Thursday, February 25, 2016

Thursday's Threads


I nearly forgot to do a Thursday's Threads today! Ooops! But I remembered with plenty of hours to spare. Yay me! Today I spent the day riding my yellow horse and watching my trainer show in the 1.35 Meter jumpers at WEF. Great day if you ask me! Thus, today's outfit is a riding outfit:
Sorry about this hugely awkward photo. But my tired butt was unable to move from that chair.

Top: Dakini
I had never heard of this brand but found a similar top last year at Marshalls and fell in love. It's a very light weight washable wool. They are pretty pricey, but I found this one on clearance for around $25. If you ever see one, definitely grab it! It's on the cool side here today and quite windy, so I was happy to have a wool long sleeve shirt to wear! (Also, it has thumbholes making it the best shirt ever.)

Breeches: Ariat
Again, sorry for the awful photo. There was a shadow that I was unwilling to move out of. These Ariat breeches are awesome. They are navy with an aqua blue (turquoise maybe) stitching. They fit perfectly, and I wish they made other colors.

Belt: Mane Jane
I'm still so in love with this belt. I think I may have to order another color or two... The neat thing about Mane Jane is you can order just the belt strap. Since I already have a buckle, I don't need to pay full price for another belt with buckle.

Shoes: Margaritaville
These are my barn boat shoes. They have stood around in mud, walked through dry, dusty rings, and cleaned stalls. I take terrible care of them and treat them with reckless abandon. And yet they are still going strong. I bought them at least three years ago in VT. I had been shopping in town and realized I didn't have shoes with me to do night check. Rather than drive back to the hotel, I stopped at the shoe store and found these in the clearance section for $10. That's money well spent my friends.

I don't ride with an arm party, so I just wore my apple watch today:
And that's it for Thursday's threads! As punishment for my throwing this view in all of your faces:
I now have 11 new bug bites. And probably Zika.

What are you wearing today? Have a favorite article from today? Let's chat in the comments!

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

What's Up Wednesday


**Photos have been added!**

Happy Wednesday! I'm currently sitting on a very turbulent airplane en route to see GTO! We're calling him Pugsley now though. Whatever we call him, I'm super excited to get to ride him. Hopefully I'll have lots to recap next week.
In the meantime, Let's look back at the past week. This weekend was WARM! Like near 60 degrees warm. Kind of crazy for February. My truck was ready for retrieving on Saturday morning, so my mom brought me over to get it at 9. I ran a few errands, but had to head to a baby shower for noon.


I even dressed nice and straightened my hair! Like a real girl!

I was kind of disappointed to be spending the gorgeous day at an indoor party instead of outside with my ponies, but it's important to celebrate our human friends too, right? As a consolation, I did win the raffle prize:
Large duffle AND a wristlet!
I got home a little before 5 and figured I could squeeze in a lunge and ride with Jamp before it got dark out. He was a wild man on the lunge line! Due to that, I didn't ride for very long, but it was SO NICE to get back in the saddle, even for a short time. After that I just groomed Rio and Romey. They love groomies!
My favorite view! Made even better by an incredible sunset.
Neon for visibility right?
I also discovered that during the ice storm last weekend a tree came down and destroyed the paddock fence. Of course it did. Thankfully we aren't using that paddock during the winter. I figured it was incentive to finally order the fancy fencing I've been wanting. So I called for a quote on Monday, and it's been discontinued. Sigh. Back to the research I go. This is why one shouldn't procrastinate!
Poop.
Sunday was a little cooler than Saturday, but still gorgeous. It was around 55 degrees in the afternoon. I spent the morning running errands and the rest of the day with the ponies. I had a great ride on Jamp! I think he's happy to get out and do something.


Rio lunged with a bridle on! He hasn't worn one in TWO YEARS! I was curious to see how he'd feel about it, and honestly I think he was really excited to see tack. He practically put the bridle on himself! He wasn't the soundest I've ever seen him, but he's due for shoes. That troublesome foot he has really shouldn't get long and it has. So hopefull once he's shod this week he will be more sound. He was ridiculously happy to be out working though. Makes my heart melt. I swear I've never loved anyone or anything as much as that horse. He's my soul mate.






The last one out was Romey. I thought it would be a great day to teach him how to lunge. Only problem is, I have no idea how to teach a horse to lunge. None at all. He's been taught not to walk past his human, which is a great thing! Except when trying to lunge. I could tell he was trying to figure out what he should do though. So I give him props for that. He's a good boy. I can't wait to really get him in work.

