i hate your vacuum.....

its so funny how things in your life effect you....when my husband and i got married we had to do counseling w/ the church for what seemed like months (we had 10 lessons we had to attend). at first it seemed rather uncomfortable sitting there w/ the preacher talking about why we loved one another but as the weeks went on, it actually taught us a lot about each other.

each week, we had to read a chapter in this book and do a worksheet afterwards. one week we had to a lesson on how we were raised. it was like a questionnaire with duties and then columns on each side labeled mother, father, both. this was probably one of the most valuable lessons b/c what you had to do was circle which person did that specific duty in your family a.) your mom, b.) your dad, or c.) both. b/c that was what your perception on that specific duty would basically be going into your marriage. for example...it would say who takes out the trash.... my answer was b. my dad (later i have learned that my mom does it a lot more) and in our marriage, warren generally is the garbage man.

anyways, what i have realized in my 4 yrs of marriage is how you are raised has a huge effect on "your life"...not that i need a book to point that out. well, the reason i am writing this in a round about way is because of a simple thing called a vacuum cleaner...my loving husband was raised on a canister vacuum cleaner. you would think something as simple as a vacuum cleaner wouldn't have that much effect on your life but i was raised on what i consider a normal vacuum...the upright kind. i HATE our vacuum cleaner, in fact, i love to blame that stupid thing on why i can't vacuum. it is the heaviest thing ever!!! it has these wheels on it that is somehow suppose to make the thing easier- give me a break!! i am sweating my butt off from vacuuming the house. i have to constantly tug on that thing, pick it up b/c it runs into the walls, add different parts to it...it sucks- literally!! i almost took out my child this AM...one swift tug and she is history.

my mom can second my opinion...she hates that evil vacuum too (when i was on bed rest for a life time she helped out and tried vacuuming with that stupid canister)!! so to make a long story short...i wasn't raised on that evil canister vacuum...i am here to say my vacuum (the normal kind) is WAY better and so i think i need to boycott vacuuming until a normal kind arrives at our humble abode. no disrespect to my in-laws who are the best thing ever; i just dislike the vacuum you raised my husband on!!

so i didn't vote.....

so i think i need to confess...i am obsessed w/ so you think you can dance. its inevitable that i love this dance show considering i danced from the age of 2-18. my parents had to go to dance recitals for 16 yrs. and then on top of that, in high school, i did 4 yrs of dance team so they had to go to all of the school's preformances. my mother is even more obsessed then i am...it's actually really funny. i think its because she is still upset that my grandmother made her quit ballet to do piano lessons (thank god, my mom didn't make me do that). she hasn't gotten over it. she goes way beyond just watching the show...she goes online and reads the blogs about it and you tubes it....that makes me laugh. i can't believe she hasn't already called me this AM to talk about the upset last night...will got voted off. she will probably die that i am letting out her little secret!! my grandmother is really passionate about politics; my mother is really passionate about so you think you can dance- she will talk all day about it (only to me though...no one else knows until now)!!

i know that this is suppose to be a design blog but sometimes i just need to write what's on my mind (maybe i should have gone to the shows blog) and i cannot believe that one of the most technically trained dancers was voted off last night...i can't believe the two guys that were actually in the bottom two...i love both of them. but here i am ranting on about it and i don't even vote so i guess i can't really say much when it comes to who leaves the show!! anyways, i just thought i would make a confession....have a great weekend...will, you will be an amazing dancer and i can see alvin ailey in your near future....

rise and shine....

i use to think my mom was crazy b/c she woke up at 5:30 in the AM....now i am that person. for the past week, i have been waking up at 5:48 randomly. and once my eyes open, my mind starts racing...it's crazy. i look at the clock, then at warren, then try and close my eyes and think happy thoughts like you have a whole hour to sleep uninterrupted (gosh, that use to be the best feeling...waking up and then discovering that you still had time to sleep before heading off to school or work). but my mind has another agenda...things to do. its like my to-do list is running thru my head. i'm not stressed out; if anything i am excited. i actually love my job and what i do.

so there i was in the bed thinking instead of that one hour of sleep that i use to long for, how nice it would be to get up and have an hour of peace and quite without interruptions...coffee, internet searching, doing my blog, starting my "to-do list"...and so here i am- great cup of coffee, 10 yr old faded sorority shirt, hair in a half bun/ ponytail, zit cream still plastered on my face, eyes barely open, and huge grin on my face b/c i have 30 minutes just to myself.....

it was quite apparent he had a 'south of broad' address....

