Thursday's things

Luxe Linen

I absolutely adore this candle by Aquiesse. It's from their Portfolio Collection. I have been in love with this candle since purchasing it on a whim last year. It provides the most wonderfully clean smell with woodsy notes as well as sweetness. It's a soy based candle so it burns very clean and has a cotton wick. Best part...it will waft through your entire house in less than an hour of striking a match! There are several sizes and options...from the candle tin as shown above and featured in my hall bath, as well as jarred sizes and diffusers. If you're in the market for a new candle and a scent that transcends all seasons try Luxe Linen!

To order Aquiesse click here.

image credit: Aquiesse

gonna get your goat...

Okay, so I don't usually post twice a day, nor do I post about random things...wait, never mind...anyway, I just had to post this...for those who know me, you know that I have wanted a baby goat forever. Not really a baby goat but the kind that stay baby sized. I think they're called pygmy goats but whatever, baby goat sounds better. Annnnnnnyway, in tune with my earlier post...as if I needed another reason to love Tori Spelling, she has a baby goat! Which I think I may have already known, or previously thought was just to spice up their reality show...but seriously, I was just begging my farmer friend (see Sex and the...Country post) that she had to get baby goats! But...I want one too! Now, I wonder how the dogs will like a goat? I'm sure our non-reliable yard man would love a goat as it will eat what he never gets around to cutting! I know the toddler would love a goat. I think the husband will be the only one who needs convincing and, well, maybe the neighbors. Also, we may have a city ordinance against them...which seems ridiculous as they are so stinking cute!

image credit: INF photo/Fame

girl crush

We all have them...us girl's that secretly envy and love every single thing about another. Usually someone who is unattainable, unreachable...in a place that we could only dream of, only adding to the marvel. For me, there are several...Tori Spelling, Alexa Chung, Sarah Jessica Parker, but before those there was Gwyneth. Her long blonde locks perfectly uncoiffed yet, every hair in place, East coast upbringing, amazing fashion sense, fabulous friends, adorable children (although she ain't got nothing on the toddler!) and then...as if there needed to be another reason to love her...Chris. Sure there was Brad but he's no Chris. Chris embodies the angst ridden Englishman we all crave. Then, there are the homes...featured in glossies, beautiful expanses with lush gardens, gourmet kitchens in which it's rumored she actually cooks, beach homes with endless summers, and well...the music. The husband and I have been lucky enough to see Coldplay a couple of times and I love them more with each note. As I sit here envying every aspect of Gwyn's life...right down to her Carrara marble counters, I wonder this...how is it possible for someone to be so lucky? I remember watching her in Great Expectations...so lithe and full of adventure - so young...perhaps my crush isn't really on her but on the characters she's played, on the opportunities she's had, and the clothes she wears (and her husband). I've had many "crushes" in my life. Some silly, some serious, some irrational, and some sort of stalker like. We all have them, that unrequited love that can bring us to the brink. It's funny to look back on my college days and think about all that wasted time, wishing someone would look my way, take notice, see how cute and stylish and smart and funny and fun I was. As the husband and I near our 12 year anniversary I realize that it's important to think back to that initial crush...that glance that took your breath away. And so, I suppose I'll always "love" Gwyneth and my heart will always skip a beat when Coldplay takes the stage but when I look beside me...the husband will always be there to pick up the pieces of my "crushed" heart! image credit: (top) House and Garden (bottom) MusicToob

Thursday's things

Pink Gel Coat

This is the most fabulous blue-pink nail color I have ever used. I recently tried the Cal Gel manicure that left my nails terribly sad after soaking off the 4 coats of glitter. And so, I was able to justify the $30 price tag of this little gem. With the very first coat (done while sitting in the car outside Sephora...seriously couldn't wait) I was in love. In the sunlight it has a blue-ish tint that looks so clean and shiny and freshly manicured. Plus...bonus is that it's actually really good for your nails...full of protein to strengthen and well, make them not so sad. Per the Perfect Formulas website...The "Suit of Armor" for your nails. Just one coat will make them strong, hard and beautiful. Pink Gel Coat creates a sheer pink protein rich coating which instantly strengthens, seals and protects natural nails so they can grow strong and long. Pink Gel Coat contains an optical brightener that will bring out the natural color in your nail bed and filter out any yellow appearance in the nail. Nails immediately appear fresh clean and healthy. And, per moi...if you want an easy, at-home manicure that looks as fresh with one coat as it does with a week's worth, this is the best and...you're rings will rejoice!

image credit: perfectformulas.com

goodbye violet eyes

We have lost a legend. Sadly, Elizabeth Taylor passed away this morning in Los Angeles...one of the last of the old Hollywood regime. Her beauty unsurpassed...both on-screen and off. Her movies too numerous to name, her roles too numerous to mention, her lovers too numerous to...er, remember...but, what we will remember is she was an icon and in a class by herself.

