front door

living room window

view from the living room towards the school/media room

property view from the driveway entrance

So, as a reminder, our property has 2 (kind of 3) different parts: the main house (with the garage/loft attached) and the barn, so when you see all these pictures, it looks like 3 buildings.

beginnings of the barn!

Our framers have been so amazing!  They are a big crew and work quickly, but are also so patient with me whenever I have questions.  Here they are showing me where the stairs will go so I can envision it.

garage (my parents’ loft will be above it, attached with a glass bridge to the main house)

view from the barn (on the right) toward the house

I have never been able to stop this boy from climbing!  I just have to have him chill out a little around the subs because he worries them!

view from above the garage, down into the first floor of the house (before the connecting bridge)

the backside of the garage, the loft getting framed in.

2nd floor going up on the barn and loft

My parents standing on their future front porch

GIANT beam going in between the dining and living room

the barn loft getting trusses – it went up so quickly!

barn fully framed and getting sheeted

the big window wall lifted into place

view of the big window wall from inside – the fireplace will go in between the windows

start of the bridge!

view into the kitchen

inspiration pic of the bridge connecting the main house and the loft

The second floor of the main house getting framed.  This is Sean standing in our bedroom.

master bath

barn deck going up

main house getting trusses

view from the upstairs hallway

It was so fun being INSIDE the house when the framers were putting up the trusses! (yes, I was being careful)

2nd floor up in all 3 buildings!

front porch roof

inside of the barn – where we’ll have a game/hang out space

inside of the barn – where the RV will go

underside of the porch roof – the beams will all be painted black with the tongue & groove wood stained

Silas’ room

one of the girls’ room

working on the loft porch roof

roof getting sheeted

view from the living room – main living space is vaulted to the second story

loft porch roof – so pretty!

So many pictures, but I wanted to catch you up!  This process has been so crazy – each step is so much fun and exciting, but also filled with more decisions and questions than I ever expected, so lots of stress in this as well.  I am shocked at how much of my days are spent in meetings for the build or shopping for products.  I think I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, but just barely!

In my last post, I shared with you all the progress on our property – from grading to forming the foundation.  And as of today, we have slabs!

This process is ridiculously exciting to me, it’s just silly.  I am asking all the annoying questions (“why are you doing this and that?”) and learning so much.

As a reminder, we are doing 3 separate buildings, as shown above: the main house, the barn, and the loft/garage.

Before this, I thought foundation and slab were the same thing.  I was wrong!  The foundation, formed above, is the edges of the building and the slab is the whole surface.

Here is the foundation forms getting filled and smoothed out.

Once the forms were filled and smoothed, rebar was placed vertically in the wet cement, which would be later bent down to tie in with the slab.

Next came the rocks and sand – piles of it!

The rocks and sand were spread out.

Then the moisture barrier.  I never realized how many layers went into the foundation and slab!

For the main house, we are doing radiant heat in the flooring, so we added an extra layer in the mix – a special foam that prevents heat loss below the slab.

We chose the color aggregate for our concrete.  Since we are having polished concrete on the first floor of the main house, I want very little aggregate to show.  But if it does, I want it to be in the grey family so it’s not so noticeable against the concrete.  I chose the top rocks, but later had to go with the bottom instead because the radiant heating guy was afraid of the sharper edges of the grey rocks and the possibility of them puncturing the lines.

After the foam, they added more sand, then bent the rebar and tied it in with more rebar, forming a grid over the entire surface.

Next came the radiant heat tubing (the red tubes).

It was tied down everywhere that would be exposed, so not under cabinetry or walls.

Lots of early morning excitement meant no sleeping in for the teenager!

Getting ready for the slab to be poured.

It was such a satisfying process to watch!

once the whole things was done and dry enough to walk on (by the evening), Sean sprayed a sealer on it that will help slow down the drying process in hopes to prevent any cracking.  We aren’t making any saw cuts in the slab because we don’t want to accidentally cut a radiant heat line, so most likely we will get some cracking – it’s just the nature of the concrete.  But we are doing what we can to hopefully prevent them!

Lines were made in the garage since we’re not polishing in there (Sean’s company will do epoxy in there later).

