Other

That’s right.

By the time most of you read this I will be in route to Atlanta for a speaking engagement. And as much as I’m looking forward to it, I may have sighed a little when I pulled my little black rolling bag back out of the closet last night.

I bought that little bag at Target in August on a whim and I will say that never has so much been asked of one reasonably priced suitcase. It’s been stuffed to the gills, rolled through countless hotels and airports and has carried my fan, accessories, boots, pajamas and laptop with nary a complaint.

That’ll do, suitcase. That’ll do.

The good news is I’ll be right back in San Antonio by 11:15 Saturday morning if all goes as planned and have big goals that involve sitting on my couch and watching college football all the live long day. Even better, the Aggies aren’t playing this weekend so I can watch without any stress at all.

As for clothes, here are some great finds this week:

1. nellore blouse

Listen. I bought this top last spring at full price and it has been worth every dadgum penny. It looks great with jeans, it can be tucked in with skirts and it has held up beautifully. And now it’s on sale for $49.95 and I’m so tempted to buy it in the floral pattern for next summer because I have loved the black one so much. This is a great piece.

2. long form v-neck

Also this v-neck. I have it in the black because apparently I tend to buy all my clothes in black. And, there again, I paid full price because I have no will power. But now it’s on sale for $29.95 and comes in several great colors. It’s so soft that you could wear it as pjs and long enough to wear with leggings. I adore it.

3. barrington st. anne florentine tote

This tote is not on sale. However, it has been my travel warrior along with my little Target rolling suitcase. It fits all my normal purse items, plus my laptop, a hardback book, and a bottle of water. And it has held up so well. The leather only gets more beautiful with time and I have never owned a tote bag that I love more. It’s an investment piece but totally worth every penny if you’re looking for a really nice bag.

4. b.p. rib knit high low tunic

I do not own this. But I want to own it. It looks very soft and perfect to throw on with leggings during the winter months. It also comes in other colors if you’re not like me and prefer that your wardrobe not look like the world before technicolor.

5. gap shirttail pullover sweater

Okay, so I have this. I bought it on sale to wear with my favorite Gap pj bottoms but it is so soft and looks so cute that I now have plans to wear it outside my home. Which isn’t saying much since I have been known to do carpool drop off in the morning wearing my pajamas. This is basically legitimizing that process.

6. spacedye cowl tunic

I tried this on at Anthropologie the other day and didn’t buy it but have been thinking about it ever since. It’s great because it’s not itchy and it’s lightweight which makes it a perfect sweater for a Texas winter. And it has a cowl neck but not one that feels like you have a cat on your neck. It’s very flattering, long enough to wear with leggings and comes in some great color options.

7. bloomsbury tie dress

I also tried this on at Anthropologie but didn’t buy it because they only had it in burnt orange. However, I am featuring it here because I feel bad for my Longhorn brethren and sisteren who have fallen on hard football times. This would be perfect for Texas/OU weekend so maybe you should run to your nearest Anthropologie and check it out.

By the way, it also comes in navy and if they’d had the navy in the stores, I think I might have bought it.

8. darling detective work cape

I have never owned a cape. But this one makes me want one. I’d like to wear this to Thanksgiving lunch with boots and then walk through the falling leaves afterwards. However, it will most likely be 85 degrees here on Thanksgiving so I need someone to live out that scenario for me.

9. merino blend long sweater vest

There is a vest I’ve been slightly obsessed with at Anthropologie but I didn’t buy it and now it’s sold out in the charcoal color and I can’t even tell you how sad I am about that because vests are a big thing for fall and winter. However, I did find this one at Nordstrom and it might be an acceptable substitute. This also comes in charcoal and black.

10. gap denim shirtdress

I’ll be the first to admit that this dress could go a myriad of ways. It could be a great addition to your wardrobe paired with a long sweater vest and boots. Or it could be one of those Gap things where the pockets fall in the totally wrong place and the denim looks like something your mom would throw out. I don’t know. But it might be worth rolling the dice because it has potential and denim is so in right now. It’s a denimsainnce.

That’s it for today.

Have a great Friday.

So.

It’s Thursday.

