Posts Tagged ‘booties’
Breaking My Own Rules
Posted on: January 6, 2013
As a woman who was always conscious of having a versatile wardrobe, I have held long and fast to one rule for so long I don’t even know how old I was when I first came to this. That rule was that I never bought pants that had anything striking about them in color or adornment. I noticed very young that some girls would have jeans with embroidery down one leg and make note of how frequently they wore them. For some reason that bothered me. I saw others make fun of them for how frequently they were worn and I wanted to steer clear of that kind of attention. It really stuck with me…
Now I am in my forties and everything changes….Remember this look from Last week and my New Red-Orange Skinny’s:
Having lived so long with this rule, I began to question , how versatile are bright red-orange skinny jeans? These garnered so much attention the first time I wore them, that the question of my long held rule came to the forefront. Now I am not at all concerned about how frequently I wear something or if someone notices I have favorites in my closet.
I have several different things I do in my life with totally different groups of people so wearing things often wouldn’t even matter….But the question still remains, How versatile are jeans of this color ? How many ways can I wear them? Hence my challenge for the week to style them each day in different ways using only what I currently have in my closet. How many ways can I come up with?
Well, today is the first day of this journey and challenge. I chose to go bold with cobalt today, what will I do tomorrow? I will have different looks each day this week, then taper it off and chose one day a week for the remainder of this winter season to see how creative I can be. I felt like I should be cheering for the Denver Broncos in this outfit, but I am a die hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, even if they didn’t make the play-offs this year….
My Dear Readers, perhaps if you have questioned the practicality of such a color you can learn along the way with me….I am so excited about this and have so many ideas in my head already! I hope you enjoy this journey with me!
Gratitude: I am grateful that although my kids are all getting pretty sick that I still only have a mild case of sinus issues(they seem more flu-like….) I am grateful to my husband for taking a round of photos on his one day off this week to help me with this challenge. I am grateful that the temperatures this week will be in the 50’s and 60’s this entire week(at least during the day).
It’s Visible Monday and I think these colors sure qualify so go to Not Dead Yet Style and see what other bloggers are doing this week…
Red-Orange Skinny Jeans
Posted on: January 4, 2013
Since I finally decided to go ahead and purchase skinnys as I feel closer to my goal weight… I have added this new color!
I have to say a year ago if someone had suggested I buy this color, I probably would have laughed. There is something about losing weight that has given me a brand new confidence to burst out of my comfort zone…
How lucky am I to have a friend who gave me this fabulous Dooney & Bourke in this same red-orange color! It is really easy to pull an outfit together with such a unique color when you have a shirt with a print to pull another color and add a jacket. I love printed tops,but have had to get rid of quite a few with my weight loss. I think this is just the thing to search for in my next thrifting venture… I have to add that this grey jacket has been revived from being given away after I washed it in hot water and dried it. It shrank so that it barely buttons on me now!
Side view is to show the fun zippers that go from the waist all the way down these fun pants. These skinny’s are by Diane Gilman. They are identical to the Espresso ones shown here, but one size smaller since I am still losing weight… I love this designer and these pants, but I do have to be honest with you that the zippers are not lined on the inside and feel cold against my legs so have to wear them with tights… I don’t know if I will be able to wear them alone in spring and if not , that is a real problem.
The Two Dresses, Two Ways Challenge was posted at 40 Plus Style
A new realization and my Gratitude for today:
My husband came home last night and saw these pants on me for the first time and couldn’t stop saying how much he liked them. I feel so blessed to have a supportive husband who notices everything about my weight loss journey and my new style developing… It is so great that all the things that I embrace outside my comfort zone are the things he raves about, even not having any knowledge that it is a stretch for me. I guess I am surprised at how in sync with me he seems to be.
I will have to come up with some other ways to style these red-orange pants in the next few months. I know adding neutrals, like black, creme, white, tan and brown would easily work , but will strive to find something more inspiring as well. Any suggestions My Dear Readers?
