Josie Lately

Josie is able to express her opinion more and more about food (NO YIKE IT!) and telling me to stop it when I tell her stop doing something (YOU TOP IT!)

Here she's reading one of her favorites, Sleepy Time. I ordered several of this author's books because both girls loved Babies so much - given to us by my sister-in-law after Josie's birth - and am happy to learn Babies was a landmark book in 1963: the first book to depict babies of different ethnicities together. (Sadly, there is still an "apartheid of children's literature" -- read Ashley's recent post about it here).

Hugging a newly favored lovey, "Corn".

What's Making Me Happy This Week

// The lobster bisque from Costco... Josie is also a fan. That child will eat anything except for a popsicle that you open for her -- that makes her fly into a rage shouting I DO IT! I OPEN! I OPEN IT!

// Meeting Paige! (aside: C and J are really coming along with their high-wattage-grins for pics)

// Amy was in town for our 10 year medical school reunion (what, huh?) and it was so great to see old friends and meet a man with a bionic hand (he works for SLU)! My friend Jay Fram took the portraits for that feature .... that's so St Louis!

// Pressing the Dash button for Tide. Yes I know I could order detergent from Amazon with but three swipes on my phone but pressing the button was just as cool as I thought it would be.


// Being in Chicago:
   1) learning a lot at a course
   2) spending time with my sister and brother in law (and mom and dad)
   3) enjoying some me time
   4) getting some cosmetic dermatology procedures #zap


// Looking forward to the next weekends: amazing wedding - Colorado visit - amazing wedding!!!


// Finding out why Prince George is always wearing shorts. I have wondered, I confess. Another confession: I think George is cuter than Charlotte. THERE I SAID IT.


Happy Saturday! Yesterday we went to a tiki bar and tonight we're going to a fancy cocktail progression. Elise is the best cruise director ever!

Shopping: MM LaFleur Part Deux

I sent my first Bento box back and MM LaFleur sent me another selection of five items. THESE ARE THEIR STORIES.

Part of MM LaFleur's excellent customer service is the e-mail you receive reminding you it's Day X of your four day try-on. My package was waylaid in our housing complex office and when I replied that I had not received it yet, they gave me an extra day.

Second box contents. These are items selected by a stylist after a questionnaire and informed by the rejects from my first box (nothing tight, nothing short).

I know a more fair assessment would be trying on these clothes NOT after a long day of work and fun night of food and cocktails with friends and having Luke take cell phone pics in the gloom of our living room from a terrible angle but sorry, these are the conditions.

Top and pants.

I could not bend my arms in this shirt (size large).

I would have kept this dress but 1) I have similar items and 2) the pockets make the fabric flare at the hips. Not going for hip-flare.

My "wow this is unflattering face". The facing of this ecru dress showed through more than this photo lets on. To give this a fighting chance I'd ditch the self belt and try with basically any other belt. This looks like the world's laziest tourniquet.

Sooooo I won't order a Bento again. But I'm not giving up on MM LaFleur - I believe in their ethos and mission and am impressed by their customer service. I'm intrigued by these skinny pants with an adjustable hem and midi skirt (love this color).

What's Making Me Happy This Week

// The SPACE.NK.apothecary shop at Nordstrom sells my favorite R+Co products that I used to buy in San Antonio. Free shipping! I like the dry shampoo paste and dry shampoo.

// Speaking of Nordstrom, please give me one of everything in the Faded Pop-in Shop starting with this necklace and ending with this tee:

shop this tee here

// I bought some Amour Vert items for work (I have one tee that I love) -- will report back. Made in USA - free shipping - free returns!

// Looking forward to seeing the Queen of Katwe after hearing this interview.

Lately

Clementine (looking at the moon during the daytime): Look at that cloud, it's made out of the moon and a marshmallow.

She and Luke were talking about school and she mentioned a boy in her class, Nicholas, who calls her "Smelly Girl... He's being naughty."
Luke: Do you call him any names?
C: Yes [pauses] ... Nicholas.

Clementine when I picked them up on Friday: Mommy, you so uh-zaw-sted. From working, working working?

[I fell asleep here. Uh-zaw-sted.]

Luke has been working with C to say yellow instead of lello (which makes me a little sad, lello is so cute) and when she mastered it she said: I'm a big girl to say yellow.

Josie firsts!

1) Pee-peed on the toilet! (Or as C says, she peeped.) Twice!

2) Said her name! (They must be working on this at school)

And two weeks later!




3) Said Clementine's name: Tine. My mom texted me today that she asked, "Where's Tine?" It's been the strangest thing for so long that she wouldn't address C as anything or provide any name for her when asked (like she would do for her stuffed animals and other people). She's also using phrases now (Watch! I dancing!). She assigns names: Tine Hink-uh, Daddy Hink-uh, Mommy Hink-uh.

