Because it is Labor Day and many of us are sitting at home enjoying all the non-laboring (Or maybe you’re trying to catch up on laundry and clean the kitchen. I hear it’s how some people celebrate.) I thought it would be a good day for a giveaway. Click over to my giveaway page for more details.
So this weekend is Labor Day weekend and, while I’m looking forward to having a long holiday weekend, I’m a little sad it’s time to put away my white jeans. I feel like we barely got to know each other and now I have to put them away until next spring. My heart breaks a little.
On the other hand, it’s hard to be sad for long when this weekend marks the official start of the college football season. There are few things in life that bring me more joy than a Saturday spent watching a football game while eating some sort of dip. (Sidenote: Go check out the DipTacular going on at Boomama’s.) The only thing better is if it happens to be the Aggies participating in the aforementioned great game, but I’ll take what I can get.
And while we’re on the subject of college football, I was in Banana Republic yesterday (it’s all in the name of exhaustive research for you, internet) and saw this really cute top. The only problem was it came in burnt orange and I just can’t wear burnt orange this time of year because it would be considered sacrilege. It’s bad enough that I have to endure all the Longhorn love in the press (get a room); I certainly don’t need to contribute to it by wearing their colors, even if it is in the form of a kicky little blouse.
However, I felt like I wanted to pass it on to some of my friends who cheer for the school in Austin because I know the pain that comes with trying to find fashionable items in college colors, says the girl who went to Texas A&M and has conducted massive searches for maroon items that aren’t football jerseys.
(By the way, I was going to post a link to the top but it’s not online. I guess it’s just in the store.)
As I was standing there in Banana Republic pondering the dilemma of whether or not I should help the folks in burnt orange and thinking about how hard it is to find clothes in school colors, I received an email from my friend K telling me about a new website called Team Colors Couture. It’s basically a place where you can find fashionable items in your college team’s colors. Right now it’s only Texas schools, but they’ll be adding new schools over time and obviously there are many schools that share the same colors. It pains me that there is an appallingly low selection of maroon merchandise, but that’s an Aggie’s cross to bear. The fashion world is just generally not a fan of maroon or her slightly more attractive half sister, burgundy.
I’d cry discrimination and start a huge campaign to change things but that would take a lot of work.
My point is Gig’em Aggies. I love you and will always cheer for you even if the fashion world and the sports pages neglect you.
Now for a few questions.
1. Karate Mom asks: “Could you please link to the fabulous scarf video that you did last year? My mom got the most beautiful big scarf faux pashmina thingy for me, but I need to know how to wear it!”
Well, yes, I certainly can even though I cannot watch that video without cringing. However, of all the stupid things I’ve ever done in the name of this blog that one gets the most requests, so here’s the link.
And, by the way, the scarf is still totally in for this season. I plan on wearing all of mine if the temperature ever drops below 100 degrees again.
2. Amanda asks: “Can you suggest any ways to wear leggings for those of us who have not used our Shred DVDs yet?”
Are you trying to imply that I haven’t been using my Shred DVD? Because I have. I TOTALLY HAVE. Maybe.
The key to wearing leggings for those of us who are mere mortals and enjoy the occasional bowl of queso or bag of M&M’s is to think about proportions and the use of color. Clearly, most of us will not be wearing them this way. But if you can pull that off then God bless you and may I suggest you go eat some chicken fingers?
Buy a pair of leggings in a darker color because it will give your legs the illusion of slimness and then pair the leggings with a longer cardigan, jacket or top in a pattern or a lighter color. This will allow you to rejoice in the comfort that is the legging while drawing the eye away from your booty region. Just make sure that your top isn’t too big or loose because you don’t want to look sloppy, which can actually make you look bigger.
Here are a few outfits that show how to make the leggings look work in a tasteful way. I realize most of us aren’t going to throw down the coin these particular outfits cost, but I needed something to use as an example and they were all I could find. Just remember these looks and head to TJ Maxx or wherever you like to bargain shop to replicate them.
3. Kristen asks: ” I finally bought some Frye Harness Boots, (YAY!), but now and trying to figure out how to wear them. I’ve got some good jeans that I can put them with, but what else could I do? I’m a mid thirties average sized girl and I’m willing to take [some] fashion risks.”
See above discussion on leggings.
You know I have long been a fan of the harness boots and the good news is that Target is selling the knock off harness boots in both black and brown this year. You can pair them with jeans or try them with leggings for something different and slightly edgier.
And we all know I’m a fan of edgy because I’ve been known to skip breakfast even though it’s the most important meal of the day.
4. Cody asks: “We’re heading off to a wedding in Puerto Rico in December. My husband’s in the wedding and they’re wearing khaki’s, guayaberas, and leather flip flops. I wasn’t sure what to wear, so I asked the groom and he said business casual. The ceremony will be outdoors. But, when I looked up ‘business casual’ it said no flip-flops. I was thinking a maxi dress and flip flops but maybe not? Help! What is ‘business casual?'”
