Sweet, Sweet Summer

As we are in the dead of Summer here in Dallas, I have to think of the positives about this unbearable heat. Otherwise, I would stay inside and not come out until October. Or November. OR I would just purchase a one way ticket to a better climate.

Splash Parks

We LOVE playing in these parks all over town. You don't have to worry about life jackets, the deep end of the pool or constantly having to hold your little one.

Fresh Fruit

Blueberries. Cantaloupe. Watermelon. Strawberries. Our family eats tons and tons of fresh produce year round, but especially in the summer when you can get huge containers of blueberries for $1.50 and cantaloupe melons for $.50.

Pinot Grigio

Wine is my beverage of choice and there is nothing better than a crisp glass of pinot on a hot evening. Drop in a couple of frozen berries and it is delish.

Summer Smells

Do you switch your perfume/lotion in the summer? I love to wear light and airy scents in the summer.... gardenia is my favorite. And my allergies may hate the smell of fresh cut grass, but I love to take in that scent.

Storms

The grass looks greener. The air smells sweeter. And my veggies and herbs love it.

Cajun Shrimp

My toes are always painted with OPI Cajun Shrimp in the summer. It is a great coral color that goes with everything. It is kind of ironic that I am deathly allergic to shrimp, yet it is my favorite color.

What are you loving this summer?

The Blue Grass State

Long time, no talk blogworld.

Last week we were up in Lexington, KY for a little family vacation. My cousin got married and then everyone stayed in town for a family reunion. We have been getting together every summer for 23 years now. When this tradition first started, there were only 5 kids in the picture. Now, that number has grown to 11 and these "kids" are married, getting married, bringing their boyfriend/girlfriend, and having babies. Most summers, there are about 25-30 people that get together... and we enjoy every minute of it. (Most of the time. ha ha ha)

Here are just a few of the zillion pictures I have from the week.

Here we are at the rehearsal dinner.

My cousin and I are the same age.... and we both have daughters that are the same age. We are best friends and I am positive our daughters will also be best friends.

We went to the KY Horse Park and Miss A loved every second of it. She had no fear when it came to touching the horses... I think she wants a pony for her birthday. Poppa - you reading this?

KY is known for their bourbon so we had to tour a local distillery - Woodford Reserve. Miss A even got her first taste of bourbon at the end of the tour. Just kidding!

And when we weren't drinking bourbon, we were out on the lake. Miss A loved being out on the water and even had her first tube ride.

Want to see pictures that actually show her face? Head over to the Baby M blog.

Blogging Silence for Cohen

COHEN MARSHALL

Pick One

My cousin is getting married this weekend and I need your help in picking out my wedding shoes.

Here is the dress.... (but, in brown)

And here are the shoes and accessory options.....

A

B

OR scrap both of those and you tell me what shoes and jewelery to wear.

NEW pictures on Baby M.

Little bit of this, little bit of that

So far this summer, I have spent the majority of my days in workout clothes, a swimsuit, and shorts/tank top. And I hardly ever dry my hair and I have not touched makeup in days. What in the world has happened to Mrs. Preppy? Well, I am going on long morning walks with a neighborhood friend and her daughter, then playing out in the yard with Miss A and we normally end up in the pool at some point. I love it! We are having a great time and I am working on a pretty decent tan. All that being said, this is a here is a hodge podge of random thoughts.

• I recently put out an APB for a Wal Mart necklace... I had searched high and low and was determined to find it. My blog and Twitter friends were looking all over the country and The Tale of a Southern Belle found it for me! I am so excited to get this orange beauty.

• Have you seen these glammed up pictures of the Glee cast? They are looking pretty snazzy. Excited for it to come back on in the fall, doesn't it seem like it has been on for longer than just 1 season?
  

• I just ordered this cute swim top from Land's End. All of my current suits are solid black, so this will mix it up a bit.
  

• And finally, a new study just came out that urges pregnant women NOT to wear high heels, Uggs, flip flops or ballet flats. Um... are you supposed to walk around barefoot? I wore all of these forbidden shoes the entire 9 months I was pregnant. Had I read this then, I would have just ignored it. Just like I am doing now.

Obsessed

I have a tendency to become obsessed about certain things.

Like, that one time in college when I was in luuuuv with my stat study partner. I would occasionally be in his neighborhood and have to drive by his house just to see if his truck was in the driveway. And I made sure to park by him in the business school parking lot. And I made sure that we got to class at the same time. But, that is not what is important here.

I am talking about jewelery now. Specifically, a I am on the hunt for a Wal Mart necklace. Yes, Wal Mart.

I spotted the necklace a couple of weeks ago and thought about buying it then, but decided to wait until it went on sale. (From $10 to $7. Yes, I am kicking myself) Well, I forgot to go back and look for the necklace until I saw it on another blog.

And now I am a woman on a mission. I have been to 5 Wal Mart's within 30 minutes of my house. I put out an APB on Twitter. And, now I am asking blogland.

If you are at Wal Mart and see this necklace - in ORANGE, can you pleeease grab it for me? I will pay you for it. Promise.

(It is only $7 and in the clearance section of the jewelery department. I have been able to find lime green and turquoise, but orange has become my holy grail.)

Pray for Cohen

One of my dear blogging friends just had the sweetest little baby boy - Michael Cohen Marshall.

He is adorable, handsome and a fighter. He was born with multiple heart defects and is currently facing a long, hard battle. Please take a minute to read his story and if you are so inclined, add this sweet family to your prayer list.

My heart just aches for them. I feel so helpless in situations like this - moms should be able to snuggle and cuddle with their new baby... not have to sit in hospital waiting rooms waiting for updates on his open heart surgery.

Cheap treasures

A couple weeks ago I decided to hit up the Sonic that is closer to my house, versus going to the nice Sonic. My happy hour diet cherry vanilla Diet Coke tastes the same at both locations, but I prefer the 'nice Sonic.' Well, that was until I noticed what was in the parking lot of the closer Sonic. This place is awesome. You never know what sort of treasure you will find - all just for 99 cents. I once saw a lady on Oprah that had published a 99 Cent Store cookbook. She talked about all of the gourmet food items the store had, plus her location sold wine. Well, my location does not sell wine (sad) but they do have all sorts of other great things, plus some pretty good produce.

Lean Cuisine. Cheap-o.

Spices galore. Cinnamon to cumin to crazy Mexican spices. They have it all.

Red, yellow and orange bell peppers. Have you seen the price of these suckers at Whole Foods? Sheesh.

Pool toys. When you have a puppy named Jake that likes to chew on anything and everything, you want to find cheap outside toys.

Positive is positive. No need to waste $8 a pop on these suckers. (side note: back when I was using these things, the most expensive one is the only one that said I was not pregnant)

These items made it into my basket today....

Mexican vanilla. Elefantitas Alegres - have any recipes for me?

Disposable place mats. We have a reusable one for when we eat out, but Miss A has started pulling it off the table, making a huge mess. Maybe she will not be able to pull these off. We shall see.

Flower pots and gardening gloves. I am on a major gardening kick this summer.

I have also found Fiber One blueberry muffin mix, Banana Boat sunscreen and lots of good cleaning products. I am addicted!