a new calendar means...

Dear Mom & Betty,

for Christmas I got this:

and now i need to make sure i have all the family birthdays and anniversaries written in it, so when you get a moment, would you please e-mail them to me?!?

thank you bunches!!!

happy weekend :)

Hissy Fit

okay, seriously... I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

this book is a good southern dish,

its got all the good stuff,

comedy

romance

wit

tragedy

revenge

mystery

and wrap it up in a big bow because the main character is a decorator, really... you should click right here on this lovely little link i've done for you and buy this book.

honestly though, i've tried to start 2 books since finishing this one, and i just can't seem to get into anything. i hate that. i felt that way after "The Help" too. ugh! anyway, who cares... its a good one!!!

happy wednesday!

a tribue to...

LONG SLEEVED T-SHIRTS

my oh my,

its been quite some time since i've done

"a tribute to" blog post

so, without further adieu

reasons why long sleeve t-shirts are great:

1. they're cozy

(as are schnitzel pants, but it's not their day)

2. they remind you of places/things you love

(college, sorority, vacations, etc...)

3. they're perfect for fall through spring

(wear with jeans when its cold, and shorts in the spring)

4. they get better over time

(as does wine, but again... wait your turn)

5. they go well with "comfy shoes"

with can include but is not limited to

-tennis shoes

-uggs

-flip flops

-house shoes

really and truly, i LOVE long sleeve t-shirts, i wear them all the time.

you've got a little sleeve if you need it, or push it up if the weather plays warm.

so, cheers to long sleeve t-shirts,

because... why not?!?

happy monday!



mmm food

so, lately sweet hubby dearest has been a rockstar about date nights, seriously... he has been wonderful. even if its just simple, he has totally made the effort to send sweet texts throughout the day, and then suggest that we go out to dinner and see a movie or watch one of the ones we got for Christmas. i'm LOVING it.

since i've been dating so much as of late, i figure i oughta give you all the 411 on some restaurant-e's (yes, read that in your fancy voice) because, i do love a great restaurant recommendation...
so i shall give some!

1. Kobe Steak & Sushi
(2832 W. Eldorado Pkwy- in Frisco)

our local little hibachi place at 423 and Eldorado!

i really enjoyed it-- and we were even sitting at a table with 3 young children!

the food was good, the service was pretty decent

i'd go again!

2. Luigi's Pizza

(4944 Preston Rd.Frisco-- or click HERE)

we love Luigi's

the portions are huge, the food is great

and they can accommodate large groups

 for after church--or whatever

good stuff people, go eat there!!!

not my picture, excuse the blurrrrr

--i love to order the chicken mimosa,

 if you're interested--

3. Chow {Asian street food}

(the Toll Rd and Parker- in Plano)

its ridiculous.

super cool menu, super cool atmosphere,

and plum wine ice-cream

***** (yes, i gave it 5 stars)

4. Lochrann's Irish Pub & Eatery

(6195 Main St. in Frisco)

--no picture, i'm lame--

Our sunday school girls planned our girls lunch there this week,

and it was surprisingly really good.

Click HERE if you want to know more!

--i got the beef stew and it was delicious--

and finally

5. The Cheesecake Factory

okay okay, this is so not a new find

but i do have a great piece of info...

Wonderful Husband & I decided it would be fun to do a challenge,

since we LOVE the CF- we thought it might be fun to try every single thing on the menu.

literally. i know right, how cool is that?!?

we decided that it had to be done by my 30th birthday so we have some time to make this happen, but you have to set an end date for these kinds of things or you never finish.

so there you have it.

we are eating our way through the menu,

one lovely dish at a time!!!

the menu is a book, so this challenge should be so much fun!!!

i'm kinda feeling like Julie & Julia right now

but not really, anyway

hope you're all hungry and eat some yummy food

*eat, drink, and be merry*

happy friday!!!

i died. and it was bananas.

do you ever just feel like if it werent socially unacceptable you would quite literally just spend all day every day in pj's or workout clothes?!? or have i lost my mind?

i'm just saying...

i'm not approving of those crazy pajama jeans you see in info-mercials, but i totally get where the inventer was coming from. pj clothes are just sooo comfy. i'm way too much of a denim-snob to wear those, but i will rock some sweat pants any day of the week.

in fact, in my family-- we have our own word for cozy pants. --schnitzel pants-- see, when my uncle lived in Germany, he always said when you eat too much schnitzel you need to wear streachy waistband pants, hence "schnitzel pants". and let me just say, i love me some schnitzel pants.

