A Mythical Creature

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What would you do if you met a mythical creature in real life?

Would you run? Panic? Take pictures? Scream? Laugh? Cry?

Here is what you need to know about these pictures. Five minutes after they were taken, my husband and I went to our favorite Cuban restaurant to get a coffee.

I had chosen my dress that day because I wanted something fun and fantasy-like.

I chose the tights, because I could.

One day purple legs will be all the rage, you’ll see. Or is that just another fairy tale?

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At the restaurant, we saw a real-life mythical creature.

One that made me blush and then quickly leave. But for now, let’s look at pictures of Jenni without any coffee. She is a beast, all by herself.

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This dress is old. It was called The Myths and Legends Dress from Anthropologie. I love the creatures on the dress. I think they are plain ol’ animals but I like to squint at the pattern and pretend that the deer are unicorns. As one does. I found my dress on eBay a few years ago. I would link to a similar dress, but I do not think there is one out right now. If you are looking for whimsical clothing, I have this shirt in my wishlist in two different colors and I purchased this skirt last week (review coming on Monday).

The purple tights were $1 last year in Nordstrom Rack’s clearance bin (I cannot imagine why) and the boots can be found here.

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If you are into the fantasy genre, then you might understand that I did not buy the dress strictly for the fantasy creatures. I actually purchased it for the tower-like fortresses (um, the designer might call them something odd like…trees) in the middle of the forrest pattern.

They remind me of where druids dwell in the Shanara fantasy series by Terry Brooks.

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Wearing this dress always makes me feel a tad bit braver and a touch more childlike. The brave feeling turns out to be a farce, as we will see further down, but for now we can still believe.

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I wonder what is behind this door?

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Ancient druids practicing magic?

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In five minutes, Jenni is going to wish she could figure out how to melt into this wall.

But why?

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Because as I was sitting in the restaurant enjoying my hard won coffee, someone walked into the restaurant.

You know how they always say kids are amazed when they see their teachers outside of school? As if they were seeing a magical creature come to life?

Well, that is exactly how I felt when my gynecologist walked into the coffee shop as I was innocently drinking my coffee. My good looking gynecologist. With his family.

Here was my dilemma. I could go say, “hi,” but would he have recognized me? And then his four kids (in their teens and twenties) would have turned to look at me. And know. In that coffee shop. That their dad had seen all of me.

With my husband next to me.

Too many people had seen me naked in that coffee shop. There were only ten of us in there. I did not like the number equation.

So, I did what any person would do when confronted with a real life mythical creature.

I left as quickly as I could.

Went home and booked my overdue doctor’s appointment (because I believe in signs).

And am patiently waiting to see the fearsome creature in his natural environment.

Without coffee. Kids. And clothes.

Exactly the way I would greet a unicorn. Just so ya know.

Forced To Nature

I wrote this in the spring. Just a few musings from my head. I needed a “me” break on this blog. I have so many outfits to show, but that is not all of my soul. The pieces of clothing are just the simple coverings that will eventually be dust in time. I wrote the following for myself with no plans on publishing it, but it brought me peace and calm when I found it yesterday on my iPad amidst funnier stories. Let’s just give this Thursday to the daydreamers, shall we?:

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The other day found me in a setting without internet service. Without cell phone service. Service being a sure-vice of mine. I had an hour to kill. My hair flew from the confines of my braid with the wild abandon that the head it is attached to has never felt free enough to follow.

My neck began to burn from the sun’s interrogations and I contemplated running back the short distance to the car to grab some sunscreen for it. But once again my laziness won out. And two days later, my neck began its transformation with the shedding of its former self. Another trick that the head it is attached to has never learned. Perhaps it should be said in life that no one need listen to their heart. Nor their head. But rather their inbetween parts. My hair and my neck have much wisdom to impart.

The woodpeckers were relentless in their invasion of the nearby tiny field and trees. I dare not call it a wood for a wood calls to mind a dense thickness of trees that this clan of trees surely did not represent. Nevertheless, they had attracted (whether they had wanted to or not and surely I assume it was the latter) a fair number of feathered suitors whom had not waited for an invitation in, but rather had begun incessantly knocking and had not bothered to stop to see if a door had been opened for them. They were making their own way in and the trees were powerless to stop them.

My feet began to sweat into my flats and I cursed my decision to remain stationary. Although to be fair, I do not think walking would necessarily cure my feet’s decision to sweat. In fact, I imagine that it would be quite the opposite.

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I decided to do the most productive thing I could think of and I grabbed my small blanket (my hoarding arsenal is vast) and quite gracefully (for me) laid the blanket down underneath the only shade to be had. A sad tree still covered (or uncovered as it were) in bare branches. I hate to be insulting to it by calling it a tree made entirely of twigs, but that is what it was. Perhaps due to the incessant chatter from the small grove of trees nearby and their unwanted houseguests, the tree had not heard Mother Nature’s call that spring had arrived. The base of the tree had split into two and this led me to determine that perhaps this tree was in constant battle with itself.

“Grow this way.

No that.

It’s time to bloom.

It’s too hot.

It’s too cold.”

And when in constant battle with one’s own self, it is no wonder that nothing was getting done. And that this tree, a tree surrounded by green, could not make itself conform to its surroundings.

I know a few people like that. Maybe someone who brings a blanket instead of a folding chair.

