Party, Party, Party....

Dishing about my blog, y'all!

I just popped over to see Nancy at Nancy's Tidbits and she posted about a really fun blog party. I went to check out the scoop over at Serenity Now. The party is called, "Dishing It." Love the name. It's sole purpose is to get -to-know-your-bloggy-neighbor party. What a great idea! There are a few questions that you must answer....

1. How long have you been blogging?

I've had this blog for a little over a year now.

2. Why did you start blogging?

At first it was a way to keep all my family/friends updated. But it gradually turned into a retro 50's blog. And now I have new friends from all over the world. Not my intention but love the outcome.

3. Tell me about your blog title. Why did you choose it?

I'm married to a Southern man (New Orleans) and everyone knows Nawlins loves their pralines. The title is what I'm normally remembered as, Guitars and Pralines. My husband plays guitar so I just put the two things we love most, Guitars and Pralines.

4. What do you blog about?

Mostly retro things and life events. I really love the retro feel of the 1940's-1950's. I'm just a retro housewife that loves her marriage, home, and chatting with her new blogging friends about anything.

5. What is your favorite thing about blogging?

I love to be able to meet new and interesting people. I love being able to chat when my schedule allows me. It doesn't matter if it's 2 pm or 3 am you can always find a new blogging friend or see what your fellow blogging friends have been up to. I love learning about areas that I haven't visited or new ideas regarding decorating or cooking. There's so much out there in blogging land.

6. If you had to choose one famous person to become your blog's next devoted reader, who would you pick?

That's a difficult question. Perhaps it would be Paula Deen. She would be fun to chat with.

Update

Is anyone out there?!! I don't know if y'all have given up on my little retro blog or not but I'm still here. It's been a long time since I had the opportunity to sit down and write a post. I've had good intentions to sit down and catch y'all up but it just seems like my life has been a bit out of control this past couple of months. My whole life has literally changed overnight.

Let me explain what's been happening. A few months ago my husband was contacted by a big law firm based out of San Antonio to work on a few cases. They wanted to use his expertise in the health care field. My husband loved it! What shocks me is that this call came out of left field and he had previously discussed a dream of going to law school. Well, this entire thing just ignited his passion and so after serious consideration and prayer, we decided to go for it.

My husband enrolled into the Princeton Review to help prepare him for the LSAT. The week of the LSAT was insane. We had two state inspections show up on two different accounts and the day prior to the LSAT we were in a car accident (thankfully nobody was hurt). I felt horrible for my hubby as he was under tremendous stress but he still scored really well. Praise God!!!

That was just one of many hurdles yet to come. Next we had to get accepted into law school. My husband researched and found a particular school he wanted to attend. It was a private law school that had an amazing health care law program. The odds were totally against us getting into this private school but again we went for it. We jumped in the car and drove over to the school and my husband met with the dean. He explained why he felt he would make a good candidate for the upcoming 2011 class. The dean showed no emotions/expressions so we had no idea if he was going to give my husband a chance or thought he was insane for trying.

On December 3rd my husband checked the mail and.....HE GOT ACCEPTED!!! Not only did he get accepted but he received a personalized letter from the dean himself.

As if the holiday season isn't busy enough, we've been preparing to move out of state. It will feel so weird not to be living in the Lone Star any longer. We've been calling Texas our home for nearly 6 years. But I'm excited about returning to the deep South. We will be moving to the Magnolia state. For those who don't know the Magnolia state it's Mississippi.

My husband has a lot of roots in Mississippi and Louisiana so we will be pleased to be returning and being around all of our old friends and family once again.

As for Christmas, we'll be spending it home this year. Our very last Christmas in Texas. It's hard to imagine. I've been swamped trying to get all my holiday shopping done. We've been on the road a lot this past month, Dallas, Baton Rouge, San Antonio, etc. I planned on shopping before the big rush but time got away from me and I've had to deal with crowds this year (blah). That's the one thing I don't like about the holidays (crowds). Houston is a the 4th largest city in the United States. The last census reported 7 million but that was nearly 10 years ago. With all the people moving to Texas in the past decade I know we are pushing at least 2 million more in this city alone. That's a lot of holiday traffic, y'all. Makes me crazy. That's one thing I will not miss...not one bit...Houston traffic. I almost prefer L.A. traffic over Houston traffic. Yes, it's that bad.

