Angelica Grace Designs

DAY 6

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 03:05:00 +0000

(This was just a shot I snapped of some "flats" or condos located behind the Coconut Point mall. They have a stunning Mediterranean gated entrance complete with lion fountains and all. I wanted to capture their beauty for you to see. The photo does not do it justice.)

Today was a much better day for us - the Griswald family. ;) No trips back to the urgent care which was a major plus. Our litle Rocky Balboa is on the mend and her eye is looking a lot better. The swelling is still slightly visible but it looks a TON better than it did yesterday. Ironically, we watched Rocky IV down here the other night. I love that show. It is my favorite of all the ROCKY movies. The best part is when Sly is in his sports car diving down the road, reflecting back on his life and all of the other movies, with that awesome theme song blaring in the background. He is shifting gears and his license plate reads SOUTH PAW. You know the scene, right??? It's right after he has the argument with Adrianne as she is standing atop their stairs and yells "YOU CAN'T WIN!" Ha ha! I know that show by heart - really I do. Hard to imagine that it is 20 years old now. Either way, Kenidi reminded us of Rocky with her eye looking that way. Now, she is slowly on the mend and looking fabulous if I do say so myself. It was a gorgeous and extremely hot day here in Southwest Florida. We got out and about as a family and totally enjoyed the stunning sunshine.

We hit my all time favorite department store in the world - DILLARD'S! You know me - I just had to snap a shot of the front door for you. Hee hee! :) Any excuse to pull out "Razzi." Love, love, love, how you can see the reflection of the clouds in the mirrored glass here.
I managed to find this flower that was literally begging to be photographed. After blacking out the background, I brought back the color to the flower itself. Gorgeous! Love that hot pink shade in the center.
For the 4th of July, we went to downtown Naples and hung out on top of the truck for the big fireworks show. It was a beautiful evening and an incredible day. Tomorrow (Saturday), we are heading out early in the morning to drive further south to Miami. Yes, we have decided to head to "South Beach" tomorrow. I can't wait to drag "Razzi" along and snap some shots of the architecture while there. We are about an hour and a half away from South Beach itself and thought it would be a blast to go visit there and see what all the hype is about. ;) Hopefully I will get some good photographs during our journey there.

Until then, sleep tight.
XOXOXO, The Griswald's

B-STERS REVIEW

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 02:23:00 +0000

Yeap...my nine year old son is doing a restaurant review. Are you rolling yet? Cause' we are! Ha ha! Brennen is always wanting to play a "roll" in my blog and the behind the scenes updating of it. Therefore, while at a restaurant the other night...he, Brent, and Grandma D came up with an idea to offer a restaurant review on the places we dine over the next month while here. So...after a little creation on Brent's part for the charting in excel, my creation on the photo design of Brennen's head shot and the photo ops of the food, and then Brennen's taste tests, we were set. We thought this would be a fun way for Brennen to become involved a bit on my blog for a while. He was oh so excited - as you can imagine. Unfortunately for us, he is quite the restaurant connoisseur. He loves filet's - goes for the upper end appetizers, and thoroughly enjoys food that most 9 year olds would balk at. Each time he orders a filet Mignon at a restaurant, the waiters look at us like we are nuts for allowing him to order it. However, he eats every bite of it - every time. We didn't know the habit we'd unknowingly create the first time we ever allowed him to taste our filet's, lobster, etc.

So...for those of you planning to visit the Naples, Bonita Springs, Sanibel Island, and Ft. Myers Beach areas anytime soon, keep a look out for Brennen's B-Ster review on some of our favorite hot spots as well as some of our new places that we visit during this 5 week stay.

First up was the Grill Room for lunch this afternoon. The Grill room is located at the Coconut Point Mall in Bonita Springs. They offered great outdoor dining (which is what we did) as well as a great indoor dining experience. Brennen and I both enjoyed the crab cakes for an appetizer and loved them. Kenidi did too. She scarfed them down as much as we did.

For both Brennen and I's main meal, we elected to go for the Gorgonzola grill room burger. If you hadn't guessed, our family is a HUGE lover of Gorgonzola and goat cheeses. We ask for it on burgers, atop steaks, on tomatoes, etc. Therefore, this Gorgonzola burger was right up our alley. Along with the cheese, it was loaded with bacon, balsamic soaked onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes. For the side dishes, we were given garlic mashed potatoes as well as Cole slaw. Loved them both!
From the mouth of Brennen directly, he summed up this dining experience as follows....
"It was great and couldn't get any better!" ~~Brennen Seaman

Until the next review, happy eating!

HAPPY 4th OF JULY

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:38:00 +0000

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

A huge thanks to the men and women fighting for our country each and every day. America wouldn't be America without you! Also, a huge HOORAY and PRAISE to God in regards to the three men who were freed from Columbian rebels on Wednesday after 5.5 years under the FARC in the Columbian jungle. Our thoughts and prayers are with those men, Columbian individuals, and their families as they embark upon returning to normal life again. God is good! God is amazing!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!

DAY 5

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:53:00 +0000

Welp, day 5 was spent in the doctor's office for the second time this week. Yes, round number two at Urgent Care for Kenidi. We have learned on this trip that Kenidi Grace is allergic to mosquito bites. This is new news to us. After our walk on the beach in Naples Wednesday evening, she ended up with a bite on her eyelid. We saw it - and it looked like a normal bite above her eye. However, this morning...she woke up singing the blues when we discovered that her eye was swollen - almost shut.

