Halloween Flashback

These are our costumes from last year. Kiddo was Bumblebee. The mask is a toy that we found in the clearance aisle at Walmart and the costume was found at Goodwill. It is a size 7, and so has duct tape hems on the inside, but thankfully it will last him for several years. Which is good because he is wearing it again this year. I am not a huge costume person - they are either too expensive or too hoochie mama. However, since I was helping run our fall festival last year I had to dress up. I decided to be French and leave it at that. What do you think? Do I look sufficiently French? I am happy to say I will not be dressing up this year. I will be wearing normal clothes to take the kiddo to the fall festival at church. I loved seeing everyone's costume ideas across blogland, but it just isn't me. ;)

Will you be dressing up tonight?

On another totally unrelated note, I am getting ready to start a clothing shopping ban from now until mid-December. My reasons and stuff will be in Friday's post. My question is would anyone be interested in doing one together? I was thinking a weekly linky party, shopping our closet challenges, maybe some sort of online clothing swap, closet organization tips, etc. If you have any interest, please let me know in the comments!

Linking up with Transatlantic Blonde, The Pleated Poppy and Rae Gun Wear!

Pretty Pastels

Y'all the day I wore this last week it was 80 degrees outside. So, needless to say, the sweater went right back in the closet after taking pictures. ;) And my top is horribly wrinkled. Sorry about that. I did love the pinks with the mint pants. And it was one of those days were the jewelry just didn't end up happening. Oops. Do y'all ever have days when you just totally forget your jewelry? Once upon a time I felt naked without a pair of earrings, but I'm afraid my mind is just on other things these days. So sometimes I don't even notice that I am not wearing a single accessory until I am looking at the photos. Nice.

In other news, tomorrow is Halloween. In case you were living in under a rock somewhere and missed the pumpkins, costumes and scary stuff everywhere. Kiddo is pretty excited. He is going to be Bumblebee again. (You know, the yellow Transformer.) His choice. I have the suspicion he will be Bumblebee for the next several years. He's pretty crazy about his Transformers.

Linking up with Watch What I'm Wearing, Steppin Out and Real Girl Style!

Tweed & Tights

Happy Monday, lovelies! We had a drastic weather change this weekend (from 80 to 40 in a few hours) so tights were definitely called for on Sunday! ;) I pulled out my tweed jacket from seven or so years ago and paired it with some yellow and black for an outfit that was warm and chic. I was raised in such a way that it has to be below freezing for me to feel comfortable wearing pants to church on Sunday mornings so tights are a big player in my cool weather wardrobe. I wish these showed up better as they have a cool geometrical pattern to them. When I am wearing a black skirt and black boots I like my tights to have a little texture to them. :) They also entertain the kiddo. ;)

Linking up with Monday Mingle, YOLO and Visible Monday and of course Marionberry's Trend of the Month - Tights!

Stepford Style

Happy Friday!

I actually wore this last Friday for my kiddo's field trip to the Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze. We had a ball even though it was freezing and windy! ;) I was quite cozy in my sweater and boots though, even though I was the only one not wearing the local mom's uniform of Razorback/Yellowjacket tee, bootcut jeans and toms. The. only. one. Sartorially speaking, life in a small town stinks. I am a Razorback fan, but do not own a single tee shirt and while I think Toms are cool, I can't afford them. I also have something against dressing just like everyone else. Seriously y'all, it was a little like the Stepford mom's club. I miss the big city. ;)

Anybody else out there living in a tiny town? What's the style like?

Linking up with All Things Chic, Casual Friday and Blonde Episodes.

Tasty Treat Thursday - Broccoli Bread

So, I mentioned my broccoli bread a while back and a few of you wanted the recipe. Here it is. You will need sausage (I like the sage, but use whatever kind you like), broccoli, and mozzarella cheese for the filling. This works so much better with actual bread dough, but I can't find it around here and don't have the patience to make my own. I use the pillsbury pizza dough instead and it works pretty well. 

 1. Start by preheating your oven according to the package directions and spread out your pizza or bread dough on a greased cookie sheet or in a bread pan.

 2. Brown your sausage and be sure to drain it if it is greasy. You don't want too much grease in the bread or it gets really messy. Not to mention bad for you.

