MY RIGHT TO GET GRUMPY

My hubby just doesn't play fair. We rarely ever fight or argue, but I do occasionally get into a seriously self-righteous snit -- usually when his hoarding habit starts encroaching into my personal territory. It's no big deal, it's no big deal, and then one day I wake up, and suddenly it is a big deal, and I get gloriously grumpy. This time it was the little balcony porch where my BFF and I always go to sip wine or a mug of hot tea, whilst sorting out all the problems of the world. Hubby claimed the downstairs porch and the stone patio, but this little space just off the kitchen is mine, and I went to a lot of trouble to get it decorated just so. But then he started using it as a dumping ground for this and that. And he filled all the cute, colorful flower pots with really ugly, half-dead plants. Then he used my precious vintage lawn chair as a potting bench, and left if filled with dirt. And then, well, then I turned into the Wicked Witch of the West, and let me tell you, it felt good. But then he had to go and spoil it all by doing this!

Apparently he had already ordered these hanging baskets, and was going to surprise me with them.

Dirty Pool, John Lane. Dirty Pool!

IN A FIX

Have you ever heard of Stitch Fix ? It's an on-line fashion business that has you fill out a questionnaire with all the details regarding your size, shape, best and worst features, likes and dislikes, personal style, budget, etc. Then, based on that information, one of their stylists will hand-pick five items, meant just for you, and ship them out to you. The more information you give them, the better your selections will be, so they even ask you to link them to your Pinterest fashion boards, if you have them (I just happened to have a Bohemian Hippy Gypsy Cowgirl board from several years back). I have always heard about fancy department stores with personal stylists, but never dreamed it would be within my realm of possibility. Finally I caved in and placed an order.

On the plus side, they send you this great card showing different ways to wear and accessorize each piece they send you, with both casual and dressier options. On the negative side, pretty much everything in my box was a bust.

My most fervent wish was that their stylists would be so savvy that they could look at my personal details and know exactly which styles would show them off to their best advantage. When I opened my box to find a mini dress that stopped several inches above my knees and a pair of skinny jeans, my little balloon of hope went pop!  Fairly certain I mentioned being sixty two, and having short chunky legs that looked best in straight or boot cuts. Another disappointment was that there wasn't a natural fiber to be seen, and everything had to be hand-washed or dry-cleaned. I do not do dry-cleaning anymore!

The purple shruggy thing was kinda cute, but only went with one thing in my closet, which you see behind me. Since that 2'x5' space has to hold everything I own, for all seasons, plus shoes, hats, purses, ironing board, suitcase and a bunch of old slides and photos, every piece of clothing simply must be multi-purpose!

The biggest disappointment, however, was realizing that they were not going to be teaching me much of anything about what styles would bring out the best in me (if anything, it would be me teaching them), and that's not really their primary goal. I think they are more about trends, and convincing you to keep up with them. Out with the old! In with the new! I happen to have a problem with that. In fact, that's probably why I ended up leaving fashion merchandising -- my original path -- and wound up merchandising plants and garden accessories instead. I like working with things that last. I also believe in that old saying, "Support your local businesses, else you won't have any!"

So, I only ended up keeping the one black patterned top, since I had lots it would go with. The good news is that you only pay for what you keep. The rest goes into the pre-paid priority mail bag that comes in your shipment, and you just drop it off at the post office. There is a $20 styling fee, but that is applied towards anything you do buy. I also appreciate the fact that, when you check-out online, you are encouraged to tell them what you liked and didn't like about everything in the box. I gave them an earful!

And, since I get really irritated with people who make snap judgements about food and restaurants without really giving them a fair chance, I decided to place one more order. But first, I went back to an article in one of their newsletters, about all the things you can do to help their stylists make better choices for you, and this time, I actually did them. I'll let you know how it turns out. Next box should be arriving today!

A TOWN WITH SEASONALITY

We may be expecting temps in the lower 90s all week, but that does not mean that fall has not yet arrived in our little town. Au contraire! To tell you the truth, the less cooperative Mother Nature happens to be in your neck of the woods -- say you live in a country like Indonesia, where the only two seasons are rainy, and not-so-rainy -- the more vital it is to help her along by creating your own seasons.

