Standing Out on St. Patty's

I was so hopeful these jeans would fit still. I bought them on clearance in a size above my normal and dryer shrunk the crap out of them the last few years pre-pregnancy. Now that my hips got all wide and funky, they're a little too tight, but I couldn't not wear them- this springy color combination was begging for white jeans. And the most fun part is this weird little scarf in my hair has been my St. Patrick's Day go-to little bit of green(it has green cherries and little fuchsia vines on it) for years and years now and I just decided to go for the loud and bright complimentary look. And all my adorably reserved office mates thought it was the most awesome thing ever.

So, moral of the story is this: in the last week of work, wear whatever you want to and all your colleagues and every other Chinese person on campus will stare unabashedly at you and your pregnant belly. No disguising being one of the only white girls working at the University and dressing up anyway, let alone sporting a huge baby bump, so give 'em all something spring-like to stare at.

Trenches and Dugouts

Jeans: Gap Always Skinny...Button-down: Target...Trench: Target...Shoes: Cole Haan via DSW...Necklace: Etsy

Second baseball game toniiiight! Crap, I love Tigers Baseball.

Plus, our buddy is coming back for a visit. Little Roo, Rob's adopted baby sister, moved to LA for her graduate program last year and it's been darn lonely without her!

Happy weekend, dear friends.

Urban Oasis

Skirt: Beijing tailor...Shirt: H&M...Belt: Target...Shoes: J Jill via Buffalo Exchange...Bag: D&B via Buffalo Exchange...Necklace: thrifted...Lips: L'Oreal Vagabond Mauve and NYC Sheer Red

Last day before Boss Lady arrives back in town for the fall season! As much as I enjoyed cranking out projects with no interruption, I've missed some of the madness of having her here. Monday- it all gets nutty again Monday.

I don't think I ever took a photo of our adorable apartment courtyard for you all. The building is a big U shape with a set of doors off either side in the back corners. We re-sodded, added pavers on which to set the picnic table, moved the potted plants around, trimmed the tree, moved some smaller flowering plants. We're all in love with the outdoor space and spend a lot of neighbor hang out time together out there. Speaking of neighbor time, we've been invited to my photog neighbor friend's place for pasta tonight- her husband is the "wine guy" (as in he's so good that he's just saving up enough money to do the certification courses to be a sommelier, but it won't be a huge challenge) at one of the ritzy Whole Foods stores in town.  Um, noodles and well-selected wine? Yes, we'll be there.

Wheeeee, I'm scattered this morning. Have an awesome Friday and I'll see you later!

In Preparation for Neighbors

Jeans: Gap...Blouse: Ecote via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Nine West via Buffalo Exchange

My Guy and I finally decided to get on with it... and by that I mean finally having our neighbors over for a sushi night. We've lived here for coming up on three years and have never invited neighbors into our home and have never been invited into any of theirs. We spend crazy amounts of time together outside at the picnic table in the courtyard (which is just about ready for its glamour shot post-sod) and we're really looking forward to sharing another meal with the group. One upstairs neighbor has the best wood smoke grill and his sauce recipes are killer, so he rounds the group up every once in a while just to have a BBQ potluck. Sweets and fresh baked goods have been passed around. The woman just above us make a mean guacamole. And now we can share sushi with the crew. I can't wait!

This also means we are doing some last minute deep cleaning. And it isn't close to being over yet. Our darling critters are filthy little buggers and have left more dark oily smears on window sills, nose prints on windows and snot/snout marks on door frames than I realized. Not to mention the ground-in dog fur I've been sucking out of the sofa and guinea pig sized furballs floating around the room after having vacuumed on Sunday morning. I don't know how they get so big so fast. Our cat only weighs 6 1/2 lbs herself.

We're hosting tomorrow night... That's enough time to wrap it all up. Right?

Landscape

I know that neither these colors nor the boxy silhouette are the most flattering on me, but it sure is fun to wear a nice loud color combination.

Boss Lady is working on a new landscape plan for her home and I am beyond excited about the bits and pieces of conversation I've heard. She had her third meeting with her architect, who is very sweet and cares very much about getting the right "feel" and addressing all of her safety, function and aesthetic concerns. Personally, I'm mostly excited about trimming back and/or removing the scale-diseased blueberry trees just outside of my office window. My morning light is stunted by them and nothing can grow under them since they sprinkle a disgusting black crumble of yuck over the area (gross, I know), so restoring some visual balance and health back to the garden will be a welcome change. I don't know anything about anything for the rest of the plans, but my boss is super creative, so it will become something really special by the end of the process. I look forward to more construction around here (is that weird?)- the commotion is good fun and makes my workdays pass a little quicker for some reason.

