Dress for Success

Thank you all for weighing in yesterday on my outfit selection! You wer all far too kind with your comments!

Tomorrow night I will be wearing dress #1.



Even though Saturday has the potential for being a pretty awkward social event, I am looking forward to it. If anything, it will make for a good story.

In addition to attending this wedding, over the long weekend I will...

• Hopefully go to SATC2 with a girlfriend tonight!!
• Complete a 10 mile training run in preparation for Marathon Training. Yes, I am training for marathon training. I am lame.
• Read while laying by the pool at my condo association and try not to think about the fun times (and my nephew's 5th birthday party) that I am missing out on at my parents' cabin!
• Shop for more summer dresses & skirts... and maybe some fun accessories as many of you commented that I should accessorize with fun, bold, colorful accessories. Truth be told, my accessories are a bit of a yawn!

I'll be back on Tuesday to fill you in how the wedding weekend went! Have a happy weekend everyone!

What do you plan on doing over this long weekend?

PS - You can catch me over on Nola Girl's blog today - while she is in Paris, I filled in and am sharing my 5 favorites things about Paris! Hop on over there to see why I am so head-over-heels in love the City of Lights!

Dress Rehearsal

While I do love living alone, there is one thing I miss about having a roommate... or 41 like I did when I lived in Delta Gamma during my college years.

I miss having a roommate to help me with outfit selections!

Can you imagine living with 41 other women? It was actually surprisingly peaceful much of the time, and you always had someone to go to for an honest critique of an outfit - or someone to borrow an outfit from if need be.

So here is where I turn to you, my trusted readers, and ask you for your honest opinion! I am leanings towards one of the following dresses/ensembles but would love to get your opinion!

You can read more details about the wedding I will be attending here, or here is the cliff notes recap:
- It's the wedding of a co-worker
- The wedding is in Iowa
- The only other people I will know, besides the groom, are my two ex-boyfriends, one of which is bringing his new girlfriend

Here are my 4 options. Please disregard my hair & make-up - these pictures were taken after a long day of work!

Option #1: Flirty Black Dress

Pros: It's super comfy and has a flattering neckline. And it has pockets (why can't every dress have pockets?)
Cons: Due to the fullness of the skirt/the way it's cut, if it's windy on Saturday, I run the risk of flashing everyone while walking to & from the car.



Option #2: Classic Black Dress

Pros: It's a simple, classic look that I could dress up with the right accessories.
Cons: Hillary Rodham Clinton called and she wants the shell of her sisterhood-of-the-traveling-suit back.

Option #3: Navy J.Crew Dress

Pros: The picture isn't great for this one since I am slouching my shoulders, but it is flattering when you see it in person. And it also has pockets!
Cons: Similar to dress #2, it's also a bit on the work-wear side.

Outfit #4: White Pants & Graphic Print Top Combo

Pros: If the reception is on the cool side, I won't freeze like I might in the other dress options (I get cold really easily). Also, I like the cut of the top, although I look like I am rocking a bit of a farmer's tan... Yikes!
Cons: May be a bit too casual - although keep in mind this wedding is in the Midwest where the dress code is a bit more relaxed at weddings compared to what you would see in larger cities.

Well, what do you think? I'll be back tomorrow to let you know what my final decision is!

Chocolate & Wisdom

In an effort to satisfy my sweet tooth (and avoid the vending machine), I have been packing little individual Dove Dark Chocolates for a little post-lunch pick-me-up. Each little chocolate has a nugget of wisdom inside the wrapper. It's kind of fun to unwrap the chocolate and see what it will say.

Last week, I opened up a chocolate to find the following message:

"It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance."

Later that evening, I was having a post-dinner pick-me-up (it was that kind of day). Guess what the message on that chocolate wrapper said?

"It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance."

Alright, alright Dove. You've made your point.

While I could write a post about how hard it is to open up my heart after the number of heart-aches I've been through, that's not what this post is about. Instead it's about yet another quote from a piece of chocolate... consumed on another day. (I do have to fit into a dress for the wedding I'll be attending with the 2 ex-boyfriends this weekend.)

This quote posed the following question:

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?"

Isn't that a good question? It certainly kept me thinking long after that chocolate had been consumed... and digested.

A couple of answers that came to mine for me were: Open a "Shop Around the Corner" type of bookstore - but for adults, not children and write a book. Both just seem so daunting & unachievable - but a girl can dream, right?

What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?

PS For all the Parenthood watchers out there - is anyone else wishing to be spontaneously serenaded by a man with a ukulele?

Ten on Tuesday

1. What is your favorite piece of furniture in your house?
Definitely my bed. I really do not spend much time in it, but I love it. I felt like such an adult when I bought it back in 2007! Before that I was sleeping on hand-me-down beds from my parents! The bed has the most fabulously comfortable mattress and I love the look of the head & foot board!

2. If it was raining so hard on a Saturday that you couldn’t leave your house, what would you spend the day doing?

I would read all day while sipping on fresh brewed coffee.

3. What was your favorite candy as a child?

Candy cigarettes. I don't think they make them anymore, though. I think people worried it might encourage smoking... which does make sense.... However, my sister Abby & I loved them and neither of us have ever or would ever smoke. They sort of tasted like marshmallows. Mmm. They were so dang good.

4. Did you get an allowance? What was it based on? What did you do with it?

I didn't and I am ok with it - I probably won't give my kids an allowance either.

I don't think my parents wanted us to think we had to be paid to do chores - it was just part of being a contributing member of the household. When we were older and started mowing lawns, I would get paid to mow the lawn of the 4 plex they owned, so that was sort of like an allowance. Plus it's not like I was deprieved as a child - if I really wanted or needed something, my mom would purchase it for me if it was a reasonable request.

