Author: Big Mama

For several years now we have discussed getting a new puppy. Caroline has been desperate for her own puppy and it has continually been at the top of every Christmas and birthday wish list. However, we’ve never gone through with getting a puppy because we already have two elderly dogs, Scout and Bruiser. And we figured it was only a matter of time before one or both of them passed away and then we could think about a new puppy.

In fact, Scout had a health scare a while back and the vet told us then that he only had about three to six months left at best. That was TWO YEARS ago. And Scout is still with us at the almost unheard of age of sixteen.

Then Bruiser was diagnosed with a degenerative spine and he can just barely get around anymore, yet he continues to maintain a sunny outlook on life most days.

In short, we are running a geriatric facility for dogs in our backyard. And apparently doing a heck of a job because the dogs have beat the odds.

So we’ve gotten more serious about finding a puppy for Caroline in the last few months because, at the rate Scout and Bruiser are continuing to defy all canine odds, she might be leaving for college before they actually leave this world.

A few weeks ago P found out about a litter of puppies that would be ready about mid-June, but then there was some sort of miscommunication and they’d already committed all the puppies to other homes. Which I just realized makes it sound like they ended up in some type of asylum situation. This is not the case. I’m sure he meant loving homes full of Puppy Chow and plenty of stuffed toys to tear up like it’s their job.

This guy put us in touch with a friend of his who also had puppies and GUESS WHAT? They were 8 1/2 weeks old and ready to go to their new homes immediately. We found this out yesterday and had less than twenty-four hours to get our house puppy-ready.

I picked up Caroline from school, we drove to the pet supply store to pick up all the various accoutrements that a puppy requires and then met P at home to drive to go get our puppy. This was the picture the guy had sent of her the night before and you can see why we had no choice but to snatch her up and vow to love her forever.

That’s Piper. She is Caroline’s long-awaited new puppy. And in case you’re wondering, she’s a Blue Lacy which happens to be the official dog of Texas.

But then something unexpected happened when we went to pick her up.

She had a sister.

Which is how this ended up happening.

That’s right. Two dogs.

Sisters. Dos hermanas.

P decided it was a good idea to get two and I’m a sucker for puppies and, well, I think it goes without saying that Caroline was completely on board.

So we are proud to announce the addition of Piper AND Mabel to our family.

I am now some type of weird person who has one child and four dogs. I don’t even understand.

But look how happy everybody is.

Especially P because he was in his gingerbread jambes.

Then a few minutes ago I went to go check on the girls to see how they were settling in and saw this.

And I fell over dead from the precious.

Yesterday Caroline and I went to Target after school because she decided she needed some new mechanical pencils to get her through the last three weeks of school. And then as we were walking to the checkout lane, she glanced over at the kids’ clothing department and something caught her eye.

A pair of overall shorts.

She rarely asks me to buy her anything in the way of clothing. Which is probably for the best because it would be my kryptonite.

And so I bought her the overalls even though I know from personal experience they could later lead to fashion regret. But apparently the irresistible siren song of overall shorts is in our blood.

Here are some things that are cuter than overall shorts:

1. asos crocheted dress

A couple of weeks ago on Mad Men, Megan Draper had on a crochet mini skirt. And I kind of loved it. It made me wonder why we cast crochet aside as a viable clothing option.

2. gap cami maxi dress

This dress has gotten great reviews and I bet you can find in on sale at some point because Gap is always offering 30-40% off. It would be great paired with a colorful scarf or with a denim jacket on over it. Or both.

3. warehouse lace trench coat

This is a little pricey, but it’s so gorgeous that I had to include it. Apparently Mad Men is totally influencing my fashion preferences because this is so Betty Draper. How great would this look with white pants or over a simple white shift dress for a summer wedding?

4. lenore floral print kimono dress

See? I’m all about the 60’s and 70’s right now. Love the colors in this and it’s a great price for a fun dress or even to wear as a tunic over leggings.

