Life lately

Quite honestly, life lately has been pretty busy! And I haven't even thought to take pictures during most of the insanity, though really most of the crazy has been meetings, outside projects and things like that, so I don't think anyone would care to see pics of that anyhow.

Instead, I am reaching way back to Christmas-time while my framily was in town visiting for the holidays, because that's definitely something that needed to be documented. We somehow managed to have every single member of the framily—and their significant others—to hangout together in the same place at the same time. It was certainly a Christmas miracle! We got so lucky that Blake and Emily were driving through Bham on their way down to see his family in Mobile for the holidays. And the rest of us just all happened to be around and home for Christmas, too. It felt ridiculously good to all be together again!

I also threw in a shot of most of the gang at Moe's on New Year's Day. If you know me and my gang, you know we love some Moe's. It's definitely our go-to. Hit up the Vestavia location and you'll prob see one, if not all of us there.

One of the most incredible things I have done lately (or ever, for that matter) was to host a band, Carolina Story, to play in my living room. They were amazing. I mean, if you make a kickdrum out of a suitcase, what else could you be but amazing? Seriously though, they sounded great, everyone loved them and Ben and Emily were such a blast to hangout with before and after the show as well. I will definitely be working on having them come back to Birmingham and I'm looking to host future shows in my home again, too. I was on a concert high like you wouldn't believe after that show! #musicisadrug

And going back to Christmas again...my dad's side of the family's get together got temporarily cancelled due to the flu, so we all got together this past weekend instead. Who doesn't love Christmas in January, right? We all played reindeer games and I got play karate with my nephew (that's our go-to activity) and I got to play with my niece and watch her eat a lemon—always entertaining. It was a good time.

And finally, I dropped in an instagram photo of my view outside of my office window while the snow was coming down a couple of weeks ago. Alabama weather, true to form, was back in the 70s a few days later.

I'm gonna try to be better about documenting good times going forward. So stay tuned!

Annnnnnd she's back!

It only took three months...and a new year, but I'm back! Sometimes a girl just needs a little sabbatical ya know? Anyhow, I've taken my time off from the blog (as I seem to do at the end of every year? weird.) and I'm excited and ready to write again.

But I'll be honest, for me 2013 holds some different ideas and different ways to invest my time, so I don't expect to blog every day as I had been doing. Instead I'm shooting for at least once a week and maybe every once in a while I might actually hit twice a week. I think that's a nice healthy goal. I really just want to maintain a creative outlet without putting too much pressure on myself.

Oh and you might notice that the content might be a bit different, too. I have a feeling there will be less fashion focused posts and more posts that focus on what's going on in my life, my head (scary!) and the actions I'm taking to become more of the person I want to be. Mostly I want to be sure I'm documenting my life, not just my style. But of course I'll be trying to look my best along the way, and I'm sure we can get a few photos of my outfits squeezed in on the 'ole blog :)

So there's my disclaimer for you. Now on to a longggg overdue outfit. Yeah, these pics were taken in October. So don't be fooled by my lack of winter coat and bare legs, because even though I do live in the South, baby it's cold outside!

Here's the cheapskate outfit breakdown:

1. Vintage chambray shirt, thrifted in Winston Salem, NC ($4.99)
2. Black pleated skirt, Forever21 ($19.50)
3. Grey suede booties, Target ($24.99)
4. Black crossbody bag, Charlotte Russe ($9.99)
5. Sunglasses, gifted (thanks Joy!)
6. Triangle earrings, gifted (thanks Joy!)
7. Gold cuff bracelet, gifted (thanks Ashley!)
8. Vintage cocktail ring, gifted

Total: Under $75.00

 

 

Here's hoping 2013 brings you all lots of laughter!

You're hiding your shapewear under where?

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post for Vedette with tips on how to wear their shapewear in the daytime. And while this outfit might look a little familiar, the photos definitely haven't been seen on the blog before, so I figured I would go ahead and share this post with you today.

Wearing your shapewear as outerwear might seem a little daunting at first, but I think anyone can pull this look off. I mean, if I can do it, anyone can. Because while I am a girl who’s comfortable in her own skin, I certainly don’t like to show a lot of it off.

Tip #1: Showing less is more. For my photos, I chose a long, pleated skirt because it’s perfectly prim and ladylike.  The longer length of the hem keeps me from showing a lot of leg and therefore balances the amount of skin that is revealed up top.

Tip #2: Pair your shapewear with conservative pieces. Since this was for a daytime look and I’m not wearing jeans, I opted for flats instead of heels. You guys should know by now that I love heels. To me, they make just about any outfit a little bit sexier. But since I feel like the bustier is already giving off the sexy vixen vibe, I didn’t want to overdo it, so I had to kick the heels off—for once.

I also kept my all of my accessories to a minimum and chose simple and conservative earth tones.

Tip #3: When in doubt, ‘blazer-it-out.’ You can never go wrong with throwing a blazer over anything, especially a piece of sexy shapewear. A blazer is the perfect finishing touch that will always keep you looking professional and polished.

Need something for the office? No problem. Pair your shapewear with a peplum skirt and blazer. Or maybe your job is a little more laid back? If so, pair your shapewear with jeans and throw a blazer over it for work. In both cases, you can remove the blazer after work and be instantly ready for a night out on the town.

And this is one instance that I think heels are not only allowed, but encouraged to wear with your shapewear. 

Overall, the main idea is to just be sure you keep everything in balance. If you show skin up top, cover up more at the bottom. If you have one piece like a bustier that is flashy, keep everything else minimal.

And really, when you think about it, isn’t that the idea of fashion anyhow? It seems that keeping things in balance never goes out of style. 

Here's the cheapskate outfit breakdown:

1. Cloe Bustier, c/o Vedette Shapewear

2. Pink pleated skirt, thrifted ($2.00)

3. Simply Woven Floppy, c/o David & Young 

4. Sandals, Rugged Wearhouse ($9.99)

5. Gold cuff, gifted (thanks Ashley!)

6. Brown belt, thrifted ($3.00)

7. Heart locket, gifted (had since I was a child)

8. Vintage Ray Bans, gifted (thanks Mom!)

9. Leaf ring, gifted (thanks Em!)

10. Crossbody bag, thrifted ($5.99)

Total: Under $50