Change...

Happy Monday guys!

Normally I don't like Mondays. Well, really it's Sunday nights that I have a problem with. It symbolizes the start of another five days that I have to wait until the weekend comes :) I'm such a weekend girl.

Well today, might have changed my gripe about Mondays. For a little while at least. Today Monday represented change. A sense of newness. The realization that I could see where I want to be, as well as the path that could take me there. I'm excited for new things to come!

It was also a beautiful day as far as the weather is concerned. Fall is in full swing here in Minnesota, and my yard has the fallen leaves to prove it!

Those leaves sure are pretty, but we will be some raking fools this weekend! lol!

This picture is one of my favorites! ;)

Do you get a case of "The Mondays" when weekends end too? What helps you get through?

Scarf - Target

Denim Shirt - Target

Skirt - JC Pennys

Boots - Target

Bag - Coach

I Choose...

Hey peeps! I hope y'all enjoyed the weekend, and you're looking forward to an awesome week ahead.

My last post was kind of heavy. At least it was for me. It helped me to get some of my thoughts and feelings out. It also caused me to find answers within myself and make changes where appropriate. We all have choices in this life.

I choose to love. Love is not just a feeling. It's an action. I make the choice to love others, and open myself up to being loved.

I choose to live. It's my journey, and I plan to find out what the future holds. But in the mean time, living out loud is the only option. I will.

I choose to learn. The only way to grow is to learn. I don't know everything, nor do I pretend to. Being both the teacher and student brings about a wealth of knowledge.

I choose to laugh. We all know that laughter is good for the soul. Go on! Laugh!! I mean one of those deep down, I can't breathe/my cheeks hurt kind of laughs. Feels good don't it? :)

I choose to be me. No one can do it better.

What do you choose to do, think, or feel?

Sweater - Old Navy 

Leggings - Deb Shops

Boots - JC Penny

Bag- Coach 

Musings of Me...

Hey peeps!! I'm all in my feelings this evening, so hang in there with me for this post. I'll try to get through this without putting all of my business in the streets :)

Lately, I find myself asking two questions. 1. Aside from being the best mom I can be to my children... What is my purpose? 2. When is ok to say "No"?

Ever since I was younger, I've been a helper/giver. To some extent I didn't have a choice, but now I'm to the point where I do. It all began with my great-grandmother (who raised me and my little cousins until she passed), then to my aunt who tried her best to take on that role after granny's passing. After a while, I moved to Minnesota to live with my mother, brother and sister. Lastly, I'm happily a help mate/partner to my husband. I won't go into detail, about those times, but just know that I was consistently tasked with duties well beyond my years at stages early on in my life. No complaints here, because no matter how hard things may have been, I'm a better person today because of it.

As I've gotten older, I realize that people basically define me as a helper/giver. Not in their words, but in their actions.

I'm aware that life requires assistance. No one moves through completely alone, no matter what people think. And I don't mind lending a helping hand every now and then. I've been blessed to have a foundation of love, hard work, patience & empathy. I also understand, with that comes a bit of responsibility. People gravitate towards me for help. No matter if it's monetary, "Lemmie hold sumthin". Emotional, "Gurl, let me tell you what he did!!". Physical, "I need a ride". Or requires my time, "Can you watch my kids?", just to name a few examples.

This brings me to question #1. My purpose. Because helping feels like second nature to me, and I almost have to talk myself out of it sometimes, is it what I'm supposed to do? Yes, I get tired. To be honest, I don't even want to answer my phone sometimes! But really. Is that what I'm here for? To help others? I know that we all should to a certain extent, but c'mon!! Y'all just don't know! I struggle with this daily. Well, maybe daily is an exaggeration, but for sure it's more than a few times a week. There's always something.

And if I am here to help others, when does that help become enabling? Question #2. When is ok to say "No"? Time is my most precious asset. The time that I spend with my husband and children is beyond measure. It's the one thing that I can't have back. Once time is spent, it's gone. When someone needs me to take them somewhere, pick them up, spend two hours on the phone, watch their children, etc., it takes me away from my peeps at home.

Now, don't get me wrong! Momma needs time to herself!! I also need time with friends, and family, but this different. Again. When is it ok to say no? Mostly when someone needs my time in the ways that I've described, it's an urgent matter. But, have I allowed this to happen so much that it's expected of me? Like, do people allow themselves to get caught up, or make plans with no regard because they know that I'll be there? That's enabling, right? Again, I struggle with this.

