Thursday's Threads: UPDATED! I forgot the best accessory!

Happy Outfit day everyone! And it's a double one today because I have a riding outfit! No running outfit though, I postponed today's run because the 98% humidity and 80 degrees at 6:30 this morning was not inviting. Let's jump right in! Riding outfit up first:

Ponies and barn colors. Probably one of the best outfits ever.

Helmet: Charles Owen GR8

This is the face of an out of shape rider on a warm day. But how great does greeny still look?!


Top: Tory Burch

I've had this tee for ages, and I still love it. I snagged it when it went on closeout.

Belt: Mane Jane

I really love the gold Mane Jane belt strap. It is kind of perfect for my barn colors since technically they are hunter and tan but sometimes I use gold instead. This is sort of both!

Breeches: George Morris Collection

I did a whole review on these awhile back, so you've already seen them. I still really like them. They hold up well to washing and drying, and they don't sag in the crotch like the pipers do.

Socks: Swanky Saddle

I'm still loving my logo socks from Swanky Saddle. I'm thinking if/when I show again that I should get some in black. I much prefer these nylon socks to the cottony dreamers and schemers ones. I LOVE the D&S prints though, so obviously I won't quit them. I just wish they were made of this material.

I wore my old standby boots, the Regals. I'll probably be wearing them for awhile. Not sure I want to break in boots on someone else's horse. And none of my fun boots are that close to being broken in. But we'll see.

And now on to today's work outfit. Holly wanted to see either a cookie outfit or something to do with space. I don't have too many cookie items, they've been lumped into the sweet snacks genre, so I went with space. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a suitable cardigan to wear for work, so I couldn't wear my NASA tank top. Boo. But I think it all came together anyway.

cameo by P

Ok, maybe you can't see the space theme from afar.... But you will!

Top: Lucky Brand

See?! It has moons and stars on it! Not a bad substitute though the space shuttle tank would have been more fun. Love the colors on this one though. (Shocking I know... it's green and gold.)

Belt: C4

See? I told you last week C4 never lets me down when I have a theme to accessorize. I haven't made this one into a bracelet yet, but hopefully it will be for the next time I wear a space outfit.

Jeans: Seven

Nothing special here, these aren't space themed. Just a comfy pair of jeans. Kind of sky color I guess?

Shoes: Cat & Jack

These are childrens shoes. Lol. I also have a pretty sweet pair of high tops that are space themed. But it's way too hot this week for high tops. Next time! Does anyone else think that rocket looks more like a Russian bomb? No? Just me?

Arm Party!
Lefty:

Lefty was supposed to have a pretty sweet constellation bangle (that lights up!) but it didn't get here. Boo. This awesome astronaut is holding down the job just fine.

Righty:

Righty has some homemade creations on. The first has these really pretty galaxy looking beads alternating with space shuttles. The next is astronauts, and the last one has astronauts and space shuttles. I used some of the "unicorn" colored beads as spacers because I think they can double as galaxy colors. So versatile!

UPDATE! I forgot to share the necklace! Here it is:
Necklace: Modcloth

I didn't make this necklace, but whoever did shops at the same bead place I do.. How cute is this?! I can't believe I forgot when I posted this morning.

So that's my space outfit! (And my riding outfit!) Any favorites from today? Are you disappointed that I didn't wear the space shuttle tank? I kind of am. But hey, next time! I have a few fun themes waiting to be worn, but I'm open to suggestions if anyone wants to see something in particular!

What's Up Wednesday!

It's been very horsey around here this past week! FINALLY! I had braiding jobs Friday through Sunday, but it wasn't your typical job. I only had to do tails! How easy! Friday morning I had two to do, but unfortunately, I only remembered to grab a photo of one of them.

You probably don't recognize him from this angle (lol) but this is Linus, the horse I borrowed several years ago to finish off my year end points. He was a lesson horse back then, but now he's owned by a wonderful family who spoils him rotten. He totally deserves that! It was nice to see him again!

After tail braiding I had to go adult at work. Boo. And then I did the usual with the boys at home. Not a wild Friday, but it was just fine.
Saturday was ridiculously busy. But all good things (mostly). We covered some of it yesterday. I got up and braided Linus' tail again:

And then I drove an hour north to see and ride the baby Badger:

Then I drove the hour home to feed the boys their lunch and let the pups out. And then I got to ride Bradley!