The slabs were almost too dry for me to get a little etching in!

And more exciting news:  the framing starts on Monday!  Things will move so quickly from here!

I am hoping to keep updates coming more regularly since the kids will be back in school starting Monday.  I’ll have those precious 2 days a week to myself – well, to work, make house decisions, run errands, etc. – but it’s more than i’ve had all summer!

Goodness, its been a long time since I blogged!  I’ll actually let you in on an embarrassing little secret:  it had been so long since I logged on to my blog that I forgot how!  I forgot my link and password and it was all quite laughable, until it wasn’t anymore and it was just frustrating.  But then I remembered this happening before and I remembered I had emailed myself links and passwords if I were to get in this situation again!  Genius (kind of, not really).

The biggest news I have to share is that after over 3 years (putting our old house up for sale, finding property, waiting for it to split to purchase, designing the house and waiting for permits) we finally BROKE GROUND on June 7th!!!  That was a crazy time for us because the kids were finishing school, our oldest promoted to high school, Sean & I went to China & Japan, we celebrated my 40th birthday, we celebrated Sean’s birthday/father’s day with a trip to Mexico with friends, and oh yeah, we also moved.  Phew!

Here is what our property looked like while we waited for our permits and loan to final.  Its 2.5 acres of land in San Luis Obispo county, but still less than 2 miles to downtown SLO.  We really wanted somewhere to spread out and not worry about bothering our neighbors and let the kids run loose and have loud gatherings.  This is going to be that place!

Day 1 of groundbreaking and what a big difference!  Just moving down all the weeds helped us to see the contours of the land.

Within a couple days all the weeds were cleared, the main “ridge” of the property was scraped down, and things were flattening out.

Then came more digging and moving of dirt, scraping and digging out the areas for the 3 buildings, then recompacting them.

It turns out that dirt is not very photogenic, especially not flat dirt.  But this has all been so exciting to us already!  We have never built a house fully from the ground up (our last build was from the subfloor up) so learning all about the process here is actually really interesting to me.  I’m pretty sure the contractor and subs are getting a little tired of my questions ;)

Before I go on about what else has happened besides dirt moving, I’ll share a bird’s eye view of the property through our plans.

So this may be kind of confusing to you if you’re not used to looking at plans like this!  All of the pictures I just showed were from the driveway entrance, at the bottom of the plan picture above.  So we were looking down the driveway, past the pool (that may or most likely will not happen), towards the 3 structures.  3 structures? Yep, I’ll explain…

The middle structure is the main house, where we’ll live.  Attached to that via a 2nd story bridge/hallway (on the right) is the loft and garage.  At our last house, my parents built a loft above our garage and live with us about 1 week a month.  We’ll be doing that again here!  The 3rd structure is a barn, to house a workshop, some storage, a bathroom, store our RV, and have space for things like ping pong, foosball, darts, etc.  Sean has big plans for this space, and most of them have me thinking it will turn out something like this – yikes!  The center section of the barn will have a second story, and we will eventually have an apartment up there that we can rent out.

This is a picture of Sean, standing in what will be the courtyard area.  We designed the 3 structures to create a sort of U-shaped space in the front yard to be protected from any wind and hopefully create a little hot pocket!

Once all the dirt was level to where we wanted it and compacted, they painted lines for the foundation.  This view is from the back right corner of the main house, looking toward the barn (the barn is going to back up to the fence, with a driveway in between).  Seeing the lines was super exciting!  I remember from our last house that this stage made me freak out a little, seeing the whole space laid out without any walls oddly seems smaller than what I was expecting.  Knowing that once the walls go up it will all start to feel bigger helped me not worry this time.

Next came more digging, but this time it was trenches for the foundation.  Those trenches are deep, about 3+ feet!

This view is looking at the whole property from the far right side, first you see the loft/garage, then the main house, then the barn is way out by the white truck.

Foundation prep takes a lot of work!  The forms are mostly built, about half of the rebar is in, and it looks like the plumbing is all set to go.  This view is from the front left corner of the porch of the main house, looking toward the loft/garage.

The foundation is supposed to be poured at th eend of this week!  I am super excited about it, but am almost hoping they put it off until early next week because the kids are at camp and will miss it!  We stop by the property almost every day and see what’s new and exciting.

