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Patsy

Recently an adorable lady has become a member of my work family

Miss Patsy Brown

Patsy has been with our company for ten years and recently relocated from Louisiana to join us here in the Sunshine State. It was fun hearing her talk about setting up her new home after she made the big move to Florida. I remember her excitement the day she closed on her house; and again when her 50MB internet was installed.

She has been great fun to get to know.  She has a great sense of humor.  And I’ve learned that she likes to watch lifetime television in bed and enjoys participating in her collection of workout videos from the sofa.

Something we have in common is our love of shopping, especially for clothes and shoes.
Every morning Patsy comes into the office dressed SO CUTE. Most of the time I tell her what great fashion sense she has or how well she puts an outfit together. Today I asked her where she purchased the top she is wearing.

Dressbarn was the place.

I recently experienced Dressbarn for the first time on a trip to the new Tanger Outlet in Daytona.

It was at Dressbarn that I found my yellow capris and navy ankle pants in the clearance section.

Fun in the dressing room.
Patsy told me that her go-to shop is Dressbarn and most of her clothes have been purchased there.  At times she has forgotten what is in her closet and purchased the same item twice.  Since I love it, I tried to locate the top she is wearing online, with no success.  Patsy advised checking the Scarves & Wraps category under Accessories

Bingo!

Paisley-Print Cascade Vest

Only $25… thinking I might need one of those!

In addition to Dressbarn, Patsy enjoys purchasing shoes from JustFab and says she has been using the online company for years, not purchasing every month, but enjoying the benefits of the VIP membership when she does.

Looking forward to seeing her outfit ensemble tomorrow!

Show and Tell Tuesday

Show and Tell Tuesday

Because I had so much fun with my cell phone show and tell, I thought I would participate in another.  This is the Show and Tell Tuesday Dresser Drawer Edition

meaning, I am sharing the contents of one of my dresser drawers.
This is my dresser

It has been with me since I was 13 years old.  The style works well with my other bedroom furniture, which is part of the Accent’s Français collection by Drexel Heritage.

That’s another story for another day.  The middle drawer is the focus of my attention today.

This middle drawer is chock-full of memorabilia in the form of …

Tee Shirts!

You would be surprised at the memories associated with tee shirts.  Here are just a sample of mine:

This bright green Rethink Possible tee from AT&T is not a shirt I wear often… actually it is not a shirt I wear ever, but I like the color.  Also I have a propensity for Pack Rattery.  Yes, I made up that word.

My navy blue Boston Athletic Association tee is a reminder that I did go to Boston for the BIG Marathon and I did participate in one of the “little” races… the 5k.Thats me.  On the ground.  With the Hare.

From my first trip to Las Vegas:LB and I played the slot machines and the casino awarded us with this lovely never-worn-again Total Rewards tee.  It is kept for sentiment only. Did I mention the Pack Rat condition I suffer from?

Survivor Africa was one of the best Survivor seasons ever and boy was I a big fan! I have a buff too.  Probably in one of those other drawers.

One of my many Florida road race tees… this light blue one from Gate River Run 2008 is my favorite.

Two of my tee shirts

…and possibly three, were confiscated from two of my children.

One of those tees is this Nintendo Rehabilitation Clinic (the first step is admitting you have a problem) tee.At one point in my life I did have an obsession with Nintendo 2, specifically Super Mario World. This is a happy thought for me because it was a time I spent with my kids.  Richard was only 3 years old when I sat him in my lap on the floor, facing the television, and with our hands together on the controller, I taught him to play.  Eventually he was better than I… so I stole his shirt.

The Florida Virtual School shirt belonged to either Stephanie or Amanda. They were my homeschool graduates. When we began our homeschool adventure in 2000, chemistry was on the schedule.  We turned to FVS for assistance with this subject and somehow ended up with this shirt.  I like it, so I kept it.

The bright orange Staff FBC Jax Camp 2008 is probably my favorite as it is the one I wear the most.  In fact, I’m wearing it right now.I may have confiscated this one from Amanda.  It tackles the treadmill with me on a regular basis and occasionally when I engage in work that involves getting messy.  It has been through the washer more than anything else that I own.  I fully expect to see it disintegrate someday.

Part of the reason I like to wear the orange Staff tee is because it doesn’t feel stiff and scratchy.  So I searched for a way to make my other tee shirts feel the same.  Here is what I found:

How to make your tee shirt soft

InStyle calls this “fresh-out-of-the store tees vintage-y soft” and you can find that article here.

Step 1: Create a mix.
To make your tee shirt soft, first create a mix of water and salt, or water and vinegar in a large bucket. For one quart of water, you will need about 1/2 cup of salt or vinegar.  The salt and/or vinegar is supposed to open up the fibers.

Step 2: Soak your tee shirt.
Soak your shirt in the mixture for about seven minutes, (according to the article)

Step 3: Wash and dry as normal.
Next wash your tee shirt as your normally would with detergent.  Then toss it in the dryer, but take it out before it fully dries.  Hang it or lay it flat to finish drying naturally.

