Oaks Day Decisions

To my readers that hail from the Bluegrass State, you get how big of a deal the Derby festivities are.  If you're not lucky enough to be a Kentuckian, let me explain.  Derby is basically a huge party 'round these parts.  A lot of Kentuckians are like me and have actually never been to the Derby.  It's on my bucket list.  But I have attended many a Derby party, bet on my fair share of horses and cheered on the ponies.  Instead of going to the Derby, the last couple of years my mom, her sisters, my Meemaw and my sister have all gone to the Kentucky Oaks--the race day right before the Derby.  It's a special day, where Churchill Downs honors breast cancer survivors with a survivor parade and most people will be sporting pink in some form or fashion.

For me, it's an issue.  I love the meaning behind the pink....but I loathe the actual color.  Always have.  While Miss Avery wouldn't have a single problem in this world wearing pink head to toe for the day, I struggle.

My girl loves her pink.  I'm not sure where she came from.

Every year, I'm scrambling to find a pink-ish dress or a pink hat last minute because I don't own a single stitch of pink clothing.  And it seems like I struggle every single year.  The first year we went, I was on a pretty strict budget, so I went to Roses and bought a floppy hat.

Being my first Oaks experience, I wasn't sure what to expect.  I immediately decided that the next year, I'd spend a little more money and buy an actual Derby-like hat.  The floppy hat belonged at the beach, not at the racetrack (I'm telling you guys.  There's rules to this whole "Derby week at the races" thing.).

So last year, I bought myself a sufficient Derby hat from a friend.....but then weather was basically dismal the day of Oaks.  I worried for weeks about what to do about the forecast.  I didn't want to freeze, but IT'S OAKS DAY, Y'ALL, and I didn't want to look out of place if I didn't wear a dress.  In the end, I went for comfort, so I opted for pants and shirt so I didn't freeze my rear end off and a giant pink hat.  It wasn't great for selfies...

....but it worked.

Now this year, I have a different issue alllllllllllllltogether.  I'm pregnant.  Comfort is #1 right now, but I also want to look cute.  If you've been pregnant before, you feel me, right?  You're already feeling uncomfortable and gigantic and swollen, but you still want to be just as cute as everyone else around you.  It makes dressing for any kind of special occasion a big deal.  My cousin's wedding is a week and a half for my due date and I'm already worried about looking like a giant whale and not looking cute at all but that's an entirely different issue all together and not the point of this blog post.  *deep breath*

When I first started looking at dresses for Oaks, I immediately went to pinkblushmaternity.com, my favorite go-to website for clothes this pregnancy.  Probably 80% of my maternity wardrobe right now is from this website, and I plan on buying some more shirts and dresses for the last couple of months of my pregnancy when we're reaching summertime temps.  

My anti-pink choices automatically led me to this dress: 

It's Kentucky blue and it looks ridiculously comfortable, right??  I would actually wear this again after the races.  But I wasn't sure how I was going to make this work with pink.  I'm not exactly a bold color choice person.  I put it up on Facebook and, through suggestions from all you lovely friends, I had decided that it would look great with pink accessories.  I went as far as to make a collage of the pieces I would wear with it. 

(Earrings: Compass Earrings;  Necklace:  Acai Rope Necklace;

Bracelets:  Everlast Bangles and Raja Bangle

It was all set.  And it seemed like a win-win situation.  I would find a fuchsia fascinator and call it a day and feel pretty darn good about myself.  But here's the thing about being indecisive:  it takes you a ridiculously long amount of time when you can't make decisions quickly.  So buy the time I decided that this was the route I was going, I went to the website to order the dress.....and they were out of my size.  FIGURES.  

So, back to square one!  Fortunately, Pink Blush carried the same dress in a fuchsia color.  Not my first choice, but one of the biggest things that attracted me to the dress in the first place was how comfortable it looked.  I went ahead and ordered it, because I wasn't going to run into the same situation again of the dress being out of stock. 

Now, to find jewelry and a fascinator.  I've decided on a fascinator because I already have extra weight all over my body and I don't think I'd feel all that great in a giant hat.  A fascinator is still Derby-ish, but lightweight.  Ideal, I think.

(Side note: please type in "fascinator" into the search bar in Etsy and then filter from high price to low price.  Then go ahead and pass out that there are 1. People selling hair accessories for that much and 2. There's the potential that there are people out there spending that much on hair accessories.  Oy.)

