Blast From the Past

Some of you might remember me from 260 Days, No Repeats AKA this blog. While it was fun and amazingly helpful for me at the time, there were a number of things going on that made it hard to keep on keeping on with daily outfit posts. If you continued to follow me on Instagram you saw how everything kept moving and changing…

We (BF and I) bought a house and moved!

I got a new job and am once again living the 9-5 office life!

We got engaged!

We got married!

While it wasn't all amazing like these snippets would lead you to believe it has been pretty great overall. Despite that I felt like something was lacking and I kicked up my blog journey again somewhere different to start something (not so) new as I found myself looking in my closet every morning seeking sartorial inspiration but, finding myself coming to the same prosaic combinations (again.) 

I thought that was the right move at the time but, as of late have found myself thinking about everything I built here with you bolstered by your encouraging comments. Thanks so much for keeping it up in my absence. I'm back and I’m doing it again: One year of work ensembles, no repeats. I'm not sure how regular posting is going to be since my life has changed (see above) but, you WILL get all the outfits that I wear to work, maybe some weekend/late night goodies, and whatever other related thing I come up with. I am excited to be back (with outfit posts) May 1! You should be too, try harder... that's better.

It's Not You, It's Me

We've been here before, I know. In precis things have been super busy around here and I just have not had time to breathe let alone, blog. That being said I have been going to events, tweeting up a storm, pinning like a mad person, and instagramming for everyone to see... Also, I haven't given up on my personal style challenge. So, those things and the warm fuzzy feeling I get when I see a comment on a post or am featured somewhere tells me that I am not ready for this to be over yet! Time for a new method...

I am only going to be posting three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and only three outfits per week. If I post on the weekends (like now) that's just bonus stuff. How will you know that I am keeping my promise and not wearing repeated outfits to work? Well, you're going to have to trust me... If you want to keep track of my progress I've added a tab for that. It's also going to be a way for me to keep track of what I'm doing so I don't accidentally repeat an outfit.

Maybe there will be a time when I can go back to posting everyday but, right now that isn't the case. How do you blog with a busy schedule? All tips and tricks are welcome!

Will Return... Now

So, I have been way behind in posting… I have also been having some technical difficulties. Thanks fairly new  ASUS battery charger for crapping out on me. Concurrently, replacement charger, thanks for being really hard to track down. I hope the (second) one I ordered is the right fit so that I can get back to business. In the mean time I am going to move forward with new posts and some other fun stuff… Stay tuned!

State of the Blog

I'm not dead! I'm sorry to drop of the face of the planet but, lots of things were going on IRL and I needed to deal. But, that's not the only reason... As you know this new job has made it difficult to maintain blogging at the level it was prior in terms of posts, commenting, and collaboration. I thought 2012 was going to bring a fresh new start and the way to make it work was going to come to me or that I was going to have less things to worry about IRL but, neither has been the case.

The most difficult thing to reconcile was that blogging which had been extremely enjoyable was starting to feel like a mandate. I don't blog for money or gifts I blog so I can share my journey with people and motivate myself to keep up with the challenges I have presented myself.

The point where I shut down a little was when I realized that there are other things that I want to do in life (exercise more, learn spanish, go to grad school) and the way I was blogging before was postponing them because it's already eating up so much of my free time. That being said, I think they real eye opener was when I didn't want to the movies with BF because I needed to get a post up. Really?! Unacceptable. Time to reassess...

Now that I have bought you up to speed I need to say that I am not done! I thought maybe this would be it for me... no more post, no more comments, no more free stuff, no more fun times. No, I'm not ready for that either so next week comes a whole new method to blogging, hopefully it will help me find the balance I am looking for!

I could use some tips and tricks, how do you find time for blogging in your busy life?

Update: I Complete You Product Challenge

Deodorant is expensive in my opinion so when I come across the kind I like to use on sale in a buy two get one free back I jump all over it. I should buy multiples of those too! No wait, that's what got me into this situation...  But, in the end it is more a necessity that 75 bazillion bottles of lotion from Bath & Body Works! I know, I know: I'm just rationalizing...

Update: I Complete You Product Challenge

No, that's not the same bottle of lotion from last time, just the same company. This one was "grapefruit" scented. I learned I love grapefruits, as in the real fruit to eat not so much the scent of it as a lotion. This one in particular was very spiced, musky, or "medicine-y" as my new boss put it when she asked me not to wear that smell anymore. Yeah, that was awkward... I guess some people are are sensitive to different smells. Thankfully I was almost done. Would you ask someone to not wear a scent you didn't like? How would you go about it?

Check out my updated list here!

Don't forget to enter the Perricone MD Product Giveaway!

Update: I Complete You Product Challenge

So I have knocked a few more off the list! Deodorant is, of course, necessary. O, not for you? Well... you smell. This colder than normal winter is also making lotion a critical item, my skin is really taking a beating! Is it the same for you or do you have another essential winter item in your beauty arsenal?

Check out my updated list here!

Update: I Complete You Product Challenge

Lorena asked me the other day if I had recieved any products for Christmas. I had but, I was waiting to exchange gifts with Alex to see if she had anything to throw in the mix... she didn't and that is OK! I do like the things I did get from everyone (including myself apparently) but, my favorite has to be the courtesy goodies from LUSH.

