It's all coming back...

I was checking out some of the new arrivals at Gap online today, and ran across something that took me right back to elementary school...and right back to the best outfit of my life (at that time).

As a 3rd grader at Headland Elementary, at least once a week if it was warm, I would pull on my denim shorts with the colored patches. These shorts were a prized possession, actually purchased by my mom at FULL PRICE from the mall. Those shorts would then get rolled up as high as humanly possible (or as high as my mom and my teacher would allow them to be--and this was BEFORE the invention of Britney Spears, so I guess girls have always, always wanted their shorts to, indeed, be short.) But perhaps, in an unwitting attempt to downplay the shortness of my colorful shorts, I added a sleeveless denim button-up shirt. Yes...denim on denim. I KNOW. And it was--get this--tucked in. This wonderful outfit was then completed with a belt, my white leather Keds and a french braid that would be completely frizzy in about five minutes and made my ears even more sticky-outy than they already were.

Best outfit ever.

So imagine the nostalgia that rolled over me when I saw this:

I really, really want this shirt. It's like fashion has come a full circle since 1993--not only are denim sleeveless button ups actually cool again, but so is denim on denim (but only if the denims aren't the same washes, i.e., a lighter denim jacket with dark denim blue jeans is ok, but jacket and jean in the same wash tends to look a little boy bandish. In the Gap picture, however, the denims do match; maybe they were trying to create the look of a denim jumper. *shudders*).

Third Grade Taylor was cool before she even knew what cool was.

T

Desperately Seeking Garden Stool

So it's almost spring, and I've probably been outside working in our yard maybe once or twice--if that. And when summer comes, forget it. The sun is too bright, my skin is too fair, sunscreen is too icky, and it's southern Alabama, so its just. plain. hot. But I still want one of these:

They're called garden stools, and I imagine they are for sitting on while you garden. But apparently, gardeners really want to be sitting pretty while they work, because these babies are pretty gorgeous for just digging in the dirt.
They are also pretty expensive. The stools above are from Pier 1 and they're like..wait for it...$100. And that's a bargin. The ones I've seen on Amazon and Target are like $150-$200! Why is everything I see and like always expensive? (Seriously, I have this problem with purses at TJMaxx--every purse I grab and go "Oooh, I like this one" is always one of the expensive ones. Every. single. time. I've stopped looking at them, it's happened so much.)

So here's hoping that they'll sit at Pier 1 until they go on clearance. Which will only happen if nobody wants them.

And who would want those ugly old garden stools anyway? That's right, no one.

Exactly.

T

UPDATE: I found a really cheap one--only $50 at TJMaxx in PC yesterday. However, this is what it looked like:


Yeah, I didn't get it. I mean, I'm really just stepping foot into the whole DIY scene (at least, I plan to, once me and B-Dog find a house and I have to start filling it with things...), so I wasn't sure about the flower decals--if you painted over them, would they show through the paint? If you sanded it down, would it mess up the ceramic? These are the kinds of questions that didn't have answers as of yesterday afternoon, so I walked away without it. Plus it wobbled a little, and didn't have nearly as many neato hole designs as the other versions. I think I'll keep looking.

I Need This...

Anyone have any idea where to find a lovely white cake stand like this Pottery Barn version?

The couple on my new favorite blog, Young House Love, have one and they use it all the time, not just for cakes, but for anything really. (Here's their cake stand being all spooky last Halloween.) And now I want one, in the same absolutely random way I wanted a bell jar. Just because. (I found my bell jar for only $8 at TJMaxx. Scooooooooore. Here's to crazy whims that don't cost much.)

My quest for a white cake stand has only led me to TJMaxx so far. Nothing there. I've looked online at Target (They only have one white stand that's out of stock online and says "limited availability" in our store, which confuses me greatly--either it's THERE or it's NOT. Or does this particular cake stand come and go as it pleases? Target employee: "Sorry, ma'am, but the white cake stand decided to run down to the beach for a three-day weekend...he's spontaneous like that.") and Wal-Mart. No dice...well, actually, Wal-Mart does have dice. Unfortunately, I don't need any dice at the moment, but it's good to know where I can find it, I guess.

It's official--White Cake Stand Hunt is on.

T

UPDATE: White Cake Stand Hunt is off. I acquired it today at lunch. Thanks to Jessica for pointing me towards Wal-Mart and to Target (and/or the bad weather) for keeping the white cake stand away from the beach today. Limited Availability apparently means that I only left one there for you guys to get. Don't speed getting there.