Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Contractor Woes

This remodeling thing has taken a bad turn, folks.  I am ready for these guys to be out of my house and to never have to see them again.  
This job was supposed to last two days maximum.  It's now day number six.  Just to clarify; The people we hired to do the work are from a well known local company.  It's not like we hired Bob-who-works-out-of-his-basement to do the job.
Thursday:  One of the (two) guys showed up an hour and a half late.  Whatever, stuff happens, right?  Then they asked me what time should they be there the next day, and I ask if 7am is ok.  They agree.  

Friday: I get up at 6:15, hop in the shower and get dressed to wait for them to arrive.  And just so we're clear, I am not a morning person.  Not one teeny little bit. Not even on Christmas morning.
So I wait, and 7 rolls around with no sign of the contractors.  It's 7:50 when one of the guys shows up (he does apologize, and has a good reason to be late).  The other guy shows up three hours late.  
But, I'm cool, because I think "Well, at least they'll be done today!". At about 6pm they tell me that they will have to come back the next day.  No worries, Jimmy will be home, so I won't be stuck on the couch tied to the dog alone.  
Saturday:  A new guy shows up (which we assume means that the guy who was late got fired).  He works until about 2pm and then the painters show up.  They take one look at the work that has been done and say that it's not done and they need to come back Sunday.  *sigh*
Sunday:  The painters come back and say that they can't paint because basically the guy who was here the day before did a crappy job.  So they'll have to have someone else come out and fix it.  
Monday: The guys come back out and work all day.  They manage to get everything painted, and seemingly, looking good.  I say seemingly, because once I go into the bathroom and shut the door, I realized they painted the inside of the door the same color as the walls! I kid you not.  And poorly, at that.  There were patchy places, and they painted the white trim blue, and they even painted the damn hinges!  Who does that?!  So Jimmy called the boss man and even he was stunned.  He offered to bring us a new door (which I was all for), but Jimmy just asked him to have someone come back out paint it white.  The boss-man told Jimmy to call when we were ready to have someone come out to paint and finish up the trim. 
Tuesday: Today I get up and start trying to clean up the drywall dust (which is everywhere in my house right now) off the bathroom floor so that I can begin to lay down the tile.  I am scrubbing the floor in a little tank top- sans bra- and shorts, ('cause it is hard work!), when the doorbell rings.  I peek out the curtains there there are the two contractor dudes, at my front door.  I scurry to the bedroom and throw on some clothes while dialing Jimmy to figure out what is going on.  He is surprised too, and calls the contractor boss-man to find out why they are there.  Meanwhile, I open the door and ask them what's up.  They tell me they were sent to repaint the door.  I let them in and call Jimmy back to tell him what's happening.  They finish painting the door, so now I have to get back to putting the tile down so I can go to Lowe's to buy trim so that the trim guy can come in and finish tonight. 

Oh, and through all of this I've had to wrangle the kitties up every day to put them in our office so they don't get out the door, and I've had poor Trixie on a leash the whole time, because she wants to play with the new people in the house.  Yesterday she managed to chew through her leash.  So today when these guys showed up unexpectedly, I had to use an exercise resistance band to tether her to me.  
It's like that carnival game where you put on the belt tied to the giant rubber band, and race your friend to see how far you can go before snapping back to the start.  She's been trying to see how far she can get. 


Saturday, August 28, 2010

Quilting Party!

My mother-in-law organized a quilting party for a bunch of us girls to get together and get creative (and of course eat some food!).  It was a ton of fun, but we were all exhausted at the end of the night (well, beginning of the next morning, really).  We sewed from 6pm-1:30am.  That's 7 and a half hours of straight sewing.  Whew!  

Of course I took my Flip video camera and recorded a little bit throughout the night.  Here's us at the very beginning of the evening after we had done the first part of our blocks.  Mine are the white flowers with pink and yellow fabrics.  


The soup tureen that I'm laughing at was a wedding gift we received from a very distant relative.  We thought it was kind of ugly and weird, so we re-gifted it in a "Bad Santa" exchange with the family last year.  Apparently, my husband's Aunt Karen liked it enough to hold onto it.  (She's the one in the purple top).  

