A Scary Story

Why do people like to be scared? I am not one to sit down and watch a scary movie.  I do not like to read scary books.  I literally had to stop watching Dateline, 20/20 and Law & Order because they are just too scary for me.

I do not like to be scared......which is probably why I do not like Halloween.  I need to see people's faces. I don't like the whole mask thing.  I am not a big fan of random people ringing my doorbell and expecting me to actually answer.  I have never wanted to haul my own family around to stranger's homes.  When my kids were little we would literally get them all dressed up and take them to the four houses in our culdesac and then we were done!  Fortunately for me, my terrified genes passed right along to them and they were ready to get back to the safety of our own living room too.

But in trying to keep with the spirit of the season I thought I would tell you about a day that I was scared crazy.....or crazier.....whatever, it was frightening.

It all began on one Saturday morning.  It was in the spring.  It was just after Easter.  I remember this because I was putting away the Easter decorations.  In true "can't miss a sale" fashion, I had gone to Hobby Lobby a few days before and bought some grass for the baskets and a couple of other things to have for the next year.  I had also bought myself a brand new storage tote to pack away all my Easter stuff.  I left all of this in the garage when I purchased it.  So here I am up and at it on Saturday.  I head out to the garage to get my new storage tote.  I stand in the garage and unload the other items I had purchased the same day so I could bring in my empty tote and prepare it to be packed away in the attic.

I pack everything in the bin, do some laundry, dust a few surfaces, grab the kitchen trash to drop in the can outside and a letter to go in the mailbox.  I head back to the garage, but this time I let up the garage door.  I drop the trash in the bin and go put the letter in the box.  I come back in, close the garage and do a few more chores.  I tell my husband the tote is all ready to go to the attic.......but wait, it doesn't have a label.  I go back into the garage to get a label.......and there........right as I open the door........on my monogrammed rug......is a POSSUM!!!!!! I am perfectly fine if you feel the need to be proper and call it an OPOSSUM.  But when you see that little ugly critter 6 inches away from your foot, trust me you call it a Possum and a few other choice words.

Go ahead.....look at this thing


and be as proper as you can.  I literally just died a little copying and pasting that.  I couldn't even ctrl C on the picture that had the tail in it.  The tail just completely takes me out.  This really is Halloween.

I screamed.  It screamed.  I slammed the door and ran back inside.  I lost both of my shoes in the process.  I am running down the hall and my husband starts running AWAY from me......like in the other direction.  When I finally catch up to him I scream "There is a possum in the garage!"  He laughs........I will get back to that mistake in just a minute.  Both of my kids have locked themselves in the office.  I cook for these people and no one is coming to my aid.......until I hear my mother calling my name in a soothing tone and saying "where are you?, are you ok?, did you see a mouse?"  I yell back "No it's a POSSUM!" and as any good mother would do, she turns and high tails it downstairs, far away from me and my critter crisis.

So my husband is very slowly getting dressed and giggling.  I know the garage is closed.  I know the critter is not going anywhere but it still feels like an appropriate time for speed.  I decide right then that as soon as I can figure out how to get my car out of the garage, I am going to see a lawyer.

He finally heads out to the garage with a tennis racket and a baseball bat.  My children have come to their senses.  They realize I am about to sell this house and they are going to have to pack all their belongings and move.  So now they have become helpful and gotten him weapons.

My cousin comes from down the street and assists my husband in catching the thing in a box, which they put into the back of his truck.  He supposedly drives it off to some undisclosed location and releases it.  The location is undisclosed because he knows that I know he was not gone long enough for me to feel the wretched creature is far enough away from me.

I didn't go see a lawyer after all.......you know the whole vows thing finally changed my mind.

Here's the thing.  I went into the garage with the doors closed three times that morning which means me and the possum were closed in together.  Y'all if he had been in my storage tote or popped his head out at any other time, this story may have ended very differently.

I am certain I will be having some routine medical work done in 10 years and the doctor will say it looks like you may have had a heart attack in the past.....to which I will reply, yes, it was April 20, 2013.....the day of the POSSUM!

And that is my true, scary story for your Halloween.  Feel free to tell it around a campfire or at Target.

Enjoy your Halloween.....I will be on the couch under a throw.

