BeaufortBelle

Please excuse the mess/construction! And a prayer request...

2012-01-16T16:05:00.000-05:00

I hope to get the changes finished tonight. However, if I don't. it will probably be like this for a few weeks.

I am asking for prayers please. Tomorrow (Tues Jan 17) at 8:30 am, I will be undergoing major surgery. The plan right now is for me to stay 3 days/ 2 nights but that is subject to change if the need arises. I KNOW everything will be just fine and I have no worries. I am actually looking forward to this. Even though I have no worries, I still am asking for prayers. Prayers never hurt anyone!

1. Pray for my daughter. She is away at school and she worries about me and my medical mess so much. I know she will be a basket case. If you know who she is, please send her a word of encouragement in a message on Facebook. Also, pray for her friends to surround her to try and keep her mind occupied with as much other things as possible.

2. Pray for my parents and my husband as they will be at the hospital with me tomorrow. And pray an additional prayer for my husband as I will take frustration (with nursing staff mostly) out of him. It is the medical knowledge in me! Also for my husband and dad who have a hard time sitting around in a hospital!

3. Pray for my doctors and the surgical team, their hands, and their minds during the procedure. My surgeon is a Christian and I am very blessed that even as a physician, he puts faith above science if you know what I mean.

4. Is finally for me. Not for the surgery itself, I will be asleep! LOL But for after. I need as easy a recovery as possible because it is going to be a long one. I quote, "You are going to have it rough and hard for the first 2 weeks, you will feel like crud for up to 6 weeks, and then it will get better at 8-10 weeks. That is a long time!

So if those of you that pray, will please say specific prayers for the above 4 requests, I would be most appreciative. I hope to be back blogging as soon as possible as I started back with a bang and then had to drop it without a word. However, I will do my best to at least keep up my obsession with Pinterest! ;-)

PAR-TAY Time...

2011-12-09T02:00:00.002-05:00

GNO Style!

Now going out partying with your girlfriends gives way to punch it up! Nothing like a great night out dancing! If this is your choice for letting loose and taking a much needed break with your girlfriends, do I have some fun choices for you.

Gotta do it girls, the first item up on the runway is actually a fun black dress. But it is FUN!

How cute is this? Do you notice the bow tied on the back?

It is the Jessica Simpson Slit Sleeve Blouson Jersey.

How much more fun can it be than to add these wild things?

These feathery finery for you feet are by Enzo Angiolini and are calle "Torrez".

Both dress and shoes are found at Nordstom.

You could also add these fun strappy platforms from Belk that are on sale for 70% off!!!

These are Nine West "Arm Candy" in Satin Gold.

Now lets go BOLD on the dance floor!

This dress is also by Jessica Simpson and is the One Shoulder Blousen Jersey in Enamel Blue...

or holiday it up in thes Jessica Simpson Flutter Sleeve Charmeuse Dress in Tango Red...

This dress is beautiful in person... pictures do not do this dress justice. My daughter owns this dress in a more coral color and has worn it to weddings and clubbing. I will try to find her picture.

There is only one pair of shoes that I can even picture with the last 2 dresses...

The Nine West "Arm Candy" is Silver. Almost any color dress can be picked out from all that glittery sparkle on the platform. Very par-tay!

Again from Belk and on sale at %70 off!

You will definitely be kicking up your feet on the dance floor in any of these three shoes.

Tomorrow is our last night of Holiday Fashion week and we will definitely be winding down. Join me tomorrow for some more great fashions to wrap it up! (pun intended!)

(All 3 dresses are from Nordstrom, however we did purchase my daughter's dress at Belk)

Here is my Miss Brooke at our cousin's wedding this past May:

Here she is with our cousin, Robert and his new bride, Jaimee.

Excuse the shininess and the red eyes as everyone had been dancing for quite some time.

Her dress looks orange but it is not as orange in person. If you can see her necklace, it has orange, gold, coral, and pink.

And to show this is a wonderful dress to dance in, Miss Brooke is dancing the shag with her Papa (my daddy). She sure knows how to rock those platforms!

GNO!!!

2011-12-08T02:00:00.021-05:00

Girl's Night Out

OK girls, you have been shopping your hearts out, attending galas and cocktail parties, or you are just plain tired of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, including all the baking (yum yum) and gift wrapping. If you have kids, the holiday season always winds them up and you just need to get away! Time for a Girl's Night Out with your best girlfriends.

Maybe you just want a relaxing night out (that can sometimes change as the night goes on and the drinks continue) for dinner. I happen to LOVE sweater dresses. There are so many to choose from this year. Since this is a relaxing night out, you make think my color choices are on the mundane side, but ~~sarcastically she states,~~ this is my blog and these are what I choose to showcase.

First outfit I would not change one bit. I like it just as it is:

Lovely charcoal gray (yes, charcoal gray can be lovely) with black opaque hose or tights, and black, to-the-knee boots! Take it easy on the accessories as this dress is cable knit so you have plenty of texture and design. But take it up a notch with a great pair of colorful dangling earrings OR a long necklace, NOT BOTH. Or with the gray, some great silver options. Maybe simple, but larger, silver hoops, and a silver statement piece on the wrist. Perfect for those 3/4 length with a slight ruffle sleeves. I can not identify the boots. The dress is a Tahari by Arthur S Levine and is on sale on the Nordstom website for 33% off.

My second outifit is a Calvin Klein Cable Knit faux wrap. Wrap dresses look good on almost everyone! If you don't have a shape, or maybe a little larger woman, the wrap defines a waist line well. I love this color!

Does this not make your back side look fabulous??? I would definitely be adding the Spanxx! I think this dress leans towards an equestrian look, so I personally would probably do the tights again in dark brown and dark brown "riding boots".

The reason I choose such dark brown is because of such a hard to match brown on the sweater. The dark brown adds a contrast and complements the faux wrap attachment. These are by Sofft and are the "Claremont" boot. I found these at Nordstrom.

My second favorite designer is Ralph Lauren. I am very much classic when it comes to clothing styles and Lauren by RL is just that, classic.

I love "Winter White". A warm white, not the bright whites we see in summer and can most definitely be worn year round. This dress just knocks me off my feet. It is a Lauren by Ralph Lauren. It too is cable knit but with a wonderful banded (but not tight) bottom, almost to the wrist sleeves, and a wonderful bateau neckline.

I found this dress at Belks where it is currently on sale! The belt gives it that signature western/equestian RL look. I would definitely put a boot like this with this dress.

I am in love with the two-tone riding boots. These are "Corso Como Richmond", which I again found at Belk's. They come in dark brown, black, and my favorite, the two-tone. You can find this style in many, many brands at many price points. Unfortunately, I do not own a pair of two-tones myself, but a pair will end up in my closet at some point

Though I said yesterday that I am not really adding jewelry to my outfits of choice. However, with this piece, I would probably just go with some thick gold hoops. Enough said.

Finally a dress-me-up or dress-me down sweater dress. It too is by Ralph Lauren. It is a long sleeve, boatneck, sweater dress. The sleeves are slightly puffed and the cuffs have a single button.

Oh there is so much you could do with this dress. For a casual look, tie or loop a brightly colored scarf. You could go as bright as the Murfee scarves by Lilly Pulitzer, solid color ruffle scarves, or even better for the holidays, a tartain plaid scarf. The choices are limitless with this style dress.

Since this is a wool sweater dress, I would throw on a poncho. My choice, though not as colorful, would be...

a herringbone poncho! Your shoe choices are extremely varied. Again, a flat, black leather boot is a good choice, or there are many wonderful black leather or suede flats. I think I would probably go with these and some black opaque tights...

These are the "Ilona bootie" by Naturalizer. These were found at Nordstrom. And though I haven't been saying much about purses, how about this one?

The pop of red is fantastic. This purse is the Lauren by RL Newbury Barrel Satchel. I personally love satchels and that is mostly what I carry. With the poncho, I would not want a long strap or straps. This strap is removable to be the perfect satchel.

As I said before, this can be a dress-me-up dress as well. If I was dressing it up, I would either wear a black leather boot with a heel such as...

The Cole Haan Air Jalissa.

I found these at Belks but the are also carried by Cole Haan stores as well as other department stores. If you have never tried any of Cole Haan's Air shoes, you really need to do so. Cole Haan has partnered with Nike for their "Air" technology. This technology makes for a very comfortable shoe or boot.

Or I would go a little more dressier with this pair...

Very similar but with a little higher and more stiletto type heel. These are the Lauren by RL Jennison boots. These also were found at Belk.

If you choose not to go the boot route, and try something different. How about one of these?

The lower wedge Cole Haan Air Lainey...

Love very much, especially with the gold accent, but this southern belle can't get past the
patent leather. Beautiful and comfortable.

or the Eterna Wedge by Nina...

Love the wedge, the "cut out" sides and the flat bow on top. Great pair to choose.

Or go very traditional with the Michael Kors Pressley...

Strange angle I know. Love the polished leather (not patent) and a very classic black pump that can go with almost anything and should be a staple in your shoe wardrobe. I think I would end up choosing these especially with how I plan to accessorize this wonderful dress.

(The final three pair of shoes are found at Belk.)

To go from all black, I would either tie a silk scarf around the neck, preferably tartan for the holiday spirit or a great animal print.

If you do not care for scarves around the neck, especially with a bateau neckline, choose a gold statement necklace.

If you do choose to wear a scarf, a classic "treat" is to pull a color out of the scarf for your purse and tie the scarf around the strap or handle. That will definitely step it up a notch.

Me, I would combine the two options. I would choose this...

the Lauren by RL Gansevort Convertible Leather clutch. I would leave the chain strap as to carry it on my shoulder and a silk square scarf around the strap where it meets the clutch and probably add a bold chain necklace. (RL makes those as well!)

I have given you plenty for a dinner or dinner and a movie GNO! I hope you have found some new items and new ways to style your items.

Come back tomorrow for part two of GNO! It will be PAR-TAY time!

Alive After 5

2011-12-07T17:24:00.000-05:00

Although you always have the chance to meet up for drinks after work, these little events tend to multiply during the holiday season. It could be a small company function with just drinks and

hors d'oeuvres immediately after the work day is done, or colleagues getting away from the office, or friends just meeting up to take a break and allow time to spend together when you may not have the chance during your busy calendar.

Most women would don the LBD (little back dress) for this as you could wear it through the work day by itself depending on the dress or by adding a blazer for an even more professional look. This way, all you have to do is remove the blazer, change out the jewelry and shoes and you are good to go. However, this is the holiday season after all and I would prefer to step it up a notch.

I choose the Lilly Pulitzer Julianna Dress. The pattern is so creatively called, "Cameo White Lace You There Placed." Don't you just love the Lilly pattern names? I know I do!

I love this dress! Lilly states that this dress is a one-of-a-kind! The print is absolutely breathtaking!

And I think it is appropriate for any cocktail affair. So why did I not use this dress yesterday for Cocktails, Anyone? Yesterday, I chose to go with a much more festive, party mood, type of address.

Once again, I am not going with the shoes shown on the model. They are Lilly and I absolutely adore them. Gold, strappy shoes should be a staple in your shoe wardrobe. But I see something else. I see this dress a little more elegant and a need for a different style. I immediately noticed the bow on the waist, so I wanted that to carry down to my shoe selection. I chose these lovelies...

Though these may appear white, (and us old fashioned summer fashion rules still ring true and the only time you wear white shoes after Labor day is under your wedding dress and tennis shoes) these are actually ivory and do match the dress. However, they also come in black...

I chose these because of not only the bow affect but the flat pleating on the sides. For myself, I would have to buy both pair, bring them on home and try them on with the dress. Then return the ones that I choose not to wear. Why you ask? I love the ivory because it is the same color as the bottom of the dress. And even though they may be very much lighter than your skin tone, it will still help elongate the look. But the black would definitely work as black satin is indeed a little dressier and it is all in the details. The bow being black on the dress and the black shoes with a black bow just coordinates too easily.

Once again, not to differ with the wonderful design team and stylists at Lilly, I do not like this evening clutch with the dress. I would go for a simple black satin clutch, which most of us do have in our wardrobes, or a lovely black satin with a simple bow.

