can't wait!!! [christofle, serena & lily and sferra mentioned]

ahhhhhh,a new week is finally upon us! luckily, it's a short work week for PLD! we are heading up north to our cottage....finally going to MICHIGAN! i feel like i haven't been there in forever, so excited! looking forward to visiting my favorite places --- leland, suttons bay and glen arbor. although this trip we are actually going to head over to petoskey, harbor springs and charlevoix for a day. i am pretty excited, i haven't been to petoskey, harbor springs and charlevoix in a couple of years...can't wait!!!

oh, in case you haven't heard gilt groupe will hosting the "Up to 80% Off: Home Final Sale". mark your calendars the sale starts 8/30 11am cst.

below are a few designers you will find...

Barbara Barry Home Fragrance

Barclay Butera

Bell'Invito

Christofle

Kosta Boda

Lladró

Lunt Silversmiths

Martha Stewart Weddings

Matouk

Serena & Lily

Sferra

Twos Company

and much more!

i could always use another christofle sterling silver frame! ha! ha!

not a member of gilt groupe? no problem, click here for your personal invite! sales are private; membership is free! sign up today!

oh, in case you haven't heard pumpkin spice lattes are back!!! i had one yesterday, it was yummy!!

yesterday, i took my niece and she wanted a caramel hot chocolate with salt -- it tell ya, teenagers! what ever happened to ordering a simple hot chocolate or a frappachino!

seriously, this is the same niece that declined my friend request on facebook --- whatever, i won't even get into that topic! like i am a facebook nazi or something, she kills me sometimes! it's tough being 13 in 2010!! LOL!!

~ PLD

it's pumpkin spice latte time!

good morning!!

stopped at starbucks this morning and was surprised to see that the pumpkin spice latte is back! YEAH! so cheers to all your pumpkin spice latte drinkers!!

starbucks also introduced a drink today [at least at the starbucks we are at in wisconsin this morning] called a turtle mocha....at least i have never heard of it before. my husband ordered it and likes it. might have to try one in the near future!

oh well, have a great sunday! we are heading back to chicago today, hopefully stopping at the outlets in kenosha along the way. hoping to find a deal or two over at restoration hardware.

later!

~ PLD

the photos pretty much speak for themselves....

happy saturday!

hope the weather is fabulous where you are today! it's beautiful here! right now i am enjoying the morning sitting at starbucks, blogging and enjoying a white chocolate mocha! passing time before the stores open, ha! ha!

anyway, i popped over to one kings lane and you wouldn't believe what i saw?!?! check out the photos below, they pretty much speak for themselves!

WARNING: the photos below might make you hungry! ha! ha! don't say i didn't warn you!!

below are a couple of upcoming sales worth checking out!

first off, check out the cranberry island kitchen sale event over at one kings lane. homemade desserts made in a kitchen off the coast of maine with homemade butter, organic eggs and they look absolutely divine!
then be sure and check out the lobster anywhere event for fresh as well as prepared lobster dishes --- crab cakes, bisque and much more! hungry yet?!!?!?
if lobster doesn't fancy your palette, check out the estancia beef event. you won't find any hormones or pesticides in these grass fed beef products. surf & turf anyone? count me in! ;)
not a member of one kings lane and want to check out these fabulous sales and other fabulous sales....no problem! click here for your personal invite! one kings lane is a private sales website. member is FREE! sign up today!

finally, if you mouth isn't watering YET....be sure and check out one kings lane guide to labor day entertaining guide. a guide to preparing the perfect steak, the prefect lobster boil and many other great entertaining ideas! check it out.

would wouldn't want to dig in to this lobster bake....just looking at it makes me hungry. doesn't help that i haven't had breakfast yet...LOL!
have a great day folks!

we are in appleton, wisconsin for a wedding this weekend! what a beautiful day to get married, the bride and groom really lucked out! too bad, i still have to go shopping for an outfit! i purposely didn't pack anything so i could go shopping ....sneaky, huh! ha! ha!

later!

