Deciphering the Clean Language

Do you, like me, have no idea what those tiny symbols mean on your clothing's tag?  The one that tells you how to care for it?  It truly is a language from Mars as far as I'm concerned.  It typically boils down to a guessing game...and typically does not involve boiling water...this much I've learned.

I have a great Patagonia skirt that I wore constantly this summer and I went online to find out how best to safely clean it.  I came across this great graph that decodes the cyphers on those tags and I printed it out and put it up next to the washer and dryer.

Cheers to clean clothes and sweaters that don't shrink!

Refurbin'

If you, like me, have an older MacBook with a plastic white case you may have noticed cracks and chips starting to appear around the edges.

Now you, like me, can have a brand new pretty white case!  We took my old MacBook to the Apple Store and asked them what we could have done to make its shell look nice and new again and how much that would cost us.

The answer?  Nada.

Seems that this is a known and acknowledged design flaw and Apple will replace the entire case for free. F-R-E-E spell it with meeee!  This includes the case, the keyboard, touchpad, etc.

So, my MB with the upgraded hard drive and RAM will now have a shiny new exterior to match its spiffy interior specs.  And yours can too!

And since I am working on a fancy shmancy MacBook Pro courtesy of my awesome job and great company, Five Q, looks like someone in our family is going to inheriting a nicely refurbed MacBook in the near future!

Morning Juice

Continuing my thoughts regarding breakfast items, I wanted to share how we have been saving a few dollars and having delicious iced coffee at home.

When we were in D.C., and the temps rose to the 80's in April, it was not optimal to sip steaming hot coffee to start the day. I tried brewing coffee and then chilling it, and that worked somewhat well, but still not quite what I was looking for.

I'm a recent convert to the Pioneer Woman craze and when she posted how to cold brew iced coffee in mass quantities I was all over that like white on rice.

H helped me find a two-gallon container when we made the trek to the closest Container Store which had a convenient spigot for my early morning barista impression. (It was another life-altering reality wake-up call to realize that I've lived 7 minutes from a Container Store in both GA and D.C. and now I definitely don't.)

After loading up on necessary supplies like cheesecloth and a BIG bag of Dunkin' Donuts ground coffee I followed PW's directions and it resulted in awesome iced coffee. And enough of it that I only had to make it about once a week - an even better result in my mind!

Breakfast and Chicken?

If you have the good fortune of living near a Chick-fil-A then you've probably been introduced to a scrumptious Chicken Biscuit. A flaky buttery biscuit sandwiching a moist, lightly breaded chicken breast.

I know that it might sound a little odd if you've never tried this. But we eat beef and pork at breakfast, why not chicken?

Along those lines, CFA is offering everyone a free breakfast item September 6th - 10th if you reserve it online. I was pumped to reserve my very own chicken biscuit, and a spicy chicken biscuit for H. And yet I was greeted by this fresh heartache over CFA...

Lily!

Both very sweet and southern in style, Lily Pulitzer has long been a favorite among southern women. And I happen to be one of those southerners that love their classic and feminine frocks .

So imagine my happiness, shock and elation to find out that, starting today, there is a Lily dress sale until the 25th. With FREE shipping!

So snatch up those seersuckers sundresses while they are still available and you can look sweet and southern too!

Do You Know Boo?

Have you met Boo?

Boo is the quite possibly what he claims to be...the world's cutest dog. Boo is a Pomeranian with an interesting hair cut that makes him look like a smiling teddy bear.

Boo has come out with his own book - the life of Boo. And though I would be slightly ashamed for anyone to find this on our bookshelf, I might be tempted to flip through every. single. page. the next time I find myself at a Barnes and Noble.

I want to hug him and love him and squeeze him and take him home with me. Cute OVERLOAD!

Have a mentioned that the good doctor and I are considering getting a puppy?

No? Well, we are. Except I want this one. Really badly.

DD Heaven

If you are a lover of smooth coffee, yummy glazed doughnuts and drive-thrus...then you should move to Massachusetts!

I knew prior to moving here that Dunkin Donuts was headquartered in MA, but I had no inkling as to how abundant their locations would turn out to be. It has become a bit of a driving game for Hunt and I to spot DD's as we drive...but it turns out that playing a DD version of punch buggy can lead to bruises and claims of spousal abuse.

And while DD can never compete with my love of Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts and the fact that the "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign draws me in like a tractor beam, it's kinda nice to have easy access to delicious iced coffee and an array of baked goods. (Have I shared yet that I think "Baked Goods" is the 6th and unnamed Love Language?)

A quick search revealed that there are no less than 31 Dunkin Donuts in my immediate 5 mile radius. 31!

