What's Up Wednesday

I still don't have a ton of horsey stuff to report on. The elderly boys are doing well, enjoying vacation. Though Jampy really needs to get back to work soon. He's driving everybody crazy with his pent up brainwaves. He even kicked the wall when I was getting dinner ready yesterday! He NEVER does that. Both of them are really patient about meals, and really don't paw or anything while I get it ready. Except Jamp when he hasn't been in work for awhile. Naughty.
They did nothing exciting last week after work. They had some nice grooming sessions and plenty of snacks, but that was about it. I was holding out strong hopes that we'd get to ride this weekend. Saturday seemed like the best possibility, but it never really got as warm as it was supposed to. Plus the sun wasn't out, so that didn't help thaw things out any quicker. Finally at 3pm I decided to take Jamp out and give him a little lunge on the one soft corner of the ring. It was muddy and sloppy, but a couple spots seemed frozen underneath still. We opted to walk/trot on the lunge a bit and then do a little tack walk.

Rio stayed in. He doesn't need to be worrying about footing. Instead he had some curries and shed out another small pony. I really don't know where he hides all this hair. It just keeps coming out! And it's only February!
You already read all about the rest of my Saturday hunting for the non gift for my dad. The good news is, part of his gift arrived today! It's a book containing the front page of the New York Times for every birthday he's had so far. Kinda neat, right?

Sunday was a total washout due to lots of rain. I was just glad it wasn't snow. My day started with a Galentine's brunch hosted by a friend. She always goes all out with these things, and Sunday was no exception! For those unfamiliar with Galentine's Day, it's from the show Parks and Recs and is about ladies celebrating ladies. Much fun!

Since it was still raining after brunch, with a promise to start raining HARDER, I decided to let the horses have a lovely day of napping and eating hay. What I should have worked on was finishing the great closet purge of 2018, but instead I decided to do some crafts. I've been saving all the ends from C4 belts because I knew I wanted to do something with them. I just hadn't been sure what that something was. But this weekend I decided to add snaps to them and make them into cuff bracelets.
Not to sound cocky... but it was a great idea! They're really cute!

I actually have a few bunch more, but I ran out of snaps. I had picked up a few packages so I'd have enough, but turns out the new ones I picked up were too short. Bummer. Back to the craft store I go this weekend!

After craft time it was back out in the rain to meet the family for Dad's birthday dinner. It was lovely, and we enjoyed cake back at his house afterward. And then finally the pugs and I did a lot of snuggling and watched the Olympics.

Ok, well I watched. They did not. How cute are these lazy little loafs?
I did remember to bring the blue boots out to the barn to get a better photo of them:

See?! Blue! I love them. I can't wait to ride in them. Also, good news, I must have been having a fat day when the boots arrived because the gold ones zipped right up over the weekend. Yay!

And that's all that's really up here this week. We might see 50 tomorrow and Friday, so maybe Jampy and I will try and brave an after work ride in the dark. I may have a braiding job tomorrow though which may get in the way of that. Saturday is back below freezing, so not looking promising for weekend rides this week either. But time will tell!
What's up with you? Been riding much? Do you celebrate Galentine's? Or Valentine's for that matter? I don't do much special for Valentine's being an old spinster. But I do like the holiday. Mostly because I can wear hearts on my sweater and eat lots of chocolate. Can't complain about that. All that said though, it's kind of a silly holiday. People in love should celebrate that year round, not need a day dedicated to it. But since it comes with chocolate, I'll keep that opinion more or less to myself ;).

Truthful Tuesday: the one where the universe toyed with me for not being prepared.

I feel like I always bring the chaos. Fortunately, it's usually hilarious chaos mostly described by a lot of wasted time. But still.
My dad turns 70 on the 19th. Which is still almost a week away, so I have plenty of time for gifts to arrive. Plus, he and my step mom are heading out of town before hand to go on an African Safari adventure. (My dad is a lot cooler than I am, for the record.) So, probably I have more time, because I figure we'll do birthday after they get back. Not that I've done nothing, but I hadn't yet committed to what I wanted to get for him.
Friday afternoon Stepmom texts me that we're going to do birthday dinner with Dad on Sunday if I'm around because my brother and his family are heading to Florida for two weeks. Ruh-roh. That's ok, it's only Friday, I can find something by Sunday! Totally.

