A Jumbled Mess...

I could pretend that I had a cohesive, well thought out post ready for you.  But you all know me... and that I'm more "whatever pops into my mind" than that.  :-)  I save eloquent for the other blog!

So, sit tight!  I'm hauling out the bullet points!

• Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the comments and support after my post last week about my grandma!  I love you all so much for not skipping one of the harder posts I've had to write.  Grandma is now settled into a very nice nursing home.  Alzheimers/dementia is a nasty bi-atch and while it was a difficult decision to make, it was the one best for her safety and overall health.
• I'm gearing up for a craft fair during Thanksgiving weekend.  Wish me luck!  Anyone interested in a coupon code for my Etsy shop?!
• I'm making Meadow and Paisley tu-tus for round two of our Christmas card photos.  Stay tuned...I have money on them being hysterical.
• For the first time in years, I'm not excited about Thanksgiving.  Someone find my holiday spirit - STAT!
• Breaking Dawn Part II comes out Friday (as if you've been living under a rock!) and I'm so excited that some of my favorite ladies and I are going to see it opening night.  We need a girls night!

So...what's going on with you?!

A Dose of Random...

Sorry that my post lacks direction today.  I have lots of little things that would be a waste to post on their own.  Bring on the bullet points!

• Friday night a had an amazing girls night with some of my favorite ladies.  We did a little shopping (if you follow me on Twitter, you saw the adorable sparkly pink headband I picked up at Charming Charlie), had dinner at Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar & Grill", and saw Hunger Games!
• For our viewing pleasure, we saw Hunger Games via Lux level.  The comfy seats, drinks and prime viewing spots are worth the ticket price. 
• And... because there are five of us that went, I ended up being the girl NOT sitting next to one of her besties.  Which is totally fine!  What I hadn't anticipated is having to sit next to a guy who proceeded to drink FOUR beers and then beer belch at me through the movie.  *gag*  And that says nothing of the running commentary he had going.
• You may notice the April book poll in the top left corner.  Please vote!  The poll will be open through April 1, and the book will be announced on April 2nd.
• A huge THANK YOU to those of you who gave book suggestions.  They'll be showing up on the long list rotation soon.  :-) Please keep the book titles coming!
• Quick reminder to please link up your posts about our March book - Disengaged on Friday.
• I planted my peach tree!  I love it already.  I bet it doesn't bloom for a few years, but that's OK.  I do think she needs a name.  Any suggestions?
• The lovely Andrea and I will have a little something fun to share with you all soon. We're both really excited about it!
• The second annual flip flop swap is coming soon!  It's a great way to celebrate the warm weather and find a new bloggy friend.  :-)

Hunger Games

Who has tickets for the opening night of Hunger Games?  This girl! And four of her awesome friends - OF COURSE!!

I'll be there wearing "Stone Cold" from China Glaze's "Colors from the Capital" collection.  :-) Have any of you bought these nail polishes yet?

Is anyone else as excited as me for Hunger Games to come out?

Random Thoughts...

It has been such a fun weekend.  :-)  Between the fan-freaking-tabulous linky party that Mrs. Monologues and Fabulous But Evil threw on Friday to today's moviefest...I'm a happy girl.

Don't mind me, but I'm hauling out the bullet points!

• I think that Blogger is going to disown me if I follow any more blogs.  I blame the aforementioned linky party!  It's a good problem to have, and give a huge "hiiiii girls" to all my new followers.
• I'm almost 100% sure that I'll be opening an Etsy shop to get my knitting and quilting projects out there for peeps to purchase.  Anybody have any good name ideas?!?!
• Saturday was girl's night.  Seafood, drinks, music, drinks, oceanside, drinks.  Did I mention drinks?!?!  Really, we had sooo much fun.  I wish we all got to see each other more often.
• Which brings me to two questions. Or maybe two series of questions.  1 - When did plaid make such a comeback?  Half the people on the dancefloor (ie. the men) were wearing plaid.  Did I miss the memo?  2 - Why did one of these plaid clad men feel the need to stand with his back to where my friend was sitting (ie. his butt next to her head) and fart?  Multiple times!!  Does he not have manners? Does he not realize that the friend he passed gas next to is the one who would freak out at him?  (She didn't..but it came close!)
• One of my besties announced on Friday that she and her hubby are having a GIRL!!!!  This is babe number two for their family, and I'm so thrilled for them!
• I spent most of Sunday on the couch watching movies with my pups.  After a late night, spending a rainy day on the couch was fabulous!
• The itch to get a new tattoo is coming on.  And I think I know what I want to get... a line drawing of Picasso's dachshund, Lump.

