Has anyone seen the SNL sketches about the Target check out lady who is super nosey and talks about herself a lot? The last time Ben Affleck was on SNL, he played a UPS guy in the Target sketch. Remember? Well, that was my most recent Tar-jay experience.

I ran in for "just one thing" and as usual, walked out with two full bags. I really did go to buy only a new Britta pitcher. Of course when they were selling the pink ones, I didn't have any need to buy one. But after years of use, mine finally died and now the pink one is no where to be found. I know I will live with the silver one. Heck, I've lived all these years with a white one. But just knowing that the pink one was once all over the place drives me batty. I bet water tastes best from a pink pitcher. As usual, I am getting sidetracked here.

So I left with the silver (not pink...boo hoo) pitcher and a ton of other crap....er.....important stuff that will complete my life. Including a few packets of seeds for lettuce mix and herbs. So I check out and the check out lady has to comment on every bleepin' thing I have. She was all "I love this" or "I don't like those because ....." or "I've never had these. Are they good? Where did you find them?" and so on. Then came the seeds. I seriously only bought three little seed packets. We're not talking about a farm's worth here. Oh she went on and on about how I was never going to be able to grow them from seeds because she tried it once and they died and I would never be able to do it either and I really should just buy plants (which I should point out that Target does not sell....so essentially she was telling me to take my business elsewhere) and on and on and on.

What do you say to that? Now I am not a rude person. I'm fairly talkative and ask ask how cashiers are doing, make small talk about the weather and such. But I don't need your commentary on every item in my cart. It's annoying and embarrassing and really puts a girl on the spot. It was literally just like that SNL sketch. Horrible and hilarious all at the same time. Mind your own business, Target Lady. Oy vey!

I really really love chicken salad. Panera makes a great one. I would omit a bit of the mayo but that's just because I am not much of a mayo girl. Bruggers is super tasty too (even better on a toasted everything bagel). If I go out to eat lunch at a sammy-type place and they offer chicken salad, you can almost guarantee I will order it. Love it.

My favorite recipe is a delicious mango chutney chicken salad from the JL Washington cookbook. Oh, it's to die for! But yesterday I read Mom x 2's recipe for chicken salad and was inspired to branch out and try something new. I didn't use her exact recipe because I have this terrible habit in life of telling myself, "oh I'll remember that later." But of course I never do. What really inspired me was that she just used a grocery store rotisserie chicken. Now most of y'all are reading this thinking, "um, PPC, that's nothing new or inventive." Perhaps. But it never before occurred to me, so I was excited to further simplify an already simple meal.

Apparently everyone who shops at Price Chopper (we've made up and I shop there regularly now) decided they too needed one of those chickens. I had to wait for the chicken man to pluck one off the turning thingy- the counter that normally houses them was totally empty. I also used these funny scallion type things that a neighbor picked wild- I don't know what they are called but they look similar to a scallion. Anyway, here's my recipe-ish (because you know I didn't measure anything- so I am just guessing):

Easy Chicken Salad

- chicken (picked from one grocery store rotisserie chicken- use the whole thing)
- 2 scallions chopped- use white and green parts
- 1 large palm of green grapes, cut in half
- 1 large palm of dried cranberries (or cherries or blueberries or whatever you have on hand)
- 1 large palm of walnuts (toasted in pan first- watch carefully- they burn quickly)
- 1/3 cup mayo (I used fat free)
- 1/3 cup sour cream (I used fat free)
- pepper to taste (chicken is plenty salty so you likely won't need to add any extra)

Mix together. Chill. Enjoy over lettuce or in a pita bread pocket with mesclun mix (this is my fav way to eat it at home!). If you need/like more moisture, add more mayo and such. Super easy and yummy.

Thanks for the inspiration Mom x 2! Dinner was great last night! Perfect for an easy, no-cook meal.

I'm sorry I neglected to post this yesterday. It just turned out to be one of those days. But I did write down all of the names in a green Sharpie on paper (I re-used the back of junk that was headed for the recycle bin- because I'm green like that!), cut them all up, and placed them in a big bowl. Mixed them up well, turned my head, and picked out a name. So without further ado, the winner of my surprise Green giveaway is.....




Congrats Ashley! Email me with you mailing address information and I will get your gifty out to you shortly.

I had an early appointment today more than an hour away. So worth the drive in the gloomy, drippy rain. Because I finally took the time to get my hairs cut and colored! Oh friends, I'm a new lady. The color is FABULOUS! And the cut- well it's pretty stinkin' cute if I do say so myself. Sort of a bob, but longer in the front and more stacked in the back. With bangs because I look better in bangs. I mean, I'm no movie star or anything. But compared to the hot mess that was living on my head over the last month or so, it wins the most improved award by a long shot. Don't you just feel so much better when you have a cute hair day? I know, me too!

