My Fall Lady

Anyone else crushing on all the new fall fashions? Oh I am! I am! Preppy, sophisticated, classic comfort... Here are my top ten looks I'm going to be striving for this fall. Let's try to pull some of these off over the next few months. OK!

1.) Cord Dress from Boden USA. Get the catalog and prepare to drool all over yourself. I'm convinced Reese has a personal shopper there.
2.) Bass shoes. So fun and cute! I came across these and just fell in love.
3.) Riding Boots from Piperlime. Just add tunic and leggings... 'nuf said!
4.) Gray knit purse from Etsy.
5.) Infinity Scarf. I say I'm going to get one of these every year, and still don't own one. I will this year.
6.) Ray-Ban classic wayfarers. I want! I want! I want! ((click my heels while saying).
7.) Button Up tucked into jeans with a belt. Story of my wannabe skinny life.
8.) Jersey Blazer. Remember when Gap had these a few years back? Anyone cool enough to buy one? Well I didn't think I was... but now I think I am.
9.) Wrap dress in a fun, spicy color. It does my thighs good.
10.) Cropped Coat. Perfect for fake winters in Houston.


Ok...Back to a really bad day at work I go. Can someone just pay me to blog already?

bunny hop

A few weekends ago we had the Sommers over for dinner. AJ and Robyn made a big pot of spaghetti and meatballs (stuffed with ricotta cheese, no less!). So we strip down the dynamic duo, a.k.a. Sloane and Annie, to diapers (because red sauce NEVER comes out of clothes) and let them eat first. They finish and then go sneak off to the living room while the adults are all still eating in the kitchen. After a few minutes they come running back into the kitchen both wearing bunny ears they found in Annie's toy chest. They were dancing and hopping and chasing each other and screaming and laughing. Luckily I had my camera handy to capture the spontaneous bunny hop party! These silly girls...I tell ya. They keep us laughing, that is for sure!

Pink

Everything is pink to Annie.  "Annie what color is this?" (pointing to her blue towel) "Pink!" she announces proudly.  "No, blue" I tell her.  "Byew" she says.  Then I ask "Annie what color is this?" (pointing to her green marker) "Pink!" she says again more sure than anything.  Hahaha.  And so the game goes.
I have no idea if it is a girl thing, or if i just have smothered her with pink toys her whole life... but she sure does love pink. 

So I feel like yall want to hear about the weekend... haha.  yall being no one and me just typing to type. well weekend wowzers! it was a jolly good time.  I did get to go dress shopping with Maria, Sarah and Mrs. P.  What a treat!  Wedding dress shopping might be one of my favorite things to do.  First of all, I feel like dresses have come SO FAR since I was a bride!  Like works of art these dresses.  The ruffles and beading and details and belts and veils.  I really want to post some pictures, but I will respect Maria's privacy and not show in case one of the ones i took a picture of is "the one".  The big one.  The one that she wears to say the i do's.  The one that will make Matt and Mr Bob cry.  I might cry.  I love them.  Ok.  Ramble on much?

Also, I think I've found my secret to potty training!! Have my niece Taylor over for the weekend and let Annie watch her potty.  Then Annie says "Tay Tay - potty" and "Annie - potty" which she then proceeds to sit on the potty just because she saw Taylor do it.  Everything is Tay Tay and Sissy.  Should I be nervous that Annie is going to be a follower?  Or is this just naturally the pecking order because Taylor and Sloane are older than her? 

Anyway, we slept in Pearland Saturday night.  We had steaks and birthday cupcakes for Maria's birthday.  The whole gang was there.  Evyn made the cupcakes from a recipe she got out of Food and Wine Magazine.  Dark chocolate with sugar cone crumbles on top!... ! 

And with all of that going on can you believe I lost another pound this week?  I did!!!  I'm down 6%! 

Yall the beach is calling my name!  One week countdown!  I can't wait to hang with CiCi all week too.  I've already decided she is cutting my bangs, painting my nails, and we are watching the first season of Dexter! I can't wait! 

