Thursday, 28 February 2008

As I was driving into work, I was thinking about my early preppy days. When I was in college I was a district officer in Circle K (service org sponsered by Kiwanis). One summer I went to a convention and met some really super guys from Babson College. I had never heard of Babson College, but Lisa Birnbach refers to it as one of the preppiest colleges in TOPH. I had the guys' attention the entire week. They treated me like a queen. It must have been the Southern accent or maybe it was the preppy attire, or maybe they were trying to figure out my add-a-bead. I never heard from them again. That led me to reminiscence about preppy items from the past that are not around anymore. Do you remember Peter Popovich skirts? If not, they were printed skirts in colors such as kelly green and cornflower blue and were worn with coordinating tees or Tanner blouses. They were worn with Tretorns that had the same color as the skirt on the side. Malia sundresses - I lived in mine during the summers. I still have most of my Dottie Smith costume jewelry. A few years ago, I threw away all of my belt strips that I used with my Dottie Smith belt buckles. I had whales, frogs, a train and apple belt buckles and strips in every color and pattern. Do you remember Dean's sweaters? I had several cardigans. I don't think they exist anymore. I still have my add-a-bead necklace. I wear it occaisionally. Garland sweaters - I had several - cardigans and crews. A popular ensemble was a grey wool skirt, pink buttondown oxford, navy crewneck sweater, add-a-bead, navy cable knee socks and Bass weejuns or navy wool skirt, light blue buttondown oxford and kelly green crewneck sweater, etc. Later came the wool shorts. I still have a pair of grey wool short from Talbots. I'm waiting on them to come back in style. We went to the Pappagallo Shop every week. Popular mail order shops were The Talbots (of course), LL Bean (of course) and The Tog Shop. I think Appleseed's have bought The Tog Shop. Let's not forget Carroll Reed. I still have several boiled wool jackets that I bought at Carroll Reed. They were a sister company to Eagle's Eye. I still have Eagle's Eye in my closet. I have a sister that is 13 years younger than me. She was always a miniature version of me. Our parents dressed her preppy also. I didn't intend on writing a book. Maybe this will bring back memories for many of you.

Wednesday, 27 February 2008

Recipes from Southern Lady

Pink Lemonade Wine Spritzers

1 (12 ounce) can frozen concentrated pink lemonade, Minute Maid
1 (750 ml) bottle Chardonnay
3 cups lemon-lime soda, Sprite
½ cup lemon vodka, Absolut

In a large pitcher, combine all ingredients and stir. Refrigerate for 1 hour to blend flavors. Serve Chilled.


Triple Lemon Cake

1 ((18.25 ounce) box white cake mix, Betty Crocker
1 ¼ cups water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons coconut extract, McCormick
2 ½ cups sweetened coconut, divided
2 teaspoons lemon extract, McCormick
2 (16 ounce) cans creamy white frosting, Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy
Yellow food coloring, McCormick
Garnish: lemon slices

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix, water, oil, eggs, and coconut extract; stir to combine just until moist. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes or until well blended. Stir in ½ cup coconut. Divide batter evenly among pans.
Bake for 20 minutes or until testers inserted into centers of cakes come out clean. Cool cakes in pans on cooling rack for 15 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks; remove pans. Cool completely.
Stir 1 teaspoon of lemon extract into each can of frosting. Add food coloring to 1 can of frosting. Place 1 layer on serving platter. Spread half of the yellow frosting over top of layer. Top with second layer. Spread remaining yellow frosting over top of layer. Top with remaining cake layer.
Frost top and sides of cake with remaining can of frosting. Sprinkle remaining 2 cups of shredded coconut over top and onto sides of cake. Garnish with lemon slices, if desired.
I finally got sort of caught up at work. I still didn't do my learning module. Maybe tomorrow. I got the new Talbots catalogue in the mail today. It was okay. I used to look like I stepped right out of a Talbots catalogue, but now I don't seem to see anything that I like in there. Is it just me? I need skirts in the worst way for sping and summer, but I can't find what I like. I like a skirt that comes about 3 inches below the knee, straight with no stretch. A plain twill skirt would be nice, but all I can find is at LL Bean and I already have the bayside twill in khaki, navy and red. If anybody sees anything that fits that description, let me know. Am I picky or what? My spring and summer uniform is a straight skirt, tee from LL Bean or Banana Republic or a polo, a cardigan from Lands' End, Lilly or LL Bean, and a grosgrain belt from Morgan & Company or Eliza B or a Vineyard Vines belt. I know, I look almost the same every day just a different color. But it works.

