How to annoy me

Think for even one second that you can sell me $175 jeans while you are popping your gum just inches from my face.

No 'poo - weeks 3 and 4

One month down and I'm really happy with how my shampoo boycott is progressing. Last week I tried washing my hair with just conditioner a couple of ties, but, since I don't particularly fancy the wet look I cut that out pdq.
As of last Friday, things were more or less how they had been:

I have since cut out conditioner completely.  My current routine includes massaging  a teaspoon on baking soda mixed with a little water into my scalp, concentrating on my hairline.  Once I rinse that out I spritz apple cider vinegar onto my hair from about the area I would normally wear a pony tail all the way to the ends.  That sits for a minute and then gets rinsed out as well. And here I am a week later (meaning, today):

The dryness at the ends has definitely been remedied. I haven't been on the receiving end of any incredulous compliments yet, but, hey, I'm sure they'll start rolling in soon.  What the pictures don't capture is how incredibly soft my hair is these days.  I literally cannot keep my fingers out of it. I also think my tresses are starting to gain in the shine department.

Tomorrow night I get to get all dolled up for a wedding which means fancy hair. My locks are coaxed into a style much more easily so I'm hoping to use that to my advantage - maybe try something new.  I'll let ya know!

Are there bears in these woods?

Last weekend we tried our hand at the great tradition of family camping - something Emily has wanted to do for awhile. She and Ben spent a week taking inventory of our (Ben's) camping supplies, buying a tent and sleeping bag and planning the menu. Emily was practically bursting by the time Saturday afternoon rolled around and we were finally packed, loaded and ready to go.

We only had to drive about 30 minutes to get to a pretty nice campground at Fort Story right here in Virginia Beach. But as we drove, Em's excitement started to turn into anxiety.  She was pretty concerned about the campground's bear population despite several assurances that no, there were no animals that would "get her" in the middle of the night and yes, she would be sleeping in a tent with a door, with both of us to protect her. Ben informed her once more that Fort Story was surrounded by water on two sides and a large amount of city on the other two sides and, as bears can neither swim for long distances nor drive, none would be able to bother us at our campsite.  Well, this raised a whole new concern.  If there are no bears at this camp, then how were we, a whole family of Bears, supposed to get in!?

But we did get in.

Em and Ben made camp, I built the fire and The Commodore supervised.

Tasty, tasty camp food was enjoyed and then a story by lantern light.

Sleep was non too forthcoming, but we all made it through the night just fine. When  I finally crawled out of the tent in the morning, Ben greeted me with a plastic mug of french press coffee.

Afterward I made pancakes and sausage so we'd have enough energy to get packed up and home again.

We all had a good time and are looking forward to doing it again.  Especially Emily, who was relieved to find that the only critter to bother disrupting our camp was this guy:

Stop and smell the...anything

Lately, Emily has taken an interest in the idea of walking to and from school.  I'm not really sure why.  We live a few miles from either her school or her daycare and a majority of our route is lacking sidewalks so we never see other people walking during our daily commutes. But hey, there's an obesity issue in America and my kid wants to try to walk two miles every day, I'll take it!  We agreed I'd park a block further from her day care every afternoon so she could become accustomed to walking the required distance.

Amongst my friends and family it is a well-known and undisputed fact that I walk fast. Really fast. All the time. Emily, however, did not inherit my sense of urgency and generally takes her sweet time getting from Point A to Point B. What she did inherit is a sharp eye for anything shiny, green, containing moving parts or otherwise able to completely distract from the task at hand. This means my poor kid hears the phrase "hurry up" pronounced through gritted teeth any time we have to move more than five feet. It seems a little unfair to expect a five-and-a-half year old to  "hurry up" for half a mile (the distance we've worked up to). So I'm breathing through the pain of taking life at Em's pace because look at all I've been missing!

Besides enjoying the beautiful spring weather, there are several varieties of ivy to examine.

Four leaf clovers to hunt.

Weathered picket fences.

Cloud-filled depths to ponder.

Fine, world. You win. I'll try to walk at a human pace every once in a while.

Always put your toys away when you are done

See Honey?

Doesn't she look so innocent?

It is because she knows the primary rule in our household: Put your toys away when you are done with them.  So when she was finished shredding the toilet paper, she very kindly rolled it back up.

Thank, Honey.

From Top to Bottom - more on the pixie dress

When I finally finished the pixie dress revealed a few days ago I had scads of fabric leftover from Em's up-cycled dresses. Luckily, I had a few ideas for using that fabric up. I say I had a few ideas, but we all pretty much know inspiration strikes hottest when I'm reading Make It and Love It.

This works out pretty well for Em. I'm a little too old to actually get to wear whimsical hair doodads:

And I'm almost positive flip-flops would not be acceptable at work:

And when you put it all together:

Agh!

SO...

MUCH...

CUTENESS!

Something Old for Something New

I adore gifting. There is nothing like hunting down the perfect gift and being rewarded with an enthusiastic or emotional reaction from the giftee.  Unless it is stumbling across something so perfectly suited for a loved one you must give it to them long before a suitable gifting occasion arrives. I especially love giving original wedding gifts.  Thanks to the wedding registry, people often get duplicates of the towels, sheets, flatware, etc. for which they registered. And then they have to return some of those duplicates. Blegh. Nobody's returning my gift.  If I get you towels, they WILL be monogrammed.  If I get you a silver toothpick dispenser it WILL be inscribed. Maybe its the southern belle in me. Okay, it is a little bit the southern belle, but more than that, I'm pretty sure gifting is a competition and I fully intend to win. Always.

For brides I especially adore, my favorite gift is a one-of-a-kind, handmade garter. Store-bought garters are so...so...so-so. No thanks.  I remember making one with a pocket for my cousin. My grandmother had given her the sixpence she'd worn in her shoe for good luck when she (very romantically) secretly eloped with my grandfather some 60 years ago.  My cousin was distraught because there's no way her strappy sandals would allow her to walk down the aisle with that sixpence. So, I made her something that would be new, blue, and could hold something small, old and precious. I remember also making crystal studded number for my friend Katie Forest. I love doing it. So when I got the invitation to Cat Walton's wedding, I immediately offered to set her up.

I needed the perfect focal point. Cat, is understated, but stunning. She appreciates pretty things and fashion, but hesitates to sport "girly" clothes, herself.  She's also very kind and funny. And there is her AMAZING hair.  I digress.  My point is, I wanted to make something that captured her quirks and her beauty. Peacock feathers. And sparkles. And purple.
Tada!

The white one is for the garter toss, while the purple one is meant to be a keepsake.  Despite her ties to the military, Cat is a townie with an incredible system of friends and family right here. Still, I included the broken clasp from my Grandmother Dee's pearls to give the garter that something extra.

I'm thrilled to finally put that clasp to use and I think Cat was appreciative of all I was trying to tell her about what she means to me.