Thursday Vaca

I just need a few minutes today....we are headed to Louisville tomorrow afternoon for my brother's big 5th birthday...yes I have a brother who is 5...well not technically yet...but still I am old enough to be his mother. I have a gazillion things to get ready to go like vacuum my floors because I have this irrational fear over the thought of something happening to me and what people would find when they come to clean out the house...good thing I cleaned my closets last week.

Oh Labor Day weekend where are you...

...and about that picture I was going to post....umm...I'm still working on that.

Weekend Warrior

As the summer is coming to a close, I have realized that I have a lot of catching up to do. Weekends at the lake are fun and all until you come home to a house that has endured 3 months of neglect. With a housekeeper {it's not as glamorous as it sounds} that has been MIA for oh... going on a month now and closets busting at the seams whats a girl to do but put her big girl panties on and get to cleaning.

I am proud to say I survived cleaning out the closets, attic, and refrigerator, and even managed to pull a few weeds. What I almost did not survive was the fact that I had 5 bags of clothes to take to the Salvation Army because my rear couldn't fit in to any of them anymore. Hello womanhood it's nice to meet you...now leave me alone...I am going to go back to crying over the 12 year old boy figure I used to have...along with all the clothes I used to have...and don't think for a second we are friends...you have brought me nothing but strife since I was about 13.

The good news is...I can now see my closet floor and I even found the pair of pearl earrings I lost. The ones that Brandon gave me on our wedding day...maybe its a sign... a sign that our love has not been lost in the back of a closet somewhere...or maybe its a sign that I am lazy and should clean my closet out more often...but I already knew that.

So to reward myself for a hard weekend's work I bought myself a little something. Granted, I bought it before I even started any of that cleaning business...but still. I'll have to post a picture of it tonight...because Pier 1's website is apparently not up to date...and our Internet will have to be installed because our neighbors moved and took our free Internet with them...

Happy Monday...now how about a picture of Max...cause that's all I got!


Oh wait here is one of Sophie too....


Well we better not leave Curby out either...but she didn't want her picture taken last weekend.

Project

I have a new project...I'll give you a few hints

1. We're poor...we bought dog food last night

2. I recently received the newest copy of Ballard Designs in the mail

3.

That's all you get. I fear I have given away too much already. Happy Friday!

Wordless Wednesday Thursday

Treasure Hunting

Brandon and I skipped work last Friday and made a beeline for the lake Thursday night for some much needed R&R. The typical lake weekend goes something like this:

1. Get the heck out of dodge as soon as work ends on Friday
2. Wake up Saturday morning and park it on the dock/boat
3. Go to sleep
4. Do it over again Sunday
5. Cry the whole way home on Sunday

Since we had an extra day it was hotter than Hades outside we decided to visit some of the local shops and stop being so selfish about our lake time, as is the usual routine. We headed first to a little antique/consignment shop which was fairly new in town. It is right next to the Fred's, which is also fairly new in town...so you get the idea...anyway I am sure Brandon is relieved I didn't find anything I couldn't live without...but I have my eye on that place....

Then we were off to the Strickland Cloth Barn...I can't even type that without getting chills down my spine. The cloth barn is located in downtown Eclectic...and if there was ever a name for a town this one is the perfect fit. Let's set the scene shall we?



This is the lovely downtown of Eclectic. This is all there is....well and of course this



Strickland's opened in 1947 as a 5 & dime and then slowly made the progression towards fabric and let me tell you they still have every bolt of fabric from the beginning. What I am about to show you really needs to be experienced in person to get the full effect...but please don't have a stroke when you look at these pictures because it is possible....Brandon couldn't believe his eyes and he was there with me.





Is everyone still with me??? I'll give you a minute...ok.... let's take a closer look at some of the gems you might find.







Now before you ask...why would you even waste your time....you haven't asked that already, right? The cloth barn does have some redeeming qualities...numero uno it's cheap...and they do have some more modern up to date things too....they might just take a little longer to find..there is no apparent rhyme or reason to the location of fabrics...other than upholstery fabric and then everything else....However, if you ask the owner they can walk you directly to it.


While the next two are not so modern I still kind of like them...I guess they know what they are doing at the cloth barn...just let it sit there long enough and styles will come back around.