So is this stuff interesting at all to you?  I have always been fascinated by all the steps of a house build, but maybe I’m alone in this!

I have a good friend who works for Lifewater, a Christian nonprofit dedicated to bringing clean water, improved health, and the hope of the Gospel to unreached places.  When we get together and talk about work, I’m talking about designing window displays and she’s talking about traveling to remote regions of the world, dealing with spiders the size of her hand, and providing lifesaving water programs for villages.  Both are important jobs (ha!), but… you guys, she is impacting the WORLD!

Did you know that 800+ million people don’t have access to safe water?  That’s about 1 in 10 people on earth, or twice the population of the United States! You can help change that!

10 Facts About the Water Crisis

Download the fact sheet to view sources for statistics.

1. 100 million families are stuck in a cycle of poverty and disease because they don’t have access to safe water.
2. More people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war.
3. 2.4 billion people, 1 in 3, lack access to a toilet.
4. Water-borne diseases kill more children under the age of five than malaria, measles, and HIV/AIDS – combined.
5. In developing countries, as much as 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions.
6. Women and girls spend up to 6 hours every day walking to get water for their families.
7. The average distance that women in Africa and Asia walk to collect water is 3.7 miles. That is 19,500 steps, every day, just to get water that is making them sick.
8. 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases.
9. Time spent gathering water around the world translates to $24 billion in lost economic benefits each year, furthering the cycle of poverty.
10. Every dollar invested in safe water and improved hygiene and sanitation results in eight dollars of increased economic activity.

World Water Day is Thursday, March 22nd.  For just $40, you can change a child’s life forever with clean water.  Plus, on World Water Day, your gift will be matched dollar for dollar, doubling your impact!  Will you join Lifewater in being the hands and feet of Jesus to the world?

Don’t you feel like you need just a little encouragement sometimes, to do the normal, everyday things (like make it through the whole week!)?

I started these posts originally to get myself out of a rut – when I was younger I loved trying all sorts of styles out, but after having kids I lost my motivation and relied all too heavily on pajamas and sweats – ugh.  I finally started getting dressed (almost) every day and then eventually started figuring out what worked and didn’t work on my post-babies body, and what I felt best in.

I post these pictures here not because I think I have it all figured out, but because I love having ideas from other normal people on what I could wear, too.  Look, I do love to shop, but most of what I share on here are clothes that I have had for a long time.  I do my best to share links to the same items if they are still available, but I will also do a bunch of searching to find really similar items if you happen to want to buy them.  Full disclosure, I do get a tiny kickback on some of the links I post here.  Any time you purchase something from those links, it goes to continue the support of this blog – thanks!

jeans {similar} // top {similar} // t-strap heeled clogs {similar & similar} // cuff // earrings

Here’s a perfect example of older clothing – I got this top and jeans from Golden Tote over 3 years ago, and I still love them!  Golden Tote is service that sends you a tote filled with items – you chose some, they choose some.  They also have a boutique section that you can shop directly from if you don’t love the element of surprise.

A few weekends ago, Sean & I got away for a quick overnight trip to San Diego to celebrate a friend’s birthday.  On our way, he treated me to a stop at Anthropologie.  I really hardly ever buy anything there, but am so incredibly inspired inside any of their stores, so I stop in whenever I am near one.  If I have time, I make a quick stop in the sale room, and this time I found this cute romper!  It was on additional sale AND I had a gift card – woohoo!

romper // shirt // clogs {similar & similar}

shirt // leggings // sweatshirt // shoes

When I was shopping recently at Target with my girls, I spotted these leggings in the girls’ section and grabbed a pair for Lily.  But then I remembered that I used to find great pieces in the girls section for me, if they had a big enough size.  I snagged these cute leggings for $6 in a girls xl!  I’ll admit the elastic waist is a little snug but I’m thinking of replacing it – totally worth it for the price.

Also these shoes… all the heart eyes for these!  I needed to replace my black Nikes because they are getting a bit worn out, and I found these cute New Balance shoes on a huge sale (limited sizes available)!

