why i hate shopping.
Well, it’s been a few days since my blog was healed — but have I taken advantage of this freedom?
Nooooo way. Not even a little.
Why? Because I am arbitrary and nutty like that. I’ll want access to something desperately… right up until the moment I actually get it.
That said, I am taking advantage of the freedom now to post a picture of the Gradon and the Meg at the wedding of Alicia Staley, our wonderful friend and three-time cancer survivor. If anyone deserves a fantastic wedding, it’s Alicia. And it was. Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your special day!
We had great fun meeting her family, trying to follow along with the extensive Latin usage at the very traditional ceremony, and eating a ton of seafood at the reception. Mmm!
But the road leading up to us looking all stylish and weddingy in the photo above was a little rocky, for three reasons:
1. Apparently no one in the city of Boston shares my exact body type (an oddly-modified pear… or avocado, really — I am human guacamole), which led to the hilarity of me trying on 30 dresses over 3 days… and then sticking with my always-forgiving black one that I’ve worn to multiple weddings. I did end up buying a lovely pair of pink wraps to liven up my dress, mind you… but I bought those the morning of the wedding during a rush trip to the mall. Whew!
Gradon? He got a suit, got it tailored, found a great tie at Brooks Brothers, and got his already nice white shirt cleaned. DONE. Gradon does NOT have an odd body type — he is a standard men’s “medium.”
So unfair.
2. I needed to get my hair done before the weekend, because early gray roots (thanks, Dad — you only passed on the “gray” part, not the amazing silvery-tone thing you have going on) were starting to wave at passers-by, and my locks were kind of long and shaggy, versus long and sassy.
Booking a hair appointment in this city is nearly impossible, since everyone who can cut hair well is booked for months in advance. Also, I work until 6ish every day, and most salons, even if they’re open until 8, don’t believe two hours is long enough to do a single-process hair color and a hair cut (IT IS! IT IS!) I finally managed to make an appointment — THE THURSDAY NIGHT BEFORE THE WEDDING. It cost me more than it should have, but the gray was killing me. I’m clearly in denial about being 36.
And as usual, with Meg haircuts, I haven’t grown to love it just yet. But I will. I will. Or I’ll try until it grows out.
Gradon? Shaved his head with the No. 1 clipper setting. DONE.
Argh.
3. Alicia’s wedding was at a VERY traditional Catholic church… which means that all the women attending needed a head covering. I was going to buy a hat to wear, but kept putting it off in the hopes of buying a dress first, so I could coordinate the two. Which meant that, since I’d failed to find a dress by 9 pm the day before, I’d also failed to find a hat. I figured this was fine — the church website mentioned that they give out veils in the foyer of the church to anyone lacking a head covering of their own.
We took off for the wedding (me in my black dress and pink wrap, Gradon in his lovely summer suit) with Jeff and Gretchen, who are dear and awesome friends of ours. Gretchen had an adorable black hat to wear, which made me start to wonder if I’d made a horrible choice in not finding a hat of some sort, even if it wasn’t exactly what I wanted. As we continued to drive, and I stared at her hat, I was even MORE convinced I needed a hat.
What were these “provided veils” going to look like, anyway? And had anyone else worn the one I would be given? Could I get veil cooties? (I know, I know… even as I thought these things, I was ashamed at myself.)
But where to get a hat now?
We arrived in Lawrence, MA about twenty minutes before the wedding was set to begin, which meant Jeff had time to find a snack (Jeff eats about 15 out of his 16 waking hours each day.) His snack location of choice happened to be next to a CVS, so Gradon and I went in to see if they had any hats. I didn’t really think there was much chance there would be a hat I’d like there, because it was a drug store. Drug stores aren’t known for hat selection.
But I found one.
In the exact pink of my wraps, even. A floppy straw hat in the exact shape I would have worn if I’d gotten to buy a hat somewhere more posh. Granted, it had some weird stringy ornament glued to it, but I chewed that off (in the aisle of the CVS, with my TEETH… much to Gradon’s rightful horror) and bought it. $7.99! Imagine what I would have had to spend on one from anywhere else! The hat I was looking at in Banana Republic cost a good ten times that amount!
Even better? I got MANY compliments on that hat. Truly awesome.
But back to Gradon. Hat? He didn’t need a hat. He was fine. Slightly scandalized by me chewing on a hat at CVS, of course… but he survived even that white-hot shame.
Now it’s Sunday, and I’m trying to figure out how to get through a week without any clean laundry. See, we have no laundry facilities in our little floor of this little brownstone in Charlestown, which means I usually do a bunch of loads in a nearby laundromat on Saturday.
That was out of the question yesterday, obviously.
Today? There’s a parade down the main street of the neighborhood, which means the laundromat is closed. CLOSED.
CLOSED SO CLOWNS CAN WALK DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET.
I’ve never been prevented from having my clothing cleaned by a parade.
IS NOTHING EASY IN THIS TOWN??
