Friday

Dean & I were off Friday. I love just working a 4 day week. I've got another one this week! We did some shopping. We made a Sam's run. I do love that place. I've said before that I find nice clothes there. I'm sure there are people that think I'm crazy but I don't care. I scored Friday. I got a pair of Nine West jeans that I LOVE. They fit great & they were $20. I got a pair of brown corduroy pants for $20 & I got a pair of Nicole Miller dark brown dress pants for $16. I think I'm going to go back & see what other colors they had in the cords & dress pants. I only bought the brown ones because I didn't know how they'd fit. I also got a couple of tops.

$17!!

Kenneth Cole - $18!!

After Sam's we made a stop at Shoe Station. The sole purpose of this stop was to return a wallet I bought awhile back. Well, I ended up with these.

This is not my fault in the least. Even though I had my receipt they wouldn't give me my money back on the wallet because it had been more than 30 days since I bought it but they'd give me store credit. So see I HAD to buy shoes. I had a coupon of course too. They're dark brown. I really did need some dark brown casual shoes.

Next up was Academy. After the dress debacle that was my run the other morning it was imperative that I get some cold weather running clothes. I keep hearing that the Under Armour pants are the things to get BUT they're $50 a pair. I can't bring myself to pay that. Partly because I want more than one pair so I don't have to do laundry so much & partly because I seriously doubt that I'm running when it's 30 degrees. Sooooo, I went with the Academy brand. They say they'll keep you warm, they fit me & they were $20. HA! I got 2 pair. They're just black tight like, dry fit pants. I also got a couple of long sleeve dry fit shirts.

The pink one is much brighter than it looks. I decided it would be good for my morning runs. There's a school bus that comes through that drives entirely too fast so I want to make sure I'm seen!!! I'm about to order some dry fit gloves online & I'll be all set for my cold weather runs.

We had lunch at The Bulldog. We've never been there but I bought a Groupon awhile back. We had burgers & fries. I really enjoyed the fries. They were waffle fries, I'm not usually a fan of those but they were coated in wing sauce, then covered with chili, cheese & jalapeno peppers!!

I went for a run Friday afternoon & it wasn't pretty. The weather was beautiful & it wasn't too hot but it just wasn't a good run. I managed to make it 30 mins. but I only ran about 2.7 miles. How weird that I'm saying "only 2.7 mi.". Anyway, I think part of the problem was that I was too full. I just felt weird.  I took a nap when I got home. I fell asleep on the sofa watching Friends.(all time favorite show EVER!!).  Apparently, I was sleeping in a really weird position because my neck was really hurting along with my left leg when I woke up. As the night progressed my wrist starting hurting too. It was the weirdest thing. I only slept for an hour. Boy if I could have that hour back!! My birthday is Saturday & my friends & I always have a birthday dinner for each other. Mine was Friday.  It ended up just being me, Wendy & Vicki because Allison was in a wreck. She's ok but banged up. We ate at Portobello's. It's another local Italian restaurant. I had the Eggplant Roulades.

It's fried eggplant topped with crawfish, spinach & a bacon cream sauce. Portobello's has the best side salad in town I think.

It's big for a side salad & it has diced tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, purple onions, bacon bits, grated cheese & croutons. I had blue cheese vinaigrette dressing which was really good too. Vicki's little boy Lane, is our Godchild & he gave me a Starbucks gift card. Y'all know I was excited about that!! It was a nice dinner.

Then it was home to bed. I could barely put any weight on my leg & I couldn't really turn my head. It wasn't pretty. We were going to the LSU game Saturday & that entails A LOT of walking. When I went to bed I didn't know if I'd get to go. So that's all for now!

Toodles!

Want to read??

I know everyone is in the whole resolution mind frame but I'm not. Not that I don't have about a million and one things I NEED to do this year but I know me & I know saying I have a resolution doesn't mean a thing. I've had them in previous years & it's always been a colossal fail. Except maybe 2003 when we got married & I wanted to lose weight. Between having all 4 of my wisdom teeth out & stress I was the thinnest I've ever been & it wasn't difficult, but I digress. Anyway, no resolutions, just a "to do list". I do better with a list.  I have lots of house stuff on it & I'd like to read more books. My good friend Wendy started a book club a couple of years ago. This is Wendy & her oh so adorable baby, Miss Emily.

How cute is that flower?? I found that the day I went to Market. I also got her an adorable little hat. Can't wait to see a pic of her wearing it.

