When was the last time you popped on Gilt?  I couldn't sleep last night and was restless.  So I played online and for whatever reason, went to Gilt for the first time in probably a year.  Or more.

Wow, it was so fun!







Of course they have the daily sales like Ruelala and all the others.  But Gilt also has a new-to-me section that is all about food.  Just look at a small sample of yummy treats I found.  From sweets to cheese to meats to veggies to wine and more.  I had no idea they sold so many gourmet nibbles but I will definitely keep them in mind from now on for gifts and such. 

I've had a lot of conversations lately about how women treat women.  How it is socially acceptable to judge and belittle and criticize each other. 

And listen, I am no angel.  I have certainly found myself in my fair share of caddy discussions over the years.  It's easy to have a casual conversation quickly turn into salacious gossip without much effort. 

I'm not proud.

Actually fairly recently I found myself in that very situation.  But that evening I recognized what happened.  I recognized that I was wrong and possibly even offensive or unkind.  So I pulled up my big girl britches (those damn britches have been getting a lot of use lately!) and emailed an apology. 

I was embarrassed  by my behavior but also proud that I could recognize the need to change.  A sign of growth and age.

But the more I discuss this general topic, the more it concerns me that this is the wave of the future for women.  Cut throat.  Put each other down to raise ourselves up.  Throw blame on her to get the focus off me.  Have no conscious regarding the feelings toward others.  Critical of those feeling offended instead of owning our own offensive behaviors. 

There's not real point to this post.  More a realization on my part that I need to find ways to build up all the amazing women around me on a regular basis.  And encourage others to do the same. 

I've been going through some tough spots lately.  For a variety of reasons.  But all at the same time.  And honestly, I've been really blue.  But more than that, I am incredibly stressed out.  I can't remember ever feeling quite like this.  It's like the most ridiculous combination of emotions have collided inside of me and ugh...no me gusta!

I have lost four pounds in the last week. 

But don't congratulate me.

It's because I have reached a new (to me) level of stress.  Where instead of my usual stress relief eating that involves a double date with both Ben and Jerry, I now can't keep much inside of me.

See, I said not to congratulate me.  It's not good. 

I'm not super worried as this has too come to an end.  This is just a particular season.  And that's the thing about seasons, a new one is just around the corner.  Plus I have about 30 lbs to lose so it's not really a big thing at this point.  I do promise that if either the food issues or stress issues persist to this degree, I will go to a doctor. 

Actually, yesterday was an improvement.  So there's hope.  I got some good news.  And bought this little sursey as a thank you to someone who helped make the good news happen. 




But to all my readers who are still in high school and college, please don't rush to grow up.  Growing up really is hard to do.  I've worn a lot of uncomfortable big girl britches lately.  Begrudgingly.

* You know how people eat ox tails?  Like ox tail soup and braised ox tails are real dishes on restaurant menus.  Do these said tails really come from oxen?  Does anyone eat the rest of the ox or just the tails?  I've never heard of other ox part dishes.  No ox butt roast or baby back ox ribs.  Just the wiggle waggle ox tail.  And how many times reading this did you have a second grade flashback of Oregon Trail?  Can you tell that I've never tasted ox tail?  That's probably blatantly obvious, huh?

* You know how when you are elbow deep in the middle of a project to file paperwork or re-organize your office or move furniture around, you feel like ever piece of paper exploded all over the room and you are suddenly paralyzed and have no earthly idea where to put any of this $hit?  So you decide instead just to give up for the night and eat another popsicle while watching Smash?  No?  Just me?  Sometimes I feel like my life is in a perpetual state of paper chaos.

* You know how you get to that point in life and realize you need to break up with a friend?  But not because friend is a bad person.  Friend is dramatic or high maintenance or needy or just not a good fit at this point in your life.  So you don't break up.  Because you can't explain why they are not a good fit in your life.  And we're girls who were raised to be sweet and kind and friendly.  Damn, being friendly is exhausting!  I always regret not just ripping off the band aid though and following through with a clean friend break up though.

