and the winner is...

sorry, for not posting the WINNER of my vera bradley giveaway yesterday. my computer is officially dead! if you follow me on twittter or have read prior posts you will know how pissed i am about this ordeal!

anyway, we are up in lake geneva, wi again for the weekend. this morning we had brunch at egg harbor. sadly, my barrington benedict was not up to par! i knew we should have gone to scuttlebutt's! that's okay....we are going there tomorrow!

it rained like cats & dogs last night and the sky is still cloudy....tempted to head over to the outlets in kenosha for a few hours?!?!?

if my bleepin computer worked i could post photos of my new arrivals....my pomme/white stephen bonanno sandals and my black tory burch reva's arrived. YIPPEE!! i am on my husband's laptop and his computer doesn't ave the sd/mmc card drive to download photos from my camera. so i will have to save photos for a later post.

oh well, hope you all have a awesome weekend!

finally, the winner of my vera bradley giveaway is little me, queen bee. congratulations on being the winner of this adorable quickstep wallet in the sittin' in a tree pattern from vera bradley.
~PLD

another visit to the lake...

greetings!

sorry i have been m.i.a. for a few days! it's been a crazy couple of days around here!

not to mention my dell inspiron laptop is having some serious issues! it keeps shorting out on my and won't boot up properly...so annoying! after some 15+ times turning it on/off it eventually kicks in. so annoying! i have only had this laptop for 2 years! seriously, all the $$$$ i spent on this --- i tell ya, i may NEVER buy a dell again! you know back in the early 90's i had one of the original macbooks - not "original" but back in the day, ha! ha! back when they retailed around $2,800.00...GULP! the laptop is long gone, but i still have the receipt some where ---why? not sure? ha! ha!

i am debating if i should buy another laptop or take it to someone and get it fixed? i am always concerned about someone getting personal information off my computer. oh, what to do?!!?!?

oh well, enough "computer talk" i wanted to share with you some photos i took last weekend. we made it up to lake geneva, wisconsin after all! we weren't going to go b/c of all the flooding in chicago, but got around it --- no problem!

yes, we were just there two weekends ago [previous blog post] and we are going up again this weekend! such a fun little town to visit....and shop!!
instead of mentioned the stores i previously blogged about, i am going to share a few other places worth noting! first off, brick & mortar home.
such a great layout and they also carry some pretty amazing items as well!
check out these cute peacock alley pj's....love 'em!!how about this cozy nautical "lake"theme.....love it!
especially these sailbags! one of these days i will buy one! so cute!then you can't go to lake geneva without stopping at the cornerstone shops. one store that's been there since i starting going up to lake geneva. below are some photos from inside.

check out these wedding day boxers for the bride! so cute!

i mentioned scuttlebutt's last time, well here we are again! we ate brunch there sunday morning and i had the MOST AMAZING artichoke & spinach eggs benedict....yummy!! seeing that we are going back up again this weekend, guess what i will be ordering again?!?! ha! ha!
oh before i forget, check out this AMAZING sunset....this was saturday night! truly AMAZING!

now it's wednesday and two more days until we venture back to to lake geneva! can't wait! but not before my tory burch reva's arrive! i rec'd an email from nordstrom's that they shipped and i should have them by friday! YES....is it friday yet?!?!?!

oh well, hope your week is going well! don't forget tomorrow is the last day to enter my 2nd vera bradley giveaway....click here and enter, in case you have not done so already! good luck! the winner will be announced on friday!

~ PLD

nothing beats "retail therapy" ~ HA! HA!

ahhhhhhh...nothing beats a little "retail therapy" and a chai from nordstrom's!!!

.....in PLD eyes anyway! ha! ha!

despite the HOT & HUMID weather, PLD headed over to oak brook for some retail therapy! man, it was a hot one.... oh, before i forget...i wanted to share the photo below with you. does anything look out of place to you? LOL....i was like, did i just see a ______ --- looked back, sure enough! WTF!!! HA! HA! just when you thought you've seen everything! HEE! HEE!

so i bought a pair of black tory burch reva's over at nordstrom's. YIPPEE!!!!

i bought pair like the shoe above. i wanted them in silver, but they only had my size in gold in stock! so now i have to wait 4-5 days for my reva's too arrive....can't wait!! best of all they were on SALE!

i also picked up a tank top and cardigan sweater over at talbot's, as well as a beach tote [i have been eyeing all summer!!!] over at restoration hardware. once again.....everything was on SALE! seriously, who doesn't love a good SALE?!?!? PLD certainly does! HA! HA!

then it was time to head over to braxton's seafood grill for some lobster and calamari. however, i ended up having the BEST lobster tamale EVER, along with a lobster. YUMMY!!!!

