Nordstrom Now Carries Mini Boden!

Yay!  I'm so excited that Nordstrom is going to carry Mini Boden now!  I'm just hoping they'll start carrying Boden too!  I just recently got a shipment in of some of their shirts and love them.  Their quality is so much better than most.  Here are just a few of my faves that Nordstrom carries of the Mini Boden line.  The little blue swimsuit would be perfect for W this summer, matching her eyes perfectly.  And maybe when it starts getting warmer outside, it will be on sale by then.  Here's hoping!

 

 

Is it bad that I want them to make the green dress in an adult size?

On another note, my prayers go out to the Chilean community.  Every prayers helps, so please pray for them!

Spring Arrives Early

Returned a pair of Tory Burch Reva flats I got for Christmas, to bring a bit more SPRING into my life.  I got the purse on Thursday, but I think I'm going to save it, and start using it when the weather starts warming up, hopefully sooner than later.  Maybe I'll even use it as a little gift for myself once I get fitter with this workout DVD that I'm supposed to be doing...where's the motivation!?  I had a hard time deciding on the color, since I wear so much color in the spring, but I didn't want to go for a neutral color, too blah!  So I ended up with this pink one.  Cheers!

 

JPK Paris Nylon Bucket Bag 

Also, we have my hubby's cousin and wife visiting for the weekend.  They have a daughter that is nine months younger than W, and nine months older than E.  So she's right smack in the middle of them.  Should be fun!  Pictures to come.

Who Knew?

I know my celebrity trivia pretty well, but just recently learned that Shirley Maclaine and Warren Beatty are brother and sister?  I was shocked when I found out.  She is only three years older than him.  Their last name was spelled Beaty.  Not really sure why Warren added a 't'.  But Shirley MacLean Beaty changed her name because a producer kept mispronouncing it.  They've been in so many classics, but I don't think they've ever acted together.  That family has some talent!

Courtesy of Yahoo: OMG!

Other celebrity siblings:  Ashlee and Jessica Simpson, Drew and Nick Lachey, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, Candace and Kirk Cameron, the four Baldwin brothers, Owen and Luke Wilson, Venus and Serena Williams, Paris and Nicky Hilton, the Kardashian sisters, Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, Joan and John Cusack, Hayley Mills and her twin (just kidding!).

Can you think of anymore?  I know there are a lot more out there, I just can't think of anymore at the moment.

Obsession

I can't complain too much.  I have obsessions too:  shoes, books (that I never end up reading, or not yet anyway), sunglasses (Ray-Bans), purses, and jeans - just to name a few.  But right now W is OBSESSED with two characters, Moose and Zee.  They're the "filler" characters who have segments between the shows on Nick Jr.  You have no idea how many times a day my daughter hands me the remote control saying, "Moose!  Moose!"  What happened to girls liking Disney princesses?  Or is W not at that stage yet?  Maybe I should start letting her watch all the classic Disney movies?  My favorite was always The Little Mermaid, actually it still is!

Zee and Moose A. Moose

vs.

Ariel, Flounder and Sebastian

SAD

So I agree with Pretty in Pink Megan, SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) is in full swing!  Does anyone else suffer from this?  It's seriously an actual disorder.  This cold, winter weather has got to go!

So, as I sit drinking one of my Valentine's gifts, Cakebread white wine (yummo!), cuddling with my hubby and about to watch Lost, which is not that bad of an evening, I must say...

In my dreams, I wish I was here!

 

Bora Bora

Wearing this!

Trina Turk 'Lady Belle' Dress

 

Tory Burch Miller Thongs

And drinking this!

With my hubby, of course!  Baby girls?  You may have to stay at home for this dream trip.  Haha.  Where would you be?

Natalee Holloway Murderer Comes Clean?

Or is he telling more lies?  Who knows what to believe about this case anymore?!

