Gindi Vincent

The Dish on Career, Fashion, Faith, and Family

Gindi

Four Weekends: No. 1

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This October, I was out of town every single weekend. Four weekends in a row.

I’ve wanted to write about each of them. As I began to map out my posts, I realized they were a tapestry of what we need.

Ideally, they don’t all come right in a row because, you know, meal prep, house cleaning, catch up, etc.

But with great fortune, they each come.

Weekend One – celebrating kids. Intentional focused time on them. Weekend Two – family time. Time uninterrupted by life’s chaos. Weekend Three – girls weekend. Away time with friends to laugh and have good wine and talk about the big issues of life. Weekend Four – family friends. Time to spend with husbands and wives and kids that everyone in your family connects with and enjoys.

So I’ll cover each of them over the next few days. And I realize a romantic getaway with your person isn’t on there. That’s needed too. The reality is that it doesn’t come every year. Maybe it’s just a date night every quarter that tides you over.

The first weekend of October we celebrated the triplets turning 12! TWELVE! It’s almost impossible to imagine. I started blogging the month the trio turned one. I read over that first birthday blog post love letter when they were 2 and can’t even process how fast it’s all gone.

Instead of having a crazy big birthday party like we did ten years ago, or two years ago, all the kids wanted was to each bring a friend to the farm to fish and camp and visit the horses. I’d told them the next big birthday would be their sweet 16, so until then we do something fun with a six kids (when each kid gets to pick one friend, you land at 6!).

Bray was totally the man of the hour.

He was ON the whole weekend. It was a ton of work because he was the boat captain. We have this tiny aluminum boat at the farm, it’s been Bray’s family fishing boat since he was a kid, and Bray captains it through the gorgeous overgrown bayous and into the larger Gulf-fed waters until they find fish. This time, the kids jug-lined instead of traditional fishing and it was a HUGE hit. The kids said it was the best fishing they’d ever had and boy did they find some fish.

The four boys and Bray camped out down at the camp house which was in between tenants and the girls and I stayed up with Bray’s parents at the main house.

There were presents and desserts (pie and maccrons, per request) and gumbo and donuts, but most of all there was fishing. Fishing on Saturday and fishing on Sunday. The videos from the trip are some of the funniest I’ve ever watched. And while I stayed back at the house managing meals, Bray did the heavy lifting entertaining the kids on the boat.

There were some hiccups.

Stanley (our DOG who you know my feelings on) disappeared. He does this. He usually picks major events like birthdays to try and ruin (he ran away the night of Bray’s 50th birthday party this summer). When the kids got back from the fishing trip late Saturday afternoon, Stanley was nowhere to be found. He loves the farm and really doesn’t leave the main grounds when we’re there. The kids were beside themselves, esp the eldest. So, after an exhaustive search on the four wheeler, Bray agreed to take the boys out to search the bayou. Lo and behold, Stanley had followed them in the marsh, jumped across the bayou and was stuck on the other side in high water reeds. That dog has nine lives. He was safely returned no worse for wear.

Then, when we headed home, we hit a major detour. Bray had to come home Monday morning so it was me and six sixth graders. The trip from the farm to Houston is about two and a half hours. I left extra early, noon on Sunday, so I could be back in time to speak at church worship that night at 5 pm. After we got through Beaumont, traffic STOPPED. Not slowed. Stopped.

Turns out, the great state of Texas had decided to CLOSE Interstate 10 on Sunday afternoon. What could go wrong? After a noon departure, I dropped the kids back at their homes at 6:30 PM! That’s right, nearly seven hours in the car.

And yet. I have to say this was one of my favorite parts of the birthday weekend. All of these kids are massively awesome. The baby’s best friend crawled up in the front seat, swapping with the eldest’s best friend, and decided we’d have a sing along. Since we were parked on I-10, we rolled down the windows, waved at the cars around us, tried to get truckers to honk, and gave a Gatorade to a stranded motorcyclist.

And we SANG. At the top of our lungs. I have video proof. The song selection was HYSTERICAL! Y’all, these twelve year olds gave me hope for humanity. We had 12 year old boys singing Let it Go and Avocado. When we arrived at one of the houses (they all live in the neighborhood so I had an easy drop off), little bit’s best pal hoped out of the car and said I would totally do that drive again!

I can’t even with their awesomeness.

The thing I loved about this trip was really spending uninterrupted time with the kids and their friends. Their closest pals. Who are so cool. And interesting. And funny. At parties, I’m catching up with their parents. At sporting events, we’re all cheering. But on this farm weekend, we were having meals and conversations (extra long ones on the ride home) about a wide array of topics.

So weekend one was a huge success. Thanks largely to Bray and a passel of amazing kiddos. A twelfth birthday for the record books!

Fashion Friday: Fall Trends – Animal Print

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Happy Fashion Friday friends!

