Pumpkins, Kitties, and Sissies

Pumpkins, Kitties, and Sissies

These three wonderful things summed up my past few days, and I loved it.

Don't you think that receiving a care package is quite possibly the best thing ever?  Seriously.  It makes my day when I roll up to my mailbox and a package is waiting there for no other than me! 

So, this week, my sweet cousins sent me a care package.  I grabbed that baby and bolted up the stairs of my apartment, slammed open the door, ran to the kitchen to find some scissors...and couldn't freakin' find them.  Buzzkill.

I figured I would just use a knife at this point.  There was no time to find scissors when I had a care package to open!  The anticipation was killing me.  I opened the silverware  drawer and all the knives were gone.  They were being washed in the dishwasher.  Shoot---just my luck. 

So, I scurried around the apartment, looking for any sort of sharp object that would tear this tape that was carefully and tightly secured around the entire package.  (Thanks Aunt Bonnie). 

For fifteen long minutes, I was on a hunt for something that would do the job.  After crawling under beds, making a mess of my desk, and searching my car; I went ahead and grabbed a knife out of the dishwasher.  

Note to self:  Buy a pair of scissors.

... or five.

In the package, there were loads of goodies.

Chocolate, fruit, tissues, ramen, a Starbucks gift card, 

chapstick, and a baby pumpkin.

And, let me tell you...

that baby pumpkin was a HIT. 

As you can see, the kitties loved all over that pumpkin.  

While my sissy and I loved all over them.

Gotta love pumpkins, kitties, and sisterly time. 

XOXO.

Blingaling.

Girl, where's your Fall bling?

Surely you've already gotten yourself some adorable adornments for the fall time.  

If you haven't, then don't you stress out, friend.  I'm right there with ya.  In my mind, it's still summertime.  Geeze, I still haven't parted with my shorts and summer blouses.  It's October now.  And I need to get my act together now. 

I had a family gathering today and my Nana pitched a fit about how I was wearing a short-sleeved blouse, shorts, and flip flops.  Okay, so maybe my outfit did not suit the weather.  Whatever,  until it stays in the 50s, I will change up my wardrobe. 

When I do change up my wardrobe, I promise that I will be wearing some fabulous fall jewelry.  So, for those of you who need an extra somethin' somethin' to spice up your fashion, I've got you covered. 

Girl, you don't even have to move your booty!  Stay seated in that comfy chair with those pink, fluffy slippers warming your toesies and silly curlers twisted in your hair and hit up Etsy. 

If you haven't added some fresh new pieces of jewelry to your fall look, then look no further than my most favorite site ever, Etsy.

A couple of days ago, I logged onto Etsy and received a message from Bonnie at BonnieSewCrazy.  She featured me in a treasury list.  Yipee! 

My list was grouped under "Fall Bling".  

Here's my piece:  If you're interested, here's where you can find it:  Click here!

The other fall pieces of jewelry are wonderful (I listed a few above).  Check out all of those precious items here.

Thanks again to Bonnie for featuring one of my items.  Fall time is absolutely fabulous, and she certainly picked a variety of gorgeous items that no-doubt-about-it gets me in the mood for fall.  Now, all I need is a mug of hot cider in my hand.  Right.  Now. 

Too bad the cat doesn't take orders... 

XOXO.

Nature's Toothbrush

   I'm a planner and always will be.

As much as I'd like my planner to be free 

of X marks covering my beautifully organized calendar, 

I've come to the unfortunate realization that it's freaking impossible.  

Plans change all the time, which makes me go absolutely cah-razy. 

Even though I have not been diagnosed by a professional, 

I am fairly certain that---through extensive self diagnosis---I've got a mad case of OCD.

Because the second I get word of changed plans,

I hate having to pull out that black Sharpie pen to drag that ugly X on my calendar.

The moment I cap my pen and take a long look at that calendar, 

I get ticked at its imperfection-ness.

My once perfect and free-from-error calendar is now ruined with this crappy X, 

all because of a change of plans.   

Trust me, I've tried the alternatives.

White-Out is clumpy and pencils make smudges.  

And I don't have an IPAD, so this will have to do...

unless you would like to send one my way.

As you know, this past weekend I was set to visit my sweet sis on Saturday for a fun-filled day of beer drinkin' and good southern tailgating, and I was beyond excited.  (You might have gathered that from my last post). 

On Friday morning, I got a call from my sister as I was rushing to class.  I answered with an enthusiastic "Hey!" and in response, I got a cough followed by scratchy, weak "Hey".  After hearing that painful and forced one-syllable word response, I knew my weekend plans were dunzo.  Sister was sick, and after my hell week of sickness, I was not trying to catch whatever she had.

Saturday's plans were a no-go, and I was definitely bummed; however, we went ahead and said we could try and meet up on Sunday to pick apples if everyone was feeling well enough.  

Thankfully, Sunday morning rolled around and my sister was feeling ten times better.  So, I hopped in my car, turned on the stereo full blast, rolled the windows down, and let that cool fall air blow my hurr.  I was cruising down the highway thinking---Fall weather, you are wonderful.  This moment of peace was quickly ruined by kettle corn. 

