SPRING=CRAW FISH & WEDDING SHOWERS

A couple of weekends ago Kenny and I went to a shower for some friends of ours, Kristen and Drew,that are getting married this weekend. It was a craw fish boil and we could not have asked for a more perfect day. The best part of it all was I got to wear a cute dress for the first time this Spring.

WARNING: TANGENT AHEAD!
I love love love dresses. If I could wear a cute dress every day of my life I would. You can never have enough in my opinion. They are perfect. They are fun, flirty, feminine and you can wear them with flip flops or heels. Plus they take no effort. Throw one on and you do not even have to really accessorize because you already look snazzy because you are wearing a dress. If you ever want to give me an article of clothing give me a dress! I love them!
TANGENT OVER

The sun was out, and it was not too hot, with a nice breeze. We were on top of the Fondren building in Jackson. It was just so much fun and all the hostesses did a great job of setting everything up.

Joe did all the boiling and I have to give him mad props. Kenny and I have been eating craw fish for a few weeks before this but these were the best I had had this season. He was throwing mushrooms,sausages, onions, potatoes, and TONS of garlic in the pot. Everything was so tasty!

It was just a perfect afternoon. After the shower we went over to our friends Rebekah and Andrew's home where we boiled more craw fish and just hung out and ate. I ate so much that day. Rebekah had made some chocolate brownie thing with marshmallows that I ate well into the night. But we had such a good time seeing everyone that we don't see on a regular basis and relaxing on a low key night.

A MUST SEE

Kenny and I had a fairly low key weekend. Friday night we went and ate at Bosco's. I really enjoy that restaurant. Some people do not like it but I have to say it is one of my favorite low key spots in Memphis. We finished up eating and I saw that we had time to catch a movie. I wanted to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Kenny had not really heard anything about it but we went to see it anyway.

It was so good! It is written by the same guy who did Knocked Up and the humor is similar. But there were so many funny lines and situations. Kenny was so glad we saw it. Besides the hippy guy who was sitting next to me who had atrocious body odor, we really enjoyed our evening.

Saturday morning Kenny got up and played golf with Lowe and then they went to a cigar tasting where they preceded to drink alchohol and smoke cigars and then Kenny came home smelling like he lived in the cigar shop. I suppose I can thank my dad for this new hobby. He is also a cigar smoker. I enjoy the smell of cigars but I do not like how the smell clings to your clothing. That night we went over to my college friend and new neighbor Brittany's apartment to eat dinner. She made seafood gumbo and it was really tasty. We had a really good time hanging out with everyone over there and really enjoyed the meal.

Sunday, we just got out for church and some lunch. Then we came home to relax for the rainy afternoon. We rented the movie Cloverfield. The whole premise is that it is filmed in the perspective of a guy who is holding a camcorder as everything happens. Very Blair Witch(esh). Kenny and I thought the movie was pretty silly. When it was in theatres a lot of people were going nuts over it but we just did not see the appeal. We thought the whole thing was pretty unrealistic . This will be our last free weekend for a while. We have weddings out of town to go to for the next few weeks. It was nice to have some down time.

MY FAVORITE SONG FROM THE 80'S

Was sung by these guys
And that song is " Out of Nothing At All." If you have never heard this song then buy it off of Itunes. You will not regret it. You know how everyone makes fun of the song Total Eclipse of the Heart but anytime it comes on the radio everybody rocks out to it. Some boys I know rocked it out the best I have ever seen on the way to a casino one time .....wow that sounds really classy. Anyway, this song is like Total Eclipse of the Heart but better. Way better.

I first discovered this song when Carrie Underwood sang it on American Idol a few seasons back. And then it was played in the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Kenny's favorite) when Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are in the mini van shooting at their attackers and she is wearing a man's button down shirt and that's it. Hmmm I think I can figure out why Kenny loves that movie so much.

But let me get to the point......this song is awesome. I L-O-V-E it!

