pack your summer travel bags - a shabby apple give-away

For years, my best friend Cassie and I have called packing for a vacation Paper Dolling (that's what I named my fashion board on Pinterest, too!). Half the fun of anticipating a trip for me is deciding who I want to be when I'm escaping my reality of daily commutes, deadlines and what's-for-dinnering. Clothes can set the tone for a glamorous getaway. 

Just in time for summer travel,  Shabby Apple is offering one I Do Declare reader a $50 gift card to shop its online vintage boutique. Let's get to packing....

A Long Weekend with Girlfriends:
Right now, I'm on a long weekend with a mix of friends from high school, college and D.C.  We'll be seeing a concert, touring a winery, relaxing at a day spa and dining at our resort. I will regret not putting this Lemon Drop skirt in my suitcase. With flats by day it's perfect for shopping or lunch. At night, it's easily glammed up with jewelry, heels and a clutch.

Fourth of July at the Beach:
I spend most Independence Days in Virginia Beach. No matter where you are on the 4th of July you'll be the star in this striped Catalina one-piece.  It's made in the U.S.A, so Lee Greenwood approves!

Destination Wedding:
How nice of you to plan your vacation around your friend's special day. The fact that cake comes with sand and sun can hardly be beat! One of my all-time favorite destination weddings was to Maine to see our friends Megan + Eric say I Do. In this pretty Tie the Knot frock you'll stop just short of upstaging the bride. 

You can buy one of these dresses, the swimsuit or choose from so many more styles (Shabby Apple offers maternity and children's clothing, too) with the $50 gift card you can win by: 

1. Giving Shabby Apple a thumbs-up on Facebook if you don't already "Like" them
2. Leaving a comment below telling me what Shabby Apple dress is your favorite

I will name a winner on Friday, June 7. Good luck!

saying good-bye to chloe diggers

Earlier this year Dan and I bid the most bittersweet good-bye to our Chlo E. Diggers. 

In 2012, I remember ringing in the new year at home on the couch,  so content with a hound in my lap and a husband by my side.  If we're here next year, just the three of us, I'll be happy. I got to revisit that moment 12 months later, but I knew better than to make the same wish this year at midnight.  At 10 1/2, Chloe had quickly started to show the signs of age. 

Weeks later, a knot behind her left ear that the vet had been watching, hoping medicine would treat, seemed to double in size overnight. It was cancer, and the vet told us she couldn't survive surgery. One Saturday morning in March after a long night of hacking, resting only if I kept a hand on her chest, Chloe couldn't hold down her breakfast. We took her back to the doctor, but we didn't bring her home. 

Dan became Chloe's dad when she was just weeks old. She saw him through some lonely bachelor years, pooping on the floor in front of girl after girl he had hoped to date until I came along when she was 5. Dan joked to me that Chloe would be the deciding factor in the future of our courtship, that she could count on one paw the people she liked. If I met her approval, I could stay around. Quickly I learned her affection could be bought with doggy ice cream. Less than a year later she would run in circles and howl when Dan would ask her, "Where's your mom?"

She liked me a lot. She loved puppy pops. 

The night Dan got down on one knee to propose to me Chloe was behind him, her short front legs (leg-arms, as we called them) reaching up his back for his shoulders.  Together, they asked if I would stay around forever. It is my most favorite memory of the hundreds I've revisited since we stroked and sang our dog into her last nap.

In the final weeks, when I could no longer pretend Chloe wasn't slipping, my prayer was always Let her know no pain. She was very uncomfortable on that last day, it was clear, but for the most part I believe she hurt very little.  She had stopped asking for belly rubs. She had stopped snuggling with us on the couch.  She had shared all the love and bad breath she had to give, and our hearts are softer and fuller for it. 

As much as true dog people can, we adored our dainty, lazy, soft, smelly, loyal, stubborn, warm, spoiled, speckled and perfect real girl.  We miss her every day.

my afternoon with prince harry

Last week I got a blast-from-the-past email from a friend whom I haven't seen or spoken to in years.

