dressin up the holidays

i’ve been shopping, big shock.

i just can’t help myself.  i’m kinda stressed about my job and not knowing what’s going to happen with it after holiday is over and plus i’ve been out there christmas shopping for our friends and family.  and not that i have to shop for me when i shop for others but i’m out in stores and seeing things that i haven’t seen before, things i didn’t know i wanted, and oh the sales!  well the sales this year aren’t that good but things are still on sale and i love hunting for the bargains!  so i’ve been victim to the whole ‘one for mom, one for me’ style of shopping.

here’s what i’ve come away with on my most recent trips to wear…

• i bought $15 jeans – you read that correctly $15.  for jeans.  and they somehow FIT!  thank you Ann Taylor Loft.  i mean honestly their pants NEVER fit me, they usually seem to be for people who have less than long legs (i’ve always joked that their “petite” sizes must be for little people since their regular sizes are so short).  but i did buy multiple pairs because i ripped one taking the tags off (i was being lazy) so i figured, they’re $15 i could always use more!
  

 

• and $20 spring pants – i also bought a pair of pants in brown for $20 that i’d already bought in grey for $15 last month!!  if you go at the right time you truly can get some good deals at AT Loft!
  

 

• i also bought a sweater for $24.99 but can’t find a picture of it and am not as crazy about it after wearing it one night… it was really cute in store thought (isn’t that always the case!)

 

• Vickies FINALLY has a bralette!  and it’s overpriced (of course) but it’s not totally astronomically overpriced like everything else they have so i caved.  i’ve been looking for pretty and reasonably priced bralettes for um, about a year so this was my give-in buy.
  

 

• i caved and bought another short wool coat but in a beige color, now i have one for every possible winter weather scenario (except snowboarding… not really a concern of mine even though i did see an AWESOME Spyder coat at marshall’s one day : )
  

 

• i originally bought these boots that i loved but ended up getting these other boots instead… so much for my “no heel” quest.  the first pair were so nice but just too long in the foot… i like shoes that make my feet look tiny!  i found another pair of boots in the middle and it was tempting but the top of them was too wide to go under jeans so i never purchased them, even though they had the right amount of toe squatness.  sadly the ones i finally bought may still get returned because the build stops at the top of the foot, there’s ZERO ankle support and i twist my ankles in shoes that have tons of support.  we’ll see
  

 

• 2 previously mentioned Susana Monaco dresses for next summer for $25 each!   they look kinda like this but one in black and one in this incredible blue color!   they have pockets and the neatest belt/sash detail (where the image is rouched) with fabric covered bubbles. 
  

 

• socks.  i’ve bought alot of socks.  i have a slight obsession with cute knee-high socks.  fashion aside i just love that they keep my legs warm and tend to stay up all day.  love ‘em.

 

• and not to mention the many various ornaments i’ve purchased along the way… but i can’t wear those so they don’t count, right  : )

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~ today i learned… my pup could give 2 poos about today being his birthday, maybe he’s like me and is still celebrating his 8th : )   ~

