7 Little Happys about Fall and Winter

Only one more day left in August. Does anyone out there understand how terribly ANXIOUS I am over the arrival of fall and winter? I am a nervous wreck...frankly, I'm acting like a total crazy person about it. I'm obsessed with being sad about the end of summer.

So, in order to deal with my anxiety or hatred or whateveritis that I don't like about cold weather, I've been trying to FOCUS on things that I DO enjoy about the next coming months:

1. Backyard fires with Sean; getting bundled up in sweaters, sipping wine, and talking until way past our bedtime.
2. Making chili. I think my recipe is pretty unique and delicious. I enjoy trying to perfect it...and I think Sean enjoys it, too. I also enjoy trying stews and other recipes in the crock pot.
3. HALLOWEEN - I spent half the morning daydreaming about ways to decorate the house for Trick-or-Treters. My #1 Goal at Halloween is to scare the crap out of little kids. Seeing a terrified look on their face equals total success. I need to start planning a costume!
4. As much as I hate to admit it...College Football. Over the past 2 years, I've learned a little more about the teams, the players, and the game itself. I think I actually know what a "safety" is, and I even have a little crush on Tim Tebow. And so, I'm attempting to give College Football a full embrace this fall.
5. Harvest decorations. As soon as we get home from the beach after Labor Day, I'm pulling the fall decorations out of the attic. Pumpkins, acorns, fall leaves...I really love all the rich, golden colors of fall.
6. ...which leads me to...the trees in Tennessee - breathtaking!
7. Knitting. I'm looking forward to visiting Bliss Yarns again - it's been almost a year. The patrons there are so talented, and I love the women who work at the shop. Seeing all the bright colored yarns and watching them whip up beautiful patterns always inspires me. Now if I could just finish a project.....

Ok, that's all I could come up with for now. This was a very good exercise for me. Next time I start feeling blue about packing up my flip flops, I'll try to remember these "7 Little Happys about Fall and Winter."

P.S. For those of you who don't know me all to well, there's a reason that Thanksgiving and Chrismas were not included in this list...I don't like them.

i need style

Dear Style,

Where are you? I've been looking for you everywhere! Ok, ok...I haven't been looking very hard. But every now and again, I decide that I miss you...no, that I NEED you...and so I keep my eyes peeled for you. I have a hard time finding you. And all the searching gets tiring. It might be difficult for some people to understand how I could miss something I never really had. But Style, I know you're out there...and I know you're waiting for me. We were meant to be together...and I promise...one day we WILL find each other. We just will.

forever yours,

Stacey

As we approach the new fall season, I'm hoping to come into about $50,000 so I can go on a killer shopping spree. There are sooooo many gorgeous things in the world of fashion right now. The SHOES, oh the shoes!!! To quote Rachel Zoe, "I DIE!" I do...I die every time I see something beautiful on the rack, and I ask, "Why God, did you give me such good taste, but with no money?"

It's like the moon without the stars...the rocky without the road...the Dolce without the Gabbana.
I'm a poor, frumpy, unstylish girl just hoping for a miracle...AT LEAST I'M NOT FAT ANYMORE. dang.

quick update

Things going on right now:
- Project Runway season premier at 9 tonight - eek! I'm worried that I won't be able to stay awake through it. I'm really tired. If I was an hourly employee at work, I'd only have to work 2 hours tomorrow to fulfill my 40 hours. If only life were so great...

- I joined my work's co-ed softball team yesterday. What was I thinking? We had our first practice last night, and today I'm so terribly sore. My back aches like I was hauling 1000 lbs. for the past 24 hours. ouch. I don't know how I'm going to make it through the season. Did I mention I'm not the least bit atheletic???

- My cute french pedicure from last month is finally wearing off. It looks like crap, and one of my toenails cracked off today. I guess I need to do something about my ugly feet. Eh, maybe later this weekend...

- speaking of the weekend, I'm really excited about what's in store! Tomorrow I'm taking Amanda to Gojo, the Ethiopian restaurant that I love. it's going to be so delicious. After dinner we're going to see Julie & Julia. On Saturday I'm heading up to Hendersonville, and Sherri and I are going to spend the night at Crystal's. Who says 27 year olds can't have sleepovers? So what?! I think it's going to be a blast.

- Two weeks from Saturday we'll be on our way to Destin. Sean found a ridiculously cheap condo on the beach! And we're taking a Couples Vacation with Luca and Adrienne. I almost couldn't sleep last night because I was so excited about the trip.

- I need to finish folding laundry.

-One of my very favorite people, and a dear friend (Jessica) found out she's having a baby boy. I'm honestly excited for her and her husband. Normally when people say they're expecting, I say all the right things, like: "Ohhhh yaaaay, that is soooo awseome. Congratulations!" But really I'm thinking "Oh, this is awkward...I really don't care, but I don't know how to get out of this coversation." But for Jess and Ryan, I'm really truly excited for them. I've never had such a close friend have a baby before. Jess and I don't stay in touch very frequently, but we know we love each other! And I just can't wait to see them with a baby. Thank goodness for Facebook!

I'm sad...

Today was a long day at work, and I didn't leave the office until 7:15 p.m. Overall, it wasn't a bad day...just very busy. But the worst part of my day happened when I was leaving the parking lot. I turned my car on and realized that I HAD TO USE MY HEADLIGHTS!!! Yes, folks...it's that time of year again. Summer Solstice has come and gone, and we're losing our daylight. We're entering that time of year where God rips the sunshine away from us and kills everything.

Winter is so depressing to me, and I really dread it.

Turning on my headlights caused a little ache in my heart this evening.

