It's Doppelgänger week......

If you've seen famous celebrities pop up in your facebook friend list....well it's doppelgänger week. A doppelgänger is a look-alike and the term is used to describe the sensation of having glimpsed oneself in peripheral vision, in a position where there is no chance that it could have been a reflection.

My doppelgänger is Misha Barton....those of you that know me, do you agree??

All along the watchtower.....

Check out this watch bracelet. Thanks, Mom. Courtesy of Anthro, we made one...if you would like one comment for more details.

Best regards...

I stumbled across this vintage tradition in Lucky of all places. As of recent the mag is mixing modern and vintage to create unique and lasting looks. The REGARD ring is once such find, while it comes in many forms and fashions below is a traditional example. The ring contains a seven stones that spell regard--the ruby, emerald, garnet, amethyst, ruby and diamond.

Miss Merrick.....

Heidi Merrick's new line is ab fab. I adore how all the pieces flow together seamlessly exuding a bohemian vibe with structure.

Here's to Monday!

I have mixed emotions about another long week, but I am ready!

I heart this!

Loving the new Diet Coke can :)

I do, but you don't....

Some days I wonder what makes some people do the right thing and others the wrong. While no one is perfect, it is our duty to do try our hardest to do the right thing. This weekend definitely left me questioning the good in people, reconsidering friendships, considering cancelling parties, and wondering if some people lack a moral compass......as Jack Johnson said, "Where'd all the good people go?"

Piece of my heart.

Here's a photo of the heart pound cake I baked for the first quarter birthday celebration at work. The pan is compliments of Williams Sonoma. Yum!

Awesome-ness.

Bittersweet. I taught my final third grade Junior Achievement class today. The lesson plan included learning about a bank and its role in the community. I reviewed the basics...check, deposit, teller, and debit cards. Basic, I know. The lesson plan was very straightforward walking me through the worksheets where the children would learn to fill out checks. Little did I know that this task would prove to be a bit more complicated than I imagined. I had to think on my toes when I saw some kids err in writing their numbers. I held a quick review on the white board walking them through numbers (tens, hundreds, thousands) and how to correctly spell out the number on a check. Who knew? Teaching is a constant learning experience. The unexpected will no doubt occur, but it's moments of clarity when students grasp the concepts and really learn that make it worth it. You know you are making a difference even it's its for a brief moment.

The children (with the help of their teacher) got me a sweet gift. A vase filled with apples, one of which all the students signed, and a card. I will miss teaching the third grade, but in a few weeks I will have a Kindergarten class ready and raring to learn. :) Can't wait!

Happy Bird Day!

How apropos I send out an email today reminding the office of our quarterly birthday celebration...and what airs today on TBS but The Office birthday episode. Happy Bird Day! It makes me want to make a card for fellow Office watchers or a cake like this. Hilarious, but no, I'm going with classic Red velvet, Pound Cake and David's Millionaire pie (yuck! But it's what he wants).

Room Service

Bloomi's has launched The Big Window Challenge featuring Apartment Therapy and Elle Decor. Designers were invited to design window displays for the store.

1. Bloomingdales: This New York City apartment-inspired space is inhabited by a sophisticated travel magazine editor who collects objects from around the world. The room as an early 1960's sensibility, combining modern furnishings with a grass cloth wall covering and appliqué fabric as the window treatment. It's a mix of primitive, Asian, folk art and photography in an urban environment—all anchored by a custom-patterned area rug. 2. Elle Decor--featuring Eddie Ross (former MSL editor): The signature space shimmers with a mix of classic and modern, new and old, together with a balance of bold patterns and vibrant colors. A spatter-paint print, like stars in an endless sky, reflects the owner’s love of travel to wide-open spaces, and her passion for sparkling evenings at home entertaining friends and family.

3. Apartment Therapy: The Writer's Library, inspired by my friend, Amor, is a dark, bookish den in which a romantic dinner has been surprisingly set for a female guest. The room is piled high with books and features items that may have come from far off travels. The side walls are painted faux bookcases for this display and inspired by the Studiolo at the MET. The room decor centers on the large, leather Ralph Lauren chair, the memorable Neisha Crosland wallpaper and Michele Varian's funky, steampunk style.

Date with destiny.

This weekend is Mall Ball and I am still {sadly!} debating going. Indecision is one of my weakness {shhh! Don't tell!} and I keep going back and forth about whether or not to go. Yes, I know I would have a great time, but I don't want to walk in by myself. Sure I am fairly independent {for the most part} but I do like showing up to formal events with a date, and this happens to be one such event. I know I'll likely have to go to the PYP Annual Meeting sans 'plus one' as it's a month and a half out and I have not set a date and that is stressing me.

