I have officially given the worst Christmas present EVER.

I HAVE POISONED MY FATHER!
If you have never heard of pine "mouth", google it.
So every Christmas I give my dad some sort of interesting food item because he loves his food (fancy capers, lemon curd, fruit preserves, etc.) This year, I chose pine nuts. WRONG CHOICE.
So basically, this pine mouth sets in 1-3 days after eating pine nuts. The pine nuts are almost always from my FAVORITE place in the world- China. It makes everything and I mean everything taste metallic or bitter for about 2 weeks.
My dad thought he was dying or seriously ill! After Googling, my mom found tons of articles from people experiencing the effects of pine mouth.
Seriously, why hasn't the FDA done ANYTHING about this?
I bought them from Fresh Market, which is pretty upscale. There is no country of origin listed, so if it is known that the pine nuts from China carry this risk, isn't that some sort of violation? Apparently, the FDA is not doing any real research on this, saying its harmless. How do they know its harmless if there is no significant research being done? And I'd say disgusting taste in the mouth for 2 weeks is awful, some people commenting on other blogs talking about how they've broken down with frustration and experience discomfort that alters everyday life.
Mainly, I guess I feel bad for my poor daddy.
But that brings me to another point.. If Fresh Market is buying cheap pine nuts from China and placing an expensive price tag with no origin listed, what else are they marking up and ripping us off on?!

Evil, but so tasty. What can we do?!




Scary stuff.
Basically, if this happens to you or a loved one, you are not dying. Contact the FDA immediately and make sure you do not throw away the package or any uneaten nuts! Hopefully something will get done about this.
I wish I could boycott China but our lovely consumer based society makes it nearly impossible without me living in a tree in my back yard.

And that's all I have to say about that.
xoxo

Very successful day indeed.

 Well, I can only think in British accents today. I'm not crazy (sort of..) but I do have a good excuse!

It's winter break here in my college town, thus I am all alone in town working while all my friends are home, just like every year.
So one Blockbuster membership and 2 Publix eclairs later, I have successfully watched A Room with a View (new favorite!), Pride and Prejudice (Director commentary on), BBC version of Pride and Prejudice (All 4.5 hours), and now I'm on to Bridget Jones (1 & 2).
So please understand how roughly 13 hours of British talking over the past two days has messed with my head.
I should do this marathon again when I leave for study abroad in England on May 6th!
Imagine this.. My 21st birthday will be in the UK. Where I will have been able to drink for 3 years. Ridiculous irony.

I should update my recent eBay ventures, as it is probably the largest rampage I've gone on in 2009. At least 3 of them are Christmas presents though so I don't feel that bad. Maybe I will do that tomorrow since I am in British mode now and need to get back to my movies that have mostly involved Mr. Darcy!

Which begs the question...

 

OR   

I might have to go with Colin Firth! Which one is more Darcyish?

xoxo

Question for the Universe

So, I have been unlucky enough to have met multiple guys that I could see having a wonderful relationship with through work, student organizations, etc.
The same problem arises: they ALWAYS have a girlfriend. Now, I am not the type to mess with that, so it never ever has gone beyond friends.
The strange thing is, they always fit this same criteria:
1. They are at least 3 years older than I am
2. They dress very very well, khakis and button downs almost constantly
3. They have had their girlfriends for years
4. The girlfriends always have gigantic breasts.

And by gigantic, I don't mean like "oh they're just big next to my 32A." NO, I mean they are massive by any standards! DD for sure.

Luckily, I did find a boyfriend for the holidays and he should be here in 6-8 days.

Can't wait to cuddle! Get him on the Brooks Brothers website, a portion of the sales goes to St. Jude!

xoxo

I'm in a bit of a pickle..

So, a few posts down I wrote about my embarrassing situation with my blue pageant dress. Well, in my 5 minute rampage before I turned the dress inside out, I was frantically searching on eBay for a dress for the pageant, confident I would get a refund for the original one. So I bid more than I would normally pay on a dress, and after realizing the mistake I made about the first one, I watched and waited for 4 days hoping someone would outbid me.
They didn't.

Tony Bowls Paris Gown
MSRP: $378
Won for: $120
Beautiful, except I DON'T HAVE $120! I am actually very, very screwed. I can always turn around and put this dress up for reauction, but I am very afraid that I'll fall in love with it and won't be able to.

On a much happier note, I recently won the elected position of internal philanthropy for my sorority! It's actually a very big job, I have to plan a mini philanthropy, 4 service projects, and our huge philanthropy in the fall (this year we made $25,000!)

So for the mini philanthropy in the spring semester, I started thinking.. What do I love? What do my sisters love? What do ALL sorority girls love?
LILLY!
Thankfully, one of my sisters is the college rep for Lilly stationary and accessories and we're going to hold a Lilly trunk show in our library! They're going to give back 5-10%, depending on how much we make. I am super excited about this, as it is my first philanthropy and I'm going to get a chance to give back through Lilly! All proceeds will be donated to the Starkey Hearing Foundation and will be used to buy hearing aids for children!

