Gift Guide for the Kids

This should be easy, right?  Nope.  Not when you have a 3 year old that is obsessed with superheroes.  I couldn't fill this with Batman, Spiderman and Buzz Lightyears, so this is what I came up with. 

1.  Cardboard Playhouse/Rocketship (I scored these at Kohls for $17!)
2.  PlaSmart Plasma Car
3.  Superhero Capes (I am lucky enough to live with Super Grafton, who wears his cape every weekend)
4.  Spooner Board
5.  JCrew Crew Cuts tees
6.  Work Bench (personally, I would not want this in my house, but it's not about me this time)
7.  What Does It Mean to be Green? 
8.  TOMS

Gift Guide for the Men

Men are hard to shop for.  Some of these are on Will's list.  Others I came up with myself, which means Will would think they are total crap.  Am I way off? 

1.  DoDo IPad case

2.  Avett Brother's Limited Edition Box Set

3.  Wood Grain iphone case

4.  Grantland Subscription

5.  Stitchout TOMS

6.  Personalized Beer glasses

7.  Paper-Mache Animals

8.  JCrew Wallace & Barnes sweater

The Grantland Subscription is on Will's list and is a pretty cool idea.  It's 4 books that are being published over the next year of the online sports magazine that he reads, Grantland.  You receive the 1st book right away, and then then next 3 over the next 12 months. 

G and I both have TOMS.  Will likes the idea of them, but the style is bad....men wearing women's shoes.  That's what he says.  But these stitchouts are good...a bit more manly.  If that's the look he's going for.

And, the logo on the pint glass is my neighborhood's logo.  Yes, thanks to M. Brady Clark, we are cool enough to have our own logo!  And dorky at the same time.  Whichever way you want to look at it. 



Dear Santa: Holiday Gift Guide

Does anyone else dig gift guides as much as me?  I don't know why, but I love this time of year when everyone puts together ideas to help us all out.  I know I gave my spill last week about living in the moment this holiday season, but we've all got a little shopping to do, right?

The best are gift guides from every day people, so I've decided to get in on the action.  Hopefully I'll help someone out.  Today's is for the ladies.  Later this week I'll post for men and kids. 

1.  Hootch Owl corkscrew
2.  Smart Wool frilly socks
3.  Franco Sarto Boots
4.  TOMS sunglasses
5.  Black and White (and a bit in between):  Celerie Kemble
6.  Decoded:  Jay Z
7.  Farmer's Market Basket
8.  2012 Desktop Calendar
9.  Zig Zag tray

Great Read

As I sat perusing a few of my favorite blogs this week, I came across this.  It's too good not to share.

From His Perspective:  Holiday Spirit

This was written by Erin's husband, who occasionally "guest blogs" on her site.  I always enjoy what he has to say, and this one really hit home.  I feel like we always get so hung up on the material things and spending money during the holidays.  This year,  I'm going to try to experience the "moment"....what the holidays really mean.  Grafton is at the age where he's finally going to get it...Santa, Christmas, etc.  And somehow I have to make sure that Christmas doesnt equal Presents.  Good luck with that one, right?

And speaking of, my sweet boy turns 3 tomorrow!  It's gone by so fast, and then again, I can't believe he's only 3.  I feel like we've been having conversations with this kid for years now.  He is so fun to be around and makes us laugh every day.  I'm just sad that 3 is one year closer to the day he won't snuggle with me or let me kiss him in public.  Because I highly doubt that when he is 14, he'll watch movies with us on the couch, lean over and give us each a kiss, and say "I really like you mom and dad." 

Pass the Bottle

For the first time in my life, I feel like I need anxiety medication.  Ok, that's a lie.  For the first time in a few months...and this is why.

Yes, that is a for sale sign.  We will see what happens.  There's another house in old town that we have our eye on, hence the sign in my yard.  The sign that causes me major stress, keeps me awake at night and makes me drink mass quantities of wine.  But what else is new. 

For the last week or so, we've been doing a few things around here to get it ready.  It was built in 1930, so it's not perfect, but I am trying my damnest to make it that way.  Living in plastic gets old fast.  Real fast.

The hot plate of tamales on the back porch is always comic relief though.  Gotta love a worker that's not afraid to bring his own hot plate to the job site. 

Wish me luck.  Or just wish me serenity to stay sane during this process.  Change like this is scary.  And yes, I'll be doing some major pimping of my bungalow around here, in hopes that I can soon change the name of the blog to Pimp My Big Ass Bungalow.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

A few things on the brain today.  Most of it TV related.

