GORGEOUS

Hello everyone. I wanted to pass on a great website to check out. I had the chance to get to know the artist a little bit more this past weekend at the lake. She is a good friend of Tracy and Joe's. Her name is Ellen Hays and she does fantastic jewelry. I have admired her stuff for a while now, and with my birthday coming up....now might be the perfect time to snag some of her things.

Here is her website: Ellen Hays Jewelry

I like her pieces because they are so versatile and girly. Here are some of my personal faves!

I heart these earrings big time!

I love this because you can dress it up or down!

This is so dainty.

Go check her out! You will love her stuff!

WEEKEND AT THE LAKE

Kenny and I got back from the lake last night. We had so much fun! Sorry this post won't have many pictures because I only took a few and the few that I took I look like a boy so oh well.

We rode up to Paris Landing with Joe and Tracy and a caravan of other couples. The lake house is Joe's family's and we were so excited to be getting out town for the weekend to relax. There were 8 couples, 3 kids, and 4 dogs all staying in the cabin this weekend. It was crazy but a lot of fun. Once we got there on Friday night we just hung out till the wee hours of the morning.

On Saturday, we hit the dock early. Lots of sun bathing, swimming and boating. We took the boat out to the middle of the lake and just floated out in the water with life jackets. So fun! When we got back the boys went up to the cabin to cut up the drunken watermelon while the girls all sat out on the dock under the umbrella talking. This is how we found the boys when we came up.....That doesn't even look comfortable. There were boys asleep everywhere. They were worn out. I would also like to mention that Kenny got his nipple bit by a fish this weekend. He said it was very painful.

Once everyone was back in from the lake and sun, the eating extravaganza began. Oh my gosh I ate so much that I still have a stomach ache. We ate so many dips and things. They were all so yummy. Here is a picture of Tracy and me(sans make-up as you can probably tell) enjoying her delicious cream cheese and chocolate chip dip. You dip graham cracker sticks in it. Kenny loves it and it was very tasty! Tracy, put the recipe on your blog! We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner and Joe's mom made this pie that is to die for for dessert. My friend Mollie and I requested it for the weekend. It is Kentucky Derby pie. Its like a chess pie with chocolate. If I can snag the recipe I will post it here! I am excited because I got to take some home and I get to have a piece tonight!

Sunday morning we just woke up and ate a delicious brunch, (I told you I ate a lot) and went swimming in the lake. It was late afternoon before we hit the road for home. But the trip would have not been complete without a stop at Chow Wagon. (or so I was told). Chow Wagon is the short order restaurant in Milan that has amazing milkshakes and all kind of fried goodness. It was worth the stop and the tummy ache. Gosh, I am talking about food a lot of this post. But I mean really, all we did was lay out, and eat. So, sorry if this is boring!

Kenny and I had a great weekend with friends and getting to know new people. It was the perfect summer weekend.

5 EMBARRASSING SONGS

So I was tagged by Caren to name 5 songs that I embarrassed to say I love.
Here are the rules:
1.Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2.Share 5 songs you are embarrassed to admit to others that you like and tell why.
3.Tag 5 random people at the end of post and include links to their blogs.
4.Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I know this is more than one song. But I love anything Celine Dion sings. I love it. When she was doing her shows in Vegas I used to beg Kenny to take me to Vegas to see her show. My favorite song that she sings is "A New Day." It is such a happy song but I also love: All By Myself, Power of Love, To Love You More, Tell Him (with Barbara Streisand) and of course Because You Loved Me and It's All Coming Back to Me.



"Earl Had to Die" I love this song. It was kind of played out when it hit the airwaves but now if I happen to catch it on the radio I crank it up. It is the ultimate girl power song.








"It's Raining Men" by the Weather Girls. This song is amazing in all of its 70's Disco glory. Such a fun song to sing with the girls.










"Ghetto Cowboy" by Bone Thugs N Harmony. Oh my lordy does this song bring back memories from high school and college, and maybe even a few post college nights. I am embarrassed to say I even had this cd in high school. I love this song. I know all the words. And its a long song. My favorite part is the girl part. And don't even pretend like you don't know what I am talking about! If you have never heard this song. Give it a listen. It is worth it!

