Just ducky

Or maybe I should say, "Just duct-y."

I'm not sure what's proper anymore. All I can tell you is this post is going to be covered in duck tape... er, duct tape.

Last summer, I was sitting around being pregnant when I read this awesome blog post by my make-believe, bloggy friend, Jenny. "What?!" I said to my pregnant self. "I have got to try that!"

But being rather tired for the next three months, I didn't try it. Instead, I told my homeschool friends about the awesomeness that can be achieved with colored duct tape.

Fast forward to Friday when my 10-year-old showed me a project from one of his final duct tape classes at co-op. Another mom had heard about the wonders of duct-taping things — other than things that needed to be repaired — and my son had become a bit addicted to the stuff.

He has been duct-taping everything he can get his hands on the past few months. He's made a notebook holder, a wallet, a bag, a cup holder, flip-flops, a belt and more swords and daggers than you can imagine.

When I saw the super cute bags the girls in the class had made, I couldn't stop thinking about it either. Yes, it's true. Bags might be the one fashion item that I love almost as much as boots... and necklaces.

To say I couldn't sleep the next night because I was so busy thinking about how I was going to turn a bag I have into a duck-tape bag would sound ridiculous. So, I won't include that part.

However, my son and I made a date to go duck tape shopping right after church. We spent two hours in the freezing cold running in and out of stores before we could find all of the colors we wanted. Of course, I was searching for those colors. It was two awesome hours of shopping, eating candy bars, drinking Sierra Mist and laughing as my 10-year-old talked non-stop about his life.

We went to Target, Meijer, two different Michaels and a Jo-Ann's to come up with this:

My project?

I started with this bag:

And turned it into this:

The electric Sanctuary bag. You want one, don't you?

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Fashion Friday... or Monday, whatever

Warning: Trivial post about shopping is ahead.

For the past seven months, I've been sinking into withdrawal because I haven't stepped foot in my favorite clothing store, New York & Company, since I got pregnant. My body has been growing at a rate of about .75 pounds per week the past 30 weeks, so I've faced the fact I need to focus any clothing purchases on items that include a hidden panel or roomy stomach area.

Thank goodness for the maternity section at Old Navy. It's the only thing that makes me feel halfway stylish these days.

With less than nine weeks left, I have six long-sleeved maternity shirts, two pairs of jeans and one velour track suit that will have to suffice until D-day.

Instead of getting all crazy that I have to wear the same outfits repeatedly for the next two months, I've been trying to focus on how I can still feel put together, even when I'm wearing a flouncy top.

The good news is that both my shoe size and necklace size have remained the same all year. I don't feel dressed without the right shoes and a necklace. And right now, I need all the help I can get to draw attention away from my midsection.

I realize I still COULD sneak into New York & Company and just browse the jewelry section. But I've restricted myself from buying anything for myself this month.

You see, we have this slight problem that we don't own one single baby-related item in this house. Last summer, I finally conceded we wouldn't be having any more children and we gave away absolutely everything. We don't have a onesie, a diaper or a baby wipe, not to mention a crib, bouncy seat or car seat. (Oh, wait! We DO have a stroller and a dresser with a changing table on the top, so I guess we have two baby-related items!)

Side note... to my sweet friends, this is NOT a plea for gifts! However, if you DO happen to have any hand-me-downs, I am accepting donations. ;]

Anyway, what I was trying to say is that I'm trying not to buy myself ANYTHING so we can save our money for all of the baby stuff we need to buy.

But I thought it might be fun to go shopping for a few accessories here at the blog. It's free. We can do this together. And it will be fun.

Today, I'm focusing on necklaces. There's nothing I love more than a cheap piece of costume jewelry to make an outfit complete.

Here are a few of my favorites from New York & Company, if I WERE to actually go in the store.

I love the look of the long necklace, and I haven't really ventured down that path just yet. I know. Don't die of shock. I'm not sure where I've been! I just haven't found a long necklace that works for me yet.


Here's another one that I would love to see on. I can't quite picture how you would wear this one, but I bet it would be cute.


