Shop with me

So, first can we talk about what I made for dinner last night....
Mac&Cheese pie (with ground beef for C) with a bacon top.  OMG. A-ma-zing.  Just imagine... 10 cheeses, flaky buttery pie crust, heavy whipping cream... and bacon.  Heaven.

This very crude picture does not begin to do it justice.

aaannnddd.... onto what I wore today~

See that butt? yeah, maybe it'd get smaller... if I quit eating like I did last night! =)

Here's how I shop....
Pants, Target, $4.62
Shirt, MAXrave, $0.80 (they were going out of business... 90% off!! I bought it in 4 colors)
Cardigan, TJ Maxx, $5.00

WHOLE outfit... just over $10.  The shoes don't count because they are at least 2 years old.. from Buckle. (around $28, I think)
The pants are skinny "dress" pants that are long enough to wrap under my heel...sooooo I just rolled 'em up~  PS: they were such a good deal I bought them in brown too!
Cute, righ?! and CHEAP!  This is how I shop :) and why I shop A LOT!!!  I realized after I got home with that cardigan that it was a petite... I was bummed because that meant it was going to be too short.. but hey, for $5, I'll deal~
See those dress bottoms in the picture? yeah, super cute maxi dresses (also at TJ Maxx--no I didn't buy the cardigan today, I've had it since January I think)... Anyway, I thought those dresses would be SO great for the cruise!  However... as is my plight with most (but one) maxi dresses... too short.  Boo...

What did you wear today?

Summer must haves!

I say summer...because, here in FL, it basically is~ almost 90 degrees everyday and sunlight ti well after 7 PM...
Anyway, take a look at this dresses that would be great for summer!! I love dresses in the summer because they are an easy no-brainer outfit.  aaannndddd you can move in them, and here with all the humidity...thats fabulous!

and this one & the yellow one above with riding boots....ahhh swoon~  

(ps all images are via Pinterest, of course! If you click the link it will take you to my board with these on and you can find the original link)

So these are some of what's on my summer-to-buy list... what's on yours?

Happy Shopping!!

Shopping for your (or any) guy

Ok, if the guy in your life is anything like mine, he'll say how much he haaaaatttteeeessss to shop, HOWEVER once you get him out there---he's almost as bad as you!  For you, for him, he just wants to shop.

So now that you have him out to shop, how do you shop FOR him?
Regardless of whether you're trying to tweak his style ;) or he already has great style and he just needs some new things, it is such a challenge most of the time.  And for many reasons, lol.  Guys are less vocal a lot of times when it comes to clothes.. you know "yeah, it's fine" or "sure, I like it" or my favorite (no, sometimes it really is!!) "ok whatever you think".  So. You will, of course, have to know your guy--verbal, physical cues.   And go from there.

Now what I recommend for those that are new to this shopping together thing and/or want to tread lightly as to hurting feelings....go to one of those stores that focuses on the shopper. Has almost a persona-shopper situation happening.  (disclaimer: I used to work at a store like this, so I'm speaking from experience.  I could tell you stories for DAYS!  But I digress....  a lot of times I would pull something for someone that they never never ever would have looked at twice...because a) I know what I'm doing b) it was my job to know the clothes & c) I live to shop!!)
Whew, sorry for the rant =)

Sometimes it takes baby steps... for example, you hate his jeans, like Bethenny does Jason's in "Bethenny Ever After" (I tried to find a video clip... couldn't! sad day)  So maybe your guys are something like...

OMG pleated hideous jeans?! please.stop.  Pleats on men are NEVER good!

And you want him in something like...

(and i wouldn't mind if DB came with the jeans!! :)  )
It will probably take a few steps... start with a lower waist, immediately... and maybe a slight color change.  Either buy those, or just let him try them on with her normal shirts.   PS--this shopping trip could take a while...! 
Next add some sanding, whiskering, a little destruction... any details at all, but again, start small!!  Oh, and the whole time, tailor the fit to what you rather see him in.. slimmer, bootcut, straight leg, whatever~
Finally...once he's comfortable, add some with all of the above, but that have fabulous pockets!  Easiest way: match to shirts and accessories you have already picked out.  make him put them on.   ta-da! From gross dad jeans, to DB style!

Once you get your dude in clothes that look right, PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE!  Kiss him, tell him how handsome he is.. you know, like you would a puppy or a child :) :) :)

RIP Elizabeth Taylor

As I was getting dressed this morning, I heard the Breaking News (on the Today Show) that Elizabeth Taylor died early this morning.  Sad day. 


