We are moving and so is this blog

I am moving all of my blog content to http://www.myrussiacloset.blogspot.com/ this blog will chronicle my shopping and preparations to move to Russia.

Anthropologie at Ross Dress For Less??

I am a bargain hunter. The hierarchy of "discount stores" goes like this:
1. T J MAXX
2. Marshall's
23. Ross Dress for Less

Let me say this: I do not shop at Ross Dress for Less. This store is a pit of polyester and screaming babies. I have found great things in T J MAXX and Marshall's; but I stopped going into Ross sometime around the time I stopped thinking Express was the answer to all of my fashion needs. Which is why when I had 45 minutes in between appointments today and found myself wandering through a Ross today and found an ANTHROPOLOGIE dress I got dizzy. Anthropologie at ROSS for $24.99. 

I don't know the name of this dress, and I don't remember seeing it at Anthropologie ever, so I don't know how old it is. I know it was an Anthropologie dress because it was a "Maeve" brand label. The label was crossed out with a sharpie, but it was undeniably Maeve. The dress was an 8 and I am typically a 2 or 4, but I still tried it on. No dice. I almost wanted to buy it as evidence. I don't know who I would have needed to prove this to. But man how exciting! I scoured the racks looking for another one in my size, but had no luck. I would have thought this was a rogue mistake, but I also fond a VELVET brand dress on the rack (in my size! For $12.99), and this one I remember from an Anthropologie catalog-- I think it was the cummerbund dress from one of the summer of '09 catalogs. I stopped at another Ross on my way home, and there was no Anthropologie to be found. But, I have to say I now want to scour every Ross in my city. My dog found a bagel in my neighbors yard about a year ago (No idea why there was a bagel in her yard) and even a year later my dog insists on scoping he neighbors yard out everytime she's outside, finding that one bagel that one time has scarred her for life. She will always have to peek over in that yard looking for another one now. Salivating at that thought. That dog of mine and I have a whole new thing in common now.

Nail polish will be the death of me

3 years ago it was Lincoln Park After Dark. I searched high and low until I got my hands on a bottle, and then it didn't leave my hands...or my toes for 2 fall/winter seasons straight. (I was not die hard enough to rock in in Spring and Summer, obsessions have seasonal control) I obsessed over the color. It made everything I owned seem more stylish and up to date. I haven't been able to find a nail polish since that has had that effect on me, so I have just been obsessed with the search for one.

Now I find out that Tracy Reese (ala Tracy Reese who also designs for Anthropologie) is designing a line for Sally Hansen, and has designed a line in the past for them but it has flown off the shelves quickly. I am determined to snag some colors out of this line when they hit shelves (allegedly in April 2010) I have been searching for more information, but can't seem to find any. What I have found is below. I am feeling like a lame Nancy Drew:

The 8 new shades in the limited-edition nail color collection are made with the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure. This season’s shades include:




Hidden Treasure – clear with multidimensional glitter

Midnight in New York – rich black

Sunflowers – bright yellow

Pomegranate – pinkish red

Dianthus – deep pink

Lagoon – sea blue

Silver Lining – metallic gray

Iced Coffee – light mocha



About Sally Hansen: Sally Hansen renown for its high-performance nail care and nail color. The brand’s commitment to product innovation and technology has made Sally Hansen and the unsurpassed leader in nail color and nail treatment.



About The Designer: Tracy Reese’s designs celebrate femininity and are known for their embellishments and fine attention to detail. Her pieces call for perfectly polished fingers and toes: As Tracy herself says, “A touch of color to your nails gives you a total polished look, as it creates a complete package from head to toe. And what woman doesn’t feel amazing with a fresh manicure and beautiful dress!”



