Paris

Nine more days.
That's it.
Nine.
Sigh.

and for you Lily lovers....

everyone is flipping for Flip Flop buckets

By the garden gate...

After our kitchen is finally done my next project/fantasy is our patio and landscaping.  The element I dream about most is the hedge or fencing and especially the garden gate. Ever since reading The Secret
Garden as a child, I have dreamed of a garden gate.

it could be as simple as the one shown above or

as arty and funky as this double gate.

This image is close to most of my day dreams,

whereas this one evokes many memories of our trips to New Orleans and the lush gardens of the garden District.

This image is beachy and romantic.

I would have to say that given our weather and climate this image is the most realistic, although I bet I could train some wisteria to climb up that arbor...

preppyplayer was a vendor...

at a nursing convention in Atlantic City, NJ, thanks to my friend

Susan (a favorite blogger too!) She turned me onto the event and
 I decided to try it. She was nice enough to let me stay in her room,
Thanks Susan!

There were 80 vendors at the Tropicana exhibit hall, all except for myself and another jeweler were in the medical field. So it was a very nice situation for me.

I tried to bring items that had a nice price point as I knew that most of my customers would be nurses and nursing students and I knew that they would appreciate it.

Knowing that many were young mothers with little ones I brought items that would make it easy and affordable to bring home little gifties for their little ones!

And, knowing that most were young I also brought jewelry and accessories for nights out. This young lady was sweet enough to allow me to take her picture. I loved how this "Anthropology style" head band looked on her. Her hair cut was perfect for it and she looked so pretty!

This is the one she bought and I imagine that she will look very glamourous on some future Saturday night.
I'm glad Susan turned me on to this event. It was great to hang out with her (she's a good roommate) and I met many very nice people. I did well and would definitely consider it next year.
So that's what I've been up to the last few days. Now I'm ready for the weekend, how about you?

Hooded sandals...

Hooded sandals...
Is it just me,

or does anyone else think that hooded sandals might not be very flattering?


Alone they look interesting and fresh.  It is very rare that I see any advertisements with people actually wearing them. And if they are they usually look like the image below, ( as in thin calves.)

They seem like the 2010 version of gladiators and I don't think of them as flattering either.

Really, these are very attractive but I need the indent of an ankle to make my legs look shapely. These hit at a bad spot.

I love the look of these and I might even be tempted, but this new fashion trend of "hooded sandals" spells fashion victim to me.

Unless you are sixteen and have long, thin calves and then I say,
"Go for it!"
What do you think?

Beautiful Bows and head bands

Thanks to shows like Gossip Girl and celebrities like Lauren Conrad,

I went to NYC to some of my favorite showrooms on the hunt for Bow head bands. I think they are the perfect prom, bridesmaid, and Springtime accessory.

I was excited that I found what I was looking for right away and plan on posting some pics as soon as I can, but this pink little number should give you an idea...

Bows and then there are BOWS!
Tour de Force a company out of England offers these bows...

Hmmm. A bit much.

Not working for me.

pass.

girl's lacrosse tournaments and cash flow

Women's lacrosse.
Most of you know I am a vendor at many, women's and girl's lacrosse tournaments all over the east coast. And,  You know I did my first west coast event in January in Palm Desert, California ( shown above)
Poor me.

Anyway, this is the time of year that all the contracts are coming in and must go out quickly to secure a spot as there are limited spaces at most tournaments. Although I have seniority at most, there are wait lists for vendors and money talks! ( surprise, surprise)

Accompanying all those contracts are large checks, written out by me. Then the shuffle game begins. Some tourney organizers cash the checks right before the event, some cash them as soon as they are in their hot little hands. it's up to me to make sure thousands of dollars stay in my account to cover those checks.

Ouch. Some of those events are in July! It is so frustrating having lots of money in my account, but I can't pay off my business bills...
I guess it could be worse and that I didn't have the money to pay for vendor space.

The first day of spring and other things...

Finally.
Although I'm not really trusting that we won't have one more snowstorm...

Today I am going to a bridal shower for a girl that is marrying a boy who has been a lifelong friend of my son, his parents are also our good friends.
This is the first wedding, the beginning of the weddings, of our kids friends.
Heck, it is really the first wedding of our friend's kids as well!
Milestones.

Did I tell you I did get an iphone and that,
I LOVE IT?
I really do. Life changer.

Did you know that thanks to the bee pollen stuff that when I went to try on dresses it was fun and that I am now a true size 6?

Can you guess how frustrating it is that my oldest daughter can't play her sport due to her surgery, my youngest daughter can't play hers due to mono,
AND
that my youngest son is out due to Osgood Schlatter ?( a growing syndrome with the knees)
AND
 although we know that none of their ailments are serious or life threatening and that it could be far worse... It is still frustrating because they all have to show up, we had to pay for uniforms, team fees, equipment, fundraisers, and they can't play!!!!
(trust me, we are very aware that they are more frustrated then we are and we feel for them the most, but our wallets hurt too you know!)

Happy birthday to my mother-in-law who we will be celebrating her 75th with this evening.

And to end this random post, I'm on twitter. It's interesting, not as self absorbed as I thought,
 AND
Let me know if you are, I'll follow you!

Congrats Allie!

My niece, the adorable girl, front and center ( black boots), just found out that she made drill team again for next year.
It's a huge commitment and a lot of work.
Here she is pictured with this year's drill team.
Aren't they all gorgeous?
photo-

Elise Parrish Murdock

Photoshop Fun.

