Fun Discoveries

I guess I could write a post about what David and I did for Valentine's Day. But that would be about two sentences and not very interesting since we decided to boycott heart day this year. It  was a low-key weekend with my boys, just how I like it!

On Saturday, we went downtown just to get out and about some. All of the shops were having a sidewalk sale, so needless to say it was super busy. Um- dislike. It's good for the local businesses, but it makes shopping in those tiny shops a little troublesome. I have now lived in Thomasville for 7 years. In those 7 years, I have never been in the little antique shop A Different Drummer. I saw a commercial for this shop, and I was wondering where on earth it was downtown and how I could have missed it! So I dragged David down to go shop and for once, we both agreed that this shop was the bomb dot com.

A shop where they have a merganser on their bags? Obviously this place was going to be my jam. This shop specializes in vintage sports art. Mainly wooden decoys.

There were all kinds of sportsman treasures in there. Beautiful works of art, handcrafted furniture, wooden fishing lures, vintage hunting magazines. You name it- they had it. They also have the cutest garden out back. I have seen numerous pictures of this garden and never knew where in town it was. Now I know!

 

The birder in me of course was in love with all of this! I probably would have left with lots of goodies if I had the mind to! Click on the link above to check out much better pictures of this cute store.

I left with this hunting themed framed needlepoint.

It is now hanging up in my kitchen, that is quickly becoming my "plantation" room. My mother knew I had been wanting to start a collection of Spode Woodlands china, so for Christmas, she gifted me some plates.

All of the white plates are Lenox Butler's Pantry and all of the pewter pine cone serving pieces are from The Gift Shop located in downtown Thomasville. The pine cone wine glasses are from Kevin's Outdoors, also in Thomasville.
My sweet brother gifted me one of the prints that my parents had framed for his birthday.

We always had Springer Spaniels growing up, so this print was super special to me. He kept the German Shorthair Pointer picture, which was the other dogs we always had as well. So my new hunting picture I found fits right in!

Other than Valentine's Day, this weekend was also the Great Backyard Bird Count weekend. This is an annual event that the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society does to gather important data on wild birds. It is to help gauge where bird populations are before spring migration. So of course, I had to get a little bird watching in so that I could do my part to help! We had plans to go down to St. Marks so that we could see some ducks and other water birds, but it was a bit too cold on Saturday for all of that. So we hung around the house.

We did go over to Cherokee Lake (which is a local public park) on a whim to see if maybe there were a few brave ducks out on the lake. We got quite the surprise! There were wood storks at the lake. Cherokee Lake is always packed with people, so I was shocked that those storks were just hanging out.  Wood Storks are an endangered species (although they may have been downgraded to just threatened) so it is usually considered rare to get a sighting of these birds. There were 6 of these guys up in the pine trees.

So that was a nice discovery this weekend! It was the first time I have ever been that close to one to get a good picture. We usually only see them flying. I also got to knock a new bird off my list while at the lake- this pretty white-eyed vireo.

It was a relaxing weekend spent with my sweetie with some fun, new discoveries! Hope everyone had a great weekend as well!



Stitch Fix

I decided to give Stitch Fix a try and I have to admit, it was fun! The older I have gotten, the more I hate to shop. Which is weird, because I used to list shopping as a hobby! I just don't have the time for it {ok, I don't make the time for it} and I usually shop more at places like Lowe's than I do at Banana or JCrew. It's so bad that I drove down to Old Navy the other day and I was shocked to see that an Ulta had opened right next to it. I had no idea. And don't get me started that the last time I went to the mall, a stand alone Sephora had opened, and again- I had no idea because I never go shopping!  So that shows how long it had been since I had been to the mall! But in my defense- I work on one side of town in Tallahassee and the mall is on the complete other side of town- so it's just a hassle to go!

So when I heard about Stitch Fix, I figured that I would give it a shot. A stylist picks out clothes for you and sends them to your house? Yes please!

