CONFESSION

I am about to type something I never thought I would.........

I went to the New Kids On The Block concert on Sunday night.

Before you judge, read:

Katie Jean called and said she had snagged a couple tickets and she thought it would be hilarious to go. I was iffy...but then decided I didn't have anything else to do on Sunday night so why not. Stone drove us to and from the concert like a regular soccer dad. (Thank you love!) Enabling us to get to the proper intoxication level needed in order to enjoy such a concert.

"Hilarious" doesn't even do the night justice.

*First off, I have never seen so much neon in my life.

*Grown men were there, clearly forced by their wives to attended. I'm 99% sure that if I had offered a straight razor to any of them, they would've taken it with joy.
*Entire groups of women dressed to impress with matching (professionally made) NKOTB t-shirts, hats, tank tops, buttons, pants....you name it, we saw it!

Katie Jean and I had a photo shoot in attempt to grasp the general attitude around us throughout the concert.....

The calm before the storm

"the storm" aka: NKOTB

I think we were able to capture the pure insanity surrounding us after the men playing "new kids" came out on stage.

This husband (and father...his daughter was there as well) did NOT feel the same as the women around us. On top of being pissed at life that he was at a NKOTB concert (notice the ear plugs?) his wife forced him to wear this super cool shirt....which matched hers

The lights went out for about 20 seconds and when they came back up the "new kids" were out in the crowd. They were spread out in the pavilion, each had their own block to stand on. We were close to Donny and the one that no one knows his name.....We definitely captured the "ARE THEY REALLY STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT ME, SO CLOSE THAT I CAN TOUCH THEM!?!?!?" faces that all of the fans had. (a combo platter of confusion and glee)

This photo is a true representation of what our reaction was after 200+ women stampeded past us (jumping over seats I might add) damn near trampling us, trying to get to the "new kid" closest to them.

Thank you Sweet Bean!!!!! I had oh so much fun with you!.....and the "new kids"

I'm a lookin' and I'm a likin'

BEGIN ETSY COVETING

Seriously? Could this shirt be any cuter??? I need to stroll about town with this little gem on!

can be found at PrettyRaccoon

This flirty dress or top is too cute to boot...I might were it over a pair of jeans. Perhaps the jeans I purchased at the Urban "Yard Sale? Yes. Yes, that sounds like a perfect plan.

can be found at Lynns Rags

So....um, yeah. Remember when this beret would be the perfect thing to cover up a bad hair day? I do. I especially love the sweet lavender color.

can be found at softspoken

OK, so this is almost the best thing EVER. I carry an apple in my purse quite often and I get seriously bummed when my forbidden fruit is bruised! Problem solved....an apple jacket!

can be found at jacquelineknits

END ETSY COVETING

TODAY

The sun is shining. The windows are open. The breeze is making the curtains flutter and the leaves on the trees rustle.

I feel the overwhelming want for this day to stay forever. For time to be frozen in the arms of this perfect morning.

Good day.

Nicknames! Oh how I love nicknames!!! I feel a little spring in my step when a new friend feels comfortable enough to call me Court. I just love it. Maybe it feels less formal, who knows, but I love it.

Whenever I think of a name I like, for a possible future child, I always try to think of the nicknames that people will come up with for it.

Here are some of the nicknames I have gotten over the years.

Court (obviously)
Courtcly (mi Madre and pops...not sure where it came from though)
Courtiewoo (my Aunt Deidra)
CoCo (Katie Jean...and I'm pretty sure that is what her children will be calling me)

All pretty harmless. Well except in 3rd grade three boys called me Cornstalk and Corny. Stupid boys.

But the nicknames I really love are the ones that have nothing to do with a persons name. Like "Swiss". Katie Jean and I called each other Swiss for a good 2.5 years. It's a dumb story that involved her and I bringing 2lbs of Swiss cheese to a pitch-in/cookout consisting of 8 girls. Needless to say there was a boat load of Swiss left. Silly, but it makes me smile to think of it.

Now I'm going to fill you in on a little tidbit from the world of Court & Stone. My nickname for Stone is "Panda Bear". Not because he is big and burly like a bear, he's not. Or because he eats bamboo, he doesn't. It's because of this commercial:





After we saw it, instead of asking "what's the matter?" we would say "Why so blue Panda Bear?" After awhile the phrase got old, but "Panda Bear" was stuck like glue to Stone forever.