5. embroidered & lace babydoll dress

This is like a fresher version of the Free People flowy trapeze tunic. I love the detail on the bottom and think it would look so cute layered over a t-shirt or tank with skinny jeans. I have a top that’s similar to this that I bought at a garage sale for $5.00. It was possibly one of the bargain highlights of my life.

6. brighter than print maxi dress

I adore this. And I totally think you could wear a tank or a bandeau under it if that’s your preference. It would also look great with a denim jacket on top.

7. tulum beaded earrings

Love these earrings. I got a pair of turquoise earrings for Mother’s Day and I’ve basically worn them with everything I’ve worn since then.

8. merona tote handbag

Yesterday when we walked in Target they had all these Merona tote bags lined up and I fell in love with them. Sadly, I am not in the market for a tote bag, but I would absolutely buy one of these if I were. They’re perfect for a weekend getaway or to take to the pool or lake. Or even the beach.

9. old navy embroidered gauze tops

I think this is really pretty. Perfect to wear with shorts or jeans.

10. old navy sleeveless cross-front tops

A few weeks ago I went in Old Navy and tried on this top in a large because they only had one in stock. I loved it even though it was too big and searched the store for a smaller size only to be disappointed. Now I realize it’s because they are only available online and I guess the one I found was one that someone returned to the store. Anyway, it’s a great top at a great price and this look is so in right now.

There you have it.

Have a great Friday.

Well I’m the worst at taking a break from the blog because here I am and it’s only been two days.

But I felt compelled to come write because how else would you know that I took Caroline to the dentist yesterday? I owe it to you to keep you up to date on that kind of not at all interesting or important information.

In truth I think I just had to give myself permission to step away because otherwise writing just feels like one more thing I have to do instead of remembering that writing here is a part of my day that I usually look forward to. Sophie and I even recorded a podcast on Monday that we decided was just too boring to put up and, based on the podcasts we’ve put up in the past, you know how bad it must have been. I believe at one point I talked about Caroline’s upcoming dentist appointment like it was an actual story.

One of the things several of you asked about in the comments on Monday was my thoughts on Johnny Manziel being drafted by the Cleveland Browns. I’m not going to lie, it was a sad moment for me. I’d told P before the draft started that I was going to immediately purchase a t-shirt representing whichever team picked Johnny. But Cleveland’s colors are orange and brown. I just haven’t been able to make myself pull the trigger on a Browns shirt yet, but I’m sure I’ll get there eventually. The upside of all of this is that I can officially continue my hatred of the Dallas Cowboys post Tom Landry and now the Texans are also dead to me. However, considering that my basic viewing habits regarding the NFL pretty much consist of the Super Bowl, I don’t believe any of these teams are particularly concerned about securing my allegiance.

One more thought on the draft and then I’ll move on. I absolutely believe that Johnny Manziel is going to succeed in the NFL. And I also believe that Jadeveon Clowney will prove to be a bust. That’s just my opinion. That and a nickel won’t buy you anything. But I want to declare it in case it comes true because then I can say with all authority that I knew it all along.

In other news that no one probably cares about, I never mentioned that when I went to Houston two weeks ago that I left my pillows at Bops and Mimi’s house. And, yes, I said pillows. Whenever possible I travel with my regular pillow and my body pillow. I would truly travel with four pillows and a box fan if I could justify it, so the fact I’ve narrowed it down to just two pillows feels like healthy progress. But it’s all fun and games until you get home and realize your pillows are three hours away in an empty house. I would describe the level of panic I felt at that moment, but I’ll sum it up by saying I just counted to ten and took deep cleansing breaths as I reminded myself that leaving behind two pillows falls on the spectrum of real problems right after bad weather causing a T.V. show to not record on the DVR.

(This also happened to me this week which I why I feel I can properly account for where it falls on the spectrum.)

(I should say that it was “Blacklist” and, thankfully, not “24”. That would fall significantly higher on the scale.)

