Love/ Hate...

I thought I would go ahead and get it out there. My concern is that if I get it out there I would fall off the wagon and back at square one. In the past month or so I have started the dreaded journey and I am embracing my love/ hate relationship with the gym. I have never been the type to *enjoy* the gym/ exercise experience. The other aspect to working out is finding the time - I am not a morning person and thought the idea of getting up at 5:30 AM or earlier was out of the question. Going to the gym after working all day? Uh, no thanks! So... I need to make time. I need to make it a PRIORITY! So there. There you have it folks - I am putting it out there on the blog in hope of it motivating my lazy behind and being accountable. Also, in hope of someday, maybe one day having that a body like that chick's the picture above (I need to print it out and place it on my fridge! Hey... a girl can dream, right!?) I'm saying it here... Because, I certainly don't want to let you all down.

Now we're cookin'....

I have discovered that I can actually cook! For so long I thought I was pretty unskilled when it came to whipping up Martha's latest recipe. And just because I have a subscription to Everyday Food certainly did not mean that I knew what I was doing. But, guess what... I am pretty good at it. Mark always says that I cook really well, but he also knows that he lives with me and wants a happy life he better compliment my cooking. So he is biased. Not really! Lately, I have been cooking and baking for us and for our neighbor friends. And they say it's pretty good too! So there you have it folks - I am a good cook! Every good cook needs good cookware - well at least a cook needs cookware. I have been making do with what we had. Mark and I both had hand-me-down Teflon coated cookware that was BAD! BAD! BAD! The Teflon coating was chipping away. If I recall, that's pretty bad and if that stuff ended up in your food it could cause cancer. YIKES. On Sunday, we ran to Macy's (surprise, surprise - they were having a sale). I picked up this NEW glorious cookware (isn't it beautiful!) and I didn't spend a fortune. I figure I will do that on my next set - when I decide I am bound to be the next Food Network star!

Tonight we are off to The Swell Season concert here in Dallas. Mark and I fell in love their tunes when we saw the movie Once almost two years ago. We have been looking forward to this show for months. I can't wait!

To "do"...

Wow! Wow! Wow! Check out that hair do! I saw this website on my friend Kia's blog. I was laughing hysterically all by my lonesome little self. This is I what my high school yearbook photo would look like in 1965-66 - the same year my mother graduated. Now you have to check out the site and morph your photo into a photo from the early 1950's to 2000! Too much fun to be had... Now I'm off to see what Apollo and Abby's high school yearbook photos would look like. Enjoy!

Nudge... Nudge...

(Oh, look - It's an update from your *favorite* slacker/blogger!)

I thought I would take this opportunity to brag a bit. *New Flash* If you haven't figured it out yet, We are BIG fans of some good tune-age at my house! Even our dogs - they LOVE it too! *End News Flash* I know... I know... we share juicy knowledge on the ol' blog! Anyway... back to bragging. Mark sent me a "nudge- nudge" email the other day asking me if we planned to be around October 11. He attached the Nokia Theater fall schedule. I took a little look... and to my surprise I saw "RYAN ADAMS and THE CARDINALS - OCT. 11th!" Oh yeah! Seriously? Mark and I have always dreamed of seeing him. In all of the shows we have been to together - NO Ryan! I can't believe it. My love of Ryan Adams' music is one of the MANY reasons he fell in love with me! I had to get us tickets - and preferably not $200 tickets. On Friday night, I logged on and snagged us the goods. Two seats, lower level - for $35 a piece. Well, minus that "pain-in-the-you-know-what" $10 service charge, but let's forget about that! $35! We are SO excited. This is also a little lesson for your favorite slacker/blogger - Procrastination is bad news! It felt so good be ahead of the game for a change. Thanks to the little nudge.

Pause the tunes to the right (If you haven't already) and enjoy this little gem...

One word...

I am desperate for a blog post. I am sorry for the lack of posting lately. Life has been crazy busy lately. I know... excuses, excuses - yet again.

I stole this from Jen's blog - who stole it from Paula's blog... and so on. I liked the idea and I knew it was just what my poor ol' neglected blog needed today. You can only answer the prompts with one word. Give it a try.

1. Where is your cell phone? DYING
2. Where is your significant other? TRAVELING
3. Your hair? CLEAN
4. Your mother? CONFIDANTE
5. Your father? AMAZING
6. Your favorite thing? HOME
7. Your dream last night? NONE
8. Your dream/goal? HAPPINESS
9. The room you're in? LIVING ROOM
10. Your hobby? ART
11. Your fear? LOSS
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? HMMM?
13. Where were you last night? COUCH
14. What you're not? ORGANIZED
16. One of your wish list items? LE CREUSET
17. Where you grew up? CALI
18. The last thing you did? READ
19. What are you wearing? PJ's
20. Your TV? OLYMPICS!
21. Your pet? LARGE
22. Your computer? MAC
24. Your mood? CONTENT
25. Missing someone? MARK
26. Your car? DIRTY
27. Something you're not wearing? MAKEUP
28. Favorite store? TARGET
29. Your summer? ENDING
30. Love someone? FOREVER
31. Your favorite color? TURQUOISE
32. When is the last time you laughed? TODAY
33. Last time you cried? MONDAY

My assistant....

I got home from work today and thought I would work another hour or so. I really enjoy sitting in the front room of our house. It's the perfect room - it's quiet, the light is just right. It's also the room where things go that we don't quite know what we are going to do with them yet. For instance, I have a couch in there that is pre-Mark. I love this couch. I can't begin to tell you how comfortable it is. It's all down filled - it's comfy-goodness. The upholstery fabric needs to be updated, but it's in great condition. Mark HATES the couch. I LOVE the couch and it stays. We compromised and the couch stays in the room where things go that we don't quite know what we are going to do with them yet. Miss Abby also LOVES the couch. She dutifully sat next to me and worked as my assistant. Well, technically... napped as my assistant. Abby is a very good assistant - that is as long as the whole napping thing doesn't bother you. Just before her little nap I snapped this treasure on my trusty little Photobooth camera on my beloved computer. Doggie cuteness to kick off your weekend.

M.I.A... Again.

Layout features our "Sprinkles" line of papers.

I'm sure that you have found out by now that we had a very busy, exciting and successful CHA in Chicago. My awesome co-workers, Emily and Jen have kept you all updated with the Luxe goings-on. I thought that I would share a couple of the layouts that I designed to feature some of our new releases at the show - I know you are all tired of looking at my cupcakes post below... I hear you!!!

Layout features our "It's About Time" calendar line of papers.

(Yes... I might have cheated and used the same photo from a previous layout - but I like the idea of doing a "A Case of the Mondays" layout... and I didn't have a "Monday" photo. But, you get the idea... Right?!)

Enjoy!