Everybody's working for the weekend

It's the weekend, y'all- get excited! I know i am. Except for this crazy weather we are having. Today, it is 75. Tomorrow there is a high of 65. Then Sunday- high of 44 and Monday 40! BRR!! To top it off it is raining and it is supposed to rain all weekend except on Sunday night/Monday morning it may turn to snow. ICK.

All I can say for Sunday is- Rain, Rain go away. Emily wants to see the Gamecocks and Tigers play! Baseball, that is. It's rivalry weekend in baseball and the first 2 of our 4 games against in-state rival, Clemson are this weekend. Saturday the game is at Clemson and Sunday it's here in Columbia. I do hope the weather cooperates so that my dad and I can go to the game at the new stadium- I'm so looking forward to it! We'll sit through anything as long as they play and don't cancel, so keep your fingers crossed!! And GO COCKS!

This weekend is going to be a laid back one. No plans for going out or anything. Just working at JTT tomorrow and then going to get fitted for my bridesmaid's dress for my friend's wedding in August. I'm the maid of honor! So exciting :-)
Here's the dress:

Besides that I plan on watching Mamma Mia...finally... and getting some things done around the house tonight and tomorrow night. Sometimes it's nice just to have a low-key weekend. I am going to church on Sunday before the baseball game. Many of you remember that was my New Year's Resolution and so far, I have only missed 2 Sundays. One was the weekend of my cousin's bachelorette party and the other was the weekend WEG and I were in Fripp. Not bad at all, I don't think! It makes me feel good when I get up on Sundays and go to church instead of laying around being lazy. It's a good start to the day!

I hope everyone has a great weekend- stay dry if you're expecting rain!! And don't forget to send your ideas for the Around the House Shower my way!

Shower Ideas needed!

Julie- if you're reading this, go no further!! ;-)

WEG and I, along with 2 other couples, are hosting a shower for our good friends, Julie & Nick. They're getting married in June and we're hosting a couples shower for them in April. Because it will be their big shower, we have decided to do an around the house theme rather than lawn and garden as originally planned.

I have selected the invitations:

And the wording will be:

Here comes the bride

Here comes the groom

Let's shower them with gifts

From room to room

And then of course the details of the shower.

Now, here's my dilemma. DECORATING to go along with the theme! We're having the shower at a local restaurant/bar that has an upstairs area for parties. I had WEG's 30th surprise party there and it turned out really well. My original thought when we were going to do the lawn and garden theme was to use terra cotta pots and line them with pretty cellophane for the food and have little garden spades as the serving pieces.

Then I read an idea about using measuring cups as scoops for a kitchen shower. I think those are both cute ideas, but I want to represent "around the house" and not just one room. Does anybody have ideas on how to decorate, what to serve food on, etc. that are budget-friendly. The terra cotta pots were going to be easy because we have a ton at our house that I was going to clean up and use.

Thanks for your help! Y'all are always full of great, creative advice!!

It's a block party, y'all!

From the State Paper- Dominique Archie soaring through the air for a dunk.

Ok, I know I am taking a cheesey line from the announcers that I completely laughed at when they said it, but it couldn't be more true!

My Gamecocks completed a season sweep of the Kentucky Wildcats last night with a 19 point victory, complete with 20 blocks. Yes, 20 blocked shots!! Previously, the school record for a game was 15. We owned Kentucky last night (sorry to any Kentucky fans)- It wasn't even as close at the 19 points indicates. Most of the night we were leading by more than 20 points at a time- once by as much as 28.

In arguably the biggest game of the season, we came to play and left the arena last night as the leaders of the SEC Eastern Division. With 3 games left to play in the regular season, I hope we can finish strong against Vandy, Tennessee and Georgia.

I'd like to especially congratulate our big men, who played their hearts out. Of the 20 blocks, Sam Muldrow had 7- that's a pretty incredible number.

So, congratulations guys, but don't let your guard down! The next 3 games are crucial for placement in the SEC Tourney as well as the NCAA Tourney (which we should make for the first time in a while!)

