Say Cheese!

Back in December, the lovely Elizabeth Humiston-Glover contacted me about a photoshoot.

Never one to turn down the opportunity to play dress up and drag the husband along for the ride, I told her "yes please!".

We met at the Dallas Arboretum for a morning of fun and took lots of lovely pictures.

(sporting the hat my sister gave me for my birthday, love!)
(Can we discuss my hair for a minute? Seriously took me like two hours to do, no joke.)


I had so much fun and Elizabeth is just about the sweetest little thing EVER. You'd all love her, I know. We are so pleased with the results and now need to buy some fun picture frames to show off our cute selves (I never said I was modest!).

Now, here comes the super good part: if y'all mention that you saw her work on my blog, she's currently offering 25% off any service! I know! I told y'all she was sweet.

Go check out her website and get your picture taken!

Disclaimer: I was given a free photo session in exchange for a review on my blog, if I liked her work. I did, obviously! I hope you do too!

Meet Me in St. Louis

It was Christmas in January since I got to see my bestest over the weekend--thus, last week? Was the longest week EVER.

The hour and 45 minute flight? WAS PAINFULLY LONG. Like, I wanted to stab myself in the eye and just get there already.

(in other news, I met Kay Bailey Hutchinson at the airport)

Finally, finally, I landed in St. Louis and was off to meet my Sara for a weekend of fun.

Because she’s awesome, she met me at the airport with a sign. I love her.

We went to one of her fave Mexican joints for dinner, of which I have no pictures, which is sad, but, it was delicious. And so.much.fun.

Then, we went back to her casa where we stayed up way too late talking and playing with her sweet pup, Mally and then I fell asleep the moment my noggin hit the pillow. Also? Sara’s house is totally cute and I’m moving in.

The next day, we went to brunch in her old neighborhood of Soulard, which, I’m officially in love with and I had a super yummy breakfast burrito—yes, I’m from Texas. Again, no picture. Hm. Weird. Use your imagination. But imagine it without sour cream, because sour cream is of the devil.

Our next stop, was The Gateway Arch.

Which, I was super excited about, but, um, I’m petrified of heights. Like, looking at a tall building makes me want to hurl. But, I’d come all this way and I can’t go to St. Louis and NOT go in the arch.

And of course, I didn’t say anything about my blinding fear of heights because I know Sara would have been all “It’s cool, we can just take pictures out here. In the freezing ass cold.” But, I acted like a grownup and we did it. Ya know what? It was SUPER FREAKING COOL. And not that scary at all!

Inside the arch in the little museum--my dad would have been so proud (he's obsessed with Lewis and Clark, for real):

This is us getting ready to go up into the arch. This is also me pretending I'm not having a panic attack:
Look! The view! Cardinals Stadium and downtown STL (I feel like I can say STL now, I probably can't):

Lookie, that’s Illinois. Not as cool as St. Louis, duh.

Also, Dallas, can we discuss this for a minute? St. Louis has it figured out. Rams, Cardinals, they play within two miles of each other. DOWNTOWN. None of that 35 minute drive to the ‘burbs nonsense. Thanks again Laura Miller for that one.

My St. Louis photog, Sara:

This proves how brave I am:

After the arch, I got the tour of St. Louis where we drove around and saw super big houses. I saw where Nelly lives—or lived? Whatever. Big houses. And then we went shopping because it’s what we do. Sara got a super cute new beach bag and I fell in love with a pair of Gucci sunglasses, which, I totally should have bought because I cannot find them online anywhere. Ahhh!

She also took me to the St. Louis Basilica which was amazingly beautiful:

It's the only church other than The Vatican to have so many mosaics:

Amazing, right? Those are all teeny tiny itty bitty tiles:

Sara made us reservations at a cooking class for Saturday night and that was a blast! We made a Mexican Girls Night Out menu and I loooooved it. Plus, I didn’t have to cook anything, just watch! Bahaha.

Brownies, aka death by chocolate, aka the reason I gained 10 pounds:

Sara and her strawberry marg:

After dinner we proceeded to stay up way too late again talking and watching the end of Twilight and playing with Mally. Who I’m in love with.

