weekend randomness

1. The farmers' market is open! Last Saturday was the first one, and the lot of us biked there. Daniel has been riding on the tag-along behind Stuart, which excites him to no end, and Anya rides in the trailer behind me. Daniel was so excited about both that and being at the market that he could barely contain himself. He is particularly fond of a certain honey vendor who hands out free tasting samples. You'd think this early in the season there wouldn't be much to buy in Wisconsin, but you'd be wrong. Today the weather is crummy and the kids are down with the sniffles, so I went alone. I came home with a big bag full of tasty greens (purple mustard, arugula, spinach, lettuce, and a couple I'd never heard of), green onions, maple syrup, green onions, eggs, cukes (probably greenhouse-grown), organic ground beef, and the only reason I gave the raw goat feta a skip is because I'm still eating up what I bought last week. It is oh-so-delicious, but I'm the only one in this house who thinks so. More for me, then.

2. We are finally getting around to doing the paperwork for refinancing to pay for the basement remodeling project. Now, I don't like to complain about money here because we could definitely be doing worse. But still, ay carumba. Our house is worth pretty much the same as when we bought it nearly 6 years ago (thankyouverymuch housing crisis), so we can't affordably borrow as much as we'd like. This means we'll have to dip into savings more than we wanted and borrow more cash down the line. I just hope and pray the contractor's estimate is accurate, because if it goes over, we'll be in trouble. But we need this work done, so we're going to do it. (Have I mentioned our house is about 900 square feet with just one bathroom? Yeah, I have.)

3. I went shopping this afternoon. Egads, do I hate shopping. I really need some better performance clothes. I have exactly one pair of nice dark gray pants with one or two shirts that go along with it. And that's it. Seriously. I went through my closet a few weeks ago and found a suit I bought in 2002 that looks dated and pinches my mama-belly and a black dress I wore to my high school graduation that was always too big and gapped under the arms. Those and some other things got hauled off to the thrift store, and now I'm down to pretty much nothing. So I sucked it up and went to the mall for about an hour, and except for a black sweater/tee shirt, I found squat for what I was looking for. I just don't look good in pencil skirts, and that's about all you can find except for mini-skirts, which are 1) inappropriate for professional accompanying gigs and 2) completely unflattering on a 30+ mama with only a vague sense of style. I know it's petty to complain about clothes, but most of the time I'm wearing dirty jeans and stretched out shirts, and it would be nice to look pretty once in a while.

4. I just like this picture:

Comments

Claire said…
Awe, I love that picture, too!

Have you tried H&M? I went in there today and was surprised at how there was a lot of decent stuff for professional clothing. And, it's affordable.
Rosemary said…
I hate shopping, too. I recommend setting up an appointment with the Macy's (or other large department store) personal shopper. It is a free service, and you'll have the opportunity to describe exactly what you need and the help of someone who knows the stock, knows your budget, and has a sense of style.

I did this on the recommendation of a friend when I had to buy something to wear to Nonny's funeral 2 years ago, and I plan to do it again the next time my wardrobe needs a major overhaul.
Suze said…
Claire, what time were you at H&M? I went in there today for the first time, and I liked a lot of what was there. It just wasn't quite right for what I need right now. I did walk out of there with a pair of linen pants, though...

Rosemary, that's a great suggestion! I have often thought I could use a personal shopper, but I didn't know you could find them at places like Macy's.
Animal said…
At least dipping into savings means you HAVE savings…that in itself means you're ahead of the game. And, as we've discovered here in the last couple of months, there's really no substitute for claiming that basement as living space. Git 'r done.

Tess buys a lot of professional/performance clothes from J. Jill, at the sale outlet. Might give it a run.
Steph said…
Please. If you are a runner, you can wear short skirts. You do not lack the, ahem, goods for such apparel. I am older than you and I wear them all the time, and no one has told me I am hurting their eyeballs. (I don't mean super-short, of course--those DO look unprofessional. Maybe those were the ones you were seeing.) That said, it doesn't really change the fact that they really don't work to play the piano in...sympathize with your problem. I can't find anything I like in the stores these days either.
Is there a good vintage store in your area? Vintage/thrift stores are always my favorite places to shop. There are several eras that never go out of style (early 60s, mid-40s, etc) for women and are much more modest than what you find in retail shops nowadays. Just a thought.

And I love that photo, too!
Suze said…
Jenn-Jenn, that's a good suggestsion. We have tons of thrift stores around here, but they mostly have junk. I'm not sure about good vintage, though I hadn't thought to look. Maybe I'll give that a try!

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