I Love Rue La La and Gilt

I love to shop and there are a few discount site that have new boutiques every 2-3 days.

The two I love are:

http://www.ruelala.com/

and

http://www.gilt.com/

Here are some of my recent purchases.

A new salon hairdryer

Two Lilly Pulitzer assortments of paper products.

And a large Portmeirion Botanic Garden Bowl which is my everyday china.

It's Game Day at Gigi's Cupcakes

College football gets under way in the South today. I went out to the store today. Our manager was doing some cute cupcakes at our Gigi's Cupcake store in honor of game day so I brought some home.

Front and center...Roll Tide - red velvet cupcake with grey icing with red sprinkles and a chocolate football topper.

To the right...Go Vols - white wedding cake with white icing, orange sugar and a chocolate football topper.

In the back...Go Dawgs - chocolate cake with white icing, black and red sprinkles and a chocolate football topper.

The Cloister - Bingo

The Cloister has a long standing tradition of Bingo. It is held Tuesday and Thursday evenings in the Main House at 9 PM. Boys and men must wear a jacket and girls and ladies must dress up. This year we all dressed up and headed into St. Simons for dinner. We ate at one of my favorites......The Georgia Sea Grill.

After dinner we headed back to the Cloister for Bingo. Bingo is held in one of the ballrooms and you sit at long tables with other families. The man that calls bingo has been there a very long time. Last year my Mom won and split the kitty with E, PE Boy and PE Teenager. No winners this year.

PE Teenager, me, PE Boy and Mr. PE

My mom and I

PE Teenager

PE Boy with his Roy Rogers.

My Dad, Mr. PE, E and Mrs. C -----really concentrating.

Mrs. C and E

At the end of the evening after Bingo is over, the have milk and cookies. We all had a very nice evening.

July 4th at The Cloister - Sea Island

We went to Sea Island, GA for our annual family vacation back during July 4th week. My parents met us from Pennsylvania with one of their friends and my best friend from Memphis and her daughter and husband. As usual, we had a great time. The weather was spectacular. However for what ever reason I did not take alot of pictures and the ones I did take are not particularly good but I will share some anyways!


The July 4th celebration was alot of fun. During the day we were at The Beach Club and they had fun decorations and games. PE Boy won the belly flop contest!







That evening they had a picnic at the Golf Club. PE Boy and E had a great time.











I can't wait to go back next year. Sea Island is one of my favorite places.

Errand Day

Laundry, Laundry, Laundry. While I was relaxing on my 4 day trip to the spa no one bothered to to any laundry. Today is when I begin to catch up. I swear I probably have 12-15 loads to do. Boys are VERY dirty!

I did a few loads this morning and then Mr. PE and I headed out.

We had two things we needed to accomplish today.

1. Look at a car of some kind for PE Teenager. He totalled another car last week. He is back in town going to high school and did just get a job so he will need something to drive. We looked at few used cars today and will drive a few on Monday.

2. Look for a new dishwasher. We went to the appliance store and picked out a new dishwasher. The current one we have has panels t match the cabinets. we were told they did not make any like we had and our panels would not fit the new models. Our double ovens are black so I opted for a black dishwasher. We bought a Kitchen Aid similar to this. Unfortunately it will not be in for about 7 days. I asked the salesman if he was going to supply me with paper plates!

Between errands we had lunch at Bea's Restaurant. It is a Chattanooga institution. It has been in business for 60 years. Mr. PE remembers going there as a boy. It is very Southern. You sit at tables of 10 with complete strangers. There is a lazy susan in the middle and it is served family style. It is $9.99 for basically all you can eat. They have the best fried chicken I have ever had. Today was fried chicken, barbecue, chicken and dumplings, cole slaw, white potatoes, potato salad, pinto beans, pickled beats, fried okra, rolls and cherry cobbler. It is served with pitchers of water and sweet tea on the lazy susan. You can get unsweet tea if you ask...that's what I like.


Tonight we are going out with a few couples to this great restaurant on the back of Lookout Mountain ------Canyon Grill. It is one of my favorites. You bring your own wine or beer and they have the best food. It should be a good time!

Game Day...... and Admissions Event

PE Teenager no longer attends the prep school we had sent him to since 6th grade. He, like many teenagers, had his own plan. However PE Boy is in 5th grade and will be applying to this prep school for 6th grade next year. PE Boy and PE Teenager's father, grandfather, and uncles on both sides went there. I want PE Boy to be part of that legacy.

Tonight we are invited to a tailgate and football game as our first Admissions Event. So it is time to get out the red. Here is what I am going to wear tonight.

Confessions of a PTA President.....A Lilly Pulitzer Fanatic

I am the PTA President of PE Boy's elementary school this year. I decided that my theme for the year is Pink and Green and more specifically Lilly Pulitzer whenever possible. Back in the spring when we had our turnover. I gave all of my new Executive Committee as well as the Board of Directors a Lilly Pulitzer folder. It contained a welcome letter and an phone number, email listing of everyone. It had a label with their name and position on it printed in pink. Pretty cute if I don't say so myself!

So the school year has started and our first event is a New Parent Coffee. I host the Coffee with the Executive Committee and the Principal. I am responsible for the invitations so I printed up Lilly Pulitzer ones.

