Archives for August 2011

Beachy

4 August 2011 by

We are on day four – no, five – of our cousins’ beach trip, and I am happy to say that it has been delightful. There have been a couple of minor conflicts and a small number of minor injuries (boys like to run. everywhere.), but by and large it’s been great. And as an added bonus, I was able to watch the season finale of The Bachelorette with my aunt and my cousin Paige. WE HAD SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT SOME THINGS.

Yesterday, in the interest of a change-o-pace, we went to a putt-putt place for a couple of hours. I didn’t really think about the weather before we left, but once we had secured our putters and golf balls, there was no avoiding the fact that OH SWEET MERCY IT WAS 408 DEGREES OUTSIDE. At one point I saw sweat rolling down the top of my arm, and I spent several minutes trying to figure out how in the world that even happens. The kids were gamers but started to wilt a little bit by the 10th hole, and by the 14th hole I was wondering if anyone has ever collapsed from heat exhaustion ON A PUTT-PUTT COURSE.

I think this picture offers an excellent illustration of yesterday’s level of heat and humidity.

Yes ma’am. It was REFRESHING outside.

After we finished all 18 holes in the putt-putt sauna, we limped into the arcade and ordered the largest Icees available. The kids cooled off, grabbed some quarters, and pretty much hollered like crazy for the next hour or so. My child never took off his hat, and that’s why I have lots of pictures of him and his cousin J that look like this.

No kidding: every single time I see the two of them together, I think, Well, there’s Papaw and Scooter McGee.

So that’s pretty much it from our end of things. Lots of heat, lots of swimming, some occasional crying, and lots of laughing.

And it is good.

Filed Under: Family Fun

Linky Dinks

3 August 2011 by

– On the way to the beach we stopped at a peach stand to, you know, buy peaches. While we were there I saw an adorable tote bag in a sale bin and thought it would make a great gift for my aunt. I looked up the website on the bag’s tag once we got here, and oh my word – so many great-looking accessories. Plus, I’m fairly certain that the Bag Lady blue paisley pattern is too much cuteness for the world to contain.

– The MouseMail $100 Visa gift card giveaway is still going strong.

– Several years ago my friend Rhoda told me about a great Italian place on the outskirts of Birmingham. I made a mental note to try it – and then never did. Since it’s a little off the beaten path (for us, at least), it always seemed too far out of the way when we were thinking about where to grab lunch or dinner.

But last week my husband had a meeting near the restaurant that Rhoda mentioned, so he and a co-worker gave it a try. He came home raving about it, so our little family of three went to Joe’s Italian for lunch this past Saturday. OH MY WORD. It was EXCELLENT. And the strawberry cake may have changed my life.

So if you live in or around Birmingham, GO. Especially if you’re like me and think it’s too much of a drive. GO. IT IS A BLESSING.

– Out of the blue last week I remembered a door knocker that we had at our last house. I LOVED IT. Then I wondered why I haven’t gotten one for our current house. And then I decided that I needed to remedy that situation immediately.

I think it’s lovely and warm and welcoming. Makes me smile.

– Last week on the Twitter I noticed that Ree mentioned a website I’d never read before. So I clicked over, and OH MY. I should’ve grabbed a box of tissues before I started reading. The website is called Dear Photograph, and it will warm your heart and make you want to hug the people you love. So good.

Filed Under: Daily Awesome

A Special Little Giveaway

2 August 2011 by

One day last week I bought something on Etsy that I just adore.

I first saw it on Pinterest, I think – and it struck me as the perfect little poster for our kitchen/playroom area. It’s totally inspirational and only $15. So, you know, SOLD.

And then I saw this Family Rules poster on the same Etsy site.

YES.

The very kind owner of AlexanderCreative – the designer of these posters – has graciously offered to give away a Family Rules poster to one of you. The posters come in four colors: black, white, brown or red. I think they’re all fantastic.

Just FYI and in the interest of full disclosure: nobody is paying me or sending me free merchandise in exchange for this giveaway. This is just one of those things that I immediately loved – and I thought y’all would love it, too.

So check out the AlexanderCreative Etsy site – and leave a comment if you’d like to win!

This giveaway will close on Monday, August 8th.

This giveaway is now closed.

Filed Under: Decorating, Giveaways

Some Riveting Updates

1 August 2011 by

Well, I need to thank y’all for inspiring me to get my earrings organized (OH MY LANDS – that is a first world sentence isn’t it?). I was going to try the ice cube trays method, but I kind of have a thing for big hoop earrings, and I didn’t think they’d fit. I found some adorable little jewelry trees at the Steinmart, but since those kind of things require some follow-through (you have to hang the earrings as opposed to tossing them into their designated spot), I knew that they’d look great initially but eventually become decorative pieces with earrings scattered around the base.

But then I went to Home Goods, and I found a really big jewelry tray that seemed like the perfect solution. It can live (stay, sit, whatever) on top of a chest in my closet, so it’s not anything that has to be stowed / put away every single day. Also, since there’s a limited amount of compartments, the tray forced me to CLEAN OUT THE EARRING HODGEPODGE, ALREADY. And finally, I think it’s cute.

So here you have it.

I know that for those of y’all who are super-organized, that tray probably makes you twitch a little bit. But for me, someone who is definitely NOT super-organized, it’s just the right mix of flexibility and structure. It makes me happy.

Next.

This week is our annual cousins’ beach trip. Since the husbands aren’t here because of work stuff, my cousin Paige and I spent most of yesterday afternoon unloading the cars, unpacking the groceries and planning the meals. We also spent a significant amount of time getting really tickled about nothing in particular and then laughing until we wheezed. It’s what we do.

I went to the grocery store in Birmingham last Friday night so that I could get some of the “staples shopping” out of the way. I like to shop in a familiar environment, and a grocery trip at the beach takes twice as long because I don’t know where anything is. Anyway, the cousins’ beach trip is the one time all year when we pretty much throw caution to the wind with snack foods. It’s vacation. ENJOY THE POTATO CHIPS, KIDS.

All that to say: when I was about to check out at the grocery store I snapped a picture of my cart. Because I SHOULD BE ASHAMED.

Please note the redemptive presence of the low sugar grape jelly. And there’s some fruit buried in there somewhere.

And seriously, what’s going on with potato chips these days? I bought a package of the Loaded Baked Potato Pringles because I know an eight year-old who thinks they’re the greatest special snack ever, but I didn’t know what to think when I was steering my car down the aisle and saw these:

People, we may need to accept the fact that we’ve exhausted all of our flavor options as far as the potato chip is concerned. We may need to be done.

Of course, the bacon cheeseburger chips were next to the Molten Hot Wings chips (which several people on the Twitter said were absolutely delicious), so it looks like we may be in the midst of a specialty flavors trend. I can only imagine the possibilities.

Lobster Fettucine chips?

Chicken Parmesan chips?

Lamb Gyro chips?

Fish & Chips chips?

There’s not a bit of telling what’s next.

Filed Under: Family Fun, Rambling
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