Aside from the couple of slips (here and here) I've done surprisingly well keeping to my no spending/shopping ban. And, yes, I went out and grabbed the shell-ebony stripped Xhilaration Skater Dress from Target for $4.98 (seen here in peacock-navy). I'm wearing it today and it may be my most favorite outfit ever in the history of ever (photos in next weeks WIWW post).
Until last week the only clothing I've won was a hoodie (here), then within a weeks span I've been lucky enough to win 3 clothing items. Two from 15DollarStore.com (documented here) and another hoodie off loveelycia's blog. It's a one of a kind hoodie from Mungo Crafts. I chose the Bubbly Grape hoodie. Unfortunately I didn't favorite it on Etsy so I don't have a way to link to it since it's been "sold", and it's not listed under her sold items.
My first choice was the Weeping Willow but someone snagged it right before I could. It's okay though because I was totally torn between the two.
I really love what Mungo Crafts does! Her current stock is pretty (my other favorite was the Beach Party hoodie) but I really love some of the items she's sold already. She's got nothing but rave reviews so I'm excited to get my hands on my new hoodie.
1. When I was a kid I wanted to be a racecar driver, just like Mario Andrettiwhen I grew up.
2. As an adult, my dream job would be a lady who lunches.
3. When I was younger I wanted to be just likethe first person I can think of was Punky Brewster.
4. The childhood Halloween costume that I remember most was when I wasStrawberry Shortcake.
5. My favorite childhood toy wasthese little family of squirrels that were part finger puppets & squeaked and they came with a soft barrel purse thing that was their hollow tree log home. I have no idea what they were called.
6. The time I got into the biggest amount of trouble when I was a kid was when I …honestly, I wasn’t a kid who ever got into trouble, especially when I lived with my grandparents. I think when I was with my mom I went with some friends across the street to this dirt field that had horses & a horse trailer. That’s the only time I can remember my mom grounding me.
7. I get daily inspiration from blogs I read, nature and my family & friends.
I took a break from Thursday Latelies last week but I'm back and ready to join over at Bex...A Style Diary. However, I didn't have time to do a video.
* Monday (the 24th) marked the 1 year anniversary of Remington joining our family. What a difference a year can make! He went from this...
to this...
and from this...
to this...
I kept thinking he should be more...tame now that he's a whole year old but he's still the same old little turd he's always been. I looked up how old he is in cat years and it all makes since now. In cat years he's 15 years old. He's a moody turdy turdy teenager. Lord, held the other cats! In cat years Cyrus (12 yrs) is 60 and Parker (17 yrs) is 84 so they technically could be his grandpa and great grandma, instead of his siblings. I'm afraid Remi's going to cause Cyrus to have a heart attack from pestering him the way he does. Cyrus is such a grumpy old man! I swear he acts older than Parker, though he doesn't have the crazy Alzheimer's episodes she gets every now and then.
* Speaking of Parker, this week I've been very grateful she's still around. And aside from the few Alzheimer's episodes, being hard of hearing (or near deaf) and slightly blind Parker is in really great shape! The last time she was in to see the vet he couldn't believe she was as old as she was. Plus, Parker can still kick Remi's ass when he needs it. I don't like to think of her as old though, I like to think of her as vintage.
I call her my little vintage cat.
* I've had an over abundance of cats this week. Morris (formally called Chester) has started showing up daily again. This time though he's brought a friend. One that I think may actually be his son. They have the same coloring and "MJ" (Morris Jr.) has the same face as Morris.
I've been trying to get these two little white kittens to let me pet them or to let me get close enough to get a good look at them for a few months now. They aren't from the same litter, which I though was weird since they're the only two kittens running around.. Anyway, I have no idea which of the two kittens MJ is (the big or little one) because I haven't seen the second kitten around lately. I think the stray population split their time between our complex and the complex across the street. I always see the cats going into a storm drain that goes from our property and I think it has an opening across the street into a small community of condos or houses.
MJ is the sweetest little thing. I can't tell if he's just young still or if he's going to be petite. He's still a bit shy & leery of people but as long as Morris deems you okay MJ does too. Yesterday I finally saw him in the daylight and was surprised he wasn't 100% white. He's a cream coloring with tips of orange along his back, ears, face and tail.
Morris...
MJ...
* I've been able to spend time with my sister, niece, Karie, Jessica, Nicole and Sharon lately and I can tell you it was all time well needed and well spent. My sister and I went shopping Saturday trying to find her a dress for my niece's wedding. She didn't find anything but we sure had fun. Friday night me, Karie and the girls hung out and I got to spend time with Sharon last week.
