Wordless Wednesday - "Sweet. Corn."

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What Goes Around, Comes Around

I have never considered myself a very "artsy" person, given that I can't draw (or even sketch) to save my life.

And visiting museums isn't very high on my list of things I'd like to do if I had a free afternoon. "Take a nap" ranks much higher, as a matter of fact.

The younger of my two brothers got all of the artsy genes and he's put his God given talent to good use. He teaches elementary and high school art. And the man can draw like nobody's business.

I had a hard time in college trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I declared no less than six majors my first two years of college.

I started off being a psychology major but chucked that when I realized I was over-analyzing every movement and eye twitch of everyone I met. And then there was the looney/scary/insane psychology professor who taught Psych 101. Let's just say his fascination with lab rats went a little overboard and leave it at that.

My next choice for a major was Fashion Design. I considered my inability to draw only a small inconvenience, until I had to....you know....draw something for an assignment that would be displayed in front of the whole class.

The same time I was struggling through the basic design courses, there was a hot shot student who was unquestionably a standout in the field. I never knew his real name because everyone called him J. Crew. This guy was going to be somebody when he grew up.

Flash forward to now.

I work here:

The better part of my day is spent designing things for people.

Like this for a former Atlanta Braves player.

And yes, we all wanted to try on his glove. But we did not.

Or framing this sweet little invitation.

Several months ago a guy called from New York wanting a custom mirror.

Right away something was vaguely familiar about him. Something in his voice, his strong Midwestern drawl....something.

But I couldn't put my finger on it and never gave it much thought.

When his mirror was ready I called him about shipping. He said he'd be going back to Iowa for a family reunion and please hold off sending the mirror for a couple weeks!

Iowa! Bingo!

And then he gave me his shipping address. It was a Suite number at none other than the J Crew Headquarters.

So, I went out on a limb and asked if he'd gone to Iowa State. He had.

Did he used to be called J Crew? He had.

How ironic he ended up working at J Crew after all these years. He laughed. And agreed.

The other day I got a note from him saying how much he liked his mirror.

"I'll send you a little something to wear this summer," he said.

I think I'll open a new store:
Will Work for Dresses

Getting Reacquainted With the Produce and Frozen Foods

If my life weren't already exciting enough, tonight I went to the grocery store by myself.

By myself.

Aaaahhhh.

Not that I don't love the children. But usually I don't love how they act at the grocery store.

So, after Adam was bathed, fluffed, puffed and snuggled into his Joe's Garage pj's I slipped out while his dad read bedtime stories.

I was off to reacquaint myself with the the produce...and the snack aisle, the frozen foods and the deli counter. I wasn't about to leave anyone out. It had been too long.

I'm not sure why, exactly, it had been so long since I'd had a leisurely (albeit focused) grocery store run.

At the beginning of the year we decided to cut back a bit on how much we spent on groceries and without even trying we've cut our monthly spending by at least one third.

One of the ways we did that was to make only one large grocery run each month, which meant I actually had to sit down and make a comprehensive grocery list. It had to include not only what we need at the moment, but also what we might need two or three weeks in the future. Just suffice it to say my brain doesn't work very well that way.

It has something to do with being 40, working full time and having a toddler. That combo causes my brain to malfunction often after 5pm. It's been known to spark and smoke after 11pm. After midnight I turn into a blonde fairy princess with no brain at all.

The last time we were due for an extended grocery run Doug went. It was a rainy Saturday and I was working on a project at home. He took Adam with him and it took him the rest of the weekend to recover. God bless him, though. He said Adam had a hard time steering the cart to the car when Doug finally surrendered at the check-out lane and curled into a ball and climbed into the basket.

He had to pop open and guzzle a Red Bull right there in the parking lot just so he could gather his wits to drive. And Doug had to show him how to put the key into the ignition and shift it into drive.

So.... I had a great time tonight.

Publix, Uninterrupted.

A few observations:

* Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches come in mint. Who knew?

* It's strawberry season here in Georgia!

* Publix (at least around here) no longer carries 8th Continent Soy Milk.

* Cheez-Its were buy one/get one free. Twist my arm.

* And, do y'all prefer Cheez-Its or Cheese Nips? Reduced fat or not?

* Margaret Holmes brand canned tomatoes and okra is heavenly.

* Have any of you tried the single serve microwave steam veggie packs? Love them.

* And what about the reusable grocery bags? They make it so much easier to pack,
load and unload the groceries. Do yourself a favor and buy 3 or 4. You will not
be sorry.

I'm home now.

