My Advice - BE NICE

Day 8, Wednesday: A piece of advice you have for others. 

Here's my #1 piece of advice to everyone in the world:  BE NICE!!!!

There are many reasons for this advice.  

1. It's nice to be nice!  If someone is being rude to you, and you are rude back to them, they will probably keep being rude.  If you are nice anyway, it might change the dynamic of the whole situation.  It might not, but being mean back wouldn't make it better anyway.
2. You never know what that person is going through.  On any given day, we all have a lot of stuff going on, with friends and family, and health issues, and job issues, etc.  Or maybe they have just been dealing with rude people all day and finally gave up on being friendly.  One of my favorite things is to actually ask a fast food worker or grocery store cashier how they are doing, and then wait for an answer.  Or I tell them to have a good day.  It's amazing to see how surprised they look, and I think they must deal with grumpy customers all day long.  You may never know how much a smile or kind word means to someone.    
3. You'll probably be happier if you are nice.  I'll be honest, sometimes I am a jerk to rude people, and I always feel worse about myself.  This doesn't mean you have to be a pushover, either.  If someone is being terrible to you, you can point it out without being terrible back to them.  It's difficult, but possible, and they will probably be more receptive to your comments if you are being nice, instead of like "HEY, STOP BEING A JERK FACE!"  If you nicely point it out to them, maybe they will actually stop being a jerk face.  

There's my two cents.  What advice would you share with others?


Shirt: Sunny Leigh
Scarf: H&M
Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes: Loft

1st of tha Month

Please tell me I am not the only person out there who thinks of this song on the first of the month.  I just learned that the song is actually about welfare (thanks, Wikipedia!).  I guess I never really wondered why they were celebrating the first.

I hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween yesterday.  I did not dress up, but I did give candy to some trick-or-treaters that came to our house.  I was pretty disappointed in the kids (or maybe the parents).  Most of them didn't even say "trick-or-treat!"  They just held out their baskets and very few said thanks.  Kids these days...

Blazer and Skirt: The Limited
Shirt: Marisa Kristina
Shoes: Seychelles

Boot-Scootin' Boogie

I am super excited to link up with Bri Marie today for the first ever "Third Thursday Threads" party.  The theme of this month is BOOTS!   I bought these boots almost a year ago, and they were actually featured in my first ever outfit post!  I'm actually wearing the same shirt, too.  But my hair is way longer now!

Now for a story (that is kind of about boots) from my childhood.  The first country songs I really remember loving was "Boot Scootin' Boogie" by Brooks and Dunn.  I have no idea when this happened, but the song came out in 1992, so I'm guessing it was Labor Day weekend of that year.  We were down in Arkansas or Missouri for the annual family reunion.  One of my 2nd or 3rd cousins was a teenager and he had just gotten a new truck with a fancy sound system, so he was showing it off to the rest of the cousins, and he played Boot Scootin' Boogie for us.  I thought it was pretty cool.  Prior to that, I thought I didn't like country music, probably because I only knew Achy Breaky Heart.  Anyway, I was a pretty big country music fan throughout my elementary and middle school years.  My sister and I went to a bunch of really great concerts (wearing some really hideous outfits).  I don't have a lot of patience for current country music, but I will jam out to some 90's country!

What kind of music did you like when you were a kid? 

Blazer: Jones New York
Shirt: Sunny Leigh
Jeans: Jessica Simpson
Boots: BareTraps via DSW

Half Birthday!

Today is my half birthday!  And everyone knows I take advantage of any opportunity to celebrate.  I don't throw myself a party or anything, but if my husband wants to make me a half birthday cake, who am I to stop him?

Blazer:  Limited
Shirt:  Sunny Leigh
Skirt: Gap
Shoes: Born

Sneaky Inspiration

I think this outfit was inspired by 2 recent posts over on Eat, Sleep, Denim.  I didn't realize it at the time, but then I remembered reading this post and when I just went to grab the link, I saw this other post, which I also remembered reading.  So, there you have it, subconscious inspiration from reading blogs! 

John and I met for lunch on the day I wore this, and I took advantage of the opportunity to have him snap some outfit photos before heading back to lunch.  It was a little awkward, but we didn't have any strangers notice us.  I have major respect for all you bloggers who frequently take pictures out in public. 

I haven't worn these shoes since the Christmas Party where they pretty much destroyed my feet.  They are much nicer when I am sitting at my desk all day. 

Blazer: Limited
Shirt:  Sunny Leigh
Jeans: Old Navy
Shoes: BCBGirls
Purse:  Hermes (in my dreams - it's actually a thrifted knockoff)

I'm also linking this post up to Everybody Everywear for Pastel Day.  I realized I don't have much pastel in my closet, and my light green cardigan is sitting in the laundry pile, so I'm cheating and using my pale pink purse, which is featured in exactly 1 photo above.

Wearing the Pants

I recently realized I haven't worn pants since I started this blog.  I just really prefer dresses and skirts, I guess, and jeans, but those are in a different category.  So, without any further ado, here's evidence that I do, in fact, own pants:

It's also "S for Sheer" day over at the ABC challenge.  I don't have very many sheer items, so I mostly had to pick between this shirt and one other.

I felt a little boring, so I grabbed my hot pink scarf to add some color. 

Go check out the other S for Sheer looks here. 

Pants:  Gap
Top:  Sunny Leigh
Scarf:  Charming Charlie
Socks:  Gap
Shoes:  Guess

Seeing Spots

I wore this on Wednesday, which I thought was Thursday.  After a long day at work, I convinced John to go out to dinner and do some Christmas shopping.   We went to Toys R Us with a list of all the weird toys my nieces and nephews want this year.  I swear, all these things sound the same, and I can't keep track of what is what.  The lists are like Orbeez, Gomus, Zoobles, Beyblades, etc.  I'm sorry, what??  We actually had a pretty successful trip, and got presents for 4 of the 6 kids!  This weekend is going to be serious shopping time!

Anyway, we took pictures after our adventures at the toy store, and I couldn't narrow it down to just 1, so you get 2 pictures today!  



Top: Sunny Leigh from TJ Maxx
Skirt: Express (from approximately 1998)
Belt: Francesca's
Booties: Target - these were $8.98 at the store!

These Boots are made for Date Night

I bought these boots at DSW today, and thought they would be perfect for date night, because it is pretty cold outside.  We saw Contagion at the cheap theater, and now I want to wash my hands a million times. 

Today I was thinking I have way too many clothes from Gap, so I think my subconscious made sure I didn't wear any Gap items today.  

I also think I need to work on my model poses.  Special thanks to my husband for playing photographer, so I don't have to do the mirror photos. 



 
Top:  Sunny Leigh (I think from TJ Maxx?)
Cardigan:  Marisa Christina from Marshall's

Jeans: Old Navy
Boots: Bare Traps via DSW