it's what i wore out: dress up on the fringe

Yesterday I took myself on a little trip to my thrift store since it had been AGES since my last trip.
Months, which I mean....in thrift store shopping addiction time, is actually YEARS.
I was having shakes.

And it ended up that it was meant to be, because EVERYTHING was 50% off in the store.
I died just a little.

So I then proceeded to spend hours loading up my cart to the max....only to discover that their credit card machines were down, and were instead accepting cash only.

Complete panic.
I had no cash, but I needed EVERY LITTLE LAST thing in that cart.
NEEDED.
To be clear.

So, I hid my cart with a HUGE sheet of paper with my name AND a phone number on it and dashed out to the nearest bank.

As luck would have it, the hour later when I returned, my cart was safe and of course...
the credit card machines were working.

Sigh.

But, it was all worth it, because we scored.
I scored.
Chloe scored {if you follow me on twitter or instagram you saw those gems!  adorbs.}

And this little fringe number?
One of my treasures.
$17 something but half off.
I got it for $9.
And it's pure vintage goodness.

Of course, I have NO idea where I'll ever wear it...and I'm not entirely sure I'm mad at about the sleeves/top portion...
But that can be altered, and may even perhaps be so, when and if a BIG EVENT should occur in my life.

I love this dress.
It makes me twirl.

I forgot how happy I get when I thrift.
It's totally like a drug.

What about you guys, found any bah-na.na deals lately?

{and this is where I enter a little guilt trip, as taught by my mom, that I miss getting comments.  do you know that i love comments?  and that they make my heart swell? and that i smile so big and for so long with each one that is left.  ya.  i love comments.  love them.  in the words of some wise women, "i ain't too proud to beg."  so...that's about it for today. }

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"

home tour: what's in my backyard(s) & more...

 In case you're not already following along on The Mommalogues, here are just a few videos you're missing out on:

What's in my backyard:
{btw, they totally edited out my Ah.mazing southern drawl, which I THINK is actually quite accurate and cute.  not to worry though, i'll attempt it again in another video.}

What do you pack in your kids lunches?

How organized are you as a mom?


{that's totally the erin condren planner, omg, i die.}

And seriously, the other momma's are ahhh.mazing....so go to the website and see what they have to say.  It's funny....we are all SO different with such different perspectives on things.  It's kinda fun.  And funny.

You will love.

And you will comment.
Even though you don't comment much here.
But, we'll discuss that more in another post.
ahem.
{oh low comments, how sad you make thee}
{my mom always said guilt trips work.  is it?}

Keep checking back too, because they are adding new videos each day and making little changes here and there to streamline it all a bit better.
Kinda like what Facebook does EVERY SINGLE DAY.  Only not as annoyingly so.

Right?
Who's with me on the Facebook changes?

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"

and now we need to laugh

Yesterday was heavy.

So now, we need to laugh.

{just because I love him.  die.}

And those jammy jams?

I'll take one in each pattern for my birthday, please.

Thanks.

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"

we're not to waste the moments

i'm more comfortable when things are easy.

the smiles come more often, the laughter is easy and free.

i feel closer to who i am, who i believe i am meant to be.

i could sit pretty in that lovely little happy place and never grow an inch.

but when things are shaken up in my life, in my heart, in my head...

i always seem to want to ask why.

why me?

why again?

in those times i feel so far from who i'm meant to be and i experience such a loss of hope and joy.

i want to run and hide and pout and cry.

i do not want, for one minute longer, to endure that kind of discomfort.

but in those moments?

that's when the real me, completely bare and vulnerable, is exposed.

and in those moments, i have the most honest and real conversations with God.

without those moments...

how would i ever experience the love and mercy and grace and compassion that i receive from The Lord?

where would my own love and mercy and grace and compassion be for others, had i not walked down my own rocky road?

and it is because of and through those moments, that i have found the most amazing and loving and most treasured girlfriends i could ever have hoped to have.

in those moments i have found a love and a trust with my husband that i never knew could exist...

all because they know me and have loved me,

in my weakest moments.

i may not want those moments.

i may wish and pray and hope that they are far far behind me.

but should (and when) they arrive as an unexpected package on my doorstep,

i will choose to embrace the gift and find the hidden treasure.

i will not waste this life He's given me.

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"

it's what i wore out: ballerina bun for my man

dress: forever 21, jeans: jolt, shoes: dkny, ring: forever 21, ballerina bun: sunnie brook jones tutorial

Jimmy loves more than anything, when I wear my hair back....and since it was his birthday wish, I had no choice but to oblige.

Friday was the actual day and celebration and in true selfless fashion, he chose to go to The Corvette Diner because it would be fun for the kids.
And they had a BLAST.
All THREE hours we were there.
{and then i took a xanax and went home to sit in COMPLETE silence for a good hour or more to recover.}

How on earth I was able to work FIVE hours shifts there all those years ago is beyond me.
{I was Buffy.  And yes, that's my claim to fame.}
What is it about getting older and not being able to handle noise and chaos anymore?
I used to thrive on that stuff.

But now?
I prefer elastic waisted pants and good La-Z-boy recliner, and in bed by 10:30 pm.
{unless my sister calls and then bedtime's off....discuss the latest dish, we must}
How times have changed.

In my defense, I did take both kids out to do the chicken dance/polka, and even remembered all the moves to the Roach.
So that makes me a little more cool, ya?

as i sit in my elastic waist pants poppin' xanax while i'm still recovering 3 days later...

