Me-Made-May: Days 11-14

Day 11

The outfit:  White Blouse + Red Heart-Shaped Waistband Skirt

The occasion: work, TGIF!

Day 12

The outfit:  Slouchy Blouse + Jolly Holiday Shorts

The occasion:  'round the house, a neighborhood stroll

Day 13

The outfit:  Chambray Addiction Shirt + Backless Sundress

The occasion:  church, 80 degrees!

Day 14

The outfit:  Shall We Dance Sorbetto Top + Grey Re-done Pants + J Crew cardi

The occasion:  worrrrrk

The other outfit:  Pleasant Paisley Blouse + Cords of My (Almost) Dreams

The other occasion:  after-work errands, writing this blog post

Thunder Up!

I'm not going to claim I know anything about professional sports, but I do have mad love for anything Oklahoma related, so in the midst of the NBA playoffs, I just have to post this in honor of the Thunder!

I watched this parody video last Thursday when my old friend from high school Chris Castor posted it on Facebook.  At the time, I was the 342nd view.  Now, 4 days later, it has 98,000 views.  Unbelievable!



Go Thunder, and high five for my hometowners (Chris' brother wrote the song and his sister is the other singer) for being on the way to becoming YouTube sensations!

Me-Made-May: Days 8-10

Day 8

The outfit:  Floral Tank Dress + Chambray Blazer of Glory

The occasion:  work, a really weird hair day, my skirt flying up in the wind about a dozen times

Day 9

The outfit:  Pleated Pink Top + Heidi's Dress-->Skirt Redo

The occasion:  work, the glorious rediscovery of Christina Aguilera's "Stripped" album*, gross humidity

* Seriously, my co-worker Brittany brought this CD to work yesterday on a whim, and as I listened to it, I was reminded heavily how much this album was the anthem of my senior year of high school.  It is insanely powerful and awesome.  I used to dance like crazy in the studio alone to "Fighter," "Soar" got me through a period of feeling inadequate at dance camp that summer, I listened to "Cruz" as I drove away from my hometown to go to college, and you KNOW "Dirrty" and "Beautiful" were totally your jams.  Every track on this album is perfection, except for #12, which is awful, and #15, which is scarily sexual.  Also I saw her on tour that summer with Justin Timberlake and it was THE GREATEST.

Day 10

The outfit:  Gingham Button-Up + Husband's Sweater + White Skinnies (can I wear these before Memorial Day?)

The occasion:  work, bravely eating Cheetos while wearing white pants, tiny top knot inspired by Kate Bosworth's hair at the Met Ball (her bun is so tiny!  But this is as small as I could get mine)

A Few Things I'm Still Learning

Slow and steady wins the race (and most likely saves you from some careless mistakes along the way).

If you aren't satisfied with something, say something about it (before you spend $50 on a haircut that was close to, but not exactly, what you wanted).

Just make the bed.  It's better that way.

No one likes an excuse, but most everyone will accept an apology.

There are only 24 hours in a day, and I am only one person.  It's okay if it doesn't always all get done.

Some lessons are harder than others, but these I think I should be able to master, yes?  2012 seems like the perfect year to learn!

Dottie Adele: Featured on Simply Dove

For the month of May, Sarah of Simply Dove is featuring handmade business owners over on her blog...and today, the featured crafter is me!  Click on over to read the interview, and to get an exclusive coupon code for Dottie Adele.

Thanks again, Sarah, for featuring me and for your great questions!

(P.S.  You should also pop over to congratulate her, as she just got engaged!)

Touristing: Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island

No matter how long we live here, we're never going to be able to do everything that can be done. Thankfully, when we have visitors, we have the excuse and the time to do the NYC tourist-y type things!

This weekend when my parents were here, we made it out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island - for the first time!

We picked a very dreary, misty day to take the ferry across to the islands, but I think the weather also helped keep the crowds down.

Also, it made it easy to imagine what it would have been like for arriving immigrants, as we watched Lady Liberty emerge from the fog and mist and come into view.

(Scott and I wore our tourist shoes for the day - those sandals have helped me survive 9 days of Disney World.)

Scott even got himself a genuine Statue of Liberty poncho...

Standing right underneath her, she doesn't even look real!  The green of the copper is so vivid, and she's just so gigantic - it's amazing to stand right below.

We walked all the way around and got a rare view of the backside of the Lady - seriously, when I thought about it, I didn't know if I had ever seen her from the back, ever!

Next up, we ferried over to Ellis Island.  The stories from this place are incredible.  Check this out:  40% of Americans can trace at least one relative back who came through immigration on Ellis Island.  Isn't that insane?!

The ceiling of the main hall is quite grand.  Seems like it would be a welcome sight to the immigrants who endured such a challenging journey.

I loved all the artifacts housed at Ellis Island.  Here is a wall of old-timey passports - lots of them had pictures of whole families.

We spent a few hours on Ellis Island, but there was so much we didn't even get to.  As a family who loves museums, we easily could have spent all day.  I can't believe it took us three years to make the trip out there!

And on the way back, you get that incredible view of Lower Manhattan's skyline.  Even through thick mist, it's quite the sight to behold.

As tourist-y as it is, I have to say, if you visit NYC, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island really are a must-see - especially to see if you have a family member who came through!

Me-Made-May: Days 4-7

Day 4

The outfit:  Striped Cuffed T (I made this, but apparently never blogged about it?) + Gap jeans

The occasion:  Touristing!  9/11 Memorial, bike expo, bookstore, cookout

Day 5

The outfit:  Pleasant Paisley Top + Tiny (No) Pocket Tank + leggings

The occasion:  More touristing!  Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, The Ride

Day 6

The outfit:  Favorite Top Ever + Dress-->Skirt Maxi

The occasion:  Touristing again!  Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanical Garden, Brooklyn Bridge, OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE

Day 7

The outfit:  Dress-->Top Redo + Desperately Needed Skirt

The occasion:  work, tiramisu day!, getting my teeth cleaned by my handsome dentist husband