Friday, February 25, 2011

HAPPY

Remember the Friday Five? Check this out. Here's five reasons why life is so good right now:

1. Going to a Casino night tonight!

2. Seeing Spring Awakening tomorrow afternoon

3. Heading home to visit with friends and family for a long weekend (this is the last time they have to catch a plane to come home!)

4. Making a big purchase soon (can you guess what it is?)

5. Today I am wearing jeans that I haven’t worn since 2008! Woohoo!!

Hope your weekend is splendid!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

BOOTED

Last night we had a boot-scootin' bunko at Haley's house. There were bandanas everywhere and BBQ for everyone. We even drank homemade lemonade from mason jars!

Even though there was no prize for best costume, Mary Byrne brought the goods with her super authentic hat, shirt, boots and (fake) pistol. We couldn't decide who she resembled more: Garth Brooks, Terri Clark or Jessie Spano!

Also, a special shout-out to Missy, who is due in five days but still moseyed on out to a country bunko. We can't wait to meet Miss Ellie!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

OVERJOYED

There has been some exciting news in my neck of the woods lately.

These two are getting in a car (just like the one pictured behind them!) and MOVING! BACK! HOME!!!!
As you can imagine, my mom and I are besides ourselves with glee. There's still a lot of unknown factors to be worked out, but yesterday marked one month until Jamie begins his new job which means they are less than a month from home!!

I am heading home the latter half of the weekend to visit and tag along on the house hunting. Originally, this was just a social trip home for everyone to see one another, but with this news, it has turned into more of a business trip for them with a lot of important tasks to be accomplished! Either way, I am happy to see them and have the chance to stamp my approval on where they will be living, since YES MOM, I will be staying there occasionally when I come to town. Especially when there will be a baby niece or nephew waiting on me to snuggle. But first things first.

Yay for everyone being nearby(ish)!

PS- That's not really their car. Teeheehee.

Monday, February 21, 2011

BOWLED

This weekend was super fun. I visited a place in town that I never really knew existed and met up with some old friends.

First the old friends. Meet Mitzi, Fatz and Billy Bob.

You may better know them by their unofficial name – “those things from Showbiz!!!”
My sister and I LIVED for Showbiz when we were small. It was our favorite place to go. I remember being in adoration (and in slight fear) of these robots because I just knew they were real. Just seeing them now makes me crave pizza.

Mitzi Mozzerella looks like she’s been around the block a time or two. Tattered, torn sweater, missing a pompom and what kind of cold sore is that on her lip?! Poor Mitzi didn’t really move around a lot but she was standing upright and it looks like that’s as much as we should expect from her.

But Billy Bob… he makes Mitzi look like a prom queen. His right arm looks broken beyond repair, he’s got a lazy eye to end all lazy eyes, and he and Mitzi must be getting it on when the curtain is closed because they have matching cold sores. Lucky for him, his banjo still has all of its strings!
Fatz, the keyboard player (middle), looks like he’s doing just fine. Other than playing nightly at the Hillwood Strike & Spare, it looks like time has treated him pretty well. And Looney Bird was there too, but he was dead in his trash can. Poor bird.

Did y’all know there are tons of these things still in existence? Apparently they pop up on eBay now and again. One fan has taken it upon himself to set up an entire stage of characters and program them to sing all kinds of things. "Love in this Club" by Usher, "London Bridge" by Fergie... all kinds of fun stuff. Check out his YouTube channels here and here.

ANYWAY. Back to the whole reason I was AT the Hillwood Strike & Spare to begin with. To bowl with friends. What a blast!! Though I was by far the WORST bowler probably in the whole building, including the little toddler a few lanes over using a ramp and lane bumpers, I still had fun. Did you know Elliott can bowl as well as he dances?

Ryan doesn’t dance, but does bowl pretty darn well.

Afterward, we headed back to Ryan’s house for more mischief. Everyone, meet Simba.

Simba is the neighbor’s cat, which to some people means STRAY. Feral or not, I loved on this kitty like he was my own. Then, Evan arrived from a week's worth of travel and clearly, Simba and I were glad to see him. Cue the Christmas card photo shoot:
It was a ton of fun! Hope you had a great weekend!

