Month: April 2011

  • Fashion Friday: Edition I’m not at the royal wedding and a giveaway

    Well I think it’s probably safe to say at this point that I didn’t make the cut for the royal wedding. And, really, it’s just as well because there’s no way I ever would have been able to make a decision about what hat to wear. Especially since I don’t own any hats unless you count a slightly mildewed sun hat leftover from last summer and a Texas A&M baseball cap that has seen better days.

    So my DVR is set to start recording at 3:00 a.m. and there’s a good possibility it may explode before the day is over. I’ve never asked it to work this tirelessly.

    In other news, I attempted to make my grandmother’s spaghetti recipe last night and it was possibly one of the worst meals I’ve cooked in a long time. I’m not sure where I went wrong, but I’m going to take it as a sign that I need to stick to what I know. And I know clothes. You don’t have to worry about clothes not thickening while they simmer or being too sweet because you may have added too much sugar.

    Also, there are no meatballs in clothes that fall apart too easily and become more of a meat sauce.

    Here are a few things I’ve seen this week. Make sure you check out #10 because there’s a giveaway coming your way.

    1. hive and honey eyelet tunic

    I love this in navy or white. You really can’t go wrong.

    Unless you don’t like eyelet.

    2. gauze mexicali tops

    Old Navy has done some version of this top for the last few years and I adore them. They’re lightweight and perfect to throw on with shorts or jeans.

    3. gauzy tiers skirt

    This picture doesn’t really do the skirt justice. I saw it in the store the other day and fell in love with it. It’s the perfect thing for summer.

    4. long island longing dress

    Have I featured this before? Or did I just think about it? I can’t remember.

    Either way, super cute.

    5. sanctuary peace short

    These are the shorts I bought at Nordstrom Rack on Monday. I really, really like them, especially because they can be rolled up or down to be longer or shorter and they fit perfectly.

    Best of all, they were only $30. While that is slightly more than $15, it’s still a bargain for a good pair of shorts.

    6. bohemian print tunic

    There’s something about this that I really like. It kind of reminds me of something Cher might have worn on the Sonny and Cher Show. Not that I really remember that show, but I’m going with it.

    7. zig zag dress

    I just think this is adorable. It reminds me of a roll of Lifesavers. Or like something Cher might have worn on the Sonny and Cher Show.

    Did I already say that?

    8. lunch date cardi

    I saw this at Francesca’s the other day and really liked it. It’s much cuter in person and they had it paired with a top kind of like this something blue tank, except it was a cuter top with a ruffle across the top. Unfortunately I can’t find it online.

    Or you could go wild and mix patterns and wear it over something like this heart and soul top.

    9. cricket top

    I picked this cricket top because people in the UK play cricket. And today is the Royal Wedding.

    That’s not really true. I mean, yes, people play cricket. But I picked this top because it’s cute and looks really comfortable.

    10. ruffles and rows tunic

    ALERT. ALERT. THIS IS THE GIVEAWAY ITEM.

    It comes in three beautiful colors and you will be able to pick the color you want if you win. To enter, you must click over to my giveaway page and leave a comment there.

    That’s it for today.

    Cheerio.

    (That’s British for “Y’all have a good Friday.”)

  • This contains nothing that is useful

    You’ll be glad to know I’ve recovered from the shock of spending an evening with a group of girls who only know about Prince Charles and Lady Di’s wedding because they’ve seen pictures in their mothers’ commemorative Royal Wedding issue of People magazine.

    And, really, I’m okay with being on the dark side of my thirties because I have no desire to relive my twenties. Maybe someone else’s twenties, but not my twenties. Although I would pay cash money to have back the skin of my twenties. Skin that glowed and had no wrinkles despite my constant consumption of 64 oz. Cokes in the form of Big Gulps from 7-11. Now if water doesn’t account for at least 94% of my daily liquid intake, my face starts to resemble a raisin.

    So I believe I mentioned we all went to eat at Mi Cocina after Bible Study. That’s where I realized I was old and also where the girls told me about a Royal Wedding App I immediately downloaded to my phone.

