Rule #43 - Listening Ears

When your fella advises you not to spray paint a plastic lid for church on your sidewalk without something underneath it (because contrary to what you think, paint is not like sidewalk chalk, and not even the torrential downpours of Hurricane Irene will wash it away), you should probably listen. If you choose otherwise, you shouldn't be super shocked to come home to a friendly little note hanging on your the front door of your condo from your neighbors outlining how upset they are that you left a lovely little spray paint graffiti behind you. You should probably begin baking some cookies immediately to appease the anger of your neighbors.

Where the Sun Don't Shine

So despite my vow to start fixing my hair again, here I sit with a bun today (albeit a lower than usual bun to mix things up a bit). It was at one point today secured with two bobby pins. My fine, thick hair is none-too-friendly with the bobbies, and spits them out on the reg. In fact, one was just spit out and fell down the back of my pants. But herein lies the tricky part, I cannot find it in said pants. Now I'm terrified that instead of a bobby pin in my bun, I have a bobby pin in my bum.

Sunday Switch Up!

My weekends are the busiest part of my week. I enjoy Fridays off but work on Saturdays from 1:30-8:30 (approximately) and Sunday mornings from 4:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. (approximately). I wouldn't change a thing, but it does mean I tend to feel like I have an abnormal social life, and I miss out on a lot of social functions (like a surprise party for a sweet friend this past Sunday afternoon). Date nights tend to be on Thursday, but I'm usually so overstimulated from a crazy week that I have a hard time unwinding and enjoying them.

Yesterday was another long but amazingly satisfying day of celebrating how God is working in our city. For my birthday my pastor generously gifted me with a Bonefish Grill gift card. I'd never been to Bonefish but was excited to try it. The fella and I decided to switch up our Sunday routine of sweats and The Office reruns over a thrown together mishmash of dinner and use the gift card for a Sunday date night. I don't go into the office until 10:30 on Monday, so not having a "work night curfew" is freeing. I threw on a pair of heels and cute top and swiped on some lipstain I had in my car and late night date night was a go.

We had the most perfect date night unwinding from the weekend over Bang Bang shrimp, salmon for me, grouper for him, bananas foster and a delicious bottle of pinotage. We had time to enjoy one another's company, breathe, reflect on what we've seen God doing in our lives, understand how better to pray for one another and better carving out quality time. I couldn't ask for a better way to decompress from the weekend and recalibrate for the week ahead. Sheer perfection.

Ready, AIM, Fire

Back in the day, if I wasn't signed on to AIM, then my day wasn't complete. I worried and stressed for weeks about an appropriate screen name for my friends' buddy lists and agonized to write the perfectly passive aggressive away message to pull at the heart strings of the boy with unrequited feelings for me or the friend who had done me wrong. In middle school, I was HiMain1Ons (loosely translated to "high maintenance," although, fittingly, AOL wouldn't let me use a zero for the ten, so it was actually a capital "o"). Briefly I was Dreams2519, reflecting my home address and head in the clouds.

In high school I matured, so I upgraded from AOL to strictly AIM and named myself ApostrofeeS because of my affinity for grammar and the ironic misspelling of "apostrophe." I used ApostrofeeS through all of college then graduated to GChat to waste some (read: lots) at my old employer's office. Last week, however, my supervisor was on a cross country flight and had wifi and needed to chat with me about some ongoing projects. He emailed asking me to get on iChat with my AIM screen name and requested it. Begrudgingly I responded that he should add ApostrofeeS to his buddy list and to please limit his judgement for another day. He agreed to one and not the other.

And now we're AIM friends. Emoticons, away messages and all.

:-)

;-)

:-*

Upgrades (or the Honey, Do List)

The fella has found himself with quite a bit of free time on his hands of late, and rather than sit and twiddle his thumbs or watch more of The Office - neither of us has ever really watched this show, but we are so hooked on the reruns. I have everyone DVR'd, and we watch them like crazy... hysterical! How did I miss that memo - he has decided to help make a few (a lot) of major... errr... minor tweaks around my townhouse. The list runs the gamut of new fixtures, crown moulding, insulation, etc, etc. Being the ambitious lad that he is, he decided to tackle the biggest project first: My bathroom.

My bathroom is none too grand... a mere 36 square feet or so, but it housed a major problem - peeling ceilings. I don't mean a little flaking here and there, but major holes. My townhouse was built in the '30s, and one of the things that was most appealing was the charm and character - original hardwoods, plaster walls, the slanting foundation (ha) - the bathroom has zero ventilation, so the ceiling has begun to fall away in places due to the steam and moisture from 80 years worth of showers. Add to that that my once pristine Carolina blue (GO PACK!) walls are now enjoying speckles of white and nastiness, precisely zilch in the storage department, and it was time to call in the big guns. Enter the fella.

