The Kerry Variety Show

Let it snow!

2012-02-15T01:12:00.001-05:00

A list of thank you cards to write and amazing friends visiting this weekend. Yuppie brunch, zoo for adults, and tofu for babies. And glory be, a plumbing emergency fixed in less than 12 hours, hurrah!

Sunday morning

2012-02-12T10:11:00.001-05:00

Both cats on me and my bladder about to burst

Banner thrift shop day

2012-02-11T18:08:00.001-05:00

Daily clutch, fits phone, cards, and lip gloss

Habit, 30 days, and sitting...or not sitting

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

It started here with a talk about how a habit typically takes about 30 days of concerted effort to take hold. Then there was this about the importance of being active at least 30 minutes of your day. (this is not running a 10k, this is moving your body). Finally, there was this and that about how sitting is killing us and suddenly, as suddenly as ice ages and evolution and glaciers moving, I could feel my large vibrant muscles mushing into lard, my veins oozing into flabs of sluggish hopelessness. For 2.5 years I've had a desk job, requiring 9-12 hours of sitting 5 days a week.

So now I asked my friends if I can walk their dog, I have a program on my computer that nudges me out of my seat every 50 minutes, and I have yoga dates three times a week. Slowly slowly.

32 for 32...almost

2012-02-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite people's parent once said "Children are wonderful because they open you to whole new worlds." Let's extend that to everyone in your life, especially your loved ones. One of my OTHER favorite people in the world happens to be high school friends with this lovely person: Caroline who does this. Isn't that a wonderful idea? Inspired by Caroline who was inspired by another Keri - introducing 32 for 32 - 32 things to make my life more exciting productive and filled with joy.

go to a foreign country
see the Grand Canyon
run a 5k
run a 10k
publish the first peer-reviewed article
publish the second peer-reviewed article
publish the third peer-reviewed article
make a plan for having kids
30 day challenge: run every day
30 day challenge: talk to every one of my most important people in one month
blog at least twice a week for the whole year
30 day challenge: do something that scares me every day and document it
surprise Tim with a romantic getaway
30 day challenge: send a homemade/handmade gift to every one of my most important people
make homemade tortillas
make paella..good paella
make the perfect crumb coffee cake
submit a short story for publication
learn to play tennis
Read The Tale of Two Cities
Read Moby Dick
Journal my pregnancy (if that ever happens).

Yes

...So I started writing this months ago. And now here I am, finishing 3 weeks of 80 hour work weeks and this list feels exhausting. So how about we stick to 22 and if by some blissful miracle we get farther...then hurrah! we will go farther in our journey.

Tim’s 33rd birthday

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

We spent the weekend in Taos, a mountain town in New Mexico that was established in the 1500s. Tim skied while I worked - highlights below, background for these stories is that Tim has old school skis from 1995, which are long and skinny and look drastically different from the shorter, wider current style.

Snowboarder he met on the lift “Those are seriously some old-school skis dude...Is this like a big joke?”

Snowboader discussing skiing/snowboarding jump competition below “Yeah, I did that the last few years. My buddy did this sick jump last year then landed on his head and got the gnarly concussion. It’s just not worth the glory...This guy I used to date has a chute named after him up there. He was back country skiing the other day and broke 8 ribs. You gotta be careful.”

Other dude Tim met on the ski lift, “Whoa, those skis! Are those from the early ‘80s?...Yeah I used to live in LA and do big administrative computer stuff. It was so stressful. I sold my Jaguar, moved back to the midWest. I have a 3 bedroom house with a mortgage of $500/month. I wait tables and smoke pot in the morning if I want to. I have no stress.”

Marriage

2012-02-05T21:21:00.001-05:00

This month I am reminded over and over what a catch he is. It's like winning the lottery and then realizing that you will win every day, for the rest of your life.