We've got this!

Only thing better is when all of this segues into millions of tiny twinkle lights dripping from the eaves of every building in town!

THE TRINITY

Good wine from Duchman Family Winery...

good food from Trattoria Lisina, which happens to be right next door...

and great friends to share it with, in this perfect spot right between the two.

Does it get any better?

SIMPLE HAPPY

This week's Simple Happy was watching these guys and all their relatives partying down in our garden.

What about you? What simple wonders made your breathing slow and put a smile on your face?

FAMILY FUN AND CRAPPY DINNER PARTIES

 
Hard to believe Little Goober is four and a half months old now. Things are changing faster than we can keep up with them. One day he's a slug on a rug, the next one he's laughing and giggling and rolling all over the place! Going down in the family annals for sure was the day Papa John said something rude about "silly grandmas" and, with absolute perfect timing, Goobs got a lopsided grin on his face and let out a snarky "Heh!" Mima didn't feel too insulted however, for only she can still do this with her magic lullabies!

A couple of weeks ago, when the men were all at DerbyCon or Fantastic Fest, we gals decided to head down to Austin's Pecan Street Festival.

Our bearded boys would've loved this booth!

Unfortunately, after an entire week of lovely fall-like weather, the sun decided to come out in full force that day, and the canopy on Calvin's stroller really wasn't doing much to protect him.  Luckily, there was a nice cool Mexican joint nearby for us to adjourn to!

Now, onto the subject of "Crappy Dinner Parties". Believe it or not, that's actually a thing now! When I was a young stay at home mom, watching a bit too much Martha Stewart on TV, I longed to throw parties and spend time with other adults the way we used to (parties being our only entertainment when living on company compounds overseas), but just couldn't find the time or energy to pull it all together, especially not to Martha's standards! Thinking about the neighborhood I grew up in, where friends would call and say "We're fixing to grill some burgers out by the pool. Want to bring whatever you were planning to fix and join us?", my solution was to throw lots of pot lucks and form supper clubs with rotating hosts wherever we were living. Number one rule at supper club? She who hosts it doesn't have to cook, since planning the meal, assigning courses, providing beverages, setting tables and most importantly, cleaning one's entire house, were all more than enough to deal with! Lexi's generation has come up with their own solution -- the crappy dinner party.

Apparently a young mom named Kelley Powell wrote a blog post on how she and her best friend came up with this idea, and it really struck a chord, for last time I checked, it had been shared more than 120,000 times. In case you are one of the few people who didn't see a link to it on Facebook in recent weeks, here are 5 Rules for Hosting a Crappy Dinner Party (and Seeing Your Friends More Often) :

1. No housework is to be done prior to guests arrival
2. Menu must be simple and not involve a special grocery shop
3. You must wear whatever you happen to have on
4. No hostess gifts allowed
5. You must act like you're surprised when your guest and her family arrive (optional)

Lex has taken that idea and run with it, sending out an open invitation to friends and family to show up at her house on the last Friday of every month for a Crappy Pot Luck. I think it's a brilliant idea, and am honored to be on the guest list.

Uncle Nootie Gets Quality Goober Time at a Crappy Dinner Party

"Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are." ~ Old Proverb

HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE

Though the Gaylord Texan may have been a tad short on shopping bargains and moan-inducing food, sister Gus had heard that downtown Grapevine had all that and more, so we decided to go investigate. Our greatest discovery was a little French cafe called Main Street Bistro and Bakery. Oo La La!

Believe you me, there were moans aplenty to be had in this place!

Three Takes on Grilled Cheese -- American, French and Italian

Lunch was so filling, we didn't have room for dessert, but we did take one thing from the bakery -- an amazing tart with a creamy filling beneath a shell of chocolate ganache -- back to the hotel, to share during a high-stakes game of Shanghai (kinda like gin rummy). I lost big time, but didn't really care since I was eating ganache.

Then there were the shops! My favorite, of course, being a color-mad shop called Good Things For All Seasons...

where I found the absolute perfect headpiece to wear to my daughter's annual Halloweeny Day of the Dead Anniversary Mima's Birthday Party!

Too bad I can't show it to you yet.