 3. Thaw your broccoli and chop it into smaller pieces. If you can find the chopped broccoli at the grocery that actually works better, but it isn't available around here and giant pieces of broccoli don't work well in the bread. ;)

 4. Removed the sausage from the heat and stir in chopped broccoli.

  5. Mix your shredded cheese into the broccoli and sausage mixture. You want it to be mixed well so that everything stays together inside the bread.

 6. Put the mixture down the center of your pizza crust.

7. Wrap your crust closed and bake according to package directions. Brush top with butter during the last 5 minutes.

Slice and enjoy!

This is a family favorite around here. I'd love to hear it you try this and what you think!

Linking up with Catch a Glimpse and Seven Alive!

Retro with Polka Dots

Happy Wednesday, lovelies!

I loved this outfit. However I got weird looks while wearing it. I'm not sure whether it was the eighties style pants or the bright cobalt blouse. Regardless, I liked the retro feel and super comfort of this outfit. I mean hello, my pants have an elastic waist. It just doesn't get better than that, right? ;)

Would you wear this outfit?

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Transatlantic Blonde and Rae Gun Wear.

Fall Colorblocking

And here is a fall colorblocked look. My plum skinnies with and olive tank and cardi and leopard flats (are you tired of them yet?). I am having so much fun creating outfits around my colored pants. I have so many outfits planned around this one pair of pants all using tops already in my closet (some like this cardi have lived in my closet for six or seven years!).

What is your favorite color for denim right now?

Linking up with Real Girl Style and Watch What I' Wearing.

How to Fallify a Summer Dress

 

Happy Monday, pretty ladies!

My first boot outfit of the season! I totally loved this outfit which was directly inspired by this one. My cute coral dress from this summer with stripes and my crazy comfy flat boots plus some gigantically dangly black earrings equals an outfit that was comfy and casual and cute. This is also one of the ways I stretch my clothing budget. A summer dress can be worn all year round with some layering. I buy far more summer dresses than long sleeve ones simply because I can wear them all year.

Do you wear your summer dresses in the fall and winter?

Linking up with YOLO, Monday Mingle and Visible Monday!

Changeable (and not so much)

Y'all I thrifted these flats last year for a couple of dollars and they are so comfy. They are also burgundy and therefore totally on trend for this fall. Nice how that worked out, huh. Of course, I've been wearing burgundy in the fall and winter for years now. ;) In fact, burgundy and pink were my wedding colors way back in 1999. Oh, and most of my home decor is still green and burgundy. Yes, I am behind the times, but I love it. So there. ;) (Also, I will not be calling a beautiful color like burgundy by a hideous name like oxblood here on my blog. Ick.)

As for the outfit, I wore it a few weeks ago during one of the weird weather spells. We have a saying here in Arkansas. If you don't like the weather, stick around, it will change. During the spring and fall we go from 40 to 90 in a heartbeat. Plays havoc with the sinuses and the wardrobe, but there you have it.

What are your thoughts on burgundy? Love it? Hate it? Don't care?

Linking up with Casual Friday, All Things Chic and Blonde Episodes!

DIY Dotty Fun

Y'all, I am having a serious thing for print shoes right now. It started with animal print and has expanded into dots. Jill sported a super cute pair of polka dot loafers in a recent post and I fell in love. So cute. However, I do not have much to spend and haven't actually seen any polka dot flats. After my successful mint shoe painting project, I thought it should be easy enough to diy polka dots. I mean how hard can it be, right? So, I grabbed a pair of Tom's knockoffs at Walmart and a white paint pen and went to town. I pretty much eyeballed the dot placement and am pretty happy with the results. They are also surprisingly comfy for such a cheap pair of shoes ($9).

What would you wear polka dot shoes with?

Linking up with DIY Divas Fashion Party and Catch a Glimpse.

Weight Watching Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, lovelies!

Clearly it is time to get back on my diet. The hips are getting out of control again. ;) Yikes. I did love this outfit and felt reasonably fabulous in it. I mean, come on. Red jeans. Lace. Leopard shoes. How could I not feel fabulous? Right?

