Musical Mondays: Just Remember When You Let It All Go.....

Hosted by Jori and Diane

I really am too excited about this. These last few days are going to pass slowly. We will be headed to Mexico in TWO DAYS! The cold and windy weather has me aching for sandy beaches and warm sun rays. Lucas has been working himself crazy... or all of his working is driving me crazy anyway. I'm glad we'll have a week away together... phones off.... no work.... no stress! Just us. So here's a look at what I'm listening to to get geared up for the trip (as if I needed to listen to songs about Mexico to get excited)!

Stays in Mexico - Toby Keith
Mexico - James Taylor
Beer in Mexico - Kenny Chesney
Cabo Wabo - Van Halen

Bag Tag - Meet Liz

I was tagged by Aubrey over at The Fam Five for the BAG TAG! Unfortunately, she caught me on a bad day. Not because I don't want you to see my purse, but because I really don't want to tell you how much I paid for her...... but I guess since that is part of the game I am forced to reveal just how cheap I really am......

Here we go. Ladies, meet Liz....

My Liz Claiborne patent leather purse along with matching wallet...

I am still dreading telling you how much they cost me.... so I'll show you what's inside first....


All the essentials..... like my powder, carmex, two shades of lipstick, and two lip glosses. That's essential, right? Along with my wallet, I have my calendar. Just in case you forgot let's take a look at February....


That's right... CABO! It's almost here!!

Also, in my purse: umbrella, sunglasses, pen, Blackberry, business cards, and keys.

Now for the part that I love but dread telling you:

The cost.....

I bought Liz on Black Friday at the Liz Claiborne outlet in Foley, AL. They had a major sell. All purses $19.99, all wallets $9.99. Now that's great all buy itself. But there's more. All weekend long they had a promotion for buy three things and get your fourth free! Great, right? But still there's more... we hit during the early bird hours so we got an extra 30% off our purchases. Oh my!! We loaded up!!! My mother, grandmother, and I had piles of purses, jewelry, and clothes. We grouped our purchases to get the most we could for free (ex. all the expensive items in a group of four so we get one expensive thing free... you get it). We had no idea how much it all would total up to. The grand total came out close to $300 and we were ecstatic. We still weren't sure what happened. That night at our condo I whipped out a calculator to figure out how much each item cost us. To our amazement... the lady had given us an EXTRA 30% (on top of all the others). I don't know if this was a mistake or if she was being nice but we sure were happy. So the $70 purse that was on an unbelievable clearance for $19.99 actually cost about $7 when it was all said and done. That's right.... $7!!! And the wallet? $3!! To our credit, we had no idea they would be so cheap.... but I really wish I would've bought lots more... I ended up with three purses and two wallets. Liz is my favorite.

(By the way, I also got several pieces of jewelry, a sweater, and two dresses. I should've bought more.)

So... now you know how really cheap I am.

I tag anyone who got a great deal (I know it won't be as good as mine) on the purse they are carrying RIGHT NOW! Let me know!

What's lighting up my life....

Our dining room is my favorite accomplishment we have completed since we bought the house. But that light fixture was driving me crazy. You know the one... standard brass chandelier... awful! Well, it is no more. I used textured spray paint to cover the chandelier with a charcoal gray stone-like color. I think it turned out beautifully!!! Eventually when I find a good deal I am going to replace the glass globes with mini lamp shades. I would definitely love a more modern fixture but - for the total cost of this upgrade - I think I'll settle for this!


While I was at it, we took down the awful brass light fixtures outside...

(This is a picture from Christmas '07. I promise that Santa is not hanging from my light fixture right now. Haha!)

and turned them into this...

Again... a vast improvement from where we were.

And now for some changes in our living room... My parents got us a foosball table for Christmas but when we returned home from Colombia Sam's had their shuffleboard table marked down and we were able to exchange for almost nothing. We have been eyeing this table for quite some time and it is definitely a crowd pleaser. Even though it is quite long, it fits in our space a little better than the foosball table did, as well.

(The pictures are off center because they are still hanging where they were previously. We've got to do some rearranging of those and get something put on the big empty wall above the table.)

