Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Of course there will be cupcakes

The Colonel celebrated his birthday yesterday in true Brandonly fashion with little pomp or circumstance. In fact, I was prepared (and dressed) for more pomp, so I was actually slightly disappointed that he didn't want to do more. I had planned to take him to Porterhouse Grill for a nice steak dinner, but he'd rather go to Waffle House. After asking, "Really? Are you sure?" approximately 17 times it was finally made clear that he did, indeed, really want Waffle House. Who am I to tell an old man he can't have whatever dinner he wants on his birthday? So we went to WaHo. And I still got steak (of the cheese variety...I'm not sure exactly what cut it was).

Dinner didn't take quite as long as I had planned, so we had time to listen to a bit of the Georgia Baseball game (they beat The Nerds 6-4 in 12 innings!!!) before meeting our friends for aperitifs. It was pretty uneventful except for the part when Matt related a conversation between he and Jason in which it was decided that yours truly is the most redneck in our group of friends. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't kind of proud. I feel like this is a pretty big accomplishment considering that I am one of only two (CB being the other) in that group who doesn't own a gun.

Overall it was a pretty relaxed birthday celebration which fits CB's style; however, his birthday wasn't completely devoid of celebration. You may recall last week that there was mention of whirlyball. This is essentially lacrosse with bumper cars.





The birthday boy. Every time we passed the ball to each other everyone else would stop and say, "aww," and CB and I would both turn red. Some people can be so immature. Then I would try to shoot and miss and they would all stop and say something else.


Of course, there were cupcakes. Chocolate with white chocolate chips and cream cheese frosting with white chocolate shavings. They're not the prettiest cupcakes I've ever made, but they were danggood.


My birthday is next week. I definitely made it a point last night to say, "I'm sorry you didn't want to go to Porterhouse. I like Porterhouse. And Last Resort. And Five and Ten." A girl's got to drop a few hints sometimes.

Fondest regards,
The Lady

Friday, April 22, 2011

Lessons in Babysitting: The dangers of Southahn accents

Every now and then I like to ask The Kid what certain words mean. It helps increase her vocabulary and gets her thinking. I'm a pretty awesome babysitter. Sooo, the other day when she was talking about horses I stopped her to ask what a mare is:

The Kid: Well, it can be two different things.

Me: It can? What are they.

The Kid: It's a female horse and then, you know, like...

Me: That's right, but I don't think it has any other meanings.

The Kid: YES! IT DOES! It's like...like...like the president.

Me: Huh? Do you mean a mayor? In charge of a town?

The Kid: Yes. A mare.

Love that kid. One day I'm totally going to be one of those moms that only tells stories about the adorable things her children do not realizing that nobody else thinks they're funny. And then I won't have anymore friends. At any rate, I thought it was hilarious.

Also, here is a picture of the previously blogged about hat the KT wore. I'm pretty jealous that she got to go to a fancy party and hob-nob with Athens glitteratti in my hat, but I'm glad I could play some small role.

Tonight is CB's much anticipated birthday party extravaganza in which we pack up the cars and head into Atlanta in Friday afternoon rush-hour traffic...on a holiday weekend...because we are crazy. Also because The Classic City doesn't have anywhere to play Whirly-ball. I can't wait!

Fondest regards,
The Lady

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A guest, y'all!

Please don’t stop reading when you hear this, but your most gracious host has actually allowed a guest posting from someone who was raised by… Yankees. If you bear with me, I will try my hardest to convert all my “yous guys” to “Y’alls.” On Sunday, I was fortunate enough to have been invited to Jeannette Rankin Women's Scholarship Fund (http://www.rankinfoundation.org/) Annual High Hat Tea and Silent Auction. A tea party! With hats!

Lovely friends of the Leisurely Lady, I do not even own a hat that does not have a bill and a fine layer of grime covering a random UGA symbol, so I needed the help of a true Southern lady for this party. So with about 15 minutes to spare before the event was to begin, I run over to The Lady’s house and she saved my day, a stunning black hat (equipped with a purple sash and white flowers & plume, which magically and perfectly matched my dress & black shoes) fit to compete for Kentucky Derby honors.

At the event, women from all over our Classic City were decked in their finest and adorning beautiful and large hats. The main floor hosted the silent auction, with about 120 items up for bid. I myself threw down a bid on a session at Pints and Paints for 9 of my closest friends, and I did so for the following reasons;

1.     All proceeds were going to the Jeannette Rankin Women’s Scholarship to support women obtaining higher forms of education, a cause I truly believe in.

