No matter what you celebrate, I hope your day is wonderful and full of joy! Merry Christmas everyone!
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!
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Category Archives: Randomness
A Non-Niche Blog
Sarah Von at Yes and Yes had a great post today about tips for non-niche bloggers. I felt so inspired after reading it that I wrote a really long comment. Here it is:
“Thank you for writing this post! I’ve gradually shifted my blog over the past year from being a daily outfit blog to a non-niche blog. There’s several topics that I write about a lot (style, sustainability, bentos, health, Etsy) but there’s not one individual thing. I recently changed my tagline to ” a little bit of this and that for the optimistic soul” and I’m so glad I did. It really sums up the tone of my blog, since I prefer to keep a positive perspective.
Thanks for re-affirming that I made the right choice. I was worried at first about losing readers, but now I enjoy writing my blog more than ever.”
I’m so happy that I got myself out of the box I had originally put myself into. I started as a craft blogger, but then discovered the style world, and started only blogging daily outfits, but then as I discovered other interests, I wanted to write about them too, but I wasn’t sure how they would fit. Now that I’ve accepted the fact that my blog doesn’t stick into one defined niche, I feel so free. I can write about outfits or bento boxes or composting or my Etsy favorites or riding my bike, always keeping what I consider my signature positive tone.. I may not have the statistics and sheer number of readers that I used to have, but I feel that the quality of my interactions with you, my readers, has improved dramatically since I shifted. I don’t know if you noticed, by I updated my header recently by changing the tagline from “style and sustainability for the optimistic soul” to “a little bit of this and that for the optimistic soul”.
I just want to say thank to my readers for sticking with me and supporting me as I transitioned to where my blog is today. It wouldn’t be anywhere near as much fun without you!
Lingerie Please – Review
Lingerie Please contacted me several weeks ago offering to let me have a free sample of one of their products to review. At first, I wasn’t sure about it, because I’m a very private person when it comes to stuff like that, and I don’t particularly want to share my opinions on bras, panties and nighties with the world wide web. But when I realized that they also offer sports bras, I changed my mind.
I have to admit, posting photos of myself in a sports bra is kind of scary. I normally run with a cotton tank top, but that wouldn’t show you what I’m reviewing, and would kind of defeat the purpose. The bra I chose to review is a Trimuph Tri-Action Extreme bra. Being somewhat large-chested (34D), I need running bras that offer a lot of support. This bra does that. I don’t know how well it would work for someone with a larger chest, but it was fine for me. The straps are adjustable and it has a hook and eye closure in the back like a normal bra. I’ve read that racerback styles are more supportive, but this still provided all the support I need.
I love the design of this bra. The red, white and black details are really nice, and make this a bra that looks great on it’s own, or peeking out from underneath a tank top. I did have one issue with it though – the fabric isn’t very thick, which means that sometimes means that sometimes you end with with your headlights showing. This isn’t too bad for me, since I wear tanks when I run, but I know that a lot of women would have a problem with that. I would like this bra more if the fabric was more substantial.
So if you’re interested, go check out what Lingerie Please has to offer!
(Note: I do not accept financial compensation for reviews. While I do often receive products for free, I still give my honest opinion of them.)
Shoe Lust: Fluevog Swing
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about getting a flat pair of ‘vogs. I have two pairs of Fluevog heels (yellow Malibrans and orange Fiorenzas) and while they’re gorgeous, I hardly ever feel like wearing 2.5 inch heels. My feet are very sensitive to heel heights over 1 1/2 inches, and those shoes kill me after just a few hours. I’m debating selling the Fiorenzas and buying the Swings shown above instead.
The Swings are such a cute, classic, jazzy design. They’re a lot less flashy than most Fluevogs, but I don’t necessarily mind. They’re still way cuter and more feminine than most of my usual flats. And I read about someone having their cobbler punch holes so that you can add laces – this sounds so cute! I have a feeling that these would get a good amount of wear. They would go with dresses and skirts and with jeans and shorts too.
