Tip #2

Another Smelly Tip:

They say your sense of smell is the sense most closely related to memory. Before you go on your next big vacation, buy a perfume you've never worn before and wear it the duration of your stay. Every time you wear it thereafter, you'll be reminded of your getaway. For me, I'll always equate Lancome's Miracle with Europe (and being 50 lbs. heavier, so maybe not such a good thing...)

Honor the Queen

My creativity guru is my sister, Mandy, the Queen of Craft. Her magic wand is her sewing machine, although her repertoire is hardly limited. So I made this "scrapbook in a day" for her at my favorite scrapbook store, Recollections in Sterling. The store was bought and closed, fodder for another post.

So here we go... Christmas sweaters from Grandma Gladys and Girl Scouts circa 1984. Note the French braids that I swore I would never curse my children with. I lied. At least they don't get screamin' red yarn bows longer than the braids.Left: Making a sisterly totem pole with other sis, Julia.

Right: Julia's high school graduation party including our brother, Matt. Somehow we have very few pictures of the four of us.

Dinosaurland before it took a turn for the worse and softball uniforms. Wearing the hat to the side was my Salt-n-Peppa look. I also had an eyes half closed pouty Madonna look.

Believe it or not, my mom refuses to let go of the scarf-neck 70s look. And I'm still a bit bitter about the East bonnet flying saucer hats. We look like the preacher in Poltergeist II.

Gotta love kilts! Another Grandma Gladys special. I included this pic to honor Mandy's favorite movie line from Dances With Wolves, "There ain't no one here, Lieutenant. They done all run off and got themselves KILT!" Beginning my love affair with the ocean and doing our Charlie's Angels thing.


Skate World (left) in Lynchburg is probably my Happy Place- so many memories took place there...birthday parties, being the first of my friends to learn to skate backwards and my first kiss.

Mandy was always cuter than me. I'm good with that. On the right is one of my favorite pictures of us ever- dandelion hunting on the Evans farm. (Again with the Easter bonnets!)

And finally, playing pirate dress-up with mom. That's her on the left. "Mom, make a gnarly pirate face!" This is what we got...because she knew there was a camera present.