So...back we went to the urgent care facility in Bonita Springs. She had that welt and others on her arms from the bites. When I say these are welts, I mean that they are massive bumps or knots rather on her skin. They swell up like nothing we've ever seen. Then, to have her eye almost sealed shut, worried us.After hanging out in the doc's office for a bit, he finally came in and said we needed to continue with the topical steroid cream on her bumps but that unfortunately....there was absolutely nothing he could do for her eye. We just have to let the venom from the bite wear off and wait on the swelling to subside over the next 2-3 days.
Needless to say, we feel horrible for her and will be lathering her up in Deep woods off bug spray, long sleeves, and jeans whenever we shall venture out at night again. This advice comes per the doctors and nurses here. This is horrible beings that we are in Florida and its V.E.R.Y. hot. However, it must be done. She sure would make for a great pirate right now though with this stylish look. ;)
You Florida residents...how on earth do you deal with these bugs this time of the year? They ate Brent alive so bad on the beach that night that he literally had blood on his legs from where they were biting. Is there a special spray or trick to keeping them at bay? If so, please let me know. In the meantime, we'll be sending Grandma "D" back home on a plane Friday morning. She leaves to head back to Indy tomorrow and we are very sad to see her go. However, the kids have clung to her all week and given her very little peace. Therefore, you might see her "running" to the airport in the morning. Ha ha! She's been a huge help with Kenidi and her mood swings this week. Thanks Deb! It's been fun! We love ya!
XOXOXO, The Griswald's

DAY 4

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:04:00 +0000

Hi all. Sorry for the really late - late night post tonight - but I just got in from a great little date night with my hubby at where else - none other than Target and dinner together at Perkins. HA HA! It's now 11:30pm and we just rolled in. I thought I'd update the blog for ya' before hitting the sack tonight. We spent the day in downtown Naples doing some eating (as usual) and some shopping. We had lunch at a quaint little Italian restaurant on 5th avenue called "Vergena." I had a fabulous dish of Gorgonzola pasta that consisted of potato dumplings and rich cheese. It was amazing.

After eating and shopping, we went for a quick walk on the beach together and then drove around looking at all of the gorgeous homes in Naples. One night, I plan to get my camera and photograph some of my favorite homes here. Once I do that, I'll post them as a blog update one night. They are just amazing!!! While on the beach, Kenidi had a few melt downs because we wouldn't allow her in the ocean. Imagine that. I kid you not - this child is a major water bug. Eventually she just threw herself down in the sand and went at it. I grabbed "Razzi" and caught her in the act.

I captured this shot below of Brennen running crazy on the beach at one point. I love how he was the only one in sight. The beach just looks pristine and abandoned here. What an incredible view!

BELOW: As we were walking along the beach, we found someones flip flops positioned in the sand as shown. I thought it made for a great impromptu picture.

ABOVE: The kids exploring the beach. ABOVE: Brennen posing for me at the Italian restaurant on 5th ave.
ABOVE: Brent, his Mom Debbie, Kenidi, and Brennen on the beach in Naples.

ABOVE & BELOW: Photos of us at lunch today...

Lastly, my Dad and Cathy gave me some birthday money to take and spend while here in Florida. Well, I stumbled upon these blinged out adorable flip flops at a boutique yesterday called "The Island Girl." Thanks Dad and Cath...I used part of my birthday money on these rockin' flops. I just love them! They are encrusted in the genuine Swarovski crystals and are sooooo me! Just wanted to show ya what I purchased with some of my birthday funds. :) Love you guys!

Until tomorrow, sleep tight. I'm off to bed. Hugs, Angie

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:40:00 +0000

DAY 3

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:13:00 +0000

A trip to the immediate care center....

Yeap, it just wouldn't be Florida without one of us having to visit the doctor while here. This time, it was Kenidi. We noticed what looked to be a mosquito bite on her arm the night before we ever left Indy. However, overnight Monday night, the bite or whatever it was swelled up to be huge and protruding off her right forearm. It was red and very hot to the touch. It also had a knot or very hard bump in the center of it. Rather than risk an infection, we opted to take her to the Bonita Springs Immediate Care center down the street from the house. They diagnosed it as some type of bug bite that she had an allergic reaction to. In the end, we walked away with an antibiotic and a topical steroid cream. The swelling has come down substantially as of this morning. That is a good thing! I snapped a shot of her on the doctors chair with my iPhone as proof that we were once again visiting another immediate care in Florida. ;)

With that said, I didn't get a whole lot of beach pictures yesterday because little Miss Kenidi Grace won't stay out of the water. Someone has to have her in the ocean at all times or she throws an absolute fit. At times it is funny - other moments - it is very tiring. Poor Grandma D got the brunt of it yesterday. Kenidi had her out there in the water every second she could. Brennen also happened to stumble upon a broken but still alive starfish yesterday too. Well, I found it but he quickly became the caretaker which was fine by me. I didn't have any use for it. :) He was asking me if it would still live to regenerate its legs if we were to bring it back home and nurse it back to health. Ha ha!
Kenidi and Grandma D did get a short few minutes to sit down in their beach chairs and read some magazines. Kenidi had her Indianapolis Monthly, Best of the Burbs magazine that we were all passing around since Deb grabbed it. Quite interesting to see what areas of Indy rated the best and what schools stood out the most. I felt really good about "change" after reading it. ;)
In the end, we had another good day followed by a dinner at good ol' Perkins with Grandma. By the time we stuffed ourselves with french toast, rainbow pancakes, etc., we really needed to be rolled out of the restaurant. Luckily, we made it back home and called it a night early. I think I was in bed by 8pm - no joke. You can tell how bad my body was obviously needing this break. Me in bed by 8pm, another unheard of instance. It is great either way. Vacations, they do a body good!