I didn't take much time to go shopping but managed to pick up a few fabulous goodies at the Lilly store (y'all must be shocked!). I even got a little something for my giveaway. It's not actually LP, but it is so perfect for my theme. I had something else in mind but when I saw this little diddy, it was kismet. And the future winner and I will be twinkies because I bought one for myself. I'm selfish like that.

So on to my local news.... A few scenes from an Angelina Jolie movie are currently filming in my area. Angelina is not even here. But from the way the TV and radio news have been obsessing about this, you would think Angelina and Brad and the tots were passing out cookies they baked themselves on the side of the road. The news just did an areal shot of the roads they used today to show the "traffic." Can I just tell you that there were like seven cars on the road? Not even bunched up together. This is Upstate NY. Unless you are driving from the Cap District to Saratoga-ish from 5:30-6:30PM during the work week, we have no real traffic up here. People up here would literally die if they visited Atlanta. At any time and on any day of the week. That, my friends, is traffic!

But this is sort of interesting gossip I heard this morning on the radio (as they were of course obsessing about this movie and Angelina and Liev something who is also in it- but I don't think any of them are here filming- I think this is just stunt shots and backdrops). So the movie (currently titled "Salt") was originally written to feature Tom Cruise. I think his character was named Evan Salt- or something like that. Anyway, he apparently wanted $20million and the movie execs decided he wasn't worth that or they wouldn't recoup that or whatever. So they are re-writing it for Angelina (is she worth that much though? I don't know, she honestly doesn't do much for me. Then again I am not a movie person, so what do I know. Her kids are cute, that's about all I can say for her.) and her character will be named Eveline Salt (or something like that).

So there you go. A little town gossip to chew on tonight. Ah, local news is just so ..... er ..... well .... it's something. Usually makes me laugh. It's not quite CNN is all I'm saying.

Kermit was wrong, it can be super easy to be "green." So in honor of Earth Day, I'm hosting a little giveaway. It will be a surprise but I promise it will be cute and fun. I have a hectic schedule the next few days so let's say you can enter until 11PM on Sunday April 26th. I'll post the winner on Monday. Sound good?

To enter, just leave a comment. If you are a follower, I'll give you a bonus entry as long as you tell me that you are a follower in the same comment. And while you do not need to have a blog to play along, you do need to leave me your email address in the comment so that I can contact you if you do not have a blog.

Happy Earth Day!!

OK, so this is an area-specific post. On my fabulous Friday out and about, I popped into my favorite local preppy boutique, Gracies. They don't (yet....I ask every single time I am in there in hopes that they will get the line) sell Lilly Pulitzer but they do sell Vineyard Vines and Jacks and a slew of other happy brands. I picked up a pair of VV Bermuda shorts on super sale- such a cute green color. They are unfortunately a size larger than I have ever before worn. Even though I am doing a rather great (or great for me anyway) job with my work-outs, my body has not shrunk even a smidgen. So instead of walking around town nekkid this summer, I caved and bought one pair of bigger sized shorts. My shifts still fit thankfully. And I am hoping against hope that my waist will one day return to a less large size.

I don't own this bag but I feel bad doing too many posts in a row without photos. LOVE this large VV weekender tote!

Anyway, I got so off topic there. Gracies. I was in there. Loving on the happiness that lives there- beautiful and colorful clothing and shoes. I said to the owner that I was sad they sold Jacks because I am so loyal to Bonnanos. She thought that was the funniest comment ever. Not exactly sure why but whatever. Then I jokingly asked who exactly was shopping there because I never ever see other women dressed in VV (or the like) around town. It's not like I live in a huge city. And I can smell cute and preppy a mile away. She thought I was funny. But I am actually serious. So if you are local and shopping at Gracies (or a similar store), I think you should come out of hiding and tell me. Maybe we could have a little preppy meet up at a Starbucks or something one of these days.

On a side note.... I do believe that we in the Capital Region are being snubbed this year at TJ Max and Marshalls. We have yet to see a lick of anything Lilly or VV this year. Last year we had tons of polos and skirts. Not dresses but at least we had a few things. This year, nada. And I know. Because I am stalking my one TJ and two Marsh's like a crazy woman. I'm bitter and so jealous of y'all down south with all the Marsh and Max luck!!


OK, so I am serious local preps. Comment or email me. I'm super friendly. And crazy curious to know where y'all have been hiding. Do you have a secret club that I am not yet aware of? Please invite me to join. I'm a committee-aholic! Seriously though....who are you and where have you been hiding all these years?!


