Merry Christmas!

Not sure why he's holding a kid, but I like it.

WW: FINALLY!

I'm not going to attach a photo because I want there to be some small amount of surprise for Jason on our wedding day...

But I did it!

I FINALLY bought my wedding dress on Saturday!!!

The only thing I'm going to say about it is it is from Priscilla of Boston and that I love it to death.

My dress follows specific criteria:
-Sweetheart neckline to make the girls look killer
-Feels lightweight (ideal for July)
-Non-itchy crinoline
-Was comfortably in my price range including any alteration charges
-Doesn't make me want to die on the inside while I wear it!

Hooray!

I'm going back this week to speak with the seamstress about the alterations that will be made in the factory before it comes to the store but YAY.

Dance Party Friday: Mov'n all week with you!

I'm so glad this week is over, like woah. I can't even explain in words.

Julibean gets in tonight and we're baking for Andy's birthday tomorrow. It's a fun filled weekend including but not limited to: shopping, baking, wrapping, decorating, dentists, partying, dress shopping, rinse repeat.

Only in work one day next week since I planned (before getting infected for a week) to take a few vacation days and let myself rest some.

Dan flies in next Thursday! And Jason should be popping up at sometime next week.

Things are looking wonderful!

Deep Thought Thursday

This is something that has been bothering me all week. While I was driving home from the doctor's office last Friday I was nearly hit by a woman in a Nissan Pathfinder with a bumper sticker that said the following:

Uncle Sam wants YOU to speak English!

Dear horrible driver,
I'm not sure how you ascertained this information. Do you know Uncle Sam personally? I don't think you do.

You see, since I went to school in Troy, NY I've actually sucked up quite a lot of Uncle Sam trivia by osmosis and I'd like to share with you the following contradictions in your choice of bumper stickers.

First off, Uncle Sam was a hard working man. A meatpacker who supplied troops up and down the Hudson with beef and other supplies. When things were stamped U.S. the troops and teamsters jokingly said it was all from Uncle Sam instead of the Army.

He was an ordinary man.

He became a household name.

And his parents were immigrants.

They came over from Scotland and although he was born in Virginia I doubt they only spoke English at home.

Something tells me you are sorrily re-missed in thinking that Uncle Sam would ever care if you spoke another language. In fact I'm fairly certain that he would look down on your snobbish and arrogant bumper sticker.

How many languages do you speak? My guess is you are so ignorant and xenophobic that you've never bothered to broaden your linguistic spectrum. Shame on you. There are billions of people in this world and MANY of those people who are English-speaking people ALSO know other languages. In fact most Europeans speak their native language AND go about learning English as well.

So why so short minded?

I personally think Uncle Sam would have more of an issue with you driving a Japan-made car. If you really wanted to support Ameruka! and all it stands for, maybe you should have bought a Ford.

Love, Elise



(Image by Tara Engberg for The New York Times)

WW: e-session!

Back in the beginning of November Jason and I met up with our parents in Troy and had our tastings and spent some time together. Somewhere crammed within the weekend of festivities and eating delicious foods Jason and I snuck off for our engagement session with our photographer Heather.

This post is going to be pretty photo heavy but I just wanted to preface it with the fact that Heather is simply amazing and she's really friendly and fun and very calm. I'm not sure if Jason or I could have handled an in your face photographer so during the whole shoot it was nice to have a little quiet. We were anxious enough!

So without further ado...

The first few were taken in the Quad a stone's throw from Jason's old room

These next few were taken on Sage right outside the Quad



The Approach!





Somewhere on 8th Street


Back at the Approach, this time from the top



Downtown, an alley somewhere behind Franklin Plaza



This is one of my favorites from the whole day:



Back on campus, outside the DCC


Saying hi to Erik Jonsson, founder of Texas Instruments


A little bit of EMPAC



EMPAC SMASH!

Manjoyment Monday: A pained man and a guitar

You know I find loads of different men sexy for different reasons. But one of my biggest turn ons is a man that can sing. Throw in a guitar and I'm infatuated, it really doesn't matter at that point what he looks like.

There is something about a pained voice and a guitar that cuts right into the heart of me.

