socks

I don't care how old I sound I'm gonna lay it out there. I hate the mismatched socks look.

I just don't get it.

I think it looks awful. I actually like the cute casual look that's so hot right now that says I just rolled out of bed but that was a magic bed complete with a blown out "natural" hair style, nude lips and mascara... but the mismatched socks? I just can't go there. I guess Mom always preaching about leaving the house looking put together made me miss the gene and I just hate this look.

I have to admit... I don't know how long this has been a "thing". (am I years behind?)  I noticed that a lot of my students were wearing mismatched tennis shoe strings and recently some have been wearing different colored socks with long jean shorts and converse or Toms.

At first this "non-fad" was only popular with a few students and now everyone is rocking it. I can't imagine a more unflattering statement for most bodies but that is another blog.

Even the crazy Anne Burrell from Food Network is sporting an orange and yellow sock with her "daring" (ugly) red chef shoes.

Ugh, like shoulder pads, double belts, parachute pants, crocs, and Mom jeans, we will all look back at reunions and laugh at ourselves about this one. Except this smart girl because I have enough sense to not wear ugly, mismatched socks. Hello?

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

dress drama

I wish I could say I was one of those people who was always confident with their appearance. I wish I truly believed "the ebb and flow of my body is a natural occurrence" and that "I should be happy that God gave me a body at all" and other hippie nonsense. But...I'm not. Weeks ago the mass texts began ..."What are you wearing to the reunion?" and other forms of this same question frequented my inbox from high school friends. I had no idea what I was wearing to the reunion and was attempting to get in a few more runs before I had to buy something new. So the dreaded time came where I needed to buy a new dress. I began at Dilliards and bought this.

Disclaimer: I only took this pic b/c my friend Sarah and I were texting the day before and she sent me (per my request) these cute pics of her possible dress choices so I did the same.

I remember thinking, oh this is nice and I can wear it to church and maybe work on some kind of special day. Then I decided I didn't want to wear anything to a reunion that I could also wear to church! All my high school friends are so stylish so I felt like I needed to step up my game. I went back to the mall, searched forever and came back with this ensemble:

I love how even in a dressing room I put my hand on my hip to make my arm (which is covered by clothing!) appear skinny.

This dress is so not me and although you really can't tell in this picture, it has huge pockets, lots of buttons, zippers, and I think would be really cool for someone...else. I wasn't feeling good in it and finally went to P and asked his clothing opinion, which I rarely ever do. (Oh, did I mention I asked him this question at 2PM on Saturday when Sam was still at our house and when we were supposed to be meeting friends at 6PM? Because I did.) P looked and looked and finally said, "it looks weird". This may sound hurtful but it really wasn't. I thought it was weird too and although a minor (ugh major!) panic attack began creeping up I ditched my cousin (wow, such a role model) and went back to the mall in a possessed attempt to find something to wear. This kind of shopping is kind of like aggressive stage Mom tripping another kid and sleeping with the director so her kid can be in a car commercial. No one...literally NO ONE could get in my way. I went in and out of stores with a mad fury. When the nice sales associates attempted to tell me about sales or the advantages of opening a store credit card, I gave them the look of a vulcher waiting for it's prey. Back off. Finally I found the dress. I could not wear this dress to church and definitely not to work. I could move, eat, drink, sit, etc.

Leaving for the pre-reunion rendezvous.

Thankfully I found this ensemble with a whopping 1.5 hours to spare before we had to walk out the door. Ugh enough stress to justify starting botox early.

For Natalie's News this has been a very vain, Natalie-Corinne.

Finding the light.

Blame Bravo, the media, too many Top Model Marathons, magazines, whatever. Whenever you get girls together with a camera some model magic takes over and we are easily transformed from normal girls to cat walk professionals. Honestly, if we were real models we wouldn't need any words to describe all our pictures or inspiration. But I'll try my best to let the "art" speak for itself. Translation: if I tell you how much fun and effort went into our photography session, you'll judge us even more.

I think Tyra would be proud!

