Month: May 2019

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My favorite vintage shops for timeless treasures

People say that fashions always come back around, and that is absolutely true. Look at any women’s clothing department lately, and it’s like a Delia’s catalog exploded onto the shelves. If you didn’t already know by the series reboots and reunion concert tours, the 90s are back, babe.

Recently, I’ve been wearing my vintage, acid-washed cropped Levis jacket to barre class and getting a lot of compliments. I still remember the day I bought it at one of my favorite vintage stores, Lost and Found Vintage in Royal Oak. It was about eight or nine years ago, and I was shopping with my husband and cousin when I spotted it and fell in love.

Zack likes to joke whenever I wear it that he told me I should buy it, when in reality both he and my cousin were iffy on the purchase. I called it my Kelly Kapowski jean jacket. And this past weekend, I saw brand new Levi’s jean jackets in a variety of light washes at Nordstrom. Everything comes back around.

  • Pregnant Kelly Kapowski vibes
  • Meeting Colin Hay

I’ve been a vintage clothing fan for the last decade or so, and have amassed a small collection of vintage dresses over the years. I love the thrill of finding a treasure of a dress buried in a clothing rack, waiting for a new lease on life. I am also especially excited when I find things that fit well. There’s something very special about wearing an outfit that can’t be found just anywhere.

I have a few go-tos when it comes to finding vintage treasures, so I wanted to highlight some of my favorite vintage shops.

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Review: “Hamilton” continues to blow us all away with national tour

March 3, 2017. That’s the day that mid-Michigan audiences gasped with excitement over the biggest theatrical announcement in years. “Hamilton” would be coming to the Wharton Center as part of the 2018-19 season. I can’t tell you how many people I know who purchased 2017-18 season packages that year just to guarantee their shot at “Hamilton” tickets.

Spring 2019 felt like it would take forever to get here, but when it comes to something as big as “Hamilton,” mid-Michigan audiences were willing to wait for it. And now, it’s here.

“Hamilton” is wowing Wharton Center audiences through June 2, 2019. For those who didn’t purchase tickets ahead of time, a handful of tickets are being released daily on the Wharton Center website. And, of course, there’s the famous “Hamilton” lottery, which awards 40 tickets for each performance at $10 a pop, maximum of two tickets per winner. The lottery is held through the “Hamilton” app.

Wednesday night’s performance was my second time seeing”Hamilton” on stage, which in itself feels like an embarrassment of riches for one person to experience. This second viewing, nearly three years after the first, created a rare and special opportunity to relive the magic. There were nuances I hadn’t caught the first time around, or even on the 100th listen of the soundtrack.

Theodore Roosevelt said that “comparison is the thief of joy,” but the chance to examine all of the layers uncovered between my two “Hamilton” experiences made for a beautiful encore.

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The honor — and challenge — of a commencement speech

This past weekend, hundreds of Spartans graduated from Michigan State University as part of the Class of 2019. I was able to not only witness the College of Arts & Letters ceremony first-hand, but take part in the festivities as well. For the last five years, I have been a member of the CAL Alumni Board of Directors. As president this past year, I was given the opportunity to address the graduating CAL students on behalf of the alumni of the college.

My husband Zack was also a member of the CAL board, serving for six years before I, as I liked to joke, continued the Pohl dynasty on the board. Being a member of the CAL board gave me the opportunity to meet and become friends with several other alumni, as well as reconnect with MSU and the great things going on in our college.

While the college will be moving forward with a different way of engaging alumni and forgoing its traditional board, I was honored to be asked to speak at CAL’s commencement as a sort of last act as president.

I had several ideas of what I wanted to say and do during my speech, but in sitting down to actually write down my thoughts, I realized how challenging these things can be.

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Travel must-have: Packing cubes

Our family just returned from a quick trip to Florida, and it was the first time we had the chance to try out something new with our packing: packing cubes.

I’ve seen a lot of people talking about using packing cubes on social media, so when my husband brought up that he was looking at them on Amazon, I showed him a brand that was highly recommended by several moms in a mommy Facebook group.

The Shacke Pak packing cubes come in different sets and a variety of colors. The set of 4 is available from Amazon Prime for $24.99. What I liked about this set of packing cubes was that they came with a nylon laundry bag, which is always helpful for travel. The variety of sizes allows them to fit in different types of luggage, and each packing cube has its own handle.

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