Thursday's Threads

 

Happy outfit day friends! I took a break from all things sparkly this week and went with the old standby... Green!

You really can't ever go wrong with green. Especially now that fall is approaching.

Helmet: Charles Owen

I'm sad to realize that greenie here is going to be approaching expiration soon. I have one year left though! Hopefully by then one of the MIPS helmets will be available in hunter green! 

Shirt: Ariat

I loved this hunt print so much when it came out that I actually paid retail for it. I know. I never do that. I still love it though, so I'd say #worthit.

Belt: Tory Burch

Love this gold bet! It's a not a bright gold... more like a metallic beige. Goes with everything!

Breeches: Ariat

You all have seen these many times at this point. They're still one of my favorite pairs of breeches. The colors are PERFECT! I should have bought two pair...

Boots: La Mundial

I haven't worn these in FOREVER! I'm still a little bitter at what awful service this company has so I kind of look at them and go nah... But they should get worn. They are perfectly nice boots. I don't recommend the company to anyone unless you enjoy aggravation. But the boots themselves are nice. HOWEVER, if you want boots that aren't black or brown, I'd say shop elsewhere. They didn't dye these all the way through, it's just the top layer that's green. So if you scratch them at all, or they start to get worn, the color disappears. As seen below:

So yeah. Stick with Celeris or Fama-4-All for your vibrant boots. 

Arm Party!!!

Lefty:

I've done some crafting recently, and made a few new bracelets. This D bit bracelet is one of them. I love how it came out, and was even more excited when I found this rubber apple watch band that matches my green leather perfectly!

Righty:

Righty is donning another bracelet I made. Three pony faces to represent my little herd! And I went with the brown band for the Fitbit.

And that's it for today! Any favorites?

Thursday's Threads

Outfit day!!! And I remembered to photograph the riding outfit yesterday. Yay for not being completely senile! We'll start there since I owe you guys...

Yeah... I couldn't actually just wear that sweatshirt since it's freaking freezing now. It was more like this:

A little monochromatic on the outside I guess. Whatever. Warm beats exciting every time.

Helmet: One K

Yeah... it's a recycled photo. Same helmet though!

Sweatshirt: Unbranded
Vest and Jacket: Eddie Bauer

This sweatshirt is HILARIOUS! I mean... look at the mare with the fancy hat! Hahaha! I was targeted by Facebook's algorithm with an ad for this sweatshirt, and I figured it matched pretty closely with some accessories I had already... so you know. I bought it. It's not particularly warm, but it's amazing in it's own right. The jacket and vest I've had for a few years now, so you've seen them before. I still love them after all these years!

Belt: C4

See??! Pretty close match right?! The ponies aren't as well outfitted on the belt, but the color scheme is similar.

Breeches: Devon Aire

I've always kind of hated Devon Aire stuff, but found these breeches on sale awhile back and thought I'd give them a chance. I have regrets though, and once these are washed they're going straight to used horse stuff. They would NOT stay up! Seriously, when I got home last night the crotch was sagging somewhere around mid thigh. No thanks.

Socks: Ovation

I discovered by accident that Ovation made socks to match the C4 belt. And it was an exciting discovery.

Boots: Tuffrider Regals

This pair is really holding its own... I almost wore fun boots for you guys today, but then the sweatshirt arrived and I HAD to do that first. Maybe next week!

That's what I rode in yesterday, and now for today's work outfit:

The theme today is cozy. We're expecting snow later today, and honestly, I want zero part of that. But I will me cozy damn it!

Sweater: Tommy Hilfiger

It doesn't quite show in the photo, but this is actually a heathered brown color. I LOVE it. I went to the Tommy outlet Saturday to get my brother's birthday gift and this beauty was sitting there all 40% off so I got me a present too. Don't pretend like that surprises you.

Belt: Tredstep

I think these elastic belts from Tredstep are really fun. They're not as easily stretched as the elastic ones I like to complain about, so it still does its job pretty well.

Jeans: American Eagle

These pants are like lint magnets, but because the color is so perfect, I don't hold that against them. Plus they're super comfy like jammies.

Boots: I can't remember the brand.... sorry!

I had to grab this photo with the boot stool in the back... I match my furniture! Hahahaha! Anyway, I forget the brand on these, but I got them from Zulily last year. You've seen them a ton, and I have a feeling you'll keep seeing them if this ridiculous weather keeps up all winter.

