Of course, Owen knew all the kids—there was a chorus of Hi, Owen when we walked in—and we learned that one of the first grade teachers lives here, as well as one of Owen’s classmates!
The water wasn’t nearly as freezing as I had expected it to be but I still sat in the shade while the kids were swimming.
I really can’t wait until we get a yard. But he has fun so…
But it’s my style top and it was on clearance. 🙂
I bought it without trying it on so it could have been a huge failure…but it fit pretty well (though I could honestly use some Spanx!) and Tom really liked it so that’s a bonus!
If you’re wondering what LuLaRoe is…
They sell women’s clothing (dresses, skirts, leggings, tees, etc.) from at-home parties and pop up boutiques on Facebook—and of course there’s a big market on eBay. The leggings are usually described as “buttery soft” and the best you will every buy/wear. They aren’t cheap but also aren’t outrageously expensive, so I decided to dip my toe in with a pair of plain black leggings. (They are also known for their crazy patterns. And to be honest, most of them are downright fugly to me.) They have sizes from XXS to 3XL so that’s a draw as well.
A friend actually introduced me to LuLaRoe about a week ago (gee, was it only a week ago?!) and for not ever having heard anything about them, I quickly realized it’s an obsession with some people! I actually had a conversation at a baseball game the following night because a friend showed up in one of the dresses and three of us proceeded to talk about wishlists. 🙂
I signed up for a few Facebook groups and the popups seemed overwhelming with people snapping things up super quick so I went to eBay…where I quickly realized there’s a much bigger selection…but the prices are crazy. (If you buy direct, the prices are set. Otherwise, all bets are off.) They only make like 1000 of each pattern (I think, I’m still new at this) so if you see something you like, you need to snap it up. And once it gets rare, the price goes up exponentially. (For example, leggings are $25. I’ve seen some on eBay for $100.) I liked the black ones so wanted to find a cool pattern. But I wanted to make sure I get the ones I really like. So I searched eBay and watched a bunch and once they go past $30-$35, I’m out. (I figure I’ll pay a few extra bucks to get exactly what I want.) But then I actually got the hang of the Facebook popups one night when I was surfing through three of them at the same time (and chatting with a friend who was at the same three). We were sharing pics and getting opinions…and it was like a shopping outing with your bestie without leaving your house and spending hours doing it!
So once you start looking, you kind of get hooked. As I told my friend, they hit on a brilliant strategy—you can’t just go to a store and look at everything. Or a website even. So you get sucked into looking everywhere at everything every time it’s posted in case you find exactly what you want. My friend told me she belongs to 17 LuLaRoe groups. Yeah, she’s addicted. I wouldn’t say I’m addicted, but I ordered two more pair of leggings and this dress from eBay…and I actually won ANY PIECE I WANTED from a popup drawing!! HOLY COW! Of course they didn’t have anything I wanted in leggings, tees, or dresses (!) so I chose a $70 cardigan because I’d NEVER pay $70 for a cardigan!
So, that’s LuLaRoe. 🙂
Unfortunately, daddy wasn’t there to see it as the garage door broke as we were pulling out of the driveway…so he had to stay and wait for the landlord.
Two of his at-bats (he struck out on his last attempt) and bringing a run in:
And I missed Owen’s best play because it was when he was playing third base and I never record in the outfield… But he caught a pop fly and then tagged a runner out on third! DOUBLE PLAY! The crowd went wild! He was SO excited and so happy!!
Katie was having fun on her scooter—she had never really used it before today and was very tents on it but got progressively better. She’s great about wearing her helmet and puts it on every time!
I asked Owen to take my picture this morning but it was a bit rushed since he was on his way out the door to the bus stop…so I didn’t get to set it up right…and I didn’t realize until later that I had a sneaky photobomber. 🙂
Because this is where she was today!! Not perfect, but a definite improvement! (The lead car could also have moved up at least another two car lengths.)
This is a dress from Le Tote that I was pretty sure I was keeping so today was the real world test. It passed.
We really need a name for the pizza where we use miscellaneous leftovers from the fridge. I like garbage pizza but that doesn’t really have a good connotation. It’s not technically leftover pizza so I don’t like leftovers pizza. Kitchen sink pizza isn’t much better than garbage and doesn’t roll off the tongue. (I actually recall having a very similar conversation a few years ago and can’t remember what was decided.)
So I posted on Facebook asking for suggestions…and boy did people come through!!
So Patchwork Pizza it is! 🙂
FYI tonight’s toppings were:
When we just use whatever leftovers are in the fridge? Leftovers pizza sounds too much like leftover pizza. Tom suggested Garbage Pizza but that seems a little…drastic (and Owen didn’t like it)? Fridge Pizza also seems a little boring.
Tonight was Italian meatloaf, cheddar cheese, and BBQ Sauce pizza.
And Katie wanted to help so we let her “paint” the sauce.
Dammit. I liked my whole recent Le Tote box. But I don’t need all of it. Hell, what am I saying?? I don’t need ANY of it LOL.
I more than like but not quite love the dress. Great length, good color, nice feel, not my favorite neckline (as a general rule I choose V-necks) but I can branch out, and it’s easily changeable with accessories. It’s a bit expensive at $64 but unfortunately isn’t available anywhere else online so no cheaper option.
I like the pants. They are a bit more current (hip?) than anything I own—they have pleather-type panels on the front (better seen in the stock photo)! My fashion-guru friend says these are a definite yes, plus says they’re a steal at $29. I’m still debating but leaning towards keeping them.