holly jolly bullets

•  what do these things all have in common - scary, vibrating, blood enducing, expensive? 
  give up?  it’s the sonicare.  seriously, i wouldn’t have thought it either but it’s true.  i wanted one so badly and we even registered for one for the wedding and i finally got one for my birthday.  i was so excited that i couldn’t wait to get back to VA to hook it up to start using it.  i was excited to have super duper clean teeth.  to have healthier gums.  to clean my invisalign retainers in one swipe rather than tons of back and forth brushing.  and then i used it for the first time.  it went something like this – ow.  ow.  owowOOOWWW!  why does it hurt??  oh my god, turn it off. Turn. It. Off!!
  because yah, it’s painful until you get used to it.  it’s definitely not as painful or as bloody of an experience now that i’ve been using it for 2 months but the bad part is that i went through the first head in 30 days.  um, yah, they’re about $10 EACH!  i’m hoping that the future ones will last longer.  oh, and if i use it with my teeth clenched i can still feel the vibrations in my inner ear and it’s creepy, tingly, itchy, did i mention creepy.
• the thing i like best about living in the “beach” area so far is that people seem to own sunglasses!  more specifically they WEAR THEM.  when they’re DRIVING.  which means that when we’re on the highway and come around a turn and “oh, look, there’s the bright sun!” people don’t have to SLAM on their brakes!  it’s pretty awesome actually.
  they still can’t drive in the rain but beggars can’t be choosers, right?
• apparently my company is having a christmas party.  i think it’s today or something.  not sure.  my office is 3 1/2 hours away and they’re having it during the day.  sorry, i just can’t justify 7hrs on the road for a lame-ass in-office non-open-bar holiday party with people i have zero in common with and mildly like.
• furthermore, i’m a grouch and i don’t care.  i didn’t get a bridal shower, i didn’t even get so much as a “kiss my foot” or “have an apple ” (2 pts if you can name that movie).  so no, i will not be shipping in money or any gifts for another girl’s baby shower.  especially since i didn’t even know she was pregnant!  heck, i thought she was like 19!  is she even married? (i know, i know, it’s 2009 but still…) i couldn’t tell you anything about this girl except she works for our company and most of the time does the work i request from her.  so should she be punished because no one threw me a bridal shower?  no, but i don’t care.  i don’t have money to be spending on people who don’t spend it on me.
• um, yah, so after writing that i noticed on facebook that the girl i thought was attached to that name isn’t the same girl i was thinking of.  maybe that’s why i don’t get a bridal shower, i don’t really know the names of the people in the company.  anyhow it turns out the girl who is having the baby is one that really pisses me off!  she’s just such a grump and was rude to me from my first day in the office.  i guess i don’t know who is who in that dept. so i thought she was someone else but now that i know the face i can reassure you that i don’t feel the slightest bit bad about not giving a hoot about her baby or shower.
• i found our local HomeGoods and i can assure you that it was worth the wait!  holy moly!  i’ve been in a few before but none like this!  it’s crazy because it’s in a fairly ghetto shopping plaza but as i was walking through i realized it was truly a diamond in the rough.  they have a boutiqe section.  and it’s FULL of designers!  like REAL designers, not just my lovely Maggy London.  we’re talking Alive & Olivia, Chloe, Nanette Lepore, Badgley Mischka, Vera Wang, etc. etc. etc.  and they even have a clearance rack in that section!  granted, the clearance dresses in that area are still $150+ but wow!  i love it!  i didn’t know they did this and i’d just been missing out all this time!! 
  oh, and in case you’re wondering, i got 2 CUTE Susana Monaco dresses for next summer… $25 EACH!  holy shit!!
• since when did it become perfectly acceptable to just bring your dog anywhere you want?  i mean i bring my lil’nut in the car with me when i run errands some times but the only time he gets to go IN a store is when we go to the pet store.  because that’s allowed.  but sure enough, as M and i were wandering around DSW the other day this tramp walks by with her chihuahua parading around in front of her.  um, what??  you can walk your dogs through DSW now?  it’s freakin carpeted in there!  seriously, how did this fly?  who didn’t stop her at the door??
  and a day or two later i was running through Lowes when i came across a guy with a pomeranian in a shopping cart.  WTF!?  we weren’t in the outdoor section, which i guess i would have understood a little better, but instead he was carting this dog around the store.  what is going on?!?  honestly, is this common place now?  or do these people get away with it because they have small dogs?  i guarantee you if someone walked into DSW with a lab on a leash they would be quickly caught at the door and told the dog can’t come in.  same with Lowes, i dare you to drag your st. bernard through the laminate flooring aisle and see what happens.  that’s dogist, right?  sizeist, maybe?  whatever it is it pisses me off.  i guess the thing that pisses me off the most is the BALLS on these people thinking they can just take their dog anywhere they want like they’re Paris Hilton circa 2004.
• speaking of dogs tomorrow is P-doodle’s birthday.  he’ll be 12, which i believe is 84 in mythical dog years.  and i’m excited!  he’s going to get his hair done and then i’m going to get him a special treat!  he’ll probably hate being at a new groomer but i would love it if someone sent me to the salon on my birthday so that’s why he’s going.  maybe we’ll go for a super long walk too, he’d LOVE that.  i have the whole day off and so does M so it’ll be a nice family outing : )      and then we’re going to ditch him that night to go to M’s work christmas party, he won’t even notice though he’ll be so crashed out from such an active day.
• M has agreed to have a birthday party this coming year under one condition – i make him a pinata that looks like tiger wood’s head that he can hit with golf clubs (i told him he’d need to don a blonde wig too) and you can bet i will be taking on this project.  plus it’ll be a great time for our first party/hosting event in the new house!
• um, since when do soap operas pimp things that are actually going on in real life??  this week the ABC soaps have been pimping the movie Nine.  and while i appreciate them telling all the people who don’t know that it’s based on a musical, loosly based on real life… well it’s all kinda contrived.  so contrived that i expect them to mention it with they’re talking about how refreshing brand X beer is that they’re drinking and how they love how it washes down brand Z nuts!  i get that it’s the basis of where soaps started (they were sponsored & directed by soap brands) but still… it’s pretty annoying.

