Farmhouse dreaming...

Let me just start off by saying one thing.....

i dream of farmhouse living....

but don't get the wrong idea.....i am in love with my house now...

i love my house...

i love it to pieces....

but a girl can dream....that i know.

I am always perusing homes that are on the market..

i peek in the windows...

i spy from down the street....

i've probably even been labeled as a.....

girl.to.watch.

from some of the neighborhood watch teams...

but i'm ok with that.

really.




So....

i found this place...

this farm.....on 7 acres....

with a dairy barn...

did you know i dream of dairy barns.....

well i do....

i've been know to talk in my sleep...

and say ...

dairy barn

out loud....

yes...it's true



It's a good thing my realtor is a good friend....

she fields my calls....

and puts me in my place by saying..

kasey...i could totally see a

lola b's sale happening in the

dairy barn

now...that's a friend

I forgot to mention that i also dream of chickens...

wierd i know...

and i'm not talking about chicken sandwiches

from chick fil e.....

uggh

because if anyone knows me...i really do love that place...

and we don't have them here...

but i do dream of chickens...

or hens...

that lay eggs.

could you totally see me having chickens...

in this chicken coop on the back of the farm...

the farm with the dairy barn....

i could even set a sign out front that says...

eggs for sale.

I might not be wearing this killer dress from anthro when i'm selling eggs.....

i might have some jeans with an apron...

i might even have a bit of cookie dough molted on that apron...

from baking cookies from scratch for the children ...

in the farm kitchen.....

while the kids play in the

dairy barn.

xo

Sunday dinner club...

I've always wanted to have a dinner club....


i've read about them......


i've heard friends talk about them....


but i've never hosted one nor have i ever been to one.


All that changed tonight.






apparently...the deal is...


one couple hosts an evening....


with the hosting couple doing everything....


from wine to dinner...to dessert.


I suppose you could have your children there...but in my case...


i guess i just needed a break...


you see..Mason has been home most of the week with Chicken pox.


{yes...he was vaccinated}


Did you know that kids need 2 vaccines? .....


uggh.


well....the doctor never double checked his records....so here we were on Tuesday...and Mason came in


from playing outside...complaining that he was itchy.


grrr.


so i told him......well....that's what you get for rolling around in those worm infested leaves.


Holy crepes { i totally could have said something else..}........


he took his shirt off and blisters all over his torso....


and of course....me being a *retired nurse* and all...just had to look at those puppies


to determine that indeed....it was


chicken pox.


where was i????


oh yes....


dinner club..


I needed a little bitty break from the kid....


so i got my sitter to take the kids to Chucky {vomit} cheese.

The original plan was for me to spend the day cooking a lovely meal for the 5 couples i invited over for dinner....

but as luck would have it....

my cleaners canceled on friday....which meant i had to spend the morning cleaning...

thus....

no time for cooking.

don't get me wrong.....dinner was still fabulous.

we dined on eggplant Parmesan....fresh field greens with Gorgonzola ....linguine with pesto and pine nuts...

and finished dinner off with some fabulous french petite desserts.

I just want to say a big thank you to Maggiano's for totally taking my call at last minute and pulling the order together for me.

eeek.

Back to the idea of Sunday evening dinner club.......

one sunday a month...a couple hosts it...and does everything....

then it switches to another couple the next month.

We get a night out....only paying for a sitter....and have a fabulous time mingling with friends.

That my friends is what a Sunday evening dinner club is all about.

xo

* oh yes...the retired nurse statement. I indeed used to work in pediatrics...and have not in about 7 years. I was the one in the office that gave your children their vaccines....and froze their warts off...and started their i.v.'s...

yup....that was me...

and i totally remember you moms giving me the evil eye as i did these things...

oh yes i do....

Let's meet for wine..

I don't normally ask for much.....




maybe a good bottle of wine....




perhaps....a cute outfit...




or a blissful friend....




but what happens when you throw all three together.....





even better.....




what happens when you throw all these things together in the morning.....




and hand your 8 year old {who happens to be home with the chicken pox}...




the camera....






I couldn't ask for a more fun morning.....








{and yes...we did finish off the glass of wine.....seriously....i'm a waste not want not sort of girl}....




and apparently so is my friend Christina.




I don't quite remember how i met her over a year ago........




but as soon as we started chatting...




i knew...




this girl is .....




well....




she's a dreamer...she's a mother....she's a fellow francophilian...

she makes my wardrobe look like the bins at goodwill...




and i love her.




After i did my post on 'the new me'.....she sent me the most heartfelt letter...




letting me know that she will dig deep with me....




and i don't mean into the wine vault at Trader Joe's...




nope...




this girl is special.

So....since i'm about to turn 35 in a few days...i wanted to introduce you to Christina.....

this is her blog.... {here}...

swing by and tell her hello....

Then head back here and leave a comment....

because i have something for you....

from her.

Christina and i put our heads together....{not in a icky sort of way....silly}

because i just swoon over her shop.....but i know that not all of you can join

us for a glass of wine....{unless you are indeed coming to An Inspired Evening....}

or stroll her shop in person....

but i'd love to send a little something from her shop to you......

just a little birthday gift....from me to you.

xo

A new me.....

I'm just letting you know up front that i am not a deep soul......






young at heart.......definitely....






an old soul......for sure.....






but deep.....that ...i am not.






I take my relationships lightly......i don't know why....but i do.






my friend told me yesterday....






that i tend to tread water...sort of like skimming it.....and i had to think about that one for a bit......






and i think what it means is.....






i'm a surface person.....i skim the situation lightly....like i would a person.






ugggh.






who wants a friend like that.















