Other

So Caroline and I left San Antonio on Sunday and drove to College Station for a week of Aggie soccer camp. Just in case you thought my reference to the Promised Land meant heaven.

I should clarify that she is the only one who will actually be attending camp because have you ever seen me play soccer?

That’s because it would kill me.

I will just offer my support by making sure she applies an adequate amount of sunscreen every morning and filling up her water bottle. Oh, and driving her there every day because she won’t take a cab.

I wouldn’t really make her take a cab. They have buses here.

When we arrived here on Sunday evening, we were thrilled to learn that Honey, Big and Gulley had already decided we all needed to go eat dinner at Wings’N More. They have wings there in case the name doesn’t clear it right up. But I’m a big fan of the chicken fried steak and so I went that direction. Frankly, wings just seem like a lot of messy for a little bit of food. And you know I have issues with chicken anyway.

And then we attempted to get in bed at a decent time, but it was a little difficult considering we have already fully acclimated to our summer schedule which basically has us keeping the same hours as a family of vampires.

When the alarm went off at 7:15 a.m. it was a cruel jolt into reality. But we managed to get up and find shinguards and pack a backpack with sunscreen and other miscellaneous supplies and then Caroline ate 1/4 of a granola bar to fortify herself for the long morning ahead. She also drank three delicate sips of water while I hounded her about the importance of hydration.

We arrived at Ellis Field and she was pretty excited to be there even though she was really quiet as she tends to be when she’s nervous. Fortunately, we met up with my college roommate, Meredith, and her girls, Emma and Ellie. The girls have never really spent much time together because they live in Dallas, but they all seemed to click pretty fast which makes sense considering their mothers have loved each other for over twenty years.

So while they played soccer in the hot sunshine, Meredith and I went to Starbucks right by campus in search of caffeine and sat and caught up on life for two hours. And as we sat and visited right there by campus and just a few doors down from the Chicken, I had a moment where I realized we never could have imagined twenty years ago that someday we would be sitting at a Starbucks (Largely because they hadn’t taken over the world at that point. In our day, coffee drinkers went to Sweet Eugene’s on Harvey Road. And they were all very sophisticated and scholarly. Needless to say, this wasn’t our crowd.) waiting to pick up our daughters from soccer camp together. It’s proof that there is nothing better than friendships that stand the test of time and let you pick up where you left off no matter how much time has passed.

As we drove back to get the girls from the morning session, I feel that we were both saying a quick prayer along the lines of PLEASE GOD LET THEM HAVE HAD A GOOD TIME SO WE WON’T HAVE TO DRAG THEM THERE THE REST OF THE WEEK. And, as of day one, that appears to be the case. They were all smiles when we picked them up and Caroline said the heat didn’t even bother her. Which, God bless her, I don’t even understand that.

Then we drove to Newk’s for lunch because I am obsessed with their chicken salad and we don’t have a Newk’s in San Antonio which grieves me to no end. Please, someone with an extra thousands of dollars lying around, open up a Newk’s in San Antonio. I promise to eat there at least three days a week. Possibly even more. That’s just a low-ball estimate.

Anyway, after the evening session of camp the girls still had enough energy to run around the field and kick the ball some more because YOUTH!

Here they are. Your Fightin’ Texas Aggie Classes of ’24, ’25’, and ’27.

So that’s what we’re doing this week. Soccer camp. Spending time with old friends. And I think it’s safe to say we’re having a great time.

Well, we just got home from my friend Julie’s house where we all watched the Spurs lose game seven and the championship. I was upset about it for 2.3 seconds until I remembered I don’t really care about basketball.

On a somewhat fashion-related note, Caroline had spent the afternoon playing with Julie’s daughter, Sadie. And when P and I got to their house in time for the game, Caroline was wearing an enormous bow in her hair. Like I cannot stress the enormity of this bow.

It looked so precious and girly that my heart skipped a beat and I had to remind myself not to show any sign of enthusiasm or excitement toward the bow because otherwise it would ensure she would never wear a bow again even under threat of death.

So I just said in my best monotone voice, “Hey. You’ve got a pink bow in.” It was just a statement. The same way I might say, “So. You have ten toes.” Merely a presentation of the facts.

She replied, “Yeah, I like it. I may want to start wearing bows now.” And I had to bite the inside of my lip until it bled to ensure I didn’t show any hint of a smile or other sign of approval.

