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| Ed and some buddies. Hard to believe he's graduated. |
Ed's graduation was a blast. The weather cooperated (for a bit on Saturday it threatened to rain during the backyard party), my liver survived the jolt out of its almost-never-consume-alcohol state, and I wore clothes that were comfy but cute. Thanks for weighing in.
I wore the flowy black pants Friday, even though Coach HATES those pants. Many of you guessed he hates the tie-dye shirt. (I think Pat christened it the flying nun shirt). Solid guess. I don't wear that often and I also don't flap my wings regularly, so I don't think he even knows about the funky sleeves. Coach isn't really detail oriented, but he also doesn't do funky.
Mini: U NEED TO DO THE PANTS THAT DAD HATES WITH SOMETHING TIGHT. THINK BODY SUIT. U R SKINNY. OWN IT. FLOWY PANTS NEED SOMTHING TIGHT TO GO WITH THEM. I DON'T MAKE THE RULES. PEOPLE LIKE MAREAID DO. (that's one of her besties at ND, a fashion-iesta. We Shenanigan women play to our strengths, fashion isn't one of them. Killer Irish soda bread or chocolate chip cookies? I've gotcha covered.)
Also, body suit? Um, no.
I was still hammering grommets on Ed's friends' banners when we were supposed to be leaving. Dinner was at 4:00. I scooped up a bunch of clothes and tossed them in the car. Sometimes having a closet at your fingertips is the way to go.
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| A few of the banners. The guys enjoyed them. |
I wore the navy striped dress to the graduation ceremony Saturday morning. Thankfully those navy sandals were open at the back, because the black pumps that I haven't worn in about a decade wore the skin off the back of my heels in the 5 minute walk from Ed's place to the restaurant. I was relieved we hadn't driven to the Airbnb and unpacked the car, because after dinner I swapped the painful pumps with my black sandals. 
Oh look, a bin full of Ed's clothes was in the
front hall - easy place to take a pic of my
pumps. He had one bin ready for us to
take with us and will move
the rest back soon. Not sure I'm ready
for the mountain of college kid stuff.
See, running late was a blessing.
Since we were running late Friday, we ended up parking at Ed's place and walking to dinner vs driving 15 minutes to check into the Airbnb, getting dressed, and driving back 15 min from the Airbnb. I'm not a pro at getting out the door on time. In my defense, I do ALL.THE.THINGS. As a result, I tend to take my GPS arrival time as a challenge - as in, can you beat this time? This might explain the year when I lost my license for too many speeding tickets.
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| Gluten anyone? |
Dinner, arranged by Ed's girlfriend's family, was at a nice Italian place. We aren't great at planning in advance, so we were happy to be included. Despite the fact that Ed has a bigger family than his girlfriend, she had aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. in attendance whereas only Coach and I were able to attend.
There was nothing GF on the Italian place's menu, except for salad. When I asked if they had any GF options, they said they could do a cauliflower crust pizza. I'd eaten my salad at lunch, but ended up ordering pizza and a side salad. There were several FULL-OF-GLUTEN appetizers ordered and they were placed right in front of me, which made Ed shake his head and chuckle.
I don't eat pizza often and I didn't want pizza, but after years of frustration while eating out: I recognize that lowering expectations is key. Getting upset doesn't change anything. Those appetizers? Oh, they looked and smelled amazing. 
Red pants at the backyard
party, paired with
my favorite tunic/dress thing. Wearing
school colors was a thing, so I
was glad I went that route.
We went to a bar with Ed after dinner. Ed urged Coach to try a drink called Savage slap. Coach enjoyed it and our waiter enjoyed my request for a discount after I pointed out our ties to the drink. *wink, wink* If you know, you know.
We didn't check into our Airbnb till 12:30 am. This place was very reasonable considering it was graduation weekend. Most places jack their prices up. It was a 15 minute drive to campus, which wasn't horrible.
