khakis vs. leafblowers

I had the option of trying on a pair of comfortable looking khaki pants (on sale) from Land’s End in Sears over the weekend.  However, when I got to the changing room to try a few things on, I couldn’t even take them off of the hanger.  I am against them.   When falling asleep last night, I was thinking of what other items I also dislike and thought I would go through an exercise of comparing them.

What leaf-blowers and khaki pants have in common:

They both remind me of work and effort.
They are not really needed, but people think that they are.
They are both considered practical and I am sure that you can find both at Target.
They symbolize suburbia. 
When you put them on, you clench them at the waist.
I do not own either of them.

What leaf-blowers and khaki pants do NOT have in common:

One of them is really noisy and is gas-powered.
One of them is very common and can be found in closets.
One of them is a bit too hard-core lawn-work wise.
One of them has pockets.
I had to wear one of them to my high-school job at KFC.
The main purpose of one of them is to blow leafs around.

that is the question (today).

to be (buttoned), or

not to be (buttoned)?

buttonizing

(I am feeling festive today and have decided to write in the spirit of staff meeting notes.  This week I have put in hours and hours and some more hours into meetings and drafting meeting notes.  Why not another?)

Quarterly Button Meeting (3/20/2014)

Attendees: me, my hubby, my mom, you and a bunch of other people

Purpose of the meeting:

• Provide status report on my thoughts on buttons. 
• Receive feedback and corrections as needed.

Agenda:

1. Discuss progress on the button project.
2.  Share photos.
3. Create action list.

Meeting notes:

1. Discuss progress on the button project.
1. Why I like buttons:
1. There is something quite appealing about big plastic shiny buttons. 
2. Generally, the bigger the button the better it is
3.  “Buttony” is the perfect word to describe a shirt that is all about the button.
4. A single, well-placed button can transform the mediocre to spectacular.  The button does not even need to be effective or useable to be amazing
2. About MEC and my new tank top:
1. Over the weekend, I spent some time in Vancouver.  And, when one is in Canada, one must go to Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC).
1. When I was first introduced to MEC it was years ago during my honeymoon and the US to Canadian dollar was really in our favor and so all this great outdoor gear was cheap cheap cheap.
2. Now the US to Canadian dollar is about the same but there are still some great deals and some brands you cannot get here in the states.
3. This cute tank top was only CAN$10.  Besides the amazing colored stripes, the frosting on the cake was the small centered button front and center.  I mean, come on.
3.  Future button work:
1.  Discussion on if I will ever outgrow buttons.  I will do some research on this, but the answer is no.
2.  A risk was identified that I sometimes buy random buttons with no specific project or item of clothing in mind.  It is noted that I have several small containers of buttons that have come from shirts and art projects.
1.  Possible idea to pursue:
1.  Switching out boring buttons for different colored buttons on a cardigan
2. Figuring out how to use the button hole sewer thing on my sewing machine
3. “Buttonizing” a shirt for no apparent reason.
3.  Suggestion was made to continue to look for clothing items that have one or more buttons.  Preference will be made on cute contrasting colored buttons, super large buttons, or well-placed buttons.
2.  Share photos.

     3. Create action list.

1. Action, due 3/31/2014 (owner = all): please comment below if compelled.
2. Action, due 12/31/2014 (owner = met): purchase more items with buttons.

 

St. Patty's day run

I enjoyed my first international 5K event this weekend in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.  I was happy to find out that Canadians are just like us and did not take the run too seriously and there was plenty of green hats, red beards and beer-orientated costumes.  My outfit was rather tame but I rocked fun tights that I had to MacGyver with a toe clipper in order to convert them into leggings since the alternative was to have smooshed toes and a droopy crotch.  That is what you get for cheapo tights from Target.  But, they kept me warm from the cold until the run was over and I could get myself a few irish coffees.

Check out the costume (especially the shorts!) that my fearless running partner had - they are amazing.

 

quickie

“It was too much to say that the two articles of clothing matched, but at least they seemed to get along.”

I like this sentence from a book I am currently reading (The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle).  I have been on a reading streak of books that are set in post-apocalyptic futures.  And, a good number of them are about people unknowingly living in domes. 

Anywaaaay, this week has been moving too fast to have anything significant to write about in terms of what I am wearing.  I did get a hair cut. 

tight(s)

Over the past weekend, a trip to Target was taken in the hopes of finding fun St. Patty’s day items for our upcoming 5K run in Vancouver.  Target is a hot bed of tights – one would think it is a fad or something.  I got these maroon ones, some basic black ones (see previous post http://practicalandperfect.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-story-of-goldilocks-and-black-tights.html) and some classy shamrock tights (stay tuned!).

2 sentences

I recently read an article about horror stories that are only 2 sentences long.  (If you want to check out the horror ones: http://www.mandatory.com/2014/02/21/20-terrifying-two-sentence-horror-stories/)  I liked that idea and got inspired to write a person’s story in terms of their fashion and only use 2 sentences.  I am not good at sneakily taking photos of people so I do not have photos to match each of the stories.  Sorry about that. 

He is sitting in front of me on the bus and he is wearing a top hat.  It is not even 7am so either he is off to a magical job or he is up to no good.

The short mother of seven wore her baggy brown suede robin-hood boots up to her knees.  Her jean culottes took it from there.

She proudly wore her hair back in a tight ponytail.  She has discovered if you circumvent your head with bobby pins and barrettes your hair will never do anything interesting, ever.

She wore her pants a big tighter than she should.  Her top too.

She tries really hard for an effortless funky look.  On the weekends she wears the same sweats and sweater again and again.

 

Her dress pants remind you of lips drawn tightly over clenched teeth.  All that you are going to find in her pants is judging and unhappiness.

His boring sweater is the same color as his boring corduroy paints.  Brown.

His relaxed faded jeans hide a great ass and his baggy t-shirt showcases his sense of humor.  He should always wear flip flops.