    (I’m not even going to pretend I’m too good or intellectual to watch every moment of the Royal Wedding media frenzy. I will be front and center. I’ve set my DVR for every program that even mentions the Royal Family, including TLC’s Wild About Harry. It’s a sickness.)

    After we left the restaurant, AJ drove me back to her house and I helped her put clean sheets on her bed. Actually, I helped her put A clean sheet on her bed since she doesn’t use a top sheet because it’s just more laundry. I don’t even know what to think about that. But considering she confessed to sleeping in a sleeping bag for years to avoid the whole “making up the bed” thing, I guess the no top sheet thing is progress. Truth be told, I slept like a baby even without a top sheet so maybe there’s something to be said for laundry laziness.

    The alarm went off bright and early and AJ dropped me off at the airport. I would have loved to stay a little bit longer, but Caroline’s class had a field trip to The Botanical Gardens scheduled and I felt like I should be there so she could ignore me except for when she needed me to carry her lunch.

    After the field trip I treated myself to a Route 44 drink and some tots from Sonic and then made a quick stop by HEB because everyone at my house enjoys eating dinner and I had nothing to offer them. And it was while I was at HEB that my phone rang and I got a call that filled me with joy.

    THE GLASS FOR OUR FRONT DOOR WAS READY. THEY COULD INSTALL IT RIGHT THEN.

    I rushed home and, fifteen minutes later, my living room was all LET THERE BE LIGHT because I finally had a wee little window in my front door like God and the original builders intended. I tried to take a picture to show y’all but it was the time of day when the glare was too bright and it didn’t work. And I could get up and take a picture right now but that would take a lot of effort and what part of I CHAPERONED A FIELD TRIP TODAY do you not understand?

    We had chalupas/tacos/bean and cheese tacos for dinner and then, after Caroline went to bed, P and I started watching American Idol. He remarked that he could never be a singer because it seems unnatural to display all that emotion on a stage in front of people.

    (And also maybe because he can’t really sing. He didn’t mention that part.)

    I said, “Well, you’re different from a lot of people though. You hardly ever show emotion even in front of people you know really well.”

    He responded, “That’s because I’m courteous.”

    I’m still not totally sure how we ended up together considering that I can cry five times in an hour on a good day. Or a bad day depending on your perspective.

    So we watched American Idol and I’ve officially become a fan of Haley. I didn’t even really like her at first but she’s grown on me. Plus, her duets with Casey are spectacular.

    I’ve also got NBC’s new show, The Voice, recorded on my DVR but haven’t had the chance to watch it yet. I’ve just got too much royal viewing on my agenda right now and it’s not like that Wild About Harry special is going to watch itself.

    And here is where I wish I had some clever way to tie this whole post together but I don’t. But on a serious note, prayers wouldn’t be wasted on the South after one of the worst weather days in history. Love and prayers to my Alabama peeps.

  • I’m out of town

    Yes. I am out of town.

    But by the time most of you read this, I’ll be back home.

    About a month ago, AJ asked me if I’d be willing to come to Dallas to speak to her Bible Study group and I said yes because there are few things I adore more than a group of twenty-something girls.

    So I flew in yesterday afternoon, we grabbed some lunch, I took a quick nap on her couch and then we went to Bible Study. And I met some of the cutest girls. I totally meant to take a group picture but then I forgot and then we all went and ate Mexican food and then it just never happened.

    I’ll tell y’all more about the trip tomorrow along with other things, but for now I’ll just tell you that they were the most fun group. We had the best time hanging out and I hope I didn’t ramble endlessly about nothing. The only down moment of the evening came while we were eating some chips and guacamole and I was absolutely feeling like I was one of them. Just a young girl with no lines on my face. And then somehow our conversation turned to the Royal Wedding. And they all mentioned they weren’t born when Charles and Diana got married.

    That was 1981.

    Then, if that wasn’t enough, several of them recalled hearing about Princess Diana’s death. It happened at the beginning of their fifth grade year.

    And so I came home, put a little extra Oil of Olay on face and went to bed.

