Just Take It!!

I am not a fashionista, but I consider myself a person with general good-taste and style.

I assembled myself an outfit yesterday that I was actually very proud of and felt very confident in. It was a very 'Lauren' outfit. If I were a selfie person, I may have even posted a hashtag OOTD. It was  just a multi-colored striped shift-dress, a denim jacket, some cognac-brown riding boots and flesh-toned fishnet tights. It doesn't sound spectacular, and I didn't exactly spend hours coming up with this ensemble. I try to dress a little nicer (okay, a lot nicer) for church because a) I actually have a job there (that I really like and enjoy, I might add) and b) I don't get to wear nice clothes working in a preschool.

After church, I went to lunch with a friend, and the waitress complimented my outfit, and my first impulse was to tell her that the dress only cost $15 and that the jacket was 10 years old. Of course, I just said "thank you!" But I realized I always do that. When someone pays me a compliment, I usually find some way to down play whatever it is they're complimenting, as if my things are not worth their nice comments "I like your top" "Oh, it's from Target". "Cute shoes" "Thanks, I've had these forever". I'm not the only one who does this, though. I've noticed that many of my other female friends do this as well. It goes beyond just being humble, it is like a weird, learned behavior that we have all picked up from each other where we can't just take a compliment and run with it. We either have to down play whatever is being complimented, tell the complimenter where said item was purchased or give a compliment in return. 

I was so eager to de-value my outfit that I had felt so good in because...why? I'm not supposed to take compliments? I don't deserve them? Because that's a load of crap! So what if that dress was only $15, it was cute AND a bargain! So what if I've had that jacket since college, a good denim jacket never goes out of style! And no one needs to know those details, and since no one really reads my blog...no one is going to!

Is it Ironic?

The thing about Alanis Morissettes' song Ironic is that nothing in that song is actually ironic, it just all kind of sucks.
There is absolutely nothing ironic about having "10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife". Isn't it inconvenient? I guess the irony is that it isn't ironic at all. And if that's the way we're thinking, I guess I could call what happened the other day at Target 'ironic' (when really, it just kinda sucked).
I need to preface this by telling you a little bit about 'Stacy'. Stacy was a girl I went to Jr. High and High School with. She was pretty and popular and (in the words of my dance teacher) a bit of a 'witchie-poo with a b'. As an early teen, I was awkward, I was naive and I was too small. I wasn't allowed to wear blue nail polish (which was totes, like, the height of coolness), and nothing I wore was a brand name. I actually wore clothes from the children's section until I was 15, because, as my mom said, "the clothes fit and they're cheaper". I had few friends and Stacy made sure to point all of this out to me on a regular basis.
So flash forward 10 years later, and I see Stacy and her fiance registering for wedding gifts at Target. Who would have thought?
Then Stacy pretended like we were actually friends or acquaintances or whatever (I'm guessing more for the fiance's sake then for mine). And then the question I dread being asked nowadays: "So what are you up to?" I mean, I'm wearing cut-offs and my Color Run t-shirt at Target in the middle of the day, so clearly I've got a lot going on in my life right now. (Okay, I was shopping for supplies for a BBQ, so things aren't terrible). Plus, I love my job, teaching preschool is wonderful, so I try to focus on that. But there's still that whole dirt-broke-and-single-living-with-my-parents thing that I love bragging about so much. I just went right back to feeling like that awkward naive little girl with the wrong clothes and always two steps behind everyone else in the growing up department.
It figures.

Turkey Lurkey time!

I am thankful for Thanksgiving, which is one of my favorite holidays. I love everything about it. I love watching the parade on TV (although, I'd love to see it in person someday). I love the smell of turkey roasting in the oven. I love setting the table all fancy. I love the food coma. I even love cylindrical cranberries!! In fact, the only thing I do not like about Thanksgiving is losing at Phase 10. I really do not like losing at Phase 10. Like...at all.

But, I am thankful for a house to lose at Phase 10 in, a family that loves me, a job I love, and a car I can drive to Target at midnight. Yes...I participated in the madness of Black Friday and I will never do it again! There were so many people, and they were all so rude! I accidentally bumped one woman, so I said I was sorry and she responded with the most sarcastic 'yeah' I have ever heard in my life. It was ridiculous, and gross and I will never wait in a line that long again unless Space Mountain is at the other end. Actually...I don't even like to wait that long for Space Mountain, I usually just get a FastPass! I did get some pretty sweet deals, though...but not worth the insanity!

I am also thankful for the day after Thanksgiving (and not because of the $40 Anne Taylor Loft cardigan I got for $15 at the outlets) but because I celebrated one of my favorite NEW holidays...which has been dubbed 'Friendsgiving'! A holiday for all the 'Relaters' to get together for turkey, fixings and good times...I do believe a new tradition was born last night!! I am so thankful for that group of people! That crazy, dysfunctional, inappropriate, lovely, wonderful group of people!!