Many of you may have noticed that I am only showcasing the dresses (or upcoming outfits) without jewelry because you don't always need to purchase new jewelry. As for our Gala attire, you may be breaking out your sapphires, rubies or emeralds, or more elaborate pearls. For other outfits shown or still to come, you may just happen to have the perfect piece or pieces to go with the outfits. I am leaving the jewelry up to you. I will say for me, the only jewelry I would wear with this dress, other than my wedding set, is simple pearl studs. The dress speaks for itself.

You may have noticed that this is also the first time I have mentioned a purse. For our first two installments of fashion week, you may not necessarily need one. Although they do add the finishing touch. If you have an escort to the first two events, the gentleman should always be willing to carry for you what you need. However, if you do choose to carry something, it should be nothing larger than an evening clutch. Nothing bigger than to carry a compact, lipstick, your i.d., some cash or card in case of a dire emergency, and the most important of all, your breath mints!

As you can tell, I love Lilly, especially for dresses, and if you check out the Lilly Pulitzer website, you will find many wonderful dresses for cocktail parties like yesterday and for the simple, out the door after 5 drinks (and maybe dinner) look.

I am sure you have also noticed that yesterday and today have only featured one dress each. Don't worry, tomorrow is "Girl's Night Out" and I have many outfits to feature. Make sure to stop back by tomorrow and check out my opinions of what to wear this Holiday Fashion Season!

I hope you have enjoyed not only today's installment, but Holiday Fashion week as well.

Christmas and Customer Service

2011-12-06T19:23:00.000-05:00

I think that one of the most important attributes a person can have is excellent interpersonal skills. During the holidays, many sales people become very frustrated as they are forced to use a certain greeting to be, so called, politically correct. They have to face angry customers, just plain rude customers, the hustle and bustle of the crowds, and the most awful work schedules!

Now is the time they should be stepping up and putting their best foot forward.

I do not tolerate poor customer service, ANYWHERE! I will try to discuss whatever the matter may be with the sales person or customer service, and if a resolution is not found or an attitude doesn't change, I go to the manager. Or I will just walk out without purchasing a thing. For those on commission, some have lost pretty big sales by the way I am and have been treated. If I am not waited on promptly, if a sales rep is chit-chatting it up with a friend instead of waiting on me or the next person in line, that is a problem. I have actually quit shopping at a favorite store,shop, or boutique, or if it is a department store, I will actually go to another mall, even if it is in another city.

Now I can be grouchy and I can get very frustrated, and many times, especially during the holidays, I go into a store on a mission. However, I try to be as nice and cheerful as I can be. I love when I can get to know certain sales people well and they get to know me. Having that type of relationship is wonderful. How else can you find out about sales and special events ahead of schedule??

However, what if you do much of your shopping online?? I know I shopped 3 online stores on Cyber Monday. One was actually on Tuesday because of server issues from to much activity and the CM sale was carried over throughout the day on Tuesday. I know #2 and #3 have excellent customer service as I have shopped with them online before.

The first store I shopped is a store I found online through the blogging world (they have a blog and an online store) and I signed up for updates via email. I received their email regarding Cyber Monday and knew that 2 things I needed I could get from this vendor. I will say that before I made my purchase I checked some other places both online and in stores before going with this vendor.

I am so glad I choose this vendor!

When shopping from online boutiques (and even ebay), I pay attention to every little detail. How easy the purchase process is, shipping and handling, ability to return the item and how to do so before I ever make that first purchase. If needed, how easily it is to contact customer service. Lastly, when my purchase arrives, how was it packaged. I know how much it costs to ship packages (you can put in the to and from destinations and approximate weight on the website - USPS, UPS, FedEx - and it will tell you the actual cost just to ship. I also know know that many times, vendors overcharge for their handling fees, especially when all they do is use a box from the shipping service, throw your purchase in there and cram some brown packing paper in the box.

Let me receive a package shipped the way the package I received yesterday (and it was through the USPS) and I will forever be a customer. They way it was actually packaged is well worth the handling fees, and because it was CM, shipping and handling was free in addition to the sale price!

I know you are dying to know who the vendor is...

My wonderful vendor is The Preppy Princess!
The box was delivered intact thanks to both Preppy Princess and the USPS. The merchandise was safely secured with the good ole kraft shipping paper. But the merchandise was packaged so lovely. Though hard to tell, there are 2 items there, each individually wrapped in tissue. (I did not indicate that this may or may not be gifts so that made it even better!) Then the 2 individual items were tied together with pink and green ribbon to go with the adorable pink and green tissue. A wonderful thank you note was slipped under the ribbon. I would have been tickled receiving it just as it was at this point. Preppy Princess took it a step further. That bundled package was insered into a plastic "bag" and tied closed with another pink ribbon!! Superior handling and what a wonderful way to see a purchase when removing from the generic shipping boxes provided from whatever service you choose! Now I am not sure if I am going to give either of these as gifts or if I am going to keep them for myself as I could use both items. But if I chose to gift them, I can give as it or just slip into a colored gift bag.

Yesterday, it was overcast when my package arrived but when I opened it and found the above, it became a sunny Monday for me!

Thank you again Preppy Princess!

(on a side note to the customer service reps and sales people out there, in these economic times, with plenty of people looking for jobs, if you don't straighten up and provide better, friendlier service, you will lose your job, and someone really needing a job will get yours!)

Cocktails, Anyone?

2011-12-06T18:40:00.001-05:00

Usually the next event that starts filling up on your holiday schedule is cocktail parties. Many office parties require cocktail attire and of course there is cocktail parties at many homes and your country clubs.

I am only showing one dress to day, and depending on how many parties you have to attend, and the others that you are attending you can possibly get away with having only one ~~or using previous dresses~~ .

From the moment I saw the following Lilly dress, I knew if I had an cocktail party to attend, this would be MY dress. It is the new Lilly Eryn.

The Eryn is fun and the style would is flattering on almost anyone! I think this print is very festive! But I don't particular like her shoes with this dress. As you know I am all about the shoes. And with this little lovely being short, you don't need to worry about where embellishments are on the shoes.

This first one is a very nice heel, not to high, not to low. This second one would be perfect as well. If you like the extra heighth, this pair does the trick and adds a little sexy spice with the ankle strap.

Both pair are by Nina and can be found at Belks and Nordstoms as well as other locations.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, now what about those cocktails? Here are some perfect for the holiday season. At most cocktail parties there may be a signature drink, an open bar, or a cash bar depending on what the occasion is. I am going to share some Holiday Themed Cocktails with you.

The Ginger Snap

1 serving

Ingredients

1 oz. ginger beer

Ice

1 tsp. ginger juice

1 1/2 oz. dark rum

1 tsp. cinnamon schnapps

Pinch of ground cloves

1 egg white

Cinnamon stick

Crystallized ginger square

Finely ground gingerbread cookie

Directions

Pour enough ginger beer into a saucer to cover and dip a martini glass into the saucer to coat the rim. Dip into a saucer with ground cookie. Scoop ice into shaker. Pour ginger juice, rum and cinnamon schnapps into a shaker. Add a pinch of ground cloves. Separate an egg and add egg white to shaker. Shake vigorously for at least 20 seconds until drink is frothy and foamy. The longer you shake, the foamier the drink. Add ginger beer and stir slightly. Pour into glass.

Garnish with a cinnamon stick and crystallized ginger square, and sprinkle the top with finely ground gingerbread cookie.

You can substitute brown sugar or cinnamon sugar to rim glass.

The Candy Cane Cooler

1 serving

Ingredients
For Infusion:

2 cups fresh mint leaves, de-stemmed

1 bottle quality vodka

Directions

Thoroughly wash mint leaves and place in a decanter or jar. Empty vodka into container and muddle slightly to release the essential oils. Store in a cool, dark place for at least 3 days - longer if you want a stronger taste.

For cocktail:

1 tbs. crushed candy cane or peppermint candy

1 1/2 oz. mint-infused vodka

1/2 oz. B&B (Benedictine and brandy)

1/2 oz. half-and-half

Ice

Peppermint stick

Mint sprig for garnish

Place crushed candy cane bits into pint glass. Muddle the candy cane slightly, breaking up the bigger pieces. Do not over-muddle into a powder. Add vodka, brandy and half-and-half and stir. Pour into a shaker with ice. Shake lightly to chill and strain into old-fashioned glass full of ice. Add a peppermint stick and stir. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Notes

Cocktail started with vodka already infused.

The Cranberry Punch Pizzazz

18 servings

Ingredients

8 cardamom pods

4 4-inch cinnamon sticks, broken

12 whole cloves

1 can (about 11.5 ounces) frozen cranberry juice concentrate

4 cups merlot or other red wine

1/3 cup honey

Cranberries and orange slices, for garnish

Directions

Cut a 6-inch square from a double thickness of cotton cheesecloth to make a spice bag. Pinch the cardamom pods to break. Center the cardamom, cinnamon and cloves on the cheesecloth, bring up the corners and tie closed with clean kitchen string.

In a 3 1/2-to-6-quart slow cooker, mix the cranberry juice concentrate with water according to the directions on the can. Stir in the wine and honey; add the spice bag. Cover and cook on low 4 to 6 hours or on high 2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes. Remove and discard the spice bag. Ladle the punch into glasses and garnish with cranberries and orange slices.

Poinsettia Cocktail

1 serving

Ingredients

1/4 cup vodka

1/4 cup Champagne

1/2 cup cranberry juice

Crushed ice

2 strips orange zest, each about 1/4-inch wide and 2 inches long

Directions

Combine the vodka, Champagne and juice in a large-stemmed red wine glass. Add crushed ice and stir until the mixture is well chilled. Twist the orange strips over the glass, drop them in, and serve.

Candy Cane Cocktail

1 serving

Ingredients

1 shot vanilla rum

1 shot white chocolate liqueur (recommended: Godiva)

1 shot peppermint schnapps

Candy cane, garnish

Directions

Add all liquid ingredients to cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into martini glass. Garnish with candy cane.

If you are hosting a cocktail party, why not choose one of the above as your signature cocktail?

What if you don't partake in alcoholic beverages

or you are the designated driver? Try this...

Virgin Pomegranate and Cranerry Bellinis

8-12 servings

Ingredients

1 cup ice

1 1/2 cups simple syrup, recipe follows

1 1/4 cups unsweetened pomegranate juice, chilled

1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice, chilled

1 (25.3 fluid ounces) bottle sparkling water, chilled

2 limes, thinly sliced

1 bunch fresh mint, for garnish

Optional garnish: 1/2 cup (2 1/2 ounces) pomegranate seeds

Special equipment: a 6 to 8 cup capacity punch bowl

Directions

Place the ice in a punch bowl. Add the simple syrup, pomegranate juice, and cranberry juice. Stir well. Slowly pour in the sparkling water. Garnish with lime slices, mint sprigs and pomegranate seeds, if using, and serve.

Serving Suggestion: As an alternative to serving from a punch bowl, make the bellini mixture in a 6 to 8 cup capacity pitcher. Divide the pomegranate seeds between 12 champagne flutes. Add 1 slice of lime and 1 sprig of mint to each glass.

Pour the bellini mixture into the prepared glasses and serve.

Simple syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

In a saucepan, combine water and sugar over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Take the pan off the heat and allow the syrup to cool.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All cocktails courtesy of the Food Network.

This Holiday Fashion week is my personal choices. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the events this week to attend myself other than the last day of Fashion Week.. Between recent illnesses and wonderful husband's overly demanding schedule, we just don't have anything to attend. Maybe next year. I think I will make that one of my Holiday 2012 goals!

Off to the Gala

2011-12-05T02:22:00.001-05:00

This week is holiday fashion week, featuring attire for different events each day.

If you have been invited to a holiday black tie affair or gala calling for an evening gown, it has probably been on your calendar for weeks! There are so many gorgeous gowns, especially in beautiful jewel tones, this holiday season. However, I am going to save our colorful apparel for some other days this week.

I am going to share 2 always elegant gowns but I am going to give to give them "a little kick."

The first is a true black dress. It is Halston with a beautiful draping.