Sometimes pets are trouble

2012-02-05T21:16:00.001-05:00

New Mexico weekends

2012-02-05T12:39:00.001-05:00

We're doing a great job enjoying these New Mexico days. Last weekend was Taos for Tim's birthday and this weekend we're in White Sands. In Taos we met a legitimate cowboy (who tipped his has to me, who says chivalry is dead?) who recommended 'blood and thunder' by Hampton sides. It's a historical memoir about new Mexico during the early 1800s as we changed from Spanish to Mexican to American control. Will post my favorite parts as I read them, what a dangerous life those pioneers led, the author lists the various ways a mountain man could die: grizzlies, starvation, lack of water, native Americans,then of course all the fevers and infections. More soon. Love, Kerry.

Plague deux

2012-01-10T14:57:00.000-05:00

As Tim says, the plague is upon our house. I can't stand up to take pics of Dayquil and Nyquil so you'll just have to imagine. Why do you think he would leave two delicious brownies here? He knows all my regulation capacities are out the window. We had a video meeting today and it took all I could handle to not just lay my head down on my desk. Also, I feel most healthy as I am *consuming* the Dayquil which leads to a (probably unhealthy) urge to just keep drinking it, you know, like Kombucha.

Don't even think this has anything to do with hot yoga. Working out in 106 degrees can only be good for you. Wishing you more health than me!

Loving New Mexico

2012-01-07T11:36:00.001-05:00

Ceviche and good friends last night, pueblo dances today.

Last night the kids we hung out with were so adorable, smart, and fun, Tim said "ok let's go home and make babies." Amen.

Home sweet home

2011-12-30T12:43:00.001-05:00

After a month on the road, finally home. First stop, Christmas style breakfast burritos. Discovery of the day: international grocery selling durian, duck, and cafe du monde coffee.

Andy Warhol, thanks for the 5!

2011-12-23T19:36:00.000-05:00

PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE our day in the sun is here! My 5 minutes of fame is ticking by so we might as well bask in the glory. Lovely Nat has officially made me famous. (19 people and counting, GET EXCITED) A little orientation for you, Natalie is a NYC blogger who makes me ache to live in the big bad city. Please visit her blog to admire her precious baby, cute clothes, and photo skills.

Ok, act cool, I think Nat's readers are here. HI Nat's readers! This is the funniest thing that I've written recently - you should probably read it before you decide to stay.

Alrighty lovelies, hello hello. I hope you all are having an amazing Christmas/Hanukkah/Pagan holiday/few days off. We have been blessed enough to see most of our beloved friends in California, Tim graduate in PA, Tim's family in NY, and my family in FL this month so yay for loved ones across the country. A few notes. 1. doesn't this top picture remind you of Hardrock, Coco, and Jo? If this makes sense to you, high fives all around. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's a a great old video that our local new station used to play every December to get everyone excited (see here). 2. We're in Florida now with my illustrious sister and we christened our trip with a high tea visit (and appropriate hats). Note gorgeous earrings are gift from Tim. (Who can argue with a man who gives you sparkly earrings and necklace for early-Christmas? Not me, people. Not me.)

And finally, two recommendations for your holiday season. First, for the readers among us, Operating Instructions by Anne Lammot. This is the lyrical journal of the author's first year of parenting. More than a documentation of the trials of baby, it is a compilation of reflections on faith and the glorious imperfection in all of us. Even without child, it was heartening to read the honest, vulnerable struggles of Anne. To read a clear, biting, loving account of a process bathed in decades (centuries) of mystique and hyperbole is refreshing and hilarious. Also, I seem to have a very tender spot in my heart for religious women who are recovered alcoholics. (see also Lit by Mary Karr)

For those who'd prefer to play this holiday, enjoy Osmos, a physics-based game (which is already demonstrating that my impulsivity will always be my downfall) and for the iPad users, Unstuck and here. Finally, finally for the nerds among us, R and Mplus together?, another miracle of the holidays.

