dear mister madden.

Dear Mr. Madden,

I was so excited on that beautiful day in March when I found the PERFECT black pumps at your store in Las Vegas. Not too much of a pointed toe and not too much of a heel, just perfect in ALL areas.

The first time I wore them it was like magic; The most comfortable 9 hours I’d spent in heels for quite some time.

I wore them out to dinner one night, sitting at a table for 4 hours talking and laughing and drinking wine. Then, I stood up to leave. Something was off as I took my first step. I looked down and found this. Oh the sadness that ran across my face. I laughed it off, made it home, and went straight to bed.

I woke up the next morning in quite the angry mood remembering what had happened with my shoe. First thing I did was call your 1-800 customer service number. Surprisingly my call was promptly answered by the nicest woman; however, she told me I had to deal with the store to make a return.

I waited another hour for the store in Vegas to open and was greeted by the store manager. I told him what had happened and he was SOOO incredibly helpful. He instantly faxed me a shipping label {free for me?! even better!}. I copied my receipt, took my shoes and shipping label to UPS and they shipped it off.

A week later I got a phone call from your store telling me a brand new pair in my size had already been set aside and because of the inconvenience they would be shipping my shoes Next Day Air {again free for me!}.

Those shoes showed up on my door step today and the new pair feels just as perfect as the old pair did.

I just wanted to thank you Mr. Madden for teaching your employees to handle customer issues with such grace, generosity, and an overall awesome attitude. It seriously could not have been a better experience and I will be adding more Maddens to my already growing collection of 6 pairs. {That’s about half of the shoes I own}

Sincerely,

A forever future buy of Steve Madden Shoes.

City & Hills

I’ve realized over the last few years I have quite an addiction to reality TV. I blame it on my love of people watching. It is just so interesting to me to see how other people live their lives {even if some of it is fake}.

THE HILLS

I wasn’t surprised to hear this would be the last season of The Hills. It just hasn’t ever been as good without LC and Whitney on it. Dare I say too much drama?!

The previews for the premiere and the rest of the season are filled with drama. I LOVE IT!

Last nights episode was great. I couldn’t help but laugh at the scenes when Heidi was in Colorado. Her family’s reaction couldn’t have made for better TV. She looks beyond RIDICULOUS!!

Can’t wait for the season!

THE CITY

I love Whitney Port and I love the fashion on this show! However I cannot STAND Roxy or Olivia {love the way she looks in this picture…hilarious!}.

I’m  waiting for the day when Olivia gets fired from Elle. Hope it happens soon!

Whitney debuted her first collection at fashion week in this episode. Despite the few glitches in her show, I loved all of her designs; very her, very commercial. I didn’t get to see the very end, but I really hope she gets picked up in some retail stores!

Now that I’ve watched “Kell on Earth”, I love Kelly Cutrone even more! Hope she makes a lot of appearances this season!

the abyss.

I read a blog last week {can’t for the life of me remember which one} that did a “What’s in my purse?” post and I thought how funny. She had some REALLY random things.

I’ve never been a “big purse” kind of gal, they just get too heavy and are always in the way.

A couple years ago {he} bought my my Coach beauty below. It looks small, but it can fit a TON of stuff in there! It’s nick- named “the abyss” because I always have to search for whatever I’m needing. ALWAYS!

So….here’s what’s in my purse {as of last night}

1. Travel size lotion 
2. bag of pens
3. Benadryl {just in case someone has cats}
4. My new wallet 
5. Camera
6. Lip stick/gloss/chap stick {didn’t even realize I had 5 until I did this…think that’s enough for 1 purse?}
7. A brownie Cliff Bar {might get hungry at some point}
8. My planner {it’s a life saver these days}
9. Bottled water
10. Random paper clip, some change, and some earrings
11. Colgate Wisp
12. USB drive {you never know when you might need one}
13. and of course my phone

What’s in your purse? Anything completely random?

sunny delight.

I was never much of a reader….still not. But There is nothing better than sitting by the pool, listening to some tunes, and reading a good book.
I’m terrible at finishing books during the winter. If I’m going to snuggle up on the couch it’s to watch my TV shows…not read a book. HOWEVER, the summer is a different story. I whiz thru them laying by the pool for hours and hours on the weekends.

These showed up on my door this weekend.