He has spent this week scraping, plastering, spackling, sanding and painting. I can't wait for the finished product, and I should have taken more (read: any) before pictures, but alas, I have not. The progress so far is impressive - smooth ceilings, primed walls, a shelving plan (I'm obsessed with shelves at the moment... and, apparently, parentheses) and more. Last night we ventured out to the hardware store. I had in mind a smoky gray-blue color for the new walls with white, lacquered corner shelves adorned with baskets and mason jars. Every time I ran my eyes over the paint chips, they kept falling upon a bright yet dark and bold turquoise color. Such a tiny space deserves some pop, so I caved, and now I can't wait to see Benjamin Moore Peacock Blue coating my tiny toilette. Pictures to come, assuredly, but for now, a few shots of Peacock Blue in other afters (please note that even Blair and Serena approve):

Stain'd

I make precisely zero claims to be a beauty blogger. Other than my Bare Minerals foundation and cheek color, I am a diehard convenience store make up customer. I'm pretty much devoted to Maybelline and Cover Girl for eye shadows, bronzer and mascara. I do make a brief departure to Physician's Formula for eyeliner. And then, there's lipgloss. I probably have 15 different brands and shades of lip product in my bag at any given time. Kiehl's, Bella Fiore, LipSmackers, Maybelline, Burt's Bees, Revlon and more (don't get me started on my Vaseline obsession). I love the sheer hue that gloss gives my lips, but I get tired of the endless reapplication and wind-factor (you know, when it's breezy out, and your hair gets stuck in your gloss?). I am no fan of lipstick, however. I love the saturated colors, but it feels so mumsy to me. It seems heavy, and it can make your lips dry. I don't know, it's just not for me. But then I discovered Maybelline lip stain. It can be applied light or bright, isn't sticky, isn't drying and doesn't need to be reapplied throughout the day. It's become a daily staple for work or evening festivities. And, no, Maybelline isn't sponsoring this post. I am just beyond excited about this new cosmetic product. I've tried stains before, but applying them with your fingers can leave your digits equally stained, and even coverage can be nearly impossible. Not with this stick stain. I'm in love. In love. The end.

Maternal

One of my first Hems & Hers Return pieces I made was this lovely little trapeze frock with a deep-V back accented with a sweet, little bow and quirky ampersand print. I wore it to Little's surprise fete, and I loved how light, breezy and comfortable it was. Today I'm wearing it at work topped with a white denim jacket and long gold necklace.

One of my amazingly fabulous coworkers who is eight months pregnant (and seriously the cutest pregnant lady I've ever seen. Ever.) immediately commented on how comfy that would be for housing a baby bump. She's right. It would be perfect for the maternity set. Later in the morning I asked her if/when she'd be getting maternity pictures taken. Conveniently, she and her sweet hubs are getting them today, but she was fretting about what to wear. Jokingly, I told her she should try on my dress and wear it. So, away to the bathroom we went for a little fitting. The dress was perfect on her. PERFECT. I was so excited that she would be able to wear it for the shoot and told her to keep it as a baby gift from me.

I slipped it back on to wear for the remainder of the day (I work for a church. Nudity is not work appropriate), smiling that I could be a little part of this special experience. Then I realized that my non-maternity dress perfectly fit the bod of a woman eight months pregnant. Le sigh.

Cobweb Dusting

Okay. This absence from the blog is done. Finished. Over. I'm back, and even if I have nothing to write about, I'm going to write. So. There's a fair warning.

Here's what's been happening since the last update.

- I turned 25.

- I lost 18 pounds.

- Joined in on a surprise party for Little.

- I decided that I hated fixing my hair, and I started wearing it in a bun every single day.

- I decided that was lame and tried to start fixing it again.

- Gave that up after two days.

- Started trying again. I'll keep you posted.

- Agonized over whether to cut my hair or learn to love it long.

- Had many thoughts that had more depth than that.

- Fell in love even more with the fella.

- Started making life plans with the fella.

- Got to spend lots of time with my sis over the summer.

- Bought some new clothes.

- Started making clothes again after a months-long hiatus.

- Celebrated the Lobster's engagement last week!

And because people comment more when there are pictures... here are a couple from my mom's birthday dinner!

Kassel & Kate!

Two of my sweet friends have brainstormed, worked and created their own corner of the interwebs called Kassel & Kate. This sweet site is as refreshing as it is fun. Hurry over and give them a follow! And while I piece together a little entry recapping my wonderful 25th birthday, check out this message from Kassel (aka Lobster, for those who have been around my blog for a bit) herself:

Greeting from Kassel and Kate! We are so excited that our good friend at Polka Dots & Protein Bars suggested we reach out to all you fabulous readers! Here’s the scoop: we started an online magazine in hopes of raising awareness about real life questions that boggle the minds of everyday women.

Stop on by and read our daily blog plus our monthly issue featuring three articles based on a central theme, and look out for other fun stuff like giveaways! Check out our August Issue that just came out where we discuss that old back-to-school feeling of starting over. And you’ve got to enter our giveaway, especially those in Charlotte, for a $50 gift certificate to Fresh Salon!

We are thrilled to be taking this journey and are just as excited to share it with you. With that, we will leave you with our mission statement, and hope to see you soon!

As two professional women, we have been overwhelmed with the hypocrisy of our culture in all seasons of our life. From dating and marriage, to children and work, women across our area not only try to live up to a standard set by an imaginary body, but hold each other to a standard that we ourselves cannot reach. We are here to present the truth, to dispel the myths, and encourage women of all ages to be real. Join us in this crusade of love for the pure and genuine.