spring forward.

while my husband was away on his own version of a productive weekend (a jaunt to beale street!), i held down the fort in iowa and accomplished a couple lists full of things. i also broke the dryer, but that's beside the point. on saturday, my little sister jessica and i headed to madison to check out the deals, hopefully find her a prom dress and just generally enjoy some girl time. it was a rainy, dreary day, but i was wearing my new wellies, so i was in good spirits. we spent several hours at three different malls, and that much shopping is something i haven't done in a very long time. i came home under budget, and with lots of fun, new things: shopping success!

a few observations:

(1) since when has it become acceptable to traipse around wearing nothing but leggings? apparently spandex is now the hot new commodity for college kids & teens everywhere. i even caught a glimpse of a gal purchasing some spandex-y leggings that had pockets painted on (to make them look like jeans). to each her own, i suppose, and i've seen the leggings under a dress look and thought it cute on appropriate occasions... but i just can't condone wearing something that, in many cases, is too revealing even for gold's gym.

(2) another new trend appears to be shopping while blasting one's iPod. no less than 4 shoppers plowed into me while rocking out to their own tunes. each time the bewildered shopper looked at me like i was in the wrong. excuse me? you crashed into the back of me because you were so engrossed in those annoying ke$ha lyrics. i can admit, the heart-pumping techno blasting in most stores annoys me, too, and maybe that's what prompted people to start donning headphones. just a simple plea from a simple shopper: watch where you're going, yo.

(3) when young girls (between the ages of 15-17) call me "hun" or "sweetie," it irritates me more than i ever thought possible. i am 25 years old. i look young. i get that. but i have a wrinkle in the middle of my forehead and i use the mary kay timewise age-fighting skincare line, so i am not THAT young. when a very tan, gum-smacking girl in an obnoxiously loud, cheery voice insisted on calling me "hun" and checking on me every 2 minutes (LITERALLY, i timed it) as if i couldn't be trusted to decide on a few cardigans, i almost said something to her. it wasn't going to be something mean; i was just going to give her a polite tip. i decided against it. but still, my annoyance was probably palpable. and it seemed to happen alllll day long.

(4) i stopped in at pottery barn to admire the pretty things. the only thing i found that i really wanted was this moss wreath.

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/moss-wreath/?pkey=x%7C4%7C1%7C%7C10%7Cmoss%20wreath%7C%7C0&cm_src=SCH

i did not fancy it's $50 pricetag. my sister did not fancy it at all. her direct quote: "it looks like someone put a bunch of dirt and grass into a bundt pan and baked an ugly cake." i, however, thought it seemed very springy and immediately began to plot my own creation. on the way home, we picked up supplies to make our own version of the moss wreath. last night i was checking on some of the blogs i usually read, and i saw that i was on the same wavelength as karli at http://www.rockybella.blogspot.com/. my version of the PB wreath cost approx. $10, and i adore it! my friend kristy did, too, so i made her one.

my wreath

kristy's wreath

i also made some progress on birthday gifts for my mom and mother-in-law (neither is a blogger, so i will probably post some of my gift ideas soon! steal them if you like -- i think they're super cute!) ... and what would a day at the hodge podge lodge be without some fabric flowers??? made a few flower pins with tulle & chiffon (like the one on my flower belt).  i need a better camera to be able to share these creations, but you get the idea...

in between shopping, cleaning and my spring creating, i also attended two hockey games and am excited to report that my brother's junior A team is thus far undefeated in the play-offs and will be playing for the hurster cup in st. louis this weekend. john and i are going down to cheer them on and visit friends. i've already mapped out routes from our hotel to the nearest piano bar and bloody mary buffet. priorities, people, priorities!