Obsessed

New floors have been taking up my home time. We've gone from here-



To here-



And the results are beautiful! It seems like a whole new home! I don't want to put the furniture back in just yet but I think that's what I'll be doing later today.

J.

Cosmetic Surgery

As a purse, it was useless. But after I removed the straps...



Voila!



Now it's a cute pocketbook that fits in a purse or it can be used on it's own as a small clutch. I have an upcoming wedding to attend and I think I just may be carrying it with me.

Hmm, now to find the outfit to go with it.

J.

Homework

More work on the house this month. I finally found some beautiful silk curtains for the bedroom and the best part about them was that they were on sale.



I couldn't find a curtain rod long enough for the window so I had to go with 2 smaller rods on each side and due to the angles it was really a pain to hang them, but well worth the sweat!



Now for that carpet...

J.

Sharing

I know women who are "fashion stingy." They hate to give out any of their favorite shoe stores, websites, hairdressers, for fear that more people may buy something similar or lose their weekly appointment because her manicurist has more clients, whatever. Once, I complemented a coworker on a pair of shoes (or something,) and asked where she had purchased them and I got a cool "I'd rather not say." Umm...okay.

Normally I am not that person. I love to give out names of cool local boutiques because I want them to stay in business even if it is only for my shopping benefits. But today I found a website that I wanted to keep all to myself. The prices are unbelievable and the shoe selection alone is would be enough. Do I give it up? Would my size be the first to sell out? Will it ruin a good thing? Then it dawned on me that I had found it in a magazine...it had been shared with probably thousands of women already.

So here, enjoy!
www.gojane.com

The look is young, but really, check out the shoes.

Mmm...shoes...

J.

Get ready

I like getting ready in the morning. I don't like getting out of bed, but once I do, I really get into all the rituals that get my day started. I'm not a morning person to begin with so to have about 1.5 hours to myself before going to work is something I look forward to. To most people that seems like a pretty long time to get ready, but if I'm not going to enjoy my time, I may as well stay in bed until the last possible minute, which I admit occasionally happens.

Being a skincare product junkie, I have a ton of samples that I'll go through while I have a cup of coffee - (Yes, I have a coffee maker in my bathroom.) Sometimes it's a deep exfoliating scrub, sometimes a new bodywash. Whatever it is, I take a moment just to really "feel" the product and let it sink in. It's like a treat, (with no calories,) so I really try to enjoy it.

Most days are jeans and t-shirt days for me at work which is really boring, I know. I try to layer in other items to keep it more interesting and I'll wear cute flats if I know I won't be pushing around furniture. I don't dare wear anything I'm attached to because it will probably be really dirty or ruined by the end of the day. But since I really like what I do for a living, I just find other times to wear my fun clothes.

Makeup, on the other hand, is something I won't give up. It's a way of sneaking in a little style while still being appropriate for the job. Taking a few moments longer to just relax for the last time and put on my face is probably my most favorite ritual of all.

Yes, I put my 1.5 hours to good use. I walk out of my house with my best foot forward and I feel pretty good too. Isn't that the way a day should start?

J.

This is new to me

I received a very cool denim shirt as a gift...no no no, not one of the denim shirts that became the rage in the 80's, but this one is a dark wash and has very cool details, like the double collar and the off center but funky pockets.




Since I was in unfamiliar territory with this garment I decided to go for the classic weekend look, sort of preppy and clean...



I guess boots would have been a bit more classic, but I like the look of the t-strap. I decided to keep it simple w/a low pony and no makeup. Or maybe I was just being lazy.

J.

Coping

Every year around this time, central Texas is under siege by severe allergies. It affects probably 98% of the local population in varying degrees. This year's bout has hit me directly in the eyes. One day I had rubbed my makeup off twice before I'd even started working...and I start work no later than 7:30 a.m. There are times when I'm scratching at them so badly that I'm forced to go to bed just to ignore my misery!

Needless to say, allergies have forced me to change my makeup routine. I like playing with fun eye makeup but smearing it all over my face ruins it. So how do I cope?

My Allergy Proof Look

1) It starts with skincare my routine. I switch from my foamy cleanser to a creamier version and dot on more moisturizer than I normally would use on my (typically) oily skin.
2) A red nose is inevitable so I use a yellow based foundation, (I find liquid foundation to be a little more moisturizing for me,) followed by powder.
3) I steering clear of the shadows with glitter, and dab a creamy highlighter on my brow bones only- I seem to miss this area when I'm involuntarily (and frantically) scratching at my lids, but it really wouldn't be too messy if it I couldn't avoid it.
4) I fill in my brows with a pencil, not powder, which could fall into my already irritated eyes.
5) Mascara is optional. I admit that I love it and am willing to deal with raccoon eyes for the day, but a good eyelash curler could easily get me through the day.
6) Finally, an area I usually ignore, I brush on a pink "as if I've been outside" blush on the apples of my cheeks which does a pretty good job of masking my "I feel like death" look.

