First Ever-Giveaway.

Are you tired of throwing out rugs and mats that accumulate dirt faster than your vacuum cleaner? If so, then a Jellybean™ is the accent rug for you! All Jellybean™ rugs are machine washable! If something is spilled on a Jellybean™ rug, no problem! Don't throw it out; throw it in the washing machine! The beautiful and bright colors are there to last, even through many, many washes. Put your Jellybean™ rug on your porch or patio, and rest assured that it will stand up to heat, cold, and won't fade in the sunlight. They are just as at home outside as they are inside your home! There is a Jellybean™ rug for everyone, so feel free to buy for yourself, your friends, your family, anyone! Kids love Jellybean™ rugs, too! They are even perfect for litter box mats, or under pet food bowls. The possibilities are endless when you have a Jellybean™!

This Pink Zebra Striped Rug is coming to you FREE. Everybody loves a freebie! It is the perfect compliment to your funky digs.
 
How to enter: You must leave a comment about what you like best about Madison at Main rugs that you can find here. Your comments have to be legit. In order to increase your chances of winning, you can also leave a comment about the design that you like the best. Please leave the name of the rug along with your comment. One MORE way to increase your chances of winning, follow Madison at Main on Twitter and Facebook. Leave a comment after you have done so! So many chances to win this hip accent piece for your favorite room or a kids bathroom! The end date is November 9th. Don't miss out!

Patsy Cline.

I was cleaning this morning and I opened my wooden chest to store a few things when I ran across my Patsy Cline CD. I have alot of memories connected to her music. Almost every time my Nanny and I would ride in the car, we would blast Patsy Cline and sing loudly like we really had some talent. I popped the CD in the player and sang out loud while I did my house chores. It took me right back to that Lincoln Towncar and I was singing "Walking After Midnight" way off key. It was moment, so I really didn't care. Fortunately for my better half, he was asleep!

Cool finds of the day...

While searching through my favorite sites today (weddinggawker,dwellinggawker), I found some great images and cool items. First is a wire hanger bent into the shape of the brides name. How cool is that? Second, is from a blog that highlighting some of the coolest stairways. I chose this one because of the mirrors on the walls and the classic, but modern stairway. The next image is of an old building converted into a modern home. Wowsa. Next is the coolest bike rack ever. It can also be used as a shelf! Finally... this ring design rocks.

Fall into me.

Fall is my very favorite season and sometimes it feels as like it passes too quickly. I am certain that a lot of people feel the same way about Christmas. I love the colors, pumpkins, pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING, festivals, snuggling, sitting out in the cool breeze, hiking, and apple cider. Fall seems to make everything better. Moving on past those scorching summer days (well not this year,yet) and enjoying going to bed with the windows wide open, curled under some behemoth blanket, with a warm cup of hot coco! This fall I discovered that I love mums. Each year I discover something new that adds to the list of reasons why I think fall is so awesome.

Spicy PB=Great Find.

My neighbor mentioned that she had picked up some spicy peanut butter at the local farmers market. I have to admit that I was intrigued. I stopped by yesterday to see if it was worthy of all the fuss she made. After I tried it, I realized that she hadn't given it even half the credit that it was due. I love pb anyway, but this pb has a little after burn(and I liked the way it tickled my throat and tongue). Needless to say, I snagged a container and now it is nestled away in my pantry. I hear it calling my name. I must resist.

Art journal from LBG.

Tutorial found here.

Lovely lady.

These are photos from my niece's photo shoot for Lace and Denim. She is wearing a variety of lines, but in the last photo she is wearing Klina. Klina is Shelley's (Vic's sis) line of girl's dresses. She did surprisingly well with a camera in her face. She is a natural! We are so proud!

Fromage Blanc

I bought my friend/coworker Christina fromage blanc from a local farmer's market for her birthday. I knew it was a fantastic cheese, but I did not realize that it had so many uses. The photograph above came from here and it is a fromage blanc pudding with strawberry sauce. Wowsa.

Next test kitchen.