We nearly fell down warming up. I shit you not, he tripped over a poop pile (see what I did there) and literally almost fell all the way down. I thought we were both goners. Thankfully he managed to right himself and nobody died. Phew. Other than that, he was really great! There was a lot going on, a weed whacker running, some of the horses in the paddocks adjacent to the ring were having a lot of fun, and the kids were trying (unsuccessfully) to free lunge a new horse in the round pen. So he was maybe a little distracted. But we had some really impressive trot work. I knew it was in there! The canter definitely isn't there yet, but I did manage to get a few strides with his back up and his head lower. It felt amazing, and I hope to get that canter more and more from him. What a good brontosaurus! Also, I've taken to calling him Big Brad. It's fitting given he's part dino.
After Bradley, I headed back home to groom and walk my boys. I made sure to follow the one rule of Saturday: DO NOT SIT DOWN. Especially this Saturday because I would never have been able to get back up. Two horses in one day after 3 weeks out of the saddle, is ROUGH on an old lady body, let me tell you!
Anyway, the boys each had a nice walk, and Rio enjoyed some grass.

Gonna be honest here... I miss his dad bod.

But that wasn't the end of Saturday! I had a date with my mom to stuff myself full of bad food and win toys away from small children at my town's fair! I love a good fair. Especially the eating. And the giant unicorns.

Pig races are ridiculously entertaining in case you haven't been.

I also found the cutest bunny and some baby cows sleeping.

It was super fun. Obviously. And by the end of the evening there, I was POOPED. Fortunately, Sunday was going to be fairly quiet.
I got up Sunday for one last tail braid for Linus.

And then I decided to hang around the show for a bit. A few of my friends had their daughters showing so I hung with them for a few hours. This show was the finals for one of our local associations. It's geared toward the beginner levels, so the highest classes are 3'. But those didn't end up having enough qualifiers to run them. Anyway, it's pretty adorable to see all these young kids at their own finals. They get coolers, neck ribbons, and legit giant long ribbons for their accomplishments. Maybe I was a little jealous.
I left around noon to go feed the boys and get them out for their walks. After that I played with the pups outside. I haven't been happy with their harnesses, so ordered them some new ones last week. We tested them out, and I think they're pretty great!

I had to skip the lake this week because I had a family dinner to go to. Also lovely!

Monday was pretty quiet. Work and tending to the ponies. It was starting to get super humid and hot again though, and I've been trying to keep an eye on Jamp. He's just a hair sucked up and has been breathing a little heavy. Not like hyperventilating or anything, but a bit more rapid than I think is normal. I've been in touch with the vet, and we're just monitoring for right now. He's eating & drinking and pooping & peeing, all the important things. He's a known bad sweater, so we're hoping he's just a little warm. His temp has been normal though. Last night I threw some ice boots on him to cool him off and he did seem to appreciate that. I've mentioned that he's eating, but he's not eating as well as he has been. So that's also something to watch. Hopefully it's all nothing, but I can't help but be concerned.
I actually got to ride last night too! But I didn't get any media at all, not even a head shot. Sorry! My neighbor just up the street stopped by when I was home at lunch time and asked if I wanted to ride. I kind of wanted to say no since it was 93 degrees with a feels like temp of 102, but I figured it would be cooler by evening. Plus who says no to riding a nice horse? So I said yes. After work, I checked on Jampy, talked with the vet for a bit about him, and gave the boys their hay. Then I went and had a great ride on Eddie. He's really fun, and I liked him even more than the last time I rode him. The other girl who's been riding him is prego and wants to stop riding until she has her baby, so I'm going to get to sit on him twice a week. I'm super excited about that!

Well.. That's what's up this Wednesday! Lots of ponies! Riding, tail braiding, hand walking! Mostly all good, except for Jamp being weird. Hopefully that passes when the rain comes tomorrow.
How was your week? Do any showing or lessoning? Has fair season started where you are?

