mr. brightside

it's a sad day at our house this september afternoon. auburn lost their first game after 17 wins. so i am posting some images in hopes of lightening the mood a bit. please don't let it get you down, pb. pleaaassse....

this might make you feel better.

or maybe you need one of these?

or maybe just this.

look on the bright side, you could be wearing this...and have a legitimate reason to be mad.

so with the help of a few of pumps' friends, here are our pleas to get over it.

and from across the world...

creation is calling and saying, "turn that frown...

upside down!"

tomorrow is another day!

now from everybody.....jazz hands!

love ya, mean it.

the pink porch

our best friends from atlanta finally made the trip to rome to see us on saturday. we have been trying to get together with the kids for a weekend all summer. they arrived (after a tense auburn winning game) just in time for drinks on our first saturday evening of september. the kids walked downtown for wings and we rocked on the porch and enjoyed these.

they were beautiful and equally delicious. it was the perfect end of summer/beginning of fall cocktail. the combination of grapefruit and rosemary was just right and the salt and sugar rim was so delicious! sadly, there are no exact measurements but here are the ingredients we used. we have appropriately named it "the pink porch".

we had a wonderful time with our friends and are looking forward to getting together again...soon!

dancing in september

it's finally september which i consider the official start of fall...even though it's still a million degrees. here are some lovely images (via my addiction pinterest boards) that are getting me inspired.

first of all, these clogs. beautiful.

both of these new polish shades. essie masquerade belle and opi a-taupe the space needle.

i'm not a huge fan of plaids but we spotted these in the j.crew catalog earlier this week. i love them with the stripes and these shoes.

i also really like this look.

and this.

such a great statement piece and color for a blouse.

more plaid.

i never get tired of ponchos. so glad they are around again this season.

and for the casa...

and for pb.

have a happy labor day weekend!

full circle

we had our families and friends over last night to celebrate my dad's 70th birthday. it was the first big party we have had in our new home and i will say it was as much fun getting ready as it was hosting it here. pb and i both remarked as we were cleaning up last night...there is something comforting about having our parents and their friends, our sisters, wil and em, and our friends, all in one house for a celebration. we appreciated everyone that came and took part in this special night. we knew when we bought this house, it would be a perfect place for occasions like this. and it's what we like to do.

a few hours before the party started, my dad showed up to hang a swing on our porch. keep in mind that this was supposed to be a surprise party, so coming over to surprise pb and hang a swing was not in our plans for the day. but i am so glad he did. we all took turns sitting on it last night and watching the bats fly around the clocktower. (an intriguing sight.)

i grew up with this swing on our front porch on 4th street. to think about all of the friends that sat on that swing with me. all of the games we played. all the songs we sang. i hope wil and em will get as much out of it as we did. so funny to be grown up and have the same swing again...but on a different porch downtown. there's something comforting about that too.

thanks to everyone for a great evening.

pale and pretty midweek photos

i lovvvvvvve this.

beautiful shoes.

sweet.

another sweet.

true.

this coat.

this baby.

and i've never been here. i want to go.

squeeeeeze.

have a wonderful wednesday!

1 + 1 =1 = 3

this was not my idea. a blog. i will admit that it has been a lot of fun for us so i am thankful to the one that suggested it. but it seems that one blog has now turned into three. each has its own purpose and really can't be combined. this latest blog is job related. this is for the parents of the children i teach and anyone else that is interested in what is going on in our art room on a typical day. since these parents can't come to class with their children, i hope to show them what we are doing and some of the funny antics that make this job what it is for me. you can check it out here.

now, for some mindless weekend stuff...

i am currently on the hunt for this shampoo and conditioner. it is the bumble and bumble knock-off brand. i read a great recommendation on it the other day and would love to try it. walgreens did not have it but kroger or cvs might. if anyone finds it, let me know!

and this is my new favorite drugstore hairspray. great for the heat right now. garnier fructis anti-humidity spray. at walgreens.

this is my favorite salon hairspray. it's really light and smells amazing.

and a little shopping tip: i suggest checking out gap and old navy online pretty regularly right now. it seems like one of them is always offering and extra 30-40% off and you can find some great deals on their sale items. good basics. these are my latest favorite find. they are not a "true denim" material so i can wear them to school.

and here is what we have going on outside today. they are doing pretty well!

happy weekend!

180 days and cupcakes

i had the thought sometime this week...life as i know it, has always centered around the school calendar. i started preschool at age 3. 15 years later i graduated from high school, went to college, started teaching, quit for a while to be home when em was little, then started back when she started preK. even though i was home with em, wil was in school, so my days still revolved around a school schedule.

when i think of a year, i think in terms of the school calendar. when i think of the months in that year, i think in terms of themes...pumpkins, cornucopias, christmas trees, snowflakes, hearts, shamrocks, easter eggs, and mother's day cards. i still think about "back to school" shoes. i've never questioned the fact of a 2 week christmas break, or a spring break, or various holidays in between. i cannot imagine anything different. could i do a year, not on a school schedule??
in the midst of pondering, here are some things we managed to do, make, and enjoy this week.

on monday afternoon, we cleaned out the flower bed in front of our porch. on tuesday afternoon, pb dug 12 holes while i watched.

then we planted 12 azalea bushes. keeping our fingers crossed.

this morning we saw this on honeymoon bakery's facebook page. "like" them here.

we sampled one tonight and i will say it was the best cupcake i have ever had. my favorite cake ever is the cake that kate made for my birthday. blogged about it here. but this wins the cupcake award. the coffee buttercream frosting is to die for. go try one!