How was your weekend?

Review Of The Wine Expo

Today I went to the Boston Wine Expo.  What a fun time!  Wine, snacks, wine, girl time, wine, little freebies.  Did I mention WINE?!?!

There were some tried and true wines that I tasted - even though I knew I loved them.  Hello, Barefoot Wine!! I did get exposed to their Moscato Spumonte this time.  Darn, I love those little bubbles!

Then there were some newbies that I'll have to start looking for...

There was Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling.  It runs about $10-$12 a bottle and had a nice mellow fruity taste to it.  I really got a strong taste of pears to it.

Magner's Irish Cider, which came in traditional apple, and then in pear.  Both were yummy, though surprising (at least to me) to find at a wine expo.  A six pack will run you about $10.

Then Schmitt Sohne put out a new Riesling called Funf.  It's light, a bit sweet (though a dry version is out as well) and only runs at $7 a bottle.

Also, of note was Steen Chenin Blanc.  It's a South African wine that was a little green in color and tastes pineapple and citrus-y.  I apologize for not having a pricepoint on this one.

Another new experience for me was ice wine. This one was by Inniskillin, and essentially tasted like a slightly stronger apple cider.  Tasty...but not worth the $95 price tag.

Do you have any wines that I should try too?

Momma Went to NYC - A Note From Beckett

Hi!  Beckett here.  Momma went to NYC last weekend and because I'm feeling attention deprived, she says I can tell you about it for her.

Momma's friend is getting married today, so she and her friends (aka other puppy & little human mommies) left last Friday for a bachelorette weekend.  I freaked out when she packed.  What?!  She should know she isn't allowed to leave me!!  So momma left Friday morning and had to stop to take her inhaler before she even got to cousin Kirstren's house.  Bad asthma!

The girls stopped for breakfast and a little shopping - where some of them bought matching shoes (Note from Cole: Seriously.  Buy one, get two free from the Bass Outlet!!  How cool is that?!?!), and arrived in Manhattan in the early afternoon.  Night one was dinner at a jazz club.  They had the small restaurant side of the club all to themselves and got absolutely spoiled by the bartender and two waiters.  These lovely men bought the table of nine ladies two rounds of shots and gifted the bride with some foil art.  In the shape of...um, male genetalia.  The guys get an "A" for their craft skills! (Cole: It's amazing what you can do with an apple, tin foil, hard boiled eggs and a paper towel roll *snicker*)  The rest of the girls went out to a few bars after that, but momma had to go back to the hotel and take care of her asthma.

Saturday morning the girls all wandered down to have breakfast in the diner next to the hotel.  (Cole: BTW, fantastic location!  Across the street from the Hell's Kitchen PD, two blocks from the Hudson River, and over all a great neighborhood.)  At that point, I made Grammy text momma that I was pouting and on a hunger strike...  In the afternoon, the girls got on a Circle Line boat and made the trip around the Statue of Liberty.  Such glorious weather.  Too bad momma came home burnt!

Saturday night the girls got all dressed up and brought the bride out for a "surprise".  Momma says that they went to Lucky Cheng's, and that I'm too little a boy for her to tell me what they do there.  But she linked it up for you, just in case you've never heard of them before.  I hear the bride was quite surprised!  Again, the other girls when out to other bars afterwards, but momma's asthma is persistant and she had to cab it back to the hotel.  Like a good momma, she waited up for all the girls to come home - and read a good book while she waited.

Sunday morning most of the girls had to sleep off their good time.  That gave momma, Kirstren and Heather a chance to get up and moving early.  They had breakfast and went to the Met to see the new Picasso exhibit.  (Cole: It sounds cheesy, but the Met was the highlight of the trip for me.  Very low-key; time with other people who really enjoy art; and it felt like "bonus" time that we weren't going to have.)  Then I made Grammy call and order momma to come home.  OK, fine.  I didn't yell at her.  But it was time for the girls to come home!  Despite having a huge-ass SUV (momma's words!), the 5 girls and their luggage barely crammed themselves in for the ride home. 

