Calm and Quiet

Skirt: Beijing tailor...Blouse: Banana Republic via Buffalo Exchange...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Target...Shoes: MRKT via DSW...Scarf: Liberty of London, thrifted...Earrings: Wish Boutique

Boss Lady is off to Canada for a week. And so I wore tall shoes in celebration of working on my own projects at my own pace without interruptions. Because that seems logical.

We had such a nice weekend, I'm now completely spaced out and preparing for a very pleasant week at work. I'll be back tomorrow morning with something for-real to say. An Ode to Coffee seems a little trite, but it's all I've got going on right now, and that's never a bad thing.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Summertime Elegance

Dress: Emmauel Ungaro via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Cole Haan via DSW...Earrings: Target...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx...Clutch: thrifted

I was asked a few weeks ago by a friend of Boss Lady to help out at a Gallery night- this friend owns two galleries and had an opening at the one up north, extended the show at the one in midtown on "Gallery Row" and represents an artist who had an opening at a different (3rd!) gallery... All on Saturday evening. Gallery Row hosts open houses on the first Saturday of each month from 6-8, which, of course, conflicted with the opening at the gallery up north... So he asked me if I was available to help host the open house. Um, yeah! And hang out with the artist whose work was on exhibit? Um, for sure! I had such a lovely time last night chatting up the patrons who frequent Gallery Row and truly enjoyed gleaning a little extra information about the artist's lithography and collaging technique. Especially in regards to her use of old wallpaper patterns as backgrounds and cut-out elements. Fascinating stuff.

Needless to say, I wanted to represent the gallerist well. Buffalo Exchange has been coughing up some real gems lately for me. I've said it before and I'll say it again- thrifted items can make up an interesting and varied wardrobe, retail items yield solid basics and a trend item every once in a while, but a designer piece of clothing will probably be a better bet if you need to look your best- there is just no comparison in the attention to detail and craftsmanship. Allow me to introduce my relatively new find: a Buffalo Exchanged Emmanuel Ungaro knit dress for, per my estimation, 1/20th the original price, at minumum. With sleeves not to long or short and fluttery, neckline beautifully finished with an appropriately deep v-neck, overall shape and waist nipped in just the right amount to be fitted but not tight, and a hemline about 6 elegant inches longer than any other dress I've tried on in recent memory that wasn't dubbed a "midi"... this dress was spot on for last night's event. Put together, elegant, not fussy in the least.

Well, I'm off to a doggy date with a friend. We're going to take a long, leisurely meander around campus before the sun gets too hot. Not a bad way to start a Sunday, huh?

An Awesome Way To Earn a Few Extra Bucks

Help a friend out by hosting a Gallery event. Write a piece of paperwork or two (but hopefully many many!) to sell the artwork, hang out with the artist herself and spend a Saturday afternoon looking elegant rather than shlubby. Be back later with real photos of my dress (It's a good one. Buffalo Exchange for the win).

A College DIY

That moment when you realize it is, indeed, Friday- magical. I had a heckuva hard time making it through this week with a consistant smile on my face. I'm helping a friend of a friend with a Gallery event tomorrow from 3-8, but I just don't think it's even going to feel like a burden. And I spent major hours last night rifiling through my wardrobe and did some major sorting, so I don't have to do anything other than relax the rest of the weekend. My clothing isn't as thinned out as I'd like, but I am so fearful if I really do a harsh purge, I'll end up chucking some things I truly do like for the sake of Houston climate... and I'll wind up in the middle of the Colorado Rockies or North Dakota plains with no winter clothes after our next move. I'll cling to it for another year and re-evaluate after we know something a little more concrete about where we'll be next. Even knowing where my guy might get interviews will help.

And about this skirt: I dyed, stamped and prepared this fabric during my senior year of college while I was taking a fibers class and this skirt was my final project, meant to blend a more tribal print inspired by African stamped fabrics and a sleek, modern silhouette. My grandmother helped me read the pattern and piece it together, but the intention was to learn a few new techniques including stamp production and dye removal (the pattern was created by stamping a color removing agent). And it's a heavy weight single ply silk. Which never wrinkles. And is the perfect fabric for Houston humidity. Win.

Happy Friday, you all. Thanks for helping me make it through this grump of a week. I really do appreciate the positive nature of this online community!

