'fashions fade, style is eternal.'

let me get this out of the way right up front: i am not a fashion blogger. i will (most likely) never be a fashion blogger. i'm just not fashionable enough on a regular basis.

 

it's not that i don't try to be fashionable or at least look reasonably put-together - because i do think that a properly functioning adult-type person should at the very least be able to dress themselves in clean, appropriate clothing on the daily. (thanks mom!) i've even gone so far as to curate my very own style(ish) pinterest board. but even that board hints that i'm just not always that good at it. (grand total of 11 pins, only 2 of which are actual outfits) and you know what? honestly, some days it's just too much to worry about proper accessories at 6am.

get in my closet!

from here and here via pinterest

 

but every now and then, i have a good day, style-wise. in fact, i had one of those days last week, when i pulled together a look that prompted two total strangers to compliment me and inquire about my outfit. yeah, i'm not even humble-bragging right now, i am straight-up bragging. because those women in Home Depot and Target made my whole week, and i just want to tell everyone about it.

 

i even took a poorly-lit picture to share with you all to really show off. because nothing says 'i am so fashionable and stylish and fashion-blog worthy!' like awkward self-timer pictures in the living room after dark.   

 

fashion bloggers do source lists, right?

scarf: UptownCheapskate. sweater: JCPenney? cami: Kohls. skirt: Target. tights:Target. boots: Payless.

 



you doubt? a demonstration!

so yeah, about that whole golf thing...

i did it. i spent a whole day on a golf course. and... it wasn't terrible. definitely not the worst way i've ever spent a day.

what's that? you don't believe me? you think that i'm just making up this whole ridiculous story just to have something interesting to blog about? you want proof? i'll show you proof.

here is my golf cart:

see, my name is right on it! 

and this is me, sitting in my golf cart:

there. proof that i was totally on the golf course on saturday.

what now? you say that doesn't count? you want to actually see pictures of actual golf actually happening?

ok fine. here is some real, live golf happening:

driving 

putting 

whiffing

(please note the ball still firmly on the ground)

i can sense from here that you are thinking about calling shenanigans on this whole amanda-went-golfing business. but speaking of shenanigans...

babboon butt driver cover 

golf carts and curbs dont mix 

fishing for golf balls 

 happy gilmore

(there is video of this, but i'm having trouble uploading it.)

**UPDATED** LOOK!!! VIDEO!!!!!

doesn't golf look like so much fun? oh. you're still not convinced. i get it. because really, what do those pictures prove? that golf really happened on saturday and i was there to document it? whoop-dee-freakin-doo. golf happens all the time. i know what you came here to see. so here you go: pictures of me. golfing.



me and my (borrowed) driver

 lining up my drive

gosh, i have fantastic form... not.

i sank a few good putts. this was not one of them. 

and the real kicker for this post, my piece de resistance, is the video that my golf buddy shot of my drive on the last hole of the day. and as soon as i can figure out how to upload it without getting an error message, i'm going to do that. because i've watched it approximately a million times already because it just makes me happy, and i want to share that joy with you.

**UPDATED** MORE VIDEO!!!

spoiler alert: we didn't win the tournament. we didn't even place in our division. our team shot one over par for the course, which i think is pretty darn impressive. (especially with me on the team!) and it was a fun day spent with nice, encouraging people so i call that a definite win overall. and i might even be able to be convinced to do it again next year, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens in my potential future sort of maybe golf "career."

yardsale finds: bonus edition.

who would have thought that at the end of October i would be subjected to a rollercoaster of yardsale related emotions. you see, it was my understanding that yardsale season was pretty much done and over months ago. but then, i got excited as i noticed yardsale signs popping up all over last week. and then, i got sad when i remembered that i was going to be golfing all day Saturday. but then, i found out the tournament didn't start until noon which left me ample opportunity to leave the house a little bit earlier on Saturday and stop at a few sales that just so happened to be (mostly) right on the way to the golf course!  

 

(clockwise-ish from left, as always)

wooden slatted folding chair, blue glass fishbowl thing, jodi picoult book (they all make me cry but i just can't quit her), metal recipe card holder(?) that i'm going to try and use as a mail organizer.
Total Spent: $10.50

my new golf buddies seemed kind of impressed that i had been yardsaling before the tournament, and even more impressed with what i got versus how much i spent. they also told me to be on the lookout for my own set of golf clubs at yardsales, since i'm a "real golfer" now. maybe next year.

another little thing.

at one point during girls weekend, i started a project. just because i had a little bit of time, and i already had all of the parts i needed just sitting around the house, since i had picked them up several weeks ago (if not months) during a random shopping trip with my friend Nadine.

