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Friday Four

The first week of school was a success. Maybe I should rephrase. We all survived. And only 40 more weeks to go. SK was in Dallas most of the week so I had to get myself up AND get the boys up. Wells likes to sleep as much as I do, so this was no easy feat. On Monday night I put an alarm clock in Wells’ room and set it for 6:40. The next morning they were both downstairs at 6:42. No complaining. No crying. And none from them either. It’s worked every day since. If any of you tell them about the snooze button, I will cut you.

1. Adidas and Superga Sneaks

Speaking of back to school, both boys had to have new shoes. Their feet grow like weeds. And sort of smell like them too. Anyway, Piperlime had a back to school sale so we ordered these for Graham…

And these for Wells…

Cute, eh? Except Wells says his need to be broken in. By someone else.

2. Wet Brush

I don’t know about your kids, but mine act like I am trying to harm them when I comb out their hair. As in, “MAMAAAAAA… STOP TRYING TO KILL ME”. My hairdresser/BFF Kristy told me we needed a Wet Brush. Y’all. This thing is amazing. It does not pull at all. It works on my hair too (which is like trying to comb out a matted shih tzu). Get you one. And if you already have one and didn’t tell me, we can’t be friends anymore.

3. Phytovolume Actif

Rankin left a comment asking what kind of volumizer I use. For as long as I can remember I’ve used Phyto Phytovolume Actif. It is super light and doesn’t make your hair feel stiff or sticky. I have tried a couple of mousse volumizers and always end up looking like Cameron Diaz in Something About Mary.

Nobody wants that, so I always go back to good ole, foolproof Phyto. I spray it on my roots while my hair is still damp and then blow dry. A little goes a long way, and the bottle lasts for at least a year. (IF you don’t wash your hair everyday).

4. Revenge Wears Prada

My sweet friend Missy brought me her copy of Revenge Wears Prada and I am about halfway through. I really like it so far. If you liked Devil Wears Prada, I highly recommend. I’ll give you a final review when I finish reading it… six months from now.

I am linking up with A. Liz Adventures’ 5 on Friday again this week. I see she has one of my favorite products on her list today. Check out her blog to see it and lots of other fun Friday posts.

5. Cookie Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bars

Also known as chocolate and sugar overload. I made these last weekend and they were good. REALLY good. Which is actually bad. REALLY bad.

Spray a 9X12 baking dish with non stick spray. Press two rolls of Toll House chocolate chip cookie dough into the bottom of the dish. Next, add a layer of peanut butter cups. Mix up a batch of brownies according to directions, and pour the batter on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven for around 45 minutes, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let them cool and then order bigger pants.

I hope y’all have a great weekend!

wowie

August 16, 2013

books, family, friday 4, products, recipes, stylin’
tea {cakes} for two

AUGUST. And school started back yesterday. And I still haven’t bought new uniforms. But I did remember to order prepackaged school supplies so hallelujah for that. Last year, I thought it would be fun to take Wells to pick out his supplies for first grade. I absolutely loved shopping for school supplies as a kid. Anyway, we spent a lot of time picking this and that, and looking for Ticonderoga pencils because apparently there was a shortage. Come to find out, all the supplies go into a pile and the teachers divvy them up. Poor Wells had to watch a little girl across the class write in his power ranger notebook every day. Way to ruin first grade, mom.

So Wells is in 2nd grade this year and Graham is in K4. Unreal. Not unreal that they passed, but that summer break is over already. Notice I didn’t say “summer is over already” because clearly it is not. The heat index is 108 degrees here today. It is too hot to even be nice anymore. But in an attempt, they took flowers to their new teachers.

I wrote each of their names on the bottom of the Peter’s vases then added spray roses from Fresh Market. Hopefully it will make up for messy handwriting and G only knowing the letter “g”.

And here they are all fired up for the first day…

When I was little my mama made me tea cakes for an after school treat. And when she was little, her mama made her teacakes. So yesterday, I made a batch for Wells and Graham.

They were a hit.

Tea Cakes

4 cups all purpose flour (I used cake flour because I didn’t want to sift it)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda

Mix the above ingredients together in a large bowl. Then add the following…

2 cups suger
2 eggs
2 sticks of butter (softened… if you are in a hurry just put it outside for 30 seconds)
1/2 cup of milk or buttermilk (I used fat free half and half)
1 tsp. pure vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Mix it all together. Some people roll them out but the dough is pretty sticky. I dropped about 1 tablespoon per cookie on a silpat and baked them in a 350 degree oven for 12 minutes.

wowie

August 10, 2013

recipes
I got 99 pictures and the beach is fun

As I mentioned before, we went to the beach at the beginning of June. It feels like yesterday but it is August. I love in all caps the beach. LOVE it. We rented a house in Seaside this year and had the best time. The first week we were there, the temperature was really mild and it was not crowded at all. Wells and Graham both loved playing in the sand and water. I am so glad they both like the beach as much as their daddy and I do.

And I hope all of you like beach pictures as much as I do because OVERLOAD.

Graham used my swimsuit as his personal hanky… all day, every day.

The water was crystal clear. So clear that a shark was spotted a little too close to the shore. Da duh. Da DUH. DA DUH DA DUH DA DUH…

Lucky for us, he was a hippie shark and a raw vegan. We decided to stay.

I think these swim trunks are the cutest thing ever. Graham does not. Steve pointed out that we are not, in fact, European. Oh.

One of the best things about 30A is being able to park the car and ride bikes around town. And Seaside’s weekly concerts and movies. We would grab a pizza and a picnic blanket and just chill.

Well, we chilled until G snuck onstage and got reprimanded by security. He is such a little perp.

Speaking of G, he fell asleep at dinner every night. That is just how he rolls. Or doesn’t roll.

I have perfected one arm eating

red bar

brother got in on the (lack of) action

We also ran into Sean Peyton. You know… head coach of the Saints.

He gave the boys some sand dollars. A sand dollar make you holla… because they stink.

holla

The house had an outdoor shower, and now I want one more than ever.

We celebrated our eleven year anniversary while we were there. I know what you are thinking…we got married in high school. Or at least that SK was in high school.

My sweet mama was with us, so we were able to go out and celebrate without sleepy G tagging along.

Steve had to go home for a few days, and the day he left there was a monsoon. It was the first rainy day, and we sort of enjoyed it.

We needed the rest before my sister and her family joined us. We love our cousins. Unfortunately, when they arrived the temperature went up 20 degrees and there were bad rip currents. Oh, and my sister got a stomach virus and Kailey ripped her toenail off. Boo.

pizza picnic on the beach

The cousins went home, and we moved to Sandestin for SK’s work thing.

Secret Agent Face

“G” man

“the” man

ELVIS

We drove home on Father’s day and took this guy to lunch at Felix’s. Perfect ending to a wonderful trip.

But don’t worry, beach. We’ll be back…

wowie

August 2, 2013

beach, family, florida