cute as a bug's ear

 saturday i woke up mad as a sprayed cockroach. sometimes that just happens. but i've been working on my anger management issues(which is weird in itself because i have a great life). i've been taking body combat classes at the gym. i love pretending i'm punching and kicking people. especially when the instructor yells, "go for the groin!" and i think, "why yes i will go for the groin!" i get a week's worth of angst and aggression out in a one hour class. and then when that's not enough, i do yard work. i rip out weeds. i chop down trees. i snarl at chipmunks. following this formula, saturday was saved. an hour at the gym and then several hours in the yard, i was happier than a dead pig in sunshine.

completely unrelated, this is what i wore to church today.

this is the same skirt from here. everyone who commented said to keep the length, but i just can't do mid-calf skirts without feeling like a cow(barn humor! cockadoodledoo!). so i chopped it and made it knee length. and i don't love the color combination, but i do love the silhouette of a fitted sweater with a full skirt. silhouette and fit is more important than color combination for me.

and my shoes! hurray! i thrifted them for $4! thrifting shoes makes me want to throw up a little in my mouth, but these looked so new i thought i was snatching up someone's shoes they had left on the floor whilst trying on something else. so you know i high-tailed it to the register with the shoes in hand before their rightful owner could claim them, just in case. a nice alcohol cleansing(who says alcohol doesn't solve problems?) and they are finer than a frog hair split four ways.

 sweater- target

skirt- tulle

shoes-thrifted($4! boom shakalaka!)

have a blessed memorial day y'all!

PS- i guest posted over one at day in life too. read it. tell brittney you love her.

big girl make up

i'm not really a make up person. my relationship with make up sounds like the premise for a lifetime movie, i love it but i'm also afraid of it. i stick to my basic minimal face pretty much everyday. i only own two make up palettes, boring and halloween. they are difficult to confuse. i rarely(never) venture out with a new look for fear of looking like i tangoed with the clown car of a circus parade. i recently asked my friend karina(of prom dress fame) to help me with my face. she's an expert and unofficial MAC representative and she rocks a smoky eye.

nude(and weird) before face:

midway point:

the lovely karina and her perfectly organized DRAWERS of make-up.

the finished product:

i loved it. i felt like a mature adult. it's not my most common emotion. normally i veer toward the sensibilities of a 13 year old boy.

dress and jacket both target.

whole outfit under $10 thanks to the clearance rack.

hi, i'm reagan's mom

bright sun, but i had a willing photographer.

today was my son's awards ceremony for kindergarten. reagan shared what he wants to be when he grows up. he said, "tall."

my husband is 6'3. so things are looking up for him.

button up- gap

skirt- target

shoes- kristin davis via tjmaxx

and my shirt is actually navy, but looks black.

AND, who wants to talk about the bachelorette? i know! i'm embarassed about it too. when that guy started to tear up after not being chosen i wanted to reach through the tv and take his man-card back.

and let's talk about jeff from saint louis.

if you watched, this would make perfect sense to you. and you would feel very superior about yourself in many ways.

what i wore for the end of the world

i wore this on friday. because the world was ending saturday, right? since i wasn't exactly sure what time the world was going to implode on saturday i wanted to be safe. 6pm eastern? 6pm mountain? who gets to decide these things? also, i didn't clean my house and i did minimal cooking. who wants their last day on earth to be filled with mundane cookery and cleanery? heck, i should have gone out and bought all new clothes and eaten ice cream and brownies for every meal. and not flossed. living on the edge.

blouse- calvin klein
skirt- target
shoes- amanda smith

this outfit choice on such a momentous day really surprised me. i thought i would go all out with sequins and feathers and a headress. i really am dedicated to this whole "dress simply it's summer" thing i've got going on here. 

and since i am so into matching(NOT) even the clutter around the house matched this outfit. score! while i'm on it, who has an animal print slap bracelet? how weird and random is that?

