el chubasco

 so i didn't exactly keep up with these "weekly" as intended... and apparently i've been waiting till i wear each outfit again to post about it (these shots were taken weeks ago now) - wore this last sunday...

the main reason, though, that i haven't been posting regularly is... i'm pregnant. and therefore, a) i have been feeling AWFUL and completely exhausted and can't find the energy to even sit and blog, and b) i wasn't allowed to talk about it for a few weeks after i knew, so it has been impossible to post!! i have a really hard time keeping secrets ;) but we finally made all our widespread announcements last week (the final one being facebook ;) so now i can tell you!

first thought about this blog & being pregnant was... 

good thing i didn't do twenty pieces!!! 

it'd be literally impossible to limit my wardrobe to that many pieces when my size and shape has already begun to dramatically change, and will do so drastically for the next 8 months...! 

 so, anyways... the outfit: vintage wool blazer, thrifted; top, thrifted; jeans, thrifted; shoes, TOMS, christmas gift from my husband - love. bracelets, thrifted; rings, inherited; necklace, handmade.

 erica thought i was cool brave for leaving the shoulder pads in this awesome blazer... the truth is: pure laziness. that, and jentine almost convinced me they were okay... but looking at the pictures i'm not so sure ;)

 now you know...

well, twenty pieces, i tried, but i just don't think we're right for each other.

it's not you - it's me.

i think it is an honorable pursuit, 

simplifying

moving focus.

but i'm hoping to do that

without the "rules"

the last couple of years have been ones

of learning who i am

what i like

being free

not to care what people think

to spend money, even.

before, i was afraid to.

but now, i have gone on this journey

of my heart becoming more whole

of discovering who i really am

who he made me to be

what delights me

what is not that important to me.

shopping is not that important to me

never has been.

but before, a part of my - i think, now - false identity

was "i hate shopping".

really, i just didn't like making decisions. 

seeing how i looked in things that didn't fit well.

now as my healing continues,

i am learning to see me and my desires as valid

and i don't have to hide.

that said,

i really enjoyed the journey to deciding not to join the club

i made it down to less than 50 pieces - maybe 40 

(there's like 8 in my sewing pile right now, waiting to see if they're salvageable)

and love that i love everything in my closet!

my favorite part, though, is that

our hangers all match now

it was a little painful

parting with some things

gifts were the hardest, and handmade ones

who knew that i had sentimental value attached to my clothes like that?

i feel lighter

and find myself with this new

"rid the excess" mentality

in most areas of life now

it's a little strange for me

has a little extra twist

since i am a mixed-media artist

that automatically entails that i collect.

i have bins of rusty stuff

and paper and fabric

and even clothes

waiting to be transformed

into something new and beautiful

i hope

so, i guess i just think

now is not the time 

for my heart

i am needing to engage

not detach

be so fully present

as i encounter

the color and texture 

of such a lovely world

and lovely creator

the weird part is

since i've been contemplating this

for so many months

i sort of still feel like i am doing it

joining you

but, while i have a much smaller wardrobe now

and often think about which pieces still "could go"

because they don't necessarily "go with" 

the other stuff

(i had all these caveats in mind: "oh, i need to go shopping before sunday - then it's 2012"... "no shopping, EXCEPT, that one weekend thrifting that my sister gifted me for christmas";
 or "i can't shop, but i can make new things out of what i have stored away", etc.

now i don't need them)

i think he's still taking me on this journey

toward freedom, 

away from shame

and into drinking deeply of beauty

in art, people, clothes, food, nature... 

much love,

jamie

ps. these not-so-subtle notes from kimmy in my christmas present of cute clothes in no way had any bearing on my decision ;)

pps. thank you, jason, for not letting me just "get on board" with this, but instead really seeking to discern where i am being invited... and for joining me in lightening the load, even on your side of the closet!

20/20: day 18, it must be christmas

 our advent calendar task for the day was "wear red and green". this was tricky with my twenty pieces (i hadn't decided/started doing this when i made the tasks for the calendar...). i only had one green top in the mix, and i just wore it yesterday! so i searched frantically calmly through my accessories... and did it! this was one of those "being creative" days (those seem to happen more and more the further into the 20 days i get ;) and it was fun to come up with something totally different than i've worn before... i especially like the cutesy little flowers as a clip-on addition to the crocheted top - red and green, baby! merry christmas!!

the outfit: undertank, ?; crocheted top: anthro; flowers, handmade by Angelea and Teri Jo; pashmina scarf, gift; jeans, thrifted; shoes, thrifted; bag, vintage

 ps. i love this train i found this week. you will most certainly be seeing more shots with it. 