Tuesday, 26 February 2008

I don't have very much to say today. I spent all day trying to catch up on work that got put aside during all of the merger hoopla. I also signed up for benefits with the new company. I participated in an HR webinar - twice. The second time, I think I may have dozed off. I hope my boss didn't see that. Tomorrow I have to take my "Code of Ethics" class on the online learning module. There's just too much to do right now. Maybe in a couple of weeks, I'll be caught up. But then again, I'll probably have new tasks to do.
LISAGH!! Where did you go? What are we going to do without the Garage?

Monday, 25 February 2008

I only watched a few minutes of the Oscars last night. All I can say is for some reason Javier Bardem makes my heart beat faster. What is it about him? See Lisagh's blog for the comment about John Travolta's hair. He almost looks like Bela Lugosi (the original Dracula) Some of you requested the recipes from Southern Lady Magazine. I will try to get those up tomorrow.

Saturday, 23 February 2008

5 Weird Things about Me

I was tagged by Short Pump Preppy. Here are 5 weird things about me.

1. As the name of my blog implies, I still drink TaB. For those of you who are younger, TaB is a diet soft drink that came out in the 60's and was extremey popular in the 70's and early 80's. Diet Coke came along and knocked TaB off its throne.

2. I'm a very picky eater. I only eat certain brands of certain foods.

3. When I go on vacation, I would rather drive than fly. I have driven to Maine several times and to Toronto from Alabama. My BFF MAB have some really interesting stories about adventures we've had on the journeys.

4. I don't like fish or seafood of any kind. Don't even want to look at it. It makes me want to gag.

5. Even though I am very particular about my appearance, some of my clothes are several years old. I have a hard time finding pants and skirts that I like, so I just wear the old ones. I wear some skirts that are 15 years old. Believe it or not, they still look good.

I tag whoever has not had a chance at this yet. I apologize for the formatting. I'm still working on it.

Thursday, 21 February 2008

Today I had to go to Orientation for the new company. The trainer was amazing. He was extremely time efficient and upbeat. He didn't sugar coat anything. After today, I'm am really excited about our merger. Only a few more days. I was glad I was stuck inside a training room with the blinds closed because it rained and rained all day long.

Wednesday, 20 February 2008

I received the latest issue of "Southern Lady" over the weekend. On page 31 was a very preppy pink and green table setting. I wish that I could show you a picture. That will be a good excuse for you to purchase a copy of the magazine. Although I'm not a big fan of Sandra Lee, there is a great article featuring her great ideas. The magazine is filled with springy table settings and yummy food. I am dying to try the Triple Lemon Cake on page 66 and the Pink Lemonade Wine Spritzers on page 64. If you don't subscribe, I highly recommend purchasing a copy. This is a great magazine. It is published by Hoffman Media, the same publisher as "Victoria".

