A True Story About the Husband and the Hound

   Cashmere Sweater, Skirt: Consigned at Periwinkle (Vintage Saks made in Scotland, Old Navy) / Bracelets:  F21 & Christmas gift (J Crew) / Leather Bracelet & Earrings:  DC Holiday Street Market / Crystal Necklace: Grandmother's

Once upon a time there was a lonesome non-Husband working his way through long hours of medical school in Missouri. One day, he saw an ad for beagle puppies and thought, "Hey, that would be fun!" Upon meeting the seller, he found a mess of tri-colored pups in the back of a pick-up. He paid the man $50, plucked out the wiggliest, squiggliest, smallest Hound-pup of the bunch, and put her in his car.

She whined and whimpered on the ride home till the non-Husband put her in his lap. Then the Hound-pup was very contented. They lived happily the next couple of years, learning to howl at rabbits and having adventures and such, providing one another quite good company.

Then one day the non-Husband had to go away for his internship and residency and couldn't take the Hound-pup, who was practically all Hound by this time. So she moved to Nevada with the non-Husband's brother, and then to Utah with the non-Husband's parents after the howling didn't work out too swell with the Vegas neighbors.

Meanwhile, the non-Husband completed his intern year in Arizona, and then went off to West Virginia for his residency. This is where he semi-met Girl by asking her to play football at a picnic. Girl declined, by the way, so he arranged to pick her up for a trip with mutual friends to jump off of a waterfall the next day. This was a surprise for Girl.  Pretty soon, the non-Husband was showing up at Girl's apartment and asking her to go for ice-cream. Where he told her stories about his Hound, kept her out to the wee hours on a playground, and tried to teach her to drive a stick at the end of the night. Girl is pretty sure that last part was because he didn't want the night to be over. She didn't either.

The weekend of Girl's birthday, the non-Husband flew to Utah for his sister's wedding. He'd invited Girl to go with him. He'd even offered to pay halfsies. But that Sunday was Girl's birthday and she was expecting family. And she'd only just begun to date the non-Husband, after-all, and didn't want to appear presumptuous.

The non-husband returned on Girl's birthday, bringing the Hound with him. They arrived in time to both be big hits with Girl's family. Pretty soon, the Hound was whining at the door for Girl after she left from visiting the non-Husband at his place. Then the Hound began staying the nights with Girl, whose job allowed her to walk the Hound throughout the day. It wasn't long before the Hound moved in with Girl, and not long after that the non-Husband became the Husband, and he moved in too.

And that, friends, is a true story of how the Husband became the Husband, the Hound got a mama, and the Girl found herself with a Husband and a Hound fighting for snuggle space in her bed.

  Clockwise from top left:  non-Husband and Hound-pup, Girl jumps off waterfall and is photographed by non-Husband on that fateful day, non-Husband becomes Girl's Husband, Hound takes over Girl's bed

And you thought this post was going to be about my outfit...

P.S. It's black and white day at Everybody, Everywear! C'est très chic, le noir et blanc, n'est-ce pas?*

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C'est très chic, le noir et blanc, n'est-ce pas? = Black and white is very chic, is it not?

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Ugh-ly Sweater

Skirt: Thrifted Vintage / Top & Bracelet: F21 / Belt & Necklace: J Crew final sale / Shoes: Miz Mooz / Scarf: Macys

Last week, I lamented the fact that I have far more ugly sweater parties than sparkling soirées to attend this holiday season.  After not participating last year, I finally decided to acknowledge it as a trend, stop pouting, and find something suitable. Above was my base outfit, which I wore to work for our holiday breakfast. For the party that night, I replaced my necklace and belt with my new vintage "ugly" sweater:

 Skirt & Ugly Sweater: Thrifted Vintage / Shoes: Miz Mooz / Husband's Bow Tie & Vest: c/o our Printer / Hound's Sweater: Target

It's about as ugly as I can handle, and it has personal significance. When I was kindergartener, my favorite outfit was a red plaid skirt and matching sweater with a plaid Scottish Terrier on it. I wanted to wear it every single day with my tights and Mary Janes. I think my obsession stemmed from Lady and the Tramp, which I adored. The dog on my sweater was just like Lady's little Scotty friend, Jacques.

This is the only surviving photo of  my beloved outfit. My sister is covering the skirt and dog. But I know they're there.

Even back then I couldn't hide my love of dressing up, dogs, and all things French. Perhaps my love of plaid, too.

P.S. Christmas is almost here! Christmas!  Joyeaux Noël a tous*!

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*Joyeaux Noël a tous = Merry Christmas to all!

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Sparkling Soirée

Skirt & Top: J Crew final sale / Jacket: Gap final sale / Shoes: Ross / Belt & Express Purse: Gabes / Earrings: AE / Necklace: Grandmother's / Bracelets: F21, Gabes, J Crew Factory

I just love it when J. Crew has one of their "take an extra 40% off final sale items" sales. Christmas came early for me with this top and skirt. I got them a few weeks back, but right now they're having an extra 20% off final sale.

Thank heavens for Everybody, Everywear, which provided me at least one opportunity to get festive for the holidays. Festive, in my mind, clearly involves sparkle. Classy sparkle, that is. I've a grand total of 3 ugly sweater parties to attend this year.  I briefly considered protesting by throwing my own sparkling soirée { have you seen Ruche's holiday lookbook? It's to die for...} But then I remembered that I don't have time because I'm too busy attending ugly sweater parties.

