What I Wore

So one of my favorite blogs is "What I Wore" which you can follow here: What I Wore

She uploads pics of what she wore! If it was to the park, airport, picnic, whatever. It's super fun. She even has categories or work, fun, play outfits on the right side.

Over my last trip to New Orleans, I threw together some fun outfits that I thought I would share. I always feel like such a douche train taking self pics but I do it with cute outfits to remember them. (Or ones I think are cute anyway!) Here are some of my favorites from the week!

This pink top I have had forever but the skirt is new and I love it. I am obsessed with stripes right now. I have the top in a white version but I gave it to my friend Vicky. Maybe she will let me borrow it because this would be so cute with white - or bright blue! 

I threw a scarf over my blue dress because it was COLD AS HELL (wait, hell? whatever.) in that hotel! I ended up loving this look though. I wore my favorite J12 everyday - which I always do.

 I wore this shirt out Thursday to cruise the gay bars. This picture was the most composed I was the entire evening. The jewelry is John Atencio.

 It was a shit show. Even the Evidence Aviators made an appearance!

This is what I wore on the last night. I bought this dress forever ago and just now wore it. It's kind of Asian looking. I love the empire waist and purple stripe on the top.

 

XO,
Rachel

Big Brother Darrel

So last night I took my big brother Darrel to dinner and a movie for his birthday. We have been doing it for years and it's become a fun tradition. I really enjoy having dinner alone with Darrel because it's the only time of the year we get to catch up just the two of us. We dish on everyone and everything and it's fun. I really enjoy my brother because of his sense of humor. He just makes our lives more fun. His impressions are out of this world and he's just got a "don't give a shit" personality. Darrel is 22 years older than me. When he finally moved out, it was because I was born and used to, every morning around 5 am, crawl to the bottom of the stairs and scream, "Daowl! Daowl! Daowl! Daowl! Daowl! Daowl! Daowl!" until he would get up and play with me. After about 6 months of that, Darrel thought "screw this" and moved out. 

 Darrel is a take it or leave it kind of guy which is kind of how the Hoffmans as a whole are. Here is a picture of us at the Broadmoor for brunch.

As you guys know, we go all the time. It's a five star place but we don't act like five star people. One of the funniest things Darrel does which horrifies our parents is taking two huge shrimp and putting them in his mouth so he looks like a walrus.

One time as a special treat, he added bacon.

This picture was taken RIGHT when Darrel let out the HUGEST fart I have EVER heard. People walking on the path behind us turned around like WTF! I about died laughing and Darrel was pretty proud of himself.

This was right after. My little brother Paul and I were dying!

Still laughing! (PS this picture reminds me I need to dig out that fab Michael Kors bag that I am wearing because it's a great style for summer.)

My favorite Broadmoor antic was when he pretended to pee in the bushes. I am sure that was the highlight of everyone's Mother's Day! Also, wearing a Hawaiian shirt to Sunday Brunch? Hell yes!

Darrel is an awesome guy. He runs Ajax Custom Plating which is our families plating shop up the block from the doll shop on South Broadway. He also restores old cars and races. I enjoy going to the car shows because I am a car girl myself. You can meet him and one of his cars if you come to our Summer Festival on August 11th.

I think Darrel needs a Facebook. =] As redic as I am, he's the one that taught me!

XO,
Rachel

The boy chases the girl until she catches him.

Hey All! 

So I have the pleasure of a guest blog this week from one of my besties, Karen. Karen and I have been friends for years and helped each other through a lot of personal dating experiences. I have had some of the most fun in my life with Karen and we have talked each other off many a ledge in dating. I love running things past my friends because they all offer wonderful insight and perspective into things that I never would have thought of. Friends and especially girlfriends are indispensable in this life and I am thankful for you Karen and for your fantastic thoughts and this super fun and oh so true blog on dating this week!

  

The boy chases the girl until she catches him.

I know I know…it doesn’t make sense at all. But my grandmother said it to me when I was 7 years old and I have never forgotten it. Read it again, it makes PERFECT sense! This is a post about (gasp!) dating… This is NOT a post about where to meet a guy (Hint: You’re not likely to find coffee in the dairy isle: more on that later) or what to do on a date, or the ever-popular but reeks of desperation “how do I make him like me?” No…this is about YOU taking charge of your dating life and not losing yourself in the process. First and foremost (I cannot stress this enough), know what you want and know what you DESERVE!

Need help? Make a list of everything you want in a man. Go. Get your paper and pen ladies. Include age range, financial status, education, familial background, religion, height requirements, hobbies, hair color, eye color, blah, blah, blah. Go ahead. Make one. Put down 50 items, put down 100 if you have to until you know EXACTLY what you are looking for. Now; rip it to shreds, burn it, whatever. Know why? It doesn’t matter WHAT a guy is, only WHO a guy is, more specifically how he makes you FEEL. Ok, for real this time, make another list. Keep it simple. Write down 5 ways you want your partner to make you feel. What is important to you? Do you want to feel secure? Pretty? Loved? Intelligent? Strong? Kind? Sexy? That’s the man you want to find; the one that compliments your best qualities and enhances your authentic self.

Remember, you’re in charge. You’re the boss. And you have a position open, so get interviewing! This is the fun part, enjoy the experience. Use “interviewing” as a mind-frame. Please, for the love of white gummy bears (sorry, my personal fave), do not actually interview the poor fella. No one wants to be interrogated; leave that for when he meets your mother! Interview multiple candidates and have them back for rounds of interviews until you decide they are not right for the job. You’ll know in three dates, tops! If you’re not smitten, do everyone a favor and move on. Don’t forget to give him the courtesy of a simple, honest reason for the break…you would appreciate the same, yes? Yes, you heard me right. Date multiple gentlemen. Not in the “I don’t know who the baby daddy is” kind of way, (you’re still a lady) but by all means you do not need to be sitting around at home waiting for HIM to call.

Of course, there will likely be one that ends up securing MOST of your time, and you will naturally fall into a bit of a “What is this? Where is this going? What are we?” tizzy-inducing stage. For me; usually it’s around the one and a half to two month mark, if a guy makes it that far.

I have two things to say about this; my own personal beliefs. 1. He needs to initiate this conversation. I’m a bit old-fashioned when it comes to this. Remember: “The boy chases the girl until she catches him”. I believe Grandma was right. Yes, I’m well aware that it’s 2012 but the natural state of a man is to be the hunter; let him do his job. I believe if a guy wants to be with you and wants to be with you only, he will make it happen! 2. If he doesn’t; and this is the hard one because you probably like him sooooooooooooooooooooo much at this point but--- MOVE ON! I’m serious. You want someone that wants to be with you. You want a respectful, two-way, mature relationship. If after 2 months, he’s sputtering things like “I don’t feel the need to put a label on it” or “why do we have to rush into things?” or other such widely-heard excuses, send him packing. It doesn’t matter how much you like him. Remember, know what you deserve. If he doesn’t think you are worth it, conversely, he isn’t. This is based off of the fact that I’m guessing that list you made earlier didn’t include him making you feel “insecure”, “cheap” or “mediocre”. Am I correct? That was rhetorical, I know I am and you know I am.

Signed,

I-will-not-settle-for-less-than-extraordinary-love-Karen