Arm Party!
Lefty:

It's all homemade on the arms today (other than the watch of course). I love these memory wire/leather bracelets I found a tutorial for last spring. And I was soooo excited to find this rhinestone leather for this horse bracelet in GREEN!

Righty:

After making the bracelets for the Skidmore College horse show this summer, I've become slightly obsessed with this flat stitched leather. These bracelets are so easy to make and are soooo cute! Love this little stack in my barn colors.

And that's it for today! Any favorites? Are you already adding all the layers where you are too? How long till spring again?

What's Up Wednesday

Still waiting over here! I don't have much news as to how Jampy is doing. Seems to be holding steady. I have had a few people asking what might have caused the bout of laminitis, so I thought maybe I'd touch on that today. We will have a better idea if our hypothesis is correct after we get the blood work back.
We think that over the past year Jampy has developed some metabolic issues. I had even commented on here about his dad bod. Unfortunately, neither myself nor my vets really thought much of his weight gain. We attributed it to the long winter. He really was looking great otherwise. So as normal we did his hocks last week to get him all ready for the summer. And that's where we think things went wrong. If you have a horse that's teetering on the edge of being diabetic (or some other metabolic condition) adding a steroid will spell disaster. So that is what we're waiting to learn from the blood work. Those results will help to manage his health and diet moving forward. And obviously no more joint maintenance. What it won't do is help right now. We really just have to wait for his body to calm down.

naps help!

I'm very lucky in that my office is letting me work from home. I can do almost everything from here that I can do in the office, so hopefully my physical absence isn't causing too much extra work for anyone. I don't really need to sit here and stare at him all day, but I do need to swap out his ice boots every couple of hours. My job is 30 minutes away so I'm more productive staying here than trying to drive back and forth.

Jamp's kind of reversed rolls with my nosy neighbor...

I wonder if neighbor feels like he's being watched?

Now that we've covered Jampy, I might as well tell you about everything else going on around here. Last Wednesday I had my birthday dinner with my dad and stepmom. They got me the BEST gift!

Unfortunately, I didn't get to test it out. Also a waste was having a memory card sent second day air to have for Saturday. Bummer. Maybe I'll strap it to a pug? We'll have to wait and see! 

Rio is doing well. His tendon is looking smaller, so hopefully he'll be on the mend soon. He's been enjoying hand walks, grazing, and lots of groomies. 

In other annoying adulting news.... Tuesday when I was cold hosing Jamp's hocks I discovered that this puddle appeared in my ring afterwards:

Yeah. That's where the septic is for the barn. So that's not good. I had a guy out Saturday. He was pretty sure it was just a filter problem, but obviously that would be too easy. 

He'll be back later in the week or early next week to hunt down the bad pipe. Good times here at the farm!

This is also the week that my roofer had my house on the schedule. That's nice and quiet while I'm working from home. Especially since Artie feels the need to bark at every hammer stroke. Sigh. 

P on the other hand could not care less.

Pretty sure my company hand book says sleeping on the job is a fireable offense... But she's not actually on the payroll so I guess we won't report her.

I was super bummed to miss the Derby de Mayo party I had been invited to on Saturday. I probably could have gone, it wasn't far away, but I just wasn't in the party mood. I had a fantastic little sombrero fascinator I was going to wear though. Guess I'll just have to wait seven years for the next time the holidays collide.

One of the nice things about my family living close by is that I didn't have to miss my nieces' birthday dinner on Sunday. My brother lives just 5 miles from me, so I popped over after swapping Jamp's ice boots. The girls' birthdays are just one day apart, so while they're little at least, we can combine b-day dinners. Ellie, the younger one, turned 2 on Sunday. Keira, the big sister, turned 5 on Monday. My step mom shares her birthday, but I'm sure she doesn't want me broadcasting her age!

I didn't stay too long, but got to watch them open gifts and have a hot dog. It was the first thing I'd eaten that wasn't a bagel with cream cheese or potato chips for three days. So that was nice!

A couple of weeks ago I was approached to make some bracelets for awards at an upcoming horse show. Since I'm pretty property bound, I managed to get those all made up this weekend.

They came out cute! These are my favorites:

That's where we're at so far this week. This duffle bag pretty much sums up life right now:

Thursday's Threads

Outfit Day!!!! It's a short one since I haven't gotten to ride yet... (MAYBE this weekend if someone isn't a lumpy mess still.) It's unseasonably warm here today, with an expected high of near 60. I was feeling springy, but didn't want to jump the gun. So here's what I put together:

Pretty calm with a hint of spring! Just like today's weather... Literally, because despite the warm temperature it's kind of gray and gloomy out there. Let's look closer!