PARDON MY BLOGGING ABSENCE

As I mentioned, our camera broke and has been shipped off to Best Buy heaven to be reincarnated and sent back to earth. So without pictures I have been feeling less motivated to blog. Especially after I had a really fun weekend this past weekend and missed out on all the great photo oppurtunities. I was supposed to be getting some of the pictures from a friend but I have not gotten them yet. So until then......no since in blogging about it.

I have also been very busy at work lately. We have two overlapping trips to Costa Rica starting tomorrow and things in my department have been crazy.

BUT....I am very happy to say that a new episode of Gossip Girl came on Monday night and it was stellar. It was so good. I am so so so obsessed with this show. Everything about it is truly spectacular. The clothes are amazing and the story line is so scandoulous. And best of all the previews get you so amped for the next week that you can barely contain your excitement. (or maybe that is just me). But you have to watch it if you are not already. You have too.

In other randomness, I am enjoying this lovely weather we are having. It seems like spring is officially here. Yay.

Is it really already Thursday????? (once work is over I consider it to be the next day instead of the current day. Follow?)

THANK GOD FOR WARRANTIES!

So last night Kenny and I met up with Joe and Tracy and a group of people for Joe's birthday dinner. Hi Mollie!!! We all went to Rendezvous and as we were leaving I wanted to get a picture of the group. The picture came out really blurry and the viewfinder was really blurry too. I crossed my fingers it was just because the battery was dead. But after fiddling with it all day today. No such luck.

We received this camera as a Christmas gift from Kenny's parents and so far we have loved it. This is the first problem we have had with the camera. Thank the lord when Kenny's parents bought it for us they also bought the 2 year warranty. I just talked to a certified Geek Squad member and they said to bring it in and they will send it out for us to get it fixed.We should get our repaired camera in 2-4 weeks. NEVERMIND, it is spring and prime wedding season when we need the camera the most. But at least they will fix it for us.

Word to the wise, if you are purchasing something from Best Buy, BUY THE WARRANTY. Otherwise there is absolutely nothing you can do for your broken item. Kenny bought me a portable DVD player for my birthday a few years ago and after two months the screen went black. He had not purchased the warranty, and even though we had just purchased it, they rudely told us there was nothing they could do for us.

Right now, I am just so appreciative that Kenny's parents were thoughtful enough to buy us the warranty, otherwise I would be writing this through tears and fury.

MY HAIR FANTASIES

All my life I have been blonde. Very blonde. And for the past few years I have toyed with the fantasy of dying my hair a chocolate brown. I dream of a drastic change, despite the fact that Kenny has always had a thing for blondes. I have even gone as far to ask my beloved hairdresser John about doing it. He always says it is not a good idea, because I would have blonde roots and I would probably freak out after I did it and have to spend a fortune to get it back to my regular color.

So when I found this website, I was elated. I could see all my hair dreams coming true. It allows you to upload your picture and try on all these star's hairstyles. It is amazing. Now I want to change my hair color even more. And I am even kind of digging the side swoop bang. I have always coveted bangs because I have a cowlick in the front of my hair that won't allow for any type of bang. Sad huh! The response when I sent the pictures to my mom and my sister were not positive. So tell me what you think. Honestly.

This is Ashley Simpson's hairstyle.


This is Jennifer Garner's hair. It is closer to how I style my hair.


SHOULD I DO IT????

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANNY B!

"Inside every older person is a younger person - wondering what the hell happened. "
                                           (He is in the middle)

Here are some things about our Daniel

• Today is his 30th Birthday! That is a big one!

• He likes to lay out at the pool.

• He like Widespread Panic. His favorite song is One Armed Steve.

• His parents are very nice people.

• He is not very good at poker.

• He is very good at soccer but fakes injuries when it comes to softball.

• He recently became a vegetarian.

• I have only seen him get really mad at someone once.  It was really funny.

• He needs a dog.

• When I was still in college he and I would play the "how old were you when" game. It's really fun!

• He is really bad at March Madness brackets. (sorry but you are)

• He is a good friend, when he picks up the phone.

• He is very funny.

So here's to you Daniel, on your 30th Birthday.  Hope you have a great day!

