Wordless Wednesday - You Know Fall Is Approaching When...

Thirsty?

Just me thinking about cocktails on a Monday morning?  No?  You too?  Ok cool, glad I'm not the only one.  I kid, of course.

This weekend, I tried a new cocktail courtesy of my sister.  I'm a vodka lover, so it was totally up my alley. 

You should try it.  Pinnacle Whipped with club soda, splash of cranberry.  It tastes like cream soda. 

Now you have something to look forward to for this weekend...or tonight....however you roll.

You're welcome.

Do The Dancey Dance Dance Dance

Good morning friends,

I have realized, as of late, that most of my blog titles come from some of my daughter's favorites shows.  i.e. today, it's Yo Gabba Gabba.  That just gives you a small glimpse into what is running through my head on the regular.

I have been crazy about music lately.  I got through spurts with loving what's out there and not loving what's out there AT ALL.  Right now, however, I am loving it.

And this one...is my current favorite because who doesn't love Adele.  Seriously.  Who?

Adele - Someone Like You

Another favorite right now is from the one and only Ri Ri.  My girl, she just doesn't know it.  And a great one for a Friday!

Rihanna - Cheers

And the last one...is a weird one because I am not a fan of Adam Levine and Maroon 5 is just not really my thing.  He's not on my Pass List that's for sure.  I think he's cocky and a playa' but no judgies today.  I saw it for the first time on the last season of The Voice and I've been a big fan since.

Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger

Have an AWESOME weekend!

Thursday Is A Good Day For A Video

I would like to present my daughter.on a trampoline. For the first time. All by herself (especially without any big kids, more specifically the girl that thought it was an MMA cage match with my toddler, don't mess with my kid chica...hey parentals, your kid, yeah that one trying to pin my daughter on a trampoline...you should intervene...life lesson opportunity here).

Please note, my daughter has little fear.  Thank you God for trampoline nets.

WARNING to my husband (not that he really reads this) but she may need one and I'm pretty sure someone is rapidly approaching Birthday #2.

It is sideways cause YouTube is jacked up and won't let me rotate and SAVE.  Funny thing when there is no save button when editing a video.  Annoying.  Anywho, just turn your head to the left when watching.

Mia and the Trampoline

Happy Thursday!

Wordless Wednesday - Mini Me

Besides the fact that she calls it Momma's pooter...it's super cute that she is clearly on my techy path!

I Love You, You Love Me, We're A Hap-py Fa-mi-ly

You can call this fluffy blogging if you wish, but it's what makes life such a blessing and I want to share it...

I talked about this family around Valentine's Day of this year when I wrote about all of the people I love.  They are very special and near and dear to my heart.  Always have been and always will be.  Our families have grown super close over the past two years and they have been such a fulfilling part to my circle of special people in my life.  They are just down right good people and they like wine, which gives them a heck of a lot more points in my book.

A while back I received an email.  It was titled "Not Sure How To Title This."

For those that are lucky enough to be parents, it goes without saying that there is no greater love than that of a child. No.greater.love.  I truly believe that.  The love I have for Mia is unexplainable, so gratifying, so rewarding, so many things.  I didn't know that type of love was possible before I had a child.  I loved my husband and I thought that was the end all be all of love.  Nope.  Not even close.  He knows this.  We discuss it all the time.  The love we have for her is different from the love we have for each other and that's ok.

As I do each night, I checked my email one more time before bed that night.  And that email was in my Inbox.

After reading it, I was teary, choked up and blown away by the mere fact that two parents would put their faith in my husband and I should the absolute unthinkable happen.  As a parent there are days where you feel like you are a mess and totally not doing "it" right.  To hear, especially from your own family and very special family at that, that we are a great couple, great parents and someone they would rely on to take care of their children is overwhelming, however so rewarding to me and Hubby personally.

Her email including things like:
You're a great couple with so many similarities to us.  Not to mention that we think you're amazing and loving parents :)


We know that your family would welcome our kids which is so important to us. 


Most important, Justin & Avery really love you two and your Meemers,  and yes...Jeffy & Lucy too


We will always be family and always love and care for you unconditionally :)



Love you both and think the world of you and the family you've created!


Who wouldn't be blown away by all of those nice things?

We just may need a bigger house or a farm...the deal also includes their 3 dogs :)

Awwwwweeee family!  So blessed.

