July 30, 2011

friday friday good ol' friday

i love fridays!

i used to not so much when i was a stay at home mom. back then, i loved mondays. it's true. i am sure there are some people out there that will agree with me. mondays were when husband scott went back to work and the children back to school and i had the house to myself...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

but now, i love fridays. i get to sleep in on saturday mornings.

tonight, however, was extra special. husband scott and i are making a bad habit of going to dallas for dinner and a movie on fridays. tonight we met up with brother john and mary for dinner at roti grill. it's simple, but really good indian food. we like the naan so much that it was ordered 3 times.

after dinner, we went to the angelika. we have been going there a lot since the movies playing there don't make it to fort worth. i don't know why. i do hope that the citizen theatre gets finished soon because supposedly they will be showing movies like the magnolia, angelika, inwood & texas theatre show. the first line on their website reads - "Your days of driving all the way to Dallas to see good movies are numbered, friends."


so, we went to the angelika and this is what i saw


a celebrity being interviewed. of course, i, little bit, got all excited, and had to take a photo. daughter michelle says to me that i don't even know who he is. and i said, i did that he is the director of the movie beats rhymes something or another and he was one of phoebe's boyfriends on friends...the one that shoots the bird. and she says no he isn't, so i googled it and guess who won? 


that's right...me. of course it still is not enough to be able to compete in pioneer woman's movie quiz, but whatevs.


we didn't see that movie (sorry one of phoebe's boyfriends). we saw life, above all, which was kinda' slow but i was entranced by the beauty of the movie. it was just so beautifully shot.


speaking of beauties...
no, not husband scott... the other one in front.


this one. 
daughter michelle is with us for a while.




i am so very very very happy.














seriously...isn't she beautiful?

July 28, 2011

totally depressed and anxious

i had someone come in and measure for some blinds for a few windows today and made the mistake of telling her that our house was built in '72. i only told her that because she couldn't pull it up on her gps. i can't either on my gps and i always feel like i have to explain to people, when that happens, that i don't live in a new neighborhood.

anyhoo, she then comments, while inside the house, how 70's style it is...

really?

so then i start looking around to take a photo of something in the house that does NOT look like it was styled in the 70's...and...i could not find anything...anything at all.

how depressing.
must seriously update the house and make it fresh, starting with this sofa. the curtains are being replaced by wooden blinds in white (to go with the white brick wall the curtains are hiding), but what to do with the sofa...i am really starting to hate the maroon color that seems to dominate the house. maroon and mustard...that doesn't even have a nice sound to it.

how depressing.

so, what am i anxious about? husband scott and i are going on a continuing ed business trip of sorts. i WAS super excited before today because the trip is to chicago and i have never been to chicago. even husband scott hasn't been there and he's been every where...which is what happens when one is an air force 'brat'.

so...got the itinerary today and there is to be a black tie optional dinner at the end of the trip to present awards and stuff. so, what does that mean...exactly - black tie optional? well...scott has to wear a tux (as in "men will be properly dressed in a tuxedo". that's the description given) and the company will gladly set him up with a rental there in chicago, if he doesn't want to bring his own. i sent him an email about this and he sent back, "you have got to be kidding."

i said no, but lucky scott is tall and slender and will look very good in a tux. plus, if he rents, he won't have to pack it and it will be a basic black tux like everyone else's. me...on the other hand has to come up with "a cocktail dress or an elegant pants ensemble". it truly says that...an elegant pants ensemble. i don't know why, but i keep picturing maude in her pant ensembles.

i have been to a few work functions with scott and i always come home feeling like i was under/over dressed, frumpy or trying too hard...never comfortable with what i put on. plus i am always awkwardly teetering in my heels. arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh! this is stressing me out! i don't have a little black dress because i don't like wearing black.

i did purchase this skirt from anthropologie earlier:

but, i was picturing myself wearing it with a plain white t or button down shirt and my flats or oxfords. how do i dress this up with out looking...i don't know...wrong?

i am not tall and slender like scott. i look more like this:

and, yes, i took it in the locker room at the gym.
and, yes, my skirt is extra wrinkly, but that is what happens when it is 102 and one is driving in the car with the seat belt on, waiting for the ac to kick in.

