birthdays, giveaways, & avoiding the bday devil

So are you tired of hearing about my love of birthdays? Yes I adore birthdays, but I need to be honest. My sister and I had our fair share of the "birthday devil" while we were growing up.

What is this, you ask? Well it is when you get jealous of your sibling for getting all the attention and the gifts. {yes, we have video of me at 4 crying while my sister was eating her cake...oh my}

How did my parents cope? For my birthday, Jessica got 1 gift..and me the same when it was her day. Just a little gift made us feel included and special. It also saved our family movies from sheer disaster.

So in honor of my birthday, I am having a giveaway. And, to make you feel extra special, I am giving away 2 gifts. Everything is better in pairs!

One lucky winner will get a $32 gift card to Target {in honor of a special number to me this year...I could have made it $25, but who am I kidding}. Hopefully with this little card, you will be able to indulge in one of those lovely finds I posted about & hopefully you will not rub it in my face when you get it & I don't. :)

The second gift, is in honor of my dainty butter dish turned heirloom jewely holder. You will get to choose the "butter dish" you want. Take a moment to visit Priscilla's site and see what could be yours.

From Iris to Trillium to Tulip..it is yours to choose & Priscilla will make it for you. You know you are dying to see this on your nightstand.

You can enter this giveaway 3 different ways:
1. Commenting {please indicate in your comment, your choice of butter dish}
2. Becoming a Follower {please comment that you are a follower}
3. Blog about the giveaway {another comment please}

Best wishes to you all! I will love celebrating with you.

The giveaway is open from today {Oct. 13th} to Sunday {Oct. 17th} at noon ET.

Cheers~
e

i'm a 1 stop shop bday girl

I am an easy girl to shop for when it comes to birthday gifts.

Just walk into any tar-jay....and you will find oodles of things that make me giddy.

Here are just a few:

I ~heart~ this rug. I would love it in the largest size possible please...oh and a smaller one for the kitchen sink area.

I will take 3 of these baskets for under my sofa table. Chalk pens will neatly point out places for Mommy, Daddy, & Thurgood to leave their goodies.

I love shoes. It is in my blood. Afterall, I am 1/4 Filipino. These are identical to an Anthropologie shoe, but at a fraction of the cost.

Ohh...and these booties too please.

And yes...a little bling so people will not only see me but hear me coming.

Hmmm..I apparently have a theme of colors I am eyeing this fall...a cooler palette than usual for me.

Cheers~
e

{Ooohh...the 13th will be here before I know it. I am such a kid at heart.}

harvest homecoming

Every year I have an annual date with my husband's uncle, Uncle Johnny. We stroll through downtown New Albany, Indiana as the town celebrates their fall festival.


Every year we are on a mission: to get the best chicken dumplings & apple dumplings.

We are dumpling kinda people.

Every year we are successful. We are successful because we go to the same places: The Redmen's Club for their yummy chicken dumplings & the Elm Street Presbyterians for their whole apple scrumptious dumplings.

We always have a tale to tell...but this year (in the 5 years we have had this annual date), I was FINALLY able to get to eat THE DONUTS.



The average wait time is 2 hrs. Yes. People stand in line for 2 hours to devour their limit of 2 dozens per order.

Every year Uncle Johnny tells me he will stand in line for me, but I never do it. This year I was lucky. There were only 4 people in line. We jumped in line.

Granted we caused a massive line to form behind us because I screamed out, "There are only 4 people in line?!", but no matter we were order number 5.

And how many did I actually order? 3 donuts. As the Masons told me, I am the 1st person to ever only get 3. Hehehe..what can I say. I barely finished my 3rd one on our drive home. But oh my...I can see why people wait.

Well this year after hearing me speak of "the best dumplings" Trisha Lou wanted to go, so this Sunday...we went.

I took her to the "bootleg" booth for the Redmen's Club. They sell their dumplings outside their back door. It feels so sneaky, but is so fun. They even got the lovely cook to come out and smile for us. Even though she refused to tell me her name when she found out this was going on my blog. She said she was too embarrassed by her hair & oven mitt hands. I think she was adorable.

We then strolled among the booths.

Truth be told....we secretly hope to have a booth there next year. We love crafting. We love working together. We love harvest.

Now the question is...what lovely wares would our booth consist of?

We have a few ideas that we are playing with. I am just so ADD when it comes to crafts....oh me oh my.

So I am curious.

What booths immediately cause you to go look?

What types of accessories or doodads have a gravitational pull on you? {for me..jewelry, hair accessories, bath & body, and kid stuff...they get me every time}



Here is to our plan Miss Trisha Lou! I can picture our little booth now. :)

Cheers~
e

behind the counter - pharmacy trade secrets

Ok so I have been thinking...here I am in pharmacy school and here I have met so many wonderful people thru blogging, it is a shame to NOT share with you some of my pharmacy knowledge.

So...

