Happy Birthday to me!

Forty years ago, I made this plate.



(Kind of wish it had a piece of chocolate cake on it.)

So today I turn 45, which feels both impossible and exactly right. I hated my 20s (so much wasted opportunity and time), my 30s were the years I was figuring out this whole sharing-my-life-with-another-being thing and coming to terms with the fact I was never going to have a fancy high-powered career like so many of my prep school and Ivy League classmates. My 40s have been more about grappling with outward appearances -- trying to change my body, updating the way I look and present myself to the world -- and more importantly, about learning how to be a good friend. I've had so many girlfriends come in and out of my life: work and school friendships that fizzled over time and distance, ones I gave up on purposefully, women I still love and miss and yet don't make the effort to get back in touch with.

So I've been working very consciously to keep the ones I have now, an assortment of amazing, funny, smart women from all different parts of my life. They're so kickass, in their own ways: Cheryl has the biggest heart of anyone I know, Kris is my favorite well-dressed tomboy who is relishing/exhausted by being a new stepmom to three pre-teen boys, Jill knows the good dirt on everyone *and* exactly the right thing to do in any social situation, her daughter L is one of the unexpected great joys of my life, Jessie makes me laugh and think harder than she probably knows, Pat is wisdom personified, Donna is both old-school Polish and thoroughly modern, Amanda awes me with her crackling wit, Kate is one of the most determined and focused people I know, Alyssa makes me wish I could do my 20s over again this time with her guiding me through it, Lori is absolutely unafraid to let herself look silly.

And those are just the ones I know offline; my online life is also rich in friendships with amazing women, bloggers and FB friends and LJ nerds and so forth. For many years, my online friendships were stronger than my offline ones, but now there is more of a balance. I love and appreciate all of them, and all of you.

ANYWAY.

Birthday. Me. Let's get back to the important stuff. ;-D



I had to do some things involving getting dressed up for the first few days of my staycation (BOO!) but from today forward I plan on living in my jeans and casual outfits.

However, none of the outfits will involve THIS jacket.



I did not think the color description "neon coral" would be as literal as it was, nor did the photo on the Gap site do it, um, justice. This thing was so bright you could see me in the dark from a half-mile away. Horrible.

And a very big bummer, because the fit and quality of the jacket was excellent. Damn you, Gap!

P.S. The pants were all terrible looking on me too. Ah well.

+++++

My real birthday present is the next few days; I got two free nights at a gorgeous casino-hotel over in New Buffalo, our favorite vacation spot. Hubby is joining me tonight and taking me out to dinner, then I am spending tomorrow poking around my favorite shops in the area, and gambling and whatnot, before heading back on Friday morning. To say I am looking forward to it is an understatement; I'm trying to pace out the things I need to do so I don't leave too early, but I have a feeling I will be in the car by noon.

I am really looking forward to poking through the Sawyer Garden Center. I am out of my beloved jams; the frog jam and the triple berry were both amazing, so I will see what else they have to try. Plus there is just so much to look at and photograph there!

We've been there in the summer...



...and the winter...



...so I am dying to see what spring looks like. Given that it is the western shore of Michigan, my guess is tulips. Lots and lots of tulips. CANNOT WAIT.

I will also be making stops at the local brewpub to try a sampler flight and have the greatest ham sandwich of all time.





The last day will be a stop at Dreier's Meat Market to stock up on all things ham. I blame them for my ham obsession; prior to eating theirs, ham was just something we ate on the holidays. Now I realize how much I was missing. Insanely good.

I won't have my laptop but I will fill you in on my adventures when I return. Be good while I am gone!

P.S. I hope I never get so old that I don't love my birthday. Because it rocks.

Staycation kickoff weekend

My long-awaited staycation is this week, along with my birthday on Wednesday. I have kicked it off in style!



It all began on Friday, where I had to find the right outfit not just for casual Friday in the office, but dinner and drinks afterward with my work crew. I think I did well here -- that day clutch was a great way to cross over from work to evening.
Purple Nordstrom open sweater, white LOFT long-sleeved tee, Gap trouser jeans, black Clark moto booties, tan clutch from Lane Bryant (Kate, I finally used it!).



I got 2 celebrations that day!



My co-workers had lunch for me in the office, and gave me a lovely, glittery, fashion card. And Portillo's chocolate cake, known far and wide as the Best Chocolate Cake On This Planet We Call Earth.



That night was another group of work friends, all of whom used to work in my department but have since moved on (we have a lot of turnover, haha). We did dinner at Little Goat Diner (get the hot crab dip) and drinks down the street. I had sangria, Phillip had some kind of pink martini.