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

tyra took over

*Warning* Blog written under the influence of lots of medicine, will not take responsibility for content.my sick couch

Day 3 of couch bound has completely taken over and any shred of the normal Natalie waved bye bye long time ago and a new stage of crazy mixed with boredom and a dash of smoker's cough have created a smog of delusion and meltdown. For the last week I've lived on the "sick couch" (when we were young and we got sick, Mom would put a blanket over our couch and bring all of our comfy pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, orange juice, etc and create a sick ouch and we almost always felt better...this sick couch was not nearly as good as Momma's) and the lack of stimulation is really starting to get to me. I get so bored I decided I need to clean or cook and then after a little task such as showering or warming up soup, sickness takes over and I feel like I've ran a marathon and I sit down and the cycle starts all over again! Facebook and my regular blogs are not enough to keep this "eternal learner" occupied for this many days so one would think I would take this opportunity to read an actual book...ehh no. I thought about it many times but then I remembered this story on head trauma on NPR about a girl who had a concussion and went back to school right away and the doctor said her brain actually needed down time. Now, I know I've had no brain trauma (eh...) but I find in these times of tribulation it is better to be safe than sorry. So I've been stalking like the best of them hopping from one blog to the next. Like with everything else in life there are major trends in the blog scene. One of the bigger blog trends I've found recently is the "at home fashionista". I just made that term up but seriously these ladies are everywhere snapping daily pictures of the bold prints, neon colored jackets and skinny belts. And while I think most of their outfits are daring, eclectic and blog worthy... their awkward poses...maybe not. It's like everyone doesn't want to admit that they too have watched 50 billion hours of America's Next Top Model and is doing their best to nail the pigeon toed look or the vogue shrunken shoulders. I mean I have been more than guilty of this sin but perhaps some people look like they're taking themselves too seriously? I also wonder who takes these pictures of them? I can only imagine asking P to take pictures of me attempting to model everyday in the freezing cold and him laughing the first couple of days and then eventually get really fed up with the whole situation and him either praying I'd forget about the new burst of creativity or attempt to teach me to use the self timer. Or maybe, deep down I'm a bit jealous that I don't have the ability to remix my wardrobe and the commitment to chronicle it everyday :)

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

Heaven

This week has been.. well... how can I put it.. totally, unbelievably, exhausting. Every night I walk inside barely able to make it to the couch. I've stayed after school, had choir two times, witnessed multiple fights, and greatly added to my premature wrinkles. (How long am I allowed to say premature?) AND it has snowed everywhere else in America except for Nashville and it looks like I will actually have to work an entire week...To make matters worse, the light on my phone aka lifeline went out today at work. My wonderful hubby made an appointment at the Apple store and after work I zoomed over to the swanky Green Hills Mall. All I was thinking of getting into the store, getting out, and trying to make it home in some kind of way that avoided the cray traffic of rush hour. So I parked hurriedly walked in and then almost fainted. I'm not really all that materialistic and (although I have recently began loving me some Coach accessories) I'm not one to fawn over designers but all that changed today. In a matter of 20 minutes I left crazy town and entered a beautiful, clean, quiet mall with welcoming stores that played soothing Classical music. I found myself thinking shopping therapy would be way more fun and beneficial than the half marathon I am doing in order to "have less stress". Usually I go to the closer Cool Springs Galleria and of course have frequented Green Hills but today the mall just spoke to me. Tiffany's, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, etc just kept calling, coaxing me into their meticulous stores...Then I remembered I was a teacher and did not have the disposable income to afford this luxury...

Which wait, how is having a huge work out plan, making every inch of my body hurt and scream at me a way to relieve stress?

So anyway, right before I sold our house and decided to move into the beautiful mall I found the Apple store. I walk in and am greeted by someone. He takes my name and an Apple employee meets me within a minute...seriously? I'm all for democracy but if Apple could run the world and everything would be that efficient I would totally get on board. (sorry uncle Ray, Microsoft is good, too) I mean I know, I know the middle east is all up in arms about having a say in things... but can people really do it better than Apple? No. (sorry Egypt..)

So anyway, my new Apple friend Tim basically tells me he can do nothing and will not help and I should buy a new phone. So wait, maybe not everything is perfect at Apple land.

