I'm alive

Hey loves!

I just wanted to do a quick update. I'm not sure if I'm back for good. But I am alive!! Things are crazy and continue to get crazier.

I might as well tell you what is happening and why I need a break from blogging. I am getting divorced. I won't go into details but that is what is happening. I'm staying positive though....I know I will make it through this a stronger woman.

Thanks for all the support and understanding! Eventually, blogging will be a part of my life again.

-B

Blog Break

Okay loves,

I think I need to take a break from blogging just for a bit. I've got too much going on right now and I cannot talk about it online. I'm okay, rest assured. But I think I should take a mini vacay from blogging, for the moment.

Thank you to all my followers for understanding. I will be back! =)

-B

This ever changing world pushes me through another door

I know it's been awhile since I blogged. A lot has been happening in my life. When I say a lot, I mean it.

-I got the job I wanted. I will be Guest Services/Salon Coordinator for a fabulous salon. Wonderful news!

-My appetite is shot. I'm not sick, least I'm pretty sure I'm not. I'm thinking it's the heat, but I don't need nearly as much food as I used to and I still have lots of energy. I've also lost even more weight.

-Which brings me to my next happening...I finally found a gym I love. It's cheap, clean, and I'm still going 5 days a week. I started strength training along with my regular cardio.



-Something has happened in my life recently that I never expected and it has blown me away. It's confusing, real, and I don't understand it yet. I may not for a few months, either. But it is something important and life altering. It's a good thing. It occupies a good portion of my thoughts and I'm not sure what to make of it just yet. I know I will figure it out though...in the next few months.

That is about it. I'm keeping myself busy and eagerly awaiting the start of my new job.

Later ya'll!

Blog Award! My First!

The Rules
1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.

Sabrina over at Making Macready's. Button on the left if you want to pay her a visit. Thank you, gorgeous!

2. Share seven things about yourself.

* I never thought I'd ever want to live in the deep south again. Ever. I thought I was set for living in the northwest. Nope. I got homesick around the 3.5 year mark. You can take the girl outta the south, but you can't take the south outta the girl.
* I have this deep seated gut feeling...or fear (hopefully just fear) that I cannot have kids.
* I love the smell of Hawaiian Tropic sunscreens. I think it's coconut, but either way, best summer smell!
* If I don't do my cardio 5 days a week, I feel nasty.
* I like just having one cat. Psst...do not tell Charlie! I will see Charlie again soon, but honestly, I've loved just having Roger.
* I dig Cholula! The hot sauce. I know....I know...I should only like Louisiana hot sauce...but I can't help it.
* I'm afraid of clowns. Very afraid.





3. Pass this award along to fifteen bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason!


My 15 Fab Finds are as follows:

Everyone! I'm too lazy to list them. Just look at the blogs I follow.

Apothecary Jars

I'm totally into apothecary jars. Why didn't I think of these before?

I'd love to have a set in our future master bathroom next to the bathtub (hopefully a claw foot that is separate from walk-in shower? We can dream!) to hold bubble bath, bath salts, etc. So pretty! They would also be nice in the entryway of our home to hold candies, shells, pine cones, etc. I could change the contents with the seasons too. Loving it!

They look expensive and yes, they can be. But honestly, I've seen these at Goodwill, thrift stores, etc...for practically nothing. You just have to look.

I needed this

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.

Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.

Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it will never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

- Mother Teresa

Personality

This is interesting. Go here to take this test: http://www.dawnbillings.com/color/colorTest.html It will tell you your dominant colors and how you interact with others. A personality test of sorts.

I'm a Blue. My secondary is Orange. I am NOT a yellow...at all! LOL What are you?

Father's Day

I know my post is a day late, but I couldn't not do a post about my Dad. Many people think their dad is the best, mine truly is though. I honestly feel like there isn't a better father than my own. He wasn't around much when I was very little, but it was because he had to do what he could to make a living. He was starting his business and making it successful, which it eventually was. To this day, he has not fully retired and probably never will...he loves what he does. And what he does is pretty amazing. But even with all his traveling, we were close. We have so much in common. Same hair, similar eye color, same laugh, same walk, same personality, same temper (gotten me into trouble many a time), etc. I love him so much!

