Memphis MandySue

Happy Wednesday y'all! Are you wearing pink? I am. 

Can you believe Mean Girls came out today 10 years ago? That makes us old y'all. I know the first time watching this movie was with my sorority sisters at a beach retreat but I can't even tell you how many times I've watched it since then, let's just say a lot. Some of the stars of that movie have done really well, others have kinda disappeared, and some well, not so much. But I'm not really one for discussing celebrities so in honor of the 10 year anniversary I have 10 lessons that I learned from Mean Girls, so listen up biotches . . . . 1. You can only wear your hair in a ponytail once a week Ok, so the "mean girls" might be a little image obsessed but in general I like the idea of not dressing casual too often. At most offices jeans are  only allowed once a week which is also a mean girls fashion rule. There's nothing wrong with being a little casual once in a while but if you're looking…

During our trip last weekend this happened: 

But wait! I can explain. I originally had a black dress to wear out Friday night to a rooftop lounge, but then I fell going into the hotel and banged up my knee pretty badly, thus I needed to wear jeans. The only thing I had to go with jeans was the western shirt I had bought a few hours prior to the fall. We're not actually wearing the same shirt, Shaun's is black and mine is blue, and the prints are different. But when we looked in a mirror after leaving we realized the match. Oh well, further proof of my eternal uncoolness. 
So you might be wondering why we both purchased similar shirts in the middle of Missouri and the answer is simple, they were ON SALE! 
On exit up from Lambert's (yum) is a western wear store call Linda's. Sadly for Linda she's going out of business so I convinced the bf to stop by; it was a good call. Ladies shirts were 70% off making the button downs $12 to $18. Men's were 50% off making Sha…

Recently on a trip to St. Louis the bf and I had the chance to tour the Anheuser-Busch facility. I'm not much of a beer drinker myself but I do find the process interesting. Say what you will about craft beer as well but these people are really good at mass producing a consistent product. The tour starts off in the swanky visitor center, tickets must be obtained for the every 15 minute tours although they are free. The visitor center has nice displays on the company history and a gift shop - it's the Disney of beer y'all. It actually reminds me a lot of chocolate world in Hershey, PA. 
While waiting for the tour to start we snapped some fun photos as there were plenty of points of interest to photograph. 



Our tour began promptly at our scheduled time with a brief overview of the company's beginnings. After showing our tickets the first stop was to see the famous Clydesdales who live in what was once the Busch family's private stables. 

The inside of the stables ar…

Oh look, another post on afternoon tea. Yay! This makes the 7th tea room visit for me and Shaun and it was by far the girliest - what a trooper. 
Our latest tea adventure was at The Sister Tea House in Fenton, Mo. The tea house takes up the building of a small old hotel. It's a very pretty building. 

We headed inside and were promptly seated. Because we had reserved our tea time the table was already set up. The dining room is VERY pink. 


This picture does not do the pink-ness of the room justice. Please note the dumbwaiter, totally awesome.
Unlike other tea places we were given hot water and used tea bags at the table. There was a nice selection to choose from and allowed us to try a lot. The sisters probably thought we went through a crazy amount of tea but we did use each tea bag for two cups, we just like to actually drink tea! I like how our pot was kept on a warmer. Every single cup was the perfect temperature. 


To start, we were brought soup and quiche, both were very yumm…

Sometimes it doesn't feel real. Today is one of those days where the memories of my mother's death seem like a bad dream more than something that actually happened. It's almost been two years and I still catch myself thinking I should giver her a call or see if she wants to have lunch on Saturday, but before I get the chance to start a text or call I remember, it's not a dream and I am flooded with the emotions of accepting this news all over again just like it's the first time. It's an odd feeling this feeling like reality has been suspended and I'm living in an alternative universe, sometimes the feeling is so strong I don't even feel like I'm in my own body, like I'm watching myself go through the motions rather than actually doing them - this particular feeling never lasts more than a few seconds and I spend way more time being spooked and trying to ground myself back into the present moment. I thought as time went on it would get easier, b…

During my recent Lunch at Lilly trip I was able to get several tops in cute prints but the best purchase of the day was a little more basic: the Melissa sweater 

I have worn mine at least once a week since purchasing. Yes, it's lilly but really I love it because its a great wardrobe staple. And yes, it does "go" with a lot of lilly stuff I already own. 