& She was a dachshund lover! :)

I Just love this one~

Big girls need big diamonds.
       ~Elizabeth Taylor ... & oh, I couldn't agree more =)

Wedding Dresses~

Ok, no, no, not for me~ =)  Well, for me..to wear to a wedding, not MY wedding... which I'm not having. I mean, not not ever of course. that's just not what we're talking about now... Get it? Ok, wow, sorry~

Here is something I found that I LOOOOVVVVEEEE  .... for the wedding in the Bahamas in TWO weeks!!! (& I still don't have a dress....!)  + the picture is on the beach so I already know how it looks....lol   Now, to find one similar.....

Wish me luck!!

Source: sarahgabler.tumblr.com via Ashlie on Pinterest

For Japan, With Love

 

I will be participating in this tomorrow.  

Please visit For Japan With Love to donate.

My thoughts & prayers are with everyone in Japan, as I'm sure many of yours are as well.

  

Below find the details from Ever Ours, who started the bloggers day of silence.

Fundraising:

For Japan With Love has a direct link on the website to our fundraising page for ShelterBox.

ShelterBox was one of THE first organizations asked by Japan to help and were on hand on the Saturday after the quake.  Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items. 

 Please check it out and whatever you can contribute will be so appreciated.

---

Bloggers Day of Silence:

Anyone that has a blog can help out with this one.  

The aim is just raise awareness and respect and acknowledge the devastation going on in Japan.

The guidelines are simple.
1.  This coming Friday, March 18th, no posts at all on your blog.
2.  Please post a blog post about what you will be doing this Friday whenever possible in hopes to spread the word and whoever else would like to join in.  

You all can check out what I did for mine here or Utterly Engaged's here and do it your way if you'd like.  

I'll be posting a reminder post on Thursday evening on my blog too.
3. Tweet and Re-Tweet the shiznit out of the link to http://www.forjapanwithlove.com please. 
4. Encourage your readers to contribute to donate shelter to Japan. 

Whatever anyone can contribute will be appreciated. 

Every little helps. 

I'll be doing lots of catch up though this weekend 

=)

SO making these~

Hey y'all!  So, we're in the midst of a blog redesign here :)  Yay!!! My sister has a BFA in graphic design, so I'm putting her to work!! Why not, right?!

In the mean time,  I've been on Pinterest, oh, I don't know, 27000 hours now, and look what I found...

This was a pleated skirt...turned into a gorge dress!

Source: jaynsarah.blogspot.com via Ashlie on Pinterest

Source: psimadethis.com via Ashlie on Pinterest

My friend, Caroline (from The Green Owl Blog) are getting together to make some felt flowers for shirts, hair, and necklaces...and hopefully these!!  But for now, I'm off to shop the thrift store to try and find a pleated skirt to make the dress!  =)

Lazy Sunday

This morning, after getting up early (as usual) and feeding the girls, letting them outside, etc. etc., we all went and snuggled back in bed.  And I LOOOOOOOVVVVEEEEEDDDDD it.  It may just be might favorite spot.  The bed (with clean sheets & clean weiners, ps :) ) with my little family.  All warm and snuggly.  At one point, Paisley was sleeping between C & me, with her head on my shoulder.  So cute and so sweet.  Then she started to snore her little baby snore. =)

Paisley, last weekend, in my spot. How cute is she?!

It's just a time where it doesn't matter if the kitchen is a mess, and the laundry is not done, and you have a TON of work waiting for you at 9 AM Monday morning.  The only thing that matters is you & your loves.   So take some time... snuggle, relax.  Work and chores (& yes, I hate that word too....) will wait. 

All images via Pinterest   :) :)

Happy Sunday~

Hair!!!!

So, I'm sitting here watching "My So-called Life" streaming on Netflix.  I forgot how much I love this show....and Jared Leto.  Ohhhh yeaaaahhhhhh..... Now I remember.  My friend Caroline (go check out her new blog, too cute!) told me it was available on Netflix the.very.next.day that I told C I wish I could find it on OnDemand or somewhere.  Fate! :) 

I have been highly uninspired by clothing recently.  I'm in the middle of cleaning out my closet (yes, again) because nothing fits properly! & yes, that's a good thing, because everything is too big, not too small. But it's so annoying!  So anyway, I've been inspired recently by interiors....and hair.  The clothes I've seen in store recently, ehhh  not doing anything for me.  Maybe I'm getting older? Maybe I need to get out of this "city" (read: college town where everything caters to young college girls) and do some real shopping.  Yeah, it's def the last one =) =) 

I'm giving you some of my favorite hair pictures (via Pinterest  --- if you haven't gone here yet, you NEED to! but, you will become addicted!  Ready? ok!

Beach hair~ (clearly, I've got spring on the mind!!)

Messy & fabulous!

I actually did this the other day~

OMG OMG OMG

This picture made me decide to grow my hair back out again.  And have layers cut in it again, because (even though it's not blonde hair) it is a-ma-zing.

In love with the color. And the style.  i should say, this is how I do my hair on a daily basis. Now, if I can get it that color..... :)

Cute, right?