Last week when I was quarantined Julibean tried to send me things to watch and listen to and ponder throughout the day to keep me from going crazy. At one point she asked for "2 minutes of judgement free time" so she could show me this, or rather have me listen to this recording of Rob Pattinson sing.

I know what you're thinking, pretty boy, pretty voice. No, not at all.

Listen to the whole thing. Please. It is heartbreaking, truly. And it gives me the chills and it makes me love Rob Pattinson in a whole different way.

I never found him very attractive, but this really does it for me.

Manjoyment Monday: Schnoz Special

I have the plague. More on that later.

As I'm basically quarantined off for a few days I spent all day today in bed watching horrible movies on SyFy. What can I say? I got sucked in by Basilisk: The Serpent King and stuck around after that for Attack of the Gryphon.

It was as I watched Tara from Buffy run around as a warrior woman princess trying to find half a sword to kill a sorcerer who was using her kingdom's legendary gryphon against her own people that I realized two things:

One: SyFy makes some QUALITY made for TV movies. (I'm pretty sure it's the super cheesemo CGI animation that is a mockery of itself.)

And Two: I am really attracted to men with big noses.

Case and point:

Jonathan LaPaglia, oh hello.

Don't know what it is, but there's something sexy about a man with a schnoz.

(Image borrowed from imdb.com)

WW: My dream dress

I was watching The Rocketeer the other day. I like to toss a DVD into my player and watch a little before bed and turn it on while I'm getting dressed in the morning, just to give myself a soundtrack to listen to.

Last week I had just finished getting ready for work and the movie had just ended and the orchestral piece during the credits was a little louder than the movie itself. My father was coming down the hallway and wondered what it was, then correctly guessed The Rocketeer.

Then he said, "You just like that dress."

Which is true, but the movie in general is one of my favorites of all time. It's cheeky, a throwback, exciting, and wonderful all around. Plus Jennifer Connolley is pretty much one of the hottest women alive in my book. Or at least she was in that movie...

Anyway. Basically if I could have my dream dress, it would be the dress Jenny Blake wears in this movie.



Sweetheart neckline makes the girls look really nice. Thick ruched straps allow for a supportive undergarment (which was Jason's number one when I went dress shopping since my boobs have broken two bridesmaids dresses already). And the way it moves is just beautiful.

Now actually finding this dress is very difficult. I'd literally have to go to a costume designer and get it handmade. But let me just say this: if after January 22nd I haven't decided on a dress, I may just go out and find someone to make me this one here.


All images borrowed from For the Love of Opera Gloves

Embrace Thanks

Julibean sent this to me the other day and I thought it was wonderful.



Thanksgiving is one of THE most traveled days out of the year. Please stay safe, be smart, and buckle up.

Embrace Life. Embrace Thanks. Have a happy and healthy holiday.

MM: JT FTW

Hate me if you want.

Seriously.

It's alright.

Because sometimes I hate myself.

But there's always been something about this break away boyband artist that I've adored.

Jason can't stand it.

Sometimes I can't stand it myself.

When Future Sex Love Sounds came out Julibean gave it to me for Christmas because it's totally a guilty pleasure of mine.

I love Justin Timberlake's music. There, I said it.

It has a good beat, I like the way his voice sounds and most of all he doesn't take himself seriously. I mean, I'm not sure I can count the number of times he's been on SNL anymore.


Plus this morning we drove past the golf course in Bethpage off of 135. Normally we don't take that route when carpooling but it gave me the willies a little.

Long story short a girl I knew was found there. When we worked together we would always rock out to JT whenever he came up on the soundtrack. So between that, NKOTBSB epic reunion this weekend and thinking about disco balls for some reason yesterday, here is your Man for today!

WW: Finally!

Considering the fact that I was quite disappointed with my Kleinfelds experience I was really dreading trying to make appointments and find other bridal salons and boutiques who carried designers I was interested in.

Stephanie James Couture is only really in about four stores total on the East Coast. There's a store in Pittsburgh, which I really didn't want to have to go to because it's a hell of a drive in the winter. There's Kleinfelds, which I was underwhelmed with their selection. There's a store in Burlington, and there's a store in Philadelphia.

