Dear Chi...

Dear Chi,



I would like to thank you for helping me to have straight hair. On the occasion that I actually get up with enough time to use you, you do work wonderfully.


I do however, have a complaint. Why would you not make a timer on your machine? If you have two plates that get so hot that can burn through some serious objects, you would think some smart kid in R & D would develop a timer to shut down after a certain period of time.


Now, whether this is due to the fact that I bought you on-line from a random hair styling store--which could quite possibly be a basement in china town were you are using underage children to stamp on the logo of said chi, or due to a laziness in the R& D department I do not know. I do know you owe me one bottle of Twilight Woods lotion and some serious air freshener. I am to believe that after I ran you through my hair yesterday I did not remember to shut you off. I am also to believe that you worked you little heating heart out until 10 pm when I got home last night and realized you will still on and still heating... right on through the twilight woods.


Please replenish the items that you ruined it is the right thing to do.. since you are lazy.. or made in china.


thank you,


cortney carlson

take me down to china town

As I am sure you read yesterday because you all absolutely love to read my blog daily, know that I am getting a china hutch! We should be picking it up on Monday and I will take pictures for you. Here are some to hold you over.

Well I have had some serious sleepless nights worrying about this whole china pattern thing. yep I know I am a complete anal retentive freak show that worries about stupid things, but this is me.. stay a while. So anyway, my china is white, silver, and blue.. please see below.

Now I still to this day think that it is beautiful and I love it. However, every thing in my house is warm tones as opposed to the cool blue in the china. STRESSED! Well when I went to decorate the house I just went with all the colors I loved and decided not to worry about it. Now that I actually have a china hutch for my china this has become something that i think of all the time. When I come home and look at my house I start thinking about how I will make this flow.

I like this one.. To busy with plates & it is MUCH thicker than my fancy dancy china

                                          

Then I liked this one.. Still a little to busy...

                                               

Well for a while I searched for patterns that had red and the blue in it. Everything that I found was much to busy. So I began to think of colors that would look good and I thought of orange. Then today I got an email from Dillard's letting me know that now through Saturday you can get an addition 40% off of clearance. yes please. I went to the store on lunch and was super annoyed when I realized that the store is only doing 30% off. With the shipping for my purchase though it did make more sense to buy it in the store. I purchased this pattern to tie in the orange and reds that are in the other rooms.

Then there was this one.. Aww just right...

Ok so what do yall think?? I got 4 place setting of this set (minus the coffee mugs) PLUS the teapot & a big serving bowl.

I also saw this one, but it is about 75 bucks more?

Ok pretty girls & boys.. I would LOVE your comments on this one!

Do  you see my vision or am I color blind?

Tomorrow is Friday!

1 Corinthians 15:58

 "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

What about Wednesday.. fashion phony

For what about Wednesday we have new fashion trends and some that I am not quite sure about. First off I am not some Vogue obsessed girl, nor do I resemble a 5 year with the Sears Christmas Catalog for the newest issue of InStyle. I am usually pretty conservative and not the first to purchase what was debuted at New York's fashion week. The older I get the more that I try to incorporate trendy pieces, but again.. not much!


So here are the things on the What about Wednesday list:
 
Shirt Dresses- I get it. They are cute and they look really good on a lot of people, but it should cover your rear. I feel that once you get past a certain age you can rock this trend, but pair it should come to at least midthigh--call me granny if you want. They should also be paired with leggings.. not tights.
 

Pants? YES PLEASE.

Ok so this one.. BIG FAN!

Velvet- This is big for the fall. When I first saw this I turned up my nose and went straight to a post 90's fashion revival. Then I realized I have a pair of velvet pin striped pants from The Limited. I heart them.

My pants look similar to those.

 
There is though a fine line with velvet.. beware

Lastly- Sheer...this is also on the list of thing for fall 2010. Do we think I could sport this to the office?

"WHY WE LOVE IT

Jessica Biel is one beautiful show-off! She revealed her shapely silhouette in a stunning crimson gown in sheer chiffon. Classic accessories, along with the dress's demure cut kept the look as sophisticated as the star.
courtesy of InStyle...

****ALSO, guess who is getting a china hutch? ***
Dear Craig's list, thank you for not failing me. Since I have conducted this search for the past year, you will now see a dramatic drop in your hits as I will not be checking you every hour hoping for a new post.**
Thank you,

We had a wonderful weekend! I hope you all did too.


Friday was my dad's charity golf tournament for Ron Meyers. I went out there at lunch and hung out a bid on a few items for the silent auction and hung out with Dayna her and her husband build the most beautiful houses and I am ABSOLUTELY in love with them! Cornerstone Construction, Look them up.. use them! Anyway I was walking around the auction and saw 10 tickets to sit in the box at a Naturals game, with a complete catering... 20 bucks was the bid. Are you kidding me? So I put our bid on there and walk away.