1.  First up, congrats to Brittany on winning the Rodan Field's eye cream!  Maybe I can convince her to take some before and after shots...We can see how awesome this stuff is! 

2.  BIG SHOCKER HERE:  Kim Kardashian has filed for divorce.  Surely you can make it work longer than 72 days girl.  But then again, it might have only lasted this long because you can't get divorced before your wedding airs on tv.

3.  Did you guys watch Project Runway?  One of my all time favorite shows.  What did you think about Anja winning?  I'm torn.  I LOVED Victor the entire season.  I would want every single item of his in my closet.  On the other hand, I was kind of routing for the underdog too.  Although...do we believe that she really only started sewing 4 months before the show?  A little shady if you ask me. 

4.  This cracks me up.  Someone has too much time on their hands.  Happy Halloween! 



 5.  Will and I are headed to Palm Beach on Sunday - woot woot!  Have you ever been?  Me...never.  But, I need to get busy packing my Lily Pulitzer so I'll fit right in!  But first, we have family coming in Thursday and the celebration for Chip and Noel is Saturday night.  Our flight at 5:45am on Sunday morning is going to slap me in the face.

2 years, 10 months, 16 days, 10 hours, 3 minutes

That's how long I made it until I encountered my first public meltdown with my kid.  I was THIS close to making it to the three year mark.  THIS. CLOSE. 

I took G to the outlet mall last week.  It's an outdoor mall with decent shops.  We hit JCrew first and the kid racked up on Crewcuts.  That should make him happy, right?  But no, he wanted new shoes.  He inherited this from his father, who inherited it from his mother, whose family had a shoe store growing up.

On the way to the shoe store, he asked if he could ride the rides.  You know, the cheesy little horse or rocketship that you put a quarter in and it shakes for a minute and your kid gets so excited and it's the best thing they've ever done in their life.  Sure.  You can ride 2 rides.  I have enough quarters for 2 rides.

Two rides later and he wanted more.  Nope, I said 2 rides.  And then it happened.  His eyes turned red, his head started spinning, he started screaming bloody murder and throwing himself on the ground.  I didn't know if he was having a fit or a seizure.  I didn't know whether to dial 911 or start screaming at him.

I didn't do either.  I just stood there for a minute while everyone walked past me and gave me "the look."  And then I did what I always do with Grafton.  I tried to reason with him.  It fails every time, but I keep trying.  5 minutes later and the screams and flailing body only got worse, so we went to the car.

I couldn't even get him in his car seat.  It was that bad.  So we sat in the front seat to talk about what happened.  I don't know why I do this to myself.

As we sat there, I thought....there is no way that Will is going to believe me when I tell him how bad it was.  So I grabbed my phone and started filming.

I debated on whether or not to show this video.  Will people think I'm a bad mother?  Will CPS knock on my door tomorrow?  Should I subject people to 2.5 minutes of this?  But this is reality, right? 

And I'll go ahead and apologize if this "breaks your heart."  Sorry.

Giveaway: Calling all Crows Feet!

Hi peeps.  I'm doing my first giveaway on PMB.  Makes me feel so blog-special.  And seeing as my fan base is next to nothing, your chances of actually winning are pretty damn good!

My good friend, Jennifer, is a consultant for a line of skincare products by Rodan & Fields.  These are the same makers of ProActiv.  And Justin Beiber uses ProActiv, so you know the Burlesons are fans!

Jennifer is giving away the anti-age multi-function eye cream worth $59, along with a microdermabrasion paste packet to one lucky PMB reader.  Who doesn't want a little anti-aging in their life??  Mine has already been ordered and is on the way! 

This skincare line is pretty amazing and has been featured in a few magazines lately.  Be sure to check out the before and after shots below. 

HOW TO ENTER:  You have a few ways to get your name in the hat.  (Don't be scared boys, you get crows feet too!)

1.  For ONE entry, leave a comment on my blog.
2.  For TWO additional entries, fill out the Solutions Tool on Jennifer's site. 

So, you can get your name in 3 times total.  The winner will be randomly be selected on Sunday evening.  Good Luck!  (*Leave your email in the comment if I don't know you.  We will ship to anyone in the United States!)

My morning fix

This summer I got into the iced coffee thing.  I'm not a starbucks kind of person.  Not even a coffee shop kind.  The coffee that I make at home is reliable.  It tastes the same every single day.  I can't get that anywhere else.  And I don't want to pay for it. 

