I Can't Complain

More From the World of Elves

When last we saw Twinkle, she was playing with a set of dominoes she found in the cabinet.  Turns out, our elf never learned to clean up after herself, so when she moved on to her next spot, she just left all those dominoes knocked over on the floor.  H-bomb, who is constantly being reminded to clean up after himself, was terribly put out, and had a little talk with the elf about the house rules.  She seems to have gotten the message, because the next day, the dominoes were put neatly(ish) back in their case and returned to the games cabinet.

On Wednesday, the 3rd, she decided to check out the wine room.

On the 4th, she decided it might be fun to hang around in the new bathroom. 

I wonder if her arms got tired. 

On the 5th, she visited with the Snoopys (Snoopies? What IS the plural of Snoopy?) I have in the bedroom. She really seems to like the one that gives kisses when you squeeze his hand.

On the 6th, she heard that one of the Bomber's friends was coming for a sleepover, so she tried to stay out of the way.  The cat was none too impressed by her idea of "out of the way," though.

Back when the Bomber was in kindergarten, his teacher made each child a lovely stocking, which I think was hung in the classroom until the start of Christmas break.  When it came home, I had the bright idea to hang it on the fireplace mantle in his room.  He immediately decided that meant Santa would fill both his room stocking and his real stocking downstairs.  Since he was an adorable 5 year old at the time, I cheerfully filled it that year.  Three years later, I'm wondering when I became such a sucker for cute faces.  (Actually, it's great - I fill the bedroom stocking with books, and he hangs out in his room Christmas morning for way longer than he otherwise would.  He gets to read, we get to sleep!) 

But I digress... Twinkle likes the bedroom stocking too.

The next day, the 8th, Twinkle continued her annual tradition of reading "A Visit from St. Nicholas" to a gathering of stuffed buddies.  Somehow I failed to take a photograph of this one, which is really disappointing, since it's one of my favorite elf activities.  It's cute, take my word for it.

On the 9th, I think she was exhausted from reading time (which I definitely understand), so she just found a comfortable perch on the top of the (very large) tree.  She did escort all the buddies back to H-bomb's room before she left, so I guess she's learned her lesson about cleaning up.

 

On the 10th, she found a good spot among the tins on top of the kitchen cabinets.  I guess she's a a fan of bourbon.

 

 

 The next day she did a little reconnaissance work for Santa, and checked out the condition of the living room fireplace (it's not good, btw).

On the 13th we were having a bunch of people over, so on the evening of the 12th Twinkle wisely picked an out-of-the way spot where no one was likely to bother her.

 

Larry was not too excited to find an elf in his boots, and he spent the day alternating between complaints about "elf cooties" and saying "there's an elf in mah boot" a la Woody from Toy Story. H-bomb thought it was hilarious.

After the party, Twinkle helped herself to some leftover cookies:

 Pay no attention to the chipping paint on my kitchen windowbox, mkay?

And finally, on the 14th, Twinkle took a little time out to play her favorite game. As you can see, she really gets into it.

She even made her own world:

That's it for now from the world of elves.  Stop back again to see what Twinkle does next!

The Elf Returns

I wasn't going to do any public photos with Twinkle this year, mostly because there seems to be a lot of negatively flying around this season and this elf on the shelf thing brings out the worst in some people.  I really don't get it - if you like it, do it, and if you don't like it, don't do it.  Seems fairly simple to me.

I don't stage big scenes with our elf - sometimes she does wacky things, sometimes she just moves to a more comfortable spot in the house, and even the silly things she gets into typically take me about 30 seconds to think of and less than five minutes to execute.  I put exactly as much effort into it as I feel like given on any particular day, and every morning the H-bomb makes whatever effort I made well worth it - the pleasure he takes in searching for her, and the joy when he finds her are why I do it. 

So, in spite of what I said about all the negative reactions, I decided to post these anyway, because someone actually asked for them.  (I hope she wasn't just being polite...) So here's what our little elf has been up to so far this year.

She arrived the night of Thanksgiving, as she always does, and brought a note, which I completely failed to photograph.  Larry pointed out that she seems to have gotten a fancy new computer, since her note was very well designed and printed, but I think they probably just have a nice computer lab up there at the North Pole.

