Long Time, No Blog.

First of all, I apologize for not drafting any new posts lately. I wouldn't necessarily say I've been uninspired, but I've definitely been incredibly busy. My days have been booked to the brim the last couple of weeks--especially the weekends. I've been having a lot of fun with my cooler than cool friends (probably too much fun). I should be very thankful for this, I suppose. So, thanks to those of you who have been keeping me so occupied, haha.

Honestly, I haven't had anything worth blogging about in the last couple of weeks...until today.

I'm a provisional (or "pledge," basically) in the Jr League of Ft Worth. We're required to volunteer at the League's upscale resale shop called Double Exposure, or D.E. for short. The D.E. has a very large inventory of clothes, shoes and home goods--the majority of which have been donated by League members and provisionals. While volunteering, we spend most of our time sorting through new donations and straightening the things that are already out on the floor. It's a pretty cool gig. At our first provisional meeting, they told us that their best customers are the League members, but up until now, I hadn't really found anything there worth spending money on.

Today, I spent the first hour or so of my volunteer time sizing and reorganizing the women's suits and evening attire. That's where I came across my first two purchases...

The top pictured above is by far my favorite of the two. The picture doesn't really do it justice because you can't see how intricate the beading is all over it. I didn't even try it on before buying it (can you say impulse shopper???), but upon arriving home I found that it's the perfect length to wear with my black Joe's jeggings or even white jeans, perhaps. I honestly almost shed a tear because I love it so much. The scalloped edges might be my favorite feature.

The other top, which I don't have a picture of (sorry), is going to be saved for Fall/Winter. It's long sleeved with an all-over black and white sequin check print. I promise it isn't as Bozo the Clown-ish as it sounds, haha.

Needless to say, I scored both of them for under $17.00 (WHAT WHAT!). Partly because the D.E. is having a Fourth of July Sale and everything in the store is 25% off. It must be my lucky day!

I'll be heading back to Lake Eufaula for, what I will momentarily dub, "Holiday Weekend Debauchery Round 2: Party in the U.S.A." (just made that up, in case you couldn't tell). I'm ridiculously excited. I'm sure I'll come back with many hilarious stories and memories--most of which probably won't be appropriate for sharing, haha.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!! GO AMERICA!

Drake < Jimmy

So, for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past few weeks, the new Drake album "Thank Me Later" was released a few days ago. Personally, I'm a fan of his music. I haven't bought the new album (yet), but I have liked all the songs he has released so far.

I believe it was around a year ago when I first heard his song "Best I Ever Had." I didn't really know who this Drake character was, but I jammed out to the song whenever I had the chance. Then...I saw him on T.V....and almost had a heart attack.

I'll explain myself...

One Summer, during our early college years, my sister and I discovered this Canadian teen soap opera called Degrassi: The Next Generation. It was incredibly cheesy, but for some reason we got sucked into it. This cable channel called The N would play episodes of it late at night, which is usually when she and I would be hanging around together (keep in mind, we were both still living at home during the summers at this point ha). For several years afterward, I would watch Degrassi randomly whenever I saw that it was on, and I basically watched all the teenage characters grow up.

The reason I was so shocked when I saw Drake on T.V. is because he played a character on Degrassi named "Jimmy." He was on the show for several seasons and even got shot in an episode, which led to him being in a wheelchair.

Forgive me if I'm telling you something you already know, but in case you are as shocked as I was to find out that this new phenomenon of a rapper (who supposedly dated Rhianna) was previously a cheesy soap opera actor, check out THIS CLIP.

I'll never get passed it. Every time I hear a song of his or see his face, I picture "Jimmy" being shot in the back. I may or may not have cried during that episode. Probably shouldn't share that with people.

Josh the Cat.

On Sunday, I returned from my previously mentioned Florida beach vacation. To say that Laura and I had fun would be an understatement. It was an incredibly relaxing time (we definitely napped every day), but we also did our fair share of going out on the town.

We stayed with Laura's Aunt Bill who I had only met once before, but she is quite the character. She's one of the smartest women ever, I'm convinced. She has a million degrees, she started some sort of lab to help heal babies born to drug addicts, and she has written several books. GENIUS. She has lived an incredibly interesting life.

Instead of having children, Aunt Bill has dedicated her nurturing side to multiple cats. She currently has four, which was entertaining to both Laura and I since we are VERY allergic, ha. There's Jake (the Baby), Sydney (the Nervous One), Toby (the Fattest Cat Alive, literally), and Josh. Our favorite, by far, was Josh. Josh the Cat. For some reason, we found it extremely comical that there is a cat named Josh...Joshua. I suppose that's because it seems like such a "human" name.

Below, you can find a picture of Josh hanging out in his favorite spot--on top of the DVR box. This was probably one of the only times during the entire trip that he wasn't staring at me. He officially hated me from our first encounter, probably because I shooed him away when he tried to cuddle. We also had a waiter named Josh on our last day in Florida. He judged me for ordering a cheeseburger...no big deal. We decided Joshes like to judge.

The only thing we didn't take full advantage of while in Florida was the sun, as odd as that sounds. We went STRAIGHT to the beach upon arrival and layed out for an hour or two. I was a little rosy afterwards, but poor Laura got the full wrath of Mr. Sun (hence her 3 a.m. Facebook status update saying, "I'm a Lobster"). We still went to the beach every day, regardless, but stayed under the umbrella the majority of the time.

