Life's Little Inspirations

I know, I know, it’s been a ridiculous amount of time since I’ve written. And I know when I started this blog, that I said I would write every time I was ‘inspired’. Hear me out -  I’m not saying that I haven’t been ‘inspired’ in the past month and 27 days, not saying that at all, it’s just that I’ve had trouble translating these inspirations effectively in writing.

But writing has always been my truest form of expression. I’ve always said my mind best in written form. So after weeks of internal debate, an in an attempt to not be too self-serving, here it is, what’s been keeping me inspired…

Recent inspirations have come in so many beautiful forms – it has come through the witnessing of strength and faith from my best friend and her family during the most difficult of times, it has revealed itself in the level of intensity that my favorite Brit goes about his work - always with his naughty british sense of humor; it has come through the determination of my brother and sister-in-law finding their daughters the perfect place to call home; I caught a glimpse of it when my parents told me they were planting a garden and when our pastor preached his heart out about Abraham. It has come through the meticulous eye of a friend who knows what she wants and refuses to settle; it’s revealed itself in yoga class and at a painting party. I saw it in my neighbor when she talked about her love for her patients; and in my best friend’s husband when he talked so sweetly about his wife. I was inspired last night when reading a book on Jackie O, and when the people from iTunes support actually got back to me. I got really inspired at an antique store one too many times in 1 month and 27 days (but nothing that got too out of hand…but I did get a fabulously inspiring vintage Bally bag and wallet for $30 and two gorgeous vintage lamps for an undisclosed price J ). I continue to be inspired by a dear friends dream of getting pregnant, and by my other dear friends fierce sense of style. I was inspired by a friends photography, and by her willingness to encourage others to be photographers too. I was reminded just yesterday of how inspiring a call from a cousin at just the right moment was for me. And I am inspired by my grandma’s tech-savy voicemails. I am annoyed inspired by my puppy’s sense of determination when it comes to eating every page of a coffee table book. And by the amount of patience that my older dog has acquired since bringing home said puppy.

So many days, so many inspirations.

I hope you witnessed/read/heard about/listened to/experienced/tried/ate/smelled/touched something inspiring today.

Would love to hear what’s been inspiring you.

Loads of love and kisses to all,

SBW

Update on Devil Lizard

My nice friend Gregario over at Terminex was scheduled for his quarterly visit today -- and when he walked in the door I asked in my nicest tone if he would be so kind as to remove the super lizard from my closet before he went into our attic to check for mice/rats. Amazingly, the man who has a job at a company that specializes in removing rodents and other things that run fast with nasty long tails was panic stricken when I asked him to remove the lizard. I thought this would be a walk in the park. After convincing him that he was the right man for the job, he sulked, went into my closet and decided the best tactic would be to carry my running jacket outside and leave it on a chair. So the running outfit is still outside but so is the lizard, so I am a happy.

Stephanie 1; Lizard 0.

Good day to all!
xxx

Honey-do's

Hey guys,

So if you are a reader of this blog, then you're up to speed with my obsession with the Tudor's, my lack of knowledge when it comes to plumbing and you know that I get a natural high from antique shopping. Today's the day that I really invite you into my world and discuss a certain fear of mine. **Lizards.** Yes, that's right, I said lizards.

Background story: When I was about 8 years old I had a dream that I was being attacked by a bunch of frogs. For some reason this funny little mind of mine has allowed that frog dream to transcend over to all reptiles, which naturally gives me a really embarrassing fear of lizards.

Well, had you been at our house the day before we left for London, you might have been hanging out with me in our closet with a glass of wine while I packed, unpacked and repacked for our 12 day trip. You might also have been in said closet when I reached up to grab my adorable purple clutch and began screaming my head off. Hint, I was NOT screaming because I was annoyed with packing, I was screaming because I was suddenly starring face to face with my nemesis - a chameleon. A very large chameleon at that. I very kindly asked my loving husband to remove the reptile from the handbag section of our closet before we left for our vacation for fear of immaculate conception. The last thing I need is a bunch of chameleon offspring rummaging around in my closet when I'm out.