20/20: day 17, a walk in the park

the outfit: undertank: mossimo; yellow "dress" (at what point is it a "top" and not a "dress"? this one's on the verge...): anthro; green top, ross; belt, thrifted; leggings, thrifted; necklace, etsy, gift from a friend; shoes: thrifted.

 apparently this outfit makes me want to twirl... (unlike the last one, where i busted out what some might think could pass as hip-hop moves... stop laughing, jason).

so we went to the park for my daily 20/20 shots on tuesday, the whole family. little did we know, it was a special day at the park! huge lines of kids to sit on santa-on-the-train's lap, a couple of bounce houses, free christmas cookies and hot chocolate with marshmallows... and - here is the best part (i'm curious what people who live in... cooler climates... think of this) - a sledding hill! ha. a big pile of snow in the parking lot because it's still in the 60s in december in southern california :) as you can see, it was warm enough that i was walking around barefoot. as you can also see, this was the best moment of joey's young life. oh, that face! i could kiss it all day!

by the way, you're welcome for only posting twelve pictures today. out of the 166 we shot, i picked 26 as my favorites to edit, uploaded 18, and then cut it down to 12 just for you.

20/20: day 16: a gold belt

 the outfit: top, thrifted; blazer, thrifted (bet you never thought you'd see that again! ;); jeans, thrifted; yellow tights: anthro; belt, thrifted (isn't it great? it's the main reason i decided to post photos instead of drawings this time- i just couldn't render the shiny gold well :); boots, gift; necklace, handmade.

so, pretty much this whole outfit came from savers at some point over the last couple of years. yesterday, when i was bravely wearing this yellow blazer for the second time, i checked on my favorite style bloggers, and this one by jentine was up - all about thrifting blazers! i thought, i have found my tribe. and THEN, i went over to adored austin, and saw this challenge that she was doing/throwing out there. and i knew it was a 50% off everything day at Savers (for members, ahem), so i was already planning to go over there. but once i saw that post, i was, like, giddy, waiting for my sister to come sit at home while my boy napped so i could go shopping! oh, the unique ways God's designed us (that's code for "super quirky" says jason)... i shot some footage for my own video (which i've never done before, so i will be braving iMovie for the first time tonight to edit :) - which i'll post here once i finish!

 also, apparently, this outfit made me want to break out the crazy style dance moves. 

here's the progression:

 

and, yes, i am lying on the ground in the last picture because i fell. and i have a very painful bruise on my knee to prove it. but it wasn't when i was dancing. i tripped over a sled carrying a laundry basket, and ate it. jason was quick on his feet and thought to capture a moment of daily life ;)

20/20: days 13, 14, 15

i told you i wore this sweater every day i hadn't taken outfit shots! we recreated the looks (gotta have some kind of documentation!) and reshot them, for the purposes of drawing the outfits to post (since it was a pathetic background and we had to use flash...). but once i traced drew them , i felt like you could see them better in the original photos. i also discovered i cannot draw hands and faces - even tracing! guess i need to take a class on that (they have them - "figure drawing: hands and faces" - guess it's hard ;) 

Day 13 outfit: top: anthro, undertank: target; sweater, anthro; jeans, thrifted; shoes, thrifted; necklace, handmade; wrist cuff, made by a friend

Day 14 outfit: dress, ross; sweater, anthro; necklace, handmade from vintage brooch; leggings, ross; boots, thrifted

Day 15 outfit: dress, thrifted (hey, i bet you thought you weren't gonna see this one again, after it was all stained, huh? this is what you call, being creative with your twenty pieces ;); sweater, anthro; boots, thrifted; necklace, handmade

20/20: day 11

 all the empty hangers from the clothes i cleaned OUT of my closet. jason wants to get rid of them - i told him i needed to show you first :) i have officially decided that a person does not need more than 20-30 pieces of clothing. i mean, i am finding lots of combinations this first two weeks... however, i know that as time goes on, to keep things interesting "within the parameters", accessories will play a bigger & bigger role... which i'm not sure is the point of all this, and i wonder if i'm making these "rules" for myself for the wrong reasons. or if i'm just not in a place that i need to be doing this right now... still got till the end of the year to decide! ;)

 these were the best shots we could get last night at dusk with an iPhone... hence the reason you see the instagrammed hanger shot first :) but i'll have you know, this was a super-cute (& comfy - that was my qualification for the day because i'm sick) outfit - jeannette told me so ;) i can't believe i wasted this wall i've been eyeing for shots on THIS shoot... i guess it is a little short anyways...


the outfit: top (the last of my 20 pieces to finally get worn!): ross; leggings, ross; boots, thrifted; belt, thrifted; necklace, bought at a tiendita tipica in honduras

 i've got to come up with a way to take shots during the day - jason gets home too late, and i have a 2-year-old - any ideas?

20/20: day 10: the yellow blazer

the moment you've all been waiting for... the yellow blazer!

you didn't think i could do it, huh? well it probably would not be a part of my actual year-long 20 pieces, but i felt like i needed to keep it a little interesting this month, too, so i left out a pair of pants so i could include this bright yellow awesomeness ;)

 you know you like it!  no? it's just me? oh well... :)

the outfit: top, anthro; blazer, thrifted; jeans, thrifted; shoes, converse, gift; necklace, found, altered (i didn't put a closeup because we only shot the back of the piece - oops...! another time :)

 and once again, i love the detail on this anthropologie top! the lace, the gathering, the fact that you lace it up?? love.