I’ve become quite the fan of Chelsea Handler lately. I’m almost always in bed by 10 to watch her show before I fall asleep. The round table discussions usually have me bent over in laughter.

I’m starting with her first book and hope to have the last of the three read by the end of summer. I think that can be done! Can’t wait to start them! When’s the sun coming out next?
Stay tuned for the reviews!

markets and horses and bands, oh my.

Busy weekend #2 was stellar!

Saturday Morning I work up early and went to the Farmer's Market at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds. My boss and his wife at the University were always telling me about their purchases from there, so I just had  to see for myself!

I was slightly nervous {I'm always nervous when I go do something for the first time}, but once I stepped foot on the grounds it turned into excitement!

I had read a few articles about the market before I went so I was prepared with cash and knowledge. This early in the season, the market sells mostly plants but as the months move  on more and more fruits and vegetables will arrive! I was surprised by this because although there were a LOT of plants there was still TONS of food, even sweets and breads!

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There was one booth that really stuck out. I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture of it, but the guy was selling 1200 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. WHAT?!?!? Ya...I know...SO strange!

I walked around for the first 15 minutes just checking things out, then went back around and made all my purchases. It was so neat to go to each booth and see where each farmer was from.

30 minutes and $6.80 later, these were my purchases!

Leaving the Market I saw this… Not everyday you see 3 horses pulling in and parking at the gas station….

SATURDAY AFTERNOON, my office was having a "Pub Shuffle" before the Norman Music Festival.  What's a pub shuffle?! It was a mix between a pub crawl and a poker run. The object was to go to 7 places {bars} and get a playing card at each one. Once we returned to the office you would discard 2 cards and play your best hand. The winning hand received $75! Within each deck of cards was a card with a sticker, if you received that card, you won $10!

We started out at the office for food and pre-drinks and our first card. Then moved our way through:

Coaches {an oldie but goodie} McNellie's {the new place on Main Street} Bison Witches {also a fabulous sandwich place} Bill & Dee's {the Native American bar} The Blue Bonnet {Where the bartenders drink & smoke behind the bar, and the beer is chilled in refrigerators that are probably older than me} Blu {our usual hangout}

We ended back at the office for the awards ceremony

• Best to blend in at the Blue Bonnet
• Mostly likely to give pocket shots to underaged girls
• Best Dancer
• Best Pocket Shot Consumer
• Most Crooked Dealer
• Most Transformed
• Mostly likely to wake up on Main Street on Sunday Morning
  

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and somehow......

I won Best Dressed! ha ha I don't feel as though I completely deserved it, but the voting was done by round of applause and then a judges decisions {thank you Nick and Joe} 

I've never won an award, and ESPECIALLY not a Best Dressed award, so I was pretty excited! I'll be bringing it framed to work on Monday!

We headed out on the street to listen to the bands {this was my first music festival}, but after an hour of standing around they still weren't playing!  SO I headed home to watch the 2nd half of the Thunder game! I was so happy to turn on the game at the start of the 2nd half and see how much we were winning by! I didn't make it thru the whole thing, but saw yesterday morning that we pulled out a 110-89 victory!  We're back to LA on Tuesday..I really hope we can pull out a W!

SUNDAY I did the usual workout, house cleaning, and getting ready for the week! I also cooked myself a meal with my market purchases! Salmon and the fixings!

 

 

 

 

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

pjr finale.

Such disappointment last night.

My original pick for Winner of PJR season 7 was Jay, but he was put against Mila in Part 1 of the finale and lost. {Stupid decision by the judges, but whatever I’m over it}

So here were the 3 finalists.

EMILIO

Wow. He really surprised me. He’s a great sewer {if that’s how you want to say it}, but his designs are not great enough to have the high horse attitude that he does.

I loved the colors in his final show, and I would definitely buy most of his looks in the store, but that’s the problem. It was OVERLY commercial!

PJR is all about WOWing the judges. Show the world what you are capable of! {i.e. Christian Siriano}

This outfit wasn’t my favorite, but the coat is quite spectacular. It was really innovative to come up with his name as a print, but I feel like his ego is a little ahead of his abilities. It’ll be interesting to see where he is 5-10 years from now.

MILA

I honestly don’t even know what she was doing in the final 3 except for that the judges didn’t want an all male final.

