1000 Things I Need To Say

Somewhere along the way in this crazy, fast paced thing I like to call my life, I let a little milestone pass without proper fanfare. And the funny thing is, I just kind of noticed it all nonchalant and then it hit me. I reached 1000 posts. One thousand posts on Candy's Daily Dandy!!! To date, this will now be 1016 posts.

Maybe now Cinemax, HBO or Showtime will come a calling and turn my blog into a fabulous series starring Sarah Jessica Parker as me!!! Right? Turn a dream into reality. Just sayin and dreamin..There can't be only one Candace in the world that's a famous writer. One can only hope.

Anyway, 1000 posts comprises the largest body of my work to date. Some of it complete crap, some of it brilliant, some of it hilarious and some of it poignant and somber. I've shared with you my life, my kids life, my crazy family moments my childhood, my friends and general trivia, news and junk that no one really cares about except maybe us. And let's not forget the comments!! Bloggers, you never cease to make me laugh out loud, cry, and think and inspire me to keep going every day. For you and your loyalty I am grateful. Without you it wouldn't be nearly as rewarding. Heck, Heff, Scope and Zibsy, you all made it into my children's toast at our wedding. Really. I've never met any of you, yet you are all an important part of my life. Thanks for coming along for this crazy ride.

And this crazy ride, so far, has been....one of the greatest things I have ever done. (besides Frick and Frack) My blog is right up there with my favorite things in life. And you are all a big part of it, and for that I thank you and I love you and I am eternally grateful that you take a moment out of your busy day to see what kind of Dandy Candy has to share today.

I'm gonna keep on sharing little Candy Dandy's Daily and I hope you all will keep coming.

1000 Thank you's just doesn't quite seem enough, because I get so much more from all of you.

I Was Just Thinking..

It would seem to me that as a society, we are all obsessed with the concept of an upgrade. Onto bigger and better things, so out with the old and in with the new. But is the new always the better option?

• Technology says yes. Newer phones with the latest technology that are quicker, clearer and thinner than their older counterparts who just can't compete create a societal frenzy. If the lines of people camped outside the Apple store in all kinds of weather don't speak volumes about our voracity for upgraded technology, I don't know what does.  It's a techie's wet dream of being the first to own the newest in the industry. 
• Jewelry. They say that diamonds are a girl's best friend, so who doesn't want a bigger, brighter version of our very good friend? On second thought, maybe not everyone needs bigger, but if offered the opportunity to own a more valuable gem or stone, you'd be hard pressed to find someone to say "no thanks".

The question still begs..Is it always better? Is an upgrade a better grade of life? 

• Weary traveler's say yes. A first class seat airline seat is bigger, softer, roomier and comes with a better meal with a more attentive waitress than it's coach counterpart. Does that mean that there's also an upgrade of people in first class?
• Academic papers that are "upgraded" may be the only exception to the question at hand. An upgrade on any academic work is always a good thing.

But when it comes to the people in our lives, the concept of an "upgrade" is fuzzy at best. Can one really "upgrade" the old ball and chain? Can you actually replace a person with a newer version of the same person? I guess you'd have to ask Hugh Hefner. It would seem that he has perfected the art of "upgrading" his women. It's a funny dinner party joke with your friends, to kid about "upgrading" your spouse, but in truth I would guess that most people would rather not. In fact, I think most people who tend to poke fun at the concept of replacing one person with another "newer" version know exactly what it means. 

It means they know for certain that for them, there is no better grade. 

It's Just My Bag

I've always been obsessed with bags. I love all kinds of bags; handbags, totes, backpacks, clutch bags, you name it and I've got it and chances are I own it in almost every color, size shape and fabric. So it should come as no surprise to you that I sell all kinds of bags at The Candy Bar. This being my first few months of selling accessories, I wanted to conduct a survey of sorts to find out the buying habits of women and their bags so I can better buy for The Candy Bar.

Women carry handbags for a plethora of reasons, but nothing is more recognizable as a symbol of style and status than a woman's handbag. There are those like me who get all giddy with pleasure at the sight of a new, gorgeous bag. There are thousands of websites and blogs devoted to everything and anything handbag related. The building above is designed to look like a handbag and it houses the Simone Handbag Museum in Seoul, South Korea. A testament to architecture or fashion? A testament to the love of a woman's constant companion, her handbag.

To my blogger buddies, I ask you to do the following: Ask your wives, girlfriends, friends, significant others the following questions and respond. If you are out there reading this, and you don't have a blogger account, email me your answers. I want to know what women want, think and need when it comes to a handbag purchase.


1. Do you buy designer handbags or are you a bargain handbag shopper?

2. What is the price point you consider to be "expensive"? What is the price point you consider to be "reasonable"?

3. Do you prefer a tote or a more structured handbag?

4. Do fabrics and colors factor in you purchase?

5. Do you buy always handbag for yourself or have you received one as a gift that you liked and used?

6. How many handbags would you say that you have in your closet? Which is your go to bag?

7. If you are going to spend over $500.00 on a bag, will it be a designer with a recognizable logo?


And in case you were wondering, all handbags at The Candy Bar are currently 30-50% off the original price.