Today is also my Anniversary. My husband and I are headed out on the town. I found the most beautiful black dress. As every woman knows, it's impossible to own too many black cocktail dresses. We are heading into the city to celebrate at a little German restaurant. Can't wait! I'm proud to say after all these years of marriage bliss I still think my hubby is adorable. I'm proud to be called his wife.

In need of a break

In need of a break

I'm writing this post when I should be working. I have a pile of work that needs to be completed by Thursday afternoon. That's less than 24 hours away!!! My husband and I landed another big account two weeks ago. It took a week for the company to sign the contract and then the contract had to bounce back and forth between legal council (amendments). We are literally drowning at the moment because a huge inspection will be set for the end of October (not much time to prepare). My husband and I have been working on 5 big contracts and I told him no way can we bring on another without leasing out an office and hiring staff. Currently it's working out where we have little to no overhead. He's out in the field servicing the accounts most days and I work out of our home office. It was working out great because I had time to work on the house, run errands, do my shopping, and blog a bit. Now, no such thing as down time. I'm grateful for the work and success God has blessed us with but I need to find a balance. I'm overdue in the pedi/mani department. Perhaps I can slip away for a few hours Friday afternoon.

Day Off

Yesterday I took the day off. Well, sort of. I jumped out of bed and made breakfast for my hubby, then started a load of laundry, went jogging on the greenbelts, came back and worked on my yard (pulled weeds), cleaned off the porch, wiped down the front porch rocking chairs, ran to the grocery store, made dinner, cleaned the fridge, took out the trash, and washed my car. Yep, I'm exhausted today but at least my car will look nice and clean while running errands. Thank goodness for my restful day off.

My Favorite Fall List

Pumpkin Pie Bubble Baths

Carmel Apples

Apple Cinnamon Spice Candles

Favorite Slippers

My favorite OPI fall color "Boris & Natasha"

Cheering on LSU Football Team

What are some of your Fall Favorites?

Coolest Barbie Evah!!!

I came across this Barbie and couldn't wait to show my hubby. I collect retro Barbies and I must have this one. Does anyone remember watching this movie?



I remember spending my summers at my grandparent's house in central California. After spending countless hours swimming in the pool my sister and I would cuddle up on the couch with our Papa and watch The Twilight Zone. One afternoon the movie The Birds came on. It was my first horror flick I ever saw. I was pretty young, my sister and the neighborhood kids were all about 5 years older than me. Everyone had seen The Birds but me. I begged my Papa to see it and told him I was old enough and I wasn't scared. My Papa said alright but he would have to watch it with me.



My Papa loved to play jokes on us and right before one of the attacking scenes he left the room. I was so enthralled with the movie I didn't notice. However, when the shot came of the birds swooping down to attack my Papa threw a wet washcloth and stuck to the side of my face. I nearly jumped out of my skin. To this day I'm terrified of black birds and crows.

What Do You Believe...

This blog has become sort of a online journal for me. It's a way to keep track over the year of events that have played out in our lives. This year has been overwhelming and downright exhausting at times. We've had a lot of things going on but all in all they have been true blessings. My husband started his own consulting business at the beginning of the year. It was something we'd discussed but scary when we actually put it into action. We started with one account and nearly 9 months later I'm pleased to report business is booming. We have clients that we've had to put on hold because we have too much work. That's a good problem to have. I feel extremely blessed considering the state of the economy. We actually have seen our larger competitors shut their doors from lack of business. However, we keep prospering and growing like a weed. My husband just landed another HUGE account. I honestly do not know how he'll be able to take it on. His calendar is bursting at the seams already. I've taken on more and more responsibilities but I think we are going to have to start considering hiring staff soon.


I shared this with a individual who asked me, "do you think this is a good time to hire? You know with the economy and all." To tell you the truth, I wanted to shake that person. I wanted to scream, "stop watching the news and live life!" Oh, I too have seen the news reports on the failing economy but I refuse to be fearful. Not irresponsible but fearful. There is a BIG difference.

Companies are laying people off and establishing hiring freezes due to what the media is reporting. Consumers are not spending money due to what the media is reporting. The Gulf Coast lost millions of dollars in tourism because of what the media is reporting. When did the media have so much power over the way we live our lives? I don't know about you but I put my foot down. I don't go to the media for guidance and provisions. I go to the Almighty God. I'm not going to put my future in the hands of CNN or Fox News. No way! Our nation was founded on faith. If you look back to the Revolutionary War the odds were against us. We were colonies fighting an established country with a large army. But even with the odds stacked up against us George Washington lead us to victory by his faith and perseverance. It's a shame that Americans no longer have the passion we once had. We didn't become a strong nation out of fear so why is everyone all of sudden so scared? Sometimes we have obstacles in life but we can overcome them if we believe we can. I'm not willing to give up because we have a bad economy or place stipulations on what we can achieve.