see this evening my husband i and were suppose to go out for lobster at braxton's and head up to lake geneva, wi for the weekend. well, our plans didn't turn out that way! BOO! my husband was in indianapolis for work and had a big meeting this afternoon. so tomorrow we will go up to lake geneva instead.

as you can tell, i didn't let that get in my way having my lobster! HA! HA! plus, it turns out my company let everyone go early today....BONUS! instead of getting off at 5 o'clock, PLD was out the door at 2 o'clock...YEAH!!!!

so needless to say, i had a pretty eventful afternoon! now i am passing time waiting for my husband to come home!

well, i hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

before i forget, tomorrow [starting 7/24] RUE LA LA will be hosting a KATE SPADE HOME sale! if you still aren't a member of RUE LA LA, click HERE for your personal invite! sales are PRIVATE! membership is FREE!

one last thing, don't forget to enter my 2nd vera bradley giveaway of the summer....

click here for the link to my giveaway.

....good luck!!

is this the coolest bucket or what?!?!?!

what do you think?isn't this Jaye's flip flop bucket awesome! once it arrived, i couldn't wait to open the box and put a few loose pairs of jack rogers/stephen bonanno sandals inside. love it!! my sandals look so much better now thater than sitting all over my foyer! ha! ha!

in case you can't read wording on the photo above i tried to take one below:

basically, it spells FLIP FLOPS! i loved it back when i first saw it over at the jaye's sale at one kings lane, but it's even better in person!

can't wait for the next Jaye's sale over at one king's lane!

so PLD is pretty bummed at the moment!!!! we were suppose to go up to lake geneva, wi, tomorrow night for the weekend. well, mr. PLD just called and turns out he has a huge meeting in indianapolis tomorrow at 4pm! DARN IT ALL, he's already down there for work. so he won't be back in time to go to braxton's for lobster! BOO!!!! plus, now we won't be going up to lake geneva until saturday morning. BOO!!!!

oh well, life goes on right! LOL!

in case you missed my last post, don't forget to enter my 2nd vera bradley giveaway of the summer....

click here for the link to my giveaway.

....good luck!!

~ PLD

another vera bradley giveaway.....

PLD's hosting another vera bradley giveaway!
enter for a chance to win this adorable quickstep wallet in the sittin' in a tree pattern from vera bradley. good luck!

the WINNER will be announced on friday, july 30th! contest entries will be accepted until thursday, july 29th at 11:59pm cst.

if you'd like to win, here's what you need to do:

1. the obvious --- you MUST leave a comment on this post. be sure to include your email address if i can't click on your profile and email.

2. if you are a "FOLLOWER" of this blog you will get 2 entries. if you are not a follower, become on today. below are two ways you can follow me:3. if you POST this giveaway on your blog i will give you a total of 4 entries. [please let me know if you blog about this giveaway, so i can give you credit!]

PLEASE NOTE: residents of the United States only! i apologize if you live outside of the united states, truly i am but i am only making this available to U.S. residents only. sorry! :(

if i have left out any detail about this giveaway i will update this post accordingly. thank you and good luck!

~ PLD

almost forgot...if you are a huge fan of vera bradley, like myself you are going to want to check out two vera bradley sales over at one kings lane.

the vera bradley stationery sale... and vera bradley accessories sale... both sales start today, thursday, july 22nd! head on over to one kings lane and check out the sales.

not a member of one kings lane, no problem! click on the link here, consider yourself personally invited!

have a great day! this weekend we are heading back up to lake geneva, wisconsin. can't wait! hopefully the weather won't be to hot! ha! ha! however, before we head up we are going to braxton's in oak brook for some lobster and calamari! ....is it friday yet? ha! ha!

~ PLD

words to live by...

enjoy!
actually, this my motto when i am shop period. i tend to buy in multiple colors, especially if it is a piece i like! how about you? so true! i'm sure many of you can relate!

i pointed the one above out to my husband, he just smirked and laughed!

in case you can't read the image below. the picture reads:

you win some, you loose some and some are rained out ... but you always dress up for the game!

---- you know it!!

this is one of my favorites!
here's another good one... shoe shopping is sole therapy. ---- love it!!
and if you ever wondered about the true definition of a s.l.u.t.

oh, and how about these martini glasses.....drink up bitches!

hope you all had a fabulous weekend! we had a great time over in galena, illinois. the dinner cruise along the mississippi was amazing, even the prime rib was delicious! glad to be home, but looking forward to going back up to lake geneva, wisconsin next weekend! followed by a trip to grosse pointe, michigan the weekend after. sheesh, summer is flying by too fast! before i know it august will be here.....yikes!

have a great night!

