Fancy Pants

Dress: Target $22.00

Shoes: Wal Mart $15.00

Belt: Hudsons $4.00 my owly belt from this post

This is my fancy dress I bought with my friend Sandy. I got some new shoes on sale at Wal Mart (yay wedges!) so I decided to wear them with it along with my owly belt.

Confession: I hate almost all of my body. Like, really. But I love my legs. I'm not sure why, but I think that they're the only part of me that I actually like. I'm only 5'3", so I wear heels and wedges a lot. Clayton is 6'4", so I always joke that if I'm not in heels people are going to think he's abducting me.

Today is a slow, unexciting day. It didn't rain like I was hoping it would. Rain is my favourite weather, especially when it's grey and calm. I could sit and listen to it fall on my roof all day. Yesterday was sunny as well, I spent it swimming with my friend Heather at her boyfriends apartment complex. Open water terrifies me, but I love pools. We had a blast and Matt (Heathers beau) made us grilled cheese sandwiches!

I'm on a mission to lose weight with my husband gone. I'm trying to cut down on the junk I eat. I dislike sweets, but I love anything smothered in cheese or fried (I am Southern after all). I'm also trying to cut back on soda's and drink more water instead. At night, I make myself exercise with some sit ups. Hopefully by next Summer I'll be strutting around in a bikini. If anything else, it'll keep me from blowing up while my husband is gone. I've got the worst habit of replacing feelings with food.

Anyway, another short post today. I'm going back to wishing for rain now, thanks for reading <3

-Tasha

Comfy Cozy.

 

Cardigan: Hudsons $4.00

Shorts: Wal Mart $10.00

Shoes: Flea Market $2.00

Necklace: Vintage; it was my grandma's

I'm not sure, but I think my pictures are getting progressively worse. Anyone have any advice? Obviously I can use some. 

Anyway, cardigans. I adore cardigans. I'm a very cold natured person, so even in the Summer I'm usually in a light jacket or something. I freeze inside restaurants, movie theaters and pretty much anywhere that has access to an air conditioner. I wore this to work the other day because I freeze while I'm up there too. I got complimented by a really nice older man and snubbed by a younger girl who told me, in a not so nice voice, I looked like I was wearing a 'Mr. Rogers sweater'. Some people. I got slightly sunburned (can you tell?) but it's mostly faded back to my tan colour now. In the pictures I look red though. Sunburns don't last long on me because of my heritage I guess. Native American on my moms side and African American and Greek back in my dads line. That's why my hair is so insane too I suppose. I stopped trying to tame it when it wants to curl up, we get along better that way.

Anyway, It's supposed to rain later today and part of me wants to find a way to take pictures with my umbrella. As for right now though, I'm off to grab some sushi with my friend Heather. As always, thanks for reading <3

- Tasha

My Heart is in Knots.

Shirt: Hudsons $5.00

Skirt: Kohls $8.00

Shoes: Burkes Outlet $11.00

Earrings & Bangles: Hudsons $0.25 & $1.00

Wallet Purse: Gift from a friend, she paid $10.00 for it

Last night I went with my best friend Heather and my mom to see "Magic Mike", and this is what I wore. It was so much fun! I won't lie, watching Channing Tatum wiggle around was great, and I always love seeing lots of sexy hip bones and abs, but the movie itself was actually really good! It had a good story and the characters really suck you in. I recommend going to see it, not only for the beefcake (although, hot damn, there was a lot of it!).

Anyway, this shirt is a SMALL! I originally got the large, which is what I typically wear, but it was HUGE. Heather told me to try a smaller size since they seem to run very large and a small fit. I was proud, despite the fact that this small is probably a large in other clothing standards.

We had a blast last night though and I got so many nice compliments on my outfit. The night before last, I went out with my friend Sandy and her boyfriend Brandon (who is my husbands best friend) and we had so much fun. Sandy and I went shopping and that's where I found my skirt. 

Sandy is adorable, but thinks she's too heavy to wear anything. I'm trying to change her perception of this. I believe as long as you wear your true size and dress for your body type, it doesn't matter how big you are. I've seen gorgeous women who were bigger than I am! Anyway, I forced her to buy a tea dress that looked darling on her, and I got one too and we're going to wear them somewhere fancy. Not sure where yet, but it's going to be fun!

I'm so lucky to have such amazing friends and family while Clayton is gone. It just makes me feel so happy to know that there are people who care so much about whether or not I'm sitting home all alone that they invite me to go do things with them. It's just so nice knowing that people are thinking about you and hoping you're alright.

Oh! My tattoos! I was going to talk about them since you can see one of them clearly in the picture of my bangles. I've been afraid of water since I was little. Growing up around the river, you hear stories of kids being sucked under by whirlpools or dragged off by gators and just the sight of open water makes me start feeling ill. When we go to the beach, I never get near the ocean. I'll stick to my safe, warm, dry sandbar, thank you.

