This time of year is so interesting, isn’t it? If it’s mid-winter where you are the days are starting to get longer, you might be seeing some little plants push through the ground, and there is a restlessness like we want to wake up and get going, but where to? It’s still winter and if you aren’t doing a resort trip what to do?
Don’t you feel like something new? Like moving the furniture in your house, trying a new flavor of tea, really a restlessness sort of. I’m so there! So a few days ago I shared this activity with a friend.
I planned out an afternoon where we could chat about our new ideas for ourselves, our gardens, well, theirs, I’m still working on that skill but I can dream. For me, the ideas I carried over from last year felt like they needed some weeding so that will be my garden of sorts.
The weather was bright and sunny but it was still chilly outside so it was perfect for a cup of hot tea with cinnamon sticks for stirring, plus we had some gingerbread cookies, some lit candles, and had an amazing time sharing everything on our minds. The take away was a fun afternoon doing something totally different, both energizing and a refresh in itself.
Don’t wait, try this or something similar now! I promise you it will help pull you out of any mid-winter doldrums and you can get a start on your Spring plans now.
Appreciate You All!
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For those that know me they will most likely say things like, she’s creative, she’s always got these great ideas, and most likely they won’t say she’s got this really great organizing system, or something like that! It’s true, I love the creative downloads and then harnessing them via a super structured way, not as much. Don’t they have people for that? That said, it’s me that needs to harness them and figuring that out is as creative as the dreams and ideas I get. Here are my thoughts on a possible way to be creative with the fun stuff and harness the ideas to bring them to life.
I’m not sure if this is where vision boards got started, most likely not, but, after watching “The Secret” video with a friend, that’s where I saw first saw them. It seemed a great way to take a creative thought and bring it to something tangible. Now it’s fun to go into coffee shops in January and see a group of people drinking coffee and making vision boards together!
What I didn’t like about them was the poster board size didn’t make them exactly portable! For me, I wanted something I could easily take out and jot down some more thoughts, add another image, or just thumb through and look at an image that made me happy. It occurred to me a notebook would be perfect to accomplish all that, part vision board, part journal, and part commonplace book.
The notebook in the image was my first go at it and I’ve not looked back! I’m still using it noting the year on the top of the page and I’ll add things throughout the year. A vision board is a collage of images, pictures, and affirmations of what you desire and it’s meant to keep you inspired and thereby motivated to keep moving toward your desired outcome. You may have heard or read about celebrities using these, Steve Harvey, Katy Perry, and Beyonce are a few.
For me, anything goes. A few of my supplies are in the image but I’ve also used stickers, colored pens and pencils, paint, ribbons, even parts of cards I was given-anything I felt captured what would resonate with my idea. You don’t have to spend hours on this, unless you want, for me I like to input things when I’m feeling it strongly because I capture the essence much better.
Pictures and words are the way most people go and it makes sense. Thanks to the notebook’s flexibility I’ve even written down things, some folks call them affirmations, that I thought would propel me further/faster. For example, one year everything felt really stuck so I wrote what felt like thousands of times “Unexpected opportunities appear in my life out of nowhere”. Writing it made me feel as if I had the power to shift things and that made me more optimistic. With the optimism I kept taking the baby steps, doing the work as they say, but also it had me becoming more aware of events in my life, recognizing even the small events that I could use to move forward. That was exciting and also gave me a glimpse into how powerful keeping a focus can be.
There are so many detailed videos on YouTube I won’t go into a lot of details here unless you want me to share in more depth what and how I make these. Let me know!
Appreciate You All!
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Last week I spent a few hours looking at the artifacts that the Rich Foundation has generously allowed us to use. It was a walk back in time and with a focus to the beautiful items available to purchase. I don’t have room to post an image of everything so I captured a few pictures of newspaper ads, one more mid-century and one from the early 70’s. Perimeter Mall is still around and still has vendors offering more upscale and luxury goods. Lots of good restaurants are there too-bonus!
I’m so very excited to do a “store front window” display at the museum! I’ve sketched out my idea and will present it to the manager this upcoming week. After that I’ll share with you!
Appreciate You All!
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I’m very excited to be in planning for an amazing exhibit at a museum near me, the Hapeville Depot Museum. More on the exhibit in a minute but first let me share a bit about this very interesting place. In addition to being a repository of local history, and also artifacts, of the railroad and Delta Airlines, they also dig deep into local history to include the Ford plant, counted as one of the most consistently productive, and also art that plays out history.
There was an amazing store in downtown Atlanta called Rich’s, founded in 1867 by Morris Rich. Rich’s was where you could get lost in a store full of beautiful displays, eat lunch, purchase luscious fabrics and sewing patterns, and bring your children to ride the pink pig during the holidays. It really was a local mainstay.
We’re getting artifacts from the downtown Rich’s store next week and I’ll share more in a few weeks. The first planning session included a meeting with the director, digging through magazines from the 50’s and 60’s, and an initial space planning for the exhibit. I love doing this, there are so many of my favorite activities wrapped up into one.
For now, I’ve got a link for you to dig into with a lot of details on the Rich’s Department Store. I’m leaving you with the iconic Rich’s holiday tree in this post and my intro image of the Rich’s clock. If you saw the clock image you knew it was about Rich’s-maybe the first branding ever?
Enjoy!
