However, I’m left with zero dress shirt options.  Ideally, I would have 1-2 button up shirts, 3-4 semi-casual tees and long sleeves, and 1-2 cardigans.

Sounds like a fun shopping trip!  Wrong.  For the first time in my life, I shopped for 3 hours without finding a single garment worth purchasing.

Pick your jaws up off of the floor, and I’ll tell you why.

The stingray sleeve aka “batwings”:

I actually pretended I was a bat in several fitting rooms. There was nothing else I could do, but laugh.

I have some curves, and this style does nothing to accentuate the small part of my waist, while hiding my hip jiggle.  Instead, my torso becomes 1 indistinguishable blob.  The stingray sleeve is on 90% of tops out there.

The other 10% have this cute little feature: Asymmetry.

Hey, hey, my right side is longer than my left side.

Or better yet:

Aka "the butt flap"

I also am particularly fond of the new look I like to call “I’m a peasant girl who stumbled upon a hippie festival”:

The longer I look at this image, the more I'm confused about who this person is.

I realize that these looks work with some body types, but it’s definitely not mine.

I may have lost this shopping battle, but hopefully I win the war.  I’m headed into battle again this weekend.  Wish me luck!

What trends are you avoiding like the plague right now?  What trends are you loving?

-Mads

Please check your e-mail for prize details.

-Mads

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What to expect when you get your wisdom teeth removed: The Jonathan chronicles.

1) Your fiancée will be busy watching Let’s Make a Deal in the lobby, while you are getting knocked unconscious.

2) As soon as you come to, you will attempt to tell everyone around you about how you fought a dragon.  But you must adamantly remind them that it was a robot dragon, NOT a real dragon.  Upon further thought, you tell them you can’t be sure if it was real or a robot.  Things are confusing now.

Jonathan approved the posting of this image

3) You will request your teeth back as a birthday present for a friend.  Your fiancée says she will work on making that happen.  You’re satisfied that you have found the perfect gift.

4)  The oral surgeon, the dental assistant, and your fiancée will describe how to take care of yourself after surgery.   You will beg for someone to tell you how to take care of yourself after surgery.  You will beg for this approximately 15 more times.

5)  You will sing Mulan’s “Reflection” in the pharmacy.  The lady collecting porcelain cat figurines will give you a strange look.

6) As soon as you get home and the anesthesia meds wear off, you will have terrible pain and nausea.

He’s all better now!  A little sore, but he’s off painkillers and he’s starting to eat more.  :)

Have you said any crazy things coming out of surgery?  What’s the best you’ve heard?

-Mads

In the spirit of heading back to school for the spring semester, I thought it might be time to do a giveaway!  This giveaway features all of the things that help me relax after a long week of classes.

The giveaway includes:

My favorite HUE slippers!  I have a pair of these that I haven’t taken off since Christmas.  So maybe they’re not specifically for relaxation, but they are wonderful. (your choice of color)

Two bath products from LUSH! (1 bubble bar and 1 bath bomb)

Naja Relaxation Tea!

A batch of homemade cookies from me PLUS Lindt A Touch of Sea Salt!  I don’t know how to relax completely without my sweet fix.

To enter the giveaway*:

Simply leave a comment here on your favorite relaxation products.

For additional entries:

-Tweet about the giveaway and leave a comment here saying you tweeted.  (“@madsyjoy I want to win the relaxation giveaway http://bit.ly/wgerWQ”)

-Link back to this post on your blog and leave a comment here saying you blogged it.

*The giveaway is limited to entries in the US. My apologies to my overseas friends!*

The contest ends at 12pm Pacific Coast Time on Wednesday, January 25th.

-Mads

P.S. Hue, Lush, Naja, and Lindt should totally be paying me for promoting their products, but they aren’t.  I’ll let you know when I’m cool enough to have big time advertisers on this little ole blog of mine

Josie is the one that has lost her damn mind in this picture.

Either way, the mid-face bite pictures are hilarious.

Do you have a pet?  What does he/she do that cracks you up every time?

-Mads

p. s. In case there was confusion, this is play-biting.  My dog has never actually bitten another dog in attack.  I can see how confusion would happen, as Josie looks like she’s gone full on Cujo.

I took that bite and I’m a different person because of it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t capture this beauty on camera.  However, I did draw an incredible likeness of the sammy:

Layers of pesto, arugula, fresh juicy tomato, red onion, cheese, and TURKEY!  Oh, the pepper turkey!  All on a french baguette.

Amen.

What have you eaten recently that deserved an “amen” or even a “yeah, buddy”?  