I may be lacking a guy for the evening but I do have a few dress options up my sleeve. One of which is this BCBG jumpsuit. It looks a little different {more dress like} and you don't even notice it is pants, and I'd leave off the shades, necklace and flats.My second option is this silver sequined BCBG number....I have a few more picks but did not take the time to search for a photo on the inet. Now all that's left is for me to "MAD" make a decision. To go or not to go.....I guess if I'm going by myself I should look cute so no one notices. I'll be with a bunch of couples.....I'm basically the eleventh wheel if there ever was one. Oh, what to do?

Book it!

Sure I like new technology as much as the next person, but sometimes I can't stand looking at a shiny piece of silver...BookBook solves the problem by creating a slim cover for your MacBook. Genius. Makes me want a Mac.

Monday....Monday...

A Monday mix.

New shoes on...

Or new school rather. I must have facebook on the brain, as I desperately want to update my photo but I need a {creative} photographer to get some good shots. Either that or I need to redownload all my photos from my camera. I lost all photos in the great computer crash of 2010. I really want a shoe photo rather than a face photo...but I don't want a suggestive shoe photo {if you get my drift}. I did some flickr searches and found a few options.....Number 2 and 4 are my top choices.

Facebook stalking....

Nothing like a little facebook stalking, while most people might check up on their friends I choose to add pages, so I can view store update like these from Anthro. I adore Anthropologie, although most of my clothes are Banana, J.Crew and BCBG...plus jeans. Anthro is something completely different--a complete freedom of expression. I remember I was planning on posting about these floral creations but forgot to remind myself.While in Atlanta with Miss Claire I jetted into Anthro for a brief moment following dinner and spotted these genius flowers created from recycled plastic cups. These are from the Miami store, but the ATL Lennox store had a similar vibe.
Love the creative genius that is Anthro.

Pachyderm parade....

In this political season it is important to subtly hint at which side of party lines you lie on and what better way to do so than with a chic accessory. With their bohemian flair, elephants can easily be incorporated into a multitude of outfits. Look at all these options.....Below from J.Crack. I even sneak a brooch onto my clothes to hint at my Republican roots.

Stick it....

Great....am I really doing this again? I felt like crap....really hungover (and I most definitely was not) at 6 one morning....then I felt nauseous the rest of the day and had a horrible head ache. I had a fleeting thought that I felt like I was having blood sugar issues. I drug my monitor out of my bathroom drawer and pricked my finger 199.....2 and a half hours following my oatmeal feeding. It should have normalized by then. Typically it would be between 80 and 150ish...but 199. I packed the device in my bag and took my sugars throughout the day. Finally it slacked off around Noon. So...yes I am pricking and sticking my finger religiously....and to think all my prick scars had disappeared and I no longer looked like a drug addict (not that they use finger tips). Saturday morning before the funeral I hit 215.....horrible! I would have liked to have had monitor Saturday night after the family dinner because I felt really light-headed...it had probably dropped below 70. It's all over the board. This morning I hit 185 (better) and finally at 10pm it dropped to 11.....we'll see if it hits 70 at 3pm.

I really think it was doing this over Christmas because every morning I would get back in bed because I felt so cruddy.....ahh the joys-NOT!

Meow mix.....

My pet cravings have started again....it could be the fact that I keep spotting the neighborhood cat about. I saw the cat back in August of 2009 and he/she was wearing a collard and was quite plump. I stopped for a minute and petted the cat. He was so sweet following right behind me--he even let me pick him up. My mother happened to be in town visiting so I called her to come and see. I was a good neighbor and did not take the kitty even though I was tempted.

Last week I spotted the same cat and he ran to greet me, rubbed on my legs and rolled on the ground begging to be petted.How could I resist? Sadly I did not have any treats to feed him, but I quickly remedied that. The next day I bought some cat treats, but so it turns out I think everyone else living in the neighborhood is hoping to adopt this cat....so I am moving on.My mom keeps tempting me. She texted me these two photos of Vanessa Gayle (I'd have to change the name!). This is her friend Anne's new kitten, but she is not getting along with the man (other cat) of the house. Miss Anne has offered to let me have the cat...even going as far as to pay half my pet fee and spay the cat (all this is very tempting!) because this is the reason I never got a pet to start. I think it's crazy to get a free animal and pay a $300 plus pet fee that you never get back....much less buy a pure breed and pay the fee.....can you say $1000-$1500-NOT worth it!The cat is so cute....and I do want something furry running around and something to play with....but there are so many things that could go wrong...climbing drapes, clawing clothes, chewing cords.....peeing....ugh....I don't know if I'm cute out for this because once I take it, it's mine......What should I do???????

