A Magical Birthday...

This post is a little bit late, but I was uploading pictures and remembered that I'd forgotten to remember to post about K-'s Harry Potter themed birthday party. My friends are pretty low maintenance folks, but boy do they know how to throw a birthday party. At K-'s husband's request, B- and C- transformed the Kelley home into Hogwarts and the surrounding areas. 

The floating candles in the Great Hall may have been my favorite!

Butterbeer cupcakes with a golden snitch on top for the birthday girl!

Sorry I didn't get any pictures of everyone in their costumes.

Fondest regards,
The Lady

...it is impossible for a hatless woman to be chic. ~Etiquette. 1959.

First of all, Happy Race Day, y'all! As you know, the Daytona 500 is one of the early signs of Spring here in The South. Aside from that, it's just awesome! On with the blog...

I think all 3 of y'all probably already know this about me, but just in case anything is unclear, I love, Love, LOVE living in the south. Yesterday was absolutely beautiful and the thermometer hit right around 70. Daffodils are beginning to sprout. Spring is imminent, folks! It was the perfect day for Miss D- and I to go take pictures at the Botanical Gardens. D- is a budding photographer who wanted some practice with fashion shots. I love to put on fabulous clothes and feel pretty, so it was basically a match made in heaven.

Photos by Diana Zylow

SO FUN! Then we followed it up with more fun at Lumpkin Cafe because the Botanical Gardens always put me in the mood for chicken salad and tea. Lumpkin Cafe does not boast my favorite chicken salad or tea in town; however, it is the type of place ladies go to discuss Junior League meetings. I pretty much love it.

As if all that wasn't enough, I headed straight from lunch to CB's house to watch the basketball game. The Dawgs were up by 15 when I got there, but they quickly blew that. The other day, CB's friend, Dave, accused me of being a jinx and I was starting to believe him. Turns out I'm not, because the Dawgs pulled out the 69-63 victory over the Vols (you know, those folks from east Tennessee that wear that vulgah shade of orange. Bless their hearts).

Post game we took CB's dog, Boomer, for a walk in the park. It seems that every dog owner in Athens had the same idea because they were everywhere. We had a lovely walk, though, that made me long for spring hikes and summer kayak trips. It's so close!!! If I was a yankee, warm weather would be months away instead of weeks. Just sayin'. I know that we'll have a couple more cold snaps before winter's really over, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel, so...YAY!

As if that wasn't enough, we changed things up a bit last night with a trip to Gwinnett County to see what we could see. Colonel Brandon had his very first trip to a Pro Bass Shop. He did a good job of containing his emotion, but I know he was ready to burst with excitement. Then (as payback, perhaps?) I got my first trip to the Museum Replicas store. As CB is not currently in the market for guns and ammo and I am not currently looking to purchase an authentic replica Jedi cloak, we did not buy anything. We did, however, have a surprisingly delicious dinner at Mimi's Cafe which I had never tried before because it looks kind of sketchy.

All in all, a delightful day. Looking forward to watching The Race this afternoon! And, for those of you wondering when you should start being jealous of me, 9 days to Orlando!!!

Fondest regards,

The Lady

The honeymoon's over...

Things with basketball have been exciting and new this season and I have been blissfully happy.  Sure, there have been a few bumps in the road, but it's been pretty easy to gloss over those by blaming on the refs or the old standby, "They're just a better team. We didn't really expect to win." Last night, however, we really hit a road block in our relationship. I realized that I'm just tired of making excuses for you, basketball. Tennessee at the buzzer? Florida in double overtime? Blowing a 14 point lead with 10 minutes to go against Vandy? The problem isn't so much the losses as the fact that basketball keeps getting my hopes up and letting me down. It's like expecting a little blue box for Christmas and waking up to find a blender.

I know that things like this take time. I don't expect them to give me an NCAA championship after only one season or anything, but come on. I have my pride and this emotional abuse is getting exhausting. I am willing to forgive the losses and continue to work at our relationship, but I need basketball to give me a little something in return. I'm not saying it's over if they don't bring me a road win against Tennessee, but I may have some serious thinking to do.

On a much happier note (pun intended), the WICKED countdown has begun!!! 14 days!!!!!

Fondest regards,
The Lady

Ladies' weekend...

Colonel Brandon ran off to gamble away his paycheck had a weekend with the boys, so I said, "Ha! I can waste money with my friends, too!" And that's just what I did. Unlike CB, however, I did not return to The Classic City empty handed.

Saturday I got to spend the day in Alpharetta with the Leslie Ford to my Anne and the Clairee to my Ouiser, aka S- and C-. We started the day off right, with bahbeque of course, and then we hit the antique stores. I was looking specifically for a new old hat and new old pair of gloves to wear with my new old coat. Along the way, though, we got to try on lots of hats.

In addition to my new old accessories, I scored a couple of major book finds. I love finding old cookbooks/home-maker handbooks and my 1939 edition Modern Cookbook did not disappoint. I have needed a good fried pigs feet recipe for a long time. I also found a copy of Little Women which I am always on the lookout for. It's not dated and I don't think it's as old as my other copies, but it still has some cool illustrations.

Overall, the day goes in the win category. Fabulously leisahly and so fun to hang out with my Atlanta Ladies!!!

Fondest regards,

The Lady

Good Dawg

Something to look forward to...

This weekend I traveled to Columbia for a visit with the parents. The Lady's mother was holding some of my personal effects hostage until I delivered Col. Brandon for a meeting. One such item was a beautiful coat that belonged to my grandmother. Heavy wool. Fur collar. Gorgeous. (Also completely impractical for Georgia weather, but that's neither here nor there).

After trying on this most quintessentially LoL piece of outerwear, I decided that the best thing to do with it would be to have my picture taken. Obvi. When I arrived at work on Monday, I shared my news with my office mate/photographer friend D- and do you know what she said? Bless her heart, she has been praying for the opportunity to have a photo shoot, y'all! God is good even when what you want seems a bit silly.

Long story short, Saturday is girls' day and I'm going hunting for a hat and gloves. Hopefully D- can make me up and take my picture soon! What a fun day to look forward to!!!

Fondest regards,
The Lady