my first pair of round frames (and why i'm not a fashion blogger)

A couple months ago, the folks at Firmoo asked if I'd like to try another pair of their glasses.  I'd already done this once and was really pleased with the service and quality, so of course I agreed!  In between the time I received the glasses and finished this post, there were 3 holidays, (what felt like) 306 ear infections, and this cute little man got his own pair of glasses.

Kids and glasses, you guys.  Easiest way to melt me.  (And I should clarify - these glasses are not from Firmoo, but I couldn't resist sharing his sweet face.)

I share all of this to say that Firmoo has not only been great to work with, but they have been incredibly patient with me!

Just like last time, I wanted to select a pair that I wouldn't normally be brave enough to try.  I was interested in seeing how a pair of round frames might work, so that's what I went with.

I put them on last night and told Colt he had to come take pictures of me in the backyard with my glasses on before it got dark.  (Welcome home, honey!)  Scenes like this play out just as you would imagine.  "Just act normal."  "I am!"  "Stop smiling like you're nervous about something."  "I'm just smiling like how I always smile!"  That kind of thing.  Apologies for the supposed nervous smiling, but here they are:

(Had to include this cute little thing.)

And just to make sure we're not taking each other too seriously, here's a glimpse into why I'm not a fashion blogger:

("Turn your head a little bit."  *Turns whole body*  "No, not your whole body, just your head.")

So - the glasses.  They're very different than what I normally wear, but I like the change!  They fit well and the quality is great. 

If you're on the hunt for a new pair of eyeglasses, check out Firmoo before you spend a million dollars.  You could buy 4 pairs of their glasses for the price of 1 somewhere else!  And when glasses are this inexpensive, why not buy 4?  You could treat them like you would any other accessory by picking the frames that best work with your outfit.  They also have a First Pair Free Program for all new customers - who can say no that?  Happy glasses shopping!

Firmoo provided the glasses in exchange for a review.  All opinions are my own.

BFBN: fashion emergency

It's "Tips and Tricks" day in the Babywise Friendly Blog Network and our topic is Emergency Preparedness.  I racked my brain trying to find something (anything!) to post about.

If you look on our Emergency Preparedness Pinterest board, you'll notice a lot of interesting and helpful things - uses for duct tape, foods that last forever, budget tips, 72 hour kits, etc.  These are all very useful, practical, and necessary pieces of information.  I legitimately have nothing to contribute of that nature, so bear with me.

I decided I'd write about clothes.  I know, fashion is something I'm soo well-versed in, but this post is mostly for me.

Sometimes fashion can be an emergency.  Not a real life emergency with actual stress, but an Alicia-Silverstone-in-Clueless kind of emergency.  An I-have-to-leave-in-10-minutes-and-I-have-no-idea-what-to-wear emergency.  This has been so hard for me lately, mostly because I'm not quite back to my pre-baby body so getting dressed is annoying, frustrating, and it takes forever.  I'm all about wearing t-shirts, but every once and a while, it's nice to know you can still look decent.

So, I looked through some of my pins on my style board and picked a few fall outfits.  These are basic outfits with very basic pieces that I could mimic.  Maybe if I could keep these ideas in mind, I wouldn't stand in front of my closet for 20 minutes, thumbing through my clothes.

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A white tee, striped shirts/sweaters, denim/patterned button down shirts, jeans/pants, scarves, a blazer - simple items and simple outfits. 

What are your go-to items/outfits when you're in a crunch?

 Follow the Babywise Friendly Blog Network Pinterest page for more Tips and Tricks! 

what i learned from the closet cleanout

(If you missed my latest post about my big closet cleanout day, read it here.)

In the process of weeding out 112 items from my wardrobe, I learned a few things about my personal style. 

What I learned about my style based on what I actually wear:

I don't really take any risks.
I love neutral colors and when given the chance to buy a new top, I typically choose black or gray.
I don't get too dressy.

What I learned about my desired style based on my Pinterest Style board:

Sure, I love neutral colors, but I appreciate a pop of color here and there.
I evidently think every outfit should consist of a scarf.
For as many blazers as I have pinned, it's funny that I only own one.
I'm a fan of stripes.

What I learned about my wardrobe based on the outcome of the closet cleanout:

I had LOTS of wide leg pants.  I mean, y'all, when the fashion police announced they were cool, I must've jumped in my car immediately and purchased 10 pairs.  The pants got bigger and bigger as I tried them on.

I had a lot of things that just weren't me.  For example, things that are pink.  Things that have frilly stuff everywhere.  Things that involve ironing.

I had a lot of complicated tops.  I'm tired of wearing things under things, needing to find special bras for certain shirts, having to wear a cardigan over some weird blouse.  I want to own shirts that fit me and don't require a bunch of extra homework.

I had (well, still have) lots of cheap things.  Cheap things in and of themselves aren't bad.  But sometimes if I see something, it fits me, and it's cheap, then I buy it.  Then I wear it once and decide it's not that cute.  Must stop this now.  This problem won't be solved by buying more expensive things.  I just need to be pickier when it comes to cheap items.

I have to stop living in my past.  In college, it was awesome and totally acceptable to clothe yourself with 2-4 layers daily.  White spaghetti strap, gray tank, thrift store t-shirt, and a cardigan describes a typical college girl outfit for me and my friends.  (Because of this, my husband and his friends deemed us The Layer Girls.)  That no longer works.  It's not cool and newsflash, I'm a mom.  I can't be parading around in t-shirts, skirts, cardigans, and Chacos all the day long.  And not because moms need to dress like boring moms.  But they also don't need to try and reinvent their 19 year old selves.