She'd been watching TV coverage of Prince Harry's Washington, D.C., visit and thought she saw me in the background, stalking the royal uncle-in-waiting as he roamed the halls of Congress.

"I know that's something Patra from 8 years ago would do," she said, "was it you?"

If the MI6  has a file on me I wouldn't be surprised. I tend to make the paper(s) when the Brothers Wales dominate American headlines. I can't deny it's odd behavior for a lady of my age, but if the ginger prince came to your office wouldn't you try to catch a glimpse?

With just a little shame I admitted to my friend that it was likely me, as the photos seen on the front page of UK Daily Mail (and also on CNN, HuffPo, WaPo, Gawker, USA Today and People) would confirm.  

In defense of all us curious anglophiles, I will tell you that the welcome we gave Harry was indeed hospitable but hardly the Beatles-crazed mania you read it was.  UK Daily (one of my favorite reads; I was highly amused to make its print) reported that police escorted us all back to our desks. That didn't happen (but should security have tried, I was ready to test the Reese Witherspoon I Am An American Citizen defense). Though mocked globally, our curiosities obstructed no one's justice. 

a tree cutting straight from the clark griswald playbook

My Christmas tree has been up since the weekend after Thanksgiving!  That, sadly, is about as far as my limited holiday cheer has taken me this year. If Dan, emotionally aged 7 come every December, would have let me I would have even skipped the  tree this year, I think. He wouldn't hear of it, though. 

Likewise, he wasn't listening when I suggested we go for a smaller pine, but...10+ feet of Frazier Fir later....one of us is smiling like a kid at Christmas. 

Actually, I'm glad Dan told me to elf off with my bah-hum-bug. For anyone else feeling a tad Grinchey, I will confess that at least putting yourself in the midst of things merry does, in fact, help.

It helps, too, when your friends organize a tree cutting tailgate straight from the Clark W. Griswald  (juuuuuunior!) playbook.  That's what I'm writing about today over at my Fedscoop Social Studies column, and you can read about it here.  

holiday hostess gifts

Last year, I took popcorn and a holiday movie as a hostess gift when I went to Christmas parties. 

Today over at Fedscoop I'm writing about 3 gifts that offer your favorite party planners a unique thank you this season. You can read that post here!

What's the best hostess gift you've ever received? What's your favorite go-to gift to take when you're a guest? 

jenni for the {royal} win

If you've been reading I Do Declare for a while you may recall I had a little royal wager with my friend Jenni on when Kate + William might become Mom + Dad. I was sure it would be within a year of their royal nupts. Jenni knew better; she said later rather than sooner. On the line with this bet was a pricey bottle of bubbly. I paid up back in the summer.

We should have saved the Veuve for yesterday's  big announcement.  Instead, in the spirit of Catherine's pending reign into the mommyhood, I'll announce the winner of my Secrets of The Mommyhood give-away. It's Jessica Mesnick, whose fave TV mom is....Miranda from Sex and the City. Yay!

a free treat!

The Christmas card I sent out last year was a little cheeky, and I was worried that certain people (think Grandma) on my list wouldn't quite understand it. If only I'd known then about Treat, Shutterfly's new custom greeting card site, I could have whipped up something personal and special. 

Treat is perfect this Christmas if you don't have the budget to bulk order a ton of photo cards, but still want to send your nearest and dearest a greeting. Or, if you want be sensitive to certain friends on your card list, a Treat card would be special alternative. Maybe your friend who is in the middle of a divorce shouldn't get your card with your wedding photo displayed. Instead, create something personal and festive just for her. 

Not just for holidays, Treat will come in especially handy when you're searching for a birthday card or a  note of congratulations for friends and family that require a little something more than a grocery store greeting card. As a super card nerd, I'm pretty excited about this new site where you can make and send one-a-kind cards without even having to lick a stamp!

To celebrate the launch of Treat, I Do Declare readers will receive a FREE card today (11.19) and tomorrow (11.20). Create and send a greeting to someone you're thankful for this week...just because you can. (enter the code TREATBLOGR at checkout)

Who will get the Treat card you make today?