carharttsandcoachbags

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The anatomy of a winning halloween costume… October 31, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — carharttsandcoachbags @ 10:35 PM

Alright, I know you all recall last year’s Halloween costume since I talk about it A LOT.    Here too.   I was REALLY proud of it and thought I deserved to win last year (ask ANYONE who I was with – I made it known).  It all came down to a dance off where I tried to retain my dignity rather than dance like a fool like my competition.  So really… I win.
 

Regardless of what happened last year (let me remind you, I lost), I made it my mission to outdo myself this year.  I decided on my costume back in like, I don’t know… March.  I was that obsessed.  I decided to stick with a theme… a Johnny Depp theme… so behold… Edward Scissorhands.
 

Yep.

 

Let me pose for you.

 

With my amazing cousin and makeup artist extraordinaire.

 

I have to give credit to some different places for inspiration and I’ll also break down exactly what I did for the whole costume.  The only “official” item I bought was the wig.  Other than that, it was Marshalls, Goodwill or homemade.  Because remember… I don’t buy pre-made Halloween costumes.

 

So let’s break it down:

 

I found this template online from someone who had done the Edward thing a few years back and I printed it off in the size she suggested and cut them out for my stencil.  You can find that template here.

 

 

After tracing them on foam core, I cut them out using a razor blade.  And some curse words.  It wasn’t as easy as I would have liked it to be.

 


 

Then, I spray-painted them with speckled silver paint and voila!

 

 

From here, it was just a matter of hot gluing them to some black gloves I bought at Goodwill for $1.99.  Sweet.

 

As far as my outfit goes, here’s where I got everything and what I paid:

 

* The jacket I scored on clearance for $20 (down from $150) at Marshalls back in the spring.

 

* The pants I bought a couple weeks ago (when I lost enough weight to warrant a smaller pants size!) again, at Marshalls for $20.  I used some electrical tape to cover the giant Calvin Klein label on the butt pocket.

 

* The mock turtleneck I picked up at Goodwill for $3.  I spray-painted some washers bronze and I sewed them to the neck.

 

* The belts I also picked up at Goodwill for .99 to $1.99.  I then just used thread to sew “belt loops” in the spots on my pant legs so they wouldn’t fall down my thighs, popped a hole in with an awl to make them fit better and used electrical tape to hold up the excess.

 

* The wig I bought for $12 on Ebay.

 

* The boots were mine.

 

So it looks like the total costume cost was ~$65 but the pants and jacket are items I will totally wear again so I really should lower the overall price… only seems fair.  Besides, the whole thing still isn’t THAT much more than the pre-made (cheap crap) costume I COULD have bought.

 

That would be this one.  And it’s terrifying.

 

Next is my makeup which I need to give TOTAL credit to my amazing cousin, Jessica, who did some research and created the final product.  We did watch this tutorial by Kandee Johnson a few times – she’s amazing and definitely inspired the resulting amazingness.

 

The “Before” picture.

 

Covering my eyebrows – we used a variety of techniques including a glue stick.  Apparently I was a kindergarten art project for Halloween this year.

 

The “After.”  Awesome.  Would have been a better pic if I was actually wearing my wig.

 

Once it was all together, it was epic… I’m not gonna lie.  I walked downstairs and several people came over for photo ops.  And interestingly enough, a couple guys even hit on me just like last year when I was dressed as the Mad Hatter.  What’s UP with that???

 

Last year’s winner who, upon seeing me, said “is that all you got?”.  He was kidding… obviously.

 

The epitome of our relationship.  I’m over the top and he’s so loveable.  Love this man.

 

After the contest and the band quit playing, I went upstairs and changed into sweats, washed my face and brushed out my hair before coming back down and sitting at the bar at which point, a band member asked me what I had been dressed up as that night.  The same band member that I was playing the guitar with about 30 minutes prior to that moment.  I told him that I was Edward Scissorhands and I thought he was going to fall off his bar stool.  Apparently I did a good job and he didn’t recognize me in the slightest.

