confessions of a nerdly nerd...

you see, the thing is... i'm married to a really smart guy. but he is also so cool. like--- well, really. he likes all the right things, ya know? sports, surfing, sushi, anything-but-a-chick-flick-please, working out, hair slightly dissheveled, baggy jeans (?)... the works. he's just a bundle of coolness.

but he married me. little romantic, spastic, old-soul me.

so here are my confessions so that you may know what a nerdly nerd i really am. you can laugh at me or relate to me. or maybe both--wouldn't that be fun?!


1. i love word games. especially banangrams/take 2/tiles... whatever you call it. love.




2. camping. outdoors. s'mores. hiking. tinfoil dinners. still wear my hair in pigtails.

3. until very recently i didn't know there was a difference between louboutin & vuitton. yep.

4. (a) this is the most seductive move i pulled in college. (b) i completed a bachelor's degree in 3 years in american studies. wanna know what that looked like........

........kinda like this: 

5. speaking of books-- i am pretty sure i have read every mary higgins clark mystery ever written. which would be really cool if i were like 50 years old. but i have to hand it to her, she is one classy lady!

6. i am an old-soul through and through. i still wish we wore corsets & lace & powdered wigs (okay, not powdered wigs). but seriously, you may some day find me on an ad for a renaissance festival... maybe. but until then i will settle for lovely things like this blouse from anthropologie:

7. my love of rocks. and i'm not necessarily talking about diamonds. at one point in my childhood i even attended a rock show, played with a sand-sifter during recess, & used a rock tumbler. yep. my interests now lie in the arrangement of the rocks, but my sand-sifting hands are ready in case any of our future unborn children happen to go through a rock-collecting phase of their own.

yes, i am a nerd. but i enjoy who i am. i enjoy what i like. i love that my hero is anne shirley and that i found my gilbert blythe. that i still pick up pretty rocks wherever i see them. that i can never say no to a good book. that i secretly try to talk clint into being a foreign diplomat with me. that i know you don't add the "de" in front of tocqueville when abbreviating his name. that i would rather get my knees scraped up hiking for 4 hours then shopping for 4 hours. that i can't pronounce the majority of french words. that i wore overalls & bandanas in seventh grade and thought that was really cool. that i thought i could fly off my bunkbed on a magic carpet. that i believe in true love & magic & that every girl is a princess.

i love these things. more power to the nerd in us all!

will work for food...

the work



{this look: she works hard for the money}




{i was having a hard time figuring out how best to wear my over-sized gray vintage-T to work whilst looking professional. as any receptionist with administrative powers must do, of course. so i took out a high-rise pencil skirt & tucked that baby in.
deets:
-gray embellished flowy blouse. urban outfitters.
-black pencil skirt. forever21.
-black pumps. by nine west from tj maxx.
-chandelier earrings. gifted.}




{for the how-to on the hair, go here. follow instructions but pull the bun up higher on your head.}



the food


{time for grogery shoping. i really dislike grocery shopping. really. so, using another oversized gray T, i dressed myself to feel good for the occasion at hand...}

 



{added bonus of the outfit- i found my behind! i knew i had one somewhere! but a word of caution regaring leggings: please make sure that (a) your shirt covers the crotch region <hence the layered black cami/gray T & (b) the leggings are not see-through. because as much as i love the thong song, it's not a pleasant reality. thank you!}




{don't be ashamed of flip-flops when you are going grocery shopping. they may not look the hippest, but the keep you safe & calm during the whole ordeal. i think it's because they make it easier to imagine you are on a beach somewhere eating fruit. yep, that's probably it.}




{deets...
-hair slightly teased. 5 minutes.
-jacket. adercrombie from plato's closet. $10.
-scarf. gifted <from my main-girl, trina> from express. $25.
-gray T. gap. $10.
-long black cami- forever21. $5.
-leggings. target. $12.
-the beach-bringing flip-flops. old navy. $1.