As beautiful as this gown is, you may find it a little boring, shall we say? Since this gown does have a slit, let's move the party to our feet...

Add some holiday sparkle in these Kate Spade's OR kick it up another notch with these Louboutins. (very little difference so they are their for your picking)

Now, as much as I love that Halston, I prefer something a little softer.
I personally would choose this Notte by Marchesa...

I put great thought in my shoes and how they work with my outfit. With long gowns, I do want my shoes to be seen but I don't want my gown catching on any adornment. To go with this beautiful gown, I thing I need something more than a black pump. These satin slippers do the trick. Well they aren't really slippers...

They have a beautiful satin bow that doesn't extend wider than the back of the shoe.
Simple and elegant.

Do you have a gala or affair calling for a full length gown on your calendar this season? If so, please share what you are attending and what you will be wearing.

Come back tomorrow for "Cocktails, Anyone?"

Sunday Sentiment

2011-12-04T17:49:00.000-05:00

Coffee, tea, or?

2011-12-03T18:26:00.001-05:00

Something else warm and cozy? This product is for you!

It is the Cuisinart Coffee Plus 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker with Hot Water System.

In my house, my husband is the coffee drinker while I don't touch the stuff. I prefer hot chocolate or hot apple cider. It is also perfect for the hot cup of tea.

Both sides each have a charcoal water filter, with its own method of priming so you don't have that yucky charcoal debris the first few times it is used. Both sides have its own water storage.

The left side is the coffee maker with so many good things. It has a gold filter basket so you don't have to pay for filters. It has its own on/off button. If you filled the water storage up to 12 cups but only want to drink maybe 3 or 4 cups, there is a 1-4 button and approximately 5 cups will brew. It has a programmable auto on switch. You can choose the amount of time the plate stays warm and for that amount of time you can choose hot, warm, or cool for the temperature for the plate. After the amount of time set, it will automatically shut off. Among other things, there is also the "pause" feature that allows you to pause mid-brew to pour yourself a cup of coffee and then resume brewing.

My side is even better! Really, it is! I can not even tell you how much water is in reserve. There are 2 lights above the on/off switch. The first one is water ready. It will blink blue until the water is hot (boiling hot) and it will then turn solid blue. The other light comes on red when you need to add more water. It takes about a minute to heat up the water. Below the on/off switch is the dispenser tab. All you have to do is press the tab down while you fill your cup, mug, or tumbler. However, there is a catch, a safety guard. A sliding lock. You have to slide the lock to the left to unlock and dispense the hot water. After dispensing the water, just slide back under the tab. I love this feature. Great for safety for younger kids but also safety that you don't accidentally hit the dispenser and very hot water come pouring
out! The last feature is a removable drip tray. With the drip tray in, my 16oz Tervis Tumblers fit perfect! I THINK that removing the tray, my larger tumbler fits as well. It is removable for larger travel mugs.

All you need to do is fill whatever drinking vessel you choose with powdered or homemade dry hot chocolate mix, apple cider packet, teabag or tea diffuser. Next, unlock and dispense the hot water. So far I have only tried hot chocolate using Swiss Miss sugar free. Using my 16oz Tervis Tumbler, I added 2 packs of mix and filled up with water. I will say that I filled about half way and used an iced tea spoon to stir it up and dissolve any powder left and then finished filling with the water, stirred again. Just perfect! Let me warn you that it is hot. At home, I leave my lid off so it will cool. If you need to fill and go, I would wait just a few minutes before proceeding to drink. My second cup was even better. I put mini marshmallows on the bottom, then mix, then water! Yummy! Tomorrow, I plan to make some caramel sauce and try some caramel apple cider. Not having to boil water, I may start drinking hot tea again.

In the new world of 1 cup dispense coffee makers, I still would choose this model! As a non-coffee drinker, I truly dislike any hint of coffee taste in my cups or drink. I even have mugs that my husband is not allowed to use for his coffee.

If you are a house divided or love other hot beverages or have children who love their hot cocoa, this is the product for you.

This product usually retails for $99 but Lowes had them on sale for $69. We also had a Lowes coupon for $10 off a purchase equal to or greater than $50. That made ours only $59! My husband was in dire need of a coffee maker, but I told him I had to pick it out. A stunned look came across his face and said, "You don't even drink coffee," to which I reminded him the kitchen was mine! Now it is OUR coffee maker and neither one of us regret the purchase and now that we have used it for a week, we would have paid $99. I truly suggest you check this
kitchen electronic out. Off to fix me some more hot chocolate to sip while watching Christmas movies!

I was not asked nor compensated for my review. All opinions are my own.

Santa Claus is coming to town... By boat!

2011-12-03T05:00:00.001-05:00

This evening is the Morehead City to Beaufort flotilla. The Christmas parade where floats really do float! I had planned to be there as parades on the water are just beautiful. Remember me mentioning my excitement about being able to spend next year's July 4th at the beach! If you choose to watch the fireworks by boat and you stay around the waterfronts, it is dark with the small lights on the boats all lit up on the water and the fireworks lighting up the night sky. The flotilla is almost the opposite in that they boats almost light up the sky but instead they light up the water like fireworks while stars sparkle in the night sky.

The Christmas flotilla adds even more magic to the season! I so wish I was able to go and wish even more that you could join me!

Who says reindeer HAVE to fly?

Happy...

2011-12-02T19:08:00.001-05:00

4th of July! I know... You are thinking I am just bonkers! Why is it that today I am posting about Independence Day?

Today my husband called and told me he has the entire week of July 4th for vacation! He also secured the week of September 4th as well! I am so excited for multiple reasons. We started dating on July 4th and we can always celebrate that day because it is a federal holiday, but also I LOVE Independence Day at the beach. And the vacation schedule in his office never allows him the week off and only the day after if the holiday falls on Saturday! The reason I am so excited about the week of Labor Day is that our wedding anniversary is September 4th. And when he told me he has that entire week off, he added, "so we can go somewhere for our anniversary."

He still has about 100 hours that are not carried over to use next year. I know he will take 2 more weeks but we usually take mini vacations of 3-4 days, usually in late September and October and he turns the remainder back in when it gets closer to times he has off.

I feel like Christmas came today!

The Countdown Is On!

2011-12-01T20:31:00.000-05:00

My oh my... It is December 1st! It has been over 4 months since my last post. I do hope I still have followers. As my mama says, "If the good Lord's willing, and the creek don't rise," I will be blogging much more regularly.

I am going to start back short and sweet by sharing a picture of one of my favorite Christmas houses. Welcome to December!

It is my...

2011-07-23T04:25:00.001-04:00

My "baby Girl" turned 19 today. Officially, not until 10:37 tonight, but you know how the moment turns 12 am on the day of your birthday, and celebration begins. The hard part, and by no means am I wishing time to go by quickly, but this is her final year as a "teenager!"

Miss Brooke's bestie from college came up Thursday night. Friday we went to dinner at her fave Mexican restaurant. Her papa, my daddy, even came just to spend time with her. She started getting the FB wishes and anxiously awaited the midnight hour, when 'T' as we will refer to him for now,was to be the 1st phone call of the birthday. Tonight we plan to sit in 100 degree weather for a baseball game after a day of shopping.

Happy Birthday Miss Brooke! You will always be my baby girl!

I love you so very much!

- Posted using Blogger from my iPad
Cake photo via Tumblr.

Back to School Already???

2011-07-13T15:11:00.001-04:00

Even though it is only July 13th, we are already planning Miss Brooke's return for her soph year of college. She has about a month left, but a very busy month. Just yesterday, she mentioned needing a new agenda for school. Today I am hunting agendas. We love the Lilly ones but LOVE the layout of the Mom Agenda. However, I can't see her carrying an agenda around that says MOM.

So, I am considering designing my own. I love the MA with how you have the typical weekly calendar at the top, and spaces for up to 4 kids at the bottom. However, instead of kids, I would probably use those for sorority plans, sporting events, other social, and misc. obligations.

I would like to have month at a glance for her to add assignments from class syllabi and school calendar, as well as the ability to add in other assignments and even notate when classes are cancelled.

I have a perpetual calendar that I use for birthdays where we do cards for the month at the beginning of the month, including buy, sign, address, stamp, and then put a little post it indicating the day.

I think I might add an "expense report" for her to document eating out, sorority expenses (ie: tees, big-lil stuff, crafts), other stuff in general, and even gas. I may even include a deposit column for her paychecks (she is a student assistant for the Dean of Sports Sciences).

I think I may include a sorority section since her chapter does not use member books with certain info. And a section for notes in general.

Finally, I may include at the very beginning, a three column to do list. One for school, one for 'home' (cleaning, take out trash, laundry, clean bathroom, etc), and one for social.

I will probably print on card stock, making it colorful to keep her attention, and include not only favorite quotes, but also inspirational sayings, and fun stuff in general. Very cute cover and laminate so it should last longer, and have it spiral bound.

College girls (or guys)... What do you think? What would you add? What would you take away?

- Posted using Blogger from my iPad

Ralph and I would like to wish you and yours a...

2011-07-04T13:06:00.000-04:00

Thank you Mr. Lauren for sending me this absolutely wonderful picture in my email today.

It represents many of us on the 4th of July.

Also, thanks for enlightening me of the "Star Spangled Banner Project."

Everybody enjoy your day, whether spending it with friends, nieghborhood parades, pool parties, cookouts, ballgames, fireworks, or just staying home an watching all of the glorious firework displays on TV.

Be safe, remember what this holiday represents to America, and have fun!!

I am going to see Team USA play Japan with the hubs, my daddy, and Miss Brooke.

Fashion Friday: For the Guys

2011-06-24T18:04:00.000-04:00

Are you a prep? Or are you a prep-neck? Social Primer is giving us the chance to find out. Check out pictures and follow the comments here. In the meantime, here are 2 of my favorites with the 2nd being my absolutely favorite!

Happy Birthday

2011-05-16T00:03:00.001-04:00

To one of the greatest men to have been a part of my life. On May 15, 1915, my GRANDdaddy, Robert E. Lee Morris. A very special man. This August 25 will be the 25 anniversary since his passing. granddaddy, I love you, I miss you, and there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about you. I am blessed because I know one day we will be reunited!

- Posted using Blogger from my iPad

I love weddings!

2011-05-15T23:57:00.001-04:00

Saturday at 5:30, my cousin (my daddy's twin sister's only grandson and her oldest grandchild) got married. He is also the son of my favorite cousin who was also told that she would never bear children. (another story for another day)

It was a beautiful ceremony with a surprise the couple didn't know was going to happen by the officiant. The church was built in 1838 and the bride's parents married in the same church 30 years ago. The reserved pews had beautiful arrangements and there were only 2 arrangements on the altar. The bouquets were gorgeous but the bride did something very special with hers. Her 2 grandmothers passed several years ago and she chose added each of their favorite flowers to her bouquet. Pictures and more details to come later. It was a magical night with something featured that I had never seen before. Again, more details later.

- Posted using Blogger from my iPad

Spray Tans

2011-05-15T23:45:00.001-04:00

I am loving spray tans. I was looking for a local place as I will never ever put my body in a tanning bed. When you have had multiple skin cancer removal surgeries, you tend to wise up. I honestly believe that 20 minutes in a bed is worse than 8 hours in the sun. While searching the Internet I came across SunTanCity (suntan city.com). There spray tan is a private room machine. NO airbrushing. It takes 5 minutes and if you don't add the tinter so you can see immediate results you will probably enjoy it better and doesn't get on your clothes. Plan it when you don't need a shower for 6-8 hours. If you can wait until the next morning, even better. A super natural tan, absolutely no streaking and NO orange!!! And this type of spray tan I have found lasts longer than a regular tan.

Are you curious yet? It is called vesaspa! Check out SunTanCIty
for a location near you and more info on Versaspa. It even applies a skin hydrator after the tan.

If you try it out (and the first visit is free), let me know what you think and how your tan turned out!

- Posted using Blogger from my iPad

Today is...

2011-05-08T08:15:00.005-04:00

Wishing all of the mothers and grandmothers, and soon to be mothers out there

a very special Mother's Day!

Finally the plans are coming together...

