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So this weekend was just about a perfect weekend. In an unusual twist, we had no soccer, no plans and it rained most of the day on Sunday. I don’t really know what else a girl could want.

Oh. Yes. AND THE AGGIES BEAT ARKANSAS.

I flew to Guntersville, Alabama last Wednesday, met Sophie for dinner and then spoke at a luncheon for Marshall Medical Center on Thursday. The only downside to any of this was that on my flight into Huntsville, I had the great misfortune of being seated across the aisle from someone who either had a terrible stomach virus or a bad case of motion sickness. And while all this was happening, someone on the plane was eating buffalo wings. This isn’t a desirable combination in any life scenario, but certainly was at peak horrendousness considering we were in a small metal tube flying through the air. Also, the flight attendant informed this woman that she needed to keep her bags of throw up under her seat for the duration of the flight and dispose of them herself once she got off the plane. That can’t possibly be right, can it?

I am a person who has a limited ability to mind over matter anything. I can just think about a stomach bug and become nauseated. And so this plane scenario was basically a culmination of all my greatest phobias and fears. In fact, I need to quit talking about it now.

Needless to say, I got off that flight and immediately located all the hand sanitizer in the world and practically bathed in it.

After I spoke on Thursday, I knew I’d cut it close with my departing flight and so I just barely made it back to the Huntsville airport in time. By the time I got to Dallas I realized I hadn’t eaten anything since 8:00 a.m. that morning and so I bought some chicken strips from Popeye’s because it was right across from my departing gate and I’m never one to turn down Popeye’s, especially when it’s in close proximity and I’m starving. My flight was boarding in about three minutes and I ate that chicken like it was the only meal I’d had in a week. I was worried the people around me felt that maybe my Popeye’s chicken and I needed to get a room. Basically, what I’m saying is that business travel is super glamorous.

Friday afternoon P and Caroline headed down south to go dove hunting. And since Mimi is out of town, Bops and I went out for Mexican food. Basically, we each had father/daughter outings doing what we love…P and C hunted, Bops and I drank margaritas.

We woke up Saturday morning and watched SEC Nation and College Gameday. There was a story about an LSU family who lost their six month old baby boy and donated his heart to an Auburn family whose baby boy was going to die without a new heart and the families meet up every year now at the LSU vs Auburn game. It was enough to make me almost have to go get back in the bed.

Basically most of Saturday was just spent doing laundry, running a few errands, cleaning the house a little bit and just biding my time until the 8:00 p.m. kickoff for the Aggies. And, true to form, the game just about did me in during the first half.

Oh wait. Let’s take a quick look at a video of me when Christian Kirk fumbled that first punt.

But here’s something different about our team this year. I never quit believing that we were going to win and that kind of optimism is very unlike me. This Aggie team has a lot of grit (Our defense held them at the two yard line about sixty-four times and didn’t give up a point) and I’m a fan of that. They adjusted at halftime and I was able to breathe easy by the middle of the fourth quarter which isn’t something that has happened during any game against Arkansas that I can remember.

On Sunday we went to church and then came home. I immediately put my pajamas back on and took what can only be described as an epic nap. When I woke up, it was raining outside so I pulled up the radar on my phone to see what was happening and then checked Twitter to discover that LSU had fired Les Miles. I believe I have made my feelings about Les Miles known. As much as playing against him was like playing Lord Voldemort in a purple windbreaker, I couldn’t help but love him because of his great interviews and enlightening speeches about things like Columbus Day.

Mabel took the news especially hard. She wrapped up in a blanket and wrote a haiku about it.

Farewell, Madhatter
I, too, have eaten the grass
And it was bitter

So yesterday was the first day of fall. And there is allegedly cooler weather on the way next week, but I can’t get my hopes up. I feel like at this point all I know is the heat. And I’m so tired of it.

This is going to be a quick Fashion Friday because I just got back home and am trying to get to bed at a decent hour, but make sure you don’t miss the latest episode of The Big Boo Cast because we were so tickled to have Beth Moore as our special guest. You can listen to it here.

Here are some cute things I found this week:

1. sole society cut-out bootie

I really like these booties because the cut out on the side makes them a little different than the norm and you can wear them even if it still happens to be 97 degrees outside. They also come in black and a coffee color.

2. boo tee

How cute would this be for Halloween? They have a bunch of cute t-shirts, but this one is my personal favorite.

3. j.crew factory printed henley blouse

I love the bright colors in this and think it would look especially great paired with black pants or a black skirt for the office. But could be equally great with jeans.

