Getting ready for Easter!

Easter weekend is of course extra, extra fun this year.  For one thing, we got to go visit the Easter Bunny...

Sam was thrilled, obviously!  And yeah, I ended up getting Sam the little gingham Gap romper.  The Old Navy sandals too, but he kicked those off while trying to figure out the Easter Bunny!

And this week I also got a cute dress to wear from Old Navy.  Great dress sale going on this week!  I think it goes through Easter Sunday, so take a peek if you're on the hunt for a cute and affordable Easter dress.  Tons of styles!  Some as low as $15.  This one was $25...

And I finally put the kibosh on adding more goodies to Sam's Easter basket bucket.  It's way too easy to get carried away.  And it's ridiculous because he won't even thank me for it!!!  Here are most of the items...

His Nana got him the Peter Rabbit doll - it is so sweet!  I also snagged a clearance Peter Rabbit bib and burpee set from Pottery Barn Kids (sold out - can't find a good pic) that I got personalized with Sam's name.  Even his spit-up will be stylin'!  Ugh, and as I was looking for the link to the bib set, I saw that the Peter Rabbit bucket I bought at full price is now on clearance.  Drives me insane!!!  I didn't want to risk it selling out - I've missed out on several seasonal PB things before because I waited.  But they got me this time. Drats... oh well, it's still stinkin' cute!

We plan to do the early service at church that Sunday.  The 11am is nuts anyway, but on Easter - especially nuts.  No thanks!  Then we'll have an Easter lunch at my parents' house... about 12 or so people altogether.  I'm attempting cake pops for the first time ever.  This will be interesting... I'll take pics!  Just remember, I'm not a baker.  Should be fun!  And on another note, did I tell y'all we put Sam in the nursery (Waumba Land) at church last week for the first time?  He did great!

Here is one of the sweet volunteers loving on him...

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!  Gosh, only 3 more weekends before I return to work from maternity leave.  I hate thinking about leaving my little man, but at the same time - I can't say I'm dreading going back to work.  So that is good... I'm going back at the best time possible - it will be our slow season.  And I AM looking forward to getting back into a routine.  Plus we really love Sam's daycare/school - I think he will have fun there! 

We have already established a nighttime routine for Sam, as far as having a consistent bedtime and bedtime routine (the 4 B's: Bath / Book / Boob / Bedtime Prayers)... so that has helped me prepare for the inevitable early mornings yet to come!  And the best news... as of a few nights ago, he started sleeping through the night!  It's only been four nights total now, but we're hoping this is our new normal.  He has slept between 7 and 8 hours each night.  So let's pray this continues!  I totally don't mind getting up for that 2 or 3am feeding... but a full night's sleep is awfully good.  Sure is!

Enjoy this weekend and Spring Break if that applies to you... I'm working on getting my baby item favorites post up shortly.  It's a long one, so it takes me several sittings (read: Sam's naps) to get it all finished.  :-)

Dude...

WHY cannot I not get my butt on the 'puter to blog?  Like everything else in life, it is a total chore right now.  Going to the bathroom is a chore.  The 3rd trimester slowdown has come on with a vengeance.  I'm not fatigued like I was during the 1st trimester, but Sam is so mushed up in there that it's hard to breathe.  So the littlest thing, like talking, gets me out of breath.  My sweet husband suggested I just stop speaking.  Hahaha...

My Braxton Hicks contractions did get the better of me last night...  we missed the neighborhood Christmas party because of them!  I've had them on and off throughout the day the last few weeks, but the doctor said not to worry about calling unless we had more than 6 an hour.  Well, first I'm supposed to get horizontal and drink a glass of water if I have six.  And if they don't slow down, then we call.  So last night I was having them like every 10 minutes for over two hours, so we did call.  Only for them to tell me that there's not much to do since I'm past 34 weeks.  Baby is super viable at that point, so if labor were to start, they're not going to interfere too much at this point.  OK whatever... I felt better after hearing that, although I do want this little booger to stay in there and bake as long as he can.  We go for another OB visit on Tuesday so I will ask again if there's any different protocol for my situation since my doctors don't want me going into labor period... I failed to think to ask that last night, but I'm not worried.  These definitely aren't true labor contractions.  But hopefully we can get some more assurance on Tuesday.

