Sipping Starbucks: An Exploratory Session featuring Rayla and Brittany: Brittany's Challenge

Topic: Since Brittany is my unpaid stylist, I had her try and pick out an outfit that she thinks I would love and look good in, then I would see if she passed or failed.

First off, her are the pictures of the outfit that she thinks I will look good in:

A ring

A bracelet

The adorable sandals

A cute top

And to finish it off, the jeans

Here is her explanation:

I think this outfit would be perfect for you for spring/summer. I know you aren't too big of a fan of heels, but these wedges will be comfy and easy to walk in all day. I would looooooove to get you into a pair of Seven's or Joe's, but I have a strange feeling I never will =p Anyway, the cut of these jeans are perfect for your body type and will look great with the shoes. They're also the perfect wash for the tone of the top. The top is pretty and feminine, perfect for a young wife such as yourself and has just a touch of purple, purely for your sanity. The accessories add a rustic and classy touch and could be worn with pretty much anything. If you had long hair I would suggest big, beachy waves, but I think your short/straight hair would also look perfect, maybe pin some of the layers around your face back. Makeup: put a little blush on your cheeks, a touch of eyeliner, smudged a little bit, super light/peachy eye shadow and a soft pink/nude lip color and you're set!! ♥

Here is my reaction:

I love the jeans. We will ignore the fact that they are $165, since I'm not actually going to buy this outfit. We will just need to kind jeans that look exactly like that for cheaper because I love them.
The top is also cute, but I think Brittany would actually have to be shopping with me to make me try it on. (And Brittany? The top isn't purple, it says it's brown on the website, but it does look more mauve-ish). So I think I would wear a shirt like this, but not this particular one.
The sandals are adorable. However, I cannot walk in heels like that. My knees would be killing me. If they were about two inches shorter I would probably buy them right now, but they are just way too tall for me.
I also like the accessories, but I do prefer silver over brassy or gold colors. And I'm not a huge fan of bracelets, they just seem to get in the way all the time, so you might have to force me to wear it, but it's definitely my style. Love the ring, too, but wish it was more silver-y.

Anyways, you will be proud to know that Brittany definitely passed! This outfit is definitely my style, and while there are some things I would change, I love the idea of this outfit! Can't wait to have more money so I can buy new clothes like this :)

Inception

Last night, Matt and I watched Inception for the first time via Netflix DVD. We were both looking forward to watching it, since we had heard only good things about it. Well, Matt didn't even finish watching the movie. I did, but probably came out of it just as confused as Matt. We do not usually agree on movies, so I guess that's one positive out of this experience! Maybe both of our brains aren't tuned to understand science fiction, but I don't think a movie should be that confusing that you have to watch it twice. And the whole dream within a dream times five? I can't figure out if that's pure genius or just lazy writing or the writer just had no idea how to edit all the ideas in his head. On this movie, Matt and I are both giving it zero stars. Or maybe one star, for nice try. A for effort, right?

Sipping Starbucks: An Exploratory Session featuring Rayla and Brittany: Least Favorite Dog Breeds

Topic: Rayla wants me to explain to y'alls y'all (gotta practice my Southern speech, y'all is singular, y'alls y'all is when you are talking to multiple people) my 3 least favorite dog breeds.

On a random first side note, I would like to say that today I am not sipping Starbucks, but Peet's Coffee French Roast. It is actually more expensive than Starbucks, but since Matt gave up coffee for Lent, I thought I would spend the extra money and buy some awesome coffee since it will last longer with only one person drinking it. Peet's is a really good coffee and doesn't have the burnt taste that Starbucks can have, so I love it. With a little bit of half-n-half, it is quite delectable.

On a second not so random side note, I hope none of you actually own one of my least favorite dog breeds, and if you do, I apologize and will give your dog all the chance in the world. My decisions are based mostly on looks, and only partly on experience, having never owned a dog but seeing them daily at my job.

