The Shade Tree

Sometimes life gets so busy that I have to remind myself to breathe. I find myself holding my breath and realize that I am concentrating on so many other things, that I am gasping for air. Women are pros at multi-tasking and I definitely put myself in this boat. Nearly any position in the marketing field requires your brain to constantly have many things top-of-mind and perform them all simultaneously with skill and precision. As a Project Manager, I am continually thinking of my next steps for 2 shoe companies in areas such as social media, community outreach, corporate communications and public relations.

We are fortunate to have My Hero's family close-by. They live on a large plot of land just outside of the city and it's always a treat to visit. Just a few weeks ago, I had a surreal moment. I was acting like a guy. I was able to shut my brain off and just be in the moment. The day was quite warm and we had ventured up the dirt road from my Father-in-Law's house to my grandfather's house. We sat underneath the shade tree with PawPaw and just talked. The pasture was full of corn, the horses were crunching watermelon rind near the barn, the dogs were panting as they lay in the grass...what a surreal moment. Trickles of rain fell from the sky, but the large, leafy tree provided protection. These are the moments you realize life is wonderful. I never envisioned this life for myself, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I married into the best family and am so much more blessed in this life than I imagined I could ever be.

(PawPaw's tractor. Dirt road to his house. Corn fills the pasture.)

Gym Rat

OK...so I've never posted pictures of myself in a bathing suite, but I've been working my tooshy off since moving back to Charlotte and I'm finally seeing progress. Well, I think I had a really biased great photographer who was willing to take the pictures over and over to get the perfect shots.

I recently completed a super intense training program that was short, but not so sweet. I am recovering from a tweaked ankle, but having a smidge more confidence was worth it. Not many woman feel comfortable and confident in a bikini...including this one. I decided to be brave and post these picts so I can look back on them one day after obtaining stretch marks and wrinkles from the joys this life will surely bring. Only supportive comments are welcome. Leave the hateraide at home. Better yet, hate all you want...where were you when the clock called at 5:00AM? I was in the gym.

SMOOCHES!

It's Hump Day!

As an alumni of Campbell University, I have grown an affinity for camels. Yep, camels. I don't collect them, but I think I have to have (insert object name here) when I see one. So, you can imagine how much I love the new Geico commercial. While it is funny, I thoroughly enjoy that the camel walks with a bit of a swagger. Check it out and happy Hump Day!

Geico: Happier Than a Camel on Hump Day

Hair of a Tale

I got a new do! Yep...again...my friends tell me I do this a lot, but I wasn't so sure of it myself until I looked back through pictures from the past couple of years. Here's a pictoral history from 2010 when I moved to New York City until now:

My hair was uber short when I first moved to NYC (August 2010), but the $13 million necklace, 

"The Majestic", I wore trumped the boyish strands. The reality of this day will be engrained in my mind forever. My director asked me what the bauble felt like. Answer: "You'd know if it fell off!" 

With lack of a talented colorist and efforts to grow out the tresses, I embraced the natural strawberry color, while standing next to the classy Emily from Cupcakes & Cashmere. What a gem she is! 

So blessed to have met her. 

The curls were coming out as My Hero and I enjoyed our first Fashion's Night Out in NYC in September 2010. Paying homage to my employer at the time. This picture will always carry of lifetime of memories for me and the full life I lived in nearly 3 short years. 

Pre-birthday dinner pictures in January 2011...the strands are getting a mind of their own and I was deciding that it was beginning to look like a wig. The look in my eyes was the look of wonder...a transformation was on the horizon. 

By July of 2011, I was back to my roots and feeling more like a Southern gal. I was back and blonde! 

My Hero and I enjoyed a fancy night on the town to celebrate another 30th birthday. I had run the NYC Marathon a few months prior and was in the BEST shape of my life, 

but I decided my hair looked like a mom-bob. Not a mom = no mom-bob for me.

Spring of 2012...back to saving money. Thank goodness the ombre look was in. I'd dyed my hair closest to it's natural color (never to be seen again). We were toying with the idea of moving back to the South and saving money was of the essence. Full-on blonde took a back seat to being the best little worker-bees and planning the next move in the game of life. 

Back in the South! My hair was trimmed and getting back into shape. It was no longer involuntarily falling out of my head in clumps. Phew! I decided on this road trip (where the picture was taken) that it was time to be blonde again. The sparkle and life was slowly coming back in my eyes, but my gold aviators were doing more for me than natural light. Bye-bye back burner...Fashion is top-of-mind again.

Wrapping up 2012. Short and Blonde. I used to think of this as my "Twiggy" picture, but all I see are the deer heads hanging on the wall behind me. My family hunts. What? That's normal in the South. 