Click: Natalee Holloway Confession Branded 'Fantasy'

Can you believe after all this time, he finally decided to admit it, that he helped get rid of her body?  I remember watching a Dateline NBC show on this last year, and an undercover cop got him on video admitting to it, but van der Sloot got off, saying that he was coerced by the cop to say that.  It shows him on undercover video telling everything, all the details.  In that story, he even said she was still breathing when he took her out to dump her body.  But then there was also another story later on, of how he sold her into "white slavery!"  What?!  Lets hope this time he is confessing the real truth...but I don't think he is.

Her poor family!  There is no way they will find her body now. He said he dumped it in a nearby Aruba swamp?  But he can't tell the authorities which one?  Very fishy.  I feel so sorry for her family.  What will they do now?  At least there is SOME closure now, but NOT the kind they wanted.  Many prayers for her family!

Wedding Shower

My friend and I hosted a wedding shower for one of my close friends this past Saturday.  She's getting married in a month, and I'm one of her bridesmaids.  It was held at my friend's mother's house.  My daughters came along too.  Many of my friends were invited, and a lot of them had never even met E, so I knew I couldn't leave the girls at home.  There were over 30 friends and family there, so it was a great shower, and a great turn-out!  Here are some of the pictures I took.  Unfortunately, I didn't take more because my camera's battery died.

 

The lovely tablescape

  

The soon-to-be newlyweds

  

My good friend (I was in her wedding too!) holding E (wearing her third outfit of the day, by 11:00am!  Lots of spit-up that day, not sure why.  This last outfit she's wearing was my friend's sister's son's outfit.  Oh well.)

 

  Tired W, relaxing in the rocking chair

 Some of my friends I grew up with in Charlotte.  It's been so long since I've seen many of them!

It was a surprisingly warm, sunny day on Saturday, so it was nice to wear something a little bit lighter, than heavy winter clothes.  I'm just hoping the wedding day's weather is just as beautiful!

Baby Dolls

My mother's friend got E a sweet Madame Alexander Baby Huggums doll.  My older daughter opened it for her yesterday.  It is just precious!  However, I think I'll wait a little while before I let her start playing with it.  Otherwise, it may become W's doll, if we aren't careful.  :)

W got an American Doll Bitty Baby from the same friend when she was born, but it says 3+, so we're going to wait a little while longer to give it to her, maybe for her birthday this summer?  She hasn't really shown an interest in baby dolls quite yet, and she already has two Madame Alexander baby dolls.  She got her dolls from my mother and my mother-in-law.  Also, my mom just gave me my baby doll cradle, that my grandmother made for me when I was little.  I'm planning on putting it in W's room with her baby dolls.  Maybe then she'll start showing more interest in her dolls.  We'll see...

Font Change

I spent most of my relaxing evening watching the Olympics and changing my blog font.  If you have a blog, and want to change your font, go to Kevin and Amanda's Blog.  I just found their blog by googling them, and they have a fantastic tutorial on how to do it.  The fun font I used was called Mr. and Mrs. Popsicle.  It was a hard decision.  They have so many creative ones to choose from.  Good luck!

Tomorrow I'll post pics from the wedding shower I threw today, for one of my best friends, and maybe my header font will be different by then too!

It was a beautiful day in Charlotte today!  We took advantage of the beautiful weather and went outside a lot.  W loved getting out FINALLY, and loved playing at the park.  We're hoping that tomorrow will be just as nice!

My New Uggs!

Thank you SISTERS!  I know you have no idea what I'm talking about, but with all of your gift certificates for my birthday and Christmas, to Victoria's Secret, I was able to buy these Ugg Classic Short Boots.  Can you believe they carry them?  They only ended up costing me $47 because shipping was free too!

In a previous post I said I wanted some new slippers, well these will do as my new house slippers.  I'm hoping they'll last a lot longer than my Old Navy ones, that lasted oh about THREE months!  Holes were worn out in both slippers, and the foam was getting all over the house!  I know I told you I wanted to get some other items from VS (you know what I mean) but I decided to get something I'd use a lot more.  I hope y'all don't mind.  And thanks again!

