Category: decorating

beauty ho, decorating, shopping

White Out

Shannon

I’m on a white kick right now.  I’m in love with this white nail polish: Wet n Wild French White Creme   Love how opaque it is.  Kinda modern and retro all at the same time.  And for less than $1!

I also love my  Bare Minerals Snowflake eye shadow.  I’ve had this for years now and I’ve barely put a dent in it even though I use it about every day.   I suppose if you caked it on you’d get an opaque look eventually, but I use it mainly to brighten up the inner corners of my eyes and just below the brow bone.  It’s perfect.

I’m on the hunt for some cute white sunglasses.  Like these.  $14 is a deal I guess but as soon as I pay more than $10 for a pair of sunglasses I will lose them the next day.  I stick to under $8 if I can.  I broke my white sunglasses last summer and I’ve been pining for a pair ever since.  I’d also like a cute white headband.   Not a wedding looking headband though.

I’ve been partial lately to white home accents as well.  I love my gnomes and owls from West Elm.   It’s fun to take an everyday item and get it in all white.

 

 

 

decorating, fun

Mr. Feet for hands and Mrs. Claw with armless deer

Shannon

I know that art is subjective.  And I shouldn’t mock art, but I just had to show y’all this!  I saw this painting on a wall in a restaurant and had to take a picture of it.  Gigi and I were out to lunch and this was on the wall at our booth.  So odd!  Click to enlarge! Why does the man have a foot for a hand?  How does he shoot his bow & arrows with his foot hands?  How does he put in his giant earrings? Why doesn’t the baby deer have front legs?  Why is the baby deer smiling in his/her sleep in such a creepy manner? Why is the woman sleeping and have claw hands?   Did FootHands shoot her & the armless deer with his arrows?  Has the woman ever put out anyone’s eye with that sharp ass elbow? SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!

There was another painting on the other side of the restaurant that really perplexed us too but I’ll have to get a shot of that next time.  It was a lady kneeling on the ground but they painted her toes hanging from her lady bits!

decorating, family, holidays, pop culture, pugs
Shannon

I’ve got my first Winter cold so I think I’m going to take the lazy way out on this post and use some bullets.

  • Love the new WordPress Dashboard design!
  • The preview to Nothing Like the Holidays bugs me because one of the characters says “They’re conversating.”  Conversate is not a word!  Neither is conversating!
  • Went to bunco last night.  I didn’t win any $$ but had a good time.  We all brought a $5 gift card for a big swap.  I went home with a Starbucks card that CSP promptly stole from me.
  • Did I mention I’m sick? A girl showed up to bunco with a box of tissues, a cough that sounded like the croup, and a bag to hold her used tissues.  I used hand sanitizer all night and washed my hands frequently but today I’m sick when I wasn’t yesterday.  My Mom thinks it couldn’t have been from bunco, that it’s too soon, so that leaves my nephews as the culprits.  Every time I see them it seems I end up sniffling in the next few days.  Either way it’s not fun!
  • All of my Christmas shopping is finished!  Woot!  And most of the boxes have arrived at the house.  Another year of sucessful shopping without stepping foot in a mall.  Thank you Lord for the internets!
  • While shopping I made my yearly trip to Sephora.com to restock on my Bare Minerals.  I love all the free samples Sephora sends, plus the free shipping.  And of course I love my Bare Minerals.  I have been loyal since I started using them 2 years ago.  You might think it is pricey to pay $25 for a little jar of foundation but it takes me over a year to use that jar, my skin looks good, and it doesn’t even feel like you are wearing makeup!  By the way, if any Bare Escentuals big wigs are reading this right now I wouldn’t turn down some freebies!
  • My Dad got me started reading a new author.  Well, he’s not bookmortalnew to the world, just new to me.  Greg Iles.  I’ve now read Mortal Fear and Dead Sleep.  They were both really good.  Like, snuck into the bathroom and read while sitting in my makeup chair at the vanity until 4am good.
  • I’m going to try and finish, well, start and finish decorating for Christmas this weekend.  I will also try and get a decent shot of the pugs for our Christmas cards.  Wish me luck!  Wrangling 3 squirmy pugs is not the easiest of tasks.  I better get some more treats!
christmas, csp, decorating, family, fun, holidays, movies