You will be missed Velvet Brown...a true "National" treasure.

image credit: more things

bzzzzzzzzz

Well, it's officially spring and I've been bullied at the playground! Apparently I'm the only Mom afraid of them...but what's with all the hovering and darting and, well...staring? At the playground yesterday the husband told me not to make eye contact with them...(read...stop acting spastic). And honestly, I tried to be better behaved since the toddler will watch every move I make and mimic it precisely. I don't want to pass down my fear of those suede like buzzing machines. In the end, we left the playground with red cheeks and a spring-time glow (read...sweat), stings and craziness averted. But, they're everywhere I go these days...seemingly coming out of nowhere. From the grocery to the backyard to the playground, it's hard to go anywhere without seeing them. And so, I've been thinking about those guys...there are people we encounter that are just the same...hovering, sometimes with a job to do, but at the same time a little scary. We get through the day with them, move out of their way, and listen closely for their constant busy buzzing. Just as I'm watching my actions around the toddler, I realize there's a lesson in those bees...we need to watch our actions around others...making sure we are being the kind of people we should be...not bully-ish, not hovering, not darting around as if daring someone to be scared. Each of us are no better than another. We should treat others with respect and...well, let them swing and slide and work or play without harassment! It's easy to forget these things. And yet, as I sit here typing, the bumble bees are buzzing about, banging into the window as if to say..."I see you in there, talking about me". And with that, I'm left here wondering...who's bullying who now? image credit: my little bee (the toddler)

Thursday's things

Shamrock

While St. Patrick's Day used to hold a whole different meaning for me and the husband before the toddler came along...I'm enjoying my "green" in plant form these days! I love the simplicity of the large leaves of shamrock plants that come in a variety of species and colors...from green to purple...it's a fun way to celebrate the holiday and add a little luck to your life!

image credit: hotmag

are we there yet?

This is the time of year that makes me yearn for the days of my youth...anticipating the best trip ever. A busy week full of lounging, laying out, swimming (or at least pretending the water was warm enough to swim), sleeping late, and sunburned shoulders. The days when nothing mattered but whether your bathing suit was dry from the last swim so that you didn't freeze to death trying to wiggle, twist, and shimmy into it. Now that I'm older and realize that not everyone gets a break during Spring...I've been thinking...if we are expected to "spring forward" year after year, essentially "losing" an hour of sleep...then, why can't we indeed take a "real world" respite? I think we deserve it. But then I'm reminded by the husband that I would have no complaints about "losing" that hour if I were to travel east to, say...New York, Boston, Martha's Vineyard, Maine, or the Hampton's any other time of year. So, why is it that we Southerners talk about "springing forward" like we're preparing for an epic event? And suddenly, I realize now that Spring punctuates our youth with a "break"...and greets us adults with change and responsibility...not unlike most other seasons. And so, until the toddler is begging for the rite of passage Spring Break holds, I suppose I'll hold on a little tighter to her knowing that "passage" will eventually be punctuated with...change. image credit: Getty images

Thursday's things

DiorShow Iconic

I recently replaced my DiorShow Mascara with the Iconic version and...WOW! I am in love with my new lashes! It's as if I grew them over night. This little brush is a magic wand with all it's separation and lengthening and curling.

For once I'm able to pull off the

fresh face...mascara and lip gloss only look!

image credit: Sephora

a change is gonna come...

Change is something we cross the street to avoid here in the South, but...what happens when the change is for the better, or...just makes us feel better? Sometimes I feel sad for the life I imagined I would have... creative...art filled, inspiring, parties galore...but then it's at those lowest points that I realize I don't have to feel down and out about what hasn't been...rather, I can make it happen. So I've decided that I will slowly but surely make a change... I (read...the husband or someone...anyone) will paint the den...where we spend almost all of our time as it also doubles as our dining room, entryway, and toy repository. Though it's "granny smith" green walls have served us well, I'm yearning for something more...or, er...less. I think I'll take up a new art driven hobby...maybe photography... and until I can talk the Husband into a Nikon...I have a Polaroid instant camera and film...and I'm gonna use it so watch out! I'm gonna buy canvas, drag out my paints and set the Toddler in motion...why not? Then I'm gonna clean out all the "stuff" we no longer use or want. I feel like those things are weighing me down...they're robbing me of my enthusiasm to tidy up as I don't even know where to begin! We live in a teeny house yet have acquired enough stuff to fill an Acadian mansion situated on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain, grounds covered in moss draped live oaks...um, anyway...and as I type this I know the attic beams above me are smiling (read...about to burst) down just knowing that I'm going to stop breaking it's back with...stuff. So get ready...I'm gonna throw out...re-purpose...give away and tag some stuff...maybe there will be something you'll want...if you're local...you'll get an email under separate cover regarding an eventual tag sale...stay tuned. I long for a house where everything has it's place...clean lines...functional yet comfortable. Not modern but not melodramatic either. And last but not least...parties...I'm going to stop waiting for the invitations in the mail and start making my own parties...my own invitations to send out. Why not, right? And, why not themed parties? Everyone loves a "reason" to party right? Not just an over-the-top party but an intimate gathering of friends an noisemakers and hats and possibly wigs and maybe champagne with crazy straws and homemade photo booths...the possibilities are endless. And so, as I type this on a dreary day when the rain will soon begin and continue for days...I'm excited about the changes. I'm excited to get out of the funk and make the things happen that I want in my life cause ain't nobody gonna do it for me! image credit: psychology today

don't forget...

Okay, so apparently I need a string tied around my finger as I have let Thursday come and go with out featuring my new "carry over" addition from February. That's right, "Thursday's Things" should have been posted yesterday but alas...my head was still spinning from "February's Things" and I completely forgot! And so, since it's now Friday I suppose I'll just resume those little "things" next Thursday. Until then I will be diligently tying that string on my finger...which is quite hard to do by yourself I might add. But maybe the husband will spring for this little string ring! p.s. No worries, this hasn't turned into a blog completely about all the things I love...I'm hitting the proverbial notebook as we speak with further ponderings, random thoughts and questions galore! image credit: Kaboodle