  • I’ve always been partial to a scuba suit

    Yesterday morning I met Gulley at 9:00 a.m. at Starbucks. We used to meet at Starbucks every Tuesday morning but then she started teaching preschool and that was the end of our Tuesday mornings. Basically, she chose a classroom of three-year-olds with questionable potty abilities over me. But I couldn’t really offer her a paycheck to meet me at Starbucks and spend the day shopping, although HOW GREAT WOULD THAT JOB BE? Not necessarily the coffee with me part because I tend to overshare and can sometimes be moody, but the shopping part would be perfection.

    Speaking of shopping (this transition is a stretch), I feel like I need to share the specifics on the dresses Caroline and I wore for Easter because so many of you asked. And here’s where I confess that I swapped dresses with one of my friends because FREE is always the right price. That specific dress isn’t available anymore because she bought it last year, but this one is by the same designer and looks very similar. I recommend zipping it up before you wear it all day. That’s just a free style tip.

    Oh, and my necklace came from Francesca’s, but I bought it a few years ago.

    I found Caroline’s dress on Etsy from a shop called Kissing Kumquats. And P’s shirt came from Old Navy. No one asked, but I don’t want him to feel left out. Of course he didn’t even know he owned a new shirt until I showed it to him that morning and said, “This is what you’re wearing”. He’s like my very own Ken doll but without the ambiguous sexuality or the Corvette.

    Anyway, Gulley and I sat outside at Starbucks even though the humidity was hovering somewhere around 115% and caught up on life. They’d been in Bryan for Easter so we hadn’t really talked in almost 48 hours and had so many important things to discuss like our hair and self-tanner.

    After a little while, we headed out to shop. Our first stop was Nordstrom Rack and it did not disappoint. Gulley found a few things she’d been looking for and I mainly sat in the dressing room and offered unsolicited advice. I wasn’t really there to buy since I’ve already reached my $15.00 shopping quota for the month, but I did find one great pair of shorts that I had to buy because finding a decent pair of shorts is like discovering a farm filled with unicorns.

    (Why a farm of unicorns? I don’t know. It’s what came to mind. Plus a ranch full of unicorns would be hard to manage and might not come with a big red barn and some friendly pigs with a spider that weaves magical webs living in a corner of the doorway.)

    (It’s my unicorn farm. It can be anything I want it to be.)

    We left The Rack and drove over to La Cantera because I always like to see what they have at Zara. Ultimately we ended up at the real Nordstrom since it’s one of our favorite places to eat lunch, largely due to the fries with the kalamata olive dip.

    But Gulley wanted to make a quick run through the workout clothes before we ate lunch. And the workout clothes are located, appropriately enough, right next to all the new swim wear. It’s just one big section of sweeping judgement and condemnation for the sins of cinnamon rolls and missed workouts past.

    We tried not to make eye contact with the swim wear, but got caught up in a spirit of optimism as we both recalled swimsuits from a few years back that we hadn’t hated. We thought maybe, JUST MAYBE, there might be a miracle waiting for us there amidst the racks. Ultimately, I told Gulley I wasn’t going to try anything on because I knew deep down in my heart that it would only serve to ruin my plan to eat way too many fries dipped in kalamata olive dip and I didn’t want to have a lunch consisting of lettuce, Diet Coke and regret.

    However, Gulley ventured in because she saw a suit that seemed to hold some promise. She went into the dressing room while I checked the Twitter on my phone. The silence coming from the dressing room was deafening. And then the salesgirl walked in with a few more swimsuits for Gulley to try. I heard Gulley say, “Aw. That’s nice. Thank you but I’m done for today.”

    As we walked towards the cafe’ I told her she was one of the bravest women I’ve ever known. And we agreed that being in your late thirties isn’t for the faint of heart. Then we ate a lot of fries dipped in kalamata olive dip and laughed until we cried over various things and went back to our happy place of swimsuit denial.

    The reality is that I probably need to spend some time with my arch nemesis, Jillian Michaels.

    However, I chose to go all Scarlett O’Hara and think about it tomorrow. But now tomorrow is today.

    Dang.

