Weight Loss And Accessory Fashion Frets

Leave a comment

In my 40+ years, I’ve never been big on accessorizing my look. Mostly because I’ve never really had a look I wanted to cultivate. But with great weight loss comes a whole new attitude.

So now I find myself thumbing through fashion magazines, doing a lot more window shopping and adding a line item for clothes in our monthly budget.

Paralysis By Analysis
While I’m excited about fashion, I find that I spend most of my time looking, not buying. I want to be fashionable, but I get obsessed reading all the different tips out there (and there are plenty) and I’m afraid of making a blunder.

I still think of myself as someone who weighs over 300 pounds, so I’m too cautious about attracting attention. No matter how great something looks on me and goes perfect with an outfit, I won’t buy it.  I just think I’m way too fat to try something new. Ugh! How annoying.

I thought I drop-kicked those bad thoughts after my fashion makeover. Nope, they still pop up now and again…and again. Usually when I’m not eating healthy.

Sam Moon – Accessory Heaven
While in Texas, my sister and mother took me to Sam Moon for a little shopping excursion.

I’ve written about the wonder that is Sam Moon before. At this Texas-based store you’ll find great handbags, jewelry, scarves, hats and shoes.

Thanks to a gift card from my brother, I had funds to spend on little ol’ me! Oh, and did I spend.

First up — purses! I decided I needed a red purse to help make a couple of my outfits pop. And I found this fun handbag. The gem at the top sealed the deal. The size of a doorknob, it turns to open and close the purse. Sweet!

red purse

Then my sister pointed out a snake skin handbag that matched my shoes.

Of course, I had to get it.

snake purse

One of my favorite outfits is a pair of blue jeans, black sweater, blue scarf and Softspot Maria snake print shoes. This purse was the punch the outfit needed.

From there, I strolled over to the scarves. I love scarves and only have two in my closet. It was time to add a few into my rotation.

scarvesI loved the prints and colors on these scarves. Two of the scarves go with nearly everything in my closet. The pink scarf, while I love it, really only goes with one outfit. But something tells me that will change come spring.

I do love pins and decided to pick up a few.

pinsI loved the color the mask provided and with Mardi Gras season coming up, I couldn’t resist. The pearl and silver grape pin is prefect for some upcoming wine tastings. The peacock pin goes well with my peacock earrings and the big chunky piece is just pretty.

There were so many necklaces, but my gift card had its limit. I ended up with three necklaces, two of which came with matching earrings (bonus!).

necklacesThe blue and silver necklace has some weight to it and I hate the feel of heavy necklaces. But trying it on, it felt great and didn’t pull on the back of my neck. The orange beaded necklace really pops and goes great with a lot of my outfits.

Of the three, I had the most doubts about the copper-colored necklace. I think I looked at it five different times before picking it up. It’s so pretty, but short. I don’t like anything tight-fitting around my neck. If it’s too snug, I’ll start tugging at it.

Oh um, did I mention the necklace is pretty? I tried it on and yes, I did pull on it a few times, but I liked how it looked so much I decided I needed to break my tugging habit. It took a few hours, wearing the necklace until I forgot about it, but it worked.

Finally the one item I never thought I would actually buy — a hat.  I’ve always loved hats, especially loved women’s hats from the 20s and 30s. But I never thought I looked good wearing them.  Mustering a courage I hardly knew I possessed, I tried on nearly every style of hat in the store. I liked many of the hats, but I kept on coming back to this brown cloche.

brown hat

Some good news: the cat liked it too!  I think more hats are on the horizon. They’re just too much fun not to wear.

cat hat

Thanks to my shopping excursion, my fear of accessories is gone.  It’s too much fun trying on each item and figuring out what goes best with which outfit. And if I make a mistake, oh well. That just means I need to try again.

Related articles

I’m Up For The Challenge: 30 Burpees for 30 Days

2 Comments

burpee challengeAfter a week of poor food choices and no workouts, I’m back at home eating healthy, drinking lots of water, and tracking my food. As for working out, I don’t hit the gym until tomorrow. So what’s a girl to do until then? How about signing up for Spartan Race’s 30 Burpees For 30 Days Challenge.

What’s a burpee you ask?

The goal is to do 30 burpees in a row. I’m not there yet so I’m doing 3 sets of 10 with a 30 second rest in between sets.

My enthusiasm waned a bit at the end of the first set. Midway through the 2nd set I realized how much I hate burpees. At the end of the third and last set, I stopped questioning my sanity and learned to appreciate the fresh hell that is the burpee.

Only 29 days to go.

My Favorite Christmas Carol

1 Comment

As Christmas 2013 wraps up, I’d thought I’d share this version of my favorite Christmas carol, O Holy Night.

Merry Christmas!

Leave a comment

Wishing you and your family and friends a wonderful Christmas!

I’m Off Track Thanks To Lots Of Emotional Eating

Leave a comment

I did a pretty good job eating right yesterday. Heck I even made a turkey and a few veggie dishes to ensure healthy eating for the next few days.

Then at about 9:30 p.m. my husband opened a gift box of chocolate and vanilla yogurt covered raisins.

I couldn’t resist.

We shared the whole box. Ugh!

After beating myself up for 30 minutes I promptly ate 3/4 C of vanilla ice cream.

Clearly I was out of control. So I drank a big glass of water and went to bed.

While it hasn’t been a complete disaster I am struggling right now.

Christmas has always been a festive time for me, but it’s a little tough this year. It’s the first one without my dad. I’m noticing when I feel sad I’m reaching for the chocolate, ice cream or any other comforting snack.

