Two turtle doves.

...and a partridge and a pair tree. Maybe it's the Christmas decorations that are already for sale, maybe it's Christmas in July, maybe it's my yen for temps that are not 100 degrees....or maybe, just maybe it's the fact that I just watched the tail end of Home Alone: Lost in New York....but I am ready for December and the "C" word. Those movies have always been my go-tos and considering my recent stressed out state it was a perfect choice.I tuned in at the moment Kevin was giving the turtle doves to the lady in the park just as Mr. Duncan has instructed. Keep one and give one to someone special. Hurry up Christmas!

TGIF!

I am officially pooped and ready for 5 o'clock so Happy Friday and Happy Tunesday! Check out Noah and the Whale:

Where will you be in 5 years time?

Missed connections.

How many of you have found yourself reading these and laughing out loud? Well one artist has taken these Craigslist finds to another level making art out of these missed connections.

Let them eat cake.

Well, folks, I had my cake and ate it too. My day of birth was absolutely wonderful I was completely surprised by copious amounts of flowers, a tasty lunch and an even better dinner with many wonderful friends. I cannot thank everyone enough--this was definitely my most special day.

Cheerio!

Almost another year older and hopefully wiser...I am reflecting on the last year and hoping that the next 365 will be a heck of a lot better...I had some breakups and breakdowns, some fun trips, some work triumphs and some work trials, but at the end of this quarter century crisis I can say I grew a lot. Happy day to me.

The calling...

Another Sloane-ism. When first meeting a boy she would give him a first name in her celly, then after he called four times she would finally pick up on the fifth ring....and after that he would get a last name. While I am no Sloane Crosley, I like to have a little background on people...I put one too many first names in my phone (3 to be exact) and I operate better with two names. I always found it comical when a random Jeremy called and I tried to remember who he was. Now I try to do two names and if I don't have a last name I write a note, for example where they are from or what they do. I feel like a guy having five Sarah's in their phone each with a different description, but trust me it works and you won't find yourself looking quizzically at your celly.

How did you get this number?

More like: what did you do with my number? If you have to ask how much it is...you probably can't afford it...the same holds true for life: if you have to ask someone to change, remind someone to call, to bring diet coke, to make a plan, to come to a wedding, then you can't afford to be with them. Even as good as you think it may be it simply is not worth the price of your own self worth--No one is that sick. No one gets that mad about diet coke. There are cell phones in Tampa. You can text at work. Email works all the time. And you are not in high school anymore.....the date, relationship or random meeting was an impulse buy and you figure it will work out later...but it doesn't. How many impulse buys are still hanging in your closet after only being worn once. How many guys have you only gone out with once to find that the shirt didn't fit, the color wasn't right....thank you, Sloane Crosley for writing How did you get this number? The final vignette in the book was by far the best and really rang true for me. It was the swift kick in my britches I needed.

Shiny, happy people.

Thanks to Skirts to Skillets for passing the blog award on. What do I like most about my blog? Well that's a tough question, but it gives me an open forum to post ideas and thoughts. Maybe you could call it stress relief--getting all some of my ideas and thoughts on paper so to speak. More than that it's like running a marathon--it's my little commitment to myself to run, or rather write. This blog experience began on a whim...and I'd like to think it has turned into something more. I am very thankful for those of you that have stumbled upon my little blog and window to my soul. I hope you have found some enjoyment. Some things are hard to write about. After something happens to you, you go to write it down, and either you over dramatize it or underplay it, exaggerate the wrong parts or ignore the important ones. At any rate, you never write it quite the way you want to. ~Sylvia Plath

I hope you like the way I have written it.

Happy Friday!

Counting down the seconds, minutes and hours until the weekend! See you on the flip side of Friday!!

Doctor...doctor...

Give me the news. Did you know that when you are sick your cell phone ceases to function? Well it does after my long talk with gramps Thursday I thought things would at the least improve....well they did not as he dropped off the radar completely. I had completely written him off until Tuesday when my phone rang. Seriously.....he proceeded to go into his monologue about being sick for the weekend.....not swine flu, malaria, mono....or anything else. If anything it sounded like a head cold, and well he claimed that he stayed at his mom's house. Really? I don't know anyone younger or older that would have crashed at Mother's, but what the hay--to each their own. No I did not ask for his doctor's excuse, but I highly doubt he was that sick, so when he called to make plans I said no. Another one bites the dust~

Wanna be a billionaire....

