I can't stop listening to this song

Loving the 80's pop influence! Can't wait for the album!

Special Monday: Bridesmaids

You know that really hilarious scene in Bridesmaids, where everyone gets food poisoning and the Bride loses it out in the street.

Yeah... well that almost happened to me last week while on a run with my sister. We were about a mile in a half away from home. It took prayers to God and my sister saying "this will be the best day of my life if you shit your pants right now" for me to keep it together (no way in hell was I going to give her that kind of satisfaction)

And besides unlike in Bridesmaids I wasn't wearing a convenient dress- I had some nice ol' spandex leggings on- nowhere for that to go if you know what I am saying.

Things didn't get much better when I got home either. Let's just say it's a miracle my husband is still attracted me after what went down.

Oh the shame.

Fall Love

Fall in Utah makes my heart desire to be a poet or a painter. Unfortunately, I lack the appropriate skills to do either very well. However, what I do excel at is truly being able to appreciate the beauty that is around me. Must be the Libra in me.

October is my favorite month for many reasons. I could start by mentioning it's mine and the husbands birthday month (same day!) or the endless amounts of chocolate and pumpkin flavored things, fall clothing, chili and cornbread, dragging the husband kicking and screaming to a haunted house, and the best day yet- All Hallows Eve!

No doubt, my list can go on and on but what I look forward to most of all come October 1st is driving the Alpine Loop and hiking around Cascade Springs.  I will spend as many weekends as possible doing just that this fall season.

If you want to read what others enjoy about fall... head over to Neely's blog for Sunday Social!

 

Modesty

Modesty means different things to different people. So when a friend of mine asked me to come speak to her Young Women’s group at church about fashion and modesty it kind of threw me considering modesty isn’t necessarily something I am known for… as you can see from my Jr. high and High school pictures.  

The fashion thing I got- but modesty?

I have matured a lot since my high school days and when I say matured I really mean I got myself some self-esteem and “true” confidence. I don’t recommend anyone to dress the way I did back then but nonetheless it is the modesty requirements set by the LDS (Mormon) faith that is giant hurdle for me to cross and one of the main reasons I have not joined although my husband is active in the faith and would love nothing more for me to be a part of it as well. And, truthfully I wish I could be apart of it, I wish I could be that for him and promise him eternity because I really believe it is a good thing. But with that said and as petty as it sounds I personally feel there is nothing wrong with showing your shoulders- and I am obsessed with anything that is backless *swoon* and these things are definitely not garment approved- throw in the fact that I am also anti-underwear… is there really any hope? I often joke to my husband that we can be sealed in the temple when we are in our 70’s since really- I will need all the underwear support I need at that point and no one wants to see an old lady in a backless tank. (He doesn’t find me as funny as I do.)

So back to the challenge at hand- my viewpoint of modesty is different then the church’s- the church that these young ladies belong to and that I have been asked to speak to.  At this point I am really questioning my friend in choosing me- yes, I know I work in the fashion industry and these young girls will likely be impressed by my “credentials” but I am not LDS and I don’t follow the same rules of modesty that they do- how are they going to relate to me? Why will they even listen to me?

Most importantly how can I stay true to me and still give them what they need. I could easily stand up there and pretend that I am LDS and pretend that I follow their rules of modesty and completely BS it. But- I didn’t want to do that.

I do believe in Coco Chanel’s quote, “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous” and part of being classy is being tasteful, which often means leaving a bit more to the imagination.

My game plan was to not really talk about modesty in terms of the LDS faith, I’d leave that up to my friend, but I would instead talk about first impressions, taking pride in ourselves, but most importantly dressing for respect and how that relates to modesty- whatever modesty may mean to you.

Whether you are part of a religion or not, it is important to respect ourselves- especially as a young girl growing into a woman. Because really, if you don't respect yourself, who will? This is a concept that obviously surpassed me as a teenager but one that I wished was taught to me.

Once I looked pass this as a “Mormon” thing, I really got excited about it as it’s always been a dream of mine to help girls build self-esteem- the right way. Being able to tie this into fashion made it even better- and I think a lot more fun.

It’s funny how often the teacher becomes the student. It was a goal of mine to inspire these girls that even with the strict guidelines of Mormon modesty they could still be fashionable and current. 

Everyone is or should be familiar with Sydney from The Daybook- who is LDS and has a very successful fashion blog so I knew that Mormon fashion bloggers existed.  And I was going to find as many as I could to share with these girls- because one of the best tips to finding your style is having a fashion muse you can look up to- and if I could give these girls a fashion muse that shared their values and beliefs for them to relate to then by golly I would say that was a success.

What I didn’t know is how true it really was that you could still be fashionable and current while still adhering to the “garment” standards.  I am not saying I am going to be turning in my sleeveless shirts and backless cutouts just yet but who knows maybe it will happen before I am 70.

Special Monday

Having the clerk- or whatever they are called- at Walmart tell you that you look just like Melissa Gilbert and then them getting seriously pissed off at you for not knowing who that is.

