I'll have to delete this one when he gets older, huh?

Last weekend, while I was out enjoying coffee with an old friend (she's not old, I've just known her for a long time... oh, you know what I mean!), Don had the kids cleaning the house up a bit. I'm assuming that Bub was told to go put our shoes in our closet.

Can you say efficient?

It's a little hard to tell from the iPhone pic, but he's wearing a pair of my wedge heel boots. And yes, we clean the house in our pajamas... doesn't everyone?

It's been a good week to be a blog stalker

So, let's see... have I mentioned that I met Ree this past week? You know, THE PIONEER WOMAN? Oh, I have? Well, in case you missed it, I did... and it was fun... and she was nice.


And THEN... I had sent Susan from Friday Playdate and The Working Closets a question about fashion (*gasp* what??? I like clothes? I know, right?), and she not only answered me but wrote a whole post dedicated to my question. And yes, I'm a dork that is THAT excited about it... but I am (excited I mean... not necessarily a dork).


And THEN... I got a package in the mail. A while back, I entered a contest for Hair Product (I think Hair Product deserves to be capitalized, don't you?) at Hair Thursday, and I WON!!! Well, I got the package in the mail today... Look at all the lovely Hair Product from PHYTO. I've not tried PHYTO yet, but I hear it's magical... which is what I need while my hair is growing out... MAGIC! So, I got a free gift worth $100!!!

So, while I (mostly) feel like like a 12-year-old meeting and/or commenting on others' blogs (especially because I don't know them), I have to say that this week has been a good reminder that it's not all bad to be a blog stalker! RIGHT???

So, thanks Ree, Sarah, and Susan for the great week! :)

Getaway

So, as we're smack-dab (does anyone else say that besides me?) in the middle of a busy, typical weekend, I think I should let you know about last week's weekend (last weekend? is that more grammatically correct?).

My sweet husband set up childcare for our kids (which was no small feat, let me tell you!) and booked us a cabin in the hills of Missouri for the weekend. Just to do nothing! I don't know about you, but that sounds heavenly to me ANYTIME, but especially last week!

So, when arriving at the owner's house to get the keys, she offered to upgrade us to a "bigger cabin" closer to the trail Don wanted to ride on, if we promised to only use one bedroom. What??? She must have seen the weird look on our faces and told us that a previous group invited all their friends down once they got upgraded. So we pinky-promised (we can't pinky-swear since we don't swear), got the keys and left.

It was quite dark by then, but we only got a little turned around once. We got there, walked in, and were shocked! It was NOT a cabin, but a 7-bedroom HUGE cottage with a fireplace, a massive wrap-around screened-in porch, and a giant kitchen. Woo hoo! We hit the mother-lode.

We unloaded, explored the whole place (main floor, upstairs, and downstairs), sat down on the couch, then were bored to death! We aren't usually "sit still and do nothing" people. And... we forgot to bring any games (I did bring 6 library books, however)! We finally figured out the TV, though, and CHILLED.

It was a great weekend to relax AND to reconnect with my husband. Sometimes in the busyness of everyday life, we forget to just hang out and enjoy each other. It was awesome!

I didn't take very many pictures because I wore sweatpants and no makeup, and am too vain to take my own picture in that state (really, Darla? I guess this proves otherwise), but I did take a few photos of the view from my phone.

From the front porch:


Part of the screened-in porch:

Can't wait for the next getaway!

Fave Fall Fashions - Take 1,032

So, there are some things I like about this look, and several I don't...

Do: I like the layering look of short sleeves over long sleeves

Don't: I don't like the high neck of the long sleeve t-shirt under the scoop neck of the top shirt.

Do: I love the green shirt (although Don says it looks like it has wings) that I scored from eBay.

Don't: I don't like the green/black combo... too harsh, maybe

Follow-up fix: Here's how I wore the green shirt the next time... I have a scoop-necked charcoal gray top (see here) that I wore under the green shirt. I liked the color combination better, and I liked the scooped neck underneath better (although it comes up higher than the short-sleeved one still... but that's okay... because I think the green shirt by itself might show more than I'm willing to show). Then I wore the shirts with charcoal gray cords. Me likee!

