I stress myself out BECAUSE I LOVE IT!

We've decided to redecorate Brigid's room to accomodate the new bed we're getting her, and I am ridiculously excited about it, because lately I've been thinking it would absolutely be worth the hassle of moving someplace new if I could just start from scratch on the household decorating front, again.

And that's just crazy talk, right there, because I decided after our last move that nothing is worth the hassle of moving into a new house. NOTHING. And I don't intend to forget that feeling any time soon.

Unless that move involved beachfront property, that is. Then I'd consider it...

Anyway, I blame Pinterest for this newfound love of interior design, because there are just so many amazing ideas out there that it's hard not to get caught up in wanting to DECORATE IT ALL, RIGHT NOW!! Seriously, I want to paint all of the furniture, hang all of the things, and buy all of the light fixtures.

But, instead, I will settle for this one tiny room redecoration. With no painting of the furniture, very little hanging of the things, and no buying any of the light fixtures.

(Well, maybe no buying any of the light fixtures. I am still not convinced I won't find the most adorable chandelier-type princess light that I will HAVE to buy and install in Brigid's room. I wouldn't put it past me, really...)

I have spent the last two days scouring the Pinterest boards for any and all decorating ideas, and I plan to do it all day tomorrow, too, because we've set Saturday as the day we're going out for paint samples and IKEA shopping.

(IKEA!! Yay!!)

But, beyond that...I'm a little lost. Who should I be following on Pinterest for their pretty pinning of room inspirations? Where else should I be looking for amazing decorating ideas? What awesome interior design sites am I missing out on by my limited knowledge of the Internet? Why am I getting myself all worked up (mostly in a good way...) over some vague idea of a room design that I may or may not have already settled on?

WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?!?!

GAHHHHH!

(Have I ever mentioned that I have no idea where my daughter gets her ability to over-react to any given situation at any given time? Really...NO IDEA.)

Oh, hello there...

Well, I've been gone for awhile, I think. I hope you all had a lovely, lovely last couple of weeks! I definitely did, but now my Google Reader feed is crazy full (I plan to skim most of the posts, but my comments may be a little limited this week...but I've missed keeping up with my lovely Internet friends!), I have a sick kid at home who is currently in the habit of sleeping with mommy and daddy at night, and I have to go back to work tomorrow. Boo.

But. But!!!

After being gone for a week and a half visiting various family members for the holidays, I came home to a lovely Secret Santa gift from Stacia of free to be Stacia Lee:




Thank you so much, Stacia! I CAN'T WAIT to watch this movie, again. I LOVE it. And also, thanks to Viktoria and Mary for hosting the Secret Santa swap!

On a different note, I think there might be some changes around here, starting this month. I very much love this space, and I definitely don't want to abandon it entirely, but I think I may have to change direction a bit. I don't know that I have the time or energy this year to keep up with daily outfit photos, as much as I love the style/fashion blog community. Between Brigid and work, not to mention Steve, my growing Pinterest obsession, and the fact that I read all of four books last year, I think I'm going to have to figure something out, for my own self preservation. I've been working on my plan (for myself, for my family) for the year, which I'll share here at some point this week, and I think I'd like to have this blog focus a little more on that, with the occasional outfit posts still thrown in from time to time (because I can't give it up, entirely, you know...).

So, what do you think? Would that be interesting at all?

Cop-out

I have several things I'm working on right now, and no real desire to do an outfit post today. So instead, I have a question and a link, instead. First, the question...

Lately (which I'm sure has been super obvious, with the buy! buy! buy! theme my posts have been running the last few days...), my shopping has gotten a little (or a lot?) out of control. I set myself a budget at the start of the year, and I've pretty much lost all track of that. I swore I'd do a better job of 'shopping my closet' instead of shopping the mall, and that hasn't happened. I just really, really love to shop. And I'm ok with that.

But I need to dial it back a little.

So my question is, of the various blogger-run 'challenges' (for lack of a better word) that you've participated in during your internet life, what are your favorites? I need something that will help me to focus on what I already own, but will also keep me interested enough that I don't miss shopping. Not that I'm giving up shopping, by any means, because giving up shopping has the same effect on me that giving up sugar does, and I always end up over-doing it in the end. So, lay it on me friends...how do I change things up?

And, as a reward for helping me out, I'll leave you with this...



Did you know that while at the University of Michigan, Darren Criss (from Glee) co-wrote a stage musical based on Harry Potter? And not only did Criss and his group do one Harry Potter musical, they apparently came back for a second? And you can watch it all (in eight-ish minute increments, that is) on You Tube?

You're welcome.

Help me make a decision!

So, I have a bachelorette party to attend this weekend, and I am completely at a loss on what to wear.

See, I kind of feel like I don't get to go out for a night on the town all that often, and I want to put a little extra effort into my outfit. But I'm not really sure what route to take. And much like Cher Horowitz (who I have been thinking about nonstop since Kimmie mentioned her 90s themed outfit this weekend...I really, really, really loved that movie...), I don't trust a mirror. But I do trust you guys! And my amazingly terrible iPhone pictures!

So, what do you think?

 

Do any of these outfits work for a bachelorette party? Do I need to just start all over again, and come up with something else? Do I need to just give up and go shopping?

Any advice?

I love this dress so much.

We were in Cincinnati a couple of years ago visiting family, and my mother-in-law and I decided to make a trip to the Kenwood Mall while we were up there. At Banana Republic, on the clearance rack, this poor dress was all by itself, looking sad and lonely and seriously marked down.

And, even though this never, ever, EVER happens...the dress was in my size. Score!

The only problem is, even though I've had this dress forever, I've never really tried to remix it, because I'm not really sure where I'd start. The top is a little blousy, the sash is attached at the sides, the collar is slightly floppy. I've thrown the odd cardigan over the dress, but that's about as far as my creativity has taken me.

So, that's where I'm at...any advice on how I can get more use out of this item?

Dress: Banana Republic

Shoes: Jessica Simpson