~ PLD

photo credits: one kings lane website

and the WINNER is...

friday is finally here! i don't know about you but this has been one crazy a#$ week! work has been absolutely nuts, but luckily this week is almost over....ha! ha!

big plans for the weekend? we are heading up to appleton, wisconsin for a wedding. have i packed yet? nope, of course not! i don't even know what i am going to wear? ha! ha!

we were suppose to go up to door county, wi for a couple of nights but my husband had to go to indianapolis for work....ARGH!!! hopefully, we can plan a weekend up there soon! maybe when the leaves start changing?

oh well, for those of you who entered my pair tree giveaway....it's time to announce the winner!

...the winner is hillcrest acres!

congratulations! email me your name and address and i will get the sandal tree in the mail to you.

just think your sandals can go from looking like this....

to something more like this....

people have inquired where i bought the my pair tree? i bought it from http://www.mypairtree.com/. they have lots of color combos to choose from!

have a great weekend!!!

~ PLD

another fabulous day in paradise....

today was a fabulous day here in chicago! if only we were blessed with this weather all the time...wishful thinking! ha! ha!

no humidity and in the upper 70's --- heavenly in my book anyway! i decided to enjoy a late lunch over at chipolte -- just me and my bonannos. ha! ha!
too bad the 90 degree weather will be back by this weekend, ARGH!

oh well, hope you well is going well!

tomorrow is friday....yippeee, we are heading up to wisconsin for the weekend. we have a wedding in appleton. should be fun!

next week we are heading up in the middle of the week to michigan --- FINALLY!!!!

can't wait, it's been too long since my last visit to michigan! although, this time we are going up to the cottage. i hope to make it home to grosse pointe some time in september. hard to believe i haven't been there since the junior league of detroit's designer show house....too long! i wonder how my house is doing? hee! hee!

oh well, tomorrow is pay day....yippee!! someone wants to go shopping! ha! ha!

have a great night!

~ PLD

last chance...come on over!

good morning!

ahhhh, simply stated...

...love it! ha! ha!

last night i stopped over at t.j. maxx to wonder around. i wasn't in search of anything particular, which usually when i see lots of goodies!

i couldn't help but take a photo of this cat...

sort of reminds me of the story of the lady in europe that thought it would be "funny" to throw a cat in the trashcan.....seriously! you can do a search for the video on utube...it's just down right WRONG!!!! the poor cat was stuck in the trashcan for about 15 hours, until the own saw from a security camera outside what the lady did.....poor kitty! i swear, what is wrong with people today.....seriously, makes me ill just thinking about the whole situation!!!!

anyway, for all you lobster lovers...check out this lobster bedding from tommy hilfiger, pretty cool for a beach house or cottage!check out these accessories for the bathroom....so cute, especially if you love bees!

the set comes in two colors mint green and white....very cute!hard to believe next week we will be in september and that means one month closer to halloween! can't wait, i love decorating for halloween. i am happy to report i did NOT see any christmas decorations out.....YET?!?!!?!? ha! ha! on my way to the checkout i saw a nice display of "thomas" --- pretty good prices too! my youngest nephew is only 3 mos. old, so i have a couple of years before he will be into thomas. as for my other nephews they are "too old" for thomas!
just like target and costco, i couldn't leave without buying something! i ended up buying a cute ralph lauren floral tablecloth, ocean scent satuals, earplugs for my ipod --- i lost mine :( and then a share car charger for my husbands iphone. of course, "orange thing" was there to inspect everything! i don't know about your pets, but when i bring something in from the outside they know -- it's hilarious! i love my felines!!!!

