Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Bubble Baths

Let me start by saying that I was supposed to exercise after work today. I took a bubble bath instead. It was glorious.

I broke the routine today and I'm okay with that. It was one of those days when a bubble bath outweighed a workout by far. I also vowed to myself to never live in a house without a bath tub ever again. I've done it twice before its just a little luxury that I'm not willing to skimp on.

Now, at 6:55 pm, I will put on my PJ's and relax for the rest of the night. The End.

Caroline

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A New Perfume


I am as girly as it comes. Scents and fragrances have always been a weakness of mine. I am such a "smells" person. I will never buy one scent twice because I feel like there are too many good ones out there & there's just not enough time to experience them all! I know there are plenty of people who have their own "signature fragrance," but...I am not one of them. I like to mix it up a bit. I have three bottles of perfume at any given time. No more, no less. It is my standard number of fragrances so that I can I rotate through them during the week, yet not get too crazy with too many bottles. It's my form of self-control.

Whenever one runs out, I always have a backup in mind. To be even more precise, I have a running list of perfumes that I've either smelled on someone else and fell in love with, or had some ....postive...smelling... experience with. You never knew what a fragrance freak I was, huh?

So, yesterday was a good day because my newest scent arrived in the mail. This one was inspired by my most recent trip to New York City. I sprayed a little dab of Jo Malone on the fragrance card while wandering around Macy's, threw it in my purse, and forgot about it. Well, for the rest of the trip I kept smelling little hints of Nectarine Blossom & Honey everytime I went to pay for something. I guess the fragrance card had rubbed
all over my wallet. Refreshing. I was hooked and added it to the list. I waited patiently for one of my old perfumes to run out & when it finally did- I was off to find my Jo. Little did I realize that Jo Malone was so high-end that I could find it no where in Savannah. At this point, I was willing to sacrifice a little for my beloved new scent.

So, I had a little fun online shopping at the Official Jo Malone website & even got to include 2 samples into my order. It came packaged in a sweet little box with a black ribbon and a card that read:
To: Caroline
From: Yourself
(It's the little things.)
So, what's your favorite scent? I'm always up for suggestions....
Caroline

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Bargain Hunting

Friday night I enjoyed some much needed Caroline Time. It had been a busy week filled with people & St. Patty's festivities, so I just needed a little down time. What better to do than go out and put my coupons to good use. Don't you hate it when a good coupon goes to waste? I do.

First stop, Jo-Ann, (the craft store). I've stooped to new level of old-lady by admitting that Jo Ann is one of my favorite stores. But, they have all my crafting needs! And they take as many coupons as you can give them. One of my new favorite apps is GeoQpons. This app gives you a list of all kinds of stores and you can pull up the virtual coupons for these stores on your phone. Then...you can just show the coupon on your phone screen to the cashier..... instead of the old-fashioned way of cutting paper coupons. Way to get with the times! I've saved many a dollar this way! So, I got my new piece of scrapbook paper for my April plaque, and a new plate stand.

Next, I decided to roam around Bed Bath & Beyond to use one of those standard $5.00 off coupons. You know, the kind that you have stacks of that always expire before you get around to making a Bed Bath & Beyond trip. Well, I went.... I agonized over how to spend $15 in order to get my $5 off, declining multiple offers by the sales people who asked if I would like a basket. I suppose I looked flustered with my arms full of random items. I finally found the best bargain. 1) a glass olive oil bottle/pourer for the kitchen 2) two couch pillows for $9.99! Not baaaadd. One of them was on clearance because of a tiny little tear in the stitching. (Who cares! I say- turn it on it's side so that no one notices).
To add to the excitement, Lindsey came home with some more matching couch pillows today. Our place is finally coming together.....6 months in.

Once again, another successful couponing experience!
Caroline


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Good Talks

This week has been different, busy, and good. It's been filled with lots of those deep talks that are meaningful...solving the world's problems and such. My soul is the happiest when I am connecting with people in a genuine way. I am thankful to have so many people in my life who allow me to share and be myself.

Yesterday was a "good talk" with Grama. I think my love of words and reading and quotes and philosophy probably comes a lot from her. Its in the genes. While we were talking about...life... she read to me a little snippet out of a book she has been reading. It stood out to me. It sums up where I am at the moment, and what I've learned to be true.

