These are my Obsessions: by Natasha

Guest Blogger for today:   

My roommate, Natasha...Tashies for those who love her!

Tashies' blog is The Sarcastic Spy.

Read below for what happens when I ask her to blog about her obsession...

It is currently 11:26pm on a Tuesday night.  If I go to sleep now, when I awake it'll be time for work.  I don't want that, so I'm doing my best to prolong my night in hopes of work NEVER arriving.  TRUTH: I'm gonna be dead tired and hate my decision.

With that said I am excited [actually really nervous, what if this post is a total bust!!] for this grand opportunity to GUEST BLOG!

Obsession.
Possession, they rhyme in time with thyme.
Obsession, for men by Calvin Klein. [does anyone wear that??? most cologne and perfume seem to all smell the same.  Actually the ones at Bath&Body Works smell fairly different, but not much different that Vicky Secret's.]

Obsession......it is a noun and according to dictionary.com it's meaning is: the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.

*SIGH*  Welcome to my mini thought process.  I was never good at brainstorming in school.  I would always trail off, and by the time I zoned back into what my group was talking about they'd already have all these amazing ideas.  Oh, and if my bunny trails were twisty enough, I'd zone back in with my tasks already delegated to me!  Sometimes this was a good thing, but mostly negative.

Ok. OBSESSION.  I want to come off good.  I am Mary's roommie.  Ok, I can come off artsy and talk about my LOVE for Picasso!  Especially his blue period!  I've been to Paris twice and saw his home there that has been turned into a museum.  My 2nd visit the museum was closed for renovation. WOMP WOMP :( :( :(  [that's right!  TRIPLE frowny face emoticons.  I mean business!]

I can talk about my ADMIRATION for phat cars!  I love a sleek Jaguar...my heart literally skips a beat when I see one ride by.  My new favorite car is a Rolls Royce.  Those are classy and I feel like it speaks volumes of the owner!  I mean come on...each one is made by hand, and do you know that the hood ornament retracts!!!!  This makes me come off as a car girl...Hmm...I did refill the windshield washer fluid today IN my dress!  You know...I'm the sexy, dress wearing car girl who's ok w/ a little grease.  Did I mention I'm single, 27, and I actually do enjoy long walks on the beach???  Oh, and if you're cute enough I'll let you think you're the funny one in the relationship!

How about my expensive habit of travel?  I just arrived home from country #14.  I've only been to 14 different countries, but I try to travel as much as I can.  I try to not spend too much $$$ while here so I can afford my trips...so don't go thinking I'm rich or inherited some secret family monies.  

Where have I been?  Glad you asked:
Canada, Mexico, Guyana, Barbados (#14), England, France, Germany, Japan (#13) India, AFRICA: Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.  I've also traveled a little throughout the States.  

I love it because I love interacting with the locals and understanding their life perspective from their culture.  From their hemisphere.  It is always different, and I feel like it helps shape me too.  I am also trying to travel as much as I can because I don't know how much time I have on this planet.  I could die tomorrow, and I don't want regrets.  ALSO...who knows what life is going to be heaven side.  What are the countries gonna be?  How far apart will they be?  Pangea anyone??  What is the culture going to be?  What about the people?  Languages?  FOODS?  Souvenirs?  Do I get to bargan and flirt for cheaper prices?  Will I get to travel?  Will I want to travel?  I love who I am when I travel.  I feel more like myself, and I like feeling like myself.  I am also challenged to get out of my comfort zone.  I would rather stay in my hotel and hide for fear of not meeting people and having to eat alone.  YET, because I made myself go outside of my hotel I met new people and have excellent stories for my life so far.  

WOW...I need a new paragraph...I can go on FOREVER about travel.  I think my wanderlust life will be labeled as PASSION over OBSESSION.

