What I Wore: January 31st - February 4th.

Monday: pants: Gap.com (I need new jeans, I wear the same ones over and over and over...)  shirt: Old Navy. 

Tuesday: pants: Banana Republic outlet (I realized after I got to school that the puke didn't entirely wash out like I thought it had...so these are going to the dry cleaner and I will pray that they can get it out....the joys of teaching kindergarten!) sweater: Old Navy, shoes: Nordstrom

Wednesday: pants: Gap.com, boots: Lucchese, sweater: Old Navy

Thursday: pants: Gap, shoes: Target, shirt: Old Navy outlet

Friday: Panther Pride Assembly day! jeans: Big Star, long sleeve shirt: Old Navy? t-shirt: South Shore Elementary! =)

Something I am learning: I need to branch out and try shopping at some different stores! I find that I am writing Target, Old Navy, Gap over and over again.  Although I am proud to say that I haven't been clothes shopping in almost 2 months.  That is an accomplishment for me (I may not spend a lot, but I was spending often there for awhile). 

So excited!

Brandon and I have been wanting to remodel our kitchen for some time now.  This summer I did some research and got a few estimates for cabinets and counter tops.  However, the timing wasn't quite right.  Then, over Christmas break we started thinking about it again.  Over the past couple of weeks we have been thinking more seriously about it.  We did some more talking about the layout we would want, colors and overall visions we both have for the new space.  We decided that this past weekend we would drive down to Eugene and do some serious looking around for floors and cabinets.  We ended up spending the entire day Saturday looking at the local and big home improvement stores.  We were so proud of our selves for sticking to our game plan and getting some real details lined out.  Here is where we are currently:

This isn't the picture that we are going off of, but I found it online and it really gives you a sense of the feeling we are going for.  White cabinets on the top and bottom (not at all practical-I know).  Dark hardwood floors, lots of light and darker counter tops to pick up the dark in the floors. 

This is similar to the hardwood floors that we found.  Last year I fell in love with a dark stained 5" x 3/4" Oak floor.  It was out of our budget, but this weekend we discovered that the same floors I fell in love with were on sale for a price that makes it do-able for us and our project.  We want to have these floors in our kitchen, dining room, family room and living room. 

Basically, I want to get rid of as much of the carpet as I can!

So, I was SO excited when my husband called me today to tell me that he had purchased the floors! He will pick them up on Friday and bring them home!! SO GREAT!!! (can you tell I'm excited?!)

Hopefully, there will be more coming on this subject in the next few months.

What I Wore

Saturday: jeans: buckle  sweater: Maurices  shoes: Payless  t-shirt: Old Navy

 Monday:  pants: Banana outlet  shirt: Old Navy  shoes: Nordstrom

 Tuesday: leggings: Wal-Mart  sweater: Gap outlet  boots: Nordstrom  t-shirt: Old Navy

 Wednesday: jeans: Gap.com  shoes: Payless  t-shirt: Old Navy  scarf: Old Navy

 What Wednesday turned into: I added a zip-up from Old Navy ( I think...) because I'm always cold.

 Thursday: pants: Gap outlet  shoes: Target  sweater: Old Navy

 Friday: jeans: Gap.com  shoes: PayLess  t-shirt: Old Navy  jewelry: Lucky Endz

Saturday: jeans: Gap.com  shoes: PayLess  sweatshirt: Target  t-shirt: Old Navy

I really enjoyed this post, it helps summarize how I feel about this project. 

One Little Word

As many of you know (many of you? isn't there just one of you left??) I don't do traditional resolutions.  Instead, I choose one word to help guide me through the year.  One year my word was 'accomplish', another year I chose 'simplify'.  This year, I have chosen SHINE.  I found this video on The Happiness Project blog and thought it was a bit of a different perspective on the project that I typically follow here and here. 



I think I need to have more reminders of my word.  It is typical of me to somewhat 'forget' my word part way through the year.  This year I really want to SHINE at keeping my word in the fore front of my life.  To read my original post on this years word go here.

What I wore this week!

Ok, here it is....what I wore this week. I haven't really blogged in a LONG time, so this actually took me a long time. So yes, I know the photos aren't great. Yes, I know the links don't take you to the exact item I'm wearing. Yes, I know it isn't great. But it's where I'm at right now. Trying. Learning.  Doing.  It was frustrating to realize how 'out of blog shape' I am.  How much things have changed when I wasn't here to learn along the way.  It is frustrating not to have Photoshop Elements anymore to use to help me along the way.  It was frustrating to realize how much time this one post really took me. 
So again, I'm not doing this because I think "I'm so cute!".  I'm not doing this because I think I have the best clothes, or the best photography skills.  I don't.  I'm doing this because I think it is fun to see what others are wearing, how they are mixing what they have in their closets.  I check this and this every day to see if they have posted what they wore that day/week. 

 
pants: Gap Shoes: Nordstrom shirt: Old Navy  sweater: Old Navy 
                                            


pants: Gap  shoes: Payless shirt & sweater: Old Navy

                     
pants: Banana Republic shoes: Nordstrom sweater: Target
                    
 
pants: Gap shoes: Target sweater: Old Navy  scarf: Old Navy

  

 

Dress: Ann Taylor  boots: Nordstrom  leggings: Wal-Mart

It turns out I learned something this week.  Knowing that I was going to be documenting what I was wearing all week helped me step up my morning routine a bit. There was at least one day that photographing my outfit inspired me to wear something a bit more put together than I might otherwise have worn that day.  =) 

Christmas 2010

Our Christmas 2010.

Our house (Albany) Christmas 2010.

Ok, so it may seem a little superficial to be posting my outfit for the day. It might even seem like I am full of myself, that I think I wear the cutest things, that they look so great on me I just have to shout it from the roof top.
It's not like that. NOT at all. I have been reading blogs for probably almost 5 years now. And as I explore blogs more and more, my world is expanding. My blog world is expanding. I now look at decorating blogs, scrapbooking blogs, family/friends blogs, crafting blogs, photography blogs, school blogs, the list goes on and on. Some of my current favorite blogs highlight "What I'm Wearing". I love this! I love seeing what other, real women are wearing. I love knowing where they are shopping, how they are mixing and matching thier wardrobes. So, in an effort to keep my blog moving in a forward direction (that is...to post rather than let it sit idel for weeks at a time, and to explore my camera on a daily basis) I am going to attempt to follow "What I'm Wearing" for an entire work week. This is just the test. I wish I would have thought to start this project earlier this week, because I did have a couple of good outfits (I'm often a hit and miss kinda gal when it comes to my school outfits).

oxford shirt: Old Navy. sweater: Old Navy.
jeans: GAP.com. shoes: Payless. jewlrey: Lucky Ends

Yes, I know these are BLURRY. I know they are terrible shots. It's what I've got. Tonight when I got home from work I moved our mirror out from behind our door to a better spot (hopefully).
I hope you enjoy this, I know I would enjoy it if you did it. =)