just drained

Apologies in advance for the rambling nature of this post. I am honestly feeling emotionally drained right now and just need to get this out.  

You ever have those weeks when you feel like nothing can go your way? Since Sunday, I have been feeling that way this week. It started on Sunday when I accidentally missed my shift at work. Not good. Then Monday, TLS had an appointment at the hospital. You may remember back in April when TLS had his Pulmonary Embolism. This was a follow-up appointment to that. It turns out that he has something called Antiphospholipid Syndrome. It means that his blood is a lot more likely to clot. There was a chance that TLS would have to be on Coumadin for life now. This morning, his doctor woke us up with a phone call at 8am, saying that he talked to the Hematologist and the Hematologist wants to see him in three months after he repeats his blood tests and that would determine what would happen with the Coumadin.

T's leg started hurting last night and into this morning. He looked it up online (of course WebMD told him that he had cancer and was going to die on the spot), and it seemed like the symptoms for a blood clot in his leg. I had a phyisical therapy appointment at the hospital today today anyway, so we called our token Jewish doctor friend, who said that better safe than sorry, we should bring T in to the ER. Since he works in the ER, he made some calls letting them know that we would be coming, so by the time we got there, everyone there was expecting us.

The good news: he didn't have a blood clot in his leg. The bad news: after more blood tests were run, it was determined that he pretty much has a blood clot somewhere. He is now back on Lovenox injections until he can get into the Coumadin clinic.

Unfortunately, after his first clot, T was already facing a medical review board to determine if he could stay in the Air Force. This second clot puts that at risk. If he has to be on Coumadin for life, then he can't deploy. If he can't deploy, then he can't serve. Needless to say, we have both been very upset and stressed out this past week and today was a hard day for both of us. Thankfully, we are a couple of months away from a review board. We're trying to keep our spirits high, but things aren't exactly shiny happy over here now.

This morning I reached a breaking point. In two days, I broke two of my favorite headbands. When I saw that headband #2 broke today, it was seriously the straw that broke the camel's back for me and I just started sobbing. I have been a hot mess lately and really wish that there was a 24 hour cupcake and vodka delivery service available.

Also, if anyone has recommendations of where I can get a nice brown plastic or tortoiseshell headband that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, please let me know. I am in love with this one from J. Crew, but refuse to pay $9 shipping on one headband.

Small potatoes, I know, but sometimes it's easier to focus on the small problems than the big ones.

Tiny Prints Holiday Cards and a Giveaway

It's almost that time of year again- holiday card season. (In all fairness, stores here in Germany start putting their holiday stuff out in late August and I work in a Christmas shop, so it's been the season here for a while!) I just scheduled our holiday pictures and have been busy looking at photo cards.

Generally, I try to send out generic "Happy Holidays" cards so that no one is offended. However, this year I have been itching to just send out a Hannukah card since that is what we celebrate. (TLS and I both figured that we get enough "Merry Christmas" cards, so we can send out Happy Hannukah cards to everyone this year.)

I love the variety and cute graphics of the Holiday Cards that Tiny Prints carries. Lots of times, Hannukah cards are very generic and bland. I was happy to see that Tiny Prints has 22 Hannukah cards in their collection this year, including some gorgeous ones.

The attention to detail is great because the back of the card is also in a fun, matching print. The cards are customizable so you could change it to say Happy Holidays or Happy New Year.

If you have furbabies (which very sadly we do not), this is an adorable card to send out.

those hats on the puppies- so so cute!

Tiny prints also has a large selection of cards from various stationery designers, including my favorite and popular wedding invitation designer Ceci New York:

how gorgeous is that print?

If you need some help with your holiday cards this year- and let's face it, who doesn't? it seems like our card list gets bigger every year- Tiny Prints is about to make your day. Tiny Prints is offering one Preppy Girl Meets World reader a $50 gift code to their site to use on her (or his) holiday cards. (The code will not be valid on shipping and can not be combined with any other promotion.)

Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway


**Disclaimer:** I received a promotion code in exchange for this post. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Friday Five- Loving Lately

Happy Friday folks! Hope you had a more eventful week than mine. I had a rather boring week and spent most of it cooped up on the couch after a foot injury got worse on Sunday night. The heartbreak that was caused by my Yanks last night did not really help my mood at all. Yankees- I love you and always will, but please do not show up to a baseball game and decide to play wiffle ball instead ever again. We have plans to do dinner with friends tomorrow night, and I am very much looking forward to our evening out!

Here are five things that have been making me smile this week.

1) Fire Amadeo Studs- ($28 at Baublebar)

Just beautiful. So great for fall.

2) Cozy Critter Socks- ($5 at Old Navy)

I love sock monkeys. They just make me smile and feel so cheerful instantly when I'm having a bad day. TLS got me a sock money that I name Robert right before my surgery last summer and I swear he made me feel better just by being there. Cozy socks are a big fall guilty pleasure of mine. I can't wait to get these in the mail.

3) My new mug.

Growing up with an unusual name, it always meant that the souvenir keychain industry was not for me. I was always secretly jealous of all the Rebeccas and Sarahs and Jessicas out there who seemed to have no problem getting things with their names on them out of a catalog or gift shop. Because of this, it's always a thrill to me now to get an item monogrammed or personalized. It is also because of this that if I ever do have kids, their names will be generic ones so that I can always buy them random personalized souvenirs easily on family trips to Disney.