We are back with the third trend in this fall’s fashion: ANIMAL PRINT!

In the first installment, I waxed poetic about navy. Last week, we talked about all things plaid.

Today though, we celebrate the bounty of animal print. 

I’m partial to leopard myself, but there is a lot more out there than your basic tan with black leopard spots.  Oh mercy yes.

There’s giraffe and zebra and cheetah and tiger, OH MY!

Today I’m going to feature everything from super affordable to not remotely affordable. Ha! A girl’s gotta dream.

First up, let’s talk giraffe print. It’s utterly underutilized. And in fact, it wouldn’t have made an appearance today except I was just in a meeting with a client who had the most fabulous black and white giraffe print dress.  I couldn’t find one online like it, so we could all go buy it, but I did find this inspiration piece. When I find an inspiration piece, it’s way outside my budget (this is over $500), but it gives me a style to look for at more reasonable shops. Of course, if you regularly frequent Diane von Furstenberg, then by all means pick this number up (or the top in this same fabulous print that is a tiny bit less expensive…)

How about heading to the polar extreme? Target! I love me some Target! And they’ve really been killing it with on trend fashion this fall.  Check out my best friend’s cute leopard print sneakers. Not only are they a cute (and reasonable) add to your fall wardrobe, they’re comfy to boot.  Or throw on this little tee from Old Navy that you can pick up for LESS THAN $10!?!?!

Still working in a more formal work environment where you don a blazer during the week? I am nuts for this tone-on-tone animal print scarf neck shell.  If you work in a casual environment, this would still be great under a blazer with jeans and boots for your Saturday night out.

I have an unhealthy obsession with the long cardigan. I have for years. I love it. It’s my uniform on winter weekends with jeans. And oh to incorporate the animal print trend with the long cardi – um yes please! Y’all are going to need to take my wallet to keep me from picking up this gorgeous tiger print number (and I’ll even forgive her for wearing a denim pantsuit – a trend I can’t get behind).

My very fav pair of work shoes are chunky leopard print shoes (not available at DSW anymore but I adore them).  Shoes are the absolute easiest way to incorporate this trend. Browse DSW now and you can find cow print, snakeskin, cheetah, and more. I recently picked up these printed TOMS wedge booties but now I’m wishing I’d grabbed these Vionic booties instead.

What say you? Do you love an animal print? What’s your favorite trend out there right now? Send me a link to what we should all buy this week!

The Terrific Twelves – A Different Birthday Letter

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Sunday, we drove home from the farm in Louisiana.  Saturday was your TWELFTH birthday and you each brought a friend for the weekend to celebrate.

Typically, I pen a birthday letter to you all. 

I revisited my original blog birthday letter. 

It’s fascinating what’s changed and what’s stayed the same. 

I wrote about the eldest’s persistence even then and it’s still one of my favorite qualities about him.

While little bit is still fiercely independent and can tell (or reenact) a story with delightful dramatics.

And the baby? Well, he still has a sensitive soul and a love for learning.

Other things have changed.

So many.

But what I was struck by, on the drive home, was how amazing you and your friends are. 

I thought, instead of a letter this year, I’d share that story. 

You see, instead of the typical 2 ½ hour drive we were all expecting, you six sixth graders got a 5+ hour drive. Some highway construction genius decided to SHUT DOWN I-10 on a Sunday. 

The freeway was shut down. And we didn’t know until it was too late and it took us two hours just to pass one exit. 

That drive could have been a total disaster. I was certainly in frustrated spirits.

But you all made it fabulous. 

You laugh and told jokes and best of all put on music, rolled down the windows, waved at the cars full of stranded drivers around us, and SANG. At the top of your lungs.  Baby Shark. Avocado.  Let It Go.  You even had me singing. And cracking up. 

What struck me is how cool you have all become.

How much I love spending time with you all.

Even in confined spaces J 

This weekend you struck out on your own and fished and explored and fed horses. 

You advocated for your lost dog and waded through murky marsh to rescue him.

Then you went and made a five hour car trip completely fun.  A feat I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish. 

As one of your friends said after FINALLY exiting the car back at the neighborhood, “I’d do that car trip again!” 

So would I. 

It defined for me what is happening. What you are becoming. 

These grown (growing) people. 

Of course there is still so much maturing and learning. But I’m starting to see glimpses of the older you.  Who you will become.  How you will make this world bigger and better and brighter. 

Wow. Lucky me. 

So all those words of the letters are still, mostly true, but for this birthday I thought I’d say thanks.  Thanks for being an original. For learning and laughing and managing to figure all this stuff out.  In the face of a world gone mad and hurricanes and cancer and pandemics, you just kept growing up. 

I can’t wait to see what unfolds this year. 

Love you more.

