Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Sweater: Ann Taylor; Necklace: my own; Rings (right hand): antique; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Shoes: Vera Wang

Monday, September 29, 2014

Sure is a Monday today!  Glad it is almost over.

Shirt: Gap; Jacket: J Crew; Necklace: J Crew; Ring (right hand): TJ Maxx; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Shoes: Limited

Friday, September 26, 2014

My new slippers arrived!  Aren't they lovely?

Top: Kenar; Earrings: World Market; Bracelet: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Shoes: Cole Haan

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Top: World Market; Necklace: Megan Goldkamp; Bracelet: J Crew; Rings (right hand): TJ Maxx; Jeans: Lucky; Shoes: Cole Haan

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Finally feeling better after getting sick from the flu shot.  When I realized the evening of the day that I got the flu shot that I also had the stomach bug that Hubby had last week I knew I was in trouble!  On a related note, the flu this year is really awful; I highly recommend getting a flu shot and trying to avoid contracting the flu in any way you can possibly think of!

I also had to deal with a broken washing machine yesterday!  If you own a Whirlpool washer and it suddenly decides it no longer wants to agitate or spin, your problem is likely the motor coupling.  You can confirm this by moving your washing machine and checking to see if their is a pile of black dust under the machine.

If you find this you can fix your washing machine if you are even remotely handy.  Their are tons of videos on YouTube about how to repair the motor coupling that are very easy to follow.  Motor couplings are readily kept in stock by my local appliance parts store for about $21, or you can buy them for a third of that price on amazon.  Even with the price charge by the local store for the part, I'm sure I still came out ahead of the price of calling a repair person!

Shirt: Limited; Cape: Banana Republic; Necklace: Ralph Lauren; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Ralph Lauren; Boots: White Mountain

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

“Burgundy makes you think of silly things, Bordeaux makes you talk of them, and Champagne makes you do them.”

JEAN ANTHELME BRILLAT-SAVARIN, 

FRENCH GASTRONOME AND WRITER

Friday, September 19, 2014: An Extra Hour

This morning Hubby and I were lying in bed and the alarm clock was going off.  Hubby turned to me and asked how I was "this morning."  I replied "Tired.  And you?"  Hubby was tired too.  "Wouldn't it be nice to have an extra hour in the day?" Hubby asked.  Sounded lovely to me until I had thought about it for about an hour and realized I would just spend that time reading in bed thinking that I should go to sleep anyway!

Top: Grace; Cardigan: Gap; Necklace: Megan Goldkamp; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Shoes: Cole Haan

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Think I may have had a little bug, and I got a flu shot Tuesday...  (Just for the record, I was not exhibiting any symptoms of being sick when I got the flu shot.)  Now I'm starting to feel really crappy.  Hopefully it will be short lived!

Top: Three Dots; Necklace: Banana Republic; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Shoes: Cole Haan

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Sweater: Gap; Jacket: Liz Claiborne; Necklace: J Crew; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Shoes: Nine West

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Top: Ann Taylor; Sweater: Cynthia Rowley; Necklace: Target; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Shoes: Ellen Tracey

Monday, September 15, 2014

I sure am having a Monday today.  I discovered this morning when I went to take Babygirl to school that my car keys are in the glove box of the truck (where I tossed them after using them to lock the front door before we left Wednesday because I wasn't going to need them anytime soon), which Hubby for some reason decided to drive to work this morning.  I had a really tough time finding the spare key for my car, because it was not where it was supposed to be; I had to tear half the house apart to find it!  Needless to say Babygirl was NOT on time to school today.

I have spent most of today dealing with two of my favorite things: a monster headache to be, and laundry.  Regular laundry, vacation laundry, and because it is Monday bedding and towels laundry.  I hate laundry.

