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Happy Memorial Day! Today is the day we honor the soldiers (heroes) that have died in war so we can live happy, safe, peaceful lives. So after you've marched in the parade and honored those we've lost, I say we should go shopping for bargains! No one has much money anymore so you have to find deals if you want to get good stuff. And if the tv commercials I've seen for the past 5 days are true, there are deals to be had. Plus all the online retailers are jumping on the sale bandwagon too. One of my favorite online sites for bargains is HauteLook . I just love this dress I recently bought. I wore it last week and was so comfy all day. I think it's going to be my new favorite summer dress. I do have to be careful when I walk around the windy city though. A HUGE gust of wind nearly blew the dress over my head. I'm sure I frightened some folks. That's what they get for watching my back-side. If you'd like to buy cute stuff like this at great prices, check...

Here you go folks. Links to my three favorite cocktail recipes. Now you are all set for Memorial Weekend. Cuz it is all about hanging with friends and enjoying delicious cocktails, right? Enjoy my friends. And don't forget to buy your booze at BevMo!   (You knew I had to mention it.) 1. Mojito 2. Peach Jalapeno Martini 3. Margarita Have fun and be safe!

I can hear a cork pop a mile away. So last night, as I was putting Elli to bed, I heard that lovely, familiar, POP! I came downstairs to find that Don had opened a bottle of Chimney Rock Elevage Red Wine 2000 . It's been in our cellar (aka, hall closet.) It's part of the collection we acquired when we were a wine club member back in 2005/2006. "What's the occasion?" I ask. "I was thirsty." says Don. Well that's good enough for me. So we sat there watching Top Chef Masters drinking this fabulous wine. And for one hour all was right with the world. And now it's all gone. The end.

I never made a roast chicken until about a year ago. I thought it was hard to make. I had no idea how easy it is to roast a chicken - and how yummy and moist the meat is. Mr. Chicken says, "Hey, don't eat me. Eat the cow. Haven't you seen the billboard?" Ha. Sorry. (The Chick-fil-a billboard popped in my head.) I've made the same recipe several times. It's so good I have no reason to look for another. My gal, Ina, knows how to roast a chicken. She calls it "Perfect Roast Chicken." I have to agree. Well, I can sum it all up on one paragraph. Rinse chicken, dry chicken, place in roasting pan. Slice up an onion add to pan. Stuff the chicken with fresh thyme, 6 cloves of garlic and one lemon quartered. Salt and pepper chicken inside and out. Melt 2T of butter and pour all over chicken. Roast in 425 degree oven for 90 minutes or until juices run clear. After about 45 minutes I pull out the pan and add fingerling potatoes. For the gravy, yes, my ...

On Sunday we returned Bentley to his owner. He had spent the entire day with us. He played in the park, played with Sam and Elli, and cuddled with Don. The owner was so happy that she asked if we would ADOPT him. Oh no! I was just getting used to a low-maintenance house with just one pup. She explained that she has super-long hours at the clinics where she works (she's a psychologist) and is having second thoughts about keeping him in a puppy cage all day. He needs to get out, and run, and be with people. He is a super sweet little guy. So we're going to take him for a couple weeks just to make sure everything is cool with Sam - and that Bentley can handle hanging out at Pollin's with Don. I'm sure everything will work out just fine. I believe in fate. I think little Bentley was meant to be in our family. He's exactly the kind of dog Elli was hoping for. He's loving, obedient, gentle, playful, smart, and is small enough that Elli can manage him. ...

Last week we had to bring in a baked good for the 3rd grade bake sale. My plan was to make brownies. All kids like brownies. Well all of Elli's friends begged me to make Blueberry Boy Bait instead. I didn't really want to. For one, outside of Elli's friends, they won't know what it is. And two, I already had the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownie Mix . Which makes THE BEST brownies. Hands down. But they begged and whined and so I said yes. I'm a sucker. I can't say no to these girls. They recently convinced me to make Strawberry/Banana smoothies to bring to school, too. That was another one of those "why didn't I just say no" moments. I actually went to Safeway twice, before 7am, to get enough ingredients to make smoothies for 22 people. Not my brightest moment. But I made some fine smoothies, let me tell you. They were yummy and healthy and the kids loved them. And all was good. But back to the bake sale. Everyone loves Blueberry Boy B...

