Going Once, Going Twice, SOLD!

The other month the Hubbers and I traveled South to visit my parental units. It ended up being a very expensive trip.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon, early enough for Ma and Pa to take us to their favorite Friday Night Hot-Spot. Their newest thing to do is auction hunting. It isn't like the stuff you see on television though. It is more like an estate sale but either way they have a ton of fun going to these things.

The Auction

So we perused the items being auctioned and settled then in to watch the games. We all were guessing at what amount some items would end up selling for, such as the leather turtle ottoman. That baby sold for $300. Don't ask, I don't know either.

In addition to the turtle they sold vases, a baker's rack, a dining room table, a hutch, some dishes and a bunch of other chotchkies. There wasn't anything that I wanted so after about an hour I was ready to hit the road. Just as we were getting ready to leave I heard the auctioneer say the next item to be auctioned was this vintage chest. I put the breaks on since I really wanted to find out how much this piece would sell for.

And the bidding starts at $100. Do I hear $100?

Ma to Me: You like that?
Me: Yeah, it's neat, although I don't need it.
Ma: But you like it, right?
Me: Yeah.
Ma to Auctioneer: $100!
Another Bidder: $150!
Me to Ma: Don't go over $200.
Bidder: $200!
Auctioneer: Do I hear $250?
----Silence----
Auctioneer: Do I hear $225?
Ma: $225!
Auctioner: Going once, twice, sold!
Me to Ma: Now what?
Ma: Well, you take your credit card over there and you pay for it.

And that is how I became the proud owner of a 1950's John Stuart Mahogany Chest, courtesy of my Mother.

So what is the moral of this story? Don't go auctions with my mother. She likes spending other people's money and boy is she good at it.

Ma's 1st Auction Win: $7

Erica's 1st Auction Win, Courtesy of Ma: $225

Happy Halloween!

Oh yeah. I sure was.

An Ode To My Birthday

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Chad thinks that I bash him too much on my blog and make him appear like a sissy so, in honor of his 32nd Birthday I give you 32 reasons why my manly husband is the greatest guy ever and why I love him so much.

1. He is strikingly handsome.
2. He laughs at my jokes and thinks I'm funny.
3. He kills bugs.
4. He takes out the trash and recycle because almost after 6 years of living in the same house, I still don't know what days the trash guy comes.
5. He makes me yummy dinners.
6. He is a very hard worker and is good at his job.
7. He empties the dishwasher without me asking.
8. He gets me awesome gifts like a Nook.
9. He knows how to spell everything.
10. He learned how to put the coffee pot back together.
11. He gives good feet rubs.
12. He takes pride in whatever he does.
13. He is a good son and calls his parents every week.
14. He lets me drag him to Old Time Pottery.
15. He is a great golfer.
16. He loves our fur balls, gives them food, treats, love and good rubbins'.
17. He is very competitive.
18. He is good with saving money.
19. He goes grocery shopping when I don't want to.
20. He has a great sense of humor.
21. He loves his family.
22. He keeps me motivated to go to the gym.
23. He puts up with my crazy antics.
24. He hangs all the pictures and stuff on the walls and it comes out straight (unlike me).
25. He is great with numbers and math.
26. He teaches me new stuff every day.
27. He lets me watch my vampire shows on the good t.v. when sports are on.
28. He always picks the best restaurants to go to.
29. He plans awesome vacations.
30. He can reach the stuff on the top shelf.
31. He knows a lot about wine.
32. He loves me and always has my back.

This guy is my everything.

Happy Birthday Chad! I love you!

Blonde Ambition

I was born a blonde. Okay, I don't think I had much hair, if any at all, but when it did grow in it was blonde.

When I was about 13 or 14 my blonde hair started getting darker and becoming more of a dirty blonde color. This was also around the time I started to highlight my hair. I kept blonde until I was about 18 or so. By this point I was over being blonde and I bought a box of dark brown hair dye.

