Fashion Selfies: I Heart Boots

Boots are the only reason I tolerate cooler temperatures.  I literally go from flip flops to boots and back each year. 

I have found some fantastic boot deals on Amazon over the last few months, so I have been able to finally replace the ones that have seen me through several seasons both here and in VA.

Here are some of the ways I've worn my favorite boots in the last few months:

Here I am with a striped tube dress from Forever XXI (clearance), a denim jacket and leggings from Express (several seasons ago) and my new boots I got on Amazon!  This was before dinner last weekend with a friend I've had for almost 30 years!

Here I am at Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort celebrating my 38th birthday in the same boots, wearing a Target sweater dress, leggings from Ross, and a belt that I got in NYC several years ago!  (Check out my MagicBand)

Again at Disney in the same boots (can you tell I love them?!), a dress I picked up at a little shop on King Street in Charleston this New Year, and OLD (but still in amazing condition) leggings from Express (2006?)

This was several months ago on my way to a yummy dinner with hubs and the kids.  I am wearing another pair of boots from Amazon, a dress from Forever XXI (2010), my 2010 NYC belt, a cardigan from Nordstroms (also from 2010), and tights from Ross. 

Finally, this look was inspired by my newest Pandora station "The Devil Makes Three" Radio.  Here I am in cowboy boots I bought on King Street in Charleston (2009?), jeans and a black long sleeve tee from Ross, and a belt I got at a thrift store in Richmond in 2012.

How do you wear your boots?  Do you love them as much as I do?

A Wreath For All Seasons

I love having seasonal wreaths on my front door, but I don't love storing them at the end of each holiday.  They always end up smashed or deformed or worst of all--full of spiders and cobwebs.

I wanted a wreath that would go with me from season to season with little design effort.  Here is what I created last fall:

I used burlap ribbon to create the wreath and embellish it each season with an inexpensive plaque or oversized ornament. This particular Valentine's ornament I made myself.  Totally wonky and by no means perfect, just like me.  :)

What do you have on your front door? 

