The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Why does no one ever talk about the road going in the other direction?  How about the one where good intentions get their just due?  Why did intentions get such a bad reputation?  I have tons of intentions everyday - I may not always make the transition from intention to action, but doesn't each action begin life as a thought, an intention?  (Today I intended to watch "The Exes" marathon on TV Land.  Okay, fine I didn't really but at least it assisted me fulfilling my other intention of taking a sweet, sweet nap.  Oh, and please don't actually tell anyone I watched that TV show .... what we do in the privacy of our own homes can be quite embarrassing when exposed to the world.)

But seriously, where is the class/lesson/book/lecture where they teach you how to make a plan and actually follow through with it?  Where you turn your good intentions into good actions?    It seems as if so much in life is about either completion or maintenance, yet we live in a world where so much is left by the wayside.  Half completed home projects, lost weight gained back, relationships left to whither and die on the vine.   We seem to be over committed, too afraid to commit to anything at all or too lazy to just get things done.  Whatever our issue we seem to end up not being very productive at all. 

 

Who is ready to move their intentions to actions?  Who is ready to move their life forward and actually make it look more like the one we feel we should be living? While I never took the class, at The Learning Annex or elsewhere, I am going to attempt to muddle through and act in ways that enhance my life.  A while back I found a list of those items I deemed as important to include in my daily life, and they are as follows:

*family

*the arts

*love

*the written word

*laughter

Not sure how old the list was, but it rings as true today as I am sure it did when first written and I am using it as my Good Intentions check list .... upward and onward.

 

(Sorry no outfit today, but I simply must post a picture of the amazing $4.00 Gap jean jacket I scored at Goodwill last week - I fully intend to wear this again, again and again as the weather warms.)



Winter cocoon.

Who doesn't love a resurrection?  How lucky are we that each time we are visited by a snowstorm, we are also visited by the opportunity to crawl out of the cocoon winter has built around us.  Most people can only complain about the winter weather, but while it can be inconvenient at times it can also be a wonderful reminder to us about rebirth.  We live in a world where we can continually reinvent ourselves and come out better on the other side of our own personal winters.  Working in a career you despise? You can always move onto another.   Hit a rough patch within a friendship or romance?  Change your approach, and you can resurrect the relationship.  Stuck in the house for a day or so as a snowstorm rages? Dig yourself out of the snow cocoon and head back out into the world.  I slipped into my boots a few days ago and did just that when I ventured into my town's new Goodwill store  (what a better place to witness resurrection than giving second hand items a new home?)  I was rewarded for my efforts with the most wonderful faux fur jacket.

It is soft, snuggly and so warm and the moment I saw it I fell in love.  Images of outfit after outfit flashed through my mind, and I knew at least one of them would involve fuchsia and something sheer - I love the juxtaposition of the thick fur and sheer.  I love the contrast between the neutral brown & black with the shock of the fuchsia.

I feel excited at the possibilities as I have new additions to my closet, and feel excited thinking about what existing clothing items I can breathe new life into when I pair them with the new items.  If I can reinvent others parts of my life, why would my wardrobe be any different?  Now just add a pair of faded jeans and a gold satchel and I am ready to go - and I don't even mind if my footwear must veer into boot territory. 

(Jacket, top, jeans and satchel: Target.  Scarf: ?, but I am sure you could find one at many, many different stores.)

What is your leopard jacket?  What will inspire you to climb out of your cocoon ....

I'm a classically trained dancer.

Okay I'm not really, but since I began working the local Arts Center recently I wear almost nothing but ballet flats - and not so secretly wish I actually was heading to dance class after work.  This has been quite a change, on the footwear and the employment front - I went from personal banker & high heels, to retail associate & ballet flats. Why I made this change perhaps will be explored in a future post, but for now all I will say is I am glad I was able to leave the stress and stupidity behind.  (Also, can you believe I worked at a bank?! )  Anyways, I was paging through an art book at work and was stopped cold by Matisse' "Dance" and his unapologetic use of saturated color. 