Step 4: Try again.
Because hope springs eternal, repeat all the steps that you just completed, since it didn’t work the first time.

 

Jekyll Island

There are so many places to visit in the Southeast and what better way to enjoy the summer than with a weekend trip as near as your own backyard.  This past weekend LB and I had the opportunity to visit Jekyll Island, Georgia. LB and I headed north on Saturday afternoon and reached the island around 5:30. As per usual on the weekends, having skipped lunch, we were ready for dinner.

We enjoyed dinner at

Tortuga Jacks is the land of the beach taco and was our dinner destination of choice.

While enjoying the outdoor seating area, overlooking the ocean

LB and I savored our usual fajitas

and the music of Backbeat BlvdWith the exception of a few bothersome insects buzzing about, the evening was lovely and we had a nice time.“cheese”

Our adventure continued on Sunday afternoon when we visited the new shopping area on Main Street.

Jekyll Island Beach Village

One of the most unique shops we’ve ever come across was the Jekyll Market, a gourmet grocery store. We almost passed it by, thinking it was only a restaurant. The sign says “Eat Drink Shop” and that is exactly why you can spend a couple of hours exploring this store.  In the Jekyll Market, you can find an assortment of things including…

Especially relevant is not the Farmhouse Peachshine, but the Feta Stuffed Olives, .  We love these at my house!

Another shop that we spent time in was Tonya’s

  It is no secret that I love to discover new boutiques.  Tonya’s is part boutique and part gift shop.  In the front of the store there were so many pretty little chachkies and personal items.  Especially intriguing were the Kate Spade accessories

and this cute little plaque

I restrained myself and did Not purchase this for Gina, as I didn’t know if she would like pink.

Once again, we had a lovely weekendStay tuned for our next adventure!

Seeing Red

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!

Taco Tuesday

“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:


Weekend Wandering

LB and I have various venues that we frequent on the weekend.

This past weekend we decided to try something different…

attend an event in Jacksonville. There was an event at the Jacksonville Landing that involved two bands and fireworks. It seemed like a good idea to head downtown and check it out. We took a few minutes to take in the Jacksonville Landing experience …but ultimately decided it wasn’t how we wanted to spend the evening.

We headed back to the car admiring the artwork along the way.

I took an evening stroll around this particular column:

 As we were making our way to 95 South, we almost passed a Jacksonville landmark

The Treaty Oak

LB thought we should stop, so we did.This massive tree is approximately 250 years old.  and appears to be laying on the ground. It is defined as “octopus-like”You can’t climb it! But you can read about it here

Following the tree experience, we headed to Whisky Jax (Beaches location) for dinner and live music.

This was our second time having dinner at this location and the food was just as good as we remembered.  We were able to get a table up front so we could see the band and the amusing patrons occupying the dance floor.

Dinner was delicious.  And it was fried.

LB and I shared a seafood platter with 3 dipping sauces, along with tantalizing French fries, and Jim Beam applesauce (brown stuff pictured below).  Very tasty.The SunJammer Band was featured Saturday night. This was our first time seeing this band. They are an intriguing group and very entertaining. We had a good time and I recommend Whiskey Jax (Beach location) for a fabulous Saturday date night.

What started out as a perplexing date nightended as a pleasant date night

Breakfast Waffles Four Ways

A typical Saturday morning at my house involves an egg on pumpernickel toast with coffee while binge watching the Pioneer Woman on the Food Network.  This Saturday morning I was inspired by the declining buttermilk in my refrigerator to do something different.  There were a few options… pancakes, biscuits, waffles all taste yummy using a recipe that calls for buttermilk.

LB chose waffles

On my Pinterest Breakfast Board I’ve pinned a recipe for the Rich Buttermilk Waffles from food.com. This recipe called for a cup and a half of buttermilk which was exactly what I had left after my recent chicken frying experience.  I also used a teaspoon of Stevia instead of sugar.  Not sure what my thinking was there, it certainly didn’t do much to help with daily calorie consumption.

After I whipped up the waffle batter, whether it was ideal for the batter or not,  I decided to mix it up four different ways:

Elvis was especially excited

Four batches of waffles later… Ta-dahI kept the waffles warm in the oven and after finishing the last batch, asked LB which flavor he wanted to try.  He chose peanut butter, banana, and blueberry lemon.

Check out my presentation skills:

My approach was to cut the waffles in half and try each one.  My favorite was the blueberry lemon.  Banana took second place, peanut butter third.  LB agreed.  Later he sampled the chocolate chip pecan waffle and decided it was better than the peanut butter.  Apparently I didn’t add enough peanut butter.  If I ever make peanut butter waffles for breakfast again, I’ll use crunchy instead of creamy, and make sure that I have some grape jelly on hand to schmear on the top!Glass, Food, Purple, Grape, Breakfast

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