Catch Up (not to be confused with Ketchup)

Sorry I've been a slack blogger lately. I've been uberbusy! The lady who does my job but out of our Charlotte office retired, so I've been doing my job plus hers...grrr. Anywho, here's a quick rundown of the things you've missed in my absence: ;-)

1) I got burned by a stranger's cigarrette on my arm...not on purpose I hope, but yet another reason why smoking is bad. (see pic below)2) My beloved Tiffany Onyx bracelet (see pic above) went for a swim in a public toliet (yes, that I had just peed in...) The toggle closure decided to un-toggle itself as I went to flush the toliet in an Exxon bathroom. Like any good mother, I didn't hesitate to reach right in and scoop her back up. Gross. Luckily they had handsoap and I had hand sanitizer in my purse.

3) I rescued a cat who had a cup stuck on his head. (Don't ask, see pic...)4) I painted my toenails pink with green dots...a refreshing change from the purple, I think.5) I finished the book, The Sleeping Beauty Proposal by Sarah Strohmeyer. LOVED IT! It's the second book I've read by her this summer and it was fabulous, fun, and chicky.6) I survived a "double date" with B and his parents.

7) I had the best sushi of my life on Sunday night, and I don't even like sushi.

8)My new Jacks came in the mail! I ordered them in Fuchsia/Lime to replace my Fuchsia/Light Pink ones that are about 6 years old. I'm a little disappointed though, they're a lot brighter than I expected...9) Received a mysterious text from an ex on Saturday night (well, Sunday morning) at 3:30 am that said "What's up Hottie?"...

10) Aforementioned ex just so happened to be two boats down at the sandbar when we were on the lake Sunday afternoon....B was not happy. (Nor was I happy, who wants an ex to see them in a bikini?!?! I was having a fat day...)

11) Thanks to all the positive feedback to my previous post, I've decided to go ahead and order a monogram decal for my car. If it's too big, I'll just put it on my pink cooler.12) I was trying really hard to think of a 12th significant list item for you, I have a thing about even numbers...but, oh well, I'm boring...

Ok, time to start catching up on my blog reading!

Monogram Decals

Hey girls, wanted to get your opinions on this...

Monogram Car Decal
I've been wanting to order one from Monogram Me for a while. I've got a black Jeep Cherokee and I think a white monogram would look fun on my back window. However, is this going to blow any shot I have of maintaining vehicular anonymity? Like, what if some girl sees my parked car, recognizes the initials, and thinks, "Isn't that the tramp who stole my boyfriend in the 7th grade?" Next thing we know, Blackie is getting keyed. Stranger things have happened...

But I definitely want to order one for my pink cooler...

Thank You Notes

Because my sweet mother instilled in me the value of a heartfelt and prompt "thank you" note, I've got some to send out today. Please imagine that they are neatly handwritten (ha!) on fabulous pink monogrammed stationary.

1) Dear Lauren (at Adventures of a Southern Newlywed),

Thank you so much for sending me the link to the Carolee website. Without it I would never have purchased this lovely pearl and diamante bow necklace as I did this morning. While I wasn't initially thrilled about the toggle closure, I now realize that this necklace is still a superb substitute for the Vera Wang after which it was modeled. My new $22 Carolee pearls will suit me just fine until my boyfriend gets it through his thick head that I NEED the Veras for Christmas.

Thanks again for your fantastic and thrifty find,

Miss Lili

2) Dear Air Conditioner In My Car,

Thank you so much for deciding to stop working yesterday afternoon. I must commend you on your timing; it's like you knew that it was 97 degrees outside and would be approximately 103 degrees inside my BLACK car without you. In your absence, I'm sure I will have a delightful time driving 78 miles tomorrow afternoon to meet a customer. I feel confident that two extra clicks of Secret Clinical and an extra spritz of D&G Light Blue will be all I need to combat any heat-induced body odor that may result from your little hiatus. Also, I thank you in advance for being quick, easy, and inexpensive to repair, as I'm SURE you will be.

Cordially,

Miss Lili

Music Meme

I've been tagged to do this lil music meme by the fabulous Red and White Preppy. Here are the rules:

*Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
*Share 5 songs you are embarrassed to admit to others that you like and tell why.
*Tag 7 random people at the end of post.

Ok, here goes: (and be sure to click the song name, I wasted the time to link the you tube video of each song for your viewing pleasure...)

