The Smell

While basking in the afterglow of my exciting bargain purchases yesterday, I forgot to post about my horrible experience with The Smell. Tuesday morning I got in my car to go to work and noticed an unpleasant smell. It had a rained a little the night before and I'd left my windows cracked, so I just thought that maybe something had gotten wet and stinky. I rode with the windows down to work and thought that if I ignored The Smell it would go away. I forgot all about it, and didn't leave for my lunch break, so it wasn't until 5:30 that evening that I again encountered The Smell. The temperature on Tuesday had reached 97 degrees and my car had been locked up tight on the black asphalt all day. As I'm approaching my car in the parking lot, I smell It again...only 20 times worse. I open my car door and immediately become light-headed. Then I notice 3 flies buzzing around inside my vehicle! I'm convinced at this point that either a) someone is playing a mean trick on me and has hidden a dead animal in my car, or b) one of the dogs has had explosive diarrhea (I'm always so proud of myself that I can spell that word!) in my car and covered it up without my noticing. Holding my breath, I begin to check the floor boards and under the seats. The Smell is getting stronger, I've become nauseous and slightly delirious, and conclude that the source of the smell must be coming from my trunk. I have a jeep, so everything is open, making it even easier for the nasty scent to have permeated my vehicle. I open the back and am blasted with an odor so noxious that my eyes water. I see the source immediately...a grocery bag. A grocery bag containing what were once 6 frozen chicken breast. The bag of 6 frozen chicken breast that was purchased along with a trunk full of other groceries on SUNDAY and innocently overlooked while unloading. The bag of 6 frozen chicken breasts that had been de-thawing, semi-baking, and poisoning the air quality of my car in the 90+ degree heat for almost 2 full days. I tentatively take one of the grocery bag handles and pull The Smell out of my trunk. It lands with a wet thud and sizzle on the pavement, and in doing so splashes out some yellowish raw chicken water on the ground, the leg of my jeans, and my new J. Crew Critter flops. I can't hold it in any longer: I turn my head and puke. I have a very low tolerance for food-related grossness--raw meat, dirty dish water, God-forbid I find mold at the end of the loaf of bread. So now I'm left with my vomit splatter AND 6 rancid chicken breasts to clean up. Not the way I like to end my workday. Even better was the ride home, The Smell still lingering in my jeep, despite all the windows being down. Luckily B's neighbor suggested coffee grounds and/or charcoal to absorb the smell. We put both in the trunk and floorboards, which did help a lot. Then I doused the interior with Febreeze and Lysol and left the windows down overnight so it could air out. Now it's almost as good as new...The Smell is still lingering a bit in the trunk area, I still gag and dry heave when I smell it, but I think in a few more days it will be gone all together.

Consigned Treasures!

Holy Moses! It's not just a myth! You know, the urban legend about the girl who finds a brand new Kate Spade or fabulous vintage Louis Vuitton at a thrift store. For awhile now one of my mom's friends had been telling me about this fantastic little "high end consignment boutique" where she got a Coach bag and some Seven jeans. I never really gave the store much thought, you know there's always that ONE time you'll get lucky and the rest of the time it's all crap. Well yesterday I had half an hour left to spare of my lunch break and I was on that side of town, so I decided to try it out. Thank God I did!!! Here is the list of my purchases/treasures:

1) Lilly Pulitzer Pink Polo Shirt $9

2) Lilly Pulitzer Teal Polo Shirt (maybe "teal" is the wrong color to use here...it sounds so, um, redneck...) $9

3) Ralph Lauren Sleeveless Pink Polo Shirt $6

4) Ralph Lauren 3/4 Sleeve Blue Polo Shirt $8

5) Lilly Pulizter Bag (this is a storage bag of sorts, has a zipper around it and a little sachet inside, maybe for sweaters?) $6

6) Dooney & Bourke leather zip change purse $10

7) Coach Red and White Signature Print Scarf $6

So I got up to the cash register and--lo and behold--EVERYTHING IS 50% OFF!!! Apparently anything that had been in the store for over 2 months was reduced. My total was like $30. Granted, the stuff is technically used, but it was all in great condition and a little ride in the washing machine will have everything good as new. It was like shopping on ebay, but better because you could try stuff on!

I took the stuff over to my parents' house to show my mom and tried the Coach scarf on their dog Buster. He kept hiding his face and then ran and hid under a chair. My mom laughed and said it must be because he knew it was "second hand"....snob dog. No matter, I'm perfectly happy with my bargains!

Captain Rambo and my new pink bag

I'm finally getting around to uploading the pics from my camera and I found the cutest one of my doggie I'd forgotten that I'd taken! My Min Pin Rambo absolutely loves being out on the lake, sometimes B even lets him drive, haha. For those of you who read yesterday's BUI post, this picture is completely non-related!

In other news, I had to meet a customer for work in one of our other showrooms yesterday afternoon. This showroom just so happens to be in the lovely mountains of NC and just minutes from an outlet mall. I stopped on my way home and scored big at the Coach and J. Crew outlets! I got this delicious pink bag for $80, plus a red suede tote that will be a great work bag come fall!!! J. Crew was having a huge 40% off sale so I got some fun flipflops for $10, seersucker capris, a sundress, and picked up some madras shorts and critter shorts for B. All in a day's work!