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Have you ever said to yourself, “I can’t wear that, because…”, or “I could wear that but… “. Or have you worn “that” anyway but you felt awkward the entire time? Yep, me too! Maybe it was the styling? I still sometimes do “off” days where in my head something works and then I catch myself in a mirror. Let’s face it, that’s not vanity it’s you giving yourself permission to feel your best because you’re projecting with a look that resonates.
But what if you think you can’t wear something for whatever reason when actually you really could? Something you wanted a lot? Well, let’s take a look at these jeans. I’ve styled several clients in these with totally different body shapes and they all looked really amazing!
1. If the jeans come cut for straight and curvy bodies select which best works for you. If they don’t look at the images online or the jeans in a brick & mortar. Are they designed to be slightly rounder in places, or do they have a lot of stretch? You will have some play here. Select one that most matches your body,
2. If they don’t then try on sizes you don’t usually wear and see if doing that makes it work for you. If you need to go a size larger and have them altered, it’s easier that way. Remember alterations aren’t a couture fit, aka you can’t alter something a size up or down, it won’t look right. They are great for nips, tucks, and adding in some ease all in areas that will make those jeans better mimic your body. Or check that they have enough stretch to skim the curves without suffocating you.
3. Styling- For jeans like these that have a lot of embellishments and are highly textured I’d push back a little in other places. You know, balance it out. I’m not saying you can’t wear a tight T just to balance it. Think textured crop tops, tight T with a jacket that has padding, lots of stitching, or add some vintage pins that are oversized.
4. Shirts – There’s lots of texture and volume for Fall 24 so get a silky blouse with some pleating or puff sleeves. There are lots of bows out here so maybe a choker with one-kind of like a bow tie but not. With Fall 24 in mind…
5. Shoes – I see a lot of super skinny jeans with stiletto heels and unless you want to look like you’re teetering on pick-up-sticks add some push back here too. Yes, you can wear super high heels but take a look at these, see how the heel has a thicker shape? Push back. If you’re going more casual wear your favorite combat boot but keep them up to the ankle. Heading out with the girls? Try a suede shoe with a square heel for a fun, sexy look.
I’m so, so excited!! I’ve been designing and building an online store for my website and I’m happy to almost be there. You’ll see clothing supporting USA made, shoes, accessories, and lifestyle! Pillows, candles, and whatever else I see that’s cool!
Recently I had the good fortune to work with an amazing person who always has a gorgeous smile for you! Her style is a nice mix of bohemian with eclectic touches and I’m always admiring how she puts her look together.
For this opening event, where she would give several tours, she wanted an approachable but professional look. Even though pulling a look together is no problem for her it was the little, extras for sparkle and to project a sense of authority.
We started with pieces from her wardrobe, I really love the colors together and l love her sense of adventure with it! To keep the focus on her face, I pulled her blouse down, tucked it into her waistband, and then had her lift her arms streamlining her upper body, creating a longer torso. Next, I tweaked her collar creating a stronger line of focus on her face.
There are other ways to achieve the same goal, it depends on you and the pieces you want to work with.
Talk to me if you would like to know more!
Bye for now!
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Recently I asked for your input on what is changing for you in 2024 and I was amazed with all your ideas, goals, and creativity. Thank you!! There was so much I couldn’t just do a random select because it meant I wouldn’t share every comment that I found energizing. Seriously, reading them provided ideas and inspiration on ways to further shape what I want to focus on. To get it all on paper I looked at the patterns and saw some main themes emerging so I’m sharing them in that way.
Get Into The Great Outdoors…Spending time in nature, watching sunrises and sunsets, walking outside, to name some, do lift you up and give you a different frame of mind. I’ve been pulling weeds and putting down new mulch and even though that’s tedious I do get more relaxed being outside. I would think if you’re in the city planting flowers in a pot to put on a deck would give you the same perspective.
Getting Motivated – So true! Get there in bits and pieces, usually 5-15 minutes will start moving your goal into shape. Look for an upcoming post on this.
Love, Kindness, & Happiness – So true! Start with yourself, maybe the 5-15 minutes of something important to you, something that makes you happy, daily or a few times a week makes a big difference! You deserve it. Love that this came up as a theme.
Travel – Do get out and explore, it’s amazing the people you meet and things you see. I’m starting to do this where I live, exploring my city like someone traveling here to visit, kind of exciting!
Work Through Tough Times – I totally get this one and being in the middle of it feels like you’re walled in. From talking to people, reading, and going through tough times, seems like it’s part of being a person, if you get an idea to read something, talk to someone, write a dialogue about it, etc. do it-those nudges are motions that help you to feel unstuck. I have a journaling link below to use or to spur ideas. Let me know what you come up with.
Eat More Sourdough Bread – Sign me up!!
Bye for now!
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We’ve kicked off October along with the Halloween Season at MRE and we don’t want it to end. We can’t get enough of windy days with leaves blowing around, the crispness demanding your favorite jean jacket, and the treats because who has time for tricks when there are so many amazing movies to watch?
That said below is this years list of our movies and, since I’m really into all things Stevie Nicks lately, I’m taking cues from her early days for dressing up. Who knows, maybe consider a trial run of your outfit watching all things Halloween? See my ideas below for pieces to pull from if you want and of course your jean jacket goes with it all!
Below are some ideas to pull together any way you want. For the top hat though I’m seeing some black silk flowers and maybe a sugar skull pin somewhere.
Bye for now!
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