A Tricky Skirt and Green Curry

Skirt: Express, thrifted...Sweater: via Buffalo Exchange...Belt: Gap...Shoes: BCBGeneration via Ross...Earrings: Wish  Boutique

Ladies and Germs, I need a little assistance. I gave this little skirt another shot today and am having an exceeeeedingly difficult time styling it. I refuse to wear it only as a black turtleneck, tights and pumps type of look and I refuse to wear it in the capacity of black and *insert accent color here.* This little foray into adding a touch of tan fell very flat, in my opinion. Help, help, help. If we come up with no suitable solution, to the resale shops it goes. In fact, there's a whole lot in my closet that I'll try to sell or donate... I'm thinning the herd. Ahhh, a purge. It's always worth it!

We hosted a dinner of sorts last night for a bunch of friends. Mostly vegetarians. And for the second time this year, I made an enormous vat of green curry- potatoes, onions, bamboo, peppers, a little ginger, a lot of basil. Oh, Good Golly Miss Molly, I love green curry. And I especially love having people en masse traipse through our home for an evening and enjoy each other's company and stuffing our faces. There's something so wonderfully gratifying about feeding people a thoughtful meal.

What's your go-to large group dinner dish?

Artificial Sunshine

Jeans: Gap...Tank: Target...Cardigan: Gap...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange

I'm a fashion cheater. I'll own up to it. Like how I stole an outfit from myself (it's been barely 3 weeks since I wore this last) just to have a for-real sunny yellow look so I could participate in Marion's monthly challenge and boost my mood. Changing the color of your pants counts as a new outfit, right?

Thank goodness for my husband. If you actually made it through yesterday's whiny mess of a post, you know my Memorial Day Off was a major disappointment and Tuesday was a crabby continuation. My Guy convinced me that evenings were for fun and relaxing, so rather than continue to stew, I ought to cram my face with a spicy black bean burger loaded up with mushrooms, avocado and blue cheese dressing, cry my eyes out watching "Milk" for the first time to purge the sobby emotions from my system, blog to my heart's content and snuggle into bed an hour early. A much better attitude by the end of the night.

So, I'm cheerfully linking up with a few goodies this evening... Marionberry Style's Monthly Trend Challenge, Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday, All Lacqured Up's Work It Wednesday. I love the inspiration I find in these link ups!

Harumph

Pants: Zara...Blouse: via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange...Bracelet: thrifted...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx

Wow, I am in a foul mood today... Skip reading if you are in a good mood yourself and can't handle a Negative Nelly. I was told on Friday (unprompted!) by Boss Lady that I didn't need to come in Monday, that I should take the holiday day off. So, I took her at her word and had an extra glass on white wine on Sunday, ignored all of my chores and cleaning over the weekend, expecting to have Monday to play catch up. Fast Forward to Sunday at 7:50 pm- missed call from Boss Lady and a message saying she couldn't work her outdoor fans and she had people coming over on Monday, so it was a very big deal. Oh, you mean the fans that I explicitly told you on Friday afternoon how to work, you watched me set the remote down in the middle of a table and told you that you absolutely must click the button while standing underneath the center fan of three so all of them receive the radio signal so you don't booger them up? Yeah, those fans. So, upon receiving a panicked 9 am call (there went my relaxing morning...) I wound up popping by the house to fix the dang fans. And then pick up the ordered potato salad. Then pick up ketchup that was forgotten. And then move the furniture to directly under the fan. And then hold flowers while Boss Lady played florist. And then swapped out a 60" round table for the 72" because her cousin invited too many people. And then go out to pick up presecco because it was forgotten about. And then pick up the orchid arrangement because she thought their delivery service was cutting it too close. And by the time 3:00 rolled around, I was hungry, tired and crabby that I missed my day off with my husband. To make it a little worse, I just found out the other gals who work here served and cleaned until 9:30 pm. And so I'm mad I missed my day off and feel like a jerk because they had to work a 14 hour day and I'm the one complaining. I never get "party pay" though. So I left.

Gah, I need a new job. This is ridiculous.

I'll be back to a sunnier disposition tomorrow, but even today is a bust- I wore this crappy outfit because I know I'll be hauling junk and putting it away. I look stumpy and squat. No bueno.

Mosquito Prevention

Pants: Theory via Buffalo Exchange...Blouse: Target...Cardigan: Banana Republic, thrifted...Shoes: Nine West Outlet... Shades: via TJ Maxx

Darn Mosquito.

I have a totally un-girly relationship with bugs. If there's a cockroach in our apartment (they're frequent visitors in our 1930's old funky building) I kill it without a thought. I found a tiny spider in my car at the grocery last night and told My Guy I thought it was cute. I save and escort outside any buggy visitors we find. Worms in my bare hand? Frequent occurrence. I'm a lightning fast mosquito slapper, cat-reflexed fruit fly swatter. 