Oh, and major props to Darrin Horn- what a great coach!

A little bit o' this and a little bit o' that

Today's post is a hodge-podge of things.

First off, my head feels like it.might.EXPLODE! No lie. I think we have some sort of pollen out in Columbia right now because I have been congested and gotten a headache every day this week. My throat has a tickle that causes a cough, but it doesn't hurt so that's good.

In other, less-whining news...I think I have found my calling! Wait for it...wait for it.... CROCKPOT COOKING! It's a no-brainer..absolutely perfect for moi! The past 2 nights I've made dinner in the crockpot. It's so easy to throw it all in there in the morning, stir it a few times during the day, and VOILA- instant meal in the evening. Monday night we had venison cube steak- for those of you that don't like venison, it could just as easily be made with beef. And last night we had pork tacos (I got the recipe from Bryn over at Newlywedisms by Bryn). Here are the recipes (sorry for the lack of pictures)

Venison Cube Steak

1-2 lbs of venison cube steak (or beef if you'd like)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1/2 cup of water

Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and let cook on low for 6-8 hours.

It's that easy!! And really good. You can even add potatoes, carrots, and onions if you so desire and have the time to peel and cut them. I didn't, but I have made it like that before. We eat this over rice. It's yum!

Pork Tacos

1- 1/2 lb. extra lean pork loin

1/2 can or bottle of enchilada sauce

1 small can of green chiles

1/2 can of beeth broth

1 pkg of taco seasoning

Garlic powder to taste

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve in taco shells or tortilla shells with Mexican cheese, salsa, and sour cream.

This was the tenderest pork I have ever eaten. So good and oh-so-easy. WEG especially liked this one and it's definitely going on my list of things to cook on a frequent basis.

Anybody else have any crockpot recipes you want to sent my way? I think this will be my new thing because I tend to have trouble with other ways to cook meat...ha.ha.

And, guess what?!- my King Cake arrived yesterday from Bumpkin on a Swing! Oh my goodness, it was DELICIOUS! WEG and I couldn't wait to get the box open and the icing, nuts, and sprinkles on it when I got home! We decorated it and then helped ourselves to a big ol' piece. It was devine! The flavor I received was Praline Pecan...yummmm! It tasted very similar to the icing on a caramel cake. I had mine with a glass of milk and was in HEAVEN.

Here's a picture of our decorated product! I wish I had taken a picture of the box it was shipped in because that was the coolest thing I've seen lately!

Finally, while visiting my childhood friend and her family this weekend, they gave me my birthday present- a "Ta-ta" glass! It's so cute!!

Here it is:

And a picture of my Ta-ta glass beside hers- Clemson v. Carolina (they're Clemson fans, unfortunately- boo!!). Aren't they neat, though??

That's all for today- sorry for the weird conglomeration of topics!!

Spring Palette- Attempt number 1,199..or so it feels

Ok, let's try this again. Hopefully the palette above will show up for you! I'm sorry for other failed attempts that you may have seen in Reader. AHH, I told you, technologically challenged!!
So, here we go!
Top- L to R:
White Jacket: Boden; Pink Rainyday Mac: Boden; Dress: Target; Green shorts: The Loft
Middle- L to R:
Green Pants: Old Navy; Plaid Rainboots: Target; Platinum Shoes: Jack Rogers
Bottom- L to R:
Coral Pink Purse: Target; Purple cardigan: The Loft; Fun Skirt: Boden

Do you see a theme? Target, Boden, and the Loft?? And purple, pink, and green! Yep,that's what I'm liking right now, apparently. Some of this I own, and some I do not, but I would like to have it all- I'll have to work on that!!

My Spring Palette

The Polka Dotted Owl tagged me for the game "What's on Your Spring Palette?" So, there it is above!

