Living and such...

As with all things I like to start...eventually life takes over and I tend to neglect them. 

I haven't been here in a while so I thought I would come take a visit. 

Since buying our new home I have been busy redoing, decorating, and moving furniture around so that the new house would make sense. I guess I can share with you what I have been up to. First off lets start with the living room. 

When we first moved into our little bare bones house, we had a nice clean slate to start with. My mind went crazy about the endless options of decorating! In my mind I had a layout of how the living room would be arranged with the furniture I had available. Here are the before shots:

I had a red couch to work with and really loved the idea of a deep teal color to complement it. I originally wanted the couch along the wall in the picture above- but after some thought I decided against it- placing the television along that wall instead. 

Here are some pics of us working hard on the painting...everyone pitched in, even our dog, Vegas. 

Taping the windows off- my least favorite job. 

Husband takes a little break

...and Vegas working so  hard

And now begins the real fun...moving in. Ha. I was thinking about making up one of those "hidden pictures" games here...I still might...SO MUCH STUFF!!!

CAN YOU FIND THE TYPE WRITER?

CAN YO FIND THE VEGAS?

I don't know what you can find here

So now the finished look...I have a love of quirky, colorful, interesting little groupings of stuff: books, trinkets, photos, etc. I really love the outcome- although to me everything is always a work in progress. 

The red couch. Pretty much everything was found at a thrift store- I love my aviary picture on the wall. 

Morning coffee in the lounge chair

The bowl serves as the place my husband can put his keys and not lose them. 

Great big window- lots if natural light!

Do you think I like color?

Final product...unless??? The wheels are turning!

Thanks for sticking around for a long photo post. More to come with other rooms in the house. Just some fun before and afters for you to enjoy and for me to record my progress!

Victory Victoria's

I love Victoria's Secret!

If you have small boobs, you will know what I am talking about when it comes to Victoria's Secret bras. If you have boobs at all- I guess you will know what I am talking about too. Us small boobied women live lives where cleavage is a dream, back pain is unknown, and size C cups is just a fantasy. I've never had "double boob," (not that I wish for that) or wore a v-neck shirt and felt a breath of scandal. I've never worn a bikini and realized that my bosom looked sultry and saucy and all the lifeguards were checking it out too. I deal with other issues, like how to draw attention to my better features: making my waist look ever so tiny, my eyes: oh so beautiful, my collar bone sexy and boney (is that attractive?). When it comes to my boobs, I try, don't get me wrong. But some battles aren't worth fighting for, or are they?

Small AND Proud

My first visit to Victoria's Secret began with the feeling or doing something very bad. A lingerie store? I was expecting mostly whips, chains, lace, and leather. Of course I was around 15 years old and I'm sure going to buy my first real bra. Come to find out, not as naughty as I thought. The house of scandal turned out to be where me and my 34A tots found a place we would call home. This is where I bought my first real life big girl bra. I loved my Victoria's Secret bra. We went everywhere together: Geometry class, prom and homecoming, dates...and later to college, nightclubs, house parties, and Organic Chemistry (that one i threw in there for my mom). I don't need to mention that I probably have that same bra somewhere in a drawer (not only because they last forever, but also because my trusty chest pals have not grown since, therefore I don't need to venture out for larger sizes) but I already have, so whatever.

Everyone needs a little something extra. 

Many people wonder why women shop so much at Vicky's so I will unveil the mystery. Men, have you ever wanted to buy underwear that came with a build in sock in the front? No-butt women out there: haven't you wanted to just try the padded butt jeans? Who else out there wants bigger calf muscles (or was it just the one guy on MTV's real life?), bigger paychecks, longer eyelashes??? We all want something we don't have. And well, not only do these bras literally make my boobs appear way larger than they actually are, but they are also super comfortable, give me real life cleavage, and like I mentioned before, they last for years and years and years. Forever! Still in great condition. I tried buying a cheap bra that fit pretty comfy, but after washing it three times it was all distorted and pokey and gross.

See what a HUGE difference a good bra makes?

There once was this bra I bought from Victoria's Secret that they marketed as "Your Secret Weapon"  because you could tighten the middle piece to pull the bra cups closer together. This bra gave me so much cleavage that I would lose stuff in it...I wanted to kiss the person who thought of that miracle. I also once had a water bra that weight about 5 lbs- this was great for a while, but then I started to feel guilty for false advertising.