Sunday, aka the worst day ever because I had to leave, we still managed to have fun. We spent the morning watching Say Yes To The Dress, which probably wasn’t too smart because we then got major wedding fever—and we’re both happily married. Sigh.

We went ice skating and I attempted to give Nancy Kerrigan a run for her money. Yeah, I didn’t. But, it was a blast—even if the two year olds were better than me.

Love this picture of Sara:

Once we warmed up we walked around Central West End and I hunted used bookstores for a copy of Little Women since I collect old versions of the book and how cool would it be to have a St. Louis version? I didn’t find one, but, I did find myself a pair of “I Don’t Need A Job, I Don’t Need My Parents, I’ve Got Great Boots’ Boots”—on sale! Am wearing them now. LOVE. (I'd show you a picture, but, my Blackberry is being lamesauce)

Sigh….And then all too soon it was time to head home. Where there was a snowstorm. That I missed. Because I was in St. Louis, where it was supposed to snow, but didn’t. I guess I just bring the sunshine with me? Ha.

All in all, it was a great weekend. Thanks again for everything my sweet! I can't wait until she gets her butt to Dallas to see me!

PS. It's Sara's birthday today. Go wish her Happy Birthday on her blog!

Note To Self

It isn't wise to paint your nails at 8:45PM.

No matter how dry you think they are by 9 o'clock, they aren't. You will wake up to smudged polish and a stained pillowcase. Because you insist on using impossibly dark shades, it's not even 20% cover up-able.

Awesome.

Someone remind me why I didn't just pay a professional?

Damn budget!

Get Busy Living, Or Get Busy Dying

I won't bore you with my "resolutions" (because, let's be honest, have I ever kept one? Nope), but, I will dive into what I like to call 2011: The Year of Awesome. Or something like that.

The last two years my life has been consumed with marathon training--now, don't get me wrong, it's the love of my life, running marathons. I love it. Does that make me kind of sick and sadistic? Yeah, probably. Whatevs. But, with marathon training comes putting my life on hold. Going to bed early all the damn time. Missing out on girls brunches and sleeping in.

There were a few times this past fall where I skipped out on a run because I went shopping with my best friend, or I stayed up too late watching movies and eating pizza with two of my nearest and dearest--I didn't let myself feel guilty for it and it was awesome. You only live once, right?

So, this year, I'm adopting a run less, work out more tactic. This may even get me on a bike--who knows! Maybe I'll try Pure Barre and get my dancers body back (hey, a girl can dream). Don't worry, I'm still marathoning--I've got an ultra in like 6 weeks. GULP.

I'm going to attempt to Be Me in every possible way. If that means saving up for a new gorgeous handbag because damnit I want it? I will. If that means staying up way too late watching movies and laughing with friends and family? I will. If that means finally admitting that I can't pull off black eyeliner? Done.

2010 was hard. Our family dealt with a lot. Things might not always be rosy, but, we're gonna make it. We're gonna live. 2011: The Year Of Awesome.

It's my life. It's my year. I'm going to live it.

First up? A trip to St. Louis to laugh, eat, drink and shop with my favorite sheltie mama.

Then? My parents come to visit me in Dallas--that never happens!

Next? A work trip to Miami! Miami, folks!

Looks like I'm off to a good start.

It's time to "get busy living, or get busy dying". Time for this redhead to really live!

I admit it: I'm old

You ever have that moment where you realize that you aren't as young as you think you are? Yeah, I had that moment over the weekend.

My sister and I were taking her girls (my nieces) after Christmas shopping and hitting up all the sales. My younger niece had gift cards and cash to burn so we hit up her favorite store, Abercrombie & Fitch, which, usually, we let her roam around and then my sis and I hit up Pottery Barn next door. But, we wanted my older niece to find something and since she hates shopping, (she looks just like her dad, otherwise I'd swear she was mixed up at the hospital and cannot be ours) we went in.