Top L to R:

Purse- Target

Cardigan- The Loft

Dress- Target

Rainy Day Mac- Boden

Bottom L to R:

Pants- Old Navy

Jacket- Boden

Skirt- Boden

Rainboots- Target

Flats- Jack Rogers

Now, I tag whoever wants to take part...Enjoy!!

**ETA- I will update this ASAP so that you can see it. Sorry for the confusion, but I couldn't figure out how to save it except in that format! I'm technologically challenged!!

Dresses for weddings dilemma...SOLVED

I am down to only 30 posts to read on my Google Reader, so I have decided I can take a break from reading and catch you up on my shopping excursion this weekend. I managed to find 2 dresses and 2 cardigans for my upcoming March weddings all for just a little over $100. WHEW!

For the wedding at Boone Hall I found this dress at Target for $39.99 and I will pair it with a navy blue cardigan that I got from TJ Maxx for $19.99:

Shoes are my next dilemma, though. The ones in the picture are available on Target's website, but I feel like the blue/pink/white shoe may be too matchy-matchy. I was thinking of something along the lines of a silver heal...possibly wedge due to it being outside and in grass. I don't want a flat because I will be tanless and don't want my legs to look TOO stumpy!!

And for the other March wedding in Greenville I found this dress at JC Penney...on sale for $24.99- what a steal! And who doesn't need a black dress?

And I will pair that dress with a hot pink cardigan from Express that ended up being$12.00! Here it is (sorry for the small picture!):

I still need to decide on shoes for that wedding, as well. Hopefully the weather will be nice for both of the weddings!!

So, those are my outfits... I'm glad to have them decided on! Now if I could just get myself not looking so pale, I'd be in business.

In other weekend shopping news, I found a new black flyaway cardigan, several camisoles because I was definitely needing them, a sign for my kitchen on sale for $2.00 at Target, running pants and a polo for WEG, and new couch pillows (2 for $20). So, I think I did pretty well with all of my deals!

Thanks!

I just wanted to say thank you for thinking of my family this past weekend and your kind words! I am trying to catch up here at work this morning, and I just looked at my Google reader, which tells me I have 485 blog posts to also catch up on- a little overwhelming! So, I will attempt to do that today, but that might not happen...I will catch up, though, and I'll try to comment!!

I have a post for either later today (time permitting) or tomorrow showing you the dresses I found for the 2 upcoming weddings. And, Polka Dotted Owl tagged me for a fun game that I'll also post about.

Stay tuned....

A few things!

First off, I ask for your prayers for some of my extended family. My grandmother's sister passed away yesterday. It was kind of a shock to us all, as she was seemingly healthy up until about a week ago. Last week she started having flu like symptoms and things got worse over the weekend. So, Monday they took her in to have tests run and found cancer in her liver and brain, and they believe it had probably spread to her bones. She didn't have any complaints prior to last week, so the fact that she was in very little pain was good. However, nobody expected her to only live 3 more days, and her husband is taking it pretty hard. The oncologist did tell her daughter that he would have only been able to suggest a hospice nurse because chemo isn't possible with cancer in the liver. So, God blessed her in the fact that she did not have a long, painful death. So please pray for my uncle and my dad's cousins as they deal with her death and life without her.
As a side note, not only was Aunt Dot my grandmother's sister, but her husband, my Uncle Ed was my grandfather's brother. So, sisters married brothers and their children are my dad's double first cousins. Pretty neat!

In other news, I found a dress for one of the weddings in March- at Target, so a great deal! I'll post a picture on Monday and hopefully I will have purchased another one by then!

I'm heading out of town shortly to visit my childhood best friend, Joy, and her husband and son for the weekend, so I apologize for not commenting on your blogs until Monday! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

Oh, and Go Cocks! Beat the Dukes (I think this is Duquesne's mascot). Season opener tomorrow...Let's hope for a SWEEP! And I'm also pulling for the basketball team vs. Arkansas. We need this win!!

I need to buy a lottery ticket!

Never in my life have I been so lucky!

I just found out I won the King Cake giveaway over at Bumpkin on a Swing's Blog. Yum! I can't wait to try this- I have never had one.

