In a Word She’s Blunt

She was good at her job and recognized for it, but she was fired. She hated English, but she became a writer. She’s a tad depressing, but funny, and she doesn’t hold back. Who am I talking about? The blogstress who pins Blunt Delivery. I would try to explain this witty conglomerate of blogging life stories, but why ruin it. Blunt Delivery really must be visited to be read. You won’t be disappointed. In the process you may just turn blunt, or more blunt than you already are.

Fabulous Hit the Blogosphere through the Mrs

A picture is worth a thousand words, especially if it has a point of view and is styled right. So the picture at left should tell you a bit about the blog Mrs. Lilien- Styling House, and the blogger Mrs. Kelley Lilien. By trade this Mrs. Lilien is a graphic artist and prop stylist (i.e. the image at right). By night, she injects the blog community with style and flair, through her witty post prose, and her colorful, energetic, sense of style and flare. Who knew mojitos went best with a Elizabeth and James Kimono Maxi dress? You didn’t, nor did I, but we can learn. Let us never forget about the 7 success driven persuasions in our life lifetime (number 2 being above). Most people pretend to be glamorous. Some people are glamorous and never share the wealth. Few people are glamorous and let us in on how-to be too. If you’re interested in the latter, I suggest a visit to Mrs. Lilien- Styling House.

An American Southerner Expat in France: a Delicious Funny Read

 The saying goes; “Wherever you go, there you are.” What if you get to go somewhere and discover that you are quite different than where you were over there. Truth be told I always wanted to have an a true expat experience, as an adult with a semblance of common sense, unlike my time studying and living abroad in Spain at the age of 19-20. Since I’m being honest here, I’m slowly, or rapidly depending on who you talk to, becoming a Francophile. Of all my traveling companions to France I was the only one who loved the people, food, and city. I couldn’t get enough. This is why I regularly read Southern Fried French.  Lynn McBride-a South Carolinian is living out my dream of living in France. But here are the reasons why you should read it. The French recipes are simple, and simply to die for. You’ll want to hurry to the market to eat what she and her friends have cooking, or at least try to pull it from the computer screen for consumption. There is no better way to learn the French rules of etiquette from a Southerner and her husband who botch them, making for some interesting hilarity. An example, when Ms. McBride offered a round of wine to her guests viewing the accommodations in the Chateau she and her husband are leasing from now friends. Sounds like a harmless appealing offer, except it was not appropriate and Ms. McBride’s description of the event is priceless. Furthermore, I think we should all adapt the way in which the French discreetly let a guest know that she has in fact taken in too much of the liquid grapes. If you’re not a Fancophile like me you’ll probably become a Lynn McBrideaphile (that’s made up you know). Fly on over to Southern Fried French, because you should never miss tasting anything Fried!

Do You Have to be a Dog or a Toddler to Enjoy Winter: Possibly

photo by Geneve Hoffman (click image to go to Geneve Hoffman Photography)

This evening’s weather report got me thinking about winter. Especially since they are forecasting 3-6 inches of snow for tomorrow-which would be fine if we had not already had 500 feet snow since December 10. I fully admit that I have the option of moving, which I would whole-heartedly do immediately, if I could convince my husband to move back to California (he lived there before, not me). But, it has been two years since I started my household California campaign. It hasn’t caught. But as Berry White said “Quit’in just ain’t my shtick.”  So I remain hopeful. Since I’m stuck for now I wondered, Is it possible to enjoy winter if you’re not a dog or a toddler (each so easily amused with limited cognitive capacity). I’m not sure. But given the right attitude, people and enough sun apparently there are lots of things to do outside in winter (besides run inside). Cindy Beach (how ironic) of the County Cabin blog named 28 things we could do in winter in her Making the Most of Winter post. Can you believe it? Most of them sound quite good i.e. a ice skating party, a winter bonfire, & making snow cream (although our polluted air quality makes me fear this one a bit). Apparently there is a positive to a 500 feet of snow negative. So dive right in!