Inspiration

.SPRING.

Freshening up the store for spring!

Happy Superbowl!

In the store!

Shots from in the store and our cool window displays! 

Sebastopol to San Francisco: 2 days, 1 outfit

By day, I am an employee of Meggie, our favorite little marina boutique :)
By night, I am an aspiring stand up comedian.

I started this comedy journey in San Francisco, dreaming of the day that people would want to fly me all over the world to hear me make fun of myself.

In that dream of mine, I was kind of skipping over the "rise to the top," where traveling to another city to perform in a comedy show might mean...a 6-hour round trip bus ride to Sebastopol. (I assure you, this is not as glamorous as it sounds).

Should you ever find yourself in a situation where you are stuck in Sebastopol for the night, and have to take a 3-hour bus ride straight to work the next morning, there are many ways you can change up your accessories to transform your Day 1 outfit into a Day 2 outfit, without getting the "Didn't you wear that yesterday?" look from people :)

For an extreme example of this "outfit recycling" idea, check out Sheena's story. She pledged to wear a little black dress everyday for 365 days, as an exercise in sustainable fashion, to raise money so that underprivileged children in India could go to school. 

www.theuniformproject.com

For a complete look at Sheena's 365 outfits from one little black dress, watch 

THIS VIDEO.

How to Winterize Outfits.

During the winter months, I always hear the same thing from ladies trying to look fashionable but want to stay warm. "This is cute, but I couldn't wear it in winter." Well, I'm going to make a bold statement and say, with the right styling you can wear any pieces anytime of the year, there are just a few guidelines to follow and your favorite summer pieces can become your favorite winter pieces. 

Rule #1: layering

Don't be afraid of a little bulk. Invest in a longer length swingy-style coat that has room for you to layer a sweater, gloves, and scarf on underneath while maintaining a feminine shape. 

For example this coat from asos

Or this femme trench that is on sale in the store.

Underneath these types of coats you can pile little sweaters. These layers will add texture and depth to your look. If you feel like a stuffed sausage, add a belt over your layers to highlight your waist.

If your dress is a trapeze or shift dress go with a longer length sweater, this will keep the line of your dress looking smooth and the proportions right. 

This cream knit sweater is available in the store. 

If your dress is a fit-and-flare shape, go with a cropped sweater or something that highlights the smallest part of your waist.

 

 Like the Alison Jacket, available in the store and online. 

Then accessorize with a warm scarves like these: 

STEP 2: 

Tights, tights, tights, leggings, tights. Seriously, it's the only way to keep your legs looking warm AND shapely. Neutral colors will keep your legs looking slimmer, but a pop of color can be fun.

Options in the store

Step Three: 

Boots. Boots will keep your feet warm and come in versatile heel heights. If it's extra cold go for a taller shaft, if you can get away with it go for a more hip ankle boot. Don't forget that tall socks will add some extra warmth and texture to taller boots. One hint is that if you keep your tights and boots the same color it will create a continuous line and will give the illusion of longer legs.

These styles are great paired with dresses!  

Here are some style inspiration photos of ladies who know how to winterize summer outfits! 

  

2013 Resolutions!

My big New Year resolution was to start keeping my house tidier! Having a clean house helps me stay stress free and more focused. This blog www.idreamofclean.net has some awesome tips! 

1. Shine Your Sink.

Several years ago I was on the flylady email list and the first thing I learned was to “shine your sink” every night. (Unfortunately, that’s as far as I got with the flylady. Maybe I should try again!) Anyway, the shine your sink concept is a great habit to begin! Every night take five minutes to clean your kitchen completely. Put dirty dishes in the dishwasher, clean off the counters, and scrub and dry your sink until it’s shiny.

2. Wash One Load of Laundry Daily.

Instead of waiting until the weekend to wash several loads of laundry, get in the habit of washing one load every day. As soon as you wake up, put a load of laundry in the washing machine. As soon as it’s finished (that’s the hard part for me!), transfer the load to the dryer. Hopefully it will be finished by the time you leave for the day! When you get home, fold and put away the clothes.

