There's a small trilogy of novels floating around.  Maybe you've heard of them?  They're called Fifty Shades of Grey. Everybody and their grandmother (really ladies??)  is talking about this book. I guess the cat's out of the bag.  Ladies love their filthy novels.  Men have the buxom blondes of Playboy.  We have Grey.  I have to say, this book was...interesting.  I am still confused as to whether I liked it or not.  Mainly not.  Ironically,...

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Dress:  Dollar General Shoes:  Collin Stuart for Victoria's Secret via mjrsales.com On her last visit to Austin, my mother and I traveled to the Dollar Store because even though everyone was starving and waiting for us to finish cooking, we just had to have five bottles of bleach for the laundry room.  This is just how we roll around here, all irrational-like.  Anyway, I saw this dress hanging on the rack on my way to...

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South Padre Island, Texas THE GOOD -  Sister hugs.  Or better yet, boyfriend hugs. -  The smell of bacon in the mornings, not to be confused with turkey bacon.  That is an abomination.  Not even worth my fatty arteries.  -  The beautiful way my sister and her husband look at each other even through ten years of loving each other. THE BAD -  Why do plants hate me?  I basically touch them and they die. ...

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I have received several e-mails asking about the necklace I wear in all my pictures.  Okay, maybe there were more along the lines of PLEASE WEAR SOMETHING DIFFERENT, but I know what you meant, don't worry... ;) The necklace I wear is this lovely pendant by James Avery:   Yes.  It is a medic alert pendant.  I have a sulfa allergy, and believe me, with this allergy, you don't know you have it until it's...

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Dress:  Forever 21 Shoes:  Collin Stuart for Victoria's Secret via mjrsales.com It's sister date night!!!  Most people set aside some time during the week to spend time with their lovers, and since mine is in another city, I just eat Twinkies and watch Bridget Jones enacted the date night rule with my lovely sibling.  I wonder if she will pay for my movie.... Link Party: Rae Gun Ramblings  The Pleated Poppy ...

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My sister's dog, Benelli. Top:  Zara Shorts:  Target Shoes:  Zara Recently, when I go to the closet to figure out what to wear, I find myself throwing a fit a la two-year-old when it comes time to wear jeans.  So.  Hot.  Outside.  Naturally, I just put on shorts and stay inside....and wear a sweater inside all buildings.  That's Texas for you.  Freezing inside, boiling outside. Oh and you see that tiny brown sweetie with the...

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This baking adventure started like all the other ones.  I woke up one morning and decided I really had to have strawberry cupcakes, so I went to the store, bought all the ingredients, waited four days until I had almost finished all the fresh strawberries, and then decided it was the absolute perfect time to bake the cupcakes that required a whole package of fresh strawberries.  Thank God I always keep a package of frozen...

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I DIE.   I am off to prepare my zombie survival kit. ...

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 Dress:  Ross Shoes:  C. Stuart for Victoria's Secret via mjrsales.com Belt:  J. Crew- Thrifted This is what I wore this past Sunday on errand day.  I don't know about you ladies, but once a week, I grab my ten canvas bags and hit the streets. I meticulously circle ads, schedule the allotted time per store, and map out my day...and then get hungry halfway through my shopping trip and end up buying everything I need...

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Austin, Texas The Good -  Margaritas...on the rocks...a proper way to end a week....BIG girl style.... -  Having the transmission specialist tell me my transmission was in excellent working order even though my car bucks like a bronco... -  I planted my raised container garden!!!  Grow my pretties!!  I fully plan on purchasing an apron and collecting tomatoes into it a la Belle while I sing, ear drums be damned.... The Bad -  Ear infections...

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Dress:  Target Shoes:  Gifted One of the things I love the most about Texas, that bright shining sun.  I have traveled to places (which will remain nameless) where the sun seems a bit shy...no, not here....the sun is so bold it feels like you're an ant under a magnifying glass...The only logical solution is to wear shorts and dresses and spend as much time as you can either indoors or by a river/pool, so that...

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Okay...so the last time I experimented with a recipe I found on the internet, things did not turn out as well as anticipated.  This time, I am giving this recipe a B+. I offered my brother-in-law some burgers for lunch.  He politely declined saying he was full.  Later, I found out he had not eaten lunch. Black Bean Burger Ingredients: Chipotle Mayo 3 tbsp light mayonnais 1 tbsp canned chipotle in adobo sauce Black Bean...

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I think I am not alone  when I say we have all seen a dress like this: These dresses are a dime a dozen at thrift/vintage stores and while I am a lover of all things cheap and get such a kick from finding amazing things for pennies, puff sleeves do not look well on about 90% of the population...although I have seen some drop dead gorgeous, model-looking ladies WORKING these on the street.  Because...

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On the 20th of this month, almost twenty nineteen years ago, my parents brought home a tiny creature.  I was told that I would be meeting my new baby sister...but the being they unwrapped had huge bulging eyes, spiky thick hair and tiny arms and legs...not at all like the Gerber baby I expected.  A few gray hairs (mine) and some growth spurts later, my baby sister is now a soon-to-be twenty-year-old nineteen-year-old computer science/political...

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