OBSESSIONS: excellent music, elephants, travel narrative books, Condoleeza Rice. (Her latest book is marvelous and I had a dream, last night, that she was at my party and I started flipping out!!  I may try and be her for Hween.) Pictures that make your heart beat with fervor, world news, the Today Show - yummy Matt Lauer!  Cholula on my lunch, God should be in here but we're working on our relationship...but I'm hoping soon to say His name with true affection.  Earrings...the bigger, the goddier, the better.  Scarves...the latest trend and I likes it.  DRESSES...if I can avoid pants I'm game!  I mean...hello...portable AC.

OBSESSIONS...*SIGH*  I have no clue what to pick.

Friday Funday at the Dallas Arboretum

Thinking we would avoid the crowds at the zoo, yet still enjoy the outdoors (my kind of outdoors...not camping), Luke and I packed a picnic lunch on Friday of Spring Break and headed to the Dallas Arboretum!

We were at first a bit discouraged when we were  redirected to alternate parking to ride a shuttle bus to the Arboretum...

Bright spot: Saving $7 on parking
Trouble spot:  Waiting in a line that wrapped around a very large building for a charter bus...

HOWEVER, once we got to the arboretum, that's when everything started coming up roses!
We headed to the back to have our picnic overlooking White Rock Lake...

Our picnic was so fun and delish!  The view from our spot...

A little picnic pic...

We then spent some time enjoying the beautiful spring flowers of "Dallas Blooms". 

Loved these cherry trees in bloom!

Magnolia

Among the flowers

 

The tulips were amazing! 

If you haven't been, it's worth it!  We were a little turned off by the crowd at first, but ended up having a fantastic day!

My Obsession: A Good Hair Day!

Today, Abby from The Newlywed Way of Life is guest blogging!  
Abby and I grew up in the same town (her big sis, Amy, is one of my best friends), but now she and her handsome husband live in Arizona...so I keep up with her on her fun blog!  While Abby is obviously not a swingin' single lady like myself, I think her obsession could also be filed under "Single Girl Survival Skill!" :) Enjoy...

Hey hey! I'm Abby. Happy to be here. I was excited when Mary asked me to contribute to her Fabulous blog. Then as I started to think of what I should blog about all I could think of was.... nothing. Literally, nothing!

Until today, when I happily tell you I had a very good Hair Day! I don't know about you, but this is not an everyday occurrence for me. Despite the fact I have fairly low maintenance hair and I live in the desert (meaning I don't have to deal with Texas humidity anymore) my hair still manages to get the best of me. I do however continue to put up a fight and I must say I could not win the battle without these 2 obsessions below!

Tigi S-Factor Heat Defender Flat Iron Shine Spray

I straighten my hair nearly everyday. Sometimes I also blow dry. Saying that, a girl needs to protect her locks! I have used this spray for quite a long time. I've tried gels and lotions but most tend to make my hair oily. This spray does the trick! And it adds a nice glow to your hair! Where to find it? Ulta of course. Is there anything that store doesn't have?

and

I can't live without this. Aveda Universal Styling Creme! You can use it when you hair is still damp, but I use it after I've completely finished fixing my hair. It shapes and holds the style, plus it is great at controlling those annoying little wispies! Aveda products are available at certain salons, but I usually pick it up at the Aveda store.

Here's to many more good hair days for you and me! :)

Thanks for having me, Mary!

Abby

Welcome to My Life!

Please welcome today's guest blogger, Betsy!!!  Betsy normally blogs over at Tengesdal 4 + 6 more, but has decided to indulge us with some pretty hilarious stories about her life.  I went to college at The University of Tulsa with Betsy, and I can assure you...she's just as fun and hilarious in person...She fits in perfectly with the Put a Ruffle On It theme!

I love my life. I wouldn't trade it for anyone else's. I might pick and choose things out of other people's lives to swap out with me- but for the most part- I've got it pretty good.

