Day 19 - 24... In the eye of the beholder

     William Morris was an English textile designer in the 1800s.  He was also an artist and a writer.  Very famous name for artist, fashion designers and interior designers.  I find this quote to be right up there with the phrase "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".  What you find to be useful or beautiful and want to have in your house, is really up to you.  The key words here are "your" and "you".  I know, it's a simple quote and I'm probably reading way to deeply into it... but I love everything in my house (Even though my mom thinks I'm a horder).  On with the outfits...


Day 19, Thursday, Jan. 24th.  I've decided to start putting the date with each picture.  This will give me an idea of what the weather was like and why I chose to dress a certain way.  On this Thursday, it was 0 degrees outside.  I'm really starting to like pencil skirts.  I only have 3 or 4, so it's going to be tough to not purchase a new one this year.  I hope they don't go out of style by next year... or maybe I do.  Out of style mean $5 clearance racks!!!






Day 20, Friday, Jan. 25th.  Love this!  These are my favorite gray pants, you'll see them often.  I have a few sheer tops, but this one may be my favorite.  And I got lots of complements on the necklace.  Along with the full closet I also have a full jewelry box.  So full in fact I can't even fit all my necklaces or rings in it.  See the following pic.




The standing jewelry box is full too.  Yeah, it's a problem.  I wish it were all worth some money, but I sold everything that was worth money already. 





Day 21, Saturday, Jan. 26th.  New work shirt.  I don't like it, but I wore it with black shorts and black leg warmers.  Wish I had a full body shot, but this was a random pic a friend took.  She said "smile" and I did.  I'll wear this shirt on Sunday for the Superbowl, since I'm working then too.  Then I'll go back to my Bailey's shirt.  I'm looking forward to wearing those gold pants!

Day 22, Sunday, Jan 27th.  Jeans and a sweatshirt.  No one to take a pic.  Nothing special though.






Day 23, Monday, Jan. 28th.  I love this sweater.  I know in the magazines they put a belt on over the sweater, but I'm to short to do that, it just makes me look even shorter. 





Day 24, Tuesday, Jan. 29th.  The weather here in Indy has been crazy.  Last week we had sub 0 temps and today the high is 63 degrees.  So I decided to not wear boots, or a long sleeve sweater.  And since the temp is dropping to 19 degrees on Thursday, I thought I'd take advantage of the one nice day we'll have for a bit.  Even if it is raining.



Days 12 -17... Keep Calm and Carry On

This quote couldn't be more true.  I know it's not an official quote from someone famous, but when I saw it I thought I have to post that.  You won't see me dress immodestly.  Now, keep in mind there is a difference between immodesty and sexy... Day 12 was a sexy outfit.  Wore it to work with a sweater over it, then out to Mass Ave. for an evening of cocktails and catching up with my sister.  I love it when I don't have to change from work clothes to "going to dinner" clothes.  But I also love it when I do change into something a little more eye catching.  Although, eye catching doesn't mean slutty.  My dad always said, the more you show, the more guys think they can have.  Of course, right now with this sub-zero temps I'm not showing anything...



Day 12... Love this skirt.  Got it just before Christmas at Forever 21 for $7.  I mean $7!!! And it's perfect.  I can wear just about any shoes or black shirt with it.  I can dress it up with something sheer and some heels or dress it down with a black T and flats.  (Who am I kidding, I don't own a pair of flats...but you get my drift).



I told you I was going to do black shorts and boots with the fur for my work outfit this week.  Nailed it!  Hahaha.  For next week I'm wearing gold pants.  You can't see it, but on the back of the Bailey's shirt it there is a gold shamrock.  Therefore, gold pants should be fabulous!  And please excuse this picture.  When you don't have anyone to take a pic of you, you must use the full size mirror in the bathroom of the bar where you work. 



Day 16...I know, you are wondering where the pics for days 14 and 15 are, right?  Well, day 14 was Sunday and I was in my pajamas most of the day.  I did get up and put on some jeans and a sweatshirt to go see my parents, but then I came home and went back to bed because I was exhausted from working Saturday night.  Day 15 was Martin Luther King Jr. day and I was off work.  So, once again I did jeans and a sweatshirt.  I was going to have my son take a pic of this, but I forgot and it really isn't anything to get excited about anyway.  The above pic is day 16.  I love these pants, but the more I see the pics of me in them, I'm thinking they don't look as cute as I thought they did.  I love this sweater.  Mostly because I can wear it with anything.  Jeans, skirts, dress pants...with a shirt under it or just a tank, it looks great with anything.  I wish I would have gotten it in every color. 





