Patio Project

So I've started a new project... my one-of-a-kind patio set! If you know me, you know I seem to make the easiest of decisions and/or purchases difficult by feeling the need to personalize them. I've always been this way. I really don't like the thought of someone having the exact same thing as me. So, hence the reason for my patio project. I found this patio set at Lowes where you can customize the tiles inlaid in the table. I obviously didn't buy the whole patio set like they wanted me to. Nor did I buy the $0.97 floor tiles they suggested (which would have been a heck of a lot easier and cheaper). Oh no, instead I only got the table and purchased wrought iron chairs from another location. I am still looking for the perfect umbrella but have seemed to wait too late in the season. Everyone is sold out everywhere! I've probably already looked there but any suggestions? Anywho, back to the table which is the project part. I decided I liked the idea of blue ceramic tiles for my table. Very Italian looking, reminded me of the feel of Positano on our honeymoon. However, the ceramic tiles require some caulking and a supportive backing. In the meantime, I've bought all of the materials and will keep you posted on how it turns out after the weekend...

Inspiration from our honeymoon - Positano, Italy 2007

I'm baaack!

I know, I know, you've all been anxiously awaiting my return. As promised, I'm posting 4th of July pictures that are only over two weeks old! We had a great time with our friends, DeFord & Amy Walker, and their little one, Mari Lampton. The pictures tell it all... she just loved the glowsticks and fireworks.

Headed to the beach...

I know, I know, it's been a week since my last post and I'm still not sharing anything new. Please bare with me. I actually have a lot to post... 4th of July, new patio set project, dinner with the Mims, the Walker's Fry Fest, and the Price is Right LIVE in Tunica. These past few days have been the busiest but most fun for us. I'm off to work in Tupelo for two days and then heading to Destin on Wednesday with my family. Russell's coming to join us at the beach on Thursday after his trial. We'll be in Destin for a couple of days and then we're heading to Tony Giachelli's & Claire Long's beach wedding at the WaterColor Resort. Check back next week to see pictures of what we've been up to!

Fireworks!

We have plans to go over to some friends' pool tomorrow so I've made the kids some strawberry cupcakes and vanilla cookies in the shape of stars. I felt like getting all festive for some reason. Tomorrow night we're going to go to Olive Branch to watch the big fireworks show. Rumor has it that they normally spend $10k on them but they're doubling it this year to be the "largest fireworks show in the Mid-South." I'll let you know if this proves to be true. In the meantime, we're off to eat some ribs at a cookout at Joey and Leah's. Have a safe and happy 3rd & 4th of July!

Pampered Pooch

Sorry it's been long time, no post. I know you're sick and tired of seeing Brit's face as the first thing on my blog!

Bailey and I went home to Corinth this weekend to spend time with my family. Russell had another guys' weekend on the Coast for Tony Giachelli's bachelor party. Bailey got to play with our family lab, Belle. They had a big time together. I had a motherly moment when I saw Bailey "kennel-up" to take a nap on her own. I just had to take a picture. She goes there to feel safe. She has not done this since we moved from our old house in Tupelo. She's so good to kennel-up at night as long as one of us walks her into her room and commands it. I was so proud. Bailey is a huge fans of her toys, all toys for that matter. Belle, our family lab, doesn't pay much attention to the toys my momma buys her so Bailey decided to claim them as her own. My mother thought it was so cute, so she sent all of them back with her on Sunday. I swear, she came back with more loot than I did! Usually when I go home, I always return with some goodies from a shopping trip, some leftovers, money or something. Don't get me wrong, I didn't come home empty handed but Bailey came home with a new dog bowl, a frisbee, a fish, a monkey, and a gingerbread man! Boy was she happy! Upon returning home, she had to show off her new fish to Russell.





Notice anything new in the living room? No, it's not the new coffee table we're needing.

Instead, it's Bailey's new dog bed from LL Bean!!! It came in over the weekend and has her name monogrammed on it. I know it looks a little big for her now, since it's the X-Large, but I figure she'll grow into it. I was so nervous about her liking it. Russell and I have been talking about getting her one to try and limit the amount of time she spends on our sofa. She likes Sophie's bed (the Jordans' dog) so we thought it might do the trick. Well, it worked! Bailey just loves it. All it took was for me to show her one time and now she does it on her own all of the time. I've taken a few pics to show ya. It also works as a catch-all for her toys. She likes to have easy access to them and now they're not all over the living room floor. Well, they're still there too since she now has so many!

