This Life, Redefined...: First Impressions

Friday, October 28, 2011

First Impressions

Last night, I went to dinner with a group of moms from my neighborhood that I'd never met before. Well, I'd met one of them before, obviously, because a group of moms from my neighborhood wouldn't just invite me to dinner if I didn't have some sort of 'in', I guess.

I mean, I am awesome and amazing, of course, but you can't tell that just by looking at me. It only comes out when I talk.

(And by it, I mean the insane amount of social awkwardness that actually makes up my personality. And the fact that one glass of wine with dinner is all it takes for me to start talking and NEVER SHUT UP AGAIN. So...who wants to hang out with me now?)

Anyway, it was fun. The women were ridiculously nice, they told funny stories, and all were work-outside-the-home mothers, so we could commiserate on those lovely days when you see your kid for all of fifteen minutes because of some work related disaster or another. And not one of them gave me anything remotely resembling a side-eye for the unshowered mess* that I was, thank goodness.

Not that this means they weren't judging me for it, of course. It just means they were very, very skilled at passing that judgment in secret. Which is a skill I can get behind, you know?

I just hope I made the cut for next month's outing...

Tank Top: Target

Sweater: Loft

Jeans: MICHAEL Michael Kors (via Macys)

Shoes: Nine West (via ShoeWoo.com)

Bracelets: Mango Tree

*As mentioned on Twitter last night, Steve was out of town on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Unfortunately, this meant that when I turned my alarm off in my sleep on Thursday morning (which happens more than I'd care to admit these days), I didn't have his alarm going off an hour later as my back-up plan. And that, in turn, meant I didn't get up until a full two hours later, when my mother-in-law showed up to watch Brigid. So, I left the house, showerless, to get to work. I thought I could squeeze in a shower between work and dinner, but that didn't really happen either.

Do I know how to do first impressions, or what? Seriously...you totally want to hang out with me, don't you?

8 comments:

Style JourneyOctober 28, 2011 at 3:03 PM
We could be real life friends, because I have days like that too. We could be unshowered and hang out together, lol! Thank god for dry shampoo :)

Either way, you look adorable for your mom's dinner. I am sure your first impression was great! Heather
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ViktoriaOctober 29, 2011 at 12:59 PM
Yes! I still want to meet! :) One glass of wine and I will tell you anything you want to know!

I went out unshowered earlier to run errands and no one could tell. And I'll admit I felt a little liberated to be running around with day old curls and just mascara!
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AnonymousOctober 29, 2011 at 11:03 PM
Girl the leopard shoes would make anyone you met forget about if you showered or not;-)
It's great to get out with a group of women with similar lives--fun, therapeutic times!
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ClaireOctober 31, 2011 at 12:34 AM
i totally wanna hang out with you :) but i'd worry we'd wear the same thing. loving those shoes!!!

spinning-threads.blogspot.com
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oomph.October 31, 2011 at 3:11 AM
yeah, let's totally hang out....and get all loosey goosey after a glass of wine! i don't know why those moms WOULDN'T wanna hang with you?? great shoes! never heard of shoowoo??!!??!!

[oomph.]
What's the next line? Help write the story!
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rlutzOctober 31, 2011 at 4:28 PM
I would hang out with you just because you have leopard shoes on! Love getting together with other moms, makes you realize that you are not alone in this crazy world!
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SaraNovember 2, 2011 at 3:20 AM
Awesome photos and really cool outfit, you look great, I love your pants, what a great shape and that sweeter is so nice, the perfect touch to the outfit; your shoes also rock, you are really beautiful! Your blog is awesome by the way and I am a new follower! Hope you will like my blog and follow back!

Pop Culture&Fashion Magic
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EmilyNovember 5, 2011 at 5:57 PM
Neighbor friends are the best! You can always pick a central location where if one wanted to have a second glass of wine one could get a ride with someone who lives 2 doors away. SCORE!
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2014 List

1) Send more mail...thank you notes, birthday cards, and 'just because' messages.