{feeling like a total babe while grocery shopping. priceless.}



some more of the food

speaking of grocery shopping, if you are like me and really dislike it, get flustered, and feel panic attacks coming on after an hour in the store, i have some TIPS for you!

{1} go to allrecipes.com (or another recipes site of your choosing) when you have a free half-hour before your shopping trip.
{2} pick 4 recipes you would like to try that week.
{3} make a detailed meal plan (using google tasks possibly).
{4} print off recipes & meal plan.
{5} highlight ingredients you need to purchase.
{6} making a shopping list based on highlighted items, lunch items, & snack items you will eat.
{7} remember to factor in left-overs so you don't over-buy.


do you have a grocery shopping style?

easter is for lovers...

this was our easter weekend. just try and guess what we did! it'll be fun!

just kidding. that's lame. i will just tell you.



{clint hallelujahing at the houston waterwall (located behind the galleria & in front of that very tall building that slightly resembles the building formerly know as the sears tower. he was celebrating because we finally got there in time to see the lights & the water & a bajillion small children climbing all over}



{and my pants were getting wet, because for some reason i insist on buying them several inches too long. so i rolled dem suckas up! cuz that's what you do. and when i say it kinda thug-like, it makes the pants-rolling less nerdy somehow. maybe not?}

{this our fifth attempt at a good picture taken by a kindly bystander. who, might i add, had to put down his large mcdonalds coke on the ground! to take this for us. isn't that sweet? yes, well, he successfully blocked out the water with his hand. unfortunately he also almost blocked out everything else. but i think it looks kinda... whimsical?}

{saturday night we went to fiesta then to kroger to build some easter baskets for each other. because we don't have children to entertain us on easter. we weren't allowed to look at what was being purchased for ourselves. sunday morning these were waiting to be opened!}

{hungry smiles. especially clint's, right?}

{i gave clint a toy to play with in his easter basket. he got bored with it after 2 seconds, but it was fun while it lasted!}



and it really was a beautiful easter in houston.

how was your easter? any fun traditions (especially you childless married folk...)?

one for the picnic, two for the show...



{the picnic <at memorial park which is slightly inferior to hermann park where picnicking is concerned but we learned it would be great for anyone trying to pick up on huge burly men and/or into fitness at all> left to right
-hiding from clint, so he won't know i am taking another picture of myself. but i think it's too late
-all ready to pic & nic! got the goody bag, the sun protection, the hair did, reppin' my alma mater. you know how we do!}




{the show <which was jane eyre & was great! so thank you for asking!> left to right
-awkward face. to show off my new ebay-acquired peasant shirt. and because i love you?
-my favorite necklace. aeo. because it's all about love & world peace. but you already knew that.
-the essential 60s hair
-high & tight. i can say that because i've been on an army base, so i know what i'm talking about.}


aren't weekends the shiz? for rizzle, right?

too much? okay.

modcloth

summer dreamin' & schemin'...

{1} edelweiss lace dress. anthropologie.

{2} gold pumps. kors.

{3} "radiant" necklace. anthropologie.

{4} lodis "athena aida" crossbody. nordstrom.

{5} rouge paisley bandeau one-piece. j.crew.

{6} aviators. ray-ban.

{7} "monte carlo" swim-cover. rey swimwear.

{8} crazy vest. anthropologie.

{9} gray stone-washed toms. toms.

{10} dark san clemente cropped jeans. hollister.

{11} satin cardigan. modcloth.

{12} karma necklace. nordstrom.

commentary & questions:

1-3 go together. yes, simultaneously.

1-7 would be specifically for a trip to vegas, occurring in august with the ladies. because, let's face it, it's even more important to look good when you are on a girls' trip. you know what i'm talking about...

can i still wear hollister post-high school graduation?

7 looks weird, but go here & see how hot it looks. really.

i have been thinking about {{coveting}} that karma necklace for 3 years. does that mean it's now a need?

{i also need these. because who doesn't, right? but i don't know where to find non-sucky, under $50 ones. any thoughts?}

{also this. in every color imaginable. unfortunately piperlime only has 2 colors. ugh.}

are you SO excited for summer?!