Her concept of shadows was interesting, but there was no color! NONE! You can’t expect to win PJR without any color. I don’t think ANYONE could have done it! Even Christian had a little bit of color!

These were the 3 designs she showed in part 1. I’m still not sure how she beat out Jay. {letting go of bitterness}

Her line, like Emilio’s was quite commercial. I did like quite a few of her pieces, but again, just not for PJR. Nothing exciting, nothing that made me go WOW.

SETH AARON

Going into the finale I knew there he would be the winner, there just wasn’t any way for him to lose. He was so much like Jeffrey from season 3.

SA used mostly black and white, but inserted color in a subtle yet brilliant way. His designs were never something I would wear, but that was the point!

Throughout the season his clothes were sewn IMPECCABLY and there was no difference here! I’d say looking back on all the challenges, he deserved to win. He might have had some wacky, costume-y ideas, but they were almost always sewn perfectly and 100% him.

Congrats to Seth Aaron!

 

Final note: So glad Faith Hill was the guest judge! I just love her! {and her hot hubby}

Didn’t she look gorgeous?

so proud.

There couldn’t have been a better night in Oklahoma sports history than last night.

The Thunder won their FIRST playoff game in franchise history {only 2 seasons} against the defending world champs! I didn’t get to watch it, but the recaps and stories I’ve heard today make me so sad I wasn’t there!

We have a tough road ahead, 1 more game here Saturday night and then back to LA, but hopefully we’ll work our magic!

I read that it was one of the loudest sporting events anyone had ever been to. They even compared it to this night…..

That was 80,000+ people, it’s hard to imagine how almost 19,000 people could make that much noise, but I’m sure it was AMAZING!

Part 2 of the night….

The NFL draft.

WOW. 3 out of the top 4 picks is unheard of! Just shows you how much talent we really had in Norman!

It wasn’t a surprise to anyone that Sam went first {he looked so cute!}, and I wasn’t THAT surprised that McCoy went 3rd, but I was QUITE surprised {a fabulous surprise} that Trent Williams went 4th!

I’m not one to cry at random things on TV {movies are a different story}, but the moment a tear fell from Gerald McCoy’s eyes, my eyes welled up with tears. It was such an emotional moment to see his reaction.

He is such a special guy! He stepped on to the field at OU for the first time just 2 weeks after his mother passed away. He has incredible strength, and is known for having an amazing personality, crazy good work ethic, and a sense of humor like no other.

This is my favorite quote of his from last night, via bloomberg.com
“I’m real, real, real nice off the field, so a lot of people think I’m kind of soft,” he said. “Once I step across those white lines, I turn into an animal and I plan to bring that to Tampa.”

Love him!

I can’t leave out Jermaine Gresham! He was chosen #21 and will be a real star in the NFL once he’s back to 100%!

The draft couldn’t have gone any better for OU! I believe there are still 7 more OU players in the draft! I can’t wait to see where they end up!

I have a feeling we’ll be watching a LOT more NFL this coming fall!

What a great night to be an Oklahoman!

 

 

 

mothers day.

So my mothers birthday and Mothers Day are only a few weeks apart. It’s not only hard on the bank account, but it’s hard on my brain. Picking out a present for her is like having teeth pulled at the dentist.
She's one of those people that has everything she needs. Will go get what she wants. and is VERY picky about presents.
We are COMPLETE opposites. Like seriously can't get any more opposite, so finding a present for her is difficult.
She thinks flowers are a waste of money because they die in a matter of weeks
She doesn’t usually want clothes because she never goes out and only wears warm-ups to work
She spends ALL of her extra time in the yard, but doesn’t need anything new for it
She doesn’t like to buy new things for the house; she redoes furniture from garage sales
She doesn’t cook very often. She doesn’t like candy.
see where I'm going with this......
So I'm at a loss this year. Just completely at a loss.
The last few years I’ve done wine, gift cards to Lowe’s, and a couple clothing items…..I can’t do that again….

So far I’ve come up with this.

Really lame? Who doesn’t like fruit though?

HELP!

fingers crossed.

Sending all my good luck vibes to this guy today!

melting away.

This last season of OU basketball had to be one of the MOST disappointing seasons in a VERY long time!

We came into the season with a 2009 elite eight appearance, 2 McDonald's All-American recruits, and a top 20 ranking.

We flopped majorly. I mean MAJORLY. it was the first less than 500 season in 20 years!