On that note, if you are thinking of buying any Lilly stationary or accessories (Monopoly, mugs, etc.), PLEASE contact me and do it through my sister who is the campus rep! You'll be giving back to children who desperately need hearing aids! Just leave a comment, that would be great!
I'm sure I'm going to be posting a lot about this leading up to the event!

Here's a quick and easy way to support our troops that I found while procrastinating last night! Visit www.letssaythanks.com!
It takes 10 seconds. You pick out a template, write a little note, and Xerox will print it and send it over seas to our amazing troops! I don't know about you, but it breaks my heart when American disrespect our troops and how much they do for us.
A quick simple way to tell someone who is fighting for you that you love them and care about them. :)

Keep wishing me luck on my papers and exams!

xoxo

Boys & eBay Updates

Met a cute boy with blue eyes and a pheasant tie at church this morning! Can't quite remember his name, I'm so bad at meeting people!
It was my first time going to the First Presbyterian church up here, I loved it! Very beautiful and traditional, just like home.
I got invited to a fraternity Christmas party for Wednesday! This is great because now it's easy to find a date for my sorority's party on Thursday.
I'm not sure what has gotten into me lately, but I've been missing my ex so much recently, even though he was awful and it has been a year. Someday I'll delight you with that lovely, heart breaking story.

Well, wish me luck on finals! I have flute auditions tomorrow, a huge paper due Tuesday, and then a Medieval History exam Wednesday. Seriously, send your prayers and positive thoughts my way!

I'll leave you with my most recent eBay find that I came across while I was supposed to be personal shopping for a friend! I can't help myself!

xoxo

Lilly Pulitzer Rita Resort Swimsuit
MSRP: $158
Won for: $24 (New with tags!)
It hasn't arrived yet, but I know it's love already! Maybe I'll wear this for my pageant in March? Can't wait for it to get here!

eBay Steals 11/30/09-12/05/09

Here are some steals & deals I got this week!

Theory Criss-Cross Baby Doll Dress
MSRP Not listed (but it's Theory, so I'm guessing +/- $200)
Won for: $39.99
I adore this dress! Perfect for fall/winter. I put it over my Ralph Lauren turtlenecks (one navy, one garnet) and it was pure magic!

Michael Kors Sandals/Heels

MSRP $115

Won for: $8.50

One of my best deals yet! These were kind of out of my comfort zone as they are a little trendy and funky, but once they arrived I knew they were so me. They're pretty high but so comfortable! I paired it with my navy wool J Crew dress and my dark brown Banana Republic high waist belt. Turned out way sexier than my norm!

Ralph Lauren Amaya Heels

MSRP $100

Won for: $28.99

I thought these were going to be more of a nude color when I ordered them (I am DYING for nude heels!) but I actually love the light mustardish color! Ralph Lauren heels are so comfortable, these are great for a night out to visit my favorite frat castles! The first outfit I wore it with was with my Gianni Bini two tone champagne and white dress and my Mountain Hardwear Monkey Woman jacket. They didn't match perfectly, but they were cute enough to make it work!

Tune in for next week's purchases!

xoxo

Stories From This Week

Hello there!
So, this week had some pretty embarrassing moments.
At my college, it's very common for people to have scooters since the campus is pretty spread out. Lucky me, I have one this semester. I've actually been very proud of my scooter skills.. until now.
So about Thursday or so, I scooted on to campus for class and I only saw one spot in the scooter parking. But when I pulled into it, I quickly realized that it was not big enough. Not having time to drive over to another parking area, I decided to try hoisting my scooter up on its brake. Due to the spacial issue, the scooter fell. Taking down the three others next to it.
After yelling a curse word (shit), I try to pull my scooter up by the handle bar. Lucky me, the squishy part of the handle bar came off in my hand and I fell backwards. Knocking over two scooters. So that's six scooters down in all, including mine. Luckily these two guys ran over to help me off of the scooters and to quickly get the others up. I wish I could say nobody saw, but A LOT of people saw.
A few days later, I got out of class early and decided that since I'd been studying so much for finals (HA!) I would reward myself and get a massage. I've also been down lately about being single, it's almost been a year! I hate to say it, but I miss my ex terribly.
Anyways, I arrive at the spa, change into my robe, and sip on some chai tea. When the lady greeted me and brought me back to the room, she said "I hope you don't mind, but we'll be in the couples massage suite! Don't worry, it'll just be you." A couples massage room, alone. Great. That was just what I needed.
Today, I received my much anticipated pageant dress in the mail(an eBay purchase, of course!) However, it didn't look like the picture at all! The fabric was strange, and the top area looked like one of those cheap bra top shirts. I was revolted! So I quickly wrote an email demanding a full refund and suggesting that in the future they show accurate pictures and that I would get eBay involved if they didn't refund me for their cheap dress.
And then, I looked at the dress again and realized they had packed it inside out. It was gorgeous, just like the picture. I wrote an apology letter, but still.. quite embarrassing. They wrote me back, but I have yet to read it because of how embarrassed I am!
Seriously, I am the one woman awkward circus.
Here's a photo of the dress:

Then today, the Gators lost and Tim Tebow cried like a baby. Seriously, could he have waited?
Quite the week!


xoxo