To my Hero

From the moment you held me in your arms, the bond was formed. That first photo of us is one of my prized possessions. From that first moment, to nearly 32 years later, you have been my rock. And no matter how rough your exterior to outsiders, I know it's just a front and that you're a marshmallow with a heart of gold. And now my readers know too.

You taught me the meaning of hard work, you taught me how to go after what I wanted, and you taught me how to do it while being graceful - to myself and to others


And no matter what I've done, whether it's good or bad, you've always let me know how proud I make you. The thing is, you make me proud. You make me want to be better, and you make it so easy to succeed in life; after all, you showed me how it's done. 

So happy birthday to my hero. You're really the best dad a girl could have. 


 

Snowpocalypse, Shaq Style

Courtesy of The Boston Globe

It's been snowing in Boston. A LOT. The graph above demonstrates how much snow we've gotten, compared to the beloved newest Celtics member, Shaq (why we love him so much I'll never understand.) 


As you can see, we typically get an average of 41.8 inches. Can you see what we've gotten so far? That's 60.3 inches my friends. The scariest part is that we've still got a few months to go, and those 60 inches came in the past 5 weeks. Scary, right? 


And here's the craziest part: we don't have a snow blower. Yeah, you heard me. That means we've had to shovel those 60 inches. And we have a corner house, so that means 60 inches on two sidewalks, PLUS 60 inches from our driveway. At this rate friends, my arms are going to look AMAZING when it's time to wear sundresses, just like the Material Girl.

Courtesy of Seattle Pi

Love Actually, Sort Of

Borrowing this from A Cup of Jo. It's so sweet, and reminds me that 1) Love is hard, especially when it's new and 2) Love is hard, even when you've loved the person for years. 

I say don't hold back. If you love someone, tell them.

Ahoy!

Oh lovelies, so sorry for being tapped out last week. Remember when I got promoted and I was super excited because it's a goal I've been working toward for years? Well, I'm still excited and proud of what I've achieved, but it's come with with a greater workload and I'm putting in 12 hour days to keep up. It won't be like this forever, but I've felt like I've been working to keep my head above water.

I've clearly got water on the brain, so it's fitting that I've been craving all things nautical. I've been loving the nautical theme for a while since I got this Shabby Apple dress last summer, but the revival of all things nautical started earlier this week when I got an Ann Taylor e-mail on spring arrivals, and most items had a nautical theme. Think tons of stripes, wide leg pants and polka dots. Perfect, no?

Apparently I'm not the only one who's in love because the collection sold out online within days. Deciding I had to try to snag some of the striped tees, I headed to Ann Taylor last night and got the last red and white striped tee in my size - yippee! I'm imaging lots of fun and various outfits including black skirts, black tights and bright red pumps (thankfully I own three pairs of those!) I'm also thinking about adding some nautical fun to my adult spring break trip this year, something like the bikini below.

So what about you? Do you dig all things nautical?

American Eagle

A Muse to Someone - My First Blogger Award

Woo hoo y'all! I just got my first blogger award, from my dear pal Becky - apparently she finds me stylish (thank you love!) 


I'm not one for long speeches since I don't like talking about how great I am, but I do love it when others talk about how great I am (just kidding folks. sort of. not really.) But I am honored to be given an award from someone who thinks I'm stylish, mostly because I never felt stylish until the past year or two. 

Wait. I just realized that I have to talk about myself. Thems the rules of receiving this award. Can I just get seven of my friends to tell you something about me? No? Ok, fine. Here goes:

1. I'm naturally shy. This may come as a shock to those that know me, but put me in a room full of strangers and I'm more awkward than Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles. Yep. awkward. But, once I get to know you (or introductions have been made) I can't shut up. So be warned if you don't know me. If you like quiet types, perhaps we shouldn't meet. 

2. I'm a cry baby. I cry at everything. Commercials on TV. Other people's engagement stories. Sappy movies. Basically, almost anything that elicits an "aww" reaction usually means I'm in tears. Even more tragic than crying at everything? I'm so embarrassed at crying at everything, that I will try to hold it in. That means my nose starts snotting up (yeah, sorry for that image) and I get a huge lump in my throat, which usually means a release and even more tears, which is even more embarrassing. Yet I continue to try this technique, assuring myself it will work this time. 

3. I'm terribly afraid of heights. I'm not afraid to go up high places, but God almighty, I had better not look down. If I do, then I'm in trouble. If memory serves me, the Ghostbar in Vegas has a clear, plexiglass cutout in the middle of the balcony outside the bar that looks all the way down to the basement. I made the mistake one trip of standing on it and looking down. I'm getting panicky just writing that. 

4. I failed out of college. I had such a good time partying my first year that I didn't make the grades and had to sit out the summer session, and went back on probation. I also had to take a class that taught me how to study (pretty ironic coming from someone who cried when I made a B in high school, right?) It wasn't fun, but I worked hard to make up for it, and I will make sure my future children don't repeat that mistake. 

5. I dislike cupcake gifts. I make cupcakes on the side. I love making cupcakes. I do not, however, love getting cupcake-themed gifts. I'm so much more than cupcakes, and while I appreciate that people recognize my talent, I'm over the cupcake themed gifts. 

6. I'm easy to please. It probably doesn't sound it, but my favorite gift from Stephen was when he threw me a surprise b-day party. It didn't cost much, but I'll never forget it. 

7. I LOVE football. It's a southern thing to be sure, but Lord do I love football. There is nothing I'd rather do than spend my entire Saturday and Sunday sitting on the couch watching that game.

So there you have it. Thank you again to Becky for selecting me as a stylish blogger. I'm sharing the wealth with one of my all-time favorite style blogs, the Bon Bon Rose Girls. Kristin and Meg tempt me daily with drool-worthy fashion, so it's only right that I nominate them too.

Military Inspiration

Maybe it's because I was in ROTC in high school (including the all boys' drill team!,) but lately I am inspired by all things military.

Feeding my obsession is none other than the maestro, Monsieur Louboutin. Now, I know he's one of, if not THE best shoe designers out there, but holy wow did he nail these boots. If only money were no object (so if you recently won the lottery and you're reading this) I'd snag these beauties up before you could say "Christian Louboutin." So if you know someone who is feeling generous, I know someone who's looking for a handout. :)

Christian Louboutin Ronfifi Supra - hot damn!

Christian Louboutin Loubout in Winter White

 

2011 - The Year of Color

Lovelies, how was the close of 2010 and the start of 2011? For me NYE was very low key. As it turns out, the thought of getting super fancied up and going out just didn't hold a candle to sitting with a group of great friends and playing board and video games for the evening. Seriously one of the better NYE celebrations. 

And with a new year comes new trends. This year is apparently the year of color, according to Refinery 29, and I couldn't be more excited. Oranges, Blues, rusty earth tones, oh my! 

For 2011, I resolve to embrace more colors and these beauties should help me along the way. 

via J Crew

 I could totally see myself rocking this bright orange outfit during our "beat the winter blues" vacation. Doesn't this outfit just make you feel instantly better? And warmer? Wait, that's just me?!

via United Bamboo

This is more within my comfort zone of color, but yowza is this trench hot! The earthy rust tone screams "look at me!" but without any words. It's instantly being added to my must-have list. 

So is there any color you're dying to try this spring?