so, since i work from home and have a really flexible work schedule, i find myself in schnitzel pants quite often, stop judging. i was folding some laundry yesterday morning, about to get ready to head out for lunch with the girls, and it happened... i started convincing myself that its perfectly okay to wear schnitzel pants or workout clothes all the time, and they're just as cute.... and then BAM! she saved me...

i literally got inspired to take off my schnitzel pants and get cute for lunch while watching the Rachel Zoe Project... i just thought, she is so in love with fashion, and i adore cute clothes-- i should doll up. so i did, tunic, skinny jeans, and heels... i even had RZ messy waves!

what i wouldnt give for a shopping spree in her closet

i do wish she would put on some weight,

but her taste is impeccable.

and i have a theory that if she ever gave blood,

it would be 80% starbucks and 20% bananas!!! 

haha, lame joke.  

but hey... she is who she is.

thank you Rachel Zoe Project for inspiring me to get cute,

it made my whole day more glam!!!

happy wednesday.

with lime and salt please

okay, slow your roll people...
i'm not talking about {drinks}
i'm talking about **PoPcOrN**

i do love my margaritas with lime and salt too, but this popcorn is blog-worthy!

its seriously awesome.

190 calories.

hint of lime.

that "cant just have one" crunch.

yeah, go get some. it rocks.

happy tuesday!

careers i would be bad at

here is a short and not so sweet list of careers that are well, better off without me...

1. pro basketball player
(i'm kind of a tiny person,
i dont think its a good match)

2. surgeon. yes, blood is not my bff--
surgery is not in my future

and 3. a movie reviewer

why do i think this is not a good career for me

{reasons below}

a. i dont like many movies

b. i'm more into re-watching movies

i know i like over and over

c. according to my husband

 i have bad taste in tv shows,

therefore i might have terrible taste in movies...

so in honor of my "uncareers"

i'll give you my movie reviews for the

2 movies i've seen in the past week or so:

drum roll please,

review:

i sure do wish i could get that 2 hours of my life back.

the end.

next,

review: Dear Vince Vaughn,

You've kind of created this little niche of movies that appear to be "funny" or "comedies" but in all actuality, they have a point and you show all the funny parts in the previews. ex: The Break Up, Couples Retreat, Four Christmases, and now The Dilemma. This is sad, because you are actually VERY funny-- and when i go to one of your movies, i'd like to just laugh. Please revert back to your work circa "wedding crashers" time or perhaps "dodgeball" because well, quite frankly...

you were on the right track.

all in all ---> this movie isnt terrible,

 but i was most amused during the part where Vince (character: Ronny) is fighting Channing Tatum (character: Zip) with fire. i literally cracked up. anyone else see it yet?

of course, i'd be a terrible movie reviewer because i'd rather just watch Simon Birch or The Hangover than pretty much anything else, so dont take my word for it...

feeling fancy

i got a sweet fancy bloggy award from miss brynn, thanks lady!!!

look at that *bling*

according to the rules, you're supposed to share 7 things about yourself and then pass the award on...

sounds fun, i'll share 3

haha... rules schmules

1. i call toenails without polish "naked"

i dont much care for naked toes.

 i keep mine black or grey in the winter,

and shocking pink in the summer :)

2. i have a weakness for salt&vinegar chips,

ohhh they are so good

3. i'm a very meticulous laundry sorter, and i'm extremely picky about how laundry gets done and folded, lucky husband --i tell him not to even think about touching it, so yes he leaves his clothes on the floor and i take over from there... its my thing. i like it done my way.

and, to pass the award along:

CMae and Aspen at Live what you love

Caroline and Knox at Simply Smithwick

and Natasha at A Day in the Life

thanks again, and happy wednesday!

decor inspiration from HJ

those of you that know me, know who HJ is, and those of you don't... HJ is my mama. those are her initials, and she is fabulous.

after a super brief trip home i snapped some pics of what she has done to her home recently, and i have to say... she has really gone for it and broken all the rules. i'm loving what they have done to the house, and i think you will too...

sry i don't have the before pics, it was beautiful... but the afters... they're downright gorgeous!!!

she did a beautiful crackle finish on their master bathroom cabinets, and then painted the walls black with metallic accents, and new granite! its so pretty

(my family does faux finishes,

so painting and refinishing things is

a normal part of our day-to-day lives,

 hence the many paint color changes in my home)

over the bathtub, so glam!

and then the guest bathroom collection of vintage hand mirrors

they're all so unique!

and how Mama does her Christmas mantle:

(she painted that phrase from

"the night before Christmas"

and added holly leaves to it,

it might have something to do with her name?!? just sayin...)