Now, let's head over to Kohl's for one of their incredible sales where they mark up everything 100 percent and then tell you it's 40 percent off. I love their mind games... and their cheap jewelry.

Here's another option for the long strand of beads.


Or how about this one for the multi-strand look?

Now, let's get to my favorite style...



The Y pendant...


Or just the pendant...


How cute is this?


And this? I love this one!


Well, unfortunately, that concludes our shopping trip for today. I hope you had fun! I know I did.

So, tell me. What is the one accessory that makes your outfit complete? Necklace? Purse? Shoes? Earrings? I know it sounds crazy, but I really DO want to know!



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the cowboy boot salesman

One of our favorite memories of our recent trip to the Smoky Mountains was the evening we were resting on a bench in downtown Gatlinburg when a group of teenagers walked up and started setting up to perform a free bluegrass concert.

The five band members were all between the ages of 15 and 17. But their musical ability was incredible. As I watched the 15-year-old red-headed Abby play the fiddle, I wondered what it would be like to be so talented at such a young age. Was she born into the world a musical prodigy or was it just the outpouring of 10 years of practice and hard work?

I started daydreaming again about my secret desire to be a rock star (or at least a bluegrass singer) when my eyes started focusing on the girls' footwear. I think my chances of becoming a famous banjo player are a little limited at this point in life, but hey, I could at least think about buying some cowboy boots.

A few hours later, we were walking down the strip when we spied the huge cowboy boot store across the street.

"Let's go look around, just for fun," my husband and I both agreed.

As soon as I saw the pricetags I was determined that we were only window-shopping. This was not my typical $29.99 shoe binge at Kohl's.

Maybe we were just giddy with the joy of not having our children hanging on our hips begging for their own cowboy boots, but soon both my husband and I were searching the shelves for a size 8 for me to try. The minute I plopped down on the bench to try on a pair of cowboy boots "just for fun" I heard his voice.

"There's a pair of socks right there beside ya," said the smiling middle-aged man. "You're gonna need those!"

Right. Right. Well, I guess you have to have socks even if you are only trying on the boots for kicks.

I think I mumbled something about how "I'm just looking" and attempted to give him the ol' Midwestern cold shoulder.

But soon this friendly creature with the laughing face was running around the store searching for styles and sizes that would work for me.

I have enough experience in sales to know exactly what he was doing. He was treating me like someone who was going to buy a pair of cowboy boots. And if he had any doubts, he wasn't letting them show.

Despite all my efforts at staying mentally focused, his confidence was starting to wear off on me. Now, I was starting to see myself as someone who was going to buy a pair of cowboy boots.

A little later, as I was checking my reflection with a light brown suede boot on the right foot and a darker boot on the left, another customer walked up to see my selection.

"Those both look good," he said. "That is going to be a tough decision."

Huh? Now I look good in cowboy boots? Maybe it was my general lack of self-esteem in my expanding prego body. Or maybe it was the fact that it was very humid and it was a horrible hair day. But I floated across the store on his words.

I'm not only a person who is going to buy a pair of cowboy boots, I'm a person who looks good in a pair of cowboy boots.

Finally, I was starting to accept my new identity. My smiling salesman had handed and sorted and run up and down stairs to find boots for me to try, when he offered to leave us alone to talk about it. He left me in the capable hands of his two female assistants. And they offered the one last straw that he had not given me.

I was debating between two pairs. One was about a third more expensive than the other. It was also clearly more comfortable. More durable. Higher quality.

"But you don't understand," I tried to explain. "I live in Chicago. This is purely a fashion statement for me. I don't need the best brand you sell."

The saleswoman did not miss a beat. "It doesn't matter if you live in Chicago or Tennessee. You need boots that are going to be comfortable. You can wear these boots for 10 hours straight and they are going to feel great. And see that tread on the bottom? If you wear these other boots, you are going to step out on the icy sidewalk and fall on your butt. See these? You will be able to walk in any weather."

She gave me just what I wanted deep inside: She told me what to do. She gave me a reason to spend more money.