I’m not sure where the week has gone because it has been almost nonstop here. I left to drive to Houston around noon on Monday and stopped by Whataburger on my way out of town because I feel it is important to eat healthy, nutritious food on a road trip. But when the woman at the window asked if I wanted ketchup with my order, I just stared at her blankly until she asked me again. “Ma’am? Do you want ketchup?” And – I’m not even kidding – I answered, “I DON’T KNOW”. Here’s a life lesson, if you’re too tired to mentally process whether or not you want condiments then maybe it’s time to slow down a little.

On a related note, I quit drinking Diet Coke six weeks ago and I’m thinking that was bad timing in light of my increased need for caffeine.

I got to Houston a little early and so I took some time to shop because The Galleria was RIGHT THERE and how am I supposed to resist that? Alas, I didn’t find anything I wanted to buy which isn’t surprising considering that two and a half hours earlier I couldn’t even commit to a packet of ketchup.

The event was so fun and I even got to catch up with some friends I hadn’t seen in ages. One girl there was part of a 7th grade FCA group that I led when P and I were first married and it was so surreal to see her all grown up, married and with her own kids. And to think that I now have my own daughter in 7th grade.

The next morning I woke up in my hotel room and had slept so hard that I had no idea where I was or what day it was when my alarm went off. I met a friend for breakfast at Tiny Boxwoods and then made a quick stop at Anthropologie before I left town and actually bought a couple of things which is a sure sign I’d had a good night’s sleep. My ability to commit was back intact.

Tuesday was P’s birthday and so I picked up a birthday cake for him as I drove back into San Antonio and, on my way to the bakery, a car in oncoming traffic totally swerved into my lane and I had to slam on my brakes and lay on my horn to prevent a head on collision. So that was relaxing. But on the upside the cake was chocolate and covered in chocolate chips and totally delicious.

Later that night we picked up pizza for dinner because let’s not even pretend I’m cooking actual meals right now and had a nice little birthday celebration with just the three of us.

Then yesterday we had a bunch of repairmen at the house fixing various things that have decided to break. So my job was basically to herd Mabel and Piper from one room to another to keep them from biting any wandering repairmen. They didn’t really enjoy this activity and think it’s much more entertaining to growl at people face to face. But I have to say they have grown as dogs because they were so much better than they would have been even six months ago when all those people in our house would have caused Mabel to have a full psychotic meltdown.

Anyway, all that to say, here are a few quick things I wanted to share with you.

1. College football shirt

Remember last week when I showed y’all the shirt my friend Athena made for me with the quote about football from Nobody’s Cuter Than You?

She’s made a couple of more for other schools.

If you’d like a shirt you can contact Athena at [email protected] She can do any style shirt, any color, any team.

2. Red lipstick

Several of you asked the name of the red lipstick I ended up buying. It’s Mac Viva Glam I and you can find it here. And I also bought the Mac Pro long wear lip pencil in He Said She Said which you can find here. I haven’t used a lip pencil in – oh – FOREVER. But this one is easy to use and easy to blend into your lip color so you don’t see a line around your lips.

However, here’s my disclaimer. I put on the red and then blot it so it’s not overwhelming and then I put a coat of Tarte Lipsurgence Lip Tint in glitzy over the whole thing to tone it down so it doesn’t feel like HERE I AM AND I’VE BEEN DRINKING RED KOOL-AID. It’s also not something I’d wear every day but it’s fun for special events like watching Scandal in my pajamas on the couch or driving through the line at Whataburger to pick up a burger and fries that I may or may not eat with ketchup.

And I really thought I had a third thing but apparently I don’t so I’ll say goodbye and I hope you have a great day and I’ll see you tomorrow for Fashion Friday.

There was a day last week (I think Wednesday) when I went to write a blog post and totally blanked on the password for my blog. I’m not sure why it didn’t automatically populate on my computer, but it didn’t and I couldn’t remember it for the life of me. This is especially sad if I confess that I only have about three or four different passwords I use for various things. But I feel like the fact I couldn’t remember it and sequentially got locked out of my very own blog is indicative of my life right now.

