Other

Yesterday morning was one of those low points when I went to pack Caroline’s lunch for school and realized we were out of bread. And ham. And basically all other sandwich-type components. So her lunch was a baggie of pretzels, some Laughing Cow cheese, peanut butter crackers, carrot sticks and a Hostess cupcake. Please note that while I may run out of bread, we never run out of Hostess cupcakes.

I just sat here for five minutes trying to come up with a smooth transition to other things that have been going on around here lately, but I’m drawing a blank. Speaking of Hostess cupcakes, P and Caroline went fishing last week and had quite a good day. I think they ended up catching over fifty fish, but only kept a few of them.

I think that’s two fishermen who enjoyed their time. And also enjoy matching outfits.

They got home late Wednesday afternoon and then it poured rain most of the day Thursday. Soccer practice was cancelled but, never fear, we still had plenty of soccer in our future because she had a tournament all weekend. Fortunately, the tournament schedule fairies smiled on me and our first game wasn’t until 12:40 on Saturday. We were playing teams that were a year older throughout the tournament so we didn’t win a single game. At one point Caroline was matched up against a girl who – I’m not kidding – had to be almost six feet tall. It was like David and Goliath but with a soccer ball.

But we still had a great time and she always loves being with her soccer friends.

The only downside was the heat. And the humidity. And the heat and the humidity. By the time we got home on Saturday evening I felt like I’d just spent six hours in a sauna. Maybe because I’d spent six hours in a sauna.

We picked up barbecue on the way home and ate dinner while we watched the Aggies play Ole Miss in baseball. We came so close to winning the SEC Championship, but lost the final game of the series. On the upside, we finished the regular season ranked #1 in the nation and there are still good baseball times to be had because the SEC tournament starts this week, then regionals and then, God willing, on to Omaha for the College World Series.

On Sunday morning, I drove Caroline back out to the soccer tournament while P spoke at church. He met us out there as soon as it was over and then we headed home for the rest of the afternoon.

Oh, and in the middle of all of this, I was reading The Nightingale. I couldn’t put it down and picked it up every chance I had all weekend long. It was so well-written, but oh my word at the sadness. That sounds dumb to say because I knew it was set in France during World War II and that premise isn’t generally a harbinger for the feel good novel of the year. When I finally finished it yesterday morning, I immediately regretted that I chose to read it while I’m trying to finish my own book which is supposed to be predominately funny and light-hearted. I immediately had to cleanse my brain palate with several episodes of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and now I am not going to allow myself to read anything else about any sort of war until after I turn in my book. Otherwise I might finish the whole thing with “What’s the point of any of this? The world is cold and cruel. The end.”

But it was a really great book. Just don’t pick it up if you’re looking for a light beach read.

By Sunday evening we were all tired, including Piper and Mabel. In fact, they were so tired that Piper let Mabel use her bed as a pillow.

Mabel wrote a haiku about it later.

Sister shared with me
A place to lay my tired head
Growls replaced by love

And then earlier this afternoon, Caroline spilled a whole bag of Cheetos on the couch and Piper and Mabel declared it to be the best day ever because they were immediately on the scene before we could clean it all up. Mabel wrote about that, also.

Puffed corn tastes of cheese
I have seen the face of God
Joy unspeakable

Hope you have a good Tuesday.

Well not only did y’all provide great book suggestions in the comments yesterday, but several of you confirmed that I didn’t imagine that cute tunic at Anthropologie. I’m forever grateful because I really did wonder if I’d imagined the whole thing.

Here it is. It’s the sea island tunic by Hemant and Nandita but don’t go getting your heart set on it because it’s completely sold out.

Isn’t it perfect?

However, further online research led me to this version of it here on Revolve.

But it’s significantly pricier, which is saying something because the Anthro one wasn’t cheap. That’s why I passed on it to begin with and figured I’d wait until it went on sale. Plus, I personally like the shorter sleeves better.

The silver lining on this dark cloud of fashion misfortune is that I’ve discovered I love clothes designed by Hemant and Nandita and now I can be on the look out for things from them. Motley Crue was right, every rose has a thorn. Or maybe every thorn has a rose in this case. Whatever.

Here are some other cute things I found this week that aren’t currently sold out:

1. cameron dress

I have a dress that’s similar to this that I bought last summer at Anthropologie and I love it. It’s super comfortable, easy to throw on and looks great by itself or with a denim jacket over it. This also comes in some other colors, but I like this one the best.

