Jedilicious

Kitchen Inspiration

2012-05-24T07:54:00.003-07:00

As if one wouldn't find enough food inspiration from one of my Charleston based BFFF (threw the extra "F" in there for "Foodie"), Melissa, I continue to find such wonderful, inspiring recipes in Food and Wine Magazine (even though I have significantly cut back on my wine intake - eliminated wine Monday-Thursday *when not traveling).

One of the meals I'm dying to make from this month's issue of F&W is this:

Spiced-Tofu Sandwich

In fact, I have my husband at the store getting my grocery shop on as I write this. Melissa blogged about an interesting tid-bit this week: Veggies vs. Masculinity. I have to say that while I get the need for protein and that men do focus more on protein, I continue to find my husband that much more attractive for trying (and liking) all the foods I prepare for him and it melts my heart that he embraces tofu like it's a big steak. His willingness to eat and appreciate all the foods I make him definitely has reduced my "headaches."

We have been watching a lot of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, and Obi Wan has actually sought out many of the featured DD&Ds on his work travels and checked them out. This is what he texted me this week from Dame's Chicken and Waffles (I haven't confirmed this place was on any shows, but it was featured in Southern Living):

Sweet Potato Waffle with Fried Chicken

There are so many interesting takes on burgers and funky sandwiches, and I've been obsessing on making different kinds of burgers lately. This weekend, I'm going to mix together locally farmed pork sausage and ground turkey as well as lots of spices and see what comes out. Basically a pork-ey burger. I can't wait... my mouth is watering thinking of it.

What has inspired you in the kitchen lately?

Comments made here are just my thoughts, opinions, fantasies, and desires... no one is paying me (although I wish sometimes they would).

Do You Ever...

2012-05-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

Do you ever wonder what you would do if you were stuck in a room with a clone of yourself? Would you get along with you? Would you like you? Would you be bff's? Yeah I have never really wondered that myself till this week.

I like to think that I'm fun and enjoyable to be around. My friends seem to think so, although maybe they have poor judgement. Or maybe I just make them feel better about themselves or their lives. Or maybe I just say really stupid things when we drink too much wine so their poor behavior is overlooked. Upon further investigation, I'm starting to question my initial positive notion.

You see my 36 lb. sub 3-foot tall clone has been home sick thus far this week. And it has sucked. I love my children so stinking much. Yoda, the little one, and I seem to have bad chemistry when it's just the two of us. We are so very similar (we both have little patience, love butter, like to belch at the dinner table and are fascinated by little people) yet we get so frustrated with each other.

Thanks to penicillin, he will be going back to school tomorrow (fingers crossed) and normalcy will resume in my house. It's tough when all you long for is to work in peace and quiet for a day. I will go back to missing him and his foolishness like how he very loudly whispered, "Mommy, that man in front of us is a midget" as we boarded an airplane last week... when in fact, he wasn't a midget, just very short. I'm sure he felt this big (as did I) after hearing a 3 year old refer to him as a midget during the day. Or how he is probably the only 3 year old (ok, he's almost 4) who had to remove his necktie to do Euro Bungy in Myrtle Beach this past weekend.

Or how he submerged his hand into a sandy ashtray outside of a restaurant. Actually I won't miss that. It will be nice to have 8 hours without having to give a single full-body anti-bacterial spray to a child who really needs to be dipped in bleach.

The Luxury Hippy

2012-05-18T06:52:00.000-07:00

I've been traveling a ton over the past 3 weeks, this past week spending a few days working in Charleston, SC. At happy hour the other day, it was brought to my attention that I'm a chic hippy, as in someone with hippy-like tendencies. When I returned home from my trip last night and got my mail, I started to get it.

I don't know if it's my advanced maternal age or what (no not pregnant, but a mom and not young), but I'm TOTALLY digging the Sundance Catalog. They have just the right touch of hip and hippy.

Check out these lovely finds:

I love the print and the feminine cut of this.

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A great go-to top:

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Such a cute skirt and imagine all the pairing possibilities:

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And another cute skirt:

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Who doesn't love a little red, white, and blue in the summer?

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I'm currently on a shopping hiatus (need to get organized and clean out my closet), but hope to come out of it soon. Perhaps I will have a closet sale... we shall see. Big ideas, little time, little motivation (to do cool things when I'm not working). Not to mention we'll be in Salt Lake City next month and I can just show up at Sundance and shop my little heart out. :)

Two And A Half Weeks

2012-05-07T18:19:00.003-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything (for really good reason), but I'm back (physically) and have so much to catch up on with writing, and especially reading. I have a wonderful new Choose Your Own Adventure review upcoming, along with a really cool swap I did which I'll be posting about in the next week (once I know my recipient gets her gift which was sent incredibly late).

