The Invisible Handy Wipe

1. Wore a bonnet as a child
2. Picnicked in cemeteries with my family
3. Put my cats on leashes when they go outdoors
4. Subscribe to five cheese blogs
5. Hang pork-themed pop art throughout my home

1. Peanut
2. Big Boy
3. Substantial
4. STOP BITING ME!
5. FINE!!! I’LL FEED YOU! YOU PUDGY, FURRY VAMPIRE!

PJ and I finished work yesterday afternoon around 5:30 and both had more energy than normal for a Friday night. We decided that we would head to the Leesburg Outlet Mall and brave the heat with our unexpected go-getting attitudes.

I like the Leesburg Outlet Mall for two reasons: 1. It is outdoors (I loathe indoor malls filled with stale air and the hum of fluorescent light bulbs), and 2. Items are priced much more reasonably for the same stores found in malls like Tyson’s Corner (Kate Spade and Juicy Couture have stores at Leesburg, for example). If I’m going to go shopping, I’d rather it be a pleasant experience, and Leesburg fits that bill.

PJ was on the hunt for new shorts (J. Crew and Old Navy FTW!) and I needed a white, non-iron, fitted dress shirt from Brooks Brothers. We decided to walk around the whole mall, though, to see if there was anything else we needed for a good price. And, I am pleased to report, we hit the mother load.

Look at my beautiful new baby:

It’s a Le Creuset, 9-1/2 quart, oval, french, cast iron, roasting pan. I have wanted one of these bad boys for years but could never justify its expense … until yesterday … when we stumbled upon a sale. This is the original tag, the non-sale tag:

And this is our $169.26 receipt:

Most places I’ve looked have the exact pan for $300.00 (not the $400.00 non-outlet mall price the ticket professes), but STILL. I have never, ever, ever seen it for $169.26!! PJ and I split the cost and now it is in the kitchen ready for a beautiful chicken. I am such a dork for being excited about this, but I don’t care. I love Love LOVE it.

Speaking of things I love, I’m going to add my new Puma golf shoes to that list. How cute are these?

I love that the goofy tassels just tie on under the laces. Too adorable. And, want to hear the best part? They were $20. I didn’t even know you could buy Puma’s for $20. I’ve been in the market for golf shoes for the past two months, so I’m thrilled to have stumbled upon these finds. Another of their benefits is that the cleats on the soles are pure rubber, so I can wear them in club houses without any troubles. Go, Puma!

Okay, enough about commerce. I’ll sign off today with a picture of my kitties doing the adorable kitty cuddle:

Have a great weekend, everyone! I’m off now to see Batman …

To begin, let us talk about my mint. Here it was on June 17:

It was a little sprig of herb just trying to make its way in this crazy, mixed up world. Now, it’s monolithic and ready to take over the world:

My basil noticed mint’s attempt at world domination and went from this:

To this:

Unfortunately, the tomatoes tore the camera from my hands as I was trying to photograph them, screaming something about “curses to the paparazzi,” so there are no giant tomato plant photographs in this post. But, if one of you can check in with me from time to time, to make sure that the plants don’t succeed in their world domination attempts, that would be really terrific …

In other news, I found out today that yet ANOTHER friend is pregnant. Dear Lord, what is up with the reproduction frenzy?! Was there a bad round of birth control pills let loose on the market? I’m happy as can be for all of the boys and girls who will be populating this planet of ours, but seriously, I cannot knit this fast. Some of you pregnant women are just going to have to be content with receiving store-bought goods or services for your baby gifts. My fingers are incapable at operating at warp knitting speed. Either that, or everyone gets a newborn hat and that’s it. Sweaters be damned!

What else?? Ah yes, I signed my contract today for an article to run in Deal Wimple magazine. The contract is pretty cool because it says that even if my article gets bumped for spacing (number of pages of text are determined upon ad sales, so these sorts of things happen) I will STILL GET PAID. Um, I don’t know about you, but that is truly fantastic. Nothing says, “we value your time and skills as a writer” as paying someone to write something that may never see the light of day. Brilliant, I tell you. Simply brilliant.

Ah yes … I also got an iPhone and it was a horrible buying experience, but it has been a fantastic ownership experience. You can read about my buying experience on my hubby’s new website: Angry Dictator. And, I will be posting about the awesome wonder that is the iPhone 3G on July 21 and 22 on Unclutterer.

To end my MEGA blog post, I would like you to go and read this birthday card created by my friend from high school: http://www.fomato.com/B16.htm. If I have ever missed your birthday, let us pretend that this is the card I would have sent to you!

My front porch is almost finished being set up for the summer. We need a small table for drinks … but otherwise, we’re ready to go.

Here we are:

You also can see all my baby plants in their new pots:

Basil:

Mint:

Rosemary:

Oregano:

Tarragon:

Tomatoes:

My friend Mary gave me the tomato plants and Maeve gave me the mint. It is a great feeling to have plants from friends surrounding me on the porch. I’m so excited to watch them grow and relax in this space!