Apply directly where it hurts

Shannon

So, with all those trip report posts, 2 weeks of my life have flown by and not been blogged about.  THE HORROR!  What have I been up to?  Well, I put away all the Halloween decorations, put out all the Thanksgiving decorations, then put away the Thanksgiving decorations.  All in 2 weeks time.  I really should have just skipped the Thanksgiving decorations.  We’re having Thanksgiving at CSP’s parents’ house this year so I wanted a blank slate for when we got home so I could dive right in to Christmas decorating.  So excited about that.  I did some damage at Hobby Lobby’s after Christmas sale last year and I can’t wait to put up all the new stuff.

Momo came into town so I hung out all day with her and Gigi on Saturday.  We went to see a movie so we stopped in to the Dollar Store for snacks before the movie.  It was so hot in there I thought we’d die.  We made it to the movie theatre and it was sweltering in there too!  Then I had an idea.  I have Activ-On in my purs for my arthritic knees.  It makes them feel cool and tingly.  So I thought, I’ll rub that on my forehead and it will cool me down!  I’m a genius!  So I rubbed it on my forehead and passed it to my mom. 09-02-2008nh_09activongam2fem8s1 Gigi went all out and rubbed that stuff all over her forehead, her arms, the works.  Two minutes later and we were ON FIRE.  Apparently if you apply that stuff in a hot movie theatre your skin will burst into flames.  It was like molten lava was eating its way into my brain!  So now we’re really miserable, writhing around like a couple of worms on a sidewalk.  Poor Momo in the middle wishing she had stayed at school so she wouldn’t have been stuck with 2 menthol smelling sweaty crazy women!

beauty ho, decorating, halloween, music, pop culture, shopping

Funky love

Shannon

Thank you for all of your supportive comments and emails.  I heart y’all.  It is hard not to get into a funk when my father comes around.  I try to rise above the funk, but it doesn’t always work.  So, to try and keep positive I shall share with you a few things I’m loving right now (besides you).

  • Kanye West and his new song Love Lockdown.  I adore him.  I think he’s incredibly talented.  He’s always coming out with something new and different.  He is also very funny without trying to be.  The video is awesome too.  Very clean asthethically.  He was on Ellen and showed the video this week.
  • Basic Instinct by Pure Romance.  It’s this tiny little bottle of roll on cologne.  They say it’s unisex but I doubt CSP would let me put any on him.  It smells SO good.  And it smells different on every person.  So who knows what it would smell like on you?  I loooove it.  And I didn’t expect to.  And isn’t that a cool surprise when stuff like that happens?  It’s a little pricey for such a teeny bottle but you don’t use but a drop so it lasts a good while.

  • Body Dew by Pure Romance.  It’s this spray on body oil that is most effective just after your shower, while you’re still wet.  It is doing wonders for my excema.  It smells great, makes your skin so soft without being greasy, and gives it a, well, dewy look.
  • Love On The Inside by Sugarland.  Love Sugarland.  Wonder how his wife feels about him being around cutie Jennifer all the time.  Favorite songs on this album: Fall Into Me, Steve Earle (minus the talky part), Come On Get Higher,  Genevieve,  Already Gone.  Great album for a road trip.  Also think cover art would make a great tattoo!
  • Hocus Pocus candles by PartyLite.  My favorite October candle.  When I unpacked all my Halloween decorations I was so excited to unpack these candles and get them lit.  When they burn the liquid wax melts into this super cool yellowy neony green color.  And they smell so good!
decorating, events, fun, halloween, shopping

Head start

Shannon

Got the Halloween decorations out today.  I usually don’t start decorating until October 1, but I couldn’t help myself.  I so love the next 3 months.  Constant decorating.  And I love pulling out the bins of decorations.  Usually each year I hit the after holiday sales (note in this case the word holiday means any given holiday and not Christmas- my HUGE pet peeve.  I just wanna ask stores “Oh, so this HOLIDAY wreath, is it appropriate for Easter?  Flag Day?  Which holiday?”), anyway, I usually hit the after holiday sales and pick up a couple of marked down items then immediately pack them away and forget about them.  So today I was psyched to see that I had done that last year.

