A Rude Diner and Some Pretty Things

We ate at our favorite Indian restaurant the other night, and this older couple sat near us. The man got a cell phone call, and started talking loudly to the person, turning his head away from his wife, but TOWARDS us. Lucas made a couple of funny faces about it, and he was facing the wife, who apparently saw him and tried to shush her husband, but he was oblivious to her. We told Lucas to stop making faces, but the conversation just kept going on, then the guy said, "NO, NO, NO, NO! We've got her now! She lied under oath about having SEX with him, so we've got her!"

Turns out the guy was a lawyer for some divorce case, and he was reassuring the husband that this whole SEX thing was great - he must've said it about 3 or 4 times, then went on about what pictures they have of her in the car, etc. At this point, I faced the guy and started glaring at him and coughing loudly, but he ignored me and his wife was just about crawling under the table. I had Dean blocked in where we were sitting, or he said he would've walked over and said something. What would you do in that situation? Okay, on to some pretty flowers from my yard:

I didn't know the pics were blurry until I uploaded them and saw them full-size, but the colors are still pretty.

I think I've got a career in art!

And now for the coolest shoes on the planet! They're Born's, by the way, but I couldn't find them on the website - Kika II is the name.

The top of them reminds me of Eddie Munster's hair, if you were a fan of that show...

I also feel a bit like an old-timey gangster wearing them.

Okay, off to finish a lecture....or maybe I'll work on a knitting project. What are YOU doing this weekend? (Yes, I'm talking directly to YOU, so leave me a comment.)

Ladies Only

We'll start sad and move up to hilarious, if that's okay. Have you read Still Alice yet?


I saw it in the bookstore and bought it on a whim, but couldn't put it down and finished it about 24 hours later. I cried 4 times during the book. Some of this may be because I've been joking about my Mad Cow disease for years, hoping it's not really early Alzheimer's, because I'm supposed to die of cancer, of course, given the family history and my low cholesterol. Anyway, you should see the movie first then read the book, in my opinion. I only had 2 napkins for the entire movie, and one tear drop rolled down my face, off my chin, went down my chest without hitting my shirt, and made it all the way through my bra before landing in my belly button. (Apparently I need a better-fitting bra.)

Oh, and speaking of warding off Alzheimer's, I finally finished the pirate ship puzzle today - a moment of silence to bathe in it's 3D glory!

Okay, now to the shoes I bought yesterday to go with my new stylish outfits - and yes, I wore the gray cigarette pants all day yesterday with these suede booties. I always hated booties, but now I see their point.

Okay, are we alone now ladies? Do you watch Black-ish? It's my favorite TV show - up there with Modern Family now. Geez, maybe you better have a glass of wine and come back; Dean is surprised I'm posting about this.

So the boys and I were catching up on episodes. Well, Dre is talking to his wife (this is Diana Ross's daughter!) while she's shaving her legs in a bathrobe, and he says, "Oh, you got a gray hair." She starts going through her hair saying, "Where is it?" and he says, "Oh no, it's not up there, baby." I nearly fell off the couch laughing, and the boys were just shocked and appalled. It goes on and on after that - he says, "You got a little Frederick Douglass action going on down there," and "You need to abolish something else below your Mason Dixon line!" Aaaaaagh! That's great stuff! Then there's aNOther scene where she's in the locker room telling an older anesthesiologist (so cool) that a "white person moved into my neighborhood," and asks her, "How long till the whole neighborhood is gentrified?" The woman says, "Oh, it'll happen quick. Yep, when you get to be my age, it looks like a Dave Matthews' concert." She goes to the spa after that, and the owner asks if she's getting the usual. She tells her something about getting it ALL done, and the lady says, "Oh, is it somebody's birthday? Well if we're taking it down to the deck, you've got laser or hot wax to choose from." That's just such good stuff - I AM surprised it made it past the censors! Okay, let's go watch Julianne Moore win best actress at the Oscars....

I've Died and Gone to Fashion Heaven!

Shout-out to my Mom for signing for my Front Door Fashion box while I was gallivanting in Key West. And by gallivanting, I mean huddling in a hoodie and bathrobe while trying to drink a pina colada in gale-force winds. Dean captured the moment I couldn't take it anymore and came back inside (and this would make you think I was in fashion hell, no?):

It's blurry, but you get the picture. So what a treat to come home and play dress-up. They wrap everything and label it so nicely!

