Saying goodbye here and hello there

Hi Skirty friends. I’m sure you guessed it was coming. I’ve decided to stop posting to this blog although I’ll be posting at another! My enthusiasm for sharing my outfits has waned. I’m sorry. I’m not a shopper (have never been) and it’s pretty difficult to have a clothing-based blog when you’re not into shopping!

But I’ve started a regular ol’ blog where I can post about whatever, if you’re interested in saying hello! (Helping Each Other Every Day)

Take care and thank you for the numerous encouraging comments over the last year. I had so much fun connecting with so many wonderful people. I actually hope my new blog space makes that easier for me since I’m more familiar with Google Reader.

Have a wonderful day!

Day 182-183: Citrus colors and fave webby finds

So this week I seem to be pulling out the oranges and yellows for some reason. Perhaps I just got tired of whatever else I was wearing. Rotate! Rotate!

A regular boring coral t-shirt with a fairly busy skirt. Boring balances busy I think.

And a regular boring brownish t-shirt with a fairly feminine yellow. I like the mix of feminine with the more casual shirt and Teva walking shoes. However, I do think I could maybe use a belt here? I’m not very on top of accessories.

But this last pic does lead me to my first favorite webby find of the week which is this super cute style blog that I just know so many of you will like. It’s called Putting Me Together and she has GREAT ideas and she’s really good at showing how those details like belts and scarves and cardigans work together to really add so much to your outfits. She did a whole series on how to wear a white t-shirt that I thought was brilliant. If you’ve been hanging around my little website for any length of time you know that I’m not a fashionista at all and I barely like to spend any money on clothes. But I am definitely interested in learning a few style tips so that when I do spend my money I feel like it’s being spent wisely. So she has a fun site and she does wear a lot of skirts and also generally modest clothes (except for the high heels- I just can’t go there!)

Ok, my next three favorite webby finds are food finds. The first of the food finds is this Healthier Yogurt Banana Bread. Not only does it use up some of my homemade yogurt and too-ripe bananas, but it is THE BEST BANANA BREAD RECIPE I HAVE EVER TRIED. Ever. For realies. We ate the whole loaf today. So moist, so delicious. You must put in some chocolate chips.

Then on Wholesome Womanhood, Melinda posted how much she and her husband loved this sloppy joe recipe. I don’t think I’ve ever made sloppy joes for my family so I figured it was something different to try. It was a hit, and I made these lovely rolls to go with them. These rolls are perfect for sandwich-type dinners like BBQ pork, or beef with au jus, or in this case sloppy joes! Not super time-consuming I promise!

Have a wonderful day!

7 Quick Takes

Days 178-181: A computer crash catch up!

My computer crashed two weeks ago, and my camera does not load into this laptop. So in the meantime, I’m using a different camera and different laptop, and I’ve got some catch up to do!

First things first, it’s hat weather y’all. I like to walk the kids to school, but it’s been up to 104* and my measly baseball hat just isn’t cutting it. So I picked up one of these beauties and it’s my new favorite thing. (The plant in the back is dead because I don’t believe in watering! So I’m letting all the plants die that can’t make it here in these hot summers. It’s survival of the fittest.)

Adam took this one. Here we are setting off.

Here’s my Sunday outfit featuring a new pretty yellow skirt I got at Rite-Aid of all places. Do you know they have some cute shoes at Rite-Aid too? Strange. I should go and take pictures so you can see what I mean.

I probably wore this skirt three times last week. Whoops lazy. Doesn’t everyone wear the same pair of jeans over and over or is it just me?? Anyways, I missed out on taking the other pics of this skirt with different tops. I do avoid having the same people see me in the same skirt. I sort of know where I’m going and who I’m seeing so I know they won’t be on to my lazy tricks.

This was my dress for Saturday. This is a great piece because it layers really well with cardigans and leggings as the weather cools down. For now, it works great in the super-heat. I also avoid running the air-conditioning if at all possible. So I wear stuff that is comfortable and we run lots of fans. (You can see that the plants in front of our home are nice and lush. The association believes in watering. This is probably good because who’d want us for neighbors otherwise? We’d be those darn un-watering neighbors!)

Aaaand I also got an exer-skirt! Reader Dwayne has mentioned them several times and I recently came across one. The most comfortable thing to wear ever. A tad short I’ll be honest. Because it has the exercise shorts built in underneath it feels modest, but realistically it probably doesn’t look modest because no one knows those shorts are there. I’ll take a pic next time I throw them on.

Sorry for the delay in pics! I hope you all had a wonderful week!