UPDATE: OK, I have friends y'all. And I am not snobby or anything in my search for fellow preps. I'm more curious to meet local preps because I have never seen these cuties before....but I know y'all are out there. I hope everyone knows that I was not trying to be offensive in any way. I'm just curious, really. If you still feel I am being rude, please be so kind as to just keep that thought to yourself. I would be totally lying if I told you that rude comments don't hurt my feelings. Plus, I am not going to print them anyway.

Has me about falling on the floor in hysterics tonight. Loving it!

Friday was hands down the best day we have experienced all year up here in the North Pole! Sunny, sunny, sunny and it reached SEVENTY! Glorious! I wore....wait for it.....wait for it....FLIP FLOPS! And in the afternoon I ran several errands and got my first pedicure of the season. At a new place. Just your normal nail salon in a strip mall (next to...cough...Walmart...cough) but it's new. I like new. So I gave it a go. I LOVE the massage pedicure chairs. Best. Chairs. Ever. However the salon has been open for three weeks and they still have the plastic bubble wrap on the controls. I'm sure this was done because they are expensive chairs and the owners are proud of their investment. But it means I had to ask my nail lady to turn it on because it is impossible to read anything when covered in ratty bubble wrap. I just thought it was funny. So the pedicure was excellent and the leg massage was A-MAZ-ING! I walked out of there a new woman! With pretty pink toes.

Before my pedi, I popped into my favorite dirty shoe secret store. Payless. I've said it here many times before, I love that store. Similar to Old Navy, it's very hit or miss. And OK, so the quality is not that of anything sold in fancy pants stores (of which we possess none up here in Unpreppyville). But the prices are bargain-tastic! Who cares if they fall apart after one season when you only paid $12. Though I have to tell you, I have Payless shoes that are at least five years old and still look great and garner lots of compliments. I always laugh and quickly confess that they are in fact oldie but goodies from the big orange P! So looky look at what I found. They were having a buy one, get one half off sale. So the plaid shoes (that will get put away until fall) were on sale for $9, but only cost me a whopping $4.50. My total bill was less than $25 for the two pairs of cutie ballet flats. Polka dots and bows, oh my! Oh how I love a good shoe bargain!










Saturday was cold and drippy and Sunday was cold but the sun was out, so it made it all better. I had a luncheon at my sorority and guess who wore here first Lilly shift AND pair of new Bonnonos of the year? Me, me, me!! As usual, I looked a damn fool in my preppy get-up, living in Unpreppyville, North Pole, USA. But whatev, that's never stopped me before. I was thrilled to bits to finally see a day warm enough to warrant a Lilly shift!


And to spite me, Old Man Weather has decided to literally rain (cold cold rain) on my sunshine parade. Rudeness. At least I have my trip to Fort Lauderdale next month to look forward to!

Does anyone use a Singer Futura to do machine embroidery? Any chance you would be willing to let me email you a few questions to help me figure some things out? I have only done some basic embroidery with the machine and while I love the ability to monogram/personalize, there are some things I still just don't "get." And I am finding the internet overwhelming. I just need a friend to tell me what to do. But none of my in person friends have any idea what the heck I am talking about. So any chance a bloggy pal might be willing to help me out? I would be so super duper appreciative!! Kisses!

For the three other preppy Indigo Girl fans out there, the concert was AWESOME! I so much prefer seeing them in small venues (such as the EGG- where I saw them on Tuesday) because it is so much more personal. I love when they chit chat with the audience and add in personal anecdotes.

I do however, have two complaints regarding the concert. Neither have a thing to do with the Indigo Girls themselves. My beef is with the audience. I know everyone has phones with cameras these days. But why exactly is it cool to take a picture in a concert? I mean, they are not doing Brittney dance moves or anything. No hanging from the ceiling or lion tamer tricks. Just two girls singing and one girl playing piano. You can google to get a much better image of any artist than you can take with you camera. Because not only is your picture going to be crappy and not worthy of long term hard drive storage, but it is also incredibly annoying to those of us not taking pictures. When a flash goes off it is an automatic reaction to turn your head in that direction. So I spent half of the show spazzing out when everyone around me was busy taking their selfish and crappy photos.

Also, the first four rows or so need to make sure to use the rest room before a concert. I have never been to anything in my life where people were up and down so much. It is a very small theater so when you get up and giggle with your best friend while running out and then back in, everyone else can see you. And it is annoying. So be sure to tinkle ahead of time ladies(and gentlemen- there were a lot of me there too)!

But the concert itself was awesome. Grab tickets if they are coming to your town soon!

