My Plan for the Weekend

Well other than working and seeing the boy, here is my current dilemma:

What my closet looks like now:

What it will look like after Monday:

So this isn’t entirely true.  My closet is actually more similar to the end goal, just a bit disorganized (I’m way too organized to just throw things wherever).  My current problem is that I’m not quite sure what all I have and I think I need to go through things and find a better way to organize them.

I realized this when I fell in love with these:

But, I have tons of jewelry I never wear!  It’s all compacted in a carrying case, so I never see it.  So I think my real goal here is to figure out what I have and make use of that before I go out and buy a bunch of new pieces.

TSM Thursday 2012 Number Sixteen

Always matching your koozie to your outfit. TSM.   True story.  I have a purple koozie that I got from one of the bars in town, and it may be my favorite.  I always bring it to the Rockies games because it’s purple.

Real women wear lipstick. TSM.  I just really think lipstick really pulls the face together and brightens the lips more than a gloss would.  There are times when I don’t wear lipstick, but that’s mostly during camp because it’s unnecessary.

Getting seriously offended when a GDI calls a delta a triangle. TSM.  It’s not just for Greek letter organizations.  It’s in your science classes.  Figure it out.

Noting your position in your sorority as a “most meaningful experience” for medical school applications. TSM.   I always talk about the invaluable experiences I received from my sorority on job applications.  Plenty of sorority related things are applicable to the working world.

Being complimented on your eyelashes. TSM.  This happens to me a lot.  My eyelashes are absolutely real, too.

TSM Thursday 2012 Number Twelve

On the pursuit of preppiness. TSM.  This is one of my mantras.  Live it, love it.

That feeling you get when your favorite frat star gives you the power point before he wins his 8th straight game of pong. TSM.  Whenever I partied with Colin, he loved doing this.  To be honest, I accepted this power point with a bit of chagrin because he promised I could play after he lost…

Choosing Derby hats and mint juleps over sombreros and margaritas. TSM.  I kept repeating this last Saturday, despite eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant.  I told everyone “Today we are celebrating the Kentucky Derby” and I made sure to wear an adorable sundress to prove my point.  I couldn’t find a hat through.  I was so disappointed.

“Enforcing strict standards of dress is essential for maintaining the decorum of any event.” -Blair Waldorf. TSM.  I think this is especially poignant given that “decorum” was the buzzword Larissa and I used in San Antonio.

Sending a screen shot of your texts with the boy to a sister for the perfect response. TSM.  I still do this sometimes because often, you are too close to the situation to give the perfect response.  It’s like not editing your own papers because you’ll miss silly mistakes because you know what it ought to say.

TSM Thursday 2012 Number Eleven

Welcome back to TSM Thursday!  A nice break from our Best of Help! I’m Post-Grad… as it’s all new content in a week of highlights.  Enjoy!

I’d be more modest if I wasn’t so fabulous. TSM.  I routinely shrug when people compliment me on my awesomeness.  Don’t you worry, I know.

My fratdaddy is the sweetest asshole I’ve ever met. TSM.  I’m pretty sure this is the perfect descriptor to Evan.  For being a self-proclaimed asshole, he was always nice to me.

Do I really have to graduate or can I just stay here for the rest of my life? TSM.  I used to tell Erika that I would win the lottery and buy every available house at the alma mater so that everyone could just stay there instead of graduating.

The term “walking distance” varies depending on which heels you’re wearing. TSM.  This is so true.  If you’re wearing four-inch heels, walking distance might be the bar next door.

The ability to look hot while wearing a fanny pack, norts, and a snapback. TSM. When the cooler was drying from a primer coat, I was sitting outside with it while wearing a frat tank and norts.  A couple of men passed by and gave me a double take.  I’m just that awesome.

TSM Thursday 2012 Number Ten

If you can’t spell Lilly Pulitzer you definitely shouldn’t be allowed to wear it. TSM.  This bugs me.  Steph has a Burberry bag she bought second-hand.  When she first got it, I was like “Ooh, cute Burberry bag.”  And she responded with, “It’s a what?”  Why can’t I ever find nice things serendipitously like that?

That terrifying moment when you realize you’re now at the top of the totem pole in fam pictures. TSM.   Terrifying.  Although technically if you’re a totem pole, you should be on the bottom, because you’re the foundation.  But I digress here…

Sure, accents are sexy. But guys who love America are sexier. TSM.   This is where Larissa and I differ.  She talks about while she was in Ireland a couple of years ago and on the rebound, “I didn’t know if all the men around me were really cute or just had hot accents.  It was troubling.”  Meanwhile, I can’t say the same.  Sure maybe an accent is sexy.  But I’d go for a Southern accent over a British accent any day.

