What's yours like?

I knew tomorrow would be better! Here's what I woke up to:

                                                       

Merry Christmas to me! :)

I didn't feel like returning to work after much celebration, so I attempted to dress up a hoody.

Success? I think so :)

As for the title, we were introduced to a fun new game this Christmas. It's name...you guessed it...What's yours like? You should check it out. It's a lot of fun.

Today I was rocking out to my Pandora radio station when they played that one song. You know the one. The one that you like but hate at the same time because it totally brings back the memory of that lousy ex or silly crush...do you have one of those?

Oh, and my hair does funny things when I jump. And apparently my face does too :o.

My goal was to see what the tassels on my shoes did. Those are fun too, I guess.

Haha. Don't forget to share your song! Or songs. :( Good songs. Ruined. By boys. 

Emily and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I think I am supposed to learn a lesson in humility. There is no other way I can make sense of grammatical errors on both mass printed advertisements I designed for work and my dear husband spoiling his Christmas surprise by leaving my recipes on the kitchen table. Oh, and I might also mention the two untimely Christmas presents given to me by Father Facial Blemish.  I had to wear my “be merry” earrings just to get a smile on my face.

Here's to a better tomorrow! :)

Friday on Monday

I meant to post this before heading to my parents for the weekend, but I ran out of time and forgot about their Amish internet, aka dial up.  So here is Friday’s post on Monday.

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To be honest, I thought the fashion freedom I experienced today would be like finding a $100 bill in your wallet when you were expecting to find a 20. Instead I feel like I was forced to clear my plate after the third time through the line at Thanksgiving dinner; a little overwhelmed and a lot uncomfortable.  While I don’t attempt to be 100% on trend (even when the trend is not being trendy) I have realized, or should I say admitted, during the past month that the perception of others is INCREDIBLY important to me. Unfortunate. This makes it, among other things, hard to get dressed in the morning. I’ve spent too much time today laying out clothes on the bed that have the potential to be worn for my family’s Christmas picture only to realize that 1) I do not live in a warm weather climate, I hate being cold, no socks is not a viable option, 2) as I’ve pointed out before, I don’t like the cold, so while it would make sense to actually try on the clothes that lay on my bed, I am in no rush to strip down and parade around my apartment putting together an outfit, and 3) my family is not and never will be the Kardashians,(PTL), so jeans and a casual top are perfectly acceptable and will stand out far less than the sequined ensemble better suited for a disco ball. Simplicity does not necessarily mean boredom.

And while I’m avoiding doing the dishes, I thought I’d share some of the things I learned while doing the 30 for 30. 

First off, I’m not a fashionista, and I think the pressure of having a blog solely devoted to my style journey would frustrate me. Sorry if you were hoping for that.

Sometimes it is good to wear something you typically wouldn’t, i.e. color combos or accessories.  This forces you to be confident, refusing to listen to the self-destructive minion torturing you.  It’s good practice for mental toughness.

Taking pictures of your outfits really help you get an idea for what works for your body and what doesn’t. Plus it’s just more fun to look at a blog with pictures, so posts like this one usually get skimmed. It’s ok. I do it too.

Thirty items really is a lot. Two times this became extremely apparent to me; 1) when on day 28 my boss asks if my boots (that I’ve worn 10 of the 30 days) are new, and 2) there were several pieces I wore only once or twice and two pieces I didn’t wear at all.

I’m sure there are other revelations that happened, but those are the ones I can think of right now. Well, the dishes still haven’t washed themselves. And if I don’t hurry up I won’t have time to shower and nothing is more frustrating than a cute outfit and grungy hair. Maybe on the runway, but not in real life.

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I had a wonderful weekend at home and even got to see a childhood friend and fellow blogger!

Merry Christmas!

I did it!! I did it!!

I made it!

Peace out 30 for 30!

I thought about attempting to wear ever piece from my 30 for 30 today. Partly to be funny but mostly to stay warm. But I couldn't figure out how to wear 5 pair of shoes at the same time.

Apparently I have a thing for 30 day challenges. Tomorrow I'm starting the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. Wish me luck!

In the Homestretch

I realized that when updating several outfits at a time it would be logical to place the most recent outfits first. It only took me until my last set.

Sydney-Immitation is the most sincere form of flattery, now if I could just write like you!

Had it been above 10 degrees outside I'm not sure I would have rocked this outfit, but Clint said the colors worked. I think I was channeling the ad I designed for work.

 I will be happy to wrap up the 30 for 30 challenge tomorrow. I can't wait to run into my closet and incorporate what I've learned with some new clothing options! The sense of accomplishment, however, made the sacrifice worth it.

