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!