2. aztec embroidered beach bag

I saw this beach bag and fell in love. And it’s only $40.

And then I saw this aztec beach bag with pom .

It’s like Sophie’s Choice. They are both perfect.

3. asbury button-down

I bought this shirt back in April when Gulley and I shopped with Jen in Houston. It’s really soft, the perfect chambray and goes so well with everything from a pair of white jeans to a maxi skirt.

4. dahlia gladiator sandal

I’ve really wanted a pair of gladiator sandals but can’t commit to the whole laces or straps all the way up my leg thing. But I really like these because it’s just a tie and you can kind of determine how high or low you want them to lace. They come in several different color options but I think the Sunkissed is the most versatile.

5. temples embroidered dress

I haven’t seen this in person but it looks really cute and also comes in white.

6. island baja pullover sweater

It really gets to hot here in the summer to ever want to throw on any kind of a sweater. But if someone invited me to their house in the Hamptons or something along those lines, I love the idea of a lightweight summer sweater.

Now I just need to know someone who owns a house in the Hamptons. I mean, I know Bethenny Frankel from the Real Housewives but she doesn’t know me so that doesn’t really count, does it?

7. sole society geo duster earrings

I think these are so pretty. They’re simple but different from just a hoop which is what I tend to wear most of them time.

8. j.crew floral lace shift dress

I tried this on at J.Crew yesterday and loved the way it fit. It’s very flattering, comfortable and also comes in hot pink and royal blue. It’s perfect if you have any summer weddings to attend or anything along those lines. I didn’t buy it because I don’t really need it, but I wish that I did.

9. old navy linen pants

These pants are so comfortable and easy to throw on as an outfit or even over a swimsuit. And they’re on sale at Old Navy right now.

10. j.crew keating boy blazer

If you’re in the market for a good linen blazer, this one at J.Crew is on sale for less than $100 and looks so great. It comes in white, navy, papaya and light olive green.

That’s it for today.

Have a great Friday.

Well, I have just spent the last thirty minutes looking for a top on the Anthropologie website. I saw it yesterday under their New Arrivals section, but decided it was too expensive even though it was everything I love in a top. White? Check. Eyelet? Check. Tunic-length? Check. Fun, colorful details? Check.

And now it is either sold out or I just imagined the entire thing. This is not an unlikely scenario considering that last night I dreamed repeatedly that an owl was tapping a hole through my bedroom window. Whatever the case, this top is now my Moby Dick and I am Captain Ahab. This is what I get for being thoughtful and cautious before hitting Add To Cart. I’d show you a picture of it except those have all disappeared as well. It’s like I’m trying to buy a unicorn.

Other than that, all that is going on around here involves waiting for the school year to end. I can tell I’m in summer mode because I’ve spent the last few days ordering various books that I plan to read over the summer because that’s when I always make up for my lack of reading over the prior nine months.

In fact, even though summer isn’t quite here, I’ve finished two books in the last week and highly recommend them both. I read Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld which is a modern re-telling of Pride and Prejudice and thoroughly enjoyed it. And then I was in such a reading mood afterwards, that I picked up The Fortune Hunter by Daisy Goodwin at Target a few days later and finished it last night. Next up is The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah followed by The American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld.

And so since I am about to find myself on a bit of a reading jag, feel free to leave any recommendations in the comments. I always love to know what you’re reading because there are always some unexpected treasures that I find, specifically I’m thinking of The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery that I read last summer and LOVED, but had never heard of until several of you mentioned it.

In the meantime, I still have about 10-15,000 words left to finish my book but I can finally take a deep breath and relax a little bit because I see the finish line. And it is waiting there for me with wine and cheese and maybe a day at the spa.

I’m sure you’ll all be so glad to know that I am officially over my cold. I think I turned a corner on Friday afternoon, although I slept about thirty-six out of the forty-eight hours in the weekend. It helped significantly that it rained all day on Saturday creating the perfect sleeping conditions. I laid down on the couch about four different times thinking I was just going to read a book and then would wake up an hour later with little to no memory of where I was or what day it was or basically anything about my life. So either my body was in desperate need of sleep or I’m coming down with amnesia combined with narcolepsy.