Too cute! Anyway, back to the book club. You may remember it, "The Worst Book Club Ever" as dubbed by Andrea after attending one of our get togethers. We don't talk a whole lot about books & we don't all read the same book.  Shockingly, the book club is still in existence. Probably because of the reasons we're the worst book club ever! Anyway, the first year the goal was for everyone to read 50 books. No problem. Well, for me anyway. I read  almost 100. In 2010 it was decided that everyone would set their own goal. Mine stayed at 50 since I'd far exceeded that the previous year. Well, due to lots of different factors, mainly Words With Friends & reading blogs, I did not meet my goal. I really enjoy reading & now I have a Nook which I completely & totally LOVE & I also have several bags o' books from Mrs. Joyce (my MIL). I've come up with a system to enjoy both. When I'm at home, I'll read the actual books & when I'm away from home (work, car, etc.) I'll read my Nook. At least until I can get through some of the stacks of books which will help me on another item on the to do list, de-clutter! The only time things will be different is when I have a book loaned to me from the Nook & that's because you have 14 days to read it. The Nook is so great for traveling or just to keep in your purse for anytime you find yourself waiting. So, why am I telling you all this you ask? Like I said, I know everyone is making resolutions & goals for the year & if one of those is to read more books I have a series that you might enjoy. The High Heel Series! Good friend Wendy turned me on to this series. Thanks Wendy! These books are too funny, even though they're mysteries & someone seems to always end up dead. They're a lot like the Stephanie Plum series written by Janet Evanovich except Maddie has much more fashion sense than Stephanie. She's a shoe designer! Gemma Halliday is the author. I've read some background on her & she was an actress before she became a writer. She didn't make it big time but she's been in a couple of movies that I've seen. Another plus is these books are only $3.99 on the Nook & they're lendable. This is working out great for Wendy & I. She buys a book & lends to me & I buy a book & lend to her. I finished the 3rd book yesterday. BTW, this weekend had to be the laziest weekend I've ever had. I didn't feel so great. This merry go round weather is killing my sinuses. Anyway, I laid around & read pretty much the whole weekend.  It was positively glorious!

What else is on my "to do list"? House stuff mainly. I'm also going to attempt to cut back on my Dr. Pepper intake. I say that as I sip on my 32 oz. D.P. from lunch. I was at Sam's & it was .87. I couldn't resist!

Toodles!

Hungry anyone??

My camera came in the other day! WOO HOO!! I was excited. It took forever! Anyway, it's here & so far I really like it. The only pictures I've taken were of stuff in the living room while I was laying on the sofa watching TV. I did load the software on to my computer, get the battery installed & set the date. I had every intention of reading through the manual to figure out how to work it but of course it doesn't have a manual. Just a quick start-up guide. To read the manual I have to go online. I hate doing that. Oh well, I'll give it a try.

I was surprised to see how small the camera was. I knew it was going to be smaller than what I had but this thing is smaller than my iPhone!

It's PINK too!!! How cute is that?? This thing is going to be great! It will fit in a pocket! Now I'm on a mission to find a cute little case for it. I can't carry around a camera as cute as this in an old ugly black case can I??

Moving on. Thursday night Dean & I joined Cliff & Sheri at a wine tasting. It was a fundraiser for Boys Hope/Girls Hope of Baton Rouge. The wine tasting was at Texas de Brazil. There was wine, wine, wine & appetizers. There was this one that was advocado on a cracker thingy with a boiled shrimp on top. DELISH!!!!

Dean & I were both off Friday. We went to Lowe's & Sam's. I LOVE SAM'S!!! Seriously, love love love. I know some people wouldn't be caught dead buying clothes at Sam's, but I'm not one of those people. I found these flip flops. They are some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever put on my feet!! The were marked down to $9.71. Can't beat that!!

 Sam's always has name brand clothes. This sweater is Kenneth Cole & it was $18.

 This one is Izod. I think it was $16.

After Sam's & Lowe's, we had lunch at DeAngelo's. They have really great pizza & the slices are huge!

My favorite is the Cheesy Italian. Sooo good. This morning I got up really early to go have my hair cut & highlighted. I'm really happy I was able to get that done. My hair was getting a tad flat & I don't do flat hair.