2011-05-07T21:32:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning the hubs, my daddy, and I are heading to pick up most of Miss Brooke's "stuff" from school. She doesn't have her last exam until Tuesday (final day) but she can't bring it all home herself.

So we are heading out about 7:45 in the am and meeting her at 10:45 at:

for my Mother's Day "lunch"! And then on to campus and the dorm to load up our car and my daddy's truck and bringing back as much as we can fit into the 2 vehicles. Hopefully, everything that is left can fit in her car on Tuesday. If not, I will be trekking back down there on Tuesday to help her out and make her journey home. (She will go back next Sunday to watch many of her friends graduate).

Hopefully, it won't take too long because "she says" she has just about everything packed and it will be all done tonight except for the few things and few outfits to last her through Tuesday.

Except for the fact that I get to spend a few hours with my daughter, albeit packing her up, what a Mother's Day!!

A great start to the weekend!

2011-05-06T15:18:00.000-04:00

Guess who turns 50 today???

2011-05-05T00:01:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday George! You sure do get better with age!!

Tomorrow is...

2011-05-04T22:48:00.000-04:00

Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May) and it is time to celebrate, Fiesta Style! I know I am posting this quite a bit late, but if you are lucky enough to not work or have time to print out the printables, then you can decorate. If not, serve up some margaritas, some chips and salsa, and some Mexican food. If you don't have time, I am sure there is a great little Mexican restaurant you can order ahead and through into your party ware!

A few weeks abo, I found out about TheTomKatStudio: Serving Up Fabulous Party Inspiration. Kim, the owner and her company are making it big. They have been featured in Phyllis Hoffman's CELEBRATE, Nashville Living, InStyle Magazine, and on many blogs to name a few. She has a great ETSY shop. But you can also get free printables from her website. She puts the party into party and other than assemble a few things, she has the party already designed for you! It couldn't be any easier than to throw a party with TomKat Studios!

So jump on over to TomKat's Cinco de Mayo Celebration and check out all Kim has to offer! This is one party you want to participate in, even if it's the last minute! Now let's party!! Thanks Kim!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T08:15:00.001-04:00

Touching Tuesday...

2011-05-03T16:48:00.000-04:00

With all that has happened this week with the American Navy Seals capture and kill of Osama Bin Laden, I can't help but think about all of the military service men (& women) who have died for our freedom and safety. Not just those since 9/11/01, but all of those that served and died before them.

Miss Brooke, age 2 1/2 at Arlington

Yes, you can remember them and salute them and praise them, but if you ever get the chance to visit Arlington National Cemetary, it is a place and a moment in time, you will never forget!

(Note: If I am correct this is on the hillside that overlooks Section 9 of the cemetary. These graves and monuments do NOT line up like the majority of Arlington.)

Osama Bin Laden has Fallen!

2011-05-02T20:15:00.000-04:00

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, And He turn away His wrath from him.

Proverbs 24.17-18

~~~~~~~~~~

We will not tire, we will not falter, we will not fail.”

George W. Bush

9/20/01

It's May Day!

2011-05-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Dancing around the May Pole

Maurice Prendergast May Day Celebration Central Park 1901

~~~~~~~~~~

Here's to hoping that all the April Showers bring pretty May Flowers!

I may just have to make this myself, minus the "Easter" eggs for my front door!

30 Day Challenge - April 30th - The end of the Challenge

2011-04-30T14:57:00.000-04:00

Day 30 - A picture of myself:

(my birthday 2 years ago at Cheesecake Factory)

30 Day Challenge - April 29th

2011-04-30T14:46:00.000-04:00

Day 29 - A picture of someone I miss:

My granddaddy, Robert E. Lee Morris. This is my mom's daddy. Story behind this. When I was still in high school, I came across his dog tag and he said I could have it. He passed away on my first day of college classes and the day before my 18th birthday. His dog tag hung on my bulletin board in my dorm room. Many years later, while my mom and I were going through a box of pictures, we came across this picture in 2 sizes. She kept the larger and I got this one. Even later, years after my grandmother passed, we were going through another box and included was an envelope from the White House addressed to my grandmother. Inside was this letter of commendation from Ronald Reagan (yes, I know they are sent whenever a former or current soldier has died). I decided to have it put together in one frame and I hang it proudly in my living room. The envelope is preserved on the back.

He was a large man and I was teeny tiny... but I was his special girl and he was my gentle giant. We shared a special bond and still do to this day. This August 25th will mark 25 years since his death and I still miss him so.

30 Day Challenge - April 28th

2011-04-30T14:20:00.000-04:00

Day 28: A picture that can always make me smile:

Don't laugh...but it does make me smile. First fish I caught of the day (deep sea) and it was a 47 pound Wahoo! The second largest of our group. My husband caught the largest and it is lying behind my feet! That is our captain standing to my right.

30 Day Challenge - April 27th

2011-04-30T14:11:00.000-04:00

Day 27: A picture of something you're afraid of:

30 Day Challenge - April 26th

2011-04-30T14:08:00.000-04:00

Day 26 - A picture of yourself and a family member.

Instead of a photo, I am going to do a quick video. It is of my daughter at about age 4 and me during my freshman year of college. You will be able to see, she is definitely my "mini-me."

30 Day Challenge - April 25th

2011-04-30T13:59:00.000-04:00

Day 25: A picture of something that means a lot to you:

"My beach". This is the rickety old pier at our beach place. It is the only one left at our end of the island. She rocks with the ocean but has NEVER been completely lost to an hurricane. My husband and I love coming out here in the evening to watch the sun set. And this pier is the BEST place to watch the fireworks on the 4th of July. You can see them all.... from Beaufort, to Morehead City, Atlantic Beach, and every town going down the island. A sight definitely to behold!

30 Day Challenge - April 24th

2011-04-30T13:47:00.000-04:00

Day 24: A Picture of your day

(My day in pictures)

My husband and I attended our 8:30 Worship service at church and Sunday School at 9:45. This is the dress I wore:

It is hard to see the details and if I had found it earlier, there would be several accessories I would have ordered to go with the dress. The gold piece in the center is styled like bamboo.

After church, we headed to my BIL's house for a cookout. Very good!! I brought along the "infamous" Bunny Rabbit coconut cake:

These of course are the instruction for how to assemble your cake. Mine looked almost identical except being the prep I am, he had a green coconut bow tie to co-ordinate with his pink ears. If I would have had more time to decorate, he probably would have had a seersucker bowtie!

We had planned to go to a late afternoon movie, but had an errand to run first and didn't get the chance. The few movies we were choosing from had "late" night start times so we didn't go.

About 10, Sunday night, Miss Brooke made it home from the beach to stay with us for the night before heading back to school on Monday!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Sunday!

Southern Saturdays

2011-04-23T14:17:00.000-04:00

Do you like Darius Rucker?? I have all the way back to the Hootie and the Blowfish days. Loved the music, maybe because the were good ole southern boys from SC. But now I love Darius Rucker since he has crossed over to country. His newest album:

Darius Rucker: Charleston, SC 1966 is a winner. Very rarely do I download a full "CD" on iTunes, but this one I could not resist. Every song is great, but this one song, it definitely puts me in "A Southern State of Mind".

Click here to listen to "A Southern State of Mind"

The lyrics are below and are from http://www.dariusrucker.com/

I was up in New York City just the other week

You should've seen the waitress face when I ordered sweet tea
She said we don't have that here and I apologized
I said please forgive me I'm in a southern state of mind
And those girls out in California they don't understand
They don't like it when I hold the door or when I say yes ma'am
They act like I done something wrong and they give me the evil eye
I say honey I'm sorry I'm in a southern state of mind

(Chorus)
I could be anywhere
In my heart I'm always there
Where they drink sweet tea and they raise you to be polite
No changin' who I am
That's the way I've always been
No matter what state I'm in
I'm in a southern state of mind

I'm always walkin' 'round tellin' everybody hi
Just a wavin' at the strangers in the cars passin' by
Some people may look at me and say that boy just ain't right
Hey y'all I ain't crazy I'm in a southern state of mind

Repeat Chorus

You can see it in the clothes I wear you can hear it when I talk
Ball cap, boots and jeans and a little southern drawl
I could be up in Ohio or back home in Caroline

No matter what state I'm in
I'm in a southern state of mind
Don't matter what state I'm in
I'm in a southern state of mind
A southern state of mind

30 Day Challenge - April 22nd and 23rd

2011-04-23T14:08:00.000-04:00

Day 22: A picture of your favorite book:

This is my latest favorite book. Nine times out of ten, the book I am reading is my favorite book. And with many of my books, I read them again and again. For mysteries and thrillers, I am all about James Patterson, but only the Alex Cross series. You may remember the movies Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. They were the first 2 Alex Cross books. Another movie is being made right now.

My favorite genre of books is Southern Lit with my favorite authors being Dorathea Benton Frank, Mary Kay Andrews, Anne Rivers Siddons, and a few others. There are also several books by other authors but set in the South that I plan to read.

Day 23: A picture of something you wish you could change:

So many things I would change if I could. Many on the local, state, and national levels. But I am going to put this on a personal level. And I am going to list 3 items without pictures:

1. I wish I could change how much medication I have to take on a daily basis.

2. I wish my hair would grow!! Seriously considering a wig. One for now at a good medium length bob, and then go longer. NO JOKE!

3. My weight. Don't we all. I would like to seriously lose 50 lbs or more. I used to be very small. But my meds make it very hard to lose weight!

Just Madras Giveaway

2011-04-23T12:51:00.000-04:00

Although I would love to see one of my readers win this giveaway, I am so hoping I will. It doesn't matter if you are a lady or a gentleman, you get your choice between 2 products:

Now I truly hope I win this giveaway because I would choose the clutch and turnaround and buy my husband the tie to match! You can check out the giveaway and requirements at the JustMadras Tumbler page. And definitely check out their shop, Just Madras.

Just Madras: Madras Apparel and Accessories for the Preppy Chic!

30 Day Challenge - April 21st

2011-04-21T08:00:00.001-04:00

A Picture of something you wish you were better at:

Losing weight!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-20T14:52:00.000-04:00

30 Day Challenge - April 20th

2011-04-20T14:35:00.000-04:00

Day 20: Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play:

My Wish - Rascal Flatts

Myrtle Beach Days - The Fantastic Shakers

Nautical Wheelers - Jimmy Buffett

Never Gonna Feel That Way Again - Kenny Chesney

Never Let 'Em C U Sweat - Nelly (& the Teamsters)

The Night Before (Life Goes On) - Carrie Underwood

The Night He Can't Remember - Trace Adkins

No Diggity - Blackstreet

I Am the Bullgod - Kid Rock

Remember When - Alan Jackson

What are the 1st 10 songs when you shuffle your iPod?

30 Day Challenge - April 19th

2011-04-19T14:33:00.000-04:00

Day 19: A picture of somewhere you would love to travel:

Bermuda!

30 Day Challenge - April 18th

2011-04-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

Day 18: A picture of my favorite movie:

and I have a second, can't help it:

What is your favorite movie?

30 Day Challenge - April 17th

2011-04-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

Day 17: A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently:

Being BiPolar, and finding out that Catherine Zeta-Jones is BiPolar as well:

30 Day Challenge - April 16th

2011-04-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

Day 16: A picture of someone who inspires you:

My dear, sweet friend, Michelle!

(and her wonderful husband, too.)

Check out Michelle's wonderful blog: Southern Somedays

Friday 5's: 30 Day Challenge Catch UP

2011-04-15T15:46:00.000-04:00

Sorry I have been behind. It has been a long week and no chance to hit the blog. So to catch up:

Day 11: A picture of your favorite night:

Brooke and her "new daddy" dancing at our wedding reception. Wow has she grown up!

Day 12: A picture of something you love:

Being out on the water from sunrise to sunset, whether I am just relaxing, or deep sea fishing!

Day 13: A picture of your favorite band or artist:

Jimmy of course! (Only 6 more days till the concert!)

Day 14: A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without:

My "baby girl"!

Day 15: A picture of something you want to do before you die:

Attend the Kentucky Derby

Now that I am caught up, I promise not to get behind again!

