I'm moving!
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Hi there! I have decided to move to my own hosted site. Please hop on over and keep following along with me on my journey. You can find me here. See you when you get there!
Body Issues
Friday, July 17, 2015
I finally
broke down. I purchased a couple of new
items for my summer capsule. BUT, it was
a deliberate breakdown. Let me tell you
what happened. There were two items in
my capsule that I just wasn’t feeling no matter how hard I tried: my striped
sun dress and my light colored (maternity) shorts. So I replaced them.
Here’s the thing,
I have really struggled with body image since giving birth to Kit. It has been hard for me to feel good in
anything I put on. My body has changed so much that it feels…foreign. I’ve
always been pretty in tune with my body.
We used the Fertility Awareness Method of birth control for five years successfully
and so I’m not kidding when I say that I knew what was going on at all times.
Now my hormones aren’t predictable, I bloat in places I never used to, I have
gobs of cellulite, etc. I know that my body went through an incredible thing
and I’m not writing this for sympathy or to complain. Sometimes it just helps to verbalize
something. You know?
All that to
say, the shorts and the dress were making me feel especially self conscious. The shorts were just too short and they
really emphasized my muffin top and the dress was just too tight and
short. What I don’t want is for my
capsule to turn into a punishment device and so I decided to break my own rules
and get two items that I feel so much more confident in. And you know what? I’m not sorry I did. Here’s the difference from what I would have
done before though: I deliberated, talked to David, and stayed well within our
budget. It felt good! What about you? Have you ever broken your own rules because
something just wasn’t working? Do any
other post partum mom’s struggle with this? Please tell me I’m not alone!
Until next
time,
All about that Hair
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Today we’re
talking about hair! I’ve been asked by a few people to do a hair tutorial and I’m
happy to share what little knowledge I have.
Speaking of small amounts of knowledge, I am SUCH a novice at this whole
blogging thing that I am not even going to attempt to try to film a video or
shoot some nice tutorial pictures. What
I will do is share with you the videos that I learned from and the products
that I use. One thing I will tell you is
that my hair routine has become pretty simple since I started this whole
capsule wardrobe thing. This process is
teaching me to not hide behind my image and that means I’m using less makeup
and spending much less time on my hair.
So… with that
said, what I typically do is let my hair air dry. Once it’s completely dry I use a straightener
to curl the top layer of my hair. It
literally takes five minutes. Here is
the video that I use:
Once I’m done
curling it, but before the curls have cooled completely (that part is
important), I spritz a sea salt spray in my hair and scrunch, scrunch,
scrunch. That’s it! Easy as pie. If I use dry shampoo then I can
usually get away without washing my hair for 2-3 days.
If I want to
jazz things up a bit (like once a year for my wedding anniversary), I’ll blow
dry my hair and use a slightly more complicated method for curling my hair. Here is the video I use for blow drying my hair.
Because I only blow dry my hair once in a great while, I do invest in the products that I use. I find that when I invest in good products, I spend less time at the salon because my hair stays healthier. Plus, I find that with these particular products, I need less and they are better at multitasking than drugstore brands. The products that I use when I blow dry are:
Once I am
done curling my hair I let my hair completely cool this time and then I scrunch in a
texturising cream. Again, with dry
shampoo I can usually get away without washing my hair for 3-4 days.
I know this
is a departure from my typical content so thanks for sticking with me! If any of you have good videos to watch for
doing easy hair, I would love to see them in the comments below!
Double Whammy
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Lace Tank Top (thrifted), Similar; Jeggings; Sandals; Tote; Sunglasses
Being willing
to wear an outfit twice in the same week has been a complete change for me. Although I’ve never had so many clothes that
I never outfit repeated, it did take quite a while to get through all of my
options. Having a limited wardrobe has forced me to get over my “fear” of being
seen in the same outfit twice, and instead be creative with what I have. This has honestly been so refreshing for
me! I’m someone that really likes to be
in control (I talked about this in more depth here), and this often
translates into what I’m wearing. Having
fewer clothes to work with forces me to relinquish that control and be more
relaxed. And honestly, I can afford to
be more relaxed… just ask my husband.
Exhibit A: these
two outfits are the perfect example of wearing the same thing twice. The first version is a dressed down look that
I could wear just hanging around with Kit.
