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Accessorize! Mom 2.0, part 3

Right before we left for Mom 2.0, Jenny gave me a hard time about getting a spray tan, which gave her the opportunity to express to all of you the shock she’s experienced since Christmas about the fact that I’ve been getting a little more into accessories as of late. I would like to point out, though, that it’s not that I didn’t like accessories before, it’s more that I was not confident in my ability to do accessories right. I’m still not, actually, but I am trying to get better. Fortunately, for Mom 2.0, I turned to Lands’ End’s website to tell me what to do! They have really cute accessories, shoes and bags right now… take a look at the ones we wore in Florida.

Let’s start with handbags, because they’re my favorite.

This is the Canvas and Leather Stripe Medium Tote.

I love this bag so much! I just love the look and style, and I also love the functionality – the sides unzip to provide more space if needed. I took this when Kate and I went to Portland, and it held my iPad and everything I needed for our flights.

Jenny and I also both carried the Linen and Leather Totes.

Here’s Jenny carrying it in red.

Those last two bags are also currently on sale, in case you need a late Mother’s Day present for yourself!

This Straw Market Tote was my traveling bag – it was perfect for the flights, as well as for the conference… plenty of room for my iPad, conference book, notes, etc. And it is so cute!

Ok, let’s move on… how about some shoes??

When we were waiting in the airport for our first flight, I texted this picture to my friend Gina, with the message “I am sort of obsessed with these shoes.” She immediately responded “Adorbs!! I can see why!!”

Those are the Parker Mid Wedge Knotted Espadrilles and they are also on sale right now! I may have to order the gingham ones.

We both wore the Hadley Linen Mid Wedge Quarter Strap Sandals, Jenny in Classic Navy and me in Natural (with red accents).

Gorgeous, and so comfortable.

Another one of my favorites was the Trista Mid Wedge Leather Slingback Espadrilles.

I think I will probably wear these just about every day all summer. They are perfect for work because they are dressy, cute, and extremely comfortable.

Let’s see… what else.

We also both wore the Amelia Embroidered Closed-back Braided Thongs – Jenny wore the white ones and I wore the Luggage Tan ones to the White Party, and I wore the Cayenne to the Friday night beach party. They also come in Gunmetal and Algae, both of which are lovely as well.

We also wore pearls!! Here’s me with the Pearl Torsade Necklace and Jenny with the Fresh Water Pearl Endless Strand Necklace.

And finally… bathing suits. I think you all know how we feel about Lands’ End bathing suits, but if it’s possible I think we love them even more now than we did before.

Here’s a picture of us on the beach!

Sorry, but that’s as close to you’re getting of pictures of us in bathing suits! But here are the ones we wore.

Jenny went with the Floral Beach Print Tankini, with this cute matching Shadow Floral Chiffon Cover-up Pareo.

I went with the new Lands’ End Swim Mates, and I loooooooooove it. It might be my favorite suit ever. Here’s the deal with Swim Mates, as described by our new friend Nicole Feliciano from MomTrends.

Mix and match swim wear – Love it.

There you have it… how we accessorized for Mom 2.0. Lands’ End had absolutely everything we needed to look and feel great all weekend long!

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Read this book. Now.

Let’s make this short and sweet: Go buy this book, read it, thank me later.

Ok ok, you know I can’t leave it at that.

You may remember a couple weeks ago when Jenny and I were at the Mom 2.0 Summit in Miami. I think we might have mentioned it.

You may also remember that as we were standing outside the hotel waiting to go to the Versace Mansion, we just so happened to be standing in the presence of greatness right by Jenny Lawson. The Bloggess. Who totally wrote the funniest book in the history of the world (see above).

Jenny (my Jenny, not the awesome Jenny.) and I were all “OMGgggggggggg, it’s the Bloggess!!!” and I was all “Quick, take my picture!”

Which is how we wound up with this classic piece of photography.

But then, since Rachel is a normal person and all, she was like “Hi I’m Rachel, could we get our picture taken with you?” And so we got another picture with the Bloggess, this time like normal people.

I am really getting away from the point here, people. The point is, this book is freaking hilarious.