4. bar pendant necklace

This is a great accessory that would go with just about any outfit and it’s only $18.

5. deep v-neck pullover

This sweater has a ton of great reviews and it’s 40% off so just $31.20. Apparently it runs big. It also comes in black, red and tan.

6. billabong paisley dress/tunic

I really like this and at 32″ long it is definitely more in tunic territory than dress territory. It would look so good with black leggings and boots.

7. madewell flannel oversized ex-boyfriend shirt

Madewell has a big sale going on with an additional 30% off sale items. I love this plaid shirt. It’s on sale for $74.50 but additional 30% off with code AUTUMNUP at checkout. The code is only good through midnight Friday night.

8. macrame duster

Anthropologie also has 30% off all sale items with the discount automatically taken at checkout. I like this and think it would be a great accent to a lot of outfits, equally great over all white or paired with a cute striped shirt, jeans and boots. Or even over a dress!

9. made well lisbon o-ring bucket bag

I think this bag is gorgeous. It also comes in black and and a beautiful gray color. It’s definitely an investment piece but is on sale for $194.50 with an additional 30% off with code AUTUMNUP at checkout.

10. love again dress

Someone emailed me this week to tell me about a cute boutique called The Mint Julep Boutique. I looked around and was immediately a fan. They have a bunch of great things at great prices. That dress above is one of my favorites, along with this neapolitan nirvana cardigan. The truth is I can hardly decide what I like the best.

That’s it for today.

Have a good Friday.

Today my friend Edie Wadsworth has a fabulous new book out called All the Pretty Things: The Story of a Southern Girl Who Went through Fire to Find Her Way Home.

It took her three years to write this story and along the way she would occasionally call me to ask questions or vent frustrations or just to declare she was never going to get it finished. But then after a lot of blood, sweat and tears, she did.

Edie sent me an early copy and asked if I’d consider writing an endorsement. I opened up All the Pretty Things about four o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon intending to just read the first chapter or so and looked up hours later and realized I’d read it cover to cover in one sitting. Here’s the endorsement I wrote:

Edie Wadsworth is an observer of people, a lover of words, and a masterful storyteller. All those qualities converge to make All the Pretty Things one of the best memoirs I’ve ever read. I sat down with the intention of reading the first few chapters and looked up hours later to realize I’d finished the entire thing. And her story, her people, and her heart stayed with me for days afterward. You will find yourself alternately cheering, laughing out loud, and crying, but I guarantee you won’t be able to walk away unmoved.

It’s been months since I read it the first time and I still find myself thinking about Edie’s story from time to time. I have no doubt that you will love this book. And, in case you don’t know Edie, here’s a little something she wrote just to introduce herself to you.

“I think I win the record the taking the most time to write a book of all the friends I know. Three years, three rejections, three complete rewrites, and approximately six million cups of coffee. Judging from this photo, I win a prize for drinking the most variety of beverages at one time. Bless.

But when you work from home on the internet and write words for a living, sometimes you just need to declare your own day off.

A few months ago, I did just that, on a beautiful spring Friday, just as the dogwoods were starting to bloom. The Sisters (me and mine) had planned to take The Aunts (my Daddy’s two living sisters) on a field trip to lunch and Target and Whole Foods, etc. I had to jailbreak one of the aunts from the nursing home (which is not as easy as you might think) and then we met up together for lunch.

Daddy died when I was 27 and in my 3rd year of medical school. His death left me clutching at the edges of everything trying to survive, trying to find a way to make sense of our beautiful and heartbreaking life together. I wrote that story in my memoir and it’s a story I never thought I’d tell. Today, his sisters are my only living memory of him and they still speak of him like he might be standing in the next room. It brings untold comfort to me, even after all these years.

And these sisters are characters.

Let me just say that one of my aunts is as funny as any stand up comedian, except I don’t think she knows it. She just lost her husband on New Year’s Day so she’s been struggling through a lot of grief, but even still, I’m pretty sure I laughed most of my make up off the day we took our family field trip. (I know, that’s a lot of laughing.)

They chose Gracie’s Home Cooking (Gracie’s Restaurant? Gracie’s Kitchen?) for lunch and we shared an order of (very deep fried) green tomatoes and then all proceeded to order vegetable platters. I use the term “vegetable” loosely because the choices were soup beans, mac n cheese, cornbread salad, corn, turnip greens, etc.

I ordered turnip greens and soup beans and the waitress quickly said, “Chow chow and onions?” To which I say, long live the South and amen. Of course, I’ll have chow chow and onions. And thank you for saying it with such southern sass.