Friday night she took it easy, and just moved to a comfortable perch where she could get the lay of the land:

Saturday night she decided to check out the grandfather clock that belonged to my dad, as it's new since she was last here:

Sunday night she spent hanging out with Minion Dave.  She even had her own pair of Minion glasses!  I wonder what they talked about. Probably bananas.

Monday night, she got into a little trouble in the kitchen, but don't worry, she eventually found her way out:

The note in front was added by H-bomb and reads "Please do NOT use this glass."  He was very concerned that she wouldn't be able to get out, and really relieved when he saw that she'd moved on.

Last night she found this old set of dominos in the games cabinet:

Very festive!

So what's she going to do next?  Who knows? (Not even me...)  Stay tuned, and I might even remember to post some more before next December!

What I'm Wearing: Second-to-Last Second Grade Reading

I haven't been doing reading fashion updates lately, mostly because the second graders have pretty much stopped commenting on my clothes and shoes.   I guess my rock star status has come to end.  I always knew it would, but I thought it would last a little longer. Who knew seven and eight year olds could be so jaded?

My shoes did attract a little interest today, though, and since I have been reduced to grasping at crumbs of attention from small children, I took that as a sign that I should blog today's outfit.  So here's what I wore:

The dress is the Sweetly Scalloped Dress in Mint, from ModCloth. It's really stretchy and comfortable and I love wearing it. The shrug is from Old Navy two years ago, in white - I could only find a picture of the orange one, which I also own.  I bought the bracelet for a dollar from a vendor at Broadway at the Beach, and it makes me think of summer whenever I wear it.  The necklace is one of those Scrabble tile necklaces (letter L, only one point) and it was a gift. 

But the shoes... the shoes are the absolute best part of this outfit.  I am not at all surprised that my second grade admirer liked them. She clearly has excellent taste, and obviously appreciated the tactile quality of them as well as the style - she copped a few feels of the toes and heels while I was reading. They're In My Dreams from Irregular Choice.  Here's a better picture:

I love the little kitten heels, and even the soles are adorable!

The best part about these shoes is that I got them for $10 during a ModCloth Stylish Surprise (you pay $10 for something they choose).  These are by far the best thing I've ever gotten from a Stylish Surprise, and I never would have picked them out for myself.

Here's how I look in it all:

Next Thursday is my last ever second grade reading time.  I honestly can't believe how quickly the year has flown by.  In less than two weeks, the Bomber will be a rising THIRD GRADER. But I'm just going to gaze adoringly at my shoes and try not to think about that for now. 

 

What I'm Wearing Wednesday - March 26, 2014

Unbelievably, I am doing a What I'm Wearing on a WEDNESDAY! And less than two weeks from my last blog post!  I don't know what's gotten into me - it must be spring fever! 

The weather certainly hasn't clued in that it's spring, though - a quick check tells me it's 50 degrees out.  This is NOT what I call spring in South Carolina.  The unseasonable cold makes it hard for me to dress - I don't want to wear my winter clothes (it's almost April for goodness sake!), but I HATE HATE HATE to be cold.  I think I'm straddling the line nicely today - a cute dress that's not too heavy, light tights and a (hopefully) last hurrah for my boots.  As an added plus, my dress is from an awesome local designer, Allie Mac, and was purchased with a gift certificate from a dear, sweet friend.

Here's what I've got:

The dress is the Sally, from Allie Mac.  It's so, so comfortable to wear and she makes it in so many great colors and combinations! Check her out - she ships (or I'll pick it up for you).  The boots are Nine West Padilla, in an English belting leather color - I picked them up awhile back because I needed brown, but not chocolate brown, boots. The tights are just your basic ribbed tights from Target, the necklace is from Etsy, via a gift from my husband, and the earrings are little citrine studs I've had forever.

Here's how I look:

Why is this picture so fuzzy?  Because cameras hate me. It's okay, I'm used to it.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

What I'm Wearing - It's Almost Spring Edition

Okay, it's not Wednesday, but I haven't done one of these in a really long time, and I have a happy, springy outfit on today, so I'm doing it anyway. You're welcome to wait until tomorrow to read this.

