Why I'll rethink that next hotdog

Everybody loves a good party.
I'm the first one to pull out the party hats and toss the confetti.
I love celebrating the people in my life.
This particular party, we were celebrating Carolyn.
Carolyn loves a party as much as me. And I love her to pieces.

With most parties you have good food.  This one was no exception.

I knew Janet, Carolyn's sister, was gonna have these cupcakes and I was looking forward to a little splurge.  Since Nick's diabetes diagnosis, we pretty much have purged ourselves of all sugar here at home.  But I will treat myself when we are out at times.

But this particular party also had hot dogs. 

And I went all out and ate me one.

 With mayonnaise.

 On a bun.

Lots of processes stuff I haven't eaten in forever.

And that night I felt terrible.  

I had to dig out my old pink bottle of pepto.

I took several swigs and waited for relief.

It wasn't until a few days later when we were talking about it that it dawned on me that I haven't had to take the pink stuff in months!  I used to live on it. I kept it in my purse and in the car.  I usually had to take a couple of swigs every day.  Sometimes after every meal.

But since we have begun to eat clean and focus on whole foods and little to no processed foods I no longer need it.  And I totally didn't realize it.  Feeling good is my new normal. 

 I had forgotten how it felt to feel yucky after eating. 

(i'll spare you all my symptoms and just say yucky. you're welcome)

And then it dawned on me that Nick no longer takes his heartburn medicine.  He used to keep them in his pocket to take before meals.  And he pretty much took one at least once a day.

He doesn't take them anymore either!

Friends! That is big!  We have felt so good these last several months we totally forgot what our old "normal" used to feel like.  

 What we eat really does make a huge difference in the way we feel!  I mean I knew that.  I've read about that. But this was the first time I realized it to be true for me in such a tangible way.

I honestly haven't missed our old way of eating either.  We have discovered so many new types of foods and seasonings that it has actually been fun.

Now I'm not saying I'll never eat another hotdog or never enjoy another cupcake ever again. I'm pretty sure I might.  But I will definitely consider if it tastes good enough to feel like poop afterwards.

More than likely it probably won't.

And then there is this reason.

The pic on the left was taken last April.  Size 14.

The pic on the right was taken this April.  Size 10.

I lost 40 lbs and gained some sass.

So what are you waiting on?
I'm rooting for you.

bag: Better Life Bags // t-shirt: Fancy Free // leather cuff: Farmgirl Paints

Stitch Fix Number 8. (and some tips)

On my 8th month of fixes they went and shook things up on me.

They switched my stylist.

Seven glorious fixes with Catherine and then came along Margaret.

Now, I'm not saying that is a bad thing. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna really like Margaret.

She did pretty good on her first time up to bat.

We could have hit a home run together but there were a few miscommunications.

I'll explain that in a bit.  Maybe save you from an unnecessary strike out with your stylists.

First up was this great shirt.

I loved the texture and the whole look of it. 

Next up was this rad denim vest.

This was great because it let me know Margaret was reading my notes.  I made mention in my profile how much I loved the denim vest that I had seen on one of my friends on Instagram. (She had won Stitchfix Friday about a month ago!  Yay Emmy!)  Anyway, it let me know Margaret checked out the things I had shared and requested.  

I love the vest.  I throw it on with everything.

 OH and on an unrelated note….I got bangs. 

I like them. For now.

So another thing that lets me know Margaret has been reading up on me and checking out my Pintrest Board is that she totally got my love for the style of the Mad Men ladies.

Here is Megan

 And this is the amazing "Megan Dress" she sent me.

I loved it.

But it totally was too short for me.

 Then there is Betty.

And here is my "Betty Dress" she sent me.

I loved it too.  But again…it was totally too short for me.

And these dresses could have been that home run I was telling you about earlier.

I love everything about them.  The look. The style. The colors.

But they were way too short for me.

So why would my stylists send me dresses that were too short?  This is where the miscommunication came in. For the past seven months I had written down in my profile that I the shortest I wear skirts and dresses are right at the knee or a tiny bit above. (unless I can wear dark tights with it).   Well, they only give you so much space to write stuff in your profile and then it cuts off.  So after 7 months with my same stylist, Catherine, I assumed it was safe to take off the info about hem lengths and put some fresh stuff info on there. Well I had no idea they would give me a new stylists who didn't know this very very important information.  I feel certain that if that had still been on my profile that Margaret would have styled me in a similar look with a longer hemline.  Kind of a bummer there.  I would have totally kept these dresses had they been longer.

So stylist tip of the day:  Keep the most important stuff that you need your stylist to know on there at all times.  Don't change it up just to let them know you're really digging the color lilac right now.

Hind sight is 20/20.

And then there is Joan from Mad Men.

Maybe I'll get a "Joan Dress" soon.

Her hem lines are all doable for me.

Oh…but here is my fifth piece that came in this fix. 

And Margaret hit it out the park with this one.

This necklace. 

I've worn it just about everyday since it arrived at my doorstep.

It's dainty and modern and 18K gold. And I adore it.

Well there you have it.  Fix number 8.

It was a crazy month. It's taken me forever to write this post so I'm a little behind with writing this post.

And fix number 9 is scheduled to arrive TODAY.  

Oh the suspense.   Will I have Margaret again?  Will I have a Joan Dress?

Will I have some Boho stuff?  Something lilac?

Aghh.  I can't wait.  And that is what makes StitchFix so great.

