Belated Halloween

I know Halloween was SO 3 days ago, but I forgot to post our Smencils Halloween. My favorite is the Angry Bird flying across the top. :)

oh and the ghost buster costume is totally legit. That is actually James costume that his mom made him when he was younger and all the toys that are pictured with the costume are the original toys from the 80s. James has kept them through all these years. He loves the nostalgia of it.

Hello Newbies and Oldies!

Since beauty week, I have about 20 new readers to my blog. I would like to officially say, WELCOME TO SHE SAID! Hope you have fun reading and find my little ol' life interesting. I would LOVE to learn more about you. I have been popping in on peoples blogs and I must say, there are so many wonderful reads out there I wish I could keep up with ALL of them! You all make me laugh, think, and enjoy my 10 minute break away from work each day. Thank you for following and I can't wait to read more about you!

With that said, I think I might have to re-introduce myself. I will be partaking in the 100 truths/ Sunday Confessional thing that Deanna from Delirious Rhapsody has going on. I would love for you to participate too so that I can get to know you a little more!

100 Truths - I will give 10 random truths/facts about myself each week.

1. I am a natural blonde. I always start with this when "revealing" unknown truths about myself. It's funny because many don't believe me because I haven't used to say I would never go back blonde, although I recently had a dream that I was blonde again and now it has me wondering.....

2. I didn't become a Christian until I was 21. James invited me to church one day and it didn't take long for me to jump right in. Now, I don't know how I got through my adolescence without God. I was never closed to the idea of God, just never really understood who He was. I am so glad Chloe will get a chance to know her Savior is with her through these important life lessons and years that she has coming up. 

3. I hate Facebook. (Gasp!) I know, I have a Facebook page so I can't hate it that much, but I feel as though I do. The only reason I have it is to keep our family updated with Chloe. I rarely post pictures and I don't really comment on anyone's pages (unless it's there birthday!) and I hardly ever update my "status". I just feel like real life personal connection is just so much more important and I think more and more people are loosing touch with that these days.

4. I have a bachelors degree in Liberal Studies. As in Elementary School Teacher. However, I am not nor will ever be a teacher. Why do I have that degree then? My last semester of College I realized I didn't want to be a teacher. Teachers are amazing and give up so much of their life to the students and the classroom, and I am selfish and didn't want to give that up. I want my family to be number one and my "career" to stay at work. I don't want to have to think about work when I clock out each night. Fortunately, I am blessed with an amazing job that allows that for me. Unfortunately, I didn't need to go to college for my job and now we are in major debt due to college tuition fees.

5. I want to be a SAHM so badly. I mean the works, I want to know how to be a amazing cook, an expert sewer (I want to hand make ALL of my kids clothing, bedding, home decor, etc...). I want to have my house clean and I want to wear an apron, pearls and heels while doing so! I know, so 1950's of me... I want to home school my kids until 6th grade. I know being a stay at home mom is so much more than that, but I want it all. I would give anything to stay at home with my kids and be the one they learn from and never miss any of their milestones. I would give anything except for us to end up homeless, which is why I still work.

6. I have 2 "broken" pinkies. To say they are broken is not quite right, they are more "deformed" than anything. They point inwards rather sharply and look like they have been broken.  My dad tried getting them "fixed" once while my mom was away on West Pak for the Navy. The Dr's told me they would have to literally break them back into the proper placement. I screamed and screamed until my dad caved in.
I was born like that and believe it or not, crooked fingers is a genetic thing... I check Chloe's pinkies constantly. Luckily, they look straight for now...


7. I took Spanish Classes for a total of 6 years and still can't speak if fluently. How? lack of practice. Have you heard that expression" If you don't use it, you lose it?" Yeah, it's right. I used ot be able to speak to someone and totally understand what they are saying to me, but when you aren't surrounded with the language, you start to forget it over the years... At least I do.


8. For someone who went to college to be a teacher, I have horrible grammar.  Seriously, just read my blog, mistakes left and right. I am pretty well known for overusing the "comma". I am just too lazy to look up grammar stuff and "re-teach" myself anything.


9. When I was younger ( I mean like all throughout my teenage years), I wanted to be a single mom and adopt 2 kids by age 24. Random, but when you get to know my past, it makes it much more clear why I wanted that. I am so glad that I didn't go that route.


10. I believed in Santa until I was 13. And I would have continued to believe in him if I didn't accidentally see where my mom was hiding all the toys for Christmas that were supposed to be from Santa. I used to get in fights on the school playground over Santa being real, that is how serious I was about it. You better believe I will have Chloe convinced he is real too.


