Where did you get that?

Recently I have been looking for something that doesn't exist in the universe.  It is: a purse that easily holds my laptop, zips across the top, is not huge, has a cross body strap, has top handles as well, looks like a purse not a bag or a briefcase, is feminine, is reasonably priced (like under $150 - ha!), I can sleep in it if things go wrong for me, is black and brown in parts, and is pretty.

Bought this one on ebay from China and love it,
but a very complicated reason prevents it from working
with my laptop. Here it is on Ebay.

I have become obsessed with finding this Big Foot type purse.  I know it's out there - if I just look at twelve more sites or try a different search on ebay or quit my job and dedicate more time, I will find it.  And in truth I did find it, almost - if I want to compromise.  A $1,200 bag came close, but whatevs.  A $25 purse came close too, but it didn't zip across the top and was cute, not pretty, so if I am going to compromise with the zipper I can consider other pretty things I didn't consider before.  AND cut to me 2 am with blood shot eyes glaring at my ipad and rocking and back forth to self soothe, while Joe innocently sleeps next to me not knowing I may accidentally buy the wrong purse and the whole world will stop.

Currently holding on to this one.
It's not super sturdy and no zipper, but I like the it.
This is the "Big Buddha Cabana Shopper" from Macys.

So, one good thing that has come from this fixation is that I go up to women in public and ask where they got their purse!  I am not shy - I am a little shy actually, but I suck it up.  I have asked five different women so far about their purse and one even let me put hers on my arm and look at the measurements.


I know I could stare at their purse and then try and match it online with magic, or I could just ask them and save 32 hours.

So, now I ask people (really just women) about all kinds of stuff.  Their earrings, their comfortable work shoes, their blush color, their black ankle pants, etc.  It cuts down on tons of energy of wondering and looking. When you see something working in real life it is too good of an opportunity to pass up. It's a very Tired Girl thing to do. 

Returned this and I regret it. May re-purchase.
It's a Dooney and Bourke nylon "shopper.' 

I start with moving closer to them naturally - not bee-lining over to them.  I smile and then act surprised when I notice their purse or whatever. And then I continue to smile and say "Excuse me, I love your bag, do you mind telling me what brand it is."  They are caught off guard rightly so, and then we discuss their item, and then I thank them and tell them how I have been looking for something that size and style.  I usually say to " I need something hold my laptop, but is still pretty," so they don't think I just don't know how to use the internet and look for purses.

So far, everyone I have ever approached has been flattered, friendly and helpful.

In the end NOTHING is perfect - my mom told me that recently about something else and it was like I heard harp music. Nothing is perfect. I have purchased a few (many, many) bags and returned almost all. I have two I am holding on to right now, and I returned one and then almost asked my mom to go back and get it for me - I returned it to the Marshall's close to her. But then I found it on ebay for cheaper so I have that in my pocket too. And also it doesn't matter if I find the right bag because I may have to drop out of society anyway because I am like way preoccupied with this hunt. 

Currently own this and I love many aspects of it, but there are issues.
 Bought this at the Men's Coach Factory Store in Orlando.  
This looks less briefcasey and more cutesy in person.
Men's Tattersal Bleecker

Unfortunately, all the purses I have asked women in public about will not work for me for one reason or another.  So the search continues. 

I need help. If you know of a purse like this you have a moral responsibility to put me out of my misery and let me know.  

Tired Girl loose sense of time -

Tired Girls (mostly me) have a loose sense of time.  Me, specifically, am not perpetually late, but rather time has little meaning when it comes to accomplishing things.  I get an invite in the mail to attend a party.  I want to attend and think "Yay fun! I will RSVP tomorrow."  Three weeks go by and I realize it's two days till the party and I am just now getting around to RSVPing. Bleh.  "I'll call her back" will happen in about 2 weeks.  "I will write a thank you note" - one month. I started
reading a book last night that I "just bought" two years ago.  It took me two years as well to get around to trying out a recipe for pumpkin cheesecake - and I felt super proud of myself for doing it then!

An 8 second clip that always makes me laugh (and one of my favorite movie quotes) - from the movie "I Heart Huckabee" - I feel like this guy:



I could give you a list of like 23 things that this Tired Girl time problem affects.  The frustrating part is that I don't want to hurt people's feeling and sometimes this happens - my good intentions and suspended time frame don't always mix.

It is important to be really nice to people anyway (unless they are jerks and then that is a whole other issue), and especially for this purpose.  When you text your BFF back five days later it's important that she knows you love her. I write about the importance of Tired Girls being nice here.

I do not have any solution or explanation to lack of time sense.  Why does three months feel like "right away"? I don't know.  

Should you shave your legs?

This is not new, but I love it. 

Juice bitch -

I was trying to make juice sound interesting so I added "bitch" to the end of it.  
The idea of making fresh vegetable and fruit juice every day is not a very Tired Girl activity at first glance.  But I want the good life, so I have to strive for things dammit.