Since that’s probably all you care to hear about my sleeping and there isn’t much else to report on from the weekend since I was asleep for most of it, I thought today would be a good day to talk about writing. One of the questions I get asked the most, other than “Would you like to supersize that for an extra $1.39?” is “How do I write a book?” or “How did you become a writer?” or “What advice do you have for someone who wants to write a blog or book?”

And I never really know how to answer because the truth is there are a million different paths to getting published and no real formula for how to write. About a month ago I was about to speak to a group of women and the hostess asked me where I like to write. I answered, “My couch” because that’s the truth. And when she introduced me she told the audience she’d asked me that question and figured my answer would be something like a cabin in the mountains or a house on the lake. Both of which are much better answers than “my couch” and both of which sound preferable. But neither of those options really work for my real life as a mom who drives soccer carpool and packs lunches and has to go to the grocery store seventeen times a week.

It made me realize the real key to writing a book or a blog or anything of that nature. Lean closer because this is profound. The key to writing is to write.

I wrote five days a week on this blog for almost seven years before I ever had a book published. And I didn’t start the blog with that goal in mind. I wrote because I wanted to write. I wrote because I loved the process of it and the creative energy it gave me and because it was a way to remember things I’d otherwise forget over the passage of time. I wrote because I was drowning in diapers and sippy cups and a pharmaceutical sales job and just wanted something that was my happy place and that’s what this space became (and still is) for me.

That’s the key to it all. You can’t write with the goal of being published. You can’t write because you think that it will lead to any kind of fortune or fame. For every J.K. Rowling there’s eight hundred and seventy-four writers living in a van down by the river. Hopefully not all in the same van because that doesn’t sound hygienic.

You have to write because you love it and because you have something you want to say and the idea of not being able to get those words out on paper or a computer screen is killing you. And as you write those words day after day, an amazing thing begins to happen, you find your writing voice. I have always found inspiration in brilliant writers like Mindy Kaling, Tina Fey, Anne Lamott, Kelly Corrigan, David Sedaris and Erma Bombeck, but it wasn’t until I began the daily practice of writing my own words that I found my unique voice and figured out what I wanted to say. And maybe now you’re thinking, “But you pretty much write about nothing” to which I say, “EXACTLY”. My first literary agent told me something one time that I’ve never forgotten which is that every story under the sun has already been written, all that you can do to make it new is to figure out how to make it yours.

I’m not trying to sound like the wise old owl of writing because I’m the first to admit that I basically did everything wrong on my way to writing my first book, mainly because I thought writing a book sounded hard. And I was right. But I’ve been thinking about all of this so much lately because I’m in the home stretch of finishing my fourth book and it has almost killed me dead. I don’t know why this one has been so much harder than the others, but it has been. Just ask anyone who’s had to be in my vicinity for more than thirty seconds over the last six months and they can vouch for this. I’ve had to continually remind myself that the only way to make any progress is to actually write as opposed to getting a pedicure or organizing your laundry room. I even went so far as to procrastinate by scheduling a mammogram. Is writing more painful than getting your boob smashed flat between two metal plates? Apparently, yes.

So there you have it. My best advice is to write more, read more, listen more. Observe the world around you and figure out what it is you want to say and what you really care about. For me, that’s trying to find the funny or the absurd or the offbeat, but it’s different for every single one of us. Jot down notes on your phone or an actual piece of paper to help you remember things. Keep a pad of paper next to your bed for those moments you wake up with a great idea. You think you’ll remember those things, but you won’t.

And on a purely practical note, the best book ever written about writing in my opinion is called Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I’ve read through it countless times and it never fails to inspire me, help me or challenge me, depending on the day.

It also helps to find a community of writers, either online or in real life because it’s good to know that, while you may not be normal, there are other people out there like you who feel the need to write all the words and tell all the stories. My friend, Emily Freeman, has actually put together an entire online community called Hope*Writers and they’ve just put together an entire online summit featuring twelve authors, speakers and editors that you can register for right here if that sounds like something that might interest you. I also have writer friends who have gained great benefit by attending actual writing conferences, but this isn’t something I’ve ever done because it would require me to get out of my pajamas and make small talk.

There’s a great Hemingway quote about writing that has never seemed more true to me than over the last few months, “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” Write your story, find your voice, figure out what you want to say and let it go. You can edit and wring your hands about it later, but just get it all out there.

Mabel would like to add that when all else fails, you can always just write a haiku.

And Piper says sometimes going for a run might help you find your words and your joy.

