As opposed to “White and Black”, more often you’ll find that it is referred to as “Black and White” and I’ve posted about it before here.

You can find it when watching movies or television

appreciating art

listening to the words of a song

shopping in a particular retail establishment

As I mentioned before, more often you’ll find that it is “Black and White”, but not today.  Just because it sounds better as a title…

Today is

White and Black Wednesday

And the Executive Escalation Office is rocking the white and black look!  Or at least trying to!

In the world of fashion, there is arguably no more classic a pairing than black and white.

Yesterday Wendy came into the office and declared that we should wear black and white tomorrow.

Of course my interest was piqued and [as always] I’m game!  It kinda makes me feel like I’m in High School again.

Wendy has lost about 70 pounds and we just recently celebrated a milestone in this journey.  She has enjoyed shopping for new clothes and the outfit she wore today was adorable and also a completely new look for her.

Everyone is impressed with her progress and I’m very proud of her.

Kathy sits nearby and joined in the fashion day by wearing mostly white, which was originally why I named today White and Black Wednesday.  Kathy is like my big sister at work.  She has looked out for me since I joined her team six years ago and was instrumental in having me begin work with the Office of the President in our company.  Kathy will sometimes tell the story of how she had our manager move my desk next to hers so she could mentor me right from the beginning.  She is a gem and I love her dearly!

As usual, I require inspiration to get dressed in the morning.  Today I was attempting this look:But because I have to wear this dang badge, it didn’t quite work out…Nobody believes me.

It is a bittersweet thing to say goodbye to the weekend

And Hello to Monday.

But right now I am smiling as I reflect on the past two days and how I enjoyed myself.  Especially Saturday.

Saturday Morning I made my way to the kitchen to make coffee, then enjoyed a cup while watching the Cooking Channel.  I take pleasure in starting my day slowly and this is one of the reasons I love weekends, as most of my days begin by jumping out of bed, throwing myself together and rushing out the door. One of my happy places is in my living room chair with Elvis perched on my lap and a cup of coffee in my hand.  I love this part of my life.

But I’m a busy person and it wasn’t long before I was back in the kitchen being creative.  There has been a container of cinnamon rolls in my refrigerator for way too long.  It was time to get rid of them.  So I made cinnamon roll waffles.  LB was delighted and he ate two.

Saturday Afternoon

I showed some love to my front yard flowers, spending about 30 minutes weeding.  LB spent several hours in the yard mowing and edging.  I jumped in the pool.  Later in the day, after he came in and recharged, we decided to go out to dinner.  One of our regular places is Jerry’s Sports Grille which is LB’s favorite place for steak.  Jerry’s didn’t work out, so we headed back to Whiskey Jax.  LB and I shared a burger and a salad

The featured band was

Sidewalk 65

and they were very entertaining.

Also entertaining, as always, were the dancers showing off their moves

VERY ENTERTAINING.  We enjoyed the show.  There are some “extras” singing in this clip.  The band was actually pretty good.

As usual, it turned out to be a nice Saturday.  I’m looking forward to the next one!

Bright reds – scarlet, pillar-box red, crimson or cherry – are very cheerful and youthful.  There is certainly a red for everyone. ~Christian Dior

There is Absolutely a Red for Me! I love every shade of red from Amaranth to Wine!
Red is definitely an eye catcher. If I am browsing through the racks of a department store, something red is sure to grab my attention.  I’m usually seeing red!

Last week during a lunch hour shopping trip to Kohl’s, I was shopping for nothing in particular when I came across the cutest little

Red Blouse

It made it’s way to the dressing room with me where I snapped this pic:

The blouse features a ruffled front, a lace-up v-neck, cap sleeves, a pleated back, and a high-low hem.  You can see it online in this and other colors here.

And the cute little top came home with me

Recently I read an article explaining a study examining the association of the color red with personalities.  Subjects were shown images containing blue and red where neither blue nor red was the dominant color.  The takeaway was that people with hostile personalities were more likely to see red.  And I thought I was drawn to the color simply because it is bright and exciting.Do I look hostile?

Not at all!

So to prove that I’m hospitable I’ve put together a collection of VERY AFFORDABLE blouses from Amazon (and one from Kohl’s) to share with you.  Check these out:

1  //  2  //  3  //  4

5  //  6  //  7  //  8

9  //  10  //  11  //  12

Happy Shopping!