Weave it alone, Britney!

Seriously, Britney needs to stop trying to do her own hair. Apparently she attempted to dye her blonde weave herself on Saturday. She managed to spill black dye all over her face this time. Her assistant had to rush out at 6 in the evening to a salon for some dye remover.

Geez, it's something all the time with her. And the thing is, why do these types of stories merit publicity for her?

Zig-a-Zig Ah!

Does anyone really care that the Spice Girls are gathering for a reunion tour?

Hmm, I don't.

Intelligent Water Bottles

So since I've commited to a healthy lifestyle and it's Day 1 of joining the club & working out, I've decided to read up on my fitness magazines as well. Yes, they were a little dusty but I've found several interesting tips, gadgets, and recipes. One in particular is the HydraCoach Intelligent Water Bottle that knows when you should be thirsty. This is one smart container: Enter your weight, duration and intensity of exercise, the temperature, and altitude into the bottle's hydration calculator, and it'll measure how much water you're drinking and recommends precisely the amount of H2O you need.

Not only can the bottle make sure you get enough water, it can keep you from drinking too much as well. As if we all have that problem! So what if you're not thirsty? Maybe it's actually a nagging machine that's constantly hounding you about your hydration. That said, its' attractive form factor encourages you to take it along for all-day nagging, and it's fairly small — this 22-ounce bottle is just 6 inches tall, a convenient size for athletes and people on the go.

So, my thing is that I don't know if I like the idea of this gadget or not. Do I really want a water bottle that's smarter than me? What's next? A lunchbox that tells me when I'm hungry, and then when I'm done it tells me that I'm fat, and laughs to itself? And what happens if it malfunctions? I could be one heck of a dehydrated chick! What happen to drinking when YOU feel thirsty?

I'm already anticipating the next HydraCoach II, in which it would track alcohol intake and then disable your car's ignition when you've passed the legal limit. Anyone interested in the $30 water bottle? If so, check it out...

I've joined the "DAC"

So, I've finally joined the Desoto Athletic Club, better known as the "DAC" or the "D. A. C." Leah Beidleman is already a member and went with me yesterday to sign up. We're going to start going to some of the classes together... BodyStep, Spinning, Hydro Pilates, and Step Aerobics. My physical assessment is this afternoon with Brooke and I can't wait! If I like her, she's going to be my new personal trainer. I had one last year in Tupelo when I was preparing for the wedding and I loved it. It's definitely not cheap but well worth the money when you can fit into your old clothes and don't have to worry about buying new ones. Wish me luck...

I Officially Don't Like Fish

Okay, so I am worried that I'm weird. For some reason, I don't like grilled fish. I tried it for dinner again tonight and I've officially made up my mind. In particular, I have tried cooked tuna, salmon, and mahi-mahi and can't get it down. I literally can't stomach it. My gag reflexes kick in and Russell thinks I'm acting like a baby for not liking it. The thought alone kind of makes me cringe. So, the reason I feel odd is because I love sushi! I just don't get it. One of my favorite rolls is the spicy tuna roll. Maybe the reason I like it is because it's raw and is mixed with a spicy sauce. However, I love shrimp both raw and cooked. Does anyone else have these issues with fish? I need some sympathy/support out here!

Happy Birthday Linda!

I spent some much needed time with my mother and brother this weekend. It's my mother's birthday today so they came to see me in Hernando to shop and eat for a couple of days. Dad stayed in Corinth since my Uncle was going to be in town and to keep their chocolate lab, Belle.

A to I Update

I've added a few more of our customers' orders... Address to Impress.

Purell on the Rocks, please

Parents claim curious kids are getting drunk after eating hand sanitizer

Go to this site for the video...
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/launchPage.html?Parents%20claim%20curious%20kids%20are%20getting%20drunk%20after%20eating%20hand%20sanitizer&Drinking%20&061907/061907_fr_handsan&%20Sanitizing&Drinking%20&%20Sanitizing&FOX_Report&Video%20Launch%20Page&US

Who knew?

Am I the last one to know this? Shutterfly & Target have teamed up! Now you can order 4x6 glossy prints online and pick them up at your local Target store in an hour. I think this is a great partnership since I love both Shutterfly and Target. Hopefully this will be a success and they'll soon add new products such as the photo books I love so much. Go ahead and support them by uploading all of those pics you've been meaning to print.