 

Give Thanks

What a beautiful day. Thank you for the rain. Thank you for the beautiful new baby girl you have brought into our lives today. Maggie Schnure is finally here to bring love and joy to the world. 

We all have so much to be thankful for, even when it doesn’t seem so.

Love to everyone near and dear to me. Love to my precious Annie. Every time a baby is born it takes me back to when we welcomed her into the world. I smile. God is good.

Oh Toodles

Yesterday morning I went into Annie's room to get her up. She was still asleep, so i turned on her lamp and turned off the sound machine. She started stirring a little. So I picked her up and laid her on the changing table. She still had her eyes closed and was stretching and rubbing her eyes and hair. Then all of the sudden she opened her eyes and said to me "Oh Toodles!" First thing out of her mouth. I cracked up laughing. (If you don't know, toodles is from mickey mouse clubhouse) Anyway, it was so cute.

I've been thinking about baby Maggie this morning.. Ready for her to get here and see how beautiful she is.
I've been thinking about life and things.
I've been thinking about the beach. What to pack. I hope Annie likes the sand. Do I need to get spray tanned? I kind of think yes, but then I kind of think... Nicole, get serious.

I'm going wedding dress shopping with Maria this weekend. I'm so excited! I have sisters who love me! I mean, duh and yay too! I want to attempt to sew a dress for Annie this weekend. I'm wondering how hard this is going to be. Is it just me or does it seem really easy? I'm not talking elaborate dress here. I'm talking pillowcase dress. Emily Sparks has a little tutorial on a playdress she made for her daughter. Seems so easy. I need to hit up hobby lobby for fabrics.

This weekend was fun fun as usual. Gigs made the drive out to have a playdate. Hats off to her for taking care of two adorable, running in opposite directions, lets attempt play equipment at the playground in 108 degree heat, i can carry both, toddlers and wearing the cutest pillowcase dress with belt at waist I have ever seen... Holla. Robyn was in town this weekend and her and Anthony spent the weekend perfecting hamburgers for the cook-off and love-hating each other while doing it. Also I got a massage on Saturday, had a little outing to a wine bar with Shala and then celebrated DJ's birthday on Sunday. How does it all fit into 48 hours? Who knows... but it does.

You do you!

cuteness overload!

Minnie Mouse Ears!

little momma

It amazes me how innate mothering is in girls.  Annie loves baby dolls.  She wraps hers in a blanket and carries it to the kitchen.  Then unwraps and re-wraps it and carries it back to the living room.  Then repeat.  Also she put her Mickey and Minnie dolls down for "night night" yesterday afternoon.  I'm in awe over this new little person that my baby is blossoming into... 

I love her so.

"Little Mommas"
Sloane and Annie with their Babies

Bruno Theater Night... Busted

New work trend alert! It is now cool to brush your teeth multiple times a day at work. I have encountered several girls doing this in the bathroom. What an awkward moment when i walk out of the stall and there is someone brushing their teeth. I’m peeing 3 feet away with a little metal barrier between us. Just awkward.

We had such a productive weekend! First off, we cleaned the whole house. I’m talking upstairs/downstairs, bathroom tubs getting scrubbed, mopping floors, spot cleaning carpet and cleaning out the upstairs closets. I’m talking the works. It felt fantastic. We also cleared out the area at the top of the stairs so we can finally put a little seating area there. Stand by for before and after pictures. I also moved Annie to the upstairs bathroom. Such a big girl now with her own bathroom. She gets to sit and look in the mirror to brush her teeth and also blow dry her hair every night. It’s cute and a little bittersweet for me.

Saturday was Dolly's birthday and we treated her to a homemade birthday brunch. Anthony made a spinach and bacon quiche and I made a strawberry/blueberry parfait. Yum yum. Saturday night was the big Bruno theater night. We had dinner at Ibiza... hello food orgasm! We had a slammin' Pinot Noir called St. Innocent and also the most amazing Sea Bass. I ate a goat cheese, sun dried tomato and bacon pizza. The goat cheese went perfectly with my wine! Oh so yummy! Then we headed to the theater...