And, as promised- Erin, if you haven't had your craving for one satisfied, I'll share with you! After all, I know where you work ;-)

Abe is a star!

Well, our dear little (well, not so little anymore) Abe has been featured on another blog. I know he'll be excited to hear!! Go over to Valerie's blog and check him out!

Weekend Re-Cap

I know I am a little late on this, but I thought I would do a quick recap of our Valentine's Weekend in Fripp.

Although the weather was not great, we had a good time and I'd say the trip was a complete success as far as relaxing and enjoying being with each other went!

We lounged around, slept late, watched a lot of TV, and took Abe to the beach several times. On Friday we had to rush around to get out of town and to Beaufort before 5:00 to pick up the golf cart before the shop closed. In our haste, I managed to remember everything...or so I thought. We plugged in the Wii Friday night and WEG asked me for the remote. Yep, that probably would have been a good thing to remember. So, the Wii was inoperable and there was no DVD player at the house, so there went most of our entertainment. Oh well, though. We just watched movies on TV and I was able to watch the Gamecocks beat Alabama in an exciting last second tip-in on Saturday afternoon. I'm still not sure if it was legit, but we'll take it!!

Dinner on Saturday night was DELICIOUS! We went to a local fresh seafood place and picked up a pound of grouper and crabcakes. WEG seared the grouper in lemon butter and then baked it in the oven and we had that with a crabcake each and loaded baked potatoes. And, for dessert chocolate and white chocolate covered strawberries. The meal was fantastic, and just as good as if we had paid $100 to go out to eat. I'm so glad WEG can cook because I am mostly a lost cause- a post on that later, though. I didn't think to take pictures and I probably would have been laughed at if I had.

As for Abe's beach adventure- he LOVED it!! He had never been to the beach, and he was like a crazy man running around. He would go crashing through the dunes (I know, I know- he wasn't supposed to, but try to stop a 70 pound ball of energy from doing what he wants), run through the pools of water, fly after the tennis ball and skid through the sand, and he absolutely adored retrieving the tennis ball in the ocean. I think he just liked to run through the waves. It was quite a sight to behold! I have a few pictures, but it was hard to get a good one that wasn't blurry because he was in constant motion.

But, for your viewing pleasure, here are a few.

Abe tearing down the beach at full tilt.

Dripping wet and completely dirty, but oh-so-happy.

WEG giving Abe retrieving instructions.

The sunset on Friday night. What a pretty sky!

No pics of the two of us, but WEG doesn't too much like pictures, so it would have been a lost cause!!

What a beautiful day!

And by beautiful, I mean yucky and rainy. The kind of day that would be perfect for staying inside, curled up under a blanket on the couch watching movies all day. Certainly not the kind of day for working, but here I am! And I'll be back with a more interesting post later :-)

It has arrived!

What has arrived, you ask? College baseball season! My absolute favorite time of year. Friday is the University of South Carolina's first game of the season against Duquesne in our BRAND NEW stadium. I sure will miss the Sarge:

But I am definitely looking forward to this:

And, although the coaches are only predicting us to finish 4th in the SEC East, I have MUCH more faith in my boys in the pinstripes than that prediction. 4th in the East, for real? I know we lost some big players (Justin Smoak, Reese Havens, James Darnell to name a few), but we stole one of the best assistant coaches in the nation away from North Carolina, who has been a powerhouse in recent years.

Welcome, Coach Chad Holbrook! We're so glad you're a Gamecock!!

And, while I won't be able to attend this weekend's series due to an out of town trip, I can't wait for the game against our rivals in the northwest corner of the state, Clemson, on March 1st. Last year we swept them, although, arguably, they have more talent this year and a more veteran ball club than we have. But, bragging rights are on the line, and I live with a Tiger, who has been able to strut around after Clemson defeated us in football and basketball. But, I've always said I care the most about baseball, so if we win, it will be my turn to crow- Cockadoodledo!

So, the countdown is on... 4 more days til baseball and our quest for Omaha 2009.