And this is my fabulous sis-in-law, Mandy.  We were so tired at this point.  
Here's my husband's cousin, Nicole, holding the quilt my mom-in-law made out of the scraps from each of our quilts. 

A planning session for Karen's quilt.  We all started with the same blocks, and situated them any way we wanted to.  It was neat to see the different patterns everyone came up with.  
Nicole's quilt.
My quilt.  It's actually a lot brighter in person, but my phone's camera didn't pick it up very well.  
This is a little bit closer to the colors.  


So that's what I did with my Friday evening.   
What about you?  Do you quilt or sew? Knit or crochet?  I would love to hear from some of my crafty readers! 

Thursday, August 26, 2010

So Sorry!

Image found here.

I'm so sorry that I've been absent from blogging for the past few days.  This remodel has taken over my life the past week!  Like everything else in our 1960's home, the drywall in the bathroom wasn't done correctly  so it needs to be replaced.  We are having people come in today to work on it and our spare room (there is this obnoxious texture on the walls and ceiling in the bathroom and spare room that we are having removed).  We had to move everything out of both rooms and take up the carpet in the spare room yesterday, because we are putting in laminate flooring.  And, of course, in all the mess and confusion (my house looks like a tornado swept through my living room/dining room right now) I have misplaced my camera, which means I haven't been able to upload some recent outfit photos like I had planned.  *sigh*
Hopefully, they get this mess done today and we can start painting/putting down floor tomorrow and life will be back to normal by the end of the weekend.
Thanks for being so patient with me.  : )

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Remodeling the Bathroom. . .

Image found here.


This weekend we have been working on remodeling our guest bathroom.  Yesterday morning, Jimmy and I went to Ikea and picked out a sink, vanity, and medicine cabinet that we liked.  We stopped off at Lowe's for a few items and then headed home.  Jimmy managed to get the old sink, vanity, and medicine cabinet out of the bathroom and also assembled the new medicine cabinet.  I (all by myself!) took up the old vinyl tile on the floor.  Of course, at about 9pm we realized that we had brought home the wrong sink and had forgotten to get legs for the vanity.  So today it was back to Ikea for us (it's about a 45 minute drive away)!  Now we are working on taking the texture off the walls before we put down the new tile.  It's a nightmare! 
I'll be posting some pictures of the mess soon. 

Friday, August 20, 2010

Wardrobe Scavenger Hunt Photos (Finally!)

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get these photos posted.  I am completely computer illiterate and I had to wait for my husband to help me put the photos together.  At least now I know how to do it for next time! 


Entry #1: Yolanda from Diva In Deep Thought

Her shoe color wheel was amazing!

Entry #2: Trisha from MarySew

Mary even made a cute outfit out of her items! 

Entry #3: Melody (If you have a blog let me know!)

I love the little hearts Melody put on her sign! 

Entry #4:  Maria of Texas Love, Life, and Fashion

 Maria was the only person to send a photo of an all white dress! 

Entry #5:  Christina from Randomness a la Mode

I confused Christina so badly when she was trying to submit her photos, but we got it all straightened out in the end.  Thanks for sticking it out Christina! 


Erin had another gorgeous sign.  Thanks, Erin, for taking the time to actually hand-make one.  So sweet!

Entry # 7:  Carla from Messy Carla

I love the cow socks!  

Entry #8:  Kameel from Mrs Hall in Training

Another pretty sign! 

Entry #9:  CarolAnn from CarolAnn Fashion
She made her own nifty little slideshow, so head over to her blog to check it out!  


I hope you all had fun with the contest, I know I did!   Thank you to everyone who participated, and I look forward to having another Wardrobe Scavenger Hunt in the future!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

I've Been Tagged!

The fabulous (and gorgeous!) Christina from Randomness a la Mode tagged me in an "8 Questions" tag, and here are her questions, and my (really long) answers! 

