Nice People, Great Food and Country Music......this must be Nashville, TN!

hey y'all. . . . . . .

it's me, Suzanne.

you probably don't remember me, it's been so long since i

wrote anything on this blog.

but it's been kinda busy.

and to help matters, we all had that lovely little thing called

the FLU!

(not fun:)

for those who don't know, 

in the life of a ballet student (and her mom)

this time of year is "audition season".

they audition for a spot at summer programs and possibly 

a spot to perform/train all year long,

all in the hopes of someday becoming a professional ballerina.

if you're lucky, you live in a big city where auditions are held.

we are not, although we're close to Miami, so a few of Taylor's

auditions were held there.

however, Nashville was not coming near us this year,

and since they were interested last year and vice-versa , we took a little

trip up to Nashville last weekend.

(I had to leave my youngest chick home
 with a relapse of the flu.
BUMMER!)

first let me say, the audition for Nashville Ballet went well.

okay, on to the rest of the trip. . . . . .

it was so much fun!

it was fun to be with my 18 year old. . . . . . . 

and kinda bittersweet too.

i mean, we were there checking out a potential new home.  sniff, sniff:)

but it was a great trip.

here she is going to see Nashville Ballet perform on Saturday night. . . . . 

it helps that we LOVE country music.

they play it everywhere!

one of my pet peeves is to be in a public place (store etc. . . .)

and the music over the speakers is some grossly offensive pop or rap star

that we wouldn't listen to for anything,

but they force it on you.

so this was a nice change. a very nice change!

probably the one thing that i will ALWAYS remember about Nashville is

the people.

oh my goodness. . . . .i thought i could be friendly and talk to strangers,

but they have me beat!

they make you feel like their new best friend!

i don't mean one or two people, but every single person, from the car rental lady,

to the valet at the hotel, the receptionists, sales clerks, waitresses. . . .

everyone!

what a great impression to leave with someone.

then, besides the music and the nice people,

i was struck by the food.

like, down home finger licking good food!

we had the BEST hot fried chicken of our lives at Hattie B's.

the BEST biscuits at the Loveless Cafe.

YUMMY sweet potato pancakes at the Pancake Pantry.

i'll stop there before i really embarrass myself with how much we ate.

let's just say, when you are getting a rental car and the lady says

"you know you'll gain weight here, don't ya?" you should listen.:)

cause she knows what she's talking about!

we had to go to the Grand Ole Opry.

we almost didn't. . . .just tired, you know?

but we went anyway and i'm so happy we did!

we can now say we were on stage at the Opry,

 saw the dressing rooms. . . . . .

and learned a few things we never knew.

we even saw where Hee Haw was filmed. lol

yep, it was a good trip!

if you get the chance, you should go.

put on your best boots and scoot down to Nashville.

hopefully you like country music at least a little bit.

and if you haven't tried it in awhile, check it out.

there's a reason it's becoming so popular these days.

a really good reason:)

by the way, stop by Two Old Hippies in The Gulch. . . . .

my new favorite store:)

glad to be back on my blog. . . . . .

see you around!

xoxoxo

Suzanne

Rules to Live by and Things I Love for Birthday Week:)

welcome to my birthday week:)

in case you're new around here, this is me.

 and to celebrate, i am pretty much doing what I want all week:)

and to start with, that means spending time with

 my favorite country girls!

there they are......my pride and joy:)

we kicked off the week at a country concert;

Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan.

even though we got soaked before and after,

we had a FABULOUS time!!!

but then, i have a fabulous time pretty much WHENEVER we

are together.

so that's the beginning of my birthday week.

today, my girls wanted to go to coconut point to do a bit of

birthday shopping.

they had ideas, but still wanted to know what i would like.

seriously, am i the only mother out there who doesn't have a list of

goodies i want?  

so in this age of technology,

i created a picture board on polyvore to give ideas

instead of writing a list.

here is my birthday idea board;

Things I love by shabbychicks featuring studded handbags

let me explain.
basically what this board shows is that i love rose gold,
bracelets...cross jewelry and western style,
i like things with inspirational words/messages,
whether wall signs or again...bracelets.
i also would like a fun kinda ring.
the denim backpack is one of my favorites but since that
would be hard to find, it stands for anything denim which i LOVE.
this is a great time to find sale clothes and i wear a lot of tank tops.
purses.....i could use one for Fall.  they know what i like,
which is pretty much everything.
the quilt on the chair is in case they found a cool one for our
new couch. highly unlikely but who knows:)
i also listed a few shops they might find something and
i wrote the words in turquoise/aqua
 cause that is the color i'm into the most these days.
still like pink...and always love creams.
and black is always safe.
but turquoise is a favorite...today anyway:)

now for those life rules..........
i've had this on a page at the top of my blog forever,
but i thought maybe it was a good time to re-post it.

45 Rules to Live By

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone…

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special

22. Over prepare and then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. Smile at someone today. Better yet, find something to compliment them about.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

until next time.....

