Boomerang Equals Brilliant

People love to refer to our generation as lazy and entitled. We've all seen the news stories about grown adults moving back into their parents' basements and lounging around all day while their parents worked in order for them to have a (free) meal.

I'm not going to lie. I watched these shows and I scoffed at the socially-awkward-basement-habitating adult children. I would never do that, I thought.

I was wrong. 

Sure, my situation is temporary. But I'm not going to lie- if it weren't for a legally binding, signature inscripted lease in place to start the day after I get home from Europe, I might consider sticking around awhile longer. This place? Is HEAVEN! 

Last week I came home to all my laundry done. And not just done, done by a MOM. Everything is better when moms do it. Can I get a show of hands of all the people out there than can agree that sandwiches just taste better when moms make them?  That's what I thought. My clothes hadn't looked this good in years. And she even ironed some of them. 

My dad is right there with her. He's so excited to have me back that when I walked downstairs Monday night he had voluntarily turned on the Bachelorette. Yes, my dad who reads car magazines and watches wrestling was witnessing the most dramatic rose ceremony ever.

Everyone keeps asking me if living at home is hard. Well let's see... if you consider homemade cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning, or a private pool that isn't a questionable shade of yellow like so many apartment pools seem to be, or a never ending supply of good red wine, hard- then YES... it's miserable.  

However, my mom's phone call just now may have finally solidified my thinking that these boomerang kids are actually the smartest ones among us. I quote: 

"Hey, I just wanted to call and see what your plans are for Saturday afternoon?  I booked us a mani/pedi appointment for 3:00 so I thought we could go to work out with the personal trainer at noon and then grab lunch before heading over there." 

Alex, you may need to start looking for a new roommate because I may never leave!  

Shopping Advice Needed!

My favorite thing about new places is the guilt-free interior design shopping. For some reason I find it very hard to give myself permission to buy new things for my house when I've been living somewhere for awhile and it's completely decorated already. For example, if I have a perfectly functional lamp on an end table, I have a hard time justifying replacing it just because I find something I like better. However, when I'm planning for a new space, all that goes out the window!

I have slowly begun to replace the furniture and other items that were graciously bestowed upon me in college. A perfect example being my parents' couch that they bought the same year I was born:

Not the greatest picture to capture its mauve and baby blue glory, but you get the general idea- it was a beaut. Interestingly enough, most of the photos that have the couch in them also capture my friends (or myself) in a rather "blog-unfriendly" light. Man, if that couch could talk... we would have to put a muzzle on it and swear it to secrecy. I really do wish I could post some of those photos because they are hilarious, but I don't feel like fielding hate calls from friends at this hour.

I kept the best part though. The life-size decorative swordfish pillow that we affectionately named Philipe:

It should be noted that Philipe is no longer a mainstay of my interior design scheme, but rest assured, he is always tucked in a closet close by for surprise appearances at parties or other special events.

So anyways, even though my hand-me-downs have many fun memories associated with them, my goal is to replace the things I've accumulated out of need with things that I've carefully picked out and love.

The great thing about this is that since I'm replacing existing items, I can really take my time to seek out the just the right pieces that fit my taste and budget.

My "hit list" so far:

• Storage piece for kitchen.
• Old chair (to reupholster) to put at a desk.
• Chair for living room.
• New end table for living room.
• New TV for bedroom.

I'm struggling a little bit with the chair and end table. I tend to gravitate towards clean, modern lines and while I'm certainly not blessed with "an eye" for interior design, I know what I like. Which is why I always find myself at the same stores over and over again- Crate & Barrel, West Elm, and CB2. I can only stalk those websites so much before it's apparent that no new merchandise is going to magically appear.  

So... here's where you come in!  Does anyone have any suggestions for similarly merchandised (reasonably priced) stores that I might be missing?  I need some help!

Moose Monday- Only Child

As most childless people can attest to, my dog is pretty much like my child. He is spoiled beyond belief and is loved on and pampered more than a dog probably should be. Especially since he's my only one.

Now, however?

He's one of four.

Since I'm staying with my parents until I get back in August, he's having to share the love and affection with their three dogs. He's usually quite happy to have playmates for a few days, but I think he's hit his limit. I noticed yesterday that he's started following me around wherever I go, looking at me like, "Alright mom, the joke's over- let's go home to our peace and quiet now!"  Poor guy doesn't quite realize that not only do we have another two weeks, he has another three weeks there without me.

