A Delightful Surprise

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Imagine my surprise when the doorbell rang and a package appeared. My husband said, “It’s from Free People.”

I replied, “I haven’t ordered anything from Free People.”

He smirked and said, “So, what? They’re now just sending you stuff for free?”

I ignored him and examined the box. I figured it was probably some sort of mistake. But then I noticed that the package was not exactly from Free People. The label said FP Me. My heart jumped. FP Me is a fun community on the Free People website. You can upload pictures of yourself wearing Free People outfits. They post them on the product pages. It is really cool to see how different people have styled their clothing. I am an addict!

I like to share my photos so people can get a good idea of what the piece of clothing looks like on the average girl.

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I gently cut the box open. I noticed a stick peeking out at me amongst the tissue paper. Curiouser. I pulled on it. Out came this flag! Isn’t it the sweetest? I love the creativity.

I told my husband, “They sent me a flag!”

I was very excited.

But there was more.

Inside the box was a little pouch. It had a note attached that said, “Thank you from Free People for inspiring The FP Me Community with your amazing style pics…” Awwww… So sweet. And I am very flattered.

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I opened the pouch. Inside was a necklace I had been coveting. It is called Pewter Short Chain Collar. I was so excited! I love it! It was so unexpected and truly made my week.

My husband was speechless.

I told him, “Yes, they are now sending me stuff for free.” I laughed with delight. It was awesome!

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I am styling it here. I am wearing it with the Free People Miles of Henley dress in rust orange (I could not resist a different color).

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Thank you so much Free People! Thank you to the wonderful community at Free People Me! This was so very exciting and delightful! Free People has a loyal customer for life, in me.

Have you uploaded a picture to FP Me?

P.S. Yes, that is our new library ladder we installed during our recent home facelift! More pics and info to come. Have a great day!

* Also, I am switching servers today. I will not be posting a new post until 7:00 a.m. on Thursday to accommodate the transition.

Older Outfit Photos

We are in the process of a mini home facelift. My house is a disaster zone. Every single piece of furniture has been moved away from the walls. My dresser drawers are overflowing in my living room. There are stacks of towels and bowls all over the kitchen countertop. And it is extremely stressful.

But, also, I am secretly loving it. I get to be lazy and messy. With good reason. Kind of lovely with the kids having their last week of school.

I am hiring everybody individually. It is a high-wire act of timing. I have to schedule the next guy to come at the perfect time following the previous job. If not, we might never exit this overflowing mound of chaos.

What is my point?

Well, I have not been too concerned about my outfits this week. Oh. That is not true. But I have not really taken pictures or had room to take pictures. Or found the camera in this craziness to take pictures.

Sorry.

I do, however, have a backlog of photos I have not posted yet. They are from the beginning of the year.

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First up is the Free People Tuxedo Top. I love this top. There is something very feminine about a woman wearing a “tuxedo” top. Why is that? I am generally not a jeans girl. However, this top changes my mind. I love the pop of yellow my Anthropologie bag gives to the outfit.

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How have I not posted about this dress? I had to go back and check. Sure enough. Nothing! It is the Miles of Henley dress. I love this dress. I am about ten pounds heavier in the pictures above than I am now. It is the dress in my old header (which I just changed).

The dress is a fantastic price. It comes in so many great colors. I am obsessed with the new rust orange. I might have to own three of these. I all ready own it in charcoal and rosewood. The bottom is really long. The great thing about this, is it fits all heights. The hem is unfinished, so you can just cut it to the length that fits you best.

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I love these leggings. I pair them with my black Anthropologie jersey dress from many years ago. They are Modcloth Fresh Take Leggings in Fauna. They are sold out, but they have some adorable ones with a swan print. And they are cheaper than the fauna ones were!

Okay, that is all for today. Back to our hovel:

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Here is a peek of what we are living in. It should be back to normal soon. Right? Right?

I hope your day is wonderful!

Johnny Was

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Let me tell you about a brand I adore: Johnny Was. It is based out of Los Angeles. The clothes are fun and very bohemian. They are also very expensive. Unfortunately, too expensive for me. However, they do have good sales. My favorite thing about this company is that it caters to women of all shapes and sizes. When I was a plus size, it was so hard to find clothes that were pretty and fun. It is refreshing to see this company embrace all women. Every woman is beautiful and we should all be able to shop where we would like to. I applaud them for understanding that.

I went to Nordstrom Rack last week. I had $40 in Nordstrom Bucks burning a hole in my pocket. I browsed the rack and noticed that they were sorely lacking in my usual size medium. But that has never stopped me and soon I had an armful of size smalls and larges. I headed eagerly to the dressing room.

I dragged my poor son with me, because my daughter was at a sleepover. When the lady showed us to a dressing room, she said, “Here you go, a nice big one for the two of you.” I told her there was no way he was going in with me and not being scarred for life. I figured he could just talk to me from outside of my fitting room door. She did even better, and let him sit in the empty dressing room next to me. That was so sweet and kind. I really appreciated it.

