It's silly...

...how excited a I am about my new organizer! I found it at Target and it's, like, a kit. They have a few different designs of notebooks to choose from and then they have different inserts you can choose.



Today I got filler paper and pocket dividers:


A close-up of the pattern on the dividers:


I can't wait to fill it up!

Last Weekend/My 50th Post!

Does that count as a bloggiversary? (I decided that would have two Gs, since anniversary has two Ns. I think it's airtight.) Well, then happy bloggiversary to me! And you - congratulations on putting up with my rambling for this long.

Okay - so this weekend will have it's own blog, but I never did put up my pictures from last weekend. I went to Fredericksburg by myself. I used to like shopping by myself. I think I would rather have company now. Even if it's Michael who has about a tenth of the shopping stamina that I have. (And that's a generous estimation.) But we compromise and he goes to the stores I want to go to if I just don't make him go to very many. It works out.

But last weekend he was watching football and so I did not drag him along with me. I just took my camera and headed out of town. It was actually pretty fun. I went to trade days. I didn't take many pictures there, but here's a couple of things I saw:

If you need soda bottles, the booth in the back left corner is the place to go. There were HUNDREDS of them!

Head straight back from the entrance if you want lanterns. They've got 'em!

A tip - wear shorts. I was the only fool there in jeans and even though it was a relatively pleasant day, it got hot real fast. But if you find yourself in that situation, the frozen strawberry lemonade is very refreshing. It's in a food truck on the right side.

The strangers walking by laughed at me for taking a picture of my lemonade. But it was really pretty. They just don't understand.

I did go into Fredericksburg and hit some of the shops. I bought one candle holder and some nice measuring spoons. Mine got chewed up by the garbage disposal. Then on the way back, I stopped at a vegetable stand and bought some green tomatos for frying.



I also saw many pumpkins. Some people were already buying them. Isn't it a little early? Seems like they would be at least a little shrivelly by the time Halloween gets here. But they are cute:




Then we watched some 24, Season 5. I am soooo glad that Aaron was okay. And that good won again. But mostly that Aaron was okay. The other deaths that season were already very difficult and I would've had to write a letter if they'd killed him, too.

New TV Too!

There ain't no party like a Liz Lemon party cuz a Liz Lemon party is MANDATORY.

Seriously - you should watch 30 Rock. No one but Michael agrees with me. I don't know that I've found anyone else who likes it. Am I forgetting someone? Is there someone I haven't mentioned it to?

I'm also excited about Big Bang Theory! Anybody? Anybody? You know you love it! I watched Mike and Molly on Monday night. It was cute and it has Sookie from Gilmore Girls. She's still so cute and hi-larious. Here's a good preview (I think you'll have to cut and paste it.):

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/mike_and_molly/video/?pid=_RDz4keRCNYjdgPjYgY6Q0z3N_F7hjiU

Fall Issue!

I'm so glad fall is here! (Even if it doesn't feel like it outside yet.) Here's one reason why:



The fall issue. I agree with Kate that it is their best yet! Have fun flipping through it! And get ready to come to my fancy fall garden party. You're going to need a sparkly dress so start shopping!

www.southernflourish.com

Look What I Can Do!

Okay - so I can't do it all by myself. There was some significant help from the husband department and even a little from Todd, I believe (although all I saw him do was sit and watch Michael work...I'm just sayin'.)

I needed a nightstand for the middle bedroom, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy something that wasn't going to last. However, I also did not want to spend a lot of money. That leaves a girl with one option - refurb!

So Michael went with me and we waded through a ton of truly nasty resale shops on Burnet road. Then we found one that didn't reek and bought this nightstand on the recommendation of the ten year old volunteer salesgirl who guaranteed us that it would be a really nice piece with a fresh coat of paint.



We had one week before company, so that's how long this project was allowed to take. First, Michael (and maybe Todd) sanded the old, nasty yellow paint off.



Then I primed it. I used the garage as my workshop. That's why there are garbage cans in some of my pictures.



I was totally smiling like that the whole time I worked, too. Then I painted it white.



Then I filled in some details with a tan that matched the bedding I picked out. Ta Da!



Turns out the ten year old salesgirl was right.

Shoes...and their magic!

Boys are going to laugh at this blog...probably the loudest will be my husband. He doesn't understand shoes.

I can remember looking at different pairs of shoes when I was little. I mean, like as I was wearing them. I remember the hyper color pair I had. White with embroidery that was also white inside, but turned pink when you went outside. I definitely remember standing inside, then going out and watching them turn pink. And then going inside until the pink faded and doing it all over again. I believe at least part of the embroidery was a butterfly.

I remember talking about my "fast" shoes. I don't know what they looked like, but I think every kid has a pair of "fast" shoes at some point. But mine really were faster than my other shoes.

I also had (if I'm not making this memory up) a pair of white cowgirl boots. Again, if I'm not making this up Daddy would sing Rhinestone Cowboy when I wore them. Only he would change the lyrics to Rhinestone Cowgirl. I was actually a little confused when I heard that song recently. 'I thought it was a cowgirl...'

Of course, our back to school shopping for many years included a new pair of white Keds. Anybody else? Besides Brandi, I mean? I know you had them.

I remember a pair of Clarks leather slides from middle school. The black chunky heels I wore to my first dance. And some J.Crew suede and wood clogs that I wore my senior year in high school. I wore them when I went to visit Brandi at Baylor and I thought I must look soooo grown up! Some glow-in-the-dark Saucony sneakers I had on during a black out in a class at Baylor. I could seriously go on and on. In fact...I must mention The Beautiful Shoes. They were my first black heels and they were (and are) beautiful. They're just a little well-loved now.

So now black heels are my version of white Keds. I must always have a presentable pair that's not too worn down on the outside of the tips. Apparently I'm not a level walker. My shoe funds tend to be a little limited, so I don't have a stock pile of white, fringed cowgirl boots or embroidered sneakers, but I did happen upon these Happy Red Flats this weekend while we were shopping for my dad's bday present. Sorry Daddy. We got distracted!



Today was ridiculous. It started out with hurricane rain and even now as I'm getting ready for bed, there's rain and thunder and lightning outside my window. I seriously considered not wearing my Happy Red Flats this morning for fear of ruining them in the rain, but I am sooo glad I did! They totally got me through! 'Ugh! This traffic!' 'Gross! My hair!' 'Argh! My customers!' In between each of those exclamations there was a little 'Yay! My shoes!' And I would look under my desk and see my Happy Red Flats. It's another shoe memory I'll always have.

P.S. - Even better - they were on sale! How's that for happy?!