2) Be nicer, in general, to my husband and family. They deserve a much less crabby me than the one they were stuck with for most of 2013.

3) Make more of an effort to communicate with the long-distance people in my life. I got away from facetiming with my sister on a regular basis, and I miss it. Plus, now that she's making me an aunt, I think it's even more important that we get back into the habit of seeing each other every week. I do not need her new baby asking 'are you SURE you have more than one sister?', just because Aunt Mary lives in Indiana and Aunt Tara lives all of the way in Georgia.

4) Call or email or even text my friends from college more than I do now, which is hardly at all. Just because we can pick up after not talking to each other for months like no time has passed at all does not mean I should keep letting all of those months pass without the talking. I'm afraid the picking back up can't keep happening in a friendship like that.

5) Do one fitness/health related challenge each month. - You know all of those '0 to 1,000 sit-ups in just 30 days!!' kind of schedules that pop up on Pinterest all of the time? I'm going to start doing those. One each month. Fifteen minute plank? I'M COMING FOR YOU. I'm also throwing my meat-free/sugar-free/alcohol-free months in this category, as well.

6) Run another organized 5K. - It was so much more fun than I expected. Minus the running up a hill part, anyway.

7) Renew my vows with Steve, in Vegas, by Elvis, for our 10th anniversary in October.

8) Create an art wall somewhere in my house.

9) Organize a workspace for me

10) Attend The Blathering in Seattle. - Charleston was such a great time, I'd love to make it back for the Seattle trip.

11) Read at least two books a month.

12) Take Brigid camping.

13) Find a yoga studio and start taking classes regularly.

14) Write something, anything, not blog related.

15) No spending money on new clothes this year. Using gift cards and rewards points are fine, but I need to get out of the habit of spending money on new stuff, just to make myself feel better. I swear, shopping is my addiction, but the high I get from buying a new sweater probably isn't enough to justify the amount of money I spend on clothes I don't need.

16) No buying anything at all unless I absolutely need it. I have a bad habit of stocking up on things at sales (candles, lotions, make-up, beauty products), even if I have a cabinet full of the same stuff already at home. I will use the cabinet full of crap before I add more crap.

17) Be more consistent in updating my family blog, because my parents give me a hard time when I let it lag, and my personal blog, because I'm not as happy with myself when I let it lag.

18) Find a general practitioner and get a physical.

19) Post at least one picture a day on Instagram, to get myself into the habit of taking more pictures of my sweet girls, since I find entire events have passed where I've forgotten to photograph said events. Like Christmas. Sadly.

20) Get a haircut. - You can laugh at this one, if you must, but I did not get one single haircut in 2013. In fact, I haven't had a haircut since before Caitlin was born in November of 2012. I do not even know how this happens, but I know it must end. Soon. I think a Locks of Love kind of donation might be in order. My hair, it is long.

21) Make an effort to get to know the neighbors. - I tend to not get dressed/leave the house on the weekends, and this extends to not fraternizing with anyone who lives near me, because I'm afraid people will judge me for my make-up free, sweatpants clad weekend laze. I should probably get over that.

22) Write more thank you notes. - I am terrible at writing thank you notes. I should not be so terrible.

23) Buy new rugs for my new house. - The sunroom and foyer, in particular, need something fun.

24) Be more fearless in forming and maintaining relationships. - There are many times where I think of something I want to send to someone, whether it's an email, text, card, or what have you, and I don't, because I'm afraid I've maybe overestimated whether we have the type of friendship where I can do something like that. I don't want to worry about stuff like that anymore.

25) Put together an Advent/Christmas activity calendar for Brigid and Caitlin. - I did that for Brigid when I was home on maternity leave after Caitlin's birth, and it was so much fun. I didn't get the chance to do it this year, and I feel like I missed out on some part of the excitement of the season. I'm bringing it back.

26) Institute a once-a-month date night with Steve. Or date lunch, I guess, if necessary.

27) Institute a once-a-month girls' night, whether it be with my old college roommate, my SiLs, or the neighbors. I should get out of the house at least once a month with people who do not live in my house.