Open Note To You

Hey guys. I know I haven't posted in a really long time. It's been really crazy lately, but tonight I remembered that this blog is not about me at all. Crazy outfits, happy colors, beautiful people are all just parts of this blog. The real reason I am blogging is you. I want to be able to encourage you and help you. Whether I know you personally or not, my goal is to help you smile and know that you are valuable. This post is different than usual. It's an open note to all of you who need some encouragement. Tonight, it's especially for my Shorty,

My Open Note To You

Dear Shorty, Struggling student, and all you who need some encouragement,
I want you to know how much you mean to me. I may be just one person, but I am one person who will notice if you are gone or depressed or struggling. I know your nights are late and filled with unfinished tasks, whether it's homework, essays, laundry, cleaning, a job, whatever it is. These late nights make it easy for thoughts to come and flood your brain. You know the thoughts I'm talking about. The ones that plague you. The nagging negative ones that just beat you down bit by bit. They're why I'm writing this to you tonight. It's easy to let these thoughts overwhelm you. 'I'm not good enough.' 'Why did he (or she) leave?' 'What am I doing here?' 'Why try?" I want you to banish all these thoughts. Please know that even if a part of your support system is gone and it feels like the world has given up on you, there is still hope. There is always hope. You are a strong, beautiful lady (Yes guys you are beautiful too ;)) Look at everything you have accomplished. Look at all the troubles you have overcome. Regardless of what you are dealing with now. You have already overcome so much. Each day feels like a burden, but each day is just one day. Tomorrow is always a new day. It is what you make of it. Believe in yourself. I know it's kinda cheesy, but the point stands. If you can't, I will. I have always believed in you since day one. The shyish bubbly girl on the bus has blossomed into a beautiful independent woman. I'm excited to see what the future has for you. You just have to get through one more night at a time. I wish I were sitting right next to you tonight. Giving you hugs, making cookies (or just eating the dough lol) making a mess and having fun. So tonight I will settle for second best, hugs and cookies and kitties. All that the Internet can offer. I send you my words. My heart. My encouragement. Tonight you are not alone. Tonight I am here. Tonight let's finish this one task and tomorrow the sun will be out. My wish for you is to enjoy the sun and the breeze and the clouds. Enjoy the flowers and grass. Even enjoy the annoying roommate. They're always there for you. Be encouraged knowing that someone is thinking of you. Sometimes it's a family member, friend, peer, coworker, professor. Tonight it's me. You are in my heart and I wish for you to know how important you are to me. You are important to yourself. Just think, you couldn't have gotten as far as you are without, well, you.
Say Good bye to yesterday. Say Hello to tomorrow. Another day, another smile, awaits you.
You always have been and always will be beautiful.

Shine Bright and Beautiful.

P.S. For an instant smile, type 'kitten hugs' into Google. Enjoy the images. ;D

Crazy Pants Friday #6: Cozy Pants!

Welcome to a little tradition I like to call Crazy Pants Friday. Every Friday I give up regular jeans for a crazier alternative.

This week is much different than usual. Monday morning I had oral surgery to remove my bottom two wisdom teeth. I've been quite drugged this week lol. So since I've been wearing super comfy clothes and sweats, I decided to share some pictures of my soft cozy pants. I apologize ahead of time for my swollen cheeks. Though I'm sure plenty of you understand.

This first pair of pants is actually my mom's cozy pants. They are super soft and a very happy pink color with purple polka dots (the best part). Happy colors are important when dealing with stressful events like surgery. They are a bit too long, but that doesn't matter to me.

Being stuffed up in a house all day can get tiring. Also, it gets kinda toasty upstairs. These pants are perfect for dealing with that. They are thinner than regular sweat pants. The pattern is actually leaves. The blues and greens flow together in a very soothing way to me. This pair is comforting to me.





Of course comfy pants are also good for bed. This pair is adorable and perfect for sleeping. They are super soft and covered in cute moons and stars. I'm wearing this pair tonight. 

I saved my favorite pair of cozy pants for last. I got this pair as a gift a couple Christmases ago. The are my favorite color: green! They are super soft and stretchy. A must for taking it easy. There are flowers and butterflies all over the legs of the pants.

Being happy with yourself and relaxing are very important when you are healing. Happy cozy pants are just one way to do that. What do you guys do when recovering from being sick or surgery? 

Remember to Smile and let your inner light Shine!

P.S. If you guys have any yummy recipes for soft foods other than jello, feel free to share. Lol

Welcome Back!!