So there you have it. I wold love to hear yours! Leave a "confession" or two on the comments. And make sure to go check out Deanna's blog, she has a Sunday Confessional on her blog every week!

Chloe's First Halloween!!!!

 So I was super stoked for Chloe's first Halloween. We had decided pretty early that we were all going to be clowns. I made a really cute costume with a huge adorable tutu and clown hat and everything. When Chloe tried it on last week, she hated it! She screamed and pulled at it and was miserable. I was so sad! We made a mad scramble to try to figure out what we could be and came up with Alice, the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter... and I think it worked out splendidly! The costumes consisted of everything we already owned, minus the bunny ears that I got at Walmart for $5.

 

I painted my face like a bunny (sort of) and wore all the time piece necklaces I had, and glass bunny charm necklace.

Chloe loved her outfit because it wasn't too poofy and it didn't have anything that she had to wear on her head, other than the bow that she had no idea was there.

I wish we were able to get some good family photos of us together, but these are the only ones on our camera.... (as you can see, Chloe kicked off one of her shoes as soon as we got out of the house)

We went down to our old church's Trunk or Treat. People park in the parking lot and decorate their trunks in Christian/ fall type themes. Then all the trunks pass out candy, so instead of going door to door, we go car to car. They even had air jumps and carnival games and rides. It is a pretty cute event. 

We met up with a bunch of friends and family there and of course, tons of pictures were taken.

The baby cousins...

Apparently, Chloe already has a thing for candy
(don't worry, she didn't actually eat anything)

Chloe's boyfriend, Noah

We had a pretty fun time and Chloe really seemed to enjoy it. She passed out as soon as we got into the car. 

I hope all of you had a great Halloween! Can't wait to read your blogs and see tons of pictures!!!!

Beauty Week Day 5 - Accessorize

And this is the last post for beauty week. I hope you all learned a lot and found some new blogs to follow along the way. I want to thank all the ladies that participated in the blog party. You all are amazing and beautiful women!

and now for the final post, by Ashley...
Hey again! Ashley here from The Peanut Gallery! Last time I talked about how to expand your wardrobe by taking spring and summer pieces into the colder weather. This time Im going to expand your wardrobe again but in a different way. Through the use of accessories. Im going to show you how to take one dress and make it into three totally different looks.

Each look was inspired a different piece or accessory.

The Dress if from Francesca's Collections

Inspiration #1 

My first look was inspired by this turquoise and brown belt.

I added a turquoise leather braided bracelet and an amber and hazel wood bracelet. I was going for a native American inspired look with natural materials and colors.

A messy low side braid and some turquoise tights added to the look

and I chose some strappy brown heels. They have some faux animal prints and are multiple shades of tan and brown.

I might wear this look to an afternoon party or Dinner with the girls

Belt- Francesca's Collections

Leggings- DIY

Shoes- Off Broadway Shoe Warehouse

Leather bracelete- Flourish on etsy 

Amber bracelete- Hazelmaid

Inspiration # 2

My second look was inspired by these boots. I was going for a western/cowgirl look. Basic browns and animal prints helped me achieve my look.

I just wore my hair down with a natural wave.

I added a snake faux snake skin belt and jacket. Both in brown.

It's a simple more casual look compared to #1

I would probably wear this look on an anyday basis. Maybe to the pumpkin patch or out to lunch.

Jacket- Syms

Boots- REI

Belt- Azura

Leggings- Nordstrom

Inspiration #3

My third inspiration was the dress itself. The white lace and the loose fitting A-line is very 1920 inspired so I went with a flapper look.

I wore a short, cropped, sparkly, black shrug and a long layred necklace.

pointy, low, black heels make it possible to do the Charleston  :) 

I wore my hair in the no heat pre curl look. Its very 1920's to me. 

This look is a little dressier to me and I would probably wear it to a night party, or a fancy dinner.

Shrug- Thrifted

Necklace- Francesca's Collections

Shoes- Macys

So there you have it. One dress, three totally different looks! I hope this inspires you to build your wardrobe through the use of accessories! 

Beauty Week Day 5 - Accessorize

Hi! Amber from I love you to the moon here! So happy to show you a few of my favorite tips for spicing up an outfit. My favorite thing to add to allllmost any outfit is a belt. Chunky belts, skinny belts, bright belts, belts belts belts! I love them. I’d say probably 90% of my belts are thrifted for about a buck a piece.

Boots also have a special place in my heart. Seriously, just having a few different pairs of boots and a few different belts can make you feel like you have a whole new wardrobe.

Today, I started out with this dress –

Simple and black

Threw on a mint green belt. I’m telling you, Goodwill knows where it’s at in the belt department!

