I Love Fashion

You wouldn't know it just by looking at me. Although if you were a fashion-person you might.

On my every day I am fond of a uniform. I work a few days with Pup at our business and, on most days, see just a few people. So my winter uniform has been leggings, a v-neck sweater in a no-color color, boots. A nice watch. A very good bag. A pair of the loveliest earrings that Pup got me for Christmas a few years ago and a thin, gold, lariat necklace. Boom. Done. Every day the same. Looks nice, is comfortable while I'm wrestling with numbers, and suits my chunky-monkey ways these days.

But I love fashion.

I have a designer's eye and somehow have a sense of things that are on the horizon to be the next thing and a sense of things that are going to be past their time. This designer's eye is colored with my personal tastes and views naturally, but there it is.

Like scarves! I love long scarves. Always have. I've worn them for a million years. Suddenly, every time I put one on with an outfit, off it goes. It feels fussy. It feels yesterday. I don't wear it. The scarves in my dressing nook (definitely not a room) hang on their Ikea organizer very sad and underutilized.

And my large, black-framed glasses. I hunted down this look well over four years ago. I still love them but am worried (because of this love) they are getting a tad stale.

At times I miss my corporate job where getting dressed every day was an event. I was seen and it was important and it was fun. Once a manager from a distant department that I casually knew asked me to shop with her and help her with mixing and matching. What fun that was!

I shine in the shop-your-closet event. Mixing and matching and discovering nuances in my and other closets is the most fun.

I worked years ago for a friend at the University of Minnesota. After a few months she asked me to look around the department and said, "Do you see the influence you're had around here?" She saw how a few ideas of mine had found more lives. I remember feeling happy about that!

As I love saying, "I may not be everything, but I sure am something!"

Spring is coming and here is what I'm looking forward to:

Story from the Z Files

Z means nothing. I'm just not that clever this morning! I was attempting to find a connection between X Files and Z files which could be hard because I'm too lazy to look anything up on the X Files and I never saw one episode. Wha?

Hopefully the story is more entertaining than that sentence.  :)

Yours Truly on phone with friend. We're having a little kiki. I'm hesitating saying my next sentence that is hilariously rolling around in my head. About a particular situation.

Friend says, "If you're worried about going to hell for saying anything, know that you will not be alone."

We FELL out laughing. I am so very easily amused.

Today Was Made for Frosting

Unexpected day with no agenda. Normally a go-to-The-Firm-day, but Pup said a power supply died and we had inexplicably bought computers that have special-order parts so I have no computer at The Firm.

I'm not mad about it.

I have a list in front of me with things that seem to never get done during the week. We'll see how I do today!

It's sleeting outside.

The sun was out yesterday. When it is out we all find happiness simply looking out windows. Spud was here for a short bit yesterday (he was here for a few hours, but slept most of it!) and he and I spent a chunk of time in his room where we lifted the blind so he could look outside and enjoy looking at everything with a bright light. He loves looking out windows! I know he doesn't really understand why we are stuck in the house for the most part.

With that in mind Bella and I took him to the Como Park Conservatory on Sunday. It's a great place to poke about and smell humid air, look at beautiful flowers, listen to water features, and just get away from all the brown and gloomy that is outside right now.

So fun going with Bella and Spud.

Those are little skulls on his t-shirt. Swoon!

That was a remember-it-forever kind of day.

Smooches my hooches.

Guilty Sometimes

It might make me dumb.

The End of an Era - Stolen from Kirky

My yapping sure ended abruptly! I'll have to add a couple of penance-posts because of my lack.

I'm not sure what the heck is going on with me, but I have the start of what just may be, perhaps, my fourth cold in as many months. Gah and ahhh!

But that's not the reasons for my disappearment.

Pup has sold the house that his parents owned since 1960 or so. 55 years! Pup lived in that house only as a child growing up. I'd have to sit and do the math for the many places I lived in as a child.

Pup and I nearly bought it as investment property, but in the end we sold it to a client of ours. He's a money guy and real estate is his thing. He owns many properties around the Twin Cities and either rents the properties or flips. This house he's going to flip.

He works with partners and sent a couple of them out to inspect the house and the offer was proffered, bartered, and accepted. His thing is the money - not the design of the place. His partners evaluate the space, come up with a budget for the updating, and Dan then does his math to discern if this is a win-situation or a skip-it situation.

I love Client-Dan. He and I have had a couple of meetings in my tiny office and I can tell he and his wife would be fun to hang with. Talented, aggressive, fun-loving, and smart as HELL! I get a mind-boner from smart people.

Client-Dan has never even laid eyes on the house. Isn't that crazy?

I don't know his process exactly, but since this is a client I'm thinking he will let me in over there to document a bit for Pup. I'll be curious to see what they'll be doing to modernize the space. It's a modest rambler, but has great bones. Hardwood throughout, potentially three-plus bedrooms, basement has high ceilings, and several years ago all the mechanics were updated - roof, furnace, windows, siding. It will be lovely when complete!

Pup has seven brothers and sisters so there was a good-sized crowd yesterday to empty the house. We had a HUGE dumpster in the driveway, a plan for a local charity to pick up donatable stuff, and a Uhaul to move the one brother that was still living in the house. Pup being the coordinator for all of this. My Pup is the youngest boy, but a rock with this type of stuff. And it's tax season people!

We had moved Momma Betty out of the house two years ago into a lovely apartment in a senior living complex. She kinda went kickin' and screamin' as normal, but now rather loves her new home in her same neighborhood. And even though she is the most introverted introvert I've met she has made a couple of friends and she spends a portion of each day kikiing like the senior-set sometimes likes to do.

Pup and I had toured through the house a week or so ago and had thought it would take two days to empty because 55 years! That's a lot of stuff.

We had the lion's share completed by noon! Teamwork really does make the dream work.

It was an emotional day for several of of the family. It was very emotional for Pup.

He and I took the family kitchen table. A very very old (I couldn't make out any markings on the fly, but will check again), solid, round, oak, pedestal table that has four chairs from the 80s with it. Perfect! We're buying a cabin after tax season is over and we thought it would be perfect to sit at his family table playing games like he did as a child and young adult.

I packed up and cleared out all the kitchen cupboards. As I was working I was thinking about Momma in that kitchen doing her kitcheny thing and wondering what thoughts she had as a momma for her children. What thoughts did she have for herself? What were her passions and how did she want to change the world.

We might not think it, but I believe all of us want to change the world in our way. We might not even know that's what we're thinking, but our scent is left with everything we do.

As I worked I thought about what my children would think of me in a similar scenario. Would they shake their heads at choices I had obviously made? What scent would I leave?

I'm hoping cinnamon. That's a lovely scent and has the promise of a baked good.

How you superbowling?