A Southern Accent

I took my 3-year old son to see WALL-E yesterday, thinking it would be a cute Pixar movie. I mean, he loves Nemo, Buzz, Lightning McQueen and all of those cute characters, but WALL-E, as cute as he is, just didn't keep little man's attention. This movie is the guys at Pixar's opportunity to put their message in front of a global audience - we are killing our planet and ourselves. SPOILER ALERT: if you don't want to know the plot, stop reading here. Basically, humans have destroyed our planet and have been sent off into space for what is supposed to be five years while little robots (WALL-E) have been left behind to clean up our mess. 700 years later, humans are still in space and our little WALL-E is the only one left still cleaning up. Humans no longer have to walk around anywhere and sit in these hoverchairs that take them everywhere they need to go, they drink all of their meals in cups and they are big fat blobs. I felt really guilty about getting butter on my popco...

Had to add a quick post because it's just too funny not to share. At the Farmer's Market today (see below), I tried to get my son to smell the flowers. He responds, "Mommie, I'm not a girl!" I guess there's no gender confusion with this kid!

My little man passed out in the car around 5:30 this afternoon and is still sleeping, so thought I'd post a couple of pics from our day. We love going to the Farmer's Market this morning and since the hubby didn't have to give golf lessons until noon today, we all piled in the car - little man, Lulu the pup and hubby. We picked up some yummy bread and butter pickles and some banana butter jelly - the lady said children love it with peanut butter! Of course, my little man got his favorite farmer's market treat - sugar cookies! Looks like everyone's squash is starting to come in, and there were lots of potatoes, cabbage, a little corn and fresh flowers everywhere! You can always check what's in season at the Farmers Market online here . It's a great resource if you're not familiar with the growing seasons.

I entered the color palette contest over at Style Me Pretty , after seeing the beautiful board put together by SippyCups Are For Chardonney . I thought, what a fun idea! Of course, I decided to enter last night at 10:00 pm, so I was up until 1:30 putting this together. Why do I do this to myself? I just love being creative!!!! I can always sleep tonight! I could do this all day! My color palette contest submission was inspired by a wedding photo I found online here . I love the richness of this table and I’m a huge fan of black and white with a splash of color. I chose green as that splash because it's such a vibrant color and I feel like it connects me with nature. Green represents growth, nature and good luck. Green is a symbol of fertility and was once the preferred choice of color for a wedding gown. I’m personally trying to live a “greener” life as well, so in honor of that, I present “Growing Love”. From top left, counterclockwise: Wedding table: Jennifer Skog Photography; Br...

Uma Thurman is engaged to her Swiss multimillionaire boyfriend, Arpad "Arki" Busson, her rep confirms to PEOPLE . "I can confirm she is engaged," Stephen Huvane said on Friday. In return for saying yes, the actress received some serious sparkle: an 8-plus carat center stone surrounded by 20 smaller stones. "It's the most beautiful piece I've ever seen," says a close source of the diamond ring. "Arki did a wonderful job." Yep, I'd agree. But geez, save some diamonds for the rest of us.

I’ve visited Toronto before, but had more free time on my hands this trip. Once the booth was up and everyone ready to chat it up with clients, we took to the city. The first night, we dined at the EPIC restaurant in the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Loved it, would highly recommend it if you’re ever in the area. We walked around the city and did a little shopping the next day, had dinner at our hotel at Toula and high-tailed it to my room to make it back in time for the Bachelorette and dessert via room service. (BTW, can you believe she let local cutie Graham go?????) More work the next morning, then back to the hotel to grab a cab to the airport, but we did wander over to the harbourfront to check out the shops. I saw these great fish an artist had created out of fabric that I just had to take a pic with. Mwahhhh!!!!