Sorry guys. It's been such a long time since I've posted. I have a bunch of adventures to share with you.

The biggest news is I've finally finished school!!! I'm super excited! I've been working on my degree for 4 and a half years. But I've finally finished. I'll have a bachelors degree. You guys will definitely be some of the first to see it!  :)

The post today won't be super exciting. I just wanted to touch base with everyone. Thank you so much for supporting me. I promise now that school is done, I will be more diligent about posting. There are so many cute outfits I must share with you. Tomorrow I get to spend time with Shorty. She definitely needs my support right now and all of your support too. Remember all of this that I'm doing is for her. I must apologize because I admit that I forgot that.

Some exciting news for you guys! This Wednesday is New Year's Eve! And the best part is it's my birthday too!! A couple of my ladies and I are going to go out for some birthday fun. I will definitely have pictures to share with you guys.

I would love to see what outfits you have planned for the New Year! Please share your pictures. I'd love to feature them on my blog or even on my Google+ page. Also I'd love any ideas you guys have for this blog for the New Year. A new year means a new start!

Remember to Shine Bright and Beautiful!
Have a Happy Colors New Year!!

Numbers Aren't Important: Secondhand Adventures

Hey guys. It's been a very long time since I've posted. There's so much to say today. First, I've been super sick :( but I'm finally feeling better :) Flu viruses are awful.

Second, I've run into a sad problem. I'm running out of awesome pants for Crazy Pants Friday, so today I decided to remedy this issue. I visited two second hand stores today and tried on more than 30 pairs of pants! Fortunately I have a lot of patience, lol. There were lots of fun bright colors and patterns to be found. It was a lot of fun hunting for pants awesome enough for CPF. Here are just a couple examples from today:

I wanted to tackle a sensitive issue for a lot of people out there, men and women alike. Sizes and numbers. It is so easy to go shopping today and get discouraged. Last time you went shopping you were one size, but this time you are two sizes bigger. It can feel very frustrating. Today I'm telling you that sizes don't matter! That's right, I said it. Sizes are not important! The numbers are just guidelines. They are starting points to find clothes that fit and feel good on you.

I try to act what I preach. I must confess I feel self-conscious about my tummy sometimes. I try to remember that I am healthy and that's the most important thing. Being healthy and happy about yourself. That's what this whole blog is about: me wearing clothing that makes me happy and sharing with you guys.

Today walking through the second hand store I started looking at the sizes of my last shopping trip. I'm somewhere between a size 6 and 8 in pants. I just used this as a starting point, but I didn't limit myself to just 6s, 7s. and 8s. I also looked at 15s and at 1s and all the in between sizes. I found patterns I liked and materials that felt good. I wasn't even paying attention to the sizes.

In the fitting rooms, I got some pretty surprising results. The size 2 pants fit great! Then the size 5 pants were too tight. Size 11 pants were too loose, but the 13s fit perfectly.

I feel the sizes are so arbitrary anyways. A pair of size 7 pants are not the same size as a pair of 7s from two years ago, five years ago, ten years ago. If the sizes change so much across time, brands, styles, why should we let the numbers bother us so much?
This realization is so liberating to me. I had to share with you guys.
Here are the tags of pants that fit and I actually purchased today just to show you how ridiculous sizes really are:

Size 13 Juniors

Size 9 Juniors

Size 7 Juniors

Size 6 Womens

Size 10 Petite Womens

Size 2 Womens

I really wish and want you guys to take this to heart. You are beautiful! It doesn't matter if you're wearing size 2 or size 22. Being healthy and happy in your skin is more important than any number whether it's weight or pants size. Finding clothes that fit and feel good is more important than trying to only wear size 4. It's perfectly fine and I encourage you to try different sizes to find what feels best.

If it were possible, I would give each and every one of you a hug and a smile. Try to accept yourself for how you are. You are beautiful no matter what size you wear.



Shine Bright and Beautiful!!




P.S. Obviously this issues fires me up a bit. Please leave questions and comments. I'd love to continue discussing this with you guys.

P.S. More pictures from my shopping trip are on my Google+ profile. Check them out. Like and Share your favorite pants!

First Day of School!!!

Sorry guys, instead of my normal Crazy Pants Friday, I'm doing a first day of school special.

Thanks to everyone who read and voted my post from yesterday.

Today was my first day of my last semester of my undergraduate degree. It was really exciting but kind of bittersweet too.