Thoughts?

Growing up

The signs are there...

Sis is almost as tall as her grandmother.

Both kids can get so into a book they're reading that they don't even notice I'm taking their picture...

Sis has figured out how to wear a scarf (with a tank top, no less!), how to use my phone for photos, and how to self-pose with friends...

Bub knows who Gene Simmons is (unlike me, who thought everyone was talking about my grandpa when I was a kid), and imitates him with a piece of string cheese...

The kids got their own library cards...

But they're still my BABIES!

If PW ever needs a guest blog post on how to make inside photos orange and blurry, I'm her girl!

I mean, really! I even HAVE an external flash, but I was feeling all confident in my new ISO-changing abilities, so I just KNEW that my inside pictures would be fine without bringing along my flash!


So, you may look below and say: Well, there are a FEW that are blurry, but they're not ALL bad! Well, folks, these are the best out of the whole lot. And I took a LOT of pictures! Cause I'm a pitcher-taker, you know! (By the way, I've gotten a lot of google hits on "pitcher taker" from the last time I said that... People, it's a PHOTOGRAPHER... not a pitcher taker!)


Anyhoo, so as I hinted here and told you here, Gilly and I went to see The Pioneer Woman at her book signing. If you need a Christmas gift for someone who likes photography or cooking (or both), you should really buy her new cookbook! It's awesome!

Gilly and I beforehand... We were giddy and sooo excited (redundant much?)

The beautiful cathedral that the book signing was held...


Looky, looky! It's Ree AND the Marlboro Man all in one photo... He was taking photos of the crowd (I'm sure their photos turned out better without a flash...)

Her older son came up and down the aisles to sign everyone's cookbook, too. He was so cute and serious about it. Here he's signing my new friend, Kim's, book.

Blurry (just call me Ms. Obvious) photo of Gilly trying to get him to talk to us...

Then as we were standing in the aisle waiting to see Ree, Marlboro Man was signing books as well. I think all of us girls agreed that he was wayyyyy more patient and nice than our husbands would (could?) be standing there for that long and signing all these strangers' books! (Right, Babe?)

And he was nice enough to pose with us, too!

And then... we got to meet her. Ree. The Pioneer Woman. So gracious and nice.

Even Flat Stanley got his photo taken with her (along with my new friend, Mende)!

All in all, it was a fabulous night! I had good "girl time" with Gilly. I went WAYYYYY outside my comfort zone (and normal life) to go meet someone briefly who I admire (that's SO not like me normally!). I met some new friends (who I'll link to below AND who's photos hopefully turned out better than mine!) that were so fun and funny, too! And I got a new cookbook!

It's all good.

Links:

THE PIONEER WOMAN (in case you missed any of the 100 links to her page I made above)

Gilly's Blog

Mende's Blog

Robbyn's Blog

Kim's Blog

Fashion with a nerdy twist

Ok, so there are so many things wrong with this photo... so let's try to ignore the pile of shoes on the floor behind me and the fact that my mirror is dirty. Let's focus on some positives, people, OK???

1. My phone fit nicely in front of my face, which covered up the fact that I wasn't wearing makeup AND I had a toothbrush sticking out of my mouth (yes, I'm a multi-tasker... I can brush my teeth, take a photo AND shock you with the pile of shoes all at once).

2. Um... well, that first one might have been it.

So, instead, let's look at some of my other fashion favorites right now.

• Skinny jeans tucked in boots? Love it.
• Layer after layer? Love it.
• Cute graphic t (from my visit to Ree... I can call her that now that we've met, right?) mixed with my nerdy-ish Mr. Roger's sweater? LOVE IT.
• Lots and lots of hairspray because I can't figure what else to do with my hair while it's growing out? LOOOOOOOOOVE it!