I love it. He feels less fondly about it. (I think secretly he digs it)

a tasty treat....for Y.O.U!

but first......

*You know how little kids who eat pancakes w/syrup for breakfast seem to smell like syrup for the rest of the day? And as an added bonus they totally have sticky syrup fingers too? Well that was me today....minus the sticky fingers.

I had brown sugar & maple syrup oatmeal for breakfast this morning. I kept looking around for the rogue sticky fingered child hiding in my office. And then I realized the rogue kid was me. Good times!

and now a tasty treat for Y.O.U!.......

I made Shish KaBobs for dinner tonight. Or should I say Shish KaCourtneys???

(I guess if you want to get down to the nitty gritty I should technically say Shish KaMicheles since it is mi Madre's marinade recipe after all....but let's not get too technical. OK?)

You can do any old meat and veggies with this marinade recipe. Tonight (or rather last night since I let them marinate overnight) I used onion, mushrooms, green peppers, potatoes and chicken.

Note: I used button mushrooms, but I think next time I'll use baby portabella...hopefully they will hold up a bit better in the marinade. The button shrooms really shrank up to the tiniest things!

THE RECIPE

"Mimi's Marinade"

*1 cup of light brown sugar

*2/3 cup of ketchup

*2/3 cup of cider vinegar

*1/2 cup of soy sauce

*1/2 cup of oil

*5-6 garlic cloves (minced)

*2 teaspoons of ground ginger

Whisk it all together in a bowl then pour into a zip-lock bag (or any container) with your (already cut) meat and veggies. Madre and I marinate the meat and veggies in two separate bags. Mostly because the idea of the sweet little veggies hanging out in a bag with raw chicken over night makes us a bit squeamish.

TA DA!!!!

Seriously delicious when cooked on the grill.

FYI: if by chance you make more KaCourtneys than you can eat, be sure to take the extras off the grill prior to sitting down to eat. We learned that lesson tonight....burnt to a crisp and smoking like all hell!

SOMETHING SILLY FROM THIS WEEKEND

What happens if you combine the following:

*free tickets to a beer & wine tasting (thank you Sweet Bean!)

*Katie Jean & Court having a few too many tastings

*an almost life sized Miller Lite Man cardboard cutout? (given to us by the oh so nice Miller Lite lady)

We may or may not have had a real live photo shoot with this little buddy

and

Matilda may or may not hate my guts after forcing her to be in many of the photos.

impromptu

Miss Kitty and I took an impromptu trip to Bloomington last night to check out the "Yard Sale" at UrbanOutfitters. It was a bit picked over, but I still managed to snag:

*jeans
*a funky top (they only had it in a large so it is a bit more like a jumper....we'll see how I like it once I put it all together)
*sunglasses
*a flask (for Stone...it was only $4.99 and he was just saying the other day how a flask might come in handy sometime)

I found two other tops that I liked. Here is one of them:



but I didn't LOVE them....so I had to pass.

But goodness me! I'm forgetting the best part about our impromptu (mini) road trip!!!!! We got to visit with one of my dearest friends, Ali!!!!!!!!!!

Her and I go way back. Seriously. We met at the ripe old age of 2, in our very first preschool class. Talk about a friendship spanning a life time! I love you little lady and it was wonderful to see you!!!

IN OTHER NEWS

I find getting a package in the mail (or even a letter) to be one of the most delightful things! Even if it is something I ordered, so I know it is coming, I can't stop the sheer glee from spreading across my face as I open up the parcel.

There was a little ditty waiting for me on the dining table when I got home from work last night.

Guess what it was!!!!!!!!!! The print I bought from Saskia!


Isn't it lovely?! I love doors and doorways so I couldn't pass up this beautiful photo she took while vacationing in Venice. What an eye for wonderful that lady has! Thank you Saskia for taking this photo for me.

(Yes, I just declared she took the picture strictly for me. ha!)

PS: if you want to purchase something from this amazing lady you can (and should) go HERE
PPS: seriously, go....she's got great stuff

PPPS: I'm not kidding

PPPPS: do it

(remember when I took the "PS" to the fourth power?)