It's fun. It's full of surprises..(the good kind of surprises)

And it's super easy.  The dresses I didn't keep? I just popped them in the postage paid mailer that came in my fix and dropped them off in the mail.  Easiest return ever.

You can get all the details here.

You can check out my other fixes here..

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

And if you haven't signed up for the Nest Jewelry yet from Melody Joy Designs that I'm giving away for Mother's Day, then click here!!
Melody is graciously giving away TWO pieces of jewelry to one lucky lady and
TODAY is the last day to enter! 

Well I hope y'all have an amazing weekend.

xxoo

ps.  Just so you know, I'm finally getting back in the groove and have some posts on family and Hope Spoken and Losing to Gain and all kinds of goodness in the works. I actually have drafts!  Not just ideas in my head! Boom shakalala.  So hang in there, if all these fashion posts are making your head hurt.  Y'all are the best. xxoo

Mother's Day Giveaway!

I'm just tickled pink to share with y'all an absolute gem that I was able to meet in person my weekend in Dallas at Hope Spoken.
 Her name is Melody.  And she is precious.

She is a gifted artisan with a heart to create things that have a message…a purpose behind them and I just adore that.  She custom makes "mama's nest" jewelry and will add as many eggs as you need in your nest. 

"Mama birds symbolize the unconditional and nurturing love, protection and self-sacrifice that so many mothers shower on their little birds."  ~ Melody

I was going to only get three eggs representing my three daughters but she persuaded me to add three more eggs for my grandkids too. I was concerned about doing that because I know I will have more than three grandchildren and then my nest wouldn't be complete. But she reassured me that she adds eggs all the time to jewelry she has already made so I went for it.   

The white pearls are for my girls and the champagne ones are for the grandkids.

She left plenty of room to add more!  I can't wait to have a big ole nest full of them!

She also makes silver nests…

She can make them as a necklace if a ring is not your thing.

And to make it even more special, for Mothers who have experienced loss and would like to represent these babies, she has different colored pearls and will add them in the front or also tucked safely in the back of the nest…so you can have close to your momma's heart.  I just love that.

I was so blessed to have connected with her while in Dallas and fell in love with her bohemian style and beautiful ginormas heart. 

After seeing her rocking the scarves all weekend long, she inspired me to pull out my vintage collection and wrap one up in my hair.  I felt very magical.  :)

But anyways…..back to the giveaway!

She is going to give one lucky lady not just one,  but TWO of these pieces.  The winner can choose between the necklace or ring.  Or get one of each.  Maybe one for you and one for your mom!  Woo Hoo!  I'm so excited that one of my sweet followers will get to own these!

AND just in case you don't win or you just don't want to wait, she has offered 25% off for all you!
Just use the code HONEYHOLDEN!  It will be good through April 30th.
Click here to shop.
(She also has some amazing leather wraps where she stamps arrows on them to represent your kids! I absolutely love that since Nick refers to our girls as our arrows on a regular basis.  So make sure you check that out too!)

Good luck ladies!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Chasing dreams

Ever since my youngest daughter, Lauren, could dress herself she's always had a flair for fashion.  She's loved hair and hats and accessories for as long as I can remember.  In fact, one of her elementary teachers said  the hi-light of her day was waiting for Lauren to get out of our car each morning so she could see what wild hair do and accessories she would be sporting.  The girl had no fear.  She would wear little scarves and bandanas,  headbands with different colored braided "hair" and hats of any kind…you name it and she's tried it.  When she got older she dyed her hair every color imaginable…even  had a big blue streak at one time.

So as adult, when she decided to go into the "beauty business" it didn't come as a surprise to anyone who knows her.  In fact she has been doing up dos for proms and weddings since before she even had her driver's license.  The girl's just got a gift when it comes to hair.

And that is where her heart is…making people feel unbelievably gorgeous on their special days.  I love seeing my girls pursue their dreams…doing what makes them happy and blessing others at the same time.

So when she told me she wanted to create a website to pursue her business as a hair and make up artist …. well I was tickled pink.  

She hired my amazingly talented friend, Danielle to design her little corner of the internet.
Here's a peek….

 and then she called me on the phone and said, "Mom. I need to do a makeover on you and have a "little" photo shoot." 

Well we don't do anything "little" in this family.  It may start off little but always turns into full blown productions and this time was no exception.  After a full backdrop, four outfit and hairstyle changes,  dragging one very reluctant sister on board and her daddy as the photographer,  we called it a wrap.

Here a few of the pics from that day….

You can go check out Lauren's new blog and the rest of the photo shoot here.

I absolutely can't wait to see all the inspiration she will be sharing.

I'm so proud of Lauren.
I'm proud of all my girls.

I love when they step out and take chances on their dreams.

I have a feeling this is only the tip of the iceberg.
That makes my heart happy.
I pray they never stop chasing their dream.

              

Out takes

 How many tries does it take to get this picture?

Apparently two dozen times plus one. As in 25.

There was lots of giggling, hard breathing and tinkling by the end of this.

All from me of course. (side note…grandmas probably should not jump and giggle at the same time)

That combo never ends well.

The first pic is the one I ended up posting which ironically was one of the very first ones we took.

My tummy was showing though so I was determined to get another one. In the end it remained my fave so I just strategically placed an arrow professing my love for my man.  ;)

Which by the way… big thank you to my husband for humoring my crazy requests. 

Gosh I love him.

(These were taken using an app on my phone called Camera Timer.  You need it in your life.

Trust me on this one. )