I haven't decided yet, but these are a few of my top choices: 

Fascinators all from EyeHeartMe on Etsy

Mint Green Fascinator; Black Fascinators

Well, at least this gets me started.  I won't even begin to think about jewelry right now.  One decision is all my indecisive little head can take for the moment.....

Hair Care Products and a Hairspray Revelation

One thing you should know about me?

I have hair issues.

My hair is terrible, with a capital T.  Flat, thin, doesn't hold curl.  I don't think I can express to you how really awfully bad my hair is.  I've tried soooo many different hair care products to try to give my hair more volume, to give it texture, to hold curl.  Hardly anything works.  I have had success for a short amount of time with two different volumizing products:

Aquage Uplifting Foam, $16+

This foam is meant to be applied while hair is still damp.  You then dry your hair, upside down for best effect, and it gives it volume.  The first couple of times I used this product, IT. WAS. AWESOME.  When I flipped right-side up after drying, my hair honest to goodness looked like a lion's mane.  It was crazy.  I've never in my life had volume like that.  My only complaint about it at first was that it made my hair crunchy wherever I had applied it.  But after awhile, it was almost like my hair became resistant to the product.  It no longer gave me crazy awesome volume, it just made my hair sticky.  It was a terribly sad day around the Gaddie household.  And so I began my hunt for a volumizing product that would work......again.

L'Oreal Boost It High Lift Creation Spray, ~$4, Target, Walmart

After searching for a good while for another volumizing product, I was out at a bachelorette party when my cousin fixed my hair and used this glorious stuff.  It's amazing.  Spray it on your roots, tease it up, hello volume!  Best part?  It's FOUR DOLLARS.  I'm a firm believer that you should not have to pay out the wazoo to get good stuff.  

While I've found a volumizing product that works, for now, I've basically been on the hunt for a hairspray that will hold my hair for-ev-ver.  Seriously, it's like the hunt that absolutely never ends.  I've gone through so many brands and types and price points it's ridiculous.  I've tried Garnier, White Rain, Suave, Big Sexy Spray and Play, Herbal Essences, John Frieda...the list goes on and on.  

Most recently, I had the thought that since the L'Oreal volumizing spray was working so well, I would try their brand of hairspray too. 

L'Oreal Lock It Weather Control Hairspray, ~$4, Target

This stuff is.....used ..okay.  It's better than any other ones I've used.  It holds my hair for a small amount of time, which is impressive considering most of the other hairsprays I've used don't even hold my hair until I get to work.  But.....this stuff smells horrrrrrrrrrrrible.  I can't even convey into words the smell this spray puts off.  It's bad enough in the bathroom when I'm fixing my hair, but I can smell it in my hair the rest of the day.  But I paid $4 and it does an okay job, so I thought I would use the rest of the can before I bought something else to try.

Yesterday, I was cleaning and reorganizing my bathroom closet and I found a trial sized bottle of a hairspray I'd honestly never seen before.  I have no idea when it was purchased, I have no idea where it came from, I've never even heard of this brand before.

Salon Grafix Freezing Hair Spray

This morning, while I was getting ready for church, I thought I would attempt an experiment.  Spiral curl my hair like I occasionally do and then spray my hair....half of it with the L'Oreal hairspray I had been using and the other half on this newly discovered brand-I'd-never-heard-of spray.  

Holy cow, guys. 

I curled my hair at 10:15ish this morning.  I took this picture at 7:15 tonight.

This is a picture of the side of hair that I sprayed with the L'Oreal spray. 

It's okay.  Like I said before, it's worked better than anything else I've ever used before.  I still see curl in my hair, which for 9 hours after I curled it, is extremely impressive.  That's seriously never happened before.  But you can see the areas that have fallen out, which is super typical of my hair.  

Now, this is the side that I sprayed with the Salon Grafix freezing spray.

I seriously can't even believe it.  NINE HOURS have passed, y'all...and my hair is still curled.  Do you even know what a huge, monumental feat this is??  This has never happened.  Ever.  I feel like I need to shout it from the rooftops:  "I'VE ACTUALLY FOUND A HAIRSPRAY THAT WORKS!!  AND DOESN'T SMELL GARBAGE!!  IT'S LIKE THE APOCALYPSE!"

Now, I just have to find this stuff for a reasonable price.  Baby steps, guys.  

