Wishful Wednesday ....Style

Most of us, in this blog-o-sphere, use this as an outlet to highlight our fabulous finds, document our desires, and hope that it magically ends up on our doorstep the following day.  Picking a clothing style to shop from every day pretty much falls in the category of giddiness for me.  

I love shopping.  I love clothes.  I love a good bargain.

BUT, lets talk about that perfect closet.


'I wish' .... I had Neiman Marcus 
as my personal closet 
and could shop from it daily.

Diane von Furstenberg, Theory, Elie Tahari, Tory Burch ..... and more all at my fingertips.  Pretty sure NM wouldn't have a problem covering the clothes, the shoes, the sunglasses, AND of course the handbag!  Very classy from dressy to casual, I love it all, and with a hefty price tag all these items could be yours and mine!

What's store would you chose?

***NOTE:

Link up and add your link below.  Please, please, click on the title of your post on your blog and make sure it is the link to that specific post instead of your main blog url.  Then, go visit a few others who participated as well :)

Wish Wed Topic ....Style

The creativity behind this weeks post

is from Alissa at Newlywedded:


This week's topic:

'I wish' .... I had ______ store 
as my personal closet 
and could shop from it daily.


Ohhh, show us your style -- I can't wait!

Most of you know the routine by now, but for my new readers .... Give yourself something fun to blog/post about on Wednesday to get you over the lovely hump day.  All you have to do is come back on Wednesday, attach the button, and link up with your web address with MckLinky.   It's that easy and SUPER FUN!

The true joys in life

Another favorite part of being back in Dallas is seeing my parents, brother, sister in law, and nephew!  My biggest regret is not living in the same city as them .... 

Arrie is obsessed (and that might even be an understatement) with Sonic.  A Route 44 vanila cream coke calls her name daily during happy hour, so we of course made a date out of it while I was in town.  

It was very refreshing by the pool and in the 96+ heat!

Don't tell anyone, but Arrie rocked a bikini at 32 weeks pregnant :)

Team Lugar on Rock Band

- Jordan jammin' on the guitar

- Arrie doing her thang' singing

- Kelsey banging' on the drums

- Griffin trying to steal our equipment in the middle of our game!

How can you blame him?!

Auntie Kelsey gives lots of love!!!!
Griffin showing off how smart he is with his letters and numbers.

"Pa" asked Griffin a question while they were reading, and Griffin said "hmmm" as he put one finger on his lip as if he was pondering.  It was so cute!  We don't know where he learned it -- ahh kids!

All the fam and Momma behind the camera

Gorgeous sister-in-law preggers - 

Gracie will be here in 5 weeks!

And I had to upload this hysterical video of Griffin driving the golf cart.  This was his very first time riding a motorized vehicle and figured out how to make it "go!"  Positive encouragement goes a long way and as you can tell ... my family has a lot of cheerleaders :)

After a long day with lots of playing, we all had a slumber party at Mom and Dad's, which was soo fun!  Just wish Gabe could have been there with me too .... waking up with all my immediate family was special for me (and mom of course)!

The first thing we did the following morning was go to the park 

while it was still somewhat cool.  

HA, not quite, it was already hot at 8:30am!

Life as a kid is just the best.  Check out that face!!!!

Miss you all already ... sending my love from Seattle!!!

"You don't choose your family.  

They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."

- Bishop Desmund Tutu

Seeing the bestie

After visiting the fam in Lubbuck,

a top priority of my trip back home consist of seeing the bestie.

Abby and I were bound me be best friends growing up next door neighbors .... and just 9 days apart!!!!  We were inseparable.  Then I moved to Plano (north Dallas) when I was eight.  Distance couldn't keep us apart, and we were finally neighbors again at Abilene Christian, living right down the hall together, and spending much time together as ACU cheerleaders.

Here are some pics of our visit and her precious son Colt, 17 mths old, and a spitting image of what she looked like as a little girl :)

Check out that sassy face!  

I thought he should be a handy man

and begin working on his skills with a Melissa & Doug tool-set.

Little guy got stuck - LOL

The sweet bestie herself

We spent the day at the country club soaking up some much needed sun.  It was a blast and so great just catching up in person since our daily chats don't always do it's justice!!!

Such a big boy -- until next time :)

Abby:  you.me.Seattle.STAT.

New DRINK of choice

Where did I go wrong to miss out on CLUB SODA??

- aka yummy nummy drink!

My colleague drank club soda with lime our entire time in Phoenix, and I found myself interested in it but too skeptical to order one.  THEN .... Mom used club soda to get the spot of Sangria that sloshed on my new shirt (*did an AMAZING job by the way), and then guzzled it out of the can in the laundry room.  I instantly said, "YOU drink club soda?"  She said, "Yeah." So, I gave it a whirl too.

DE-LICIOUS and now my drink of choice!!

I love water, but I now like this even more.

Mom stocked the fridge of Pellegrino from the garage for me!

Do you like club soda?

Wishful Wednesday ....Lost

'I wish' .... I hadn't lost my mom's earrings that she passed down to me!!

When I was 16, my mom surprised me with the sweetest gift of passing down a pair of diamond earrings that were hers when she was a teenager.  She got them as a gift from her parents when she was 16, and she thought what a sentimental gift to pass on to me when I turned 16.  This will probably bring my mom to tears reading this, and still to this day I am so angry for losing ONE of the earrings.  

I remember it like it was yesterday .....

- We had to take off all our jewelry for cheer practice

- I placed BOTH earrings in the side pocket of my cheer bag

- Later that evening when I got home, I went to grab them 

AND

For some reason, only one is there - Shoot me now.

