goldilocks and her new shorts...this pair is just right.

It's no secret. It's actually pretty much the norm these days. But now that the Big Ballerina is getting close to moving out of kids' size clothing, it is becoming hit or miss. And it's always a miss. When you find a great deal. On a cute pair of shorts. That aren't too childish. Or worse yet. Trampy.

You know what I'm talking about. The adjustable waistband. That little strip of elastic sewn into the waistband that allows your kid to wear pants. Or shorts in this case. That are actually long enough.

That little piece of elastic is the first thing I check for. If it's missing, I pass it by. Until I happened upon this pair.

Not too childish. Not too short. Not too blingy. No rhinestones. No peace signs. No tie-dye. Just a nice soft, basic white denim. And less than $10. Perfect. Except for one thing.

No adjustable waistband. *crap*

I bought them anyway. Maybe. Just maybe. They would fit my 12 year old ruler. Yeah right. As always, they fell to the floor. But this time, instead of returning them, I decided to fight back.

I found this tutorial that taught me the secret. BUTTON HOLE ELASTIC! Who knew?

I hopped in my car. Made a quick trip to Joann's. Picked up a small package of this magic elastic. Unfortunately, they only had black, but nobody sees inside anyway. Raced back home. And went to town following this tutorial.

Twenty minutes later I was done. Not because I'm a great seamstress. As you can see from this photo. But because this is EASY people! Do NOT be afraid. Seriously. It's EASY!

But the Big Ballerina thinks I'm pretty darn impressive. "Hey Mom, you can take over for Miss Shonda as Wardrobe Mistress (at her ballet studio) when Brianna graduates now."

"ummm...not quite, BB. But at least I don't have to look at you digging your size 6X shorts out of your butt anymore. Here, have a sammich."

Shorts - Paper, Denim & Cloth reg. $38 

$9.99 at Marshall's

Now if I can just figure out how to make bikinis for skinny tweens that actually fit, THEN I'd finally make my fortune.

Bi-Polar...

I love living at the beach. I really do.

Sitting in our beach chairs, watching the ballerinas play in the ocean, there isn't a beach day that goes by where BSD and I don't turn to each other and say, "How lucky are we?!?!"

It's a lifestyle. An easy-going, laid-back way of living. It fits. And I love it.

But...

every now and then...

I miss the snow.

I know. Shoot me.

I grew up in New York. And went to college in Vermont. I know snow. I know the dirty, slushy mess it leaves inside the front door. I know scraping the windshield in the frigid temperatures. I know about black ice. And sliding off the road. Tapping the brakes gently like I was taught. To no avail.

I know better.

But then I get these damn Sundance catalogs and all that I know. And have. Goes out the window.

 

I want to be that girl. Looking so cozy and chic at the top of a snowy mountain.

 

Romping around in my cute, fur-lined Sorels. 

 

Snowshoeing with a big, slobbery St. Bernard. And dressing like an adult version of Cindy Lou Who.

Yes. I miss the snow. And the mountains.

Damn you, Robert Redford.

Hurry up and send me the summer catalog.

Grooming Report...

Sorry. No 12 inches of fresh powder to report here. Unless you count the layer of baby powder coating my bathroom floor. This is the "other type of grooming" report. AKA yourhusbandiscominghometomorrowafterthreemonths grooming report.

Yes. In between the Christmas shopping and tacky holiday sweater party going, I've been doing some grooming. For the past three months, I put off all major maintenance. The gray hairs were staging a coup. But I managed to keep them at bay for the past few weeks with a little help from the Melissa Gorga school of fashion.

I finally got it cut and colored this week. But I kind of like the hat look. I think this Jersey homegirl is onto something.

Next up was the nails. I hadn't gotten a mani/pedi in months. And my scraggly toes were starting to snag on the carpet. Definitely. not. pretty. But never fear. Groupon to the rescue. A shellac mani/pedi for $35. *woot*  Have you ever gotten a shellac manicure? I didn't even realize what I bought until I got there. This stuff is supposed to last two weeks. At least. With no chips or fading. I am psyched.

Of course, it took me a good 20 minutes to decide on a color when I realized it was that "permanent." The girl was making fun of me. "I'm not asking you to marry the color. Just date it a while."

