Legally Blonde's Proceedings

Tennessee Williams said, "America has only three cities:  New York,  San Francisco,  and New Orleans.  Everywhere else is Cleveland."   While I could pick a few other great American cities and throw them in the mix, I share his overall sentiment.  Just like I also share Adrei Codrescu's feelings on New Orleans... "How did you fall in love with New Orleans?  At once, madly.  Looking back, sometimes I think it was predestined".  New Orleans is without a doubt one of my favorite cities in the world.  It is, quite possibly, my favorite city in the United States. I cannot believe it has been 10 years since Katrina hit.  I recall exactly where I was sitting and watching the television for hours as the storm rolled toward that great city.  Of course, like most of us, I was glued to the television watching with horror in the days and weeks that followed.  I didn't get back to the city I love until about 6 months after the stor...

Did you watch Poldark on PBS Masterpiece this summer? If the answer was yes, then good for you!  If the answer was no, then you screwed up.  BIG TIME.  Just what were you doing with your Sunday evenings? Don't worry, there's time to fix this problem.  You too can fall in love with Ross Poldark by watching on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, or buying the DVD.   Even better yet, the BBC has just ponied up big bucks to create 5 more seasons of Poldark.  We will have Ross Poldark in our lives through 2020! I don't want to say too much because I don't want to spoil the series for you, and I don't want to be bossy, but GO WATCH POLDARK!  Ross Poldark seriously gives Fitzwilliam Darcy a run for his money...enough said!

It's funny as I look back over the movies I have seen this summer, it seems likes my viewing of films was very weather related... When I was on vacation early in the summer, Boston was too cold and wet to do much of anything else at night but walk to the theater a couple of blocks from my hotel.  Then once I got back to Texas, it was too hot to do anything but seek refuge in a cool theater or lay under the A/C and watch tv. So here is a round-up of what I've seen this summer with some brief thoughts on each... Aloha Available this week on DVD, Apple TV, etc.  I thought it was ok, but not the usual caliber of film I expect from a Cameron Crowe movie.  I felt like the story was jerky and not fluid, but Hawaii is such a lovely back drop for a movie. Pitch Perfect 2 If you liked the original, you'll like the sequel. Magic Mike XXL One of my favorite authors, Jennifer Weiner, tweeted after seeing it on opening day "Magic Mike XXL is seriously...

I have needed some organization around my kitchen sink for some time now.  I finally found a good solution, and one that is cute too! I bought a very inexpensive cake pedestal at TJ Maxx/Homegoods for $9.99. Originally, I bought several sizes, but settled on this smaller one. I love the frilly edges. It's the perfect size to hold my dish soap, hand soap, a mason jar (which I already owned) to hold dish brushes, and a little decorative limoges style tea pot.

Do you have tall boots that flop over, or won't stand up on the shelf or bottom of your closet?  I had this problem a few years ago, and I went to my go-to place for organization, The Container Store, for a solution.  The solutions I found were kinda pricey though, so I set out to find a cheaper solution to my problem.  I have been using my DIY Boot Shapers for a couple of years, and they work great, so I'm sharing it with you today. It's the perfect time of year to share this secret because...  (1) You need pool noodles for this project, (2) pool noodles become hard to find in fall and winter months, and (3) pool noodles are currently on sale! I have always purchased my noodles at Walmart.  Specifically, the monster noodles.  I think they work best because they are bigger around than the regular pool noodles.  They usually run about $8, which is still reasonable because you get 2 sets of shapers out of each noodle, so $4 per set doesn't sound to...

My Devacurl diffuser was melting after a year + of use.  I wasn't pressured by this, as all of my diffusers have eventually ended up melting, but I started shopping around to see what else was out there, when I ran across this one... It's the  YS Park Large Diffuser .  This Japanese Company came out with this diffuser that actually blocks airflow, so you are only getting heat.  Apparently this diffuser was used all over New York Fashion Week on the models, so t his seems to be a diffuser that's not just for us curly haired people, but one used on all hair types.   What has me the most excited about this product is that it is light weight and small, and will fit on ANY hair dryer.  This will totally lighten up my packing in the future!  I can use the hotel hair dryer, and bring along this diffuser that is essentially like packing a sock!  I'm so excited to lighten my load for my upcoming European trip.  Lighter load = more roo...

