Hello!

Hi again!

I so enjoyed our last check-in. Your comments were just a shot of connection each time one popped up and they always made me smile or think or both.

It's Sunday morning. Milo is snuggled in my lap like the perfect little snuggle bunny he is, all three kids are still in bed (well, four, since Cora has a friend over), and James is making his breakfast before heading out to a swim meet with Landon later. Claire and I spent yesterday morning going to Marshall's and a consignment store to find her a dress for a birthday brunch yesterday afternoon. She babysat last night and today she is going to clean out her closet. Cora has a new bookcase she and James put together yesterday because I was tired of her stacks of books covering the floor, so she's going to organize that today which will 100% require my oversight and direction after she flounders for a while obsessively making one tiny part of the shelf perfect. I will do my treadmill walk in a little bit, then a video weights workout, then a shower where I have to wash my hair and then brunch with two girlfriends at 1. A brunch where we will laugh and chat and share about being professional women in this crazy world but where I will not drink the grapefruit juice mimosa I'm going to want because I have to come home and work for a few hours.

(Pic from a wine tasting/girl dinner I enjoyed with three friends a couple Fridays ago. The hostess, a badass CIO, printed out the wine tasting notes to read aloud at the table and let me tell you, finding friends as Type A as you is like finding soulmates. The number of amazing, smart, powerful, busy, ambitious, deep, real women I have met in Dallas has become one of the greatest things about our move here.)

As I mentioned at the last check-in we celebrated Easter a week early when we went to Houston for my dad's 69th birthday.

For the last several years we've celebrated Easter with my parents and they've done an egg hunt for the kids, so for us, Easter is whenever we're at Papa & Gigi's house. So we brought along the Easter baskets and a carrot cake and celebrated my dad and Spring and being together.

We spent Saturday out on the boat on Lake Conroe with my brother and his family. The cousins are so great together and the kids splashed and tubed even though the water was freezing. Saturday afternoon was the egg hunt, big family dinner, and more cousin time.

As usual, Landon was the last one trying to find his eggs. And his basket. Also as traditional, he abandoned all hope at multiple points in the search.

We headed back after breakfast on Sunday so Cora could make her soccer game (which they won!) and I could feel like my life was together before another week started.

Actual Easter weekend was great because the kids had Friday and Monday off school and we didn't have any plans, so we got to be lazy and productive in equal measure. Claire and I went to the mall so she could buy her favorite shorts on sale at Aerie and I could find a dress for our upcoming trip to Mexico. Because yes! We are going to Mexico with my WHOLE family: 8 adults, 8 kids, at the very end of May. We are so excited and I know it's going to be a blast, especially for the kids. All-inclusive resort + swim-up suite rooms + beach + cousins? Can't wait!

To thank our parents for this amazing gift and adventure, my siblings and I booked a photographer through the resort to do family beach pictures our second night there. I'm still searching for the right dress. I'm also trying to get my self in order so I feel confident on the beach. It's not going great, but I am doing some sort of physical activity and that feels good.

I've been trying to get a new swimsuit, trying my usual Amazon and Target sources, and just bleh. I like none of it. My chest (36DD) doesn't fit properly into the suits that fit me everywhere else and the one cute one-piece I found had cut outs that precisely framed my scars from my hysterectomy and gall bladder surgery and while I don't mind my scars, I don't need them highlighted while all my non-scarred skin is covered.

While at the mall last Saturday I wandered into Everything But Water with Claire- the fancy swimsuit store I admire from afar but have never entered. I had returned the beautiful but expensive purse James got me for my birthday and decided this would be my present if I found one I loved. And I did! I found two! And two cover ups! Oops?

The sales lady was so kind. I told her what I was looking for: a swimsuit that felt comfortable and secure, that I could wear around my children and parents without feeling weird, that was still a little sexy, that felt unique/expensive and involved bright colors, and that made ME feel good. I wished her luck with the last one.

She pulled many and Claire sat very patiently while I trid them all on. I discovered that when you buy swimsuits from higher end brands than I'd tried before they make "D" and "D+" size tops that actually fit the big boobed but not otherwise large framed person. The fit was just night and day different. I'm actually so excited to wear them both in Mexico and all summer. Happy Birthay to me! And thank you to James for spending enough of our money on me that this purchase still felt like a bargain.

Back to Easter weekend. We were going to brunch on Sunday but Landon had swim practice so we made brunch at home when he got back and it was delicious and fun.

We tried to go bowling at two different places, but despite what the internet promised, both were closed for the holiday. So we accidentally all went shopping together instead, which was greeted with various degrees of enthusiasm. Everyone got new shoes at DSW, spent some time in Old Navy and the Bloomingdales outlet, and then we got dinner at Gloria's. It was actually a really nice day and I'm glad Cora is no longer wearing athletic shoes with holes forming at her toes.