Top: NYDJ

This is one of those sweaters with parts of a fake shirt attached to it. I was always kind of against those hybrids, but for some reason, I really liked this one. It didn't hurt that it was on final clearance at Nordstrom Rack. I like that it doesn't have a full fake collar, but just rims the sweater collar. And the colors are some of my favorites.
Jeans: Twentyone Black

These are Forever 21's premium brand of denim. I'm a big fan. They're stretchy, really comfy, and fit me really well.

Booties: Joe's Jeans

These were a find and a half! They were at the Marshall's in Florida on final clearance for super cheap. I forget how much exactly, but it was as if I stole them. I felt like they kept my outfit firmly in the it's-still-actually-winter-mode, yet still work with the top.

Arm party!
Lefty:

Lefty is sporting a gunmetal bangle with a pretty purple stone from Express and my trusty apple watch.

Righty:

Righty is all hand crafted today! The first is a cuff bracelet I made. You may recognize the insert in there... It's the same material I made my spur straps from! The other two are stretch bracelets made from acrylic and brass beads. I love the iridescent colors and they really match the fake shirt colors well!

That's what I'm wearing today! What do you have on?

Arts and Crafts!

I had an idea recently, and sometimes (usually) when I have what I think is a good idea, I get a little obsessive about making it happen. Unless we're talking about ordering my new fencing and having it installed, because that idea has been set aside...  In this case though, I pulled it off!
You all remember the name plate belts, yes? When I was a kid we all wanted one. Most of us just had one or two names to put on the belt, but we couldn't wait to fill one up. And they look fab with breeches. Well I decided I wanted a grown up version.
Currently many of the cool kids are wearing these ridiculously expensive Hermes belts. They're a plain leather strap, usually reversible, with a large H buckle. You've seen me donning them on Thursdays Threads. Though mine are definitely designer inspired and not the real thing. They are $$$. Anyway, I thought, wouldn't it be fun to have a name plate belt that was also a super trendy H belt?? The answer my friends is yes. Yes it would be fun.
I had a plain brown H belt hanging around, and got to work ordering some nameplates. By the way, when you're my age, and you've been riding and showing pretty much forever, this part gets really expensive! This is not one of those save you money DIY projects.
I wanted all of my special horses on there, so that meant everything I've leased or owned, and a handful that weren't mine but were important to me. Resulting in 20 nameplates. Ka-CHING! Ouch. Good thing I've put on a few lbs or they wouldn't all fit!

Things to think about when ordering plates: how many do you need? Do you need to fit two rows on the belt? Then you'd better make sure the belt is wide enough! I looked specifically for shorter plates than your typical bridle plate so they would fit better on the belt. But if you have less horses,  you would have more options. You also can decide if you want barn names or show names. I'm terrible at decision making so I wanted both! A few of my horses had only one name, but it didn't mess up the aesthetics in my opinion.
I ordered my plates from Big D's Tack because they have an insanely quick turnaround time. These shipped the very next day after I ordered! All twenty of them! Incredible.
Ok, so once my plates were in hand, I took a trip to the hardware store. I prefer to use screws and nuts rather than rivets. They fall of less often for one thing. But also, I can take plates off as needed and replace with new ones. Or get a black belt and not need to buy all new plates, just move them back and forth! Though that's a pretty serious project and likely will never ever happen.
Because I'm pretty honest about the stupid things I do, I must share this anecdote. I went to the hardware store and they had exactly 20 screws and nuts in the size I needed! Yay! Do you see any problems with that statement? No? Neither did I at the time. I headed back home and got to work measuring out the spacing and marking my holes.

I started punching holes and mounting plates and soon realized I definitely didn't have enough nuts and bolts. See the problem now? Yes, I had twenty nameplates. Which each required TWO SETS of nuts and bolts. That would be 40 each, not 20. Yep, there it is. The problem with that statement. Knowing my local store was all out since I'd bought everything, I set out in search of another hardware store. Thankfully I found what I needed on the first try and was able to finish my masterpiece. I left enough room for one more pair of plates, because we all know I have a shopping problem. Even when it comes to horses...

This thing is tough to get a decent picture of by itself... Here it is on:

Ta da! My new grown-up nameplate belt! It looks a lot better on breeches with larger belt loops, but this is what I was wearing when I made it. I love how it came out!
What do you think?