Truthful Tuesday: The one with the certainty

Trainer B who has Badger right now to help find him his person LOVES him so much. Like SO MUCH. She said I should come ride him because she thinks he's grown up a lot since I last sat on him. I think this is probably true since I haven't ridden him since January. He's had lots of different people on him which can only help a horse learn to accept more types of rides. She was kind of hoping I'd fall back in love with him. I was kind of hoping so too because he really is everything I could ever want in a hunter horse. And then some.
So Saturday morning, after braiding a tail, I headed north about an hour to ride Badger. He was out in his paddock when I got there (without bell boots... but I had that remedied before putting him back out after my ride). I think he remembered me because he came right over when I got there.

Still looks a little prego... Are all buckskins fat?

Badger is one of the itchiest horses I've known, even more so than Jamp, which may seem shocking, so I spent some time giving him a nice curry and grooming. Then I brought him down to the ring and got on. We walked around for a bit, and he didn't seem to be spooky anywhere. At trainer A's, he always had a spot he liked to spook in whether it was Florida or CT. I didn't sense that at Trainer B's. Maybe he was a new horse!
But while I was walking, I realized I was stalling. I wasn't really wanting to pick up the trot yet. Why? I'm not sure. Eventually I did. It was a lovely, bold trot. He was moving out great. He was soft in the contact. If I asked him to slow down he did. If I asked for more he gave it to me. But I wasn't ready for the canter. I went back to the walk for a lap of the ring. And I realized I was trying to build up the nerve to canter this horse. This horse who was being perfect.

Looks wild and out of control doesn't he?

 You guys. I'm afraid of Badger. He's not a horse you should be afraid of. He's not an especially forward thinker. His favorite gait is halt. And here I am, nervous to canter. To CANTER. Huh.
So eventually I did the thing. I'm pretty good at making myself do things I don't want to. I cantered the long side of the ring. He wanted to build. Probably to a nice canter because probably I wanted him to crawl around the ring. So I brought him back to the trot. Which was more forward. We trotted for awhile. Walked again for a bit. Eventually I made myself canter a little the other direction. It felt too fast to me. It wasn't. But I didn't like it.I brought him back to the trot and worked there for awhile until I felt he was listening to me and doing what I asked rather than what he wanted to do. And then I let him be done. I wasn't on very long.
I realized that the entire ride I was just waiting to be done. And THAT my friends is the story of how I knew I was making the right decision to sell Badger. He is everything I've ever wanted in a hunter. But he's not the one for me.

Thursday's Threads

Happy Outfit Day! It's going to be nice here they say after a rainy start. I am still lacking in the riding outfit department. Sorry. But I do have a VERY boring running outfit to share! I'm sure you're excited... You see, it started raining when I was getting ready to go out for my run. So I was thinking I would just run on the treadmill in a sports bra and leggings. So I picked a really fun bra and boring black pants. But then it stopped raining and I wanted to go outside. And I will NOT wear just a bra in public! So my outfit got boring. Here it is:

I won't bore you further with close ups. The top and the bottoms came from Fabletics, which I actually really like their stuff. And if you're patient, you can get great deals in their sales.

Sneakers: Asics

I was really attached to my Mizunos for a LONG time, but they made a lot of changes to them in the last few seasons and they weren't really working for my feet anymore. So after the relay I ran last fall I stopped (with our 20% off from the race!) at the local running store to see about something new. I wound up with these Asics, and I like them quite a bit. I haven't done any real distance in them yet though, so we'll have to see how that goes eventually.

Ok, on to the fun stuff! Today's outfit!

Cacti! It's tough to see all the cacti here, but they'll be more visible in the closeups.

Top: Old Navy

If this tee reminds you of the avocado one.... that's because they're pretty much the same. It was a good day at Old Navy that day...

Belt: C4

C4 never lets me down when I need a good theme belt. I haven't turned the extra into a bracelet yet, but it's on the pile to get done.

Jeans: 1822 Denim

I don't often wear distressed jeans to work because I think that might be pushing over the dress code line. But eh. I did today. I wanted something cropped and these were what I dug up first.

Shoes: Soludos

I just think they make the cutest shoes! After having some previous pairs feel smallish, I sized up for this one. They're a tad too big honestly... But I have a desk job, so they'll be fine. I'll probably get an insole for them for next time.