But mosquitoes (specifically near my ears) are on my list of hatred. Its not a long list but each item receives my seething, burning hatred and the list in total is another post for another time. Now, I can handle mosquitoes when we're outside. I'm relatively left alone and smack an occasional bug on my arm or leg. What I can't handle is when a mosquito gets all up in my ears' business and hangs around. Buzzing. Screeching. It makes my skin crawl like not much else. As a middle schooler, we did a lot of tent camping and backpacking, which meant lots of hot sweaty hiking through forests. You know, where mosquitoes lurk and wait for you. I also had a seriously amazing Boonie Hat for our excursions, but mosquitoes seemed to find their way under the brim near my ears and get stuck. 

If you ever feel the urge, try this out: Rub a Bounce dryer sheet all over yourself and stick a fresh one in your belt loop. AMAZING repellant. I spent the rest of my camping career swearing by shoving the used dryer sheet in the sides of my hideous hat like earflaps, but my summers became much more enjoyable.

Your future picnics will thank me.

Happy weekend, all!

Mound Ball

Pants: Gap Slim Crop...Tank: Gap...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Sperry via DSW...Pearls: my fave Beijing vendor

Another round of tales from Elementary School era...

It's no secret that my husband and I are Detroit Tigers fans. I've always enjoyed baseball and the Toledo Mudhens' games were an excellent summertime activity. We got hooked early on playing what my parents call "mound ball"- it a game where everyone in your group begins with the same number of quarters as there are people in your group. Starting with the person on the left, each group member gets a turn every half inning when the order gets to them. At the end of the inning, if the player who last touched the ball tosses it toward the pitcher's mound and it actually lands on the mound (not rolls off the mound into the grass or the umpire tosses a new ball toward the mound) the person whose turn it is receives one quarter from every other member of the group. I loved it for the thrill of possibility and the angst of a ball barely missed. And the maniacal scheming of a 10 year old who tries to pass a nickel off as winnings to their nearest sibling. I should note that major league games now trade out the ball everytime a play is made since they have the moolah to do so, but your local minor league may still use the same ball between innings.

I also played softball as a kid. I spent the majority of my time swinging and missing and playing outfield. Not true. Hanging out in the outfield with my back to home plate, perfecting my pirouettes and tying strings of clover into chains and necklaces. Our coach tried to move me into the catcher's position to keep me more interested in the game, but I stunk, hated it and put in a request for a transfer back to left field.

I had a riveting sports career.

Molehills

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny...Tank: via Buffalo Exchange...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Sperry via DSW...Necklaces: Banana & thrifted...Bracelet: Bloom

Since the darling Kendi opened a storefront, has it become like a trip to Mecca to visit Bloom? I feel like it might be a little bit. And I drank the Kool-Aid last Saturday. Three notes: 1. Her shop is beautifully curated and designed. 2. She and her husband are surprisingly softspoken and very sweet. 3.  I did not fangirl out and I'm glad. Woulda been aaaaawkward. Anyway, I brought home two little souvenirs: that adorable bracelet and an elephant printed Baggu grocery bag.

Back to regular programming.

Continuing with the theme of childhood stories, I'll fill you in about the shocking change and disparity of two major childhood landmarks. My parents live 2 blocks from the edge of the local university and we used to take family walks there frequently. Two houses down from the end of our block was a house with a pine tree, which was our designated stopping point for riding bikes since mom could see us from our front yard. I remember vividly the size and shape of that pine tree. It was relatively small and grew several feet from early childhood to late grade school, but the best part about it was that the lower branches drooped to the ground and we found several bright blue robins' eggs underneath after babies hatched every year. When my sisters and I were all home for a few days together over Christmas, we all took a walk down to the university together, making special mental notes about the pine tree... It was at least 50' high and the lowest branches had been trimmed to be 10' off the ground. We kept walking and ended up waiting for the crosswalk that is next to the hill we would roll down as littles. I recall rolling for innumerable rotations before coming to a stop at the bottom. The thrill of rolling, the joy of running down and bouncing your voice. Take a guess how big that hill really is... It is a 3 1/2' high raised lot on the corner. Not a hill. A negligible lump. Shocked the pants off of me. Talk about two major paradigm shifts.

What falsified childhood memories have you uncovered lately?


I am linking up again with Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday and Watch out for the Woestmans' Watch What I'm Wearing. So much fun!