So freaking bad! Buy all of the things I never had.....I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine....maybe not a billion dollars but for 10 grand you could indulge at Gilt. How amazing is the Swarovski encrusted dress, but what I was really lusting after is the vintage Van Cleef and Arpels watch....where is the knockoff when you need one??

Simply irresistible.

Channeling Robert Palmer's Addicted to Love we rocked on in the last moments of work for a photo shoot for United Way. Sometimes all it takes is a funny reenactment to put you in a good mood...and yes, there was a whole band, but for fear of embarrassment I left the photo-op to Robert Palmer and I.

Happy Anniversary!

No, every day is not perfect and rosy but life isn't. No matter how the past three years have turned out with, highs and lows, ups and downs, good and bad I am thankful! Thankful for my job and thankful for the decision I made in July of 2007. Today is my three year job anniversary. Other than school it's the one thing I've been most committed to my entire life. Sorry to bore you all--I had to take an opportunity to give myself a pat on the back.

Movin' on out.

High five to my friend who is moving to "The District" to become a hotshot attorney. He will be gone come August and is in the midst of planning a genius studio space outfitting it with Ikea....and for less than $300 (minus the bed). Here are some of his picks:Good luck, M!

Like clogwork!

Oh, how I am craving some clogs or punky footwear for the fall. Love these Edelman clogs and the skinny chic cargos. Thank you, Free People, for awesome style!

Please and thank you.

My mom always taught me to write thank you notes, and I certainly do! Even for the smallest gesture I make sure to leave a note in the appropriate location or shoot a quick email, and today I stumbled across a "Thanks" blog. Check it!
Thank you~Merci~

A peaceful world...

Some days I want to peace out and take a trip to a peaceful place:
So be careful with your heart and what you love
Make sure that it was sent from above
It's what you do and not what you say
If you're not part of the future then get out of the way
Come on baby take a ride with me
I'm up from Indiana down to Tennessee
Everything is cool as can be
In a peaceful world
Peace out people.

Just do it.

A little Monday inspiration to get the week kicked off right.

Fool me once....

So much for second chances--I just gave grandpa a second opportunity to account for the fact that he had not communicated when he was out of town--EVER--while I don't do ultimatums I did clearly state what my issues were and gave him this weekend to make up for the fact that he was a complete jerk. I agreed to meet him for dinner and to talk on Thursday. I laid out the facts that his working out of town was not an issue--the issue was the lack of communication--go ahead {if an old friend is reading this--LAUGH}. When he left town I never heard from him other than a few texts and kudos to B, T and S for telling me that I should bring it up and call him out on the crap. I also proceeded to tell him that if he was out of town he should make plans in advance out of courtesy. Leaving the dinner he knew what he had to to deliver...and deliver he didn't. Funny the way it is...at least I can rest easy knowing that it's not my problem. Maybe my new book will offer some humorous tips. How can I lose this number? I guess growing old was mandatory, and growing up was not.

All's well that ends well....

Some things {and men} never cease to amaze me....in the recent texting saga...the attorney kid strikes again. He continued to ask me if I wanted to "hang out" well I successfully blew him off one day...but the next day was the same story. I decided I would try a different approach and respond, "Possibly what did you have in mind." And what to my wondering eyes appeared in a text, "Drinks....if that goes well....dinner....if that goes well maybe out..." I mean SERIOUSLY?! Would it have been rude to respond sorry, Charlie, I don't hang out with scumbags. Where did he think this quasi-date was going. No thank you. See you later gator--all's well that ends well.....

It's not my party...

...but I'll celebrate if I want to. Sure my birthday is a few weeks away, but I am celebrating a friend's this week and having just as much fun as if it were my own. After a less than fab day at the office I was looking forward to a birthday dinner for a friend last night. It did turn into quite a comedy of errors {and successes!}. The birthday girl started inviting work friends to a different birthday dinner since she had no idea there was one already planned, thankfully most of them asked me if I was coming....but then I had to tell them that the boyfriend had already planned a surprise dinner. I was uninviting people left and right, even inviting someone last minute-thanks, CW. But a few moments later we were all secretly en route to the destination to taste the delicious vittles that awaited us. Let me just say I am not a foodie, but I know a thing or three about food and this meal was absolutely amazing..here let me give you the Reader's Digest version: flambeed wedge with spinach, cream and bacon; bruscetta with boursin and ratatouille; tuna nicoise salad; Pekin duck with blackberry compote, candied pistachio dust and butternut squash; and steak with crispy asparagus and forme d'ambert mash completed with a peach clafouti with whipped cream and pecan dust....yummy to my tummy. I swear I am still drooling and dreaming about the meal.

