In Love with Overstock

I just purchased the most perfect barstools for the cheaps. Now, normally, this thrifty lover of second hand furniture would not consider $50/barstool a steal, but they are fabulous and were double the price on CB2's website. And I received a mysterious $10 off my total purchase at checkout, bringing the grand total with shipping to $46 per stool. Not sure where the discount came from, but I also really don't care. Overstock is my hero.

Here are my fantastic new stools:


And the search continues for the perfect dining chairs...

Too Tasty

You probably wouldn't even like it. Most people hate tasty things.

These little guys were literally the best turkey burgers I've ever had. The egg and cheese are key in keeping the from falling through the grill grates, but we all decided that the recipe needed a bit more of a kick. Next time I'm going to add Siracha or cayenne pepper. Also, to keep it super healthy we used toasted sandwhich rounds instead of buns.

Deliciousness:

The weather has been absolutely fantastic and we have yet to purchase an outdoor table, so we just moved the coffee table outside. It works. Our friend Amy came over to help us with the difficult job of taste testing.

Also, mimosas are good.

Breaking News: Turkey Curry Burgers are Probably Good

You heard it here first: I'm makin' me some turkey boogers. Turkey curry boogers, even.

This is a real-time post, so I won't have results until I throw them on the grill and nom down, but here's what I've made so far:

-Thaw a pound of very lean turkey, put in large bowl
-Add one egg (the lean turkey falls apart really easily; this and the cheese will help keep it together)
-Add approx. a quarter of one onion, diced (I measure very little when I cook, so deal with it)
-Add a fresh minced garlic clove, not powdered - no one likes a lazy girl
-Add some celery salt, Cavender's, several squirts of Worchestshire and a spoonful or so of curry powder
-Throw in a handful of feta and mozzarella cheese (mine was fat free, but the fat full definitely ups the flavor factor)

Mush together and slap on a heated grill. Yours might look like mine:

Monday's Dose of Cute

Groggy and unhappy about the start of another work week, this is what I opened my bedroom door to this morning:


Could they get any sweeter? Maybe only if this was their nap after a busy morning of cleaning the kitchen, vaccuuming the living room and brewing me a pot of coffee. But I'll take what I can get.


Fingers crossed that they're my good luck charm for a potentially exciting and fruitful week ahead.

Julia Sugarbaker is My Hero

(photo taken from http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/travel/kyotos-9h-hoteltravel-124833?image_id=1700322)

You can't tell me that this 9 hour hotel in Kyoto, Japan does not immediately remind you of the Designing Women episode (season 4, episode 9) where Julia and Suzanne travel to Tokyo to visit Perky (their mother) and pick up Suzanne's car. C'mon, I'm not the only woman out there who has seen every episode at least three times, right? Their antics, grace and comraderie were every Southern woman/little girl's dream. But Julia was the best, hands down. RIP Dixie.

The Golden Girls is a whole other obsession...

Experiencing an Energy Slump? Try Some Chalky Cat Pee

It’s Tuesday and I have zero energy. This is very bad news for the huge week that I’m right smack dab in the middle of. What’s a girl to do?

Well, what she is NOT to do is consume the putrid, pointless Emergen-C concoction that the Mama swears by. Have I mentioned that she's crazy?
How many ways can I say "disgusting"?

I’ve been super draggy this afternoon and had a box left over from the cold and flu season that was this winter (see above - same flavor). I must have snotted out my good sense and memory while struggling with the debilitating sinus infection that I bought the stuff to fight off (it failed), because I do not remember it triggering such a violent gag reflex. And don’t try that “you just got the wrong flavor” business on me. It all tastes like chalky cat pee.

In an energy rut? Feeling a little under the weather? Get a Red Bull, iced coffee or a B vitamin (for the record, I don't take them because they make me nauseous, but I still believe they work). Stay away – far away – from this ineffectual poison (and don’t tell the Mama that I said she was a nutbag).

Disclaimer: This is an honest product review. Don't you dare come after me for damages or slander, because I can't help it that your product sucks.

Blog Blunder

How could I forget Jill's blog, Not So Soccer Mom? I must be on the loopy juice this week. Let the record show that www.notsosoccermom.com is amended to the list of Ragan's Blog Recs. Get it.

P.S. - Can you tell I'm feeling quite alleritive today?

Footwear Faux Pas

Today I realized that I have made an egregious oversight in regards to the material covered on this blog. It’s simply unjustifiable that I created a blog and named it Pistol in Pumps as a dual reflection of my sassy attitude and my love for fabulous footwear, yet I’ve neglected to write at all about said fabulous footwear. Well, Missies, the buck stops here.

So you’re in luck. Today I happen to be clicking around in my very favorite pair of heels. They are the pride and joy of my extensive shoe collection.

These are a few of the reasons why I love them and refuse to allow anyone in the world to borrow them:

1. They are tall, very tall – upwards of 4 inches. Keep your judgments about my future physical pain to yourself. My 5’4 stature comes nowhere close to matching my 5’11 attitude, so I enlist a little help.
2. My idol, Gwen Stefani, made them for me with her very own hands. That might be an exaggeration, but they part of her L.A.M.B. line and I feel like they were made just for me.
3. They were a gift from my mom and pretty much claim the title of the Best Gift I’ve Ever Received.
4. They are the most expensive of my collection, see item #2 (I hope that someday the pair of black patent peep toe Louboutins will claim this title, but for now I appreciate what I have).
5. They go with everything.
6. My feet are super narrow (unlike my hips) and for whatever reason (probably that high price tags correspond with narrow insteps) these are perfect. For this reason, no, you may never borrow my fabulous pair of L.A.M.B.s and you will undergo a width test for any other pair. You have been warned.

