Batharita

The show Psych is on of my favorites. Gus is the best character, you can't help but laugh about his "super sniffer." I know it may sound crazy, but I think I have a bit of an overly developed sense of "sniff." In some ways it's cool because I can pick out ingredients in food easily. On the flip side, there are a lot of perfumes, colognes, and soaps smells that make me sick. I'm talking about physically sick! At the top of my all time gag list is Tender Poison (I don't get the tender part, but the smell is indeed toxic to me, it has made me throw up on two seperate occasions). I know a lot of people like them, but I get horrible head aches from Vera Wang, Aromatics Elixir by Clinique, Eternity by Calvin Clein, Miracle by Lancome, White Diamonds, Red Door, Prada, Gucci, Jupe, any kind of Georgio and anything by Estee Lauder or Victoria's Secret. I try to make a note of them so I can avoid them in stores.

So now that I've Xed off almost the entire perfume department, I'm sure you're wondering if there is any sort of perfume that I actually do like!

I am a Chanel #5 and Burberry girl most of the year, but during the summer I wear citrus scents, and have always loved he clean crisp smell of lemons and limes. I found the two most wonderful smelling summer time perfumes on the Island of Capri last spring they are called Mediteraneo and Via Camerelle. They are made by Carthusia, and are almost impossible to get here in the states.

I was told Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy were also big fans of their stuff. (I love Grace Kelly, so I thought this would be a good spot to put one of my favorite pictures of her).

I paid 12 euros per bottle, but here it is a minimum of $94 per bottle from amazon.com. If I'd known this in advance I would have stocked up. So, I've been on the look out for something a bit more wallet friendly, but still just as delicious smelling. I'm happy to announce a fabulous smelling super affordable option. It is made in Greece by the company For Kings and Queens, and it is called Sultans of Granada. It comes in bathgel and body butter, and it makes your bath or shower smell like a lemon lime margarita. Just a nickel sized squirt of this stuff, and voila enjoy your "Batharita!"

While you're shopping you might like their Queen Nefertiti Honey stuff, but I warn you the bees will swarm you. (Literally I was out checking on my roses, and there were 3 or 4 bumble bees buzzing a bit close, and they followed me until I went inside.) Amazon.com has it cheaper than anywhere else, but if you're going to Target, and you aren't the kind of person that likes to wait on something to come in the mail that is where you'll find it.

Childhood Ambitions

How do people decide stuff like, "gee I want to be an accountant or a high school superintendant?" How on earth did I end up with a masters degree in interprofessional health and human service administration? I was sitting on my porch swing this morning letting the dogs do their thing, when I began to think about the things I used to want to be when I grew up. Do you ever wonder what the child version of yourself would think about how you've ended up?

Once upon a time I had some really "high and lofty aspirations" I remember when I was little I wanted to work at Sam's or Sonic and wear roller skates when I grew up. That should start dating things for you, yep we're talking 1980s. I remember this one woman who used to work at our Sam's that had what I thought was a really pretty perm and some really cool white and pink roller skates. Anytime someone needed a price check at a register, off she'd fly. My cousins and I used to play Sam's skater in the garage. We'd gather up some stuff from the house, and strategically put it all over the place, and then we'd see who was the best Sam's skater. I guess someone filed a lawsuit, and put an end to that career. I'm glad Sonic has brought back the roller skates, even though the first few weeks they were doing it here this spring there were a few busts, and it was pretty obvious most of the car hops hadn't touched a pair of roller skates in over a decade, maybe two.

The other job that I thought would be really cool was making pizzas. One time when we were in kindergarten Emily Burns-King's dad, Dr. Burns came to school for some sort of show and tell day, and made pizzas because that was how he worked his way through school, then the did a quick physical on everyone. I couldn't understand for the life of me what would make him decide to abandon the fine art of pizza making, and be a pediatrician (those people give kids shots, and shots were NO fun). Everyone was much more excited about the pizza making, he even threw the dough up in the air, which made him the uncontested coolest parent in kindergarten. My dad used to be a full service gas station attendant, then he worked in a lumber yard so I could understand why he decided to be a doctor, but I remembered thinking Dr. Burns had made a mistake. LOL!!!