I apologize for my inconsistency in posting. Apparently I am not quite as bored as I originally thought.

This weekend marks a half year since I married this handsome man. We celebrated with a Gatlinburg getaway.

Most urgent on the blog front, giving the place a make-over and new name. And creating a url that doesn't suggest I am of Indian decent. If anyone has design suggestions or creative names you know what to do!

Until next time...

Patents Pending

Inventions that would have made my morning so much more pleasant:

An exercise in your sleep machine that burns calories and builds lean muscle as you stay cozy warm in bed, while also providing visible results in 30 days. (Hey, I’m in bed, I can dream can’t I?!)

A dry clean shower. I can’t explain to you how pathetic I am when it comes to getting in the shower on cold winter mornings. I hate the cold. However, when I do finally make it into the shower I want to stay there because it’s so nice and steamy. I also hate waiting for my hair to dry. And before you suggest blowing it dry, please refer to exhibit 1a, Day 20, the lion’s mane. No thanks.

The dry clean shower should also be equipped with the automatic painless hair removal system, which eliminates the need for shaving. Love smooth legs, hate shaving.

Three robots. One to clean my apartment, one to go to work for my husband and one to go to work for me so we can spend all day together in our immaculate little home.

Touch screens that work with gloves. It’s incredibly hard to make a phone call with my nose and I look like a moron working on my computer.

Someone get on these…there is serious money to be made.

And in case you’re in the market for buying me a Christmas gift this year, here is my immediate wish list:

Ski pants that pass for business casual, electrically heated socks that fit into fashionable boots, gloves that allow just the very tips of my fingers to show so that I can work my phone and computer, a cute hat that covers my ears and allows no heat to escape from my head, a portable space heater, and a grande hazelnut white mocha with a shot less of each flavor from Starbucks. 

It’s a little cold in the office this morning. So, if in the generosity of your heart you feel inclined to present my gifts before Christmas, like today, I won’t complain.

I braved the cold (of our living room, not outside…silly) to capture these outfit shots for you.

If you could only see all the non-30 for 30 items I had layered on my body to shoot this December wedding. Have I mentioned I hate being cold?!

Call me Velveeta because that’s one CHEESY smile!

I can't believe I have less than a weeks worth of outfits to remix! And to think that there are still pieces I haven't used! (Let's just say I'm not a skirt person...or at least not with the ones I own). Here's to another week of closet creativity! CHEERS!

These are my Confessions

I love fonts. I could spend hours on dafont.com staring at the fonts and dreaming up the projects I would use them for.  Hours.

DayQuil is NOT non-drowsy. I thought I’d confess it for them since they lie on all their packaging.

I am happy to be done with weddings for the year. Portraits in the snow just confirmed this.

I hate doing dishes so much that I may or may not have teared up when I got home and Clint had done them. LOVE HIM!

Enough confessions already, I’m not Usher and I’m not Catholic.

I feel like the matching pants and shoes isn’t working for this outfit. Maybe if they were heels?

I had an absolute BLAST Friday with some amazing Cincinnati wedding photographers on a vintage inspired bridal shoot where I got to be the model!  I was going to leave my hair all done up, but I’ll do the complete reveal at a latter date. I did however keep the false eyelashes…I might be addicted to them.

Clint was super excited about capturing the jumping shot :)

That is all for now. I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!!

And then it was December.

Oh goodness. I couldn’t handle one more look at day 16. Apparently I had given up on life and thought it wise to subject myself to public humiliation by showing the blog world. Sorry.

I have decided that if I do the 30 for 30 challenge again it will most definitely be during warmer months so that I can enjoy taking photos outside (and have a tan). I’m just too much of a wimp to brave the cold. Kudos to Sydney and  Mandi, you ladies have my respect.

I also need to name my blog. And spend some time making it less drab. Like my outfits, it needs some accessorizing. Speaking of outfits…

I am happy to present to you item #30. I am mildly proud of myself for making it to day 18 before adding it. I am absolutely in love with this teal color and don’t know why I didn’t include this shirt in my original line-up.

As promised, the debut of the bangs. Now if I’d really been on top of things I would have straightened my hair, but here they are in their most natural state.

Say what?! I look like a candy cane? I know. 

Modern family...bike shorts episode...hahahahahahahaha.

Bangs, bugs and blah.

I spent yesterday curled up on the couch with a box of Kleenex. So instead of bringing in the holiday season looking like Rudolph, I’ll give you the outfits I have ready and add the ones I don’t later.

My cold started sometime Saturday prior to taking this lovely shot.

The process went something like this:

E: “Do I have to change out of sweats to go to dinner?”

C: “Yes, and you can’t take that blanket.”

