College Reunion-Bliss!

This...

Plus this...

Equals bliss.


Nothing beats time with my Theta girls at our little Rollins College. Preppy heaven on earth. We drank, we ate, we laughed, we cried, and that was only in the first hour together. Our shopping trip lasted for hours and we literally shopped until we dropped.

We accepted one husband on our girls trip. Cha Cha is an honorary Theta for sure. Plus he drove us around and took pictures of us everywhere we went! Can't beat that! 

Did you know that I went to college with Hillary Thomas of Hillary Thomas Designs? She owns The Chic Shop and the fabulous blog: Happiness is a Pink Foo Dog!

They need a Chic Shop on Park Avenue in Winter Park!

Coco Turns 3!

Where has the time gone. Look at this big girl having the time of her life at her Princess and Pirate Party!

Landon was excited too, after all all his friends were coming too!

Coco picked out her Sleeping Beauty cake...


And the cupcakes, made by Bestie Katie, had toppers from the Etsy shop: Sassy Pants

And of course pirate ones from Top It Cupcakes...

The favors were pirate cookies...

And princess crown cookies by TS Cookies!

Coco really enjoyed her party from beginning to end. And I was smiling from ear to ear watching her.

Happy Birthday Coco!!!

One Fabulous Mom Interview- Lisa LoCicero

Lisa LoCicero plays Olivia Falconeri on General Hospital. She has been a dear friend for years and I thought she'd be a perfect interview! She is the mom of one smart and gorgeous little man, and married to Michael, a director, producer and writer for Jay Leno. Here's her take on the One Fab Mom interview!

One Fabulous Mom Interview:

1. How would you describe yourself?

Harder to do than I thought...Ummm, disorganized, easy going, good listener, prone to physical insecurity. I work very hard but can also be extremely lazy, always seeking, strong mind...too passive and occasionally funny.

2. How do you continue to follow your passions and dreams while being a mom?

I stopped acting for a couple years to "Just" be a mom..(yeah right). It was awesome and very difficult to suddenly be completely outside the center of my own circle. I set a strong intention when I got pregnant that being a mother would be "adding to" the richness of my life and not taking away everything I already enjoyed. That was a big fear. That all the fun would be replaced by constant responsibility. Turns out it was a lot more fun than I expected, and made me better at following my dreams as well. It's easy for the moment because working on a soap is the perfect mom job. The studio is five minutes from home, five minutes from Luke's school, lots of days off, a set schedule AND I get paid to kiss foxy guys.

3. How has motherhood changed you?

More responsible, more patient, more focused and much more miasma.

4. What do you do for yourself so that you can still be Fabulous?

In relation too the heightened fabulosity that is required when I work, I tend to spend my daily life being pretty anti fabulous. Lot's of hair in a bun and flip-flops.. but I never turn away from a new beauty product and can blame it on the job. Latisse ,for instance, has grown my eyelashes so damn long that I have to trim them. Not sure if that is fabulous or disgusting.

5. What is the best mom advice you’ve ever gotten?

Don't give up on breast feeding, and pick up your baby when he cries.

6. What are your top five Fabulous must haves?

1. A child.
2. For me, because I am lazy (see above) a strong partner
3. Good neighbors who love to child swap (seriously, if you haven't met yours, bake a cake and ring their doorbell)
4. A quiet place to meditate
5. A lot of ponytail holders

7. Complete this sentence: “Being……makes me One Fabulous Mom.

Being grateful makes me one fabulous mom.

Amen to that Miss Lisa.


xoxoxo The Mrs.

I Never Saw A Wild Thing Sorry For Itself

Sometimes when I look at Landon I think of the D.H. Lawrence poem....Self Pity.

 "I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself...."

Look at the joy. He runs like he will never stop running.

He is living a care free life. No worries. 

Sometimes I look at him and all I can see is this sad little arm....all he can see is

a beautiful beach. A beautiful life.

I wanna be more like him.

How To Get Urine Out Of A Mattress-

 Yes....this is not good but this works!!!
For those who have had this problem, this is the best solution I have found. 

Baking Soda
You can eliminate bed-wetting stains or pet urine stains on a mattress using baking soda. If the urine has soaked into the mattress quite a bit, baking soda can remedy the situation. Simply sprinkle a good amount of baking soda onto the affected area. It will actually lift the stain and smell out of the mattress. After it dries, brush off or vacuum up the baking soda residue. You may have to repeat this process several times for optimal results.

Gotta go. Need to start my iced tea IV!

Are You Striving For Perfection? How about 80%?

I had dinner with Godmother of Coco the other night. We were talking about life and how exhausting it can be sometimes. We were both talking about how busy we are with work, families, drama (real and imagined), love lives and kids.

She told me that as a young 24 year old she had admired a girl in her forties in her same office. This woman had it all. She had a great job, a family, she was on top of her game. In the elevator my friend asked her what the secret to it all was. She looked right at her and said:


"Being happy with 80%".

Wait one second, though my Type A inner self, weren't we supposed to be striving for perfection? Looking for that 100%? Then I thought about the times I had hit 100%:

100% perfect Mom? (dream on)
100% perfect wife? (I don't think so!)
100% perfect business? (sometimes but things change)
100% perfect kids? (some days!)

This really makes me think. Am I driving myself crazy?

I do like things to be pretty perfect. I think it's all about the idealized life we have all dreamed of for ourselves. It's hard when you fee like you haven't lived up to that. 

It's easy to look around the house and see all the things that need to be done and fixed but...


YOU HAVE A HOUSE. A lot of people don't, or lost theirs.

It's easy to look at your fighting kids and see perfection when....

YOU HAVE HEALTHY KIDS. A lot of people don't, or don't have kids and are dying to have them.

It's easy to look at your husband and think he's not enough but....

Think of all the girls dying to get married, hating the single life, and think of all the other women who would love to have your dependable sweet husband! (WHOA!)

You see where I'm going with this right? I think I might have figured this one out. If I keep striving for 100%, I might miss the fabulous 80% that's sitting there smiling at me.

Fine. 80% can be good, even great. 


I'm still going to monogram my kids clothes and dress us all alike.
Okay so maybe 85%.

Weekend Recipe- Chicken Stew With Olives and Lemon!

Happy Friday!

 

Here's my favorite recipe these days...it's light and filling!Click on the title for the recipe!

 

 

Chicken Stew with Olives and Lemon

 

Boned, skinned chicken thighs are just as convenient as breasts, and they have an added advantage: Their succulent texture and robust flavor stand up well to braising. 

Add the flavors of Italian salsa verde--bright parsley, tart lemon, piquant capers, and green olives--for a fresh, fast twist on cold-weather cooking. 

Prep and Cook Time: about 45 minutes. 

Notes: To save prep time, cube the potatoes or mince the garlic and capers while the chicken browns. Then, while the stew simmers, you can chop the parsley and juice the lemon!