  • All she wants for Easter are her two front teeth

    Here’s what you need to know about our weekend. We experienced the mythical and elusive Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy exacta on Saturday night. (I wish I could say trifecta because that sounds better, but that would have required Santa Claus or our door guy showing up.) The Easter Bunny even left a note letting us know he ran into the Tooth Fairy in the hallway of our house. What are the odds?

    (The Easter Bunny also signed his note, “Hoppy Easter!” because he/she is hilarious. It was a real crowd pleaser. And by crowd pleaser, I mean Caroline thought it was the best thing she’d ever read.)

    It all started on Saturday morning. We were on our way to Caroline’s soccer game when she mentioned that her remaining front tooth was bleeding. P and I kind of blew it off because the tooth hadn’t seemed that loose the day before and he told her to leave it alone since “the middle of a soccer game isn’t the best time to lose a tooth”.

    And then she lost her tooth in the middle of a soccer game.

    I noticed that she kept messing around with her tooth during the first part of the game as opposed to, oh I don’t know, trying to score goals. Then right after half time, she was running down the field when she suddenly stopped and yelled to P, “DADDY! MY TOOTH JUST CAME OUT!”

    He sent her over to me. She looked as if she wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry, but ultimately handed me the tooth and ran back on the field to the cheers of the crowd. After the game she told me that she was running down the field, put her tongue behind the tooth, it popped out of her mouth and she caught it in her hand. I so appreciate her cat-like reflexes even though I can assure you that she doesn’t get them from me, especially considering that I watched a wooden cutting board fall on my foot yesterday and couldn’t get out of the way.

    (My foot appears to be fine, by the way. Bruised, but fine. I did, however, have to ask for forgiveness for my thoughts toward the cutting board and the cookie sheet that propelled it onto my foot. And the white hot fury that tempted me to throw it across the kitchen.)

    After the soccer game/tooth drama we came home and dyed Easter eggs.

    We took it very seriously this year. As opposed to years past when the goal was to dunk each egg in as many different colors as possible until they all were a color that can only be described as tie-dyed mud.

    On Saturday night we spent time with some friends and got home a little late. Fortunately, the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy had indulged in plenty of caffeine throughout the day so they could complete their appointed rounds. Just like the postman, but without the slew of Boden catalogs I get in the mail EVERY SINGLE DAY.

    And ALL THE EXCITEMENT resulted in a Sunday morning wake up call at around 6:00 a.m. But if Jesus can rise from the dead bright and early on Sunday morning, certainly I can make myself get out of bed. Especially since I was being dragged by a toothless seven-year-old.

    She had already found the money left by the Tooth Fairy and ran into the living room to see what the bunny had delivered.

    That’ll do, Pig. That’ll do.

    Also, please notice the freaky shadows cast on my walls by the animal mounts. Nice.

    And then the search was on for hidden eggs.

    It required some thought and effort. The Easter Bunny upped his/her game this year.

    After all the eggs were found, it was time for a nutritious breakfast of chocolate bunny ears.

    We all got dressed and headed to church. Unfortunately, in my rush to get Caroline and I both looking presentable, I forgot to zip up the side zipper on my dress. A fashion faux pas I didn’t notice until AFTER Easter brunch. Classy.

    And now, a million pictures of the day. You can be like Caroline and ask, “WHEN IS THIS GOING TO BE OVER?”

    Look how cute they are.

    And look at what I had to endure before I got that picture.

    Also, I discovered it’s not as easy to hold Caroline as it used to be. I’m seconds from falling over.

    My delicate Easter flower.

    Mimi and Bops and my sister and her family came over for Easter brunch. And guess what? We took more pictures.

    Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of all three kids looking at the camera at the same time? If it had been a test, I would have failed.

    Then the cascarones (confetti eggs) came out.

    It was shortly after this picture that I found myself with a hair full of confetti. It should all be out by sometime in July.

    Not even Luke was safe.

    The day ended with some high level Easter egg negotiations.

    It was such a fun day. I totally understood when Caroline said last night before bed, “I WISH IT WERE EASTER AGAIN TOMORROW.”

    While she’s at it she may want to wish for her two front teeth.

  • Fashion Friday: Edition because He is risen

    “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.
    For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
    and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.” Isaiah 61:10

    Happy Easter!