Where to Begin Again?

Here we go, I'm giving this another shot as I've been encouraged by Christin to start blogging again!

So much has changed yet nothing really has...

We went to Arizona to see Auburn win the National Championship for football

Ian finished his MBA from DU (yay!) and to celebrate we took an amazing trip to Hawaii.

We went to Chicago for Thanksgiving and had my dad and brother come visit for Christmas.

This little nugget is still crazy and we love him to pieces

I'm still at Sports Authority and while it's going well there so many lay-offs have made the culture there not as cheerful as it used to be. Thankfully I'm blessed with some amazing co-workers who keep me sane!

Baby Boy

Sometimes it's as simple as this to make me smile.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Couldn't Have Put it Better Myself

(Borrowed from Blue-Eyed Bride)

15 Ways to Charm Her

Southern Living, July 2009

By Amy Bickers

“Want to impress a Southern girl? Just think “What would my grandfather have done?”

Number one: We still expect you to give up your seat for a lady. On a bus, at a bar, on a train. . . we don’t care where you are. Unless you are at a restaurant and the only lady in sight is the one taking your order, stand up. Now.

On a recent Friday night at a bustling restaurant bar, two friends and I waited for our table to be called. The barstools were occupied so we stood patiently, sipping wine and chatting about the workweek. When a couple nearby stood up, another woman – who had been there less time than we had – swooped in, reaching across us to put her purse on the stool. This isn’t the worst part. It’s what happened next: Her male companion then slid onto the other barstool.

Hang on while I do a geography check. Are we not in the South? If ladies are waiting for a seat and you have a Y chromosome, do you sit down? No, sir. No, you do not.

We know modern life is confusing. The roles of men and women have evolved over the years. As Pink once sang, “Shorty got a job, Shorty got a car, Shorty can pay her own rent.”

But come on, let’s keep some things old-school. My late grandfather- he of the East Texas upbringing, U.S. Navy captain status, and Cary Grant good looks – would never have allowed a woman to stand while he sat. And if you want a Southern woman to love you, neither will you. So, men, here’s a short list of things Southern girls still expect from you.

We still expect you to…

1. Stand up for a lady. Actually, this doesn’t just involve chairs.
2. Know that the SEC has the best football TEAMS IN THE NATION. Big 12 fan? Hmm, perhaps you should keep walking.
3. Kill bugs. Delta Burke as Southern belle Suzanne Sugarbaker on Designing Women said, “. . .Ya know, when men use Women’s Liberation as an excuse not to kill bugs for you. Oh, I just hate that! I don’t care what anybody says, I think the man should have to kill the bug!”
4. Hold doors open. This goes for elevator doors too.
5. Fix things or build stuff. I once watched in awe as my stepfather built a front porch on the house he shares with my mother. He knew just what to do, cutting every notch, hammering every nail. The project was complete by sunset.
6. Wear boots occaisionally. Not the fancy, l-paid-$l,000-for-these kind. We’re talking about slightly mud-crusted, I-could-have-just-come-in-from-the-field boots.
7. Take off your hat inside.
8. Grill stuff.
9. Call us. If you want to ask us out, don’t text and don’t e-mail. Pick up the phone and use your voice.
10. Stand when we come back to the dinner table. ”Just a little half-stand is enough to make me melt,” my friend Stephanie says.
11. Pull out chairs. Wait, that’s not all. Scoot them back in before we hit the floor.
12. Pay the tab on the first few dates. ”If you ask me out, you pay,” Stephanie says. “If I ask you out, you should still pay.” Listen, guys, it’s just simpler this way.
13. Don’t show up in a wrinkled, untucked shirt. Care about your appearance but not too much. Don’t smell better than we do. Don’t use mousse or gel. You shouldn’t look like you spend more time in front of the mirror than we do.
14. Never get in bar fights. Patrick Swayze might look cool in Road House, but in reality, bar fights are stupid and embarrassing. You don’t look tough. You look like an idiot.
15. Know how to mix our favorite cocktail JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT. Fix your favorite too. Sit down on the porch (it’s okay if you didn’t build it), tell us how your day went, and we’ll tell you about ours.

We’ll leave the long list to the girl who falls in love with you.

Custom Water Bottles

Ian and I are really working hard at saving money. It's not easy but I really like knowing that the more I save the more freedom we can get by worrying less and less about savings, etc.

I LOVE to play hostess. It's easily one of my favorite things to do and it can get expensive throwing a party. We are hosting a revolving dinner party for several candidates running in the primary election in August. It's very simple and casual but I wanted to do something cute to add along with the decor. We have 'dessert' so I used some old scrapbook paper to cut out circles to line the plates for cookies and two-bite cakes and decided to use the rest of the color matches to create custom water bottles! It's very inexpensive and can really add a great pop of color to any table.

We bought 28 waters at Costco for $3.49...oh how I love Costco. It doesn't really matter what the bottles say but the Kirkland Signature theme didn't really go with my look I was trying to achieve.

See? Very average looking.

First I gathered my supplies...water bottles, scissors, glue stick, scrapbook paper, and scrapbook paper cutter.

Next I removed all the labels from the bottles and measured the space that the original label took. I cut my paper into strips that width.

From there, I put glue on the edges and wrapped it around the bottles.

Finally, all that was left was arranging them on the tray that I put on our dining room table!

It was a super easy and quick option to match the theme and since I already had the paper, the only money spent was purchasing the water bottles!

I'll post more pictures after the event is set up tomorrow!

OOTD- Friday!!

I really do love casual Friday's at work but it's been so hot lately that I really have no desire to put on denim. I got this dress with a Friends & Family shopping coupon from a Columbia dress and I love it! I wish that I had thought to get multiples. because it fits so well, it's incredibly comfortable and has pockets!

Dress: Columbia

Watch: Swatch (last seen here)

Necklace: Made by a friend of mine. This girl has amazing talent. If you're interest in one leave me a comment and I'll get your email to her.

OOTD- Happy Hump Day!

Hump Day is always made a little easier in a cute outfit! I love wearing Lilly and this one was a step out of my comfort zone since it was GREEN and not the usual pink. Luckily, I have the best shoes to go with it...my blue suede Tod's! I bought these in NYC at the Tod's store on Madison Ave as a total impulse buy but I'm so glad I did because they are incredibly comfortable and they really jazz up any outfit!

Dress: Lilly Pulitzer

Shoes: Tod's

Watch: Michele (I changed it to the white patent strap...swoon!)

Ring: David Yurman

OOTD- Friday!!

Ian and I went shopping on Thursday night and I picked out this darling ruffle tank top and navy blue top thing that looked very blah on the hanger. Sorry for the weird smile, I was trying to get a better picture of my necklace which I LOVE. It's a vintage piece that I got in Florence on the Ponte Vecchio with my family. The center has the goddess of justice which is quite fitting since I'm a libra!

Cream Top: J.Crew

Navy Cardigan: J.Crew

Bracelet: David Yurman

Watch: Swatch ( I get more compliments on this watch than any other watch I own and everyone is amazed it's a swatch.