my hair is in a pony tail...just to let you know there is more to my hair than what you see.

i do like my shiny shoes, though. i should not have cut off the toes in the photo.







can i have a tux waiting for me at the hotel, too? actually, that would be a really really bad idea. i do not think i could ever i pull off the ysl le smoking outfit...at all...ever. arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!


when i voiced this to scott, he emailed me back with, "maybe we can get out of attending that part of the trip." it's tempting. i mean we could read the description as black tie ------- optional dinner and pretend we didn't know it was black tie optional ------------ dinner, couldn't we? it would work except it is a recognition dinner and people will be recognized.


rats

post script: i just realized that everything i referenced in this post (ysl le smoking, maude and mounty python) is from what the 70's or 80's?


double rats

July 27, 2011

here is a first for me

just filled up my car with gas and noticed that the car on the other side of me was being filled up, too, BUT WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING. is that allowed? isn't that dangerous?

isn't that a bit like: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3889944325139005442

i don't know...but, i didn't like being next to that car.

plus, is it weird to be emptying your tank while filling it at the same time?

July 26, 2011

don't feel like cleaning house

so i am posting another post. that's right, another post.

i hate my house. okay, maybe i don't really hate my house. i very very strongly want to do stuff to my house to make me like it again or rather like it waaaaaaaaaay better.

i can't seem to make a move on doing stuff on my house. i wish i had the energy and clear thinking of chez larsson. seriously, how does she do it? she knows exactly what she wants, then she tackles it with such gusto. i am so envious. i think that i have fits and starts because i start out thinking i know exactly how i want a project to look and halfway into it, i think, nope, that's not what i want.

i have no clear direction.

i was reading the wall street journal the other day (yes, i read the wall street journal...okay i just read the 'fluff', as my friend calls it...the wsj has GREAT fluff). anyway, i was reading an article about kelly wearstler who is really cool and, according to the wsj, renown. i must admit that i didn't know who she was  for a while except as one of the judges on the bravo design show with my fave jonathon adler (see you later, decorator) and my other fave tom oldham (just googled him again...when did he decide to be bearded??).

anyway, kelly wearstler is an amazing designer and i could hate her in that wsj also calls her a 'little wisp of a thing'...something i will NEVER be called. the article on her was great and this particular paragraph caught my attention:

I ask a lot of clients what their favorite colors are and they say, "I don't know what I want to live in." I say, "Go in your closet and look at the majority of what color is in there; that's the color you're going to like living in."


here is a portion of my closet and it looks like i have a lot of different colors...more or less... i then, took out all the clothes that i have a lot of the same color in and put them on a rack:
notice a trend here? who owns 4 sweaters in citron yellow on a somewhat limited budget!! who does that? and yet from the early post below, i am considering adding a pair of pants to the closet in the very same color.
i knew that i have a weakness for navy. i have always chosen navy over black most of my life. remember when that perfume 'navy' came out? that was me...i was SO disappointed when i didn't like the smell of 'navy'...so disappointed. 
white is a major color in my dresser, too,  i wear plain hanes white undershirts with everything.


the other prominent color seems to be olive green. my favorite pairing of colors to wear is navy and olive green. i wear that a lot. in fact, this is what i wore friday night to the movies:
olive green shorts (j crew) because it is hot, chambray shirt w/sleeves (gap) rolled up because it is hot and it covers the belly jiggle, navy striped sweater (banana republic) because it is always cold in the movie theatre although by the time i put it on, the sleeves are a little soggy from being wrapped around my waist because it's hot...did i mention, lately, how hot it is here? navy and white clutch (anthropologie) and orangey red polish on nails. the top coat is essie 'escapades', but the bottom coat (which is the exact same color) is opi's 'big hair, something clever'. it was too transparent, even after 3-4 coats. there was something weird about this particular polish...i now have stained fingernails, too...weird.


i also took out the shoes that i had a lot of in the same color, besides the obvious black and browns and, for me, navy, and took a photo:




pink! i had no idea that i was collecting that much pink...except for the barbie pink shoes, the others are pretty much a neutral color. i wear them and the barbie pink ones all. the. time...with everything, especially the sperry's...i need to clean those up.


