Five Things Thursday

1. Last Saturday night, I was making. myself an ice cream cone. All of a sudden, a water drop hits me on top of the head.

I looked up and saw this black spot. I called Butch. And then we started arguing. He said that the plumbing upstairs in the guest bathroom right above the kitchen was obviously leaking. I said that--"since that bathroom is never used, how can that be? It seems to me that it must be the roof since it's been raining for a few days" We went back and forth, not knowing who to call. So, he went to bed and left it to me to figure it out (at least that was my take on it). So, I did! The first thing I did was move the rug which was wet. Then I contacted Christy---my designer friend who has handled all of our remodeling. I know that she doesn't do home repairs, but I didn't know where to turn. I was just looking for some advice on who to call, but since she loves me, she handled it. 

I sent her assorted pictures from different angles. She was in touch with her "guy," Wilder who works for her and did our most recent remodel--including the bathroom above the kitchen. To make a long story short, he come out on Monday morning and spent 5 hours tracking down the leak.

He agreed with Butch, thinking it was plumbing related. He did all kinds of things in

the bathroom to see inside the wall--removing the fixtures and wallpaper, but couldn't find anything. At some point, he opened the ceiling in the kitchen. Ultimately after being in both attics, up and down a zillion times which nearly sent me in to a full blown panic attack since he was walking over and over on the new carpet--he found that there was a broken vent pipe leading from the roof. He fixed it and came back yesterday day to patch the ceiling. The painters will be here tomorrow  to sand (ugh!) and re-paint the ceiling. Luckily for me, my anxiety will not be a problem because I'll be in Chicago with Morgan!! Hopefully, Butch will have it all cleaned up by the time I get home on Sunday!

Even after all of this, Butch and I discussed what we would have done if we didn't have Christy. That girl is amazing and I am so grateful that she came to our rescue. Honestly, who do you call in this situation?

2. 

I came across this picture and just had to post it. Amanda was Sandy's BFF growing up. Since they were both together a couple weeks ago, I thought they would get a kick out of it. Oh, and that's Mindy--just in case you couldn't figure it out!

3. Nicky sent me this picture. You have to look really close.

You just never know where Rio is going to turn up! This is Jordan's bedroom which is rarely used. It looks like she's found a cozy spot and settled in!

4. I think this is a great idea. 

If I saw something like this in a restaurant I was at, I would totally buy a meal for someone.

5. And then, this.

What an unusual piece of art. I don't know where it is, but I would love to see it in person!

What I Buy Wednesday

I didn't count the Kate Spade purse this week since Stephanie is the one who actually bought it. Still, I have something to report.

On Saturday when we made the charcuterie at the mall, Stephanie and I stopped at the Kurt Geiger department at Dillards. I didn't even know that Dillards carries KG. I didn't discover him--my new favorite designer--when we were in London at Selfridges. Stephanie already knew about him from our trip to New York last summer. 

Here's a reminder of the first pair of shoes I bought in London:

They are amazingly comfortable. You can't tell from this picture, but they are all sparkly.

I asked Butch for the matching purse for Christmas:

I love it so much. It's sparkly too. But, it's not the everyday type purse I thought it would be. It's too much to fuss with---the magnetic closure that you have to deal with when I am retrieving my phone--which is pretty often since it's also my clock. So, I don't use it that much. Plus all that sparkle makes is seem dressier that a regular everyday purse. Still, I do enjoy carrying it.

Anyway, back to our stop in Dillards. I bought another pair of shoes.

Isn't the box so cute?!

Same style but will go with everything. My feet never get tired in them. 

Hmmm, maybe I need to check out the matching purse in a different style for everyday use. We'll see...

So, what have you bought recently?

Travel Tuesday

Starting on Friday, I'll be traveling for the next 5 weekends. So, soon, I'll have lots of travel to report on. But for today, this post its about a trip Butch and I made right here in town--to the Opry Mills. It's about a half hour away, so not really that far. But it's probably been more than 20 years since we were there. 

Stephanie bought me a glittery Kate Spade purse for my birthday. It just wouldn't quite fit my epi-pens, so I exchanged it. While in the store, there were so many cute things. I found it hard to resist. 

How cute is this donut purse! And the matching card holder. 

This large tote was very tempting since I have the weekender duffel. Love it. 