Team Carlson has a honey do list.. for 1, so Kelly has this list in his blackberry and shows it to me the other day. He was like If I do all of these what can I get? I almost respond with, What do I get for doing all the stuff around the house, but I figure this is a little disrespectful to him and bite down (hard) on my tongue. So I don't say anything at all and give him the we will see to appease him. Anyway, they had a giftcard for a four-some and cart. I put a bid on it thinking that if I get it at this price it will be worth the list getting done. Later on Friday my dad calls to tell me that I won the bids. YEAH! I am very excited, only problem I now have to put names in a hat and draw out who we are taking since we only have room for 8, but I told Kelly if we don't take them to the game he can take them golfing.

The golf tournament raised 10k bucks for a family in need. I was very proud of my dad and how he put the whole thing on.

After I got off work I talked to Marcus and we decided we all needed to get together. Kelly and I love hanging out with Marcus & his wife, Marcus is so laid back it helps me to chill out a little! Well we went over to Aaron and Christy's house to hang out at their pool. Kelly met Aaron at the Ducks Unlimited golf tournament a few weekends back and really hit it off with him so I was excited to meet Christy. Right off the bat I knew we were meant to be friends when she told me she was a closet ABC Family watcher and she loves to mountain bike. The next thing we know it is 1230. We decided to meet A&C for a bike ride in the morning to go to the farmers market.
 

745 Saturday morning they were ready, and they brought me fresh basil. I have mentioned like 100 hundred times that I want to make homemade pesto. So now I had some basil to work with! We hung out at the farmers market in the square until about 945 then we had to go meet our wish kid at the airport. She was going to Disney World to meet Tinker Bell. She was so excited and had her autograph book ready. MAW sends the children that wish to go to Disney to a fabulous place called Give Kids the World. It is a "hotel" where they are treated like royalty. Mr & Mrs Claus come and visit every week, they can eat ice cream 24/7 and they get breakfast with the characters.



After that Kelly was confined to work on his paper about job satisfaction and how it relates to pay, benefits, and the work place environment. Sounds riveting I know.

I went and saw Grandma for a while. Then made my weekly trip to wal-mart. I did get ingredients to make pesto though! After talking to sara one time she told me to pair it with cream cheese and I added some triscuits. So good and super easy!
 

I came home and spent the rest of the day cleaning the house. When I say cleaning.. I mean I got the rag and cleaned each tile on my hands and knees. Unfortunately I only made it through 2 rooms, so the rest well have to wait. although, I am sure by the time I get back around to cleaning the rooms I missed the ones I cleaned will be unrecognizable! Well I am having a Pampered Chef party on the 5th, so I guess I should wait until then to do the hands and knees cleaning.
Sunday we got up and went to early service and then class. We have a new teacher in class and he is absolutely amazing. We talked about out selfishness vs the servant attitude we are supposed to have. He talked about the My,MINE, Myself mentality we all seem to have these days. This I feel is very true. I also think that if I (we) were less selfish I would have less arguments. If I gave in and didn't fight for what I thought was going ti be the best thing for me.. myself I may cause less frustration with the others around me. So this week I am really going to try to have a servants heart.

After class we came home and Kelly went right back to work. I went to my cousin Jennifer's house they were having a BBQ and hanging out by the pool. I love them they are so funny. Piper jenn's youngest is 100% girl and as sassy as she can be, this is very very amusing to me since jen hated everything girl and threatened to no longer be related to me when I announced that I wanted to be a cheerleader.
Tonight is sewing with Jamia.. we are working on something for a give away as well as working on lesson plans for the sewing classes we are starting.

So many people want to learn to sew, but I think they are intimidated by the whole concept. So after finding a flyer for this store that was doing classes I called Jamia.

My thought is you offer classes, 2 hours long,snacks-maybe some wine, charge 25 bucks.. each time you come home with a project. We already have 5 or 6 people for the first class. I told J this was she can become famous in the etsy world and I will use it to shamelessly promote my blog so that I too can become a famous blogger some day.

I want you... yep.. YOU

Time to get involved..


It is no secret that I liked to get involved in things.

Well here is your opportunity to serve & give back when we have been so blessed ourselves.

Currently I am working with my cousin Sara who is helping to put together a sprint triathlon. The race will be 500 meter swim, 15 mile bike ride, and a 5k run. For those of you that have absolutely no desire to do any of those activities, you can come and volunteer. The race is in Bella Vista at Lake Windsor, Tri To Remember on August 21st from 7am to 11am. The proceeds go to The Alzheimer's Association. It is a really great cause and the people that actually do the race really appreciate course support. I know that at my last half marathon there is no way I would have finished under 2 hours if I didn't have all the people there cheering me on. There is something about knowing people are watching you and wanting you to finish. There is also something about telling everyone what your goal is. It pushes you to achieve it much harder than if it was something you kept to yourself, but that is for another entry.