My Warby Parker experience

If you don't wear glasses or have glass wearers in your family, you might be wondering what is

Warby Parker......or even if you wear glasses you might be asking the same thing.

  

 Either way you might be interested in this because even if you don't need prescription eyeglasses they also have sunglasses and we ALL need those......

Well Warby Parker started as an online eye glass company.  The business model is built around you selecting 5 different frames from their online selection.  They mail you those for free to try on at home.  You do have to put in a credit card number, but they don't charge you.  I guess that is for that random person who won't return them.  You get to keep them for 5 days and then you mail them back with the free shipping label they send you.

You can make your selection, upload your prescription and they make your glasses and send they them to you.

My daughters have done theirs using the online selection process.  But now Warby Parker has opened a few stores and I took advantage of the one in Birmingham.  I needed to actually try on everything, plus my prescription calls for progressive lenses and I was nervous about getting the measurement right for that on my own.  I personally think if you are wearing single vision lenses it may be a little easier.

Anyway they have a quiz you can take online to get some recommendations of which to try.  Here are a couple they suggested for me

Sims

NARROW FIT

Durand

NARROW FIT

Millie

NARROW FIT

Daisy

NARROW FIT

Daisy

Ok, I thought those were all reasonable choices and I tried them all in the store along with about 10 others.  I finally settled on the Daisy Narrow fit but I got it in a different color.

I got this one

This color is called Tea Rose Fade.  I don't think I would have picked them on line but I loved them in the store.  

Here they are in person so you can see how they really look

Ok, so now I am going to show you me wearing them

It only took me snapping 437 selfies to get one I would show you.  

Anyway, my glasses were mailed to me in about 7 days.  I took them to a local store and they were nice enough to make the slight adjustments I needed for the perfect fit.

I hope to get some new sunglasses also.

Hope you have a great week!

It is Time - Hallmark Christmas Movies!!!

Well here we go.  It is time for a girl wearing a stunning winter coat to meet a boy of her dreams.....but first they must have a slight misunderstanding and part ways before coming back together in the last 15 minutes to live happily ever after....


It is Hallmark Christmas Movie Time!!!!

Honestly, I don't mean to make fun of the predictable plot.  I am in shock and awe that these writers can even continue to come up with all these various story lines for the exact plot to play out.  Well this year is no disappointment.  Hallmark is rolling out 40 new titles......impressive, Hallmark, very impressive.

Click Here for Printable

You all know how I like a good printable. I am not 100% sure the dates and titles are absolutely

correct. There were like four websites that had some slight variation so I did the best I could. The main thing to remember is starting THIS WEEKEND the movies are on!!! The general structure is movies will debut on the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Channel on Thursday and Fridays and on the Hallmark Channel on Saturdays and Sundays. Grab a throw and enjoy some good, predictable, yet highly entertaining Christmas movies!!!! Have a wonderful weekend!

Holiday Season - it is my jam!

First let me say a big thanks for all the nice emails about Monday's post.  Apparently we have all been there and could relate.  I always love to know when you can relate to what I am saying so I thank you for the feedback.

Now on to today's post:

Y'all, I am thriving right now.  This is my season.  The weather is finally cool.  I may have purchased another Christmas tree. The stores are putting out the Christmas merchandise and I am literally just driving store to store, perusing the aisles and taking it ALL in.

When I am not in the stores I am sitting on my couch reading every page of these

I am especially excited about tomorrow.  Tomorrow is Sweet Pineapple's Holiday Open House. You guys know how much I love shopping at this store.

 Listen, you should make a list of all the gifts you need to buy, including stocking stuffers and go knock out the majority of that list......you will not be sorry.  Just think in seven short days it will be November......and we all know it will be Valentine's Day shortly after that.  So now is our time.

There's great candles and gifts for the home

Beautiful artwork and inspirational gifts

Great clothing

accessories......

and even stuff for the guys

(all photo credit: @thesweetpineapple)

The craziest thing happened to me......I have been running from here to there and sometimes carrying this tote or that tote and changing purses and all manners of crazy.  Somehow in all of that I misplaced the book I write all my gift selections in.  I have literally crawled under furniture, dumped out luggage and tote bags and dug through my magazine stash.  I looked high and low and I FOUND it!!!!  It will be with me at the open house tomorrow.......hope to see you there! It is going to be great!

