Shopaholic in Alabama

Do you ever have a brief moment of clarity?  It could be about anything life throws your way - a gut instinct regarding a career change, a relationship change, or a change in your habits? Oprah calls these "Ah Ha" moments, and I'm inclined to agree. Last week I was faced with evacuating from my home here at the beach due to the pending arrival of Hurricane Isaac. Luckily, our area was mostly spared from any damage and turns out evacuation probably wasn't necessary...but I still had to go through the motions.  After packing up all my important papers (deeds, titles, insurance documents), my wedding photos (I got married such a long time ago there are no electronic copies) and my jewelry - I was standing there in my spare bedroom looking at the contents of my closet. Then I looked at my second closet. I had to decide - what to take and what to leave. As you can imagine, the entire process was completely overwhelming. It was in that moment that I went "Ah Ha...

  Are you ready for Memorial Day? This week has been so busy at work, I'm more than ready for a three-day weekend! I plan to enjoy every single moment, get a lot of sun and relax!  Today, I'll be sharing five of my favorite finds and thoughts. Enjoy!  #1: By now, you all know that I love the Uscoop website and frequently pick up Today's Chase. If you haven't heard this yet, my friends at Uscoop recently launched an online boutique that features some of our favorite preppy designers. The new website is Tuckernuck , and brand offerings include Gretchen Scott, Castaway Clothing, Strong Boalt, Harding-Lane, Loren Hope, and many others. You simply must check out their website HERE - and note they are offering 20% off through Monday, May 28 using discount code "Memorial20" at checkout.  #2: OK, I'll admit it...since I started working again, I now drink coffee every morning. I don't really know how it happened - I suppose after all these year...

While I'm normally a very happy person and don't have many real problems, the past few weeks have thrown me some tough stuff. I'm not going to lie - it's been hard. When I ran across these online, I felt like the universe was trying to tell me something. Do you ever get that? Have a Terrific Tuesday! 

Happy Tuesday! Remember how I promised to tell you what I did on the 10th anniversary of 9-11? Guess what? I participated in a 5K in Mobile - the "Tunnel To Towers" Run.  This race has been held annually in New York since the 1st anniversary of 9-11.  It pays tribute to all first responders and is named after NYC firefighter Stephen Siller. Siller was on his way home from an an overnight shift when he heard about the attack on the World Trade Center over his scanner. Stephen immediately turned around in his vehicle and headed towards the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to head to WTC. Upon finding out that traffic had the tunnel blocked, this brave man abandoned his car and ran through the tunnel with 75 pounds of gear on his back...nothing would stop him from helping the citizens and his fellow firefighters. Stephen was picked up by a fire crew and transported to West Street and Liberty, near Ground Zero. He was never seen again.  On this, the 10th anniversary of 9-11, th...

      Good Morning, Shopaholics! Welcome to Monday! Never thought I'd be so happy to see the beginning of a new week!  You guys remember that the DH is traveling a lot now, right? Well he has been gone for almost two weeks now. The first week was actually ok - I had lots of projects, etc keeping me busy and the time flew by. Last week though...that was a different story. If it were possible for something to break, screw up, or for me to just need someone to talk to - it all happened last week. I was beginning to feel like the universe had it out for me.  Last Tuesday, the car would.not.start. Naturally, the DH is in our second car (my backup), so I was stuck. Thank goodness my sister and her boys came down to help me. Of course it happened on a day when I had a ton of errands to run and lots of business to handle so I was really in a bind.  A few days before the car episode, my laptop died. My entire life is on that machine. So many photos, d...

Happy Thursday, Shopaholics! It seems this week has flown by, I can't believe it's almost time for the weekend! Yeah! :-) Are you on Facebook? Silly question - of course you are! These days it's easier than ever to connect with family, old friends, new friends, current and potential customers, etc via Facebook. Where else can you keep up with friends you haven't seen in 20 years, have your Auntie hit you on the chat, and sell a piece of Lilly - all at the same time? Yep - that's Facebook. Everyone manages their Facebook account differently, and in a manner which is comfortable to them. For me personally, I accept almost every friend request that comes my way. Unless I've been told by a trustworthy friend that someone is a total psycho or potential child molester (don't laugh - I've heard both of those stories) - I generally accept the friend request. As a result, I've reconnected with friends I haven't seen or talked with since as far back a...

