A Southern Accent

New socks * can make you jump really high. They can make you pretty cool too. But nowhere as cool as your mom that lets you jump on the bed in your new socks. *.97 cents - GAP

If you're like me, you love to shop. Problem is I often feel guilty spending money on myself sometimes when I can spend it on the little man, or the house, or put it in savings. That's why I love end-of-season sales! I can stock up on things I've been wanting at great prices! Around these parts, the seasons are kinda starting to flow into one another, so there are a lot of pieces that can be worn year-round - which is great for the wardrobe! I've also been trying to add a little more color and flair to my wardrobe - trying to find my style - which I think I've determined is boho-chic with a little classic thrown in. Got that? For example, I love the colors that Nie Nie and c Jane wear (and decorate with as well) - love the whole effortless vintage, colorful look, but sometimes feel uncomfortable going all the way with it, especially cause I can't do it at work (except on Fridays - that's when the style shines!). Back to my point - I just bought a couple o

I'm so excited to reveal a new idea I've been thinking about for a while. I've created a new etsy shop featuring cute quotes !. The idea came to me because of all of the cute things my little guy says and I wanted a way to remember them - so that I could enjoy and look at every day! It works like this: If there is a really cute quote your child has said and you want to remember, or gift to a grandma, or husband, etc., you can e-mail the quote to me, along with ideas of what you'd like the imagery to be. I'll design a custom piece for you - along with your child's name and the date - and mail you an 8 x 10 print of the piece, ready for framing. This is also a great way to remember your child's first word - you can see examples of all of these in my Etsy store . Or, if there is a quote you like and would like to see it portrayed artistically, shoot me an e-mail and I custom create something for you in the requested colors and layout you want! So, plea

I haven't had a giveaway in a while, so when I hit the local bookstore and they were having a sale, I got inspired. I headed to the local interest section and found some great southern-inspired books for you guys. I'm giving away two sets of books to two lucky winners! The books are: Suck Your Stomach In and Put Some Color On!: What Southern Mamas Tell Their Daughters that the Rest of Y'all Should Know Too Puttin' on the Grits: A Guide to Southern Entertaining All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, and if you feel like it, tell me your favorite southern saying! I'll pick the winners using the random number generator Friday of this week! Good luck y'all!

The dinosaurs have arrived in Durham! We've been eagerly awaiting the opening of the new and improved dinosaur trail for quite a while and this weekend was the grand opening! I remember visiting the original dinosaur trail at the Durham Museum of Life and Science when I was a child, but the original trail, opened in 1967, was destroyed when hurricane Fran hit in 1996. The museum has been raising money and working on the new trail for a while, and we've been anticipating the opening for years! The little guy met up with his two best buds from school (I call them the 3 Musketeers) and we spent the afternoon climbing on a dinosaur, digging for fossils and walking the trail. I even walked the little man down to see the brontosaurus from the original dinosaur trail I used to visit, currently undergoing repairs because of vandalism ( read story here ). He said it was the coolest dinosaur of all! I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot more time there in the coming years.

Lipstick. Underrated, but never unnoticed. I think lots of women don't even wear lipstick anymore, but I still apply every morning and touch up before I go out. I'm the kind of girl that likes to switch things up, pick a lighter color for one day, and a darker color for another. But I don't like to keep 20 different tubes of lipstick lying around because I'd either lose them, they'd melt because I left them in the car, or they'd end up in another purse and I'd never find it until I used that particular purse again (and I have a lot of purses). So, I saw Avon's new product in a magazine I was reading lately (not sure which one) and it just so happens a lady at work is now selling Avon. It's called SpectraColor Lipstick and it gives you 7 different colors/shades of lipstick in one tube! (And it's sticky - I love sticky lipstick, but I know it's not for everyone.) Best thing about it - it's only $9.50 - and I got it from my Avon rep on sale