Fishing for trouble.

Last night the attorney kid rang to catch up on life, thankfully I was having dinner with a friend to talk shop. Later he called back and I told him I had just gotten home from dinner...he asked where? I responded, "Bonefish." He was shocked saying how pricey Bonefish was....my opinion-->Bonefish is a chain...a good chain, but a chain at that and no more pricey than other eats in the city. He then proceeded to complain about the costs of other venues...saying he would rather eat at {Gasp} Emeril's in NOLA...I wonder if his parents would pay for that. I am far from a gold digger, but I think it's bad form to complain about costs....what would Emily Post do? This is the same guy that told me he would be cut off upon betrothal.....seriously?!Not only did I receive a financial analysis of various restaurants, but I also received an education on legal ease to the point that he was describing what a deposition was. Now I am a kind person and resisted the urge to blurt out that a) I was a smart cookie and b) I dated an attorney on and off for a year....so I knew what he was talking about. Now, in hindsight maybe I should have....what will today bring who knows?

Where do I find these people....wait...they find me. My girlfriend told me that 20-somethings may have these smaller annoying issues, but 30-40 somethings have even bigger issues....maybe there was some truth to that. Although, come to think of it, the safety in dating someone older is you never hear about the cost of Bonefish....then again maybe you never hear from them altogether. Words for a Wednesday.

Pearls of wisdom.

The cure for anything is salt water... sweat....tears...or the sea! There are few things more classic than pearls, but Nicholas Landon has created a unique mix of classic and organic stringing pearls along leather cords. There are some with unique nautical coordinates to specify a place, or a sweet home, but I really love the bracelets with tons of pearls layered together.

Ad-visor....

Just when I thought visors were a thing of the past I see people wearing them....granted these people are 30 something, have no taste and not necessarily wearing them for fashion. So what do you think....are visors cool or cringe-worthy?

Passing the bar.

I don't know where I find these people, but Saturday evening I was introduced to a yougun'. My initial reaction was good Lord, this kid guy is loud and obnoxious, but trying not to judge I gave him the benefit benny of the doubt. A few days, texts and a phone call later he was stammering on about how he liked to hunt, fish and ride four-wheelers. Don't get me wrong I like an outdoorsy guy as much as the next girl and I grew up in the country, but my gut kept telling me this dude was more than a little immature. At the ripe age of 27, he continued to drone on and on about how he was not going to get married any time soon, the fact that his parents supported him and that they would cut him off after he tied the knot....maybe it was nervousness, maybe it was the fact that he was an attorney, heck alcohol would have been an excuse--I never mentioned dating...marriage...or anything of the sort--not sure why he felt the need to share his financial situation with me. Friends laugh when I go out with guys of an {Ahem} advanced age...but hey, I never have to listen to them wax poetic about being supported by mummy and daddy...because their parents may have kicked the bucket by now. Buddy, it's high time you chopped the umbilical cord....this was definitely a Failure to Launch situation--you've got to pick up the pace if you want to stay in the race. ~Neil Peart

Hello goodbye.

There are few instances that I will gravel over...one of which happens to be clothes, and this weekend I said goodbye to a dude and hello to my missing wardrobe. I vivdly recall losing my prized Anthropologie earrings in my boyfriend's Mustang.... and also remember vividly not hearing from him for a few days and, seeing him at a stoplight, and passing the jewels car to car.

Times have changed, but my love life certainly has not. I am still losing things and still losing men boys. It happened Thursday when my life came to a screeching halt. The guy of the hour had tried to waltz back into my life after not talking to me in nearly a week. I had been down this road months before, and was not about to do it again. I promptly thanked him for the invitation and declined the offer citing the fact that I liked him as a person, but the whole "attempt to date every now and then" was not working for me. He literally hung up the phone....I take it he had never been told "No"....and definitely never been told "No" by someone very much his junior.