We were supposed to hit the mall after church today to finish up the last bit of Christmas shopping we had, but decided to play it safe and lay low.  Shopping (well, standing up or walking for long at all) has gotten super difficult.  I've only been able to do quick trips.  I did do a BRU-Kohl's-Target run Friday afternoon with my mom and I think that did me in.  From now on it's either Amazon or a motorized scooter.  The hub is taking good care of me... whether it's a 4am poptart or an emergency backrub, he comes running.  The other day he said he can't wait to sit in our rocker and doze off with Sam in his arms.... wow, melt my heart!  He's going to be such a great daddy.

So, all is good... the nursery is really, really coming together!  As I type, the hub and my dad are upstairs finishing up the beadboard in the bathroom.  The cornice board for the nursery has been assembled, but for the fabric - it is going to look SO great!  Still waiting on some other little odds and ends - various fabric projects/accessories and also lighting fixtures... but the major projects are all but done.  Can't wait to see it all come together!

And lastly, for now, here are some pics from one of my last showers.  This one was hosted by my wonderful godmother.  We had a fabulous turnout - lots of great friends of my mother's came all the way from Alabama to help us celebrate.  And a lot of my sweet friends came from all over as well - many who I hadn't seen in forever!  It was a great afternoon...

Sam's own little Christmas tree!

The sweet hostess with the mostess!

Eating for two... nom nom nom!

One of my favorite gifts!  A sweet name plaque for Sam from my friend, Jill.

I think I'm trying to explain to my mom what Baby Legs are...

One of my dear friends gave us this awesome wagon!

Uh, yeah...

This is what I wore... Gap dress with my Target shoes and grey tights.  Dress was cute on - if I didn't move.  But I had horrid static cling that day, no matter what I tried... so it did not hang so well at the shower.  Oh well...

Shower Outfits for this Weekend

Can't believe my first showers are HERE!  I'm so, so excited.  And of course all the goodies for Sam are totally fun, but I'm also thrilled to get a lot of our friends and family together that we don't see all that often.  So fun to celebrate this special time with all of them!

Tomorrow's couples' shower is hosted by some great friends of ours.  I'm glad the hub and the grandpas get to participate in some fun!  I'm going a little more casual for this one - but fabulous nonetheless, right?!

I actually changed up this outfit last minute.... I had something entirely different in mind, but I threw this together Wednesday night to go out for our anniversary dinner and decided it was WAY cuter than my shower ensemble.  So the old outfit got the boot!  The blouse and jeans are from Old Navy.  I got the shoes off Amazon to go with the original shower outfit, but they look great with this new one!  And I'll finish it off with some chunky gold bangles.  Super cute!


Sunday's shower is hosted my several of my sweet girlfriends and will surely be a bit more "girly" so I'm of course going with a dress for that one...

I tell ya... finding cute fall and winter maternity dresses is quite the challenge.  Summer is EASY.  Fall and winter?  Not so much.  But Gap has been my savior here.  The dress is from Gap - and that necklace in the pic is not part of the dress, FYI.  It's such a flattering cut and easy to wear.  I'm pairing it with some burgundy tights and metallic pewter shoes from Target.  The tights are not maternity - just some basic ones from Target that I may have to slice the waistband on to be comfy.  But hey, for $7 tights, I don't mind breaking out the scissors.  The shoes were a mere $19.99 and look much nicer in person.  They look pretty cheap in this pic.  Well, cuz they are.  But they really do look better in real life.  The only shoe options in my closet were flats, which would make me look frumpy, or 3.5 heels, which would surely send me to the hospital in my extra-clumsy state. 

Excited!  Can't wait to tell y'all all about the showers on the other side.  TGIF and hope you all have fabulous weekends!

The Weekend

...is almost over, but that's OK because we have our first ultrasound in the morning! I've been totally relaxed and calm about all this since last Tuesday. Which is really refreshing given that I was a bit of a basket case last weekend. But yeah, we have our first ultrasound tomorrow at 8am and we'll see my doctor to discuss the results. I'm sure I'll be a little anxious going into it, but right now I'm just excited. I can't believe we've made it this far! It's been a loooooong two weeks leading up to this point.

