Little Girl Dresses

I have several nieces and nephews, but I only get to see two of them on a regular basis.  My nephew and I have a weird relationship.  I am convinced that he hates me.  My two year old niece Lylah, on the other hand, is my heart.  She loves her Aunt Jenn, and it's all I can do not to squeeze her until she pops every time I see her.

My sister always has her wearing the cutest little dresses.  I remember when my girls were little and I bought them the cutest childrens clothing.  I loved putting them in dresses.  Kasi is fifteen now, and refuses to wear skirts or dresses.  Brandi will still wear dresses, as long as she picks them out herself.  She is really into designer childrens clothing, and has a fashion sense all her own. I apparently do not have the same taste as her, because she never really likes what I pick out for her.

I wish my girls were still young enough to wear cute little dresses like the ones I found at Babe & Tess. Click on the link and check out the little mustard colored sundress.  Isn't it adorable?  My girls are too big for it, but my niece would look beyond adorable wearing it.  I found the cutest little bow headband at Pin Pretty that would match the dress perfectly.  Lylah always has a hair bow in her hair to match her outfits.  It's just another thing that makes her adorable.

I hope one day my kids will give me granddaughters.  I can't wait to start buying cute little dresses again.  Of course, if I ever have grandsons, they will be looking stylish too.

Clothes

I am not a good shopper, especially when it comes to clothes.  It used to be because I really could not fit into a  lot of things because of my huge chest.  After my breast reduction, everything I tried on made me look pregnant, because I was so fat.  Now that I have lost almost one hundred pounds, clothes fit me better, but I am not a good judge of what looks good on.  For instance, I can love a top on someone else, but if I were to see it in the store, I would probably overlook it because, well, I don't know why.  I like solid colors, not prints. I guess you could say my taste is kind of boring.  I used to wear a lot of black, and while I do have some black tops and pants, I am gravitating more towards brown nowadays.

I know when people look at me, they are judging me by what I am wearing.  Maybe not on a conscience level, but I was once told that the way you dress influences the way other people treat you.  I didn't use to believe that, but now I kind of do.  I know that now that I am dressing better, I have more confidence. Feeling better about myself makes me friendlier towards people, which in turn makes them friendlier towards me.  Maybe it has more to do with my new found confidence than my outward appearance, but who knows.

I can always tell when my boss has a meeting to go to by the way he dresses each day.  If he shows up in jeans and a tshirt, I know he's doing deliveries like me.  If he is wearing one of his custom made suits, I know he will be going to some type of meeting.  I'm glad that I can show up for work in shorts and a nice top, no matter what my day has in store.  While LS Mens Clothing looks great on, I am sure even my boss is more comfortable in his jeans, especially now that it is so hot outside.

I am excited to lose the rest of this weight so that I can go out and try to find new clothes to buy.  I may have to take a couple of my girlfriends with me, because like I said, I am not good at picking things out.

Funny Irish TShirts Review

I'm Irish, and what better way to let the world know than to advertise this fact on a tshirt? I was given the opportunity to pick from an abundance of FUNNY IRISH T-SHIRTS, and while a bunch of them were awesome, when I saw the one below, I immediately thought of Kasi.

The shirt is made from 100% cotton, and Kasi loves it!  It's soft and comfortable to wear, and she has a thing for skulls.  She was thrilled when I told her she could have it.

If you want to show off your Irishness (look at me making up words!) this St. Patrick's Day, get a shirt from Funny Irish Shirts.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

I Need New Everything

 I can not tell you how excited I am that it is tax time.  Some people dread this time of year, but not me.  In years past, my ex and I have done well when it comes to our refund, and I expect to do just as well this year.  I don;t make a lot of money, and it's hard enough for me to pay my bills every month, let alone splurge on things for the kids.  It is usually February when I buy them new clothes and shoes and all the other things I can't afford during the year.