E: “Fine. Then I’m wearing my North Face fuzzy jacket.”

C: “Is that part of your 30 for 30?”

E: “It is now.”

(Clint takes pictures)

E: “You cut off my head”

C: “No I didn’t.”

E: “Yes you did!”

C: “It’s beautiful!”

Haha. I love my husband.  And it’s a good thing too, because he did cut my head off. And this is quite possibly the most pitiful excuse for an outfit. E for effort.

I tried a little harder on Sunday. I even had on a skirt! But felt a little over-the-top next to Clint's t-shirt, so I threw on some jeans and off we went.

Leave a woman to herself for 15 minutes and she'll cut herself some bangs. Well, at least this woman did. Will reveal tomorrow if I'm on top of things. :)

Motivation

I'll admit, the thought of stopping the 30 for 30 challenge has crossed my mind. But it wouldn't be a challenge if it were easy and I'd still like to prove to myself that I can do it! Once again I'm a tad behind on my outfit pictures, but I'm going to post the ones I have and update the ones I don't later :). It's my blog, I can do that sort of thing.

The giant flower pin may have been more suitable in my hair, but I work with wedding clients, so if it looks like a boutonniere, it's not deplorable in my line of work. Just another perk of my job! :)

I'm not superstitious, so I will post day 13, just not right now because I worked a half day, wore my coat the entire time, then came home and climbed straight into sweats and a hoodie before Clint even had a chance to think of snapping a photo. It wasn't terribly exciting anyways, so you're not missing much.

This is what I wore to Thanksgiving dinner. If you look too closely you can tell that the top button is a bit strained. Unfortunately this isn't from the overabundance of scrumptious food that I ate.  I have found that I am not completely in love with how this shirt fits; there is too much fussing throughout the day required to make it look right. I think that's part of this remixing process. I also decided we will not be making a tradition of the post-Thanksgiving dinner "weigh in" as suggested by my husband. It's depressing and has a negative effect on my attitude.

This year I attempted to contribute at the Thanksgiving dinner with a pumpkin pie and mini pecan tarts. Clint was a huge help and even got me to laugh after I botched the first attempt at the tart crust by using twice the amount of butter. Oops.

And now, if you'll allow, I'd like to share some of my current struggles with the 30 for 30 challenge; maybe you can relate. Prior to the start I tried to sketch out some of the different ways I could combine my 30 pieces and this worked for a while. However, I have found that there are a few pieces that are base pieces for several of my ensembles, meaning that I must space these combos out so that I'm not wearing the same shirt 3 times in one week. I think I need to invest in some more accessories. I have realized that I depend too much on a patterned item of clothing to add interest, where I could put a statement necklace or earrings on to pull things together. My comfort zone is definitely on the other side of the camera. Directing others in poses is fun and comes natural, but posing myself, not so much. I feel like such a goober (as you can see). 

And in closing, this may seem like a shameless plea for comments, and it may be, but do you ever feel like a blog consumer. Let me explain. I read PLENTY of blogs, but rarely do I leave comments. Now that I have a blog of my own (nameless as it may be) I know the power of a comment left by a complete stranger or long lost friend. So I encourage you to let the bloggers you read regularly or randomly know that you appreciate their work. I know for me it's a huge motivation to carry on!

I’ve learned a lot in the two weeks this challenge has been going on. First, you should really just take a picture the day you wear the outfit. But if you like that “shopper’s sweat” you get after trying on five outfits in a row, then be my guest. Secondly, it’s a great way to see what works and what doesn’t; this goes for clothes as well as hair and accessories.  And now, without further ado, the outfits.

This kind of look pretty much sums up my style; solid colored tee, comfy jeans and simple shoes (add a scarf so it looks like you're trying). :)

I’m a fan of this outfit, but it gets really tiring to walk on tiptoes all day to avoid the dreaded stumpy leg look. :)

At the Tennessee game sporting our orange!

I was told I look “Christmassy” in this outfit. Not what I was going for, but that’s ok.

The Conservative Women’s Coalition called and they want their uniform back. Eek. The bottom half of this outfit is so drab!!!

We actually shot this on day 7 (Yay!) when we got home from surprising my family with a mid-week visit.

How I really felt about taking pictures.

Out and about for brunch with my Aunt (should have gotten that French toast) and running errands (why are decorative pillows SO freaking expensive?!).

Day nine was an exact repeat of day two (lowers head in shame). I have found it most difficult to find appropriate “wedding wear” in which to shoot weddings. So I was lazy...sue me.

I threw this on for church and I think it works. 

This is, of course, Clint's favorite picture. :)

I’d run out of poses and Clint his patience. 

And there you have it. :) Whew. It's almost Thanksgiving!