The tunic isn’t exactly my style but it’s super comfy and my friend really likes this one, too. I’m not convinced, though, since it is a bit big, a tad short (for just leggings for me), and a bit more than I’d want to spend ($30). I’m wearing it today to see how it works in real-life but I’m leaning towards returning it and then keeping my eye open for a more suitable tunic (since apparently these are totally IN now).
Necklace 1 is very similar to the silver one I already bought for $19 and I don’t like the shiny as much—even at $22. So I like it but it’s going back.
I LOVE necklace 2. And it’s a known famous brand so Google told me it was cheaper direct from the company so it’s already on its way! (And it looks much better in person than in this photo!)
If they discounted for buying a whole box, I might have just taken it all…but they only give you credit for another month and this is my last month…so that was a no. But it was good to end my experience with Le Tote on a high note (though it does make it harder to cancel—I just have to remember my other boxes that weren’t as successful)!
The house has been cleaned, dinner has been prepped, we have a specially-mixed cocktail in hand, and we’re 29 minutes away from our Saturday Night Dinner!
Tom planted the new bushes today as well as put out new mulch! It looks a lot different but I love it and think it’s awesome!
Our bushes have been needing a major trim for quite some time but Tom has just been too busy. He promised me when his night class was over he’d take care of them. Well, he finished his class Tuesday night, so tonight he started trimming them. Katie and I were two doors down hanging with the neighbors. And then I turned around…and saw one entire overgrown bush completely GONE! He said once he started trimming it, all that was left was twigs! And we’ve never liked it, so he just pulled the whole thing out! (We would love to pull out the other ones as well but that’s a lot of work and a lot of expense to fill the space again.) Owen even helped clean up to earn some spending money.
Here’s a before picture (from an old blog post):
The boys and their tools. (Tom just let Owen hold the saw—he didn’t actually get to use it.)
So I joined another monthly clothing delivery company on a free month…and their clothes are awesome—much more my style and somewhat cheaper. This dress was the third thing I’ve purchased (out of six sent items). Tom loved it, too, which is why it’s now hanging in my closet. 🙂
Unfortunately (fortunately?) I’m only doing the one free month, otherwise this could get very expensive!!
I got a Le Tote box today and left it on the ottoman while we went to Owen’s baseball game. Charlie decided it was the perfect place to lay…though she was technically in the empty side of the box!
I saw this little guy today! He completely freezes so I could get right up close to him.
What did we make?! CITY CHICKEN!!!! It’s a bit of work so I’ve never made it but my mom made it off and on when I was growing up and it’s a favorite!. She’s here visiting so we made it together today. 🙂
Of course, Katie had to help, too.
She did pretty good until the last piece she couldn’t get on the stick…and she wasn’t too happy (as you can see on her face).
What is city chicken, you may be asking? Breaded, fried, and baked skewered pieces of veal and pork. It looks like chicken legs—like non-farm “city” people might have. Apparently way back when, veal and pork were also cheaper than chicken so it was a faux chicken. It’s DELISH. (Similar recipe to ours here.)
Or maybe they don’t like being left in the oven. I guess the baking steel was a great investment.
Grandma Jean attempted to teach me how to use Tom’s mom’s sewing machine that we inherited…by hemming some pants, sewing Tom’s name tapes, and altering some bras. It looks easy enough while I’m watching, but I’m not sure what will happen when it’s actually my turn!
…for Cinco de Mayo but it fell through…so this happened instead. 🙂
I expected the rain we got but the hail was a complete surprise.
Friends near us got golf-ball-sized hail! EEK!
How did I never see any snakes until after I saw the snake crossing sign? 🙂
And no, I don’t care that it was just a cute little green garter snake. Still creepy.
“Yup. This is what happens on a cold rainy Sunday.” 😀
I really need to start paying closer attention to the BACKS of dresses a) in real life and b) when I add things to my tote. I guess I never think about BACK HOLES. 😯
I bought a gorgeous ball gown from Marshall’s for $69—it was a similar style to one I have but a different color. We were in a hurry and it was a size 14 so I didn’t try it on. So we got home and I went to zip up the back and wondered why it got stuck at my butt. Yeah, it wasn’t stuck—that was ALL of the zipper. The entire back of the dress was open. Ha. No wonder it looked wonky hanging on the hanger. It looked something like this:
And then today I tried on a gorgeous dress from Le Tote. Except I couldn’t figure out at first how to get it on. That should be my first clue that something is weird with the back. I got it on and the front is amazing. The back? Yeah…open. Yuck. (It was WAY more revealing on me than the photo shows.)
Back holes. I’ve known they exist but I never thought they’d attack me like they did. 🙂
New(ish) shirt (worn it before) but new yoga pants that happened to match perfectly.
This was in our HOA newsletter. It makes me very sad. I’m normally a rule-follower, but this is one that I won’t be paying attention to.
Technically I guess the HOA could fine us (there are signs at the playgrounds saying children under 12 must be supervised) but I looked up our county rules and there are only Child Supervision Guidelines. (See also: “Virginia state statutes do not set a specific age after which a child legally can stay alone.“) So they’d likely have a fight on their hands if they tried to cause any issues.
I’m all about being a helicopter parent when it’s warranted. But this is not that time. I’m pretty sure I was cruising around my neighborhood by age 7 and biking to town by late elementary school. Blah blah blah things are different now blah blah blah but I refuse to be a helicopter parent over playing in the yard or going to the neighborhood park.
I’m sure nothing will come of it, and I’m sure those guidelines have always been there…I just overlooked them because we weren’t at that stage yet.