~ PLD

heads up, peeps...

in case you haven't heard, one kings lane has a special promo going on right now! if you sign up by midnight PT on July 28, 2010, you will receive a $10 instant credit. the credit must be redeemed by midnight PT on August 7, 2010.

in case you haven't heard about one kings lane, it's a place where you will find the world's top home decor brands and designers at up to 70% off retail.

membership is FREE! sales are PRIVATE! become a member today, click here for your personal invite.

below are some upcoming sales, of which i highlighted a few you might want to check out.

Monday 7/19

[Sales start 7/19, end 7/22]
Sugar Paper
Tina Frey Designs
French Posters
Worlds Away
The Monacelli Press

Tuesday 7/20
[Sales start 7/20, end 7/23]
Claus Porto

Waterworks
Peacock Alley
Peacock Alley Bath
Archipelago

Wednesday 7/21
[Sales start 7/21, end 7/24]
Thermos

Demeyere
WallCandy Arts
Sitting Bull Kids
Bowhaus

Thursday 7/22
[Sales start 7/22, end 7/25]
Traditions by Pamela Kline

Petit Coterie
Vera Bradley Stationery
Vera Bradley Accessories
Three Designing Women

Friday 7/23

[Sales start 7/23, end 7/26]
Parvez Taj
Elite Leather
Fodor's
Oleg Cassini

Saturday 7/24
[sales start 7/24, end 7/27]

Tastemaker Tag Sale™: Grant K. Gibson
Karyn Millet

happy shopping!

~ PLD

grab your jack rogers and let's go...

greetings all the way from galena, illinois!whew, someone needed to take a break from the heat! once again, it's going to be another hot one here today. YUCK!!!!

we just made reservations to board the SPIRIT for a 3 1/2 hour dinner cruise along the mississippi river. the main entree will be prime rib....can't wait!

oh well, below are a few pictures of our visit so far. galena is definitely a quaint little town full of history! galena actually reminds me more so of a town that i would find out in vermont than in northwest illinois. ha! ha!

if you ever make it over this way, don't forget to bring your 4-wheel drive - you'll need it! ha! ha!
enjoy the views! below is a view of the main street, which stretches for blocks!below is the oldest house in galena, which dates back to 1826!here's another historic home, which is actually for sale. it's a beautiful home!!
a random door knocker...ha! ha!

check out this beautiful bed & breakfast. i can only imagine how lovely it must be inside!

finally, below is the fever river outfitters. named after the fever river, which is now the galena river. apparently, this town floods a lot! there are even flood-gates to keep the water out....crazy huh! ...i'll post photos of it later, in case you are curious...hee! hee!

...that's all for now!

oh before i forget....last night we wanted to visit the chestnut mountain resort. sure, i plugged the location into my garmin nuvi 1490! so excited, since this was a our 1st trip using the garmin! well, sure enough it took us to chestnut mountain ROAD! UGH!!! darn you garmin!!! needless to say we didn't make it over to the chestnut mountain resort. guess it's better than ending up in a lake, right! ha! ha! ha!

then this morning, i was walking down main street and there were 3 ladies in front of me. as they passed me, i heard some small talk and then one of the ladies muttered --- i prefer fakes! okay, my first thought she was making a comment about my louis vuitton. so i thought to myself...whatever beeeotch and went on my merry way! ha! ha!

well, about an 1/2 hour later i stopped inside a hotel to look around. checked out a little movie about the history of galena. guess who walks in....2 of the 3 ladies! so i checked out what they were wearing.....turns out the lady who made the comment about "preferring fakes" --- well, she was wearing a pair of "knock-off" jack rogers ---WHATEVER! ha! ha! ha!

so instead of commenting on my louis vuitton, they were actually commenting about my navy & white jack rogers! hilarious! just as i was going to snap a photo they got up and left! too funny!!!!

oh well, almost time to sample some wine prior to heading over to the m-i-s-s-i-s-s-i-p-p-i for some prime rib!

have a great weekend! i'll post more about my travels when i get back home to chi-town!

later!