I am going to dedicate the 1st Thursday of the month to trade secrets.

I will cover topics from medicines (new & old) to beauty (afterall, the pharmacy has access to so many products) to herbals to random health questions.

Most importantly, I want to hear from you.

I want to learn from you on how to be a better pharmacist..and I can only do that if you help me. So ask away.

What do you want to know more about?

What are you unsure of?

What confuses you?

What do you want to learn more about?

I think the best health starts with communication and comfort.


{small disclaimer} Now since I am the daughter of an attorney, please note I will not be diagnosing or prescribing. I am just merely opening the lines of communication and want to share with you some insight I have gained in my education and neophyte profession. {whew...got that out of the way.}


So where to begin?


For fun, let's start with a cheap beauty secret. Eye makeup remover.

Women can spend anywhere from $5-25 on this product.

There is no need.

Let me introduce you to the best eye makeup remover.



It gently removes eye makeup. It is most often called upon by MDs when you have an infection near the eye or lash area (like a sty) as a means to clean the eye without stinging the eye. (ahem..beware of waterproof mascara. We can go there later. Mascara is a topic all by itself.)

It is also an amazing face wash.

It is almost equivalent to anything for sensitive skin like Cetaphil, except cheaper. A 15 oz bottle costs less than $4 at most stores. It is non-irritating and reduces inflammation so it works even on acne prone skins. Also due to its mildly acidic properties it gets the skin clean & refreshed without that "tighting."

Best of all, you are being gentle on the delicate eye skin area.
No scrubbing = fewer dark circles (those come from blood vessel damage..damage from wear & tear of contact).

As my Lola would say -- "Don't rub your eyes! You are ruining them."

So there you have it. Go out and try it if you haven't. It will cost you less than a trip to Starbucks (you have to have a treat with your Pumpkin Spice Latte).

Fall in love with baby shampoo. I highly recommend it.

Feel free to share away with friends and family or not. Either way, it will be our little secret.

Cheers~
e

FYI - I personally use the Walmart generic brand (ahhh..generics, another great topic) of J & J's Sleepy Time.

PS Please note these are recommendations. If you do have a question or concern that would fall in line with my Trade Secret series, please drop me a line. Drop me a line even if you don't. I love chatting! :)

Now all I need is a button or cute picture for my series.

my love affair with glass

I chose glass.

Those little crystal flowers had me at hello. I just needed a little enabling to go ahead and "scum" shop for myself so close to my birthday.


And the furniture getting the dainty baubles? My master bedroom dresser. I love how it lightens the dark wood. (Yes that is my cable line. This is how I roll..dainty glass knobs with hideous cable cord.)


I also love how the glass knobs curtsey at my battan & board.


My little green topiaries look even more at home. (Mr. B's side)

Because we all love a great BEFORE & AFTER:

BEFORE (excuse me while I die from embarrassment)

And Happily ever AFTER! Look at my lovely cream magnolias peeking in the mirror.


I am giddy that my master bedroom is slowly evolving into the room I envisioned..and one that I truly love.

Cheers~
e

like butter

When is a butter dish more than just a butter dish?

When the detail is more than perfection & you have been smitten with the artist ever since you were little girl AND your mother had a mug that had the exact detailing...how I use to sneak sips of hot cocoa in that mug pretending to be a writer (when my mom was away obviously).

This weekend Mr. B & I went to the St. James Art Show. It is located in Old Louisville. Some of you might remember Old Louisville. If we buy our forever home in the city...this is where we would love to call home. And one of the most delightful perks is the art fair every 1st weekend in October.
We go every year. And every year he allows me to pick out one of my gifts among the artists. This year I found Priscilla Eggen. I recognized her work immediately and wanted a mug (so I could finally have one like my mom's), but she was sold out. Instead the delicate butter holder in cream caught my eye.

I knew just the place and use for it...on my bedside table to hold my jewelry at the end of the day. What do you think?
Absolute charming....and as a small birthday gift from Mr. B..even more precious.

Go check out this amazing and talented arist. Her use of color is simply divine too. I constantly found myself torn between amethyst and cream. Plus, she is so sweet and endearing..and her work is something you will treasure.

Cheers~
e

hello october

And so it is October. How can I tell?

My favorite candle is in stock at Wally World. (Pumpkin Spice...it is the best $5 you will spend, so stock up.)


Halloween socks are covering my son's toes. ($1 at Tar-jay)


And my Fall Boden catalog is on my coffee table.


Yes, October is here!

I think I will spend this weekend cleaning, going to the St. James Art Festival with Mr. B, and creating these lovelies so that my little family & me can enjoy our apple cider in style.


Now...if only I had a tres chic jacket & some Frye boots to wear to the art show. This jacket/sweater would make me feel like I was an artist. How yummy is this?


Have a delightful beginning to your October this weekend.

Cheers~
e

PS 11 days till my birthday...I am still a child at heart. I still get excited for my birthday.