I’ve noticed the bow phenomenon recently. Most of Caroline’s friends all quit wearing bows sometime around the end of first grade. But somewhere around the middle of fourth grade, bows began to make a comeback. Much like LL Cool J. And they came back with a vengeance. Bigger than ever. Somewhere between what the English refer to as a fascinator and the Flying Nun.

And so Caroline announced when we got home this evening that she’d like me to go buy her some new bows for her hair. Apparently the ones she wore when she was three are too small. You have to bow big or bow home.

But I think I may make her wait a few days just to make sure it really sticks. A shopping trip tomorrow might reveal my bow weakness.

Anyway, here are some cute things that I can actually profess my enthusiasm for:

1. side slit maxi skirt

The very first maxi skirt I ever owned was this brand. I bought it at Nordstrom Rack and loved it so much and then it had an unfortunate encounter with my dryer.

So don’t put it in the dryer.

However, I love the way these fit and they come in several different colors if you’re just looking for a simple maxi skirt.

2. stripe coverup swim dress

I went in Target the other day and MY WORD at all the coverup options. There are tons of them and all so cute that I had a hard time deciding which one to buy.

This one is super cute and is longer than it looks. It also comes in some solid colors if you’re not a fan of the stripes.

3. free people sleeveless tunic

I really love this. It comes in several great colors, but I love this blue. And I think it would be a great piece to wear year-round if you throw a jacket on over it.

4. adana kimono top

This blue is so pretty. And Anthropologie is having a HUGE sale right now so it’s a great time to go check out all the stuff you can buy at 50% off.

5. bleached western shirt

The other day I saw an outfit on Pinterest that featured a bleached denim shirt and decided I needed to add one to my wardrobe. And then, lo and behold, I saw this at Gap the next day.

So I truly just bought this shirt for myself. Except I bought it online because everything is 25% off when you use the code GAPGIFT at checkout.

Also, I ordered it in a Tall size hoping it might be just a tad longer and work better with my skinny jeans, especially for the fall.

6. knit maxi tank dress

How cute is this with the chevron? Would be precious with turquoise jewelry.

7. dainty she sweet? top

I love this simple, pretty white top. I have a top kind of like this and wore it last week with bootcut jeans, wedge sandals and some turquoise earrings. It may be my favorite summer outfit of the year.

8. towne & reese earrings

Speaking of turquoise earrings, I really love these. This style is so great because it really gives an outfit a pop of color.

9. noonday patchwork clutch

These clutches from Noonday are so beautiful. I might order one just to display it on my dresser so I can look at it and feel happy.

10. embroidered v-neck tunic

Free People just does me in with the tunics. I love this so much and it’s on sale.

That’s it for today.

Y’all have a great Friday and just know I’m counting down the days until college football starts.

It’s the only sport I want to stress over.

I know.

This is our second podcast in like six weeks. We are machines.

In this episode we talk about summer meals, coconut oil, and baseball. You might think those things don’t really go together but in our minds I guess they do.

You can click here to listen. Or here. Or, as always, you can subscribe on iTunes.

Okay, there’s a fun little giveaway with this post so make sure you read it all and don’t click away when you see that I’m just writing about a few random things.

(I mean you are free to click away, but then you’ll miss the giveaway. Plus, how do you know I’m not about to impart some serious wisdom in the next few minutes? Other than precedent?)

1. I mentioned I’m about to get edits back for my second book and several of you asked about that. It’s going to be called The Antelope in the Living Room and is a memoir of marriage. No one has given me any kind of official release date (it would probably help if I asked) but I’m assuming it will be out sometime in Spring 2014.

We just finalized the cover art yesterday and I have to say that I am really excited about it. That sentiment probably isn’t shared by the poor artist at Tyndale who had to deal with all my OCD issues about every little thing. I’d share it with you but I don’t think I’m allowed to yet because it may not be official.

So I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you and then my whole blog would basically turn into an episode of Alias. Except, regretfully, I am no Sydney Bristow.

2. A few weeks ago I received an email from Caroline Cobb. She’s a singer-songwriter from Texas and wanted to let me know about her new album the Blood + the Breath.

Here’s a description:

Song by song, this album is meant to tell the biblical story of redemption. Conceptually, it’s very similar to Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God, but with a focus toward Easter and the theme of redemption. Josh Moore (Caedmon’s Call, Derek Webb) produced, and it was recorded at Shane & Shane’s studio near Dallas. It all originated with a goal I gave myself when I turned 29 – to write a song for every book of the Bible by the time I turned 30.