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

easy living....

Today I dreamed (dreamt?) a sweet day dream.


I saw it all unfold before me while standing at the kitchen sink.


(I can see straight to the backyard from that spot.)


I saw an old blanket my Great Gran Estelle made (Madre, you know the one). It was spread out in the grass. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the breeze was ruffling my hair. I was laying on the blanket humming sweet tunes.....to a wee little babe......


.....someday, but not yet.

POST SCRIPT

1.Remember when I bought a tomato plant? I named her Gerdie. I feel that if I gave it a name (and gender) I was more apt to take care of it. Well Gerdie has been blossoming before my eyes and finally the fruits of my labor are showing!!!!

2.I made a seriously tasty omelet for dinner tonight. (breakfast for dinner is one of my all time favorite things)

3 Eggs

Baby Portabella Mushrooms

Asparagus

Tomato (not from Gerdie.....yet)

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

I even flipped it half way through!!!! Well, sort of. I did a baby flick of the wrist then got nervous, so I ended up folding the omelet in half. Nothing a little fancy spatula work couldn't fix!

DELICIOUS!!!!!

turning blue?

I hope you didn't hold your breath....

I.GOT.NOTHING!

So, I shall share a photo.

Here is a glimpse of what I look like when I am ready to go home.......

.....and Stone isn't.

night night!


PS: If you live in Indianapolis, you should probably go eat at Marco's on 54th & Keystone....if you know what's good for you.

Broseph

I'm off to dinner with the rents and hopefully will post something clever when I get back (don't hold your breath though)

Before I go I wanted to post a Happy Birthday message (yes that is 3 in 3 days) to my big bro Rick.

(Not to be confused with my other bro...the hypochondriac)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BROTHER! I LOVE YOU!!!

Rick and me at my wedding

A couple shots of Rick in his awesome childhood wardrobe.

"Oh she's so nice!"

Happy Birthday to my sweet bean Katie Jean!

She is the best friend a gal could ask for and I don't know what I would do without her. I love you Friend!

Katie Jean at my wedding

Katie Jean and I rocking it out at my bro's wedding

You want to know what the greatest job ever was? Summers in high school, Katie Jean and I, worked at the pool in my neighborhood.

Life Guards you ask? HELLS NO! We were Pool Attendants....we cleaned the pool in the morning, checked the chlorine/PH levels every hour or so, made sure peeps didn't bring food or glass containers into the pool area and skimmed the bugs off the top of the pool every few hours. Essential we got paid to get a suntan and read Harry Potter.

IT.WAS.AWESOME.


We weren't even technically required to save people if they were in trouble. The sign said:


"WARNING! NO LIFE GUARD ON DUTY! SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK!"


BUT, we did save some kids that got themselves in trouble. Like the one time a little boy floating in the deep end lost the noodle he was using to stay afloat. He went under and didn't come back up. I dove in (OK, jumped...it was only 5ft) and brought him to the surface then safely to the shallow end. It felt good to save a life. Never mind the fact that I was the one who took the noodle from him....it still felt good!


(note: we were ending our shift and had to put the toys away...HE SAID HE COULD SWIM WITHOUT THE NOODLE!!!!! Clearly you can't trust little kids to tell the truth.)


Oh to be young and carefree again! I would go back to those days with you in a second my dear....well, minus the whole being in high school thing. Oh, and minus the Creepy Magoo who was caught taking pictures of us whilst hiding behind a tree. Other than that...GOOD TIMES!

To you, my Baby Peach....

Today is Kitty's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVE!!!!

We celebrated last night with a gathering at Kitty's place then a night out on the town.

note:I love this photo, taken towards the end of the night (or rather, Kitty's night...we stayed out a bit later than the birthday girl) it's classic Baby Peach.

I hope you had a wonderful b-day! I look forward to joining the "late twenties" club in two months!!!!

PS: Here is a shot of the birthday girl at the beginning of the night....looking sassy!

PPS: In case you were worried....NO, there wasn't a random shoulder, arm and hand floating around the bars last night taking pictures with people. I cropped this photo.

PPPS: How hilarious would it be to take a mannequin arm and shoulder to a bar and put it around (preferable drunk) stranger's shoulders while they are taking pictures. ha!

