Home Sweet Sarah

These boots were (not) made for walking (into work)

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Sarah

I work downtown in a very business(-looking) environment where every day around 9am, people flock to the building, men clad in suits and carrying briefcases and women clad in suits and…Ugg boots.

Now, I’m not against Ugg boots. Not at all. I love my Ugg boots (and my Ugg slippers with the cute paisley pattern) but I do not think ladies should wear Ugg boots into work. It’s as if they think wearing Ugg boots is just as acceptable as wearing tennis shoes into work. Ladies. Neither Ugg boots nor tennis shoes are acceptable for wearing to work.

This is not 1988. You are not Melanie Griffith. You do not commute daily, on foot, from Staten Island to Manhattan. (Although even if you did, I would still mock you for wearing Ugg boots or tennis shoes to work.)

Why yes, that is a DVD copy of Working Girl. How embarrassing. It’s not even a VHS copy, which would make it a little less embarrassing, as then I could argue I bought it in 1988 (when I was, uhh, 5 years old.) Nope, I bought this (awesome! gem of a) movie only a couple years ago.

I think my real issue here is the shoes these women are changing into after they get to work. I can only imagine they are changing into 5-inch stripper shoes (you know the kind, with the clear lucite platform, very classy) because I know I wear some pretty tall big-girl shoes myself and yet I don’t need to wear Uggs. I just suffer, like god intended.

But hey! If you’re not into the big girl shoes, I totally understand. They make plenty of cute, work-appropriate flat shoes for this very purpose. But, if you are into wearing heels, then you should leave the Uggs at home.

Unless you’re changing into 5-inch clear lucite platform stripper shoes, in which case, I would like to shake your hand. You’ve got balls, sister, and one killer sense of style, obv.

Posted in Beauty & Fashion, Book, Movies, TV, & Music, Embarrassing Myself Daily | 7 Comments

30 Little Things : 6 : The last book I read

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Sarah

Okay, okay, so I’m still trying to finish Pride and Prejudice. Part of me wants to jump ship, but the other part of me is like, “Sarah! You only have 50 pages left…Just finish the damn thing!” (And if I want to meet my goal of reading 12 books this year, then I really do need to just finish the damn thing.)

And speaking of my 2011 to do list, Chris bought me this book for my birthday, to help me achieve my goal of learning all the country capitals:

I have always been mildly obsessed with maps and atlases (atli?) and globes, so this was a fantastic gift. Now if you need me, I’ll be hiding behind it until I finally decide to finish Pride & Prejudice once and for all.

(For background, and to keep updated on what I’ve accomplished in the 30 Little Things project, click here. Also, follow Sensibly Sassy, Barbetti, Ready for 30, Maura Lessa, Vicki, Kristie, Just Expressive, and Penny as they play along too!)

Posted in 30 Little Things | 4 Comments

Here’s to the next seven*

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Sarah

Thank you for all your fashion help on this post. The general consensus was that brown and black is a-ok and so I went with it (and – a bonus – everything fit!)

Here’s the outfit, complete with an orange sweater, natch):

Photo taken outside my very favorite place in Napa, Domaine Carneros.

Since Napa Valley is right in our backyard, it’s sort of taken over as our local bar. We try to spend a lot of time there (usually when I’m not pregnant, of course) but have had a hard time finding a place that doesn’t do the traditional wine tasting and is close to our house (i.e.: in the city of Napa, as opposed to say, St. Helena, which is still considered Napa Valley but is waaaaay further north.)

Enter Domaine Carneros. I think they do traditional wine tastings and tours, but every time we’ve gone, we’ve just sat out on the patio, shared a bottle of bubbly ($26 – a steal!), and admired the views:

When we were there for my birthday, we decided to join their wine club (complete with a shipment of a Holiday Magnum every November – yes please!) and because we were joining the club, our waitress kept bringing out more and more champagnes for us to taste. We’d come there with the intention of having one glass of bubbles, but one quickly turned into…

I didn’t have the heart to tell her to stop bringing more champagne, “Because, uhh, I’m actually pregnant,” so Chris took one (or three) for the team.

Before Domaine Carneros, though, we headed over to Sonoma for lunch at The Girl and the Fig and then after Domaine Carneros, we came home where I was treated to a feast of lobster tail and steamed mussels. All in all, a fabulous birthday.

(More pictures can be found on my Flickr page.)

*My dad always says life is broken up into seven year cycles – every seven years, you grow and change – and this year begins my forth cycle, which, judging from the obvious I’M GOING TO HAVE A BABY, should be full of change and growth right from the get-go.

Posted in All About Moi, Chris, Food & Wine | 8 Comments

30 Little Things : 5 : A photo of me without makeup

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Sarah

What better way to celebrate my birthday than to post a picture of myself on the Internet sans makeup?

After all, I was born this way – minus the crows feet and the pregnancy-induced acne, of course – so it’s sort of apropos.