Countdown till Christmas

2011-12-20T10:37:00.001-05:00

Much like Memento (with decidedly less artistic inspiration) we are bopping around between past, present, future. Something I wrote last week but never posted - inspired by my dream last night that I refused to leave California.

"Quick updates first: California was amazing, it was bursting with every CA person that I love, amazing genuine sweet friends who laugh and are honest and tell me when I’m awful and still love me, which really is the truest gift. To have someone know you in all your grimy cracks, like the awful green stuff in between fork tongs when you don’t polish the silver well, to have someone know you like that and STILL hand you their baby or a fresh drink or show you all their new favorite discoveries like freshly mined jewels and I just feel so blessed.

We were home for two days where the cats sat on us each time we stood still, in some sad sweet effort to get us to just stay, stay damn it. But we can’t. We found two nice neighbor boys who seem to love cats and will feed them while we’re away. They’re the same boys I watched out a window as they piled their cats on top of each other. It was this odd, slow motion game of getting the cats rounded up, then hugging them, then the cats escaping, and again and again. It seemed quite odd through a window with no sound but the cats seem unperturbed, as I imagine that all cats that grow up in the presence of little boys must know that what doesn’t kill them...well it doesn’t kill them."

Finally, why everyone is buying nail polish (and Champagne apparently) http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/magazine/adam-davidson-economic-indicators.html

and my new favorite nail polish http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P290803

Good morning from upstate New York

2011-12-19T07:46:00.001-05:00

Two weeks of travel

2011-12-15T16:21:00.001-05:00

Hello all and happy holidays. Yesterday we started two weeks of travel, flying from ABQ to Philly, now on to NYC.

I think I might have some rare bladder shrinking disorder. I feel like an old lady that needs to make sure she's close to a restroom at all times. I actually broke the seat belt rule during landing the other day b/c I was sure I would wet myself. Which is less attractive after kindergarten.

I'm off to enjoy the department store windows of the holiday season so I leave you with this, evidence that the cats use computers too, red mangos genius marketing to convince me fro yo can be a meal, and action shot from the winter formal in SF.

California weekend

2011-12-04T18:51:00.001-05:00

Good friends, dim sum, and apple brandy tasting. Is the sunshine really better/warmer/more golden here or is it just me?

There is little more comforting than being curled up watching football and eating sloppy sandwiches with people who have known you for 13 years and still return your calls.

So it finally snowed...

2011-12-03T07:56:00.001-05:00

But 4am is too early for anything except my husband's scrumptious facial hair. This starts a month of travel and I predict delayed flights, bumps for travel vouchers, and lots of sbux.

May your weekend be merry and bright.

Good bad ugly

2011-12-02T23:56:00.001-05:00

Hello loved ones (and that German reader guten tag!), it's been a big day at our New Mexico estate.
First, last night we escaped to my favorite pub for green chile cheese fries and margaritas to celebrate the upcoming storm, note funny blurry picture of us enjoying the white Xmas trees. NEXT note ridiculous (sidebar, sister's phone always auto replaces 'ridiculous' with 'riggins' which seems odd and reminds us of our love for FNL so there you go) anyway, note riggins pics of me practicing cheerleading jumps. Two things are notable here: I look insane AND do you see snow?!? No??? Look harder! .... Still no? Yeah, snowpocalypse didn't work out as planned.

Then work...work was the equivalent of someone saying "you're supposed to have that hydrogen bomb done by January...you knew that right?" I figured out plan b for when they let me go, worked 10 hrs, then finally, after tim got home, just cried for awhile. It'll be fine, I need sleep and my wonderful California friends, and maybe some magic math skills. But that's for Monday.

Tonight, we're at a coffee shop, tim's growing his winter beard (my favorite!), and the kid next to me just said to his lady friend, "we're so close, I bet we'll still be talking when we're 35!" and damn it, I hope they are.

To the best scrabble word of your week, old love, new love, and the full catastrophe of life in between!

December is here!