I got my first "fix" yesterday. Overall, I liked what I got. However, I am only keeping one thing they sent and that is the necklace pictured above. Here is some other stuff I got:

 The first top was cuter on- I have to admit. But the Eiffel Tower thing it had going on was a little too "young" looking for this soon-to-be 32 year old. Plus, the off-white coloring did nothing for my skin tone. Moving on.

 I really liked this top. It was SOO cute on. I really wanted to keep it. But I couldn't justify the $78 price tag on it. Come on- it was 100% poly and looked like I could have got it at Forever 21 or something. So, back it went.

The last two items were this cardigan and a pair of charcoal pants? leggings? Not really sure. I liked the cardigan, but I already have a bazillion cardigans {one in that color, i'm sure} so negative. I might would have kept those pant things because they were super comfy and I could see me wearing them in the winter with a sweater and some boots. But they too were $78 and mama don't spend 80 bucks on a pair of pajama jeans.

What is nice about getting the clothes is that they give you styling suggestions. Usually it is a casual look and then a dressier look. That was pretty fun to look at!
I will probably do another one in the next couple of weeks- just because it kinda feels like Christmas when the box arrives!

Oh- if you want to give Stitch Fix a try use my code to sign up and hook a sista up with some credits :-)
http://stitchfix.com/sign_up?referrer_id=3092624

Return of the Mack

It's funny how things in life can remind you of memories long forgotten. When I heard that Target was going to be carrying a Sam and Libby line of shoes- that immediately made me think of one person- my friend Becki. I knew that only she could appreciate this fact. I didn't even know that this brand of shoes was even still around! Granted, I am liking what I am seeing. They have some cute sandals in this Target line. A far cry from my younger days.

Image via Target

 Back in the day, Becki and I knew that we could rock some Sam and Libby shoes. We probably had every color they made between the two of us. Every Sunday, it was matching your S&Ls with your dress. That's just what was up. I mean, see the picture below. They are pretty sweet. Ha!

Image via

It made me think of another brand of shoe, long forgotten, but proudly sported by me and my friends back in the day. In my early middle school days, it was all about the Eastlands. And bet your bottom dollar that your laces had better be tied up like below. If not- you were sooo not cool.

Image via

I would actually sport some of those again today. These other ones that I also had- um, yeah. Not so much.

Image via



Then of course in my later middle school days, it went from Converse shoes and plaid (the Nirvana/grunge era), to Timberlands (both the yellow and the leather kind). It's been kinda funny to watch the clothing trends cycle through. My mom always talked about when bell bottoms came back in style again and her generation. Now I am old enough (eek!) to see some fashion trends from my younger days come back around. Can I get a "day glow" shout out? Not to mention all the old school floral print shirts and shorts that are hot stuff these days. Let's hope the bicycle shorts, skorts, and silk shirts never see the light of day. And the day these bad boys come back in style- I'm out.   

Image via

 And yes- I had several pairs of jeans with zippers at the bottom and plenty of bows on them. Sigh. But I am happy that good ole Sam and Libby are making a comeback!

(Return of the Mack) it is

(Return of the Mack) come on
(Return of the Mack) oh my God
(You know that I'll be back) here I am
(Return of the Mack) once again
(Return of the Mack) pump up the world
(Return of the Mack) watch my flow
(You know that I'll be back) here I go

PS- Thanks Mark Morrison for some epic lyrics. lol

Ferris Bueller Called and He Wants His Glasses Back

Glasses? Glasses? Glasses?

An empty case. That's all I have to show. Because what goes in the case has now disappeared. Vanished.  Yep. I am filling out a missing persons report on my Wayfarers as we speak. I'm praying the worst has not happened.

The only explanation I can come up with is that Ferris Bueller magically appeared, went through my purse, and stole them. The two deviants are now enjoying a fun day off from school together watching ball games, dancing at parades and the like. It can't be that I lost them. Nah! Not just two short weeks after I bought them. Impossible!

I think that after this incident, I have learned that me and Mr. Ray Ban are not compatible. The last pair I purchased were aviators and those wound up committing suicide by jumping off my head and shattering the lenses into a million pieces on the tile floor. Now these have decided to up and walk off. I give up.