And remember how when you were in college Abercrombie was so cool? And you LOVED those bags with half nekkid men on them? And you felt so awesome and stylish? Yeah. I? Did not. My sister and I were giggling at the posters in the store and questioning who on earth could fit into a size 00 and who had a bum small enough to fit into some of those shorts.

And that's when I realized that I'm not that young and cool and hip anymore. Hmph.

Until my niece convinced me that I wasn't that old and lame that I really should try on a pair of jeans just to see.

Now, I have a pair of Abercrombie jeans from my college days that still fit (read: have stretched out so much that they still fit) and have holes all over them but I cannot part with them because damnit they fit me when I was 19 and that makes me feel OK about myself.

So, in some measure of desperation, I grabbed a pair to attempt to prove I was still cool, and lo and behold. THEY FIT.

Take that Abercrombie and your half nekkid 19 year olds. I can still fit into a pair of your jeans.
(Madison Flare) Which I obviously purchased in 5 seconds flat because they were 40% off.

And then a sweater because I might still be able to wear Abercrombie jeans but I'm on the downhill slope to 30 and need my sweaters and glasses. My sister bought the exact same sweater. We have a sickness.

(Drew Sweater)
So, even though I might be embarrassed by the store in general but gosh darn it, I can still pull of the jeans I wore when I was 19 then I think I'm still pretty cool.

(and if I can't pull off this particular look, no one needs to tell me, ok? Ignorance is bliss. And my niece approved, and she's cool, so, I go with what she says, duh)

The Sweetest Gift

I hope y'all had a very wonderful Christmas with family and friends. I know I did.

I also know that my big sister is a total enabler and I'm now broke thanks to all the shopping we did. Even with 40% off sales, my wallet is still a bit thinner. Hmmmm.... I can't complain too much--we all know a shopping afternoon with my girls is one of my favorite things.

I'll have many more holiday pictures and updates soon, but, I have to tell y'all about the best gift I've ever received.

I got it on Christmas Eve. (nope, not pregnant, since I realize that's kind of how this read. But, I'm not. Promise. If I was, believe me, this would be in ALL CAPS)

We got to talk to my sweet baby sister. Y'all know how much I love her. It was so great to hear her voice.

She's doing well. She's happy. A bit cold, but, ya know, she lives in Canada and all.

Surprisingly, I only cried when we hung up the phone. I figured I'd lose it the second I heard her voice, but I didn't! Yay me! It was a wonderful Christmas gift.

I got lots of other great things, but honestly, everything paled in comparison to that.

Wow. I guess this means I'm a grown up now.

I did not see that coming.

What was your favorite gift?

Mommy and Me

(my favorite picture of my mom, ever)

My life changed seven years ago this week.

My mom was taken from me.

I miss her every single day of my life.

I hope and pray for the day in which I am a mother and can have the relationship she and I had with my future daughter. She was my best friend. I hope I can have that with my future daughter one day.

Seven years ago today, I was decorating the Christmas tree with my best friend and my mom. I have since lost them both. My mom died on December 22, 2003. My best friend died August 1, 2005.

No one can ever replace them. But, I've been blessed to have so many wonderful people become part of my life over the last seven years.

I've finally started calling my mother in law "Mama". Not because she's replaced my mom, she hasn't, but, because she is my mother in a sense and I know that she and my mom would have been great friends.

I've been blessed with wonderful friends. In Dallas. In California. In Kansas. Missouri. New York. Ohio. North Carolina. South Carolina. Michigan. Colorado. All over. You all are my family. I hope you know that. I cannot express the overwhelming gratitude I have for y'all. For being my family and part of my life.

My mom was the type that took in all my friends. Our house was the house that everyone went to after school. I just know my mom has been instrumental in creating these friendships and I know she'd love each and every single one of you.

(my parents wedding photo--doesn't this crack you up? I think it's hilarious! Hello, 1976.)

This week is hard. As it always is. Seven years ago today, laughed and laughed, watched What About Bob and drank way too much hot cocoa.

Seven years ago tomorrow, we watched Little Women and baked cookies. And I attempted to make "low fat" fudge. Which just, shouldn't ever exist and don't try to make it because it will waste approximately 3.5 hours of your life.