Saturday was a trip babysitting and shopping with Babyfriend and the 2 J's. Babyfriend had her first chocolate chip pancakes, which were a BIG hit, as you can imagine. She is getting so big!



I dragged everyone to go see the Sejour anorak. We liked the olive okay, but the blue was the winner by a mile.





Around naptime, we broke up the party. I then went out for some adult games. :)



Between two big wins, I cashed out about $500 on that machine. Yay!

Sunday was much less exciting. Didn't even really have time to take a good shot, but I needed to memorialize my Color Project: Red usage of this pink/red-and-grey striped top, worn over a grey long-sleeved tee with ON Dreamer jeans.



Hee! I am tugging on my shoes because I had to head downstairs and start bailing. Our basement flooded, AGAIN. But we were expecting it, and even hoping for it a bit; we need to find the source of the leak so we needed another rainfall. Which we got, in spades. But we were smarter this time, at least; we bought a wet-dry vac to sop up the water as it seeped and pooled, and we just cut away the trashed carpet and padding. Hubby wants to get rid of it anyway and re-do the linoleum down there.

It was exhausting, but we kept the spread of the water from going too far, and when the condo maintenance guy came on Monday morning, we found the source of the leak. So the waterproofing companies will be here on Wednesday to give us some estimates. Not the best part of my staycation, but a necessary one.

How was your weekend?

Nothing Much to Say

It's weird when you run out of things to say. But that's my excuse for not posting so far this week, sorry! Work is stressful, all the links I have been reading are about soap operas, and the most complicated dish I have made in two weeks has been spaghetti and meatballs.

But! I did manage to get some pictures of my burgundy Gap cords! I got them last month during December's shopping spree but I hadn't gotten any shots of them for the blog until now.



First I wore them for Friday casual in the office. I am still working my way through my white shirts, so I started with this Lauren Conrad embellished tee from Kohls. This one has lasted nearly 3 years now, and is still going strong. For a scrappy little shirt, it's kind of amazing to see it still in my closet.

The top has a bit of a rocker vibe, so I added one of my metallic long pendants and my Sam Edelman embellished animal-print flats. The brown long cardigan softened all of that up and worked well with the colors. Wish I had gotten close-ups because it definitely worked better than it appears in the full picture; my co-worker kept complimenting on the details coming together so nicely.

I re-wore the cords on Saturday for an entirely different look.



I had to cover a full day of brunch with my girlfriends and Babyfriend, hanging out, possible shopping (didn't happen), and then a night out at the casino. I think this look covered the events nicely.



I had a good hair day that day, at least in the morning.



The infamous blogger bubble necklace, and an Old Navy tie-neck cotton blouse. The blouse is loose and flyway, so I usually wear a black ribbed tank underneath to provide coverage around my middle and butt. Since the cords are low-rise, this prevents any "I See London, I See France" incidents.



Love the color and feel of these so much! I wish they had come in other bright colors, but there was only the burgundy/purple left when I found them on Gap's site. I am considering a black pair, though...



We have had only one minor snowstorm this winter so far, and the snow quickly disappeared. So I can still wear my suede and faux-suede shoes. These are a pair of Target boots I got a few months ago that I love.



I was really pleased with how my hair turned out. Last good hair day I've had since -- when the temps drop and the heat goes on everywhere, my whole head becomes a giant static ball, so it's been up for days now.





It was Jessie's birthday celebration, so I treated her to dinner at the delicious buffet at the casino. Save room for dessert; the bread pudding is fantastic, especially with one of their gelatos. This flavor was apple -- worked great with the caramel of the pudding!



What have you guys been up to this week?

Vacation Postcard: New Buffalo August 2012

I don't want this to be over.






Not where we stayed.


A puppy and a little toddler. You try to resist.






The first day we tried to go to the beach.


Inside the Sawyer Garden Center.


Ditto.


Finally, the garden part!


A minifig Pirate. Perfect.


God, I wish this had come out better.


Deer!


The deer wisely chose not to come closer.


Ambling down the street.


Also not where we stayed.



Aptly named! (If you like liverwurst, which I do.)


When it was finally hot enough and sunny enough to go to the beach.


Everyone's favorite salad of the trip. The cherry tomatoes were so sweet and flavorful all they needed was some salt and olive oil to be finished.


The last supper at home.


The last dessert


In St. Joseph, another town we will be visiting again soon. So lovely and fun!




Hahahaha.


Jessie's first (and last) Big Boy!


We especially liked the bird's nest in the sign.


My first dune. Impressive!






Playing in the water pad in St. Joseph.


Hubby decides to get in on the action, LOL.




LOL



Where we stayed. I will miss this gorgeous house so much!













It was a great vacation. Do I really have to go home? Do I?