The joy that Victoria's Secret brought to me was priceless- actually it was $49.99 a pop. I will forever be indebted to this great company that has been able to bring my self confidence up (two sizes, actually). I hope I was able to shed some light on this matter to those who don't understand and if you are still in the dark, my advice would be to take a little trip to the nearest mall and venture into the little miracle store we know as: Victoria's Secret.

I bet these girls would have loved the Secret Weapon.

Mission: Massage

HOT STONE HEAVEN?

Every once in a while I like to indulge in a massage. Not often, like three times a year, if that. Lately I have been using Groupon to do the massages and just take a leap of faith that it will be decent.  Now, I am a snob when it comes to anything salon or spa related since this is where I work every single day. Where I work, we are meticulous about customer service. We know who you are before you walk in, where you came from, why you are here, who you will be visiting, how long you will be here, what kind of beverage you prefer, what your allergies are...etc. We are highly professional and since this is the standard that I am only used to, I expect a lot, maybe too much from the beauty industry. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I know one thing: I am analyzing everything when I visit another salon/spa. Everything. I am analyzing the floors when I walk in, the way I am greeted, the posters on the wall, the specials, the cleanliness of stations, the front desk, the way the staff  interact with other guests, and on and on. With that being said, I will now take you on my most recent adventure: Sangita's Spa in Lake Worth.

The only saving grace of Sangita's was how sweet everyone there was. If the staff was rude I would have regretted ever buying that little coupon deal. But I walked in, fifteen minutes early, to three ladies standing around. They weren't open for another fifteen minutes so I guess I startled them. One lady asked me if I was a customer, to which I replied yes. She walked off and said she was going to go get ready for me. In my snob mind I was thinking, "Why aren't you ready for me now?" I would have been ready and waiting, but that's just me. Snob me.

I asked to use a restroom prior to my services, one girls eyes got real big and then asked what seemed to be her mother if the toilet was working. Mom ever so nicely instructed me to go to the Subway two doors down since their toilet didn't work. Should I make noises similar to a buzzer every time I am less than impressed? BUZZ!!! EEERRRRR.

Bad Buzzer

Now I feel half bad writing this review, only because everyone was really very nice. But I could tell this spa was NOT their passion. It was just a place to make a few dollars. It was not busy, so they probably aren't booming by any means. The front desk girl, I found out, was Sangita's daughter, Meisha. Super sweet. She told me to have a seat and that my massage lady was on her way. (ON HER WAY?- BUZZZZ). Meisha proceeded to talk into her computer..."Hi guys, this is Meisha...can you believe it, I just turned 14! Oh, wait...Let me do this again...", "Hey guys, I know I haven't been around lately, I've been really busy-wait...", "Hey....it's me, Meisha...." This was actually really cute. I asked her what she was doing. Turns out Meisha is a singer, who once a year goes to London for training. She has 2 followers on her blog and does covers of pop songs such as Katy Perry and the like. She asked if she could play a few of her songs. I sat back and waited to hear something similar to a bad audition from American Idol, but what I heard was actually spot on "Teenage Dream." She actually had a really great voice. We talked a little bit about her blog and her music until my lady walked in and brought me back to a very bare bones room with light decor. The light was off and there was no music, the only light available was the sliding door being slightly open- which continued to stay open during the entire massage. (Good thing they weren't busy.)  I stripped down to my undies and slipped under the sheets waiting for my relaxing hour of peace.

This is not what it was like. I couldn't breathe. 

I have had a few massages over time so I know when someone is into it and when they aren't. I don't think my lady was into it. I got the feeling that this was a family spa and the kids were kind of expected to help with the business. My girl was sweet but I could tell she did not want to be here rubbing me down. Instead of feeling relaxed, I was flinching every time she rubbed me in an area that had bone (like the top of my foot- which she just kept rubbing and rubbing and rubbing- I started to feel puke come up.) But I grinned and bared it repeating "Beauty is pain, it hurts SOOOO good" over and over in my head. I mean, massages are supposed to hurt a little bit, right? There was really no point during the massage that I was in heaven. I was highly aware of every stroke, press, rub, and squeeze that was happening to my body. Again, super sweet, but sweet doesn't slap the oil on and go to town.