These were so darn cute. Especially that little one. I asked the sales clerk what they were to be used for---she said, "Anything you want!" I couldn't think of anything I'd use them for. 

These were cute too. But, totally impractical. I really wanted to get a new iPhone case, but unfortunately, they don't carry any that would fit my phone.

I did come home with this.

I'll be sharing what I bought tomorrow.

Okay, never mind. I'm always too excited to wait! 

I could not resist this apple green purse! It won't be an everyday purse, but I do plan to use it in New York in a few weeks. I was going to wait and just show up with it and surprise the girls. We'll be there for St. Patrick's Day. I'll wear assorted green all weekend. 

Thanks, Steph. I love it!

Me on Monday

Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday. Since we had no other invitations, we were having a family party. After Mass, we stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things. I wanted some fresh flowers. I pick up these inexpensive bouquets once or twice a month. 

This was the one I chose. I liked the variety and the greenery included. It was $12.00. As we were heading to check-out, Butch spotted this one:

He liked it better than the one I picked out. You can't tell it here, but it's all glittery. I didn't like it. When I buy flowers, I only like ones that are natural. I don't like "sprayed" or forced colors. I want flowers that actually grow in nature. Anyway, we went back and forth. He kept saying he really liked this one. Finally I relented. It was only $9.00. Okay, fine, I let him have his way. Pick your battles and all that jazz. 

When we exited the grocery store, the bouquet looked like you see it here---no glitter at all. I said, "Well great, all the glitter has blown off!" He accused me of shaking it! I knew it had something to do with the light. When we got in the car, 

you could see some of it. Once we got it home, I added some extra daisies from last weeks bouquet--that gave it a little more variety. 

Setting a pretty table is my favorite thing! Let's take a closer look, shall we?

First, notice the heart garland. Mindy made that for me several years ago--probably 10--it's so darn cute. I usually hang it on the mantle, but I love it here. I gathered some red books from the library. If you look closely, you can see the heart, glass ornaments that our cocktails were in on Saturday at our Galentine's event.

The old wooden spools with hearts were a craft project many years ago. 

The books here are a couple of my favorite "Janes"--Austin & Eyre. When I took the apple off the counter Butch said, "You're going to use my apple as a decoration?" Well of course. It's red isn't it? Finally, I used the candy that was in the charcuterie as "sprinkles". 

I even watched the whole football game. Unusual for me. But I just happen to be a Taylor Swift fan which then makes me a Travis Kelce fan and we lived in Kansas City so that makes me a Chiefs fan. There were plenty of reasons to watch. So I did.

I'm so glad I did! Hurray for the Chiefs!!

Something for Sunday

About a month ago, Mindy found out about a "Galentine's" event at the Green Hills Mall. We were really excited when Pam and Lauren decided to join us. We started with lunch at the Green Hills Grille. From there, we headed to the mall. What a nightmare finding parking! Seems that everyone was at the mall on a rainy day.

Anyway, we met up and started with pictures. Mindy and Stephanie had me remind Pam and Lauren to dress festively for the pictures. I think they turned out so cute!

Pam and I both remarked that we didn't like that they decided to throw some purple in there.

We sat down and examined all of our "stuff." The table was festooned with fresh roses. The heart thing in the cup is our teeny, tiny cocktail. Really, when we poured it into the cup, it was about an inch of liquid. Still, the glass hearts are cute. I can see filling them with water and red food coloring to add to a Valentine's Day charcuterie. 

There was a demonstration on how to build the charcuterie in the heart-shaped tin. There were raspberries, cherries, dried apricots, strawberries and a slice of blood orange. There were 3 types of cheese: brie, manchego, and aged white cheddar (my favorite), macaron, pretzels, and assorted candies. We were taught how to make salami roses. 

Pam, Lauren and Mindy.

Childhood friends. 

Steph and me.

We each got a cookie--I ate mine right away!

The finished product!

We put them all together for a final photo. 

For Butch and me, this was dinner. 

It was so much fun that we are probably going to do the next thing coming up---creating your own perfume! It's the weekend before Mother's Day. 

Scrapbook Saturday

I'm letting Morgan have the whole post today. She is really getting in to scrapbooking. She sent me her pages. Now all she needs is to add her stories. She'll get there! I'm just happy that she's started!! Way to go Morgan!

Friday Funnies