I love a great adventure, and I've been actively planning my next one... Yep!  In December I will be heading to England, Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary.  I'm super excited because it will be near Christmas and the christmas markets of Europe will be in full swing.  I've booked my flight, booked my hotels, and I'm actively researching what exactly I need to see in each and every location.   At first I just planned on Prague, Vienna, and Budapest, but when I realized I had to fly through London, I couldn't fly to my favorite place on earth and not stop.  Especially since I figured out that it didn't cost anymore for the flight if I made my layover in London 24 hours of less.  So I will be in London for 23 hours and 55 minutes!  But since I arrive at 7:25 a.m., that will give me plenty of time to drop my bags at the hotel, and spend a whole day seeing my favorite city decked out in it's Christmas decor, and hitting up my favorite spots. ...

I need another purse like I need a hole in the head, but really, I didn't have a small cross body purse, so when I saw these at a cute little shop in downtown McKinney a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't pass it up. I purchased a neutral color to go with more outfits, but the bright colors were super fun too. It's a great bag, there is one zipper on the outside of one side, two zippers on the other side, and of course the main center zippered compartment.  You can remove the long strap and use it as a wristlet too, so it's multi-functional.   The best part is that it was $24 and that included the monogram! I didn't get this larger tote, but I saw it when I was in the store picking up my finished bag and thought it was super cute... The fun little store is called A Number of Things .  Click on their name for their website and you can shop some of their things online.  I think they have lots of fun items and really great prices.  They didn't pa...

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?   While there is some dispute about whether the evil step mother was asking about beauty or a fair complexion, in this post case, we are definitely talking about the latter.  I went to the makeup counter several weeks ago, and you'd have thought a unicorn walked in and sat down in the make-up chair...I got "wow!  you are really the fairest of the fair!  do you plan on getting a tan?". I am super fair, but a weird fair, in that I can actually tan.  I just don't.  And I don't use fake tanning products because I seem to be allergic to them, and even if I could put up with the itching, they stink.   So, I need to get my summer color from somewhere, and that's what this post is all about... here is list of the products I'm using this summer for a little color. {Eye Shadow} I got this Tom Ford Cream and Powder eye shadow earlier this spring, and I LOVE IT.  Apparently lots of people...

So an exciting thing happened the end of last week... A friend at the courthouse said "Hey, do you have any interest in buying another Louis from me?"  She is the same friend who sold me my Louis Vuitton Neverfull, aka: Louis II.  Apparently, she had purchased the Tivoli PM and decided it just wasn't for her, and was offering to sell it to me for a "too good to pass it up price". This was perfect for me.  I had long had my eye on the Speedy.  I LOVE the way the Speedy looks, but there are some practical elements to it that I don't love.  I don't love the handle length on the Speedy (it feels a little too tight to carry on my forearm).  I also don't love the ability to get into it and see what's in your bag.  Now, the Tivoli perfectly solves both of those problems, but the reality is that it costs $600 more than the comparable sized Speedy, and I would NEVER have sucked it up and purchased full price.  But at 80% off of the original price? ...

Sorry!  I've been mostly absent from the blog since getting home from vacation. Strike my blogging absence up to the following: June through early July~ I was teaching two summer school classes in addition to my full time job of being a lawyer, and well, I was meeting myself coming and going. End of June through current day ~ my law partner is on maternity leave until after Labor Day, so double duty on the legal front has me hopping. Enough of my excuses...I realized that my favorite holiday, aka: The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, has come and gone and I didn't mention a word about it.  Now don't for a minute think that means I didn't celebrate the Anniversary.  Of course, I've gone to the store multiple times, and placed more online orders than I'd like to count.  After lots of buying, returning, buying some more, and more returning, I think I came away with some good fall/winter staples. Here's what I got... I got this Halogen long open cardigan...