You get a very detailed description of each outfit, including a shoe card where they tell you which type of shoes to wear, and other options for styling it. I LOVE this!

The biggest area where I've been left behind in the fashion world is apparently tight pants. I've noticed all the other mothers wear leggings with boots and long shirts currently. I love the color of these pants, but they're definitely too tight.

And I don't wear heels a lot, but they're kind of smoking.

Definitely keeping the top (the bottom has a string holding it together that I need to cut), and I'll size up in the pants if possible.

Okay, these look like rain boots - a trip to the shoe store is in order if I want to rock the leggings with boots look.

Holy moly, I'm in love!

You can't see the details, but these are pinstripe pants with a double-wrap belt. I'll try to upsize these too, because I don't think I could sit down in them.

And I LOVE this top - didn't put a necklace on because it didn't say to, and I was strictly following the directions. I love the pleated detail on the sides.

And these pants will work with any work shirt I like and my usual work shoes.

And next up is the perfectly fitted classic white shirt, with some more tight pants that are not as tight as the others, so they're staying.

They styled this with this awesome sweater that I love - this is my favorite outfit!

And the necklace is great, but I never know if it should go around my neck or go under the collar of the shirt - please help.

Drew said it looked fine except the pants should be longer and I should wear socks - very helpful, that one.

This is my favorite pair of men's-look shoes.

Now this one just didn't do it for me, for some reason. I thought I could handle red, but I'm just not a fan, and the blazer was very tight in the arms. Dean also nixed this one, but Lucas said it was his favorite if the top wasn't so bright. That one's also very helpful when it comes to fashion.

I will try to upsize the jeans, because I like them, aside from the tightness.

And the top is just precious - maybe in a different color.

This look also came with dressier black pants - the only ones that weren't skin-tight!

I was just playing around to see what else I could wear with them. Unfortunately, I get a Hammer-time vibe from these.

And finally, the worst of the bunch - it's the "feminine look," which I'm apparently not built for.

Definitely cuter with the cardigan, but still not for me. Nobody liked this....at all.

I tried to cuff the pants up just to see if they'd be salvageable if I hemmed them, but nope.

SO! What do you think? Katrina, I'm terribly interested to see whether you got very similar looks, like we did with Stitch Fix. And I'm due for another Fix next month, but I'm thinking of cancelling it since this one was much more successful. These things are generally more expensive, but the quality seems even higher to me. The last LONG wide-legged pants here were Level99, which is the same brand that I kept from Stitch Fix. And one top was French Connection, with my favorite pin-stripe pants being Nanette Lepore, whom I think I've heard Katrina mention before. Anyway, I'll be upsizing most of the pants, and keeping 3 of the 5 outfits, so I consider this a great success. My stylist, Megan, also seemed to get me better than Stitch Fix, though I know this was just the first try with both companies. Anybody else try these?

Travel Trivia Game!

Where in the world is Dr. Fun? See if you can guess! This place is overrun with chickens, because they're protected by law.

No, we are not on a Disney ship, but look how huge this thing is.

Beautiful view from our hotel - reminds me of Costa Rica a little bit, on the Pacific side.

Lucas asked if they put something in the water to make it this blue.

Crazy banyan tree - roots grow down from the limbs.

Great sunsets!

Love the water with the sky in the top of the picture.

I had to eat a Cuban sandwich for the first time - yum!!!

And these guys look like they just walked out of the barber shop - cracked me up.

So anybody been here before - where do you think I am? I did check for yarn shops, and there was one that closed. Her message on the answering machine says she closed the shop but still has yarn to sell if you make an appointment. That's too much pressure for me - what if I don't like any of her stuff?

Mardi Gras 2015

Well, I uploaded the pics but now I can't see them, so the descriptions may be off. I believe we're kicking it off with the baby - nice job on that mask!


This might be shrimp and grits with fried egg on top at Cafe Pontalba on Jackson Square. (Nope - my outfit I put together myself! Japanese knit shirt from some pattern I forget, jacket I bought 3 years ago and never wore because it's too edgy for Mobile, and jeans I bought in French Quarter and only wear there.)


Possibly red beans and rice with boudin sausage at Pere Antoine on Royal Street.


Could be Drew and our friends....


Somewhere we're being photo-bombed by the girl behind us, who ended up dancing with us.


And now I've blanked on what's left, so I'll just hit publish and find out later!














And here's Luke Bryan, the big headliner, singing something I never heard - I like it but it's kind of depressing.



Have a great Lundi Gras!