WICKED

Remember when I saw Wicked last night and balled my eyes out it was so good? I do.

OK, seriously.....one of the best (if not the best) musicals I have ever seen. Pretty sure the water works went into hyper-mode at the end, when Glinda and Elphaba sang "For Good". I nudged my sweet bean, Katie Jean, then immediately got quiver chin. ha!

Thank you my love for getting us tickets to see this! I had a great time! (as usual)


Subject Change.....

This morning I was doing my make-up (putting my face on) while Stone was in the shower. This is the conversation we had:

S: How do you feel about TLC?...the music group
C: I don't really know any of their new stuff, but I used to get down to their old jams (yes, I said jams)
S: I meant their old stuff.
C: WHY?
S: I just remember their music being played ALL THE TIME when I was in high school and I hated it.
C: Liar....I bet you were all "Don't go chasing waterfalls. Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to....." (I sang it)
S: No, I couldn't stand them because of that girl that wore a patch over her eye.
C: Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez?
S: Yeah that's her.....
C: (silence)
S: but really it was because I wanted to wear a patch over my eye too....
C: Who are you!?!?!?!?!

a fine bouquet

This is what could happen to you at a wine festival if you aren't careful.


We didn't know this lady, but I thought it 100% necessary to document her completely passed out in the middle of the Vintage Indiana Wine Festival. ha! I kind of wish her face had been showing though. I could have put one of those black bars over her eyes.....to protect her identity. hee hee!

The wine festival last Saturday was a rockin good time. My two favorite ladies, Momma O. and Katie Jean, were hilarious boozing buddies...as usual.


(yes, those are wine glass holders Katie Jean and I are wearing around our necks. yes, we are classy)

I can't wait for next year my lovelies!!!!!

PS: I'm going to see Wicked tonight with mi madre, sister, these two ladies and a few other peeps. I can't wait!!!! I love it when people burst into song....I do it at home all the time.....

"CHECK!"

I'm a list maker. I make lists. All sorts of lists in fact. Lists of books I want to read, cleaning lists, gifts I need to purchase lists, upgrades I want to make to the house lists (by room), grocery lists......

You get the point.

The thing about a list though, is that....it's just a list. You know what usually happens to my lists? I lose them or throw them away. (Except for the grocery list because we all know a girl has got to eat.) Making a list doesn't magically make all the things on that list get done. If anything, after I make a list I stare at it with dread. (Except for the grocery list because what is dreadful about a tasty meal?) My list sits folded in the current book I am reading, ready to mock me the second I sit down to read. It says to me, "You know what you could do instead of reading? Tackle a few things on this list." That's usually around the time I "lose" the list. (Except for the grocery list because if I lose that list Stone is forced to eat cheese quesadillas all week.)

I wish I were one of those people that makes a list and means business. I admire those people and their checked off lists. Admire and slightly loath....especially if they use a red Sharpie to make the "CHECK!" next to their completed task. That red "CHECK!" mocks me. That red "CHECK!" hurts my feelings. (Unless it is on a grocery list for a meal they are cooking for me)

I think I'm going to make a June Resolution. I can't be trusted with a year long resolution, but a month is doable.

JUNE RESOLUTION:
If I make a list, I must complete it and put a BIG RED "CHECK!" next to each thing once it is completed.

PS: I decided not to make any lists the month of June. (Except grocery lists)

.....

I'm feeling whelmed. Not over-whelmed. Not under-whelmed.

Just whelmed.

I can't even think of anything to type in the title line of this post.

Maybe it's the heat? Indiana is notorious for hot sticky summers. Maybe it's the plate full of pasta I just stuffed my face full of? I'm notorious for making (and eating) far too much pasta. Maybe it's the fact that my liver sent me a text message on Monday morning telling me he quit? Yeah, my liver is a dude and (somehow) gets cell reception.

Speaking of cell reception.....