     

If you don't know LUSH, you should meet them, one sec... this is my friend LUSH, they invent their own beauty products and fragrances. They make them fresh by hand using little or no preservatives or packaging, using only vegetarian ingredients, and tell you when and by whom they were made. Lovely Alex introduced me to them after a visit to London and I have loved them since before they were found in the USA. Thank goodness they hopped the pond, the long distance thing wasn't going to work forever!

When we asked BF's Mom what she wanted for Christmas she said she wanted peace on earth, good will twoards men, and some sweaters.We got the sweaters and thanks to LUSH we got her World Peace as well. I had originally ordered it through Amazon (if only it was that easy) and I guess in the hubbub of the holidays my order got passed over. I emailed them a few days before Christmas to check on the status and LUSH called me back that day to apologize profusely for the oversight, ship me the desired product overnight express and send me a few goodies for any trouble the oversight might have caused. Yup, it was the easy! 

Check out my updated list here!

Update: I Complete You Product Challenge

It's been a while since I have had any news on this front but, finally I have finished something else. We'll find out in a few more days if I have some new things to add to the list. I wouldn't mind more of this fragrance, Peony blended well with alot of my perfumes... Do you like to mix and match your lotions and perfumes to create new fragrances or are you all about keeping it uniform?

Check out my progress here!

Update: I Complete You Product Challenge

I have finished a couple more things in my never ending product challenge. I am racing against the clock because the holidays are coming up and I know someone is going to buy me the standard gift basket from Bath & Body Works. If that's the case at least make sure it's my "favorite scent"!

One of the things that I didn't like about these products is that the containers are not recyclable! I mean who still does that?! I know moving forward if when this ends I am going to check the containers before I buy things. Would you (or have you) put a product back on the shelf if the container wasn't recyclable?

Check out my progress here

Update: I Complete You Product Challenge

So, we're here again: I've finished something else. Black Amethyst (the fragrance from Bath & Body Works, not the real deal) is one of my favorite smells especially in the cooler weather. It has a more sultry scent that says I'm bundled up in sweaters and tights and still kinda sexy. O, that's not what it says to you? Fine, maybe someone is a little off today! We digress... I have been wearing it like crazy as the temperatures drop and went through what I had left in this bottle pretty quickly. But, I see something lurking in the shadows... what could it be?

Hmm... another bottle. I don't mean to complain but, sometimes this challenge seems a little insurmountable. I'm all for having extra of a good thing but, my extra amounts can be daunting. Are there any products that you keep multiples of on hand? This specific situation I can explain, someone (me) must have sent out a bulletin said when asked about gifts last Christmas that this was one of my fav smells and I got a few lotions as gifts. When I finish this challenge (if that ever happens) I would totally buy this smell again; like I said before, it's one of my favorites. What are you're favorite fragrances?

I also lost deodorant on my way back from California. I don't know if I left it in BF's parent's house or the hotel we stayed at in Vegas but, it is MIA. At least it didn't lose it on my way there, eek! But, if that had been the case I would not have spend a week without deodorant, I would have followed my own advice, not panic, and head to the local CVS.

Check out my progress here

Update: I Complete You Product Challenge

I remeber when I was growing up and I would watch my mother get ready to leave the house. She would always quickly dust some blush on her cheeks and slick some pink lipstick on her lips, press them together and out the door we would go. It seemed so glamorous and I could not wait to be able to partake in that ladylike practice. But, the only thing that I was allowed to purchase or use for the longest time was Chapstick. Ironically, lipgloss is one of the only things I use on a daily basis, I just finished one and had to thrown one away, it looked funky... What was your first make up item?

Check out my progress here

Update: I Complete You Product Challenge

 

And so it continues; two down and a very long way to go! I guess it's good that it is taking me so long. I am saving alot of money by using the products that I have but, when I'm out shopping my senses are bombarded with new scents and product promises that I want to cave to. Keep calm and carry on...

• philosophy Rasperry Mousse Shower Gel
• Bath and Body Works Green Clover and Aloe Body Lotion
• Jergens Soft Shimmer: Skin Radiance Moisturizer
• Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula
• Bath and Body Works Cotton Blossom Body Lotion
• Bath and Body Works Peony Body Lotion

Update: I Complete You Product Challenge

 

This past weekend I was gifted/found a few more things to add to the list. At this rate I am never going to have to buy soap, lotion, or fragrance ever again!

• philosophy Rasperry Mousse Shower Gel
• Jergens Soft Shimmer: Skin Radiance Moisturizer
• Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula
• Bath and Body Works Green Clover and Aloe Body Lotion
• Bath and Body Works Cotton Blossom Body Lotion
• Bath and Body Works Peony Body Lotion

UPDATED - Purchases: April 2010

After originally breaking down all my purchases I ended up returning the Eugenia Kim hat. BF said it made me look a little bit like an old lady and I was in agreement with his assessment, it's a potentially strange style for summer. So, last month was just one thing, YAY!

• Eugenia Kim cloche from Target - $16.99
• straw fedora, when I returned this one that was oddly sized. I am loving the rainbow band it makes it easier to wear with everything in my closet - $12.99