WHOOPS

SO apparently March is my lazy month.  I slacked a little while documented my outfits for the first half of March.  We had to travel to Indiana for a funeral and it just wasn't super important to photograph my cold weather outfits.  I am DONE being cold.  Winter has made a reappearance in North Carolina and I am not thankful for it.

My lularoe kimono is being gifted to my mom, it is just a touch big and in an effort to not "look homeless" as my sister calls it I will wear stuff that is my size.  I also pulled a couple of tunics from my closet and passed them to her.  I sold a new pair of shoes that I have never worn and was weirdly hanging on to in case my foot grew? I have found 2 B/S/T finds, a bundle of denim drawstring shorts and then a Lularoe Duster.  My sweet sister and mama visited and I spent some time in Louisiana with my mom.  Well the trouble with that is that we shop together, and we love it.  Like boutique shopping is ideal for us.  My mom kept offering to go and she would buy for me, but that isn't the point right.  I am 25% through the year.  I am loving it and it is funny that I feel so natural not buying.  Mama did get me a couple goodies in my Easter basket.  I love my new treasures.  I promise April will be a more exciting blog month I think.  I will try and have more interesting things to say. 

 

                                                                      My people!!!! 

Farewell February

💟💟💟
February was great.  The weather was seriously so delightful the last half of the month.  RLC and I were outside and it was "suns out-legs out". The warmer weather has let me branch out in my closet and it has helped me feel more stylish and have different options.  I feel over jeans a little bit and ready to style more from my closet.  I am not quite ready to grab the summer totes from the garage yet. I have started planning my outfits the night before so I don't get flustered in the morning and throw something on I am not JAZZED about.  Because lets be honest, that is what happens.  We have every desire to dress to feel good about ourselves for the day and then next thing you know you needed to leave 5 minutes ago and the baby is only in a cloth diaper, has breakfast all over her face and you just quickly throw on jeans and flannel.  Not that there is anything wrong with that, but sometimes I just want to style myself more.  I had a long talk with my sister about my desire to style from my closet.  It makes me happy, it makes me work hard to see things differently.  It makes me happy when I feel good and I LOVE what I am wearing. The weather is making me excited for true spring and shorts weather.  I already have a few outfits in my head for when I think I can actually wear shorts.  I am thinking April. I did bust out my birkenstocks.  I love birks, like love them.  I haven't started wearing my white pair yet, I am a little bit classic in that I won't wear them until after Easter.  I bought 2 "new to me" items.  An Umgee Tunic that is a pictured and a LulaRoe kimono style.  Need to try it on and if it doesn't work it will be gifted to my mama, she also loves a full closet. So total for the year am I at 4 items? I will try and keep track.

I am really fighting the good fight with my hair.  I am forever trying to find the right formula of products so that my curls have enough shape, but not overly producty.  I will always have frizz, but I don't want to be a frizz ball.  I am debating a big cut, but then when I see pictures I love the ability to wear it differently.  Oy, tough decisions!

 Love this top, my mom got it for me when I was pregnant with RLC and It is seriously my favorite.  The colors, the shape, the sleeves its all 😍😍😍

 This is my first time pairing a graphic T and a kimono and I am not hating it.  It adds something to the shirt, but also so cool. 

I was not a fan of this outfit.  As I was driving away from my house I was thinking of better ways to style the shirt and the pants.  The pants are a touch big and with the awesome yellow color could have used a belt and a chambray shirt tucked in. The shirt is a classic white T from Gap.  I would have loved it with a pair of dark skinny jeans, front tuck, and a red lip.  Overall it was okay-ish, but I didn't do the pieces justice. 

 B/S/T Umgee Tunic, apparently see through and needed a tank!

 This was thrown on, it was 1000 Degrees and I was not ready for tank top weather.  

I didn't love how to I looked in this red sweatshirt, it might be getting rehomed outside of my closet. 

