Work Out Wear

Today is yet another day of stellar weather and I am virtually bursting of energy, motivation and complete happiness. It's amazing what a little warm air and sunshine can do! This morning I needed to buckle down and get my husband's oil changed in his car...I've been promising to do it since Monday. Tomorrow I have a business meeting in the nether~reaches of NJ (Crazy things are occurring here...I'll tell you when I can!), so both cars will need to be utilized. Since I had already agreed to spend the afternoon with my girlfriend in our favorite walking place, I decided to just wear my workout clothes to the oil change. "Why not" I reasoned? I was just going to be sitting in a grimy garage waiting for my car, right?
As I sat there waiting, I started thinking about what forms of workout apparel are acceptable to wear out and about, if at all? Let's just be honest, a lot of workout pants leave very little to the imagination and I can attest to seeing more faux pas's than I can successes. Every once in a great while I will spot a woman that looks fresh and pulled together wearing workout clothing. Brands like Lululemon have really cute pieces that almost make it a shame to utilize them only when sweating profusely. However, it seems that most times people are wearing raggedy, mixed matched pieces that scream "slob" rather than "adorable".
I firmly believe that it has nothing to do with body type, but it has everything to do with quality and fit. Rear ends can be hidden under a longer length top so thoughts of low fat dairy products (you know what I mean!) don't come to mind. Whether small busted or large busted, there are tops to accommodate and still remain tasteful. As for myself, I have very short muscular legs, and you will never catch me dead in cropped yoga pants or those horrible gaucho styles. As in regular clothing, not all styles are flattering for all women.
When I got home I googled celebrities wearing workout clothes to see if there were more "do's" rather than "don'ts".  Here are a few of my favorites:

Kim Kardashian and I have almost identical builds. For a very curvy girl, I think she looks pretty good in this ensemble. These are the kind of yoga pants I wear too. Black only with a slight flare/bootcut bottom. The longer length of the top elongates the torso which short waisted ladies like myself, appreciate.

Listen, if I had legs miles long like Elle Macpherson, you can bet your bottom dollar (big bottomed in mine and Kim's case) that I would rock these leggings too. I find nothing offensive about this; in fact I even love how the scarf adds a funky little pop. I always try to wear a cute baseball cap or military cap with my workout wear and I ALWAYS have a cute studded earring on too. Accessorizing can really make a difference! 

Nicole Richie's leather jacket and chic shades take this otherwise plain Jane look to a whole other level. I personally think she looks cute and if I saw her walking down the street in this I would probably give her a high five for maintaining her level of eclecticism while in on her way to an appointment with her personal trainer.

Am I condoning workout wear as outfits for wearing outside of the home on a regular basis? Definitely not! I've rambled on and on about how sad it is that people don't dress themselves or seem to take pride in their appearances these days. Nothing will ever look as amazing as a well put together, stylish woman will look walking down the street.

What I AM saying, is that in a pinch or on a quick stop to or from a workout, you can still look good. It just needs to be done in the same fashion in which you dress yourself with your regular wardrobe. Some thought, effort and investment in properly fitting clothes can make all the difference. So ladies, I'm dying to know:

What do you think? Is workout wear a never, ever or acceptable in a pinch when done right?

We Interrupt This Blogging...

I got up and dressed this morning so I could head out and do important stuff like get my husband's oil changed in his car and buy paper towel at Target.

As soon as I stepped outside I turned on my heel, walked back indoors, changed into sweats, called my girlfriend and headed over to Island Heights NJ to walk their charming little boardwalk and soak up temperatures in the mid 60's and perfect sunny skies. Island Heights is a quaint riverside town where antique Victorian mansions dot the waterfront and the most adorable homes line the streets. It a minute or two drive from our homes and our favorite place to walk on these gorgeous winter days we've been blessed with.

Besides, these photos I took on our walk today are much better than seeing me in the same old jeans again....

Valentine DIY

I love a good DIY project. It seems like nothing quite compares to the satisfaction you get from creating something lovely with your own two hands. After I unplugged from cyberspace on Friday I worked on a project I have been planning for the past couple of weeks. If you follow me on Instagram, then you saw the sneak peak and teaser about it that I sent out when it was finished.

Over Christmas 2010 one of my oldest blog friends Pamela over at Ginger Girl posted a DIY holiday decoration from one she saw at JCrew. After reading her post and picking my jaw up off the desk from my complete adoration of her craftiness, I rushed into JCrew to get a glimpse in real life. They had taken birch branches and suspended them with ribbon and hung gorgeous ornaments from them. I simply had to do it myself.

I have a large picture window nestled in a wall of built in bookshelves in my family room that made a perfect backdrop. I have always used it to create seasonal displays but had never thought of suspending something there! I purchased a birch branch at Michael's Arts & Crafts ($14.99), a roll of ribbon and used my own collection of oversize mercury glass kugels. Success! It created a striking display that received "oohs" and "ahhs" the entire holiday season.

