Category Archives: family

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Ikea I love Ikea. I know, I know — you’re probably rolling your eyes and muttering to yourself, “Hey, Cathy — the ’80s called and want their furniture back.” It’s true that the Swedish home-furnishings company used to have the reputation of bland cookie-cutter cheap stuff, back when when the words “she furnished her apartment with Ikea” described someone without imagination or individuality. Fast forward a couple decades and you find sleek and smart furniture that’s affordable and fun. What’s not to like? My older daughter and son-in-law went to the Ikea store in Atlanta to shop for their new house and came back with, among other treasures, a bed with sliding bookshelves in the headboard, sturdy and colorful storage units for 16-month-old Capt. Adorable and some funky organic curtains and pillows that coordinate with everything. Plus, they brought me presents for babysitting the Captain: The Tecken teapot for perfect brewing, two cup-holder-sized coffee mugs, a cat-proof bag for cat food, wonderful black-and-white notecards I’m going to frame and put up in the kitchen and of course chocolate and coffee. Oh, and a lint roller — with four cats plus the occasional visiting feline, we go through a couple lint rollers a week around here. Anyway, the kids’ Ikea spree spurred me on to want one for myself. I love the modern design and the family-friendly details. However, my husband rolled his eyes and muttered quite loudly, “I think we’re past our Ikea phase, dear.” He apparently was heavily into Ikea 25 years ago when he was a cool bachelor dude, and he still associates Ikea with staying up all night drinking beer and debating Reaganomics. Ah, the good ol’ days! Check out Ikea at http://www.ikea.com/us/en/

Celebrations

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Today I’m celebrating two milestones: It’s my birthday and it’s also the one-year anniversary of this blog. Both are in pretty good shape — I think, anyway. My day started off great and kept getting better. Younger Daughter, finishing up college in two-hours-away Birmingham, called this morning. In the middle of our conversation, the front doorbell rang. “Strange,” I thought. “An early-rising friend? Somebody from Sunday school?” Nope — it was Younger Daughter, faking me out. She had gone to my favorite Birmingham bakery to be first in line for my favorite almond croissants and drove the more-than 100 miles to bring me birthday breakfast. What a sweetie! I also got a phone call from 16-month-old grandson Capt. Adorable. His mommy, Older Daughter, said she coached him to say “Happy birthday, Grandma,” and I do believe I heard him say that. Or maybe he was making the “baaa” sound — his latest animal. Either way — adorable! I also had birthday lunch with Dear Husband and then a phone-call birthday serenade from my parents. Pretty good way to mark turning 52, I think.

And Coffee with Cathy is turning 1, thanks to you all. I love blogging and I love being part of the blogging community and I am eternally grateful to Dear Husband for encouraging me to do this. Where else but the blogosphere can you connect, communicate, express, vent, rant, laugh and learn in the company of talented and compassionate women all around the world? By blogging, you can be a part of something huge and powerful. Or, you can just climb up on your own individual soapbox and say (mostly) whatever you want to your own personal audience. You can talk about politics or decorating or cooking or music or divorce or your children or the Weird Annoying Neighbor next door. Me, I consider my blog my own lifestyle section of my own newspaper — don’t all reporters secretly think they could run the thing better than any publisher? At least this way I don’t have to worry about ad lines and subscription prices and ink costs — all I have to do is indulge in my favorite subjects of food, style, family, friends, books, music … I figure if it’s interesting to me it will be interesting to somebody else. And that’s the joy of blogging — there’s always something to pique your interest. I’m constantly encouraging folks to read and write blogs. It’s amazing the variety and diversity you can explore, the riches and treasures you can unearth with just a click. It’s free, it’s fun, it’s entertaining — what’s not to like?

Thanks to all for helping me celebrate today — and always every day for stopping by and saying “hello.”  Every comment, every visit, every ping and trackback and all that other stuff means so much. Here’s to many, many more!

Reading

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Capt. Adorable

The only thing my 16-month-old grandson, Capt. Adorable, sits still for is "reading."

Food

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Pensacola, FloridaFresh crabcakesI love crabcakes. When we go out and there are crabcakes on the menu, I’m getting them, no question. My idea of bliss? The Crab Cake Cook-off in Pensacola, Fla., where restaurants offer their best crabcakes for sampling. Imagine tasting 20 or so creatively yummy crabcakes one one evening. Paradise! (Also: Thank goodness for Protonix. ) Some of our favorites included a less-is-more version that crab cakeswas all fresh lump crab, a thin and crunchy cake with a wonderfully smoky Pensacola seafoodCajun type of sauce (I couldn’t convince the chef to share his secret recipe) from Appetite for Life catering and a tasty effort with roasted corn and mango salsa from 600 South restaurant. My husband and I also were impressed with the Crab Trap, which went over-the-top with a bonus fried softshell crab. The cookoff raises money for the non-profit ARC Gateway, which serves developmentally disabled children and adults, so it’s win-win-win for everybody. Read more at http://www.pnj.com/article/20090708/LIFE/907080311/1053/NEWS12/The-claws-come-out–

Travel

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Pensacola Beach, FloridaThis is where I spent most of this past week — my dear Fresh seafoodhusband sprung for a quick beach trip before football season starts (you know here in Alabama, it officially begins with media days in mid-July). So we headed to our favorite Pensacola Beach spot on Santa Rosa Island and I dug in for as much sun and sand as I could get. Thank you, dear Native Cafe, Pensacola Beach, Floridahusband! Of course, the other part of vacation is food and Pensacola food ranks among the best for us. In fact, we sort of plan our days around which restaurant opens at which time and if we stop by to have a drink and appetizer at The Fish House can we still go to Jackson’s for dinner afterwards? Decisions, decisions! We especially enjoyed fish tacos and smoked-tuna salad at Native Cafe and grilled and fried grouper along with raw and broiled (with wonderful cheese, peppers and onions) oysters at Peg Leg Pete’s, http://www.peglegpetes.com/, both in Pensacola Beach, and beer and fried mashed potatoes at Maguire’s Irish Pub, http://www.mcguiresirishpub.com/ in Pensacola. And no visit is complete with dinner at the Global Grill, http://www.dineglobalgrill.com/, a tapas bar in Pensacola where we could not say “no” to homemade potato chips with blue cheese, tuna sashimi, a deep-fried poblano pepper stuffed with cheese, seared amberjack and some lovely little beef things with Gouda and homemade Worcestershire sauce. Among other things. I’m ready to go back.