I guess the best part was when she asked me if I minded a "Butt Massage." At first I thought she said "back massage," and I was like, "well, yeah, isn't that included?" But then I realized she said butt. Well, I am here aren't I? And you only live once. Why not, give my butt a good rub down. Go to town, lady. Knock yourself out. She pulled my undies down to the bottom of my tush (which was kinda reminiscent of my toddler days) and just rubbed her heart out. This I suppose was my little slice of heaven. My butt has never been so happy. I'm pretty sure she worked on my bum for a good ten minutes- and I didn't even have to pay anything extra.

Butt Massage? HOT DIGGITY DOG!

Once the massage was over I sat up and quickly got dressed. I usually slowly wake up and stretch my arms and linger for a while, but I really just wanted to leave. Two girls asked me if I would like to buy another massage at the same price as my Groupon coupon, but I declined. This had been a bitter sweet experience, but it was time to move on. I would not be visiting Sangita's ever again, but there was a part of me that was glad I had. Between Meisha's serenade and my first ever real life butt massage, I knew I could take away a little something from this whole visit and that was satisfying enough.

Adventures in Kalea Sitting: Horse Back Riding

Lazy ranch cat at my feet. 

My niece is awesome. She is 7 years old. Every so often I am able to spend some good quality time with her and I love it. Right now my mom has been taking her to horseback riding lessons and I was recently able to tag along. It was such a cool experience being able to see her do this thing that she loves to do. As we drove through the more country/rural area of our hometown, I started to feel at one with nature. It was a feeling that I don't really have time to embrace all too often. We pulled into the horse place (what do you call it? Ranch? Establishment...I dunno) where it was all beautiful land and open skies.  A cute little house greeted us along with several fenced in areas with horses hanging out, a few lazy ranch cats, and Kalea's instructor, Shadow. 

Kalea jumped out of the car and headed over to the stables as if she just owned that place. I watched with pride as my little niece helped get the horse out of the stall, checked it's hooves and prepped the horse for the ride. She is probably about 1/10th the size of the horse, which is really cute to watch as she hoped up on the back of this beautiful animal. I completely took in the experience: watching Kalea go around and around, lifting up her arms to practice balancing, learning how to stop and turn the horse, taking instruction from her trainer and acting like such a big girl! I was such a proud auntie. 

Kalea brushing Misty before the big ride.

On the ride home after the whole experience I couldn't help but daydream about living on a ranch and having no other responsibilities other than caring for horses and riding around open pastures. I was wishing that that could be my life. Living around peace and nature; the thought of it was so soothing. I could understand why there are people out there that give up city life and the hustle and bustle to just move out to the country for quiet and serenity. 

Kalea turning Misty to the right. 

I am so thankful that I was able to share this experience with my mom and niece. Now I have a little happy place that I can go to when life starts to get chaotic. I can only hope that I can tag along some day soon. 

TARGET SHOES: Why I Love/Hate Them

I love Target. It's an upscale Walmart on a upper class American "I don't care that I am paying $2.00 more for paper towels because I can kind of throw my money around" budget. Although when you walk in, the smell of metal and popcorn smacks you in the face (except in the new one my husband informed me just now), after a while all the pretty colors whisk you away into a happy land of Mossimo dresses,  capris, and mix and match bikinis galore! The attire never seems to fit quite right, but we buy it anyhow- hoping that we, ourselves, will look just as cute as the advertisements in magazines showing off multicolored fantacy picnics with the most adorable flatware or some kind of beach scene with beach balls, cocktails with twisty straws and little umbrellas hanging off the sides, and girlfriends walking around having fun. (See pic below.)

 So let me now get to my main event, the all awaited topic: the Target shoe department. When I come across these 5 -6 isles of intrigue and desire my eyes glaze over as if I have become another person not of this world. I know my body reacts to the stimuli of the shoe department: elevated heart rate, increased breathing, adrenal glands in full swing. Should I start with the sandals? Boots? In Florida, Oh, my! Flats? Bedazzled loafers??!!! I steer clear of the high heels- there is no in-between here, it is flat as a pancake or high as a stiletto and I, my friends, am not the walk in pain for fashion kinda gal. Target does have a nice little array of fashion forward shoes with their many color choices, latest trends, and you have to give them props for keeping the whole "rain boots" thing in fashion going on...I haven't brought myself to buy a pair, although the idea has been tickling my interest for some time now.

