Three things for Thursday...

1. I added some measurements to my maternity denim detail below up for grabs, as inquiring minds wanted to know!

2. My $4.95 jeans arrived yesterday. They're gorgeous, but tragically, are one size too big. :-( I'm SO totally bummed... Guess I'll be returning those puppies. I do think my next designer denim purchase will definitely be Rich & Skinny's though - love them.

3. I'll be drawing a winner for my stationery giveaway tomorrow afternoon! Don't forget to sign up here by 5 o'clock tomorrow! My stuff is rather delicious, if I do say so myself, so don't miss out! :-)

:: One year ago today ::

Up for grabs: Designer Maternity Denim

That's right, ladies con buddha bellies... I've got some maternity denim I'm getting rid of and wanted to see if any of you lovelies were interested. "But Buford Betty, why do you have maternity jeans?" Because dear readers, this girl has mental issues and likes to play scavenger on maternity clearance sites! Puhleez - y'all know this about me. But alas, while we're turning seat cushions looking for spare change these days, I've decided to sell some of my someday closet items. Honestly, I don't think these jeans will really end up fitting me in the future anyway. I did put them up on ebay but didn't have much of any luck. Really with these, it's like if somebody wants them, great - but if not, I'm cool with hanging on to them. I really just want to get back what I paid for them, so that's what my price points are here. OK so here's what's in my trunk...

Seven for all Mankind - for A Pea in the Pod - $110

Maternity Jeans, size Medium (30" inseam), retail was $210

Waist (belly band) measures 15" across at top when lying flat; hips measure 20"

I love Seven's and have several pair (non-maternity obviously), but these particular ones are the SOFTEST jeans ever. And the inseam is short enough for most to wear with flats or flops. Not the usual Amazon woman leg length of their normal jeans.

Paige Premium Denim Maternity Capris - $50

size 30, retail was approx. $168

Hips measure 19.5" across when lying flat.

I also love me some Paige denim... these are super cute too and damn, what a deal. I hate to part with them for loss of my bragging rights. But I've only really been able to brag to my dogs so far since they're just collecting dust in my closet.

Like I said, if any of you gals are interested, GREAT! If not, no bigs. I will let these go on a first-comment-first-serve basis... just specify which one you want (or you're welcome to both, of course) and leave me your email so I can contact you. I'll collect payment via paypal, just to keep it simple. If they arrive and you're not in love, I'll gladly take them back and refund your money provided you return them within 7 days and in their original condition. Geez, I am starting to sound like fine-print!

I'll certainly be glad to answer any questions on these before you buy - commenting does not obligate you to buy - it just means I'll go to you first. Both of these have the under belly band and both just pull up and on - no buttons or zippers, etc. And both are new with tags - never worn. (Though it's possible somebody may have tried them on once with a pillow stuck under their shirt - no idea who, but I'm just sayin'.)

Alright girls, have at it! And speaking of designer denim, guess what arrives today! I'm sooo pumped. Oh please fit, please fit! I'll give y'all the scoop tomorrow...

:: One year ago today ::

Stylin' courtside.

One of my girlfriends sent me an email this morning in a desperate search for a "cute" tennis bag. I know I've seen these everywhere... even Vera Bradley makes them now. But she needed more than just a cute racquet cover. She wanted a big ole bag to carry two racquets, balls, shoes and whatnot. She has recently gotten into tennis and she's got the cute skirts and all, but needs a bag with some style. And I agreed... afterall, looking cute on the court should be the #1 goal right? I mean it's just a game... win or lose, looking cute while doing it is key. ;-)

I did a little digging and also consulted Christmas bride, who is quite the tennis cutie herself. I knew she'd know just where to find one. And she did - these bags from Ame & Lulu are so darn cute, they make me want to throw on a skirt and grab a racquet myself...

Super cute, huh? Just thought I'd pass those along in case anyone else was looking for some stylish gear. They also have other "active" accessories... cute yoga bags and also golf stuff too for you preppy golfin' gals. I love all the fabrics... so dreamy! Do y'all have any other sites with fun athletic accessories?

