stud muffin

I whipped out my gemagic last night and made a boring little black purse pretty rad:

The photographs STINK, but you should be able to tell that it's a combination of silver and gold studs. It came out pretty cute, I'm going to use it this weekend when I go out with girlfriends.

Total cost

Purse: $1.99 at goodwill

Gemagic set: $2.00 (although, this price is a little incorrect b/c I didn't use up the set - i can use it a million more times!)

Studs: $1.00 (came from a set of 200 bedazzler studs that were $5.99, but I obviously didn't use the entire package)

TOTAL = Less than 5 bucks!

Jewelry as Statements

Have you seen the book about Madeleine Albright's jewelry? Shiny Little Things brought it to my attention. It's about how she selected certain pieces of jewelry (in this case pins) to set a mood or describe her own feelings .

You can read a review and see some of the pins on NPR

I think that is a really interesting idea. I think most of us try to portray a certain image when we select our clothing and accessories, but do we ever convey what's really going on inside our minds?

hmm...

Wedding rings are easy. I'm taken.





I wear an Aggie Ring which is kinda big in Texas. It's a big, rather offensively large gold ring - but it tells the world that I attended Texas A&M. I didn't go to TAMU until graduate school, so I'm afraid that I missed out on a lot of their traditions (there are a ridiculous amount of them), but it was special for me to get the ring b/c my Grandfather went to A&M and wore his ring proudly for almost 50 years. For me it's a connection to him. I went to A&M after he passed, but I think he would've been proud of me.

The rings are good symbols, but don't really describe how I'm feeling ...

Today I feel a little lonely (my husband is working out of town and even though he drives me nuts, I miss him), but I'm also getting excited because I get to see both my sister and my high school girlfriends this weekend. I'm not sure what would illustrate this mood.

Maybe a watch brooch because I feel like I'm waiting a little? Waiting for a good time and getting antsy.

??

-b-

Today seems a little flat for me, I'd say that today is a

Outfit post

Yesterday I wore more Old Navy clearance. I haven’t liked their stuff for a long time so I was pretty surprised when I stopped for basics and found this dress. On sale.



I think it’s pretty flattering and easy to wear. There is a keyhole at the top, but I didn’t like it tied up. It’s a little too low when open without a tank though!

I think it’ll be great for fall & winter – all I need to do is add tights and wear over a turtleneck. That seems easy enough.

It’s tough to see in the photograph, but I do have a belt around my waist. I found this one at TJ Maxx and it’s perfect for wearing this way. It’s all connected, so when I tighten or loosen it there aren’t any loose ends. That’s my main complaint with the whole belted waist thing. I can’t figure out what people do with the part of the belt that sticks out.

What do you do with the loose ends of the belt?

Shark tooth necklace

I’m wearing my heart/shark tooth necklace that I made. I think the center bead is supposed to be a heart, but it reminded me of collected shark teeth at the springs as a kid.

Photo from Travelpod

We used to love going to the springs as kids. It was seriously the best.thing.ever. The water was super cold but it was so hot outside. Sometimes we tubed Rock Springs, sometimes we canoed or swam at Wekiva Springs. If we were swimming around, we’d root around the bottom to find shark teeth. We always took them home and tried to do something with them. Wekiva Springs, from http://floridanature.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/so-you-want-to-be-a-nature-writer/

Rock Springs, from Orange County webpage

People, I'm telling you that these photographs weren't doctored. That is how these places look. Lush, green, and just bursting with beauty!

There were always lots of baby red-eared slider turtles swimming around the edges of the water near the plants. This is kinda bad, but we would take a couple home at the beginning of the summer and keep them in an aquarium and then return them to the springs at the end of the summer when they were a little bigger. I remember a girlfriend in high school thinking that it was pretty odd, but it was a pretty normal summer thing for us.

If you were canoeing you were guaranteed to see an alligator or two or three (eep). About ten years ago, I saw a HUGE one chillaxing in someone’s yard that backed up to the springs. Dude slide into the water right before we were set to go by. Scared the bejesus out of me.

Picnics and/or grilling were required pieces of the summer springs puzzle. We used to get so tired swimming or canoeing around. I remember sitting at picnic benches and on blankets being pooped out and eating sandwiches from our cooler.

My mom recently went to Rock Springs with my sister and her family and I can’t tell you all how jealous I was when I saw the photographs. My 7 year old nephew was floating down and I remember being that kid!

So – that makes this my shark tooth necklace.

-b-

PS: Now have an intense sense of urgency that to purchase photographs of Wekiva & Rock Springs.

Team Spirit

My husband and I have been following the Houston Dynamo for the last couple of years and finally got season tickets for the 2009 season. We've loved it and actually just renewed our season passes for next year. Today was an important game with a sweet giveaway (scarf!) and so I trudged out ... even though I was going alone...hubby is traveling for work.

What's a girl to do? Take a photo before heading out!

Here is what I wore to Today's game:




It was raining for the last day and I went in full rain gear. Which worked out well, until the rain let up. Then I was a super sweaty hot mess...holy moley it was muggy today. I got the giveaway scarf, but don't think I'll be wearing it anytime soon.


Here's a close up of my earrings:




They are painted bottle caps & glitter! haha, they move around a ton when I'm cheering.

We didn't WIN win today, but we tied and that got us into the first round for the MLS championships. Yippee


-b-

Tretorns

I took a very small online shopping risk and bought a pair of Tretorns last month.

Holy smokes, I love them. I've worn them on every day with the smallest forecast of rain. I don't commute by walking at all, but you know there could be a puddle in the parking lot. They are comfortable for me, but I could see folks not liking them. They are technically rubber shoes and if you tend to be a little sweaty in the foot area this might not be fun at the end of the day. Also, i could see them not working for people with a wider foot. Mine are fairly narrow and they fit just right on me.

Thought I would throw my two-cents out there, since they are on sale TODAY at 6pm.com for $20 (which is what I paid last month).

Since I'm talking about my rain shoes, thought I'd show the result of recent rain - mushrooms perfectly sized for my little gnome friend.

Have a good weekend!

-b-

Woah, two outfits in a week

Here's what I'm wearing today (click to enlarge):

It seemed interesting this morning, but now seems a little flat. I blame poor lighting and camera work!

The shirt is a cheapie from OldNavy, layered over a navy tank. I really liked the little ruffle and color (despite being a pretty thin top). The website doesn't have yellow anymore, but I found it on super clearance last week.

The pants are a light cotton navy & white pinstripe (they look kind of gray in the photo). Since I'm freezing in my office, I actually end up looking like this during the day. Later in the afternoon I'll probably add my wool sweater to this combo.

After looking at the photos, I hate this belt. It's pinching me all wrong, the color doesn't really match, and it's too thin. I'm going to keep my eyes open for a slightly wider belt, maybe in gray?

From Speigel.

Would like to mention that as I was clicking around looking for a belt, I made a mis-click and wound up on a page for a 'Skanky stewardess' costume. Why was that even included in my search results? I was searching "womens gray belts"???

ewww.
-b-