Every now and again when I get into a funk I need to do something creative. Last weekend I decided to take on a project that well speaks a little about me and my personality and it didn’t have anything to do with shopping.

My outfit consists  a striped pants that are well the oldest piece of clothing I have in my closet. They are 19 years old and I love them.  I thrifted the green top for $3, it can actually be worn as a tank or strapless piece. I paired it with the crop denim jacket (Cato) and recently thrifted flip-flops (Rialto)  that had never been worn. I accessorized with turquoise jewelry.

When I took a picture of today’s look I realized my recent artwork was still hanging where I left it. It’s not where I plan to put it, but it shows you what I did.

I really do like to create things. It’s why I enjoy putting outfits together. I think of it like art.

When I started college at 17 years old ( I didn’t turn 18 for the first month I went) I was actually there on an art scholarship. I actually was involved in commercial art. I took two years at J.B. Johnson Career Development Center, which is now Alton High School.

I like being creative and recently I came across some subway art on Pinterest (love the site!!) and felt it was time I did something. Here it is…

What better way to do an art project than work with material I  use everyday?  I’ve got enough newspapers at home I wouldn’t run out. Besides using newsprint as my background I also cut out headlines from the paper and magazines.

I think the piece says a lot about me. What do you think? Has anything on Pinterest got you to crafting or trying new things?

“Art is subject to arbitrary fashion. ” – Kary Mullis

Once again it’s another beautiful day. The only thing is I’ve been stuck inside. I will at least say though that the air conditioning in our building is up and working and I need a sweater to keep warm. It’s far better than it feeling like an oven and draining all my energy.

My recent looks are mostly thrifted NWT items.  Both outfits combined cost less than $25, minus my jewelry though.

No. 1 – Praire style skirt (Chaps, Kohls, clearance) , white top ( thrifted NWT, $1.99), white tank, blue espadrilles (thrifted NWT, $3), beaded, turquoise and silver jewelry
No. 2 – Olive dress (thrifted, $4.50), chocolate shrug sweater (yard sale, $.25)  bronze and gold flowered heels (NWT, $3), multi-tone belt and bronze, gold and silver jewelry

I love to find new shoes whenever I’m out thrifting. Especially when the price is set so low. Every now and then I will pay a little more for a pair, but I am able to afford and buy so many by getting thrifted “soles.”

I have so many pairs of shoes, but each year I go through my closet and get rid of some to make room for new.

What do you think of my newly thrifted shoes? Do they make the outfit?

You know spring is here when it’s does nothing but rain for two days. I’ll take it over snow any day, especially since I get to wear so many cute dresses.

This week I thrifted two dresses this week and they both included stripes.

No. 1 – The striped and solid orange dress is Old Navy. I picked it up for $2.25 (it was on sale for half-off.) I paired it with a wide belt (Lane Bryant), cropped denim jacket (Cato), wedges (C0ach, thrifted) and added various silver and black jewelry.
No. 2 – The black and white dress is NWT from Target. It was $5.99. Blue cardigan (White Stag, Walmart) I accessorized with a bright yellow belt (Amazon, $3.99), black ballet flats (thrifted), a black hat and a yellow floral pin.

I haven’t typically worn horizontal stripes in the past. It’s usually a no-no, for the obvious reason that stripes call attention to your size. I’ve learned there is a little trick to it.

Thin stripes can actually have a slimming effect and wearing a belt above the natural waistline with a stripe on top helps create the shape of an hourglass figure. Stripes really can be flattering on anyone.

I really like both these dresses and since I’m now down two dress sizes I’m feeling much better about putting a stripe on.

What do you think about the looks? Do you wear stripes? Would you?

Who would have thought that on the second day of spring it would be this warm? Well I think we can look forward to a long, hot summer… and in the meantime I plan to dress so that I can stay cool.

This week I’ve worn sleeveless dresses, but I wear cardigans to cover up at least until I’m in the office. Here are my latest looks.

Left – Blue print dress ( Style&Co., Macy’s) black cardigan (Kohl’s) black belt (Cato) and black sandals (Coach)
Right – Zebra print dress (Daisy Fuentes, Kohl’s) red cardigan (Torrid), red patent belt (Cato) and red slides (JcPenney), red jewelry

Of course the sweaters didn’t stay on very long once I arrived in the office.

 I like the V-neck of each of these dresses, but it’s the wide belt  that really gives the outfit the added detail. I love accessorizing with belts, especially when it adds a pop of color like the red one.

I’m having to purchase new belts as I drop dress sizes (not that I’m complaining), and really it’s easier on the pocketbook to buy a belt than a whole new wardrobe.  You can really “belt” out a look with just the right waist-cinching accessory.

What do you think of the looks? Do you wear belts? Is it because you need to for practical reasons or do you like to add extra style to you look?

