Trends That Should've Stayed in the 90's

Sometimes I don’t understand why fashion trends are resurrected. Now, I know this isn’t the first time we have seen these offenders, but for some reason the Fashion-Powers-that-Be can’t seem to just let them die. The most recent re-incarnations of these fashion flops we will be visiting today are the Jumpsuit, the Acid Wash, the Harem pants, and the Shoulder Pad. 

1990’s Jumpsuit:

Come on, be honest, who had one of these? No, well you are in luck because you could buy this “Vintage” 1990’s piece on etsy.com! (btw- when did the 90’s become vintage?! I swear I am not that old!). I wish I could dig up old school pictures from grade school. I have at least 2 that I can think of off the top of my head that were taken in equally hideous jumpsuits.

Current resurrection of the Jumpsuit:

Now, it doesn’t offend me completely. However, who can really wear these besides models? Plus, bathroom usage just seems so much more complicated – Who really wants to get completely undressed to relieve herself? No thank you. 

1990’s Acid Wash:

Current Acid Wash:

Yeah. Not much has changed. This is equally horrible in either decade. 

1990’s Hammer… I mean Harem Pants: 

Come on, who doesn’t want to look like MC Hammer?! Yeah, me neither.

Current Harem/Hammer Pant: 

They really look like jammies to me. Yes, I get it they are comfortable, but I don’t think they are flattering on any of these women really. And Kim K’s outfit looks like the new Snow White’s fighting outfit! 

See: 

Lily Collins does it better though. 

1990’s Shoulder pads:

Those designing women rocked this look.

Current Shoulder pads: 

Ugh Lady Gaga what have you done to fashion? I hate this look – they even have the harem pants too. Why do women want to look like mutant football players? I have never loved this look. It was bad then. It’s worse now. 

And one last thing – It’s not a bad fashion trend that won’t die, but it makes me sad all the same. Do you guys remember when John Mayer looked like this?

Yum right?

Well, I saw him on Ellen last week and nearly cried. 

He used to be hot. What has Montana done to this man?!

Well that’s all for today – anyone agree to disagree on the fashion trends? Anyone else sorely disappointed in John Mayer’s new look?

Sometimes Styling is Hard

Sometimes it is difficult to figure out how to wear an outfit. You may have the basic pieces - top and bottom, but how you style it can make all the difference. I had particular struggled this day as you can see - I just couldn't figure out how exactly I wanted to look. My basic rules for styling myself are 1. establish my goal for my outfit - comfort, fashion, professional, etc, 2. determine the feeling/aura I want to project - cute, comfy, sexy and so on... 3. Be practical about where you are going and what you are doing.
 I knew that my goals this day were comfort and coziness. I was going to be spending much of the day in a salon and just wanted to be comfortable.
Here are the bare bones of the outfit:

Tunic, leggings, and sweater

I still thought it needed something. A little pop of color.

With a belt

The belt was OK, but wasn't as comfy as I was going for

So then I threw on a scarf

It was better, and comfortable, so I went with it. Still not my favorite look of the week, but hey, I was just going to get my hair done with some girlfriends. No one to really try to impress. Plus I completely mastered the comfort aspect as I completely fell asleep in the shampoo bowl (thank you my lovely friends for not taking photos of that).

Then Alli showed me a new snazzy way to tie my scarf. :) And, I have finally reverted back to my original hair color. Like it?

Book Review Bonanza

I am almost halfway to achieving a New Year's Goal! Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, it's the book-reading one. Of all the resolutions I made this is probably the least important/worthwhile one, but oh well, it's been my favorite to strive towards! I just hit #23 of my goal of 52 books to read this year. I am right on track as it's the fifth month of the year and I am just under halfway there. I haven't done any book reviews lately, so I am going to do a reviewing blitz and tell you in one sentence what I thought of the last several books I have read. Ready. Set. Go!

• 23. The Giver by Lois Lowery - This is a true classic and I am so grateful to whichever grade school teacher made me read this book as a child, but I understand it so much more now.
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• 22. The Bearwalker's Daughter by Beth Trissel - A fun, brain-candy kind of book w/ a semi-original story combining (wait for it) Native Americans and Irish/Scots in a volatile love story.
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• 21. Soul and Shadow by Susan J. McLeod - I had to look back to see what this was about and read it only 4 days ago, so a not-very-memorable story about Egyptian artifacts and magic.
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• 20. Wolverine's Daughter by Doranna Durgin - I enjoyed this fantasy, coming of age story about a strong warrior girl searching for her father who ends up finding herself.
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• 19. Down the Memory Hole by Bonnie Turner - Sad, not very well-done story about a kid and his grandpa with Alzheimer's which I didn't really enjoy.
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• 18. The Most Beautiful Thing by Fiona Robyn - This was too realistically sad for me about a family with subtle mental health issues.
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• 17. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - LOVED this fantastical story of strange children, parallel universes, and finding oneself and it had the perfect amount of creepy. 
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• 16. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins - It's the 2nd Hunger Games book and I re-read it in a matter of hours, is there really any explanation needed? 
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• 15. Bubba and the Dead Woman by C.L. Bevill - A sorry murder mystery about a good looking man named Bubba? Really there's no such thing. 
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• 14. Ties that Bind by Heather Huffman - Meh - I enjoyed it but not as much as Jailbird (see below) and had a hard time relating to the love story and father-daughter dynamics. 
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• 13. Home By Morning by Alexis Harrington - A fun, almost-historical fiction book about an old love, returning home, and a betrayal. 
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• 12. The Venom of Vipers by K.C. May - A sci-fi book that is much better than the title would suggest about a species engineered to cure humans of a super virus. 
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• 11. Jailbird by Heather Huffman - Really loved this story of an escaped convict who finds love and peace and still faces her past.
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• 10. Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson* - (* indicates a book club book) This was my pick for my roomie book club and thank the Lord I finally had a good pick - mystery, suspense, and memory problems was right up my ally!