I’ve known for a long time now that mid-September through mid-October was going to be an insanely busy stretch of weeks, but knowing that in my head and living it in real life are two totally different animals. Specifically because knowing things in my head usually looks like this: “Oh, this will all be totally fine because unicorns and rainbows and I will have unlimited reserves of energy and – OH LOOK A SQUIRREL!” whereas living it out in real life looks like I have gotten myself locked out of my blog because I can’t remember my password and my house is so dirty and there are piles of laundry everywhere and I let us run out of milk. Again.

And the truth is I love everything I’m doing and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but I’m a little bit tired. I’m a person who loves my home and, more specifically, loves the people in my home and I’ll be ready for a little downtime with no travel. But, in the meantime, I’m driving to Houston on Monday morning to speak at Memorial United Methodist Church and when I rolled out my suitcase again on Sunday afternoon, Mabel laid down next to it and wrote a haiku.

Suitcase out again
if dogs had tears I would cry
instead I peed in kitchen

And then Piper wrote her own poem in response:

“I like when Mom leaves because she feeds me cheese when she gets home.”

She’s no Emily Dickinson.

I got home from Sacramento on Friday afternoon (Sacramento girls! I LOVED being with you! It was so much fun) and drove straight to pick up Caroline from school. We ran by Starbucks to get a celebratory drink to kick off the weekend and then ran to Soccer Factory to pick up a new Halo headband because she’d lost her old one and needed one for her game the next morning. After that, we took Piper and Mabel to the dog park to burn off some energy because P is in the midst of our backyard project and they are currently confined to a smaller section of the yard and have been a little stir crazy. Later that evening we picked up Mexican food and basically did not one thing other than just hang out and watch T.V.

On Saturday, Caroline had a soccer game in Austin so we drove up for the game and then got home in time to go over to Gulley’s house to watch the Aggies play Mississippi State. I was so thrilled we won because I felt like this game was a huge test of how well our team might be for the remainder of the season and the verdict is we still have some kinks to work out but we have next weekend off before we play Alabama the following weekend. And for those of you who follow college football, I think we all saw this weekend that Alabama didn’t get the message that their dominance is over. Of course the truth is who knows how good anyone really is because there were so many upsets that it’s hard to keep track of who might be the best team, especially when you like to apply transitive properties to various teams based on who has beaten them…AND I DO. So the question becomes is Florida better than Alabama? Is Arizona State better than we thought? Is everyone better than Texas? (The answer to that last one is a yes. Bless their hearts.)

Sunday morning we had Community Worship and I really want to write a whole post about that at some point this week if I have time. So many people have emailed and asked about it and the short version is that it is an adventure, but it’s going to take some time to put it into words and I just haven’t had much time. P went to the ranch after church and Caroline and I had some much needed down time on the couch just hanging out and enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon.

And so that’s what’s been going on here. I’m not sure I’ll have time to post every day this week, but I’ll check in at some point. Hope you all had a great weekend.

Well, by the time most of you read this I will actually be on my way home from California. But as of this moment I’m sitting in my hotel bed in my pjs with a latte from Starbucks and, I’m not going to lie, it’s the best.

So the nice people at Nations Outfitters have offered us a 10% discount code that’s good from today through Sunday, October 4th. Just enter the code Big Mama at checkout to get your 10% off.

And you might be thinking you’ve never heard of Nations Outfitters so let me tell you a little bit about them. Their motto is “It’s what you do in your clothes that makes you beautiful!” and their hope is to not only bring women fashionable clothing, but to inspire them to go out into the world and make a difference. So each season they spotlight a different ministry and donate a portion of their proceeds to that ministry. This month they are spotlighting the ministry Until They Know (UTK) and you can find out more about that here. You can also follow Nations Outfitters on instagram and Facebook to keep on top of new releases and promotions.

Here are just a few cute things you can find in their store.

Head on over to Nations Outfitters to check out all their great stuff and don’t forget you get 10% off with code Big Mama at checkout today through Sunday.

1. long textured cardigan

Gulley and I were talking the other day about how there are ghosts from our fashion past that prevent us from fully embracing today’s trends. For Gulley, one of these ghosts is anything in olive green. However, I do not share that issue and I love this sweater because it’s a great transition piece to throw over a t-shirt or tank now and a long sleeve top later.

