holiday

i am back from an AMAZING weekend in tahoe with some of the most AMAZING ladies around. it was snowy and beautiful one day and sunny and bright the next, just the perfect cabin weather. and a great opportunity to lounge around and NOT take outfit shots!

the best part though was solidifying friendships that will last a long long time. i learned new things about myself and gained a lot of confidence. i also got a different perspective on how i want my blog to grow in the future. so much is going on in my head and i am still processing it. i hope to share more later, but for now i wanted to show you a picture of our cabin and the view from the balcony. it was incredible!!!

it's time for the good times, forget about the bad times

song of the day: 'holiday' by madonna

oh just popping in to say i am heading out to TAHOE today to meet paige, christina, merl, emily, and zoe. it's gonna be epic.

i'll catch you guys right back here on monday.

i'm going to TAHOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

details:

coat-vintage

dress worn as skirt-vintage

shirt-thrifted american apparel

shoes-vintage, etsy

they need love to help them heal

song of the day: 'don't let the sun go down on me' by elton john

i feel as though i'm in some sort of transition. i have no idea what it could be, but i've felt very unsettled for the last few months, emotionally and physically. i know i've talked about it before, and the feeling comes and goes, but i've just been in a malaise as of late. and I HATE IT. of course, we've had a particularly bad winter and even the nicer days are still cloudy. i'm hoping it's just the winter doldrums. plus, i've had a sore ankle for a while and i'm worried that i'm going to have to take time off of running to get it better. i don't even know what i did to it, but running in snow and ice hasn't helped it heal. UGH!!!!

sorry to complain. even though this is my blog, i don't really want to abuse it. i'm thankful to have you all as readers and i don't want to alienate you by unloading my crazy on you. but i do want to be transparent and honest. it's just been an emotionally tough few months for me and every once in a while, it gets to me.

NOW go have a fabulous wednesday :)

details:

cardigan-target

tee-etsy

jeans-thrifted levis

i only know it's a matter of time

song of the day: 'waiting for a girl like you' by foreigner

yes. i am wearing my striped shirt again. but don't think of it as overwearing a particular garment. no, just think of it as my own personal remix challenge. k?

actually, i was inspired by an outfit that coury from fancy treehouse wore. i love the fanciful way she wears her clothes. she puts together the most brilliant color combinations, and truly has fun with her style. but anyway, i basically stole this idea from her :)

and i got all the way over here to take pictures, and then realized i didn't have the tripod attachment for the camera rendering the tripod completely useless. and because i'm super lazy, i didn't want to walk back home to get it. so i just propped the camera up on various ledges. i was so nervous that the thing would topple over! which explains the very concerned look on my face....and the awkward angles.

anddddddddd..........i have an iphone app!!!!!!!!!! matt created one for me and just yesterday, it was accepted by apple. you can see the blog, my etsy store, and my flickr favorites right from the app. so please, run don't walk over to the app store if you have an iphone/ipod touch/ipad! i think it's kinda cool :)

light of my life

song of the day: 'amanda' by waylon jennings

when i was little, my dad used to sing me this song. he would put me in the wheelbarrow and push me about the yard just so we could hang out while he worked around the house on the weekends, and sing 'amanda, light of my life. fate should have made you a gentleman's wife.' ah, sweet memories.

and now i'd like to introduce you to the 'amanda' necklace! the amazingly talented and lovely lisa of tree and kimball created her spring line of jewelry and named each piece after a friend. i was fortunate enough to have this gorgeous one named after me! i can't believe how well she got my style and personality and then translated that into a necklace. even matt said it fit me perfectly. i wore this on saturday to my shop, because the weather was fantastic and just the right time to debut my little namesake.

please head over to lisa's etsy store and take a look at her other lovely creations. she even has a vintage shop! and truly, she's as nice and awesome as she is talented :)

and sorry, now that i know how pretty the lighting can be in my bedroom, you're going to be seeing a lot more of it. i just love the feel and the mood of the pictures in here. ya know?

details:

dress-vintage

socks-i don't know, i think i stole them from my mom a long time ago

shoes-thrifted cole haan loafers

necklace-tree and kimball

what matilda wore

matilda was a bit more casual this week. maybe it was the cloudy skies, maybe it was because she's looking forward to spring break. whatever the reason, i think she did every day wear very nicely :)

i will be updating the etsy shop later. a few of these pieces are no longer available, but i do have some great items in the line up, don't you worry about that.

take it on the run, baby

song of the day: 'take it on the run' by reo speedwagon

as most of you know, i am a runner. i love it. it's kinda my drug. i run in basically any weather, any time, anywhere. but i wasn't always that way.

i started running about 6 years ago. it was right after isaiah was born, and matt was inspired to start training for a marathon. i thought he was a whole bunch of crazy at the time, but as i watched him get into it, he began to inspire me.

see, i had a really hard time after having a baby. i felt like i was losing myself, who i was apart from this little helpless being who needed me all the time. i needed an outlet, something that made me feel good about myself, and boosted my energy. so i tried running.

oh it was hard in the beginning. i could only run a few minutes at a time, then i'd walk, but i'd always go out for a half hour. each time i could run a little bit more. the day that i ran for a full 30 minutes straight, was the best day ever. that's when it clicked for me and i became a runner for life.

now i don't think i did it the right way, i signed up for a marathon after only running for 6 months. but on november 19, 2007 i finished the tulsa route 66 marathon in 4 hours and 45 minutes. i cried when i crossed the line and my dad was the first person to hug me. i told him it was the hardest thing i'd ever done. he told me 'never again.' but they put that medal around my neck and i was hooked!