I’m going to share a basic rule of fashion that applies to virtually any situation and will serve you well for the rest of your life. Never ask a man (even if he’s the groom) what the appropriate attire is for an event. They don’t know. Even if they act like they do, they don’t.
They don’t.
Case in point, a wedding ceremony in Puerto Rico where the groom and his groomsmen are wearing khakis, guayaberas and flip-flops is not business casual, unless you’re in the business of making margaritas at the bar or playing the maracas for local tourists. No self-respecting place of legitimate business is going to let grown men show off their feet.
If the wedding were truly business casual then they would be wearing khakis and nice polo shirt with a “Vandalay Industries” logo embroidered tastefully on it. My point is I think the groom meant to say, but didn’t know such a dress category existed, resort casual.
A maxi dress with a thong sandal (the dressier name for a flip-flop) sounds completely appropriate for the occasion. For a little extra flair, you could wear some statement earrings and maybe a fun cocktail ring.
But I don’t really like to talk about my flair. (Can you name that movie?)
That’s it for today.
Y’all have a great Friday. Stay classy.
And Gig ’em Aggies.
I’m so appreciative of all the opinions on the black boots versus brown boots dilemma. They served as confirmation for what I already knew in my heart which is I need to go with brown boots. Sadly, I went to several stores yesterday and discovered they were all sorely lacking in their boot inventory. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s still 100 degrees outside or if this is just another ramification of the harsh economic climate.
All I know is I’m glad I was able to use the phrase “ramification of the harsh economic climate”.
Anyway, earlier in the week I mentioned that P and Caroline went to the ranch on Sunday so she could shoot her new pink gun and I thought y’all might want to see her in action.
The Shooter from Big Mama on Vimeo.
Something tells me the pigs and turtles don’t stand a chance.
Since school has started and I’m back to cooking frozen waffles and making ham sandwiches at an hour that I believe to be decent only for those who grow crops and work the land for a living, it’s become more and more apparent to me that my ideal schedule would be one that allows me to stay up until around 2 a.m. every night and sleep until about 11:00 a.m.
Okay, noon.
In other words, the same schedule I kept in college.
However, in college I didn’t have to worry about getting someone dressed and off to school except for myself and, let’s be honest, how often did that really happen? I always considered it an accomplishment if I made it on campus in time to meet some friends for chicken fingers at the MSC. And as it turns out, I don’t even regret skipping all those early morning Business Math classes because I don’t believe business and math should intermingle.
Unfortunately, by the time I’m back to a point in my life where I can keep my ideal schedule, I’ll be on the verge of becoming a senior citizen and will probably be ready to phone it in around 8:30 p.m. every night because 4:30 a.m. comes early.
So since I’m having a little trouble adapting to our new non-summer schedule, I’m going to just write a quick list of things so I can get to bed at a reasonable hour.
1. I was delighted at the number of you who weren’t sure if a flux capacitor is a real car part. It’s not. It’s just a general term I like to throw around when discussing auto mechanics because I was slightly obsessed with Michael J. Fox and his acid-washed denim jacket in Back to the Future.
2. The turtles didn’t necessarily need killing. We believe in equal rights for ducks and turtles. The only thing we’re opposed to are Grass Carp and P has been on a one man quest to rid the world of them, which really is a story in itself.
3. The duck is gone for good and Caroline is okay with it. As a matter of fact, she looked outside before dinner last night and told us she thought she saw some duck bones in the backyard. Thankfully, she was mistaken and it was just an old dog toy.
4. Just a reminder that if you wanted to join me in reading the Bible in a year, yesterday was the first day. If you forgot, all you’ve missed is Genesis 1-3, otherwise known as the beginning.
5. I desperately need some new boots for Fall because the ones I bought from Target two years ago need to be put out of their misery to put me out of my misery. They look great but could not be more uncomfortable if they were filled with nails and fire ants. I just can’t decide between black boots or brown boots because I only need to buy one pair. I’m leaning towards brown. Any thoughts on that?
6. Speaking of boots, I saw a picture of these on someone’s blog yesterday (I’m sorry I can’t remember where. I have a dreadful memory.) How cute are those?
I think I need something a little more simple, but if I had money to burn like the government, then I would buy those and a farm in Africa.
(I wouldn’t really buy a farm in Africa but for some reason those boots look like something Meryl Streep wore in Out of Africa and my mind just went there)
(I mean, I’m not opposed to a farm in Africa but it would take a long time to get there and I hear it can be hot, hence the phrase “It’s Africa hot”)
See? I need to start going to bed earlier because I’m not in college anymore and my mind doesn’t function well on just a few hours of sleep every night. There’s no way I’d ever maintain that straight C average these days.
Y’all have a lovely day.
Last Friday, Gulley and I took the kids to a local candy store for a treat to celebrate a successful first week of school. We were all so excited to be together because we hadn’t seen each other all week and had a lot to catch up on. Gulley decided last Spring to teach at a local preschool this year leaving her unavailable to meet me at Starbucks on Tuesday mornings and to answer the phone all fourteen times I call in an average day.