1.  Describe your dream vacation. 
Image found here.
I think my dream vacation would be a tour of Europe.  I love to travel, and the only time I've been out of the country is on a cruise (Mexico, Jamaica, Grand Cayman Islands), so I would absolutely love to be able to take a few months to see Paris, Venice, Rome, and London along with many other cities.  Of course my husband would come along.  The only problem is that I don't think I could stand to be separated from my animals for that long! 

2.  Do you collect anything?
Image found here. 
Do shoes count?  Hahaha!
I don't really collect anything in the traditional sense, but if you've seen my "What's In My Bag" video you'll see I have quite the collection of lip products! 


3.  What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?
The blue arrow is pointed at 10-year old me.
This is really difficult to answer because I embarrass myself all the time.  Honestly.  I am always dropping stuff and being generally clumsy.  
I guess the one thing that stands out in my mind is when I was in drill team.  I was about ten-years old and we were doing a kickline in all our spangled-sequined glory, when I somehow tripped and took the whole line of girls down with me.  Of course, my mom caught the incident on video and played it for everyone I knew.  I'm sure that video is still around somewhere waiting for the perfect moment to surface and embarrass me all over again. 

4.  Who is your idol/role model?  Why?
My mom and I in Tennessee.  I'm about a year and a half in this picture. 
 
Even after the above incident, I would have to say my mom is my role model.  My parents divorced when I was two-years old, after having been married for seven years.  They married when my mom was 19 and my dad was 23.  My mom raised me (with some backup from my grandma and great-grandma) as a single parent for quite a few years until she met my step-dad.  She put aside her dreams of finishing her degree because she felt that with working full time, the rest of her time was better spent with me.  Looking back I realize we didn't have much money, but I never felt like there was anything I wanted that I didn't have.  My mom always made sure Christmases and birthdays were full of friends, family, and presents. She is the most generous and kind person I  know, and she is my best friend.

5.  What is your favorite book?
 Image found here.
This is a really hard one, because I love to read and have so many favorites.  I tend to read books over and over again if I really enjoy them.  I honestly don't think I have a favorite book, but some of my favorite authors are Jennifer Weiner (I just stared reading Fly Away Home, and I already love it), Isabel Allende (her storytelling is incredible), and Gregory Maguire (the author of Wicked).  

6.  If you could take an all-expenses-paid trip anywhere in the world, where would you go?
 Image found here.
Well, I would love to travel Europe, as I said above, but I would also love to visit Ireland.  I am of Irish heritage, and I think it would be so cool to visit the place where my great-great grandparents were born, and grew up.  

7.  What is the one thing that can always make you smile?

My Trixie-girl.  I am so enamored of her, it's disgusting.


8.  What is the hardest thing you've ever had to do?
My grandpa and grandma with me at a family wedding. Isn't she gorgeous?
Say "goodbye" to my grandma as she was dying.  I am the oldest grandchild on that side of the family by four years, and she helped my mom a lot with me when I was young.  I stayed the night at her house all the time as a kid and she once told me "Don't tell your sister this, but you know you're my favorite."  I totally told my sister.      
She had liver cancer and eventually went into kidney failure.  The ICU doctors told us that we should begin to say our goodbyes.  Even though she was ready to go, it was so hard to know that I would never get another hug from her again (she gave the best hugs).  

Whew!  Sorry for ending on such a downer.  I'm working on getting the Scavenger Hunt pictures situated so I can post them all at once (it's taking a little more time than I thought it would), so I appreciate your patience with me.  : )    

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Daily Outfit - Saturday

On Saturday Jimmy and I got up early and went to a local pretzel bakery close to downtown.  Someone Jimmy works with brought in pretzels the other day and Jimmy said they were the best he's ever eaten, so of course I had to see for myself.  They were amazing!  This bakery has been in this little building in this neighborhood for over 100 years, and they take the pretzels out of the oven right as you order them, so they are piping hot.  Then we made our way downtown to go to the local farmers market to look around.  The local Humane Society always has a booth with an animal up for adoption, and they sell homemade dog and cat treats and toys.  Of course, I always have to stop by to pet the puppy/kitty and buy some goodies for the animals at home.
 These pretzels were so good!
Inside the 2nd Street Market
This guy was incredible to watch.



