Finally Spring

Well spring has finally arrived.  Boy are we having April showers.  Given the less than stellar weather, we better have some extra ordinary May flowers.  The hubs is on a jet plane to see his mother on the other side of the planet.  She has ovarian cancer and has had a serious setback.  My mother in law (who in my opinion is as close to perfect as a human being can get) has been bravely fighting her disease for over a year now.  Unfortunately, her cancer has returned, so her battle continues.  Despite her setback, she is up to her awesome self, comforting her family and just setting an example of a what a model human being should be.  I am glad that the hubs is going, it will cheer her up.  Anyway, this season reminds me of her.  Spring to me is when nature often shows us her awesome beauty (which my mother in law is).  Spring is one of my top seasons, and my dear mother in law is very near the top of my list of favorite people, so I suppose when I see all the flowers bloom, and the gray in my commute burst into color, I can't help but be reminded of the one adult in my life that takes the time to tell me how wonderful she thinks I am AND gives me an example of how to lead my life with grace, compassion, strength, and dignity. I will write about her in another post (she is so incredible, she really should have a whole book written about her), I'm just not up to it today.  So to bring  you the drama of the season, I present to you, the burst of renewal from my back yard:

The Slippery Sling Back

A while ago I bought a lovely pair of BCBG MaxAzaria black sling backs. They were under $10 and a perfect addition for my working wardrobe. Unfortunately, like many sling backs, they kept slipping off my feet, making it difficult to walk. So I got my noggin in thinking mode to come up with a economical and attractive solution to my problem. These sling backs, you see, were just to attractive to give up on.

After much thought, my solution was to tie ribbons to the "sling" portion of the shoe so that I could secure them around my ankles. I first cut two long strips of black satin ribbon, long enough to tie around my ankles.  If you want to do these to a pair of your own problematic slingbacks, simply wrap the ribbon around your ankles the desired number of times to estimate the length.

Next I tied them to the "sling" portion of the shoe by making two knots.

Knot #1

Knot #2

Viola! My sling backs are now securely on my feet and they look dressed up and classy to boot. This whole solution cost me nothing, since I already had the ribbon. If you are not like me, and don't have tons of crafts supplies lying around, you can easily visit your nearest arts and crafts store or a Dollar Tree, where they have a decent selection of affordable ribbons. I have to say I am so pleased with this outcome, I will never be reluctant to buy sling backs again. :)

80 degrees!

I have been crazy busy and as a result my posts have suffered.  I have captured all my outfits on flickr, so if anyone wants to look at my outfits they will find them all there.  It is month seven or so I believe, and I am almost nearing the end of my experiment.  I have cheated a little bit, but I tried to keep any purchases I made of the thrift store variety.  If you read this blog, you probably know that I enjoy thrifting.  For me it is all about the thrill of the treasure hunt.  I don't do it regulalry, but when I do I like to purchase quality pieces that I can wear or enjoy for many years.  My favorite things to thrift are accessories, like purses, and clothing items made of high quality fabrics, like silk.  The problem with high quality fabric is the dry cleaning bill.  Needless to say, my dry cleaning bill would be through the roof, given all the items I have thrifted over the last couple of years.  Needing to curb this, I decided to try a little experiement.  I washed my dry clean only clothing in cold water like my other laundry.  Then instead of putting them in the dryer, I ironed them while wet.  Viola! I have clean clothes, that look great, without the dry cleaning bill.  Admittadly, this trick won't work for all dry clean clothes (suits for example).  Certain dresses with complicated stitching is probably better off at the dry cleaners as well.  That being said, I think most items are fair game.  Today's outfit is 100% thrifted. The shirt is from The Limited, the skirt is Anne Taylor Loft, and the shoes are BCBG.