I’m hosting Bunco this month at my house on Thursday so I need to get everything put up and looking cute.  We’ll have 20 players so I’m bringing in a couple of extra tables.  My house might look like a church hall when I’m done, but it will be worth it.  I apparently bought some party supplies last year.  Woot!  No need to run out this week for plates and napkins now.

I’m looking for some easy to make, no need to keep hot Halloweeny foods for Thursday.  So any ideas are appreciated.

I’m bummed though, this year Halloween is gonna be cut short.  As soon as the trick or treaters are outta here I’m pulling down all the decorations and packing them away that night.  Cause at the crack o’ dawn the next morning we’re hitting the road for Florida and Lisa’s wedding cruise.  This means no after Halloween clearance shopping this year.  Oh, the sacrifices we make for our friends. 😉  I kid, I kid.

csp, decorating, house

My handy man

Shannon

CSP is off for 2 days in a row this week so we’re painting the dining room.  We’re starting out with builder white and going to a color called Dynamo.  It’s a fun raspberry color.  I’ll post pics once we get the chair rail up and stuff hung on the walls.  I loooove the color and think it will go well with the lime color of the kitchen.  CSP thinks it’s a little disco Barbie but I’m in charge of the inside.  And he loves me.  So disco Barbie it is.

christmas, cooking, csp, decorating, family, food, friends, holidays, house, kids, married life

Time for joy and time for cheer

Shannon

Finally- the Christmas post.

Christmas Eve we gathered at Sara’s (my sister) for dinner and presents. I brought over a big pan of baked mac & cheese and I also made a fabulous dip. It doesn’t really have a name, but it’s good. Cream cheese, splash of lime juice, southwest seasoning- all smeared on the bottom of a baking dish. Top with chili (I go bean free on this one) then top that with plenty of cheddar cheese. Sprinkle cilantro over the cheese and bake at 350* for about 15 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

We had a wonderful dinner. Sara set the table with her wedding china. First time I’ve ever eaten off it, so it was a big deal. I wish I’d taken a picture of the table.

Then we all gathered in the living room and opened presents.2 little known reindeer, Jake & Joey The boys loved it, and loved all their gifts. We all did.

After presents the boys went to bed and CSP & my BIL Marc went out to the garage to help Santa with the assembly of 2 battery powered trucks. They were way bigger than I thought they’d be.Momo doesn't fit into Jake & Joey's new jeep.
I’m sure they went nuts the next morning when they saw them.

We were there way too late but I finally dragged CSP home.

The next morning Jon’s parents arrived bearing homemade cinnamon buns and gifts. I learned a valuable lesson on Christmas. Hosting Christmas is a lot of fun, but all that running around getting drinks and putting out hors de voures (sp) leave not much time for picture taking. So my pics are few. Sigh.

Anyway, we opened presents and hung out with them then around 4 Jon’s Aunt Deb & Uncle Erv, their 2 kids Dana & Lee, and Marsha & Larry (honorary aunt & uncle to Jon & I and best friends with my in-laws) arrived. I popped A Christmas Story into the dvd player and we all watched that and visited while snacking on another round of that dip and other goodies. CSP was outside setting up the boil. We did a low country shrimp boil for dinner. It was so good and everyone loved it.Cousins Dana & Lee at my Christmas table
Deb, Erv, Lee & Dana left after dinner and that’s when we exchanged gifts with Marsha & Larry.  They are always so good to us and so thoughtful.