I went out of town for the weekend with one of my best friends. We had a great time and I even got in a little thrifting too.

Since it was St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday I did want to show everyone that I wore green for our night out on the town. I visited my friend’s sister, who lives in Clarksville, Tenn., which is outside Fort Campbell,  Ky. and since she is retired Army and her husband still serves, it was a good place to be for the celebration.

I wore my black skinny jeans from Torrid, Apt. 9 booties from Kohl’s and a green Gumby T-Shirt that says “Twisted” from Walmart. I glammed the outfit up with some jewelry.

During my thrifting adventure I found a floral Gap skirt (reminds me of Lilly Pulitzer) that I am thrilled to wear on this beautiful day.

The skirt was $4.50. I paired it with an aqua blue cotton shirt and line green cardigan. I also wore my aqua Coach slides I thrifted last year.

I love the seersucker fabric of the skirt because it’s so cool and in our office, well it’s getting plenty warm so I’ve been wearing lightweight clothes.

I also found a dress that I will be wearing soon to promote Donate Life America’s campaign “20 million in 2012.”  The initiative will focus on radically increasing the number of people registered on state donor registries. On April 20, local fashion bloggers will show support and create looks using the DLM colors (green and blue.) DLM will create a Pinterest Board to house all the looks and promote it through various social media sites including Donate Life Missouri. The day is National Blue and Green Day and thus the reason for the color scheme. I’m so excited that I will get to wear my new find too.

For those of you who follow my blog probably know that on Valentine’s Day I actually got to see a kidney transplant at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. It was a life-changing experience for me. If  more people were like Paul Wallace then there would be more Vanessa Vassar’s of the world among us.  Here are the stories I wrote about the two the day before the surgery and the day it took place.

So be sure to take a look in one month to see what I’ll be wearing to promote a life-saving program. I guess you could say that my one find will allow me to start “thrifting for life.”

My Monday is looking good so far. Better than last week and I’m in a way better mood. Walking does that you know. I’ve almost dropped another dress size and I’ve got a few more to go before I’m really pleased.

Anyway what do you think of my look  today? Are you “green” with envy about the weekend attire?

In five days spring is officially here. I’m thrilled and although I usually wait until then to wear open-toed shoes and sandals I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. Especially with the wonderful weather we’ve had this past week.

I love the colors of this top.  I thrifted it this week for $3. I paired it with a skirt I purchased years ago at Value City and accessorized with a thrifted black and white beaded necklace and earrings. I recently thrifted my  shoes for $26 at The Women’s Closet Exchange in south St. Louis County. They’re Coach and basically new. They originally retail for around $158. So I believe I got a great deal, because they were 20 percent off the day I purchased them as well.

I was a little excited to wear my wedges today. Like I said I typically don’t wear anything open-toed until the first day of spring. What do you think of the look?

Do you follow in fashion rules? If so, what are they?

If you’re like me you’re loving this weather, right? The only downside is that it’s “hot,hot,hot” in the office , which makes for a tiring day.

It seems like we go from one extreme to the next, but I always try and dress for it. This week I went sleeveless, but took  a cover up so that when I’m out I don’t appear to be too casual.

 No. 1 – Maxi dress (Tommy Hilfiger, Macy’s, $17 on clearance, originally $89.50), white tank, denim jacket (Old Navy, yard sale, $2) cowboy boots (Cato, $17), wood bracelet and wood and metal earrings
No. 2 –  Black and white dress (Dress Barn, thrifted, $4.50), cardian, (Avenue, clearance, $8),  red patent belt ( Target, clearance $3.50), red patent heels (Isaac Mizrahi for Target, thrifted NWT, $3) , red earrings and red rose ring.

I found the maxi dress back in January. It really was a steal and because it’s been so warm out I knew I could get by with wearing it. Although I didn’t go with sandals (I won’t wear them until after March 20, the official first day of spring) I thought the boots were a nice touch. I did go barelegged in the black and white dress though. I really do like the color combo of black, white and red.

I wear jackets and cardigans all year. I never know what it’s going to be like in any one place I may be.  At the office you never know when the air-conditioning will be turned on and it’s warm, but then covering something it may get a little chilly depending in the venue. I’ve learn to dress in layers all year long and it’s good to have something to cover up with.

What do you think of the looks? How do you dress for the sudden weather changes?

I’ve been a little busy. Here are a few looks I’ve worn lately, one of which includes a rockin’ new pair of shoes.

