My Family in My Life: wear-your-item/review

Showing posts with label wear-your-item/review. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Off the shoulder

First day back after the brutal month of May, and I thought I'd ease in with an outfit post and giveaway for you poor things that had to read my ramblings for a month straight. Today's giveaway is for a $30 shop credit to Classic & Bubbly, an up and coming online store with beautiful, colorful pieces like the dress I'm wearing today. I've always been so enamored with off-the-shoulder dresses and shirts... I really wanted an off-the-shoulder wedding dress, but never did find one I liked (in my price range, that is). Ah well, I'll have to make up for it with gorgeous dresses like this one. Enter the giveaway below and scroll down for a discount code to the shop!

Dress c/o Classic & Bubbly, discount code STORY30 for 30% your store purchase through Monday, 6/10

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Win a spring scarf from Lilia Vanini

Hello my friends! Today's giveaway is brought to you by Lilia Vanini, a sweet shop based in Peru and stocked full of gorgeous scarves, many of which are the perfect pop of color and fun to your spring or even summer outfits. I chose this mustard yellow lace one and it's just lovely. Below are a few more of my favorites, but you can choose your own if you win today's giveaway, of course. :) Winner gets their choice of any scarf! Enter in the Rafflecopter below if you're interested, and good luck!

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"No one will ever like me!"

Yesterday I logged into an old blog account and started reading posts from years ago, which is weird and interesting and sort of feels like peeking into someone's mind who looks familiar but altogether different. Different home. Different city. Different job. Different man. Hadn't lost someone. Hadn't found myself. But the voice was the same. I recognized the voice. I recognized and related when that girl back in 2008 said she wants to work from home, set her own hours, be her own boss, write, be creative... I said, "I am, always have been, and always will be, a writer. A creator. An artist. A free spirit." That much has not changed.

In related news, I also discovered a folder of my old poetry the other day, and I had a good laugh reading through some of them. HOLY MACKEREL, was I dramatic. You would think I lived the hardest life ever, if you'd only read my teenage self's poetry. It went back even farther than that, actually, as evidenced by a poem I wrote in 1998 (age 11). I still feel like that little girl sometimes, but I think (I hope!) that most of this is now behind me. Here, have a chuckle.

No One Will Ever Like Me

"No one will ever like me!"

Said Jenni (last name) one day

When my hair finally does look right,

For certain it won't stay that way

My glasses take up half my face

My pimples own the other space

My bangs do never stay in place,

"No one will ever like me!"

One ear is bigger than the other,

"You're beautiful!" Says lying mother

I know I'm not,

It's clear to spot,

"No one will ever like me!"

*If you remember reading this poem already it's because I shared it in a guest post a couple years ago

Oh, the angst. Actually, those descriptions of myself were pretty accurate, since that poem was written around the time this photo was taken. Eek. Have you seen this video on self image? Pretty captivating. We're all our own worst critics.

Here's some outfit photos featuring a dress from the SWEET new online store, Hazel & Olive. I am actually a little obsessed with this shop. Right down my alley.

And that concludes today's randomness.

{ Dress: c/o Hazel & Olive, Hat: Target: Shoes: Aldo, Bag: Thrifted }

Have you ever sat on or very near to a fire ant mound and been stung multiple times in very sensitive areas of your anatomy? I have.

Feeling blue

I'm writing this post on Monday evening, a half eaten plate of pasta and meatballs and an empty glass of wine by my side here at my office desk. It was a weird day, one that I chalked up to being weird because I'm female, and I cut myself some slack and permission to take it easy. Everything I planned for the blog this week never really materialized over the weekend, but ah well. Such is life. It really was a busy and full and good weekend, and on Sunday night I found myself sobbing and wishing another week of losing my husband to law school wasn't about to begin and also wishing that Hugh Jackman had won best actor at the Oscar's. It's hard having ovaries.

As for today's post, it seems I truly excel at picking the worst possible days to shoot outfit pictures, because it just so happened that some sort of bizarre hurricane-force winds blew in today (Monday), even worse than last week's windy shoot. Even now as I write this the wind is tearing at the trees outside my window, though to be honest with you, I really love the sound.

This outfit is varying shade of blue and sea green, with the most adorable yellow boat shoes from Old Navy for the finishing touch. I went there over the weekend, and was so surprised by how awesome so much of their stuff was! I wanted these shoes in every single color, but alas, I settled on yellow and only yellow. Not promising I won't order more online, though. The temptation may be too great to bear.

I look like a pirate here.

{ Shirt: c/o Tailor and Stylist (10% off your purchase with the code storyofmylife10), Skirt: J.Crew (similar), Hat: Banana Republic outlet, Shoes: Old Navy, Necklace: from Megan's old shop }

A very windy day (and some lulus.com goodness)

A very gusty day yesterday provided a challenge during this outfit shoot. There was lots of awkward flailing and blowing hair, but in a bad way, not in a sexy, someone-is-pointing-a-giant-fan-at-me-and-I'm-working-it kind of way. Despite the wind, though, I was happy to show off a few fabulous LuLu's pieces that are most definitely new staples in my wardrobe. Great quality, good prices, and just my style. I'm a convert. Definitely not the last from LuLu's you'll be seeing on this blog. Scroll down for a discount code, if you're interested!