He's shedding in a very disorganized manner

Mom, I have NO idea what we're doing here.

I'll just take that noise maker. Thanks.
After a long day of playing with ponies, I was starving and tired. We have a newish pizza place that actually delivers so I figured it was the perfect day to try them out. Especially since I wanted to pack that night. I had a mashed potato pizza. Why yes, please smother my carbs with other carbs and then add bacon! It was delicious.


Since New England is crazy, it snowed on Tuesday. Yes, you read that correctly. Near 60 on Saturday, snow on Tuesday. Today it poured rain though, so the snow should be gone. I'm hoping when I get home spring will have arrived for good and all these free loaders in the barn can get back in a program!

I dropped the pugs off at granda's this morning. I hate leaving them! But they are in good hands and will have tons of fun with their pug aunty Prada.

I've been a good little lazy runner this week too! I haven't logged a ton of miles, but have been somewhat consistent with getting on the treadmill for at least two running miles each time. Baby steps friends!

In other news, if you read Truthful Tuesaday yesterday, I bought the black boots. I have no self control.

That's what's up this Wednesday! Tell me what's up with you in the comments!

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Truthful Tuesday

Oh man. I fell off the no shopping wagon. No. No I didn't fall off of it. I JUMPED off. With reckless abandon. Hey, I had a good two weeks of no shopping.

Since I actually got to enjoy my equine this weekend, I realized that I was lacking a few things for the newest boys. Namely, front boots for wearing to ride at home. Rio and Jamp have been using their same two pairs for well, longer than I've had Jamp, so I figured if I was going to get for some I would get for all. Which lead to a real dilemma. Jamp wears brown boots, and Rio wears black. So what colors would the new horses wear? (#firstworldproblems) I like to keep them different so it's easy to grab the correct ones quickly, but most boots come in black, brown, or white. If I'm lucky. And I don't really like white boots.

And then I remembered seeing some ridiculous patent, faux leather, washable front boots on Instagram awhile back. After a quick internet search I discovered they are mostly only available in Europe. So obviously I headed over to Ebay. $212.00 later, these are shipping to me from the UK.

GTO (who we have started calling Pusgly since he looks like a pug) will wear the gold ones (duh, since he's golden), Romey gets the silver, brown for Jampy, and black for Rio.
Now I'm jealous that they all have new boots and I want these:
I think I may order the black ones. Because I have no self control. And then probably the brown ones... because same reason.

How about all of you? Make any regrettable purchases lately? Have anything you need to confess? Let me know in the comments!

Friday, February 19, 2016

Save the Date!!!

I'm going to be hosting a virtual Stella and Dot trunk show via Facebook on March 6th at 8:30 PM. No pressure of course, but if you'd like to attend send me a friend request to my personal Facebook account and I'll get you on the invite list!
Search for me: Stacie Seidman
My profile pic is me jumping with my horse Jamp.

I'll be getting around to invites this weekend, so don't fret if you don't see one right away!

Thursday, February 18, 2016

Thursday's Threads

I'm baaaaaack!!!! I have to tell you, waking up to an email from blogger stating that my blog had been deleted was NOT a pleasant way to wake up. Not at all. Not even a little. And just to make the morning a little more smooth, I spilled half my coffee on the kitchen counter. But hey, at least I didn't spill it all over myself right? And thankfully, blogger gave my blog back to me, so here I am! With a better-late-than-never outfit post.

Outfit pictures with Pia photobombing are my favorite! I went for casual today. I was going to get super neon on all of you today, but I was grumpy after the horrible email and wasn't feeling the bright happy colors. So I went with blue and gray. Let's look closer!

Sweater: Sonoma
I actually think I may have worn this once before for Thursday's Threads. Not positive. But possibly. Anyway, it's from Kohl's and I found it last year for practically nothing. I love the little pops of color throughout. I decided to match my pants to the blue that's in there.

Pants: Tinseltown
These are great. I think they may be considered jeggings? Not sure. Maybe just cotton pants? Who decides these things? Anyway, they're stretchy, and super comfortable. I LOVE the electric blue color!

Belt: Louis Vuitton
This looks like it's off-white, but it's really gray. It's a great color, and is almost the exact same shade as the sweater.

