Adios, I'm off to the Old Pueblo

I'm going to skip Casual Friday for Franziska and Whitney's 5 Days 5 Ways... mostly because we've been having so many meetings and extra projects on the weekends, my casual looks are either nonexistant or a notch above pajamas. Nope.

Aaaand, I'm hopping a plane this afternoon to go to Tucson, Arizona! Rob has been out there all week to rehearse and prepare for the quartet and live electronics piece he wrote for Artifact Dance Company to choreograph. Well, the whole thing is here! Three performances in the enormous dance hall at University of Arizona, Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday day. I'm so proud of all the collaborators for this project, it's going to be seriously awesome. Plus, I fly into Phoenix and my little sis is still living there, so we get an evening together, a day of adventuring together, and get to watch the show together. I miss spending time with her, it was really nice living only 2 hours apart while we were in Tucson for Rob's Master's degree.

However, I'm leaving just in time for two grants to be due on Monday... uugh, just when you think you get a little break and some sanity, you remember, nope, there's a mad rush of other stuff to do and your time hanging out in the airport will be spent doing more work. And as soon as I get back to the office on Tuesday, we're just over a week and a half out from the gala. Double uugh. Still so much to do for that!

See you guys next week!

5 Days 5 Ways Dresses

5 Days 5 Ways Dresses over with Franziska and Whitney! And I thought featuring two dresses that go through the Houston seasons with me would be fun. My seamstress-made linen-ish dress from Beijing and Target el cheapo perfection navy dress. I lovelovelove both of these goodies and forsee them hanging around for years to come when I need something easy to wear that looks rockstar.

5 Days 5 Ways Accessories

I love nothing more than a scarf. Especially a scarf that plays so nicely with tons of color combinations and is the perfect balance of fluffy and lightweight. Some of my other floral scarves are black and white, some are smaller silk squares, but all of them are worn to pieces. I'm in the process of trying desperately to figure out how to get all of our necessities over to Suzhou without having to wait a million years to ship them over via cargo, wait patiently for a family member to come visit, or overload and pay for extra suitcases. And while I think I have a decent-ish handle on curating a workable wardrobe for the first little while, I just don't think I can leave behind scarves. It's a work in progress, for sure.

Come hang out for Franziska and Whitney's 5 Days 5 Ways: Accessories. I thought perhaps showcasing either my simple gold ball earrings or skinny belts could also be fun... except those aren't remixes... that laziness.

Five Days Five Ways Pants

5 Days 5 Ways with Franziska and Whitney Day Two = Pants (check out the button on the right)! I could have featured my slim crop black pants, but I'm sick of work clothes. So, here we are playing around in my dark skinny jeans. Wear them cuffed! Wear them with flats! Tuck them into boots! Pair with sweaters! Balance flowy blouses and tanks! Above all, be sure to stuff your hands in the pockets when you pose in them. Duh, that's Blogging 101.

5 Days 5 Ways Tops

I toootally forgot Franziska and Whitney's 5 Days 5 Ways was getting started this week! I'm so pleased to dive on in and join the lovelies hanging out. I thought since I've worn it recently-ish, I might feature my green tank because it's so darn cheerful. It's one of those items in my closet that I may not document super-often, but I wear it like crazy. My wardrobe is mostly neutrals, but daaaang is it easy to throw this bad boy on and look put together. Loose green tank and skinny jeans? Tucked in green tank with a pencil skirt and cardigan? Green tank, oatmeal cardigan and slim cropped trousers? All pretty regular go-to's for spring and summer. I kind of can't wait to bust it out again.

Skirt: F21 (old)...Sweater: Gap...Scarf: Target... 

grey turtleneck

All Over the Place

Skirt: DVF, thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Target...Scarf: thrifted...Shoes: Naturalizer...Earrings: Etsy

It's been a weird week already, our Executive Director has been out for two days with a plague of some sort, we have an LOI for a grant due next Monday, a major grant pushed back to EASTER (Sunday due date, what?!) another application due the 1st. And, just for funsies, we're gearing up to man a volunteer-run art activity table at the bi-annual art festival this weekend. Ain't nobody got time for that! And then, Rob leaves early Sunday morning to drive to Tucson for the week because the weekend of the 29th, his dance collaboration is being premiered. I'll fly out late Friday night and we get to drive back together on the 1st. I can't even tell you how badly I'm tempted to "take a wrong turn" on the way home and wind up in CO or UT, just to play around in national parks for a while. Gosh, my heart belongs to the Rockies.