To color, or not to color?

I can do a lot of things pretty well.  I'm crafty.  I have an eye for home interior design. I have pretty good handwriting.

There are two things that I don't include in my list of "things I do well."  In fact, they would probably belong in a "things I can't do at all and barely struggle to grasp the basics" list.  Hair and makeup.  They're completely foreign ideas to me.  Kudos to you, girl that watches YouTube videos on contouring and experiments with different colors and types of makeup.  I wish I was you.  I don't know the difference between a lipstick and a lip stain.  I have no idea what colors look good with my skin tone.  I've had pretty much the same makeup routine since high school because I don't have a clue how to vary it.

Don't even get me started on hair.  I am so envious of you, girl that can get up each morning and do different things with your hair.  You know how to French braid?  to do a messy, but adorable updo?  to make your plain ponytail look fancy?  Teach me your ways.  I have three hairstyles:  down, pinned back and a ponytail.  That's it.  I have recently started using a lifting spray, thanks to a recommendation from my cousin.  Other than that, my hair routine is pretty basic.   The idea of changing my hairstyle gives me a slight case of the panic attacks.  I don't know what style looks best with my face shape.  I've pretty much always had the same two hairstyles....long or a bob.  I don't know how to make my hair look better when it's curled.  I had a perm once.  Can we not talk about it?  I still have emotional scars.  I highlighted my hair for a small period in high school.  That took a week's worth of convincing myself that it wouldn't be the end of the world if I put a little color in my hair.  Even so, while my hairstylist was putting the highlights in, I felt the very strong urge to throw up.  I don't do well with changes to my appearance.  You see, I don't have a very good image of myself.  My self-confidence is almost in the negative numbers and I always see the flaws in myself when I look in the mirror.  Maybe that's why I struggle with an update.  I think that, no matter what I do, it's really not going to matter.

Lately though, I've really been feeling down about myself.  I don't have many new clothes that I feel good about.  The clothes that I do have make me feel frumpy.  When I look in the mirror, all I can focus on is my acne that has decided to plague me in my adulthood.  No amount of makeup I apply will cover it and make me feel less self-conscious.  So, I've decided I need a change with my hair to hopefully pump up my self-worth.  My hair is a dark brown color.  It's very, very thin.  Has almost zero volume to it and lays flat on my head.  I'm dying for a new color.  I want to add dimension to my hair to where it doesn't seem so flat and one-dimensional.  Plus, I looked in the mirror on my way to work the other day and saw this:

GREY HAIRS!!!!!! 

I'm 28!  I'm not supposed to have grey hairs!  Curse you, dark hair and the tendency to go grey earlier!! 

So, now I'm freaking out.  I cannot have grey hairs.  Nope.  Nope. Nope.  I'm really feeling the urge to go color my hair like yesterday.

Except, read above where I explain where I'm basically illiterate when it comes to the language of beauty.  

So many colors.  So many styles.  How the heck is a girl, with basically no beauty/cosmetology sense at all, supposed to decide what to do with her hair??

Part of me is tempted to just go to my stylist, plop down in her chair and say "Do your thang."   Except 1.)  I never actually use the word "thang" in real life.  And 2.) I'm too much of a control freak for that.  

Here's where you come in, my totally awesome readers.  Help. Me. 

What you should know:  I have shoulder-ish length hair right now.  I'm working on growing it back out.  I cut it short about a year ago and loved it, but I want it long again.  I have "grass is greener when my hair is whatever my hair isn't right now" syndrome.  I have short, I want it long.  I have long, I want it short.  Oy.  

Back to the color.  I do want to stay in the brunette family.  Don't go suggesting that I go blonde because I have plenty of fun as a brunette, thankyouverymuch.  Red is off-limits.  My sister Dayna is the only redhead in the family and she rocks that shizz.  No way I could ever compete with that. 

Dayna has people come up to her often and ask what number her hair is.  God-given, baby.  I hate her a little for it.  How did my sister get awesomely unique and totally thick hair while I got what I got??

Anyway.  My original thought was to keep the dark shade of my hair and put light in it.  Kind of liking these examples: 

Really love the girl on the left.  But that seems like a big change from what I have right now.  Wuss.  Right here.

So I'm kind of gravitating towards a style that is a little more even and blends really well throughout.

Basically, I'm a chicken and I have no idea what to do with my hair.  Help??

