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A few weeks ago, two of my friends-of-the-past got hitched. I have no idea what possessed me to paint them a picture..... but I did just that. And to be honest, I had no idea where I was going with it when I started. But once I pushed past the stage of disdain, I was actually quite happy with the results.

At one point I was annoyed with not knowing what the heck I was doing and just started paint sketching a face in the corner. After this, I was actually ready to trash it and forget the whole thing.

But instead, I added some white roses and pink paint runs. From there the rest flowed pretty natural. Birds. Sequins. Mandalas. Leaves.

And a quote that I have no idea who said.
And I called it "See Through Dreams".

Making me smile.

I had a fabulous weekend! Its been some time since I've had so much fun. Went swimming in the river at 10:00 at night. Built a campfire. Rope swing. Cold water. Friends. Hung out in the garage all night. Grilled burgers at 2 a.m. Slept late and cleaned the next day. Went to the drag strip. Three drag cars in our group. Running low 7s and high 6s (that's really good, btw). Stopped at the Waffle House on the way home. So glad to be back at the track. Got back together for pizza last night. Unfortunately, the night was cut short by a kidney stone that decided to move on me. It must be really small, though. Cause today I'm still smiling from my weekend.

*breathtaking photo from sarkatrager. you gotta check this store out. the photos are so color saturated and beautiful.

Complete and utter irreverence

First things first. I am absolutely blown away by this pic that I stole from Design Sponge. Its from a new ad campaign for arjowiggins paper company? I dunno who they are, but obviously I should. Can you say super confetti disco fairy? Okey. Now that I got that out of the way. I just can't keep my big mouth shut about the death of Michael Jackson. I really hate when the media throws out this whole "a nation in mourning" bull crap. The nation mourns when a plane flies into our buildings, killing thousands of innocent people. The nation mourns when we hear the death toll of our soldiers. The nation mourns when entire area codes get wiped out by hurricanes, floods or fire. The nation should not be mourning because we lost one more famous person.

Come on people. The "King of Pop" died? Hello? He died years ago. The real Michael Jackson has been dead for years. The person who died yesterday was just a ghost of the legend. A bleached and surgically altered ghost with a questionable persona. I am actually holding my tongue right now from what I would like to blurt out, but I can't afford to be sued by people who make my entire years income in an hour. Yes, MJ has made some rockin music. He's also made a mess of his face, held a baby over a balcony, had one too many sleep-overs with children, and made some very creepy statements in his time. So there. Just let it be known that the entire nation is not in mourning. I'm gonna stop right there.

*am I the only one thinking like this? or am I the only one willing to admit to thinking like this? anyone else out there?

Weekly Ring Envy

Gonna do something a little different here on the weekly ring rock-out. Since so many of the rings that I choose to post about bring pictures of other things to my head, I'm going to attempt to show you what those other things are. Starting off with these kick azz Mackenzie rings from the beside. They seem to say "Yes, I'm a sweetheart, but don't eff with me cause I'm also hardcore."

Which is why I paired them with these amazing Paloma shoes by Vince Camuto. (via zappos ) Holy Hotness! "Yes, I am a darling little fashionista in my rockin pumps. But watch those hands, boy, or this heel will be in your gut." Don't you just love sweet-tarts!!

Wrap me up in something shimmering.

Lately, I have been magnetically drawn to soft purples, lilacs and dusty pinks. These are colors that seem to speak to my soul. I say that at the risk of sounding kooky, but it's the honest truth.

Even at their boldest, as in the flower arrangement above, there is still something haunting and soul-stirringly romantic about this color combination.

*top photo by emma tempest via a glamorous little side project.

*amazing ring is by one garnet girl.

*two romantic bottom photos from grey likes weddings.

Hello Monday.

Do you know how hard it is to find a good pair of affordable jeans? Well, its not easy. Plus, I'm quite picky about my jeans. I'm not really a "trendy jean" kinda girl. I like mine with no stretch, straight leg, plenty long, no bling, all five pockets, and a wash that doesn't look like I had a fight with a Clorox bottle. All of my current jeans are worn to shreds. I need new ones in a bad way. I tried tons of jeans on last week to no avail. What is going on? I can't afford to pay $75 and up for a decent pair of denim.

Regardless, I'm starting to feel a little "vanilla" in my wardrobe lately anyway. I used to be quite the fearless dresser. I could rock any look I chose to throw on. Why am I not as brave as before? The picture above reminds me of my former self. I used to rock very similar outfits on the regular. Now, for some stupid reason, I feel like I'm too old, or out of shape, or tired looking. I really need to get back in touch with my former fashionista. I need to get more sleep and work out. I need to find SOME ROCKIN' JEANS!!!!!!!!!!! Any tips, my dolls?

*hottie up top from Lookbook.

Found:

On Etsy, while Pouncing undiscovereds. Moozle Home. Who doesn't want a cool teepee to hang out in?

Happy weekend, all.

Now hear this.

* quote from Creature Comforts.

Last week was hell. I am not even going to go into the details. Its a lot of information, its personal, and its one of those things that you could easily wish you wouldn't have opened your big mouth about later on down the road. Lets just say that life with the Mr. has been trying and that I could have ended up a Ms. instead of my current Mrs. All of which has led to an upset stomach and some emotions that I would rather not be experiencing. So, yes, I am being slack on the blogging.

Good news is this: things are okey right now. I have tons of new pictures to share with you. I just gotta get them to the computer. More complicated than you would think, because we do not have internet connection at home. On another odd note, my mom has another wedding cake to do for this weekend and my dad decided to tear out and remodel the kitchen. He could have done this in January, but instead, he started last week. Nice, huh?

...............

The one thing that has actually made me (literally) smile today. Sorry for being so somber. I have good reasons. Hopefully, this photo will make up for it. via Haute Design

Hope you all have a grand weekend.