I emailed the store in Burlington, VT (Sewly Yours) and they were very friendly and helpful. They said they had the Audrey but not the Ms Kennedy or the Stella, but they'd be willing to borrow the dresses if I wanted them to. Burlington is a bit of a schlep for me. It's 3 hours past Albany and about 3 hours northwest of Jason's family in NH too. It wouldn't be terribly easy to venture to however I thought I'd keep them as an option since they were so nice.

I called the store in Philadelphia, PA (Van Cleve Wedding Pavilion) and spoke with Abby. She was super sweet and told me that they are new to Stephanie James as well and don't have any dresses in the store yet but will be getting the Audrey and Ms Kennedy in early January. Better yet she told me that they'd be getting those dresses in size 12. Oh hello, size 12 bridal is size 10 street clothes typically and that is something I can definitely get on and get a good idea of how it would look on me. So I was thrilled about that. Also! At the end of January they were having a little mini trunk show and more of SJC dresses would be in the store! The Stella dress is something I still really really want to try on and Abby said she would call them and ask them to include it in the trunk show in a size 12 if they hadn't already planned on doing so, so that way I could try it on.

I am one happy camper about this.

I made an appointment for that Saturday and I really can't wait! I finally feel better about this whole dress search. Plus, since we'll be in Philly we can see my godparents and even if she's free take my godmother Ginny dress shopping with us.

Ginny doesn't have any children so I feel extra special that I might get to share dress shopping with her because she's been such a fixture in my life for so long and she really is important to me.

Finally! Some good news!

The Lulu Saga: A Neverending Story

This summer Lulu got hit in the parking lot of the Dick's Sportings Good at the mall. I was super pissed that I didn't notice it before we drove off, otherwise I would have torn the red pick up truck driver who couldn't fit into the spot next to mine without mashing into my door and folding back my mirror a piece of my mind. I definitely would have at least taken down his license plate and reported him to the police so I wouldn't have to pay for the damages myself.

But of course I didn't realize it until we were on the road and Jaclyn had mentioned my mirror was folded. We were in a rush and I hadn't needed to look at that mirror so she folded it back and we went on our merry way. Got home and realized that the guy next to me had really nailed Lulu's passenger side door pretty good.

Took a nice chunk out of the crown of the car door and dented it too. Awesome.

I didn't get around to taking care of it until now.

One of the guys who works in the shop at work has a friend who owns a body shop nearby and he said he'd fix it for me. Fill it in, repaint the door, seal it up good so it wouldn't rust over the winter.

So I dropped off Lulu Friday night, picked her back up Sunday morning (before running out the door to Kleinfelds) and it was beautiful. Rick did an awesome job. He even detailed her for me.

I don't think Lulu has been that clean since I got her.

Meanwhile, I was due for an inspection, new registration, and a service. Dropped Lulu off at our dealership and asked them to do the Subaru 30,000 mile service, change the spark plugs and whatnot. I had just gotten an oil change a month before so I didn't need that.

All together the service tech said it'd be about $300-400. Okay. That's not horrible. Lulu hasn't really cost me any money since I've bought her, she hasn't needed any major repairs and a lot of the time the services were cheap and half of my oil changes have been free.

When I picked up Lulu though I paid a bill for over $500. WTF!?!

I had had a really bad day. There was a lot going on at work, I was exhausted and moody and felt like I was going to burst into tears any second. Plus my service tech wasn't there and no one else would have known what we had spoken about on the phone. So I really didn't want to be that girl who cried and screamed at them when it wasn't their fault, it was this one particular guy's fault. The other people down in the service area are very friendly and explain things and even print out an itemized list for me because I like to keep track of things. This one service tech I got this time really threw me for a loop.

Turns out they wound up giving me the dealership service instead of the Subaru service and the dealership services is basically a load of crap that I could have either done myself or didn't really need done in the first place. Whereas the Subaru service recommended by the manufacturer is a series of tests, checking one or two vital engine parts and flushing the fluids.

I'm livid, but I'm also incredibly busy at work this week so I haven't had a chance to call back. My father was away on business and got home last night so we got a chance to look at the bill and suss out exactly what had happened. Meanwhile they busted something in Lulu's business while they were in there doing god knows what, and now the button to circulate the air throughout the cabin doesn't work.

