Is It Wrong?

I feel the need for a little confession...so aren't you lucky you get two posts in one day after I have left you high and dry for so long.

Is it wrong that I gave Curby this

and that a few minutes later she looked like this

Does that mean I am going to be one of those mothers who gives her child Benadryl so they will go to sleep? Benadryl, by the way, will be next if this doesn't succeed in making the trip to the lake a more pleasant one. Three dogs in a Jetta with one throwing up is far from pleasant...so see I have my reasons.

Second, is it wrong that since Brandon is in class that I have chosen to eat this for dinner...I feel terribly guilty

along with some sushi because that sounds good...no I am not pregnant....Leigh Anne made me take the online quiz yesterday just to make sure...I'm just weird

Third, is it wrong that I added another bottle of wine to the refrigerator just in case...not to mention the 3 bottles I bought at Publix because they were only $3.

and FINALLY, Is it wrong that I still haven't moved my beach bag or overnight bag from the living room floor since I got back on Sunday and I just dig through it to get what I need?

Oh well either way it is what it is and I am who I am....I feel much better now....maybe next time I will join in on the Not Me Mondays

Just a Little Something

Just thought I would take a minute to share one of my favorite things....kind of like Oprah....but I am not giving you one. Well, that and I don't have my camera cord and camera at work to blog about the weekend...we have some fun stories.....what was that you said about Italy??

Anyway....In preparation for the 4th of July weekend I have been planning on what my contribution will be to the family meals will be. I enjoy baking even though it is always an endeavor { I am a HUGE mess maker}. However, I don't enjoy sweets that much...I would much rather have something salty...yes I am weird...and my dad also used to buy our Halloween candy from us so we wouldn't eat it so I guess I never got to feel the love and affection for sweets that most people did...all that to say I don't make anything often because that would just leave Brandon to eat it and I would rather not have a 500 pound husband

Could I get to the point already...sheesh?? I decided since I would have multiple people at my disposal for eating that I would make Pioneer Woman's Apple Pie. and a Strawberry pie....like the kind your grandmother used to make. Which brings me to my point....FINALLY.

My Grandmother had some of the best recipes so when it came time to pass them along what's a girl to do? Around Christmastime I came across an article about Taste Book. It was too late to give as a Christmas present even for the biggest procrastinator, but I thought it sounded like a cool idea for my sister's Birthday in January.

Here's the deal. You set up an account and start compiling. You can enter your own family recipes, or import them from Southern Living, BH&G, and various other food magazines and websites. You get to pick your own cover, do a dedication page, and even add pictures of your creations {i google imaged}. You send it to them and they print it and put it together and it is in a binder type book so you are free to add as many recipes as you want over time. They also have pre-made taste books for sale but I think it is so fun to have your own personalized with YOUR favorites. So try it out. You'll love it...I am going to have a copy of my sister's printed for me so I can add to it as well. Click here to check out our Family Traditions. Yep it has the Strawberry Pie we will be enjoying this weekend. Oh and my grandmother's jello pretzel salad....it's the best!

Never Fear I am Still Here

This is an obligatory post...I know it....now you know it. I have the next installment of the Italy Chronicles Tuscany Edition in the works and I wanted to publish it today but there is no way Jose. I am not in the frame of mind to work on it {read....I am at work} So instead I thought I would just rub it in your face that I am headed to the beach tonight for my {soon to be} sister in law's bachelorette weekend, and that I will be back with hilarious stories and pictures a real blog post next week. I have already admitted to being a horrible blogger so you should not feel let down, but if you do, here is a sneak peek at some of the Tuscan views...with some PW Action help.

I've Been a Bad Bad Wife

Continuing on in the series of what a horrible person I am we will move on to the weekend and talk about what a horrible influence my mother in law is on me and how she makes me do things I shouldn't

We spent the day Saturday shopping and she introduced me to a place that she shouldn't have it's called Summer Classics. I don't know how I didn't know about this place before...and I am sure Brandon is glad I didn't. If you have never been don't go...you have been warned. You will spend money on something YOU don't need. {I happened to need what I bought..thank you} We walked around drooling over outdoor {and indoor} furniture we stumbled upon some great pictures for the lake... and guess what? They were 50%! Double whammy...they were having a 50% off select accessories sale....UH OH...because I ran into these and it was love at first sight.