And on December 22, 2003, I was lucky enough to hug and kiss her and tell her I loved her one last time. For that, I will always be grateful.

I believe in tender mercies. I believe in divinity. And I believe that God blessed me to be her daughter. And I believe in the tender mercy that was finding my old phone and answering machine with a message from her on it. One I never erased. Her telling me she was running late and could I meet her at the restaurant. I will never erase that message.

It's hard to feel festive without her, but, this was her favorite time of year. And she was a blessing to all who knew her. For her, I am grateful.

And because of Him who lived and died for us, I know I will one day see her again. And that is the reason for the season.

(the last photo of my mom and I together--taken November, 2003)

Merry Christmas.

xoxo,

SP

Sneaky Little Elf

One of the things I miss most about my mom is her ability to just "know". Christmas shopping for her was a breeze because I would just buy her stuff I wanted and she'd love it. Occasionally, we purchased each other the same gift.

She'd buy me things that I mentioned in passing months ago. Things I never knew I always wanted.

It's silly, but, I miss that so much. My dad and stepmom need a list. And 95% of the time they don't follow the list anyway and I end up with pajamas and a potato peeler. Now, there's nothing wrong with potatoes and pajamas, I just, if you ask me for a list, freaking purchase off the list or give me money. These are your options.

Then, on my birthday, I was gifted a mini food processor that I'd seen on a shopping trip with my aunt several months ago. MY AUNT. My dad's baby sister. Who is nothing like my mom. Not even a little bit.

I was floored. It was the best gift I'd received in ages. No, it wasn't the most expensive, it wasn't even on my list, but, she remembered that I'd said I wanted a mini food processor and she bought it for me. It's totally something I a) wouldn't put on a list and b) wouldn't purchase for myself (because unless it's candles or clothes from Anthro it's really hard for me to justify purchases). But she did. She remembered.

Last night, I came home to a huge box waiting for me and my husband. She had told him last week she was sending us a dog from Sears (since back in the day you could purchase a dog from Sears!). We were slightly concerned we were getting some sort of dog food or something like that. Hm.

I opened up te box to find this:

The ice cream maker attachment for my KitchenAid!!

Again, I mentioned this to her months ago. She remembered. I was floored.

She's become the elf my mother once was and it's awesome. I think I even got a little teary. Over an ice cream maker!

And because I fancy myself a superb elf, I purchased her a print of the lyrics to a song my grandma used to sing and that we all sang at my grandma's funeral. I win niece of the year.

Hopefully.

(I don't mean for this to sound all braggy, I was just really surprised by my aunt. We've never been really close and it really touched my heart that she would think of me like that. I am grateful to my dad and stepmom for everything--including potato peelers. I was just humbled that someone in my family other than my mom actually "gets" me)

Merry Christmas!

Color Me Festive

(little mistletoe ball under the door in our entryway. That may or may not accidentally stay up all year)

Y'all, I'm finally in the holiday spirit.

And not a moment too soon, obviously.

I've spent the last few nights Christmas shopping like a madwoman. Seriously, what did we do before the internet? And more specifically, before Etsy? I bought four Christmas gifts from Etsy last night. FOUR. And I'm pretty thrilled about them. Hopefully, the recipients are too--otherwise, I'm keeping them for myself. Again, festive.

I'm fairly certain that this all came to pass because of the sugar coma I ate myself into on Sunday baking cookies with my first college friend ever. We met in line for the dorms. Literally, she was the first person I met. Years and 6 cups of sugar later, we're still going strong. Of course, I've gained 5 lbs since Sunday, but, you know, it's insulation.

Between listening to Christmas music 24/7 ("All I Want For Christmas Is Youuuuuuuuu") and the holiday baking spell, I'd say it's feeling rather festive for me.

For that, I am grateful.

Now, I just have to hope that my online shopping pans out into delivery before Christmas Eve and we're all set.

In less than a week, I'll be back in California--shopping with my big sis, harassing my nieces, snuggling my nephew and seeing old friends. <-- That? Is enough to turn my frown upside down.

How are you getting into the Christmas season?

