Year: 2010

  • They don’t mention this in the parenting books

    You’ll probably be glad to know that today isn’t any kind of celebration for my family because, seriously, how much more IT’S MY CHILD’S BIRTHDAY, IT’S MY BIRTHDAY, IT’S MY ANNIVERSARY can you stand? This happens every August and I start to feel like it’s all me, me, me and then I remember that technically this is my blog and it stands to reason that it’s about my life and all the major events of my life are crammed into a two week span in August. Had I known that I’d have a blog one day I might have spaced them out a little better. Nevertheless, all the celebrations are over until it’s time for our family’s big Arbor Day blowout.

    Yesterday Caroline and I went shopping for back-to-school shoes. I’ll have to tell you about it in more detail some other time, but we canvassed the entire San Antonio area looking for a pair of flats to fit her narrow little foot and by the time we arrived home we were exhausted and hot to the point of melting.

    Caroline said, “Mama, you know what I really need? Some cucumbers to put over my eyes. I really need to relax.”

    And so.

    Help me.

    I think I’m raising Zsa Zsa Gabor.

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    My second post is up as part of the Kellogg’s sweepstakes. Don’t forget to click over to my latestKellogg’s page for a chance to win $100 gift card.

  • Fashion Friday: Edition I say it’s my birthday

    Actually, today is not my birthday. It’s tomorrow.

    And I’m going to be 39.

    Which means I have plans to spend this weekend bathing in Oil of Olay, researching the cost of Botox and trying to contact Demi Moore to find out where the Fountain of Youth is located. Even though I’m pretty sure the answer involves several highly-skilled plastic surgeons.

    I may also eat some chocolate cake.

    And do a little shopping.

    Here are a few things I’ve found online this week that might be worth spending some birthday money on. Oh, and I’m not uploading pictures of anything today. I’ll blame the heat. And the laziness.

    1. Everyday Chocolate Chiffon Top

    This top is the perfect top for a Texas fall. It has an autumn look to it and would look great paired with jeans, yet it’s short-sleeved and appears to be fairly lightweight.

    2. Class Dismissed Jacket

    I got all caught up on The Rachel Zoe Project this week and I noticed that she is often wearing jackets like this with a longer top underneath. It’s totally major.

    I think you could wear this jacket in either color and shut it down.

    Also, does anyone have any thoughts on Taylor? How did that happen?

    3. On The Go Grey Watch

    So I never bought a white watch this summer. I don’t really know why, but I think it had something to do with being hot and not wanting to add one additional layer of anything on my person. Yet I still adore these watches.

    I’d been debating what color might be good for the fall and considered orange for a brief moment before I realized that it’s sacrilege for me to wear orange during college football season. But this grey? IS PERFECT.

    I’m totally getting one.

    4. One Shoulder Jade Dress

    It’s hard to tell from the picture, but I’m guessing this would be too short for me to actually wear as a dress. It may also be a little too much for a lifestyle that involves skipping PTO meetings and going to HEB to grocery shop.

    However, I think it could be great over a pair of jeans or leggings. Very dramatic and I adore the green. Picture it with some great gold cuff bracelets and hoop earrings.

    5. Splendid Lace Tank

    I am on the hunt for a gorgeous lace top. I totally fell in love with this Beyond Vintage top in the spring and hoped and prayed that it would go on sale. Alas, it never did and my love for it is unrequited. It makes me so sad because ADORE.

    However, this lace tank is the perfect piece to wear by itself or to layer under jackets when the weather cools off. It could be dressed up with a blazer (that word sounds so dated and makes me think of elbow patches and a pipe) or a great casual jacket.

    6. Apple Orchard Sweatshirt

    I love things that I can just throw on with a pair of jeans and walk out the door feeling semi-cute. This fits in that category.

    7. Rocket Dog Rideon Boots

    Last year I fell in love with a pair of lace-up boots from Anthropologie. They don’t have them anymore, but they kind of looked like these except much cuter.