I’m really proud of myself this year.  Everyone LOVED their gifts.  It was easy to tell.  Jon’s mom even jumped up and down when they opened one.  Papa yelled out “Hot Dog!” when he opened one.  And I did everything on a budget and without going to the mall once.  I don’t know how I’m gonna be able to pull that off again next year!

The rest of my Christmas pictures are here.

decorating, friends, fun

Color me bad

Shannon

This morning Candice and I went to Sherwin Williams for paint. I picked out colors for my dining room (raspberry) and bedroom (peacock blue & pale aqua) and she picked out colors for her bedroom. While there I scored a paint chip fan deck for free. Woohoo! such pretty colors All ya gotta do is ask. Then we went to McDon@ld’s for lunch since we had her 3 kids with us. We went home and our separate ways until about 8 this evening. I grabbed the hand truck and went next door to pick up my paint which was still in her mini-van. I ended up visiting for a while. We planned our upcoming IKEA trip. Yay!

While talking she asked if she’d told me about her adventure with a snake yesterday morning. No…. Apparently when she was unrolling her hose a snake came out with the hose. It slithered up in between the siding of her house and that was that. Until a couple hours later when she found him in her garage. He’d gotten stuck in one of those cardboard mouse traps with the sticky linings.

Me: So where’s the snake now?

C: In the trash.

Me: Is it dead?

C: I don’t know and I don’t care.

Wha?? What a horrible way to die. And what if he wasn’t poisonous. So I told her husband to go retrieve the bag. In the meantime I got a little scared this could be a giant anaconda and I could lose an arm which would result in a humiliating phone call to CSP at work.

Her husband Devin brought in a little bag and we peered inside and it was just a wee snake, less than 2 feet long. And it was a miracle! He was alive! So I grabbed a pasta spoon and took him outside where I peeled him off the sticky stuff. It took a while as he was stuck from his neck down to the tip of his tail. Devin hovered over me the whole time amazed I was so concerned over a snake. Candice just yelled to us as we were leaving the house on our mission “If I find that snake back in my yard I’m kicking someone’s ass!”

So we did our snake rehab in the middle of the street to have enough room to watch him move around. Poor thing was so scared and he poo’d a couple times. Plus he just stank (I learned later tonight after googling him that garter snakes release a stinky musky odor when scared). Once he was free he didn’t seem to know where to go. So we prodded him toward the sewer grate. Then I thought better of it cause he was probably hungry and there didn’t seem to be much food in the grate. Devin just begged me to keep it away from his yard or Candice would kill him. So I picked him up and put him in my neighbor’s yard across the street. Maybe my new little snake friend will teach my punk neighbor to quit parking in front of my house.

CSP came home from work and I told him all about the snake adventure and all he had to say was “That is not a phone call I would want to get at work.”

I hope he’s ok out there and didn’t get stuck to something else. Like the business end of a shovel.

bloggy stuff, crafts, decorating, family

Up to….

Shannon

…finished reading the last H@rry Potter. Loved it. Wish I could come up with a best selling series so we’d be set for life.
…finally tried CookOut. Jon was hankering for some hot dogs so we checked out CookOut- a double drive through fast food burger joint. They have 40 flavors of shakes (yummy), great fries, awesome burgers, and they use real cheese. And Jon went nuts for their hot dogs.
…decided (tentatively) on a paint color for the dining room. I think I’d like to go with a raspberry color. Now I just need to find the equivalent of my vision at the paint store.
…was hit with inspiration for the Christmas gifts (and baby shower gift for Shannon) I’m going to make for all the kiddos in my life. Am very excited about it and can’t wait to get started on one.
…have made baby steps into the land of Facebook. Am enjoying it much much more than MySpace, which was just so crowded and cluttered it gave me a head ache.
…have planned a trip to go visit my Nanny in Florida for a week this fall. May also be able to meet up with a bloggy buddy on the way!