Well, guess who somehow didn't get around to removing the lizard? I'm not one to name names, but as a hint, I've been calling him husband now for the last 6 months. OF COURSE, the demon lizard never once made an appearance last week when my loving husband was in town, but YESTERDAY, when the dollface was away on business, he totally reared his ugly head on the sleeve of my new Ali Ro parka. Of course I screamed.

I even went so far as to stage an encounter with my dogs and the devil lizard, but they were absolutely worthless. Winston tried to lick him. Traitor.

Well, before hopping into bed, I learned that not only had this reptile been on my gorgeous parka, but he has since walked his way over half my closet and is now making himself perfectly at home in my Adidas running outfit. For proof see below pic. Yes, that's his rat-like tail hanging out of my cute workout clothes! You would be terrified too.

All this to say, "Tom, please come home, I have a few honey-do's on my list I need you to take care of."

On a lighter note, so I don't have nightmares of frogs and lizards all night, I got to spend the weekend with two of my favorite people, my nieces Anna and Princess Ausley. We had a whale of a time. We painted our fingernails, we dressed in Aunt Steph's jewels, and we learned EVERY work to Taylor Swifts, "You Belong To Me" when we listened to it in the car on repeat for 8 hours. A few pics to document the fun...

Winston hearts Ausley and her Gorg necklace.

Such a cute picture until you look at Tom's awkward pose. We'll work on that.

Winston has gone from loving Ausley to being obsessed with her. Which I'm obsessed with.

I hope your closets are lizard free tonight and every night thereafter for that matter. If you're not afraid of lizards and you want to come get mine out of my closet before Tommy gets home, I  welcome you with open arms.

Sweet dreams to all, 

xxx

A British Krimbo!

As we approach the tail end of what has been a superb Christmas abroad, I thought I would take a moment to recount the last 11 days with family and friends for anyone willing to read about it. 

The trip began as a double score for the newlywed Bowen Wrights. Arrived at the airport 3 hours early for fear of massive queues - apparently we had grown used to traveling out of New York -- so were pleasantly surprised when we were 1 of about 23 people in the entire DFW airport. Result. 

Next off to our departure gate where we kindly offered up our two cattle class tickets in exchange for a later flight consisting of 2 First Class Seats, and $1600 worth of American Airlines travel vouchers -- Double Result. Not bad, BW's. Not bad.

With the trip off to a kicking good start, we laid back (apparently you can do that in First Class), toasted the trip with a nice glass of bubbly, had a five course meal, then put on the complimentary noise canceling headphones and drifted off to sleep. 

Good Morning, London!

So as some might know, I have an odd  fascination with the Tudor era. ***I truly believe I would have fit in quite nicely in that era - AND made it through with my head completely intact.*** Well anyway, because my loving husband knows of said fascination, he took me to Hampton Court Palace -- favorite home of Henry VIII (my FAV Tudor). We learned about the food, the kitchens, the plumbing, the heating, everything. It was all very Royal. And I ROYALLY loved it. Lit-ra-ly. Dad and John, you would have loved it too -- apparently the King was quite the Sportsman...

We then spent a lovely evening with Uncle Dick and Aunt Torie in the English countryside of Hampshire at their beautiful new home. As noted in earlier post, in Texas we wear feather headdresses/turkey hats around the dinner table, but in England, we wear Crowns! How ROYAL of us! Not quite the same as living amongst the Tudors, but pretty darn close!

  

Our next adventure took us to see Tom's favorite Futball (not Football) team, Arsenal play at the new and impressive Emirates Stadium. Needless to say, Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-1. For the sake of the rest of our trip, this was a VERY good thing. The next picture captures Tom's excitement better than any words I could muster together. Wha-Hay! 

Then we got this nice little update from Aunt Shayna and Uncle Matt who are graciously watching our little rugrats while we are away. ***White House: Lots of free diners, wine, cookies, and elaborate gifts await you  upon our return***

I like to think that the panicked look on Winston's face is all in my head *** being a mother who's away from her child for the first time***  Or maybe he just likes to be REALLY aware of his surroundings? But I've got a two day countdown going till I get to smother the little men to absolute pieces. And I have never looked forward to anything more!