For the most part, here is what has been going on in pictures:

Hours before surgery, I got to kayak with "Anakin"

Drunk on pain pills

A week after surgery and 20 hours before vacation

Flying into Providenciales

The Party Boat

The cock of a conch - it can stretch to 16"

A storm rolling in

Beautiful deserted beach

A big iguana

My Jedi jumping off of the top of the boat

Best tuna sandwich ever

Despite arriving home to be greeted by a nasty sinus infection, we had an amazing time. If someone would have boxed up our kids and shipped them to us, we may not have returned from T & C. I honestly say I would go back.

Hope everyone has had a great few weeks!

Aaah ... vacation!

2012-04-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

In just one week from tomorrow, we will be going here:

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That being said, the next week is going to be absolute torture, starting with tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to go in like a lamb, and out like a lion. I've been both looking forward to tomorrow and dreading tomorrow for as long as I knew that tomorrow existed.

Tomorrow starts off beautifully. I get to attend my older son's first kayaking trip at his school. Kindergartners only get to go once a year. I had volunteered long before the second part of my day was scheduled.

The second part of the day, I am scheduled for a procedure to get this little sucker removed:

While it may not look like much, but when you like to do freakish things like burpees, pushups, and pullups, it is a pain in the wrist. Big time. Although, in the pre-surgery interview, they asked, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how intense is the pain?" "Well, I'm not sure how to answer that. To me, a 10 is an unmedicated child birth of an almost 9 pound child, therefore is a 1 or 2."

The bad part is not the procedure itself, but it's been difficult calling in favors from everyone I know to see who can chauffeur me around, pick up my kids, sit in the waiting room for a few hours... I hate asking for help.

I've also had to mentally prepare little Yoda to not be picked up at 2:30 tomorrow. This is very hard. He can't tell time, but he knows when Ms. Charie brings snack into his classroom, that if his mama ain't there within two minutes, he will lose his marbles.

Now the third part of the day is what most concerns me. We have team pictures for Anakin's tee ball and since Obi will be out of town tomorrow (and can't change his day around, and he would in a heartbeat if he could), I also have to coach a tee ball game tomorrow... while I'm on pain pills and unable to drive.

So if we get through tomorrow, AND if my stitches get to come out next Tuesday when I go in for my follow-up (which is 5 days before the follow-up they had initially wanted to bring me in on), things will be fantastic come vacation time!

Quite the Circus

2012-04-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

We had a family outing to the Cole Brothers Circus the other night.

It was way more entertaining than I could have imagined.

For the boys, their favorite parts were the cotton candy, the tigers, and the man getting shot out of the cannon.

But mama's favorite part was this ridiculous little lady... not sure why she bothered wearing a skirt.

A closer look at the junk in her trunk - sorry for the crap quality photos... it was much better in person.

The best was when she was walking off and she started dancing and shaking her thang. I don't know what the music was in Big Top (the tent), but in my head it was, "little in the middle but she got much back."

** for what it's worth, she did have on a thong.

Choose Your Own Adventure

2012-04-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

Who didn't love a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book as a child? I certainly did. In fact, I remember the exact location of the library where they kept them. They rarely had them in, but when they did, it was a 9-year-old's equivalent of winning the Mega Million. Or you felt just like Charlie with the Golden Ticket.
Anakin, my 5 year old, brought home 2 library books this week, back on his Titanic theme... and rightfully so. Tomorrow is the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the ship.

One book is one we have already read, but the other book I wonder about. It is a choose-your-own-adventure Titanic book. In fact, the words on the front of the book are the following:

"Can You Survive the Titanic?
An Interactive Survival Adventure
3 story paths, 41 choices, 20 endings
YOU CHOOSE"

Heck, just look for yourself:

I can't say I'm totally impressed with the author, although I should not judge before I read this, but could she not have chosen an original adventure... one that had not yet happened?
I'm thinking I may sit down with this one and a bottle of wine tomorrow and see how it pans out... I hope I can survive.

The Oreo Cookie

2012-04-12T15:17:00.000-07:00

If you take apart an Oreo cooking, neither the cream, nor the cookie are all that impressive, but whoever put this cookie together is an effing genius. I have a new weakness. Not sure why it's taken me over 30 years to realize this, but better late than never, right?