30 Day Challenge - April 10th

2011-04-10T17:59:00.001-04:00

A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with:

'nuff said!

30 Day Challenge - April 9th

2011-04-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most:

30 Day Challenge - April 8th

2011-04-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

A picture that makes you laugh:

Long day on the beach, in the sun leaves you falling asleep while reading!

Tee Time Thursday

2011-04-07T14:55:00.000-04:00

Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images

Arnold Palmer, left, and Jack Nicklaus have 108 Masters appearances and 10 champions' green jackets between them.

This morning, in a Masters tradition that never gets old, thousands of fans gathered around the tee and lined both sides of the fairway to watch Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer hit tee shots to get the 75th Masters under way. I love golf, I actually enjoy watching golf on TV and I love it even more in person. Though I was not fortunate enough to be one of those thousand fans that gathered around the tee this morning. However, I will be watching the golf channel at night to catch up on the action and will watch the live action Saturday and Sunday.

If you enjoy the Masters, and enjoy watching it more with friends, then I have the party plan for you. Miss Janice created the perfect Masters party a few years back and shared it on her blog. She has allowed me once again to share the party with you!

Please check out Tee Time at the Masters

Her party plan showcases every thing you need for a spectacular Sunday of Masters.
All you need including invites, table settings, party favors, and of course the perfect menu!!

30 Day Challenge - April 7th

2011-04-07T08:01:00.001-04:00

A picture of your most treasured item:

This is part of my most treasured item. It is so difficult to get a picture of a diamond ring with a plain digital camera. This is my engagement ring, platinum with 3 diamonds, center one larger. The entire part of my most treasured item is the platinum bands on each side of the engagement ring on my finger. They are the same width and shape as the band on the engagement ring.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-06T12:35:00.002-04:00

30 Day Challenge - April 6th

2011-04-06T08:01:00.002-04:00

A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day:

Kate Middleton
source

Tumblr

2011-04-05T15:06:00.000-04:00

I don't know how many of my readers follow someone on Tumblr or actually have a Tumblr account, but I think it is the greatest. It is another way of getting your blog and blog posts out there. It is super easy, easier than blogging itself, and easier than tweeting.

I blog on Tumblr and I will give you my link in a moment. But there is one you must follow, whether you are male of female! That Tumblr "blog" is:

The Rules of a Gentleman

I think it is excellent and so far a great guide for how men should treat women, and a guide for how any male can be a gentleman. Please follow this account, you will not be disappointed.

You can also follow me at:

Beaufort Belle

If you are on Tumblr, leave me a comment and let me know your link so I can start following you!

30 Day Challenge - April 5th

2011-04-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

Day 05 - A picture of my favorite actor/actress:

(This should be of no surprise to my friends and followers)

Matthew McConnaugHOTTY!!!

I had to do two because the bottom one is from one of my all time fave movies, "A Time to Kill."

Love Lilly Pulitzer??

2011-04-04T15:52:00.000-04:00

Then you can get wonderful deals this Wednesday on RueLaLa!

Never shopped RueLaLa before?

Then join RueLaLa today!

30 Day Challenge - April 4th

2011-04-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

Day 04 - A Picture of your favorite memory:

I don't have a picture from the night she was born,

but this was the day, I brought my baby girl home from the hospital!

30 Day Challenge - April 3rd

2011-04-03T08:00:00.001-04:00

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show:

30 Day Challenge - April 2nd

2011-04-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

A picture of you and the person you have known the longest:

My mom and me at Epcot (with my mini me)

30 Day Challenge _ April 1st

2011-04-01T17:00:00.000-04:00

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts

1. I am a family girl...love my baby girl (18), my husband, my parents, brother and his family and all of my extended family.

2. I have the most precious furbaby, "Miss Belle".

3. I love to entertain, I just wish I had more opportunities to do so.

4. As you can tell by the picture, I LOVE to be on the water. This was a catamaran sail from Beaufort to Cape Lookout, NC. I would love to learn to truly sail and have a sail boat. I also would like a sportfishing boat to go offshore fishing (which I also love) and a Chris Craft to play around in inshore.

4. I am old school prep and a southern belle. Yes the two can be combined fabulously.

5. I love almost anything monogrammed. I saw almost because in today's society monograms are showing up on everything and some things are just too tacky to have my monogram on it.

6. I love a true southern gentleman...with all the trimmings.

7. I plan to one day live at the beach full time. Beaufort, NC is my first choice.

8. I want to learn photography, real photography.

9. I want to learn how to garden... sounds funny, but this Southern Belle does not have a green thumb.

10. I would love to have two "vintage" vehicles. A vintage Range Rover and a vintage Mercedes convertible.

Yes, I have many wants and many, many more than mentioned here.

Share a photo and 10 facts about you! Post a comment and let me know you did. Can't wait to learn more about each of you!

30 Days has September, APRIL, June and November

2011-04-01T16:45:00.000-04:00

I found the following 30 day challenge and thought since April has 30 day's, why not accept the challenge?!?!

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have known the longest

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show

Day 04 - A picture of your favorite memory

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite actor/actress

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with

Day 11 - A picture of your favorite night

Day 12 - A picture of something you love

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

Day 18 - A picture of your favorite movie

Day 19 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel

Day 20 - Put your iPod on shuffle: First 10 songs that play..

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you were better at

Day 22 - A picture of your favorite book

Day 23 - A picture of something you wish you could change

Day 24 - A picture of your day

Day 25 - A picture of something that means a lot to you

Day 26 - A picture of yourself and a family member

Day 27 - A picture of something you're afraid of

Day 28 - A picture that can always make you smile

Day 29 - A picture of someone you miss

Day 30 - A picture of yourself

So today I start the challenge. Will you join me???

Fashion Friday: Eryn

2011-04-01T16:42:00.000-04:00

I am loving the new Lilly dresses but there is one in particular that I ~~want~~ or rather NEED.

The Eryn:

Absolutely adorable and perfect for Easter.

The hard part, deciding which color to go with.

My daddy and my husband love me in yellow, so that may be my choice.

Now for the dress and a tie to match for my husband!

Southern Somedays: Book Giveaway! Win Gone With A Handsomer Man befo...

2011-03-31T15:59:00.000-04:00

My dear friend at Southern Somedays is having a give away. The book sounds fantastic and personally I hope I win it, but I want to give you your chance as well. Visit Southern Somedays, you will love Bella Michelle... definitely a Southern Belle! Southern Somedays: Book Giveaway! Win Gone With A Handsomer Man befo...: "Hopefully, you read my review of Michael Lee West's upcoming book Gone With a Handsomer Man here, and it left you with a lust in your heart ..."

Perfect for the Rainy days of Spring

2011-03-31T08:01:00.001-04:00

via SouthernSummerLove on tumblr.

Light It Up Blue: I am...are you?

2011-03-30T18:35:00.003-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-16T15:37:00.000-04:00

A+ for Tervis Tumblers

2011-03-07T18:41:00.000-05:00

I know most of you have Tervis Tumblers or at least have heard of them. I love mine, have shared my love with my husband, my daughter, swap partners, and my parents.

Now most of you know that they fit most cup holders (excl mug), are great for both hot & cold (husband loves this), they are microwave-freezer-dishwasher safe, they reduce condensation and even better, they are MADE IN THE USA!!

They even come with an unconditional lifetime guarantee. Tervis tumblers are virtually indestructible. They won’t crack, melt, shatter, or chip. However, if they do somehow break (despite following the care instructions), they won’t leave you hanging. They will replace it, guaranteed.

The only way I can imagine they will break is if a monster truck ran over it or an elephant steps on it.

Yesterday, I had just refilled my 16 oz tumbler full, put the cap on, and grabbed some things I needed to carry upstairs. Alas, as I stepped into the hallway, on my beautiful hardwood floors, the tumbler fell right out of my hands, hitting the floor, bouncing across the floor, spilling Diet Pepsi EVERYWHERE!! I turned around, put my other stuff back on the counter, and then turned back to survey the damage. There, lying on the floor was a piece of plastic. My first thought...my Tervis Tumbler broke ::::shedding tears:::: I went and picked up my Tumbler to check it out. I couldn't find a scratch, a chip, or a missing piece anywhere!! I looked around, the lid broke!! Tossing that out into the trash and cleaning up the huge mess and refilling my Tumbler again, I realized that Tervis is just as they say they are! Your Tumbler may not break, but you may end up with a broken lid, and even a broken finger nail like I did!

Thank you Tervis Tumbler!

Check out the complete line including some crazy good new stuff at Tervis Tumblers online.

3/5/2011 8pm

2011-03-05T12:22:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-02T14:55:00.000-05:00

(my mini me - 3 yrs ... me - college frosh)

Fashion Friday: Yearning for old-fashioned styles

2011-02-25T14:24:00.000-05:00

The following appeared in my local paper a few weeks ago. It was a letter to Dear Abby.

Dear Abby: American Society has been ultra-casual in dress and manners. When I look at old photographs, men and women used to dress better and seemed to take more pride in their appearance. Now they wear pajamas to shop, torn jeans to work, and clothes that are too small for large bodies. I feel we are a nation of slobs. Are we doomed to be this way in the future? I work in an office of slobs and everyone knows I dislike the "casual atmosphere."

~Dressed for success in Albuquerque

Dear Dressed For Success: People did dress differently in the 1950's. Things started changing in the 60's - when the next generation became the demographic that was being marketed to. After that, people began adopting the "grunge chic." Are we doomed to be this way forever? I think so, unless there's a reactionary fashion revolution. Frankly I don't see it happening anytime soon.

Call me old fashioned, I wish we were back in the day of gloves and hats. The fashions of the 50's. Classic styles, elegance and grace.

(Thank you to Dear Abby)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-14T18:53:00.000-05:00

I received the best Valentine present from my daughter!! She bought me a ticket for:

So on April 18th, I will be "Wastin away in Margaritaville!"

Not to forget my husband, he brought me beautiful tulips which are probably my favorite flower, and a gift certificate for a manicure and a pedicure!!

Now for the rest of my readers:

Skin Care Regimen

2011-01-20T18:18:00.000-05:00

Summer Wind posted a great little post about her skincare regimen on her blog and asked for others to tell their routine.

Now, even though in the south, a lady never shares her age, I will divulge that I am in my early 40's, and I have had skin cancer on my face and on my chest.

I definitely see my dermatologist on a very regular basis and for yearly skin checks. I highly recommend if you are 18 and over, you too get yearly skin checks.

One thing I love about my dermatologist is she is honest and not a product pusher. I have gone so far as to ask her what she uses on her face and she has beautiful skin. She responded that everything she uses comes from Target.

Here is my routine:
Morning:

CeraVe Moisturizing Cleaner

CeraVe Moisturizing Cream

(I have extremely dry skin due to medications I take)

or you can use:

or you can just use the moisturizing lotion

and then last step is to apply:

SPF 15 Daily Moisturizing Cream

(credit to SummerWind for turning me on to these products)

Then apply makeup.

Bedtime (or as soon as I get home and know I am not going back out):

I mix this with the CeraVe cleanser, apply, and softly wash off with cloth and warm water. Just be careful when cleaning that you don't pull on your eyes to remove eye makeup or mascara...this causes wrinkles quickly.

I apply the same moisturing cream by CeraVe.

After 1 full hour, I apply

Renova

(Click here for more information)

After an hour, I apply a thin layer of the CeraVe moisturizing cream for the final time.

***Additional Info***

My dermatologist recommends that you apply moisturizing lotion or cream (CeraVe for me) within 20 seconds of getting out of the shower or after washing the face before skin dries.

Also, regardless of whether or not I am putting on makeup to go out for the day or staying home, I always wash my face in the morning, I just leave off the sunscreen.

When applying any lotions or creams I rub upwards not downwards, prevents sagging.

When cleansing my face, I also use the washcloth to scrub my lips and any dry lip flakes. Finishing up my cleansing routine with either a coat of Aquafor or sometimes, cocoa butter. Aquafor is also the best ointment for boo-boos, dry feet or elbows, and for me, healing after skin cancer. My dermatologist recomments using this, which comes in many, many sizes and also comes in a lotion, cream, or ointment instead of anything ending in sporin.