I took this picture with my camera phone...so it's not the best. But you can still tell the perfection of it and that is has a red dot on it signaling it is 50% off out of my price range. What did I do? I walked away...and kept walking...walked right to the cash register with my mother in-law to buy her fish prints. I was so proud...but then self doubt started to creep in and the vases started calling my name...yelling actually. I went back to take another look....


BIG mistake....I promptly hoisted one on each hip like the precious babies they were... {they were kind of big and heavy and I am small and weak}...and walked straight to the counter with them...I couldn't help it honey....I NEEDED them....somewhere in our house I needed them. Your mom didn't even try to stop me so blame her not me....SHE is the bad influence. She actually said, " I will not love you anymore if you don't buy them"...so I HAD to...ok not really...I told myself that...but still...she was present during the transaction.

We took our shopping on down the road a little ways. I won't tell you the name of this place because you will REALLY get yourself in trouble there. It's for your own good...trust me.

I have been trying for OH...a good two years now to have some semblance of a grown up room. It only took me a year to get a headboard and another 6 months to get a nightstand...singular...That's it...all we have...besides the donated dresser. Since I am having some drapes made for our room I figured it was time to get the second nightstand and maybe some decent bedding. White was not a good choice in a house with 3 black dogs.

Not that it matters but here is the one nightstand we have.

Here the vases go to work...I am not sure if they will ultimately end up in our room but I love them so much I would like to wake up to them every morning {I feel that way about you too honey!}


Ignore the navy/gray/tan...whatever color that pillow is...I was thinking the green would be a good fit...surprise....I love green. Of course they didn't have it in the size I needed and I am supposed to call back about ordering the nightstand...so lucky Brandon....I didn't buy anything...well and I am going to make sure that the drapery fabric I bought off of eBay {that is a weird color but I am using it anyway} will work with it all. I will stop here and conclude the conversation about my room which is not what you were expecting today...was it....I wasn't either...but...Surprise!

I will leave you with this though...I am thinking I should be proactive about nursery decor...no I am not pregnant...I would at least tell my husband first...even though he reads this...but I digress. This chair I would build a house around...so I think I could work something out with a nursery. Actually, I think it would look stunning right now in our guest room...and then I would sleep upstairs in this chair...like I said...it is better that you not know the name of this place.

I'm a Horrible Blogger

Ok so I know for the 5 3 people who read this blog they are probably only interested in seeing our pictures from Italy...and to be honest...I would love to see them too. However, I hate how life seems to be continuing on despite my need for a week of free time to get through the pictures and to recount the tales of our journey. It seems like we have something going on every night during the week and everyday during the weekend. I thought summers were supposed to be for relaxing and hanging out?

All this to say....there is no new Italy post...I know most of you have probably given up hope...but alas, there is hope. Brandon is going to the beach this weekend for his brother's rockin' bachelor party so I will have some uninterrupted time to myself....it's gonna be just me and Flickr. I am hoping to really make some progress and maybe even get a few posts in the works...WOOO HOOO...so for now how about some randomness because I don't even have my camera to provide new pictures....get ready this is going to be random.


We'll start with this. This is a house I found this week that I want need to buy. Here are a few reasons why.


Let me just tell you...I think my heart stopped with that last picture because do you know what immediately popped into my head?


It's a sign...I just know it. So if you live in Birmingham and love this house too...don't even think about it...It's mine...plus its in Bessemer {but don't think I haven't already researched companies to move this little gem to nearby Helena} My current house is already halfway on the market {surprise honey!} so if you know anyone in the market for a 3 bedroom 3 bath townhouse with a fenced- in backyard...send them my way.

Let's see what else is in the ole picture vault....man not a lot....I just cleaned out my folder so it's slim pickins


Here is a picture my sister sent me of us with our wonderful tour guide Alessandro. He will be making a guest appearance in the next installment of the Italy Chronicles.



