And the winner is....

Last week I said one lucky reader would be rewarded if you clicked over and started following the Pink Magnolias blog.

I wrote all of your names down and numbered them as such:
1. Christina- End of Beans
2. Pink, Green & Southern
3. Preppy Mama
4. Katy- Tripping Down the Aisle
5. Sole Matters
6. Amy- Just Add Walter
7. Gwennie- Northern Girl with a Southern Soul
8. Preppy Bumpkin

I then put 1-8 in the random integer generator. You will have to take my word on the outcome because I couldn't figure out how to put the generator onto my blog.

The lucky number was 4- Katy at Tripping Down the Aisle!

Katy, email me at usc_emily(at)hotmail(dot)com and give me your address and I'll send you a surprise :-)

And if you haven't checked out The Pink Magnolias, do it now!

Vacation...still wanting...

Ugh...I'm not putting anything about vacation on my blog ever again until I am stepping on the plane on the way to said destination.
Costa Rica is probably not going to happen.
I.Am.BUMMED.
Enough said.

Vacation, all I ever wanted....

ETA: A flight to Costa Rica from Charlotte is not $140- that was to San Jose, California. My friend who was looking it up mixed it up. But a flight from Columbia, SC to Costa Rica is $346. Still not bad, but sorry to get your hopes up!

My friends and I are beginning our discussions of a trip to Costa Rica. Well, we have actually discussed it before (and I think I actually mentioned it on here), but we're serious this time. Did you know you can fly round trip from Charlotte, NC to San Jose, Costa Rica for $140 round trip on JetBlue? I didn't either, but sign me up!

We are looking to go in January and we are weighing our options of staying at a resort or renting a house. We will probably stay in or near Los Suenos because we have a connection to a deep-sea fishing boat there.

Has anyone ever been to Costa Rica that can share your experiences, tips, etc? Any advice is welcome!

They say it's your birthday

Since it is officially after midnight on August 22nd, I can go ahead and wish WEG a very happy birthday. Last year I threw him a surprise party for his 30th birthday, so I certainly can't measure up to that, but I hope it will still be a good one for him. He claims that once you get to 30, you can start counting backwards, so I guess that would make it his 29th birthday ;-) Don't we wish it REALLY worked this way?

But I digress....

Although he doesn't read, I want to say happy birthday and I love you, WEG. I can't imagine my life without you and I hope to celebrate many more birthdays with you.

And that's as sappy as I am going to get. We're celebrating with friends on Saturday evening with a small get-together at our house. And if I know WEG, you better bring your hard hat....

Don't forget!

If you visit The Pink Magnolias blog and become a follower and come back and let me know, I'll draw one lucky winner to receive a gift from yours truly.
Ashley has fabulous custom made handbags and clogs, and other great items (see pictures in my previous post).
Thanks y'all!

The Pink Magnolias

Hey y'all! I just have to tell you about the CUTEST website to buy custom handbags and clogs...and other things too, but those are the biggies.

You need to go check out The Pink Magnolias (The original home of the bowtie clog and Heuys handbags). Also, you can check out their blogspot page here.

I stumbled upon this website in the most random of ways. At the Concert for Chase on Sunday, I was talking to one of WEG's friend's girlfriend (did you follow that). Anyway, Ashley had the cutest handbag and I told her I liked it and then was looking at the tag to see who made it when she told me it was hers. And then proceeded to tell me she had a website!! The bag she was carrying was this one:

I mean, how cute is that? And, each purse is custom made. You get to choose your fabric (inside and out), your bow, and handles. She is constantly putting up new fabrics, and only orders a small amount of any one fabric. So you can be assured you won't walk down the street and see someone with the same purse. And the best part?? That bag is only $60- seriously, $60, y'all! For a custom made handbag. The Charlotte, above, is a great size, too. Oh, and if you want, it can be monogrammed, too! This just keeps getting better and better, right? And $85 is the highest price of any of the handbags. Can't really beat that.

Here is a picture of another design (The Ethel- $55).

Oh, and not to leave her clogs out- check these out. How cute are those for tailgating in the fall? You choose your color of clog and bow!

And, one last thing I have to show y'all. These trick or treat bags are adorable. Your child would be the hit of the neighborhood carrying one of these.

So RUN, don't walk over to Ashley's website and her blog, and if you become a follower of her blog and come back and tell me, there may be a reward for one lucky blogger :-)

I got all I need...and it's alright by me

Well, I'm back from my blogging hiatus and a wonderful weekend. Details of the wedding will be coming at some point, but I have another post for today.

You're probably wondering what my title is about. If you don't know, those are lyrics from a Darius Rucker song. If you don't know Darius, he was the lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish. And, you want to know something else?

That's him. Taken with my camera. Not zoomed in.

Okay, so I know what you're thinking. Big deal. You paid for some concert tickets to go see him and had great seats, right? Nope, not so much. It was totally a surprise.

Yesterday WEG and I went to a benefit concert for Chase Towne, a little boy that was diagnosed with neuroblastoma 4 months ago at the young age of 9 months. The concert was at Music Farm in Charleston and there were 3 bands playing. The last band was Occasional Milkshake and consisted of the guitarist from Hootie, bassist from Blue Dogs, and drummer from Cravin' Melon. We were standing in the back of Music Farm when they took the stage and out walks that guy in the picture up there. We couldn't really see that well, and WEG asked the question "Who's the lead singer of this band?" And then he started singing, and all doubt of who he was suddenly was erased. It dawned on us- DARIUS RUCKER! we both exclaimed and off I went to the front to get some footage.

The most touching part is that this man took time out of a busy, busy schedule to be there for a little boy and his family to make their day special. It was truly amazing, and the best part was that the 800 people that showed up weren't there for Darius Rucker. Nobody knew he would be there. The tickets weren't bought with the promise of seeing a celebrity (I mean, after all, our hometown hero Darius weighed in this week at #2 on the Billboard country music charts). Those tickets were bought because a little boy with a huge heart is fighting a nasty disease. Darius was just a bonus yesterday.... a pretty awesome one.

So with that, I'll use the phrase that has become the mantra of the Towne family. A phrase coined by Dabo Swinney, none other than my bitter rival, Clemson's head coach. (Sometimes you have to put aside your differences).

CHASE- BEAT IT!