Tuesday, December 28, 2010

sense and sensibility

am i less of a lady if i don't wear pantyhose? my mama said a lady ain't what she wears but what she knows.
-india.arie, video.


sometimes, i use the light from the refrigerator to see my way around the kitchen. i leave it on way too long, sucking up way too much energy and driving our power bill up.

i typically wear flats with no socks in the wintertime because sometimes, socks and flats don't work.

i often go to bed with wet hair when it's chilly out, which makes my mama sad and almost always gives me a head cold the next morning.

i don't always wear a camisole under my v-necks.

one time when i was 13, i sat down in the creek behind our house and just slopped mud on my legs for an hour.

i stay up far past a reasonable bedtime on friday nights with the sweet knowledge i can sleep in that morning.

not only do i sing in the shower, i talk to myself sometimes when cooking, pretending i'm on the food network. ("ok, now all you have to do is dump that can of cream of mushroom soup into the crockpot. see, isn't that easy? even you can do it!")

i'm not, by standard definition, always sensible.

because i'm in my twenties? because i'm a woman? because i'm still figuring my way around life, learning how to manage it and love it at the same time?

no.

because for every unsensible, reckless, illogical thing i do, i do a million other completely acceptable things in return. i'm in bed by 10:30 on most nights. i work dilligently all day. my skirts rarely fall above my knees. the most risqué thing i did yesterday? listen to nicki minaj.

so i have my little escapes. my insignificant acts of rebellion that no one notices but me. i need these times to keep me sane. to keep me at least bordering somewhat on reasonable and yes, sensible.

so maybe i'm not always a lady. that unobtainable epitome of prim. i can't figure out the secret of liquid eyeliner. i have a few runs in my tights. a few stains on my white jacket.

but the beauty of it is, we're all that way.

isn't that perfect?

22 comments:

Casey said...

Beautiful.

I, personally, do the Food Network talking while I cook thing to, it's just ridiculously fun. :) I like to get down with my bad self on occasion!!!

xo,
Casey
www.blondebargainbabe.com

PS- I am having an awesome giveaway (my first), you should check it out!!!

mary kate said...

amazing! i seriously can not get enough of your blog and i know i sound like a broken record saying that. i love the food network part when i was little i used to play cooking show all the time and i think my family hated how much i did it. but really all of this was beautiful. hope you had a lovely holiday!

rym said...

absolutely perfect! we all have our own little quirks that keeps us who we are, that unique person that is all us:))

the southern hostess said...

This is such a great post. Beautifully written.

Unknown said...

i possess alot of those same quirks - you are not alone at all. socks and flats = yuck. i try, it just doesnt work. and talking to yourself - okay who honestly doesnt do that?!

btw, letters are going out soon. i hope you enjoy yours! xoxo

andy & lo said...

so glad you stopped by!
love your blog

Dawn said...

Yes! It is more than perfect:)
Thanks again for a wonderful post....I so love coming by here....and so very glad I stumbled across you!!!!!

Shay said...

I am going to buy your book one day. I loved reading about your little quirks:-)

Tunes & Spoons said...

i always look forward to your posts, always. if i want to feel inspired by beautiful writing, i come here for it. you are fantastic. i love that you talk to yourself while cooking sometimes! that is hilarious. also...i LOVE the feeling of staying up late knowing that I can sleep in. thats what my husband and i did last night and this morning, im in heaven right now!

kimbirdy said...

yes! i am quite unladylike in many ways. but then, i can throw on a little black dress & heels with the best of them! i think the true definition of being a woman is being able to easily transition from the mud-covered, backpacking for 5 days look, to getting jaw-droppingly dolled up.

and i totally talk to myself all the time! :) good to know i'm not the only one.

Dee Paulino said...

I like talking to myself while I cook or when I am showering. Its liberating "I think". You're beautiful and so are your posts, everyone you write gives me something to think about.

Xoxo,

Ana

Blondie's Journal said...

I do the Food Network thing, too!

XO,
Jane

Amber said...

the definition of a "proper lady" is always changing as things modernize. Even with your acts of rebellion, you are still quite the lady :)

Anonymous said...

yes it is perfect!
you have passed all the absurdities in life, risking that girl in you, only to flourished into a beautiful woman, and perfect at that.
wonderful post.it is inspiring for all the ladies out there.
thanks for dropping by my site too.

Unknown said...

beautiful! this is perfect. thank you for sharing this...
xoxo, jamie

Ashley {hudson's happenings} said...

PERFECT! I love hearing about your little (not so) guilty pleasures...and I especially love that you talk to yourself food network style while cooking. I find myself imitating Chef Gordon Ramsey whenever I'm at a restaurant ("the salmon is RaW!") thoroughly annoying my poor husband. :)

a whole lotta love said...

I love this. I'm totally the same way. We all have our little things that we do that make is who we are. We are all imperfectly perfect. I absolutely love your previous post too! I LOVE that your husband did that! I linked to it from the Love Train. I don't know if you noticed but I recently created the Love train on Tumblr too and its linking to the blogger one: http://alovetrain.tumblr.com/

Have a lovely day!!

LittleSilkDress said...

Thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving your kind words. I really appreciate it.

"one time when i was 13, i sat down in the creek behind our house and just slopped mud on my legs for an hour."

This made me laugh. Hard. And then I started wishing I had a creek behind my house (also that it wasn't cold outside...) so I could go do the same things. Hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season.

my best friend jules said...

This the nicest post I've read for a while! It put a smile on my face, as I can recognize myself in these words! :)

Xo Mervi
http://myfriendjules.blogspot.com/

Ps. I just found your blog via When a girl met a boy!

Grace said...

you have such a touch on words. this post is perfect.

Unknown said...

The beauty of being human is our little quirks of being unique from everyone else! We all have the extra little quirks that we do, that sometimes make us seem a bit odd to some, but make us who we are! :-)

charla beth said...

agh, this made me smile so much.

that part about you pretending you're on the food network made me laugh out loud!

all your little quirks are darling and it's fabulous that you embrace them.

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