This is a picture of me with my soon to be sister in law Amanda. Please ignore the fact that for a brief moment in time I chose to pin my bangs back...and that my skin glows next to hers....She can wear yellow...and I am super jealous of that. Amanda, please lets take more pictures together...preferably when my skin has seen the light of day.

And Finally....this is the picture that my co-workers and I printed on a sheet of paper and hung in the bathroom asking others in our office building to please use the restroom on their own floor. We work on the first floor and for some reason it is the place of choice for after lunch business. I beg you...if you work in an office building don't designate a floor....spread the love around....or better yet stay on your own floor.

Ok well...that's all I have in my picture folder that you haven't seen...I know....pretty weak...but I do actually have a job to do. So...I'll see what I can do this weekend to get the tour bus back on track...until then...or until something else interesting happens....have a good week.

Birthday Boy

Today is my husband's birthday. Today he is officially closer to 30 than 20....and I am not. Today I am carrying that purse....and he is not. One day we will have children and we will pay for his 26 years of mischief...so enjoy your nice quiet birthdays now because this too shall pass.

Happy Birthday Babe I Love You and can't wait to see what purse of mine you are still willing to carry in 26 more years.

Friday Redo

Some of you might have noticed the slideshow I posted Friday. It had no words because photobucket and I had already shared some...and it won. It has been driving me crazy since because it cut off parts of pictures and scrolled too fast. I have since come to my senses and the 21st century and uploaded everything to Flickr for your viewing pleasure. So, in case you missed it the first time, here are some of the pictures I took at the Pitti Palace...some of them are my favorite pictures from the trip.

Oh! and you can watch this full size by clicking on the title and it will take you to my photostream. Click slideshow {top right hand corner} and it will bring it up full size...much better in my opinion.

Weekend Scenes

Italy Chronicles Part 2

Please forgive me if I breeze through the first part of day two...I feel like we should move quickly to more important things like purses, lemons, wine, and gardens. Up first is the Uffizi Gallery. This gallery is full of Botticelli's work, Leonardo's work, and a bunch of other famous dead guys. I couldn't take pictures inside so there is not a lot to show.

I did get to see The Birth of Venus....the painting...not the actual birth...In case you don't remember High school art here is a picture from Wikipedia


Obviously, this picture doesn't do it justice...and if I could have taken a picture it wouldn't either. It was HUGE and the detail on all of paintings were unbelievable...down to the lacework on the women's dresses...incredible. I just wanted to touch it. Some stupid tourist set off the alarm when she got to close to the painting but of course that wasn't me....of course not



This was my favorite painting in my favorite room. I don't know why...I just liked it. I have already explained my affinity for portraits of old dead people. I forgot to write her name in my post when I was working on this post last night so if you really want to know...just leave a comment and I will tell you. I do know she was a very rich lady married to a banker and they were great friends with the Medici's....which is why is is hanging in the Uffizi because it used to be the Medici offices and then they started adding artwork and then all the sudden it became a museum. I don't think anyone would care enough about the posters art hanging on my walls to take it to goodwill when I was done with it.



This is the room the painting was in The Tribune. The dome was inlayed with shells and the flower scroll designs you see next to the windows are also made from using shells. Obviously I took this photo from fotosa but it was the only one I could find that showed the detail of the room. Don't think I didn't contemplate trying to slyly take one of my own but it would have been dark, grainy, and blurry so this is probably better anyway....and I didn't get carted off to Italian prison.

Those were the highlights. If you aren't satisfied....just imagine long hallways with rooms leading in to more rooms leading into more rooms full of paintings and sculptures and there you have our morning...and yes we went in to every room...thank you very much. It really was a neat place but it is something that is better appreciated in person...sorry a girl can only do so much.

Next is the Ponte Vecchio bridge. It is the oldest bridge in Florence and according to Alessandro that is because Hilter chose to destroy the other bridges, and left this one because they thought once they drove the tanks over it, it would be destroyed and they didn't want to waste the resources to blow it up....see I did learn something while I was there. Shops line the bridge and are mostly jewelry shops full of gold and diamonds....OOOHHHH AHHHH....I couldn't afford any of it so here are some pictures and we will move on....I sound a little cranky today don't I?