We're now in the 7th week (6w2d today)...

Your embryo makes great strides in size this week, growing to between 0.44 inches and 0.52 inches from crown to rump by the end of the week, or about the size of a small raspberry. Leg buds are starting to look like short fins, and hands and feet have a digital plate where fingers and toes will develop. The heart and lungs are becoming more developed, as are the eyes and nostrils, intestines and appendix. By now the brain and spinal cord are growing from the neural tube [webmd.com].


Looks like a little alien doesn't it? Growing like a weed. I will get news up here on the ultrasound as soon as I can! Big prayers that everything is developing as it should be and where it should be. And we should be able to tell if there's one or two little peas in there! Again, I'll be seriously surprised if there's more than one, but you never know.

So I actually wore a pair of maternity shorts today. There's no chance in hell of me getting into any of my other shorts right now, so I broke down and got a pair at Old Navy this weekend with a nice elastic waistband since it's so dang hot. They're really cute and comfortable on my pooch...




Another random purchase we made this weekend? Shift your attention from babies to dogs for a minute here. Have y'all heard of these Thundershirts?



A friend introduced them to us last night and we were so intrigued. They're really affordable, so we didn't think twice about giving these a try on our dogs. Our two have lots of um... "behaviors" that these thundershirts claim to help correct. We'll see. I'll definitely let y'all know how they work out. We ordered them today off of Amazon. You have to watch the video on the main website though - it's hilarious. You'd think they gave the dog a tranquilizer.

This weekend in general was pretty low key, though we managed to squeeze a lot in. My sweet friend, Lucky, and her hubby had a going-away bash. She's an army wife now and they are leaving Atlanta for the west coast on their first of many moves/adventures. I'm SO sad to see her go, but we're all thrilled for them too. It's an exciting move! I also met some girlfriends today to see Bridesmaids for a second time. Hilarious, again. And the hub recently got a bug to do some painting in the house, so we made a trip to Home Depot this afternoon and got all kinds of paint supplies. He made good progress today and I did a good job of napping and occasionally pointing while he worked.

Really just staying awake this weekend was a major accomplishment. The fatigue during these early weeks is no joke. Which reminds me, I need to go to bed...

Oh and P.S. - I got promoted to manager this past week at work! Ordinarily I would've made a big to-do out of that when it happened but it kinda took me by surprise the day it was announced and honestly, my mind's just been elsewhere lately! Though, I am very thrilled about the promotion and my mom will be happy that I finally mentioned it on here! ;-)

Now, for real - bed.

FET Update on Good Friday!

Ahhh... I've been away from the computer for three whole days. I didn't even log in to online banking for like a 48 hour period - that's got to be a personal record. My mom and I took a girls' trip over to Birmingham this week as a post-tax-season getaway. We had a fabulous time! We stayed at a great B&B right in town (the ONLY one in town, actually) and had a fun couple of days exploring the city. Our best discovery while there? This amazing spice store - Penzey's! I had never heard of it before. We were in there over an hour sniffing away and loading our baskets. Why Atlanta doesn't have one of these, I don't know - but one of the ladies there who helped us said they're looking for a spot in Atlanta! Oh, yes, please come!!!

I also left my Moo Goo diet behind as soon as we crossed the state line. I seriously ate more bread in the last three days than I have in the last six months. No for real - that is not an exaggeration. I ate ridiculous amounts of gluten and dairy-full goodness. But vacation's over and I'm going to be good now! I've got to get my oven bake-ready, so I'm really going to be good. After one final hoorah last night over margaritas with the hub, I'm going to stick to my guns going forward.

So yesterday was officially FET cycle day #1 (hence my need to get back on the wagon)! I called my nurse while on the road back to Atlanta. They sent me my protocol info for all my meds. And our transfer is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11th!!! Wow, less than three weeks now. I stay on Lupron right up until the transfer, but they cut my dose back to 5 units (was on 10 units). So I did my first dose of 5 units this morning. I also start the Estrace (estrogen) today. The dosage will go up little by little, but right now I'm doing 1mg by mouth in the morning, and 2mg vaginally at night. Yep, that's just as fun as it sounds - but nothing I'm not used to.