I kind of wish I had discovered it in the winter time and not during bathing-suit-season-prep-time, as I tried on my 2nd failed swimsuit of the season. Thank goodness for races and Crossfit and anything that counters this beast:

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I'm Pretty Sure...

2012-04-05T11:13:00.001-07:00

I am pretty sure...

1. ... Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers does Crossfit. His handstand walk was amazing.

2. ... Kobe (the drunk, white, 22 year old boy in the Kobe Bryant jersey) sitting in the row in front of us could have gotten laid by one of the drunk girls he met and bought beer for at the concert last night, but he had one beer too many, scared them off, realized he got dissed, panicked, and either ran out either to chase them or puke.

3. ... my favorite part of the concert last night was when Anthony Kiedis snuggled and danced with his daughter back behind the stage while Flea and Josh rocked out. Such a sweet, touching moment, even if his daughter was actually his son (he has gorgeous hair... I just assumed girl).

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4. ... I was old enough to be an illegitimate mother to the boys next to me.

5. ... Anthony Kiedis could accidentally be mistaken for Hitler with his crustache and current hairdo he's rocking from the right angle.

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6. ... Obi Wan will finally agree with me that we need a piano in our house (important to me to have the boys learn music and instruments).

7. ... from 30 yards away I was the only person who thought new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer looks like DJ Quills (definitely not from up close though):

via ESSEQUE's flickr

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8. ... from 30 yards away I was not the only person who thought drummer Chad Smith looked like Will Ferrell. He does close up as well... and the whole world knows it:

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9. ... we will be taking the boys to see concerts in the very near future (with headphones, of course). They could have easily gone to this one. Definitely on their radar - Rolling Stones and Maroon 5 (and Nicki Minaj if they have their way).

10. ... I can have a good time sober at a concert (not saying that I want to now, but I "can.").

Here's the video I took of the beginning of the show (before my phone died):

Let me down, RHCP did not.

A Message for my Sister

2012-03-30T05:15:00.001-07:00

My little sister and her husband were in a very bad car accident yesterday. Thankfully they are both alive and ok. They were run off a road by a 16-wheeler. My poor sister has been involved in 2 serious car accidents caused by others, and has thankfully survived them both. I'm just so sad she has gone through this not only once but twice recently, and I'm sure, as strong as she is, it's taking its toll.

Naturally, the boys wanted to make her a video:

Oh to be 3 and 5 again, as well as naive, and not realize that we could have lost 2 very special people...

Easter Egg Hunk

2012-03-28T08:27:00.001-07:00

This Friday we are having some close neighborhood friends over for dinner. Our first hosted dinner party at our home (only took 7 months). Somehow between now and then I'm going to work 3 full workdays, clean my house, coach a tee-ball game, make cupcakes for school, stuff 2 dozen plastic eggs with goodies (not to mention buy those goodies), and prepare smoked chicken wings (easy go-to), make crab cakes, make dough for soft pretzels... then make the soft pretzels, reclean the house, and prepare for this grill-a-palooza get together.

In Charleston, we did most of our dinner parties, if not all, without kids present, but I've decided to allow all the kids (2 for each of the confirmed 4 families coming) to come ~~destroy~~ enjoy our home. Anakin has a half day of school this Friday, leading into his spring break. Being the loving guy he is, and knowing that he will be one of the older kids this Friday (at the ripe age of 5 1/2), after school today he told me he had a really good idea for the kids this Friday. "Let's have an Easter Egg Hunk?" "A what?" I asked getting all excited picturing some hunky 20-something jumping out of a big plastic egg. "An Easter. Egg. Hunk." (dramatic pause in between each word to make sure I understood).

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I realized what he meant. He wants to stuff eggs with goodies and hide them for all the little kids. I think it's a brilliant and thoughtful idea. He is such a sweet little guy, always looking out for the littler ones, and he was so excited that I agreed it was a great idea (of course that made me think I'm a mean mom and usually nix his other "great" ideas).

I still want my Easter Egg Hunk, though... I'll see if they have any cool costumes for Obi at the dollar store tomorrow when I go get the plastic eggs and the egg-stuffers. Reminds me of that Entourage episode where Turtle was supposed to put on the bunny suit... I miss that show.

BBoy Jedi

2012-03-27T05:23:00.001-07:00

Hopefully that name is not taken yet in the Break Dance world. If not, I would like to formally claim it right this second.

Every night after reading books, the little people get to each pick out a YouTube video. We seem to be going back to the same ones... at least the same themes. Break dancing. They love it, and I have to admit, I kind of do too.