I have very exciting news, friends! Are you sitting down? Guess who is wearing capri pants and a short sleeve sweater? ME!!!! It is so sunny and warm here today - I love it! And tomorrow might even reach 70!!!!!!!!!! Ah, life is fabulous right now. I have a headache and a lot on my plate but give me some sunshine and I am automatically a very happy crocodile!

I hope everyone who celebrates either Easter or Passover had a relaxing weekend. I had a lovely Easter Sunday. Got up and went to a local church. Not my church or even my chosen branch of religion (it was an Episcopalian church) but it was beautiful- glad I went! It's actually one of my favorite churches in the world as the entire interior was designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. Not just the windows but the pews and alter and pulpit and everything else. A-maz-ing!! All of my family was out of town so I cooked Easter supper for just Daddy-o and me (and of course Sadie too). So good- "one of those spiral baked hams", asparagus, biscuits and mashed sweet potatoes. Mmmmm! Of course if anyone has any suggestions of what to do with left-over ham, let me know. I usually freeze most of it but I am very open to new casseroles and other recipes. Cooking a ham for only two people has left me with pretty much an entire ham worth of left-overs.

OK, I know I have told this story on here at least once but it's such an "oldie but goody" that it's worth re-telling. Sort of like The Night Before Christmas every Christmas Eve. Think of this as a traditional Easter story for the ages. And Bestie's personal favorite.

Many moons ago I worked as a nanny/household manager in the DC area. Parts of the job were totally cush- not going to lie. (though small, small parts!) But overall, it was less play time with kids and more personal on-call therapist/paid best friend for the crazy mother. The mother, to give you a brief background, grew up in a very modest household. She was not, as they say, born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She worked hard and made her own millions. And married a man who was in fact eating dinner with said silver spoon. Anyway, enough of that tackiness. I just wanted to set the ground work so that you understood that the mom grew up with very few extras in life.

So the mom is telling me this story about her supposed best friend. The thing with this particular group of people was that they called each other friends but would slice them with a knife in a skinny minute if it so much as got them a better seat on the bus. So she was telling me about her "best friend" and how they spent Easter with her family one year. And it was horrible because they ate gross (read: trailer park style) foods. What sort of foods, you ask? Well I asked of course (knowing y'all would one day want to know too) and was told "one of those spiral honey baked hams!" But with the cadence of someone referring to something so beneath them and so horrible and so lowly and so less than and so disgusting that they can hardly get the words out. That job had lots of odd moments. But this is the story above any of the uber crazy things that I dealt with that has lasted the test of time. Every time she eats ham, Bestie emails me to inform me that she just enjoyed "one of those spiral hams."

And yes, I did read The Nanny Diaries. It came out around the same time I started that job. Little and I were nannies at the same time- together we could absolutely write a sequel to that book that is even more shocking that one can possible imagine. Oh those were crazy days!!

Y'all know my bestie, right? If you don't, tsk tsk! Go over to her blog and meet her. She's fabulous! We're exactly the same and totally opposite all at the same time. And while I can put an outfit together and look presentable, she has an amazing sense of style. She wears heels!

Bestie is an accountant by day, designs stationary by night, plots a way to get prego by late night (or mid-day in the doctor's office), and yet she thought to herself....I need more. So she teamed up with this really awesome company to design baby nurseries and children's bedroom. This is so my dream job and I am green (with splashes of pink) with envy. I'm just sooo thrilled for her. As I said, she has impeccable taste. And don't let the accountant thing fool you. She might type numbers all day long but you can rest assured they are in dramatic shades of pink and chocolate with hews of gold and touches of white. She is in her element. So after you visit her regular blog, please be sure to stop by her new blog. If for no other reason than she is having a great giveaway. I said GIVEAWAY kids! We bloggers love a little giveaway love lately. I'm not telling you what it is. You have to go see to find out. But it's really great. You'll thank me.

Y'all are just a big beautiful bunch of peaches!! Thanks for coming to my blackberry rescue yesterday! It took me a while to figure out how to silence the thing but on my way to the theater (I know...driving while blackberry-ing...bad girl!) your advice finally clicked in my technology illiterate brain and I figured it all out. Whew!! I actually got a call while in the theater so y'all saved me from being "that woman with a darn cell phone ringing" last night. Kisses!!