As Always my Dear Readers Your comments are welcomed and appreciated!
My Lucky Finds
Posted on: December 14, 2012
I am so excited to show you my thrift store finds for this week. I dd really well and am on cloud nine. Yesterday I showed my new Jean jacket and thought it would be fun to show you an outfit I posted previously with the jean jacket that now needs a new home.
It just doesn’t fit me anymore and it’s time for it to go. Here is yesterday’s look with my newly thrifted one from Salvation Army for just $4.99
I think you can see an obvious difference and my successful weight loss since beginning this blog….These photos were taken 11 weeks apart. I am so glad that I decided to show these two looks together because it was a really fantastic wake up call for me to pause and see my success. The weight has been coming off slower and I didn’t feel like the results were that dramatic.
Now, I am excited to show you my finds this week:
First is these wonderful booties in grey. I have had so much fun with my black and brown ones and secretly have been dreaming of getting them in grey. My husband loves them and the $4 price tag.
My favorite find for this week has to be this suede jacket. It fits like a glove and I am overjoyed because I had purchased a leather one in this color and is too big and the wrong cut for my petite height. Can you believe this was a mere $6.99? I would have to say this lucky find ranks up there with my Bass Penny Loafers.
Next are two fun skirts that are a little tight but will be perfect when I reach goal and for the spring.
I love the colors of this and the cut. I loved this silhouette when I was thinner and can’t wait to be at goal and feel sassy in this….
Love the navy blue and white graphic print here and nothing better than a straight skirt. I love how casual this one is and look forward to rocking this one…
Last is this Ann Taylor black dress with a cute little tie-waist detail that stepped it up just a bit. This neckline is the higher than I currently wear, but there is a reason I wanted it this time.
These bubble necklaces I purchased from Ebay is the reason I didn’t mind the neckline on the above dress. Can’t wait to find ways to style these delights..
Gratitude: I am grateful for my oldest son who cleaned up the kitchen. I am grateful to my three youngest children who all thanked me profusely for cooking up my BBQ chicken, bacon, cheddar with a slice of tomato sandwich…. I ate it without the bread…I am grateful that I listened to my gut and went into the JCPenney store to check for the shoes I ordered online and they cancelled, as I am now able to surprise my oldest son with the shoes he dreamed of and thought he was not going to get….
Dear Readers I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and come back to visit on Monday when I will show you pictures of what I wore to my husband’s Christmas Party!
Brown & Red
Posted on: December 9, 2012
This look recieved the most enthusiastic reaction from my husband. I was rather surprised that he liked the tights and booties look. His praise wasn’t just one comment and even went so far as to suggest that my dress idea for his Christmas party lacked this kind of interest. Notice my new haircut and color, I love it!
Now it was quite a surprise that my husband was so enamored with this look. I stripped off the jacket and belt to show him just the dress and he then became even more impressed with how I had styled it. He wasn’t sure he even would have taken a second glance with just the dress…In fact he complimented my vision in buying the dress.
I almost felt bad that this was not an outfit I had chosen for a night out with him. In fact he was getting ready to head to work when this entire discussion took place. I knew he loved this jacket and that his favorite color is red, so his reaction really shouldn’t be so surprising except that he isn’t usually so enthusiastic about my clothing choices. Complimentary, yes, “over the moon”, no…
I have to say that his reaction sure made it easy for me to hold my head high and walk with confidence on my outing… I must have been beaming as I noticed a few looks from a couple of men around my age at Panera Bread…. Definitely going to repeat this outfit on a day when my husband and I have time together.
Linking up today with all the lovely bloggers @ Visible Monday and Watch out What I’m Wearing, so please stop by and check a few of them out.
Gratitude: I am grateful that I finally figured out what to wear to the Christmas party. I am grateful that my three kids got together and raked the leaves. I am grateful for my own inner drive to recommit to the Fluidity exercise program. I am grateful for the support of my family and friend Sue who endured my search for the Christmas party outfit.