I was invited to one last year and just didn't participate. I have a difficult time purchasing something I don't anticipate wearing again, even if it is inexpensive, and I didn't realize this was a trend.  So this year I searched high and low till I found a vintage dog sweater and plaid skirt, which I intend to wear to every ugly sweater party from now to the end of eternity.

I planned to have a photo for you here, but an Episode of the Missing Hound ensued this evening and all havoc broke loose. { Thank you, Mr. North Wind, for breaking down our door...} After scouring the hills behind the house, we found her deep beneath the neighbor's brush, happily sniffing out rabbits. Completely ruined my plans, she did, so now I'm grading rather than decorating for Christmas and dressing up the Husband in his ugly sweater. He was a big hit at our first party. But no worries. Our next party is Thursday.

Puissent vos vacances de Noël scintillent de la joie!*

 

P.S. Sorry for the ridiculously inordinate number of photos. Husband should become a photographer, should he not? He makes it difficult to choose.

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*Puissent vos vacances de Noël scintillent de la joie! = May your Christmas holidays sparkle with joy!

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Pièce de Résistance

Scottish Skirt  & Silk Blouse: Consigned at Periwinkle / Shoes: Gabes / Socks: Ross / Belt & Pearls: J Crew Final Sale

  

I've finally found it. My teacher's pièce de résistance*. It only took 2.5 years of teaching, and voilà, there it was. Like magic, a tartan skirt and the perfect silk blouse both appeared simultaneously in my favorite local consignment shop. For a very reasonable price. $10 for a new, hand-made skirt from Scotland? Yes, please!

Finally, gone are the days when I'm asked for my hall pass during prep or upon entering the office.  Gone are the days when students ignore me because they think I'm one of them. With this baby, I'm a real teacher now. And I managed to achieve this all whilst avoiding the proverbial calf-length denim jumper with pompons and bright buttons sewn into my cardigan. 

I'm celebrating with my current it-snack of blueberries with shavings of Dubliner cheese. Grown up me is a party animal.

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*pièce de résistance: masterpiece, highlight

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Shamrockin' Out

Apparently I deem a random clover slightly more favorable than a huge flash spot....

 
I'm belatedly blogging about St. Patrick's day because I was quite la diligente abeille* when it rolled around. I worked that day, then hosted Bunco for a group of 12 ladies chez moi* that night. And I don't just host. Hosting is my thing, so I go all out. I'm pretty sure I think I'm Monica, from Friends, when I host something.

For dinner, I made cheesy chicken and spinach ravioli casseroles. I even made the sauce green by pureeing spinach into it and used green spinach raviolis. I also made Irish soda bread with this to-die-for garlic relish, an all-green salad, and green punch. Pistachio cookies with green icing, green cupcakes iced with shamrocks and glitter, and bowls of Andes mint chocolates rounded out my Shamrockin' dinnertime fair. It literally took all night to clean my house and make all that scrumptious food. Oh, but I love hosting so much that I didn't even care.

As hostess, you also get to pick out the prizes. I went to a kitchen outlet near Portland and put them in glitzy green bags to display. They included a doughnut maker, silicone cake molds for a huge cupcake with an insert for a creamy filling (and featuring photos of ideas to decorate your cupcake as a cute animal... I was so tempted to buy one for myself), griddles that make "pancake puffs," cookie cutters, and soft fruit slicers.

I tried to find St. Patty's Day decorations, but ended up with that lone wooden sign you see in the top image. St. Patrick's day was fun, but difficult to decorate. That's why I used my food and prizes to do the job. AND in my frenzy to be the hostess with the mostest, I forgot to take pictures. Can you believe it? All that hard work and no proof. Oh là là là là!*

We still had a fine time, and I was peacock-ishly proud of my St. Patrick's day outfit. I strutted around in it all day like nobody's business, wondering if anyone took note of my efforts (they didn't.) I took 2 matchy matchy outfits I've worn countless time and combined them to make a new ensemble. The first of these matchy matchy outfits, which formed the green base of my St. Patrick's day attire, is nauseatingly matchy:

Skirt, Turtleneck: B Moss / Long-Sleeve Top: Gadzooks (Yes, it's that old) / Peacock Headband: Fred Meyer / Shoes: Payless / Bracelet: Gabes

I started with the green skirt- easy enough considering it's both green and tartan, though the latter is a really Scottish. I first considered just wearing the black top. Boring. So I added some jewelry, but it still didn't ice my cupcakes.

Then it hit me. The black was built in. I needed to add brown. Or, a tint of brown at least. And I knew the perfect piece. It was originally part of this matchy matchy outfit I'd purchased for my business casual wardrobe for my first real-world job post college. It's matchiness isn't so bad because neutral on neutral is still stylish, though not terribly exciting, and the neutrals are different enough:

Top & Capris: Old Navy / Sweater: Maurices / Shoes: Gabes (AE) / Necklace: AE

But when I took the sweater and added it to my current ensemble with some taupe boots, it became this:

Sweater: Maurices / Skirt: B. Moss / Boots: Ross (Apepazza) / Necklace: Urban Outfitters / Man in the Reflection: The Husband

Ahh, much better. So sorry for the reflective backgrounds. By the time I thought to do photos to document my outfitting process, it was getting dark.

P.S. I found these Apepazza boots on clearance for $15. The tag said "compare to $295" and I didn't believe it for a second, though they did seem good quality. I Googled them and, sure enough, they were being sold for $295 at multiple locations. Real Italian leather boots. Now, you can only buy them from here and they're on sale for $129. A week later I found another pair in black. That's bona fide Luck o' the Irish!

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*la diligente abeille = busy bee; chez moi = at my place; oh là là là là= oh my

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