Long Hair Do Care.

I got my hair cut today.  Actually, I got my hair chopped off today.

I wanted something different.  It's been 3 years since I've had a different hairstyle.  I'm ridiculously afraid of change.  I don't know what I'm going to do when I start going grey and need to dye my hair.  It took 48 hours of opinions, pep talks and reassuring myself for me to even get my hair cut today.  What can I say?  I'm a makeover chicken.

Here's the inspiration:

Chelsea Kane!  Her hair is fabulous.  Just fabulous.  Particularly the picture at the bottom right.

Pictures!  (side note:  You should know this.  Posting selfies is really, really, reaaaaally putting myself out there.  I have horrible self-esteem and hate looking at pictures of myself.  I almost can't believe I'm even putting them up willingly for other people to see.)

Before!

Long hair do care.  

During!

I'm convinced my hair could have made a small wig.  Hair. Was. Everywhere.  

After!

I'm hyperventilating right now.  Seeing the before and afters together honestly makes me throw up a little bit.  And I'll be honest, the before picture looks a lot better than the after.  But in person, this new hair is AWESOME.  It literally looks just like Chelsea Kane's hair that I took for inspiration...just brown instead of blonde. :)  I think I lost 5 pounds by losing all that hair!  I'm really, really loving it.  Although I keep running my hands through it and then freak out because I have no hair anymore.  I guess sometimes it does pay off to just put on my big girl panties and deal with it.  

30 for 30...almost.

I admit defeat.  If any of you were wondering, I never finished my "30 for 30" posts.  Don't get me wrong--I finished the challenge:  only 30 items of clothing and shoes for 30 days.  I did it.  I promise (ask anyone around me...they know I wore the same exact clothes every day). Where I failed was actually documenting every single day's outfit in a photo.  I got to day 22.  Then we went on vacation.  Actually, then I was busy packing and then we went on vacation.  I kept telling myself that I was going to get the clothes out and take pictures of the outfits I wore on days 23-30.  But life happened.  We came home, I had mountains and mountains of laundry to do and sort and put away (some until next summer).  Then we decided to put our house up for sale and I've been obsessed with trying to keep the house clean every morning before I leave for work and then trying to make as little mess as possible every evening (most days I fail miserably).  Days 23-30 never got photographed.  At least I had good intentions, right?  That's life though....especially life for me right now.  I have amazing intentions:  I'm going to fix dinner every night, I'm going to cut coupons and spend as little as possible on frivolous things, I'm going to finish all my laundry, I'm going to re-decorate the house and make it more fashionable, I'm going to clear out my entire wardrobe and make myself more presentable.  And then life happens.  I cook dinner maybe one night out of the entire week and eat sandwiches the rest.  I cut coupons for a few things, take them to the grocery and then forget I had them.  I see a cute pair of shoes that are calling my name and talk myself into buying them.  I have piles of laundry waiting for me every single night, the decor in my house hasn't been changed in over 6 months and my wardrobe is nowhere near as fashionable as I want it.  Since when is life perfect?  I'm sure as heck not. :)  So, without further ado, days 21 and 22.

One more dose of imperfection before I go.....taking these pictures was sometimes a pain in the rear.  Because my daughter is an expert photobomber.  She somehow would know the exact second I was taking a picture because she would rush in and sneak into my photo before I even knew it.  Examples:

I'm telling y'all.  She could make a living out of photobombing. 

Hair.

I have a hate/hate relationship with my hair.  I hate it and it obviously hates me because it refuses to do anything I want it to.  Lately, I've been undecided on the status of my hair.  I look at pictures like this....

...and I think I want long hair again.  It was pretty, I felt younger and skinnier.  Then I remember that it was always a pain to curl and make it look just right and most of the time, it looked messy and heavy.....

...and I think that it wasn't worth it.  So then I look at pictures of my hair right after my wedding when I'd had enough of the long hair business and chopped it all off....

...and I think I want short hair again. It was easy, it was efficient, it looked cute.  Then I remember that I have craptastic thin hair that even the best root boosting, volumizing product can't help and I'm afraid I look balding with short hair....