It’s true. I’ve had this cold for going on a week now and I don’t know that I feel much better. But I’m planning to sleep and then sleep and then probably sleep some more this weekend and hopefully that will help.

Before we get to the clothes today, I want you to know about a great deal going on right now for my friend Sophie’s new book, Giddy Up, Eunice! that comes out June 7th. But if you pre-order a copy between now and May 17th, you get one free. It’s a BOGO like at Payless Shoes!

I’ve read it and I know you’ll love it and be so glad you have a copy to pass along to a friend. Here’s what you need to do to take advantage of this offer:

1. Pre-order a copy from your favorite retailer.
2. Go to Giddyupeunice.com and fill out the form on the page that says “Special Pre-Order Offer” by entering your email and uploading a copy of your receipt.
3. You’ll receive a follow-up email within 48 hours to collect your mailing address!
4. For questions, email [email protected]

Now for some cute things I’ve seen this week and just to warn you, this could have been entitled “Embroidered Dresses I Love”:

1. asos premium ladder and lace swing sundress

I am so far from being a bride-to-be but if I were then I would rejoice in the skin I had twenty years ago and I would also buy this dress to wear to some pre-wedding festivities. It’s so pretty.

2. star mela lina embroidered tunic dress

I saw this online and immediately fell in love. And, good news, Asos offers free shipping on orders over $40.

3. star mela allie embroidered tunic dress

This is apparently the sister dress to the one above. I love them both.

4. forever 21 embroidered peasant dress

Last weekend I was shopping with Caroline and we found ourselves in Forever 21. And I experienced sensory overload. Then I saw this dress and kind of loved it. I tried it on and it’s too short and a little too sheer at the bottom to be a dress for a forty-something women, but it will look really great with white jeans. Forever 21 offers free shipping on orders over $50.

5. j.crew linen cotton embroidered dress

Continuing in my theme of embroidered dresses, I saw this one at J.Crew yesterday. For my fellow San Antonio friends, there’s a new J.Crew Mercantile store in the Quarry. I ran in there yesterday and saw this. It also comes in white and is on sale for $59.50.

But if a dress isn’t your thing, it also comes in an embroidered tank top.

6. j.crew striped eyelet dress

I saw this dress, too. It’s $39.50 and is so much prettier in person than this picture shows. It also comes in lilac and vibrant flame.

7. lush woven tunic

I like these tunics because they are lightweight, wrinkle-free and easy to throw on with just about anything.

8. high low surplice blouse

This is on sale at Anthropologie and it also comes in an olive green. It’s made of Lyocell which is one of my favorite new fabrics because it’s so light and soft.

9. j.crew draped tank top with silky hem

Okay, last thing because I saw this yesterday and thought it was cute. It has a silky underlay which gives it a little something extra. It comes in blue, red, white and black.

That’s it for today.

Have a good Friday.

Before you read another word of this I need you to know that I have been up since 5 a.m. after a refreshing two hours night’s sleep. And I have a cold. And I’m on medication for said cold. So what I’m saying is take all of this with a grain or six of salt and forgive any typos or if I say something extraordinarily dumb as opposed to just my normal dumb.

We had a fairly busy weekend here. On Friday night we had Mimi and Bops and P’s mom over for dinner. P had gone fishing on Thursday and had what he called an “epic day” and so we did a little Mother’s Day fish fry. And then Saturday, Caroline and I spent most of the day at La Cantera shopping as part of one of her friend’s birthday celebration. I also spent a lot of time trying to convince myself that I did not have a cold until all the sneezing and sniffling and general woe is me feelings proved otherwise.

But on Sunday afternoon I flew to Grand Rapids because I had a meeting scheduled with my publisher to talk about my next book. Maybe you’ve heard me mention that I’m in the process of writing a new book once or fifty times over the last few months. These meetings were all about that new book, along with some other projects I’ll be working on, and all I can say right now is I am so excited about all of it. I fill you in as I know more details, but I can tell you that it looks like this next book will be out in the fall of 2017 at some point.

I realize that seems like forever away but when you remember that it was just Christmas yesterday and now school is almost out for the summer, it’ll be here before we know it and I really am working hard in between watching Kimmy Schmidt episodes to make sure this book is my best one yet.

So that’s what has been going on around here.

And now I’m going to bed. After I take another Benadryl/Sudafed combination.