It is Safe to Leave the Room

Recently I had the opportunity to be around some close acquaintances......I would be stretching it to say friends, because these are not "my people" in that sense.  However, we have known each other several years.  We know each other well enough to inquire about each other's families.  We know each other well enough to tease and laugh together.  You get the idea.....this is not the group I call at 4:00 in the morning about a personal tragedy, however, they would be on the call list, but just much further down.

So here's the thing I noticed.  We all sat and talked and hung out, but as soon as one person would leave the room, they would become the topic of conversation.....their secrets shared, opinions given about their anything and everything.  Who knows if any of it was true.  The person was never in the room to defend or deny.  And quite frankly, it just felt mean, weird and totally unnecessary.

I thought, wow, I better cut back on my diet coke consumption......this doesn't seem like a good group to leave to use the restroom.

And that thought alone made me feel sad for this group.  It made me feel sad that people use embarrassing others and tearing others down to lift themselves.  It made me ashamed to be in this group at all.  I wasn't the only one, there were one or two others who tried to steer the conversation to more generic, less offensive topics.

People can be weird.  Adults can sometimes be very childish.  And sadly, we can all feel like we are in middle school again.  We can only do so much with the actions of others.  Sure we can call them out.  Sure we can ignore them.  Sure we can distract from them with pleasantries.  But who they decide to be is totally up to them.

But here is what each of us can do......we can be that person with whom it is safe to leave the room.  Go ahead and go to the restroom, we will chat among ourselves about recipes we should share.  Go ahead and grab something from the kitchen, we will toss ideas around about the best thrift stores in the area.  And please, don't mind us, we will just discuss the best retailers with free shipping.  Whatever it is you need to do, please know it is Safe for you to Leave the Room.

Be someone with whom it is safe to leave the room.......the whole world will be better for it.

I want to be that safe person.

I hope you will make an effort to do the same for your friends.

Attention friends and family, you may now move about the world freely.  You are safe here!

Have a great week!

Friday Retail - Pink Edition

It is October and you all know what that means, it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and EVERYTHING goes pink this month.  So many of us have been touched by this disease directly or through a close friend or family member.

So ladies, make sure you are doing your self-checks!

Make sure you get your mammogram!

Make sure you listen to your own body and insist on good care!

Now when you have completed all of the above, I think you deserve a little reward.  So when you schedule or actually have your mammogram, treat yourself with one of these pink goodies....

A great sweater to be dressed up or down.  Also a great length for leggings or skinny jeans

Textured Trim Pullover

Want a more casual look

Universal Thread Sweatshirt

I have an olive one like this from last year......and it is a great throw on shirt, plus it is super soft and comfy

Perhaps you just want to get cozy and stay home on the couch.....so enjoy these

Cozy PJs

If you decide to snuggle up at home you might want to grab this

Throw

I have shared this throw so many times.  It is so soft and just begging for you to take a nap with it.

So take care of yourself and then grab a little pink reward.....you deserve it!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Fall Decor - Part 2

Ok, we have finally gotten out of the 90's and I think we are officially in our 3 weeks of Fall......apparently that is about all we will be getting this year.  Regardless, it has spurred another friend of mine to decorate her porch and graciously share a couple of pictures with all of us.

If you missed Part 1 of the Fall Decor post, click here.

And now for Denise's great decorating..... I must tell you, if I ever move I am totally considering brick color that works great for holiday decorating.  I love Denise's brick color.  It is the perfect backdrop.  She really did it up by adding those great fall pillows and I LOVE her wreath.

Apparently she is a better mum mom than I am.  Her mums look loved and healthy.  Maybe I will ask her to foster mine and see if she can revive them.

And then take a look at the other end of her porch

I love these little tables with the lanterns and are those grapevine pumpkins????!!!! Too cute.  Thanks so much for inspiring us with your cute porch decor, Denise.  And seriously, can you help me with these mums?

My family keeps asking if I am going to throw them away.......I am determined to get some blooming action out of them.  Denise, if you have some tips I am open to hearing them.

