Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

Now that September is here, my thoughts turn to fall fashions. Never mind that it’s still warm and humid outside – I still have a burning desire to put away all summer clothes and wear boots and jeans. However, common sense tells me I need to hold off on that for a while or sweat to death attempting to force the season. [Cindy wrote](http://herethereandback.blogspot.com/) recently about how there are no longer any hard and fast rules for fashion once the seasons change. Most magazines will tell you to pair your eyelet skirt with dark tights for the fall or throw a jacket over a gauzy blouse. While I’m all for bending (and breaking) the rules, some things are just too ingrained in my head to change. For example, I’d feel silly pairing an eyelet skirt with dark tights so it’s going into storage. So what’s a fashionable girl to do? I say, listen to yourself and wear what makes you feel good. Here’s how I’m going to segue into fall:

* Jeans are slowly taking the place of my crop pants. I’ve long given up keeping a fake tan going so I need to cover this glaring white limbs. I’ll be wearing jeans with my t-shirts and sandals for now.

* My white pants are going straight into fall with black tops and shoes. I didn’t wear them much this summer because it was too hot, so now’s the time to get them out. Plus, I think white jeans are great paired with dark jackets for fall.

* I’ll be wearing my summer tank tops under jackets. It’s all about the layering.

* Any crop jeans or pants I choose to wear will be paired with flats and patterned hose once it gets cooler. I love a skinny ankle pants with flats and a jacket.

I also want to embrace some of the fall trends so I thought I’d share some of my favorites. Grey is the new black (I know, I know, every season has a “new black”). What I really think this means is you should look for new basics in grey rather than black this year. I have a terrific pair of charcoal pants I got at Target (I mean Tar-jay) last year and I predict they will be worn quite a bit again this year.

Purple is a hot, hot color and is popping up everywhere. If you’re not comfortable wearing it near your face, or at all, try some deep purple accessories. Purple shoes will look great with grey or black and will give your outfit a fresh look. I’m on the hunt for a low, patent wedge in metallic purple. Don’t know if it exists, but I’ll be looking for it.

Metallics are also hot again which is good news for those of us who love a little shine. I have two great tanks I bought at The Limited last year that I’ll be putting under my jackets. I talked my mom into a cool, soft metallic purse the other night and I’m hoping she keeps it. Look for deeper colors rather than the old standbys of gold and silver.

Whatever your style or budget, have fun this season with your wardrobe. Break a few rules, add something new and different and walk around with your head held high. You’re a fashionista – now act like it!

I live in an outspoken neighborhood where people don’t actually “voice” their opinions so much as they post them in their yards. The current debate is the Planned Parenthood supporters v. the non-supporters. Judging by the sheer number of signs, I’d say the Planned Parenthood people are winning. My favorite sign is one by a non-supporter that reads, “The Lord Giveth and Planned Parenthood Taketh Away.” What strikes me as humorous about the non-supporters is that the PP people have these large hot pink signs that are easy to read whereas the opposition has home made signs they printed on their computers in 60 point type. Makes them a little hard to read unless you’re actually walking by the sign. It seems to me that if you’re really opposed to a cause and you want to be heard, you’d create a sign that people could actually read.

But that’s just me. If I were to voice my opinions on a sign in my yard, I think it would read something like this:

“Your low-rise jeans give you a muffin top and I’m tired to seeing your lower back tattoo and your underwear.”

Or perhaps something like this:

“You’ve got your thumb up your ass and your mind in China. Pay attention to the road, idiot.”

Or even this:

“Quit telling me to have a nice “one.” “Day” has just as many letters and is as easy to say. Plus, it just sounds nicer.”

Perhaps there’s a reason I don’t put signs in my yard voicing my opinion.

Labor Day traditionally signals the end of summer and the beginning of fall. It’s all symbolic now as the weather is still acting like summer with steamy days and little relief. I will say it’s cooler than the 100+ temps we were experiencing a few weeks ago, but the humidity is back and it’s going to be in the 90s today.

It’s funny how things have changed, or have they? The advertising industry seems to think September means crisp days, turning leaves and warmer clothes. The stores begin to fill with jackets in July, long before anyone really needs one. White was once taboo to wear after Labor Day, but it’s not unusual (or unfashionable) to wear white pants and jeans all winter long. To me, Labor Day is the end of summer – heat or not. It means that one of my favorite seasons is just around the corner. Shorter days will be here soon and the leaves will start to fall. So despite the heat and humidity, I’m feeling a bit optimistic that this will soon end.

Happy Labor Day everyone! Hope your day is very relaxing.

It’s been a long week for some reason. I got a lot of work done, but the week feels like it has lasted forever. Fortunately, it’s Friday and it’s a three-day weekend. Yay! I know Steve really needs it after driving to and from Arkansas two days in a row. He was beat last night, mentally and physically. I hope this weekend resets his clock.

