Is This Still a Thing?

Do people still blog?

I don’t know. I don’t know if anyone is still out there. Maybe this post will show up in someone’s random blogfeed and they’ll wonder why they never deleted this site from their reader because let’s face it, nothing has happened in this little corner of the web in *ahem* 2 years? More?

IF you’re still here, and IF you’re still reading and IF you (anyone) cares to know:

I AM STILL ALIVE

Also, big things have happened in my life. HUGE things.

And one of them was actually pretty tiny.

So, I’m thinking about blogging again. Is there anyone out there that would still want to read about my life? Its a different life than it used to be. But it’s still pretty close to magic.

*AHEM*

Oh Hi Blog Readers,

If any of you are still out there that is. Maybe you’ve noticed that I’ve um, kind of stopped blogging. Some of you have even been sweet enough to contact me to ask if I’m ok. 

I’m ok. Actually, I’m very good. So, no worries.

But, I think I sort of owe the internet an explanation. I mean, who starts a blog and then posts on it religiously every single day for months and months and puts in hours and hours of work on it and then one day out of the blue for no apparent reason just stops with no explanation and no goodbye? Seriously? WHO DOES THAT?? 

Me. I do that.

I’m sorry, ya’ll. 

I guess life just kind of got in the way of blogging. Other things took priority in my life. And then, yanno, I kind of ran out of clothes in my closets (and my sisters’). And I couldn’t afford to just go out and buy a lot more. And then my computer died. And I couldn’t afford to buy another one of those either. And then, you know, it was summertime and life was busy and good…

And that’s it. I hope to blog again one day. Maybe soon. Stay tuned if you’d like. I hope you do. Because when I come back to this space (and let’s be honest, I’ll be back. I can’t stop. It’s like chocolate and coffee, I’ll never quit consuming them and I’ll never really quit blogging) I hope you’re here. Because I’d like to share life with you all again.

I’ll see you all soon… 🙂

 

Which Side of the Fence is the Green on?

Top: Borrowed, Skirt: Borrowed, Shoes: Maurices 

No, autumn has not come early to Wisconsin. In fact, it’s still very much summer here. But, we’re in a drought. The worst drought in over 50 years, which means the grass is not greener anywhere and it doesn’t matter which side of the fence you’re standing on.

Twitter Recap

-“When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds.” – #CorrieTenBoom

-Surprise! I’m getting off work 2.5 hours early today! What am I going to do with this afternoon?

-Everyone’s telling sad stories today at the shop. Dealing with grief on a regular basis sometimes brings this on. Not always a happy job.

-“Worship is why we are born and why we are born again.” AW Tozer

-Just trying to stuff all the groceries into my refrigerator

-Sometimes I don’t know what to make for dinner before I make it or while I’m making it. Then I make it and I still don’t know what it is.

-Yikes. Half a tree is in my driveway from the storm last night.

-We lose 1/2 a tree and other big tree branches, but the duct-taped-together volleyball net survives the storm.#AllHailThePowerOfDuctTape

Crayola Doesn’t Make a Color For Your Eyes

Top: Old Navy (borrowed), Shorts: Silver, Sandals: Borrowed

This top (which I borrowed, surprise!) makes me think of bright crayon colors. And when I think of crayons, I can’t NOT think of this song. Love it. 🙂

Return of the Borrower

Dress: Borrowed, Shoes: Borrowed 

I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again. I’m not made out of money, people. Lack of funds sometimes makes style blogging a bit of a challenge. But, then again, they say Necessity if the mother of invention. I have to agree, although in this case necessity is more the mother of good borrowing skills. I’m pretty sure you’ve all seen everything in my closet at least once or twice and I’ve already branched out into my sisters closets. This dress belongs to Stephanie and I found it way in the back of her closet. She hadn’t worn it in a while so I stole  borrowed it from her. In the dead of night, while she was sleeping peacefully, never knowing that I was sneaking around in her closet with a flashlight. BWAHAHA!  Ok, no, everything I just said is untrue. Actually, she was standing right there when I found the dress, asked if I could borrow it, she said yes I could, she remembered how cute it was and plans to wear it tomorrow. So, style blogging has another fun side effect: helping other people find treasures in their own closets! Who knew, right?

Just Peachy

Top: Maurices, Skirt: Old Navy, Sandals: Amazon, Bag: Merle Norman 

First, allow me to apologize for the title of this blog post. I realize it’s kind of… corny. Coming up with blog post titles that are witty, fun, engaging, poetic and perfectly concise is difficult. You try it sometime. And if you come up with anything fantastic let me know, ok?

Also, I don’t know what my hair is doing here.  Except for, obviously, NOT what it is supposed to be doing.