* In spending time with all my favorite women I've been able to eat out at some of my favorite places. Paradise Bakery for wild chicken & rice soup (sister & niece), Xavier's for the Xavier's special which is a bean burrito with green chili sauce in it. YUM!! (Sharon), PF Chang's for a mix of all things yummy (the girls), and Los Olivos** for THE. BEST. TORTILLA. SOUP. E.V.E.R!!! (sister). After not eating out anywhere, except for my sisters weekend trip, it has been HEAVEN!!
** If you check out the link for Los Olivos, check out the main location & the blue room. COOLEST room ever!
Karie and I are hanging out Monday since I have one more vacation day to use up before my work anniversary next month. We're planning on going to Scottsdale for some of THE. BEST. TORTILLA. SOUP. E.V.E.R!!! at Los Olivos and then I'll be introducing Karie to H&M. I'll shop vicariously through her. It'll be great!
* I slipped again last night and bought myself two new dresses when I went to Target to pick up the brown tights I needed for my new FREE dress. All my clothing is either summer (tank style) or winter clothes (long sleeved sweaters). I have nothing for in between. Since I found some dresses on super sale ($4.98) I splurged and bought myself two.
Except it's not plain black it's this floral pattern...
They didn't have it on the Target website
I'm hoping to go back tonight and grabbing the same dress but in black & white stripes. I think it'd look cute with a gray belt I have and my gray boots. But sshhhh...don't tell.
Actually, this week is more of a What I Will Wear Wednesday. I just received two new clothing items from 15DollarStore.com that I won last week from a giveaway on their FB page. Since I'm still on my shopping ban FREE clothing is far better than going out and shopping with my own money!! Now if I could only win some shoes! I think it's the only item I haven't won yet.
Anyway, the deal was I won two items of my choosing. I picked ...
I just love the pattern on it. The only real problem is that it's a bit short. And by a bit I mean even "squatting down" ladylike makes it a too risque. For someone like me that means I'd be flashing people all day long.
Here's my attempt with coming up with a non-flashing way of wearing the dress...
Brown tank: Mossimo, Target
Jeans: American Eagle, Plato's Closet
Shoes: Mossimo, Target, $4.99
What I really need to do is go buy some brown leggings/tights/ to wear instead of jeans.
Jewelry...
Necklace:
via Kohl's (old)
Bracelets:
Silver bangles: Target
Wooden bangles: Cookie Lee (old)
Shoes:
Shoes: Mossimo, Target, $4.99
The other problem with the dress is...
It is scrunchy in the back right along the top line so it zips fine right up to the start of the stretchy part. The only way to get it up all the way is to hook it and then finish it. Problem...it's almost impossible to hook it while wearing it. I did it once but couldn't do it again. So it looks like I can't wear this dress unless I'll be seeing someone else who can finish hooking & zipping me up before actually going out into the world. Oh, the downside of living alone. Also, major downside of cats...they aren't helpful with the no opposable thumbs and all.
The jacket is so light & comfy...I can't wait for it to get cool enough that I can actually wear it. It's still too warm here to be sporting such it. At least Fall could do around here is make it feel Fallish at nighttime. *Sigh* Hopefully by next week (ie. HALLOWEEN).
Here's how I might style it...
White tank: Target Jeans: American Eagle, Plato's Closet Shoes: Mossimo, Target, $23.99
Left hand...
Cuff: Vintage, was my mom & Nana's
Ring finger ring: Vintage, was my mom's
Pointer ring: Kohl's
Thumb ring: unknown, old
Found both in the back of my closet in an old jewelry box
Right hand...
Pointer finger: Vintage, was my mom's
Ring finger: Target, old
* Yep, that's the neighbor kids having another melt down, stomping around & yelling outside. They seem to know when I'm doing my TL's video because they get the loudest it seems when I'm recording.
* Sorry for the shakiness. Apparently shoe boxes do not make stable dyi tripods.
While going through the things my mother left with my sister (Georgie) when she moved out of state to Arkansas (25 years ago) we found a photo of my biological father & mother together. This photo is the only one I have of my biological father. If I remember correctly there was another one of just him but I have no idea what happened to it. I probably told my sister to throw it away after I briefly glanced at it 10 or so years ago. All I remember is he had what I thought of as a fro and I honestly didn't give a damn to know anything about him.