You may need to modify the routine if you’re worried about your clothes getting wrinkled or you have more or less than seven loads of laundry every week. Just make adjustments and find a way to make laundry part of your daily routine.

3. Process Mail Immediately.

Go through your mail daily. As you walk in the door, open all envelopes, throw away or shred junk mail, and put bills and other action items in your command center.

4. Create a Command Center.

A command center is an area in your home that can be used as a catch all for items that need to be processed (i.e. bills that need to be paid, cards to send out, etc.). It’s also a place that can house items that need to be picked up quickly as you walk out the door like keys, bags, and phones. Some also benefit for having a calendar in this area. Customize the command center to fit your family and life!

5. Throw Away Trash.

Throwing away your trash seems so simple right? But, how many times have you (or someone in your family) taken something out of a package and put the package on the counter beside you? Or, maybe you’ve taken tags off clothes and just placed them on the dresser instead of the trashcan? Instead of waiting until later, just take a few extra seconds and immediately throw away trash in the trashcan.

6. Straighten Up Every Night.

Waking up to a clean home can make the start of your day more pleasing and productive. Take a few minutes each night to pick up around the house. It doesn’t have to be spotless, but straightening up nightly helps to keep the mess from becoming overwhelming.

7. Create a Cleaning Schedule.

Depending on your personality, a cleaning schedule can be as detailed or scaled down as you want it. You may want to clean bathrooms on Monday, mop and vacuum floors on Tuesday, dust on Wednesday, cut the yard on Thursday, and something else on Friday. Or you may prefer to do everything on the weekend. In either situation, a plan will help you move through the list much more quickly. Just like other areas in life, a plan will encourage, motivate, and enable you to reach your goal for a clean home.

8. Become a Minimalist.

Reducing clutter reduces stress. You’ll have less to clean, less to pick up, and less to maintain. You may even be able to live in a smaller house! Or at least not feel like you have to move into a bigger one.

9. Do One Thing.

Sometimes the list of household projects can seem so overwhelming. If you have a list of 10 things that you need to replace, build, or update, just pick one thing to complete. Then do one thing that will move you closer to finishing that project. For example, if you need to organize your closet, start with your pants. Then move onto skirts the next day, and tops the following day. Break down a large project by just doing one thing. More examples can be found in my Do One Thing series.

10. Have a Junk Drawer.

Yes, a junk drawer is a must for a clean home. In some cases, a cabinet or closet may be more reasonable! Having a place to store random items that don’t have a home can be so freeing. Plus, when you’re in a hurry, sometimes it’s just easier to dump everything into one place. Of course, the only downfall is that you must clean it out periodically!

New Year's Resolutions!

Every year, I seem to set unrealistically high expectations of myself for my new years resolutions, and then I feel disappointed if I don't stick to them. This year I wanted to keep my 2013 goals a little broader and slightly more attainable. (Yes, I still want to eat healthier, go to the gym more, go to bed earlier, etc etc).

But I think my biggest 2013 goal is to be more positive, and appreciative of what I have in my life.

It's so easy to get caught up in the stresses of every day life, that we sometimes seem to overlook the smaller, better details. Yes, you might have a rapidly approaching deadline at work or school that you feel ill-prepared for, maybe someone cut you off in traffic... But who made you smile? Did you eat lunch at a new place that was wildly and unexpectedly delicious? Did you get a million compliments in that adorable dress you bought from Meggie? ;)

Allow me to introduce you to the Gratitude Jar. I read about this online and decided to make one myself. It's a great way to get better at focusing on the positives :)

Every day, write down the best part of your day, or something that you really liked about it. Or put in a token souvenir from the day: a ticket to a movie you really liked, a receipt from a really promising date, etc. At the end of the year, open the jar and you'll have all these little papers to read and look back on, reflecting on the best parts of your year! It's like a daily journal that's easier to keep up with, in a busy lifestyle.

And you can decorate it however you want. These are some of my favorites.

Happy New Year everyone! Keep smiling :)