Back from the land of maple syrup and hockey. Pretty uneventful trip, except the fact our trade show booth never showed up for the show. Since it wasn’t our fault, the exhibition company got us a rental and graphics up in a snap. We spent most of the day Sunday lying on the space that was to be our booth, listening to music and waiting for someone to locate our booth, and managed to snap a few pictures in our boredom. They finally found it Monday morning. Evidently, someone had signed for it, but forgot to actually take it off the truck. Nice, eh?

Why don't I have enough self-control to stay away from the over-priced crap in the mini-bar? Those things were made to suck the money out of my pocket. So far, I've been in the land of Canada for a total of 2 hours and I've already devoured a can of Pringles and a Diet Pepsi - all at the grand price of $8.95!!!!

I’m on a plane to Toronto and just read an article in Newsweek about how the wedding industry is suffering from the current state of our economy. It gives some ideas of how to cut wedding costs and the wildest one was that brides are having their wedding cakes make our of Styrofoam, with only the top layer made of real cake for the cake-cutting bit and pictures. Then they serve the guests cheap sheet cake. Wonder if I’ve ever been to a styrofoam wedding cake wedding? My best friend recently got married and opted for the smaller affair, but it was one of the most wonderful weddings I’ve ever been to. (Maybe because the wedding director, Moi, was so fab.) It was a beautiful ceremony in the back yard of her brother’s house, with a pool and outdoor bar. That’s the way to go – congratulations D!

Yeah, did you know there was such a thing? I heard about it on NPR the other day and thought, wow, there must be a month for just about everything. In honor of national bathroom reading month, one of the publishers of bathroom books had two chicks in Madison Square Garden with golden plungers that were handing out quarters for "free flushes". Of course, they were also promoting their latest bathroom book. What a great marketing concept.

If you haven't tried Mrs. Meyers yet, you're missing out on some yummy scents and a good feeling because you're doing something good for the environment. The only place I've ever been able to find Mrs. Meyers is at Whole Foods, but I was in Target the other day and almost passed out when I saw Mrs. Meyers cleaning products on the shelf! They are a little pricier than other cleaning products, but so worth it because the scent actually lasts! These products use natural ingredients, wonderful scented extracts and biodegradable packaging! My favorite scent is the lavender ! My favorite products are the coutertop spray, dryer sheets, hand soap and the laundry detergent. It feels so great to snuggle into clean sheets with this wonderful scent at the end of a long day!

I went to a wedding shower recently and one of the ladies presented the bride with this book and a deviled-egg plate and I thought it was the best wedding gift I have ever seen. Every southern woman needs a deviled-egg plate and if you don't know your mom's recipe, there are some modern and classic twists on an old classic in this book. If you want to be original and southern - give this devlish gift!

Sorry, I couldn't resist. I love the color orange. I have an orange (it's really Tomato Bisque) kitchen, an orange coffee table and I just bought a great new orange sweater today. It's a fairly neglected color - you never hear anyone say their favorite color is orange. But I love the meaning of orange (according to about.com): Orange is vibrant. It's a combination of red and yellow so it shares some common attributes with those colors. It denotes energy, warmth, and the sun. But orange has a bit less intensity or aggression than red, calmed by the cheerfulness of yellow. If you want to get noticed without screaming, consider the color orange — it demands attention. Orange is often called the "social" color, as it creates the feng shui energy to promote lively conversations and good times. Live an orange life... From top left, clockwise: J.Crew cardigan ; Cara Accessories Silk Wrapped Paisley Bangle ; Privo Skimmer ; MAXX NEW YORK Shopper ; Pottery Barn French...

If you're from Durham, live in Durham, or have ever been to a Durham Bulls baseball game, you'll know what the above title means and how much fun you can have at a Durham Bulls game! This year marks the 20th anniversary of the movie "Bull Durham" and MSNBC picked up a great story about how , thanks to the movie, the Durham Bulls has grown from a single-A, smalltown team, to a now triple-A team that last year set a franchise record by attracting 520,952 fans to their 13-year-old, 10,000-seat stadium. We love to take our son to the ballgame and he loves to see the smoke sprawl from the ears of the bull when the home team hits a home-run. Here's a pic from a game we went to last year - he loves the food there (and so does his mommie!) In honor of the 20th anniversary of the movie "Bull Durham", Kevin Costner will be at the ballpark this July 4th, with his band Modern West and a fireworks show. Sounds like a great treat if you're looking for something to...

