And All Is Right in the Universe

Maybe once or twice a season I stumble right into the "hallelujah moment" while I'm thrifting. This such moment happened to me last week. Look. at. what. I. found.

I know. Can you believe it? Tapestry covered sky high wedges. After the stardust settled I thought, "yeah, well, they're not my size. I just know they're not". What? They were? Yes! The angels came down from heaven and gently placed them in my buggy far far away from anyone elses reach. This fabulous find put an extra spring in my step for days and days. I couldn't wait to style them up. I grabbed my denim ballerina dress and added a vintage pink button up and headed out the door. I got so many compliments on them throughout the day. Whenever anyone said anything I had to go into my whole spiel about how I found them and how unbelievable it was. Of course, they thought I was crazy but they placated me for a bit and smiled like you would at the little old lady that can't figure out the red box machine at the grocery store. There goes that old crazy shoe lady, they would sigh.

Necklace: Charlotte Russe; Everything else: Thrifted!

Blue Gray

Top/Dress: Thrifted, Gray Skirt: NY&Co, Belt & Heels: Thrifted

I was happy that I squeezed in these quick photos in between rain storms. We have been having some awesome thunder showers lately. It cooled it off quite a bit today and it kept raining on into late afternoon. Can you tell I'm chewing gum? Ha! And it was sour gum to boot so it was a little tough to keep a straight face. Anyway, I've never shot in front of this old wall and I can't believe I haven't. I love it! Beautiful bright colors! My outfit was so blah gray but when I stood in front of this wall it was like a fireball of color hit me square in the jaw. Or maybe it's just the sour gum.

Yup. It's the gum. Just look at this silliness.

DIY: Customize Your Body Lotion

I don't know about you but I have a hard time with finding a body lotion that #1) I like the fragrance and #2) provides sufficient moisture. If I do find one that I like the smell of, it doesn't really continue to moisturize throughout the day. If I do find one that really keeps my skin nice and smooth, it generally comes in a standard smell like cocoa butter or shea butter - which - don't get me wrong, smells good, but sometimes you just want that fancy fragrance of a nice perfume. Plus, I don't want to pay tons of money for body lotion because I go through it very fast. Let's face it ladies, when we have to moisturize from head to toe every other day or daily, those costs can rack up. Sometimes those super expensive body lotions are a wee bit over powering as well. I don't want someone to smell my body lotion before I even get in the room.

So, I decided to take my favorite no (or low) fragrance super duper moisturizing lotion and add my own custom fragrance to it.

Here's how I did it so you can create your own if you would like. This could make a very happy gift for a special someone too!

My all time favorite mositurizing lotion is good ole fashion cocoa butter. 

As for the fragrance portion, I first turn to Lavender. Lavender is a staple essential oil, one of my personal favorites and tends to be a smell that lots of other people like as well. I have a small collection of essential oils since I used to be an esthetician a few years ago. Essential oils are not that expensive and can be found at your local organic health food store or even online. You can start out with the basics and then build your collection over time.

Learning to mix and match your oils is pretty easy. Grab a few q-tips and put a different drop of oil on each one. Smell two at a time or three at a time to see which ones integrate the best with each other.

Whenever you decide what fragrances you like together or if you want to create several bottles of single notes (one fragrance) then turn your oil bottle upside down and let 10-15 drops of oil come out. There is no need to shake the bottle. Gravity will do the work.

If you want to create several different types, just squeeze out lotion into several glass bottles and top with a pump attachment (you can find those at the health food store too). You can see a blue bottle in the picture above. I just happen to have the spray attachment on it right now for body spray.

Finally, shake your lotion to evenly distribute your lotion and give it a try! If you desire a stronger fragrance, just drop some more oil in and give it another good shake.

Ta da! Your own customized body lotion built to your nose's liking! 

New Orleans

I had a post a couple days ago about The New Orleans Bingo Show that Brian and I caught for his birthday celebration weekend. I really wanted to go all out for the show so I tried to put something together that was fun to wear and showcased a bit of my wilder side. I was very happy with the outcome!

 Cry Baby t-shirt: can't remember! Yellow Tank: Thrifted, Black Miniskirt & Indian Bangles: NY&Co, Boots: Steve Madden, Socks: Gap, Faux Glasses: Icing, Bag: Thrifted

 

Photos by Brian - thanks sweets :) Hope you had a great b-day

The New Orleans Bingo Show

Brian and I went out to celebrate his birthday over the weekend. I had got us tickets to see The New Orleans Bingo Show at a new venue The Magnetic Field that just opened up in town. I am so glad we went because it ended up being an incredible show. I think it has solidified our intentions to get married in New Orleans. The energy of the show was through the roof. The vocals were spot on and the silent movie actors were so entertaining. There was a projection screen up in the background that played reels of old films, snow static, and cartoons. A perfect addition to the maniac mix of jazz, big band, and cabaret. If these guys come close to your hometown, I definitely recommend it. You even get to play bingo! But let me just say - I'm glad I didn't win :)

Here's a few shots from the show!

There were three bingo winners. And the winners......had to have a robot dance off. Catherine, the little lady in the middle, was the grand prize winner. She got a very, very large boot that doubled as a flower vase. They gave her lovely flowers....until they ripped all the blooms off and left her with stems and rubble. But she was still a very happy winner! The best at robot dancing for sure.

Lead singer - or Ring Leader - as he's better known, Clint Maedgen, played what seemed to be an Etherwave Theremins. I've never seen this instrument played before in person. Asheville, NC is a mecca for Moog and his legacy so it was pretty neat to finally be a part of a show like this. I know I'm a little late in the Moog game, but hey, better late than never right?