Then we traipsed over to Target, where The Aunts proceeded to go hog wild in the women’s fashion section. I kept overhearing one of them say to the other, “Honey, you can’t wear that in the nursing home,” to which I wanted to say, YES SHE CAN.

(Side note: I have often begged my children to please accommodate whatever amount of overdone make up and accessories and foolish clothing I request when I’m in the nursing home. PLEASE, for the love all things rhinestone. I think I’ve earned it. (And I’d also like a karaoke machine and roommate who likes old country and western music, but I digress.)

We were almost finished shopping and Aunt Darlene kept eyeing a very large bejeweled statement necklace, to which Aunt Glenda rebuked, “Where are you gonna wear a necklace like that, Darlene?” She temporarily decided she probably didn’t need the necklace but when we got up to the check out, in a fit of passion, she sent my sister back to get it. We took her back to the nursing home with a giant statement necklace and a long, flowy sweater that is sure to get caught on her wheelchair. I can so appreciate the lack of practicality where fashion is concerned. And now I know I come by it honestly.

Here’s what my aunt would say if her Cerebral Palsy hadn’t rendered her speech almost incomprehensible:

Life is short and sometimes brutal.

Time will run out faster than you think.

Hold your people tight and fight hard for joy and forgiveness and laughter.

And by all means, wear the statement necklace.

Wear it in the nursing home.

Wear it with the yoga pants and to soccer practice and wear it while you fold laundry.

TODAY is the only special occasion we’ve been given.

Today is the day for things that bring joy, especially spending time with the precious ones we still have with us.

And even better if we can wear the necklace while we do it.

Amen.”

****

Edie’s spiritual memoir, All the Pretty Things, releases September 2oth. It is her hard fought memoir—a story of fatherlessness, of being untethered and unspoken for; the story of how her life burned down around her in a million little ways and how she sometimes set fire to it; the story of how she finally found redemption among life’s ruins in the love of a Father who never lets go.

Edie Wadsworth is a speaker, writer, and blogger who has been featured in various print and online media. She writes at lifeingrace on a variety of topics that center themselves on home—including vocation, hospitality, faith, parenting, cooking, and life in the Appalachian South. She and her husband Steve live in East Tennessee with their kids.

 

 

Remember how two weeks ago I spent the weekend in College Station and got to go behind the scenes at SEC Nation and meet Tim Tebow? This weekend was just like that except that, instead of being in College Station and meeting Tim Tebow, I watched Caroline play soccer in 104 degree heat and cleaned my oven.

I know. It was all I dreamed it might be.

The truth is I was so glad when Friday got here that I didn’t really care if we had one thing planned and, fortunately, that’s just about how the weekend looked. On Friday night, P grilled burgers and we just hung out and watched the movie Bernie starring Jack Black. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s hilarious.

Saturday, Caroline had a soccer game at 1:00 which was perfect because we were able to enjoy our Saturday morning complete with flipping back and forth between Gameday and SEC Nation before heading out to her game. Apparently fall hasn’t gotten the memo that it’s time to show up and is passed out drunk somewhere because it was approximately 142 degrees outside. All the parents stayed under out tents and umbrellas on the sidelines while yelling at our girls to “RUN FASTER!” and asking “HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?” while we took another sip of our ice cold water and complained about the heat.

After the game, we came home and showered and rested up before it was time to go to Gulley’s house to watch the A&M vs. Auburn game. Spoiler alert: THE AGGIES WON.

But let’s talk about the most important thing, cleaning my ovens.

I’m just going to go ahead and confess that I can’t remember the last time I cleaned them but I know it’s been more than several years. They have a self-cleaning function on them which I’ve used before but then I read some article or somebody told me (I can’t remember and yet somehow I deemed this source highly reliable) that it’s not good to use the self-cleaning function because it can burn up your heating element or put a hole in the ozone or cause your kitchen cabinets to spontaneously combust.

Now I’m wondering why I decided that this person and/or article was the gospel truth considering how little I remember about the source and the actual information.

Anyway, I would occasionally think about cleaning my ovens but then something better would always come up, like pushing back my cuticles or sitting on the couch doing nothing. But then a couple of weeks ago, I cooked some jalapeño poppers in the top oven and the bacon grease dripped and I quit using the top oven because every time it heated up, the entire house would smell like burned bacon.

(I know you’re finding my oven issues fascinating and I just want to encourage you to stick around because I’m going to the dentist on Tuesday and maybe I’ll write all about that later in the week.)