WHAT IT COSTS: $7.00 each

Weekly Menu 3/22

This week the plan is:

Monday- Greek Meatballs in the slow cooker (already made these, since it is now Wednesday, I won't post the recipe for this because I burned it. Gross)

Tuesday- BBQ Pork with mop sauce, mashed sweet potatoes, sugar snap peas, and corn

Wednesday- Cheese and vegetable manicotti and roasted zuchhini

Thursday- Orange Chicken and brocoli with brown rice

Friday- Walnut pesto scallops and high fiber pasta

Saturday-- Arroz con Pollo with brocollini

Pictures to follow.

I am puting myself through Home-Ec

I feel like a stripper puting herself through med school. Some days my job is so daunting, I'm saying...oh no, don't look at me like that, this isn't permenant, I just work here so I can put myself through home-ec school. That's the thing about working in sales, you feel guilty for being good at it. Usually you are doing well at someones expense. In a perfect world it is symbiotic, but I live in a realistic world. A cynical world anyway. Which is why I crave the 50's comfort of home-ec. I know, I know the 50's weren't a good time for everyone, segregation, political strife, not to mention, I sure am glad to not be chained to a radiator. I do have to wonder though, in women's quest for it all, did we lose everything? When you try to be good at 10 things, something is going to fall through the cracks. I barely have button sewing on skills, and I can cook but I have struggled to plan week's worth of meals and execute them, and I miss that. I miss it although I never had it. I miss what I think it would be like. I love all things feminine and I feel llike a part of my femininity is missing.

Let me tell you, the housewife start-up costs are pricey. It is a good thing I have a 8-5 to cover these expenses. I just started a sewing 101 class. I am also attempting this week to plan, shop for, and cook a full weeks worth of meals for myself and my husband, staying within weight watchers points, and with minimal food spoilage at the end of the week.

My first sewing project is a real sexy mu-mu like night shirt that has cost me just short of $100 bucks so far. Oh the damage that could've been done at Victoria's Secret with that. Le Sigh. But the learning experience will balance it out right? I am learning to fish, it'll feed me for a lifetime. hopefully I won't be stuck in mu-mu like night shirts for a lifetime. I will post pictures of this project shortly.

Also, my next post will be this week's menu. I know I am kind of late on this since it is Wednesday and we already had 2 days of the meals, but we will start now and continue next with a full week if all goes well.

Seagulls and Mothers Can Be Vicious

I've been wanting to start a blog for a long time-- I am a persistent reader of several blogs, but have had trouble just STARTING. Where do you start? Do you introduce yourself? Dig right in? Topic? It is overwhelming and just easier not to for a long time. It is like when you start reading a book and you are so anxious to get into it you want to bypass the first few chapters and start around page 180? That is how I decided to start blogging, I dove in to the middle to get comfortable writing.

It is awkward.

I am writing to no audience right now, but wouldn't want to invite any sort of audience until there is more to offer. I wouldn't invite dinner guests over and have nothing to offer but starlight mints.

From what I can tell, this blog is going to focus on:

• Anecdotes from my life, past and current (not past life as in new-agey past life, just maybe my childhood?)


• Product recommendations of things that I love love love


• Recipes

So let's back track to an intro?

I am 27. 27? 28? Yes, I think 27. I am sure 27. 27 is a mulligan year for me. I was 27 last year too. Around my birthday this year, we discovered that I was not turning 28, as I thought. Confused? Imagine how I felt, I was very upset about turning 28 until my husband did the math from my driver's license and figured out I was turning 27. Yippee, do-over year. I am not sure when I got confused about my age. My mom was convinced I was turning 28. I don't question if she is the one who got my confused on my age. My only question is if she did it on purpose or accidentally. Somewhere along the way though she convinced me I was a year older. This got in my head and I never did the math, until this year. What a relief.

This is the same mother who put french fries on my back at the beach when I was little to watch the seagulls attack me.