From the Texas hills to the Golden Gate

To the warm Miami shore

They play the game a thousand names

You've never heard before

Yeah but don't forget a single face

You could see that boy again

And somewhere down the road you might say

"Hey, I remember when.."

Cause there's a dream in every glove

There's a wish on every ball

And once again they'll make their name

Back Home in Omaha

-Todd Thibaud- "Back Home in Omaha"

Happy Valentine's!

I have furiously read all of your updated blogs this morning in my Google Reader- plese forgive me for my lack of comments! I wanted to make sure I caught up before I left work today. I'm heading out of here soon to get errands done and get on the road to Fripp.
I hope everyone has a great Valentine's Weekend and I'll catch up on everyone's fun on Monday!!

Winner, winner chicken dinner!

I was just informed by Clara over at Pink Cupcake that I won her giveaway. Is this possible? I have now won 2 giveaways this month. I am usually not lucky at all, so maybe my luck is changing!!


This is what I won:

I have been desperately needing a new keychain- and it's Lilly- PERFECT!!

I had a "ranting" post all set to write about something that annoyed me on my way back to work from lunch, but this completely changed my attitude! Thanks for hosting such a great giveaway!!

Under the boardwalk, down by the sea...

...on a blanket with my baby, is where I'll be.

I am so excited for this weekend. Although I am not into Valentine's Day in the sense that I go all out buying a gift for WEG and expect roses and/or a gift for him, I do like to do something where it's just the two of us.

This year we are going to Fripp Island! We had thought about going to Charleston to stay with his sister & her boyfriend and go to the Southeastern Wildlife Expo, but Monday he asked me if I wanted to do something just us instead.

We narrowed it down to the mountains or Fripp, and decided on Fripp because 1) we have been wanting to go with all of our friends but couldn't find a date that worked and 2) it's a free place to stay since his family owns a house down there...on second row, so right at the beach!!

I know it probably won't be warm enough to do anything more than maybe walk on the beach, but it will be nice to get away, with no obligations or things to do. We can sleep late and do whatever we want, basically! I'm sure WEG will cook a great dinner on Saturday night and we'll be able to just enjoy each other's company.

If you've never been to Fripp or even heard of it, it's a small island in Beaufort County that has been made into a resort. There's no commercialization whatsoever. The island has a few shops and a marina and restaurants, but it's all private. Nobody that isn't staying there can come on the island. There are deer that roam all over the island and they will come up to you if you have food. You're not really supposed to feed them, but we do (shame on us, I know).

We went this summer with our friends, and I will post a few of the pictures below- of the deer, etc. I can't wait! Now I'm off to make my list of what to take for the weekend- yes, I'm severely Type A and can't function without a list for EVERYTHING!

I feel so loved!

100 followers- wow! Back in October when I started this blog, I never would have thought I'd make it to 100. Thank you all for caring enough to read my random ramblings every day. I enjoy each and every one of your blogs!

And speaking of 100, I am over halfway to 100 posts. Not much longer and I'll be hosting a giveaway for that milestone- I just hope it's half as good as the rest of your giveaways...I'll have to put some thought into it, so maybe I'll start thinking now.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday!! I don't have much to blog about today!

Congratulations, HP!

I just wanted to send a great big CONGRATULATIONS!!! to my friend, Holly. She just got a HUGE promotion at work. She worked her butt off for this, and nobody deserves it more than she does! Way to go, Holls- love ya!! :-)

Happy birthday, Dad!

Today I wanted to wish a happy birthday to my dad, one of the kindest, most Christian men who has ever lived..and I don't just say this because he is my dad.

The words of Alan Jackson's song, Small Town Southern Man, fit my father very well.