so i don't know why this man stuck out in my head so much as he was walking across the street downtown yesterday...maybe b/c of his attire, well, i know for a fact it was b/c of his attire...he was very well color coordinated...and in my head i thought "only in charleston". i swear the man's outfit came straight from ben silver, one of the classic charleston stores for fine men's (and women's) apparel. you know when you can just tell....well this man screamed ben silver...purple (yes, purple) seersucker pants, a white summer oxford shirt perfectly pressed w/ the sleeves rolled up just above the wrist, a purple and navy blue bow tie that coordinated w/ his pants perfectly, and a pair of cream suede bucks...all he needed was a pair of these tortoise shell glasses (signature style for any well dressed ben silver man) and he would have won a gold star.....isn't it funny how a town has an "attire" to it. like seersucker pants and charleston....its a guaranteed attire at any cocktail party, museum opening, or church function. if you are born and raised in charleston, i think its a right of passage that you have to own a seersucker suit. and if you are of the younger generation, you generally sport them with your rainbows. i don't know why i felt like sharing this today...i just thought its funny how a "style" can lend itself to a town....i mean, i don't know if that man would have been considered as "stylish" in say the the midwest part of the country....

I've been tagged....

so it's friday and was tagged a while ago by design 59 and this seems like a perfect time to do it (b/c my kid is refusing to take a nap and is screaming in her crib)...

1. Where were you 10 yrs ago....

hummmm...i had just ended my first year of rip roaring fun at the college of knowledge (aka college of charleston), i had just signed a lease on my first "official apartment" with my best friend katy on king street (this is where many parties happen, we got eviction warnings, friends of ours set off the fire extinguisher several times, and the first of my many parking tickets/ boots came about), i had just returned from a two week trip to thailand to see my brother who moved there to teach english (we are so different...he is super smart, adventurous, and likes to read books), i had just started answering the phones at my dad's office in the AM's and in the afternoons i went back to my old highschool job of being the receptionist at the local salon (how funny is that...it was located in my city's mall- i grew up in a small town in GA so you can imagine the salon), and last but not least- i was probably going out way too much using my fake id which i obtained from a former "stylist" at the salon...i was suppose to be 23 and looked all of 19...

2. 5 items on my to-do-list today:

1. well considering one of my builders just emailed me and said he had the electrician come today instead of mon, i need to go make sure all of his lighting is labeled, and since its not mon but fri- my babysitter is in FL and i am at home w/ the kid, not showered...better find a baseball cap and get my happy butt in that garage before he pulls up...

2. i need to get a second quote for outdoor draperies that priced out mega high...

3. go to Pottery Barn to look at their outdoor fabric collection for lounge chairs to make sure it will match what we have already purchased for a client's screen porch area

4. return a skirt that my husband says "looks like something a 16 yr old would wear"...b/c i am long past the days of a 16 yr old and the body of one....so i will take my husband's words of wisdom and not be that woman w/ a kid that still thinks she is a single, club hopper!

5. take a shower and brush my teeth b/c if you reread #1 of my to-do-list, i have a client arriving very soon....

3. Snacks i enjoy.....

whole foods guacamole dip w/ the fried pita chips, cherries in the summer, ice cream w/ reese's cup smashed in it....what i usually have in my house- wheat thins w/ cheese, grapes, hummus- boring stuff

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire....

travel lots, send taylor to the best schools possible, give money to the church and lots of charities, keep working but maybe not stress out anymore if i don't know when my next client is coming, give money to my family and all my best friends, move to sullivan's island, get a new car and boat for my husband and let him quit his job that he works so hard at to keep his family afloat.....

5. Places i would live....

sullivan's island, LA in a different life, italy, and i do love cabo

its time to cut the cord....

for all of my 10 readers out there, i apologize for not taking the time to put my heart and soul into this blog. unfortunately, i have gotten too swamped (which is not a bad thing). i am having trouble keeping my head above water. my husband says i have lost it...maybe i have! but i have realized that i need more help. which is why i am about to stop typing and fill out an application to put taylor into childcare...omg, i can't believe i am doing this. i went on a tour of the building yesterday and i started crying! the nice lady looked at me (i was trying to act like i was really excited about the experience as crocodile tears were filling up in my eyes) and she says "sometimes this is the best thing for the mothers who need help letting their children go"...yup, i guess i am that mother. i like having my babysitter help me out and being able to be at home w/ taylor. i do struggle w/ having a professional phone call w/ her screaming bloody murder in the background. so, i am reluctantly signing my kid's life away. i am sure she will be fine...and i will survive too.