Then knee highs and boots!

And a cardigan to add a lil color and cover up my arms for work. :]

I’ve totally worn this same dress with a chunky gray belt and red boots, orange belt and purple heels, and yellow belt and gray wedges.  So many different ways to mix simple lil dresses up!

Thank you for having me over to your adorable corner of the internet, Michelle!

Hope you ladies are having a wonderful week!

Beauty week Day 5 - Accessorize!

Today is the final day of BEAUTY WEEK. So I thought it would be fitting to talk about the final touches of an outfit/look. Deanna from Delirious Rhapsody is here with the first post of the day. Deanna seriously can accessorize and she does a weekly "what I wore" post that you all should check out.


I love getting dressed up and having somewhere to go. Whether it be a (rare) date night with my husband, a concert, or even church. I love picking out an outfit that fits my personality for the day. But unfortunately, as a stay at home mom of two wild little boys, it's often much easier to go with simple and easy (read: boring) than it is to wear something fun. So I'm here to show you that you can still be spunky while wearing your basics. All you have to do is add an accessory or two.

For this experiment, I picked the most boring items out of my closet. A plain tee shirt and jeans. I'm going to take this same jeans and tee, and pair it with different accessories, and (hopefully) you'll see just how easy it is to add some spice to a really plain outfit.

Here, I am, sporting the boring tee shirt.




::Yawn::

Now let's add just a couple things, and see what happens.







See, it didn't take much at all to add a little bit of personality to this outfit. And it was nothing too crazy that I couldn't take my kids to the park or go on a grocery run in.


Here are a couple tips for wearing accessories:
1. Mix and match. Don't color coordinate from head to toe. You'll end up looking like a 1970s Avon saleslady. It's ok to mix up different patterns and colors.
2. Choose one statement piece. When I wear my hair up, I wear big earrings. When I wear it down, I choose a big necklace instead.
3. Don't wear anything that you don't love.
4. Get creative! Wrap a necklace around a couple times to make a bracelet. Use a scarf for a belt or even a belt for a headband. Just think outside of the box, and your options are limitless!

Thanks for having me Michelle! I hope you enjoyed my post, and feel free to stop by my blog sometime and say hello!



Deanna
delirious rhapsody

Beauty Week Day 4 - Fashion

And the last fashion post of the day goes to Ashley from The Peanut Gallery.... 

Hellooo She Said bloggity readers! Im so SO excited that Michelle asked me to be here for this awesome fashion week! Who doesnt love to get dressed up? Today I thought it would be fun show you how to take some obvious spring/summer dresses and take them into the fall/winter. It's a great way to stretch your wardrobe.

Here are my 4 pointers

1. Add sleeves. Whether its a jacket, long sleeved shirt, or cardi you need to cover up those arms!

2. Cover up those legs! No reason you cant rock a mini in the dead of winter just add some leggings or tights!

3. Close toed shoes. Keep those tooties warm.

4. Add jewel toned and warm colored accessiores. Take a warm color from the dress/outfit even if it's not very noticeable and bring it out through accessories. 

Dress # 1

This dress is obviously meant for warmer weather. Its a tube top for goodness sakes. Also the bright pinkyness and floral pattern screams 'wear me when it's warm!' But Im a rebel and so I said, no you know what, Im going to wear you when it's cold! That's right. Rebel.  

And here is how I did it.

(ps sorry for the mediocur quality photos)

I added a plain black longsleved shirt under the dress. I love adding shirts underneath tubtop dresses. It sort of makes it a whole new dress 

**tip try adding a tank or short sleeved shirt in warmer weather for the same effect.

Here comes my jewel tone tip. I added some deep turquoise leggings (that I dyed myself DIY here!) to cover up my legs and bring out the darker colors of the dress.

lastly I wore some suade booties to keep my toes nice and warm!

Dress- Target

Leggings- DIY 

Booties- Charlotte Russe

Shirt- H&M

Dress # 2

Again another obvious warm weather dress. This one has more muted colors which transfer easily to the fall but the cut and style are so summer.

I took the oranges and browns from the dress and added accessories that enhanced those warmer colors.

An orange cardi covers up my arms and the belt added to the outside gives it form fitting look.

The orange and brown bow was made by yours truly :)

and some tall boots and brown leggings keeps my lower half bundled.

Dress- Mod Cloth

Leggings- Nordstrom

Cardi- Target

Belt- Azura 

Headband- homemade

Boots- REI

So there you have it some basic pointers to get the most out of your wardrobe! I hope this can inspire you to try same new looks with some old clothes! Happy wearing!