So what do you think? Should I go for the Swings? Should I sell the Fiorenzas to pay for them, or slowly save up the money?
Reusable Produce Bags – winner!
There were a total of 32 entries into the produce bag giveaway. Using random.org, I pulled out #27. Congratulations Colleen! I’ll be e-mailing you shortly!
Insane cuteness time
Folks, have you met Maru? The amazing adorable Scottish Fold cat from Japan? If not, you simply have to watch Maru’s videos on YouTube. Pretty much guaranteed to make you smile.
Oh the busyness!
Just a note to let you know, I’m doing just fine, but life and work are keeping me extremely busy at the moment. I’ll probably get back to posting this weekend. I’m fine, just wishing there were a few more hours in every day.
Busy, busy, busy
So um, this is my first week back at work, and time is tight. I didn’t get any outfit pictures uploaded yet, so here’s a picture of my cat Elvis. Yes, I’m engaging in the old “I don’t have anything to post, so I’ll just post a picture of a cat” thing that so many bloggers do. A cute picture of a kitty licking his lips makes up for no outfit, right? 
Not cute enough for you? Okay, here’s a picture of him from 2006:
Cuteness quotient now satisfied.
Alphabet Blog Hop: X
As my part in One Sydney Road‘s Alphabet Blog Hop, I’m featuring the letter X today (I feel like I’m on Sesame Street when I say that). Note the two X’s formed by the windmills. I bought this darling little coffee grinder at a garage sale years ago, and it has stuck with me through two moves. I don’t really use it as a grinder, because it doesn’t have any way of adjusting the coarseness, but I love keeping it on my knick-knack shelf. I love the artwork it’s decorated with.
Siesta Key: Part 1
Well, that was a bit more of a blogging break than I had originally intended. I stayed in Siesta Key, FL, with my boyfriend, Carlo for three days last weekend. (Is there a better word for a long-term, committed but non-married relationship? When you’ve lived with someone for three years, it feels odd to still call them “boyfriend”). I had blog posts all scheduled, and thought that I would write the next week’s posts on Sunday. But Sunday also happened to be Father’s Day, so after lots of family time, I was too exhausted to write anything. Then I had three days of all-day work training, leaving me even more drained. So forgive me for not writing any posts this week, but I just did not have the energy with everything else going on.
So now, on to telling you about my awesome vacation!
Swimsuit: Target, Sandals: Old Navy
Siesta Key Beach is absolutely gorgeous! It was kind of bittersweet to be here, because I know that the oil spill is lurking out there in the Gulf. It hasn’t come this far South yet, but no one really seems to know when it will get here and when it will get cleaned up. I tried to savor my time at the beach as much as possible, because I don’t know how much longer the water will be this beautiful.
On the happier side of things, this was one of the first times that I really didn’t feel negative about my body in a swimsuit. So many times before, I’ve dreaded wearing swimsuits, but I found one that flatters me and that helped a lot. But more than that, I also feel more confident. It’s not an issue of accepting or masking certain “negative” areas of my body to me any more. I have curvy hips and thighs, and that doesn’t bother me. It’s how I’m made, and I’m not trying to fight it. I eat nutritious foods, I exercise my body, and I try to take care of it with products that are good for me and the environment. I’ve finally come to the point where I really recognize that I don’t need to fit into a certain image or body shape. I am who I am. I am made in a completely unique shape and size, and I love that. Seeing this picture and not immediately worrying over my “flaws” helped me to realize that I’ve finally come to a really good place in my self-perspective.
Back to the vacation. Do people play shuffle board in other states, or is it a Florida thing? I’ve always associated playing shuffle board and being at the beach, so Carlo and I played a rousing game with our friends who were also staying in Siesta Key.
Keens
Carlo action shot! (Shuffle board is exciting, people)
That water is so pretty. I really hope that this oil mess gets cleaned up soon.
I’ll wrap up my vacation recap with Part 2 on Monday. Stay tuned!