HEY YA'LL...You're invited to a FALL open house with the Shabby Chicks

okay now,

don't say you weren't invited because here is your

official invitation ;)

no RSVP necessary...

just pop on over whenever you get a few minutes.

FYI...throughout the week i might even have a few little giveaways...

check back every day because you never know if it will be the day...

and i'll make sure to give you a peek at what's up for grabs.

so pull on your boots, 

get your favorite blue jeans on...

and come on by for some COUNTRY, SOUTHERN, FALL fun!

(cowboy hats optional:)

YEE HAW!

Cowgirls, Country and Caramel Corn...

so it's FRIDAY...

and we need to have some fun around here!

TRUST ME when i say...we need fun and happy this weekend.

but before i get started, thank you for the care and concern

and many prayers for my dad...

who is still fighting it out in the hospital.

3 weeks now and counting.

he has a long road and we are confident he will make it...

but keep praying, please!

one other thing...

i recently found out i had comments that i was not aware of.

they are not coming to my email for some reason

so i have to work that out.

i know i'm not always the best at this but i truly 

didn't mean to ignore everyone!!!

and i put on comment moderation hoping that helps.

okay...on to some fun stuff.

COWGIRL...

 growing up, i always went through "phases".

thankfully, i STILL go through them...

and now my girls do too.

makes life interesting, you know!

this summer was our COWGIRL/COUNTRY/CARAMEL CORN phase.

let me explain...

we've always had a fascination with the 

cowgirl/west/country girl thing.

but this summer, we REALLY got into it...

and we're having so much fun!

did you know there's a whole culture out there for this?

everything from mild to down home rodeo stuff.

the Picker Sisters have a cowgirl/antique feel to their show.

two of my current favorite online stores

are Junk Gypsy

 (where else can you get a funky shower cap and a crown shower curtain:)

 and i wanted these mugs so bad but they sold out.

 ...hopefully they'll be back

and Island Cowgirl...

  their jewelry pretty much makes up our wish list these days!

we have hats but are really wanting some cool BOOTS.

i think our next summer vacation will be to a dude ranch (cool, huh?)

and on my 50 things before i'm 50 list i'm making,

it includes a visit to the Roundtop Texas Marburger Farms antique fair

 ...and a stay at Rachel Ashwell's Prarie B&B and

horseback riding on the beach.

 three of our favorite shows recently are/have been

Sweet Home Alabama

Hart of Dixie

and Donna Decorates Dallas.

and of course, don't forget Cowgirl Cookies...

 check out Bakerella for the recipe:)

yep, we're having fun with this lil ol "phase" of ours.

Pssst...i don't think it's just a phase but we'll see.

now on to COUNTRY...

i wish i could get back the days my dad drove me to piano lessons

in his brown pick-up truck, playing country music.

 (okay...not his truck but it's pretty, huh?)

anyway, i made SUCH a big deal of it...

how uncool it was...

but NO MORE!!!

we've always liked the occasional country song...

but now we are full-fledged country fans.

shoot...a few of our favorite songs are 

Big Green Tractor and

Hillbilly Bones!

 hahahaha...don't knock it till you've tried it:)

AND the music playing on my blog...

(scroll down to turn off if you don't like it, okay...although
it's playing God Gave Me You...great song:))

but i'll tell you how this really got going.

i got TOTALLY fed up with "pop" (stupid name for it) music today.

i mean, the stuff they "sing" about...if you call it that...is gross and indecent half the time.

and the language...half the song gets bleeped out.

and i don't mind saying i listened to the songs that were

"popular" before my girls to check them out...
UGGGHH!!!

it breaks my heart to be out and hear little girls repeating lyrics innocently to

Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and pretty much

all rap.  and this isn't the whole list.

anyway, we went off the radio cold-turkey...

and fell in love with the music of Nashville!

i know...not always perfect.

but it most often is catchy and tells a story...that makes some sort of sense.

like "Just Fishin"...about enjoying those special times with your kids.

in case you're wondering, my girls don't feel forced into this...

they LOVE it.
we had a BLAST at the Rascall Flatts concert

it's so nice to not have to switch the channel all the time

because a song is "inappropriate".

Here are some of our favorites...

 yep...we're COUNTRY!!!

(and yes, even my husband is walking around singing 

Hillbilly Bones and Crazy Town:)

CARAMEL CORN...

well, this is the reason half my clothes don't fit, i swear!

we managed to find a reason to celebrate with homemade

caramel corn all summer.

oh my gosh...we pass around that bowl

 and practically lick it when we're done...

it's that good!

but our version is a quickie, 2 step recipe...

so if anyone out there has a real, true recipe that doesn't have to be eaten immediately,

i'd love to get it. 

not for us but to give away...of course:)

I see some online but just want to know it's good before making it.

we tried some that was...ummm... downright yucky! 

we can't have peanuts in it due to an allergy,

but anything else goes.

okay...that's where i'm at these days.

trying to enjoy little things, have fun...

and work off this caramel corn:)

Happy Friday!!!
Suzanne