“I hate tacos!” (said no Juan ever)

Or no LB for that matter… He enjoys one every morning for breakfast! (we call them wraps, so I suppose they are a cousin of the taco).

In celebration of

TACO TUESDAY

I am serving the following for dinner:
Taco Stuffed Peppers That’s right… I’m thinking outside of the proverbial taco box.
These babies are chock-full of tomato, beef, rice, green bell pepper, onion, and various spices. Then sprinkled with a generous amount of Monterey Jack cheese on top.
I baked them at 350° for about 30 minutes.

LB thinks they are deliciousWhat’s great about them? They are on the verge of being carb-free.

All of the ingredients used in the making of these stuffed peppers are without carb, with the exception of the leftover rice that was mixed in (because I happened to have some).  The amount of rice that I used measured to be about a half a cup and was divided into four servings (or four bell pepper halves). If you are practicing a carb free lifestyle or happen to be living the Paleo life, this is the perfect way to participate in Taco Tuesday.

LB is a skinny boy and does not deny himself the pleasure of carbohydrate consumption.  To keep him well fed, I  added a side of pinto beans.

Now obviously, you can’t have Mexican cuisine in any form without some version of a Margarita.  For our Taco Tuesday, LB is having an imitation Margarita in a salt rimmed Margarita glass.  LB is the only one having an imitation Margarita because Kim only has one glass in her collection now.  But she DOES have a wonderful man in her life that is gracious enough to do the dishes!

Confession time: I didn’t use a recipe for this taco concoction because, as I alluded to before, I had leftovers that I felt the need to use.  But if you’d like a recipe, I have one pinned on my Pinterest “Let’s Eat” board that you can find here.

Happy Tuesday

For future reference, these items are available for your Taco Tuesday amusement:

I first heard it from Kathie Lee & Hoda: it is…

National Sunglasses Day! 

the Vision Council invites us to join them in the celebration of “Sunnies” today.

National Sunglasses Day is a commemorative date held annually on June 27 reminding us of the importance of wearing our eye shades.  We are encouraged to practice safe sunning by styling our eye accessories, not only in the summer, but throughout the year, as the sun’s harsh ultraviolet rays are always at play.

In an effort to

Share the Message of UV Protection

lets all grab our shade spectacles and post a picture on social media.  To help share the message of the importance of protecting our eyes celebrate use #NationalSunglassesDay and #SunglassSelfie in your favorite shades (source).

That said, I’m joining the National Sunglasses Day celebration!

Here are some of my favorite Sunglasses Pics

from the streets of St. Augustine, Florida

to the shores of the Golden Isles…to the beaches in Jacksonville… and Ponte Vedra… and Daytona…or exploring the east coast… That was FUN!

As I was on my way to work this morning, LB called to see how my drive was going – basically if I was okay – as he usually does. While we were chatting, he was telling me about Elvis watching a lizard out the window.

In case I haven’t mentioned before, Elvis is my cat.

He will be eight years old this September and has been with me since he was three months old.

It was December 12, 2009 and my plan was to give my oldest daughter Stephanie a kitten for Christmas.  LB and I went to the Humane Society and looked at all the adorable kitties that were living there.  Some of them were in crates; some of them were playing together in the Kitty Cabana.  As we walked into the Kitty Cabana I noticed one little black fur ball scurry behind a kitty play set. Of course I went after him.  Given the fact that he was so skittish, I was surprised that he let me pick him up.  Not only did he let me pick him up, he let me hold him close and snuggle.  I had found a winner.
We took him home.

My plan was to keep him for the next several days before Christmas and then take him to Stephanie on Christmas morning.

It was only a few days that he was with us and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to part with him.

The decision was made that I would keep Elvis and go back to the Humane Society for another rescue.

Exactly one week later, we went back and adopted Aymie.  She and Stephanie are inseparable.

Elvis has been on numerous trips with me. He has been through several moves with me. He tolerates no visitors and hides under the bed as soon as he is aware that company has arrived. To most people, he seems very unsociable.
However, when he hears me come home, he comes running. He then leads me to the living room for some hello-let’s-have-a-brush time.

He sleeps on my bed at my feet. He is anxious for me to get up in the morning and has been known to sit by my head and pat my nose. His favorite time is when I’m sitting in my living room chair letting him sleep on my lap

Or when he sniffs out the gum in my handbag

He has brought joy to my life and I am so glad to have him!

LB loves Elvis too!