So are you in the vortex with me yet? My Target shoe vortex? Because this is where I get myself in trouble...I am so drunk on how cute the shoes are, and how affordable they may be, that I tend to overlook several obvious things that lerk over me and go from a lerk to a thorn in my side as soon as I get home from my trip. First of all, as with the clothes, the shoes never seem to fit quite right. Yes, when I try them on (even though they are attached to each other by a flipsy flopsy rubber band type deal) I am convinced they fit perfectly so I don't walk around in them (also due to the flipsy flopsy rubber band, I just don't want to fuss with it all), the moment I am out of the store and slip them babies on, they are scraping my toes, heel, and/or ankle, making my feet unbearably sweaty, and causing me to walk with a Quazimoto limp in order to keep my foot from popping out of them. And yet I was so convinced! Second of all, what I am telling myself is affordable, really isn't all that much worth it. (Please take my money, PLEASE!!!!). I could probably get better quality from a department store, Marshalls, TJ Maxx (yeah yeah, sister companies), especially during sale times...but again I was Target shoe drunk; not thinking clearly.

Third of all I have this really, really, really dumb habit of thinking that I am never going to need to ever return my Target shoes, so as soon as I leave the store I think I unknowingly toss out my receipt and do away with any tags, stickers, or proof of purchase because I am just so in love that I guess I don't want the option of being able to get rid of them. Unfortunately I found that I have about 10 pairs of barely used Target shoes that look really pretty lined up in rainbow color order in my closet.

 What have we learned here today?

1) Target creates an unhealthy drunk-like state that makes us buy stuff (shoes).

2) Nothing fits.

3) We buy it all anyways.

4) You can return stuff without a receipt- but you only get a gift card back for the value that it currently is going for. ($5.35 sucks when you paid $19.99).

I hope someone reading this can relate- otherwise I am yet again on my own. I hope you enjoyed my venture into the love/hate relationship that I have, I am sure there will be more to come.

SILVER ALERTS: The New "I Spy'"

SILVER ALERTS: Originally I had thought it was to keep an eye out for cars that had done something really bad...like a get away car type deal,  so I was always on the keenest lookout for whatever license plate, car make and model, and color of vehicle that flashed on the screen above the road. I was so into it that I looked forward to my drives on I-95. 

I started to kinda make it like the new driving game to pass time, instead of "I spy with my little eye something....black!" it was now, "56Y LMP- Blue BMW." After a few months of playing my new little game with myself, I decided to include my husband in on the fun. One day he asked me what a silver alert actually was so I  told him it was to help find criminals, but he didn't believe me. I guess it turned out that he was right because it really was an alert for old people who get lost. Apparently some of the elderly find a way out of wherever they are and then set out on the open highway. 

I mean, it is a really great thing to have in place and all, but it wasn't as cool as me helping to find a bank robber. When I found out what a silver alert was, it started to make more sense why I see 4-5 of them during my daily commutes to and from work. I live in South Florida. Like, a hop, skip, and a jump away from Palm Beach Island...home to many wealthy old people. I figure we have so many of these alerts because so many billionaire grannies and grandaddies decide to ditch the island and explore the real world...at least that is what I like to imagine. So there you go, folks. Silver Alerts unveiled! Happy hunting!

START A NEW

So I have decided to go forth with this whole blog thing. I know, I know, everyone has a blog. Even my 7 year old niece has a blog about nature, click this WORD. I figured I would show her up and continue with mine. Mine won't really have a typical item I write about. In fact, let me tell you what you are to expect if you so desire to indulge in spending your free time reading what I have to say...

First of all what you will mainly be reading is about things in my head as it spews out of my fingers onto the keys of my little laptop here. Ideas, thoughts, theories, etc. You are welcome to comment, but don't be mean unless you are cold hearted and can do better. I may also write about something I have done, will do, or thought about doing but will probably never do. I could also write about movies, books, songs, photos. Whatever I want because, well, this is my blog.

So, I hope that you will find an interest or two and maybe get a little laughter here and there out of what I have to say. I also hope that you have a really nice day today. Thanks, Tara.

Me and my niece, Kalea. The one with the nature blog.