Anyways, I wanted to look my best. As you guys know, I went shopping on Sunday and bought a couple dresses.
This is the dress that got the most votes yesterday.

It's super colorful and happy. I paired this dress with black knee high boots. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

 

Remember to Shine Bright and Beautiful!

School Shopping Trip: Vote for the Best Dress!!

Hey guys. So I'm starting my final semester tomorrow. Super excited.
Naturally, I went shopping to find some new cute school clothes.
On Sunday, two of my favorite ladies and I went and found some adorable dresses.
For something different and fun, I've decided to put together a vote to see which dress you guys think I should wear tomorrow. To keep this interesting, I only took pictures of the patterns and colors of the dresses not the whole dresses. Whichever one wins will have a special post devoted to it on Saturday.
Please leave your vote in the comments below.

Dress A:
This is a simple red orange dress with a beautiful black lace around the waist. It's kind of a shorter dress. It's super fun and summery.

Dress B:
This dress is a black base with this beautifully colored pattern all over it. The sleeves are a bit longer. So it's perfect for a fall day.

Dress C:
This dress has a yellow base. This pattern is kind of striped and swirled around the dress. It has lots of colors and patterns in it. This dress also has longer sleeves perfect for fall.

Dress D:
This dress is pretty simple. The top half is leopard print and the bottom half is black. Super classy looking.












These are the only descriptions I'm going to give. If you want to see more of the dress, vote for it. The dress with the most votes will get a special post and I'll wear it for the first day of school! Happy voting!

Have a Happy Color Day!

Crazy Pants Friday #4: (Almost) Checkered Pants

Whew! It's finally the end of a looooong week. It feels so good to be Friday. Today's post will be a little short today, as I'm just not feeling well.

Anyways, welcome to a little tradition I like to call Crazy Pants Friday. Every Friday I give up regular jeans for a crazier alternative.



Today I decided to wear my (almost) checkered pants. These pants have different colored boxes all over them ranging from black and brown to tan and cream. Because of all the colors mixed in the pants, I can wear different shirts with them to create different looks.



I'm kind of lazy today, so I'm just wearing a plain black t-shirt to really let the pants shine. Also, I'm totally boycotting shoes, lol. Normally with these pants I'd wear black or brown heels.


As usual, I've picked up these pants from a second hand store for just a couple bucks. I really encourage you to check out different stores in your area. There are so many treasures just waiting to be discovered.



If you guys find any treasures, you should email me pictures. Maybe I'll even include your pictures in a blog post. Please leave questions and comments. I'd love to hear about your second hand store adventures.









As always guys,

Shine Bright and Beautiful!

Date Night!!

Hey guys! It's been quite a while since I've posted. As you all are probably familiar with, life got in the way. Between working overtime last week and battling a cold, I haven't had much time for anything besides work and sleep. I'm feeling much better and even got a partial day off on Saturday. It's been a good weekend.

Date Night! This is what happens when I have an evening off. I dress up and be all girly for a date. Dinner and a movie (there's nothing wrong with the classic ;) ).

Let's begin with the best part of the outfit: shoes. These heels are about 4-5 inches tall. They are white with black polka-dots. It's a little hard to tell, but they are kind of fuzzy and definitely sparkly. They are ah-mazing. I love how tall they make me (I'm only 5'2"). I get a confidence boost from wearing them. I almost didn't get them. I was shopping with my sister, found them, and tried them on. I liked them a bunch. My sister wasn't so sure. So I went back the next day with my boyfriend and got them. They're just too awesome to pass up.

The skirt I'm wearing is actually a grey high-waisted pencil skirt. For a fun date night, I chose to dress it down with a plain blue v-neck t-shirt. The skirt I picked up from a second-hand store for just a couple bucks (shameless second-hand promotion lol). It's quite versatile. I can dress it up with a button-up blouse tucked in, or I can dress it down like I did here.

This blue shirt is wonderful. It's a very soft v-neck. Because it's a solid color, I can wear it with all sorts of outfits. The vivid blue is very bright and happy. I chose a plain but pretty outfit to help turn the attention toward my shoes.





My hair was straightened by my friend (who also happens to be my boyfriend's sister). While it seems like a little thing, it actually took a lot of effort because I have a whole bunch of hair. It almost reaches my butt. Usually it is wavy from being braided all the time, so I decided to do something new. It worked out wonderfully. So thank you, Fiora for helping me. :)





Here's the icing to an already fabulous outfit, earrings. I love this pair of earrings because they're both gold and silver. So I can match them with almost any other piece of jewelry without having to worry about clashing gold and silver. They are very simple design, just two disks. I can match them with jeans and a t-shirt or with a pretty dress. They would work either way.




