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Hugs and Smooches,
D

A day in the life of..

I have the best of intentions when it comes to my morning routine.  The evening before, I set my alarm for 5:30am firmly believing I will wake up, do some yoga and meditate, make breakfast for the family and head out to drop the kids off to school and get to work with plenty of time to spare.

*in my imaginaaationnnnn..*

The reality looks like this:

Just 10 more minutes...

Alarm goes off at 5:30 - I shout something like "WHAT THE HELL?!" while sitting straight up in bed.  (I startle easily).  Frantically wave my arm in the direction of the noise till I make contact with the snooze button.

5:40 - *alarm* "WOULD YOU SHUT IT?!  Stupid alarm.."

5:50 - *alarm* "Now you're just looking for a fight" (chucks phone across room).

6:00 - *alarm* (Crawls bleary eyed across the floor in search of the phone..changes alarm to 6:30.  Crawls back to bed.)

6:30 - *alarm* Heave a sigh of resignation, climb out of bed and hobble around on my stiff ankle for a few seconds to loosen it up (<this counts as yoga.  No.  Trust ME.  It does.)

6:45 - Wake up the children who mumble something at me like "Duuuuude..it's earlyyyy", roll over and fall promptly back to sleep.

6:55 - Rush through morning routine, remembering to put my bra on FIRST (sometimes).  Rush past smallest childs room to find her sitting on her bed staring at her pants as if willing them to jump onto her legs.  Gently remind her that she has to stand up to put them on..

What all the fashionable 3rd graders are wearing..

7:15 - Announce to the eldest child that she needs to take the dogs out.  Told it will be "just a minute".

..takes 1 hour to straighten hair..throws on hoodie and converse..

7:20 - Dogs legs are crossed and their eyeballs are starting to float..find eldest child still grooming her hair..

Truman the Wonder Dog

7:25 - Take dogs out, announce to children that oreo cookies are not for breakfast..throw some cereal at them, grab back packs, books, bags, and assorted practice clothes and run for the car.  Cat tries to kill me by slunking under my foot just as I step down off the porch.  Pick up scattered items..remind cat who feeds it.  Head for car.

Winifred..aka "Mrs. Bitey"

7:30 - Back into the house..youngest child forgot shoes.

7:35 - frantically drop children off at school and race in to work.

Some variation of this occurs pretty much every day.  Anyone have any tips or tricks you want to share for a zenful morning??

Hugs and Smooches,
D

Signature Style Project- Shopping Safari!

The advent of the camera phone is a beautiful thing.  I am a very visual person and I LOVE being able to snap a picture of something that inspires me so I can refer back to it later!

This especially comes in handy when you are trying to build a signature look (and it's a fun way to spend an afternoon without spending a lot of money!) 

The idea is to head out to some of your local shops, the mall, even craft stores and collect inspiration!  If you see an outfit that's been put together in a shop display, take a picture.  If a fabric speaks to you, take a picture.  If you see something that seems totally unrelated to fashion ( a book cover, a color, a piece of furniture) but something about it appeals to you, take a picture!  You can decipher the information you gather later ;)

Here are a few of the photographs I collected on my last shopping excursion:

Cute addition to a cardigan, especially with a grouping of other "like" items.

I liked the detail of the metal, but not the plastic "jewels".  I plan to pop them out and cover them in different fabrics, then replace them in the bracelet so you can see the fabric through the pattern.

This is an old victrola horn, but I love the colors and shape..  Might be fun to do a trumpet skirt along these lines.

Colors!

I like the concept of these scarves.  Would be cute to do a valentine scarf with heart shapes..

This was a fun quilted mini dress with big pockets..of course I bought it ;)

Loved the texture of this vintage cardigan.  Might weave a burgundy velvet ribbon through it as a trim and change the buttons.

I buy vintage lingerie every time I come across it..

..and then I dye it ;)

Not a fan of the hat, but love the decoration.

Like the idea of a cluster of these like a "corsage" on a dress

Would make a pretty addition to a hat.

Love this trim..maybe as a headband?

Hugs and Smooches,
D