I thought the vegetables would make an especially cute apron...I may have to go buy some of that over Labor Day weekend....if I can manage to find it again....and learn how to sew in the next few weeks...

These pictures don't even begin to cover this place...there is a whole upholstery fabric room and wall of trims...my picture didn't turn out very clear..it really is a diamond in the rough...a once and a lifetime experience for sure...not to mention the stories the owner will tell you if you happen to be the one and only customer in there at the time....just ask Brandon...I walked out empty handed because I was so overwhelmed...I told the owner I was going to have to come back with a better plan....or something like that.

No News is Good News

Ok well I couldn't come up with another title...it's just what got stuck in my brain this morning and I am going with it. Its not as if I use this blog to broadcast all my bad news and I haven't been to the doctor lately (they always tell me that) so I don't know where I came up with such a title.

I've been a big slacker lately and I feel the need to justify it...I don't know why I am just a good person I guess...So here are the reasons why...

1. Life has slowed down and I am taking full advantage of being a lazy sloth
2. The batteries in my camera are dead....AGAIN....
3. My life lacks any inspiration or interesting things happening (see number1)

So there you have it...our lives have revolved around going to work, eating dinner, and/or not getting up from the couch unless it is time to go to bed. Don't judge me....I am taking full advantage of the fact that we have no children and can therefore act so worthless. I know one day this gig will be up....but until then I need to get all my sitting and laziness in. I fully intend to get back into living life...eventually and maybe I'll even pick up a camera. We are planning a lake weekend this weekend so who knows...you may get another picture of the water on Monday. Until then lets play....what pictures are saved on my computer because my camera batteries are dead...blogs without pictures...are well....boring.



AHH yes....Brandon snapped this little gem shortly after we arrived in Lucca. We were planning on being in Lucca the day of the antique market...nothing like antiques in Italy to make a girl want to spend her life savings....however planning and actually being there on the antique market day are two different things....the antique market had been the weekend before. I can't tell from the slump of my shoulders if my posture is just really poor or the disappointment after discovering this piece of information was weighing me down. However, there is my sister with her trusty Rick Steve's travel guide to get us through....I also think we were lost at this point and time...oh fun times....we ended up riding bikes around the city walls....





and using our extra time to visit the leaning tower of Pisa....its a LOT smaller in person than it appears in pictures...kind of like objects in your mirror are closer than they appear...

It turned out to be a fun day...and my bank account sent me a thank you note when we returned.

Worth The Wait

Long time no post....I tried to warn you that was going to happen. The week has flown by since my last post. Brandon and I enjoyed a nice quiet dinner last Thursday before the wedding festivities kicked off on Friday. Guess what? I don't have a single picture to show for it....The only glimpse I can show you of the weekend are these....because I stole them from the reception and promptly made them my own once I got home. I think they fit in nicely. I should probably buy fresh flowers more often...or at least not kill the ones in my yard so I would have something to pick and put in a vase.



I stole the next little glimpse from someone else's pictures on Facebook. Apparently, the wedding photographer thought it would be a good idea to stage a picture with all the groomsman and the groom holding guns. Little did everyone know, that the groomsman closest to Alan had a loaded bb-esque gun and a slight pull to the trigger sent a bb right into the side of Alan's face...yes this was BEFORE the wedding.

A little ice and a little makeup and all was well...Amanda just thought he had a zit...they happen...to other people. The rest of the wedding went on without incident...the rain held off during the important parts...and no one began heckling from the crowd...I don't know why but every wedding I go to it's like I am just waiting for someone to get up and start shouting...maybe I have watched too many romantic comedies...

We have been totally slammed at work this week and dare I admit I have not even looked at my most loyally read blogs...It's amazing what happens when you actually have to work a little here and there. I did receive a nice little surprise after one especially long days at the office. A little something I had ordered over a month ago and had given up hope that I would ever receive.




Pioneer Woman had these on her website and what can I say...it was love at first sight. In the event that I ever need to dip anything into four bowls I am covered....although I am thinking now I may have to get the platter to keep this one company...you know to complete the set. This could be the start of something beautiful.






Yes it could be...and I am going to need some volunteers to come to my house to dip things so I can justify these purchases...