28 Ways to {better} LOVE Myself

Author's Note: This post was originally written on 1/31/14 with the intent to post on 2/1/14.  But I worked 11 hours on Saturday, so I decided to #14 and #1.  Then on Sunday I #28.  Monday, I finally #3. So today (Tuesday) I was able to #19! :)

~~~~~


My friend Autumn came up with a challenge recently.  She decided to use the month of February as a time to reflect and explore ways to greater love herself.  She challenged her friends to do the same...expose the ways that your own self-love is in deficit, document it, and work on making the changes necessary to love yourself more.

Her first challenge was to post an unfiltered selfie:

So, here I am warts and all.  I am wearing my college sweatshirt (because it's cold, rainy and dreary as hell outside.) I have smeared mascara and no lipstick.  My hair is in second-day, dirty-hair waves. This is me...most of the time.

Autumn's post struck a chord with me.  As much as I care about myself, I don't always TAKE CARE of myself. I tend to put other people's needs first, or simply put off my own for no good reason.  I find myself exhausted--A LOT.  Too exhausted to worry whether I'm due for my Pap, or if, according to Instagram, my last haircut was 22 weeks ago.

I started to think of all of the ways I withhold love from myself and made a list of 28 ways I plan to truly LOVE myself in the month of February.  Some of these are simple and some are much more involved.  Many of these are very personal but I think most of us can relate on some level.

1. Go to bed earlier. I often spend my evenings in front of the computer for work or catching up with my DVR.  There are nights when I don't crawl into bed until 2am.  When my alarm goes off at 6, I wake up angry and exhausted, and start my day off on the wrong foot. I will go to bed early. Documents, emails, and t.v. shows will have to wait until I can get to them.
2. Schedule my doctor's appointments.  I will no longer postpone calling the OB/GYN or dermatologist until something starts to look or feel funny.  I will make my appointments, and stick to them.
3. Make an appointment with my hairdresser.  I will no longer allow my hair to grow out all flat and raggedy.  I won't take the sewing scissors into the bathroom and crookedly trim my own bangs just to avoid the 10 minute drive to get my "courtesy bang trim".
4. Take some things off my {figurative} plate.  Last year my goal was to give more of my time, talent and treasure.  While that still holds true, I've learned rather quickly that when it comes to volunteering, I have to set my limits.  When I can, I will.  When I can't, I won't. Period.
5. Take some things off my {literal} plate.  I've lost somewhere between 20-25 lbs in the last year.  I plan to keep it off.  If that means steamed broccoli over mashed potatoes, or sautéed spinach over creamed spinach, I can handle that.  I will love myself by making better food choices.
6. Count my blessings.  It's easy to shove all of the good things in my life to the back of my mind when I am inundated with work or other stresses.  I will bring those blessings to the forefront, remember them, and thank God for them.
7. Say "no" when I need to.  I won't let myself get in over my head.  If I can't, I won't.
8. Say "no" when I want to.  I will love myself more by choosing NOT to do something I implicitly don't want to do. 
9. Say "yes" when I really want to, but feel guilty about it.  I will buy the shoes, or get the pedicure, or eat the mini Snickers bar stashed away since Halloween.  If you know me, you know I NEVER go overboard when it comes to shopping or sweets, so if I really want it and I can afford it, I will say "yes" to it.
10. Say "yes" when I want to, but am being lazy or nervous about it.  I will meet my friend for lunch, even if I'm in the middle of laundry. I will take my kids to the beach even though I have to cross a bridge and parallel park. I will drive to the Magic Kingdom, even though it's an hour away and I have to remember that I parked in Ursula 95.
11. Forgive.  I will forgive someone even if they haven't asked for forgiveness. Even if they don't know what they have done wrong. Even if they pretend not to know what they have done wrong.  I will forgive and forget because it makes ME feel better.
12. I won't compare.  I am truly happy where I am in life.  So, maybe I am renting, and maybe I've been driving the same car since before my 5th grader was in preschool.  I don't need what others have to be happy.  I just need to stay happy.
13. Value my life experiences, and subsequently my informed/educated opinions.  I have had many experiences in my years on this earth.  I have gone to college, grad school, have had two children, a miscarriage, moved far away from home and back again.  I've had money to spare and counted pennies for dinner.  I've planned a wedding and countless birthday parties. I have helped my kids with hundreds of hours of homework.  I  passed a kidney stone, helped  my mom recover from a heart attack and through open heart surgery.  I own a small business and have managed several larger ones.  I've suffered through my parent's divorce and remarriages and second divorces. I am not JUST a homemaker or my husband's wife.  My wide range of experiences have helped me form valid and educated opinions and I will remember that more often. 
14. Go with the flow.  Plans change, stuff happens. The best laid out plans can be destroyed in two seconds.  But the truth is, something better often comes along.  Last week we were supposed to go to NYC for my birthday.  Then came a snow storm, so we changed our plans and went to Disney instead.  Best. Trip. Ever!
15. Embrace my age.  I just turned 38.  3-8.  Two years away from 40.  Three years past the point in which becoming pregnant would put me at "advanced maternal age". 8 years older than my mom was when she had me. Seven months from my oldest entering high school and my youngest entering middle school.  I am 38, and so far I am loving it!
16. Embrace my face.  My skin isn't as tight as it used to be.  I have crows feet and dark under-eye circles.  This is what I look like.  Maybe one day I will inject myself up with botulism and stretch my cheek skin behind my ears.  But for now, I will embrace it. It's the only face I've got and it needs love, too.
17. Wear the two-piece. I've got some pregnancy battle wounds (stretch marks), and my belly button is pretty sad.  I'm nowhere near a size zero, but I will still rock that two-piece.
