On Judgement

Everyone judges. Even the nicest, non-"Mean Girl"person judges. We judge each other on values, clothing choices (our own and our children's), food, drink, friends, marriage, pretty much everything
stationery choices, grammar, etc.


Social media has given us an opportunity to expand the range of our judgement. Not only can we judge people we know in real life, but we can judge people we've never met! We can cast upon our harshest words and sit smugly on our virtual thrones.

You may be thinking...I don't ever do this. Perhaps you don't outwardly, but admit it, deep down. You do this!

As I've read through my Twitter timeline over the past years, I've seen the direct judging, passive aggressive jabs, the #nojudgies but I'm still judging you inside. I'm totally guilty of it too.

But if you are anything like me, you are judging yourself the worst.

I worry that if I post a picture of my son wearing a onesie that says "I Love Mommy," those of you who have said you hate cliched kids clothing will think that I'm a bad Mom.

I worry that if we're not making 100% of our babies food and I mention buying those pouches, you'll think I'm a bad mom.

I worry that because I leave my baby with my in-laws or parents overnight sometimes, so J and I get a date night or sleep, you'll think I'm a bad mom.

Unreasonable? Ridiculous? Absolutely!

But I'm doing it anyways.

Living in a small screen world

I have to give it up to the CW. They manage to air shows that feature fake towns where I want to live! Here are my favorites.

Capeside, MA - "Dawson's Creek" was a favorite from the late 90's. Hands down, it had the best soundtrack. I suppose that ages me, yes? Oh well. I've been rewatching the series, thanks to Netflix. While the fashion leaves much to be desired, the idyllic small town of Capeside is still appealing. The series was filmed in Wilmington, NC. My friends and I used to talk about taking a road trip up the coast to see the real Capeside. Oh, youth.

Stars Hollow, CT - Stars Hollow, how I love thee? The quaint stores. The quirky residents. The Dragonfly Inn. Luke's! As a Florida girl, there is not much around here that is quaint and charming. It was nice to escape to Stars Hollow once a week! Sadly, Stars Hollow only existed in a Southern California film lot.

Bluebell, AL - Doesn't this gazebo look familiar? Good to know that the old Stars Hollow lot is finding a new life as the set of "Hart of Dixie". They take a page from the Amy Sherman-Palladino world and filled Bluebell with some quirky characters. However, I find HoD's characters a little more believable -- Southerners are just a touch odd in the best way possible :) I'd die to live in the Mayor's house. I dig the vintage Southern style as well.

Do y'all watch any of these shows? Let me know if you'd be my neighbor!

February 2013 Fashion Budget

Feb 2013 Purchases by natylite78 featuring colorful jeans

As you can see, February was about adding to my professional work wardrobe. Now our official dress code is business casual (i.e. suits not required daily), however my department highly encourages jackets worn when attending meeting outside the department. So I've been scouring eBay for jackets and suits (because a suit does make it easier to get dressed in the morning!).

Side note: I find is so hard to find suits that are age appropriate. I am turning 35 next month. Most suits are skewed towards the over 50 group (in my opinion). The suits that are age appropriate are so expensive! I've had luck with Talbots, whose done a good job of appealing to the 30's demographic in recent years.

So here is how I did!

Purchased and Wearing!

1. Old Navy Pop Color Jeans - Obviously NOT for work! - $19

2. Black Ponte Knit Ruched Blazer - This is not the exact one I purchased. I purchased mine from  Ross Dress for Less - $19.

Purchased and Returned

3. Target Merona Blue Ponte Knit Dress - $27.99  

4. Target Gathered Waist Tank Dress - $24.99

I wanted these dresses to work out so badly! But the fit was just wrong all the way around. Waist too low, chest too big. My body was not meant for them!

Purchased on eBay, not yet received

5. Talbots Khaki Blazer - $0.99 (add $7.50 for shipping)

6. Le Suit Grey Suit - $42.99

My original grand total was $142.46. After I returned the dresses, the total was $89.48.

I would like to add another shirt that will work under suits. I'd also like to add a cardigan or blazer in a spring appropriate color. Wish me luck!

A Twitter Retrospective

I started tweeting in April 2008, the same month I got married! You are now able to download your Twitter archive. It was quite a hoot to read through old tweets. I picked out a handful for commentary. My comments are italicized.

9-10-2008 Is it bad that couples who dress alike bother me? 

Yes, this still bothers me.

9-20-2009 i heart Nathan Fillion. 

Oh, yes. I still feel this way!

12-30-2009 I'm more Converse Chuck Taylors than Tory Burch Revas. And I'm good with that :) 

An example where I'm a complete hypocrite, as I wear Revas now. 

2-13-2010 why spend so much time trying to be friends with someone who clearly doesn't want to be friends with you? 

