Holiday Weekend in Review

I thought you might like to see more outrageously over priced patio furniture. This lovely aluminum and vinyl bar comes to you from Big Lots for a mere $599. UDS. We didn't purchase it. We did however play with it a bit, pretending to be a barkeep, and an unruly drunk. Guess which one I am. We had people stopping to watch our performance but no one threw us any money to put towards the purchase of patio furniture. Pity.

I have decided to wait until the end of the season and buy something worth the money from Mullhall's. We're not desperate to buy a set (It is starting to look like we may never get summer), and I'd really rather invest in something well made we can keep forever. I'm partial to brightly painted wrought iron, but wicker is nice too. What I refuse to do is plunk down perfectly good money for something that will fall apart after a couple seasons. Nothing you assemble yourself should cost over $100. For that sort of money, it should come assembled, and delivered. I don't know who buys this expensive disposable stuff. 

 I wore my big circle skirt for the first time this season.

-but no petticoat as I don't have a puffy enough one to accommodate this skirt. The silver are sequins, which sometimes catch on one another, so I have to be careful they aren't gathered up in an embarrassing way (because standing in front of the neighbourhood posing like this isn't at all embarrassing).

 I may be a thousand miles from the seashore, but that's no reason to skip the shell necklace and bracelet.

 The bamboo bangles are getting some seasonal wear as well.

When I was a child I would look at my grandmother's hands and wonder what happened to make them so dry and rumply. Now I know. Life happened.

Outfit Particulars:

Circle skirt-Goodwill
1970's jacket-Thrift World
Blouse-K Mart
Caro-Nan vintage bag-Antique mall
BAmboo bangles-Hand-Me-Ups
Lucite bangles-Goodwill (both)
Shoes-Goodwill
Shell necklace and bracelet-Hand-Me-Ups
Hair Flowers-Tiff and Tam
Earrings-Hand-Me-Ups
Fragrance-Elizabeth Taylor Gardenia (kinda meh)

So that was Sunday. But we woke this morning and realised we had yet another day free! I love that. But before we get to that, here's those Ferragamos from Saturday:

Are the middle pair crocodile? I can't tell. Whatever they are, they're my size though slightly narrow, so I'm off to have them stretched and have shoe savers put on the bottoms. The beige ones are a sort of textured suede.

That's my perfect heel height and width right there. If only all my shoes were so equipped. That was so lucky, I still can't believe it. I do OK at the thrifts for the most part, but finding three pair in my size and in good condition almost never happens.


Memorial Day weekend, ugh. Hate it. My mother died over the holiday weekend, and though she's been gone a very long time now, it is still unavoidable to spend some time thinking about it .For many years I felt bad that she didn't like me very much. Now that I'm older I understand that she didn't like anyone much, and I wasn't special. Well, that's not entirely true-she liked some people, but none that were relations.

All I remember from that time was my dad being furious she had the nerve to die on a holiday weekend as he'd have to pay holiday wages for the grave diggers. They make good money, the grave diggers. Anyway, as the years decades have gone on, I don't feel the same emotional upheaval when the holiday weekend rolls around, but I'm happy enough to see it over so I can get on with living. I hit the thrift stores bright and early! That's my idea of living.

The photo ain't the only thing overexposed. I really shouldn't wear tanks as I tend to fall out of them. I spent most of the day adjusting the straps on this thing, so needless to say, it is going away. I have enough clothing that I don't need to keep the fiddly stuff. That's the beauty of thrift shopping.

 There's a good white wall in the lobby of Office Max on Maple Street-if any locals are looking for a good, well-lit photo spot. Sure, the employees will laugh, but who cares?

Just don't park in the fire lane. You'll get a ticket.

Outfit Particulars:
70's skirt-Goodwill
Tank-Shop Ko
Cardigan-Goodwill
Bakelite bangles-all over
Bamboo bangles-Hand-Me-Ups
Enid Collins bag-Antique mall
Hair flowers-Tiff and Tam
Vintage Naturalizer shoes-Thrift World
Necklace-Goodwill, Lincoln, NE
Enamel Flower Brooch-Goodwill
60's earrings-Hand-Me-Ups
Belt-Goodwill
Fragrance-Vintage Emeraude in perfume concentration (Whoo hoo, that shit rocks! Little goes a looong way though, so be warned).

We're back to school now until the end of May, then we go onto half days for June and July, with August off. I find that works best for us to avoid the Summer, "Brain Drain", but still feel like we had a bit of time to enjoy ourselves. I'll be furiously writing next year's curriculum over the next few weeks (it is due to the State by mid-July) and I know Danny's excited to be getting away from the 14th Century into the Renaissance.  We have about thirty pages remaining in Chaucer, and I don't think there are any more fart jokes. I've never seen this child so happy to start writing a paper, and be done with it.

My one *possibly* great find today was a pair of "sailor pants" complete with bell bottoms and button closures on the sides. For .99 cents I didn't bother trying them on, but at worst I get a pair of gardening trousers. At best, I get bell bottoms.

Today's bird is an oriole. This particular bird was spotted at Standing Bear Lake, Monday afternoon. It was beautiful this today, but the weather has turned and that blue sky has been replaced by storm clouds. We're under all sorts of weather watches tonight as well. For the most part, we've had a quiet spring weather wise, but I know we're nowhere near done with it.

I hope your week is going well.