Y'all, I have this issue with cooler weather and my weight. Two years ago I lost about 20 pounds doing weight watchers. (In the early spring.) Then last October hubby lost his job, his grandmother passed away, we remodeled her house, moved, and I had an emergency appendectomy. Not a good fall. During the course of all this we ate a ton of fast food, I couldn't exercise, or wear anything that was remotely snug around my waist (due to the appendectomy) and promptly gained back every pound lost. So, in February, I started all over again. I couldn't find my WW stuff, so I started out doing Slim Fast and going to a boot camp class. I lost about 15 pounds. In May, hubby got me a Kindle Fire for Mother's Day (my favorite invention, ever, awesome awesome thing). And I discovered MyFitnessPal. I loved it. And happily lost another 15 pounds or so. While I didn't reach my goal weight, I was pretty pleased with my weight loss and had a ton of stuff going on this summer and so allowed a few extra calories here and there. I've now gained back about 10 pounds and refuse to let it go any further. ;) After all, I got rid of all my too big jeans. I have no choice! ;)

Anybody else out there have problems with their weight? How do you control it? Do tell!

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Rae Gun Wear and Transatlantic Blonde!

Kid Style

Hello, lovelies!

What is my child doing? I have no idea, but at least he is adorable while doing so! ;) There are some days when it just kills me how adorable he is. Seriously. I can't stand it. That shirt he is wearing is one of his favorites - it has the Avengers on it. Kiddo loves the Avengers. Most especially Hulk and Iron Man. I figure if I get to wear what makes me happy, he should have the same privilege. Within reason, of course. He seems to enjoy clothes shopping and likes to pick his own stuff. He usually picks out his shirt and I pick out his bottoms to match. ;) For the most part this makes both of us happy. Of course, he pretty much always wants to wear his red shoes, even with his orange school shirt. Which makes me cringe. Now, don't get me wrong, I will put my foot down on behavior issues. I expect obedience when I lay down the law (and he is a really good kid so we rarely have issues there). But I also want him to have the freedom to be himself and learn how to make decisions. So, if wearing red shoes with an orange shirt makes him happy then I will grin and bear it. ;) And just not look at his feet. (I remember not being allowed to pick out my own clothes for years and hating it with all my heart when I had to wear something I didn't like.)

Did you ever have to wear clothes you didn't like? How did it make you feel?

Linking up with Real Girl Style, Watch What I'm Wearing and Steppin' Out!

Pink!!!

Happy Monday, y'all!

I may have mentioned a time or six that my favorite color is pink. Has been forever. So, this outfit was absolutely a winner in my book. ;) Also, this skirt is stretchy. Can we just talk about how fabulously comfortable a stretchy pencil skirt is. Seriously, y'all. Amazing stuff. It has a super cool textured feel to it, which is nice as it disguises lumps and such. Oh, and it was on clearance for $7. If you don't shop at Cato's and you like saving money, you should check them out. I do. Frequently. Of course, they are the only clothing store in town too. So. That might have something to do with it. I do however adore their clothing and their clearance prices are awesome.

Anyone else out there shop at Cato's? Heard of them? Love or hate them? Do tell!

Linking up with Monday Mingle, Visible Monday and YOLO!

Priorities

(yes, those are indeed my mint peds peeking out of my loafers!)

Happy Friday, y'all! Hope you have all had a wonderful week! We have finally had some truly cool weather, so I got to pull out one of my favorite sweaters (from Old Navy about four years ago) and my mint cords. I have had these pants for at least seven or eight years. I was considering skinnifying them, but after looking at these pics, I think I will just leave them as is. What do you think? On another note my shoes are new. And Awesome. I am seriously loving a print shoe right now. You know how I am about wearing printed clothes (just doesn't happen much), but shoes are a different thing entirely. ;)

So, you may have noticed that I haven't been posting as regularly as usual. Here's the thing. Borderlands 2 came out and hubby and I have been playing pretty incessantly from the time the kiddo goes to bed until we go to bed, which is when I usually blog. Now, don't get me wrong, I love blogging and it is seriously fun. But there just isn't much that trumps spending time with the hubby doing something we both enjoy together. So. Until we finish the game or wear ourselves out on the game, I'll continue to be a little less regular in the posting. I'm gonna go shoot some baddies now, 'kay?

Linking up with Casual Friday, All Things Chic and Blonde Episodes!