If you have a desire in your heart and want a better future, a better education, a better career, a better life, etc.. GO AND GET IT!!! Don't allow anyone, especially the media, to convince you otherwise. A lot of people in history have prospered during hard times. The difference is that never quit, believed in themselves, and kept working hard. Your future is what you believe you can do not what the economy allows you. Now excuse me as I step off my soap box and get back to work.

It's Back to School Y'all

I can't believe it's back to school already. On my way home Friday I cut through the back of our neighborhood and found myself smack in the middle of a traffic jam. I was sitting in front of the elementary school vehicles lined the streets and parents holding their children's hands as they made their way to the entrance (open house). We do not have children yet so I was completely caught off guard that black Monday was around the corner. My husband and I refer to it as "Black Monday" because it's horrific trying to commute out of the community to the freeway downtown. Poor hubby, he'll have to get up early in the morning to avoid the rush. Once I got around the group of families pouring into the neighborhood streets I couldn't help but think back to when I was a kid. The first memory that came to mind was when I was about 9 years old. I remember that first day of school vividly. My mom dropped me and my older sister off at school in our family's new Jeep Wagoneer. My sister was listening to the Go's Go's. I jumped from the back seat before my mother could kiss me goodbye. After all, I was 9 years old and didn't need my mom embarrassing me. I wore my jean skirt, purple IZOD shirt, side pony, and a Strawberry Short Cake lunchbox. I grew about 2 inches that summer so I was much taller and felt more mature as I towered over the younger kids. I even convinced my mom to let me wear lip gloss. It was bubblegum flavor. I thought I was too cool for school. What is your first day of school memory?




This was our family car during the 80's. Same color and everything.




I had this exact lunchbox. I carried a lot of PB&J in that little box.


I totally had the Debbie Gibson hair. Sometimes I'd wear it in a side pony.

The only make up a 9 year old girl could get away with. My BFF had the Dr. Pepper one.

I think my sister and I listened to this tape a million times. I knew every beat and lyric by heart.

Summer Countdown

Summer is finally coming to an end. I can't believe how quickly it flew by this year. I heard that school starts next week. We don't have children so I have to rely on the news or hear through the grapevine. In a way I'm sad but on the other hand I'm eager for fall. August has been truly a disgustingly hot month down here in the Bayou City. That's what they call Houston "Bayou City." Texas is pretty much always a warm state but August has about killed me. It's hot when I wake up, it's hot during the day, and it's hot when I try to sleep at night. All this heat makes me sleepy and cranky.

My husband asked me what I would like to do this weekend. I told him I would like to drive down to the coast. It's one of the last weekends of summer and I want to spend it on the beach. At least I can feel the cooler breeze of the Gulf of Mexico. I decided I want to head down to Corpus Christi this weekend. I have a new book that I'm itching to crack open.

What is the one thing you would like to do before the end of summer?

Summer

How are y'all spending your summer?

Mystery Meat

I practically fell out of my chair laughing when I came across this picture because it is very similar to what I saw. It's almost like the artist himself drew this specially for me.

Yesterday I had to run a few errands and it took a bit longer than I thought. I called my husband and told him I was running a tad behind and that dinner would be delayed. All I can say is, OH MY GOODNESS!!! Y'all, I knew something was wrong the minute I opened the door that leads from the garage directly smack into our kitchen. The house was smokey and the kitchen counters were layered with cooking powders and sauces. There stood my husband beaming from ear to ear like a little kid. He had attempted to make dinner.

Now I should be very thankful because I hear a lot of women complain that their husbands don't help enough around the house. However, this was not what I wanted to come home to after a full day on my feet and fighting traffic. It was rather cute how he set the table, silverware completely disorganized, paper napkins from our paper towel rack, and mismatching plastic cups he dug out of the miscellaneous section of my pantry.

I didn't know where to begin so I set my bags on the living room floor because my counters were a complete mess. I smiled and pretended to be happily surprised. Well, I was surprised alright but I couldn't go as to say I was actually happy about what I walked in on. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat and quickly began showing off as though he was filming his own cooking show on the Food Network Channel. At this point I was gritting my teeth as I examined the sorry state of my beloved pots and pans. I didn't know if I should cry, run, or start screaming. Confused by the overwhelming mixed of emotions I stood there in complete silence with a silly grin utterly paralyzed.

