"Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On"

One of the perks of a Cheyenne job is a more casual dress code, which means I can wear jeans to work and still look professional.

Today, I am wearing a pair of jeans I love from a big-name retailer:

Wal-Mart.

That's right.

We do have shopping options in Cheyenne, being blessed with a Dillard's that carries several nice labels, and many other stores. But when I learned I would be working Frontier Days, spending hours in dirt and dung, I decided to find something other than my nice brand jeans to get the job done.

So, with 10 days of rodeo before me and five months of unemployment behind, I took myself to Wal-Mart to see what I could find.

I was very pleasantly surprised! Wal-Mart's No Boundaries brand beat Corral West in fit and, not surprisingly price. I picked up two pairs for less than half of what I could get for one at the cowboy store.

I thought I was choosing something expendable, something that was cheap and would get me through 10 dirty days of rodeo. Instead, my Wal-Mart brand jeans are keepers! Who knew? Certainly not me, who hasn't purchased Wal-Mart clothing in several years. Not so much because I'm a clothing snob, but more because in D.C., Wal-Marts are darn hard to find.

Now, when I'm choosing which pair of jeans to wear to work, I know that along with my city slicker Gap's and Joe's, my cute and comfy NoBo's will be more than fine.

Hair-um

This is actually the name of the salon I went to today for a much needed hair cut.

I might have gone based on the name alone - I mean, it IS kind of funny - but I mostly went because a friend recommended one particular stylist there: a girl who cut hair in a D.C.-area salon.

That was all I needed to hear.

Not that I've never had a bad hair cut in D.C. - I recall one particular stylist who thought I'd look best as Mrs. Brady.

And, I'm sure there are good stylists in Cheyenne. But I wanted to check out the one who worked at the sister salon to a glitzy one in downtown D.C.

I had high hopes of walking out and not looking like a newscaster - which is also what stylists like to make me in to.

Overall, I think she did a good job. She wasn't my beloved Karina from D.C., but she may be a good substitute.

There's just one other person I want to check out before I make a solid decision - a guy my boss and her sister go to and who is apparently, um, a Dupont-type man.

I'll be right at home!

Fancy Fragrance

For folks in Wyoming, getting caught up in the newest perfumes or colognes to hit the shelves of department stores and Sephora makes very little "scents."

There's a very practical reason behind this: We don't want to be eaten alive by the dark menacing clouds of mosquitos those smells would likely attract.

So, rather than reaching for my Stella or Coco in the mornings as I used to, I have found a new alluring fragrance I believe isn't getting the marketing attention it deserves.

OFF Skintastic in Tropical Fresh.

It's light tropical fruit smell will make you feel as though you're sipping coladas on a breezy beach. Only you don't have to worry about contracting West Nile!

For those with sensitive skin there is OFF Skintastic Unscented, and for men (and super woodsy women) there is the Original OFF.

These fragrances don't cost an arm and a leg and can be found at most Wal-Marts, supermarkets, gas stations, or for the high-end shopper - Targets.

And the packaging! It's colorful, expressive, and who wouldn't want to join that family walking in the woods?

So, move over you other 5th Avenue scents! For me there's a new kid in town! For at least another month or two anyway when those pesky pests aren't hatching by the gazillions.