This should be fun!! Chicken and waffles is next on the test kitchen menu. The combination of hot and sweet should be "killer" as Guy would say.

Mountain wedding.

Victor's friends got married this past weekend in Hiawassee, GA. We all stayed in this lovely lodge there and enjoyed the festivities around the lodge. The wedding itself was outdoors by the water. It was very simple, but elegant. The are a very fortunate couple because it had been pouring rain all day leading up to the wedding. Then, as the hour approached, the sky cleared and the sun burst through the clouds. It was like witnessing a miracle. Guess they were meant to be. Without a doubt.

NYC Summer 2010

We visited NYC once again for the summer show. I have developed a sick obsession with finding the coolest food out there so I spent most of this trip searching for the best of the best (my standards of course). I knew before we left that I wanted to go to Centrico, this is Aaron Sanchez's restaurant featuring traditional Latin American food. It was more that amazing and it has become a new favorite for us. The queso fundido photo came from there. For lunch, I had to visit my fav soup and sandwich shop known as Pret A Manger. I got lentil soup and a falafel sandwich. It is pictured above as well. We naturally had to visit our first favorite place, Havana Cuban restaurant where I got a vegan entree of stuffed red peppers with tostones. I took a photo of Schnipper's because it was featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. I am not a big sloppy joe fan and neither is Victor. We did visit the Shake Shack though (also featured on FN) and we discovered that they have the most amazing potato buns. I did not like my mushroom in my vegan burger so I ate the bun alone and was completely satisfied. For real. Last, but not least, the photo above in the train station is my proof that Victor put us on a train to Queens instead of Ground Zero. That is most of our trip in a nutshell.

Our very own Barbie doll.

well technically, she is not mine, but let's just pretend. This is my sister's daughter Kylie. She came to visit us one weekend and I learned that parenting is totally exhausting, but she is a total sweetheart so I hung in there for the duration of her visit. I learned that she is a cookie monster and that she loves my teddy, which is officially HER teddy now.

Wow Photography.

This cloud formation was natural, the photographer was fortunate enough to be there to witness it. You can order your print from here.

No reservations.

I wasn't a real big fan of Anthony Bourdain until recently. I think you have to progress to his level before you can enjoy him. I am now following his blog, which I never knew he had. A lot of cooks mimic his style. I suppose I could fall in line as well. You can visit his blog here. He calls the images below- food porn.

Carter's

Since there is no full time work out there these days, I have chosen to work with a temp agency doing temporary work until I can find full time employment. Today, I am working at Carter's in Midtown. It seems like a perfect match for me considering that Vic's sister has her own dress line and I have worked with children's clothing before. Unfortunately, this particular job will only last for three days. Booo. I was hoping to get my niece a gig as a model.

Devil w/ the red dress on.

I am so proud of this find, that I will mention it one more time, then let it go. I was desperately seeking something to wear to Victor's cocktail party. I had a very small allowance. I thought that I would just dig something out of the closet. I had searched every store and nothing was in my price range until BAM. Walked into Target and see this eyesore red dress for 20 bucks. Out of curiosity, I tried it on and it was love. This is the picture of the dress.

Dang awesome.

My boyfriend sent me the info on this company. They make Tshirts with catchy phrases that all involve the word dang. Such as: dang cowgirl, dang housewife, dang arita, dang happy, dang freedom. This goes on and on. I really like the company and they are have their products here in Atlanta at fab'rik!

http://www.dangchicks.com/

never knew when or how.

trippy photography found here... http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosie_hardy/

Welcome to existence.

what happens next. dare you to move. lift yourself up off the floor. like today never happened before.

photos taken from: http://designismine.blogspot.com/2010/06/ten-images-of-inspiration-balloons.html and http://thepioneerwoman.com/photography/.

Globe trotting.

My friend Stewart likes to get around. He has traveled for quite some time now and I believe that he has seen more than I will see in a lifetime. Here he is at his best friend's wedding. I thought it was an amazing picture. The colors really caught my eye.

Amazing wedding photos.

These photos and more can be found at: http://100layercake.com/blog/archives/6380 .