Family Fun Times

Happy May! Life remains crazy and full and wonderful and I'm trying to take this hour while we're all on the couch watching the first Ironman to capture just a bit of it. Like how one week ago we decided to go bowling between the girls' soccer games. A few of our previous weekends had not been particularly fun thanks to packing and cleaning and I thought we could use a full family activity that did not involve packing tape.

I always forget how fun bowling is until the next time we bowl again.

And this time was particularly fun because I WON! I'm a very erratic bowler, but it's so good for the men in my life to be reminded that I can occasionally beat them at things. Landon remains shook.

The next day I flew to Chicago for work.

One of the first things I did at the firm was asked to be involved with law school recruiting and now here I am, the partner in charge of University of Chicago and Northwestern Law School recruiting for the next year.

It is so weird much that building defined my life for 3 years and how it still rattles me a bit to see it now. It looks exactly the same.

We hosted a dinner for the students already interning with us this summer and starting in the fall and then hosted a lunch event for any prospectives who wanted to learn more about the firm, our practices, etc. It was great.

I also managed to walk 7 miles, buy Chicago Mix popcorn at Garrett's, and even squeezed in a stop at Giordano's for a tiny Chicago style pizza on my way back to the airport.

I LOVE this city.

I truly think that walking among tall buildings is my love language. I just smile like a crazy person the whole time. Even in non-walking shoes, a too-light coat, 33 degree weather, and gray skies, I just grin and walk and watch. I love our life, but it will always be mildly mysterious to me that I live in these non-walkable Texas cities.

I arranged for several other meetings while I was there and at one point between appointments, I happened to walk by the very restaurant where my water broke when I had Landon! Talk about a blast from the past- I had vivid memories from nearly 15 years ago when we had to tell our waitor I was in labor and then taking a stack of napkins with us for me to sit on in the cab we hailed to head to the hospital. I loved that it was still there.

I stayed at the Ritz Carlton and ended up participating in a presentation for the board of directors of a potential client from the empty lobby bar at 11 am after I checked out. I managed to angle the camera juuuuust right to avoid the rows of liquor AND the TV screens.

James spent this past weekend at the Masters Nationals meet in San Antonio. He won multiple events and set a new National Masters record in the 100 IM (50.65 which is so fast). He met up with lots of fans and followers and then, even though it was 45 minutes out of his way, surprised my grandpa (and me!) with an in-person visit between events. It was so sweet and meant SO much to my grandpa who is so very lonely now that my grandma is down in memory care.

The kids and I were in Houston visiting my family for the weekend. My sister flew in with her crew and my brother and the twins live nearby, so we got to have a full Rice family reunion.

We spent Saturday on the lake on my parent's boat, tubing and swimming and picknicking at the kids' favorite island.

The tubing was a hilarious bit of insight into everyone's personalities. Landon and Cora were crazy- constantly yelling "faster!" and eventually flipping off the tube.

Claire chose me as her tubing mate because she knew I didn't want to get my hair wet and chanted "you only live once" the whole time- except for her, the fact you only live once means you should live as cautiously as possible. This is also the girl who threw herself off a 40 foot cliff into the ocean Curacao, so she's maybe not the best judge of danger.

But we went VERY slow, my hair did not get wet, and Claire was perfectly pleased with the experience. Even after her much younger cousin flew around in circles on the tube after her.

The swim mat made an appearance, babies ate sand on the island beach, toddlers and little kids spent a lot of time and energy scooping up sand in the water and dumping it in a bucket, and big kids threw footballs and frisbees. It was a lovely lovely day.

We celebrated my oldest niece's 6th birthday on Saturday night and headed back to Fort Worth on Sunday.

All weekend I just kept thinking what a delight it was to be around these 3 kids of mine. We chatted and sang songs on the car rides (Encanto forever), they are SO helpful with their tiny cousins, and are just generally a joy. At one point on our lake adventure one of my little nieces was crying for a totally normal baby reason and Claire looked over at me and whispered, "aren't you glad we're all grown up?"

And though James and I often long for those sweet toddler years, and we are both in pre-mourning for when they will leave us, I thought, yes, yes I am.

Spring Styling

Alright, as requested- it's my Spring styling post! Brought to you by a 3 hour shopping appointment with the extraordinarily talented Bonnie, my travel rewards credit card (my shopping is simply a service to my family's future travel needs), and another 3 hours of Bonnie making an album of outfits for me that I will now follow religiously until she makes me a new album in the fall.

As I mentioned many posts ago, I've been reaching out more and more to experts in my life. Home design, backyard design (sadly that project was scrapped when we decided to move, but it would have been wonderful!), hair and makeup tips, and wardrobe consulting! Even when I was still at the government, the money spent on a 3 hour closet styling session with Bonnie, was some of the best I've spent. She worked entirely with the clothes I already owned and made me feel like I'd just gone on a massive shopping spree. She opened my eyes to new ways to use what I already owned and new ways to dress my semi-new post-Covid almost-40 body that I am frankly still struggling to not be mad at much of the time.

