Dressed to feel my best.

A little behind my fellow bloggers (mystery Bisters and FabAb - sorry about that, I'm sick... as in "been home from work for two days" not "touched in the head"...), and BFFs I will now give my much anticipated answer to Real Simple's question of "what outfit makes you feel your best?" Devotees will remember that I recently gushed on a certain outfit christened "the weekend dress", but don't worry I won't take the easy way out and re-post. Nor will I write about the outfit that is currently, in my weakened state, making me feel my best: Joe's undershirt, cut off gap sweats, and a pair of Joe's socks.

Currently, my favorite outfit to wear out is a long black cotton dress that I bought from Target a few summers ago promptly after seeing a picture of Angelina Jolie wearing a similar one. At the time Target was the only place I could find one, now they are all over the place...God I'm soooo fashion forward. Anyway this dress is all the right kinds of comfortably and sexy. Nice flowy cotton with the necessity of a bra that hikes the ladies into their element. Paired with some nice dangling green stone earrings (also inspired my Miss Jolie) or my gold sequin head band (which is quickly becoming another adult safety blanket...) I just feel so damn elegant...but casually so, like a princess flipping the bird off her sailboat to no one in particular as she mans the helm. Ahhhhhhh...maybe I am touched in the head.

Grocery Shopping

The Grocery Store is a terrifying place. There is only one thing, and one thing only, that consistently gets me through my weekly grocery shopping trip. The Holy Grail of anxious organization: The List. I love lists. No, I am a maniac about lists. Nay. I may be dependent upon lists, much like a vital organ. Whenever I feel overwhelmed about something, I make a list to soothe myself. God forbid I ever face a problem I cannot reduce to list form. But I digress.

The reason that grocery stores terrify me isn't because I am culinarily inept, it is because there is so much damn stuff in there. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling, end caps, freezers, refrigerators, produce carts, random cardboard displays...so much stuff. I am a good cook. I'm so good I make up my own recipes, but grocery stores just...overwhelm me. Sans list I'm the girl that goes in and buys 3 lbs of lemons and a box of off brand cereal. In short, I need a plan or, to make me sound less (or more?) lame, a weapon. Enter sublimation of chronic list mania. Here is a real live example of one of my grocery lists:

Meat/Protein

Pork tenderloin

Ham deli meat

Steak

Vegetable/Fruit

Lettuce

Cucumber

Mushrooms

Carrots

Dried apricots

Tomato

Navel oranges

Apples- McIntosh

Bananas

Green beans
Staples

Whole wheat flour

Barley

Olive oil

Balsamic

Peanut butter

Ingredients

Asiago cheese

Ricotta cheese

Whole wheat wraps

Blue cheese

Whole milk yogurt 

That's right, nerds, it's broken down into categories. Try it sometime, and you may just think I'm a genius. Because with this little baby all my cares disappear; because I have focus I can wander, not aimlessly, but at my leisure. Free at last to casually browse the foreign products aisle and gourmet jellies. True I still over buy citrus and forget household items like soap and toilet paper, but that is because items on this list correspond to a preformed dinner menu and who ever heard of soap soufflé? I can't be trifled with things like bread. "So what if I forget something?" I cackle, clutching my list to my breast, "I once abandoned a cart full of goods down one of these very aisles to run home to use the bathroom; and it was still here upon my return! MUHAHAHAHA!" OK, so I've never openly cackled in the grocery store but the bathroom story is true...I mean, THAT'S how close the grocery store is to my apartment. So, really it isn't a tragedy if I forget something - just a failure. In short, much like wars and  French dance clubs, grocery shopping is not to be entered into under the age of 18 or without a plan.

Read Abbigail's musings on Grocery Shopping HERE!!! NOT TO BE MISSED!!!

The LOWDOWN on the SHOWDOWN

Tomorrow,10 am EST, unto you a blog feature will be born.

Starting tomorrow and every week after that Jayme, here after named The Topic Master, will administer to Abbigail and myself a topic. We will then simultaneously post a blog on said topic. All you have to do is read my blog, then hers or visa versa. And leave comments. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY!

See you tomorrow when I will discourse on: Grocery Shopping.