You're Invited....

Good Morning America will be dropping in on our Royal Wedding Watch Party after ABC News coverage of The Wedding! If you're up & watching around 10am....join us!

Edit: You will only see us live on GMA's west coast edition, but the party will be featured tonight on ABC World News!

Getting Merried - Something Borrowed

The Royal Wedding isn't the only nupts exciting my friends and me! A little movie night is in the works....

This week it's Wills + Kate. Next week it's Dex + Darcy....

Are you vowing to see Something Borrowed, too?

Royal Wedding Watch Party Menus

The Palace won't be releasing its menu 'til Friday, but if you're interested in what will be served at our Royal Wedding Watch Party, here's a peek:

Recipe Reference:
Bacon Herb Muffins; Cucumber Sandwiches; Endive Stuffed Goat Cheese; Chocolate Biscuit Cake; Iced Crown Cookies; Buzz Fizz Cocktails

Why It's OK to Kindle

I am, admittedly, slow to embrace technology.  I never owned a Discman. I swore the DVD player would NEVER replace the VCR. I still don't have a smart phone.  So, you won't be shocked to learn that I'm not pro-Kindle. As a bit of a bibliophile I find electronic reading, in theory, a disservice to books. How do you underline your favorite parts?

When recently I couldn't immediately check out a book I was dying to read from the library or buy it at a bookstore without ordering it, I went all 2011 on myself and downloaded the book to Dan's  iPad. Instant gratification, but....

I hated it. Not the book, but the electronic reading experience. It's simply not the same. Unlike the DVR or a smart phone, it's NOT better than the old fashion way. Like a small  group of other book apologists, I swore it off forever.

Until this morning - when I read Levi Johnston was going to write a Palin tell-all. Well, y'all know I can't resist memoirs.

I will submit some pretty frivolous book requests for borrow from the Library of Congress (Wait list for Sweet Valley Confidential? I'm on it!) and I will buy from the Barnes & Noble some pretty cheesey titles (here's looking at you, Tori Spelling) but at some point one has to have a little shame.

On a Kindle or an iPad, one can purchase and read things that lack even the slightest bit of intellectual merit, and no one is ever the wiser. If you see me glaring like A Deer in the Headlights into some electronic reader, despite having sworn I'd never do it again....well, now you'll know why.

Southern Weddings, English Weddings

You might be thinkging that I'm a little preoccupied with Royal Wedding coverage. Guilty! I love weddings. I was the single girl who bought wedding magazines just because I love looking at pictures of flowers and dresses and tablescapes. And rings. So, naturally, that makes me the married girl who still talks about weddings, too.


Be warned - next week I'll likely be putting more "I Do" up here on I Do Declare. As I've been studying up on the Royal Nupts and planning for the party I've adopted a one aisle track mind for all things wedding.


Learning, among other trivia, about the different traditions (fruit cake?) that will be on display next Friday when Wills + Kate tie the knot has been fun. Over at The DC Ladies today I'm blogging about the differences in Southern and English wedding traditions. You can read that post here...

Royal Wedding Watch Party - What Would You Wear?

Hypothetically speaking......if a network morning show might pop in on your Royal Wedding Watch Party what would you wear?


You'll be in your morning suit (read: pajamas!) having awakened before the dawn for pre-wedding coverage so it can't just be ANY old drawstring pants for saying good morning to all of America, right?


Would you go full on theme, and wear something fun + festive that gives nod to the big event?

photo credit: cafe press

Would you be fancy-schmancy, in silky sleepwear fit for a queen?

photo credit: Zappos

On this day when all eyes are on London, would you be the ultimate bed Beatle bug and wear this Abbey Road-inspired print?

photo credit: Layla Grace

Or would you totally dress for the camera in something bright and face-framing....notsomuch royal, but still pretty and respectable?

photo credit: Bedhead

So, what would wear? Hypothetically.

In Sunshine and in Shade

A real friend will walk with you through the rain....

For three years our friends Kim and Dave have hosted a golf tournament to raise money for the Menkes Foundation, and to celebrate Ben, their own little Menkes miracle.

Dave, Kim + Ben

Dan always plays in Ben's tournament {aka, Pennies From Heaven} and I always volunteer for a job that ensures I will be warm and dry. Selfless, I know.

Every year more money is raised, and every year the weather....well, it truly just gets worse and worse!

This year, it was a monsoon out there, so yes, a lot of people canceled. Despite the gray sky, however, nearly 80 people hit the soggy greens.

In a way, the weather was a real bummer. Dave and Kim put a ton of their own money and a crazy amount of time in to this day.

Still, the rain proved pretty amusing, as everyone started out the day already soaked...

 and returned still smiling....

I am a sappy goober, so all day long I kept thinking about that cheesey quote you've probably seen on a greeting card that goes We've been friends in sunshine and in shade...