(Example of a standard work outfit for me these days,
with gold glitter Toms because something should always be a little fun)

Ten days ago I had my first ever shopping appointment with Bonnie. Now that I've started my new job, and am actually in the office 3 days a week instead of working from my bedroom 100% of the time, and facing a new season of summer recruiting, business trips, and evening events, I gave myself a much bigger budget than I plan to in future biannual sessions. I needed several basics (a white button down! the lifelong elusive search for a non-see-through white t-shirt!) and just a nice set of standard and statement work pieces. We met at the Northpark Nordstrom in Dallas and Bonnie told me we'd both walk through the women's department together, with both of us selecting pieces for me to try on. I was to keep an open mind and just pull anything that catches my eye. The idea is that in the future I don't need to attend shopping sessions unless I really want to or happen to have the time- she knows what fits and flatters me and now has even more insight into what calls to me (and the things that surprise me!).

And so we had QUITE a rack of items and I tried on them all. Some were unsurprisingly great, some were unsurprisingly terrible, but quite a few were surprisingly great and those were the most exciting ones of all. Bonnie has such a good eye and is so creative in how she pairs things and she gives me so much confidence when I try on something outside my narrow fashion box and fall in love with it, that I can believe it really does look good.

Veronica Beard Miller Linen Blend Dickey Jacket (White)
Vince Painted Floral Smock Waist Skirt (Herb)

She's also VERY particular about how we "curate" my wardrobe and has really evolved how I think about adding to it. Each piece needs to earn its spot. With each item I tried on, she'd point out the quality of the fabric, how seams are sewn or cut, why a particular shirt flatters me and why a particular shirt doesn't as much. To put something in the keep pile, it needed to be of high quality, flattering, perfectly fitted, feel good, and just make me smile. It was the most fun afternoon. I just love an expert getting to live out their expertise.

After packing up our house and making everyone go through all their possessions, it felt a little hypocritical to waltz in the door with two arms full of clothing, but mama's lawyering wardrobe has been upgraded and I am in a long-term relationship with each and every piece.

Rag & Bone Margot Sleeveless Belted Blazer (Blush Pink)
NYDJ Marilyn Linen Blend Trousers (White))


Theory Tile Print Silk Tank (Blue Multi)
Vince Wisteria Vine Button-Up Blouse (Violetta)
Vince Flutter Sleeve Silk Top(Almond)

That stunning copper silk top is not one I would have ever picked up or thought I could wear, but Bonnie grabbed it for me and it was one that gave me an instant smile to put on. It is the most beautiful color and looks so luxe paired with my black and navy suits.

Milo kept a close eye on Bonnie's progress on styling day where she puts all my outfits together.

Maggie also assisted. (Moose hid under the girls' bed because a stranger was in the house and Bonnie could be dangerous.)

And through their combined hard work, we have our Spring/Summer lookbook:

A lot of these are items I already owned, but these are links to the recently purchased:
Vince Crop Leggings (Black)
Halogen Raw Edge Tank (Pink)
Rails Arlo Button-Up Shirt (White)
Rails Ingrid Raw Hem Chambray Shirt (Light Acid Wash)
Frame Le Muscle Organic Cotton T-Shirt Dress (Fatigue)
Paige Mayslie Straight Leg Pants (Sand)

We mostly focused on workwear (and travel wear; I am always utterly flummoxed at what to wear while flying, even though I both wear clothes AND fly on airplanes all the damn time), but she fit in some casual ensembles as well, including the elusive cute but not see-through white tshirt (Frame Le Mid Rise V-Neck Tee):

Caslon Blend Twill Shorts (Olive)
Treasure & Bond Organic Cotton Blend Long Sleeve Baseball Tee (Purple/Cream)
Sanctuary Perfect Print T-Shirt (Purple)

I really love everything. I wore my new geometric tank when I gave my PLI presentation to 400 people on Monday,

and my crazy print breezy button-down to chat poolside with friends at a Dallas hotel this morning:

Bonnie's album gave me the confidence to wear this to work on Friday (posing in front of the new art I had framed for my office!):

and helped me pick out something fabulous (top pic in the post; that silk skirt is the most beautiful thing I've ever owned) for this birthday dinner for dear friends in Dallas last night.

And that's a wrap! Now that I have some really solid basics and have culled out a LOT of older items that either didn't fit, were worn down, or never looked as good as they should have, and added some beautiful spring/summer pieces, I plan to do a much smaller session in 6 months for fall/winter. Perhaps add a tweed or thicker weight blazer (loooooved this one from L'Agence, and the cropped cut is perfect on my weirdly short-waisted self, but I could not justify another jacket and it wasn't very Spring'y and we were being very picky), a couple of nice sweaters, and a new pair of dark jeans. As I learn my brands and sizing better, I also look forward to being able to shop secondhand.

In other bits of fun I spent Friday in Dallas, working, then working out with friends (SolidCore pilates class; omg I am so sore and not just because I haven't worked out in two months), and then heading to a Dallas hotel room with those same friends so we could get ready for a big fun dinner out. I wowed everyone with my vagina curler skills, caught an Uber, and enjoyed the most ridiculous over-the-top instagrammable (if I had Instagram) restaurant ever. We had a slumber party in our hotel room, hung out by the pool this morning, ate brunch, and then headed home. It was an 18 hour staycation and it was SO fun and refreshing and I loved being back with my own family by noon.