 

So, yeah… I won the Halloween Costume Contest this year. Hands down. And that pun is totally intended. No 2nd Place finish for this girl.  Therefore, I think it’s safe to say that I have succeeded.

 

24. Top my Halloween costume from 2010
 

Yeah, I did just that.
 

And I’m already taking suggestions for next year.
 

Once you embody the language, the character comes really naturally, especially when you put the costume on.  ~Lucy Liu

 

Well that was easy… October 30, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — carharttsandcoachbags @ 10:43 PM

There’s not much to say in this post other than, I did it!  I went a week without tv and I didn’t I didn’t even really miss it.  In fact, I’m going to try and make an effort of watching less of the boob tube from now on.
 

Now let me say, I’m not a huge tv watcher in the sense that I have certain shows that I HAVE to watch, etc. but I do have a nasty habit of just turning it on so it’s just on… flooding my senses with crap.  Because you KNOW I’m not just putting it on the NEWS or something.
 

Yeah…

 

Doing it this week was sort of unintentional.  I realized last Thursday the 20th that since I had gotten home so late and had a pretty busy weekend ahead of me it might be worth doing now.  So, I did!  The only tv that was watched was by the dogs because I leave it on for them when I leave (so yes, I did watch about 30 seconds before and after I got home each day and I do live with another person and need to accommodate so John was watching tv in bed one night but I fell asleep immediately.  I don’t think either of those count.
 

Besides, I had WAY too much to do on my Halloween costume to be watching endless reruns of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.  Don’t judge.
 

By the way, the costume was epic.  I’m waiting for more pics and I want to go into detail on how I did it so check back soon for the post.  But let’s just say, I think I succeeded at #24 as well.
 

Until then…
 

18. Go TV free for one week
 

Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other.  ~Ann Landers

 

Cease fire! October 24, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — carharttsandcoachbags @ 10:56 PM

The amount of ridiculousness that happened yesterday can not possibly be summed up in words in a simple blog post so instead, here is a photo blog.  Enjoy.
 

We’re so romantic.

 

The boy THOUGHT he would dominate… I was ready to give him a run for his money.

 

Three bad ass chicks.  They learned to take us seriously real quick.

 

On one of the rare occasions that I was the first one out… it made me really sad.

 

The girls team.

 

The whole (ridiculous) crew.

 

And we still loved each other at the end…

 


…even if I did shoot him in the back at one point.

 

This post wouldn’t be complete without a shot of the war wounds.

 

I can not tell you how much fun we all had.  And to be perfectly honest, I was pretty damn good!  This will TOTALLY be happening again – the whole crew agrees.

 

13. Go paintballing

 

If you find yourself in a fair fight, your tactics suck. ~John Steinbeck

 

Really? October 19, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — carharttsandcoachbags @ 10:20 PM

Today I went to the gym on my lunch break and I ran 1.25 miles without breaking at a 12 minute mile pace.
 

Really?
 

I’ve had my Halloween costume decided on for ~7 months and have yet to make a crucial part a week and a half before the big party.
 

Really??
 

I just completed Class 1 of 5 of my photography class, putting me that much closer to crossing everything off my list.
 

Really???
 

One person commented on my 5K blog post – probably the biggest, most daunting task on the whole list – and it was the person who I ran with.
 

REALLY???
 

But, unfortunately, sometimes that affirmation creates a sense that you deserve special treatment and recognition in areas where you’re not so talented.  ~Taylor Hackford

 

Are YOU going mad this Halloween? October 17, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — carharttsandcoachbags @ 9:26 PM

Halloween is less than two weeks away.  For a girl that started planning her costume several months ago, I’m SO far behind in getting it finished!  But I can tell you, it’s going to be fabulous.  I hope.  Because my list depends on it.  
 