I'm realizing that i want to be more....






i want friends that really care....not just pretend to care....




i want to be a friend that cares....






like when i moved here....which was a big move for us.....because i did not want to come...






but we had to......






and i drifted into a dark spot........and for a good 6 months....my marriage was tough.....yes....

that was the toughest six months together.....






i was sad.....i was lost....i was hurt.... i didn't want to be here.......

i was mad....






and the one friend i really thought would understand ....was actually hurting me the most....






or at least that's how it felt.....




and i didn't tell her.....






and because i'm a surface type of girl....i let the friendship go....






because i didn't want to hear her tell me anymore that i would get over it .....






i did get over it.....but it took a whole year for me to find my place here....






making new friends....making my house a home...






and even though i hated it here at first.....this place had grown on me.....









but i am realizing how quick i am to let a friendship go...




because i am selfish......




I.am.selfish




If nice things aren't said.....or there is tension.....




i pull away.....i back off.....




and i leave.
























That was the old me......






breaking off a friendship because i don't want to get hurt....






instead of digging deeper and actually working things out....






i'm also not a confrontationalist {is that a word?}......






{remember the story about me in front of a camera...}






i'm the same when it comes to having to confront a situation....






drool everywhere....






ugggh.






I don't want to be her.










The new me is about to turn 35........






and i want to be someone special.....






i want to be special to someone.....






i want my friends to love me unconditionally....






and i want to love them truthfully.....






and work out the kinks....the wrinkles.....the hurts i've caused.......

i want to be more bold ....to tell a friend that i am hurting inside....



but i also need the type of friend that can put me in my place....

and not feel the need to run.....



good bye old me....



hello new me.






xo






oh... ...




Found: remember the search for plum boots ? well...i found them....at ...T.J. Maxx.....for only $30!! .....




and yes.....for $30.....they might acually be pleather.....but who cares....they are freakin cute.




pleather plum boots.......who knew.

Notes from a wife...

Marriage is all about trials and tribulations.
This is what i've learned.
1. When the hubby asked me to tivo the world series he didn't mean the poker world series.

2. When travelling by air...always pack your bag to bring on the plane...because hubby will never pay to have it checked through.

3.If in fact he has to pay to have your bag checked because the size is to big for carry-on, then know that shopping while on vacation is out.

4. If you indeed cooked a lovely meal and dessert, which the hubby just loved...then know...that in fact he does know that you can cook...and will want you to do this on a regular basis.

5.If you carry your camera around everywhere with you...then beware that hubby will think that you are taking photo's of the kids just for blogging purposes and not for the family photo album.

6. If this happens....then by all means ...go and buy a photo album and spend your time filling it up.

7. When hubby asks you what you did today...don't say "nothing".



8. Don't have your Anthro shopping bags laying around if you told your hubby that you weren't feeling well and needed a day to relax.



9. never tell your hubby that your period is really late even though he's had the clippity clip.

10. It is okay to end an argument by saying....Well...i guess i'll just go to Paris with my friends instead...
and you stay home with the kids.

11. When the hubby says " the gym called today and they are wondering why you haven't been in".......
he didn't mean literally....so don't really call them back......take it as a note...that it really is time to
head back to the gym.





xo

Cherished moments...

Do not laugh!


This is how us lazy folks rake our leaves.....actually....we hand the children the rakes....and Bryan grabs the leaf blower....





It got done in record time though.....and here is a play by play of some sweet moments the kids had.

Moments in time.

We all need a few of these.

xo

{oh...and btw...i think i broke my scale this morning....i am totally serious...}

Francophile...

I was sitting having coffee with my friend Christina yesterday....you don't know her yet but if you are coming to the Inspired evening event on Dec 5th..then you will get to meet her. Christina has a shop called Sage Creek...and it has anthroplogiesque style boutique clothing...but at a price range i can afford. I would give you her shop info....but she is in the process of completely re-doing her entire site and will shortly be joining the blog world by storm.



I can't wait to introduce you to her....



she's totally freakin' cute...
...with 3 kids {just like me...}



lives in an old farmhouse...{just like me..}



wears a size 2....{just like me...}



got married in France.....{just like me...}



alright....i might not really be a size 2....but if you multiply it by 4....then it's almost a size 2....



and i almost got married in France....i mean...i did think about it....and the cakes were ordered from



a French bakery...so really......



it's pretty close.



She even offered to dress me for the event...so i only had to think about that for a minute...



anyways....my fab new friend was asking me if i had seen the new Country Living magazine write up...about a house located in Wayne...which is literally only 10 minutes from me.



uhhhhh



nooooo



i had not.



so i rushed home...



after stopping by the hair salon to get rid of the grey that has been sooo slowly creeping into my life...



anyways....the write up is on a girl named Caroline Scheeler.....



who could easily be my new best friend with that uber fabulous ruffle top she has on....

I tried calling Caroline....but she wouldn't take my calls.....

whats the deal with that? I told her..i promise i am not a stalker...i just want to come with my kids..

and see if sitting on a gorgeous settee in the dining room is really as cool as it looks...

like this settee......not quite the price tag i paid for mine that was on craigslist...but this one is from Anthro...

and would look fabulous sitting at the farmtable in my diningroom...

and the best part of the story is Caroline has a daughter......the same age as lola.

yup....

the same age....

i also left Caroline a message about our girls being the same age and probably totally going through all

the same things.....

and they could soooo be besties....

just like Caroline and myself.....

but the problem is.....

Caroline is not returning my calls.....

xo

oh...one more thing....my little shop got a write up {here}...so make sure you pop over and enter the giveaway.....and there are still just a few spots left for {this}.