Near and Far

A while back, my friend Roamy suggested places we’ve been as a topic for the blog, and it got me to thinking. It’s tough to beat being raised in a tropical island, you know. This is the river in back of my elementary school:

The schoolrooms were a converted cockfighting arena (true story), but the view was totally worth it! Growing up in Puerto Rico, I had the chance to see beaches, desert, rainforest, mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, all in the span of a day. It was wonderful.

Now that I am an Army wife, I get to see other places. Stationed in Europe, we got to see Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Crete, France, Austria, and Italy. Personally, I had no desire to see Holland or Belgium. But I did wish to see Spain, and where my relatives came from. Still, I got to see a lot, and if I had to pick my favorite of all, I would have to say Poland.

It was like a page from a fairytale. And in that fairytale, the bad guys had been vanquished. I hope I get the chance to go back, and drink some Żubrówka, eat pierogies, and hear wonderful stories about Boleslawiec.

And what places would y’all like to visit?

Fashionistas

A friend of mine, the one who is crazy about shoes, loves to post photos of fabulous dresses as well. And by “fabulous” I mean “in the five figure range”. This morning she showed me this confection:

Me: I like the flow and the ruffles on the top that Valentino is famous for, but that flounce at the bottom hurts my eyes.

Friend: One word: V A L E N T I N O!

Me: Two words: B A D G L E Y  M I S C H K A !!

More like this:

It’s one of my grails to own a Badgley Mishka gown. I can only hope one shows up at the Goodwill store in my size someday. The funny thing is, Eldest owns one. And by “funny” I mean “tragic”. She needed it for a runway show, and I found it majorly reduced, in her size, and the Saks’ Off 5th store. Talk about lucky.

Now, if only I needed a gown for an occasion besides housework 🙂

Things That Make You Go “Hmmm…”

Well, as y’all have heard, Borders Bookstores are going out of business. This is a bit hard for me, because I enjoyed the convenience of driving ten minutes to the store, instead of ordering from Amazon and waiting a few days or weeks for your order to get to you. There are Barnes & Noble around the area, but 1) the traffic is prohibitive at two locations, and 2) the drive is long to the third. But I adapt well to changing situations.

One thing I had wanted was a Lego set they were selling at the local Borders. Yes, for me, not for one of my kids. STOP JUDGING ME!!! Anyway, they had several sets from the Architecture Series, one of which I want like burning: Fallingwater, by Frank Lloyd Wright.

But they carried it for $124.95, and the Lego website carried it for $99.99, when they had it in stock, so I decided to wait, because I may want it like burning, but I can’t justify $125 for building blocks. And then today I was at Barnes & Noble, and saw this:

THAT is the price for Fallingwater at B&N!! The price difference is stark. I guess now we know why Borders is going out of business. Their concept of “sale pricing” left a lot to be desired.

UPDATE:

A friend just called and told me stuff at Borders is now 20-40% off. I may be able to score this set after all 😀

Calm Before the Storm

As if! We were expecting this monster of a rainstorm around here, thanks to Tropical Storm Don, and of course, it never came to pass. Which means I will have to scrub the fence outside from last weekend’s debacle birthday bash. And did I mention there is still paint on the bath walls that needs to be scraped off? Yeah, my day is shaping up to be a storm of cleaning fumes.

But before that storm hits, I am going to enjoy the calm, and sip my coffee, and maybe do a little shopping from the comfort of my chair. I do have a talent for that, you know. And sometimes I do find the neatest stuff!

Can you imagine the PTA’s face when I show up wearing this?? Totally worth it!!!

Ok, time to get moving here. Hope y’all enjoy your Saturday!!

Canada Luv!

This morning I received a message from a friend, telling me of a young man from Canada who is coming to visit his family while he launches his American country music career. His name is Ryan Laird, which is just awesome in and of itself, he’s very talented, and hope y’all enjoy this song!

And his single, which is to die for:

Not bad, eh?

And back off, Taylor. I saw him first 😉

Dangerous Liasons

My friend The Nomstress is here for a quick visit, planning to take Son for a week. And when she is in town, bad things happen to my checkbook:

These are Trollbeads, and they are addictive. Hubby will attest I have….a few. And yesterday eldest got her very own bracelet for her birthday, composed of the Chakhra beads, which I had been collecting for over eight months. Anyway, Nomstress tells me she needs to go to the Trollbeads store to exchange a leather bracelet.

Best laid plans, and all that rot.

They had just received a huge lot of “universal uniques”, which will fit other brands of bracelets, as well. And they were sooo pretty!!! So I caved. And it didn’t help matters having Eldest and Nomstress cheering me on, either.

Sigh….. 😉

 

Java the Hutt

I used to be a big tea drinker. I mean BIG. It was my beverage of choice every morning. I loved to watch it steep, the liquid turn into an amber nectar that would lift my spirits and recharge and soothe me at the same time.

And then I got pregnant with Eldest. And tea tasted like warm strychnine laced with rat poison. This is NOT an exaggeration. True, I have never tasted either, but from the descriptions I have read in murder mysteries, it came close. I was bereft. I could no longer partake of any kind of tea, not even southern sweet tea. No matter how much sugar I added, and believe me, I added a LOT of sugar, the taste was still acrid. Nothing helped. This went on for about a year and a half, until we returned to the mainland from being stationed in Hawaii. And then I went to my inlaws one Saturday morning, and my MIL fixed me a cup of coffee out of habit. Not wanting to be rude, I decided to drink it, after adding the requisite amounts of half and half and sugar.

ZOMG!!! I could drink it! And I have been a convert ever since.

I can NOT function without a cup in the morning, and usually make sure to drink at least two cups, just to be on the safe side. And though I can now drink the southern sweet iced tea and can drink some other hot teas, I still prefer coffee. I am not a coffee snob by any stretch, but do have my favorites. And no, Starbucks isn’t one of them. I’m sure some of you will be shocked about that. But hey, it’s my blog and I brew what I want to 😉

Bad Influences

We all have them. We all enjoy them. You know you do, so don’t try to say you don’t! Everyone of us has a friend that’s a bad influence. The one that says another slice of cake won’t hurt, or that you need that new dress, or that those shoes are absolutely fabulous and you must get them.

I have one of those friends, too. His name is Mitchell, and he is dangerous. Oh, we’ve never met, and he would die before going dress shopping with me. But when it comes to art and the kitchen, he is mandragora. He is the reason several bloggers came up with a new name for shopping: going a-yorling, after his former blogging name. A couple of days ago he posted some lovely kitchen canisters that he purchased as a housewarming gift for his mom. Not only lovely, but handmade here in the USA. You can guess what happened next:

Yep, I got the complete canister set from Crosby & Taylor. In my defense it was a fabulous deal, and considering I had been using two basket canisters for the longest time, I felt I was due for an upgrade. Right?? All I know is that now I need the matching garlic pot and soap dispenser. And when I say “need”, I mean WANT LIKE BURNING!!

If Mitchell ever has a garage sale, I’m sunk 😉