I liked it a lot. It had a deep red in it which then lead me to dying my hair red. I loved my red hair. Love, love, loved it. I met my husband when I had red hair. After we got to know each other a little better he told he didn't care for it too much. I have to admit it was a little weird when my color would fade and we would having matching hair color.

So back to blonde I went but this time around and for the next couple of years I noticed my roots were getting crazy dark. In an attempt to not look like a strung out crack whore I dyed it brown again.

I've been all shades of brown for many years now and I honestly couldn't have told you what my natural color was until now. I haven't dyed my hair in almost two years and I just cut the last remaining bit of color off. My hair grows super slow by the way.

I've enjoyed not having to spend an arm and a leg to have my hair colored and I learned to like my natural color .... brown with a few stranglers of white. Uh huh, yup, that's right. The one time I stop dying my hair after all these years and this is what I discover.

I actually discovered it last year while we were in Savannah but my husband convinced me that it was a super platinum blonde strand. I only believed him because I actually do have blonde strands but I still plucked it just be safe. I am too young to be getting whites! But alas, the old wives tale is true. More have popped up all over the place! I have now verified the true authenticity of the new ones with others. It is white.

I'm not even 30 yet (I'm 29 years and 355 days old). Now what am I suppose to yell at our hypothetical children when they drive me nuts? The cat is out of the bag. "This wrinkle is from you!" Nevermind, I'll take the white. I'll be a 30-something, baby faced, Florence Henderson.
 

Channeling Mrs. Brady

I've Been Bamboozled

Ever have decorating-block? I don't know why I have such great ideas for others but when it came to our house I had a good case of decorating-block.

The corner of our bedroom is a lonely one. I attempted to fill in the oh-so-lonesome place with a mirror once. It didn't work. I vowed to myself not to look at that dark and dreary hole until we got some new furniture. Well, the furniture came and our little junction was still without a function.

The Old Lonely Corner

The New Old Lonely Corner

My Aunt suggested that we get something big and tall, like a faux bamboo tree. Why didn't I think of that?! Duh! I went searching for a faux bamboo tree which is a lot easier said then done. First of all I couldn't find any at our nearby stores and secondly the ones I saw online were a ton of money which I was not willing to spend on a tree, especially one that wasn't even real.

In a last ditch effort I dragged my unwilling husband to Old Time Pottery. I found a pretty good selection of trees that didn't scream "I'm fake!" like a set of new shiny boobays. We did find a fake bamboo but it was quite wimpy. I almost settled on a ficus but it just feel right. I think faux plants look great in other people's houses but I just couldn't picture one in mine.

I left Chad to play Angry Birds while I went from end to end at OTP looking for ideas for our holy hole. I found some super tall sticks which made me remember this twiggy thing I saw at Ikea.

Ikea Insipration

With my husband and sticks in tow I was off to find a vase which I soon found out was even more difficult than finding a faux tree. Since the sticks were so lengthy I needed a tall vase so the whole thing wouldn't topple over but one with an opening that wasn't so ginormous like a planter.

As much as Chad hates to go decor shopping with me, this is exactly why I drag him with me ... I miracously found a tall enough vase for the sticks at Home Goods. Hooray! That was until it rolled off the back of the seat and shattered into a bunch of tiny effing pieces. I had to go to another Home Goods on the opposite side of town to find another one but this time around  I wasn't taking any chances. Safety first!

After all that hoopla this is what I was left with. The Leaning Tower of Twiza. Sure the vase will stand up and not wobble on a flat, hard surface but carpet? That would be a no-go.

The Leaning Tower of Twiza

The good news is that I spotted not one but two faux bamboo trees in the 2nd Home Goods store. With promises of candy and back rubs I got Chad to come with me to check out the trees and we got one! Was it love at first sight? No, more like like-at-first-sight. We are still in the "getting to know you" stages of dating but so far it is starting to look like the beginning of a nice relationship.

The New New Not-So-Lonely Corner

Niner, Niner

Side by Side, Year by Year.

"It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life." - Rita Rudner