I'm pretty sure I learned more than five things, but for now, that's what I've got.  Can I get an "Amen" on any of this?

firmoo giveaway

I'm excited to announce that Firmoo wants to give 6 of my readers a $30 designer glasses voucher!  And, if more than 30 people enter the giveaway, they'll also award another lucky winner with a pair of fashionable eyeglasses.  That's a total of 7 possible prizes, folks!  The odds are ever in your favor.

Not familiar with Firmoo?  You can see pictures of my Firmoo glasses and read my review by clicking here.  Also, browse around on firmoo.com to see what they have to offer.  They have very conservative, standard options as well as the most up-to-date stylish ones.  Firmoo's goal is to provide vision and fashion the frugal way.

Additional information about this giveaway:
-Vouchers can only be used once.  Vouchers may only be used on designer glasses.  Click here to view your options.
-If there are more than 30 competitors, the winner of the pair of fashionable eyeglasses must inform me of their choice within 24 hours of posting the winner.  Designer glasses and sunglasses are not available to choose.  Fashionable eyeglasses options can be viewed here.  Both prescription and non-prescription are available.  Shipping not included.
-This giveaway is open internationally, but winners have to be located in the area in which Firmoo's delivery reaches.  Click here for more information on which countries they ship to.

Here's how to enter:
1.  Leave a comment on this post and let me know which pair of Firmoo glasses you'd love to have.

You may also have up to 5 additional entries by:
2.  Liking Firmoo on Facebook.  (Leave a comment on this post letting me know you've done this.)
3.  Liking My Devising on Facebook.  (Leave a comment on this post letting me know you've done this.)
4.  Following My Devising.  Over to the left, you'll see "Followers" and that's where you can become a follower.  (Leave a comment on this post letting me know you've done this.)
5.  Tweeting about this giveaway.  (Paste the link to your tweet in a comment on this post.  To find an individual tweet's link, click the time the tweet was posted in the top right hand corner of the tweet.  Copy that URL.)
6.  Blogging about this giveaway.  (Paste the link to your blog post in a comment on this post.)

To clarify, you must do #1 to enter the giveaway.  Additional entries are optional.  Also, I'm not having you leave a million comments so I have can have a million comments.  It's just easier for me to count all of the entries that way.  :) 

This giveaway ends on Tuesday, February 19, 2013 at 11:59 p.m.  Winner will be announced sometime on Wednesday, February 20, 2013.  Good luck!

firmoo glasses review

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Firmoo about trying a pair of their glasses.  Of course, I enthusiastically said yes!  Firmoo is an online optical site that offers high quality eyeglasses that are not only fashionable, but are reasonably priced.  Their aim is to provide vision and fashion the frugal way.  There were many options to choose from and deciding wasn't easy.  It came down to one thing:  I wanted a pair that was different than what I already had.  What I have currently is a pair of pretty basic square frames, so I wanted to try something new.  I ended up choosing these:

I think they're pretty fun!  What do you guys think?

Firmoo was so helpful in finding the right pair for me and they really do make a quality product.  They responded quickly to any questions I had and the glasses arrived at my home within days of ordering.  I believe they're a trustworthy company and they really do want to satisfy their customers.  If you haven't already, take a look around on the Firmoo website to find the right pair for you.

Not interested in spending a lot of money on a pair of frames you only see online?  Try their first pair free program.  It's exactly what it sounds like and there's no catch.  If you're a new customer, you can try your first pair for free.  All you pay is shipping.  Click here to learn more about it and see which frames are available for the first pair free program. 

Stay tuned for an exciting Firmoo giveaway coming up in the next few days!

Thanks to Firmoo for providing the glasses.  All opinions are my own.

what not to wear

"Style" has been a topic of conversation lately with many of my friends.  To top it all off, my friend Ashley did a post yesterday about her Style Resolution.  I'm similar to her in that I just get lazy about it.  My routine to 'get ready' consists of brushing my teeth, washing my face, throwing my hair up, and putting on a t-shirt and jeans.  Not too glamorous.  Sure, I'm a stay-at-home mom, so I can do that.  However, there's more to this than just laziness for me.  I feel like I've forgotten how to dress myself.

All of 2011 consisted of being pregnant (January-October) and dealing with post-pregnancy body/exhaustion (October-December).  Now that my body is back to normal, I have no idea what to wear.  It's like I don't know what goes with what.  I look at my over-stuffed closet and can't put an outfit together.  It's weird.

Honestly, I love living in sweat pants, t-shirts, ponytails, and no makeup.  I could do it every day for the rest of my life.  The problem comes in when I actually need to get dressed for something.  If I have to actually look cute, I'm in trouble. 

I think there are a couple of things that need to happen in order to fix this:

1.  I need to clean out my closet.  I need to get rid of things that I don't ever wear.  I do this every year, but this year, I will not be doing it alone.  I am going to enlist my very fashion-forward friend, Reese, to help me.  (She will basically assist me in my own personal "What Not to Wear" episode.)  I need someone to say, "No, Claire.  That's not cute," or, "Claire, you're never going to wear that."  My weakness is that I justify keeping everything for fake 'theme nights' that exist in my head.  But what if I have to dress up like Scary Spice one day and need these crazy camo pants?  Yes, I have those kinds of thoughts.  But, this year those thoughts will be no more.  We're buckling down.

2.  I need inspiration.  In layman's terms, I need pictures of cute outfits that I can recreate.  I need ideas.  Most of my clothes are from thrift stores; so if I had a few outfits in mind, I could search for those specific pieces there or maybe find them hidden in the depths of my closet.

Once I schedule this Closet Cleanout Day, I'll be sure to snap a few pictures of some of the memorable (ridiculous) clothing items I come across.  In the meantime, I'll be checking Ashley's blog and stealing all of her ideas.