Before we arrived the woman messaged us to keep the fans going, particularly the fan over the stove, because she'd recently had an exterminator out to deal with 'critters.'
A STENCH assaulted our nasal passages when we stepped inside. It was UNREAL. The place LOOKED clean. The bedroom was incredibly cramped. The bathroom had a weird bi-fold door to the hallway/facing the front door, plus a door to the bedroom. We were glad that it was just us, because that bi-fold door didn't offer much privacy. 
I'm re-reading this now. 7 days? I find that hard to believe. Coach and I question whether or not we should've been allowed to sleep there. He keeps saying, I MEAN, COUGHING UP BLOOD IS NORMAL, RIGHT?
We weren't there for very long and if it was not midnight when we checked in, maybe we would've contacted Airbnb and asked for another option - but most likely they wouldn't have found anything else. I do wonder if perhaps we should ask for a partial refund.
It's hard to describe the smell. Arsenic? I'm not exaggerating when I say that Coach's pent-up-after-a-night-of-drinking-beer gas was a marked improvement. Did we, blog friends, just reach a new level of familiarity? Why, yes, I think we have. Too much?
Saturday night we attended the most popular bar along with a ba-zillion other graduates and their parents. Lots of fun. At this point, everyone knew we were heading back to an Airbnb of questionable air quality. Coach told someone that he thought we were lucky that we woke up.
Anyone else have shoes that were not called into service for awhile fail them? What on earth? Do you tend to run ahead of schedule? Or do you tend to miscalculate how long it takes to do ALL.THE.THINGS (like hammering grommets onto personalized collage banners)? Do you feel like your GPS is challenging you to beat the predicted time? So many cute outfits, where should I hang out next?
26 comments:
Happy graduation!!! The outfits you chose look great, at least from the neck down :) Too bad about the EXTERMINATION though! That's pretty gross. Well, at least you weren't there for too long, but gross.
I just talked about blisters on my blog today! Blisters are awful, sore feet can ruin a good time, I'm glad you had sandals.
Sounds like you had a great time. Your outfit choices look wonderful -- I love the fitted top with the flowy pants.
Wow the stench at the Airbnb - they should not have rented it out. I'd complain to the host & to Airbnb and ask for at least a partial (if not full) refund. that unacceptable.
It looks like you guys had a great weekend!!!! Sorry about the stench in the AirBnB. You should definitely complain to the host about it.
At this stage in the game, I avoid uncomfortable shoes at all costs. I've rid my closet of anything that is too tight, heel too high, doesn't provide enough support, etc. I have finally healed my plantar fasciitis and I am not going back!
I am a very slow driver so I know to always add about 5 minutes to the arrival time on the GPS. :)
100% ask for a refund and see what they say. The fitted white top was perfect with the flowy pants. Congrats to Ed!!!!!!
I'm glad the graduation went as well as it did. Kind of exciting to read this now that I know which outfit you wore. Of course comfortable shoes were a given.
Shoes are always critical. Even for just a weekend, I pack several pair.
I'll add your AirBnB horror story to the pile I've collected. I'd definitely ask for some compensation. Even to expect you to live/sleep with the noise of a constantly running exhaust fan is an imposition, never mind the smell of fumigation.
It seems like I always underestimate the time stuff takes, and I detest Being Late. Somehow, I have to reconcile those two things. And yes, I do try to outrun the Estimated Arrival Time on the GPS, especially if it doesn't say what I think it should. Bad habit, that.
Nicole - Thank you. I enjoy getting dressed up - probably because I don't do that often. Some of my wardrobe pieces I've had for SO long, but I do feel like they still work . . . well, except for the shoes, I guess.
I brought so many pairs of shoes and I'm glad I did. My poor heels and it was really only a few blocks to the restaurant and back. The ceremony that we also walked to, because TRAFFIC AND PARKING promised to add an hour or more to our evening, was over 20 minutes by foot and I was relieved not to have to make that walk in my pumps.
