February 8, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

Not Feeling It

I wore this all day. I was having a really hard time getting the gumption up to put an outfit together. Thankfully, this Free People jersey dress is pretty much like wearing pajamas. And I would have worn them as such if I had not borrowed my son’s deodorant that day (without his knowledge) and been knocked over by the smell of Old Spice. How do men do it? The aroma of the men’s deodorant clung to my dress and I could not sleep in it. I am used to baby powder. By the way, who decides that baby powder scent is for girls and mountain air is for boys? I was explaining my dilemma to my husband while I whined in bed and he looked around for an escape route.

“What happened to your deodorant?” He asked like a grown up.

“I don’t know. It was just gone.”

He got up and went in to the bathroom. I watched him with a faint amount of interest.

“You mean this deodorant?” He asked as he held up my little blue container that had been sitting in direct line of sight in the middle of the counter.

“Wow! I don’t know how that got there!” Then I erupted into a cackle of lunar laughter that made my husband reevaluate the exits in our house again.

My point?

Um, yea, sure… I had one.

Okay. I got it!

Don’t use your son’s deodorant.

And also, I’m pretty sure my deodorant is possessed.

That day was hard. Deodorant issues aside.

I felt as though all of my imagination was sucked dry. Maybe the deodorant worked too well.

I just threw this dress on with some black tights and my newest popback score, these Freebird Boots I snagged for 85% off at Anthropologie. It was kind of amazing how just wearing something I liked made me feel a little better.

I wanted to pair this dress with my striped blazer from last year. I would have loved to show it with some light colored denim skinny jeans. To me, that would have been perfect. But instead I kept the tights on. Maybe you can imagine I am wearing skinny jeans. And while you’re at it, maybe you could put me in my deodorant and not an eleven year old boy’s.

I hope your imagination is better than mine.

Have you ever lacked the incentive to get dressed? Have you ever used someone else’s deodorant? Do you know what kind of exorcism I could perform on mine? I think I saw it move again. It’s either that or my imagination might be coming back. I am quite sure it is the former. Which really just proves the latter.

Oi. I need to do something about these fumes.

November 14, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Fish Tartan

I try to not have two posts about clothes going up back to back, but I have been so ill for the last week, I have this one all ready to go. I apologize if you do not like outfit posts. Also, I may or may not post this weekend depending upon my medication kicking in or not. I do have other outfit posts ready to go, but I feel bad putting too many of those up in a row. I’ll just have to wait and see. Now on to the clothes…

My husband took one look at my outfit. His forehead furrowed. His mouth set.

Finally after five minutes of inner contemplation, he turned to me and bravely said, “I don’t get it.”

“What don’t you get?”

“Your top and bottom half our country but the dress has nothing to do with that.”

I just laughed.

Because I knew he would not be the only one who saw this outfit that way.

I have really wanted to explore more with plaid this season. Wear it differently. Unexpectedly.

And it does not get more unexpected than a dress filled with giant fish.

The Anthropologie Indigo Shoal Dress was one of my absolute favorite buys a few years ago. It is actually my daughter’s favorite item in my closet. I dread the day she can fit into it, because I do not know that I will see it again.

Nobody does flannel like Johnny Was (very similar flannel here). I love that they add embroidered details to their pieces (similar non-flannel shirt on sale here). Johnny Was sizing runs large. I get this question a lot, so I figured I would place it here. This is a small. I typically always wear a size small in this brand. I found my top at Nordstrom Rack either last year or the year before. Besides Johnny Was’s sale section on their site, and eBay, I think this is the best place to find the brand at a discount. I have said it before, but I adore that Johnny Was carries standard and plus sizes. Bravo to them! Last year they had an awesome Black Friday Sale that I hope they repeat this year.

Do you ever pair two things together that nobody else around you understands? Are you wearing a lot of flannel this season? What about fish? Fish and flannel. Hmmmm. Maybe I’m on to somethin’… Or maybe it’s just the prescription drugs.

Please do not forget to enter My Anthropologie Necklace Giveaway. It ends soon!

October 12, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Ollie and Me: On The Prairie

Ollie loves car rides.

No. I mean really, really loves them.

He doesn’t care where you take him. He just likes to get into the car and go.

The sad part is that he is so short he cannot really see out of the window. This does not bother him. Ollie is a glass half full kind of dog.

On this day my husband decided to take him a little bit past the house. I asked my husband if I could join him and perhaps get some pictures of the outfit I wore that day.

He agreed.

Ollie did not.

When we got to the location I decided to see if Ollie wanted to pose with me.

You would think based on the photo above that he was not so happy about this (seriously though, how funny is that face? His is pretty hilarious, too).

I decided to show him how much fun taking pictures can be.

He decided he really, really liked getting his picture taken.

I think it is because he got a lot of love.

Who am I kidding?

He always gets a lot of love.

Dare I say it? It looks as though he enjoyed it more than a car ride.

Blasphemy!

I think he might be happier than I am with this outfit, too. I paired my grey dress from this post (which has become a layering piece ’cause I shrunk it) with a flannel skirt (similar here) and fringe vest (similar super fabulous vest here) that I scooped up for $10 each at a consignment store last winter. The belt was from Anthropologie.

If you have a dog do they like car rides or walks better? What is your best score at a consignment shop?

Ollie did so well taking pictures with me that I might do it again soon. It was much more fun than taking pictures by myself.

And the best part was… He got to get a ride back home.

His modeling fees are odd. But cheap. I pay him in car rides.

No need to tell him we were going back that way anyway.

P.S. * I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Because Shanna Said So!

*two more photos that did not make it to the blog post can be seen on my Instagram Account (thegnomelover).

September 15, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Bert & Ernie

For whatever reason, last year my children stumbled upon Bert & Ernie’s “The Ernie & Bert Book” in a pile of old children’s books from my own childhood. I had no recollection of the book. Minutes after discovering the book, they both came running into my room holding the book and squealing with laughter.

“You’ve got to read this book, Mom,” my oldest proclaimed.

“Um, not so much,” was my response because having all ready proven that I am such a fantastic mother that at the age of thirteen and ten my children had just discovered Bert and Ernie…And a pile of children’s books they should both have read many years before, I was content continuing with my parenting ideal: avoidance.

“No, really! I promise it’s funny.” They both had excitement bursting through their skin. I was surprised they did not explode into a Sesame Street Muppet pile of fur.

I contemplated the mess that would make.

I examined the book. It was very thin, but what if that was an illusion? I weighed the time it would take for me to read it versus the time it would take to argue about reading it.

I opened the book.

It started off innocently enough.

Bert and Ernie, being the loving roommates that they were, were in a bit of a pickle. You see, Ernie had lost Bert’s cowboy hat. And in a series of unfortunate events, Bert worries through questions that pop up with each crazy item Ernie produces to him.

It is like that book, “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie.”

Except with two roommates and a cowboy hat.

It starts with this line: “Ernie, why should I put a pot on my head?”

My husband has asked me that exact same line before. Just go with it Bert. It will all work out for you.

Ernie then proceeds to lead Bert through their house and they both examine the ridiculous ways Ernie has fabricated objects into doing tasks they were not produced to do. The tension is building.

It builds up to the best line I have ever read in a book:

“Now what am I going to wear when I play cowboy?”

Oh, how many times have I asked myself that very same question, Bert.

Giddyup!

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

cowboy

Not Feeling It

Fish Tartan

Ollie and Me: On The Prairie

Bert & Ernie