Archive for the ‘Favorite Things’ Category

Best Google Doodle Ever

August 12th, 2010


This morning when I finally turned on the computer, I had an email from my brother with this picture.  He said he’d been on Google, saw this picture and thought of me.   He took a screen print and sent it my way.   

Anyonw who knows anything about me, knows that the Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie. I have tons of Wizard of Oz memorabilia, including every one of the Hallmark ornaments since they started producing them many years ago. 

Of course, it wasn’t enough that my favorite (and only) brother sent me this picture, because I wanted to see it for myself.  I went to Google and it wasn’t there, but with a few more tries- there it was, in all the yellow brick road glory.    I figured it had to be some sort of anniversary of the movie- but as much as I love the movie- I really don’t know all the stats and such.

I used Google (imagine that) and was able to find that today Google is celebrating the 71st birthday of the Wizard of Oz.    The movie was released nationally on August 25th- but premiered on August 12th in Wisconsin. I also found this article which also compares the movie to the early version of Inception and after reading their logic behind the thinking- I tend to agree with them.

Happy Anniversary Wizard of Oz- and for y’all- remember “There’s No Place Like Home.“

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Summer Time Treats

July 22nd, 2010

Yesterday I asked the question on Facebook  if people would share their favorite summer time treats.    Many of the responses were the same or similar to what I would choose as my own favorite:  watermelon, strawberries, rasp and blueberries, peaches, nectarines, ice cream (preferably home-made) and the list goes on.

Several people commented that they love McDonald’s Ice Cream cones this time of the year, and I’d have to agree with them.  Not only do they have built in portion control because you’re getting one serving, but the calories and sugar are far less than some of the other popular ice creams out there, so it’s virtually guilt free. 

Another one of my summer favorites has become the Mocha Frappuccino Light from Starbucks.  I seriously consider it to be bliss in a cup and could drink them every day.   I recenly found a similar recipe on the Coffee-Mate website, so I’m going to be trying it out soon.

The picture to my right is another one of my summer time favorites-  It’s fresh raspberries, Fage 0% Fat Greek Yogurt sweetened with a Vanilla Splenda stick, a little muesli and a couple of chopped walnuts. It’s delicious.  The only thing that could make it better is if I’d frozen the raspberries first, making it an extra ‘cool’ treat. 

Now that I’ve shared some of MY favorite summer time treats with you-  I’d love to know what YOURS are.   Feel free to comment away and share with me.

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Funny Birthday’s

July 8th, 2010

One of my dearest friends had a birthday on the 6th. I emailed her the day before her birthday to let her know that her gift would be arriving late. It was scheduled to be delivered the day after. On the morning of her birthday, she got up and her husband told her that her gift would be a little late and she said ok. She got ready for work and her daughters told her that their gift was going to be late. Again, she thought- ok. She drove to work, and one of her colleagues said that her gift would be a little late. She didn’t mind, because she isn’t a child anticipating gifts, but she found it odd that everything was late.. I would have as well. Oh, and somewhere in there here sister also called and said that her gift would also be late.

She arrived home to find a beautiful cake and everyone singing happy birthday to her. Even her sister and their family had Skyped in to wish her a great day. It was sweet. The girls went ahead and gave her the card they’d bought for her, and she noticed a box. They said it had came that day but they weren’t sure who it was from, other than that it was from Coach. She opened it and saw on the invoice that it was from me.

She opened the box, and inside was a card that read- “Happy 30th Birthday Mary”. She had no idea what to think. She knew it was from me, and everyone thought it was a joke. I wasn’t around for her to be able to call me, so she called my mom. The following morning, I saw that she’d left a message on my Facebook and mentioned that she and Mary had a great birthday. I had NO idea what she was talking about, so I called her. That’s when she told me the story, which was hilarious.

I did call Coach to let them know that the card was mixed up and they apologized.
The day after her birthday she received a gift from her sister, which was chocolate covered strawberries from Shari’s Berries. I had those same berries in my shopping cart to order them for Samantha and changed my mind. Ironically, her sister almost ordered her a gift card from Coach like the one I did get her. She suggested we talk before Christmas, and I think she’s right.

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I Heart Great Customer Service

June 24th, 2010

Ok, earlier today I posted a picture of the other bag that I bought and mentioned that I had to tell y’all about a great thing that happened.   Here I am, finally, to do just that.   First, I do have a love of handbags.  I can’t help it and even though my mom has told me time and time again that I can only carry one at a time, I still can’t help but love them.

Last week KateSpade was having a sample sale and I came across the bag and sunglasses that I ultimately ordered.  They were a great price, and even though I saw this particular bag, I decided not to get it, since two bags were really pushing it.   Four days later, I saw that Kate was having an extra discount on the last day of the sale, which meant an additional 20%.   This time, I couldn’t resist the bag on your left.   I ordered it and with the extra 20% it was practically a steal.  

Then I started thinking and wondering about the other two items I’d ordered.  Even though I’d already received them, I decided it would be worth it to give customer service a call and see if they would actually be willing to give me the extra 20% off the items I’d ordered. The very helpful customer service said there was no problem and asked for the code and gave me some information about the credit card processing and that was that. It was THAT simple and I saved quite a bit of money, simply by making a phone call. I had nothing to lose, and ended up gaining quite a savings on top of the one I’d already received. Thanks Kate. That’s what I call customer service.