My ultrasound to check my lining will be Monday, May 2nd. We're really praying for some fabulous lining here! I know I will be a bit anxious that morning to see how I measure up, as this has always been a weak area for me. And then the progesterone shots with the big-ass needles should begin later that week. Exciting stuff!

The only thing not-so-exciting about all this is the extra fluff around my belly. I've already gained 5lbs (and I'm sure my calorie fest over the last couple of days will only help matters!) and now that I'm starting the Estrace, I'll really start puffing up. So yeah, I've totally been hiding under "blousy" tops lately. Which is tough considering 75% of my spring and summer wardrobe is made up of form-fitting tanks. So basically I keep rotating the same three boring outfits. Whatever... it's all worth it!

I hope you all have an excellent GOOD FRIDAY! We'll be at Gwinnett Church tonight for the church's first official service! Super exciting... we had a gathering last night with all the volunteers for this weekend. Had to be over 200 people there! We're all looking forward to seeing how many people come this weekend. We just have no idea! There are about 1,100 seats set up with room for more. The hub thinks there will be standing room only - I hope he's right! So excited to be a part of this church from the very beginning. And while I'd love to sport a cute Lilly dress for Easter Sunday, I have to admit I'm glad to hide my FET belly behind this T-shirt...



Locals... click below for info on services for this weekend! It's going to be incredible, so come join us!

e.l.f. - A Love Affair

I know, I haven't gabbed about a product or gushed over some new accessory in ages. It's funny how much my blog has changed focus over the last three years, but so goes my life! I write about what's going on, and there's really not much of any shopping going on here... so yeah. I usually send my J. Crew catalogs straight to the recycle bin. BUT one thing you can't deny me is my makeup. I still gotta look good, right?!

I found out about e.l.f. several years ago when they first came on the scene. The whole "everything is $1" intrigued me... could this be for real? Uh yeah, it was. Of course now they've totally expanded their line and have different collections with higher price points. But even the highest ones are ridiculously cheap when you compare them to drugstore makeup brand prices, much less swanky high-end cosmetic lines. At only $1 an item, I grabbed a ton of products on my first order years ago - I mean, what's to lose? If it sucks, you only wasted a dollar, right? Well, fast forward to now... and nearly every single item in my makeup drawer is stamped with "e.l.f."

I've always been big into makeup - it's just fun. And I've tried all kinds of brands and labels when it comes to cosmetics. I was a pretty tried and true Estee Lauder fan in high school and beyond, with a little Bobbi Brown mixed in... and maybe a dash of MAC, Sephora, and other trendy brands here and there. With the exception of my liquid base and/or concealer (which has always been Almay), I was an exclusive department store brand makeup girl. I was a sucker for the free-gift-with-purchase. Even though I'd maybe use like *one* item out of that bag - ha! But like I said, when I caught word of this online cosmetic company where everything was $1 - I had to give it a try.

Little by little, my department store cosmetic items were being replaced by e.l.f. products. The last to go? My automatic eye pencil from Estee Lauder. It was quite the revelation, if you remember. Now the only items I use daily that are not e.l.f. are my Almay wand concealer and whatever mascara I'm using. Mascara is the only product they haven't quite mastered yet. I'll be happy to switch when they do, but for now I stick with Maybelline - either the old faithful pink and green bottle or the new Stiletto one.

If you're not familiar with e.l.f., there's a few things you should know. First, there is always ALWAYS a promotion going on. Never ever check out without entering some kind of coupon code. By always, I mean there is at least one promotion/coupon code available every single day. And often more than one, so you have to choose which one is the best deal for you. The best way to stay in the know is to become an email subscriber. The promotions are advertised via email, twitter, etc and most often are NOT made known on the website. I usually order from e.l.f about once every 3 months, spending about $30 (including shipping). And that's for A LOT of stuff. I wait for the bigger promotions to come out and then I jump on and order everything I need and more. As I'm about to show you, most of the products I use come from their all natural mineral line. Unless I'm just desparate and out of product, I will only purchase new items when they're at least 50% off. They will usually run promos by specific collections... like one week all Studio items are 50% off, then a couple of weeks later all Mineral items are BOGO 50% off, etc. But like I said, I try to hold out for the bigger ones... like 60% off the entire site (that's the last one I took advantage of) or 75% off all Minerals. Point is - there is always a promotion, so never ever pay full price.

