if only I had a dog

A while back, Charlie--who, despite his complete inability to pick out clothes that don't make him look like an orphan, has a pretty good eye for style--tried to talk me into buying a sparkly straw bag at SuperTarget. "It's SHINY! And JINGLY!" he announced. "I like it. And I think you NEED it. Buy it, Mama!" But it seemed a little TOO sparkly and jingly for me, so I passed.

The other day, though, we saw the bag again, this time on the 50% off clearance rack. And Charlie said again, "Mama, you NEED that bag." And he does have this weird sense of fashion, I have to admit, although he does better when he's picking things out for me than he does when it's his own clothes. Much like Clinton Kelley, actually.

So I bought it.



It has a tag inside that says DO NOT WASH KEEP AWAY FROM WATER AND FIRE, which makes me love it even more. And can you see what's in the sparkly bag today? It's a copy of Nichols Hills News! Which is not something I usually carry around, or read even, but this month I'm in it! How fun is that? I'm also in Edmond Monthly and NW Style, if you happen to live in the OKC metro area and want to read about Friday Playdate or see the white linen armchair we bought before we had kids.



The article is very very nice, and the picture somehow makes it look like I'm really WRITING and not just pretending to write.

I had a little moment of panic when I picked up the magazine and saw MY PICTURE! With MY NAME over it! Because I thought what if someone sees me standing in front of the DISPLAY RACK reading about myself! But then I realized that someone would have to RECOGNIZE me first, which most likely isn't going to happen. I mean, really--who do I think I am, Heather Armstrong? Sheesh.

I'm one of those people who never recognize celebrities--no matter how local or national their status--without someone pointing them out to me first. I could stand in the grocery check out line in front of, say, Nicole Kidman, chat with her about the weather and her groceries and STILL not recognize her. It's happened--last summer, at the pool, I visited with another mommy for, oh, a couple of hours one day, while our kids had swim lessons and played in the baby pool. She was really nice. A few days later, I ran into her again, this time with my sister-in-law, who said, "You know who that is, don't you? That's Meg Alexander--you know, the news anchor." Nope, I had NO IDEA. And yes, I do watch her on the news. I'm just a huge dork.

Jen had a playdate recently, while she was in Utah, and posted this picture of the grownups sitting around visiting:



Recognize anyone? Yes, yes, there's Jen, in the tank top. But what about the woman in the pink tee? Or the man in the funky glasses? Or the BABY? THE DOG?

People usually spot the dog first. Or so I hear.