I Want To Know...

I actually got this from another blogger but thought that this would be fun to do here.

I want to know:

What movie do you love but are too embarrassed to admit you love it?

I have two...yes, two.

Soul Plane

Yep, that's the movie with Snoop Dogg in it and the big purple plane.
It also has Sofia Vergara who now plays on Modern Family. (Love it!)

And the second is Without a Paddle.

 

Can you tell that I love juvenile comedy?

Your turn. Dish!

Reflections from the BSBP-2011 Fall Edition

These are my own personal reflections on the BSBP-2011 Fall Edition.

They are not directed at anyone, rather, these are just my observations, from my perspective.

Of course, you might feel differently.

There were so many amazingly talented and creative people that participated in this BSBP.

Just seeing everyone’s work makes me want to step up my game.

Ways to Push Myself and Expand Creatively

• I have got to get me some of that sari silk and figure out what to do with it!

I love the softness that it gives to pieces. There were so many beautiful pieces created that used it.

• I want to push myself to work on multiple strand necklaces. I love them but when it comes to me making them I freak out a little because in my head they seem so overwhelming! Plus, I’ve done a couple of multiple strand necklaces with chain and the chain always gets all mixed up or won’t lay right, but maybe that was because I used chain?

• Asymmetrical pieces are all the rage! I’ve been fighting them for some time but I feel it’s time to step up to the plate. Again, I guess it’s in my head, but my brain just doesn’t see things that way. I automatically think pendant in center, and a symmetrical design on both sides. Gotta break out of that shell.

• I also want to try using cord and knotting in between beads. Love that technique!

• I must improve my photography skills.

A Few Other Notes

• I like to comment on most everyone’s design on their blog, however, if I have to leave my name, email, social security number, mother’s maiden name, and blood type just to leave a comment on your blog, I’m annoyed.

We are hopping to 300+ blogs and if I have to do that for every other one…..yikes! It gets tedious, frustrating, and just not fun anymore. For those blogs, I keep my thoughts to myself, no matter how awesomely fantastic your design is. Just sayin...

• Get your beads out to your partner on time.

To me, it’s about being respectful. Your time is valuable, right? Well, so is your partner’s, and Lori’s as the coordinator. We are made aware of the expectations and deadlines before signing up so there are no surprises.

• Along the same train of thought, be respectful to the other participants by posting your reveal on time. Scheduled posts in Blogger are a bloggers best friend!

• If you choose to participate in the BSBP, your responsibility does not end when you post your reveal.

 It is also your responsibility to actually go to everyone’s blog to see their work. But, the longer you wait to do so, the harder it is to find the BSBP post on their blog (depending upon the frequency with which they post) so it’s best to get to hoppin’, so to speak. :)

Lori, thank you so much for coordinating this. You must be mega organized! Thank you so much for your patience, graciousness, and kindness with all of us.

I wouldn't even know where to begin with something like this. I don't know how you do it, lady.

Thank you.

If you want to sign up for the 2012 BSBP, click here for info on that.

If you want to read more about this BSBP or see the list of participants, click here for that.

In case you missed it, my fave piece that I made is below, and you can read more about it here.

Shopping in Savannah

Yet another installment of my Savannah vacation. :)

There were all kinds of sweet treats to be had. Yes, that is a Hello Kitty candy apple!

More yummy goodness. We indulged in one of the sweets below. Warning: They are REALLY sweet!

Those candy apples are gi-nor-mous!



 When I saw this I had to take a pic through the window...a chicken purse...who knew?

And my personal favorite...The Nut-Bush...(I'm leavin' that one alone!)

And then...MOTHERLOAD! Rob and I were walking along and I saw this antique store. Rob told me to go on in, that he would wait for me. He doesn't care much for antique stores and old stuff, so I decided to hurry through.

But then, in the back of the store, was this booth with the motherload of fab-u-lous jewelry! I wish I would've bought some but I didn't. I mean, I assumed it was vintage because it was in an antique shop but the prices seemed too good to be true. But now I'm kickin' myself because there was some really great stuff in that booth-vintage or not! And of course I have no idea what the name of the store is! That whole booth was awesome! I was trying to snap pics but not be conspicuous about it, lol.

A Couple More Savannah Pics...

It was so humid on the Monday of our vacation that there was a group of birds playing in a puddle that was left over from a sudden summer shower.

They were shy...only a couple of them let me take their pic. I wish I could've gotten all of them but when I got close they flew away...except for these two.

This little guy-or gal-was having a blast!