 Saturday morning I got to the local outlets early to see what the Saks off 5th might have for a man turning 70. It's not all that fancy here in the sticks where I live, so that's pretty much the only place to find something with a designer label. Not that it's required to gift designer of course, but he IS turning 70. That's a big birthday! I found the most gorgeous jacket that was so very him. It was classy but current, without being too youthful. It was a gray wool with buttery soft leather sleeves and yolk. But. It was a size medium. I asked a sales person if they had more, and she thought they did, so checked the computer. Computer said, yes, there were TWO more and both in his size! Yes! So she and I set about scouring every single rack in that store. Nowhere to be found. Finally she asked the manager. The manager looked at the tag and said, "ohhh... This is from a mixed lot. So those two XL's could be anything from this brand. Not necessarily this jacket." Womp womp. So after wasting half my morning hunting for a mirage, I left empty handed. I had horsey time scheduled for the rest of the afternoon, but figured it was ok, I could head up to the mall after feeding dinner. Said mall is a 40 minute drive on a good day, but took a bit longer because it was pouring buckets, dark out, and very foggy. Got there around 7:30 giving me time to shop. I first stopped at the Nordstrom Rack next door, but the men's department had NOTHING. Not even sure why they bothered having one at all. So on I went to the mall where there is a real Nordstrom. They also had the tiniest of men's sections. The women get the entire second floor, and most of the first. The men share half the first floor with the kids. Ridiculous. I mean, I'm all for women's rights, but in the case of shopping for my male relatives, this is terrible!
Ok brain... what else might I find for Dad for his big birthday? Ah! This mall has a Louis Vuitton! I'll get him a belt! It's fine, he's worth it, and I love ramen noodles for every meal. Perfect! Except, now it's 8:05 pm, and apparently, despite the mall being open until 9, LV makes its own hours. They closed at 8. Son of a.....!!!!!!!!!! Ugh. Back to Nordstrom. A VERY nice (adorable) young man (he was probably the age of most of you bloggers, but much younger than I) was kind enough to try and help me. We talked about what dad likes, and basically he had the same thoughts as I did. There really wasn't anything there for him. So I decided to just get something small for him to open with an explanation of why I suck as a daughter and that his gift is in fact in the mail (which by 11 pm that evening it mostly was.) I wound up getting him a Vineyard Vines belt with the Giants logo on it. He liked it well enough, and said it was fine that the rest wasn't there yet, because he didn't mind postponing turning 70. (Always a jokester.)
I wound up ordering him a gorgeous (yet fairly casual) belt by Prada (but from Rue La La, because you can only eat so much Ramen) and a fun book. The book is personalized, so you tell them the birth date including the year that the recipient was born, and they make a book consisting of every New York Times front page from that date for each year the recipient has been on earth. My dad was born and raised in Brooklyn, so he'll definitely get a kick out of that. While I was hunting for the perfect gift online, I also found his father's day present, so at least I'm now ready ahead of time for SOMETHING!
Have you ever found yourself suddenly unprepared when you thought you had plenty of time? Did the universe kick you in the face too by making it impossible to find what you needed?

Thursday's Threads

This is the current situation up here...

Yeah that's ice.

It was 22 degrees when I left for work this morning with a feels like of 11, and everything is frozen over. But hey, at least it's not snow? They're saying 40's for next week though, so that could be exciting! Anyway, due to the cold, I needed to dress cozy today.

Ski sweater and fuzzy boots? Yep, that should do.

Sweater: Ralph Lauren

I love this throwback to the 80's! Kinda surprised it came from Ralph Lauren. I got this one last year on sale after the holidays. It's just cotton, but it's really thick. Definitely on my favorites list.

Belt: Sandy Duftler

I grabbed this Duftler belt for 70% off from a tack store going out of business awhile back. It only fits with certain pants so I don't get to wear it much. Fortunately, I later found the navy patent croc strap from Mane Jane, and that fits in all my pants. Phew. Crisis averted.

Jeans: AG Jeans

You guys just saw these a few weeks back. I got them in Florida last time when I was running out of clean clothes. And apparently too lazy to do laundry?