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"

san diego mini photography sessions

I have a dear friend in L.A. (MarnieGoodfriendPhotography) who just so happens to be amazing an amazing professional photographer.

And I am ever so excited that she is making her way ALLLLL the way down here to my hood to schedule mini sessions with the people of San Diego.

And while she is amazing with kids, these mini sessions are for everyone....
kids, families, high school besties, love birds, people and their fur babies....ANYONE!

Seriously, people, if you live here or even close by, you do NOT want to miss this.

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"

sneak peak of the mommalogues

As most of you know, I recently started working for SheKnows.com on their Mommalogues website along with 5 other ahhh.mazing women.

And while there are still some tweaks to be done on the website (hello, photo shoot!), it's JUST ABOUT ready for it's official launch.

Each day there will be a new topic and each of us momma's give our opinions....it's quite fascinating.  You must check it out.

Daily.

And comment.  Please, for the love of God, comment.

Here's just a sample of some of the videos you'll see:

{make sure to check out the other mom's too!}

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"

home tour: living & dining room update

Just thought I'd share with you some of the little changes we've made to our living room since the last time I shared pictures.

before:

...and now:

Surprisingly, in the year we've lived here, I haven't made that many changes.
And I think Jimmy loves me more than ever for it.

But, now that I have more energy....he should probably brace himself.

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"

it's what i wore out: photo shoot for sheknows.com

Yesterday was kind of amazing.

I had my first ever REAL photo shoot for my new gig at SheKnows.com, complete with hair and makeup styled by someone else!

{the gig is called "the mommalogues", which will OFFICIALLY be launching VERY soon!}

I didn't get too many pictures, since I gave that responsibility to Jimmy....who ALSO had the responsibility of keeping the kids happy AND out of the way all morning.
{lots of doughnuts and candy were involved} 

Needless to say, this is all we got:

{my living room all turned around}


{Erin, the stylist, keeping Chloe happy}


{omg, the shoes. i LOVE.}

top: brand is in japanese (from plato's closet); jeans: seven for all mankind; wedges: fahrenheit (beyondtherack.com)

It was all kinds of fun, until it was time to shoot with the kids....who woke up that morning with a nasty cold and total attitudes.

So, THAT was fun.

Amazingly, Paul (the photographer) still got amazing shots and I can't wait to show them off once the website is completed!!!

Until then, it's gonna be tough going back to old school photo sesh's in my backyard with Jimmy, who doesn't shout out: "you look amazing, yes great, just like that...." every 2 minutes.

I gotta get him working on that. =)

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"

hair 'do i did: little buns, big curls

What started with this:

By the next morning became this:

And with a couple of hours and a little Body Shop Coconut Oil Hair Shine, it became this:

And of course, it's all thanks to the lovely Maegan, who is the MASTER of wearing big hair amazingly.

{her twisty bun tutorial}

I loved this look SO much that I may just need to move to Texas so I can pull it off every day of the week.

Or just do it every other week here in Cali.

Probably the latter for now....

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"

it's what she wore out: tj maxx style

shirt & skirt (gymboree): tj maxx, chuck taylors (converse): marshalls, socks: target, flower clip: homemade
{entire outfit from tj maxx = just under $50!}

Before I go into all the details on this post, can we just talk about that shirt?
I mean, it is THE best shirt I have ever seen and Chloe with her happy personality is the perfect girl to wear it.  I actually bought it a little big so she could wear it even longer...and I kind of wish they had one in my size.

So, Chloe and I recently had a moment together at TJ Maxx while we searched for the perfect "first day of preschool" outfit.
I mean, we always have a moment when we shop...but ESPECIALLY at TJ Maxx.
Which she knows by sight, by the way.
"TJ MAXX!!! YAY!!!"

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, then you know HALF my wardrobe and almost ALL of the kids wardrobe is purchased at TJ Maxx or Marshalls.  I just love that I can get name brands like Hurley and Quicksilver for Taylor or Ralph Lauren/Polo or Gymboree for Chloe...but not have to pay the name brand price.
I mean, I saw t-shirts for Taylor for like, $6!!!
Amazeballs I tell ya.
{lil fact: prices are 20-60% less than department stores.  that's just ba.na.na's.}

Not to mention every time I'm there (which may be kind of often), I'm guaranteed to find NEW stuff.
{lil fact: each week TJ Maxx/Marshalls receives 10,000 new items to restock the shelves and racks, which means it's the perfect place to shop ALL YEAR LONG.}

But since this trip was a special one for Chloe, we focused on loading up the cart with all the most adorable things for her...
Like this Ralph Lauren/Polo dress.



I mean, really?
Does it get ANY cuter?
I'll answer that.
No.  No it doesn't.
{lil fact: buyers for TJ Maxx/Marshalls are constantly traveling the world and watching runway shows to keep their pulse on the cutting edge of fashion.  and it shows in their stores!}

And of course, besides the dress above and the outfit we picked for the first day, we also couldn't leave without this:



Mostly because she wouldn't take it off, and maybe because she slightly reminded me of the little girl in the Blind Melon video.

All in all, it was a perfect day of shopping.  We agreed on everything, loved everything, and found exactly what we wanted in the sizes we needed.

And she went to her first day of school TOTALLY in style thanks to TJ Maxx/Marshalls.

Btw, do you want a chance to shop TJ Maxx/Marshalls on someone else's dime?
Enter the giveaway!


“I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of T.J.Maxx and Marshalls and received a gift card to facilitate my review and thank me for taking the time to participate.”

© 2011 "Le Musings of Moi"