In Honor of Tonight

When B was at Miami University, he sang in their Men's Glee Club. I have come to adore the friends he made in Glee Club (many who live in Chicago) and love when we can get to Oxford for spring or fall concerts. Due to numerous reasons (one being the 10K), we can't get to Oxford tonight for the Spring Concert. We are bummed because the spring concert is always full of the "greatest hits", and quite a few of his friends will be there.

In honor of tonight's concert, I thought I would post a few of my absolute favorite glee club performances off of YouTube. The first is Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (which you would know from the Shrek movie) and the Second is Beibl's Ave Maria. The Ave Maria was sung during communion at our wedding by five of our Glee Club friends- it was one of the most complemented moments of our wedding, and I will forever cherish that they did that for us.

Enjoy!!

My economic stimulus package!

A few new purchases............
A new Land's End Tote with our last name monogramed in script across the front. I got it in the large size to use as a beach bag.

A few outlet purchases today.... A new dress (aqua), pink button down, and sandollar necklace from JCrew, a striped sweater from the Gap ($13!), the pink and green headband from RL, and a gold belt from Banana. The dress is super duper comfy and will be great for casual summer weekends and to wear to and from the beach.




I picked up these Lilly bow ties the other day at TJ Maxx for $19.99!!! B is trying to decide which one (or two) he is going to keep. He looks great in a bow tie, and we have a few weddings he could wear them to this summer. All are pretty sedated for Lilly but also bright and fun! The one that is harder to see is pink with navy anchors. Anybody want to help us decide?? I'll be returning the ones we don't pick this weekend.

It was so nice to have the day off today and shop for awhile. I also got in my last run (3.5 miles) before the race this weekend!! Back to work for the rest of the week....... Are you guys getting this gorgeous weather where you live?? It could be as high as 70 here on Friday!! Wow!

Heirloom Clothes for Children

Yesterday while I was at the outlets, I walked past the Strasburg Children's store. They are having a going out of business sale, so I stopped in to check out the sales. I think it's so sad that they are going out of business because they have the most beautiful, heirloom quality clothes for kids. I wanted to let the moms out there know that the outlets that are going out of business are currently marking things from 30%-75% off. They had fall and Christmas merchandise that was orginally over $150 that was marked down to $20-$30. Gorgeous black velvet dresses and rompers, adorable plaid longalls with pumpkin embroidery for boys, school dresses for girls, etc. Most of their summer dresses were marked at 50% which made a lot of them $40-$70. If you have a few special events coming up or want to buy next year's Easter dress in advance, I would highly recommend visiting or calling one of the outlet locations to see what you can pick up. The smocking on the dresses is impeccable, as is the embroidery. I don't think you can beat the quality anywhere. Our flower girls wore a blue and white check dupioni silk dresses with a blue sash from Strasburg, and they looked so adorable!

If you can't get to an outlet, here are a few outfits from their website that I think are adorable and reasonably priced.

Plaid dress for $65.58

Yellow and white boy's outfit for $49.79 (would look so cute monogrammed)

Little boy's sailor suit for $35.99

Floral bishop dress for $57.78. I had a hard time walking out of the store without this (and I don't even have kids!). It's gorgeous in person!!

White two piece outfit for $34.16. Would look gorgeous for summer pictures on the beach.

Last week in pictures

Decorating Easter Eggs
I haven't done this since I was a little girl. It was SO much fun! Having the plastic tablecloth really helped me feel more confident about cleaning afterwards. Definitely something I'll have fun doing with my own kids someday!





Build-a-Bear and a trip to the Mall
Miss Cutiepie and I got to go to build-a-bear together (I have never done this), and it definitely was a cool experience if viewed through the eyes of a little one. We also shopped a little and found this fantastic hat for her. She looks SO cute in it!!