2011-12-01T12:02:00.001-05:00

And for my winter prize, we have this coming our way "SNOWFALL AMOUNTS WILL TOP A FOOT...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS OVER SUMMITS...AND 4 TO 8 INCH SNOWFALLS OVER VALLEYS...PLAINS." from weather.gov woohooo!

Blizzards are even better when you're a telecommuter. Snow landfall (what!? It's not like I'm married to a meteorologist or anything) is anticipated to hit at 10pm so I am forcing Timmy to bike in the snow tonight with me. I am so excited. The wind has killed my Internet, thus robbing me of pandora and Jillian whatshername shredding workout :(

Instead, pics of the windy day.
Branch in road from major wind; really unimpressive but difficult to get picture of blowing leaf; cats in closet hiding from wind; my brown bear Sherpa lined hoody, i look like a marshmallow and don't care

Happy happy December, my new favorite month!

Small surprises for a Tuesday

2011-11-30T00:01:00.001-05:00

We discovered an amazing sushi place tonight then found this on the way back. Another great night :)

Christmas tree, especially for a rental home

2011-11-25T20:46:00.001-05:00

Two successes 1. I decorated before thanksgiving, my dominion over tim is complete! (kidding people, kidding)
2. Japanese masking tape! Apparently American scrap-booking people have known about this for years, but it's news to me. Also it's affordable, easily removable on painted walls, and pretty.

Thrifting part 2

2011-11-12T05:00:00.000-05:00

Regarding the photos, we were doing action shots...with variable success.

Third thrifting lesson, zen. I *know* how this sounds but stay with me (even if you're not from California). If you can be at peace with walking away, with finding nothing, then you can have the calm patience to enjoy the search. Maybe thrifting really can be a metaphor for life. WHICH

brings me to my second life lesson related to thrifting. Be you. Be YOU. Be the best damn you that you can be. Yes, this is a life lesson people. We are getting DEEP here. There are many iterations of this message.
"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."
- Steve Jobs

"Be your best self." - Oprah
My favorite thrifting finds are the ones that I looked at and my heart squealed. I guess the best things I have in my life did that. Lori once said to me, "You're a shiny girl." She was teasing and meant it to be a comparison to all the Southern sorority girls decked in sequins. [I mention Lor so much because I love her desperately and she is one of the only people in my life who says exactly what she thinks, I can hear it with an open heart, and both of us know that our love is unwavering.]

And even though she never meant it as a compliment, to me it was. Because as silly as it sounds, yeah, I am. I love shiny things. I love soft things. and I don't care if no one else likes them. I don't care if people think its insane to wear fur and makeup to my telecommuting office where no one sees me. I like the clothes that make me happy...sometimes that has little to do with what's in a magazine or on a runway.

So go forth, find something that makes your heart squeal.

All things Fashion Friday - thrifting part 1

2011-11-10T22:00:00.000-05:00

It's true people. I bought fur. [Slight tangent - I wouldn't buy new fur. I eat meat occasionally, I own leather things, the fur is vintage - no new animals were killed for my warm neck. My thought is at this point the fox is dead, might as well enjoy it.] [Second tangent - does the iPhone do amazing pics or what?!]

In celebration of my favorite Albuquerque consignment store 's anniversary (and big Saturday sale wheeeeeee) [third tangent: calling all web designers, ABQ needs you! Local businesses all have crappy crappy websites.], I thought it'd be fun to review the best things about thrifting and my humble hints for the craft.

1. Expert: I'd be remiss if I didn't direct you to a wonderful blog with lots of good thrifting hints.

2. Green: It's re-using and re-cycling and you're not supporting some freaking company who hires child labor or doesn't offer their American workers a living wage or health insurance.

3. Attitude: Jentine touches on this but I'd never made it explicit for myself before. I used to hate thrifting. I used to be that person that would look at my favorite fashion blogs and roll my eyes (loudly) when someone said they got a gorgeous piece from a thrift store.

