The Big Top

Jeans: Gap...Sweater: F21...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange...Pearls: Beijing vendor...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx

Guess what I got to do last night? Free, awesome-seat tickets to Cirque du Soleil's Kooza. A friend's husband is a ticketing manager for the venue and the 'spensive seats weren't filling up completely, so a handful of 10 tickets were generously passed out to whoever wanted them... And, shocker, I wanted a pair. It was so sweet of her to think of me and offer in the first place!

I got to steal Katie away to join me and we sat in the audience with our mouths agape and clapped like goons the whole darn show. The costuming was amazing, the acting was fun and funny, the Ringmaster was adorable. And, ohmygosh, the acrobatics and feats of strength and flexibility. I adore watching circuses and acrobatics shows- I get the amount of physical strength, balance and concentration it takes to hold a pose on your hands with your legs straight out... on a platform... topped with over 15 chairs (this was my favorite, I think it always will be after seeing a performer do this in a Beijing acrobatics show with my sister). I almost pee'd myself when the tightrope walkers climbed onto one another's shoulders and then lept off and landed back on the tightrope. I literally flapped my arms in excitement and nervousness when the tumbling team (who had a seesaw contraption to flip one another) launched a guy wearing 6' stilts and he flipped at least three times before landing upright.

Try to top that, Weekend. (Actually, yeah, please do try to top that, Weekend. I don't think the YouTube marathon of two weekends ago counts as anything remotely close to awesome.)

Polka Dots and Crazed Colors

Skirt & Belt: H&M...Tee: J Crew Outlet...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx...Pearls: Beijing vendor

Audrey, J's Fashion and Marion have, over the last month or so, each posted an outfit with a polka dot skirt that made me reeeeeally crave wearing my new acquisition (there is an H&M in Houston now, but the selection sucked, so I was able to find this goodie in Toledo when I went home at the end of July), but my timing was extremely poor. I bashed my knee up during my bike fall so soon after I got back, I've only just started wearing skirts again. Well, my appetite for this skirt has been whet and I'm preeeetty sure I'll have to slap my own hand away from it over the next week or so to avoid wearing it for days on end. I forgot it fit so well and is so comfortable. Best/worst discovery of the week.

I grabbed this citron yellow shirt as a first impulse and asked my Guy, "Is this too 'bumblebee'?" No response. Grabbed a fuchsia belt and asked, "Too much?" No response. Swapped fucsia for mint and added a cheerful periwinkle cardigan and asked, "Too crazy?" This finally got a reaction- "Dude, all your color combinations have been super crazy, I don't know. Just wear it. I gotta go." Well, alrighty-Rooney. My mostly neutral color preferences make way for way-weird color combinations, I guess. Overcompensation. I'm cool with that.

Statement

Jeans: UO...Tee: Gap...Shoes: Steve Madden...Necklaces: thrifted...Pearls: Beijing vendor...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

Ooh, turquoise necklace against mint... that could be fun but it's too long on its own. Maybe green-ish olive and mint... ugh, the proportions with the neckline are total crap. What. If. I. Wore. Both?! The 17 1/2 seconds of standing in front of my closet to figure out which statement necklace to wear for today's Trend of the Month Challenge were absolutely riveting. (Snark aside, I really do like how they look together. I don't like how heavy and hot 'n sweaty they are, though.)

Aaaand, since it's link-up day and, hopefully, a whole bunch of creative people are reading today, here's a little question: My photographer neighbor and I are ready to start planning, in detail, a faux wedding and DIY reception to build her portfolio. We plan to shoot it in the courtyard of our apartment building and I'll wear my J Crew dress... the rest is still up for grabs (Although we did toss around a few ideas about tone on neutral on tone with texture, maybe burlap, and a hit of yellow). If you could style a DIY reception, what color scheme, decor, details, etc. would you feature? BTW, we're steering clear of mason jars and cake pops. Too trendy.

I'm linked with Marionberry Style's Trend of the Month, Rolled Up Pretty's Whatever Whenever Wednesday and Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday. How 'bout you?