Anyway, I found two substitute pillows for the night. One was off Caroline’s bed and the other was a body pillow she has from Target covered in faux zebra fur. The first worked beautifully but the faux fur proved to be a bad addition for a woman in her 40’s who is prone to night sweats. So I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond the next day and bought a new body pillow and, I have to say, I think I’m sleeping better with my new pillow configuration. In fact, Mimi and Bops went to Houston this past week and brought back my pillows and I haven’t even remembered to get them back because I think it was time to let them go.

And so after all the angst I felt about replacing what is probably a fifteen year old pillow, it only took being left with no other option that grabbing a pillow off Caroline’s bed that probably cost $15 at Steinmart. Maybe I’m more low maintenance than I’ve led myself to believe. It gives me hope for the future.

Other than that, it’s been a lot of going to the grocery store and Target and trying to write. My whole day on Tuesday was spent carting Caroline to various doctors, so that was super productive. However, it turned out to be a good thing because she’s been complaining on and off about her knee ever since she fell on it back in February. But I kept thinking it would go away and went with the whole medical philosophy of continually declaring, “It will be fine. Take an Advil.” in the hopes it would go away.

But I finally decided we should go get it checked because it’s always fun to spend money on co-pays and X-rays. As it turns out, I’m glad we went because the doctor looked at the X-rays and Caroline’s leg and basically said, “It will be fine. Take an Advil” which just confirms for me that my ten years in pharmaceutical sales were practically the same thing as going to medical school.

She also said Caroline needs to stretch more and sometimes leg pain can be growing pain which makes sense because Caroline’s legs are now approximately six feet long.

And so that’s what’s been going on around here. You can see where it’s all been so terribly exciting that I couldn’t keep it to myself.

I believe that I’ve mentioned before that I’m a fan of Birchbox. It’s a subscription service where you get a little box of assorted beauty products on your doorstep every month for the bargain price of $10 and I love trying out new stuff that I’d never buy without using it first.

Anyway, yesterday was the day I got this month’s box delivered to the door and it contained several things, including this new lip balm. I put all my new samples on the kitchen counter and ran out the door to pick Caroline up from school. When we got home she immediately began to look through everything and was drawn to the lip balm like a moth to a flame.

She asked me if she could try some and I said, “Sure, it’s just lip balm. It goes on clear.” Then I proceeded to unpack the unappetizing remains of her lunchbox and turned around just in time to notice that she had a huge, hot pink ring around her mouth because the lip balm was not, in fact, clear.

We laughed until we couldn’t breathe. And it really was an honest mistake, but I’ve decided it has great potential as a genius practical joke.

My only regret is that I forgot to take a picture of her.

1. mae floral embroidered dress

This is so feminine and pretty. I’m a sucker for embroidered flowers.

2. NYDJ clarissa fitted stretch jeans

I know several people who are huge fans of NYDJ because they fit real women and aren’t low rise and are super flattering.

These come in a ton of great colors and are currently 33% off.

3. tail stripe tee

I saw these tees at Anthropologie a while back and thought they were so cute. And now they’re on sale for just $29.95 and come in several other color options.

4. skirted cardigan

I’m a little in love with this. It comes in a few different colors and is on sale for $49.95.

5. luana blouse

This is another top I’ve had my eye on and it’s now on sale for $69.95. It is so gorgeous in person and I believe I’ve mentioned I’m a fan of embroidered flowers.

6. islita embroidered peasant top

Um. More embroidered flowers. And it also comes in black and white.

I will warn you that the name of the top caused me to sing “La Isla Bonita” quietly to myself the rest of the night.

7. j.crew pocket tank

This is a great simple top to wear all summer long. It’s an extra 30% off with code SALE30 at checkout along with everything else on J.Crew’s Factory website.

8. j.crew turquoise necklace

Good news! This necklace is part of the 30% off at J.Crew. How great would this look with all kinds of outfits?

9. reef gypsy uptown

I love my Reef flip-flops and wear them all summer long.

10. roberta roller rabbit top

These tops are so lightweight and come in a ton of gorgeous color combos and patterns. Even better, they’re on sale right now at Piperlime.

That’s it for today.

Have a great Friday.