And my last little secret is I shave my face! Just about all of it, definitely more than a man does. I heard this trick from Carolyn Manzo of RHONJ reunion show on Bravo. Asked the dr. about it and it will make your skin softer and your makeup smoother.

There you have it, my skin care routine. It must be working because everyone guesses my age to be about 10 years younger than I am!

As a summer girl, aka beach belle, PLEASE take care of your skin. Even if you are still using a tanning bed or spending HOURS in the sun, what you do in the morning and at night can help fight any damage you are doing during the day. Besides, you want that tan face looking beautiful don't you?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2011-01-15T14:21:00.001-05:00

OOPS! I am a little late for the party! In fact, I am way more than fashionably late.

2011 is going to be a great year, I just know it.

And it started out with a fabulous shopping spree of my all time favorite designer, Ralph Lauren.

(yes, I still love my Lilly)

Lucky for me, the items that my husband gave me for Christmas were the wrong size or something was wrong with the fabric (very unusual), we decided to return them and he handed me the money to come back shopping on another day. Thanks to sales, I hit the mother lode!! The only item I wanted that I didn't get was a barn jacket...but I can order one of those from LL Bean.

However, my absolutely favorite item from RL that I received for Christmas were these:

While we were getting new boots for Miss Brooke for Christmas, I saw these and they were a must have. I love plaid, love RL, and love that they look like riding boots. And can you believe they were only $59!!! They came in the blue and also a red plaid. Beats the price of Hunter's and Burberry any day. (Don't get me wrong, I love both but they don't fit my legs well - short legs - especially to tuck pants in.) These are just too cute with leggings and tights and with all this BIZARRE snow we are having in the south this year...they are more than perfect.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday, and here's to better late than never wishes for a blessed 2011!

Dear Santa,

2010-12-09T14:09:00.001-05:00

All I want for Christmas is:

A DSLR...Nikon or Cannon.

Preferably a Cannon.

According to Nina: Do you still have yours for sell?

Once a Daddy's Girl, Always a Daddy's Girl!

2010-11-29T19:54:00.000-05:00

About 2 months ago, I asked my husband if he minded if I went from Blonde to Brunette, and also try to grow my hair out. He said the typical, "I don't care, do what makes you feel good." Now I am an old-fashioned girl, and I like to look good while on his arm and him be proud to have me there. Forget the old adage about it's is all up to me, I want my husband's opinion.

So about 2 weeks ago, I went and had my hair turned to Brunette...talk about hard to get used to, but I will say it makes my blue eyes POP! My daddy was at the beach and did not know I was doing this. The Friday night he came home, my husband and I, along with his brother and sister-in-law, and my parents met for dinner. I was up ahead of the group and my daddy asked my mama where I was. She told him I was at the front of the group. I turned around and he literally fell backwards. He didn't recognize me!! His own daughter.

Last week while my daughter was home over Thanksgiving, I met my parents and Miss Brooke at a restaurant. We were sitting there just talking and hair color came up. He even told my daughter he wanted her to go back blonder and me to do the same. My mom asked him if she should go back "bleach blonde" like when they were dating, married, and for quite some time after. His response..."It would not bother me a bit."

So obviously, my daddy prefers blondes! And I guess I will be going back blonde in the spring. Once a daddy's girl, always a daddy''s girl.

(I actually told my husband that I think I am getting a wig! I told him I did not want to wait to grow back out and through the hassles of doing that, I won't it long now... and I want to be blonde again. He said one again, whatever makes you happy! I told him that real wigs were expensive. So we will see!)

Please check out my new blog...

2010-11-22T17:38:00.002-05:00

signaturestylehome.blogspot.com

It is all about creating your Signature Style Home on a budget. It will showcase homes, crafts, etc to help you find your signature style. And even if you can afford it, I will hopefully show you how to do it on a budget and allow you to keep more money in your pocket for other things.

Prayers for Miss Brooke please...

2010-11-17T18:46:00.000-05:00

Yes, I do have a legit excuse for missing the past 2 weeks. First I was very sick, but then Miss Brooke was injured.

On Wed, the 3rd, she was working out on the leg press and heard her knee pop and the press came back down on her. She was in pain but continued walking on it alternating acetaminophin and ibuprofen. She was also keeping it elevated as much as she could and icing it. By that Saturday, it was beginning to be unbearable. She sent me a picture of the knee area from her BB around 9:30pm and I asked her to find someone to take her to the ER. Of course, the ER did nothing...well not exactly nothing, they did prescribe pain meds and put her on crutches and told her not to put any pressure on it. They also told her to see ortho in 2-4 days. At first I called our favorite orthopaedic surgeon and he was out of the office until Thursday, but made an emergent visit for Friday morning. Monday came and I ended up going ahead and finding her an ortho clinic near school at they made an emergent appointment for late afternoon. My mom and I took off and met her and her friend at the clinic. They were able to secure an MRI for that evening at the closest hospital. After all was done Monday, my mom and I drove back home (3 hrs each way). Tuesday her roomie called and said she was in tears and very miserable and in much pain and wanted to come on home until her appointment. I had her email all of her professors and to pack some clothes. Again, mom and I hit the road. She and another friend had gone back to the hospital to get a CD of her MRI to take to our doctor on Friday. We got down there, loaded her up, and made the long drive back home. She slept most of Wednesday. I made sure that she had her meds every 4 hours on the dot. Yes, I woke up several times during the night to make sure she had her meds. She slept quite a bit on Thursday and then Friday morn, we headed to Duke Sports Med. Her doctor looked over the MRI some some things that concerned him, but wanted to try a procedure to try and prevent her having surgery. After finishing with him, we headed over to another location for the procedure. It is "plasma replacement therapy under ultrasound." They did an ultrasound of her knee and leg and found multiple tears in her hamstring and some problems with the miniscus. (If you gross out easily, skip down to the next paragraph). The procedure involves drawing a tube of your own blood, taking it to the lab, and spinning it down to just your own plasma. Then going back to the U/S and marking the leg where the biggest tears were than infusing your plasma at those points. Your plasma contains human growth hormone of the natural kind and since it came from you, your body won't reject it. If it works, healing time is cut in half, if it doesn't we will proceed with surgery, most likely over Christmas break. (By the way, we drove her back Friday night as her sorority initiation retreat started at 11 am on Saturday morning.)

So that is the big prayer request...that her pain starts to minimize and that the procedure works.
But I also request prayers for the next few weeks. She comes home Tuesday for Thanksgiving break, that afternoon she goes for her oral surgery consult, Wed she has her first Physical Therapy appt, Thursday is Thanksgiving, then Friday she is having her wisdom teeth out. She will go back to school on Sunday, a few more weeks of classes then exams, and home on the 14th. On the 15th she goes back to see the doctor who did the procedure, and on the 16th she is getting braces put back on because her teeth have shifted. As you can see, many things for her to go through on 1 months time.

We would both appreciate the prayers!

An update from Friday...

2010-11-08T11:16:00.000-05:00

We found a white dress! Bless you Nordstoms (store and online). Through the help of a wonderful lady at Nordstrom's in Charlotte, Miss Brooke was able to be fitted for a dress then it was ordered online and shipped overnight. (Funny thing now is that even though they were told sundresses and the like, they have to wear sweaters to cover their shoulders so they can wear their quill).

And she went ahead and ordered her winter semi-formal dress. The them is Winter Wonderland and the sorority suggested colors like white and blue and one other color which escapes me at the moment. She choose this following one. She wanted one in the blue family and a little grecian style to it. So this is what she picked:

first the back...

and the front....

Now I feel a little better.

Fashion Friday FAUX PAS?????

2010-11-05T14:30:00.000-04:00

OK...I am jumping up on my soap box once again and hope for some input and insight for the southernly well versed on fashion girls out there.

1.) Sororities requiring white dresses (though not formal, actually like a "sundress") and white shoes for initiation in late November. Do you know how hard it is to find a becoming NEW (you know it has to be new and not borrowed) white dress, much less white shoes in Oct/Nov????

2.) Lilly Pulitzer...fashion diva...from Palm Springs... (now I know many don't consider Florida a southern state (please excuse me, Miss Janice, but you will see where I am going with this) still coming out with very summery items, NOT from resort line, and PATENT LEATHER. I don't get it.

3) Major Southern retailers whose buyers know the "fashion rules" and still include patent leather purses and shoes this time of year as well as a few other fashion oddities.

Even the better consignment shops have put away their white and patent leather!!

I could go on and on, but to be frank, I just don't give a damn....at the moment!!

But y'all know...I have to get in one last word (on a slightly different topic):
Now that this summer beach bum belle is ready to find some fall wear and maybe even a coat this year (YIKES), I get so frustrated going into my favorite stores and seeing what is out there these days! And one last thing...where are the clothes for the 40 somethings??? They are either way to young...no offense to my younger readers...I love the styles for 20 and early somethings in the classic and preppy wear...it seems like designers forget about people say once they hit 35ish and then different designers pick up when you are 60 something to even much older. (no offense mother...you do have style). HELP!!!!

Think Pink Thursday: Fall Edition

2010-10-21T19:02:00.000-04:00

MCC Designs

Brides.com

Shabychic Blog

Etsy.com

And because I couldn't resist:

Princess Pumpkin

cottageinthemaking.blogspot.com

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-20T11:31:00.001-04:00

Just call me...

2010-10-17T15:40:00.000-04:00

MR. SCROOGE

or make that MRS. SCROOGE

I am not ready for Christmas. I did buy a Christmas CD to listen to when the TIME IS RIGHT. Some very special friends are Christmas MANIACS (you know who you are and I love you dearly).

I understand shopping for gifts. And that many are already finished and I applaud you for that.

However, I wish corporate America would quit materializing Christmas so EARLY. Remember the reason for the season and you can't have Christmas with out Christ.

However, YESTERDAY was the last straw!! I saw Christmas tree lots GOING UP in more than 1 location. PEOPLE...it is 2 weeks from today to get to Halloween! Not only do they set up Christmas early, but this year I saw Halloween stuff going out before school started!! For about 3 weeks now, Lowes and Michaels and ACMoore have had Christmas stuff out. Now I know if you are going to MAKE things for decorations or even some gifts, you need to start early, but I still think you can wait until AFTER Halloween. Let's get through 1 holiday before starting another. Many people change out decorations after Halloween to true fall and Thanksgiving. Follow Martha Stewart, none of her Christmas crafting is out in the stores yet.

Now, I do undertand that things have changed quite a bit since families started breaking apart geographically. Many married couples do Thanksgiving at one family and Christmas at the other family. Depending on where you live, it makes it difficult to visit both in the same day or even weekend. Times have changed, I accept that. Many people to put up Christmas decorations right before Thanksgiving if their family is coming on Thanksgiving and not Christmas. Also, many children want to be at their home on Christmas, where Santa will be delivering the Christmas goodies.

BUT CHRISTMAS TREE LOTS??? PLEASE!?!?!?!?!

Getting off my soapbox now.

General Johnson...

2010-10-15T11:08:00.001-04:00

If you grew up in the South, especially the Carolinas, you probably know "The Shag" and good ole Carolina Beach Music. The music that still lives 100% in Myrtle Beach, where they hold several Shag weekends aand weeks a year. You may have grown up listening to beach music, which I did, watching your parents shag, and developing your own love of beach music. Or during you college years, shagged to General Johnson and Chairman of the Board at frat parties, summer parties, and many a deb party while singing along to almost every one of their songs. Here, if you are a member of the National League of Junior Cotillions, then one of the social dances you learn is the shag. In fact, this beach music loving, proud momma is going to brag a minute and let you know my daughter won the shag contest at one of the spring balls.

(being escorted by her Uncle Jack - my brother)

You may ask where I am going with this...one of the greatest Motown artist turned beach music legend, General Norman Johnson, aka General Johnson of the famed group, General Johnson and the Chairman of the Board passed away.

Not only could he put on a show, he was a top-notch songwriter as well. He not only wrote much of the COTB's music, but other artist as well. The General won a Grammy award for his song Patches, that actually put Clarence Carter on the map.