Nose to the grindstone... and in books

Do you know how work can sometimes be slow and you have plenty of time to get your work done (plus a little time for blogging and Facebook)? Then, how all of a sudden you get slammed and have little to no time to breathe at work? Yea... well this has been my life the last few days. I've been a little sparing with my blogging due to an influx - no, let's say tidal wave - of work. I am in no way shape or form complaining though. I love to be busy and needed at work. I think the tidal is over and now I'm just dealing with a steady high tide of work. Which leaves me a little time to catch up with you....

I have been reading a lot lately. I read John Grisham's The Appeal last week. It was a great read and dealt with a favorite issue of mine: political corruption. There is indeed so much. Let me ask you a question: why do we elect judges in this country? That is so out of line with their calling. Plus, they are busy convicting our criminals... do you think they have time to campaign? I'll answer that for you - NO, they do not. Yet they are forced to neglect their duties to be able to hold their own seat. AND - they have to pander to the very people they must rule over. Who do you think funds their campaigns? Many states have gone away from this practice but a lot of states (especially southern states... we like our corruption down here) are still heavily steeped in this practice. Sooo... I'll get off my giant soapbox that most people don't care about. But it does affect you. You can go here to learn how your state selects judges. Take a look at Alabama while you are there. Sad.

As you may remember, I won a giveaway from Sydney not too long ago. I finished reading The Appeal and was really in the mood to keep reading. In her box of goodies, I received Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. How I made it through all my schooling and honors literature courses without having to read this is a wonder. I read it over the weekend. Lucas says I'm a dork for reading Pride and Prejudice for leisure in two days.... but what does he know.. and well maybe I am. Anyway, it is a-ma-zing. I love it!! What an awesome love story. Thank you, Sydney, for delivering a classic to my doorstep and opening my eyes to the world of Jane Austen. I think I'll go pick up Sense and Sensibility from the library soon.

I'll save some more of my updates for a later date. Until then I'll be working and getting to your blogs as often as I possibly can. If I have missed something important or really interesting in the last few days please let me know so I can fast track it to your blog!

Countdown: one week to Mexico!!!

Send something special to your Valentine this year...

Another Epic Game Night

Game nights are legendary around the Linares household... and Saturday night was no exception. We had eleven of our friends over for a little fun (and drinking). Games of the night included shuffleboard, Taboo, Presidents and @$$holes (sorry, it's the name of the game), beer pong, and Wii. Scattered throughout the games we managed to drink more than our fair share of adult beverages.... leading to some very interesting moments, to say the least.

I was so caught up in the games (and the drinking) that I didn't take any photos myself. I stole these game night photos off of Facebook from my friends Justin and Nicole.

Ultimate Hostess..... always

Do you see my pregnant friend, Aida, with her water (and the chips and salsa)? Hehe! Sorry, girl. I can laugh a little longer. ;)More game night action. I don't look too happy but I am. I am standing behind Nicole with the buzzer hoping she says an illegal word so I can buzz. Haha!

Brandon gets started with his legendary Rock Band singing while I break out the beer pong table".... and I'm hungry like the wolves"

We also have some earth shattering video of this performance courtesy of Nicole's camera. It is on Facebook but I'm going to see if she can upload it to You Tube so I can share it with you.... you've gotta see it to understand the complete insanity that was going on here.

Also, I'd like to take this moment to brag. We partied til 4:00 a.m. Yes, you heard that right. 4:00 a.m. We partied like the rock stars we are! ;)

AND.... Do you see that countdown over there to your left? 14 days left, my friends!

Musical Mondays: Our Somewhere

Hosted by Jori and Diane

So I promise next week's Musical Monday won't be wedding related. BUT - this week I wanted to share our exit music. Lucas and I left the lodge under a shower of rose pedals to this beautiful song.... (though the song had to compete with Lucas's brothers and a few friends singing some song in Spanish that I think was a little provocative in nature though I have no idea since it was in Spanish... they had had more than a few drinks by this point.. haha!)



Somewhere Over the Rainbow
by Israel Kamakawiwo (what kind of name is that?)