Day 17.  Since it's 4 degrees outside and we don't deal with the public at work on Wednesdays, my boss said we could wear jeans.  Please note, the shoes match the sweater.  Yep, that's how I roll...matching my shoes to my sweaters. 



I wanted to give a special thank you to my cousin Carrie for sending me a gift card for T.J. Max.  I did have a rather bummer of a weekend and shopping always makes me feel better.  I got the card in the mail on Friday and thought I would hang on to it for a day when I was feeling really down, but Sunday seemed like a good a day as any to go shopping.  I bought the gold pants I'll be wearing to work on Saturday night.  So, THANKS CARRIE!!!  I'm so grateful for the people supporting me in everything I'm doing in my life, not just this project and blog.  The card Carrie sent me said "Keep Calm and Carry On".  So, I will...

Days 9-11

     Well, let me tell you, this taking a pic of myself every day is a harsh realization that I do not look as good as I think I do when I leave the house in the morning.  I mean, some outfits I love but others are not so great.  Like the red sweater, cropped pants and red boots.  Yeah, someone should have said, "hey, that makes you look super short and pudgy."  But nope, I just got a lot of "I like those boots."  Maybe the boots took away from how bad the outfit actually looks on me.  But when I compare that pic to the other ones, there is a very big difference in the shape of my body.  Note to self, take pics in the morning and if it doesn't look good, change clothes and take another pic.

     Actually, now that I'm taking the pics, I recommend it to everyone.  You'd be surprised at how different you look in a picture than you do in a mirror.  I say try it...if you're not doing it already.

Here's days 9, 10, & 11...



Day 9:  Another 50 shades of gray outfit.  I have a lot of gray so I probably can come up with 50 different gray outfits over the course of the year.



Day 10: My only other piece of leopard print is this scarf.  I love this black dress, but it needs something to spice it up.  I think it will be super cute in the spring with no tights, heels and a bright scarf.



I bought this shirt for $3 on a clearance rack.  This is only the second time I've worn it.  Still deciding if I like it as much as I liked the price...



     Dressing up everyday, just in case I have a run in with my destiny...

Day 4 - 8

      I believe you should never leave the house in your pajamas. It's tacky. So are Crocks, unless your working in the garden. But even I have more stylish shoes for working in the garden. I love this quote by Liz Taylor. I think I may post a famous quote with every blog. There are so many I am fond of, you know... But I like this one because no matter what was going on in her life, she always looked polished and together. And that is how I strive to look, polished and together. No matter how bad things may seem, no one will ever know by looking at me.
    





Day 4...My 50 shades of gray look.  I love this outfit, it's going to be hard not to wear it again.  Good thing I have other gray dress pants I can pair with this vest!
 

"
Day 5, I was reading the new InStyle magazine and there is this whole section on how "You can do leopard". So I pulled out my green leopard skirt and paired it with my black boots. I love this look! Love it, love it, love it! Can't wait for it to warm up so I can wear it with a cute tank and some stilettos.

 

Day 6, Saturday. As of right now, this is my uniform for my second job. Bailey's at Bluff. I love working here and I designed the T-shirts so I feel it's important that I wear the T-shirt every time I work. Which is every Saturday. Therefore, I won't be posting Saturday outfits unless I don't work on a Saturday or I come up with some cute outfit to go with this T-shirt... like this T-shirt, black shorts and boots with fur. OK, next weekend that's what I'm wearing to work and pics will be posted.

 



Day 7, Sunday.  I didn't get a picture of me wearing this awesome Wheaties T and my suede workout pants, but I also didn't go anywhere, didn't have any make-up on and my hair was in a messy pony tail.  I laid around all day and did nothing and it was fabulous!  Not going to lie, I will probably wear this outfit again on another Sunday when I'm not going anywhere.