-Mads

p.s. This was hilarious in the midst of an 8 hour lecture.  I realize the comedic value might be lost once my sanity returns.

p.p.s. Wouldn’t it be awesome if this is what the “Cooking” section of The Pioneer Woman’s blog was like?  hahahaha I have a feeling she might lose several thousands of readers.  I hope I don’t lose you to this.

Jonathan and I spent last semester like two ships passing in the night.  I was busy all the time with school, and he worked late and sometimes on weekends.  Read: Not. Fun.

We made a commitment to each other to make this semester different with a weekly date night.  NICE!

So far our date nights have included:

-eating dinner out

-going to movies

A typical night on the town:

We want to continue the tradition, but we’re running out of ideas other than dining out.  The other day we actually bought a puzzle in hopes of mixing up date night (it’s actually pretty hard to do puzzles if you don’t have any sort of table in your home).

Do you have date night?  What creative things have you done for dates?

-Mads

Well, Comfortably Domestic gave the world an easy solution to the perfect crust awhile back.

My excuses started to dwindle.

Jonathan requested chicken pot pie many times and resorted to calling me “Maddie-pot-pie” on a regular basis.

Then, Inside NanaBread’s Head sent me a SPECTACULAR care package with the tools I would need to complete the pot pie.

NanaBread's hand crafted holiday apron! (excuse the post-yoga ensemble)

Isn't this little leaf cut out adorable! Thanks again, NanaBread!

My stance against homemade pot pie was defunct.

Comfortably Domestic also gave us the perfect chicken pot pie recipe, but I only had a few of those ingredients on hand.  :(  I ended up using the same recipe, except for *gasp* frozen vegetables.

I think I’m officially hooked on homemade pies.  There’s no turning back now.  Although, I’m not a huge fan of the cleanup.

The aftermath:

I feel bad for the poor sucker who has to clean that up.   Oh wait, that poor sucker is me.

-Mads

The engagement pictures are in!!!!

Inside the Walker Institute of Arts in Minneapolis, MN

Before the engagement photo session, I honestly had no idea why people took engagement pictures.  I mean, Jonathan and I already have a ton of pictures together.  Why all the fuss?

Then we met the photographer, Poly.  She was the sweetest thing and made us feel right at ease.  Jonathan was looking particularly dapper, and we were instructed to giggle the afternoon away and smooch from time to time.  SO. MUCH. FUN.

At the Sculpture Gardens in Minneapolis, MN

She had a knack for making the mundane look incredible!

This wheat field was pretty much the same thing as seen in the Geico commercials. 10 points for getting that reference.

Despite my initial skepticism, I ended up checking our mailbox three times a day in anticipation.  haha I’m such a hypocrite.

Laughing about who knows what.

It’s things like this that remind me why we are in the trenches of wedding planning.  I love that handsom dude.

I can’t wait to work with Poly again on our wedding day!  She was wonderful!

Did you (or do you plan on) have engagement pictures?  What was your favorite moment captured on camera from your wedding?

-Mads

Instead of regaling you with twisted tales of the winter course load I’m currently in the midst of (hello, domestic violence and drug abuse), I will keep things upbeat!  Here are some of the most fabulous things I fell in love with over winter break:

1) Immersion blenders

‘

I actually made soup specifically to test out the blender.  I don’t know when I’ve ever had that much fun in the kitchen.  A side note, this curry sweet potato soup is delicious.

2) Moonshiners

This is one of the most horrific shows on television, but I Can’t. Stop. Watching.  My eyes were glued to the tv for several hours while I watched the antics of Tickle and Popcorn (yes, those are their names) play out in backwoods Virginia.  Jonathan pointed out that they would probably increase profits astronomically if they legalized their business, branded it, and distributed it.  I’m not sure Tickle and Popcorn would ever come up with a solid business plan.

3) Hue Slippers

The image doesn't even come close to how adorable these are.

These were in my Christmas stocking and I haven’t taken them off since Christmas morning.  I plan on buying them in all colors.

4) Hanna

Uhm, this movie was AWESOME!  Child assassin, incredible soundtrack, great acting…what more could you ask for?  This is the best action movie I’ve seen in a while.

5) Wedding planning (the fun parts)

I will post the engagement pictures as soon as I get them in the mail, but for now, just know that we had THE BEST TIME posing for the camera.  I’m pretty sure we’re going to start part-time modeling for the photo frame insert pictures.

Also, taste-testing the catered meals is also a major highlight of getting married.  They practically had to roll us out of there.  Mmmm!

What have you recently fallen in love with?  What was your favorite holiday gift?

-Mads

p.s. I forgot to add Adele.  You probably already knew that I love her, but I really want to emphasize how incredible she is.  Seriously, I can’t stop listening to her music/singing in the shower.