Just because I have money to spend doesn't mean I spend it freely.  I still refuse to pay full price for anything, and I scour the stores for sales.  This year I am going to spend some money on new clothes for myself. I don't wear a uniform to work (though I do have some company sweatshirts) and I like to look nice. I no longer need pants with elastic waistbands, so jean shopping should be fun. I also need new shoes.  My sneakers have holes in the bottoms, so when it rains I walk around all day with wet feet.

This is also the time of year we all get new socks and underwear.  This may be too much information, but I haven't bought new underwear since I have lost all this weight, and the ones I wear are way too big.  I am looking forward to buying some that will fit properly.  Of course, I will try and find a hanes coupon or two to help save me some money. I also need new bras.  I haven't bought a "real" bra since my surgery.  I have only worn sports bras.  I am looking forward to buying something lacy and sexy.  The only bras that used to fit me didn't come in any color other than white, so I'm hoping to find something black that fits.  Or maybe even something purple.  Or flowery.  Who knows.  It will be fun to have choices. 

I promised the kids that I will give them each one hundred dollars when I get my refund to make up for the very small Christmas we had, so they have been planning how they will spend their money.  Of course, there choices change everyday, so who knows what they will end up buying.  I just hope whatever it is, it doesn't eat or poop.

Clothes For My Girls

I have been doing laundry all day.  The funny thing is, hardly any of it is mine.  Most of it belongs to my ten year old.  She has more clothes than the rest of us combined.  One of these days I have to find the time to go through her closet and her dresser and weed out all the stuff she has outgrown.  I have a friend who I give all her hand me downs to.  In fact, all my kids need to go through their clothes.  And with Christmas coming up, I know they will all get more clothes, so I really do need to get on top of this.  Or better yet, the kids have the week before Christmas off from school, so maybe I'll just get them to do it themselves.

I am sure once all the stuff that no longer fits is gone Brandi will need some new things.  I was checking out the tea collection wesite, and they have some really cute things.  I found this, and I think it would look adorable on Brandi.

For Kasi, this is perfect.

Yeah, if you know my fourteen at all, you know I'm kidding.  Kasi is all about tshirts and jeans.  She wouldn't be caught dead in something like this.  Now, if I was thinner, I would want it for myself!

Looking Nice

 I see a therapist every other Wednesday.  I have been seeing her alone since my husband left.  Before that, we used to see her together.  When I saw her this past Wednesday she asked me if I had lost more weight.  Honestly, I haven't been on the scale in a couple of weeks so I have no idea if I have or not.  What I do know is that I am feeling confident these days, which means I am putting an effort into how I look when I go to work every day.  It used to be that I wore sweat pants and tshirts all the time, and it had been years, many, many years since I have bothered with makeup.  Now, I like looking nice.

The problem, now that it is getting colder, is that none of my winter clothes fit properly, because I have lost so much weight since last year.  I still wear a plus size dress, only now I am not so much of a plus.  I hope one day to lose the rest of this weight so I won't have to wear plus sized clothes anymore.  For now, though, I need to find something nice to wear for Christmas.  I want to have a picture taken of the kids and I that I can frame, and I want to look pretty.  I usually wear black, but I want to find something with a little color.

I wonder what color would look good on me and say Christmas?

New Clothes

The time has almost come to break out my warmer winter clothes and pack away the shorts and flip flops.  This makes me kind of sad, because I love my flip flops and sandals. I hate the thought of putting on socks and sneakers every day.  On the plus side, though, I will no longer have to shave my legs every day.  Now that my husband is gone, I can go weeks without shaving now if I want to.  I mean, who is going to be seeing my legs anyway if I have jeans on all the time?

At the end of Winter last year I bought some new plus size womens clothing that were on clearance for one dollar each.  I bought a size smaller than I was wearing then, hoping I would lose enough weight before this Winter began to fit into them.  Last week, I tried them on, and they all fit perfectly.  I was so excited!  I still need to get a few pairs of jeans, and I'm hoping I'll be a size smaller in the waist, too.  I was a little worried they wouldn't fit, because my weight has been holding steady for a few months now.  But when I think about it, I am about 60 pounds lighter now than I was last winter.

If I could just lose these last 50 or so pounds that are still hanging around...

