Yay for awards!!

The wonderful, fabulous, adorable Nina has kindly given Lulu and I a lovely award!!! The BFF Gold Card Award! It is the first award we've received and we are so grateful! :) We feel really welcomed into the blogging community!! That being said, we'd like to pass this on to a few other blogs: 

I pick pretty

Preppy Little Dress

All things in moddy

We love your style and creative posts!! 

And thanks so much again to Nina! 

xo,

Charlie

p.s. My Cincinnati trip was so much fun! I'll have pics up by tonight hopefully :)

eyelid twitch

happy Sunday all! It would be an altogether perfect day if only


arrrggggghhhh....the eyelid twitch has to stop!! It's been about.......2 months and I've had an insufferable case of intermittent right eyelid twitch. Dr. Google says the 3 primary causes are lack of sleep, too much caffeine and/or stress.

Hmmm....doesn't that apply to almost everyone?

So, I guess there is no obvious cause. Charlie is telling to me drink less coffee. That is an easy thing to control but then I get so sleepy and can't get going, which makes me stressed and it's a vicious cycle.

Anywho, on to the better news. I found a neat bottle of Riesling :)

That would be a cat--if you are trying to tell what kind of picture I posted... Pink Cat Riesling!! And it's so appropriate this month---absolutely anything I can buy that will send money to Breast Cancer Research--I gladly make the switch. Didn't take much for me to leap over the counter at World Market to grab this wine, however. I am on a personal mission to discover the best tasting, sweetest Riesling out there.

xo,
Lulu

home sweet home

This makes me feel so good....

and it's an extension of the glad game. You will see why. My husband and I moved into our house in August. And it was a lil' worse for the wear. Let's just say we were reeeeally helping the economy when we took this sweet little baby off the market. I do love it, I get to change everything and there's naturally a lot of projects to do still (for years to come I'm sure). But in a few weeks of being settled, we have at least the living room sorta settled and the kitchen too. So, how about a quick game of I'm so glad there's a before and after to show for it!!!

Living Room Before and after:

There was insane wall to wall carpet that was floral! And I guess that was a continuation on a theme because I ask you to note the light floral wall paper in both the living room AND the dining room. And what was even more dizzy-ing was that nothing matched.


and from another angle:


We have a new front door, and then replaced the entire 1st floor with hardwoods, actually bamboo! (yay for going green-ish) and we obvi stripped all the walls and repainted. Took the heinous ceiling fan down from the living room and the strangely ornate wall sconce too.

When we found the house my mom told me that I had to see the house had 'good bones'. And it's true. It does. Big rooms, fenced in back yard etc. We finally have a ton of room for a family eventually :) But you all know how it's hard to relax and sit still until it's COMPLETELY ready for company. I alternate with that feeling and being stuck and paralyzed and not unpacking and sorting any boxes for hours (or days) from being overwhelmed. So I go back and forth. Productive...paralyzed. Productive....paralyzed. I haven't really hung much up on the walls yet. I have all of our pictures and things just leaning against where I may want to hang them but just can't take the leap yet. As if filling an errant nail whole would even register on my list of to-do's. But it's all happening in time. And I will probs never stop posting lots and lots and lots of pictures. Just to document the progress.

I think when you see me blogging...that's me being paralyzed. Or productive.

Friday night. Bring on the glass of wine.

Cheers!
Lulu

the glad game

Ahhh.. the weekend is almost here! And yup, I miss Charlie already. We're the kind of sisters that talk between 3 and 10 times per day ;) She took two flights to Ohio so that is a lot of time to have that cell phone off. I mean truly, I think she's been 'out of the net' for 6 hours now. BUT on a brighter note, that pic she posted of cincinn looks pretty darn glamorous, no? I was thinking, wait, why didn't anyone tell ME about this mid-west hotspot. Bright lights--big city!! Anyway, she has a lovely group of blond girlfriends and I know they will have a ball!!


Blast from the past time:
OK-who remembers Pollyanna. The movie. Hayley Mills? Well, our mom, another beautiful, funny, deep thinking, soulful (and modest) gal, reminded me about the glad game that Pollyanna used to play in the movie. The idea is to always look for something to be glad about, no matter what the situation. Remember that? LOVE IT! Now, I think the Disney's Pollyanna was made in the 50s or 60s based on an even older book. But wasn't that Pollyanna such a positive thinker--what a trend setter! And naturally, fast forward to 2008--her game would be viewed as just an extension of watching The Secret DVD and saying affirmations. But I say she started it!!

My margarita glass is half full!

So, as we roll into the weekend...I say, at the risk of sounding preachy-take your eye OFF the Big Board and what the Dow is at today. Unless it's your job to watch it!!! And play the Glad Game allllll day long instead. What are you Glad about today? Even if it's just the obvious. I'm glad it's Friday. I'm glad I'm not out of laundry detergent again. I'm glad we closed on our house in August. whew, that was a big one! I'm glad Entourage is a new season. I'm glad we started this blog. I'm glad there are SO many nice, NORMAL sweet people out there!!