Until next time, XOXOXO...
Angie
PS...Thanks for all of your emails and replies in regards to Kenidi and the screaming issue's. I can't tell you how much we appreciate hearing about and reading your own stories. Sometimes it is amazing how much it helps to know we don't walk this battle or this journey alone. For those of you who consistently comment on my blog or faithfully send me emails in response to a post, I truly appreciate the time it takes you to write/post them and I truly appreciate your heart and your ability to share your own journey or opinions with us. It's all so very helpful! I love nothing more than getting posts in regard to the blog updates. Thanks to those of you who are so awesome at that! I love ya' to pieces for it!

DAY 2-GRANDMA "D" IS HERE!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:30:00 +0000

Grandma "D" has arrived. (Brent's Mom) We picked her up at the airport around 11:30am this morning and spent the day just hanging out. The above photo of the most perfect palm tree ever was taken this afternoon when we stopped at the Coconut Point mall for some shopping and wild cherry icee's with Grandma. As you all know, it is my most favorite mall in the whole world. Not so much because of the shops - we have a lot of the same ones in Indy. However, the ambiance and the environment are just so rockin' there. I love it! When I saw that palm tree, I had to snap a photo of it. It's a beautiful & perfect reflection of what Florida is all about. If I could, I'd plant palm trees in every square inch of my yard back home. Unfortunately, they'd never survive after summer though. While walking, I managed to catch a glimpse of Brent, his Mom, and Brennen walking ahead when I stopped to grab my camera. I thought the shot was neat - just a candid moment between the three of them - three generations. The photo below was taken after our icee's and ice cream...Grandma D with her son and her two grandchildren.

BELOW: Just another glimpse of the Coconut Point Mall and how gorgeous it is.
ABOVE: Kenidi Grace with Grandma D on the playground.

ABOVE & BELOW: The kids playing on the playground at the Coconut Point Mall
ABOVE: Ummm Melissa...this shot is for you girl. Yes, it is of Brent with two different cell phones up to his ears - doing none other than - working....working...working...

And lastly, this is Brennen teasing his Dad about being on the phone "again" while I was trying to snap a quick family shot of the four of them. Notice...Brent trying not to laugh...

Even though he is always working, that hard work is what allows us to be here - vacationing together and making memories together once again. We love you Daddy!

Until tomorrow night, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite. HA!

PS...Please pray for us and little Miss Kenidi on this trip. We have endured three instances in the past 4 days while dining in restaurants where she is getting looks and comments made from other individuals at close by tables. One night was totally undeserved. She was being a perfect angel. The other two instances were when she was belting out that scream of hers that she does when frustrated or trying to get attention. Beings that she cannot speak or communicate with us like a normal 5 year old would, she expresses herself with the yell or scream that comes across to others as an out of control child. If you aren't familiar with her circumstance and her special needs issues, she would look to be just unruly and depleted of parental discipline. To most it probably looks as though she is misbehaved and I can appreciate that. However, we've had an older gentleman and an older woman say things out loud on two separate nights that were very hurtful and very disheartening to me as her Mother. I actually had to speak up and comment back to the woman earlier today because I just couldn't take it anymore. Bottom line, I ask that you just pray for me and my patience with these individuals as well as pray that I don't end up in jail before this vacation is over with. I say that with every bit of sincerity too. I am appalled and dismayed at the boldness of some of these people in this world now days. As if special needs children don't have enough to fight through in life, then you have shallow spectators from afar that are ever so quick to judge because our child looks and appears normal from the outside. Special needs children never asked to be born that way. People need to quit punishing them for the life they were given. They had no choice in the matter. Unfortunately, Kenidi is experiencing anxiety and frustration a lot in the past week or so. It shows in her inability to express herself properly. So...I hope that we all survive the next 5 weeks down here without having to "throw down" with some of these grumpy old people. Christian or not, I'm not afraid to speak my mind when someone is spitting out expletives off the cuff in reference to an innocent child. Don't make me bring out the ol' "Angie DeNease" in me. Ha ha! It wouldn't be a pretty site whatsoever.

Laughing out loud at this moment and trying to find the "funny" in it all...

XOXOXO, Angie (a.k.a. the "scrapper" headed for Southwest Florida's city lock up)

DAY 1

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:34:00 +0000

It's 5pm and we are headed out for a Floridian style seafood dinner. I wanted to post a couple of shots from our day at the beach though first. This was all I got today but these first two were some of my fav's. Love this corridor we found leading out to one of God's greatest creations - the ocean. Brent and Brennen are leading the way in the above shot and Kenidi stops, turns around, and waits for Mommy. That's my girl! In the shot below, I had her walk off alone.