Clothes

Clothes.  I hate the thought have having to shop for new clothes.  I don't necessarily have a style, and usually settle just for what fits. These days, that means blue jeans shorts and a cute to.  I am trying to steer away from wearing tshirts, especially at work.  Eventually, I think my boss might get me some tshirts with the company logo, but for now, I just wear what I have.

I'm not sure if it's just me, but finding cute tops for someone my size can be difficult.  I still have a belly, and now that my boobs are smaller, a lot of tops make me look like I am pregnant.  But, like I've said before, I find that I am more comfortable these days in tops that fit me, not just drape on me.

Men have it easier, I think.  They have places where they can buy Big and Tall Clothing, and lets face it, there are only so many different shirts a guy can wear.  They don't have to worry about how their boobs look, if it's too low cut, or not low cut enough.  Most guys I know don't even care much about what color they wear. 

Once I lose the rest of this weight, I am going to buy myself an entire new wardrobe.  And I am going to enjoy finding clothes that fit properly.

Looking Good

 I just wrote a post about wanting to buy myself new clothes, which led me to searching online to find something cute.  I am still wearing plus size clothing, and I found a really cute dress that I would love to own.  It's cute, right?

I absolutely love the color, but I am not sure this particular style would look good on me.  Because I have lost almost one hundred pounds (I know...go me!) I have some sagging places, and the worst are my arms.  I have got some serious flappage going on, and I am not sure if a sleeveless is the way to go right now.  I have found that boxing on the wii helps to tone my arms, but I don't think the sagging will ever completely go away.

Another problem area I have is my tummy.  I carry most of my weight there, and I still have about 40 pounds I want to lose.  I am afraid a dress like this would make me look pregnant.  I know that plus size fashion has made great strides recently, so I am sure I can find something that will fit me perfectly if I just keep looking. 

Maybe I should go with something black...I hear that makes you look thinner.

Pretty

 Now that I have lost a bunch of weight, I am slowly replacing my wardrobe.  And I mean really slowly.  I am hesitant to buy too much because I still have a few pounds to lose, but one of the things I am looking forward to buying most are pretty bras.  I have spent my life in bras that were designed for function, not fashion.  It's hard enough to find plus size women's clothing, let alone cute plus sized bras.  I have been doing a little snooping around online, and I found this cute one.  What do you think?

Pretty, right?  I love that it is purple and lacy, two things I have never worn before.  The best thing is that it is plus sized, so I know I can find a size that will fit me.

I was also looking at plus size formal dresses just for fun, and I am very pleased with the selections I found.  In the past, whenever I have had to buy something nice, the choices were horrible.  I don't know if it's that designers finally figured out that big girls want to look pretty too or what, but I am glad there is more of a selection these days.

I am really looking forward to the day that I no longer need to buy plus size clothes.  I desperately want to be able to shop in the regular ladies section, even if I do have to buy an extra large.

Brighter?

I am still on a mission to find myself some clothes.  The stuff I have just isn't fitting right anymore, and I feel almost dumpy looking, if that makes any kind of sense at all.  I know it is because I am losing weight, and I know I am in that awkward "in between" stage where I shouldn't invest in clothes because I am still losing, but I really want to look nicer.

What to do?

I decided to browse online to see if I could find anything different than what I already own, and I found some cute Michael kors stuff.  My problem, according to my best friend, is that I like solid, dark colored clothes, and she thinks I need to wear things that have a little more of a pattern to them and brighter colors.  

I got frustrated trying to find clothes, so I ended up looking at pocket books and shoes instead, and check out this awesome cole haan purse I found.

I love the style and the color!   I know it's a little plain, but so am I.  I also found these stuart weitzman shoes that would totally match the bag.

I wonder if getting these would get my best friend off my back for a while?

Glasses And Clothes

I am exhausted.  I need about 14 hours of sleep to feel human again.  Or as close to human as I am.  Work has been great; I still look forward to it every day.  I love the variety every day provides.  I never know where I am going to go or what I am going to do, and I really do like that.