[UPDATE: the iPhone charger didn't work! should have known it was too good to be true --- priced at $9.99! ...hubby, wasn't a happy camper when he tried using it on his business trip to indianapolis today....ops! guess i should just bite the bullet and buy another charger from apple..... should have known... pay for quality - quality lasts! i should listen to myself more often when i see deals too good to be true..ha! ha!]

finally, today is the last day to enter my sandal tree giveaway! click here for details and good luck!

just think the tree hanger would be great for all your jack rogers and stephen bonannos! ha! ha! ha!

just think your sandals can go from looking like this....

to something more like this....

have a great day!!!

she's here....

so excited, my new laptop arrived today! YIPPEEE!! the screen is huge, it's about 15.6 inches wide about .6 inches wider than my other computer....love it!!!

i decided to order another dell inspiron! i just hope this laptop lasts as a lot longer than my other dell inspiron that lasted about 2 years to the day! ARGH!!!!!!

anyway, my computer arrived, no one was home and the fedex guy decided to leave the computer right on my doorstep so someone could steal it! thanks very little mr. fedex guy! seriously?!?!?!

that's the beginning....tonight i had to contact linksys about my wireless router, since i couldn't remember the passcode.....or so i thought! well, the C/S rep who certainly sounded like he was in india....after providing the model #, serial #, my phone #, name, email, etc.....well, it was going to cost me $29.99 for help with the passcode! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!

apparently, my 3 year old cisco wireless router is VERY OUTDATED and the warranty has ended.....blah! blah! blah! well, i showed them....PLD is online, thank you very little linksys/cisco customer service. still can't get over they wanted to charge me $29.99 for a service call, really?!?!?

then it was time to download the norton anti-virus [FREE thanks to comcast] and i was good to go! ....so glad that ordeal is done an over with! ha! ha! ha! ...best of all NO MORE microsoft vista....YEAH!

...now if only i could locate the CD for the HP wireless printer, argh!!!

sorry to bore you all with the details of my evening, hope your evening was much better!

in case you haven't entered, don't forget to enter for a chance to win the sandal tree in my latest blog giveaway. click here for details and good luck!

have a great night folks! just think the tree hanger would be great for all your jack rogers and stephen bonannos! ha! ha! ha!

just think your sandals can go from looking like this....

to something more like this.... one day i should make a make a color wheel using all my sandals....i would be so colorful, ha! ha!

oh before i forget, it's time to say good-bye to the old dell inspiron [blue] and hello to the new inspiron [blue].....ha! ha! ha!

....later!

~ PLD

PLD's sandal tree giveaway....

greetings! it's giveaway time...again!

this time i am giving away a my pair tree sandal hanger. perfect for any pair of sandals, including jack rogers and stephen bonanno's!

basically, the pattern isn't what i thought i was! i thought it was navy, but turns out it's actually dark brown. anyway, i used it to hang a few pairs of sandals [photo shown above] to show for a previous blog post but that's it. anyway, the sandal tree has been hanging on my closet door with a single pair of havaiana's! my loss is your gain...hee! hee!

i thought it would do better in another home. afterall, a couple of weeks later i received this jaye's bucket, which i use instead.

so if you are interested for a chance to win the my pair tree sandal tree above, below are the rules! good luck!

the WINNER will be announced on friday, august 27th! contest entries will be accepted until thursday, august 26th 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!

GOOD LUCK!!!

~ PLD

NOTE: so there is NO confusion, the giveaway is for the tree hanger in the 1st photo. NOT the jaye's flip flop bucket....thanks!!

M.I.A.

greetings!!

sorry, i have been M.I.A. for the past couple of days. work has been crazy [lots of over-time, fun! fun! fun!] and my dell inspirion's motherboard is fried!

so needless to say, PLD ordered a new laptop today! ARGH...can't believe my computer lasted 2 years ---almost to the day i rec'd it!!

anyway, i loved my dell inspirion and ordered another dell inspirion. different model, but still for the amount of $$$ spent on these suckers you'd think they would last longer!

oh well, i should be back to posting soon!!!

have a great week!

~ PLD

help! help! help!

hey there, thanks for stopping by! i really need your help! i am in love with this collar and lead. only problem i don't own a dog, some day we are going to get one! how cute is this...buy it now, that way i will have it for later ---right?!?!
don't you just love the flip flop patter --- soooo cute!! i even have matching sandals...i can see it now...ha! ha!

this fiji collar & lead called blue lagoon is from wonderdog new york and is currently on sale over at one kings lane. along with some other great sale events!!