I've had colds that have lasted longer than those sunglasses. Sigh...

Friday Faves

It's Friday, ya'll! I think on Friday, I will start posting a few things that I see that I am loving during the week. So let's see what makes the list this week!

1. First and foremost, I am mainly thankful this week for this. It is a huge relief to me to have my office clean and clutter free!  That is why it is making the Friday Faves top spot.

This is my office. And if you will notice, my desk is COMPLETELY free of any papers! My office has been driving me insane here lately by all of the stacks and stacks of things that I needed to get done or put away. As you can see....it's all gone! I stuck around late yesterday to tackle all the things I have been putting off. It was so refreshing to come in this morning and actually see the top of my desk, side table, and hutch! I had stuff EVERYWHERE! Just to prove it, here is what my office normally looks like:

Told ya! Hot mess alert.

2. I am currently digging these earrings. I can't really decide if I like them enough to purchase them, but I think they are cute and whimsical. And if you read my blog, you know I'm not a huge fan of dangling earrings due to my over-stretched ear holes (that sounds dirty, lol).

http://www.bridierbaubles.com/

I think they would be super cute for the summer months down on the beach somewhere.

3. Also making the list is this necklace, also from Bridier Baubles:

http://www.bridierbaubles.com/

I have been eyeing the Bubble necklace from J Crew, but didn't want to spend $150 on a necklace that will probably only be fashionable for one year. The one above is a pretty close second, plus it's only $30!

http://www.jcrew.com/

4. My new sunglasses make the top of the list this week. So pumped for when they come in!

http://www.pineapplegrovegifts.com/

5.  I really love this monogram. I want one to put on a wreath like below. But I love the circular one. Thinking about getting one to go over my bed!

Images via http://www.southernnest.com/

Ok, folks. Those are my Friday Faves! Hope you all have a fabulous weekend/

Back to Regularly Scheduled Programming

I'm back with the post that I intended to do this morning. I had a wonderful weekend in Savannah, as per usual. I got into town a little earlier on Friday due to a brief appointment in Jacksonville, so I was thankful for the early arrival of 6:30 compared to my usual 8:30. This afforded David and I plenty of time to go out and enjoy the night life of Savannah on a Friday night for a change. We decided to try a restaurant that neither of us have been to. We tried Alligator Soul. It was very, very good. Plus it was in a cool location. It was actually in the cellar of another building. The builiding was once used as a grain warehouse (circa 1885). Therefore, it had a very unique ambiance. Plus, there were gators all over the place and this Florida gal could appreciate that! Saturday we loaded up and headed to Tybee Island to get our beach on with friends Paden and Lauren. It was a gorgeous day and perfect beach weather. Bright sunshine and a slight breeze. Perfection! Guess the downfall of the day resulted in me entering into a men's port-a-potty sans shoes. Yeah, that's a memory I would like to forget and hopefully I didn't contract some horrible disease from that encounter with the floor. But I had already walked 1/2 mile down the beach in search of a restroom, so I was committed at that point. Might as well pull a Britney Spears and go for it. Ha! After the beach, we got cleaned up and headed over to Thunderbolt to dine at a place that was right beside the boat landing that Paden was wanting to try. He is quite the food connoisseur, in that he will eat anything, anywhere. Horrible health rating and all!  The only thing I could find on the internet was off of Google Maps. Brace yourself. She is a beauty!

This place looked like it should be in Carrabelle, FL or somewhere.And if anyone ever went to Julia Mae's in Carrabelle, you will understand where I am coming from. It was interesting to say the least, but the food was good. I like hole in the wall places like this where mainly only locals know about it. David and I shared an order of fresh blue crabs (yum!) and boiled shrimp. It was super delicious and you just can't beat fresh, local seafood.

I headed back on Sunday. And much to my delight, I got the following message from Stacey.

I couldn't believe my eyes, Stacey was craving Taco Bell! There are two things in this world that Stacey doesn't care for food wise- Bananas and Taco Bell. When I got home, I made sure that I catered to her craving for delicious fast "Mexican" food.