Then on the other hand, I love to feel needed. When my husband and kids need me, it's the best feeling in the world! Well, most of the time. When I'm in the bathroom and all I want to do is sit there and scroll through my phone, then I hear my name, or "MOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!" being yelled through the house, I cringe a little bit. But y'all know what I'm saying.

So this makes me wonder, do I help others because of my want to be needed? Placing blame can be easy sometimes. Way easier than looking inside and realizing that the fault lies within you. I've said it three times already. I struggle. #teambrokenrecord

I don't have the answers. I used this post as a way to ask some questions out loud so I didn't have to talk to myself and look like a crazy person. Thank you for reading, or just looking at the pictures. Either way, I know it was a lot & I appreciate cha! :)

Until next time...

Faux Leather Peplum Biker Jacket - SimplyBe
Crop Top - A store in "The Underground" in Atlanta (not sure of the name)
Dress (worn as a skirt) - H&M
Boots - Minnetonka Moccasin
Bag - Coach

Give Me Body...

It's the weekend baaaaayyyybaaayyyyy!! I usually use for my Instagram peeps for Friday posts. Just thought I'd share :)

To kick the weekend off around my way, I wanted to talk a little about style inspiration. For me, it can come from anywhere/anything. From an item of clothing in my closet, to someone walking down the street, to colors in a magazine. Many times it comes from perusing the internets. Yes, I said internets with an S.

On this particular day, I happened to be scrolling down my IG feed when I saw this lovely lady. I follow In My Joi on Instagram because she has some of the coolest outfits. But this pic made me want a little black dress. Not just any LBD, but one that fit me like a glove. One that gave BODY!! You could say that I was inspired. From that moment, I was on the hunt for a perfect LBD. Not so I could copy, or look like her (no shade, because Joi is fierce), but so I could feel as sexy as she looks.

Enter, the perfect LBD for me. Y'all know Target is my bff. I swear that store never lets me down. While browsing the clearance racks per usual, and I spot a simple black dress. In true ME fashion, I looked at the price tag before holding it up. $13.98 is what it read. See?! I told you Target is a true friend!

I went into the dressing room to try it on, and it fit like a glove!! Yaaaaasssssss!!

I knew right then and there, that I would pair it with my cute Kimono that I picked up for $4. Go'head and pick up your lip! LOL! It was truly $4. Yet another deal that I couldn't pass up. I love to try trends out for the low-low. No sense in paying a whole lot of money for something that you may not even like once the hype dies. *shrugs*. But this was a winner! I will be rocking this Kimono hunny!

Now back to this dress! The subtle high-low action at the bottom was the icing on the cake. I ran out of the store with this bad boy! Because with or without the Kimono, this dress gives major BODY!!

What y'all know bout that "Gone with the Wind" fabulous?! =D

Do you have an item of clothing, or a pair of shoes that just makes you feel super sexy? Do tell!!

Until next time...

Dress - Target

Kimono - H&M

Heels - Target

All the Rage...

Happy Weekend!! Well, end of weekend that is. I wasn't busy at all. I planned to do some cleaning. Didn't. I planned to do some laundry. Didn't do that either. I'll tell you what I did do though! I got my eyebrows threaded, and shopped a little. Both of those things make me happy. Not the actual threading so much, but the results always make me smile. Have you tried threading? What do you think about it?

On to the OOTD...

I FINALLY found a jumpsuit that fits the way I want it to! And on clearance for $7 at Deb Shops of all places!! I know you guys have seen so many jumpsuits out in the blog world lately. They're the hottest thing smoking in the plus size community right now, and I was starting to think that I'd never find one that I felt comfortable in. One that flows with my body and didn't work against it. All of the jumpsuits that I've tried were either too tight, not tight enough, or just plain old ugly on me. lol! That brings us to my Deb Shops adventure.

I haven't stepped foot in that store since high-school. The eyebrow threading place was packed, so I decided to walk around the mall. Lawd knows I wasn't about to wait for the six people ahead of me to finish up! I went in all of the stores that interested me, and was about to head into Cinnabon (terrible idea), when I saw that Deb had a 50% off of clearance sale. Y'all know I can't resist a good sale right? I had to go in there and browse. Everything was just as I remembered, so I was about to leave until I saw this baby on the clearance rack.

Because of my past experiences, I was skeptical. And to top it off, there's no stretch in the bottom part. But I liked it because the material is easy/breezy and felt like it would blow in the wind. Very "vacation chic". I brought two sizes in the dressing room with me just to be sure. To my surprise, the size large fit like a glove with NO SPANX!! That my friends is a non-scale victory for me. Even though I am wearing a very light nylon type shaper to minimize any jiggle, and sheerness because the material is so light, I still consider it a victory :)

The only down side is that the top half offers NO SUPPORT. It's kind of lacy and it stretches, so in an effort to avoid any future wardrobe malfunctions, I took it in a little when I got home. It fits perfectly now. I love it! 