Regarding item #4, please don’t feel discouraged from donating to the Ragan Loves Louboutin Fund. All forms of payment are accepted.

Blog Sharing

As an opinion leader amongst my group (they ask me what I think sporadically, about the unimportant stuff), I’m approached by everyone (my one friend, Lauren) to share with them the list of blogs that I keep up with (stalk, more like). I thought you, my adoring readership (the four or five friends and family that find my internal banter a sort of amusing distraction from work) might be interested in checking out the list of blogs that are on my daily to read list. They are hilarious, informative, inspirational or all three (no joke). The creepy part of me just loves keeping up with these women’s lives, accomplishments and unique perspectives. I hope you also enjoy creeping on them.

Here we go, in no particular order:

• The Alli Way - http://www.alliwalker.com/
• Soule Mama – http://www.soulemama.com/
• Independent Belle – http://www.independentbelle.com/
• Angry Black Bitch - http://angryblackbitch.blogspot.com/

As part of my delusion of one day running a marathon, I’ve recently started reading Skinny Runner (http://skinnyrunner.com/).

And of course I am obsessed with Apartment Therapy (http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/), mostly because my new house is still in shambles and I like to pretend that I’m a fancy decorator type just searching for the right piece or paint color. Apartment Therapy feeds my delusion.

Do you have any fabulous blogs that you keep up with? I’m always in the market for witty banter, crafty ideas or just distractions from professional productivity.

Beer, BBQ and B.O.

Ahh….Americana.

As if I could ever forget just how gritty and eclectic home state can be, last night was a definitely reminder. But before I start, you must know that I am obsessed with fairs, carnivals, festivals, whatever you prefer to call them. If you can buy fried goods from a trailer, ravage a turkey leg in public and then pay $5 to risk your life and dinner on duct taped machine, then I’m in redneck heaven.

So we began our Tontitown Grape Festival adventure with fried chicken, spaghetti and chicken ravioli from the Venesian Inn in Tontitown. The town, right outside of Springdale, was founded by Italian immigrants some 100-plus years ago and is home of my favorite family and yours, the Duggars (I’m sorry to report that we missed them by a few hours). After a hundred years of circling for a parking spot, Huzbo, Abbles, the Jetta and I found a spot off road in what seemed to be a ravine. Don’t worry, the Jetta survived with minimal damage. Must be those new fancy tires I forked over $250 last weekend.

The half busted lights of my favorite ride, the Gravitron, called to me, but the snaking lines of teenagers and snaggle-toothed meth heads reminded me that for this Pistol, that shipped had sailed somewhere around 10th grade. Nonetheless, Abbles and I managed to talk Huzbo into holding our purses for just one little ride. We should have known it wasn’t going to be as fulfilling as we’d hoped when we noticed our ride mates were under the age of 10. The only saving grace was that the ride was called the Hustler. Seriously. Even better, we passed another called Scat. You gotta appreciate Carnie humor.


Oh, and rest assured, Ladies, that glittery eye shadow is still cool. The classics always endure.

Suck it, Prop 8

Enough said.

Shedding Those Pesky 500 Kilowatts

While I certainly cannot claim to be an environmental maven, I do consider myself a logical, socially-minded individual who derives a dangerous amount of satisfaction from saving cash on the boring stuff that you just can’t get avoid sacrificing your hard earned cash on. Like electricity. And water. And gas. I mean, how boring can it get? You can’t even entertain yourself with comparison shopping. Now, shoe shopping is a different story. There are green ones and gold ones and pointy and peep toe. That’s some good, worthwhile shopping. But I digress.

The point is that reducing your electric, water and gas usage is a good thing in many, very measurable ways. I know this not only because I am a smarter than a doorknob, but because I recently attended a pitch at my office given by a rep from the University of Arkansas Applied Sustainability Center. Basically, you spend a good 10 minutes signing up for an Earth Aid account at www.earthaid.net. The website downloads your utility usage information for the past year (less if you’ve lived there a shorter time) and, if you’re me, you get to be astonished and ashamed that you’re more than 3.2 times above the national average. Oh, the unbearable shame…

I bet you’re thinking that the crazy high numbers were all part of my diabolical plan to create a high baseline so that I could earn extra points for my dramatic improvement. You might be right and you might be wrong. Either way, I recommend checking it out. My plan is to track our usage, brag about my highly evolved sense of environmental responsibility and spend the money I saved on a new pair of shoes. A nice give and take in my opinion – my carbon emissions shrink and my shoe collection grows.

Summer Doldrums

It’s Official. I’m in a rut. Maybe it’s the summer heat slowing life down or maybe there are other factors weighing me down, but I am undeniably bored and generally discontent with certain parts of life. It’s probably apparent through my very few recent posts. My sleepy little mountain town and the monotony that is grown up life has become disconcerting. Maybe it’s just a bump in the road. Maybe it’s something more. Am I being melodramatic? Do you ever feel like things move too slowly – like you’re constantly trying to slow yourself down to keep pace with everyone else? I think I'm just ready for some excitement. Hello vacation, where are you?