Here's what I've got on today:

I just got the top in the mail the other day - it's the Market My Words peplum top from ModCloth.  I paired it with a stretchy pencil skirt from New York & Company which is a great basic skirt to have around - it's comfortable, flattering and goes with just about anything.  The shoes are S' Marvelous heels, also from ModCloth, and the sweet little flower earrings were a gift.  I also have on off-white stockings, because it's too warm for tights, too early for my pale, pale legs, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge wears them. So suck it, stocking haters.

Here's a really super bad picture of how I look in all that:

My photography has really not gotten any better.  Sorry about that...

More Elf Antics

I intended to do Twinkle updates every few days.  You know, because I'm normally so good about blogging regularly, and I don't have anything else to do in December.  Yeah.  That worked out well for me.

Anyway, Twinkle has now been at our house for two full weeks, and she's gotten up to some interesting antics.  On December 3, the Bomber discovered that Twinkle is something of a fisherman. 

I have no idea how she managed to catch a paper fish in our bathroom sink using only a piece of balsa wood and a string, but you know... elf stuff.

On the 4th, we found out what happens when Thanksgiving is the last weekend in November:

When holidays collide!  She seems awfully cozy with Pilgrim Snoopy...

On December 5, she got herself into something of a jam:

What's she doing in there? I don't know... How did she get in there? Don't know that either.  Once again, elf stuff...  She doesn't seem too unhappy about it, though:

She's still smiling! On December 6, H-bomb found her just hangin' around:

Apparently all that travel back and forth to the North Pole (not to mention the fishing expeditions and curtain climbing adventures) tuckers an elf out, so on the 7th she decided to take a little rest on the tissue box in our guest room:

On the 8th, Twinkle decided to venture into our wine bar.  I'm not sure what the drinking age is for elves or how old she actually is, but since she steered clear of the wine and stuck to the corks, I guess it was okay:

 And finally, on the 9th, our normally well-behaved elf got a little sassy:

 

 She replaced all of our stockings with our underwear.  This one was a big hit, not only because seven year old boys find underwear inherently hilarious, but also because it sparked a fun conversation regarding WHY Twinkle was messing around with our underwear, what had happened to our stockings and whether she would ever return them.  My theory was that she took our stockings to the North Pole with her and then left them behind (not unlike a certain little boy does with his school sweatshirts).  She put our underwear up in hopes that we wouldn't notice the stockings were missing.  Bomber's theory was that she was just being silly.

That's it for now.  I've still got a few more days of this week to catch up on, but you'll just have to wait to see what she did next.  (Spoiler alert: she returned our stockings the next day.)

 

There's an Elf on Our Shelf

Let me just start out by saying that yes, we have an Elf on the Shelf.  I know people think they're creepy, I know everyone thinks the thing with the dinosaurs is cooler, and everyone hates those people who do fun things with their elves every day for being overachieving bee-otches.  I got it.  You are totally entitled to feel that way, and if you do, I encourage you to skip my blog for the next month or so.  Hopefully I'll be back to posting fashion and non-controversial crafting in a month or so. (Though lately, it seems like any crafting is somehow viewed as an affront to those who don't have the time or inclination to do it... but that's a story for a different post.) Anyway...

Twinkle the elf joined us two years ago, when the Bomber was five.  At the time, I wondered if he was already a little too old for it, but he really enjoyed it and he's actually gotten more into it each year. This year he is REALLY excited about her.  This may well be the last year he believes the whole thing, though, so I thought it would be fun to document her adventures. 

Unlike a lot of shelf elves out there, our Twinkle is very well-behaved.  She never causes messes that someone would have to clean up, and she never does anything destructive or disobedient.  She sometimes leaves notes, and occasionally a small gift, but mostly she just shows up in silly places around the house. 

This year she arrived Thanksgiving night, and H-bomb found her first thing Friday morning. She came bearing a note from Jingle, Elf-in-Charge, letting the Bomber know that she'd been assigned to him again this year.  The note came on official Elf Headquarters stationery.   Twinkle apparently had some downtime after she arrived and before H woke up, so she changed the Lite-Brite on his nightstand from the smiley face that was there to a festive Christmas tree:

The Bomber was SO EXCITED when he found her.  He ran around upstairs looking for me and Larry, and then finally came into the bathroom while I was showering. He was practically stuttering with excitement when he told me she was there.  Then he ran downstairs to find Larry and insisted he come upstairs immediately to see her.  He read the note to us, and then we had a fun discussion about how cool it was that we got a note from the actual Elf-in-Charge. Who even knew there was such a thing? 

