Meowwwww....

Ok, so this type of bow is NOT called a kitten bow, it is called a "pu**y" bow.  But, for all of my prudish readers out there I will continue to refer this bow as a kitten bow...

A kitten bow is a style of neckwear often associated with a women's and girl's blouses and bodices.  It takes the form of a bow tied at the neck similar to those tied around the neck of kittens, cats, and the like. This bow is not 100% a kitten bow, but it is pretty darn close.

Outfit details

Dress: Fab'rik 

Shoes: Nordstrom 
Makeup: Too Faced 

Earrings: Vintage from my mom's jewelry box

For this look I paired a delicate dress with a hard heel.  I do like pairing feminine/girly dresses with a tougher shoe or jacket.  This gives the outfit more dimension, in my opinion.  

You could also wear this dress with a flat or simple more dainty heel.  

This look is a great staple piece that can dress up any occasion and will remain timeless.  It would be a great dress to wear to church, a fancier Sunday Brunch, birthday party or date night.  Again with the accessories you can dictate if you want this dress on the more feminine side.  Wearing a delicate shoe, small studded earrings and an over the shoulder purse would be a perfect girly pairing.

I also love how this dress shows a little skin with the sleeves and a thin piece around the midsection being sheer.  In no way does the sheer elements cheapen this look! To me, it actually adds a bit of excitement and draws the eyes in even more. With some dresses, I think the sheer element takes over the dress, but not with this one at all. Be ready to feel elegant in this dress and event ready- no matter what the event may be!

Summing this look up: I think anyone who tries this dress on will immediately feel more girly and want to show this little number off!  

Fall Into Florals

A Top Trend for Fall 2018- Florals!

Once upon a time, florals were a print you'd only think to wear between April and August...

You can only wear floral patterns in the Spring and Summer months right? WRONG! 

Floral patterns are making a big push moving into our Fall and Winter months. Saying I am thrilled about this is an understatement.  I love wearing floral patterns and I love even more that during the darker colored fashion months we have these pops of color and whimsy to add to our wardrobe!

Dress: H&M

Earrings: H&M

Shoes: Nordstrom

Chicken: Tractor Supply:

click this link and you'll see a chicken anyone can own!

Floral prints literally go with everything! Florals are versatile and surprisingly pair with other patterns very well.  I love wearing floral prints with striped patterns and even a polkadot pattern. 

This blog post will focus on just this dress, but later into the fall months I will focus on florals and pairing them up patterns most wouldn't think of. 

  For fall 2018, floral designs mesh beautifully with black or dark tones, which we all know are the go-to colors for the winter season.  But,  if you do not love darker tones and are looking to wear lighter and more playful shades this year, flowers and foliage are also your effortless solution to keep things from being boring and too plain.  

I personally love this dress from H&M because:

1. This dress can be worn year round. Wear it in the Spring with a cute little flat or wear it in the winter with a black leather coat and knee high boots.

2. It is a floral pattern, enough said!

3. It is flowy and lose fitting. Which anyone who knows me knows I hate anything tight!

 4. It has hints of metallic throughout the dress. The hints of metallic gives this dress even more dimension and makes it even more of a show stopper.

**The pictures does not do this dress justice 100% because you cannot see the gold metallic. It helps bring this dress to a more sophisticated level in my opinion.** 

I decided to pair this look with booties from Nordstrom.  The booties go with everything and they help the outfit stay on the casual side. If I wanted to dress this look up for an evening look I would pair it with a nice nude heel, this heel is on sale, if I were you I would go check them out now! I would also pull my hair back in a tight bun and have statement jewelry to take this outfit go from day to night.

So, summing up florals- they go with EVERYTHING and if you haven't bought florals for this season  yet I would check out the link below.  The link is from H&M and has many floral options for you to chose from. The best part, they are all under $70!  

More Floral patterns from H&M

Martha Wannabe

Why I Love Martha Stewart.

"I love Champagne and I love to drink it out of any beautiful glass" - Martha Stewart

About the look:

Dress: Too Belles Boutique  

This dress is the perfect party dress no matter the season.  Wear it alone for a Spring or Summer garden party.  Or put a black leather jacket on with some high heels and wear it out on the town in Fall or Winter. The tulle adds a hint of innocence to your look, but you can have fun with your accessories to make it simple & elegant or sexy & sassy. 