Look at the bright colors of this lizard. He was hanging out on a fence as we were walking by.

He was watching us watching him. Lol.



More to come!

Happy Fall Ya'll!

It's official!

Hope your first day of fall is fabulous!

I'm so ready for the cooler weather.

Are you?

The A-Z's of Me!

Got this from another blogger and thought it would be a quick and fun post since I'm still working through all the blogs from the BSBP! Here are some fun facts about moi.

A. Age:

35 (Yikes!) I'm ancient.

B. Bed size:

Queen, but I’m holding out to upgrade to a King!!!! Why does a King bed seem so much bigger?

C. Chore that you hate:

All of them, seriously, I need a maid. I'm not lazy, I'd just rather be doing other things.

D. Dogs:

I have two Chihuahua/terrier/???? mixes that I adopted from the animal shelter. Millions of animals are euthanized each year in this country alone! Adopt from the shelter instead of breeders and spay/neuter your pets.

E. Essential start to your day:

Pee then a hot shower. My bad, is that TMI?

F. Favorite color:

Depends….I wear a lot of blue, but also love bold colors such as red! The couch in my living room is red, and my bathroom is red. I loved the bathroom at first but now hate it because it’s so dark in there from the wall color. It’s an interior room so there’s no window.

G. Gold or Silver:

Silver or even better, antique brass!

H. Height:

5'5” I’m a shorty!

I. Instruments you play:

Used to play the recorder….In school I was in chorus instead of band so they made us play the recorder, lol.

J. Job title:

Executive Assistant (I know I’m lucky to be employed, but it’s just not my dream.)

K. Kids:

No human kids, but I have fur babies. Buffy and ChiChi, the Chihuahuas; Lizzie, one crazy kitty, and FatBoy, a huge stray cat that has adopted me and my front porch.

L. Live:

Greensboro, NC

M. Mother’s name:

Lucy, very classic.

N. Nicknames:

Neets, NeetNeet

O. Overnight hospital stays:

I have been fortunate, so none.

P. Pet peeves:

Oh where to begin…stupid drivers, screaming kids-i don't mean to offend ya'll with kids, but I don't want to hear your little darlin's screamin' at the top 'o their lungs when i'm trying to enjoy my dinner or shopping experience, my neighbors that park behind my car in the fire lane making it almost impossible to get out of my parking space-sometimes I just want to ram into their car…I’ll spare ya the rest, because I could go on…and on…and on… :)

Q. Quote from a movie:

I don’t usually remember quotes and such….but some of my fave movies are: Clueless, Bridesmaids (I have never laughed so hard at a movie!), Without A Paddle, Usually anything with Sandra Bullock or SJP. Girl power!

R. Right or left handed:

Right handed.

S. Siblings:

One younger sister

U. Underwear:

Um, what is it you want to know here?

V. Vegetable you hate:

Isn’t hate such a strong word? I seriously dislike the avocado.

W. What makes you run late:

Not getting out of bed on time and my dogs don’t want to “go” when I take them outside

X. X-Rays you’ve had:

My cousin slammed the car door on my middle finger and cracked it, so, I had x-rays done then.

Y. Yummy food that you make:

Crustless pumpkin pie, oatmeal raisin cookies, pumpkin bread, hashbrown casserole, Betty Crocker cheesey potatoes, broccoli casserole

Z. Zoo animal:

Elephants and giraffes. I think they are beautiful. Horses too. Have you ever really looked into their eyes? Oh the stories I bet they would have to tell!

More Savannah Vacation: Lady & Sons Restaurant

While in Savannah, we were fortunate to be able to eat at Paula Deen’s restaurant, The Lady & Sons. VIP, no waiting in line was one of the perks of going on the Paula Deen tour as long as you called ahead to make a reservation. Apparently her restaurant is hard to get into without a reservation. Since I’m a Southern gal who loves to throw down on some Southern cookin’ ya’ll know this was on my to-do list!

OMG! It was so good! You could order off the menu but Rob and I both tried the buffet. I’m a sampler so I like to get a little (or a lot!) of everything.

 On the menu was: fried chicken, baked chicken, maple glazed pork chops, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, collards, yams, lima beans, dirty rice, and macaroni and cheese. There was also a salad bar. I skipped that and went straight for the real food. We also got ho cakes and cheesy bread and dessert with the meal. And no, a ho cake is not a derogatory term! It’s the best tasting piece of fried bread you ever put in yo’ mouth!! For dessert I had the peach cobbler, da bomb!!! The waiter told us that Paula refers to her peach cobbler as "Slap Yo Momma Peach Cobbler." Now I’m not advocating violence against yo momma but that was some good peach cobbler.