who'da thunk it?


i digress...so...back to kelly wearstler...


so...first step on figuring out how to like my house again? i think i am going to start with those colors from my closet: citron (or maybe mustard...really like that old brass gold color), white, olive green, with some navy. do i add pink to warm it up or some of the orangey red like the nails? hmmmmmm...it's a start.


but...how do you explain this:




this is the color of the rug i am getting for our bedroom. the plate has the colors i want to incorporate into the bedroom and hopefully, one day very very soon, in our new bathroom that i have dreaming about for the last 15 years. this will go with the citron and olive green combo, but can i add navy to the palette?


kelly wearstler, you little wisp of a thing, do you do pro bono work?



j crew!

got my j crew catalog in the mail yesterday and did my usual cut-out-to-buy list. i do this every time i get a j crew catalog. i don't always buy these items, but i do dream about it. i also have been to known to purchase one item a time as a reward for pounds lost or weeks in a row of exercising. i have posted from time to time my love of things j crew, but have never really done, like many bloggers, a wish list or essential pieces list. i think i don't because i don't want people out there, IF they are reading my blog, to know how much i obsess about stuff like clothing.

my mom made a comment recently, saying, "isn't it funny that sometimes when one remembers an event in their lives, one can usually remember what they were wearing at the time."

how many times do i run out to the store to find the perfect thing to wear for a certain night out or a vacation? my dream closet would be to have the perfect outfit for whatever event comes up in my life, where i just pull it out AND i have the right underwear, shoes, purse and accessories to look just right. AND, it fits, AND, it's clean and ironed. i guess that would be somewhat boring to be perfect, but sometimes i would like that...

so, here are the essentials that i want for my closet, IF it ever cools down, from j crew (i don't know how to 'collage' stuff, yet, so here it goes):
dolman-sleeve sweater dress - in classic pine (not heather saddle as shown here). i would have to belt it because i am pretty sure i can't pull off this look here. what i like, too, is that it can be worn by itself (with a belt), with a shirt underneath, or a contrasting crew t shirt as shown in the catalog. i even thought that it would be cool with a scarf knotted around the neck, underneath the shirt a la the sous chef on 'whites'. i like his red neckerchief under his white chef jacket.

it's not one of those dresses where one is not saying to me, "oh she's wearing THAT again." this is a phrase i borrowed from my friend kelly who says why she won't buy something expensive that really stands out and then people may say that about her since she would be thinking, "yes, i am wearing THAT again because it was so darn expensive."
the cafe capri in wool - in baked citron. this is also essentially plain, but, not when it comes in a bright citron color! of course this blue is nice, too, but i think i want the yellow.
although, i did cut out of vogue, a while back, this exact color of pant to find...hmmmmmmmm.













the silk elodie blouse - in paradise blue, shown, if i get the citron pants or in graffiti green, if i get the yacht blue pants.

i don't own a silk shirt... that's kinda' weird. i think it is because i 'handwash' and 'dry clean' my clothes in the washing machine.












i don't buy animal print stuff...ever. i don't really like it for some reason, but this no 2 pencil skirt in leopard really caught my eye. i even like it with the striped t.

if i get this, it will be a first for me.












zip cable sweater in navy instead of vintage champagne. i like the zipper on the shoulder...must decide if it will hurt to wear a shoulder strap purse on it...ooooooo...may have to get a new clutch...!















 and...last, but certainly not least, shoes!

i admire the people who can pull off cool and yes, to me, weird shoes, but seriously for me, a 54 year old, part time office person in texas who walks really weird in high heels, these are better suited.

the oxford ballet flat in those chanel colors without looking like a chanel knock off, and they are spectator-y. i am still searching for THE perfect pair of spectator pumps...that i can afford.



a loafer which comes in patent leather in a color called getaway green that i really really really like and it also comes in this warm sienna colored leather which i also really really really like. there are also some other colors, too.








so there you have it... an essential list of things i would like to have from j crew. i could start deciding which item i can reward myself with the first 10lbs dropped (i have about 40lbs i would like to lose)...perhaps the shoes...because it is going to be a long long while before it gets cool enough to wear wool and silk here.
how many days have we had over 100 degree weather here? i googled it, but couldn't find it. i betcha' it's been about 25. we had just enough rain this morning to add a ton of humidity to the heat, and when i said rain, i meant sprinkle (sigh).