Earrings: J.Crew

I wear these earrings with so many outfits.  They are a statement piece. Quite frankly, you don't need anything else.  They are perfect for a party, night out or even a day at the office.  They are also very lightweight so you can wear them for hours- added plus! 

Why I Love Her:

There are many reasons why I love Martha Stewart.  I grew up watching Martha with my mom.  Everyday we would sit and watch her precisely measure out her baking ingredients, perfectly fold a fitted sheet or plant the most magnificent garden you have ever seen.  Any task, Martha would do it with grace, style and perfection.  It was very intriguing watching her and the more I watched the more I wanted to be that perfect and that successful. 

On a side note: My mom and I always pretended we had our own TV show (we still do to this day).  We would bake at least once a week.  We would act as if we were tv show hosts, showing off our skills in the kitchen. That was always a dream of ours!  Our show would be more on the humorous side compared to Martha's impeccable set and classical atmosphere. Ours would be focused on the goofy duo known as Deb & Bon.

Ok, I digress, when I got older I was even more intrigued on how Martha became a household name.  She was/is an amazing entrepreneur and someone who didn't take no for an answer.  Yes, icing gingerbread houses, rolling green grapes in foie gras and boiling quail eggs in champagne vinegar for a living may not seem like the stuff financial empires are built on, but that's exactly how Martha Stewart turned her own good taste into a multimillion-dollar business. Her skill at making a fortune out of fantasy has made her a legend and has given her royalty status among her thousands of devoted followers. As a result, this self-driven queen of domesticity has taken homemaking and entertaining to a new level and taught her fans how to add a touch of elegance to their everyday lives. 

One of my favorite Martha Stewart quotes is:

"I think people who have a real entrepreneurial spirit, who can face difficulties and overcome them, should absolutely follow their desires. It makes for a much more interesting life."-Martha Stewart 

How awesome is that quote!!!  Basically if you have the drive to be or do whatever you want go for it!  Do not let the fear of the unknown stop you from doing what you want.  Martha never let the fear get in her way and now look where that got her, owning over a billion dollar business and being a name known around the world. 

This quote has actually been on my mind a lot lately.  I have recently started my journey on being a Social Media Influencer.  I have heard a lot of "you don't have enough followers" "you don't have enough time" and for a while I let those negative comments influence my decision to put that dream in the dark.  Well, not anymore.  I am going to be like Martha and laugh at the difficulties and the hard work.  I am going to do finally do this for myself.  I am going to channel my inner Martha Stewart and be who I want to be. 

Fun fact about Martha: Martha Stewart is a big animal lover, owning several dogs, cats, birds, chickens, turkeys, donkeys and horses.  That is another reason I love Martha.  Anyone who knows me, they know I am a HUGE animal lover.  I like animals more than I like people.  I recently took on the hobby of owning chickens- one of Martha's favorites.  Let's just say I am now a "chicken tender"...see what I did there?  I actually have a Martha Stewart bowl I keep all of our fresh eggs in.  Again, channeling my inner Martha Stewart even if it's on our mini farm in the middle of town. 

If I had the acreage I would own even more dogs, cats and chickens.  I would also love to own donkeys, horses, goats, pigs, cows.  Name it and I want it!  

Martha, in my opinion, is the best baker ever!  Sorry Ina, Martha is hands down the best!  I remember watching her bake a cake or pie and just thinking to myself this is amazing! I also love how she is a firm believer in measuring cups!  Now a days cooking shows do a splash of this or a pinch of that....NO!  Tell me, is it a 1/2 cup of sugar or a whole cup!  I remember watching her pull her baked goods out of the oven and they just looked perfect. They were also decorated as if she was hosting a 100 person party. I mean it was breathtaking! Nothing but perfection when watching Martha in her element. 
While baking, I really do try and be like Martha!  Of course, my baking may or may not have hints of dog or cat hair in them...but, I should get an A for effort. I know I am far from Martha with my baking skills, but I will forever use a measuring cup, and I know my baked goods could have the potential to be a show stopper. I just hope my guests don't mind them sprinkled with pet hair...I promise I really try to not have that happen!

"I love the challenge of starting at zero every day and seeing how much I can accomplish"

Let's all take a little advice from Martha.  Everyday when you wake up, be excited for what you are going to accomplish that day.  Don't wake up dreading the unknown.  Be excited at the opportunity to be successful that day.  You never know....that may be the day you become who you truly want to be. Love the challenge, love the hard work and honestly, love starting from zero!