* You know how you and your closest besties have a language?  Like you quote the same movies over and over.  And you assume that you can go out into the world with the same quirky chatter and quotes and garner the same response that your besties offer up.  Namely laughter.  Well I am here to tell you that not everyone can quote Beaches, Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes and every Broadway show tip to tail.  Especially among teenagers in Upstate NY.  No one gets my Steel Magnolia soul around these parts.  "My colors are blush and bashful!"  "Her colors are pink and pink!"

Can you see the photo of the Lilly bag above??

Click here to request a FREE year-long subscription to Shape magazine.  You will have to take a silly, short quiz.  But tip to tail the process will take you just a few minutes. 

Y'all, I don't know what to do.  I can't figure out how to solve my problem.  It's nearly two weeks now and so far no one on the interwebbers can offer any assistance. 

I have posts about recipes (some REALLY great ones), dresses, a celeb chatty post, travel (two trips actually- NYC and FL), and even a little sewing tutorial.  But all have photos.  Which cannot be posted.  So I am just not posting at all.

And I am physically upset about this whole bit.

Leaving me to seriously question my attachment to blogging.  Like...I think it's perhaps a bit unhealthy.

I don't know really why I first began blogging.  I've talked on here several times over the years about how I discovered blogs.  But I guess I started just out of curiosity.  I didn't have a specific voice in mind.  Over the years this blog has had its ups and downs.  And the content has been all over the place (No one...let me repeat...NO ONE likes my gardening posts.  I still write them anyway.).  But at some point a good long while ago I stopped caring much about what others wanted to read. 

I write in part as a journal.  To remember my life events, albeit small most of the time.  To remember recipes and projects that I enjoy.  All of this is for my own personal benefit.  If others like what I say, great.  But if no one reads, that's OK too.  And I write in part as a way to communicate with sweet friends.  Friends I have known since birth and friends I know only by blog title.  I think that most of us who have been around long enough (five years next month for me!) consider many other bloggers to be real, true friends.

But am I too dependant on this blog forum?

Not having it working and not knowing how to fix it has me thinking that I might not be listening to the message.  Perhaps this is His way of saying I am giving this online blogity blog too much of my time and attention. 

I don't know.  Just what's brewing in my noggin this week.

And if anyone can help me with the no photo problem, I would love to at least know how to fix it.

Help me out.  Can you see the above image of a Lilly purse?  I have been having a heck of a time the last week or more with Blogger.  I can add images.  And see them when in post.  But once published, they go missing.  When I go to edit the post, the images are not visible.  But are there.  Because if I click on the area of the ghost images, it gives me the option to make it small, med, large - just as normal if the image was visible. 

With my coupon blog, I updated to the new Blogger.  And that's even worse.  Not only can I not see the images but I also can't see all of the options to post things or read Dashboard.  Ugh.

I've googled this issue and can see that others are having a similar problem.  But so far I can't find a solution.  So I stopped posting- thinking it would resolve itself.  But it hasn't.  And now I am super annoyed. 

So first, please tell me if you can even see the image at the top of this post.  And second, if you have had this problem, how did you fix it?

Please help a girl out!

I promise to write up some real posts this weekend.  But in case some don't know (I sometimes miss them so appreciate seeing others make the announcement), Lilly Pulitzer is on sale at Ruelala right now.  Several of the items I really wanted were swiped from my cart within minutes.  Hmph!  But I still got a cute pink shirt (that might be too big) and a stunning green dress (that might be too small in the top but too big everywhere else). 




I promise to let you know if either of my finds are keepers once they arrive.  Damn my hard to fit body!  Actually, just damn my big boobs!!

This is back!  This is the third time I am posting this little Target goody bag giveaway in the last year or two.  And I think many of us have received the fun little bag of treats in the mail as a result.  It's just a small fabric cosmetic bag (one from last year is actually being used in my purse at the moment- it's really cute) with samples and a stack of Target coupons inside. 

This took me FOREVER to get to work.  It's running very very slowly.  So be warned.  But if you act fast, you too should be able to snag a fun little freebie from Target today.

**Yes, as I said, this takes a l o n g time to load.  I just let it go and kept refreshing.  And it's a Facebook link.  Don't worry, it will work.  But not before testing your patience!