And so it goes:

"I think that sometimes the great changes in our lives, the ones that divide time, happen so deep down and silently that we don't even know they occur. I've never been good at sensing them. Only with hindsight can I see that, yes, this was such an event, that was such a time. It frequently happens that the seasons of the greatest change are the times that feel the most tranquil, the most suspended, the most...timeless, I guess."



Something else I've been pondering lately: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8


Love is patient


Love is kind


It does not envy


It does not boast


It is not proud


It does not dishonor others


It is not self-seeking


It is not easily angered


It keeps no record of wrongs


Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth


It always protects


Always trusts


Always hopes


Always perserves


Love never fails.


~Caroline

Monday, March 7, 2011

Winning a Raffle

This was a special weekend for my grandparents. Every year, their church puts on what is called 'The Bazaar' where all kinds of items are sold to raise money for the church. The church ladies get together and do canning (jellies, relishes, and jams) for months before the event. There is a luncheon put on, a white elephant sale, a silent auction....the works. Then there is the famous "Candlelight Dinner" to be raffled off. A real- fancy like black tie affiar. Every year my Grama and Bob (yes..I call my granddad by his name. He is my real grandfather. Don't question it..) buy tickets and put their name in the drawing for this fine affair. Well, this was their lucky year. This year they won the raffle for The Candlelight Dinner.

They got to invite 5 couples to share the night with them. Three of their couple friends were invited, then my mom, dad, sister, & I made up the rest of the lucky guests. They beamed and introduced us to everyone in their path. You would've thought that we were celebrities. What can I say, its nice to be doted upon.

On the menu we had:
Fresh Crab Salad on Endive

Herb & Cheese Stuffed Peppers

Coconut Curry Shrimp with Couscous

Beef Tartar served with Capers, Shallots, Garlic, and Toast Points with a Fresh Green Salad

Orange and Lavendar infused Sorbet

Grilled Red Drum served with Chinese Black Rice, Citrus Supremes and Asparagus finished with a Parsely Cream Sauce

Chocolate Torte with Berries and Whipped Cream

Assorted Domestic and Imported Cheeses


And to top it off, my friend from highschool and prom date for 2 years in a row, Bryn, was our chef! After the delicious 5 course (or more) meal, we got to catch up on the past 10 years of life since highschool. Wow. We're real grown-ups now.

Being in Green Meldrim House with the all the marble and wrought iron and heavy drapery and black- tie attire, Cathlin and I felt like Rose from Titanic, eating with all the stuffy, rich folk. So fancy in fact, that I'm not sure anyone at our table knew which fork to start eating with because we were all just playing the part. Of course we quoted The Unsinkable Molly Brown, 'just start from the outside and work your way in!" (Can you tell I'm a die hard Titanic fan? Saw it in the theaters 4 times, but thats another story). And we quoted the movie...all night long.....

Seeing my grandparents so happy to have a few of their favorite people together in one special place was just the best.

Here's to winning it again next year!
Caroline

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Etsy.com

Have you heard of Etsy? If not, allow me to introduce you to one of my very favorite websites. It's "your place to buy and sell all things handmade." There are actually many other parts of Etsy which I have not mentioned, so... looks like you'll just have to check out the website.

It's where all arsty, crafty, vintage-y people come together to buy and sell their wares. For now, I only fall into the "buying" part of this equation, but maybe one day I will come up with something intriguing enough to sell.

I added a new tab on the bottom of my blog featuring my favorite Etsy shops. (Just like you, Courtney....and I may have also added one of your favorite sites :) I'm sure I will be adding more as I find other sites that suck me in.

Go shop around and support people's hobbies! I do. In fact, I just ordered the most adorable custom name tags from Kiddo Tags. I would show a picture, but they are kind of a gift & I don't want to blow the surprise! For Christmas, my mom and sister got jewelry from my teacher-friend Lila at LTD Designs. Her jewelry is classy & sophisocated....yet trendy...and very versatile. In fact, here is my sister in her turquoise necklace, compliments of LTD Designs...she loves it. I wish I had a picture of my mom in her earrings but I can't seem to find a close up.


ShopEtsy!
Caroline