Second, the company now has four main "collections" of products...

• The main e.l.f. line, which is your basic everything-is-$1 stuff. I still snag some of these items whenever I'm purchasing. And you can actually find some of these at Target. I've seen a small selection at Kroger also. But whatever you've seen in stores is a teeny, teeny sampling of what's online. These products are great stocking stuffers and I've seen brides use them a lot to fill goody bags for bridesmaids. Great fun! And an excellent way to experiment with fun new colors on the cheap.
• The Studio collection, which they dub as their "professional" line. I've used a couple of these products, namely the eyeliner and shadow stick which led me to dump my faithful Estee Lauder liner after 16+ years. Price point on this line is generally $3 (but again, wait till they go on sale).
• The Minerals collection, my personal favorite! I've tried just about every product in this collection and have fallen in love with most all of it. I'll reveal my top personal picks below. The collection is all natural and 100% mineral based. Price point for most items is $3-5. (Don't make me mention the sales again.)
• The Bath & Body collection, which is basically your bath gels, lotions, etc. Items are generally $4 each. No real steal of a deal here except for the body butter. Compare it to The Body Shop's Body Butter for $14 and up.... yeah, I'll go with the $4 tub from e.l.f., thanks. As for the hand soap? I'll pass. I refuse to pay more than $1 for a bottle of hand soap.

Third, shipping costs are a flat $6.95 (for U.S), no matter your order. There are often free or reduced shipping coupon codes too, so keep an eye out. And because it's an online-only retailer, there are no sales tax charges (except for NY, probably - where the distribution center is located). They also often throw out freebies with your purchase, like a complimentary magazine subscription. And it's a true freebie - not a thing where you will be billed after 3 weeks if you don't cancel. I was just reading my freebie US Weekly this morning, actually! Do be aware that they do not accept returns or exchanges unless items arrived damaged. I've never had anything arrive damaged, nor have I ever wanted to return anything. Folks, stuff is like $1. Again, if you don't like something, do a shoulder shrug and move on. It's a friggin' dollar. As for my personal favorites, here are the top 5 items I'm currently crushing on...

1. Mineral Eyeshadow, $3 each. OMG, so fun. Such a great rainbow of colors to choose from, and they go on beautifully. I love the texture and they're easy to apply as lightly or as heavily as you want. Most colors have a subtle shimmer to them, but a few (labeled matte) do not. These are the only thing I use for eyeshadow anymore. Love, love, love them.

2. Mineral Lip Gloss, $3 each. It took me a while, but I found my perfect lip gloss. I've tried every other lip gloss e.l.f. has to offer - this one is the best by far. My favorite shades are Trendsetter, Pageant Princess, and Sorority Girl.

3. Mineral Concealer, $5 each. Yes, it's called "concealer" but I actually use it as my foundation. I've tried the Mineral Foundation as well, but none of the shades seemed to work just right for me and my skin tone. But the "light" shade of the concealer does... and I can't tell the difference between the concealer or foundation really. So I use my Almay wand concealer to help cover up any blemishes or discoloration on my face, and then I apply the Mineral concealer lightly on top (which is basically a very fine loose powder). I don't use liquid foundation anymore after having discovered this stuff. If you've been wanting to try a mineral foundation, e.l.f. is a great way to do it without breaking the bank.

4. Mineral Eye Liner, $3 each. Yep, as soon as this product debuted I gave it a try and immediately fell in love. It tops the Studio collection liner that I mentioned, but I still use both since they offer different shades in each. LOVE this product a million times over. I have every color but most often wear Ash or Midnight.