But anyway, what I learned today is that I live in a constant state of tired and tense shoulders and as diva as it sounds entering a swanky, overpriced, and snobby mall made me feel...complete.

I hope you got the pre-crazy Tom Cruise "you complete me".

For Natalie's News this has been a very WASPy, Natalie-Corinne.

(No worries, still not a repub)

haters

With such a beautiful and fashion conscience first lady it is to be expected that certain fashionistas are going to talk over her wardrobe choices. Although I think she chooses flawless outfits, others disagree and that is their (wrong) opinion. One thing I cannot understand is the fascination over her... arms....yeah her arms. First of all, the arms are fierce. For example, take all the recent hype about her official portrait, featured to the right. I think she looks totally classic, I mean she is even wearing pearls. It's a basic black dress by Michael Kors, totally an American classic. I heard criticism recently about this portrait not "looking American". What do you want? A frumpy picture with the first lady sporting mom jeans and a t-shirt with assorted fruits and flowers?! I also heard critics talking about her curves...umm hello, she is a woman! Apparently some people in the media need to return to junior high biology and learn the different anatomy traits between males and females. Perhaps it would help with bipartisan relations. Oh and back to my original point...those limbs projecting from either side of her shoulders...they're called arms folks and hers happen to be hot. If I had the first lady's arms I would never wear sleeves. Tim Gunn would question my decision to wear a sleeveless shirt on a goodwill mission to Siberia and I would have to answer, "I leave my toned and amazing arms exposed for the the will of the world...cold weather cannot tame my spirits". Pictured to the left is the first couple in their first black tie affair at the white house! I love how glamorous she looks and once again..she's sporting those rocking arms and for some reason that alarms people! Honestly I think a lot of people are jealous of the hot first lady. Not only is she smart, seems like a good Momma, but she is beautiful and just happens to be married to the President of the United States. Yeah, she's got some haters, but all beautiful people do. No worries, Michelle, we all get used to it. Listen, life is too short, don't hate..appreciate!

In other news, thank God almighty, we have air conditioning. We have finally reconnected with civilized society and have air conditioning. It could not have come any earlier I might add. I was seriously considering breaking into Scruggs and sleeping on the coach in the front office like the good old days of grad school. But, thankfully it did not come to that level of desperation. Last night curling up in my bed (once again, thanks Ray!) was one of the most joyous occasions EVER! Life is once again good. (To the right is a simulation of my response to the return of air if I were living in a beautiful cobble stone street in Europe).

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend:) For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

colored jeans

Maybe my crazy Mamaw had it all down when she kept every garment of outdated and unfortunate fashion staples since 1965. Because of her dedication to "waste not - want not" she has numerous closets in their house stuffed full with bell bottoms, florescent shirts with huge shoulder pads and puff painted t-shirts and sweat shirts. Mamaw has thousands of shoes in every color and heal size imaginable. She also has a jewelry box that is the size of my bathroom dresser. Every box is crammed with jewelery from literally every fashion fad or mistake. Why do you ask am I applauding this hoarding behavior? Fashion repeats itself..that's why. Thousands, possibly millions of families spend their precious spring weather indoors enduring the wrath that is spring cleaning. We throw out everything. I am too guilty of this waste. "I haven't worn this is a year, it's gone." But look at my Mamaw. She kept every color of the popular ballet flats from 1983 and last year BAM they're totally HOT. Example 2. Colored jeans. Yes colored jeans are back with a vengeance! Every decade has it's blunders but the 80s and early 90s were truly tragic. The stone washed, tightly rolled, pleated tummy colored jeans were unflattering on literally every body type. The only bonus we have is that huge hair is not really in so at least our bodies will look somewhat proportional. Even a skinny girl in 1984 had no hope for a flattering facebook picture with the 8lbs of teased bangs (pictured left) and fire hazard hairspray that weighed everyone down and tested lung capacity in the shower while attempting to hold one's breath until all the hairspray was gone. (Ever see An Inconvenient Truth? on the deleted scenes, Gore talks about the bad effects of hairspray but since his southern roots are so deep and he didn't want to offend Tippa's early 90's style he left it out) Women in their tight rolled jeans, ballet flats and massive helmet hair carried the proud silhouette of broccoli (pictured right). I will admit that all of the recent pictures of these girls in colored jeans have much more of a flattering waist line with out the mom jean pleating of the past, but all the pictures show the perfect (and I like to think computer created) flattened tummy... so really a potato sack would work for them. What about the rest of America? Are we doomed to repeat the same tragic mistakes of the 80s? If we take our advice from the stars the answer would most certainly be yes. Recently countless stars have been slammed for the daring wardrobe decisions... all including 80s styles that did not work then and proven once again to be faulty. For example on the left is the usually adorable Katie Holmes. She has been noted in countless magazines as a fashion icon but BLECK... look at her in her rolled jeans! Are you kidding me? She's not the only one who has been a victim to the 80s comeback. Second...a couple of months ago it seemed the world had come to an end when Jessica Simpson wore some high wasted pants with too many belts. Although these jeans were not colored, they were high wasted and pleated and pretty terrible (pictured right). Two beautiful and talented women tricked and punished by the stylists who want to bring back the worst fashion decade ever. I guess the only thing we can learn from all of this is to actually be like Mamaw and never throw out any old clothes. At least that way we won't have to buy these awful clothes twice. Maybe this throw back to the 80s due to the economic crisis, maybe it is due to the fashion world running out of ideas, whatever the case, let's just hope it ends sooner than it started and if they must repeat a decade they will repeat the glamorous 1940s and it will be acceptable to wear sequins anytime of the day. For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