Boots: Nature Breeze

I discovered this brand on Zulily awhile back. They're definitely not a super high quality brand, but their pricing is in line with that. They do, however, have some really cute designs. I got these mostly for snowy days, but they're pretty decent on the ice too. I like that they look like work boots kinda.

Arm Party:
Lefty:

I decided to stick with the neon for today's accessories. As a child of the 80's (shut up, I know I'm old) I LOVE neon. Love it. Can't get enough. Anyway, I *think* this neon bracelet might have been from Marc Jacobs, but I'm not 100% on that. I got it from Loehmans.

Righty:

So much neon. The spikey one was from Forever 21. I think it came with a pink one too, but I didn't think to look for it this morning. The other three are cuffs from Bauble Bar.

And that's it for today. I'm hoping I may get to sit on a horse this weekend, but it's very weather dependent. But if I DO, I will share my riding outfit next week. Any favorites from today? What are you wearing?

What's Up Wednesday

It was a relatively unexciting week as far as horses go around here, but it was a super exciting week as far as getting new stuff goes! And I don't even feel all that guilty because I bought most of this stuff in November! Next week should be exciting too and also guilt free. Because next week my replacement Fama's should be here! THESE:

Photo credit to Fama 4 All

I can't even. If they're even half this amazing in real life... SO PRETTY!
But back to now...
Yesterday my Pioneer boots finally arrived! YAY! So you wanna see?? You've probably already seen some sneak peeks if you follow me on the Instagram. Unfortunately, I didn't get to play with them until late so the photos are crap. Maybe this weekend I can try and get some daytime pictures. Anyway, without further ado... I give you (some crappy photos of) The Vittorios (in navy):

I know. They look black in these photos. You'll just have to trust me that they're blue. So the top cuff part is patent, the outside of the leg is regular leather, and then the foot and inside leg is also patent. I kind of thought patent would be slippery, but I'm reading that it's very grippy. Guess we'll find out eventually, won't we? One thing I love on these is the natural colored heel. Not sure why I love those so much, but I really do.

And (some more terrible photos of) The Clios in Glitter Celebrity:

And a little photobomb by P!

So everything that looks black on these boots is actually black, and those parts are all patent. The outside leg panel is a glittery fabric. I was really curious what that would actually be like. I kind of thought it might be sort of plasticy or worse, be dropping glitter everywhere. But since it's more like a fabric, that doesn't seem like it will be a thing. They're actually pretty amazing despite being ridiculously over the top.  Whatever, I love glitter!

I can't do any sort of review currently since I'm not riding. But I would like to talk about the process a little really quickly, as well as how they fit.
After measuring myself twice for boots last year and kind of failing both times (the purple ones that are ridiculously short and the Fama's that I had to sell because the foot was three sizes too big), I was a little worried this time. I measured myself probably 12 times before sending in my info. The Connected Rider (the tack store I ordered through) supplied me with a measurement chart which really took a lot of the guess work away. I think my measurements were pretty spot on this time. The Connected Rider also reached out to me when I forgot to pick a rhinestone color for the Vittorio's and they also kept me up to date on how they were coming along if I checked in. Really great customer service! I think the were as excited as I was for the boots to arrive!
So let's talk fit. I was surprised that despite using one set of measurements for both pairs, they actually fit a tiny bit differently. That may simply be because they are slightly different styles. The Vittorio I think I could have added a little to the height. I'm always weary to do that because I hate them digging into the back of my knees. But the Spanish top is really high, so it won't be noticeable if they're a hair short. Other than the height, they fit me PERFECTLY. Like exact. I'm amazed. The Clio's seem to be a hair taller, and I think the height is exactly right on them. But the legs are a touch snug. I can get them zipped so I think they'll probably stretch a little anyway and be just fine. Plus, I'm hoping to lose a little of this winter weight, and that should also help. If it happens. I'm not good at such things. Anyway, overall I'm THRILLED with my new Pioneer boots. As far as wearing them around my house at least. We'll have to see when I can ride again how they are on a horse. Even if I hate riding in them, they'll look fab with jeans!