Now, I was not only a person who was going to buy a pair of cowboy boots and a person who looked good in cowboy boots, I was a person who deserved boots that are comfortable and won't make me fall down on the icy sidewalk.

Well, of course I'm going to get the more expensive pair. Who do I look like? Some city slicker from Chicago?

My boot-buying experience reminded me of a lesson that is not only important in sales, but in life. People will act the way they are treated.

In many cases, people will actually become the person they have been told they are.

I can think of so many instances in which someone has treated me in a negative way and I have reacted by being a negative person. I have actually started thinking of myself as unlovable or untalented or stupid, because that is how someone had treated me. I'm sure I've done the same thing to someone else.

On the other hand, I can think of people who gained self-confidence and ability because I treated them like the person they should be rather than the person they were at the moment. I believed in them before they believed in themselves.

I've been having a bit of buyer's remorse over the cowboy boots that now sit in my closet with no where to go this summer. But I'm grateful for the experience. When I look at those boots, I hope they will always remind me to treat people with love and respect and to assume the best of them.

Who knows? Maybe I can encourage someone else to believe the best about herself.


Yee-haw!

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hello, handbags

One of my favorite things about my husband's trips to China... hang on a sec... I meant to say, The only thing I like about my husband's trips to China is when he goes shopping for me at the Ladies' Market.

He has started bringing me purses.

This is the one he got me on his most recent trip.


It's really soft leather. And the inside is super soft, too.

Usually, the Ladies' Market has the latest styles that will be making their way to America. So, I'm hoping that my new purse is really hip and cool. I'm just not sure yet.

I keep wishing someone in her 20s would come up to me and tell me she loves my purse! This morning at church, a high school girl and her mom were poking each other and pointing at it. The mom told me she got one that was similar at a flea market.

I'm not sure if that's good or bad.


This is the purse he got me last year. My fake Coach. Why do I feel the need to tell everyone, "It's fake" when they say they like it?

Maybe I'm more proud of the fact my husband got me a fake Coach for $10 off the street in China than I would be if I had paid for a real Coach. Yep. I'm proud of my cheap-o-ness.


The purse purchases started a few years ago when my husband came home with this purse. It was for my 2-year-old daughter.


"Where's mine?" I asked.

"I thought you had a purse."

Oh my. That was the day my husband learned that just because a woman has one purse does not mean she doesn't need six more. I guess he wasn't that good at math.


While I'm on the topic of purses, this is the bag I picked out for myself for Mother's Day. Bass Pro Shop. Go figure.

I thought it was kind of nice for summer.


It love using it to carry around all of my junk when I'm going to be stuck sitting somewhere for a while. It's the perfect size for my everydayMOM planner, too.

Maybe I should start selling it as an accessory?

What do you think? Does a new purse or handbag make you as happy as it makes me?

the perils of a pedicure, the sequel

In today's edition of Fashion Friday, I will be featuring these adorable animal print flip flops. And as an extra special bonus, I am writing The Sequel to the Perils of Paraffin Wax.

This story actually began a few months ago when my friend, A Musing Mom, was celebrating her milestone-reaching, I-am-not-middle-age, and I-don't need-bifocals birthday. Just to make the point, she took us to play laser tag.

I gave A Musing a gift certificate to my favorite day spa, Simply Beautiful. I just casually mentioned that if she would rather not go by herself, I would be willing to make the sacrifice and tag along just to give her a little company. It's not like going to Simply Beautiful is No. 1 on my list of life's most relaxing moments or anything.

This was A Musing's second pedicure in her life, and I typically get about one a year, always as an excuse to get together with friends. So, being the spa experts that we are, we were completely prepared. Not long after we sat down, our nail specialists (is that what you call them?) said, "Were you planning to get your nails painted today."

We're both thinking, "Isn't that what a pedicure IS?!?!"

Then she mentions, "Did you bring any sandals?" Sandals? Well, it is January and the thick socks and boots might just smudge our newly painted nails.

Oh.

Hmm.