Right by where the above picture was taken is a little boutique called Soho. They had a lot of cute stuff (I got a rockin' new cocktail ring there) including a large collection of monokinis, which are sort of a one piece swimsuit/bikini hybrid for those who aren't familiar with the term. I tried on this AMAZING black one, but for some reason talked myself out of buying it. I'm really kicking myself for it. I've been searching online for something similar, but, so far, nothing measures up. I'm actually considering calling Soho and seeing if they'll ship it to me...I'm a freak. I know. What can I say? I know what I want...sometimes :)

Let Summer roll.

By the way...

How cool is THIS???

Testing the Waters

I'll be heading out this evening for a 5 day vacation in Florida with one of my best friends, Laura, and her mom, Susan. We're staying at Laura's Aunt Bill's house, which is supposed to be amazing. She usually rents it out to vacationers, but is kindly letting us visit for free. We are literally going there with no plans except to lay on the beach, eat good food, and relax. Should be incredible.

I guess the last thing we should add to the list of plans is checking out the effects of the oil spill. It reached Florida about a week ago. I'm interested/nervous to get to witness some of it firsthand. I'll report back in a few days...

See you on the beach.

"Don't Blog About That."

This weekend was one for the books. I had a great time BBQ-ing and going out on the town with friends on Friday. Then Saturday, brunch at Social House led to an all-day pool fest. But, what else can you do when it's 106 degrees outside???

Perhaps the things said to me the most yesterday were "Don't blog about that" or "Blog about it." Seems that my friends find it entertaining that I've taken to blogging. I know I'm a dork...I never said otherwise! Haha It was an incredibly fun couple of days, to say the least.

Today, I saw Sex and the City 2 with two of my best friends, Mindy and Casey. I had heard it wasn't very good (the media even nicknamed it Sucks and the City), but I actually really enjoyed it! There were some SERIOUSLY cheesy parts, but all in all it was entertaining.

I've been reading Candace Bushnell's new book The Carrie Diaries. It's a prequel to Sex and the City and is about Carrie's days in high school. It isn't the best book I've ever read by any means, but I find it fun to picture Sarah Jessica Parker much younger, running around in '80's garb.

I saw on E! News the other day that they are already discussing making it into a movie. I think it's a great idea, but I gagged on my cereal when I heard who they're considering to play the young Carrie...brace yourselves...MILEY CYRUS!!! I might jump off a building if they cast her. Not that I have anything against her music. I mean, who didn't jam out to "Party in the USA" all last winter? (She's just bein' Miley.) But, I absolutely refuse to pay $8.00 to watch her talk for 2 hours. Something about her mouth and teeth REALLY bothers me.

On another note, if you haven't seen her video for "Can't Be Tamed", you should watch it. By the looks of it, she's trying to shake that Disney image. Good luck, Miley.

It's the Small Things in Life

I had a great day today. Nothing particularly spectacular happened, yet it was a great day. I got up early, did some work, and put in a few volunteer hours for Jr League. On my way home, I decided to top off my fabulous day by picking up my fabulous ring that I hadn't been able to stop thinking about. To say that I am obsessed would be an understatement...

Maybe today was such a good day because I was still on a high from last night. My sister surprised me by showing up in my city! I got to enjoy some time with she and her boss, Lindsay. They were in town for market. I feel lucky to have seen them because they were here for less than 24 hours.

Lindsay and her mom own a store in Houston, called Muse, and my sister is a buyer/merchandiser there. They have the most wonderful, fun things! If you live in or around H-Town you really should stop in. I can never visit without buying something (or several somethings!).

Valerie, Lindsay and I had so much fun chatting--spending most of the time telling our worst dating stories. While we were talking, I thought to myself, "Someone should write all these down and turn them into a book." Then, I remembered, "Oh yeah, someone already did." It's called Sex and the City. Candace Bushnell totally stole my idea. OH WELL! Better luck next time.

Happy Weekend/Happy Hour.

Happily Never After?

Did you hear? The Gores are getting a divorce after 40 years of marriage. How sad is that? According to the news story I was just reading, their divorce has already been added to Wikipedia. The story also noted some statistics about divorce that we've all heard before (couples who fight about money are more likely to divorce blah blah blah), but why after 40 years of getting through so much together would they just all of a sudden call it quits? Somehow I doubt it had anything to do with money.

Perhaps, my short time on earth doesn't lend me much perspective on this subject. After all, they were married for close to double the amount of years I've been alive! Which suddenly makes me feel very childlike...

On E! News today (yes, I watch it almost every day...sue me) they made some pretty mean but pretty clever jokes about Al not saving the environment and now not being able to save his marriage. They also mentioned that Al and Tipper have three adult children. It reminded me of something my Dad once told me. He was telling me how one of his friends wasn't getting along with his wife. The couple I'm referencing had apparently discussed the possibility of separating or divorcing once their kids had all left the nest. Maybe The Gores had a similar agreement?? I guess I would need to find out how "adult" their children really are before analyzing any further.

Am I being Debbie Downer or what?

On a lighter note, I saw the turquoise cocktail ring of my dreams today. I found it at this little store in Dallas called La Mariposa. They specialize in Mexican clothing and decor (the store is painted PINK, how could I not go in?), but had the most amazing selection of turquoise jewelry! I guess I should have expected that? The owner was so welcoming and we discussed our upcoming vacations to Florida and the effects of the never-ending oil spill on our plans. I didn't buy the ring on the spot (mistake!!!), but I haven't stopped thinking about it for hours, which in my book signifies that it is worth having.

Sweet dreams, friends. I'll now be watching "Glee" on TiVo until my eyes close. My best to The Gores!