For my birthday, I wanted my dad to come over and help me finally fix my backyard. I've been neglecting the side area for months because I've been trying to decide what I wanted to do. If you look at the before picture - it was bad. The little man never played in his sandbox and I could never get grass to grow, so it looked so bad. I took off last Friday and my dad came over - I'd finally conceived a plan. We headed to Home Depot and picked up 12 bags of mulch, weed-stopper fabric stuff and some plants. I also picked up some cute outdoor chairs from my mom for my birthday to go with the adorable polka dot cushions I bought on ebay. Several hours later, and bunches of degrees hotter, we finished! I'm still adding accessories and when the hostas grow a bit, it will look even better! I'm really happy with the way it turned out and now I can sit in my chairs and watch my little guy play golf and baseball in the side yard. It's going to be even more fabulous when it

But really, I do have a seriously sore butt. TMI? No, think of this as a public service announcement. I've been having severe pain in my behind for several months now and I've recently visited Dr. Web, MD, and diagnosed myself as having Piriformis Syndrome, occurring when the sciatic nerve is compressed or otherwise irritated by the piriformis muscle causing pain, tingling and numbness in the buttocks and along the path of the sciatic nerve descending down the lower thigh and into the leg. (aka, pain in the buttocks) Causes of piriformis syndrome include: running (nope, not me), injury (I think I'd remember falling that hard on my butt) and sitting for long periods of time ( hmmmm... could it be the endless amounts of conference calls, meetings and e-mails are giving me a pain in the butt????). Solution: I think work needs to order me one of these: A TrekDesk . How cool would it be to be able to work and exercise at the same time???? Anyone ever seen one of these in person?

They patiently wait to be transformed into something from a dream. They dive into the pool, and all is gone. But the pictures remain, along with the laughs , the smiles and memories . p.s. Can you find little man in the pics above?

Birthday time is here again, but I'm not going to post today about what I got or what I did (I'll save that for another day) because I also share my birthday with my grandaddy and it's his special day too. My grandaddy and I have always celebrated our birthdays together, and this year will be no different. I have pictures from every birthday of the two of us standing behind our cake (or cakes) and I've never had a problem sharing my birthday. My mom told her labor doctors if they could hold me off until the 16th, I would be born on the same day as her father. My actual time of birth is 12:01 am. My grandaddy is the hardest working, most dedicated, Christian man I know. He will be 79 this year and still drives a school bus every morning during the school year, a job he took after he retired because he wanted something to do. He still plants a garden every year, and can cook some great green beans! He's the church choir director, a deacon, takes loving care of my gran

At the farmer's market Saturday, they were serving samples of Bulgarian Cucumber Soup and handing out the recipe. I hesitated to taste it, but absolutely loved it. I bought my fresh garlic, dill and cucumbers on the spot and decided it would work nice with some crunchy bread and fresh sliced tomatoes for a light dinner! (And works well with my whole flexitarian diet!) I will admit that when I served it to hubs he said, "Is this the appetizer?" But after he tried it, he really liked it. Along with the homemade peach cobbler I picked up at the market and some vanilla ice cream, it suited him just fine. Here's the recipe: Bulgarian Cucumber Soup Ingredients: 1 1/2 c cucumbers 2 T olive oil 1 t salt 1/4 t pepper 1 clove garlic, minced 2 T fresh dill, chopped 1/4 to 1 c chopped walnuts 1 to 1 1/2 c yogurt or sour cream Mix together oil, salt, pepper, garlic, dill, and walnuts. Marinate cucumber in this mixture for 2-6 hours in the refrigerator . Puree mixture in blender.

A friend of mine saw this picture I took a couple of weeks ago and she asked for the original file because she said it would look perfect framed in her home. So, I thought I'd put it out there for anyone else that may be interested in using it. I created a couple of different versions and looks to provide you some options. You can click on the image and it will take you to Flickr to download different sizes from there. I think it would make a great framed print, but you could also use it for summer invites, cards, birthday parties, summer sales promotions... Let me know how you're going to use it and if you do use it in your home, send me a pic of the final product and I'll post it here! If you used any of the free fretwork prints , I'd love to see what you did with them as well!