Anyway, my uncle was in the Navy and he would tease me about being scared of the water. One day he suggested getting a pig and a chicken tattooed on my feet as part of a naval superstition. Back in the old days, when the ships sank, the livestock were in hollow crates so the pigs and the chickens floated to the top of the water, unharmed. Many people in the Navy get pigs and chickens tattooed on their feet so that if something should happen, their bodies would float up.

I got them on my wrists (chicken on my left, pig on my right) because if something happens to me I want to come up arms first so I won't drown! I love these two tattoo's, their my favourites out of all the ones I have.

Even though I get asked if I'm in a barnyard gang A LOT.

This post was long and kind of scatterbrained, sorry! But, thanks for reading <3

- Tasha

Evergreen.

Dress: My mom bought it for me a million years ago. I don't know where she got it.

Love Necklace: Made by me

Shoes: Burkes Outlet $11.00

I probably should've ironed this dress before I took pictures in it, the ruffles are all messed up. Oh well, sorry you guys.

Every once in a while, you come across a dress that makes you feel like a million bucks, even if you're chubby like me. This is my million buck dress. I've worn it to pretty much every big event I can think of because to me, it makes me look good. Except in pictures for some reason. I really need to spring for a better camera.

This was taken in my yard, because I didn't have time to scout out a location this morning. My mother-in-law has such a green thumb, I'm jealous sometimes. I can't make anything grow, I've tried. I've even gone so far as to sing this song to everything I've tried to plant, but to no avail.

 

Yesterday I drove up to Picayune for Clayton's "Family Day/Send Off", which was fun. I was so happy to see him again.

Isn't he so handsome? Hopefully these months fly by fast.

I didn't make it home last night until about ten, and I was woken up by Murphy at about six. I spent the morning trying to teach him not to jump up and be crazy, but he's only a year and a half old. He's still in that crazy "OH-MY-GOD-YOU-WERE-OUTSIDE-FOR-TEN-SECONDS-I'M-SO-GLAD-YOU'RE-BACK-LOOK-AT-ME-I'M-SO-CUTE" stage.

Isn't he creepy? I love him to death. This post was really picture heavy, sorry about that. Hopefully I can get a better camera and take some better outfit pictures. I'm slowly figuring out how to not look so stiff and posed, but it's so hard. You can probably tell, I'm just not sure what to do with my hands in these, but with practice, maybe I'll get better.

Sorry this was so long, and of course, thanks for reading <3

-Tasha

Things I Love: Old Cars and Lipstick

 

I've decided to do a thing here on the blog entitled: "Things I Love", in which I'll showcase some things I'm in love with in the hopes that you guys might love them too!

(I made the necklace above btw. My first time wire-writing! The letters are spaced too far and different sizes, so I obviously need practice. But still, not bad for a first attempt.)

 

This is mine and my husbands Javelin. It's a 1973 model but my dad bought it sometime in the 80's. When Clayton and I were dating, I realized how much like my dad he actually is (little girls marry their fathers, amirite?) when he fell in love with the car the first time he saw it and proceeded to tell me all sorts of things about it. My dad instantly liked him after that. When we were married, my dad gave the car to Clayton so it would stay in the family, on the condition that if we ever got divorced it would come back to me (an awesome reason for him to never leave me). When he gets back from his deployment we're going to fix it up and drive around to car shows to show it off. I can't wait.

 

Speaking of car shows.

I stumbled upon one this morning on my way to work! I didn't have my camera, so please excuse the phone pictures. I'm not going to upload every one that I took (this post would be huge) but here's a few of my favourites!

I missed getting pictures of a few of the cars, since they were leaving when I got there. Including two, crank-to-start vehicles from the 1920's. It was amazing and everyone was so nice!

I'm going to end this post on a completely different topic by telling you guys about a cosmetic product I've fallen in love with.

Mabelline Baby Lips

Okay, so the title is misleading, it's not a lipstick it's a lip balm, but either way it's so awesome! I use the Pink Punch one the most, and it makes my lips so soft! Be careful though, when they say pink they mean pink. I just sort of dot it on my lips then rub it in. I've got the Quenched (clear) and Cherry Me (redish) colours too and I love them equally as much. It moisturizes your lips for a full 8 hours and even has SPF 20 in it to protect them. Also, since it's a balm and not a lipstick or gloss, you can literally just put it on and forget that it's even there! It's not sticky or smothering, it's just...well, perfect! You guys should definitely give it a try!

 

That's all I've got for today. Hopefully I'll have more outfit pictures up, maybe Sunday. As always, thanks for reading <3

 

-Tasha

Gone.