ABOVE: Some palm leaves I noticed hanging over amongst all of the brush and lush foliage during my walk in this gorgeous corridor.

ABOVE: Hand in hand - that sibling love and protection again.
ABOVE: Brennen & his ocean treasures...sand dollars.

ABOVE: One of the larger sand dollars Brennen found out in the ocean.

ABOVE: Daddy & Kenidi out in the water.ABOVE: A Mediterranean style beach house that I found while out there. So my style. Do you say my name written all over it? Hee hee! Oh to dream....

For now, we are off and will post more tomorrow night. Brent's Mom, Debbie, flys in to be with us tomorrow morning. She'll be here until Friday. The kids are stoked to know Grandma "D" will be arriving soon. Until then, have a great week.

Hugs, The Griswald's!

WE ARE HERE!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 14:35:00 +0000

We made it and so did our luggage. Thank goodness. That is big considering how Brent was approached by some young woman informing him at the airport that he had "HER" pink suitcase and not mine on our luggage cart. Ha ha! It was identical to mine. Thank goodness she caught it because it could have been a bad day for all of us had she not. :) As she walked away, she didn't realize I was with Brent and passed me by as she was saying..."There is no way he could have had the S-A-M-E pink luggage!" Well, he didn't - but I sure did - and he is with me - and me with him. :) I don't know if she thought he was going to try and steal her pink luggage to take it home and have fun with it or what. Either way, thanks to her observation skills, we all had a much better day than what was presumably about to be the WORST event in history. I was standing from afar with Kenidi watching the whole thing and then "listening" too as she walked by me. I found it all pretty hysterical. Now, had she gone home with my suitcase, I would have not been laughing. :( As Brent said later, that could have been R.E.A.L. bad!
What I always find most amusing about flying though is that inevitably, my suitcases always come back to me with bright green or bright orange tags attached to them alerting the ground crew to be cautious when lifting. This boggles my mind that Brent's bags, Brennen's, etc. never get these labels. Why just little ol' me? (and Kenidi too of course) I even weighed my bags before taking them to the airport. One was right under 50 lbs. which is the cutoff limit before having to pay for going over and then my big pink suitcase was a mere 34 lbs. What is wrong with these people? Surely if I can lift them, they can too. Are they calling my luggage fat? They should be the fed ex crew that has to lift and transport the box full of things that we packed up and had shipped down here full of more clothes, shoes, and such that we need for the 5 weeks we are here. The airlines think that they got it bad, they should feel fortunate that they don't work for fed ex as our box makes its way thru their system. HA!

Anywho, yes...we made it. No pictures to share yet (other than those above of my "hefty" suitcases). We did some shopping yesterday, had a great lunch at California pizza kitchen in Naples and then had a FAB dinner at the South Beach Grille in Ft. Myers Beach late last night. We were all beat from having to be up at 5am yesterday in an effort to be at the airport at 7am. Therefore, this morning...we all slept in until 10am. That, for the Seaman's - oh I mean the Griswald's, is unheard of. Obviously our bodies needed the rest.

So...we are moving slow today but enjoying the peace and the calmness of being here at our little "home away from home" location. South Florida...it does a body good. Such a beautiful thang'! We are headed to the beach so I hope to have some shots to share later.

PS...I'll be more than likely updating my blog late - late at night whenever I do have updates. I'll be updating at night rather than my usual mornings because I'll have photos from the day to share and can upload them once everyone goes to bed at night. It's at that point that I'll have some free time to blog. So stay tuned...we've got five weeks here and this is just day one. I hope you aren't sick of us by the time we make the treck back to Indiana. ;)

Hugs, Angie

IN AWE...

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:58:00 +0000

First off, thank you all so very much for the overwhelming amount of posts, emails, ecards, etc. that were sent today in regard to my birthday. I cannot even express just how much your kind words and birthday wishes meant to me. Your thoughtfulness and time it took to write me or email cards are just priceless. My inbox all day today has continually been flooded. I am just so incredibly blessed to call all of you my family and "friends" even if we have technically never met in person. I mean that from every fiber of my being. As I sit here listening to the sound of the thunderstorm outside at this 10:05pm time frame, I am humbled and truly in awe once more in regard to each of you. AGD itself and blogging has definitely become a way for me to write, design, and express myself. However, blogging in general has introduced me to so many friendships that were built by none other than the heart and all that it stands for. For that, I am ever so grateful.

Speaking of AGD, blogging, and friends...I got a wonderful surprise today for my birthday. Most of you have heard me mention my girlfriend Shannon, from Texas. She is the one I met on eBay years ago that designed handbags when I started out designing children's clothing. Her and I formed an immediate friendship and a bond like no other. We often refer to one another as "sistas from anotha motha!" HA HA! We are so much alike that it is really scary. We are convinced that we were separated at birth. Shannon is also the one that Brent surprised me with last year on my birthday by planning a trip out to Dallas, Texas where I got to finally meet Shannon in person for the first time in our four year friendship (at that time). It was incredible. They were both in on the surprise and the whole event and days leading up to it blew me away. It was one of the best birthday gifts ever! (Shannon with her little girl Ashlyn)
Fast forward to today - this afternoon - when Shannon called me to wish me a Happy Birthday. Shannon's birthday is ironically just 3 days after mine. When she called, she mentioned that she had ordered me something online from The BUCKLE (my all time favorite clothing store) but that she had received an email stating that it was back ordered. She then proceeded to say..."You have two options....I can either ship the item to your house once you are back or I can just bring it with me when I come."
Needless to say, her sentence clicked and finally registered with my brain. Her and Brent had surprised me again!!! Yeap...she is coming to Florida to visit me. I can't get over it. Her and Brent surprised me once more all while I had no clue. I am more stoked than you can possibly imagine. Bottom line, she and Brent just R-O-C-K!