2.     I was lucky enough to have been sponsored to attend this event, so I threw down what would have been the cost of the ticket.

3.     It’s painting sessions while you are drinking with your 9 closest friends! I can not even begin to fathom what new colors I could invent given that scenario.

Alas (is that Southern or Shakespearean?), I was outbid, and I ventured into the main auditorium where more guest were mingling. A woman approached me and said that I looked like a lady to know, then proceeded to introduce herself as the new elected mayor of our fair city! I was a little overwhelmed, but she complimented my hat (Sorry, Lady, it’s now mine for the rest of the story), and I tried to keep the awkward, flailing arms to a minimum (I believe it’s a Yankee trait). She would later receive the “Atta Girl Award” for being a women of distinction in our community, and the silent auction item of having a lunch with her was one of the largest selling items, but don’t y’all (see, I did it) forget who’s hat she complimented first!

And continuing about this hat of mine, there were hidden judges in the crowd, handing out invitations if they liked your hat to be part of the High Hat Parade, and I actually got one! When the program began they requested that everyone who received a card come forward to start the march. Previously I had spied another young lady with a card and I told her that we should go up together. I was very candid that my intention would be that my hat was large enough that I would be able to block her from the judges’ view. She simply giggled at me. Well, then my competitive spirit was awakened and I was ready to walk my hat for all that it was worth, and readers this hat has made it through a Project Runway Party or two, so it’s solid gold in my book! We line up and start our parade, and she has the audacity to skip. It was virtually impossible to divert attention away from her. Of course, when the judges’ decisions had been made, she received honorable mention in the junior hat category. She was 9 and had made her hot pink hat that day at the numerous children’s tables at the event. Some girls have all the luck!

I shook it off because the live action was up next and the prizes were doozies. A week stay at a 12 person cabin, a week stay at a 9 person beach house, a super insane spa day package, and what I would like to refer to as, “Better Things to do with Gardening Equipment than Garden.”



What you are seeing is a wheelbarrow full of over $450 worth of imbibe-ments. If it looks blurry, that would be because my tears at the sight of such beauty were almost too much to steady my little phone still. Hanging from the sides were even gifts certificates for Terrapin Tours and Trapeze Gift cards. I tipped my hat, and gave that auctioneer a look of determination that said, “that barrow of fun” would be mine. The bidding started at $50, my hand went up. Then $100, I was right there again. Then $200… now wait a minute, what happened to the $50 increments? Before I could make sense of the transition that wheelbarrow went for $700! Wonderful for both the Jeannette Rankin Foundation and for PBR, the beverage of settling that I will carry on with until next year’s event.

The event concluded with slideshows, lectures, and accolades to the women of JRF. It was exciting to see what the women of my community were doing for low income women in this country, and in the namesake of Jeannette Rankin, the first women in the US Congress. It made me feel empowered to have not worn any pantyhose, but please don’t tell The Lady! One of the scholarship recipients was flown in from California to be a guest speaker. When she had applied for the JRF scholarship she entitled her essay, “It’s My Turn Now,” the same she would use for her college admissions essay to Spellman University. She had worked hard to put her own to daughters through college, the first of their family, as a single mother, and now she is getting a higher degree so that she could help others. She was breath-taking, and in an adorable white pill box hat no less. A surprise was bestowed upon her at the end of the event, in which a request was made of the party-goers to make a donation so that a scholarship could be made in the name of the woman, again who was herself a past and present scholarship winner! Well, I did not get all dressed up for nothing and maybe the spirit of The Lady lingers in our hat, but I marched myself right up there too. Plus, I’m that kinda girl that just has to spend some money when I go places. They raised enough to fund a scholarship in less than 10 minutes. I will always be amazed by the generosity of women who possess as much gumption as fresh flowers in their hats.

I will say this for the event, I did not see any tea, but I found the cash bar and a renewed sense of sisterhood, starting with a very last minute phone call simply to borrow a hat from a friend.

On the fondest behalf of The Lady,

KT

Thursday, April 14, 2011

"Pork is a nice, sweet meat." ~Babe.

Upon viewing this commercial last night:


the following conversation ensued:

Me: For the love of all that is good and tasty in this world, why don't we ever eat at Denny's?!?
Colonel Brandon: Athens doesn't have a Denny's.
Me: (doing my finest Kramer impression) Denny? Deeeeennnnnyyyyyyy!!!