(Which is uncanny because I gave myself that same goal. Except not. Because I didn’t believe in goals when I was in my twenties. Or ever.)

Anyway, I went to her website to listen and it is just so beautiful. You can download three songs for free if you want to listen before you buy, but I bet you’ll end up wanting the whole thing. The lyrics are gorgeous.

3. My dear friend Paige Knudsen is teaching an online course on fashion called Let’s Play Dress Up on Jeanne Oliver’s blog beginning June 24th. It’s only $10 to register.

I’m so excited about it because Paige has a great sense of style. She is singlehandedly responsible for inspiring me to layer my bracelets and I have been known to go back and look at some of her old blog posts just to replicate one of her outfits.

Here’s what you need to know:

-To register go to http://jeanneoliver.ning.com/ and register (this part is free).
-You will find the mini course along the left hand side of the site under COURSES.
-Click on the course you want to register for and pay. ($10)
-If you don’t see the course you are looking for click “view all” under the courses for a complete list of courses.

Plus, GIVEAWAY ALERT, Paige has given me three registrations to give away today. All you need to do for a chance to win is leave a comment on this post. Maybe you can share your greatest fashion inspiration even if it’s Jaqueline Smith and her Kmart collection.

I’ll leave comments open until noon on Thursday and then choose three winners at random. One comment per person please.

I feel you should know that I just got home from the pool about thirty minutes ago and just barely avoided being carried off by a tribe of angry mosquitoes. And, listen, I wouldn’t trade mosquitoes for the drought conditions we’ve endured the last three summers, but it feels like the mosquitoes have returned with a vengeance and are ready to make us pay for all the Off! we didn’t have to use the last three years.

The problem is that I’d forgotten about life with mosquitoes. Gulley and I planned to spend all afternoon and evening at the pool with the kids because – and I don’t want to speak for her – these kids never quit asking questions and talking and informing us about various things ALL DAY LONG and there was the hope that if they swam long enough they’d be too tired to talk by sundown.

But as the sun began to fade into the summer sky, the mosquitoes and gnats began to gather for a feast. Mainly around Gulley and me since we were the only two mothers dumb enough to still be at the pool. We tried to convince the kids we should leave before the closing whistle, but were met with a cacophony of “YOU PROMISED!” and “YOU SAID WE’D SHUT IT DOWN TONIGHT!”

And I get it. I remember the allure of the evening swim from when I was a kid. There was nothing better than the pool at the Nanes Clubhouse in my childhood neighborhood when they turned on the lights in the deep end and you could do a backflip off the diving board and swim down and see the kaleidoscope of light underwater.

(This totally just made me think about a book I read when I was Caroline’s age called The Night Swimmers. Does anyone else remember it?)

However, that was a simpler time when people didn’t worry about things like “chemicals” and “toxicity” and there were large trucks that drove down the streets every night that sprayed out all manner of DEET. Not to mention, nobody had to worry about getting the West Nile. And so if you had to coat yourself in Calamine lotion at the end of the day, so be it. No harm done. It mixed well with the Solarcaine you had to use because it wasn’t like we knew anything about sunscreen. The only thing I ever remember putting on besides baby oil was some Hawaiian Tropic SPF 4 and maybe some zinc across my nose but that was only so I’d look cool like the lifeguards.

Oh, the 1970s. What a sweet time.

On the upside, other than the unfortunate mosquito infestation, the pool was a good idea. We returned home exhausted and I sent Caroline straight to the shower and then to her playroom so she can watch T.V. or weave a potholder or paint the walls for all I care. Just as long as I can sit here on the couch by myself for about an hour without anyone asking me “Why did you say that?”, “Who are you texting?”, “What are we going to do now?” and – MY PERSONAL FAVORITE – “I’m hungry. What can I eat?”

I’ve forgotten that summer requires a little bit of an adjustment period. Much the same way you’d have to adjust if you woke up tomorrow and had an extra leg. A leg that likes to give its opinion on things and leaves various pairs of flip-flops all over the house.

So that’s where we are right now. I know we’ll settle in and get into a normal routine in the next week or so and I’m still so thankful that it’s summertime and not the school year.

I’m also glad that I didn’t get abducted by mosquitoes tonight because it was a close call and I don’t think I’d do well in their world.