Who would rather sit in quiet than sit with others.

And who knows exactly what the woodpeckers are saying to the trees. And what the tree’s response feels like in return.

The tree mutters and moans as it splits itself in two.

We are the souls who prefer the solitude of our thoughts.

While the rest of the world is knocking.

Blooming.

Staying whole.

We are the ones who choose to stay in. Even as our outsides and surroundings betray us.

We search for another door out.

The Sisterhood Of The Stay-At-Home Jacket

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I opened up the bag that had come from Anthropologie. I sat there on the floor. Stunned. Staring into the wrapping.

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My daughter looked up from her cell phone, “Whadja get?”

This jacket,” I replied in a surprisingly monotone voice. The tremors in my soul not vibrating yet to betray my vocal cords. I held it up for my daughter to see (and definitely not to worship, as I held it above my head… on my knees… with my eyes closed).

“Oh. My. God,” was her reply.

“I know right?!”

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I immediately slipped it on. Its buttery softness engulfed me. I stood and looked into the mirror. I ignored the flannel pajama bottoms and oversized stained t-shirt I was sporting. My hair was piled on top of my head in a greasy four day old mess. The jacket was the star. The scenery did not matter.

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“Here. You try it on,” I generously proclaimed to my daughter.

She put it on and I rolled the sleeves for her as I had seen another blogger do earlier in the week.

She turned to face the mirror. “I love it! It is soooooo soft.”

“I know. And it is not real leather. It is fake leather. No animals were hurt making it!”

My husband piped up from the corner of the room. “Were any fake animals hurt in making the fake jacket?” He quipped.

He knew I would ponder that all afternoon if I let it get to me, so I ignored his question and turned my attention back to my new favorite purchase.

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“We can share it!” I proclaimed. This is kind of amazing because I am a size 6-8 and my daughter is a size 0-2. But the size medium fit us both perfectly (on me it is more fitted and on her it is looser). It was just like that book/movie with those traveling pants. Minus traveling. And pants. But you know what I mean.

I actually was going to break my cardinal rule and let her be on the blog for this post. She had been wanting to. But when I asked her if she wanted to take pictures with me for this post (I thought it would be funny to have pictures of us fighting over the jacket), she vehemently declined. Why? Because she did not want anyone to say that she looks like me. Sigh. And so it begins continues.

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I will still share the jacket.

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Now, before you think I am the most giving person out there. That I am sharing my most favoritest (my most favoritest not-a-real-word word) of jackets out of simple selflessness and not greed. This is what I told my husband:

“If we both use the jacket then technically it is only half price for each of us. Technically my clothing budget is only moderately affected.”

“Is that how it works?” Deadpanned my husband.

“Yep.” I like to use my fake logic on him.

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Do you own a leather jacket? Or a fake leather jacket? Or a traveling pants kind of jacket? If you have a fake pet, please do not show it this post. It would scar it for fake life.

*I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress.

*this outfit was inspired by Tifforelie on Instagram. I love how she paired Anthropologie’s Vegan Leather Jacket with Anthropologie’s floral tights. The colors match perfectly. The cream Free People slip is combined with a dress from Forever 21.

“So Tasty”

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The other day, I was thinking about my husband. And my heart felt full of love for him and yet I wanted to feel more. So, I made myself think of things that are unique to just him. Such as:

My husband is an optimist.

The purest form of optimism I have ever been around.

Seriously, he wakes up happy. And he is happy. And it does not take a lot to make him happy.

He is easy.

One thing he says a lot is, “so tasty.”

I know. How can you not adore a grown man who eats your food and says that? It makes me smile. It makes me laugh. And the best part about that, is that it is said with innocence and as a genuine compliment.

The other day when the well in my heart was full of love, I said to him, “Honey, you are the only person I know who uses the term, ‘so tasty.'”

He was kind of offended by this. Or defensive of this. Either way, he answered, “I am not. Lots of people say that.”

And I said with amusement in my voice, “lots of people, like who?”

And he said, “I don’t know, but I hear it all of the time.”

So, I called my children into the room and I asked them if they had ever heard anyone else besides their father use the term, “so tasty.”

My son immediately said no that he had not heard anyone else use it, but that he himself did not use enough words and that he recently realized that he never uses the word, “silly”. And that made me recognize that flaw in myself and that I do not use that term enough either and made a mental note to use it more.

My daughter, on the other hand, pronounced that not only had she heard the exclamation used before, but that she also said, “So tasty,” herself all of the time.

I thought at first that she was being contrary.

I think she could see the dismissive way I had handled her comment, because she explained herself. “I use it because they always say it on ‘Monster Hunter*’,” she said.

My eyes widened.

I turned to my husband.

“That’s it! You got it from ‘Monster Hunter’!”

The love that had been swelling in my heart mere moments before struck like lightning bolts as waves of cackles erupted from my mouth.

My husband would not look at me.

Which made him all the more irresistible.

And, if I do say so myself, “So ta…”

*with the risk of revealing my true dork, “Monster Hunter” is my very favorite video game. My husband and I used to hunt monsters together on our devices. Yep. You cook the meat from certain monsters over a pit until it is well-done. And it gives you stamina. You can see that here. We used to play together all of the time…Until…one fateful day last year when he decided he did not want to play with me. He was too tired. And we have never played together again. Sigh.