For a change we have no plans to go out of town. Ralph and Blair are in Chicago so a trip to Des Moines wasn’t even considered. Tomorrow night we’re going to dinner with Valerie and Kevin to celebrate Valerie’s birthday. Sunday night Duane and Prudy are coming over for dinner so we can celebrate Duane’s birthday. Should be a fun, relaxing weekend.

The weather today is perfect! It’s cooler and the humidity is lower. It makes me want to break out my jeans, but it will probably get too hot this afternoon for that. Regardless, I’ll take this over the massive heat wave we’ve had lately.

Everyone have a safe, relaxing weekend!

Happy birthday to my good friend Valerie who is…29 today. I won’t reveal her real age, but let’s just say she’s only a couple of months younger than I. Valerie and I met in 1984 when we both worked for Town and County Clothiers in the Battlefield Mall. It was not friendship at first sight. She thought I was a complete nerd and I thought she was a wild party animal. These first impressions were all due to our hairstyles. I styled mine with a vent brush and had the 80s wings, and she had a spiky, punkish ‘do that was frosted. In reality, I was spending my weekends drinking and partying at the frat houses while she lived at home under the watchful eye of her mother.

I have no idea what the turning point was in our relationship, but we became friends and have been that way ever since. I love her sense of humor, her style, her musical taste and her opinionated ways. Through thick and thin, we’ve remained friends and I can’t imagine my life without her. Happy Bert-day, Jot! Love, Tammy (the coolest).

As a writer for [417 Magazine](http://www.417mag.com/) I’m used to businesses and individuals being excited when I call to set up an interview. Most are thrilled to be profiled in the magazine and gladly take time to chat with me. Last week, I called a local boutique called Ashby’s to set up an interview for my [Savvy Shopper](http://www.417mag.com/417-Magazine/July-2007/Fashion-Furniture-Fantastic/) section in the magazine. The owner, Roberta Wooldridge, was reluctant to talk to me. She wanted to know more about the article and admitted she wasn’t familiar with my section. No big deal, I thought, and explained how Savvy Shopper worked. After a few minutes she asked if she could think about it. Well, ok, but I was under a deadline and needed to hear from her in a few days. She agreed. I thought the whole conversation was a bit weird as I’ve never been turned down for an article, but I wasn’t too worried about it. Over the weekend, a friend told me a story about how rudely she had been treated while attempting to shop there, but I was still hopeful that all would work out.

Today I called her and had the most insulting conversation ever. She said she still wasn’t sure about it. That her boutique was special (yeah, aren’t they all) and most people compare it to others in the area. She asked again about my pieces and then said she never read the magazine. Ok, fine, I’ll explain it to you again. Then she asked what made me qualified to write about her place. Um, I’m a writer and a shopper. She asked where I shopped, so I named a couple of boutiques where I’ve bought things. She was quick to point out she was different. Yes Roberta, I know you’re SPECIAL. I told her I’d been in her store, then she made a snide comment about how her store isn’t geared toward people who shop at TJ Maxx. I politely told her that perhaps she wasn’t comfortable with us profiling her store and I should choose someone else for December. She agreed. I then called my editor and told him that it would be a cold day in hell before I wrote a single nice word about that store. I can tell you what makes them special: a snotty attitude and holier-than-thou fashion sense.

Truly great friends come along once in a blue moon and I’m very blessed to have a few in my life. One of my closest friends is Mary who I’ve known since childhood. We share the same artistic flair, family dysfunctions and geeky husbands (you know I love you Steve!). Although we lost touch for a number of years, reconnecting has been one of the best things to happen to me. It’s like time never passed and all we had to do was catch up on a day’s events. I adore her children (and word is they adore me), our husbands get along and we can always pick up where we left off regardless of how much time has passed since we last spoke.

So it was Mary I sought last night while in the middle of a small mid-life crisis. I’ve been feeling a little…weird lately. Guess I just don’t know where things are going with my jewelry and what I’m here to accomplish in this life. Turns out Mary had been feeling the same way too (no surprise there). We talked for a couple of hours, drank a beer and I returned home feeling almost normal. While Steve is my best friend and knows me inside and out, it’s people like Mary who can understand what I’m feeling without being judgmental.

So Hail Mary! Thanks for being my friend and loving me, flaws and all. Take some time out today to call or write your close friend and let them know how much they mean to you.