Press for champagne? I believe we will.

I head to Chicago for work on Monday, come back Tuesday (Bonnie outfits already selected!), and then drive to Houston on Friday to hang out with my family and enjoy a reunion of all the tiny cousins.

May you all have a fantastic week ahead!

Spring Packing and a Few Notes

Hello! Look at me posting mere days apart like an actual blogger! Who knows how long this will keep up, but as long as I was uploading pictures from the weekend, I thought I should run with it. Because despite packing up what feels like 65% of our house into a pod that got driven up our driveway with a remote control, it was a pretty nice weekend.

The children and animals helped with the packing.

The human children by actually helping, Moose by hiding, Milo by testing out every single box and bin to see if he could fit his fluffy self inside, and Maggie by constantly running into the pod to ensure that she would also be packed.

I think she saw this as us preparing for a very long vacation and was VERY concerned she was not on the packing list. Rest assured Maggles, I worked very hard to find a rental that would accept our three furry family members and you're worth every bit of the pet deposit.

(James might not admit it, but Milo : James :: Maggie : Me. (Does anyone recognize those analogy sentences? I randomly asked Landon about these and he looked at me like I'd lost my mind. I googled it and turns out they were pulled from the SAT in 2005. I don't really have a strong opinion on that except to note I was good at them and I'm glad they were still there in the dark ages when I took it.))

Also on Saturday, both girls had soccer games. Cora scored another goal (making it six for the season?) and is just generally killing it.

She was also named Wrangler of the Month for April so she got to pick a treat to celebrate. She chose frozen yogurt and enjoyed every single bite over the eons it took her to consume them.

She is such a cheerful little thing. She's even almost mostly forgiven me for the move, or at least she's stopped dramatically walking around the house, brushing her hand along every piece of furniture or possession and asking in a soft voice with sad eyes, "will this come with us?" Yes Cora, it's all coming with us. Everything except my gorgeous new bedroom wall I thought of years ago and finally acted on and will now only get to enjoy for the next 6 weeks.

Today was not our usual Easter at Papa & Gigi's house since we decided to spend it packing to get the house ready to be listed and shown, but the baskets were still filled, pets will still seasonally costumed, and a delicious brunch (made by James) was consumed.

I booked us tickets for a movie, just to give us a reason to finish the packing early and be able to leave the house. As it turns out our crew is so efficient that we were done loading the pod on Saturday morning, but I was still glad we had the movie tickets.

We went to see The Lost City and y'all, it was a delight. I had low expectations and all five of us enjoyed it immensely. A true action/adventure rom com in the classic sense where most of the comedy is just actually funny. Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock were great and the kids were shocked to see Harry Potter grown up and not on the side of the good.

We got one family picture as we walked out and then the kids swam in our pool while I wondered if I should chase my gallon of popcorn with something not covered in butter.

Given how much we had to do, I did not think this would be a particularly great weekend, but it was low key and lovely and productive enough to make me feel really good about the last few steps before we can list this beautiful house. (Like have the doors and windows I purchased last year finally delivered and installed; sigh.)

Blogger's note: I recently had a shopping session and will soon have a spring/sumer styling session with the fabulous Bonnie. Are shopping posts something you enjoy? I don't use affiliate links, so I don't need to post them, but I LOVE looking at other people's clothes (and houses, closets, etc.), so I thought I'd throw it out there. This round was a little fancier than I usually am, but we both felt my new job and life where I actually leave my house and go to the office justified a broader sweep of the Nordstrom women's section.

Lawyer's note: And a quick note from my daytime self since I still have a lot of law moms and other legal readers I've picked up over the years. I've been doing a lot of writing and speaking in this window of what feels like my BigLaw coming out party. I actually got a client from this blog- a badass General Counsel law mama who has been reading me for a million years reached out with a securities related question and I got to open a new matter for her. I love, love a law mom who is killing it in her field and being able to play a tiny role to help was a joy. I really like client work and am enormously enjoying getting to know more of my colleagues on the outside.

On that note, here are a few recent interviews I've done:

• Lawyer Limelight: Rebecca Fike on Law Dragon
• Former SEC Enforcement Lawyer Looks Backwards and Forwards

And a few articles:

• SEC Releases Proposed Rules for Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
• Deal or No Deal: Deciding to Settle or Litigate When Faced with a DOJ or SEC Enforcement Action Under the Current Administration
• ESG Investing Is A "Significant Focus Area" for the SEC's Division of Enforcement

 And from my favorite event so far, the SEC Update panel discussion from April 5th.  Two of our superstar junior associates wrote up the recap and the video of the event is embedded within. It's always shocking to hear my voice on video- it sounds so different than it does in my head, but it was a great event and a really great discussion. I'm also presenting in a PLI program tomorrow, "White Collar Crime in a Post-Covid World" if you have a membership and need some CLE credit! 

I can't believe I haven't even been back at the firm for two months yet. I'm so excited about everything that's happening and am just really looking forward to this next chapter in our lives.