Hope y'all had a good weekend... ours was pretty low-key. We had a 30th birthday party Friday night - for kuntry bride's hubby. I swear that's all we do lately - celebrate people's 30th birthdays. It's all my crew though - we've all been taking the plunge over the last year. Hub's crew is well past it. Shoot, I'm already starting to think about his 40th! Hahahahha....

:: One year ago today ::

I'm in love...

...with Rue La La. Not that we weren't having a torrid love affair before, but now it's official: we're an item. I had a good credit building for referrals and was just waiting and waiting on that *certain* item to pounce on. Wasn't sure what it would be... but this morning at 11:01am, we met.

Ladies, behold my new Rich & Skinny jeans. A $200 pair of jeans that I scored for... drumroll, please... $4.95.



OMG... so excited. Rue La La had them for $75 (which in and of itself is a great deal) so after my credit, I only had to pay some shipping costs (the $4.95). Here's hoping they fit! I can return them if not, but surely won't be able to exchange them since the boutique will be long gone. They're from the same makers of Seven and Citizens, and I know how those fit me... so I took a guess. Anyway, so keep spreading that la-la-love. It'll pay off! I am on cloud 9. I mean I can't even get a Chick-fil-A for $4.95. But I got some wicked ass jeans!!!!!! Woo hoo!!!!! What a great start to the weekend, huh?!

:: One year ago today ::

Ok this one's funny because I have this dress up on ebay right now!

Christian Siriano up on Bluefly

Y'all, he is just too adorable for words. But I'll try... So in the words of the great Paula Abdul, "[Christian], you are ridiculous. I want to squish you, squeeze your head off, and dangle you from my rear-view mirror."

Christian's collection is now up on Bluefly. Fierce tranny hotness!

:: One year ago today ::

New Markdowns at Isabella Oliver!

I don't talk about it too much, but all my girls know I have a slightly unhealthy obsession with maternity clothes. I just adore them. And I know, I know - I've never been pregnant - and therefore, have never worn maternity clothes. So what the hell do I know? But for whatever reason, they fascinate me. And as much as I want to be a mom, I want just as much to experience being pregnant so I can have a big ole buddha belly and rock some seriously fly maternity wear. Someday, someday! (Now watch me end up one of those in misery their entire pregnancy who won't leave the house in anything but a muu-muu.)

Anyway, I know of lot of you lovely ladies are expecting, so just wanted to pass along a good sale. Isabella Oliver is one of my favorite maternity brands and they don't usually do big markdowns, so this one's good. I just love their clean and classic lines. Simple, chic, and much of their collection is absolutely timeless. Now they're certainly not the cheapest maternity wear out there, but these are great pieces and hey - sale! They specialize in a "wrap" technique found on a lot of their pieces that allows you to wear them through each stage of pregnancy and even beyond. Here's a few of my favorites styles...

Swoon! Drool! Love it all. Now go get you some, mommas, so I can live vicariously through you! And I know I haven't really brought up the whole baby thing much lately. I was really down in the dumps last month about it - probably at my lowest point in the last 2.5 years dealing with all this crap. I was just starting to get really bitter. And then more bitter because I was bitter about being bitter. But I've totally had a breakthrough since my staycation (I'm telling you, they do wonders). Actually I've just had to re-focus my attention on other things that are more important right now, and for us that's working hard on getting ourselves in a better place financially. With no rental income coming in right now (on our townhouse) and the hub's job change earlier this year, it's gotten pretty damn tight. Oh and yeah - those damn gas prices, hello! I know everyone's feeling the pinch. But yeah, lately there seems to be too much month at the end of our paycheck. So we're cutting back and getting creative - and I have to say, and I know this sounds weird, but it's actually kind of fun finding new ways to save/earn money. It's not all fun, but you know, some things... like I've been having fun on ebay and become quite the coupon clipper! So that's definitely our main focus right now and it suddenly became clear to me a couple of weeks ago - seriously like light-bulb-going-off clear - that now is just NOT the time to have a kid.