The one thing that I think sets my life apart is that things happen to me that don't happen to other people. At least not to people who are not paid $100,000 an episode and have writers. I will present four short stories- starting a few years ago and working my way to the present and let you judge for yourself whether or not you can relate to these stories.

Unfortunately, my life doesn't come with a catchy theme song (yet) but because I learned several years ago that sitcoms episodes have titles. I will add those for you.

Episode #1: The laundry room

Shortly after graduating from college, I moved into my first apartment. There isn't a lot to be said about the apartment. One night, however, it was laundry night and after dumping my whites into the washing machine, I grabbed the door handle and unfortunately it ended up in my hand. Yep- that's right. I got locked in the laundry room. Now, for those of you who carry your cellphones EVERYWHERE- this doesn't sound like a big deal. On this fateful night, I was without my phone and without any other ideas than to just pound on the door and hope that one of my neighbors would hear the commotion and save my life. (Here is where a writer would have come in handy because obviously- if my life had writers- I would have gotten stuck with the really good looking guy from apartment 301 instead of all alone with no phone!). After what seemed like forever, a very normal looking girl from Apartment 107 heard the noise and saved my life.

Episode #2: The Blind Date

My life could have used a few writers in the dating department and a few more cameos by any number of dashing leading men. This wasn't the case and so I had to go on the dates that my friends set me up to go on. Some of these ended well and led to second dates and some (like this one) barely made it out of the chute before they were destined to fail.

After what had seemed like a rather long dry spell on the dating circuit, one of my coworkers enthusiastically set me up with her brother's friend. We talked on the phone a couple times and he asked me out. The night of the date, I was busy getting ready- I had straightened my very unruly hair, had gotten some new makeup that promised to hide the dark circles under my eyes and had started the process of putting that on. The process included some creme in a lovely lavender and then normal foundation on top and then powder/blush/etc. Sometime after the concealer, I got a phone call, my sister came over to talk to me while I got ready and then I headed out the door. The date went alright- not really great- not horrible and it ended without much fanfare. As I walked into my door I caught my reflection in the hall mirror. Apparently when I put my makeup on, I stopped right after the lavender concealer and left out the step of the foundation. This means I spent an entire date with bright purple circles under my eyes. (Note: I immediately called my sister and asked if she'd noticed anything weird and she said "oh- you mean the purple eyes... I was wondering what you were thinking...").

Episode 3: The shirt

This episode is by far the best one- if not the most humiliating for me. The day started with me putting on a brand new shirt I had just gotten for my birthday. It was one of those very lightweight flowy gypsy inspired tops. It was all white with intricate white embroidery on the front. It was the perfect shirt and I was excited to wear it. I was at a women's event at the huge arena in which it was held. The first session had gone well and we were just returning to our seats for the second session when the following events began to unfold. (I should probably back up and describe our seats for you... our seats were on the third level and we had gone down to the first one to get some coffee. In order to get back to our level, we had to take a very long escalator to the top...). We were almost 3/4 of the way to the top when I felt a little tug on the back of my shirt. I was pretty sure that there weren't supposed to be children at the event- but you know how that goes. I sort of looked over my shoulder and didn't see anyone behind me and so I ignored it. Again- a tug. Again- I looked- saw nothing and thought "come on- stop pulling on my shirt!" More tugging- now instead of mildly disturbed I started to get a little annoyed. Why was the woman behind me tugging on my shirt? She looked so normal! It was also going from gentle tugging to really pulling. As in- pulling so hard that I was starting to feel like I was going to fall backwards. About the time I was going to say something, the "normal looking woman" put her hands on my shoulders and pushed me forward as hard as she could and I heard "rrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiipppppppp" and felt a fresh breeze. The whole thing was a little alarming when I realized two things: 1) I had lost the entire back of my brand new shirt and 2) the tugging was not the woman behind me- rather it was that my shirt had gotten "eaten" by the escalator! I really didn't have a lot of options at this point and so being the responsible person I am- I found the nearest security person and let them know about their shirt-eating escalator. Since this story was just too good not to share- that security person referred me to the next who referred me to the next until I'd told the story about 6 different times and had secured my fortune of being the girl they all talk about at the arena Christmas party.