Joe and I bought a centrifugal juicer years back and used it sometimes.  We loved the actual juice, but the whole process was ridiculous.  The work did not outweigh the juice and there was so much waste.  We sold our juicer in our garage sale and decided to try the masticating juicer instead. We did lots of research (e.g. I read about them on Amazon and Joe watched you tube videos comparing them) and then we headed to the Macy's Labor Day Sale.

This is what ours looks like. It seems to be cheaper on amazon
right now; we got ours super on sale at Macy's. 

I have a lot I can say about this so I will try and streamline it. 

The masticating juicer in short: 
 - requires WAY less clean up
 - is more expensive 
 - the juice produced can be kept for a week in your fridge
- way easier to juice kale
- just better  



The other (centrifugal) juicer is obviously: 
- less expensive
- horrible to clean up (in my Tired Girl opinion), 
- freaks me out with it's super sharp parts 
-  and the juice is only good for that day (for complicated sciencey reasons I won't go in to).

Our new masticating juicer is our new favorite family member. We have been meaning to watch the documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead," but have been too busy living the juicing dream to watch movies (that is a lie).  We are not on a juice diet or a juice fast.  We eat food like normal humans.  This doesn't seem to be a blip for us - something fun to spend our energy on to pretend we are healthy until we get bored with it.  We seem to actually like it. 

Here are a few other things about it:

- I think it requires a smidge of planning - just like any other meal.

This is the centrifugal juicer we had. We had
never heard of the masticating juicer when we
bought this. We liked it at first and bought one
for my parents. The masticating one is much
better for Tired Girls.

- We still eat actual fruits and vegetables, but veggie juice tastes good and it feel likes you just drank a rainbow. We have simply added juice to our diet not replacing it with good eating.
- We still eat junk food - this isn't like a whole life THING - we are still normal people (did I already say this? Dammit we are NORMAL).
- For me it's all about kale - I couldn't sit down and eat two or three cups of kale a day, but I can juice it, mix it with carrot juice and guzzle it down, and get something good in the process.
- I hesitate to say this because it sounds goofballs, but I feel like drinking juice like this makes me feel a teeniny bit less tired.  

In my next juice post (because this one is too long already) I will discuss:
- Juicing for Tired Girls
- My favorite juice recipes
- How the heck to use kale

yum, unless this grosses you out, and then never mind

It's okay to be a girl -

Food porn, I guess, is photos of yummy food - right? I don't really love that saying for whatever reason, but I think that this site I came across, is fashion porn. Or porn for your eyes - maybe that is what regular porn is actually.   Anyway, whatever -  I came across this photo blog and went ahead and wasted about four hours (in separate increments) this week. I could have read a whole book, or worked out a lot, or something. 

Instead I just scrolled and scrolled and scrolled through this site. Which, though I understand is kind of a waste, it's still going to keep happening. 

there's me, just blogging in sequins

These girls make me want to wear lipstick - not in the amount and in the colors that they do so casually, but maybe some. These girls make it okay to be a girl - like all things girly are worth posting and looking at - just for the beauty of it -  AND though my life doesn't regularly call for this amount of fashion in one outfit, I think it's like the idea of the fashion we see at Fashion Week, in magazines, and from Rihana. 

Of course, we girls, are not going to wear a tartan plaid men's suit and hot pink heels to work.  But, we will add a little more hot pink and a little more plaid to our wardrobe. That's the take away - as I understand it - from the catwalk. 

I actually will copy this exact outfit - it does entail a sweatshirt.

So this super beautiful site does that for me - it inspires me to be a little more of something around my home and on my body. 

Enjoy.  Hope you make it in to work tomorrow and aren't found by your children with your hand cramped and eyes glazed in the living room looking at this site instead. I feel like I have already said too much and maybe ruined this fun site. 

Here it is:

Southern Charm

Also, if you click on the photo you like on the site, there will be photo info - brands, sites, etc.

sure

I'll wear this tomorrow.

And I'll wear this the next day, and I am seriously going to buy some leopard flats.

And this can be my kid.

okay, yeah

And I'll live here.

 Anyone else have a site that makes them want to call in sick to work? 

Profile of a Tired Girl - JENNY!

So I have reached out to some real Tired Girls that I know. I thought it would be fun to see inside the world of other Tired Girls who want the Good Life.  Our first profile is from Jenny.  I know her in real life and she is the perfect two-sided woman - she is truly and seriously a Tired Girl AND she strives and achieves the Good Life. And she makes me laugh.  Here is our first Tired Girl Profile:  

First name: Jenny

Tired Girl product(s) recommendation:  Gotta admit I’m not a big product girl. That being said, here are a few items for which I could be forced to muster some excitement:

 - Yesto Carrots Daily Cream Facial Cleanser: I like the Yes to Carrots cleanser because it’s gentle, paraben/SLS/phtalate-free, and most importantly, does not make my skin freak out like just about everything other cleanser out there.  I’m sure I’d love some of the fancier cleansers, but my wallet disagrees. The only reason I even discovered this stuff was because it had a “Manager’s Special” sticker on it in a big bin of miscellaneous personal beauty products at the end of the cereal aisle at the grocery. So, you know, it’s accessible.