I just love them. I cant wait to see what the Hospitality Committee does for food and decorations.

Mayflower Inn & Spa

I am back from my spa trip. I went to the Mayflower Inn & Spa in Washington, Connecticut. I had a fantastic time. I'll write more soon.

I really do love shoes

I recently went to Sea Island, GA for vacation. I took these shoes........for a week.

Flip flops for the pool and beach and shoes to go with every outfit. Bonanos, Donald Pliner, Lilly Pulitzer, Tory Burch.................

Busy Week

PE Teenager is home for the week from boarding school. He has successfully completed his junior year of high school! Yea! The visit is going well but we haven't seen a lot of him because he has been visiting with lots of friends. He goes back to Utah on Sunday and Monday he begins his Senior year of high school.

We went last night for dinner at Good Dog, a fun and eclectic hot dog place. I had a BLT Dog (frites sauce (like mayo), bacon lettuce and tomato) and a Pimento Dog (house made pimento cheese, frites sauce and tomato). PE Boy and two Good Dogs (plain hot dogs!). PE Teenage had a Chili Cheese Dog and Mr PE had two Southern Slaw dogs. They have the best french fries. They are brought to you in a paper cone and there are holes in the table to sit them down in.

Today was the first day of school for PE Boy - Fifth Grade, he was excited to see his friends again. Summer is so short. It drives me crazy but he will not brush his hair! He did get the teacher he wanted so we are looking forward to a good year.

Spa trip

When Mother's Day was coming around, Mr. PE asked what I wanted. I said truthfully, for Mother's Day, my birthday and my anniversary I want a trip. What kind of trip he asked. I want to go on a spa trip. "Who do you want to go with ?" My answer: "No one." He seemed quite baffled by this. "Are you sure you don't want to go with some girlfriends? " he asked. "No" I replied. "I want to go by myself. I don't want to talk to anyone. I want to sleep all day if I feel like it. I want to get as many spa treatments as I feel like. I want to eat whatever and whenever I want. I want to read some books on my Kindle. I just want some peace and quiet"

So he agreed and my research began. So I find a list of the Top 9 Destination Spas


1. Copperhood Retreat and Spa: Shandanken, New York
2. Mii Amo: Sedona, Arizona
3. Cal-a-Vie Spa: Vista, California
4. Mayflower Inn & Spa: Washington, Connecticut
5. The Heartland Spa: Gilman, Illinois
6. Deerfield Spa: East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
7. Green Mountain at Fox Run: Ludlow, Vermont
8. Green Valley Spa: St. George, Utah
9. Canyon Ranch: Tuscon, Arizona

I decide I want to go to the Northeast. This would be a reasonable plane trip and will not take too much time. My plan is to take Friday and Monday off of work.

That shrinks the list to:
Copperhead Retreat
Mayflower Inn & Spa
Deerfield Spa
Green Mountain at Fox Run

Green Mountain is too much about exercise and weight loss. Although I really need to lose alot of weight, I have an injured knee and I am looking for relaxation at this point.

Deerfield Spa and Copperhead Retreat are 2 hours from major airports so I decided that was too far to drive.

That leaves Mayflower Inn & Spa. I love the pictures I've seen of the grounds, the spa facilities and the rooms.

Next step: plan the trip

Shoe Shopping

Needless to say.....I am addicted to shoes. I bought another pair of Tory Burch shoes yesterday.

I bought the Coconut Reva Lizard Print. I will wear these alot with all of my chocolate brown clothes.

Taco Mamacita

I had lunch today at one of my favorite's : Taco Mamacita. It is restaurant started here and they have just opened a second location in Nashville. It is a fresh take on Mexican. My favorite is that they use really fresh ingredients. We spilt nachos to begin with. They were awesome. Fresh tomatoes, lettuce, jalapenos, beans, fresh made tortilla chips, a little queso and some shredded cheese. Then I had my absolute favorite: Chicken Tortilla Soup. It is like nothing I have ever had. It is divine and so yummy and fresh.

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP: "You won’t believe how fresh this soup is.
Roasted chicken, diced tomato, freshly sliced avocado, queso fresco, lime and chopped cilantro served hot pot style with a flavorful house-made broth topped with tortilla chips."
Unfortunately I had to come back to work. :)

Shopping and Entertaining

I've done a little shopping lately. Portmeirion Botanic Garden is my every day china. I love it. I was at TJ Maxx and I saw these new cool square plates, I decided to add to my collection and I bought four. I hope to be able to get 12 total. They will be great to use as a salad or dessert plate. I like the looks of them because they are different They are maybe 8 inches by 8 inches.


Not only do I love stationery but I love paper products. I found these napkins at TJ Maxx also. The square ones will look nice the next time I have people over for lunch and the rectangular ones I will use as hand towels in my guest bathroom on the first floor which has chocolate brown floral wall paper.

We also went to a birthday get together not too long ago at one of my friends new home. I was to bring an appetizer. I made Pizza dip which is always a hit. Layer in a baking dish:

• 1 block of cream cheese spread over the bottom of the dish
• a jar of pizza quick sauce
• pepperoni
• a bag of shredded cheese. It can be mozzarella or cheddar.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with triscuits and /or wheat thins. I have never taken this to a party and left with leftovers. The dish is usually scraped empty.