So not only did they break something in my car, but they charged me for things I said I didn't want and gave me the wrong service. Forgive me, but I'm going to have a

DON'T THEY KNOW WHO WE ARE

moment. My family bought three cars from this dealership. Not only that but technically we're also VIPs because we have friends at Fuji Heavy Industries. Up on the sales floor everyone knows us, when we're dropping off a car for a service we'll go up and say hi and chat a bit with the sales people. They're awesome. They're wonderful. They're service techs obviously need to learn a thing or two about how to treat customers.

Coincidentally I got not only a coupon from the dealership in the mail yesterday, but also a letter from the head of the sales team asking how my service went, hoping that if we got a survey we'd be "Completely Satisfied" in everything and if not to contact him. Let's just say my father will be making a call to Mr Sales Lead Sweatervest Man and hopefully he can do something for us.

I hate when people automatically think that just because I'm a woman I don't know what my car needs and what it doesn't need. I hate when people try to sell me on things I don't want and I hate when I get overcharged for something that I can easily do myself!

No Dancing, Just Uncertainty

Oh joy of joys...



Looks like I won't be moving to Virginia.

Looks like we'll be trying to find Jason a new job.

Looks like we'll have to move Jason someplace new right in the midst of holiday traffic.

Merry Christmas!

WW: Oy to the Vey

So I mentioned how disappointed I was that Kleinfelds didn't have the Audrey dress. At the advice of Keasha I called the store to see if the dress could be borrowed again from the designer or if the could borrow it from another store.

I spoke with the woman in charge of all the inventory and she said that the dress was in a box ready to be shipped back to California.

Which really means, that the dress was in the store somewhere in the basement when I was there trying on dresses but they just couldn't find it.

Seriously?!

Sunday after running around like crazy Casey, my mother and I trained into the city to see this dress. We didn't have an appointment, the woman on the phone said I didn't need one if I was just coming in to try on the one dress so we waited until a room became available.

It was all wrong. Not only was it a size 6 (in street clothes bridal 6 = size 4), but it looked like it had been run over by a tractor. I shimmied into it (barely, I'm a size 14 here people) and it just felt all wrong.

Maybe it would have been better if it had been a size I could squeeze into it would have looked okay but my Mother hated it and I wasn't feeling happy about it either.

I've been dreaming about the Audrey dress for like two years now, and I was so disappointed again. I just wanted to cry.

I know I'll find a dress. I know I'll love it when I do, but this was just utterly heartbreaking.

DPF: Thus and Verily

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.

The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.

Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.

Today's Dance Party Friday is in celebration of Guy Fawkes!

Something tells me if I lived in England Guy Fawkes Day/Night would be something I could get into. It seems like a cross between Halloween and Independence Day which are two of my most favorite holidays here in the states.

It seems like a day of Thanksgiving and although Turkey Day isn't my favorite thing I still appreciate the "giving thanks" nature behind the holiday.

So please enjoy this snapshot from a few years ago of Jim gett'n down with his bad self, Guy Fawkes style:


And as always, remember remember...

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I know of no reason

Why the Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent

To blow up the King and Parli'ment.

Three-score barrels of powder below

To prove old England's overthrow;

By God's providence he was catch'd (or by God's mercy*)

With a dark lantern and burning match.

Holla boys, Holla boys, let the bells ring.

Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

And what should we do with him? Burn him!

IOU

I owe you:

• Halloween Happenings
• Dress Hunting, not a spectator's sport
• A kid, a kid!
  

WW: Dress hunting, not a spectator's sport

So on Saturday we hopped on the train and ventured into the City. It was nice to spend some quality time with the girls. Julianne was up from the MD with Nancy her future mother in law, and Jaclyn was out and about in her newly purchased maternity jeans.

Can I just go off on a tangent here and say that I'm super excited for this baby? We find out if they are having a boy or a girl around Thanksgiving! And Jaclyn looks fabulous, I'm a little peeved at how good she looks with her little baby bump.

Anyway...

I have to say that originally I was super excited to go to Kleinfelds and get the whole wedding dress shopping experience and try on some Stephanie James dresses but as the date approached I was dreading it more and more.

Let me make myself clear. I am in no way dreading being married, I love my fiance and can't wait to have a life and a home and a family with him. I am however, starting to stress over the wedding itself and the search for my dress has only added onto that stress.

