The One Where Joe Namath Wears Your Granddad's Coat and Looks Incredible

Yesterday, being Super Bowl Sunday, I did what any normal red-blooded American woman would do in preparation for the event. No, I did not buy chicken wings. No, I did not make crock pot cheese dip. No, I did not start drinking beers at 10 AM on the lawn with my neighbors. Instead, I attended a free (FREE) smoky eye makeup class at Sephora. 

Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. A couple weeks ago, I was looking at some stuff on Pinterest about makeup and I was pinning a couple how-to videos when I thought to myself, "Hmm. I wonder if they do classes on this stuff with real live people at Sephora or Ulta or MAC or whatever." So I investigate. And lo and behold, Sephora has started offering free classes at several locations near me. I don't think they've rolled them out at all Sephora stores yet, but I think they're planning to eventually. Check out if they are near you here: Linkety Link to Sephora.com

So I took a bright eye makeup class last week, which was very fun and I got to learn how to both do bright bold eyeliner and a bold allover eye, and how to do my eyeliner the right way all the time regardless of the color. Then yesterday was smoky eye. Super fun! I recommend checking the classes out because 1) they are free, 2) they provide all of the materials and makeup for you, 3) they have multiple people there demo-ing and then helping you if you have questions or can't seem to figure out a technique they demonstrated, and 4) you don't feel pressured into buying anything but you do have private shopping time with just the other people in the class when there are no other people in the store, because who wants to shop at Sephora during normal hours when it looks like this:

Pic courtesy of KasumiKriss' blog

Here is my before/after (and yes, I took these pictures of myself in the store and felt like a complete idiot). The left is normal daytime look, and the right is obvs smoky eye. I don't know why I look like I'm trying to seduce you/get you to give me your credit card in the second picture. I guess that's what happens when I put dark eye makeup on.

So, when I was done with those shenanigans, I headed over to Ange and Monica's along with Shelly for a Super Bowl viewing. 

Monica (on the left) and Ange (on the right)

Shelly, AKA Slopper

Yes, I actually ended up watching the game, but we also had an in-depth discussion about the possible long-term developmental effects that can occur when one is a professional athlete and the implications those have for one's mental and emotional growth. #geeks

I think my favorite part of the day was when Shelly said something about having to memorize plays and routes as a football player and Monica, dead serious, replies "Yeah, that's how I feel about SPSS." (In case you are not familiar with SPSS, you should praise Jesus you've never had to learn that statistics software.) 

For the record, we were rooting for the Seahawks. I chose them because Calla and her husband Jack are giant Seahawks fans and I felt like I should honor them.

They were so happy!

Also... the cookies I baked for our "party" were tasty and thank god because they gave me some grief when I was baking them the other night...

Yeah, that's flour all over everything. Which made me think of:

Also, can we talk about the abundance of interesting outerwear that was on display at this event? First, Joe Namath! (Was he drunk?)

Second, the puffy coats everyone was wearing on the sidelines, in the back of the picture below!

Third, Bruno Mars!

I have actively disliked Bruno Mars ever since I read this interview with him in GQ, so in my opinion, this halftime show was as boring as the rest of the Super Bowl, but I may be a tiny bit biased. Plus... Beyonce he was not. I barely watched any of the commercials (too busy discussing peak experience and other such ideas) so I can't even really comment on those. Let me know if you had a favorite. Here's hoping next year's Super Bowl will be a better match up and that Peyton Manning has a good therapist because he's gonna need one. 

The One Where You Can Just Shorten the Dress and Wear it Again!

First, the background. 

Scene: Hilariously awful wood-paneled, 70s style TV room. 

Background: Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta (wuzzup Monte)

People: Monique, Julia (Aka Pon), Nance

(Just so you feel like you're there, too, pour yourself a glass of wine, grab a handful of chocolate chips, and settle in with your Pillow Pet.)

It went something like this:

Monique: "That dress is pretty."

Nance: "I like that veil." 

Pon: "She seems like she'd pick good bridesmaid dresses." 

Proceed to discuss bridesmaid dresses for the next ten minutes, including which ones we've all worn and what they look like, etc.

Nance: "I mean, how often do you really re-wear your bridesmaid dresses? Hello... 27 Dresses was popular for a reason!" 

Pon: "You guys. We should totally have a party where we re-wear our bridesmaid dresses!" 

Us: "YYYEEESSSSS."