To top it all off my brother told me this afternoon that "his" dog (which he "inherited" by virtue of living in my parents house) is not doing well.  It may be cancer, but they are not sure.  She definitely at 11 years old has a lot of other health issues as well.  Daisy actually used to be my dog, but when I moved out of my parents house, she didn't adjust well to moving to a less rural setting.  To keep her happier she stayed where she was most comfortable, and Hubby and I adopted Moose.  Needless to say I was not happy to hear that there may be rather grim news in her future.

Anyway, on a better note, we had a lovely time up north, in spite of the fact that it rained a great deal.  Moose and I took lots of walks.  I did some antiquing.  We took a few family tromps through the woods.  Babygirl and Hubby had lots of fun fishing, and we had a great deal of amusement playing Go Fish!

The lake is up again!  The dock is now entirely under water.  I didn't even attempt to go out there because the tops of my rain boots are fabric and I am not sure if the tops are waterproof or not (and I didn't want to find out!)

Babygirl and I had a great time spotting mushrooms.  They were pretty much everywhere and some of them were quite beautiful.

Since I am not a mushroom expert, we looked only, and Babygirl was under *very* strict instructions not to touch!  I wouldn't dare eat any of these just based on the colors, but they were stunning to view.

I think this was my favorite of the mushrooms we spotted.  It was very delicate looking and reminded me of coral the way it branched out.

Friday, September 12, 2014

I love a good Oscar Wilde quote!

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Happy anniversary to my wonderful parents!

Wednesday, September 10, 2014: Headed Up North

Today after Babygirl is done with school, we will be headed up north.  This is our last trip up before the cabin gets closed for the winter.  It should be a weekend of beautiful, blissful peace with the family.

Last night after Babygirl went to bed I took some time to put back together and rewire the vintage lamps.  Unfortunately, the shades are completely wrong: far too large!  Back to the drawing board, but at least now the lamps are ready to go when I do finally find shades!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

I am wearing a swimsuit cover up today.  In public.  (No, not like that.)  It is my denial of the end of summer.  The denial seems to be working for me, since I received several compliments on the top today!

I really do feel like summer just started, but the calendar says differently.  I'm sure I will continue to deny that summer is over until the leaves start to change colors and fall, at which point I will fully embrace autumn...

Top/Swimsuit Cover Up: Solitaire Swim; Camisole: Old Navy; Necklace: Ralph Lauren; Rings (right hand): TJ Maxx; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Shoes: BCBG

Monday, September 8, 2014

I really need to get packing!  We are leaving to go up north Wednesday and I'm not even done with the laundry yet!  (Surprise.)

Current state of the lamps...

I was also hoping to get the lamps for Babygirl's room done, but I don't think that is going to happen before we leave.  The lamps are a pair of vintage lamps I bought several years ago for the master bedroom.  Because I never (until recently) found shades for them I had put off re-wiring them.  (Call me crazy, but I just don't trust vintage wiring!  Lamps are really easy to rewire, so better safe than sorry is my motto!)  Now they don't really go with what I am doing in the master bedroom anymore, but during my last Ikea trip I found some Nymo shades in the pinkish color and thought they would be cute for Babygirl's room.  I finally finished touching up the paint on the lamps this weekend, and I have all the supplies I need, I just need to find the time!

I know the lamps won't take long, but...

Dress: B jewel; Jacket: J Crew; Bracelets (top to bottom): my own, Banana Republic; Shoes: Stuart Weitzman

Friday, September 5, 2014

The weather was waffling all morning.  It would be sunny for a bit and then the clouds would come out, then the sun came back out for a bit before it would get cloudy again, and so on.  For a while after lunch it looked beautiful and sunny outside, but I kept hearing thunder rumbling!

Moose wanted to go outside after lunch, so I let him out and found this little guy on one of my topiaries!  I do not think I have noticed a dragonfly being red before!

Dress: Calvin Klein; Cardigan: J Crew; Necklace: my own; Bracelets (top to bottom): J Crew, Banana Republic, J. Christy's; Shoes: Stuart Weitzman

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Babygirl and I weren't going to leave the house today, but then I realized that we didn't have everything we needed for dinner so we had to run out to the local grocery store.  I think we both would have rather stayed snug, dry, and warm in the house on such a rainy day, but...