Pat - Thank you. I was up late the night before we left doing STUFF. That's when Mini texted me and I was tip toeing around in my closet trying to find something fitted. The weather there was so warm on Friday when we arrived. I had a cute fitted, short waisted cardigan that I love - but I was happy to just be able to wear the white tanke. Mini killed me with her I DON'T MAKE THE RULES, MY FRIEND MAREAID DOES.
I think I will reach out to Airbnb and ask for some money back, because that really was horrible.
Beth - It was so much fun. I enjoy hanging out with the other parents. Loads of fun. I ONLY wear comfy shoes, and my pumps have never given me a problem. I've worn them for hours and hours without issue, but maybe my feet are older or my skin is dry? No clue, but thankful that I hadn't attempted the 20 minute walk to the grad ceremony after dinner in those puppies.
Crazy but even my orthopedic shoes that are crazy comfy weren't perfect. Wearing sandals with good arches makes sense, but I was on my feet the entire day. I only sat down to eat for a few minutes. There was some friction in my sandals on Saturday and the bottoms of my feet were bright red, puffy, and sore by the end of the weekend.
I will ask for some money back. That shouldn't have happened.
Colleen - I agree - the white top balanced out the flow of the pants and I'm glad I asked Mini to share her thoughts. Glad she is learning stuff at ND, not just book related stuff. We need fashion focused folks to guide us.
I'm gonna reach out to airbnb resolution center and see what they say. It doesn't hurt to ask.
Ally - Our life at home is limited socially. We don't get out much - too much basketball chasing, which can be enjoyable because we like the other parents, but this was a great time. The other parents are lots of fun. Sad it is over. Wish we would've had more time to spend with them, but covid sort of interfered with meeting some of them earlier. I brought about 6 pairs of very comfortable shoes and was glad to have other options. I was equally surprised to find that my pumps were failing me.
Nance - I'm so glad we didn't have to fly to this graduation. I would've had to decide things in advance and hauling so many pairs of shoes wouldn't have been an option. Comfy shoes are key to happiness. I can't believe I was duped by a former agreeable pair.
I've stayed at airbnbs so many times. We've had a few issues - once only having place for 3 people to sleep even though the listing was for 8 of us. That was rough and we were in Vancouver. This smell really was so awful.
I like to be on time, but I struggle with trying to do ONE MORE THING. GPS needs to stop daring me to beat it somewhere. ;)
Hi! I love the photo banners! If you ever start to sell them, please let us know. If you don't; could I maybe commission you to create the cricut file for me? I can do the assembly on my own. I have some time; my daughter doesn't graduate (HS) until next year, but you can never start these things too early. :o)
Congratulations on the graduation! Anna and I were discussing how this weekend marks a year since she graduated from college. That's unbelievable.
I'm glad you woke up as well. I'm sure I'd have had a migraine the next day. I think she should have given you a discount for that, so definitely request a partial refund.
A wonderful graduation weekend! I’m jealous! My son graduated from OSU in 2017 and refused to attend graduation. There was no talking him into it. He just didn’t want to sit through a 3 hour ceremony. Your outfits turned out great! I empathize on the lack of menu choices. I’m low carb and it’s extremely difficult. I usually have to get a salad.
Yes! I’ve had shoes fail me. I once had a pair of wedges disintegrate while at church. They were rubber soled and just crumbled. I was embarrassed by the mess they made and barely made it to the car. It was very strange. Thanks, Kohl’s!
I always felt like I Do All The Things, so I'm always running behind.
I love the printed pants; and yes, the fashionistas are correct. You wear a fitting top with flowy bottoms and vice versa with skinny jeans. My husband tends to NOT like prints on me too; I wonder if that is what the issue was with your pants?
Smelling bug killing fumes seven days later does not seem healthy. How are you feeling now? Still coughing up blood? 😳
Congratulations to the graduate!! Sounds like you had a great weekend...well, other than the stench.