We just happened upon this one tonight - how have I missed this for the past 5 years. Have you seen it?

And who can take their eyes off of Bboy Thesis' sick moves?

What's your take on break dancing? Do you even have a take?

The Oedipus Complex

2012-03-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure that we have a bit of a situation. Little 3 1/2 year old Yoda, unlike his big bro, is seriously showing some interest in the ladies... one in particular. Me. He has seen people kissing on movies, on shows, his parents in real life... And he thinks it's ok for him to kiss me the way Daddy does. It certainly is not.

photo by Johan Persson... go ahead and click the link - totally a show I would go see

Even though he's still pretty wee, when a 3 1/2 year old climbs up, sits in your lap facing you, puts his hands on your face and plants a really big, log kiss on you, you need help. Literally. It's hard to lift a 35+ lb little person who is forcing himself on you... even for a Crossfitter. Gosh, imagine if it was a 200 lb person. I would be toast. Having to tell a child that he needs to discontinue his pursuit of his incestuous romance with an adult, but letting him know that this adult still loves him dearly is a tricky one... "It's not you... it's me, and my age, and the fact that you once took up housing in my belly, and I'm married, and not looking especially at people 29 years younger than me..."

"Mommy, don't you want a new little boyfriend?"

I love that he loves me, and that he just knows how to love in general, even if he doesn't know there are different kinds of love out there. I love that he tells me "I wuv you, Mommy," whenever we part ways or before he hands off the phone.

I don't love that he clicks on the YouTube icon on the iPad and asks me to type in, "Boy kissing girl naked." I also don't love that whenever he walks in and I'm in the shower or he sees a catalog or magazine where a female has some cleavage, he says, "Give me some of those delicious nursies." And on another topic, I don't love his new trick... crazy eyes...


Watermarked so no one else claims this kid as their own....

I have to remember to look him in the eyes before I so much as give him a pat on the back so his eyes aren't stuck like that forever.

Whenever stuff like this does happen, I get reminded of how similar he is to me as a child and how this is payback... so I can only hope he turns out normal, just as I have...

Us at 5:45 a.m.

Happy end of the weekend, beginning of the week.

Decorating again...

2012-03-23T06:54:00.001-07:00

It's been a few days since my last blog entry. Sometimes weeks get really crazy - work load gets insane, Obi is traveling. Actually that was my norm for a while. Since we moved, my workload has stayed insane, although Obi travels much less.

Having been married to Obi now for 1/4 of my life, and having known him for 1/3 of it, we know each other really well. I know him well enough that if I want to change anything in our house or decorate, or whatever, I have to do it when he is not here. He doesn't enjoy the process of it all. He doesn't like the logistics. He certainly doesn't like the cost (mostly... I don't run up the cost, but I am willing to spend more on stuff I know we will have a really, really, really long time). The upside of having a traveling husband and enjoying the decorating of a house is that I have an ample amount of time to do what I want to do (without having anyone roll their eyes at me).

This week's new updates are the following:

1. Introducing Septapussy - I scored this wild man at a really cool Wilmington-based art exhibit called Pop-Up Studio (even cooler than the event itself was the fact that one of the co-hosts is an incredibly strong, talented, athletic Crossfitter). The artist responsible for creating the below is Susan from Sac-Art:

2. I found out about this next piece from a Charleston-based blogger, Morgan, who featured Design du Monde recently. Custom frame from 2DogsWoodWorking. Of course, Obi came home and asked, "Why is there a naked chick hanging on our wall?" "Oh, honey, it's so you can at least have some cheap thrills in our bedroom." Not to say that any of it is "cheap" by any means... definitely great quality at a great price:

Art, Frame

3. Last, but not least, I finally hung up my leather world map. My parents obtained this on a trip to Brazil way long ago... maybe in the 70s/early 80s?? I have loved it... I don't know why I love it so much... maybe because Zimbabwe was still Rodesia on this map... or maybe because Russia was U.R.S.S. (not a typo). Or that there are drawings of animals everywhere... it's just neat to me. My dad gave it to me a few years ago for Christmas because he was redecorating and knew how much I love it.

This was a pretty tame trip as far as Obi goes... the past few have resulted with a new kitchen table showing up in the breakfast nook, or storage ottomans in random places, bar stools, living room chairs, new rugs. It probably sounds weird that I do all this without his blessing, but that's just how it works. He loves all the stuff I have done, and I think he appreciates not being involved. Plus, he secretly thinks it's cool that he has a wife who can move furniture around without help, especially moving our old solid wood kitchen table upstairs...

