Random thought

I love my new Vera Bradley celebrations book, that I got for $5 at the Vera Bradley outlet sale in Fort Wayne two weekends ago. It's helping me stay organized and remember important birthdays, events, etc. It's pretty awesome. By the way, people who complained about the outlet sale were lame. There was a ton of selection, and we went on the last day. We got gifts for the rest of the year (including a duffel for my sis) for less than $150.

I was also thinking about making a trip to the Lilly Pulitzer outlet sale in King of Prussia, PA. I have business I could conduct nearby so it could be a combined trip. Has anyone been?

Giveaway Saturday

This may be too good to be true, but How I Met Your Father is giving away Lilly Pulitzer spaghetti strap McKim sandals! Enter here. No wait, don't enter--I want to win!

Freebies and More is giving away $25 in organic Endangered Species Chocolate.

You can win a beautiful gold clutch, eight hand illustrated notecards, a vintage gold and ivory bracelet and a really cute headband from Fern and Flora if you enter here. Even if you don't win, you should visit her Etsy shop and drool over all of the cute stuff.

Finally, Pink Dandy Chatter is giving away 50 custom printed notecards with plain envelopes from uprinting.com. I'm super excited about this one--we are sending thank you notes to everyone who attended our wedding. They'll go out on our first anniversary thanking everyone for their love and prayers over the past year!

Celebrity obsessed culture killing Democracy?

Is our celebrity-obsessed culture is killing democracy as we know it? My husband said today that he thinks "real" news gets overshadowed by drama daily, and as a result regular people don't really hear about things going on in the world unless they are really dramatic.

This week's TIME discusses how the tragic flooding in Nashville got lost in the coverage of the NYC bomb scare and the oil spill in the Gulf. And it's pretty dramatic--the whole city is under water.

Recipe of the week: chocolate peanut butter bacon truffles

I made chocolate peanut butter bacon truffles today. I don't eat bacon, but my husband and the neighbors think they are yummy. Based on the feedback I've gotten, I would strongly recommend this recipe from Splendid Table, my favorite NPR show. Just remember: LEAN bacon is important.

Starting

I used to blog. Then I got engaged, and my life became consumed with planning an amazing wedding (which it was, by the way). Then we moved across the country for my job and I started to work 80 hours a week in the cogs of corporate America.

And now I'm a newlywed and still working like crazy, but looking for a release. So I'm here and hoping this helps keep me sane.