Born the middle son of a farmer

and a small town southern man

Like his daddy's daddy before him

brought up working on the land

Fell in love with a small town woman

And they married up and settled down

Natural way of life if you're lucky for a small town southern man

And he bowed his head to Jesus

And he stood for Uncle Sam

And he only loved one woman

(He) was always proud of what he had

He said his greatest contribution

Is the ones you leave behind

Raised on the ways and gentle kindness

Of a small town Southern man

Raised in a little town all his life, my dad only left briefly to attend and graduate from the University of South Carolina, then returned home to work on the family farm. Many of you probably know how tough farming is in the South, and if you're not farming cotton, then you never know how lucrative your crops will be from one season to the next. So, farming wasn't enough to support his small family and my dad had to get out of farming. But I'll never forget the days as a child when I used to ride out to the farm with my Poppy to take my dad lunch or an afternoon snack. The first thing I ever drove was a combine, proudly sitting on my dad's lap.

Things have changed over the years and daddy doesn't farm anymore, but he's still that same small town southern man. If the man I marry one day is half the man my father is, I'll be happy. It only takes a trip to church on Sunday to see how respected my dad is in the community. He's chair of the deacons at church, goes on every church mission trip to West Virginia and Louisiana, takes part in bible studies at church, Loaves of Love where they feed needy families in the town, and teaches English as a Second Language on Sunday evenings. He's been a member of the Masons and Lions Club in the town and has served as mayor and on the town council.

My dad really cares about people and it shows in everything he does. If I can one day make the sort of contributions to a community that he makes, I will consider my life well-lived. My dad has taught me many things throughout my lifetime, and I hope I will be able to pass those things along to someone else one day.

I love you, Daddy- I hope you have a great day!!

Polka Dotted Owl's Giveaway

If you haven't already been over to the Polka Dotted Owl's blog- head over there now to check out her giveaway.
The theme is love and if you go over and tell her why you're either in love or not in love with love, you can get yourself entered in the contest to win the following:

1. A monogrammed purse/tote.
2. One year free subscription to Lucky Mag.
3. Bath & Body (your choice of scent): (1) lotion, (1)shower gel, (1)butter cream lotion, and (1)spray.
4. Sephora: Schweppes Sparkling Pink Grapefruit Lip Balm 15 SPF.
5. Sephora: Bare Escentual: Buxom Babes Lip Polish Duo Featuring Destiny and Amber.
6. Sephora: Korres Mastiha and Natural Clay Mask/ Dermatologically tested and mineral oil free.
7. Color of your choice: (2) O.P.I nail polishes.
8. And other lil' yummie suprises:)

What a great giveaway- hurry over!!

It just makes cents (and dollars)

With all the talk lately about the economy and finances being foremost in many of our minds, I am writing today to see if you can help. I am looking into a savings account- I know, I know...I should have had one of these before this point in my life, but I don't.

I was careless with money in college and accumulated quite a bit of credit card debt, which I have been whittling down, slowly but surely. I have decided, though, that I need a savings account so that money I save can at least be earning interest...even if it's a small amount.

I have just started a budget spreadsheet for myself and I feel like I will have a good amount left over each month to put into savings to gain interest and eventually completely pay off the credit card and my student loan. On top of that, I'd like to put my tax refund check in savings now, so that I can use it towards several weddings I have coming up.

On that note, I am completely clueless when it comes to these matters....so, once again, I am looking to you ladies for advice (what in the world did I do before I had a blog??).

Do you have a savings account, and if so, is it through your bank or through another, higher interest source?? My bank is BB&T and I have researched their savings plan which seems to be pretty good. However, I have found other banks on the internet that have a much higher interest rate...I'm just skeptical whether my money would be safe. Any advice or knowledge you have about this would be great!! Y'all never let me down :-)

Illegally blonde..where are you?

I clicked on your old link- nonblondeditz.blogspot.com- earlier and it sent me to some website about cash for loans. What is your new blog address so that I can add it?
Or if anybody knows where Illegally Blonde of Could've Been Blonde is, please let me know!!

Calling all winos!

I'm conducting a poll on wine...yum!

I am trying to introduce a larger variety of wine into our household. I received a wine journal for Christmas from my friend, Holly, and I have had such fun trying new stuff and filling it out.