For the record, there are apparently going to be A LOT of Mad Hatters this Halloween.  There were 76 views of my ‘Is It October Yet?’ post today alone!  Every day for the past few weeks, there have been an increase in the number of searches that include “mad hatter full body,” “homemade mad hatter costumes,” “Johnny Depp Mad Hatter,” “women mad hatter costume,” etc.  I’d like to think I was ahead of the trend…  If any of you stumble across my blog and get inspiration, I’d love to see what you come up with for your own costume!  
 

As for my costume this year, I will say it’s another movie character… two more weeks and you can find out who (or what) it is!
 

When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, ‘tis near Halloween. ~Author Unknown

 

Holy crap, it’s done. October 16, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — carharttsandcoachbags @ 10:19 PM

I’m honestly not sure what inspired me to run a 5K before I turned 30.  It might have been because I haven’t run (for any great distance at least) since I was forced to do so for a grade in high school.  And the last year we had to take gym was 10th grade.  So, there’s that.  Or perhaps I felt the need to put a ginormous albatross on my list to taunt me until I finished it.  Either way, it loomed over me for the better part of this year.
 

And I didn’t really do much in preparation for it.
 

Truth be told, I started the C25K program twice.  I didn’t finish it either time.  However, I got much farther the second time around… all the way to Week 5.  Out of 9.  Yeah… you don’t have to tell me that’s only halfway.  The fact that I had only run for a solid 5 minutes straight did not bode well for how I would do when I was required to run at least eight times that amount.  I had 100 excuses reasons: I didn’t have a treadmill (so I bought one), Irene hit (that was valid), I had a minor surgery that kept me from being able to exercise (that’s a loose representation… I had a mole removed and it just happened to include 6 stitches underneath my bra line – totally valid) but truth is, I just didn’t do it.  Plain and simple.
 

As the day approached, I kept telling myself, I’m just going to have to wing it… I’m pretty good at that anyways.  The good news is, my best friend (the yard sale goddess you met back in July) had decided to complete this adventure with me (along with another almost 30 friend who has also started a 30 Before 30 list and she’s vowed to complete FIVE 5Ks… showoff :) ).  I could not have imagined a better partner (in crime) to complete this (ridiculous) adventure.  Katy has always been my outlet for outrageous (and often inappropriate) laughter and the following analogy pretty much sums it up.  As we were getting ready yesterday morning, and I expressed my nervousness and the acute anxiety building up inside of me, Katy made a fantastic point that I focused on for the rest of the morning.  Running this 5K was going to be like having a baby.  Although, up until this point, I had done neither of these horrifying tasks, her reasoning still made me giggle.  First of all, I had been building up to this moment for 9 months and nothing in the world could prepare me for what was going to happen.  Then I was going to have to endure some agonizing pain and terror before being done but I’d have an amazing accomplishment to show for it and be able to have a celebratory beer (or two).  Yep, sounds about right!
 

We all (2 runners, 2 husbands and a baby) piled into the car and arrived at the Aquarium right on time where aforementioned friend, Colleen, had already found our registration numbers so we could jump right in line.  As I watched the “real runners” stretching and warming up next to me, I realized I was in trouble.
 

Ready!  Or as ready as I’ll ever be.  Yet still smiling.

 

The penguin ran with us… we blamed our slow pace on him.

 

Almost time!  With the best support team ever.

 

By the time the race started, I was as ready as I was going to be and the real life penguins wished us luck at the starting line, along with the 3 foot stuffed one that Katy had strapped to her back.  Epic.  To say she was the celebrity of the day would be an understatement.  We were off… and I actually ran the first 3/4 mile no problem!  However, that’s not to say that I didn’t welcome the forced walk through the trail in the woods with open arms.  Once we got to the other side for the run inside the little neighborhood, I started to feel it.  My lungs were aching and I was still coughing pretty heavily (I stayed home sick on Wednesday and John actually said I coughed ALL night the night before this race) so we started to set small goals – ‘run to the mailbox.’ ‘walk until that black Toyota,’ ‘run until the woods’ and before I knew it (or something like that) we were back through the woods and on the home stretch.  Once we could see the Aquarium, we started running for good and my heart lifted a million miles when a couple students I know from work, were waiting near the finish line to cheer us on and give us high fives as we passed.  We ran through the finish line and I immediately walked to the back looking for water because I’m not going to lie, I thought I was going to pull a Harry Potter World.  John had said it would be cool if someone puked after the 5K.  I’m not sure he meant his wife.  I was able to pull it together but it was touch and go for a few.  But THAT would have been embarrassing.
 