The other day I was driving and I realized that my glasses were dirty.  I do not recommend taking off your glasses to clean them while you are driving, but that is what I did.  Not only were they dirty; they are all scratched up.  I think I am going to have to look into getting some new prescription eyeglasses.  My only issue is that I don't have any extra money these days.  Thankfully, there are places like ZenniOptical that sell glasses for really reasonable prices.  Their glasses start at $8, and I have friends who have actually ordered some and they are very satisfied.  I know that I would want to get a similar style to what I have now, so I don't have to worry about getting a pair I don't like.

I also need some new summer clothes.  All this weight I have lost has my clothes hanging off of me, and I hate the way they look.  There is a part of me that thinks I should wait until I am done losing before investing in clothes, which is probably what I will do.

I Want New Undies

Check out this bra.  Isn't it gorgeous?  Now that I have smaller breasts, I can wear cute little bras like this one.  In the past, my selection was limited due to the size of my breasts.  I was able to pick between either a white bra or a beige bra.  That was it.  I wasn't able to wear the lacy, colored ones like this one that I found on the damart website. 

These days, I can.  In fact, my best friend gave me a very pretty lacy bra with white ruffles ad purple ribbon accents and flowers.  I love it. It makes me feel sexy when I wear it, and I haven't felt like that in a long time.

I am actually looking forward to buying all new intimates.  Aside from my new lacy bra, the rest of my bras are sports bras, which have absolutely no personality at all.  I need some personality.  I need black bras and purple bras.  I need lacy bras and sexy bras.

I am also loving this thermal tank.  It's feminine, yet covers a whole lot of skin.  I am needing something to wear under a couple of my low cut sweaters, and I think this would be perfect.  I bet it is pretty warm too, since it is a thermal.

Now, all I need is a job so that I can afford to buy myself all of these beautiful things.

Working In My PJs

A couple of weeks ago, I went clothes shopping for the first time in a very long time.  It's hard, when you're a big girl, to find clothes that fit right and are comfortable.  Thankfully, I was able to find three tops that I really liked, and they were reasonably priced.  I also bought a new pair of pajamas.  For me, that's work clothes, since I spend my work day in front of the computer, in my pajamas.  I don't have to wear Scrub tops or special pants.  I can wear whatever I want, and trust me, there are days I never get dressed.  Thankfully, a lot of my pajama pants are warm enough to wear to the bus stop in the afternoons to get Brandi off the bus.

Maybe one of these days I'll stop embarrassing her, and I'll wear something more professional to the bus stop.  Maybe I'll buy a White lab coat and pretend I'm a doctor.   There are doctors who spend the day in their pajamas, right? Right?

I Have No Sense Of Fashion. At All.

I do not know much about fashion.  I am not sure what the hottest trends are right now, or what is the must have item of the season.  I wear simple clothes.  I don't wear makeup.  I am probably a fashion disaster, but that's okay with me.  I do, however, know what I like, and I am loving this leather jacket.  Not for myself, of course, but for Junior.  I think he would look great in it.  It has almost a classic look, which I like.  It's something that he can wear today, and also five years from today.

At least that's my opinion.

It was designed by Bian Variani. Fashion Designer Bian Variani designs for Massari "Be Easy" Music Video Hit's #1 on the Charts. When you watch the video below, check out the orange and white jacket the singer is wearing while leaning up against the car.  That was also designed by Bian Variani.


The colors of that jacket are a little bold for me, but that is what this designer is known for.  In fact, I read that "his signature style can be characterized as sexy to the point of excess, with an unabashed use of vibrant color, streamlined cuts and a high fashion approach to both fabric choices and design".

It doesn't sound like he would design something I would wear, but then again, I'm no celebrity.  At least not to other people. In my own mind, I'm a rockstar!

Sneakers

Every Christmas, my kids get clothes from family. You would think they wouldn't look forward to something like that, but they love it as much as I do. Especially the girls. Ryan like it, but doesn't get excited about it. To him, it is what it is. I guess it's a boy thing.