Boots: Ivanka Trump
I love these boots. They are the softest suede ever and fit perfectly. Last winter was so snowy and wet that I didn't get to wear them, so I was excited to bust them out this year!
**Disclaimer: the brand on this shoe in no way reflects any political affiliations or opinions on behalf of Amateur at Large

Arm Party!
Lefty:
Please excuse that line on my hand, I'm not even sure what I was leaning on before taking arm party photos. I thought this bangle from BaubleBar went so well with this sweater! Not to mention the blue is the exact same color as my pants. So fun!

Righty:
Righty is 100% handmade by me today. First is a macrame and Czech Crystal bracelet that doesn't photograph very well, and the other is a wrap bracelet made from charcoal gray metallic thread and glass beads.

I'm SO GLAD I was able to bring a Thursday's Threads post to you all today. I really was worried that Amateur at Large had died a sudden death! Yikes!
What are you wearing today?





Wednesday, February 17, 2016

What's Up Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's been a little ridiculous here lately. Over the weekend we had some of the coldest temps I've ever experienced, and then yesterday it was 55 degrees! Crazy. I'm excited for the warmer weather, and hope the ring clears up enough to maybe get some saddle time in this weekend! Time will tell on that...
  In the meantime, let's take a look back at the past week!
I went back up to Mt. Purses the other day and finished weeding out and organizing. It's not perfect, but it's much better than it was before! I keep them in the same room as my shoes, so the photos below are the wall opposite my shoes.
I love these shoe chairs. I got them in college and think they're perfect for my shoe room!

I haven't been able to do much with the horses other than brush them and stare at them during their turnouts. I suppose I could be trimming their whiskers and pulling their manes, but I like to give them a reprieve from all the primping in the winter. I figure when they are outside, they'll want that extra hair to keep them warm! I mean seriously, look at these temps:
Cuddling with Rio has obviously been the best method of staying warm.

He has my entire messy bun in his mouth...
So glad I decided to heat the barn!
 
It was SO COLD this weekend that the short kids even wore blankets to go outside:
Sadly, their blankets are a little too small. Sorry kids. We'll get bigger ones next year!

Saturday I ran some errands, took care of the all the four-leggeds, and otherwise just hibernated. But Sunday I was ready to be a more productive member of society. Ah the best laid plans...
Sunday was Valentine's day which as a single lady, I don't really bother celebrating. But would obviously never turn away chocolates. Or cupcakes. I have a coworker who is also a good friend. He has a sister-in-law that owns a flower shop. So every year on Valentine's day, he and his wife bring me some flowers and a sweet treat. Isn't that the nicest?! My goodies were coming by around 1, so I had plenty of time be productive before that. The horses were groomed and tucked back in by 11, so I headed indoors to complete my Valentine's virtual run (2.14 miles-more on this later).
After that I turned on the shower only to discover I had no hot water. Ugh. Thankfully it was a quick fix. But not quick enough to have time to shower. Oh well. Hopefully I wasn't too smelly. My friend stopped by with some cupcakes and these pretty flowers:
His wife is a 911 dispatcher and works Sundays, so she couldn't come by. He and I hung out for a bit and ate too many cupcakes. I was meeting another friend of mine to go see "How To Be Single" at 3:30. I went out early to get my truck running and warmed up. It's a diesel so this sub zero weather can be tricky. He started right up though! I let him run for about 10 minutes to make sure he wasn't going to stall out. And then we were on our way to the movies!
Unfortunately, about half way there, my truck stalled. On a winding, narrow, road with no shoulder of course. Yikes! I had to have it towed.
Needless to say, we did not make the movie. Never a dull moment! I'm still waiting to hear back on my truck's status. He's been giving me some difficulty lately. I'm confident this latest incident was due to the cold weather (he did this to me once last year on the way to work!) but he didn't want to start a few weeks ago when it was warm out. Best to get it figured out now, and not while I'm hauling horses this summer!
I borrowed a truck on Monday from work as we were getting snow again. My little Betty car is pretty much useless if it's snowing, so I am so thankful to have access to a four wheel drive vehicle! Seriously. So grateful.
The snow turned to rain during the night and then it poured all day Tuesday as it warmed up to 55 degrees. Ok by me as the snow is all melting away. Bring on spring!!!
Well, that's what's up with me this Wednesday! What's up with you? How's the weather where you are?