WEG and I's favorite wine on a budget is Folie a Deux's Menage a Trois red blend. We LOVE it and it's only $8-9 at a discount beverage store like Total Wine. We also love Ravenswood Zen of Zin and Seaven Deadly Zins, to name a few.

We really don't drink much white wine, but if we do it's Pinot Grigio. I absolutely do not like chardonnay or merlot, but a blend with merlot in it is okay.

So, based on my wine preferences, what do you girls suggest?? If you know the price, include that, too. I found a few good wines the other day at World Market and all were under $10.

Now, I can't wait to get a glass of wine this evening!!

Hit me with your best advice...fire away!

I have 2 outdoor weddings coming up in March, and I am having a hard time deciding what I should wear.

The first is on March 14th at Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Look familiar? It's in The Notebook! I am not 100% sure this wedding is outside, but if I had to guess, that would be my best, most educated guess. I'm not sure they even have indoor weddings- if anybody knows the answer to this, send it my way.

So, the wedding will take place at 5:30 in March. The time will have changed by then, so it will at least be daylight until about 8:00. However, the weather in March is so iffy. It could rain, it could be windy, it could be cold, or it could be beautiful. So, that's my first wedding wardrobe dilemma.

The second wedding I must attend in March is my cousin's in Greenville, SC. It will be held at Larkin's on the River at 6 p.m.

As you can see from the above pictures, it's a beautiful old warehouse, but it has no windows. So, again, March in SC is a toss-up. You never know what weather you're going to get. If the weather is cold, my cousin will be renting the large heaters, but they are only good if you're standing right by them.

I have thought about a dress with a pashmina, but what would you suggest? I know there will be some great ideas from all of you fashionistas out there, so fire away!!

The Kindness of a Stranger

I just remembered that I never told y'all one of the coolest stories from my weekend in Asheville for my cousin's bachelorette party!

On Sunday morning, we had to check out of the cabin by 11. My cousins, Carrie and Sarah, were riding with me, and Sarah wanted to go to this **chocolate shop in downtown Asheville that didn't open until noon. So, we decided we would get some breakfast/lunch while we waited for the shop to open.

We found a little cafe that served breakfast all day and decided we would eat there. We walked up to it, and Sarah went inside to see what the wait was like. She was told that it would be 30 minutes, and the only waiting area was outside- and it was FREEZING! Sarah came back out and told us what she had found out and we decided we would go down the street and find something else.

This is where the story gets interesting. This lady was packing her car up and overheard Sarah tell Carrie and me what was going on. She called us over and asked us if we would like for her to fix us 3 plates of food from a wedding brunch that had been held next door to the cafe. We were a little skeptical, but the woman looked legit and so did the people coming out of the brunch. Of course we didn't turn this down- at the very worst, if the food wasn't good we could go on down the street. So, the lady went inside and returned a few minutes later with plates piled high from Tupelo Honey Cafe, a restaurant we had heard nothing but good things about.

We profusely thanked the woman whose only response was "Just make sure you do something nice for someone else to pay it forward." We feasted on shrimp and grits, french toast, sausage, egg casserole, roasted potatoes, biscuits, etc....all of which was DELICIOUS...thanks to the kindness of a stranger who took pity on 3 hungry girls. While we were eating, this little girl even came over with bags of chocolates that were obviously the favors that were given out at the brunch.

I don't know what we did to deserve that free breakfast, but let me tell you, it was much appreciated and it reminded me that the world is full of good people. So often we only hear the bad stories about people- especially if you turn on the news, but this lady renewed my faith in people, especially southerners. I can't wait til I am able to pay it forward to someone in the same way she did to us.

**Side note- the name of the chocolate shop is Chocolate Fetish and their truffles are to die for. I brought WEG home some of the French Kiss chocolates and they were heaven...pricy at $2.00 a truffle, but definitely worth it.

Here's a picture of the French Kiss truffle...mmmm..... if you have someone who LOVES chocolate, I recommend this for a Valentine's Day treat.