Shopping for Stripes

Dress: ASOS...Belt: Target...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange...Necklace: J Crew...Umbrella: Target...Food Baby: c/o too much coffee and oatmeal

Rain, rain, rain. We've needed it, so I'm glad it came, but geez, with the amount of moisture that's been in the air, just waiting, I'm shocked it didn't downpour way sooner. I'm also shocked I haven't needed to evolve and develop gills to survive the soupy air.

Did anyone else fall in love with Sydney's striped t-shirt dress and stalk it like mad, waiting for a good sale and a good coupon? I do maybe two online shopping excursions in any given year (this and my Target skirt new color ordering fill the quota) so it's got to be a really special item for me to click "Add to Cart." Worn with minimal extras, it's awesome for summertime, but I saw a lot of potential for wearing a simple cream or tan sweater with boots, my grey pleated skirt and a cardigan, preppy navy blazer, maroon tights and cardigan, a deep juniper green pairing for the holidays... it's going to be a good one.

Well, that was a wonderfully mindless and shallow post. BTW, hope you know about Marion (who is so cheerful and upbeat, it will make you barf)- each month she hosts a Trend of the Month Link Up, tomorrow's is a Statement Necklace. Hope you don your fave and join the group, it's always a fun group that takes part!

Weekend, the Good and the Bad

Weekends have been weird. I know I've chattered about pretty much nothing but my Guy being at school forever and ever amen to study for his comprehensive exams, but it's been pretty all-consuming for our little family. I keep reminding him of how awesome I am, I don't get whiney or moan about his absence, I've given him a pretty free pass to avoid chores for a while.

So, the logical next step is go to gallery openings to support a friend and meet up with new-to-me blogger friends who are no longer blogging. Duh.

Katie and I each wiggled into a fun little something (my light graphic tee and skirt) and went down to the Lawndale Arts Center to soak up a little culture and do some people watching. We met up with another friend and her girlfriend (who works for Lawndale and gave us a few fun tidbits about the artists and the installations. Katie and I went out together to stuff ourselves with some tasty TexMex (poblano corn chowder is really dang tasty). Not a bad Friday, at all. Saturday, my Guy and I had a leisurely morning, and at noon, POOF, he was gone to study again (until 10:30, poor thing). I made a lunch date with Natalie, who is a recent Houston transplant. She's just as lovely in person as she comes across in her blog (on an indefinite hiatus, lots of life stuff going on!) and we had a really nice time telling stories back and forth, stuffing our faces, talking about food and restaurants. I look forward to spending more time getting to know her.

Sunday: tragedy strikes. I think Eddie is on a once-a-year medical-issue schedule. She started showing symptoms of a feline urinary tract infection part way through Saturday and we knew better than to wait until Monday, so we found a vet with Sunday hours and took her in. Poor kitty had to make a 45 minute drive and get stranded for the day (they loaded her up with liquids so they could use a needle to get a sample. My heart aches for her). She's on antibiotics and on the mend, but her bloodwork showed high sugar, meaning my poor cat is borderline diabetic. Low carb diet for now, lots of fresh water, and we'll get more details from our normal vet when she goes in for shots in September, I hope just swapping food will manage the symptoms. I forget that she's getting older- she's so darn tiny and has such a sweet, young face, she doesn't look at all like a 9-year-old cat. I've had her almost as long as my Guy and I have been together.

I also noticed that my heart aches a lot more for her when she has emergent medical stuff than it does for the dog (who is far more frequently and fervently a turd/jerk). Does that happen with kids?

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny...Blouse: via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Nine West Outlet...Belt: Target...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

I am absolutely not picking my nose in the detail shot.

My girlfriends are awesome. One darling friend joined me last night for pesto and pasta, caprese salad, avocado and cucumber salad, wine, chocolate covered strawberries (homemade by her!) and watching "Chicago." Tonight I have plans to accompany another friend to an art opening. Um, yes, yes, yes. I think the ladies will be banding together while our significant others are off studying like mad.

