It Feels Like Christmas Morning...

This week is my LAST week of freedom.  My adult, I'm actually a grown-up attorney job starts next week! Eek. I've been trying to make the most of this week by relaxing and enjoying myself as much as possible. What have I done?

• Monday I went shopping.  Dillard's is having a huge sale, so I picked up a few new swimsuits. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this Betsey Johnson suit. The underwire really helps define for us girls who aren't so well endowed.   

 I couldn't pass this top up for $13. But,why is it that there are never matching tops and bottoms on the sale racks? Where do they go? Luckily, I have both solid green and black bottoms that I could pair with it. 

• Tuesday we went out to eat at The Tulip.  I hadn't been there since it moved from Midway, but it was just as delicious as I remember it there.  Of course, we went to Orange Leaf for desert. Story of my life. 

• Wednesday I slept in until 9:30, just because I can. I also caught up on all my back episodes of True Blood.  I love that show more than I should admit...

• Today is my post-surgery check up. Fingers crossed that all is well! But, the bigger news is that its FINALLY HERE. UK FOOTBALL's season kicks off today (pun intended--I'm cheesy). In Jess's spirit, here's what I'm loving this football season from pinterest:

Just to make you smile:

My oh my, where has this week gone? I just hope working weeks fly by as quickly!

Skin Deep

A friend recently told me about the website Skin Deep, where you can look up the ingredients to basically any cosmetic/beauty product and the website rates these ingredients on a "safety rating." This rating is based on a 0-10 score, with 0 containing no harmful ingredients and 10 being the worst for you. You moms out there--they also score children's products as well.

Ever since I found out about this website I've been looking up all my products just to give me a sense of what I'm putting on my body.  I'm not 100% sold on this yet, but I am thinking it wouldn't hurt to switch to the safer products on a few of these. For example, some body lotions surprised me. Having a healthier lotion is more important to me (probably because I literally lather them everywhere almost everyday).  Here was what I found: 

1. Jergen's Natural Glow was rated a 7. Yes, I knew self-tanner wasn't probably good for you, to be a HIGH health concern?!

2. Lubriderm Daily Moisturizer was ALSO rated a 7. This shocked me.  Lubriderm claims to be made by dermatologists for healthy skin and containing ingredients naturally found in the body.  Hmmm...

3. Aveeno's Daily Moisturizer is a 2.  To me, Aveeno feels comparable to Lubriderm, is about the same price, and can easily be found everywhere. I'm definitely switching to this one.

Have a successfully freaked you out yet? Hahah! Again, I'm not sure where I stand with this and I'm definitely not ready to throw out all my make up, but I think switching a few things may be in order and I think it's interesting enough to pass along.

 Thoughts?

Weekend

Thursday night was our Theta book club. It was a bit small this time (only three of us!) but we had a blast catching up.

Our sorority housemother (our beloved Momma J) suggested this book and we all loved it.  Go read this book. The end was a bit too cookie-cutter for me (but it was also my criticism with The Help so I'm probably a harsh critic).  Without giving anything away,  it involves an English author directly after World War II and is written through a series of letters.  I've been reading like crazy so I promise to suggest some other books I've read this month.

Cam's sister Amy, her husband and their adorable 17 month old baby boy Noah came to visit us this weekend. Bryan (her husband) had never been to Lexington so we wanted to show them around the Bluegrass.  First of all, I was a bum and took no pictures all weekend, so I'm stealing all the pictures from Amy.

On Friday we stopped by Katherine's birthday party and Noah got to play in the pool for a bit.  On our way home, we of course had Orange Leaf.  It seems like every other post on here is about Orange Leaf, so Amy wanted to try it.  Half of why I love the place is because I am addicted to junk food/sweets, with ice cream being one of my worst addictions. I love the idea of low-fat/non-fat yogurt that is still delicious.  Confession: I'll admit that their weird Japanese topping mochi was in my dream last night.  No idea why or how, but I remember hearing the word over and over.  Now that, my friends, is pathetic. But, it sure beats the Bar nightmares or baby dreams I've been constantly having. 

Cam and I borrowed toys for Noah (like a firetruck, shopping cart, horses, blocks, puppets, stuffed animals, balls, etc), but the clear favorite toy was Sophia, our cat.  Noah chased her around the whole weekend and was great about petting her gently.  She took it like a champ as well and was rather intrigued by having a tiny human around her house.

The other favorite toy were the stairs between the living room and kitchen. The firetruck also fared well. 

We went to the farmer's market Saturday morning.  Local ladies: check out Dad's Favorite spreads--we each sampled a different one and they were all delicious.

