I didn't forget Jones

I think he needs to wear this shirt while belting out "Take On Me." Right?! (Jamie's Amber Visions are way cooler than these shades though.)

Gold Sequins + Gladys Knight

When we descend upon Nashville in October for what will heretofore be referred to as The Greatest Road Trip Ever, it will not be without carefully orchestrated outfits and, yes, wardrobe changes (probably in the back of cabs). And sequins. Of course, we're a klassy group of gals, so we're not looking for head-to-toe sparkle. Alls we need is a little something so we shimmer just enough.

So please. Kindly offer your opinions. I present to you The Gold Sequin Options for our rendition of "Midnight Train to Georgia," to be performed during The Greatest Road Trip Ever. (We are currently working on choreography.)

(My personal pick is the gold-sequined newsboy hat.)

Birthday goodness (title for all my foodies)

JoAnn made my birthday cake for the work celebration this year. Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting, straight from Barefoot Contessa. (Except the chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups garnish. All JoAnn.) Mmmm: Chocolate and peanut butter is my favorite combo. Go here, and make them for yourself. They were delish!

Dim Sum and Some Games

Leah threw another great party last night. Sorry if you weren't invited cause it was A for Awesome. Check out some photos here.

Grace

I fall a lot. Don't believe me?

Remember this? And this? Oh, and here. That was a good one. Wait! I have one more.

Oops. I did it again. I totally busted it as I was leaving work the other day. Confession: I was texting a co-worker about something urgent as I was walking down the stairs. Okay, okay. Full disclosure: I was texting Mary Elizabeth about pedicure plans. (It's not completely untrue. She IS a co-worker and I urgently needed to get my toes done.)

Anyway, I evidently missed a stair, slipped, and fell to the second-floor landing. Actually, I kind of skidded to the landing. Bruised ankle? Check. Bruised shin? Check. Bruised ego? Check.

Thankfully no one saw me, really, except for our sweet security guard who yelled out and jumped up from behind the desk to come help my crumpled self. But, no thank you, kind sir, I wouldn't care for any extra attention. I held up my hand and hollered down that I was alright. And then I swept the hair out of my eyes, hoisted myself up, picked up my bag, and carefully limped down the stairs and out the door. I have that walk of shame mastered.

Drumroll, please

We have a winner. And Jones, I wish you much, much luck. I hope someone else will agree to video, because I'm planning to Work. It. Out. while you're singing. I've picked up some sweet moves from this video. I might get a perm before October.

Ladies and gentleman, the next time you see a video featuring this incredibly delicious hit, it will be of the Karaoke King. And well worth the wait, I promise.

a-ha - New Music - More Music Videos

Joining the "I should be ashamed club"

Katie likes it. And I downloaded it too. (And she posted VIDEO!)

I want to not like her, I do.

And most of the time? Most of the time I succeed.

But I love to dance. And this song makes me dance—all around the house, in the car, at work.



I was embarrassed for myself, so I bought the new song from Train too.

This spooks me

I think this is a bad, BAD idea. Just sayin'. I wouldn't want to be in that Sam's Club after dark.

I love stuff

I do. Some might call this materialistic, perhaps even say I have a shopping addiction. (See? I can laugh about it now, I can!) I call it being honest. I recognize the desires of my heart.

And that is why I love a good prop sale at work.

Especially a half-price and free prop sale. Hell-to-tha-yeah. (Dear Mama, please forgive me for using a dirty word on my blog. I needed it for effect.)



Check out my loot. Now that's what I'm talking about. I scored this stuff during two sales—two checks, one for $5 and one for $8. I walked away with 18 plates (I LOVE plates), two cheese knives, a candlestick that matches some others that I have, four tiny silver vases (that need polishing), two wooden architectural pieces and a glass mirror tile for the guest room wall, four artichoke votive holders, three tiny bookend knickknacks, a cloth napkin I have big plans for (that's a lie, but it matches my mom's duvet so I felt compelled to snatch it from an intern), and—not pictured—a super-cool ceramic vase and a kitchen utensil holder that matches my mom's kitchen perfectly.

I've really avoided prop sales the past couple years cause they had gotten so pushy. But, well, there are fewer people to compete with here lately, so I decided to try again. I am pumped about all those plates—I got some for the guest bath, my bedroom, the dining room, and a couple I intend to actually use. Woot!

Luke came to visit

And look what he wanted to play with! Such a smart little kid. I had an old Georgia/Auburn game on TV, and when it went to commercial, Luke started making the sign for "more" and saying "football." Notre Dame, Smotre Dame.

Look how happy the Red & Black makes him. Luke + UGA = True Love.

And now for the weird stuff

The evening with Pat Conroy (I'm sorry, I just really love the way that sounds) wasn't all brilliant prose and witty commentary. Oh no. There were people there.

People are stupid. Oh, I love to people-watch. And then talk about how much I hate people.

First, Amy and I chose the closest seats to the front that we could find, next to a perfectly normal-looking woman in a dress (though she should've thought twice about ditching the bra). But then, shortly after the program started, said woman stretched out her legs and began to unwrap her Subway sandwich. Which she chased with a handful of gummy fruit snacks. Now that just seemed downright inappropriate. Because, y'all. It wasn't a tailgate.

Then I noticed the woman seated next to Amy. The woman who politely crossed her legs—after removing one of her shoes. She spent the next two hours frantically fanning her naked foot. Really, lady?

But suddenly I was distracted by someone—something—else. Can you see that sparkly newsboy cap on that old lady? Had to sneak a pic. Took it specifically for this post.



And then, oh then, the woman behind us got started. The woman who did not realize that people paid $40 to listen to famous authors. She thought she was part of the show. Know what else she thought? She thought when Pat Conroy asked rhetorical questions that she should shout out answers. And the more wine she drank, the more she felt led by the literary spirit. Pretty soon she was predicting the words of a great novelist for us. And not one of her friends was kind enough to stuff a sock in her mouth.

An evening with the [literary] elite

Wow.

So it's no secret that Pat Conroy is an amazing Southern author. I say "Southern author" not because he isn't a plain good author, but because it makes me very happy to point out that he's my kind of people. As we might say, "He done us proud."

Okay, okay. We would never say that. My people do not use incorrect grammar.

Back to my evening with Mr. Conroy. Short story: A friend of Amy's got her two tickets to the sold-out event (an estimated 1,000 people were turned away) and she asked me to go. After thinking about it for, oh, point-something-something of a nanosecond, I said—screamed—"YES!" (Also imagine me dancing around like a fool.)

To say it was one of the most delightful evenings of my life would be a…hmm. What's a stronger word for "understatement?"

Author (and wife) Cassandra King was lovely; Rick Bragg, hilarious as always; and Pat Conroy was just flat-out inspiring.


"My mama said to me, 'Don't forget to tell the stories.' " —Pat Conroy

And now I feel a duty—an inspired duty!—to get back to writing, to telling the stories.

A rainbow on our way to the Doubletree = sign of a good night.


I know it's really dark, but look! It's Pat Conroy.


The new book, 14 years in the making.


My very own autographed copy, included with the ticket.

Rock the vote!

Remember this? Of course you do. The options have been narrowed down. Please head over to the poll on the right and vote! It's starting to look like Jones may need to hire a vocal coach before October. And I need to buy a Flip for documentation purposes. To whom do I turn in blog expenses for reimbursement?

Uh, hello?

I have to read this, right?