Outfit Total -excluding necklace – $37.00
Dress-thrifted $3.50
Jacket-ebay$12.50
Boots- Aigner $10.00
Tights-$5
Belt-thrifted $2.00
Purse-Nine West thrifted- $4.00
Living A Life of Gratitude
Posted on: October 7, 2012
- In: Gratitude | Uncategorized
- 3 Comments
While I have always lived a life full of appreciation of the blessings in my life, I can not even begin to describe the level of growth I recently experienced. Living a life of gratitude for the good things in our lives is easy. I can without even a moments thought begin to list them off.
I am Grateful For:
The health of my four children
This blog and how it is changing my life
My daughter coming home on Friday and some much needed girl energy at home
The celebration of my oldest son’s 26th b’day
My husband supporting me in being a stay at home mother
My ability to home school Connor
My husband purchasing me a treadmill years ago(wasn’t so happy at first)
My friends and the laughter, insightful conversations and love they bring to my life
Nicholas getting back on track with school
My husband taking his only day off to be my photographer for this blog and how much he directs me and really tries to get the best shots. Quality time!
That’s what 10 right away...
My growth didn’t come from the good things in my life. It came from losin
g my mother and the mourning process in which I realized just how much of a hole her being gone has left in me. You see, in my early childhood, I was a real Daddy’s girl and didn’t have much use for my mother. Oh, I always loved her, but my father just built me up and gave me a strong sense of myself. It wasn’t really fair that my mother got the raw deal of raising me and Dad just got the fun stuff and the deep lessons he taught me on our walks. Anyway, realizing just how close my mother and I became in my early adult years and until the time of her death really sparked a realization in me. I realized that I am so grateful for the death of my father when I was just thirteen If someone had suggested that to me, I probably would have been horrified. Now, I know that my mother and I never would have had what we did if he had lived. She went back to school and we went to college together, we took a trip after my high school graduation to Canada, I typed up all her papers when she went on to graduate school. I was the person she shared all the changes and growth she experienced after my father’s death. I worked with her in the church nursery, taught Sunday school with her, shared my journey into motherhood and marriage. So much more to even mention. The point is none of that would have been possible for us if my father had not passed away at the young age of just 42.I should note that I realized very early in adulthood that having the father I was blessed to have had for just thirteen years was a better deal than most of my friends who still have their fathers. There really is a plan for our lives that goes beyond what we ourselves control. There really is a web that weaves our lives that makes a strong place for us that is by design, just what we need when we need it. In a final word, I am grateful for my strong faith and both my parents who taught me that just by being themselves.
Self examination is key to being happy and I hope my dear readers use this moment to check yourselves and see if you are on top of how much you appreciate the little things in your lives. I recently noticed that my husband is not doing well with this and I began sending text to him listing three things I am grateful for and asking for him to chose three. I have noticed a profound difference in his moods since we began this. He works hard and very long hours, but now he comes home more relaxed and has a sense of peace regardless of the trials of his day.
I challenge each of you to try an experiment with yourselves and others in your life and see what results you get….
Outfit Details- I have to say that I feel like I jumped the gun on starting this blog, as I am not happy with my weight and it is taking everything within me to post pictures when I am still 20lbs from my goal weight. I hope that in the end I can look back and see the difference and celebrate my success.
Plaid trench coat- Chadwicks.com
T-shirt- Ebay
Black Boyfriend Blazer- Jean Paul Richard-can’t remember where I got this one
Necklace- Ebay
Booties- Payless-recent
Purse- Avon same as in Pink & Grey Combo with leoapard print flap on this time.
If anyone tries this experiment and gets immediate results like I have,I would love for you to come back and comment. If you already have this in your life and it is working wonders, please share that as well.
Versatile Style by Tracey 