The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one.

I like jewelry. No, I luv jewelry. Like mega amounts.

Here is some of it.



It's just the rings, some of the earrings and some of the necklaces. There's more...

  Here's the rest.

Just the rest of the earrings. There are more necklaces. Oh and the bracelets... those are in another drawer.

All together now.


Well mostly all together. I have 2 of those lamps and there are necklaces draped all over both of them.

 So how do we cure this problem? Buy less jewelry.... "Oh heavens no", she says. We find a helper....

Like this one.

She hails from a magical land, Pottery Barn

So here was this morning's thought process:
Me: "Dang, I have alot of jewelry (mostly earrings)"... yes, I think with parenthesis.
Me: "It must have been those totally rad coral earrings I picked up at Target last night that put me over the edge"
Me: "What on earth am I going to do about this situation?"
Lola: "Didn't you see a cute earring tree in the PB catalog that you liked? Surely you can find something there. Oh and tell Dexter to stop humping me.
Me: "Oh yippe! I also have a $25 PB coupon that's been burning a hole in my pocket. Dexter, stop humping Lola. She doesn't appreciate it."

Hopefully that helped to set the scene for the celebration that ensued after I discovered a 10% off coupon in my most recent PB catalog later this afternoon. Happy Happy Smiles. Plus and also, free shipping was being offered on this item. 

So, you can imagine my disappointment when I added the item to my cart and I saw this:



THIS ITEM WILL BE AVAILABLE TO SHIP AFTER JUNE 3!!??

 So I called the PB hot line and talked to Debbie, a very nice lady at PB, who told me that yes indeed it was on back order till June 3, and the item was pretty much sold out in the entire universe. However she did give me the numbers of 4 stores that MIGHT have the item since their inventory was showing there was 1 in stock at each of the stores. Oh yeah and this lil tid bit. IT WAS ONLY $23 VS. THE $39 IT WAS SHOWING ONLINE.
After calling 3 out of the 4 stores, I finally got in touch with Jane at the Sacramento, CA store and.... SHE FOUND ME ONE!!
So after getting the item super on sale, a $6 shipping charge, taxes,  a 10% off coupon and a $25 gift card, I paid $3 for this item. And THAT is what I call beating my addiction.


I would like to add a side note regarding my complaints with West Elm, a Williams Sonoma company. Read about my issue in January here. Fact: Pottery Barn is under the same company umbrella of Williams Sonoma as West Elm. As it turns out, the catalog portion of the company does communicate with the store entity, as I found out today. Thank you Debbie from Pottery Barn! That's certainly strange, as I received an opposite response from the company directly when I complained about their lack of communication between catalog and store. And I quote "Please be advised that our Catalog/Internet Division is a separate entity from our Pottery Barn Retail Stores and do not have access to all their inventory." Really, West Elm?

Triple D Challenge Complete!

A few months ago, I wrote about the Diners Drive-Ins and Dives challenge I was working on completing. There was one last place featured on on Triple D that I hadn't yet been to, and last month, I finally made my way there.
Lankford Grocery is located in Midtown and features a very tasty burger menu. The atmosphere is VERY relaxed, and there is a nice outdoor patio. 



Don't let the outside scare you ladies, even a Diva likes a good burger

 Here are the top 3 things I liked about Lankford Grocery:
1. Yummy Yummy Food. The burger I ordered was topped with avocado. I love avocado scary amounts.
2. It's a cheap lunch. For 2 people, it was about 14 bucks.
3. Nothing says classy like a Schlitz Beer mirror in the restroom with a tinsel garland wrapped around it.

Have any H town folks visited Lankford Grocery or any of the other Triple D locations?

Berry Skinny Girl

If I was a reality TV star, I would be Bethenny Frankel. Love her scary amounts.

Bethenny's claim to fame is her stint on the drama-ful (that's drama + wonderful) series, the Real Housewives of New York. She is also famous for her business, Skinny Girl, best known for a low calorie Margarita mix.


It costs $13 a bottle.



And makes this.

But I can do it for cheaper...



Lauren's version.

1. Slice 1/2 a large lime (or a whole small one) into wedges and squeeze, along with 1/2 a clementine, into a mixing glass/shaker
2. Add 4-5 fresh raspberries and a generous drizzle agave nectar (~ 1 Tbsp) and muddle with a wooden spoon.
3. Add ice
4. Add a 1 1/2 - 2 oz. shot of 100% agave blanco tequila and a splash of triple sec

The ingredients

5. Shake it
6. Strain through a Hawthorne strainer (the raspberry seeds tend to clog the holes in a standard cocktail strainer) into a glass over ice

Other stuff you need.

7. Top off with Sprite
8. Garnish with a fresh raspberry on a cocktail pick, a lime wedge, and an orange wheel
9. Serve with a straw

Luv you, Skinny B*tch*s