Doings and Buyings

So…something exciting happened about two weeks ago. It involved a very, very shiny diamond and a lovely, delicate setting–and is now residing on the fourth finger of my left hand. I have a few pictures for you! I took photos with my phone but they are not the best. I will later update with good photos. My favorite things about the ring are the delicate setting and the fact that the diamond is actually the highest grade for colorless that you can get. It makes it incredibly gorgeous. The true shininess cannot be captured by my cell phone.

Woohoo!

Yay!

I feel as if he's showing you how fat my fingers are.

This is the best it's going to get with my cell.

I was considering a ring by Wendy Brandes but it was really out of our current price range…I’m hoping to get it for our five year anniversary–it was this gorgeous Luna Ring.

This is the most exciting thing–but now that I’ve started trying to plan a wedding, it’s become a little terrifying. Today I’m going with my fellow engaged friend to look at bridal gowns. We swore we wouldn’t go to David’s Bridal but now that I see how expensive wedding dresses are…we changed our minds.

I have a mind full of awesome ideas but a budget that is severely limiting. I am willing to do about 75% of the work, and buy things from swap meets and farmer’s markets, which reduces the prices, but venues in this area are priced astronomically. Being outside of LA has its disadvantages. However, if all goes well, I will be updating with my cool ideas, my dress, and also my general craziness. I also keep meaning to tell the story of how I named my blog, which a few friends have asked about. Also! I am going to make cake pops for my favors and I am REALLY excited to let you know how my practice runs go. (Also, put good thoughts out there in the universe for Bakerella, who is ill and needs all the happy vibes you can send.)

 

 

Oops, I said Luna Ring when I meant Venus! I do love the Luna ring but I couldn’t afford it unless I won the lottery. The Venus ring is up my alley…I love costume jewelry, but a bit expensive for a non-engagement ring. In my world. Not in Wendy’s I assume. Someday I will be able to buy the many things I love from her site. Ah, to own the Marie Antoinette…

Faves and Raves

I thought that since I am suffering from writer’s block in a major way I would write about a few of my favorite things. And they are not raindrops on roses or any of that other muck–more like blush and shoes.

I recently bought Benefit’s Bella Bamba Blush from Sephora and it is gorgeous on my fair, freckled skin. It’s the perfect shade of “When will it be spring?” pink and has just enough sparkle to brighten your complexion but not so much that you look like you threw glitter on your face. I like to put it on the apples of my cheeks and then a light swipe across my forehead and down the middle of my nose for a bit of natural color. It smells divine and has a perfect little brush.

Brights are in style for spring (on your face and otherwise) so I dug out my MAC Hello Kitty lipgloss in sweet strawberry. I wish I could link it for you but it’s one of those specialty collections from a year or two ago. (Yeah, yeah, I should’ve thrown it away but it’s a lovely color and I just can’t bear to part with pretty lip gloss.) I’m actually a bit of a wimp about lip color and usually buy very neutral pinks and mauves. I have NO natural color on my lips whatsoever so I have to wear something. It’s just usually a very light something. I often wear Bare Minerals 100% Natural Lip Gloss in the exact shade pictured (it goes on very sheer) or Stila Lip Glaze in Kitten. (I own about five Lip Glazes, but Kitten is the only one I wear regularly. It’s a weekend color, very sheer and nice for a low-key makeup look.) However, as I get older (29 next month, people!) I really want to try new things and switch my look up a bit. So I really stepped out of the box (convinced by every fashion magazine on the planet and also Wendy Brandes’ bold lips) (I’m too shy for red lips, so…) after having seen a million bright lips I convinced myself to buy MAC’s Viva Glam Cyndi Lipglass which is much more bright-coral-y than one would imagine from the photo.

I’m also really loving the sandals and wedges that are coming out for spring. I don’t often wear heels because I spend all day on my feet, but I’m loving these chunky wedges from Steven by Steve Madden–I’ve always had a weakness for gray shoes.  These flowered Kate Spade flats are gorgeous but there’s a cheaper option by Report that would do just fine for those pesky summer weddings that take place on the beach. Or, you know, with boyfriend jeans and a lacy top. I love the juxtaposition of distressed jeans with feminine tops and accessories. I absolutely love the structure of these Philip Lim t-straps but they’re for girls who don’t have to run around after six year olds and cook dinner in PJs.  (And who doesn’t have four loads of laundry waiting to be folded…so I should probably go.)

