Ladies and Gentlemen....

Shirt - Alfani (Macy's); Skirt - JC Penny; Vest - Motherhood Maternity;

Shoes - Old Navy; Necklaces - Premiere and JC Penny;

Floral Pin and Earrings - Steinmart

It wasn't until I got this photo from Husby that I realized I looked like the Ringmaster of an Evil Circus with the vest/skirt/stripey shirt/flower combo I had going on. Quickly removed the vest and hid it in my laptop bag :-)

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While this isn't a very colorful navy outfit, the interesting details of the items and accessories lend to a desirable alternative to the uber conservative navy of Monday. These shoes, especially, with what my daughter thinks are blueberries on the tops. I felt very feminine and a little edgy with my plaid pencil skirt and stripey shirt. Look at me mixing patterns!

Asian Persuasian

Dress - Alfani (Macy's); Tights - Old Navy; Boots - Steinmart;

Earrings - Chicos; Necklace - Premiere; Bangle - Old Navy

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This is the first time wearing this dress and these tights. I bought them separately cause I loved their colors, but was too timid to wear the Asian inspired obi-wrap dress until now. I'm glad I overcame it. I love how the tights add a pop of color and funk. Now I need to figure out how to style this and add layers so that I can wear this dress again this season :-)

Off the Wagon

Dress - Alfani (thrifted); Vest - One World (Steinmart); Shoes - Payless;

Belt - Steinmart; Earrings - a little boutique in columbus;

Bracelets - Me; Ring - Premiere

So, because I am so short waisted, I can shop in petites despite being 5'-9". I've had great luck with shirts and sweaters, but found out this day that dresses are a nono. While this did fit great in the top area, this petite dress was riding up on me in the leg department all day. I was super duper self conscious, probably because I wore white tights. Next time, it will be black.

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And the title of the post is cause I'm hanging my head in shame. I was having a horribly stressful work/school day and I stopped at goodwill at lunch and did a little shopping. It was thrifted, and I kept it at $20, but I clearly fell off the wagon. As I climb back on I am going to attempt baby steps. Maybe I have to approach this the way I did quitting smoking. Take it day by day until I hit a week, then week by week until I hit a month...then it was easy cause I had gone so long. Sorry Husby. Sorry readers. Day one. Again.

Rainbow Brite

Shirt - Alfani (Macy's); Skirt - Talbots (thrifted); Shoes - Franco Sarto (TJ Maxx);

Bracelet and Necklaces - Premiere Designs (via Sanja, my cousin and rep)

I had to get a close-up of the necklaces so that you can really see how beautiful they are. The colorful 'Venetian' is absolutely gorgeous, and the simple silver 'Cascade' is so dainty and versatile that I love to put them together. I love this shirt, both for the fit and the material, but over time it shrinks vertically so I have to be careful what I wear it with or by lunch I'm showing my stretch marks. I love and hate this skirt at the same time. I don't feel like it's particularly flattering on me, but the colors are just so fantastic and I get so many compliments on it when I wear it that I just can't bring myself to retire it.

As for the shoes...I broke my shopping rule, with permission from Husby. We are going to a wedding soon and we agreed that it was a special enough occasion that I could buy a dress if I kept it under $50. Thanks to TJ Maxx, I was able to find a gorgeous cream Calvin Klein suit-dress (that I'm actually tan enough to wear!!) and had enough money left over to pick up these babies to go with it. Are they booties? Are they pumps? Are they sandals? Who cares!! I love them and they are actually pretty comfy.

On the healthy side, I broke out the book GI Diet by Rick Gallop which I bought right before getting pregnant with Buddy, so it's been living on a shelf for two years. The principles are basic. Eating foods low on the glycemic index allow your body to make the most of the food it gets. Foods are broken down to Red, Yellow, and Green. I can eat all of the Green foods I want until I reach a BMI of 22 (I'd be happy to hit 25) and then I can start introducing Yellow foods until I can balance out and maintain my weight. Red are reserved for special occasions (cake is in this category). I'm not really into fad diets or starving myself, so I checked out the green foods before I started, and realized that there's not much change from the way I've been eating, I just have to cut out the fast food. And eat 6 small meals a day instead of my 3 large. Working full time and taking 3 classes at UC will make that hard cause I'm always on the fly, but I'm determined to make this work. If I follow the plan, I could be down 22 pounds by Christmas, with a BMI of 26.9 - right smack dab in the middle of the 'Overweight' range and well on my way to being 'Healthy'. I just really hope that this works with Thyroid problems like mine. I'm running out of ideas.