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Do you wanna join me for “what i wore“?  Yay!  Just follow the rules:

1. Link to your specific blog post, not your blog’s main page. Ex: http://thepleatedpoppy.com/2011/09/what-i-wore-wednesday-fall-inspiration/ not http://thepleatedpoppy.com/blog/.

2. Please only link outfit related posts. Your craft project may be adorable, or that may be a great giveaway, but this linky is for outfit related posts only – thank you!  ps – I WILL delete the super random posts that have nothing to do with outfits

3. Please please please link back here to me so all this wiw stuff makes sense to your readers. and its just nice to do ;)

4. Check out as many links as possible! I am constantly inspired by so many outfits each week! And you will definitely find some new blogs that you’ve never stumbled upon before – so fun!

{This post may contain affiliate links}

I am a big fan of online window shopping – most often I fill my cart then never buy anything!  I thought it would be fun to share with you some of my favorite recent finds, some I have bought, and some still waiting in my cart.

I love a white t-shirt!  In fact, I love them so much that I have several.  But, being as they are white, they get stained or dingy pretty quickly.  I just bought both of these shirts and really like them.  Being smaller chested, I like a shirt with a v-neck or scoop – it adds a little more interest than a crewneck shirt for me.  I also always buy my shirts with a looser fit because #softmombelly.  The scoop neck shirt is slightly more fitted, and will be perfect under overalls, jumpers and strappy dresses for added modesty.

I saw this dress recently in Target and ordered it online to get my size.  I have an extra small – I suggest sizing down for the best fit.  This dress is super cute without the shirt, but I also love it with.

Who says spring attire needs to be all pastels?  Not me!  I love a little black in my wardrobe and think this dress is adorable!  I love the apron front and the asymmetrical buttons down the side.  Here is another one that is super similar (but limited in sizes).

I think these joggers can go from cozy on the couch to casual dressy – pair them with flats and that v-neck shirt up there.  I love the olive color!  I normally head for neutrals, but this olive really works as a neutral.  Top with a long line cardigan for cooler spring days.

Speaking of a longline cardigan, this one looks perfect to me!  Kind of an oatmeal color, not too thick, not too thin… just right!

I love the cut of this tank, with a slight a-line shape – super flattering!

I have this shirt and the neckline is so pretty (this picture doesn’t do it justice) – not quite a boatneck, but wider than a normal scoop neck.  The fabric is really thin, so a camisole is a must for me.  I chose a strappy racerback one because I like the way the straps looks peeking out at the neckline.

I love the color and the shape of this shirt!  The bare back is so pretty – reminds me of a ballerina!

These flats are super fun with the metallic silver and low cut sides.  These would be great with a dress and even with the olive joggers.

I have been searching for a good pair of black flats for awhile, and I love ankle straps!  These laces are so fun!  I have these shoes now and am deciding on which size to keep (I’m in between sizes).

I think you already know my love for these shoes!  I was looking at a much more expensive version of these, but am really happy with these ones from Target!  I will say they are not as high of quality as New Balance, but the price makes them totally worth it!

I am so unsure of what I like when it comes to booties!  I really want something fun, but I am kind of scared to go with anything that isn’t super plain or safe.  Which of these styles do you like best? I think the perforations and ankle strap makes these look more appropriate for spring, and I’m hoping one of these would also look great with a dress. Options 1 / 2 or here in a different color / 3

What items are on your spring wish list?  I already have a few of these and am contemplating a few more…

Did you come here hoping to link up with “What I Wore”?  No problem – here you go!

Do you wanna join me for “what i wore“?  Yay!  Just follow the rules:

1. Link to your specific blog post, not your blog’s main page. Ex: http://thepleatedpoppy.com/2011/09/what-i-wore-wednesday-fall-inspiration/ not http://thepleatedpoppy.com/blog/.

2. Please only link outfit related posts. Your craft project may be adorable, or that may be a great giveaway, but this linky is for outfit related posts only – thank you!  ps – I WILL delete the super random posts that have nothing to do with outfits

3. Please please please link back here to me so all this wiw stuff makes sense to your readers. and its just nice to do ;)

4. Check out as many links as possible! I am constantly inspired by so many outfits each week! And you will definitely find some new blogs that you’ve never stumbled upon before – so fun!