J.Crew Tops

this place about to blow-wo-o-o-o-oh-oh-oh...

and not in a good way. 

please tell me you can relate?

monday, you are the worst kind of frienemy.

easy like thursday morning

so, i have recently been introduced to the world of ebay. what a beautiful place. i am prone to impulsive shopping, so i have to be careful with what i put in my shopping cart. but i think i have the ebay-craze under control for now ;)

anyways, one of my very first purchases was this little beauty:

since i do try to specialize in modest sort of fashion, the shorts were kinda out of the question. but that also made the belt look funny. i haven't owned hoop earrings since the 90s, & i don't wear crosses, SO i had to come up with some practical ways to wear this shirt. the results aren't perfect, but they are practical & received lots of compliments. (please forgive the lame-o hair in first pics, thanks.)

{anthropologie shirt from ebay, new for $10; this would look really great with a glitzy vest like this one. unfortunately i don't own one. maybe that will be my next ebay purchase!}

{rosette ring--gifted--from etsy.com}

{black cords by blank nyc from piper lime that i could not live without;
necklace from charlotte russe;
i looked better before work, i promise}

{the after hours look;
black ruffle flats from forever 21;
big star jeans from plato's closet}

{knot-tying can look classy-- you just have to pay attention to the details. make sure the bow is symmetrical & the knot is nice & round}

{pairing an elegant detail like lace with a super casual detail like these wood-beaded earrings & some boho bracelets is an easy way to get a more edgy, modern look with a vintage top;
earrings from forever 21; bracelets from american eagle & mom's jewelry box}

 

have you found any great style buys on ebay?

mac the knife

did you know i have a brother named mac the knife?

well, it's really spencer mckay. mckay when he was little. mckayla when i was being mean. spencer when he was being cool. baby mac to me before he got tall. big mac when i wanted to apologize for something.

but mac the knife was who he was. i don't really know why. it's just a name that came up through the years. it kinda sounds like the name of an action series or a serial killer. *addition to original post: i was informed by my classy husband that mac the knife is the title of a sinatra song. isn't that just a little slice of divine?* and maybe it is for someone. but that's beside the point. i just remember he liked it a lot at one point. probably at all points. because really, what boy wouldn't want that name, am i right?

please don't get any ideas about this post. it's just some pictures and some words. but i haven't seen my brother in 2 years, and i haven't been able to see my brother in a year in a half. so i miss him, ya know? i think we all miss someone. don't we?

i guess what i want to say is this-- i have had a lot of time to think about how i feel about all this stuff. and i want to say some things about it, because it is important to me. so thank you for listening.

first a little narrative then some pictures, i promise.



see, i really liked mckay from the very beginning. we would play comboys & indians & make real mud pies & later on we would occassionally go to football games & movies together. because we were buds.

he was everyone's bud. or at least he really would have liked to be.

sometimes he wore lots of black or some roller blades to school, & it was all very embarrassing to me, because i had my life to think about, ya know?

sometimes he would pick me up just to show how strong he was getting.

sometimes i knew there was something wrong, but he wouldn't tell me what it was. & one time i freaked out & yelled & threw a broom across the floor, because i thought maybe that would make him talk to me.

one time he called me for the first time in a long time & i sat in my apartment kitchen & cried for no reason.

one time he got a brand new sports car & let me drive it around the neighborhood even though i wasn't good at shifting the gears.

and that was the very last time i saw him.

except in my dreams once in a while. that's kind of a mixed blessing, i think.

here are some pictures like i promised.

{2007}

{a friend who gave more than she took. always}



{the friend who always let him be himself}



{fun-living}





{i promise we don't normally dress like that}



{summer 2009}




{summer 2010}





my point is i have a brother. but i can't see him for a long time, and it really sucks.

but what i really want to say is that it is important to be kind. 

why?

because it is. it is really the most important and sometimes the only important thing to do.

i wish i always always knew that every second, ya know?