Good morning, scattered mind.

I think I'm just surviving on lists. And I'll write 'em wherever I can just to try to cement it in my head. Whatever, it's aaaaall going to be worlds better after April 11. The darn Gala's just gotta get itself done and over with.

Come hang out over at the Pleated Poppy, Because Shanna Said So, and Style Elixir!

St. Patty's '13

Jeans: Gap...Tee: J Crew Factory...Shoes: Chacos...Headscarf: thrifted...Necklace: Etsy

This headscarf has become my St. Patrick's Day tradition. It has green cherry motif on it. No joke. And since I legit love dark dark dark beers all the time, Guinness isn't really a big deal for me, so I have to find another point of thrill for the "holiday." This silly little scarf is it.

I got to spend a lot of the weekend hanging out with Homer, our neighbors' basset hound (up in the first photo). He and Miles are besties, but they wear one another out FAST. They spent several hours of togetherness mouth breathing on each other rather than really wrestling because they ran around nonstop for the first 45 minutes. He's only about 6 months old, but he's getting darn big. I really wanted to bring both pups to meet up with the Beer Golf Tournament on campus, but Homer is a little too much of a hound dog: distracted on long walks by his nose and lazy as crap. I would have spent lots of the time on campus literally carrying him around. Nope. That's 50 pounds or more.

So, Miles got to go. And Rob's Bromance brought me back the following tee from his recent trip to Ireland. Onto which I fumbled/caught/paddleball tossed/caught again/fumbled a cupcake into my shirt. With the full palm of my hand. You better believe I ate the rest of the cupcake mush. Miles licked the whipped cream frosting part for me. Day: made for my chow-hound.

Oops.

Ding!Ding!Ding! We Have a Winner!

Skirt: Target...Sweater: Gap...Scarf: gift from Rob's interview in Suzhou...Belt: swiped from a skirt...Shoes: Naturalizer...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Rob and I frequently play a little game in the mornings. Neither of us are really shower singers, but there's a lot of music, tv shows, quotable movies, and made up tunes rattling around this household. So, morning is usually the post-sleep subconscious time for randomly recalling a little ditty and get it lodged in your head. 

"I'll give you a hundred dollars if you can guess what song I have stuck in my head right now"

We usually give a clue of real song vs. movie or tv tune, but that's it. No extra questions. Just three shots to pull from literally thousands of inside jokes. Sometimes it's Aerosmith, sometimes Phantom of the Opera, sometimes it's the Slap Bet song from How I Met Your Mother.

Rob ACTUALLY guessed that "Under the Sea" was in my head. It's been the first time either of us has accurately guessed the right answer. I actually owe him $25 dollars! I might pay out in nickels, just to spite him and his superior guessing skills.

Thank goodness I didn't bet a pony or McFlurries every day for a year.

My timer caught the moment I flung the door open to open-mouth, wide-eyed stare in wonder at his guessing prowess. I pretty sure I looked like this. 

Winding Down

Skirt: thrifted...Sweater: Target...Scarf: Target...Belt: Swiped from a skirt...Shoes: Naturalizer...Earrings: Etsy

It's been a long couple of days. Work has been (and will continue to be) totally nuts, Rob has been getting his dissertation entered into a digital musical score until past midnight most nights, Eddie has an itchy ear that I'm watching like a hawk, Miles is eating garbage and being a real butthole. We all need our schedule and routines back!

The bright spots coming up will more than make up for the madness- we get to sort of help puppy-sit for Homer, our bassett neighbor dog while his mommy is out of town and daddy has evening shifts scheduled (he and Miles had better doggy-playdate-exhaust themselves, they both NEED it!). Hopefully, we'll get a little time in with Matt and Natalie to catch up. Rob and his bromance are making plans to make the best out of a school-stuff-clogged St. Patrick's Day, so perhaps there's a little Beer Golfing to be done after they get finished with a special composition Master Class in the afternoon. We're kind of planning to sneak into Valhalla early to stake a claim at the bar and NEVER leave our seats. That's OUR bar, our SUNDAY TRADITION, dangit, and those MBA poser pub-dwellers better scoot themselves out of our spots. Go find a crappy Irish pub elsewhere and celebrate!

I actually don't have that strong of an opinion on the matter, but Rob's Bromance is a very big St. Patty's fan and I have to send as many good thoughts for a rockstar evening out into the universe for good measure.

