Holly Jolly Sundress

Winter is here and the time for merriment and celebration have arrived in tandem.  And that means it's time to break out the red & green for Christmastime.  There isn't any snow yet, but it is still very cold, so I will have to layer, but I wanted to wear this dress for the blog, because I've had it for nearly 15 years and have never really gotten around to photographing it until now.  Since I'm wrapping up the year and trying to spend less, it seemed like the perfect time to bring this lovely out.  It's a cotton dress, vintage Forever 21, and really one of the nicest sundresses I own.  The silhouette is so flattering and it perfectly combines red and green into this rose print.  So, let the season of tinsel and lights commence and prepare yourself for lots of outfits here involving red and green!

Outfit Info:  Forever 21 dress is old, Qupid Heels are also old.

Old Styles New Possibilities

Recently I did a post about a thrifted find and it within a week it received close to 1,000 views.  And  I  Have  No  Idea  Why.  It's a lovely dress, but it came out nearly a decade ago, so why does anyone but me still care?  It may forever remain a mystery, but since I'm pondering how things gain popularity, I thought I'd repost images from one of my most popular posts of all time, Flor-all You Know.

I saw this dress on ThredUp, if memory serves, and thought it looked pretty, so I ordered it.  I put it together with some tights and a sweater and snapped a few pics in this hopelessly austere room, and then spent hours painstakingly photoshopping a background into these meager three photos.  In the early days of my blog, because it took so long to put in these backgrounds, I rarely posted more than three photos at a time.   I also only had one hour a day when there was enough light in the room to take photos and I always had to face toward my right because that's where the only light source was.  A rocky beginning, I know, but it was fun and I needed the creative outlet during such a stressful time.

So, I did this post like so many others that I have done, but unlike the others, it took off and to date has received nearly 7,500 views, and again I have no idea why this outfit sparked so much interest.  Whatever the reason, it was a pretty dress, and still is, as I still have it in my wardrobe.  I don't often go back and repost old photos, but maybe I should.  I usually just take the same dress and style it a new way, but maybe the reason this most recent post was so popular is because people are searching for that throwback style.  I have no idea what drives people on the internet, and after eight and half years, I probably never will.  That's why I still just do this for my own enjoyment.

Shop the Look:

Dress is from the Contemporary line by Forever21

Rosebud Oxfords by Not Rated

Root of the Flatter Tights from ModCloth

Purse by Nila Anthony 

Foxy Finds

Well, it has been a very grueling weekend.  I fully expect to be down for the count for a few days if not a few weeks after that, but hey, it's wasn't really optional, so I powered through by telling myself that this will earn enough with all this overtime pay to afford a few pretty dresses or some new-vintage home furnishings for a house we haven't built yet.

Since I will be out of commission for a while, I thought I'd just share a few more foxy outfit pics from previous years that I still love and wear, and I'll see you in a week or two with some new photos.

'Tis the Pumpkin Season

Yes, that's right, tis the season to don costumes, carve pumpkins, put spices in everything, and generally revel in the autumn of it all. 

I'm ready; I'm ready for all of it!  The one exception being that I still don't have any idea what I'm going to do for my Halloween costume, but I suppose the idea will just have to come to me when it comes to me.  There's no time like the very last minute.

I'm so glad that Unique Vintage brought back this Halloween themed Fair Isles sweater this year because I love, love, love it.  It goes perfectly with my Rust Tights from We Love Colors.

If I must say goodbye to summer again, at least I can celebrate its passing in style.  Get ready for a whole month of spooky sweaters and every shade of orange in existence.  

Shopping Info:  Rust Tights-$15 from WeLoveColors.com, Fair Isles Sweater-$68 from Unique-Vintage.com Also at ModernMillie for the same price, Similar Jack-O-Lantern Bag-$6.50 from Shein.com

Just a Few Words

I'm at a loss for words lately.  I've even cut down on the number of posts I've been doing because I just don't have that much to say.  Call it the end-of-the-season busyness, but it seems like there is so much going on and coming up that I have been stretched thin.

There's so much going on at work and my children's schools as the school year draws to a close and summer begins that I hug my pillow tightly each morning and whisper, "I'll see you soon," and count the hours until I can fall into bed again each night and pray that my insomnia doesn't rob me of too much of the sleep I need.

I'd like to think if we can just get through this, it will all slow down for the summer, but I know it won't.  These are the busy years, the ones that go by the quickest and make parents wonder, "where did the time go?"

These are the years when making the effort to slow down and enjoy life as much as possible really counts.  So, I accept the busyness, try to sleep when I can, laugh, and listen a lot since I'm at a loss for words.

 And, that's all I have to say for today.

Shopping Info:  Sweater from Forever21, Dressed with Whimsy skirt from Collectif