Shannon will now be coming into Naples from July 11th-14th and we will be doing plenty of girlie catch up, shopping, and so forth. We'll do all that "sistas from anotha motha" do together. I can't wait girlfriend - and I can't thank you enough for pulling off yet another great birthday surprise. As I told you tonight, I am getting spoiled! How will I ever begin to think about spending a birthday without you given this year and last years surprise "togetherness?" You are right, you and Brent have started a tradition and I just LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Tell Dave thanks for letting you break away. I ssooooooo owe him too. ;)
Lastly, please pray for safe travels for us tomorrow morning. Our flight leaves at 9am Indy time and we should arrive in Florida around 11am. I'll be blogging as soon as I can - either tomorrow night or on Sunday sometime. Either way, as promised, I WILL be blogging. Also, my good friend Diahann and her husband Dennis will be staying at our house while we are away. They are our official house sitters and we can't thank them enough for doing it for us. There is so much that goes into being way for 5 weeks and we couldn't do it without the help of our friends keeping the home front under control. No big pool parties Di and Dennis...HA! Just kidding. Let's hope the house is still standing once we return. HHHEEEEE HEEEEE! :)(Di & Dennis)
For now, I am off to finish packing. It's now 10:40pm and I'm no where near done. However, I just had to jump on - say thanks - and say bon voyage. I'll be in touch. Sooner rather than later. Check back here for updates and beach pictures as we embark on our summer vacation. Love you guys! Thanks for everything! In the meantime, the Seaman's (a.k.a. the Griswald's) are off for some of this.... XOXOXO, Angie

33 YEARS YOUNG

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:01:00 +0000

Yeap, that is right. I'm the ol'....today. What fun~what fun! I'm the big 33 years old this June 27th, 2008. What a great 33 years the good Lord above has blessed me with. I know this next year is only going to get even better too. So, I'm off enjoying my day today. Don't mind me...

Hugs, Ang

OK...YOU WIN!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:48:00 +0000

OK...all of you win. However, I must say that everything about this post today is wrong. Just wrong! It's not natural - not normal. Very posed which I cannot stand. UGH YUCK! I had more emails and posts from you guys "demanding" a haircut photo that I finally just threw my hands up and gave in. Well, and with the help of my pesky Mother last night who also "demanded" that I let her take my picture. She and I go through this every time she is around though. After my Mom proceeded to snap what felt like 500 pictures before Brent and I went out on a dinner date last night with friends, I came up with these three for you. By the way, our dinner date with Rich and Michelle ROCKED! Hi Michelle. Can't wait to do it again once we are back in town.

Truthfully, I don't feel like any of these pictures do the haircut justice that Jason did on me. As my Mom said, none of them show a good angle or good "actual" of what a fantastic job he did. Coming from my Mom, that is huge. She too is very picky about haircuts and she immediately commented on what an incredible cut he had done. She flipped through each hair on my head and tried to determine what type of scissors or stylists tools he used on me. Too funny!
In the end, just know that you guys - my AGD crew of faithful blog visitors and follows are obviously extremely special. I say this because I wouldn't do this for just anyone. It's hard for me to sit in front of a camera. Let alone to do it just for shots of "me" and a hairdo! I can tolerate shots with my kids when its a family shot or shots with them in it. However, these shots were totally staged just for you guys. Again, so....not....normal. Very out of my element. I guess my Mom would thank you for demanding the shots and for requiring me to step out of my box. She looked like a kid in a candy store last night as she was able to hold "razzi" (my camera) and snap these shots of us. She got her way for about 4.8 seconds thanks to you all.

Lastly, I've had some questions about whether I'd be blogging or not while we are away on this 5 week stint in Naples. Oh you BETCHA'! I blog every time we go on vacation anyhow so this time will be no different. However, after 5 weeks, you might be really OVER my beach shots and candid snapshots of the kids. Throughout the 5 weeks that we are there, Brent's Mom will be flying in, my Mom will be coming in, then comes my high school girlfriends, and last but not least, my Dad and Step Mom come in the final week we are there. What fun~what fun! More than anything, we are just looking forward to all of this fun family time we will get with each of them. We are taking advantage of all that while possible. We are also taking advantage of all that R&R while away too. Gosh knows we'll need it because when we get back home and step off that plane...well......................................
that is to be continued. You'll get the full episode of what is to come in the following weeks.

Until then, thanks for bringing me out of my comfort zone today. Again, I wouldn't do this for just anyone. Consider yourselves S-P-E-C-I-A-L!
Hugs, Angie

NOT SO WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:51:00 +0000

Only 72 More hours until our toes are in the sand and the waves come crashing across our feet. The beach...just one of God's many, many, miracles and one of my most favorite places on this earth.