We Should Seriously Pitch Our Own Show...Seriously

The happiness that is my new family room.  Happy Momma over here.  Totally tooting my own horn here (and my cousin), but this is quite the transformation.  It is SO MUCH BETTER than I even imagined (and I was pretty confident it would all come together and be amazing!).  It's warm and cozy, yet modern and bold.

We began about 10:00 am, but it was after 12:00 by the time all the kiddos were cleared out of the residence.  We were done by 8:00 pmish.  Long and crazy day, but worth every drip of sweat and every feeling of whether we were truly on our own TV show.  My heart raced towards the end because I wanted it to all be pulled together before my husband returned.  Hubs was asked to leave for the day and was told to come back anytime after 5:00, which then became 6:00, then 7:00 and yes again another text to come home at 8:00.  He luckily had to work as he did on most Saturdays, but was ready to come home.

Before...I had already started moving the room around by the time I took these pictures. 

And the Afters...

Hubby's new (Man, Football, Sports, Sunday) chair

Pillow - Gordman's, floor lamp and area rug - Lowe's, clock - Target (clearance)

The new couch...goodbye to the day of straightening couch covers and welcome to the family leather. 

A parents (of children and dogs) dream. Clearly our faux suede creme colored furniture were purchase pre-children and dogs.  Live and learn :)

Mantle (all accessories, minus the framed pic, from Gordman's...all on clearance...can I get a Woot! Woot!)  The only thing missing is my 16x20 black and white photo canvas, which should be arriving this week.

Painted our end table to go with the new decor, lamp and wall art from Gordman's and already had the framed photo (engagement picture).  Wine is just an extra post -Sunday dinner thing.

Pretty good angle of the new room as a whole.  I still think my favorite part is the rug and then the furniture.  Without both of those, this room would not be what it is.  New storage ottoman from Target...only $79.99 and no more remotes, books or coasters sitting out.  All now tucked away.

The best part, is that hubby LOVED it....and he has done a good job today putting an indentation into the seat of his new chair.  Ha!  Love Lazy Sundays :)

A big thank you to my cousin that helped my vision come to life and dedicating her entire Saturday to bust her a$$ with me and get it done in one day!

Have a great week!

Grab Somebody Sexy and Tell Em' Hey

Pitbull, Ne-Yo, Nayer!

One of my favorite songs right now and heard it on the radio on my way in this morning (can't get it out.of.my.head) and at 7:00 am it is all I need some days to attack another day in the life of me.

It's kind of funny to watch Pitbull in the video, he sings out of the side of his mouth - heehee!!!  Kinda awkward.

Enjoy and have an AWESOME weekend!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPo5wWmKEaI

Oh and ignore the stupid trailer at the beginning.  I wanted the real video.
Psssstttt...in case you haven't been listening the big renovation is tomorrow and I will be posting before and afters here and on Twitter (@TallBlondeBlog) so stayed tuned.  I'm not a user or huge fan of the word amazeballs, but it's going to be aaaammmmmaaaaazeballs (I'm screaming you just can't hear me).

This One or This One?

Just not sure.  One of the last things I need to purchase for my mantle is a 16 X 20 canvas.

I have two favorites right now, but can you help me decide?

Thanks!

This One?

 Or This One?

This second one is from April, but I just love this picture and her expression.

HGTVin' It!

So ya know those moments in life that you get really excited about something to the point where you're a bit antsy and it's somewhat difficult to sleep because you are so overly anxious.....????

That's me this week.  I am renovating my family room with my cousin on Saturday and YES, we are getting it all done in one day.  Hubby will be working and I really want it to be done when he gets home.

Last night we went shopping for the rug and accessories, including some really awesome pillows and lamps. I haven't had that exciting of a Monday evening in years :) Now that the accessories are purchased and all I'm left to do is get the paint and order my new canvas (black and white...my fav!) for our mantle (Woot!) I'm really giddy about the whole thing.  Stayed tuned on the canvas.  I need your input on which picture to order.

