Lookie here at this Dress!

Take a look at this cute dress I got on my "spree:"

Flirty, forgiving in the hips, accentuating le BUSTE, and a lovely holiday color - refreshing it's not black, yes? And a mere $38! Now, for that price it probably won't look that great next year...but price per wear - even if I only wear it a few times this winter - it's worth it, oui?!

I wish I weren't so focused on cost lately, but I am - and it's not the MACRO economy, which I hear is rather disastrous, but our MICRO economy - one salary and four kids ain't pretty. Sheesh - the diaper budget alone!

For this FROIDY COLDY WEATHER

Finally, it is freaking cold in Tulsa. And when it is cold here it is invariably DRY, as in corpse-bones dry. This is not good for hair. My hair is pretty earth-mother long now, and I've found that deep conditioning helps it immensely. So, from Nordstrom.com, go check this out:

This PhytoNectar Ultra Nourishing Hair Oil Gunk is just wonderful: you slop it in your dry hair an hour or so before you shower, and then rinse it out. Voila! My hair really responded well to it - and it's so easy. I tried another conditioner where you have to apply it to "somewhat damp" hair and rinse it out after a while - huh? If I have somewhat damp hair, I've already showered and I don't want to get wet again.

Beauty is important, but cripes, it's got to work into your life pretty easily, oui?!

Gosh, This Isn't Pretty Yet!

Cripes! Me blog is ugly! Bear with me while I figure out the fine art of blog beautification in the next few weeks!

On Pining

A note about the title: yes, I am a shallow materialist who loves stuff. And I do PINE for Nordstrom. But in a greater sense, I pine for many things in Seattle that are not to be found here in Okiehoma. For one, my dear parents, Memere and Pepere (that's French for Grandma and Grandpa, you non Francophilics). They are two long plane rides away right now, and they get along so splendidly with said four monsters, that it's tough not having them closer.

And they love to BABYSIT!

Another thing I PINE for: the lousy wet greenness of Seattle! Yes, when I lived there I complained about my severe Seasonal Affective Disorder - in JUNE. But now that I'm here, in the lovely green rolling hills of Green Country, I miss the drizzle and the perennial pukey green of pines and evergreens in January. Alas.

Woods walks. My parents live high in the hills in Issaquah, right up against a greenbelt. Now, I am hardly a granola-wearing, Earth Day celebrating, typical Seattleite. Ha! But I grew up romping in the woods, and there is just no equivalent here. I make sure the boys have plenty of woods time when we visit, to shoot, hide and hunt each other in full testosterone-inspired imaginary glory.

And of course - COFFEE. Where else can you get a grande soy extra hot no whip white chocolate mocha every three feet?

I miss you, Seattle. But cripes, I guess I'm a grown up. If I lived in Seattle, I'd probably be working full time along with my husband, and we'd live in a 2 bedroom townhouse in North Bend. Heck, I'd probably only have two kids. Here, we have a lovely home, and I am lucky enough to stay home with the monsters. So, Tulsa is home.

So, Misters Blake and Erik Nordstrom, send one my way!

Just What the Internet Ordered: Another Blog

Is starting a blog in the eve of 2008 the equivalent of, say, a solipsist who buys a VCR? Navel-gazing and technologically so 2005 - all in one breath. But after a trip home to Seattle, I am feeling a bit homesick - and I have a perfect life, so I feel quite infantile and silly about said homesickness. But the feeling is there...and if I talk to the internet ad nauseum, then I won't have to torture my husband with my morose musings. Thank you.

And I can talk about my favorite store: NORDSTROM. Just fresh off a several-day shopping spree on my trip, I realize how much I miss the store. There is no Nordstrom in OKLAHOMA, where I find myself after my dear husband, PVT, found a job in his hometown of Tulsa. There is Saks, which I just can't afford (I have a special talent for self-deception when it comes to my discretionary clothes/beauty budget, and even I can't justify shopping there). Nordstrom, though, is different: yes, it has the designer clothes and designer prices. But, unlike Saks, they have more affordable departments. And this recession is WONDERFUL for the sale racks: I found quite a few things under $40 for moi truly.

And another thing Nordstrom has that Saks (and Neiman's) doesn't have: the Brass Plum. Now, I am a pygmy woman, so I can get away with shopping in the Juniors' department. But it is a great department for normal sized people too to get tops and accessories - for prices approaching those of Tarzhay.

And yet ANOTHER thing about Nordstrom: it has a HUGE kids' department! The Saks here does not. Now, yes, a lot of the Juicy Couture and Ralph Lauren kids items are priced to make you feel dizzy. But again, this time their were racks and racks of sale clothing....I got several outfits for each of my children for $120. And it is GOOD STUFF! Not the Wal-Mart stuff that is purportedly clothing but looks like cleaning rags after it gets through my laundry.

A digression: when I say I got clothes for my kids for $120, that's not nothing - I have FOUR - three boys and a fresh new girl! They are the main reason why I say my life is perfect: they are all healthy, gorgeous monsters. Keane (as in peachy) is 6; Rory (did you know Bill Gates' son is Rory?) is 4; Will is 2; and my girl is the edible Colette, born on Bastille Day.

But I won't focus on them too much; I do that all day and who wants to read about other people's kids? Except for the occasional post for the fam, I'll try not to launch into kiddie posts.

Thus, a blog on my oh so original and fresh musings about life...and Nordstrom.

Oh, and I almost forgot: SOCKS. The kids' socks at Nordstrom are fabulous, multi-colored wonderful things that don't shrink on the first wear. Do you know how hard that is to find?!