So here's what we learned last night about The Perils of a Pedicure.

1. If you plan to get a pedicure, you might have to sit for an hour or more in a massage chair with a hot wrap around your neck while soaking your feet in hot water. At times, someone will massage and scrub your feet leaving them feeling amazing. During this time, you will not be able to walk, so you will have to rely on the the Nail Specialist to bring you hot cups of tea to drink. You don't want to get too dehydrated.

2. You will have to choose from what seems like a hundred slight variations of colors ranging from black to hot pink to put on your toes. I have decided to go with the suggestion of Carrie, the wonderful Nail Specialist. Last time, she chose for me "My Private Jet", and you will just have to click here to find out where that got me. This time, the color she chose was called, "You Don't Know Jacques". I'm really not thinking that is sending quite the same motivational message for the year.

3. If you don't bring along any sandals, you will have to scoot through the parking lot in these paper-thin free flip flops they give you at the spa. Your little toe-sies will be freezing, so just to warm up, you will need to go to a restaurant that serves hot food.

4. When you hobble into the restaurant on your paper flip flops, you will try to act casual, hoping no one will notice. But they will. The very first person you encounter as you walk in the door will glare at your shoes, or lack thereof.

5. But never fear. The wait just might be an hour and a half and since the toes only need an hour to dry, you can put on your boots before being seated.

6. Once your feet are safe inside their nice warm shoes, they will start feeling so pampered, oiled, buffed and happy, that they won't want to walk. Your best bet is to put up your feet and order dessert.

Be careful out there. These spa treatments can be rough and come with many unadvertised hazards. Take your sandals. Pick your color wisely. Go in peace.

earth-shattering news

Oh my, oh my... Do I have some exciting news right here at the everydayMOM blog. You are gonna want to get out your planners right this very second and right this down on your list of things to do because you do NOT want to miss this.

You see... I spent five hours in the minivan on Sunday, trying to block out the sound of Hong Kong Phooey, the complete series playing on the DVD player, trying not to eat too many twizzlers and begging my husband's Blackberry to PLLLEASSSSE find an Internet connection so I could find out the date of the LOST season premiere. Apparently, the entire network was undergoing some sort of maintenance because we could not get a signal for 360 miles.

Anyway, without access to the Internet, my husband and I were forced to actually talk in real life. OK... you know I'm kidding. I am NOT that bad. Really.

We did, of course, talk about the Internet, though. And we came up with some unbelievable, award-winning, set-the-blogging-world-on-fire ideas that I will be writing about here on everydayMOM.

Remember back when I posted that little question asking da-bode-a-yas (that's slang for "the both of you", and since I regularly have around two readers a day, it fits!) if you thought I should have a theme for my blogging. And da-bode-a-yas, plus a couple of others, all said, "NO WAY! Keep it random!"

Well... I listened. And that's why I can't wait to start writing about these completely NOT THEME-Y, absolutely random topics.

One will be Fashion Friday. This will only occur on Fridays, if by chance, I come up with something fashion-worthy to write about that day of the week. Otherwise, it's going to be whatever day it happens to be. The first post in this series, will address... THE boots. (What ELSE?!?!) I cannot wait to fill you in on all of the news involving THE NEW FURRY boots.

Then there's going to be the Monday Morning Cooking Club. Again. Could be on Monday. Could be in the morning. Maybe not. Don't want to be too theme-y. Just keepin' it random.

This will probably happen about once every month or less when I actually have a good, new recipe to share. But make sure you get out YOUR favorite recipes, because I'm going to ask you what you're making for dinner. And if you want to tell me any other time, regardless of whether it's Monday Morning Cooking Club day, please go right ahead.

And finally... finally... finally... I cannot WAIT to start the LOST episode weekly review. The Season 5 Premiere is Jan. 21. I hope, hope, hope that da-bode-a-yas like to watch LOST so you can participate in this little discussion after the show.

I realize this might have been more excitement than you could possibly handle this morning, but I just HAD to fill you in on all the fun that is in store.

Now, get yourself out there and have a great day!