Truthful Tuesday: Birthday edition

I don't have all that much to confess today, but since it's my birthday, I do have one thing to tell you... I'm using my birthday as an excuse to do whatever I want. Within reason of course. I mean, I'm at work. I should get major props for that.
So far, all I've really used that excuse for is eating 5 girl scout cookies for breakfast. They were delicious. I should probably consider that more often.
Also, my Rio pillow came yesterday, so I'm calling that my birthday gift to me. It's just as amazing as I'd hoped it would be.

You may be saying it's definitely not life sized. That is true. The company actually called me (on the phone! what service!) and said that because of the dimensions of Rio, they couldn't do the 70" pillow. The largest they could do was the 40". They also refunded me the difference. So while I'm a little disappointed to not have a life sized Rio pillow, the company is definitely reputable, and this pony sized version is still pretty amazing. If any of you are interested in one, it's from Life Like Pillows.
That's not an affiliate link. Make sure you spin the wheel that pops up, because I got mine for 50% off.

I guess that's really it for today. I'm off to party like a rockstar do my job for the day. And bask in the birthday glow!

Thursday's Threads

Outfit day is boring today. I have no riding outfit to share. Now that I'm just riding weekends, I need to remember to take some pics then. Sorry, next week I'll deliver!
It's finally getting spring like here, with temps in the 60's and we've even seen the sun a little bit! Still light sweater weather, but we're moving in the right direction! So here's what I'm wearing today:

Pretty casual, kinda plain. Sometimes you need plain.

Top: H&M

I got this sweater, I think last year, to go with some cute floral printed jeans. It's a nice neutral so it works with a lot of my crazy pants!

Belt: Mane Jane

This was one of the straps Mane Jane had on clearance. I love when she has sales! This one is light gray on the other side.

Pants: True Religion

These are actually pants, and not jeans, which is super rare for me... Ha! They're cotton, but with stretch to them, and are heavy enough to not look like leggings. So I like that a lot. The teal color is fab, and I LOVE the contrast cream colored stitching.
Shoes: Durango

I couldn't resist these when I saw them. Tooled leather boat shoes?! Yes please. The leather is definitely thicker and stiffer than my usual Sperry's, so they will need to break in some. But they're SO PRETTY!

Arm Party!
Lefty:

I know, I know. I've worn this combo a ton. It's my FAVORITE though.

Righty:

Righty is donning some teal bracelets that match the pants almost exactly. I was super excited about that. The leather one is from Hermes, the middle one is probably not actually... and the last one is just my fitbit, I went with the rubber band since the other two I have are both wraps. Seemed a bit much to wear two wrap bracelets!

So that's it for today. I'll do better next week! I'll leave you with this photo of the first mane of the season to provide some kind of horsey content today...

What's Up Wednesday

I think I mentioned last week that my stepmom is back from Florida, so I'm not getting much saddle time. I do get weekends though! So I was able to get some time in with Eros Saturday and Sunday. He was perfect as usual! But we were stuck indoors due to the ridiculous rain.
One thing I really like about the boarding barn is that they don't close for holidays. So it was like a normal day there on Sunday. I went a little early because I had plans later, but not by any means actually early. Probably around 9? Eros was certain it was too early.

This was pre-ride...

 Rio had plenty of attention this weekend too, with some grazing time and lots of groomies.

I got him a new fly sheet for grazing, but it's actually a bit too small. If/when I find a pony and have to order stuff for that one, I think I may get him the next size up. It's from Big D, so they tend to run a little small. I forgot about that.

In non-horsey news, I did a lot of eating this weekend. A LOT. Saturday night my mom hosted our Passover Seder. It was like old times, just me, my brother, and mom. My sis-in-law and the kids went to Florida for the school vacation, but my brother had to stay here and work. It was lovely though. I brought the short kids with me, and they had fun too.

Family portrait with my brother in the back

Sunday, after my early-ish ride on Eros, I went with my dad, stepmom, and brother to visit my little brother's grandma for Easter. Little Bro couldn't make it unfortunately. He makes maple syrup in VT and this is his busy season. It was a lovely dinner, and my stepmom even made everything Passover friendly. So thoughtful! For some reason though, I got no media whatsoever. Which is really unfortunate. Little bro's grandma is 99, so not sure how many more times we'll do holidays with her.