Once I have a chance to download my real (ie. non-phone) photos from last night, I'll post more about the awesome book signing, how much fun Gilly and I had, and meeting some AWESOME new friends (besides Ree and clan, of course!).

Guess where I am?

There are a lot of people here in a beautiful cathedral...


I'm with my friend Gilly and we're so excited...


We brought our own accessories...


Any guesses?

- Darla

Boo!

Did I scare you? Well, maybe THIS will scare you... I'm just now blogging about Halloween! Boo... and not in the scary boo-sense! Boo, as in shame on me! And once again, I'm only posting pictures from my phone instead of my camera (which at least I used, for once!), because I'm LAZY!

So, introducing: Harry Potter and the Pirate (let's not tell her that the box her costume said "Wendy the Wench." I don't even want to go there!).

Are you figuring out what Sis's new pose is???


And is it freaky how much like Harry Potter Bub actually looks??


And who's excited to get to wear real live eye makeup???

Before we went trick-or-treating with friends, we stopped by my grandparents' house. Here the kids are with my grandpa.

So... anyone want to place bets (you know, if you bet) on when I post Thanksgiving pictures? You think by Christmas, maybe? And goodness! I'll have until Valentine's Day to post Christmas pictures, right???

More fashion

Because, you remember, I'm so fashionable. I won't tell you that I wore no makeup and barely fixed my hair for work today. Or that I wore pajamas the entire evening... Even when a friend dropped Bub off.

Also (and this has nothing to do with fashion), I'm blogging this from my iPhone. To see if I can. Because I might be at Sis's swim lessons sometime and feel a burning need to blog right then. And I will be without my laptop. Because I don't take my laptop to swim lessons. Thus, I might need to do some emergency blogging on my phone. So this is to make sure I know how.

But I'm guessing I'll have more typos this way. I guess we'll see, huh?!?

But back to fashion: I thought I'd include a few shoe shots.

I've used this picture before, but I thought I'd use it to demonstrate one of my favorite types of shoes right now: the peep toe.


This is another gave right now: flats. Ever since I hurt my back last spring, I can't wear heels as much as I'd like. So lucky for me, there are a lot of cute flats out there to choose from.


And finally (just for this list... This does NOT conclude my overall list of favorite shoes!!!), the t-strap Mary janes. I love these with tights especially.


What kinds of shoes are your favorites right now??

- Darla

Fashion Favorites

So, here are a few more of my fashion favorites for now... (please note that a super long neck is NOT one of my fashion favorites... I don't THINK my neck is as long as it looks here, but maybe it is... regardless, even though it APPEARS that the picture below is focused on my neck, that is not the intent. Thank you for listening to my public service announcement).

Purple - it's the new black, have you heard??? :) I don't know if that's the case or not, but I love all the purple that's out right now.

Ruffles - They're EVERYWHERE! And they make me happy!

And you put Purple and Ruffles together??? *sigh of happiness*

Statement necklaces - I love all the fun, fancy necklaces that are out right now. This is one that I got at Kohl's for my class reunion. I love it!

Here's another one I have a lot of fun with (I might have gotten this one at Kohl's, too).

What do you think? Do you like these too???

An epic day of football

So, I got free tickets to an NFL game through my job, so we planned a family fun day for this last Sunday. Unfortunately, Don got sick and wasn't able to go with us, but my brother (Uncle B) was willing to fill in.

Here is Uncle B with Sis and Bub as we were headed up to our (nosebleed) seats.

Uncle B and Sis watching the game intently (see how close to the top we are???)

We did have a good birds-eye view from up at the top, though!

Very blurry, but I thought it was funny that Sis brought her notebook and pencil with her so she could draw during the game.

Bub and me.

Uncle B explaining the finer poings of football to Bub (who LOOOOOVED being there)

I might add that it WASN'T an epic day of football, per se... it's just that with Bub having his first thrilling experience with an NFL game, then it became an epic day of football for him! He'll always remember yesterday's experience!