Earlier this month (July 2013), my golden tresses were longer and quite lush. I have fine strands, but a lot of them, which makes for a puffy mop on a humid day. They were still nothing compared to the locks of this precious Angora rabbit I fell in love with while shopping one afternoon.

Here I am today....still July 2013. This is the bravest of looks I've done yet. It's totally short on one side and longer on the other. I look tired, but I'm glad to say it's from a great work-life balance. A few late nights here and there, coupled with a good tan from natural sunlight, make this one happy gal. 

Work It Out

On a recent vacay to Charleston, SC, I ran across this poster. I just can't get it out of my mind. The image of Marilyn Monroe just seemed to be such an oxymoron. Who would expect the glamour goddess to be seen near a set of weights, much less working them out like a pro?!? I have made this image the newest screen saver on my phone. I see it every morning after turning off the alarm on my phone and dragging myself out of bed to go to the gym. I get a little chuckle, tie on my shoes and head out the door.

WAKE UP. WORK OUT. BE HAPPY. 

Friday Musings

It's always a treat to pick up the latest issue of nearly any fashion or fitness magazine at the grocery store. I love the feel of the paper and the excitement of what the next page will bring. More than anything, it's my preferred way to read. I rarely have a few precious moments to sneak away to read, so having the ability to read an article or two is invaluable.

Let me introduce to you the fact that I am very thrifty where possible. I rarely purchase clothes at full retail price or anything else for that matter. I even worked for Tiffany & Co. to get a discount on the precious metals I have grown so fond of.  I am now working for a shoe company to cover my feet at a discounted rate. I do love a good pair of shoes. Enter my fondness for magazines...the cost of magazines is astronomical. Enter Next Issue...over 90 TITLES at your fingertips. Read: MAGAZINES GALOR for a minimal fee of $10 per month! Cue the sounds of an angelic choir. I've been on the free 30 day trail for roughly 26 days and I will definitely continue with this app. If you love efficiency, magazines and thriftiness, this is THE app for you. All you need is a tablet or PC. Sing-up and download the titles of your preference. You won't be disappointed.

Shattered and Tattered

Apparently I have a made a habit of breaking significant things throughout my life. I was always in a hurry running up and down the stairs in my parent's house. Going up is fine, but I always seem to have a problem going down stairs. I managed to rip the banister railing right out of the wall once. After delicately placing the railing, and the nail that ripped out with it, back into the wall and mending the wallpaper around the hole, I noticed that my parents were watching this whole process from around the corner of the stairs. The jig was up. I paid dearly for that one. There were several hours of labor picking beans in the garden that summer. Yuck!

I recently managed to completely tear out the hanging structure of my bedroom closet...that wouldn't seem too bad to any clothes-aholic such as myself...but the walls are made of cinder blocks with a layer of sheet rock over them. Yep. I promised my husband I wasn't swinging from the rod. I'd been asking for a new closet structure since the first day in the condo, but that never happened.

Much to my husband's dismay (he had no choice), we gathered measurements and headed to The Container Store. This store is the mecca of all organizational needs. They just so happen to carry fabulous closet structures. Since I've had many years to consider my dream closet for our micro-condo, I knew exactly what I wanted and creating the design took no longer than 4.35 minutes.  I am in
L-O-V-E with the outcome and can't wait for my husband's closet to cave in so I can do this all over again!

(My clothes found a temporary space on the floor of our workout room as we waited for the new closet structure to arrive.)

(Hot Newness!!! 3 rows of spacial glory in the micro-closet!)

(Install complete! All of my clothes fit with room to spare. I also repurposed a tie rack for my long necklaces which was this organizer's cherry on top.)

Biscuits and Baubles

Following a nearly 3 year call-of-the-wild in New York City working for Tiffany and Co., this southern gal has returned to her home WELL south of the Mason Dixon Line. My previous adventures were chronicled at Y'all and Yanks...a blog fitting for this southerner's adventures in Manhattan. It's been over a year since my last post. To be quite honest, I was just tired. My husband and I needed some time to move back to Charlotte, albeit into my father-in-laws home, and prepare to move back into our home, which was preoccupied with renters at the time. We are finally back in our micro-condo and settling in nicely.

So it begins...another love-hate relationship with blogging. I'm not the best writer, but this is my outlet to talk about my life, fashion, fitness and all the lovely things...and maybe not so lovely things...that fall between. My Hero and I recently celebrated our 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY, so I thought this would be the perfect time to begin again. Welcome to Biscuits and Baubles! He's southern like a good biscuit and things that sparkle make me one happy girl.