As you may or may not recall, we moved into our current home five....yes 5....days before Mia was born, so the house was chaotic and since we had to repaint the entire interior, we kept it simple.  Wordly Gray by Sherwin Williams simple in fact.  I love this color as a base wall color.  We did limited accent walls, due to time, but did manage to paint the kitchen Foxy by SW (burnt orange) and our master bedroom Ryegrass by SW (a sagey green).  Mia's room was painted in pink and brown and the rest of the house was very Worldly Gray.  I'm a color girl.  I.am.not.sckuuured.  It's my house and I want it to be the way our family (well mostly me...hubby just wants simple everything) want to live in it.  I want it to be cheery and full of energy and not just because I have a toddler.  I don't want to be afraid to paint it something fun and bold because we may eventually sell it and etc., etc.  I kept the paint to a minimum for this renovation and focused mostly on accents/accessories that can easily be changed.  However paint is not scary and it's relatively easy to change.  So many people fear anything too bold, but I say it's your home, so make it what is comfortable for you.  Not anyone else.
So this weekend, my inspiration is my fireplace wall.  That's it. 

One accent wall and the rest of my vision came to life last night in our shopping extravaganza.  We are incorporating lots of bold colors and I CANNOT wait to see it come to life.

Here is what my fireplace wall color will be (be sure to picture my new white (current oak color) mantle)!

Marooned - Sherwin Williams SW6020

I'm living in my own HGTV show right now and it's making me all sorts of happy.  I'll be sure to post before and afters this weekend and maybe a few teasers via Twitter (@TallBlondeBlog) along the way!

Now if I can only figure out a way to convince Hubs that we Momma REALLY need(s) some new leather furniture to finish off this room.  Any advice on that one feel free to share!

Hope you all are having a great week so far!

We Survived

Our Float/Camp Weekend 2011.  Always a good time, but always ready to come home by the end of the weekend.

Fairly uneventful, except for one "very unique" individual.  We called him...Tattoo.  You see, if you are a camper/floater you will understand the "diverse" population of those that choose to partake in such an activity.  Each year, we always have one or two people that are lucky enough to be nicknamed.  Last year was Jungle Book girl, the young girl on the river that was swinging from the rope swing (long brown hair, no shirt and shorts) and showing the boys how it's done.  It was awesome.  She was definitely a native of the river life.  You have your normal everyday folk, some families that brave these elements with their children, but for the most part it is 22-25 year old kids (yes I can say that, kids).  We were lucky enough to have a large group of them right across from our campsite.  On most occassions for the past several summers of camping, they've made it a ton of fun.  They've made us feel young and fun and super excited that we made it past midnight without falling asleep.  Like the awesome Iraq vet (all of 23 likely) that came by to offer us some marachino cherries that had been soaking in Everclear.  Most Friday nights, this would not be something I would think of.  Everclear is back in the days I wish to never revisit.  How did I drink that sh*&?

However this year, Tattoo had a different plan.  He wasn't going to sleep and he wanted to ensure that no one else did either.  Friday night, no biggie.  By Saturday, had I not feared for my safety, I would have confronted this one. Without sounding like a old hag, he was absolutely and underly obnoxious.  On the water, off the water, it didn't matter and you couldn't get away.  He.was.everywhere.  He had every inch of his skin from ankles to neck (and some on his face) covered in tattoos.  Now I am a fan, as many of you know, but when you start to resemble someone I have seen on Lockdown...I'm pretty sure you're just on a temporary time out from the pen.  This motherf...er.... (yep, sorry, but he was and I don't use that word often) kept everyone up all night on Saturday, running around making racial slurs and threats to other campers.  At one point he was at our campsite messing with what was left of our campfire.  The worst part..the rest of his group was just as bad and many of them were egging him on.  Proud moment for that generation.  Gets you all excited for what the future holds.  Wow! The next morning we finally decided to start getting up at 6:57 am.  Yep, that would be before 7:00 am thanks to Tattoo himself.  Enoughs enough and we were all ready to go home.

Putting all of that aside however, our Friday night and Saturday on the river were great.  We laughed, ate, drank and had an awesome time.

The best part...one of our friends is a police officer and comes well "prepared" for our floating and camping adventures each and every time.  I've never felt threatened or unsafe in all the years I've been camping, but I can say I was quite glad she was around Saturday night.  In fact so much so, I thought about climbing in her tent.

Until next summer...

One Real Quick Thing...

I don't want to work today.  I wish I had taken the day off.  I'm distracted and tired.  This week has been crazy, mostly due to work commitments, several evening calls from my client (which requires my brain to work "outside of normal business hours") and I have been running around like a crazy person.  I need a work time out (and no snarky comments about how I just was in Mexico a month or so ago, that seems like a year ago...I'm for real!).