July 21, 2011

so....

so.

i went to a podiatrist for the first time in my life. i have been plagued all my life with a corn on my little toe of my left foot. i will spare you a photo of it. i am tempted to take a picture, but lucky for you, i am charging my camera battery right now. it's a doozie! it has gotten really big and it is starting to hurt and be bothersome. the podiatrist shaved it to relieve the pain and will remove it later. so, that will be done, soon.

now you are probably thinking, really? she went to the doctor because she had a corn on her little toe? really? and yes, i did, but that is not all.

i thought i had plantar fasciitis on that same left foot. but, i don't really have that problem. instead, my achilles tendon is inflamed. so, i am on a medrol pack (no cortisone shot since, if it isn't done correctly, it can blow out the tendon - yikes!) and i have to wear 2" heels for a month. no flats, no flip flops and no barefoot walking. i also cannot do my walking with my walking buddy for a month. i can bicycle (so boring to do on a stationary bike and, no offense, i hate spin classes) or i can swim, which is not something i do well enough to do in public...not to mention wearing a swimsuit...that just adds insult to injury. i am going to talk to my walking buddy and see if we can bike around the neighborhood or on the trail. i wonder how fast and long i have to go to equal a 3 1/2 - 4 mph walk, which we do for an hour? hmmmmmmm.

i also cannot not do squats, lunges or jumps for a month, which is what i did today before seeing the doctor. and yeah, my achilles tendon is throbbing a bit right now since i did lunges across the gym, jumping jacks, jump squats and regular squats. just talked to daughter michelle about having to tell good friend and trainer kelly this and michelle said, "what if she thinks you are trying to get out of those exercises?" this is a good point. i usually complain about what she makes me do, but i do it all none the less. so i think she will believe me.

another thing you might not know about me is that i can easily feel sorry for myself. i mean i truly have an ow-ie. i have had a 2 week break from exercising (i was on vacation, kelly was on vacation, ingrid was busy) and i was kinda' looking forward to starting up again.

so.
i thought i would cheer myself up with a new pair of 2" heels that didn't look ridiculous with shorts (i know j crew styles their models with shorts and high heels, but really i cannot pull this off). so, i went to stanley eisenmans because they were having a half off sale, which is the only way i can buy anything there, and got these:

they are so comfortable! like walking on air, hence the soft-air technology on the box. i took off my nail polish that i had on because i thought the doctor would want to see my nail beds. i don't know why i felt i had to do this...i didn't feel the need to shave, which would have been a better look, but i didn't. instead he got to look at my hairy legs and toes and my slightly yellowish tinged nails (yea!).

then, while my prescription was being filled, i bought some new polish for my toes:
i thought the 'mink muffs' would monochromatically match the shoes. i also got 'escapades' which is the orangish, pinkish red that matched the opi i had on my fingernails. the opi color, for some reason was more translucent and even after 4 coats, i could still see my nail beds and tips. weird. AND, since it was buy 2, get 1 free, i got the 'pretty edgy' green. it is not as blue-y in real life. i don't know why the company decided to call this color 'pretty edgy' because it really isn't. i wore green in high school after caberet with liza minelli came out and green and blue nails were big. i remember my mom not being too happy with my green nails when i was turning pages for her piano music during some church function. i am wondering if i can wear the green in the office. after all, my mom also said that she read somewhere if you are old enough for something to come in style again, you are too old to wear it the second time, which is the excuse i use for not wearing high waisted flared jeans. seriously, it just isn't a good look for some butts...sorry.

so.
do you notice a color trend here with the shoe box and the nail polish?
i have.

this handbag has been on my mine since i saw it in the store...i. want. it. i think this could be a color trend for me in the fall.

maybe, i will reward myself after a month of dieting and not walking for a month...we'll see.