I will be going to a "Black and White Day Party" next weekend, and you better believe I will be wearing the heck out of this jumpsuit! 

Lastly, I want to speak about this super cute maxi collar that I received. Shawn of Design by Shawn contacted me and asked if I would like to own one of her custom handcrafted pieces of jewelry. I was honored that she wanted to make a piece for me! The design process was fast and super easy, and I absolutely LOVE my collar and earrings! Y'all check out her website, and give her a holler if you have any questions. She's super sweet, and awesome to work with. 

Until next time...

Jumpsuit - Deb Shops

Sandals - Target

Collar/Necklace Design by Shawn

Consider me Clutched and Covered...

I hope you're all having a great weekend with awesome weather. It's been a little rainy here, but I plan to take advantage of every bit of sunshine possible. Yay Summer! Now on to the OOTD.

Who says big girls shouldn't wear white? Those same people probably say we shouldn't wear skinny jeans either. Tuh! Well, I'm about to get on some folks nerves with this one! Ask me if I care.

I have a confession: This "top" is actually supposed to be a dress from H&M. I saw it on the mannequin, and loved the color. I got the biggest size they had (large) and prayed that it fit. Welp, it fit... but not like the store intended!! I saw it as a nice, casual tunic type top and bought it as such. I always tell women, never write off a store because you don't think that the sizes work for you. You never know what gems you could be passing up! 

These jeans you ask? They're from Target. I copped them on clearance for a mere $8.98. They are super comfy and soft. My first pair of white skinny's! I will have to be sure that I don't wear them too often. I don't want any discoloration, or rubbing in the thigh area (dreaded chub rub). I swear, if they had another pair I would have bought them too! 

Now lets get to this clutch! My girl Rocquelle of Consider Me Lovely started a clutch cover company: www.clutchedandcovered.com. This beautiful, stylish woman took a DIY project of her own, and turned it into a business. Her clutch covers are all hand made to order and FAB-U-LOUS!! I'm telling y'all, Rocquelle is creative and talented. Visit my girls' shop and show her some love. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

Until next time...

My girl Whitney over at Whitney Nic James.com has a personal style link up! Head on over and see what it's all about! :)

Top - H&M

Jeans - Target

Wedges - Target

Clutch Cover - www.clutchedandcovered.com

Be Amazing...

Happy weekend!! I don't have to explain how much I love weekends. Just know that I do. I hope that you're having a great start to yours.

I just want to take a quick second (well, longer than an actual second of course), to rant about speak on something that I am just beyond done with. Women who speak about themselves in such a negative way. It is so sad to me that some women can see so much beauty in others, but fail to see it in themselves. 

I like how the sun rays show in this picture :)

I swear, some of the comments that I read on social media are down right sad. Let's just get something straight. NO ONE can tell you how to be confident in who you are. It comes from YOU. Do the work. And by work, I mean convince yourself that you are wonderfully made. Surround yourself with positivity, and embrace it. Speak light into your life.

I just love this dress. It's my favorite!

Stop running around all woe is me. I see a lot of this... "You look great! I wish I could wear that." "Your hair is awesome! I could never rock a style like that." "Where do you shop? I never find things like that in my area." It's fine to compliment someone. By all means, please do! Your kind words could very well make someones day! But the compliment does not have to be accompanied by a downplay of yourself.

That silhouette though!! Yaaaaaasssss! LOL!

You want to rock a pencil skirt? ROCK IT! You want to "go natural"? DO IT! You want to shop for a crop top, but haven't seen any in stores near you? Open your browser, and GOOGLE IT!  You have access to the same things as the person that you see on your screen. They have struggles just like everyone else. Not to mention, so many of them don't even wear what you see past the location they use to take the pictures. 

Smile. 

To be inspired by others is awesome. I can't tell you how much inspiration that I get every day by just scrolling through my Twitter feed, Facebook, and Instagram timeline. Just don't lose you in the process. Use that inspiration as a tool to better yourself.

Ok, I'm done. But, if you don't take anything from this post, please remember this... "You are the only you that the world is ever going to know. Be amazing." I'm not sure where I got it from, but I've been telling it to my daughter and son before they were old enough to understand. Try it.

Until next time...

Dress - Dots

Wedges - Jessica Simpson - Marshals