I hope that everyone out there had a wonderful, memorable and happy Christmas and here's to a glorious 2011 to you and yours!!

With loads of love and hugs,
xxx-
steph BW

It's official. It's Christmas Season. And that makes me BEYOND excited. When driving through the neighborhood this evening I saw at least 5 different homes where families were putting up their Christmas trees. *yes I shamelessly look through people's windows when I drive by*. Which made my heart melt but also made me ponder *Why do we put up Christmas trees anyway? Everyone always complains about it, so why do we do it* Well, I'll tell you why, my curious friends - the Christmas tree is a symbol of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. It

A Bunch of Turkeys

Hey Guys and Gals!

Well, first things first, I've got to give mad props to bloggers who blog over holidays. Every time I would think to step away to write, another piece of pumpkin pie or my niece would call my name and it was over.

With that said, I'm back and I have more blogging fodder than ever so sit back, put your feet up (not advised if you are at work) and read on.

So Steph's holidays began in the coolest way ever -- watching my 3 year old niece for the day while my bro and sis went to look for houses (YES, they are moving to DALLAS! Par-tay!) This was my first time to watch Ausley EVER (was a little difficult to babysit her from NY) and in short, I was ecstatic about the whole thing. It took three days of prep to get ready for the little princess, but it was all well worth it! We began with what was meant to be 'Arts and Crafts Hour' which quickly turned into 'Arts and Crafts 15 Minutes' before we were interested in something else. No sweat, Miss Ausley, Aunt Steph will finish your ornament and Turkey Hats while you watch the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. 45 Minutes later and we have 1 ornament and 13 Turkey Hats/Indian Headresses which will be used in the future for family blackmail as needed. See below for imagery.

Even little Anna wasn't safe. Yep, we're all a bunch of turkeys in the Albert Household!

Next point of interest for Miss A? Presents. Ausley had gotten wind that Aunt Steph might have a present for her hidden somewhere in the house. And when a 3 year old as cute as she is asks you point blank where her presents are, you have no choice but to concede. And what did Aunt Steph get the little rugrat? A box of PRINCESS CLOTHES! And boy were we EXCITED! We modeled in front of Aunt Steph's mirror for a good 15 minutes.

She's sportin' those plastic shoes like they're Louboutins! Get it girl!

So with all this good, clean, fun stuff, comes a minor setback which came with lots of lessons for these first time home owners. When we arrived back to Dallas on Saturday night, we pulled into the driveway and I could tell that our closet light was on. Of course, I immediately start asking Tom why he left the closet light on, to which he responds he didn't. Well, knowing that lights don't just turn themselves on, I brace myself for what we are about to find (or not find) in our new home. BOO for getting robbed. And double BOO for getting robbed over the holidays. I swear, there are some pretty deadbeat people out there. And gross ones too. Who goes piece by piece through underwear drawers? The sickos that robbed our house, that's who. They made off with all my grandmother and mother's jewelry that they had given me, a computer, some purses and a money clip that Tom received as a gift. So after two nights of not being able to sleep in the house Steph decided to turn the house into what Tom has dubbed, Fort Knox. I went to our new favorite store (Lowe's) and said hi to Sheila (my new friend at Lowe's) and bought anything and everything that would make a sister feel safe in her own home again. Mace? Done. Deadbolts for all doors? Done. Timers for the lights? Done. A baseball bat? Done. Security cameras? Done. An Alarm? Done. Don't you even try to mess with this family again. I will hunt you down and spray you with hornets nest repellent.So this week I have been trying to get comfortable in my own home again which is so annoying, but so true. I had just gotten to the point where I felt comfortable and then this happened and I'm starting the comfort process over again. At least the cops are now my good friends - shout out to Joann and Lee of DPD for being so great to work with and for putting our house on the nightly watch!