...and I think I want to shave my head.  Not to mention my bangs.  My $*@(!* bangs.  Without mincing words, I HATE them.  I was cursed blessed enough to get a cowlick right in the middle of my bangs near my natural part.  Needless to say, having cute, bob style bangs was never an option for me.  So I thought I could pull off the side swept bangs that seem to be all the rage.  But, because of my cowlick, my bangs separate away from the rest of my hair:



So I'm trying to grow my bangs out to avoid this issue.  Except, right now, it's in the "growing-out-in-my-face-looks-totally-stupid-and-drives-me-crazy" phase and it's all I can do not to take a pair of scissors and chop them down to my scalp.  *sigh*  What do I do?  I've never been good at hair.  I don't know what products to use, I don't do hairstyles (although I wish I had time to do them) and I'm just at a loss on how to make my hair look good.  What's your vote?

Thirty for Thirty {days 16-20}



Without further ado, days 16-20 of my Thirty for Thirty challenge.  

I think I've hit a stride with mixing and matching my outfits.  I was particularly proud of days 17 and 18.  For someone that isn't very fashion forward, I was impressed that I actually thought to put day 17 together....not only that, I wore it outside around other people.  It may not seem anything too wild, but for me, I was nervous about it.  I almost cried on day 20 because it was actually cool enough for me to wear a scarf and boots.  Fall, I thought you'd never come. 
Maybe sometime before November, I'll get the last 10 days of my challenge on here. 

By the way, are you a follower?  Reminder that when I reach 50 blog followers and 100 likes on my Facebook page, I'll be doing a unique, handmade giveaway!

Thirty for Thirty {days 11-15}

Holy busy schedule Batman.  Life has completely been turned upside down these last few weeks.  Marty and I have been an incredible opportunity to buy a house in our hometown of Elizabethtown.  In order to get this house, we have to sell ours....in 4 months.  Not an impossible task, but now is not the ideal time to sell a house (or so we've been told) and my worrying nature and anxiety has kicked into overdrive.  I have a TON of work to do to get our house ready to show and a new post on my Thirty for Thirty challenge has been the last thing on my mind.  But, in case you're interested, here's days 11-15. 

I kind of hit my stride after day 11.  It was much easier to mix and match my pieces with accessories.  I wish I could be like some of the people that I got my inspiration from and really go all out with my accessorizing and fashion choices.  But I'm not there.....yet.  This challenge has made me more fashion conscious and what I'm putting on my body every morning.  I kind of feel like an outfit isn't complete without some bracelets and a belt now.  Who knows if it'll continue after I'm allowed to explore the rest of my closet again.  By the way, who else is excited that it's FINALLY Fall?!??  Hello boots, scarves and goodbye ridiculously hot weather and summer clothes :)

Thirty for Thirty {days 6-10}

I know I'm a little behind, seeing that today has been the 13th day of my "30 for 30" challenge, but here's an update on days 6 through 10. 

Yikes.  Looks like I need to retire that white shirt for this next week.  It got A LOT of wear this week!!  It also looks like I need to start taking pictures with my real camera...iPhone pictures just aren't cutting the mustard anymore. 
Day 10 has probably been my favorite outfit so far.  I love yellow and black together.  On the flip side, day 9 was probably my least favorite.  That skirt just accentuated the pooch I'm trying so hard to get rid of and made me feel self-conscious the whole day.  Looks like it's time to retire it and put it with the other clothes I want to wear when I'm skinnier. 
I've done a MUCH better job this week of accessorizing and dressing up outfits with belts and jewelry.  Skinny belts are my favorite (if you couldn't tell).  I also think I've developed an addiction to costume jewelry.  Anytime I go shopping, it's the first thing I check (since I'm not allowed to buy new clothes, it's the next best thing!).  My favorite places to buy cheap jewelry have been Wal-Mart, Target, Claire's (when things don't look too teenage-y) and a new discovery--Body Central.  When I shopped there the other day, all their jewelry was $3.90 (yes, you read that right).  I loaded up on bracelets and necklaces.  It's amazing to me how quickly a piece of jewelry can change an outfit completely. 
This week has been a lot easier than the first....see you again on days 11-15!

