Pink party dress

I went thrift shopping this weekend for the first time in a long time (weeks!) and I found this pink party dress. I knew this dress. I had considered this dress years before when I went to see Isaac Mizrahi talk about his new line for Liz Claiborne (you know, a mall runway type situation). I wanted this dress badly then. (And I think maybe my friend actually bought this dress?), but I didn't buy it. I went with a semi-polka-dot number, which was also lovely.

When I saw this pink dress on the rack this weekend, my heart skipped a beat. It was like seeing an old love across a crowded room. No, not an old love. An old crush, and you always wondered what might have been if only things had worked out differently...

Tags still on it. That's right people! $99 dress for $5. That is a thrifting fairy tale come to life.

I haven't worn it anywhere but my living room yet. Although, I did wear it there and told Robert to take my picture and then I posed all like "What? You're taking my picture? I'm so surprised!"

This dress has a bright, pink future. I picture this dress going to parties and the theater and events where I drink tea. We have found each other again, and we're never gonna let go.

Dinner Club

We hosted dinner club Saturday night. Our friends Mike and Mary hung out at our house before the big event and filled it with the beautiful aroma of egg drop soup (the eggs came later, this is the broth stage). 

Here is our table all empty.

And here it is full. Much better!

The dinner club has been together for about a year. We meet every two months with a different theme (last night's was Chinese: Above is Robert's kung pao chicken). This is our second time hosting and it was so fun and yummy.

There was a lot of food. I dug into everything. It was like Thanksgiving but with more soy sauce.

Blue plate: pre digging in. Above that: shrimp egg roll things and beef with broccoli. 

The company was even better than the food. I've been so busy lately, I haven't been as social as normal. It was wonderful to see everyone.

Our friend Luke made homemade fortune cookies complete with homemade fortunes. They tasted like delicious vanilla wafers.

I will leave you with this homemade fortune's truly deep words of wisdom.

Owl heirloom

Robert's mom asked him if I would be interested in this owl. The answer: "Um, yes" said in a tone that implied "There is very little in the world that Sarah would be more interested in than this owl." What makes it even better is that it was made by Robert's grandma. This is an owl heirloom! I am in love.

It is meant to hold some sort of plant. Robert suggested basil. I have killed two basil plants in the past two years (and have helped zero basil plants survive), but surely I won't forget to water something that is planted in such an adorable owl! (Hopefully. You would think. Right?)

Black, white and gray

Black, white and gray: I am paying homage to my love of newspapers. Or my love of neutral colors. Or my love of this thrifted scarf.

Man, I love this thrifted scarf.

And Chucks. I love Chucks too. I've been wearing them since high school. My dad wore them when he played basketball back in the day. Chucks are awesome. (And while we're on the subject: I love corduroy pants. I wore them in high school. My dad wore them too. Cords are awesome.)

(Scarf and shirt: thrifted, pants: Old Navy, shoes; Chuck Taylors)

Stripes

When I started this blog, I was all about polka dots. For years and years and years I was all about polka dots. I mean, I still am all about polka dots, but more and more these days, I am all about stripes.

Every time I go thrifting, I am immediately drawn to anything striped. Stripes are just so clean and classic. They're neat (as in organized rather than neat-o, but they're neat-o too). They're just so American. And by American I also mean European and perhaps summertime Canadian.

So I wear stripes all the time now. I threw this scarf on to walk the dog assuming it clashed with my striped sweater, but who cares? Does the dog care? No. She just wants to get this show on the road. Then, I caught a glimpse of myself in our enormous hall tree's mirror, and I thought the combination was quite cute. Red and blue are best friends and these stripes can deal with a busy scarf. Sunshine dog, however, cannot deal with the flash. It gives her crazy eyes. Not super cute, Sunshine. Not super cute.

(Oh, who am I kidding? Still super cute. Sweater: thrifted. Scarf: Urban Outfitters.)

Homemade bread

I didn't make this bread. Robert made this bread. I, however, did eat this bread. And it was deeeeelicious.

I must say it's best straight from the oven (Oh man. Homemade bread. It is so good. Who are these people who give up carbs? Have they heard of bread? Do they know how good carbs taste?), but I also had it in an open-face sandwich form, and that was pretty darn yummy too.

I kept telling Robert the bread was my new boyfriend. He didn't seem to feel at all threatened.

Hello high waisted

"Do you need to pull down your skirt?" Robert asked me the first time I wore this beauty. "NO," I replied in verbal all-caps. "It is high-waisted."

I have a long torso. It's part of the reason I'm kind of tall. Would I prefer to be kind of tall because I have long legs? Yes. But you can't always get what you want. Ask Mick Jagger.

Back in the '90s when I was teenage skinny and Britney Spears reigned, my long torso simply meant I showed a sliver of stomach basically at all times. Shirts were not long enough for me. It was a whole thing.

Now, I'm 30 years old. I'm a grown up, people. A full-on adult. "Sliver of stomach basically at all times" is not socially acceptable especially in a professional setting. And so: I wear tunics, any shirts I can find that are long, and I wear high-waisted skirts. Look at it! Waist-accentuating. Super cute. Good stuff.

(Shirt and skirt are thrifted. Tights are ancient. Shoes are Urban Outfitters. Smile is awkward. Bangs are bobby-pinned. Crazy mouth collage is by Alexandra Miller. Antique monstrous hall tree was in-law gifted.)

Scarecrow brooches

These two little guys hang out on my winter coat giving the big, gray utilitarian piece a wee bit of whimsy.