    And even thought the Rocket Dog boots are quite as cute and lack the ruffle detail, they are still pretty cool. Plus, they’re $200 less which makes them a winner.

    8. Naughty Monkey Detective Boots

    Speaking of great boots, I seriously love these. And it’s just a bonus that I could walk around the house asking, “Where are my naughty monkeys?”

    9. Chambray Shirtdress

    This is another dress I love because it is so versatile. You could wear it with leggings or with a great belt or just on its own. The beauty is in its simplicity.

    10. Green beaded Hoop Earrings

    These earrings would be perfect with so many outfits. I love the green paired with the gold. Think how cute they’d be with the one-shouldered jade dress.

    So that’s it for today.

    Hope y’all have a great Friday.

    For more fashion visit Jo-Lynne at Musings of a Housewife.

  • It’s hot and we ate some steak

    It officially hit 100 degrees here yesterday. Of course I didn’t need a thermometer to tell me how hot it is because, while sitting by the pool a few days ago, I have never been more certain that I might spontaneously combust. My skin felt like it was on fire. Not even my hat that’s the circumference of a large Domino’s pizza provided any relief.

    And the good news is the weatherman just reported that there is no relief in sight. It’s just going to be hot with more hot for the foreseeable future. We’ve officially reached the point where the bloom is off the summer rose. I knew it was coming a few weeks ago when we ordered chicken fingers at the pool and the teenage employee paused with her pencil poised over the order pad, looked up at me and said, “Yeah. We don’t really want to have to make chicken fingers right now. They’re hard.”

    Or a few days ago when Caroline ordered a grilled chicken salad and, after they delivered it to her, announced “Oh. We’re totally out of salad dressing. Sorry.”

    How far we’ve fallen from the month of June when the pool was a happy oasis where the teenagers were happy to serve up all manner of chalupas and popcorn shrimp. Actually, happy might be a stretch, but they did it anyway because summer was their oyster. But now it’s August and it’s dreadfully hot and summer has become more like a rotten oyster that someone stole the pearl out of and left in the sun too long.

    Needless to say, I don’t think we’re going to the pool today.

    But last night we drove out to Waring with Gulley and her kids to meet our college roommate, Meredith, and her family for Steak Nite at the Waring General Store. We had so much fun.

    We’d never been to Steak Nite before, but I have to say I’m a fan. You drive out to the middle of nowhere, pay $20 per adult for a ribeye, mashed potatoes, salad, rolls, cupcakes bigger than your head, and drinks. Oh, and that also includes these amazing gorditas and quesadillas that they make right in front of you. I’ll dream about them tonight.

    And kids eat hot dogs for free. Hot dogs that come wrapped in a tortilla, which they thought might be the greatest invention of their lives with the exception of Doodlejump on the iPhone.

    Then you take your plate of food, find a picnic table and listen to a live band play some Texas Country music while the kids run around like banshees. If it had been twenty degrees cooler I might have never left, but instead we arrived home around 10:30 and I took my second shower of the day.

    There may have been some dancing on the tables after the crowd left.

    Best of all, we had the chance to laugh and catch up with old friends.

    Seriously, if you find yourself in Waring, Texas on a Wednesday (I don’t know why anyone would just happen to be in Waring. It’s the kind of remote location that takes some effort.) then you really need to go to Steak Nite. I definitely plan on going back.

    Sometime around October.

  • The Gang

    I spent the week before Caroline’s birthday awash in nostalgia. So I decided to just go ahead and give into a good crying jag and watch the slideshow I made for her fifth birthday. The only problem was it no longer exists. I never actually ordered it on DVD (dang me and my procrastination tendencies) and I guess it reached some sort of statute of limitations and One True Media took the liberty of deleting it.

    Cue the tears and lamenting and the would have, could have, should haves.

    The worst part was that I’d saved all those photos on a hard drive and deleted them from my computer because it tends to have memory issues. I’m sure this could be remedied with the purchase of additional memory, but that would require me to have a conversation with someone about technology and life is too short.