He was a true performer. I remember thinking last year while watching him and the group perform at the NC Seafood Festival, that they still put on a fabulous show at their age. You could not NOT enjoy a show put on by General Johnson. I know that I, like most of the crowd, was dancing and singing along.

I now treasure my Carolina Girls, Best in the World t-shirt even more. On the front it says, "Carolina Girls, Best in the World," and on the back the lyrics continue, "Sweeter than candy, Hotter than heat, More precious than diamonds, They can't be beat." This is probably their top song here in the Carolinas.

To General Johnson, rest in peace. Keep the performances going up in heaven so when I get there, I can still sing along, and hopefully be a true shagger when I join you.

You will be missed!

A New Address

2010-10-14T15:57:00.000-04:00

My daughter's wonderful blog has a new address!

You can now check her out at...

Pink, Pearls, and a Southern Girl

Please continue to visit her there!

Change is in the air....

2010-10-12T17:03:00.000-04:00

I have been so busy since last Wednesday. I redid my daughter's room last week (except for paint). I rearranged furniture, new bedding, new curtain rods, new solid brass lamp (from Goodwill), and new knobs on her furniture. All before she got home on Friday afternoon. I do still need to do a little floral arrangement (yes faux flowers, but with her not here, no need to keep changing out real as long as I keep these clean!).

Next, my husband was scrubbing (and I mean a good scrubbing) of her bathroom. I changed out her shower curtain and accessories, but need to paint as well. I also cleaned out all of the drawers and cabinets and rearranged what was left. I literally through out 3 large kitchen bags of STUFF and junk that she and my step-daughter and crammed into places in the bathroom.

I'll try to post pictures shortly.

I have a few things left to paint decor wise and some things to hang but other than wall paint, will be finished. Now, if I can only find where my husband put the decorative towels!!

The next on my task list is to organize under our bathroom counter and organize under the counter and the drawers. Luckily our's aren't nearly as bad and most of it will be lotions and creams that I don't like the smell of and old makeup. And I made a cleaning caddy for upstairs, so the cleaning products under our counter can go in the caddy.

Finally on the agenda will be finishing my office/craft room. A lot of things will definitely GO!! I mostly have the office part done. It is the other1/2, maybe more, that has got to be organized. Once I get the stuff that needs to go, gone, and can stack up the different items to stay, then I can find how I want it best stored, what type of storage options I have, etc.

~

Also, fall is a time of changes...many I don't care for. I don't like it getting colder, I don't like it once all the leaves fall off the trees, and a few other things. However, I like the change in humidity levels, I love the briskness of a cooler (NOT COLD) day with blue skies, and the wonderful colors we see in front of those blue skies. I love fall decor and the fact that Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming...two very traditional family holidays. So with the changes outside, I am seriously considering some changine on the inside. And I don't mean the things I mentioned above. I am thinking of changing my blog up some...very possibly a new direction and a new name...maybe even a new design. I will still post many of the things that I talk about now, but other things will change. With all I have to do above, it may be awhile, and it may transition slowly. I am not sure how I will go about it, but I don't want to loose followers and readers I have now, but I also want to gain new readers, and do a little more in a different direction. I hope all of you will stay with me while I go about these changes and stay will me after they are done.

Now I am off to finish painting some decor items.....

WINNER Wednesday!!

2010-10-06T12:07:00.000-04:00

It's Wednesday which means it is time to announce the

WINNER

in the MCC Designs giveaway!!

I generated the winner using the True Random Number Generator from Random.org. The reason for 30 entries, is that I had 29 entries on the original posting and 1 on Tuesday's reminder. I included yesterday only because I did not include in the instructions that you must post in the original giveaway post. The random generator choose entry number 9, which means...

the winner is....

HILLCREST ACRES!!

Hillcrest Acres, please contact me at BeaufortBelle within the by Friday @ midnight with your name and address so we can get the giveaway going for you.

Congratulations!!

Please make sure you continue to stop by MCC Designs on Facebook and MCC Designs on Etsy!

Thanks for entering my giveaway with MCC Designs.

Don't Forget, you have until...

2010-10-05T12:00:00.001-04:00

Don't forget...Midnight Tonight (EST),

the MCC DESIGNS giveaway will end!

You still have time to enter...instructions below!

Winners should be posted tomorrow!

Recently, I participated in a contest on Facebook from MCC Designs. Since that contest, I have started reading Melissa's blog daily, perusing her Etsy page for more items, and I like to think I can call her my friend. If you check out her blog, Create the Life you Love, you will see all the talented items that Melissa thinks up! She really very creative and talented!

I asked Melissa if she was interested in doing a Giveaway here on The Beaufort Lookout and she said YES! I am super excited that she agreed because I am sure you will enjoy her items as much as I do.

The giveaway is for a set of 12 personalized calling cards / gift cards in your choice of colors. Here are a few examples of MCC Designs:

To pick your design, go to:

MCC Designs on Etsy

Now for the fun part, how to enter the giveaway. You actually have a chance for up to 6 entries!!

1. Become a follower of my blog.

2. Become a follower of Melissa's blog - Create the Live you Love.

3. Become a follower of my daughter's blog - Pink, Pearls, and a Southern Girl.

(ironically, Melissa's goddaughter & my daughter have the same monogram!

4. Become a follower of MCC Designs on Facebook.

5. Post about the giveaway on your blog and let me know you did with a link back to your post.

and finally...

6. Tweet about it and let me know you did.

YOU MUST make a separate comment for EACH one of these to make sure you get the correct number of entries into the drawing.

The giveaway ends at midnight eastern time on Tuesday, October 5th and the winner will be announced on Wednesday.

AND

to be even more thoughtful, Melissa is offering a discount on any orders placed between now and midnight on Tuesday!!

20% discount by mentioning: BBelle when checking out!!

Southern Saturday...but a sad one for me

2010-10-02T00:01:00.001-04:00

Today, JCG and I are supposed to be down at the beach attending the NC Seafood Festival. We go every year and have the best time. And you can get almost any type of seafood you want, much of local catch. You can get it from the street vendors, or you can venture into any restaurant along the street that is shut down for the festival. There are also lots of craft vendors and artists and photographers. And there is even a wine tasting area featuring many of the NC wineries!! Goodness, our state produces some might fine wine. Unfortunately, we didn't go because of all the rain, and not knowing for sure if they would even have it due to flooding. But the show is going on!! If only I didn't have to wait until next year....but I am already looking forward to the first weekend in October 2011!

Fabulous Friday to Kick Off October!

2010-10-01T12:36:00.000-04:00

October is starting off in a grand way. If you have been watching the news, the east coast from Myrtle Beach, SC up through Maryland have had torrential rain falls. Here in the triangle area of NC, we were having the driest September on record, now we are about 8 inches over for September. The Wilmington area has had over 20 inches of rain. More rain than when Hurricane Floyd hit. This rain has come over the last several days. But today, it is beautiful!! The sun is shining, the temp right now is 72 degrees,

AND

Tonight, JCG (husband) and I are having a REAL date night!! It has been so long since we have had a true one. We usually go out to eat something fast on Friday nights which is fun, but to have a date!! So excited!! I know we plan to go to the movies, but I am not sure which one we will choose. I will check out the listings shortly. However, I already have my outfit picked out.

I plan to wear a pair of jeans (not sure if I will leave the rolled or turn them back long), a crisp white blouse (with my collar popped) and cuffs turned up, and this adorable leopard sweater.

For my shoes, I will be wearing my leather and suede black driving moccasins.

If I roll my pants back down, then I have a tough decisions between the driving mocs and my bone pumps.

So looking forward to a great night with JCG! I hope everyone else has a fabulous Friday and a great start for October.

What are you doing this first day of October?

Leave me a comment and let me know. I love getting comments!

Thoughtful Thursday...A Giveaway!!

2010-09-30T13:19:00.000-04:00

I asked Melissa if she was interested in doing a Giveaway here on The Beaufort Lookout and she said YES! I am super excited that she agreed because I am sure you will enjoy her items as much as I do.

The giveaway is for a set of 12 personalized calling cards / gift cards in your choice of colors. Here are a few examples of MCC Designs:

To pick your design, go to:

MCC Designs on Etsy

Now for the fun part, how to enter the giveaway. You actually have a chance for up to 6 entries!!

1. Become a follower of my blog.

2. Become a follower of Melissa's blog - Create the Live you Love.

3. Become a follower of my daughter's blog - Pink, Pearls, and a Southern Girl.

(ironically, Melissa's goddaughter & my daughter have the same monogram!

4. Become a follower of MCC Designs on Facebook.

5. Post about the giveaway on your blog and let me know you did with a link back to your post.

and finally...

6. Tweet about it and let me know you did.

YOU MUST make a separate comment for EACH one of these to make sure you get the correct number of entries into the drawing.

The giveaway ends at midnight eastern time on Tuesday, October 5th and the winner will be announced on Wednesday.

AND

to be even more thoughtful, Melissa is offering a discount on any orders placed between now and midnight on Tuesday!!

20% discount by mentioning: BBelle when checking out!!

Have a thoughtful Thursday!!

Wordless Wednesday...Fall Decorations!

2010-09-29T15:30:00.000-04:00

This is a tour of my fall decorating, starting outside at my mailbox, my ghost that hang on each side of the garage (I do very little Halloween...see they are happy ghosts, and you will see very little Halloween in my decorating), and the porch/front door.

As you come inside you will see the foyer/hall, then kitchen, then dining room arrangement. After that is a picture from the powder room. Finally you will see decorations in the family/living room.

I hope you enjoy!!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Rush is over....

2010-09-26T21:02:00.000-04:00

Miss Brooke is an AZD!!

I am so excited for her as this was her top choice!

An apology..

2010-09-24T16:27:00.002-04:00

I truly apologize for no major posts this week. I have been sick for most of the week. I hope to feel better very soon and post again. I do want to share my fall decorating as soon as possible.

Definitely a Hump Day...

2010-09-22T14:35:00.000-04:00

So sorry for not posting this week. Monday I was busy with errands and a great trip to AC Moore for fall decorating. Tuesday, I spent all day decorating. Today, I am not feeling the best in the world. I need to go paint a table I purchased to hold our DVD player in our living room but it is so hot outside...I am going to give it a try, we will see how it goes. I will be back tomorrow with an update from Family Weekend at Miss Brooke's, and Friday, I will be posting pics of some of my fall decorating.

I posted last week that I would be doing a giveaway this week...I will be doing a giveaway but it will start on MONDAY. Please check back for details.

Tonight, Miss Brooke starts formal Sorority Recruitment at her university. Sending you best wishes my beautiful Miss Brooke and I hope you find the right sisters for you! I love you!

Friday Funday...fashion, family, freebie, and follow-up!

2010-09-17T00:01:00.001-04:00

First off, a little fashion...

Have you heard of The Magic of Kameleon?

I must be in the dark about this new jewelry line.

They are interchangeable fashion accessories. Mostly jewelry, but also sunglasses and belts and such.

You purchase say a ring, and then you choose a "jewel pop" to put in your ring. You can collect as many jewel pops as you would like so that the 1 ring can match as many outfits as you would like.

Kameleon Jewelry does come with a warning: "Collecting JewelPops is Highly Addictive!"

I found them in a cute little boutique at the beach and there were several ladies in there picking up jewel pops for friends for shower gifts and birthday presents, and a few for themselves.

Check out the following for more info and a video explaining how Kameleon works:

http://www.kameleonjewelry.com/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next, a little family fun...

"Nana", "Papa" and I will be shoving off around noon or so to go visit Miss Brooke at college for Family Weekend. Lots of events planned...lacrosse scrimmage, tailgate party, 1st home football game, soccer game, and Toy Story 3 in the outdoor ampitheater. Plus a few meals here and there. So I doubt I'll be around to post this weekend UNLESS Miss Brooke allows us some time in the dorm room for me to use her laptop!

Go Bulldogs!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and let's add that I am going to be doing a giveaway next week. Just a few details for now... you will need to follow my blog, follow my daughter's blog (the link is over there on the right), you will also need to follow the blog and maybe more of the person that is with me on this giveaway. Of course, you will have to post, tweet, comment, etc for more entries. Now I am partially doing this because I adore this person's items, and I adore my daughter's blog and would really like to see her have more followers. She is in college, preppy, loves Lilly. Her blog name says it all...Pink, Pearls, and a Southern Girl.

