Thursday, August 25, 2011

Accessorizing with Lynne

I got so many compliments on my outfit today I decided it must be documented. For the record my office is allowed to dress causal until after Labor Day- hence the jeans.
lips: fiery by tarte
eye shadow: combo of shag by Urban Decay and stray dog also by Urban decay
eye liner: zero by Urban Decay
blush: vibrant 24 by neutragena
 Here is the overall shot- I have been rocking the bright lip lately, unfortunately I haven't quite find one with staying power, this one looks good for approximately 1 hr or until you eat anything. But it is easy to apply and I like the color. Any makeup pros out there with tips for lasting lips? Also for the record the eye color and hair are God given (hair has much help from Rebecca @Bekahstyle)


head band: Gold Leaf goddess look- target clearance section
Like I said above the headband I found on clearance, and although I think it is a bit of a bold statement I went for it for a couple of reasons: I have paid more for a cup of coffee than this thing cost me, I think my dark hair really helped pull it off, and I am a goddess so I should look like it right? Only drawback it after 10 plus hrs of wearing it hurts- it is definitely made of real metal.
Necklace: Gift from Great- Grandma Johnson
I have had the necklace since I was about 15, my great grandmother gave it to me one Christmas, I distinctly remember her saying I probably wouldn't appreciate it then, but the beads were from the holy land and she wanted me to have it. Great Grandma was probably right, but I kept it, I loved it, it just took me years to learn how to properly accessorize with it. I remember the beads were from Jerusalem, but she never stated where the pendant came from, it looks so similar to the painted plates I remember from childhood: someone from my family must have painted it. When I don't double or triple it up, it hangs way past my waist. It is lovely and delicate and is a beautiful reminder of my great grandmother. I have always envisioned it as my something old on my wedding day- here's hoping it can still be.
earrings: forever 21
The earring are from forever 21- I am sure I didn't spend more than 1.99 on them. They have just the right amount of blue in them to go with a ton of my clothes. However they are gold and don't get that much wear due to my abundance of silver jewelry- if this headband gets a lot of wear, so will these earrings
Tang Top: Old Navy Clearance, Shrug Dress Barn
I got the blue and white tang top on super clearance at old navy- I paid less than 10 bucks for it, I have pared it with both the navy shrug in the picture and a white cardigan before, I like the navy look a bit better and I think it accessorized better.

Everything went with a dark wash jean (again from old navy) and gold sandals, although I like pairing red shoes with anything navy. Plus who doesn't love a pop of color with any outfit? I think this a pretty perfect outfit for a causal Friday, I don't really have the right shade of dress pant to pull it off during the week.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Switch: more than impressed

This weekend I DVR'd The Switch. And it was actually a pretty impressive movie. General plot is that Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) decides to have a child on her own. However, she is uncomfortable with the idea of never knowing the sperm donor- she states she wants to look him in the eyes- so she purchases the goods from someone she can meet. Her best friend Wally (Jason Batemen) is a neurotic overly truthful guy with bad fashion choices she put in the "friend zone" some 6 years prior. Through a series of mishaps all performed in various levels of drunkness Wally in his words his "hijacks Kassie's pregnancy" although this is not discovered until 7 years later. I will admit the first half of the movie it s bit crazy, mostly the whole idea of a insemination party, where the drunken switch takes place, was a little hard for me to swallow. But actually the rest of the movie makes sense. When Kassie realizes she is pregnant she moves home to MN because is it is a better place to raise a child- which allows you to believe she and Wally are now parted and don't have the similarities between man and child in front of them 24-7. After 7 years Kassie moves back to NY and Wally finally meets Sebastian, a neurotic easily depressed- yet determined child, he at first is put off by his odd-ness. But as the movie progresses and Wally unravels the truth he becomes endeared to Sebastian and now cannot risk losing either him or Kassie from his life. Kassie in the meanwhile is pursing the man she believes to be Sebastian's "seed guy" there is a whole touching scene where Kassie explains Sebastians birth story. Mostly I was entirely enchanted by Jennifer Aniston, Jason Batemen, and the young actor playing Sebastian. Totally worth a redbox rental!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Footloose: A distracted review

This past weekend Directv was having a free Cinemax preview and I took the opportunity to dvr like every movie ever. Including: Footloose. I am a little shocked I haven't ever seen the original as I have watched all John Hughes movies and Dirty Dancing more times than any person ever should admit to, second only to the number of times I have seen Clueless. Plus Kevin Bacon is like totally a Baldwin in it, before being a Baldwin was even invented. However after watching Footloose in its entirety, if perhaps admittedly in a distracted manner (I was making homemade chicken pot pie) I may have found out why this movie never made an appearance into my life before.

While I found the music amazing, Almost Paradise, Holding out for a Hero, and naturally Footloose, I couldn't quite get over where the music was being used in the movie. Holding out for a hero- perhaps one of the most underrated songs ever heard used in a Tracker Chicken Race. Really Chicken with trackers? Only Hollywood would put vehicles that cost more than the average American can imagine racing each other until one falls into a creek. Do you really want to hold out for a hero that has no sense of value?

A shocking amount of domestic violence- which is apparently no big deal to like anyone? First the preacher slaps his daughter (clearly portrayed in the heat of the moment and he does express repentance- but his wife witnesses this and says nothing? really???) Later this same girl gets seriously beat up by her thug boyfriend- He drives away, she ends up on the ground bleeding with a black eye. Which other than a call to Kevin Bacon to come and get her leads to no comments about this abuse? She walks around the next scenes of the movie with a shiner- but no big deal because she has her sun glasses on.

Ren (how have we not gotten to the ridiculous names?- we also have a girl named Rusty) is an amazing gymnast for no other reason then to be pushed out off school activities and to have a slamming, if improbable angry dance scene at a deserted mill.

While like I liked Ren (Kevin Bacon), Rusty (Sarah Jessica Parker), and the friend (Chris Penn) - I hated Ariel, I found absolutely nothing redeemable about her, she constantly exhibited reckless and annoying behavior.

So to be honest not my favorite, but fun moments and good music.

p.s. While I don't remember any times where my parents absolutely wouldn't let me watch a movie as a child I have two memories of censorship, I vividly recall having to leave the room when Patrick Swayze gets murdered in Ghost (to this day I don't think I have ever seen that part of the movie) and when visiting a friends house during 2nd or 3rd grade my friends older sister was watching Dirty Dancing and we couldn't watch where Johnny and Baby finally hook up. So perhaps Patrick Swayze just isn't suitable for young kids

Wherein all things happen at once

Life is a changing once again. Work has been a bit hectic, as I have been working a minimum of 5 hours of overtime a weeks for at least 2 months. Not only are we busy but things are changing. We have lost a couple of senior members of our team to promotions or other opportunities (which is sending EVERYONE scrambling). And not only are we busy, we have moving, again. Last February we were told a bigger more important, i.e. department that makes actual money for the company, department needed our space. So boom- we got the boot to Downtown Des Moines. By April we had moved. It has been great, my commute is almost exactly the same- the downtown traffic is a bit busier in the evening but nothing much changed. I really enjoyed being so close to all the activities going on all summer. But as it turns out- again another department wants our space. So now we are headed back to West Des Moines- however a new campus once again, well will be behind the Perkins on Jordan Creek Parkway (proving that my life revolves around Perkins). So now I will try not to get to attached to any space. I can't say I loved the new building, the cubicles were more isolating- you would be surprised what 8 inches of height on a cubicle wall can do for your privacy- but I adore my new neighbors. Hopefully I won't loose those in the move. Things keep changing and I am trying to keep up! Sounds like I need a vacation!