My favorites were the fried chicken, ho cakes, yams, mac and cheese, and the creamed corn. The corn wasn’t really juicy but was a little more firm. Almost casserole like in a way, yet still creamy. Maybe like it was baked but pulled out of the oven right before it got too firm. If anyone comes across Paula’s recipe for her creamed corn ya’ll let me know! I looked on the internet but didn’t find what I thought was the right one.

Check out my pics!

Me and Rob. He is so excited to be going on the tour. :)

Totally unrelated sidenote: I cut my bangs. Do they make me look weird? Not that I need help with that....

Rob and Paula. Should I be worried??

My plate of yummy goodness. You can see a corner of the ho cake on the left. Sorry that the lighting is weird...

The Lady & Sons restaurant in Savannah, GA

The Lady & Sons sign. I just noticed that the top of the sign says "Hey Ya'll!"

Stay tuned for more!

Book Review: Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin'

So, ya'll know that I went to Savannah, GA last week on vacation and that we went on the Paula Deen tour. Well, I've always been a fan of Paula's from watching her shows on The Food Network. After all, I am a Southern gal and can relate to all that fabulousness that Paula is cookin' up in the kitchen!  She had me hooked when I saw a show where she deep fried a ham using a turkey fryer. It came out a little crispy on the outside (also how I like my hot dogs!) but so tender and juicy on the inside-at least that's how it looked on tv.  It must be lunchtime because I'm going off talking about food!

Anyhoo, I was intrigued by Paula's story so I purchased her biography, Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin' while we were in Savannah. Now, normally I don't really do biographies, I'm more of a popular fiction kinda gal, but I couldn't put this book down. I had it finished within three days!

(Did ya'll really click to look inside? Lol.)

Here's a summary of what it's all about written by Amazon reviewer Dennis Phillips. I figured what he said pretty much sums up what I thought so why rewrite it? :) See the whole review here.

"She starts out the book by saying that she is going to hide nothing and is going to be totally honest with her fans. She then proceeds to admit that she is a smoker and I thought that if this was her biggest darkest secret I was going to be bored before I got through with this book. Well in true Southern fashion she was just serving up a light appetizer because there was much more to come. The much more I'm not going to give away but take it from me, Paula has been cooking in more rooms than the kitchen.

Beyond the secrets though this is a warm and endearing book that is filled with Southern slang and humor. This is the story of the average Southern girl who grows up watching her mother and grandmother cook but never dreams that cooking will be her ticket to the big time. This is the story of a girl who marries too young, loses her parents not long after that and ends up having to find a way to support her family. There are dark times when she has to deal with family problems and mental illness and there are times when most people would have just given up but this is also a love story with a happy ending."

Now, back to my thoughts. I really enjoyed this book. Paula has a charm about her that reminds me of my own grandmothers. How can you not love a lady that says "Hey ya'll!"?

I love Paula's rags to riches story. Her story embodies all the stereotypical adages:

"You're never too old to follow your dreams."

"Hard work does pay off."

"You can start with nothin' and make somethin'."

...And so on...

If you're a fan-or even if you're not, maybe you will become one after reading-I recommend this book.

Now, with that being said, there are some things in the book that will make your jaw drop open and be like "What??????".  Seriously.

That's all I'm gonna say about that. Are you intrigued yet?

...And if you don't know the story of how Paula and Michael met...well, I just love it. It's so fun!

Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

Wow! It is 2 AM on the nose and I just finished with my pieces for the Bead Soup Blog Party hosted by Lori Anderson over at Pretty Things. I shudder to think what time it will be when I actually finish writing this post!

What is this, you ask? Basically a bunch of us were paired up with a partner. With that partner we switched beads/jewelry components, making sure to include a focal and super fab toggle. Then we created something using the beads sent to us by our partner, also incorporating items from our own stash. And today is show and tell all about it day. We are hopping from one blog to another checking out each other's handiwork. All of this arranged by Lori, of course. Give her a high five!

Guess I'll just jump right in then.

My partner is Elizabeth Owens Dwy. Here is a pic of what I started with. If you wish, read more about that here. Or you can just scroll down since I posted about it yesterday, lol. :)

Wanna see what I sent her? Click here.

Elizabeth made most of the pieces from polymer clay. The round beads are leopard jade. The handmade toggle is made using copper, seed beads, and fibers.

Honestly, I was stumped. I've never really worked with polymer clay before and as you can see, there are a lot of options to use as the focal. Decisions, decisions.

