Help, please! Reinvent my wardrobe

Okay, I need some help out there in the blogosphere. The interwebs and all that. I had a ton of clothes and a ton of accessories and just about the world's most fabulous collection of shoes (or at least that I've seen).  And while I appreciate these items in the collective, I'm having a problem putting everything together. Frankly, I'm boring myself.

Is there anyone out there who wants to lend their stylistic talents to helping me out? Or even in pieces or trade? (I don't know what I could trade, but I could try). Maybe the collective could help me out. I could post a few pictures of clothing pieces and then you could make the outfit for the day and I'd wear it and others could rate it. Anything to break the monotony of wearing the same combinations all the time or getting so bored that I spend more money than I need to.

Anyone want to help a girl out? (Full disclosure, I don't have many cute scarves--like three. So if you're a scarf-heavy stylist, you've been warned).

First challenge: The shoes pictured are some of my funniest and funkiest, but I haven't worn them in a while because I've been too lazy to find something to wear with them. The other picture are two boring skirts that could be used (but don't have to be). The lighter khaki is a straight skirt and the dark brown is a-line.

So there's the challenge: dress me. (Yes, I'm that pathetic).

Waist Not, Want Not? Hell yes I want it!

I’m currently in one of those tricky phases of weight loss where you get good and motivated and you start to see results. Why is this tricky? For a couple reasons: 1) You get in a transition period in between your fat clothes and your skinny clothes. 2) You want this feeling to last, but you know it’s not gonna.

Oh the fat and the skinny clothes. If you’re like me, you tend to only be one or the other. Or you have some things that look better to cover the pudge and other things that look better when your svelte. Or maybe not svelte, but smaller. I’m also notorious for not wearing properly fitting clothes. I’m super belly-conscious, so I hate having anything that fits too tightly around the belly. On the other hand, I have big boobs so it it’s gonna be loose at the belly and fit the boobs, I end up wearing a shapeless tent on top. I find that the well-placed belt can help in some occasions, but not all.

So I venture into a store and find a few pieces that can help the tight stuff look less lumpy and the loose stuff look less frumpy. But as I try on I realize...I'm a few sizes smaller than I was before. So I like trying on stuff and looking good. Which opens the door for buying more clothes...clothes that won't fit in a few months when I've lost more weight. And I know this. I want to hold off on buying clothes, but it's important to reward myself, right? It's a vicious cycle.

And then comes part two. I get some momentum and I feel good about my plan, losing weight seems easier and everything's kicking on high gear. The weight's coming off and BAM! I get stuck. How the hell did this happen?How the hell did I stop losing weight? I'm still watching what I eat. I'm still under calories. I get so baffled that I get pissed. And when I get pissed, I want to eat fried foods. It's my way of saying "Okay, body, you don't like what I put in you? Well, wait until you see THIS!".

Oh, the cycle. The ups and downs. Right now I'm riding an up. I'm preparing for the down. But in the end, I just want to have the perseverance to keeping moving. Isn't that really what we're all asking for?

Shopped Till I Dropped

For some reason, I wanted to go shopping today. And because he's my best advocate, Chef was all in. Not only that, he came to be last night and said "Why don't we leave early so we can be there when the outlets open? That place is crazy busy."

And he was right. We got there right when it opened and it was already getting packed. I hit the GAP and got some great deals. Then hit the CAbi outlet. Not only did they have TWO items that I had wanted the last time I was there IN MY SIZE this time, but when I went to check out, the lady gave me chocolate. And not just any chocolate. I opened it and it had an additional discount of 30 PERCENT!! Hello!!!

Then we found some things for Chef and I found out that both Ann Taylor AND Benetton had sales were everything in the store was an additional 40 percent off. Ridiculous. It was just my day to get some deals. And a day that I appreciate Chef letting me take as much time as I needed.

Now tomorrow is going to be a different day. Tomorrow is the day when I have to go through my closet and weed out all those shirts that I feel badly about buying and only wearing once before deciding that they weren't cute. Now they sit there and mock me every morning as I pass them over for a more loved shirt. It's time to let them mock someone else now. I've got new duds!