5. Do you have a favorite Etsy store?

I love the photography on Irene Suchocki's shop. 3 of her Paris prints hang above my bed, and I have another one on an adjacent wall. I just adore her work.

6. Do you prefer time with family or time with friends?

That is a really difficult choice because I love my family and I love my friends. My time with them are completely different as we discuss different topics and do different things together. If I was truly forced to choose, I would choose my family. Family always comes first in my life. And luckily, I consider my parents, siblings, and in-laws as friends.

7. Looney Tunes, Tiny Toons, or Animaniacs?

None of the above... Confession: I did not like cartoons as a child. I do not remember watching them - I just wasn't interested in them! My mom kept us busy with other things like puzzles and work books and things like that.

8. Best daytime talk show: Oprah, Ellen, The Doctors, Tyra (ha!), Dr. Oz, or Dr. Phil?

Hmm, do I have to choose on this one too? I don't ever watch day time television - even if I happen to be home. It's just not something I care for. So I will have to say none of the above again.

9. Would you rather have the power of invisibility or the ability to fly?

Definitely the inability to fly! I think the power of invisibility is tempting because you could be a total voyeur... but - you can't do anything with the information you would obtain because no one would know you were privy to conversations, etc. So it would just let it fester and obsess over it and it just wouldn't be fun.

10. Name 1 thing you love about being an adult.

Traveling! I love that I get to plan my own vacations and go wherever my little heart desires! The freedom to travel is a fabulous thing!

Weekend Recap

Good Morning & Happy Monday! I can't believe this is the last full week of May. Where did this month go? I say that every month, but each month seems to go even faster than the last!

I had a wonderful weekend up at the cabin; the weather was pretty crappy on Saturday but yesterday's weather definitely made up for it. It was sunny and beautiful outside!

This weekend, I...

• had a co-pilot for the drive down to the lake for a change! My brother was flying in from a business trip in the early evening so I picked him up on my way up north. I usually do the 2.5-3 hour drive solo so it was great to have someone to talk to - and keep me awake! It made the drive fly by!
• got the wheels in motion for the planning of a girls' weekend with my mom, sisters, and sisters-in-law for 2011. All the guys in our family have gone on countless hunting & fishing trips so I think us girls are due for a trip of our own. I threw out the suggestion of Boston for a location! I've never been and think it'd be a great getaway!
• was really touched when my Godson James said: "Lisa, I wish I could see you every day. And I wish I had seen you every day since I was born." I am so glad cabin season is upon us - I don't see him much between Labor Day & Memorial Day but will see him 2-4 times a month during cabin season!!
• played the game Hi Ho! Cherry-O at least 10 times and won maybe 3 times? I'm so glad my nephews are at the game playing age!
• snuggled up on the couch with 2 of my 4 nephews (picture below) and watched the 1985 rendition of Alice in Wonderland. The boys loved it! Each summer, the boys kind of get hooked on a movie; I have a feeling this will be the movie of the summer of 2010. I have actually never read the book! It was one the classic books that was part of a collection us kids received from my grandma so my mom is going to bring it down to the cabin so I can tackle it this summer.

I totally look like I am hogging the couch in this photo! Andrew is on the upper left, James is on the upper right, and Mattie jumped into the picture at the last minute.

Tell me about your weekend!

P.S. Hop over here if you'd like to hear my thoughts on American Wife!

And the Winner is...

Greetings & Happy Friday! This has been a fun, but packed week for me. I totally over-scheduled myself and barely ran. Now I remember why I usually only accept social plans on one week night (v. 3 this week). I have a relaxing weekend ahead of me at the cabin, though. The temps should be in the 80s tomorrow! I can't wait to lay out on the dock with a great book. I have some wonky tan lines (I sort of have a farmer's tan) from last weekend in Tucson so I need to try to get rid of those - otherwise my dress options for the wedding next week are going to be a bit limited!

It's time to announce the winner of my giveaway from last week. Last time I did a giveaway, I told my sister Abby about my methodology for selecting a winner. I think it's a pretty common method but she thought it was so involved and said I must share it next time I do a give away. So here is how it worked:

1. I entered the names into an excel spread sheet. If you were a follower, I entered your name is 2 cells.

2. I then used the random number generator command in excel which is =Rand(). Excel then assigns a random number between 0 & 1.

3. I then sorted the number from lowest to highest, and ranked them from 1 to the highest (28 in this case).

4. I then used random.org to pick a number between 1 & 28.

And the winner is...

J from Morning Runner. J - send me an email at lisasyarns@gmail.com with your address so I can pass this onto the give away sponsor!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Any fun plans?

Always, Sometimes, Never

I did a post using this format a while back, and thought it'd be fun to do it again!

I always...

• pay attention to how people treat the waitstaff at a restaurant. I worked as a waitress for 3.5 years in college so am very sensitive how people treat waiters/waitresses.
• wear my seat belt. Even if I am only driving a block - it is such a subconscious habit!
• fill out the memo line on my checks. But I don't get copies of my checks and never pull them up online, so this is such a useless habit (unless I am referencing an account number). Not that I write out many checks these days...

I sometimes...

• fantasize about being a librarian. It's not even an option given the amount of student loan debt from obtaining my MBA, but it's a nice thought. I already totally have the wardrobe!
• wish I could work in a sound-proof booth. People can get on my nerves really quickly, especially when I'm stressed out or working on something difficult.
• wonder if I will ever have the opportunity to have my own children.

I never...

• paint my own toe nails. If I do, it looks like a 5 year old did it!
• wear short sleeved shirts to work - even in the summer. I always seem to freeze at work, regardless of the season.
• end a phone call with my parents without saying, "I love you."
  

Your turn! Fill in "I always... Sometimes... Never..." in your comment or do this on your blog!