Whenever I leave for the weekend and come home, he usually sits next to me on the couch staring at me for a good ten minutes while violently wagging his tail. The last time he did this I was gone for all of 18 hours. I think his entire ass will be wagging after three weeks.

For unconditional love like that, it's no wonder we pamper them and treat them like they are children!

Things I am loving

                          *

1. *Fresh haircuts. Ahhhh... better than therapy. Y'all have heard me brag on my guy many times before, but he is worth every bit of praise I can give him. Only I think I may have freaked him out today- he was talking about getting into real estate investing and I may have told him that if he ever quits cutting hair that I would look him up in the tax rolls and show up at his house with scissors in my hand. I was kidding... in that I'm-halfway-kidding-but-not-really-because-I-really-would-so-don't-test-me way. Don't worry- I'm not boiling any bunnies yet.
2. TripIt. I'll pause for a moment to allow time for you to go to the app store and download TripIt. Done? Good. If you travel a lot, are planning a big trip, love to have a detailed itinerary on-hand, or are just a hot mess like me- you need this! Simply sign up, then email all your trip info (flights, hotel confirmations, car reservations, etc.) to plans@tripit.com and it automatically creates a detailed itinerary with reservation information, contact phone numbers, and pretty much everything short of your booking agent's blood type all in one place accessible via web, iPhone or iPad. Amazing.
3. A fun, new furniture project. (The shower was cancelled and y'all know I can't sit still!) So, I am officially on a mission to find an old chair and refinish/reupholster it into something funky, modern, and fabulous. This is my inspiration chair. I found a contender last weekend, but want to check out a few more places before I commit to anything. Specifically this fabulous little consignment store!
4. The fact (and perfect timing of said fact) that AT&T announced two days ago that they will be cutting the cost of their international data plans in half. (Still ridiculous, but half as ridiculous is a vast improvement!)
5. I can't leave y'all without some music! I've been on a huge cover kick recently. A couple of my favorites as of late:

And a duet of one of my top five songs of all time, Sideways, by Citizen Cope. The original is still my favorite but I adore it so much that I've been loving this version as well:

Moving On

We said 'hasta' to our beloved little townhouse on Sunday. Five hours, three movers, and lots of sweat later, we were left with this:

Kinda sad. 

As I said before, it's the longest I've lived anywhere since I moved out on my own. We had lots of fun memories in this place:

• I'll miss the big kitchen where I made many, many messes and many, many delicious things.
• I'll miss being within walking distance to one of my befri's, Jules (yep, I sure did just use 'befri'). 
• I'll miss my doggie tie out where I could barely open the door, clip moose onto his leash, and stay inside while he went out and did his business. Especially handy while scantily clad and/or during a snow storm.
• I'll miss our dining room dance floor.
• I'll miss that it was within walking distance to Mark's house. And as a result, the frequent random run-ins when he was out running or walking his dog between our houses.
• I'll miss how easily my herbs and plants grew on our balconies making me feel like maybe I did get a touch of my mom's green thumb after all. 

I was getting ready to quickly switch into baby shower planning mode, but our mama-to-be was told it would be best for her to stick close to home for the duration of her pregnancy. We are sad not to be celebrating her and her sweet baby this weekend, however I know we'll have a blast meeting him this fall...

So instead of being disappointed at the cancellation of the party I am choosing to be a glass-half-full kinda girl and will enjoy the week kicking back in my parents' pool with my Parisian travel books!

Confessions & Tidbits

• I accidentally packed my deodorant in a box. As well as my spare that I keep in my gym bag. It's 100+ degrees in Texas today. Yep.
• I am currently at a loss for words over how expensive rugs are. Just as I'm sure you are at a loss for words at my first bullet point! ;)  I just can't wrap my head around why a 8'x10' section of carpet should cost $400. So annoying. If anyone has suggestions for places to look for modern/affordable rugs, I am all ears.
• I finally jumped on the Hunger Games bandwagon and couldn't put it down! I downloaded Catching Fire but plan on saving it and Mockingjay for my loooong flights in August. 
• All my friends have had a blast making fun of me over the last two weeks because I confessed that I thought the rice cereal you feed babies was Rice Krispies. Literally, they have not let me live it down. In my defense, I have never spent any time whatsoever on the infant aisle of the grocery store! So it's a logical assumption, no?
• I'm thinking about taking a pair of croakies with me on my trip. When I think of croakies, the first thing that comes to mind are the Phi Delts from my college days. Yes, they're fratastic and a bit boyish*, but I need all the help I can get- and if that means tethering various articles of importance to my body, then so be it. Just give me a huge camera and a fanny pack and I'll be all set in all my Obnoxious American Glory!  {*Or maybe I just haven't paid much attention- do girls wear croakies ever??}
• After months of quiet observation, I'm going to give Latisse a shot. Only I'm trying a generic version called Careprost that is only $11/bottle! I have very squatty short eyelashes compounded by deep set eyes (as a makeup artist once told me). Let me just tell you how entirely unfair this is since my brother has eyelashes so long that he literally used to complain that they would hit the lenses of sunglasses and get tangled up. Grrr.... Anyways, I'll do some before and afters and let y'all know how it goes.