Around day 27 of 100+ degree weather this summer, I said screw you to my hot cup of coffee every morning and decided to try iced coffee.  At first, it was a disaster.  Who knew that you just couldn't brew a pot of coffee and pour it over ice!  It tasted like dog crap. 

So I turned to google.  The logical thing to do, right?  I found a few different ways to make iced coffee at home, all of which were pretty similar.  The key is making a coffee concentrate.  I came up with my own version and I'm hooked.  I can't get enough of it.  It's my morning crack, and when it's too cold to drink it this winter, I will probably need to go to rehab and enter a detox program.

The best part about this?  You make a batch on Sunday and keep it in the fridge all week long.  Genious.

Coffee Concentrate: 

- Pour 3 cups of coffee grinds into a large bowl

- Fill the bowl with 12 cups of water

- Stir, cover, and let it sit all day or overnight (This is weird to me.  I guess you could put it in the fridge, but I just let mine sit on the counter.)

- Uncover, stir again, and strain into a pitcher (I use a thin strainer and a paper towel.  I tried coffee filters but it took forever.  And I'm not cool enough to use cheese cloth.)

When you are ready to drink, pour over ice and add your creamer/sugar/milk/whatever.  I personally like my sugar free vanilla creamer, with a shot of half and half. 

Will thinks the whole process is strange, and every time he walks into the kitchen while I'm straining my coffee mixture, he makes a weird gagging noise. 

And yes, I use a 1979 pitcher from Dixie Linoleum and Carpet in Memphis, TN.  

**Here's my disclaimer:  This stuff is so good that you can't stop drinking it.  It's a shitload of caffeine.  It's probably eating away at my insides and staining my teeth.  But oh well.  It wakes me up and keeps me going all day.  Therefore, I LOVE IT.

***One recipe that I found was for an entire month's worth of coffee.  Where do you find a bowl that big?  I didn't want to make my morning crack in the bathtub, so I'm sticking with my weekly routine.  It works for me.

Watch out Martha!

A few weeks ago, these crazy cats flew to NYC and got married!  Out of all of my friends, I've never known anyone to just go to the courthouse and get married, so this was a first for me on a few levels.  And so exciting! 

(Grafton and his favorite gunkles, Noel & Chip)

In a few weeks, the Burlesons are throwing them a party to celebrate with their closest friends and family.  And all I have to say is, Martha Stewart better step aside, because Mimi and Noel have entered the party planning scene!  If I could quit my job tomorrow and do this, I would.  I just need Noel to quit his job to run my errands and do whatever I said.  He might have a problem with that part though.

Here's a sneak peek of the gayest party to ever hit Williamson County!  Georgetown, TX is not going to know what hit it. 

In other news, I am going to do my first giveaway on Monday.  Stay tuned!! 

Unlimited Funds Friday: Oct 14 (and other random stuff)

One of my favorite houses in Georgetown just went on the market. It's one street over, and it's a house that we drive by almost daily. And then I have to wipe the drool off of my chin when I get to the end of the street.

It's a little out of my price range at this point, plus I'd need another 100k to make a few updates. Beautiful but not my style. The the outside and location are oh.so.lovely. Drool.

You can check it out here. And yes, it's covered with spiders for Halloween. For $679k, the spiders better come with the house.

In other news, Will and I are headed to Dallas this weekend for a little I, Love, You and Kick Drums. The Avett Brothers are playing at the Palladium tonight and Saturday night. So we are going twice. Why not, right? (Yes, I realize I am 34, but just let me have my 25 yr old moments) We are going to get to hang out with new friends and see old friends that we havent seen in years. Should be fun!

Junk Food Challenge

I decided to do the 21 day Junk Food Challenge.  Except mine is 35 days.  As if 21 days wasn't challenging enough. 

For 35 days I have to follow these rules:

No Chocolate

No Candy

No Biscuits

No Cookies

No Cakes

No Donuts

No Muffins

No Pastries

No White Bread

No Chips

No Fast Food

No Nutella

No Peanut Butter

No Ice Cream

This thing must have originated in Europe.  I don't know many people that have a biscuit problem.  Fast food on the other hand...that's my weakness. 

I am on day 10.  So far so good, but on day 1, Will quickly reminded me that we live in Texas.  Tortilla chips are a staple in our diet.  A necessity to live, right up there with water.  So that is my exception to the rule.

And I ate Mighty Fine on Sunday.  Does that count as fast food?  They don't have a drive thru window, so maybe not.  But they do serve their burgers on white buns.  Damn it. 