{This post may contain affiliate links}

I do these posts to keep myself accountable to actually getting dressed, but also to give you some ideas if you need them.  I always try to link to the same or similar items (because most of what I wear is older and no longer available).

top {similar} // cardigan {similar} // jeans {similar} // boots // glasses

Even after all these years of these “What I Wore” posts, I still have a hard time getting dressed on our days we stay at home!  I always go for comfort first.

cardigan // sweater {similar} // jeans // boots {similar} // earrings

I’m going with a sweater on top of a sweater look here – I told you its cold!  Again, I cannot recommend these jeans enough – they are so comfortable!  I am finding the waistline to be too loose, so I will need to take it in at the waist.  I find myself hiking them up throughout the day, and its not a good look ;)

dress {similar} // tights {similar} // jacket {similar} // ankle boots (different color) // earrings

I wore this on Sunday for church.  When I get tired of dressing up jeans for church, its time to pull out the cable knit tights to pair with a dress!  I got this dress around Thanksgiving from Old Navy, the boots are a few years old (but still in stock in other colors), and this field jacket is one of my favorites from Stitch Fix.

sweatshirt {similar} // jeans {similar} // shoes {similar}

shirt // jeans // shoes

As you can guess from what I’m wearing here, it actually started to warm up the last couple days!  It was 80* yesterday!

*     *     *     *     *

Do you wanna join me for “what i wore“?  Yay!  Just follow the rules:

1. Link to your specific blog post, not your blog’s main page. Ex: http://thepleatedpoppy.com/2011/09/what-i-wore-wednesday-fall-inspiration/ not http://thepleatedpoppy.com/blog/.

2. Please only link outfit related posts. Your craft project may be adorable, or that may be a great giveaway, but this linky is for outfit related posts only – thank you!  ps – I WILL delete the super random posts that have nothing to do with outfits

3. Please please please link back here to me so all this wiw stuff makes sense to your readers. and its just nice to do ;)

4. Check out as many links as possible! I am constantly inspired by so many outfits each week! And you will definitely find some new blogs that you’ve never stumbled upon before – so fun!

{This post may contain affiliate links}

Since it seems like we will never ever ever until the end of time get to build our house (WHY IS THE PERMIT PROCESS SO DANG LONG?!), I am turning my focus to the home we live in now.  Its a rental house that we’ve been in for over 2 years and it looks like we need to renew our lease yet again.  boo.  We’ve switched the girls rooms around a bit and always just used whatever furniture we already had on hand – I’m a big fan of using what you have and only buying what you need, when it comes to redesign.  We keep saying we’ll get some new stuff for the new house, or redecorate their rooms in the new house, but its been so long that I’ve decided to slowly start that process now!

My oldest, Grace, is almost 15 (HOW?!).  She is super creative and artistic and wonderful in all the wonderful ways.  She has been pinning images of what she wants her room to look like, so we’ve been pulling ideas from there.  Basically, she’d like to live in a jungle, with lots of textures and wood.  But in real life, we’re trying our best.

Eventually, I’d love to get her a platform bed with a wood headboard, or a black iron bed.  And add a lot more plants.  She needs a big ol’ bookshelf for her massive book collection (that is in her closet now), and I’d love for her to have a place to display her art.  A desk would be awesome, too, as she’s pretty much completely independent in her school work now (woop woop!).

Other than getting her a new duvet cover and a few plants, everything in this room has been pulled together from around the house.  Its like hunting for treasures in my own home!

Let’s start with the bed – I got her the same duvet cover as our grey one – its linen and has the best lived-in wrinkled look without looking totally sloppy.  Plus, I am hoping to trade with her occasionally and use the white one in our room!

The sheets are from Target.  I love a good white sheet set, but I am so tired of whites getting dingy and love a good black and white print (similar).

Also, my dad made that bedside table for my girls when they were little!  I think we’re going to paint it white… or maybe black.  I think every room can use a little black in it.

I have a problem with throw pillows.  I love them all.  I pulled a few together from all over the house and kind of like this random collection.  Faux mongolian fur, a rich velvet (similar here),  and a beachy stripe with tassels (similar here).