I have to end with this one blooper shot.  This picture sums it all up! How I am a Martha Stewart wannabe but, far from being that PERFECT Martha. 

Riding On Bikes With Chickens

Take a ride with me...and my chickens.

Some take dogs on bike rides, some have their baskets full of champagne and flowers...

Nope, I have chickens! 

This blog post is going to focus on this beautiful dress from VICI, one of my most favorite online stores and where I spend most of my paycheck!

Dress: VICI

Makeup (foundation): IT Cosmetics (from QVC- gotta love those easy pays)

Makeup: Too Faced 

Photography: Ashley Damude Photography

Yes, we are now in the fall season, but here in South Carolina it still feels like summer.  In this post this dress is worn without a jacket because it was 100 degrees outside when shooting.  But, I think this dress will look awesome with a black leather jacket or a cute sweater.  I am a firm believer that even in the fall and winter seasons you can get away with bright colors.  I would not let the bright yellow scare you away from wearing this dress in the fall!  One trend for Fall 2018 is bright colors.  Bright Oranges,  Bright Pinks, Turquoise, etc. I think yellow is a great color for the fall and allows women to look outside of the normal fall colors and be more of a stand out in a crowd look. 

I also paired this look with just my dirty feet! If I would wear this look out I would pair this dress with a great nude heel.  The sheer bottom half of the dress allows you to wear a statement shoe and still have it be seen in this maxi dress.  

Also, a nice flat would look nice as well if you did not want to wear heels.  I am not a big flats fan, so in most of my posts you will either see a heel or no shoes at all. 

I would love to hear your opinion about heels vs flats.  I personally think heels make the look.  I will forever wear heels instead on flats...or just go barefoot (hence the very dirty bottom of my feet). 

Do you rather wear flats over heels? Give me your honest opinion! 

Or, would you rather go barefoot?

Also paired with this look is Miss Vader, the Chicken. She is one of my Silkies and the most mellow.  Not a lot of my chickens would agree to a bike ride in a basket.  

Another reason I love this dress is how it creates effortless confidence.  I am firm believer that when women feel confident in their clothes they produce a radiance that cannot be measured.  This is a simple look that everyone could wear! It is flattering in the places that need to be accentuated and forgivable in places that women like to hide.  The material on this dress will look nice on any shape. 

Plus, if the neckline is a little too low or if you do not like showing off your arms, like I said a jacket or little sweater will look great with this piece as well.  

Later on in the fall I will get some more shots of this dress with layering options.  

 We did have a chicken swap...I had to have my girl Candy Corn in some of these photos.  Candy Corn is by far my favorite chicken.  She is great at posing, but not so great at sitting in this basket!

This dress could also be dressed up or dressed down for any occasion.  For example I wore this as a casual bike ride around town dress.  But, I would also wear this dress with a big statement necklace, heels and my hair pulled back in a bun for an evening look or night out on the town.  

The bottom detailing of this dress is amazing.  It is one of my favorite components of this dress. It was what grabbed my attention at first and had me add this dress to my shopping cart. 

It is unique, girly and really regal.

 In closing this blog post, I want to reiterate that this look will be amazing on any body type.  

One of my main passions and reasons I started this blog was to help encourage women to embrace different clothes and looks.  I want to help spread confidence to whomever reads my blog.  

I also love styling people! I love helping women and men embrace change and learn to love their body and how to dress their body type appropriately.  

A great outfit can make your day! Let me help you get closer to loving yourself and loving clothes!

Explore Your Type

What is Your Personality?!

Recently I was asked the question what is your personality? Of course, my first response was "well, I am really goofy and outgoing...other than that I have no idea!"  That sparked my interest and I found a really cool test to figure out who I am exactly.  The test/website is 16 Personalities .  If you have never taken this kind of test I urge you to take 10 minutes and try this test out! 

Here are my results and my summary, which I think the summary fits me to a T! 

I am a Campaigner. 

Read the summary below to better understand who I am as a person. 

On a fun note, here are some Campaigners you may know:

I think it is hilarious I am in the same category as Michael Scott!

The Campaigner personality is a true free spirit. They are often the life of the party, but unlike types in the Explorer Role group, Campaigners are less interested in the sheer excitement and pleasure of the moment than they are in enjoying the social and emotional connections they make with others. Charming, independent, energetic and compassionate, the 7% of the population that they comprise can certainly be felt in any crowd.

