First, let me tell you about the pair of No Gap Lee Jeans I received last month (or was it October?). (Note to self: Check your editorial calendar more often and actually abide by it.)

These jeans have a band of elastic inside the top of the jeans so that when you bend over, you aren’t giving away the store. Or something like that. It’s not that crinkly elastic waist your mom used to make in those homemade pants (and, dude, I know about the crinkly waistbands). Nope. It’s completely hidden and it’s quite comfortable. In fact, not only does the elastic keep the back of your jeans from gapping when you sit or bend, it keeps your tummy in check too! Suh-weet. I love it when a plan comes together (and can keep my body contained).

So here’s my low-down of the No Gap Lee Jeans. I like them a lot. They have a dressy dark wash and are perfect for the days I want to take it up a notch and wear heels to lunch with my friends or have dinner with my husband. The elastic is comfortable and not binding and, as I said, has the added bonus of holding in the fluff of my stomach. One of the things I loved about the jeans is also something I wished were different: the length. Since I’m right on the cusp of petite (I’m 5’5″), I have a hard time finding a length that works for me. The petite or short lengths tend to be a tad too short and the regular lengths tend to be too long. So, this isn’t really a problem with Lee, it’s just in general. But if you have the short legs like I do, just be aware that the No Gap Lee Jeans are great with heels.

Would you like to win a pair of Lee jeans for yourself? Well, in honor of its 120th birthday, Lee is giving away 120 pairs of jeans each day in December on their Facebook Fan page. Did you read that right? 120 PAIRS OF JEANS PER DAY! That’s 3,720 pairs of jeans this month. Your odds are pretty good, wouldn’t you say? The contest starts December 1 and runs for the entire month of December.

And now some Lee trivia (because I am a complete sucker for interesting information I can whip out at the Christmas party). Lee’s innovations through the years include:

1911: Lee introduces the overall
1926: Lee produces the first zipper fly
1949: Lady Lee Riders was introduced to the women’s market
1964: Lee introduces the first no-iron pants
2007: Lee introduces the Natural Fit instantly slimming tummy panel
2009: Lee introduces Slender Secret, an ultra-stretch slimming jean for every woman

In case you don’t know, I’m a Lee Fit Ambassador and I’ll be trying out a pair of Lee’s No Gap jeans this week. I’ll let you know how they pan out for me. The idea behind the No Gap jean is that the jeans have a hidden elastic waistband that prevents the back of the jean from gapping open. I don’t know about you, but that’s a feature I can’t wait to try out. Check out Oprah this week and then I hope to have a review for you next week.

My personal favorite jeans are GAP’s Long and Lean and Ann Taylor Loft Curvy.

I have worn a size 8 shoe since I don’t know when. Probably when my feet swelled from my first pregnancy back in 1997. Maybe a little before then if you take into account the incredible width of my feet.

Now I’m a size 7.5 or (gasp!) size 7. Are you kidding me with this?

It’s bad enough that a size 8 pair of jeans from 1989 would be considered a size 2 these days because of the vanity sizing, but now we have vanity shoe sizing?

Soon we’ll all be wearing size 2T jeans and have bare feet.

Which may not be so bad if we don’t have to do the potty training thing all over again.

In the past month, though, I’ve come across three pairs of bargain shoes that I could not pass up.

These blue ones were the first to catch my eye:

How cute is blue camouflage? And so versatile. Blue camouflage is the new brown flip-flop.

These little cream ones were on sale and perfect for a dress I just bought:

Let me just say these are some incredibly cute shoes. They’d have to be because y’all? I HATE white shoes and any variation thereof regardless of what holiday you’re talking about. HATE. THEM. But these I love. How could you not? Hello! Kitten heel!

And these little gems:

Don’t you just love the hula girls? Apparently Rocket Dog is cool. Apparently Rocket Dog is the brand the teens wear. (You know, I just looked it up and it said Chilihead = Wicked Cool. But I digress.) Want to know WHY Rocket Dog is so popular with the teens? Because when you take them out of the shoe box and put them in your closet and leave them there, the closet is filled with the harsh rubber scent of the soles and that oh-so-necessarily-prominent Rocket Dog logo. If I were a teen stashing pot? I’d totally have ten pairs of these.

This is what I have chosen to wear. That is until I saw the picture. What is it with my mental image of myself and the "real" pictorial image that don’t match? I’m much, MUCH more gorgeous in my own head. And I don’t have those flabby arms, either. Or that annoying hair on my upper lip.

For those begging for a picture of the size 8 jeans, that was it. That’s me in my 8s. Funny how I can wear an 8 and still look pregnant with that shirt on, isn’t it? Like I said, my mental version of myself is much better.

I also picked up this necklace to go with it. Very funky. I have no idea if you can even actually see it since the medallion is the same color as the carpet. Pay no attention to the specks of dirt I put there to give it dimension and a sense of size.

Update: Husband just looked at my necklace and asked, "Is that one of those mosquito coils we burn in the back yard?" I think the only reason I may keep him is because he knows where the HCJ tickets are in his closet.

"My girlfriend from Oklahoma was gonna fly out for the dance, but she’s too busy doing some modeling."

Shannon contemplated some Wedgwood dishes and I reminisced over the fact that the basement smelled exactly like my Grandma P’s basement. Shannon nailed it when she replied, "I think all basements smell like a grandma’s basement."

We mosied about and finally decided to leave. (Shannon decided against the Wedgwood.) On our way out we looked the table over a final time. Shannon and I were thinking the exact same thing (as we do almost constantly): one of us needed to leave with that table. We would both feel better just knowing one of us had the table and scored the deal. Of course, in Shannon-speak "one of us" means me. So after she announced that "one of us" needed the table, she promptly took out her camera to take some pictures and walked off so I could further argue with myself about whether I wanted this table for $35.

The owner of the shop came out to strong-arm me into the purchase. (Had you seen this kindly elderly lady you’d know that was written with tongue firmly in cheek.) She told me what a great piece it was, how it just needed some paint, what a great bargain it was. Not one to be bullied into a decision I remained ambivalent. 

Now, truth be told, it crossed my mind to ask her if she’d take $20. I’m notorious at low-balling price negotiations. I caught myself this time because I a) didn’t want to offend the nice lady and b) I didn’t want to embarrass Shannon in front of a complete stranger on our first road trip. I had pretty much decided what the heck and I was going to buy it for $35. Then the owner pulled out the big guns: she offered to take off $5 and lower the price to $30.When the lady went to $30, I jumped on it. The table did, in fact, come home with one of us.

As you can see from the photos below, the table definitely needs some work and is not pristine. It has brand new screws under the table top and the top has been repaired. The stripping is not the best job, but I can either finish it the right way myself or just paint it. The detail work, though, is just wonderful. It’s a cute little table and the price was right. I would have been cursing myself if I’d let it go.

Now. Where do I put it?

Before I left for Vegas I bought these cowboy boots. Yes. I have lived in Oklahoma for 32 years and I have never in my life owned a pair of cowboy boots. I went to Oklahoma State University where it’s practically a requirement to own at least one pair of Ropers and Rockies. I actually prided myself on NEVER owning either of these. And now I have a
black pair of cowboy boots. I actually bought them to go with my distressed
denim mini skirt. Now I don’t know if I have the guts. While I was shopping
in Vegas I asked one of the sales girls what I should wear with them (meaning
the boots and skirt). She looked around for a few things then looked at me and
said, “You know, you could just rock a t-shirt with that and look great.” So
that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna rock one of these with it. You should rock one too.

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