1) "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" (not sure who this little gem is by...)--I like to sing this in my most annoying voice at Christmas time, just because it really gets on my sister's nerves...
2) "Africa" by Toto - My roomie in college and I used to stand on our desk chairs and sing this at the top of our lungs into our hairbrush microphones. Not on a regular basis, just when we were, um, under the influence or super delirious from late night studying.
3) "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" by The Four Tops--This was my favorite song when I was little. My parents have a video of me at age 5 singing and interpretive dancing along to it. They still like to show the video at family gatherings. This song was actually my cell ringtone until very recently.
4) "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion--I went through this Celine phase in high school after my best friend got me her Greatest Hits CD for my birthday. I used to ride around with the sunroof open and belt out this song until I got light-headed, seriously.
5) "Thug Luv" by Bone Thugs N Harmony (ft Tupac)--I know every word to this...Um, all I can say is I went through a brief gangsta phase after my Celine phase. "Until they stop me, bury, murder me, or drop me, I got THUG LUV for my nationwide posse. Feel me!"

I now tag: Just Random..., Preppy Money Penny, Muffy Martini, Magnolias & Juleps, Etiquettely Correct, Monograms and Manicures, and Pearls Are a Girl's Best Friend.

Have Fun!!!

My Love Affair With Jewelry

I'm a huge fan of coffee table books. One day, I'm going to have my very own fabulous living room, with an equally fabulous coffee table, displaying several even more fabulous coffee table books. But for now, my books are crammed in a book shelf left over from college dorm days, sigh. Anywho, one of my favorite c.t. books is Elizabeth Taylor's My Love Affair With Jewelry. I was flipping through it last night, and it inspired me to share some of my most coveted jewelry pieces. (Pieces that I covet, not to be confused with pieces I own that others covet, again, sigh.) I like to keep a folder of pictures on my puter of the things I would buy if I had Elizabeth Taylor's bank roll. Here are my favs:

Vera Wang Pearl Necklace with Diamond Bow
And of course I wouldn't turn down the matching earrings...
SJP's Necklace, it will be perfect for all the galas I attendThis Slane & Slane Necklace, for gold daysVintage Tiffany Diamond Ring I came across on eBay (but sadly didn't win, go figure)And last but not least, here is the Tacori ring with which B is going to propose to me...he just doesn't know it yet...
Ok, back to reality...

Pink Room, Part 3

On a brighter note (the Children of the Corn dream and Facebook anger have all but faded), I found some more lovely pink rooms. Nothing like some pink decorating inspiration to cheer me up!

Facebook Woes and Children of the Corn

Top 3 Reasons Facebook Sometimes Makes Me Want to Stick My Head in the Oven:
1) Newsfeed shows me all the sweet little comments husbands and wives post on each other's pages. (e.g. "Thanks for the fabulous weekend, babe. Love you!") Barf.
2) Status updates that show me when my ex's go from being listed as "single" to "in a relationship."
3) Uploaded photo albums that show classmates who are YOUNGER than I am at their fabulous wedding, or albums people upload of their fabulous vacations. Really people, don't you have to work for a living?!?! Who has the time to get married at the Biltmore Estate or spend a month in Australia?

Ok, I'm done grumping. I just started my day a little cranky because I had one of those weird, after-you-hit-snooze dreams. In my dream I was pregnant and in labor! But for some reason I was in a car with my dad driving through a corn field. We couldn't get to the hospital because the car had broken down and I just knew I was going to have a baby in the corn. I've never actually seen Children of the Corn, but I imagine my corn baby would have been a lot like them. It was creepy, very very creepy. So creepy that I took two birth control pills this morning instead of just one.

TGIF!

FINALLY it's Friday! Stayed out a bit too late last night, had a wee headache this morning, and barely made it through our 5 hour sales meeting. But that's in the past now and I'm ready to spend the rest of the afternoon wasting time on internet. Plans for the weekend include celebrating my friend's lil brother's 21st birthday tonight (Heaven help us!) and heading to Lake Norman to see Sunny Ledford play tomorrow night (yeah, so, we might be groupies...) Aside from a work-related cookout tomorrow afternoon, the weekend should be fun and crazy. I have high hopes. Other excitement for the day: I received my second-ever tag from the fabulous Candace over at Just Random... Here goes:

A. Attached or Single? Attached, B and I have been dating for 9 months (holy crap! a whole gestation period, ewww)
B. Best Friend? Hershey, Em, EL, and A (luckily they all live in different cities so no one's toes get stepped on!)
C. Cake or pie? Why make a girl choose just one? I'll have vanilla cake with Rainbow Chip icing AND the key lime and/or peanut butter pie, please.
D. Day of choice? Friday, there's just so much potential in a Friday...
E. Essential item? CHAPSTICK
F. Favorite color? Tiffany blue
G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears, I just love looking at their little smushed facial expressions...
H. Home town? H-town, NC
I. Favorite indulgence? Purse shopping and manicures
J. January or July? Seriously, who likes January? It offers nothing but cold dreariness and resolutions you're not going to keep...
K. Kids? Dixie--black lab, age 7 and Rambo--Min Pin, age 2
L. Life isn’t complete without? Laughter
M. Marriage date? whoa now...let's not rush things
N. Number of brothers and sisters? Just my beautiful lil sister H, she's 22
O. Oranges or Apples? Apples (with caramel dip!)
P. Phobias? Fish, needles, and mold (I just don't trust it...)
Q. Quotes? "Could be worse..." My mom always tells me this when I'm complaining about something
R. Reasons to smile? It's Friday!
S. Season of choice? Fall, it's beautiful here in Western NC
T. Tag 5 people: Muffy Martini, Buford Betty, Magnolia Belle's Musings, Southern Prep, and The Bona Fide Preppy Bride.
U. Unknown fact about me? I still sleep with a blankie
V. Vegetable? Sweet Potatoes
W. Worst habit? Procrastinating and wasting money on eBay, or procrastinating by wasting money on eBay, they're not mutually exclusive...
X. X-ray or Ultrasound? I was thinking what a stupid question this was, then I realized I couldn't think of a better one that started with the letter X...I'll say ultrasound, one might be fun?
Y. Your favorite food? Crapanese, or really anything that I can put Shrimp Sauce on...I also love macaroni salad and watermelon with salt.
Z. Zodiac sign? Gemini
(Another) Z. Which zoo animal is your favorite? The penguins, because they are inside in the air conditioning! Have any of you been to the Asheboro Zoo in August? HOTTT!

Suprise!

You know what a great surprise it is to find a $20 bill in the pocket of a coat you've not worn since last winter? Well, imagine that feeling times 15! This morning I was rummaging through my trunk (which I view as transitory closeting for all the stuff I can't stash at B's or my parents) looking for a measuring tape (of all things!) and I uncovered this little beauty!!! I'd bought her 2 or 3 weeks ago at the Coach outlet and must have been so distracted by my other purchases that I forgot about her! I almost teared up when I uncovered her crumpled white bag this morning. I don't know if pictures can do this jewelry case justice: try to imagine the smooth metallic gold leather, the bronze leather piping, the soft suede interior, and the satin legacy stripe lining.
I just love little accessory stuff like this! You may notice on the price tag the Factory Store price was $129...but she had been marked down to $49.99...but wait, then there was an additional 20% off that!!! I love outlet shopping. I may have mentioned before that the company I work for has 5 showroom/stores sprinkled across NC. About once or twice a month I visit each of these to check on the salesmen and/or meet with customers. Unfortunately for my bank account, on my way to our showroom in the lovely mountains of Boone, NC, I have to drive right by Shoppes on the Parkway in Blowing Rock. This outlet center boasts not only a Coach Factory Store, but Banana Republic Factory Store, a Gap, and the only J. Crew Outlet in NC! I like to think of these work trips as "scheduled shopping time"...and I've got an appointment coming up next Friday! In other news, I saw on the Coach website this morning that you can design your own tote, then submit it for a chance to win a Coach shopping spree, etc. Fun! Ok, back to work...

Pink Room, part 2

Ok, the pressure is on! I finally got my check in the mail from the NC Lottery and I'm closing on my mansion this week. I must make a decision on my color schemes, as I'm meeting with the decorator on Monday! *Sigh* A girl can daydream can't she? So yeah, still surfing for pink rooms. Found this one, not quite as crazy about it, but it's fun?

Pink Room

One of my goals in life is to have a pink dining room. (Clearly I am a very ambitious person.) I think they're so fun, yet classy at the same time...and I'm pretty sure those two elements aid in digestion. I guess I need to add a mini goal of finding a man who'll let me have a pink dining room. I love B with all my heart...but his tastes differ a bit from mine. (Think brown leather couches, ginormous TVs, and framed prints he won from the Ducks Unlimited auction.) Just thinking about my sweet burly man in a pink dining room evokes images of bulls and china shops...but one goal at a time, back to my pink room. Earlier I was taking a wee de-stress break from the PILE of work on my desk by searching for some pink inspiration and I found the room pictured above. LOVE LOVE LOVE the pink and green and the crystal chandelier! What do we think?

School Pizza!