I have a feeling the childhood version of me would be really confused about how I've ended up, but the plus side is I do teach at a college, I have my own boards that no one else can write on, and I get to use dry erase markers A LOT! I even use different colored ones when I change topics. I guess that is how I'd have to explain my job to a bunch of kids in order to sound sort of cool. I'll have to keep these things in mind for when I have kids one day, especially if they decide to take me to show and tell.

Peace, Love, & Peacock Feathers!

You know what my favorite thing was at my sister's wedding last summer (besides the whole happily ever after bit)... PEACOCK Feathers! I really thought my mom had lost it when she ordered a box of about 250 peacock feathers. We all wanted to know "what in the world are you going to do with those?" Well Jordan had picked a really pretty aqua blue for the wedding, but other than that she left all of the details up to Mom (who let's just face it can throw a pretty dang good party-her themes are always the best). She just said "We're going to have them all over the place at Jordan & Josh's wedding as part of the theme." I guess I'm not so creative because I'd never even considered it, but I must say the aqua matched the dresses perfectly, and they were fabulous. You might be able to to barely see some in all of the bouquets.

Anyways I've been in love with the darn things ever since. I wish I could find someone to paint peacock feathers on my toenails! I think that would be awesome for awhile, but then I'd run into something because I wouldn't be watching where I was going. Yes I confess I have a tendency to stare at my feet after a fresh pedi.

It seems everyone else has suddenly gotten on the peacock wagon too. I love the Liberty of London collection at my favorite french boutique Targee'... yeah you know what I'm talking about ;)

Brooch Bouquet - the finished product :)

Drumroll please..... after about 6 hours of work and 3 big hot glue gun sticks here it is! This bouquet has approximately 55 pins.

If you Need an Idea go to IKEA

I went to the IKEA in Frisco for the first time last weekend. That place has everything you could ever need to organize and decorate. Plus the best part is it is cheap, and they have a lot of really cool stuff that looks like Pottery Barn. It isn't just for girls either, Jon spotted lots of cool stuff that would be great in his shop & our garage. I had to have the tray above. It was just too cute to pass up. They also had some of the cutest office organizer things. Now my Victoria magazines are all organized instead of laying in stacks in an old trunk. The only thing they have that isn't so awesome is their mattresses, and they are beyond terrible. You should never be able to roll up a mattress, that is if you have any plans on sleeping on it! A few years ago, I would have never even thought to look at their mattresses, but now that it's what puts the butter on my bread I have a whole new appreciation. You can go to IKEA for everything else, but when you want a great mattress you've got to go to Mattresses USA! ;)

October Glory

When the weather gets as stinking hot as it was today I find myself wishing I lived somewhere where it is fall all year. Fall is my favorite season. What's not to love about it The air is fresher, you can put on your jeans, and a light sweater. You can sit on the porch swing in the evenings, and not end up feeling like you've been in a steam bath. All the leaves change color. To make it even more special there is a tree that changes color three times before losing its leaves. October Glory Maple trees are a relatively new breed of trees created by Oklahoma State University forestry department (I guess those cowboys had to be good for something besides Eskimo Joe's & veterinarians) (BOOMER! SOONER!). They are finally getting around to most of the big nurseries here in the South. I got two eight foot trees today at Twitty's for $35 a peice.

They were my grandmother May-May's favorite tree, and I think they may end up being mine too. I love dogwoods, and I used to have the biggest one in town in my backyard until a storm broke and blew it over on top of the screened in porch. (I was the only one at home, and yes it scared me to death when it happened, but once I got over the initial shock I was so upset. I didn't even care that it might have done damage to the roof. I wanted to cry because of my big old tree.)

Even though it is hotter than a chili pepper, and it only looks like it's going to get hotter. At least I can look forward to it eventually getting cooler, and watching my new trees change color this fall. They're going to look something like this.....

Kinda makes you think about turkey & dressing :)

Sweet Surprise of the day

Life is filled with sweet little moments. As Antoine du Saint Exuperie wrote in The Little Prince, "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly." Sometimes you can be in the midst of a rather rotten day, when the phone rings, and suddenly things don't feel so rotten anymore. Today I was sitting on the floor by the fireplace at Jon's parents house, when my mother-in-law Jan says, "Jack I've got a present for you." Well, I'm a little surprised because it isn't anywhere near my birthday, or any other occasion.