Meet my date.


I went for tall, dark and handsome. Total opposite of my usual man. Even the ballerinas were shocked, "You picked black?!?!?" You know what they say, "Once you go black, you never go back." I'll let you know if it's true.

A new Groupon popped up this week. A Brazilian for $40. I considered it. But hey, BSD's only been gone three months. Not sure he deserves that kind of carpet treatment. Plus I have my own wax pot. I'd rather save the money for something bigger and better. Like maybe a Botox groupon.

$25,000 Sunglasses

It's been an emotional week. Had my yearly gyn appointment. Brought up the fact that both of my parents died of cancer. Wonderful, caring, diligent doctor scheduled me for an ultrasound because of this. I didn't think much of it.

I peeked at the monitor as the tech marked certain areas. And appeared to be measuring them. I may have even joked about letting me know if she finds a heartbeat while she's wanding around in there. I didn't think much of it.

As I was putting on my clothes I studied the computer screen. I tried to figure out if there was anything on there. I noticed the little folder icons next to certain words. And the absence of folders next to others. There was a folder next to "fibroids." I didn't think much of it.

I went to my book club meeting immediately after. We talked about the art of the apology. I brought up a painful situation that happened with the LB back in Kindergarten. Talking about it. In front of a group of women I barely knew. Reduced me to tears. I didn't think much of it.

That night I got on the computer. I started googling fibroids. And that's when I found it. And remembered.

About 50% of women have fibroids. Fibroids are benign tumors in almost all women. But in a very few cases they are really leiomyosarcomas. A rare form of cancer. The cancer that just took my mom's life in January.

I haven't heard anything from my doctor yet. I have no idea if I do indeed have fibroids. Or if it's LMS. But in case I do I am prepared.

I bought myself a pair of sunglasses. Even though I already have a perfectly good pair. I've never had more than one pair of sunglasses at a time. It never even crossed my mind to have more than one pair. Until I got a glimpse into Camille Grammar and Rachel Zoe's closets.

I figured if the news is bad. I could use a few extra pair of sunnies to cheer me up. And to hide the tears.

$25,000 sunglasses? Not exactly. More like $25 sunglasses. But today. They are priceless.

What I Wore Wednesday: The Valentine Edition

I'm still high on love this month. Even though I've fallen pitifully behind on my Joy of Love assignments. There are still, what, 12 more days in February? Still plenty of assignments left to photograph. I'm going to squeeze out every last ounce of the pink, the red, the frills and the ruffles.

We had our special family Valentine's celebration. It was fantabulous. If I can get my act together (aka... finish project extra tunics) I'll post about it soon. But I know some of you are wondering if I caved and bought that super sweet Bronco for BSD.

Wellllll....let's just say that BSD received this on Valentine's Day instead...

 

 Betsey Johnson nightie - TJMaxx (Originally $82. $10 on clearance!)

Shoes - TJMaxx (beautiful Italian leather. $15 on clearance!)

You can't walk out of Victoria's Secret with a pair of undies for the price I paid for both!

Was BSD disappointed? I don't think so. 

But...I did get a call on my cell phone from "Doug" telling me he knows I want his vintage Bronco. That he'd love to let me take it for a test drive. And...he's willing to 'entertain an offer.' Said he'll 'give me a good deal on it.' 

I wonder if Doug reads my blog. And if this picture is enough 'entertainment' to give me a realllly good deal. Stay tuned.

Check out what others wore last week here at the Pleated Poppy.

What They Wore Wednesday...

The Joy of Love assignment today was "how they look." You could interpret this any way you wanted, but since it's What I Wore Wednesday, I decided to combine the two. And since this workshop is about love I tried to play up the Valentine's aspect of the outfits they chose for school today when I was editing the photos.