Friday, February 18, 2011

SWAGGED

Regarding my thoughts on the trees, this sums it up:

Or at least it will, when/if they have to uproot the poor tree.

But speaking of Auburn, look what arrived at my front door this week: my BCS swag! And let me tell you, it took real restraint to just choose two items.


Planning to try another run this weekend and yes, GO SEE THE JUSTIN BIEBER MOVIE. Anyone want to come with?

Thursday, February 17, 2011

OBVIOUS

I will not write about the Trees.
I will not write about the Trees.
I will not write about the Trees.
I will not write about the Trees.
I will not write about the Trees.
I will not write about the Trees.
I will not write about the Trees.
I will not write about the Trees.
I will not write about the Trees.
I will not write about the Trees.



I forgot to include something in the list of really unbelievable things I did this weekend. Here's #4: had a Cougar Town marathon. Ha! That actually happened. I had like 20 episodes on my DVR, all unwatched, from March of last year to now, and decided to get after it. Maybe watching Matthew Perry's new show (which was great!) inspired me. Anyway, I am glad I finally got around to watching those episodes. Courteney Cox is a hoot.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

THRIFTY

In this week's edition of the Most Boring News ever, guess who tried her hand at some more couponing this weekend? Get excited. I did okay for a rookie.

After reviewing the weekly ad notes, I went in after Kraft dressing, Coffeemate creamer, Ritz crackers, Rold Gold pretzels and Cheerios. Welcome to my meal plan - Eric Dunlap, hold your tongue. Of those five things, two were 2/$5 (That's TWO ITEMS FOR FIVE DOLLARS if you hate coupon lingo like me), two were B1G1 (BUY ONE GET ONE) and the Cheerios were not on sale but I had a$1.50 coupon that was expiring today. I also had a competitor's coupon for the Coffeemate, and a manufacturer's coupon for the crackers and dressing. I got tricked with the dressing. I thought it was on sale, but turns out just the 24 oz bottles were on sale and my $1/2 (ONE DOLLAR OFF WHEN YOU BUY 2 ITEMS) coupon was good for the 14 oz. Plus, and more importantly, the kind of dressing I wanted did not come in the gallon size 24 oz bottle. But since my coupon was expiring soon, and I do use the dressing all the time, I went ahead and bought two at full price (THE SHAME!!!) but with my coupon!

I also impulsively picked up some peanut butter (I know, so reckless of me) because last time I bought Kroger brand to save a buck and I hate it. But don't think I haven't made myself eat the entire jar. Luckily I'm almost to the bottom and the delicious and superior Jif was on sale so I snapped it up.

I spent $30 dollars and some change, but saved $15 with my little coupons and the sales. Not too shabby, eh? Good thing I like peanut butter and crackers for dinner when I'm not whipping up delicious meals for one. I also am realizing the value of stocking up of stuff. I'm sure I will use two boxes of Ritz crackers eventually, but at $2 a pop after my coupon, it's a good deal.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled non-boring blogging.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

FLOWERED

Yesterday, someone did a very nice thing.

Pictures don’t do these justice. They really might be the prettiest, most artful arrangement of flowers I’ve ever gotten. And they smell amazing, which is awesome. But the best part about these flowers is what you CAN’T see.

What this picture does not show is that they were sent from a very dear friend, who from the kindness of his heart, wanted to brighten my day. So unexpected, so generous. I wish I was that kind of amazing. As he put it, he “figured out the key to a happy Valentine's Day. Instead of worrying about how your day is/will be, make someone else's day.” Mission very, very, very accomplished.

Monday, February 14, 2011

GUESSED

Instead of a simple weekend recap, let’s play a guessing game!

Which of the following DID NOT occur this weekend?

1. I was running errands on Saturday. I was at my fourth stop: Best Buy Lie. It was a quick trip in and out because I couldn’t find what I needed (shocking). I came out and went to my car… only it wasn’t there. I walked around the lot for several minutes, up and down the rows, pressing the panic button, which wasn’t going off. Nothing was happening. My car was stolen!!!! I actually called 911, y'all. They told me to call the non-emergency number, and while that line was ringing, guess what I saw? My car. Sheepishly, I jumped inside and drove straight home for a nap.