The ever-present conflict of wearing your cute shoes out and knowing they’ll probably get ruined. TSM.   I trip all the time, so sometimes I feel like my shoes would be safer if they stayed home in their boxes.  My poor shoes.

Buying the Olympics themed laundry detergent because it has the American flag on it. TSM.  On Monday, I decided it was time for a new swim suit.  I found an American flag swimsuit and I fell in love.  Now it is mine.

TSM Thursday 2012 Number Nine

I “love” ALL of my sisters, but I LOVEEEEEE a select few of them. TSM  I’ve often been asked how I can love all my sisters.  That’s what sisterhood is.  You love everyone.  You would drop anything to help and be there for any of them at a moment’s notice.  That being said, while I love all of them, there are only a few I truly do LOOOVEEEE and that’s a much deeper bond.

I have enough credits to graduate in 3 years, but why would anyone want to? TSM.  Both Lilac and Stacey graduated early (two and three years, respectively).  It was a widely known fact that I also had enough credits to graduate early, even after switching my major.  Everyone asked why I didn’t and I always told them “College is about more than the classes you take and I have a year left to continue the experience.”

 When you go out to dinner and the alcohol bill is triple the amount of the food bill. TSM.  This is pretty much par for the course.  One of my friends once said “I have an allocated entertainment budget, but I could really replace ‘entertainment’ with ‘drinking’ and it would still be fairly accurate.  But for some reason, people aren’t fond of the idea of a drinking budget….”

That feeling of rage when you chip your manicure. TSM.   When I went to Allie’s wedding in California, I was trying to get my suitcase from the luggage carousel and I politely asked the people around me to move out of the way.  When they wouldn’t, I tried to grab my suitcase quickly, but it ended up snapping my manicure in the process.  I about died and bawled hysterically.  Thankfully, I managed to at least sort of fix the two nails in question before the bridal shower that same day.

My bridal party was finalized at Big/Little reveal, so my husband isn’t allowed to have sisters. TSM.   This is fairly accurate.  The other half was finalized in my K-12 schooling.  All I have to say is that my husband had better have several fraternity brothers that he likes.

A Return to Costumes: DIY Heaven and Hell Party Costumes for Men

I get a surprising number of hits for my Heaven and Hell costumes still (Angels and Devils).  And a high number of queries about male costumes for said parties.  I briefly glossed over male outfits, but realized I probably should have gone into a bit more detail.

I will start off by saying that I am no expert on dressing men for costume parties, but in my experience, there are only three qualifications for men to dress up for these parties, in general.

1.  Easy.  If there was ever a theme party where my friends could just pull something out of their closet, they would dress to the nines for it.  That’s why Pi Kapp’s Cancun party was their staple.  Every guy could look in their closet and say “Well, I have swim trunks.”  Done. Easy.

2.  Comfortable.  No masks.  Nothing too cumbersome.  Nothing too elaborate (usually).  Comfort and ease were the two biggest determining factors in any costume my friends picked.

3.  Hilarious.  If they happened to come up with something more than the equivalent of throwing on a pair of swim trunks, it had to be hilarious.  I was once told that Halloween is for girls to be sexy and guys to be funny.  Theme parties follow the same principle.

The fourth factor was whether or not it was one of their staple parties.  If this was the party the fraternity was generally known for, then a good number of the guys tended to go all out (generally a reason SAE conveniently scheduled their Pirate Party in late September).  Heaven and Hell happened to be Sig Ep’s Fall staple party and it was usually held in late November.

Here are a few of the more “hilarious” costumes my friends came up with:

Hell’s Angels

Let’s examine the factors here.  Is it easy?  Find a leather jacket and throw on jeans.  Anyone own a bandana?  Yes.  Is it comfortable?  Until you get too hot in the basement, sure.  Perfect excuse to invite girls upstairs for shots.  Is it hilarious?  The cleverness associated with picking this costume for the theme aside, you tell me…  Perfect.

Jesus

No one should find this surprising at all.  Easy, comfortable (one of my friends once told me he was free balling in his costume), hilarious.  Done.

80’s Hairband named “Heaven’s Devils”

So this was the year some of my friends decided to dress up as a metal band for Halloween…  I imagine you can guess where the costumes came from for the party then.

“Devil of a good time!”

