Thank You

Thank you to everyone that wrote me comments. I had tears running down my cheeks on Saturday morning as I read all the encouragement y'all gave me. You truly are blessings! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Please know how much your comments mean to me.

My husband and I rented a car on Saturday and escaped the city! We dropped Daisy off at doggy day care and hit the road! I started feeling better the minute I couldn't see any tall buildings!

My husband and I talked a lot about my job and while I can't quit now, we both think it is a good idea for me to start looking for another job. I am just really concerned that the environment I'm currently in is just going to get worse. I'll leave it at that and I promise to keep you posted if I find the right place for me.

We went to the Tanger outlets in Riverhead, Long Island. Our sole purpose being a stop at the Pottery Barn Furniture outlet which was having a major sale! We got a leather foot stool, some shelves, picture frames, Christmas stockings and a beautiful rug! Everything was 40%-60% off! Nothing like a fabulous sale to get you back in a good mood. They also had an Ugg outlet and I broke down and got some so I could survive the winter up here. I made a quick stop at the Kate Spade outlet. Oh heaven! My husband gave me 30 minutes and a $100.00 budget in there. Not enough $ to get one of the fabulous purses that were calling my name. However, I came out under budget and with a fabulous new pair of sunglasses! We also got a few odds and ends at the Williams Sonoma outlet.

We had intended to hit up the Long Island wine country (which I did not realize was so large,) but after all that shopping we only had time to go to one winery before last call. We stumbled upon this one. We did a few tastings and brought back a bottle of their chardonnay to enjoy on my next rainy day. =) We also sampled the famed Long Island potato chips. Yummy! It was so pretty at the vineyard, we almost felt like we were back in Sonoma as we sipped wine and watched the sunset. I couldn't believe how many vineyards are there. I definitely want to get a group of people and do a party bus trip to all of them! I have some pictures I need to upload off my camera to share with y'all.

Yesterday we went to Pier One and found the perfect dining room chairs to match our antique pub table that my husband's Mom gave us. We were going to send the table back to the South because it really is just too much furniture, but we couldn't figure out how in the world we were going to make that happen so we sucked it up and bought the chairs. A lady had a seizure while we were in there and that was really scary. I think she was going to be okay. I helped flag down the fire truck and yelled at the manager who continued to talk on the phone as she is seizing on the floor. It was a major case of that theory (can't remember the name) where everyone thinks that someone else is going to do something. Anyways, we lucked out on the chairs and loaded them up in a van taxi to bring them back to our apartment. If you have never lived in a city, everyday tasks like these are always interesting!

Yesterday we deep cleaned our apartment and set up all of our new things. I figured since there was not a whole lot of order in my life right now, at least there could be order in my apartment. Everything looks so much better and my husband did a fabulous job mopping all the floors AND scrubbing the bathtub! Aren't I a lucky girl?

Well, that is about it. I'm keeping my chin up and am going to start job hunting again. I'm going to continue to get my apartment looking good so it will be just right when my family comes up here for Thanksgiving and I'm going to call the decorator again who still has not returned my call about my new sofa. Hmm. Happy Monday everyone!

Rainy Friday

Well, it is yucky outside here today and I have a mood to match. I keep trying this week to get myself out of this funk. I have had lots of good things happen...

Positive:
My sofa arrived (after 3.5 months). It is beautiful, I LOVE the color and trim.

Negative:
However, it was supposed to be feather down and it is definitely very soft, but not down. My parent's decorator got if for us in Atlanta. She told us it would take 8-12 weeks to get. I must say I'm NOT a fan of this lady anymore for a variety of reasons. I called my Mom to tell her and we got in an argument over all of it. She actually told me I might be wrong. I finally was like, "mother...you raised me and I KNOW the difference between feather down and polly-fill." I hate arguing with my Mom, I don't think there is anything worse. More on this craziness later.

Positive:
One of my best friends has an engagement party this weekend. I'm so happy for her and the invitation was so precious!

Negative:
I'm really feeling the distance from my friends and it makes me so sad that I can't be with her/them to celebrate.

Positive:
There are some great perks with my job: the salary is so much better than I was making in the South (it needs to be, of course, to live here), I have good vacation time, and I only have to walk two blocks and then I take a shuttle straight to my door (in NYC this is an AMAZING commute). Ahhh.