Last night I was in bed reading a chapter about Jenny (not my Jenny, the awesome Jenny.) OD’ing on laxatives, and I was cracking up and making such a racket that Andy came running into our room to see what in the holy hell was going on. He said he thought there was an intruder murdering me or something, which is ironic since a good portion of the book is dedicated to the possibility of being attacked by things like zombie cougars.

In other news, I must have a really pleasant laugh.

Seriously, though, I haven’t laughed like that since I saw my own life portrayed on the big screen in the movie “I Love You, Man.”

I am pretty sure this book will out-sell the Bible.

Go buy it. You can thank me later.

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Hell froze over and whatnot.

So remember that time Jenny told me I shouldn’t get a dog?

She was totally right.

However, against my better judgment, we did it anyway.

A few weeks ago, we brought a dog home from a shelter. Have you ever tried adopting a dog from a shelter? I am fairly certain we could have brought a kid home from Rwanda with less scrutiny. Anyway, after we convinced them we weren’t Michael Vick wannabes, we brought home a dog whose name (at the time) was Yonkers. He had been adopted from the shelter as a puppy and was in a home for five years, but his owners got smart had kids and couldn’t care for him anymore, so he wound up back at the shelter. So anyway, this was the only dog we had come across that we all felt remotely comfortable with (and by “remotely,” I mean not 100% opposed. And by “we,” I mean me.), in no small part because he was not a puppy. I am not a complete idiot – I drew the line at bringing anything into our house that wasn’t sleeping through the night and potty-trained. Because really – that ship has sailed.

So.

The shelter’s policy is that interested parties bring a dog home for a week-long “home visit” before making the adoption final. (See also: Rwandan child.) I held out the slightest bit of hope that a week would be long enough for all of us to realize that we didn’t need a dog.

I was wrong.

I realized it. The rest of my family, not so much.

But let me back up. The night Andy brought him home from the shelter, it was a Friday and the kids and I were in my bed watching television. Andy and the dog got home, and the dog’s first course of action was to tear through the house and jump up on our bed. I was not amused. Then he proceeded to bark the entire night. Kate, the girl who flips out when she can hear crickets chirping when she’s trying to sleep, was hysterical. She wanted the dog to be gone, and I quote – “Mommy was right. We aren’t ready for a dog.” I was gleefully chanting “I told you so!” in my head and picturing returning the purchase the next day.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last – the next morning she was in love with the damn thing.

I, however, was not.

Since Andy and the dog had gotten home late the night before, Andy had put the dog’s crate (which was gianormous, btw) in the kitchen. I came out to make the kids breakfast and the kitchen table had been moved to the side to make room for the crate, there were dog treats on the counter and leashes and toys strewn across the floor. I felt like the dog had taken over our entire home. Our house suddenly felt three times smaller, and the dog suddenly seemed three times bigger than I remembered. Later, Andy found me in the shower, sobbing. I just felt like our lives had been turned upside down – and I had liked our lives quite well just as they were.

Mid-morning, I took Kate to a birthday party for like 7 hours. It was so long I wanted to shoot myself. But being there felt like a better alternative than being at home with the dog – I was utterly convinced I would never want to be at our house again, especially alone. That thought was devastating to me.

After the party, I took Kate to the mall to kill some more time. When we did eventually get home, I discovered that Andy had spent the whole time getting our house back to normal. He moved the crate and all the paraphernalia to the basement and cleaned the entire house. It felt like home again and it was such a relief to me. He is a nice guy.

So anyway, after the initial shock wore off, things got better… but the conclusion I came to was that I just didn’t like having a dog in our house. It wasn’t about that dog in particular – all and all he’s a pretty good dog, and Andy and Kate had absolutely kept up their end of the bargain in terms of caring for him. It just felt like an intrusion.

To me, anyway. Everyone else – including Sam, who had been completely afraid of dogs a week before – loved having him around.

So, our week came to a close and we had to make a decision. It was not easy. I agonized over it, but after a long conversation with my dad, I decided that I would take one for the team.

We are now dog owners.

While I am still not overjoyed about this change in our life, I am trying to come around. I have decided that at this point, it’s in no one’s best interest for me to be angry and resentful. The dog is here to stay, and I need to make the best out of it. That’s what’s best for all of us.

So, readers, meet Siggy.

On the bright side, at least I’ll have something to blog about.

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