Happy Weekend, you all.

A Regular

Skirt: refashioned Gap dress...Tee: UO...Belts: Target...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange...Necklace: Target...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

Double belts. It's gonna be a thing.

Can we also marvel at how very pale my legs got during my weeks-long foray into pants? Yikes. You really can't tell where the shoe stops and bright white skin starts.

I met up last night with a bunch of the newly arrived back into town music nerds to a $.95 beer at the on-campus pub, Valhalla, while my Guy studied his guys out some more. I arrived and found my buddy who has moved away since he's done with classes (down to defending his dissertation orchestra composition, lucky duck) and we grabbed seats at the bar. And then the sea of who I can only assume were MBA's came rushing in. No joke, at least 60 mid-30's dudes in trousers and a light blue button-down tucked in, one button undone and no tie. It was like a creepy clone horror movie. I never got up the guts to ask who the heck they all were and why, like sheep, they were all trying to get a cheap beer together.

I've been doing a lot of spite drinking at Valhalla- first the Thursday of Orientation Week, my Guy and I took the dog and sat outside to be out and having a tasty beer in plain sight while the tiny freshman scurried back and forth on their O-Week scavenger hunt at 9:00 pm. And yesterday, I sloooowly sipped my beer at a prime spot at the bar while the herd of uniforms waited over 20 minutes to get a beer from the solo bartender. I'm a regular and I win, so my refill came before the line died down.

A Good Use of Time

Skirt: Target...Tank: J Crew Outlet...Cardigan: Target...Belt: thrifted...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange

Oh, Target, you've dunnit again. This skirt is awesome. I even ordered two fall color online-only options (online shopping is my nemesis since so much fits so strangely, but ordering a duplicate... can do.) Who's pumped for stretchy skirt autumn dressing? (But, for now, let's enjoy the fact that I've worn a skirt for the first time in ages and managed to hide my hideous knee from view. Win-Win)

Also, guess who has a new (old) TV series to keep her company while her husband is studying like a madman? That would be me and it is a Bewitched Marathon over at the McClure house. It. Is. Awesome. I whet my appetite for 60's SitComs a few weeks ago, I found season two of Bewitched on Hulu and a link to some Gilligan's Island episodes (both of which, by the way, my Grandpa would record on VHS tapes for me and my sisters... even though he and Grandma lived out it the middle of the country in Southern Ohio and we lived in big-town Toledo, their satellite dish reception provided far more awesome television reruns than our bunny ears and basic TV). YouTube hooked me up with season after season of goodies, which mostly means I don't care nearly as much that my Guy has gone MIA.

Hope your Wednesday is lovely (and you had better be linking up with Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday, too!)

Who, Me?

Jeans: Gap...Blouse: Banana Outlet...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Calvin Klein via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Shades: via TJ Maxx...Bracelet: thrifted

I feel like an LSU, Vikings or Lakers fan... It really is too bad some clothing combinations reek of fan-dom. I like purple and marigold together and it always winds up biting me on the butt- I once had a big burly LSU football fan yell a woohoo style greeting at me and make back-and-forth index finger points at his shirt and my yellow tee and purple cardigan combo one weekend a few falls ago... and I didn't know what the heck he was talking about. I gave him a squirrelly thumbs-up went on my merry way. I figured I'm less likely to receive fan recognition if I wear these colors in non-football season from here on out. And keep the cardigan in my bag for most of the day.

Have an awesome Tuesday! I'm spending mine running one of Boss Lady's grandkid around from early Orientation dismissal to volleyball to Driver's Ed. He's a cool little dude, I'm looking forward to talking boy movies with him since he's kind of my go-to guy for a trustworthy opinion on what to see and what to skip.

Year One

Jeans: UO...Tank: Buffalo Exchange...Cardigan: Gap...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx...Ring: handmade

My blog is a year old. I know it's kind of a commemorative event, but I don't have much to say. Umm, way to get dressed on a daily basis, Kate. You win.