I love eBay and know that it is intimidating to some people, but all you have to do it set up an account and play around with it to get a feel for how easy it can be. I've bought and sold lots of things on eBay and the best thing I've learned about eBay is the ability to buy brand new items that are currently in stores at significantly more affordable prices! So, my typical rule of thumb is when I see something in a store that is at least $50 and is a fairly common item or brand name, I seach eBay first before buying. My most recent purchases are my digital camera, retailing for $199.99 at Target, purchased on eBay for $165.00... and these great gold pumps - $143 at Nordstrom, $47.00 (with shipping included) on eBay. Try it and see what you think. You'll be amazed at what you can find on eBay!

Sometimes people I work with come to me for ideas to give kids, moms, girlfriends, etc. for special occasions. I typically answer with one of the following options and, in most cases, one fits the bill perfectly. Mom-to-Be Every kid needs a Little Giraffe Blanket. I hear Suri Cruise has like 50 of these things, but they are the softest blankets in the world and my little guy still likes to snuggles on his (although it doesn't quite cover his toes anymore). All I could say when I got my blanket as a shower gift from a friend is "I wish they made these in my size" - and guess what - now they do! They ain't cheap, but totally worth the money you pay! (Infant blanket typically retails for $58.00). They come in great colors and patterns. Graduation, Baby, Wedding One great gift that works for just about anyone and everyone can use is a great tote. Lands End offers totes in tons of sizes, colors and styles - plus you can add a great monogram - all for around $40. I receive...

But I could never develop a taste for it. Thank goodness there's Diet Coke. In my morning meetings I'm always sitting around a table of people drinking Starbucks or office coffee and I've got my little old Diet Coke in front of me for my caffiene fix. I guess there are others out there like me because one of Diet Coke's coolest ads speaks directly to the DC morning drinkers out there... It's so simple in its implementation and concept and I just love it. They have a new one that kinda wraps up the day that shows a Caffiene Free Diet Coke and it says "Good Night". Love it! They should sell prints of these things - I'd put one up in my office.

I was working on on the elliptical at lunch today (yes, you read it right) and I came across this great little blurb about http://www.mint.com/ . It's a great site where you can link to all of your bank, savings, stock and credit card accounts online and it tells you where you can save money, where your money is going and help you put together a budget. If you're weary about linking you bank accounts, etc., in one place, I understand - but it's free! Of course, my Target spending is out of control and I need to cut back a little. Ok, A lot. I mean have you checked out the dresses online you can buy at Target? Here's just a sampling and they are all under $50.

My mom called this morning and commented on the touching interview Matt Lauer had with Tim Russert's son Luke on the Today Show this morning. I just watched it during my lunch break and was really touched by his comments and stories of his parents. I hope my son can speak about his parents like this one day. Take a look if you have a couple of minutes at lunch today.

I'm sure there will be very few people that read this very first posting, but I'm hoping to turn this blog into something interesting and fun for working mommies like me that still want to keep up-to-date on the latest and greatest fashion, fun and local kid activities. I'm hoping to also throw in a little knowledge about marketing and interesting things I come across at work. I have a three-year-old and he is and will remain an only child because this is how I manage to balance my life. He is the love of my life and my husband and I are just now starting to get into the groove of parenthood. Don't feel bad if it doesn't all just fall into place. Some people want you to believe that's how it happens and it does for some people, but not for everyone! We're in the process now of trying to decide where to send our son to school. There was a great article in the paper today about Durham schools and how they are going to start tighting up their policies on studen...