I found this heavy knit throw blanket at our thrift store and its a family favorite (similar blanket here).  Like so much a favorite that I don’t know if I will let it stay in here!  It’s like wearing a giant sweater!

I bought the rug originally for Silas’ room, and it has moved a few times around the house.  I love the color and print, but its really lightweight and not super great quality.  But definitely worth it for the price.  It works great in here because the giant oil stain (from Silas working on his RC cars in his bedroom) is hidden under the bed!  It has a little bit of a print to break up all the solids in here, and is huge so it covers most of the red/orange floor. (similar style here & here)

I got this chair years ago for $5 at a garage sale.  Yes, $5! It needs a new coat of paint – I’m thinking another coat of white with gold legs…

The faux sheepskin adds a little lux and coziness to this spot, as does the striped throw.

Grace is a bit of a collector – like if something goes into her room, its hard to get it out – trinkets, gum wrappers, mismatched jewelry… so I need to give her spaces to put her things, but not so much space that all the things can fit! On top of this hand-me-down dresser is a small collection of containers.

I bought this little pot for my desk but love it in here, so I’m sharing ;)

This little tray fits just the jewelry that she wears the most (same tray in different colorway). And she has a small enamel bowl that holds deodorant and mascara and hair ties.

Next to her bed she has a small fruit crate turned  bookshelf.  Almost all of our furniture in this house is vintage, but I’d love to mix in some more modern pieces, like a metal tray table here like this.

That floating shelf is my favorite feature of her whole room.  I’m hoping we will continue to add more plants here to give it more of a greenhouse look.

The shelf is from Ikea, and was originally paired with another in our dining room at our last house.

Thankfully, Grace is really content with how her room is now.  Maybe its because I keep cleaning it to take my outfit pictures in!  Over time, I’d like to find a new lamp, replace the rug, and continue adding plants.  But for now, I have a happy teenager, and you can’t ask for much more than that!

I am a firm believer in plants.  House plants in particular – the more the better!  Years ago I felt like my house was missing something, some life…  I had plenty of color, but was lacking plants.  As soon as I started adding house plants, my spaces just felt more home-y, more welcoming, more fresh (imagine that!).

I’m also a huge fan of flowers, but I don’t splurge on them often because they feel like a luxury to me – they are so beautiful, but don’t last for too long, and are kinda pricey.  So house plants fill that void for me and provide a less expensive, longer lasting option.

But how do you/I have a ton of house plants and not kill them?  I have a secret for you that has kept my plants alive and well, some for several years!

It’s not a special fertilizer or repotting (although I really need to do that on many of my plants outgrowing their homes), or playing calming music for them (ha!).

Its way easier…

Ice.  Yep, ice.

A friend mentioned this tip to me years ago because I was tired of moving all my plants to my sink to water (and drain), or ruining my furniture because I was too lazy/forgetful to put a tray under the plants to catch drips.

This makes watering the plants (we call it icing the plants) super easy for the kids to do, also.

Depending on the size of the plant, they get 3-7 or so ice cubes.  The best part: the ice melts so slowly that the water doesn’t drip through.  Now I will say that most of my plants have liners under them (I often wrap foil on the bottom of the plastic pot plants come in) or some sort of drip tray just in case, but I never have the issue of overflow like I used to when the kids or I would water the plants before.

The smaller plants get about 3 cubes, and the big ones, like the fiddle leaf figs, get 7 or more.  I should also note that our ice cubes are kind of big.

A lot of my plants have moss on top (I was tired of looking at the dirt), so the ice goes under the moss, otherwise too much of it evaporates before getting to the soil.

We also try to put the ice just on the soil and not leaning against the stem of the plant.  I have no basis for why I do this, other than I feel like the frozen ice cube might do some damage to a more fragile plant?

This ice technique hasn’t worked well with succulents for me.  I tend to just water them lightly occasionally – I’m still learning.  I can keep succulents growing for years outside, but they are more fickle inside for me.

I also find really delicate plants, like maiden hair ferns, to be really hard to keep alive.  I over water or under water… I don’t know!  But all my other plants have done really really well using this technique!