The woman in charge of the dressing room said to me, “Oh my gosh, you’re the Johnny Was girl!”

Now, this is slightly embarrassing. Every time I am there (usually once every 6-8 weeks) I ask if they have had a shipment come in. Because it only seems to happen once a year. She told me a shipment came in five days ago and she thought of me. But I had not left my number. They had been selling out like hotcakes. Darn! But I found three Johnny Was goodies, anyway! I ended up saving around 75% after using my rewards.

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This shirt is a size small and I love it! I will wear this with my colored jeans. I paired this with my red pilcro pants from Anthropologie that I bought on sale for $32.50. The shirt has frayed pieces of fabric all over it. I love this. Maybe it looks like I got into a fight (hey,that’s my Johnny Was!), but it looks romantic to me.

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This flannel embroidered shirt spoke to me. It is a size small. It is so feminine with just a hint of masculinity. I will pair it with jeans for casual days. But I wanted to try dressing it up, and the third picture showcases that. I am wearing Free People Ginger Fishtail Maxi in that picture. Which way do you like better? I cannot decide. I only own three pairs of denim jeans. I just love skirts and dresses. I feel sexy in the jeans, but I feel like myself in the skirt.

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Oh no! I am wearing my belt the way my husband hates! Whatever shall I do? Love it, that’s what! I am smitten with this shirt/dress. I do not know what exactly this was supposed to be. Johnny Was runs a little big and this is a large. I automatically thought dress when I saw it hanging on the rack, but it could be a tunic. I could not resist the sweet red stitching. This was my favorite buy of the day. The second picture is what it looked like before I styled it.

My son was so sweet that day. We headed over to Five Guys for hamburgers when we were done shopping. He had to get my drink for me and grab the peanuts. He got the order for us when it was called. He is turning into such a little gentleman, just like his daddy. He melted my heart that day. I almost felt guilty for dragging him to a clothing store. Almost.

We did play Monster Hunter together when we got home. And then we watched “Say Yes to the Dress.”… Yep, traumatic day. Good thing there were brownies.

So, which was your favorite Johnny Was piece? Do you now have some sort of “Johnny” song stuck in your head? Me too! Mine is the Poe version.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by to read this little blog! I appreciate it.

Country Girl

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I am wearing Anthropologie’s Nanette dress, that I purchased for my birthday last year, with a denim jacket I bought from the Nordstrom Rack. I love this dress, but I have to layer something over the sleeves. The sleeves on this dress are very unflattering to my arms and so I automatically categorize this dress into the fall/winter spots in my wardrobe (as if I am really that neat to be so organized, but it is cataloged in my head).

The picture of me on the couch has me pairing it with black tights, brown boots, Anthropologie crossed beads belt, and feather earrings from World Market.

My dog, Murphy, is a spazz. He is an attention addict. You cannot sit anywhere without him forcing his way onto you, which quickly goes from adorable to annoying for many people. If I am sitting for a picture, you will notice I will always have a Murphy appendage on my body.

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I am trying to figure out how I can incorporate the high-low hem of some of my clothing with layers. I attempted to pair it with my Free People raw tulle maxi slip. I do not think it works very well. My hair looking like I just rushed from a mad tea party, doesn’t really help with the escaped from the loony bin look.

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I love this outfit! I am wearing Free People Annie Oakley lace skirt, Anthropologie pepin shirt, Target tank, Moroccan belt from a local boutique, vintage boots and Anthropologie Doily Drop earrings.

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES was one of my favorite movies of all time and this look is a slightly edgy nod to the series.

We grew up pretty simply in the country. I had been given ANNE OF GREEN GABLES on a cassette tape lovingly recorded by a friend of the family’s as a Christmas present the year before. I would obsessively watch them over and over. I still watch both movies on DVD once a year.

I remember the one and only time our family went to Knotts Berry Farm. It was back when it was not really much of anything, but it was a big deal to our family. It was a long draining day. I do not remember much about it, except my snooty thirteen year old self was not impressed by the park.

On the way out the gate, our family stopped at the gift shop. We browsed a little, but I did not ask for a souvenir. I picked up a pack of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES books and lovingly stroked the covers. I did not know my dad had seen me. I put the books back and we left the store.

My father stopped halfway to the car and said he would be right back and he took off running. We just thought he was making an emergency trip to the restroom. He came back to the car shortly after holding a bag in his hand. He handed it to me and when I opened it, inside were the books I had been eyeing. It was such a sweet and generous gift. It made a huge impact on me. I knew what those books cost and I knew my daddy thought I was worth it.

Looking back on that moment, breaks my heart, because I never got around to reading those books. Being a thirteen year old girl, I moved on to R.L. Stine and V.C. Andrews. The quaint slow paced world of Anne’s did not wiggle its way back into my heart for many more years. By that time, the books were long since misplaced or given away. But that precious gift in the parking lot will be with me always.

Have you read or watched ANNE OF GREEN GABLES? Which outfit is your favorite? Would you let the lady in the second picture in your house?