I have been meaning to try the new Doritos taco for some time now. I am a huge fan of Doritos and a huge fan of Taco Bell. Put the two together and it's amazing. It did not disappoint. Although it didn't help my resolve of eating healthier this week. Or that today was any better, considering I ate some Sweet and Spicy Jalapeno chips and some Skittles for lunch. I am horrible!  
Another brilliant thing we stumbled upon last night were these bad boys:

Image from here

That's right. Monogrammed wayfarers. Whoo hoo!! We ordered these from Pineapple Grove Gifts. I can't even tell you how excited I will be when these come in. I almost broke down and ordered the Ray Ban version, but I'm glad I didn't. These were only $40, so a much better score in my opinion. They are even polarized, if you can believe it. (We will see..)

Anywhoo, that about sums up my weekend. Now I have the joy to go home and take care of this mess. Yay for unpacking. {sike}

Happy Monday, ya'll!

February Birchbox

Guess it's a nice way to start your week and your Monday morning with a little products package waiting on you from Birchbox. Let's see what all I got this month.

• dermalogica - Daily Microfoliant This product looks cool. It is an exfoliating powder that you add water to create a paste that will buff away dead skin cells.  
• EYE ROCK - Designer Liner This really caught my attention. I can't wait to get home to try it. Just because it looks super fun to try

From what I can tell, you peel off the liner and stick it to your eye. Don't know how it will work, but for the pure novelty factor, I like it ;-)

• Jouer - Luminizing Moisture Tint Apparently this is an "award winning" tinted moisturizer
• Juice Beauty - Blemish Clearing Serum I'm all about some blemish clearing products

Then for fun, they threw in a heart shaped nail file and a digital download for Green River Ordinance, some indie rock band "poised to hit the spotlight" so they claim.

That's whats in this month's box. Ready to get home to give them a spin!

A Sneak Peak

Because I know that David doesn't read my blog, I can share with you a little sneak peak at one of his presents for Valentine's Day. I wanted to get him something that he could keep for a very long time. So I thought about it and decided to find something for either his house (which needs a woman's touch) or his office (which also needs a woman's touch). I decided to get him a picture/painting of this place:

Photo via

This is the Citadel Military College in Charleston, SC where David (and his father) went to college. You can get a glimpse of the famous checkerboard floors.

Photo via

David spent many hours marching on this floor in the India Company in this lovely uniform (hehehe)

He looked really cute in his little outfit. So in honor of his time spent at the Citadel, I found a local South Carolina artist who has a lovely pen and watercolor of Bond Hall.

Bond Hall @ the Citadel
Photo via

This is what I purchased and luckily it came today just in time for David's arrival this evening.

Pretty close to the real deal, right? The print came pre-matted and the artist signed the piece again before he sent it off to me. But I wasn't really digging the white matting. So I found a black mat with a navy accent. I thought that would go nicely with the light blue, since the Citadel colors are blue and navy (imagine University of North Carolina colors).

I popped it in a frame that I found at Hobby Lobby. Which after I got it, I realized that it did have any hanging hardware on the back...which really ticked me off. So I will have to go and grab some to attach to the back so he can hang it. Grr...

The frame is a dark wood with just a hint of black at the edges. It shows up more black than it really is in these poor quality iPhone photos.

A little about the artist. His name is Lon Calhoun and his website is www.moegans.com. I think he could do some wonderful gifts for just about anyone on your list. And his prices seem to be very reasonable. Take a look at some of his work. (these pictures are from his website)

 I would love to have a painting done of Oscar, Brutus, and Jr. I think that would be perfect!

 A lovely present for your parents or in-laws - a watercolor of their house.

You can send Lon a photo of anything and he will make a drawing/painting out of it. It's absolutely perfect. And the funny thing about that cowboy graphite drawing is that it looks exactly like my brother Brad!

Ok, so hopefully you are feeling the love this weekend, now that I have shared with you part of my gift to Mr. David. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!