Last autumn I decided to install small white hooks into the bookcase to create a more permanent place to utilize the branch as decor. When not in use, the small white hooks virtually disappear. For fall I used jute twine to suspend it and wrapped a autumnal leaf garland around it. You may remember from Halloween how I hung some creepy Spanish moss to add a delightfully devilish flair to my Mad Scientist's Library theme.

Over Christmas I wrapped an evergreen garland around it and hung a crystal star ornament from it to hang over my village. It looks like the Christmas star doesn't it?

I left the evergreen up until Friday when I set into motion my big plan. I am on a budget now that I am not working, and for a mere $5.00 I gathered my supplies at the dollar store.

1. pad of construction paper

2. a roll of cotton twine (jute is too curly)

3. 3 packs of plastic hearts

I originally wanted to use candy, but decorating with confections can get a bit pricey as they are so small and you need a larger quantity. Finding these plastic hearts was the perfect cost effective solution! Plus, I will have them to reinvent into something else next Valentine's Day!

I removed all the red and pink paper from the pad, folded each piece in half and fashioned hearts in all different sizes. It may be cheating, but I am NO artist and to freehand a heart would have been disastrously ugly! Using a hole puncher, I popped a hole into the center of each heart and strung them with the twine in an array of sizes. *note: I used invisible tape over each side to hold twine upright so they hung straight

I used an old wooden tray and filled my cloches (also used here and here) with the hearts. I purchased the red roses in the julep cup from Marshall's many, many years ago. I've joked about how my walk in attic is lined with metal shelving units and looks like a massive prop closet, but over the years I have collected odd pieces of decor, and tons of entertaining tools that I reuse and reinvent again and again. Look around your house. I bet you have some incredible things laying around waiting for a reinvention too!

Using what I already own and spending just a few dollars created a fun display that adds a freshness to our family room and puts a smile on my face every time I pull in the driveway and see them hanging there.

And St.Patrick's Day is just around the corner....

To Be Inspired

The computer does little to inspire me lately and yet I find myself wasting hours of each day sitting in front it.  I flit from website to website, email account to email account as if I am waiting for something amazing to magically appear. The next thing I know, I'm scrolling through Facebook looking up crushes from junior high generally aghast at how badly some people age and wondering how the cutest little boys can grow into some of the homeliest older men.

Certainly I draw inspiration from the blogs I read on a daily basis, but lately my reader hasn't been filling up as fast as it usually does. I couldn't even count on both hands how many bloggers let out a sigh of "TGIF!" in their posts this morning and lamented on how long this past week seemed. I agree. Perhaps we are all suffering from a case of the January doldrums. Except the Aussies who are reveling in summer glory down there in that perfect world they call Oz....but I'm not bitter...

I find I am most inspired when I am puttering around the house keeping busy. Folding wash, dusting and swiffering the floors are tasks that have me reaching for my notebook again and again as I rapidly scribble in a veritable downpour of  thoughts and ideas. Sometimes just the tumble of the dryer sets my brain in motion. Heading outdoors and riding my bike under endless skies with lungs bursting full of cold, crisp air is most times the only motivation I need. But this animated box in front of me? Not so much lately.

So excuse me while I power down for the weekend and live in the moment rather than cyberspace. I have an evening planned with some of the nearest and dearest to me in which we will be making homemade pizzas and drinking plenty of wine all while basking in the sheer pleasure of each other's company. Tomorrow I fully intend to inhale plenty of that cold, crisp air outside and savor every minute I have my husband and children home with me. Because if I take the time to do all of that, I'll be back here Monday full of the spark and motivation this past week was sorely missing.

Happy Weekending Everyone! 

chambray button up: jcrew

tee: gap

skirt: ny&co

tights and ring: limited

earrings: vintage, thrifted

Born Too Late

As I was perusing through my blog roll, I read a post by one of my all time favorite bloggers that really got me thinking. Emily said that she feels she was born in the wrong era and I often feel the same way about myself. The only problem is, which era do I feel I should have been born in?

As a young girl, we somehow ended up having a crinoline from my aunt's wedding at our house. I spent many, many days pulling that thing on up to my shoulders and running about the house pretending I was Laura Ingalls Wilder. My afternoons were spent daydreaming of life in the early to mid 1800's as it seemed so ideal and simplistic to me. As I grew a bit older, I became infatuated with the Amish as that seemed a more realistic way to live out my petticoat dreams. I imagined marrying an Amish man and immersing myself in the lifestyle I so admired in the current day and age.

Once I hit junior high and the teen angst years, I longed to have been born a bit earlier so I could have lived in the 1970's London & New York punk rock scene. How cool it would have been to be there in the midst of the start of a movement I felt such a connection to. To be around during the antics of the Sex Pistols and the dawning of my favorite punk bands would have been amazing. To have hung out in places like CBGB's a decade or so earlier than I had the chance too would have been the coolest.