We are absolutely still going to be aggressive with getting prego when we're ready, but it's just become clear that now is not the right time. That's not to say that 3 months from now won't be a different story, who knows... But I don't know, I feel like God is like, "see, Buford Betty, I told you I know what I'm doing here." I get it, I get it! And can I tell you what a RELIEF that is? I seriously feel a million times better about the whole baby thing right now. I know I will be a mom one day, by some means, but not today. And honestly, I don't want to get prego until I'm in a position where I can really enjoy it. I want to wear fabulous maternity clothes. I want to go APE shit with the nursery. I have big, big ideas in my head and they ain't cheap. So it's all good. It'll happen when it's meant to happen, I know this. So I'm not telling you all this to fuel sympathy, but to let y'all know I'm in a very good place right now mentally with it all. The hub and I are still loving our time together - just us two. OK, us two and three crazy dogs. But we are loving our "freedom." So all that to say, we are cooling our heels on the baby-making business right now. Not not-trying, but not really hard-core trying. I ditched the ovu kits. Damn things rarely worked for me anyway. I'm just literally not worrying about it. And it is SO freeing. Now watch me get knocked up next month.... go figure! ;-)

Alright enough of that... appropriate material for hump day though, right? Hehehe... Alright girls, have a good Wednesday and don't forget to leave your name for my giveaway below!!!

:: One year ago today ::

Stationery Giveaway!

So after my lovely staycation, I feel like my creative juices have been resqueezed - all fresh and fruity and ready to flow. That sounds kinda gross. But no, it's a good thing! I've got paper orders out the wazoo right now and we're also planning a couples' shower for some friends (more on that later). So my creative meter is running on *high* currently. Anyway, in celebration of not-much-other-than-that (a.k.a. "just because"), I'm doing my first little giveaway! How excited are you?!

I was actually getting some other supplies a few days ago and I stumbled upon this cute collection of colorful mod prints and I immediately wanted to work something up with them. Aren't these fun? Much cuter in person, really.

So leave your name (and email address if you don't have a blog) and I will draw a winner next Friday, August 1st. I'll be doing a set of 12 foldover cards with lined envelopes. And I'll put the winner's first initial on the face of the cards to personalize them a bit. A girl can never have enough good stationery, you know.

Thanks all, and good luck! :-)

:: One year ago last weekend ::

(And that reminds me bestest, did you EVER read the 7th book?!)

Is YOUR Starbucks closing?

Here's the list.

A fun little Friday meme for youyou!

Thanks for the tag, Miss Lili NC. I'll gladly pause from number-crunching to talk about myself for a minute. Hehehe...

A. Attached or Single? Attached for good. :-)
B. Best Friend? Duh!
C. Cake or pie? Pie hands down.
D. Day of choice? Friday!
E. Essential item? A gigantic handbag filled with many essential items. ;-)
F. Favorite color? Pink.
G. Gummy bears or worms? Neither - ew.
H. Home town? Atlanta 'burbs... various spots.
I. Favorite indulgence? ice cream.
J. January or July? I like January for new beginnings, but tax season starts in January, so it's not exactly my *favorite* month. Let's go with July.
K. Kids? Someday! Our doggies are our kids right now.
L. Life isn’t complete without? Great girlfriends to get you through it.
M. Marriage date? 11.02.02 (my parents' date was 11.02.68)
N. Number of brothers and sisters? I'm an only.
O. Oranges or Apples? I like both but I eat apples way more.
P. Phobias? Spiders and roaches. Ahh!!!!
Q. Quotes? "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."
R. Reasons to smile? I have many. We all do.
S. Season of choice? Definitely fall.
T. Tag 5 people: Bestest, Etiquettely Correct, le petite blog, The Preppy Lizard, and YOU!
U. Unknown fact about me? I never had any wisdom teeth.
V. Vegetable? I love veggies. Not sure I can pick just one! Spinach maybe.
W. Worst habit? Procrastination for sure.
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Um... I've had several of both. Is that the question?
Y. Your favorite food? single food item? probably cheese or olives. kind of food? probably Mexican. I could eat Mexican food everyday.
Z. Zodiac sign? Libra.
(Another) Z. Which zoo animal is your favorite? Gorillas for sure. I miss Willie B. :-(

Happy Friday, all! :-)

Would y'all believe...