So here we are standing in the lobby of Kleinfelds waiting for Keasha to come get us for my appointment and the whole place is buzzing with activity. The store itself is pretty grandiose and it's an impressive space for the city.

Keasha and her assistant Gabrielle (maybe Gabriella-I'm awful with names) bring us back to the dressing room and we chat about the important things like my budget and what I want and what I'm looking for and we hit the ground running.

I tried on the Josephine dress and it was okay but not my favorite. I tried on something that looked like a cross between the Tame Fifi and the Olivia dress. Mostly they were okay but didn't feel very special. The Ms Kennedy dress looked fantastic on me I just wasn't thrilled with the horizontal stripes in the fabric. They're very pretty but don't look so great on me.

For my mother I tried on a very tight fitting very ornate dress. It looked amazing on me. That I'll admit, but it just wasn't "me" and I couldn't move so much in it. Forget trying to sit down.

My biggest let down was the fact that they didn't have the Audrey dress in the store. Here's where I was baffled. They had it in their store window and when I asked about it they looked at me like I was crazy. I explained that I didn't call ahead because I had seen it in the window and assumed that if it was in the display that it was available to try on in the store. Finally when I described it as the dress with the polka dots and the blue tulle they figure it out.

They went down to see if it was still around and of course it wasn't. Basically I was hugely disappointed in the whole experience. Keasha was awesome, like she's just as hilarious and fun and sweet as she is on TV. Randy is fabulous and a hell of a lot skinnier than he looks on TV, and everyone was very helpful. I guess I just had these huge expectations and nothing worked out the way I had hoped.

It was an exhausting day and right after my appointment we flew right into Julibean's and boy was that even more exhausting.

I've said it before and I'll say it again though, my mother and I might never agree on what a "wedding dress" should look like. To me my thought is, if I wear it on my wedding day, it's a wedding dress. To my mother she feels it must be something special or ornate or detailed.

We'll continue to knock heads over this I believe.

Halloween: Get Messy! Make Mistakes!

I LOVE Halloween. It is my favorite holiday but it always seems to suck.

Remember the drama that ensued after last year's Halloween?

So this year I was excited to go into the city and actually have something to do! After our Kleinfelds appointment Casey and I hopped on a train up town and said goodbye to Julibean, Jaclyn, and the mothers.

We got to Ashley & Mel's and ate some delicious falafel, watched some hilarious television, and then got dressed into our awesome costumes.

Let me just say, my friends are awesome and creative. Even Casey who didn't have time to make or buy a costume came dressed as Harriet the Spy in a trench with a notebook ready to make observations.

So without further ado I'd like to introduce you to:

Mel: Your Other Mother

Ashley: Jem...she's OUTRAGEOUS!

And Me: Ms Frizzle!
(do you remember your childhood? because we do!)

Seriously, awesome costumes!

We headed down to The Bitter End and enjoyed some good drinks, good music, and good times.

Plus, look how many "Dumb Sluts"
Casey the Spy counted during our travels:

We saw some killer costumes. Originally Casey's brother Chris was thinking about coming out with us and I told him he could borrow my tutu and wear some combat boots and a Hawaiian shirt and be Ace Ventura...we thought this was a great and very original costume. Of course when we saw some guy on the street outside a bar dressed in that costume we gave him a high five as we walked past.

We pretty much saw every single costume we were considering ourselves. Carmen Sandiego, TMNT, although I think my favorite was a guy in a Snorlax costume. I snapped a photo with him to show Jason.

However, the greatest costume of the weekend was definitely a little eight year old girl Casey and I met on the subway on Sunday morning. She was standing there in a green leotard with a gigantic potted plant pot suspendered to her and her mother was holding this beautifully hand made green head thing. I knew immediately she was Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors and thought it was the most wonderful thing EVER.

I got to talk to the little girl and her mother and her mom told me that she wasn't even excited about the candy, she just wanted to wear the costume. Apparently the little girl had seen Little Shop of Horrors a few years back and was completely obsessed with Audrey II and wanting to dress up as the man-eating plant alien. The coolest part was when she put the plant head over her, the mouth would open when she shrugged her shoulders.

COOLEST COSTUME EVER.

Honestly, this Halloween was fantastic. Even if I did turn Ashley's couch cushion orange.