(ok - so I cheated and used a "few" words. Let's call this a "not so wordless Wednesday!")

LOVE LOVE LOVE REJUVE!

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:29:00 +0000

I tried out a new hair salon on the North side of town today. I had been recommended to this salon by a couple of gals and thought I'd make the trek 55 minutes North to give it a whirl. One of the referrals came from the journalist/reporter that did the news TV story on my AGD business and Kenidi a couple of years ago. We keep in brief contact here and there and she has ROCKIN' hair. Angela is her name and she gave high remarks and compliments on this particular stylist that I visited today. As a TV news anchor, you obviously must be picky about who does your hair. You couldn't not be. Therefore, when she recommended me to him, I knew I had to give him a whirl eventually. Anyone who knows me well enough, knows how picky I am about my hair. Growing up with a Mother who happened to be a stylist herself, I've got a long list of wishes and pet peeves when it comes to individuals who cut hair for a living. My current stylist is awesome - Stephanie - but due to "change," I was on the hunt for someone new. Kenidi and I will miss Steph tremendously but ironically, even she goes to this new guy I tried today. I went to high school with Steph so I know we will keep in touch. (Miss you already girl. Catch ya' on myspace) Anywho, her stylist, Angela's stylist, and my now "new" stylist is Jason Hagemier. For those of you who reside in Indy, I cannot give this salon and this stylist enough compliments. From the moment I walked in, I was greeted ever so kindly, asked if I needed wine or water, etc. etc. etc. I was made to feel overly welcome there.

Then, during my color process, Jason asked me if I wanted to soak my feet while I waited. Well, of course I said yes. So....I did. After soaking, a gal came up and literally massaged my feet as I sat there in my foils. It was the best ever! No kids, no screaming, just my hair foils, me, and a foot massage. YAY! During the wash process, they actually massage and heat wrap your hands too. It's an incredible extra amenity that goes a looonnngggg way as a client and after a busy day.

Ironically, while sitting with my feet soaking, and with foils in my hair mind you, I was approached by an adorable individual who sat down beside me and introduced herself as "Emily." She was actually another stylist in the salon. She proceeded to tell me that she hoped I didn't think she was weird or was a stalker, but that she knew me from my blog and reads it daily. What a small world, eh? HI EMILY! :)Apparently, Em found my blog from another blogger friend of mine. I am so glad she got the courage to come and introduce herself. She was such a sweet, sweet, girl and I look forward to getting to know her better in the coming months. She apparently went and called her life long friend "Joy" who is my blogger friend that she found my blog through. She called Joy from her cell and let her know that she thought I was sitting in the chair beside her. Thanks for convincing her to take the chance and bet on the fact that it was me Joy. I'm so glad Emily introduced herself. Now, we can add her to our lunch date come August. Hee hee!

Jason did my cut and color and truly ROCKED the house. When I say that he cut every hair on my head, I mean that he literally cut, trimmed, etc., every hair on my head. The cut itself was so very thorough and turned out just as I had hoped it would and then some. My color is perfect and just how I envisioned it to look when I headed South to Naples this weekend. I wanted all of my blond highlights gone so that I didn't "sizzle" them after 5 weeks in the Florida sun. I'm back to a rich, golden, brown and I love the outcome.

If you haven't seen the new Janet Jackson video called "Rock with you," then click here to view it on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa2oUPwttjA. In the video, Janet is sporting a funky new short, stacked, bob, cut, in the back and then it is really long in the front. It's a drastic and VERY dramatic cut as she turns her head to the side. You wouldn't realize the difference unless you saw her side profile. Coming at you, it just looks as though she has really long hair. So...which new cut did I go with??? Janet's! Ha ha! Although mine isn't near as long in the front as hers, I had Jason give me that cut as we embark on letting the front part of my angled bob go longer than it even is now. I love funky - love different -and I love this new Rejuve Salon. Thanks to Jason (and Emily) as well as the rest of the Rejuve staff for making my first visit there such an awesome experience. As you both well know, I'll be back after August 4th. Wink wink! ;) Shhh......

Blessings, Angie

PS...For all of you Hoosiers living near or around the North side, you must call Rejuve and get an appointment with Jason and Emily. They truly ROCK! Also, give Jason a big shout out when you call. Rumor has it that he is celebrating his 30th birthday this weekend! :)

AGD FEATURED CHILD OF THE WEEK

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:57:00 +0000

(Jaya from Phoenix, AZ)

I love nothing more than seeing little ones from all across the country and across the world sporting some AGD sass! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

Thanks for adding that spunk to our AGD line that we always strive for Jaya. And Courtney... (Jaya's Mommy-and a faithful AGD customer), thanks for taking the time to photograph her in your shirt and send it on to me. Too cute!

Have a "fabtabulous" Tuesday!

Hugs, Angie

24 MORE DAYS

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:22:00 +0000

Last night, I got to spend the evening with some of my girlfriends from high school. In fact, the three you see below are who will be coming to visit me while in Florida next month. (Plus one more...Krissie...but she was absent from our outing last night because of a bad migraine. We missed you girl!) Anywho, the four of them are the clan that will be part of our Naples girls trip next month while Brent and I are there on vacation. They are coming into town a couple of weeks after we get there and will be spending 5 days with me there. We are literally counting down the days.