Every once in awhile I will put my plants in the sink (like once a year) and give them a “bath” – spraying them to get dust off.  And every couple months I’ll take a barely damp rag and wipe down my fiddle leaf fig leaves because they catch a lot of dust.

But other than that, just using ice has kept them alive!  My guess is that its partly due to the slow drip of the ice melting.  Whatever the reason, I know it works, I’m going to keep doing it!

Have you ever tried “icing” your plants?

If you’re new here and wondering why in the world am I showing what I wore this week, well here goes: years ago, when my 3 kids were really little, I basically lived in either pj’s or sweats.  I put very little effort into myself and just felt blah.  When I did get dressed in real clothes, I realized I felt much better about myself.  So I began posting pictures of myself, good or bad (lots of bad), in an effort to keep myself accountable to getting dressed each day most days.  Over the years, I have started to figure out my style, while allowing a lot of variety, and am figuring out what looks best on my body.  I’ve hosted this weekly post as a linky party so if YOU want to join me, you can link up!  All the details on how to do that will be at the end of this post.

Also, almost everything I am wearing in this post is older and no longer available.  I do my best to find similar items for you if you want to find them (I do use affiliate links where I can), but my hope is that you can pull pieces from your own closet to make them work for you in a new way.

field coat {similar} // shirt {similar & similar} // white jeans {similar} // ankle boots {similar} // earrings

I’ve got 2 Sunday’s worth of outfits to share!  Last Sunday I wore this outfit – super casual, but still nice enough for church.  The field coat is from Stitch Fix and its one of those staple items that I wear all the time.  This shirt is super soft and I love the wider boat neck.

cardigan {similar} // t-shirt {similar} // jeans // boots {similar} // necklace // cuff {similar}

On Mondays, the kids are at school and I head into the thrift store for a couple hours to work (I’m the store supervisor and display lead).  It’s a nice excuse to get dressed (where on home school days I have a harder time).  I love a good cardigan and this inexpensive one I picked up a couple years ago from Forever 21 does not disappoint.  And again with these super soft jeans from Old Navy – they are like pajamas, you guys!

sweater {similar & similar} // jeans {similar} // heels // earrings (size small) // cuff

Date night!!! We’re at a really funny stage of our life right now.  Our kids are old enough that for the most part we don’t have to get a sitter in order to go out on a date.  But we’re old enough that many nights we don’t want to stay out very late!  So we went on a date last weekend and were home by 8:00 – we walked in, told the kids our date wasn’t over (as in “put yourselves to bed at a reasonable time”), and we went and watched a movie in bed!

This outfit was easy and comfortable.  Good fitting jeans, a loose sweater, and block heeled sandals, and a little jewelry.

jacket // sweater // jeans {similar} // wedge ankle boots //earrings (size small) // cuff

And this Sunday, I wore this outfit for church.  This jacket is from Stitch Fix (I shared it last week in my Stitch Fix review), and it is already proving to be a great item in my closet (I think I’ve worn it 3 times already!).  I usually wear this lightweight sweater with leggings of skinny jeans as its pretty long, but I also like it tucked in like this!  I mostly love the color of this sweater – kind of a caramel-y brown.  These jeans are some of my favorites (I wear them a lot).

longline cardigan {similar} // shirt {similar} // ponte pants // converse // glasses

This outfit was from a lounge-y stay at home day.  We had playdates and sleepovers and crafts and baking and on these days I go for comfort!  Who am I kidding? I always go for comfort!  Both these pants and sweater were from long ago Stitch Fixes.

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Do you wanna join me for “what i wore“?  Yay!  Just follow the rules:

1. Link to your specific blog post, not your blog’s main page. Ex: http://thepleatedpoppy.com/2011/09/what-i-wore-wednesday-fall-inspiration/ not http://thepleatedpoppy.com/blog/.

2. Please only link outfit related posts. Your craft project may be adorable, or that may be a great giveaway, but this linky is for outfit related posts only – thank you!  ps – I WILL delete the super random posts that have nothing to do with outfits

3. Please please please link back here to me so all this wiw stuff makes sense to your readers. and its just nice to do ;)

4. Check out as many links as possible! I am constantly inspired by so many outfits each week! And you will definitely find some new blogs that you’ve never stumbled upon before – so fun!

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