Unlimited Funds Friday: Oct 7

New Series.  We'll see how it does.

My senior year roommate in college was Unlimited Funds Dita.  AKA The Chilean Nightmare.  AKA Big D.  When the rest of us were bouncing checks at the end of every month, Big D had the funds.  When we were scraping change to buy beer and pizza (no wonder we all gained weight), Dita would just write a check and we'd be golden.  Thanks Tito!  (Big D's dad)

If Tito were funding my checking account, this is exactly what would be on my list today.

2000 psi 1.6 gpm Electric Pressure Washer.  Wow, that sounds so lezzy.  I borrowed Supawn's pressure washer this week and I AM ADDICTED!  Let me tell you, this thing is awesome.  I can't get enough.  I can just see it now...Will is going to ask me to go to the movies.  No thank you.  Want to go downtown tonight to see a band?  No.  Want to have sex?  Nope, I'll be outside pressure washing! 

I'll stick with the outdoor theme and head to Restoration Hardware after I leave the HD.  I need this table and these chairs for my back patio.  There's really nothing else to say about them other than they are overpriced pure awesomeness.  Let a woman dream.

I just quickly spent about $9,000.  That's enough for today.  Have a wonderful weekend! 

Oh, by the way, my newest brother in law, Noel, makes fun of his new super white family.  But look Noel, I'm pretty cultured.  I have friends named Dita and Supawn.  So there!

Pin it.

Hi.  My name is Mimi Burleson and I'm addicted to Pinterest.  I can't get enough.  I am on that crazy sight every. single. day.  It's horrible.  It just sucks you in, and the next thing you know, you look up and it's a week later and you haven't taken a shower or brushed your teeth.  It should be illegal, but it's oh-so-awesome. 

I am now more creative.  I can tackle any DIY project that comes my way.  I can throw a party and cook a 5 course meal better than Martha Stewart any day.  I can decorate like Windsor Smith and am the best dressed girl on the block.  All because of Pinterest.

Check me out.  If you are new to Pinterest, don't say you weren't warned.

Hola.

The past month has been crazy. Insane. But super fun. In the past month, I've been to Panama, Hot Springs and Miami. We've had 2 birthday parties, 2 golf tournaments, ACL, happy hours, a marriage and a new baby. I'm hoping October is slower, but as of now, it's not looking so good.

Miami for work.  My view from the hotel makes up for the fact that it's work. 

ACL:  Rain, free beer, backstage and Faith = FUN!  Oh, and meeting up with Noel afterwards at the gay bars was icing on the cake.

Special Agent Burleson for Ruby's 7th birthday party.

Hot Springs for Labor Day with the fam.

G and his new little cousin, Janie Reid Burleson.  He is in love.

These two crazy cats flew to NYC and were married on the 29th! 

In the next month or so, we have 2 Avett Brother's shows, family photos, my parents in town, a party to celebrate Chip & Noel's marriage, and a trip to Palm Beach.  Oh, and multiple happy hours.  You can't forget those. 

It's the little things

I do not always agree with people when they say, "dont sweat the small stuff."  Why the hell not?  In my book, it's the small stuff that matters.  I've got the big picture under control...now I just  need to get the small stuff in order and I'm all good.  And that comes with stress and sweat.

It's also the small stuff that makes me happy.   For the first time in awhile, I stayed at home all day yesterday in my pjs.  I cleaned, watched reality tv, did laundry, watched reality tv, laid around, watched reality tv, and then watched more reality tv.  It. was. awesome.  Grafton even got to watch the Kardashian's.  Don't judge.

And while I laid around yesterday, I noticed the small stuff in my house that  puts a smile on my face. 

And of course, this little guy makes me smile. This was during our Kardashian marathon in bed yesterday. I was just getting him caught up so he could watch My Big Fat Ass Wedding in October! Oh, that was mean.

 

G's Play list

My kid is really into music these days.  And not just any kind.  The kind you play loud and sing along to.  The kind that makes you shake your ass.  And let me tell you, the kid can shake his ass.  My only problem is that he makes up dance moves and then shows his teachers at school, and tells them that I taught him!  Um, excuse me, but I did not teach you the "Scooter," where you kick back your leg like a spaz and run around like a crazy man.  I had nothing to do with that one.

Here are G's top songs right now.  These are the ones that he tells me to turn up in the car LOUDER!!!  The best part is that if you turn the volume down really fast,  you can catch him singing along. 