5. Mineral Blemish Kit, $8 each. I know, quite the *splurge* on this site! But you won't go through this product nearly as quickly as a foundation or regular concealer. (And hello, again, these are list prices - not what I actually pay.) I don't use this everyday. It's basically a very, very fine powder that helps cover up blemishes or red spots. It only comes in one shade, and may not work if you have very dark skin - I don't know. But for me, it's awesome. Sometimes my wand concealer won't completely conceal a particularly stubborn zit or blemish. Mineral Blemish Kit to the rescue! It also comes with a special brush for application.

So those are my faves. What are some of yours? If you don't have any, you need to get some. Hop on their site and find some goodies. The great thing is, they have tons of reviews on their products. So it's easy to get a feel for what people like and don't like. Enjoy!

2010!

May this new year bring you all many, many blessings! We had a fun night last night. We went out to dinner with some friends and went roller skating. Haven't been in YEARS. I used to kick ass 20 years ago, but um... not so much now. It was fun though - we wore ridiculous costumes and had a good laugh. We actually toasted to the new year back at our house with Dick Clark and a bottle of champagne.

And the hub and I are certainly full of hope for this coming year! Goal planning session on tap today during our trip to Athens for Lucky's wedding. (We do our best thinking in the car, for some reason.) More on that later!

For now, it's all about Lucky and her big wedding weekend! I'm finishing up some last minute placecards and whatnot for her right now. Then I've got to pack. Here's what I'll be wearing to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner tonight...

I've had this J. Crew number for a while and it's still one of my all-time favorites. It's easy and fun. I'm wearing it with a taupe-colored cardi, oversized gold pearls, opaque navy tights, and bronze Mary Janes. Wish I had pics of all that, because it's ferosh.

And if y'all remember, this is the bridesmaid dress (in black)!

The picture doesn't do much for it - it actually looks a bit of a snooze on the dress form. But it is quite the little party dress - very young and flirty. It hits just above the knee.

My camera will be in tow, so I hope to have some fun pictures to share on the other side! Enjoy today and have a fabulous first weekend in 2010!

Razzle Dazzle

Are y'all having great weekends? Hope so! Today is get-caught-up-on-laundry-and-reorganize-our-closets day. But tonight we're going to a snazzy wedding in Buckhead and I'll be wearing this...

I snagged the green dress and ring from J. Crew, thanks to my birthday giftcard from MIL! The shoes are old... I got those to wear in kuntry bride's wedding two years ago. And I also have a fab gold quilted clutch that I'll carry. So excited to get dolled up and go out! I mean our idea of a date night lately is a $1.50 hot dog combo at Costco and a movie. So yeah, it's pretty thrilling. And a lot of our friends will be there, so it should be a fun night!

Tomorrow I'll be breaking out the Christmas decorations and getting a start on that. And hopefully finishing up my wrapping. And oh yeah, I also plan to FINALLY get part 2 of my story up tomorrow. Sorry I've been a slow poke, but it's been a very busy few weeks. Back soon!

Vintage eggs in this Easter basket.

OK so you know Dave would spit fire if I went out and bought new duds for Easter Sunday. I know Jesus doesn't care what I wear, he just wants my heart there... but Easter Sunday is my ultimate ode to spring! Even if it's 45 degrees out! So, Betty on a budget must go shopping in her own closet this year.

Lilly is the standard and a dress is a must... but my Lilly collection (dresses anyway) has dwindled since I sold several of my dresses that don't fit anymore. Boooo! But here's one of the ones I had altered and sliced and diced a while back...

Think it'll do? Forgive the grainy camera phone pic and my ugly hangers... I was in a hurry. The dress is strapless, so the lime green Sigrid Olsen cardi will come along. Haven't accessoried yet... we'll figure that out this weekend. The weather is supposed to be nice, which would be great. I really do not enjoy freezing on Easter Sunday and it was freaking snowing here yesterday. But sun or no sun, one thing's definitely in order... an emergency pedicure - STAT! It's time for the toes to break free.

Have y'all got your Easter ensembles figured out yet?

Bleh.

