Bare Today, Bow Tomorrow

Well in this case it was bare yesterday and bowed today.

Collared Shirt: Gap; Grey Jumper: Thrifted; Tights: Target

And a skinny black satin ribbon.

I just did a little moving math. 45 Days until the move-out deadline of March 1. In all truthiness I think I will be out a good while before that. I have a To-Do list as long as my arm. One thing on my list is to have a good-bye day with New Jersey. The hubs and I want to go around to all of our favorite places and take pics. This way when we reach the promise-land, aka Florida, we can make a collage of all of the places we'll miss from the North. It was actually KJ's idea... he's such a sap. One of the most important places to say so-long to is a wonderful establishment called Mr. Bills. It is a phenomonal burger joint we pass on the way to Atlantic City. The first time we stopped there it was from necessity. Now we find our selves passing up fancy dinners in the five-star casino restaurants just for a Bills burger. They are giant, sloppy, oversized and amazing. I really need to stop talking about food so far away from lunch.

Thank God tomorrow is Friday. I thought the weekend would never get here.

Today's Useless Trivia:

The original mascot of McDonald's was a man with a chef's hat on top of a hamburger shaped head whose name was "Speedee." Speedee was eventually replaced with Ronald McDonald in 1963.

ALMOST Tied Together with a Pretty Bow

Today my outfit, much like my office situation, was ALMOST tied together with a pretty bow... but not quite. I wanted to wear this today, but it was just too utterly cold to have this much skin exposed on my arms and neck. I ended up switching out the cardigan for a long-sleeved crewneck cardigan and ditching the bow. Now it's just a plain old outfit... but at least I was fancy for a minute.

Cardigan: Ann Taylor; Satin Sash: JCrew; Pearl Earrings: Vintage; Slacks: Express

I must be getting old... or at least thinking like an old person. In my younger years when faced with the prospect of moving to a new house, and being able to decorate with all new ideas and having a fresh new environment to acclamate to... it was exciting. Now it's a little less exciting and a little more exhausting. I'm still looking forward to having a new space to decorate and having a fresh environment, but actually packing and moving and trucking and tredging... not so much.

Today's Useless Trivia:

Beer is made by fermentation cause by bacteria feeding on yeast cells and then defecating. In other words, it's a nice tall glass of bacteria doo-doo. A deliciously tall glass of bacteria doo-doo... Cheers! Or should I say, bottoms up!

From Last Week to This

From last week to this, I have found myself to be a running contradiction of emotions. At the close of last work week I felt hopeless, helpless and taken advantage of. This week I feel like I am back in the driver seat. If changes won't come to me, I will go to them. All the work-related turmoil I sustained last week had a silver-lining. Soon, very soon, I am expecting to be out of an overly stressfull office and back in some familiar territory... home. I think a change of scenery is just what me and my little family need to jumpstart the new year.

Over the weekend, while taking time to digest everything, I had time to enjoy some simple luxuries.

Homemade Carrot Apple Ginger Juice. Refreshing, healthy and lovely for the eyes.

Mr. Jet looking out the car window... first at nothing. Then he challenged this puffy dog to a stare-down duel. Still, quiet and concentrated... a rarity when another dog is in plain view. Anyone who has ever owned a beagle knows they are HOWLERS!!

Friday night pizza before it was cooked. It was chocked with pepperoni, sausage, red pepper, green pepper, onions, parm and oregano. Delish.

Friday night pizza after cooking. Why did I post this when lunch is so far away? Pizza is inticing any time of day.

I also had time to visit some of my favorite thrift stores. I didn't find anything that totally knocked my socks off, but I did have some good finds. I will be sure to let you have a peek before the week is through. But to hold you over I would like to post a picture from this past fall. It may be one of my best thrifted finds to date. It was for a fall classic cocktail party I attended in October. The invite for the party said "creative black tie optional". What exactly do you do with that? Well the hubs and I decided to go with an 80's prom theme. I must say we look dashing... I wish I had a full body shot of my outfit, because the patent leather spiked heels really topped it off. I'm sure I'll have a chance to wear it again soon, if not I might just put it on and wear it around the house for my own enjoyment. Sorry, I guess I will always have to cover KJ's face with cartoon hearts... such a modest lad. Oh, and yes, I'm rocking spiked hair. What's the point of having it this short if you don't have fun with it once and a while?