Dad, when I think of you I think of:

* "Dancing feet!"
* Surprises!
* Travel
* Allowances and sneaking cash into my bag, books, my pocket, etc.
* Root beer floats
* The blue diamond pinkie ring of yours that you lost and were so upset about and I found it inside the couch at age 8. You gave me this ring 2 years ago. It is the same shade of blue as your eyes.
* Farts. Sorry, had to point this out. Hehe!
* Anything and everything Italian.
* That song, "Put Your Back Into It."
* Helicopters and planes.
* Nice cars.
* Jokes.
* Making me laugh so hard that I cry and can't breathe. I'll never forget that time in Paris when we all drank way too much wine at dinner and you and I kept laughing and would not be quiet and Mom was mad at us cause it was late. She was laughing too, though.
* Spit balls.
* "Beth, there are a lot of stupid people in this world and you are NOT one of them!"
* The fax machine incident. I love how you never ever take crap from anyone!
* Entrepreneurs.
* Butter Pecan ice cream.
* Banana Pudding.


And so much more! I love you, Daddy!

Cannon Beach

I love it so much! It touches something deep in me, I don't know how to explain it. But the first time I came to this magical place, I experienced deja vu. I don't know when I will get to go here again, as we are leaving the northwest very soon. But I have dreams of retiring here one day. I'd love to call it my home.

Oh Domino...

How I miss you! Please come back Domino Magazine. You were the best interior design magazine ever. Can my other "design nerd" friends recommend other great decor mags? Nothing seems to match up to Domino.

Memories...

I just realized that I'm going to have to change my blog a little bit...and very soon. Not the "Southern Comfort" part, but the "A southern gal living in Seattle" part. I'm leaving in July.

What should I change that part to? I'm open to any and all suggestions. Please leave them in a comment below. I'm thinking maybe Jason Aldean's song "She's Country"...the part where he sings, She's a Ragin' Cajun, juicy Georgia Peach with a thick southern drawl and sexy swingin' walk. Or..Bon Jovi's Who says you can't go home?

I've been thinking so much about our almost 4 years in Washington state. I was so in love with this place when we first moved here. I was told I'd change my mind after one winter...I did not. I complain about certain aspects of it, but my love for this part of the country has not changed. Washington will always have a piece of my heart. I got homesick for the southeast at the 3 year point. I think every southern girl eventually misses the south.

Things I will miss about Washington and the northwest

*Clean air. The Washington "smell" can't be beat! Clean, wet, refreshing, crisp.
*Evergreens and just how green it is here (No, I'm not talking about "green" as in recycling....but I will talk about that below...I mean, all the moss and because of all the rain...stuff is green).
*Seattle.
*Great coffee...and everywhere.
*Fresh fish.
*Fresh produce.
*The flowers.
*No state income tax. Don't let this fool you though....the sales taxes and all the other taxes blow!
*The friends I've made here. I love you guys! Come visit me!
*The "live and let live" mentality. This is only 50% good though, as I've learned through the years.
*Mountains. It is incredibly beautiful here.
*Snowboarding.
*Cannon Beach, Oregon. My favorite beach.
*All the asian food.
*The great grocery stores. They make the ones down south make you want to puke. I don't know how I'm supposed to get used to southern grocery stores again.
*How you can stick something in the ground and it will grow....huge. Volcanic soil...nuff said.
*So much to do...parks, sports, natural beauty, etc.
*Clean public restrooms!
*Proximity to Canada. Colin and I have a mutual love of Canada.
*Individuality and originality is huge up here and appreciated. People are open-minded.
*Gorgeous summers.