Pause the story - I need to set this up and give a little background... We were all so pumped about going to a play. Theater night had been planned for three months. Sarah and Matthew drove up from Baton Rouge. We got a babysitter. Coordinating schedules with 12+ people to make this happen... It was a big deal…

Unpause - The play was called The Screwtape Letters. It was the worst play ever (an hour and a half monologue with a very fast British accent). My wooden ear could understand about every third word. Also the play was very deep and dark. Over. My. Head. So here we are coming from this fantastic dinner, and we all sit down and yeah... I look down the aisle and everyone's eyes are glazed over with this expressionless face. LOLOLOLOL. I start laughing (silently) because all I could think about is what is going on in Sarah's head right now. She told us before the play started that she didn’t want to have to think. LOLOLOL umm, wrong play. I mean why the hell didn't we go see Grease?? Light hearted, real good feel good? I’m still laughing about this!

Sunday we hit up the splash pad in Pearland. Annie had a blast! Planned community pools got it going on! Think Blue Bayou for babies!

That about sums up the weekend. Want a little more? Check out my guest post on Milkweed today. High pressure trying to fill Jessica's shoes for a day.

fake and funny

I was listening to Kidd this morning on my commute and they were saying that they couldn't do prank calls anymore because they get fined. And that all the other morning shows that do prank calls and also war of the roses are FAKE! Is this true? Not that it makes a difference to me, and sometimes I wonder if it is fake. But but but I don't always think it’s fake. It really bothers me that they pass off things now as being reality, when it is actually phony! Like the hills. Like roula and ryan's roses. Like real housewives.


My mom shared a funny story with me this morning. It made me laugh mainly because 1) I got a visual of her in my head when I read it and 2) because it further proves that I’m her clone and this would probably happen to me too. Here it is...

"Funny thing happened to me on the way to work. I am listening to a book on CD and I suddenly would notice that I was losing the story line. I keep thinking I was not paying attention. Anyway, when I got to work I noticed it was skipping from tract 5 to 11 to 7 to 13. I email Blake Jr and said I am losing my mind. LOL. He said I must have accidently hit Shuffle!!!!! I am relieved and embarrassed!"

Love you, (Gr)Annie-Boo!

the heart pillow

I made a heart pillow for Anthony a long long time ago when we lived in University View. I made it out of red bandana fabric (I can’t remember what possessed me to buy red bandana fabric) and I completely botched one side when sewing it up. It has been through countless moves in college… it goes missing, then shows back up, found in the linen trunk upstairs, then lived behind our bed for probably 2 years. We rearranged the bedroom a few weeks ago and found the pillow again. Now it’s back on the bed as our only throw pillow.  The pillow is actually quite ugly. I mean, red bandanna fabric...what was I thinking?  But we love it still.  We look at it and laugh. I remember how crazy in love I was with Anthony when I made it for him. I told him it was my heart.

big A little a what begins with A?

I've been thinking of a fun wall art for Annie's big girl room (you know how I love a cluster of pictures on a wall). So here is what has been inspiring me on Etsy. 

When do change the nursery into a big kid room?
White furniture with pink rose knobs.  I'm ready.  Not ready for the big girl bed or the fact that I have a big girl.  But ready to daydream and decorate it in my head.  

Easy Like Sunday Morning

What a great, easy, lazy, fun weekend.

Friday night at Perry’s we really enjoyed our little pod. Then we went to bayou a drink and anthony made a big mistake of teaching Charles and DJ what "planking" was. So of course they decide to plank on random tables and what-not at the bar. (Check out facebook for pictures) The bouncer came over and said "come on guys, no planking". Hahaha. Charles was like "how does everyone know what planking is but me?" Because we are f-ing old! That is why! We aren't cool anymore!

Dolly watched Sloane and Annie while we were at dinner. She rubbed Annie's back and sang to her until she fell asleep. Spoiled much? No wonder Annie begs me to get Dolly to babysit her...Royal treatment from her Auntie.
Side note: Dolly got a new sewing machine for her birthday! And it does embroidery!! Go buy some white bloomers and let her monogram them for you! Don't be surprised if the next time you come to my house you can't find a piece of fabric that doesn't have my initials on it.