Top: Target; Scarf: Nicole Miller; Jeans: Lucky; Belt: Calvin Klein; Shoes: Gentle Souls

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

I am eating leftover panzanella for lunch.  It is like summer in a bowl.  It makes me happy.

I know you are thinking I'm crazy.  Leftover panzanella?  Isn't it all soggy and gross?

No.  I mix it by the bowl full.  All of the ingredients (tomato mixture, dressing, and bread) are stored separately and I mix the amount I want about ten minutes before eating.  By letting it sit for ten minutes the bread cubes soak up the dressing and get all lovely, but not too soggy.  Hubby even took some to work for lunch today, just with all of the parts packed separately in an extra large container.  (Last time I packed it in a normal size container and he didn't have enough room to do the mixing!  Lesson learned!)

In case you are wondering I make my panzanella based on the America's Test Kitchen recipe.  It is no longer on their website, unless you are a member, but I did find the recipe on Two Blue Lemons as well!

It is a good thing that the panzanella is making me happy, because otherwise I am not having a good day.  The Moose is not feeling well today.  It is just his usual digestive issues, but I always feel sorry for him and worry.  I ran out of makeup remover last night (how does that even happen?), but forgot to bring my list for Target today when I went to pick Babygirl up from school so we had to go back home to get my list before we could actually go to Target...  And I tried a new method of cleaning my microwave filters that was rather disastrous.

This morning I saw that one of my friends had pinned a method of cleaning vent hood filters.  I read it and it sounded pretty easy, boiling water and baking soda, and since my vent filters needed cleaning I thought I would give it a try.  I cleaned up the kitchen, then got out my stock pot and started boiling some water.  When the water came to a boil I added the baking soda, slowly at first, then I just dumped the second 1/4 cup in.  My water level was several inches below the top of the pan, so it was safe for me to do this.  The baking soda does make the water boil up vigorously and splash, so be very careful when adding it.  After the baking soda was in the pot I dropped both my vent filters in the water.  It boiled for a couple of minutes and the water got really disgusting just like the pictures in the article.

At this point I decided it would be a good idea to flip my filters over.  I flipped them and pushed them down with the spatula I used to flip them, which caused the pot to boil over!  Not only was there disgusting water all over my stove that I had just cleaned this morning (I know, I did things backwards!) but it also put out the burner!  I have terrible allergies, especially this time of year, so I cannot smell much right now.  The burner was probably out for at least a minute before I noticed!  Eek!

At this point I had a greasy disgusting pot full of yuck, a messy stove top (again!), and a daughter to go pick up!  I put the pot on the back of the stove and went to go get Babygirl.  If I had been smart and just dumped the pot before leaving I probably would not have had further problems, but...

I came home and my filters were still sitting in the greasy disgusting water, but now they were black!  I figured ok, I'll just boil them again and see if that helps.  After boiling them again I discovered that my filters now have holes in them!

My new filters are on their way.  If you tried this and didn't follow the instructions they are available at amazon as well as several appliance repair websites.  I think the cleaning method itself would not be a problem if I had only done the initial quick boil, but since I'm not good that...

Dress: Max Studio; Necklace: J Crew; Shoes: Charles David

Tuesday, September 2, 2014: Babygirl's First Haircut

Where has this summer gone?  It seems like it just started but the calendar says September!  As usual I feel as if I haven't gotten to half of the things I wanted to do this summer.  

I took Babygirl for her first ever haircut today.  It only took me three and a half years to do it.  I thought I was going to cry.  I took her in to Kelly who does my hair and Kelly had a great time with Babygirl and made a big fuss over her.  Babygirl had a great time, and her hair looks much better.  It was really thin and scraggly looking at the bottom and now she has a nice shoulder length layered bob.  It really looks much better, but I am certain Hubby will think it is too short; he likes long hair.

Dress: Apt 9; Sweater: Armani Exchange; Necklace: antique; Shoes: BCBG