I love coach Capel, but I do not know what happened. {You can’t recruit SOLELY on talent} This team just NEVER had any cohesiveness. It was almost painful to watch at times.

After the painful season that was full of team conflict and off the court issues we hit the post season.

They started dropping like flies.

• Ryan Wright GRADUATING
• Steven Pledger
• TJ Franklin
• Andrew Fitzgerald
• Tony Crocker GRADUATING
• Tommy Mason-Griffin  DRAFT {trying}
• Willie Warren DRAFT
• Orlando Allen  DRAFT {trying}
• Ryan Randolph
• Tiny Gallon DRAFT {trying}
• Kyle Hardrick
• Cade Davis
• Ray Willis DRAFT {trying}
• Beau Gerber

We have no center. no point guard. and 7 scholarship spots open.

June 24 should be interesting. I have a feeling only 1 of our guys will get drafted and I’m not really sure how high he’ll even go.

I’m not even sure who we have signed for next year…at this point…does it really matter?

magic.

Magic Bullet = Some of the best $50 ever spent

We purchased one last year and spent the first few weeks of ownership searching online for the PERFECT morning smoothie recipes.

Here’s my winner.

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Over the past few months, I have found the right layering formula for the perfect smoothness.

• 1 peeled and cut in to 4’s KIWI
• 1 cup of MILK {I’m a Skim drinker}
• 2 Tbsp of FROZEN ORANGE JUICE CONCENTRATE
• 1 scoop of PROTEIN POWDER
• 1 cup of FROZEN STRAWBERRIES {I usually just fill the rest of the cup}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found the recipe on Yahoo’s Health Section. It’s by David Zinczenko, author of the Eat This, Not That series.

Breakdown:  353 calories and 12g protein; Keeps you full for HOURS!

I make my smoothie and lunch every night before bed…Here’s what’s in the fridge today.

Spring Salad mix with grilled chicken and Light Caesar Vinaigrette Dressing!

 

 

 

 

 

This is my AMAZING find to the right. I LOVE Caesar dressing, but not the calories that come with it. This Little bottle is the perfect mixture of Caesar taste with vinaigrette consistency and 60 calories per 2 Tablespoons. Straight up awesome!

weekend wrap up.

Well. Wedding season has OFFICIALLY began. From last weekend to the last weekend in July I have 4 open weekends, 2 of which are Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends, the rest are filled with events {mostly wedding related}.

But you know what, I’m COMPLETELY excited about it! I love weddings, I love getting people gifts, I love excuses to drink, reasons to celebrate love, and really just parties in general.

Sure…it’s nice to have a weekend to do nothing, but about a quarter into that weekend I’m wishing I had something to do….

This past weekend was weekend #1

Friday I spent the evening chatting and finishing up wedding invitations with Evan, Danae, and her MOH Anne.

Envelope stuffing. wine. rsvp numbering. pizza. stamping. girl talk. brainstorming. laughter. budget tutorials. did I mention wine?

I stayed well after the invitations were finished and didn’t leave till 1am….Late by our old people standards!  I had so much fun spending time with the two of them! {doesn’t happen often this close to finals!}

and BTW Evan….TEBOW SUCKS! Always has….always will.

Saturday was a whirlwind! I had two showers to attend {thankfully just down the street from each other} for two wonderful couples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both went fabulous despite the nasty weather!

Next weekend is non-wedding related…Norman Music Festival 3 is taking place. Our office is having a Poker Run before the festival starts, I’m hoping to come out the winner of $100.

Wish me luck!

apologies.

I write this blog for myself, but I apologize if I offended anyone when I wrote in my last post "or the only size that fits me is a size I refuse to buy"

I have insecurities just like every other person in this world.

I like to take care of myself and I like to be healthy {for the most part}. If there is a set size range I want to be within, that's my issue. That doesn't mean I think anything beyond that is a bad size, it is simply a way that I keep myself in check instead of weighing myself all the time.

My apologies to anyone that was offended.

the perfect pair.

Some people have a thing for shoes…..

I have a thing for jeans…..

I’m always in search for the perfect pair.

I don’t mind spending quite a bit of a money on my jeans for a couple of reasons.