Photo's found...
Pics are of...
Me (6-9 months old ??) & my Bio Father and Mom (at my grandparents)
I'd like to point out that I have the shirt my mom is wearing is one I snagged as a keepsake when we visited while she was dying (1994?).
Georgie had to verify that that is, in fact, the man who is my biological father. Aside from what one might call a fro there is nothing about him that I would recognise.
On closer inspection I guess you can say I recognise his chin because it is the same as mine. At least, that is what my niece Elizabeth says. If you look closer my mom's chin looks the same as his in the photo so who's to say that I don't have hers or a combo of both. I don't currently have another photo of my mom to look at to verify what her chin looks like at the moment.
I'm guessing since my mom is and always was a twig that my body shape & the way I carry my weight is a combo of my biological fathers and that of my (maternal) grandmothers (swear I have her feet & back fat...TMI, I know).
If his hair is naturally curly then that is where my curl comes from.
I don't have his nose but I don't have my mom's either so I'm guessing it's a nice combo of both.
Other than that I don't see anything else I have in common with the man whose DNA I share. That is all I think of him. He is just a guy my mom slept with 34 years ago, so we share DNA. He is not my father. He is not my dad. If I have to put a label on him it is simply my biological father.
I've never felt any anger towards him for not being around (*at least that I remember). I never had any hurt feelings either (*). It just was what it was. Maybe because I just have never cared, it's hard to be mad or hurt when you can't miss or be hurt by something you never had. It could be as simple as any anger or hurt I had was all aimed at my mom. She was what I knew. She was what I missed.
Elizabeth asked (as has others) if I want to know more about my biological father or if I ever want to meet him. I can still honestly say no, I don't. Other than knowing biological family history I don't see the point.
My sister made the comment that it's possible that my grandparents ran him off but I'm assuming he was around my mothers age (40) so he was a grown man. Grown men don't get run off unless they don't really want to stick around.
Two things I do find funny though...
I could have had blue eyes and my last name could have been Summers. My mother didn't put my biological father on my birth certificate but on my baby announcements she had both of their names. Odd but not surprising somehow.
Looking through my moms stuff made me realize more things I share with her.
Things like... My brown hair My brown eyes My height
My addictive personality. Luckily I have always been aware of that possibility so I've stayed away from drugs (cigarettes and alcohol included). Yes, I do drink but it's a very fickle relationship...if you can call it a relationship. I'm an occasional drinker. Her scrapbooks of Vic Demone & all things desert and cowboys was something I could totally relate to by just updating the content. I think you could call my mom a collector and I am the same way. Collector is such a nicer word than addicted.
My love of animals (cats, ducks & squirrels!). My love of the desert. My bad taste in men.
My love of turquoise and black onyx (stones/jewelry). Until we went through her stuff while my sisters were down all the jewelry I (we) had from my (our) mom was silver turquoise Indian jewelry or black onyx jewelry. All the stuff from when she was younger was gold. It was a rather surprising find to me.
I am glad we found the photo of my parents because it tells me one more thing about the person my mom was. It gives me a little glimpse into the relationship she had with my biological father, even if it is only proof that there was, in fact, a relationship. Everything I've heard has been hearsay, guesses, opinions and bits of memories I can't trust as actual memories.
I've rambled more than I planned, reveled far more than intended but it feels good to finally get some of the thoughts (possibly feelings too) I've been carrying around since my sisters visit and shifting through our families mementos.
I have other stories, memories, feelings, or whatever I have running through my brain about my mom I think I want to share but I'm still working on figuring them out.
I'm using this as my Thursday Latelies (joining at Bex...A Style Diary) but it's also a rundown of my sisters "vacation". Because what I am most thankful & loving this week was my time with my sisters (and family). Since my first day back to reality was yesterday I'm playing catch up.
* I loved having 5 whole days to spend with my sisters. They came in on Thursday but I had to work Thursday & Friday so I only got to spend a few hours with them on those nights. Had I had 7 full days off I don't think I would have ever made it back to work.
Sunday we went with my niece, nephew & my great niece & nephew to Goldfield Ghost Town. I've been there at least 100 times (seriously) but I still love it. The mine tour never gets old. Neither does getting ice cream at the ice cream shop. I forgot my camera (of course!) and the sunlight was too bright so it was hard to snap a lot of photo's from my iPhone. I did manage to get a few though.
The weather really couldn't have been any better. Warm but not too hot. Can I just say this is why I LOVE Arizona!