For my lips I just use a chapstick, preferably something with a little menthol scent in it so I might have some moment of breathing clarity through my nose -even if it is for 5 seconds.

And I still recommend a pocket full of kleenex.

J.

I Know I'm Not Alone

As much as I'd like to think I make smart, classic clothing choices that will stand the test of fashion time, (which is about 1 minute,) there are always items that I can't resist buying because they are a bargain and then they just hang in my closet.

I know I'm not the only woman that does this!

This sequin tank is a perfect example of what I'm talking about...and there it hangs.



You would not believe the price I paid. It seemed, (at the time,) that I could do something with it. However, I failed to try the top on at the store and it was after I got home that I realized it was about 2 sizes too big! Now, I could alter it myself, but have you ever tried to sew anything sequined? (Thanks for all the dance costumes Mom.) And to have it professionally altered it would blow the whole bargain that it was in the first place.

Anyway, after digging through the closet late one insomniated eve, I found an old go to skirt and tried the 2 on together. A bit dumpy but then I pulled the skirt up under the top into a make shift tube dress and suddenly I had a sort of 20's flapper look going on...sort of. But I like it and it works, an evening look for sure.

The vintage denim jacket keeps me warm and strappy heels and a pop of red in the purse are the only accessories needed, the top is pretty much jewelry itself.

Now I need a place to go....Isn't that the way it goes?

J.

Relatively Normal

Ever try to convey by writing who you are? It's not easy, I always think that there's too much that people will think is strange about me and possibly that's right. But I'm going to try anyway, at least you might understand where I'm coming from, (and maybe I might not seem so strange to myself after I'm finished.)
First off, I'll admit it, I'm in the 30's and loving every minute of them! Somehow they're so much better than the 20's (trust me,) more stable, with the only real downfall being that I'm in my 30's! I was kind of nervous when I hit them, perhaps a bit unprepared because I didn't think much past the 20's. However, I look back now and realize that while I had a good time, I wouldn't want to relive them. There really are some things that should only be tried once in a lifetime. Enough said.
I have a job that I love, retail merchandising and design, with a great company. It requires me to push around a lot of furniture, climbing up and down (very tall) ladders, and I get to play with some very cool, very beautiful home goods from dinnerware to bed linens... life could be much worse as far as working goes.
Really I could go on and on about all the blessings I have in my life and there are many but I need to talk about why I've decided to start this blog. I love fashion and clothing and just about everything that goes with it, including doing my laundry. I enjoy reading other blogs but the majority of them are geared for people in their 20's and they have jobs that allow them to wear fun, crazy, beautiful clothing. If you've kept up, neither hold true for me. Maybe I'm relatively normal, but that means a lot of us are. So I'm writing for the 30 somethings who would wear their heels on truck day...if their job allowed it.
Most importantly, liking how you look can be a major influence on how you feel when you walk out the door every day. Shouldn't you feel good?

Hmm...getting a bit cheesy, but you get the point.

J.

Happy New Year

The beginning of the new year, as we all know, is all about making claims about how we will improve our lives and better ourselves, (at least for most people it is.) One of my resolutions is to recycle. Confession time-I used to not recycle at all. It was too much to get different containers, and separate everything. I'm not proud of admitting to my laziness. But now my community has made this easier with single stream recycling, meaning anything deemed recyclable doesn't need to be separated and it all goes into one nice sized container (it's the same size as my trash can.) Love it! So easy!

I'm hoping that recycling will also help another resolution, to save money. Take a look at these sandals-they were a bargain!
Cute, right? They look great with shorts, skirts, jeans, almost anything.
But look again.

After a weekend at ACL Festival, (Austin City Limits,) the stones started falling off. Now, I could spend the money to have them repaired, but they were really quite inexpensive to begin with and while I'm a fan of the Shoe Hospital for my babies that I have a hard time parting with, I could easily throw these out and not think twice about it. But what happens come summer and I don't have anything to walk to the pool in but ratty tennis shoes? I'll be off to the shoe store spending money instead of at the pool soaking up the sun. Ok, so maybe new sandals vs. skin cancer wins, it's a pretty tough call, but my pocket book suffers and I could instead be saving up the money to visit some other beautiful locale, and chances are I won't find something this cute for the price I paid for them.
So am I up for trying to stitch the stones back on? While I am into D.I.Y. a shoemaker I am not. My solution?

Take the stones off. These sandals have good bones and removing the bling makes them somehow a little less sweet, but I really like how they've turned out. Too bad it's January 3rd- even in Texas it's still winter. And where will the bling show up? Who knows. Maybe a T-shirt or perhaps I'll try to create my own necklace like the ones at Prada with stones on grosgrain, but then again, I'm not a jewelry designer either.

J.