Even though today is Monday and those are generally sucky days for me, I'm very happy. I had school pizza for lunch! I decided to try this little hole-in-the-wall diner close to where I work. I had ordered a chicken salad sandwich and a sweet tea to go, when something at the bottom of the menu caught my eye. One of the items on the kids menu was school pizza. I asked the waitress about it and she said, "You know, the rectangular shaped pizza slices the cafeteria used to serve on Fridays in elementary school." NO SH!T!!! It was $0.99 ($.99!!!!!) and came with my choice of fries or tater tots! I went with tater tots, and left the chicken salad on my order too as backup. (Let's keep this between us, B thinks I'm on a diet...) It was delicious, I enjoyed it way too much. My mom always packed my lunch so I rarely got to enjoy the wonders of caf food. In a way, my lunch today was like re-living a little piece of 3rd grade...:-) The chicken salad sammy was good too. (I'm a hoss...) Also, incase any of you were wondering if I survived the cowgirl party, I did. We had a blast...and somehow I ended up being the only one in the picture with a cowboy hat on...if you look closely you will see that my earrings are tiny leather cowboy hats too, compliments of my mother (the queen of costume/theme jewelry). Saturday found us back on the lake, so here's a pic of B and me with our Bubba Kegs.

Sunday we planned on spending by the pool, but there ended up being thunderstorms. Instead we watched movies on TBS and then went out for sushi. I talked B into going to Walmart with me afterward and stocked up on some new colored pens and markers for my office. Maybe that's what got me so excited about re-living elementary school...Overall it was fun weekend. Hope everyone's Monday is going swell!

P.S. Try as I might, I couldn't find a pic of school pizza online that looked even close to as yummy as mine was.

Dessert

"I'm a big believer in dessert. And let me tell you, if there were more dessert believers like me, this whole country would be a much nicer place. Certainly better than the nation of jittery, testy insomniacs we've become thanks to those damned Starbucks on every corner.
I swear this national caffeine addiction is what's making everyone so angry these day. Have you noticed? We're angry about the war, about debt, about politics, work, Global Warming, gas prices, the economy, our neighbors. But mostly, it seems to me, people are angry about not being more successful. They're so busy getting ahead and not falling behind that they've forgotten the simple, inexpensive pleasures. Like eating fresh blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream outside on the picnic bench after a day of swimming and picking berries. Or gathering with friends in front of the fire on a snowy evening with hot buttery bread pudding and baked apples while outside a winter wind howls...That's what dessert means to me – a dollop of sweet love in an otherwise cold world."

This is an excerpt from Sweet Love, by my new favorite author Sarah Strohmeyer, and I couldn't agree more...

Cowgirl Up!

Tonight my friend is celebrating her birthday...at a karaoke bar...with a country theme.
(Wow, I had to google how to spell "karaoke"...that's a toughie!)
The email said:

C's 25th Birthday Party: Friday, July 11th 8pm
"Cowgirl Up" Theme!
Wear your best Western wear!

Umm...anyone have cowgirl boots I can borrow? I've got a bad feeling that I'm in for some drunken renditions of Gretchen Wilson's Redneck Woman and Shania Twain...Wish me luck...

Bleeding Love

Seriously, is anyone else sick of this song? Don't get me wrong, I think Leona Lewis is great, she's just so overplayed! And Lil Wayne's Lollipop...THREE of my preset radio stations were playing this song simultaneously on my way to work this morning. (Again, don't get me wrong, I've secretly loved Lil Wayne since before he was cool.) I woke up a touch cranky this morning (could have been the dog that was sitting on my chest...or the dog poop I found on the living room carpet) and felt the need to rant...Soooo, where do I come? Back to blog world! Sorry I've been so MIA lately! Work has been slam busy since I was out two days the week before last in PA and two days this past week for the 4th. Speaking of the 4th, I hope everyone had a fantastic one! We spent the weekend on lake: drank too much, got too much sun, general merriment and all that. I bought a baybay lifevest for Rambo and we took him on the boat with us. Of course Dixie came too.
My grandmother broke her hip two weeks ago, actually on the day we were headed back from PA, and has been in the hospital ever since. I snuck Rambo in to see her yesterday in a backpack. She loved it! That's pretty much all you've missed in my blog-absence. Nothing too exciting...oh, but I did paint my toenails purple (with sparkles!) last nightand finish the sweetest book, The Cinderella Pact by Sarah Strohmeyer. I have to confess, I totally judge books by their covers (and this last one had a shoe...with sparkles!) Any recommendations for another good summer book to start?

Carolina Girls, best in the world...

We finally made it back...it took us 10 hours to get home and we're dog tired. But we had a blast! I'm super busy playing catch-up at work, but I'll post pics soon. One cool thing that happened:
We were at a bar in Delaware and my sister and I had gone to the bathroom. The line was super long so we had to wait a bit. We were almost to the stalls when a girl who'd been in front of us in line came out of her stall and said to my sister and me, "You two are the nicest girls in this whole place!" I smiled at her and said, "It's because we're from North Carolina!" :-)