MIA

Yeah, so I have been a bit MIA lately.

Life is a bit ridiculous.  Honestly, I have been struggling. Kade is doing fantastic. He has straight A's in school, and I am so grateful for his sacrifices he makes to get his homework done. Seriously, he works full time, then comes home hangs out for an hour or so then sits down (usually in his chair) and does homework for three to four hours every night. While I try and keep my self entertained.

My health is such a struggle. I feel like such a cop out when I say that out loud. I know there are people out there who have these crazy hardships with their health, I mean real psychical battles each day. I feel like I have no reason to complain. It's just me trying to tell myself to keep moving keep going and try to not dwell on it. But with the physical therapy all the time, the constant dull pain, waking up in the middle of the night because I am constantly uncomfortable, the numb legs and toes, the exercises morning and night, the fatigue, and the anxiety. I am at my wits end. I have really tried to be patient and not complain, but it is getting harder and harder to do.

So I have really tried to focus on this project and I have done so much better with my style but that is why I have MIA. I am will be back full force after my surgery this week and hope it ends soon.

Beach waves hair

I finally freaking achieved my beach waves hair. Someone out there in the world finally swapped me hair for the night!!!!! 

Really sad but I am super proud of myself. 

Burgandy!

Basically, I wanted to wear all of these items and I know they don't really go together, but hey it works and its the color I chose for the week! Check out my pattern mix and matching... hahaha I looked like a bum! Good thing I sit behind a desk.

Texture Spray!

Okay ladies, I have found the best hair product for those of us who struggle with volume.

It gives you that after the beach volume with all the salt in your hair with OUT the salty smell!
This actually the second day with it in!

 

This is the product. ..... I bought mine at Target!!! There are even cool video's to go along with it.

http://www.folica.com/hair-care/hair-sprays/not-your-mother-s-beach-babe-texturizing-sea-salt-spray?s_cid=bingshop_009617?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=009617&utm_campaign=Bing_PLA

Closet Start: Closet Make Over!

Remember when I posted that project way back when....... I finally got around to it last Sunday! I forgot to take before pictures of the closet but it was so bad its probably better you didn't see it.
The dresser is an actual before picture:)

Okay the closet "before/during"

 

 

THE CLOSET AFTER!!!!!

 

I pulled all my boots out from under the bed and lined them up on the top shelf so I can easily access them. I pulled down all my bins ( from where the boots are now) of Fall/winter clothing (Jeans, chunky sweaters, long sleeves) and placed them on the shelf where I keep all my shorts and skirts and t-shirt dress for the summer.

 

I also put all the Cardigans and short sleeved items on the top rack, then the kinda of "stand alone" shirts button ups and sweatshirts on the bottom rack. I was finding as I was trying things on , that I have clothing that goes missing if it is just in one solid rack and everything clumped in colors.

 

 In the clear container is all of my summer clothes, my shorts, brightly colored skirts and t shirt dress that I pulled of the shelf. In the top drawer are also my sweats and pj's. On top of the clear container is the bag I have for socks and tights gloves. Behind the door ( Not pictured ) are hanging my belts and scarves.

 

Kade's section:

 

This was really the worst part of the closet. Since Kade has most of the bigger drawers in the dresser, he got the smaller section of the closet. His shoes were a huge issue for us,( which in the picture above you can see the have their own new home in a basket under my skirts and dresses)  as well as his riding clothes take up tons of space in the dresser... hence the shelving unit in here....

 

I focused on making the things he wears most, most accessible. So away went his shorts into the bottom drawer where his church shoes block. The second drawer is church sweaters. The top drawer is socks. The black bin is his gym shorts and PJ's.

On the top Shelf where the suit cases and my yoga mat used to be.... Is now his long sleeved shirts and jeans which he is wearing almost everyday now. Most important are his belts all hung up so that they no longer get stuck in the door or I don't step on them.

The Dresser before:

The problem with the dresser is that there were so many items of clothing that we weren't wearing taking up all the drawer space. So I cleaned them all out.  ( hence the trash bag, which when move broke because I shoved so much into it!!)



The Dresser After!!!




All the items that are leaving my closet. I have 4 pairs of jeans that are size 6 that I can no longer wear.... Does anyone want them???

And my project is done!!!!!

 

Eyeshadow

 There was an article the other day in Glamour Mag. talking about how the even the tiniest bit of eye shadow along the crease of your eye, can make it look like you did more than you actually did to get ready. Which is exactly the type of everyday look I am going for. Simple easy but is enough to show I care.

