I deserve a medal for this

I've been thrifting and I don't know if I should keep this purple and teal somewhat avant-garde sweater dress? I may have to keep it until it's cold, wear it once and then decide.

And this...

Same thing with this.

Looking at these photos has convinced me of two things...
1. I NEED to keep that green and yellow reindeer sweater.
2. I think I have a thrifting problem. A serious one.

I love me a theme party

And luckily so do my friends! I know, everyone loves Halloween and dressing up, so we have done it A LOT more than just on Oct 31! However, to get us started, here is Halloween last year... an American Gladiator and a "chick magnet" then a geisha, the Operation man (I sewed the whole thing for mike!) and me as the Blind Melon bee girl from their video for No Rain (anyone remember that?)



















Unfortunately due to Ryan's computer being stolen, there are no more photos of the "middle school dance" party or the "fort" party (where we turned the whole house into a fort with tunnels and whatnot, all made of blankets and pillows... it was a pain to clean up but SO fun), no photos of when Joel was feeling anxious about being the oldest one and turning 30 so we threw him an Edward Fortyhands party (if you don't know what that is, I'm not going to be the one to tell you... it's a terrible idea). I'm sure there are a few more I'm forgetting now...

But at least there are photos of the elaborate "wedding" party.



















Jim seriously taught himself to play the wedding march on Mike's accordion in like an hour. It was amazing. Oh and also, these two... not dating. Not even close. Jason owns a house with his real girlfriend. She was actually okay with the whole thing and thought it was rather funny.








There was also the "gangsters through the ages" party (from 1920's to present day thugs, again, awesome)

This year, during Fashion Week in Minneapolis, we threw a fashion party (can I preface this by saying I have VERY unfashionable friends. They constantly mock my outfits and think it's silly that I care about clothes.) Anyway, they were willing to attempt fashion for me... and no, I am not wearing pants. I am wearing a series of tights, underwear, and socks and ran around all night telling everyone "pants are so last season."

I don't think Doyle quite got it, but love him for trying...















Mike and Jim decided that "this season is all about wristbands and temporary barbed wire tattoos."












I also made very fashionable orange jello shots (in real orange rinds!)

So what is the point of this post, other than to brag about how cool my friends are...it's my birthday in less than two weeks and next Saturday will be my party. What is the theme? AUGUSTACHE! What is that? August + Mustache = Augustache! All my guy friends (like 12 of them at least) are growing beards as we speak. Next Saturday there will be much shaving and shaping and everyone will have a mustache! In the mean time, I am making fake 'staches for the ladies (um, all like 3 of them). Anyway, I am pretty excited. If this photo of Mike's last day-long mustache is any indication, we are all in for a treat...

I'm sure I'll let you know how it goes! and P.S. Augustache is very different than Septembeard, Octobeard, Novembeard, and Decembeard...

O'Doyle rules?

No, I do. Who got the best job ever? ME! I am now officially the assistant nurse at a downtown school in Minneapolis. I love the school's philosophy (very well rounded, diverse education achieved by putting students from 11 different schools together, partnering with businesses downtown for unique experiences, K-12 in one school, uniforms {I know, I know, very anti-self expression, but I like that it takes out the have vs. have-not mentality of kids, they're all so spoiled and judge each-other on who has what label on...the 8 year old poor girl from Chicago in me is still wounded by what kids said about my appearance, so I like that the lower SES kids can walk with their helds held high, they're wearing the same unflattering navy and khaki number as everyone else.} they have no after school sports but have other better after school clubs and activities, I could go on and on...) Plus the architecture is so modern and thoughtfully designed (not like all the 1950's boxed schools I attended). Anyway, go me! and in that spirit I will wear whatever I feel like to watch the Yankees get killed by the Twins (again!) Oh, Michael Kors, how I love your shoes. They are almost as fab as you and your snide remarks during Project Runway. Also, thank you DSW for your big discounts and birthday gift certificates for allowing me to own these Kors made Beetlejuice-esq shoes. So here I go, off to conquer the world, one stomach ache and scrape at a time!

P.S. I wore a similar outfit on Sat, only not so monochromatic. I think I like this one better, but wanted to wear my new Kors in a garish manner...