But that's not all that showed up this week... I fell victim to Amanda (from the900Facebookpony fame) AGAIN. I dunno what her deal is, but I think I've been brainwashed. I'm not supposed to be buying stuff! But also it didn't count because I used a gift card that was expiring soon anyway. I also failed to take photos of what I bought from Lux Eq through her, but I will tell you, and you can wander over to HER blog and see the photos. I got a pair of Iquip show gloves that are black with green piping and a quilted TS belt (Lol, I almost wrote girth there...) in a really pretty kind of sage green. And those showed up on Monday.

And then I accidentally went on Etsy. That's never good. I popped over to Sweet Billy's Bits because I was thinking about seeing if I could get a loose ring with brass rings for Rio's custom bridle (Those finally came too, but I'm saving their reveal for a bit since the boys haven't tried them on yet). Turns out, that was easy to do, and then I accidentally also got him a unicorn leather bit too. They came STUPID fast.

So yeah, it was a really good stuff week. I did a few other things besides open packages though... Let's see...
I spent a TON of time this weekend working on the closet. It's getting so much better! I'm almost done, and can't wait to schedule the veterans to come pick up all this stuff and get it OUT OF MY HOUSE! So much stuff. Has to go.
Some friends hosted their annual Chili cookoff, so that was fun. I don't really cook. Almost never honestly. So I didn't submit a dish, but I did taste ALL the different chilis. It's definitely not on my list of favorite foods, but I like it well enough to enjoy the tasting. It's so interesting how one dish can be done in so many different ways.

They take things really seriously. There's even a trophy for the winner! And cash prizes for first through third. Anyone wanting to vote donates $5 to the pot. And free hats for everyone!

This is the trophy. I love that it's a spoon!

I also spent some time making stuff.

It's really amazing to me how much time you can spend doing things like cleaning out your house or making things when you can't ride. The barn really is some kind of time warp/black hole.
And OF COURSE, I still managed to spend plenty of time with the tall kids. They had some nice groomies, and I let Rio have a turnout in the barn. Jamp doesn't understand why I don't let him do that. But the answer is because he gets too rude when you give him too many privileges.

Jampy didn't get a photo, but I swear he's not like the rotten step child or anything. I think my phone was charging when he was out for grooming.
And last but not least, if you follow me on instagram, you may remember I put this poll up:

I've been wanting a Boy O Boy Bridleworks belt FOREVER, and the ECEquestrian has a coupon code up for them! BOB doesn't really do sales or coupons, so I figured I need to jump on that while the jumping is good. But I could NOT decide on a pattern. Instead of being a grown up and making my own choice, I asked Instagram:

I'd really like to get collars and leashes for the dogs, and a couple lead ropes to keep in the trailer, but that's going to have to wait awhile. BOB is super pricey. From what I hear though, the quality is A+++ and being handmade, I think there's a reason for the cost. You DO get what you pay for. And seriously, I REALLY need to stop buying stuff for a LONG time now. I mean... you all saw what happened in the stock market right? Reel it in Stacie.
 So what's up with you guys? Have you been getting to ride? Any fun non riding events happening? What have you bought and or received lately new for riding (or just horsing around). Let's chat in the comments!

Truthful Tuesday

This is a funny one... So Friday evening I had plans to meet up with some long time friends to finally exchange holiday gifts and enjoy some delicious pizza at Otto. Otto is one of those trendy pizza places, and it's right in my town. Super tasty!
Anyway, we planned to meet there at 7. I was driving my truck because my driveway is a sheet of ice and no place at all for a car that is about ready for tires and only rear wheel drive. Due to driving said truck (aka The Boat), I couldn't park on the street. It was First Friday in town so it was packed full. Every first Friday of the month, the local shops and restaurants all stay open late and offer different discounts for the night. It's a fun promotion, and attracts a lot of people. It's less fun though when trying to dock the boat. So I parked at the post office which is a pretty short walk to Otto. Due to said walk, I was a couple of minutes late, so I sent a text to the friends. I didn't get a response, but figured I'd either see them in there or grab a table. Which is what I did. I sat for a couple minutes, got a water. And then thought it was odd for them to be late and not touch base. So I checked our email with the plans. Yeah... We're meeting up Friday the 9th!

