Girlie Friday

~ Laura

Ah, we need a girlie Friday. I just came back from shopping chores, so I want to share. 

I bought some new cereal bowls from Anthropologie. My last set was ten years old and needed retirement. Just perfect colors. Maybe I'll fill one with lavender and put it in on a bookshelf. 

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See that awful kitchen countertop? That's another problem that must be dealt with. The kitchen was installed in 1980 and it shows. Tile counter tops suck. We need a cheap-o face lift of the kitchen, with the idea that we will gut the place and start over in three years. We explored various countertop ideas. Granite? Can't stomach the idea that it will end up in a dumpster in three years. Formica? Too ugly to contemplate. Today, we decided to go with IKEA butcher block. We'll probably have trashed it in three years, so we won't feel guilty putting it in a dumpster. It looks nice and it's super cheap. 

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Next step is to buy an undermount sink and faucet, order the counter top, and get some nice white subway tile. We're going for an industrial-farm house look in the kitchen. 

We have a billion other small home renovations going on right now. I'll post more picture later. Now, we need some clothes. 

I'm at the stage of life when I'm attending children's religious rites of passage – First Communions, Bar Mitzvahs, and all that stuff. These are usually day-time affairs that need light, modest, girlie outfits. So, I picked up this blouse from Ann Taylor. Love the peplum. This will look good with skinny black pants. Do NOT pay full price for it. It was half off right before Easter. 

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 It's spring. It's spring, but it's still cold. What does one do? You wear a spring-y flowery dress with black tights and boots. Add a big scarf. I like this one. And this one. 

Published by Laura

15 thoughts on “Girlie Friday”

  1. REaly enjoyed this post esp the “fashion” ideas. As a 40 something woman I’m always threading that needle between looking “too young” and looking “matronly”. Your style tips are good (and reasonable!). Going to wear a spring dress with boots and leggings to work next week for sure.

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  2. We love our IKEA butcher block. One issue — just because it looks like a cuttingboard, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use a cutting board when you chop onions.

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  3. “I’m at the stage of life when I’m attending children’s religious rites of passage – First Communions, Bar Mitzvahs, and all that stuff.”
    Same here. I’m always stumped about what kind of gift to get the kid. I know when I made my 1st Communion back in the day, I certainly didn’t want 7 crosses, 4 bibles, and 2 ceramic angel figurines.

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  4. My gift this season for girls will be a Pandora bracelet with a religious charm, I will go in on the gift with another friend or relative. The girls can get a bigger bracelet and transfer the charms when they get older.

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  6. “Same here. I’m always stumped about what kind of gift to get the kid. I know when I made my 1st Communion back in the day, I certainly didn’t want 7 crosses, 4 bibles, and 2 ceramic angel figurines.”
    St. Michael the archangel action figures.
    More seriously, I like Murray Watts’ good illustrated sex-and-violence kids’ Bible.

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  7. I bought two outfits at Ann Taylor. Need to go back and get more. Geeky Girl was my fashion consultant, and she was awesome. It’s lovely when your daughter says, “mom, that looks fantastic on you. You have to get it!”

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  8. St. Michael the archangel action figures.
    I suppose that’s more broadly applicable, but the gift of a crucifix for a Bar Mitzvah will really be memorable.

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  9. Wendy — There are some cute ways to package money on pinterest. I think there’s one where you put different denominations (quarters, dimes, ones, fives, etc) in a candy box. There’s also some cool folding strategies.

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  10. I actually impulse bought the brick bible (Old Testament, illustrated with lego scenes) for my daughter a while back. Her dad read it and decided while it was selective in what scenes from the OT it featured, he thought the selection leaned a bit too much to the rape and pillage side. So that’s out, although I’m wondering if the New Testament one is better.

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  11. I was considering a starter charm bracelet for my daughter’s first communion too, but the local Texas silversmith “everyone” has — James Avery (or at least all the rich girls in my Catholic high school) — has gotten even more expensive, I’m guessing because silver is high right now. I’ll have to price compare with Pandora. Thanks for the idea!

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  12. Will add two more comments — ours got some mildew where we had some dishes drying on it and the water seeped under the sink edges.
    Also we *love* the Ikea apron front sinks. Enough to have a double one at home and a single one at the farm. The only caveat is that the corners break/chip easily on installation. (The home sink is the 2nd one, and the farm one is repaired, sigh.) The price can’t be beat, though.

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  15. when I made my 1st Communion back in the day, I certainly didn’t want 7 crosses, 4 bibles, and 2 ceramic angel figurines
    If only someone had bought you a clove of garlic you would have been totally safe from vampires.

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