You Can Change the World With Just an Idea

More than just sociable people-pleasers though, Campaigners, like all their Diplomat cousins, are shaped by their Intuitive (N) quality, allowing them to read between the lines with curiosity and energy. They ten to see life as a big, complex puzzle where everything is connected- but unlike Analyst personality types, who tend to see that puzzle as a series of systemic machinations, Campaigners see it through a prism of emotion, compassion and mysticism, and are always looks for a deeper meaning. Many other types are likely to find these qualities irresistible, and if they’ve found a cause that sparks their imagination, Campaigners will bring an energy that oftentimes thrusts them into the spotlight, held up by their peers as a leader and a guru – but this isn’t always where independence-loving Campaigners want to be. Worse still if they find themselves beset by the administrative tasks and routine maintenance that can accompany a leadership position. Campaigners’ self-esteem is dependent on their ability to come up with original solutions, and they need to know that they have the freedom to be innovative – they can quickly lose patience or become dejected if they get trapped in a boring role. 

Don’t Lose That ’Little Spark of Madness’

Luckily, Campaigners know how to relax, and they are perfectly capable of switching from a passionate, driven idealist in the workplace to that imaginative and enthusiastic free spirit on the dance floor, often with a suddenness that can surprise even their closest friends. Being in the mix also gives them a chance to connect emotionally with others, giving them cherished insight into what motivates their friends and colleagues. They believe that everyone should take the time to recognize and express their feelings, and their empathy and sociability makes that a natural conversation topic. 

The Campaigner personality type needs to be careful, however- if they rely too much on their intuition, assume or anticipate too much about a friend's motivations, they can misread the signals and frustrate plans that a more straightforward approach would have made simple. This kind of social stress is the bugbear that keeps harmony-focused Diplomats awake at night. Campaigners are very emotional and sensitive, and when they step on someone's toes, they both feel it.  

Campaigners will spend a lot of time exploring social relationships, feelings and ideas before they find something that really rings true. But when they finally do find their place in the world, their imagination, empathy and courage are likely to produce incredible results. 

Why I Live Here...

A lot of people ask me what brought me to Bluffton, SC from Baltimore, MD.  Bluffton is not your fast paced city.  It is simple, relaxed and easy. Which is exactly how I wanted to live my life.  It is a town that washes away your stress with salt water when you are taking a boat cruise down the May River.  It is a town where everyone waves as you walk by.  In our case, people wave and laugh at us when we walk by because of the four golden's leading the way...

Bluffton is also the type of place you can drive your golf cart down to the river for a spontaneous Thursday evening picnic with your friends.  This picnic was at the Bluffton Oyster Factory, about a 2 minute golf cart ride from our house.  After a crazy/long  day at work Marisa, Ashley and I decided it was a MUST to unwind.  What better way than hanging out by the river!

 So, we loaded up the cheese and crackers and of course the wine and headed to one of my favorite places in this quaint town...I mean just the scenery alone could be a painted piece of artwork. 

This type of evening is something I urge people to do!  Sitting outside in a beautiful, peaceful, and soothing location can take all the stress off of your shoulders.  Having wine also helps calm you too...if you didn't know. 

Just another reason why Bluffton will always be my happy place.  During our picnic no one interrupted us or mocked us.  You can be yourself in this town.  You can sit with your two girlfriends in a "romantic" setting in the middle of a water front park and no one says a thing. How wonderful is that! No judging, no laughing, everyone just going about their evening. 

A little side note: I cannot take credit for this picnic set up at all. Marisa is such the planner of the group and she turned a simple picnic into a mouth watering vision.  If it wasn't for her planning this elegant evening I would be drinking my wine out of a red solo cup.

You will have to ask her what types of cheeses are in this spread and where she got them.  All I know is everything was delicious except the pepperoni....(repping for all the vegetarians out there).

We are lucky enough to call this place home.  

This is a town where people from around the world travel to visit, and we have it in our backyard.  Bluffton, South Carolina is painted with beautiful sunsets and the streets are decorated with oyster shells.  Even the smell of this town makes me happy!  Pluff mud soaking in and calming our minds.  Dolphins dance in the river and birds constantly sing.  Who wouldn't want to live in this town? 