    Thus, I began the tedious process of scanning photos back onto the computer and uploading images from various places. It was as fun as you might imagine. Yet I was determined to recreate the whole thing with the addition of two more years of life.

    But along the way I noticed how many photos there were of Caroline, Jackson and Will over the years and thought it might be fun to make a little slideshow of The Gang. Fun might be an overstatement. I just felt compelled to capture all the memories.

    Jackson and Will have taught Caroline what it’s like to have brothers. They love and they laugh. They wrestle and they fight. They argue over who gets to sit in the backseat and they roll their eyes at their mothers when they think we’re not paying attention.

    I believe Caroline has taught the boys that having a sister means there is always a good chance for tears and drama when you’re not even sure what you did wrong. And that having a girl around makes your world a little bit sweeter.

    Even if it’s a girl that can burp as loud as you.

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    Starting at 9:00 a.m. today, you can click over to my Kellogg’s Giveaway Page for a chance to win a $100 gift card.

  • Parking double in a single spot

    I feel like before I write anything else I need to apologize to anyone who may have been in the San Antonio area over the past weekend and nearly been run off the road by a large white truck. And then also may have seen that same truck double-parked at various establishments all over town. P left town on Thursday afternoon in the stay wag leaving me with the choice of attempting to drive his truck or sitting home and doing nothing. Clearly, the latter option wasn’t really an option at all and I determined the only thing I had to fear was being yelled at by other drivers since I was the biggest thing on the road.

    Oh, and I may have gently grazed the order sign at Sonic trying to back out.

    Anyway, P headed to the coast to fish in a tournament with several of his friends. The actual tournament wasn’t until Saturday, but they always leave a day early to pre-fish. This is the part where I would like to mock and make fun of the concept of pre-fishing. However, they won the tournament and so I obviously know nothing about the proper mechanics of catching fish.

    On Thursday, Caroline and I went to Natural Bridge Caverns with Mimi and Bops along with my sister and niece. My dad had taken my sister and I there about twenty-five years ago, but she had no recollection of any of it. Meanwhile, I felt an enormous amount of pride that I remembered the difference between stalactites and stalagmites and even one particular formation called a fried egg. It’s a shame that none of that knowledge helped me score higher than a C when I took Geography in college.

    (Several people have now pointed out that I probably meant Geology instead of Geography. Yes, yes I did. But it was late when I wrote this and I did the best I could.)

    Also, in what is sure to be one of the nerdiest things I’ve ever shared here, those formations grow at the rate of one inch per one hundred years. I find that fascinating. Or as our articulate tour guide totally understated, “You guys, it takes, like, a really long time for those things to grow”.

    Before we went in the cave, we received a long lecture about the importance of not touching any of the rocks because the dirt and oils in our hands can cause them to quit growing. I was amazed that Caroline was so careful about not touching anything, until we walked out of the cave at the end of the tour and she mentioned she was so relieved she didn’t accidentally touch anything because she didn’t want to stop growing. Apparently she misunderstood what the guide said, but it totally worked and I may write a letter telling them that the most effective method to preserve the cave would be to tell little children they’ll quit growing if they touch something.

    We spent most of the day Friday doing nothing with a side of nothing. And then a little more nothing.

    But on Saturday Caroline was ready for some fun. She asked, “Are we going to get wild like girls do?”

    Note to self: Find out where she learned this concept.

    Her original desire was to go to the mall, but I convinced her there was no way I could park P’s truck in the mall parking lot and also informed her there would be no buying of anything while we were there. We ended up calling her friend S and I took the girls to the pool for most of the day.

    A new pool era was born because it wasn’t crowded at all and so I sat in a lounge chair WITH A BOOK while the girls swam and played for the better part of three hours. Every now and then they would come over to get money for ice cream or mozzarella sticks and then head off again. We were all GIDDY with the freedom.

    Later that night, P arrived safely back home with about fifteen pounds of fish and my beloved stay wag. I’m pretty excited about eating fresh fish all week.

    But I think I’m even more excited to be able to go to Sonic without hitting the menu.