July 19, 2011

weekend

i hope that everyone had a great weekend. i had a high/low weekend. why is that? why can't one have a time that is just really great? why can't it just be fun without having a sad time.
so...what am i talking about?
here is husband scott sky diving for the first time! this is something that was on his bucket list (isn't on mine, though...not even in close...at all). he thought he would be like president george hw bush who did a jump on his 85th birthday. so husband scott thought he would do this later, way later, in life since he is only 54. anyhoo, son jason's friend invited jason to sky dive with him and his mother and scott asked if he could do this, too. so there you go. it was fun to see jason and scott jumping as well as his friend's mother.

wait...what about jason's friend...didn't i mention that he was jumping, too? well...he did...we just didn't get to see it...he landed in a farmer's field...several fields away. he was fine, but we did get to tease him a bit, especially son jason who also had to take a photo of the pretty pink(!) drink at dinner.

speaking of food...when we got there, son jason immediately orders a greasy, yet delicious, cheeseburger and cheese fries...before a jump...how?!!!

sooooooo, after a great day of sky diving and a fun talking all at once about the jumps at dinner time, we go home and relax...content...

then zoe, the cat, starts having trouble breathing around 11:30pm and we end up at the vet's at midnight. it's is surprising to me how busy the vet is at midnight. we were not alone.

poor zoe went into cardiac arrest and died of congestive heart failure.

why? why couldn't we end on a high note? why must we lose a beloved pet on such a fun and exciting day?


i don't like it.

whew!

it's been really really busy lately and in my head i have a whole bunch to blog about say. let's start with this photo:
these cutie patooties were in town and we have had the very best time ever. i am sad that they will be leaving tomorrow morning.
because they live in tiny timbo, arkansas, we have been hitting some yummy restaurants in town. like today...we were going to go to in and out burger, but we have jumped the gun on this in that it's still under construction. so with burgers on the brain, we ended up close by at fred's cafe and they make really really good burgers. in and out is going to have a tough time competing with fred's. 
the door itself is pretty cool, dontcha' think?

we were worried about the three of us having to share a serving of fries, but we shouldn't have. when they brought out the food, it was more than we needed and really really good.

we also tried the yes tacos truck. it was good, but not torchys good. the guy that took our order was really nice and it's parked at sinaca where one can eat their taco and watch guys do glass blowing at the same time....which is pretty cool....well....actually....it's is the opposite of cool, being that it is 100 degrees outside and the glass blowing oven is super hot and the parking lot does not have a lot of tree shade.... ummmm....so..... i would recommend doing this once it is below 100....way below 100....maybe closer to 70 or 75 degrees. then, it would be really cool.

we have also cooked dinner. saturday, my csa drop was really interesting. the 4 fruit/vegetables chosen for us were prickly pear cactus paddles (or as i call them - leaves), yucca, jimica & chayote. i also picked up some prickly pear fruit. this all had me forced to think out of the box (for me which is strange being texan and all). so, i got a recipe from homesick texan and improvised, somewhat from other recipes from misc google sites. we made grilled flank steak with chimchurri sauce, fried yucca, the rice nopales casserole and best of all, prickly pear fruit margaritas. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! i don't know why i don't make chimchurri sauce more often. it is so good with grilled beef. i know why i don't make fried yucca...because it is more time consuming. when we lived in south america, our maid would make it and it was delicious. (side note, a friend of mine who got after her colombian husband for not having enough vegetables in his diet, and he said, "i have 3 vegetables a day with my meals: rice, potatoes & yucca.) so, fried yucca was pretty much a main staple while in colombia. as daughter michelle says - it a delicious giant french fry.


fried yucca: 
prepare the yucca by peeling it and cutting it in wedges. boil it in water for about 40 - 45 minutes till fork tender, drain while making the chimchurri sauce. heat up about an inch or so of canola oil till a tiny test piece of yucca really starts to fry. drop in yucca and fry until golden brown. drain & sprinkle with salt. 

sorry about the photo on the left. it has weird food placement and yes the beef is pretty bloody, but that is the way i like it, but look how pretty the margarita is. that is the natural color of the pear cactus urhm....pear.


btw, it's pronounce yooka not yucka. who wants to eat yucka?