...that I actually marked *everything* off yesterday's to-do list? Every last thing! That's got to be a first. I'm usually quite overly ambitious with my daily to-do's, so it was rather thrilling to pull that list out this morning and realize I did every little task I set out to do. Ahhh.... so satisfying. But look... I have a whole new list for today. ;-)

I'm hoping to get in a good "catch-up" post this weekend, but here's something to nibble on for the time being... I came across this post the other day and it really got me thinking about selling my wedding dress. Never really gave it much thought before, but I was like.... why not?! I mean what am I going to do with it? I always thought I'd eventually preserve it, but I hadn't even had the darn thing cleaned yet. It's a Reem Acra gown and undoubtedly the most expensive piece of "clothing" I'll ever have owned, but y'all... it's just been hanging in my closet in a bag for the last 5 1/2 years. Seriously I do not envision any of my imaginary daughters ever wanting to wear it. If they're anything like their mother, they'd want something new and bright and shiny and all their own. And I was fortunate enough to have a fabulous photographer who took a ridiculous amount of photos - so I have endless images of me in the dress. So really, what's to miss? If we (meaning the dry cleaners) can get all the stains out (and that may be a big IF), I think I can probably get at least 2 G's for the gown. I already asked my parents and they are fine with it. My mom said it's kind of cool to think about the gown having a second trip down the aisle. I think so too!

So girls, what are your thoughts? My dress is actually at the cleaners right now so I'm sold on doing this, but just wondered what you guys thought. All my girlfriends that I've mentioned it to have eagerly answered, "Sell it!!!" Did any of you ladies part with your beloved dress? Any regrets? The dress definitely has sentimental value, but I have other pieces that mean way more to me. My tiara is staying with me for sure. It was custom made and I adore it - and that is something I could imagine my daughter wearing on her wedding day. Y'all know I'm really an accessories girl, after all.

J. Crew Factory Store

So a while back the hub needed some new shorts and stuff, so we drove up to our local outlets. On the way out we hit the J. Crew outlet. And I say on-the-way-out not because it was an afterthought, but because it is stuck on the butt-end of the darn outlet mall, away from all my other stores. And I don't enjoy walking miles and miles in the summer heat. So we usually move our car and run in crew right before leaving. And this particular one is fairly small. And honestly, a lot of these outlets (like crew, banana, etc) just annoy me because now everything is "made" for the outlet. It's not like J. Crew overstocks or irregular items or discontinued stuff... it's basically cheaper renditions of crew's current catalog. Which is fine - whatever - as long as you realize that and don't think you're getting some *awesome* deal because their chinos are $10 less. And don't get me started on the outlet version of the flip flops... shameful. But anyway, my whole purpose for this post is to alert y'all to the awesome sales going on at the J. Crew outlet right now! It's always hit or miss, like any outlet, but right now it's a HIT with a capital Hell Yeah! I thought we just happened to get in on a good weekend when we were up there, but this past weekend we were up visiting MIL and FIL and we went to their outlets up in TN. Their J. Crew had the same prices still going on - weeks later. If Buford Betty's wallet wasn't on lockdown, she'd have had a hay day. Well first I'll tell you what we ended up getting the first trip (at our outlets several weeks ago). For $97, we got:

-2 shirts for the hub (Honestly I don't remember them. Who cares about boy stuff?)
-1 pair 5-inch chino shorts for me
-3 pairs city-fit cafe capris for me - THREE!

Yeah I know we went there looking for the hub, but y'all, they had cafe capris for $19.99! Don't know if I've mentioned it before, but those are my absolute favorite pants of theirs and I stalk the place till they go on sale...


The outlet's version fits just like my regular ones - material is a little more broken-in-chino feeling (not as crisp looking as the regular crew version), but they look great. And I like $19.99 a helluva lot better than $78 or whatever they go for in the real store. The shorts were also a major purchase for me. Make that *mayjah*. I'm not a big fan of my legs in shorts. I've tried on probably 30 pairs all spring and summer. Even bought some at one point but soon returned them. For whatever reason, these clicked and I've worn the heck out of them!

OK so I was excited to see the prices were still just as low when we went this past weekend. Plus, they have a ton of stuff on clearance which is an additional % off (it was an extra 30% off at this particular one). So... while I got nothing for me, I did get Lucky some goodies for her 30th birthday (which is today!). She is gonna LOVE me! I got all of this for $40...