Josie insists that we pat her back at night; she demands we PAT DA BACK, PAT DA BACK!

Urging me to walk forward when I'm holding her: Go peas!

Her K sound is a T sound: Josie took off her clothes, threw her hands in the air, and smiled and said: No toes! [no clothes!]

What's Making Me Happy

// This season of Transparent was marvelous but the last episode... the last episode was a revelation. I woke up thinking about it all week.

// Really great TV these days -- anyone watch the first two episodes of Westworld? Fascinating, stylish, creepy as hell. (In reading about it I had no idea how prolific Michael Crichton was).

// Orla Kiely gets a little precious and costume-y for me but I love a lot of these fall pieces. 

// Pop Culture Happy Hour fall preview show has me excited about the upcoming movies - especially Loving. Television has somewhat ruined movies for me - the emotional payoff of spending twenty plus hours (Transparent) with characters makes a two hour feature feel too cursory.

A Perfect Weekend

A recap of a stellar few days!

Amanda's birthday dinner with my girls. A happy smile and the fig tart is the only photo I got.

On Saturday morning I had my portrait taken by Lindsey as inspired by my friend and guide-to-all-things-Lou Becky. I rented dresses from Rent the Runway (will definitely do again - so easy!) and Lauren did my hair and makeup at the studio. Eager to see and then spam all of you share the photos!

Back at home Josie and I picked up some groceries -- here's our parting convo...

Saying BYE LUKE! very deliberately because Josie will say BYE YUKE! and it's so funny. This conversation gets hilarious at 1:40.

And then Laura and her family came over! Laura and I went to high school together in Texas and have only seen each other once in the intervening (gulp) eighteen years. She and Pete have two little girls too and they played and played and played and we visited and ate Indian food and had a singalong. So much fun! We are so excited repay the favor and bring this party to Kentucky in the coming months.

I will treasure these videos.

Daniel Tiger hypnosis.

After playing hard the night before the girls slept in to 9 (what a treat) and I resolved to get ready for the week ahead... I haven't been cooking recently (too busy yada yada) and once we start living on takeout everything else seems to devolve as well. The three of us braved Costco-on-a-Sunday and the girls surprised me by each eating three Dixie cups of mixed greens with Italian dressing. C always rejects anything green - until this morning. Because this dressing didn't have too much sugar, I bought it and some spring mix and they ate it for lunch and dinner. I spent the afternoon making meals of bacon and eggs, ground beef for taco bowls, and bratwurst/new potatoes/green beans/brussels sprouts and portioning out and freezing my Costco staples (shredded cheese, flank steak, breakfast sausage). Other finds: organic hardboiled eggs, antibiotic free bacon, organic milk/cream, avocado mayo, my fave GoodFoods prepared guacamole (Wholly Guacamole is terrible IMO). Back to focusing on whole foods.

Time with friends, my family, and a day in the kitchen - my perfect weekend. Aglow* with community and friendship and fun and the satisfaction of a tad of organization -- wishing you a great week, friends.

*refusing to be extinguished by a Trumpster fire of a debate

Shopping: Tees

The girls at Grove Hill sent me a box of tees after I asked do you have any Elliott Lauren tees? Living  in them again. 

There really isn't a long sleeve drapey oversize made in USA* tee that I don't like.

Try-on featuring eyelashes, glued-in pink streak, and hazy cell pics.

I liked this immediately out of the box - green gold metallic. I adore olive drab.

But then... meh? Not a good length?

tucked it in? Why are my photos hazy?

Oh yes. Apparently it is the season of the dolman sleeve. This is so soft.

Most important photo prop: the girls' stepstool.

I don't like the cut-out shoulder trend. But tried. Tried HARD. Still no.

I did not like this high-low oatmeal thermal when I took it out

but tried it on and

this thermal has exactly the nineties vibe I'm into and is flattering and is the neutral I need to go with the fun shoes/accessories I've picked up recently. Didn't like it when I saw it, wore it today. You gotta try things on!

Thanks, Grove Hill! I love my own San Antonio Stitchfix! All set to wear new tees and jeans and perfect pants with my fall mood board/coat rack: red hat and STL-made leopard tote. I'm keeping 5 tees and 4 are made in the USA - awesome!

Have a great week, everybody! This week I'm getting a new phone or at least wiping off the lens of this one, hopefully having a workweek that is only 90% breakneck instead of 150%, and beginning a new project that I don't have time for, but who does?

p.s. you can blame one of my faves The Mom Edit for the dressing room/bathroom selfies.