(if anyone would like to contribute to the list of things about Daniel, please do so in the comment portion of this blog)

SHOPPED TIL WE DROPPED

This weekend my mom and sister came in town for a huge shopping trip. They got here Friday afternoon and we went on a short walk so I could show them how high the river was these days. Once Kenny got home we all went to eat at Soul Fish. It is a small restaurant in the Cooper Young area that has delicious catfish and hush puppies and vegetables. Everything we ordered was so good and we were stuffed.

Saturday morning we got up early so that we could start our looooong day of shopping. I kissed Kenny good bye since he had the common sense to know that he did not want to accompany us on this trip, and we were on our way. My mission was to get some fun spring clothes and then get some work clothes(boring). I hate having to get work clothes. They just are not that much fun. But all in all I ended up getting a lot of fun things. I got some work clothes but I also ended up getting several dresses which are my favorite thing in the whole wide world. If the weather and my job allowed it, I would wear dresses every single day. I love cute springy dresses that you wear to weddings and then I love casual dresses that you just wear with flip flops on a warm day, like the one pictured here. I bought this one this weekend! The shopping trip was a sucess and we were exhausted when we got home.

Kenny went and played golf with some friends and got home later that evening. My mom made our favorite dish that she makes, chicken enchiladas, and we watched August Rush. I was skeptical about this movie but it really was sooooo good. I would definitely recommend it. I was afraid it was going to be slow but it wasn't at all. So watch it!

Sunday, my mom and sister left pretty early and Kenny and I mostly relaxed. It was really cold outside so we wanted to stay inside.I hope the warm weather comes back soon and stays this time!

THE VIEW FROM HERE

So not too much going on in the Lacey household so here is a completely random post. This is what I see for eight hours a day at this glorious thing called work (yes I love my job!)

First off, we have Susan. She is the graphic designer for our department. Yes, our desks are strange cubes that have no walls. So we literally sit 4 feet apart from one another at the most. So we stare at each other all day. She has to listen to me sing show tunes and I listen to her play Johnny Cash on her computer. That blinding white thing she is sitting at is her Mac. We both have two computers but I will get to that later.
Next up we have my boring ol' PC of a computer. I only check my email on this computer. Most of the time I am on my glorious, stupendous, magnificent other computer. Please note that I have some framed pictures of Kenny and I. Have to make sure that everyone knows that I am spoken for right?!?!! It is one of my favorite pictures that a friend of mine took at the wedding.And this magnificent creature is my Mac. Sorry about the glare. But you know what they say.....once you go Mac, you will never go back. And that is very true. Macs really are so superior! My beautiful Mac is kind of a sore subject for Susan that we always joke about.. Here is the story. When I started working here I did not have a Mac. Just the graphic designer had one. And you saw that thing. Its gigantic,but a very awesome piece of machinery. I had to earn my Mac by proving my mad skills. So when they decided I could get one they deliverd this very nice SMALL computer complete with a flat screen and a mouse with a scroll ball. It's awesome! Susan gets jealous sometimes. She always tell me not to be out sick to long or that if and when I go for maternity leave that I might not have this beautiful computer when I get back. We will just have to see about that!

And this is what is bugging me these days. Right now we have lots of trips going on that my department has planned. These envelopes were stuffed with phone cards for an out of the country trip. Well after the frist trip the phone cards did not work so we had to unstuff all of them. So now these envelopes are just sitting here waiting to be stuffed driving me bonkers. Yes I am OCD and cannot take the clutter. Help me!So there you have it. A little glimpse into my life. Its funny when you think about how much more time you spend at work that you do at home. Luckily, I enjoy what I do so it is not too bad.

WHAT A HEARTBREAKER

Kenny and I took it easy last night to watch the big game with Memphis playing Kansas in the championship. Susan came over with cheese dip (yum) and that was about all we did.

Last night I was pulling for Memphis but I did not CARE who won. But today I decided that I care more than I thought I did. I am really sad for the Memphis tigers. I think it is because they were so close to having the fairy tale ending. If only they had just made ONE free throw. Why oh why could they not make one free throw! And then......that unbelievable three pointer by Kansas. We all knew it was bad when the game went into overtime. But the overtime play was just sad. You could tell how desperately Memphis wanted it. Uuuugh! I even woke up in the middle of the night last night and remembered that Memphis lost and got sad all over again.

