Charcoal Duster, Link Up On the Edge #28 & The Winners Are…

January 19, 2017 / 60 Comments

Before I get to the winners of the Shelbee’s Shoppe Scarf Giveaway and your favorites from last week’s link up, I need to share this fabulous new charcoal duster with you as well as another little critter story.

This gorgeous duster just arrived in Shelbee’s Shoppe! I love how perfectly it layers over a body-con dress to create drama and cover my problem areas! It also looks amazing over black leggings and a long slim black tunic. And it flows oh so perfectly to make you feel like a modern day princess!

But enough about this amazing piece of apparel (and it is AMAZING)…I do need to share another little critter story with you all. Mice are a very common problem where I live. It’s woodsy and it’s watery and it gets really, really cold in the winter. Basically every one I have talked to in my area has had or currently has a mouse problem. But this year seems really bad and I don’t quite understand why with the weather being on the mild side lately. You can read about my first “too close for comfort” encounter a few weeks ago in this post. And much to my dismay horror, they just continue to creep even closer to my comfort zone!

On Sunday, I hosted a Shelbee’s Shoppe Pop Up Party at my house so I had a house full of friends. About 5 hours in, I used my small bathroom which is situated right off of my kitchen. As soon as I walked into the bathroom, I was met with the most horrid aroma of rotting flesh with a strong hint of spoiled fish. I know the scent well…if you have ever smelled the odor of rotting rodent, you recognize its distinct smell immediately. I was a little bit mortified and literally filled the tiny bathroom with a cloud of Lysol spray.

But I just assumed that the expired critter was somewhere inside the wall and there is not much to do at that point except wait for the fumes to dissipate on their on accord. That usually occurs within about 12-24 hours. By the following day (Monday), the odor was gone and I had pretty much forgotten about it. On Tuesday, I did notice that my cat Dave was acting all crazy in the back hallway by that bathroom, but he was more focused on the door that leads to the garage. And we already know that the mice are coming into the garage (reference the chocolate hoarding incident). Naturally, I just assumed there was some kind of critter activity occurring in the garage. Since I am totally a “bury my head in the sand, if I don’t see it I can forget it” kind of girl, I was able to mostly ignore the crazy cat.

Yesterday (Wednesday), I was out of the house for almost the entire day which was enough time for me to really forget all about the strange goings-on in my house…weird cat behavior, horrific odors, etc. Jump forward to this morning (Thursday)…I woke up at my normal 5:00 a.m., showered, put my jammies back on, and headed downstairs for my before-the-kids-are-awake cup of coffee. After my second cup of coffee, both kids were awake and sitting on the couch with me. Then nature called as it does like clockwork after two cups of coffee. And as usual, I wait until I can barely wait any longer to head to the bathroom. Unsuspecting and kind of in a rush, I headed to the bathroom off my kitchen, coffee cup in hand to refill after I finished my morning duty (pun was absolutely intended). And there sat both cats, Dave and Frankie, right at the base of toilet, looking up at me with pride in their eyes. And lying grandly between them was their little critter trophy.

At first glance, I thought it was their little toy mouse that they drag all around the house. But upon closer inspection, I realized the error in my observation. And I screamed. Oh, how I screamed. And I looked closer only to discover from the half decomposed state of the tiny furry body that this most likely was the same dead mouse that I smelled on Sunday.  SUNDAY! That was FOUR days ago! How utterly revolting is that?! While my cats thought they were great champions of the hunt, they merely discovered the dead thing that was probably hiding behind the bathroom trash can for FOUR FREAKING DAYS! Do you even know how many times I have used that toilet from Sunday afternoon through Thursday morning? I am so completely grossed out! But really, isn’t my new charcoal duster adorable?

Outfit details
Duster: Shelbee’s Shoppe Charcoal Split Front Maxi Shirt.
Dress: Old Navy (No longer available, but similar here).
Boots: TJ Maxx (From a few years ago, similar here and
Jewelry: All old.

And the winners of the Shelbee’s Shoppe scarf giveaway are…

Rena of Fine Whatever and Andrea of Andrea’s Wellness Notes! I will be sending e-mails to you both with details for claiming your Shelbee’s Shoppe scarf. Congratulations! And I hope you love your new scarves!

And a big thank you to everyone who participated in the scarf giveaway! I will be having more giveaways in the future. In fact, Rena and I are currently hosting a $60 StyleWe Giveaway. This giveaway will be open until January 30 and winners will be announced on January 31. Please do visit the link above and enter to win if you haven’t already.

Now let’s get to linking…

Thank you all so much for linking up with me each week and for sharing your stories, your outfits, your photos, your inspirations, and everything in between! I love seeing what you all are sharing, wearing, and discussing!

Here are your three favorite links from last week…

Rachael of Threads For Thomas shared some gorgeous pieces in her Stitch Fix Review #5.

Laurie of Laurie POP shared her adorable Happy Planner 2017-7 Changes I Made.

Yvonne of Funky Forty showed us some beautiful options from her Camel and Grey Capsule Wardrobe Essentials.

Thank you all so much for being so inspirational!


Tormented by critters on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Ups.

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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