P kept mentioning that the oven needed to be cleaned and I kept putting it off because, you know, that would involve cleaning the oven. But I finally decided this weekend was the opportune time and so I found an oven-cleaning tip I’d pinned on Pinterest along with eleven million other ideas that sound good in theory but will probably never actually be executed within the walls of my home.

This article said that you just combine Dawn dish soap (that seemed legit because we all know Dawn cuts grease out of your way), lemon juice, vinegar, water and all your hopes and dreams for an oven that doesn’t make your house smell like burned bacon. You spray this mixture all over the inside of your oven, let it sit overnight and then all that baked on grease and grime just wipes right off with a soft cloth the next morning.

LIES. ALL LIES.

I made the mixture, sprayed it liberally all over the inside of the top oven on Friday afternoon, sprayed even more for good measure before I went to bed on Friday night, and then opened the oven on Saturday afternoon armed with a damp cloth and the steely belief that I was about to see a cleaning miracle unfold.

Nope.

As I began to wipe with a damp cloth, it became evident that a large portion of the grease and grime was going nowhere. It’s had a good life in my top oven and wasn’t ready to let go. I put on rubber gloves and began to scrub with a scrub brush which helped a little but not much. So I went to go consult another article I’d found on Pinterest that suggested making a paste of baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice. I felt good about this because baking soda and vinegar are how you make a science fair volcano explode.

Sure enough, the baking soda paste began to fizz and foam and, if nothing else, looked fairly impressive. I rubbed the paste mixture all over the sides and bottom of the oven and inside the door then closed it up to let it sit AGAIN over night. On Sunday after church, I optimistically donned my rubber gloves yet again and proceeded to attempt to wipe my oven sparkling clean just like I’d read about on Pinterest. And, here’s what I learned, Pinterest continues to be the place that offers you a 100% chance of feeling like a failure while giving you only a 35% chance of actually discovering a good recipe/craft/cleaning technique that translates to real life.

So I did the only thing left to be done, I wiped that stupid paste mixture out of my oven and then hit the SELF-CLEAN button on both the top and bottom ovens so fast that it would make your head spin. And six hours and 950 degrees later, my ovens are sparkling clean save for the ash at the bottom that I’ll wipe out tomorrow morning.

I’m not sure what the takeaway is here, but I’m going to go with I’d rather risk burning my oven up than to smell a combination of Dawn, lemon juice and vinegar ever again. Also, oven-cleaning technology is your friend. Embrace it.

This week has been crazy busy. And I have never been so thankful to realize that it’s Friday.

Here are a few cute things I found this week:

1. she’s all that knit turtleneck sweater

Free People always has some great sweaters and this one is currently 25% off which makes it $96. It also comes in a really pretty light blue and something they are calling black but is really kind of mottled black.

2. street level faux leather pocket tote

This is such a great tote and is now 50% off which means it’s just $24. It also comes in black.

3. free people easy girl bell sleeve top

I saw this top online the other day and wasn’t sure about it. But then I ran in Nordstrom and saw it in person and I have to say I’m a fan. I love the style and it comes in several great color options.

And if it’s sold out in your size, there are more size and color options here on the Free People site.

4. meadow brook blouse

I first saw this at Anthro this summer and thought it would be so pretty with white jeans or shorts. It’s now on sale for $59.95 plus an additional 20% off. The discount is automatically taken at checkout.

5. H&M fine knit sweater

I walked through H&M the other day and saw these great sweaters for only $19.99. They are super soft, lightweight and oversized and come in black, gray, plum, powder pink and dark blue. They are perfect to throw on with everything from leggings to jeans or even dressier pants.

6. stone fringe necklace

I saw this at Nordstrom and really like it. It’s a great piece to wear with a lot of different outfits.

But I also love this more delicate ettika beaded pendant chain choker

7. carolina dress

Many of you have asked about the maroon dress I wore to the A&M game a few weeks ago and it’s sold out. But Sophie told me about this website yesterday and I saw this cute dress as I was looking around. It comes in several different color options including maroon.

They also have a whole lot of other cute stuff so you may want to look around.

8. nike training shoe

I feel like I’m living in my tennis shoes these days and so I’ve been on the lookout for a new pair. The colors on these kind of remind me of the carpet at a roller skating rink but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. These are 20% off and on sale for $78.98.

9. zella turnaround hoodie

This hoodie is so comfortable and great to throw on to run around or, you know, after a workout. It comes in a couple of other colors and it’s on sale.

10. pin tuck popover

This pin tuck top would be great with jeans and boots and good for a fall transition when it’s still so hot outside. Gap is offering 40% off with the code FALL4IT at checkout.

That’s it for today.

Have a good Friday.