43 minutes and 55 seconds had passed between leaving the starting line and hugging my best friend in triumph at the finish line.  Was it the best time?  Of course not – that was reserved for the asshole that could run 3.2 miles in like 17 minutes.  But I did finish ~10 minutes before the last person and there were several people between us and that final runner (including the older gentleman who made me realize how grateful I was that I chose to get CPR Certified JUST in case).  But regardless, that’s not why I did this run.  Sure I had a goal (not die) but I didn’t really care how long it took me.  So, could I have done a better job and completed it under 40 minutes (or even less)?  Probably.  Could I have made a better effort to actually run the whole thing without periodic walking breaks?  Definitely.  Did I complete the 5K regardless?  Absolutely.  And that’s what matters.
 

Besides, there’s always next time.  Yeah… you heard me.  I might do it again.  Go figure.
 

So happy.  To be done that is.

 

Not flattering… but real.  Oh so real.

 

In addition to these pics (and the ones I’m waiting to get from Katy), there were a few volunteer photographers at the race taking photos and this one got a couple great shots (and a few not so flattering ones too but hell, it’s not a beauty pageant!)  Click here to find me!  Just try and ignore the fact that we’re on page 45… of 49 (i.e. the end).
After the race was done, we celebrated by taking the babe to the Aquarium for the first time which was such a joy to be a part of, especially when I was going to buy him a bath toy as a present and he chose the dolphin.  He knows the way to his Auntie Darcie’s heart.  The gift shop also allowed Katy and I to do what we do best… make absolute fools out of ourselves.  Oh, I guess that would require us to care what other people think.  Nevermind, we just had fun!
 

Assholes.

 

My bestest, her babe and the penguins.  A perfect day.

 

And for the record, I did get that celebratory beer.  Or two.

 

 

Katy, I love you with all my heart.  Thank you for being there in all of life’s joyous (if you can call running a 5K joyous) moments… I couldn’t have done it without you.  And Colleen – maybe I’ll complete one of those other 5Ks with you.  :)

 

12. Run a 5k (yeah… you heard me)

 

In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.  ~Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

 

Less than 12 hours from now… October 14, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — carharttsandcoachbags @ 11:46 PM

In less than 12 hours, I will be sipping a celebratory cocktail (or two) because I will have (hopefully) completed my first 5K.

I have never been more unprepared in my life… and I’m a little a lot nervous.

I just need to remember, the only thing I’m racing against is my own fear of failure…

Here goes nothin’.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ~Winston S. Churchill

 

Ten down… 5 to go. October 12, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — carharttsandcoachbags @ 1:58 PM

Remember when I said I was home sick in my golfing post from earlier today?  Yeah, I’m catching up on some blogging so here’s my second post of the day.  I was going to try and figure out how to schedule this post to go live tomorrow… but I’m sick and whiny and didn’t feeeeeeeeeel like it (can you hear my whine?).  But IF anyone can teach me how to do that, I’d appreciate it.  Plus, I couldn’t wait to tell you this…
 

Check out that little scale over on the right side of my blog.  The one with the little floating fruits and veggies…
 

Do you see it?
 

Do you see what is SAYS????
 

It says that I’ve lost 9.6 pounds, which in my world TOTALLY rounds up to 10.  That’s right.  I’m 2/3 of my way to losing that 15 pounds.
 

