Boondoggle

Boondoggle: term for a scheme that waste time and money. What a great word! It so happens to apply to what is happening in my company. A year ago they changed the company's dress code---making it more casual and modern. Just last month I donated all the old button down three quarter shirts and dress pants to Goodwill (there were close to 30-40 dress shirts in a rainbow of colors---I miss them). The old updated dress code was pretty basic (polo shirts and khakis for everyone! I actually felt and looked pretty good when I went in to work----though I could still spike my look with my whimsical socks and various Chuck Taylor's.) I came back from vacation with a memo on my desk....new dress code---this time for management only. Now I must wear a buttoned collared blouse, black or brown dress pants/skirts, brown or black dress shoes---and if I were a dude my hair must be above the collar and my van dyke would have to go (meaning what most people refer to as a goatee with a mustache). So very 1962. I made the comment that soon they be asking that I shave my legs...Two loop holes in the dress code: it fails to mention restrictions on accessories and says that a woman can wear a dress of any color as long as it is professional. I have purchased two dresses thus far...and I am looking forward to stocking up on my overtheknee socks to wear with my skorts when I come back to the day shift in March. (Note: socks pictures above are most adored and below are the two new dresses from b & lu)

Scrub-a-dub-dub

Oh my. This past week at work was pretty rough. There was even a work bathroom crying moment when my toleration of my associates had reached its limit. When I was ten years old I wanted to be something so much different then this when I grew up in the world. I came home and took a very, very long steamy shower. While washing away my troubles I reached for a fresh bar of Biggs and Featherbelle soap...and for a moment or two things felt much improved. These hip bars of all natural soap are just wonderful ( and addictive). The little company is ran by two sisters who left their day jobs to start their own soap cottage industry. My sister and I met them at the craft fair in Chicago. They were friendly and chatty---we discovered that their mom is an investor and free labor. A few minutes with them and you start to get ideas----about getting out of the machine yourself for your own little business with your sister and family. So if you like to smell nice, your skin to be squeaky clean, and things to be natural----get like a few bucks and buy a bar. It can change your morning. (Note: when I was ten years old I wanted to be an artist and a marine biologist....what did you want to be?)

Tenenbaum Mice

It is that time of the month again. Time for another post card swap! The swap I am participating in this month has a little guideline....every post card sent must contain a favorite quote. For the set I am focusing on lines I cherish from Wes Anderson movies: The Royal Tenebaums, Rushmore, The Life Aquatic, and the Darjeeling Limited. The challenge is to create little fan paintings to accompany each quote. Above are the dalmatian mice from the Royal Tenenbaums. Instead of traps I would set out complimentary cheese snacks for these two dashing mice...And again, anyone that post a comment this week (and a bit beyond) will receive a quote postcard in the mail at the end of the month.

Kindred Sister

One of the best things about today's fair was the chance to see my tender friend M and her merchant tent. She is just an amazing force in my life. M has inspired me to join the gym, become more stylish, and encourages my art endeavors every chance she can. She herself is an amazing artist with her independent photography business Kindred Spirits. If you visit her site you can see her sensitive and caring photographs...as well a picture of the husband and me taken for our fifth wedding anniversary. Note: We both share an Irish/Slovak heritage and tend to adore the same foods...which always makes for a good friendship! She truly is my Kindred Sister.

Hit Parade

It seems like every year the husband and I forget about the town parade. The fire truck sirens and marching band drum cadence awake us before we are ready to leave the land of nod. Thus we usually watch the procession from behind our picture window in the studio. Our town has the typical parade affair---bands, tractors, politicians in vintage cars....and it tends to add a few dashes of the unusual. I miss the days of the Shriners in their little zippy cars and way cool fez hats ( as a child I so wanted this honor in a parade when I someday became an adult...)

Portage Frosted Food Float: Complete with menu and faux hams and sausage links.

Square Dancing Troop of Senior Citizens. They are talented enough to dance on a moving float...as well as doing it to the tune of "We're Coming To America".

The Bunny Bus of...Magic. Cute or terrifying? It was hard for us to decide.

The Show Stopper. The best and most bizarre of the day. This float was from a local restaurant featuring a pig with a sign that said "eat chicken", a cow that said "eat pork", a chicken that said to "eat beef"....and some dude in a very cool pot asking that you "eat pasta". It is great to think that these people sat around a table at one point and shared this vision for their float. And I love that the candy-passer-outers were wearing chef hats!

The Huzzah Dress

Confession: I was very afraid to step on the scale when I came back from our Chicago festivities. Chicago pizza, mac and cheese....a cola with most meals. The daily workout consisted of walking and walking and walking the streets of the Windy city. I try hard to gage how I feel about my health other than what the scale reveals. Above is the prettiest piece of fashion I have ever had the pleasure of purchasing. When it arrived it was about 2 dress sizes too small. Though my pant size has dropped it has been a struggle to drop the dress size...weird. But yesterday I tried the dress on for motivation...and it fit...the zipper went to the top for a snug fit. I could still breathe and move around in it:) It is an overwhelming experience for a curvy woman like myself to fit into something I would have avoided just three months ago. I have yet to convince myself if I should have a public outing in the pretty huzzah dress. For now I am content to sashay around the home feeling lovely...if even for a few minutes of the day....

Mom Mail

My mom cracks me up. We go on vacation but she is the one that sends us a post card! AND it features our favorite eatery from my home...To note: when the husband and I vacation we skip the post card and souvenir parts of the trip and opt for pictures, great restaurants, and things to do together. Even if that is our plan we still tend to bring a treasure load of odds and ends home from traveling...