Wednesday, April 18, 2018

So this is just a typical week with my wardrobe.  I’m a high school teacher and I stand basically all day with the exception of about an hour.  I like to be comfortable, but still look somewhat dressy.  Above is my Monday outfit: black long sleeve swing dress with pockets, grey leggings, black booties, horse scarf. It is almost Derby in Kentucky so I broke out one of my two horse scarves! Also, we were supposed to wear black for education support in Kentucky. Have you all heard what’s going on in our state?  We were supposed to “black out” extremely harsh words from our governor.  (And that’s about the extent of me talking politics on this blog.)

Tuesday’s outfit was a velvet kimono, another swing dress, and leggings. It was still very cold this morning!

Do you like to shop at boutiques, big box stores, department stores, or online for your clothing?  I feel like clothing shopping and putting together outfits is kind of a hobby for me.  I shop or window shop about once a week.  I’m a pretty big bargain hunter and I shop at all of the above, plus a few local boutiques.  I found these three long sleeve swing dresses with pockets at a local boutique this last weekend.  They were $20 each with an extra 30% off.  If you spent $50 you received a $10 gift certificate.  That’s what I call a deal!  I bought black, grey, and a pretty medium blue color that is part of my Tuesday outfit.  It’s hard to see the color in the lighting.  I feel like these dresses are a staple.  It feels like wearing pajamas.  

Wednesday’s outfit: burgundy stripe swing top/tunic, blue ankle pants, and vest.

Thursday or Friday I will wear this sleeveless blouse with tassels and yellow sweater with black ankle length pants.

That’s all I know for now!

Happy hump day! It’s all down hill from here!

Amy

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have heard of LuLaRoe and Lipsense.  Or, if you don’t have a Facebook account, you may not have? Isn’t that the 2018 equivalent of living under a rock?  Anyway, I happen to be a low-key* fan of both of these companies and let me tell you why.

(*My students have taught me that low-key is when you aren’t too terribly obsessive but just a little bit into something.)

I first heard about the LLR leggings on Facebook as winter of 2016 was approaching.  I bought 3 pairs in person at a consultant’s home.  I hated many of the patterns but I found 3 that I liked and they were the softest things I had ever felt.  They are made of puppy licks or something like that.  THOSE 3 PAIRS OF LEGGINGS GOT ME THROUGH THE COLD DARK WINTER OF 2016.

Here are a couple of my leggings in patterns I really like.

The next year I found out they had other items and it became too easy to purchase them because I met a new consultant close to my house.  I can’t wear every style for my body type. I have 2 Carly dresses, 5 Cassie skirts, one maxi, one kimono, one vest, and a few Perfect tees in solid colors, and an unmentionable amount of leggings now.  Some of the patterns they offer are the ugliest things I’ve ever laid eyes on.  The prices are high for what they are IMO.  I have fortunately gotten to take advantage of some discounts and I will say the price per wear on the items now that I’ve had almost everything over a year is good.  (#girlmath)

The items I’ve purchased are comfortable and perfect for a teacher, without looking too teacher-ish.  They have washed well and I have even put most things in the dryer.

This is the feather print of my maxi.

These are my Cassie pencil skirts. They are stretchy and I love my mustard solid and these prints.

Now on to Lipsense.  I hate to waste money on makeup, but I have learned that quality makeup lasts.  I like this stuff.   It doesn’t come off on your coffee cup and the colors are quite beautiful.  It is $25 ish dollars a tube, though.  I have heard talk that one tube is equivalent to 4 tubes of regular lipstick.  I don’t know if this is true.  I don’t find the application to be difficult and I’m no makeup artist.  You have to use three coats and follow with a gloss.  If you get a chance, you should try it.

I have Aussie Rose, Praline Rose, Purple Reign, and Razzberry.

Do you have any LuLaRoe or Lipsense? How do you feel about shopping on Facebook?

I would love your recommendations!

Amy

Monday, April 16, 2018

My teen son told me we needed to branch out with our meals at home, so I’m going to be a little more adventurous this week.

Monday – Pesto Angel hair pasta with shrimp, zucchini on side, bread

This little packet is great.  You can find it in the aisle with the chili seasoning and marinades.

Tuesday- Carnitas from Trader Joe’s (They come in a vacuum sealed package and you just heat them up), cilantro lime rice, corn with chili lime seasoning from Trader Joe’s

Wednesday- Chicken, baked beans, roasted potatoes

Thursday- Mediterranean style pork (bought it marinated that way), couscous , green beans

Friday – take out

Saturday – go out

This is a little more creative than last week!

This weekend went by so quickly!  We were a little busier than I like to be and the weather still wouldn’t cooperate for me.  I did get to make it to Trader Joe’s and Kroger and I was done before 9:30 with both of those on Saturday.  That was a great accomplishment!  We didn’t have time to go out to eat either night, but we did have take out from our local Thai place Friday night.  That was delish!  

I will do a full post on entertainment soon, but I finished a book that came highly recommended to me –  The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.  I think I enjoyed The Last Mrs. Parrish more.  The Wife was slow moving IMO and I kept waiting for more twists and turns.  I finished the book still having lingering questions and I hate that!  So, I don’t know if I would recommend it.  Maybe it was too soon to read it after Mrs. Parrish?  Here is my ultimate review:  meh.  Did I miss something?  Please comment if you have read it!