18. Smile more.  A bagger at the grocery store told me I had "such a great smile!" the other day.  I'm pretty sure he was just trying to get me to smile.  I am known for having an unintentional "resting bitch face".  I will smile more, and hopefully get some smiles back.
19. Write more.  I used to identify as a writer.  I had two parenting columns and a personal blog where I would journal my thoughts and experiences (good and bad).  Somehow I let that part of me go and I will love myself more by getting it back.
20. Love more. I will tell those I love how much I love them. Often.
21. Let go of those who don't truly love back. When you love someone you accept them as they are; you don't judge them or try to change them.  You realize that what may work for your life, family, or career may not work for someone else and vice versa.  When you love someone you don't feel the need to give them unsolicited advice.  Loving someone is about enjoying their company and not about confrontation.  You love someone for who they are and not to try to turn them into a version of you.  I will love those who love me, and let go of the ones who don't.
22. Halt the drama.  I will avoid situations which bring unnecessary drama into my life.
23. Limit venting to 10 minutes.  Whether I am venting, or someone is venting to me, I will limit it to 10 minutes then I will change the subject or hang up the phone.  No one should have to hear someone else complain nonstop for an hour. 
24. Let it go to voicemail.  If I am eating a meal, spending time with my husband or watching a movie I will let the phone go to voicemail. 
25. Get organized.  Nothing makes me happier than knowing where something is when I need it. 
26. Create for the simple joy of creativity.  Painting furniture, decorating, sewing, writing.... These are things I love to do, but only find the time to do for work. I will make time to do these things for me. 
27. Stand up.  One of the ways I haven't loved myself recently is by not standing up for myself when I should.  I am non-confrontational to a fault and often deal with people who are quite the opposite.  I always feel like I am on defensive mode against this kind of person--always having to explain WHY something is or isn't a particular way.  I find myself preemptively defending myself just to try to avoid the inevitable confrontation.  I will stand up for myself, and if it continues to create confrontation I will refer to # 21.
28. Relax and enjoy my family.  I will love myself by doing the one thing I enjoy the most: spending time with my husband and kids.  Whether it's watching a movie, having lunch or catching up with Switched at Birth and The Fosters, these are my HAPPIEST moments ever!

Here is another unfiltered selfie with my new 'do (and much better weather!)  Woot!

BIG SALE on my Facebook page! Today only!

I'm clearing out my 2013 merchandise which translates to BIG savings for you!  Stop by my Facebook Page to see what's on sale!  Prices good for 24 hours only and include shipping!!! Stop on by!!

Easy Last-Minute Halloween Costume: Clark Kent

So it's two days before (or the morning of!) Halloween and your teen son decides he really ISN'T too old to go trick-or-treating again this year. What do you do?

Here is my solution for a quick and easy last-minute costume:

Presenting, Clark Kent

It's definitely not a bird nor a plane, but this Superman definitely turned the heads of some teen girls last week at our church's Trunk or Treat!

We had all the pieces at home, all I needed to buy was the superman logo tee shirt, which I picked up at my local Target.

Clark Kent wears:

• Black high top chucks (Converse One-Stars from Target):$17 on clearance
• White Dress Shirt (owned) Free
• Tie (Owned--You can get a shirt/tie combo at Walmart for $10) Free
• Dress Slacks (Owned--You can find dress slacks at Walmart for $10) Free
• Black glasses (3D movie theater glasses) Free
• Superman tee shirt (Target) $11 after Cartwheel discount
• Good looks: Priceless!

My total cost:  $28 by reusing some items he already owned...technically only spent $11, since I had bought the Chucks a few weeks ago, but these were his first time wearing them, so I added it in.  ;)

DIY Minion Halloween Costume {Ba ba ba ba-ba na-na!}

Today's costume is an easy DIY!  My daughter knew that she wanted to dress up like this character since we watched Despicable Me 2 this summer.

Presenting:

The DIY Minion

Just looking at this kid makes me want to say: BEE DOH!  BEE DOH!  BEE DOH!!

I love the way this all came out!  I used a mix of hand-me-downs, consignment and new items.  She will be wearing this on Halloween night!

This DIY Minion wears:

• Black Chucks (Converse All Star hand me downs from her brother): Free(ish) retail at about $30
• Yellow Tee Shirt (my son's old band tee): Free --these retail less than $10 new
• Thick Round Glasses (Michael's): $1
• Yellow Beanie (Amazon): $5
• Black Gloves (from an old costume): Free --you can find black gloves for about $1
• Yellow Soccer Socks (Ross): $3 (for two pair)
• Denim Overalls (cosigment shop): $3
• Yellow Buttons (Joann): $1
• Silliness--Priceless!

My total cost:  $13 with lots of reusable pieces!!

Nerdy 50s Girl {Putting a Twist on a Store Bought Halloween Costume}

As you saw in yesterday's post, I can't be happy with a store bought costume as is. We always add a little twist.  Today I present to you:

Nerdy 50's Girl:

This is another one of those costumes I picked up on clearance at Target years ago. I was so surprised when my daughter chose this costume to wear for our church's Trunk or Treat this year. The whole nerdy look was her idea, and I have to say, she rocks it!

She even swiped some of the masking tape from my DIY furniture projects to "nerdy up" her glasses!

Nerdy 50s Girl wears:

• Black Chucks (Converse All Star hand me downs from her brother) Free(ish) retail at about $30
• Nerdy glasses (old 3D movie theater glasses) Free -- also used for Hipster Dorothy
• White lace bike shorts (Target clearance) $4 -- also used for Hipster Dorothy
• Tall white socks (Target clearance) $2 -- also used for Hipster Dorothy
• 50s Girl costume (Target Clearance 2010) $3
• Potential to be the next Kristen Wiig -- Priceless!

Total cost to me: $9 (unless you count the shoes that I bought for my son in 2009 for about $30, and the hour's worth of elbow grease it took me to make them look new again!)