DPF: Sanity? Insanity?

Tomorrow is the Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington. Although I won't be there I have many a friends who are going.

If we hadn't already made plans to go to Kleinfeld's or enjoy the Halloween weekend I definitely would have ventured out and joined my friends "who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive and terrible for your throat."

I adore Jon Stewart and although he's a comedian I think he typically has a lot of very smart and poignant things to say. In fact I recall a study done on the intelligence of people who watch the Daily Show as opposed to those who watch the O'Reilly Factor and other so called "news talk shows".

I enjoy Comedy Central's version because it is cheeky, hilarious, smart, and damn I love Jon Stewart. Honestly, anyone who proposes to his wife in a Sunday crossword deserves respect and admiration!

The March to Keep Fear Alive is also taking place tomorrow. So here's a little Steven Colbert for you to enjoy:

"America, the Greatest Country God ever gave Man,
was built on three bedrock principles:
Freedom. Liberty.
And Fear — that someone might take our Freedom and Liberty."

So to all my friends venturing to DC this weekend:

Be safe. Be sane.

WW: Dress Shopping

If all goes as planned on the 30th I'll be ordering my wedding dress. I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not but Julibean and I will be going to Kleinfeld's. At first it started as a joke, that we should go just to get the experience and whatnot but then something incredible happened...

Kleinfeld's started carrying Stephanie James Couture!

I have been in love with Stephanie James' dresses for about two years now. I knew that when the time came I really really really wanted one of her dresses but I thought A-who the hell are you kidding, you can't afford couture anything, and B-the closest stockist is Pittsburgh and you hate going there.

So I started looking for tea length dresses that were closer to my price range of $500 and only found one or two that I was okay with. I didn't really want to settle, but I figured it was bound to happen.

Last month Julibean and I took our mother to David's and I tried on the two tea length dresses they had that I kind of liked. Mom wasn't really happy with the way they looked on me...I thought they were okay and was really just content that I was fitting into one size smaller dresses from the last time I had tried them on.

Julianne found one or two that looked really good on her but because we're in the plus size range it's hard to find a dress to try on that is cut correctly. I carry most of my weight around my ribcage (hello ta tas!) and Julibean carries most of her weight in her tummy. We're very differently shaped and we're both looking for different styles so we thought we'd go to a HUGE place to try different things on.

When I read on Stephanie James' blog that Kleinfeld Bridal was going to start carrying her line I literally did a happy dance and immediately told Julibean how we needed to book appointments yesterday.

When I told my friends we had booked an appointment at Kleinfeld's everyone and their mother wanted to come! And every other person shouted, "If you got on TV you'd be my hero!" If you're asking yes, Julibean submitted us to SYTTD, and no I don't think they'll pick us since we're not very dramatic. However, there is a new version called Big Bliss that they might just grab us for, I mean two sisters shopping at once for their weddings? You'd think they'd eat that shit up!

Back to my point. Maybe two or three months ago one of the girls on a forum I frequent sent me a message since she noticed I was a fan of Stephanie James on facebook. We got to chatting and it turns out that she had just ordered the dress I've been drooling over for the past two years. In fact she even told me what the price range was for the dress and I realized, yeah, I could do that. Long story short, as long as the dress looks killer on me and it's in the price range it should be I'm pretty much gonna order it right then and there.

Now going into Kleinfeld's I actually know exactly what the dress would cost if I ordered it directly from Stephanie James herself. You have to live more than 50 miles away from a stockist to order directly from her store in California. Technically when I move to Virginia I'll be plenty far away from her closest stockist. So if Kleinfeld's tries to up-price this dress I'll have to say no and order it directly from California. But at least I'll get to have tried on the three or four dresses of hers that I adore and be able to feel comfortable about making my choice.

Now here are some images of dresses of hers that I love and can't wait to try on!!!

Greta.

Audrey w/v-neck

Audrey back/button detail

Josephine

Josephine strapless

Olivia

Stella

(All images borrowed from Stephanie James Couture Blog)

Smut for the Masses!

One day I'll be a published author...one day...

