I need a voice of reason with me at all times

because otherwise this is what i spend hours staring and fantasizing about if I'm allowed to wander Anthropologie unattended.

(source)

No, I didnt buy it, but boy have I been thinking about it (b/c it matches our bedroom almost perfectly)

chartreuse and battleship blue/grey.  This picture totally doesn't do it justice

Carry me back to Ol' Virginny.

A few weeks ago, at the beginning of September, I took a week trip back to Virginia Beach to hang out w/ my parents for a little bit.  I'm very close to my parents and spending time with them is really important for the sanity of my soul, especially when life seems to be flying by so quickly these days.

I was also able to visit some of my favorite people -

I spent time with my friend Steph who's at Periodontal school in Richmond -- the craziness of both of our lives makes it hard to see each other and catch up face to face, so being able to sit around and lounge by her pool was much needed.   She's getting married next July to one of my friends from college (small world...) and she asked me to do their save the dates, so I've been totally consumed w/ that since I got back to NOLA.

Me & Steph - Besties since 6th grade, during
her visit to NOLA in May

I was also able to have a lovely dinner at a wonderful wine bar w/ one of my oldest friends, Windy.  Believe it or not, Windy was my babysitter when she was 13 and I was, oh, maybe 8 months old.    We stayed close through the years, her morphing from being just a babysitter to being my unrelated "big sister."  Twenty-six years later, we're closer than ever and we try to get together when ever I'm home to have dinner, lunch or drinks together.

Windy & her adorable husband Keith
dancing at our wedding last year.

I also trekked up to Williamsburg to visit college best buddy Misa (who you all may know from Park & Belmont).  We splurged shopping at the outlets and caught up over lunch at Colonial Williamsburg's  The Cheese Shop.  Nothing says quality time like sitting outside eating your turkey sandwich next to a guy doing the same, only dressed in period attire, Tri-corn hat and all.

Misa & I back a year ago at my wedding.  

 I also did some serious retail damage w/ my mom - not in the form of clothing since I kind of can't justify buying anything I can't wear to work.  So shoes & accessories it was!

mauve + suede + peeptoe + platform = Horray!
(source)

I also picked up a pair of gold driving moccosins at Banana Republic that I cannot find a picture of to save my life.  They're awesome though and I cannot wait to wear them come fall.  Side note - can fall come already please, I'm so tired of 95 degrees with 80% humidity.  

I've been giving J.Crew alot of criticism lately b/c their newest collections have just been uninspiring, plain boring and so far away from their preppy roots.  I felt the same when I stopped into their store and looked around, until I moseyed to the sale section and found this cute little blouse.  Maybe there's still hope?

(source)

But at the end of the day, I came back to my childhood home and just enjoyed being with my parents, eating good food,  having awesome talks and just getting back to my roots to reset for a little.
It also doesnt hurt that I got to sit around our pool and look at this while having pre-dinner drinks with my parents.

At the end of the week I was definitely missing Mr. Bama and Bear and ready to go home to NOLA.  But I had a lovely time back in my favorite state and with the parents.

Anniversary Recap

In the spirit of our awesome Valentines Dinner from February, Mr. Bama and I celebrated one year together by cooking up a fancy dinner and completely indulging.  The menu for the evening:

• Blackberry Sparklers (replaced w/  Kir de cassis b/c we couldnt find blackberry schnapps anywhere in the city.)
• Filet Mignon withe a Green peppercorn Brandy cream sauce
• Crispy roasted potatoes
• Red Lettuce Salad w/ red onions, blue cheese and homemade balsalmic vinegarette 
• Nectarine Tarts

started off the evening w/ some lovely
champagne.  We thought about using
the flutes that we had for our wedding,
but they were kind of covered in dust,
so we nixed that idea.  

Crispy potatoes pre-cooking

crispy potatoes complete.  Yum Yum

The table set for dinner.  Breaking
out the good silverware, baby.

One grassfed & finished filet mignon and
another bison filet mignon waiting to
be cooked. WFM was out of grass
fed beef, and theres no way in heck I was
going to buy hormone pumped grain fed beef.

Happy Hubby

The potatoes and the beef finished and in
the middle of being consumed by Mr. Bama.
The sauce is green peppercorns in a
brandy/heavy creame sauce w/ shallots.

the nectarine tarts before they were popped in the oven

nice, hot and super yummy

nectarine tart a-la mode

Oh Happy Year.

