PRESSURE....

I'm the kind of girl that likes to be comfortable....

....in my clothes. If I'm not comfortable there is a definite chance I will be cranky and less fun.

(note: of course I will still be mostly fun, because duh-I ROCK! ha!....or at least according to my nieces I do)

Now, lets not confuse comfort with shabbiness. I like to look pulled together, I'm using the word "comfortable" as a loose term in regards to all situations:

*meeting friends for dinner
*going to a party

*hanging at home with friends

*going to the in-laws for dinner

*going to a movie

*going to work

No matter the situation (casual or dressy) it is a must for me to feel comfortable in my outfit!

ALL that said, I am slightly stressing out about this weekend. We (me, Kitty & Sara) are driving up to Detroit-Rock City to visit our fiery friend Lisa.

(note: if she reads this prior to our arrival I might get a hello whack upside the head for calling her fiery....she has red hair.)

Lisa has informed us that she is getting a bit more spiffed up than usual for our weekend outings. Which equals the outfits I had originally planned are a no go.

Thanks to this "spiffed up" comment I have spent the entire week attempting to put together 2-3 outfits that:

a) look smashing (obviously)
b) I won't freeze my bum off in (winter = I can't just throw on a fun dress and be done)
c) I can get away with NOT wearing heels/pumps with

Background info on me wearing heels/pumps:

I used to wear them all the time, then came Stone. He is 5'10" I am 5'7.5". This means if I wear heels I am either the same height or taller than Stone....sorry, not a big fan of that.

Problem:

When I wear heels now (totally rare occasion) I am want to curl up in a little ball and cry the next day because my tootsies are so darn sore!

Solution (for this weekend....and my smashing outfits):

AND


Thank you Steve Madden and Blowfish for enabling me to not only look smashing but also be oh-so-comfy!

***Perhaps I will present photos of the full outfits at a later date.....

puzzolente!

Dear Parmesan Reggiano,

I thought we were friends.


I thought things were good between us.

I get to use my new Pampered Chef cheese grater every time I shred you for Parmesan Crusted Chicken.

I shred you so you can sprinkle bits-o-goodness a top pasta. I slice you so I can have a cheesy delicious snack.

So why I ask. WHY....did you decide last night to stink up my kitchen like a giant foot?

After everything I do! I always make sure to buy you fresh. I always make sure to wrap you up snug and safe before I put you away.

I could have forgiven you for last night, but this morning you took it too far.

There I am, walking down the stairs to start my morning, when the sharp sting of your stench slapped me across the face.

Hopefully when I get home tonight you will have made the right decision and cleaned your act up.

If not, I have some serious thinking to do about whether or not I can let someone with your foul nature back into my kitchen (and life).

With a sad heart,

Courtney

Success.....

Thanks to AT&T U-Verse, and the $50 Visa gift card they sent us (me), Saturday I was on a mission to find/purchase new jeans.



Problem:

1. I have long (semi-slender) legs

+

2. I have junk in the trunk

=

3. Jeans shopping is almost my least favorite adventure.....EVER.



My first stop was a failure....as usual Express did not have my size.



Second stop, Von Maur, was a fluke and a failure (Kitty had to drop a pair of heels at the Cobbler for repair....thus we went to Von Maur whilst waiting)....I'm just mentally not ready to plop down $175.00-$200.00 for a pair of jeans.



Third time really is a charm! (and at the most unlikely of places)



On a whim I decided to stroll through The Gap.



Background info:

In the past, jeans from The Gap have been down right stupid (for me). The designers apparently think I have "a package" and therefore make the inseam especially looooooonnnng on their jeans. Um, no thank you I do not want to appear to not only have junk in the trunk but also in the front!!!! It's really a strange site to see.



Well, imagine my surprise when I slip into a pair of dark, low-rise, skinny jeans and they look smashing!



Well done Gap, well done.



(doesn't it sound strange to say "Gap" and not "The Gap"????)



Added Bonus:

They had a special going....spend $75 and get $20 off your purchase. The jeans were $69.99 so I picked up a pair of $6.99 boxers for Stone and my total ended up at $60.00!!!



Sadface:

Due to me grabbing the wrong size boxers Stone's little surprise was a failure.



It's OK:

Kev (Kitty's boy toy) just so happened to wear the size of boxers I grabbed therefore he got a little surprise.....that we pretended was from Kitty and not me....kind of strange to buy your friend's boyfriend new boxers. hee hee!



random bit:

***Ever notice how people discuss the vitamins they are taking, but no one ever really talks about the minerals.

Kissable

Yes, it is true that I had a mid-morning snack which consisted of a cherry flavored BlowPop.