There's not all that much to do right now. We need a coffee table and a little more art. And I *want* (ugh, normally my "wants" are "needs" but trying out a new thing lately - maturity) new bedroom furniture, but as long as our bed's a knockin, ... **

** Sorry, mother-in-law, if you're reading this.

Race Day Prep

2012-03-19T04:36:00.004-07:00

Things to do leading up to a race:

1. Find a good pace. In my last run before the race when I tried to find a comfortable pace. It was faster than I anticipated, but it was important to do so I knew what I should set out to run.

2. Be mindful of your race-day gear. Definitely train in what you plan to wear. Practice longer runs in clothing you plan on wearing. Make sure you have a good sports bra. Chaffing anywhere is not fun.

3. Drink plenty of fluids the day before and the morning off (and always, for that matter... why wait till a race to practice healthy habits?).

4. Turn off the ring and the vibrate on your phone. I failed to do this Friday night and received several text messages and calls, some really late at night. While I had kept my phone on because I was using it as my alarm and was panicking that I would not wake up, I should have simply changed the settings so it would not ring or vibrate, as I ended up freaking out that I couldn't fall asleep.

5. Know your cycles. Not sure this needs an explanation.

6. Figure out all logistics. Plan on where you are parking, how you are getting to the start line, how you get back to the car afterwards, and know the route which you will be running.

7. Warm up, stretch, and empty your bladder right before the race starts.

8. Find a pace group to start with. I did not know this till yesterday, but the rankings for finishers are done by gun time, not chip time. Not only did it cost me time trying to weed in and out of slow runners in the beginning, but apparently the requires races to rank on gun time. Wish I knew...

All in all, it was a good day yesterday. I'm pleased with my time (1:47:34) and know I can realistically drop it a few minutes (really want to get under 1:45) next half marathon I do (looking at the May time-frame).

Here we (me and my mother-in-law) are after we both finished up!

This Is How We Do It

2012-03-16T04:30:00.001-07:00

"This is how we do it, all hands are in the air
And wave them from here to there
If you're an o.g. mack or a wanna-be player
You see the hoods been good to me
Ever since I was a lower-case g
But now Im a big g. the girls see I got the money
A hundred-dollar bills yall"

While that's not really how we do it, but I totally get Montell Jordan. But this is my blog, not his. And below is how we do it (*it* being the NCAA basketball tourney).

We make our picks (kids can play this year).

We cook.

We cook some more.

Yes, that is Bacon Ketchup, from the Capital Beer and Bacon Festival we went to.

We eat (who doesn't)? Wings are our favorite... smoked wings.

We cheer (even if Clemson isn't in the tourney... Go ACC!!).

We drink beer. No beer for me this year (well some years... one day I will tell the story of that year - pre-kids, thankfully - where we played a$$hole, the card game, at Wild Wing Cafe for 7 hours, where one guy puked, I tried to pee in a restaurant kitchen, lost my wallet, found it the next day on my driveway with 4 $100 bills fanned out). Next year for sure.

Last but not least... wanted to throw this one in here... it took me back to July, 2008, when I delivered my placenta. Not fun. Nor is pulling the below out of the chicken before having it straddle the beer can chicken rack:

A Fun Swap

2012-03-15T17:28:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, I decided to participate in The Pretty Blogger swap hosted by Angie at The Kids Are Alright and Brie at Recipe For A Beautiful Life.

The goal was to read your partner's blog and send them the following:
1. Accessory
2. A Food Item
3. A Paper Product
4. A Local Item
5. A Beauty Item

I was paired up with Kristin from 30-Something and Fabulous. Normally I love shopping for people because I know them and want to pick out just the right thing, but let me tell you that it is actually really fun to shop for someone you've never met before. I not only got to explore stores here I was yet to venture into, but I got to pick out stuff that I (who I like to think is 30-something and fabulous... well, I definitely have the 30-something down, and in MLB, batting .500 is awesome) would love to own as well. You'll have to ask Kristin what she got, but here is the amazing package she sent to me.

Pretty card, moisture mask, yummy oatmeal, adorable bangles, and an oil defuser with Dogwood oil, a familiar smell (so much better in my office than the old smell of dogs laying on hardwood).

Kristin has an extra special place in my heart (and in this little guy's) for sending a Star Wars kid-friendly surprise! <3

Everything was handled with such care and wrapped so pretty (unlike the box I sent her... need to work on that for next time). And it was all so perfect. Thanks again, Kristin!