Ah, Happy Friday, sweet friends!

Stolen from the Boys

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny...Button down: Target dude's...Trench: Target...Shoes: Steve Madden

I remember it distinctly... Christmas eve, my family did a cross-country and international webchat to exchange gifts and my darling sister had swiped the perfect buffalo plaid shirt from her boyfriend to wear as festive Hong Kong Christmas morning coffee attire. And, well, since I can't EVER steal anything from Rob (a 6'4" frame doesn't lend itself to shared wardrobe items with a 5'4" shrimp), I knew I was in for a hunt for a clearance dude flannel of my very own. I liked the small cobalt and black check, but ultimately decided it looked like a bruise. So, here we are, in a weekend errand outfit with perfectly oversized man-shirt in girly-colored plaid (no wonder so many made it to clearance) and nearing-death jeans. Total honesty? The trench and real shoes were only a fraction of the day... the majority was spent in Chacos and with one sleeve flapping and unfurled.

Five

Dress: BCBG MaxAzaria via Buffalo Exchange...Belt: thrifted...Shoes: MaxStudio via DSW...Earrings: Beijing market...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

Well, it's happened. Bri Marie tagged me in 5 Things and peer pressure took a firm grip, so here I go. I've already done a few random fact posts, but I promise not to cheat and swipe from the archives.

1. I'm an Elvis Fan. I love his music and kind of despise the jacka-- he was in real life, so, I guess that means I'm a fan of Elvis' legacy and the idea of Elvis. I sing "Can't Help Falling in Love" to my critters all the time.

2. Beaches? Yeah, they're nice. But, I'm a mountain lover at heart. There's something wonderful about feeling so small, looking up from the foot of a mountain. If someone said, "Hey, here, have this 600 sq. ft. house with an awesome view of those mountains to live in with your whole family," I'd say "Sweet! bunkbeds!" and enjoy the heck out of the view.

3. I have been collecting scars on my left knee and I kind of love it. My best friend's husband rocketed a horseshoe directly into my kneecap (no joke, 20+ foot bounce) and it bruised and swelled up immediately. The incident of the metal pedicab gash, the Beijing communal sink wash-off, and bandaid made from tissue and coffee lid tape. And then the time I fell off my bike and had to pedal my bloody stump home since I did it in Hermann Park. Less than a year ago.

4. One of my very favorite things is to host big, enormous dinners for friends. Cooking dinner for 8 and getting to absorb the energy of big group conversation from the kitchen is the best. One level better? An old-fashioned potluck (legit, if I could eat a buffet catered by octogenarians and invite all my friends, that would just about be the best thing ever).

5. I did a lot of ballet as a kid. I was a mouse for 11 years in the Nutcracker. I'm not joking. And when we did a version of Alice in Wonderland, I was the Walrus. Let that sink in. My skinny butt was the Walrus. Momma didn't donate enough extra for a good role. You can't make this crap up. At 14 1/2, I had my first, horrible run-in with petty politics. And quit soon after.

Anne, In Residence
Salazar, 14 Shades of Gray
Amber, Easy Petite Looks
Dotty, Dash Dot Dotty
Audrey, Putting Me Together
Ally, Shybiker
Daryl, Unlost
Nikki, the Ginger Diaries
Terri, Stylish Sass
Lisa, Respect the Shoes
Rebecca, Rebecca Lately
Danielle, Little Bit Of Wo We
Faith, Sweetened Style
Megan, Feathers and Freckles
Marion, Marionberry Style

Overkill list? Maybe. Don't care. Hop on it, crew! And hop over to Pleated Poppy... because it's What I Wore Wednesday!

Saved. For Now.

Skirt: Target...Blouse: Target...Belt: Target...Shoes: Steve Madden...Bag: Longchamp knockoff

We're gearing up for a big big big month. And I'm tired already!

One MAJOR grant due in two weeks, a LOI due the same day, another grant due in three weeks, arranging musician and performers for the gala, menus to replan, decor to check in on, auction items to confirm, speeches to write. At least the bulk of it will be done by April 11.

I'm trying to bring a few pieces of clothing back into rotation, give them a secondary test run. I'm going to get brutal with my wardrobe since we are taking minimal things overseas with us. This blouse is probably going to make the cut, mostly because it looks so good with light and white bottoms. And a long sleeved light-weight blouse is never a bad thing for travel. So, tan oxford shirt, congratulations,  you made it through another round of closet purges.