Episode #4: The Treadmill

This episode is the most recent and therefore the freshest in my memory and the most in need of a good writer! I have been training to run my first 1/2 marathon and have actually been enjoying the process. I am not a big fan of running outside yet as I have been worried about stepping on ice and falling or hurting myself in some other random weather induced injury. (There's probably a bit of crazy "I want my new running shoes to stay clean and pretty" in my avoidance of outside running as well but that is an issue for therapy- not for the blog!) Monday the run was going well, however, the gym was HOT! (The YMCA that we go to is primarily used by the Silver Sneakers and their temperature comfort level is a bit warmer than what is comfortable to me.) So about a mile into the run I decided to turn on the fan to be more comfortable. Since I planned to do this quickly- I left the treadmill running (Don't you hate having to start at the slow pace and turn it up again??). I positioned the fan and then went to get back on the treadmill. I grabbed the safety bar with my left hand, stepped carefully onto the non-moving part with my left foot and stretched my right foot across to step on the safety bar on the right side. Wouldn't you know that I was thinking about 300 other things and misjudged the distance to the safety bar and stepped right onto the moving track. In what was probably a half a second but unfolded like slow motion in my brain, my right foot planted onto the moving track pulling my left foot off, dragging me down the track. As I was bouncing down the moving belt I continued holding onto the left rail which meant that instead of just landing on the floor, the momentum from the moving belt caused me to swing back around until I heard a very loud "SNAP" and felt the most searing pain I've ever experienced. After visiting the Emergency Room and a follow-up with the orthopaedic specialist, I will be making friends with the physical therapist and hopefully avoiding any sort of surgery. Who falls off treadmills in their real lives? This only happens in sitcoms where the cause is some dreamy guy who walks in and distracts the adorably fit star of the show. Unfortunately- this episode was missing the dreamy guy and I would hardly describe myself as "adorably fit"!

The best part of these stories is that while they quickly just fade into the background of my life- my friends and family are quick to bring them up whenever a new person enters our lives or- in the case of the escalator- whenever we are riding an escalator- someone is always quick to say, "hey Bets... remember that time...?"

Friday Funday: Options Needed!!!

This Friday is Friday Funday:  

Spring Break in Dallas!!!

(This might not sound as cool as Panama City, but it's all I've got right now...)

Luke is taking off real work; I am taking off grad school work, and we are heading to the city!!!  We want to do something kind of touristy and staycation-y!

We have one activity planned - The Dallas Museum of Art with some friends, but we are looking for something else that's super fun.

Here are our ideas... (so far)

• Dallas Zoo (too crowded the Friday of Spring Break?)
• Dallas Arboretum
• Sixth Floor Museum
• The underground tunnels around the city (just to see 'em...did you even know they were there?!)

Here's where you come in ...

What are your fun Spring Break ideas?!?!?  Or, if you were taking the day off work, how would you spend it?!?!
They can be Dallas specific or just in general! 
I'd love to hear your ideas below!!!

PS...Happy St. Patrick's Day!
PPS...I took the above pic this AM (while driving...shhh).  Just wanted to show you the LOVELY spring weather we are having!  Such a beautiful day in Dallas!

These are my obsessions: Chapstick Ball by Lindsey

Welcome, Lindsey from Day By Day By Day!
Lindsey is often featured on this blog, so you've already gotten to know her a bit. Here's a bit more...
Lindsey is kicking off the guest bloggers write about their obsessions bit...
Enjoy!!!

Hi, I'm Lindsey. It's nice to meet you too.

When Mary asked me to guest blog about my obsession, my mind immediately went to Diet Coke. And I think that's sad. So I searched my brain again for something else. Specifically something that wouldn't be too boring or too bizarre for our first meeting. When that didn't work, I searched my purse.