Now here's a few things I added indoors ( unlike growing mums I thrive on indoor projects) to keep us in the fall spirit.

I added this fall blend to our little coffee station

Fall Coffee

and then I added

Apple Cider

because not all of us are coffee drinkers.  I picked up some cinnamon sticks to add to the fall fun

Cinnamon Sticks

And lastly, our favorite fall snack is on the counter....... a big jar of

Candy Corn

Mixed with

Peanuts

Listen, if sweet and salty is your jam too.......get in on this action.  Now my friend Melanie told me she does this mixture too but she also adds in

Plain M&Ms

Now oddly enough chocolate is something that lasts at my house for a really long time.  I don't have a lot of big chocolate eaters......so I don't add the m&ms but I thought I would mention it in case your household would like the addition.

Happy Fall, my friends.  May you decorate and enjoy good snacks!

Friday Retailing - Old Navy Edition

There are lots of good sales this weekend with Monday being a holiday, but I am going to focus on Old Navy today. They always have very affordable items that are very on trend....and just fun.  So here are a few things to consider if you need a fall closet boost

First up, this color block sweater

Soft brushed crew neck

and if color block is not your thing, it also comes in several solid options.

Or there is this funnel neck sweater

Textured Funnel Neck

I really like funnel neck sweaters and there are several color options in this one.

Another sweater that I really enjoy is an open front cardigan with no buttons, like this one

Open Front Long Line

There are only about 4 color options in this one and they are all soft muted colors like this mauve.

Now lets hit a few cute jackets and I will let you go start enjoying the weekend

I am loving this read plaid coat

Plaid Coat

This coat looks like it could be in a Hallmark movie and that makes me want to own it.

And this leopard print in truffle is too cute

Soft-Brushed Leopard

I am not sure if it is the black pants and white t-shirt that drew me to this coat or not.....because you all know that is my uniform of choice......but I like the leopard coat a lot.

And finally,

Corduroy Jacket

I feel like I owned this in the 8th grade.  I am not sure if I should feel flattered that so many things I wore growing up are back in style.....or worried that I am old enough that things I wore growing up are making their second style appearance.  Either way, it is cute and I might own it again.

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Fall Porch Decor

Bless Fall's heart..... I feel like it woke up late and has been trying to get itself together to get here, but has just been running sooooo late.  Fall, it is ok, we all oversleep occasionally but we are really going to need you to get it together.  I think several of us may be on round two or three of fall plants because the heat is just relentless.  Fortunately, some of you have pushed through and even been willing to share your Fall Porch Decor with us.

First up, is my friend Melanie.  Melanie would not be deterred she decorated early and beautifully.  I think her brick color is the perfect backdrop for a fall scene.

She has all my favorite things, plantings, tin items, pumpkins and honestly the sunflowers.

And just around her hedges.......

She added a fun fall flag and more pumpkins.

I love it.  Wouldn't you feel welcomed approaching her door?  I totally would.  Thanks for welcoming through pictures, Melanie, it is so lovely.

Next up, is sweet Taylor. She also would not be deterred by summer hanging on like crazy.  She has two small children and still manages to know what season it is and that is amazing to me.  Check out her front porch

I absolutely love the sentiment on her rug.  And I really want a large wooden sign like that.  My favorite thing about her porch is how personalized it is.  I love the "M" on her wreath and the special date on her sign.  

So very cute, Taylor, I totally want to ring your doorbell and come in for a cup of cider.......and I wouldn't mind holding those sweet kiddos too!  Thanks for sharing with us.

Lastly, summer and I battled it out with some mums.  Summer won.  But I persevered with some black eye susans.......take that, summer.  

Here's my street view

and here's the view from the front door

I bought these wooden planters from Wal Mart........no, I did not go to the store.  You all know Wal Mart and I have a fragile relationship.  But I did order these planters on line. You get all three for under $60 and free shipping.

As  you can see I did a mound of pumpkins and gourds in the largest one and planted two black-eyed susans in the other two.

I really like how they turned out.

All the weather people say the temps are turning....so if you haven't decorated yet maybe it is safe to do so now.  I am still watering those mums......we will see if they revive or not.

Happy Decorating!

See you back on Friday!