I do, however, have plenty to say about blogging. You all are the absolute best. I've formed wonderful connections with people from all over the place, all walks of life, some who can commiserate with my eternal sugar-momma status, some who are providing a glimpse into the silliness of what motherhood might be like, some who are in school still and are getting the "who am I" stuff figured out way before I ever did. I love following your daily adventures as you write about them and hope I'm keeping at least a few of you mildly entertained with a chuckle or two about what's going on in my life. I also love that this community challenges me to satisfy my creative impulses in a way I didn't expect to enjoy. Thanks, guys!

The Beginning of the End

Pants: Zara...Blouse: Target...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange...Necklace: thrifted...Shades: Coach via TJ Maxx...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange

It's beginning...
My Guy and his Doctoral Degree Cronies are diving face first into the final month-long push to study for their comprehensive exams. As in their study schedule includes three weekday 4-hour sessions, four weekday evening 4-hour sessions and one weekend evening each week until September 19.

And, while I enjoy his company and will miss him for the duration... I'm a little stoked about the crafts, one-side-of-my-face makeup experiments, sewing projects and Pinterest meals I am going to complete. My dog is going to get super spoiled by the extra attention and walks, my cat is going to spend hours snuggling and smearing her face into my chin. Being accidentally single; no- not single, academically widowed; is going to be a nice change of pace for a little while. And then I'll notice that my best buddy has been MIA for a month and I'll look forward to getting him back.

Final hoorah spending time together this weekend!  I know there's a birthday celebration for a friend and a game of baseball with friends on campus, but we'll be soaking up lots of life's awesome little moments (you know, the ones I'll be missing out on for several weeks)... Hope you're up to something wonderful, too. Hasta luego, muchachas.

No Heat Curls Trainwreck

Pants: Gap...Tank: Odille via Buffalo Exchange...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: Calvin Klein via Buffalo Exchange...Scarf: Liberty of London via Buffalo Exchange...

In honor of hosting a sushi-making night with our friends, I dressed like a piece of salmon sushi with wasabi pants. Flattering? Don't care. It's an excuse to wear this weirdly awesome blouse.

Also, Grace, you lied big time, my friend. The no-heat curl trick was a biiiiiig bust. There was no semi-like, only a weird kinky curl at my ears and absurd flip at the ends. You led me very, very astray with your link to Melissa's flowing, beautiful hair. Please enjoy a post-it drawing of how mine turned out:

It was promptly yanked into this french braid (which I kind of like) but WHOOOO, the no-heat-curl-mess I started with was genuinely awful. 

Happy Thursday, you all!

Loosey Goosey

Sometimes you just have to wear a tent. It's been about 2 weeks since the REALLY hot, humid and uncomfortable version of Houston summer arrived and all I want to do is spend my days in a hammock with a cool glass of iced tea (hey, mom- I made a rockstar green tea, jasmine and chrysanthemum iced tea out of some of the goodies I brought home last summer... and I spelled chrysanthEmum in my head the way Anne Shirley does when she first bests Gilbert in school). And I suppose that's where this wildly unflattering shirt comes in. Let's be honest, I'm wearing a muumuu and it's awesome. It's touched my torso once since I walked out of the house, it is nice and long and doesn't show my butt in these pants... So, if I can't spend my days lounging idly, I might as well spend them in shirts that don't feel like they're on my body. My guy and I have a loose protocol at home of removing most clothing to lounge around in the evening (our apartment isn't exactly what I would call well insulated... the window AC units do relatively little unless they're blasting) so running around in this shirt is likely to trigger a Pavlovian relaxation response.

TMI? Whatever, you'll live.

Per usual- I'm linking up with Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday!

Perks

With hair loosely based on this pin, I love the mashup of prim and proper hair with jeans. I'm working my way through hairstyles... because my tried, true and dull high bun secured with a crappy claw clip is flattering only about 25% of the time.