A special thanks to Angie and Brie as well for hosting such a fun event. Looking forward to participating again soon!

Yoda and College Hoops

2012-03-15T04:18:00.000-07:00

This is the first year that we are doing brackets as a family of four. I have done them every year since I was probably 8 or 10, but over the years, I feel like I watch College Hoops less and less frequently. Then I regret it come March Madness. This is the most clueless I've been ... EVER. I obviously still have my ACC bias (can you blame a girl?), and that is evident in my selections... as is my geography.

Here is the three year old, Yoda's, take on filling in a bracket. Enjoy!

Who did you pick to win the Big Dance?

Jedi Goes Swimsuit Shopping

2012-03-14T12:25:00.001-07:00

... Online of course.

Spring is definitely in the air and to me, that means one thing (ok, a lot of things, but really one special thing about everything else) - it's beach season. Especially this year. This is the first year in my 30-something years of existence where I will not have the luxury of a neighborhood pool. Obi and I are not sure we want to join the neighborhood country club. We plan to spend our first full summer here and reassess next year as to whether or not we need a pool. With the pool, you get a gym, tennis, golf, and a few other extra perks, which we would love, but let's face it, we both already have gyms we love and with work and two young, sports-playing boys, and only being 5 miles from the beach, it's hard to justify joining at this point.

All that being said, let's get down to matters... beach season. And bathing suits. While this one is always a badass option, it may not be received well at the beach (not to mention how warm the metal would get, and the fact that I might sink):

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I'm sure this sounds silly, but it's important (at least to me) to pick beach-appropriate v. pool-appropriate swimwear. Beach needs to be more durable, plainer in color (not sure if it's the extra sun or the salt, or the combo, but mine fade), and more comfy. I'm very active on the beach - in the water, playing Frisbee, playing bocce ball, chasing kids, etc... I need something that will not fall off, either. Here are a cute and realistic possibilities.

1. Love the cut, the coverage... need to see if her pretty hair and perfect hourglass shape comes with... may be a deal breaker if it doesn't.

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2. Love the colors on this one and they are muted enough that they could probably take a little sun and salt and still look good... Looks very easy for my 3 year old to pull off and have me flash the entire beach... but still a decent option.

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3. This may be a one-season wonder, and totally wrong for my boyish lack of curves, but it's pretty as heck and I love every single thing about it. It seems a little more poolish (especially if paired with a swim-cap) to me, but it could be beachy. I'm having a secret love affair with it right at this moment... do not disturb.

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4. To me, this is my total dream pool suit. I love everything about it and it's one of the very few suits I feel confident would look right. Hey, maybe some of my new friends will invite me to their pools this year.

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5. And finally, one that may be close to a dream beach suit. I think this is definitely a contender. The flashing potential drops to 50% (since only one boob at most could be exposed by a 3 year old).

Becca Cosmetics swimwear

Decisions, decisions...

Link me up with your bathing suit lust for this upcoming beach season!

Boy In A Pink Shirt

2012-03-13T04:48:00.000-07:00

I realize no one ever said motherhood is easy. Some days are more challenging. My husband and I are both very much into letting the boys pick out their own clothes, create their own outfits, and sport whatever gives them the most confidence (minus their birthday suits) when they leave the house in the morning. Some days are much easier than others.

Today, my oldest son, "Anakin" selected this shirt to wear to school:

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Do I have a problem with this? Nope. Not at all. He went through the Mini Boden catalog a few weeks ago and was very specific that he wanted this shirt. He needed this shirt. And I just so happened to have a $10 gift card on top of their buy 2, get one for $1 deal they had going on at the time. Besides, Daddy wears pink and purple ties... it's all good.

What does concern me, though, is how his friends and peers at school will accept Anakin and his salmon-colored shirt (which, by the way, is from the boys' section). When wearing this shirt a few weeks ago at a Summer Camp fair, this little boy was mistaken for a girl:

As his mom, I considered saying, "Hey if anyone says anything about your pink shirt, you just tell them, 'Real men wear pink.'" But I didn't want him to think twice about his outfit. I didn't want to give him a complex. I have enough complexes for the whole family. On the other hand, I don't want to throw him to the wolves because, yes, even Kindergartners can be cruel. What I ended up doing was pairing the Eggcentric tee with some camouflage pants and the usual clone shoes:

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It would be wonderful to see him walk off the bus this afternoon in smiles, and this entire scenario ends up being just another over-analyzed emotional conflict in my head. I will always support and love these little guys and whomever they turn out to be when they are older. I hope the rest of the world will too.