I'm glad that my ipod has the BEST 80s music on it and every single song by a one-hit-wonder ever recorded in our beautiful country.

Be back in a little bit--I'm all worked up now!!!

xo,
Lulu

PS-FYI the picture of Hayley Mills DOES in fact look like Charlie when she was little!!!!

Buckeye state or BUST!

Hello lovely ladies! Just dropping in with a quick note! One of my girlfriends are I are flying to OHIO at 6:15 am to visit our friend for her birthday! Even though we leave at an ungodly hour, I am so so super excited!!!! We will be there until Monday night. I love airports...they are THE perfect place for people watching. I will be grabbing a nice cuppa, and settling in for some witty social commentary between friends :) The girl I'm going with is an excellent people watcher. (If there is sucha thing!)

Though, of course, I leave you in Lulu's freshly manicured hands. I know she will keep the posts coming! ;)

Anyway, I'll be checking the blog regularly (I am already addicted)! So if there are any native Cincinnatians (ahh that's a mouth full) in the house, tell me of any cool places in the area! My friends and I love a good adventure!

I will be back Monday night with pics and hopefully some good stories :)

xo,

Charlie

j.crew, i have a girlcrush on you

OK honestly...I mean HONESTLY....how freakin' adorable are these shoes? I could die.

I mean I was just checking my email, minding my own business...then BAM! I haveta be hit with these distracting little puppies. God is clearly rewarding me for working so hard on my sociology lab :)

On sale at jcrew for $99!!

P.S. Is it weird these actually make me think of COLD weather?! Even though they are yellow I'd totally bust these out with tights in the winter. Every shoe is cute with the right pair of colorful tights :)

P.P.S. Is it bad that I'm laughing at my own blogs posts? Thats the beauty of two authors I guess. Lulu gets me 100% of the time! Admit it--we all have had the Nixon Sleeve Affliction once or twice in our day. We must stand together!

almost done with midterms...woo woop!

-charlie

What is a Nixon Sleeve?

So it's been asked--exactly what does nixonsleeves refer to...in our blog address.

It's alot of things.

A sleeve length specifically. (see photo)

A style.

A bond two sisters share.

A call to action amongst the tall women of the world.

You see, when you are 5'9 or taller...regular sleeve lengths just don't measure up. You are fine when you're standing still. So, a dressing room test run can slip by unnoticed if not careful. But the moment you reach for something...the nixon sleeve appears. Actions as simple and mundane as reaching for your gear shift or reaching to click on the mouse pad next to your computer can produce the nixon sleeve-look. Do you know what I mean by now?

It's a no-mans-land between the 3/4 length sleeve and just perfectly tailored. It's a cold wrist. It's too much skin!

So, it could be solved by taking things to be tailored and yes, I have done that. BUT occasionally the pendulum swings in the other direction and they will lower the sleeve length too long! Then you look like you borrowed the jacket from someone else. And it sorta feels straightjacket-ish. (do not know this from experience) and it's just plain awkward.

Until there's another reliable option, we have the fashionable albeit chilly length of the nixonsleeve. Good thing that all things presidential seem fashion-forward right now.

Raise your right hand and proudly show that nixonsleeve!! We know you're out there!!

xo

Lulu

Crackberry alert

Lulu here. Just testing the blackberry set-up. This is only a test.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

daily candy= daily necessity

One of my favorite online resources is Daily Candy!! I'm sure many of you are familiar with this handy e-newsletter...but just in case, here is some info!

From their website (their explanation is better than mine!):

"DailyCandy, a free daily e-mail newsletter and website, is the insider's guide to what's hot, new, and undiscovered- from fashion and style to gadgets and travel. As useful as it is entertaining, it's like getting an e-mail from your clever, unpredictable, and totally in-the-know best friend. The one who knows about secret beauty treatments, must-have jeans, hot new resturants- and always shares the scoop."

Take it from me--they aren't kidding when they say "entertaining." DailyCandy must employ only the best in their advertisers and writers....these ladies are hilarious, and so creative. 

They have a newsletter sent weekly that's called DailyCandy: Everywhere, and another that comes on a daily basis to those in and surrounding the 13 major cities featured. For the moms out there DailyCandy features a weekly email called Kids Everywhere for "busy and hip parents!" Any travel junkies in the blogosphere? They have you covered with their Wednesday DailyCandy Travel newsletter. Last but certainly not least (aka MY FAVORITE) is the DailyCandy Deals e-mail which features weekly discounts and promotions!

As you can see I really love them, and you will too!! Nothing feels better than being "in the know"!!!

xo,

charlie

Warning: graphic pic below

Please comment on my husband's ardent insistence that fried bologna is a classic childhood meal. I can neither confirm nor deny...as I have never had it!!

However, I am in no way a food snob. Or any type of snob for that matter. Unless it pertains to burning the wicks of brand new candles before you place them out on your table. THEN I judge.

But anyway...bologna is now in my more balanced fridge. Along with butter! (these aren't related, or are they?) and so there shall be fried bologna in my midst soon enough.

xo,
Lulu

ps-I am obvi on a health kick. (see Banana bread below)