Truthfully, when I got my new iPhone and compiled my list of “Favorites” on my phone list, Gulley was first on my list. I realize it probably should be P, but he shows little to no enthusiasm when I call to let him know that I just found a sweater on sale at Banana Republic and it’s a must have. Instead, he just tells me I need to quit spending money which is really not the reaction I’m looking for.
But when I call Gulley to tell her about some boots I just discovered at DSW Shoes or my thoughts on last night’s episode of The Rachel Zoe Project, she is genuinely interested and contributes to the conversation. I have been known to call her to let her know HEB has pork tenderloin on sale and she has been known to call me so I can give her the ingredients to a recipe while she’s at the grocery store.
My point is WE TALK. A LOT.
By Thursday of last week I felt like I was about to explode with trivial information that I hadn’t been able to share. In fact, when my home phone rang early Thursday afternoon for the first time all week, I almost fell off the couch in fear because I’d grown so accustomed to the silence. What’s worse, I almost answered it even though it was a toll-free number calling. I finally decided whoever was on the other end was more interested in getting me to contribute to a fund to save the white-tailed salamander from extinction than they were about listening to who got voted off Top Chef last night and how I have a phobia of seeing scallops on a plate because they are unnaturally spongy and white, like little seafood-flavored marshmallows.
So the whole back to school thing has been a bit of an adjustment. I actually have plenty of productive things I can do during the day to fill my time, but I spent most of last week in a state of shock over all the time I had at my disposal and completely forgot the list of 8,987 things needing to be done that I compiled over the course of the summer. This week promises to be better, even though I spent most of yesterday lying on the couch and complaining about a horrible sinus headache. But in the words of Scarlett O’Hara, tomorrow is another day.
Anyway, Caroline and I spent most of our weekend over at Gulley’s house. Her husband was out of town and P was working at the ranch so we spent Friday and Saturday catching up on things like our thoughts on universal healthcare and the skinny jean with boots. Meanwhile, the kids played in her backyard for hours, only coming in to grab their sixth or tenth popsicle.
Around 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, P called on his way in from the ranch to inform me that the flux capacitor had gone out in his truck and he was stranded on the side of the road needing to be rescued. He gave me a list of things to go purchase from the Auto Parts store before heading his way. I used my handy “Where To” app on my iPhone to locate the auto parts store nearest Gulley’s house and, I’ll be honest, felt a little bit like I had a bat phone because I had instant access and directions to every auto parts store in a fifteen mile radius.
Unfortunately, some of the supercool Batman factor faded after I pretended I knew what I was doing when I walked in the auto parts store and ultimately had to make the walk of shame up to the counter to just hand the salesman the list of things P dictated to me because he needed a blah blah and another blah with an extra gallon of blah.
However, I did save the day by showing up with all the right stuff, not to be confused with All The Right Moves starring a young Tom Cruise.
On Sunday after church, (Wow. Is this the most boring recap of a weekend ever?) P and Caroline headed down to the ranch because she wanted to shoot her new pink gun and rumor had it there were some turtles that needed killing. They took my car, which is totally appropriate for the ranch roads except not at all. Not to mention that the floorboards were covered in South Texas dirt and crushed Cheeto Puffs upon its return.
They got back home late in the afternoon and, as they turned the corner by our house, saw a baby duck walking by itself across the street. On further inspection, it was determined that the duck was all alone and on a self-destructive path to becoming cat food. P and Caroline decided to rescue the duck from a certain grisly death.
This is the dog kennel where the duck resided for approximately twelve hours.
You will notice, thanks to my superb gift of photography, you can’t actually see the duck, but rather the bottom of an old Christmas tree stand that was used as a faux pond.
Yesterday morning, P went to Home Depot to get some chicken wire to secure the area on the side of our house for the duck until it could survive on its own. He worked on it for about an hour, even filling up a little black tub with water instead of a Christmas tree stand. Caroline was so excited to have her very own duck, even though we warned her it would just be for a few days until he could fly.
Long story short, the duck escaped around 3:00 p.m. yesterday. P feels that the hours he spent trying to save a duck are hours of his life he’ll never get back. Caroline was a little sad, but I assured her the duck probably just flew off to meet his family.
Or possibly his maker.
Either way he’s in a better place than swimming in a Christmas tree stand.
Caroline purchased that temporary tattoo with two quarters she begged off of me at a Dairy Queen in Schulenburg, Texas. We applied it to her arm the week before school started because I figured that would give it plenty of time to wear off.
It’s still there.
Last week I resorted to telling her that her skin was really dry and rubbed her upper arms with Vaseline in a sneaky attempt to get it to come off.
It’s still there.
It was there for Meet the Teacher. It was there for the first week of school.
At this point I think people either believe that I allowed my child to get a real tattoo or that I never bathe her.
Honestly, I’m not sure which is worse.
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