Here they are on amazon

 - Thayer’sWitch Hazel Astringent Pads: Let me begin by saying, yes, I’m the famous genius who recommended that Carrie use witch hazel to reduce puffiness. On recommendation of a friend, I tried it out as a toner after washing my face and loved it! I’d recommend that if you are a particularly Tired Girl, you should get these pre-soaked pads. I use the pads to reduce puffiness, remove make-up, or just because it makes my skin feel like I did something to it.

 - Trader Joe’s Vitamin E Oil: Yeah, it’s oily. Use it sparingly. But you will not find a more hydrating product than straight up Vitamin E Oil. 

 - YerbaPrima Skin Brush: Did this just get weird? Does anyone else out there brush their skin? No? Okay, nevermind.

Least favorite chore and how you work around it: Laundry. 1,000 times, laundry. I “work around it” by going about my life doing other things while it sits in a pile on the dining table. Frankly, it should be thanking me that I got it that far.

Seriously, I don’t know a work-around for laundry. Someone tell me. All I can think of is that I should get rid of all of our clothes.

Favorite non-tired activity: Hiking. Reading. Sewing. Yoga. Running around with my boys. Playing guitar. Actually, those all sound tired, don’t they?

Your go-to most tired dinner (take-out doesn’t count because as we know that is our MOST most most favorite): The current favorite easy meal around here is good ol’ beans and rice. Sometimes I add salsa to the rice for cooking. For the beans, I just heat some minced garlic in olive oil, then add black beans and cumin and let them simmer. Then I get really fancy by throwing a couple of frozen Trader Joe’s Naan pieces in the oven for 5 minutes. Makes the whole family happy!  

What is your most Tired Girl comfy uniform:  My dark skinny jeans, faded brown ankle boots, button up plaid shirt. Faaaancy!

Your most tired work outfit (whether your work is away from home or at home: Uh, see “comfy uniform” question. I dress this up by swapping the boots for red wedges, button-up shirt for silky black tank, add long necklace and lipstick. And, you know, pull my hair out of a bun. ;)

Biggest Tired Girl splurge: We recently splurged on a Keurig coffee maker. I thought this would make morning coffee much more interesting and fun, but actually I find myself spending MORE time on the coffee making and cleaning process.  A.) The K-cups are expensive, and I haven’t found one that I love, so we end up mostly just using our own coffee in the reusable filter. B.) When we DO use K-cups, my conscience won’t let me just throw them away, so I have to disassemble them to separate them for recycling.  I miss the regular coffee pot.

Current toenail color: Burgundy

Tired Girl philosophy: Be nice. 

I will not hold her appreciation for skinny jeans against her.  She also sent me an awesome tip for a future Tired Girl post.  

Tissue Tassel Garland for Tired Girls -

I like to know what’s going on in the world. Sometimes that means knowing about boring and important things, like a change in flood insurance in Florida, and luckily it sometimes means knowing that, apparently, zippers on things are super in style right now. Especially if it’s a zipper that serves no purpose.

It may have all started with this company -
I have no idea  - I don't know why I said that-
their site seems official (expensive).   Confetti System link

When I traveled this fall I saw and loved these tassel garlands, and eventually looked them up. They are apparently popular everywhere in the world except my own house, because I didn't know they existed until recently.

So in my effort to still have the Good Life, regardless of fatigue, I am going to show you these things - (just in case you didn't know about them either) so you can look brilliant at a party when the flood insurance conversation wanes. I don’t know what parties you go to, but at mine, flood insurance chat quickly turns to trends in tissue paper.

If you google search "tissue tassel garland" your computer will explode, maybe.
If you type in tissue tassel garland to etsy.com you accidentally spend like $63.  There are a lot of choices on etsy.  You will need to take a half day from work just to look at them all. 

GlamFeteByBri

Two things I love about these things:
1) They serve no purpose except to be fun.
2) The unique and beautiful color choices that are created.

Because there are so many creative people making and selling these on etsy it was hard to choose whose photos to share - because I haven't actually made and photographed any of these myself. 




Here are some photos from the shop GlamFeteByBri

GlamFeteByBri

GlamFeteByBri

Here’s a quick how to also, if you feel so inclined to make instead of purchase. In six years, when they are out of style, I will get around to making a set myself, just to solidify my ability to always be two steps behind.

HGTV DIY Tissue Tassel Garland. 

You don't have to be getting married or having a baby to use these I think.
You can just string one up because it's Tuesday. Source

There are a batrillion blog sites that show how to do this too. I just couldn't pick one so I chose none.  

Anyone make a string of these?