I don't think that there is that kind of proliferation of Starbucks even in Seattle! But, considering that I've always preferred DD coffee to Starbucks (to the point that I woke up on our wedding day craving a Spiced Pumpkin coffee and dragged my MOH there that morning) I think I ended up with the better option.

Equipping the Tigers

I love behind-the-scenes shows. And theacc.com has a road trip series that goes on the road during the college football season. This most recent installment had Tommy Kane embedded with the Clemson equipment managers for the Clemson vs. Auburn game.

And while the game was a heart breaker (and I maintain the Clemson lost the game rather than Auburn won it) this video series is a lot of fun to see what it takes to support our Tigers!

All I can say is that it's a good thing that Hunt is a ACC fan...and we are on the same page except for any time that Clemson is playing Georgia Tech. But we are always going to root against the SEC together!

Economics or Freakonomics?

Several years ago the book Freakonomics was published and created quite a splash. It debated what the real reason was behind trends such as crime rate reduction, or if there was a difference in the future success of children based upon the name their parents bestowed (or cursed) them with. A documentary is out that brings these theories to the big screen - I'm betting it's worth a watch.

Happy Friday!

Here to end out your week, I share with you a little piece of advertising magic.

I don't know if it's the combination of annoyance and humor, but the latest Geico commercial makes me laugh every time I see it.

Maybe it's the obvious wee-wee-wee's or the fact that the little piggy has a creepy voice...

Geico - Piggy wee wee wee - (2010) :30

The Smell of Barbecue and Bourbon

I love college football. And I've grown to love it even more since graduating from college. And, it turns out, more likely to last through an entire game and watch it till the end. (For some reason, be it sitting on the sorority block in sundresses and pearls in 90+ degree heat or having tailgated at the Pi Kappa Phi house before the game, it was rare for me to watch the game until the last snap.)

I love the tradition of Clemson University football, the fans all dressed in orange, the smells of pulled pork barbecue and Jim Beam, the sound of the Tiger Band playing the "Tiger Rag," when we beat our ACC rivals, and I especially love the most exciting 25-seconds in college football when the players run down the hill into Death Valley.

Well, it seems like I'm not the only one that can appreciate the pageantry of Clemson on a game day - we've been ranked number 8 in the nation for the top 25 tailgates according to Bleacher Report.

I would dispute that we should be ranked higher purely based on the fact that Clemson becomes the largest city in the state on game days. Or that the RV's start showing up for a Saturday game on Tuesday. Or the fact that our shade of orange makes Tennessee's look like something from a baby's diaper....

Quick Quiz

How much do you know about what will occur if ObamaCare remains the law of the land? Take this quick 5 question quiz to find out:

Test Your Knowledge of ObamaCare

Have You Not Heard?

The new iPhone 4 came out yesterday. And Hunt already has his. I love that I'm marrying an early-adopter. And he doesn't adopt all things...we're waiting to get an iPad until the 2nd or 3rd generation (though it would be great for that honeymoon plane ride!).

He waited in line for his reserved phone yesterday. And the 5+ hour wait and resulting shutting down of the mall, meaning others that had waited that long didn't get their phones, and that security/police had to be called in, make for some interesting stories.

What I want to share is this little comic that Hunt sent with the message that he was glad that we were already engaged at the time of the iPhone 4 release.

That makes two of us...

Ultimate Message

I don't think I've ever been exposed to a white female "rapper." And I don't know that I truly have even now - this may be more along the lines of spoken word poetry. Regardless, her rhythm is impressive and the Truth she is sharing is the ultimate message.

Vie Privée

I wish that I had been able to make my blog private after giving visitors a heads up as to why I was making this switch, but sometimes time is of the essence. As a bride-to-be, I am preparing to be Hunt's wife. That will include me moving up to D.C. to join him since he doesn't finish his cardiology fellowship until next summer. One of the major things that needs to be in place for that to happen is for me to find gainful employment up in our nation's capital. Since this economy is not the easiest one in which to find a job, I've started that process.

And as much as I enjoy my friends and family sharing in this adventure, I'd rather be somewhat of a confidential person when it comes to potential employers. I'm confident that once I have landed a stellar position to join my future hubby I'll change it back to a public blog to make it easier to visit. For now, if you are reading these words, it's because I trust you and don't think it will hurt my employment chances for you to know what's happening in my world.

Do You Wear Angora?

The other day I was wearing an angora sweater and informed my companion that I was wearing a rabbit-hair sweater. It was called into question whether angora was indeed from rabbits, or possibly goats.

This led to a googling of angora - and it is indeed made from a very specific type of rabbit hair and produces some of the softest wool around. Though cashmere and the goats have them beat in a contest on softness.