Now, you should not, I repeat, SHOULD NOT volunteer just for the free stuff, but I am a give-a-way junkie and take whatever I can get and this one has some cool stuff. You get breakfast and lunch while you are there and a dri-fit sprint triathlon shirt.. plus i think if you are really good they throw in a sexy orange vest and a whistle!
 

After that we have the Charity Challenge.

This one is being head up by friend Allison. She also does the NWA Healthy Women. Well it is in September at the Pinnacle country club. It benefits the Crisis center. They are the ones that handle rape crisis, suicide, and things like that. This event is very important for th fact that the fundrasier supports the cost to run the center for the year. It is a golf and tennis tournament. The next meeting is August 12th.
 
 

Make-A-Wish. Kelly and I became involved in the wish council first. They are the ones that actually fund the wishes. The cost is about 7k a wish. After that we decided we wanted to do the Wish Granters. This is actually where we go and grant the wishes and plan the parties for the children. We are having our next meeting at the Springdale Library on September 17th at 6:30pm.

In October we have the PAL 5k. PAL is the Police Athletic League. They are putting to get together a 5k it is in conjunction with the haunted house they do. The race is Friday October 22nd at 6:30pm located at the Benton county fairgrounds. The race is going to run through the cemetery. I think this is the coolest part of the whole thing! Our next meeting it Wednesday July 28th in Bentonville.

November is Circle of Life Hospice. The actual Voyage party will be November 20th at the John Q Hammons Center. I am helping with the theme and logistics, but I have also been tasked of getting some silent auction items... So far we have some good stuff! A photo session with 2 canvas prints from Sweet B's Photography. A 4-some of golf with cart from Lost Springs golf course. A canvas painting from the fabulously talented Mandy Faubous. 2 HUGE baskets from Alburto Culver salon products. A Baseball package from Hogs baseball. The next meeting is Thursday the 29th in Springdale.

                                               

Ok last is my Race for the Cure. Since I am Co-chairing the race this year I have already started recruiting for committee members. I hit sara up when she asked me about the tri to remember.. The meeting will start in September with the race in april 2011. The most exciting news is we had our Chair meeting on Tuesday night. We were tasked with coming up with the media for next year. We were each to submit ideas for the brochures and guess who's got picked? Mine!! Now I know that is it not like I actually cured cancer or even contributed much, but I am pumped that they are using mine! It was to revolve around "promise" Since Nancy Brinker started Komen with a Promise to her sister Susan G Komen, that she would stop the suffering for other people and families.

If you are interested in getting involved in anyone of these great organizations let me know!


"Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the LORD is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed."
1 Samuel 2:3

what about.. what about.. what about wednesday?

I have decided to try to start doing a "theme" each week.I am thinking about Wednesday should be the day.. Mainly because I could come up with a catchy "segment" name that went well with wednesday's.

So today we are doing:

What about Spa Botanica for the What about Wednesday.
Does this remind you of a Jr High cheer? yep!

Monday night I had my massage. I am in love. Angie at Spa Botanica was absolutely amazing.
First off let me tell you how great the spa is and why all of you should go.

When you walk in to the Embassy they have this wonderful apple drink, one cup. Yes please.

I checked in to the spa and the take me back to my locker. Inside my locker is a soft fuzzy robe and some spa shoes.

You then proceed to the relaxation room where you sit on these large chase loungers and have candles and serenity music. They also have a rock type waterfall so the whole feel is very soothing! I hung out there for about 15 minutes before the massage. Then angie called me back.

She asked where I wanted her to work and if i had an injuries. A few minutes in she asked if the pressure was ok. I said yes. She waited, asked again and it was a little deep, this time i spoke up and told her. she adjusted. After working on my back for a while she asked if she could use the hot stones (ps for those of you non massagers ...this is a totally different massage and costs extra.) she said I was tight in my shoulders and the hot stones would make me feel better. I told her sure, thinking at this point even if she charges me more for this it is Totally worth it.

After it was all over she lead me back out to the locker room and they have showers and a steam room. She turned on the steam and told me to hang out as long as I wanted to. It was fabulous. I wanted her to call the hubby and tell him I will be staying the night at the embassy.

What about yall favorite massage? Deep tissue, Swedish, Hot stone? Have you ever had one? Do you remember where your favorite one was?