July 11, 2011

back!!!

i'm back! did you miss me? i was on vacation for a week and just got back in last night. so far, i have managed to avoid the heat. i need to go outside & survey the basil. i think i need to cut it down some and make some pesto FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. but for now, i will do laundry in the air-conditioned house.

i spent a week with husband scott's side of the family. we flew into san francisco and drove to tahoe & spent a couple of nights, then we drove to sister-in-law's home in fallon, nv for a few nights (and a day spent in reno) then back to san francisco (with a small stop in sacramento) for 3 nights before flying back home. it was a whirlwind trip and i hope to tell you alllllllllllll about it. for now i am missing the freezing temperatures of san francisco. okay, it wasn't technically freezing there. i bet it is never technically freezing there...ever. it was 64 degrees when we left. sixty-four degrees!!! how can it be so cool there and 105 degrees here in fort worth? that's a forty one degree difference.

i LOVE san francisco. there is so much to do. we were there for just 2 full days and almost 2 half days. that is not enough time to do everything. we did do a lot of stuff considering the time restraint.

now, my first piece of advice when going to someplace as wonderful as san francisco is to BE SURE THAT YOU CHECK THE CHARGE ON YOUR BATTERY CAMERA or you may end up in a really cool place like...the ferry building where you want to photograph every. thing. in. sight. but you didn't check your camera battery the night before and end up with one photo like this:
which was taken on a whim for carrot loving niece vanessa. little did i know that the last photo taken for the day would be this:
a photo of niece gina's most delicious egg sandwich for breakfast from il cane rosso. little did i know that i would not be able to take a photo of anything else that day. i couldn't take a photo of the logo for il cane rosso. totally click on the website and look at how cute it is! it totally stressed me out. all the food there was in the ferry building. the cute displays and colors of miette!!! missed opportunities. lots and lots of missed opportunities. 
i couldn't buy any of the lovely cheeses at cowgirl creamery (was afraid it would spoil) or the yummy displays of bread at acme (wouldn't stay fresh by time i got home)... or so i thought. i did luck out with the napa farms market in terminal 2 of the airport where i picked up some goodies for dinner at home.
sourdough bread from acme, gouda & triple cream mt tam cheese from cowgirl creamery, fennel and orange sausage from boccalone and leftover quinoa salad from mission pie (olives from jar in pantry).
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...delicious!



luckily, i wasn't with my mother-in-law when a topless lady came walking by in union square...i would have hated to know that i didn't have a charged and ready-to-shoot camera for that!

July 01, 2011

too hot


well, it has begun...summer. as you can see i didn't post anything since june 1st. why? it's too hot. we had record hight temperatures for the month of june. it hasn't been this hot since the summer of 1980. if you live in texas and are older than 31, you know all about the summer of 1980. i do. i was married in june of 1980...on the first day of summer...the longest day of the year...it was 104 degrees. i pretty much melted.

so, it has been too hot to do anything.

including being too hot to cook. this is part of the makings for a salad with chicken and cucumbers. i don't know why, but cucumbers are so refreshing when i am hot. i thought at first i was too hot to eat, hence the pre dinner snack of a chicken leg (i waited too long to start dinner and could not resist).

the only thing that has kept me going is the nice people that are around. yesterday, my buddy (what do you call a person that works at starbucks who remembers your name, your drink and what you talked about the last time you came in?) at starbucks said the very nicest thing...ever. she has her own blog and she is a very talented photographer. check her out!

and now back to me...when she handed me my order, yesterday, she said that one day she aspires to be able to dress like me some day!!! seriously, that is super super nice, especially when i sometimes question what i decide to wear on a daily basis.

i'm no glamourai...i wish i was...but i am not. on my bucket list is to be photographed by the sartorialist. scott schuman, if you are ever in fort worth, i hope i am camera worthy...must be many pounds lighter and look really cool and confident and have a great outfit on...whatevs...it is never going to happen. plus it is too hot.






one of the more questionable things i did recently i photographed because i was so unsure:

i definitely need to lose a lot more weight and YES i took the photo in our office bathroom. i was hoping that i didn't look like little Edie that day. to make me feel more confident, i did wore my most favorite and comfortable shoes:

well, i better wrap up. i will try to post more soon. i won't be able to use the 'too hot' excuse in that i am traveling to lake tahoe and san francisco.

i had to pack sweaters and a sweatshirt!!!