"Chicago"This kind of falls in with Celine. I love all of their stuff. It is such good break up music or your in love music. Their songs are so melodramatic. Some of my tops are: Will you Still Love Me, Hard to Say I'm Sorry, Look Away and of course Your the Inspiration.

Some serious Honorable Mentions: That's What Friends are For, You'll Be in My Heart(Phil Collins), Ring My Bell


I TAG:
Tracy
Andrew and Susan
Courtney
Monograms and Manicures
Elizabeth

MEET ME IN ST. LOUEY!

We took a lot of pictures!
So Kenny and I took a long weekend vacation to go to St. Louis. Neither of us had been before. We stayed downtown and kept ourselves very very busy. It seems like we did everything, ate extremely well, and we had so much fun!

We got there early Saturday morning and headed to the City Museum. This museum is unlike any other museum I have been to before and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has kids. They will L-O-V-E it! But Kenny and I just pulled out our inner kids and enjoyed it just as much. After the museum we ate lunch and walked around the shops downtown. Then we headed to The Loop which is a eclectic part of Saint Louis. Very interesting and fabulous people watching. We had cocktails and appetizers at a cute restaurant before heading to the Hill district for some awesome Italian.

Sunday we headed to Six Flags. I had not been to an amusement park since I was younger and I was dying to ride a roller coaster. We rode lots of roller coasters. We ended up buying this pass where we got to skip to the front of all the lines. It was well worth it. So worth it that I got the worst case of motion sickness because we were riding so many roller coasters back to back. I recovered and despite the extreme heat we had a great time.

On Monday, we headed to the Busch brewery for a tour. Their facility is amazing. I can't believe how clean and university like it was. This place was gigantic and had a very interesting smell. We got to see the packaging plant, these huge barrels where the beer ferments and the best part, the Clydesdale's and the Dalmatian!

Monday afternoon we had great tickets to a Cardinals games. They were playing the Brewers. Kenny was like a kid in a candy store he was so excited. We got to see lots of great players and the fans get really intense at their games. The atmosphere was really different than the Redbirds games we go to all the time. Sadly, the Cards lost in extra innings to the Brewers but it did not ruin the good time.

Last but not least we rode to the top of the Gateway Arch. It was really high and a great view of the St. Louis skyline!

AND THE WINNER IS......

Sorry I am a little late on this recap. Kenny and I just got back from St. Louis last night . Look for a post and lots of pictures about it later today.

But I did manage to find some time to catch the final episode of The Search for Elle Woods on the Internet. I loved it and I am embarrassed to admit that I got a little choked up. You could really tell how much both Autumn and Bailey wanted to win the part.

My predictions were wrong and Bailey won. I have to say I am really happy with that outcome. She really pulled ahead in the final episode. She was by far the better dancer and since dancing is a huge part of the role, Autumn just could not keep up.

I watched a couple videos on Broadway.com because I am a nerd and you can tell that they worked with Bailey's voice a lot. She has improved a lot. She also has lost a lot of her southern drawl. She debuts tonight in New York. Can't wait to read the reviews!

TV SHOWS I AM LOVING THESE DAYS

Hopkins on ABC. This is a smart and endearing show. It is documentary style and follows doctors daily at the renowned Johns Hopkins hospital. I have teared up and laughed many times at this show. It is like Grey's Anatomy in real life. If you have not seen this show you can watch all the episodes on the Internet. It is so worth it!





Rock the Reception. Has anyone seen this show??? I LOVE it. It comes on TLC and it has two couples on each show. The whole premise is that the couples learn this really awesome dance routine for their first dances at their wedding reception. They keep it a secret and blow all their guests away with the surprise when they break out the moves. Sometimes they also get the wedding party involved in the dance too. I love seeing the routines and I love seeing the wedding guests reactions when the bride and groom start doing some funky dance. So fun!


This show is so good. I started watching it last summer. This year I have really enjoyed a lot of the numbers and it always gives me ideas of good songs to download off of Itunes. For those of you who watch the show. My faves are Chelsie, Courtney, Katee and I like all the guys that are still there.

So excited for the new season. I can't wait to see what they have in store for the audience. I was so happy last season when Christian won. He was by far the best and I loved his personality.




