Velvet Underground

In my early to mid-twenties, I liked to go out dancing with friends and boyfriend (now husband). Our group of friends were not the preppy 90’s crew, or even the grunge scene type. No, we liked the goth/alternative clubs, and so we dressed accordingly.

In my closet are a wide array of bad clothing choices from that period, most of which involve velvet. I don’t know why, but somehow I equated “alternative” with velvet. There’s a stretch velvet top that is iridescent – pink or green depending on the light. There’s the black lace dress with velvet trim. I also had the dark green crushed velvet tie crop top with matching stretch crushed velvet flare pants – purchased from a store that sells stripper wear.

And then there’s this:


The red velvet halter mini-dress with sparkles at the bottom. It may not be the worst, but on me it was the worst. First, I never had the legs to carry off a dress that short. And a halter top on me is not that flattering. I’ve never had the large breasts needed to give the top of that dress the shape it needs to not draw attention to even the smallest belly bulge.

I bought the dress at a college clothing resale shop, and I really should take it back there. I mean, do I honestly think I’ll ever wear this dress again?

Still, it could be worse. I’m not the only one in the family with lapses in fashion judgment:

This is Aaron’s clubbing shirt. He still threatens to wear it out again.


Want a chance to win a $250 Coach gift certificate? Submit your worst fashion faux pas that still resides in your closet to the Parent Bloggers Blog Blast in honor of the new Harper Collins book The Little Black Book of Style. You have until midnight tonight.



Haiku Friday: Dance, Baby, Dance!

Right, left, jump, kick, splash,
Cordy dances in water.
Go Aqua Boogie!


The haiku gives a beat to the picture, I think. If you could only see the full dance being done as she kicks and splashes around. I call it her Aqua Boogie. She does the same dance on land, too, but it doesn’t have the full effect unless she’s kicking water up in the air.

Today is the PBN dance blog blast sponsored by Baby Loves Disco. They’re giving away some Stride Rite shoes, and with the speed Cordy’s feet are growing, the kid needs more shoes. If you want to participate, click here. You have until midnight tonight.

And if you like haiku? Jennifer and I are starting a weekly Haiku Friday. Feel free to share a haiku in our comments, or (even better) write all or part of your Friday post in haiku form to play along.

Edited to add: L.A. Daddy has pointed out that they have now invented moving pictures (I don’t think it’ll catch on). I can’t afford a waterproof camera, though, and I’m not risking my Sony anywhere near my daughter when water is involved. However, I did look back through my files and found this video, just to make Mr. Smartass happy. (nothin’ but love, dude!)

Here’s a blast from the past, complete with lousy videography! Give her some legwarmers and she’d be Flashdance-ready!



We Have A Winner!

Congrats to Twins x Two! With the help of random.org, she was the lucky winner of the BusyBodyBook.

Thanks for playing everyone!



Win A BusyBodyBook!

Fall always seems to be a busy time of year. Whether it’s back-to-school, back-to-preschool, or just thinking ahead to the upcoming holidays (I can’t even fathom thinking of gift shopping yet!), this is the time of year schedules tend to fill up fast.

With the help of BusyBodyBook, I’m giving away a Personal & Family Organizer. If you haven’t seen one of these, it’s a personal calendar with columns for up to five members of the family. Unlike other calendars, it lets you keep track of everyone’s weekly schedule all on one page, making sure that a child’s doctor appointment won’t interfere with your scheduled massage (a girl can dream right?).

Don’t have five family members? Use the extra columns to keep track of different projects. For me, I use one column to remind me of deadlines for writing assignments, and another to keep track of my schoolwork.

To win your own copy, simply leave a comment here and link back to this contest on your own blog. Don’t have a blog? You can still enter! I’ll take entries until Friday night at 11:59pm eastern time, and then one winner will be picked at random to receive their choice of BusyBodyBook in Stripes or Dots.

You can read my full review of the BusyBodyBook over at Cirque du Mommy.



Workin’ It at BlogHer

Work It, Mom! is having a contest asking people to write posts explaining how they worked it at the conference. The categories are most creative, most impressive, funniest, and most creative without having gone to BlogHer.

This was too much fun to pass by. So, I’d like to present how I worked it in the most impressive way at BlogHer, in photoessay form.

At BlogHer, I met all of these people (and more):


I also collected all of this schwag (and more):

(cat not included)

And I did all of this while having her with me the entire time:


Not to mention stopping frequently for this.

I’d say that’s pretty impressive, wouldn’t you?