February 15, 2015 by gn0mel0ver

A Valentine’s Day Monster Hunter Recap

On Friday the 13th, my husband and I set off on a quest. It had started that morning when I woke up to find my husband eagerly peering down at me from the edge of the bed.

“Do you know what today is?” He excitedly asked.

I slowly blinked my eyes. The night before we had gone to bed discussing all of the things we needed to accomplish, most prominently important was finishing the cleaning of the carpets that I had started the day before so we could get our house back together. In a too much information shared, both dogs had had two weeks of diarrhea, thankfully not at the same time, but it had made the purchase of a carpet cleaner necessary. I had spot cleaned, but I wanted to know that they were cleaner than before the last two weeks. Now that it looked like we might finally be done with the sickness, I wanted to go over the carpets thoroughly. I had finished one room, but all of my fingers had gone numb from the force with which I had gotten down on my knees and scrubbed, as only the best of us OCDs can do.

“Um, the day we’re going to finish the carpets. You are going to help me right?”

“No and yes.”

“Is it the day before Valentine’s Day?”

“Yes, but that’s not it.”

I was unsure what he expected me to say. Then I remembered the episode of “The Middle ” we had watched a few days prior. “Oh! Is it World Radio Day?”

He looked at me in exasperation. “It’s Monster Hunter Day!”

I sat straight up in bed. “Why didn’t you wake me up sooner? What’s the plan?”

It turned out that his plan was vague. This would not do. I quickly surmised that we would both need a new DS to play the new Monster Hunter games (a little bit of my love shown here) to the utmost of their awesomeness. They were being released that day after years of us waiting for them. Yes, I’m thirty seven. Yes, I love video games. Let me tell you one day of the year my younger sister got a Sega System for Christmas and I got boardgames. #notoverit. To be fair, my sister still loves video games, too. I think it plays to our love of fantasy. If you think you don’t like video games, but you read fantasy books, you might want to try them again. They have some games geared for folks just like us.

So, for the next hour I procured two new DS systems, and four video games (our kids play with us) at three different stores in three different cities. It was surprisingly hard. I had no idea the systems would be a hot commodity. We were lucky to get two, because I checked ten minutes later and all of the systems were sold out in Southern California.

My husband was thrilled.

Not about my awesome online shopping skills. I knew they would come in handy one day.

He was thrilled to be going to all of the different places to pick up the bounty we scored.

“It’s a scavenger hunt!”

I once made his day by requesting we hit five different grocery stores looking for frozen manicotti. He is easy to please.

We left at noon. We drove to the first stop and picked up three of the video games. On the way, I asked if we could stop at two different Costcos in the other cities because I had wanted to check out the different items they might have from our own. In truth, I was looking for more frozen manicotti. I have a problem. My husband was even more excited. Two scavenger hunts in one day?! I never needed to buy him a present again.

Two hours later, we arrived at our second stop. We picked up the last video game and our first system. From there we hit up our first Costco. We did not find any frozen manicotti. We did, however, find my children’s most favorite thing. A whole variety box of snack sized flamin’ chips. We also got some cream brûlée in little jars even though it is best made at home.

Another hour later we picked up our last system. We were high with the rush of collecting our prizes.

The last Costco was a bust, but we picked up some pizzas to have for dinner. By the time we got home, it was 6:30. We stayed up with the kids playing Monster Hunter in our bed until 1:00 in the morning. We set up our bed like those creepy grandparents in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” I ended up staying up until 3:00 trying to finish some quests.

So, the next morning when my husband woke me up, I had a new plan.

“Honey, I don’t really want to go out for dinner tonight. Would you mind if we just ordered Chinese food and stayed home to play “Monster Hunter?”

His silence scared me. I felt like I had disappointed him. He had been talking about taking me out for Valentine’s Day all week. Then his face broke out into a wide grin. “You are the best wife ever!” He proclaimed.

And that is why my house still looks like this.

And that is why I got no sleep.

And that is why yesterday was the best Valentine’s Day ever.

What did you do for Valentine’s Day? Did you dress up? Did you wear red or pink? I was going to wear the perfect pink and red outfit. It was a repeat of the outfit I wore on Christmas Eve. But instead I stayed in pajamas. And not the kind of pajamas one is supposed to wear on a romantic holiday. It didn’t matter. I killed a Great Jaggi and made a weapon with its hide. My husband declared it to be beautiful. Just kidding. He totally made it for me. He’s chivalrous that way. It was so romantic.

October 21, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

“So Tasty”

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.

October 6, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Let’s Compare: Rain Boots

It seems ridiculous to post this when the temperature in my neck of the woods seems permanently set in the nineties and my air conditioner is crying with exhaustion. But I am not so silly as to think that the whole world is smoldering in their sandals. Since it is technically fall, let’s talk about rain boots:

Last year I wrote a post about the new Chooka Rain Boots that I had purchased at Costco. I was very pleased with my Chooka Rain Boots and they even garnered their own funny story. However for Christmas, my husband surprised me with a pair of Hunter Rain Boots. And I supplied a post for those, as well.

Both are in a very similar color of green.

I decided to write a new post about what I like about each of them.

First, when I pulled my rain boots from my closet after less than a year of being stored in there, my Chooka Boots appeared brand new and my Hunter Boots had a waxy white film across them. I only wore each pair of boots two to three times last year (darn California drought), so I am by no means an expert on accessories for the rain.

