and invitations for ideas. We got on the subway to head north, but right after the doors closed, the signs changed to "Out of Service." We ended up having to get off at the next stop and wait for another train, which we only took one stop further. It didn't seem like it was worth it, but I'm sure we went farther than what it felt like. After the subway experience, we went into the North End for a cannoli at Mike's Pastries.

Their cannolis are amazing!

We also visited Kitchen Arts on Newbury Street and found unique cookie cutters and small fondue dipping stations (I'm not sure what the correct term is, but I know this isn't right. It is almost like a birdbath on top and a tea light goes underneath to keep the fondue warm. I am so excited to use it!)

On Saturday night I made dinner for my Mom at home- Greek salads, red pepper hummus with toasted Wheat Thins, and fruit salad with dates. Nothing to write home about, but I think we were still full from the cannolis! We also looked through a book we got in Boston- Paperie for Inspired Living. The author makes absolutely gorgeous invitations, but the best feature of the book is all of the practical tips she gives.

On Sunday morning, we slept in (worn out from our day in Boston!), and then I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. We did a little bit of shopping in Nordstrom's at Providence Place Mall. If you are ever looking for nicer hair clips, barrettes, or headbands, they have a great selection. Although they cost just a bit more, the quality and designs make it worth the cost. After a late lunch, I took my Mom to the airport.

I am very thankful that I have such a great relationship with my Mom. It was so nice to spend time together, just the two of us, to catch up in person. We talk several times a week on the phone but that isn't the same as face-to-face. It did make me feel like more of an adult- it was my Mom's first overnight stay at one of her adult children's apartments/houses.

Thanks for a great weekend, Mom!

It Makes Me Wanna Wag My Tail...

MAIL!!! (Ok, so I was never a fan of Blue's Clues, but who could not love that jingle?)

Who doesn't love to get something in the mail? Even if it is something random (a catalog you didn't order) or expected (catalogs you ordered to have something show up in your mailbox), I love the feeling I get when I open my mailbox to find some kind of surprise. My mailbox isn't very big, so if you get a package that wont' fit, they put a key in your box that opens a larger compartment at the bottom of the row of mailboxes. After work one day, I opened my box to find that key! Mrs. K sent me a house (apartment)-warming gift. It is a salad bowl and tongs (seperate fork and spoon for serving) from Crate and Barrel. She did a great job of picking it out, since I have it circled several times in their catalog. (Yes, even if I don't buy something, I circle in permanent marker what I would get if I could buy anything I wanted and money wasn't an issue. I sometimes add these things to my "house book." House book, you ask? I'll save that for a rainy day.

It's made of mango wood- how cool is that!

I also got not just one, but two issues of Rhode Island Monthly! Debbie was nice enough to order those for me as a welcome gift, so that I'd know the ins and outs of happenings in the state. One of the issues is actually "The Best of Rhode Island," and I found a few things I am going to explore.

My first thought... that cupcake looks delicious!

And if that wasn't enough, I got letters from Chelsea and Nick, a CB2 catalog, and a shampoo and conditioner sample from Procter and Gamble. (I will fill you in about my quest for free samples and coupons another day.) What I *didn't* get was my benefits package information from work. When I first moved in, my apartment number was listed incorrectly, and, unknown to me, HR sent it to that address. I've been waiting this whole time for something to come but thought it was just taking a while or that I needed to do something about it. So, I talked with Debbie and learned about my package being sent to the wrong address. I went to knock on the door of that apartment a couple of nights ago, and, *shocker*, no one answered. On Thursday, Deb contacted them and gave them the correct information. Yesterday, I received a call from the HR/benefits people to confirm the correct address, and she assured me they would be sending it out immediately. Just a few hours later, the HR/benefits woman called me back to inform me that my address was "not able to be located" and that they would be sending my package to the office. Sending it to the office is all fine and dandy, but *why* they can't locate my address a second time is a mystery to me, since the only thing that is different is the apartment number!!! I would have dug a little deeper into the situation (read: argued), but I was having an extremely difficult time understaning the person on the other line. (She was calling from the other side of the globe, so of course it is going to be a little fuzzy.) It looks like I'll be able to get coverage when originally scheduled (Sept 1), but thank goodness I have temporary coverage just in case.