Although Brent and I leave this Saturday, these girls won't be down until the 2nd week in July. So...I got together with them last night as sort of a bon voyage one last time before we all meet up again in Florida. In doing so, I wanted to make our countdown and last time to see one another, a bit more fun. So, we sent them off with a little AGD beach bag of surprises.
They were custom made and personalized with each of their names. The gift tags were even a real, true, photograph of a beach with the writing in the sand and a starfish laying there. They were adorable!

The gifts were their own big, scrumptious, white beach towel with their name as well as a drawstring tote that is lined for wet items or tanning oils which had their names on them as well.

Needless to say, one was done up for myself too. Ha ha! :)
In the end, we had a great night as usual. The gifts, the Rockin' "Red Robin" Cheeseburgers and chocolate malt we had at the restaurant, and the road trip I piled them in the car and drug them out to go see on a whim-what fun!

Love you girls! Counting down the 24 days until you guys arrive in South Florida to meet up with me. Of course we all know that we are going to have an absolute blast. Thanks for being you. Thanks for being "happy" for me. Thanks for sharing my joys and excitement last night. You guys know me well enough to know what that means to me. Your support and excitement for us is priceless. True friends, change...they are all an "awesome" thing!

XOXOXO, Angie

AGD FEATURED

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:08:00 +0000

A huge thanks to Laurie from the TIP JUNKIE blog for featuring my custom created designs on her blog last week. I can't thank her enough. When you get a chance, feel free to stop by and say hello to Laurie. Her blog is fantastic and has a tremendous amount of tips and rockin' crafts for everyone. I just love it.

Thanks again Laurie. Keep up the awesome work on your blog.

Blessings, Angie Seaman

BLOGGER AWARD

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:34:00 +0000

A big huge thank you to my dear sweet blogging friend, Beki, for presenting me with the above Bloggers award. This award recognizes a blogs creativity and overall contribution to the blogger community. Thanks Beki. You are such a sweetheart! I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. Now I am to nominate 5 more people so I'll pick:

1) Sara B. (Brauer Family Blog)

2) Joy L. (The Larkin Family Blog)

3) Heidi Z. (The Zawisza Tribune)

4) Grace (Amazing life of Grace)

5) Linda (Ribbon Rock Star)

Once you have been selected, please follow these guidelines and pay it forward:

1) Choose 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award based on creativity, design, interesting material, and overall contribution to the blogger community, regardless of the language.

2) Post the name of the author and a link to his or her blog by so everyone can view it.

3) Each award-winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award.

4) The award-winner and the presenter should post the link of the “Arte y pico“blog , so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5) Please post these rules.

Thanks again Beki. You really made my day sista!

XOXOXO, Angie

ON THE HUNT

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:50:00 +0000

I'm on the hunt for light & airy - shabby chic' - beach themed home decor.
Whether it be candelabras, wall pictures, wall signs, accessories, lamps, etc., I'm on the hunt for it. Color wise, I need whites, lots of white - robins egg blues - pale turquoise, cotton candy pink, etc.

Should you run across anything that fits this description even somewhat, please feel free to let me know. You can email it and/or the link to me at Angie@AngelicaGraceDesigns.com

I'll explain more later why I'm wanting these things. In the meantime, keep me posted should you find anything that looks along the lines of this beachy, shabby, decor. Change...its a "great" thing! ;)

Hugs, Angie

KARA VITA

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:14:00 +0000

OK - I am not a big home based party/product line fanatic. Yes, I've purchased more Southern Living at home, once up a family, Arbonne, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, etc. than I would ever care to go back and total up. Mainly because, I had friends selling it and was always a part of their home parties and such. In the end though, none of those purchases have ever really stuck with me. Well, the pampered chef has. I love their product line and would love it more if I had the skills to put it all to good use. Unfortunately, God chose not to grant me fine cooking skills when he brought me into this world. Poor Brent!

With that said, I was recently turned onto a new product line that I think I just might have fallen in love with. Jennifer McCarty - my sweet, sweet, friend...thank you. Thank you for letting me know that I needed to try this line. I just love, love, love it girl. The line is called "Kara Vita." It used to only be for purchase in dermatology and doctors offices. Now however, it's available to the public via Kara Vita reps.

I have an extremely oily skin tone. It drives me nuts - especially in the summer. The majority of the time I walk around looking like someone dumped a bucket of grease down my face. It's truly disgusting. I'm constantly applying powder, dabbing with oil sheets, etc. Therefore, this new KARA VITA product was an answer to prayers when it stopped all that. I've been using the line for a week now and cannot even begin to tell you the difference in my skins chemistry. I just had to blog about it here in case any of the rest of you have similar issues. They offer several lines to accommodate whatever skin type you have. I even contemplated ordering their "clearly it" line for Brennen because he is starting to show signs of possible acne on his chin.

If you've not heard of this line, look into it. I promise you it is the best facial cleansing/toning/moisturizing line I've ever purchased and that is saying something because I've been suckered into many. You can find their website HERE where you can read up on each product line they offer. Note, they even have a glycolic skin care line. Love that! The other thing I love is there "ALL DAY" sunscreen. As most of you know, we leave for Naples/Bonita Beach this Saturday the 28th. We'll be there for 5 weeks straight so my kids need the sunscreen while there. Well, Kara Vita has a sunscreen that you apply once and it lasts all day long - thru water, sweat, and so forth. Joy, joy, joy! Can you sense my excitement? You must try it!