I’m about to show my age, I think…  So there was this song called “Dick in a Box” my freshman year…  Having debuted after the party, one of my friends showed up the next year with a box inscribed “A Devil of a good time!”  Pretty much like this with writing on it.

Those were my favorites, but I had a few friends dress up as Satan and one friend dress up as Gene Simmons once too.

 

So to all those guys that were scouring the internet for ideas, apparently I am the foremost expert on the subject.  So from now on, just remember to stand by your principles of costuming (easy, comfortable, hilarious), and you’ll be fine.

If you’re really in doubt, I’m sure your closet has a white or red shirt in it that you can wear.

TSM Thursday 2012 Number Eight

Babysat for my favorite alumna. Her daughter will only fall asleep to recruitment songs. TSM.   There is one song in our initiation ritual that I always sang when Stacey wanted me to tuck her in.  It’s probably my favorite, but I always thought it would make a perfect lullaby.

Planning an entire outfit around a particular bow. TSM.   I do this sometimes with accessories.  I’ll have an outfit and then realize that I wanted to wear brown shoes or carry a navy purse or wear bright pink jewelry or a giant purple bow and then I get frustrated and go through all of my stuff to find a new outfit.

That feeling of relief when you go from 6-inch heels to Sperrys. TSM.   Oh my goodness, so nice.  I really miss my sperrys and I need to replace them soon.

“Hi. I’m her Big.” TSM.   I do this to Lilac and Stacey all the time., “and this is my Little, [name}.”  Stacey gets excited about it, still.  Lilac rolls her eyes at me.  She’s told me before to stop doing it and yet, sometimes, I still do it out of habit.  It’s bad.

Willing a fraternity in your senior will. TSM.   I did this my senior year, actually.  I was friends with pretty much every member of APD, minus a few of their freshmen (and you’ll have to forgive me for this, because I was a senior at the time).  So I wanted to make sure that someone still hung out with them when I left (even though I’m actually still friends with my closest friends in the house).  So when I was graduating, I left them to my friend Jamie a grade below.  “Jamie, Stay sassy and classy.  I leave you my APD boys.  Take care of them.  They know not what they do.”

TSM Thursday 2012 Number Seven

And we’re back, TSM Thursday time.

Being excited for Easter mostly because it forces the rest of the world to conform to your joyful, sunny, pastel ideal just a little. TSM.  I adore Easter for that reason, except this year I work all day (both jobs), so I don’t even get to put on a frilly sundress for even a little bit.  I think I’ll go buy pastel ribbon or something.  But I was verbally scolded by both Steph and Larissa for searching for a purple and black sundress for opening day.  Baseball is a perfect sundress sport.  You’re outside the whole time.

My hair looks too good for this night to be over. TSM.   Sometimes this happens to me and I always find something else to do.  I’m just awesome like that.

“Though we adore men individually, we agree that as a group, they’re rather stupid.” TSM.   I haven’t a comment for this except to note Rich’s continuing weirdness…  It’s extremely frustrating.  Also why is he checking in at every gym he goes to today?  It’s been an hour and he’s been to six…  He’s gotta be watching Sports Center on his couch and pretending to be productive.

April showers bring…really, really cute rainboots. TSM.   They do!  It snowed on Tuesday, so I got to break my rainboots out again after an uncharacteristically warm March.

Having my little do my hair while I type a paper. TSM.  My senior year fall formal, I had a paper due that evening, so I was finishing it up while my grandlittle, Kirby, curled and styled my hair.  I am pretty much fantastic, don’t you know?

TSM Thursday Number Eight

And we’re back!  Let’s look at this week’s TSM posts.

5 nights of Halloween, 5 different group costumes. TSM.  Not group costumes per se, but I will wear a different costume each day.  Because I’m awesome, mostly.  Wait for it.  It will be great.

Bringing 5 pairs of shoes home for a 2 day weekend. I need options. TSM.  If you’ve been with us long enough, you remember that I suffer from over-packing syndrome for this exact reason.  You can actually read about it here.

Feeling closer to your sorority sisters rather than your actual family members. TSM.  My momma always used to get annoyed when it was about time to head back to college and I would say “I can’t wait to go back home.”  These things happen…

Looking extra cute when you’re having a bad day makes everything better. TSM.  I always try to look cute every day because it makes me happy.  And I feel like when you’re happy, the day just goes better for you.

PFD: Potential Formal Date. TSM.  It takes a lot to narrow down a formal date.  Everyone had lists of PFDs.  I have one going right now too, but it’s of PWDs: Potential Wedding Dates.