 this picture is dark and totally does not do the color justice,

its literally "granny smith apple" green... yes

in the kitchen!!!

its bright, fun, and a great color...

like nothing i've seen her do before,

and she does it so well

and, while she was on a painting kick,

she did the back entry and laundry room

presidential blue

(this is the room you vaguely see in the picture above)

it looks incredible, i don't know how you cant have fun in a kitchen/laundry room that is so stunning. isn't that what home is all about-- being surrounded by the things/colors that make you happy?!?

she is always doing something new and wonderful,

i love how bold and daring she is,

and how sweet daddy is to be on board

with whatever she wants.

their home is a place that people love to be,

my brother and i always had our

friends over growing up,

i think my parents started locking the front door

 after we moved out,

once people weren't constantly walking in --

they were so great to make a place that

we loved hanging out at,

and now they are doing some really great

 improvements that they deserve (and I LOVE)

long story short. i love my mom's style,

and i adore all the beautiful things she has done!

 kudos to you HJ!

going grey

once again, rather than taking down my Christmas decorations, i found something else to do.

except, this something-- well it is something i've been talking about doing for a while and was back and forth about a color.  a color for what you may ask? the green diamond accent wall in our living room. what to do?

ugh... brown or charcoal ?!?

here is the before:

(this was Christmas 2009)

when we moved in,

 we painted all the walls in the

living room/kitchen a neutral beige

{color: Nomadic Desert @ sherwin williams}

then,

i got bored.

and did this:

i wanted a little pizazz!

just a little something to brighten up the room

and make a statement, the green wall was lovely!

but, i got bored.

so, yesterday i did this:

bye bye green wall, hellooooooooo grey!!!

{color: Falcon @ wal mart, colorplace}

i love it.

its kinda hard to explain, but i'll give it a shot.

grey is complicated, it always has an undertone

its either

1. blue

2. purple

3. green

or 4. brown

and i wanted a grey with a brown or green undertone,

and i think it came out great

in fact,

i decided this might be a good color for our master bathroom

so, i just went ahead and painted that too.

excuse the towels, the walls are still wet

originally i wanted our master bathroom to match our room,

{bedroom color: sidewalk grey @ wal mart, color place}

but then,

i thought maybe the bathroom should be black.

(insert husband giving you the "you must be crazy" look here)

i'm glad i stuck with grey,

its crazy how much darker the bathroom looks,

i'm really happy with it!

now, time to do new mantle decor,

and decorate the bathroom!

happy friday :)

i promise to take the tree down by Valentine's Day

seriously, i hate that Christmas is over and it's now frowned upon to have a tree up... i'm just not over it yet. so instead of taking it down, i'm going to spend time blogging about all my favorite ornaments that i found... and maybe just one or two other lovely after-Christmas-sale finds...
so here we go, #1-3

apparently, i really like "WORD" ornaments.

word.

haha, lame joke.... okay, moving right along

top left: yes yes, a snowflake hairstylist ornament, if you look very close you'll see the little tiny shears (we call our scissors shears because they cost more than your basic fiskars from wally world) on each point of the snowflake, really... super cute! thanks mama!

bottom right: yes, i still love "word" ornaments -- literally LOVE. haha... lame again!

this little cutie is from NOLA

this was a gift from a hospital chaplain in honor of my aunt Sherrie, who passed away from breast cancer this past october. i'll prob trade out the blue ribbon for a pink one, i think its very sweet.

i think this one is gorgeous!!!

i found it half price at a boutique

(the marketplace, at frisco square) 

and of course, a wedding ornament

my mama actually painted blonder highlights on the bride, and well... they just dont so much make bald grooms-- i think the ornament people should make more diverse looks on their wedding couples.

i love this precious little bird :)

and the hairdryer... with glitter?

so so so perfect,

why cant real hairdryers have glitter all over them?

and you cant go wrong with a chandelier ornament

hubby attached this one to one of my gifts, i thought it was really pretty

i won this at our sunday school Christmas party, pretty pretty!!!

and, last but certainly not least...

here are our lovely "old" stockings

and ...

here are the new ones that i had my eye on for 2 months and just couldnt bring myself to pay $45 each (even though i hear thats a good deal, it just seemed a bit much) so, when they went 1/2 price... i decided to go for it--- and here they are:

i just cant get over how stunning they are,

and... bigger than the old ones,

MORE ROOM FOR PRESENTS!!!

and...

just because he is too cute for words,

my sweetie pie Coach

so, there you have it bloggy friends...

i'm avoiding taking the tree down, i'm enjoying every new ornament and my new stockings, and maybe perhaps... i'll take it down sometime this month.

doubt it.