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~ today i learned… Donder was an original reindeer in the poem “A visit from St Nicholas”  116 years later it was changed to Donner in the publication of “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” book.  It’s believed that this mistake occurred because Donner & Blitzen mean Thunder and Lightening in German. ~

dog vs. baby

that title sounds like it should be an awesome youtube video or maybe a Fox half hour show.

but that’s not what it’s about.  i’m referring to the age old argument of dogs vs babies.  what, you didn’t know this was an issue?  well i think it is.

i get that there are people out there who never have kids, they never want to or they just can’t, and that they supplement this space in their life with pets.  usually it’s cats if the people are single and dogs if they are married.  i’m all for people having their dogs as their babies if they don’t actually have kids or if their kids are all grown up.  i think it’s great.  i had a phase in my life where i didn’t want kids and i only wanted dogs, imagine how fun that would be!

what i do have an issue with is the people who recommend getting a dog to “prepare you” for having kids.  um, what?  that could be the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard.  yes, i totally see the parallels.  raising a good dog takes almost as much work as a good kid.  but nothing drives me more insane than when people get married and rush out to get a dog because they don’t want a kid yet.  i’m sorry but i just don’t think it’s fair… to the dog!  because these people who are planning to have kids all along end up getting a puppy  and once it’s not a cute lil’ puppy anymore they are now ready for a baby.  and suddenly that dog is on the back burner. 

i’m not saying that anyone mistreats or neglects their dogs once they have a kid but they definitely change their life.  i’ve seen it happen a few times and it drives me mad.  imagine you’re the dog.  you go to live with these wonderful people who dote on you and love you and do nothing but adore you and gush attention on you every minute they’re home.  and this is your life.  for 2-4 years.  and then one day there’s another person, a teeny tiny little person, and now all the attention that used to be for you is for them.  and you’re lucky if you go out 2x a day, if you get dinner on time, if you get to snuggle up to anyone.  that’s tough.  for anyone, even for dogs.  it’s not fair to use them as a guinea pig to test your ability as parents and then brush them aside when you finally become a parent.

don’t get me wrong, i totally understand why people recommend getting a puppy to recently married couples before having a kid.  if you’ve never raised either before it’s such a lesson in discipline.  face it, raising a puppy is VERY similar to a baby and then you have this perpetual 2 yr old until the dog dies.  it takes alot of work.  as a couple it’s actually a great way to see what it’ll be like when you have a kid, is one person gonna get stuck doing everything?  is one person the disciplinarian and the other is just treats-treats-treats?  it really does help you sort those things out before you throw a baby into the mix and it causes some arguments in the marriage.  but even beyond the unfairness to the “test animal” mentioned above i also don’t think it’s a good idea for couples in general. 

don’t most people get married and then put off a baby because they want to enjoy their relationship a little longer before changing their lives forever?  for the sake of this argument let’s say “yes”.  and in this case it makes ZERO sense to get a dog.  because even though it’s not a human being and theoretically you could give it away someday if you find out you can’t handle it, it still saddles you.  as much as a child would.  wanna go out to a sporting event for the day?  gotta find someone to walk the dog so it doesn’t pee on your floor.  wanna go to visit friends in a neighboring city and drink it up?  gotta get home by 9 to feed the dog before it eats your couch.  and so on.  you get the point. 

there are just as many responsibilities in raising a dog as there are in a kid (if you’re doing it right) so i don’t agree that it’s a good idea for newlyweds or people who aren’t ready for a kid yet.  i’m not just saying this because i’m a newlywed with a dog, it’s just made me really think about it even more.  my dog is fine, he’s been my dog for 12 years even though he’s lived with my mom for 7.  i trained him when i was much younger and had nothing else going on.  i had time to dedicate to him.  it was great.  i actually wish i’d had him when i was single in my 20’s.  that was when i would have had the most time for him and he would have been able to provide me with the most back.  i had some lonely days years and would have been much better off emotionally if i had something to focus on, something to love every day. 

anyway, my point here stems from realizations in my current life, it’s not a commentary on my current situation.  i love my husband.  i love my dog.  yes, it’s a pain in the ass to find someone to come by to feed and walk him when we go to B’burg for the day but it’s not as big of a deal for us.  we’re not ready for kids no matter how much we want them.  but we will be in a few years, and let’s face it my dog only has a few years left so it’s actually a really good thing to have around to keep helping me push the whole baby thing further back.  because my ovaries want them NOW NOW NOW.  but my brain and body are SO not ready.

my point is, if you’re just married and ARE going to have kids in a few years maybe you can borrow a dog for this?  or participate in the assistance dog programs where you raise a dog for a few years and then it goes off to be someone’s seeing eye dog, etc.  just please don’t get a puppy only to push it aside for a baby some day.  plus, i recommend being carefree and not tied down before having kids anyway because you NEVER get that back!