I need to wrap this up so I can workout before brunch. I got IPL laser treatments on my chest, shoulders, and upper back on Friday, so I can't do my outdoor weighted vest walks until my skin recovers a bit. When trying on swimsuits and summer dresses I realized that I've done such a good job of lasering and caring for my face that my chest, shoulders, neck, and back were basically an entirely different color and texture. So I'm catching them up. Also 2 of my 3 skin cancers have actually been on my chest/neck and not my face because those are the areas I sometimes forgot to do sunscreen (or forget to reapply) and have had more burns. I'm glad I did it, but oy that skin looks bad right now. The last IPL I did on my face had almost no peeling or brown spots because I don't have any sun damage on my face anymore, but the areas I just did? SO MUCH of the brown spots that will flake off in a few days. Will be interesting to see what I wear to brunch. And work. Hmm.

Anyway, in about 10 days it will look great!

I'm closing out with some of the new outfits I've worn from Ayron's last styling session. One of my favorite things about the ensembles she pulls together is thinking about how I got each piece and remembering their journey to my closet and reflecting on how glad I am they're there. Does anyone else do this? I can tell you the lineage of every single thing in my closet, and almost always, the price I paid for it. It is deeply satisfying to me everytime I wear something, like I'm getting the use out of it I hoped to when I purchaesd it- that it knows it's fulfilling its potential. Now that I've typed it out that sounds pretty weird... (Also, I love the casual outfits Ayron makes me as much as the work ones! I struggle in that area.)

Shorts: Loft sale two years ago (~$20)
Tank: Loft, same sale ($6)
Kimono: gift from my sister in law in 2022 that was handmade by a Brazilian friend of hers
Earrings: gift from my sister for my birthday many years ago
Shoes: Cole Haan from Dirty Dillards with my mom on our last trip when she told me you can't have enough shoes (you can)
Purse: Tory Burch bought with Nordstrom points when we lived in Fort Worth

Blazer: Veronica Beard from The Real Real online consignment site ($100)
Silk sleeveless blouse: Vince, bought on sale during our NYC trip Thanksgiving 2023 ($40)
Jeans: L'AGENCE, from their spring sale last year ($100); L'AGENCE and Frame are by far my favorite jeans and once you know your size, their end of season sales are pretty great
Necklace: The Limited in like 2010 ($15? I remember having to get it off a manequin)
Earrings: Express in 2007 (I was living in Chicago and pregnant with Landon when I bought them) ($10)
Shoes: Loft sale last month ($25)

Tee: Johnny Was last year (love their mesh tees, I have two and they're so fun) ($75; I remember that agonizing over this purchase in the Johnny Was dressing room at the mall)
Shorts: Loft sale last spring ($20; I have them in white and black too, the rare item I bought in multiples but they fit like a dream and are so classy but casual)
Shoes: flats from Target a couple years ago/wedges from a boutique in Savannah when James and I went for my coworker's wedding last year
Necklace: Nordstrom Rack for our family pictures in 2018 ($10)

Skirt: JCrew as part of new suit when I was interviewing for law firm jobs in late 2021
Blazer: same JCrew trip (there were NO suits for sale for women in the world of Covid 2021, I bought 3 from JCrew online in different colors and counted my blessings they existed)
Blouse: Ann Taylor many many years ago (like 2010?)
Vest: Loft end of the year sale this past December ($15)
Necklace: Chanel from The Real Real, gift from James for Christmas 2023
Earrings: from my godmother when I graduated high school to match the preal necklace she gave me when I turned 18
Shoes: Sarah Flint last year (loooove the kitten heels they make)

Blazer: same JCrew trip as above
Skirt: Vince, when Bonnie hosted an event there in 2023 and gave me 25% off; was still expensive (like $200?) but Bonnie and Ayron style it so many ways for every season
Top: Ann Taylor Sale 2022 (always a sucker for a yellow/white/grey print)
Necklace: Loft a couple years ago
Earrings: my Mom bought them for me from Marshall's for my 6th grade dance
Shoes: Sarah Flint 2022, the only pair I ever paid full price for, I wear them at least once a week

Blazer: same as above
Skirt: Loft sale a couple years ago ($9 - their patterned skirts are always incredible deals at the end of each season
Top: Ann Taylor Sale recently ($30)
Necklace: Loft Sale pre-Covid
Earrings: Chanel (from The Real Real) for our anniversary last year!
Shoes: Ann Taylor Sale recently ($30 - the shoes are their best buys on sale)