  • Fashion Friday: Edition I love a sale

    I was all prepared to write a long impassioned post in defense of jeggings, but I made the mistake of watching Marley and Me for the second time and now I just want to curl up in the fetal position and cry for the next hour or so. You’d think I would know better considering the last time I watched it I had to sit in the living room trying to gain my composure so P wouldn’t mock me for being so invested in a movie. And then when I finally walked into the bedroom, he asked me how I liked the movie and I broke down in tears all over again.

    Needless to say, the dogs are getting to sleep in the bed tonight and have ice cream for breakfast.

    Anyway, about the jeggings.

    I didn’t even realize what I’d done last week when I casually mentioned that a plaid tunic would look great with a pair of jean leggings and boots. It was just one of those things you say, like maybe I’ll cut my hair above my shoulders. It doesn’t mean it will ever actually happen, just that I like to think about it. Hypothetically.

    And, yes, I realize that sometime last year I said ugly things about the jegging. They frightened me with all their sleekness and spandex. But then I bought a pair of tall brown boots that were just begging to have jeans tucked in. Which led me to my first purchase of a skinny jean since 1989 because you can’t tuck bootcut jeans into boots.

    I ended up wearing the heck out of those skinny jeans all winter long for the love of the boots. It was all for the boots.

    Thus, I can see the benefit of the jegging. It’s all the fashion of the jean but with the comfort of the legging. The trick is to get the proportions right. Unless you are in phenomenal shape, I don’t think they should be worn without some sort of long top or sweater over them. And don’t forget the importance of the right proportion of top and boot.

    I also feel like I need to tell you that I would never wear the skinny jean or the jegging with a pair of flats. Mainly because I don’t really like flats, but also because I’m afraid it would make me look like an ice cream cone.

    That’s my personal issue. I know several people who wear flats with skinny jeans and they look darling.

    But enough about that. It’s the season of the summer sale and here’s some cute stuff I found.

    1. Laundry Bell Sleeve Eyelet Shift Dress

    I’d love this with some pretty turquoise jewelry.

    Of course I love everything with pretty turquoise jewelry.

    2. Candy Coated Tote

    This bag is so cute and comes in several different great colors.

    3. Konnie Linen Ruffled Shirt

    I originally thought the model was wearing pink hot pants, but they appear to be slim-fitting cropped pants which is a relief.

    Personally, I’d wear this top with jeans and my cowboy boots.

    4. Suckered Gingham Shirt

    This is the perfect shirt to wear with everything from shorts to skirts to jeans. And I love that it would transition perfectly into fall.

    5. Citizens of Humanity Denim Jacket

    I don’t know what I’d do without my denim jacket. It completes me.

    Or at least it completes several outfits in my closet.

    6. Tie-Dye Maxi Dress

    I’m tempted to buy this dress just so I could wear it all next summer or even use it as a coverup.

    7. Plaid Long Sleeve Roll Tab Shirt

    I have a thing for the plaid shirt.

    8. Lantern Sleeve Tunic

    This would look so pretty with a pair of white jeans.

    9. Candy Sweet Dress

    Gulley has a dress similar to this that she wears as a swimsuit coverup and it always looks so cute. I also think it would look great paired with leggings or even over a pair of jeans.

    10. Candy Bowl Ring

    I’m not sure why I picked three things this week with “candy” in the name. It was purely coincidental. But the matter at hand is that I love this ring. But I really need to get a manicure before I have any business calling attention to my fingers.

    On a final note, if you happen to live in San Antonio then I need to let you know that Grove Hill is having a huge sale right now. There are tons of things on sale for 75% off and great designer jeans on sale for 50% off. And, not only that, Adelante is also having a big sale. They’re taking 30% off all merchandise in the store with the exception of jewelry.

    And if you don’t live in San Antonio, then I can only console you by telling you that our heat index for tomorrow is supposed to be 110 degrees.

    I’ll be at the pool.

    Eating ice.

    And thinking about vacationing in Iceland.

    Y’all have a great Friday.