1. If I’m not at work, I’m more than likely in jeans. There are a few instances I’m not.{a hot summer day, at the lake, on the golf course} But for the most part {since I’m always cold} I wear them year round
2. It’s a RARE occasion that jeans from mall stores fit me right. {either too short, fit weird in the hips, or the only size that fits me is a size I refuse to buy}
3. Designer jeans fit like a glove, stretch less, and fade slower.

I have quite the criteria for jeans.

• Dark wash
• Medium rise {no plumber situations wanted}
• Minimum stretching {they never tell you the truth in the store}
• Skinny to Slim bootcut leg opening
• Normal pockets {no beading or strange stitching}
• Long enough to wear with heels {This can be difficult when you have a 34inch inseam}

In college is was Citizens of Humanity

{Style: Kelly Bootcut}

After college this style became impossible to find in Oklahoma and even harder to find in Dallas.

 

Lately I’ve mostly been wearing these….

William Rast is a line done by Justin Timberlake and his best friend growing up.

For the most part they are great jeans {don’t get their low rise unless you don’t mind showing your crack to the world}

These are my current fav.

{Style: Sadie}

Criteria Checklist:

• Mid-rise…check
• Straight leg…check
• Minimal stretching…check
• Dark wash…check
• Normal pockets…check
• Can wear with heels…check

But THESE are my new friend…..

A few weeks ago I read a post from Jenny on Little Green Notebook about these jeans from Gap. According to her they were getting RAVE reviews in blog land.

I decided to try them on at the mall last week. {my trusty $9.50 pair from Forever21 are starting to stretch beyond repair}

As soon as I slipped them on they felt like heaven. They meet EVERY requirement….epsecially one of the most important ones…

I’ve worn them 3 times and they have BARELY stretched!!!!

I have seriously found my new best friend and I’m considering ordering another pair just to keep as back up in case anything happens to them after Gap quits making them.

Oh the little joys in life….

Isn’t it funny how a single pair of jeans are really plural?

a sissified world.

Last week the NCAA rules committee approved 2 new rules for the upcoming 2010 and 2011 seasons.

NO TAUNTING RULE                                                                    If a player makes a taunting gesture to an opponent on the way to scoring a touchdown, a flag would be thrown and it would nullify the score and penalize the offending team from the spot of the foul.

Dead ball penalties (unsportsmanlike conduct after the goal line) would continue to be assessed after the score.

EYE BLACK RULE                                                                     Players are not allowed to have any symbols or messages on their eye black.

The rule changes in sports are starting to get ridiculous.

What does it matter if a guy has written a bible verse or their area code on their eye black? Isn’t that a form of freedom of speech? How can the NCAA take that away from players?

Football is about getting rough, it’s about dominating. Who cares if a player celebrates his touchdown, teases a guy who can’t keep up with him on the way to the goal line, or even stands over a down player shouting his dominance. They’re proud, they’re excited, they’ve worked hard, they want to win. You try playing in front of 80,000+ screaming fans and not get excited; it’s an adrenaline rush. {I get excited and I’m the one cheering, not playing}

I can’t solely contribute OU’s loss to BYU last season to the dumb handshake the NCAA had everyone take part in before the first game of the 2009 season, but I for sure think it de-hyped the players. They aren’t  going out on that football field to make friends, they’re going out their to beat the other team, to show the rest of the country how good they are, to prove to their fans they’re worth cheering for. You can still have respect for other players/teams without the pre-game handshake. Do it after the game.

The “sissifying” of our nation isn’t just taking place in college/professional sports, it’s all around the younger generation too. In school gym class, everything has to be fair. If a child loses, his parents are calling up the next day complaining.  {Trust me on this one, my mom was a PE teacher, I’ve heard all sorts of stories.}  Parents complain because their child doesn’t see enough playing time on the field/court. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about equal playing time for small children (let’s say elementary school and below), they have to learn somewhere.

But there comes a point when parents have to start teaching their kids that if they want to be good at something they have to work at it. You don’t just get the same amount of playing time for doing nothing as the kid who practices every day. You don’t get the same grades for not studying as the kid who studies every day. You have to work hard for what you want. Life isn’t an even playing field and neither are sports.

This post makes me anxious for football season to start!

136 days

beautiful disaster.

I know the volcano in Iceland is dangerous and has been quite a headache for those traveling around Europe, but man is it a beautiful site.

Look at these amazing photos via flickr

 

 

 

are those not just amazing?!