They also have a ton of madras items. Y'all have to go - prices are ridiculous. So if you have a J. Crew outlet near you, get a move on! So many cute things at delicious prices!

Vineyard Vines at Rue La La

I know a lot of you are big Vineyard Vines fans. If so, make sure you've joined Rue La La so you can get in on their VV boutique that opens tomorrow at 11am (EST). The goods go very fast so you need to have hand-on-mouse at 10:59 tomorrow morning!


Leave your email if you still need an invite...

Back to the grind!

I'm back! I had a wonderful staycation and feel rather refreshed about life in general. It's amazing what a good week at home can do. I knocked a lot off my to-do list, but I could still use another week or five. Who couldn't?! I've missed y'all and I'm finally getting back to catching up on blog reading. Back with more later...

Staycation!

I hope you all had a fabulous 4th! We had a ton of fun at the Peachtree. The hub did really well - though he was a little nauseous afterward. It was amazing how well organized it was. And being down there made me really want to run it. So I'm definitely in next year! Even just spectating, we ended up walking several miles... so geez - I might as well run the darn thing! And as I anticipated, it was definitely great people watching. From one dude running in "hot pants" and a cape, to firemen in their full fireman getup... it was quite a site to see. The hub and his pals were in the 5th group to start (there were 9 total - making up about 60,000 runners). The race started at 7:30am but his group didn't take off till nearly 8:30. So there was a lot of standing around and waiting at first - which you'll see in some of these pics. An unbelievable amount of people! I'd love to see a bird's eye view of all of this...

The hub's group waiting to start the race.

Helicopters everywhere... I happened to catch 3 hovering together. Can you see them?

One of the groups getting ready to go. The volunteers are in the yellow shirts.

Finally moving toward the start line! That American flag was HUGE - and it gave me an awesome sense of pride.

Just a few of the exhuasted runners after crossing the finish line!

So we definitely had a blast. Although riding MARTA back up to our car with hundreds of smelly runners... NOT so fun. Sweaty sardines.

Well this weekend kicked off my week-long STAYcation! I've seen several of you posting about what you'd do on a staycation... well I'm actually taking one this week! I've got a big old to-do list that I'm getting ready to tackle and I'm super excited about it and really motivated to get a lot of stuff done at home. So I've got several days at home to work on different projects around the house. And then Friday we're leaving to visit MIL and FIL up in Tennessee. That's going to be a nice little getaway and we're really looking forward to it. So I'm going to really do my best to "un-plug" this week and focus on my to-do's. I'm so bad about "hopping" on the computer to check email and then oh, three hours later... yikes. So I really am going to take a good bloggy break this week as well. So y'all have a fabu week. I definitely plan to! :-)

:: One year ago this past weekend ::

(Been busy... oops!)

The skinny on Dinner A'Fare

Well I'm going to take a bubble bath and get in the bed before too long since we have to be up so dang early tomorrow to head to the race... but first I thought I'd take a few to catch y'all up on our trip to Dinner A'Fare a couple of weeks ago. I told ya I'd come back with my review so here I am, finally.

First of all, here's how it works... You go online, choose a location, and pick out your meals from their current menu (which changes monthly). I think they had about 15 dishes to choose from and we picked 12. Because it's just the hub and me, we did 12 half-dishes (which serve 2-3 people). The total for the 12 halves was $160. Now if you're just interested in picking up the food, you can have them prepare everything for you and you just schedule a time to pick it up. I think it may cost a little extra to do it that way - not sure. But the real fun was going into the kitchen and putting all the dishes together! OK alone this would not be fun, but with friends or other couples, totally fun. We went with another couple and actually had the whole place to ourselves - it was a Sunday afternoon. We had a total blast. Even the hub totally raved about it. One dish the boys put together called for tequila, so there was a squirt bottle of tequila with the rest of the prepared ingredients. So of course the boys thought it was hilarious to squirt shots of low grade tequila in their mouths all night.

The kitchen also lets you bring in your own wine, so we were having a good ole time. All the stations are set up for a certain dish, and you just hop around to each station to prepare your specific menu. They have all the ingredients chopped up and ready to go with printed step-by-step directions overhead. Here's a look at one of the prep stations...