Polenta please

Friday I went to the grocery store after work and they had polenta. Emmy turned me on to it when we went to visit and they had some sun dried tomato kind at walmart so I needed to figure out what to make with it.

Saturday morning Kelly and I got up early and went for a run. We then went to the farmers market and walked around. We saw our friends Erin, Todd and Mandy working Mandy's booth.  After we walked around we were both sleepy and needed some coffee stat! We went in to Kupcakes and debated what to get. In the end I got the Tiramisu cupcake and kelly went with the sausage egg and cheese cupcake. We did what we always do cut them in half and share them! Kelly got an iced coffee and I did a mocha. It was all really really good and I am glad we stopped in.

After we got home I had to get ready for the sewing party with Denise & Chrissy's family. Meg's had mentioned some pool time so I brought my suit just in case.

I got so much accomplished and MAN was I so thankful for Jamia and her sewing expertise. I felt like I actually knew what I was doing. I was able to make 2 taggies. I finished the one for emmy and then made another for whoever is next on our baby list of friends. It was a great group of girls and HOLY COW was there some food. If I hadn't cancelled out my run with the cupcakes I sure did with breakfast.

Chrissy made Reese a dress... SO cute

Around 2 megs was at the pool and I was in my own little martha stewart land so I headed over to see her Alisa and Jess. I got home from pool around 4 and started making dinner.
Recipe:
Polenta sliced 1/4" thick(cook in skillet evoo, for about 1 minuted on each side)

line the bottom of casserole dish.
Layer pesto over the polenta
over that with fresh spinach
a layer of mushrooms
pour marinara sauce over that
layer ricotta cheese

Layer some fash cooked zucchini

cover with mozzarella cheese
Sprinkle olives over it

bake 375 for 25 min

I was so proud of this recipe.

girl time is the right time

Tuesday night since the reunion meeting was moved I went home and decided to work on craft projects. jlove jokes with me that my sewing machine only seems to work when we have sewing parties.. kind of true. I think part of that has to do with the fact that i don't really have a place to set up.. I have to haul the sewing machine out and then get everything set up which by the time I have done that the urge has passed. Well Kelly finished his homework and I let him go out and play for a little bit. Our friend Marcus sent him a text asking him to hang out. I got a little upset by this text. Marcus and I have known each other for a very long time and I guess I expect a text as well. Well Kelly played it out for a while before finally telling me it was guys night and I was not allowed.


So I pulled up the DVR and started some girl stuff! We started with HGTV's design star. I heart Dan, he is so sweet, and not to mention beautiful blue eyes. Well he is TO sweet and tried to help everyone else and his stuff took a back seat, so he got kicked off. You can however go on to HGTV and vote for him to have his own show!

After Design Star was Bachlorette, so long Kirk. I like Kirk a lot more than Frank and I am pretty sad that he is still in the running. Then I finished up with The Gates! Always good to watch some cheesy vampire drama.

After my girls show fix I got out the staple gun and recovered another one of my chairs.
 

I then cut some fabric for our sewing party this weekend.




Yesterday was girls night at Mojito's and Eclipse. I loved Eclipse. The movie was so good. They did a really good job of making you fall for jacob. Well I at least fell for him all over again!

So we all know I am on the hunt for a china hutch.. I found one that is absolutely perfect. The girl from craig's list won't call me back. Kind of sad about this. It was a great price, and kelly even liked it. Sad day. I am assuming they sold it, but some small piece of me keeps hoping that they are out of town. Probably not though huh?



Also, stay tuned because I am doing a give away!!! I will have a very creative guest to share some fun things!

Sew cute!

Last night we worked on dresses with aunt J... They are soo cute, mine was pretty good for my first time... with J's help of course! I really like the fabric Jenni from the block used, it has a retro look to it. (her's is on the left) I think I am going to try to make another one for a girl at work.. I need all the practice I can get! To bad there are not super easy boy things you can make. Sewing is SEW much better when you have a girl. I think it benefits you more, you can make all sorts of dresses and tops and bows for girls. Boys are kind of stuck with the one piece romper thing.

                                 

We didn't get a chance to work on appliques, but maybe next time. I think one of these days aunt J needs to be a full time stay at home momma and then I can do the marketing for her business..she will make clothes and curtains and then she can even teach classes, so many people would pay her to teach them to sew. She is fabulous.

This is what I want to make next.. they had the pattern at hobby lobby

Tonight was supposed to be our reunion meeting, but it go moved to thursday which means my massage is moving to monday and tonight I think I may recover one of my chairs. My dad came by and saw me today and he brought me a staple gun loaded and ready so hopefully I will have pictures of the finished product tomorrow!



Here are some pictures from our balcony at night...
slowly but surely you will get a recap!

Is it Friday yet??