2. Since the weather was so pretty this weekend, I decided to get outside and go for a run on Sunday. I’m paying the price today with a little stiffness, but I did MUCH better than I thought I would on my first run in a very long time. Of the entire time I was out, I ran for all but 10 minutes of it (two 5-minute walk breaks), which is amazing! How encouraging! I hate finding out I’ve been worried for nothing. I hope to get into the habit again... but I feel like I have said that 100 times since the race. Maybe it'll stick this time.

3. I won the lottery.


Obviously, if you guessed number 3, you are correct. I did not win the lottery… not this weekend anyway. However, after realizing my car was NOT stolen, and going for a really good run, I do feel like I came out on top of things.

Friday, February 11, 2011

HEALTHY

Last night, Evan hosted me and Kate for dinner at his house before he leaves a month of traveling for work (okay, not really, but close). Of the many things I appreciate about Evan, high on the list are the skills and traits he possesses that I do not, including the ability to improvise in the kitchen and successfully navigate a new recipe.

See, my sister gave me some advice a while back that I subscribe to. “Never try a new recipe when you’re feeding others.” I was choosing a meal to make for a new mother and was going to try a particular casserole dish for the first time. I’m glad I didn’t, because when I did end up making it, it wasn’t all that great. Evan, however, throws caution to the wind and makes the majority of his new recipes for others. You go, Glen Coco.

So yesterday, he picked up a cooking magazine at Kroger, saw a side dish he liked, and made it for us that night. Naturally, we loved it and so he happily shared the recipe with his two eager guests!

Lemon Couscous with Broccoli
4 cups fresh broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup uncooked whole wheat couscous
2 garlic cloves, minced
1¼ cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp dried basil
¼ ground black pepper
1Tbsp slivered almonds, toasted

In a large skillet, sauté broccoli in oil until crisp-tender. Add couscous and garlic, sauté 1-2 minutes longer. Stir in everything but the almonds and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 5—10 minutes or until broth is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and sprinkle with the almonds.
Couscous was served alongside pork medallions with chipotle raspberry glaze. Delicious!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

SHOPPED

The rumor mill is churning in Nashville lately. The Pottery Barn at our "nice" mall recently closed up shop. One story is that the mall did not want to renew the store's lease because the store wasn't "nice" enough for this mall, which is pretty funny if you think about it: this mall does have a Tiffany & Co., but it also has a Claire's and Express. So if a Pottery Barn isn't ritzy enough...? The press is reporting that the store itself chose not to renew its lease. But the most likely story is that since this PB was a pretty big store, mall management decided they could make more money by giving the space to three smaller tenants. You may have heard of them. Michael Kors, David Yurman and Tory Burch are all moving in later this summer.

A large bookstore that was attached the mall also closed in December, so another rumor is that an H&M is going to go in that vacant spot. And they've been working on building out a Nordstrom onto the mall since 2009.

Which leaves one question: where's the Ikea going to go?

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

FIVE

Happy birthday, blog! If you were a child, you'd be a walking, potty-trained, adorable little kindergartner. Named Sanders or some derivation of it.

What's been your favorite post of the 1,034 that have been published? A staggering 186 didn't make the cut, by the way (thank you "save now" button). The Carrie story? The half-marathon saga? Anything with a FRIENDS reference?

Thanks for reading.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

TRUE

After yesterday's Tim Tebow confession, my loyalty to Cam was called into question.

Let me put it like this: there have only ever been two men to be wallpaper on my phone, and here's number 2 - literally:
That also answers any questions as to why I am looking at my phone so much lately. Odds are, I'm just looking at Cam.

Monday, February 07, 2011

WEEKENDED

What a busy weekend I had! Don't you want to hear all about it?

Friday, I trotted down to the Cannery to see Josh Radin's show. Who is Josh Radin? Well, some of you may know him from his performance on Ali's season of the Bachelor. I have been listening to him for a few years now. So long that I don't even remember how I found him. But I have a handful of songs from each of his albums, so I jumped at the chance to finally see him live. He was quite the little performance artist: for his finale, he jumped off-stage and sang a song in the very middle of the audience. I couldn't really hear him, partially because he wasn't using a mic, and also because the back half of the room was apparently just there to socialize and didn't care about hearing Josh. Talkers...

