I am one of those annoying restaurant diners that steals handfuls of treats from the candy bowl at the host stand.
These delicacies serve a dual purpose of thanking the patron for dining at said establishment and offering a sweet indulgence at the end of the meal.
Certain restaurants have bowls filled with Andes Mints or Starlight Peppermints (not exactly a delicacy or an indulgence but I digress), but the Porch in Uptown Dallas happens to have a candy bowl filled with Starbursts.
Have I mentioned that I LOVE Starbursts? LOVE.
Hence why I proceeded to stuff my face with these little pink, orange, and red chewy delights after enjoying a fun-filled Champagne Thursday at the Porch this past week.
It was then that I noticed I never eat artificial yellow (i.e. lemon flavored) or purple (i.e. grape flavored) ANYTHING.
Skittles, Starbursts, Jolly Ranchers, Jelly Beans, Mike and Ikes, Lifesavers, Sour Patch Kids, Dots…if the candy has grape or lemon options it usually remains untouched.
I contemplated this on my drive home from dinner. Why is it that I never eat grape or lemon flavored candies? It is not like they taste bad or have anything wrong with them, yet I steer clear of them.
WHY?!?!?
To add new depth to my confusion, I love actual lemons and grapes…hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Side note: Chapter 17 of Somewhere In Between Us has been posted. Happy reading!
My sweet, cuddly, loving puppy has officially become a full-fledged hormonal teenager in the blink of an eye.
Mr. Mojito’s grandparents bought us an Oliver Pancake look-alike stuffed animal. Wonderful idea in theory. BAD IDEA in practice.
Oliver will not stop molesting it. At first all he did was chew on it, but as of today he has discovered the basics of the birds and the bees, only he is dry humping a stuffed dog that is both male and bigger in size than his tiny body. Awesome. Hopefully getting him neutered will solve this problem.
This video doesn’t show any full on dry humping, but I thought it was cute nonetheless. If I can catch him in the act on camera I will be sure to post it. I am afraid I have a porn star in the making.
Also, we are officially getting puppy pictures taken in October from the talented and wonderful Nicole Mlakar-Livingston! Woot!
And finally thank you to everyone who entered my Gap Born to Fit $50 gift card giveaway! I put over 200 names in a random number generator.
Drumroll please…
The winner is Rachel from In No Simple Language! Rachel, please email me your mailing address so I can get your gift card sent to you ASAP!
Excuse me for a moment while I frantically jump up and down on my soap box. I have something I need to get off my chest so please just bear with me for a moment.
Yesterday I received an email from a disgruntled reader. While her tone and word choice were slightly off-putting and rude (not to mention the name calling), underneath the cynicism and anger was a valid question I felt needed to be addressed to the masses via my blog.
Why? Because I, along with several other bloggers, have received this same question countless times over.
As a result, I am drawing a line in the sand. Enough is enough. I am going put it all out there and let the chips fall where they may.
To paraphrase, she asked:
Why do I not take the time to appreciate my readers to at least read, if not comment, on other people’s blogs if they took the time to consistently read or comment on mine? I thought this was basic courtesy?
Before I answer this question, I want it to be known that the sole reason I blog is for me. Blogging is a form of creative escape from my day. I feel incredibly blessed I have met some AMAZING people that I am lucky and honored to call real life friends. I never imagined when I started blogging thirteen months ago that I would (a) still be blogging, (b) people would actually read my ramblings, (c) that I would meet some of my best friends, and (d) that it would bring me such happiness. Everything else is simply icing on the cake.
So, that being said…
While I do find this a valid question, the truth is that none of us have the time to read or comment on every person’s blog that reads our own. I am only one person. All of us have lives outside of the blogsphere. I would not be able to sleep, eat, or socialize with those I love if I spent my day reading and commenting on every blog that comments on mine.
Blogging should not be a popularity contest. I hope those that read and comment on my blog do so because they want to not because they think that by commenting they will get comments in return. That is not what blogging should be about.
Am I grateful for every single person that visits my blog? ABSOLUTELY! Do I take my readers for granted and feel ungrateful for them? HECK NO.
