WIDTW

WIDTW - What I Did This Weekend (yes, I"m making up acronyms)......because I know you are all wondering and deeply interested.

On Friday night, I went with Dana and Leanne to an Olympic Opening Ceremony party at the Lakeshore Foundation.  My company had generously sponsored a table.  There was good food and wine, though the party itself was sort-of lame.  We dined and ditched....

Leanne really wanted a skinny margarita from Cocina Superior and I wanted a bellini from Brio, so we did both.  I had a fun night out with two cool girls.  I'm so glad that Leanne is finished with the bar exam!  I've missed her so much while she's been studying.  It's going to be a long wait for grades till the end of September.

On both Saturday and Sunday, I had the pleasure of joining my friends at their neighborhood pool.  I know how to take advantage of some good pool/lounge chair time and stayed there longer than everybody!  I was joined a little while today by two sweet boys.  Dylan and I played a lot and he borrowed my extra hat.

Harrison had his snack with me on my lounge chair (actually, he ate my snack because he didn't want the one his mom packed for him), then got a little tired and needed to take a quick rest.  He has one towel for a pillow and another towel for a blanket.  Hilarious child!  

After everyone else went home, I finished reading a magazine and took a quick nap.  The pool was crowded and kids were playing loudly, but I have this amazing ability to fall asleep on a lounge chair.  What can I say, it's a gift!  Thanks to my friends for sharing their pool!

Friday's Five Faves

As another week comes to an end, I'm reminded how fast time flies.  It's almost August.  August people.  Where is 2012 going??  Anyway, here are some things that I'm enjoying at the moment:

1.  Peanut M&M's - I could seriously eat these all the time.  I love them so much.  What's weird is that I used to only eat Plain M&M's.  I made the switch about 7 years ago and haven't looked back.

2.  Shiseido Eyelash Curler - got this a few weeks ago and I love it.  It gets every lash.  Of course, I ordered mine from Sephora and you can get it here.

3.  Cool Shoes - so as not to incriminate myself, I won't say how many pairs I've purchased recently and how many I have it total.  I love shoes.  If I have on a cool pair of shoes, I may as well be wearing a cape and have super powers.  My favorite brand at the moment is Via Spiga and I love it that they have been having a 60% off sale.  My shoe-buying days are numbered, though, but I'll save that news for another post.

4.  Ice cream at the office - the past two weeks, we've played a little game called "Squeeze" at the office. The winner (or loser, as I call it) has to go to the nearby grocery store to buy ice cream.  I don't know who made up Squeeze, but it goes like this:  One person (the previous week's winner/loser) thinks of a number between 1 and 100.  Then, everyone goes around guessing a number and is told higher or lower by the leader.  You eventually get "squeezed" into the number and the person who guesses it wins (loses) and has to go buy ice cream.  Everyone chips in a buck or two.  I lost last week and bought chocolate and birthday cake ice creams with hot fudge and sprinkles for toppings.  The toppings were a hit and now people want me to lose every time!

5.  New People - I love making new friends and meeting new people.  During a recent lunch outing to Panera with a couple of girls from work, we found ourselves in line behind this girl who was alone.  She had beautiful red hair and was wearing cool shoes, which I immediately commented on.  Once we all made our way through the line, ordered, and got our food, there was no place to sit.  It was packed!  All 4 of us are wandering around, trays of food in hand, searching for a place to sit.  We finally notice this man sitting alone at a table for 4 (yes, during the crowded lunch hour) and he appears to be finishing up.  We ran over to stake it out, then I noticed the other girl still looking so I invited her to sit with us.  She happily accepted.  Turns out she is new to Birmingham and her husband just started a residency at UAB.  My co-workers and I bombarded her with questions and tips on where to eat/go/visit in the area.  Her name is Melanie and we were fast friends.  We have been out to lunch and hung out a few times.  Melanie is super cool and has a fabulous job at the Bobbi Brown counter at Saks.  I went in recently and she did my make-up.  It was so fun and she made me look so pretty.  Before/After shots didn't occur to me at the time, but I see many more fun makeovers in the future.  Mel has been gone this week because her grandfather passed away.  I've missed her!  Prayers for her family, please.   


That's it for now.  Stay tuned for my exciting news that is going to put an end to the retail therapy!  Happy weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

A View to a Weekend

I had a pretty good weekend, despite being worried about how it was going to go.  It started with a fabulous lunch at Olexa's on Friday.  Grilled cheese, tomato bisque, and salad followed by their amazing chocolate cake.  I shared this with another person even though I wanted to eat it all myself.

Friday night, I went with the family and some other friends to Free Friday Flicks in Homewood Park.  Movies are shown on a big screen and everyone brings chairs/blankets to sit on.  Kung Fu Panda 2 was the feature presentation.  The weather was great and it was a pretty perfect evening.  I could see myself spending many Friday nights doing just that.  Saturday was warm and spent at the pool - another pretty perfect day. 

Saturday night, I met up with some other girls for dinner at Hot and Hot Fish Club.  Dinner was delicious!  I had their famous tomato salad with lady peas and fried okra then a red snapper entree served with tomatoes and avocados.  I drank my dessert in the form of a glass of champagne.  Cheers!

My poor attempt at a few pictures from the evening.  I got this dress on clearance from Nordstrom and love how the blue made me look so tan.  Paired with my favorite pair of shoes at the moment, I was feeling alright.  I don't know why we didn't get a shot of the whole group.
 

Yesterday was nothing exciting - church, lunch, Belk clearance rack, followed by a quick nap.  It didn't end the way I wanted, but everyday can't be perfect.  It would probably be weird if they were.  Or, I would be lying if I said they were. 

4th of July & Upcoming Weekend

I hope you all had a great 4th!  Mine was awesome and started with this fabulous breakfast provided by my super cool roommate (no, I'm not sucking up because she doesn't read my blog - she has 3 toddlers and a full time job, so I understand).  I thoroughly enjoyed my grilled cheese cut into the shape of a star with watermelon and Dr. Pepper served on a princess plate.  Don't be fooled by the lack of crust--I ate that part, too. 

We slowly (and with a couple of meltdowns) made our way to Cullman to hang out at the pool.  We stopped for lunch at Top Hat BBQ.  I hear it's famous, so I had to get some.  I had a sandwich and it was pretty good.  The best part was the fried pecan pie a la mode.  Delicious!  Once at the pool, the beer margaritas were served and the relaxation began. 

It was such a nice day.  I don't recall ever getting really hot.  It was nice and relaxing.  I even got a short lounge chair nap!

We grilled out burgers and hot dogs, then made our way to see fireworks.  It was a pretty good show.  No 4th of July ever seems complete without a few fireworks.  One meltdown later, we made our way back to Birmingham.