My fashion ghosts involve booties. I’ve finally embraced them because they are everywhere but, as Gulley says, “They aren’t anything new. They’re basically a desert boot from 1988 in a new package.” Amen.

2. ease up plaid poncho

Personally, I would wear this with pants. Specifically, I think it would look great with black leggings and a pair of boots.

3. cornflower tiered top

I saw this at Anthro when it was full price and loved it then. It’s much prettier in person and comes with a built in tank that can be pulled down a little longer than the length of the flowy overlay. This would look great with skinny black pants and a pair of brown boots.

Plus, all sale stuff at Anthropologie is an extra 30% off with code XTRA XTRA at checkout.

4. draped plaid buttondown

I have placed myself on a plaid shirt lockdown. It seems that I have fallen in love with plaid and overdone it just a bit. And by just a bit, I mean my closet looks like a lumberjack lives in my home.

However, I love the draped front of this shirt because it’s all the benefits of tucking your shirt in without having to actually tuck your shirt in. Not to mention that the colors are beautiful.

5. night out fringe peep toe booties

I ran into Dillard’s the other day which is a place I never go. But I was looking for Tom’s booties and saw these. I regret to say that I didn’t try them on but now I’m going back to Dillard’s because I can’t quit thinking about them.

6. collarless henley tunic

I ordered this shirt in ivory and wore it for the first time last weekend and love it so much that I want it in another color. It’s a great length and I love the buttons on the front. Best of all, it’s 40% off.

7. my theory sweater

I saw this picture on Pinterest the other day and decided I needed a chunky sweater to wear with my flare jeans this winter. And then I saw this sweater online at Blue Door and thought A HA.

8. december to remember vest

I would break my plaid lockdown for this because this is clearly VERY DIFFERENT from a plaid shirt. I’ve decided I love a long vest and this one would look great with so many different things, from a simple white t-shirt and jeans to all black under it.

9. rowing places cardigan

Love the stripes on this and I adore a sweater you can just throw on. Not to mention that in South Texas this is basically all the winter coat you need most days.

10. j crew quilted plaid puffer vest

Do you see how pervasive my plaid problem is? But, there again, this is much different than a plaid shirt. It’s a puffer vest. And I adore it.

That’s it for today.

Have a good Friday.

Earlier in the week I’d texted Sophie and said I could podcast Wednesday night because I knew I’d be in a hotel room in Sacramento on West Coast time. And she said she wasn’t sure she’d have time because of a multitude of things going on, but then she texted me as I sat eating a room service hamburger and said she was in.

We both agreed it was important to podcast the week that our beloved football teams will face each other on the field. So we offer some football insight (she confirms that I can be a little intense) and talk about lipstick and California and family road trips of yore and how I don’t really care for a long car ride.

You can click here to listen. Or here. You can even listen right here on the blog.

Or, as always, you can subscribe on iTunes.

Just FYI – here’s where you can get more info on the products / places we mention (these aren’t affiliate links – just regular ole links):

– Ritz Chips
– Sahale Pomegranate Vanilla Cashew Mix
– My Miracle Contact Lenses (they’re multifocal)
– Mississippi State’s Pregame Video – Texas A&M
– Good Bull Hunting (Mel’s favorite for A&M news)
– KCRA – If you time it right, maybe you can watch Melanie’s interview live on Thursday morning!
– TOMS Majorca Peep Toe Bootie
– C.Style – one of Mel’s favorite fashion blogs

So on Thursday afternoon I left for the DotMom Conference in Nashville. My flight was super easy even though I made a total amateur mistake and forgot to check in early on Southwest and thus ended up in the C boarding group. I just couldn’t handle it so I upgraded to the A group when I arrived at the gate and felt really proud of myself when I managed to snag my preferred aisle seat near the front of the plane. All was good and fine until I realized it was going to be a full flight and the passenger who ended up next to me in the middle seat blew her nose no less than 800 times between San Antonio and Nashville.

Sometimes there isn’t enough hand sanitizer.

But, even with the incessant nose-blowing, the flight wasn’t bad because I spent it reading Mindy Kaling’s new book Why Not Me? and I cannot recommend it enough. I find her completely and totally delightful.

