Thursday, September 22, 2011

Hybrids

Not vehicles...words. I've learned 3 new hybrid words in the last few days, and I really feel like I need to share the wealth. By hybrid words, I mean like breakfast + lunch = brunch {incidentally my favorite meal - probably because it's the only meal during which it is acceptable to have pancakes and dessert at the same sitting ;)}. Or like turducken - a chicken stuffed into a duck stuffed into a turkey or something like that. Don't worry, a turducken is not one of my three.

maletese + yorkie = {Morkie}

We got to hang out this weekend with my college roomate, Kimberly, and her husband, Brock, who also happened to be one of Josh's suite mates in college. They are two of our favorite people in the world, and we had such a great time! Even though we could not convince them to plunge into puppy parenthood {I'm pretty sure they think we are cah-razy ;)}, they had been looking at these little beauties. I hadn't ever heard of them before, but I think they are super cute!


Stop it, right?

.....

pumpkin pie + apple pie + chocolate & vanilla cake = {Pumpple Cake}

I realize I talk about Kathie Lee and Hota more than the average bear, but they showed this cake, and even though it sounds kind of completely gross, I'm just intrigued enough to want a taste. Can't you just hear Willy Wonka {the old one, not the creepy Johnny Depp one} offering children pumpple cake? Sounds way better than pot roast and mashed potato chewing gum.


That, my friends, is 1800 calories per slice.
.....

closet + office = {Cloffice}

I just learned this word on Viva L.A. , a new favorite blog of mine. L. and I used to deal drugs together {world's oldest/cheesiest pharmacist joke...sorry! ;)}, and she has been extra informative lately. This word actually has two interpretations.
1} an office in a closet.


That's cute, but this is better.

2}The function of an office combined with the luxury of having a whole room to spread out clothes and shoes and jewelry is almost more than my little heart can stand. Just look at them.




If you ask me, a hybrid cloffice beats a Prius any day of the week :)

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Tuesday's Top Ten: Online Design

Actually... it's Top Five, and it's online shopping, but to make up for the other five I included one item from each spot that we have in our home {in the design of our home ;)}.

I am an avid online shopper, but I still try really hard to stick to American made purchases. The following five sites are my favorite {i.e. most trusted} online shopping destinations. And although you have to be careful with a couple of them, a large portiion of their products are made in the USA.

If online shopping makes you crazy nervous, I recommend making sure one of two qualifiers is always met. Any time I buy online, either I have seen it in a catalog that has more accurate pictures/colors than online, or there are a lot of really good reviews. And if it's a bigger purchase like a rug or piece of furniture {yes, I have ordered both...you didn't know I was such a risk taker, did you? ;)} - order a swatch of the material or the wood finish before you commit. Oh, and be sure to pay attention to dimensions. They'll getcha.

Aside from those requirements, I only have a couple of other tips. Always look for free shipping. All sites have it periodically, and it's worth the wait to hold off. And if you sign up for the emails from whichever sites you're looking into, you'll often get coupons for significant percentages off or sales that they don't post for everyone to see.

Okay, here we go:


{5} Etsy



I started with this one because it is the most unique and probably the most blogged about. For the three people who didn't know waaaay before me, it's an online market where talented people sell what they make and less talented people {or at least in my case ;)} can buy it. I love the idea and the products!



This is a close up of a pillow cover I am almost ready to integrate into a new scheme in the living room. It is from LilyonBlue, and I was super impressed with her!


{4} Pottery Barn



This is one of my favorite stores and online sites for accessories, and their frames have free shipping almost all the time.



Here is a part of the collection of PB frames with family photos on our buffet.


{3} Target



I just purchased our new dining chairs from Target.com, and we love them! They were on sale and plus had an extra discount at the time. Target's website has 15% off furniture items pretty regularly and has free shipping on orders over $150 on a regular basis.



I'll do a big picture once I find the perfect rug to go under the table :)


{2} Ballard Designs



I'm a BIG fan of Ballard Designs. You can find a 15% coupon in a lot of issues of Southern Living! We bought our living room rug from here a while ago, but I ordered a swatch first {for ~$5}. When they sent the swatch, they sent another coupon {worth a lot more than $5} with it. Score :)



These are the large and medium medici capitols from BD. They are perfect for setting a drink or magazine down when you're on the far end of the couch. It may not be their permanent home, but it is working for now.


{1} Overstock



If you haven't shopped on this site, what are you waiting for?!? It's like a super sale every single day. And you get shipping for $2. Like the bar stools you see in our kitchen below. The low profile of the back keeps from obstructing the view of the island.

The picture on top is from a while ago...you can tell we were not good at training Lady not to chew shoes because they are all on the stool and the counter. Once the shoes were out of reach, she went for the pant leg. Yikes. ;) The picture on the bottom is the website's picture of the stools. They shipped for free. They came fully assembled. And we got 10% off. The reviews were really what sold me, though.



....