Benihana's

Russell has a deposition in Clarksdale today and then another something in Germantown tonight so he's offered to take me to Benihana's for the All You Can Eat Sushi. I love my hubby! Isn't he the sweetest? Sushi's our favorite. However, I wonder if he's really thought about the last and first time we tried the All You Can Eat, we barely even got our money's worth and that was with extreme effort! In the meantime, Bailey and I are working hard at the home office trying to get some things squared away before this evening. I have a feeling the day's going to fly by and I'm going to get little accomplished...


Come on, does she seriously look like she's doing any kind of "work" to help me out around the house?


PS- Shout out to Leah & Joey and Lee & Will for inviting us out for dinner and a movie last night. I'm sorry I just now checked the voicemail message, hence the reason we didn't show up! How was Ocean's 13???

One Tree Hill Video

I know all 10 of my fans out there have been so worried about this... I have had some comments about my promo video for One Tree Hill's Season 5 not working. For some reason, You Tube took it off. Something about Warner Bros. & copyrights. Either way, you can go here to see the same video. It's over on the left hand side. Enjoy!

Hmm, does this mean she likes her toys?

It's been a few weeks since I posted a picture of our Bailey Girl so I thought I would share a glimse of today's adventure with her.

Clinton Spoofs Sopranos

Geez, have you seen this? Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign unveiled its new campaign song, "You and I" by Celine Dion, with a web video that spoofs the Sopranos' finale. It may turn out to be genius but for now I can't comment, especially on the carrots.

Back to work...

UGH! I would rather do anything than finish up this report that I have to turn in by the end of the day. My job usually does not require any paperwork but since the "reorganization" of the company, I'm required to "think outside of the box" and "divide and conquer" my boss's job responsibiblities.

One Tree Hill- The OFFICIAL Season 5 PROMO

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/3741:3738/104-5932512-6153565

Okay, go ahead and make fun of me. I really don't care. I love One Tree Hill and I finally got to see this season's finale while doing paperwork. I had to Tivo it while I've been out of town. It was pretty great. The soundtrack was awesome too. Ryan Adams made a debut with his new CD, Easy Tiger, that will be out on June 26th... a definite purchase! You can see a preview above.

Anyway, I can not wait until next season! It's going to be funny to see how many people start trying to catch up with the show after 4 seasons' worth just because the crew is no longer in high school and have graduated from college. No, you're not confused. Yes, they just graduated high school but they're skipping their college years for Season 5. Check out the trailer (be sure to pause my music list)... they rent the seasons at Blockbuster's so you still have all summer to catch up!

Mud Island Concert Series

Wednesday, July 11


Saturday, August 18

Mud Island's Concert Series is in full force and I couldn't be more excited about two upcoming shows... The Fray & Willie Nelson!!! Russell's definitely more excited about Willie than The Fray but he's sweet to enthuse me. He's only seen Willie more than a dozen times (literally)! Norah Jones played a few weeks ago but we couldn't make that one. Other concerts coming up that I'm not a big fan of include Styx & Foreigner and 311.

Update...

We've updated the blog with new products and designs...
Address to Impress

Happy Father's Day, Daddy Huey!

"It's only when you grow up, and step back from him, or leave him for your own career and your own home –
it's only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it." -Margaret Truman

Today I'm wishing you a perfect weekend for golf!

I love you so much,
"Hillie"

Happy Birthday Huey Don!

20 years later... who's bigger now???

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday Dear Huey Don,
Happy Birthday to you!

Happy 23rd Birthday little brother!

Do you know something I don't know???

My beautiful wild flowers that Russell surprised me with

I finished my appointments in Tupelo early yesterday so I decided to head on back to Hernando so I could spend the night with my lovely husband. I was actually thinking he probably needed a clean dress shirt and would also like a cooked meal. On my way back, I called him at the firm to see what he had planned for the evening. Initially he said he wanted to just stay at home but thirty minutes later he called back to say that he wanted to take me to dinner downtown and use the office tickets and go to the Redbirds game. I gave in and headed to Memphis to meet up. As I picked him up at his office, he walked out the door carrying this beautiful arrangement of wild flowers. I quickly said "which secretary did you steal those from?" He said "I didn't, they're for you." I think I then went on to ask what he had done to require this lovely gesture. My first thoughts were... the house is a mess, Bailey has chewed up my favorite apparel item, he's already has a girlfriend. Just kidding! Do you really think he has time for someone else? As high maintenance as I am and as much attention as I require, I really don't think a girlfriend would ever be worth it. So, the truth is my wonderful husband saw the pretty flowers at a street vendor who grows them himself and he said he thought I would like them. He couldn't have been more right. I've had a pretty stressful week thus far. My boss and friend, the one who hired me a year ago, was just recently laid off by my company. He was supposed to come in this week to work with me and now I've been left to do it all myself. However, the president of the company is now flying in for the big meeting tomorrow. Uh yeah, just extra stress. I hope you all are having a better week than myself!