My niece Chloe turned 13 last week. I didn't order her gift until after we got back from vacation so it wasn't delivered in time for us to give it to her when we all went out to dinner to celebrate. (not to worry, we gave her a little iTunes gift card "filler gift" so we didn't look like that terrible of an Aunt and Uncle) Well, it arrived over the weekend and I'm not gonna lie........I kinda want to keep it for myself. Is that terrible? I mean, look how cute it is:

can be found here along with a whole boat load of other cute stuff

I guess I could always email Stone one of my "subtle hints" that I wouldn't mind having it too.



ps: Yeah, I know. Cell reception had nothing to do with that necklace stuff. I'm just too whelmed to think of a witty subject transition.

please don't stop the music.....

Coldplay was at Deer Creek on Friday night.

(note: the venue is actually called Verizon Wireless Music Center, but that name sounds harsh and unwelcoming so I prefer to call it by it's old more inviting name, Deer Creek. Stupid corporations splattering their names all over the place. It's like when "they" renamed the Hoosier Dome to the RCA Dome. A whole lot that name change did....the RCA Dome was torn down last year. I bet if it were the Hoosier Dome people would think twice before taking a wrecking ball to it.....I'm just sayin....)

It was a perfect night.

Stone and I had a dance party

Humes wore his "dancin flip flops"

It was a great time with great friends! Thank you Humes for being our sugar daddy!!!!!

looking forward to:

Before I get to what I'm looking forward to, let me share something crazy I saw yesterday:

I had to pop into the grocery store on my lunch break yesterday. (my Pops came over for dinner last night and I still needed an ingredient) Whilst walking in, I passed by a mother and her three children. Two of the children were walking. They looked to be around 5 & 8, give or take a year. The mom was carrying a little girl who appeared to be 6-8months old. When I got close to the mom, the child she was carrying in her arms had a pacifier in her mouth. Now that is not strange by any means. My brother usually had a passie in his mouth, in each hand, each pocket of his overalls and one clipped to his shirt. He was prepared for a passie mishap. Upon further inspection of the wee babe in it's mother's arms I noticed something strange. The mother had attached an elastic cord to each side of the passie then placed that around the babe's head. Essentially, the mother gagged her kid with it's own passie!!!!!

Needless to say I was appalled and openly stared at the family as I walked by. I mean, I am completely fine with having one of those little clips that goes from the passie to the kid's shirt so it won't get lost or dropped on the ground. But COME ON!!!!! What if that little kid had a stuffed up nose or spit up!?!?!?!

Am I wrong to think this was so absurd?

MOVING ON FROM MY RANT.......

the stare down

So it's Friday.

IT.IS.FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a little excited for the weekend. Can you tell?

I've got many a splendid thing planned for this fine first weekend in June.

Friday: Coldplay concert
*a certain unlucky friend of ours surprised us with tickets...lucky for me he is my friend.

Saturday: The Vintage Indiana Food and Wine Festival
*a certain sweet bean of a friend of mine (Katie Jean) snagged a few tickets then invited yours truly to go with her.....lucky for me I have friends with connections! (and who like wine)

See what I mean? A whole bushel of goodness packed into one weekend.

PS: This Etsy shop was on the front page the other day. It is chalk full of cute stuff, like this table runner for example.

Stone, don't you think this table runner would look too cute to boot on our dinning table? I do....

lazy days

Charleston Charleston Charleston.....I miss you

If anyone is debating on whether or not to go to this fine city, I will settle it for you right now.

GO.

We ate. I'm pretty sure I would no longer fit into my jeans had we stayed a day longer. Shrimp and Grits, Crab Cakes, Cajun Shrimp Po-Boys, Scallops, Calamari, Fried Green Tomatoes, Steak and an open faced turkey sandwich to boot!

If you can't read the plaque, under the tasty bowl of cole slaw, it says "Michael Bolton at at this table".....so did Vanilla Ice

The only night we failed at eating something tasty for dinner was the day we went to the beach. In typical Court/Stone fashion we only heavily applied the SPF to our faces. Thus leaving the rest of our bodies "naked" to the sun's scorch. And scorch it did. The beach is such a tricky minx. That cool ocean breeze had us thinking we were hardly getting any sun at all! Oh how silly we were.....

note: Sorry for the close up of Stone's foot, but he clearly has some sort of sand repellent on his toenails! I thought it was highly strange and needed to be documented

Fast forward to later that night:

COURT: shivering under the covers, with just a pair of leggins on. The thought of putting ANYTHING against the skin on my back and shoulders was enough to bring a tear to my eye. (don't even get me started on how it felt pulling those leggins across the tomato red skin on the back of my legs and bum!)