PLD

my bags are packed....

well folks, tomorrow morning PLD is FINALLY headed to galena, illinois!

no, i'm not excited or anything! my bags are all packed and i am ready to get out of dodge! LOL!tonight we went out to benihana and had a fabulous dinner! i had the land and sea entree which consisted of filet mignon and scallops.... YUMMY!!

the favorite part of my meal was the onion volcano eruption. hee! hee!

after dinner i ventured over to the salon to get my haircut. she took off some 4 inches, yikes! it will take a little getting used too, hasn't been this short in FOREVER!!! guess that's what i get for mentioning "short for the summer" -hee! hee!

anyway, tonight i mentioned to my hairdresser that i was planning a weekend trip over to galena, illinoi. her reply was that galena is suppose to be the paradise of illinois. OKAY?!?!? never been there, but i have heard it's awesome! plus, the shopping is suppose to be great! can't wait!!

while i was packing, someone else thought they might try and tag along for the weekend. hee! hee! nice try, but sorry little guy you are staying home with your sister! ha! ha!

the vineyard vines tote i ordered from gilt groupe finally arrived. turns out it is reversible, bonus! i thought it would be a great way to transport my jack rogers and pair of stephen bonanno's, but no --- i decided to go with my vera bradley diddy bag instead.

instead, i plan on taking this fun tote to take to the pool. it really looks like an oversized beach hat! ha! ha!

....along with the tory burch flip flops that i bought a couple of months ago and have yet to wear! ha! ha!

oh well, have a great weekend! PLD is going away to celebrate her birthday, which is tomorrow! oh, to be turning 18 again! HEE! HEE! don't i wish!

well, it's time to pack mr. PLD! i don't understand, he can do his own laundry but always has me pack his clothing?ARGH!!!! i just don't get it....MEN! ha! ha!

have a great weekend!!

~ PLD

it's gonna be a HOT one today...

i just saw the weather report for the next 5 days! UGH....the HOT/HUMID weather is back! YUCK! i don't mind "hot" weather but "humidity" that's another story, yuck!!

i was looking forward to enjoying some upper 80 degree weather in galena, but now it looks like the weather will be hovering in the 90's --- YUCK! oh well, i won't let the heat ruin my birthday getaway to galena, illinois. one more day.... can't wait! ha! ha!

anyway, it's hard to believe we are almost half way through the month of july. this summer has gone by way too fast!

speaking of summer, what do you think about these willow gathering baskets from coco company? perfect place to store all those sandals or how about all the kiddo's toys? last time coco co. was over at one kings lane, i was going to buy them but decided against the idea as i thought i had not place for them. well, this time i have found use for them. so hopefully they will still be available when i am able to access the coco co sale over at one kings lane. that's the sucky thing about "working" ---can't get away when i want to surf the internet! ha! ha! ...fingers crossed!! :)one kings lane is a private sales website! membership is FREE! sales are PRIVATE! not a member? no problem, click here for your personal invitation.

oh well, stay cool out there! time to close the windows and turn on the air conditioning! i could be the only person who hates air conditioning! ha! ha!

later!

~ PLD

FREE starbucks!!

so excited, this morning i felt like i won a mini starbucks lottery! i have 2 starbucks locations with in blocks of me. this morning i decided to stop at the starbucks inside my local dominick's.

yesterday, i received a coupon in the mail for a FREE drink. it's part of the GOLD card program - buy 15 drinks, get 1 for FREE!

normally, i don't ever order ANYTHING venti, but today i went for the most expensive beverage. yup, a venti soy strawberries & creme for $5.15!
don't you just love PINK & GREEN colors! ha! ha!

when i was placing my order the guy insisted on scanning my dominick's card. okay? i didn't quite understand why until he told me that if i called the # on the bottom of my receipt i would get a FREE tall beverage....BONUS!

on top of their current promo --- purchase a cold grande beverage after 2pm for only $2.00! i never made it back for my $2.00 drink but will certainly call in and take advantage of that FREE tall beverage. i wonder if it's a 1x deal? i should look into that! ha! ha!

so if you are in and or around chicago, stop at starbucks and take advantage of the FREE tall drink promo --- check the bottom of your receipt for details!

plus, my birthday is this week! so i received my card for my FREE birthday beverage. FREE! FREE! FREE! .....who doesn't love FREE! ha! ha!

not to mention all the other FREE items i have received for signing up for birthday clubs. let's
see, so far i have received the following:

...$25.00 coupon towards an entree over at braxton's seafood [my favorite local seafood joint ---- LOBSTER!!!]
...FREE bowl at noodles & co.
...$10.00 to maggiano's
...$20.00 gift card to vera bradley, which i posted about a week or so ago.
...a coupon for something FREE at red robin gourmet burgers
...FREE drink at caribou coffee
...FREE stir-fry at flat top grill

any other birthday clubs i might be missing???? LOL!

oh well, have a great night! only a couple of days until i leave for galena, illinois! so excited! great way to spend my birthday weekend getaway! not sure where i will be having dinner to celebrate my birthday? anyone know of any great places to eat in galena, illinois? if so, let me know. thanks!

later!

~ PLD