As a non-thrifter, I felt like all those other people were going to magic thrift stores where cashmere sweaters and hip stylized dresses hopped off the rack into people's arms. I FEEL YOUR PAIN NON THRIFTER. Now since I have fallen in love with a cheap way to shop a lot, let me tell you what changed. I see the chase as fun. There were times in my life where the best use of my limited time and money was running into [insert random box store] to buy basics then running out. Now I happen to be in a place in my life where I can take a leisurely weekend morning and just enjoy the gamble. Prepare yourself: there's a lot of shit out there.

You will look through racks of clothes that are bleck (that were bleck 10 years ago). But sometimes - sometimes....you find your own cashmere sweater/50s dress/JCrew skirt/leather boots. For 1/10th the retail price. And you feel like you have conquered the thrifting gods at their own game.

4. Today is a thrifting day: First, wear good clothes. Ladies, you need a good bra. I have purchased some ridiculous shirts [ugly, bad, not a good choice] because I thought "but with my good bra, this would look BETTER." (fourth tangent - yes, I only have one good bra - it's not worth getting into)
Wear clothes that you can take on and off and are comfortable.

Second, it can help to have an item or two you're excited to look for (cardigans, blazers, and scarves have been on my list recently).

more tomorrow...

I can speak on a variety of topics

2011-11-10T13:19:00.001-05:00

Lori: okay

what do i need for class?

me: wait you need to tell me the topics

so I can make lectures

Lori: right

these are going to be magical

and rapid

me: YES

Lori: abnormal: gender identity disorder and sexual disorders

me: because I can speak on a variety of topics

Lori: stats lab: i'm showing them how to do a linear regression, then they're doing one, and then i'm helping them with their results

me: abnormal: hmm this is tricky and sensitive - read your book chapter, think about societal influences, discuss

Lori: wait, that isn't a lecture

that's just you talking

me: stats: regression, related to correlations, covariance etc etc, be careful cause SPSS will give you a number no matter what, so know your shit

um yeah I'm lecturing

this whole convo is gold

Lori: erm

not to offend you

or anything

but i don't think that's going to work

i realize you didn't have a lot of time to prep

but your lectures, umm.....

perhaps a bit subpar?

me: you haven't seen the accompanying ppt

that really hits it home

Lori: oh dear

this is going to be on your blog, isn't it?

Knotty hair

2011-11-09T13:11:00.000-05:00

These pics don't do it justice but teasing hair = fabulous! Also my lovely sister hooked me up with pinterest so watch for updates. Finally, gorgeous scarfs and belts are easy thrifting finds that make a normal jcrew sweater much cuter.

Thankful Monday

2011-11-07T23:13:00.000-05:00

Hello All - It should come as no surprise that my plague ppt was a BIG HIT. Meaning - Lori texted me Sunday morning to tell me how crazy it was. Honestly, sometimes all I need to make my day is to know I have driven my sister up a wall. that's LOVE people - 100% big sister LOVE. In other news, Tim's parents were here this weekend - it is such a pleasure to luck into a family who loves good food and savoring a multicourse conversation as much as I do. They created my favorite man in the whole world (aside from my Dad) and I can't thank them enough.

To Timothy - the best man for me.

In other news! and in the grand tradition of me barreling into a party 6 months after everyone else has partied, tagged themselves on FB photos, and gotten over it: Pinterest! http://pinterest.com/ (Note, the useful thing about being epic-ly behind *typically* is that I have no problem getting in, but I am allegedly on some waiting list to get an account?!) Pinterest - did you run out of internet? I don't understand! I want to use your service, I can offer ALL my readers as followers (Hi Mom, Adrienne, and that person in Germany) Pinterest HELLLLOOOOOOOO

Anyway, if you happen to be one of the 3 million people on Pinterest, please help me out. Luckily, Pinterest has deigned to allow me to look at the pretty pretty pictures and I've already learned to tease my hair and make it all big and pretty. Please see here - ok I am at a coffee shop that (i am not kidding) might have a freaking dial-up connection so links tomorrow - ALSO I might just make a video - wouldn't that be fun? We can do a video of me teasing my thin, dirty hair, I'll wear my new fox fur, it'll be great.