So watch Monday or Tuesday for details on this giveaway. It will be great! And please check out my daughter's blog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, finishing up our trip last week...

Honey and I try to venture down to Fort Macon just to walk around. It is free and worth visiting. To our surprise and delight, when we arrived there, the new entry building had opened and it is beautiful. I can so picture a wedding reception outdoors on the terrace. It had great memorabilia, a wonderful gift shop (much bigger than before, of course), and a wonderful video of the history of Fort Macon, NC. Fort Macon is one of very few forts built below ground level. It was occupied by both the union and the confederacy during the War of Agression. It has been turned into a state park and then remanned during the World Wars to watch out for German U-boats. If you ever get the chance, please visit Fort Macon. You can still see where cannon balls cracked the brick structure and even rolled down the original steps.

We actually saw something new this time. Portraits being made. That's right. Two couples were having engagement photos inside the fort, and a bride was having her bridal portrait around the fort and up with water view, and as we were leaving, a family came in with their khaki and white for their family "beach" portraits to be made. Here are our usual photos that we take every time we visit:

Honey sitting on the outer wall of the Fort. A canon would have been mounted on that cement square to the right. And you can see the channel behind him.

A sailboat going out towards the ocean for a sunset sail.

A yacht heading out to sea.

And since we were visiting on 9/11 here is the American Flag

We usually take a few walks up onto the pier just to see if anyone is catching anything or if it is worth pier fishing at the time. Sometimes we look for dophins, and the boats out on the water. Sometimes, we watch the surfers, or people frolicking on the beach, and many times we watch the sunset. As always, I look at the many different styles of houses dotting our seashore.

But this time, we also got a view that I was not able to capture on film. We had 3 sharks swimming around our pier. And not just any old sand shark. I am assuming either a black tip or tiger shark, wasn't close enough to determine. But they hung by the pier for 2 days, and on the last day, we watched a gentleman drop some fish and that shark came right up to the surface and got it. They were probably 7-10 ft sharks. I don't think the surfers minded too much.

I know the little bird and I didn't mind... we just enjoyed the view!

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Beaufort Home Tour

2010-09-16T21:28:00.001-04:00

One of the many things I love about Beaufort (NC) is it's beautiful homes. Many of these date back to the 1700's and are registered historical homes. Some hold no importance in history but are still glorious old homes. Beaufort has an Historic District that encompasses many small city blocks. However, I have chosen to only share houses with you that are on Front Street and have a waterfront view. The houses are on the backside of the street and the water and docks are across the street. Most, but not all have their own private water access that is gated and some of the gates are as beautiful as the homes.

LOVE this home and gardens.

Beautiful landscaping

Very old home with stone entrance. It is the garden of the month.

This is an historic building. It was originally a school in the 1700's.

It is now a private residence.

If you look between the windows on the first level, you can see the historic plaque.

This is a newer home but built in the same tradition of many of the homes on Front Street.

Wish I could have the front view, but this angle still shows plenty.

This is more along the cottage/Cape Cod style home. Hard to shoot because of the tree in front of the front door.

Again a newer home in the old style.

Again a newer home and one of the view that are shingle style.

Love this home for some reason, quite quaint!

This home has been reproduced by architect William Poole of Wilmington, NC

and is entitled, "The Beaufort."

The water view and private dock from the above house.

Another water view but at an angle. Nice little lots to go with the access.

Love this house for many reasons. But also, it not only has private access across the sreet, it has a "creek" that is deep water access right beside it!

Better view of the creek.

Home among the trees. Love the brick surround.

Again, love this one in the trees, could use a better fence : )

Lastly, this one was once white but current owners have painted tan.

One day, my dream will come true,

and I will live in one of these houses on

Front Street, Beaufort, NC!

A day at Sea...

2010-09-15T19:56:00.000-04:00

Sorry, I haven't posted in a week, but we stayed busy all of last week and I came home from the beach not feeling well. More reason to go back!

Today I am going to share with you our day at Sea and a trip to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.

Honey and I enjoy taking a catamaran out from Beaufort (My favorite place on earth). It is docked right on Front Street instead of moored out in the sound. We like Lookout Cruises and especially the 6 hour tour. During the summer season, you usually leave port at noon and return at 6. It has been shifted back an hour and we left at noon to arrive back at 5. While waiting for departure, I decided to take a different view of Front Street.

Here is looking out into Beaufort Sound as a few of the sailboats that are moored here routinely.

Here is my honey as we are getting ready to set sail and also sails ready to raise as we leave dock.

From departure to re-docking, you have unlimited water, lemonade, and soft drinks.

Beers and cups of white wine $2.

The man to your far left is the permanent skipper.

Off to sail:

It takes about 1 1/2 hours to get over to the islands that we come ashore on. Once we get to the first location, we have lunch that is always catered by Beaufort Grocery. They usually serve wraps:

turkey with bacon, roasted red pepper, mixed greens, montrachet & peach onion salsa

tuna salad with avocado, tomatoes, capers and mixed greens

chicken salad with toasted almonds and pineapple

and a veggie wrap that is delicious.

I had hoped for the chicken salad, but they were out this time so I had the tuna wrap with fresh tuna from our NC waters. SO VERY GOOD!

Also for lunch, there are usually 2 -3 salads of varying sorts, dill pickle spears, potato chips, and chocolate chip cookies.

We had lunch, then those that wanted could go ashore and shell hunt or walk, or enjoy the 80 degree water. We did a little of all three. Unfortunately, Hurricane Earl changed the landscape and we couldn't come ashore where the cruise usually does, so it was a 20 minute walk to get to the GOOD shells. But we did get 2 great size sand dollars and some fun in the water before reboarding and sailing on.

If you know me at all, you know that I am a true Parrothead! Well I spotted another one while asea.

And in the top left quarter is Margie. She has been our first mate everytime we have gone out. I wish I had a better zoom because we saw the wild ponies on Shackleford Banks and Carrot Island going out. And we had plenty of dolphins splashing around us as we sailed.

Since I have shown you the permanent skipper, and the first mate, I must introduce you to the "mascot"

Chloe (had been on board for 8 years now...she is showing off her new haircut in this pic)

and the "temporary" skipper:

Beaufort Belle at the helm!

Hurricane Earl had done some crazy things to shorelines so I handed the wheel back over to the real skipper and we sailed into Cape Lookout national seashore. Here are 3 views of the light house as we are coming in closer to dock.

You have the choice of going over to the beach side or you can tour the Lightkeeper's museum, or you can do what we did this year....

Climb the 207 original wrought itron steps up (equivalent of a 12 story building with normal steps) for a breath taking view of nature at its finest. Unfortunately, my eyes saw it, but my camera did not as I left it on the catamarn. It is a steep climb and you get about 15 minutes to climb up, get a look around, and head down. It is rushed and it is only open certain days. So make sure to check that out before going strictly to climb the ligththouse.

While in the museum waiting for our time to climb, I came across this quote written by Michael E. C. Gery in 1992. It sums up my beaches, my waters, and my Beaufort perfectly:

"These islands are native at its wildest, best loved as a romantic fling - an escape,

however brief, from the world these barrier islands hold at bay."

A true sentiment for Cape Lookout National Seashore and all her barrier islands.

Check back tomorrow for walking tour of some of my favorite homes on

Beaufort's Front Street.

Just a nice sight coming back into Beaufort proper.

Life Was Good Today...

2010-09-08T23:10:00.000-04:00

The Zac Brown Band had a hit song this summer called "Toes." Here is the video:

The first verse goes like this:

I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand
Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand
Life is good today, life is good today

I improvised while out on the beach this afternoon:

I got my toes in the sand

Not a worry in the world, a cold drink in my hand

Life is good today, life is good today

Apparently, this little beach bird thought so too...

I hope life was good for you today!

I wasn't ready for summer to be over...

2010-09-08T22:38:00.001-04:00

So Tuesday, I decided to head on back to the beach. I had BEACH FEVER!!

We arrived later than expected and it was HOT!! Everything had been shut down at our place last Thursday morning in case Earl came ashore. Everything was unplugged but the refrigerator, the water was off, the gas was off, and more disheartening, the AC was off. So first things, first. We got everything going again, the AC on and a fan going while it was cooling down. We unloaded the car and then decided to drive over to my favorite place...BEAUFORT! While we were going back across the bridge to the mainland, I was able to get this shot of the sunset out the window of the car:

and NO, I wasn't the one driving!!

Happy Anniversary Honey!

2010-09-04T17:00:00.002-04:00

Exactly 6 years ago (Saturday, September 4) at 5 o'clock in the evening, my daddy walked me down the aisle to this wonderful man as he stood waiting for me. It was a special wedding for many reasons. It was the second wedding for us both. It was a pretty large, church wedding, with me in a ballgown dress with a train, with many, many guests for a second wedding. It was also special because it was my daddy and mom's 39th wedding anniversary as well. It was special because I wrote the entire wedding ceremony. It was traditional but original...sounds like an oxymoron, but it is true. I went through many wedding services to pick out the aspects I liked and wrote the ceremony. The vows, the songs, the blessings, etc. Our only attendants was my brother at "man of honor" and daughter as "maid of honor", his daughter as "best girl" and his brother as "best man". My niece, the doodlebug was the flower girl and ring bearer...very cool and she did the absolutely best job. My brother's wife was the reader and my honey's friend was the usher, with my brother and his brother assisting during that part. The ceremony was special (and for all my preppy readers it was pink and green or rather blush blossom and mellow moss) and as in Steel Magnolias, the reception was too. I won't go into the details, but it was wonderful for us, and according to everyone there, it was wonderful for them. Even one of the staff at our reception said it was the best reception she had ever worked.

Here we are dancing our very first dance, not only as husband and wife, but EVER.

and after 9 long years of being single, we danced to this:

Now our wedding and reception were wonderful, but a wedding and reception don't make a marriage. A marriage is up and it is down. No marriage is ever perfect, because there are no perfect people on earth, and to be honest, ours has been far from it. First, we immediatly became a blended family with my daughter being 12 and his daughter being 11. Can you even imagine??? And then I got sick. Only 4 months after we got married, I got sick. Right away that "in sickness and in health" part came into play. I ended up with my last day working being Dec 27 of that same year. Many doctors, and tests and being a pin cushion, we received the 1st of several diagnosis. I am now on lifetime disability. We had planned for a 2 income family...his to support us, mine for other things like fixing up our house, and vacations and family fun. We seem to aggravate each other quite a bit. And after thinking we had that blended family thing down, our daughter's are gone and we are now "empty nesters". Thought things would be great like this. But we gots some workin' to do!!

Even after 6 years, we still get on each other's nerves. We each do things that seem to tick each other off. However, I would not change marrying this man for a minute. For every time he ticks me off, he does something that melts my heart. He is a great provider, a hard worker, a very loving man. A once divorced father who outshines all like him. So many children of divorces would be lucky to have him. For that matter, I am lucky to have him. He does have times when he isn't handling my illness well, but then times when I could not wish for a safer port in the storm. He is very giving, not materially (no, I don't get the abundance of roses or jewelry that I would love to recieve) but I get little notes left for me and cards that I know he has taken his precious time to find just the right one, and then adds to it. They may not smell like roses or flowers, and they sure don't sparkle like jewelry, but the do last a lifetime, and I keep each and everyone in a special box. I don't think he even knows that. I hope to share those with our grandchildren one day so they can enjoy hearing a wonderful love story.

Honey, as I said on this day 6 years ago, I promise to work hard at our marriage and keep it and us my first priority. I promise not to be so gosh darn aggravating. I promise to try my best to make it easier to love me, because I know it isn't always. And I promise to show you even more love and appreciation. You are an amazing man and I am so blessed God put us together and we commited before Him and our families and friends on this day, 6 years ago.

I love you the mostest!! Now, will you please wear Lilly!?!?!?!

(P.S. Happy 45th Anniversary Mom & Daddy!)