March photo a day challenge {Days 1-4} + Weekly moments

I can’t believe March is already here! 2012 is rolling right along. I’ve really enjoyed the photo a day challenge and hope you have as well. It definitely gives me something to keep me on my toes and think creatively. Here we go!

      

         1}Up~my chandelier                                 2}Fruit~lunchtime

3}My neighborhood~I picked these pretty flowers this morning from the jardin. They added a nice ambiance to Sunday breakfast. I’ll share that later!

4}Bedside~This is usually what I’m greeted to in the morning. Crying. Things crashing to the floor one at a time. “OHHH. You’re up?! Well I am feeling a bit famished. Breakfast please!!”
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I’m linking up to Story of My Life for todays Best of Instagram Week. Thought I’d share a few of my fav moments of the week below:)
Last Sunday I packed up the car with Bennet and fam and we climbed Kennesaw Mountain. It was a beautiful day and an enjoyable time. Bennet loved it and we were all pooped afterwards.

I’ve been helping this little dude with physical therapy at work. He has improved so much in just a few short weeks. He actually flipped to his tummy on his own this week!! We are all so proud:)

Friday was a crazy day and while I was babysitting there was a severe storm and tornado warning. The girls were anxious {possibly more anxious about what was on my dinner plate, at least to start with} and despite having a tornado scare, bringing a sleeping child downstairs, and preparing to jump into a closet the storm really didn’t hit us and we were just fine. A bit of a tense night but all is well!

{We were right between Dallas and Marietta. Dallas was hit pretty bad by severe storms}

Saturday was a fun day. Mom and I had a spa day! Before we hit up the pampering we lunched at Theo’s Brother’s Bakery where we had Potato Leek soup, Broccoli salad, and a yummy French Dip sandwich. Yummm.

I meant to take a picture of this before, isn’t this display adorable? The OPI Holland Collection. I love my shade, Kiss Me on My Tulips, and mom has gotten lots of compliments on hers, Red lights ahead…where? Got a pedicure after my facial. My tootsies are lookin’ good.
After we pampered we lounged. I rented an oldie but goodie, Curley Sue. I loved it as a kid and mom didn’t remember it. A young Steve Carell makes a brief appearance. And anyone familiar with John Hughes films will see some familiar faces. Watching them hang out at the movie theater made me hungry for popcorn. Bennet is disappointed the bowl wasn’t bottomless.

   

This morning I picked some pretty flowers and had a lovely breakfast of French toast and fruit. I’ll share more on that tomorrow.

Today while doing some photo organizing and a little editing I repainted my nails in Kiss Me on My Tulips. Yay!

Well it’s been a busy week! I hope there will be lots more fun stuff this week and throughout the month of March!
What did you do last week? Any fun plans this week? Do share!!
Have a bright day!
Bright Girl

February Photo A Day Challenge: 15-19

Okay so I apologize, it’s been a busy week. I haven’t been spending much time on the computer and have gotten behind on blogging this week.
So here goes, photo a day challenge days 15-19.
15}Phone. So I recently got an iPhone, which has been an awesome upgrade, time saver, life saver, etc. I knew if I ever got an iPhone I would definitely want a Kate Spade case, they had a sale last week and I snagged this cute silicone cover for $17. Awesome!! I’ve had several people comment that my nails match my case. In case you were wondering my polish is the new OPI Holland Collection color Kiss Me on my Tulips. Super cute! I bought mine at Natural Body, who basically carries the entire line so check it out!


16}See above. I just got this great cardigan and striped top at the Gap. Channeling my inner French girl, oh la la!


17}Time. This is how my day is organized now. Lots of keeping up and time management.

18}Drink. Glass of iced tea in my Chelsea glass which was discovered at a relatives house a few years ago. Fittingly now mine and perfect refreshing boost to get me going on a cleaning rampage.

19}Something I hate to do. Well this was kind of hard. I did a lot of cleaning and purging today, not necessarily something I hate to do, but I did clean out the litter box, which I don’t like to do, and I finally got going on reorganizing and cleaning out my photo albums, which I was dreading because I knew it would take FOREVER!! 4 hours later I finished purging only to realize I don’t like the albums I bought. So I’ll be returning them and finding new ones. For now I have about 300 pictures that need albums but everything is organized and the rest of my pictures are fine in their current albums, just much leaner and better organized. It was fun going back in time and finding fun pictures…and others that make me grateful for time…everything gets better with time, some pictures didn’t have a chance escaping the trash bin.


Well I’m exhausted after all that organizing! Downton Abbey finale tonight was great, I’m glad things ended on a somewhat tidy note. Sad we’ll have to wait until next year for more but something to look forward to. Which reminds me Mad Men is coming back in a few weeks, HOORAY!!!
What did you guys do this weekend? Do anything fun? Go somewhere for a drink of your own? Did you have to do something you hate? Do tell!
Have a bright night!
Bright Girl

25 things I can’t live without

Last night as I was scrolling through my blog reading list I came across this one from Susan at Between Naps on the Porch who shared products she can’t live without and it got me thinking about what I couldn’t live without and thought I’d share. What things do I use everyday/swear by/love? Well…let’s see…
1}My fluffy down pillow~I’m picky about my pillows. It’s gotta be just the right amount of fluffy and firm. I often bring my own pillow when I travel otherwise it could be a rough night. Leading to… 2}

2}Pillow Protectors~I use a zip up pillow protector on my pillows for many reasons. It keeps your pillow cleaner, makes laundry much easier, keeps your pillow from showing through the end of your case, prevents escapee feathers from flying off when you take the cases off, etc. It’s a win win. Buy a plain white one. Any patterns or stripes won’t look too cute showing through your case.