You're probably thinking, huh? Puppy love and wine. What is she talking about now. Well, Elli has started a little cat sitting business in our neighborhood, which led to a puppy walking job. A neighbor was going to have surgery on her shoulder so she was looking for someone to take her puppy out every morning and every evening. Meet Bentley. He is the cutest little 8 month old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He doesn't jump or bite, he's gentle and lovable. He's a total ladies man. Elli loves him. We've been watching him for about a week. All is well so far. The plan is to keep watching him for a couple more weeks while his owner recovers from surgery. When I was there yesterday Sharon, the puppy owner, thanked me for taking care of the little guy. (Elli was at a sleep over. So I was on duty.) He's really no trouble and now that Elli and I have our new morning routine down, it's not bad at all. She does realize that I am doing a lot of t...

I called Don on Sunday afternoon after I left my volunteer post at the Designers Showcase house. He said that he and Elli went to Whole Foods . Uh oh. This is not good news. Don is your dream grocery shopper. He is a sucker for every promotional item, he rarely pays attention to what anything costs, he sees something he likes and he throws it in the basket. I am the COMPLETE opposite. I watch prices on everything. I comparison shop. I've always done this - but I do it even more now that we are on a tight budget. Don rarely goes food shopping anymore -- I take care of it. I do all the cooking anyway. Plus he will cost us too much money!  So I was dreading seeing the receipt when I got home. He bought filet mignon, fresh tuna and mac and cheese for Elli. The cost of the fresh fish and beef nearly gave me a coronary. But nothing could prepare me for what he paid for Elli's mac and cheese. $10.34 for a small container. WHAT!!?!! Are you kidding me? Even Don knew that was a lot ...

The other day I mentioned seeing a crazy big plant in my neighborhood. I think I told you the big flower thing in the middle was about six feet tall. Ha. Six feet. That's funny. I drove by with the "good" camera yesterday so I could show you this plant. I've lived in our neighborhood for 3 years. I've driven by this house dozens if not a hundred times and never noticed this plant in the front yard until last week. Here it is. Pretty, right? Well let me show you how it looks in a wide shot! "Mommy, that's the bigget asparagus I've ever seen." says Elli. "That's not an Asparagus plant Elli. I don't know what that is!!" I say. Lucky for me a neighbor was walking by so I asked her. She said it's an Aloe plant. She doesn't remember ever seeing the bloom in the middle either. I think it's the rain. All the plants and flowers are so huge this year. This one is unique though. You can't get rid of ...

Don and Elli gave me these sneakers for my birthday. Aren't they awesome! They are way more comfy than Converse shoes. The Coach brand has cushion in the heel - so they are much more comfortable to walk in. Plus they are oh-so-stylish don't you think?

I have writer's block. I can't think of anything interesting to write about. And I haven't read anything interesting that has sparked an "I think I'll write about that" reaction where the fingers fly and before I know it. Bam! I'm done. So here we are. Or here I am. With nothing to say. Did you know that there aren't any places near my office where you can buy a sandwich for 5 bucks. That just seems wrong. Why does a sandwich - two pieces of bread, some mustard and turkey meat cost more than 5 bucks? See that wasn't very interesting. It's a true story. And it was my issue today. I didn't bring my lunch and I only had 5 bucks. I bought a small container of tuna salad for $2.88. yum. I'm just tired and in a funk. It's been a crazy week. Oh greaaaaaaaaat. The weather lady just popped on between shows to tell us there will be rain tomorrow. We've had so much rain the plants and weeds have gone crazy. I drove by a house ...