I try as best I can to appreciate and be thankful for each person that visits here. I host giveaways as a way to say thanks and also give shout outs to bloggers. I read every comment, and unless my life is insane, I will always respond to every email. I love getting emails from readers as long as they are respectful. If you email me asking to check out your new blog, I will definitely do so, and often times I will add it to my subscriptions. And remember, just because I do not comment does not mean I am not reading!
I am stepping off my soap box now.
Is it too early for a mojito? What about some cheese?
Before I gush over pretty paper and Oliver, I have to give a shout out to Princess Tartini and SNL. Two of my very best friends have decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon!! Check them out at Tartinis & Tea!! I promise your side will be in constant pain from laughing so hard.
Moving onward…
I am taking a page out of my dear friend Kate’s book and showcasing some pretty paper! I know it is not Thursday, but I was too excited to wait to post it.
Now that our little family has a cuddly and hilarious new addition, what better way to celebrate than with stationary?
The wonderful and talented Ashley Brooke designed these fold-over cards for us! I also ordered some green-lined, natural kraft envelopes to pull everything together!
Side note: Chapter 17 of Somewhere In Between Us is still not finished. These next few chapters have been incredibly difficult for me to write and are taking longer than expected. Sorry for not being able to respond to emails about the update this weekend. Life got crazy!
Welllllllllllllll Friday night I had FRONT ROW seats to his concert. People, FRONT ROW. This is EPIC.
I have been dying to see him in concert since 1988, and even though I had to wait over 20 years to make this dream a reality, it was worth it.
Just Richard Marx + Matt Scannell (lead singer of Vertical Horizon…remember them?) + 2 guitars + 1 keyboard = BEST CONCERT OF MY LIFE!
I was so close I could almost touch him!
Mr. M caught me fawning all over Mr. Marx and insisted I post this video. Please ignore my nails on a chalkboard singing skills. What can I say? I was living in the moment!
(Apparently I am being a total blonde and cannot figure out how to upload the video properly. In the mean time you can click on the link and open it in QuickTime Player to see me acting like an obsessed fan. I will try and get it embedded later this evening.)
Note: I wish I could take credit for the amazingness that is this blog post, but alas, all glory must go to my dear friend, Princess Tartini. She sent this to me at work yesterday and I literally died laughing…so much so, that I knew I had to share the wealth and pass it on. Plus, she does ask an important question, why must new shoes squeak?
This weekend I HAD to buy new shoes. HAD to buy new shoes you say? Yes, HAD to buy new shoes, and I will tell you why. For anyone who has ever worked or been a visitor at the place where I work, Company XX, you will know that the parking lot is a vast sea of concrete gone bad. There are pot holes everywhere, places where the concrete is higher than other places, and little cracks and pieces missing all over the lot. To top off this poor excuse for a place to park a car, Company XX decided not too long ago, that yes indeed, this parking did need to be repaved; however, in what I can only infer to be a jab at those employees who do not arrive before 8am, only the first 10 or so rows were repaved. The rest of the parking lot was left untouched.
Now to my story of how I HAD to buy new shoes. Well, as much as I hated that parking lot, I still had to walk through it every day wearing work shoes. I had bought some cool black peep-toe Nine West pumps earlier this year. Somewhere along the way, the tip of one of the heels fell off the shoe (it is probably still out in that parking lot, wedged between one of the trillion cracks), but I really didn’t care, I just kept walking. Then, last Friday, I was about to put my shoes in my closet and had set them on my bathroom counter to pick up something else when I saw something that I am almost too embarrassed to say: On a level surface, it was quite obvious that ONE, not both, ONE of my heels had worn down almost an entire INCH, compared to the other shoe! NOT LYING! People, I have been walking around this office for months with one side of my body taller than the other! I don’t even want to know how jacked up my hips must be after all of that! So, this weekend, I showed up at Macy’s armed with a coupon, a gift card, and a very real need to buy some new black shoes. I tried on about 10 pairs, and finally settled on a pair of Calvin Klein strappy slingbacks that are still suitable for work.