I've been sick of the shades on my back doors since I bought our house, but never got around to changing them. I just couldn't figure out what I wanted to do and could never committ. Last week, I finally bit the bullet and bought something simple and classic that I love, inspired by my friends John and Sherry and what is now Young House Love . A quick trip to Target, $60 and about 20 minutes later , I had a much sleeker looking back door that I could actually enjoy the view out of, along with what looks like a larger room because of the positioning of the curtain rod above the doors. This is a tip from John and Sherry that makes your windows look longer, the ceiling higher and your room bigger. I'm going to replicate this on several windows throughout my house because I love the way it turned out!

We sat around the table after dinner last weekend just talking and laughing. We talked about the news, the fabulous dinner we'd just had and plans for the week. The little man and I even ended up doing our version of the moonwalk for everyone. Eventually, some old photos were pulled out from days gone by and we laughed some more. The kind of laugh that you close your eyes and lean back... I love old photos. And new ones too.

My friend is throwing her son a Pirate Luau party next weekend at our neighborhood pool and I volunteered to design some custom invites for her because she said she just couldn't find anything she liked. With the Pirate Luau theme, she can invite boys, girls and adults to the party and include everyone in the fun! I thought it was a great idea! If you look closely, the background design is actually made up of skulls and bones!

Last night's before bed conversation: "Mommie, does God have a car?" "I'm not really sure. If he does have one, what kind do you think he has?" "A Mustang mommie." "Really? What color?" "Silver and red. And no top." "A convertible?" "Yes, God has a convertible."

I'm a bit grumpy today, a bit sad. You may laugh, but for my generation, Michael Jackson was our Elvis, our Beatles. It's a sad day to say goodbye to such a reminder of my youth. I know, he probably had a lot to do with his downfall, and I'll admit I'd forgotten about him recently, but all of the music being played during the last week brings back so many great memories. My most vivid memory: 27 January, 1984 - I'd finally convinced my mom and dad to buy me the Thriller album. I was nine. I remember getting into our car that evening and hearing the news that Michael had been injured while filming the Pepsi commercial. I was distraught that my idol had been hurt, relieved when news reported that he was OK . I was convinced that one day, I'd get him to sign that empty space inside the album, just above the little tiger (if you had the album, you know what I'm talking about). When I won a contest in third grade, the whole class got to watch a movie - I selected

We had a wonderful fourth of July and hope you did too! We've been sunning and swimming at the beach since Thursday. Yesterday, we rode to Beaufort (NC) and watched the Fourth of July parade and the little man filled his pockets and hands up with as much candy he could get. Then we headed to the pool all afternoon, and back to the house for dinner. We walked down to the water to watch the fireworks last night and we could see them from one end of the island to the other - it was beautiful. Here are some pics from the parade and the fireworks. I didn't get many pics of the little guy because he really didn't stay still enough to catch! We'll be rolling back home tomorrow, reality is calling.

There is something about a Nantucket basket that I've always loved. Maybe it's because they represent the good life and the beach all in one fabulous little package. I have yet to purchase one, but I would love to have one to carry for special times or to sit in my family room, which has a coastal look to it. A little history lesson: Nantucket lightship baskets originated in the nineteenth century on Nantucket Island’s South Shoal lightship. Captain and crew took to basketweaving to pass the time on board. By the beginning of the twentieth century these baskets were being avidly collected by the moneyed yachting set. And to my point...I've found the most wonderful Etsy seller (rather, she found me because she's a new follower). Meet Up My Sleeve Boutique , a fabulous shop that sells monogrammed and personalized Nantucket basket purses. From her site, "Once a status symbol women couldn't live without, I saw a real need to breathe new life into these sleepy

I thought I'd repost one of my favorite posts from last year, one that kinda got my blog rolling because Abby from Style Me Pretty posted it on her site last year. I'm not being lazy, just thought I'd repost since I had like 3 readers at the time. In honor of the 4 th of July, I put together a red, white and blue wedding inspiration board. I thought it would be great for July weddings, military weddings or just someone who is very patriotic! Here's to the fourth! We're headed to the beach tomorrow for some fun in the sun. The neighbors are having a fireworks celebration and I'm sure we'll be downing some yummy burgers!