Then, as I cried real tears, CB comforted me with the promise that he will make me a maple bacon sundae anytime I want one.

Okay, that last part may have been a dream, but the rest was true.

Fondest regards,
The Lady

Monday, April 4, 2011

My Top 10 (+1) Favorite Things About Spring

This afternoon, Diana invited me to go out to the Botanical Gardens and keep her company while she took some pitchers. She's a budding photographer, y'all. Get it? "budding!" Anyway, I am always excited to go to the Bot Gardens, especially in the spring! It's my favorite place in The Classic City. It's just lovely, really. Ahem, sooooo, I grabbed my camera too and met her down there. The result? Lot's of pictures and my favorite things about Spring!

1. Camellias. They are so Southahn, y'all and I want a garden chock full of 'em when I am an LoL. I missed them at their peak this year, which made me sad. C'est la vie though, as they say. Glad there were a few pretty ones left to photograph today.



2. Daffodils! They're like the robin of flowers except way less scary (no pointy beak or sharp talons). They just have a way of appearing overnight and suddenly making you forget how sad and cold you've been since football ended. 


3. Tulips. They just come up in so many cool colors!




4. Early roses. Isn't it cute? It's like it couldn't wait for June either!!!


5. Dogwoods. They're as pretty as Bradford Pears, almost as ubiquitous, but they don't stank and make me sneeze.


6. Irises. These ones are a little early, too. They're so pretty, though! They can be in my garden with all the Camelias.


7. Bluebells. For some reason they make me want to live in the mountains and be barefoot and play a dulcimer or something.


8. Chinese Wisteria. Look, I know it's an invasive plant. I know you really shouldn't keep it in your yard. But it's soooooo pretty.


9. Azaleas. They bloom practically forever, they're so bright, and they're pretty tough to kill. It's basically like God said, "Here Daynes, I'm going to make a plant for you."



10. Hydrangeas. Last, but not least. Again, they're a bit early. Again, I was soooo excited to see them. They're pretty much my favorite shrub ever. My dream Lady of Leisah garden has them everywhere!


11. This guy (and the rest of his team). I know it's a "Top 10" list, but I would be remiss to leave out the Braves. I love, Love, LOVE Baseball, y'all.


The other thing I was really excited to see today? This:


Can you see that little bud? It means Summer is coming and we're that much closer to this!


Fondest regards,
The Lady
Nevs on that last post, y'all! I picked up the sofa Saturday morning only to find that it was in much worse shape than my memory was remembering.


I think I could've cut a piece of plywood to replace the springs in the bottom, but it just seemed a little too overwhelming. CB graciously offered the use of his tools and garage, but I had visions of broken table saws and a sofa in his garage for months before I could find a round tuit. Not to mention an unhappy boyfriend. No, no, I think this is for the best. My dreams of painting it a glossy white and reupholstering it in a lovely, springy sage will have to be realized at another time on another couch. On the upside, I discovered just how amazing Craig's List is. I posted this bad boy and had four people within hours that wanted it, including...THE CAP MAN! I came this close to meeting a Classic City Celeb! Unfortunately, he just wasn't fast enough.

While my sofa restoring dreams may have to wait, I am determined to start other projects and become a DIY maven. I'll keep you posted...eventually.

Fondest regards,
The Lady

P.S. I got to pie someone in the face last night. It wasn't a very lady-like thing to do, but it was really fun. I totally recommend it if you ever get the chance! The watching my back part, however...

Friday, April 1, 2011

Just say no...

Gentle friends, will one of you please smack some sense into me? A friend of mine introduced me to this blog and I think I'm in love. Seriously, I want to be best friends with these people. Unfortunately, this new inspiration has launched my DIY kick to a whole new level for which I believe myself to be wholly slightly unprepared. After the crooked picture wall/lampshade recovering project from two weeks ago, I've decided I'm ready to tackle a slightly larger project. I mean, the lampshade looks great, so I'm practically an upholstery pro, right? Right. That's why, when I friend of mine offered me a free victorian style couch that needs to be stripped, repainted, and reupholstered, I said, "Of course!" I mean I can't think of any reasons (aside from no money, no room at my apartment, and NO skills whatsoever) that I shouldn't be able to take on this challenge. I think I may have to test the limits of friendship by asking some folks to use their space. At least it will make for some comical blogging. I realize this is a bad idea, but here goes...

Fondest regards,
The Lady