Nancy meet Satan

So I usually keep my opinions to myself (I know, I'm laughing too) but I am highly frustrated with Nancy Pelosi's recent gallivant to Italy. While I know it is important for government officials to meet with leaders from around the world, her trip along with other democrats accomplished nothing. Her meetings with the Pope were in my opinion a publicity stunt and he did not even allow her communion. Salt in an open wound for the vast majority of Americans who are struggling to make it while she's out cruising the world on tax payer money (holy Lord, who let Rush Limbaugh in here?!). Sadly, this is just another example of how our leaders are so out of touch with the real America. In my lifetime (excluding Bill... I still love him) I feel that almost every politician has been bogus and are really own out for their own pocketbooks...Debbie downer indeed...this is too much reality for a Monday morning. Let's move on.

This weekend was so exciting for many reasons but one of the highlights was that I got to see brother Ben play baseball! His team played at The University of Central Arkansas, a surprisingly lovely campus. His team played all weekend and we got to see him play Sunday afternoon. He looked great on the field and I was such a proud sister. Unfortunately we did not get to hang out with him too much because they had to get on the bus quickly and go back to school but I was so excited to see the young chap... and I didn't even have to do any of his laundry! Conway is a really nice city and I really enjoyed the downtown area. It is so cute, the streets in the downtown are painted and old train stations have been made into banks and restaurants etc. Really quaint, artsy etc..who knew?

Lastly, as I made the trip back to Oxford I was greeted with friends and fellow Oscar enthusiasts watching the Academy Awards at my house. It was the usual music crew who I love dearly because anything and everything is an excuse for an elaborate party. There was tons of food, drinks, and even forms with all of the categories and nominees printed as ballots so we could play along as the Oscars were on! Honestly I saw a lot more movies this year than ever but I really only care about the fashion. I love seeing what everyone is wearing; although I wish the stylist was not so popular because as much as I hate to admit it, I love a terrible dress on an A-lister. This list the popular trends seemed to be the color red, asymmetrical designs and mermaid dresses. Some of my favorite dresses of the night were Anne Hathaway (pictured upper right). She may have lost the Oscar, but she looked great doing it! Secondly, as much as I hate to admit it, I loved the dress Miley Cyrus wore (pictured left). Nothing says diva to me more than that beautiful dress, perhaps that's why I'm such a fan. Lastly, I had to add Beyonce because she can do no wrong in my book (pictured right). Although I like her dress in kind of an ugly/beautiful kind of way, her body is rocking and I was glad to see some curves on the red carpet!

Well I need to get back to work, I hope everyone has a wonderful Monday. For Natalie's News this has been Natalie-Corinne.