But I can tell you the pros and cons I have found with each of the shoes:

Chooka Rain Boots Review:

As I said above, the Chookas have retained their sheen and still look brand new after many months in storage.

I think the Chooka Boots are more comfortable than the Hunter Boots, because they are a tad bit shorter and do not hit the back of my knees like the Hunter Boots do.

The price. I paid $30 for my Chooka Boots at Costco last year (from what I have seen online, I believe the average retail price is around $60). This is a great deal for a nice pair of boots.

The negative about these boots is that I am not a huge fan of the buckle on my Chooka Boots. I do not mind it on the Hunter Boots, because the buckles are balanced by the label in the center. But I wish the Chooka Boots did not have the buckle on the side. I feel like it draws attention to the lack of a label (which is actually another positive. Most of the time I am a label-free girl).

Chooka also now sells boots with a pretty contrasting brown buckle. I like that look better than the ones that I own.

Hunter Rain Boots Review:

First, the gorgeous logo. I mentioned above in the Chooka Boot Review that I generally am not a label girl, but it has to be said that the Hunter logo is stunning and makes the boot.

The taller length of the Hunter Boot is better for skirts, and looks better with them because of their height than the Chooka Boot. However it is not as comfortable as the lower height of the Chooka Boot.

The Hunter Boot runs slightly larger than the Chooka Boot. This means that sometimes rain can get into my boot through the larger gap at the top (which kind of defeats the purpose of wearing a rain boot). I bought a size eight in both brands and the Chooka Boot fits perfectly while the Hunter Boot runs a little big. There are pros and cons to both. In colder climates, the Hunter Boot would allot for a thicker sock to keep feet warm in the brisk weather. Hunter Boots also appear to accommodate a larger calf. I feel the Chooka Boot is better for warmer climates because it would not accommodate a larger sock unless you sized up, but in California, I do not need that. I simply need a boot to keep my feet dry. Chooka Boots seem better for smaller calves.

The price. Hunter Rain Boots are expensive. My husband purchased mine for $79.99 at Nordstrom Rack. They are usually around $150. I know Costco typically offers them every year on their website at a large discount, as well.

Finally, my pair of Hunter Rain Boots do not look as pretty as they did when I first received them less than a year ago. I am hopeful the waxy finish will go away with more trips out into the rain but I am not positive. The reason I am thinking it is going to take a bit of work to remove the white film is based on this article I found on the subject. I really wanted a low maintenance shoe, so I am disappointed that these require some elbow grease.

So with all of that said, which ones do I recommend? Honestly, I like them both. The Chooka Boots have a slight advantage because of the great price I paid for them. And the fact that they still look the same as when I first purchased them.

Vainly, I like the Hunter Boot for the logo. And I adore the many colors it comes in. If you ever see a baby pink tall pair at a discount please let me know. I love that color!

I will keep wearing both of them.

And be happy and grateful that I have the options.

Do you own a pair of either of these brands? What do you think? Did your Hunter Boots produce a white film? And if so, did the waxy quality on the Hunter Boots go away without having to do anything special to them?

*I was not compensated for writing this post. These opinions and reviews are my own. Your experience with the different boots may vary.

September 9, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Bohemian Girl Means Business

Sometimes there comes along an occasion that calls for something other than princess dresses and flowy caftans.

Sometimes.

Rarely.

Not often.

But it happens.

This particular occasion was my son’s Back To School Night at his school.

I did not want to be remembered as Bohemian Chick by his teachers. I wanted something more firm. Pulled together. Polished.

I have a silly demeanor. A child-like voice. It is easy to be dismissed with those two descriptive traits. Throw in a flowy garment and the unarguably potent power of threes will make any future interaction with school officials one-sided. In regards to people who have influence with my children, I like to make a good first impression since I am dealing with the aforementioned attributes.

This did not, however, mean my hair had to be tame, as well.

One of us was going to have a little fun.

And that is a-okay with me.

My husband would love it if I dressed in button down tops and pencil skirts every day. It is what I wore when I first met him. So, he has good memories of me dressing like this during the beginning of our relationship.

The top was a popback from Anthropologie called the Chambray Lace Buttondown (similar here). The skirt is a few years old. It was also from Anthropologie. It was called The Flounced Hem Skirt. The shoes were from my Modcloth Stylish Surprise package in the spring.

I used to love dressing up every day.

But that was for work.

And that wardrobe is no longer a part of my everyday life.

I can now have a little more play in my everyday.

Speaking of play. How neat is this scrabble ring from UPcycled Works on Etsy? I purchased it at the Del Mar Fair at her booth there. I have a “Q” as well. “Q” is my favorite letter to draw in Scrabble. The “C” is for my husband.

Do you enjoy dressing in multiple styles? Do you do it often? I have to admit it was fun to wear something like this for one night. It brought back many memories. Good ones. And good memories are always… Good.

*I had really wanted to get pictures in before we left for the event. However, the time of day was not the best for pictures. Sorry for the hazy quality. It is as if the sky had some wine, too.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

hunter

A Valentine’s Day Monster Hunter Recap

“So Tasty”

Let’s Compare: Rain Boots

Bohemian Girl Means Business