OMG. I ate so much food last night I think I may never eat again. OK that's a lie. I just ate 3 strips of bacon like 5 minutes ago. But for real, I inhaled so many calories at the rehearsal dinner that I should probably not eat for 3 or 4 days. Hehehe... it was good. The rehearsal dinner was at one of the Sugo locations. Sugo is delish - I've always liked it. But you know how it's hard to get a true feel for a restaurant's food and service when it's a private party like that? I mean there were so many little goodies being passed around beforehand - and I was STARVING - so I of course loaded up on those. Then we had a salad... fresh mozzarella, tomato, and kalamata olives (three of my favorite things). So by the time my entree came, I was kinda over it. It was great, but I was like 80% full and a tummy ache was coming on strong. OMG and then dessert... tiramisu - like my favorite, hello! And it was fabulous tiramisu. So of course I ate like all of it. And I'm not a big sweets person generally. Yeah, so after that I was like dying to get in the car so I could unbutton my pants. The food was great, but there's just so much going on that it's hard to appreciate it like you would at a normal dinner out. Does that make sense?

Rambling. Anyway... the wedding's at 5 o'clock tonight. Now that I'm Budget Betty, I was a good girl and didn't buy anything new to wear. So here's what I'm wearing tonight...




I've been REALLY good about not shopping. Well, with our hardcore zero-based budget and envelope system alla Dave Ramsey, there's not a budget for shopping right now. But girls, it's getting hard with all these killer sales going on! I just caught wind of a huge sale on KORS shoes over at 6pm.com and I'm like sweating. But I'm holding on! For dear life! Not. Gonna. Budge.

Alright... off to go find some nail polish... My peeping toes need a touch up.

Game Day Gorgeous.

While it lasted anyway...

How freakin' cute is my sash?

More pics later. Back to work...

Excuse me, but...

...how freaking awesome is my Dawg sash?!

I am rather proud considering it's only like the 3rd thing I've ever sewn. Can you tell I modeled it after J. Crew's sash that goes with the Lyndsey dress? Remember when they sold those sashes a la carte in a million different colors a few years ago? Yeah I have like all of them. And now I have a Dawg version! Woof woof!

From my mom, the Auburn fan...

Sorry, she just couldn't help herself...

From the weather service:

In the event of a rash of tornadoes sweeping through the state of Alabama, we are asking all Alabamians to take shelter at Bryant-Denny Stadium located inTuscaloosa, Alabama.

We are fairly certain a touchdown will not occur there.

Oh isn't she the jokester... I'm sure you Bama girls will LOVE that one! Hehehehe...

Well, southern fried football is officially upon us! The hub and I are heading up to the UGA game tomorrow and I cannot wait!!! We don't have tickets, but we're just going to go and see if we can snag some cheap ones. If not, we'll just enjoy the fanfare and watch the game downtown or something. And I am gonna be collegiate cute to boot... I'll be wearing this dress...





...with my fabu silver Bonanno's (courtesy of bestest)...




And I got some fabric today at JoAnn's to make a Dawg-a-riffic sash for my black dress...



Goooooo Dawgs! Woo hoooooo!

*Sniff Sniff*

Well, we found out this morning that our buyer backed out of the deal on our townhouse. What a kick in the stomach on a Monday morning! As if Mondays aren't cruel enough on their own! Oh well... what can you do?! We're trying to take the positive spin on this and believe that there must be a better offer out there for us. So we'll go with that. Meanwhile, I'll just bug y'all for some more prayers and for someone out there to pimp our property! We knew not to get *too* excited till it was a done deal, but it still sucks ass. So keep those prayers coming!

Other than that icky news this morning, the weekend was a good one. We survived the late night out Saturday - and even stayed out for pizza after the party - CRAZY! Then Sunday afternoon we had an engagement party to attend for one of the hub's childhood friends. I wore one of my "new" Lilly's and got compliments to boot!


And the party was very fun - very low key and just a lot of fun. The bride comes from a BIG family and one of her brothers is in a band - a band that I happen to LOVE. And so when I found this bit of info out (when she and the hub's friend first started dating last year), I was like OMG. I am the most star-struck fool for celebrity types - it's seriously ridiculous. Bestest appreciates this quality in me as I will name every geographic movie reference I can possibly think of in any given location. Anyway, so this particular brother and his wife hosted the shower. He *just* flew in the night before from a show. It was a small party and for privacy's sake I best not reveal who it is, but do you KNOW how excited I was to sneak my camera into one particular room and get a shot of these babies!?!?!??!