They're almost holding hands. Maybe dancing? Maybe they were just holding hands and let go to do a quick twirl in unison. A scarecrow jig. I found these two at the Sleepy Poet Mall in Charlotte. That place is dangerous, I tell you what. So many beautiful things you might leave a very vintage pauper.

Grandma sweater

I've come to realize that the sweater I refer to as my "grandma sweater" does, in fact, make me look like a grandma. And not a hot, Helen-Mirren, I-want-to-be-you-when-I'm-64 grandma. Just a regular old grandma wearing her grandma sweater.

But it was a gray day, and for some reason, I felt inclined to match the sky, and, besides, my grandma sweater is very cozy and comfortable. Plus it has sweet little flowers on it. All these things mean it's okay that it aged me 30+ years. The kidlets already think I'm ancient anyway. ("You're 30?! You're SO OLD." -- direct quote from kidlet.)

(Grandma sweater: thrifted, dress: Banana Republic, boots: dunno, leggings: Target)

Sweater dress

This is Robert's favorite dress of mine. I don't wear it much because it's kind of tight and incredibly warm. It's been pretty darn cold out, though, and I decided the weather and the dress went together so I wore it for a little date afternoon I had with my handsome husband. 

Robert is a very honest guy. When he loves something, he tells me. I enjoy this. But he if doesn't love something, he doesn't fake it. (I don't always enjoy this, but I do appreciate it.) When I came home with bangs, for example, his response was "I'm neutral." He's neutral about many things. Not this dress, though.

Nope, when it comes to this dress, he is not neutral. He is very enthusiastic. I should probably wear it more than once a year.

(Dress: thrifted, leggings: Target, boots: random mall store I can't remember)

Macbeth

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
-- Shakespeare


Charlie Rose has been doing a series on Shakespeare, and it is making me swoon. Shakespeare is big and true and earthy. Shakespeare is for the masses. He takes it all on. He says "Yes, yes, life is beautiful" and "Yes, yes, life is so terribly cruel. It is magical and it is nothing. Yes." 

Scarf and stripes

 This outfit makes me feel French. Do you see the stripes? The scarf? So French! And by that, I don't mean like actual French people currently living in France. In this case, "French" means Gene Kelly in "An American in Paris" or maybe, when you take into account the bangs and ponytail, Audrey Hepburn in "Funny Face." So: This outfit makes me feel like an American character in a French setting in an old movie. It's a nice way to feel.

I wore these boots based on the torrential downpour that was taking place. And the fact they don't have heels. Sunshine Dog approves. 

It's also really warm and comfortable. Leggings and knee-high boots = good winter wear.

And for no particular reason, here is a shot of Sunshine and her tongue looking adorable.

(Shirt and skirt thrifted, dog a stray, leggings from Target, boots from some mall store)

Harold and Maude

Harold and Maude, these two crazy cats, hang out in the guest bathroom. I saw them at a Habitat for Humanity Restore, fell in love, asked myself "Are they ugly or fabulous?" and decided they were both and that I MUST have them. Harold is the little one. Maude is the mama. They match the yellow of the bathroom walls. It is as it should be.

Lazy Five Ranch

My friends Karen, Sarah and I decided we needed to have an adventure. Back when we first started hanging out three years ago, we were always doing something fantastic -- roller skating, attending monster truck rallies, combining Mad Libs and martinis, having Audrey Hepburn movie marathons followed by fully-costumed Holly Golightly monologue performances ("I'm not hotfooting it after Jose if that's what you think!").

These adventures were great, but it had been a long time since we'd had one. We recently resolved to fix this by going to the Lazy Five Ranch. It was going to be a safari adventure! Karen drove her jeep. Sarah stood next to it like a safari rock star. 

Lazy Five Ranch is one of those places where animals roam free, you tour their home safari-like in your car, feed them from the windows and then mosey on home. I thought it was going to be laid back, perhaps because it has the word "Lazy" in its name. I should have noted the "Enter At Your Own Risk" sign behind me.

We were first greeted by adorable little black pigs, who looked a lot like my dog Sunshine.

Then came the emus, llamas and cows. Emus are scary and prehistoric looking: very dinosaurs with feathers. Llamas are both adorable and aggressive. Cows? Cows do not take no for an answer. Did I have an experience in which a cow and emu simultaneously went after my feed bucket as I screamed, pulled away (their heads fully in the vehicle) and started to attempt to close the window? You bet I did. No animals were harmed during this time of screeching. They seemed Zen. Aggressively Zen (if that is possible) and very peckish (especially the emu, hardy-har-har).

It was good times. The Lazy Five Ranch gets your adrenaline pumping.

It also teaches you that there are lovely, gentlemanly llamas and sweet, long-lashed llamas and mean, jerky llamas who butt the lovely, sweet ones out of the way in order to get a snack.

The giraffes were the best. So majestic. So drooly. We made good use of the sunroof.

I don't know if you know this, but giraffes are really tall. And they have pretty eyes.

Speed limit five miles due to the zebra in the road.

Zebras are pretty.

 And yaks have their own beauty happening too. (This is a yak, right?)

Our visit to Lazy Five Ranch resulted in a close encounter with giraffe drool...

braving the beaks of emus...

and getting feed all over me and Karen's jeep.

And as you can see, it was fantastic.

A Tale of Two Dresses

This one time I thrifted a gorgeous, form-fitting, perfect party dress. I wore it. I loved it. Then I found it again at a different thrift store, in a different size and color, but equally lovely. I wore it. I loved it. I took blurry photos of it in my foyer. It is a thrifting miracle.