Hilarious

I just returned from lunch some clever person had left this in my chair.  I’m sure they got it via email and it’s probably circled the globe 2x by now but I think it’s hilarious.

Atl, I hope Beyonce lets you come on stage.

Coming soon…

I’ll come up for air in a few days… until then, enjoy these yummy pictures

The Royal Sweet

From Coastal Living

Veľký smútok

It was with mixed emotions that I drove my dear sweet friend Lenka to the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta yesterday morning.  Her grandfather in Slovakia died early Wednesday morning and through the provision of the Lord and generosity of Lenka’s brothers and sisters in Christ that she got a last minute chance to fly home for the funeral.

Family is extremely important to Lenka and she was very excited to be going home for the first time in over a year but at the same time deeply saddened that she was returning for her beloved grandfather’s funeral.

After a few late flights, she made it to Slovakia this morning with just an hour to spare before the funeral.  She sent a message to the States about her first few hours home.

I caught up with my emotions as soon as I entered the funeral home. My aunt  was standing by the casket which by the way was opened at the point just crying her eyes out. Just to fill you in, she my dad’s sister and therefore a daughter of grandfather who died. The momentshe saw me, she ran to me and gave me the biggest hug I guess out of being surprised that i made it and also, just out of pain and brokeness.

After that, many more people came to say their goodbyes and to express their condolences. That was pretty hard. Just seeing my grandpa just laying there breatless; something I can’t describe really.
Many people were totally surprised by me being there and many couldn’t even recognize me.

My dear friends, to sum it all up, it was pretty amazing feeling!! I then went to the church where the actuall mass was performed and that’s when I saw my grandmother for the first time. Immediately she started crying. I couldn’t help but go all around all the other people a to hug her while everybody was watching, but I didn’t care! Oh I love her so much and she looked so much in pain and just alone. One other feeling I can’t describe. She just looked so hurt, but in a way relieved knowing that he wasn’t in a place where he was hurting the way we (people in slovakia) perceive pain.

The service was actually very surprising to me. I feel like I have so many stories to share, but I’m just too tired to share right now (getting on my 25th hour with no sleep, but I’m full of emotions and just thankfulness; overwhelmed by God’ love for me.

It truly was an unbelievable funeral! One that I’m so grateful to be a part of. It was my grandfather and I got to say good-bye (in a very special way)!

Afterwards, we had a “party” for other people to join us and celebrate my grandpa’s life. That was pretty neat. After the family cleaned up, we all went to my grandpa’s house and hung out with my grandma. She seemed so sad still, but just so happy to have everybody there. We just laughed about stories…just fun stuff with or without my grandpa. There was a pic of him that we had put up and that was the face that I’ll just always remember…that little sneaky, smiley,in a way boyish face I’ll keep in my mind forever.

She’ll be in Slovakia until Wednesday.  If you think about it, please pray for her time at home to be filled with great conversations about Christ and His promises. Please also pray for her safe return.

Thank you, friends!

Shower, etc.

Why is it that I get so much more work done after hours? I have probably gotten  more things done in the last half hour than I have all day.  Maybe it’s because the phone isn’t ringing and people aren’t popping over to my desk to ask me to do something “real quick.”  I wonder if they’d let me show up after 5 everyday?

Next topic: Glee.  Have you been watching? I certainly hope so. If not, click here and watch immediately.  It’s adorable and hilarious and so much fun I can’t even stand it. The cheerleading coach kills me.

And finally, the moment you’ve all been waiting for.  You don’t need to sit in front of your computer checking my blog every half hour anymore… it’s finally here… the shower report.

Everything went so smoothly and everybody seemed to have a great time!

For the occasion, I painted my living room a warm shade of yellow (Valspar Sisal to be exact)

Please be so kind as to ignore the fingerprint smudges and lack of mat on that print. Thank you.

Then I painted my office area and powder room a beautiful oceanic blue (Valspar Secluded Garden)

And my dear, sweet Mama made a Roman shade for the back door.

Since the shower was on a Friday night, we served slightly heavier fare than we would have normally. It’s nothing fancy.

Emily’s Shower Menu

Pimento Cheese, Curried Chicken Salad and Hot Onion Dip with Crackers

Meatballs

Mini cheese and broccoli quiches

Disgusting Pre-made pinwheel thingies from Sam’s

White Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Ice water, Sweet tea and Decaf Coffee (we’re not a young as we used to be- regular would have kept us up all night!)

All the food’s not on the table yet…

Adorable cupcake papers from here.

Lenka and I gave Emily a very Emilyish apron from here monogrammed with her new initials

and the darling Martha recipe box she registered for.  Each guest was sent a recipe card and asked to fill it out with one of their favorite recipes so Emily could get her collection started.

Once the guests arrived, we all ate and chatted for a bit.  Then we started on our first activity.  Emily loves hot tea and she particularly likes this recipe for easy hot spiced tea. We set out the ingredients and a large copy of the recipe and had the guests fill their jars (we used pint sized jars so I cut the recipe in half) and then finish them off with some cute fabric and ribbons.

After the guests finished their jars (that was also their favor… I guess that’s kind of cheating that we made them make their own…) we played Wedding Scattergories! Emily loves to play Scattergories and she’s quite good at it so Lenka and I made up a custom version (we just made up wedding and kitchen related topics.) Every age guest enjoyed themselves and there were some hilarious answers.

Did I mention that everybody wore their aprons to really get into the kitcheny spirit?

Emily’s future MIL and her mom concentrating hard…

Jennifer is always good for a clever answer (she suggested that Emily play “Every Woman” by Whitney Houston as her first dance song)

Cooking up some unique responses no doubt. Ps. Isn’t my book artwork lovely? Susie painted it for me.