 



Day 8.  This sweater was my mom's.  She loved it and so do I.  I don't wear it often because I don't want it to get messed up.  I got a lot of my mom's jewelry, purses and a couple pairs of her shoes.  But I didn't take to many of her clothes.  And like me, she had a lot of clothes.  I love this sweater because it's black and white and the cut makes me look slim in the waist.  And you may have noticed, I've been playing with my pose.  Trying to find one that makes me look taller and slimmer.  This may be it...

Day 2 & 3...Oooops...

   This quote is so me.  And, you're never going to believe what I did...OK, if you know me you'll totally believe I what I did.  I had my daughter take a pic of me in my day 2 outfit, emailed it to myself, then erased it off my phone.  Only, I didn't check to make sure the email went through.  And of course it didn't.  So, here is my day 2 outfit, on a hanger, for you to see.  I don't have the energy to put it on again.  I do want to tell you, this is one of my favorite skirts so you will be seeing it many times with different shirts and shoes.  I also wanted to give you a close up of the boots.  They are the last pair I bought before making the decision to go through with this resolution.  Not to shabby for $10, eh? 

     And here is my day 3 outfit.  My co-workers love these boots, but even though red is my favorite color, I don't have a lot of red shirts to wear with these fabulous boots.  Therefore, I wear them about once a month or so.  And since I can't buy anything new until 2014, it doesn't look like this is going to change much.  Unless I wear all black and just let the boots stand out by themselves.  Hmmmm.... that's a possibility. 

     So far so good...3 days in and I haven't bought anything new.  High fives all around!!!  And for the record, I know these pictures are awful.  No need to comment on the lighting...hahaha.

Challenge introduction and Day 1

     This is my closet.  There are 70 or so pairs of shoes, somewhere around 100 tank tops, about 30 skirts, maybe 50 dresses (including formal and casual), and a whole heck of a lot of sweaters and tops.  Hello, my name is Kellie and I have a slight shopping addiction.  The good news is, there isn't any single item in this closet that cost more than $40.  Even the formal dresses I bought on clearance racks, usually with coupons.  But, needless to say, it is a problem.  So, my New Year's resolution...go one whole year without buying anything new.  But to make it fun and keep you interested, I'm also going to go the whole year without wearing the same outfit twice. 

     This is going to be rough for me.  I think I'll be alright with not buying new clothes, but shoes is going to be very hard.  Shoes are my weakness.  I love them.  Shoes make me feel taller and sexier.  And people have started to notice me for the shoes I wear.  I like this, takes the attention away from other parts of my body, like my waist.  So, I hope I can actually go a whole year without buying a new pair of shoes.

     Now, the purpose of this New Year's resolution isn't really to control my shopping addiction.  It's to control my bank account.  Currently, I am going through a divorce.  This situation has cut my monthly income by about 4k.  Its a harsh reality when you go from a joint income of 6k a month to just over $2k and you still have all the same bills.  Everything I was paying before, I'm still paying.  But I don't want to change my kids lifestyle anymore than absolutely necessary.  So, in order to make sure they can keep all their TV channels, keep eating the cereal they like, continue to eat out once a week and so on and so on...I am giving up shopping for myself. 

     And with everything we do in our lives, there are rules to this resolution.  They are as follows:
1. If I receive gift cards, they can be used for myself as that is usually why a gift card is given.
2. If I receive cash as a gift, it can't be used on clothes or shoes unless the person giving it specifies that they want me to use it for such things.
3. If I fail, I must post the failure with pictures of the purchase and reasoning behind the purchase.  And one failure does NOT give permission for future failures.  For example, I can't say "well, I already failed once..."
4. To keep track of my outfits, a picture will be taken everyday and posted with each blog post.  Some blogs may have several days of outfits as I'm sure I won't be able to post everyday.
5.  Feedback is welcome and encouraged.  Tell me what you like and what you don't like.  I won't mind at all if you say "thank goodness you can't wear that outfit again for a year".  But I also will love it when you say "too bad you can't wear that outfit again."  And if you see something I need to get rid of, tell me!!!  Goodwill is not far from my apartment and I will gladly drop off things I shouldn't be wearing.

     I think those are good rules, don't you?  So, without further ado...  Here is day 1, outfit 1. 

     I know it's blurry, but my son took the pic.  And I know it isn't much, but it is Indiana and it is 19 degrees outside.  Summer outfits will be much more fun!