The boy's in bed. Red hot smokin' hubby is watching The Braves. I've got a chocolate bundt cake in the oven.

And all is well with me and The Publix.

Wordless Wednesday - "Is Left Right?"

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Ask and Ye Shall Receive

Lisa at Take 90 West did this neat meme and I thought I'd do it, too.

Where is your cell phone? In my car; charging. I charge it every night. Except for last night when I plugged it in but not far enough, and the battery was nearly dead today.

Your significant other? Red. Hot. Smokin'. On the deck drinking red wine.

Your hair? On a scale of 1-10 about an 8. It was a 9 this morning before all the running around. Since I got my Spornette brush and Chi flat iron last week, I've had some really good hair if I do say so myself.

Your mother? Living in Iowa. 81 years on this earth. Precious to me in every way.

Your father? Passed away August 25, 1996. Almost 12 years ago. Hard to believe.

Your favorite thing? It's a tie between kissing my husband when I walk in the door and sweeping my son into my arms after a long day at work.

Your dream last night? Terrifying. I was trying to get to Adam in his room and I couldn't. I have a lot of dreams like that. I think it comes with being a mama.

Your favorite drink? Fountain Diet Coke with lots of ice.

Your dream/goal? To see our children grow up to be happy with the life they have, whatever it may be.

The room you’re in? Our library

Your ex? Don't have one.

Your fear? One of our kids dying. I think about it too often and sometimes it almost stifles me.

Where do you want to be in 6 years? If I had my druthers, somewhere out west on a large ranch.

Where were you last night? At home.

What you’re not? Voting for Hillary.

Muffins? Ummmm...if a blueberry or bran were set in front of me on any given morning, I'd probably eat it. Otherwise, it doesn't cross my mind.

One of your wish list items? A Range Rover

Where you grew up? A tiny town in Iowa. Population 1200. And my mom was the City Clerk for 27 years and knew pretty much everything about all 1200.

The last thing you did? Gave my son a bath.

What are you wearing? Navy yoga pants and a t-shirt.

Your TV? New 32" plasma. Hanging in our kitchen/keeping room.

Your pets? A big NO THANK YOU. Don't do pets.

Your computer? It gets a lot of use and minds its manners.

Your life? Blessed. Hectic. Full. More than I'd hoped for.

Your mood? Content and happy. Will be happier in about 10 minutes when I eat an ice cream sandwich and tune into the Housewives of NYC Reunion.

Missing someone? Not particularly.

Your car? Paid for.

Something you’re not wearing? Wouldn't you like to know?

Favorite store? JCrew. Their pants fit me right off the rack. Every time. And their shoes..heaven.

Your summer? Starting with a beach trip and it can't come soon enough.

Like someone? I like everyone until they give me a reason not to. I've never been one to judge someone based on other people's opinion.

Your favorite color? Depends on what the item is, but overall I'd say black.

When is the last time you laughed? Within the last hour.

Last time you cried? Sunday night when I was laying down with Adam thinking about his little life and how much light he's brought to us.

Who will repost this? Come on.... join in!

Date Night

Last Saturday Doug and I had a date night. For the love of babysitters named Emily, we were in dire need of some time together.

We decided to go to Horseradish Grill, a great place to eat at the edge of the Buckhead area of Atlanta. We love it for many reasons:

1. Their martinis

2. Their shrimp and grits appetizer (excuse me while my mouth waters a little)

3. The ambiance. It's kinda casual/ kinda dressy. And I love the saying at the bottom of their wine list: "If you're feelin' your oats, hold your horses. We'll be happy to call you a carriage."

4. It's where we celebrated our first anniversary. We even sat in the same booth this time.

Here we are on New Year's Eve 2004. I remember it distinctly. They were serving free samples of some sort of (strong) liquor and of course we each had one. I also remember that I was wearing a size six skirt and it was a tad too big. (*sigh*)

Now....ahem... things have changed a little.
The print on the menus is so much smaller.

"Honey, if we eat fast maybe we can swing by Victoria's Secret on our way home."

And something about that skirt seems so much smaller, too.

"What's that darling? I can't hear you see the menu imagine that we'd be done by 9 o'clock."

Oh well, bring on the shrimp and grits!

And we were safely home in our stall by 10 o'clock. Amen.

Big Mama's Fashion Fiesta

Earlier this week when I read about Big Mama's Fashion Fiesta, I started to mentally sort through my closet since Melanie said the Fiesta should be all about "keepin' it real" and showing what we wear every day.

