Royal Blue

So, today I decided to finally rock the new Royal Blue Jeans! I'm lovin' them!  I've already had three compliments and I've only left the office once today... I'm taking them for a spin around town for some shopping later, let's see how they work out.

The celebs are rocking them... check out these cute outfits:

So, how do you feel about the 80's coming back to haunt ya?  Personally - I'm lovin' it!

Happy Friday folks... we're off to C'ville for some re-sale shopping, shoe repairs, and sushi with great friends. Can't wait to get outta town!

Porch Sittin'

Most would say that Porch Sittin's not a place.... rather a state of mind. It's been a busy week at work - tis' the season for us and all things ODK. Initiations, Magazine Deadlines, Convention Planning, Awards, Scholarships.... the list goes on. So tonight, I was in need of some good ole' fashioned porch sittin'.  It's funny - when you think about sittin' on a porch, the first thing that comes to mind is my grandparents, or great grandparents... or even my folks sittin' on the ole' beer bench out back.

The beer bench.... is history. And HAS so much history. When my parents left Johnson Court (where 15 years of memories were made) the bench came along with them. I wish I had an original pic - but this is the bench today, after a few shades of paint and a few new nails. Good as new. 

This is all the Elleard grand-babies...Lucas, Makenzie, Elijah, Jayden, Bailey, Emi Cay and Landon.

What a crew they are!  

This brings to mind my favorite pic that I wanted to share. It's me and my brothers - doin' a little porch sitting back in the day....

O, what great memories, to be a kid again and have my brothers by my side.  I miss being by them everyday. Maybe one day we'll all be able to do some porch sitting together on a regular basis.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go grab and seat on the front porch and enjoy the memories.  Who knows, if you listen good enough you might just learn a thing or two!

Chicken Fried

Last night was one for the books.  


The hubs and I not only got to jam to Zac Brown Band last night, we had dinner with them before the show too!  I know, you're thinking ... wha?  Well, thanks to the hubs job, we got tickets to the "Eat & Greet" that takes place before each of Zac's concerts. If you haven't been - it's a great addition to the bucket list.  Read more about it here... http://www.fastcompany.com/1792293/zac-brown-rusty-hamlin-eat-and-greet


Amazing food. GREAT people. And an awesome way to kick-off an even better concert.  


As Zac says... 

Our Wedding Koozie!

Keep your heart above your head and you eyes wide open, So this world can't find a way to leave you cold. 
And know you're not the only ship out on the ocean, save your strength for things that you can change...
Forgive the ones you can't...You gotta let 'em go. 

Name Game... It's Friday!

Saw this on a recent post and had to share. :)

An Imperial Affliction: Everyone Has Six Names
1. your real name: Tracy

2. your detective name (favorite color and favorite animal): Green Monkey

3. your soap opera name (middle name and street you live on): Ann Jefferson

4. your star wars name (first three letters of last name, first two of middle name, first two of first, last three of last): Lyoantrons

5. superhero name (color of your shirt, first item to your immediate left): The Blue iPhone

6. goth name (black and one of your pets): Black Nun (none) hah!

HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL!

MANGO Love!

This blog post goes out to my MANGOS! That's us above at my wedding last summer... and if you look close {and are really creative} you can tell we are spelling MANGOS. We have compiled a mess of these photos over the years... I shared a few with you here in today's post.

But in all seriousness - I love these girls. They are amazing, loving, fun and some of my very best friends. Each and every one of them blows me away with their talent, ambition, quirkiness and devotion. So, why do we call ourselves the Mangos you ask?  Well it all started in 2006 with a bottle of rum {mango, of course} and some fun in the sun!

Our friendship began at Auburn University ... and a little earlier for three of us that all went to high school together - shout out to BHS in Mobile. But the group of us become close throughout our 4+ years at Auburn and has blossomed into a close group of friends that still get together at least once a year to create lots of fun memories - more MANGOS pictures - and down a few bottles o' rum.

So, how the mango tradition began.... after graduation{for a most of the group anyway} four of us took a trip to Rosemary beach for some relaxation and celebration. Here is the very first mango picture we have... where the mango idea was born!

Circa 2006 , Rosemary Beach, FL

In 2007 it grew to all six of us... and back to Rosemary Beach we went!

In 2008 one of our Mango's got married... Congrats, Ale!

MANGO wedding #1 ~ Dauphin Island, AL ~ April 26, 2008

Hunter and Amanda Elmore

For Mangofest that year, we returned & celebrated in Navarre Beach, Florida .... briefly, before  a Hurricane decided to join us. :)

But we were reunited again that year for football season....WAR EAGLE!

...and again to celebrate our second Mango B'ette, Dottie!

...and one more time for Mango Wedding #2 ~ Huntsville, AL ~ December 20, 2008

Dorothy & Stephen Powell

{we missed the Bride in the pic, but she was a beauty}

In 2009, we re-united for Mangofest in Dauphin Island, AL

No weddings in 2009... but we did have an engagement!