So I had a blind date last night. It was rather last minute and took a bit of convincing but I agreed and went. We were seeing a Broadway show that was in town (JC Superstar) and meeting about an hour before hand at a nearby pub. I thought we were meeting for dinner. So of course I didn't eat anything before I left the house. Turns out we were just meeting for drinks. Needless to say I was hungry enough to eat my steering wheel on the way home. I went to McDonald's in a hot panic and thankfully they were open. I don't even want to know the calorie count. I was dying. It was literally a life-saving moment. Me and Micky D's! Totally not his fault at all- I didn't even speak to him until I reached out my hand to say hello. I just misunderstood. So he had a beer and I opted for a Diet Coke and we proceeded to chat away. I was not the least bit nervous knowing that I can talk to a wall and have a good conversation. He's in an industry that requires him to be a good conversationalist so we did have a good time chatting away. No real spark between us, but he was fun to talk to for the night regardless.

Have y'all ever seen that show? It was my first time (and the reason I agreed to go if I am being honest) and wow....a bit graphic during the second half. Not your typical happy go lucky Oklahoma type show. I wasn't expecting to see Jesus moaning in pain on the cross at a musical. And the guy playing Jesus has this huge (and fairly famous) resume but I have to tell you, I was not impressed. He waaaaay over-acted and I didn't love his voice. Ironically (or Christians should find the humor in this anyway), I thought Judas was awesome! Seriously, his voice and acting skills were remarkable. After it was over I kept saying, "I just loved that Judas!" Mary Magdalene was pretty fabulous too. Don't get me wrong, I loved it. And so appropriate this week too. But for those thinking of buying tickets, be warned that it is not a hug-while-singing-about-baking-cakes sort of show.

Yesterday afternoon I emailed Bestie telling her that I was going on this date. Her only piece of advice was to wear high heels. Now it was raining and cold and slippery and windy here yesterday (and today and tomorrow and....). And I really really do not like wearing heels. Just not my comfort zone. I have a few summer pairs that I think are comfortable but overall, just not my thing. I am queen of ballet flats. In style or out of style, it doesn't matter to me. I'm really all about comfort in life. I do wear heels when absolutely necessary- such as at weddings. And I feel very strongly that every bride should wear heels at least during the ceremony (unless she is on a beach or something of course). But for my everyday life, heels and crocodiles just don't mix well. Sorry Bestie. It's the truth! So I wore a dress pair of ballet flats. I think my outfit was perfectly appropriate for the event and I was comfortable all night. Had I worn heels, I would have been miserable walking in the rain to and from my car, etc.

So there is a funny thing that happened at the theater. During intermission I excused myself to join every other female on our required jaunt to the never large enough ladies room. One must walk down a rather long flight of stairs to get there (I'm sure there is some sort of handicap accessible way somewhere....I should hope anyway). So I am about 2/3 down the stairs (and please note that it is shoulder to shoulder women and men as everyone is rushing to powder their noses) and I hear someone scream. I turn around to see this elderly woman who is twice my size literally rolling down the stairs!! Rolling. Like legs in the air and upside down! She came to a halt as I fell to my knees to stop her. So I have her head in my lap and a woman about four stairs above me is holding her knees. Poor thing was totally upside down. Thank goodness she was wearing pants. So there were two of us helping her sort of get turned around and everyone else....? Oh everyone else just kept walking. Squeezing past her and walking over her and bumping into all of us. Really? Y'all have to tinkle that badly that you can't stop to help this woman stand upright? We did get her standing, though she was limping. I think she twisted her ankle and that's why she fell. When I was washing my hands she was using the sink next to me. I again asked her if she was OK and she brushed it off. Poor thing- I know she was mortified. I would have been tomato red with embarrassment too. I bet she didn't even feel any pain with the adrenaline of feeling so embarrassed. She probably woke up today throbbing though. Can you imagine?

So that was my evening. No wedding bells but I didn't go into it thinking there would be anyway. I had a nice night out with a lovely gentleman and a dramatic intermission story to boot. What more can a girl ask for on a Monday night?

I have no idea where I put the booklet and can't (easily) find the answer on Verizon's website. So I'm asking y'all instead. Does anyone know how to set the pink blackberry to silent? Also, my phone apparently called one of my girlfriends twice last night from my purse. She says the bag and phone didn't have much to say though. I can only guess who else the darn thing is calling when I am not around. So does anyone know how to lock (and also unlock) the buttons? Any advice is greatly appreciated!! Kisses!

So the juicer is going back. I noticed the first morning it took a while to clean. But I was so enthusiastic about drinking veggies that I didn't give it much thought. Then yesterday came and reality hit. It is dishwasher safe but I don't run the thing every day. So if I want my magic juice each and every morning, it means hand-washing. Which is fine. Until I look at the clock to realize I am still trying to scrub the darn thing 20 minutes later. Tropicana is probably just fine when you consider all I have to do is open the refrigerator and pour. Oh well, it was fun for the two juicing sessions anyway. Be honest, you all saw this coming, didn't you?!