The flowers in California are absolutely gorgeous this year. And the roses are spectacular. The spring rain  has done wonders for the flowers. I don't know about you, but there's something about roses that just make me smile and (almost) make me want to grow a rose garden. I can't resist sticking my nose right up to the flower to get a whiff.  The smell is intoxicating. Elli couldn't get enough of it either. They are bigger, more fragrant, and more colorful than I remember.  It's amazing what four months of rain will do. We spotted all these roses at the Catholic Church in Healdsburg. I would have stayed for an hour taking pictures, except the sky broke open and it started to rain. Not just a sprinkle either, a torrential downpour. So we jumped back in the car. And were on our way. At least I got a few shots before getting soaked!

There is nothing better than a best friend.  Especially your best girlfriend. They understand you better than you understand yourself. And they get it - even more than your husband. Cuz let's face it - our husbands are our best friend - but they make lousy girlfriends. You can't call them up after you hear caddy comments at school. Cuz this is the reaction you get on the phone....... SILENCE "Hello? Are you still there? Hello?"  I should have called a girlfriend. They would understand.   Remember when you and your best friend would dress alike? Those were the days. Elli is a great girlfriend. She listens, she keeps secrets and totally empathizes with you. Just what you want in a girlfriend. PS. Thanks for all the birthday wishes. I love you all!!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, my mother-in-law, my sister, my aunts, my cousins, my sister-in-laws and all my friends. I hope your day is as spectacular as mine has been. I'm feeling the love in my house!

Custom window treatments are all the rage right now. Just like Trina Turk and Tory Burch are all the rage with the ladies. Is it just me - or am I the only the one that gets the two designers confused? But that's not what we're talking about today. We're talking about NAKED WINDOWS. Eeeeek! There are so many absolutely beautiful fabrics out there - it would be a shame to leave your windows naked, or worse, cover them up with some awful, drape-in-a-bag that everyone else has. The horror! So I thought I would just tease you a little, with some snapshots of a few recent window installs we've done at Pollin's. Of course my first comment when I saw these pictures was, "Honey, I want custom window treatments too." And I just got the look. Don't you hate that look? The look that says, "No, I do this all day, I'm not doing it here too." Grrr. I hate that look. That's when I get in my super Poling mode and start doing it myself. Like wh...

I brought home a few new wines to try from BevMo! One is a brand I already like (Tapiz) so I was pretty confident we'd like the Chardonnay. The other is a brand I had not tried before (Beauzeaux) and didn't know much about, so I really had no expectations. Well, the Tapiz Chardonnay is great! It's my kind of Chardonnay - crisp, fruity, not too sweet, not oakey or buttery. Just really good and the price is right -around twelve bucks. I'm definitely picking up another bottle, or two of this one. It's perfect to have on hand when friends drop by. Who am I kidding? We don't have people drop in, it's for me! I'll share some with Don - maybe. Just kidding, we do have friends, they just don't drop in unannounced, usually. Next we we tried the Beauzeaux Red Wine (pronounced Bozo - like the clown.) This wine was a major disappointment. It tasted like grape juice, not wine. The half-empty bottle is still sitting there. Neither of us want any more. It...

Is it just me or do other people also trip going up the stairs? We went to a cocktail party on Saturday night. It was a fundraising cocktail party for school that was a "get dressed up in cocktail attire" kind of thing. I think they do this so people will be on their best behavior and not get too crazy. Cuz really, it's hard to get super silly in 4" heels and a dress that's form fitting. Don and I got a babysitter for Elli. We had Mei Mei drop us off at the party because they had a shuttle service to take everyone home. Which I have to say is the way to go - it was so nice getting dropped off at the front door! We walked in to the home where the party was and started up the stairs, when BAM! I trip. It wasn't a complete fall on your face trip, but it was loud, and everyone noticed I had arrived. Greaaaaaaaat. Hadn't even had one glass of wine and I've already made a scene. And of course that's what I immediately blurt out. "Oh my gosh,...