We spent most of Friday out of the house, so Twinkle must've decided to visit with friends around the house.  When he woke up Saturday morning, H came creeping into our room way before the authorized "wake up Mom & Dad" time, and whispered "Mommy, can I go look for Twinkle?"   He eventually found her on the mantle over the living room fireplace, hangin' with the matryoshka.  Twinkle seems especially fond of the second-smallest one:

On Sunday morning, the Bomber discovered that his elf has a sweet tooth.  He must have caught her in the act, because she didn't quite make it out of the Halloween candy before he came down:

And finally, this morning Twinkle left a fun message from Santa regarding the Bomber's current status:

So far, so good, apparently:

So that's it for now - check back later in the week and see what else our elf has been up to!  Four days down, and 23 more to go.  What is Twinkle going to do all month? I have no idea...thank goodness for Pinterest!

 

The More Things Change...

...the more they REALLY stay the same.  Like, actually the same.  As in, my child has somehow been wearing the same uniform shorts since he was in 5 year old kindergarten. 

Today was his first day in second grade.  And before I go on about how my string bean-y child has gotten taller but not wider, let us just pause for a moment while I freak out:

SECOND GRADE!!! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!??  For some reason, second grade has hit me harder than first grade.  It seems so much more like a big kid grade, in a way that first grade didn't really, at least to me.  He was totally fine this morning - in fact, I had to stick my face in between his and the letter he was reading at his desk in order to get a goodbye from him - but I am sitting in my office a little teary-eyed, feeling like the years are passing far too quickly.

And while I'm still feeling teary-eyed and sentimental, I should probably mention how awesome the Bomber's school is.  It has often been said that our school community is like a family, and this couldn't be more true - we love and support one another, hang out with each other, and sometimes we annoy each other, but we always know we can depend on each other, and not just the other families in our children's grades, but EVERYONE.  All the teachers know all the children, the big kids look out for the little ones, and our children know that this is a place where they can feel safe and secure. For people like us, whose biological families are far away, it's comforting to know our other family is there for us.

Okay, break's over.

Tears and sentimental journeys aside, I realized something incredible this morning. The H-bomb has apparently been growing upwards, but not outwards.  How do I know this?  Because the shorts he wore to 5K, when he was just a wee sprout, heading out into the big wide world of elementary school:

Are the same shorts he wore on the first day of first grade:

And again today, on the first day of second grade:

Granted, he's showing a little more knee these days, but nothing outrageous... I'm thinking if I let the hems down, he could wear them to his first day of third grade, too.

 

The Fix Is In: Stitch Fix #1

A few weeks ago, I discovered Stitch Fix, a self-described "personal shopping service".  How it works is this: you fill out a pretty extensive style profile that includes your size, your basic style and a bunch of questions about specifics, like do you prefer your back to be covered or do you show it sometimes, do you prefer silver or gold, and how fitted do you like your pants. You can also specify a price range for items. Then you schedule a "fix" and a stylist picks out five items s/he thinks you would like.  Once you receive the fix, you have three days to try everything on, decide what you want to keep, and return the rest in a postage-paid envelope.  For each shipment there's a $20 styling fee, which you can apply to the cost of any items you want to keep. If you decide to keep all five items, you get a 25% discount. You can either schedule shipments when you want them, or you can sign up for a monthly shipment.

Having someone else pick out clothes and accessories sounded like fun to me, so I signed up, filled out my profile, and yesterday I received my box.  I realize now that I should've taken a picture of the box or something, but I didn't, so you'll have to use your imagination - it was a standard brown cardboard shipping box, about yay high and so wide, with the words "Stitch Fix" on the side.  Inside were four pieces of clothing and one necklace, plus an envelope that contained a notecard with instructions and a list of items with a note from the stylist.