Day 177: Duggar style

Except for the butterfly print on the top (I notice the girls only wear solid colors), I look like I could hop right on the big bus and join the famously fertile family for an ATI homeschooling retreat roadtrip. he he!

Have a wonderful day!

Day 176: Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real

{Pretty}

I asked a few days ago about posting skirt pics, and people DO like the skirts. So I’m back to throwing up pics of my simple little outfits.

{Happy}

I’m so so so happy that this boy

now LOVES to swim! Yay!!!!

{Funny}

On your mark! Get set! GOOOO!

{Real}

Since Leila posted about picky eating the other day, I thought I’d share one of the little things that I do on the food front. I make a whole bunch of hard boiled eggs and keep them in the fridge in an easy access tupperware. This is the perfect “fast food” and I find that so so often I am hustling the kids into the car at 9:30am (this summer it was for swimming lessons) and realize that they’ve barely had anything more than Rice Crispies for breakfast. Cereal really isn’t the kind of food that lasts in the tummy, but eggs are! So I grab three (or four if I need one) eggs and hustle myself into the car. Before we pull out of the driveway, I’m peeling eggs and passing them back and the kids eat something nutritious as we drive.

Linked to Like Mother, Like Daughter

Have a wonderful day!

A human environmentalist?

I’m sure you’ve detected (I’m not very subtle) my anger at the changing landscape of how cosmetic surgery is creeping into society as a cultural norm. I see the vigorous advertisement of procedures directly via billboards and tv commercials, “product placement” advertising (aka all the folks on TV who’ve had obvious work done, oh and my favorite, “news segments” on the latest procedures. Thanks evening news), and the actual people around me in town who have taken the bait and are purchasing cosmetic surgery procedures in greater numbers (thank God it isn’t a majority, but my fear is that it could end up that way). It’s like a disease I tell you. A disease that is spreading.

So what would you call a person who is an environmentalist, but the environment they want to save is the integrity of the healthy human body? Can anyone come up with a good name for that?

The American Association for Plastic Surgeons has created the most slick business plan by taking the normal healthy body, calling it a deformity in various ways, and lo and behold the “cure” is to buy their sculpting services. They then pat themselves on the back for how helpful they are to people. I hate them. But they’re winning and I see it. (The fitness industry has also been doing this for years.)

So what would you call this kind of activism that wants to start sending angry letters and getting pissy with the council members of cities who post these billboards?

Thanks for any insight!

[Update: Today I contacted the city manager in the City of Irwindale to complain about the billboard. He says he has received other complaints as well and has asked the billboard company to change it. He says that it isn't against the law to post such things but that residents don't like it. If you live near me and have seen the 210 fwy billboard and would also like to complain about it you can call John Davidson at (626)430-2217.  My next step is figuring out why this isn't illegal. I believe it has to do with the passage of some legislation in 1996. Don't be afraid to be a squeaky wheel!]

[Update #2- The billboard has been removed!]

Day 175: The best swimsuit

The kids and I went swimming today, so before the summer is over I wanted to share what, to me, is the best swim suit. The most important quality in a swimsuit is comfort. And that doesn’t just mean a suit that doesn’t pull or pinch in odd places, it’s really about total holistic comfort. For most women, that’s pretty hard to come by.

For me though, that comfort is achieved when I wear a tank with a swimskirt.

1. I don’t feel embarrassed wearing this around anyone. And by anyone I mean my dad, father-in-law, another mom friend, or neighbors. (We have an association pool.)

2. No one at any time will be staring at my butt crack. Yay!

3. No special-effort lady grooming is required. Yay!

4. Whatever tan I’ve happened to get while wearing shorts, blends fine with a swim skirt. Without it and I’d have a highlighted white booty that blends into sort-of tanned legs. Or a very highlighted white stomach. Either that or I’d have to deal with special-effort tanning and that’s too much work and I’m not really into that anyways.

5. Because of #1-4 I can enjoy swimming without worry or preparation.

6. I don’t look like a “hottie” but nevertheless people do like this suit. I’ve gotten several compliments on it and my other one.

7. I really don’t know that my swimsuit preference is the reason for this, but my daughter prefers one piece suits and does not want her tummy exposed. Not only has she never begged me for a bikini (a friend this summer said that her daughter, also 7, was begging for one) it just really isn’t on her radar to want one. In fact, what she really wants, is a swim skirt!

8. I think other women appreciate modest swimsuits especially when their husband is also at the pool. Reassuring beauty at work, no? = Less competitive vibe among women.

I hope you were able to find a comfortable suit this summer. If not, perhaps next year try the tank/skirt combo and see how you feel.

Have a wonderful day!