View of the Superstition Mountains
Monday my sisters and niece, Elizabeth, took a road trip up north for an over night stay. We didn't really have a plan. We had a few stops we wanted to hit but nothing we couldn't deviate from. If we saw something we liked, we did it.
Our first stop was to the Tonto Natural Bridge...
I didn't bring my camera (surprised, I know) and I was too afraid to take photo's with my camera because there was too much water around and the ground was too slippery. I took one photo while standing on a rock and almost fumbled my phone so I tucked my phone safely away for the rest of our hike.
Our next stop (after lunch) was to Montezuma Castle. I've been there at least 50 times but it still amazes me how the Sinagua built a 20 room dwelling in the side of a cliff. I'm also amazed that the dwelling has held up as long as it has. They were working on stabilizing it while we were there.
* We ended up a Cliff Castle Casino in Camp Verde. My sister Beth & I suck at gambling so we ended up at the bar drinking margarita's in a can. YES... Margarita's in a CAN.They were the special that night so we figured why the heck not. The bartender poured them into a glass with margarita salt around the rim...which is the best part for me. I'm not a margarita person, I think the tequila is too strong, but when it's in a can it's not too strong. el Jimador Margarita's in a can are pretty darn tasty if you ask me.
We may or may not have gotten drunk. From CANNED margarita's. Yeah, we're special. We ended up drinking everyone else's left over can parts & some guy bought us all a round so our 2 margarita's ended up being like 4. It was fun sister bonding time that's all I know.
It's not the most "Sedona"ish photo ever but it's the only one we took. It was in the courtyard of a little chapel in the middle of the Tlaquepaque shopping village (or whatever it is called).
* Wednesday we went though crates of stuff Georgie had been storing from our mom & grandma. We found some crazy old photo's and news clippings of family members. There were scrapbooks our mom made back when she was a teen and it was an interesting look into her psyche. She was obsessed with Vic Demone. She kept every letter & card any of us ever sent her. She was way more sentimental that I ever gave her credit for. We were able to divvy up some of her jewelry from back before I was born. We all got a piece of jewelry with her name on it (mine was a pin that's her name in cursive) and each of us kids (5 of us) got a St. Christopher's medal (or some similar protective saint medallion) from either our mom or our grandma.
We found a piece of paper she kept track of my weight on from when I was born. I was premature and weighed 3lbs, 13oz. It took about a month or more for me to reach 5 lbs and a few months to reach 8 lbs. Crazy that she kept it but pretty cool none the less.
* I snagged these...
McCall's dress patterns from the 1950's
I'm trying to talk Georgie into helping me make one of these. Probably way too ambitious for my first attempt at dress making...or sewing for real...but so totally worth it. I just have to find the perfect material.
The only bad this is that the patter will actually fit me. Sounds like a good thing, which it is...except for the fact that it means that I am pretty much built just like my Nana. First her feet, now her build. I loved that woman but not exactly the things I wanted to share with her. =)
* We did scratchers and I won $2. Super exciting, I know! I wasn't the big winner of the bunch (Beth won $20) but I, at least, won something (refer back to suck at gambling).
Winning words...Bed, Lovely & Idle.
* I got my copy of Jack's Mannequin's new album People and Things this week and I LOVELOVELOVELOVE IT!! I'm going to put it out there that it is my favorite album of the year.
My favorite song (so far) off the album is Television. Musically it starts off a bit different than most of JM's stuff but it ends with JM trademark music, in my opinion... if that makes sense. I absolutely love the honesty of the lyrics...
Run around the spiral it's our choice now,
Up or down, days can seem so long
Holy ghost, I'm living with your voice now
But tonight, I'm sleeping with my television on
But tomorrow they're be hell to pay and clouds across the sun
You were right I've always been a sinner
You were right I've wasted all your time
You said it all, "We drank to much at dinner."
So tonight I'm sleeping with my television on
Come tomorrow they'll be hell to pay and clouds across the sun
You and I baby we're a broken record.
Turn around we're making sound but only for the noise
And what if I could live like this, but not forever
And what if you could move the needle to a more forgiving song
And what if this, was never really broken all along
But for tonight, I'm sleeping with my television on
I'm sleeping with my TV on
Yeah I don't mind sleeping, not when there's flash and buzz
Your colors dance beneath my bedroom door
Yeah I don't mind sleeping with my tv on
With my tv on
With my tv on
With my tv on