No. 1 – Animal print top (Cato), capris (Cato), cardigan (Apt. 9, Kohl’s), animal print flats (thrifted, NWT) and wood and gold jewelry
No. 2 – Paisley print top (Cato), vest (JcPenney), denim skirt (Lane Bryant), boots (Etienne Aigner, Macy’s) and pewter jewelry
No. 3 – Black pants (Torrid), nude top (Vera Wang, Kohl’s), various pewter and silver jewelry, plus studded rocker heels (Rock & Republic, Kohl’s)
No. 4 – White ribbed sweated (Chaps, thrifted), print skirt (thrifted), boots ( (Etienne Aigner, Macy’s); accessories – silver jewelry and polka dot headband

The third outfit is what I wore out for my BFF and co-worker Jill Moon’s birthday party. The night was fun. We started at the Cheesecake Factory and then headed upstairs to Lush, which is a store at Saint Louis Galleria that has fresh, handmade, natural cosmetics including soaps, bath bombs and lotions.

After that we hit the town. These are a close up of the shoes.

Although I love the way they look, I will say my toes were hurting by the end of the night. It’s going to take me a few more times and then I’ll be good to go with them.

As women we do that. We purchase a great pair of heels because they look great. Why? Because they look great.

There are many women who will use a pair of shoes as the base to style a whole outfit. I mean really there are some fabulous looking shoes out there.

Have you ever purchased a pair of shoes just because they looked fantastic, but later regretted it? Did you suffer through the pain or did you take them back?

What’s your favorite pair of shoes?

Again it’s the start of another crazy week. Today I decided to wear a simple black and white outfit.

I chose my white jeans (Cato), black and white print top (Worthington, JCPenney), black and white pumps (Unlisted by Kenneth Cole, thrifted) and black and silver jewelry.

I just love a nice black and white outfit. I know it’s really void of color, but if I want to add a splash I can always put on a cardigan. I realize that if I keep up my walking routine I will be needing a new pair of white jeans.

I think I’m going to have several items that will be that way.

Although I haven’t posted any pics since last week I did what I wore, so I’ll share now.

No. 1 – Thrifted coral dress, black cardigan and faux suede boots (Kohl’s) & bronze, gold and leather jewelry.
No. 2 – Black capris, black tank, black ballet flats and newly thrifted Chambray shirt ($3) and silver and leather jewelry.
No. 3 – Skinny jeans (Fashion Bug) black tunic-style top (Apt. 9, Kohl’s) and silver jewelry
No. 4 – Purple mock turteneck top (Apt. 9, Kohl’s), gray and purple print skirt (thrifted), black boots (Dana Buchman, Kohl’s), wide belt (Lane Bryant)

These outfits really have nothing in common. I just reached into my closet and grabbed something. There are days I like to do that. Really no rhyme or reason to what I wear.

It’s such in between weather. It’s not warm enough to really wear spring clothes and not cool enough to wear heavy winter ones. I’m looking forward to the actually change of season so I can wear my open-toed shoes.

I guess it’s time to “free the feet” and bare it all, well at least the legs anyway.

What do you like about spring fashion? What’s your most favorite item to wear?

I’ve been inspired recently to make some improvements in my life. I’ve taken up walking and I’ve been trekking 3 to 7 miles per day.

I knew one day something or someone would really get me motivated. Not that I wasn’t in shape, but the reality is I’m not a size 8, nor would I look good at that size either – just ask my mom. I just want to feel better about myself.

Following the birth of my son more than 18 years ago I had many things said to me about my weight that really wasn’t appropriate for a new mother, or any woman for that matter, to hear. He thought he was being helpful. He wasn’t, all it did was dig at my self-esteem and caused me not to want to change. I realize now I was wrong.

Fast forward and as my son is getting ready to go off into the world I realize that I need to make those lifestyle changes. I met someone who has inspired me and he doesn’t even know it. I want to improve the way I feel and look. I’m doing it for myself, but it also doesn’t hurt that I want to look good for him too.

Walking started out of frustration. I have high expectations of people and I don’t always convey how I feel and I get irritated. So rather than say something, especially when they’ve not done anything wrong, I’ve decided to turn those feelings into something positive. Plus, it gets my mind off all the aggravation.

Back in the day I used to run. I can thank the Army for that. I loved it and then I fractured my ankle, not once but twice within six months. The last time was when I was pregnant and so I stopped running. Then all the those things were said…..anyway I take responsibility for the woman I am. I’ve changed my life in so many ways. I went back to school, got a degree, have worked as a reporter for nearly 11 years, plus I’m now teaching journalism too. I think this is the next journey I’m supposed to take. Changing my physical appearance to coincide with my inner self.

I believe at some point I will start running again. Rather than running from something I will be running toward a new life. Running feels good and I used to get such a high from it. However, until I get a great sports bra…..I will not be running any marathons soon.

Let’s face it I can’t hide what I got, but if I want to fly I’ve got to “tie” them down. As I get moving I want to be comfortable and it’s going to take a great bra and shoes to do that. Maybe a few outfits too.

Here’s some I checked out that I like. I adore the cheetah ones.

Ladies do you have any suggestions on sports bras? What type of walking/running shoes do you wear?