“I’ll buzz you up.”

Today, the temperatures in Mile High are supposed to reach the high 80s.  This makes me very happy and has me dreaming of our neighborhood pool and a good page-turner.

I am once again at home on an all-day webinar conference call with our east coast office, which means we break for lunch at 10 a.m.  my time.  This makes me feel kind of blah.

Right at our “lunch” break, however, my phone rang.  It was the lobby of my building.

“Hello?”

“Hello, wine-of-the-month here.”

You don’t say!

“I’ll buzz you up…”

I just joked with my counterpart in Chicago that I’m going to pour myself a glass the next time we go on break.

Saludos!

 

A Super Awesome Wedding Gift and Thank-You Etiquitte

A few days after I got engaged, I called my family to share the great news.

Two minutes later, a KitchenAid mixer was at the door to my apartment, a gift from my aunts and cousins.  I couldn’t stand leaving that gleaming hunk of industrial design at-its-finest in the box until I got married, so I made up a rule.

I can’t use any of the gifts I receive until I write and send a thank-you note.  I think it’s a very good strategy.

Today, I worked from home and was on a seven-hour (yes, seven-hour) conference call/planning session with the east coast office.  That means we broke for lunch at 10 a.m. Mountain Time.  Sweet.

By 11:30 a.m. Mountain Time, I was on my fourth cup of green tea.  It’s very easy when all you have to do is flip a switch.

For my Mile High bridal shower, I was the recipient of a little known kitchen appliance that I absolutely must tout.  I had to write a thank-you immediately.

The Capresso H2O Plus Electric Kettle (259) is amazing.  Plug it in, fill it up with tap water and flip the switch on the handle and in under two minutes (bordering on miracle) you’ll have boiling water.  Let it sit for a sec (or don’t) and pour it in a mug and steep your tea.  Incredible.

The beauty of this little machine is that it’s small, so it doesn’t take up much counter space.  Because of its size, it’s also easy to store.  I’m not sure I’ll be storing it, however, because I’ve been using it nonstop since the brunch I hosted on Sunday.  It’s found its place in my little kitchen.

 

Bermuda. It’s so 2009. Ask my hip boyfriend.

I’ve been notified by my dear C that, ahem, Bermuda is totes OUT for ladies under 100 years of age.  He didn’t say it just like that, but you catch my drift.

I was wearing some of the island’s signature shorts last summer in front of him and he gave me this puzzled look.

“Why do you wear those?  They make your long legs look short.”

A complement wrapped in a criticism.  I liked where it was going.

“I don’t know.  I got them at Peter Harris a few summers ago when I went home to the lake and forgot shorts.”  I looked at my legs in the mirror.  They did look a little stubby, but you know, the power of suggestion is well…powerful.  “What about with heels?”

Still a no-go.

Fast forward nine months.

An email notification from Old Navy gave me plans for an evening after work.  I would shop their $5, $10, $15 Spring Sale.

I saw some Bermuda shorts and thought I could be persuaded and that maybe they were super cute after all.  I Google Chat-ed the link over to my coworker, K.

Me: Look at this great sale!  C hates Bermuda shorts.  But I like them.

K: He should hate them!  Bermuda is too old for you.

Me: Haha!  I think they’re cute!

K: I feel like seeing a cute love movie tonight…

Conversation about Bermudas with K?  Over.  And advice taken.

I went to Old Navy that evening and bought three pair of their 3-1/2″ shorts, all on sale.  Happy summer, C!  You win.

And as an added bonus for being so fashion-forward…

The Bermuda shorts from Peter Harris were dropped at the Goodwill on Broadway and Archer last weekend.

Bye-bye, Bermuda.

Why we love our Fiestaware!

Let me count the ways.

1. It’s cheerful.

2. It’s sturdy.

3. It’s American-made in West Virginia – and has been since 1936.

4. It’s affordable and available nearly everywhere.  It goes on sale all the time at department stores like Macy’s, JCPenney and Kohl’s.  For special  pieces, that are less common – like bud vases and different sized dishes – shop hometown specialty shops.  If you life in Mile High, visit Peppercorn in Boulder on Pearl Street.  You’ll swoon at all the colors and their incredible display.

5. There are so many pieces that will make you smile.

6. It will remind you of simpler times.

I started my collection a few years back, when I decided that I couldn’t wait to be dating or engaged to have nice dishes.  Momma and I talked on the phone and a few days before my birthday a box arrived from Macys.com with four place settings.  I now have settings for 10 and a few other accessories – like a vase and pitcher.

When C and I got engaged, I wondered if he would want a different sort of everyday dishes after we got married.  He said he loved the Fiestaware.  I knew we were made for each other.

You’ll be happy every morning when you reach into your cabinet for a cereal bowl.  It’s like sunshine.

Watch this article from CBS Sunday Morning a few weeks back.  You’ll love the story.

CBS Sunday Morning – “Celebrating Fiesta Dishes”

 

 

Thank Heaven for Little Boys

When my brother was three years old my mom went out to lunch.  Literally, not figuratively.

It was only that one time, too.  Otherwise, she was home with us always [wink!].

She left us in our dad’s care for the afternoon and he thought it was the perfect sunny day to attach a trailer to his riding lawn mower for some heavy-duty yard work.

And since we were both too small to be trusted out of his sight, he let us ride in the trailer attached to the mower.

And since my brother was the most curious little boy you’d ever meet, he decided to fiddle with the pin holding the trailer to the hitch at the back of the riding mower.  While we were driving up the driveway, he pulled out the pin and the trailer came unhitched from the tractor.

And we tumbled out.

Because little brother was concentrating so hard on pulling that pin out, his tongue was sort of hanging out of his mouth in deep determination and when the pin came loose his sharp little baby teeth bit right through half of it.

Horrified by the sight of all that blood and dear brother’s screaming (which he rarely did), my dad ran to our neighbors to drop me off and took him to the emergency room.

By the time my mother got there – did you know, btw, tongues can be stitched? – my dad was pale as all get-out and my brother was sucking on a freeze pop, sharing stories of his afternoon at the hospital in garbled, swollen tongue talk.

My good friend took her little boy to the emergency room for the first time this week after he jumped off the sofa.  He was acting okay, then he started limping and complaining.

He’s totally fine now and back to his little boy self.

She said she swears he’ll give her heart failure at a very young age.

No cookies for you!

When I hit my afternoon slump I do not need anything less than 110 calories.  I just need a pick-me-up.

A little sugar.  A little chocolate.  Some caramel or shortbread?  That is all I ask when I insert $1.

Most days of the week, I get what I want.

Not today.

After a gorgeous, hot weekend, Mile High woke up to snow this morning and it’s still snowing now – very lightly.

Cold weather makes my tummy hungry for Keebler Mini Fudge Striped Cookies.

I asked the snack machine politely – no hitting or jabbing my fingers into his buttons.  But gentle, easy movement.  I pressed “C” then “7″ for Keebler Mini Fudge Striped Cookies.

And he gave me “T8,”  a blueberry-flavored Nutri-Grain Bar.

Gross.