shut up and drive....

i'm not going to lie, my driving skills aren't the greatest...my driving skills in atlanta traffic- wow, now that's a scary combo. i am going to be one lost puppy...my agenda: ADAC, South of Market, Pieces, Bungalow Classic, and how can you not stop by Lenox mall and do a little shopping.

please, please....

please forgive me...i would love to say that i was hanging out here for the past couple of days and that is why i haven't blogged but i am super swamped. i have a crazy week so please don't hate me/ dismiss me if i can't post a lot. i am leaving for ADAC tomorrow, i have a meeting in 45 minutes, i have to shower, i am battling a cold, my sitter is out of town, my kid is sick, i am in a wedding this weekend....oh, and i am turning 29 tomorrow...

one year....

my little girl/ drama queen is turning one tomorrow! i can't believe a year has flown by...kind of brings tears to my eyes!! so this memorial day, as well as many, many future ones, we will be celebrating having this little munchkin being brought into our lives. i don't think we ever knew how much our lives would change for the better. happy memorial weekend!

keep rollin', rollin', rollin'....

you remember that limp biscuit song...that's what i feel like today. i wish i could do a video of how i would dance to it back in the day....keep rollin, rollin, rollin (the motion you do is: driving a car w/ one hand on the wheel kind of pimped back as if you had on a sideways hat) and then on the whooooo part (i don't think i spelled that sound right...i would call my husband to ask but i think he would think i was seriously crazy...ok anyways, back to the motion you do- a downward fist pump into your side). WOW, i really have lost it!!

the purpose for me writing about this is- i think that song dictates my day thus far...rollin' to the jobsite real early this AM w/ workout clothes on, a hat, day old mascara under my eyes, oh and how can i forget- a kid attached to my hip- to tell the painters at this jobsite that they painted a room wrong....needless to say, jobsite peps and the owner of the house (aka my client) show up real early too and so i just had to roll w/ it....

tick tock....

this was me last night but instead of holding the clock, i was fumbling around in my office at 1:00 in the morning. i have so much stuff going through my head work related that i couldn't sleep. my husband was annoyed w/ me this AM for staying up but it was a combination of excitement to get started on this project, anxiety due to the deadlines, and just purely b/c i couldn't get my mind to stop thinking about furniture....does this happen to y'all. so now i am exhausted, on my 3rd cup of coffee which is black....i'm not sophisticated enough to drink black coffee, on any given day of the week you will find me loading up on the sugar and cream but for some reason i thought black would be more hard core...i need hard core this AM.

sorry...

for not posting today...my daughter had her own idea of how the morning was going to work. instead of her AM nap, she decided it was time to move on to bigger and better things- standing in her crib. she was screaming several times during her nap and when i would check the monitor, she would be stuck on her knees. the last time, she made it to a full on standing position. which is great b/c she's 11 months today and needs to be doing this! i couldn't resist getting her up.

Road Trip!!!

i'm off for a weekend of fun w/ my best friends and i just can't get there soon enough. i woke up 3 x's last night and finally got up at 6:00 b/c i couldn't stand it anymore. i got the baby up as well b/c i will be missing her this weekend- my husband could have killed me for this since he is in charge of her!! we are having a bachlorette party at the beach...although i dread the thought of having to put on a bathing suit, i can sacrifice the pain to be w/ these friends. have a wonderful weekend!!!!!

i'm back....

well i am back from my pity party and i have to say 'fantasy' spring break rocked. it was nice to have a week w/out the commitment of writing but at the same time, seeing everyone who left such nice comments made me realize why i love doing this. thanks so much! they put a smile on my face...but i promise my break wasn't a plot to "fish" for compliments...it was just to take some time off!

i did get a lot of work done last week which was great. and it was sunny enough to go the beach of sat w/ the tot. i can't believe i am even admitting to this but prior to us going to the beach, we stopped by the ultra tacky beach shop by our house to pick up an umbrella (now that we have a kid, we have to start acting like adults)...i tried to talk my husband into buying one of those beach wagons so we could pack all of our goodies in there (diaper bag, sand toys, cooler, umbrella, kid) but we didn't want to go overboard in supporting the tourist shop.

taylor really enjoyed the beach...she didn't seem to mind the sand that covered every inch of her body or eating it. and the hour that we were there was a great "family bonding experience"...then she was over it...and so we packed up our tacky beach gear and headed home and "spring break" was officially over...no wild stories, no tattoo or bellybutton piercing, and no hangover....