Once I arrived in Nashville, we went straight to dinner to discuss logistics for the conference and then headed to the hotel. Sophie’s sister ended up coming by to see us and so we all piled in Sophie’s room and caught up on various things. Meanwhile, I kept calling and texting P and Caroline to see if they’d made it home from soccer practice only to get no answer. At first I wasn’t concerned, but when I hadn’t heard a word from either of them by 9:30 that night I finally texted P and said, “ARE YOU THERE?” and since he knows me well enough to know that text meant I was just shy of calling the police, he called me.

Me: “Hey! I was getting worried! How was soccer practice?”

P: “Well, it was okay. But we’re at the emergency clinic.”

This is what every mother wants to hear when she’s a plane ride away. As it turns out, Caroline had gotten tangled up with another player during practice and everyone heard her hip pop loudly when she landed. She was in a lot of pain and her coach said they should go get it X-rayed. P was going to try to do all this under the radar so I wouldn’t panic, but then the clinic had a big emergency case come in and, long story short, P and Caroline didn’t get home from the clinic until midnight.

Fortunately, all the scans and X-rays showed that nothing was torn or broken and she’s just going to be sore for the next several days.

Anyway, the conference started Friday afternoon and it was the most fun. Christy Nockels led worship and she was beyond amazing. Here’s a picture of Christy, Sophie and me. Oh wait. I didn’t take any pictures because I am an idiot who apparently can’t multi-task.

After it was all over on Saturday afternoon, Sophie and I went back to the hotel. The Aggies were playing Arkansas at 6:00 and we had a party to attend at 7:00, but I figured I could at least watch the first quarter or so and get a feel for the game. And here’s where I have to tell you that all weekend long at the conference, Razorback fans kept coming up to me and telling me congratulations because they knew they wouldn’t win. But I had a bad feeling. I have a gift that some people might call “Football Unagi” otherwise known as “Football Salmon Skin Roll”.

And so as I watched the first quarter in my hotel room, I was a little like this.

Sophie and I headed to the party at halftime and I continued to monitor the game on my phone until my friend Mary Katherine pulled up the live feed on her phone for me. And with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, this was me.

What is this game of American football of which you speak? It is dead to me.

It was about this time that Sophie and I said our goodbyes and left the party. I had given up all hope and said I’d just follow the stats on my phone (cue the sad trombone), but Sophie – in an act that has cemented her status as MY HERO FOREVER – pulled her car over until she was able to get the live feed on her phone COMPLETE WITH GAME AUDIO OVER HER CAR SPEAKERS.

(This is what a friend does when they understand your level of crazy because they also have a touch of that same crazy. And she did this for me in spite of the fact that her Mississippi State Bulldogs were in the fourth quarter of a big game at Auburn. She laid down her football life for her friend.)

(Also, she saw me at a level of football insanity that I usually reserve for Gulley only who, by the way, was texting me throughout this entire ordeal.)

And, at that very moment, as if the Aggies knew that I was able to see it, Kyle Allen threw a long pass to Josh Reynolds. Then Tre Carson ran it in for a touchdown. But there was so little time left and we needed the two-point conversion. Which made me feel like Jesse Spano in that Saved By the Bell episode where she takes amphetamines and freaks out. “I’M SO EXCITED! I’M SO EXCITED! I’M SO SCARED!”

Yes. That.

But we got the two-point conversion to tie it up. Then Arkansas fumbled and we recovered it and let the clock run down so we could attempt a field goal to win the game. By this time, Sophie and I were sitting in the parking lot of our hotel but I continued to watch the game on her phone lest I ruin ALL THE GOOD MOJO. This was me.

And our kicker missed the kick and sent the game into overtime. I will confess I said some words you won’t hear in Sunday School.

But then Kyle Allen threw a touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds in overtime and we were up by seven.

Arkansas had a chance to tie it up and I don’t think I breathed for four and a half minutes. Finally, DeVante Harris batted down the pass on fourth and four and the Aggies won.

I was so elated that I didn’t even care that I had essentially aged eighty-four years in the span of ten minutes.

And given all of this football insanity, the t-shirt that my friend Athena made for me with a quote from Nobody’s Cuter Than You and brought to give me at DotMom has never felt more true.