Christmas Past: Dooney & Bourke

I'm married to one of the cheapest people I know. He doesn't like to spend money and he only makes two exceptions to that rule.

He's addicted to smokeless tobacco and wastes...um...spends $60+ a month on it.

He also loves spoiling me. For two out of the three Christmases we've been together, I've been the receiptent of a designer purse.

I'll be honest the Coach purse just intimidated me. I was going to keep it in the closet, in the sleeping bag, and only carry it on special occasions. Mr. Right nicely told me that he didn't pay that much for me to have a designer bag in my cloest. He bought it for me to carry and enjoy.

I'm getting more use to it all the time, but it is still a little small for everyday use. (I don't even wanna know what the bigger Coach bags cost!)

His follow up gift the next Christmas? A Dooney & Bourke handbag.

This one is a little more practical because:

*I know it wasn't as expensive.
*Its bigger.
*I'm out of bullet points but the other two looked so lonely.



Please forgive the PJs.
And the hair.
And the lack of makeup.

I love the purse because it makes me feel rich and pampered. I love the purse because it is durable and I don't have to worry about it wearing out. But mostly, I love the purse because it reminds me how much my hubs thinks of me.

For more great products, check out the Diaper Diaries.



And for more fun embarrassing pictures Marcy at the Glamorous Life Association hosts the Fro Me to You party!

Bucket List

Once I graduated college - I had 4 things on my "things to do before I die" list.

1) See a game in (the original) Yankee Stadium.
2) See Brett Favre play at Lambeau Field.
3) Get married.
4) Enjoy the benefits of being married. ;)

I knew that if I was going to see Favre at Lambeau, I had to get on it. The media has been pressuring him about retirement for a while now. (He's announced his retirement twice, came back once - so far.)

My dad agreed to go with me, but we had to make it in one weekend. $300 for tickets and a room. I wanted this - badly! Luckily for me, they were playing my 2nd favorite team in the NFL, the Arizona Cardinals.

We drove all day Saturday (14 hours) and arrived in time to check into our hotel and catch dinner.

The next morning was the big game.



I had prepared for "Ice Bowl" conditions - but it turned out to be around 50 degrees. I swear 50 degrees in Wisconsin is colder than 50 in Tennessee.

I decided to root for whichever team was on offense. Since the Packers were winning the game, the fans didn't boo me too much for my double-minded nature.

My dad decided to get a packet of stickers for my niece, but when he returned to his seat we figured out that they were temporary tattoos instead of stickers.

I took them, went to the bathroom, and put them on my face to show my loyalty.

And while I was gone Brett Favre scored a touchdown.

And did his first Lambeau leap.

Ever.

Did I mention I was in the bathroom???

I've since forgiven my father (I think) and we both really enjoyed the game.

On the bus ride back to the hotel (it was around 5 in the afternoon) my dad got a call from his boss. He had to be at work at 7 the next morning. We drove all night and only stopped for a few bathroom breaks.

I drove the first shift because I have trouble staying awake. Then when it was Daddy's turn to drive I crawled to the very back of the van, covered up in a blanket and went to sleep.

He woke me up when he pulled over to the shoulder of the interstate quickly. Apparently he had pulled into a rest stop to use the bathroom, and when he came back he just glanced in the back to see if I was back there.

About 5 minutes down the road, he got paranoid that I wasn't under the blanket that he saw, and pulled over.

Is it any wonder I'm a worry wart? I was trained by the best.

I will never forget this weekend with my father. It was our last father-daughter venture. Just weeks before, I had met Mr. Right. But I was glad to have experienced that weekend with the first man I ever loved.

(Which reminds me, I've got to do a Fro Me to You about our father/daughter dance at the wedding - it was classic!)

For more great retro memories, check out Fro Me to You.

Beautiful Baby

Its a bit scary how much I look like my mother. At first glance this could easily be a picture of me. Okay so I suppose technically it is a picture of me, but since I was only a few days old its hard to tell.

What amazes me about this picture is how young my mother looks. She broke the tradition of young mothers in her family.

Her mother had married at age 17, and had her first child by 18. Her grandmother was married at 18 and had her first (my grandmother) at age 19.

While mom mom did marry young, she was 17 - just a few months before her 18th birthday, she didn't have kids right away. She waited until she was 22 to have my sister.

When this picture was taken, my mom was 25. She'd been alive quarter century. I remember when I turned 25. I felt so old.

But now, the year my husband turns 30, and the year of my first 29th birthday, 25looks so young.

I can say she was (and still is) beautiful. And I have been told by numerous people that we look alike. So today, I choose to be thankful for the good genes I've inherited.

I may have "Keeler legs" but I've got my mom's body shape (just ask Mr. Right, he thinks my mom is hot!), my dad's chin (and mr. right likes 'em pointy, just look at his favorite actress reese witherspoon), and my grandmother's cholesterol.

Psalm 16:6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.



For more great nostalgic fun, head on over to The Glamorous Life Association.