Le Sigh

I have a nasty habit of taking things too seriously. Everything, from relationships to shopping trips, becomes a huge ordeal that I think upon for weeks at a time. This is keeping me from blogging because I am busy overthinking every sentence I write.

 

I have promised myself that I will stop this overthinking and so I will return tomorrow and maybe I will post about fashion or maybe I will post about California but I will NOT think about it all night tonight.

Three Words I Would Be Happy to Never Hear Again:

Part one of an ongoing list that will last forever and ever and I will think of it every day because I HATE THE WAY MOST PEOPLE TALK. Ugh.

1. Innovative

2. Eco-Friendly

3. Legitimate

Oy…

Between tonight’s episode of Parenthood and the continual footage of Chilean miners being rescued, I haven’t maintained dry eyes for more than ten minutes at a time.

And I just realized I have to change the time zone on this thing so it doesn’t look like I post in the wee hours of the night. I don’t ever stay up that late, y’all. Trust.

Uh…that is all.

Unscheduled Hiatus

Okay, so maybe I was gone for a little while. A big while. Whatever. (I have a signature gesture that accompanies my “whatever” statements. I’m sorry you’re missing it.) But anyway. I did things. I was busy! Besides the approximately eight thousand loads of laundry, I accomplished the following maaaaaaaaaaajor tasks:

• I moved across the country.
• I transferred to a new store.
• I enrolled my kid in a snooty-style private school. (Where she promptly got sent to the office for wearing the wrong color of knee socks. For real, y’all? For this much money, she should be able to wear neon pink socks if her little heart desires.)
• *We* moved in with David.
• I bought jeggings.

…What? Jeggings are SERIOUS BUSINESS. Even the taste of the word in my mouth hurts…but y’all, they look great on my butt. My ankles look positively demure. And they look perfect with my favorite comfy ballet flats and an easy tee shirt. I have converted.

Anyhow. I am back. I live in Orange County now. I am cohabitating with an actual boy-type person. My kid is in first grade. Welcome back to my life.

Things I Don’t Understand (And don’t want to)

1) People Who Wear Hiking Boots in Their Daily Life: Dude. It’s the grocery store, not Everest.

2) People Who Are Obsessed With Being Counter Culture and Weird: They are never actually counter culture OR weird, yes they will insist to you that they are, with much evidence, and constant referring to how weird, counter-culture, or freaky they are. They will drop it into conversation, emails, the most mundane of discussions. And here’s a tip: if you think you are counter culture and weird–you’re not. There’s no such thing. You fall into a crowd just like, oh, I don’t know, EVERYONE ELSE ON THE DAMN PLANET.  You are guilty of doing this incredibly annoying thing, and people are probably laughing at you. (If you don’t know anyone who does this–I am jealous, but it seems most people under the age of 35 knows at least one idiot guilty of wanna-be individuality.)

3) Religious Fanaticism: Okay, I actually do understand this to some extent, having grown up very religious. However, the extent to which some people become sheeple and never question…anything…is terrifying and I do not understand it. God (should you believe in Him) made us bright and inquisitive for a reason. And that reason was NOT so we could accept everything said to us by a Religious Authority Figure as gospel truth. No pun intended.

4) Projecting Hatred at Celebrities/Famous People: First of all, I have news for you perpetrators of this brand of insanity–You do not actually know those people. Whether they are a blogger of Dooce-like fame, or an actress like Jennifer Aniston–you do NOT know them. Even if you’ve read every blog post, interview, and gossip article ever written, these people are not your friends OR your enemies. You don’t have the right to judge them, to decide their intentions and motivations, or to pin your insecurities on them. I don’t understand hate mail, or nasty comments, or stalkers, or people who throw fruit (figuratively speaking) or…any of it. If you don’t like the site, don’t read it. If you don’t like the actor, don’t watch their movies. If the music bugs you, put something else on your iPod and SHUT. UP. Now, you can have opinions: “Dooce, ugh, I don’t like her writing and I don’t understand all the fangirls.” “Angelina Jolie is just not pretty to me,” “Justin Beiber’s voice grates on my last nerve.” –These things are acceptable. But the rampant harping people do re: celebrities drives me crazy.