Ok. Onto the list. Least Favorite Dog Number 1: Komondor



Ok, I'm sorry, but if your dog looks like this and you like it, I think you're weird. I could never, EVER own a dog that would take this much effort to take care of. Besides, it just looks kind of ridiculous. And I understand that you can keep the coat shorter, but just knowing that my dog should look like this, how dumb. If I'm going to get a dog, it's not going to look like the item I clean my floor with.

Least Favorite Dog Number 2: Chinese Crested



Need I say more? I mean, really. This dog has a poof on it's head and it's ankles. It's almost as bad as a poodle, but at least the poodle has hair and it's the owners that take it away. This dog can't blame this on their owners. And I can't imagine cuddling a dog that doesn't have hair. A dog is just supposed to have hair. I know this kept them from getting fleas and stuff on the boats back in the olden days, but this is just bad. Poor hairless dog. And it's a small dog. Which is not something I can usually forgive unless it's a Shih Tzu. Those are good dogs.

Least Favorite Number 3: Chihuahuas (Mostly this goes to generic Little Dogs, but I especially dislike Chihuahuas)



So like I said earlier, I usually cannot stand little dogs. I'm sorry, but dogs that are smaller than my late rabbit Benji should just not be called dogs. My dad affectionately calls them "punter dogs," since you can totally practice your field goals with them. In my experience, the little dogs are the most annoying. People don't house break them and they bark at everything. EVERYTHING. And some women carry them around in their purses and think they can take them everywhere. No. I do not agree. The only little dogs I do consistently like are Shih Tzus. They are normally pretty calm and aren't annoying and fairly easy to housebreak.

But back to Chihuahuas. I have met only a handful of them that don't shake ALL THE TIME. Or bark. Or are being carried around and pampered more than something that annoying should be pampered. And their little buggy eyes are CREEPY. So creepy. That makes them not cute. Also, real dogs don't need sweaters to keep them warm. I am a cat person more so than a dog person and dogs should just never be smaller than any cat I shall own in the future. Oh, excuse me, cats that I take care of. Cats don't have owners.

Matt and I are currently getting ready to have a dog once we move to Mississippi, and we keep going back and forth on what kind of dog to get. I can tell you with 100% certainty, however, that we will never own a mop dog, a small hairless dog, or a small annoying shaking barking dog.

Sipping Starbucks: An Exploratory Session featuring Rayla and Brittany: Jogging

Topic: Do something Portland-y

Brittany asked me to do something that is “Portland-esque” and chronicle the experience. There are many unique, Portland-y things to do around here, including Multunomah Falls, visit Powell’s , or shop at a farmer’s market. I would have been more than happy to do any of these relatively low-impact activities, but since Matt is gone and I only feel comfortable driving to Fred Meyer, the laundry mat, and work by myself, this limited my possible activities. So what did I come up with? I decided to go for a jog. While this is not a Portland exclusive thing, Portland is known for its outdoorsy people. And hey, only Portland would think it’s a good idea to have a relay race starting halfway up Mt. Hood and continuing all the way to the Pacific Ocean. And, as it turns out, it was raining (WHOA!), so I ran in the rain, which I would say definitely qualifies being Portland-esque.

On to the experience. Let me be clear. I HATE running (well, in my case, jogging, but same thing, really). I HATE it. Everything about it. Especially if I am doing it outside on the concrete. There is no “runners high” for me. It’s more like a “Sara why the heck did you do this to yourself hate.” But because it was the only thing I could come up with, and let’s face it, I need to do more exercise, I found myself heading out into the rain for a jog.

Let me explain why I hate running so much. I have a lot going against me. I have patella femoral syndrome, which means my quad muscles don’t hold my patella in place and it can slide around grinding away at bone cartilage. Yay. I also have extremely high arches and run flat footed, which causes all kinds of shin and calf pain. I have tried adjusting my stride so I’m not running flat footed, but nothing has worked. Give an elliptical machine- or an inside track like UI’s rec center- any day of the week so my knees can forgive me.