Saturday rolled around and I still had yet to hear from the stinker. I was getting ready to take a much needed shopping excursion and knew exactly what I wanted to wear, but after rifling through my wreck of a closet I could not find the dress. Crap, I thought--the last time I had the thing I brought it over to the dude's house to get ready after a beach day. I went back in the closet several more times digging deeper and deeper until I tucked my tail between my legs and sent a semi-nice text wishing him well on his trip and quickly asking if he had seen my dresses....then, guess what?!? I found them. Embarrassed, but determined not to worry about I moved on and got ready. Needless to say the good bad man is still MIA and I don't anticipate hearing from him him gravelling any time soon.

Like a Rolling Stone.

A rolling stone gathers no moss....a person that keeps moving will never get stuck. Mina Stone is definitely not stuck. Love her simple, chic designs. Keep not standing fixed and rooted, briskly venture, briskly roam.

I'm with the band.

I nearly forgot that there was a concert last night. Rooney. Have you heard of them? It seemed like I was speaking a foreign language when I was telling people about the concert. Only one person out of several knew who they were. The best description I could muster up was an OC/Hollister/surfer-vibe. The band was featured on The OC soundtrack and I had listened to them in college. The concert was not exactly what I expected....turns out Tuesday night concerts are teen heaven. My friends and I could have quite possibly been the oldest people there, but who cares--at the end of the day I got to see Rooney and found a couple of other good bands: The Young Veins (Hello! Ex-Panic at the Disco band member) and Black Gold. A little music to get your Wednesday kicked off right!

Festival fanatic.

I may have missed Jazz Fest and Buffett thanks to scalpers, but I will be getting my concert fix come October--and it's a local show to boot. If you have not heard of Deluna Fest check it out here. I am looking forward to some STP, 311, Better Than Ezra, Gills, Neon Trees, Edward Sharpe, Thirty Seconds, Michael Franti, The Bravery, Rebolution, and Benjy...good times ahead!

Under cover....

Not sure how long the oil will stay at bay, so I am taking in all the beach/ocean time I can get....and with beach time comes swimsuit time. I am constantly on the prowl for the perfect multi-use coverup so I went to Shopbop for some inspiration. Turns out they were mostly on point with bohemian pieces...but a few were, dare I say, questionable.I love the first three and this Mondrian-inspired surfer top could work as well.........but what in the world were they thinking with these. I feel like someone took a time machine from the first Woodstock. No thank you....

Ever after.

How many frogs do I have to kiss before I find a prince? I was reminded of the quintessential story of the Frog Prince whilst browsing etsy. Do you recall the fact that the princess lost her golden ball...well the designer on etsy found it and transformed it into neck wear. How creative!

Movin' on up.

The one shining star in the month of July is the transition in fashion from bright spring and summer cottons to warm and woolly neutrals. Granted it still remains 90 plus degrees outside, but all the fashion mags have moved on up and my spirits have instantly been lifted. There is something that feels good about the latter half of the year--football, fashion, cool temps and holidays.
...so bring it.

M-M-my telephone.

Is texting the new black? I am sick and tired of texting and messengering. Whatever happened to a simple phone call? Sure I admit I am a lazy texter, but most of time time I would like to talk it out rather than risk my poor fingers developing carpel tunnel syndrome....so a piece of advice. Next time you want to communicate, please resist the urge to type lest I am at work. Don't get me wrong I love a friendly email or quick IM but when it comes to typing on my phone-I am not a fan.
Thanks for reading my rant.

Team America.

Happy Birthday America, the land of the free and the home of the brave. You don't get something for nothing. You can't have freedom for free. You won't get wise with the sleep still in your eyes, no matter what your dreams might be. ~Neil Peart

A good year.

It was the best of times..it was the worst of times.....either way it could possibly be one of the most disinteresting days. I feel as though my life is on hold for moment for a multitude of reasons and it has rained nearly all of today.But I am bound and determined to make the best of the situation, after all the world is my oyster and I am going to put the kabash on these negative feelings.

If I had a $1000 dollars...

Forget a million dollars, if there was a grand laying around I might be tempted by this vintage Chanel beauty. I guess rainy days are good for one thing-shopping. Shopbop has launched an entire line of vintage Chanel pieces and to quote Rachel Zoe. I die.The one thing better than vintage is vintage Chanel. The only way to be irreplaceable is to be different and these pieces are certainly one-of-a-kind.

Lucy Lawless.

Loving the style solutions via Lucy Laucht. Perfectly chic.
Need more blazers stat.