Every Little Thing

Pardon me while I just fade off into blogland and disappear for a couple weeks. This is what happens when you become 'of a certain age' and a 7 and 3 year old come to visit. EXHAUSTION SETS IN.

Allow me to take a moment and bow down to parents everywhere.

Particularly those who are plugged into the lives of their children. You know: taking them to dance classes, gymnastics, skating lessons, karate, singing lessons and all the other essons that kids partake in.  Because you know what happens before and after those things take place? THOSE KIDS STILL HAVE ENERGY. They still want to interact with you.  And you better be ready to color in coloring books (or they'll just color on your computer screen if you turn your back for a second...true story), make a game out of emptying the dishwasher, feed the cat 17x to make sure each kid gets a turn, use your listening ears so each kid gets heard, go to the beach and run in the birds, tiptoe into the water and 'accidentally' fall in, watch a movie, watch Phineas and Ferb, plant some plants, wash the cat bed, dry the cat bed, dry the cat bed again because one corner feels damp even though it's drier than a popcorn fart...I mean they mean business.

That being said, I AM SO GRATEFUL my niece and nephew came to visit. They made my failed summer come to life! We went to LegoLand and Disneyland and the beach and some pirate dinner theatre thing. We walked and walked and talked and talked and barely got any rest. It was awesome.  

I learned that I can survive on 5 hours of sleep and have 28 winds a day. I also learned that I shower way too much, a couple times a week really does suffice, and I won't get struck by lightning if I wear the same clothes 3 days in a row. Hair combing doesn't really make a difference either. A quick rake of the fingers through slept on wet hair actually produces nice waves.  Food? You don't need that much when you're trying to make sure they're eating more than 5lbs of the sour gummy candy you got puppy-dog eye'd into getting because you only see them a couple times a year (and truth be told ate 3/4's of the bag yourself anyway). I love my family. Even though I've never seen myself as a parent, they help me understand why people do become parents. Love Love Love.

Making friends with my neighbor turned new family member...more on that later.

Don't mess with pirate making. This is serious business.

Beach hopscotch, anyone?

5 second nap...no one even noticed.

Snowball to Freedom

Despite the fact that I've given away half my closet, I can't seem to stop finding more things that no longer look like they belong here. Truth? I feel pretty good (and admittedly a little scared) about it.  Before Thanksgiving I thought it was finally over, but then I got to thinking about how I have so much crap and there are so many people out there who don't have anything and really, who do I think I am with all this stuff? So out went 5 more bags.

Couple that with the fact that giving away things has somehow begun to release me from feeling so sad about getting older and set me free from clinging to the past, something I didn't even fully realize I was doing. It feels like a big weight has been lifted off my chest and I can breathe again, which is pretty rad. Even just having the realization itself has been relieving.

This Thanksgiving I made a commitment to myself not to bring anything into my home that is not necessary. If something comes in it must be something I love and will wear or use (read: no sporadic purchases), and with its arrival something must go out. It may not sound like much of a commitment, but I'm learning this is a big and a necessary thing for me if I'm going to keep looking to the future with positivity.

This also means I purchased zero on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Cough cough cough. Somewhere out there a retail squad is on its way to check my vitals...

With that I say, on a much lighter and less arm chair psychology note, BRING ON THE FRINGE.

~Outfit: AE-Sweater, Jen's Pirate Booty-Dress, Banana Republic-Suede Boots (old), Signature Vanessa Mooney Jewels~

Details: (L) Erin Wasson-Moonstone Ring, Vanessa Mooney- Bracelets here, here, here, Necklace

 These boots are case in point as to why it's important to buy what you love: 

6 years old and still going strong!

And finally, here's to moving forward.

Hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving! I've got a mean pumpkin bread recipe for you. Better late than never?

Are We There Yet?

This weekend I did the unthinkable and went back into the closet to do a round two purge. Despite having amassed a pile the weekend prior, I knew there was more that needed to go. It's confession time: I'm kind of grossed out by how much stuff I've held onto and just how much I have period. Even though I take very good care of my clothes and that's part of the reason I retain them, that should also mean I don't keep on buying new things. Key word: should.

For the past few years I've felt like things were piling up around me, literally and figuratively. Even though everything still fit within the closets, it just felt like too much. Then I'd get overwhelmed and wouldn't know where to begin, so I'd get rid of a chunk and the cycle would continue. This time I actually made time to try things on and subsequently ask myself why in the hell I still thought they looked good. 2002 is over Carrie, time to move on.

There are just a couple stragglers I'm debating on and the jacket below is one of them. Have you ever been to the Totokaelo site? It's super sleek and fabulous. Even though I usually veer to the boho side of things, their clean lines kind of have me lately (common denominator: clean, clean, clean). The only thing I've allowed myself to order is a pair of Rachel Comey boots I've eyeballed for 2 years, and I struggle not to wear them every day so I think the purchase has been justified.

Now about the jacket: it reminds me of some of the pieces on Totokaelo, but I wonder if I'll wear it more than a few times in the winter. Is that enough to warrant keeping it?

To keep or not to keep: that is the question.

Buttons to the bottom.

Exhausted, woman just wants it to be over.

But the boots? No question there. 

~Outfit details: Club Monaco-Wool S/S Jacket (old), Basic V-T by Alexander Wang, Current/Elliott-Legging Jean, 

Rachel Comey-Boots, Foley and Corinna-Handbag~