Dress: Hudsons $3.00

Fringe Purse: Hudsons $7.00

Owly Belt: Hudsons $4.00

Shoes: Payless $10.00 (sale)

Earrings: Made by me

My husband left today for Picayune, then he'll be going to Fort Bliss in Texas. In about a month, he'll be overseas in Afghanistan. He'll be gone about eleven months, but with any hope, he'll get leave somewhere in between the (roughly) 340 days he'll be gone. I miss him already.

I've been up since about two in the AM (he left at four). I cried for about an hour, then I got up and got dressed. I promised myself I wouldn't dwell on him leaving and that I'd take some outfit pictures to post.

Hopefully, as I start to take more outfit pictures, I'll learn how to pose better and keep from making derp face the whole time. The next photos will be a little better edited too (I hope). I'm new at this whole thing though, so give me a break.

I adore this dress, it's so breezy and happy and I basically love anything with a pattern. Since I hate my arms (they're so fat ughughugh) I try not to wear anything with no sleeves, but I saw this dress and fell in love. I tried to straighten my hair, but the humidity in the South basically gave me the middle finger and it curled up anyway. I dyed it blond last summer while I was letting it grow out and the colour is still holding on to the ends. How cute is that owl belt? I dug through so many before I found a medium-sized one I could use as a waist-belt. I've named him Geoffrey.

Do you have any unique items you like to wear with ordinary outfits? I'd love to hear about them!

As always, thanks for reading!

-Tasha

DIY: Cork Board Jewelry Organizer

Have you ever bought an outfit with the perfect jewelry in mind to accessorize it - only to get home and find you have no clue where said jewelry is?

I have.

This is my nightstand; my dump station for everything from necklaces to bangles. It's so cluttered even my wedding photos are shoved off to the side. Nine times out of ten, in the middle of the night, I knock something over. After almost misplacing one of my late grandmothers necklaces, I decided it was high time I organized things.

I looked up some tutorials for a homemade organizer via Google, and headed to Michaels on Sunday to grab some supplies. Here's my process so you can make your own accessory organizer and reclaim your nightstands too!

A word of warning! My camera died on me halfway through the project (typical) so I had to finish the pictures with my phone. Please excuse the crappy quality.

Step 1: Supplies

1. Cork Board

2. Fabric

3. Ribbon

4.Screw Eyes

5. Mug Hooks

6. Glue Gun / Glue Sticks

7. Ruler (Optional)

I wanted to make two boards, a small one for earrings and headbands and a bigger one for everything else. I bought my cork boards, some fabric (Michaels had slim pickins, but I found some pretty red with a pattern), ribbon (I wanted something to contrast the red, so I got aqua), some screw eyes for the earrings (I got two packs of ten), some mug hooks (one pack of twenty), and my trusty glue gun and glue sticks. You can use staples too, but I didn't have a staple gun and I didn't see the point in buying another thing when I already had a glue gun. The ruler is optional.

Step 2: Cut and Glue

I'm seriously the most unorganized person, so I couldn't find my scissors. You know when you buy a manicure kit and it comes with those little, teeny-tiny scissors? Yeah, that's what I used to cut the fabric. Hopefully you've got scissors to cut your fabric with so it won't come out all wonky like mine. Just make sure you leave enough around the edges to fold over and glue.

Fold the fabric over and glue away! You aren't really worrying about making the back look good, since it'll be attached to the wall. Just make sure to pull the fabric tight so the front looks nice!

Taa-daa!!

Step 3: Ribbon

Now cut a piece of ribbon and glue only the ends down to the back. Leave the front slack so you can slide your headbands through it. I recommend gluing the ribbon along the bottom of your board. Optional, you can glue the ribbon along the front leaving little "slots" to hold your headbands.

Doesn't it look awesome so far?

Step 4: Screws

Get ready to screw (there's a joke in there, but now isn't the time). You can use a ruler on this part, if you opted for one, to make sure you're screwing in a straight line. If I were making this as a gift for someone, I probably would have. Personally, however, I don't care if my lines are a little crooked.

Use your earrings to help you space so you're not bunching everything up together. Remember the nightstand? Clutter is what we're trying to avoid.

I was going through my earrings and when I came across my studs I paused for a moment and tried to think of how I was going to get them on my board.

Then I remembered it was a cork board and felt so dumb. Just push them in, like pushpins, and keep the backs in a little bowl.

TAA-DAA!

There you have it! Easy-Peasy! I made my necklace board the same way:

 Except I added the ribbon as a little border and used mug hooks instead of eye screws. Here's the finished product:

I may have to make a bangle board pretty soon, since I have so many of those.

Check out my CLEAN nightstand! It's so much better! Hopefully I can keep it this way for a little bit.

Anyway, I hope you could understand my tutorial and you find it helpful. If anyone makes a jewelry organizer using this, I'd love to see how it turns out! Good luck making and organizing your accessories, and as always, thanks for reading!

-Tasha