A year ago today Mr. Bama & I said "I do" in front of about 90 friends and family.  One year, a new city, a pupster and hundreds of adventures later, I couldn't be happier that I married my best friend and man of my dreams.  Heres to the past year and, God willing, 50+ more.  You can take a walk down memory lane by checking out pictures from the ceremony here and the reception here.

I Spy

Super quick blog post today - but something came to my attention that I thought I should share.

Who here is a fan of  the Vampire cheesiness that is True Blood?  If you tuned in this past Sunday for the Season Finale, you would have caught this part, near the end where Vampire Queen Sophie Anne visits Bill's home.

Dark, broding vampire goodiness.  pic courtesy of perezhilton.com

What is that lovely ensemble that the Queen (Evan Rachel Wood) is wearing?  Well non other than Trashy Diva's own Courtney Coat Dress in Black.  I posted about the cobalt one I scored for my birthday in a previous post.

The Courtney Coat Dress - it doubles as a coat, a dress and best of all?  It's cotton. 

 So whether you plan on being your favorite True Blood character for halloween or just want to look like an absolute knock out this fall & winter, check out www.trashydiva.com.  The coat comes in classic solids such as Black, cobalt & red, or for those who want to spice things up, black & green mid-century and leopard.

now back to being swamped with invitations. Is it Saturday yet?

My life as of right now...

I'm in a wedding wonderland!

In all honesty though, I'm in crunch time trying to get a wedding invite suite assembled for a client and ready to be mailed before the end of the week.  Our kitchen table and peninsula has been overtaken by hills of chocolate inner tri-fold pockets and valleys of light pink envelopes. I can't remember the last time we actually ate at the dinner table, quite frankly.  That plus I was asked by one of my best friends from High School to design her Save the Dates  (yippee!) before the end of the month, makes for a very, very busy Mrs. Bama.  I will be back with a  full rundown of my blink-and-you-missed-it, yet still much needed trip back to VB sooner rather than later.

Til I pull myself out of wedding world and back into the blogosphere - have a fabulous week!

Truths for Mature Humans

A guy I knew from Grad School posted this on Facebook the other day and I ended up reading it to my mom.  By #23 we were both laughing hysterically, so i figured I could not go w/out sharing. How true are all of these!?  Also, feel free to expand on the list!!

Truths For Mature Humans

1. I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.

13. I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

15. I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

16. I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.

17. I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

18. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

19. How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?

20. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

21. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

22. Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

23. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time!

an ode to summer

Farewell sweet season of sunshine, sand and endless possibilities.  Being back in Virginia Beach and being within minutes of a beach has made me realize that summer was over before I could really soak it all up and enjoy.

I had also forgotten until recently about how much I loved looking through my Grandma's old LIFE magazines when I was little and how much i miss the gorgeous photos in the landmark publication.  Check out the ones above and more at the gorgeous LIFE Hits the Beach Photo Gallery

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Don't worry, I will be back again though. I'm heading back to the East Coast for some family time and will be taking a bit of a break from Blogging for a little, but hang tight!  I'll be back next week!  Til then, have a great Labor day and a beautiful week.

Latest Obsession - Topiaries

Maybe it is due to the dismal state of my own front yard (why invest a ton of energy into a yard that you are leaving in a year?), but lately I have really been fawning over topiaries.  It could also be that I am getting a little home sick for Virginia and all of its Colonial goodness. Also, how can you resist the colors?

1.  Serpentine walls? pretty. Thomas Jefferson's version of them at the Pavilion gardens at UVA? - swoonworthy

2. Sometimes I wish I knew botany, just so I'd be able to look at a flower and know exactly what it is without pretending and feeling like a fool when I'm wrong.  No clue what theses are, but I love them cascading over the very Wisteria Lane looking white picket fence.

3.  May I have this in my backyard (if I had one) please?  Thank you

4.  Boxwood Winery is a tiny boutique vineyard in Middleburg, VA, right outside DC.  They specialize specifically in Bordeaux style red wines and their Topiary variety actually is one of the smoothest red wines I have ever had the pleasure of drinking.  What's even better?  Their facility was designed by architect Hugh Newell Jacobson, whose work is just amazing (think colonial inspired modern - simple, sleek, super clean lines.)  come to think of it, i should do a post on his work sometime soon....