Whew - Anybody read any of these? Love 'em, hate 'em, take 'em or leave 'em? Share your thoughts with me! 

Company Review - ProFlowers vs. 1-800Flowers

How many of you out there are getting your loving moms flowers for Mother’s Day?  

Me too.

I have 3 women in my life that I regularly send flowers too. I love getting flowers and I think it is a sweet, special way to say “I am thinking about you and I love you” even when I can be there to say it in person.

My “go-to” site has been Proflowers.com. I also have used 1-800-Flowers a couple times depending on where I can get the better deal. Most of the time, I am able to get at least 15% off one site or the other. Through B’s job I can always get 15% off on 1800Flowers. How much is that really worth though, if they don’t deliver what you order?

Anyway, I will get to that in a bit.

I also get email coupons from both companies. I love being on a good email list for coupons and such, but 1-800-Flowers has gotten completely out of control. I have received – wait for it – not one, not two, but EIGHT EMAILS SINCE TUESDAY. Yes, 2 days 8 emails. Just kidding, make that NINE – another one just popped up in my inbox.

I feel like that is borderline harassment! Who in their marketing department thinks it is a good idea to spam their potential clients?!

Now yes, that is irritating. However, I have more issues with 1-800-Flowers than just their aggressive email tactics. Normally, when I order flowers for people I don’t actually get to see the bouquets. I am out of town, which is generally why I order the flowers. One time though, I was actually at Nana’s after a bouquet had arrived and I looked at it and thought “Hmm that is not what I ordered.” Now, I can’t say for sure that this happened more than once, but it still bugged me that I specifically ordered a bouquet of tulips for a very specific reason and she got a random bunch of mixed flowers, with no notification to me that she didn’t get what I ordered.

Also, Brandon has sent me flowers at work for my birthday and Valentine’s. He uses 1800Flowers because of his discount, which I fully support. However, one day they showed up with sports-themed balloons on them. Why? I don’t know. Brandon didn’t order them. They didn’t say happy birthday – they were just a random bunch of baseball, soccer, and basketball-shaped balloons on my pretty floral arrangement. Perhaps they work with shady florists. I can’t say for sure, but I definitely think the quality of ProFlowers and their customer service significantly beats out 1800Flowers for me.

ProFlowers emails me when they pick up the flowers for delivery and when they get delivered. I know for certain my flowers are received.  AND they always look like the picture, which is hugely important when ordering flowers online. You can also usually get discounts too, especially from radio stations. My morning station offers coupon codes on a regular basis around holidays for ProFlowers. They get my vote!

**I was in no way compensated for this review. All opinions expressed are my own. Basically, it's my blog, I do what I want** :)

Gone too long

Ay yi yi folks -
I feel like I can't catch a break around here! This past month has been immensely stressful and from my work day today it doesn't seem like there is any sign of it letting up. I am tired of neglecting my dear ol' blog. I just haven't had enough energy to put together a coherent post in the past couple weeks. I switched up the background again, but there is no guarantee it will stay.

So what have I been up to the past couple weeks?
Working 7 days in a row.
Continuing to work on my new support group materials (oh did you miss this? I started a support group at my church for loved ones of people with dementia!)
Took a quick trip to the Field Museum in Chicago
Re-vamped my patio - with much help from Nana and Papa
Survived a state survey
Did ridiculous amounts of mind-numbing training at work
Declined my grad school acceptance (it was fishy, very fishy)
Read several books - it was about the only thing I could make myself do when I wasn't working
Gained back most of the weight I had lost (cursed stress.)
Enjoyed spending actual, real time with my husband.
Booked a vacation (ok well my Father-In-Law actually booked it, but I am still stoked about it!)
Went back to my roots (for my hair color) 

And more that I simply can't think of. Whew. Its been a whirlwind and now hopefully I can keep up with the blog a little better. Maybe I will squeak out a What I Wore post tomorrow. I have been dutifully taking photos despite the lack of posting!