Perfect Outfit

You know how putting on the perfect outfit can make you feel totally great? That's how I felt today.

I have this darling black and white dress that I put a black patent leather belt over, matching black heels, a wristful of pearl bracelets, and a 3/4 sleeve black peacoat on top (it was chilly this morning), and the first person I saw at work said, "You look glamorous."

Delighted gasp!

What a great way to start your day! And then I continued to get compliments throughout the whole rest of the day which made it even better. The funny part was it didn't take much effort to put it together but I knew I felt great when I walked out of the house.

Don't you just love it when that happens???

Meaningful Mondays: Help When You Need It

I know it's Tuesday but I was SWAMPED yesterday and didn't have time to even check my personal e-mail, let alone write this post. So, a day late, here it is. :)

"A friend is one who walks in when others walk out"

-Walter Winchell

I chose this quote because of how much it applies to me right now. I am leaving next week for my President's Club trip (yippee!) and I really need help with something while I was gone. My mother-in-law promised over 3 months ago that she would help me but then bailed 2 weeks before I was set to leave because she had plane tickets that were going to expire and she really wanted to use them, so instead of keeping her promise she's going on vacation.

I won't say what it involves but it is a really big deal and not something just anyone can do (it's not like I asked her to water my plants). Needless to say I was really unhappy with M-I-L and I ended up calling a friend that lives 50 minutes away out of desperation. Bless her heart, she promised to do it without a moment of hesitation.

She came over tonight so I could walk her through everything and show her exactly what needed to be done and how. Wanting to do everything perfect, she even had a notepad and was scrawling notes the entire time so as not to forget anything (it was a lot of information).

Even though I usually don't get to see this friend more than a few times a year and we don't talk nearly as often as we should, as soon as I called her needing help she was more than willing to step in. So yes, I have to agree with Walter Winchell. A true friend is one who walks in when others walk out.

Ever have something like this happen to you?

Progress

I can't believe my Half-Marathon is almost here... it's a week from tomorrow! And silly me, I actually thought I'd be able to start running again 2 days after my surgery. Uh, no. My doctor put the kybosh on that and said I have to wait until next Tuesday. Ugh. But, she did say that I can go "walking at a moderate pace" on Saturday so I will at least do that.

I still think I should be okay for the race. Last weekend I did 10 miles - I am so proud of myself! I can't believe I actually went that far. And I did it much faster than I was expecting. A whole thirty minutes faster!

Fortunately I am recovering well from the surgery and the walking tomorrow will be good for me. Other than that I am planning to relax, drink tea, read, and put my feet up the rest of weekend.

This is what I'm currently reading.

Anyone else read it? Seen the movie? I have the movie recorded on my DVR but I don't want to watch it until I've finished the book. I actually love the book, so far. I like the author's writing style and it is a very intriguing story. I can't wait to see how similar, or different, the movie is. I'm sure there will be a lot of things left out of the movie because the book is actually quite long and a lot of things happen. I'm only a quarter of the way through it but I'm definitely enjoying it.

So I plan to get a little further in my book this weekend. :)

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!

All Is Well

Happy Wednesday!!

Just wanted to let you all know that everything went really well yesterday. The doctor did a great and job and was successful and I also handled the anesthesia pretty well (no sickness this time!).

Today I feel great, but I just have to take it easy for a bit and no exercise for a week (boo!).

I'm so happy it went so great!

SURGERY TODAY

Hey girls!

Yes, I am having surgery this afternoon - shouldn't be too big of a deal but for those of you who believe in God and prayer would you mind just saying a quick little prayer? Thanks a million!

I'll probably be pretty out of it tonight because I usually don't do too well with anesthesia but I'll try and do a quick update tomorrow. :)

Meaningful Mondays: Embarrassment

What was your most embarrassing moment?

"It's only embarrassing if you care what other people think."
~Anonymous

If you think about that for a second you quickly realize just how true that is. 'Embarrass' is defined as: to cause shame to; make uncomfortably self-conscious. I guess no one can make you feel self-conscious if you don't care about their opinion, right?

So I'm going to add to my question... What was your most embarrassing moment, and describe a time when you would have normally been embarrassed but you weren't? (And why weren't you??)

Cakes, Cakes, Cakes

I love making cakes, especially doing creative frostings from scratch. This one I did about a month ago (which is why it's on the ugly travel cake plate and not my pretty glass cake stand). It's cherry chip cake with cream cheese frosting. Yum! Okay, so cream cheese frosting isn't exactly unusual, but of course, I had to decorate the top with cherries to make it a little more festive.

(Very tasty). :)

And this one I did last night for my sister's birthday. I can't wait to dig into it tonight! I call it Peanut Butter Cup Cake. It's chocolate fudge cake that I baked peanut butter chips into, then make peanut butter frosting. Yes, that is right, I made peanut butter frosting!! I'm sure there are some bakeries out there that do this but I honestly have never even heard of it, let alone had it before. I just came up with the idea one morning when eating peanut butter toast and, viola! It's absolutely delicious!

Oh, and those are Reeses Pieces on top. ;)

Reeses Peanut Butter Cups are my sister's absolute favorite candy so I just know she's going to love this. Ever since I came up with the idea I've been dying to tell her but I've managed to keep it a secret so I can surprise her when she comes over tonight. What fun!

Who Ever Thought I'd Like Antiquing??

Last weekend after my run my friend and I decided to stop in a couple of cute little antique shops on our way back to our car. Back in the day I always thought that kind of thing was totally boring and I just wasn't into it. But now I LOVE it! It's amazing the kind of interesting and unique treasures you can find in an antique shop.

And it's so fun to think of the story that must be related to whatever it is you're looking at. Who it once belonged to, how much they must have treasured it. Or maybe it was a wedding gift they couldn't stand and were glad to finally be rid of. :) Whatever the case, there are much more interesting and unusual things you can find compared to a regular store that has all brand new stuff.

Don't get me wrong, brand new has it's place. But I also don't like having a bunch of things that everyone else has. It makes me think of that Friends episode where Phoebe declares how much she hates Pottery Barn because so many people shop there and all of their houses look the same. Not to knock Pottery Barn or their stuff (I actually like a lot of it), but I think I like Phoebe's way of thinking.

So needless to say, when I went antiquing last weekend I had a lot of fun looking through the stores. Once of them had a lot of beautiful china pieces. Since I am now collecting tea cups I just fell in love with this one and had to have it.

I was so excited with my purchase I came right home, washed it, and used it. :) You should try it sometime... you never know what you might find!