My Pride and Prejudice Conversion

I am a convert.
I have joined the ranks of the Austen-Insane.  And may I never recover.

ok, that’s a tad dramatic.

Let me explain:

So, I (or, rather, all my friends) went through this phase about 10 years ago, when ANYTHING Jane Austen was just fantastic.  We loved it.

So, I did love Austen, for 6 months… I got over it.  Austen’s stories never were as high on my list of faves as Charles Dicken’s works, or Victor Hugo, (umm… or Agatha Christie *shhh*)  but those stories weren’t the rage, and no one I know of ever formed a Dickens fan club.  And, while I would certainly admit that Jane Austen is a genius in her own right, what I was too embarrassed to admit is that I didn’t love the movies enough to invest time in the books.  And that is what is wrong with novel to film adaptations.(But, I digress)  The only Austen novel I had read was Emma.  I once startedPersuasion.  Until this week.  My guilt finally overcame me.  Why do people always ASSUME that I must be an Austen fanatic just because I’m a 20 something girl?  And if I squealed slightly when faced with the prospect of seeing the new adaptation of P&P, or if I was very willing to join in the “girls night” when the new Austen adaptations aired on Masterpiece Theater last winter, or if I bought DVDs of my favorites of those adaptations (Just Sense and Sensibility) it’s because I knew it was expected of me.  All the while knowing I was not really a “Jane-ite.”  Wouldn’t a true “Jane-ite” love the movies enough to buy the books so she could devour them at least quarterly if not monthly?  Or, in all truth, a TRUE “Jane-ite” would have loved the books long before the movies were even heard of.

One of my goals this year is to read the books I always planned to read, but never did.  The ones I pretend I have read, but really have only read the cliff notes.  To read the classics that I never before had the stamina to wade through. One of them is Pride and Prejudice.

I have a new-found, freshly formed respect and delight in this story.  I LOVE it.  You know Colin Firth?  The “Oh-so-perfect-Mr.-Darcy-help-I’m-going-to-swoon”???  Yeah.  I never liked him much.  What’s his name who plays Darcy in the ’05 version with Keira-Pirate-Queen-Knightley?  Him not so much, either.  Maybe better than Firth.  Maybe.  The Mr. Darcy on the page in Austen’s own words?  SO much better.  I’m still not a swooning fan-girl but I definitely did not expect to like him as much as I did.  I liked him better than Elizabeth, especially in the beginning of the book.

And Elizabeth?  It’s so interesting to read a character for the first time as the author intends and not how the actress interprets.  She is an interesting mix of Jeniffer Ehle and Keira Knightley’s interpretations… and yet… not.  Much less likeable (especially in the beginning) than Ehle.  Much less self-consumed than Knightley.  Much more prejudiced than both of them.

I really can’t express my thoughts completely on reading this novel for the first time.  The A&E, 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice is almost word for word adapted from Austen’s original work.  And yet…  how interesting to read the exact same dialogue and so much more fully understand and appreciate it.

I don’t know if there is anyone else like me out there in blog land.  Maybe you’ve seen all the movies and when people suppose you to be enamored by anything Austen and imagine that you must harbor a secret crush on Mr. Darcy (or at the very least Colonel Brandon) you just allow them to suppose it.  Read the book.  If you’re still not an Austen appreciator, fine.  But, maybe you’ll be like me, and after seeing the ’95 version 50 times and the ’05 version maybe 10, and you’re heartily sick of both of them, you’ll read the book and discover a story and characters you had previously underestimated.

Blue Striped Skirt

Skirt: Maurices, Top: Maurices, Jewelry: Maurices, Shoes: Amazon 

I’m not gonna lie. You’ve seen this skirt before. A few times actually. It may be my new favorite go-to skirt. In fact it is. I’ve decided.

Twitter Recap

– Our new next door neighbor kids think our cat is their cat. They have named ‘him’ Cooper Jr. Poor Katniss. She has too many people.

– I’m pretty sure she likes their cat food better than ours

-it may be time to break out the tuna fish and lure her back

-Our temptation is to look eagerly for the minimum that will be accepted. We are in fact very like honest but reluctant taxpayers.‪#CSLewis‬

-Oh grocery shopping, why must there always be not enough money to buy all the fun things I want?

-The smell of butter frying in the skillet in the morning ‪#comfort‬

-I just love it when the customer tells me exactly where to place every flower in the arrangement. #not #flowershop #florist

-Days like today are proof of that old adage… “A watched clock never strikes 5:30.” #oknotreally #youknowwhatimean

-Ladies and Gentlemen, I have never been golfing so much in my life.