Saturday we ventured over to the west pod for a pool party. You should have seen Parker's smile when all of his girlfriends got there. (Parker is the only boy in our group of friends) He knows it and likes it. Mister flirty eyes and big smiles. he knows. he knows.

Anywho that turned into a great little evening at the Garin's that I couldn't partake too much in because I made plans to go out with a co-worker and his wife to Whiskey River. I was looking smokin' good in my cowgirl boots and little black dress. I felt silly leaving the house in the middle of summer in boots. But trust me when I say I fit riiiight in. Drank firefly all night and danced my booty off and woke up with NO hangover. Yeah, you read that correctly. No hangover. That is my new drink. The end.

Sunday was lazy. Sommers hosted a great dinner party to wind down the weekend. I have great friends/family and just a fun life. And felt fresh and ready to start the week.

Friday

I attempted to add a "custom" font to my blog and got way way lost. I tried to follow a tutorial but it was just too many steps, too shady, you need to have someone else host your website, etc. If people really do this, I’m impressed and they deserve a really cute blog. The end.

I can't believe it is already Friday. It is scary how fast time flies. Sari is 2.5 weeks away from her due date. 2.5 weeks..!.! When did this happen? Parker is about to be a year old. Cat had a baby. Summer is over. Evyn is home from camp.. Shall i go on??? I will be planning Annie’s 2nd birthday before long.

Tonight the neighborhood pod is going to Perry's to take advantage of restaurant week. Wine and Steak, hooray! Then I think Annie and I are having a girl’s day Saturday. What should we do? Something fun for sure.

Anyone watching shark week? Or is it just cool to say it out loud, when in reality you have no interest in it? Etsy's handpicked items are all about shark week.  I mean, I want to be into it... but I just can't.   Anyone watching Jersey Shore?? Sadly, I am. And of course I haaaate every second of it. And of course I can’t wait till next week.

it'll do for now

I've settled for now.  I'm still working on perfection.  But getting there...

under construction

I'm revamping my blog background.  I wanted  a new picture of Annie and to just change things up a bit.  Who knows when it will be done. So for now it is plain jane.

Look at Wyatt. Cat called this one "Milk Drunk".  I could eat him!

Life Side Note 1: Anthony is skinny, yall!  I know I have been saying this, and yes I do see him without clothes very often.  But last night it was like I just noticed.  Six pack!  No belly!  Anthony Joseph, who are you?  When did this happen?  What is going on?  It is HOT!  Even more motivation for me to step up my game and get in shape!

Life Side Note 2: This fall is going to be out of control busy!  The craziness will get kicked off with our beach trip Labor Day week and then I swear I'm going to be in Louisiana twice a month until December!  We have a birthday surprise, a shower, a wedding, the swains are visiting, SS beach trip.  Holy Moly... I'm excited!

just cute

Second week on biggest loser and total weight loss so far is 3.56%! I’m working out 4 times a week….this is BIG for me. I HATE working out. like HAAAATE it. So the fact that I’ve even kept it up for 2 weeks is blowing my mind. But I still have to talk myself into it every night. Sort of like when your alarm goes off in the morning and you calculate how many sick days you have left then you come to your senses and get out of bed. I pull the same shenanigans every single night with working out. My big goal this week is to break out of the 160s. I’m 1.5 lbs away from that. Doable, right?

We spent the weekend at home except for a little trip to st arnold’s on Saturday. Delightful and just what we needed. I love lazy weekends at home.

Annie did a really funny thing on Sunday. I was folding her clothes and had folded a little blanket and put it on the couch. She saw it and picked up and laid it on the coffee table. She got a little toy duck and laid it on the blanket and then folded the blanket on top of it. Then she patted the duck and said “night night duck.  shhh”. It was soooo cute! Maternal instincts already… but what was really funny about this was her way of “patting” the duck looked more like she was spanking it. It was pretty forceful… So Anthony looked at me and was like “oh, so that is how you get Annie to take a nap.” Hahahahaha I don’t beat my child into taking naps, I swear!