By Trina, February 23rd, 2010 |
I am a pair of black pumps’ worst nightmare: wearing them to work and wearing them out at night leads to me wearing them down to nothingness. It is only a short matter of time until I completely ruin them.
The first thing to go is usually one of the heel caps leaving me with a metal peg at the bottom of the heel. That tiny piece of black plastic protecting the metal falls off or wears down, and I can be heard tapping around on any hard surface. I get very self-conscious when only one heel is missing the cap, and I make a tap sound with every other step. My least favorite is when I make a sliding move causing my metal heel to screech like nails on a chalkboard.
I have taken my precious shoes to the cobbler and had them repaired. Sometimes I go to payless and buy plain black pumps during a BoGo sale. This upkeep is maddening.
I’d like to ask my fellow heel-wearing friends: what brand do you turn to for your trusty black pumps and how long do these last?
 Exhibit A: the metal peg that will make me tap as I walk
By Trina, February 14th, 2010 |
I have had a few periods in my life where a perfect storm of change has occurred and altered my course. The last few months have been one of those times. Not only were things changing in every aspect of my world, I honestly felt like I’d lost my blogging voice.
After two months off, I am giving blogging another go. To my handful of readers, thanks for telling me to get back in it.
By Trina, December 13th, 2009 |
I’m a person who loves coffee. Brewing it, smelling it, drinking it—I love everything about coffee. Another thing I love is seeing a company with a great cause. That’s why I’m suggesting you head over to Jumpy Monkey Coffee’s website and purchase a gift for the coffee lover in your life.
First thing, I love their coffees. They have amazing fresh roasted coffees that come in amazing flavors and varying roasts. My personal favorite is the Cinnamon Sticky Bun flavored coffee. Go to their online shopping page and browse the flavors. Most 12 oz bags are $8.00
By Trina, December 8th, 2009 |
Some of my happiest childhood memories were during the holiday season in my hometown of Ida Grove, Iowa. There were weeks of festive cookies, a real Christmas tree decorated to perfection, visits with loved ones, white blankets of snow and evenings spent opening advent calendars and Christmas cards. My mother would decorate the entire house so beautifully that holiday parties were an absolute must. On Christmas Eve, we would watch Christmas Vacation, eat Rueben sandwiches for dinner and attend the evening service at St Paul Lutheran Church to sing classic hymns in a candlelit sanctuary. To me, the holidays were truly magical and those family traditions made it so.
However, families naturally evolve: babies are born, loved ones pass on, folks marry in and people move away. My family is no exception. I live in Dallas, my brother’s family lives in Florida and the majority of my relatives are back in the Midwest. Unfortunately, a mega-trip to Iowa is not feasible every December and my family understands.
Over the last two years, this complicated geographic situation has given me the idea to come up with some of my own holiday traditions. I’m not sure what the final catalyst was—if it was the fact I’m becoming more and more like my mother every day OR if it was that my apartment seemed to lack the magic of my home in Iowa—but whatever it was, I’m glad it happened. Here are some of the holiday traditions I’m beginning…
By Trina, November 30th, 2009 |
It’s the most wonderful time of the year again, and I’ve compiled my (shameless) annual wishlist. Unlike my childhood years where I flagged pages in the JCPenny Christmas catalog, this year I used the internet to provide links for reference and easy purchasing. Thank goodness for online shopping!
I wanted to share my list on Trina Left Iowa just in case any of my readers were thinking of buying me a gift or need gift ideas for a fellow twenty-something female. I found that Target.com had some great tools and lists for different personality types – my favorite lists for females were Corporate Diva and Urban Gourmet.
By Trina, November 25th, 2009 |
This Thanksgiving I will not be returning to my hometown in Iowa, and it is the first year I have been unable to make the trip home. Surprisingly, I am okay with this reality. Why? Although they will never replace my real family, I have developed a secondary family in the last few years, and I’m excited to celebrate this stomach-stretching holiday with them.
By Trina, November 23rd, 2009 |
Over the last 4 months, I’ve had an excessive amount of change happen in almost every facet of my life: work—I’ve switched positions from a travelling consultant to a stationary office worker, location—I stay in Dallas every week now (I actually feel like I live here now), financially—being local means I drive more and need to buy groceries so suddenly bills are going up, love life—Irish BF has moved to Dallas changing our ridiculously long distance relationship to a suddenly very short distance relationship, physical size—I’ve been expanding… All this drastic change has resulted in many things, but one in particular has bothered me to no end: severe neglect of my darling blog.
By Trina, October 29th, 2009 |
Courtesy of my beloved NPR, thisis a great animated video on how the flu invades your body and spreads. NPR’s Robert Krulwich and medical animator David Bolinsky are your visual guides in this viral journey. Once you get past the amazingness of it, you will wonder how we aren’t all dead by now.
By Trina, October 26th, 2009 |
Dear Autumn,
Ah yes, it’s autumn yet again and that pumpkin-shaped hole in my heart has been filled. That’s right, the leaves are changing, the air is cooler, drunk people in burnt-orange shirts are wandering around Uptown Dallas on Saturday afternoons and Starbucks has their pumpkin-flavoring out. I LOVE this glorious time of year, and I want to sing these affections from my balcony.
For the last 3 falls, I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing autumn in 3 very different states: Iowa, Rhode Island and Dallas. Each one has offered up something delightful in this already wonderful time of year, and I’m going to share my favorites from each with you…
By Trina, October 20th, 2009 |
Yesterday I received an eye-catching email from my former sorority, Delta Delta Delta (aka TriDelta), with the subject line: Friends Don’t Let Friends Fat Talk. Upon reading the content and checking out the website, I felt compelled to post something on my blog, because I may be one of the guiltiest women out there when it comes to this.
What is fat talk? The site defines it as:
Fat Talk describes all of the statements made in everyday conversation that reinforce the thin ideal and contribute to women’s dissatisfaction with their bodies. Examples of Fat Talk include: “I’m so fat,” “Do I look fat in this?”, “I need to lose 10 pounds” and “She’s too fat to be wearing that swimsuit.” Statements that are considered Fat Talk don’t necessarily have to be negative; they can seem positive yet reinforce the need to be thin — “You look great! Have you lost weight?”
I am terrible when it comes to fat talk… Like the majority of women, I have body image issues and frequently buy a one-way ticket to negative town. When I start the down negativity spiral, it really does have an effect on everything in my life. The other morning my pants were really tight, I got down on myself and it ruined my morning—I know I’m not alone on this kind of morning.
That’s why I’m on board with Fat Talk Free Week.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are all mine.
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