Later, we took our nephews out for the evening.  We went to see "How to Train Your Dragon" at the cheapie theater, then went out for dinner and ice cream, and eventually made our way to the playground to try to take the edge off their sugar high before taking the boys home.  We had a really good time, even though those kids wore us out! 
Here are some pictures of what I wore while eating pretzels and wrangling my nephews: 





 Outfit Details: 
Graphic Tee - Old Navy  (I have this tied up on one side, which is why it looks a little off kilter)
Teal Lace Trim Tank: Lane Bryant
Yellow & Greige (That's a gray/beige hybrid) Cardi - Old Navy 
Jeans - Avenue
Teal/Gray Flats - Target
 Ivory & Gold Bracelet -Lane Bryant
Gold bracelet & Wood Bangle - ?  (I've had them forever)
Charm Necklace - Avenue
Squinty eyes and crazy hair - thanks to the brightness and humidity we had Saturday 


What do you enjoy doing on a sunny summer weekend?  Do you like to explore a local farmer's market or flea market? 








Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Wardrobe Scavenger Hunt Winner!





CarolAnn!

Congratulations CarolAnn!  I'll be contacting you by email with information about your prize.  

Thank you so much to everyone who participated.  I had so much fun seeing your photos! 
I'll be posting all the entries here soon (most likely tomorrow), so stay tuned. 

Tuesday Temptations

It's already Tuesday, and that means it's time for Tuesday Temptations!

#1.  Guerlain Ecrin 6 Couleurs Palette 
 These images found here.

How gorgeous are these?!  I love the shades of the shadows, but to be honest, I love the cases even more! 

#2.  Longchamp "Gloucester" Bag
I have been craving a satchel bag for a while now, and this one is perfect (except for the $1,000 price tag). 


#3.  Beauty Blender
 Image found here.

I have heard so much about these sponges, and I really want to try them out for myself.  I don't usually wear liquid foundation, but I might change my mind if these things are as great as everyone says they are. 


#4.  Clarisonic Mia
 Image found here.

Another beauty product that I keep hearing great things about is the Clarisonic Mia.  It's supposed to be great for exfoliating and removing makeup, and gentle enough for everyday use.  
Does anyone have one?  Does it live up to the hype?


#5.  Vince Camuto "Claras" Boots
I saw these boots in a Dillards ad the other day, and really liked them.  I love the embossed crest on the side, and I am into the lace up boots that are on trend for fall.  Unfortunately, I don't have the cash, or the narrow feet to be able to wear these babies.  

Are you craving anything in particular for fall?  What does your fall wardrobe consist of? Hoodies and jeans?  Skirts and tights?  Let me know with a comment! 

Monday, August 16, 2010

Just a Reminder!

The Wardrobe Scavenger Hunt Contest closes tonight at midnight EST.  Make sure I have your entries by then if you want to participate.  I will announce the winner tomorrow, and will try to post all the photo entries I have received either tomorrow or Wednesday.

P.S.  Don't worry if you weren't able to participate this time.  I do plan on doing another scavenger hunt in the future!

Ads That I Love

As I have mentioned before, I get about eight fashion/style magazines a month, and so I am usually pretty unimpressed with many of the advertisements found in these magazines.  However, there are a few designers who's campaigns have really caught my eye.

Fendi
 I just love the look of these ads.  The clothing is fabulous, I love the retro styling, and I also really like the simplicity.

Michael Kors
 I have always liked Michael Kors designs (he does a plus-size line too, did you know that?), and I really like that the two models in these ads always seem to be happy, and doing everyday things.  I get so sick of seeing scowling models in outrageous poses in ridiculous places (here's a good example). I know these ads aren't high fashion, but to be honest, I'm not either!

Louis Vuitton
 Once again, I love the retro looks in these ads.  I really like that the women all look glamorous and beautiful.  The gorgeous handbags don't hurt either.

Are there any ad campaigns that have caught your eye recently?  Any ads from the past that you remember with fondness?  Let me know in the comments!