I stepped on a dead sparrow

I had one of those nights I wish I had a film crew following me. Or maybe I don't wish that? Maybe a personal film crew that I hired myself who wouldn't make copies of the tape and distribute it via amazon or You Tube but would hand the only copy over to me for my own private viewing?Also they wouldn't require payment, just hanging out with me filming was payment enough. But of course the film crew would have to somehow have the technology to record my inner dialogue, or I would have to have long out-loud conversations with myself.

Guys, stop getting me off topic.

I've pieced my night together from:

• Personal accounts of people present
• Facebooks posts
• Text messages
• The condition of my feet, skin, hair, tights.
• The contents of my purse

It was going to be a regular Thursday. I had a work gig at a night club, I go, I show face, I get my check, and I leave. Kat offered to go with me, as she often does on my Thursday going ons -- which is great, it is so helpful to have a friend who will tag along with me on my club gigs and enjoy herself. Well she didn't need to enjoy herself as much as she did though, and neither did I. Maybe it would be better to have a friend not as supportive as club gigs and maybe more supportive of....church? Temple? Weight Watchers? I don't know if it would make a difference.

Kat offered to drive. First though, we were meeting a friend of hers at another bar about 6 blocks away. Ok so we will split the difference and park in the middle and walk to each bar from the middle point, her civic.

The first bar mixed a strong and cheap drink.

And another one.

And maybe another? Sure why not. Ok!

Walking on to the next bar, for the reason I am actually there, my job, overseeing the event. Does it count as overseeing the event if everything I am seeing is a little blurry? Nah, it's not me, it's them, they must be vibrating while they're standing or something, I am fine. I should figure out how to vibrate while I stand. Neat trick guys!

So we've established that the time at BAR 2 was a blur, interrupted only by shots, vodka, a drink that tasted like that plastic cone treat with the gumb ball at the bottom you get from the ice cream truck, more shots, more shots, oohhh I like this song, vodka, several conversations that I can't remember, yelling at a guy to stop touching me, lights ON, and one more shot for the road.

And time to walk to our car. Walking...walking...walking, hey stop following us....walking...walking, you're still following us? Walking....hey do you remember where we parked?

Now is a good time to mention that when I am a passenger, I don't pay attention to where I am headed, I just enjoy the ride.

Of course I don't know where we parked, you drove, let's keep walking, it has to turn up. So we walk. I took my heels off at one point to make the walk more tolerable, they were Jessica Simpson brand, and lets be honest they share qualities with J Simps herself, they're really cute to look at but after hanging out with them too long you want to shoot yourself.

At some point the facebook posts of "HELP IM LOST" began. And the banter- and the revelation that, shoe-less, I stepped on a dead sparrow (at least I got to face my lifelong fear of touching dead things). I spoke to Kat's friend in another state on the phone to process stepping on the dead sparrow, he couldn't console me about that and couldn't help us find the car either. Useless.

I decided we were now street dwellers. There were so many skills I didn't know yet, but would have to learn if I now lived on the streets, and if I lived on the streets then I would be home by now. Makes sense, no?

The bar owner made the mistake of texting me which led to at least an hour of back and forth texts mainly with me just spelling HELP in capitol letters and him telling me to come back to the bar so they can help me. The bar was where all this trouble started, no way I'm going back there.

More wandering.

Our situation is hopeless.

Kat lost the contents of her purse.

Collectively we lost our dignity.

I'm so sad we live on the street now.

Look! Driving towards us! It's hope! A cab! We could have asked the cab driver to drive us home. We could have asked him to drive us anywhere....but we were not giving up on this car. We had come so far. Lived a lifetime on those streets. Cab driver, drive us around so we can find our car! So he drove. Kat clicked her panic button. Twenty dollars later, there's our car! Please just take us home, I have a sales meeting in 4 hours.

There are several morals to this story, but the one that really hit home from me is this:

ALWAYS

ALWAYS

buy expensive tights. After all that my HUE brand tights, not a hole in them. My leg ripped, but my tights, still intact. If it wasn't for those tights, I may have broken a leg.