And a few goofballs in the kitchen...hehehe...


After preparing a dish, you go to the wrap station and wrap it up, label it, and it's ready to freeze. We brought a cooler with us, but if you were going straight home afterwards, I think you'd be OK with just some good grocery bags or totes. After wrapping up each dish, you stick it in their fridge till you're ready to go. The website really explains the process better than I can, but it was really just a ton of fun. Although the real question is - is the food any good? Well we've had 4 dishes now and I can proudly say, hell YEAH it's good. Everything so far has been excellent. And y'all also know that I'm an obsessive calorie counter, so I was excited to see that they display all the nutritional info on their online menu to aid in choosing your dishes. They also print the same info on the labels you use to wrap up each meal to take home and freeze. The first dish we ate was the chili lime crab cakes. I added the green salad, but here's a look...


Delish! Actually the hub got a little carried away with the "chili" part of the crab cakes, so they were rather HOT. But they were really really good. It's also cool to see some interesting combos of ingredients they come up with there... like we did a pork tenderloin dish that has a strawberry salsa topping with cilantro in it. Strawberries and cilantro... not sure I would've thought to put those two together, but it was yum-o!!!

Anyway, so Dinner A'Fare gets a big thumbs up from me. It was a great date night. I think it'd also make a fun girls' night out. You can also do private parties if you have a large enough group. And I also think it makes a GREAT gift for someone... it's the perfect gift for the busy gal or busy couple. I think it makes an awesome gift for newlyweds to use right after they get back from their honeymoon as they ease into their new life together. And especially for expectant parents! What a fun little outing for a momma- and daddy-to-be just before baby arrives... and then they've got a couple of weeks worth of meals taken care of! So yeah, I'm all about it. And I do love to cook when I get the notion. I cook a good bit - so don't think this is something only for people who don't like to cook. But with our busy and often unpredictable schedules, it's nice to know there's a yummy meal there ready to go if I'm not in the mood to cook.

So have any of y'all tried one of these type places? I know there are lots of different chains that do this sort of thing, but this is my first time - so Dinner A'Fare is really the only one I can vouch for. We'll definitely be back!

Help! We need a Peachtree plan...

photo by Kevin C. Rose

OK jawja peaches, I need some help coming up with a good plan of action for tomorrow morning. The hub is running the Peachtree with a bunch of friends. Some of them are getting rooms in town so they don't have to deal with parking and whatnot. We're driving down at the butt crack of dawn, but we don't know what our plan is yet. I've lived here all my life but I've never experienced the Peachtree, so this is totally new territory for me. The race is usually well over before I even get out of the shower on July 4th. I'm familiar with the area of course, but streets are closed and blocked off and there's all kinds of stuff setup everywhere. And not only do we have the Peachtree as usual, but Atlanta Pride is also happening this weekend, so it's going to be nuts.

OK so the hub is running, so we'll probably drop him and his buddies off as close to the start line as possible, and then we spectators will go park and pick a spot to do some serious spectating. This looks like it's going to be the Olympics of people watching - I can't wait! So we'll definitely bring some chairs - assuming those are allowed. (Note to self: check to see if chairs are allowed.) I better not assume anything though... the hub said they don't even allow runners to use iPods. Anyway, the start line is around Lenox/Phipps, right? So I'm wondering if I can get in the deck at Lenox and park there? I have no idea. Where are the best places to cop a squat and watch? I know there will be all kinds of fun stuff going on. I need to do some research... Peachtree pros, any tips would be much appreciated!

Real Housewives of Atlanta

I will definitely be tuning in to this! And hello, why didn't Bravo contact Buford Betty?! Hahhaha...

Per the article, "Fans can catch a 30-minute preview of The Real Housewives of Atlanta at midnight on July 30. Meanwhile, a premiere date of the full series hasn't been set."

Reader Poll.

I came across these the other day. Who doesn't love some Marc Jacobs? But I can't decide...

Super cute or super silly?!

My initial thought was CUTE! Then I was like I dunno... kinda silly? If you saw these mice prancing around town, what would your thought be? (Note that they won't be on my feet anytime soon as my wallet says hell no, Marc, hell no!)