We have been housesitting for one of my Guy's professors during the second half of the summer and last night was the last time we had access to a nice washing machine and dryer- she's getting back today. Biiig bummer. I can't tell you how much better about life I felt with thoroughly cleaned clothes. The washing machine in our complex once took over 2 hours to finish a load and the whites and lights came out mud-tinged. Repulsive. And even though the nearest laundromat is right next to my fave coffee house, I hate coughing up almost double for using the machines. So, housesitting is an enormous treat. What gets you pumped about housesitting?

Summer Lights

Jeans: Gap...Blouse: Banana Republic, thrifted...Belt: Target...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange...Shades: Gap via TJ Maxx...Necklace: thrifted

I'm still in the midst of my knee-gash-recuperation pants-wearing protocol, but am pleased to say it's going well. I also skipped Zoo Day yesterday, just in case I got up the nerve to try biking over the death trap bridge again instead of walking my bike.

The real tragedy is that our super-talented neighbor is planning to do a trash-the-dress style photoshoot with us sometime soon to build her portfolio and my hideous knee injury is preventing that from moving forward. And because we had such a casual wedding, we didn't do engagement photos, real wedding portraits, anniversary photos... And I'm realizing I feel like I missed out. So, we were more than happy to say yes when she said she wanted to start a project of taking photos of the neighbors in their apartments (kind of a love note to our building), which moved forward into the possibility of a bridal style shoot. If you want to see the photos she did for my Guy to be used on his composer website, check this out. They did a humorous theme using an old school boombox, wrapped him in speaker cables... Not all of them got used, but the main page has a few of the goodies up.

I would say I'm off topic, but I don't think I ever really had a topic. Perhaps I'll be back tomorrow with a less scattered post.

Fat chance.

Aaaaaaand:

Well, Sound the Alarm

Jeans: Gap Always skinny...Blouse: via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: J JIll via Buffalo Exchange...Belt: Target

Whew, it's been another big day. Boss Lady's dumb alarm went off again this morning, so it's a darn good thing we already had another appointment with the service tech for mid-morning already set up. I think we've got it figured out and have taken care of adjusting, switching, testing and tweaking the things we could control based on what we observed. Here's to hoping I don't come it on Monday to the sound of a blaring alarm... Feeling like a cat burglar at your place of work is never a good way to start off a day.

Not much else to say- we've worn ourselves out being social this week, so I think the weekend (including tonight) will be spent catching up on housework, napping, nibbling snacky foods and more housework. We haven't been doing a whole lot of cleaning or tidying... it's getting embarrassing.

What are you up to? Any amazing plans?

High Points

Pants: Gap...Tee: H&M...Shoes: Sperry via DSW...Scarf: Liberty of London, thrifted...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Shades: via TJ Maxx

Do you guys read Lisa's blog, Respect the Shoes? If you don't, you are missing out in a big way- she's whip smart, insightful, has the best self-deprecating humor, amazing outfits, even better content. She's hosted several Respect the Outfit posts in which readers submit their recent fave outfits or (better yet) photos of some pretty serious bloopers. I love 'em! Today is her Summer Staples offering and I sent a little something in. Check out all the lovely ladies who participated!

Well, it's already been an exciting morning here around Boss Lady's house... We've had on-and-off problems with the alarm tripping with no countdown to get it shut off when we enter in the morning. As in, use my key to unlock the door, swing it open and *WHOOPWHOOPWHOOP* the alarm has been tripped. Three times in the last month. Ridiculous. This is the first time it's actually happened to me, usually the sweet housekeeping gals are assaulted by the screeching, but I happened to be the first one in today. The alarm repair guys came out once a few weeks ago and, clearly, that fixed nada.

On three happier notes, the baseball game was awesome last evening- the stadium was pretty dead (and the Astros are the worst team in baseball right now) so we were spotted and featured on the Air Guitar Cam (!), I spotted a squirrel this morning scaling the side of our building like Spiderman, and we're meeting up with Roo, my Guy's "adopted" little sis from the composition program, for a farewell celebration tonight- she's off to UCLA for her Master's degree! I'm so proud of her.