HERE'S MY QUESTION....if I order the MEDIUM what type of dog is that for? a lab, golden retriever, weimaraner ?

M. Collar: 15'-20" x 1" Lead: 48" Length x 1"

..........ANYONE? i have this sitting in my shopping cart and want to know what type of dog would wear a MEDIUM lead and collar? please help, thanks!

if you want to check out the wonderdog NY sale event over at one kings lane, feel free to click here for a personal invitation. sales are PRIVATE! membership is FREE!

have a great weekend! PLD has lots of fun activities planned for the weekend! not going anyway, lots to see and do here in chicago this weekend!

later!

~ PLD

UPDATE: i ordered the lead and collar! it was too cute to pass up! i showed my husband and he wanted to know if we could put it on our cats....LOL!!

i also ordered the following beaded sterling silver 4x6 frame --- one can NEVER have enough sterling silver frames! i found it over at the siena sale, also going on over at one kings lane.

so once again, i wait for the delivery guy! HEE! HEE!

have a great night!

~ PLD

OMG...i think i have died and gone 2 heaven!!

while at costco tonight, i picked up the latest food network magazine! holy smokes...if you haven't gone out and bought a copy, you need too!

check out this amazing clam bake! check out all the lobsters! OMG...just looking at this photo makes my mouth water, YUMMMMM!!!!!!makes me wish i was somewhere along the east coast having my own clam bake! ha! ha!

check out the photo of the clam bake in process....the magazine actually shows you step by step what to do....pretty frickin cool! ARE YOU HUNGRY YET? ha! ha!

if that's not enough check out the soft-shell crabs below....my ABSOLUTE favorite, aside from lobster!!! too bad i haven't been able to master making the perfect soft-shell crab! the recipe they have in the magazine is called soft-shell crabs with tomato compote....i definitely need to try this recipe! YUMMO!

although, when i was a hugo's frog bar & fish house for my wedding anniversary...they had the most amazing special....soft-shell crab w/some butter caper sauce. seriously, to do die for - it was that good!!!!

if you are ever in chicago and want to check out an amazing seafood place, be sure and check out hugo's frog bar! if you are familiar with gibson's bar & steakhouse, another popular chicago restaurant, you'll love hugo's frog bar since they are owned by the same owners!

okay, back to the latest copy of the food network magazine.... who knew where were so many variations of an all time american favorite --- s'mores!!

let's see the magazine has the following options shown: elvis s'more, cinnamon toast s'more, mint chocolate chip s'more and caramel apple s'more.

i think of the four show above, i am definitely interested in checking out the caramel apple s'more. ...yummy!!

i don't know about you but i like my marshmallows a little on the burnt side....YUMMY!!

oh well, i have posted about this before but did you know you get discounts on magazines at costco?!?!!yup, food network magazine normally retails for $3.99, but at costco i got mine for only $2.79! pretty cool, huh! just thought i'd let you know in case you didn't already know!

oh, before i forget... if you are a fan of emile henry you won't want to miss the emile henry sale event over at one kings lane. the sale starts friday! if you are not a member of one kings lane [it's free!] - click here for your personal invite. i can't wait to see what items they have on sale! i love emile henry and have lots of bakeware items!

ciao!

~ PLD

oh yea.....

so excited, guess what came in the mail yesterday?
you guessed it!

the latest editions of town & country and house beautiful! too bad they are sitting at home and i won't be able to read them until later this evening. can't wait to read and see what is next for tory burch. maybe she is coming out with a home furniture line...i don't know?!!? the suspense is killing me, not really but you know...inquiring minds want to know!

oh well, turns out demi moore and miley cyrus are filming a movie in grosse pointe, michigan. yup, my hometown! currently, they are filming 3 blocks from my house over at grosse pointe south high school. i went there prior to going away to boarding school ...pretty cool, except for we have our house leased and are back in chicago! oh well, guess she's been sighted all over grosse pointe.