Plague

2011-11-05T23:19:00.001-05:00

We had a lab meeting on Friday - some other people talked about relevant stuff but I really wanted to just present this. Big hugs to you all!

sickness part deux with bonus polygamy discussion

2011-10-31T13:28:00.000-05:00

Here's the issue with being sick, it's so hard to not become a pathetic pile of self pity. I am using my minimal self control to inhibit a series of indulgent gchat status-es (statusi?) including "breathing....barely" on my work gmail. You'll all be comforted to know that my nonexistent fever rules out bubonic plague fears...that and I haven't been bleeding out my ears HAPPY DAYS. The cats are terrified every time we have a hacking cough or blow our nose, I don't blame them.

Now back to my new favorite topic, polygamy. (sidebar, Tim is the best. He has singlehandedly kept us fed for the past 5 days, made every medicine run, and listened sympathetically as I continually moan "but I just feel so siiiiccccckkkkkk." Yes, I'm a special flower when I'm ill. And most recently he ignored my unwarranted and vaguely informed fire starting advice, "IT NEEDS AIR")

so polygamy - there is a lot I like about sister wives, I think the women are kind, I think everyone's doing their very best to parent the children, and I think they are clearly working hard to deal with a difficult situation in a mature way that protects the family. I have a sense that TLC does some serious editing so we don't hear as much religious talk as we might if we were a fly on the wall. I support adults making their own consensual living choices without legal oversight and I am intrigued by the parallels between the Browns' family struggles against oppression, job discrimination, and community ostracization, and those of other minority groups throughout our history. When the Browns talk about being disowned from their biological family because they are polygamists, I think about the gay, lesbian, bisexual, questioning, and transgender youth who endure those same struggles. and always my mind comes back to, are the Browns willing to share the same acceptance that they request? How much insight do they have into the similarities between their own legal oppression and that of other groups - legal oppression that Mormons have aggressively supported? (I don't know how the Brown's religion differs from the broader Mormon faith so am limited to generalities.)

It's an honest question and I don't know the answer.

A pox upon our house

2011-10-29T17:37:00.001-05:00

No really there's a pox, we are one bloody coughing fit away from a quarantine flag. When you're sick as a kid, it can be nice. My mom would make up a bed on the couch, I'd watch tv and princess bride all day, while sipping 7up and eating those buttery keebler crackers. Grown up sick is a whole different story, you make your own walgreens runs, you negotiate the imagined horrors of missing work (because honestly if any of us are in positions where people die if we call in sick, there's *some* kind of replacement), and you still feel miserable. Here are the positive sides of adult flu season:
hot toddy: oh lord these are amazing. You're sick, don't make this harder than it needs to be, equal parts water, whiskey, and lemon juice, heat and add honey. Welcome to the cough syrup for the ages.
Netflix and hulu: when I started my postdoc, I got the flu so bad I couldn't write an email (literally tim wrote my absentee sick email for me) and the thing that stopped me from slowly carving my own sinuses out with a spoon was every season of 'lost' on Netflix instant viewing...heaven. This time I'm all caught up in the office and sister wives. Warning do NOT think basketball wives is going to be good, it will make you feel even worse.
Smart phones: people you need to download hipstamatic camera app, it is $2 and gives you fun 70s style pictures (INCLUDING 4 lens, 3 types of film, and 3 flashes) lovely
The fact that I am telling you about something little, useful, and inexpensive is a testament to my sister and her ability to convince me that a nyquil fueled etsy shopping spree was not the best use of taxpayer money. You're welcome! Wishing you all a healthy weekend and lots and hand sanitizer.
P.s. British movies! What is it about British movies that ease the troubled, fever rattled heart? During college sickness, 'sliding doors' was my go to. this weekend I introduced tim to 'gosford park'. Should I even dare hope that Netflix has Anne of green gables? Will heaven shine this blessing down on me? We shall see!
P.p.s. Sister wives! I'm not all in on the polygamy poker table BUT I will say that I have faith that a sister wife would be making me chicken and dumplings to calm my tender inflamed throat, just saying.