Nance: "And wear them out somewhere." 

Monique: "Like Applebee's!!!!" 

And thus, this happened:

Now, I know. This IS genius. You don't have to tell me twice. And in case you decide to have such a party, here are my tips for having a successful one:

1) determine your hashtag of the evening while getting ready (i.e., #PopItPon)

2) choose a locale that screams BRIDESMAID. Most fast-casual restaurants will do. Preferably with a centrally-located bar and neon signs. 

3) prance in with confidence. Make everyone confused, a little uncomfortable, and also jealous.

4) Listen to Bossy by Kelis. Reminisce about including the lyrics in your AIM profile (Liz... I'm looking at you). 

Please note: this video is definitely not safe to watch at work, around children, or if you are generally opposed to absurdity.

5) Eat mozzarella sticks. 

6) Drink bridesmaid-y drinks: sangria, wine, skinny margaritas. 

7) force awkward restaurant employees/non-costumed party-goers to take group pics outside. 

8) discuss who will wear the actual bridal gown for the next one where you pretend you all just left someone at the altar. 

So there you have it. Foolproof party plan! Now it's back to baking the cookies I will be contributing to the Super Bowl fête I am attending tomorrow. 

PS - good luck getting I'm BOSS-AY out of your head for the next 24-48 hours. 

The One Where We Catch Up

Wow. So basically, it's been FOR-EVER since I have written a post here. This is for 2 reasons. (Neither of which is that I hate blogging or something dreadful happened and I got blog hate-mail and cried and decided I should no longer blog because let's be honest, hate-mail only happens when you have more than 10 readers and it would just make me blog more. For now, I'm still just getting Bulgarian spam messages about pot roast and other weird things.) 

So, 1) I got busy. Yeah, wahhh, get out the violin, I know. We're all busy. But I got like... scary busy. In case you don't know, Monique (the roomie) and I also work together (which, for the record, works out quite nicely and we only want to kill each other about once a week... jk Mo, I love you) and in the fall, our boss had unexpected surgery and we basically lost our minds. It was like in sad, sad movies when the girl eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner at her sad desk and only sees the sun when she looks outside. But we made it through. And now we're stronger than yesterday now there's nothing in [our] way (sung like Britney).

Then, 2) It got to a point where I was like "Well, I haven't written a post in so long, it'd be awkward if I wrote one now." But then 2 things happened. First, my roommate Julia the other night asked if I was going to blog again and I basically said what I just wrote and she was like "Uhh... it's your blog. Write whenever you want." Then, a friend posted on my Facebook wall asking what happened to this thing (Hi, Monica!). So, I will write again. And it will be awesome. 

But, let me catch you up on everything I've been up to since I last wrote. 

I took a selfie with the parentals in Santa Barbara.

I almost threw up when I saw the price on this skirt for a CHILD at a store in Malibu.

I saw New Kids on the Block in concert with my friend Katie (who just had a baby! Hi Katie and Oliver!) and it was magical.

   

I climbed into this sign in Sonoma, CA because I could.

I supported Amanda and her sister running their first half marathon.

I discovered how amazingly insanely tasty this is. 

I ate a lot of dinner with friends.

I celebrated my sister being done with nursing school!!!!! Congratulations, Laura, BSN, RN!

My car broke down in the middle of the 101 because my transmission basically fell out and I basically cried and then figured it out.

Note: This is not me or my car.

I watched my niece win 4 animals in a row at the claw machine.

I ran the San Francisco to Calistoga Ragnar with the best people ever. I ran up a giant mountain and in the pouring rain and it was so awful and fun we're doing a trail one in April.

I went to DC for a conference and presented and watched an IMAX movie at the Smithsonian.

I flew straight from DC to San Francisco and ran the Nike Women's Half Marathon!!! My friend Anna ran the FULL. She is awesome. This is the most attractive picture of us ever.

I ate a hummus tower with my friend Mikey (those are her jazz hands in the background).

I threw a Troop Beverly Hills themed bachelorette party for my sister and it was basically amazing. (Shoutout to Amanda for hand-making those sashes!)

Shelly and I helped Amanda and Ross pack up their entire house in 1 day so they could move to San Diego.

I visited them and their insane beast animals in San Diego and Mohawk hated having his picture taken.

I chaperoned a Kappa date party at a club in Hollywood wearing these heels.

I saw my Kappa little, Margo, and two of my other most favorite people ever before Thanksgiving when I traveled to Michigan for work. 