The second outfit is a dressier version that I could wear out with David
on a date. It has been really fun learning how to change up my look by changing
simple details. How do you guys change
up your look? I’m especially curious for
those of you who have more color and pattern in your capsules. What do you do?
Until next
time,
Midwest Summers
Thursday, July 9, 2015
One of my
favorite things about living in the Midwest is its summers. Everyone comes out of hibernation after the
frigid winter and summer is CELEBRATED.
I feel like you miss a lot of that energy when you don’t have
winter. I guess that same concept
applies to a capsule wardrobe doesn’t it?
Each new season’s wardrobe is anticipated and cherished because of the
period of waiting that precedes it.
Speaking of
that, I had a decision to make in regards to this summer’s capsule
wardrobe. I thought I had lost my black
romper and I was trying to decide whether or not I should replace it. I ended up finding it so I didn’t have to
make a decision, but it was an interesting dilemma. For those of you who do the capsule wardrobe
concept what do you do? Do you replace
things? Do you just live without
it? In this case, I don’t think I would
have replaced it because it wasn’t a necessary part of my wardrobe. However, if I would have lost my white
t-shirt (or something similar) I think I would have replaced that. What do you think? I would love some advice!
Until next time,
Numbing our Passion
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Gray Dress; Scarf (Old Madewell), Similar; Clutch (Old Kate Spade Saturday), Similar; Heels
This gray
dress is one of those items that I REALLY love on paper, but every time I put
it on I’m just… not that into it. I put
it in my capsule knowing this and predictably, I haven’t really worn it that
often. Isn’t it weird how some clothes
are like that? I’m going to keep it
after this capsule and see how I feel next spring or summer. Who knows, maybe I’ll come back to it and
like it better then. There’s always room for growth isn’t there?
I feel like I
give fashion a hard time on this blog.
The truth is, I really love fashion.
I love how it is a means to express yourself artistically and I love the
way a good pair of shoes can make you feel so confident. I think where I begin to itch is when fashion
(or really anything else) becomes an obsession that hinders you from doing the
things that you were called to do. If
you’re spending all of your time and money shopping then there is no reserve
left over for doing what makes you feel alive.
In my case, I am passionate about literature, philosophy and
writing. I feel so much more fulfilled
when I spend my time pursuing those things instead of spending all of my time
online shopping. However, there are
people like my sister who absolutely love fashion and she has a great way of
relating that love into helping women feel better about themselves. In her case, fashion IS what she should be
spending her time and money on. What I am trying to say is that we tend to be
laziest in the areas that we should be pursuing and shopping (etc.) has a fantastic
numbing effect. So let’s do our best to fight the things that
numb us and instead pour our energy into what makes us feel alive! What sorts of things are you passionate
about? I’d love to hear in the comments
below!
Until next
time,
A Weekend at the Lake
Sunday, July 5, 2015
We had a
great time at the lake this past weekend.
We kayaked, visited the local kitschy museum, swam in the lake, and just
hung around and chatted with family. As
predicted, Kit hated the water. We’ll
get there. I’m sure next summer she’ll
be a little fish like her cousins.
Striped Sweatshirt (limited sizes left), Similar; Striped Tank Top (Old Madewell), Similar or Sort of Similar; Black Blouse (thrifted Madewell), Similar or Sort of Similar; Jeans (Old AE), Similar; Shorts (Old Gap), Similar Style; Sneakers (Old Converse) Similar Style, Sandals
Once again, I was so happy to have my capsule wardrobe for packing. It made things so effortless and it was so refreshing
to not have to think about what I was going to wear. I was chatting with one of
David’s cousins (shout out to John!) about how ridiculous it is that we think
people care as much as we think they do about what we are wearing. He was telling me that he wore the same
outfit for several days and saw a few people more than once and they didn’t
notice. Why do we think people care so
much about what we wear? I’m not saying
that our overall appearance doesn’t contribute to how people perceive us. If I were to start wearing ratty sweatpants
with holes in them, I hope people would notice that I have departed from my
normal routine. I also realize that
first impressions are important and that our clothing contributes to that. However, I think that personal style
will only take you so far. First
impressions fade away. What people are going to remember forever is how classy,
funny, kind, etc. you are… not whether or not you were wearing Valentino. So let’s put more energy into being well
rounded individuals. K? What do you think? Do you get caught up in only thinking about
one facet of your person?
Until next
time,
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