I also need to shout out to my girl, Rachel.  My husband is away for a few days and the self timer pictures are no good.  The red sweatshirt above was taken with a self timer and it only got my top 75%. So thank you Rachel for indulging me. 

Oh My Goodness...WITHDRAWALS

Happy Half Way Through February.  February can either be a favorite or a funky month.  Sometimes it is beautiful and full of love, and other times it is a dreary month.  I am going to be upfront with ya'll, I WANT stuff.  I want new sunglasses.  I want new tops. I want new dresses.  The need is not there, probably not even a little bit.  I was talking to my sister about it and she described it as withdrawals.  I am used to seeing something I want/need and being able to get it or at least making a plan to get it.  I feel like I have this long running list of things I want come January 1st, 2019, or at least things to ask for on holidays and my birthday.  That is kind of not the point though.  I am supposed to be learning about contentment and that I can throw a good outfit together without having something new.  I want to look and feel good about myself, but that doesn't have to mean new things for me.  I am really trying and have talked myself out of thrifting.  I know I would go to goodwill or a consignment store and essentially just buy to buy.  I am finding a little peace that the weather is breaking and we are having some gorgeous days in North Carolina.  I am able to throw a skirt or a dress on and not have my legs be freezing.  I was feeling really good about being able to wear skirts/dresses on my regular days again, until at story time I realized how WHITE these legs are.  I am busting out my self tanner today, and I will be walking in shorts if it is warm enough.  Trying to get a little sun when I can. 
My sweet husband did gift me a new accessory for Valentine's Day and he did good.  I have been longing for a large acrylic monogram and thats exactly what I got.  It is beautiful.  You can spy it in my last picture on the post.  I also bought a Lularoe cassie skirt off the buy/sell/trade page.  It is a fun khaki/camel color with beautiful texture that will be so useful for all seasons.  I love the versatility of a pencil skirt.  Crop top and you're trendy but covered.  Long flowy tunic and the skirt and your proportions are spot on.  Just lots of good options. 

Taking pictures has taught me a little bit more about proportions.  I love a Boyfriend chino from Gap, but I think for my best body I should have tucked a fitted shirt in and then maybe left my shirt open. 

 So when Jacob is not home, I am left to self-timer pictures and they are not great.  This was weirdly taken from the grill. But lets talk about my awesome skirt in this picture, B/S/T page for the win. 

Another picture taken from a weird angle using my self timer.  Hot 90's mom alert.  Everything is sketchy about this picture.  The shirt sleeves are huge, it is a men's shirt from goodwill and might be going back to the goodwill.  Jacob wasn't there to tell me to not stand so weird and that my hair is screaming for a hair scrunchy.  

8.3% Done

January is over which means we are 1/12 done.  I am not going to lie, the weather is making me want to shop.  My outfits feel blah.  I am over wearing jeans and pants.  I love when dresses and skirts are more of a practical option.  Because I am wearing jeans so frequently, I want fun tops or statement pants and obviously I didn't buy anything.  I just feel less dynamic than usual, but I also am over the month of January.  It felt way longer than 31 days. 
Gift Cards- So I have a question for anyone taking the time to read this.  I can't make up my mind about gift cards.  My sister says that if we are gifted a gift card, it is the same as a gift and we can use it.  But who is to say we aren't just buying to buy.  I feel like if you have a need you should be able to buy something.  I know I will need new white tanks this summer, so if I use a gift card for that I can totally justify it.  Erin votes use it for whatever you want, because it is no different than if someone gifted me a new fun shirt I didn't need.  What do y'all think? Help us settle this age old debate...ok a few week old debate!!!
Makeup- I am going to be completely honest with you and let you know that I had a hard time the last couple days with buying no new lipstick.  As y'all can tell by the photographic evidence, I love a bold lip.  I like color and I LOVE matte lipstick.  The current favorite brand is really killing me.  They were having a 20% off sale and they just have such a variety of colors.  The hard part is when I think I need something.  I was sitting stalking their website and insta and thinking about all the colors I need.  I need a pinky nude and a true pink and like a purple and a maroon.  It is quite the rabbit hole. I talked to my sister about it and we talked about the amount of lipstick I have and how contentment is important.  Would I love more lipstick? YES! Do I NEED more lipstick? YES!!  Ok, the need is not there.  I said no and am just lusting over new lips, but also trying to utilize what I have.  On the using up what I have, I have been diligent about using shadows and random stuff up.  I love new makeup, I feel like it is really going to make me look like a movie star.  I am such a sucker for tutorials and advertisements because I really wonder if I will look that awesome and my skin that clear!! Will that new mascara make my eyelashes that long? Won't know until I try. In all honesty I am working really hard to talk myself out of new makeup and I am winning.  I need new liquid eyeliner, but that is a true need because I don't leave the house without my cat eye. 
I do feel really good about not buying, not that it is anything remarkable, but it does feel good to have accomplished a goal for month.  Almost to a year.   I will be happy when I can pull my spring/summer wardrobe out of totes and feel like I went shopping in my garage.