Musings & Monday

1. BFF R and I hit up my former boss's estate sale on Saturday wherein I walked away with a new sleeper sofa, chair and a half and trunk for pennies on the dollar. The only problem? I have no idea where we are going to put said sofa and chair and a half. But, for a deal like that, I don't even care. Did I mention it was custom made and has washable slipcovers? Slipcovers people! This means I can finally get rid of the pink sofas. Joy to the world indeed!

2. Then we caught a glimpse into our lives as 85 year olds in which we collect things like porcelain monkeys and old toothpaste. <---This? Is what you find at estate sales. But! But! To quote BFF R "At least we lived in a nice neighborhood". Very true.

3. Lunch at La Victoria. Where I probably ate more than I ever needed to ever and am still full. Thank heavens for a place in Dallas that makes tortas! My husband is abnormally excited about this.

4. Late night non movie watching adventures with friends--the whole premise of them coming over was to watch movies. Yeah, at 1:30 AM we called it a night. And never even turned on the TV. That's friendship y'all!

5. Cookie making with my first college friend ever. Haven't seen her in years. It was like we were 18 again. AWESOME.

6. Determined that while there is Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, there is also Six Degrees of Person I Went to College With. Every single one of my college friends seems to have a connection to her. It's kind of funny. Especially since we were different years and didn't even know each other while we were in college. This will entertain me for ages, no lie.

7. Dinner and dessert with friends and a late night drive home.


Needless to say, I'm tired today, but, it was so worth it. So grateful to our Dallas friends and the family they've become.

Now, I'm off to have a project I worked on for HOURS torn apart. Exciting!

xoxox,
SP

It's Not Christmas Until...

A) I belt out "All I Want For Christmas Is YOUUUUUU" at the top of my lungs approximately 500 times in a row.

B) I have Harry Connick Jr.'s Christmas albums on repeat. ("He's so talented". Quick, name that TV show!)

C) I eat my weight in Candy Cane Hersey Kisses.

D) I cannot focus.

E) I inspect my chimney--gotta make sure Santa will arrive and bring me Hugh Jackman/Scott Caan/Daniel Craig/Charlie Hunnam--really, I'm not picky.

F) I wear a huge jacket even though it's not remotely cold.

G) All of the above?

Answer: G.

Given, I can be semi (ok, a lot) Grinch like around the holidays and it's no secret that December 22 is my all time least favorite day ever (read: the day my mom died) and Christmas hasn't been the same since she died, but, every year, I try my damnedest to be happy and holly jolly but I always seem to fail.

This year, I think I'm making progress.

Mainly due to my Pandora station blasting Mariah, Harry and GEORGE STRAIT. I mean, can you go wrong with that? No.

So, I'm making my list, checking it twice and jonesing for a glass of egg nogg. Festive!

But, this could just be the cough medicine talking. I'm not sure.

Merry Christmas y'all!

WebMD was wrong

I am not dying of TB (aka "consumption"), whopping cough, or pneumonia.

Nope. Just a good old fashioned COLD. My doctor said "this particular strain should clear up by the New Year."

Which, as I'm clutching wrapping paper and gift receipts, I realize isn't too far away, but, still, that's like a lifetime in terms of being sick. And, of course, my husband is sick too, so, our house looks like a tornado hit it because neither of us is lifting a finger to clean anything and I've double booked myself nearly every single day this week. Am an idiot.

On the plus side, I was given cough syrup (which I say like "seer-up", how do you say it? Or do you say "sir-up"?) with codeine in it, which definitely means a drunky drunk SP last night. HILARIOUS to all involved, I'm sure.

True Story: I was whispering sweet nothings to Scott Caan on Hawaii Five-O last night. Which, in general, I could take or leave the show, but, Scott Caan plus JIN (from Lost, duh), I mean, I won't turn it off.

image from here

And hello, do we not remember Scott Caan as Tweeder on Varsity Blues? Obviously.
image from here

True Story Number Two: That movie pretty much defined my high school experience.

True Story Number Three: I might still be a teensy bit tipsy.

True Story Number Four: I still have a cough.

It's going to be a long week.