Finally, after he explained the mystery meat was teriyaki chicken (his own homemade sauce), I picked up my heirloom silver fork from the charcoaled skillet. Tears were stinging my eyes but I choked them back, "honey, where did you get this fork?" He looked bewildered as to why I was asking such an odd question. He told me he found it in that box I have sitting on the large side table in the dining room. He was referring to my silverware chest that holds all of my antique cutlery on top of our buffet. This fork was part of the collection handed down from my grandmother. I nodded slowly ready to scream my head off but looking at how proud he was over his culenary masterpiece I refrained myself. Instead I told him he had done enough (damage) and asked him to pick out some dinner music while I prepared a salad to go along with dinner.

I scraped the poor pitiful burnt meat (lumps and all) from the skillet. Then tried to fight the rice out of the pot. I slid the serving platter and bowl onto the table. It was a total disaster. Then I looked across the table at my husband eagerly waiting to try his teriyaki chicken. It made me laugh as he wrestled with cutting the first peice. Do you remember Clark Griswold on Christmas Vacation eating that burnt turkey that his sister-in-law made? It was sort of like that. He leaned across the table and asked, "How's yours? It's not too dry is it?" I burst out in laughter and looked at him, "Seriously? Hon, you know how much I love jerky but let's leave that to the professionals." He too giggled and we decided to go out for dinner. Once our waitor delivered our meal I leaned over to my husband and begged him to promise me to stay out of my kitchen when I'm gone.

Surf, Sun, and Fun

Last week my husband and I decided to take a mini retreat and get some down time. We went down to Galveston Island. I don't know why but I've always found the beach relaxing. Just hearing the waves and listening to the seagulls is so calming. It's been so hot lately that it was nice to feel the breeze off of the Gulf of Mexico.

At first I didn't know what to expect considering the oil spill. I've been absolutely heart broken over it. We have dear friends and family back in Louisiana and Mississippi that have told us terrible stories of what they've seen. I'm disgusted and want to cry when I think of all the animals and wetlands that have been destroyed by this negligence. We also saw on the local news that they have found tar balls from the spill washed up on Galveston. At first we weren't going to go but then my husband convinced me that the people in Galveston need our business. It's true, the people and businesses along the Gulf need our support through tourism. We went and had a fabulous time. I had so much fun and the beach was fun. I didn't see any oil. We had a great time.

Last night my husband took me out on a date. We were designating Friday nights as date night but things got busy and it sort of fell through the cracks. The other day I mentioned that I missed not dating anymore. Doing house chores, working on the yards, and work has really been taking up all our free time. I think we finally got into a rut. Have you ever been in a rut? Everyday seems to be the same. It's like that old commercial by Dunking Donuts...."gotta get up and make the donuts." Do you remember that commercial? That's how I've been feeling lately.

Well, yesterday my husband called me and received a huge bonus check from one of his projects. He told me to get ready because when he got home he was taking me out on the town. We ended up at a fantastic Indian restaurant. It was delish. Anyone else love Indian food? The restaurant was so relaxing and had excellent service. The staff had bow ties on and it really reminded me of the 1950's. The manager was so sweet and kept checking on us. He kept asking my husband if he liked the food. My husband has a favorite Indian dish that we haven't been able to find at any of the restaurants in Houston. He asked the manager if they could prepare it and they happily whipped it up for him. My husband was in heaven. Then afterwards took the long way home through the city. I love driving in the city at night. I remember we use to drive through San Francisco at night. It's like an entirely different world than during the day.

We had such a nice time that we are back on the track with our Friday date nights. I wonder what we shall do next weekend. Any ideas for a fun date night?

I forgot what I was going to say....

I've been doing a lot of this lately. Yesterday I walked into the room and completely forgot the reason of why I walked in there. I'll start a task and then my mind just turns off. Is it the heat? Am I tired? I don't know. I feel that I haven't been on the ball. My poor dear husband. He has to keep track of everything for me. I'll ask him, "Where are my keys?" "Have you seen my purse?" "What was it that I needed to pick up at the grocerey store?" He's like my personal assistant. He always has the answer. Sometimes he doesn't even respond but will hand me my keys, purse, or list. He's my rock. I can't imagine how bad it's going to be when I'm an old lady. Poor guy.

Old Couple Driving

This makes me giggle.

