A New Way of Being – From the OUTSIDE IN
I’ve been chewing on this idea about what a new way of being would look and feel like for me. My first thoughts go right to my wardrobe and all the physical aspects about myself that I don’t necessarily like right now. Not that I hate the way I look or anything — I just want to update it and get a new look down that fits my lifestyle and personality and BUDGET! Let’s just be vain for a minute here and get real. If we don’t look good, we don’t feel good either right? Can I get a loud, “RIGHT!!!”???
So, I got my hair cut and colored at my fancy Aveda salon by my cute, stylish girl last weekend and other than the color being a little too reddish for my taste (which I think I’m going to have her fix), I LOVE MY HAIR!!! It’s short, pixy like (reminds me of you Sarah!) and oh so ME. Why I ever let my hair grow longer than my pinky finger, I’ll never know…but THIS, my friends, is ME to a T! It’s just hard to keep up since my hair grows so quickly and expensive to maintain…but, OH WELL! It’s easy on an every day basis and it always looks clean and cute and fun — even if I don’t wash it for days on end. It actually looks better if I don’t wash it. I experimented with that this week and went for 4 days. I know…some of you are saying, “GROSS!!!” But, it was nice to not wash it and still feel cute regardless.
Secondly…I’ve always been a product whore. My first real job was at Beauty Biz (now Sally’s), and I worked in the men’s fragrance department at The Jones Store Company before I went to college where I used to trade off sample bottles of men’s cologne for Lancome, Clinique and Estee Lauder cosmetics. I’ve always loved great skincare, hair care and fabulous make up! The problem is, right now I can’t deal with it all. I have to get my style narrowed down to a few MUST HAVE products that I can’t live without and be done with it. I can’t waste my time or money on cheap knock offs that don’t work to cover the age spots, conceal the dark circles under my eyes or thicken my frail, thin lashes. I’ve recently discovered L’Occitane within the past year and love their products — esp. since they are as close to natural as you can get, feel great on my skin and smell so good! But again, I need to get my make up bag to downsize and wear only the products that really work well and make me smile. It sounds ridiculous, but for me, this is really important. It’s who I am and I’m not going to deny it!
Then there’s my clothing style. I love loose and comfortable things that don’t make me look like a grandma or a lard ass, but somehow, over the past couple of years, my wardrobe has gone from cute, trendy vintage clothing to stretchy pants from Old Navy. My sister was nice enough to give me two pairs of her jeans that no longer fit her, and now they fit me like a glove! LOVE EM! Then, the other day, out of the blue, I tried on my wunderbar long and lean jeans from the GAP in a SIZE 8 and they fit perfectly, so there ya have it — JEANS MAKE ME FEEL GOOD. I’M A JEANS KIND OF WOMAN! Along with those jeans, I love my loose fitting shirts that I’ve been buying lately from Ann Taylor Loft. I wore one today in a beautiful, yummy moss green color with a tank underneath. The prerequisite for any shirt right now is that I have to be able to pull it down or over to breastfeed my baby. That’s hard to find. Of course, I could always lift my shirt up to do this, but why expose my fat rolls to the world?? It’s so much easier to pull my top down than up. Why am I going into all of this? Because it’s MY LIFE, that’s why.
Then there’s the undergarments. This is my BIGGEST FAUX PAS and I will readily accept full responsibility. Let’s just get it out there: I wear granny panties and LOVE EM! I also, until recently when my girlfriend introduced me to Soma Intimates (thank GODDDDDDDDDD!!), wear bras that don’t fit and make my boobs stick out like muffins over the top OR they allow my once voluptuous now saggy, heavy boobs sag to the ground. I now own ONE bra that works well for my boob size and keeps the girls up. One. Taking up collection for another bra if anyone is interested in donating. And, like my mother, I wear the most god awful pj’s to bed. I buy cute ones. I swear, I do! But the cute ones don’t feel good. So, I end up defaulting to the gross, comfortable jammies that feel good. I also don’t have cute socks or a cute bathing suit. This is really sad and ridiculous. My Mother didn’t raise me to be this way. I swear, she didn’t. Need. HELP. NOW!!!
OH…and shoes!!!!! Today I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a GARAGE SALE in my neighborhood with a buttload of brand new KEEN shoes IN MY SIZE!! What are the odds??! Apparently the guys were KEEN distributors and had a lot of leftover products they needed to get rid of. I bought 3 pairs of shoes for $60. UNHEARD OF! So, by default, KEEN is my new foot style. Normally, my foot style is flip flops — regardless of the weather. In Texas, if you don’t own 10 pairs of flip flops, you’re probably dead. My newest obsession has been Teva mush flip flops. They mesh to the shape of your feet and they are SO comfortable…I tell ya! but anyway, I digress.
OK…so my new way of being has to do with getting my groove back. Kids can knock that groove right outta ya, and even though I’m proud to say that I’ve never let myself go a day without a shower since the birth of my boys, I have let my groove slip and slide just a wee bit. And what I’m finding out about my new groove is that it doesn’t have to be about high heels (which I never could wear anyway because of bunions) and skirts (which I never liked because I had to wear them everyday in Christian school when I was younger) and uncomfortable and/or expensive clothing. It’s about feeling good and looking good and being confident. The other “it” factor for my style has to be NO FUSS. My shirts have to be able to take a lot of wear and tear and spit up and snot and still look cute.
So, I’ve got my look: short hair, fun jewelry (I didn’t touch on this one, but it is the very essence of my existence!), loose fitting, but flattering shirts, GREAT jeans that make my ass look small and my thighs even smaller, and flip flops or KEEN shoes. Then there’s the diaper bag, of course…but, that’s a whole other discussion that I’m almost positive my ONE reader doesn’t care to read about. lol
Oh, and one more thing with regard to wardrobe: If it’s unflattering, uncomfortable or in any way complicated, it’s OUT! That’s my new motto! So, goodbye dumb old and gross undies, bras and socks! G’bye, pants that never fit right!! See ya, lip shades that are just a shade off or cleansers that make my face feel like the dryest surface outside the Sahara desert. Bye bye, Old Navy stretchy pants. You suck! Bye bye frilly shirts that don’t handle stains or that sweater that was soooo cute but too itchy to ever really wear. I am done with disfunction — starting with my look!!
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