Me: what would you do if I became a published author of smut?
Julibean: I really couldn't care less
Julibean: I think it's a little silly
Julibean: but whatever
Julibean: can I pose for the covers?
Julibean: lol
Me: okay, just plain old trashy fiction
Me: hahaha
Me: no, I'm thinking I'd rather just have plain covers with bright colors
Julibean: that's no fun
Me: so you wouldn't feel awkward about reading them in public
Julibean: you've got to hook them in with the cleavage
Me: HAHAHA
Me: but Fabio doesn't do cover art anymore!
Julibean: oh that's too bad

MM: Eat My Shorts

I really can't stop looking at this.




Please enjoy this Monday's Man...in cartoon form. He's the 10 year old everyone loves, and will always love.


(Image borrowed from SenorGif.com)

Betsy in my pants!

A few weeks ago I really wanted to go apple picking but the only person who shared my enthusiasm about this adventure was Ashley and neither of us were free until this weekend. When I looked up where all the apple orchards were on LI they were all out east near Riverhead so we decided it'd be the ideal time to hit up the outlets.

The apples were pretty much picked out but I did come home with a pumpkin and cider and some delicious fall baked goods. And then we went off to the Tanger Outlets.

I was on the search for a dress (for our e-session in November) and a new pair of black flats to replace the ones from Naturalizer that I had killed.

What I found was something far better. First off we went into every store that had dresses for sale. I tried on a bunch but none of them fit the right way. I want something with at least capped sleeves and a scoop neckline. The girls are my best feature and what's the point in hiding them? A few dresses fit and were cute, but weren't THE dress for me.

Because we're little kids we went into the Disney Outlet and I found an awesome Kermit the Frog stainless steel water bottle (which I needed to replace one I broke the other day) and this little guy.

Originally Ashley had picked it up and was like, WTF is this?! And once I realized what it was I threw my hand to my nose and waved my fingers at her.

In my family, that's the call sign for a star nosed mole. Call us crazy, we have lots of hand gestures that mean NOTHING to anyone else but can cause laughter and excitement within my house. Not only was it a star nosed mole, but he was wearing night vision goggles. I HAD TO HAVE HIM. He was on the clearance rack and I bought him for my mother.

When I got home I handed my father the socks he requested I buy him at Van Heusen and my mother jokingly asked, "What'd you get me?" She wasn't prepared for my twitchy excitement and was so happy when I pulled this little guy out of my bag.

Apparently Saturday was Mole Day (10/23) something I didn't realize until my mom was thanking me for the mole on Mole Day. She brought him into school today to add to her mole collection. (Hey, she's a Chemistry teacher, don't judge!)

Anyway, back to the Outlets. We still hadn't found a dress and we were losing daylight quickly. As we were making a beeline for JCrew we saw Betsy Johnson and we decided to go inside because everything's so bright and cheerful in there.

Racks and racks of crazy dresses greeted us, all with signs that read "80% Clearance!"

What, WHAT WHAT?!

We flagged down a sales associate and asked if that meant 80% off the original price or 80% off the lowest ticketed price. Lowest ticketed it was and I couldn't believe the math I was doing in my head when the dress Ashley was holding factored out to ~$50. I had to pull my phone out to double check my math, but low and behold, it was $46!

We were like giddly little school girls rummaging through the racks. Sadly the dresses in the outlets only go up to size 10 so this one was all Ashley's but she found a super cute navy blue dress that wasn't off the charts crazy and fit her like a DREAM.

While Ashley was in the dressing room I was trying on these amazing powder blue shoes. Hello, $35 marked down from $175?!? THANK YOU! Fairly comfortable to boot! Can we say wedding shoes?!

Ashley hugging her amazing dress on the way home.

We couldn't believe we were walking out with these incredible items for under $50 and $40.

I feel like I'm stealing!

All in all, WONDERFUL day. Didn't find a dress but found wedding shoes for $38 and now all the other shoes can go back! Still need to find a dress but I'm hoping the one I ordered from Overstock will be killer.



Edit to add: FOUND a photo of the shoes I nabbed!

Powder blue and perfect! I heart Betsey Johnson!

DPF: Don't Miss It...

Last night one of the Jeopardy clues' questions was "What is Ferris Bueller's Day Off?" And in celebration, a little Matthew Broderick for you...

"Life moves pretty fast.
If you don't stop and look around once in a while,
you could miss it."