Although its called a sweater I would say its more of a knit jacket - which is what makes it such a great wardrobe piece, it looks polished but is super comfortable. 
The upscale designer St. John has a line devoted to knit suits. Couldn't you just see Elle Woods in this? 

But besides my aunt J, I don't know many people who can afford this brand. Luckily you don't have to break the bank for this look. 
I also have a knit blazer that has a little bit more structure to it. 

I got it at Sams club for less than $30. I really need to go back and get it in other colors. I wore this when I traveled for work last fall, it w…

Today I am doing a guest post swap with Amber. Yay! You can see my post on here blog here. But first, enjoy her post below.

Hi everyone! I’m Amber, from History &Pearls, and I’m so excited to do a guest post today!
I’m a PhD student in European History, which means besides grading a lot of papers and writing a lot, I get to/have to travel quite a bit for my research.
Sometimes it’s nice:


Yay Paris!

Yay tea! And scones! And clotted cream! And the British Museum!
Sometimes it’s boring:
So many books written in indecipherable Latin, so little time… But one of the hardest parts of traveling so often and far is finding practical, comfortable, durable luggage and travel bags that still fit my style. This is especially true when I have to hit multiple cities or countries on one trip. Last year I went to London and Lisbon, and this year I’m going to Boston, New Haven, New York, and DC, with lots of train, bus, plane, and metro commuting in between.
Looks like it’s time for a new bag, y’all!
H…

On my local radio show this morning there was an interesting discussion on the topic of being a bridesmaid. I was mildly interested until I started hearing the responses. I love my own friends very dearly but wow, what a reminder again of how catty women can be. Needless to say this really set me off. And thank goodness I have a blog so I have a vehicle to rant when something gets me going. To understand my rant you'll need to read the original letter. For some odd reason I could not copy the post so here's a super professional screen shot share, whatever it gets the job done.

First off, CJ needs to grow a pair. There's nothing in this letter that is menacing or "psychotic" and questioning the mental stability of Lisa really angers me - it plays into the stereotype than women are unbalanced, over emotional nut cases. If a guy spent hundreds of dollars on his friends getting married and complained about it all the other dudes would nod in agreement and go back t…

It's baseball season and the weather is beautiful, so over the weekend the bf and I enjoyed a game at Autozone Park. 
To make this date affordable we purchased tickets on the bluff, aka a grassy hill beyond 3rd base. You're allowed to bring blankets and cushions but not folding chairs. Here's The view from the bluff: 

I should mention that the bluff isn't really a "romantic" place to sit as there are tons of kids running around. But the parents are good about watching their kids and everyone gets along well. If its not your thing the cheapest seats are $11 pre sale and $13 at the door. 
After a few innings we decided to get some food. It's definitely a Memphis thing but I just feel a kind of obligation to get BBQ nachos at a sporting event, so that's what we got. However there's plenty of food options - burgers, hotdogs, pizza, deli sandwiches, catfish, and all the typical snack foods. We also split a soda, which unlike the forum is not refillabl…

Quick, which one of these bracelets costs more? 

Here's a second look to help you out . . .
I posted the top pic on facebook the other day to see if people could tell. A few people knew the more expensive one but the less expensive one got a lot of gueses. The pink bangle is by Kenneth Jay Lane and retails for $180, I considered myself lucky when I found it on eBay for $135. Yeah, yeah - that's insane, I know. The blue bangle on the other hand is the latest from a Facebook flash sale. It's a little smaller, lighter and slightly less embellished than its expensive friend but it definitely achieves the look. I should mention the pink is the most coveted color and I've yet to find a designer inspired pink bangle but there's a lot to say about switching colors and saving $120.  In general I've noticed if you "have to have" something as soon as it's released or its a unique item you want really badly you're going to pay top price. But, if you'…