so to date, i've done 3 full marathons (trained for another but got injured and had to drop out 3 days before the race), 2 halfs, and a number of 5ks, including three where i won my age division. i plan to run another half-marathon this spring, possibly in oklahoma city, any takers???

so hopefully you've made it this far. i do want to talk about getting started. i encourage any and every one to run. it's like one of the joys of my life.

first off, GET SOME GOOD SHOES!!! that's the most important part. i go to fleet feet for my shoes. they have a very knowledgeable staff, and what's more, they put you on a treadmill and study your foot strike and can recommend the best shoes for you. i spend more money on running shoes than i do on anything else in my wardrobe. it's that important to me. and you can spend loads on other running gear, like wicking shorts and socks and bras and shirts, but i just run in whatever. my money goes into shoes.

next, SIGN UP FOR A RACE!!!! nothing motivates more than putting your money on the line. plus having a goal never hurt anyone. just make sure you give yourself enough time to train. you don't want to over do it and then get injured or burned out.

now, FIND SOME INSPIRATION!!!! that can be in the form of a running partner, an awesome playlist, some cute running shorts, or buying a subscription to runner's world (which i highly recommend). runner's world can give you tips, race info, there are forums where you can discuss different issues, and the stories will get you way motivated. seriously, it's like running gold.

and if you've never in your life ran a step, there is a brilliant little training program called 'couch to 5k'. it gives you a plan to get started.

and please please please don't hesitate to email me with questions if you have any! like i said, i love to encourage people to take up running.

and now that you are a running goddess, sit back and enjoy your accomplishment!!! but just remember to take your bottle of bubbly out of the freezer after about 20 minutes or you'll be drinking celebratory champagne slushies like we did!

restless hearts

song of the day: 'faithfully' by journey

what a day this was!!! it was so warm, like in the 70s! of course i wore a sweatshirt with jeans, but whatever. the wind made it chilly. plus i couldn't find a darn thing to wear today. so i asked myself, 'what makes you comfortable?' i responded by saying, 'well i love sweatshirts.' and myself said back, 'bingo!'

and guys i do love this sweatshirt. a couple days ago (when i was also wearing it), my son said 'mom, you wear that shirt a lot.' you know it's bad when a 6 year old boy notices the frequency with which you put on a certain garment. but what can i do? it's literally the most comfortable thing i own.

anyway, just popping in to show you my go-to most comfortable favorite-ist thing to wear. well, swap the jeans with leggings and you got my evening uniform at home. i love cozy clothes :)

details:

sweatshirt-thrifted

jeans-topshop

shoes-urban outfitters

it felt like springtime on this february morning

song of the day: 'as i lay me down' by sophie b. hawkins

i am just sitting here beside myself at the many comments from my valentine's post! thanks so much! it really was a spectacular evening. we keep reminiscing about it, wishing we could recreate the whole thing all over again. that's when you know you have had a magical time together.

it seems as though spring has come early to northwest arkansas. which is strange since a week ago we had 2 feet of snow on the ground. but it's been in the 60s all week so far. i'm wearing sandals!!!! well, sandals with sweater tights. let's not get ahead of ourselves.

notice my scarf turban???? i'm trying my hand at headwear. it's a learning process, guys. i'm not saying i've perfected it yet. but it was windy today so i thought this a good time to give it a whirl. plus, it's new. yes, i bought a lovely blouse from paige's shop barefoot and vintage and she wrapped it in this amazing scarf! strangely enough the blouse i bought is blue and white striped. you may say i have a problem buying the same kinds of shirts all the time, but i assure you, this one is dainty and feminine with wide stripes and elbow sleeves. totally different. but she picked out a gorgeous little accompaniment for it with this scarf and i couldn't wait to wear it.

k. so i kinda want to do something new with my hair. namely cut it. any ideas?? i'm open to suggestions.

details:

shirt-rodarte for target

jacket-girl brought in to my shop and i kept it :)

shorts-talbots, thrifted

tights-calvin klein

shoes-korkease, ebay

you make lovin' fun

song of the day: by fleetwood mac

so i hope you all are in your comfy chairs because i gots a lot of photos to share!

i found this dress on etsy and immediately fell in love with it. it was maybe a touch more than i wanted to spend on such a dress, but as soon as it came in the mail, i realized it was worth the price. it fits perfectly and is very comfortable. and the peter pan collar??? seriously, the cutest.

earlier in the day i took outdoor photos. then i went to pick up my son from school and by the time i got around to loading the pictures on the computer, finding i hated them, i was too worn out to lug the camera and tripod out again. instead, i decided to take them in my room. i actually really love how they came out.

our valentine's was so much fun. i hid away little notes for matt so he'd get them throughout the day. i decorated the fridge with construction paper hearts and sweet sayings. put fresh sheets on the bed ;) and made sure the kiddo went to bed early.

i saw these adorable beer glasses on etsy a few weeks back and knew i had to buy them. matt is currently sporting a stache so these were only fitting. and i poured him a glass of beer when he got home from work.

i have a thing for eating with my hands. there's just something about it, ya know? so for dinner, i put together a cheese spread. we had baked brie, gouda, and asiago with a baguette, fruit, almonds, olives, and dark chocolate. and of course, champagne. we sat around the coffee table and lounged on pillows while we ate. it was such a relaxing time to talk and enjoy a slow and easy meal together.

and to top off the evening, there were some pretty things from the loved one. ;)

details:

dress-toshiiiko, it's not her it's me on etsy

cardigan-target

lingerie-the loved one