Put a smile on your face!

I am attempting to keep on trucking along on this blog even though my house is kind of in disarray at the moment. Our guest room, which is where I usually take pictures, is currently housing the salvaged contents of my basement and the memory card from my camera is literally full of pictures we took for the insurance company. So it's the i-phone and bathroom mirror for now.

Cardigan: LOFT
Tank: Gap Outlet
Shorts: LOFT
I love that striped cardigan, seriously one of my favorites.. I think I have a
major obsession with stripes.. do I need an intervention? 

The past couple of days have been hurricane aftermath related.. cleaning up the basement, talking to insurance to see what kind of coverage we have, meeting with the contractor, etc. It's all a little stressful and overwhelming and I don't want to turn this post into a rant about it so I won't.

Today consisted of replenishing my fridge at Shoprite. While I was there I saw something that reminded that this is really not a huge deal at all in the grand scheme of life. Inconvenient? Yes. But I can handle inconvenient.

I was supposed to head into work today to set up my classroom but when I called the secretary told me that the custodians were too lazy busy and hadn't gotten to clean our section of the building yet.  Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing but respect for custodians.. or at least the custodial staff that has worked in my building in the past. This current staff? Not so much! They like to play the "we are so busy and understaffed" card waaay too much. I basically cleaned my classroom myself every day last school year and I would go in and clean it again now if they let me. I just want to set up and be prepared for next week. OK so instead of ranting about my basement this turned into a giant complaint about my classroom and custodial staff. Oops, sorry! Oh well, I guess it's extra time with little R and a much needed nap on the agenda instead. I think I'll take it :)

We survived...

Hurricane Irene.. Our basement, sadly, did not :( it flooded and we are faced with gutting it and starting all over. We use our basement as a playroom and family room so this stinks. We are still without power as well.. But the important thing is that we're all safe and everything else will get taken care of in time. Hope to be back up and running soon!

Don't Drink the Water!

Wow, let's hope it doesn't come to THAT this weekend in the northeast. My area of the country is NOT equipped to deal with a storm as large as this Irene is predicted to become. I am hoping that all the hype is for nothing and she goes way off course, but we are ready with water, non-perishables, flashlights, candles and etc. My parents live along the NJ shore and I keep encouraging them to come stay with us this weekend, but they are being typical stubborn little Italian people!  I was going to make a last minute Home Depot run but I called ahead and all items we were looking for were sold out! So this is what wore to run the rest of my last minute hurricane errands. Be safe fellow east coasters!!

Dress: Gap Outlet (a couple of summers ago)
Cardigan: Gap (a while ago)
Belt: Gap Outlet (spring 2011)
Shoes: Gap Outlet (spring 2011)
Necklace: Lia Sophia
Bracelets: Sunshine Daydreams 

What if a great wave should wash us all away?

From the song PIG by DMB. I know, I know, it's kind of inappropriate, yet so appropriate at the same time! I decided to use the DMB lyrics as my titles this week and I'm sticking to it! Although at this point, I'm not that sorry about not going to the concert. Who wants to be stuck on Governor's Island in the middle of a hurricane? Not I!!  This definitely fit with the theme of my day.. shopping for flashlights and such in case this Irene chick decides to wreak havoc on the the northeast over the weekend. Target was MOBBED. The non-perishable food aisle was insanely packed. But hey, who am I to criticize? I was there too! Running straight to the flashlights when I heard a kid say to his mom "wow there are only 3 left!"

This outfit was actually worn a couple of days ago. About the pony tail.. it's a fact of my life since I had Robert. I don't wash my hair every day. That might seem gross lazy to some people, but, well, OK maybe it is (slightly). My hair is very thick, naturally wavy but not curly which = frizziness if I don't style on a regular basis.  I either straighten it, which means I can get another day out of it being straight without washing or I go wavy, which means the next day it will be in a pony tail. I think I have worn my hair wavy almost every day this summer. Last winter I cut it into a short bob and I loved it.. but it was a lot of work.. I had to straighten it every day and no pony tails. BUT it was really cute/flattering so I might do it again this fall/winter. We'll see!

Shirt: Gap Outlet (summer 2011)
Cutoffs: Gap Outlet (summer 2010)
Belt: NY&Company (spring 2011)
Flippies: OLD Navy (long time ago)
Necklace: Lia Sophia 

This necklace reminds me of a Dave Matthews Band concert,
I am totally wearing it to the next one I go to! 

Yikes! I am shiny. Anyone have a foundation compact?
:)

"For a moment this good time would never end..."

From the Dave Matthews band song "stay". Not really one of my favorites but very fitting for my life right now.. I only have a few more days home with my little Mr. R.. He goes back to school on Monday. I am feeling emotional about this, as I have every year since he started daycare 2 years ago. I know it's good for him, he gets to socialize with kids his age, he is learning a lot, etc. etc. But part of me has always wanted to be a stay at home mom and it bugs me a little every September when I have to send him back. So I'm making the most of our few days home together before I head back to the grind.

We kept things laid back today and had a play date with the neighbor kids. I decided to layer this Gap Outlet peach ruffle tank with a green striped tank underneath, just to try something different, and because I am slightly obsessed with stripes! I've worn some version of stripes every day this week so far!

green striped tank: Gap Outlet (summer 2010)
peach ruffle tank: Gap Outlet (summer 2011)
shorts: Gap Outlet (summer 2011)
shoes: Kenneth Cole reaction (2 years ago)
necklace: charminngcharlie

Yikes!

We just felt an earthquake here in NJ and I feel I have to blog about this! I was standing in my kitchen making some espresso and I felt the house move or "shift". My first thought was I was having a dizzy spell.. my mom, who was in the house with me, didn't feel a thing so I really thought it was all in my head! UNTIL I saw my light fixtures swinging back and forth!! Then I went outside and all the neighbors were out there talking about it. Crazy scary! Thank goodness everyone is all right (I have very close family who work in NYC) and the house seems fine. Hope everyone in the east coast area who felt this is doing OK!!

"Goes to visit his mommy...

she feeds him well, his concerns, he forgets them, and remembers being small... playing under the table and dreaming..."


Ahh, from the classic DMB song Ants Marching. That line of the song reminds me of home, and being with my mom. My parents sold our childhood home a couple of years ago which was very sad. So many great memories were created in that house and it was hard to let it go. But I find that, for me anyway, home is where my mom is. The familiar smell of espresso brewing, or sauce simmering, and I'm home again, under the table and dreaming.

On an outfit note, this LOFT dress has been one of my go to pieces for the entire summer. I love the colors, the stripes, the drawstring at the waste. I think it might even work for fall with a cardigan and flats. What do you think?

Dress: LOFT (summer 2011)
Shrug Sweater: NY&Co (a couple of years ago)
Flip Flops: Old Navy (old)
Necklace: Sunshine Daydreams