Tuesday, 19 February 2008

Sorry that I haven't posted since Thursday. I have been rather busy. As I said in an earlier post, my mother has taken over my father's liquor store since he passed away two years ago. She decided to get new tile on the floor. Every time she would start to plan to have it installed, a beer holiday would come up. She decided that this past weekend would be the weekend. There is so much stuff in the store. We moved and moved and moved and it is still cluttered. We had a mess. The guy that laid the tile was supposed to have a helper, but the helper never showed. He had to do the work all by himself. He is still not finished. We were without a computer since Sunday. It is going to look great when he does get finished. The tile is beige porcelin and will have chocolate brown grout. I don't like beige, but it is a good neutral color. In a couple of weeks, he is going to lay carpet in the liquor section. Then we will have an entirely new store. We have been wanting it not to look like a "common beer store". We wanted to make it attractive to the "new rich" who are building in the lakeside subdivision behind the store. I hope these people who paid way too much for their lots drink like fishes and smoke like freight trains. Right now we have about the best selection of imported beer in town, but hometown is more of a Budwiser and cheap vodka kind of town. We sell a lot of Boone's Farm. While attracting the better customers, we don't want to alienate the ones that think Boone's Farm and Mogan David are fine wines. Oh, and we do sell our fair share of MD 20/20, more commonly known as "Mad Dog" (see the book "Tipsy in Madras" for an explanation)

Thursday, 14 February 2008

Queenie was back at work today complaining about how sick she was yesterday. She said that she had to have her tonsils scraped. (?) She was laughing and talking all day long. Wow! What a miraculous recovery. She brought brownies. Who would want to eat food brought by someone who was sick? Ya'll probably think I am so catty, but she drives my coworkers and I crazy. Her boss's think she is great and wonderful. She is probably the most protected person at work. My boss even jumps on the catty comment bandwagon. Whenever I mention her name, he just rolls his eyes. I have a cobb salad from Newk's. As soon as I finish reading your blogs, I am going to eat it, drink a diet peach tea Snapple and finish watching this week's installment of "Pride and Prejudice" that is on PBS. Don't you just love Colin Firth?!?! He is the perfect Mr. Darcy.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Wednesday, 13 February 2008

Queenie was not at work today. She was sick. I wonder if she stirred up too much dust while she was cleaning. A lot of people are out with a bad cold or flu. There are some people who were at work with their ailments. I wish they would stay at home. I sprayed with lysol in our area. The smell sort of got to me, but it is better than having the flu.

Tuesday, 12 February 2008

Rain, Rain Go Away

Even though we are desperate for the rain, why does it have to pour at quitting time. I had a couple of errands that I needed to run after work. I started to just go home, but I decided what the heck? It was awful. When I walked out of the grocery store, my Burberry umbrella turned inside out and of course I got wet.

Queenie cleaned her desk today, but you couldn't tell that much differenc. She has so much crap on and under her desk. When she was cleaning under her desk, she found enough shoes to fill a huge bag. She acted surprised that they were there. Everyone laughs at all her shoes she has lined up under the desk. I try not to go near her desk. She always complains about having stinky feet. I know that a lot of people have that problem, but they don't leave every pair of shoes that they own under their desk at work. When she left work, she didn't have her shoes with her. I hope she didn't stick them in the executive department storage room.

Monday, 11 February 2008

Today after work I stopped by Aveda to get some conditioner for my hair. As I was leaving, I noticed the new Vera Bradley store next door. I strolled in. I ended up buying the pinwheel pink cool keeper. Now, I need to get back to Gossip Girl.

Saturday, 9 February 2008

I am in a women's service club. Each year the president decides on a project and what charity will be benefited. This year the charity is the children of the YWCA. The YWCA offers an after school program and Montesori school for extremely low income children and children of women who are victims of domestic violence. Our project was a chili/bingo luncheon along with a raffle. The chili/bingo luncheon was today at a local Catholic Church. It was very well attended. After the luncheon, I went to the local outlets for a quit bit of shopping. It advertises 32 stores, but I didn't see 32. I went to the Ralph Lauren outlet where I bought 2 long sleeve skinny polos - yellow and pink, a boys size XL t-shirt in orange with navy polo man (for Auburn of course) and some sneaker socks. I went to the Lenox outlet where I bought 2 Kate Spade pink and green bread and butter plates. They were 75% off. I don't know what I will do with them, but I couldn't pass them up. I'm not a big Tommy Hilfiger fan; as a matter of fact, I'm not a fan at all. Something told me to go the the Tommy outlet. I found cotton cable crew necks for $14.99. I bought a yellow one and a pink one. After I left the outlets, I met BFF MAB for dinner at a restaurant called Costas. They specialize in Mediteranean food. MAB got the baked ziti and I got the chicken soulvaki. They brought MAB enough ziti for about 4 people. She only ate about 1/4 of it and took the remainder home. I ate 1/2 of my soulvaki. After that I topped the evening off by going to Big Lots to buy spray starch. OH BOY! I'm proud of my preppy finds and now they can look nice with decent spray starch. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Thursday, 7 February 2008

