Fall. Fall where?

Sunday morning I awoke to the smell of bacon. Just like every Sunday.
Ughh. I know I'm a wendy whiner, but I loathe the smell of bacon in the house.
I did however feel a nip in the air and that curbed my whininess for a moment.

Me: "Coach, is it nippy outside? Has FALL arrived?"
Coach: "well, it's so hot out that I fell over. Is that what you were wondering?"

HA!
I suppose the nip I felt was the a/c running to keep us at 73*.

Fall isn't here yet.
Not even close.

But, I'm moving forward in a positive mode….my fall seeds have been started.

Now, I command thee to grow!
I also command thee weather to cool off….but if I hear of a freeze coming, I'll commit harry Carey!
Did I say Harry Carey? I mean Hari-Kari!
See, I just want it to be perfect.
Is that too much to ask?
I think NOT!

Willy Nilly Friday~Lets see if I can keep it going.

Joining Tanya and friends to share 5 willy nilly thoughts, pics or whatevers.

1. The Coach and I went to see a flick this week. This Is Where I Leave You.

I give it four thumbs up. We both thought it was very funny….and of course, I {the weeper} found much to cry about. Mostly happy tears, but tears none the less.

Can you imagine what a great hitchhiker I'd be if I actually had FOUR thumbs?

2. I'm knee deep into the second season of House of Cards. 

I love it. I hate it. I love the brilliant writing. I loathe the deviousness of it all. Politics smolitics. The politicians are portrayed as NOT so nice characters….and I have a feeling this is a true characterization. 

Have you watched it?

3. I find that when I post these 5 blips on the Willy Nilly Friday 5, that most people only connect with one or two items. 

4. See how I just skipped over number 3? I'm {practically} brilliant. HA!

5. I've also noticed that people usually always comment on a photo that I share. So…I'm going to look and see if I've taken a photo this week. 

I'll be right back. 

Ok, this isn't from this week. This was my birthday dinner a few weeks ago; I got to see both of my lovelies!!! Have I mentioned that I adore them? 
I mean, I REALLY adore them.

Even if they make me look like I'm super short.

Is 5'2 3/4" super short?

BTW: I'm totally owning the 3/4".

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend filled with lovely people, a good flick and steer clear of slimy politicians!!

Ice Ice Baby

You know the song. you know the drill.
duunnnn dunnn de dunnn dun.
Stop. Collaborate and Listen.
Ok, perhaps ONLY I randomly sing that song.
Do you have an ice thing?
An ice choice?
An ice fettish love?
My people do.
I enjoy my ice. But my people LOVE their ice.
A few years ago the Coach and I purchased an ice maker.
I know. Normal people use the ice maker in their freezer. But, we are NOT normal people.
This was a big deal. There was research. There were meetings. Discussions.
We settled.
We didn't get the premium ice maker.
We got a good ice maker.
BUT….
 Out there in the world, we ON occasion come across the ultimate ice.
ULTIMATE {pellet} ICE.
*swoon*

And when we do, I have to share with my people.
You know, just so they know what they are missing.
I had this delicious glass of ice while in Chicago. I shared this pic with my girls and they both ewwed and awed. 
Ice envy.
It's what we do.
Word to your Mother.

Willy Nilly Friday~I'm baaaccckk

Did you even notice I was gone?

Pffffft.

Joining Tanya and friends-Sharing 5 willy nilly thoughts, pics or whatevers. 

*We've had very limited internet for the last few weeks. Talk about being annoyed. I know…I know….it's not as though we didn't have running water or electricity. What can I say; we are spoiled. I'm also a fan of air-conditioning and that roof over my head.

*The Coach, Lolo and I watched the documentary To Be Takai the other night; very interesting and cute. George Takai is very funny and has a rich history other than being a part of Star Trek.

*I had this vanda orchid on my lanai and when it stopped blooming I put it out in the oak tree to pasture.  Last week I noticed how happy it loved it's new location.  Prepare to swoon.

*Swooning is fun isn't it?

*Someone is suffering with senility. No, it's not me. yet. It's our sweet Ozzie. 

We noticed about six months ago that he was losing his marbles.  The vet agreed with me and said it's part of the aging process. He sleeps a lot. He gets lost in the house. He can't hear us. He hears things that aren't there. He stares at walls UP CLOSE. 

However, he still has moments of pure joy. I took him out to see the Vanda orchid and he was all sorts of cra-cra; running around, doing flips, rolling in the grass.

Apparently this embarrassed Cocoa….she stayed on the sun deck and wouldn't even look at him. Girls. 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend filled with pure joy, swooning and hey, get cra-cra and roll in the grass!

XOXO

{Stem Cell} Stenciled Drop Cloth Curtains.

I finally finished the project that I'd been putting off starting!
Some of you might remember the conversation I shared from Lolo and I: 

Me:   "Lolo, So, I ordered a stencil for our next big project…."

Lolo: "WHAT? you ordered STEM CELLS? What in the world is this project?!?"

****

When the coach and I were going to Chicago my sweet as heck MIL said to me: Lolo and I are sewing on Saturday, do you want us to make you anything?

Me: YES!

I'd been wanting to make some drop cloth stenciled curtains for a few months. (Pinterest has several good tutorials) 

Remember when I redid our guest room a few years ago? Of course you do. It started with painting the walls and furniture.   Then we inherited my In-laws four poster bed that I chalk painted.

It was still evolving. I needed something to soften the space; some fabric on the walls. 

I'd purchased ALL the necessary items and I'd even washed the drop cloths in preparation.

But, I was putting off the hardest part.

Measuring. Gag. 

Measuring, then cutting the one drop cloth to make it two curtain panels for our guest room.

Measuring is not my favorite thing to do.

