Worn || Ready or Not

I’m a week away from my 50th birthday and I have so many feelings about it; very few are good. I desperately want to be one of those people who celebrate their birthdays for the entire month but I can’t remember ever being happy about getting older.

Not to get all “therapy” speak, but I’m certain it’s because I rarely give myself permission to exist and enjoy the present. I’m either punishing myself for the past or anxiously trying to micromanage the future.

My goal for the week is to live in this moment. Enjoy the person I am right now. appreciating the life I have is so much more than I ever imagined it could be. 50 is on the horizon, ready or not.

dress here || bag here || shoes here || jacket vintage\thrifted || necklace here

Worn || Gingham Style

August is a weird month. Many people are focused on getting themselves or their kids ready to return to school, so there’s always a little hope that comes with fresh starts and new school supplies.

I have an August birthday and this month has always been about endings. The end of another trip around the sun. The end of those long sun-drenched days filled with possibility. So long summer romance. Goodbye to my golden summer tan.

I’m going to do everything I can to hold on to the last few glorious days of summer, embrace the sweetness of August and reflect on my last few weeks as a fortysomething.

Worn || Hi Barbie!

Saturday my daughter treated me to a movie. We got dressed up in our pink to see the Barbie movie. The movie and afternoon out with one of my girls were an unexpected delight.

There have been a million think pieces written about this movie. I don’t know if I have anything more to add to the conversation. It was funnier than I thought it would be while being unexpectedly deep. The final scene between Barbie and the creator of Barbie, Ruth Handler (played by the brilliant Rhea Perlman) is the one that made me sob and leave the theater with a tear-streaked face. It was beautifully shot. The set design was fantastic. The wardrobe department hit it out of the park. And, I didn’t think I could love Ryan Gossling more, then I saw him crying shirtless in a faux mink coat and a sweatband. The choreographed Kens dance/fight scene is worth the price of the ticket alone! Seriously, get all dolled up in your version of Barbie and go see it. Then grab a Barbie drink after to discuss how amazing it was.

Starbucks Vanilla Frappucino with Dragon Fruit

Find the skirt here ||the dress(worn as tank) here || the bag here

Similar shoes here || jacket here

Worn|| Cuff It

Having lived through the 1980s when mom jeans were simply called jeans because they were the only style available, I was sure that “mom jeans” was a trend I would avoid, especially since mom jeans aren’t always flattering to mom bodies.

::Dollhouse high-waisted jeans have entered the chat. ::

They are stretchy and comfortably hold in that annoying lower stomach pooch that has decided it’s here to stay. I love that I throw a wide cuff on them and they are the perfect length for almost any pair of shoes I decide to wear.

Speaking of shoes, I didn’t get these until late last summer so I didn’t get much wear out of them before it was boot season. However, I think they are my new favorites.

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Jeans similar here Top here Shoes here Cardigan similar here

Worn|| Tulle the Point

If you had told me five years ago, I would be having another crisis of personal style because my days would be spent in comfy clothes that hide baby puke, I wouldn’t have believed you, yet, here we are.

When our daughter told us she was pregnant, I happily volunteered to watch our grandson during the day when she went back to work. I’m over the moon that I get to spend so much quality time with him. But just when I pulled myself out of a style rut that comes with being a stay-at-home to a young kiddo, my days are now spent taking care of the cutest 5-month-old ever. And that means comfortable and spit-up resistant. It also means that I relish the chance to dress up a little whenever possible.

Saturday we were lucky enough to help a friend celebrate his 5oth birthday. Is pink tulle kind of over the top? Absolutely. Did I wear it anyway? Also, absolutely.

I tried to tone it down by adding a puffer vest and sneakers. I like the way it turned out.

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Generation Inspiration

I’ve had a pair of vegan leather- pleather for all the GenXers in the crowd- on my Pinterest board for a few years. I’ve had them in various online shopping carts for months. For whatever reason, I couldn’t click buy. Maybe it was the thrifting gods whispering “we got you” in my ear. But, a few months ago I went thrifting with my daughter, and there they were. The perfect size, exactly what I was looking for, and only 7.99.

I will confess that most days I wear a uniform that consists of leggings and a sweater. If I’m feeling fancy, I swap out the leggings for a pair of jeans. I’m trying to force myself out of this rut. What’s the point in buying things I love if I never wear them?

First, I styled them in the way I would most likely wear them- blouse, trench, and heels. Classic and appropriate for most occasions, although I would probably swap out the stilettos for something with a chunky heel if I was headed out for the day with my 8-year-old.

Then I got some fit inspo from the Tik Tok generation. This time I paired them with a chunky sweater, a hat, and my Air Force 1s. I gotta say the kids are alright because I really like this!