Vintage Prom dress by Gunney Sax.

Today's Useless Trivia:

The Regal Horned Lizard has quite the bizarre line of defense. When feeling threatened, particularly by foxes, wolves or dogs, this lizard builds up pressure in it's sinuses and releases a stream of nasty blood right into it's predators face. Think it sounds disgusting... it's worse to watch.

If the Rain fits

Yesterday I had an awful, maybe the worst ever, day in the office. It kept me from sleeping last night and is continuing to stress me out today. I have worked for companies in the past that give me the distinct feeling of not mattering and being just a number, and it never turns out well. When I start to get an inkling of that feeling again I can feel the claws start to come out. As the old saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Now I just have to stick to what I know to be best.

In spite of my inner icky-ness this morning, I tried to add a touch of vintage to an otherwise boring-corporate-office-outfit.

Cardigan: The Limited
Fur Collar: Vintage
Charm Bracelet: Vintage

Today's Useless Trivia:
The Ritz cracker was introduced to markets in 1934, but gourmets had to wait until 1953 for the invention of cheese in a can.

Glove at First Sight

Today I celebrate the birthday of my lifelong bestie who I endearingly call Glove. Happy Birthday my dear... may you live as long as you want to, and want to as long as you live!

In honor of my best friend and her day to be Queen I wanted to wear an outfit inspired by her.

I know I'm bustin' out the denim skirt again, but you can't argue it's versatility! Glove gave me the belt and headband, which are from the wonderful J.Crew. The white t is from Express and the tights and boots are actually from Target! I love me some Target! The red bag is a Kathy Van Zeeland my Mom gave me for Christmas last year... I still love it just as much as last Christmas!

This morning I woke up extra early to start the work-out regimen. One day down!

Today's Useless Trivia:

I always knew that Glove was an amazing woman, but I didn't know that January 6 was a big enough day to share with ANOTHER amazing woman. St. Joan of Arc's birthday is also celebrated on January 6. Glove, who always underestimates her strength, is born on a day with strength infused at it's very core.

Holiday Reprecussions

The best part about dresses is that they give you some room to ignore any potential holiday related weight gain. Today I am not wearing a dress. Suddenly, I can hear the treadmill and free-weights calling my name. My timing couldn't be better either... tomorrow night is the premiere of the new season of The Biggest Loser. It is such an inspirational show, whether you have 2 or 200 pounds to lose. If you aren't familiar... you can find a brief overview of upcoming season 6 here.

Over the oh-so-short weekend I was able to get a good start on the project I am working on. It is going to be a collage, but I needed to have a good background that was textured, but not too busy. Computer paper print-outs died with a couple cups of strong coffee was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Paper soaking in Java.

Dyed and crumpled drying in the sunset. Crumpling the paper helps the coffee to pool and give a better sense of depth in the texture.

A completed stack. Stay tuned to see them on the canvas.

Today's Useless Trivia:

The Bible is the number one shoplifted book in America.

Kickin' the Blues

This morning when I woke up I could feel the post-holiday blues setting in. I love Christmas so much it is painful to see it over. I found myself not wanting to get out of bed and wanting to play hookie from work. Negotiating with myself, I thought about dressing for comfort and starting the countdown until I could be back in bed. Instead, I decided to take my latest lesson of 2008 and dress to impress, even if it is only for me. Maybe dressing nicely on the first day (out of the house) of 2009 is like making your bed in the morning. One sets the tone for the day, the other sets the tone for the year. As soon as I slipped on my blue tights, I felt my holiday blues fading away. Out with the old, in with the blue! "Bon chic, bon genre!" Good style, good attitude! Who could be in a bad mood when you have Smurf legs!?

Blue Bolero: Old Navy; Skirt: Gap; Tights: Target; Boots: Don't even remember... they're ancient

Tonight = Pizza and doing all the Un-decorating of Christmas. Although I'm sad to see it go it means focusing on my other favorite holiday: MY BIRTHDAY! 177 DAYS TO GO!!

Today's Useless Trivia... Since I brought it up: The reason there is only one female Smurf is because, to infiltrate the Smurf village, Gargamel created Smurfette and sent her in to disrupt the village. However, the overwhelming goodness of the Smurfs turned Smurfette from evil to good.