Thirty for thirty {days 1-5}

It's my first "30 for 30" update post and let me tell you people.....this is hard.  It may not be hard for a girl with major fashion sense that can accessorize anything from an evening gown to a paper bag.....but I am not her.  Far from it, in fact.  I never realized how hard it would be to mix up shirts and pants without making it look like I'm wearing the same thing every single day.  Plus, it doesn't help that it's been in the mid-90s here all week and layering to change the looks of my outfits is not an option.  Hopefully, I'll get to wear some of the blazers and cardigans I picked out before the end of this month.  Otherwise, you're going to be seeing the same outfits every single week.  *sigh*  Well, here goes.  My first five days on my 30 for 30 challenge.  Take a look.  Critique.  Tell me what would look good with that green shirt so it doesn't look like I have nothing else to wear.  Really.  I need feedback.

Suggestions?  Ideas?  Accessories you wanna give away to help me jazz these outfits up? 

Thirty for Thirty

Yesterday, I told you that I would be starting a new project today.  You might have heard of it before on Pinterest or browsing some of your favorite blogs.  I got the idea from Lauren, over at From My Grey Desk and her sister Kate, over at The Small Things Blog and The Pretty Life Anonymous (my favorite).  Starting today, I'm embarking on the "30 for 30 challenge."  Sound familiar?  No?  Let me explain. 
You can only wear 30 items for 30 days.  It sounds easy.  Read any blog of someone who's done it, they'll tell you otherwise.  Everyone has their own rules.  Here's mine:

1.  Only wear 30 items for 30 whole days.
2.  Items include: shirts, jackets, sweaters, shoes, pants, skirts, dresses.
3.  Accessories like belts, jewelry, scarves and hose aren't included.
4.  Undergarments like camis and tank tops are not included (This is necessary when you have a one year old that likes to yank your shirt down in front of a crowd of people.  Wish that was a joke.)

There's the rules.  There's the challenge.  Here's my 30:

September 1st to September 30th, this is all I get (I didn't include today's outfit because I bummed around the house all day--but I'm making up for it by wearing two outfits tomorrow).  Why, you ask?  Because I mentioned the other day that I was scared to branch out in my fashion.  I wear the same things over and over again because it's safe.  This will make me become braver with my accessories and outfit choices.  If I only get to wear 30 items for an entire month, I'm going to have to mix things up and find new ways to wear the items in my closet.  Not only that, I'll learn how to get more wear out of the things I own.  I'm really bad about only putting a shirt with a pair of pants and not adding anything else.  I wear this shirt with these jeans ONLY.  I don't know how to mix and match.  This will teach me how to wear this shirt with these jeans AND this skirt AND these dress pants.  Win-win. 

I almost forgot!  My sister, Dayna, is doing this with me.  She'll be documenting her 30 days over at the Nelson County Extension blog.  She's a Family and Consumer Sciences agent for the University of Kentucky and she'll be looking at the project from a thrifty side....save money by not buying new clothes every time you get tired of what you have.  Mix it up with other things and keep more dough in your pocket. 

It's going to be a long, but exciting 30 days.  Wanna come along for the ride?  We're more than happy to have a few fashion pioneers along with us!

Big Chicken.

I'm not a trendy person.  I don't see the point in following fads and spending the money to buy acid washed denim jackets if they're going to be out of style in 5 months.  I'm a classic kind of gal.  Black and white, classic cuts and silhouettes is where I live.  Nothing crazy.  Lately, however, I've been itching to try something a little different.  Sometimes, I wish I lived somewhere a little more fashion-forward so I wouldn't be looked at like a wackadoodle if I decided to try some trends on for size.  Or maybe people wouldn't think anything about it and I'm just wayyyyy too self-conscious.  Either way, I'm scared.  But I've definitely been eyeing a couple of fashion trends lately.

Colored jeans.
I want a pair of Kentucky blue colored skinny jeans SO. BAD.  Some of the colored jeans are a little out there.  I wouldn't want to flaunt a pair of mustard colored jeans anywhere.  But UK blue, teal, even red, I could see myself in.  As long as I stay at home.  With the blinds closed.  *sigh*

Red lipstick

I love red lipstick.  I think it's bold.  It's sassy.  It's feminine.  I even own a tube of it.  But I cannot wear it.  I've even applied it several times on my way to an event and end up rubbing it off before I get there.  I don't know what I'm afraid of.  Being too bold?  Standing out too much?  Who knows.  But I definitely have red lipstick phobia. 

Statement jewelry

Bib necklaces.  Colorful baubles.  Dangly earrings.  Giant rings.  I want them all. 

I guess this goes right back to the red lipstick and not wanting to stand out too much, but I'm afraid to wear them.  I'm nervous someone will look at me funny and say "Does she really think that looks good on HER?"  I guess I can drool over some pictures....