Like any sane person that has learned her lesson, I wore my flip flops from the car to my desk, and only changed into my new CKs right before my daily morning walk to the coffee pot . . . which is when I noticed that these shoes have the most OBNOXIOUS squeak that I have ever heard. It is painfully obvious that I am the one responsible for this irritating noise and yet I can do nothing about it!
So, dear readers, I ask you:
1. Do you think Company XX should have to repave the rest of the parking lot or else pay for new tips on all of my shoes that fall victim to the awful parking lot?
2. Do you think I can file for workman’s comp for future hip problems I may have has an effect of an uneven parking lot and therefore uneven shoes?
3. Why must new shoes squeak?
Side note: Chapter 16 of Somewhere In Between Us has been posted. Happy reading.
What happens when three hilarious bloggers put 55 materialistic, clothes hungry women (and a few men) in a room with free denim from the Gap, cheese, Firefly Sparklers, the best sangria on the planet, cupcakes, spanakopita, salsa, guacamole, chocolate, and “Gap Born to Shop” M&Ms?
An all-out, free-for-all party reminiscent of Isla Fisher battling it out over the perfect pair of Gucci boots in Confessions of a Shopaholic.
What does that mean exactly? We get to preview and give away free shit to people for the next year. Helllloooooooooo amazingness.
First item on the menu? We hosted a Gap Born to Fit party showcasing the Gap’s new denim line. From other fellow bloggers to wonderful husbands to best friends to old friends to new friends, we all bonded over a fun-filled evening of drinking, eating, nakedness (well only in the dressing rooms), and laughter.
Good times.
Let me tell you. The jeans are AWESOME. Personally the real straight leg and boot cut fit best on me.
Dark wash? Check.
Extends my legs? Check.
Looks great with boots or heels? Check.
Hides my huge ass? Double check.
LOVE IT!!! I would highly recommend hitting up your local Gap to try on a pair.
So, what does this mean for you? A GIVEAWAY!!
One lucky reader will win a $50 gift card to the Gap to buy a brand-spankin’ new pair of Gap Born to Fit denim! Woo hoo!
To enter, simply leave a comment on this post telling me why you love the Gap!
The deadline to enter is next Tuesday, August 18th at midnight!!
I LOVE J. CREW! What I do not always love? The prices.
Some of the items can get EXPENSIVE!!! Especially the shoes and jewelry…
Imagine how ecstatic I was when I got the new crewcuts catalog (yes, I receive the crewcuts catalog and I actually look at it…it comes with my monthly J. Crew catalog…stop judging).
The girls accessories are MONEY!!! Seriously, they are incredibly affordable and I would actually wear most of it!!!
Loving the flower ring…sigh.
Don’t even get me started on the clothes. Some of the stuff for girls is awesome. Though I would be lying to myself if I thought ANY of it could fit on my body.
Hmmmm…I may have to hit up the store this weekend to see if my sausage hands, adult size head, and bony wrists could wear some of this goodness.
This post may be TMI, but I just have to get it out there.
So you may have read about how Mr. Mojito and I only plan to have furbabies. Need a refresher as to why? Read this post.
Well in order to make that dream a reality I decided to get off birth control pills and instead get an IUD put in. Naively, I thought it was the perfect solution. It lasts for 5 years, I’ll never again forget to take the pill, I will rarely have my period, and I won’t get pregnant.
Am I glad I got the IUD? YES. Do I wish I would have been knocked out during the procedure? HELL YES.
Without going into the gory details, let me tell you, it was TORTURE. I passed out twice. But before the doctor revived me with smelling salts, my body went into a full blown panic attack. I am talking shortness of breath, tingling throughout my body, loss of feeling in my hands, legs, and feet, and clammy, cold skin.
It was without a doubt the most painful experience of my life. Luckily, by the time I crawled into bed 3 hours later (yes my procedure took 3 hours), I only had mild cramping.
Thank the heavens the IUD lasts 5 years because there is no way I could go through that again any time soon!