Confessions of a Suburbanite DINK

Sometimes I fantasize about apartment dwelling…
...the energy of the city right at your front door, being cool by association, public transportation, no lawn to manicure, owning swanky West Elm furniture, coffee shops and bars within walking distance, nightlife…shopping…it all seems so glamorous!

But there’s no point in trying to be something I’m not, right? No, this girl is not, and never will be, a city dweller. While I have a true appreciation for the city and it’s people, there’s no denying that the suburbs are where I was born to be.

Every Sunday I drive my mid-sized, American-made sedan to the grocery store, and I fill my big trunk with over $150 worth of non-organic groceries. One of our more favorite weekend pleasures is to grill a big, fatty steak and enjoy a night out on the patio. Our property backs up to a wooded area, and as you may know, we get frequent visits from wildlife. It’s virtually private if you consider the fact that one of our neighbors is always out of town and the others are hermits. I could probably walk outside in the nude if I was ever inclined to do so.

Sean and I lived in the city for three years. And while Nashville isn’t all that big, it still counts. I think I heard gun shots at least once, and I probably saw prostitutes and drug deals happening on a daily basis (although, I wouldn’t have known it…) Hearing trains, sirens, and loud barking dogs throughout the night became part of our life. But now that we’re in the suburbs, I remember how much I love the quiet. Not just the quiet, but the total silence. The first few nights we spent at the new house were so quiet that it made us laugh out loud!

The city not only comes with special sounds, it also comes with special neighbors...like the trashy people that used to live 2 doors down from us. I can't even begin to explain how absolutely disgusting their property was. Every time I looked out my window, I started singing the theme to Sanford and Son. I dreamed of codes and rules and an HOA...and now I have one! Maybe one day they'll even make me the HOA president.

I mean, Franklin isn't perfect. We do actually have 1 homeless person and a few sketchy neighborhoods. But as long as you turn your head, they don't exist.

Summer Part II (all of July)

Tennessee in July is usually a hot, humid and an overall uncomfortable experience. So when we entered this July with refreshinginly cool air, I was a little freaked out but also VERY thrilled with the breathability! Thanks to the frequent rains, our grass is green and the plants are healthy. Our tomato plant, which was one of my b-day present from Sean, finally decided to spout 3 baby tomatoes! The basil is going crazy, too. Maybe this time next year we'll be looking at squash and peppers, too.

July was full of back-to-back activities, and the entire month flew by like a flash of lightning. We were busy with work, home projects and a little bit of travel. Sean and I took off to Alabama for the 4th of July to visit my mom's cousins. Sean was suffering from a painful sunburn at the time, so we did some night swimming in Cousin Brenda's pool to avoid the sun. Even though a few bats were swooping down over my head, I had a nice and relaxing evening with the extended family. We ate our weight in BBQ ribs and reminisced about old times.

The next couple of weeks were dedicated to one thing only: FLOORS. It was time to give our bottom level a facelift, so we decided to install laminate...ourselves! (Actually, we decided to install hardwood, but our pocketbook decided that we wanted laminate instead.) Besides painting a few rooms, we'd never tackled an actualy DIY project. I'm really pleased with the final product, and I can't believe we did it! I only had one minor incident with the mitre saw, but I got to keep my left thumb, so it's all good.

The new floors were finished just in time to welcome our out-of-town visitors Jordan and Marc. They came down from North Carolina for for a weekend visit. Jordan and I have been friends since 7th grade, and even though she moved away the very next year, we've continued to stay in touch.

We showed our guests around Downtown Franklin, had a big country breakfast at Dotson's and toured the historic Carter House (site of the Civil War's Battle of Franklin).

Marc and Jordan in the Franklin square

(click on the pic to enlarge!)

Enjoying my favorite pizza from Mafioza's

One week later, Sean and I were on our way to Chicago to visit his sister Emily. She had a fun few days planned for us in the Second City. Although, if you ask me, Chicago is way better than NYC...

We spent the weekend tasting local food from Ann Sather (traditional Swedish food) and Tango Sur (Brazilian steaks and killer chimichurri), visiting the Lincoln Park street fair, catching jazz tunes at Green Mill, cheering for the Cubs, and getting dolled up for DJ Corey's White Party event.

As someone who loves good breakfast food, Ann Sather was definitely a highlight of my trip. The 3 of us each got an order of the cinnamon rolls as one of our 2 side items...and they were a big as our faces! I also enjoyed listenting to the scat singer at Green Mill. This 1920's hot spot for gangsters (namely Al Capone) is still cranking out honest-to-God jazz. There was a 3-piece organ trio playing "Girl from Impanema," and this hefty white girl was belting out tunes from all the jazz elders. Sitting there in the haunting red glow of the neon sign and hearing her scat was enough to give me chills.

The White Party was our main event, and it was quite the spectacle! A few hundred people (all wearing white, of course) turned out at Navy Pier to board a chartered cruise boat. Before we left the dock, the DJ played "I'm on a Boat!" from the famous SNL skit, and the crowd went crazy. From there, it was a night full of drinkin' and dancin', and we even got a fireworks show. Watching the sun set over the Chicgao skyline was so picturesque. And if that wasn't enough, there was an after party at the Enclave which is a high-end night club frequented by famous people such as Paris Hilton and The Black Eyed Peas. It was the most posh place I've ever set foot in, and thank goodness we all had on white. It was like a "safety uniform", so no one knew the truth about this unfashionable girl from Tennessee.

Go, Cubs, Go!

Chi-town

Emily and me at the beach...of Lake Michigan...where the water was 68 degrees...

Stacey and Sean at The White Party


Siblings!