What would you do?

About Last Night...

2012-03-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday night, a lovely gal, Jess, with whom I'm becoming good friends, invited me to the Style Girl Jess James Spring Fashion Preview (a different Jess, but equally wonderful). We had a really great time. Blue Hand Home cleared way in their lovely furniture and accessories shop for a large runway and chairs, and around the outsides, different stylists, boutiques, and jewelry designers set up shop. There was also wine and snacks, but I had stuffed a jalapeño burger with avocados and a side of brussel sprouts down my throat right before I left and chugged a bunch of water, so I was good.

The first hour was packed, so we sort of tried to maneuver a few times around everything and check out everything, say hi to friends (new friends for me, old friends for Jess). One rack caught our eye, and I actually decided to buy a dress from there. The lovely lady who rang me up informed me that my new dress was going to be in the fashion show. How SWEET. We took our seat (shared one), and the show got started. I was so excited to see which of the young, hip, beautiful models was going to sport my dress so I could see their shoes and accessories (although I bought this particular dress with my party in mind because surely I can make a Star Wars hat that will match a royal blue dress).

After several wonderful outfits (and a small few which didn't tickle my fancy), I FINALLY spotted what looked to be my new dress on someone else. I did the normal look to make sure mine was still in the bag (I can't believe I just admitted that... so OCD), and then looked back up to make sure it was the same one. Well figures my dress would not be on one of the ultra PYTs, but it was on someone who looked to be about my parents age. She looked amazing (a true natural beauty), but she took my dress and was modeling it on the runway in a very older, matronly way compared to how I planned to wear it. I was sort of bummed for a brief moment. Well not only did we have this one dress in common but she, too, is a mother of two handsome boys (so what if hers happened to be my age).

Here is my party plan:

Kentucky Derby Party by natalie1102 featuring stackable jewelry

Emanuel Ungaro sleeveless dress
$1,310 - stylebop.com

Burberry Prorsum peep toe wedge
£750 - net-a-porter.com

Giuseppe Zanotti stiletto high heel shoes
$645 - stylebop.com

A V Max stackable jewelry
$70 - lespommettes.com

Striped hat
£73 - farfetch.com

Star Wars - Clone Wars: Target 12 x 12 Silver Foil Cardstock
$1.36 - scrapyourtrip.com

My dress is a hi-lo (high in the front, and then the back of the dress is much longer), but similar to this one, and just a very small fraction of the price. And no, I am not actually planning to buy ANY of this stuff... just would love to find this style on a food-stamp budget. Love these shoes, as well as these hat styles, but I am 100% sure I'm now making my own hat with action figures, fabrics, and all kinds of cool SW stuff. Can't wait!

I'm Having a Party

2012-03-07T07:46:00.001-08:00

For the past several years, we have had to pre-record and/or miss the Kentucky Derby. Big Deal, you may think. It is a big deal to me. To Obi Wan as well. We love horse races. We love the Triple Crown. What we don't love are social obligations the first weekend of May which result in us missing the Kentucky Derby (no offense if you are a friend of mine and I've attended your party or event, but just being honest).

This year, we are going to take the bull by the horns and plan a social event which revolves around the Kentucky Derby. Obi Wan gave me the go-ahead to plan our first party in our new home - a Kentucky Derby party. Fancy hats, mint juleps, the whole 9 yards. Granted it will be kid-friendly, so we'll most likely set up a Slip 'N Slide in the back yard.

I'm sure Obi will want to go casual, but we'll see... I'd love to Red-Carpet it and see more of this:


via

via

I can see Etsy getting some business off of this event. Some of my favorite finds in a quick search:

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One thing is for sure - you get the hat first, and then pick the outfit. It's like buying a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes - who cares what you're wearing up top - everyone will be checking out the shoes. Or like being a bridesmaid - who cares how ugly your dress is - everyone is looking at the bride.

I definitely will be needing a fancy, custom Star Wars big hat with a lot of flair. I may need to pull out some craftiness and make my own if I can't find someone to nail down what I need.

A Hairy Situation

2012-03-06T18:24:00.001-08:00

What would Jesus do? A common question we ask ourselves when in a unique situation. Today I'm talking about Jesus... like "Hay-Soos." Only because I'm pretty sure Jesus of Nazareth didn't drive a car.