The kid in the middle-left picture was amazing. He's in middle school and has the courage to sing and play the guitar in a big crowd. He had a great, raspy voice (probably straining his voice to do this, but we all enjoyed it anyway).

He was so good that Noah even put some change in his Sponge Bob bucket (yes, that's me in the background--sorry to ruin your picture Amy!)

Bryan (Amy's husband) made a smoothie by pedaling the bike...

...but someone else got to enjoy Bryan's hard work.

We drove out Frankfort Pike to show them the horse country and ate at Wallace Station (the place in Midway from Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives). 

I'd never been there, and it is AHHH-Mazing. Let me forewarn you-these sandwiches are definitely big enough to split. Cam was certain they were not that big, so we each ordered one.  Completely unnecessary (but they do make great leftovers). And, if the worst thing was too much delicious food, I'll take that problem any day.

We walked around Midway for a bit, headed over to Woodford Reserve's distillery, and stopped by Keeneland on our way home.  Can I just say I am so excited for Keeneland in October??! Sweet Noah passed out in the car on the way home and slept through Keeneland. 

Saturday night we went to the Chevy Chase block party.  Again local ladies: try Valentine's ice cream. It was the second time we've had it and Cam puts it right up there with Graeters. Now that is saying something because he likes Graeter's more than Orange Leaf...

The Herald Leader caught the flattering side of Mason's debut at the hot dog eating contest. Love it.

 Finally, what trip to Lexington would be complete without Spalding's donuts...two mornings in a row?

I'll Take a Round of Shots, Please

It's been over a week and my voice has not come back.  I go through this every year because of allergies, but regular allergy medication was not working this past year or now. My doctor recommended me to an allergist, and I went in for testing yesterday. 

I had never been, and didn't know what to expect by the procedure.  They create a grid-like chart on your back and number the grid. They then prick each number with a different allergen.  After fifteen minutes of trying not to itch, they come in and measure the reaction to each allergen.  The ones that did not react were then tested on my arm to see if they reacted in a different location.

I am apparently allergic to everything: Cats, dust, ragweed, weeds in general, a lot of grass, all tree pollen, and melons (which is fine by me, because I hate all melons).  Pretty much everything but mold and dogs.  This shocked me--I have seasonal allergies in the fall only and never had any reaction until I moved to Lexington. 

Because of the high number of allergens, I am starting allergy shots next week.  Eek!  I don't know why, but I thought they give you a shot once and you were done.  No.  People, this is an in depth process.  I have to go in twice a week for the next year and receive the shots and then every 4-6 weeks after that for the next three to five years. And, they aren't guaranteed to be effective (some people have to stop early because of reactions and others just don't react).

Has anyone else had allergy shots? Were they effective?

The New Meaning of Outdoor Living

One of our favorite things about our new home is the outdoor spaces.  It has such a Charleston feel to us--every time I step outside I feel like I'm on vacation.   I laughed that the courtyard would be my oasis from all the mauve (seriously--thank goodness its gone)!  Here's a of our updates to give you a glimpse of our great outdoors.

Again, here's the outside. We've since changed out the flag with a good ol' Kentucky state flag.

Behind the front boxwoods are hostas, lillies and ground cover.

Bench with impatients on the front porch. Ignore the painter's dropcloth--we were having the outside painted.

My oasis--i.e, the courtyard.

Multi-colored glass lantern bottles and a bird feeder we got from the Woodland Art Fair hanging in our magnolia tree.

 

Our baker's rack of flowers and lamppost.

Marigolds on a bench and pots of herbs.

Bricked walkway from the courtyard to the rest of the yard lined in coneflowers.

Backyard. Our dog is killing all the grass when she uses the bathroom. Any advice to keep the grass green?

Backyard from the steps from the driveway.

Close up of one of my favorite parts: the unpainted old brick fencing.

So What if I Sound Like Minnie Mouse?!

It's that time of year again--I have completely and utterly lost my voice. I'm at a high pitched, squeaky whisper that breaks into a raspy villain on occasion. Whatever is blooming right now, I hate you. 

I have racked my brain and can think of only two negatives to living in Kentucky: there is no beach, and the allergens are unbelievably awful.  

Funny observations thus far:

• Inevitably, anyone who tries to talk to me just stares at me and says, "What did you say?" or the best, "Can you speak up?"  Really?  
• Sometimes my voice just comes out as a hoarse whisper. Often, people respond back to me in a whisper as well without even realizing they are doing it.  Cam and I have gotten a kick out of that all day.