Congrats, Lyns!

 3 down... 3 to go....

That fall we had another fun trip to Auburn for Halloween and some AU Football!

2010 was a busy year for the Mango's... 2 weddings and 2 engagements! 

 Mango Wedding #3 ~ Pensacola, FL ~ May 29,  2010

Lynsey & Neal Hatch

Our next trip was to Destin, FL to celebrate our next B'ette, congrats MAL! 

Mango Wedding#4 ~ Memphis, TN ~ August 13, 2010

Mallory & Andrew Parks

...and one more time that year we met again for some Auburn football and an engagement! 

Congrats Sydo!!! 

We kicked off 2011 with Mango Wedding #5, which was ours..... 

Orange Beach, AL ~ May 21, 2011
Tracy & Jesse Lyons

Mangofest 2011 was Labor day weekend at the Jones' beach cottage.... and I have zero photos to prove it. :( But it was a great time indeed.

We had one more bash that year before we closed it out....

Mango Wedding #6 Sydo and Greg Beliles!

Nashville, TN ~ December 30, 2011

{again, no bride... but she was a beauty too!!! }

Love my Mangos, and I'm so thankful for our friendship. Can't wait to make many more memories in the years ahead... Lots of Love from your Mango in Virginia! 

String Easter Eggs

With Easter season in full bloom (literally) I decided I would get crafty for some new decor for the heezy. Many thanks to Alissa for her fabulous guidance on this fun yarn Easter egg idea. I made them from string - embroidery floss works best, but I'm sure you could experiment with others.

This was my inspiration. I could only find a couple colors in our small little town, so I went with pink and yellow. I liked her selection of colors though... use whatever you feel would match best! I even thought about using all white and matching them with a burlap runner - so shabby chic, and CUTE!

So, we got started. Just like Alissa, I used Sta-Flo liquid starch and flour to make this gooey paste. 

Mix:

1 cup of Sta-Flo

1/2 cup of flour (not flower)

[Feel free to double if needed. This recipe made about 10 small eggs]

I used two bowls, one to mix and one to place a small amount in when I dipped my string. The best is to coil your string around the outside of the bowl so it doesn't get knotted. Just use your best judgement to measure out your string. It works just as good if you have to apply several layers to your egg! 

For small eggs I used water balloons to make the form. 

NOTE - water balloons are VERY hard to blow up by yourself. Stretch them out a little with your hands and then get someone who has a good set of lungs to help! Then, wrap your string around the balloon like above. Be sure to wipe off the gooey excess, you don't need it to be drippy {like you see above} it makes it hard to clean at the end. 

It will take several hours for them to dry. Once they are dry, pop the balloon! 

I had lots of crusty goo around my string, so I scraped it off with a tooth-pick. 

It would be best if you scrapped when it was wet instead.

Once they were done, I placed them in a pretty glass bowl as a centerpiece on our table. 

Ta-da - Instant Easter centerpiece! 

Hope you enjoy making this Easter craft!  I have lots of extra supplies, so I may have to make some more this season. 

More spring crafts and house projects to come... so stay tuned! 

K-cups

It's here folks!! The spring/summer limited edition K-cup. I don't know about other Keurig owners, but each season I anxiously await the new flavor... Pumpkin Spice in the fall, French Toast & Egg Nog for the Holidays - and now, Island Coconut... O, I can't wait to try it...

Maybe I'll feel like I'm back in Key West with my toes in the sand... and a cup o' joe in my hand!

Pi Day!

Looking back, I think I have celebrated this silly Holiday for as long as I can remember. I'm not really sure what that tells you about me - either I'm a total geek, I really like pie, or have a teacher as a mother. All may be true, but I'm fairly sure that Momma Elleard had a lot to do with our annual celebration of 3.14. We always had "pi" sandwiches in our lunch boxes, pie for dessert and pi activities to keep us busy after school. My mom loved any excuse to celebrate and I'm so glad she passed that along to me!

So if you have to celebrate a silly holiday, why not do so with a tasty treat as well?

Happy Pi Day folks ~ spread the sweetness!!

For the love of Color!

After returning from some much needed relaxing vacation/family time in Key West [lots of pictures to come] I'm itching for spring to be here already. I feel like I have spent most of the day lost in a Target color commercial...searching for ways to share many shades of color in everything!! If you know me at all - you know I LOVE color! Yes, my bridesmaid's dresses were a sunny bright yellow... and my closet is full of stripes, floral patterns, neon shades and a hot new pair of royal blue jeans that I picked up this weekend. [I can't wait to break them out next weekend] So, today I felt inspired to share you with this colorful post.

Really... Dress like a cupcake should feel. Sweet and FULL of Sugar!!