I'm an awards show junkie so that was particularly thrilling! Anyway, fun weekend... you know - me hangin' with the celebs... the usual. Hahaha! ;-)

Hope y'all had a good one. And hopefully I'll be back soon with some good news on the townhouse.

Old married farts we are.

You know you're old when the idea of going down to the Highlands to a birthday shindig that doesn't start till 9 o'clock triggers an eye-roll and a big yawn. That's fine - call me old - but I'm typically a let's-get-in-bed-at-10-o'clock kinda girl. Though after celebrating one of my HS girl's 30th over "cake and cocktails" and driving back up to suburbia, I'll be rolling into bed tonight at God knows when. We go into town a lot but it's usually for dinner and most times I can come close to meeting my "curfew." Even the hub was like, "9 o'clock - seriously?!" It'll be fun I'm sure, I just wish it started a little earlier for this old fart. How boring are we?! Hahahhaha.... Oh well. I may be yawnin', but I'll be lookin' damn cute in this little number...

Maybe we better hit a Starbucks on the way out... :-)

:: One year ago today ::

Oldie but goodie.

I've been lazy about switching out bags lately, but I decided to mix it up today. I have this fabu ginormous Kate Spade metallic gold hobo that I carry all the time. And because it goes with everything, I do tend to get lazy and all my other bags stay shelved. But hey, it's Friday, and I'm feeling crazy!

Well actually, if you must know, I was on a mad hunt for a tampon this morning (as my giganto Costco box full is out suddenly!). When there's no sign of one under the sink or in my bag, I start rummaging through the shelved bags for ones that have been left in there. I keep 'em on me all the time so it's not at all uncommon to have 2 or 3 still in the zipper pocket of random bags I've changed out of. Well as I'm searching this morning, I pulled open a dust bag to find this cute Kate tote and decided it was so happy and fun and it needed to come out and play. I don't carry it much because it's a little on the small side for me (I'm a big bag girl - I like 'em BIG), but today she was beggin' to come out! Isn't she so happy?!


Never did find a tampon though. Doh.

A Lilly Makeover.

As promised, I've got before and after photos of my old Lilly dress makeover. I picked them up Wednesday (it's two of the same dress in different patterns) and am SO happy with the results! I mentioned taking these to my alteration lady last week. I *think* this style is called Sabrina (from several years ago), but don't hold me to that - I could totally be making that name up. It's strapless with a tie in the back (though please ignore how I have it tied in these pics because I was just throwing the dress on really quickly for a photo opp.) and it hits a little below the knee. I've actually never been super crazy about the length on it, but never did anything about it. And the hip region on the dress seemed to run a bit large, but it looked fine - until I lost some weight over the last year. So now the dress just looked ridiculous on me. So instead of letting the two like dresses hang there and collect dust, I finally decided to make them over (er... tell the alteration lady how to make them over).

So here are the BEFORE shots, both front and back. The camera angle here is bad and I'm not sure you can appreciate how truly *frumpy* it looked. But overall it just felt very frumpy on me. And Lilly should never feel frumpy!

And then a week and $74 later (for both dresses)... the AFTER! You can tell I feel much cuter by my fabulous posing here...

I totally feel like I scored two brand new dresses since these are totally wearable again. Here's the other pattern I have (you know what - I don't think I've ever worn this one actually!)...

We've got an engagement party to attend Sunday afternoon and I think I will wear the orange one. It's a backyard BBQ - so this should be perfect. Although that tan-line from my scorchfest in Charleston looks awful in these pics... hmmm... Oh well. So is $74 total reasonable? I rarely have things altered. I'm short, but I wear heels with my slacks at work, so I don't usually have to get things hemmed... but I always go to the same lady near my parents' house everytime I need to go. I mean she basically reconstructed the entire bottom half of the dress, so it seems fairly reasonable to me. What do y'all think? Either way, I'm totally happy with the results and can't wait to sport my *new* Lilly this weekend!