Holy Cow! I almost forgot to share with you the thing that I know you all have been coming to this blog to see!! My Christmas Wreath!! Sadly, I learned after the wreath was made that my door is an awkward design for hanging wreaths, which is why my gorgeous piece of art now hangs over my kitchen sink so that I can stare at it with pride everyday when I'm doing the dishes. It might not look like much to the naked eye, but this wreath is made of real live cedar (bought from Whole Foods for $11.99) and pine cones (bought from Michaels half off for $1.50). Who spent under $20 on their Christmas wreath? I did!! Tom loves it when I'm under budget! Go me!

Much to Tom's dismay, the job hunt continues -- hey if anyone reading this knows any of the great folks over at Wisteria in Dallas, let me know! And if you don't know Wisteria you should check out their site for some of the coolest decor on the planet...  www.wisteria.com

Hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving and that you've eaten all your leftovers.

A few more pics from the weekend that I loved...

Love to all!
xx

Plumbing 101

So today began as any other day would begin the day after making fresh baked cookies -- with 2 chocolate chip cookies and a cup of joe for breakfast. With a well balanced meal under my belt, I was geared up and ready to go -- top of the list - fix the plumbing.

As most of you already know, I come from a home of love and DIYers *for those of you that aren't DIY-ers (Julia) that means Do It Yourselfers*. My pops owned a very well respected plumbing business and my Papa a well respected AC business in San Antonio for the majority of my life. It was with this knowledge that I stood face to face with the inspector we hired to check out our new home and told him I wasn't worried about 97% of the things he told me needed to be fixed on the house.

Fast forward to conversation with dad where we are reviewing the inspection report and he's *sighing*, taking deep breaths and asking me to explain why we decided to purchase this home. *Sigh*. Fast forward two weeks when we are finally in the house, and I, as the dutiful wife that I am, have set up appointment after appointment with Bug guys, Electricians, Tree removers, Yard guys, Pool Guys, you get the picture. Learned after about half a day that the going flat-rate quote to get anything done in Dallas is $1000. We had an electrician quote us $500 to put up two beautiful wall sconces in the living room. Really? That's more than the sconces cost. No thank you. So what did my strapping young stallion of a husband do? You guessed it kids, he wired and hung them HIMSELF! See Exhibit A below as reference. *I am offering up Toms sconce hanging talents to anyone in the Dallas area for a small fee of a dinner with good wine.* Good job, Tom!

   So, as one might guess, with a house full of projects to look forward to, Tom and I instantly became the world's biggest fans of Lowe's. Next item to tackle - the guest bathroom. Here's the scoop -- when we moved in, the guest bathroom had no vanity/sink - nothing. Just some pipes coming out of the wall that looked like they might connect to something that water would come out of. A bit embarrassing when you have guests staying at the house. So as the plumber's daughter that I am, I decided to devote a day to learning the tools of the trade *or enough to get me by until my dad came for his next visit.* Dad spent an hour and a half on the phone with me taking me through exactly what needed to be done. * Bless him.* Thorough instructions with precise directions on exactly what to buy from Lowe's. A trip to Lowe's, some latex gloves and some plumber's putty later, and I was tackling that sink like it was nobody's business. 3 hours and LOTS of plumber's putty later and we were in complete working order. No leaks. Fast forward to yesterday - somehow the plumbers putty that was holding everything together last week wasn't working as well as the warranty said it would. I took a step back and had to laugh at the fact that my first venture in plumbing resembled more of a 7th grade clay art project than plumbing. See exhibit B below *note excessive plumber's putty usage*:

But look how pretty the top part of the sink turned out!!

So I've accepted the fact that a.) plumbing is harder than it looks b.) my dad was right - there would be leaks and c.) I should stick to the aesthetically pleasing things in the house like decorating.

So, in short, if you are one of the many people that Tom and I have invited to stay at the house in the next month or two, we still welcome you with Grananan's welcome mat and you will have an exquisite sink to look at, but unfortunately you will be brushing your teeth next to me in our bathroom. Looking forward to having you!

Now I must depart for the night as I have my Cheeseburger Club to attend. More on that later.

xxxx