Dan + Dave = BFF

...and then the downpour made an already special day all the more heartwarming.

So many people gave up a Saturday that begged to be spent on a dry, warm couch, to support a cause and a family...and a happy, healthy boy.

Ben and his caddies grandmothers

Clearly I'm biased {having never left the shelter of the clubhouse} but...I think all that makes for perfect golf weather.

14 Carrots

 Is this not the CUTEST Easter centerpiece you've ever seen???

I found it on Hostess with the Mostest, one of my favorite entertaining blogs, in an egg-cellent {couldn't help self!} feature on Easter party decor. So clever, so afforadable!!!  Makes me want to host an Easter party or a bunny-themed baby shower!

Idol Chatter

Pretened with me, please, that it's 2003 and you still care about American Idol.

Thank you.

This is the first year that I've REALLY followed the show, and I've become a nerdy fan. Every Wednesday I watch, texting with my mom and Jenni about the performances and the judges.  You know, all the things you did like eight years ago when it was really cool to watch.

As the show winds down with the final three contestants, I'm happy that my favorite, Lauren, is still in the game.

Whether it's American Idol or the Olympics, if there's a small town Southern girl in the running, I will be her biggest fan.

Since catching a bit of Idol fever this year, I often find myself in traffic, singing along to the radio, then I start to play the game: If I was on Idol, what would I sing?


Song from the year you were born:





I would sing Here You Come Again - No way I would be on Idol (or any national stage) and not sing Dolly Parton! 

Movie Soundtrack Song:





Though it would be hard to resist not singing Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing, I would probably opt Let the River Run by Carly Simon from the movie Working Girl. Love it.  But then again, Shake that Thang from Country Strong would surely win over middle-America...


So...play along with me as this season of Idol comes to an end.  What would be your Idol go-to song?

Wedding Crashers

So, the Royal Wedding isn't your cup of tea? I get it.  It's cool to be different, especially when it's you against the world.

I feel the same way every four years about soccer.

Here's a peak at how I will be spending April 29th...

Memoirs - A Reading List

If you read someone's personal blog, where as do I the blogger writes in excess about the mildy entertaining but mostly mundane days of her life, then you probably also read a lot of memoirs. I do.


I can tell you that I'm amused by human behavior, love to learn from other people's mistakes and get off on finding empathy in shared experiences, and it would all be true. But mostly, I'm just nosey.


I've been plowing through some personal pages lately. Here's a list of memoirs that I have read (and two I can't wait to read):


Come to the Edge

I spent the bulk of Sunday on my couch, reliving with the author, Christina Haag, her five years as the girlfriend of John F Kennedy, Jr. I can't stop begging my friends and family to read this book so that we can discuss it, wearing big Jackie O sunglasses somewhere this Spring and Summer.  It's as much a travel adventure as it as love story, and even if you've no interest in the Kennedys, if you have the slightest inkling for romance I can't imagine you wouldn't fall in love with this book. It is indeed sappy, forced at times to read like some mythical fairytale of just-not-meant-to-be which may bother some, but not me - I love sap. Besides, if you were the woman who first took John-John to the remote Georgia island where he'd later marry someone else, you've earned the poetic license to over-sentimentalize the account of your heart's nostalgia.  While there is zero tabloid feel to it as Haag shares her memories of the Kennedy family, if you do have any curiosities about what goes down behind closed doors on the Vineyard, you'll appreciate the private moments to which Haag was once privy. 

I Beat the Odds

From love and politics to football....you can't say my bookshelf isn't diverse! Michael Oher's memoir (what you didn't learn from reading or watching The Blind Side) came out in February. I bought it for Dan as a birthday gift, then read it before he did because that's the kind of wife I am. As a disclaimer,  I love sports bios, the SEC, the Tuohy family from Tennessee who adopted Oher and by default of my marriage, the Baltimore Ravens. If you care not at all about those thing, you might not care about this book. If, however,  you love a story about beating the odds, then like me, you'll probably need a box of tissues as you hear Oher's account of escaping the Memphis projects, learning to love books and literature and then signing to play professional football with the only NFL team named after a  poem. If I coached a sports team, I'd make all my players read this book!

A Maze of Grace

One of the book blogs I follow pointed me towards A Maze of Grace, a  "memoir of second chances".  My interest was peaked because I thought I would relate a lot to the author, Trish Ryan, who was sharing about her new marriage and all the adjustments that come with it. Ryan had already written a book about her struggle to find a healthy romantic relationship that (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not) found her single into her 30s. That is a reoccuring theme, clearly, in chick-lit, but Ryan also didn't find Christian faith 'til well into adulthood either, and faith is the main focus of both her books.  I read a lot of books on religion, and there's no denying that both of Ryan's stories made me stop and think about how I am (or how I'm not) bringing God into my marriage. It inspired a lot of great conversations, too, both with friends and with Dan. I can't say that I agree entirely with Ryan's thoughts on either - one's marriage and one's faith are highly personal - but that's doesn't mean I didn't appreciate both books.

Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

Don't ge me wrong, I love The Pioneer Woman as much as anyone, but I just didn't love the final chapters - the new part of the book for anyone who'd read the first part online.  I feel like it is blasphemy in blogland to admit this, seeing as she's our Queen and all, but I'm just being honest!  Before there was a book deal or a movie, I'd read most of Black Heels on PW.com, and I thought it was really fun - if you've yet to be entertained by how she and Marlboro Man courted then you'll probably love this book from cover to cover! PW has a very embellished, fantastical writing style that people either love...or hate.  I find it amusing, and was excited to read the rest of her story. The book version includes the story PW shared on her blog, but picks up after the wedding. As is often the case when the honeymoon is over, life gets real in the final chapters of her book with issues like death and divorce. It's not that I didn't appreciate learning more about her story - I did. I visit the Pioneer Woman site daily, adore her recipes, and own her cookbook. If I could figure out a way for Chloe to meet and date Charlie, don't think I wouldn't make it happen.  I just like my PW over-the-top happy and peppy and sharing pictures of basset hounds.  So, in short - loved the original blog part; the book addition left me happy I'd read via a library check-out.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends

Rob Lowe dishing on the 1980's Brat Pack, and a young Tom Cruise and Charlie Sheen? Winning! I can't not think of St Elmo's Fire anytime I'm in Georgetown (which is rare, but still...) so I will clearly be reading this book that comes out April 26th.






Every Day By The Sun

The only last name more impressive in the South than Manning is...Faulkner. The last living Faulkner (as in, William's niece) shares her stories of a Mississippi childhood alongside on of literatures greats.


If you are still reading this, you're my mother or a total bibliophile. In that case, please tell me your favorite memoirs so I can add them to my list!

My One Tree Hill Brunch Encounter

This is the story of how I acted like a fool in front of an actor.

As random celebrity encounters go, I've had my fair share. Britney Spears in the Westminster Abbey. George Clooney on the beach in Hawaii. Natalie Portman and Bono in my office building. Willie Nelson on the street. 

These are but a few of my brushes with the famous, where I've always kept it super cool. Recently, however, when I found myself brunching with a One Tree Hill actor I was just a kidnapping and cornmaze chase shy of Crazy Nanny Carrie.

Last weekend, with my Date Night gift basket in tow, Dan and I went to a engagement brunch for our friends Katie and Kyle.

The Nearlyweds!

It was a really beautiful party, in the prettiest historic home. The hosts even brought in caterers to serve up omlets for all the guests.....

I didn't have an omlet, but I did eat cake.

Everything about this party was perfect, really. The boys found a place to hold court by the bar....

...while the girls caught up at a pretty table.

While I was making my own plate, I saw a very distinguished looking man. I know this guy, I thought...but how? Then, when I sat down to eat, he was there again, the How-Do-I-Know-Him guy, RIGHT by me, talking to Dan's best friend, Dave.

So I ask Dan who he is; he has no idea. I tell him I think he's an actor. Why would an actor be at Katie and Kyle's brunch? I keep staring up at him. The man catches my constast gaze. Dan whispers he can take a photo of him with his phone, then Google-goggle him. I have, shockingly, SOME shame, so I won't allow it. I overhear the guy tell Dave he's been doing plays lately. I share this intel with Dan, affirming my suspiscions. I was right, he is an actor. Still, I can't figure out where I've seen his work. Everyone else is staring at him now, the word must be out, I think, that we have a celeb amongst us...

Finally, the bride-to-be comes over and I overhear her tell the other end of the table that yes, the man - a member of her family-  has been in tons of tv shows and movies. She can't recall all the parts he's played, but he's done small roles in a zillion big things. Then I hear all I needed to know to solve this mystery: One Tree Hill.

He was Peyton's dad.

Photo Credit here 

With that, like a total fool, I looked up at the man, whose real name is Kevin Kilner, and said to his face, "You're Peyton's dad, I finally figured it out!"

Turns out Peyton's Dad is also Dave's long lost cousin - small world!

Of course, he was having a conversation with Dave at the time and didn't know I was talking to, or rather, AT him so, mortified, I got up and left the table where I would hide for the rest of the afternoon from Lucas Scott's father-in-law.

I've never acted so silly before in front of anyone. Not Britney, not Clooney. Not Bono, not Willie. I always excuse my One Tree Hill obsession as just brain candy. It isn't, afterall, the most intellectually stimulating show on television, but I have long been a shameless fan. After "meeting" Peyton's Dad, though, I may need to lay off SOAP Network reruns, as it's clear this show had done a real number on me.