(500) Days of Boredom

....Really I shoulda read the review. Sitting at Claire's future inlaws we were debating whether or not to leave the house, and unfortunately we decided to stay in and watch a movie.....and even more unfortunately we decided to watch a movie. The choices were The Hangover and (500) Days of Summer. The first choice was probably not parent friendly, but it is quite a comedy and follows the wild rumpus that is a bachelor party---NOT bachelorette mind you. These guys get into every possible bad situation they can, and trust me......all of these situations could (and probably have) happen(ed). But enough of that we watched 500.Unknowingly, we believed we had selected a cute, quirky, romantic comedy.....needless to say it was far from cute. It was quite possibly the most depressing recollection about a romantic fling I have ever seen. Viewers are tormented through watching a guy's painful dating saga as he goes after a girl clearly not into him. Day after day. Ten minutes through the movie we were all groaning offering to pay $5 to buy a new movie. Anything would have been an improvement.

This morning I opted to read the critic's review to see what the rest of the free world was saying...turns out Rolling Stone liked the flick, but the review would have given me the info I needed.

Boy meets girl, boy loses girl. It’s been done to emo death. That’s why the sublimely smart-sexy-joyful-sad (500) Days of Summer hits you like a blast of pure romantic oxygen. It turns the genre on its empty head and sees relationships for what they are — a bruising business. Someone’s heart always gets ripped out.

Definitely one I would have preferred to miss...and I did happen to miss the last bit. I have a bad track record of going to sleep and missing television if watched on a couch late at night....I awoke to hear groans...."UGHGHGHGHGH" as I wiped the sleep from my eyes I realized I had missed the last bit of the movie. I think I feel asleep of Day 497. I missed the punch line at the end. The next chick he meets is.........Autumn.....really?! I recommend skipping this movie if your taste is anything like mine. I wanted to see a happily ever after, humorous movie and 500 did not deliver....I like the empty head that RS dislikes. Brain candy.

Sounds like a science project...

Science class went great Friday morning. Not that I could do it every day, but it was a welcome break from The Office. Two classes of fifth graders and several erosion demonstrations later I was done for the day. How I look forward to science days! One class really picked up on the sink hole example; they had watched a video and a few shining stars spit out all they knew about caves before the experiment began. I love working with the kids, and there are always some priceless comments as you never know what they are going to say. One girl ran up to me and said, "I like your cardigan. I don't know what that is, but she just said it was a cardigan. And I like it!" They are always so complimentary {likely because they are excited about a new face in the classroom}. And one boy helped me clean up the water table filled with wet sand and water--BIG help!! But I do think he had Vday on the brain....as he was shaped the clay for his cave he blurted out, "Whhhhhyyyy! I always make a heart. I don't try....even my sweet potato chip was a heart." Too cute!

And then I was done....we cleaned up the messes from our experiments...and I had to convince 40 children why it was not a good idea to keep the clay that had been sitting in water, vinegar and sugar. Oh joy! I left GBE with a few good laughs, a few hugs and a water table for Vaughn in the back of the LR.....until next month.

Happy Friday....

The day is NOT winding down but I am reminding myself {thanks to Kidlark} that everything will, in fact, "Be Okay." As Audrey Hepburn said, "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, 'I'm possible'."
Enjoy your weekends...

Something borrowed...

Caroline and I are planning Claire's couples shower as I type. We sent the invitation out yesterday and as it clearly stated that you could "drop in a give Claire your well wishes" also citing that "light refreshments" would be served. But that afternoon I received a tactless email asking if we would have lunch and if it was drop in. Yes, I know the sender of this email will be showing up late sans gift for cake. How rude. But on with the show, we are planning on using a blue theme to mirror the Manolo's below. I really think it would be cute to display the shoes beneath a cloche or maybe a vintage birdcage. Thoughts?

Yes, please....

I want these Vince Camuto platforms....Vday, St. Pattys, Easter?? Probably before all of the above. I think they'd make perfect Key West kicks, don't you?

What can Brown do for you?

Not only did Scott Brown win Massachusetts's Senate race.....he also won Cosmopolitan's America's Sexiest Man in 1982. His racy centerfold seems to have sparked some chatter...who cares about that? He just took away the Dems filibuster-proof supermajority....health care--here we don't come!