Meet the chapstick ball. By EOS. (Technically it's called: lip balm - smooth sphere. But I like chapstick ball better.)

EOS

See, I've never been much of a lipstick gal. Bright colors on my pasty white face can be a little scary. So I stay away. Now don't get me wrong. I like lip gloss. But then my hair gets stuck on my lips. And that's just annoying. Still, I've always got a little lip gloss on hand for special occasions. Like a date. Let's be honest though. Those don't happen nearly as often as one would hope.

But I digress.

Like every swinging single lady, I know dry lips are NOT the way to go. So I've been on the search for a fun solution. I mean, who wants to pull out boring old chapstick day after day? Tha's why I'm obsessed with the EOS chapstick ball (aka lip balm - smooth sphere). Available in all these fun flavors/colors:

EOS

PROS:

• smoothes on clear... and the flavors aren't very strong so you won't be walking around smelling (or tasting) too much like lemon or summer fruit.
• 95% organic... even if you don't care about organics, you should know that this things is rich in antioxidants. And antioxidants are ridiculously good for you.
• (and my favorite) easy to find... when you are digging around in your giant purse, it's MUCH easier to grab the chapstick ball rather than confusing lip gloss for a pen, eyeliner or a battery. Yes, I said battery
• long-lasting moisture... while the chapstick ball is easy to grab, you don't want to be grabbing it every ten minutes. Is anyone else singing the Big Red jingle?

CONS:

• nothing... so go try it!! Here.

Hope you've enjoyed my obsession. There are plenty more. That is, if Mary let's me come back. Until then... it was my pleasure.

Lindsey

My blog.

Spring Break! Blog break!

Spring Break has begun! Saturday I got some shopping time with Luke and then some pampering time with Mel and Linds!






But really, most of my Spring Break will be spent hittin' the books!!! So, it's official...I'm taking a little blog break! You don't want to hear me go on and on about how boring and stressful my life is! IN THE MEANTIME...I've asked some of my friends to help me keep Put A Ruffle On It!!! fun and light...just like I like it!!!
I've set up some guest bloggers to help me out over the next few weeks! Don't worry, I'm sure I'll reward myself with my own break from my blog break and stop in to say hi! It's not like I'll be having no fun at all!!! I don't believe in that!!!

My first guest blogger will be stopping in on Tuesday! Can't wait to introduce you to some of my friends! Oh...and I might have a celebrity guest blogger or 2 in the mix!!! :)

Happy Break!!!

Happy...

Shrove Tuesday...
Mardi Gras...
Fat Tuesday...
Run to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard Day...

King Cake :)
via

Today...Eat, Drink and Be Merry!!! :)

The perfect shower outfit...

About to head to a baby shower...

These pants...

This outfit...

I wish...

all via

A Week of Stars...

It is truly irresponsible of me to be blogging...I'm supposed to be writing a conference report and coding an interview...oh, and writing the biggest paper of my life...so far! But instead...I'm having fun and updating my blog! Here are a few pics from the past week...

Party planning for the Oscar Party.
Luke made a drink...The Fighter's Punch!
Had to sample while planning

Stars' Game!

A Stars Hockey game with Mom and Rodney.
Stars won!

And while at the hockey game...I played paparazzi...

Carrie Underwood's husband, Mike Fisher, was on the other team!

Sunday... Oscar Party :)

Party decorations!

Luke has a ginormous TV...so he let me host the party at his house and decorate.:) I worked around the antlers...

Fun Menu based on some of the best picture nominees

I was so busy watching and chatting and enjoying myself that I didn't get pics with any of the guests! Oh, and by the way...I did NOT win the voting this year! Shock, I know! But it was still fun to have friends around to enjoy the show!

But of course...my fun included...
Some library time!

I'm looking forward to a little bit more low key weekend...what are your plans?