Erin told me it is time to get rid of this sweater, she said it has lived its life.  I agree, but I also love it, so I am letting it warm my body in 2018!!! 

 

This one I didn't crop so much. because peep my baby                        and dog in the door 💜

 I am not loving my gold                                                          moccasins with my vest and flannel, but man I am loving my DIFFeyewear sunnies!!!

The Ease of January

In some ways I am itching to buy, but in other ways I have done this before.  My mom and Erin and I have done no-buy-January before.  It can be a tough month, the sales are good, you can see spring on the horizon, but then at the same time might want a few new cozy pieces to add to your winter wardrobe.  I think I might need to unsubscribe from a few emails because it is rather tempting. 
I feel like it is really setting in that I am not buying anything new this year.  I love nail polish and I paint my nails everyday.  I have enough polish to last me years, so I have decided no new polish.  Well that is a bummer, but it is about loving the colors I have. RIGHT? Also, no new accessories, headbands, fun makeup, purses, really anything.  WOOF! 
The weather in NC has been wild to say the least.  Snow, rain, 30 degree temps, 70 degree temps.  My outfits have been very varied.  I did buy a new-to-me pair of jeans this week.  I knew I needed a new pair of dark jeans to replace some AE jeggings that were my staple for a while.  My neighborhood page is always good for new pieces, but can be pretty sporadic.  I was lucky enough to catch a pair of Lucky Brooke jeans in my size and desired color for $15.  The former owner hadn't worn them much, which means I got a practically new pair of jeans for a fraction of the price.  Lucky Brooke Jeggings were my favorite post-partum jean and I was tickled to find them in my current size.  The only downside was, Jacob gave me attitude telling me I only made it a couple of weeks without buying.  I told him he didn't quite understand my challenge and was sassing me when I just wanted a little support.  After a quick "discussion" in the Starbucks drive-thru he understood my vision.  I also got a bag full of hand-me-down goodies (Thanks Kimberly), I was able to find 2 new flannels, 1 cardi, 1 crewneck, and 1 AWESOME sweatshirt material jacket.  Don't worry I wore it a few days after it was in my possession.
I am enjoying all of the questions and interest in this project.  It is making me feel more comfortable expressing my thoughts and letting people know my heart for contentment this year.  I am loving making Jacob take pictures of me everyday, it is our lunch time routine when he is home for a quick bite. He takes it seriously and we are learning together about which angle I like best for myself.  We have learned that lighting in the house is no good.  Y'all will probably see a lot of outdoor pictures. 
As you can tell, I love a good knot in my button downs and T's.  I think it adds a bit of dimension and can make a look a little dynamic. TRY IT!!! And a FRONT TUCK.  If you feel like a sweater or shirt is just blah.  Messy tuck the front in and you might feel a little more put together, aka a J.Crew model.