The Desperate Housewives of 55'

Got this in an e-mail this morning. I know you can't read it. Please click on it and read it first. I'll wait on you. ................

Done reading? Yeah. Whatcha think about that crap? I'm pretty livid, myself. All I have to say is that its a good thing I wasn't kickin it back in 55. Since when has there ever been a man worthy of this treatment?! Jesus was the last one I heard about. Hasn't been another one since. Does this make anyone else's blood boil? Maybe I'm just in the wrong mood to find this funny.

Immense personal satisfaction, my hind end.

Recipe for success

one packet original carnation instant breakfast mix + silk soy milk + handful frozen strawberries + handful frozen bananas + blender = bliss

Weekly Ring Envy

Feeling very flamboyant at the moment. Feeling like wearing red. Feeling like putting on the heels. Feeling like acting like I own the place. Feeling like the sassy, energetic, not afraid to stand out kind of woman who would rock this ring. Saw it last week. Haven't quit thinking about it. What a masterpiece by meltemsem.

Let's play pretend.

I would love to invite you dolls to a nice little summer afternoon gathering. The sun is shining and there's a sweet breeze blowing. Birds are chirping in the trees. Clouds are floating by. We would hang out on this gorgeous screened in porch. Don't you love the bursts of bright cobalt?

Lunch would be light and full of fresh summer flavor. Mmmm. Roasted chicken, tomatoes and feta. Sweet tea. A nice big salad, maybe?

We could play a little croquet in the yard. You would totally win because I never pay enough attention to the rules.

But at least I would look good losing in this darling outfit. I hope you'll be there. It just wouldn't be the same without you.

*amazing porch from Traditional Home

*food and fun both from Country Living

*super cute outfit from Victoria's Secret (semi-annual sale going on!)

My wish for you.

Hello on a Monday. Its been one of those weekends. No need for details. But this quote always makes me feel a little bit better. Thought someone else out there may need it, too.
*From EZ's amazing quote collection on Creature Comforts.

(click on image for larger view)

* Just a note

For the inquiring minds who want to know.

My mom has made cakes as long as I can remember. It's never been a business, just something she does (and is amazingly talented at). I picked it up from her and have done a few wedding cakes of my own design. Mom used to have an album full of all the cakes she has made. Some idiot "borrowed" it and now its lost forever. We do have some pics I could share, however. They aren't on digital, so I'll have to scan them to the computer. When you make cakes in a small town like ours, word gets around. Mom used to stay covered up in cakes when I was little. She quit doing them for the public, though, when she started getting major headaches from the powdered sugar. So now she does cakes for family and close friends and I take on a wedding cake every now and then. Since I have a full time job, she does the baking for me. We make a pretty good team and, truthfully, have thought about starting a catering business for small events. But it takes money to make money and a catering business is a ton of work. So for now, its just a cake here and there.
Thanks for asking. Have a fabulous weekend.

* the pic is from my beach trip. I know it has nothing to do with cake. :)

The Last Hoorah.

Miss Jo is out of shape. She has been slacking off terribly. Eating whatever the heck she wants. Cleaning house instead of working out. She is tired. She feels old. Her body is a far cry from bangin. Now is the time for Miss Jo to get serious. Now is the time that she is actually considering going gluten free. Now is the time for one last hoorah. And heck, its summer! Summer and cupcakes just go together. And if you're gonna make cupcakes, why not put them in the coolest cupcake liners around? Like these from Etsy.

Have dessert this weekend! I'm planning on it.

1. Country Living 2. Cupcake Social 3. Hey YoYo 4. LayerCake Shop

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Here in the mountains we have these lovely wild roses that grow like crazy. Around here they're called multipleur roses - I guess because they multiply like rabbits. They're really looked at as a nuisance. They tend to take over the pastures and fence-lines. This monstrosity is growing on the bank of my driveway. Huge and covered in sharp barbs, this wild rose smells amazing! Every evening when I pull into my driveway I can smell its sweetness wafting through my car window. Sad to say, but it must be sprayed along with all the others before they take over the house. I wanted to share some pictures of it before it gets whacked (so to speak).

Weekly Ring Envy

Do you have any little repetitive action that you do to calm yourself? I tend to fidget with my earrings when I'm uncomfortable. Or bounce my knee really fast when I'm anxious.

I have seen several of these orbit rings around and been quite intrigued by them. However, this particular design by Maria Gotijoyas is my fave. I love the dark band and how the bright silver spinner just shines against it. I can just imagine wearing this ring and unconsciously spinning it while chatting over dinner. What a sleek little distraction.

* idea

I am a gifting junkie. I love a beautiful gift. I tend to care more about the package than the content (insert crude joke about my taste in men). And so I thought I would share this little idea with you. Have you ever had a wall calendar that you just couldn't bring yourself to throw away? Well, I had one last year with the prettiest floral photography and these neat quotes about simplicity. I can't go framing twelve whole pictures, so I decided to share them with others >>>> as wrapping paper. Of course, it has to be a small gift. But look how nice it turned out. Am I the only one keeping calendars? You got any neat ideas on using them to share?

* the pic could have been brighter, but its been pretty rainy around here lately.

Let them eat cake

A few pictures from Saturday's big hoopla. Enough cake to feed 500 people. It took two vehicles to haul. Thankfully, we didn't have to decorate this one since it was for strawberry shortcake. Just a dusting of powdered sugar before it went out.

Some hand lettering I did for the sugar free cakes and cool whip.

We had shop set up in a back courtyard. The cake was a self serve deal. So we had to keep the table full of cake, cool whip and strawberries. I started out in a cute little pair of heels, but finally had to give in to the sandals. It all went over pretty well. But thank goodness its over. We were there from 5pm till 10pm.