Springtime baking for Lemon Lovers

I am slightly obsessed with the King Arthur Flour cookbooks. I have made many things from the three I have, and I have yet to be disappointed. Last week Miss Cutiepie and I made two loaves of this bread for her parent's return. It was a great success!! She loved to stir the mixture, and the bread turned out great as it always does. It just tastes like springtime!! You can easily serve it as a dessert or for brunch as a part of a sweet bread basket. It's absolutely wonderful with strawberry or raspberry jam. Enjoy!

Bread
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk or yogurt (I use buttermilk)
1/2 teaspoon lemon oil OR 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Glaze
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup) - It usually takes me 1.5 or 2 lemons
1/3 cup sugar

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar till thoroughly combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix the buttermilk or yogurt and lemon zest, and set aside. Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture. Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the bread from the oven, and poke it all over with a cake tester or long toothpick. Whisk together the glaze ingredients, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and while the cake is hot drizzle it gradually with the glaze, stopping periodically to allow it to soak in. Set the bread aside, and let it cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove it from the pan, and allow it to cool completely before slicing. Yield: 1 loaf.

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Quick beauty question

Have any of you ever used a wax at home hair remover kit? If you have, do they work? Which ones have you tried?

Thank you for your help!!!!

Grrrr....can't find a pic online!

But Meredith Viera is wearing my Lilly Pulitzer coat on the Today Show this a.m.!!! I don't have a pic of it either (it's hanging in my closet now, so maybe I'll snap a pic later). It's a bright kelly green knee length wool coat that is belted at the waist. It's adorable on, and it looks so cute on TV!! She's worn it today for all the outdoor snippets. How cool! If you're home, check it out!

Yea for Lilly making the Today Show this a.m.!!!

What a perfect ending

While I was in MI babysitting, I finished



I can honestly say that this was my favorite of the four. It was such a page turner, and I loved reading about Renesme. Such an interesting plot development. I was incredibly happy with the way she ended the series. It was absolutely perfect!!!! Endings of series are always hard, and I never know if I'm going to walk away still liking the books. Stephanie Meyer did a great job, and I will definitely be excited to re-read these at a later date!

Anyone out there disagree or did you like the ending just as much as I did?

Sunday night dinner

What B and I are having for dinner tonight- I'm so happy!!!

Dear Sweets and Desserts,

I am so glad you are my friend again!! And I'm so glad that God gave someone the most wonderful idea to take the delicious flavors of chocolate and peanut butter and meld them with the luscious texture of ice cream. There really isn't much that is better in the whole wide world!! I promise not to go crazy and I promise to stick with the running and working out, just as long as you never stray too far away again!!

Love, A

Dear God,

Thank you for the strength to make it through Lent. It was difficult, and I almost caved this week three times (there are sweets galore around the house I am staying at). I'm glad I was able to make it through, and I am also glad that the times I was really craving something, instead of complaining about it, I was able to focus on WHY I chose to give up my favorite thing. Really, it did help me to focus on you during this time of reflection and hopefully our relationship is strengthened because of it. Also, thank you for only making Lent 40 days long because I'm not sure I could have done much more!!!!

In Your Holy Name, A

The search for white pants

If you are a size 0, 2, or 4, I'm sure finding white pants isn't a problem (feel free to correct me if I am wrong!), but since I am not one of those sizes, finding white pants is my nemesis!!! Either they are too tight in the wrong places, the pockets show through, there aren't belt loops, they're too see through everywhere, etc. Plus, once I find a pair I like, by the end of the summer, I inevitably spill something on them that just wont come off. I am definitely the body shape that is much smaller in the waist than in the hips and thighs, so if you are built like me...........

I would like to present you with my new perfect fit white pant!!!! The Ann fit pant from Ann Taylor Loft. They are lined so you can't see the pockets, they're appropriate for work, they're just dressy enough but not over the top, and they are a perfect mix of ankle length/capri length. They also have a fantastic deep cuff at the bottom that is a great detail. I tried them on yesterday and bought them on the spot!!!


They're also on sale right now at a great price. I'm thinking about scooping up a black pair as well!!! If you haven't tried them on yet, you really should. I think you will be just as excited as I am!!!