5.The Penultimate colonial garden - This is the formal European Garden of Drummond Castle.  The castle that stands now is an 1890 re-build of the original castle, which dates back to 1619(!).  The gardens, however, have been kept up and completely restored to the original 1619 layout -- a Phenomenal feat for landscape preservationists.


6. Who doesn't love an early 1700s drawing of a "proper" garden layout?  Everything had a place and a purpose.


7.  The formal gardens of Kenmore Plantation in Fredericksburg, VA (I spent two years here in college as a restoration intern... my love and hate of house museums dates back to time spent here.).  It has a very rustic elegance -- as this was the home of George Washington's sister and Bro-in-law, but still considered "provincial" by English standards.  Oh colonial America...


I'm thinking inspiration for spring wedding invitations anyone?  

From one hurricane prone coast to another.

Its really been pretty dismal and gross here in NOLA lately - rain on and off everyday for the past week and 1/2.  So when I booked an impromptu flight back home to Virginia Beach for next week,  I was really excited to escape back to the East Coast and maybe catch some of the awesome beach sun for Labor Day.

Except this guy may ruin my plans:

Looks like Earl has the same idea as many vacationers this time of year - a trip to the Outer Banks just in time for Labor Day!

Its supposed to clear out by Friday, but growing up in VB has made me skeptical of a) hurricanes b) those who predict hurricane paths.   Oh we shall see.

Can't (Please Don't) Touch This

Does anyone see what I see?

Page 70 of the brand spankin new J Crew Catalogue.  Collection item or not, this is just fugly

I cannot believe my old school fashion crush, JCrew, has gone so far down this "lets revive bad fashion from the early 90s" route.  This silhouette - which the catalog calls "slouchy" - never has been and never will be attractive, even if you did throw a ton of sequins at it.  And is it bad that when I first read the description of the "Sequin Harem Pant"  I thought it said "Sequin Hammer Pant."  Oye Vay.

Thoughts anyone?

(Ps - also, Wedge Desert boots? *shakes head in sadness*)  Wow I really miss my preppy J Crew of yesteryear....

UPDATE!!!  So actually flipped through to the back of the catalog and found this

oh no she didnt

Dear Lord NO!! Katie Holmes has fallen victim to the heinous Hammer pants.  ughhhhh I think I just threw up a little in my mouth

Fugly Architecture Thursday - when bad renovations happen to good homes

This post hits a little too close to home.  Its not really the architecture that's heinous -its merely an early 1990s addition to a Victorian shotgun.  However, its the manner in which an addition was done to said Victorian shotgun and what it has created that is the criminal act.

What makes it worse is that it is our house :-(

I highlighted some water issues that had created a bit of a situation when we initially moved in back in this post.  Mr. Bama, being super handy man that he is, fixed the asthetic ramifications of the problem, but didnt solve the root of problem.  Our awesome landlady got on trying to find the problem and after calling some contractors, found out that we needed gutters and it would help, at least a little.  Gutters installed, problem still not fixed.  Nothing was happening to the problem spot (damage semmed to be contained), but it was evident something was continuing to be wrong at the front of the house.  Here, in the early 90s they added a section for the bedroom to bump out onto part of  the front porch that once spanned the whole front of the house.  Great solution for more added square footage, if you do it right.

Turns out, someone forgot to install the flashing from the old roof to the new roof correctly and brace the bay window properly.  Therefore, while the bones of the original house are in great condition, the "new" construction was not waterproofed correctly and therefore has allowed the introduction of awesome things like water and wood eating bugs into the house.  The actual wood siding had holes in it from where water had just bore down on it.  It was apparent that the construction company that did the addition had NO business putting new additions on old buildings.

So our land lady decided to make the call and have the siding replaced (I truly dont think she knew the extent of the damage that was only showing a little bit on the outside).  When I walked outside to talk shop to the really great workmen tearing off our siding, it went something like this:

nice man working on the house: "well really, a lot of the damage seems due to the age of the studs and that they're just old wood "  

me: "um, actually this addition was done in the early 1990s"

Nice man: "oh.................wow"

Needless to say it was pretty bad -  The sill plate on that addition had almost disappeared and the water-repellent membrane was torn to shreds (note: if you're not architecturally/construction savvy, this just means the structure was compromised and the elements that kept water out were pretty much gone). 