I searched that bag inside and out, checked the stitching, and finally gave up.  I knew my mom was going to kill me, and I tried to wait as long as I could hoping it would show up.  Then, she called me out on it, and I just started bawling.  I could see how truly upset she was, and the saddest part was the sentimental value of the earrings - nothing could replace them.  

I am even more embarrassed to report I lost ANOTHER PAIR of diamond earrings.  They happened to be a gorgeous set I splurged for myself when I worked at Bailey Banks and Biddle, and they got lost lost in the move from Texas to Washington.  6 months after them being MIA, one day in the garage a sparkle caught my eye and ONE of my DIAMONDS was calling my name.  Now, four years later ...... I am depressed to report the other one never showed up.

You better believe I will never buy another set of real diamonds until I am 75 years old.  Gabe knows to not surprise me a pair because I think it's one of the pieces of jewelry that I am meant to live without.  OR, not without (come on!!), but a fancy inexpensive pair from Nordstrom.  They are my favorite because at the rate I take them in and out .... I would have a heart attack if I lost another pair.

What do you wish you didn't lose?

***NOTE:

Link up and add your link below.  Please, please, click on the title of your post on your blog and make sure it is the link to that specific post instead of your main blog url.  Then, go visit a few others who participated as well :)

Lubbock Day Trip

After my work conference in Phoenix, I flew to Dallas to sleep a short four hours in my old bed, ohh how I love sleeping in the bed I grew up in.  Then, Mom and I caught the first flight out the next morning to Lubbock to spend the day with my sweet grandparents and then catch the last flight home to Dallas!  Talk about a fun-filled-action-packed day!

I walked in the door to Granny Gayle's FAMOUS biscuits and gravy - it doesn't get any better!  She makes it at least once a visit whenever we're together.  Half of our family members want as our last meal before we die, and YES, me included!!

Then, my aunt and cousins drove a couple hours from Midland to Lubbock to spend the day with me!  How sweet are they ..... and the biggest joy of the day was seeing Berkley (7 mths old) and Paisley (4 mths old).

CHECK OUT THE WILD TEXAS WIND

Twins run in my family on both sides, BUT most of you would be shocked to know my identical twin cousins married identical twin boys who were my brother's best friends in college.  Sadly their babies weren't twins, but the little girls are 4 months apart and pretty much twins :)  How cute are they!

Ginna, Gaylen, and I grew up like sisters, and we use to tell everyone we were triplets!

Garen came in town to play too -- What a perfect surprise!

 

Us and our Mommas before we said our goodbyes :)

We all have that person we aspire to be, and hands down the most influential person in my life would be Granny Gayle!  She was diagnosed five years ago with ovarian cancer, and my world almost fell apart.  Thank goodness for our heavenly Father watching over her, sleepless nights with constant prayers, amazing doctors, and a determined Grandmother.  Chemotherapy and several surgeries couldn't knock her down ... she has lived to see almost all of her grandkids married and three great grandkids born, and another in just a few short months!!  She has all of the qualities I aspire for.

**I have a reminder in my phone that goes off every morning at 8am that says 

BE LIKE GG

Love you more than words or actions will ever express,

Thank you for being you!!!

Wishful Wed Topic ....Lost

I just got back from a perfect trip home

LOTS more on that later!

So, that is where I got the idea for this weeks topic: 

'I wish' .... I hadn't lost ______!!

Something silly or a prized possession, 

What do you wish would show up tomorrow ....

Most of you know the routine by now, but for my new readers .... Give yourself something fun to blog/post about on Wednesday to get you over the lovely hump day.  All you have to do is come back on Wednesday, attach the button, and link up with your web address with MckLinky.   It's that easy and SUPER FUN!

Happy Father's Day

Not only is he a fabulous dad, Christian example, and mentor,

but he is the sweetest "Pa" in the world!

Here is a priceless video from yesterday

that I just had to share on this special day.

Griffin is grinning from ear to ear, and I have to say ...
I am one lucky daughter to of had the last 5 days with all of my family and friends in Dallas!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DAD!!

Skipping WW

The Seattle Smith's blog ....

is skipping Wishful Wednesday 
this week!

I am sure you all caught on already,
gotta prioritize the sun while I am out of town!

Phoenix Heat

These photos are definite signs that I am no longer in Washington. Maybe it's the palm trees .... desert .... or incredible amounts of sun!!!! Check, check, and check!

Arizona Center

Getting to this lovely sunny place was definitely an adventure. I would pass on re-living my trip to the airport in the future considering the amount of stress associated with it. I left my ticket at home (paper ticket necessary to fly), so I panicked and lucky turned around after 15 minutes to see construction was going on with my exit off the highway and required a detour. Ohhhh, how horribly I deal with stress. Hubby tried to "teach" me on handling it better in the future, gotta love him! But, just let me PANICK! Hehe

Well. I made my flight and am happy to report I am on vacation for a week but can't quite get in that mode! I arrived in Phoenix and have been dying in the heat.

How was I born and raised in Texas humidity again???

I was super proud of myself (and my mom would be too) to hop on the light rail and check out downtown. Then, a colleague met me for a fabulous lunch on the patio, full mist and all! I wanted to relax in the hotel A/C, but I got vetoed and happily so, it was delightful!

I will be pretty quiet this week, so happy Sunday everyone :)

It's MY lucky day!

Remember when I posted last week about my fabulous luck in the blogging world and was the happy winner of ....

The Arbonne giftcard
The Carrie Diaries book (which just arrived today!!)

and was hopeful to win the the $100 SkincareRX giftcard.  

weheartit.com

WELL, this ladies wish came true, 
and I won!!

Thanks Taylor :)

weheartit.com

Now, if only I can stop PICKING at my face and 

let some new skincare item scoop me away into la-la-land!