I can't wait to read....

Set to release August 11th

Set to release July 14th

Released today!

Brand new!

And has anybody read Karen White's books? I haven't, but this title sparked my interest. I always love a good Southern book set in real places in cities I am familiar with. If you have read any of her books, let me know how they are!



And I also have not read this book, yet, but really want to before I see the movie:

Other books on my "must read" list include: Chasing Harry Winston, Mating Rituals of the North American WASP, Prep: A Novel, One Fifth Avenue, Love the One You're With, Certain Girls, Social Climbers, Pretty in Plaid, Knit Two, Time is a River, The Memory of Water, Off Season, Water for Elephants, and Dixieland Sushi (and other books by Cara Lockwood).

Whew!! I am going to be busy! Thank goodness I am a quick reader!

Y'all, we're on empty...

This weekend was so much fun! Of course, it was very busy and I am exhausted this morning, but we couldn't have asked for a better time.

I do have one funny story to share. We rented a boat for the weekend and set out on Saturday morning to go pick it up from the marina. Jerry, at the marina, gets us all set up and tells us several times, to just make sure we watch the gauge on the gas tank so we don't out of gas. We agreed that we would, and left the marina on our way to the lakehouse we had rented- with only the help of a small map I printed off the internet and virtually no knowledge of the part of the lake we were one.

We were going along fine for about 20 minutes or so, when I went back to check on the gas gauge, and saw that it was hovering dangerously close to empty, and we hadn't seen a single marina in our travels. Of course, we kind of panicked, and doing the only thing we knew, we slowed the boat down to barely above idle speed and continued on our way, calling the girls still at the house to go to the gas station and get us some gas in gas cans.

We felt like we were still heading in the right direction, at least, but still had no clue which cove was ours, and didn't want to pick the wrong one for fear that we would run out of gas in an isolated cove and not be able to get help. We saw some men fishing and pulled up to ask them where the closest place to get gas was and they told us it was in the direction we had come, although we hadn't seen any place like that. We then asked them where the golf course (which we were using as a landmark from our map) was, and they pointed to this big grassy field to our right. Knowing that if that was really the golf course, we were way turned around, we put our heads together and decided that these men were wrong, and the "golf course" was actually an air strip.

So, we decided to journey on because in the distance we could see a bunch of boats and thought it might be a marina, or at the very least, somewhere we could get some gas or better directions. As we were nearing the marina, we decided to say a prayer that we would find our cove or be able to get gas before being stranded in the lake. Just before our destination marina, we saw a cove that we *thought* could be ours and decided to take a chance. We drove up into the cove and, in the distance, could see some people on a dock. As we neared that dock, we realized that it was our group. I swear that was the happiest and most relieved I have felt in a long time. We were jumping up and down yelling and celebrating our good fortune- although I think it was God's answer to our prayer.

Now, here's the best part. We pull up at the dock, and unscrew the cap of the gas tank to put more gas in, and the tank is OVER HALF FULL, but the gauge is dead on Empty. We were so mad! Yes, in hindsight we should have checked the tank when we saw it said Empty (as WEG keeps telling me), but Jerry was so adamant about us watching the gauge, that I just thought it had to be right. So, the moral of the story is, if you think you're out of gas on a pontoon, check the tank before assuming the worst, because those gauges SUCK!

Friday, what took you so long?

Thank goodness it's FRIDAY!! This week has seemed long to me for some reason. And what a crazy week it has been, too, with the deaths of Farrah Fawcett, Ed McMahon, and Michael Jackson and the admission of an affair by our governor, Mark Sanford. It's almost surreal that all those things could happen in the span of a week!!

Today I leave for my friend, Carolyn's bachelorette party out on the lake. Then on Saturday evening I will be heading back for a home and garden shower for my friend Bess and her fiance. And then on Sunday, WEG and I will be going back out to the lake for Carolyn's fiance, Chris's birthday. WHEW! Can you say BUSY? But, fun, so I can't wait!

I'm trying to decide what to wear to the shower. I have narrowed it down to my new white jeans with a black Sweet Pea mesh ruffle tier halter (like that, but solid black) with silver Jack Rogers and silver jewelry or this floral maxi dress from Target (the picture doesn't really do it justice):




What do y'all think? If I don't wear the dress to the shower, I'll probably wear it to Bess's rehearsal dinner. I am sort of leaning towards the white pants for that reason, but I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Shocked and appalled

You may already know from some of my previous comments and posts that I am not a huge fan of our governor, Mark Sanford. But his latest antics have left me SHOCKED and APPALLED. He has done many things, in my point of view, that have been wrong, but this one is icing on the cake.