Now as a mother approaching my forties, I wish I had been an adult through the opulent '80s. I have such a fondness for the garish and decadent decor I still see lurking around thrift stores. I love classic center hall colonials because they simply feel like home. Big hair and big shoulders ~ was there anything small about the 80's? Spending my 7th-17th years in that decade left such a soft spot in my heart for it.

All this reminiscing just brings me back to the question of which era would have suited me best? As an adult, the low mortality rates and difficulty in just surviving daily makes the 1800's a bit less appealing. I am fascinated with all things surrounding the Crusades and to have been a Templar Knight sounds so romantic while I know in reality life was much more harsh than the 1800's. What if I had lived through those groundbreaking punk years? Would I have emerged unscathed or just been a lost soul like so many were? To have been an adult in the 1980's, would I have lost myself in the lust for excess?

As a firm believer that our destinies are already written somewhere, I know that I was fully meant to have been a small child through the 70's, an impressionable youth in the 80's in order to spend the 90's becoming what I am today: a mother.

Even with that reality and understanding, it is still nice to lose myself in the occasional daydream....

Do you think you were born in the wrong era?

shirt & belt: jcrew

dress: ny&co (old)

tights & sunglasses: express

vest: diy jean jacket, vintage, thrifted

bangles: jcrew, express, and random

The Cold Hard Truth

I'm stuck in a rut.

I'd love to pretend that everyday I am parading around town wear my finest vintage finds that I have amazingly paired with the hottest "on trend" items. But I would be lying.

Lately I find myself building outfits around sports bras. As in, "Can I pull this top off with a sports bra underneath?" Luckily, most days the answer is yes because I usually just pick a long sleeve t shirt and pair of yoga pants to accompany said sports bra.

I have been making jokes that my husband rarely sees me dressed anymore but it's really not a joke. I am in yoga pants or leggings when he leaves in the morning, and by the time he arrives home from work, I am right back in them again. If I am being totally honest, I am lucky to spend over 5 hours dressed in "real clothes" most days. And in another stretch of brutal honesty, I probably wouldn't even do that if I didn't have to pick my daughter up from school every single day. The thought of showing up in the school yard like that is the only thing that keeps me pulling one of the same three pairs of jeans on every day. Although, since I am giving you all full disclosure, I should admit that on days when I can't even muster up a smidgeon of desire to put on proper clothes, I arrive at my daughters school 35 minutes early to park in the pick up line because it generally assures me a spot right in front of the door and I don't even have to get out of the car. Geez. What is going on with me???

I am not sure how it has happened since I have never been like this in my life. This morning I stood in front of the closet staring into space. I pulled out 3 different pairs of pants (not jeans) then hung them all back up again. Stared at my jeans for a few more minutes then placed them back in the closet as well and threw on yoga pants, sneakers and a sweatshirt. Granted, I went for a long bike ride right after then came home and baked some cupcakes for the kids...but still. In fact, it is so gorgeous here today that I fully intend to walk to my daughter's school this afternoon dressed just like this. 

I surprise myself.

Maybe it's just a January thing. I've been feeling under the weather since Friday night and I would love to blame it on that, but it's been going on for a while now so I really can't. I know we all feels best in our comfort zone...but this is getting a bit ridiculous.

What do you wear when you can't muster up the desire to get dressed?

Sparkles and Stilettos

I love this jacket.

I don't mean just a simple lowercase kind of love...I mean shout it from the rooftops and capitalize it kind of LOVE.

I discovered it while I was out thrifting and found all the amazing dresses that I have listed. It was buried in the dressy dress rack in a store that I find WAY overpriced and ridiculous (we're talking $150.00 coats in a thrift store that people wouldn't pay $150.00 for new and in a regular retail store) but check now and again because I do occasionally find a great item or two.

This was part of a set, and I have no clue if it came with a dress or a pantsuit...the other piece was long gone and this hung on the rack by itself with a $30.00 price tag. (Yes, I did chuckle out loud) I brought it to the counter and showed the nice woman who adjusted the price accordingly thank goodness. I didn't want to go home without it!

 I saw beyond the poly, and old school sequin trim knew that a plain white tee, skinny jeans and sky high heels could take it from retro-poly-housecoat-frump to night-on-the-town-fabulous. It's in the shop only because I have closets (note the plural) chock full of clothing and at what point do I need all these fabulous finds for myself?

Even though I'm really not going anywhere today, I may just keep it on long enough to go to school pick up this afternoon. Eat your hearts out Ugg Moms....

jacket: for sale here

tee: gap

jeans & earrings: express

heels: enzo angiolini

bracelet: charlotte russe (old)