Here is the eye shadow and the result.

yes my nose has been broken....  :)

Arm candy

SO I have finally caved.... With the help of my mom ( who actually didn't know she was helping) I have stared to wear at least to pieces of jewelry a day. I thought for a while that too much jewelry made you look a bit over done... but then as I have been trying to better dress myself.... Sometimes it completes the outfit. My mom came up over conference weekend and surprised me with this bag of  bracelets cuffs bangles.... whatever you would like to call them! IT was so awesome. So I have been trying to wear some everyday.

Example A:

 

My Board, covered in new pins!

50's Hair

I was going for this.... turns out I need a few more layers for that.... inspiration for a new hair cut...???

Pattern

Okay, so I am COMPLETELY terrified of pattern mixing. I always convinced I can't pull it off. I see these adorable outfits.....

1.
2.
3.

And think to myself as I am in any store oh that would be cute with that but,.... What ever my lame excuse is.

 So I am trying. And sadly this outfit is a big step for me! Haha enjoy!

Excuse the work keys and radio... This was the only time I had today. 

My cute new shoes! 

And the earrings for today:)

Blush

OKay, so I knew there were certain ways of putting on blush... I thought it was all about the brushes you use... turns out for certain face types there are application places that help define you face! see said diagram to find out what yours is!

Ta Da!!! I have a square/round face.

Volume

So I have been super busy in the mornings lately with this new health schedule of mine, and usually means I have about 15 minutes total to get in and out of the door. I need something fast. So I tried the following Hairstyle out of  these six go to's.... long story short my black head band was still packed and I simply had to improvise since I had bun crimp marks in my pony tail. and hence.... check out the lack of volume! Next time I guess!!!

I fixed my hair and put together an outfit!

Okay, so this one is a couple weeks old. But a couple of weeks ago, I had an awesome day....

I actually bought myself a new pair of shoes earlier that week (!!!) and then pulled out a pair of jeans I hadn't worn in forever, paired them with a different top, and tried a new hairstyle! Pictures:

"maiden braids" hairstyle...with a whole heck of a lot of bobby pins and an accidental "bald spot". eh, you can't win em all, and it still looked pretty good! It also kept my hair completely out of the way, all day long. That's pretty impressive.
I kinda sorta followed what they tell you do do here, except not really, because my hair is down to my hips and takes FOREVER to braid. Also, it's fine and flat. So multiple braids = teeny tiny and weird looking:
http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2011/03/how-to-style-maiden-braids-.html

my nails mathced my pants! unintentional :P I'm pretty sure that polish was totally chipped and peeling and this was the last day I wore it.

better shot of the shoes...still not great but trust me, they're cute!

This is a big improvement over my jeans + oversized t-shirt + bun combo I'm sporting most days. Haha.

Make up tip

I read this article the other day. It was talking all about "ovulating the face." This new make up trend. 

Which is something I need desperately with my round face. 

It talked about a few items that most people don't mention. 

One of those being that the point of ovulating your makeup is to draw out the high lights of your face. 

So I tried to of the tricks this last week to see if would make a difference. I used a simple shiner/highlight bar on my upper lip and at the corners of my eyes. 

Laugh away at these goofy pictures but honestly! It worked, Kade even mentioned, did you change your makeup? 

So the goal is to pick to areas that you like on your face. Then research ways to bring the slightest attention to them. And try that with ovulation make up style. 

Good luck!

Hair and makeup

So this week, following suit with my Navy blue..... I tried this hair drying technic that was a total flop. 

I am constantly trying to put a little bit of volume in my hair. I have none, like dries as straight as paper level of no volume. So I read that not using conditioner would not weigh my hair down and thus achieve more volume.... Ehhhhhhh ( think buzzer sound) Massive frizzy fail. So I proceeded to wet it down and try and keep the fly always to a minimum... Until I got to the doctors office and well that turned out like a balloon loves static friction story! Until tomorrow!

Navy blue

So this week I chose navy blue. I have a ton of it and decided I need to switch it all up, go through some of it, eliminate some stuff and fix up others. So here is my outfit today! 

Project start

As with every Good project, there is that overwhelming jump to get into to it. The one that makes us put off said project until you don't want to do it anymore, or something breaks and it becomes a have to instead of want to. This happens to be my closet.

I have read a really great article. The main focus of this article are "Wardrobe builders" Creating a  flawless closet that only needs a couple additions and a few replacements.

