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