Clearly I’ve got some emotional eating going on.

So I’m chopping up bell peppers and cucumbers this morning and making some hummus. Hopefully I’ll reach for an easy healthy snack rather than the junk food next time.

I noticed I’m more of a slacker this week, spending too much time in front of the TV. And that’s when I’m more likely to eat badly. So we’re breaking out the puzzles today!

Finally I’m increasing the exercise for the next few days with daily 5 mile walks. I always find walking is a great way to focus my thoughts…something I really need to do now.

Weather Outside Is Frightful, But I Still Need To Run

Leave a comment

Finally I can go for a run this morning. I desperately need to exercise. It’s been nothing but rain since we reached our holiday location.

Oh, and not sprinkles. I can run in sprinkles. I’m talking major thunderstorms on the hour, every hour.

Nothing like being stuck indoors with 2 rambunctious dogs and lots of high carb temptations like ice cream, cookies and wine, oh my!

I’m battling the ice cream and cookies just fine. The wine on the other hand…

So I need a run this morning.

Then off to a dog park — they need to run too!

Road Foods Kills A Diet!

Leave a comment

After 20+ hours of driving we finally made it to out holiday destination. Unfortunately I didn’t pack any healthy snacks. So it was road food.

Ugh!

Nearly everything I ate didn’t sit well in my stomach. Didn’t matter if it was a chicken sandwich or a burger, my stomach wasn’t pleased.

I felt bloated and sluggish.

Thankfully I did get one salad in during our drive.

The saving grace — water. I drank more than my share to quell any rumblings for junk food.

Of course that just meant more stops and chances to go astray.

Once we arrived at my mom’s house, there was something I had to do.

I found the nearest grocery store and loaded my cart with veggies and lean meats

I can honestly say that my standard breakfast of 2 scrambled eggs, half a tomato and an ounce of avocado never tasted better.

This morning I’m off to the local gym to sign up for a one week membership.

All is right with the world.

Finadene! Amazing Sauce You Got To Try

Leave a comment

Over the summer a friend introduced me to Finadene, a spicy soy sauce recipe from Guam. He made his own batch and I used it over pulled pork, rice, collard greens…anything I could get my hands on. It was incredible.

Finadene has a wonderful kick and makes a great marinade if you like your meats on the spicy side.

I’m making a batch for the holidays as a Christmas present. This is one joy that needs to be spread far and wide!

Be sure to use soy sauce without carbs. If you’re on Weight Watchers, 2 Tbsp is zero points. Awesome!

Finadene Sauce
Net Carbs – 0
Weight Watchers PointsPlus – 0
Serving Size – 2 Tbsp
Makes about 4 cups

Ingredients

  • 1-1/3 C Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
  • 2-2/3 C Soy sauce (no carbs)
  • 10-11 green onions, thinly sliced or 5-1/3 small white onions, finely chopped
  • 15-20 Thai chili peppers, sliced down the middle (don’t fear the heat, embrace it).

Directions

  • Pour the vinegar or lemon juice into a bowl and slowly add in the soy sauce, stopping to mix as you go. Add enough soy sauce to your taste.
  • Add in the onions and peppers.
  • Chill until ready to serve

Choosing A Red Lipstick — Not As Easy As You Think

Leave a comment
Feeling a little sassy playing with my new red lipstick.

It’s late and I’m feeling tired, yet sassy as I play with my new red lipstick.

Can someone tell me why picking out a red lipstick is so frickin’ hard? I spent what seemed like an eternity at Sephora analyzing every single red lipstick in the store.

Before walking into the store, I did my homework. I’ve read tons of articles about orange-reds, blue-reds and true reds. And all the writers can’t seem to agree on a magic formula.

After spending nearly an hour checking out all of reds, I decided to throw myself at the mercy of the Sephora chicks to pick a color for me.

So began my odyssey of trying on one color after another. Focusing on the Sephora Collection, first up was Deep Brick Red, my first experience with a “blue-red” color. I absolutely loved the color, but it was so intense. Very much a Snow White look. But up against my pale skin, my lips were all that you saw.

Sigh…

Next my Sephora chick picked out a beautiful pink that I promptly shot down. I was there to conquer my fear of red lips. No pink today!

We then looked at two lovely colors that looked pretty – Classic Bright Red and Valentine. But yet again I felt washed out. The bright red was, well BRIGHT! But I absolutely loved the color, just not the pasty white skin on my face.

The Valentine? It didn’t just pop against my skin color, it supernovaed on me.

I ended up leaving the store empty-handed and dejected.

I decided to start from the beginning, refining my search for some solid advice.

Enter Makeup Geek.

Finally someone who knows how hard it is picking the right red.

Makeup Geek’s post on red lipstick struck a chord with me. She suggest it’s more about how bright the color is against your skin and not the lipstick color. But you also need to consider your eye and hair color as well as your eye makeup too.

When I walked into Sephora, I wasn’t wearing makeup. So any red lipstick would make me pasty white.

So I put on my makeup, choosing Laura Mercier’s Crystal Beige and Morning Dew eye shadow and headed back to Sephora.

Wow what a difference. Both the Classic Bright Red and Deep Brick Red looked amazing. The Valentine…no so much. The colors popped but didn’t overwhelm my face. But I only had enough cash for one. I chose the Classic Bright Red. I always go with darker colors, so I decided to pull a George Costanza and go the opposite of my instinct!

Makeup Geek recommends 5 possible reds that most people can pull off. I plan to check those out soon.

But I know in a couple of weeks, I’m going back for the Brick Red.