The last 36 hours were a whirlwind of activity. We left early Monday morning for KC and encountered a monster of a rainstorm right outside Springfield. We were crazy to drive through it, especially when we found out they had closed the road in Brighton shortly after we were on the other side, but we survived thankfully. After 45 intense minutes, we were out of the worst of the storm and joked that we weren’t sure if we needed a drink or a nap. We took neither, but stopped in Lowry City for a break and some water. We arrived in KC around noon and went straight to [Oak Park Mall](http://www.thenewoakparkmall.com/shop/oakpark.nsf/index) home to Nordstrom and other shopping faves. Steve was looking for cool boots, a jacket and new shirts while I was shopping for cosmetics and shoes. I want a leather motorcycle jacket, but am thinking vintage so Nordstrom wasn’t where I wanted to look for it. We puttered around, ate lunch, bought a couple of goodies (including [these cute shoes](http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2932363/0~2376778~2372811~2373742~2373744~2375104?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=2375104&P=1)) and waited for Ralph and Blair to arrive. They did around 3:30 and Ralph and I made a quick trip to the Plaza Banana Republic while the guys hit Streetside Records. Then it was time to get ready for our evening.

Thanks to the Embassy Suites, we had free shuttle service to dinner. The driver was very impressed we were eating at the original Peanut rather than something, say, classy. The Peanut is what my sister calls a “towny bar.” It has probably never been really cleaned, it’s smoky, the food isn’t remotely healthy, they have lots of beer, and if you’re wearing coordinated clothing you’re probably overdressed. They do, however, have the best food around. Knowing we were going to eat junk for dinner, I tried to cram in vegetables and nutrition earlier in the day so I didn’t feel too guilty about my meal. We started off the The Peanut’s famous wings. They are real chicken wings (not the drummies) drenched in mouth-watering sauce and served with home made blue cheese dressing. They were heavenly. On Ralph’s recommendation, we ordered the BLTs and cheese fries for dinner. Thankfully, we split an order of the fries which were deliciously crunchy and smothered in Rotel. The BLTs were the best I’ve ever had and people who say they don’t like bacon are lying (that’s a direct quote from my sister). After a couple of pitchers of beer, it was time to go so we grabbed a cab and we were off to the show.

The concert was spectacular! It was held at the [Uptown Theater](http://www.uptowntheater.com/index.shtml) which was a really cool remodeled old theater. The fun part of the show was that you could take your drinks into the auditorium which is something you usually can’t do here. Here’s a picture of us taken before the concert started:

The band played for 2 straight hours and it was rockin’! They sounded really good and we danced off all our excess calories. Blair did double time as he was playing air guitar and drums during most of the concert. I did regret wearing the cool wedges I had chosen as we were standing most of the night, but the extra height made looking over everyone easier. Apologies to any short people behind me. We ended the evening with a very fun cab ride back to the hotel with the cab driver playing Journey on full blast and us singing along like idiots. It was hilarious. We had a quick nightcap in the hotel bar while Blair tried to locate the hotel where the band was staying (he was unsuccessful). This morning, we did just a bit of shopping before heading home. All in all, a fantastic extended weekend and a great concert. Thanks again to Ralph and Blair for the party planning!

It’s been a hectic weekend here at the Kirks household starting with our car dying in the parking lot of the local liquor store on Friday night. We tried to jump it, but no luck so we walked home, got the other car, and went over to Duane’s new pottery studio to work. Some pizza, salad and a couple of beers later and we felt better. On the way home, we attempted the jump again and this time it worked so Steve drove it around for 40 minutes to get the battery charged. Unfortunately, it didn’t take and we had to jump it again on Saturday before going to Sears for a replacement. All is well, thank goodness.

Today we teamed up with Duane and Prudy for a little road trip to Branson to see the Bodies exhibit. This is an exhibit of actual bodies that have been preserved in acrylic. You can see bone structures, veins, muscles and all the organs. It was fascinating! We get the audio tour which was nice as it gave us some additional information on the exhibit. I liked how the audio tour included information for children and adults. The woman at the counter told us that most adults like the children’s audio because it’s more entertaining and less medical so we listened to a few of them. I went back to the adult commentary when we saw entered the room with the cadaver slices. The slices were a cross-section view of the body, much like doctors see on an MRI. The most controversial part of the tour was the room with the fetuses at different stages. A docent was nearby to warn people of the content and direct them around it should they choose not to view it. We chose to go through it. I’m not sure how controversial it is unless you get into an argument on when life actually begins. I don’t want to necessarily debate that here, but I saw a 4 week-old fetus and it was amazing. I had to remind myself not to think too hard about them being real preserved babies because it meant that they were never born. It was fascinating and sad at the same time.

We did do a little shopping at the Branson outlet malls, but nothing overly exciting was purchased. Steve did get a cool jacket at Eddie Bauer (of all places) and I found some great denim pants at Banana Republic. We ended the day with great margaritas and fresh guacamole at Cantina Lauredo on the Landing. We just got home and now it’s time to pack to leave for KC in the morning to meet Ralph and Blair for the Crowded House concert. Whew!

Oh my. I think I’m in love. I have found the most glorious boots on the planet. They are [patent, low wedge, pointed-toe delights from one of my faves, Stuart Weitzman](http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446166510&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574492706334&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395222441&bmUID=1187363842832&ev19=1:9). They are definitely on my must-have wish list for fall. I need to get a job to support my shopping habits!