I was ready to kill him a couple of weeks ago because of another "boy thing" he did. Remember how he dressed up as the Scream guy for his party? Did you happen to notice his shoes in the picture? I'll have to go back and see if you can tell in the picture, but he took a can of black spray paint to his sneakers because he needed black shoes. I could have killed him. Had I known he was going to do that, I would have found some foot locker coupons and went and bought him a pair of black shoes.

The worst part was that he had Junior's permission to do it, so I couldn't really get mad at him. I did, however, want to kill my husband.

Ryan And His TShirts

My son hates wearing long sleeved shirts. In fact, he will only wear golf shirts and tshirts. Every year he gets nice sweaters and longed sleeve shirts for Christmas, and I end up giving them to a friend of a friends little boy, because Ryan refuses to wear them.

I think it is a comfort thing.

He does have a nice collection of funny t shirts. He has one that says "my sister ate my homework", and another that has "10 reasons why I don't have my homework". The funnier the saying, the more likely he is to wear it.

I found this shirt that says "mom likes me best" and I know he would wear it, if only to annoy his sisters. This shirt is cool because it can be customized. I can pick the style of the shirt and the color. And, it is only $7.50. Not bad, right?

I am hoping Ryan will grow out of this stage, but for now, I will have to accept his odd sense of humor, and be thankful that he does have a few collared golf shirts he'll wear on special occasions.

Clothes Shopping

My nephew's birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I have no idea what to get him. I was trying to find ideas online, and came across this site that sells the latest and coolest ed hardy kids clothes. I found this green shirt that I think he would love. I can get free shipping, which you all know I love, and if I (or you) use the code DEHK, I can get 15% off my first order. This site also has baby clothes, so I might get something for my newest little nephew, who is going to be born this Friday.

I will admit, I didn't know this particular trendy line of clothing was available for kids. Apparently this brand name of clothing is popular with celebrities, with Heidi Klum's family wearing it. I just love her kids; they are adorable. I can not wait to see who her newest little girl is going to look like.

I am going to continue looking around the site, and see what else I can find. I have three more nieces or nephews who are going to be born in the next six months, so I may as well stock up on some gifts.

Black

I love wearing black. Most of my clothes are either black, or dark blue. I think it goes back to when I read an article saying that dark clothes make you appear thinner. I don't know that I agree with that, but I do think dark clothes hide fat rolls better than light colored clothes.

Now, just because I prefer dark clothes doesn't mean I am "goth" in any way, or that I spend time in free gothic chat rooms. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying there is anything wrong with chat rooms. They are a great place to meet people who share your interests. In fact, I know of quite a few people who have met their significant others this way.

Armani Exchange

Armani. When I hear that name, I think of celebrities and rich people. I also think of gorgeous clothes.

Let's assume right now that I could afford to buy something from Armani Exchange. They have new premium denim starting at just $98, so I decided to check out their jeans. Since we are pretending that I can afford these clothes, we are also going to pretend that I have the body to make these clothes look good. I love the Indigo Destruction Skinny Leg Jeans. They look faded and beat up, so they would fit right in with the rest of my wardrobe. I also liked A/X Pocket Boot Cut. They are the dark denim, which I love, and they flair a little at the bottom.

My favorite jeans, however, are the Wing Printed Boot Cut in the picture. This site has a virtual dressing room, where you can match jeans with tops and other accessories. I love the purple shirt I picked to go with the jeans. Looks like a cute outfit, right?

By now you are probably like me, and you want to go buy some of these awesome jeans. But if you are like me, money concerns may stop you from doing so. I do, however, know of a way that you could win a pair of these awesome jeans every day during July. It's their text A|X contest. All you have to do is text the keyword "DENIM2" to ARMANI (276264). If you don't win and you still want a pair of these jeans, go ahead and buy some. When you buy a pair of jeans at full price between now and July 19. 2009, you will get a gift card of $20 off your next purchase of $100 or more, valid 7/30/09 through 8/15/09. That's a pretty good deal.

You should also check out the A|X Blog if you want to keep up with the latest styles and the celebrities who wear them.