Alright, let’s kick Monday’s butt!

Amy 

Friday, April 13, 2018

Friday the 13th!  Are y’all superstitious?  I have to admit that I am a little.

Here are my favorites in no particular order because I don’t play favorites with my favorites.

1.  My leather earrings.  I have seen them on many a blogger and I jumped on the bandwagon!  They are so lightweight and they make a statement!  I like them big!  (That’s what she said.)  I have a cognac leather pair from Nickel and Suede (the ones on the top left) and I have a few pairs from an Etsy shop called ADVdesigns.  One pair has a matching leather cuff! I would highly recommend both companies.
2. Some products that I really like:

Left:  I’m on maybe my 7th can on this hairspray. I’m really sensitive to smell and this one is not too strong and gives me a great hold for the $5 ish price.

Middle:  Have y’all tried any Trader Joe’s beauty products? This is a nice moisturizer with sunscreen at a good price.

Right:  This product costs around $10 on Amazon and came as a recommendation from Amanda at That Inspired Chick blog. It gives your hair a lift at the roots by making it a little sticky/dirty?  It’s a good thing I don’t work for their marketing department, no?  Anyway, see photo below.  I can’t believe I’m putting my forty-something face on the internet! This is what my hair looks like when styled with the hairspray and the powder product.  Fun fact about your forties:  You still get to enjoy zits with the added bonus of wrinkles!

3.  I bought some cheap-o purple tinted aviators from Amazon and I think I like them!  This is apparently the Pantone color of the year.  I may get a higher quality pair now that I know I dig  this color.  Funky photo, huh?

4.  My first “dip” nail.  I liked it.  It seems the same as gel to me.  I don’t think it is going to last as long as gel, but I hear it’s better for your nails.  My hand looks old and weird.  Do you ever look at your hands and wonder who they belong to?

Have a wonderful weekend and leave me a comment!

Amy

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Can I complain about the weather? I have put my winter clothes away and I keep having to pull a few pieces out!

I love clothes and outfit planning! I love accessories! Give me all of the tassels and pom poms right now!

This is my new scarf recommended by Sheaffer from Accessory Concierge, new neon yellow tassel earrings, and old tassel and pom pom necklace. I love bright colors for spring and summer.

My go-to teacher outfit is a comfy knit dress with a kimono over it.  I will also pair a shirt and kimono with black ankle length pants.  I hope kimonos are still on trend because I have about six of them. I almost always add a necklace, too.   I try to dress with “the rule of 3”.  Three pieces makes your outfit a little more interesting.  Here are a couple of examples.

For the weekends, I love to wear my distressed jeans!  I know I’m pushing the age limit for distressed jeans if there is an age limit, but they are just fun!

My sister gave me these distressed floral jeans that are really cute.

What are your go-to formulas for getting dressed?  Favorite pieces of clothing?  Please leave me a comment and have a wonderful Wednesday!

Amy

Monday, April 9, 2018

This weekend was the last part of spring break, sadly.  We ate lunch at husband’s favorite sandwich shop on Friday, followed by the movie Isle of Dogs.  It was very interesting, but I wouldn’t call it a kids’ movie.  It is a Wes Anderson film and my teen boys loved it.

Saturday we woke up to snow! Where are you, spring?

Sunday we relaxed and prepped for the week. I did create a tie dye cake from the Food Network show The Kitchen. I can’t believe it wasn’t a fail! Well, it doesn’t look that pretty, but I was excited!

So, I’m a full time teacher and I leave for work at 7 and return around 3-4 depending on the day. I don’t want to have to go to the store during the week at all if I can help it.  I start dinner around 5:30 each night and then we eat around 6:30.  I don’t actually mind the cooking, but it’s the meal planning that gets old. I love to see what others are making so here’s mine – it lacks creativity this week!  Last summer, I did come up with a nice list of all of our meals in a Word document. I need to organize it by types of meat, etc. and put it in a binder.   Maybe I can do that soon!

Here is the menu plan for this week:

Monday – spaghetti

Tuesday – tacos (will make the meat on Monday along with the meat for spaghetti)

Wednesday – frozen fish, macaroni and cheese, green beans

Thursday – frozen orange chicken, rice, fried rice from Trader Joe’s

I’m out!  That will do it for “cooking” for the week!

LO CAL JALAPEÑO MARGARITA RECIPE:

This is my go-to cocktail to make at home these days – even though the weather is not cooperating!  I would love to be sitting in the sun and sipping these instead of sitting instead under a blanket.  

Put about half of a Crystal Light lemonade individual powder stick in a mason jar.

Add about a shot of white tequila.  I add about 3/4 inch (very professional –  I’m not sure bartenders do measurements in inches?

Add some fresh lime juice or some out of the fake plastic lime

Add some jalapeño limeade from Trader Joe’s – maybe about the same amount as tequila.

Put lid on mason jar and give it a good shake.

Pour into glass of ice and top with Fresca or sprite or diet sprite or 7 up.  I really like Fresca because it gives you some added citrus flavors.

You could add salt to the rim or even some fresh jalapeño slices. 

Trust me – this drink is better than many I’ve had in restaurants that cost $10!!!

Let me know if you try it!  I love creating my own cocktails at home!

Wishing you a wonderful week!

Amy