I have watched Big Brother for a really really long time. It always comes on in the summers and it usually the only thing on that is worth watching. This is season 10 and the past couple of seasons I hated for some reason. I think it was because they had too many young skanky people on there. But this season's cast is back to normal and I am very glad.

Others show that I love: Say Yes to the Dress, The Search for Elle Woods, Jon and Kate, Office Re-Runs, Platinum Weddings, Intervention, Ashley Paige, Bikini or Bust (great show!), Wife Swap

I realize that these are all reality shows. Yes I have a problem. In my defense I tivo most, if not all of these shows and watch them while I am doing things around the house or when I come home for lunch. I am not glued to the TV at all times. I have a life. I just consider television to be one of my guilty pleasures.

What shows do you love?

THAT WAS NOT SMART

Kenny is not feeling well. So yesterday I came home to find him lying on the couch in all of his pitiful glory. I like taking care of him when he is under the weather so I asked him if there was anything I could get him. I suggested maybe some cheese toast. I like cheese toast when I am sick. He said that sounded good and asked if we had any honey.

He likes his cheese toast with honey. Yes, I know that is weird. He has done it since he was small and I have tried it. It actually is kind of tasty. So I dug around in our pantry and found our honey bear much like the one pictured. There was only a little honey left and it was kind of hard to squeeze so I propped it up in a ramekin and stuck it in the microwave. I was going to heat it up for 15 seconds so it would be easier to get the last drops of honey out.

Well......the microwave automatically set itself for a minute. By the time I went to get the honey out of the microwave it had been around 35 seconds. As I opened the microwave door......KABOOM! I screamed. It scared the c**p out of me! And since my hand was in the microwave when the little guy exploded the honey splatter had gone on my face, my arms, my hands, my clothes, the counters, the floor, the dog, my cookbooks, and of course all over the microwave. And it burned!

Lena helped with the honey on the floor and what she could reach on the cabinets. But let me tell you, cleaning up splattered honey is a big pain in the rear. It is so sticky and when you wipe it, it smears more than it comes off the surface. Luckily I had some sort of cleaner that seemed to be cutting through it. But it took a while.

Today, I have lovely red burn marks all over my arms from the honey burns. The honey bear may he rest in peace was tossed after the incident.

ANOTHER RECAP

(Sorry this is going to be short. I am kind of busy today)
The Search for Elle Woods is quickly moving to the finale. Last night's episode was good. I still think Autumn is going to win. But last night's episode had me thinking that Lauren might give her a run for her money.

That is until they cut her! It was such a surprise. Lauren had become really good and I thought she was a front runner. And how they cut her before they cut Rhiannon is ridiculous. Rhiannon cannot sing. Enough said. Yes she is adorable and has a whole lot of stage presence but how do you star in a Broadway musical and not be able to sing.

At the end of the episode they told us they were going to cut another girl. But of course we will not get to see who it is until next week. It has got to be Rhiannon. Leaving the final two, Autumn and Bailey. I agree with those two girls. They are both very talented and I cannot wait to see who wins the role. I will be happy with either I think!

SUMMER WEEKEND AND A BIRTHDAY

THEY SAYS ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY!

Today is a very special day because it is Tracy's 25th Birthday. I hope she does not mind me saying that on here. Happy Birthday Tracy! Have a great day! Maybe you could even blog about it!

Kenny and I had another relaxing weekend. Friday night we drove out to Germantown because I wanted to eat at the Commissary. Surprisingly, we live in Memphis but I do not eat that much barbecue. But the Commissary is my absolute favorite. Their banana pudding is to DIE for! And their pig sticks, which are sweet potato fries with cinnamon and sugar on them. So delicious. I was so full and I had so much leftover that we took it home and Kenny had it for lunch the next day. After, we got done eating we went over to Joe and Tracy's to hang out for a while. It was fun.

Saturday, Kenny went to play golf with guys. I do not know how he did it, it was so hot! I went for some lunch with Susan. We went for Mexican, my favorite! Then Susan and I went to see the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Brooks Museum. I had been meaning to get to this exhibit for a while now. It was very interesting to see all of his iconic artwork in person.