Pardon the crummy picture, but this is the front of our house after they removed the
siding 3 days ago.This is NOT good!
The wall studs were whittling away  to nothing.

If our huge tree in front of the house wasn't in the way, you'd see the holes in the

siding about 5-6 planks of wood-siding up.

Yay new studs!  Yay new felt water-repellant membrane! yay new WOOD siding!

I was also pretty nervous that they would be puting something cheap and terrible for the building, like vinyl siding, onto the house in place of the old wood siding.  Vinyl is unattractive, completely inappropriate for historic homes, temporary and a totally NOT green building material.  Image how happy I was when they pulled out pretty wide board WOOD siding! It had the same form, but isn't as decorative as the siding on the original part of the house.  This is completely fine, since the new materials shouldn't even attempt to mimic the original house (it is an addition... after all) but its is still complimentary to the original siding.  

So far they've finished putting up the siding and they should be painting it in a day or two.  The awesome workers also reinforced our porch banister in addition! Moral of the story, if you are a construction company who agrees to do renovations and additions to historic buildings, PLEASE keep in mind that old and new construction techniques are NOT the same and odds are, the older techniques are hands and feet more solid than anything constructed now a days.  You need to know how to properly match up the old and new construction so that you do not allow the elements in and that your new construction does not compromise the integrity of the original structure  Because if you don't think of that, the result isn't just fugly, it's expensive and very damaging.

An Amazing One Woman Band

I stumbled upon this artist while trying to find a few local nola musicians to add some color to my ipod play list.  While I did found some pretty awesome stuff,  I came across one artist who just BLEW them all away.

Let me please introduce you to New Orleans own Theresa Andersson.


She records all of her music in her kitchen...and records each instrument individually. then with the magic of foot petals, she mixes it all together and tada! Gorgeous music. You'll see what I mean when you watch this video:

I LOVE how it seems like she is just having an absolute blast doing her art. I makes me want to get up and dance myself.  I definitely see a concert in my future!

some people I will never understand... AGAIN

I really hate to rant, but after talking to some friends about what happened yesterday, I just had to share with the hope that people will just plain CHILL OUT over a certain topic.

Let us begin at about 7:30 am.  Bear & I go on a 4 mile run around Audubon Park, mainly for my benefit since Bear always seems to be still full of energy when we arrive back home.  So after our run I decide to take him to our fenced in neighborhood park to let him run around and get out  his remaining bit of energy.  Since it is fenced in, I can let him off leash w/out his running into traffic.  Sidenote, this isn't a dog park per-se, since there is a play ground and swings for kids, but 99.9% of people who bring their kids to the park know dogs are there and are amazingly cool about it - they know its good for both the kids and the dog if they familiarize themselves w/ each other.  I have never seen it be a problem and apparently it hasn't been a problem for the past few decades.   Its also a neighborhood park, so everyone knows everyones dogs and kids.  There also only one dog park in the city and it is a good 45 min drive to the other side of town.  People in our area don't have decent sized yards (if any) so most people know that parks are places dogs can run and give their owners breaks.

our little fenced in neighborhood park

Anywho, back to my story.  Bear & I get to the park, I take him off leash and he's having a blast chasing himself around the park because the place is absolutely empty.  I notice one of the ladies I see regularly with her 9old Shepard mix is leaving the park and walking to her house, which faces the park and is a little less than a 1/2 block from the park.  Her dog has always been under great voice command, so she figures for the literally 1 minute walk back to her house, she doesn't need to put her 9 year old dog on a leash -- he wont leave her side and he knows exactly where they're going.   I also notice a man riding a bike stop, get off his bike and start yelling something at the woman.  I take my headphones off and realize there is an altercation going on that goes something like this:

man: "There are leash laws in this city, lady!  That dog needs to be on a leash"

lady (looking back at him kind of shocked): "um sir, I live right here.  He knows where we're going.  Its a minute walk."

man:"That dog is a threat being off of a leash.  What you're doing is illegal and he needs to be on a leash"

lady (now on the steps of her house): "Sir, I live right here.  My dog is not hurting you or anyone else and he is most certainly not a threat.   I suggest you mind your own business."

man: "He is a threat. I own a house in this city too and you're violating my rights and my safety by having that dog off of a leash.  I'm going to call the cops"

(man whips out a cell phone and dials what I can only assume is the police)

lady (as she walks into her house w/ her house): "whatever."

man (now speaking into his phone to the police): "Yes, I'd like to report loose, un-leashed DOGS at the park at the intersection of ___&__.