Lol! I stayed and had dinner anyway, but relocated from my table for 4 to a seat at the counter. It was still delicious. My server and I had a good laugh about the whole thing. Apparently, someone else did the same thing earlier in the evening. I said, oh that's too bad, we could have eaten together! Funny thing is, I had plans to meet a different friend at the same place last night (which happened as planned, thank you very much...) and now I'll be back again Friday. That's a lot of pizza in the course of 8 days. And the same guy has been my server each time so far... He's going to think I'm stalking him.

Have you ever shown up at the right place but wrong time? Were you embarrassed? I totally wasn't, but do think it's hilarious!

Thursday's Threads

Outfit Day! Since I got to ride this weekend, I have another riding outfit to share! Though I have to be honest here, I think I'm having some kind of mid life crisis/nostalgia thing going on because I wore another Skidmore sweatshirt this weekend. Hey, at least it's a different one! We'll start with the riding outfit since it's not looking like we'll have one next week.

I was feeling a bit... fluffy this weekend. And therefore decided to base my outfit around the biggest, comfiest breeches I own. I think I was successful! Ha.

Helmet: Charles Owen AYR8

Yeah, I have not yet cleaned it like I noticed I needed to last week. Still a great helmet though! Even if it's dirty.

Sweatshirt: Skidmore College

During the great closet purge of 2018, I discovered this sweatshirt way in the back of the closet WITH THE TAGS STILL ON IT! Unacceptable. First off, I'm pretty sure I bought this at my 10th reunion which was in 2012. Secondly, it's the softest, comfiest thing I've ever touched and I don't know how or why I would let it get buried like that. It's definitely found it's rightful home in the FRONT of the closet. So sorry sweatshirt.

Belt: Swanky Saddle

I decided to tone down the green by matching my belt to my boots instead. I really love this belt from Swanky Saddle! I mean, it says LOVE right on it in my favorite motif!

Breeches: Horze

These are old, and you've definitely seen them before. As mentioned, they're one of my bigger pairs, though you wouldn't know that currently... (Someone needs to join the biggest loser contest at work.) I like them a lot, but they are starting to look pretty old.

Boots: TuffRider Regal

They really need no introduction. Do they?

So that's what I wore riding! I wish it was spring and I could actually get some leg back and wear some of my fun boots (none of which are full broken in yet...) But alas, it's just the start of February, and we have three snow storms in the weekly forecast. Boo. On that note, let's see what I wore to work today!

STARS! I think stars are having a moment. Before I started my spending freeze attempted to cut back on my shopping problem, I picked up a few pairs of jeans with stars on them. And then I found this sweater at Marshalls. I had zero intentions of pairing the star sweater with star pants, because that's like way too many stars. But upon searching for a boot cut jean in my closet, I stumbled across a very old pair... that happened to have stars on them. but just a few, so I think it's ok. More on them later.

Sweater: Marled

This sweater is nice and thick and super warm. Plus it's covered in adorable stars. What's not to love?

Belt: Louis Vuitton

While I DO have a belt with stars on it, it's purple which wasn't going to work with my shoes today. So I went with this simple LV belt that matches the sweater quite nicely.

Jeans: Rue 21

These are a total throwback Thursday piece. They're boot cut AND low rise. They had to be from sometime in mid 2000's? I don't even know. I can't believe I got into them. But the stars are super cute, and they look great with the sweater.

Shoes: Wild Diva Lounge

More stars! This time in rose gold. I think these would have worked better if they were silver, but alas, I didn't buy the silver ones. I bought the rose gold ones. But they're still super fun, and I think it's sort of working. Whatever, no one at my work is the fashion police anyway.

Arm Party!
Lefty:

I figured I'd wear my practice bracelet from the other day. No point just doing nothing with it! Clearly, I need more practice with these, but it has my boy's names on it, so it's cute. (Sorry for excluding you Badger, but I only had room for two.)

Righty:

Ha! You thought I wouldn't have a star bracelet. But I DO! It's adorable and sparkly too. The other is a beaded string bracelet I made years ago.

And that's it! Any favorites from today? What have you been wearing? Get anything new and exciting to add to your wardrobe lately?