Accessories!
Apparently Cacti are really big right now, because I keep finding all kinds of fun things adorned with them.
Purse:Unbranded
Phone case: Also unbranded

 I got this purse on the TJ Maxx website. It came with a chain to make it a crossbody and a short strap to use it as a wristlet/clutch. Or you can leave it strapless. I like options. The phone case came from Ebay.

Necklace: Kate Spade

 I think this thing is ADORABLE. It's really tiny, but the details are not lacking.

Arm Party!
Lefty:

 Lefty is donning a Tory Burch wrap bracelet in hunter green and my trusty apple watch.
Righty:

Righty is mostly decked out in Tory Burch as well. The only non Tory piece is that cactus in the middle that I got on Ebay. The Tory bracelets I scored on Poshmark. I realized after I was at work that I have some cute cactus bracelets from Pura Vida. I guess you'll have to wait and see those next time I wear a cactus outfit. I'm sure the suspense is killing you.

And that's it today! Thoughts on Cacti? I enjoy them, they remind me of me. Interesting to look at, but not so nice if you touch them wrong.... Any favorites from today? Requests? Should I set up a poll and let you guys pick my theme?

What's Up Wednesday

Nothing too crazy happening over here this week. No ponies to ride again. Boo. But I did have a bunch to braid, so that's horse related at least!
Friday after work and taking care of my boys, I headed over to a nearby barn and braided a couple horses there.

I got done around midnight and headed over to the other barn where I just had one to do. Of course, for some reason the road to get there was closed, so that delayed things a little. Boo. I got there eventually though and he came out well.

I think he was annoyed I was there so late. Less time to rub buddy.
I got in my bed at 3am. THREE AM. You guys. I am not that young anymore. I didn't have a barn helper Saturday either, so I was up at 7:30 to feed the boys. Ouch. I planned to do turnout and stalls a little later because I had a few errands I had to run before noon. And then I got a text from a good friend about a pop-up sale nearby. She lives over an hour away so we don't see each other much. We agreed to meet up there for a little bit. So I did that too before the stalls. On the bright side, the horses enjoyed many hours of outside time in exchange.

Not exactly sure what went on during those hours outside... but clearly Jamp has some secrets.
After barning I was supposed to attend a pop up dinner party at a local state park. (Apparently everything pops up these days?) Unfortunately, it was pouring rain. The hostess moved the dinner to her house instead which was fine with me, closer drive! And closer to where I had to go braid that night. One of the other girls didn't understand the text though, so we had to wait for her to relocate before actually eating... at 9:00 PM. So my early evening of braiding was not to be. Sigh.
I got started at 11 on the first pony, and was done with the second around one. Ouch. They came out nicely though at least!

I had to spend a few minutes with the pups after I got home. So it was another nearly 3am bedtime. OUCH! Seriously guys. I'm OLD.
Thankfully Sunday I had a helper so I slept till 9:30. It was pretty fabulous, not gonna lie. Fit in the farmer's market, then spent much of the afternoon with the ponies.

Remember when he had a topline? No, me neither.

somehow he still has a topline though? Go figure.

AND I took the pups out for awhile too.

Then music and lobster obviously.

I couldn't stay too late at the concert because it's becoming VERY apparent that summer is winding down.

Yep. The sun was setting on my walk home. I'm not ready for these shorter evenings and cold weather to come back. NOT. READY. This really was the summer that wasn't.
This week is more of the same, except that if I'm at all late getting home, it seems Rio gets stuck walking in the dark.

Or grazing. Whatever. Point is, it's dark out at 7:30! How can that be?!
In fun news, my bonnets finally came from If The Bonnet Fits! I ordered them back in the spring before everyone stopped working. I got them each one of the following (Rio's have stretchy ears, and Jamp's have noise canceling ears): Show bonnet for the jumpers (Not that either was going to show again, but it's ok to be prepared for the next jumper I get... right?), a bonnet in our barn colors for everyday, and then one to match our unicorn bits.

The unicorn ones say "Magical" and "Unicorn" on the ears, the barn color ones say "Less Hand" and "More Leg" (I need reminders ok?), and I left the show ones plain.

 What's up with you guys this week? Did you show this past weekend? Have a lesson? Go somewhere fun?