I brought Lauren and Gracen, neighbors from home who are practically little sisters to me and my sister, along on the trip.  They are sweet girls, but once you add kettle corn into the mix they ain't that sweet.  Kettle corn must be the bomb-diggity to these two little ones because they sure were hootin' and hollerin' at each other as they played tug-of-war with it. 

Don't worry, I calmed 'em down with some tunes.  We had a marathon of Glee songs. And why yes, we are just as talented as Rachel Berry.  Watch out---we will be on tour soon.

 

 

After the drive up to the mountains, we arrived at sister's dorm.  Before I put my car in park, the girls had already taken off their seat belts.  After a valuable life lesson about safety in cars, the girls jumped out of the car and sprinted to sister as she walked out of her dorm.    

 

Sister was pleasantly surprised to see the two little tots from home.  It sure does help take some of that homesickness away.  Also, getting 79988537226 hugs helps, too.  Those two had that covered.        

 

After the intense chewing gum that helped cure the crazy ear poppin' as we reached higher elevations driving up the mountain, we finally got to the very top.  

And boy---we sure did find some Golden Delicious apples that screamed "EAT ME!"

 

Lauren said she wished she brought a trampoline with her so that she could bounce on it and grab the apples at the top of the trees.  What a goober. 

Also, Lauren also asked me if I knew that apples are nature's toothbrush.  I had never heard of that saying, so I asked her where she heard that.  She simply said, "I just know."  What a natural wiz.   For some reason, I'm thinkin' her 6-year-old self didn't come up with that one on her own...Hm.

 

We all may have smiles on our faces in these pictures, but we sure were freeeeeeeeeeeeezing on the top of the mountain.  It was in the 40s up there.  

 

Along with the amazing apples, there was also apple cider donuts for sale.  All four of us now have a new and unhealthy obsession with these things.  Lets just say, we gobbled those donuts up in no time.  

Besides Pink Lady apples, Golden Delicious are my favorite apples ever.  

 

Running behind these girls was a workout in itself.  When it came to finding the "good" apples, we let Lauren and Gracen take care of that business themselves.  Sister and I would take the pictures and laugh at the ridiculous-looking apples the two would bring to us. 

 

Some of the apples were bruised and just mushy.  Even though they were lookin' rough and not appetizing at all, Lauren and Gracen were very adamant about those being the apples they had to have.  

 

 

Once Lauren and Gracen darted to the next tree in search of more apples, I would sneakily toss the yucky apples out of the bag.  Even though apples are inanimate objects, the girls would somehow give them emotions.  "These apples are sad because they fell off the tree and have big bruises!

 

They would take the gross apples and "give them a home" in my plastic bag.  Thankfully, at the end of our apple pickin', the girls didn't ask to see the apples in the bag.  I swear I'm not heartless, but all of the "sad" apples didn't make the cut. 

 

 The ugly apples were still back at the orchard, still homeless and ugly. 

 

Our trip to the apple orchard was a great one.  Short, but super sweet.  Seeing sister was great, and I'm glad that I was able to visit with her, even if it was for a short time.  (SN:  Look at my dorky shadow in this picture).  

Sister promised me that I would be coming back very soon to tailgate.  So, lets hope that next time will happen and that everyone is feeling good as new.   

 

Hope everyone has a beautiful day.  

XOXO.  

It's a Saturday morning in the fall... do you know what that means?

Game day.

These two glorious words were sweet music to my ears back when I attended school at Ole Miss.  I'd wake up a tad hungover on a Saturday morning, and head down the hall to the showers.  After showering, I would walk back to my dorm dressed in my silly, pink robe and squeaky shower shoes flip flops, and then I'd open my closet doors.  From there, I'd ponder.  What dress will it be?  Not long after I'd slip on my chosen dress, I'd hear the girls in the hallway chitty-chatting it up.  Then, I'd hear a camera flash.  

 

Game day was, without a doubt, a well-documented event.  I can't even begin to tell you how many pictures were taken on game days.  Actually, I can.  The day after game day I had 284574 notifications on Facebook, all of which were from tagged photos.  Lets just say, the picture-taking was excessive.  Okay, that number is a tad exaggerated, but you get the picture.  Pun intended. 

Even though time has passed and my current school doesn't even have a darn football team, (which I find absolutely ridiculous) when someone speaks about game day, I'll start to get the goosebumps.  Call me silly or whatever, but game day is a big deal, people.  You've got your tailgating, snazzy outfits, good friends, and a crap-ton of burr (beer...you just have to accent it).  That just sounds like a darn good time, if you ask me.  Anyways, these tailgating days were some of my most glorious days, and I sure do miss them.  A lot. 

But this weekend, friends, I get to re-live the glorious days.  Granted, it's not the same sort of tailgating as Ole Miss, but hey, it's tailgating and that will do.  My baby sister is off at a pretty southern school, so she gets all dolled up for the games, so I get to dress up for her school's game.  Yay!

Since she's a baby freshman in college, I told her there was no rush for me to come to the games.  I wanted to be sure that she was well-adjusted in her new home before I came to visit.  After about a month of being in classes, I got the okay that my sweet sister is adjusted, so I'm heading her way on Saturday.  I couldn't be more excited to see her and my old friend, Game Day.  

Oh, Game Day.  It's been too long, and I can't wait to be reunited with you (and my sister, of course).

XOXO.