(Yes, thats DOGS, as in Plural)

One is a large white and grey fluffy Shepard dog.  The other is a large black lab."

My mind: Whoa, pump the brakes dude.  Did this asshat just describe MY dog to the cops!!??? (note: bear is at this point chasing a leaf around the asphalt.  Side note: The guy isn't even IN the park, hes immediately on the other side of the fence!) 

ME (as I wave my hands at the man):  "Um Excuse me, Sir!  My dog is within a fenced, contained area not harming anyone. There is no need for you to include him in your report "

Man: "He is off of a leash in a public area.  he is a threat.   There are leash laws in the city"

ME: "sir, you truly do not know what you're talking about -- my dog isn't bugging you, he's contained and I am watching him."

Man: "I will call the cops every time I see a dog off of a leash in the city.  I don't care where.  There are leash laws in this city and you are violating them right now."

ME: "Fine sir, you do whatever the heck you want, but theres actual crimes going on in this city that are just a tad more important than an old Shepard mix and  a 9 month old puppy running off of a leash under their owners watchful eye.  if you have a problem with that, then you're living in the wrong city"

Man (turning back to the phone w/ the police): "The address of the owner of the first dog is _____ Annunciation Street.  Her licence plate number is..."

This is when i called Bear over, snapped the leash back on him and then hightailed it back to my house around the corner before the guy could get on his bike and follow me to take down my address.  Personally, while I understand that a few people here and there have a genuine fear of dogs, some people, like this guy, seem to find pleasure in being their own law enforcer.  Yes, it is true that we have leash laws in the city and if you are a responsible dog owner, you will abide by them in heavily populated areas, in a non-gated areas and when you know you do NOT have strong voice control over your dog.  But if you are in a pretty empty area, are in a contained place or when you know your dog is completely un-interested in running away form you or bugging anyone, there should be no reason to call the police on something so mundane as a obedient dog that isn't provoking anyone.  

If on the chace you are afraid of dogs and see one off a leash with its owner very close behind, simply walk to the other side of the sidewalk.  If a dog is aggressive you most likely will NEVER see it off a leash.  I cannot speak for irresponsible dog owners though, but unless provoke, 90% of dogs will just bowl you over and lick you to death.  

End of story... I don't know what happened w/ the lady with the Shepard.  I haven't seen her at the park since the altercation, so I don't know if the cops came and cited her or what.  I do know one thing did NOT happen:

Bear, the menace to society

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.  I know that a ton of people who are dog owners / lovers read this blog and it would be great to hear what you think about the whole leash, unleashed topic. 

Pretty Wedding Feature

I will be posting something a little later on, but I wanted to share something I'm so super excited about!

Marisa (from Park & Belmont) and her husband JM just celebrated their 11th month wedding anniversary (you count months when you're a quirky newly-wed) on August 5th and as a little fun way to celebrate, the blog Walking Barefoot featured their gorgeous and beautifully eco-friendly wedding.

Please check out the feature for some awesome wedding eye candy:  Misa & JM's Virginia Farm wedding

and here are my own personal pictures from the gorgeous wedding!

Happy Friday everyone

uh oh...

Yesterday Anthropologie opened their first New Orleans store, so today my friend Leslie & I made the trek downtown to scope it out.  I managed to restrain myself and only purchase a cute pair of tiny earrings:

Because I need another pair of pearl-ish
earrings like I need a hole in my head

To sum up our visit to a little slice of paradise, I can only say that my pocketbook is going to be in a state of shock until I leave this city (or until they actually start having a sale section.  No such luck right now).  oh anthro, how can you be so bad yet so good.

(ps- I DID check out the Fleur de Lys tumblers mentioned in this prior post: they are $36 for a set of 4, but NOT bright red like shown in the picture.  They're actually a magenta pink-ish color.  Sad panda and tsk tsk toward Anthro.)

Mr Bama: the Hero

We had a bit of excitement on Tuesday night.

Mr. Bama helped save a Dog.

