Ch-ch-ch-changes...

Well, things they are a changing...last I recall I was going to take some time off to figure out what I was going to do...so to speak.  The toddler/preschooler was (still is) moving ever so quickly toward being in "big school" and that was going to leave me with some extra time on my hands...despite still working from home.  I was starting to feel the pangs of sadness that come with putting your little one in the hands of other people who are mandated by the state to educate them, shape them, mold them, into the little geniuses they will surely become.  What would I do, follow my dreams of having a general store type hangout with cool clothes, banging bands, and loungy sofas perfect for reminding people of a simpler time all the while making a little money and having fun while doing so?  Or, how about turning 40 and preparing to welcome a newborn in February?  What?  Surely that'll be just as fun...though not as lucrative or free spirited.  Yep, you guessed it.  Just as I was meeting friends for super incredible house made vanilla lattes and bacon caramel popcorn...something happened and everything kind of went silent.  How could this have happened was the resounding question I had.  Over and over I'd wonder why at 40 this was so much easier than the 5 or so years we tried to get pregnant the first time.  Sparing you the details, it happened, I've adjusted (most days), and we are thrilled about our new little man that will arrive in February.  I was pretty sick at first and now am just battling general tiredness and crazy hunger.  So, that's about it on this end...which is a lot!  I'm not going to bore you with the details going forward or turn this into a "hey-everyone-look-at-my-belly-kind-of-blog.  I will try to update more often than I have in the past few months.  Needless to say, I've had my hands quite full.  In other news, the preschooler turned 5!  I can hardly believe she's so big. 
Stay tuned...hopefully I still have some readers after my hiatus! 

and...I'm back!

 I am destined to have both one of these gems...I mean, I have to have it, right?  Billy Reid, fellow Alabamian and fashion phenom has hit the nail on the head (in my opinion) with his latest in patterns.  Of course, I've always been a fan, with all the cool tees and swanky menswear but these feathered friends have pushed me into complete heart pounding, butterflies in the belly, kinda love!  Now, couple this with the fact that I'm spending Memorial Day in Florence, Alabama...home of Billy Reid, and...well, you might just label me a stalker! 

image credit: Billy Reid

intermission

It's been a long time...and it's become painfully obvious that I'm having trouble keeping my ducks in a row.  Why?  I don't know, time is escaping me somehow.  Maybe it's that the preschooler is, excuse me, Cinderella...(she demands to only be called Cinderella now) is keeping me super busy.  Or maybe it's that I've got a million things going on between work and trying to decorate our new house.  Or maybe, just maybe it's that I've got my head in the clouds daydreaming about something I want to do.  Something that is scary and exciting at the same time.  Of course I've done nothing to make this little dream of mine come to fruition but it's nice daydreaming about it nonetheless.  What is it, you ask?  I have this little dream of opening a southern style Anthropologie.  Think same kind of coolness but pair that with Imogene + Willie type flair.  I want a store that sells cast iron frying pans, jeans, cool shirts, Redwings, and a million other "picked" items...an updated general store of sorts.  Little bands on Friday nights, a shop dog and ice cold glass bottled coca cola to boot.  These are the things that keep me up at night.  Will it ever happen?  Who knows.  All I know is that I've always been nostalgic about the past...about playing in the front yard, about digging in the dirt, riding in my grandfather's truck, going through the "junk drawer" about a million times even though I knew every single item in there by heart.  These are the things that shaped me and these are the things that are missing in our world today.  Our kids (mine included) aren't playing in the yard.  They don't know about junk drawers or dirt under their nails or being hosed off or eating bacon out of an iron skillet.  They don't know what it's like to get stuff that's made in the USA...made with heart.  I want to give that to my child.  Give her a sense of nostalgia for something other than a Nook tablet or Nintendo DSi.  It's complicated and I know I'm rambling but my point in all of this is that I'm going to take a break from blogging for a bit to try to figure this whole thing out.  Please stay tuned.  I will definitely be back but I just need a minute to figure out if the cloud really does have a silver lining after all...

holiday hangover

I'm slowly but surely emerging from the holiday hangover that is...coming home after traveling nearly all month, to a home that appears to have been hit by a Cat 5 hurricane, decorations and tree still up, poinsettia slowly dying and a Christmas cactus that is for some odd reason blooming for the first time since I received it about 6 years or so ago!  I have no motivation to do anything.  I would have motivated to go to the BCS National Championship game but alas, no tickets, no dice.  So, here I sit...smiling halfway because I did muster the energy to vacuum the floors this morning but that's about it.  About to hit the showers as the rest of my day will be consumed by a 5 yr old birthday party.  It's Friday, I know...woohoo, should be excited but feels kinda like just another Monday.  Post holiday blues...that's what it is.  I'll let you know if I find a cure!  Until then, I'll slog through another day trying to rearrange the clutter to make me feel a little better. 
On a brighter note, I did get some great things for Christmas and enjoyed...beyond belief...spending time with family!  Also rediscovered the "haystack" holiday treat...butterscotch + chow mein noodles = phenomenal...thanks to a sweet sister that made me 2 batches!  (More on those later)

image credit: modmom