Pants: Zara...Blouse: Mossimo, thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Scarf: via TJ Maxx..Shoes: Naturalizer...Jewelry: thrifted

I Don't Get It.

Sorry 'bout the crap photos. It's rainy out.

I cancelled a flight for Boss Lady yesterday and took part in the following conversation with a Customer Service Rep (BTW, I think there's a set dialogue she is supposed to say and doesn't really understand what happens herself):

Me: I need to cancel a reservation for a flight tomorrow, Confirmation number BlahBlahBlah.
Her: Okay, we can cancel that for you.
Me: Great. We booked the ticket with miles- what happens with any possible refund?
Her: You will get a refund of the 25,000 miles.
Me: Wonderful- and do I lose the $75 booking fee or is that reunded?
Her: You will get the miles back.
Me: What about the fee?
Her: You will get the fee back, too.
Me: Oh, that's good. So I get a full refund on the miles and the booking fee?
Her: You can use the same confirmation number for another reservation within one year, there's a one year validity on that confirmation number.
Me: Wait, do I get a refund or is it deferred?
Her: You will get the miles refunded, there's a one year validity on the confirmation number.
Me: Those are two different things. May I speak with a manager, I don't get it.
Her: The manager is busy. I can explain it to you.

Um, no you can't. A refund is the opposite of reusing a booking number for another flight. And not wanting to get in trouble for providing poor and confusing customer service is not a good reason to try desperately to avoid putting a customer on the phone with a supervisor.

And that's how I spent the first 45 minutes of my Tuesday.

Skirt: Target...Blouse: thrifted...Cardigan: Target...Belt: Target...Scarf: Liberty of London via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: BCBGeneration via Ross... Earrings: thrifted

Somethin' Different

The Winter Challenge today is Monochrome. Which I do all the time. In blacks and neutrals and blacks. And blacks. So, I'm branching out (and making use of the only three red-based articles of clothing I own). And I figured this would be better than transforming into a big blob of blues- my collection of slate blue, cobalt blue, dusty blue, ocean blue and crayon blue is pretty extensive, but similar enough to have no visual interest from piece to piece. Which leads us to this incredibly loud red color scheme.

Skirt: thrifted...Shirt: Target via Buffalo Exchange...Cardigan: via Buffalo Exchange...Shoes: Target

Little Known Tidbits.

This is a funny one, ladies. Get pumped.(Aaaand I'm linking up to the Color Brigade for the first time, good fun!)

Skirt: DVF, thrifted...Blouse: Mossimo via Buffalo Exchange...Cardigan: Target...Shoes: MaxAzria via Buffalo Exchange...Necklace: Target

30 Days Hath November- Day 23: 8 Things you didn't know about me...

1. I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. Don't plan to. No judgement against smokers, I just don't wanna.

2. You may have gathered this from my post a few days ago that introduced my family, but I am the oldest of 4 kids, the youngest of whom is adopted from China. The matching process of kid to family is loooong and draining, but we kind of knew we had to fight for this kid when we found out that they knew nothing about him at the orphanage, but he just happened to have been assigned the same birthday as me. I've never liked celebrating my birthday, but I really love celebrating with my brother. 

3. My cat was dumpster dived. Dove? We literally found her as a tiny kitten in my parents' trash bin after she fell in while foraging.
4. I have a major pink allergy. That deep berry/ fuchsia you see above? That's as close as it gets.
5. My guy won me over in High School when he saved my portion of a dance performance in a student written play. Our music didn't work and he played an improv guitar piece for us to dance to.
6. Yes, I married my high school sweetheart. He's a good one.
7. I am my mother's clone. We are the art appreciators, nature- girls, uncreative cooks, homebody socialites. We both snort when we laugh, prefer thick dark beer, have the same handwriting, despise laundry but love ironing. It's weird, but wonderful to have a sounding board who really does "get you" and I'm glad it goes both ways in the relationship.
8. I miss the AZ desert. I would move back in a heartbeat.