Let me just interject here that I'm a full-time working gal so I read Big Mama, and many other blogs, while I drink coffee at my desk first thing in the morning. Forget The Wall Street Journal or...you know...emails pertaining to work. I start my day with my Internet Friends. And, really, is there anything better at 9am than American Idol recaps, decorating tips and stories of kids gone wild?

I don't think so.

And, also let me interject that I do most of my blog writing at work because, well...I have kids gone wild at my house.

It's hard enough for me to concentrate when I'm by myself, let alone when I'm trying to write a brilliant blog post and I've got a two-year old begging to watch "Wheels on the Bus" on YouTube.

Back to my closet...

During the week I have to dress up. You see, I sell antique art and frames and other designer-ish stuff for people's homes. And those designers - they're sticklers for how you look. If you want to wade into a pool of superficial, try working in the design world.

Forget the book honey. It's all about the cover.

So, I thought I'd show you some of the outfits I wore this week. I included jewelry just because I love it and think it really pulls an outfit together. The large majority of my jewelry collection is gifts from my mom. I also have one Judith Ripka thick silver 18" chain that I mix and match with almost everything. And I have an 18" strand of large pearls that I wear at least twice a week...even with denim.

Top and pants J Crew, shoes BCBG Max Azria from Piperlime.

Shirt from Target, jacket from JCrew several seasons ago, skirt from TJ Maxx , shoes from Macy's.

Top from GapBody (it's actually a beach cover-up), pants from Banana Republic, shoes from Ann Taylor Loft.

Suit from Banana Republic, shirt from JCrew, shoes from Nordstrom
I'm tall (5'9") with long arms and legs. I primarily shop at Banana Republic and JCrew because their regular length pants usually fit me right off the rack. I love JCrew's slim cut oxford shirts because they're not bulky under jackets and the sleeves are long enough for me, too. And I don't think you can beat a good suit from Banana Republic. Their patterns are timeless, they fit great and the price point is good. I do have both JCrew and Banana charge cards because you get cash back based on how much you spend, and I figure since I'm spending anyway I might as well get the cash back. And, card holders get free alterations on all regular priced clothing.

Another thing that's saved me time and money is getting a personal shopper at each store I frequent. The higher end department stores like Neiman's and Sak's actually have official personal shoppers, but at other stores like JCrew and Banana it's just a matter of getting to know the sales people and asking one you think is really good to take down your style preferences, sizes, contact info, etc. I've saved tons of time and money this way.... I can't tell you the last time I paid full price for anything.

Back to my closet...

As my husband can attest, I'm a sucker for shoes.

And I just bought these cowboy boots from Sundance. They'll look great with jeans or long skirts. Speaking of jeans, I own several pair, but only two that fit me really well. Unlike a lot of people, I don't really love jeans. I rarely wear them on the weekends and much of the year it's too hot for them here anyway.

What I do love to wear in warmer weather is sundresses. Cool and cute. The red toile I got last year at Marshall's. The yellow and green I picked up last week at TJ Maxx for under $20.

I also have several skirts that I wear with short-sleeved T's or polos. I love the layering T's this year at Target. I wear both the dresses and skirts with flip-flops...of course! The white skirt on the right is from Target and the other two are from Harold's.

On the weekends if the weather is cooler, I wear either black yoga pants from Target (they come in tall sizes!) or casual pants like these with a logo T and a wrap sweater that I can take off later in the day if it gets warm enough. I love Skeecher's for weekend wear.

There you have it! A peek inside my closet. I'm anxious to see what everyone has to share. Thanks so much for stopping by! And thanks, Big Mama, for hosting this fun Fiesta!

Snips and Snails and Sheep Legs

I've learned the hard way that I must check all pockets on Adam's clothing prior to washing.

Usually I find wood chips from the playground at school. Once in awhile I find a rock or....

....ahhemmm!!!

a candy wrapper!

Last night, however, imagine my surprise when I reached in and pulled out a tiny plastic animal leg with a hoof at the end.

Adam, what's this? A horse leg?

No, mama! Dat's a sheep leg!

Hmmmm. Wonder where that came from?

It came from da sheep at school wiff only three legs.

Backpacks....not just for papers and books anymore.

Is there a special pocket for severed sheep legs?

Do Tell...

I made my very first trip to Sonic yesterday.

I was all excited about ordering some sort of Diet Coke concoction poured over the Sonic ice everyone is talking about.

Alas....

It was pouring rain and I could hardly read the sign at the drive-thru.

So I just ordered a Diet Coke and went on my merry way.

So, please help.

Tell me what you order at Sonic.

I'd love to try your suggestions.