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Gadget Girl

June 17th, 2010

Even though I haven’t mentioned it yet here, I guess most of you probably know I was very excited to see the 4th generation ‘eye’ phone announced last week. In fact, I have already been plotting and planning and ‘thinking’ about how I’d love to order one, but I’ll probably wait until my contract is up next year. Marcel suggested that I buy an unlocked phone and then I wouldn’t have to worry about waiting until my contract is up, but right now i just don’t know about that. I think I’ll wait, or at least that’s what I’m saying right now. Tomorrow could be a different story. I am such a geek. I love gadgets.

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Free Hugs

May 23rd, 2010

Yesterday I was out shopping with friends in the city and we noticed two people walking through the streets holiding a sign that said “Free Hugs”.     Immediately we knew that we wanted to get in on the hug fest, so we went over to them and said we’d like hugs.  They were thrilled, and after sharing hugs they moved on.   A little while later, the rest of their group passed through, all holding the same “Free Hugs” signs.  Needless to say, we cashed in on the hugs and all walked away with at least 10 hugs from perfect strangers.

I happen to be one of those people who adore hugs, and it isn’t very often that I receive one from a complete stranger, much less 10+ strangers.   I wouldn’t have thought it would have made an impact on my day, but as we walked away from the group we all talked about how great it made us feel to have the hugs from perfect strangers. 

It just goes to show how something as simple as a hug can make a difference in someones day.   My only regret was that I didn’t have my camera with me to capture the moment, and I didn’t think about the “eye” because I was caught up in the moment of the hug fest.    Imagine if we all started doing small things to make a positive difference in the lives of others and how the world could change if that happened.     THAT my friends  is “CHANGE” we could believe in.

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Ringtones for All My Favorite People

May 10th, 2010

Marcel called me a little earlier on my cell while I was out walking JJ, and I realized that I didn’t have a customized ringtone for him on my phone. I’ve been thinking about getting some new ringtones for a while, and would like something cute like the snuggle song for him and only him. I think while I’m downloading either Warner Artist or EMI ringtones to my phone for my sweetie, I will also get one for mom, diddy and the rest of my friends. I plan to get a song that reminds me specifically of that person, and assign it to them, that way when the phone rings, I’ll know it’s them without even glancing at the phone.

Do you have customized ringtones on your phone? If so, I’d love to hear what they are, and why you chose them for that particular person.

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Comfort Clothes

April 19th, 2010

This morning I was browsing online doing a little ‘monitor shopping’ as I like to call it (as opposed to window shopping since it’s done on my monitor) when Marcel asked me what I was doing looking at men’s polo shirts. The obvious response would be that I was looking at them for him, but the truth was, I was looking at them for me. Marcel loves them, but I’ve been wearing them since I was a teenager and there’s nothing I love more than buying an oversized one, and then tossing a sweater on over it in the winter. Not only do they look great, but they feel great as well. I guess they could be similar to comfort food, but instead they would be called comfort clothes. Plus, if Marcel is really sweet he can even borrow them sometime.

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Getting Busy with the Terrace Project

April 9th, 2010

Yesterday when Marcel and I were out and about, I picked up these lanterns to use as part of our terrace project. The white-washed color of them match the bench we bought perfectly, and I can’t wait to see the entire look pulled together once we get the walls painted and everything set up. It’s going to be a great place to relax and listen to the fountain, to drink coffee or to lounge in the hammock in the sun.

The weather guy is calling for great weather this weekend so I’m hoping that we can get busy with it tomorrow and possibly get it finished this weekend. I may be hoping for too much, but I do believe anything is possible. Marcel spent part of the morning pulling everything off the wall, and a little later I’m going to go through everything and toss a few things that I won’t be using, and store stuff that I don’t want to get rid of. I’m really getting excited to see how it turns out.

Watch this space to see how it unfolds.

Oh, and don’t forget the very first edition of 5 O’ Clock Fridays today- Where I’ll be sharing a random picture that I take today at 5. To make it more fun, I’d like for y’all to join me by sending me a picture that YOU take at 5 today. You can email it to lori (at) this domain.com (this domain being simplywizardress). You don’t have to be a blogger to participate- anyone can but if you add it to your own blog, let me know and I’ll link it from the 5 O’ Clock Friday Entry.

You have until Saturday evening to get me your entries, and then it will be closed for this week- (but there’s always next week). I’m looking forward to seeing what y’all come up with.

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Must Have- Added to My “To Buy” Book List

April 8th, 2010

It is no secret to anyone who knows anything about me that I love quotations. It’s also no secret than I’m a huge fan of Miss “O” herself, known to most of us simply as Oprah.

When I saw that the above pictured book will be hitting the bookshelves very soon, I knew that it was a must have. Books also happen to be amongst my favorite things, but this, my friends isn’t just any book, this is a book of quotations that Oprah has been collecting over the years. Quotes that have stood out to her and been significant in some way or another.

I’ll be honest- I don’t want the book because Oprah is publishing it, I want the book because it’s a book of great quotations that would probably take me years to compile. I can’t wait to have it in my hands, sit down and read each and everyone and as my friend Lin would say- Ponder them all and see if any ‘lightbulbs’ go off for me.

“Be daring, be different, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers…” — Cecil Beaton, photographer

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