Mission $58, Day 5

What better way to end Mission Week with little white dresses than with the very first dress I wore as a wife?  This dress was for my wedding reception.  I fell in love with it immediately upon seeing it at Dillard's long ago in my wedding planning days.  It fit like a glove, the cut and ruffles were PERFECT.  But the price tag of $150 wasn't perfect.  It was in the clearance rack, but there wasn't a clearance price tag on it and when I double checked with the clerk, she informed me that it sadly was not on sale or clearance.  I left it but luckily, about half an hour later the clerk found me in the store to let me know that she just found out that this dress was actually on SUPER clearance for $15!!!  And so fate led me to this dress.

And it would be appropriate that on this day, in this dress, I lost a bet to Patrick.  A few weeks back at the Muckfest for MS, Patrick had given me his wedding ring to hang on to and he was without it for a few days.  He came home one day to tell me that he needed it back because some girl at Taco Bell was flirting with him.

I started teasing him about it because he talked about it in front of me to other people like four times.  I joked that I felt like an awful wife that did not flirt with him enough.  He told me that it was crazy to him because when he has his ring on he never gets hit on.  And I told him that I never get hit on.  And he told me that I get hit on all the time--I just don't realize it.

Well whatever, I thought.  But a few days later, I went to this very park to take these very pictures.  As per usual, the park was packed.  This time, it was packed with a bunch of guys who were playing soccer in a field on the other side of these gorgeous bushes.  No matter, I thought, they won't see me and I won't see them and it won't get awkward.

Well, it kinda got awkward.  After a bit, one of the guys came over to me with his dog.  He told me that his dog was scared of my "pretty, flowy dress" and he asked me to give the dog a treat to calm him down (which, by the way, the dog was calm already).  I love dogs though so I gave the dog a treat, petted him for a bit and then went on my way.

And then I told Patrick about this very interesting interaction.  And he laughed and told me that it was the most interesting pick up line he had ever heard.  And then he won, I guess.  But whatever.  I got to pet a dog and wear a pretty dress.  So who really won?

Dress-Dillards

Military Jacket-Lucky Brand, thrifted

Cognac OTK Boots-Charlotte Russe

Wide Cognac Belt-gifted

Earrings and Cuff-Kohls

Mission #58, Day 4

One really fun way to wear a little white dress is to toughen it up with a leather jacket and combat boots.  Little white dresses are usually pretty fragile and girly looking.  This adds a little bit of contrast.

Last night was the blogger meet up with Denver Style Magazine.  It was hosted by Inspyre Boutique, a shop that I have become overly obsessed with via Instagram.  Well guess what?  It did not disappoint.  Cute clothes, amazing jewelry (and this is coming from a person who is not really into jewelry!), cute hats, scarves, shoes and belts from wall to wall.

It was a local shopper's dream actually and I absolutely fell in love with it.  There is just one problem . . . I put myself on a shopping ban last week.  Beth had briefly mentioned a summer shopping ban on her blog and it struck me. 

I still have 10-15 pounds of pregnancy weight to lose from Reilly.  And a lot of my clothes don't fit still.  So I have a lot of pre-pregnancy, non-fitting clothes.  I also have a bunch of clothes that I bought before I found out that I was pregnant and quickly grew out of.  I also bought a lot of clothes in my old size while I was pregnant in the vein hope that I would be able to wiggle into them shortly after having Reilly (ha!).  I also have clothes that I have bought in my old size since having Reilly as a motivation for losing the weight.

Needless to say, this has left me with a lot of clothes that I want to wear, but can't.  And what have I done in the meantime?  I have bought more clothes that I can fit in because I feel like shit for not being able to wear the other ones.   It's a vicious cycle.  So I need a break.  And when I caught wind of Beth's no shop summer idea, I decided I was on board.  I am not going to buy any clothing from my kids' last day of school until they go back to school.

But this is easier said than done.  Especially at cute boutiques that sell cute (and reasonably priced!) clothes.  And especially when you are in a cute boutique that sells cute clothes with other bloggers.  But I was good.  I did buy a workout top.  But that doesn't count.  Because it is purely functional.  And it goes perfectly with a pair of workout capris that I am reviewing next week.

#thestruggleisreal

White Lace Dress-thrifted

Black Leather Jacket-Target

Combat Boots-L.E.I.

Necklace-vintage from Grandma

Earrings-Charming Charlie's

Mission #58, Day 3

It's the third day of Mission Week with LWDs and I thought it would be a good idea to show how you can style a little white dress for work.  Here I added a fun blazer, kitschy little flats and a structured bag.  Simple but good.

Tonight is another blogger meet-up with Denver Style Magazine.  I hope to see you other Colorado bloggers there.  I feel like I just saw some of them last week at the private screening of Pitch Perfect 2 (very cute btw). 

Last week I met a woman named Tiffany.  We were talking and I was telling her about my kids and when I told her that I had four kids, she was shocked, as is the usual reaction.  And the next question is always how old they are and I told her that my oldest was 14 and she was shocked again, which is the other usual reaction.

And the conversation from there progressed as usual about how horrifying it must be to have a teenager.  And I told her what I have told everyone else:  it's really not that bad.  At all.  And maybe it's still early in the teenage game and maybe I just got lucky but I actually love having a teenager.

