Winter Florals and a Story About Critters

January 8, 2017 / 22 Comments

It’s never dull during North Country winters. From the bitter, bitter cold to lake effect snow to little critters seeking shelter and food, there’s always a story to tell. Today, I am going to share one of these stories. And a cute winter floral dress straight from Shelbee’s Shoppe.

As I type this, it is currently a balmy 3 degrees Fahrenheit outside with a total accumulation of approximately 30 inches of snow on the ground from two (maybe three) lake effect snow bands that hit us late in the week. When the cold and snow hit, we all seek shelter and stay inside the warmth of our homes. But we, apparently, are not the only ones seeking shelter inside our homes. The critters seek shelter, too. And there seem to be a lot of critters where we live!

The critters I am speaking about here are mice. While I am not completely fearful of the rodents themselves, the germs they leave behind in their trails totally freak me out! We have lived here for 4 1/2 years and have had the exterminator here at least 4 times. But up until this winter, the mice have never infiltrated our living space. I have heard them in the walls and the ceiling and I have been somewhat okay with that…as long as I don’t see them. But a few weeks ago, they came a little too close for comfort. Not into our living space exactly, but into the garage. And what a mess they made!

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Without further adieu, here is the story. A few weeks ago, I pulled into my garage and noticed some Hershey miniature candy bar wrappers on the big ugly chair that is stored in our garage. I did have a bowl filled with these candies that I had inside a crate on the chair. I had recently put the bowl of candy out at a vendor show and it never made its way into the house when I unpacked my car. I knew my husband had been treating himself to the candy when he would head out through the garage. I immediately assumed it was he who had eaten the candy.  I  proceeded to scold him for tossing the wrappers onto the chair instead of into the nearby trash can. He took the blame quite graciously, I must add. Until we inspected further and moved some things around. We discovered the entire bowl of chocolates had been chewed through and there were wrappers everywhere! Oops! Sorry, husband! Consequently, my car was scheduled for an oil change later that same day and I received a text message from my wrongfully accused husband with this photo…

The text said simply, “The mechanics found your chocolate.”

Well, I never in my life heard of mice unwrapping and hoarding chocolate! Fortunately, I only needed a new air filter as that was a chocolaty mess. At least the mechanics got a good laugh out of the situation. As did our property manager, the exterminator, and anyone else who has already heard the story.  There really is never a dull moment in these crazy North Country winters!  And my husband has forgiven me for initially placing the blame on him!

And now onto my winter floral dress. I swear the only way to liven up the gray that surrounds us all winter long is to  wear some flowers on your clothes.  But we also need boots. We always need boots around here! And you can never go wrong with a cozy faux fur vest. And scarves are always a necessity, too. There you have it…winter florals and a story about critters.  Stay warm, my cold weather friends. And look out for those critters.

Outfit details
Dress: Shelbee’s Shoppe Charcoal and Blush Floral Long Sleeve Dress.
Vest: Cato Fashions (from last year). I have a gorgeous ivory faux fur vest still available here.
Scarf: Burlington Coat Factory (from a few years ago).
Leggings: LC Lauren Conrad Solid Leggings from Kohl’s.
Boots: The Bon Ton (from a few years ago). Similar here.
Boot socks: Kohl’s.
Necklace: Target (from last year). Similar floral statement necklaces will be available in Shelbee’s Shoppe in the next week or two.

How do you brighten your wardrobe on these cold winter days? And have you had any crazy experiences with dirty little critters?

Keeping warm on the edge,

Shelbee

P.S. I have fallen quite behind on my link up posts and on linking up with all of you. For this I apologize. My husband will be leaving this week for 9 weeks and I plan to use this time to be more diligent with my blogging! So please do check back for link ups coming this week! As always, I thank you all for your continued support and I love seeing what you are wearing, sharing, and discussing every week.

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Ups.

I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.

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22 Comments

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 8, 2017 at 5:26 pm Reply

      Jodie, I have 2 cats! They often prowl around the inside perimeter of my house and sit and stare at my fireplace (which we have never used)! So I think perhaps the cats may be the reason the mice have stayed outside of my house for this long!

      Thank you for the lovely compliment as usual! I do so appreciate it!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Rena

    January 9, 2017 at 6:49 am Reply

    how funny … the mice storing their cache of chocolate in the engine compartment. your story reminds me of a time we had a family of mice living in our house which we discovered when we found a half hollowed out tootsie pop and its wrapper behind a console TV. Then we realized that they had been nesting in the couch we were sitting on. Enough of that, now onto your outfit. I love it and you look fabulous. Florals are so wonderful in winter and I adore how you paired the dress with a vest and boots. thank you for adding your post to my Fine-Whatever link up.

    Rena
    http://www.finewhateverblog.com

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 9, 2017 at 10:51 am Reply

      Oh My Gosh, Rena! I would die! So the big old ugly chair where they got into the chocolate was my little hiding space from the kids…the key word being “was” because I will no longer sit in that chair…I am so totally grossed out by mouse germs! I am just waiting for someone with a truck to help us get that thing out of the garage and to the dumpster.

      Thank you for the lovely compliment. I am really loving florals right now. And paisleys. And plaids. Well, prints in general I suppose!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 9, 2017 at 7:12 pm Reply

      Isn’t it crazy, Edye?! I am afraid to leave my emergency stash of granola bars in my car now! If I open my car door in the morning and the little critters are running around inside, I may die! Much joy to you, my dear!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

  • Shelly

    January 10, 2017 at 12:27 pm Reply

    Shelbee that is crazy!! I have seriously never heard of chocolate hoarding mice and I can’t believe they stashed it under the hood. Thankfully we have never had any mice at our current house because our last house was nuts. Great floral pattern for winter and all that snow!

  • Adriele

    January 11, 2017 at 3:29 am Reply

    I have a mouse story too! The studio I work for is out in the country (bigger area for a soundstage). So one morning we all come into the office and it SMELLS. Absolutely putrid. Long story short, a mouse had crawled into the pocked of the sweatshirt on the back of my chair and DIED. A DEAD MOUSE was in my hoodie. Ugh. Needless to say, I threw away the hoodie and talked our Executive Producer into an office cat the next day. 🙂 I can totally relate to your post. 🙂 Thanks for sharing! Stopping by from the Confident Twosday linkup!

    -Adriele
    StyleAssisted.com

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 11, 2017 at 12:50 pm Reply

      OMG, Adriele! That is horrific! I have smelled that odor before. It really is putrid. Sometimes they die in the walls and there is nothing you can do about the smell except wait for it to dissipate on its own. So gross! I am freaked out every day now when I get into my car that they are going to come running out of the vents INTO my car! Thank you for stopping by and sharing your critter story. I hope your office cat is doing its job!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

    • shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com

      January 12, 2017 at 6:36 pm Reply

      The thought of these mice in the aftermath has been haunting me like you can’t even imagine! Every time I get in my car I am afraid they will be in there running around! Thanks so much for the lovely comment, Jess! We are having a bit of a much welcomed warm spell right now. Most of the snow has melted….just in time for the next round!

      xoxo
      Shelbee

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