One Down, Many to Go

Almost thirty years ago, an excited five year old donned a rainbow colored dress and boarded the bus for kindergarten.  She had a great day sitting next to her friends, Justin and Reid, and was excited to share the day with her family when she got home.

Fast-forward to today.  That same little kindergartener is all grown up with a kindergartener of her own.  Yup, today was Biggest’s first day of school.  After yesterday’s post, it is common knowledge that I am slightly saddened by my oldest baby’s start of school.  I was feeling prepared, having set my alarm 20 minutes early to get not only Biggest ready but also myself (hello, we needed to take pictures together).  I knew when the bus was arriving (7:20 am) and was feeling mostly good about getting everything done.  Yeah.  We all know it is never that easy.


On schedule, I was up and ready, as was Biggest (because whether I want to admit it or not, it was her day not mine).  She was primed and ready to go by 7:00 am.  A few minutes later, we were outside taking photos with Biggest, Littlest and the neighbors.  While we were just starting down towards the bus stop, when we heard the unmistakable sounds of the bus barreling down the road.  Yikes!  Next thing you know, I am running down the road in my wedges and dress, trying to get Biggest to the bus stop on time (which was only 7:13 am, by the way).  We made it in the nick of time and Biggest happily and all too easily boarded the bus with her neighborhood friends.  The last thing I saw was her little face peeking at me from a window towards the back of the bus.  It all happened so fast I did not even have time to cry or even get a picture with her.

Sadly, I walked back to our house with my husband and Littlest.  Once home, I made Littlest promise me she would never get bigger and start kindergarten.  She said yes, but I don’t think she meant it.  Then, I began the rest of my day, which basically revolved around indulging mom’s whims to alleviate her sadness.
First, I stopped into the store (yes, I stop in on my days off.  It is what I do), where I found my next item of lust, a great jacket from Scrapbook (pictures will be coming in the future).  I just love retail therapy, don’t you?  After leaving the store,  I ran a couple errands to justify that my day was not totally wasted.  And THEN I found wine.  Actually, my sister and I found wine, but most of it was consumed by me.   We spent an hour or two together at a local wine bar, me drowning my sorrows and her basically humoring her sappy sister.   After a glass of bubbly and a bottle of Pinot Noir (and some lunch, we aren’t complete lushes), I got a quick buzz around the ears from my favorite stylist, Tracy, at Tangled Salon ,and headed home.  The rest of the afternoon was spent napping and generally being a slacker until Biggest and Littlest came home from school.  Did I mention they asked DAD to pick them up and not me?  Yup,  that happened.

Overall, the day was a success.  Biggest loved kindergarten.  Mom didn’t cry, found a new jacket, and had lots of wine plus a nap.  Littlest even had a great day swinging solo at her daycare.  God only knows what will happen during the rest of the school year.  Maybe I better hit Trader Joe’s and stock up on more vino……

Seasons Change.

It is that time of year.  Nights are getting longer and cooler (hopefully).  Back to school shopping is in full swing and the Great Minnesota Get Together, the State Fair, begins in less than a week.  I am becoming torn between two seasons.  Well.....kind of.  Not really.  I am completely ready for summer to end.  Yes, I know this makes me a complete nutter to most people but it is my least favorite season.  I long for the days of layering thermals, snuggly sweaters with skinny jeans and boots.  It is worse when you are surrounded by adorable fall clothing all day long.  I have been living in September/October since July.

On the bright side, my customers are finally moving into fall shopping mode!  That  means I get to dress people up in my adored fall ensembles all day long.  We are having a good time figuring out how to make this transition from summer into fall together, giving us all the chance to start wearing our favorite fall pieces starting now. 
Yes, I know I should be saving my “back to school” clothes for later, especially since I have hidden my daughter’s new school clothes and let her cry over the skinny jeans she was dying to wear to school already in August (Evil Skinny Jeans and Yoga Pants – taking lessons from Evil Joy, perhaps?).  However, I am the mom so I make the rules, and I say that I can start wearing my fall yummies right now.
At this point, I am sure you thinking, get to the point: how are you incorporating fall during the middle of August.  It is easy.  With a little help from my friends (i.e. the stylists I work with at Hot Mama), we are all finding new and different ways to bring sweaters, jackets, fur vests, boots, layers into our summer wardrobes.  Add a pair of boots to a skirt or shorts (see photo below).  Layer a scarf over a T-shirt for an extra splash of fab during your back to school shopping excursions.  Toss a fur vest over a lightweight dress for a little extra warmth and style at night.  Add a snuggly sweater or sweatshirt to a pair of shorts for running around the playground with your kids.  Throw on your skinny jeans and roll them up to wear as a crop on days that are not blazingly hot (or be like me and do it any day it strikes your fancy.  Screw the thermostat).
 

 

My Hot Mama Stylist Models!

Emily (left)

Sweatshirt - Lavender Thymes

Shorts and Bracelets - Hot Mama

Socks – DSW

Boots – Nordstrom's

 

Leah (right)

Scarf and Skirt - Hot Mama

Boots - REI

So start pulling out your fall gear and find creative ways to make it transitional during this change of seasons.  I know I am.  Thankfully, fall will be here before we know it! 

The monster in my closet.

There is a monster in my closet.  I know, because I have seen it.  Everyday it is there, lurking, waiting, taunting me.   No matter what I do, it is too scary to address head on, so I try to pretend it is not there.  Today, I am coming out and admitting my fear of the monster and what I must do to defeat it.  Here it is, the monster in my closet.

No, that is not a pile of dirty laundry (I wish).  Those clothes are CLEAN!  This is my dreaded ironing pile, which currently stands between 2-3 feet high.  Now, I know everyone is going to think, "Why the heck is she ironing?  This isn't 1950 and it doesn't matter!"  Unfortunately, I was raised by an ironer, probably the ironing master!  My mom would spend hours watching movies and TV shows in our basement while tacking the family wrinkles.  It is arguably in my blood.

Please don't think I have such a huge closet that this pile is 100% mine.  While I do have a clothing addiction,  the majority of this pile belongs to my darling husband.  His love of wearing button downs to work is the main contributing factor to this pile, because I abhor ironing them. Heck, even my daughters have an item or two in this pile.  How a 3 year old and a 5 year old get to wear clothing that wrinkles is beyond me.

Nevertheless, the monster lurks in my closet, taunting me daily with clothes I would love to wear but must first dig OUT of the pile, and then (horror of horrors) iron.  Truthfully, I don't mind ironing overly much.  It is something to do while I catch up on my DVR'd guilty pleasures (Deadliest Catch, EastEnders, Warehouse 13, etc).  It is just the size of the monstrous pile that terrifies me!  Even if I take out all of my hubby's button downs (which we have agreed I do not have to iron if I don't want to), it is still a daunting task to undertake.  

So I will do what I must do.  Tackle the mountain head on.  Make the effort to get out the starch and wrestle the wrinkles into submission! Act like the 1950's housewife my my tried to raise me to be!



Tomorrow.  Definitely tomorrow......



Or maybe next week.



 Maybe I should just buy something new to wear instead.  That would be much easier.