I think that I am so sad that Memphis lost because during March madness the city of Memphis was more positive. The nightly news was more upbeat and featured the Tigers progress every night, and it just seemed like everybody had something to root for. Now its over. It is just sad.

On a positive note: Kenny was going to win one of his bracket pools no matter who won the tournament. So either way we were set. Since Kansas won he finished first in the bracket pool at work. More bragging rights there, so no complaints. And we are rich!(Just kidding) We nothing.....right Kenny?

BOYS AT A DEER CAMP

Kenny and I spent another weekend apart. He headed off for one of his best friends, Chad Smith, from high school bachelor's party in Valley Park. They had it at one of the guys deer camps and from the pictures it looks like they had a pretty good time. I was so happy to send Kenny off with the camera and get some good pictures back.

With all the rain during the week I think they stayed stuck in the mud the whole time. But the other times they were grilling out, skeet shooting, riding four wheelers, sitting up in the deer stand watching Memphis beat UCLA, boiling craw fish, watching Chad dance like a fool, and passing out from sheer exhaustion.

It's funny because anyone who knows Kenny knows that he is not really the deer camp kind of guy so this is the first time I have seen such behavior from him. I did not know he had it in him.

My weekend was pretty low key. I took Lena on some walks and caught up on a lot of Tivo (lame I know). Saturday afternoon I went with some of friends to the Flying Saucer to watch the Memphis game. That place was going nuts! I cannot believe that Memphis is in the final championship. It is such an exciting time for the city. I can't wait to see if they go all the way tonight!

A WHOLE MOVIE ABOUT A FONT?!

That is what Kenny said when he asked me how the movie was.
Last night I went with my friend Jo Ann to an event at the Brooks Musuem. My stepmom got Kenny and me a membership to the museum and I was so happy to get a chance to enjoy one of their events! The event was to "tongue in cheek" celebrate the 50th birthday of Helvetica font. Yes, a font. For anyone who knows anything about graphic design then they know about Helvetica font.

I do not consider myself to be a real graphic designer, however in my work I actually do a great amount of graphic design. I design ads, and invitations, and other marketing pieces for the company I work for. Nothing to exciting but I really enjoy it.

Jo Ann and I had a really great time. They had this great baker Andrew Adams make a Helvetica cake in the Helvetica font. It was so cute. If you want his contact information let me know because I took his card. The cake was really yummy. They also had Helvetinis.

The main event was the documentary Helvetica. And I found it so interesting. My company's logo is in Helvetica font and I really have a love hate relationship with the font. The movie showed the history of how the font was created and interviewed many graphic designers that have used the font through its 50 years. But the film made me realize how this font really changed advertising and the way words are conveyed. In watching the film I had never thought of typograpy as a business. The whole film was very smart and at times very funny(to anyone who cares about fonts).  The whole event was very clever and I am so glad I went!

A KITCHEN GADGET I LOVE

Like I have said before I LOVE to cook. But one thing I HATE to do is chop onions. I cry so much and they make my eyes burn. I had seen the infommercial on television a few times so when I saw this wonderful invention at Bed Bath and Beyond for the small price of $10 I grabbed it.

Last night I was making meatloaf for dinner (Yum!) and the recipe called for onions like so many recipes do. So I got out my favorite gadget and went to work. Watch it in action!

First you cut the onion in large portion. This takes no effort.Place the onion on chopper. Pull down the top portion and press!The side even has a measuring cup. See!
See all the perfectly chopped onions.It only took a minute to produce those chopped onions. If I had chopped them by hand it would of taken much longer. I know to serious chefs this might be considered cheating. I do watch Top Chef and I have never seen one of those guys pull out the handy dandy onion chopper. But to each its own. Right?

(I am sorry if this post is boring for some of my readers but I thought I should share the awesomeness of the gadget with the world)

THINGS TO MAKE YOU SMILE