Kaden is a good kid.  Other than issues with school and his education, I have no complaints.  He is respectful.  He has a good group of friends that generally stay out of trouble (they get into normal "boy trouble" but nothing big).  He lets us know where he is and when he will be home. 

And I also love that he is old enough now that it's like he is a little adult.  You can talk to him like an adult and joke with him.  He can enjoy the same things that you enjoy--like sleeping in ;-) 

So far, the teenage years are great.  I can only hope that this continues for the next five years with him. 

White Dress-thrifted

Polka Dot Blazer-Forever 21

Gold and Black Cap Toe Flats-Nine West, thrifted

Tote-Del Conte, thrifted

Earrings-DIY and gifted

Glitter Belt-Target

Mission #58, Day 2

I have always been enamored with a white shirt dress.  I love the elusive, understated sexiness of it.  I looked online ENDLESSLY until I found the perfect one.  This one is pretty short when I belt it, as you can see, but it has pockets, the perfect shirt dress shape that I was looking for and I have roughly 57 ways in my mind to wear it.

I do hope that you all got to have the day off of work yesterday.  I did and I cannot tell you how amazing it was.  Now that we are done with the school year and thus almost all of the extracurricular activities, I have been using this time mostly to recuperate, but there is a lot that I have wanted to get done that I had been neglecting.  Until now, that is.

This week, my weekly resolution is to do some real deep spring cleaning in my house--now that I don't have to pick kids up or drop kids off from school and dance and various other places.  So yesterday I spent the entire day cleaning out Patrick and I's room.  It feels so good to have our room all feng shui-ed and cleaned.

As I swept and dusted and organized and created piles to toss or donate, I realized how important three day weekends are.  On Saturday, I did nothing.  Absolutely nothing all day.  And it was glorious to just recharge.  On Sunday we went and met my mom and stepdad out at the lake for a day of BBQ-ing and relaxing.  And yesterday I was actually productive and got our room in tip top condition.

This just goes to show how amazing three day weekends are--one day to rest, one day to party or connect with family and one day to get all your shit done.  Perfect.

I vote that we make every weekend a three day weekend.  Who else is with me?

White Shirt Dress-Sheinside

Leopard Print Skinny Belt-Target

Cognac Knee High Boots-vintage

Earrings-gifted

Misison #58, Day 1--LWDs

It's Memorial Day!  Which means so many things.  Most importantly, of course, is that it is the day to remember all of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  Most superficially, of course, is the fact that we can now freely wear our white dresses.  So this week it is all about the LWD--Little White Dress.

Don't get me wrong--I could care less about the "rules" of fashion.  But I have had this Mission Week cued up and the timing is right so here we go.  And yes I realize this is a cooler look for this little white dress but you know what?  It's been chilly and rainy and cloudy as ish here.

Colorado has 300 days of sunshine per year.  That leaves 65 days of rain or snow.  We used about half of those during the last month.  It has been non. stop. rain.  It has been so confusing to us because we are so dry and our air has been muggy and cloudy.  We've gotten fog!  More than once!  It's been really cray.

That was, until Saturday evening.  Patrick and I were at Home Depot and Lowe's, doin' what couples do on weekends, when we were near that part of the store that opens up to the outside and all of a sudden, you could see the sunlight.  And it literally stopped the entire store.  People came out from aisles.  They walked outside.  I heard someone literally gasp and say "The sun!!!"  It was really a big deal.

And it pretty much held up on Sunday for the most part.  It really is true--you do not realize what you have until you don't have it anymore.  We usually skip over spring and go right into hot summer weather.  This year, we got spring.  Rainy, dreary, still kind of chilly spring.  And while it was getting really kind of depressing, it has made everything green and lush and beautiful.  So welcome back sun.  We really missed you!

Long Trench Coat-Escada, thrifted

White Sweater Dress-thrifted

Beanie-Forever 21

Grey Boots-Kohl's

Earrings-Kohl's

Necklace-Kohl's

Dear Frannie Friday--5 Stupid Easy Hairstyles

If you follow me on Instagram then you know that this week my resolution was to try different things to do to my hair.  I had planned to do this because my hair has three styles--straightened and down, curly and down, and in a bun.  I am always envious of girls that can do all kinds of really cool stuff to their hair.

Of course, other than not knowing what I'm doing and not being good at hair there is also a time factor.  When I am getting ready in the morning, I am also getting four other people ready in the morning.  It's really a wonder how I even get dressed in the morning sometimes.  So here are five hairstyles that I tried this week (and visit my Instagarm to see my spins on these styles from this week):

 Knotted Ponytail

Instructions here

The Faux Hawk

 How to

Bow Bun

  I used this tutorial, but I actually ended up doing the full bow bun.

 Accessorize

 When in doubt, throw in some kind of accessory: a flower, a scarf, a hat.  All of these things work wonders.  Image via

 Twisty Ponytail for Curly Hair

Instructions here

Cropped Sweater-thrifted

Denim Skirt-thrifted

Fringed Purse-Marshall's

Platform Loafers-ANA, thrifted

Earrings-Kohl's