Despite my cartoonish voice, I had a great weekend unwinding from the trip and trying to re-adjust to the time zone (note the try: it is 1:30 am and I am up blogging in bed).  I made it out to Picnic with the Pops with a friend from Junior League Saturday night. I had never been to this local event before--it was so much fun. Anyone want to put together a table for next year?

Back from the Arctic (So I Post Pictures of Our Living Room)

Okay, not really the Arctic, it just felt like the Arctic.  It was Alaska/Canada, and we were about 250 miles away from the Arctic Circle, which is plenty close for me. Let's be real, it was definitely cold enough. Still, it was beyond amazing.

We are sifting through our over 1,000 pictures--so I promise that as soon as we go narrow them down, I'll share them. Until then, here are a few more pictures of our home: 

Before: Yes, that is mauve/deep red trim, shelves and fireplace with dark off-white walls. To me, this makes it all look super busy and dark. Not our style at all.

Please ignore the little fact that none of our furniture matches because well, it still doesn't match as that's a whole other remodel down the hopefully soon road.  We have the pieces picked out and it's our next big home adventure.  We hope to have the money saved up by next year so that we can complete this room.   

For now, let's all just enjoy the paint, because it made one heck of a difference.

Covering everything to paint the walls

After of the fireplace: Porter Paints Eidelweiss trim, Wheat Sheaf walls, and Ceiling White ceiling.

The concrete around fireplace was cracked and had to be repaired, so it was painted black to hide the repair work and to pop (and the framing around the picture is getting painted black tomorrow to match).

The built-in shelving was also the same red. I wanted it to blend more and not compete as much with the reddish hardwood floors, so it was also painted the trim color Eidelweiss (a warmer grey white).  I am really pleased with how this room has turned out: much more modern, simple, and light.

Found on the Bathroom Walls

The people who owned the house before us had a Colonial/Shaker taste that was clearly reflected in the color scheme.  Cam and I knew the bathrooms walls were the first things to be changed as they were, ahem, a bit busy for our taste.

Exhibit A: our bathroom:

By busy, I mean the competition among the large print nuts and berries wallpaper, black and white tile, and navy shelving.  I do love the awesome tiled walk-in shower, large jacuzzi tub, white cabinetry, double sink, great tile, and plantation shutters.


Exhibit B: The first floor bathroom:

Just so we're clear, that is NOT wallpaper.  That has actually be hand-stenciled. Yes, stenciled. By a person. With their hand. All up and down my bathroom walls. Also, they mixed chrome and brass a lot in this bathroom.  The door knob, toilet lever, and window hardware are chrome.  The light fixture, faucet and stopper, and light switch are brass. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. But, the clearly more pressing concern is paint because the bathroom is newer.  Sigh, the bathroom renovation will be saved for another day--the paint is a big step for now. 


Here's the after of the downstairs bathroom's paint (we've hung the mirror back up since):

 Here's ours bathroom with the wallpaper stripped:

And the final product with the paint and shelves/hooks back up:

 

Diese Woche War Wunderbar.

This past week was wonderful.

Cam's older brother is stationed in Afghanistan for the second year in a row. His wife and two adorable children were in town visiting the states from Germany--I haven't gotten to see them since our wedding (although Cam went to Heidelberg and saw them). We had a great time being the fun aunt and uncle--bedtimes, who needs bedtimes? Oh, you'd like more Gigi's cupcakes dear? Why sure... And you don't know what Orange Leaf is? Let's fix that, twice.

I took his niece to a tearoom for tea and crumpets.  Yes, we played dress-up in dresses and hats. You're only little once :)

The kids and Grandpa (my step-father-in-law) eating my 

fave.

Getting ready to go swimming

The best part: Cam's brother was in DC for training and a few days off so he flew in and got to surprise them.  It was amazing. The three year old made sure to introduce all of us to his daddy--adorable. 

Also, I had surgery this past week.  As I have mentioned on here before, I have endometriosis and ovarian cysts.  Cam and I weren't sure of our chances of having children, but the surgery went well and our chances look good as my doctor believes she was able to remove everything. I've had this surgery before, but the recovery this time has been much worse as it had spread since the past procedure--I just keep telling that our future babies will be freakin' adorable and worth this second surgery. 

I'm only halfway kidding when I say that the stinker better be as cute as the kids in Gap ads.

 And no, we are not ready to be parents quite yet.  I'd like to use this legal degree a bit first, thankyouverymuch.  But, it is such a relief and blessing to think that the possibility is still on the table.