If you haven't heard, Gov. Sanford went missing starting on Thursday of last week. Yesterday, it was speculated by his staff that he was hiking on the Appalachian Trail, but this morning, he was met at the Atlanta airport by a local media source as he was returning from Argentina. Why Argentina, you ask? Well, apparently he needed to "get away after a tough legislative session", but coincidentally, he has a mistress in Argentina...one that he has been communicating with for eight years. While he was not having a physical relationship with her for that long, in the last year he had taken it to that level and his wife found out about five months ago, after which time they have been "working on moving forward."

So, tell me, Gov. Sanford, if you are moving forward for your family, why did you choose FATHER'S DAY WEEKEND, to visit your mistress in Argentina and break off the relationship? Do your four little boys not merit you being around for Father's Day? Was it absolutely necessary that you go take care of this business during a holiday such as Father's Day? Did Marshall, Landon, Bolton, and Blake not enter your mind? I wonder what their mother, Jenny, had to tell them about your whereabouts, or have they had to endure this devastating news already since you were found out five months ago? For their sake, I sure hope not.

This is just the latest in what I feel are a long line of bad decisions that you have made. You brought pot bellied pigs into the Statehouse to mock the legislators, you declared to the media that you had seen many deaths when flying over the Graniteville train wreck scene (when this was without basis and prior to any confirmed counts), you refused to have South Carolina implement the new drivers license system when all around us were complying, and you had to be ordered to take federal stimulus money for a state whose education system is not making the grade to begin with. And now, in all of your glory, you have directed attention squarely back on yourself and South Carolina by admitting to adultery. Did you not read the Bible, and God's instructions in the Ten Commandments- the seventh one is very specific- "Thou shalt not commit adultery." (Exodus 20:14) It doesn't get more cut and dried.

No, I don't think you really thought what your actions might cause- maybe you thought you wouldn't get caught, but the truth always prevails. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said to the media that your actions were selfish. Yes, you are 100% correct in that statement- maybe the first time you have been right about something in a long time.

Now, Governor Sanford, I would like to know what you plan to do- how you plan to not only move forward with your family, but with the State of South Carolina? You have resigned as chair of the Republican Governor's Association- is your next step resigning as governor? I, for one, think that might be your best call. I'm tired of SC being in the spotlight because of your ill-advised antics. What could possibly be next?

However, I would remiss if I did not note that if you resign, Lt. Governor Andre Bauer becomes Governor, and well, that's a post for a whole 'nother day. One idiot would be replaced with another, but I'll take my chances.

Summer Wedding #1 Pictures

Ok, so I know I am definitely 2 weeks behind on this, but without further ado, here are some pictures from Julie & Nick's wedding on June 12th.

There were a lot more, obviously, but those are the highlights!

Another great giveaway

The Monogram Chick is hosting a great giveaway, so click on over and get entered (or don't, because I'd really like to win!)

She's giving away this market tote:

How cute is that? So, hurry on over and enter to win- and don't forget to tell her, I sent you because if you win, we both win!

The perfect evening

Last night WEG and I had the perfect evening. No, we didn't go out on some great date or do anything exciting, but it was still perfect. We had the best dinner, for starters.

Homemade cheeseburgers, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and Peach Yums for dessert.

Notice I did not say we had the healthiest meal! But what is better than a big ol' juicy cheeseburger hot off the grill and followed up with peach yums served with ice cream? If you haven't tried the Peach Yums, they are delicious- Thanks to A Belle & Her Beau for that recipe!!

I did attempt to make the peach yums with fresh peaches last night. It turned out okay, but peaches are not easy to peel, for starters. And then, a few of the peaches were a little tart, but with that cookie mixture and ice cream on top they were still so good! But, if you're looking for easy, just go by the recipe and use the canned peaches. You won't be disappointed, either way!

After dinner, we just laid around and watched an awesome game of baseball- LSU v. Texas. We didn't make it through the whole game and went to bed in the 10th inning. However, this morning I was excited to see that LSU ended up beating Texas- sorry to all you Longhorn fans, but I've gotta pull for the SEC!

So yeah, definitely nothing earth shattering that went on, but between a good meal, good sports program to watch, and just laying around enjoying each other's company, it was my kind of night! Unfortunately I didn't get around to doing the Shred yesterday, so I have to motivate myself to get back on the wagon today after a weekend at home with lots of good food and a cheeseburger last night. (We won't even mention the pizza I will be eating tonight at the Village Idiot).