Since we ate early Sunday, I was home by five to feed Rio. And then the puggers got to have a super fun play date with my neighbor's pug, her boyfriend's frenchie, and the two puppies she is fostering. It was short dog chaos, but so fun!

So much butt sniffing.

Yesterday was Rio's 23rd birthday! Since he turned 23 on the 23rd, this is his Golden Birthday, and I got him an appropriate birthday sash... and a crown of course.

Seriously, this crown though...

I can't... hahaha! Poor Rio. But also, cutest ever, right? For anyone wondering it came from Amazon, and I think it's for babies. But also horses.

I thought I'd be the best mom and hand chop some of his actual hay so he could swallow it instead of spitting it out as a hay cigar. Apparently though, after a solid 30 minutes of cutting up hay, he wasn't that into it. It smelled good though.

And then I gave him the appropriate birthday dinner full of snacks.

And that's really all that's going on this week! I have a couple of ponies/honies I've found that seem interesting, so hopefully I'll have something to share on that front soon! Waiting on some info for my front runner.

What's up with you guys? Did you have a good week? Celebrate any holidays this weekend?

Truthful Tuesday

When Amanda posted last week about falling prey to targeted ads, I was pretty proud of myself for not actually buying from them all that often. I got a sweatshirt once, but I think that's about it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I buy from ads from retailers I actually follow all the time! But not usually from targeted ads. I usually scroll right past those.
But I was having a bit of a pity party the other day. I hadn't ridden in a couple days, and it was raining. I missed Jampy. I still haven't found Rio a pony... You know how these days are. And then I saw an ad for 50% off a pillow shaped and printed in your pet's likeness. And you could get a REALLY BIG ONE. So in a couple weeks, I will have a practically life sized Rio pillow. I considered also getting a Jamp pillow, but I did have some moderate self control.
I mean worst case scenario, I can prop the Rio pillow up in an empty stall to keep Rio company. Right? So this was actually a pretty sound investment.




Um. But also... One other thing happened I need to tell you about. Remember before the holidays when I managed to snag a 20% off discount on Celeris boots? It was too good to pass up! They only give out 10 of them. So the odds were not in my favor. Well, you see...  I can't resist such offers. Especially when they're limited. And well. They did it again. So, um. I might have ordered one last pair of boots.

Have you guys made any impulse purchases lately? Please tell me I'm not alone! (Though I realize the boot problem is pretty limited to just me...)

Thursday's Threads

Outfit day! And I actually DID get to ride last night (stepmom ran out of time, yippee for me!) so I have a riding outfit to share. We can start there!

I should have grabbed a photo, but I got a new half pad to try for Eros, and it matched these breeches exactly. It's this one, in the peacock, in case you're curious. I was going to get black, but I figured since I'm not sure whether or not I'll like it, I should try the cheapest option first. Jury is out. He was kind of sassy last night, and I don't know if I can blame the pad or just a mood? Will have to use it a bit more and see. Anyway... back to outfits!

Helmet: One K Defender snakeskin black

Recycled photo... I forgot to snap one last night.

Top: Beval

Awhile back Beval had these sunshirts on sale really cheap, so I got a few. It's your typical sunshirt. I like that they aren't too tight and clingy.

Belt: Mane Jane

I went with the black belt strap and the gunmetal buckle for this outfit.

Breeches: Horseware

I feel like the fit on Horseware breeches is totally hit or miss. Some fit amazingly well (like this pair and the corduroy ones) and others run really small and awkward in places. This is the former though, and I really like them! Especially the teal color.

Boots: Regal Patent

I tried on like four pair of boots for this outfit before settling on the old standby. The first two I couldn't zip... (Um. My name is Stacie and I'm a snack-a-holic. Please send help.) The next pair was brand new and I couldn't do it. (Before you get too excited, I've had them for a year, I just haven't worn them yet.) And then I was going to do the Celeris again, but my ankles begged me not to yet. (Gotta rest the battle wounds sometimes.) So I settled for the old comfy pair. They actually look pretty good with the outfit though, so probably should have just done that from the start and saved the depression over the tight boots. Oh well, live and learn.

So that's what I rode in last night! Now on to my work outfit today, where the theme is powder pink. Alternate title, sometimes I dress like a six year old.

It's cold and dreary today. Like high is maybe 50 and rain on and off for the rest of my life for the next several days. So I needed something warm, but I couldn't bear to return to winter wear.

