Shopaholic in Alabama

It only took me living to be 42 years old, but I have finally managed to talk the DH into a Louis Vuitton. He has always been great about buying designer bags as a gift for me. The first gift he ever gave me when we were dating was a matching Dooney & Burke handbag, wallet and key fob. (Don't judge the Dooney, the year was 1992). Over the years, we moved into Coach, Kate Spade, Burberry, etc - but I've never been able to talk him into a Louis Vuitton.  This is the year I will own that Louis Vuitton! How sad is it that I will have to travel to Atlanta or Jacksonville to buy this bag in person? Now THAT is a disadvantage of not living in a major metropolitan area (see, sometimes I do miss Charlotte). But hey, I'm thrilled to have a short weekend getaway with the DH and come home with a new LV.  So now I need your help, as I'm really confused about which bag I want to purchase. I tend to carry large handbags, I'm not a small person and look strange carrying a s...

Going back to work has created several "problems" for me. You know - lack of sleep, lack of time for housecleaning, running out of Diet Coke, etc. However, one of the biggest hassles of working is having to fix my hair every.single.day.   You see, when I was working from home and only going into the office one day a week, I could go days without touching my hair with a flat iron because quite often, only the husband would see me. I could hide my bad hair days behind the computer. Not so much anymore, my friends. As a result, I've been torturing my hair with the flat iron and hair dryer on an almost daily basis.  The last time I went to see my hair guru Phillip, he informed me that my hair was literally breaking off around my face. I was horrified. Horrified and devastated. I've never had problems with breakage - my hair has always been thick, lush and healthy.   I wanted to cry, but instead I started to look for a new styling product as I knew I had no choice...

Happy Monday! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Today I have a few random thoughts...   Musing #1: Our weather is so strange this time of year. Just last week, we had highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's. Today, our projected high is 77 degrees and tomorrow it will be 79 degrees. Does this mean I can get a suntan in late October? At least it will make my 4 miles nice, huh? Today Oct 24 Tue 25 Wed 26 Thu 27 Fri 28 Sunny Sunny Sunny Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy 77°F High 79° High 78° High 79° High 73° High 52° Low 54° Low 54° Low 54° Low 46° Low Chance of Rain: 0% Chance of Rain: 0% Chance of Rain: 0% Chance of Rain: 0% Chance of Rain: 20% Details Details Details Details Next 5 Days Musing #2: All the Alabama and LSU fans are buzzing about the game on Saturday, November 5 in Tuscaloosa. Experts say this game will likely decide who plays for the BCS National Championship, and even the national media is all over it. Of course (!) I will be there, and I'm al...

Dear Lilly Pulitzer, I love your designs. They are my favorites. I wear Lilly Pulitzer every single day of my life. Not just during the spring or summer, as some of the Lilly "core" customers do. During the fall and winter months, I wear your jeans, cords, sweaters, Blayney dresses, etc. I wear your shoes almost every day and have more green Lilly shoe boxes in the closet than one can count. Even on those days that I only go to the gym and don't really "get dressed" - then I sleep in my Lilly pajamas , use my Lilly handbags and wear my Lilly sunglasses .  However, there is one little problem. Your strapless dresses never work for me.  Even when I was much thinner - they were way too tight in the bust. Even when I "size up" - same results - too tight in the bust.  Since I've recently lost a good bit of weight (25 pounds and counting), I thought I would give a Lilly strapless dress one last try. During the recent Endless Summer Sale, I p...

TGIF, and welcome to another edition of Fearless Fitness Friday.  Hopefully I'm not boring you to death with the FFF postings. Please know that it is helping me achieve my fitness goals, feeling like I have to be accountable on the blog for what type of progress I am making. Additionally, I have had a lot of personal emails from readers and friends who say the updates are motivating them. If my failures, successes and challenges are helpful to others - then I'm all for it! :-)  My newest struggle is getting blisters on my feet. More specifically, on my toes. On the bottoms of my toes, in between my toes, and on the sides of my big toes have all been a problem. These are only a problem for me after running/walking my 4 miles here at the beach - I absolutely never get a blister from taking a group exercise class at the YMCA.  Last week they were really, really bad. When I went to the salon and saw Phillip on Thursday, I showed him and he freaked out. I thought he w...

Happy Hump Day, Shopaholics!  This summer, I have been wearing my pink Toywatch and round face gold Gucci watches almost exclusively. And I never thought I would say it - but I'm getting a little tired of looking at those two. Yesterday, it was time to show a different style a little love. I was excited to find the above watches in my jewelry box (I actually forgot about the ESQ and Gucci bangle). Imagine my surprise when none of the four watches worked. Dead batteries, I presume. I set them all to 9:00 and waited. Still nothing. So today I'm off to the jewelry repair, and hoping that once batteries are replaced, they will be good as new!  Does this happen to you? Several things not working at the same time? So frustrating, huh? Maybe I should just forget about the time today! :-)  Have a Wonderful Wednesday!  p.s. Does anyone else think that Gucci bangle might be close to vintage status? I'm no Gucci watch expert...