Saturday morning, I headed to a baby shower for my friend Missy. She is a friend whom I met through bunko, and is now one of my closest friends in Nashville! (Start a bunko group! You won't regret it!) Missy and her husband are having a little girl near the end of the month and so it was fun to see friends and celebrate the upcoming arrival of little baby Ellie.

You've also heard me talk about Julia a lot on this blog. Look what Julia, aka Martha Stewart on steroids, whipped up for me to give to Missy and Brett. A side for Mommy:
And a side for Daddy:
Brett is a huuuuuge LSU fan, and Missy is equally passionate about her Tennessee Vols. So this little rabbit will pull double duty during football season. Clever, right? If you've had a baby in the past year, you probably got a rabbit from me, handmade by Julia, but this little one really takes the cake! Let me know if you want Julia's contact info - she takes custom orders!

Another friend made this gorgeous diaper bouquet, which I had never seen before so I had to take a picture and ask a million questions. PINTEREST VISITORS: I DID NOT MAKE THIS. I HAVE NEVER MADE ONE IN MY LIFE. I SIMPLY TOOK A PICTURE OF IT. THE ONLY INSTRUCTIONS I HAVE ARE AS FOLLOWS: The diapers are rolled around wooden skewers and secured with clear rubber bands, and then pushed into a foam ball which is hidden and wedged into the vase. Accent with tulle. Isn't it pretty? I have such talented friends.
Sunday, I went to my friend Rachael's house to snuggle with her new baby Logan. He was wide awake and wanted to sit up and participate in our conversation... until we got boring and he fell asleep on me. Swoon!!! I love sweet babies and sweet friends.

I went to the gym, which was near empty for the first time in a long time, and then passed the hours leading up to the new episode of Glee by cleaning my apartment! Occasionally I stopped to watch the interesting parts of the game, like the pre-game debacle show, the halftime spectacular (I LIKED IT) and the commercials. And just in time for Glee, my apartment was clean and tidy.

Oh! One other thing I did this weekend: I finally got around to watching Tim Tebow's "Everything In Between" documentary that I had DVRed. Ummmm Y'ALL. Cam Newton will always be my #1, but Tim is now officially my second favorite athlete. Maybe even my second favorite male. Yes, the more I think about it, those two have certainly bumped JT, Clay and W down a few notches. But that's not the point.

The point IS that the documentary was really interesting. It chronicled the 100-day or so window in between his final game as a Gator and the moment he was announced as the 25th pick in the 2010 NFL draft. It covers him choosing and signing with an agent, training (IN NASHVILLE, whaaaaat?) for the Senior Bowl and his media day in Gainesville, where he unveiled the famous tweaks to that already near flawless throw of his. Maybe it was all the weight room shirtless shots that did it, but I am DEFINITELY aboard the Tebow Train now. He's just such a great kid. Analyst after analyst said he wouldn't go any higher than the third round... proved them wrong! I wish they would do a similar documentary for Cam. But until then, watch Tim's and be amazed. I checked - it comes on TV again February 18. I'll save you a seat on the Train. Wow. I did not mean to type that much about Tim Tebow. Oh well. PS - he may have hired an agent, but I don't think he's hired a publicist....

Friday, February 04, 2011

TRICKED

So you know how Starbucks announced their new cold drink sized beverage, the Trenta? I just saw this online and burst out laughing. Look what else the Trenta is good for:
That would be an entire bottle of wine with room to spare. Better make sure your coworker is actually drinking coffee in his or her cup!

Tuesday, February 01, 2011

SENSORY

I live in a small apartment complex. The walls are very thin.

The gentleman that lives beside me goes out a lot at night, usually right when I am getting ready for bed.

He keeps his cologne in the medicine cabinet. He puts it on in his bathroom.

Which means when it's my bedtime and I open my medicine cabinet to get my toothbrush, I also get to smell his cologne.

It's the same cologne C used to wear.

I am thinking about leaving some new, different cologne outside his doorstep. Any suggestions?

In the mean time, if you need me, I'll have my head inside my medicine cabinet.

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