Woo Hoo for Fashion!

I have never been one for over-the-top fashion looks. I have never even remotely liked clothing that brings to mind the Victorian era. Certain prints and fits just make me squeamish. Blech!

But the very moment that I laid eyes on pieces from the Fall/Winter 2010 Collection from Balmain, I felt my heart go pitter patter. These looks, I totally go for.

The top one is my favorite look of the collection. There is so much shine, deep colors and perfect fits. I mean, seriously, when was the last time you saw brocade look that good? Never, right? Somehow, Balmain has taken prints and fabrics that have historically looked "stuffy" and "gilded" and given them the perfect mix of femme and edge.

I'm sure that this is one of those love it or hate it collections. I, for one, absolutely love it. (And you must check out the dresses. Wow.)

What do you think? Would you wear this look?

You can check out the entire collection on the Balmain website.

Playing Catch-Up

Friday, again. The weeks go by so fast, and at the end I'm always left thinking that there was more I intended on getting done. So, I'm going to give you guys a quick rundown of what went on this week, just in case you are curious at all.

*Sunday was swimming in the river until dusk (the most fun I have had in a while). *Wednesday, a great cookout with friends. Didn't get one thing done that evening, but enjoyed every minute with the people we love being around.

*Yesterday, the appointment with the "girl" doctor. In the search to find what the heck is wrong with my girl parts, we discovered that I have a "flipped" uterus. If things continue to get worse (i.e.- more painful) we will have to do laproscopic surgery to find out if I have endomitriosis. Yay woo. Cut my long locks off. Yep. Went chin length with it this time and I love it so far. Learned that it is impossible to find shorts that are not either the size of underwear or past your knees. What is up with that? And apparently people don't make popsicle molds anymore.

*Got the results from my blood work back today. Everything looks normal, as always. No thyroid problems, although I wake up in the morning wondering when I will be able to take a nap. And! If all goes as planned, me and the hubby will be closing on a piece of land that we are finally buying!!!

I also want to thank all of you who leave me comments. Your words have been encouraging, humorous and very much appreciated. Love to you all. Which brings me to answering some of the questions that you ask. Such as:

*Do I get enough sleep? Um, not lately. But usually. I normally get 7-8 hours a night. My body tends to prefer 8-9. However, even when I have plenty of sleep, I still want more.

*Where am I located? I reside in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. Where it has been a ridiculous 90+ degrees lately.

*What the heck would I be doing if I were living up to my potential? Um. I would be working for myself. making. designing. writing. I'm not sure what all. I would have a house with a yard and lots of plants. And I would be sleeping 9 hours a night. ;)

Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings. I hope you have a great weekend. Let's make it a good one.

*photo snagged from coco & kelley.

** Family Fortune **

My husband and I went to a wedding Friday. A wedding for one of our dear friends who has now moved out of town and we never see. But that's another story.

It was a gorgeous, classy wedding. Fantastic reception.

The groom's mother is such a lovely and poised woman. Physically, naturally beautiful. So graceful and smart. The kind of woman that I hope I turn out to be. She raised four beautiful children (two boys, two girls) by herself after losing her husband much too early. Now, all four of her children are married and moved out.


Anyway, we were talking after throwing handfuls of birdseed at the happy couple. She said something that really stuck with me. She said that you know everything has turned out alright when your children grow up to be people that you actually like. Then, in her sharp, slightly wine induced humor, she stated "I hated all of mine as kids, but I love them as people!" Of course, she was joking about hating her kids. Don't flip out about that. Her point was that her kids turned out to be people that she would like, regardless of whether they were her own flesh and blood.

I really loved that thought. Don't you?


*from the next arrow

The Week's End

Are you serious? This week has already went by? I haven't even posted since last Thursday? What the heck?

I'll tell you what the heck. I am exhausted. I can't seem to muster up the energy to do any of the things that my mind (and body, for that matter) keep telling me I need to do. Haven't worked out, not once this week. Haven't washed the dishes yet. Haven't made one single thing, even though I have massive creative overload right now. My "list" has come to a screeching halt.


Me and the doc had a nice little talk yesterday about what Zoloft could possibly do for my life. And me and the "girl stuff" doctor are going to have a nice long talk next week about why I am going to become a drug addict if something isn't done about my very painful girl parts.