 

this was my inspiration:

 

source via pinterest

but like any good inspiration, i did not copy it exactly: i put my own touch on it, and i'm pretty thrilled with how it turned out.


 

who knew i had this many necklaces?

instead of individually sourcing my knobs over time into an eclectic collection of time and memories, i found my knobs all at the same place: the clearance aisle of Michael's for $0.99 each. and while i was there, i picked up a pre-routed board/plaque for $8 too.

to attach the knobs, i used a drill bit that was the same size as the post on the knobs to make six evenly spaced holes in the board. then, i flipped the board over and used a larger paddle bit to  make space for the nut to fit down in the board, allowing it to sit flush on the wall.

i painted my board with two coats of trim paint we have leftover in the basement from painting pretty much every room in the house. i got all of these steps done, and then the project sat for a few more weeks, waiting for me to muster up the time and energy to figure out how to shorten the posts on the knobs. for some reason, i decided Monday would be the day.

after a frustrating hour spent with a handsaw, i hadn't even made it through one post. and i had six to do. thankfully, Mark came home and helped me knock the rest out with a combination of some ingenuity and a sawzall.

tangentially related: my earring tree.

on Tuesday, i picked up some command velcro on my way home from work, and i hung that bad boy on the wall. and then i organized my jewelry. and i cleaned my dresser. and i cleaned Mark's dreser too. and i hung the full length mirror on the wall. and i relocated my belts. and i dusted our entire bedroom. and then i sat down on the couch and didn't do anything else for the rest of the night.

i'm a little sad i didnt take time to get a before picture of my dresser - but just imagine all of that same stuff, plus a little more, just spread mostly willy-nilly all over the top of it. yeah, it wasn't pretty. but this new system is! necklaces have a hanger, earrings have the tree, (except for the ones that can't hang - they have a box) and bracelets and headbands hang out on a neat blue wine bottle.  fingers crossed i can keep it this organized and clean...

a little thing.

one should never underestimate the joy that is asking a random stranger to take your picture and having them actually do a good job.



 

everyone looking, smiling, and nicely framed so you can actually see the point of the picture in the background!

this golf thing is driving a wedge between us.

there was a point in my college career at which i realized that eventually college would end, and that ending would require some degree of growing up, and that growing up would more than likely involve stretching myself in some ways beyond my collegiate comfort zone and doing new, adult-ish things. i do believe the words that came out of my mouth, spoken under my breath to my friend who was seated next to me so as not to disrupt the presenter with my epiphany, were the following:

 

"crap, i'm going to have to learn how to golf, huh?"

fast forward no less than four years to today. in a moment of temporary insanity and an attempt to build relationships with my coworkers, i signed up to participate in the company golf tournament in two weeks. up until this moment, my golf experience has been... how should i put this delicately... limited. but i mean its not like i've never touched a golf club before. i'm a half-decent mini-golfer. and i played par-3 that one time in high school. and sure, i did manage to hit my ball into the pond, but i was wearing khakis while i did it so that counts for something right?

yesterday, a conversation broke out about 3-irons and 5-woods and it was like everyone was speaking pig-latin or maybe just actual latin and i just wasn't in on the joke but what i think i learned is that the 3-iron is useless and i probably shouldnt use a men's driver. also, this joke:

Bob: so what do you do when you are out on the course and a thunderstorm rolls in?
Jon: well, i usually run to the middle of the green and hold my 1-iron straight up in the air.
Bob: why on earth would you do that? don't you know you could get struck by lightning?
Jon: it doesn't worry me at all. even God can't hit a 1-iron.

apparently that's funny for mysteriously unknown golf-related reasons.

i am one member of a four-person team. i signed up with three other people who actually had a number to put in the "handicap/average score" box. they convinced me that "yes" would not be an appropriate response when asked if i had a golf handicap, so i just put "1st timer" in that box. our team is going to the driving range over lunch today. probably again next week too. and i am planning a shopping trip over the weekend for an appropriate khaki/plaid/argyle golf outfit to help me blend in with the old pros. it seems like a pretty good plan, and i'm excited to be a part of it.

wish me luck!

three.

three years is supposedly the leather anniversary. unless its the crystal/glass anniversary. depends on whether you are traditional or modern.

 

one bears testament to the strength of a marriage that lasts until year three, since leather is strong, long-lasting, and gets better with age.

 

the other is fragile and easily broken.

 

so i think i'll stick with leather. 

happy third anniversary to us!