Parentheses were instrumental in the construction of this post. (Truly.)

I love fashion. I don’t love it abstractly, as art (though I enjoy a good runway show) or ambitiously, on celebrities (though it must be lovely to be able to afford anydamnthing you want to wear) — no, I love it personally. For me. On my body, making me look thinner and prettier and happier and in my price range, not emptying my bank account.

So you can imagine that I find it a little annoying when the magazines I pay a good $5 for, which are the “Spring Fashion Blowout!” and purported to contain “97 Pages of Affordable Shoes!” or “274 Bargains!” seem to be helmed by people who consider $500 dollar shoes to be a steal. It’s ridiculous. A page spread of floral-themed watches contains exactly one (1) watch for less than $10,000.  (Sidenote: I always want to write it–in fact often do write it–10,000$ because that’s how we say it, right?) Now, MagazineInQuestion, how many of your readers can afford a watch that costs thousands of dollars? Hmmm? (The one I personally liked cost $18,000.)  I’m going to guess maybe 1 to 5% — so how about you feature things that we, the other 99-95%, could actually freaking BUY if we wanted to look pretty on our date tomorrow night! I understand that your fashion spreads are artistic and therefore you choose to outfit your models in Louboutins and Chanel (I really, really do understand this. Again, while I don’t LOVE fashion for its artistic merit I do enjoy it.) but how about when you feature affordable items you actually choose something that isn’t half my monthly salary?  I don’t care what Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Alba think is affordable–they have more money than God. The rest of us working women who have to justify spending $5 on your magazine with the whole “Oh, look, they’re going to show me deals on shoes! I’ll actually SAVE money!” and then to be disappointed again because right after that massive article on scaling back due to the recession, a $450 pair of red Jimmy Choo pumps was called an “unbelievable bang for your buck” — sure, if I wear them every day for three years. Then they’re an AMAZING deal according to CPW. (Cost per wear.) Otherwise? Not so much. Not to mention how many lattes I would have to skip to afford a pair of RED shoes in the first place…

God. Give a girl a break.

Annoyances

You: walk up to me and say, “Do you work here?”

I have on: a name badge. A lanyard. A walkie talkie.

I am carrying: a huge ring with every key to every damn door, drawer, nook and cranny in the store.

I am: folding a table full of clothing, chatting with another associate.

Yes. I work here. I am also in charge.  These things are obvious. Do you need a segue into asking me for help? You could, perhaps, say something like, “Hi, how are you?” and when I respond then you could say, “I had a question…” or “I needed help with…”

You: dump your things on the counter and launch into a tirade of questions, complaints, or orders.

I: am a human being. Please say hello to me. Please respond in kind when I ask you how you are doing.

You: never say please or thank you.

I: am sick of it.

Practically Summer

So it was a downright balmy 51 degrees here in our lovely nation’s capitol today, and if I were a better person I probably would’ve gone for a run or some other “New Year, New You” activity but instead I crawled back in bed and slept for three glorious hours. During the school year I don’t sleep past 8am on any given day as I take Leila to school on my days off and the days when I work a later shift. Normally I would have at least one day a week when I could sleep in and catch up on sleep but those days have disappeared now that Christmas break is over.  I am also the worst nap-taker in the world–I cannot seem to fall asleep completely and my stomach will tighten into anxious knots. But as I had only been awake for the hour and a half it took me to ready Leila for school, take her to school, and get home, after I read Dame Agatha’s gentle storytelling for a bit I passed right out. And it felt AWESOME. When I woke up, rumpled but rested, the sun was out and I saw my neighbors out in the parking lot in their tee shirts. This was perhaps a little overoptimistic on their parts but putting on a light jacket instead of my (extremely adorable but frankly I’m tired of it) red winter coat cheered me immensely.

In two weeks I’m visiting David and I’m THRILLED that he is having a warm SoCal winter and it should be around 74 degrees every day that I am there. God bless Irvine. I think it will help to bring me out of the winter blues that have been flying around my head for these past few weeks. (I’m lying. Months? Yeah, probably months.)  Five days of sunshine with the man I love? Better than Prozac. (Well, for me. Since Prozac turned me into some sort of psychotic zombie. Hint: don’t treat a bipolar chick with antidepressants alone.)

In summary: beautiful day, vacation soon, and I’M BACK.