And isn’t it amazing that now I’m back down to the weight I swore I would never go above and I’m feeling good rather than awful like I did the FIRST time I weighed this much (which, incidentally was when I returned from Mardi Gras in February 2010).  I had gone back down from this weight for a bit and then last fall, I started packing on pounds continuously for months to get where I finally topped out… at a weight I don’t usually share with others.  BUT, for risk of full disclosure, I’m totally putting numbers in this blog post.  I said I’d be honest with you all, and there’s nothing more prominent than THIS kind of honesty.
 

* When I got married, I was ~145 pounds (I think – I didn’t obsess over it at the time because I looked/felt good) and was in the shape of my life.  On second thought, I was in the shape of my life the year before while I was still in Bimini, biking, swimming and walking, but that’s neither here nor there.
 

* After our wedding, I started packing on a few pounds and was a solid 153-155 lbs for a while (except for the 4ish pounds I gained eating beignets and drinking Hurricanes in New Orleans bringing me up close to 158 for a bit).
 

* In September 2010, I stopped taking BCP (for medical reasons, nothing else… don’t get excited) and fat started to just come out of nowhere and attach itself to my ass and mid-section (I’m Queen of the Muffin Top).  I didn’t feel like I changed my behaviors at all (I ate OK and didn’t move much but it had never been an issue before).  My doctor said the weight gain probably had nothing to do with the change in meds and had more to do with my changing metabolism.  I beg to differ because from Sept. to January, I gained ~13 pounds (what?) and I have weighed between 166-168 for the majority of my 29th 30th year. This put me at the high end of an “Overweight” BMI (even at 145 lbs, I was at the high end of “Normal”).   Suddenly, the 15 pounds I wanted to lose was bringing me back down to a weight that I was trying to get below LAST year.
 

Hindsight.  It’s always 20/20 isn’t it?
 

Given the fact that I suddenly realized I only had 5 months to ACTUALLY lose this 15 pounds, I started counting calories in August (I used a great little App called “Lose It”) and started to shed a few pounds.  Then, a bunch of us decided to sign up for Weight Watchers at work and I’ve dropped a few more.  I also started going to weekly Zumba classes and I’ve been learning how to row with the some friends at work… I’ve got some serious momentum.
 

I just wish that I could attribute this weight loss to all the training I’m doing for the 5K I’m running THIS Saturday.  I can’t.  Which means Saturday is probably going to be BAD.  And painful.  But if I have fun, it will all be worth it, right?  RIGHT???
 

I still have a ways to go and although I said 15 pounds for my list, I’d love to make it 20… but let’s take it small chunks (no pun intended) at a time.

When friends tell you how awesome you look, drop the “I still have more to go” crap.  You worked hard and you deserve the compliment!  ~Jillian Michaels

 

FORE! October 12, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — carharttsandcoachbags @ 12:19 PM

John and I had an AMAZING weekend up at Sugarloaf but the last few days haven’t been so great.  I’m currently home from work, curled up in my bed watching the Kardashian Wedding special with a giant box of tissues (for my stuffy nose, not my tears of joy for the happy couple).  It’s as painful as it sounds… and my head hurts too.
 

Because I’m barely functioning, I’m going to take the bullet point approach to this post as I tell you that we went GOLFING!  The weather was gorgeous (although super cold on Thursday) and the views and the peak foliage were spectacular.  So, without further ado…
 

* Sugarloaf Golf Course is not for beginners.  At all.  But since I probably won’t be doing a TON of golfing, I figured let’s go big or go home.  So go big I did…
 

 

* That whole idea of no scramble?  Yeah, that was a joke.  We would have been playing for 14 hours because I can’t drive to save my life and I’m not talking about the golf cart.
 

The ball probably landed about 20 feet from where teed off.

 

* I have a MUCH better short game and can chip with the best of them… and by best, I probably mean worst.
 

Serious concentration…

 

* There are really holes that you have to drive the ball off a cliff.  Unreal.

