Desperately Seeking Gina

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Well, Bless My Heart?…?

I was reading this post the other day and was reminded of my first few months down here in the land of the South.

When I transferred down here, the store didn’t have my exact position available so I was forced to work up at the service desk…a job I hadn’t done in years- a job I absolutely abhorred. Seriously.  I was so miserable that even customers remarked about my unhappiness {not that I treated them badly}.  It was totally obvious by my lack of start-up-a-conversation-with-a-complete-stranger attitude and plastered-on smile as I tried to make it another day amidst the public.

Oftentimes I’d hear “oh, bless your heart.”  And, being the total clueless Yankee that I was- I thought, “awww well, isn’t that sweet. Maybe it’s not so bad here after all.”

Now that I’ve been promoted {or is it demoted?} to damn Yankee, I’ve seen mention of the “real” meaning of “bless your heart” and let me just say…now I’m one p.o’d Yankee.

According to Urban Dictionary, saying “bless your heart” to someone is basically calling them an idiot. Hrrrmmmpph.

I much prefer Jennifer Youngblood’s{co-author of Confessions of a True Southerner articles} explanation.

1.  Used as an empathetic statement.  A hug, if you will and an expression of “I’m glad it’s you and not me.”
2.  A way to say someones dumb without actually saying it…and to say you love them nonetheless.
3. Used as an expression of sorriness after having said something nasty.

I like to think those “shop all day” and “spend-spend-spend” ladies were just feeling sorry for me, a little ole pitiful cashier. Hmmm….

Opening Up…but Not Too Much

Where, just the day before, there were clouds and closed buds, Sunday brought blue skies and the opening of tightly folded leaves awaiting nourishment from sunshine and impending rain {which still hasn’t arrived}.  It’s amazing how quickly Mother Nature emerges from a long winter sleep.  Spring is upon us.  It’s time to awaken, open up, wipe the sleep from our eyes, and look at the world anew.

I said something pretty lofty to Thom at the beginning of the year.  A statement of fact rather than a resolution.  I remember saying it matter-of-factly and without truly thinking it through.  It’s something I’ve always wanted to do.  Something I’d always proclaimed would be my profession {ahhhhh…3rd grade dreams}.

I’m not brave enough to proclaim it here just  yet.  I haven’t even begun the journey to making the statement come true.  But, it is Spring.  A time for renewal.  A good time to bring dreams to fruition, even if it just to vaguely put it out there.  I’m looking forward to the adventure.

With that out of the way, a recap of the weekend.  It was full of lovely nothingness that I had hoped for.  I’m working on a party project for a friend and I’m playing with velvety mustaches and red, sparkly paper lips pretty much on a regular basis.  We also slipped into town to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in a small way:  Shamrock shakes all around!

What was your most favorite part of the weekend, friends?

Spring in My Heart

It’s Saturday morning and I’ve been sitting at my computer desk {currently the dining room table, which also happens to be my craft table,  mail holder, and home to many other odds & ends} for what seems like hours and hours. Currently it is overcast and sixty nine degrees.  Windows are open. Birds are chirping. Squirrels are yelping.  There’s a faint hum of a motor boat zooming across the lake and the sounds of sawing chainsaws working along down the road. Every now and then I look up from my work {crafting at the moment} and I stare happily at all the green that catches my eye.  Trees are budding tiny green leaves.  They look so hopeful, and fresh, and well rested.

Life has returned to the Cove.

I’m looking forward to a quiet day:  some crafting, a little baking {rosemary foccacia}, a simple dinner {rosemary roasted potatoes, perhaps?}, and later, a late-night movie next to an open window and some freshly popped corn.

I love Saturdays at home.  What do you love about the weekend?

It’s a Blog-Roll Mixer!!

Kelly from Simply Kelly is hosting blog-roll mixer.  It’s a fun way to see what and who your favorite blog-reads are reading!  So, pull up a seat, grab a cold drink, and join in the fun!  Be sure to comment and let me and Kelly know if you’re participating.

Kelly shares these Mixer tips:

  1. Check out some of the blogs in my blogroll.
  2. Share your full blogroll list with your readers in a post.  
  3. In the spirit of finding new blogs, encourage readers not on your list to share their blog link.  
  4. Please be so kind to add my mixer image somewhere in your post and link back to my blog. 
  5. And, totally optional, if you feel inclined to come back and tell me you participated, I’ll do a post at the end of the week of everyone who participated.  {kelly’s doing this one}

{including only a partial list of my 121 blog subscriptions….I know, I know…I REALLY need to purge.}

Lady Arkies

Foodies
Lifestylers
Crafters/Scrappers

whew…there’s SO many more….If I’ve left off anyone-I totally didn’t mean to!!  These are blogs that caught my eye in my reader.  Not on my list?  Share your blog link in the comment section, please!

Look for Less: Pottery Barn Coastal Curiosity Collection

I’ve always loved catalogues.  One of my only memories of early-early childhood is of visits to my grandmother’s home.  For years she kept a battered old copy of the now defunct Witmark catalogue.  It was well worn, loved, and thumbed through each and every visit.  As a small child, I dog-eared many, many pages of that wish book {mostly of the toy section!}.

Even today, I’m a lover of them. A great mail day, for me, is getting multiple Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, The Container Store wish books. I love to save them for browsing right before bed.
What I don’t love?  The prices of all that “stuff.”  I have Pottery Barn dreams on a TJ Maxx budget.  And, there’s nothing wrong with that, in my opinion.  One of my favorite uses of all those wish books is to use them for inspiration.  It’s fun to get the look for less and shopping at off-price retailers like TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and Tuesday Morning gets me more bang for my buck.
I’ve been re-reading {does one read catalogues?} the March 2010 issue of PB for two years.  I love look of the Coastal Curiosity Collection {now unavailable :(}.  By the way…if you’re interested in seeing the photographs that appeared in the Pottery Barn catalogue, you can view the photographer’s work here.
Honestly, I don’t have a need for another set of dishes and I don’t do any entertaining {yet} here in Arkansas but I don’t see the need to deprive myself {hahahaha!} of pretty things either.  So, when I saw these melamine dishes that looked WAY similar to my wish-book dishes, I knew I had to have them.  I chose to buy just two place settings that Thom and I could use on our picnic dinners down at the Cove.  
Plates are from Presidio.  Acrylic tumbler from Merritt.  This look is from TJ Maxx.
Love, love, love these melamine dishes!  Just because there’s only two for dinner doesn’t mean dinnertime can’t be pretty.
Other looks I’m hoping to recreate:
For our deck that overlooks Greer’s Ferry Lake.  How awesome are these hanging lanterns?
For the back entryway.  I’d love to find some old worn-looking, vintage map wall paper.
What wish-books do you love {I could always use more inspiration!}?

Disclosure:  I have not been compensated in any way for this post.  All opinions are my own and this post does not serve any purpose other than sharing my shopping enjoyment.  While I am employed by a popular, well-known off-price retailer, I am not an authorized spokesperson for the company and/or any of it’s vendors.