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Since I took a blog break that lasted almost the entire month of May, I just realized that I didn't have a chance to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day! The above photo was taken Mother's Day Weekend 2011. My Mother and sister both came down to the beach and we had a girls' dinner out at Cobalt, a local restaurant. It occurred to me that many of my readers are new within the last year, and probably never read my post from Mother's Day 2010. This explains a lot about mine and the DH's decision to be "Childless By Choice". Perhaps it's time for a repeat!  It is very important to me that you, my readers, feel like you actually know me and I'm a real person. Sometimes I think that in the blogging world, there is this sense of trying to impress readers and other bloggers. I'm not here to impress you, but I do hope to entertain you and find new and special friends along the way. I hope you feel like you know me be...

Happy Monday, Shopaholics! Did you guys think I deserted you? Were you wondering "where in the world is she" and if I was ever going to update again? Never fear - I am back now! The past month has been a whirlwind of events, emotions and happenings around the Shopaholic 'hood. So much to cover that I probably won't be able to do it in one post (and you'd be bored reading it anyway!). May was a extremely busy and challenging month for me. Just a few things:  the DH started a new job where he is traveling all the time (he's been gone for two weeks today, returning on Thursday - hopefully);  I've been working out 4-5 days per week and trying to lose weight (yes - again); I put myself on self imposed "buying restriction" because of the workout/weight loss plan; and we had huge family celebrations for Mother's Day, both of my parent's birthdays (they are only 6 days apart!) and Memorial Day. IF all this weren't quite enough for me to ...

TGIF, Shopaholics! As you guys know from yesterday's post, it was spa day! I spent the entire afternoon with my hair colorist/stylist/resident expert, Phillip Drummond. Believe me, if you make it down here on vacation or live within the sound of my voice, you need to go see him. Your locks will never be the same - in a good way! (Please let me know if you'd like to be put in touch!) Anyway, we were talking about various life stresses for both our families over the past few weeks. These "words of wisdom" are framed and in Phillip's office. He gave me a copy and suggested that maybe my readers might enjoy seeing them too. We're not sure where it originated, so I can't give credit, but enjoy. "Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. Make all your friends feel there is something special in them. Look at the sunny side of everything. Think only of the best, work only for...

Hello my lovely friends! Hope you are doing great today, I haven't had the motivation to blog the past few days. Before you think I'm lazy (haha), let me tell you what's going on around these parts. 1) The DH was laid off on Monday morning. Even though I'm soooooo tempted to make his (and my!) ex-employer a believer in the power of Social Media and talk more about it here, I'll refrain from that activity. I have confidence he will find something else quickly, he's a super smart dude and has lots of great experience. This will ultimately work out for the best! 2) I'm missing the Lilly Pulitzer warehouse sale, which started this morning in King of Prussia, PA. This is a SUCH a fun, semi-annual sale. I love attending the sale! It's so awesome to be able to visit and socialize with all my friends across the country while we get bargains, have dinner and wine, and give our best Bret Michaels impression in our hotel room. You know how the males have ...

Happy Tuesday, Shopaholics! Hope you had a wonderful weekend and a great start to a new week. I've been a little down the past few days, hence my lack of posts. I just haven't felt like there was anything extraordinary to tell you about - and certainly not as exciting as some of my blogger friends out there. Remember, this Shopaholic doesn't live in a major metro area so my life and events tend to be a little simple - beach, time with DH, family and friends. Not necessarily in that order, of course. :-) Moving on...I was just brave enough to take a look at the calendar and I couldn't believe what I saw! There are 86 days until my 40th birthday! Un.Flippin.Believable. For the record, I do NOT "feel" almost 40. I don't "think" I look almost 40. (If you think I do, just don't tell me, not sure I could handle it this week). Here's the thing - I promised myself I was going to lose a whole bunch of weight before I turned 40. So far, I'v...

Happy Saturday, my friends! Hopefully you're out enjoying a nice weekend with family and/or friends. We're having sunny and warm weather; it's absolutely gorgeous outside! Warning you ahead of time here - my post today is a little different than normal, but I wanted to share an extremely personal story with you all. I debated about whether to post this, but I hope you'll find it heartfelt and honest. I'm preparing a Mother's Day celebration tonight and tomorrow. Tonight I'm going to dinner with my Mother, my Nanny (my only living grandmother), and my younger Sister. My Dad arranged a nice dinner for us (and is paying the bill!). Don't feel too sorry for the boys though, word has it they're going to eat raw oysters and have a few cold ones. After spending a little time with Mother on Sunday morning, we will go visit DH's Mother. Seriously though, today I would like to tell you all about me and the DH being "childless by choice" - a...