Doesn’t this look so comfy! These sheets are by Bellora, which I saw in a shop when I went to Italy. Too bad they don’t sell here in the states. Love the pink! If you live in the Atlanta area you should head over to Gramercy Fine Linens to see some beautiful sheeting and bedding options.





3}Kitchen Aid Mixer~I love this thing. It makes cooking and baking so easy. I really want to get one in a fun color someday!!





4}Parchment Paper Baking Sheets~I have a stock pile of these and use them for all of my baking. They are a quick and easy way to bake up some goodies with basically no clean up. Which reminds me I need to make macarons again soon. Check out Sur La Table or King Arthur Flour.





5}Iced Tea~There’s nothing like a cool, refreshing glass of iced tea. I get flack from my southern friends but I only order unsweetened tea with lemon when I go out to eat and sweeten it myself. You never know what you’re getting when you order sweet tea down in the south and I’d rather not get a swig of sugar water, thanks. I do love some Chick-fil-A tea, I order it half sweet/half unsweet. A good middle ground.





6}Chocolate~I love chocolate, especially dark. It’s medicinal people!

7}Bottled Water~I’ve had several jobs over the last few years that don’t have running water{as crazy as that sounds it’s true}. I drink a lot of water everyday so I keep a case in my car that way it’s always on hand.




8}Burt’s Bees~I have a stick on each bedside now plus one in my purse. I don’t like my lips to be dry! And the cooling mintyness is relaxing.




9}Glass Nail File~I’ve always had long nails and I absolutely HATE when I have a chip or a nail breaks and I have no file to fix it. Blergh! I keep a glass nail file in my purse and have had it for years. They last much longer than regular paper ones so I don’t have to worry about it being worn out or replacing it all the time. Try out this one by Sassella.

10}Tweezerman Tweezers~I’m pretty sure I would lose my mind if I didn’t have this on hand at all times.

11}Maybelline Great Lash Mascara~I’ve only ever used Maybelline Great Lash mascara in Brownish Black. It wears just right, lasts all day, no smudging, and comes off easily. I just bought Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes the other day and loving it so far. People often ask me if my lashes are real. I was born with it and it is Maybelline.




12}Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer~A few months ago I went shopping at Woo Skincare and picked up this great concealer by Laura Mercier. I have very pale skin and have had problems finding the right blemish concealer to match my skin tone. Secret Camouflage works great. Just a few dabs of this makes my skin look great.

13}Lipstick~Every Southern Belle knows you can’t leave the house without lipstick on! I have a habit of buying a new shade just about each season. I really want to find a bright pink shade next. Gotta change things up every once in a while.





14}Perfume~I love perfume. Right now I mainly rotate between Clinique Happy Heart and Vera Wang Truly Pink. I also have several Fragonard perfumes that I’ve had for a long time. I like perfumes that are feminine, floral, fruity, and natural. And if they’re pink it doesn’t hurt.





15}Hand Sanitizer~Use it all day!

16}Johnson & Johnson Baby Hand and Face Wipes~Working with kids all day these are a necessity!



17}Professional ceramic hairdryer~I’ve had my BaByliss Ceramix Xtreme for years and swear by it. I rarely bring it with me when traveling to save space but I’m always a little sad once I get to my destination because regular dryers take FOREVER. I guess I’m spoiled now.

18}Dyson vacuum~After going without a vacuum for a long time I finally bought a Dyson a few years ago. Let’s just say I got my moneys worth those first few days and every day since. I love a good clean!

 
19}Mr.Clean Magic Eraser~This is a great product. Cleans pretty much anything. Stained countertops? Scuffed walls? No problem! I don’t know how it works but I guess that’s why it’s magic. So mysterious.





20}My laptop and 21}iPhone~I just got an iPhone and I love having data now. It’s so easy to check in with people and look up information right when I want to instead of waiting to get home and not forgetting to do it once I get there. Plus it should totally help me from getting lost again at sundown. Yikes.
My laptop is my lifeline, that’s where I do most of my work and unfortunately it’s going to have to be replaced soon.





22}Alarm Clock~I am NOT a morning person. I’m usually a little grouchy and very sleepy in the morning. I can sleep through just about anything. Often my mother has conversations with me in the morning which I have absolutely no recollection of half an hour later. I have reminded her repeatedly not to talk to me in the morning due to this issue. It’s hit or miss. I hit the snooze a lot. I use an alarm clock and two different alarms on my phone. As much as I’d like to be better about this, I’m pretty sure it’ll never change. But thank God for alarm clocks because without them I’d be lost.



23}Netflix~I love Netflix. One of the first things I did after graduating college was sign up for it. All those years spent studying, writing, volunteering, working, etcetera pretty much everyday for 6 years left little time for watching movies{or reading for pleasure. Still working on that}. I’m catching up every week.





24}Calendars~I’m all about organization! I have several calendars, one large and one small for my purse. Plus I color code dates and events. I really like these Papermate Porous Point Felt Tip Pens. My Lily Pulitzer calendar, made my Lifeguard Press, is super cute and has fun stickers.





25}My Furry Children~Although the drive me crazy everyday for some reason or other and like human children they often keep me up at night I love them dearly and couldn’t live without them. After a long day there is nothing like a kitty snuggle. Aren’t they adorable! They’re cutest when the are sleeping. No driving me nuts like this, haha!
To quote Bob Barker, ‘Remember to spay and neuter your pets.’ And please rescue from shelters before buying a breeder pet!! Check out http://www.goodmews.org/ and http://www.adoptagoldenatlanta.com/.






What are some of your favorite products? What couldn’t you live without? I’d love to hear!

Have a Bright Day!
Bright Girl