The best part of this google search was finally, FINALLY, having a visual of what an angora rabbit looks like. I don't know how I went 28 years of life on this earth without knowing how to spot an angora rabbit in the wild.

So, here it how to spot one of these creatures - look for the roving dust mop that resembles some kind of vicious ankle-chewing miniature Ewok.

I can't imagine that they can move all that quickly, but I'm thinking that I would hate to be surprised by a gazelle-like speed in this creature.

For some reason, it kind of freaks me out.

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Listening to: Panic! At the Disco - Mad As Rabbits
via FoxyTunes

As Seen On TV

I'm not one to watch QVC or the Home Shopping Network avidly searching for the perfect sandwich maker to end all of my sandwich-making-woes, or that heart shaped lab-created pink ice pendant that my jewelry collection is missing.

But, occasionally I do pass by these infomercial items at the local Target or Walgreens. While I haven't given in to the urge to get a Snuggie for myself and end my (evidently) frostbitten existence, I did pick up the Green Bags that I have heard make your produce last longer. As someone that doesn't go through mass quantities of food at one time (thank goodness) produce often goes bad before I can eat it all. So, I thought it was worth a try.

And the result?

They work. They actually work.

They are fantastic in fact.

I have had a bag of prepped lettuce in my crisper for over 2 weeks now and made a very fresh and mold-free salad last night. I don't know about you, but mold-free is a plus in my mind. So I would recommend getting them for yourself. Follow the instructions carefully since the produce needs to be dry when placed in the bag or it will rot as if there wasn't a magical green barrier lovingly wrapped around its leafy green goodness.

So, this has me wondering. What other "as seen on TV" products out there actually work and make life better?

I think if I could get past the awful commercials and the black and white comparisons, where people act as if they are on heavy doses of muscle-relaxants and trying to operate everyday items, I might actually be more likely to try them out.

Get Out Of Debt Now!

An excellent video on how to order your finances...

Thoughts on how to spend wisely

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Listening to: John Butler Trio - Money
via FoxyTunes

Hot Button Topic

Abortion is a topic that we typically like to stay away from, knowing that it is polarizing and can clear guests from a dinner table faster than finding a roach in the dish of mashed potatoes.

But it is an issue that will be defined for our nation in the coming years as Supreme Court seats open up, bills are created and amendments upheld or overturned. Do you know where the candidates stand?

The following is an interesting article from Robert P. George who is the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He makes the distinction between being pro-choice and pro-abortion. I don't often hear about candidates being pro-abortion. But as George highlights Obama's voting record and public commentary concerning abortion, he is clearly in this camp. While decidedly pro-choice senators Kennedy and Kerry voted in favor of bills that provided federal funding for pregnancy-crisis centers and the right for babies that survive a unsuccessful abortion to have medical care, Obama came out against these measures.

Here is the full article which is found at the Witherspoon Institute: Obama's Abortion Extremism

A few key points:

• Obama supports legislation that would repeal the Hyde Amendment, which protects pro-life citizens from having to pay for abortions that are not necessary to save the life of the mother and are not the result of rape or incest. [Through federal funding of abortions]
  
• He has promised that ''the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act'' (known as FOCA). This proposed legislation would create a federally guaranteed ''fundamental right'' to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, including, as Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia has noted in a statement condemning the proposed Act, ''a right to abort a fully developed child in the final weeks for undefined 'health' reasons.'' In essence, FOCA would abolish virtually every existing state and federal limitation on abortion, including parental consent and notification laws for minors, state and federal funding restrictions on abortion, and conscience protections for pro-life citizens working in the health-care industry-protections against being forced to participate in the practice of abortion or else lose their jobs.
• Obama, unlike even many ''pro-choice'' legislators, opposed the ban on partial-birth abortions when he served in the Illinois legislature and condemned the Supreme Court decision that upheld legislation banning this heinous practice.
  
• He wishes to strip federal funding from pro-life crisis pregnancy centers that provide alternatives to abortion for pregnant women in need.

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Listening to: Chris Tomlin - Enough
via FoxyTunes

Spreading the wealth

If you, the average American worker, think for one second that Barak Obama has your best financial interests at heart, then you need to see this video.

Wealth
by luvnews

Obama explains to a tax-burdened plumber that it is better for everybody when you "spread the wealth" when the plumber asked Obama if his tax plan would raise his taxes as a small business owner.

I wonder why Fox News is the only one currently reporting this insight into Obama's plan to help redistribute your hard-earned money to those that don't even pay taxes in the first place...


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Listening to: Will Hoge - Dirty Little War
via FoxyTunes