 





Later as I was browsing my closet I came upon one of my favorite maxi skirts, which is almost the same color as the exuberant prancing gentlemen in Mattise's painting.  Well it doesn't take a rocket scientist, only a retail associate, to run with it and create my very own "Dance" ensemble.

 

With inspiration as grand as Matisse the work was almost already complete - just grab a skirt and necklace from Forever 21, a denim shirt and ballet flats from Target and run with it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

You think your life is going to be different, and then, well …. it isn’t.

You think your life is going to be different, and then, well …. it isn’t.

 

Several weeks ago I found this phrase on a Post It note in amongst my many stacks of such things.  I’m not sure where I read or heard this, or if it was something I scribbled down that spilled out of my own thoughts; but it really stopped me cold.  I believe we all can relate to it at one point or another, and I believe introspection is a very important step within what should be our continual growth process.  I contemplated just how I thought my life would be different, how I could go about changing it and what that would look like.  Within this I decided it was more necessary than ever to continue to craft my own world, and within this world I would be more able to express my thoughts, feelings and creativity.  I may be living on a limited budget with limited opportunities, but I have unlimited thoughts, feelings and ideas with which to create a world which I feel others may find interesting.  Either way, part of my conclusion was I need to finally start a blog, which I have thought about for years.  Within this blog I can share the ways I use fashion, culture, movies, literature, art, food and all other inspiration with which I fill my surroundings.  So when I come across a movie, an opinion, and outfit or anything I find to be an inspirational addition to my world I will share it within my blog, and I thank you in advance for your consideration. ( I also thank you in advance for your patience as I polish the blog’s look and feel …)

 

So within the creation of the life I thought I would be living I very often use to fashion to set the tone and my mood, and the following outfit is a great example. 

 

 

The faux leather vest (Target), once thought to only be appropriate for bikers, has come a long way.  Here it is paired with a soft coral chiffon blouse and a feather print oblong scarf (Forever 21). 

 I believe this outfit says the following things:

-pretty, but not too pretty

-hip without being tragically stuck on the trends

-pulled together and polished without being overly thought out

 

As with most of my outfits the bottoms could make them work, life or other worldly appropriate.  Slide into your slightly beat up jeans and stilettos, or pair it with a prim skirt.  Either way you are getting more bang for your buck, and more outfits to choose from … till next time.

 

Six Feet Under

I believe people underestimate just home much power can be contained within a television show - specifically "Six Feet Under."  Every year or so I pull out my box set and have a full marathon.  Contained within the writing and the characters are so many of the emotions, flaws, strengths and struggles contained within all of us.  Sure, most of us have not grown up in a funeral home or had to deal with most of the specific situations contained in the show.  But we all have had to struggle with loss, mixed emotions, sadness, disappointment and many of the complicated situations that arise anytime you are dealing with family and life.  We all have flaws, we all have strengths, and we don't always do the right thing.  We all have entanglements and unhealthy relationships.  Some of us have Nate's capacity for empathy, but we also have his tendency to choose unhealthy behaviors to ease the pain.  Some of us have David's drive to succeed, but within that drive we also have built our own personal prisons of perfection.  Some of us have Ruth's incredible capacity to love and nurture, but we may also have a tendency to wrap our lives inside those closest to us instead of exerting our independence and establishing our own.  Watching "Six Feet Under" you experience a range of emotions, just like life.  Laughing at the funny, laughing at the absurd, tears at the heart wrenching pain, tears at the spirit lifting joy.  Disappointment when things fall flat, disappointment when you realize what you thought wanted was exactly the opposite of what you needed.  At times we are wounded, and we must do our best to patch ourselves back together.  At times we are wounded and we need those around us to help us heal.  At times we need art in the form of a TV show, and we should not underestimate it's ability to teach, inspire and knock us loose.