Yard Sales

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Yard sales

We had our first yard sale this past weekend. The verdict? Success! And here’s the key: Have lots of help and have lots of fun. That’s my advice — even though I’ve only had one yard sale. I dithered back and forth about doing it but when my two daughters said they’d help when I offered them a a 50/50 split of the profits — anything to get their junk out of the house! — we were on. And I’m here to tell you that you cannot do yard sales alone. Do not even try it. Everybody — children, in-laws, parents, friends — lent advice and (literally) helping hands. Plus, we all had fun. Made it a party, even. Might as well. Read more in my past two weekly newspaper columns for the TimesDaily: http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090710/ARTICLES/907105000 and http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090717/ARTICLES/907175001

Summer Fun

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Now, this is the way to enjoy a summer afternoon! Our grandson, 15-month-old Capt. Adorable, cools off at the splash pad at the Hunstville (Alabama) Museum of Art.

Now, this is the way to enjoy a summer afternoon! Our grandson, 15-month-old Capt. Adorable, cools off at the splash pad at the Hunstville (Alabama) Museum of Art.

Corinth, Mississippi

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Borroum's Drug Store Whenever you get a hankering for real food in a real place, Borroum's Drug Store try Borroum’s Drug Store in Corinth, Mississippi. My husband and I were there on the Third of July, when Borroum’s was among the few downtown Corinth restaurants open for the holiday weekend. But Borroum’s is bustling even Borroum's Drug Store when everything else is open – it’s where the locals hang out every day and you should, too, although you’ll be immediately John Lewis Pittspegged as a visitor when you ask for a menu. This is the authentic old-fashioned soda fountain/drug store from years past. It’s crowded and noisy and messy and you need to check your cholesterol counter at the door. Husband had a cheeseburger and fries and I had the tuna melt, which truly was exactly like my mother used to make: More tuna than mayo. We had a great time eating and eavesdropping on Corinth gossip and people-watching as folks came in to the drugstore part. Then we enjoyed checking out the old photos and antique displays on the way out. Here’s the thing, though, that is what I love about Corinth: At Borroum’s and almost everywhere else in town, the old and the new and the history and the right-now sort of blend together and you can’t really tell the difference. In other towns, a place like Borroum’s would be a touristy spot that somebody bought and redecorated after it had changed hands from the original owners a couple times. In Corinth, it’s run by the original owner’s great-granddaughter — and it’s the real thing. Check it out at http://borroumsdrugstore.net/

Fourth of July

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Happy Fourth of July! Hope everyone enjoys food and fun with family and friends -- and you $%^& kids be careful with those Roman candles! (Sorry -- I became my dad there for minutes.)

Happy Fourth of July! Hope everyone enjoys food and fun with family and friends -- and you $%#* kids be careful with those Roman candles! (Sorry -- I became my dad there for a minute.)

Saving Money

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I admit it: I’m a spender. I’m much rather spend money than save it. I love shopping. I love going places and doing things. I love buying and having.  The problem? Hmm — let’s just say that income and outgo don’t always match! And whether you’re bring in $25,000 a year or $250,000, not managing your money efficiently sure can put a crimp in your style. The solution? Lately I’ve been doing my best to reduce UNNECESSARY expenditures in order to get the most bang for our buck when we do spend. I thought I’d share some of those efforts and see what y’all think.

1) Cut out my four-a-day sweetened bottled water habit and switched to plain water in a reusable container — sometimes adding a mix such as Crystal Light or Lipton Iced Tea. And even though we recycled the plastic bottles, I just feel a little greener not buying so many in the first place.

2) Visit a walk-in hair place at the mall for in-between trims and cuts, reserving my fancy high-priced stylist for coloring and occasional styling. This works especially because I notoriously am a bad hair person and no matter how the stylist fixes my hair, it’s back to the same-ol’ same-ol’ after a couple days. Why pay $75+ for that every month?

3) Teach myself to do my own pedicures. I did not think this would work but I really was proud of the results. And I never have done manicures since I can’t walk out of the salon/spa without cracking/chipping the polish.

4) Shopping in my own closet. Although I’m all for supporting local businesses, I’m also for having enough funds to go on vacation. When I dug around, I found things I hadn’t worn for months that I loved. I usually buy sort of classic non-trendy things anyway, so reviving these oldies-but-goodies doesn’t look dated. I hope not, anyway! If you can look at something you bought in the past couple years or so and imagine it hanging in your favorite boutique right now, it’s a keeper.

5) Using what you’ve got. This is another variation of “shopping in your closet.” I’m determined to use what I have before buying more. This includes makeup, lotion, skin care and such — my weakness. I mean, who can resist a lovely bar of handmade peppermint soap? Not me. As a bonus, this also requires organization so you know you already have three bottles of Warm Vanilla Sugar Shower Gel and do not — repeat, do not — need to buy anymore.

6) Enjoying what you’ve got. Another version of the same theory. I’ve got books and DVDs and magazines and CDs sitting around that I’ve never even picked up since I brought them home. Use ’em or lose ’em!

What do you think? How am I doing?