As a little background knowledge, Jan's father was a farmer, and somehow she has inherited a black thumb. In the 6 years since Jon and I started dating she has done a superb job of killing just about every plant she's brought home in record time, but that doesn't stop her. It is a bit of a running joke that we don't even know how the hedges around the house manage to fair from year to year. This year she got a really nice tomato plant that already had tomatoes on it, and yep you guessed it, the poor thing didn't stand a chance it's already toast. We'd been talking about how she'd already killed it, and that she should have sent it with us to see if we could revive it, but there is no way that would be possible so I asked, "Are you going to give me a tomato seed from the plant you killed?"

I couldn't believe it when she brought me the prettiest white calla lily with pink along the tip. I carried a bouquet of red roses and white calla lillies in our wedding, which she remembered, and said it made her think of me. So far it is the only flower that has come up successfully for her this summer. How sweet is that? Such a simple thing, but it made me feel special, and I will always remember it.

Brooch Bouquet

I'm not the first, and I know I'm not the only person who has ever seen the beautiful bridal brooch bouquets that have been making the rounds in blogville, and thought "cutiful why didn't I think of that." In fact my future sister in law is going to carry one for her bouquet in her's and David's (Jon's brother) wedding next year. Most of the brooch bouquets I've seen are for brides, but I think they are a really cool way to add a dash of color in any room of your house, and they give new life to old obselete junk jewelry that no one is planning on wearing. So if you're already married, and you're reading this wondering if you could make one even though it isn't a bridal bouquet, I say go for it! My Mom & I decided it would be a lot of fun for each of us to make one to put in our houses. At first I was thinking "centerpiece for the formal dining room table," but now I'm leaning more towards putting it in my bedroom where I'll see it all the time. Mom had tons of old pins and button covers which put us off to a good start (almost half of each of our bouquets). I bought some earrings, fancy buttons, and pins here and there, with a $4 max per pin rule. I'm not finished wiring and wrapping all of my pins yet, but here is what I've put together so far (a little over half), I will add more pics when the project is complete ;) I'll also post a pic or two of Mom's.

Lee Jofa Diamond & Baratta Silhouettes

Sometimes people pick up a magazine while standing in line at the grocery store, and most of the time nothing happens. But, sometimes a person stumbles upon something that makes them think, "Where have you been all my life? I've just got to make you mine!" So far in the past 2 weeks I seem to have stumbled upon a particular print of wallpaper that is also a fabric in 3 different magazines. Veranda, The Oprah Magazine, and one other that I can't remember have all featured this silhouette pattern by Diamond & Baratta for Lee Jofa in one form or another. Veranda had it as pink fabric curtains, Oprah magazine had it as yellow wall paper, and the other magazine had it as blue pillows. I am in love, and I have put myself on a mission to find some of this stuff. So far it seems everyone else has had the same idea because it is sold out every where. The only place I have been able to find some is from a fabric shop in London, they only have the pink, and they want $59.99 per meter, and that is before shipping! What could I do with just 1 meter? The only thing I can think of is a pillow- 1 pillow. It would be the most expensive pillow in my house. If I went to such lengths I think I would be tempted to put it in my china cabinet because I wouldn't want anyone to sit on it or throw it on the floor, or heaven forbid one of the animals get a hold of it. For the time being I have decided to make myself content with painting the picture out of the Oprah magazine, but I still want some. I don't know where or how I'll put it in my house, but that has never stopped me before.

Family Picture time

Have you ever noticed that there is nothing quite like a "family portrait" to make everyone in the bunch decide to start looking and acting goofy! I'm sure those of you from my generation can relate- A trip to Olan Mills = bribes+threats+spankings in that exact order. I don't know why I decided to give this feat a try...I guess it had something to do with putting on my really awesome cowboy boots this morning that made me think, "Team Trammell hasn't had a picture taken together in a while." After church I had Mom follow us home, and take a few pictures of us. All together there were 20 legs.


Here Comes "The TEAM" I'm off to get that rotten Black Cat (Zipper)
Dogs from Left to Right Cookie, Sasha, & Sir Winston Churchill


Jon & his Dogville



Awe it's the Fam!

"We're on a leash, but we're not walkin... what's goin' on??"

WINSTON! COOKIE! Look at the camera! Do you want a Treat?

And then there's that Magic word "Squirrel" that get's 'em excited everytime, but who knew it would make Me so happy? LOL!

