White Tea Summertime

One of my pet peeves is when somebody wears the same perfume as me. So, today I created my very own signature scent at a little custom fragrance store in town. First, I smelled all the different oils. Of course I preferred the floral and fruity scents. Eva, my friendly, inked-up aromatherapist, helped me mix and match the different oils until we got it just right. She bottled up my new fragrance in a roll-on stick to keep in my purse, a glass jar with wand for home and even put my scent in a little bottle of hand lotion. But, the coolest part of all is that she wrote down my recipe to put on file so refills are fast and easy. It was a wonderful experience! I named my perfume White Tea Summertime!

The Bathrooms Aren't Clean

The past five days I've had a crummy, stinky, yucky cold. It makes you realize how much you take for granted being well. It makes me empathize so much more with what my mom is going through. And really, comparing a cold to cancer is totally lopsided. The point is being sick is completely debilitating.

Which makes me so thankful for my dad and the graceful way he's taken over more responsibilities around the house. And the way he loves my mom. They are very blessed to have each other.

And I am so blessed to have Joey.

I love my husband. He didn't do anything special, nor does he need to. He's just a wonderful person. So thoughtful, hardworking and compassionate. A few minutes before I walked down the aisle, Rand asked me why I loved him. Off the cuff I said, "Joey would do anything for anyone. He loves people, he loves me, and he loves God. I know he will always take care of me, emotionally, physically and spiritually. I don't have to worry with him."

And those are just a few reasons why he is so special to me.

And today, still groggy and sniffling, I would add another thing...

He understands why the bathrooms aren't clean, even though it was my day off.

Manic Monday

I went to Truman today to sort out my "lost application" issue.

I insisted on a meeting with the Dean and man oh man was I in for a treat.

Home-boy was dressed up for St. Patty's Day. Either that or he is a server at TGI Fridays in between his meetings.

Not even joking. Let me paint the picture for you...

Died blonde hair, butt-cut style.

A green t-shirt under a plaid blazer, green Mardi Gras beads around his neck, and "flair" buttons pinned on his coat.

And the icing on the cake. A big silver hoop earring in his right ear.

(I know what you're thinking, it must have been a dress up day. I wish it was, but everyone else in the office was wearing professional attire.)

His office gets better. The walls were decorated with framed pictures of Prince and Barack Obama. I'm pretty sure there was one of Siegfried and Roy also.

Needless to say, my application is still "lost."

Yeah, I didn't want to go there anyways.

Fun Day

Rachel's new boutique limited edition dome satchel! It was a fun day!

Kuma's Corner

Started with the BBQ Pulled Pork fries. Arguably the best thing on the menu. James had the Black Sabbath (Blackening Spice, Chili, Pepper Jack, Red Onion) and Rachel and I shared the Lair of the Minotaur (Caramelized Onions, Pancetta, Brie, Bourbon Soaked Pears). To quote Miss Kelly Rady, "They're insane!"

Ahhh, Sleeping In Feels SO Good

It's my floating sabbath today.

And I slept in to 11:45 AM.

And it felt SO Good!

Whenever I start getting the itch to have a baby I remember days like today come few and far between for parents. Actually, the probability of a mother sleeping in until 11:45 am is slim to none, at least for the first 18 years of their kids' lives.

I think I can handle this for another couple years.

Cleaning Machine

Who knew cleaning could be so therapeutic...

-swept the floors
-mopped the floors
(just for the record, wood floors are a pain in the butt)
-vaccumed the rugs
-vaccumed the carpet in bedrooms
-cleaned the bathrooms
-dusted everything
-did laundry
-unloaded the dishwasher
-took out the trash

Got myself a clean condo and ready for my mother-in-law to stay the weekend!

Mantel Shopping

Today Rachel and I went on a little shopping trip around Chicago. Now that all my Christmas decor is packed away until next year I need to do some major decorating. I have a huge mantel that's currently empty. So we started at Crate and Barrel for inspiration. Nothing much there. On our way to Trader Joe's we got distracted and wound up in this little baby boutique called Beautiful Beginnings, which had the most elegant baby bedding I've ever seen. After picking out my future child's whole nursery (NO, I am NOT pregnant nor intend on getting pregnant any time soon) we finally made it to TJ's. We picked up a few goodies for dinner as well as fresh flowers for a little treat to brighten up the gloomy, gray, blah here (Chicago is so ugly in the winter). We dropped our bags at the car and went over to the shops on Clybourn. Pretty sure we hit the jackpot and found super cute, dark-wash dress jeans for a whopping $4.88! Rachel also picked up a few fancy tops for $5 and a gorgeous coat that was originally $280 marked down to $40. Deals of the century! Feeling pretty lucky we headed over to the new Pottery Barn to scope it out. We walked around for a bit getting mantle ideas and commenting on how fun it would be to be their visual floor-set designer. All in all I left very inspired and ready to set forth on my mantel making excursion.