Worn || Fruit Stripe

LulaRoe swept through my mom community like a tidal wave. One minute I’d never heard of it and five minutes later I was joining the cult of buttery leggings. Postpartum 2015 was a very strange time, friends. I was never a fanatic but I did manage to score a few pairs of those super soft leggings. They were the closest thing to wearing pajamas while still being “presentable” for the public. Although, one could ask if grown-ups being clad in the adult equivalent of Garanimals is really presentable for public consumption. But, that’s a conversation for another time.

Like almost everyone I know, I watched LuLaRich on Amazon Prime to get the behind-the-scenes story on how awful this company is. It was fascinating! I’ve long since donated my LulaRoe leggings and despite the stories online detailing how much of the inventory of former sellers ended up at thrift stores across the country, I’ve never actually seen it in any of my thrifting trips. Last week on the hunt for a few new sweaters, I spotted a brightly colored sleeve among the racks at my local Goodwill. I knew it was coming home with me. I was shocked to see that it was LuLaRoe! The quality was great and the stripes actually lined up. It was a LuLaCorn!

Cardigan- LuLaRoe- Thrifted similar one here || Oxford Button Down- Old Navy- Thrifted similar one here|| Jeans- Levi’s Jeans- here ||Booties- old as hell but similar ones here

*links are affiliate and I will receive a small commission if you choose to shop with them.*

Worn|| It's A Wrap

Summer is officially over. I’m not sorry to see the heat go but that doesn’t mean that I’m in a hurry to put away all of my favorite summer dresses and skirts.

I bought this skirt at a local shop and I haven’t given it much love until this summer. I consider it my good luck skirt since I was wearing it the day I ran into Leslie Odoms Jr (yes, that LOJ!) on a sidewalk in downtown Cincinnati, but for whatever reason, I hardly ever wore it until this summer. The lightweight silk skirt paired with a tank top or a plain white t-shirt was an easy way for me to look put together in 10 minutes.

Today I when I spied my husband’s shirt on the ironing board, I remembered how I used to be much more adventurous with mixing patterns and styles when getting dressed. And, honestly, wearing your partner’s shirt all day is a top-notch way to make you feel……you get the point. I’d go into more detail but our kids read these blog posts and I don’t want to gross them out! Anyway, his gingham button-down paired with this skirt and my favorite boots were perfect for an early fall day outfit.

And, Another One

I’m not a person who loves celebrating my birthday. It’s been a time when I usually allow myself to fall into a depression and start ruminating over all of the things I’m not. But, this year something is different. I’ve noticed a small shift in mindset. I suspect all of the loss, sadness, and anxiety of the last few years has made me wildly grateful that I’ve survived. Instead of wallowing in the what-ifs, this year I’m thinking of all of the things in my life - my husband, our kids, our granddaughter, my friendships, therapy, group chats that make me laugh all day, oat milk lattes, noise-canceling headphones, Schitt’s Creek memes, strawberry ice cream- that make my heart happy. That make me infinitely grateful to see every single day.

I can’t promise the angst and ennui won’t return. I’m a GenXer, it’s what we do! But, today as I start my 48th trip around the sun, I’m embracing my life in this moment and celebrating all the good things!

Worn|| On Wednesdays We Wear Pink

::taps on mic:: Is this thing on? I know I’m a GenXer so being a slacker is in my blood, but I didn’t mean to take that long of a break!

Lately, much of my internet surfing has been giving me the same sort of message over and over. It basically says to stop doubting myself. It reminds me that there are people out here living my dream. The one I’ve been too terrified to pursue. It yells at me to believe in my own excellence as much as some people champion their mediocrity.

August is my birthday month. I usually greet it with about as much enthusiasm as one feels for rain on your wedding day(shout out to Alanis!), but this month what if I listened to all of those whispers I’ve been hearing in the universe. What if instead of shrugging them off as flights of fancy, I embraced them. I may not be big on celebrating my birthday but this month, the one in which I’ll begin yet another trek around the sun, I’m gifting myself grace and going all in! I’m going to lean into all of the things I’ve wanted to do and take baby steps into becoming the woman I want to be. I’m going all-in on all of the uniquely wonderful things I bring to the table.

As of late, I’ve been working on countering all of the negative self-talk I bombard myself with daily. My usual response to hearing “there’s only one of you” would be “thank, God.” But, in this vast universe, there IS only one of me and that’s fucking amazing! All of this time I’ve been punishing myself for being imperfect while denying myself the absolute joy that lives in celebrating my humanity! I’m putting you on notice August, I’m coming for you!