Well, the first thing I made was a pair of hoop earrings. I added some of the dangles she made and alternated them with teal Swarovski bicone beads. It's hard to see, but hanging down the middle is a teal flower that Elizabeth made from polymer clay. Simple yet chic, i think.

Below is the first necklace I made. I tried using the toggle as the focal since it was so unique. I then used cracked agate, polished agate, and glass pearls to create this choker like necklace. I must admit that I'm not entirely satisfied with it at this point. I'm not sure but it still needs some pizazz. I'll keep working on this one.

But then, sitting at work today, I got an idea to go with this type of necklace. I call this piece "Girlfriends" because of the pendant. To me it looks like girlfriends out on the town walking hand in hand. :)  The pendant had a large bail so it easily slid right over the antique brass chain. I then added the leopard jade and polymer clay dangles that Elizabeth sent. From my stash I incorporated turquoise howlite, the brown stone beads, and the vintage cream beads with the flower shape on them. I just love the earthiness of this necklace. Blue and brown is one of my fave combos. I'm really excited about how this piece turned out! I just love the chunky, cha cha feel of it.

Enough babble about me. Want to see what everyone else created? Click here. This link will take you to the list of participants in the BSBP and all of their blogs. Please check them out and don't be scared to give a high five when you see something awesome!

My BSBP Soup

I guess later is better than never, so here are the beads that I received for the BSBP. **UPDATE:  When I say that later is better than never, I am referring to the posting of my soup by me and nothing else.**
This party goes down tomorrow for those that haven't been 'round the bead scene.

I started on mine yesterday (yep, I said yesterday). Needless to say that I work best under pressure, lol. Seriously, I've always been like that. Anyhoo, I started mine yesterday but when I got it finished I came up with a totally different idea that I like a lot better so I'm gonna regroup tonight and see what I can come up with.

So, here are pics of what I received from Elizabeth Owens Dwy over at Clarity of Purple Sage. I believe she made the pieces from polymer clay, except for the round beads which are Leopard Jade, and the copper toggle. It's weaved with seed beads and fibers. Elizabeth must've known that I love flowers!

If you wanna see what I sent her, click on over here.

Wish me luck! Seriously....i need it....so send it my way...but do it fast because this has to be done, pics taken, and blog post posted by tomorrow!!!!!!...And I don't get off of work until 6-ish and then have to hit the Harris Teeter for triple coupons...Sounds like someone will be burnin' the midnight oil again tonight. Yep, I'm feelin' the pressure. :)

See ya at the party! Make sure you come back tomorrow to check out the final pieces.

Vacation in Savannah, GA

Work has been crazier than usual the past few weeks so I was ecstatic when my vacation week finally rolled around. I took the week of Labor Day off and went down to see my fiancé, Rob. He lives four hours away from me in Aiken, SC. Oh, it was so good not only to be off of work but to just get the heck outta dodge for a whole glorious week.

We decided that we would go to Savannah, GA for a few days (Monday-Wednesday). This would be the first trip there for both of us. Are there any fans of Southern cookin’ reading? Well, what super famous Southern cooking guru is from GA???

Anyone….

Anyone???

Well, my pretties, none other than the super fabulous Mrs. Paula Deen, so of course we went on the Paula Deen tour of Savannah. We hopped on a mini-bus (ya know, the short one, lol) and were whisked off to various places around the city. It was nice to be able to sit back, relax and see the city with a chauffeur  (even though I swear our chauffeur had snuck a few too many sips off the bottle that morning-she was a looney tune!)

Some of the highlights were:

The chapel at Bethesda School for Boys where Paula Deen got married to her current husband, Michael.

The Byrd Cookie Company  We got to sample some of their cookies and lemonade. De-li-cious! Yes, I sampled every one.

We stopped at the Savannah Bee Company, where I bought this.

 It so creamy, and wonderful, and has the lightest, yet most yummy blackberry scent.

After all that shopping, we had lunch at Uncle Bubba’s Oyster House. In case ya’ll don’t know, Uncle Bubba is Paula’s little brother. Here they are breakin' bread together. :)

The lunch was a mini-buffet but it was my first time eating this:

Low country boil. The shrimp were huge! Guess that’s one ‘o the benefits of coastal living. The only thing I didn’t like is that my momma taught me not to play with my food and I figure that if I have to rip off the feet, shell, and tail of my shrimp before I eat it that’s akin to playing with my food….

Just sayin’…

But once I got past all that, the low country boil was super yummy!

More on my trip later!