Here's what happened:  At around 8:30pm Tuesday night, Mr Bama was sitting in the living room watching TV ($10 says it was either Jersey Shore or Warehouse 13... don't ask) when he heard a car slam on its brakes, skid and then a dog yelping.

He ran outside to see that our neighbor, Kate, had driven down the street to the intersection and hadn't seen another neighbor's incredibly dark Blue Heeler standing in the middle of the road.  We know  Kate since she has a two year old pit bull that loves playing w/ Bear, and she was incredibly upset that she had hit a pup.  The Blue Heeler, whose name we later found out is Tag, was pinned under her Honda and couldn't move. Mr. Bama and a few other good Samaritan neighbors helped pull him out from under the car -- You can imagine that Tag was scared, in a lot of pain, and surrounded by a ton of people he'd never met before.  So in his state of sheer fear, he bit Mr. Bama in the hand (Completely understandable.)  Tag was pulled out and swept to the emergency Vet by his owner, with Kate following close behind.

Mr. Bama, however, ended up with a small, but pretty deep gouge in his hand (warning, if you don't like any form of pictures of open wounds, then quickly scroll down.  I hate those kind of pictures, but this is small and is after it was cleaned.  No blood involved!).

See, not so bad, but it was DEEP.  Small price to pay to save a pup

We ended up heading to the ER to get it looked at -- we weren't 100% sure the dog didn't have rabies and we wanted to be sure that there wasn't any huge damage to the bone, nerves, tendons, etc.  So off we went to Oschner in Jefferson parish

Let me just say that Oschner actually made an ER experience fairly pleasant, considering.  They took us in right away, the staff was incredibly nice with terrific moods and honestly it was the fastest in and out time I have ever experienced at an ER.  Two hours later, we walked out with an antibiotics prescription, an updated tetanus (better than having to get a rabies shot... which for 20 mins we thought he'd have to get) and a bandaged up hand. 

There was one thing Mr Bama did mention as we left the ER that he felt like he deserved after the whole debacle:  ice cream

He's such a trooper

The next day we found out that Tag was recovering nicely.  He did not break his leg like we had all initially thought (just popped his knee and hip out of place) and so he'll be back up and running in no time!  A happy ending to a quite crazy evening!  The funny thing is, while we were waiting in the waiting room, Mr Bama posted the picture of the bite on Facebook (for some reason he likes posting his injuries for all of his friends to oooh and aww at).  The overwhelming question was: "did Bear bite you!!??" Oh sigh....

Things I will never understand: monogram edition

During our road trip up and down to Corolla (yes, I realize that was about a month ago), I noticed something that I found not just weird, but downright annoying. I'm a HUGE monogram fan (I am a super prep-  Just ask anyone who knew me in HS, college or grad school. Heck, I even monogrammed my lax stick back in HS) and I love them - Bags, stationery, jewelry, etc.  But there is one thing that you just don't monogram:  Your car.

If you're going to get one, AT LEAST invest on interlocking or something that doesn't look so dis-joined.  Another pet peeve of mine, monograms that make it so obvious that they have had no design effort put into them.

Yet people are doing it.  And yes I knew that this was occurring when I would see "monogram transfer stickers" for sale online.  And yes, the occasional one is ok and isn't quite as obnoxious.  But on our way to NC I counted 10, yes, 10 cars that had monograms on them.  My huge, lingering question is "why?" Why feel the need to monogram your car.  Some people may respond with "well, why would you put your alma mater sticker on your car?  Isnt that the same thing?"  Personally, I do get a little excited when I see someone w/ a Mary Washington or Texas A&M sticker on their car -- I feel like "hey!  someone who has a shared background and rooted for the same teams.  I wonder if I know them.  Yay!"  I don't think you have the same feeling when you see someone with your same initials and think "Awesome! Another AKC!"  Isn't there a line between tasteful monogram and tacky monogram?  I would definitely love to hear your thoughts on this.

Hello lovely

He he... I had a great past few weeks at work, so recently I rewarded myself with a pair of shoes that I've been stalking since April.

The Pour La Victoire  Edie in Cognac. 

My legs look insanely long when I wear them (we joke that they give you "mannequin legs") and believe it or not, these are COMFY.  And yes, I do have a pair of CH beige peep toe sling backs that I adore, but they're not practical for the winter.  So hello pretty new winter shoes!