Emily, her sister-in-law Melissa and Melissa’s sister Kelly ended up with the most points and Emily and Kelly took home fun little kitchen gadgets (a vegetable peeler and a mini grater for nuts and spices.)

After opening her fabulous gifts (of which I have no pictures. If it hadn’t been for Lenka, I would have none at all!) we surveyed the aftermath and called it a night.

Oh… one last thing.  I bought a hideous tv armoire from a used furniture store in town and painted it the same color as the walls (the inside is painted the same color as the office/bathroom) and changed out the hardware.  It’s not perfect but I think it turned out quite lovely.  Of course I have no before pictures because I’m just not that patient.

 

Shower Day!

It’s shower day!! The house looks SO CUTE thanks to Mama and Lenka who came over last night to clean, hang pictures, hang the Roman shade Mama made and get everything prepped.  It looks like a real adult lives in my house! I’ve got fresh batteries in my camera and I’ll post pictures of the cuteness as soon as I wake up tomorrow (so don’t expect anything before 4 in the afternoon, haha.)

In the meantime, enjoy these lovely photos of Martha showers. Click any image to view it larger.

A mildly interesting post regarding lunch

I rarely bring my lunch to work.  I live close enough that I usually just run home and eat leftovers or heat up canned vegetables.  However, if I made lunches like these, I’d be much more inclined to bring a brown bag every day. Leave it to Martha.

Chicken Salad with Havarti wrap

Roasted Pork Club with Scallion Mayonnaise

Turkey Salad Wrap

Ham and Brie Sandwich

Prosciutto and Fig Spread Sandwich

Meditteranean Chicken Wrap

Spinach and Artichoke Wrap

Grilled Chicken and Escarole Sandwich with White Bean Spread

Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini and Chickpea Wraps

Chicken, Rice and Black Bean Salad

Pasta Salad with Broccoli and Peanuts

Chickpea, Cherry Tomato and Feta Salad (Where can I get a lunchbox like that?!)

Roasted Chicken Salad

White Bean Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Broccoli

Yum! Too bad it’s only 10:30 and the only things in my refrigerator are wilted lettuce and expired milk.  I guess a grocery trip is in order. What’s in your lunch?

Lots of exciting new things…

I have a ton of stuff to show you regarding my house but it’s just going to have to wait.  I’m in full shower prep mode and work is crazy busy.  In the meantime, please read some of the lovely blogs listed on the right side of the page.  This list is filled with people who are far more put-together and clever than I am.  Enjoy!

Or… if you’re not in a blog reading mood, watch this video and squeal.

Now pardon me while I collect every French Bulldog in the world and die of utter bliss.

New York, this is your last chance…

I’ve been spending countless hours watching a few classics on Fancast lately. Where else can you enjoy the choiciest episodes of Alf, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Andy Barker P.I., Rhoda and the entire  Arrested Development series? For free? Nowhere, that’s where else.

I could write volumes on the sheer hilarity of Andy Barker, Always Sunny and Arrested but I’ll spare you… for now. Right now I’d like to talk to you about Rhoda Morgenstern.  Without Rhoda, nobody would have found The Nanny nearly as comical.  Without Rhoda, Mary Richards would have been just a cute nervous wreck. Without Rhoda, I wouldn’t have anything to blog about today we wouldn’t have these fabulous and oh-so-seventies looks to ooh and aah over today.

I really wish you could see her fabulously tailored, high waisted slacks in this photo.  She always looks so put together! Loving the polka dots with the argyle!

Never afraid to make a statement, Rhoda pairs a kerchief with her feminine skirt suit, wide lapels and multi-strand pearls.

For the Knicks’ game, Rhoda dons her fitted jeans, an orange turtleneck and snappy blazer.

Here, Rhoda looks oh-so-business chic in her sweet skirt suit and baby pink blouse.  Gotta love that wide lapel.

In her slightly (very slightly) heavier Minneapolis days, Rhoda rocked a bolder bright red sheath dress complete with multi-strand gold necklace and a slick bun.

I would love to spend hours coming up with Rhoda-inspired looks and taking screen shots of her fabulous outfits from the online episodes but I don’t have that kind of time I’m just too lazy.  So, in lieu of me doing any work, please watch the hilarious episodes and appreciate her polished but relaxed 7os vibe.

In other Rhoda-related news, I might just be the non-Jewish version of Brenda Morgenstern.  It really is uncanny how much she and I have in common.  Sad but uncanny.

Ps. Terrific is a terrifically underused word these days.

Photos from here.

Exsqueeze me? A bakin powder?

When I think Lands’ End, I think of this ridiculous vest/shorts ensemble I had in 2 different colors (taupe and olive to be exact) in the sixth grade.  I think of purple bookbags with somebody’s name embroidered on them. I think of coats so thick that scientists in Antartica would find them too toasty.  I don’t think of this.

Way to step up your game, LE.  Your new Fall/Winter line is full of simple classics that put one in the mood to go for a horseback ride in the English countryside…

…  a stroll in New England

… a Sunday drive admiring the Fall leaves

… antiquing in Vermont

… or tailgating before an SEC game

There is one design I wish they’d left out of the catalog…

Oof. Those are atrocious! I cannot think of a single person who would look good in these.  Ew. They’re so teenage girl with the choppy haircut and graphic tee and an unfortunate muffintop trying to express herself bad! But otherwise… Nicely played, Lands’ End.  Nicely played indeed.

All’s quiet on the blogging front. Wait a minute… no, it’s not.

Darby and Erika have both been mia from the blogosphere since last Thursday.  I wonder if that means Erika had her baby?!

** update:  Womp womp.  When linking Erika’s name, I see that she’s still very pregnant.