Negative:
I don't like my job this week. I know it has only been a little over a month, but my boss is crazy. He is so smart and he does wonderful things, but his communication skills are horrible! He has a temper as well. The newness of the job is wearing off and all the uglies came out this week. Today I met some outside people I will be working with on my doc's main meeting. The one lady has worked with him for 10 years and she just had this attitude about her. It was obvious she was not liking that I've been hired to help with this conference. The meeting with her and the others just did not go well and for the first time I just feel like I really might be in the wrong place. However, the thought of having to go through the whole job process again is unnerving. I just know that my doc is not going to get any better.

Positive:
My hubby and I were trying to take a trip this weekend to get out of the city.

Negative:
Everything we found was either booked or too expensive.

Positive:
In our search last night we found this. Hubby actually called while I was laughing in hysterics and tried to book it last night. I've never seen anything so crazy in my life! It was already taken. Can you imagine the stories I would have. I told him this could be our second honeymoon! Ha, Ha! He decided today that we would rent a car and go SOMEWHERE for a drive and maybe go to these fabulous outlets.

Negative:
I told him I needed OUT of the city. I feel like there is too much concrete surrounding me. Some days I just want to move back to my old house with my big yard so Daisy and run around and I can have a big pumpkin on my porch. But, I look at my mini pumpkin in my 1 bedroom apt and remember that this is not forever and the grass is greener mentality is not healthy. I guess I'm kind of home sick for the South. OK, really home sick.

Positive:
I love my husband and I know that this is what he needs for his career. I also know that NYC is a great place with so much to offer me and I just need to enjoy it while I'm here.

Negative:
Easier said then done.

Cross My Heart Contest

If you are a stationery lover like me, I'm sure that you have heard of (or seen) Cross My Heart's cute designs. They are having a great contest right now, where if you go to their new blog, "Inside the Studio" you can register to win $500.00 worth of Cross My Heart products customized just for you by Paper Style.

Tidbits

If you are squinting to read this, go to A. Tierney and you can get free shipping this week with the code BLOG. Also, if you live in NYC, check this out:

A. TIERNEY'S GIRL SHOPPING NIGHT
Join us on Wednesday, October 17 from 4:00 PM-8:00 PM for our Girl's Shopping Night! Sip on a cocktail from PINK Vodka, the evening's official vodka sponsor and browse our Fall/Winter line. Gift bags for the first 50 shoppers!

Isn't this top adorable! Check out Hunter Dixon. A friend of mine is friends with one of the designers. She invited me to go to their spring collection party a few weeks ago, but I had NYJL. =(. How cute are their things! I LOVE them! Here are some of their pieces on Edress me and Otte.

Check out http://restaurant.com/ for great deals on restaurants. They are currently having a sale with discount code:BOSS. You can get $25.00 gift certificates for $5.00! Check it out if you have never tried it.

Monogrammed Koozies at Lovely Stitches are on sale. You can get 2 for $8.00 each. Wouldn't they make great Stocking Stuffers!


Here is an article from the New York Times about Tailgating in NYC! They even gave a shout out to our Saturday home, The Mercury Bar!

Weekend in New York Sports Bars: Where the Tailgate Party Spirit Rules

Holiday Sneak Peak at Turq

I'm loving these earrings from Turq from their holiday collection. You can get 10% off if you are one of the first 250 orders at http://turqjewelry.com/holiday.html before October 25th with promotional code sneakpeak.

We Have a Winner!

Mollie from Georgia you have been selected by Mollie from The Paper Cafe to win a $50.00 gift certificate for your choice of stationery! Please email me at magnoliasmarriageandmanhattan@gmail.com to get all your information. Mollie promises it wasn't just your name that made you the winner. =) She ended up drawing out of a hat because of all the creative and great entries. Enjoy your early visit from Santa and let us know what you get! Thank you everyone that participated in our contest. I hope y'all are having a great weekend. We just finished the house tour in time to catch the Tide barely beat Ole Miss. I have to work tomorrow so I'm not excited about that! Happy Saturday! Cheers!

Win $50.00 in FREE Stationery from The Paper Cafe

Thanks to all of you that have posted your favorite The Paper Cafe item for the $50.00 in free stationery they are giving away to one lucky reader. Don't worry...you still have time...Mollie from The Paper Cafe is giving y'all until midnight tonight (EST) to pick your favorite Paper Cafe items and post a comment on the post below entitled "An Early Visit from Santa." See Below for more details. If you do not normally post comments, don't be afraid...we are talking FREE stationery here!

I will post the screen name of the winner that Mollie picks on Saturday (10/13). I'll need that person to get back to me with their contact information so The Paper Cafe can send you your prize!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Tomorrow, we are going to the JL house tour. If you live in NYC, you really should go. You don't have to be a member to attend, anyone can go!

Good luck on the contest!