London 2012 Summer Olympics

 To say the least, London is having a big year, a very big year.  I'm going to go ahead and throw in the wedding from last year too and make it an extremely big year!  Right on the heels of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and Trooping of the Color, they are hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics.  I'm excited to watch the opening ceremonies and various sporting events.  

 Ralph Lauren is designing the clothes the athletes are wearing and I think they are very chic.  I am proud to see our country represented in such a fashionable way (I'm not even going to get into the controversy about the uniforms being made in China.  Ridiculous!  Really, we couldn't make our American Athlete's uniforms in America???). 

 I'm so happy they are wearing red, white and blue in an elegant, fashionable way.  No baggie shorts and huge t-shirts.  They are looking good!

I even like their berets.  There was some controversy over these hats.  Thought they looked too french, but I think they look fabulous!  Baseball hats don't go with everything!  I love their look and I'm proud to be represented by these chic athletes. I think Ralph Lauren has done a wonderful job!

Happy Weekend!

Have a great weekend!

There is something about this photo I just love.  Three girlfriends, all glammed up, out shopping and having fun in a convertible, the good life!

True Blood Event - #Partygurlz only

From left to right: Lynn, Amy, Katie, Emily and Caitlyn  (The #PartyGurlz)

Katie and her girlfriends were invited to attend the HBO True Blood Event for Comic-con in San Diego.  They had a blast and Katie met a lot of the stars from the show plus David Arquette (is he on that show, I don't know because we don't watch it?).  

For a little fun, all the girls had their pictures taken as Vampires.  

Lucky girls - What a life!

Happy Together Tour 2012

1. 
   
   
   On Saturday night, the Handsome Husband and I went to the OC Fairground's Pacific Amphitheater to see the Happy Together Tour featuring: The Buckinghams, The Grass Roots, Gary Puckett, Mickey Dolenz and The Turtles.  
   It was AWESOME!!!
   They concentrated on songs from 1967-1968.  Happy Bouncy tunes, the kind I LOVE!!!  Now, I was only 5 years old when these songs were popular, but my mom was 25 and this was her music.  I grew up listening to these songs on 8 track in the car and at home when she would clean the house.
   
   
   The Grass Roots and Mickey Dolenz (one of the two lead singers from The Monkees) were my favorite.  Mickey Dolenz sang SHE which sent me into a tizzy, considering I haven't heard that song in at least 30 years.  The Buckinghams sounded the most like their 1960's selves and Gary Puckett was horrible sounding, but fun to watch and hear his songs. 
   
   
   One of the Best Parts of the show was the encore.  They called each group out one by one and they sang a song, by the end all the groups were on stage together singing "Happy Together".  It was INCREDIBLE!!
   
   
   I recommend this show if it comes to your town and I think it will be back next year.  It was also really inexpensive.  We paid $17.50 for our ticket (not including ticketmaster's $10 "convenience" fee).   
   
   The Buckinghams: 
2. Don't You Care 
3. Hey Baby 
4. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy 
5. Susan 
6. Kind of a Drag 
7. 
   ----- 
8. Grass Roots: 
9. Wait A Million Years 
10. Sooner or Later 
11. Live for Today 
12. Temptation Eyes 
13. Midnight Confessions 
14. ----- 
15. 
    Gary Puckett: 
16. Lady Willpower 
17. Over You 
18. Woman Woman 
19. Home 
20. Young Girl 
21. 
    ----- 
22. Micky Dolenz (of the Monkees): 
23. I'm Not Your Stepping Stone 
24. She 
25. Last Train to Clarksville 
26. Daydream Believer 
27. Pleasant Valley Sunday 
28. I'm a Believer 
29. ----- 
30. 
    The Turtles: 
31. She'd Rather Be With Me 
32. You Baby 
33. It Ain't Me Babe 
34. Elenore 
35. Happy Together 
36. Encore:
36. Kind of a Drag - Reprise - Buckinghams 
37. Midnight Confessions - Reprise - Grass Roots 
38. Young Girl - Reprise - Gary Puckett 
39. I'm Not Your Stepping Stone - Reprise - Micky Dolenz 
40.  Happy Together - Reprise - Turtles and the other groups 

The Turtles Concert Setlist at Pacific Amphitheater, Costa Mesa on July 14, 2012 | setlist.fm

Maps

Whenever we go to a foreign city, I use Map Easy Maps to acquaint myself with the city we are going to and then use it often as we walk around the city itself.  They are folded, smashed, circled and marked up by the time we are finished.  

I like them because they show landmarks, restaurants, and shopping.  They do not show every little street, mostly the main streets and the bigger ones in between the main streets. They even show McDonalds (my family always teases me because I have to eat at McDonald's at least once on vacation, it's just that little taste of home)!  

 Recently, I got the bright idea to frame them.  I LOVE them.  (Sorry for the glare.) Custom framing is not a cheap proposition, I waited until Joann's had a 60% off sale and got three maps framed.  I might do one more depending on where we decide their final home will be.  For now, I have these two (London & Paris) in my bedroom and

this one of Venice in my master bathroom along with some watercolors we bought in Venice.  I'm thinking about putting all three stacked on one another above the couch or in the dining room, but I have to say, I love looking at them every night before bed.  

Driving Myself Insane...

 I'm in love with this room.  I love the wainscotting, the blue/green/gray walls, the white moulding and ceiling.  Unfortunately, I don't have wainscotting, so my house would not look like this if I choose this color scheme, but it is my first choice.

 Since I couldn't pull off choice number 1, I decided to go with a calming cream wall with some white moulding and blue accents.

 That's when my NIGHTMARE began!  Doesn't the above off white look creaming and rich, in person it is yellowish.  I've picked out 10 different creams, painted them all on the wall side by side.  Some I could eliminate right away, others I agonized over.  The blues where another problem all together.  Some were green/blue, some were gray/blue, and some were just shocking blue.  I've bought at least 12 blues.  I  think I have the cream and blue that I want, now I have to find a pretty linen color for the kitchen.  I am going INSANE!!!   

I've got color chips and paint fans, I've had input from family and friends and the guys at Benjamin Moore, Dunn Edwards and Home Depot.  I've decided gray makes me feel depressed, so I'm going with soothing and calm.  Most walls will be cream (and I desperately want to see a rich cream and not a shallow white) with an accent wall being soft powdery blue.  

Oh, and you should see my walls... 

This is the toned down version, I had at least 6 colors side by side at one point.  I hope I survive and if I do, it will probably be another 7 -10 years before we paint again!

Also, after 20 years, I'm getting window casings, window sills and crown moulding in the living room! Finally, now that I don't have any more: cheerleading, dance, volleyball, kids car payments, kids college payments (okay, down to one: better than two), etc.,  I can spend some money on those little extras.  Yipee!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!