What would you do if you pulled into a grocery store parking lot and the man in the car next to you was tweezing his nose hairs? Not just one or two. Dude in the car next to me apparently had a full-on nose bush and was man-scaping (you can man-scape the nose, right?) the heck out of it.

Would you get a good look? Apparently that's what I would do in such a situation. Not because it was a really weird thing to see in such a place (I would expect to see this at a stop light, but definitely not in a close spot in a grocery store parking lot). I was looking at him wondering if he was plucking so hard that it was making his eyes water.

Well he looked over and saw me looking and I still could not look away. He turned his head and resumed plucking and looked over again. I was still watching. I wasn't about to pass up on a free show. I love free stuff. He gave me a rude look. Was I supposed to be embarrassed that I was caught watching him pluck his nose hairs? I was not. He clearly was not either. Would you be?

He was slightly uncomfortable in the grocery line behind me. "You missed one, buddy."

I should have reached over and yanked it. His eyes would have watered for sure.

Jedi Hairraisers Part II

2012-03-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

In our previous episode of Jedi Hairraisers, I discussed how I gave my youngest son a mohawk. He still, a few weeks later, sports this mohawk and is incredibly proud of it, although I didn't realize how much upkeep was involved in mohawketry (the art of mohawk maintenance). I am yet to talk about my own hair situation. Yes, it's a situation.

You see, I was born with a head full (as in a lot) of really fine, fine hair. Not fine as in "Yes, honey, I'm fine (even though I'm really not)." Fine as in stringy, lanky, shapeless. The worst part of this hair situation is that when mixed with my "loose cannon" personality, the results are detrimental. I get a hair idea in my head and can't wait for it. I have to go out and get it done immediately... SAME DAY. I don't know why. I can handle myself in other situations maturely (relatively speaking). Sadly, it usually doesn't look good. I always go for the haircuts that look great on peeps with thick, voluptuous hair.

The problem is, though, that I don't realize it's not going to work out until I get home from that same-day appointment and have to actually style it myself. I'm not good with a hair dryer. I want my hair to look like I'm stepping out of a shower and straight onto a red carpet. It lets me down every shower. Either I had to lower my expectations, stop showering, or find a solution.

Thank goodness for her:

via http://www.celebritynetworth.com

In the RHW Bev Hills, you know, the one where Lisa is asked to be a commentator for the Royal Wedding, I watched Lisa prepping to go in and saw her use these (http://www.proextensions.com) awesome things. They were clip-in hair extensions. And I had to have them.

About a week after that episode aired, my hair extensions arrived. They were perfectly silky-smooth and pretty close to my color. Not quite close enough, though. And the fact that they were so silky-smooth and just off in the color made them not blend into my hair, although my fake hair and I were in honeymoon phase. Love was blind.

A few weeks into fake-hair ownership, I decided that I needed to color my fake hair and trim it up a little bit. After applying my boxed hair color to both my hair and my fake hair, I let the fake hair dry overnight. In the morning, brushed out both and gave the fake hair a short trip to rid it over the blunt cut. Other than the box-hair-color smell, things were good and the hair was a great match. It was just enough unhealthy that it fit right into my head with the other million hairs on there.

Here's the spooky pile of hair that sometimes, when left on a shelf in my closet, I think someone has come in and decapitated me, left my head on my shelf to rot, and I'm looking at it from a ghostly state. Then I realize it's my fake hair and all is well. Here is a pile of Nattie's dreads, though:

My hair without extensions (and me sans make-up - scary):

And my hair with extensions (and me sans make-up but trying to hide behind my glasses):

The Quick Workout

2012-02-29T17:54:00.001-08:00

It's hard sometimes to get a good sweat in when on the road for work (or if you just have trouble finding time in general). Time may be limited, resources may be limited, well, everything may be limited. Don't give up hope just yet. In Crossfit, there is a workout named "Annie." The workout consists of 50-40-30-20-10 Double Unders* (jump rope) and sit-ups... so you do 50 double unders, then 50 sit-ups, then 40 of each... all the way down to 10.

Double unders, of course, are not an innate skill, so if you don't have it, do singles (3-6 singles per 1 double-under). If you don't have a jump rope, do either jumps or squat jumps. If you don't have sit-ups, do crunches. I always travel with a jump rope, and this workout is a pretty quick one. You can be done this in less than 10 minutes.

This is the first trip I don't have a cool Star Wars figurine in my purse, so instead of staging a Star Wars work-out scene, feel free to enjoy these two Jedis doing their workouts!

* A double under is when you swing a jump rope twice per jump.