Saturday night Kenny and I went to the Redbirds game. I really wanted to go to see all the Buddy dogs. The Humane Society has been doing a fundraiser where companies buy large dog statues and decorate them according to a theme or however you would like to decorate them. The company I work for purchased one of these and my department had the responsibility of deciding the theme and executing the artwork. My friend Susan at work was the appointed artist. But I came up with the idea. My idea was to have the people where I work and the branches all over the country send in pictures of their own beloved pets and then we would decoupage the pictures all over our Buddy dog. He turned out really cute!
Here is a picture where you can see Lena!All the dogs are so cute. There were 75 in total so look around the city to see if you can find them. There will also be a gala and an auction for the dogs in November. Here is one more. Can you guess why we(Kenny) liked this one?Sunday we just relaxed. We took Lena to the pond for a little swim and workout. Kenny cooked out some chicken wings on the grill during the Boston Baseball game that ended up being delicious. Before and after pics below. Last night we watched the Great Debaters. It was really good. We both thought it was better than we expected it to be.

I HAVE A CRAVING

So I have a case of the Friday's right now. And I desperately want to be laying out by the pool drinking one of these!This is my favorite drink in the entire world. I love the lime, the mint and the rum. It is so refreshing with all the natural flavors. Here is the recipe if you feel inspired and are lucky enough to be mixing a cocktail at this hour and laying by the pool!

Mojitos (makes four drinks)
12 fresh mint sprigs
8 tsp sugar
12 tbsp fresh lime juice
6 oz light rum
club soda

In a tall thin glass, crush part of the mint with a fork to coat the inside. Add the sugar and lime juice and stir thoroughly. Top with ice. Add rum and mix. Top off with *chilled* club soda (or seltzer). Add a lime slice and the remaining mint, and serve.

THINGS I AM LOVIN!

So here are some things that I am really enjoying these days.
These are so YUM-O! They are ice cream on a stick dipped in chocolate. (as you can probably tell from the picture) But the ice cream tastes very creamy and gives you the satisfied feeling of having the really good stuff. They are only 80 calories a pop and 3 grams a fat. The box I have is the vanilla and caramel but I think they have mint too. I will try those next. They are so delish! I love this hand cream! Origins only sells it around Christmas time and I scooped some up when I could. I keep it on my desk and I use it all the time, sparingly mind you. It has to last a whole year. But the scent is very very citrusy and minty combined. I love it.My new favorite show. Where was I when this show started? I am embarrassed to admit that I never watched an episode of 90210, but I remember Tori Spelling as Screech's girlfriend Violet from Saved By the Bell if that counts. This show is an hour long and comes on Tuesday nights. Tori Spelling is very funny and she actually seems very down to earth considering her background. I have even caught Kenny laughing at this show a little if he catches bits of pieces of it. I am going to have to go back and watch the first season!I have had my nano for a long time now. Mine is blue. It is wonderful. I am dying for a bigger ipod that can hold all the stuff that I have on my itunes. Hint Hint. My birthday is coming up! But no one should underestimate the power of an ipod when you are working out. For me it really is the thing that makes me keep going. I have chronic boredom when I am working out. I get so bored! My ipod keeps me entertained enough to work up a good sweat at least. Luckily something does! Maybe when I get a new fancy ipod I can watch some episodes of Tori and Dean to entertain me!

TELEVISION GOLD

The search for Elle Woods was soooo good tonight. I think this was the best episode so far.

The episode started off with them sending all the girls to Bergdorf Goodman for makeovers. They dyed the brunettes hair blond and gave everyone else a cute cut and new color. I thought that the girls who went blond ended up looking like they had orange hair. But it still help them fit into the role a lot better.

Let me tell you who I am so over! Bailey! I want to like her and she is really talented but her crying when they cut an inch off her hair was just too much for me. And something about her that has bothered me from the beginning is that she copies EVERYTHING Laura Bell Bundy does verbatim. The girl who wins needs to bring something new to the role.

And speaking of Laura Bell Bundy. She was on the show tonight. I love her!

the portion of the musical that they auditioned with tonight is one of my favorite songs from the show and Autumn after being in the bottom for a couple weeks pulled out a stellar performance. Only solidifiyng my prediction that she will be the winner.

