Renovation

So, we're in the middle of renovating our kitchen. If I had any money or sanity, I would pack up the family, hire a contractor and decorator, and move out of town for three months.

I have no money, and I'm maybe a little bit crazy, so our family is living through Renovation '08- The Kitchen Months. The top photo shows Mr. Fix in the doorway leading to the kitchen. The red room is the dining room. The bottom photo shows the view from the kitchen looking into the dining room. There used to be a stove and dishwasher on that wall.

My general contractor has to live with me (that would be hubby Mr. Fix), my decorator has another full-time job already (I'm the decorator), and the decorator's assistants (Daughters #1 and #2) are more of a pain in the butt than helpful. *sigh* At least I had time to find lighting fixtures this week. It became very clear to me that this is actually happening to me right now, and that I can't postpone what's already in motion. Exciting, liberating, and frustrating all at once!!!

And then Mr. Fix tore down the wall separating the dining room and kitchen. It now looks like this:


The vision for the finished project is all in my head, friends. It includes new stainless appliances, a center island, and many nights entertaining the people who put up with us during the wacko days of renovating.

Lookie What I Got!

Last Friday morning, after a terrific martini-soaked Thursday night with the girls, I detoxed at the YMCA with The Doctah. We decided to treat ourselves to a little retail therapy, too (it was the start of the weekend, after all). We ended up stopping into a new boutique in town, "Gigi's Boutique." I had heard about the place from running friends ( I had no idea that this place even existed, which is strange- usually I can smell great clothes miles and miles away), and their reviews didn't disappoint me. What you see in the photo above is my booty for the day: a cute knit tunic (left) from Free People , and an irridescent jacket with 3/4 sleeves and a bit of swing styling from BB Dakota . There was more, but all good fashionistas know that you can't show your excitement too plainly, especially on the first visit!

So that was my excitement for the start of the weekend, and the rest of the weekend was capped off by the fantasticness of the Chicago Cubs sweeping the South Side White Sox in inter league play. I annoyed the crap out of my entire family by singing, loudly and badly, Steve Goodman's "Go Cubs Go!"

Now that you can't get that song out of your head, go ahead and enjoy the rest of your work week!

Best Book Club Ever

Okay, so a few weeks ago, My Favorite Local Celebrity called me up and asked if wanted to participate in the Best Book Club Ever. Ever since my last Booze/Book Club disbanded, I've been looking for a way to make myself read more books. Usually I can read at least one book while traveling for work (I read four while in Hawaii this winter), but I haven't had anything consistent lately. This club looked like a chain letter, but all you do is send six letters and one book and hopefully you'll get 36 (!!!) books in the mail. That's it. Easy schmeasy.

So I sent out my six letters and one book, and I've already received four books (above). I've started reading the first one I received (Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish)- thanks, Dawn!- and have paged though my second selection (Cupcakes by Susanna Tee- yes, its a cookbook)- thanks, Mom!- and today I received two more: The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant arrived from Cousin Beth, and Invisible Prey by John Sandford came from...see the pic below!


I'm so excited that this is working and I'll have some good reading material (and snack directions!) throughout the summer. The best thing is that these books I'm getting are ones I haven't read yet. I'm thinking that I'll have to host a book exchange for everyone who participated...complete with yummy cupcakes from Mom's book! Sweet!

Women's Weekend

So, this past weekend I went to St. Charles, IL for my 2nd Annual Sisters Weekend. Last year we hung out at Sissy's house in Oswego & did the spa day thing plus a psychic (Yes or no? Do you know what I'm saying?). This year we decided a hotel was worth booking, as it kept us to the "no men, no kids, no pets" rules. Well, most of us kept the men away (cough cough *Abbie* cough).

On the agenda was a late dinner on Friday, followed by a very fun game of Pop 5 (if you don't know this game, try it). Saturday morning we went on the hunt for garage sales (no, I'm not kidding) before heading back to the hotel for... Jorianne, The Coffee Psychic ! This fantastic-ness was followed by a bit of Crate & Barrel shopping, deliciousness at Gino's East, and then 80's music and ice cold pitchers of Blue Moon at St. Charles Bowl . It was even that fun galaxy bowling with the black lights and neon! Sunday we hit up a bit more shopping, then headed our separate ways (in the middle of severe thunder storms, complete with tornado warnings) until next time.

So, I've told many people about the psychic and how excited I was to be seeing her. And many of you have asked me what she said, have I gone to a psychic before?, how does she compare? Well let me tell you. If you go to Jorianne's website, she's dyed her hair platinum blonde since those pics were taken. Anyhoo, she had us shuffle and cut the deck of tarot cards and she poured coffee into our own coffee cups (that we brought with us), added cream, and "read" the coffee as the steam, bubble, and our auras all blended together. It was pretty interesting. What did she tell me?...

Jorianne said I had angels all around me (and for those of you who don't know, angels are not dead people, they have always been angels) and that I was very spiritual and in touch with the spirit world. She saw my kids. She said my husband and I were good for each other- we balance each other out. She is the second (or maybe even the third?) psychic to tell me that I'd be successful in my own business. No idea what the business was, though, or even who I'd go into business with. Hmmm. There's more, but I need to listen to the tape she made of our meeting before I can write about it. I don't want to get the details wrong and have the psychic get pissy with me for messing up her reading. It would probably throw my chakras all out of whack.

Katie and I are all ready to go to the Dunkin' Donuts Marathon in Cape Cod, MA this fall. Strike that- I'm registered. Katie has yet to confirm her registration with me. Ahem.

Alrighty then! Have a great week.

Sex and the City!!!

Have you seen it yet? I have, and OH MY GOODNESS! I loved it, and will see it again with anyone who hasn't seen it yet but wants to. Call me. :o)

So, I knew SOME things were going to happen (yes, I read spoilers. I am the type of person who reads the last few pages of a book "just in case."), others threw me for a loop, but overall I was entertained and loved this movie, or as I like to call it, "The Second Series Finale."

I will not reveal plot points or spoil anything here, but let me ask the ladies (and any men who watched the television show): Have you ever thought about which "girl" you are? I know that during the show's heyday, there were many writings about how every woman can relate to these characters, and that women will identify with one of the characters more than the others. For instance, I think Sister #3 is a Miranda, and not just because of her red hair.

I'm taking it a step further here. I think that the reason the series (and now the movie) is so successful is NOT because women want to see what their alter egos are up to; they watch because they identify with ALL of the women, whether they admit to it or not. Yes, the four main characters are stereotypes, and yes, the majority of women identify strongly with one of those. But in reality, women are too complex to be whittled down to a stereotype (albeit a stereotype in fantastic clothing and *sigh* those shoes!), and so I posit that we are all Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda mixed up together. You can add some Anthony (wedding planner) into my mix, too. And...discuss.

Shall we move on to the man aspect of the show/movie? I always rooted for Big- I think Chris Noth is sexy as all get out. What can I say? Crankypants likes crankypants. What do you think of Steve? I think that he and Miranda's relationship is the most relatable, the most realistic. And Samantha and Smith? Charlotte and Harry?

I will save comments about the FASHION for another post. Here's my plug: GO SEE THIS MOVIE and you'll be able to end your weekend with a smile.