on a mission to clean, minimize, and discover

I want to start by saying my closet looks nothing like this, but I would be really freaking happy if it did. Tomorrow is going to be a stormy and rainy day and I have plans to clean out my drawers and closets. My clothes, shoes, and jackets presently need to be 'douched" out and I need to have a major steaming session. I read an article the other day that said you should ask yourself a few questions when cleaning out drawers and closets. It went something like; 1. Have you touched it in the last year? If no, get rid of it. 2. Does it have a stain on it? If yes, get rid of it. 3. Does it fit? If no, get rid of it. 4. Are you planning on getting it tailored? If yes and you don't instantly bring it to a tailor, get rid of it. Seems easy right? It is to me. 

I am really good at minimizing and don't hold onto most things. I am especially motivated to clean because my husband and I seem to be plagued with runaway hangars. Where do they all go? At one point I thought about throwing the hangar into the hamper if I grabbed something that was hanging up - that way when we pull it out of the dryer I can put it on the original hangar it was on and back into our closets. It seems like a good idea, but I have yet to try it. My ultimate plan was to set up the steamer in our laundry room and get the wrinkles out once the article of clothing had safely returned back to its hangar home, but our laundry room is small and I'm not sure we have enough space for it. It is so much easier getting dressed though when all of your clothes are wrinkle-free and ready to wear. I always enjoy getting dressed after a good clothes cleaning. I always discover things I forgot about and get them back into the cycle. Here's to an even cleaner house and having fun getting dressed next week.

a very shiny accessory that just washes away

This is the package I chose.

I started following the company, Flash Tattoo, on Instagram a few months ago. I believe (?) I found it through one of my husband's cousins who liked one of their photos. As we begin to embark on our 2014 wedding season (as a reminder - six weddings to go), I feel pressured to begin thinking about what I am going to wear. I have a number of fancy dresses that thankfully all still fit, so I don't think I need to dress shop. However (and my husband is going to love this - earmuffs tootsie!), I could use a few new accessories and a pair of some hot black wedges. I have a few simple black dresses and as soon as I saw these temporary metallic tattoos, I thought "if done right, these could look pretty darn awesome at a formal event". I am obviously not planning on covering myself with them, but I think I can find a good balance of real jewelry and metallic fake jewelry. With four sheets in a pack they will definitely last for six weddings and even a few other dress-up events. Most of the photos on their website are of women on the beach, but I think with a high shoe and a little lipstick, I could make them look a touch fancier. My only worry is dancing and getting sweaty. The weddings we have this year are going to be full on dance party centrals. Will this delicate accessories last until the end of the evening? Who knows, but it is worth a shot. Watch out world - here I come with tattoo jewelry (fake, of course)! Click here to visit their website.

shiny new shoes for me and a jacket for you

I know a lot of people hate Dansko's (my sister) because of the way they look, but I love them. Not only are they the most comfortable shoe known to man or woman, I think they are stylish, hip, and make people's legs look great. 

I love when my husband needs something online. I enjoy online shopping and I pride myself in finding promo codes and getting good deals. He recently saw a jacket on Sierra Trading Post and with tax and shipping it was going to cost over $100. I scoured through old emails (in my Trash because I delete everything and take pride in my empty Inbox) looking for deals and codes and found two. Most of the time, you can only enter one code, but for some reason both codes loaded in. Score...except, one of the codes wasn't working because my actual order (before tax and shipping) was not over $100. So, I did what any good wife would do - I added in some black cherry patent leather Dansko Mary Jane clogs that I have been eyeing for years. To my surprise and delight the total decreased from the original price and we had two items in our cart, not just one. I pulled the trigger. I am wearing them today. I am the proud new owner and I love them!

which crazy sweater will win

Bill Cosby is known for many things; Jell-O, full grinder/entire bag of chip/2-liter bottle of soda, and bouncing Rudy and her friends on his leg. Another one of "those things" is his collection of crazy sweaters from his Cosby Show days. He is having a sweater tournament on his official website (billcosby.com) and is asking people to vote for their favorites. I LOVE the Cosby Show and I LOVE this idea. The contest is pretty far along, but it is worth checking out. (It is set-up like a bracket for a sports tournament.) I wonder if there will be one for Denise's hair styles?!?!? I get so happy when I find reruns on tv. 

Click here to visit and cast your vote. 

a few chivalrous experiences

chivalry is alive, although
he is blatantly looking
straight down her shorts.
nice try buddy.

It surprises the hell out of me every time it happens, but the men in this building actually have elevator manners.  It is crazy.  I thought all that kind of stuff was long gone, done and over with - not so much!  It has been happening on both the ground level AND on my floor.  There are nice guys everywhere!  And please trust that isn’t because I have been extraordinarily dressed up and put together as of lately.  It has actually been the complete opposite.  This Spring’s time change hit me hard.  I have been so exhausted in the morning.  I literally leave myself 25 minutes to get ready and I realize that it shows.  I know I am not fooling anyone - trust that I am aware.  Next week I will try harder.  It‘s just so hard going from working in a barn (literally) where Carhartts are acceptable to wear to work straight into New York City dress-up.  Even though it has been over two years, I am still not used to it.  Dressing up is fun on occasion, but this every day nonsense is for the birds.  I will always be a Carhartt girl at heart.  Actually, I thought Dickies brand slacks fit my body a touch better than Carhartts...