What I Will NOT miss


*The bipolar weather. I'm not kidding...it is bipolar. Hot one day, snowing the next. Rain one minute...sun the next minute. And one should NEVER, EVER have to turn their heat on in May!
*The drivers. They cannot drive here.
*It was hard, very hard, to make the local friends I made up here. It took 3 years to make local friends. The "Seattle Freeze" is real.
*Condition of the roads.
*Kids don't go to school here. They do, but their hours are weird and I don't really get it.
*Expensive. Not as expensive as California but close. Gas is bad. Sales tax is over 9%, real estate prices are ludicrous, etc. Taxes, taxes, taxes!
*Forget about having a yard unless you're a millionaire. Actually, forget about even having a decent and nicely sized home at all unless you make at least 100 grand a year. Ha!
*Homes built are crappy. They are pretty much made of cardboard, very cheaply, and with a 500,000 dollar price....for crap. And small. And no yard. They cannot build proper houses.
*Back to the "green" thing. These people are recycling fanatics. If you don't put your Coke can in the right bin (and there are about 5 different bins, so it get's very confusing for little southern gal here) you will get yelled at! They take being "green" to a whole other level and it's not pleasant. I'm all for saving the planet but lighten up!
*They refuse to properly de-ice the roads when it does snow. This creates disasters everywhere. They are too "green" to use de-icer because it hurts the environment....but cars crashing into each other is a lesser priority than the environment. *rolls eyes*
*No AC. I am not kidding. It normally doesn't get hot enough for AC to be needed. Now...in my 4 years, normally has not been the norm. We've needed it! Every summer! It sucks. There is no escape...unless you're a millionaire and actually have installed central AC in your home. Malls and movie theaters have it...but still, not having it in the home just isn't right. As any good southern lady knows, an hour in the south without AC is like a lifetime in hell. Well....northwest, you need AC! We get heatwaves up here that are awful.


LOL but seriously, this place is great. Every place has it's good and bad points.

I will miss the great northwest. My next post will be about what I miss about the south and don't miss. Til then, friends.

Porch love

Happy Monday ya'll! Here are some porches I'm coveting. Someday...maybe someday, I will have one like these.

'Eat, Pray, Love'

A better mood has fallen upon me. At least one that is much better than my last post. You have to understand how tough it is being a military spouse. It also makes you strong though.

I want to tell ya'll about a book I've discovered. I love to read. So much, in fact, that I really have to wonder about the people that say they hate to read. This book, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert is possibly one of the best books I've ever read, and I've read many many books! Now I find that it will be a movie and is coming out this August. I'm excited, especially since Julia Roberts plays Liz. Love her! And James Franco is in it too...eye candy! I urge you to read the book before seeing the movie. You won't regret it.

Claw footed love

I've been obsessed with claw footed bathtubs ever since I can remember. Especially if they are vintage. Anything vintage is good by me. Now the tubs I'm talking about are also the soaking types...the ones where you go to sit down and the water goes all the way up to your collar bones. I'm only 5'4"...so I don't think this would be a big issue. I want a claw foot soaking tub so much! Colin said that when we buy a house and finally get settled somewhere more permanent, if the bathroom is big enough, he will install me one. I love the ones that are not attached to walls and kind of in the middle of the room....haha he has a hard task awaiting him. I plan on helping him, though. I'm spoiled and very picky...I also want a separate walk-in shower in the bathroom.

Here are some claw-footies that I love...









You can also see another bathroom that I adore in my previous Dream Home post.

Pink Pepto Palace of Sin

Don't ask me about the title unless you want a long story. Haha!

Over the years as I've gotten older, I've started to love pink. This is baffling to me because I used to be the gal that hated that color. Things change. I've fallen in love with it! Here are a few of my favorite pink rooms for your viewing pleasure. My love of interior design is showing more and more in my blog.

Spring/Summer Fashion

Can you say CUTE!?










Yeah, I'm kinda into the romper look, though I haven't tried one on yet.

Mimi

This photo was taken when I was 17 as a bridesmaid in my sister, Amy's, wedding. Beside me, is my grandmother "Mimi." Please pray for her and keep her in your thoughts today. She's in her late 80s and has to go to the hospital due to some ongoing health issues.
I love you, Mimi!

Dream Home Part 1

This is what I'd love my future home to look like on the inside. It doesn't have to look just like this but if I could...











Just a collection of interiors I have found and love. More to come.

I have no words of wisdom for ya'll right now, so I leave you with this...

My love of all things French started when my folks surprised me with a high school graduation trip to France. We did Paris and the Loire Valley.