*Photos not taken with my regular camera... they're with my iPhone, so the quality isn't quite "normal." I did take my good camera... I just am too lazy to download them quite yet to the computer.*

Fashion Favorites for Fall

Aren't I alliterative???

So, fashion maven I'm not. But I DO love clothes. And some trends. Others, not so much. I don't spend lots of money on clothes/shoes/handbags because I just can't... It's almost compulsive to HAVE to find a bargain! For me to pay full price/designer price is INCONCEIVABLE!

Anyhoo...

There are certain things that I *do* like! So when I can't think of anything else to blog about when I feel led, I'm going to focus on certain fashion trends that I'm currently loving.

Today's trend(s): Patterned tights with or without peeptoe pumps. Or even unpatterned tights. I think tights are fun, they can change an entire outfit's look and they're a CHEAP way change it up!

Double Digits, Baby!

So, guess who turned DOUBLE DIGITS a few weeks ago?


That's right, my baby!!!



Sis turned the big 1-0... And boy was she excited!!!!


So, in the spirit of Bub's birthday post (see here), I thought I'd list out 10 things (out of many) I love about Sis.

1. Her artistic ability and eye... Sis can draw anything anytime, and do it WELL! Her favorite style is a cartoon-ish style. She draws while she watches TV, she draws at school, she draws when she's bored, she draws ALL the time! And let me just say, Don and I neither one have ANY artistic abilities!

2. I love Sis's personality. She's NEVER met a stranger, she is passionate about things and people she loves, she's funny (sarcastic much?), she's curious and sincere, and people enjoy being around her... especially me!

3. Sis has a special affinity for animals and babies. And poor thing, she's out of luck on both fronts at our house! Her mama's done having babies, and her dad/brother are allergic to animals, so she can't have those either! But she loves being around other babies and others' animals!

4. Her memory. She can read a word she's never heard before (or hear one on TV), and ask me about it a week later. She still remembers a girl she met on vacation in Phoenix several years ago by name (they played together in the pool one day).

5. She has a mind of her own. That's not ALWAYS good, but a lot of the time, it's great! She doesn't do things just because her friends are doing it. That's a sign of a leader, not a follower!

6. She's determined! Sis has a lot of weather fears because of a really scary storm we were stuck in several years back. She knows these fears can be crippling, so a couple times a year, she gets a determined look on her face and decides to face her fears. The picture above is her playing in the rain... which was a BIG HONKING deal at the time... it was the first time she had willingly gone outside in the rain in YEARS!

7. So this one is shallow... but she's so stinking cute! She's got rosy cheeks, adorable blonde hair that grown-ups pay lots of money to try to replicate, beautiful big green eyes (I always wanted green eyes), and the cutest little nose!

8. As social as Sis is, her favorite thing is to hang out with her family... movie nights and game nights make her happy (movie nights MORE than game nights, to be honest... she doesn't always like our game choices! hee). Gotta love a girl who loves her mama!

9. She's a good mix of girly-girl and tomboy... or another way to put it is: she's a good mix of her mom and dad. Sis has been more interested in fashion and make-up lately, but she's always been interested in decorating her room the way she wanted it, deconstructing her barbie clothes for them, NOT so interested in sports (except for swimming)... but she's also interested in riding the 4-wheeler, helping her dad mow (on the riding lawnmower, of course), hiking through the snow, going to Cardinals games....

10. She's able to enjoy the moment. Sis has always loved whatever age she is... While she can't WAIT to grow up (so she can say "butt" mostly, I think), she truly enjoys where she is. When she was in pre-school, she lovedlovedloved pre-school. Kindergarten was the same. In 3rd grade, she loved being the oldest at her school. Now in 4th grade, she loves being in a new school with older kids. She has a sense of true joy just being...

I love you so much, baby! And you'll always BE my baby... even though you'll probably be as tall as me in the next year or so (not fair, those genetics!). Welcome to double-digits!