I attached a couple pictures of the article for you.

They claim that starting with an organized completely cleaned out closet is the only way to start.
So with that here are the requirements, they all have.

• Give your self two hours or three.
• Make sure your bedroom is clean. Bed made, and all your laundry is done and put away.
• Put on your make-up and do your hair.
• Have a full length mirror
• put on a neutral outfit.

• Be sure to take everything out
• Have bins and baskets on hand for organizing( I like the clear ones for purses and shoes)
• Have a plan for organizing scheme
  Now take a good long look. What do you have? Are you an all black person? 
  
  

• Now that you know exactly what's left, get inspired. Start looking for outfit ideas to help you utilize what is in your closet.
• The picture below gives you a few ideas of where to look

• Shop for the replacement you need
• Shop for the things you figured out you actually need.

Tomorrow, I am attacking my closet. Wish me luck! And I hope your cleaning out goes well! 

Aloha!

So, I can't seem to add a bio to the "people" page up at the top, so I figured I'd write a whole entire post about myself instead because I am just that vain.

Just kidding about the vain part....but you really are getting an entire post. ;)

Hi! My name is Rachel! Hayley and I met by chance at a random YSA dance while she was visiting her grandparents almost three years ago...it was quite a memorable experience. We've never managed to live in the same geographic location, but we've kept in touch. We got engaged and married around the same time and my hubs and I were even able to make it to her wedding reception [which was gorgeous and so much fun]! Someday, when the world is perfect and all of my favorite people can live in my neighborhood, she will be there.

...so that is kind of how I came to be involved with this project. Because Hayley is awesome, and blogged about her wardrobe makeover at the exact same time that I was going through my own mini-wardrobe crisis.

You see, I birthed this baby about six months ago. Her name is Daisy and she is a hoot and I love her. Being a Mom is my most favorite job that I have ever had. There's just one problem...

dress/onesie: Carter's, cardigan and scarf-bib: H&M

She dresses better than I do [most days].
And I am the one putting together her wardrobe!

You think that I'd care as much about myself as I do my daughter. I mean, I fix her hair on the daily and she hardly has any, but my waist-length hair gets brushed once every other day if it's lucky [also it stays in a bun 90% of the time...still haven't figured out how long-haired moms do it].

her signature 'do

At first my issues were fitting clothing to my changing body. Pregnancy gave me a solid 65lb weight gain [at least, and all to the thighs], plus about five additional bra sizes [on top of an already D+ size pre-pregnancy]. I'm lucky to be able to squeeze back into my old jeans again, but my body is definitely not the same, and shirts are even more difficult to fit than they were before because some of those extra cup sizes have yet to disappear.

Another issue I have, is that I am so. dang. thrifty. Or cheap. However you'd like to say it. Point is, I HATE spending money on clothes, and feel really bad about it unless it is a necessity. I'm working on it.

Also, I have ideas about what style I'd like to have [retro, vintage inspired, and funky because I'm all about loud colors and crazy patterns], but I am so hesitant to actually buy pieces that will emphasize that aesthetic. I usually go for whatever is on sale, even if I don't like it so much. Did I mention that I'm cheap??? Luckily my hubs is awesome and tells me to buy things for myself. Haha.

ANYWAY. I am a big fan of re-mixing my wardrobe and get by on that pretty well for now, and while I've been awful at actually doing the project days so far, it's at least got me thinking and TRYING to put myself together each morning! Hopefully I'll have some interesting posts soon.

For now, I'll leave you with my most recent success: I wore red lipstick that had been sitting neglected in my makeup bag for, I don't know, 2+ years or so!

Revlon Just Bitten lip stain in...I can't remember the name. but I love the stain. it doesn't come off!

Correction: I wore it TWICE. But only took pictures once [AKA this one crappy cell phone photo]

It was fun, and a welcome change to my usual routine! I'm thinking about collecting fun and funky lipsticks. From the clearance bins, of course ;)

Project [ Personal Style ]

Hey there!
If you got a an invite we want you to join us!

A little background to why I started this blog: project.

So this project, is to help you utilize everything in your closet to help you create your own style!

There are few daily challenges we do and you can pick and choose to do some of them, or all of them it's really up to you. We just ask that you post the days you chose to do! We all want to see how great you are of course!

Check out the pages for the daily challenges and post away! we can't wait to see how awesome your style is!

*everything is still under construction and may change, but hey thats why they call it a "project" right?