 

* Golfing with long-johns under your jeans in October isn’t normal.  When one gets SO cold that your hands are stinging every time you hit the ball, it’s ok to call it quits at 15 holes and still cross it off your list that you played 18.
 

* My other excuse is because 15 holes at Sugarloaf is way more than 18 holes at any other golf course.
 

* I’ve also decided that there’s never a reason to play 18 holes when 9 will do just fine (for the record, the back 9 is better at the Loaf).
 

Even though we didn’t actually play this hole, we still stopped for a photo op!

 

* When your husband buys you your “congrats on accomplishing this task” gift before you ACTUALLY finish, it still counts.  Check out the awesome Under Armour Sugarloaf Golf Course jacket above.
 

* I had more fun with my husband than we have had in a long time.  When work and daily life catches up with you, the little things become the most wonderful.  I don’t care that we didn’t get to play ALL 18 holes – we had such an amazing time topped off by dinner at The Rack, complete with $1 PBR drafts.  I’m so blessed… and again, that’s what this list is all about.
 


The love of my life… I couldn’t ask for a more fun partner.

 

14. Play 18 holes of golf (no scramble)   So maybe there was a little bit of a scramble. And only 15 holes.  Whatever.  I’m OK with it.

 

A golf course is the epitome of all that is purely transitory in the universe; a space not to dwell in, but to get over as quickly as possible. ~ Jean Giraudoux

 

Off with their heads! October 2, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — carharttsandcoachbags @ 8:05 PM

I’ve finally resurfaced from the pile of teacups, teapots, peacock feathers and playing cards that I’ve been drowning in for the last few weeks, especially the last few days.
 

Let me rewind…  I’m a Rotarian in my town and we held our annual Wine & Cheese Tasting and Auction this past Saturday night.  When we started planning months ago, I shared the idea of starting themes so that every year was a little different and since I HAPPEN to have a phenomenal Mad Hatter costume… the Alice in Wonderland theme was born.  And apparently I was in charge of the decorations.
 

Now that it’s all over (and I hopefully never have to look at another teacup again in my life) I will say it came out great.  I’m so thrilled with how it all looked and all the extra things I included even if people didn’t always get all the little details.  Luckily, John was able to take some pics (because I was busy hostessing as Alice) but there are a couple shots I’m waiting for from my mom’s camera so I’ll try and come back and edit this post in a few days…  Things missing below were the “You’re Late For Tea” clock in the entryway, the “This Way/That Way” signs, and the “Eat Me” and “Drink Me” tags on the food and drinks.
 

So, without further ado…
 

The whole room, complete with paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling courtesy of my awesome husband and dad!

 

Each centerpiece had colorful napkins, a teapot and a wine cork – filled vase filled with peacock feathers and sparkly things!

 

Found these awesome flowers at Christmas Tree Shop and added some googly eyes for the “talking flowers.”

 

My homemade rose bushes with white roses painted red just for the Queen…

 

Each guest received a tea cup with marbles for the wine tasting… I wish more people took theirs home. :(

 

Yours truly as the Hostess with the Mostess… Alice.

 

Alice and the Mad Hatter… so glad I got to use a bunch of the costume again!

 

The whole crew… including the Red and White Queens, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the March Hare and the White Rabbit and the door mouse!  The Caterpillar joined us later.

 

The Mad Hatter and Alice as your Auctioneer and “Vanna White.”

 

All in all, the night was a wonderful success.  Good times were had by all (at least I hope!).  My parents even joined us (and did a TON of work) and my husband, as usual, was the most supportive, amazing person I know so a HUGE thank you to the three of them.

 

So, now that THAT’S finished, I should be back to some regularly scheduled blogging.  Because… you know… that 5k is in two weeks.

 

Yikes.

 

It has been the way of Rotary to focus thought upon matters in which members are in agreement, rather than upon matters in which they are in disagreement. ~Paul Harris

 

 
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