The Cave:  Mumford & Sons
Party Rock Anthem:  LMAFO
Home:  Edward Sharpe
Roll Away Your Stone:  Mumford & Sons
Pumped up Kicks:  Foster the People

and of course, Baby:  Justin Beiber.  Sometimes I pretend like we somehow lost that one.  I dont know how it happened, but I cant find it on the ipod anymore. 

The other night, G was playing his bongo drums in the living room, looked up, and announced the he was Justin Beiber.  At least he didnt say Matthew McConaughey, right?

Friday Feature: Lovie Dodd

Damn, life keeps getting in the way!  I've taken a summer hiatus from blogging.  Not on purpose.  School is about to start back up, so I guess I should start back too.  Get my creative juices flowing.  Clear the cobwebs off my brain and get going.

I'll ease back in with a Friday Find.  My sweet friend, Allison, recently started a blog called lovie dodd that is so cute.  I could not tell you the last time we saw each other in person, but we email all of the time about decorating.  I help her, she helps me, you know how that goes.  Allison has great taste and has the vintage/flea market/farmers market thing going that I wish I had.  We met in 1995, our freshman year in college.  She has always had a little bit of hippy-earth-girl in her without smelling like potchouli, which I like!

This morning, Allison and I were emailing back and forth about fabric for our kitchens.  She sends me a picture of this great Trina Turk fabric.  The problem?  $112 per yard.  I would call that a major problem in my book.

So, I suggested that she google it and see if anyone is selling remnants from design projects.  Then, I search in my long blog role for a great resource called The Designer's Attic.  She is a interior designer that has a blog solely devoted to selling left over fabric from projects.  I click on the link and...SHUT THE FRONT DOOR PEOPLE, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?!  This is today's post:

I don't even know what you call that kind of luck.  $35 per yard.  AH-MAY-ZING. 

Babble Post

I have a million errands that I could be doing right now, but that would involve spending money at each stop.  So I'm going to be good and blog instead.  It's free.  Actually, I'm just putting off the money spending until tomorrow.  But it makes me feel good about myself, so just let me have my moment.

I've been absent on PMB for awhile.  Zero excuses other than life.  So here goes...Where should I start?

Easter.  My kid could care less about Easter Egg Hunts.  He had one at school and one at the Colliers.  And he just looks at me like, mom, why in the hell do these kids want to run around in the yard and put these stupid eggs in a basket?  And why are all of my friends dressed so ridiculous.  I can even read his little mind.  He's probably thinking Easter Egg Hunts are for girls.  That's the phase we are in right now.  Everything lame is for girls.  Bandaids are for girls.  Red M&Ms are for girls.  I even have to turn the radio off if a girl is singing the song.  But he likes Justin Beiber.  I just don't get it.  The best part about Easter?  Green donuts, blue cookies, and chocolate candy. 

The Burly Roadshow continues on.  But now it's the Burly-Hood Roadshow.  At the end of April, we went to see Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe and Old Crowe Medicine Show.  They did the Railroad Revival Tour across the US and literally rode the train to each of their 5 shows, which were all along the tracks.  And let me just say, it was a.w.e.s.o.m.e.  At the very end, the Austin High marching band came out and joined them on stage.  I totally dork out when it comes to marching bands and drum lines.  Thank God everyone else did too.

Then we packed the car and headed to Memphis.  Why?  Because Mumford & Sons and the Avett Brothers were playing at Musicfest.  Oh, and my family lives there.  4 adults a 2 year old and 23 total hours in the car.  It was all worth it though.  I got to see my family, one of my best friends, good music and lots of rain and mud.  Oh, and we ate our way through the city.  Love me some pronto pups.

Last weekend, Nicole and I did the Jailbreak run out in Burnet, TX.  3.8 miles, 15 obstacles and a shitload of mud.  It was super tough but a blast.  And now she thinks I can do the Tough Mudder.  Um, no thanks.  Then we headed to Hardtails (biker bar) with the neighborhood gang to see an 80s band and dance like we were in middle school.  Were we successful?  Hellz yea.

Tonight we are going to see Augustana at La Zona Rosa.  One of the worst venues.  I feel like I'm in some emo-kid's basement, and if my mom founds out, I'm in deep shit.  But oh well, I heart Augustana so I'm going.  Then next weekend is Houston to see Avett Brothers and the Wheelers.  Then Hot Springs on Memorial Day weekend, and leaving for Colorado on June 11th. 

Somehow in the midst of all of this chaos, I find time to actually work.  Although laundry is a different story....I have zero clean socks