In my defense, I opened the sucker in an attempt to give my lips a bit of a red tint.....the attempt was a failure.

On the plus side, I got to eat a cherry flavored BlowPop and then chew tasty gum for a bit afterwards.

Tomorrow Mother Nature is allegedly blowing in cold air and snow.

(due to the weather peeps in this town and their knack for incorrectly predicting the weather, I don't believe there will be snow until I see it)

In preparation for this possible cold cold day I have decided beef stew is in order.

When it is cold/windy/hideous outside I feel it is a must to have a tasty (hot) meal brewing all day long. The smell of food, simmering on the stove top all day, will wrap itself around my home like a warm fuzzy blanket.

I can't wait.

Hodge Podge...again (I'm sorry!)

*Unless a surprise pretty package arrives at my front door in the next week or so, my dreams have been shattered. The dress (picture in my "Snaps for Court!" post) has been purchased by another.


The only peace I have....some lady, some where, possible far far away will feel oh so lovely in that dress when she wears it.


* Tonight's dinner included: grilled cheese & tomato soup.....hello childhood, the memory of you washes over me like a summer breeze.

*Pretzel Crisps....new favorite snack which just so happen to go swimmingly with a glass of vino and makes reading my new Cooking Light magazine even more enjoyable.

(Matilda loves them too...)


*Oh, I am starting the search for the perfect Tea Party invitation. So far I have found one that is too cute to boot.

(of course I can't show it to you!....what if one of my invitees reads this and sees the invite before it arrives in her mailbox??? talk about ruining a surprise!)


* I heard "Barracuda" by Heart not once but twice on the radio today.

a) it was a bit much
b) I can't lie....I did mentally strum the Guitar Hero guitar each time I heard it. (dum-duddum-duddum-duddum-duddum-dum-dum-dummmmmm)

Snaps for Court!

1. Stone informed me that the quesadillas I made for dinner last night were "restaurant quality".

(after the "spitting incident" he informed that: "you NEVER spit into the wind!"...sorry Stone, girls don't get the spitting handbook apparently presented to all boys at birth)

2. If an extra $285.00 were to magically appear in my bank account I would most certainly purchase this:

dress can be found at this etsy shop

3. If whilst driving I am behind a fellow drive who has failed to realize their turn signal is still on, I at first feel rage at having to watch the blinker "blink, blink, blink" for who knows how long. Then when the "blink, blink, blink" stops and my fellow driver has realized "OH GOODNESS, I have had my turn signal on since I got on the interstate 10 MILES AGO."....The need to cheer and clap for my fellow (clueless) driver is almost more than I can bear!



4. I painted my nails with a little "Mrs. O'Leary's BBQ" (courtesy of OPI) over the weekend. Watching my finger-licking-good nails fly over the keyboard has been great fun for the past few days!

V-Day recap:

Valentine's Day (this year) = absurd awesomeness

I found these beauties waiting for me downstairs on Saturday morning:

Tulips? Yes please!....my boy toy knows what I like!



He also got me this darling little tank/tunic (from here) that I will be sporting even in the winter with a long sleeved shirt underneath.

(note: he attempted to purchase me the rockin dress I wanted buy they no longer had my size...sadface)

OK, on to the "absurd awesomeness".....

(my flowers & tank were just plain awesome)

We dined in style here:

As I said before, White Castle does a whole Valentine's Day promo. They have "table cloths", servers, candles, flowers...etc. It was very silly.

This is the menu that awaited us at our table. If you look closely you will see the first of the "absurd awesomeness".....The outside of the menu says:

"Celebrating Your Love......."

Open it up and you find:

"......Of The Crave"

Heck yeah that's what we were celebrating!

(Katie Jean and Babs)

V-Day is also Babs' birthday....much to his dismay the entire "wait staff" at White Castle sang him HAPPY BIRTHDAY. Afterwards he stated:

"That was the most heartfelt rendition of Happy Birthday I have ever experienced."

To which we all agreed.

We all added a little "kick" to our sodas....and by "kick" I mean good ol Jim Beam.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EVENING :

1. The sign on the door stated, "RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Please see hostess for seating." I love it!...it was all very serious.

2. Stone went to the bathroom and when he came back he whispered:

"Don't make a big deal about it, but the WORKER who went to the bathroom before me didn't wash his hands."

Um....EEWW!

3. Katie Jean dropped the glass pint of Jim Beam onto the tile floor causing quite a ruckus. Luckily it didn't break but seeing has how not a damn thing in that entire "restaurant" is made out of glass.....it was pretty obvious what we were up to.

4. While ordering, our waitress recommended the fish sandwich. HA!....

"What's good on the menu tonight?"

"I recommend the fish sandwich."

Good times!!!!