Lazy Summer Afternoon

Today was one of those relaxing weekends. I hardly did anything but lay around in the A/C and read a good book. My husband worked a little on organizing the garage. After relocating a year ago we are finally getting to the garage. I did my part last weekend by weeding out my holiday decorations. We've decided we need to clean house. I can't believe everything we've accumulated in the past few years. It's nice feeling to declutter and organize the closets, attic, office, and such. It's been a great time to work in the house because it's been so hot and miserable outdoors. However, I suppose that's just summer in Houston. One day it's nice and the next day it feels like living in an oven wrapped in a wet blanket. It makes me yearn for my native California. I use to enjoy summer when I grew up on the west coast. Now I look forward to fall. Texas is really hot during the summer. We lived nearly 5 years in Austin. I must admit it was hot but not nearly as humid as Houston. I found a great little ice cream shop nearby. It's become our little weekend retreat. We like to reward our hard work by indulging in some frozen heaven. It really helps cool us off. My favorite is strawberry. I like to go out for ice cream instead of keeping it in the house. I think I would be tempted to eat the whole carton during a hot weekend, Ha. How are you spending your summer so far?

My New Specs

Yesterday I picked up my new eye glasses. I normally wear my contacts but my new frames look absolutely fabulous. Very chic! They totally made the outfit and gave me yet another style. I think I'm actually going to start wearing glasses more often. I'm terrible on my frames. I use them only when I watch television at night when I take off my make up and contacts. At night I'm embarrassed to admit I toss them onto my bed stand. I was so hard on the last pair that the screw actually came out. I kept telling myself I was going to run to the office to have them fix them but I never did. Instead I stuck a pin to hold them together. Not fashionable at all! I've worn contacts for nearly 12 years and never leave the house with my glasses on. However, my neglectful behavior finally caught up with me. I was having issues with my left eye. At first I thought I had strained while on the computer too long. After about 3 days I knew it was not strained and something was wrong. I made an appointment at my eye doctor and found out that I had infection in my left eye. Who knows how I got it. I've been traveling a lot int he past couple of weeks. He prescribed some medication (eye drops) and told me not to wear contacts. WHAT!!! I told my husband that I had to buy new glasses. No way could I be seen in the old frames. Besides, I think the prescription had changed since I wore them last. It's my fault for procrastinating. I'm usually on top of everything else but this area of eye care hasn't been a priority. I've gotten so use to popping my contacts in and out that I rarely need to use glasses. Now my back was against the wall and I was forced to buy another set of frames. I'm glad I did because the new glasses are really chic and trendy and looks great with my red hair. I just colored my hair 3 shades of red and I love it! I suppose it all worked itself out in the end.

Happy Independence Day

Hope y'all have a wonderful, relaxing, and safe holiday weekend.

Let's talk BBQ

It's grilling season and the other night my husband grilled the best chicken EVAH! We both love teriyaki chicken but the other afternoon when I was at the grocery store I accidentally grabbed another sauce. Boy, I'm so happy that I made the error because the new sauce was excellent. It's KC Masterpiece Caribbean Jerk. Y'all, it's so good over chicken with grilled pineapple. I made a teriyaki rice as a side and fresh fruit. Thought I'd share. Any good grilling tips for summer? What's your favorite things to grill?

Clothes Make the Man

MY RETRO MAN

Don't you wish men looked like men of the 1950's? They really had style back then. I'm one of those lucky gals who has a husband that wears a suit and tie to work. And I must admit he looks very sharp in his threads. He also loves to wear hats. He looks good in them too. I'm a firm believer that accessories make an entire outfit. You can slip into a dress but when you add the pumps, earrings, bracelets and handbag, now you've got an outfit. Same with men. If you have a hat, cool shoes, watch, or a snazzy necktie, you're instantly cool and the ladies fall weak in the knees.

Recently I've started purchasing monogrammed handkerchiefs for my husband. At first he wasn't that excited and kept forgetting about them. However, I started carrying one in my purse and when he began to sweat (we live in Houston y'all) I'd pull one out and he would blot his face and neck. This really worked well and he began carrying them in his pocket. You wouldn't believe how many compliments he gets on his monogrammed hankie's from women. We also began investing in more hats. He looks very retro sporting his hats and people go crazy for them.




However, my husband's favorite accessory are his neckties. I think all men look classy and handsome in a necktie. I think that's one of the most attractive looks for a man. I recently came across a fabulous blog called TIEPEDIA at www.tiepedia.com This is a fantastic blog full of great ideas, funny stories, and neckties (of course). If you have a minute swing by and introduce yourselves to Matt. He's a great guy.