Do you ever feel like you aren't living up to your potential? I know that some people are quite the opposite and feel like they have no potential to live up to. I, however, feel like I have masses of potential, yet no energy to even attempt to live up to it. Do you ever just know, deep down, that you were meant for something bigger than what you are doing right now? Because, I believe that my life is meant to be a lot more than what it is at this time. To be honest with you, I feel a little ashamed that I haven't accomplished more by now. I will be 30 this year. There are people half my age who have accomplished worlds more than I have. What's up with that? But when I look back at my life, I really can't remember ever feeling too great. It seems like I have always felt tired and annoyed and frustrated. I have always just wanted to take a nap. And now that I am getting some grey hairs and my metabolism has obviously slowed down, I wonder what is going to happen to me.


I wonder if I am ever going to feel better. Will my working out and eating right pay off somewhere down the road? Will life begin at thirty? I mean, it is the new twenty you know.
*Come on people. Lay some advice on me. Tell me your story. Or just make me laugh. That's always nice. Feedback. I want feedback.


*lookbook

Confession....

I really dig guys in kilts. Always have.
And if they're just a little bit punk, too........ well.
Can't wait to go to the Highland Games.


*from the Sartorialist

Just a Hello

This morning felt like fall. I'm not sure what is going on with the weather, but its making things feel all out of whack. But at least the sun is shining this evening and there is a crisp breeze.

I just wanted to let you all know that the "list" was a great idea. I have been marking things off like crazy. I highly recommend it to any of you who are serial procrastinators, like myself. Not only is it nice to see things getting accomplished, but it also has a sort of cleansing effect. I can feel a creative resurgence coming on.

I saved the photos above from Dress, Design, Decor some time back. This woman's style is right up my alley. But what really gets me is her look of ease. Like it was nothing at all to wake up this morning with perfect hair, killer legs and booty and a natural glow. Besides the fact that I seem to never tire of looking at these photos, they just felt like the perfect fit today.

I hope you are all having a great week so far. Thanks for stopping by.

xoxo ~Jo~ xoxo

Greener Grass

Do you ever find yourself contradicting the natural way of things? I have noticed that I tend to do it a lot. One of the most noticeable places that I do this is in fashion and beauty.


It's not even really summer here yet, and my brain is longing for things that feel like fall. Let me explain. Last week I painted my nails a gorgeous deep aubergine color. Very fall. And I loved it. It was so beautiful. I very, very rarely even paint my nails, but now I am going to have to actually resist the urge to keep them aubergine all summer. I just planted lots of new plants today in my flower beds. Marigolds, coleus, dusty miller. All late summer/early fall showstoppers. I passed on the pansies, petunias and begonias. Classic summer flowers. When I should be wearing corals, pinks, turquoise and pastels.... I am drawn to dark purples, indigo, forest green and gold. And I have been regularly spraying on my Burberry perfume, which is a distinctive cold weather scent. Very cozy and sensual smelling.

The crazy thing? When fall and winter rolls around, I will break out my bright colors. I always do. I will once again gravitate towards things that feel like summer. Gap Grass perfume. Bright pink lip gloss. Sunny make-up palettes.


It's not that I am wishing my seasons away. Lord knows I hate cold weather. But it does seem that my brain has been hardwired backwards when it comes to seasonal choices. Indeed, I realize that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the calendar. But maybe the green will be a grassier shade when I get there.

*photo from Everything Fabulous.

Pressing Rewind

I have been quite distracted lately. Lots of blog post ideas floating through my head; not getting around to writing them. Trying to relish any sunny weather that we randomly get blessed with (has the weather been totally uncharacteristic in your area, too?). Trying to keep my nerves intact. I have been too easily annoyed with things lately. Trying to make decisions. I have the urge to cut my hair again.

See what I mean? My mind is all over the place. I can't seem to concentrate on anything.



But.... I am in desperate need of feeling "put together". I am so tired (literally) of being scatter-brained. I need to press rewind and start cleaning up all the messes that I have left strewn around. So, I called and made my yearly "girl" appointment. I called and made an appointment for a regular physical. I am giving my hair until the end of the month before I make a decision about cutting it. I am delegating (or trying to) some of my chores out to the husband. I am watching what I eat. And I am making a list.

I am a list maker. Yes, I am. No shame in it. I make lists for everything. And right now, I am making a list of all the things that I have started and never got around to finishing. Projects. Paintings. Patterns that I have cut out. Clothes awaiting patching and hemming. Things like that. Things that I need finished and out of my way so that I can feel a little more organized. And energized. And ready to start on all those new ideas that I have. So starting now (yesterday, actually) I will resolve to mark off at least one thing from my list every day until the list is done. And I expect you to hold me to it. Last night I re-worked a bag that I was not happy with and repaired a swimsuit for my cousin. Woo hoo! Off to a good start.

What are you up to? Don't you wish we all looked as put together as the lovely Miss Katherine Heigl up there? Check out her photo shoot for the new Harper's Bazaar. It's gorgeous.