Oh, the scraped-off heel skin. Yes, I am intimately familiar with this situation. I am sure that I will encounter it many times in the coming weeks as we transition from winter shoes to sandals.
The outfits you picked are so cute! And there is NO reason that Coach should dislike those pants.
The Air bnb situation sounds awful! Yuck!!!
Congrats to your graduate!
Jessica - I will let you know if I decide to start marketing these banners. I do continue to look online for 2nd hand heat presses. Not sure I'll ever find one that will work for me. The library equipment gave me trouble when I was making Ed's banners. I use a board to spread out the banner, since their press is too small. I press, then scoot the board over. The outer edges were not getting enough heat. It was so frustrating. I later realized that the board was warped, but if I flip the board over and used the side that was bowed the right way - it worked. Ugh. A bigger machine is the answer. Yes, you can commission me to make the file for you when the time comes.
Kari - It goes fast - both the four years in and the time right after graduation. Feels so cliche to say it, but it really does feel like just last year I was dropping him off, and Curly was clinging to him - begging him not to leave.
We had a great time, and were relieved that the horrid odor of the airbnb didn't stick with our clothing and repel people.
Bijoux - Oh, no. If he skipped the ceremony, did he at least agree to celebrate with friends? Were there parties? Meals out?
I'm relieved that the mountain of clothes I brought didn't absorb the awful smell of the airbnb, because that would've left me with a LOT of laundry.
Thanks Kohls, indeed. I buy very pricey shoes - at least over the last several years, and they last forEVER. I only buy them when they are marked down and they are still *gulp* expensive, but they do tend to hold up and offer great support/comfort. The pumps do not fall in that category, but I've always been able to wear them.
Suz - I felt like I was pacing myself just fine, but I still needed to do the grommets and since that involves loud hammering I couldn't do it the night before . . . which is when I made the 7 layer taco dip. I was bringing a handful of food, that's my just in case mode and that takes time to organize/get coolers and then we were bringing my drinks, etc. My watch battery, I realized later, was gradually losing time - now it's clear that I need a new battery. I'm gonna blame the failing timepiece.
I think it is more the bell bottom look than the print, but you might be onto something. Anything that looks 'different' is gonna have a hard time passing Coach's approval.
We seem to have recovered from the airbnb stench, but we keep twitching uncontrollably. Is that normal? ;)
Gigi - It really was a great time. It all worked out. We weren't sure how bad local traffic might be, but parking at Ed's place and walking everywhere helped. The outdoor party was a blast. Hard to believe he's all done with college. He comes home later this week and I'm looking forward to that.
Suzanne- Thanks. The heels in the shoes surprised me, because I've worn those shoes to fancy parties for hours on end with no trouble. Maybe my feet are aging and subject to more issues.
I agree, Coach needs to get over his hatred of those pants.
Eww, dead animals in the walls. Do not recommend.
I have weird shaped heels and avoid closed shoes when at all possible. sandals in the summer. Clogs in the winter. I can wear Asics sneakers, but not many other brands due to the shape of the back. I've had the worst experiences with Brooks sneakers- they basically ate my feet.
Time expectations are one of my super powers, and it annoys me when my family doesn't listen to me about them. Of course I gloat when they're running late on something that I told them would take more time than they expected.
Kara - I have filed a request for a refund with Airbnb, so let's see what happens there. It's a smell like NOTHING else I've ever smelled.
I think the back of my heel -like the part that rugs against the back of a shoe, is quite pointy. I do believe I now know what went wrong. I've been wearing a pair of sneakers here and there that are super supportive, but I haven't broken in the heel part. I think that part of my heel was already a tad raw, just a touch. Then, old shoes that rubbed in the same spot and BOOM. This makes me fear the Brooks that I bought ages ago on sale. They're in my closet. If they don't work for me, I do have girls with the same size feet.
I want your super power. Lucky you.
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