Basically, I just learned from this blog that I'm a big chicken. 

What do you think?

Would I look like a nerd?  Or should I put my big girl panties on and wear what I want because I only live once and it's about time that I become an independent woman?  Yeah, I'm leaning towards the first one too.... ;-)



Temptations come in many forms.....mine have heels and are super cute :)

It's inevitable. Any time we have a slow day at work and I have nothing loan-related to do, I surf the Internet until I am celebrity news-ed, depressing news-ed and facebook-ed out. And then I shop. I just can't help myself. I know I don't have the money. But to the clothing websites I go. I browse the dresses, accessories, shoes and tops until I can literally feel myself drooling. Scrolling through the pictures, I click on the items to add them to my cart, slowly accruing a ridiculous amount of clothing that I will never be able to afford. Reluctantly, I exit out of the site, leaving my wish list and potential closet additions behind. My current obsession is shoes. I have never been a fan of sandals or flip-flops, always opting for the closed toed, ballet flat kind of look. You see, I HATE feet. It goes beyond thinking that feet are ugly--I flat out, cannot stand feet. Anyone's feet. Even my own. So I have boycotted any type of shoe that will show them off. This season, I've had a revelation. I don't care if people think I have ugly feet. I really don't even care that I think I have ugly feet (I just won't look at them). I am going to wear sandals this year. Every shoe store I've been in has an adorable line of sandals and new summer footwear that I have decided I need.

I have found this pair of shoes at payless.com that I absolutely ADORE. They combine both worlds of sandal and flat. My perfect shoe. I can have the breathability of a sandal with the toe-hiding ability of a flat. I want them. They'll even deliver them to your nearest Payless store for free! Problem: they are $22.99. Problem: my husband would kill me if I brought home another pair of shoes (and he's extremely observant when it comes to my purse and shoe count). Problem: I'm an in-betweener, so I wouldn't know whether I needed a 6 1/2 or a 7. Sigh. During my quest to find the perfect sandal, I found myself wandering over to the dress shoes....and I find these:

I've never been a huge fan of Mary Jane's...I think they remind me of the shoes I would wear with my Christmas dress when I was 5. But there's something about these shoes. They've got a 1920s, flapper feel to them that I love. And they're only $14.99! Problem: they only come in a 7 wide. Problem: please see above where my husband would freak out. Sigh again. Maybe Marty will suddenly win the lottery. Or maybe he'll decide that my shoe count is frighteningly low and send me out to replenish my stock. Not likely, but I can dream, can't I?? I wonder if I can request our I/T department to block all shopping websites to avoid all temptation........

Pantyhose are the Devil.

I am ashamed to say that my mentor would not be very proud of me this morning. I woke up in a good mood, proud of myself for starting my blog and wanted to wear an Audrey-esque outfit to celebrate. The weather was nice, I was up early, I was going to fix my hair and wear a dress. I spent longer than usual fixing my hair into a perfectly orchestrated chignon bun with little wisps of hair by my face. I'm liking this. I knew exactly what dress I wanted to wear. A simple black sheath dress with white polka dots and a small bow in the middle. I can almost picture her wearing it. I slip my dress on, feeling very put-together and go to put on my pantyhose (which aren't my favorite but required in the workplace dress code). Taking out my brand new pair of Silken Mist Jet Black pantyhose, I put them on and notice a smallish hole toward my thigh. I'm already cutting it close in time, so the option to change them isn't available. I grab a bottle of clear nail polish to seal the edges when I get to work, thinking I will divert any pantyhose-related disaster from happening. I rush out the door, scrape the ice off my car (thank you Kentucky weather) and proceed to climb in. This is when I notice it. My small, completely unnoticable hole has turned into a giant, softball sized, I-could-fit-my-head-through-it hole with one lone run extending well past my knee. There's no ignoring the state of my pantyhose now. Calling my boss, I inform her of my fashion crisis and my need to make a trip to the closest Wal-Mart or Walgreens in town. 40 minutes, two boxes of pantyhose and $6 later, I'm sporting a brand new, run-free pair of hose and hoping the day goes by a little smoother than it started. As long as the Wildcats win against West Virginia tonight, all will be well and the morning will be forgotten. Sorry I disappointed, Audrey...maybe we can try again tomorrow?