Posted in 30 Little Things | 4 Comments

Help me be Stylish: Can I wear brown and black together? Edition

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Sarah

It’s been awhile since I’ve come begging for your style assistance, but before you go thinking I have somehow turned into a naturally stylish person who does not need the Internet’s help, trust me, this is not the case. I just haven’t had any special events to dress for recently.

Until now. The most special day of all time is this Saturday and to celebrate, I’m going where every pregnant woman dreams of celebrating her birthday: To wine country!

It’s supposed to be almost 70 degrees in the Sonoma Valley this weekend, so I fully intend on taking advantage of the weather by wearing sandals and a dress (okay, okay and leggings) but since my wardrobe is slightly limited these days – and since I also have to take into account the how-pregnant-does-this-make-me-look? factor, because if there’s one thing I’m actually, really scared of during this pregnancy, it’s some well-meaning, but completely out-of-line waiter or waitress trying to deny me my wine. I only want what’s best for my daughter, you guys, and what’s best for her is to have a mother who has not been imprisoned for whomping ass on someone for refusing to serve her wine – I basically have one option.

And here it is:

What we’re working with: Dress (from Target) that will probably be so small it will sit at a more tunic-like length, thus necessitating the wearing of leggings (from Old Navy), and to jazz it up (if the Internet approves, of course) a brown belt and brown sandals (both from Target, natch.)

I have other options for [black] shoes if the brown and black combo isn’t working for you, but then I would be out of accessory options and since I’d really like to look cute without going on a late night frantic shopping trip tomorrow night, I’m hoping the brown and black combo works here.

So! Thoughts? Suggestions? Leave ’em in the comments. (And thanks for helping me navigate the style world yet again!)

Posted in Beauty & Fashion, Help me be Stylish | 10 Comments

Knock, knock

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Sarah

Who’s there?

Orange.

Orange who?

Orange you glad I didn’t make a lame knock knock joke?

Oh shit.

So it appears I’ve become rather fond of the color orange. It started a couple months ago with the orange bedroom and has made its way into my wardrobe, as well.

(Next up is orange eyeshadow! It’s all the rage! You heard it here first!)

Orange just seems to GO with everything, more so than any other color. I feel like whenever I’ve got a meh outfit on, I can add something orange and POW! GLITTER MUSIC! Instant cute outfit.

Let’s take a look and some orange-and-awesome color combos, shall we?

My favorite combo, orange and turquoise (total BFFs these two):

I should have worn my big turquoise cuff, dammit. Also, look who’s wearing flippy-floppies in February, bitches!

Then there’s orange and olive green, not quite as BFFs as orange and turquoise, but close friends nonetheless:

Here’s a picture of the same dress, but with accessorized with an orange flower pin:

Pin purchased from Just Expressive’s Etsy shop.

And here we’ve got orange and…I guess this shirt is purple? I’m not exactly sure, but I do know I should have bought one in every color (mom rule number one!) because it is the best maternity tank* ever:

*And by maternity tank, I mean it’s a junior’s size extra-large Xhiliration tank from Target, obvs.

Now I’m thinking of all the other orange-and-awesome possibilities I can come up with. And also pondering how I can incorporate more orange clothes into my wardrobe. And orange shoes! And orange purses! And and and…I have a problem.

(My apologies for the grainy picture quality. I take most of these pictures in the work bathroom with my iPhone for my Wardrobe Remix 365 project over on Flickr. The idea of the project was to try to scour the depths of my closet and wear more of what I already own, but it’s basically turned into a How Many More Times Can I Wear This Same Sweater Dress And Leggings? Spring cannot come soon enough.)

Posted in Beauty & Fashion | 9 Comments

I made a deal with the devil [for some good weather]

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Sarah

We’ve been going on three or so months with chilly temperatures and rainy weather – which I understand isn’t as bad as some of you have it with your SNOWmageddon and your SNOWpocalypse, but you adapt to where you live and I live in California, where we like our sunshine – which means that any outdoor activities I used to do in the spring/summer/fall have been shelved.

I’ve had a hankering to go hiking and luckily the weather gods shined down on us Northern Californianers (75 degrees!) and Chris and I were able to head ~~out~~ up to Mt. Diablo in the East Bay. The information online said it was about a 4 mile hike, which I thought was perfect. After all, the last time we hiked, we completed an 8-miler.

Well, lucky for me we drove a little too far up the mountain, completely missed the trail-head, and ended up at the base of the summit, which meant we only had to hike about a mile up to get to the top. THANK GOD, because that mile was a brisk 1,000+ foot climb and, wow, I am out of shape these days. I had to stop every 20 yards or so to catch my breath and, like, not overheat my body or whatever it is you’re supposed to do (or not do) when pregnant.

The top was quite lovely (and windy!), though. Here, if you squint, you can see San Francisco from afar:

And while you can’t make it out in these pictures, Tahoe is waaaay out there in the background:

Self portrait!

