A Walk on the Wild Side: Past vrs Present.

As a self-proclaimed former "wild child" without a fear in the world, I find it extremely ironic that as a "practical adult" my fear levels have greatly escalated.  While I once lived my life with what others might call "reckless abandon,"  my present life is nothing short of a strategic military initiative.

THE EVOLUTION:

PAST

As a two-year old: Climbing to the top of the high dive at Army Navy Country Club and jumping. . .while no one was watching. A perfect 10.

As a teenager: Hoping on a train in the middle of the night to NYC and scoring the first train home in the morning. No biggie, I wasnt going to pass that test anyhoo...KRISTIN!

As a post college graduate: Get on a plane to Munich as an afterthought and fly to Germany without a map or any idea what or where a glockenspiel is to meet the only person in the whole country I know. . .

In Decorating: Painted an entire room lime green in my $500 a month Myers Park rental. . .How much could my landlord really care??

PRESENT

@ My Three Year Old: You are going to need a life preserver, a Life Guard, Daddy on the diving board AND Mommy AND Sadie in the pool, and a clean drop. All other children please exit the deep end.

@ Taking Sadie into NYC for the 1st Time: Suffered from nightmares, sleep deprivation and anxiety for weeks. Multiple tour books, printed out maps, cell phone, extra pull ups and hourly check in's with Daddy. Anxiety transferred to my Step Mother and this is her turf.

*Sadie Age 4 at Grand Central for the 1st time. No fear.

@Flying on a Plane: Requires two weeks worth of planning, packing, laundry, twelve trips to Target, 2 trips to church in deep prayer and a valium. *kidding on the valium, I couldnt find any if I tried.

@Decorating: Longing for grasscloth wallpaper to put in the sunroom. Suffering from wallpaper commitment issues. That stuff is NOT cheap and is a pain in the YOU-KNOW-WHAT to remove. I might have it forever.

So what do you think? Should I JUMP. . . 

I love the depth and texture of this grasscloth with the dark floors.

@KMK thinks my sun room needs to be lavender

Or

The Safest Option. . .

SORRY BUT I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS ROOM!

Collin and I decided this would be our model for the room.

AND

And then wrap the wall of windows in curtain panels. . . .

@my loveliest of lovely readers, what do you think?

I REALLY, REALLY WANT TO KNOW!

If only I had been this cautious when I . . .

Now that information is top-secret. . .

Cheers,

Tay

The Center of The Sun

Our house sits in  the CENTER OF THE SUN!! Or at least that's how I describe it to every landscaper and gardener that has ever worked on our yard. I mean NOTHING can grow. . .

On winter days, when the rest of the neighborhood is buried under sheets of slush and ice, our home is as warm as it is in August. It is like there is a large, tree sized, hairdryer pointed straight at our porch. . snow melts as soon as it lands, and sadly most flowers will scorch before they ever even had a chance. . . ughhh, how I wish I could keep my planters full of lush, cascading flowers and ivy...Can you imagine that I used to try and keep window boxes alive!

So last Saturday, I rolled over to our neighborhood Lowes Garden Center to nicely explain that I needed several plants that could grow in the desert. A very nice women with a name resembling Laura (who I am sure thought I was exaggerating) helped me come up with a couple of options.

Before I trapped this nice women into helping me, I discovered on my own this awesome tall, curling, Maiden Grass, that I knew I had to have!!! So I told Laura I wanted to start with the grass and she said it could grow to 6 feet tall and maybe I should pick something else,. . . so I told her. . . well, it might not make it that long, so not to worry!

Laura then helped me pick this cool merlot colored, leafy, Queen Victoria Lobelia that will add a medium height variation that I have learned I need. (Is this a sign there is hope for my future?) We grabbed a couple of Trailing Annuals, that seem more like succulents if you ask me, and are supposed to cascade over the planters.

While Cooper was napping, Sadie and I got to work!

Planter Before:

Planter After

Not bad for the desert??

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Cheers,

Tay

Atherton Market: An Urban Mommy's Dream

If you havent been you should, or that's what everyone kept telling me before I went. I mean, there are ton's of markets in town, impossible to hit them all. . . .right??? Oh so wrong. . . Atherton Market is an urban mommy's dream! 

I took the kids on Wednesday, which is a slow day for them. . . A GREAT day to take the kids and stock up on basic grocery's before the weekend.  Sadie and I fell in love with the cheeses at Simply Local.  For $4 each we scored the small size of New Moon brie from Chapel Hill Creamery and the Goat Lady Diary's Grapevine Ash. . . .delicious!! Paired them with local bakery Polka Dot's Sweat Potato and Rosemary Crisps and  went to heaven early!!