The rest of the afternoon was spent working in the backyard. Ugghhh!! Note to self, when you want the entire backyard landscaped remember that means the entire backyard will need to be weeded & re-mulched. Dean did the front yard Thursday when he was off. 13 bales of pine straw later he was finished. We put 20 down today in the backyard around the pool. We still have 2 beds to go but they're not really big so it shouldn't take long. Thankfully, the weather was somewhat cooperative. It was only 77 when we were working.

We went to Mass this afternoon & then stopped at Mike Anderson's to eat. Seems like we did an awful lot of eating this weekend. Anyway, it was delish as usual. We had a group of 18 high school kids sitting next to us. They were going to homecoming. One of the girls had on the most AWESOME pair of shoes I've ever seen!! I refrained from asking the 15 yr. old where she got them but oh they were greatness. Gold glitter heels, ribbon, GREATNESS!!! I think I'm suffering from shoe withdrawals. When I was going to Communion the lady next to me had on a fabulous pair too! The pair of flip flops I got at Sam's are the first pair of shoes I've bought since I can't remember when. I haven't bought a purse since Christmas either! 

So, now we're home watching this sorry excuse for a football game. LSU is winning but this is one of the most boring games I've ever watched. I'm thinking tomorrow is going to be a day filled with a whole lot of nothing!!

Toodles!

I Went Shopping!

Before the cruise I went shopping. I just wanted to see if I saw anything cute that I had to have. I found a few things. I keep hearing about the greatness that is Forever 21 & I just haven't seen it UNTIL this trip! Being that I'm not in my 20's anymore there's lots of things in this store that I cannot wear but if you're willing to look, you can find some cute stuff. Beware of their return policy. No refunds whether you have a receipt or not. I'm not crazy about that because I go to the mall at lunch & pick up things then I try on once I get home & if I don't like something it goes back. Anyway, the main thing I was looking for was a black sweater. Just something light but that was a little dressier than a jacket. I found this. I thought it was perfect!


I saw this top & at first I wasn't sure about it.


The more I looked at it the more I liked it. I'm so glad I bought it because it looks cute on & the material is really soft. It doesn't need a lot of ironing either.

I thought this was a cute casual top for the summer to wear with shorts.


I really love Forever 21's prices. I got all 3 things for $40 including tax. Not bad for a quick trip to the mall at lunch!

I'm in DSW's reward club or whatever it is they call it & I get emails from them periodically. Right before we left on the cruise I got an email saying that clearance stuff was an additional 50% off. Of course I didn't need any shoes but when has that ever stopped me?? I was excited to find these.


With the additional discount they were $10! I can always use flip flops & I loved the plaid & they're Tommy Hilfiger.

Then I saw these


my heart nearly stopped! I LOVED them! They were $15. I was thrilled that they still had my size. So with shipping my total is like $33. At DSW since I'm a reward member if I spend $35 I get free shipping. Well, far be it from me to pass up a deal. It would be in my best interest to buy a 3rd pair of shoes & reach the $35 point & get free shipping. That way I get 3 pairs of shoes for what 2 pair with shipping would've cost!! It took me a bit to explain this to Dean so that he understood that I was saving money by getting 3 pair. I found these.


They were $12. Just a basic pair of black peep toes. Of course I am a bit concerned that all of them won't fit. You just never know when you don't try them on. When we got home from the cruise I had a huge box waiting for me & all 3 pair fit!! They are all so cute! They look even better in person & the peep toes are REALLY comfortable!

Saturday morning Dean & I went to Sam's. As much as I hate Walmart, I love Sam's. I know it's weird but you never know what you'll find & I used to work there & actually liked it. Well, all of it except the dealing with the public part. Anyway, I was going with the intention of buying a Wii. They're sold out. It figures. The problem with Sam's is, you always come out with more than you went in for even when they're sold out of the main thing you went for. I ended up with this.


Just a basic white top but I thought it was cute. It's got a little band around the sleeves & it's thicker than a t-shirt. I can always use white tops. It's Ann Klein & was $10. Can't beat that. I also found this


A baby pink Izod sweater for $15. I wore it yesterday with my pearls. I felt like Jen Lancaster! Then I found this


For whatever reason I loved it! I just like the little ruffly type collar & the color. I don't have anything this color so I thought it would be a nice addition to my wardrobe. The picture doesn't show the color very well. It's actually a bright green. Soooo pretty! The best part? It was $10. Couldn't pass it up. The lesson here is to always look at the clothes at Sam's. You never know what they might have!


Toodles!