And here’s a little shot for Kristin of Camels and Chocolate, she of JUMPING! in pictures fame:

And then I went, “OWWW!” because this broad’s not made for jumping anymore.

Posted in Chris, Travel | 6 Comments

30 Little Things : 4 : Meaning behind my blog name

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Sarah

Back when I first started blogging in 2007 (with a blogspot address, natch) I was Long & Pointless Sarah, sort of a nod to my penchant for telling long, pointless stories.

Then, about a year and a half ago, I decided to actually buy my own domain name and was faced with the WHAT SHOULD I BE CALLED?! dilemma. I was sort of over the Long & Pointless shtick, as I didn’t want to be known necessarily for being a teller of long, pointless stories; plus, it was a really long name to type.

When thinking of what I wanted my domain name to be, I knew I wanted something I wouldn’t want to change sometime in the future, and I wanted something that was sort of a play on words or punny.

I finally settled on Home Sweet Sarah, thinking it was perfect, as this is my Internet home. Sometimes I wonder if people think it means I’m calling myself “sweet” – which I’m most certainly not…I know I’m not sweet! I also wonder if people get that it’s a nod to my Internet home, or if that’s just something that only makes sense to me.

Regardless, if people didn’t get it before, they’ll get it now!

Posted in 30 Little Things | 5 Comments

30 Little Things : 3 : A photo from my childhood

Posted on January 22, 2011 by Sarah

This question is sort of apropos, as I am currently waiting – patiently, very patiently…take your time, kid – for my little Mini-Me (“I shall call her…Mini-Me.”) to arrive. Here’s a photo of Mini-Sarah:

I’m stealing my grandpa’s records. Apparently I used to do this all the time. What a little hellion!

And, apropos of nothing – I know it’s all up to God/higher power/whatever you believe in and what he/she/it makes our kid look like – but dammit to hell, I hope she doesn’t get my nose.

Posted in 30 Little Things | 6 Comments

Dear Sarah: We have (more) makeup and hair questions for you!

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Sarah

The eye makeup questions just keep rolling in! (And by rolling in, I mean this is the only one. But still. Rolling in!)

Maura asked me how to give the illusion of bigger eyes and at this point, I should laugh laugh laugh at all these makeup questions, because honestly? I have no clue what I’m doing. BUT! I have an advice column to run here, so I’m just going to go with it. (Plus, even though I’m not a trained makeup artist, I do know a thing or two about makeup AND at the very least, I definitely know what looks bad versus what looks good, makeup-wise.)

So! If you’re concerned about making your eyes appear tiny, my first piece of advice is this: Don’t wear a lot of heavy eye makeup. And especially don’t line your eyes all the way around on both the bottom and top lash lines.

As for what to DO, I’d go with a subtle cat-eye eyeliner application, which will give the illusion of your eye extending out further than it actually does. Line the top lid halfway across (not all the way to the inside) and to the bottom lid, apply just a little bit of liner in the corner (to meet up with the subtle cat-eye from the top lid.) Smudge the liner about halfway to the inside with a Q-tip, that way you still get a little color, but without an overwhelming BAM! EYELINER! effect.

Something I have read about in fashion magazines since the beginning of time is to apply a bit of white or light-colored eyeshadow to the inside corners of the eyes, to make it appear as though your eyes are further away from your nose. Does this work? I have no clue, but of course I do it every. Single. Day. (I am a slave to the fashion mags.)

Maura, I hope this helps! Let me know if you need more specific advice here. (I’m finding it’s hard to really get my point across with all these makeup questions without the use of pictures or videos, but I’m hoping that’s just me and that you’re really gleaning benefit from all this!)

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Jenn asked what kinds of up-dos I could recommend since she’s sick of rocking the ponytail. Well, Jenn (my fellow BHS alum – Once a Driller, Always a Driller!) here’s my advice to you: Buy a cute hair accessory, put your hair in messy bun on the nape of your neck (I do mine slightly off-center), and stick a cute accessory in it. Like so:

I bought my hair pin (which is actually just a regular pin, attached to my hair with a barrette) from Just Expressive’s Etsy shop. While I’m sure there are other people who make similar pins, I wouldn’t know, because here at Home Sweet Sarah, we’re I’m loyal and Jessica, who makes all the wares at Just Expressive, is a friend of mine, so hers the only shop I’m linking to.

If you’re looking for more a up-do-y up-do, I’ve always loved the look of these from Hair Thursday, although the only time I tried to do one, it was a disaster (in my defense, though, I was running late for a wedding and didn’t have time to fully commit to making one of these looks work, PLUS, since I was going to a wedding, I wanted the up-do to be PERFECT. For everyday, perfect is not necessary. Duh.)

Jenn, let me know if you end up venturing the way of the messy-bun-with-embellishment look or if you perfect one of the Hair Thursday up-dos!

Any other questions for your resident know-it-all?

Posted in Beauty & Fashion, Dear Sarah | 3 Comments