We had such a great time, I took Scotty and the kids back on Saturday morning. This time while we shopped, we checked Sadie in to the SUPER SAFE, air-conditioned, glassed in, FREE, childwatch area for a half hour of supper fun arts and crafts. 

First Stop: Local South End shop Vin Master's wine tasting. For $14 we scored a liter of red 2009 Austrian table wine from Zum Martin Sepp. Like Pinot Noir but lighter and a bit spicier. So cool, it was closed with a beer bottle top.  Thank you!

Second Stop: Pam Mahaffey's home-made soy candles!! Instantly brighten your mood with a $7 lemongrass candle. Smells even more amazing in my kitchen than actual food! For that price, I can burn it all day. . .and when I need a new one, she recycles the containers and the refill's are just $6. . . .Sweet!!!

* Invited my neighbor Karen over to enjoy the goodies with me and had a great afternoon!

On the way out Scott and Cooper grabbed a cantaloupe shaved ice, but I am not sure from where. . .so good I forgot it was healthy!

The best part of the day was signing up for the Fair Farm Bill in support of local farmers! Go to www.foodandwaterwatch.org/fairfarmbill to sign the petition and keep our farmers going strong!

*Sadie wrote this herself!

Shop Local, Eat Fresh!!!

Cheers,

Tay

Atherton Market is located in Historic Southend in Charlotte, NC. It is open Tuesday through Saturday's with limited hours. Like them on Facebook for more information or check their website:

out http://www.edensandavant.com/oc_center_detail.asp?cid=1001

**Make sure to bring cash, I could have done a lot more damage but the ATM was out-of-order and only a couple of vendors take credit cards.

Open Minded: Why yes, yes I am!

For absolutley no reason at all, I have NEVER wanted to go to two places in the world. The First was Las Vegas and the Second was Cancun, Mexico. These are both places that my sweet husband dragged me to "kicking and screaming." Ok not really, but there was a lot of sleepless nights and anxiety leading up to both trips. If left to his own, my husband would frequent Vegas at least once maybe twice a year and I would visit it NEVER! My speed is drastically more quaint, I prefer a small french bistro to my husbands favorite luxury brand steak house.

But marriage is all about compromise and  for the record, my love of adventure trumps my stubbornness, so I reluctantly went with him to a Las Vegas conference a couple of years back. Plus, I am cheap and the business expense sealed the deal! For the record, I LOVE IT!! The first time we stayed at The Paris and the second time we stayed at The Hotel. I can say that I honestly felt quite at home at both the Bellagio and the Wynn, are you surprised? And yes, while I may prefer small and quaint to large and luxurious, where there is luxury there is luxury and I am on board!

*Me on the 64th Floor of the Hotel at Mix (I think it is still there??)

It was this winter, right after we returned home from St. John, that the Westin Resorts (because we LOVE Starwood Resorts!) sent us an offer so sweet  we could just not turn it down. The brochure and website promised amazing luxury  and two bedroom villa at it's new Westin Lagunamar Resort in Cancun, Mexico. I was sceptical, but sweet Scotty and his sister Melinda promised I would like it, and well, because they are smarter than I am, are very rarely wrong.  Besides the Caribbean is the Caribbean, right?

Before leaving my fears were (NOT) comforted by remarks such as "since the break down on the police corruption last December, I hear it is much safer. . . "   and "dont worry there are police with machine guns."  WHAT!!!  Where am I going. . . .more sleepless nights, anxiety and even (gulp) some tears! But we have points (thank God) so you knew I was going right!

We landed at the nicest Caribbean airport I have ever flown through or traveled from. Seriously people, it is as divine as an airport could ever be!  Newark, NJ you could take some lessons from the Mexicans! 10 minutes later our Westin driver snags all of us. . . Melinda, Scott, Sadie, Cooper and me!  We drive down a modern highway, passing luxury brand flagship stores like Cartier, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ruth Chris and more. . . .5 minutes later we arrive at the Westin Lagunamar. It is spectacular and well, they told me so, lux and  I LOVE it! So we had a fabulous time and I was reminded about how I would have never had the experience if I hadn't  (no not dragged kicking and screaming) opened my mind and let my husband show me his way.

*That's us before dinner at the resort!

*Lounging on the pool!

*Family not at all enjoying themselves!

Next, it's my turn and I will bring him with me on some romantic adventure that is not at all logical and I will remind him why he loves me so much!

Cheers,

Tay