Obviously I am a bit bored. So I've been fooling around a little.


My poor daughter is down with mono.
 I know... poor girl, right?

Anyway I thought I would torture her and take some pics when she is extra white and feeling sickly.
Adding some color can set a mood.
The purple here , although it makes her blue eyes pop, gives her a more sickly persona.

But the blue, the blue makes her ethereal, which means, "heavenly or celestial.

I think the cropping makes the image even better.
What do you think?

Are you on overload? No? Well twitter is!

 Hey I want to tweet, I really do!
Preppy player is a big tweeter, so what the heck?
 Found this on www.thepicky.com and it perfectly explains a recurring problem:

"Have you seen your twitter page show like this? “Twitter is over capacity. Too many tweets! Please wait a moment and try again.” Are you frustrated? Don’t worry, you are not alone. This is one of the hottest discussion in web.

In Technical Term: You are getting this message because you are being redirected to Twitter’s 503 page (503 Service Unavailable page).
An HTTP status code 503(503 Service Unavailable) indicates that twitter Web server is currently unable to handle the request because of a temporary overload or maintenance of the server.

Why Twitter server is overloaded?

Sometimes twitter traffic is very rapidly and its Web server is unable to handle rapid amount of request in very short period of time (server temporary overload). Hence you a re getting “Twitter is over capacity. Too many tweets!….”.
So, why twitter server is overload? Twitter has become the SMS of the Internet. Because of its restricted 140 characters per post, It has become the hottest thing in social networking. Every one from big companies, to  CEO’s (@ExecTweets) to youngsters’ uses Twitter. According to Forrester estimates around 5 people use Twitter, this causes overload."

Do you care?
Only if you tweet, which I am doing with more frequency...

Only 30% Irish. But please don't tell him.

Do you have your own leprechaun?

everything old is new again, right?

Miley is the new Sally, right?
In fact, I just read that Miley may be cast in a remake of Gidget.
Please don't tell me you don't know Gidget?

cuz then I know how old you are!

Fill in the blank!

I'm stealing/borrowing this from my sister, the frau

I am......tired ( daylight savings time!)

I think.... about work way too much.

I should... play less mahjong solitaire online.

I dream.... that I can fly!

I want.... to get started on our kitchen construction.

I know....I have to balance work and family better.

I don't like.... when people are rude!

I smell...burritos.

I hear.... the tapping of computer keys.

I fear.... that something has happened to my family whenever I hear a siren.

I usually.... play paddle.

I search... for new gigs all the time.

I miss.... baby smell.

I always....make a good dinner.

I regret.... not staying in touch with an old friend.

I wonder.... if I will ever live anywhere else.

I crave....cookies.

I remember... to turn off the coffee pot.

I need.....my hair dyed.

I forget....my hair appointments way too much, hence need for hair to be dyed..

I feel.... happy.

I can....get a lot done.

I can't....help with math homework.

I am happy....that our family is healthy.

I lose.....chargers all the time.

I sing....too much.

I listen...when my teens finally open up.

I shop....when I have to.

I eat....too much.

I love.....my husband, my children, my parents, and my sisters and their families so very much.

Without electricity?

Because of a Nor'easter, we were without power for a number of hours last night. Luckily we have a generator because due to huge snow melt AND torrential rain there has been massive flooding which means our finished basement would have been under water.

why?

Because we have Sump pumps that are electric. We did not splurge ( what we thought it was at the time) and pay extra for a battery back up.

So compared to many people in our area we were very lucky.

However, we were stuck at home for hours since there were extreme wind conditions outside and it wasn't safe to drive anywhere due to fallen trees.

We gathered all our candles and flashlights, but the surprise hit of the evening were the headlamps my husband and son bought for a boy scout trip last summer.

As kooky as the man in the pic above looks, we looked worse...

but they are awesome!

Invest in some to keep around in case of emergency, you won't be sorry.

Rainy day. Hood or hat?

Rainy days kill my salon blow-out.

If you have crazy curly hair like I do and if you have just plopped down too many $$'s for a blow out...

You want to protect that hair and make it last for a couple of days.

So what do you do?

a. Do not leave the house.

b. wear a rain hat.

c. wear a raincoat with a hood.

I remember my grandma always having a plastic rain hat in a little pouch in her purse, always prepared. No matter how pretty the model looks... this looks wrong.
This is hysterical. Clear plastic hat so that you can look out? Sorry, the flower does NOT help.
Hmmm. Bright yellow rain hat that does offer a lot of coverage for my curly locks...
But I just can't get this guy out of my head when I see that hat!
Ok, this jaunty number is right up my alley... on a sunny day. Because that hat is never going to keep the frizz and curls at bay.
fashionable, classic, great for you straight hair, Marcia Brady types.

Me? No.
Now this style hat might give me what I need and want- fashion and protection.

But somehow I see my hair peeking out like the model... that spells-

Hair disaster!

So, maybe it's a coat I need?
Doesn't this spell Rainy Day at Disney World to you?

I guess you had to be there. A sea of these on every ride, in every attraction.
This is sporty and cool. A little too skier, even for me.
Now, this is nice. Fashionable, stylish, long enough to cover my bum.

A contender.

But, the Northface grace raincoat is what I have my eye on. My sister Beth has it and she lost it temporarily to our sister Mary. I almost hijacked it from Mary before she guiltily sent it back to Beth.

We love it.

It is very flattering, does the job of keeping you AND your hair dry, and it can work with casual and semi dressy.

What's your vote?

*Do NOT say Paddington Bear!