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~ today i learned… the concept of kissing under the mistletoe stems from the Scandinavian association with mistletoe and their goddess of love, Frigga ~

help wanted

i need your help

i have to get my butt in shape (literally).  i’ve only got a few years before i am toting some a kid around, which means i have 9 months less than that to make sure i’m in good shape.  besides all the scary parts of actual pregnancy and being responsible for another human being’s life i’m also scared of never having my body back.  it’s not like i’m Marissa Miller right now but i’m definitely not Kirstie Alley either… and i’d like to keep it that way.  And i’m completely aware of my laziness, i embrace it at times, so i know it’ll take me a while to lose whatever i gain and firm up whatever gets stretched out.  which is why i need to get in shape.  and i need to start NOW.  i know that going back to pilates would be a godsend for this but i can’t afford it.  and i’ve already informed my husband that i intend to be a MILF and i’m not gonna have a kid until i can be a MILF.

which is where you come in.  i’m not an iPod owner (refrain from gasping please).  i’ve never had one and i really only want one for novelty… mostly so i can get all the shoe doohickies that hook up to it.  but for now it’s all about my mp3 player, you remember those, right?  i use it when i run (ie. a few times a year) but i need better music.  i tend to upload songs i really like to it and then while i’m running i’m all sad and depressed because apparently that’s what i like.  sad indie music.

but i need songs that have a faster pace, songs that will keep me moving. what do you recommend?  don’t hesitate to leave entire lists because i’m starting from ZERO and need to fill it up with enough for a 2mile run to start.

so after i upload Callin Baton Rouge what else should i put on there?

fuzzy stockings

when we were out picking up christmas lights and garland i saw a lil’ stocking and immediately realized our little pup didn’t have one.  so even though we’re doing christmas in CT this year i had to get it for him.  it also gave me an excuse to go to a craft store and get ideas on how to put his name on it. 

here’s the final result… it could be better but it was really late when i was finishing it and sometimes i forsake quality in an effort to just go to bed (i regret it in the morning every time!)
oh and my pup has recently discovered the hearth and has taken a liking to it so i had to take a picture : )
 

but more importantly it’s up on the mantle with my stocking.  you’ll notice there is no stocking for M.  he doesn’t have one.  it makes me sad.  he said he had one growing up but he has no idea where it would be.  so i have decided to indoctrinate him into my family.  we all have these stockings… they’re from a company called Bucilla.  and you get all the pieces in a bag and have to put them together.  my mom made them for us (i still swear mine’s the best because the santa actually comes out, i used to play with this all christmas morning… my sister’s just had bells, crappy jingly bells) and my sister has made them for her kids too.

so i decided to make one for M.  and i scoured the craft stores here and came up empty handed… so i turned to the wonderful world of Amazon and in haste ordered the first one i saw that i liked.  it was Chef Santa.  perfect since M does all our cooking!  and i placed the order and it was on its way. 

and then i made my usual mistake… i kept looking.  and i saw Golfing Santa.  i knew THIS was the one i had to make for him!   so i ordered it… and Chef Santa is on his way back.

i know these stockings take forever and are a pain in the butt to make but i’m SO excited to make him a part of this holiday tradition.  i feel like i’m really doing my first wifely thing!  i can’t wait to make them for our kids too!!

** note from the author – i just received the golf stocking and opened it to read the instructions… holy moly.  i may have to outsource this **

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 ~ today i learned… poinsettia are NOT actually poisonous.  it was believed when we were growing up that they could kill a pet or small child if eaten but more recent studies have proven this completely false ~

boughs of holly

i’ve had a fake christmas tree for years.  in fact i really love my tree.  it’s nice and thick and usually fits perfectly into a room. 

except our new family room.  it’s vaulted.  which means that my tree looks miniature… so after christmas this year i’ll be on the hunt for a 10ft+ full looking artificial tree.

but until then i decided that we needed something very christmasy, a real christmas smell, something to put me in the mood since it’s in the 60’s every day here.  and i settled on real wreath.  i debated over tons of awesome ones from Ballard, PB, Calyx, etc. but ended up with a nice one from Lowes (and for much less $).

so this has been hanging on our door (of course with an extra bird i put in it) and it smells lovely, you just have to be up close to it to really smell it because it’s carolina pine

and then the other day i got home and found a box on our front door.  i opened it up to find this awesome beauty

now i’m not usually a fan of the big bow and the decorative accents but damn does this thing smell AH MAZE ING!  it’s a fir, it was like christmas wafted out of the box as soon as i opened it! 

so now we have a conundrum.  2 live wreaths.  what do we do with one of them?  yes, we could put one on the back door but then i’d have to buy another wreath hanger… i’m kinda lazy like that.

and even if we do… which one goes on the front door?  the whole point was not only to look festive but so that it smelled like the holidays the moment you walked in the door. 

any suggestions?

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~ today i learned… James Cash Penney bought a store called The Golden Rule Store and renamed it J.C. Penney in 1912 at the time of purchase ~