I have lived in Bluffton for about 11 years now and I do not think we are going anywhere.  Bluffton is our home and I will always cherish this blessing of a town. 

Outfit:

Dress: Gigi's Boutique

Earrings: Bella & Bloom  

Life On Our Little Bluffton Farm

Rise and shine mother cluckers, welcome to the mini Bluffton farm we call home. 

This post will showcase what consumes my life....my little farm nestled in Downtown Bluffton. 

This mini farm consists of four dogs, one cat and seven chickens.  Most of the time I refer to it as a zoo instead of a farm, but I recently added a garden so I figured "farm"is a more appropriate term. 

What I love most about this farm is all of my animals get along! We are one big happy family which is something I am so grateful for.  Even the cat gets along with the chickens, which is so surprising since he usual has an attitude! As you can see, Tony just watches over our flock and enjoys the view from above the chicken coop. 

Now onto the chickens...I have seven chickens (three roosters and four hens).  My hens are very sweet and love getting held- that is, when I finally catch them to actually hold them.  The three roosters on the other hand are little rascals.   

Hey Hey (pictured below) is our alpha rooster.  He struts around our yard like he is king of the castle.  I do have to admit he is even alpha to me most of the time!  This is because he sneaks up behind me and attacks the back of my heels! I of course, run away and give him an even bigger power play.  The worst thing to do is give a rooster even more confidence! Now he knows he is the boss and that is a hard concept to overthrow. 

Also, I am sure my neighbors hate Hey Hey because at 6:45am on the dot he is up singing "rise and shine mother cluckers" time to get your butts out of bed!  I am just going to say it now, I am sorry to the neighbors for this early morning wake up call.  

He truly is the attention seeker of the flock, but he really does make me smile.  

He is so bad, yet adorable at the same time....how does that even work?!

Candy Corn (pictures below) is my sweet little hen who loves to cuddle.  She is my favorite out of the flock! She has such a great personality- come on meat eaters, hang out with Candy Corn for an hour and you will turn into a vegetarian! You will fall in love instantly and you will never be able to eat a chicken again :)  

All of our chickens have a distinct personality, which makes owning them an even better experience.  Never in a million years did I think I would love chickens so much.  Every time I walk outside to visit with my chickens I immediately get a huge smile on my face. 

Now, when it comes to my chicken coop, that has been the hardest part of the whole thing!  Finding the correct chicken is very difficult.  Your chicken coop has to:

1. Be big enough for all of your chickens.  My original coop was NOT big enough to hold my chickens when they got bigger.
2. Be safe! There are a lot of predators and chickens are very fragile.  You have to find a coop that will keep them safe.
3. Be easy to clean.  Chickens have to be cleaned out at least every other day.  I clean mine everyday because I do not want my yard smelling like a farm....just looking like one. 
4. Needs to have ventilation.  Most of the coop should be chicken wire to give your chickens fresh air.  Mine spend most of their day as free range in our fenced in yard, but at night I want the coop airy so it doesn't get too hot or suffocating.  

So you see a lot of thought has to go into a coop for the chickens to be safe, healthy and happy.  Like I said, the first coop I purchased was NOT big enough to house my fast growing flock.  But, of course I spent a lot of money on that coop so I did not want to throw it away completely.  Luckily, my dad is an engineer and helped me successfully renovate my chicken coop over the weekend.  We took my too small existing coop and added on a whole other section to the back.  The addition is the tall piece of the coop, which gives my chickens room to stretch their wings.   Like I said before, most of the day my chickens are free range and walk around our fenced in yard looking for bugs or burying themselves in the dirt to stay cool.  But, at night I like that they have room to stretch out and in this summer heat get some fresh night air to cool them down.  I am so grateful my dad helped me with this huge project! It was something that needed to happen to help my chickens be happy.  

Keep in mind if you are going to do something like this it is a two person job! 

I also planted a some flowers around the coop.  Butterfly Bushes on the outside and a Sweet Potato vine on the inside.  I had to research "safe" plants for chickens before I purchased these plants, but these help bring a little freshness to the coop.  The Sweet Potato vine is also something one of my chickens sleeps in (Big Jo just loves her Sweet Potato vine!) 

Some people work out, some like to paint....I on the other hand like to come home, get a glass of wine and sit outside with my mini farm.  It takes a lot of work and a lot of patience to care for this farm, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!  

It may be a mini farm, but it is MY MINI FARM! #farmlifeforever