Sweater: Vince Camuto

Nordstrom Rack had a big clearance sale a few weeks ago, and let's just say my closet did well but my wallet not so much... I loved this pale pink sweater though, and the super cheap price tag was of no help in the not shopping department. It's ridiculously soft and cozy. Perfect for a day like today.

Belt: Mane Jane

I'm so glad I finally got this pale pink belt strap. I've already worn it a ton. And the gunmetal buckle has been getting a lot of use too. It's perfect with the sweater. Pretty much matches the stripes exactly.

Jeans: True Religion

It's tough to photograph, but these jeans have a pink wash over them. You can probably see it best in the full outfit photo above. I think they're super fun. I was worried it might be TOO MUCH pink, but it's pretty subtle in the pants, so it's working.

Shoes: Diba True

I discovered this shoe brand on Zulily a few years ago, and I really love a lot of their stuff. I'm not sure if they're expensive out in the real world, but on Zulily the prices are great, and the shoes are real leather. Thus high quality, low price tag. My favorite combo! I LOVE these slip ons, they are white underneath with a light coating of metallic rose gold. Super fun!

Arm Party!
Lefty:

Lefty is donning this cute leather bangle from Rustic Cuff along with a dainty rose gold flower bracelet from Pura Vida. Along with my trust watch of course.

Righty:

I've really jumped hard on the rose gold bandwagon lately... Whatever, it's pink and metallic and those are a few of my favorite things! The first one I put together myself. I love those little rearing ponies! The next one is housing my Fitbit. And the last one is a strap I cut to fit that rose gold clasp from Hermes.

And that's it for today! Do you have any favorites? Opinions on rose gold? What are you wearing?

What's Up Wednesday

Wednesday already! Finally? I dunno. When's Friday? This whole working for a living thing is really cramping my play time. Now that spring is here, I just want to go outside and play with ponies.
Anyway, nothing too exciting happened here over the last week. I already mentioned that Jampy came home, which was probably the most eventful thing.
Saturday was rainy, so I rode Eros indoors. Just flatwork still, nothing too exciting. But we have started re-introducing lateral work and collection at the canter. So at least now we're doing some fun stuff on the flat! I wanted to canter some poles, but the ring was busy, so I decided to wait.

Rio got shoes Saturday too, which I was glad about. He was especially unsound that morning, left front which is odd. Farrier didn't find anything wrong in his foot, which was nice, so I figured we would just see how he was on Sunday. Whatever it was, it went away, so he must have just done something to sting himself. Silly pony.

Rio only wears front shoes, so it was the cheapest shoeing bill I think I've ever gotten, now that it's just him at home. Gotta look for the positives right?!
The sun had finally come out Saturday evening, so the pups got to go for a walk. They are ridiculous though. They spend more time sniffing things than actually walking. And they never want to sniff the same things. Kids.

Yeah, they poop a lot too.

I spent Saturday evening hanging with the pups and doing some laundry. Exciting times!

Sunday, unlike Saturday, was quite nice out. Actual REAL spring! I was super excited to get to the barn and ride outside. Eros seems to be over the spring sillies (not that he was ever that bad) and we had a lovely ride in the giant outdoor ring. He even got a little sweaty, and I gave him his first rinse of the season! Followed by some grazing.

I went straight home and spent lots of quality time with Rio. He had a good grooming and then he got to have some grass too.

Tried out this new curry. I kinda like it! The nubs are really flexible, but it still picked up a lot of hair and dirt.

 I can't get over how much better he looks this year. He's so shiny, he looks wet in these photos!

The weather started turning when I was finishing up with Rio, so the pugs didn't get a second walk this weekend. They got lots of snuggles though which they're just as happy with.
This week I actually don't get to ride until the weekend. Stepmom is home and when I asked which days she wanted to ride, she said Tuesday, Wed, Thurs, and Friday. Ok then. (I really need a horse you guys.) Instead, I'm having to do awful things like exercise. The horror.

Blurry pugs, because I'm running on the treadmill while they nap.

So this week is basically just a lot of quality time with Rio. No complaints there though, we both could use it.

No mom, I'm not done snacking.

I might go for my first outdoor run in forever tonight before a little hanging with Rio. It's weird not having a horse to ride and only one to groom. Definitely need to work on that ratio.
That's about it from here. Did you all have a good weekend? Do anything fun? Are you finally having spring?