Now, get to shopping ladies {and gents?} - somebody's got to support this economy! ;)

Monday, September 12, 2011

Bittersweet

September 11 has been an important day for my family since long before 9-11. It was my grandmother's birthday, which is why yesterday was bittersweet.

I am the youngest child of my mother who is the youngest child of her mother. By normal definitions, I am separated from my mother by two generations and my grandmother by four. The interesting thing about her birthday having the shadow of a tragedy is that she had lived through a whole lot of deep American heartache in her 90+ years {The Great Depression. World War II. Major stuff.}, but her life was anything but tragic. In fact, after she died a few years ago, more people than I can remember told us how fun her funeral was. {Not in a creepy, morbid way. In a funny stories celebration of life kind of way. I can't make that sound normal, just trust me.} I wish I had the stories that were shared that day, but I'm not sure where they are, so instead I'll share a little diddy about her I will never forget. ;)

My grandmother's name was Dorothy {actually it was officially Dorotha, which I never understood}, and she said exactly what she thought every minute of every day {ohhh, genetics ;)}. As Bro Mike reminded us, she had two great loves in life - Joe {my grandfather...obviously} and cooking. Combine her love of butter and cream {Paula Deen had nothin' on my Grandma} and her childhood during the Great Depression, and she was always ready to feed you... a lot. If you didn't clean your plate, you were either ill or serious insulting her. Her love language was food.

Cue embarrassing story. Enjoy.

....

It was the first time I had taken Josh to Mountain Home, so naturally we went to see Grandma. Keep in mind while reading, we had not been dating for that long.

Now, one thing you never ever ever did was show up for a visit without a sweet treat of some sort for her in your hands. So we went to the Dairy Queen, got her a blizzard, and headed her way.

When we arrived, I introduced Josh and held my breath to wait for whatever questions she would have or honest thoughts she would share. My biggest concern at first was please don't call him the wrong name, please please Grandma, don't call him the wrong name.

She didn't. She didn't embarrass him at all.

Him.

Josh gave her the blizzard, she made sure her dentures were fully secure, and then with the sweetest little grin and southern accent said,

Well, I never was one to turn down chocolate.

"Me either, Grandma," I quickly replied.

Yeah, you do look a little thicker than you used to.


Whhhhhaaaaaaat.


Oh, I'm turning red. Annnnd redder. Geminy crickets she did not just tell my relatively new boyfriend I look thicker. Yes, she did, and she meant it as the highest compliment. She followed it with,

I mean you used to just look your stomach was stapled to your backbone. {Let me assure anyone reading this that my stomach has never been in the remote vicinity of my backbone. This is where the Great Depression skewed her view :)}

I sat with Josh, mortified and sweaty, as she moved on to the next topic of conversation as if she had just mentioned the weather. I don't remember another thing she said, but I do remember that she was her usual charming, witty self and that she won Josh over in record time.



....

As much as I still giggle at thinking back on that day, a whole host of memories flood my mind when I think about her. Her most famous culinary delight was an incredible butter cake {appropriately titled, I assure you}. My grandfather was the love of her earthly life, and she told everyone who would listen {sometimes multiple times in a single conversation} about how wonderful the sixty years and eight months they had together had been. Most of all, she loved Jesus, and I would imagine she's made Him that butter cake by now. No calories in heaven, right? ;)

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Tuesday's Top Ten: Puppy Products

I skipped a week - Let’s just call it an oops - and I'm not exactly on time this week. {That's what I get for picking a title with a day of the week built in.} Ten things is kind of a lot to come up with for a list. I may be switching to Friday Top Five in the future, but for today I have ten super cute {and some completely totally ridiculously frivolous} puppy products!

Now if a description of your little ones doesn't include fur, you may not be interested in this post, and I completely understand. Before you think I’m crazy, let me say that I know that having dogs and having children are in two totally different realms – but until I have people children, I cannot love a small bodied creature anymore than I do Lady & Rose. Don’t judge me. ;)

I do not own a single one of the following items, but in a budget less world, I probably would ;)

{10} Puppy Stairs
Steppin' up in style.



{9}Petit Four Legs
Clever...wish I would have thought of it myself...



{8}Food Canisters
FUNctional.



{7}Puppy Life Jackets
If they start to float away, just grab your polka-dot pooch by the handle and scoot 'em your way.



{6}Halloween Costumes
I believe Lady would make an excellent banana split and Rose a bumble bee.



{5}Booster Seat
Lean back. Lean back.



{4}Outdoor Chaise Lounger
A bit of shade to prevent premature aging.



{3}Aged Nickel Pet Dish
I always say you can never have too much aged nickel. {Not really, but it sure is fancy. ;)}



{2}Doggie Treadmill
I wouldn't have believed it existed if I didn't see it for myself.



{1}Puppy Trundle Bed
You know, for puppy bunkin' parties. It's just a little chump change {kidding...$699! whoa.} But seriously, isn't that crazy cute and cozy?



Next week I will be punctual and about people.

Have a great week!