STONE: "Court did you bring any PJ pants!?!?!" he asks me whilst shivering under the covers. "I only brought my yoga pants." "WHERE ARE THEY!??!"

I got a good laugh watching Stone do a jiggity jig around our room with my yoga pants painted on him.

We walked everywhere. (except the vineyard...that would've taken DAYS!)

We walked through the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, then spread our beach blanket in the park to people watch...eventually I feel asleep with the sun shining down on my face. (it was bliss)

We went to the Irvin-House Vineyards. The wine was different. It's made with the muscadine grape, I thought all the wines had a sort of bitter after taste....not my fav. BUT.....Irvin-House just so happens to be the birthplace of FireFly Sweet Tea Vodka! (if you haven't had it....get it! It is dangerously tasty) We weren't allowed to do any tastings of the vodka, but the owner of the vineyard came out and gave us a taste of his newest concoction. A coffee flavored rum. It literally tasted like iced coffee. Again, dangerously tasty.

We shopped.

We relaxed

We loved it!

The Smokey Mountains on our drive home

500

I failed at life for this year's pre-Indy 500 fest. I became a bobble head.

*DEFINITION OF BOBBLE HEAD
A person who, due to alcohol consumption, takes on the appearance of a dashboard ornament.

I'm unsure as to why this happened, considering this year I came prepared. I packed a snack (pasta salad & apples), I ate before going to the Coke lot and I didn't day booze before hand. What the H!

A conversation between friends while walking towards "The Winner's Circle" (a trashy bar):

Court: (walking down Georgetown Rd. in bobble head mode)
Kitty: "I don't want you to be like this."
Court: "I don't want me to be like this either!"
Kitty: "What happened?!?"
Court: "I don't know! One minute I'm fine and the next bobble-bobble-bobble-bobble....."
Kitty: "PULL IT TOGETHER!!!!!"

I appreciate the peeps that really dress to impress at events. Sort of like this guy:

Nothing says "I'm here for the race!" quite like head to toe checkered flag gear! (literally to the toe...even his shoes are checkered)

ps: Thank you Madre and Pops for being our personal chauffeurs to and from the Coke lot!!!! and for the tasty left over pizza in the morning....it saved my life

"I'M BACK BABY!!!"

So I have things to say about our vacation in Charleston and the trashy festival that is the Indy 500......but not yet.


So I give you this treat from my day today..........


Not 5 minutes after walking in to work this fine Monday morning, my brother CJ (you know, the hypochondriac) walks up to me.

"Did you hear? I'm pretty sure I have male breast cancer." he says as he lifts his shirt revealing his bare chest.

Obviously two things go through my head: 1.) Really? 2.) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

"Feel 'em. Go on....do it! But feel the left one first." So I reluctantly touch his "boob". "Feels pretty normal to me." I tell him. "Yeah I know. Now feel the right one." Again, I go about feeling up my bro. "OH! That's strange...what is that?" I say as a feel a sort of hard lump/mass.

"IT'S THE CANCER!!!!! I have a doctor appt. this afternoon."

"Of course you do."


I then talk to mi Madre about this alleged man breast cancer. She informs me this has been going on since last Tuesday. He has self diagnosed and made her feel/look at his tatas more than she ever signed up for. She said things took a turn for the worse when he read that "after some sort of mass forming another common sign, in men with breast cancer, is for the nipple to sink in a bit". He comes up to her (obviously lifting his shirt for her to see) "Look. Just look! Now my nip is sinking in."

"Of course your nip is sinking in! Every time I turn around you have your damn shirt lifted and your pushing your boob in trying to feel "the cancer"!!!!"



UPDATE:

I texted CJ on my home from work.....

Court: "How's the tit?"
CJ: "Fine"
Court: "Just fine? No diagnosis? Is it normal or is it milk???"
CJ: (crickets)

I guess he doesn't think it's funny.



For your viewing pleasure....a photo of me and the hypochondriac as children. This picture was taken right around the time mi Madre apparently hated me and took (what I can only assume) were dull, possible rusty, scissors to my hair.