For the Big Ballerina that meant trying to make the pink in her shirt pop.

top - Dillard's

jeggings - GapKids

Boots - Amazon.com

The Little Ballerina was actually a walking billboard for Valentine's Day today. Her shirt was decked out in hearts. Her skirt in frills. But the colors were subdued so we added in her umbrella since it was a rainy day here today. SEVENTY TWO DEGREES...but rainy. It was insane to have such a warm day in the sea of near freezing temps we've been experiencing this winter.

shirt, skirt, headband and leggings - GapKids (gotta love their 45% off sales!)

booties - Marshall's

umbrella - Dollar Tree

OK...and since this IS What I Wore Wednesday, I'll go ahead and post a picture of my outfit too. No fancy processing. Or background for that matter. But hey, I did wear pink too. And ruffles.

sweater and belt - JCrew

tee - Target

jeans - Lucky

necklace - local surf shop

What I Wore Wednesday

I've been looking over some old photos, and I am struck by my mother's sense of style. I knew she loved fashion. As a kid we used to look through all the store catalogs together... Saks, Neiman Marcus, Bonwit Teller. We'd rate the outfits. Just like Joan and Melissa. Shopping was a favorite pastime that we shared. I guess I never paid too much attention to what she actually wore though. Until now.

 Mom at a costume party.

In every photo, she looks so pulled together. And she always has on at least one statement piece of jewelry. I guess that's why she was so adamant about my sister and I going through her jewelry and taking what we wanted. As we looked through the pieces, we were amazed that so many of them triggered specific memories. Luckily, my sister and I have very different tastes so there was no fighting over who got what. My sister just wanted a few pieces as a reminder to keep in a drawer. I, on the other hand, wanted the pieces I remembered her wearing. With the intention of wearing them myself. As a way to keep her close.

I've been considering linking up to the What I Wore Wednesday party at The Pleated Poppy for a while. A week before I left for CT I tried to take pictures of some of my outfits so I could link up. I figured it was only fair since I like taking a peek at what others are wearing. Plus, Kathy over at My Interior Life and Jill from Blessings of a Stay at Home Mom gave me a "Stylish Blogger Award." Not sure they were referring to my clothes, but oh well. Thank you both for the award in whatever context you meant it. :)

So here goes. If I decide to do this again in the future I need to learn how to take a decent picture of myself. One where I don't have three hands. Or hand prints on the mirror in unfortunate locations.

sweater - Banana Republic (gift from my mom)

t-shirt - Target

leggings - Hue

  boots - North Face (never thought I'd wear them in VA but it's been COLD!)

necklace - heart locket (gift from BSD)

 sweater and tank top - JCrew
jeans - Lucky
boots - TJ Maxx
necklace - MY MOM'S! :)

sweater- TJ Maxx

shirt - Forever 21 

pants - Anthro (bought them with my mom)

BSD made fun of me the day I wore this. Said I looked like a "cowgirl."

shirt- Target

jeans - Paige (I think. Can't remember which ones these are.)

boots - Frye

necklace - TJ Maxx (is it dumb to list necklaces when you can't really see them?)

dress - TJ Maxx (bought with my mom)

tights - TJ Maxx

boots - same "cowgirl" Frye boots

necklace - MY MOM'S (big grin)

I really liked this outfit until I saw myself in THIS picture.

 umm...where did the baby come from?!?!? seriously, I need to lay off the chocolate peanut butter ice cream. either that or make sure nobody takes anymore profile pics of me!

I'll Take a Big Gulp and Her Sunglasses

I have really been hating on the white sunglasses revival. When I see them all I can think of is scrunchies, Charlie's Angels and black rubber bracelets a la Madonna. The middle school girls in our area seem to be really embracing this trend. And it makes my eyes bleed.

But, today as I was getting my Big Gulp, I spied a woman rocking a pair. And she looked fab. Because you know 7-Eleven is where all the fashionistas hang out.

This woman wasn't wearing the Risky Business white Wayfarers that Drew and Fergie found at the bottom of their old high school backpacks.

No. She was wearing a large, round, 60's retro pair. Something like these...

And along with these cool vintage sunnies, she had on a French inspired striped tank over a plain white tank...

 with a pair of slim navy capris ...

Her hair was white to match her glasses. Teased and wild. Statement-making.

She left a lasting impression on me.  A 60's Brigitte Bardot impression.

Now that's a look that deserves to be brought back to life. The white Wayfarers? Somebody pleeeease, send them back to the 80's where they belong.