I'm ready for 2:00 which is the time I will be leaving the office today.  Not.a.minute.later.  I will then be ready to see, kiss and hug on my baby for about 30 minutes before Hubs and I depart on our journey for our Float/Camp weekend.  I am ready for cocktails, food and campfires.  I do hope it does NOT rain as forecasted (seriously weather controller person, whoever you may be...I am inside ALL the freakin' time, can you just throw us a bone here and not rain after 2:00 today? K? Thanks.).

Hubs is in charge of shopping for our trip today and I really hope he remembers my fan more than anything. Must have air circulation in the tent. Picky much? He has a list from me AND my Mom (who is staying at our house for the weekend to watch Mia).  GOD love him!

That's all.  The End.

Have a GREAT, FUN weekend!

Spafabulous...

If you've been following along you well know that I'm a spa junkie, product junkie and major nail polish junkie (but you would be happy to know it's been months since I've bought a new polish...baby steps people.baaaby.steps.).

For Mother's Day (yes, Mother's Day the same holiday your are thinking of that happens in May) my sisters and I wanted to treat my mom to a spa/pool day at the Four Seasons in downtown STL.  Remember this girls night, it was so awesome and we needed a reason to go back.  And this whole spa thing I love, that is thanks to my Mom who is the original spa junkie (the Husband thanks you dearly Mom for passing that addiction onto me).  Well we finally figured out a Sunday when all four of us had an open schedule.  This was last Sunday. Busy much?

We had an awesome time!  I was gone by 8:00 am (a little early for my weekend taste, but you can't really bitch when it's because you have to go to the spa) and didn't return home until 4:30 pm.  The best part is when we were checking in and my phone rang.  It was the hubs...asking where I was.  Seriously?  We only talked about this 14 times in the past two weeks.  Anyway, after a few chuckles and a reminder he then realized he remembered my spa day.  He clearly needed some coffee...way foggy brain.

We started the day at the spa...I got a pedi this time and it was an hour aaaand a half.  It was fantabulous, so relaxing and so peaceful.  I didn't take my phone for a reason, a). I thought it would be kinda rude, b). I can sit for 90 minutes without my trusty sidekick and c). my sister was getting a mani at the same time and it was much more important to ingest in girly conversation with my sibling.

Oh and the OPI Silver Shatter that I previously discussed.  I finally tried it.  I did it with red, which was the tech's recommendation and it turned out pretty cool, but I still think a brighter, more summery color would be better.  I'm definitely going to have to try the Black Shatter around Halloween.  There is no way to take a picture of your toes that looks good.  Toes are just weird.

Upon completion of our "services," we proceeded to the rooftop pool for lunch, a few Sunday afternoon cocktails and pool time.  Here are few of my favorite pics (also, I have been playing around with the Snapbucket photo app on my phone and I love it):

 Poolside view 1

 Poolside View 2

 Poolside View 1.1 - our water...the Mississippi

 Poolside View 3...home of the Rams...Edward Jones Dome

 Our view at lunch...towards the pool

 Cheers to family, sisters and awesome Moms that deserve to be celebrated and pampered!

My oldest sister, my Mom, Me and my youngest sister

Happy Thursday! 

Float trippin' it this weekend!  That how we roll in MO! 

Hoosier style, tents (with an air mattress for this princess I have some limitations to "roughing it"),

 campfires, good drinks, food, trucker hats, camo

and a day on the river in a raft, but most importantly doing all of this with awesome friends! 

I will provide a full report next week!

The Last First

Before I get into my post today, I wanted to point out two reasons that definitely reiterate that I am a mother of a toddler:
1. Upon getting out of the shower this morning and lotioning up my bod as I do everyday, there was a sticker on my butt.
2. I am a jungle gym and I have a nasty bruise on my arm to show for it.

To the post....

A lot of people would disagree, but I kind of feel like this is Mia's last first.  Not her last "official" first, as we still have the first teeth, first day of preschool, first day of kindergarten, first dates (eeeks) and so on and so forth.  But this is her last "baby" first.  She did great.  I mean who wouldn't if you got to watch Dora the whole time.

So now I present to you, Mia's first haircut (and tear)....

Hope you are having an awesome week!