i saw this on bookface and i thought it was funny. and quite apropos.



nothing to see here

this week we have had wacky cool weather. so i did something that i've never done before, i wore a sweatshirt in may with white jeans. jeans that i pulled out of my goodwill pile. i was adequately attired for the weather(sweatshirt) and month(white pants in may). it's not a very exciting outfit; i felt like i was straddling the line between a land's end catalog and p. diddy's all white hampton's party. holla!

but this is why i have goodwill pile anxiety. items of clothing must live for at least 6 months in the goodwill pile before i can make the big transition to the goodwill box in my car. from there is it usually another 3 months before i remember that said box is in my car and i drive over to goodwill. then before i drop the box off, i do one last rummage and normally grab one thing out and toss it back in my car before the big box handoff. such is the anatomy of a goodwill drop-off.

sweatshirt- target

jeans- american eagle

sandals- bakers

new running watch- mother's day gift from my husband

then i wore this the next day. another earth-shattering combination. a cardigan and shorts! hello breezy 65 degrees! should i do a tutorial on how i made these pants into shorts? it involved scissors and cutting. if i wanted to add a third step i could have added measuring. but let's not get crazy because i didn't. but i DID take the pants off for the cutting process. i find that works better. that's an insider's tip for you. and every time i wear these shorts some man(sometimes my husband) asks if i've been painting. like being "artfully distressed" is such an out there concept.

cardigan- jcp

sweater- banana republic

shorts- gap(formerly boyfriend khakis)

sandals- bakers



a monochromatic thrill

a style haiku:

when in doubt, wear jeans

when in more doubt, wear high heels

still doubt? eat brownies!

but actually, when i am in doubt i wear a skirt, but that has nothing to do with what i am wearing in this lovely, brisk 68 degree day. a nice change from last week's sweltering 90. enough about the weather. who is embarassingly excited for the bachelorette next monday?

t shirt- old navy

button up- gap

belt- gap

jeans- gap superflare

shoes- you'll never know, mwahahahaha

and this is what happens when scarlett "helps":



ode to a black dress or two

one staple that remains constant in my wardrobe is a black dress. confession, i have 8(or more) black dresses. they are all essential and different. the oldest is from 1999. i will sing the praises(but not the high notes) of a black dress until the end of my days. i love them simply. i love them dressy. i love the flexibility of doing both with the same dress. 

if this was a fashion-advice-doling-blog, i would say:

1. love and embrace and well-fitting black dress. experiment with how many ways you can change your basic black dress.

if this was an advice-in-general-blog, i would say:

1. never use credit, only use cash.

2. condition your hair for at least 3 minutes each time your wash. but only the hair below your ears.

3. clean up your kitchen as you go

4. don't marry anyone until you have discussed finances.

5. cut brownies with a plastic knife

6. when doing lunges or squats, your knee should never go over your toes.

lucky you this isn't that kind of blog.

dress- gift from very dear friend

shoes- target

dress- gap 1999!

belt- gap

cardigan- ann taylor loft

sandals- bakers

from here!

from here!

from here!

boho fabulous

today my make-up may look artfully smudged and smoky, but it's mostly because i cried on and off all through church today. i just love mother's day and i was spoiled by my husband and kids and i heard so many wonderful uplifting thoughts on motherhood.

my favorite?

"God planted within women something divine." president gordon b. hinckley

i love the all encompassing simplicity of that statement. being a mother has been the best thing for who i am and i know it's because it is the most important thing that i can do.

blouse- michael kors

skirt- apartment 9 at kohl's

shoes- kristin davis via tj maxx

hat- bakers

 unrelated, this shirt makes me swoon. tie dye satin? i think that perfectly personifies my style. i felt i may be breaking rules by adding a satin skirt and a rafia hat(which i may have been wearing backwards) and rugged platforms. woodstock goes to the prom. boho fabulous. breaking rules? possibly. but who cares? nothing feels better than dressing like yourself.

"Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother's image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child's mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world." David O. McKay

 

"no other success can compensate for failure in the home." david o. mckay

a bowl of ice cream for my soul

i can never lay claim on being the world's best blogger. especially since summer is just around the corner and i am going to have messy sloppy adventures with my kids as much as possible. i don't plan on wearing much more than grubby clothes(does your grandma call them that too?) or my swimsuit. and i'm not really keen on taking photos in that. i guess i am apologizing in advance for my soon-to-be sporadic posting. maybe i'll post about swimsuits i want to get. who knows? or, my dream is to go back to the roots of this blog. when i started heidiluxe 5 years ago(WOW!) it was my personal forum for thoughts and complaining. like a bowl of ice cream for my soul. but i'll definitely keep up with my thoughts on fashion and styling and embarassing stories too. because those come with the territory. AND i've got to get dressed once in a while. translation=i'll have to leave the neighborhood and put a bra on every few days for foodstuffs. and perhaps a trip to the movies. cars 2 opens june 24th.

 national smile like a chipmunk day:

dress-thrifted

scarf- grandma maxine

belt- gap

shoes- target

while i try to be as frugal as possible, normally don't post prices. because it's none of your dadgum bidness. but today was especially cheap:

$2 dress plus

free scarf plus

$3 belt plus

$30 shoes equals

$35

boo yah! keeping it realz, yo.



something isn't right here

last night was my prom night. some mature and composed friends, holly and karina and i finally went and saw the cerebral blockbuster "prom".

and this is what we wore:

i accesorized with every piece of fancy schmancy jewelry i own. and my big plastic running watch.

and, yes i did just pull my 1998 prom dress out of a tub in my garage. those wrinkles add character. i actually can't believe i held onto it this long. i didn't even like it that much in the first place. and i paid $150 for it. that was like $432 in 2011 dollars. it was pretty much the ONLY dress at david's bridal(i went all out) with sleeves. i love that there are more sleeved dress options available now. don't believe me, check out the yellow rose bridal.  

prom wouldn't be complete without dinner at a fancypants restaurant. our beauty stunned the rest of the patrons. there was silence when we walked in. and a lot of jealous, snotty stares(women are such wenches). a man at the bar actually said, "something isn't right here."

see, stunned incredulity!

besides two teens on a date, we were the only people in the theater. which is how i prefer it. in true prom fashion there was a moment when two of the three of us were laying on the floor laughing and during the movie my dress only lasted twenty minutes zipped up. i'm sure i'm not the only prom-goer to claim that, hahahahaha. but my reason was because my dress was just too tight. 1998 was 13 years and 2 babies ago. 

our mantra was "just because you are old doesn't mean you can't embarass yourself".

and next time we will def bring the kids, because if you are going to do something weird, you might as well humiliate your kids too.

plus, between the 3 of us there are 10 children. i know, that math blew my mind too. that's like the population of wyoming.

it was pretty much the best prom ever.

(and holly's goodwill dress isn't orange, it's tangerine.)

stay classy south carolina!

reserved for the queen

pretty much my favorite tv show of all time is "i love lucy". i remember watching it as a 5-year-old before afternoon kindergarten and each episode has only gotten better with time. i also really loved "the jetsons" and i wanted to be judy jetson when i grew up. but that hope was soon dashed as animation was explained to me. it also weirded me out when my mom told me she used to watch "i love lucy" and "the jetsons" when she was young, because she has always been my mom and never had a life before me. i digress. 

today i channeled lucy in the grape stomping episode:

blouse- gap

belt- fossil

skirt- thrifted

shoes- target

my handsome, good-humoring photographer in the reflection:

and when the wind blows, this skirt looks like i am smuggling watermelons in the backyard.

plus, this is another shirt on the chopping block. i only like it tucked into a high-waisted skirt. and it requires a TON of ironing. 100% silk with a majillion ruffles.