Shopaholic in Alabama

Hello Everyone! Hope you're doing fantastic and enjoying these HOT summer days. I am a certified beach bum and sun lover, but this weather even has me looking forward to cooler temps!  Yesterday was my 45th birthday (even I can't believe I'm this old). Anyway, I digress. I posted the above picture yesterday on my Instagram and Facebook pages, proving a point that even on my birthday I managed to squeeze in a short workout. This picture has led to a lot of questions from FB friends about how I'm losing weight, as I have now lost 51 pounds.  So I decided to start documenting some of my habits and what I am using, what I've learned, etc.   Let's start with some of the questions I've received. Hopefully this will help others in their weight loss and fitness battle...because believe me, it's a battle. No doubt about it.  Question 1: "How did you get started?" This one is actually easy: I joined the gym and starting going to the classes. Wh...

Last night, we went to dinner with my sister and brother in law. Both of their birthdays are in the month of January, and my parents kept their two little boys (my nephews). So it was a great opportunity for the adults to have a fun night out!  Of course we headed over to one of our favorite restaurants here at the beach, Louisiana Lagniappe. They have an amazing menu - the drinks are fantastic and the food is to die for. My sister and I started out with a King Cake Martini, which is one of their specialty drinks.  And how does this sound - pan sauteed grouper topped with hollandaise sauce and grilled shrimp, served with a side of lump crabmeat and a twice baked potato? I will have to atone for this meal all week. We finished the night by having one of my sister BFF's and her boyfriend over for drinks and conversation. They have been friends for over 20 years, and hadn't spent any time together in years. There were lots of laughs and it was fun to see Angie again,...

Are you a Birthday Cake Snob? I'm Guilty as charged... Every year, I want a pretty birthday cake. The only requirements are: #1 - it must be from Pollman's Bakery in Mobile. #2 - it must have a beach scene. #3 - it must be yellow cake with buttercream frosting. No whipped icing, etc. Go big or go home - my birthday only comes around one time a year!  DH did a great job ordering my birthday cake this year, which is pictured above. We enjoyed it last night with family.  Do you have any birthday cake requirements? Tell me I'm not alone, please...

Happy Thursday, everyone! Hope you're having a great day! Pardon me today while we interrupt the spring shopping season to discuss something very near and dear to my heart. Today we're talking about our female friendships, all the complications of maintaining them, but all the joy they bring. How many "best friends" did you have in middle school? Probably at least a dozen, right? Don't you remember, we all signed each others yearbooks and said "You'll be my Best Friend Forever".  We wrote "notes" that were signed "BFF". Middle school was a strange time for me, I was moving out of my ugly duckling stage and slowly into the young woman that I would ultimately become. Even with all the awkwardness and self discovery, I knew survival required me to have many BFF's. (You all would NOT believe my pictures from this period of time, trust me when I tell you, they'll never be posted around here!) Then we all moved to high sch...