Alrighty, back to work...

Source: mallorylucille.tumblr.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Sorry- I saw it on Pinterest and it made me laugh...

June in Pictures

Parenting at its finest. Yes, the baby is out of the stroller and therefore out of hand's reach of the alcoholic bevvy but it still made me laugh. Bottle for baby and bottle for mama.

I am a lucky girl to have these two guys as friends. Balke was the Sous Chef at York Street and Jeff is the former Chef de Cuisine of craft here in Dallas. They just opened a restaurant together and have spent the last few months developing the concept which meant nights off to cook for friends! They definitely spoiled us this particular night.

 

 See what I mean? Those mashed potatoes were heaven in my mouth. 

 One for the baby book: Jeff's little boy, Jackson, is apparently already quite the wino.

 So I may have locked myself out of the house at the beginning of the month. I attempted to climb on top of Rachel's rental car in an effort to hoist myself up on the balcony that I thought might be unlocked. Unfortunately, I have the upper body strength of a wet noodle and that was NOT happening. So Rach's hubs came to my rescue... only once he heaved himself up there we found that the doors were, in fact, locked. Oopsies.

 Cool Thursdays at the Arboretum have been officially renamed "Hotter than Hades Thursdays" but we still had fun. Wylie and Caroline left the twins at home to come out and enjoy a Journey cover band.

 Me and the roomie at the Arboretum.

 Nothing like a flight of bubbles to kick off a Friday afternoon. Clint and Whit came in town a couple weeks ago and we celebrated their arrival accordingly.

 Me with my brother and sister-in-law after dinner at Coal Vines in the 'burbs. Which Plano also now has a Twisted Root, a Gingerman, and a Sambuca among others. Who knew that Legacy would turn into such a hotspot?

My dad decided he wanted a bike. So since it was Father's Day we all hopped in the car and accompanied him to Richardson Bike Mart. Now I want a bike as well. With a basket for moose. Too bad it's going to be 106 degrees outside today. 

 Father's Day dinner with my grandparents and Clint & Whit.

My favorite thing to throw away during my massive moving clean-out? The stacks upon stacks of wedding planning stuff. I lived with the ex-fiance before our townhouse and I apparently didn't take the time and/or wasn't ready to let go of this stuff when I moved out of his house. Now? I throw away everything I can get my hands on.

This is what happens when I start packing up my closet to move- I end up putting on various articles of forgotten clothing & accessories that I come across until the point I look like a bag lady. Mexican Dress + new scarf + favorite ski hat = hobo chic? Maybe I shouldn't start that fashion blog quite yet.

Dallas finally got with the times and approved permits for food trucks. These have long been "all the rage" in other cities and I've been itching to try one. We got our chance and stopped by Gandolfo's New York Deli food truck to try their goodies. I wouldn't tell Bossdad where we were going and he kept trying to guess which was quite amusing since he was thinking solely brick and mortar.

Girls Night + Two Bottles of Prosecco = not a fun Saturday morning. We did have a lot of fun leading up to Saturday morning, however.

You know that feeling when you're already smitten with a guy and then he tells you that he saves babies in third world countries as a hobby? No? Me neither. BUT, I can imagine it must feel close to the same as when the leasing agent at my new digs told me they have a farmer's market every Saturday selling local produce steps outside my door.

Hope everyone had a fantastic Fourth!

Nutelleria?

I just found out this...

               Source: sunsurfer.tumblr.com via Kristi on Pinterest

...is somewhere in Italy.

I intend to find it and make an itinerary detour if necessary.