you don't own me...

i'm not one of your many toys...can't remember the words...don't tell me what to do, and don't tell me what to say...forgot the words.... yes folks, i have reached it- a mental breakdown in the world of blogging and i just did my best to quote the words off of my dirty dancing soundtrack to the song "you don't own me". that song was dedicated to this blog....

i think i have become boring. which means one of two things: a) i quit writing this blog all together or b) i take a "blogging" spring break... not only have i become boring but i have also become a nerd! did i seriously just write a "blogging" spring break?? 10 months ago, i didn't even know that blogs existed...

so after much thought (not really) and seeing that everyone else in the blogging world (i should really wear a pocket protector with all of these "blogging" terms i keep throwing out) took a "real" spring break, i am doing just that...taking a break. i feel like i have had some lame posts lately and if i was a reader, i would be bored to tears w/ my blog. if i was a cartoon character, i think i would be the teacher on charlie brown- you know the one that no one can decipher what she is saying...

this is my problem- i can't figure out where i am going on my "blogging" spring break (jeez- i have got to quit saying that)...it's a toss up b/w spring break circa 1999 w/ my college bestfriends (since this is my fantasy, i will not be that overweight girl that i was in college due to the fact that i loved beer and apparently any food place that served after the hours of 2 AM). i had the best group of girlfriends and i miss them dearly.

the second option would be to go back on my honeymoon with my husband...it was the best trip ever. we had so much fun together and actually met two other couples who we hung out w/ for most of the week. we were so carefree...no worries, didn't care how much money we spent, no baby or diaper bag that i have to pack everytime i step out of the house w/ an obscene amount of toys, finger foods, and diapers, no lame blog that i have to report to every morning! regardless, i just want a break...so, i am taking off the week...

warning: this is a mom story vs. a design inspiration...

so i am not a supermom and i'll be the first to admit it. but our daughter is now 10 months and she is suppose to be eating more "normal" foods. so in an attempt to stop giving her the very easy gerber food jars, we took a family trip to the store to get her "real" foods. we scoured this cookbook my mother-in-law left us for inspiration. i got up this AM inspired to get taylor to try new things. i opened the cookbook and following a simple recipe that said it was "yummy by itself or mixed w/ cereal". i peeled the apples and strawberries, simmered them in a pot for 5 minutes, pureed them in the mini cuisinart and Viola- instant breakfast. i was excited for my daughter...this has to be better than the usual mush that can sit on a store shelf for 2 yrs...

well, after all of the trouble i went thru to be supermom, my grateful kid greeted me w/ the most appropriate face: pure disgust...

if i knew i wouldn't offend people, the last picture would have been my middle finger...being a supermom is totally overrated and i am at peace w/ mediocrity.

one of those days...

i wish i was here....instead i'm here....but then she army crawls into my office and i can't help but smile.

he said it.....

anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination- ocsar wilde....this quote popped up on ken faulk's website ...how funny and what a sassy slogan for designers!!

i love this quote...

"You can sit and obsess forever, but you'll always be happier if you just go for it. That's how you find your personal style." quote from domino by designer krista ewart (recently named one of next "kelly wearstler's") so are you an obsesser??

i'm back.....

and all i have to show are some random fabrics and a matchbox from pieces. i wish i had some great pictures to share w/ you from my trip to ADAC and pieces but i don't. it was a really quick trip. i was semi disappointed at ADAC b/c i really didn't see much "new" stuff. i found some great wallpaper from schumacher but it is being mailed to me b/c i didn't have time to wait around for all of my memo samples. victoria hagan has some great furniture additions...and i am obsessing over some wallpaper that ruthie sommers has in her office (its not new though....just new to me). when it gets here, i'll share them.

pieces was great. i was sad b/c lee wasn't there and i would have liked to have met her. i wanted to take a picture in there and i asked the guy working and he didn't seem too down w/ it. so unforunately, all i have to show is this matchbox. i think one of my fav parts about the store was the handles on the doors...huge lucite ones. i would love to get my hands on some of those. the store is amazing...everything organized by colors- yellow, kelly green, etc. i will say, if you can't make it to the actual store, the website is a great representation of everything she has. i kind of felt like i was in my computer b/c i have stared at her inventory for so long!!

so i am sorry i can't share more but like i said the "atl" part of my trip was very quickly done....also i have caught some kind of funk going around and am not feeling the best. hopefully, tomorrow i will be better....ta ta for now.