Uh sorry? 

And I'll try not to be offended since Melissa Gilbert is like in her 50's.  I purposely tried to find her most attractive looking picture.

I still prefer this as my celebrity look-a-like. Thank you very much.

Call Me Naive

*inside joke*

Call me naive but I thought Flo Rida's Whistle song was just a fun feel good happy song- because you know whistling is fun and carefree. Forget the fact that I can't whistle, I still really like the song.

However, my 13 year old sister educated me what the song is really about.

Oh.

Thank You & Advice Needed

Can I just say thank you to my readers! And new followers! I have enjoyed your responses to some of my posts as of late. You are all too sweet and supportive and if you all aren't careful you are going to give this a girl a big head.

I wish all of you had your emails linked to your accounts so I can respond back to you via email- so if' you haven't gotten a reply back from it's because your email isn't attached to your comment.  So get on fixing that k?

I always thought once I got to 82 GFC followers I would host a giveaway- and I am getting real close to that number. I know most people do the 100 follower giveaway but I'm kind of different and besides 82 is my favorite number.

The thing is I have no idea how to host a giveaway. I know what I want to giveaway so that isn't the issue... it's the whole logistics of it all that I am unsure of.  So that is where you guys come in... what's the best way to host a giveaway?

Playing Favorites

Pants: H&M; Shirt: Clevotine America; Shoes: Zara; Bag: Miche (Stella)

Leather is work appropriate right? Good, because I thought so too.

This outfit consists of my favorite tee, my favorite shoes, and my first pair of leather skinnies that I am simply obsessed with!

You know when an outfit just feels like you? Well this is one of those outfits for me. I felt comfortable, sexy, casual, edgy, and chic all at the same time.  I need to work on incorporating more of this "feeling" in my wardrobe more often.

What type of outfits make you feel like you?

Growing

 

I struggle with the idea of growing this blog.  Don't get me wrong I want followers, I want lots of followers but at the same time that scares the crap out of me. The responsibility and pressure of that is kind of terrifying.  But at the end of the day blogging takes time and effort. I put a lot of work into this blog of mine and I want it to be shared.

In the ideal world I would want this blog to grow simply by word-of-mouth and not by me paying for ad space or joining hundreds of link-ups- although I know that is typically how it is done. And really with everyone and their grandmothers having a blog these days how else to do you get the word out about your little space in the blogosphere?

Sometimes I come across blogs that have thousands of followers and I honestly just don't get it- their content kind of sucks in my not so-very-humble opinion, so naturally I think my blog is better- yet it's teeny tiny. Probably to my own fault.  It's not that I don't want to put the work into getting more followers- it's that- I guess I doubt myself. I worry that once I get a big following everyone will realize I am just a fake. Jenni at Story of My Life said it perfectly in this post here. We often get in the way of our own goals.

And I do have goals for this blog- I have ulterior motives. I want to utilize this blog as a tool for my career goals in the fashion industry. I want to help promote the company I work for. I want to build friendships and make connections. I want to be important in the Utah fashion industry. I want to open the door to more opportunities.

And I want this blog to help me do that.

Like many of you- since it's nearly impossible to avoid- have read all the blogger rules and tips on how to grow your blog and for me I don't want to create a Facebook page or a Twitter account for my blog.  I really don't need another thing to manage and take me away from my life beyond the computer screen or more accurately my iPhone screen.  Once upon a time I did have a Facebook and Twitter account for this here blog and I deleted them this past Spring in my effort to "disconnect" and declutter my online life.

Many successful bloggers have written posts on how hard it is for them to find a balance between their blog life and their real life and I want to start the growth of this blog with that balance in place from the beginning. I understand that those tools help connect and build relationships with our readers and other bloggers but I am not willing to sacrifice even more time to social media. If you want to connect- email me.

These are just some thoughts that are swirling around in my head. Some thoughts are unfinished and still materializing but I needed to get them out.

Can anyone relate? Have advice? Feedback? I would love to hear about your own challenges, doubts, thoughts, solutions? Whatever you got- connect with me.

And please go ahead and tell me if my content sucks. Honest feedback is always encouraged over here in these parts.

Thanks for listening- eh reading...

Oxblood is fancy for burgundy

Dress & Jacket: H&M; Shoes?; Bag: Miche (Madison Demi)

Wow its been so long since I have participated in a Blogger's Do It Better challenge. Feels good to get back into it. 

I always think it's funny when the fashion industry tries to make things sound cooler then what the really are. Take an old denim button up for example, call it Chambray and viola it automatically makes it fashionable.  Call burgundy, oxblood and it takes it to a whole new level.

I however, feel more comfortable calling burgundy, well- burgundy.  

Burgundy jeans are at the tip top of my wish list and I was a little bummed I didn't have any for this challenge.  All that I had in this color are these tights that I wore here and the dress you see above. 

With the burgundy and navy combo I am feeling a lot like this chick today:

I even got the frizzed out wavy hair going on.  All that is missing is my wand.