"Crabcakes and Football. That's what Maryland does!"

     I am leaving for England TOMORROW!!! I cannot believe it! The past weeks have really flown by.  I was lucky enough to have had THREE amazing goodbye parties. First was happy hour with my co-workers at Tommy Joes in Bethesda (amazing specials, check out at http://www.tommyjoes.com), lovely home-made italian (my fav!!) dinner at Kathy & Joanne's, and a wild night in DC with my favs!  It was difficult to say good bye to everyone & I will really miss each of my friends and co-workers next year. Thanks to everyone at Bozzuto for the wonderful experiences, I will never forget what I have learned. I made great friends from work & am so fortunate to have gotten the chance to know both co-workers & residents! I am sorry I was not able to see to say goodbye in person to everyone but, I'll be back before you know it!

      The main activity that I focused on my last week was selling my furniture.  I'm really proud of myself that I managed to sell EVERYTHING! I am actually sitting in a completely empty apartment except for my air mattress. Normally, I would be watching TV (especially the MTV award show) but this is a good time to catch up on my blog. Currently, everything I own can fit into my 2 suitcases and teeny 5" by 5" storage unit!! It is actually very liberating.

      Selling everything was a little challenging. My first idea was to hang signs in the lobby of my building, local dry cleaners & grocery store.  I was a little surprised that NO one called! It IS 2010 so the best source was.... craigslist. Overall, I had a good experience & each person I spoke to was very nice. My bed is now in Hyattsville with couple from New Orleans, my vanity now belongs to a 5 year old from Kentucky, my couches are now in Arlington with a couple expecting a baby in about  3 weeks, the TV stand moved right down the road on Grosvenor Place, and my desk is in Georgetown with a young professional.  My only advice is to be PREPARED for a massive amount of emails & phone calls! As soon as you sell something get online & delete the ad. Also, creating specific ads for each individual piece of furniture (I.E. red couch)  was much more effective than a broader title (I.E. "living room furniture with information about each piece in the ad). It is a little more time consuming but worth it. THIS made me laugh & is def true!!

 I really made an effort to do AMERICAN activities these past couple of months! Somehighlights were:

 Becky, Carly, Erika, Tara & I all went to WASHINGTON NATIONALS game!!

Dalia had an AMAZING crab feast!

Katelyn, Erica,  Christina, Tara, Carly and I attended pre-season games at FedEx Field!!

Of course, the last part of my evening today was spent with (ONE of) my fav military men Adam & his friends at Buffalo Wild Wings in rockville!  i LOVED watching the REDSKINS BEAT the cowboys!!!



 yummy beer & wings!