Current Obsessions

Pinstripe Top: Kmart, Skinny Jeans: NY&Co, Polka dot Scarf & Pink Flats: Thrifted; Goodwill, Rose Earrings: handmade, local

Current obsessions:

1. Scarves

2. Brightly colored shoes

AND.....

3. Books on cd!!!

This unauthorized biography of Oprah by Kitty Kelley was wonderful. Oprah is such a powerful woman who came from such a discouraging background. What an inspirational story. Yeah, yeah it was unauthorized but you understand why as the story comes about. Books on cd - definitely a new obsession because I am already looking for my next one.

Fancy Tuna Sammies

Technically the name of this recipe is Nicoise-Style Tuna Sandwiches, a french term for a tuna type salad with lots of other ingredients tossed in. But I basically considered this a tasty tuna sammie. Here's how we ate Saturday lunch:

Recipe:

1 (8 oz) crusty round bread, split

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 (5 oz) cans tuna (in water, drained)

1 hard cooked egg, peeled & chopped

2 scallions, thinly sliced (I used green onions)

8 pitted Kalamata olives, chopped

1 tsp capers, drained and finely chopped

2 tomatoes thinly sliced (I used some grape tomatoes too)

1/2 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves

First I sliced the bread roll in half and removed some of the extra bread. You can save the extra bread for bread crumbs for another recipe if you want.

Whisk together vinegar, oil, and pepper and brush over cut sides of bread

Flake tuna in a medium bowl. Stir in egg, scallions (or in my case - green onions), olives and capers (they stink!)

On bottom of bread, layer half of tomato slices and basil leaves.

 Spread tuna mixture on top of basil.

 Arrange remaining tomato slices and basil over tuna. Cover with top of bread.

The recipe calls for wrapping the sandwich in foil and refrigerating for 2 hours. But we were too hungry to wait! So I cut the bread roll into 4 wedges, just like you would cut a pie. 

I served it with dry roasted almonds and zucchini fries (recipe for zucchini fries coming soon!)

Yummy! It got thumbs up from the guys so this is definitely a recipe to repeat in the future.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday

To my best friend: 

You have held me close and you have given me courage.

You have been my shoulder to cry on and my confidant.

I am so very glad to be the one that can share another birthday with you. 

I hope you have a beautiful day to match your beautiful spirit.

We can walk through this life together. With the love and strength of God we can do anything together. I am truly blessed to have such a tender and caring man as you, Brian.

You are my favorite

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Tea Room

 Blouse: Modcloth, Trousers: Gap, Heels: Target, Belt: Thrifted

Hot and hot. Not me, of course, the weather. In the 90s. I realized the other day that August is really really approaching fast and I got extremely sad that the end of summer is closer than I imagined. No!! Summer just seems to go by so fast and the winter seems to last twice as long. I was thinking today that I really would like to have a mild winter since last year was full of snow, bad weather and freezing temps. Wouldn't it be great to skip winter all together? Ok, not really, but maybe knock a few months off of it.

I made a quick stop by The Village Tea Room to snap a couple of photos. This dainty little tea room is so precious. I got into a habit for a while of going here every year on my birthday for lunch. I haven't been in a while so I think that might be on the list for my birthday next month. They have the best quiche. The brunch is delicious and they always have the most mouth watering desserts! Eeep! Must go!

The Girl With the Red Pants

 Vest, Top & Pants: Thrifted, Bow Sandals: Modcloth, Flower pin: Thrifted

I adore these red pants. I really do. I may need to invest in a new pair very soon but I will get the best out of these for the time being. I loved pairing the bright red with a soft pink. Used to be such a no-no that pink and red thing. Throwing caution to the wind today!

Waste Not

 Top & Sweater: Gap (major sale!) Shorts & Bracelet: NY& Co, Necklace: Charlotte Russe, Sandals: Mia

Casual day with shorts and important plans of eating lots of Mexican food. Summertime: I love you.

Photos by Brian - thanks sweets!

Independence Day 2011

I had the best July 4th ever. Even though it has already come and gone, I still wanted to share my wonderful memories of last Monday. I am so happy and blessed with my beautiful family. I had a great time!!! Can't wait until next year!

First, we started with a July 4th parade in the tiny town of Montreat, NC. It was a quaint, adorable parade. The crowd shouted U-S-A! U-S-A!

 

 I never miss the opportunity to wear red, white and blue. It is one of my most favorite color combos. Love love!

 Dress, Earrings & Slip: Vintage, Belt: Thrifted, Hat: Target? Shoes: Etsy, Sunglasses: Dollar Store, Pin: Brian's

After the parade we gathered our energy for the walk back to the car. Unfortunately, these shoes gave me two horrid blisters after the hike in so I wasn't thrilled to give them another go on the way back. Oh well! No rest for the weary, I guess! We had to get to the pool....and have a picnic, of course.

We played in the pool for a while until we were a bit famished. Yummy sandwiches, ants on a log, goldfish, carrots and bananas were on the menu.

The lifeguard blew his whistle after an hour or so after we got back in because he heard some thunder. So we packed up a little earlier than expected but turns out it gave us some extra time to get ready for the festival and fireworks.

Lots of great things to do at the festival. Here is some fun with paints. I enjoyed this one myself. Maybe more than the bubble station? :)

 

 Riley took this one!

 

Riley got to jump in the bouncy house for what seemed to be hours. We drew pictures with chalk on the sidewalk and Riley had a little too much blue cotton candy.

He just had to get his face painted....twice!

We hung out at the festival until the sun started to set. Then we grabbed a few delicious hot dogs...and some ice cream(!) and headed down to the grass to toss down a blanket and enjoy the fireworks. I didn't quite get spectacular fireworks pics because they were too beautiful in real life to be behind the camera! Here are a few that I (and Riley) took throughout the show. I hope you had a good holiday weekend as well!