Day 1542

After weeks of false alarms, the snow finally came down hard last night. Today the roads are mostly cleared and it's back to business as usual in Washington. But last night, the city was in pure chaos. Due to fallen trees and live wires, well over 400,000 people in the area lost power (including me). Thankfully, I came home from work today with heat, lights and a freezer full of still frozen food. Many are still not as lucky. I heard stories today of commutes last night taking up to 9 hours...insanity. Metro and buses stopped service, roads and highways shut down, including I-95, which stretches from Miami to NYC and beyond.

I suppose it was lucky then that I had to work until 9 PM last night. Rather than suffering through the commute time and freezing roads myself, I heard report after report from coworkers, family and even the US Capitol Police officers that work outside my office. So when my sister called to say the power just went out in my condo building, I decided there was no way I was going to risk the drive home. I bundled up, pulled on my Hunter boots, and walked about a half mile to my friends' apartment to crash on her couch for the night. Yes, I did have to wear day-old clothes to work again today (but geez, I did shower and have fresh hair and makeup). But I was safe and warm last night, and able to open up my office bright and early this morning.

So not as bad and the grumpiness I displayed last night...and I greatly appreciate my friends for letting me stay the night! On the walk over, I did manage to take my gloves off for a few moments to snap a few shots.

U.S. Capitol Building (love the snowman those staffers built in the background!)



Supreme Court Building

Day 1533

All of you should know by now of my charity work with Taste of the South (TOTS), a Washington, DC based organization made up of Southerns who work their tails off to raise money each year for Southern charities. This year's event will take place on Saturday, April 16th at DAR Constitution Hall, and Arkansas is the featured state! Our selected charity is Children's Safety Center, located in Springdale, AR, a child advocacy center for abused children.

I have been a busy, busy bee working as both the TOTS spokeswoman and also running Team Arkansas. We haven't secured much of our fundraising yet this year, but so far, we have secured Walmart as this year's presenting sponsor for the event (and we love them so much for all their support), and the University of Arkansas, North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Governor's Office and Union Pub have agreed to sponsor our efforts with in-kind donations. Nuclear Energy Institute, Politico and Entergy are also coming back as major sponsors this year for Arkansas, and we are hoping to add to that list!

Also, Jeremy Pittman with Palette Catering in Little Rock will serve as our featured VIP Chef for the this year's black tie gala. If you've never eaten at Palette, you are missing out! Their food is delicious, and I cannot wait to see what menu they come up with for this year's event.

In addition, we have a Honorary Congressional Host Committee, comprised of Members of Congress for each of the Southern states. Both Senators Mark Pryor and John Boozman have signed on again this year to serve as Honorary Hosts, as well as Congressmen Mike Ross and Steve Womack...and hopefully Congressmen Tim Griffin and Rick Crawford are coming in with their endorsements within the week. On Tuesday, April 12th, we will have a Congressional Reception in the Russell Senate office building to honor our charity, our committee and our major donors for the event, and hope all of our Arkansas Congressional Delegation will be there to assist us in this!

Today we got our first big bit of press, from Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper based in Washington. Check it out here, and to learn more about our event, check out our website at http://www.tasteofthesouth.org

If you are interested in sponsoring or attending Taste of the South 2011, let me know! Our sponsors are what make our party as fabulous as it is, and we appreciate all that you do for us and our charities!

Day 1532

Well I must say, I was somewhat disappointed by the women's fashion this year at the Golden Globes. I thought many were just boring and predictable, and most hair was just not right. There were some obvious risk-takers (January Jones and obvi Helena Bonham Carter), but for the most part, the dresses were very conservative. Regardless of the overall snoozefest, there were a few ladies who I thought looked Ah-mazing.

My favorite of the night:
Eva Longoria in Zac Posen



Wow, now that's the way to bounce back from a philandering husband. Even though the dress is still somewhat conservative, she looked smoking hot.

Close runner-up:
Anne Hathaway in Armani Prive



I'm intrigued by the nod-to-Dynasty gown, and thought she looked fantastic in it. The color was fantastic on her, and her hair and accessories were perfection.

Other great looks of the night:
Kyra Sedgwick in Pucci



Mila Kunis in Vera Wang



Emma Stone in Calvin Klein



Dianna Agron in J. Mendel

Day 1524

Despite the loss of my beloved Arkansas Razorbacks to The Ohio State Buckeyes, my quick vacation to New Orleans and the Sugar Bowl was an incredibly fun time. Great food, great drinks, great people...what more can you ask for?!?! It was really wonderful being able to play and catch up with some of my college girlfriends...since most don't live in Little Rock, I rarely get to see any of them during my trips home. Smash, I had an especially fun time spending the trip with you! Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

Day 1518

Tomorrow morning, super early, I'm flying out to the Big Easy! New Orleans for 25 hours sure sounds good to me!

Sugar Bowl, here I come! Woo Pig Sooie!

Day 1516

Welcome to 2011!

I can't even believe that we are once again celebrating a new year. Since I have been so under-the-weather lately, and because I leave in just three day for New Orleans, I decided to forgo the big New Year's Eve night out and instead went with my aunt to go see my grandparents on the 30th. We got back to DC last night, so I had a low key night of watching a bowl game and crawling in my biscuit right after the clock hit midnight. I have been uber-productive today...took down my tree, put away all my Christmas decorations, and am now cleaning out my closets and scrubbing down the rest of my condo in preparation for my sister Marissa to move here on Thursday! (More on that later).

While doing all this cleaning today, I've been thinking about what my resolutions for this new year will be. Of course, there is the obvious...continue to work on my health by improving my diet and increasing my exercise routine, focus on my finances and continue to strive to keep a clean and orderly home. All of which I've been trying to focus on for sometime now, and will continue to work on throughout my life. So I thought I'd add a few fun resolutions as well:

1) Take more fashion risks.

I can look at a fashionable person and know what I like and what looks good. But actually being that person myself...well that still needs a bit of work. I find myself typically too rushed in the morning to dress as creatively as I'd like...that, and I still have to yield to the conservative side of dressing when heading to work. I do think there are some ways to step out of the box a bit, though, and still look chic and professional, and I hope to work toward that this year. Also, I dress like a total slob while running errands on the weekend. I tend to throw on leggings, Uggs and a North Face jacket and call it a Saturday...no, no, no!!! That is my laziness coming out, and it has to stop!

2) Get out of the house.

If you knew me in Arkansas, you'd be surprised and ashamed of how anti-social I have become. I love people, love being around people, but after a long day of work, the last thing I want to do is keep my heels on and hit the town. Problem is, it just isn't me to sit home alone all the time, and this is the year to break that cycle! If it kills me trying, I will start doing something outside of work at least once during the week!

3) Work on my mingling skills.

Once again, if you knew me long ago, you wouldn't believe me when I tell you that I am the absolute worst at small talk. Therefore, I'm not the best at striking up a conversation and meeting new people. This is especially bad at work, when the Masters at the Art of Conversation are the only ones around me. Must work at this...no excuses!

So what are some of your resolutions for the New Year? I am counting on all of you dear friends of mine to call me out when I seem to be reverting back to these new traits I'm trying to correct. 2011 is going to be my year to shine!