PS...No, I'm not a rep or seller of this product. I just know you guys like "favorite finds" out there and this is truly an awesome new "favorite find" of mine.

Send me a note if you should end up trying it. OK?

XOXO, Angie

CUSTOM AGD BEACH TOWELS

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:18:00 +0000

New from AGD - Custom Personalized HUGE, comfy, scrumptous, beach towels. Got a vacation coming up soon? Need the perfect gift for someone? A child, a girlfriend, etc.? We got it!
These were something I wanted to do for my kids so that they can take them when we leave on vacation next Saturday. The beach towels we chose to use are so soft and so big - perfect for our trip.

To purchase one of these, go to our ETSY store or our ONLINE AGD BOUTIQUE.

Thanks bunches! ~Angie

LIBBY LU TRANSFORMATION

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:23:00 +0000

Well, the birthday girl had the royal treatment last night. After Daddy got home from the office, we all piled in the car and headed to the mall. Kenidi Grace had an appointment at Libby Lu. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Libby Lu, it is a very girlie girl store that caters to young girls while primping their hair, doing their make up, allowing them to dress up, painting their fingernails, giving them goody bags of accessories, and so forth. Libby Lu has packages you can purchase that range from $25 on up to $40 for each little girl. Their primping sessions take about 30 minutes to do all of the above.
Kenidi was a little unsure of the whole experience at first - wanting to yank out what the stylist had already done to her hair.
But then....all of a sudden...the diva in her kicked in. Next thing you know....

She's loving every minute of it all. Especially the moments in front of the mirror showing off her Libby Lu duds and her beauty to Daddy.
Every few minutes, she'd look in the mirror - observe the progress - and make one of these faces...

Uh - huh...I be lookin' good and boy do I know it...

Bubbies (Brennen) came along for the event and enjoyed watching the whole process play out too.
Here she is getting the face stickers applied. Again, a bit unsure at first...

But then back comes the DIVA~!

Little lip gloss action - she loves Mommy's lip gloss...
And one more time...THE DIVA!

I was trying to hold her head still and tell her to close her eyes in this one because the stylist was attempting to put blue eye shadow on her eyelids. Have you ever tried to explain to a child how to close their eyes without them just squinting them and scrunching them all up in the end? Thus, the simple blue swipe at the corner of each eyelid rather than on the lid itself. HA HA!

Getting the fingernails polished below...

Bubbies playing around with me while my other hand is being done...
And a true sibling - brother style -blowing on the DIVA'S wet nails for her...

And here she is...Miss Kenidi Grace...
and her Libby Du!

ABOVE: Grandma Debbie, Kenidi, Brennen, and Daddy
Kenidi showing off...

ABOVE: The one benefit to being born with hypotonia - you can move in ways no one else can. ;)

ABOVE: Of course we had to have the pink rhinestone shades too.
Does she look like the next Britney Spears here or what???

What a blast! Thanks for making us smile & laugh out loud last night Kenidi!

We love you!

LUKE RUSSERT

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:00:00 +0000

Brent and I are huge "news junkies" here in our house. When I heard the news of Tim Russert's death, I was sick to my stomach. His age, only 58, rang out in my ears. He is only 5 years older than my own Father. This photo was taken as his son touched his Dad's chair on the set of Meet the press today. The emotions are ever so prominent although no sound is muttered and no face is clearly seen. Luke's head hung low and his hand on the back of his Dad's chair says it all. His body language reflects the deep, deep, sadness. I loved the story of how Luke has one tattoo on his body. It is the initials of his Dad, TJR, and his grandfather too. He had it done on his hip area so that they were always "at his side." I love that! Although I don't own any tattoos and am against my own kids ever having them, Luke's is one you could almost do yourself.

I cannot imagine life without my own Father. Luke Russert mentioned how his Dad could sit down and hang out with he and his college buddies like he was 24 years old again. That is my Dad. Luke mentioned how his father didn't have an enemy on the face of this earth. That is my Dad. And although my Dad and I tell one another that we love each other EVERY time we speak, I felt the need to say it one more time today.

I love you Dad!

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY KENIDI

noreply@blogger.com (Angie (Angelica Grace Designs)) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:01:00 +0000

Five years ago today at approximately 12:21pm you graced the entrance to this fantastic world and changed our lives and our hearts forever! Weighing in at 8lbs. 5oz., you became our little heavyweight champion of the world.
You have a smile that illuminates any room and truly makes this world a brighter place. You give love that knows no boundaries and no indifference. You've taught us to be strong, to be determined, and to stay positive!
You've taught us to NEVER GIVE UP!
You are the only child I know that can climb out of bed with bed head hair each morning that looks like it came from medusa but yet you still look so stunningly gorgeous - like it was all just meant to fall that way.

You are Mommy's little shopping buddy and her junior magazine reader-Daddy's little angel and his swing set partner. You are your brothers side kick and his all time best partner in crime.

You are our world! You are our little Kenidi Grace.

We love you beautiful - to the moon & back - 5,000 times over again! Happy 5th Birthday Kenidi. We love you so very, very much sweetie!

XOXOXO....Daddy, Mommy, & Brennen (Bubbies)