BUI, Boo...

Well, the aforementioned pink cooler and madras bikini got broken in this weekend. Saturday was a lake day on my bf's (hereto referred to as "B") friend's boat. After a sort of rough Friday night, which ended in my cursing Jagermeister (namely the deathly potent concoction called "Jager Bomb") as the devil, I had high hopes for a fun and Jager-free Saturday. Sadly the day didn't quite turn out as expected. We spent about 5 hours in the sun at the sandbar, consumed copious amounts of Bud Light, and had a blast...until the return trip. B was driving the boat, we were approaching the cove, house was in sight. Out of nowhere Deputy Dewey the rookie Wildlife Officer putters in and blue-lights us. Apparently he stopped us because "passengers were standing at the front of the vessel and obstructing the driver's view." Ok. We count life jackets, roll our eyes, and think we're home free until Deputy D realizes that perhaps the coolers (Pinkie amongst them!) are a sign that alcohol had been consumed. B ends up on Deputy D's boat, in a bright orange life jacket that is about 4 sizes too small for his 6'2 frame, saying his ABC's backwards. Backasswards is more like it, not that I could have done any better, even sober for that matter. B ends up handcuffed and boated off to jail. No joke, charged with "boating under the influence"... So rather than grilling out and relaxing after a day in the sun, I have to find a sober friend who can drive me to pick up B after he appears before the magistrate. NOT COOL. It's only going to end up being a $100 fine or something, but what a hassle. Boo.

Right on, Target!

So I've never been a big fan of Target. Something about the harsh flourescent lights and all the white and red. However, last night I got my nails done at a new salon and there just so happened to be a Target right down the road. On a whim I decided to stop in. So glad I did!!! I got the most PRECIOUS things from the Whim by Cynthia Rowley collection. An adorable madras print picture frame, matching adorable madras printed metal "beverage tub," a bright pink cooler that holds 90 cans and will be perfect for all-day drinking on the lake, plus some fun 3-D cards and pink & green dog toys on the dollar racks! To top it all off, I found a madras bikini for $30! They had tons of other cute swim suits, but they were definitely picked over and it was hard to find matching sizes. Probably a good thing so I didn't spend any more money! Target might just become my new favorite bargain store!

My Hair Secret...

So I have curly hair. Ok, it's part curly, part wavy, part frizzy. I finally gave up trying to make it look pretty curly and started flat ironing it everyday. Also, for the past two years I've gotten regular highlights, lowlights, and all over color. (It's true what they say: Blondes really do have more fun!) In response to this torture, my hair has struck back by breaking off in random places. At first it started out as some cool long wispy bangs. Then they got shorter. Then I started noticing other layers around my head that I'm sure my hair dresser didn't cut. Afraid that at this rate I would have a mullet by 2008, I asked my hair dresser what to do. Since it's highly unlikely that I'll go back to being an unruly brunette, she suggested that I only wash my hair every OTHER day and cut back on the flat ironing. Now my hair has always been pretty oily, I can wash it in the morning and by that night it's looking a lil greasy at the crown and above my ears. Not sure how I was going to manage these recommendations, I starting griping to my friend Amanda. She turned me on to the best beauty trick of all times: BABY POWDER! Now on my off days, or those days I wake up with an "Oh Sh!t, I overslept and don't have time to shampoo!" I just pat on a lil powder. It works great, the cornstarch absorbs the grease, plus I think it adds a little volume or lift at my roots. I've found baby powder in tiny travel sizes which fit great in my overnight bag, and also Johnson & Johnson makes it in lavendar and cucumber melon scents so your head doesn't smell like a baby's butt. Fabulous. Also, I ordered a new flat iron from folica.com which I'm having a love affair with! It's awesome, so much less damaging, and still goes up to 425 degrees to scare the curl out of my hair. Now you know my secret! Let's just hope it doesn't rain and those "layers" start frizzing up...

It's time...

I MUST stop being such a blog lurker and actually post something of my own! I stole the idea of a top 5 list so here's what I got:



5 things I can't live without under $10:
1. Q-tips (and only the Q-tips brand!)
2 . Tweezers
3. Sugar Free Popcicles (I eat about 10 a day)
4. C.O Bigelow Ultra Mentha Lip Shine
5. Dark Chocolate Dipped Altoids (best way to soothe a chocolate craving with only 15 cals/serving!)


5 Favorite Movies:
1. White Chicks
2. The Italian Job
3. Hocus Pocus
4. 27 Dresses
5. Labyrinth



5 things that stay in my handbag at all times:
1. my new pink digital camera
2. chapstick (I will DIE if I don't have it)
3. pink Coach wallet
4. Engraved business card case
5. Two cell phones, one personal and one for work (though I hate to talk on either)


5 obsessions I have right now:
1. Sugar Free Popcicles
2. Jack Rogers sandals (I've ordered 3 pairs in the past month alone, oopps!)
3. Blog stalking
4. South Beach frozen pizzas
5. planning my summer vacations



5 places I'd love to go:
1. Bora Bora or anywhere in the French Polynesian Islands
2. Switzerland (figured it would be a refreshing change from all this humidity here lately)
3. Italy
4. San Diego to visit my best friend!
5. any beach, anywhere, just get me out of this office!