Another awesome audition and the girl that I think will be in the final two with Autumn is Lauren. She also did really well tonight.

The elimination was a shocker tonight. It was the first time that I disagreed with who they picked. I thought for sure that after a horrible audition where Rhiannon's voice cracked through the entire thing that she would be a goner. Instead it was Natalie. And after they ruined her hair. Poor thing. I agree with the judges that she seemed kind of stiff in the audition but she was way better than Rhiannon.

The competition is really heating up! I can't wait to see who wins!

SIMPLE TACO SOUP

Hope everyone had a great July Fourth weekend. Kenny and I have been very low key this weekend. Grilling out, watching movies, baseball games, and of course fireworks.

While Kenny is playing golf today I am making taco soup to freeze. I love this recipe because it is fairly low carb,healthy and so easy!I usually substitute the ground beef with ground turkey. You serve it over tortilla chips and with any toppings you might like. I usually do a little fat free cheese and light sour cream, but I also enjoy it by itself. Here is the recipe!

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds ground beef
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can mild chili beans
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 (1 ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix

DIRECTIONS
In a Dutch oven or large kettle, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add taco seasoning and mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

FIREWORKS MAKE ME CRY

Okay not full fledged tears but I am not kidding when I say that every time I watch the fireworks on the Fourth of July I get a little choked up.

When I was younger my family and I always went to the fireworks show. We would pack up the cooler, get there a little early, lay out a blanket and hang out until it got dark enough for the show to begin. It was always a lot of fun and very festive.

I remember one summer, we did not go to the town's firework show. My mom was in the middle of chemotherapy after her first battle with breast cancer. (Yes, she battled it twice. She is fine now! Snaps!) She did not feel up to packing the cooler, and sitting out in the heat. Later that night we heard the fireworks begin. It was a small town at the time so they were not too far away from our house. My mom and I went back to her room, turned off all the lights, and looked for the fireworks through the window. We actually could see a good bit of them rising above the trees.

It had been such a scary time of our lives and I can remember being so grateful that my mom and I were watching the Fourth of July fireworks together. It was a short moment in the grand scheme of things but one of my fondest memories. And to this day I cannot watch Fourth of July fireworks without thinking about that night, watching them rise in the sky with my mom.

Happy Fourth of July! I hope everyone has a great weekend full of friends and family, yummy food, and of course fireworks!

A CHANGE

So for the first time since I started my blog I have decided to change it up!

I think it might be a spring cleaning urge I am having right now. I went to the grocery store yesterday and totally restocked our freezer, fridge, and pantry. Then I organized everything underneath all the sinks. This weekend I think I am going to pull everything out of my kitchen cabinets and totally reorganize that too. Believe me it needs it!

BUT I HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT THIS GREAT SITE! I think that I might be late to the game but it is just too much fun and too easy not to share it. I have been creating all sorts of banners and I love them all.

The site is called Scrap Blog....here is the link. You can use it as a way to post your pictures on your blog or you can do banners. I am going to use it for both. It is extremely user friendly. I have been piddling with it for the past couple days. Let me know if you need any help and I can try and answer your questions. Have fun playing!

QUICK RECAP

Legally Blonde was good last night. I really like that they are down to so few of girls. It allows us to see more of their talent when they are auditioning. Last night's audition consisted of a huge dance routine.

My girl Autumn who I still think might win the whole thing is kind of falling apart. Last night after her audition she had to run out of the room during the judges critique to get sick. She says she was not feeling good but I just think it was nerves combined with the long dance number. She has been in the elimination room two times in a row now so she better pull it together next week or she is a goner.

The standout last night was Natalie. I do not think I have really talked about her before on here. But she is really impressing the judges me. She has improved throughout the competition and had a fantastic audition last night. The judges have been raving about her the past few weeks.

And well, Emma went home. I was happy about that. She whined most of the episode about her bronchitis and she always looked mad when she did anything. Plus I agree with one of the judges comments last night. She looked like she was about to die during the long dance routine.

Other notable auditions were Bailey and Lauren. They both did a good job. Rhiannon, after having a great audition last week did not do as well!