So...if you have a roof over your head, food in your stomach, and/or a group of bizarre people you tend to hang out with....be thankful!

Lauren Locks and the Three Bears

I'm very persnickety. I always have been and I always will be.
Sometimes being picky is an asset. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's just there.
I spent, like, a hour today at Target picking out a Christmas card. It wasn't even for me, but I had to find one that wasn't too cheesy, or too schmaltzy, or too whatever. I had to find the ONE card that was just right
I am always looking for that 'just right' thing. It kills me because, sometimes 'just right' only exists in my imagination...Maybe I should learn to let go of silly things like Christmas cards, but I think there are some areas where I can still afford to be picky, such as:
My hair. We don't always get along, my hair and I, but I at least try to get it 'just right'. Last year I got this horrible hair cut...I wish I'd been pickier with the hair dresser.
Shoes. They have to be cute and comfortable. They can't be just cute. They can't be just comfortable. If my shoes aren't both, forget it. The true test...can I stand a whole day walking around Disneyland AND want to post the pictures on Facebook? Obviously this test isn't for EVERY shoe, I have some heels that I wouldn't wear to Disneyland...but don't upset my feet too much for normal day-wear.
Purses. Can't be too big, can't be too small. I hate purses that are just one big pocket, but I also hate purses that are so structured getting everything in and out is like a jog saw puzzle. And if it's my day-to-day purse, it has to be a neutral color so that if I'm wearing black, brown or blue I'm not going to clash.
And last but not least...
Boys. For me this is where my pickiness comes in as an asset...mostly. I turned in my rental car today, and the cute enterprise guy was driving me over to the body shop to get my car. Commence small talk. Then he said 'hella'. Maybe I'm too picky, but that's a deal breaker (not that there was a 'deal' or whatever, but y'know)
HELLA?!?! Who says that?! Ew.
Am I being too harsh?

Single people use blenders, right?

Yes, we do...but we don't get to register for them. Just because I'm not in the "marriage" stage in my life doesn't mean I don't need things for my apartment. There is no such thing as an apartment-warming registry. Bed, Bath & Beyond hasn't quite jumped on that bandwagon yet. Four months ago I moved into my first apartment and I'm still working on filling it. I did get some hand-me downs: silverware from my parents, a coffee table from my friend who moved and a sofa from an old lady at my church who apparently had cataracts. I have some left over stuff from dorm-living: stolen plates from the caf, a nice collection of dollar tree spatulas and other things we collected over the years. I had a decent collection of 'starter' items. Some good, solid basics. Mom stepped up and sprung for a toaster, and the 'rents pitched in the extra microwave they had sitting in the garage to help my kitchen come together. Trying to make this apartment 'home' involved hanging a few pictures, getting some curtains, and a couple of throw pillows to try to spruce up the hideous sofa, and the whole thing has come together quite nicely for what I've had to work with. It's nice and I get by.
Except I need a blender.
Granted, I can get a no-frills blender at Target for around 20 bucks, so it's not a HUGE deal...it's just...the principal...when you think of bridal registry, blender is the first thing you think of, right? It's like the stereotypical wedding gift. There is something about buying yourself a blender that just seems so...sad.
I realize that almost everything I just said set feminism back about 50 years...I may as well vacuum in pearls and pumps and enjoy unblended drinks from now on...

Happiness is...

When I was growing up, I kinda looked forward to the Saturday paper. Because of the comics. Saturday morning comics were so much better than weekday comics, they were bigger, better and IN COLOR!! I still enjoy reading the comics when I can. There are some comic strips that you can't help but cut out and put up on the fridge. Family Circus certainly has it's 'awwww' moments, as does the now syndicated 'For Better or For Worse'...but one of the most endearing comic strips of ALL TIME (and I dare you to argue) is Peanuts. Charlie Brown is one of those characters that everyone can identify with. He just wants to be nice to everyone and to be liked...who can't relate to that? And of all the comic strips you can think of, how many have spawned TV specials, theme parks and even a Broadway musical?? Yeah...that's what I thought!

When I bought this mug (another brilliant Target dollar section purchase), I was in a major 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown' phase. I listened to that soundtrack in my car for two whole weeks. I still can't get enough of K-Chen belting out 'My New Philosophy'...seriously...my goodness!

Dwight Schrute, In the Wharehouse, with the Dundee

Last night I played 'The Office' version of 'Clue'...favorite board game+favorite TV Show=why not?
The weapons in Office Clue are a little bit awesome because they include (but are not limited to): a ream of paper, a rabid bat, a bacon grill, a poisoned pretzel, a Dundee trophy, and a small pewter version of this:


I was inspired by last night's board game sesh to free this particular mug from my cupboard this morning.
And while I am no-one's boss...this mug (purchased in the dollar section of Target) makes me feel like I could be 'The World's Best' whatever I set my mind to be. Plus, it cost a dollar, and anything that costs a dollar is a necessity. Obv.