If you haven't visited Lisagh over at Grosgrain Garage today, you need to read her post. I almost wet my pants. Don't forget to read the comments also. Today was busy at work today, so I didn't have time to observe any activity from Queenie's way. I'm in the process of reading "Home to Holly Springs" by Jan Karon. If you read her Mitford series books, you will love this one. If you haven't read her books, I highly recommend them. They are great. Have a good Friday tomorrow.

Wednesday, 6 February 2008

I may have already mentioned this but my brother-in-law owns a restaurant and drives a school bus for the benefits. This morning, the secretary at the school bus garage was killed in a tornado. Her house was completely destroyed. All that is left is the foundation. She was found in pasture about 300 yards away. http://blog.al.com/breaking/2008/02/pisgah_woman_dies_as_tornado_h.html My brother-in-law is devastated by this. Please keep Linda Tinker's family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. So many people lost almost everything in the deadly storms last night. We did not get very much bad weather here, just a little wind and rain.

Tuesday, 5 February 2008

Sometimes I wonder about my coworker that I refer to as "Queenie". I wonder if she has good sense. Today, the CEO of the bank that has acquired our bank, was in town to speak at the Kiwanis Club. While he was in a meeting in our Chairman of the Board's office, her sister and her set of 5 year old twins show up. They keep laughing very loudly. CP, the Chairman's secretary, encouraged the sister and twins to go to the breakroom. In about 5 minutes here comes Queenie with sister and the twins. CP went over to her and put her finger to her lips and said "Shhhhsh!, Mr. C is here". Queenie responded "I know" and kept on laughing really loud. I would have been mortified if that were me. I went to vote this afternoon. I was in and out in less that 10 minutes. There weren't that many people there. It is supposed to storm tonight. I hope it doesn't get too bad.

I finished reading the Audrey edition of Life magazine today. It was a very well done publication. I understand why we all idolize her. She was a class act.

Monday, 4 February 2008

IT WAS MONDAY

Both of my bosses were gone today. I was so lonely. It was too quiet in our area. But I did get a lot of work done. After work I went to Target to get a couple of things. While I was there, I saw some cute preppy bermuda shorts on sale for $14.99. I may have to go back before they are all gone. They also had some cute preppy totes for $9.99 I just love Target, but I have to stay away sometimes. I buy more than I need.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow.

Sunday, 3 February 2008

GIANTS WIN THE SUPER BOWL!!

I'm sorry all you Patriots fans out there, but I was so happy when the Giants won. I'm not so much of a Giants fan as I am a Manning fan. When I was growing up Archie Manning was "THE MAN". I have always admired him. He is a class act. I wanted to see Eli win the Super Bowl. As you know Peyton won last year. I went over to my sister and brother-in-law's house to watch the game. They had invited several people over, but only a few showed up. The weather was really bad, and some of them had tickets to the Hannah Montana movie. Sunday was the only time available. The few of us that were there had a good time. A couple of the guys are big Tom Petty fans and they really enjoyed the halftime show. My brother in law sent me home with enough chili for several days and 6 pieces of grilled chicken. He knows how to take care of me. He is a great cook. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but he owns a restaurant.

I hope everyone had a good weekend. I hope to be back tomorrow.

Friday, 1 February 2008

INVITE

Preppy Princess - may I have an invitation to Confessions of a Preppy Princess and Coterie? Please?