oh well, hope your day is going well! can't believe it's already wednesday! this weekend is the air & water show in chicago, should be a fun time! we go every year...that is if we are in town, this year we will be in town! ...yippee!

well, i have to run for now!

take care,

PLD

check out this shopping adventure....

greetings!

i hope you all had a fabulous weekend! can't believe my vacation up at the lake house is over...boo! tomorrow it's back to work, oh joy! don't be jealous, ha! ha!

oh well, previously i mentioned that was going over to edina, minnesota to shop. after all, i just couldn't sit at the lake the whole trip and not do any shopping....sorry, it's just not in my DNA, ha! ha!

thanks again, hopsy over at monograms & manicure's for the great recommendations! can't wait to go back next year!!

first off, i stopped over at the galleria. such a great mall, sort of reminds me of a cross between somerset [south] in troy, michigan and keystone crossing in indianapolis, indiana. the only store missing was a williams-sonoma home store, ha! ha!

below is ampersand, let's just call it a dangerous place to shop!
especially, if you are a mckenzie-childs fan....hello!!!or maybe you are a fan of simon pearce....speaking of simon pearce my family is taking part in our annual family tradition of vacation in stowe, vermont. so jealous, i am not there this year! queche, vermont is where simon pearce is made and my parents normally pick something up for my sister and me. i wonder what they will get us this year????? hmmmm.....

how about herend fishnet figurines..... love 'em! i tweeted to find out everyone displays their collection? i am still trying to figure out how to display my collection, so my husband and cats don't know them over! ha! ha!maybe you want to own the BEST brush in the world! too bad, PLD's mason pearson brush has been MIA for about a year! i was so tempted to buy another, but decided to hold off! i know one day i will find it, once all my boxes are unpacked!

check out these cute soap dishes, cute and i believe the retailed for $48?below could be the cutest store ever! one could also do some SERIOUS damage at epitome papers too! i bought a take out menu box, which i posted at the bottom of this post. check out all of the adorable frames....how about these cute photo albums...

so many great items to choose from....

below is melly, also lilly pulitzer central in minneapolis. hopsy, i stopped in to say hello to caryn but she was on the phone. so instead, i said hello to her daughter who was sitting up at the cash register....in a little lilly dress, of course!

the galleria also had such stores as williams-sonoma, restoration hardware, louis vuitton, tumi, j. jill and much more! such a great mall, if you are ever in minneapolis be sure and stop on over! remember NO SALES TAX on clothing and shoes!

after leaving the galleria, i headed for downtown edina to an area known as 50th and france. i was craving sushi so for lunch i ended up having sushi over at raku....YUMMY!! the food was great! check out the lunchbox special i got for only $10....such a steal, so much food i could only eat about 1/2 my meal, ha! ha! i also wanted to check out the cupcakes over at sweet retreat. i wasn't going to buy one, but when i saw monkey business --- i was sold, YUMMY! i could only eat 1/2, saved the rest for my husband...he has a sweet tooth too! ha! ha!

so below are photos of the 8 pairs of pants & capri's i bought over at talbot's! i scored over $650 worth of pants for under $125...plus, NO SALES TAX, BONUS!!!! plus, i bought 4 tops at talbot's along with a tank top over at banana republic. gotta love NOT having to pay sales tax, especially coming from chicago where it's just under 10% now!

also, below is the take out menu box i bought over at epitome paper, which i blogged about above.

finally, here's a photo of downtown minneapolis! great place to visit in the summer, but sorry the winters there are brutal! then again, i live in chicago and people say the same thing about chicago. ha! ha!

have a great night!

i was just watching the real housewives of d.c. --- i love it! especially with all the political drama! hee! hee! i have heard a lot of people comment about the show not being as good at real housewives of orange county, new york and new jersey....but i love it!

oh, before i forget...below are a couple of photos from the lake. this is where i spent the rest of my vacation...

~ PLD