Saying goodbye is hard

2011-10-25T21:56:00.001-05:00

The blessing and curse of an amazing family is that it is so hard to leave. I spilled oj all over myself on the plane which interrupted the crying. But it is a blessing and I'm grateful for it.
Tim and I started watching sister wives last night, that show is fascinating, I was thinking about it all day.

Two funny quotes from our target shopping trip

T: do you want more halloween candy?
K: ...what we really need is a pantry with a lock, so you can buy the food you want without worrying about me.

K: I really want a big bag of tatertots...we need to get all our bad eating out of our system now, before we have kids.
Can you imagine planning a healthy dinner every night?! This is why we need another wife.

Rest for the weary

2011-10-21T18:41:00.001-05:00

I'm on my way home! like old school home where all the private jokes make perfect sense, everyone calls me Ker, and I know each stair creek by heart. Working hard at work isn't interesting news, we all do it and we all have times where it feels like you're barely treading water. But what is worth talking about is that this week, in addition to all the emotions described above, I have felt so privileged to be paid to use my brain. In the last two weeks I got to be a co-creator of a really exciting study that merges many literatures on the study of injury. I got to read and write and think about the best way to prevent child death and injury, what an amazing privilege! Oprah magazine once had a quote "to do what you love and believe that it matters, what could be more fun!" YES Oprah yes :) I wouldn't be here without parents who always made me do my homework, made it clear that doing my best academically was worth it.

Pics below are an outfit for one of those early mornings after a long night writing and thinking. Knitted scarf made by my sister, when you're tired and have a long road ahead, nothing feels better than something made in love.

Inspiration Tuesday

2011-10-19T20:24:00.000-05:00

Seriously can we talk about how inspiring http://www.thesartorialist.com/ is? Please!? Saw this and had to try it. It's fabulously insane and wonderful. Sidebar - his pictures make me yearn to live in NYC like nothing else. Oh yeah, and all my workmates are there. And bagels and public transit done right (apologies to Europe, clearly they've been doing it right much longer - also Hello to my one German reader! I see you on my blog stats HI or should I say Hallo!)

Last one is my favorite, dress/jacket is another thrifting find. It's striking how different one can look based on clothes, styling, pic angle. Some of the dress shots we took I look legitimately obese, but the jacket has a nice slimming effect too. Final thought - note gorgeous thrift chunky bracelet - it makes my wrist green, not kidding, help?

When you don't have anything good to say

2011-10-18T23:48:00.001-05:00

When I worked in a med school in Philly in college I'd take my lunch breaks and look through the dermatology journals, it was my grown up equivalent of a fun house, getting just creeped out enough to get goosebumps....I miss those lunches. The old tenants mail just got here, oh how I want to open it.

Thrifting finds

2011-10-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Jcrew cardigan $13
Bracelet $4
Funky silk blouse $7

This is lazy monday telecommuter outfit. This cardigan, ohhhh it's so precious. I can't decide whether in real life (you know, like when I leave the house) I'd dress it up for a full on librarian look or... What? How does you make a ski sweater edgy? Black mini, black tights and cowboy boots, I might rock that come winter. I also wanted to note my xl boys t-shirt (came in multicolor 4 pack). That is my favorite cheapest way to get basic cotton tees, I also use these shirts for lazy Sunday mornings when I don't want to shower but still want to look ok, just add fun scarf. Ran out of time for pic but as all of my abq friends have noticed, all I really do here in wear different scarves.