I didn’t try to make any world records today, I just decided a nice mile or so would be good for my first run in, oh, five months. Unfortunately, I managed to find a road that took me down from the bluff to the river level. I had no idea at the time how long this road would be, but I thought it would be a nice workout to run both down and uphill. Yeah, bad decision. This road went about a quarter mile or so downhill. Shockingly, the only way to get back up a bluff is to run back uphill. Fun times.

As bad as the run was, while I was running a few errands this morning, I just so happened to buy a Starbucks. This is also a Portlandy thing do to that I enjoy eons more than running, so I at least got to do that! And while I write this, I am enjoying a Widmer Hefeweizen (with lemon, of course), which was brewed about five miles from my current position. I’m leading quite the Portland lifestyle today!

"Sipping Starbucks: An Exploratory Session featuring Rayla and Brittany"

This week's topic: Brittany wants to know my opinion on hippies

First off, I would like to explain that there are three types of people in Portland: the Normal People, who are the definite minority, the Hippies, of which there are two subspecies, and the Weird people. The Weird People can more accurately be described as the “people who have spiked or unnaturally colored hair and wear trench coats, but they’re not emo, are usually smoking pot, and have hippie-ish qualities but are even weirder than hippies and only know how to socialize with themselves, and can become violent when in the presence of another group of Weird People that don’t vibe with their particular weirdness.” You know, those people. Even the hippies avoid them and goodness knows Normal People do.

But I digress. Back to hippies. As I mentioned, Hippies belong in one of two subspecies: Normal Hippies and Weird Hippies, aka Portland Hippies. Normal Hippies might seem like an oxymoron, but let me assure you, it is not. Normal Hippies are what most people think of when they think of hippie. They are definitely hippies, but can and do socialize with normal people. Sure, they know an awful lot about organic foods, and might be wearing organic cotton clothing that is landfill friendly, but they can still function normally. Sure, they look weird, but at least they act normal, except with the occasional pot smoking (but I guess that’s also normal for Normal People). Also, if they own a car (most own bicycles), it will be one of the following: a Prius, a Subaru Outback with an Obama sticker on it, or a small car that is 25+ years.

This brings us to the Portland Hippies. These are the extreme version of the Normal Hippies. They are stoked up on all kinds of drugs and usually great you with “Hey, man,” but generally they don’t socialize with Normal people. Their hair hasn’t been washed in years and their clothing is some kind of cross between Normal Hippies and skaters. Weird Hippies cannot socialize with Normal People at all and are only ever surrounded with other Weird Hippies. They are mostly harmless, but somehow have this ability to make themselves look really, really scary. Do not leave me along with these guys, EVER.

So what is my opinion of hippies? I try not to judge, but I can’t help thinking that they are weird. Normal Hippies are fine, and can actually be quite hilarious, so I would be happy to have some Normal Hippie friends. Don’t ever introduce me to Weird Hippies, though. Those guys are seriously scary. And quite possibly have lice.

"Sipping Starbucks"

So for the lack of stuff to do, I have decided to start a weekly "column" on my blog so I have something to look forward to every week. The idea of this column is to feature my sisters, Rayla and Brittany. They are to come up with something for me to write about every week and I have to do it, no matter what. It can be to give my opinion on a picture, or research some urban word I do not know, or do a truth or dare, or anything else they might come up with.

I have decided to call this session "Sipping Starbucks: An Exploratory Session featuring Rayla and Brittany," which is a combo of the title that Rayla and Brittany came up with. Even though I have set this column to appear on Wednesdays, I am posting a pilot session today (again, because I had nothing to do). I hope you enjoy my explanations of the sister's topics!

Second Cousin Coming!

So shout out to my cousin Emily, who is expecting her first baby with her husband! I know she doesn't read this, but that's ok. Her baby is due on my dad's birthday! I probably won't be seeing the new baby anytime soon, but I look forward to being a second cousin in spirit!