Here's what I got in Stitch Fix #1:

Pink Martini NIle Bird Print Belted Dress

Sweet Rain Alan Cowl Neck Asymmetrical Jacket

Collective Concepts Benzian Triangle Print Cap Sleeve Blouse

Chris & Carol Eden Front Button Top

41Hawthorn Basket Weave Circles Long Necklace

The first thing I pulled out was the Pink Martini dress:

I'm not sure what I answered to get this dress, but I need to go change that answer immediately.  I hated the print, I hated the color combination, I hated the buttons and the piping. Just...no. The cut of the dress was okay, but overall it was not something I could see myself wearing. Ever. On top of that, I obviously picked the wrong size range, because three out of the four pieces were way too big, including this one. Oh vanity sizing, so nice to see you. 

This one?  Going back, no question.

Next out of the box was the Collective Concepts Benzian Triangle Print blouse.

I had high hopes for this one - I liked the color and style, and I immediately thought of a pair of pants I could pair it with. Unfortunately, it was also WAY too big, and it hung on me like a sack. 

Sadly, this one is also going back.

Next up was the Chris & Carol Eden top. 

I didn't realize that the only picture I'd taken of this was SO blurry.  When I Googled this looking for a better picture of it, I discovered that this is a pretty common Stitch Fix item, and also apparently comes in red. Unfortunately, it was also way too big and didn't look like it would be terribly flattering on me even in the right size. And honestly, I need another black top like I need another hole in my head.

This one's going back, too.

The last clothing item was the Sweet Rain Alan Cowl Neck jacket.

This one may seem familiar to a few of you reading this - it's known as the Airport Greeting Cardigan at ModCloth. (The Pink Martini dress is also available at ModCloth, by the way.)  I've always liked the style of this sweater and this was the single item of clothing that fit, but the oatmeal color was terrible on me, and I'm not really up for buying woolly-feeling cardigans in the dead of a South Carolina summer.  On top of that, I bought a similar asymmetrical cardigan from ModCloth this spring (the Busy Day Chic cardigan)and really, how many asymmetrical cardigans does one wardrobe need?

So this one? Also going back.

The last item was the 41Hawthorn basket weave necklace.

This one, I really liked.  It's silver, which I love, and has a nice little sparkle on each of the basket weave pieces.  I don't have much in this length and lately I've been thinking I could use some longer pieces.  This one is very adjustable, too. It would hit me right at the waist at its longest, and right across the chest at its shortest. Here it is with what I wore to work yesterday. 

I'm actually wearing this today with this outfit, so I'd say it's keeper.

Overall, I really enjoyed the experience.  It was every bit as fun as I suspected it might be to have someone randomly pick clothes out for me.  I liked that each piece came with a little card attached that had a description of the item on one side, and styling suggestions on the other.

I thought it was funny that two of the pieces are also available at one of my favorite shopping sites. I guess that means their stylists are on the right track for me. I didn't like that I only have three days to try everything on, think about whether I like it and decide whether I want to keep it.  I also didn't like that you forfeit your $20 styling fee if you don't buy anything from the shipment.  I felt like there was pressure to find something I liked, just so I hadn't wasted the $20, although in this case I'd probably have bought the necklace regardless.

I will definitely be trying this again, probably in September or October.  I can't imagine doing it on a monthly subscription basis, though - even if you only bought one piece a month, at an average of $50 a piece that's $600 a year on random single pieces of clothes. It's a fun idea, but I worry that I'd end up with all these cute things I like but don't have anything to wear with them.

And I promise, next time I do this I'll remember to close the blind in the bathroom before I starting taking photos.

What I'm Wearing Wednesday: Midsummer Edition

It's July 10.  Independence Day has come and gone, the All-Star break is right around the corner, and my crepe myrtles are finally starting to bloom. Together this could mean only one thing - summer is already half over.  Unfortunately, there hasn't been much opportunity to enjoy the summer thanks to the rain that WILL. NOT. END.  In fact, I should really be modeling rain coats and umbrellas instead of capri pants and sandals. 

In an effort to counteract the effects of the never-ending gray skies and wet days, today I wore a pair of fun, brightly floral crops and the coolest shoes EVER. (At least until I find the next pair of coolest shoes ever.) 

Crops and tunic are both from New York & Company, purchased during their 80% off sale a few weeks ago.  The shoes are by Wild Rose, purchased from ModCloth.  With such vivid bottoms and amazing shoes, I went with minimal jewelry - my cartouche that allegedly spells my name, which I received as a gift from a globe-trotting friend, and plain silver hoops. 

Here's how I look:

Another rainy day, another terrible selfie.  Some things just never change.