Apparently, I was enjoying taking sideways pictures that day so I am sorry if you just looked at those with your head turned sideways. I'll try to be better about that on our next European vacation slated to take place the year after never....who knows we may get lucky and win the lottery...oh wait Alabama doesn't have a lottery.

Now, I am going to take a brief pause before moving on. Our next stop was the Pitti Palace and Brandon and I spent over 2 hours wandering through the gardens he was THRILLED. The gardens were extensive...like central park extensive. I took lots of pictures so it is going to get it's own post because it was one of my favorite places we visited. Heather and Ryan toured the inside and said it was ok...not as glamorous as the French palaces they saw last year {they get out more than us}...so I was happy with my decision.



This is a map just to give you an idea of the size. The Ponte Vechhio bridge is number 13 and the Uffizi gallery is in the number 12 area.

I'll be back with more....more exciting stuff I promise! I'm going to go adjust my attitude and put my tour guide hat back on and we will continue on.

Just Because

Just because it's Monday. Just because life is still moving forward, and just because I can. I am posting about something other than Italy. I came home from work this afternoon to water my plants and thought I would take more pictures because I haven't done enough of that lately. The sun was setting and the flowers are really starting to bloom. It was beautiful. Mostly because I can finally see results from the sweaty sunburning work I did last year to plant things in rocky soil. So without further ado please enjoy the following pictures

This is my butterfly bush and I love it. Really I love this and will plant it at every single house I ever live in.

It grows tall and in any soil and lines the back of our fence. I am currently down one because the dogs thought it would make an excellent chew toy.

And best of all, it smells like pure honey. I am not lying when I say it smells like you just opened a jar of fresh honey and stuck your nose in it.

See even the bee agrees with me. I cut these like crazy and put them in the house just for the smell. The bush will grow and bud even more when you cut it so it is a win win...and I like those situations. Speaking of bees...

This is my bee balm. I planted it last year and finally saw it bloom this year. I bought it in one of those Bonnie Plants containers for about $3 it was small then and looked like it might mound a little and sprout flower. Well what should I discover but...

when they started to emerge this spring they grew and grew and grew until they reached my shoulders...it was almost like Jack and the Beanstalk...but without the bean....and Jack.....and these all came from one plant.

I'd say that is a pretty good deal for $3 and I bought 5 of them. On second thought, I hope this doesn't turn out to be like Kudzu {If you don't live in the South you won't understand} The bees love this one too. That is a bee being a little camera shy on the middle one.

Ok well that's all I got. I forgot to take a picture of the echinacea but maybe I can cover that some other time. I am off to pick up my house and work on another Italy post...I know I keep saying it and one day I will.

Sweet Treats While You Wait

I will be furiously working on a new post on Monday don't you worry. We made a last minute decision to spend the weekend at the lake so.....I didn't spend as much time as I thought I was going to sifting through photos. Actually, I thought I had lost our big memory card with the majority of our pictures on it...so I spent most of my time worrying. However, we returned home, I found it and life will move on. In the meantime, I have dug through and found a few pictures that still make me drool....so Happy Monday morning/Sunday night to you and I should be back soon with a legitimate post...barring a better offer doesn't come along like it did this weekend.





YUUMMM....gelato. I probably have 25 additional pictures that look similar to this one. They really got tired of me standing in front of glass cases snapping away....but I never wanted to forget it's greatness. How about one from another angle....I thought you might ask.




Yep...it's great from that side too....Oh gelato....I miss you






I know I have no words either....only tears





Do you KNOW what I could do with this? Well....I don't but I am sure something fantastic. If I could have figured out how to take this entire shelf and shove it in my carry on...I would have.





Oh look it's Brandon holding a purse...no HE's not sweet but that purse sure was....It was a pretty good deal too at only 80 Euro. I just didn't know it at the time but that is another story for another post.



And last but not least do you know what this little treat is?? Just a little something from our day in Tuscany. This too is another story for another post. I just thought I would give you a little sneak peek