Ah yes, I liked to vague tweet even back in 2010. I'm pretty sure I was side-eyeing activity in my timeline where people would tweet others on the regular, begging for attention, with nary a reply to occur.  Come to think of it. I STILL see this!

5-23-2010 I still think Diane Keaton picked wrong in "Somethings Gotta Give". Keanu FTW! 

I still believe this too.

Have you downloaded your Twitter archive? Let me know!

Dark Chocolate Cookies with White Chocolate Chips - Hey, that's pintastic!

Today, I'm admitting one of my secret shames. I'm painfully weak to Subway's double chocolate cookies. I'm not a huge Subway fan, mostly because I smell like the bread whenever I leave. However, I will "u-turn, be late returning from lunch, wait in line" LOVE these cookies.

But remember when I used to bake?? I haven ot made the time since returning to the outside work world in January. However, we needed to clean out the pantry. What better way than to bake up a batch of my secret shame cookies! A quick search on Pinterest yielded this recipe for Dark Chocolate Cookies with White Chips.

                                                               Source: anecdotesandapples.weebly.com via natylite78 on Pinterest

I made some adjustments in the directions. I omitted the salt because I used salted butter. I included what brands I used for some of the items as I think it makes a difference!

Dark Chocolate Cookies with White Chips 

Adapted from http://anecdotesandapples.weebly.com

1 3/4 cup AP flour (King Arthur's Unbleached AP)1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP cocoa powder (Hershey's Unsweetened)1/2 tsp baking soda1/2 tsp salt1 cup packed brown sugar1/2 cup granulated sugar12 TBSP butter (melted and cooled) (Kerry Gold SALTED)1 egg1 egg yolk1 tsp vanilla extract1-2 cups white chocolate chips (Nestle, but Ghiradelli would be great too)
1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients.  Set aside.  2.  In a large bowl Using a stand mixer, cream together your melted and cooled butter with your brown sugar and granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes (longer if creaming by hand).  Add in your egg and yolk, cream until fully incorporated into batter.  Stir in your vanilla extract.  3.  Add your dry ingredients and mix together until combined.  Stir in your white chocolate chips to taste, adding more if you prefer your cookies with extra chocolate.  4.  Scoop out batter using a 1/4 measuring cup  cookie scoop.  Divide dough into two smaller balls and place on a Place greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet.  Chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes, then bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 14 minutes.  Allow to cool on cookie sheet for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling rack  

Verdict: Delicious! Dare I say a little better than the Subway ones (J believes it is the Kerry Gold's doing!)

I'm linking up with AP at I Love You More Than Carrots for Hey, that's Pintastic!

"Be yourself. Everyone else is taken." - Oscar Wilde

This is one of my favorite quotes. I've been tickled by the increase use of it in advertising, blogs, Pinterest and the like. I've been reflecting on this quote and one particular (former) friend that comes to mind.

**Disclaimer: This is a real life former friend. This isn't a vague jab at a Tweep or Blogger. I promise!**

I once had a friend who did not have an ideal childhood. She was estranged from her father. She grew up in a working class town. She was smart and went to college. She got into some financial problems in her 20's and filed for bankruptcy. Post college, she settled in the tony area of Rittenhouse Square and began constructing her new life.

She was obsessed with "How to" guides. I once perused her bookshelf and saw titles such as "How to be like (fill in iconic preppy society name here). Stacks of "Town and Country" filled her apartment, where I know she'd pour over the society pages, copiously making mental notes on names, places, clothes. She joined charity committees. As I write this, I realize that she was probably a social climber?

Anyways, I definitely support people trying to better themselves through education etc. But I always felt like she was just trying to be someone else. Strip away all of the "Town and Country"-ness and she was a different but fun person (aside from the time she cursed me out in public and called another friend the C word, but I digress).

We aren't friends anymore. See the last sentence of the preceding paragraph as to why. But I heard she's happily married and just had twins. She's given up the booze and social climbing. Too bad I never knew that version of her.

Chatting up "Jason Street"

Yes. You read that correctly! I got to video chat with Scott Porter (aka Jason Street from "Friday Night Lights" and George Tucker from "Hart of Dixie"). Scott was participating in a 24 hour video game-a-thon. Oh didn't you know? He LOVES video games! Anywho, he was on video chat and you could either join in via video or chat. There was no way in H-E-L-L that I was going on video at 8am on a Sunday morning, so chat it was.

While he was playing video games, he would respond to questions or comments that fans were posting in chat. Being that it was early Sunday morning, I didn't have a lot of competition. I mentioned that I too lived in Winter Park, FL for a time. We chatted back and forth about that. He said that I lived in the rich part and he lived in the poor part LOL. I also stated that I'd only ever watch him or my husband play video games. That got a chuckle out of him.

I was a serious fan girl for the 15 minutes I was on there. Alas, mom duty called and I had to log off. However, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't giddy the rest of the morning.

And yes. He still looks cute after gaming all through the night!