September Book Review

Welcome in, ladies, to our online book club.  Thanks for sending me recommendations.  Thanks also for telling me what to stay away from.  I had a good run this month.....please allow me to share what I read.

First up,

Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

Ok, the title really drew me in on this one.  I like LOVE and I like WORDS.  Felt like a winner.  Essentially these two kids bond over their love for reading.  They both find each other at a time when they each need a friend.  Now the story is lovely.  It is well developed and I connected and felt for the characters.  But.....I am so sorry there has to be a but.......but there has to be one.  There is so much sex in this book.  It has undertones of it.  Very explicit detailed scenes and oh there is just sooooo much of it.  Which is really a shame because the plot and story line are really good and to me this book would have been so much better without all of that.  It just didn't need it.  I do think it is worth the read.  There's so much more and a really good story.  I just want you to be prepared.  You'll love the story....and who am I to judge....you may love it all.

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

What can you say about a great Hilderbrand book.  The setting is good.  The plot is meaty and it is, of course, well written.  The first several chapters really take focus.  There are lots of characters....lots.  And I almost needed to draw myself a little diagram about who was married to who, who dated who, who was related to who......you get the idea.  So just be prepared to concentrate until all of that comes together and then it turns into a great story of friends, family, love and loss.

Slightly South of Simple by Kristy Woodson Harvey

I LOVED this one!!!!! So definitely if you only read one of these, pick this one.  Essentially, a mom is living a nice quiet life with her own little routine. Then because of various life events all three of her adult daughters and their kids end up back in the house with her again.  I loved all these characters.  I loved the southern speak.  It is a great easy read but has substance and humor.  It truly is the perfect kind of book for me.  The best part is there are two more in the series.....and yes, yes, yes.......I cannot wait to read them.



Make or Break by Catherine Bennetto.

I really enjoyed this one too.  One sister is single and needs help with her two kids.  The mom and other sister spend all their free time helping her out.  They have built quite a little safe scenario living like this.  Well simple events like a retreat and a vacation shake up life as they have known it.  There are big secrets, self-discovery and some really likable and fun characters.  I was invested in this one from page one to the end.  Definitely worth the read.  I think you will enjoy this one too.

I hope you are reading good stuff.  If you read any of these, let me know.  I would love to hear what you think of them.

Happy Reading!

What to Watch now.....

We have been watching Big Brother all summer.  Big Brother came on 3 times a week.....yep it was pretty much like a part time job.  We don't get to watch TV as a family every night because of everyone's schedule but we do like a good family entertainment time.  Now that Big Brother has gone off we were looking for a new show.  My nephew did a lot of research, brought us all kind of options and narrowed it down to three.

The criteria was
1) No one has watched any of the episodes
2) The show had to have more than one season
3) We all agree on the show and no one watches any episodes ahead

Here is what we narrowed it down to



Peaky Blinders - Peaky Blinders is a gangster family epic set in Birmingham, England in 1919, several months after the end of the First World War in November 1918. The story centres on the Peaky Blinders gang and their ambitious and highly cunning boss Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy).

Our second option was 


Arrested Development - Michael Bluth, a widower with a 13-year-old son, named George-Michael, is forced to keep his large and dysfunctional family together after his father is arrested for shifty accounting practices at the family-owned conglomerate and the Bluth family assets are frozen, making each member of the eccentric family panic.

Our third option


Queen of the South - Settling in Dallas she looks to become the country's reigning drug smuggler and to avenge her lover's murder. Queen of the South tells the powerful story of Teresa Mendoza, a woman who is forced to run and seek refuge in America after her drug-dealing boyfriend is unexpectedly murdered in Mexico.

Once he got it narrowed down to the three we watched the trailer for each and all voted by secret ballot.......well as secret as a vote with a handful of people whose handwriting we can all recognize can be.

Since we all go to bed shortly after our nightly tv time we unanimously went for something with minimal violence and maximum comedy.

We will be watching Arrested Development.  I'll have to let you know how it goes.  If you've watched it, let me know what you think.  I know sometimes you have to watch an entire season to really get into it.  So we are committed to Season 1 and we will see how it goes.

Tell me what we should consider next......remember it has to be something the whole family will enjoy.

Have a great weekend.