Fabulously Eloquent (aka Long Winded) Today

I have a confession to make.  My husband loves me.  This is not a surprise to me, him or anyone who knows us.  What surprises me, is how the man can take a picture of me and say "That looks really good!" with such enthusiasm that I trust him and don't look at the picture.  Until it's time to upload it for my OOTD pic.  Then, I realize the man looks at me with eyes of love. *sigh*  Tomorrow, Patrick will be back to his official duties as my photographer.  Until then, trust me when I say I looked cute today as there is NO WAY I'm uploading the photo hubby took.  Sorry....not happening.

In a way it's a bit sad that you won't see my pic as it wasn't in my living room for a change. Instead, I was sitting outside our local watering hole, aka Starbucks.  What did you expect?? You know my penchant for coffee by now.  :)  It was a beautiful morning as we enjoyed our morning caffiene and then went shopping for some boring things at the Navy Exchange:  medals for his shadow box, vitamins for me at GNC and ink for the printer (so many projects at the end of school!!!)  I admit to glancing into the salon to see if the OPI polishes were on sale.  Alas, they were not.  Plus, they were out of the TX colors.  Booo!  After that it was off to the library. 

Ahhhh....the library.  One of my all time favorite haunts.  The enticing scent of coffee as the automatic doors glide open.  The hush as you walk into the building.  The quiet rustle of pages being turned.  Soft voices all around.  And the dusty, yet incredible, scent of books.  Ahhhh....  if they could bottle the aesthetic of a library and put it into a candle and sound machine, I would be their best customer. There is nothing like a library or bookstore.  In my opinion, that is. 

When we entered this happiest place on earth - sorry Disney - I went in search of something different today. I didn't want the usual Christian fiction or historical fiction books.  I didn't want anything modern.  I didn't want anything heavy - no biographies, history or tomes that would require deep thinking.  I wanted something of interesting substance, not quite fiction, but not too thoughtful either.  I came away with five books - from the self help section.  By now, your curiosity must be on high alert.  What is Susan reading this week?

Believe it or not, Clinton Kelly is quite a good author.  His book "Freakin' Fabulous, How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better Than Everyone Else" was funny, well written and full of tips on all the above.  I feel more fabulous just having read it. Really.  I wrote down few tidbits to share with you.  Here are my 3 favorite quotes:

"What you wear tells the world how you expect to be treated.  And, take it from me, being treated as though you're fabulous is way better than being treated like a schmuck."

" 'Fashion' is what designers create and sell......'Style' is your usage and interpretation of what is available to you."

"SHOES! You will NEVER be fabulous without fabulous footwear."

Clinton Kelly, you are a bard of style and fabulousness.  Thank you for sharing your genius with us so we may aspire to attain such heights of fabulousness as you.

The other four books? 
"Crazy Busy Beautiful" by Carmindy
"The 5 Minute Face" by Carmindy
"What I know Now" by Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York
and "What Would Jackie Do?" by Shelly Branch and Sue Callaway

Yes, I know.  Not exactly what you would expect from me.  But, we all need to expand our horizons and go beyond our normal comfort zone at times. This (style, decorum, etc.) is an area where I once knew who I was, what I wanted to do and always how to act in any given situation.  Somewhere along the way, I lost "me" in being a wife and mommy.  Not a BAD thing by any stretch of the imagination.  But, when I was bored by the girl in the mirror and by my general lack of conversation beyond the kids, dogs and hubby it was definitely time to find Susan again.  Or, better still, to create a new and improved version of Susan.  That is what my current transformation is all about.  Being a better me.  My style is getting there.  The makeup needs help.  And, let's face it, all girls at some point look up to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and want to emulate her.

The same can be said for British Royalty.  Sarah is one of my favorites.  Her grace under fire, most of the time, earned my respect.  The fact we are both blue eyed, red heads with past weight problems (I will expand on that another day for those who don't know) helps me identify with her on some level.  I know I'll never meet her and if it should ever happen in some crazy twist of life, I doubt I could string together two intelligent words.  But, I feel as if I know her.  Weird, huh?
Anyway, those are my reads for the next few days as I continue to work on upping my style factor and just becoming more "fabulous" overall. Be it Clinton Kelly, Carmindy, Jackie O or Sarah Ferguson inspired.  Or inspired by some of my friends and acquaintances who have great style and are simply awesome human beings in their own right.  (If you think I might be talking about YOU, chances are good you are right!)

Love to all.  More quotes to come.  :)

Coffee:  Starbucks brewed coffee this morning.  Gevalia this afternoon.  Good coffee day.  :)

Food:  Used a recipe for "Pizza Macaroni Bake" as an inspiration for a casserole tonight. My creation had sausage, beef, pepperoni, green peppers, onions, mushrooms and garlic tossed with some Italian blend cheese and parmesan cheese.  Cooked whole wheat penne noodles and lightly mixed with the meat mixture.  Poured the mixture into a buttered 9 x 13 dish. Made my own pizza-ish sauce and poured over the pasta and meat mixture.  Gently blended it and popped it into a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  Served with salad and cresents.  Yummy.  ***I should admit, I didn't use a lot of cheese as we have family members who don't like lots of cheese.  Otherwise, I would've topped the entire thing with lots of Italian blend cheeses.***