I had Kappa Friendsgiving with these fabuloso ladies at Christa's house, also in Michigan.

I stood by my sister and watched her marry her Marine in this gorgeous dress.

Pic below from Danielle Capito photography. Her work is amazing.

I also met this stone-cold pack of weirdos at that wedding. Not pictured: stranger who proposed marriage to me about 10 minutes after this photo was taken.

I sang with the D'Vines in Dickens-era Christmas garb, complete with bonnet.

My dad played the clarinet for us at Christmas. 

We had an ugly sweater contest.

Cheyenne and I had a diva day.

Monique and I helped (I "helped") our friends Matt and Nicole (who blogs over at Treasure Tromp) move into their apartment and it took my entire stockpile of willpower to not yell Pivot!!!! as they were moving the couch up the stairs.

I played Clue on SEGA. (And Lion King. And Sonic. You know you're jealous.)

  

And, finally, we took new pictures for our office website. This is my favorite. Since we are now an all-female office, we decided we needed a female power pose. Success??

WHEW. So there ya have it. That's been my life. We are also having a re-wear your bridesmaid dress party tonight so I have to go get ready. And by "get ready" I mean drink champagne and eat chips and salsa in preparation. 

NancePants, over and out!

The One Where It's Cookie Time

Sadly, even though the title of this post is definitely a reference to Troop Beverly Hills, this post is not actually about that movie. But just for kicks, I'll include the Cookie Time song for your viewing/listening pleasure.

Now, if you haven't seen Troop Beverly Hills... I don't even know what to say to you right now. It's my sister's and my mutual favorite movie. I'm trying to design a tattoo for us both to get that's some form of a Wilderness Girl Best Sister Ever patch. That's how much love for that movie runs through our veins. (I know I said this post wasn't about this movie... I promise we'll move on in a second.) A fun fact about the Cookie Time song... I rewrote the lyrics to the song when I was the Risk Management chair for my sorority. Being Risk Management chair basically meant I was in charge of all the rules and legal stuff that goes into sorority events and making sure no one blew themselves up or or drank themselves into a coma or lost an eye on my watch. Needless to say, this position was probably the least "fun" of all the ones on our board, but I tried my damndest to make learning the rules a good time for everyone. So when we came back from summer break my senior year, I literally stood up in front of all of my sisters and sang my own version of Cookie Time that talked about how much fun it is to sign EPFs on time and stay safe and party with a buddy, etc.

... I know. I'm really cool.

Anyway, the real purpose of this post is to talk about a couple lessons I learned tonight while baking cookies. See, Carol and Bob (my parents) are coming into town tonight...

Yes, my father looks like Ben Franklin. No, it's not your imagination.

Anyway, they're coming into town so we can hang for the 4th of July because... that's what normal people do. We're going to Santa Barbara tomorrow then Pasadena for Friday and Saturday.

Oh yeah. And on Friday night I will be AT THE PACKAGE TOUR WITH NEW KIDS, BOYZ II MEN, AND 98 DEGREES BABY!!!!!!!! I'm sooooooooo excited!!! Clearly this concert will require a picture-saturated post. Stay tuned for THAT! (And in case you may be wondering, no, Carol and Bob will not be Hangin' Tough with me at the concert. I'm going with my friend Katie!)

Okay, back to normal programming. So, I decided I wanted to bake us some treats to eat on our drive up to Santa Barbara tomorrow. I debated making red white and blue cookies of some kind, but decided that was too much work and (say it with me now):

So I went with good old fashioned chocolate chips instead.

Using my KitchenAid like a bossss

Round number one. A little too well-done for my liking.

Round number too. Less well done, more just one giant cookie. Hhhhhhh

Anyway, in the process of this whole baking thing, I have learned:

1) The bag says it makes 5 dozen. HAHAHA. In what universe?

2) Beyonce radio on Spotify is the perfect music to accompany baking. Or really anything. 

3) When you run out of parchment paper, wax paper is not a good substitute. I apologize in advance if I kill anyone, especially myself, from eating cookies that had wax paper poison residue baked into them.

4) I will have to run for 2 hours tonight to work off all the cookies/cookie dough I consumed while doing my part to make sure things tasted okay/were not poisoned. 

5) There is too much of a good thing...

Hope everyone has a lovely 4th full of sparkles and fireworks and tasty 'Murrican treats!!