Bad Joke Friday

Jack woke up with a huge hangover after attending his company’s Christmas party. He didn’t even remember how he got home from the party.

As bad as he as feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong.

Jack had to force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he saw was couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table.

And, next to them, a single red rose! Jack sat up and saw his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed.

He looked around the room and saw that it was in perfect order, spotlessly clean.

So was the rest of the house. He took the aspirins, and cringed when he saw a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror.

Then he noticed a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written in red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick:

“Honey, breakfast is on the stove. I left early to get groceries to make you your favorite dinner tonight. I love you, darling!”

He stumbled to the kitchen and sure enough, there was hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the morning newspaper. His son was also at the table, eating.

Jack asked, “Son, what happened last night?”

“Well, you came home after 3 A.M, drunk and out of your mind. You fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door.”

Confused, he asked his son, “So, why is everything in such perfect order and so clean? I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me??

His son replied, “Oh THAT! Mum dragged you to the bathroom to clean you up, and when she tried to take your pants off, you screamed, ‘Leave me alone b*tch, I’m married!

Baby It's Cold Outside

So I built my house precisely 13 years ago. At the time I was a bright eyed, young ingenue with nothing but hope and pride for my new project. I had a great general contractor and a great architect and I was able to incorporate some fabulous design elements into the home. We sub-contracted everything out, so I was mulling over every bid for every job daily. It was a wonderful experience.

Did I mention that I was young and bright eyed?

Ya, cuz they saw me coming a mile away...I'm talking about my Viessman heating system. Now don't get me wrong, I didn't say I wasn't smart, I just said I was young and hopeful. At the time I chose the Viessmann European system, I had done my research. It was the newest, brightest, most energy efficient system money could buy and I drank the Viesmann Kool Aid heartily. When my shiny new system was installed into my fabulous new home I practically patted myself on the back!

If I remember correctly, it wasn't until the second or third year I began to run into some serious problems with my Golden Boy system.

• Problem: When the temps outside reach epic numbers, ie: -Minus Zero or above 100 degrees, the system struggles to keep up with the demand. And I mean struggles. 
• Problem: The original guy that installed it quickly went away...he closed up shop and moved to God knows where, leaving me to find a new repair service. Easy enough right? Wrong. I cant tell you how UN-funny it is to have service company after service company tell me, "Golly gee lady, that boiler sure is pur-tee, but I reckon I ain't knowin how 'ter fix it."

Long story short, about 9 years ago I found a company that works with the system. They have only one guy that works with Viessman, and he comes to my home twice a year to maintain my unit. 95 percent of the time I am in good shape, but the other 5 percent is a bitch and only happens when the temps get extreme. Like this past week in frigid cold temps.

Efficient my ass...

Tell that to the pockets of cold areas in my house. 

PT Barnum would have LOVED me......

My Tommy Laid An Egg

I'm SO over it...

Athletes, Football, The AFC and Faith

On this day of football,
we look upon ourselves,
Think of those whom we love,
and know by which we play for.

God grant us victory,
As we come to battle...
We fight to win.



I watched the Oprah Interview with Lance Armstrong late into the night last night and I came away with an uneasy feeling. The man appeared uncomfortable, smug at times, remorseful at times, incredulous and groveling. I'm not sure what to think. I do know firsthand, that liars believe their own lies. The lies become truths to them and that's how they get away with it. Not for long because Karma is a fierce mistress and she will make you pay.

I did find him to be quite physically appealing, and I'm not talking about attraction or sexual desire (I will save all of that for the man pictured above) I'm talking about his physicality. Lance is the epitome of an athletic specimen, chemically enhanced or not and I couldn't help but be distracted by his chiseled facial structure, and his defined cheekbones. (I just want to highlight and contour that face)

The point is, it's easy to see how he used his physicality and his cunning to get those around him to drink the Lance Kool-Aid. And they did, and now that the jig is up, they are all coming clean. Lance had that invincible "athlete" mentality that Tiger Woods and Roger Clemens so famously choked on too. He then got greedy and says that none of this would have happened if he had not decided on the come back. An intriguing interview at best and the greatest infomercial ever invented for the OWN Network.

Which brings me to football.

I'm not feeling any swagger, making any predictions or talking any trash. I'm grateful to the man above, (My Tommy) for the luxury of  being able to keep watching Patriots football in mid January. I have faith in my team and I have enjoyed every second of this pro football in the NFL at Foxboro's Gillette Stadium ride. I pray that Tommy never has to sit down with Oprah for anything other than to discuss his Hall of Fame NFL career.

Let's just take it one game at a time.  Good Luck. Go Pats!