Have any of you ever been to Tupelo Honey or Chocolate Fetish in Asheville? If not and you're planning a trip to Asheville anytime soon, stop in. You won't be disappointed!!

Everybody needs a little Hanky Panky!

Ok, everyone- you have to go enter Erin's giveaway over at Blue-Eyed Bride. She's giving away 2 pair of Hanky Panky underwear for Valentine's Day. Who can resist that??

Follow the leader....

Ok girls, I need to enlist your help again. Yesterday I clicked on a blog to follow it, and I was informed that I had reached my maximum number of blogs to follow, which is 200. I can't believe I'm following that many, but I enjoy reading each and every one of them, and I know there are more I would enjoy, as well. So, here's my question. How do I make it so that I can follow more than 200 blogs? Is there some secret or do y'all just follow 200 and that's all? Thanks for your help! And I promise that I will do a REAL post today. I know my past few posts have just been answering questions, etc. I have been so busy at work, but I think I may have some free time today to devote to a good post.

Your questions...answered!!

Clara over at Pink Cupcake has sent me my interview questions- how fun.
Here goes!

1. You're heading to a deserted island. You have a small duffle to take with you and thats all. You can fit one full outfit inside of it as well as one food and one drink. What would you pick? Hmm, well if it's summer, then I'd definitely carry my bathing suit..not sure which one- that could count as my undergarments. Then I'd carry my Boden tunic which could be worn as a cover up or as an outfit with my favorite Lucky jeans. And probably Rainbows for shoes because they're so comfortable. This island is deserted, right? So the fashion police won't get me.
For drink I would take water because it's the only thing I can drink not chilled. And for food, I would take cheese and peanut butter crackers because I could fit a lot of them in my duffel. Wow, that was hard!!

2. What is inside your handbag right now? Is there one item in there you cant live without?
Oh goodness...inside my handbag is a nightmare! I have my wallet, checkbook, coupon file, camera, mini lint roller, travel brush, a small cosmetic case with powder, mascara, gloss, and eyedrops, tampons, camera USB cord, chewing gum, car keys, cell phone, and sunglasses. Out of all that, I'd say my wallet is the one thing I can't live without.

3. You are going to a potluck dinner tonight, what dish would you bring?
I'd ask to bring the dessert, and I'd take the ingredients for a Belle and her Beau's Peach Yums. They are a HIT. Here's the recipe. Scroll down. These are delicious.

4. SPRING BREAK! You're heading out of town in two weeks, where is your dream destination?
Oh gosh, what I wouldn't give to actually get a Spring Break now that I'm out of college! But, if I was going to get a Spring Break, I'd be headed somewhere warm & tropical. I'm not picky, just give me an all-inclusive resort, clear blue water, and an endless supply of thirst quenchers. If money was no object, Fiji would be great.

5.What is your #1 favorite name in the world. (random, but I love names so it was necessary!)
Wow, that's tough. I love the name Grace for a girl. It's so classic and pretty, I think.
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If you would like to play along here are the directions:
1. Leave me a comment & your e-mail address saying, "Interview me." If you dare.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. (You get to choose the questions.)
The first five 'askers' get the interview!

Annnd, I got tagged by Bama Belle for the other questions game. Please see this post where I played along last week!! Some of the questions are different, but most are the same!

Thanks, ladies for involving me in your fun!

Monday Funday

What is it about Mondays that make me hate them so much? Oh, I know! Getting up early to go to work and not having the freedom to sleep late and do whatever I want like on the weekends. I propose that weekends at least last 3 days and work last 4....wouldn't that be great? Oh, and on this particular Monday the groundhog saw his shadow. Thanks, buddy- can't wait for 6 more weeks of winter!! I can't even remember when he hasn't seen his shadow. It certainly feels like the proclamation is "Six more weeks of winter!" every year.

But enough of the negativity...Melissa has given me this award, so my day is already looking up!

Stay tuned for another post later today!