Auto Zone Park where they have some of the best peanuts & beer!

Me & Mary Kay?

I've been working in Tupelo this week and a friend of mine asked me to attend a Mary Kay Girlfriends Night on Tuesday after work. I kindly accepted the invitation and showed up on time at 6:30. Little did I know that I would be there for three hours "playing" with makeup! As most of you all know, I don't even wear that much makeup. For some reason makeup makes my face feel dirty. If I had it my way, and often times I do, I would only wash my face and apply moisturizer. It's just never made since to me why we dirty our faces by putting on makeup after we take a shower! Don't get me wrong, I totally agree that makeup makes us all look better... some, better than others. So, to make a long story short, the Director there now wants me to be a Mary Kay sales rep. I wouldn't have to quit my job, I would just do it for extra cash in my spare time. Yeah, what spare time?!?! I tried to explain to her that I have a small stationery company in which I devote my extra time but she kept tempting me with the Pink Cadillac! Since Tuesday, she's called my phone four times and is now e-mailing me! Any Mary Kay fans out there???


The before and after picture of my makeover using subtle color for summer

PS- Don't ever say I never post pictures of myself! I'm embarassed to be sharing this one.

Tony Soprano or Tony Awards??

I love, love, love Broadway Musicals and last night was the 61st Annual Tony Awards! Russell was so sweet to allow me to watch the three hour awards show while he reviewed for a case he has today. Come to think of it, it was probably because I made him dinner and we watched the season finale of The Sopranos first. Don't get me wrong, I definitely cared whether Tony Soprano got whacked. But the finale left A LOT to be desired. And after it was all over, I only cared about that other Tony, Broadway's Tony Awards for the bests in the New York theater season. Spring Awakening, the winner for best musical, book, score, direction, choreography, and best featured actor in a musical, is based on the formerly banned 19th century Frank Wedekind play about sexually frustrated German teenagers. You can watch the special preview video of the dark rock musical above. Just be sure to pause the music on my play list first!

Happy Birthday Kelly & Lyndsey!

Kelly at my bachelorette party at the beach
-I hope she doesn't kill me for this


Lyndsey at the beach


I want to give a shout out to two of my closest friends who have birthdays this week. Kelly Kirk's was on Saturday and Lyndsey Newcomb's is today. Happy Birthday and I love you both!

Friends for Life

I'm about to go visit my best friend, Sara Beth, at the hospital. As many of you probably already know, Sara Beth Stockton was diagnosed with having a mini stroke due to a blocked artery over Easter weekend. While I was away this week she had another mini stroke. Luckily, she made it to the ER in Jackson in enough time for them to shuttle her via ambulance to her doctor at the Baptist Hospital in Memphis. It turns out that the medicine called Plavix that she has been on to thin out her blood stopped working and therefore was depriving her brain of oxygen. She is my best friend since childhood (26 years!) and this has been so stressful for me, watching her patiently try to figure out what's going on. In the meantime, she's been hooked up to an IV in which they're going to take her off of today in order to see how this new strong dosage of blood thinner works. If she stays level, then the doctors just said that they will let her go home tomorrow. Yea! Please continue to pray for Sara Beth, her family, and her doctors during this difficult time.

Also, please read and learn from this e-mail forward that I received the day Sara Beth had her second mini stroke...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR.
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.
T *Ask the person to TALK...
to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently)(i.e... It is sunny out today)
R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out their tongue! ... if the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke - Also give the individual 2 Aspirins as they will help to thin out there blood...

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

Upholstery fabric is overrated

I'm back in town from High Point and I'm exhausted! I've been working hard for 12 days straight now. Our new line looks awesome and my fabric showings went great so I really shouldn't complain about having business, especially since the furniture industry is doing so poorly these days. However, a relaxing weekend is so overdue. I don't get to rest this weekend either due to prior obligations that Russell has made for me. The whole month of June is going to be crazy! Just to warn you, I probably won't be posting quite as often since my boss is coming in town the next two weeks. I'll try to surprise you and sneak one or two posts in.