If I had to list all the things I didn't like to do, measuring would be right up there with visiting the vaginacologist. 

(btw: Lolo coined that phrase and she should trademark it)

My MIL cut and hemmed the panels.  (I was going to hot glue a hem in lieu of actually sewing; if a corner could be cut, I'll be there) 

My FIL was responsible for hanging the cute rod that I'd found at homegoods. The rings are from home depot….they clip, no sewing involved here either.

Looks pretty cool, right?

Just wait, the cool gets even cooler. 

I'd purchased a brocade stencil from cutting edge stencils

I took the time to cover my craft table with an old {shiver} plastic table cloth. If it wasn't so flipping hot, I would have done this in the garage, but I'm not into sweatshops.  

After I'd laid out my drop cloth, I had an epiphany. {this time, it wasn't so painful} I thought: Wow, this drop cloth would make a great table cloth!!!

Since I was still reeling from that epiphany, I felt a glass of wine was in order. Plus, I was scared I would ruin my drop cloth….a glass of courage was in order. Of course, I moved it off my drop cloth asap….can you imagine if I'd ruined it before I'd started? I'd have to shank myself.

Ok. Lets begin. I think you should know that I'd purchased a quart of flat white paint from home depot; the cheapest one. I think it was just under 10 bucks. 

That 10 bucks literally disappeared within minutes. Meaning: it went on white, and within minutes it was CLEAR. 

I was confused. I was disappointed. I was robbed. 

Then I remembered we had a quart of Sherwin Williams white flat paint in our paint cabinet. I should have known to just go with the good stuff. 

.

 I had a pattern in mind {from pinterest} and of course I eye-balled it. You'll not catch me measuring anything. ever. 

It took a few hours to stencil each panel. I recommend a glass of wine and some good tunes to make the time pass. 

I used a foam roller brush and all the upper body strength I have. Which is not so much a lot. 

 I absolutely love the look. I struggled with getting a good photo of the room; the lighting is bad in here;  the photos don't do it justice.

 It's a lovely guest room. I'm thinking I should actually charge my guests….especially those who don't clean up after themselves! HA! 

So, if you feel inclined to come visit, please email me your requested dates AND credit card information. 

FYI, The Coach makes a mean breakfast on Saturday and Sunday!

Taking reservations now. 

Have a great weekend my friends. 

Turning 46 isn't easy.

So, that makes turning 47 a tad bit harder.

Lets go back and look at ALL the birthday photos from my childhood.

Whoopsie daisy, I forgot…..

My parents were too busy to take pictures or throw parties.

Oh wait, someone found the time to document my first beer. Is it any wonder I am the way I am?

Just kidding Mom. 

Wait, is that a handgun in my crib? Oh….never mind, it's just a pocket knife.

Anyhoo….I've survived and today I'm officially 45 46, 47. 

{Does anyone else forget how old they are?}

One of my favorite hobbies is make fun of my upbringing.
I ran free in our neighborhood and at my Grandpas trailer park, I knew all the bartenders names at the bowling alley and I might have stolen kittens from a neighbors carport and stated that they 'just showed up"; I may have also drawn nekkid people on my bedroom wall and blamed it on my brother Mark while he was at school.….all this before I turned 5.

What can I say, I was drunk.
{see above photo}

My Mom loves it when I blog/talk about my childhood…she can always trump mine, so I guess the cycle is broken. 

 But, we must keep the fun cycle running. 

Also, my Mom is the bomb.dot.com. 

Anyhoo my motto for my 47th year is to embrace the joy, the precious moments, the laughter and the laugh lines. 

I'm over the cellulite, so there will be no embracing of that;  I'll continue working out, but still enjoy good food and great wine.

Cellulite won't steal my joy. damnit. 

It's not nice to ask for gifts, but…..

If money and distance were no object, what would your gift to me be?

XOXO

The cuteness can't be contained.

Don't you love it when your {damn} family expands?
I do.

Coach's mom and stepdad held down the fort while we were in Chi-town last weekend.

They adopted a sweet little yellow lab from some friends of ours the day before we left.

 His name is Toby.
As in Toby Keith.
And no, he isn't covered in tattoos or raises hell.
 Yet.

They are keeping with tradition. Right now they have Jackson {Brown} a chocolate lab; 13 years, Carly {Simon} 10 years and they just lost JT  {James Taylor}, a black lab, a year ago.
They like labs and good music. 

Even Lindsay had to come home to see this bundle of joy. 

My MIL Sue is in love with him. He is really SO sweet!

She stated that this will be her last dog…..when he is 12, she will be 80!!

Don't do the math…cause I'm not giving out her age here. 

Did everyone have a good weekend? Any new pups in your life?

Digging the windiness.

Typing Windiness looks weird as does windy-ness.

How about windfull?

Yep, still weird and totally wrong. 

The Coach and I spent a lovely weekend in Chicago with another couple; was a delightful getaway. 

One of my favorite things about Chicago is all the plant life on the busy streets. Beds of flowers, hanging baskets. It's as if they knew I was coming. 

.

Spitting in public is generally frowned upon. But on a hot day in Millennium park, people line up to be spit upon. 

How about some verticalness for your visual pleasure. 

I was digging these birdies dining on corn that was growing in Millennium park. Not a scarecrow in sight. 

Did I ever tell you I love the coach? Well I do. 

The bean. It must be seen from afar as well as upclose. Too cool for school.

We ate. We walked. We ate. We drank. We ate and drank. We walked. We ate and drank and laughed and walked. 

This was the first time I've visited this city and I've not shopped. Never mind the fact that I walked up and down Michigan Avenue countless times over the weekend. 

I feel as though I deserve something for this great accomplishment; perhaps a certificate of achievement or a smallish plaque? 

A star in my name?

I'm waiting.