Turkey & Dressing

This time of year is so ideal for pregnancy.  Oh, the food!  The hot flash-quenching temperatures!  The concealing clothes! Célébrez l'automne!  

 

While I’m tucking into my back issues of Paula Deen and Garden & Gun magazines in search of the perfect off-the-beaten-path Thanksgiving recipe, I’m overhauling my cold weather wardrobe.  Most women are familiar with the discouragement of looking into their black hole of a closet which seems to contain too much and yet nothing useful all at once; the holidays are frantic enough without the bother of sifting through pounds of unusable frocks.  I’m with Thoreau: “Simplify, simplify.” 

 

Out of sheer desperation to carve some fat from my holiday expenditures (both monetarily and effort-wise), I’ve embarked upon a search for strategies to meet my changing physical needs without sacrificing the satisfaction of making this time of year feel elegant and special.

 

I haven’t even come to terms yet with the approach of Christmas .  Let’s just talk turkey day.

 

Here are my goals for The Tryptophan Trip 2012:

 

1.        Think outside the box when it comes to food for gatherings.  My make ‘n’ takes need to be:

·         Healthful & balanced while giving the impression of a gracious presentation.

·         Made from a few quality items rather than three cans of goop soup and two packages of chicken-flavored MSG.

·         Travel-friendly.  YOU try to scrub half a turtle pumpkin cheesecake pie out of your floorboard carpet.  Egads. 

·         Prepared with minimal effort and fuss.  A couple of years ago it took me so long to finish my preparations, we ran late to the family gathering. Because we were too busy with cooking to eat, we ended up snarfing down some fried alligator on a stick from a rural gas station.  Memorable, but slightly shameful.

 

2.       Be prepared for all the photo ops that are inevitable when we get together with folks we love.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve blessed myself out for wearing that irresistible fluffy purple sweater at Thanksgiving and having twenty differently angled shots of myself from that day recorded for posterity.  I could just kick myself for looking like a royal Heffalump.  A few preventative measures that will serve me well for the remainder of my expectant days:

·         Pack away all the pieces which, if I’m honest with myself, just don’t cover the, ahem, subject anymore.  Buddha bellies are cute on babies, not so much when they dangle from the underside of momma’s shirt.

·         Weed out anything with a fussy pattern for now.  Florals make me feel like a couch from the Victorian revival of the 1990’s.

·         Keep an eye out for a few more well-cut, basic pieces to underlie my outfits.  I just snagged a black Kenneth Cole shirt with a long hem and nice neckline from Fred’s.  That’s right, Fred’s.  Where your grandma buys her sugar-free candy. 

With my stockpile of scarves, costume jewelry & long jackets, I can make that black shirt do so many tricks, it might get hijacked by the circus.

·         I don’t have to hide my pregnant shape under bulky layers.  As a matter of fact, I’m happy to look pregnant.  I’ve wanted a child for so long, why should I conceal the body she’s influenced? 

While it’s hard to find clothing that provides all the coverage I need without looking like a sausage casing, it’s worth a few extra dollars.  (Just a few.)  What I look for is this: a nice fit at the arm and shoulder, slenderizing colors that play off of my eyes and hair, and classic styles that I won’t have to reinvest in when we decide to add to the family again.  Because I’m CHEAP.  And I wear things for ten years if they survive my laundering habits.

 

So it looks like I’ll be shopping, baking & overhauling this weekend.  So much for catching Breaking Dawn: Part Two.  *sniff*  I needs me some Edward.