It was a wonderful night with great friends. I hope you all take time out of your busy schedules to dress up and do something nice for yourself and significant other. It's definitely revitalizing.

Are there any shoes or piece of clothing that just gives you an instant confidence boost when you wear it? What do you guys like to do for date nights? I'd love to hear what you think. Please leave questions and comments below.

Have a Happy Color Day! :D



P.S. Hunter-kitty tried to help me take pictures. So here's the result:

Crazy Pants Friday #3: Lava Pants

Welcome to a little tradition I like to call Crazy Pants Friday. Every Friday I give up regular jeans for a crazier alternative.

LAVA PANTS!! Enough said, lol.

Today has been a crappy day, but I cheered immediately up when I wore these pants after work. The first words out of my boyfriend's mouth were "Well, hey there, sexy!" Haha totally worth it!

We totally had a debate of whether to call these fire or lava pants. I chose lava because it's such a cool fun word. It has to go with cool fun pants. 

Anyways, I bought these pants almost a year ago at a second hand store (Yay second hand stores!) in Reno. This was our first trip together to visit his mom. I wanted to seem normal when we went shopping, but I just couldn't help myself.

I love wearing these pants with a plain or sparkly black shirt and heels. I have the best heels to wear with these pants. Sadly, they are in storage (#movingissues). The black heels I'm wearing do the job just fine though.

What would you guys pair with these pants? Have any ideas where I should wear them to? Please leave questions and comments below. I love hearing from you. 

As always,

Have a Happy Color Day and an Awesome Weekend!

 P.S. For all you guys having a crappy day, here's a bear hug from me to you.

Throwback Thursday: Glow-in-the-Dark Socks

I can't believe it's been almost a whole week since I've posted. Its kind of weird. I've been enjoying doing this blog a lot. The feedback from you guys is so helpful.

Anyways since today is Thursday, I have another Throwback Thursday for you. 

Today's picture features a pair of very bright knee high socks. They look like lace-up shoes. I bought these socks a couple years ago. I love bright colored socks, and these ones called to me. 

They are a bright green/yellow with white laces. The best part about these socks are the laces glow in the dark! Yep, Glow-in-the-dark!!  I couldn't resist buying them. 

This picture took place in my sophomore year of college (three years ago) in my dorm room. I loved hanging out there with my roomie and all our friends. We had some fun adventures in that room. Haha especially some fun adventures with those socks. :) Like running around the hallways when it was darker to see if they would actually glow (which they did/do).

Unfortunately there's a sad ending to this story. Alas I have lost one sock of the pair. Oh well, it's a good excuse to find another glow-in-the-dark pair of socks. 

If you like my posts, I'd love to hear from you. Is there anything you guys would like to see? Do you have any suggestions of stores for crazy (glow-in-the-dark) socks? Most importantly...

Have a Happy Color Day!

Crazy Pants Friday #2: Blue Flower Pants

Welcome to a little tradition I like to call Crazy Pants Friday. Every Friday I give up regular jeans for a crazier alternative.

I call these pants my blue flower pants for obvious reasons lol. The base color is a dark rich blue with light golden flowers, leaves, and chain patterns.

Because of how crazy the pattern is, I usually pair these pants with a plain black shirt or my golden shirt (wearing it!). The golden shirt really brings out the patterns on the pants.

And, of course, I'm wearing my favorite black boots to finish the outfit.

Sometimes I tease that these are my old lady pants because they remind me of draperies or a couch that you would find in an old lady's house. The patterns just remind of that. But I love these pants and will keep wearing them and their pink counter part (another time ;D).

I'm sure you guys have already noticed, but I am a fan of saving money and finding unique clothing. I found these pants in the clearance rack at a retail store. They have a funny story that goes with them.  One of my cousins (I'll call her Lydia) was in town visiting, and we decided we needed girl time. So naturally, we went shopping.

Lydia and I went to the clearance racks, and I found these beauties begging me to buy them. Lydia forbid me and promised to never be seen in public with me. The next day I went to the store as soon as they opened the doors, so I could buy these pants before they were gone. On top of it, I was still on time to work :D

If something (pants lol) call to you and make you smile, go for it. Being happy is the best thing.

Shine Bright and Beautiful!

P.S. Please leave comments and questions. I'd love to hear what you think. Keep it clean and positive.