Fashion Friday: Fall Trends – Plaid

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Welcome back to Fashion Friday and our four part series on fall’s latest fashion trends.

Last week we discussed the glorious resurgence of NAVY!

Today, we discuss the trend there is NO WAY you have missed: PLAID!

Plaid, plaid, everywhere is plaid.

Now I wouldn’t typically fall for this lumberjack look, but it’s being incorporated in interesting ways and interesting colors so it feels less “lumberjack-y.”

If you have bought any fall clothing, you got assaulted with plaid.

I’ve not seen such a universal trend since the attack of the prairie dresses during COVID (and they linger still…). 

How can you incorporate it into your fall look?

Well, if you’re not nuts about the trend, try something small like this cute boot from DSW or a little accessory (and do you see all the plaid incorporating navy?!?!):

If you’re willing to go bolder, I just picked up this wonderfully vibrant plaid wrap for a steal at LOFT (and not only does it incorporate the plaid trend, it also incorporates the navy and wrap trends!).  I’ve got a girls weekend to the wine country in a few weeks and thought this would be a fun addition:

My best friend nabbed this adorable plaid jacket from Target and makes the typical lumberjack ensemble look feminine because of colors and styling.  And also, she’s gorgeous which helps (my daughter announced from the back seat when Kristin was in for the icepocalypse, “sorry mom, but she looks like she’s in her 20s”):

I’m also exercising all my self-restraint not to pick up this Hutton blazer from Ann Taylor – I love this look so much! Making plaid professional and pretty:

Are you wearing plaid? How are you incorporating it into your fall wardrobe (which is super hard in Houston this week at 90 degrees!)?  Any guesses as to next week’s trend?  A hint – roar…

Fashion Friday: Fall Trends – Navy

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We’re baaaaack!

Oh y’all – I have MISSED Fashion Fridays!

My daughter asked me last week if I was going to write any more fashion posts.  I said, well there really hasn’t been a lot to write about.

With a global pandemic and office attire consisting of yoga pants with cute accessories on a Zoom call, and then a return to “fashion” last year with all the designers phoning it in, I haven’t had much fodder.

I’m sorry if you are loving your new wardrobe of Little House on the Prairie dresses, but it is my fervent hope they make their ways off the shelves in the not to distant future.

I’m not bashing maxi dresses, in fact I’m a new convert, but all the flowers everywhere. And some really bad fabric.

Mercy.

But that is not what brings us back together again!

Good fashion is making an appearance. And we are going to talk about it. 

The next four weeks I’m going to talk about what’s out there that’s worth wearing, IMHO.

I couldn’t be more excited to talk about NAVY on today’s Fashion Friday.

A color? You’re talking about a color, you ask?

Yes. Because this color does not get its fair due.  It’s one of my absolute favorite staples but can be impossible to find many seasons.

Navy looks amazing with anything. Navy and kelly green (or pink) for spring, yes please.  Navy with oranges/rusts for fall, um I’ll go back for seconds.  Navy on navy or navy with ivory or navy with basically anything.

Yes.

How does black get all the play when navy is such a sophisticated alternative?

Well it’s everywhere this fall. 

I’ll be featuring some of my favorite new acquisitions and some of my wish list items.  One of which I can’t show you today because it’s in next week’s fall trend (hint hint, it’s both perpendicular and parallel). 

Navy is THE easiest trend to incorporate because it automatically goes with everything in your closet. 

So the cheapest way to pick up a little navy is to add one of these cute tops.

This gorgeous wrap solid navy number from Banana Republic would look gorgeous with some bright plum or rust pants for fall.

Or, if it’s still warm where you are for fall, try one of these lighter numbers with navy in the print.  I picked up the striped one with orange from LOFT and my daughter heartily endorsed (she does that now that she’s in 6th grade) and the popover from Gap is versatile enough to dress down for soccer or up for work:

For fall weekends, throw this navy ombre ponco on with your jeans and booties.  Not only does it capitalize on the navy trend, but ponchos and ombre coloring is on the rise everywhere.  Think you’ll look too much like Clint Eastwood? Throw caution to the wind, and a little extra make up on, and embrace your inner spaghetti western cowboy:

If you’ve actually been loving all the long floral prairie dresses from Target to Nordstrom, then don’t let me stop you. Let’s just tailor it a bit more and throw in navy as the base color to make it fresh for fall.  I love how Ann Taylor is styling this midi dress with boots:

Or even go simpler, a shoe, a handbag, a trouser or jeans (and if you throw in high waisted, you are REALLY on trend, I just can’t pull them off).  Solid navy. Simple. Sophisticated.  Find them anywhere – Ann Taylor, DSW, Nordstrom’s, pic your fav. 

Alright, next week is the BIGGEST trend for the fall and I’m here for it.  What are you seeing in stores that you love? Is it fun to think about fashion after nearly TWO YEARS of abdication?