Vineyard Vines Special

Time to take advantage of a great deal.  Vineyard Vines is offering FREE SHIPPING, with no minimum purchase.  So even if you want just a Vineyard Vines COOZIE for $5, you pay only $5.  No tax, no shipping.  Not bad!

Secret offer code:  SURPRISE.  Offer expires February 21st at 12:00pm.

And isn't this a cute Vineyard Vines shirt?  

Very Carolina "Tarheel" blue.  

I love their men's shirts!

This dress is so pretty too, very Lilly-ish.
Pink and Green!
It's called the Jupiter Dress.

 

HAPPY SHOPPING!

Lent

So begins the season of Lent.  I was glad to hear all your suggestions on what to give up.  I've decided to give up being idle (no, Mama, not American Idol, that's what she thought I said when I told her).  Basically, I'm going to try and do something everyday that makes me sweat.  I need some exercise, and hopefully this will push me to get started on it.  I ordered the Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred DVD last week, and it came in on Saturday.  I'm hoping to do it everyday, and then 10 more days after that.  :)  I tried it on Monday, and she kicked my butt, so I already know it's going to be worth it!  I'm still sore, but that's a good thing.  Right?

Good luck with Lent!  I know you can do it.  If He can fast for 40 days and nights, we surely can give up a little something for that long!

Meeting the 2009 Athlete of the Year

Well, sort of...

So, last night as you know, we went to CANTINA, a Mexican restaurant here in Charlotte.  After my sweet daughter was tired of sitting in her highchair for about an hour, she wanted to get down.  I let her down, and she went from booth to booth, trying to climb in the empty ones and saying "Hey!" to the ones that people were sitting in (very social girl).  She did this for a little while, and at one point, she started climbing into a circle booth in the corner of the restaurant, actually directly behind where our group of 10 was sitting.  I noticed a couple was sitting in the other side of the booth, and as W tried to climb in the booth, the man said "C'mon on up, you want to join us?"  I didn't want to bother them, so I glanced up to apologize and noticed it was JIMMIE JOHNSON and his wife, Chandra.  So funny!  I was like "I'm sorry," and they didn't seem to mind.  I mean what else are you supposed to say without looking too starstruck.  I grabbed W in my arms, and all I said was, "W, can you say "Hey Jimmie!"" and she said, "Hey!" So cute!  And he said "Hey!" to her back, and then we went on our way, and W continued to wander around the restaurant.

The whole ride home I was thinking of something better I could have said, but after everything, I think that was the best thing to do.  That way, they could still enjoy their privacy and not have others around us wonder what was going on, and then realize it was Jimmie Johnson too.  How crazy though, that they can go out in Charlotte, and be practically unrecognizable, even sitting open, where everyone could see him.  I mean they had to have come by our table and everything, and no one, even at the tables around us, made a big deal about it, or even looked up.  The other thing I couldn't believe is that this is right in the middle of race season, I mean the Daytona 500 was just last Sunday.  Alright, enough rambling...

Off to get ready for bible study.

Oh, and Providence Methodist is the preschool we've been accepted to so far.

Pink Martinis and Pearls Giveaway

Check out Pink Martinis and Pearls blog.  She's giving away four cute little bunny cookies, and will send them to you the week before Easter, personalized however you'd like, if you win.  Good luck!

Happy Mardi Gras!

I hope everyone is enjoying Fat Tuesday, pigging out, before Lent starts.  I will be enjoying my Fat Tuesday tonight at a Mexican restaurant, CANTINA, celebrating a friend's 30th birthday.  Bring on the chips and salsa!  A margarita will definitely be in hand, as well.

I will be also celebrating the fact that my daughter just got accepted into a preschool!  I know that sounds crazy, but it's pretty competitive here, almost like applying to college.  At most of the better church programs you have to pay a NON-REFUNDABLE application fee, around $100, and hope and pray that your child gets in.  They don't have developmental tests for the children or anything, only a lottery system, so I guess you could say I won the lottery today.  :)  There are two other preschools that I haven't heard from yet, but it's such a sigh of relief to know that she's been accepted!