When I was in Berlin, I found a shop of gifts and craft items from the Erzebirge area. The top floor was just full of this darling blue and white pottery. Immediately, I was drawn to the name mugs. Obviously they didn't have one with my name on it. Big surprise there. The lady did inform me that I could get one custom made and have it shipped to my German address for less than 15€ including shipping. It arrived today. I love how cute and sweet it is. And I love the fact that it is all mine. All of the mail we get at our street address is either sales flyers or bills, so it was fun to get a piece of "real mail" for once! It is also the first package I have received at our street address (not the APO box) thereby crossing another item off my bucket list. It was so fun coming back from physical therapy today and seeing the box waiting for me at the top of our stairs. Thank you downstairs neighbors for being home and signing for it.

4) My Teddy Bear

I've said it before and I'll say it again- he is the best gift anyone has ever gotten me and the best friend a girl could ever ask for. I got him the day I was born and he has been there with me through everything. This week he has been there again for me in full force while I have been busy crying and complaining in pain on the couch.

5) Desperate Housewives

Have recently gotten into this show and have decided to start watching it from the very beginning. It's growing on me. Also- is it just me or did the producers try to make Julie Mayer's character a bit too similar to Rory Gilmore?

Kindertransport memorial

When we were in Berlin, we saw a lot of various Holocaust memorials. A lot. Of everything that we saw, I have to say that the Kindertransport Memorial was the most haunting and moving.

In 1938, after Kristallnacht, a group of Jews and Quakers in England organized a fund to get Jewish children out of Germany and to safety in England. The children traveled by train and were taken into camps or foster families in England. This movement was able to save the lives of nearly 10,000 children before the transports had to stop due to lack of funds.

When we were walking around Berlin, we saw the memorial right outside of the Friedrichstraße train station. At the time, I only had my iPhone on me. I took a few pictures, but the memorial had such a profound effect on me, that I had to come back before I left and take pictures with my real camera.




This memorial was created and donated to the city of Berlin by Israeli sculptor Frank Meisler. He was one of the children that was saved by the Kindertransports.
The memorial is meant to look like a train platform along a track. There are two sides to it.

1938 side

1945 side

The 1938 side of the memorial shows two children about to board the train for England. The children are lighter and shinier. They look hopeful and happy. The little girl is clutching her Teddy Bear.

The 1945 side is darker in color. There are 5 children huddled in a group. They all look worn out and tired. There is an opened suitcase lying on the platform behind them and it contains a broken doll. You can see of the girls wearing the telltale yellow star.

These children don't have any hope to them. They know that they are being deported to the camps.

The point of the memorial is that the direction of the train track decides if you live or die. The Friedrichstraße train station was the station that children who were going to England departed from.


These photos were uploaded via the BlogPress app on my iPad and appear blurry when viewed in Safari. To see them clearly, click on each photo individually to see the emotion and detail of this memorial.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

On Impulse Purchases

The other day, I was at home on the couch not feeling the greatest and completely bored. Innocently enough, I started window shopping online looking at about a hundred and one pretty, shiny things that I really did not need but wanted oh so much.

One thing led to another and I found myself on this website:

You know when you window shop and don't intend on buying anything but then you find such a great bargain that even though you don't really need it, you just can't say no to it? Yes, so do I.

This was my bargain:

via

Once I realized it was going to cost 86€ for the two of us to fly to Budapest in February after all taxes and fees, I just couldn't say no to that. No way. No how. 

I know, I know, Hungary. In February. Cold. Like really, really cold. But we're only young and get the chance to gallivant around Europe once so we have to take advantage of it while we can. I plan to do it with a whole lot of hot chocolates in my hand. (Budapest is famous for its amazing cafes.)
 

In case anyone has forgotten my favorite Youtube video, I'll leave you with a reminder. 

Friday Five- J. Crew Factory

As I'm sure you know by now, J. Crew launched the website for its Factory line. I have spent today looking at it and here are my favorites from it.

1. Pearl and Crystal Collar Necklace ($43.50)

No words. Just gorgeous.

2. Crystal Bow Necklace ($15.50)

Cute and understated.

3. Merino Classic Crewneck Pullover ($44.50)

I am of the opinion that you can never have too many good, quality basics in your wardrobe.

4. Anya Studded Ballet Flats ($62.50)

5. Skirted Dress Coat ($152.50)

If you are a fan of J. Crew but hate their shipping rates, you will be happy to know that the Factory rates are much more reasonable (a flat rate of $4.95 or free over $100). Also, if you are on Ebates, you can get 3.0% cash back at Factory.

Happy weekend and happy shopping!

Lifeguard Press Review

A little while ago, Lifeguard Press contacted me asking me to do a product review for one of their Lilly Pulitzer iPad cases. Being that I am a huge fan of Lilly Pulitzer and my iPad (named Nina), I was so excited to hear this!

I picked the iPad case with Smart Cover in Dirty Shirley.

 It arrived in a gorgeous box in a matching print which looked so cute and festive. I opened the box and immediately snapped the case on. Right away I was impressed with how sturdy the case was and how pretty! It snapped on securely and stayed put. Even when I dropped it too many times for me to count. (And it didn't crack!- Not that I am advocating dropping your iPad. Do NOT do this.) The inside cover is a soft, fuzzy pink fabric and it feels really nice. A lot nicer than the inside of the Apple ones.

The case retails for $40. Considering the Apple Smart Cover alone is $39 and this protects both the front and the back of the case and this is so much prettier, I have to say that this is a much better value!

One downside, after seeing how gorgeous the Dirty Shirley print is in person, I am now wanting to get more items in this print- like this fun Desk Caddy to attempt to clean up my office and the cute calculator for only $10.

 

Disclaimer: I received the iPad case free of charge for review and my personal use and have received no additional compensation. All opinions expressed here are my own.