And to think, Meadow, Carmella and I didn't even get presents from momma when she got home.  What NERVE!

Barks & Kisses,
Beckett

Musical Monday - Hallelujah

Happy Monday!  It's a short work week; YAY!

This weekend was pretty busy.  Saturday morning and early afternoon I went and test drove cars for JC.  I ended up putting a deposit on one and now just need to help him get all the loan paperwork together.  I'm most impressed with the fact that I was able to talk the manager down in his price a little.  Go me!

Saturday night was a field trip to see New Moon and eat at PF Changs with the girls.  We had a blast!  A full review will be coming on Wednesday.  :-)

Most of Sunday was cleaning.  It's been a stressful few weeks and I've neglected some of the cleaning; it was time to catch up.  With the exception of a little laundry (which never seems to end, btw) I'm all set.  The rest of Sunday was some Christmas shopping.  I'm still on a mission to finish my Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving.

This week's song is Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah.  Great song.  They used it last week on DWTS and my favorite use of the song was on West Wing. 

New Moon (The Twilight Saga)

I have a confession to make.

I've been sucked in by all things Twilight. The books? Read all four in under 3 days (total; not 3 day a piece). Twilight the movie? Saw it 3 times in the theater. Then pre-ordered it on DVD as soon as it was an option.

The next movie in the saga comes on on November 20th....and my crew has had a count down going for MONTHS! We already have the tickets pre-ordered and in our hot little hands. Yep, we're fanatics - but organized. So organized that we decided to not only go to the movies, but to go "de lux". Yep, the 21+ theater with comfy couches and adult beverages for us whilst ogling Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Peter Facinelli.

We rock. At least, we think so! :-)

So, have you been sucked in too? And, are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

SHARE!!!!

An Award Winning Day....

Seriously! The fabulous Kathie @ My Net Finds gave me an award! She's a sweetheart, and one of my favorite newly discovered blogs. :-)

I have been graced with "The Blog de Ouro" or Golden Blog award. YAY!!

No real rules with this one...I just have to pass it along to 8 bloggers, and to claim it, the recipients also have to pass it onto 8 bloggers. Easy enough, right?!

I tag:

Jane @ Moonflowers, Mojitos and Me

Sara @ This Beautiful Thing

April @ April Showers

JLC @ French Kiss

Kirstren @ Lady Kirstren

Kaitlin @ Life of A Busy Wife

Jill @ Jill's Believe It or Not

Justine @ Tiney's Froggy Bloggy

Go forth and share the love, ladies!!

Is it weird that I'm sooo excited to go out tomorrow night with the girls for dinner and then Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince?!?! What can I say? Dinner movies and a short day at work tomorrow will make me happy. :-)

Remember to enter my giveaway! It's ending soon.

Social Science... Or a Night With The Girls

Last night was a girls' night. Oh, how I love them; I don't think I've laughed that hard in a LONG time!! We went to a hibachi restaurant, and then wandered into their bar/lounge. There aren't any long stories... so I'm bullet- pointing the night.

• When you walk into the restaurant and are greeted with "are you here for speed dating?" - it's almost guaranteed to be a interesting night.
• Hibachi is soooo fun! What a show! It was my first time at a hibachi restaurant, and I definitely want to go back.
• Following the onion volcano...please make sure you have your eyebrows. :-)
• Hurray for my ability to use chopsticks. No fork for me, thanks! (I know, I know... not a particularly marketable skill; but a skill nonetheless.)
• Definitely let the group accountant play with the food bill!
• Singing "Happy Birthday" is definitely made better with a gong. (Molly, if you see this - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!)
• Dear guy who circled our group half the night and was thisclose to Sara tripping you to make you stop... either A. introduce yourself B. molest one of us & get it over with C. go away!
• YAY for free shots and mango chapstick!!
• To the band - I'm sorry. "Jam Nuts" isn't a good name. Not only does your band name incite a cringe in most people - it hurt to hear some of your music. Maybe if the volume wasn't turned up to 11, it might have been more pleasurable.

That was my night...and I can't wait to do it again. Kirstren has some amazing friends and I feel honored that she continues to let me borrow them! :-)