Now on to Lent...

What's everyone giving up?

I'll let you know mine tomorrow, I'm still deciding...

Inspiring Win for Canada's First Gold

 

What an inspirational way to win gold for Canada's first gold medal at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics!  Alexandre Bilodeau won for his whole country, but most importantly for his older brother, Frederic, who suffers from cerebral palsy.  Watching this last night was AMAZING.  Everyone was cheering for Alexandre, no matter what country you were from.  Every time that he skied, the camera always shot to his older brother cheering him on, explaining that Alexandre always said that Frederic was his inspiration for competing and wanting to win.  He even said that if he did win gold, he would win it for his brother.  How sweet and loving is that!  Okay, don't cry yet.

From NBC.com:
"On a night made for raucous celebration -- red mittens thumping, little boys in the stands hugging their moms, even an Olympic volunteer standing on the course, post-race, waving a Canadian flag -- there was a poignant scene, as well: The one of Bilodeau's brother, Frederic, who suffers from cerebral palsy, cheering in a wheelchair near the bottom of the course behind the fence.
Bilodeau said his brother helped him keep things in perspective all these years, during which he has won a world championship, but was also stung by an 11th-place finish in Turin.
"Even if it's raining, I'll take it, I'll go train," Bilodeau said. "He doesn't have that chance, and he's having a smile every morning he wakes up."
Bilodeau wasn't leaving anything on the course for this one."

Further, in his interview after his win, he said that when he didn't want to train, he would think of his brother and think how he was unable to even walk, and that there was no excuse for him not to train.  He HAD to do it, because he was physically able and blessed with that.  Alexandre said his brother was always so supportive of him and optimistic that he would win.  In another competition, Alexandre told his parents that it was fine if they couldn't make it, but that they better put Frederic on that plane to come watch him compete.

That's some kind of love there.  I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day, sharing it with ones you love the most!  And maybe you are enjoying this day more, with a day off, or a husband's day off.

Happy Birthday Mr. Presidents! 

Here's one of my loves enjoying the snow from this past weekend.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day, sharing it with the ones you love the most!

We joined a new church today, and I was so eager to wear my Valentine-y new Lilly dress.  I was so bummed when I put it on this morning.  There was a small stain on it.  I guess I didn't see it when I bought it.  Boo.  Returning it tomorrow. 

Anyway, we LOVE our new church, and are so excited to become active members!

Ruffles!

Got this little black Nick & Mo jacket in the mail today! Love it! On sale for $45 from Nordstrom, can't beat that! They also carry it in pink and green.

Awareness Test

Try this! It takes all of thirty seconds.

You'll be amazed at how wrong you are. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pK0BQ9CUHk

Okay, even more snow...

After we arrived back from Julie and Jimmy's house around 9:30...

W and I walked home in it! L drove himself and E home.

Eating My Words

As I'm baking some cornbread for a dinner tonight, I'm watching the snow fall. Spoke to soon!

Where's the SNOW?

I know I should be happy with the ONE snow we've had this winter season because usually Charlotte doesn't get much anyway, but right now the weathermen are driving me crazy! Every state around us has had snow from Texas to Georgia to DC and on up the east coast. But where is ours? Of course the mountains of NC are getting it, but according to our weather station it's supposed to be arriving now, and I just don't see it. It smells like it, looks like it, but so far, nothing!

The babies and I headed out this morning to Discovery Place and W loved it, especially the water table. Glad I brought an extra change of clothes for her. They're both wiped out now, and are still asleep after 2 1/2 hours. Glad I can do some online shopping! My old, worn-out slippers were thrown in the trash yesterday, and now I'm secretly wanting some UGG slippers.


Valentine's Day is just two days away, right?

I'll keep you posted if we started getting the white stuff. Otherwise, hope everyone enjoys the opening ceremony tonight! Stay warm!