Then there is our other Baby Sophie- she's 15 years old, she doesn't like going outside, and the dogs frighten her, so we took a quick pic in the guest bedroom where she had been camped out. When you add her in, our family has 24 legs all together! I'm glad only 4 of those require shoes!

Sporting the Cameo!

Fabric

When I was little I would play in my grandmother's fabric scrap bag. She was a Coco Chanel caliber seemstress. There was absolutely nothing that she couldn't look at, and make. She had to do a complete reconstruction on my wedding gown the week before the wedding because the cleaners had shrunk it in the whole cleaning process (it had to be cleaned riding bare back on a thorough bred for some of the bridal pictures my mom took in Kentucky had given it a very Man of War smell). May-may taught me a few things on the sewing machine, and she taught me how to crochet, but I was too impatient for the darn sewing machine. I used to get so mad at her for constantly making me rip out seams and pull out lines of crocheting just because one little spot might be slightly off. She would never settle for making anything that wasn't complete perfection. I find myself missing her all the time. I still love looking at fabric, and I love painting it. Everytime I see a pile of beautiful embroidered hand towels, pillow cases, dresses, blankets, and aprons I think about her. She rarely made anything simple, I think she liked to challenge herself, but I always think of her when I see simple things because that would be the kinds of things she would try to teach me to do.

Hair there and Everywhere

Hi, my name is Jacqueline and I have a problem with my hair. I just can't seem to leave it alone. I've been told it's an artist thing to constantly be changing your hairstyle. Most of the time people only post the good pictures of themselves (I am totally guilty of this). Who cares if the other person's head is half cut off, if I look good then it's a good picture. More than once or twice I have earned my own spot in the hairdo hall of shame. I thought it might be fun to cough up a few looks I'm still scratching my head over. Oh, and these are just what I've done to myself in the past 5 years!

Exhibit A-

Here I am fall 2007 getting a rock or two from the side of the road to put out by the pool at Mom's house. Haircolor-not so good. Bangs- hmm should I grow them out or not??? Style- I'm not so sure there is a name for this...

Exhibit B-

The spring of 2005, about five months after Jon and I got married I recieved the worst haircut of my LIFE! I'm just going to call this one The Mushroom Buzz! Oh, and I know the PJs are way hot!... NOT!

Exhibit C-

Christmas 2007, The Beatles called, and wanted to know if I would cross Abbey Road with them.

Exhibit D-

This is what happens when you frost your hair, and then leave the peroxide on too long because there's a good show on TV and you don't have Tivo yet. It turned white, and broke off!

Exhibit E-

OH Brother! Another bad idea! Spring 2006 on my way to The 4 States Living Best of Texarkana where Dad was awarded Best Doctor in town, and I should have been given recognition for worst hair.

Exhibit F-
I call this Buster Brown's Best (I had Jon cut it) May 2007

Exhibit G

2008- Just a wee bit Ashy





Exhibit H

Don't be jealous Napoleon!

Nine

I saw what looked like a few good trailers for it, so I decided to hit up the Redbox. Boy am I glad I didn't pay more than a dollar for that torture, it was so bad Jon and I turned it off a little over an hour into it, and we usually will watch even lousy shows to the end. The only good part of the whole show is the song "Be Italian," (Fergie did a good job singing it) and now it is in my head. I'll be singing it, and people are going to think, "I guess she really liked that show." Me not liking the show has nothing to do with the it being a musical. Jon and I both love broadway shows with singing, and dancing. His favorite is Phantom of the Opera. My favorites are Miss Saigon, Jekyll & Hyde, Gigi, and Les Miserables (I've discovered I can never have just 1 favorite of anything I always love 3 or 4. Don't ask me my favorite flower, perfume, song, book, or movie because I can't pick just one!). Oh, and I might I add... I really loved the movie Moulin Rouge. I was really disappointed that Nine was so bad, it had so many big stars in it... Daniel Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Fergie, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson, & Sophia Loren. Now Nicole Kidman's movies tend to be hit and miss, but I didn't know it was even possible for Sophia Loren to be in a bad film. I may have to go pull out Houseboat tomorrow night because I don't want that show skewing my opinion of good o' Sophia. The critics seem a lot nicer than me, they give it a C-, I might give it a D since I did like that one song. Anyways that's the news from "Lake Wobegon" for tonight. Sleep tight.